#this is what you get instead

[blaithnne]

Live Mel reaction

[strangeguitar]

MARKIPLIER FOR PRESIDENT 2024 🇺🇸🦅🇺🇸🦅🇺🇸🦅🇺🇸🦅🇺🇸🦅

[rad-rat-with-a-tophat]

prompt: “Sorry, I think my brain stopped working for a second when you said you loved me.”

i know you probably want fanfic but i couldn't find a pairing i could write well enough with that prompt so...

her ya go!

Locke was fucked. And she meant fucked.

They were pacing between a short stretch of trees in their local forest trying to deal with what they had done.

You ask what Locke had done?

You'll see.

Also with her, was Leta.

Locke had knew of Leta since 4th grade. She had only gotten to know her at the beginning of sophomore year. And once they got the know her, her life was changed.

Locke was in all honestly shit at keeping friends. She'd befriend them and think Wow, their so cool! We're gonna have a friendship that I'll tell people in my old age. This is going to be something out of a coming-of-age film! But that was always short lasted.

Because the thing about Locke, was that they always git tired of people. Loved them for a while until the newness of it all faded and they drifted apart. The other person finding people who would actually care about them. Not make up fake activities and plans to get out of hanging out. Not ignore their texts because all of a sudden her friend had become annoying. Not give them short, curt answers until they left on their own. All because Locke got tired of people as if they were nothing but songs you'd play on repeat until you despised them.

Until Leta, Leta was something else entirely.

She didn't feel new or exciting, she was familiar, like Locke had known her since she was born. She was a warm hearth, she wasn't a coming-of-age film but instead the old and used copy of The Mysterious Benedict Society that Locke would read when their emotions started drowning them in ceaseless noise and weight.

And right now Leta was sitting on the old tree stump that the two of them had claimed as their own. This little pocket of the woods wasn't really that far from houses and streets but it felt like it.

There was a tall, thick pine tree that fallen and its uppermost branches lied on the floor, creating a shelter for two teenagers who wanted something that wasn't real life.

It made them feel like they were living among faeries, as if the forest had a mind of its own and let two children believe that it had shown them this spot, as if it was their hide-away from a harsh world and not a random spot in a tiny forest by the huge suburb's they lived in's reservoir. Like a 35 year old man and his wife didn't bring their huge husky named Vince here, like the couple didn't feel like the forest had shown them this spot, like it wasn't their spot and no one else who knew about it. It made the two teens feel as if an old man walked through this without giving a thought to the notion that the forest had chosen him.

But it had become Locke and Leta's spot. It was the one thing Locke had chosen to love. Yes she loved her family but that was by nature. She had chosen to give a piece of her heart to this tiny piece of the woods.

When Locke had dragged Leta to this foliage-covered spot on Friday night she had gasped, and said, "I hate saying stuff like this but I feel like I'm in a stupid YA novel right now!" And she had turned to Locke with her tightly-curled dark hair whipping around with her she smiled that crooked smile of hers and Locke had thought, like many times in the past, that their friendship wouldn't fade even as they both breathed their final breaths. But this time, unlike the others, it had felt real. Not some hopeful wish that Locke had wanted to come true. It was real and it felt like that moment was the only one in the world. Like everything else was a dream and now Locke was awake. Awake like she hadn't been since kindergarten, when life was fun, and not something she wanted to run to made-up worlds in her head to escape.

Leta had been sitting on the stump while Locke was crushing plants under feet for the past ten minutes or so.

"Leta? Is everything alright?" Locke asked, pausing her nervous pacing to crouch down by Leta, their hand was tapping their thigh while waiting for Leta's answer.

"It's just that," Locke continued refusing to look anywhere near Leta, "You, um, you don't really- don't exactly seem all that alright."

Great fucking job! That's exactly what you say to someone who's obviously not alright!

Leta turned to Locke, and Locke finally looked at her. "Sorry, I think my brain stopped working for a second when you said you loved me.” She said, pushing herself off the stump. "I'm a-fucking-okay in fact!" She yelled at Locke, her eyes that usually was warm and twinkling like she was someone's fairy godmother now turned into rabid dog's desperate gaze, her eyes were slightly wet, like she was about to cry.

Shit, shitshitshitshit, Locke thought, This is what you get for telling your closest friend that you love her! You're only fifteen! What do the fuck do you know about love?! You fucking idiot! You're pushing her away, like you have all your other friends!

"Well aren't you going to explain yourself?!" Leta asked, voice breaking on the very last syllable.

Locke stood up from where they were crouching, "I said I loved you. What else is there to explain?" They said, calm and cool and slightly detached like they always spoke. Because what will happen if she actually showed all her emotions not just the ones she specifically selected, like the ones for shows and movies she likes. But never, not ever the ones that mattered. The ones that howled and moaned. That scratched and tore and bit. Never the ones that were bleeding from pulled out teeth and scratched out eyes.

"Oh wow! What a way with words you have! I think it's a normal Friday night! And then you tell me, and I quote, 'I'm pretty sure I'm in love with you' like it's no big deal and don't even explain!?" Leta is standing but her knees are quivering ever so slightly and tears are slowly making their way down her freckled face as she laughs, half hysterical and half emotionless.

Locke started laughing too, tears partially choking the laughs so they were wet and desperate. "Oh you want me to explain?! You want me to explain!" The raw, hot, and painful emotions breaking through the carefully placed veil.

Leta gave Locke her patented stare. The one that meant Of fucking course I did now start talking. The one she used when she ran out of patience for Locke's stupid antics. "Yeah I do. Now tell me," She demanded and Locke had no choice but to oblige.

"I think I'm falling in love with you because this isn't something new. It's not like you came out of nowhere and whisked me into a new way of life. It's like you were always there but only now you're something more than a memory I only wished to have. You've always been there I just never remembered. But now I do and now I think I'm fucking love. Never thought I'd be in love at fifteen but here I fucking I am! So there! There's your goddamn explanation! Are you happy!?" Locke screamed, her voice hoarse from the emotions that had torn and scratched their way out her mouth. A hungry wolf set free, running towards the woods, to freedom. To pain and joy and everything that was real.

Locke collapsed onto the slightly damp forest blood, her shaky laughs being stained by the sobs racking her body.

Leta just stood there, the shock of discovering something new was on her face. That expression was for the rare times when Leta had been outsmarted, it was for the few times she wasn't a step ahead of everyone. "Oh," she stated, staring straight into Locke's watery eyes.

"That was quite the explanation," She continued, sitting in front of Locke and pushing short, black strands of hair behind their face.

Leta's tone was gentle and so were her eyes. She gingerly placed a hand on Locke's cheek, "Would it be a good thing if I told you that I might be falling in love with you?"

Locke gasped softly, softer than she had ever done anything. Locke was all sharp edges and hard truths, softened only by Leta.

Locke searched Leta's, checking if this was a prank even though she knew Leta would never, and sure enough it wasn't.

They smiled a half-smile, "I think it might be, but only might."

Leta choked out a chuckle at this, "You're a fucking idiot you know? It's a good thing that I might be in love with you." She smiled and embraced Locke, letting the taller teen collapse into her stout and strong build. Locke was sniffling and clinging to Leta as if she was the only thing that was real. And to Locke, she was.

[bonesandthebees]

one of the most infuriating things about becoming an adult is when you realize that it actually is 10x easier to solve problems by making a phone call vs literally any other communication method

[trans-androgyne]

Genuinely, what happened to “feminism is for everyone”?

That’s the feminism I grew up with: encouraging people to recognize that fighting sexism and restrictive gender roles helps folks of every gender. We’d push back on the idea that feminists hate men, pointing to inclusive feminist literature and how many men are feminists.

Now, there are so many people insisting that the solution to patriarchy is to openly hate and ostracize men no matter what. Why? What is the benefit? It’s certainly not effective in fighting oppressive structures to exclude half the population from your cause on the basis of immutable traits. It may feel cathartic to say horrible things about men and try to punish them for your frustrations with patriarchy. But the only actual effect I see is the increasing right-wing radicalization of young men, who are being told that the left hates them for the way they were born and presented with an abundance of proof that it’s true.

Why are we going back to treating men and women as different species? It doesn’t fix things to say “well women are the good gender and men are the bad one” this time. If you sincerely want to dismantle sexism, you’re going to have to unpack and let go of all sex and gender essentialism—even that which considers women inherently pure and men inherently immoral.

[katsinspats]

I think my copy of the game is broken they've been doing this for 30 minutes

Crop of the Biolizard edit I did bc it makes me laugh:

[egophiliac]

since Eng is getting 7.5 soon(?), I felt motivated to go back to my Meleanor rig and make her a couple of lesson animations! ...except for alchemy, because the cauldron bubbles proved too hard to photoshop around, whoops.

maybe she just got lost on her way to the classroom...?

(credit: backgrounds are from the game, I just put her on top of 'em)

(aside from the backgrounds, this is not an edit, I drew her from scratch! please do not tag or treat as an edit!)

[bacchuschucklefuck]

no more fan-ta-sizing about it! everything's already changed~

[daisybell-on-a-carousel]

Being someone who read Under The Red Hood and came out with the firm belief that, for Jason, it's not about killing Joker, it's about Jason wanting proof Batman would choose him over the Joker (bc shelia chose the joker). Makes seeing any other media where it's all about just wanting the Joker dead is a teeny bit frustrating. to be honest

Jason could've killed the Joker himself, really, really easily. Jason kidnaps the Joker before the confrontation. I can't open my comic for a reference right now, but it felt like he had the Joker for quite a bit before the confrontation. He had him. He beat him up with a crowbar. He had every single opportunity to kill the Joker himself, but he didn't because that wasn't his goal. Make no mistake, he did plan for the Joker to be dead by the end of it, but do you see what im trying to say here

Edit: If I knew this post was gonna get 1000+ notes I would've tried to word it better or something, this was a rant I made on the way to the grocery store 😭

It's not about making Batman kill either. When Batman says he won't kill, Jason adjusts and goes, 'Let ME kill the Joker or kill me to stop me' instead. The test is all about Batman choosing him. The whole final confrontation is Jason's first death again. The parent, The Joker, and the explosives. It even ends with Jason unable to move as a bomb goes off right next to him again because the parent didn't choose Jason. And instead tried finding an option that'd benefit them and (consequencely) letting the Joker walk, again, lol, lmao <-in agony

[hugs-and-stabbies]

The self-awareness on this guy 😞 someone pls send him an "are you bi?" quiz STAT

[giantkillerjack]

Today my therapist introduced me to a concept surrounding disability that she called "hLep".

[plain-text version of this post can be found under the cut]

Which is when you - in this case, you are a disabled person - ask someone for help ("I can't drink almond milk so can you get me some whole milk?", or "Please call Donna and ask her to pick up the car for me."), and they say yes, and then they do something that is not what you asked for but is what they think you should have asked for ("I know you said you wanted whole, but I got you skim milk because it's better for you!", "I didn't want to ruin Donna's day by asking her that, so I spent your money on an expensive towing service!") And then if you get annoyed at them for ignoring what you actually asked for - and often it has already happened repeatedly - they get angry because they "were just helping you! You should be grateful!!"

And my therapist pointed out that this is not "help", it's "hLep".

Sure, it looks like help; it kind of sounds like help too; and if it was adjusted just a little bit, it could be help. But it's not help. It's hLep.

At its best, it is patronizing and makes a person feel unvalued and un-listened-to. Always, it reinforces the false idea that disabled people can't be trusted with our own care. And at its worst, it results in disabled people losing our freedom and control over our lives, and also being unable to actually access what we need to survive.

So please, when a disabled person asks you for help on something, don't be a hLeper, be a helper! In other words: they know better than you what they need, and the best way you can honor the trust they've put in you is to believe that!

Also, I want to be very clear that the "getting angry at a disabled person's attempts to point out harmful behavior" part of this makes the whole thing WAY worse. Like it'd be one thing if my roommate bought me some passive-aggressive skim milk, but then they heard what I had to say, and they apologized and did better in the future - our relationship could bounce back from that. But it is very much another thing to have a crying shouting match with someone who is furious at you for saying something they did was ableist. Like, Christ, Jessica, remind me to never ask for your support ever again! You make me feel like if I asked you to call 911, you'd order a pizza because you know I'll feel better once I eat something!!

Edit: crediting my therapist by name with her permission - this term was coined by Nahime Aguirre Mtanous!

Edit again: I made an optional follow-up to this post after seeing the responses. Might help somebody. CW for me frankly talking about how dangerous hLep really is.

Plain-text version:

Today my therapist introduced me to a concept surrounding disability that she called "hLep".

Which is when you - in this case, you are a disabled person - ask someone for help ("I can't drink almond milk so can you get me some whole milk?", or "Please call Donna and ask her to pick up the car for me."), and they say yes, and then they do something that is not what you asked for but is what they think you should have asked for ("I know you said you wanted whole, but I got you skim milk because it's better for you!", "I didn't want to ruin Donna's day by asking her that, so I spent your money on an expensive towing service!") And then if you get annoyed at them for ignoring what you actually asked for - and often it has already happened repeatedly - they get angry because they "were just helping you! You should be grateful!!"

And my therapist pointed out that this is not "help", it's "hLep".

Sure, it looks like help; it kind of sounds like help too; and if it was adjusted just a little bit, it could be help. But it's not help. It's hLep.

At its best, it is patronizing and makes a person feel unvalued and un-listened-to. Always, it reinforces the false idea that disabled people can't be trusted with our own care. And at its worst, it results in disabled people losing our freedom and control over our lives, and also being unable to actually access what we need to survive.

So please, when a disabled person asks you for help on something, don't be a hLeper, be a helper! In other words: they know better than you what they need, and the best way you can honor the trust they've put in you is to believe that!

P.S. Also, I want to be very clear that the "getting angry at a disabled person's attempts to point out harmful behavior" part of this makes the whole thing WAY worse. Like it'd be one thing if my roommate bought me some passive-aggressive skim milk, but then they heard what I had to say, and they apologized and did better in the future - our relationship could bounce back from that. But it is very much another thing to have a crying shouting match with someone who is furious at you for saying something they did was ableist. Like, Christ, Jessica, remind me to never ask for your support ever again! You make me feel like if I asked you to call 911, you'd order a pizza because you know I'll feel better once I eat something!!

Edit: crediting my therapist by name with her permission - this term was coined by Nahime Aguirre Mtanous!

Edit again: I made an optional follow-up to this post after seeing the responses. Might help somebody. CW for me frankly talking about how dangerous hLep really is.

[lucabyte]

monologue

[retquits]

me when i GET YOU

[knockknockitsnickels]

"Sacrifice the Yourself" (title pending), the hip new slay the princess swap AU, in which you and the girlies must decide if you're gonna let a giant bird stab you (and maybe.... find love?!)

[teaboot]

Social anxiety level: Chatting with someone experiencing a schizophrenic episode and becoming increasingly self-concious of how I'm just saying "That sounds really stressful", "I've never heard of that but it sounds scary", and "You must be pretty worried about that" over and over again

[bittsandpieces]

I don't have a caption for this one tbh