#the ol' bait and switch

[vicshush]

Someone may have already posited this, but I think it would be very funny if one of the guests suddenly got up and left the table, right as their character is about to do something, and Erika Ishii takes their chair, and the character is revealed to be Yu, the unseelie changeling.

I don't think it necessarily makes sense with the current batch of guest players' characters, but it would be a neat "Did you forget about me? Did you think we'd forget about you, and what you did to our malleus key?" dramatic curveball.

[ask-ranma-and-ryoga]

Ha duck you *crappy edits that pic of them almost kissing to make them actually kiss* /j

Duck you, too!

[snackugaki-jestsjapesjokes]

In commemoration of this

Let us remember what Frida can do canonically

gave her the ol' Shikamaru's Kagemane no Jutsu treatment for ninpo which is fitting really since

And what's more ninja than shadow manipulation?

Just y'know, from a 90s weeb standpoint who saw how fucking obsessed U.S media was with ninja in the 80s and 90s, the earlier TMNT could have stood to be MORE ninja. The newer iterations kinda sorta have gotten "more ninja" instead of generic milk chocolate martial arts with a shiny ninja candy coating

[stars-fall]

Idea: The queer bait (and switch)

Have 3 leads, two white pretty boys with a classic ship dynamic between them (but no romance) and the third is a girl. Later on in the cannon, once the fandom eventually begins shipping the pretty boys introduce a new character, another girl. She and the lead girl fall deeply in love (of course they can't run away together, they stay on the show)

The pretty boys on the other hand, both end up having girlfriends and because fundamentally incompatible, maybe even have one leave the show to raise kids with his gf. Two of the straightest straight men to ever exist

The fandom can't even call out the show for queer baiting because well, there is actual real queer relationship explored in the show- just not the one the fandom wanted.

[visage-of-hell]

[ shoulder ] a tender kiss on the partner's shoulder

It's a cozy night at the hotel, with Visage and Alastor seemingly having the main parlor entirely to themselves. As the Radio Demon lays sprawled out comfortably upon the lounge couch, she rests atop him, her limbs entangled with his as she nuzzles her snout against his neck. His scent fills her nostrils, making her feel safe. She feels his claw tips trailing lightly up her back, the heat of his breath against her fur as he leans in to press a long slow kiss against the curve of her neck and shoulder... ...And then in an instant, she jolted wide awake, lurching upright in her bed as she clutched her sweat-damp brow with heavy breaths. "What the actual fuck was that...?!" It wasn't often Visage had strange dreams, but this...? This was something entirely new. Granted, she'd been working in close proximity with Alastor for nearly a month by that point, but it was strictly a working relationship. Did she enjoy his company? In a strange sort of way, yes. But did she see him ... that way...? Until a moment ago, she would have vehemently denied it. And yet... With a tired sigh, she grabbed her phone to check the time--about an hour until the club opened ... which meant just about as much time until she was due to meet with her aforementioned 'business partner'. Not the wake-up call she would have liked, but it would do. Groaning, she rolled out of bed and went to start her coffee machine before making her way into the bathroom to shower and get ready for another busy night. -- Straightening her tie with a cocksure smile, the lupine Overlord made her way out onto the main floor of the club, watching as patrons were already arriving and ordering drinks. Silver eyes scanned every face, checking to see if the Radio Demon was among them yet.

[doomednarrative]

PARAD TIME

[bumblyburg]

No offense to tedbecca truthers but this makes me laugh because how are you using parallels to the comically toxic relationship as evidence that ted x rebecca is happening

[the-magic-school-bus]

i just realized my cat litters actually did follow the pattern of every other littler one kittens dies, it just took almost five months for the kitten to die this time

[mascothorrorhellhole]

I can see this vision

my evil plan is to become a content farm for media that does not exist whatsoever i mean id still put effort into those animations, so it wouldn't even be a content farm .. but the intention is still there!!! it counts!! Shmeepy Deeby's Playtime Land sad backstory part 39 Do you understand me

[thepup-maximus]

Vent post incoming, disregard...

My partner and I have been together 4 years almost. They're going thru some things rn that makes sexy stuff difficult and unappealing atm and I've been experiencing intense cock lust for ages (which my partner doesn't have one anyway) and since we're polyam I decided I'd hop onto the ol' grindr app for the first time in years and see if I can't find a D to S for shits n gigs.

I'm already p nervous cuz it's been a long time and we all know how cis dudes can be sometimes (too often), so I was up front w the couple people I chatted w like "it's been a long time for me, I only wanna give blowies, condoms are a must" and the one guy was like yeah sure of course, love that, no problem.

Asked if he had condoms and he said no so I agreed to pick some up before I went over (an hour's walk btw, in one direction) the next morning. Next morning rolls around and he wants me to come over early says we don't need a condom "if your just sucking me" and how he'll probably wanna fuck and have I done poppers cuz they make u rly horny.

At this point I'm already on the fence cuz my partner took the news of my D appt harder than either of us had anticipated but insisted I go anyway, but as soon as buddy started tryna change what all was gunna happen I basically pulled the "Im scared I want my mommy" card saying that it was all too much and I wanted to talk to my partner some more but I was open to rescheduling at a later date. After he realized I wasnt joking (not a very funny joke imo) he got pissed saying I wasted his time...

Like idk ig, but he tried to change the rules of the engagement and I wasn't confident I wouldn't be pressured into something or straight up attacked. Also when I said we'd need condoms anyway if he wanted to fuck he suddenly magically found one that previously he didn't have like BRO where did you even find all these red flags 🚩🚩🚩

Anyway I just wanna suck dick so bad and I'd prefer the dick be attached to someone I already know and trust but I know and trust exactly 2 people w bio cocks, neither of whom are viable options for various reasons...and sucking strap is hot but it's not the same :/ 🤷🏻‍♂️ idk why it has to be so difficult to give free head like damn I'm not asking for money or a reciprocal act just let me put ur cock in my mouth and don't make it weird ffs

/end rant

[buckleysz]

buck’s “i guess so” isn’t because he was confusing everything he did for eddie’s attention for tommy’s attention, it’s because he’s fully realizing and acknowledging everything he did was in fact, for tommy’s attention.

he contacted tommy out of his own volition for a tour and was frustrated when eddie whisked him away.

he wanted to be invited to karaoke trivia so he could spend time with tommy too and was disappointed when eddie asked him to watch christopher instead.

he wanted eddie to invite him to basketball so he could see tommy, which yeah, that scene tripped me up too at first, but it’s so obvious upon rewatch now.

it’s a good ol’ bait and switch and tim minear has literally said this yet ppl are still convinced otherwise like bruh. denial is a river in egypt. eddie was the bait, y’all are still chasing and falling for the bait.

[going-to-ikea-for-the-fries]

Bait and Switch. || Scammer!Reader x Victim!Ghost

Rating: M Words: 2.6K~ Pairing: scammer!Reader x victim(but not really)!Ghost CW: phone scams/conning (reader never actually cons him), financial issues?, threats (Simon threatens to find reader), degradation?. other tags: crack, OOC Simon., you/your pronouns (gn!reader but uses a female fake name), obviously fake names (pun/funny), lying, joking, the weirdest meet cute? a/n: this started out as a joke/crack and turned serious/dark at the end? idk how i did this.

Simon Riley would say that being legally dead is the best thing to have happened to him and that's because it allowed him to escape a bunch of responsibilities that regular men have to uphold.

He gets paid covertly, in full, and does not have to pay taxes on his income.

He rented a flat from a sweet ol' lady, who didn't run a background check or ask for a copy of his birth certificate (terrible choice on her part), and he pays her by dropping an envelope of cash in her mailbox on the 1st of every of the month.

He not only is old enough to drink but also sounds and looks old enough as well, which means he doesn't need I.D. to buy alcohol (not that any shops or bars really care enough to check).

He doesn't have a credit card. Or a debit card for that matter. Hell, he doesn't even have a bank account, so he doesn't have to pay maintenance fees.

He doesn't have a smartphone. And up until recently he only had a pager. In fact, the only reason he doesn't have a pager anymore is because it got shot in the crossfire during a mission... so Price forced him to get a jitterbug.

In short... Simon Riley can escape a lot of things (death, taxes, Philip Graves...). But telemarketers and phone scammers are not one of those things.

That's how, on a boring Wednesday afternoon, his new phone ends up ringing, like it had been doing multiple times a week for the last four weeks.

Telemarketers.

He never got telemarketers on his pager.

He hated telemarketers.

But that didn't mean he blocked them-

"What?" He answered as soon as he picked up the phone.

An automated voice came over the call, one of those typical Siri-esque robot voices, delivering a prepared speech: "Congratulations! You've won a free cruise to the Bahamas! To claim your prize, press 1."

Oh, now, this was different. He didn't need to hear more to know it was a scam call. But that didn't mean he was going to hang up.

So Simon pressed key 1, which caused a beep to sound over the call.

"Thank you!" The automated voice continued. "We are now connecting you to a live operator to claim your prize!"

Barely a millisecond went by before you took over the call. "Good afternoon, this is Stella Gormoni with Blissful Blessings Inc.! Who am I speaking with?"

As stereotypical as it is, Simon had expected a different voice on the other end of the line... maybe from a scammer in a foreign country who'd speak heavily-accented English...

But instead, he got a sweet and professional sounding person... It almost made him second-guess the scam that was being pulled on him.

His mind moved quick at coming up with a fake name. Not just a fake one, but a pun one too. "Wanh'a, first name Aiden." He replied, his gruff voice reverberating on the call.

"And how do you spell that?" You asked him politely, and, through your headset, he could hear your keyboard keys clacking in the background.

"That's A-I-D-E-N." He replied as he entered his kitchen, spelling his first, as if that was somehow what was causing you difficulty.

"Uh-huh!" You acknowledged in a peppy tone. "And... your surname?" You asked him.

"W-A-N-H-'-A." He continued spelling as he crossed the small kitchen, hearing your fingers tapping away at your keyboard in his ear.

For a moment, you didn't talk, as if stunned into silence. Had you just picked up on the fact he was trolling you by giving you a name that, phonetically, sounded like 'I Don't Wanna'? Probably. But you hadn't hung up yet.

"Well, congratulations, Mr. Wanh'a, you just won an all-inclusive, two-week long cruise to the Bahamas!" Your peppy tone made him bite his lip to contain a laugh. Well, at least you were dedicated in continuing the scam. "How are you feeling?"

"Very well, and yourself?" Simon asked casually as he leaned himself against the door of his refrigerator, leaning down to look inside and find a snack.

"I'm doing very well, thank you, sir." You replied in a cheerful tone. "So, let's process the information so we can get you your prize, shall we?" You announced in a polite tone.

"Go right on ahead, sweet'eart." He murmured as he grabbed a yogurt and closed the fridge with his hip, sitting at the table and peeling open the lid.

"Well, for us to start, I'm going to need your-"

"Actually, I have a question, before we start." Simon interrupted your speech, cutting off your silver-tongued lies.

You went silent for just a moment before you replied with a sweet little: "Of course, what can I help you with, Mr. Wanh'a?"

"I want to know how exactly I signed up to receive this prize." Simon replied before he placed a spoonful of yogurt in his mouth.

He was trying to accomplish two things by doing this: 1) throw you off your game and make you stammer and stutter, and 2) see how long it took for you to get annoyed, and hang up on him.

"Well, that's what I was going to explain, you see-" You replied, a smile behind your voice, but his trained ears could pick up the slight frustration. It made Simon smile.

"Oh, then, I'm sorry for interrupting you, sweet'art, please go ahead." He replied and gestured with his spoon, as if giving you the stage, unnecessarily so, because you were not there to watch it.

"As I was saying... You were entered automatically into the draw by buying a cereal box of any Kellog's cereal at Tesco. I'm sure you saw a 'Win a free cruise!' sticker on yours?" You asked in a professional and sickly-sweet tone.

He could see right through your scam, he had already done that. You name a famous brand, one people trust, to trick naive or impressionable ones into believing you...

Normal people would tell you they no longer have the cereal box, many of them naive enough to believe your scam despite the fact they hadn't even bought one of those boxes in the first place...

Next, you'd ask for the card used to make the purchase, and some people were dumb enough to read their number aloud to you...

Oh, how he hated scammers. Even more than telemarketers.

"I do remember seeing something like that..." He murmured, his voice deepening, before he popped another spoonful of yogurt past his lips, loudly smacking them right against the receiver of his jitterbug.

"Well, all I need is for you to get the box and read me the code that's imprinted on the inside of the flap!" You announced.

"Well, you see, I would, sweet'art... But my sight isn't so good anymore..." Simon replied. "I'm getting up there in age, you know?" He continued eating his yogurt.

"I understand, sir." You replied. "I'm sorry to hear that. One of my cousins also started losing his vision pretty early." You announced.

Huh.

There was no hint of forced sympathy in your voice.

No, you were being genuine. That was a real story of your life you were telling him...

But you had picked up on the fact he was trolling you, right? So why were you-

"Good thing though, about this system of ours, is that you can just confirm your credit card details so we can double check them and get you that prize!" You had, your tone right back to the scamming silver-tongue you had held until now.

Secretly, Simon had to admit that he admired your commitment to the bit. He couldn't help but smile a bit, amused.

"Oh, of course. Let me just set you down while I get my card." Simon replied and got up, finishing his yogurt and tossing out the plastic container, popping the spoon into the sink, and, after setting down his phone, he walked out of the room.

Simon glanced down at his wrist watch, noting the time on it, then, approached his bedroom door, grabbing his over-the-door pull-up bars, and began doing a quick set, leaving you to 'wait' for him in the kitchen.

After a few sets, he waltzed back into the kitchen and grabbed his phone again. "You still there, da'lin'?" He beckoned in a gruff tone.

You sighed, your politeness sounding slightly more forced. He had kept you waiting for over ten minutes after all. "Yes, sir, I am. Did you get your card, Mr. Wanh'a?"

"Oh, please, enough of this 'sir' thing, Mr. Wanh'a was my mother." He replied, then went silent for just a beat, almost like he could hear your frustration sizzling on he other end.

He was being more and more obvious with his trolling... And it pleased him immensely to imagine a parasite like you seething on the other end of the line, reaching your wits' end.

"You can just call me 'Ai', it's what my friends call me." Simon continued, a smirk forming on his lips. "And we're friends now, right? You're giving me a cruise and everythin'." He added, his tone just as charismatic and peppy as his had been.

"I guess we are!" You replied, returning the overly cheery tone. "So, 'Ai Wanh'a', then?" You asked, but he could hear the mix of frustration and amusement behind your voice.

"Yeah? What d'you want, babygirl?" Simon asked, unable to resist making a more impish remark. And, unfortunately, it had the desired result. It genuinely caused your brain to blue-screen for a moment.

Sure, you'd experienced plenty of people getting angry at you when you attempt to scam them, or even trolling you the same way this bloke was doing but...

It was definitely a first, to have someone flirt with you, even if it was still part of his trolling attempt.

"Your... credit card details?" You ended up adding, your voice still showing the surprise and light meekness that came from him catching you off-guard.

"Oh, of course. Are you ready? It's a very complex number." He replied.

"Ready when you are." You added as you steeled yourself for another smartass response or run around from him.

"Here it is: 1234-5678-9987-6543." He replied, reciting the numbers 1-9 in order and then backward. "And the three digits on the back are: 210."

Oh, he was so fucking annoying! He didn't get to troll you, even if it was pretty amusing of him to do so, then flirt with you, then go back to trolling.

"Sir, if you're not interested in the cruise, just say so. There's no need for this mockery." You replied, your tone serious and professional though you were definitely seething on the inside.

Simon could tell. And he reveled in it. "Oh, but I am interested!" He replied with a smirk behind his voice. "In fact, I want to know more. Will my cabin in the cruise have an ocean view?"

Simon heard you inhale aggressively on the other side of the line, steeling yourself not to hang up on him, or down right berating him on the phone. "Yes, Ai, of course!" He heard your fake cheeriness through your clenched teeth. "It'll be a luxury cabin, actually. Isn't that great?"

"No, it's not that great, actually. I get very seasick, you see?" Simon murmured. "Not to mention, ever since my pet goldfish died, I've just never been able to look at the ocean the same..." He added in a forced pitiful tone.

You went quiet again on the other side and Simon knew he had finally worn you out. He waited to hear the clicking sound of the call falling, but, instead, he just heard you let out a sigh.

"You're very frustrating." You murmured.

"Oh, my, is this how you speak to all your prize winners?" Simon gasped dramatically.

"Shut up... You didn't have to be a smartass, you know?!" You scolded him, as if you had any ground to stand on.

"No, I fear I did, sweet'art." Simon replied as he leaned casually against the kitchen counter. "You called me, interrupted my day, and wasted my time with a scam, of all things. I have every right to be a smartass and have some fun with it." He added, a smug tone obvious in the dulcets of his deep voice.

"Okay? You could've just hung up on me?" You were truly grasping at straws to justify your behaviour. It was comical.

Simon laughed dryly. "And waste an opportunity to annoy a parasitic leech like you?" He quipped.

That stunned you into silence for a moment and you couldn't help but pout a bit.

"Not to mention, what you're doing is illegal, you know that righ'? And I'm military, I could get you arrested for this." He added.

"For that, you'd need to know where I am." You retorted, maybe a bit bratilly. "Besides, I knew you were a soldier."

"And how did you know that?"

"You used the NATO phonetic alphabet while spelling 'your' name'." You replied directly. "Nobody spells 'Aiden' as 'Alpha-India-Delta-Echo-November'."

"So you knew I was military and you still went ahead with your little scam attempt? You're not that bright, are you?" He defied you, which earned him a scoff from your end.

"No, I already knew you were trolling me."

"Oh, so you just wanted to waste my time?"

"That's exactly it, Aiden."

"Sounds to me like you're just looking for trouble, da'lin'." He quipped, his voice having lowered to a gruffer tone.

Rolling your eyes, you scoffed. "Am not. I'm just enjoying myself. You're not the only one that can make jokes at people's expenses."

"No, you really are..." He tutted his tongue and shook his head. "Need I remind you you were trying to scam me, and other people?" He added in a tone that sent a shiver down your spine.

"I know what I was doing."

"Yeah? And are you proud of that? Proud of being a conniving little cunt who tries to take people's hard-earned money?" He taunted you.

You didn't reply. Of course you weren't proud. You still had a conscience! But you wouldn't tell him that. He wouldn't get the satisfaction of hearing you apologise.

"I see. You don't like what I'm saying, so you give me the silent treatment, is that it, sweet'art?" He teased. You could hear the smirk behind his words.

"I wonder if you'd still act like this if you had to face me and had to answer for yourself."

Closing your fists tight, you steel yourself again to gain some edge and reply to him. "I guess you're going to keep wondering then. Because it's not happening."

"You know, it's a shame your little computer spat out my phone number for you to call..." He trailed off.

"And why's that?"

"Because instead of anyone else, you got me... And that's just... really bad luck for you. Any other service member, you would've been fine..." He trailed off.

"What, are you some sort of General-Major-Chief thing, super high up the ladder?" You taunted.

Simon simply chuckled dryly on the other side of the line. "No. But I'm definitely the worst person you could've tried to play with."

"Oh, big scary man, what are you gonna do? Gonna come teach me a lesson?" You added, taunting him some more, clearly feeling comfortable behind your laptop, with your smartphone, sitting at home, comfortable and warm, with your pet at your feet. "Oh, I'm so scared!" You added, feigning fear in a dramatic tone.

"Is that a challenge I'm hearing, sweet'art? Inviting me to come pay you a visit?" Simon asked you, his brow cocking, despite the fact you couldn't see it.

You don't know what it was about the way he spoke. The way he said that. The way his voice sounded.

It sent a shiver down your spine, a cold sweat, like he was, for the first time, not joking around anymore.

"No...?" You murmured in reply, feeling your shoulders tensing in an unpleasant way.

"Yeah... That's an invite I'm hearing..." He disregarded what you said and chuckled. "Maybe I'll come pay you a visit then, hey? How does that sound, little leech?"

[justbeingnamaste]

To the 14,465,519 primary voters who cast their ballots for Biden. You were Duped ! Those who Control your Party knew that Kamala could Never gather your support in sufficient numbers. So the ol' Bait& Switch was set up. Let Joey hang around long enough to get the delegates needed. Then kick him to the curb and Copy and Paste Kamala in the top spot. DEI works for us all the time! You were all Played!

[partypooper1324]

Why Byler needs to be canon (and will be)

I know that this has been said before, but Byler being canon would change so much when it comes to queer love being depicted in movies and TV-shows. If one of Netflix's biggest shows can have an extremely well-written and overall beautiful queer love story between two of the main characters AND in a show that is not being only advertised for a gay audience like, for example, Heart stopper, that means that so many doors would open for queer representation in media. So many new shows would be open to representing queer people correctly (instead of using queer people in shows for brownie points) and normalizing queer characters.

If Byler isn't canon, then that would be tragic for not only Will's character, but also the queer community. My first ever post on my blog was me saying that if Byler isn't canon, then stranger things would be the one of the worst cases of queer baiting. I still stand by this point because if there can be a slide show with over 300 slides proving a queer relationship and it ends up not being canon, then there is no way the directors didn't know what they were doing especially in a show with such a high budget. Queer baiting is devastating for the queer community, but I cannot speak for the queer community as a strait woman so if you would like to speak on any queer baiting issues i'd love to hear your thoughts.

Also, if Byler isn't canon, then Will would have been kidnapped by a monster, bullied, been possessed, fought multiple other monsters, fought with the US military, and then on top of all that, he would confess to his crush who is a man in the 80's and been rejected. Give my man a break and let something good happen to him. This has to be my biggest Byler proof because the Duffer brothers already have queer characters in their shows so I don't see them queer baiting their audience. By the way, they don't even need to queer bait because they already have such a big audience.

Now let's talk about Mike. Again, I've seen people discuss this fact before, but if Byler is not canon, then the Duffer brothers are horrible writers. What explanation could there be for Mike becoming such an asshole to Will for no reason in season 3 and 4 if there could be no internalized homophobia? This character shift would make absolutely no sense because Mike and Will have been best friends for years, so Mike being so awkward when seeing him in the airport would make no sense. He had no problem hugging Will before he moved to California.

In season 3, Will asks to play DnD multiple times and Mike tells him that he's growing up and talking to girls which means he isn't interested in playing "childish games" anymore. He tries to be normal as much as possible this season and to grow up. However, what does little ol' Mike do after Will leaves? He joins a DnD club and he expresses to Lucas that he doesn't have any desire to be popular. This switch would again, make absolutely no sense.

Another big detail is that when Mike goes to California, he goes back to trying to be as normal as possible, as said by Finn Wolfhard. So, when Will is around, he feels the need to be normal and avoid his feelings for Will which he sees as childish (INTERNALIZED HOMOPHOBIA!!!!). There is a video on YouTube by loser sits by herself (go watch it if you haven't already its amazing) where she goes into depth about Mike associating his feelings for Will with being childish, so that would explain why he wants to grow up in season three, but then not having this desire after Will leaves because he doesn't need to because Will is no longer around. If Byler doesn't happen, then what would be the explanation for this switch??

Let me know if you think I missed anything and thanks for coming to my yap session.

[get-sarged]

You're welcome...TO GET SHOT!

Congratulations to Dick Simmons and Dexter Grif for winning a competition they didn't technically qualify for! Next up, I'll be doing single elimination redemption rounds for the losing parties, and the winner of that will compete against our victors in a final showdown of red and yellow! Will our eventual underdog dethrone the maroon and orange duo, or will Grif and Simmons keep their title?

[sonnet009games]

Hey, so, I signed up for wise cracking and cheeky smut, I was not expecting to get heart wallops and sad, tender, broken intimacy >:(

Pls don't stop, I can't wait for more!

The ol' bait and switch. Gets 'em every time.