#they make money either way but the latter makes them more I’d guess

[bitty-bits]

The First and the Last of the Year

And possibly last ever... on Tumblr at least.

Where did I go?

Nowhere in particular... if you've seen my socials all year, that is. This blog/newsletter however, took an extended vacation, not just from a lack of interest (and personal real life stuff getting in the way) but also from a technical standpoint - I really wanted the email newsletter aspect of this to work, but I still couldn't. I was considering using TinyLetter ...until they announced that was shutting down. If I had a nickel for every time a newsletter service shut down out of nowhere I'd have two... you know the rest. And with Tumblr getting worse as the year went by, maintaining this wasn't exactly motivating enough.

That said, it was a less than ideal year for my productivity, inconsistent pace, money issues, the lowest amount of notable dreams to write down on my dream journal to date... you get the idea.

So I can only hope for things to be better. For me to be less lazy... and work not only on stuff I make, but on myself. And I do have a bit of optimism, since a lot has, so let's see a couple of stuff, although everything else you should expect to see in a "rebooted" version of this blog...

Also, Free Palestine!

What I've Been Playing / Watching

So while I haven't fully completed a LOT of things this year, this will be going back to the beginning of the year, essentially, so strap yourselves. (Some of it I'll be grabbing from my media thread that I've made on Twitter as well)

Lucky Star (Finished)

I have posted about Lucky Star in another issue, but I was still in the middle of watching it. Now that I've actually finished watching it (in February) I can say more about it: When it comes to this anime, it was either pretty ahead of its time, or we just have Regressed as a species since then. Maybe the latter.

And sorry folkz, Lucky Star is pro-ship/pro-fic culture and there’s nothing you can do about it. I watched the entire series including the OVA, and while I’m definitely still not sure I’m exactly the "target demographic" what I saw was still very enjoyable. it really just is whatever the fuck and I'm all for it.

At first my kin™ was Konata pretty quickly because of course. That was until Minami showed up and like, she’s basically the weeb version of Ongo Jelly Jamm™!!! I actually can say I got attached to and care about most of the characters, even if just a little.

Like I said in a previous issue, in 2015 I had watched part of an episode of it english dubbed and it didn’t click with me at all. Turns out the dub just sucks as I should’ve expected lol (And I really wasn’t used to segmented "several short stories in one" type anime and stuff to be fair - that and I was dumber too of course so I couldnt properly appreciate the ART........)

My rating is Timotei/10 - and Nichijou is next!

Pizza Tower

Easily the biggest loss for gaming this year was this game not winning "Best Debut Indie" at the Game Awards. Oh well.

I was already highly anticipating this game - having first heard of it when it had a demo at SAGE 2019 I’m glad the game turned out great and is getting the recognition it deserves. I pretty much finished the game in early March. P/10

The Owl House (Finished)

Well... it’s over... for better or worse. I do think they managed to deliver a satisfactory ending all things considered. This was definitely a great cartoon to kick off the new decade.

And of course, fuck Disney as always.

This show got me to break out of, I guess an habit, you could say, or a superstition, or whatever the hell it is, when it came to media with too much ""occultism"" in them. You know the drill. I guess it opened up the little my mind had left that was still a bit closed. Even if it’s mostly involuntary.

But this isn’t even new. As a child I’d actually have an "imaginary friend" that i made (that kinda just Existed, didn’t really "interact" much with them whatsoever cuz i was Dumb™) that their backstory was literally that they were a demon in hell "gone rogue" so they were "not an evil one". Again, I was a kid. I never thought too much about the implications of me thinking about stuff like that already at that age. But it is interesting to think about now.

Anyways, been gay, did witchcraft. ⛥/5

Invader ZIM (Series + Enter The Florpus)

Well I did it. I finally watched the funny hot topic show™ (Finished in late May)

What can I even say about it that hasn’t been already said by everyone else? ...well maybe I have one thing: for some reason I didn’t find That One Episode that people always bring up the MOST disturbing one. I thought the one with a literal character flatlining and Zim being ":)" about it got to me a bit more.

Anyways yeah it’s Cool I liked the characters especially Gaz, and GIR obviously Why Wouldn’t He Be Here. The show can be stupid and end episodes in Whatever The Fuck ways that leave you like "That's it? That's the episode???" but I think that’s one of the unique aspects of it that I Enjoy - also the movie is cool. ☮️>🐔+🍚/10

The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)

So I watched it first when we only had shitty cinema bootleg recordings (that aren’t even that shitty anymore at this point in terms of quality, the Shit comes in the form of godawful intrusive illegal casino ads™ placed.) even though a bit later the raw movie would sometimes be uploaded in full to YouTube with no consequence for days. And at this point I’ve rewatched it plenty of times in proper HD (though only once in English cuz I’ll be honest, the Brazilian dub really is phenomenal really and blows the original "star talent cast" out of the water in my opinion, where it falls short is the voice for Luigi, as I know the dude’s voice too well and he’s just doing his normal voice with an accent, not to mention he’s the brazilian Sonic voice already!!!)

I think Charlie Day is the superior Loogy here but I’d still say the dub is better, not only for the fact there are "real voice actors" cuz you know, that’s Their Job, but also like, Charles Martinet is still in there cuz in case you didn't know, he voiced that jumpman dude’s only line in pretty much every language possible which is absurd/admirable.

It’s a fun movie if not mostly for looking at Mario Things happening that you know and recognize, because otherwise the story is pretty ridiculously basic, though even for "Mario game story" standards it’s definitely refreshing to see Luigi as the one to be rescued... though that Also sucks because Luigi deserved more screentime. The main Toad too. Oh well. Also disappointed that the "wise Toad" in the movie isn’t Toadsworth… or maybe he is but hasn’t aged yet and maybe in a sequel we’ll see him get older and then main Toad becomes Captain Toad. Who knows 🍄/10

Honorable Mentions - Stuff I've Watched That I've Yet To Write My Thoughts About, I Don't Have The Time Now

Spy × Family (Season 1) - Not the type of anime I'd see myself watching, but I was forced roped into it by one of my partners and found it to be VERY enjoyable.

Sparkle On, Raven: The Life of Drillgirl - Charming, shitpost-y, but genuine and fun

The Amazing Digital Circus - A very promising series with unexpected popularity, and equally unexpected high quality Brazilian dub with recognizable talent.

Murder Drones (Season 1 - 6/8) - A series I've been cautiously optimistic about since its pilot - it has endearing, enjoyable characters and settings, but flawed writing and pacing - more on that at a future date.

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off - An amazing take on a series that I'm not so familiar with (haven't seen the movie or read the comics, only really knew that the franchise "exists") and judging from what I've heard from others, it probably is the best take on the main storyline. Especially when it comes to the representation of who turned out to be my fave - Roxie. Watching the live action now is... probably gonna be very weird. Not sure if I want to.

Kunshikter (Күншіктер) - A new, yet very obscure cartoon from Kazakhstan. It's cute. It's for children but at this point I don't think y'all care. It's still ongoing and there are not many episodes so far. I recommend giving it a watch. Now!

Future YouTube Updates

As some of you saw in a xeet tweet from early October I was planning to do something significant on my main YouTube channel which has been stagnant for a while now, only for that to, surprise, not happen. I do have a set goal now: In very early January, a video to explain exactly what happened and what was the video I wanted to make, and... why it's hard for me to get a video like that out in the first place. The short answer (that doesn't actually account for Everything) is autism. The long answer is... stay tuned for it, lol

Song of the Issue

Although this section was supposed to be for sharing music that isn't mine, I thought I'd share snippets of music stuff I've been making since the beginning of 2023 until now, that you can look forward to!

Conclusion

I dunno. All I can say is... happy new year! It's been a tradition to make a stupid amateurish collage at the end of the year with the highlights, but this year there's been... less of them, that I took note of at least. But that won't stop me I think. Once I have that done, I may edit this to include it.

No comment on anything related to Twitter (which I'll never call "X") and the billionaire that happened this year as you all probably already know by now, and by the way you can now follow me on the social butterfly of bluesky. See you next year!

[thedeliverygod]

I need help, please.

Essentially back in 2021 when I filed for bankruptcy I used a feature my payroll for my company offers which is to “borrow” money from your following paycheck, I guess like a pay advance. I borrowed the full $500 amount in order to pay my court fees/lawyer fees so that I wouldn’t have to burden my dad.

I figured once my bankruptcy went through and I was no longer paying credit card bills every month, I could handle being short a paycheck a month or two while I bounced back. I tried my best, but life kept getting in the way. I had car problems come up, I had health problems come up. At my bankruptcy hearing in December they decided they wanted me to pay 2 more installments of the court fees early so that I wouldn’t have to go back a second time (I also had to hide my cell phone in the bush outside because they did not provide lockers and I had to worry about it getting stolen the whole time because I have no family/friends in the area to drive and drop me off but that’s another story).

Then my rent went up another $100 and inflation struck everything but especially groceries. I needed every drop of that $500 + the remainder of my paycheck in order to make sure everything got paid.

I won’t say I’ve been perfect and haven’t made unnecessary purchases. It’s a goddamn depressing world and I am trying to keep myself sane with little things.

I’ve sold a lot of “unnecessary” things in my life. Old video games and stuffed animals. Old movies. Old books. I tried to sell cosplays but I left them up on eBay for months with no bites.

I can go to the used book store maybe one or two more times with some things but I think that’s about all I can manage. I’m considering selling some of my Kingdom Hearts figure collection but I’d have to know I’d get a fair price of what they’re actually worth since a fair amount aren’t made anymore. But yeah, the bookstore offers me meager amounts for things so it I only helps so much. For instance I sold my ps3, some books, a Mai sakurajima figure and I think I got like $38 and a few dollars of store credit. Aka it helps but not much. I have an old diamond necklace from my ex boyfriend I’ve considered pawning but I don’t know if that would get me much either.

My mom just got home from a stint at the hospital; she’s relatively okay now but she was in the ICU for an infection, kidney damage and low blood pressure. The latter 2 were mainly from being dehydrated in combo with the infection so she’s mostly better in that regard at least enough to go home. She’s on disability and her husband is retired so they scrape by. My dad has been sick and not working for several months now with leg issues I don’t really know much about because he’s been very vague with me and won’t let me visit.

My parents can’t help me and I can’t help them. It’s been one of the most frustrating feelings on earth.

All in all it’s 4 am, almost 5 am and I’m asking for help because I don’t know what else to do. I’m ashamed of myself and I just am so lost.

Because of the rising costs of everything, I’ve often been over drafting now. I don’t know if I’ve just gotten lucky or what but my bank didn’t hit me with overdraft fees that is until today. I got several right at the same time I deposited money and I’m left with under $40.

I’m still getting my halved paycheck so rent is priority with that and then hopefully one or two bills. But I need groceries somewhere in there. There’s a prescription I need to pick up. I have an overdue medical bill that I’ve pushed aside already in lieu of utilities. And I just am so overwhelmed. Thankfully my cat is well stocked in all his food thanks to my best friend ordering him a Goliath sized bag of dry food and me buying wet food earlier than I needed to so there is that positive.

TLDR: If anyone can donate anything so I can get groceries I’d be so grateful. If I could somehow get to $500 to make it so I don’t have to borrow money for my next paycheck I’d be eternally grateful but I feel like that’s asking too much.

I don’t feel like my situation is bad enough for a gofundme but I do have a ko-fi which I’ll link at the bottom. I am 100% going to be job searching for better pay soon but I have a surgery this month and I need to not mess with my insurance just yet.

I’d gladly write drabbles etc if you would like as a thank you gift but I unfortunately don’t have much else to give. I wish I could draw so I could take commissions.

If you can’t afford to donate, I totally get it. But also if you could reblog and maybe it’ll find it’s way to someone who can? Thank you either way.

I’m sorry if I rambled on too much but my mind is racing. I just want to be able to get back on my feet so once I can help myself I can maybe help my family.

[rwbyremnants]

WARNINGS: not much, just sexy talk and some masturbation

Sorry about the long wait and then this chapter being super short. I'll try to get the next one out sooner I promise.

=Chapter 4: Pyrrha

This was certainly not how Pyrrha Nikos saw this training session going. 

“O-oh,” Yang said in an awkward tone of voice as she turned to look at the judgmental expression of Weiss Schnee. They all felt more than a little uncomfortable being caught in the act, but did it have to be one of the few people they had gotten into an argument with since beginning their journey to slutdom? “H-hey! Fancy meeting you here!”

“Don’t stop on my account.” The white-haired bombshell had a towel wrapped around her curvy frame and a caddy similar to Nora’s in her hand, though at present her attention had completely shifted away from her own bathing ritual. “Unless you already climaxed - which it seems like you might have.”

“Yep!” Thunder Thighs volunteered immediately, sounding as if Winter had merely asked if she finished what book she was reading lately. “They were all wound up and it got me wound up, and, well, ya know.”

“None of my business, I suppose. I’ll come back another time.”

Breaking away from the other three, Pyrrha groaned at the shifting of their organs as she managed to keep from stumbling. “No, no, don’t be silly! Our lewdness shouldn’t prevent you from getting ready to dance. We will, um… we’ll go back to showering, and stop bothering you.”

“I meant it when I said it’s none of my business; you have every right to do what you want to do, even if this may not have been the best place to do it.” Rolling her eyes, she moved toward one of the nearest shower stalls. “I’m guessing you’ll be the next to fall victim to Salem’s extracurricular opportunity.”

“Psh,” Thunder Thighs announced as she paced back over to her own shower. Now that they all climaxed and Pyrrha had pulled away, she had no reason to linger. “Come on, I’m not that desperate for money! Plus, I only do this with people I like.”

“Hmm, a likely story. You’ve scarcely met those three and you ‘like’ them enough to do that?”

“Yeah! I mean, all we did was a little thigh-action!”

“Wait, wait,” Yang interrupted as Blake pulled away. Pyrrha thought she could have imagined it, but the raven-haired girl looked sad to have to part from her best friend. “What the hell are you two talkin’ about?”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Nora chuckled as she washed up all over again, now that it had become necessary.

“That didn’t sound like ‘nothing’. It sounded like a way to make some cash - which is why we’re all here.”

Winter sighed as she took off her towel and hung it on a peg nearby. Pyrrha couldn’t help glancing along her body; her curves were flawless, and there was clearly some muscle tone beneath the soft, plump areas. She just barely caught a glimpse of a decently-sized endowment - before she tore her eyes away, deciding this was a good time to start washing up herself.

“I was joking. The three of you are new, and young; you don’t have any business pursuing that kind of ‘business opportunity’.”

For a moment, Yang just scoffed and looked offended. But it was Blake who spoke up: “Are you talking about… whoring? Is there actual illegal whoring going on in this-”

“Shhh!” both Winter and Nora hissed. It was the latter who said, “You wanna get us all fired? I mean, Salem is this whole club; you get her nabbed by the fuzz, none of us will be working here anymore, that’s for sure!”

“That isn’t entirely true,” Winter admitted begrudgingly as she began to soap up. “But not technically false, either. I’d say it behooves you not to mention this to anyone. Glynda and Tiger Queen turn a blind eye to Salem’s side business, and try not to find out any more than they already know; in fact, I’d be unsurprised to find out Glynda actually doesn’t know anything. They might be able to keep this club going even if Salem got herself arrested, but we would still be out of work for weeks while the investigation was conducted. Just… don’t call undue attention and our positions are secure.”

“Our positions as facilitators of a brothel?” Blake asked baldly. “That doesn’t sound very poggers, Miss Schnee. I mean, sex work shouldn’t be as stigmatized as it is, or illegal, but for now it very much is. Besides, how do we know she’s not running some kind of human trafficking ring out of this place?”

“As I said, that’s up to you and how much you want to have a high-paying job. Ordinarily, I would say exposing a potential slave trade would be worth destroying this entire place… but I have seen no evidence of anything like that. No unknown girls come in, no known girls vanish. It’s just good old-fashioned prostitution.”

“Oh, is it?”

Though all of them were surprised and turned to look at the new voice, none of them were nearly as shocked and dismayed as Winter to see it was her younger sister standing in the doorway. Weiss was fully clothed, and clearly ready to leave, but didn’t seem to have abandoned the locker room just yet.

“Weiss!” Winter hissed, glancing around at the others. “What… why are you here?”

“I work here now. Remember?” Glancing over at the others, she shrugged and looked her sister in the eyes. “Go on - you were just telling us about yet another valuable employment opportunity in which we spread our legs for some creepy old pervs? Or are we spreading their legs?”

While curling her lip in very clear annoyance at the way her little sister was handling this, she growled, “Sometimes one, sometimes the other. Sometimes both. But as I said, I don’t think-”

“Oh, why don’t we sign up? That sounds so fun! We’ll braid each other’s hair, pick out each other’s condoms - oh! And drive each other to the clinic when we all get the clap!”

“Weiss, you are being childish, as usual,” Winter sighed with a roll of her eyes.

“How am I the childish one when I’m being more responsible than-”

“Let’s do it!” 

Most of them looked completely shocked to see it was Blake who had spoken up. Blake included. She slapped a hand over her mouth as if that could shield her from backlash, but she seemed to have already accepted that was futile.

“Uhhh… Blake, you feeling okay?” Yang asked her with a raised eyebrow.

“You can’t be serious!” It was Weiss that hissed those words, even though she had also been the one to start this ball rolling in order to taunt her sister. “You want to become a prostitute?! No, no, this is absolutely not what we signed up for!”

“Really isn’t,” Yang scoffed with a shake of her blonde head. “Like, I can’t pretend I don’t like a good fuck as much as the next girl, but not with strangers.”

“And not for money,” Weiss scoffed. When Yang shrugged, her eyes widened even more. “WHAT?!”

“Hey, it ain’t the money I have a problem with. Sue me! I just think I might draw the line at dancing, which I’m already not a hundred percent about doing anyway.”

With a bashful shrug, Blake went on, “Look, I know… it sounds pretty jank. Not denying that. I just think I’d be open to finding out how much it pays. If we wanna get the most out of this job, then this sure as hell is one way to do that.”

The room was silent for a long moment. Pyrrha still couldn’t believe what she was hearing, but Blake was making a certain kind of sense; most of them had initially stated that there wasn’t all that much difference between exotic dancing and prostitution. Furthermore, Blake and Yang had seemed the most open to trying it out - and it was interesting that Yang, the one who had been the most sexually active out of the five of them, was just as uncertain as Weiss. 

“I… support any of you who would want to try that,” Pyrrha began delicately. “I’m not sure I would be able to… to be that casual with my body, with complete strangers.”

“Didn’t look like you were a minute ago,” Thunder Thighs put in with a giggle. When Yang glared at her, she shrugged and said, “What? I’m just saying, there ain’t that much difference; I haven’t gone for the side gig because to be honest, I’ve been working here a while and making good money. Don’t need to. But I wouldn’t be that against upping the stakes if, like, I suddenly needed a big wad of cash. Like if one of my friends needed bail money! Y’know, something like that.”

It was actually Winter who responded, even though she had mostly remained silent during their discussion. “Do you have a lot of friends who often need bail money?”

“Uhhhh, I plead the fifth.”

“Oh, come on, this is ludicrous,” Weiss sighed with a shake of her head. “You guys aren’t going to start having sex for money - even if that’s a real thing that goes on here. It’s illegal! I, for one, am not sure I’m comfortable continuing to dance in an establishment that allows that kind of underground activity to go on.”

“Oh, lighten up, you prude,” Yang snapped at her. “Like, you don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable with - that’s fine. But can you not police other people’s actions like somebody put you in charge?”

For a few seconds, Weiss just stood there with her mouth agape. Then she finally squeaked, “Excuse me?! I… how dare you speak to me that way! I’m just trying to look out for everyone’s wellbeing - including those who might be exploited into sexual slavery!”

“Slavery? Would you be interested in that?”

Yet another voice had joined theirs. This time, Pyrrha didn’t recognize the face; this woman was older than most of the dancers by at least a decade, and had skin so pale it was practically translucent. Though she was wearing what looked to be a dark robe from some kind of ancient druidic temple, it was easy to tell she had a voluptuous figure beneath the cloak. She also had pale lavender hair tied up into several loops that stuck out from her head in multiple directions; it was a very youthful cut for such a mature woman.

“What?” was all Weiss could manage, since she was as thrown by this woman’s sudden appearance as anyone.

“Being my new pet,” the intense interloper purred as she reached down to grip Weiss’s chin - and she didn’t seem to be too terribly gentle about it. The younger Schnee sister whimpered in instinctive fear. “You sounded as if you were interested.”

“I-I… um… no?” Finally getting a grip on herself, Weiss cleared her throat - though Pyrrha could definitely see a blush forming on her cheeks. “No, y-you misunderstand; I was merely… we were discussing your, um, other business opportunity, and I was saying…”

Winter attempted to intercede - though her tone was much more deferential than usual. “I’m sorry, Salem. My sister often speaks out of turn.”

Salem. Of course this was her; who else could be in charge of the entire sinful establishment? A chill ran down Pyrrha’s spine as she took in the effect this woman was having on all of them, and just her general appearance. Not only was she an uncommon beauty, but clearly she wasn’t someone to be trifled with.

“Some people find happiness in slavery,” the forbidding entrepreneur offered with a shrug as she finally released Weiss’s chin. Immediately, she shot away from Salem and rubbed at her chin as if to make sure she hadn’t been burned. “Though I would feel… unsure about inviting such fresh meat into that hypothetical venture. You’re too new to have the stomach for anything like that; I typically only welcome my girls who have been with me for a few months, and even then… I don’t go around asking.”

Blake raised an eyebrow. “Hypothetical? Ma’am, are you… saying that you haven’t started the sex trafficking?”

“There will never be any trafficking,” she snapped - and it was shocking how much colder and more stern her tone was. She made Glynda and Cinder sound like… well, like Nora. “Willing participants are all I am interested in. Do I make myself clear?”

As they all nodded, Pyrrha decided to speak up. She felt very nervous, but knew if they didn’t get this conversation moving, it was only going to stretch on for yet longer - and she wanted it to be over with already.

“So… this side-business of yours. I assume there are some kind of protections in place for your… employees?”

“There is no side business,” she said with a coy smile. “However… let’s say that, hypothetically, there is a free seminar, available to the entertainment specialists here at Club Futopia. On the topic of sensuality. Should any of you choose to attend, you will learn how to bring men to their knees - or women, or nonbinaries, if you are so inclined.”

"I see. And if we attend this seminar, would we be required to… continue it?"

"You mean, if in the event you fail to live up to expectations, or decide to stop attending, will you still have jobs dancing at the Club?" When a few of them nodded, Salem shrugged. "Of course. As long as you still know the steps, and don't misbehave, the stage is all yours."

That was pretty open-ended: "misbehave". But Pyrrha didn't intend to do anything of the sort at any point. "Very well. I… well, not to speak for everyone, but we'll think it over."

The older woman's smile was as cryptic as ever. "Excellent. Again, I can’t guarantee I won’t change my mind due to your statuses as neophytes, but I suppose we shall see. On that note, I wish you girls a good evening." Then she whirled and stalked away, her robe somehow fluttering despite the absence of any kind of breeze.

All five of the newbies looked at each other. At some point, Ruby had joined in the conversation as a silent observer; despite being barely an adult, she didn’t look nearly as anxious as Weiss, or as Pyrrha felt down deep in the pit of her stomach. Just what had they all gotten themselves into?

“Well that was awkward,” Thunder Thighs chuckled as she finished rinsing off and gathered her belongings. “Thanks for the good time, guys! We’ll have to do it again sometime!”

Pyrrha let out a squeak when she felt her ass get swatted by the dancer on her way out of the showers. This place was definitely going to drive her insane.

------------------------------------------------

    “You really aren’t disgusted by the idea?”

Pyrrha could just barely see Yang shrug in her phone screen. Not just because Yang was holding her own device so close, but because her waves of blonde hair mostly covered the gesture.

“I dunno, we’ve had all weekend to think about it now, and… I kinda don’t think it’s a big deal.”

“Well… I suppose that’s true,” Pyrrha sighed as she curled up a little tighter on the couch. She was glad her mother was out with her new friends; otherwise, she would have been terrified that she might walk in and overhear this conversation. “We are already working at a red light establishment.”

Yang laughed as she flopped back on her bed, finished putting her laundry away at last. It was amazing that she could do all that while holding the phone - almost as if she had a built-in ability to only need one arm to get by. “Do people say that? ‘Red light establishment’? Could just say it’s a whorehouse.”

“W-well… it isn’t technically. It seems that the focus of the work really is the dancing; this is a recent venture.”

“Yeah, I guess. Anyway, we’re gonna get called sluts by ignorant people already; might as well earn a little more money.”

“It really doesn’t bother you?” she repeated meekly. “That you’ll be sleeping with strange men?”

Now, Yang did look a little less self-assured. “Well… it’s not like this is the first time. But the other times, I had a little more input into which guys and girls I wanted to bang. So I guess I’m just trying to remind myself that I get money, and I also get laid; even if I might not get to choose, hey, it’ll still be fun. Probably.”

“Right, that is a compelling argument.”

“Pyrrha?”

“Yes?”

“Um…” The blonde was fidgeting a lot more than she remembered seeing her. “So the showers…”

Here it was. Pyrrha had been dreading this discussion, but she found she was at least grateful they managed to avoid it for a little while. “The showers. We… well, we were closer than we expected, for a minute there.”

“Right? Wasn’t that crazy?!” They both chuckled for a few seconds before Yang continued, “I can’t stop thinking about it. Like, I know nothing that big happened, but…”

“No, it was significant. Our… well, our anatomy touched,” she breathed, feeling her cheeks turning warmer. “And I felt Nora’s- sorry, Thunder Thighs, between my own thighs.”

“Right, right. And, um… all that was hot. Blake being so close to my ass? Also hot. But um… I guess…”

When she never finished, Pyrrha prompted, “You guess what?”

“I guess I really… liked feeling Blake there. Not saying I’m into her!” she added in a rush, violet eyes widening. “She’s my best friend, I’m… I really don’t think it’d be cool if I was. But I was kinda shocked at myself. How much I wanted her there, and how good it felt when she was…”

“So…” She thought her words over, hoping to choose the most delicate ones. “So you’re… concerned that you may have developed an attraction?”

“That’s just it.” Yang sat up again with a slight grunt. “Before that, I would have said I thought she was really cute, but we didn’t think about each other that way. Just bee-eff-effs. The thing is… I’ve been kinda into how sexy she is for a while now.”

“You have?!”

“Shh!” she added, glancing around wildly. “I don’t want Rubes to overhear, or she might blab; not on purpose, she just sometimes shoots her mouth off without thinking!”

“Sorry,” Pyrrha apologized with a duck of her head.

“It’s fine. But yeah, uh, I have. Like it doesn’t mean I’d ask her out; she’s my bestie. Just finding it hard to shake off that my bestie is super fucking fine.”

“Ah. Especially after…” Yang nodded, and she sighed as she rolled over onto her side. “I’m sorry. That sounds very difficult to endure.”

“Naw, I mean, it’s whatever. It’s not like we’re not all still friends, y’know? And you and me are cool even after I did a little jerking.”

Pyrrha felt a little pulse of interest between her legs when Yang brought that up yet again. Mostly, she was able to ignore it, but the more often her mind was taken back to that brief flash of passion between them and two of their fellow employees, the harder it became to suppress a resurgence.

“Aren’t we?”

“What?” Only now did she realized that Yang had been waiting for her to confirm. “O-oh- yes, we’re fine.”

The smirk that spread across the blonde’s features should have been illegal. “You’re not warm for my form all of a sudden, are ya? Just because we had our bananas in a bunch?”

“No, of course not!” Though her blush likely gave her way. “I… well, it was very enjoyable, like you said; I’m just… remembering, that’s all. Nothing deeper.”

“Okay, okay,” Yang giggled. “I mean, I’m in the same boat; I’m never gonna think about you or Blake the same way again. Nora, too, a little.”

“Thunder Thighs. We’re supposed to be learning to use our stage names.”

“Right, right. Anyway… if you ever wanna bump uglies again, I’m game. Not as like…” She shrugged again, clearly trying to come up with the right words. “I’m not trying to come onto you, or ask you out or anything like that. No way. Just saying, it was fun, and if you wanted to… have fun again…”

“I-it’s alright,” Pyrrha reassured her with a smile. Privately, she couldn’t help thinking it was cute to see the normally-confident Yang tripping over her words to make sure she wasn’t offending her. “I may take you up on that, if I decide… well, that I’m interested in that sort of arrangement. Which I may be, I may not be.”

Her friend nodded a few times, smiling back. “That’s cool. I mean, you’re super hot - and you have like, the biggest dick ever. Kinda hard not to wanna play with it again.”

“Stoooop,” she murmured bashfully, thighs twitching anxiously in a vain attempt to abate her growing needs.

"What?? It's true, man!" Yang glanced over her shoulder, then back at her phone with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, gotta go help get dinner started. But yeah, I'm glad we touched base about this whole thing; I didn't mind it at all, but I guess it was pretty unusual."

"Very unusual for me. Have a good dinner, Yang."

"Thanks! See ya!"

Then Pyrrha was alone with her thoughts. She didn't want to be, because they were so chaotic of late, but maybe the situation wasn't nearly as terrible as she kept thinking of it in her mind. So what if they were exotic dancers now? So what if they took that yet further, and briefly dabbled in being prostitutes? Maybe it wasn't what their parents would want for them, or they even wanted for themselves, but they could earn a lot of money in a short amount of time - which not only might cover certain surgeries, but also pay for their tuition, living expenses. She herself knew she could really infuse her stock portfolio with some much-needed seed money. The benefits seemed to outweigh the sacrifices.

And as the would-be Olympian took out her rigid cock and began to jerk it hard, wanting to get her condition taken care of as quickly as possible, she reminded herself that most of the things she was afraid of experiencing might wind up feeling a lot better than she feared.

[gremoria411]

Another Gundam SEED Freedom trailer. How lovely.

I’ll fully admit that I watched the dub for Seed, so I don’t recognise the voice at the start there, but consensus seems to be that it’s Durandal? Shinn, Luminaria and Athrun are all confirmed to be in the new movie, with Athrun seems to be off doing his own thing compared to the rest of them. At a guess, I’d guess that Kira and his team seem to be operating under Orb’s authority, since they seem to be saluting a lot? They do seem to be reporting to a member of Orb nobility (the little kid in the green throne). Then again, it could be that Terminal’s just developed into the Cosmic Era’s answer to Celestial Being, of 00 fame. So maybe Athrun’s outside the system? I’d put money down on him and Kira coming into conflict again, especially since the latter half of the trailer seems to be playing up that Kira’s going to do something foolish, and Athrun lacking a non-pilot uniform at present.

It seems like the plot’s going to involve Durandal’s legacy? Though honestly it seems equally possible that it’ll just be brought up offhandedly. The PLANT Supreme council seems to have a new meeting place, with Lacus present at a meeting, so I imagine the focus’ll be more on them.

(Honestly this was the easiest reference image I could find for the characters) So, character wise we’ve a mix of new and old. Agnes Gieberath is the main new one, it seems (and honestly given her prominence I’d expect her to have a new Gundam along with Kira, Shinn, Athrun and presumably Lunamaria). Honestly the only thing we know about her is that she exists, nothing on personality or backstory at this point, but she’s likely one to watch. Yzak and Dearka are back, which is nice (I’m quite fond of post-character-development Yzak). We have the three Dom Trooper Pilots on the end that were essentially Lacus’ muscle in Seed Destiny. I fully expect them to either have character development or be killed off (Hilda might survive). That just leaves the final three new characters of Toyah Mashima, Albert Heinlein and Alexi Konoe. I don’t have much to say on the latter two, save that Konoe gives me a traitor vibe and if Heinlein doesn’t have something close to a German accent in the dub then I’ll be severely disappointed. But Toyah Mashima?

My, he seems to have a very familiar design. A small blonde kid that seems to resemble Mu La Flaga? Hmmm, sure that’s not gonna be relevant in any way. Probably nothing.

Still no word on the Gundam’s though. They wouldn’t be hiding them this much if they weren’t new in some way, so I’m betting they’re waiting until the model kits come up for order.

I will be honest, it’s slightly weirding me out how they’ve changed all the female characters lip designs though. It’s a very small change, but it just makes Lacus’ pout in the trailer unintentionally parodic. It’s not a problem as such, but all the male characters still have the old designs, so it just seems to differentiate them for no real reason. Eh, I’m sure I’ll get over it.

[anthonybialy]

Doom Destined to Win

It’s going to suck.  There’s one certainty from an election where wisdom will lose.  The quality of each lamentable offering makes it almost not worth voting, although you still should for the self-righteous sticker silently boasting alleged civic pride and the chance to write in your favorite Voltron pilot.

You get your pick of the New York City populist or the Bay Area pinko.  Knowing who’s going to spend what was yours will not offer needed relief.  Unwieldy-government goons are as obnoxious as expected.  Frittered funds are either pilfered directly or borrowed.  The latter only seems like a clever trick.

Promising to not halt the mandatory pittance program summarizes the scenario’s emptiness.  Both pretend that either side has any desire to stop buying votes with Social Security payments.  Legal laundering that’s foreordained to bankrupt us will continue, so don’t worry.  There’s no option for those who, say, would rather keep their money and stick it in a mutual fund instead of being forced to put it in a federal lockbox with no lock or bottom.

Each has been president, sort of.  Experience isn’t helpful for the inept.  Kamala would change to holding the title officially after horrifyingly being the highest-ranked official behind Grampy Mushbrain.  She’s done some of the tasks.  To be fair, she’s not good at any of them.  Meanwhile, Trump was determined to remain an outsider and governed like it.

A figurative argument about something that’s already happened sums up our times in a way debaters don’t grasp.  The whole reason to promote from within is to maintain success, which is another reason why Democrats hate the private sector.  Kamala assures us she’ll change everything while maintaining everything.  Change paired with continuity is no more preposterous than getting rich by printing more money.

Every era features humans at their stupidest.  But the current wretched days are truly the worst because we’re allegedly so advanced.  Use the glowing pocket rectangle everyone has at hand that can access every fact ever to reinforce a baseless conspiracy.

Suckers worry about advertising because they believe any preposterous claim made by a paid agency will be accepted as truth.  This is an election that proves a frightening number of millions believe what their beloved politicians say.  Being ruled by memes has made us as sharp as expected.

The uselessness of predictions won’t stop an endless flood of them, as everyone enjoys smugly announcing about the one they got right.  Forget the countless errors about proclaiming what’s next, as newsworthiness is based in exceptions.  A lucky guess on what’s nearly a coin flip is especially unnecessary when most bills are worthless.  Neither miserable faction of aspiring gloaters can appreciate that humans need to focus on what should happen rather than what will.

The sole guarantee is that the minions of whichever of these appalling people will boss us around through early 2029 will use the win itself as evidence of success.  That’s another reason why politics doesn’t resemble anything useful.

We’re screwed either way.  Isn’t that comforting?  Accepting fate is crucial to dealing with how stupidly awful this prison planet is.  The sole advantage of a hideous choice is learning what can’t be changed.  Of course, inevitability doesn’t excuse the decisions that brought us to the apocalypse’s edge.  Why does fate always bedevil idiots who make regrettable decisions?

Time isn’t the only thing ticking ahead.  The present debt crisis is about to cross over into catastrophe status.  I’d feel bad for who’s going to be in charge if they both weren’t into furiously spending what’s not theirs.  We won’t have to do anything to default, which only sounds appealing to the lazy.  Math paired with reality will make foolishness pay.  

Four more years sounds like a threat.  It will be at least that long before an adult can attempt to clean up the mess made by eternal toddlers.  The entirely dire prospect is not a matter of age.  The relatively youthful 60-year-old and the real estate goon from the ‘80s are both petulant children.  Look at where they think money comes from for proof.

A race for phonies even by political standards is based in each claiming the other is awful.  I guess they’re each right.  Pretending one is capable of preserving the nation by defeating the ogre doesn’t work out.  Each claims the foe is out to destroy the nation, and who are you to argue?  Both cases are semi-true, although those making them merely despise the other side solely because it’s the other side.

Each unpalatable potential violator of constitutional limits lusts after abusing power in a preferred way.  A future executive is not going to do anything remarkable like announcing plans to fix existence.  Who would give such valuable information away?  You only need to know that whoever triumphs will either install joy or make America great again.  Some slogans represent candidacies inadvertently.

Sensible humans coping with the overwhelming sense of dread know that the consequences of naughtiness are imminent.  Waiting for election results feels like like Christmas Eve during the year when you dropped napalm on the hobo encampment.  Santa’s going to use your coal to commit arson with your tree.

Voting inspires broader thinking, like wondering what we did that was so naughty to deserve an election this devastating.  This latest dreadful faceoff should spur motivation to finally stop doing it.  In this case, there’s nobody else to blame but each other.  Pointing fingers offers catharsis.  Much of it is unearned.  Only some of us deserve collective guilt, which is the sole upside for those not seeking comfort in a polling place booth.

[freyayuki]

Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia Costumes Part 2

The Ally Costume Token Exchange shop just became available in the Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia (DFFOO) mobile game.

This shop contains all the costumes that have been released in the English or Global version of DFFOO.

Normally, you need to pay real money in order to get and be able to equip these costumes. But the game is planning to give players 2 Ally Costume Tokens for free. You can use this Token to exchange for a costume from the shop.

Sadly, the reason why we’re getting these Tokens for free is because DFFOO just announced that it will discontinue or end its service on February 29, 2024.

I talk more about that in another post, but that announcement came as a shock. Really wish that news wasn’t true. Wish the game wasn’t ending at all.

Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia Costumes List

Anyway, I talk more about this in another post but I already picked and got my 1st costume. Ended up choosing the 1st costume of Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII (#ad). Now I need to figure out which costume to pick with my 2nd Ally Costume Token.

Unfortunately, at the moment, I still have no idea which costume to pick. There are a lot of choices, and there are lots of costumes that I’d love to be able to have. I talk more about this in another post, but it’s really too bad that we can’t get them all even with the game ending soon.

So now gonna have to go through all the available costumes then try to decide which one to pick. Hopefully, I’ll be able to make a decision soon. Want to be able to make use of these costumes as much as possible before the game ends.

Anyway, below is a list of all the costumes that are available in the Global or English version of DFFOO.

Aeris or Aerith Gainsborough from Final Fantasy VII

Aeris or Aerith Gainsborough from Final Fantasy VII has 2 costumes - Aerith's Extra Costume 1 and Aerith's Extra Costume 2.

I like Aerith's costumes better than her default outfit. If I have to choose between her 2 costumes, then I'll go with her 2nd one. That red dress looks really nice.

So Aerith's 1st costume is out but her 2nd one is in.

Here are some more screenshots of Aerith's costumes:

Cloud of Darkness from Final Fantasy III

Cloud of Darkness from Final Fantasy III has 1 costume.

Don't really use the Cloud of Darkness all that much so this costume's out.

Dark Knight Cecil Harvey from Final Fantasy IV

Dark Knight Cecil Harvey from Final Fantasy IV has 1 costume.

Not really all that fond of this costume and I don't use Dark Knight Cecil all that much either so this one's out too.

Paladin Cecil Harvey from Final Fantasy IV

Paladin Cecil Harvey from Final Fantasy IV has 1 costume.

The costume and his default outfit look pretty similar but I think I actually prefer the latter so this one's out.

Edge Geraldine from Final Fantasy IV

Edge Geraldine from Final Fantasy IV has 1 costume.

Not that fond of this costume and don't use Edge much at all so this one's out.

Kain Highwind from Final Fantasy IV

Kain Highwind from Final Fantasy IV has 2 costumes.

What I like about Kain's costumes is that they let you see his face.

But not all that fond of the outfits themselves so both are out.

Rosa Joanna Farrell from Final Fantasy IV

Rosa Joanna Farrell from Final Fantasy IV has 2 costumes.

The 1st one looks kinda similar to her default outfit, but if I have to choose between those 2, then I'd pick her default outfit.

Rosa's 2nd costume looks way better than either of her other outfits though.

I do like Rosa well enough, and she's fully built so I also use her often enough, so I guess for now her 2nd costume is in but her 1st one is out.

Here are some more screenshots of Rosa's 2nd costume:

Ceodore Harvey from Final Fantasy IV

Ceodore Harvey from Final Fantasy IV has 1 costume.

Not really fond of this costume and I don't use Ceodore much so this one's out.

Faris Scherwiz (Sarisa Scherwil Tycoon) from Final Fantasy V

Faris Scherwiz (Sarisa Scherwil Tycoon) from Final Fantasy V has 1 costume.

I like Faris's costume but unfortunately, she doesn't have her own Burst or BT weapon in the English or Global version of the game so won't be able to use her much, which is why this one's out.

And that’s it for now. There are a lot more costumes to go through but have to continue in another post because already nearing the max limit of 30 pics per post in this one.

Conclusion

So what about you? What do you think about the news that DFFOO is ending its service on February 29, 2024? What do you think about the costumes in this game? Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions by leaving a comment below or by reblogging or replying to this post.

Notes:

screenshots are from my Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia game account

[thatonceandfutureprat]

Not people saying ‘but why did musk buy Twitter? It’s free to use!’

If a product or service is free to use…YOU, and the details you share with a product or service, are the product. YOU are the one ads get targeted at, those ads are what makes money and you are part of an audience that like the product ergo you’ll click on the ad to buy the thing.

Very little about social media like Twitter or Meta products is truly free.

[callmelinamfsnow]

Four Days Later

Warnings: (Kind of) spoilers for TUA S3 Word Count; 2,100+

Five Hargreeves x Reader

Summary: Five figures out how to get a phone and makes it his mission to make you smile and blush to death before your date. Ch. 1: “How Old Are You?” Ch. 2: The Beginning of The Date

A/N:This story ended up getting way too long so I’m just making their date another part. This is also like 25% texts.

“Hi is this (Y/N)?”

“Yes, who’s this?”

“It’s Five from the diner”

“Oh I was wondering when you were going to text me.

Thought you’d just conned me out of my money and ran”

“I’d be an idiot to do that”

(Y/N) smiled at that text, biting her lip as she thought of something to reply. It’d been four of five days since the day at the Diner, and each day both of them grew a bit more anxious to talk to the other. Five felt like he was going to go crazy.

He’d discovered some keys in his coat pocket when he left the Diner which led him to a small townhouse walking distance from there. He got lucky that he got there just as it had started to rain.

‘I wonder if she likes the rain’

He took off his suit jacket and put it on the hook behind the door. Slowly making his way through the home, taking in the plain design and simple furniture. The kitchen was clean. A few pieces of fruit in a fruit bowl on the counter along with a coffee maker and a small coffee station.

‘Cute’

He unbuttoned his vest as he made his way to the upstairs, passing by an open bathroom before walking into the master bedroom. Slipping his vest off he let out a “huh” and dropped it onto the bed, going to undo his tie next. The room seemed bigger than it really was. Maybe it was the plain white walls with no decorations. He had nightstands on either side of his bed. A tall dresser next to his door. A small chair in the corner of his room with a simple lamp next to it.

He dropped his tie on the bed and went to take off his shirt next as he walked into the bathroom. “Holy shit” he mumbled as he got a good look. The shower with the deep tub took up most of the room, but he didn’t complain. Who needs all that space to take a shit? He opened one door that led to a small space for the toilet, losing interest and closing it quickly. He opened the other on the wall next to it that led to his closet, just as he finished taking off his shirt. His wardrobe matched the house. Plain. Simple.

“Well at least it’s not a school boy uniform” he sighed and dropped his shirt in the hamper, exiting through the doors that led back to his bedroom.

Now that he didn't have to worry about being homeless he could focus on figuring out if he had a job, and if not how to get one so he could get a phone to talk to (Y/N). Four days later he managed to secure a job and use the cash he found in his home to get a phone and plan. Now he was finally able to talk to her again.

"So how have you been since we last saw each other?"

She stared at the text and contemplated what all to say. In reality, everything was great until yesterday which is why she had been so relieved to have her self-deprecating thoughts proved wrong when Five finally messaged her.

"Eh. I've been better, but I'm happy to finally hear from you :)"

"Well, I'm happy to hear that I made you happy.

What's wrong?"

Five furrowed his brows as he read the "I've been better" over again. He didn't like the thought of her having a bad day.

"I'm just tired from being responsible and dealing with family"

"I can empathize with the latter

Do you have any siblings?"

"Yeah I have two older sisters, you?"

"I have six adopted siblings

I'm also adopted"

"Wow, you just get more and more interesting huh?"

"Guess so

I'd love to tell you more of my interesting facts over some coffee or dinner maybe. When are you free?"

"Sounds like fun

I can do Thursday or Friday"

"Thursday

The sooner the better

Want to see that pretty smile as soon as possible"

My goddess, he was making her smile so much her face was going to start hurting soon.

"Well, Thursday it is (:

So which one do you want to do?"

"Whichever you're more comfortable with"

"Coffee sounds good

What time?"

"Noon?

You chose the place"

"Noon is good for me and okay let me think of somewhere cute and I'll send you the address"

"Starbucks doesn't make the cut?"

"I'd like to see if I can think of any other better options than a crowded, loud Starbucks"

She giggled as she sent the last text, biting her lip as she thought of a place for their date. Granted Starbucks wouldn't be the worst place to do it, but an alternative with more privacy and a cuter environment sounded more appropriate. There were a couple of places that came to mind, but one was a bit pricey and the other was a bit far.

“Don’t stress about it too much. I’m fine with a cup of coffee and you.”

“Fuuuuuck me” she groaned as she read the text, placing her hand against the wall and dropping her head. (Y/N) stayed like that for a minute before breaking into a little happy dance/sway. “Oooo I hope this shit doesn’t go South” she sighed, a giant smile on her face as she wrote her reply.

“Might make you prove it and choose a shitty place on purpose”

“Well that’d sure make an interesting first date

Would you mind if we paused so I could go shower?”

“Yeah of course

I can figure out where we’ll go while you’re in there”

“Alright I’ll be back in a jiff”

Five had actually been standing in his bathroom in nothing but his boxers ready to turn on the water for a while, but he couldn’t bring himself to pause the conversation. He sighed as he turned the water on and slipped out of his boxers. He hadn’t been lying when he said all he needed was a cup of coffee and you. He was a simple man, whose only interest was to get to know you better and maybe (hopefully) see you again.

Once the water was warm enough he got in, sighing in contentment as he felt it hit him. He hadn’t exactly been able to have a nice shower for the past month considering he was saving the world and the hotel showers’ were shit. But his, his had a detachable shower head with four different settings, all of which brought him utter joy. Although he was supposed to be taking a relaxing shower, he couldn’t help but rush to resume talking to her.

Meanwhile (Y/N) had been trying her best to distract herself from waiting for his text. Deciding to help herself to some ice cream as she thought of a place to go to. She scrunched her nose up and groaned, annoyed at how much she was overthinking things, and switched back to her texts reading his over again. All he wanted was her and some good coffee. Plain and simple. “Okay, okay stop fucking with yourself and just pick” she muttered to herself before eating another spoon of ice cream. Her phone got placed on the counter while she cleaned up, finally able to distract herself.

Five let out a breath as he got out of the shower and put his towel on. He didn’t hesitate in opening his phone, reading your reply of “Have fun” and cracking a small confused smile.

“I’m back”

(Y/N) stilled when she heard her phone go off, a smile starting to spread on her face as she made her way over.

“Welcome back

I decided on where to go”

“That’s great, where?”

“There’s a nice café/bakery I haven’t gone to in a bit.

I think you’ll find the coffee to your liking”

“Sounds perfect”

The two spent the rest of the night and the following day talking. Their conversations didn't stray too far from the normal “How is your day going?” or small talk. When the day of their date finally came, (Y/N) was somewhat surprised when she excitedly woke up earlier than she normally does. As she checked the time on her phone. The lack of a message from Five most likely meant he hadn’t woken up yet or was busy. Taking the opportunity, she went to shower, deciding today would be a bit of a self-care shower.

One relaxing shower she walked back into her bedroom, debating if she should stick to her simple hair routine. In all honesty, she was kind of lazy and didn’t feel like doing the most with her hair. However, she was going on a date. “Ugh, this sucks” she semi-whined before grabbing her nice scented lotion and putting it on. While finishing up she realized she hadn’t checked her phone or even bothered to reply to Five. “Oooo sorryyyy” she sing sang/mumbled, picking up her phone just as a text came in.

“Good morning sunshine

We still on for noon at the cafe?”

“Look at that I was just about to text you too

And yes of course we are

You still owe me those five dollars ;)”

“Don’t worry I didn’t forget dear”

“Dear”. That was new. (Y/N) has been called babe and mamas by guys before, maybe even a love every once in a while, but she couldn’t help the butterflies in her chest when she read that pet name.

“Good 😌”

The next few hours consisted of (Y/N) and Five both mentally and physically preparing for the date. With the help of her roommate (Y/N) was able to decide on an outfit that was cute, comfortable, and even made her feel confident.

“So what else do you have planned for the date,” her roommate asked as she helped (Y/N) put her necklace on. “Umm, nothing really. We’re just gonna get coffee and talk” she shrugged and looked herself over in the mirror. “Really? Kind of basic, no?”

“Yeah I guess but I also didn’t want to do that much for our first date and he had said all he needed was some coffee and me for it to be a good date”

“Awe that’s cute”

“Right? I was smiling so hard when I got the text.” (Y/N) said as she turned to look at her friend. “I’m also just kind of going to see how things go on the date and maybe we’ll… hmm, shit I don’t know” she huffed at the end, trying to think of what else they could do. “It’s nice outside so I was going to say we could go for a walk or something but that’s kind of the same thing. Movies?” She asked more than suggested. “Yeah that sounds good, or a bookstore/ the library? You said you thought that’d be a cute idea and you’re already being aesthetic and getting coffee” her roommate replied in a reassuring tone.

(Y/N) didn’t exactly have much experience or luck with dates, having to deal with her share of assholes. Her friends and family weren’t exactly the most helpful and the ones that were had their things to deal with. Things (Y/N) would consider more important than her, even when they obviously weren’t. Therefore her roommate was more than happy to offer to help her out after they stumbled upon the topic in their morning small talk.

“Yeah, I just hope I find I book I like and can concentrate on” (Y/N) said as she made sure she had everything in her bag, “I mean it’s noon, so I’m sure we’ll think of something if we get bored”. She picked her phone up to check the time smiling at Five’s texts.

“Hope you’re not stressing yourself out as much as you were picking the place

I’m sure I’ll look unimpressive compared to you”

“What’d he say now?” Her roommate asked scooting closer to her. (Y/N) happily showed her the texts, “oh my gosh you are cheesing!!”. (Y/N) let out a mix of a laugh and giggle, nodding in agreement. “I know. I know, I just hope he actually ends up being as nice as he seems. I do not want to fucking deal with more bullshit” she sighed at the end, closing her phone for a second to just breathe. “Me too, but only one way to find out.” her roommate hummed, “what time is it?”. (Y/N) opened her phone to check, “it’s about to be 11” she replied and let out another excited breath, before replying to Five.

“Well, you’ll find out soon 😌

And if you’re wearing your cute little suit again I’ll definitely look underdressed haha”

Just one more hour.

Tags:

@ay4kshalatus

@navs-bhat

@yuki1s--note

@behradsweedstash

@nevbrooke-555

[ragingbookdragon]

My Brother's Best Friend Is The One For Me

Wally West x Batsis!Reader One-Shot

Word Count: 3.6K Warnings: Explicit Language

Author's Note: Got to rereading my Batsis fics and came across the "What A Flashy Romance" and wanted to do another one with Wally because I love him. Enjoy! -Thorne

Being the middle child and also the only girl in the Batfamily meant two things:

1. She had four brothers that treated her like a porcelain doll, despite the fact that she could throw a punch at 336 PSI.

And

2. She followed an unspoken rule that Dick and Jason’s friends were off limits when it came to dating.

In all, neither of those things were major problems. She’d learned at a young age how to avoid Dick and Jason’s overbearing-protective-brother-modes, and Tim and Damian were younger, so she didn’t have to worry about them. The second one was also avoidable—most of her older brothers’ friends were the same, and she wasn’t around most of them to develop any feelings.

Well, there was Wally, but it was just a crush. A stupid, little school-girl crush—that she’d never really grown out of—that didn’t matter in the slightest. Except whenever Dick brought him over to the house and she had to pretend that sitting next to him didn’t make her heart race like she’d run a mile.

And the most annoying thing about the whole crush is that she couldn’t tell if Wally was ever interested in her or not. Most of Dick’s friends, Garth, Kyle, Roy, they treated her like a little sister—hell, they even said “Love you lil sis!” to her regularly. And yet, Wally didn’t. Now, there was the occasional head pat, but even that was an affectionate gesture that siblings and SO’s did all the time. It was infuriating, and so was Wally—but she was going to sort it all out the next time he came over because the worst thing he could say was “No”, and either she needed to hear that…or “Yes”.

***

Normal Sundays for the Wayne household usually meant Ultimate Waffle Breakfast and sitting on your ass all day until patrol—it was the one day of the week where they could do anything and nothing and didn’t have to stick to schedules. Everyone loved Sundays, especially (Y/N), because it meant that all of her family was home, even Jason (who tried to deny that he enjoyed coming home to hang out, but if that mile long grin was any help, he was lying). And while everyone was home, that usually meant that everybody’s friends were coming over too.

***

She swiped the syrup out of Jason’s hand when he swung it back around, grinning at him when he glared at her.

“I was gonna use that, (Y/N),” he griped, and she shrugged, uncapping the bottle.

She tipped it over and watched the syrup lazily pour out of the container onto her waffles.

“You were taking too long.” Her eyes twinkled with humor. “I guess you were as…slow as molasses.”

While most of the table groaned at her terrible joke, Dick snorted into his milk, causing it to splatter on his plate and across the table.

“Nice one,” he coughed, wiping his face and the dark oak surface.

(Y/N) bowed dramatically. “Well, I did learn from the best.” When Dick’s face lit up, she turned to Alfred and smiled. “Alfie, thank you for teaching me your ways.”

The old butler merely tipped his head, a hidden smile crossing his lips at the way the eldest son’s jaw went slack. She turned her attention to Bruce who was quietly chewing, eyes following along the research paper she’d asked him to check out.

“Dad, what’s on your agenda for today?”

He swallowed and flicked a line out with a red pen, etching his own comment in the margin. “Lucius has a few ideas about some new gadgets he wanted to run by me.” Another line went out. “I’ll call him after breakfast.” Bruce looked at her. “You?”

(Y/N) nodded at the paper in his hands, then slapped Jason’s who was reaching over to take a piece of bacon from her plate. “Waiting for you to finish tearing me a new one so I can redo the paper.” She cut into the waffle with the side of her fork. “Once I salvage what little scientific dignity you’ve left me with, I’ll probably laze around.”

“You mean what you do normally?” Bruce quipped, grinning when she glowered at him; his eyes went back to her paper. “You’re doing well so far.”

She huffed. “Tell that to every red line you’ve marked out in that paragraph.”

He flashed the paper. “I’m writing in the margins how to change it. This isn’t a dissertation, sweetheart. You’re allowed to make mistakes. We all do.”

(Y/N) grumbled as her cheeks warmed and she went back to her plate as the conversation flowed around her.

Most of it was the discussion of what everyone was planning on doing, Damian was going to play video games, Tim was going to join him (which she knew was going to be fun while the moment lasted until the petty sibling rivalry got in the way and their gaming dwindled into a physical fight that she and probably Dick were going to have to break up), Jason was going to use the workbench in the cave to upgrade some gear, and Dick apparently,

“Wally and Garth are gonna come over later and hang out.”

She paused, mid-stab of her fork and looked at up. “Wally’s coming over?”

He nodded. “And Garth. We were gonna go to the mall and get some new clothes.”

Jason snorted, laying an arm over the backs of Tim and (Y/N)’s chairs. “Spending money with daddy’s credit card, Dickie?”

Dick smirked. “Just like you.” Jason merely matched his grin, and while the entire table was cracking up at Bruce’s frown, (Y/N) was silent, heart beating faster at the thought of seeing Wally.

“(Y/N)?” She startled and looked up at Dick.

“Huh?”

“I asked if you were okay. You got quiet all of the sudden.”

She smiled and shook her head. “Yeah, just thought about all of the corrections I’m gonna have to do because somebody CAN’T STOP MARKING OUT MY PARAGRAPHS.” Bruce merely smiled and knocked out another line.

It was a lie. It was the biggest lie she’d told right next to the one she told when Bruce had asked her where she was on prom night her senior year a few years ago—she was totally not saving a different sector of the universe with Kyle Rayner, she was dancing with Sam Reilly all night—she strongly believed her dad knew the truth—Batman knew everything.

Bruce handed the paper back to her and she groaned as she scanned the red lines on every page. It was going to take her hours to go over this.

Jason leaned over and read the title, “Cellular Division and Mutation Under Extreme Elemental Circumstances…a composition by (Y/N) Wayne.” He cocked a dark brow. “Go big or go home, huh, baby girl?”

(Y/N) hummed. “Doctor Halberd wanted us to pick challenging topics for the research paper this term.” A crooked smile crossed her lips. “I’m nothing if not ambitious about proving I’m smarter than everyone else.”

“You need another source,” Bruce murmured, sipping the steaming black coffee. “One-fourteen is good, but I’d go for one-fifteen.”

She groaned and dropped her head. “Are you kidding me? I had enough trouble gathering that many.”

“Why don’t you use Barry?” Tim piped up, mouth full of whip cream and strawberries.

“Master Timothy, we do not talk with our mouth full,” Alfred admonished, and Tim blushed.

(Y/N)’s head shot up and she stared at her brother. “That’s actually a good idea. Speedsters would make for perfect references about cellular division.” An idea popped into her head and she glanced at Dick. “And since Wally is com—”

“Nope,” Dick interrupted, pointing at her. “Wally is coming over to hang out, not to be poked and prodded to finish a paper.”

She let out a whine and turned to Bruce. “Dad, tell Dick to let me at least talk to Wally about it.”

Bruce turned his attention onto Dick. “Let your sister talk to Wally about her paper.”

“Oh, come on,” he complained and (Y/N) stood from her seat, hurrying around the table to stand behind Dick’s seat.

She draped herself over his shoulders, tucking her chin in the crook of his neck. “I promise I won’t be annoying if you let me come with you. I’ll ask two questions every thirty minutes and I’ll go do shopping on my own, so I won’t be in the way.” (Y/N) craned her neck and pulled the most pitiful puppy eyes she could. “Please?”

Dick’s eyes darted to her face and then he looked away. Just one more push.

“Please frate?” she begged and when his eyes went wide from the usage of his native tongue, she knew she’d won him over.

He deflated and let out a sigh. “Fine,” he grumbled. “You can come with us.”

(Y/N) squealed and pressed a kiss to his cheekbone, as she grabbed the paper and hurried towards the door. She halted and spun around, looking at her father.

“What do I need to be most specific about?”

“Division under elemental circumstances.”

She glowered at him. “No shit Sherlock. Specifics.”

“Molecular division under terrestrial gamma-ray flashes.”

“That’ll work,” (Y/N) nodded and exited to room.

Jason looked out the door then back to his brothers. “She’s way to excited about science sometimes.” They merely laughed.

***

She raised the red lace, cold shoulder V-neck shirt to her chest before frowning, and switching it with the full lace blue shirt with mini golden lightning bolt charms hanging off the trim. After a moment, she pulled the blue one down and sighed.

“You know, if you want to impress him, I’d wear the red shirt.”

She jumped and barely managed to suppress the scream that was coming up in her throat as she swiveled around to face her door. Jason stood in the doorway, a knowing look on his face. She could play this one of two ways: she could be truthful, or she could lie—she chose the latter.

“What do you mean?” He snorted and walked into her room, taking a seat at her desk.

“I mean if you’re trying to impress Wally, wear the shirt that’s the color of his suit, (Y/N).” She looked away and into the mirror, but she couldn’t escape the eyes boring into her back.

“Is it that obvious?” she asked quietly, and he laughed.

“That you’re head over heels for Dick’s best friend? Oh yeah. Totally.”

She sighed and sat on her bed, pulling the red top over her torso. “It’s just a crush.”

“Seems like more than a crush to me, baby girl.”

(Y/N) pulled the fabric down and looked at him. “Are you gonna tell Dick?”

Jason scoffed. “Do I look like a narc to you?”

She cocked a brow and deadpanned, “Just the other night you told dad that Damian lifted Two-Face’s wallet when he was being put in a cruiser.”

“Well, that wasn’t something important,” he countered and nodded at her. “This is.” He paused and shrugged. “Nah, I’m not gonna tell Dickhead. Play this out however you see fit, baby girl.”

(Y/N) stared at him for a moment then averted her gaze and let out a sigh; Jason huffed.

“That sounds like a heavy sigh, (Y/N). What’s wrong?”

She shrugged. “I don’t even know if Wally would be interested in me. He’s him and I’m me.”

Jason stood and walked over, kneeling in front of her. “Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?”

(Y/N) met his eyes. “Anytime he’s had a girlfriend she’s always been super strong or really outspoken.”

“And you’re not?” he quipped, causing her to huff.

“You know what I mean, Jay.”

He nodded. “Okay, so you’re not an Amazon or shoving your head up someone’s ass for a story. But you’re you.”

“And that means?”

“You’re the only daughter of the World’s Greatest Detective who’s a wicked smart science major by day and a badass vigilante by night.” He cupped her cheeks. “You are intelligent, warmhearted, talented, and absolutely beautiful.” Jason smushed her cheeks together and grinned as she giggled. “And if Wally doesn’t see any of what I just said, then he’s a damn fool and not worth your time. You hear me, baby girl?”

She nodded. “I hear you.”

Jason gave her a firm nod and let go, standing to his feet. “Now come on let’s go do your makeup.”

(Y/N) blinked. “You can do makeup?”

“Baby girl, I can do a lot of things. Now hurry up. That razor sharp eye liner and golden eyeshadow isn’t going to do itself.”

***

She waited beside Dick with a pleasant smile on her face, and despite the fluttering heartbeat in her chest, Jason’s pep talk kept running through her head and with every passing moment, she felt her confidence rising. He was right, if she told Wally and he didn’t feel the same, then it was his loss and her gain to move on and find someone else.

A black sedan pulled up at the manor and the passenger window rolled down, revealing Wally at the wheel and Garth in the passenger’s seat. Dick waved at them.

“Hey guys,” he greeted. “How was the drive over?”

“Oh, you know, we saw three carjacking’s and one armed robbery,” Garth quipped. “I assume that’s normal for Gotham though.”

“It’s a bit below average actually,” (Y/N) piped up. “Hi Garth. Hi Wally.”

Wally smiled and Garth waved in return as the two siblings started getting in the car.

“You’re coming with us, (Y/N)?” Wally questioned and she nodded.

“Do you want me to lie to you or give you the truth?”

He chuckled. “I’m always open for a good story.”

“I wanted to buy out Victoria’s Secret and piss off any boyfriends who are in hot water with their girlfriends.” The guys laughed and she admitted, “Truth though, I need one last source for a research paper.”

“Gonna find that source shopping?” Garth asked and (Y/N) caught Wally’s eyes in the rear-view mirror.

“Actually, my last source is Wally.”

They fell silent and looked at her, though the speedster’s focus was on the road.

“What are you gonna source Wally on?” The Atlantean inquired.

“My paper is over cellular mutation under distress from elemental conditions.” She smiled at Wally. “Our speedster here, is a walking subject perfect for the paper. I can only hope that he agrees to be a willing participant.”

Wally chuckled. “I’d be willing to part with a few secrets for you. Of course, I’d have to—”

“Remain anonymous.” (Y/N) winked. “I’m sure my professor would be okay with me citing ‘The Flash’ so long as I had a picture with him to back it up.”

“I like pictures,” he murmured, pulling into the parking lot.

“That’s good to know,” she replied and when he put the car in park, she took her purse and added, “So I’ll leave you boys to do your shopping and Wally, I’ll text you any questions I have.”

“You’re not gonna hang around?” Garth asked and she shook her head.

“Nah, I don’t wanna be the annoying little sister who follows her older brother and his friends around.” She smiled at them. “Besides, Dick was kind enough to let me come along. Least I can do is stay out of your way.”

(Y/N) opened the door and waved at them. “Text me when you’re ready to leave and I’ll meet you back here.”

***

Despite the initial joke that she was going to buy out the lingerie store, there was actually some truth in the statement, and she drew her fingers over one of the lace baby dolls as she looked at her phone, grinning like a dope at Wally’s response.

Well, I wouldn’t say I’d grow a second skin from how fast my cells regenerate, but I can make my body heal instantaneously. -W

Can you regenerate limbs or major organs? –(Y/I)

Major organs or useful ones? -W

(Y/N) paused at his response and thought for a moment. It was risky. Sending the text, she was thinking about was risky, but it’d sure get her point across that she was into him. With her heart hammering in her chest, she pushed send and stuck her phone in her pocket.

Whichever ones are useful to you, Wally? ;) –(Y/N)

Her phone didn’t buzz for a good minute, and Wally took less than a second to reply, so he was doing one of two things: A.) Telling Dick that his younger sister sent a flirty text, or B.) Trying to figure out how to let her down easy. (Y/N) didn’t know which one was worse. Her hip buzzed and she inhaled shakily, pulling her phone out of her pocket with one eye cracked open to see how screwed she was.

Do you have a useful one in mind, beautiful? -W

She had to clamp a hand over her mouth to keep from letting out the biggest gasp any human had ever made, and she nervously looked around her to make sure no one else was staring at her. She grinned as she replied to him.

Oh, I could think of one…or two or three…Why? Is there gonna be a pop quiz over this later? I’ll have you know I’m an excellent test taker. –(Y/N)

Is that so? Well, what happens if you were to fail this particular pop quiz, (Y/N)? -W

I guess you’d have to stay the night for a study session and help me make a better grade ;) –(Y/I)

As she waited for another response, someone’s hand touched the small of her back and she reacted, immediately stepping away from the offending touch to spin on them. Her eyes went wide when she saw Wally standing before her, a grin on his face, phone in his hand.

“I think an overnight study session is possible, (Y/N).”

Her mouth opened and closed repeatedly, like a fish until she finally got her brain to work and asked, “I thought you were shopping with Dick and Garth?”

He shrugged. “Told Dick you asked me an advanced question that’d be easier to answer in person than over text.” He wiggled his brows. “You know, advanced equations and scientific gibberish.”

(Y/N) huffed a laugh and turned back around, trying to ignore the heat in her cheeks as she picked up one of the teddies. And when she realized what it looked like, she only felt more flustered. Crimson with baby blue trimming and was practically a shoelace.

“Well, that’sa hint if there ever was one,” Wally quipped, and she pulled the lingerie out of his line of sight.

“It was just the first one I grabbed!” she exclaimed, snapping her mouth shut when people looked over at them. Her cheeks felt like they were wildfires, and she pressed her head against the cool metal of the rack, sighing with what little relief it provided.

“You know, (Y/N),” he started softly. “If you’re not comfortable, this doesn’t have to go anywhere. I can forget this ever happened if you want me to.” (Y/N) opened her eyes and peered at him, at the concern but also the kindness in his gaze.

“I just—” she murmured and trailed off before letting out a sigh. “It’s kinda complicated.”

“Okay,” Wally nodded. “My mouth might work faster than my brain sometimes but lay it on me.”

She cracked a smile and thought back on Jason’s words. If Wally doesn’t see any of what I just said, then he’s a damn fool and not worth your time.

(Y/N) took a deep breath and looked at him, admitting, “Wally, I have…feelings for you.” His eyes widened and though she felt the sting of embarrassment, she pushed out her words. “It’s stupid, like one of those dumb childhood crushes that just sticks with you, you know?”

She averted her gaze and looked at her peep toe heels. “I just don’t wanna screw anything up because even if you don’t feel anything like I do, I don’t wanna lose you as a friend. Because I do value your friendship.” She sighed. “And Dick. I don’t wanna make you uncomfortable about coming over to see him if there’s a chance you’ll have to see me too. I just—”

“Woah, woah, woah,” Wally interrupted gently, a smile growing on his face. “You’re thinking way big here, (Y/N). Bigger than you need to right now.”

She met his eyes. “Right now?” she repeated, and he reached out, taking her hand in his. His fingers felt tingly against her palm and he smiled.

“I like you, (Y/N).”

She blinked at him, practically dumbfounded. “You…you do?”

Wally nodded and confessed, “Have for a couple years, but I didn’t wanna make a move not knowing if you were interested.” His cheeks tinged pink, and he said, “But I’m glad you are. Like super glad.” (Y/N) giggled, suddenly feeling really foolish for all her worry and Wally let out a chuckle too.

She stared at him for a moment, relishing the coolness of his skin before pulling away, toying with the teddy in her other hand.

“So, about tonight…you staying over?”

Wally let out a groan and looked between her and the lingerie. “Probably, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to get away long enough to spend some time alone with you.”

(Y/N) let out a ‘pfft’ and winked. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out, Flash. You are the fastest man alive.”

“You’re into quickies? Good to know,” he grinned.

“Shut up,” she giggled.

[multific]

Trainers

Owen Grady x Reader

Summary: You are the trainer of the Mosasaurus, you have been working with her since she was a tiny little thing. So, you don’t appreciate when another trainer is asked to check on the work you have been doing.

 You understood that Claire wanted results. But they never understood that a creature such as a dinosaur is not as easy to train as a dog. Nevertheless, when the owner of the park specifically asked for you to be the caretaker of the Mosasaurus, you just knew you had to accept. Being a well respected Marine Biologist in your field, you loved the different challenge this would bring. Although you had to do a lot of studying. You would normally focus on a lot of species, so only having to deal with one animal was quite different. 

When you first saw her, you knew, you understood just how special she really was and you fell in love with the tiny being. Well, back then she was the size of an alligator, but then she grew into her normal size. She got huge. Even her tank spoke to itself.

Momo was chosen to do one of trick for the public. To eat a shark from a hook, splashing water onto the crowd. You knew she wasn’t a circus animal. You understood that, but since you two spent so much time together, a bond formed between you two. And you were more than surprised when she listened to you. 

One late night you were sitting by her tank, looking at her as she swam around. This was all she knew, the water, the hook and you. You often went to the Underwater Observatory where you can look into her tank through the glass. You spoke to her days on end as you just sat there after you finished with your work for the day. 

And one day, it happened.

Just like a dolphin show, you were talking and motioning around and when you moved your hand up as an expression, she jumped out of the water. The very first instant this happened, you didn’t pay much mind to it, thinking it was a coincidence. But then she did it again and again. Just as you lifted your hand up each time.

Progress.

Of course, you were to report every incident, but you chose not to tell them about this new revelation. You were afraid they will exploit her for money even more.

So, as you never reported any progress, Claire decided to send another trainer in.

Owen Grady.

He was supposed to look at your work for a month. You hated being supervised like that.

“Mr. Grady, nice to meet you, my name is Y/N Y/L/N. I’m Momo’s caretaker.”

“Please just call me Owen. To be honest I’m as happy to be here as you are. I’d rather be with my girls, so please just give me a quick run through, so I can leave.” 

“Okay...But, Owen. Claire said that you are to watch me for a month.”

“A MONTH? She didn’t mention that to me. Or I wasn’t listening. Probably the latter.” he made you laugh a little. Maybe it was better that he was the one who was sent and not some uptight ass. 

“Alright. So, it’s hard to miss her tank, or her. She eats a lot. There are public feedings, every two hour she gets a shark. I have been with her since she was born. Little thing she was. She is very stubborn, but I did hand feed her in her early years. She gave me a lovely scar too. From my wrist to my pinky on my left hand.” you showed him the scar. “Silly mistake. But I learned from it.”

“Do you talk to her?”

“I do. Steve thinks I’m mental, since she is under water, she wouldn’t hear. But I like to think that she somehow feels that I talk to her you know?”

He nodded and looked around, then up. He noticed a long walking platform way up high. 

“What’s that?” you looked up where he was looking.

“That is the new idea. Guests would be able to go up there and watch her from there. But they are not sure if she can jump that high, so it’s still not very safe. Although I told them that she wouldn’t be able to, they want to be safe. We can go up if you want to.”

You hated being up there, your fear of heights didn’t help you either. 

“You okay there?” Owen asked as he watched you taking deep breaths and your hands gripping the railing.

“No. I hate it up here.”

“Then why did you suggest to come up?” he laughed.

“I don’t know. It was silly. Can you see her?”

“Yes. She is...swimming. Shockingly. She is 84 feet long and she weights over 30,000 lbs, when the last time we checked. She is rather calm. Prefers to swim around and eats when she is supposed to. She is not socialized with other dinos, considering that the majority would drown in her enclosure. Can we go down now, please?”

Owen stood there, looking at the huge water monster swimming right below him. Then he looked up at you, and gave you a nod.

***

Owen has been working with you for the last week. He gave many ideas on what to do and how to earn their trust.

You also didn’t fail to notice how muscular and handsome he was. 

Each morning he arrived on his bike, looking sexy as can be. And every day he observed you. He watched as you said hi to her every morning, said how you liked to make sure her food was correctly prepared. It was obvious for him that you cared about the Mosasaurus very much. 

Owen wasn’t sure what else they wanted from the dino himself, He knew they created her as an amusement for viewers as a feeding show and nothing more. So, then why did Claire wanted him to come here and watch over you. As far as he was concerned, this particular dino wasn’t even the need of a caretaker. She just swam around and ate sharks as an attraction. He suspected there was something more behind the story he had been told. 

Owen admittedly loved the Underwater Observatory. It was cool down there, not only the weather, but they you can look into the enclosure and watch the majestic beast.

He also took a liking to it’s trainer. Even if he wasn’t sure what you were training the dino to do.

“How about tomorrow you come over to the raptors? I can show them off for you like you did with Momo.” Owen came up with the idea on his second week during lunch time.

“Oh, sure. I would like to.” Little did he know that you showed the very least to him.

During his two weeks, Owen and you formed some kind of friendship. You would be lying if you said that you didn’t like him, even if you knew about the rumors about his dating methods. But he never once hinted on anything with you. Or you just didn’t notice. Which was also a possibility, you were quite oblivious with men.

So, the next day after making sure that Momo was all set and healthy, we headed to the raptors. 

Although I wasn’t that interested in land species, his four girls amazed you. 

“Wow. they listen to you so well.” you said smiling at him as you watched the four inside the paddock. 

Owen looked very proud of himself. 

You spent all day at the velociraptor paddock. Owen told you about the plans that they had. And it was exactly what you feared would happen to your girl.

Exploiting them for military or personal gain. 

The thought disgusted you.

These were amazing creatures. In your opinion you should be learning from them, and not using them for war.

In the evening, everyone has left, you and Owen were still at the raptors’ paddock. You looked down at them running around.

“I don’t want Momo to have the same fate. Military? Really? That’s what we are doing now? These creatures are amazing, beautiful. Even the fact that we keep them on display is rather disgusting let alone using them as weapons.”

“I agree with you. But I can also see how they would be able to save many lives. Men and women.”

“But they will never be able to control them like that. Not by their own free will. It takes time. You have known them since they were little. Momo is... she is basically an attraction to them, nothing more. They wanted me to each her tricks. Like she was a fucking pony. Jumping through loops and whatnot. And when I refused, they threatened to throw me out. So, I had to come up with something. Telling them that she is not able to do such things. Even if it’s a lie.” you eyes widened at what you just said. You just confessed your greatest secret. 

“What do you mean lie? So, she can jump?” you panicked a little but his calm demeanor helped you a little.

“S-She can. Not as high as those railings go but...She can. Oh, Owen, please don’t tell Claire. They will make her into a complete circus animal, more than she already is.” you didn’t even realize but you were so desperate that you grabbed his forearm, pleading with him.

“I won’t. I promise. I decided on my second day over there that I will tell her that you are taking a good care of her and that a Mosasaurus is not a dolphin you can teach tricks to. But I’m clearly wrong. Could you show me?”

You were soon standing by her tank. Owen looked down at the water.

“I never understood. If she can get the shark from there, why doesn’t she jump out to get the guests?”

“Well, one, they are too small, so she is not interested and two, her species main food source comes from the water or from above such as flying dinosaurs. But as you can see her water is lower than the path, they made this safe so she wouldn’t jump out and eat guests.”

“I see. So how does this work? I don’t guess that you whistle to her.” Owen said as he stood next to you.

“No. I just...” it was easier to show him, so you reached your hand out as far as you could before moving it up.

And just as you did, she jumped out of the water and back in, as elegantly as a dino of her size possibly could. 

“Wow.” Owen watched as the water splashed neither of you cared that you were soaked.

“One night. I was talking to her. And as I moved my hand, she started doing things. She can also spin, but that looked better down under the water.”

“She listens to you.”

“I like to think that if I was to fall into the water one day, she won’t eat me immediately, but I might be too naïve.” Owen looked at you and all he could think is how beautiful you looked.

“This really is something else. You must have an amazing bond.” you smiled at Owen who got your now soaked wet hair out of your face. He slowly leaned down and was about to place his lips on yours when another sudden splash of water interrupted him. He groaned and as he looked down at the water noticed Momo slowly descending into the water. 

You only laughed at the annoyed expression on Owen’s face.

“Maybe take me on a date first, Mr. Grady, I think then she will approve.” you said as he finally looked back at you.

His eyes softened.

Maybe you will thank Claire later for sending Owen over. Who could have thought that two trainers would find each other on an island like that? 

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[cdroloisms]

I saw your response and, fair enough. I respect your opinion but I personally am still very uncomfortable with the word choice and the environment of abuse apologism it could possibly create. I want to address the post you rebloged, because I assume they will see it here.

No I don’t believe bullying “isn’t as bad” trauma cannot and should not be compared. However, they themselves pointed out the problem with using it in such a serious circumstance in their post. They referred to it as a word used primarily in primary school situations. Now I ask you this, how many of these things can feasibly take place in a primary school setting, to the extent that they took place in the narrative? Here’s the list form before.

Food was withheld

Physical abuse

Gaslighting

Victim blaming

Manipulation

Isolation

Emotional abuse

A quick glance at this list may seem like most of them, but if you look at them within the context of the story, definitely not

For example, isolation. It can definitely take place in a school setting, and it can really damage someone. However, can another student ship someone out to a isolated island and discourage people from visiting…no not really. I personally would be more damaged from the latter, because it is more extreme.

Yes, I believe the stuff that happened in exile is objectively worse then what normally happens in school. Just like getting cancer is objectively worse than breaking your leg. Is someone’s pain less important or less justified either way? No, not at all. Both need medical attention, one is just objectively more extreme. If the things that happened in exile happened to a kid in school, I’d be concerned if it was just called bullying. I never said that bullying isn’t that bad, I’ve been bullied many a times, it can really mess you up. It can have the same results. But calling something bullying when it harsher word is needed just feels wrong

Applying this to a hypothetical situation, let’s say a school aged kid was attacked by a large group of kids, to the point of needing hospitalization. A statement is made that there was a incident of bullying on the school property. Does that sound right? Technically, the definition applies! Just like it does with exile. But it feels very misplaced and almost as a way to lighten how the news is perceived. Which is exactly my problem here.

And about my wording of using ‘gentler’ and ‘harsher’ I understand it is not conveying exactly what I am trying to say, which is why I put it in paraphases (idk how to spell that these things ‘’) in the original post. It’s just because I can’t think of a more fitting word to use. The word I am trying to convey is like hyperbole, but the opposite. Hyperbole being to use words or phrasing to make something sound worse or better than it is. I guess hyperbole may work there too, but whatever it does not matter now.

I am not trying to say that bullying is gentler, (that doesn’t even make much grammatical sense) just that the word bullying brings to mind things like stealing lunch money, mocking, or someone getting shoved around, which may lessen the impact and even convey something as less bad as it is. Because regardless of what the technical definition of bullying is, you cannot deny that it implies different things, which was ironically proven by the other post where someone brought up primary school, despite me never bringing it up. That’s the connotation of the word.

And yeah, there are times when I think stuff that happens in school shouldn’t be called bullying. There have been many times where I’ve seen some terrible inexcusable stuff called bullying just because it took place in school and I have thought a harsher word should be used. Like abuse, manipulation, assault, Etc. Because if someone did something really terrible it should be told like it is.

That’s the reason this even bothered me so much in the first place, like I said I don’t care about dsmp much anymore. But this is something that should be taken seriously, because fiction effects real life. Word usage has a big impact. Many things can be twisted to fit someone’s narrative because technically, the word used is correct.

Thank you for taking my ask seriously, this is genuinely something that concerned me.

hey anon, this is probably going to be the last i reply to you on the topic - but just to clarify, bc i think you mightve misread @judgehangman's post

he specifically said that sometimes people have the idea that bullying seemingly only happens to school children. the point of that was to say that such a statement isn't true. bullying ISNT restricted to schoolyard harassment. they specifically said that the way people view bullying as being "not as bad" IS THE PROBLEM, because bullying is a word for a specific type of abuse in a specific social circumstance that does not describe the severity of the specific actions involved. i think that might've just been a misunderstanding, but i wanted to make that clear.

beyond that, a lot of the specific actions of violence you've described ,, yes. they are considered bullying. there HAVE been people that have been killed by their bullies. people that have killed themselves because of their bullies. bullying occurs to adults by adults and also to kids by kids. bullying as a term is not restricted to a certain age group or actions of a certain severity. again, bullying is abuse. bullying involves actions that are BY DEFINITION abusive.

again, i understand your point anon. but, and im saying this as genuinely and kindly as i can, your feelings on how "severe" bullying is do not correlate directly with what bullying is by definition. words like child abuse and abuse and bullying are not a sliding scale of severity, but words that are meant to be applied to specific dynamics between people w/ specific traits.

[thefanficmonster]

A Little Childish

Corpse Husband x Reader (Female)

Warnings: Swearing

Genre: FLUFF

Summary: Corpse and Y/N go to visit Y/N’s parents for New Year’s. Corpse was promised good food, good company and A LOT of snow. Needless to say, the place didn’t disappoint - quite the contrary actually, it exceeded any and all expectations he had.

Requested by @waterflowersposts Hi there! Sorry for how long it took for this fic to be written :( I hope the final result makes up for the long wait! I also thought it would be appropriate to post it during the holiday season, so I hope you don’t mind. Hope you enjoy the read and I’m looking forward to hearing your feedback and any more requests you may have. Stay safe! Happy Holidays! Love, Vy ❤

I watch as Corpse is basically floating from one room into another in our shared apartment as he’s throwing random articles of clothing in his open suitcase. I have already packed my bags, knowing full well what the appropriate attire is for where we’re going.

I look away from my laptop when Corpse comes in for maybe the sixtieth time today, this time carrying a white tee causing me to chuckle. “Corpse, I know it’s very trademark for you, but the only way you’ll be wearing that when we get there is under a sweater for some extra warmth. I’m not looking forward to having my boyfriend freeze in my parent’s house.”

He smiles, looking at the shirt in his hands, and shakes his head, “Fine, guess I’ll do without it for a week or two.” He throws it in our room, not even bothering to check where it’ll land before he comes to sit down next to me on the couch, “Keep in mind, you have set my expectations pretty high up there. If I am not waist deep in snow the second we step off the plane, I’ll be disappointed.”

I give him a side glance, a smirk playing on my lips. Must say, taking on challenges you know you’re gonna win is the ultimate high-and-mighty feeling. “Honey, you’ve got a big snowstorm coming.”

                                                               *  *  *

All throughout our trip - I’m talking the drive to the airport AND the flight over - I have kept my eyes glued to Corpse, observing as his eyes sparkled more and more with each foot we got closer to our destination. He has told me the most snow he has seen was less than an inch and I immediately felt it was my duty to change that by introducing him to the magic of Canada - my home. My parents own a getaway cottage in the mountains of Calgary where we used to go every holiday season. My earliest memory is playing in the thigh-deep snow with my older sister and crying whenever our parents had to drag us back inside. 

The West Coast of the US was a rather odd surrounding for me, having grown up surrounded by snowy mountains, experiencing Christmas with no snow whatsoever was a true let down and underwhelming feeling. Since Corpse and I started dating about a month after Christmas time last year this will be our first time spending the holidays together and Corpse was more than enthusiastic to visit Canada when I mentioned how much I enjoyed my winters there. We couldn’t go for Christmas, but we’ll be there for New Year’s Eve and the first two weeks of 2021 and I am really excited. I have been dying to see my family that has actually expanded since the last time I visited - my sister has had yet another baby, making her and her husband parents of three very energetic toddlers. The six year old twins - Ashley and Alex - and the three year old Andrew. Or, as I like to call them: The 3 As.

I have warned Corpse about them like seven times despite the fact that he’s already familiar with their energy, convincing him that if that’s more than he can handle we’ve still got time to cancel the trip. He didn’t bat an eye though, each time telling me not to worry and focus my attention on reliving the moments I’ve missed so greatly instead of making sure he was having a good time.

“If you’re there...“ he said, “I’ll sure as hell be having a good time.“

One step out of the airport and he’s already mesmerized. His eyes are shiny reflecting the glow of the snow all around. It’s gonna be funny to see his reaction when he witnesses the real deal - the snow in the mountains. This compared to that is a pathetic excuse.

“I know it’s not waist-high, but that’s because they shovel it and melt it.“ He is looking around, not paying much mind to my words. The utter amazement and disbelief on his face just makes me want to wrap my arms around him and kiss him. He’s simply adorable! I see fragments of the child in him swimming up to the surface in the form of temptation - temptation every kid feels when they see snow: Dive in and lose track of time. “Wait till we get to the cottage.“

This manages to catch his attention, “You weren’t kidding.“

I laugh at my precious kiddy boyfriend. “Whoa there, Corpsie. If your mind is already blown, I’m worried about how you’ll react to the real deal.“ 

I have a feeling I know exactly how he’ll react cause I react similarly - I set the child in me free. After all, no parent can tell you to stop playing and go inside when you are a 23-year-old.

                                                             *  *  *

Walking up to the cottage from the cable-car station has to be the first time I’ve breathed with my lungs’ full capacity in the last five years. The sharp cold air screams ‘home’ to me like nothing else ever did. I am still surprised as to how my sister prefers summer. My family jokes I’m a winter wolf in disguise and I think they’re right. I do like to roll around in the snow much like a wolf. No judgement! Having a few extra years added to my age doesn’t change everything.

“Oh. My. Fucking. God.“ If I could take a shot every time Corpse has repeated this phrase I’d be dead due to liver failure. He is absolutely stunned. And I’m pretty sure he hasn’t blinked at all. Who am I to talk - I haven’t either. These mountains keep getting prettier and prettier, I swear. Taking my eyes off them would be a crime.

“Told you. I wish we made a bet, I could’ve made some easy money.“ I tease him, gently bumping my elbow against his as we walk up the trail.

“I’m glad I didn’t propose such a thing. That would’ve been fucking stupid of me.“ Judging by the tone of his voice, he is not really present in this conversation, so I decide not to let it go on any longer.

Not that I could’ve done differently, seeing as how barely three seconds latter I see three smiling faces coming at me at max speed.

Oh boy.

“Auntie Y/N!“ Ashley and Alex arrive first of course, wrapping their arms tightly around my waist. Little Andrew stumbles his way to me as quickly as a three year old possibly could.

Without wasting a second, I put my bags down and crouch so I can hug them properly. “Hi my babies! I haven’t seen you in so long.” Their hugging strength surprises me and warms my heart at the same time. The twins pull away, leaving room for the little duckling in a jacket two times his size and weight. “Hi Andrew! I nice to meet you! I’m auntie Y/N. Mommy and daddy have told you about me, haven’t they? If not I’ll kick their asses.”

“Y/N, I swear, I’ll tell Amy you’re teaching her kids swears at a very early age.“ Corpse says teasingly, stealing the attention from all four of us.

“She curses like a sailor, these kids probably know more swear words than I do.“ Ash and Alex run straight out of my grasp and to Corpse, proceeding to hug him around the waist as they did with me. They met Corpse when my sister and her husband Finn visited me back in the summer. They immediately fell in love with him. I specifically remember Alex telling me I have a ‘really cool boyfriend‘ and he only uses the word ‘cool‘ when he really likes something or someone. Corpse was honorably declared cool by Alex and that still warms my heart till this day.

“Hi guys, long time no see!“ He too crouches down to hug the little demons that immediately cling to him like koalas.

I scoop up the bundle of clothes with a face and stand up, balancing him on my hip. “Let’s attempt to get inside, shall we?” With my unoccupied arm I grab the handle of my suitcase.

Corpse nods and follows my lead, picking up the bags he also left in the snow. Ash and Alex bolt it back to the house while we struggle to follow, lowkey embarrassed by the pace we’re walking with.

Andrew struggles against me, reaching out towards Corpse. I look at them both apologetically. “You’ll meet Corpse when we get inside, darling. Chill out.”

“Y/N!“ My sister’s voice steals my attention. She emerges from the house, followed by the twins, a huge smile on her face. Her eyes land on Andrew who has calmed down is now resting his head on my shoulder sleepily, “Oh I’m so sorry about them, Y/N. I didn’t know they would charge at you the second you stepped foot on the property.“

Amy motions for me to give her her son but I hand her my suitcase instead. When she takes it I use my now freed arm to hug her as tightly as I possibly can with one arm and while balancing a baby on my chest. “It’s ok! I couldn’t have dreamed of a better welcoming.” I release, giving her a big smile.

She loses interest in me and goes to hug Corpse, taking a bag from him as well before giving him a hug. “Oh my God, Corpse, it feels like it’s been forever. I’m so glad to see you.”

“Happy to see you too, Amy.“ My sister has never liked a single guy I’ve dated. EVER. Corpse is the only one she warmed up to and that’s a huge deal to me. Corpse’s happiness when I told him that was something I’d pay to have filmed just so I can watch it every time I’m feeling down.

“Let’s get you both inside, you must be freez-“ She cuts herself off, rolling her eyes at me, “Of course, you’re not.“

I laugh and blow her a kiss as we keep carrying onward.

“Um, guys?“ Corpse’s voice makes me pause and turn around. He’s still standing in the same spot, looking- unsettled, I guess you could call it.

“What’s wrong?“ I walk over to him, taking his hand in mine.

His hand automatically gives mine a reassuring squeeze, “Nothing really, it’s just that...I’m meeting your parents for the first time and-...What if they don’t like me?”

I open my mouth to go off and start stating the obvious that they indeed won’t like him. They will LOVE him. It’s impossible not to love this man! But my sister beats me to it when it comes to stating the facts.

“Look, Corpse, they already love you. Heck, sometimes I feel like they have known Finn and you longer than they have known Y/N and I! They speak so highly of you and haven’t even met you - that should tell you more than enough about how they see you.“ She waves her hand towards the cottage, “Now walk in there and blow them away.“

Honestly, I’m glad Amy beat me to it. I couldn’t have said it better myself. 

And just like that, hand in hand, Andrew still in my other arm, we walk in.

                                                             *  *  *

Corpse is officially the main attraction, stealing the spotlight from Amy, Finn and I - something the three of us are incredibly thankful for. Amy was right with every word she said - my parents are absolutely in love with Corpse. Luckily for Finn and Amy, the 3 As are all over him as well. Especially Andrew. The second someone sets him down he just waddles his way over to Corpse who picks him up and settles him in his lap while he answers my parents’ questions. 

When the kids were finally talked into taking a nap, Corpse and I snuck out to have a little walk in the snow and, of course, take some pictures. I made it my personal goal to make as many artsy and aesthetic photos of him as possible. His favorite - a hand only pic of him holding a snowball - was my idea and I think I have never felt prouder of myself.

“I am definitely posting this one.“ He says, turning the phone so I can see the screen. I give it a quick glance, thinking he’s talking about the hand pic but do a double take when I realize it’s a picture of me that he has taken without my knowledge.

I actually look rather decent, so I give him a green light in the form of a big thumbs up, “As long as you post the hand one too.”

“Hey, Y/N!“ We look back at the house which isn’t far from where we are right now. Amy is hugging the jacket tightly around herself as she approaches us with fast steps. “You know where we haven’t been in like forever?“

I raise an eyebrow and shake my head as I rack through my brain trying to dig up what she’s referring to. It could literally be any place on this mountain!

“Hello! The Waterless Lake? Ring any bells?“

Oh...it sure does.

Brief explanation: it is a huge circular dip in the ground which fills with water when the snow melts and becomes a lake but empties by the time winter comes back around. That being said, when the snow is still not melted, it’s an absolute wonderland to play in. I suddenly remember all the barrel-rolling Amy and I did there as kids and feel really nostalgic.

“Oh God, yes! I miss that place!“ I say, snapping out of my reminiscing trance. “Let’s go while it’s still light enough.”

“Finn is making dinner right now, or trying to at least.“ She rolls her eyes, turning to Corpse, “But it’d be our pleasure if you tagged along, Corpse.“

Corpse shakes his head, “I’ll politely decline. You ladies can reminisce and chat in peace, while I’ll be helping Finn in the kitchen.” He gives me a quick peck on the lips before excusing himself, “Have fun!”

“You too!“ We call back to him in unison.

Amy gives me an amazed, wide-eyed look, “He can cook?”

I shrug my shoulders nonchalantly, smirking, “Oh, you have no idea.”

She laughs, linking arms with me as we begin walking our way to the Waterless Lake. The place probably has a different name or no name at all, but we named it that as kids and never told our parents where it was. It’s our spot, and it is very surprising Amy offered Corpse to accompany us there.

“Sis, you are very lucky. I hope you know that.“ She tightens the hold on my arm with hers, pulling us closer together.

“I tell myself that every time I look at him, Aims. I am fully aware.“ I say dreamily, recalling all the times I’ve spent with Corpse. Almost one full year and I could never imagine that year, nor the upcoming ones, without him.

                                                                *  *  *

Upon returning, we’re met with the most wholesome scene I have ever seen - Corpse and Finn are making snowmen with the 3 As. It seems like they’ve been at it for a while, considering there is an army of snowmen of different designs, shapes and sizes all at different spots throughout the perimeter of the clearing in front of the house.

“Oh dear Lord.“ Amy mumbles, “I had a feeling this would happen.“

The five snowman-builders don’t even acknowledge our presence when we approach them. Ashley and Alex are running around with Finn, looking for sticks to use as the snowmen’s limbs while Corpse is helping Andrew gather as much snow as possible for the body.

I don’t realize there’s a huge smile on my face up until the point I’m trying to say something. Nothing comes out, though. My words are being muffled by all the overwhelming emotions that have taken over - collapsing my senses. 

With a roll of her eyes, my sister opens the front door, taking a step into the house. The second the door opens, however, I get a whiff of the delicious smell coming from inside. Best guess, and probably the right one - this is Corpse’s doing. 

If I wasn’t already hungry, I sure as hell am now and I’m in no mood to be in that delicious food’s proximity without attacking it. 

“Come on, guys! Dinner time! Get your butts inside!“ I call out to them from the doorway.

Corpse turns to look at me with the sneakiest smirk I have ever seen. He narrows his eyes at me, “You have done the very thing you despise!”

It takes me approximately three seconds to connect the dots and scrunch up my face, picking up all the snow I can an forming it in a snow ball, throwing it at Corpse. Growing up doing this exact thing has given me great aim, therefore I hit Corpse square in the chest.

“Oh you’re so in for it now.“ He laughs, picking up snow to form his own snowball.

“Snowball fight!“ Ashley yells, ditching the sticks to make a snowball for herself.

“Oh no...“ I poke my head in the hallway just as a snowball hits my upper arm, “Aims, I need your help!“ 

Before Amy can respond, I run to take cover behind the nearest snowman that, luckily for me happens to be one of the larger ones. I hear Amy call out my name when she exits the house, followed by a surprised yelp from her when three snowballs hit her. “You are all dead!”

While she is fighting blood and fire (well, water really), I am making ammunition for us both to use. I’m on my eleventh snowball when snow showers me from above as though it has fallen from a tree branch.

“Hiding, I see.“ I am still in shock, hair and upper body covered in snow, when I hear Corpse’s taunting voice.

My vengeance instinct kicks in having me grab two snowballs and turn to throw them at him. To my dismay, he’s faster then me and doesn’t allow me to even get my arm at an angle where I could throw properly. Instead, he turns me back around and picks me up with ease, one arm wrapped around my waist, another grabbing two of my prepared snowballs from the ground.

“Let’s show them who the bosses are.“ I see him wink at me from the corner of my eye and it takes me little to no time to catch onto what he’s insinuating.

In short, with joined forces, we took out the opposite team in no time - like a true couple 😉

[potteresque-ire]

This is a response to @rainbowsky​ ‘s questions about BJYX, as the original post got too long for reblogging (I hope this is okay!). 1) Should we be worried about GG and DD being outed? I often think about what it’s like to be in the closet and I know how it feels to need to be SEEN. But I also understand the reasons why that might not be an option for them. Still, I worry about them being involuntarily outed. There are so many antis after them.

 2) What would you speculate is the likelihood of this ever happening, and what might be the consequences if it happened?Is leaving an option for them, even as a distant goal years from now?

3)Does their fame and popularity hold any protective power in the situation (i.e. if they were to come out or be outed, would public opinion about what might happen to them have any impact on the outcome given the nature of the regime)? To what degree would that depend on how much money they are still able to make for interested parties?

My response is under the cut, as it got long, as usual ~

@rainbowsky, you’re among the first BXGs I followed! I’d like to thank you for your insightful posts as well!

Your questions ~ I don’t think I’m qualified to speculate because I’m still a very new turtle and also because of the volatility as well as inconsistencies of China’s sociopolitical policies. I do have a better sense of China’s politics than most international fans, but I also don’t live there and the only way to truly understand how things work at the ground level in a non-transparent country like China is to be there.

(For example, China has officially banned Christmas celebrations  for the last several years, but as we saw last week, commercials remain very “Christmas-sy” and Chinese fans happily said Merry Christmas to each other. It takes someone who lives inside to know where to draw the line — what is permitted by the state and what isn’t — when the line shifts and adjusts accordingly.)

Here’re my thoughts, as of today (2020/12/31): if the perpetrator is only some segment of the fandom and the purpose is merely to knock them off the popularity pedestal, outing isn’t a particularly effective way to do so. Homosexuality, being a highly regulated subject in Chinese news and social media, is likely to mean limit transmission of the accusations. The accuser also has to run to risk of being banned themselves first. Also, with BJYX + ZSWW + LSFY being the sizes they are, the people who will most consider turning against gg and dd, ie, the solo fans, have probably already heard something. Some will leave, but the news won’t be a bombshell to them.

The next possibility is if a legal case becomes possible, ie. if China suddenly outlaws homosexuality. This scenario may seem the most dire on the surface but is also one that I least worry about, because with China’s judiciary system being very biased to those in power, if someone wants to frame gg and dd, they do not need to use sexuality as the accusation and subject themselves to the same restrictions as mentioned above. Tax evasion, as @peekbackstage has mentioned with the actress Fan Bing Bing, is far easier, because it tends the turn the audience against the defendant: these stars are making so much money and yet they’re not contributing their share! And as long as the accusers have sufficient power — remembering that commercial and political power are married in the country — the accuser can make up any evidence to suit their needs for any crime.

The third possibility is what I see as the worst case scenario: that the government decides they don’t want their major stars / entertainment industry to be *perceived* as queer — whether the stars are officially out doesn’t matter — and signals the media and commercial companies to stop using any “suspect” star altogether. (Chinese term: 封殺). This is the case of career murder without blood —  laws aren’t changed; all the fans will hear are rumours confirmed by nobody. I see this as a possibility because of the Xi regime’s view of The Ideal Men , and my admittedly limited experience with dealing with older generations of Chinese, who I’ve found tend to confuse perceived femininity in men with queerness. I think, and this is only my opinion, that the sheer amount of adapted BL dramas in production (the so-called “dangai 耽改 101” phenomenon) and the heated discussions of them on Weibo will at some point trigger the government (which is made mostly of older generations Chinese). Even if gg and dd don’t do anything, should the government decide these adapted BL dramas, even after the elimination of their queer element, are “non mainstream socialist core values”, all the major people involved with the Untamed—arguably the classic and the drama whose success all these follow-ups are trying to imitate—can be cast as the culprit. If the same officials become aware of BJYX and if they’re somehow convinced that BJYXSZD, it can be easy be used as evidence of the bad influence these dramas can do—“they can turn people gay”—and it doesn’t help that according to reports, gg, at least, used to have a girlfriend.

Something more to consider: Gg and dd are also in a very special position now, in that not only are they immensely popular in China, no other native mainland Chinese stars have achieved this level of international fame with a native mainland Chinese production (ie, not a production from Hollywood, Hong Kong or Taiwan, or with a Kpop band). As such, they are likely subjected to high levels of scrutiny from the state. Depending on who’s in charge in the appropriate department, they may decide gg and dd have to be China’s image; they may have a set idea of what image it is and most likely, it won’t be queer. 2021 and the first quarter of 2022 are special times for China, image wise, both at home and abroad. 2021 is the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party, and gg and dd are both starring in its propaganda productions (dd as a police in BAH and gg as an army officer in AT). CCTV, the state-controlled TV station, is already promoting these shows. So, for 2021, gg and dd are slated to not only be the faces of Chinese entertainment, but also the image of Chinese uniformed forces. If gg and dd come out or are outed, their allowing themselves to be being perceived as queer while donning uniforms will most likely to be viewed by the current regime as an embarrassment; a career murder, then, is an apt response to such transgression. 2022 is the year of Beijing’s Winter Olympics, so again, it’s the time where image matters.

You may have noticed a pattern, as I have as I write this up: them being outed is something to worry about, but also ... nothing more than anything else. If someone wants to tear gg and dd down — and there will be, given their massive commercial power right now and the increasing evidence that they’re working more like collaborators than competitors (ie, they aren’t about to tear each other down any time soon) — they do not need their sexuality as a reason.

(And if these accusers really want to use homosexuality as a reason, the unofficial BTS is, IMO, more than enough, as long as the accusers have sufficient power.)

Your other question ~ can gg and dd’s fame, popularity, and ability to draw consumers protect them? My (slightly) educated guess of the answer, then, is that it’s very much a double-edged sword. Indeed, the one major thing that may be going for these adapted BL dramas, and for those who come to superstardom to it — with gg and dd being the prime examples — is the economic health of China, which, by some reports that can no way be verified, are far worse than what has been reported. This is the thing about countries lack transparency; without reliable news, there’s no way to get the facts. Reports on China outside the country tend to be either propaganda or demonising / filled with conspiracy theories, and the truth is probably somewhere in between. If the reports of poor economy are true, the commercial sector — which, again, is tied to those with political power; ie the money made in the former goes into the pockets of the latter — desperately needs stars like gg and dd to move products (based on those recent consumer reports!) and with that, it will want to keep gg and dd and these dramas that can potentially make more gg and dd around. This *seems* to be what’s happening so far, with the the state-run media happy to show gg and dd’s dramas (when it should know, at least, that they got to the height of their fame playing lovers-not-lovers) and gg and dd’s sponsors not-so-subtly wooing the BJYX segment of fandom, so I’m tentatively optimistic. However, the current regime has also shown a willingness to sacrifice the economy for the sake of political ideology, so it’s not something to be taken for granted. (What’s going on in Hong Kong is a good example of that.)

(I always think, eat each candy like it can be the last one. With this regime, it can be. We can wake up tomorrow and gg and dd have to break up BJYX to protect the fans.)

(I always think, treasure, treasure, treasure. Ask for more dy and lz and Weibo posts, but never anymore from gg and dd when it comes to insights of their relationship, even without considering it’s actually their private lives and they’re under no obligation to share.)

(They’ve shared with us far more than enough.)

There’s really no precedence for us to predict the future of an outed gg and dd from, as far as I know. Confirmed queer stars in Chinese entertainment (those with sufficient followers to make news) have all been from Hong Kong, Taiwan and other countries. The successful BL dramas before The Untamed — Addicted (2016) and The Guardian (2018) — didn’t have a real-person cp that truly took off. Addicted, a true BL drama (ie, it retained the queer elements), was banned before it finished its broadcast. The two actors were also banned from appearing together afterwards, and this “signal” from the government almost cost the two actors their career. Bai Yu from The Guardian, meanwhile, already had a girlfriend as he filmed, so there was never a Weibo supertopic dedicated to him and Zhu Yilong. gg and dd, along with their millions of turtles, are treading untrodden ground.

Something I should clarify ~ all the things I said above may sound very scary to international fans, but to those who live in the country, they understand it as the way things are, and they strategise and move accordingly. This is their way of life. What I wanted to say, in my first reblog, is that we who’re outside may not understand why they do things the way they do, why they don’t, for example, come out with all the candies they are spending so much effort to give out, but I do believe that gg and dd have a plan, not in the sense that they’re scheming or trying to trick anyone, but that they are moving things along at the pace necessary to meet the pre-requisites for the outcome they want. What this outcome is is anyone’s guess, mine being that they have the freedom to work together, not necessary in lover’s capacity — most of us are not required to perform our day jobs carrying our identity as so-and-so’s significant other and gg and dd shouldn’t be exceptions — but as colleagues, professionals and friends (lovers are friends). 

To some international fans, this may sound implausible, ridiculous: why do they need a multi year campaign for something as simple as this? As working together again? And I suppose, all these words I’ve typed so far is my attempt to answer this question, to ease the … unease, the frustration of those who may not understand. True to its marxist root, perhaps, many things that are considered mindless, effortless tasks elsewhere somehow become battles, grand struggles of sorts in China. That sea of sea lights on the night of Tencent awards, for example? It was the result of gg’s fans fighting, strategising in real time to smuggle those LED banners in when they realised the venue had forbidden their entry. They wrapped the banners around their bodies under their underwear because they were patted down by security at the underwear level; they hid batteries in their shoes. They ran batteries from one zone in the stadium to another during the whole show for whose who only managed to smuggle in banners or batteries. They fought the security guards inside the stadium, who continued to snatch away their banners even after seeing they were merely support material for the idols. They fought and fought, despite their identities were recorded by their COVID pass and facial recognition. Many confessed they had no idea what gg was singing during the show; they were too busy. They were there, some paying scalpers > 10x the ticket price, just because they promised the sea of red would be there for gg when he returned. When some realised dd’s banners were confiscated in high numbers because his fans happened to have seats right by the strictest security, they improvised, found an image of a green block to show on their cell phones to make makeshift green support lights for dd. They used Weibo to spread this trick to fellow fans. All these trouble, all these effort, all these planning and scheming and sweat and tears — all for one night, one concert and they laughed about it, called it a wonderful day.

(There are many ways for lives to be hard.)

The very first thing gg and dd need to accomplish, therefore, isn’t to announce what they do in the bedroom—the very first thing they need, for their plan to come to fruition, is to stay on top of the industry. How can they be on the same stage for the yearly Tencent Awards if either of them fails to make VIP? What’s their negotiation chip for a future collaboration, when the current norm is against cps like them working together again, if they cannot draw enough viewers and consumers, or if they offend Tencent and other media companies by refusing to see to the needs of the other side (for example, the need to promote new dramas)? So far, the two of them have accomplished this in flying colours. The other thing they need right now, the way I see it, is for their fans to get along. I think part of the reason they’ve made BJYXSZD so easy to believe in and love, in addition to their very human need to be seen when their careers may be safer otherwise (yes, I think they know what they’re doing, the candies they’re throwing), is because they want their fans to unite, as they have united. To make sure something like 227 cannot happen again, or at least, if it does happen again, their fans cannot be used as an excuse, as scapegoats. And this union is happening — slowly, but it’s happening. The size of BJYX (>2.8 million as of now, on Weibo supertopic) is a powerful indicator; I also had a wonderful time reading the comments of gg’s solo fans who went to purchase dd’s new song. This is the part gg and dd need their fan’s help. This is the one of the fews things we, as overseas fans who have limited access to their products, can help.

Your final question — sorry, this is getting so long again — about leaving. Of course, it’s always up to the government and It’s impossible to say what can happen so far ahead. But my perception, right now at least, is that gg and dd have no intention to leave, no intention to sacrifice their career for their personal lives and vice versa. After all, this is a pair who has answered those A vs B choice questions with a straight-faced “I want both” and “so annoying” without a follow-up reply. They’re right to want both. I like them for wanting both. And maybe, with their intelligence, charisma and hardwork and ambition and personalities that seem to clash but somehow complements each other’s, they will figure out a way. Maybe they are, as the Chinese turtles call them, the Chosen Pair, and they will be the ones who’ll change the perception fo queer artists in China, and we’ll one day get a biography about them and laugh at the candies we get right, laugh harder at those candies we get totally wrong.

(Dd ~ I want your honest opinion, in your own words, on the ones we get wrong.)

(Gg ~ videos of your expressions while reading the crazy theories the first time will be very much appreciated. By me.)

It’s a good day to look forward to.

[spade-riddles]

Submission: Adjusting expectations

Okay, guys. Wading in here where it’s possible no-one wants me, but … here goes. 

We - Kaylors - are in a hard place right now. People feel hurt, they feel hopeless. They feel like they were led on by the likes of Spade. I’m not here to invalidate any of the feelings that come from seeing Karlie and Taylor play out this charade.  

But I think we (collectively, as a fandom) need to take a breath and ask if any of this is really as bad or unfixable as we think it is. Because, for me, the recent stunting is hard to stomach but not truly surprising. On some level this is how I expected Karlie and Taylor to handle both the birth of the baby and the launch of the rerecorded albums. As much I wanted to believe in the idea of spring breaking loose and bringing with it a fervent revolution … I could see the pieces still in play on the board and I doubted it was coming. 

I think the problem is that there was a split between the optimist and pragmatist sides of the fandom, over the last year or so. To be clear - I’m not judging the optimist side of the fandom. Not at all. Taylor has pulled wildcard moves before, and emotions run so high in all this, especially with a baby involved now, that I don’t blame people for wanting to believe the best. But it reached a stage where some of the things people were trying to talk themselves into were just wildly unrealistic. And when that happens, of course you’re going to get hurt. It’s inevitable. 

But let’s really look at this for a second. We should have known that neither Karlie nor Taylor was going to be shaving her beard in March. Ditching Jerk right after or just before the birth would have been too soon for Karlie. It’s not unusual for a celeb marriage to fizzle out within a year of the birth, but before the baby even arrives? That would be weird, and would draw attention just when it seems Kaylor don’t want it. They just had a baby. That’s an adjustment in itself, and Karlie is suffering enough social media hate on top of that. I wouldn’t blame her for just wanting to take a break and lie low during this difficult time. And unfortunately, for Karlie, that means maintaining the status quo of the situation she put herself in with Jerk. She may be doing the bare minimum to maintain it, but if she wants to avoid attention, she has to make it seem like everything between her and her “husband” is normal. And that she’s trying to make it work, which I believe will be important later. Good people try to make it work, even in bad relationships. 

Toe wasn’t going anywhere either. Taylor had relied on him so heavily during the promotion of Folklore, with the William Bowery narrative, that she was almost backed into a corner. She had to give some allusion to his air quotes “creative input” and their so-called happy relationship, or her failure to do so would have become the story and overshadowed her night. The headlines would have either been break-up speculation or complaints that she didn’t give him his due. We think the cutesy coverage after she named him in her acceptance speech was bad, but negative headlines have a far longer shelf life and can take on a life of their own. They would have been worse. Whatever we might think of Taylor’s actions, Folklore is one of her best albums and she deserved to have her night. 

So, on to the announcement of the birth. This is a tricky one, and again, I completely understand why people reacted so badly against it. It was everything we as a fandom said we didn’t want. It was Jerk using the baby for personal good PR. But I have to be honest here. I always thought we were kidding ourselves believing he would NEVER be seen with the baby or implied to be the father. I do believe Karlie is doing her damnedest to minimize the digital footprint of his involvement and keep her actual baby out of it. But he was always going to get to bask in the glow of playing daddy for a while. It’s the trade off Kaylor made when they used him to shore up their closet. 

This is also why I increasingly suspect the timing of the announcement got the green light from Kaylor too. If Jerk was always going to be assumed to be the father of Karlie’s baby, then there was always going to have to be a birth announcement that incorporated him somehow - unless the girls were ready to answer awkward questions, and it doesn’t seem like we’re there yet. So the best way to minimize the damage is to have his moment of glory overshadowed by a bigger win for Taylor. It worked pretty well actually. Even on Kaylor blogs the stunt was mostly buried by Taylor content.

I know a lot of fans feel gaslit by all the hints, but I do think there’s a possibility Taylor really didn’t grasp how hurt Kaylors would be. From her perspective, she “fed” fans three times over that night. She gave us a beautiful performance, a gorgeous red carpet moment, and a win to celebrate. I think it’s possible she really didn’t realize the double whammy of stunting that night would make it all feel worthless for many.

Taylor is in an awkward position. As a consequence of Kaylor retreating into the closet, the support base for them has shrunk. (When I use the words “Kaylor fandom”, I refer to this support base.) I would say Kaylor fandom consists of two parts. There is a silent portion, who observe events and comment anonymously, but don’t say anything “on main”. And then there are the small corps of true believers, who think Karlie and Taylor are still together and the baby is theirs. This latter group do most of the actual talking about Kaylor, but they tend to be pretty battle-hardened. They’ve been around for years, they never believe any of the stunts and their capacity to be hurt by them is, as a result, pretty limited. These Kaylors criticize sometimes, but they tend to fall back in line eventually and mostly adopt a “let’s wait and see how this all shakes out” approach. The problem is that I would say these “chilled” Kaylors are the minority. For their own sanity they curate their blog experience and often don’t post the more negative anons they get. Which is fine, but if you were looking at it from the outside, I could see how it might create an impression that the fandom as a whole can roll with the punches. And for a lot of the silent majority, that’s not the case. 

But again, I can see how Taylor might not necessarily know that. She went quiet after the Grammys, when I might have expected more celebratory posts from her. If I had to guess, I’d say she didn’t expect the backlash. I’m especially noticing a backlash against her for allowing Karlie to take so many hits while her own reputation has never been better. And I can’t defend her on that one, except to say I hope she has a plan. But I understand where people are coming from when they say the songs aren’t enough and actions speak louder than words. It’s tough to watch. 

Still, we’re in a position we should realistically have been able to see coming. We should have known Jerk wasn’t going to be out of the picture immediately after the birth. This is one of those things nobody likes, but maybe we all just have to be patient on. I don’t see Karlie busting out of the closet to admit her marriage was a fake, or testifying to the FBI. I think she’ll just let her marriage quietly fall apart, as many real marriages did during the pandemic. And for that to work, she needs to make it look like didn’t throw away a family unit lightly. Hence the “I tried” post, the social media break, and the suggestions of spending time with Jerk’s family. All of this can be spun later into a narrative of Karlie having tried to make it work, only to never really be accepted. The hate online affected her mental health and she gradually realized how unhappy she’d become and decided she needed to break free and find her old self again for her baby’s sake. This is the most likely narrative for Karlie’s freedom and it’s one that could work - but it’s going to take time to unfold. Personally, I’m giving it a year. If we don’t see a separation by then, and definitive moves to a reunited Kaylor, I’ll be bowing out. I’ll still know what I believe the truth to be, but I won’t see the need to devote my energy to defending it. ,

Meanwhile, the masters rerecords are about to be released, and Taylor has invested a lot in their success. Because of this, I can’t envision her coming out until at least the big three (Fearless, 1989, and Red) have dropped. She might drop hints, but I don’t expect anything earth-shattering. Even the order of the album releases seems to confirm this. She’s breaking out the big guns first. 

I’ve seen people speculate that because Rep can’t be rerecorded until 2022, Taylor will hold off on any coming out until then. And I’m not so sure of that. Yes, people listening to the album for clues would give Scott and Scooter money, but if we’re being honest, a fair amount of people are probably listening to those albums already, regardless of the drama. Those sleazeballs are profiting from Rep, full stop. But if Taylor profits more, from her bigger albums, she still wins. And she can still put out a Taylor’s version of Rep with vault tracks and collabs, to seduce people away from the Big Machine version in early 2022. Honestly, I think there’s a good chance Taylor would consider this is a worthwhile trade-off anyway, if it meant she got to live a more open life with Karlie - and most crucially, begin to repair Karlie’s reputation. As children get older and the world begins to leave the pandemic behind, it becomes harder to live behind closed doors. I guess we’ll find out how Taylor finds the reality of such a life, and what she considers worth sacrificing to step away from it. 

All this to say: I can’t predict the future more than anyone else, but I don’t think the situation we’re in now is irreparable, and if we’re being really objective, I don’t think it’s even surprising. I do think Taylor should give us something, if she wants to keep us around. No-one can live on a complete absence of hope, and as I’ve stated, letting the fandom dwindle to this extent has its own dangers. But I think we also need to keep our time frames realistic, even if it means rejecting lifelines like the Spade riddles. We shouldn’t expect Karlie to be free of Jerk for around a year, and we shouldn’t expect Taylor to do anything much beyond general music promo until at least the big three have dropped. Sucks to say it, I know. But at least this way we won’t be disappointed, and if Kaylor do pull a wild card and move towards freedom, we can be pleasantly surprised. 

Just my two cents. 

___________________

Well written and fair arguments on our reactions and expectations. I had typed up more, but I will let others post their comments before I chime in.

[writesowhatnext]

game, set, match // oliver wood

Summary: Slytherin!reader is a complete flirt. Oliver Wood hates it; he promises. He’s sure.

Request: heyyyy! how about oliver wood with a very flirty slytherin!reader, where she's the seeker in the slytherin team? thanks!

A/N: I loved this request oml but also Y/L/N is your last name bc quidditch... sorry this took me so long to write bc this is like my dream request so I don’t know why I struggled so much but I really hope you like it

Reader: female, Slytherin

Warnings: flirting, innuendo, suggestive themes, making out

“We’re gonna train earlier, harder and longer,” Oliver said, completely unaware of the eye rolls of his teammates. He’d never been too good at noticing things like that, especially when his mind was so preoccupied with quidditch plays and quidditch teams and how he could get out of Potions faster to practice for quidditch.

You were quite observant, though, and even from across the courtyard, the Gryffindor captain caught your eye. Everyone had always said he was an excellent captain – obsessed, mind you, but brilliant all the same - but no one warned you about how handsome he’d be. You watched with poorly disguised intrigue as his face soured when he spotted Marcus Flint approach, a gaggle of green-cloaked students trailing behind him across the stone slabs.

“What?” Oliver huffed, scowling. “I don’t believe it.”

You couldn’t help but smile as his frowned deepened. You and Oliver Wood did not know each other: you weren’t in the same circles and you didn’t often stoop low enough to associate with Gryffindors, but his cute pout and angry brows made you rethink that rule of yours.

“Where do you think you’re going, Flint?”

Flint grinned; either he didn’t sense Oliver’s anger, or he didn’t care. Your money was well placed on the latter.

“Quidditch practice.”

Both teams edged closer to each other, each captains’ dull irritation turning the air stale. You regarded the tension with a rather amused grin.

“I booked the pitch for Gryffindor today.”

“Easy, Wood,” Flint said, his tone mocking. Oliver ground his teeth together. “I’ve got a note.”

Oliver snatched the scroll from his hands, peeling it open. His eyes scanned the words quickly, Fred looming over his shoulder to get a better look. You listened with equal parts smugness and intrigue as he read it out, his accent like music to your ears.

“I, Professor Severus Snape,” he said, his annoyance growing by the second. “Hereby give the Slytherin team permission to practice today owing to the need to train their new seeker.”

His eyes darted to Flint’s.

“You’ve got a new seeker,” he said dryly. “Who?”

The sea of green cloaks parted and you stepped out, your head tilted to the side slightly as you smiled at him.

“Hi,” you said lightly, wiggling the fingers of your free hand at him, the other clutched loosely around your broom.

You smirked as Oliver’s brows drew down, his team simultaneously sizing you up behind him. He recognised your face from Charms, or perhaps Defence Against the Dark Arts, he wasn’t sure. He tended to avoid Slytherins and looking at your teasing expression, he realised why.

“You’re the new seeker?” he asked, unable and unwilling to hide the incredulity of his tone. His eyes trailed over your face critically.

“Yes,” you said lazily, more amused than insulted. “Seems I’ve got a knack for it.”

“Right.”

“If I was more sensitive, I’d be offended, Wood,” you said slowly, wetting your lips. “I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of each other.”

As you followed Flint towards the quidditch pitch, a renewed sense of excitement flooded through you. Sure, being on the quidditch team would be fun anyway, but now you had Oliver Wood to play with and so, the world seemed just that much brighter. You were more than pleased when you glanced back to see the whole Gryffindor team watching after you. With a wink and a wave, you disappeared down the hallway towards the pitch, grinning at the frown pulling at Wood’s brows.

“Blimey,” Fred said as they returned back to the common room, tails between their legs. “That new seeker’s definitely got the hots for you, Wood.”

“Did you see that wink?” George snorted. “She’s got balls, I’ll give her that.”

“What?” Oliver said shortly, stopping just before the Fat Lady’s portrait. He told himself that he was irritated about not being able to practice, but he couldn’t ignore the strange frustration he felt at hearing Fred and George speak about you as if they were impressed.

“Oh, don’t pretend you didn’t notice,” George said, rolling his eyes as he dipped through the portrait hole.

“She was eyeing you up the whole time.”

“What are you two on about?”

Fred and George shared a look as Wood retreated to his dorm, his thoughts plagued by your silly little wave and cocky little grin, his cheeks pink.

He found himself noticing you everywhere after that; a strange turn of events for him given his usual inobservance. At first, it was in Potions, listening to you laugh across the classroom, and then after that, he caught your eye in the Great Hall and yet again, you shot him a wink that had him frowning. He even met you waiting for the same staircase.

“Morning, Wood,” you said with that same teasing smile. He pursed his lips together, exhaling sharply out of his nose.

“Morning,” he said reluctantly, shuffling from one foot to the other. You stood there in silence for a moment, shoulder to shoulder as the staircase swung around.

“Are you a snitch?” you said conversationally, biting your cheek. You turned to face him, watching his expression contort in confusion.

“Am I a-“

“Because you’re quite the catch.”

He watched you walk leisurely up the stairs with his mouth open and his brows knitted together. Were you hitting on him? He swallowed, clearing his throat as a first-year thundered past him to reach the stairs before they moved again. He followed them up, feeling somewhat of a first-year again himself, before he huffed and annoyance ran through him at your audacity. Who exactly did you think you were?

He got his answer next time he saw you on the quidditch pitch. You were flirting, apparently. Gryffindor vs Slytherin games were always a struggle; it was hard to beat a good team as it was, but beating a good team that also cheated felt next to impossible. It didn’t help at all that you were so distracting as you hovered near him by the goalposts, watching for the snitch.

“You’re looking rather dashing today, Wood,” you said, balancing your elbows on the broom to rest your chin against your hand.

He rolled his eyes at your words, blushing slightly as he eyed your laidback position.

“And I know a fantastic way to make it up to you when you lose,” you said, amusement ringing through your tone.

“Don’t you have a job to do, Y/L/N?” he asked, feigning irritation. You grinned, pleasantly surprised that he even knew your name.

“I do, actually,” you replied softly. “I’m a hell of a seeker, you know. And I think you might be the one I’m looking for.”

His head shot up, his shocked eyes meeting your ever-present smirk.

“What exactly are you trying-“ he began, desperately trying to hide the way your words rattled him.

“Sorry, Wood, gotta run. Apparently, I have a job to do. I’ll definitely catch you later.”

You shot after the snitch towards the Ravenclaw stand, leaving Wood thoroughly confused in your wake, a strange stirring in his chest.

Gryffindor lost that game.

Everyone could tell that Wood was more irritated than usual at the loss, but nobody knew that it was because you were right and that he hated that you were right. It irked him that you were a hell of a seeker. It irked him that you were so cocky. It irked him that you flirted with him so brazenly. More than anything, it irked him that he found himself undeniably and unfortunately attracted to you.

His team could guess, though, the link between your flirty remarks and Oliver’s recently extra-aggravated mood. The twins specifically were fans of seeing Wood so flustered, and because of a girl no less. What they weren’t particular fans of was losing and Wood’s distracted state seemed to be the main contributor to Gryffindors recent streak.

“Okay, Wood,” Fred said, sitting on one side of him as George sat on the other. Never a good sign, Oliver thought.

“We need to talk.”

The Transfiguration class was filling up; they wouldn’t have long to talk some sense into their captain before McGonagall arrived.

“About?”

“The Slytherin.”

Oliver raised his eyebrows, busying himself with shuffling his parchment and trying not to let his feelings leak onto his face.

“Which Slytherin?” he replied, his words deliberate.

“You hear that George?” Fred snorted. “Which Slytherin, he says.”

“Oh, just the Slytherin that you’ve been flirting with for the past three weeks.”

“That Slytherin.”

“I’m sure you remember her.”

“She’s the one flirting with me!” Wood snapped loudly, defensively, drawing the attention of some Ravenclaws from the row next to him.

“So, you do know who we’re on about,” George said smugly, tilting his head to the side.

“Very well, it appears,” Fred nodded, smirking.

Oliver rolled his eyes and groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers.

“What of it?” he said, his voice strained.

“You need to talk to her,” George said.

“Or tell her to stop,” Fred continued.

“Anything so we can start winning again.”

“You could hex her…”

“Or snog her…”

“Maybe you could just shag her in the broom-“

“Alright, alright,” Oliver said, his eyes narrowed as he scowled, unable to keep his cheeks from blushing. “You’ve made your point.”

“Excellent,” they said with matching grins as they walked over to their seats across the room, pushing each other on the way.

Even though Transfiguration was already ruined for the day, Wood was pleased that that particular conversation was over with. He didn’t think there was anyone he wanted to talk about you less with than the twins with their ruthless taunting. There was no way he’d be able to keep his thoughts from straying to you during class, but at least with Professor McGonagall teaching, his daydreaming would be kept to a minimum. The last thing he needed was the wrath of McGonagall; his recent performance in Quidditch was not helping him stay in her good books as it was. She hadn’t arrived yet, though, and so he let himself wallow a little bit, his head falling pitifully into his hands.

The first poke he felt at his shoulder he ignored, writing it off as an accident. The second had him sitting up straighter. The third time, he tutted, swearing quietly under his breath before he whipped around to see you, of all people, sat behind him. His eyes went wide at the sight of you and all of his frustration frustratingly melted into a puddle of nerves.

“Yes?” he asked, trying not to show it under your steady gaze. “Can I help you?”

“Well,” you said, your smile immediately filling him with regret at his word choice. “There’s a lot of ways you can help me…”

You trailed off as his expression turned guarded and your lips twitched. You leant forward onto your elbows, pleased when he didn’t recoil at the close proximity of your faces.

“I just wanted to say hi, though, for now.”

Oliver frowned; his suspicion obvious.

“…Hello, then,” he said hesitantly, his sweet little scowl making its way back onto his face. Surely you had to have some sort of remark planned, ready to fluster him once again.

“You seem rather stressed today.”

Oliver paused again before responding, not sure how to process your first proper conversation. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to share his current woes with you, especially given you were the cause, but your eyes seemed sincere for once and that incessant smirk seemed a little less hostile this close.

“I’m not everyone’s favourite person at the minute.”

“Ah,” you said, nodding knowingly. “Because of quidditch.”

He hadn’t expected you to be so blunt, but he was pleasantly surprised by it.

“Seems I’m a bit distracted.” He said, shocked by his own boldness.

His words hung in the air between you for a moment and he watched with wary interest as a smile lifted at your cheeks. He was struck, really, that he’d never seen you smile properly before. You had an excellent smirk and you portrayed vague amusement like an expert, but the way your eyes were crinkling had him doing the same. Your flirty remarks died on your tongue at the way he grinned at you, and you found yourself feeling more and more like a silly little school girl by the second. Flirting with him had started out as a bit of fun, especially when you caught his irritated glances and flushed expression, but by the way your stomach had turned into butterfly house, it was suddenly something else entirely, something actually quite nerve-wracking.

“I can give you a tip if you like,” you said, swallowing the lump in your throat. “An old wives’ tale about brooms. Might help you with your quidditch playing.”

He pursed his lips, enjoying talking to you more than he’d have liked. He doubted, looking at your face, that what you were about to say would help him, but he didn’t really care.

“Go on, then.”

Your smirk returned, but you were more nervous to deliver your line than you ever had been, hopefully, he didn’t notice.

“Don’t you think broomsticks have it bad?”

He frowned.

“They have to carry someone around all day, constantly destroyed by bludgers-“

“Is this going somewhere?” Oliver asked almost playfully, his brow raised. You shushed him, pushing his shoulder gently in scolding, an oddly informal gesture for the two of you.

“So, what they say is: save a broom, you know; just ride a quidditch play-“

“Ms Y/L/N.”

Your blood ran cold as Oliver turned around, Professor McGonagall somehow appearing right in front of him.

“Perhaps it would be a good idea to save your quidditch tips for outside the classroom, hm?”

Oliver realised with a healthy amount of surprise that, for the first time since meeting you, you were nervous, embarrassed even. Despite the scolding from McGonagall and the fact that this would land him even further away from her good graces, he couldn’t help but smile at your softness.

“Of course, Professor,” you replied, your voice uncharacteristically small. He bit his lip as he faced the front, struggling to contain his grin and struggling to ignore the funny feeling in his chest at seeing a different side of you.

Oliver was more stunned than anybody at how much he enjoyed your company. What surprised him the most, though, was how much he needed to see you again. How much your face plagued his thoughts.

“Oi, Y/N!” he yelled across the quidditch pitch, jogging over to you. He didn’t have a plan, per se, as you turned around and grinned, watching him stride towards you in his school robes. The closer he got to you and your teammates, all dressed in dark green, the more flustered he felt and he cursed you for a second for being so attractive in the sunlight.

“You alright, Wood?” you asked, folding your arms over one another and wetting your lips.

“Good, yes, yeah, you?” he said, slightly breathless from his run. You pursed your lips to contain your laughter at his flushed face.

“I’m fine,” you said, tilting your head to the side quizzically, an unspoken question.

“Can I- uh- borrow you?” he said, swallowing the tightness in his throat. “Alone.”

You turned to Flint with a raised eyebrow, your jaw clenched to suppress your smile.

“Only be a few minutes,” Oliver said, trying to appeal to Flint’s non-existent better nature.

“Please?” you said, beaming when Flint rolled his eyes, nodding reluctantly.

“What’s up, then, Wood?” you said, walking away from your teammates, your shoulders almost touching.

“Uh,” he said. What was up? What was he doing? Why didn’t he have a plan?

Looking at your amused expression and bright eyes, he floundered, not at all sure of what he was doing. He let out an uneasy chuckle when you waved your hands in front of his face.

“You seem… distracted,” you said, echoing his words from before, quietly pleased when he smiled.

“I am, actually,” he said, nodding with newfound confidence. “You’re very distracting.”

He hummed.

“All this flirting is awful for my quidditch performance, you see. Just can’t stop thinking about you.”

You paused, pulling your top lip between your teeth.

“Is that right?” you said, feeling your cheeks heat up as you raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, it is,” he said, stepping closer to you, his hands hovering just over your hips. “I suppose there’s only one thing to do about it.”

“Oh?” you said, swallowing apprehensively as he leant towards you. He smirked.

“You’re looking a bit nervous there, Y/N.”

“Me? Never, I-“

Before you could finish your unconvincing protest, you were interrupted by his lips on yours. Your stomach flipped at the feeling, but only a second passed before he pulled away.

His expression was panicked as he looked at you, your faces so close you felt his breath on your face.

“Oh,” you said softly, reaching your hands up to play with the lapels of his robes. “I always knew you were a keeper.”

He scoffed, throwing his head back and barking a laugh.

“Shut up,” he said, tilting his head to kiss you again, this time properly.

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[pynkhues]

. Hi, tbh Im feeling kinda sad lol That ep for me just didn't really give me closure I guess. I feel like the introduction of Nick's character was really just more to serve Beth's storyline than Rio. As we seen from these flashbacks Nick and Rio have such a toxic relationship. Nick Is an abuser!! He had such a hold on Rio for so long. I don't like the implication that Rio only decided that Nick has to go because of Beth it also doesnt make sense . It would have been more satisfying if Rio was the one working towards the entire szn to take Nick down.

Also wish i could have enjoyed the bench scene. I couldn't really because Anne and Ruby were suffering. Not that I want to see any of the girls suffer but I feel like every ch this szn suffered but Beth . She really never faced any consequences. Sure yes she got shot but compared to other injuries shown in the show.(Turner, Rio of course, Ruby etc) I say it wasn't that bad. They rly glossed over it pretty quickly . Now shes in such a power position and has Rio working for her!! Which full circle but this feels off . I guess what I'm saying is that none of what happened felt earned if that makes sense? IMO it all felt very rushed. . Sorry if this comes off negative n sry for how long this is lol. Would love to hear from your perspective?

Hi! I’m sorry you feel sad about it, anon, and I’m sorry that you don’t feel like it gave you closure! I get that – series finale’s are challenging at the best of times, but especially when show’s don’t realise they’re the finale, much like Good Girls didn’t with this season.

You’ve asked a few questions here, so I’m going to break it down into two sections, the first being Rio, Beth and Nick, and the second being that Beth didn’t suffer any consequences, and look, I’m going to prep you early! While I agree with a lot of your minor points, I don’t really agree with either of your major ones. I can absolutely see your standpoint on the first, which I’ll come to shortly; but I’m genuinely baffled at this point by anyone thinking that Beth hasn’t suffered any real consequence across the course of this show. In fact, I’d argue that she’s the character who has suffered the most consequences, and quite frankly, I’m exhausted by the hunger to see her punished.

I’ll come to that point too though.

Okay, let’s start with Nick.

Nick is abusive! I agree with that absolutely. I think he’s a toxic person who has manipulated Rio and positioned him where he wants him for a lot of their lives, but I disagree that Rio necessarily wanted out of that. What we saw of their relationship in s4 was that it was symbiotic. They function in a relationship which is mutually beneficial. Rio makes Nick money, Nick protects Rio and gives him broader professional networks.

Otherwise, they live separate lives, something very much established in 4.06 with the fact that Nick had no idea who Beth even was.

Rio has always seen Beth first and foremost as an avenue to opportunity. She was a pathway to a world he hadn’t had access to in s1, then one to the Boland Motors operation in s2, and free money in s3, and then as a way to greater power in s4. Yeah, his personal feelings were in play in the latter too, but Rio only entertained Beth taking down Nick when he saw it as a way of securing a better portion of Detroit himself.

He only talked to her about it when she was already running for city council, had Sweet P’s and the money laundering behind her, and was going after Nick herself.

Every character on this show is, in some way, parasitic, but especially Rio. I don’t even mean that in a bad way! He’s a smart guy who knows what works, knows what’ll run, and he attaches himself to that. He’s been that way since he saw a use for the girls in sending them over the border in 1.03. This is a huge part of the character he is, and him balancing his affection for Beth and his strained relationship with Nick doesn’t – and shouldn’t – change that. So why would he exit out of a beneficial relationship with Nick before he had an alternative?

God, in some ways, it’s probably easier for Rio to have a bad relationship with the person feeding that need for him, because there’s less of an attachment.

I think that the shifting power dynamics between Rio, Nick and Beth were really pivotal to that arc overall and that Rio saw advantage in the same breath that he realised his own weaknesses, and I think the arc let Beth reconnect with Rio in a meaningful way while letting her redistribute her hunger for power in a way that ultimately allowed her to see Rio as a co-captain instead of the lifeboat she’s always hadto see him as because of her circumstances.

Nick was a tool that let the power between them rebalance itself, and gave them both the chance to move forwards as equals, and I think that was felt in both their arcs, not just in Beth’s or just in Rio’s.

Beth has faced no consequences

Oh, anon. I know you don’t mean it this way, but this is something that infuriates me on so many levels.

Beth has, over the course of the season, lost everything.

She lost her parents before the series even began, her house in the pilot, her marriage and financial security at multiple points, the entire contents of her house in season 3, her children in season 2, and her relationship with her chosen family, Ruby, in s2 and s4. She’s been pursued aggressively by the FBI and the Secret Service, turned herself in and was arrested by the FBI, she’s been shot, she’s been cheated on by her husband, betrayed by her husband, set up, kidnapped, blackmailed and threatened by Rio, and strongarmed into a date with Fitzpatrick. She’s had a friend murdered, been chewed out by her best friend’s husband, and now, had her sister arrested for a crime neither of them commit, but a man tried to get her to take the blame for.

What else would you like to see her lose?

How else would you like her to face consequences?

How else do you think she should suffer?

And why do you think she should suffer more than she already has?

Because if you don’t think she’s paid her dues at this point, I don’t know what to tell you anymore beyond the fact that this makes me very, very sad.