#to. oh god not this guy again. in less than a decade

[insignificantstrawberry]

I do not understand tumblr’s new game of acting like we have no idea who Drake is. You didn’t just find out about him because of the diss track beef you liars. Or is it because I live in Drake City TM (formerly known as Toronto). Anyway. We needed a new mascot and they took away the dead raccoon

[starnana7]

every time I remember that the hit show supernatural made God, the literal God from the Bible, canonically bisexual but couldn’t do the same with a random guy who hunts monsters it actually makes me feel physically ill.. like blasphemy is okay but we draw the line at making the main character a little bit queer because it would “upset the heterosexuals men”? okay ig… and it’s so funny to me that they tried SO bad to make dean like really really straight and macho and a manly womanizer (I mean dude has literal porn brain and is obsessed with cars and is a film nerd) And still is the number 1 bissexual boy.. I mean no one that into cowboys is 100% straight 🙄 and if they actually wanted him to be that much of a cishet guy WHY would they make him have a codependent homosexual friendship with his best friend for more than a decade ?? and we have so much subtext to corroborates it that it’s actually insane.

and it’s also rlly funny to me that sam would be the most obvious choice for a queer storyline. like i’m not sure this is true but i heard somewhere that he actually was supposed to like be lgbt and that it’s implied in the show he’s pan bc he basically have sex w/ everyone and doesn’t care (like monsters and stuff). i wholeheartedly disagree bc sure he hited a demon and a werewolf and a kitsune and God knows what more But it still were just women and for me he’s still just straight 💀 we do have gabriel however and i would say that’s a valid argument but i don’t actually like them together because of the whole torturing-sam-every-tuesday-over-and-over-again but it’s still a good take ig. again this is just my opinion But anyways doesn’t matter my point Is that sam always felt like a freak and wanted to be normal and like was more open minded and “less-macho-toxic-behavior” than dean. he was a theater kid and talked about his feelings and all. STILL THO dean went and become The bissexual icon (Not Sam, Dean!!). and the fact that he was more manly actually only emphasized to his sexuality (and him being closeted) and sam being the straight one, and bare with me here. as sam winchester once wisely said “well you are kind of butch they probably think you're compinsating.” (to dean asking why people always assumed they were gay) and like this is so true, sam always felt comfortable in himself and like his nerdier and less cool strong man personality. But dean, oh, dean, no, no, no. and it could all be linked to john. we know how much dean wanted to gain his father approval and respect, all he ever wanted was for john to be proud of him. so he’d listen to the same music as john, same clothes… and so on. but when we really see a glance of him, we realize he’s actually much more “““girly””” (sorry for the term i lacked a better one) than he shows, Especially when compared to sam—who’s supposed to be the more girly one (again sorry for the term lol) or whatever. dean canonically likes taylor swift, chick flick films, actually liked when a woman made him wear underwear, the bailarinas shoe were “speaking to him” in that one ep of cursed objects, and so on. and every time he makes fun of sam for doing something not-manly-enough (like drinking lemon water or drinking from tiny coups) he eventually goes and do the same thing 😭 and i’m 100% sure that the writers just thought “haha funny scene this really straight deadly man does something not so convencional/more feminine(?) haha comedy relief time!!” but it actually just made him have a whole perfect queer background developed in the series. specially with the fact that He Does Overcompensate. why is he always flirting with women, why is he so butch and scary, always talking about straight sex and so on? because he’s really just deep in the closet. and it makes so much sense with john being his father, with him having to hunt two lesbians nuns in his 17 bday, always having to be strong and macho and cool and perfect—and therefore straight. even without cas, dean really does immaculate the bissexual experience and i’m so sorry but this is just true.

and now pointing to the subtext that i mentioned in the first paragraph (lol i can’t believe i’m making a whole rant as to why dean winchester is a confirmed bisexual), that whole confession to that priest where he says he wants experience new feelings, new people, FOR THE FIRST TIME. that always that the show mentioned a gay couple it ALWAYS focused on dean—not sam, DEAN. the gay hunters, the gay couple on the bar that the cupid “made”, the two cosplayers partners… the fact that every time that dean liked something it was borderline fangirl (gay) obsessive (the dr. sexy episode, that wrestler fighter). he Had a gay thing—and was all flustered about it. he flirted with a guy throughout charlie. THE MALE SIREN. the male siren like after that ep i was 100% convinced that man was not straight. he had a hot demon sumer with crowley?!!! and it’s so funny to me that not one of these things involves castiel, so if they really wanted to make dean be that straight why would they do that?? and only to dean, not even once to sam. Like. and not to mention all the homoeretic tension with benny??? sam never had a male best friend like that.. all of that and i didn’t even entered on destiel. Because this then really just confirms that he is Not straight. even if he wasn’t In Love with cas, they had something going on and the fact that if cas was a girl it would 100% be canon and filmed and Everyone would ship—and I really mean everyone—it just makes me go fucking insane. they could’ve had it all. the fanfic episodes, the parallels between dean and cas and “real couples”, ruby and cas duality and the fact that sam indeed had a relationship w/ her. Anyway i’m a # bi dean truth believer and i know this bc same boy # happy pride month to my fav bissexual boy in the whole world

also to anyone that says that “destiel” was unrequited love yes it kinda of was but only bc dean was so deep in the closet, he did love cas. he was indeed a bissexual man. i’ll die on that hill.

[fourthwingfan]

Madness - Chapter 17

Hi, guys. Enjoy the new chapter :)

It is therefore only natural that the more powerful the dragon, the more powerful the signet its rider manifests. One should beware of a strong rider who bonds a smaller dragon, but even warier of the unbonded cadet, who will stop at nothing to seize a chance to bond.

—Major Afendra’s Guide to the Riders Quadrant

(Unauthorized Edition)

After sleeping in the crowded barracks for the last two months, it’s weird, and oddly decadent, to have my own room. I’ll never take the luxury of privacy for granted again.

I close my door behind me as I step into the hallway.

Violet’s door is to the right of mine and I see her limping towards me.

“Hi, there rider.” I greet her with a smile. “How is your leg?”

“Hi, Aelin.” She smiles back. “It’s not that bad. I’ll be fine in a couple of days.”

“Good morning, neighbours.” I feel an arm around my shoulder.

“Hi, Liam.” I look up at him. His room is the one left of mine, and Ethan’s next to him. We are the only first-years who survived Threshing in our squad.

“Hi.” I hear Vi whispers and I can see a small blush? on her face.

Oh, my god. I love it!

“Are you okay, Vi? You’re face is a little red.” I say with a sly smile.

“Yes.” She glares at me and turns around when Rhiannon’s door, across the small hall from us, opens and we see Sawyer’s tall, lean frame come out. He runs his fingers through his hair, and when he sees us, his eyebrows rise and he freezes—his cheeks almost as red as his freckles.

“Good morning.” I grin.

“Guys.” He forces an awkward smile and walks off, headed toward the main hallway of the first-year dormitory.

Rhiannon walks out of her room and smiles as soon as she sees us. “No more breakfast duty?” She turns to Violet.

“I was told last night that all the less desirable duties were being handed off to the unbonded so our energy can be redirected for flight lessons.”

„One more reason for the unbonded to hate us,” Rhiannon mutters.

“It doesn’t matter. I think our dragons existence are already pisses them off.” I shrug.

„So, Sawyer, huh, Rhi?” Vi asks as we start down our hallway, passing a few other rooms before meeting up with the main corridor that leads to the rotunda. Have to say, the first-year rooms aren’t as spacious as the second-years’, but at least we all got ones with windows.

A grin curves her lips. “I felt like celebrating.” She darts a quick side-eye at her. “And why have I not heard of you celebrating?”

We melt into the crowd moving toward the gathering hall. “Haven’t found anyone I want to celebrate with.”

“Really? Because I heard that you and a certain squad leader had a moment last night.”

She nearly stumbles over her feet.

“Come on, Vi. The entire quadrant was out there, and you don’t think someone saw you?” I roll my eyes.

„Who gives a shit if it’s frowned upon to be in a relationship with a superior officer? There’s no regulation, and it’s not like any of us is guaranteed to live through the day.” Rhiannon says.

“Solid points,” she admit. “But it’s…” she shakes her head, searching for the right words. “It’s not like that with us. I’d always hoped it would be, but when he kissed me—there was nothing there. Like. Nothing.”

“Well, that’s shitty to hear.” She hooks her arm through hers. “I’m sorry.”

“Me too.” She sighs.

“I’m not.” I glance at them. “I never liked him. And he doesn’t support you, Vi. You deserve someone who sees you. Because you’re awesome.” I squeeze Vi’s hand.

“Thanks, I think.” She smiles at me with gratitude.

„Good morning, ladies. And Liam.” Ridoc forces his way through the crowd and slings an arm around Rhiannon and Vi’s shoulders as we enter the rotunda. “Or should I say, riders?”

“I like the sound of riders,” Rhiannon replies, shooting a smile in his direction.

“It has a certain ring to it,” Ridoc agrees.

“It’s definitely better than dead. Where’s your relic?” Vi asks Ridoc as we pass through the columns of carved dragons and take the steps into commons.

“Right here.” His arm falls off her shoulders, and he shoves the sleeve of his tunic up to reveal the brown mark of a dragon silhouette on his upper arm. “You?”

“Can’t see it. It’s on my back.”

“That will keep you safer if you’re ever separated from that massive dragon of yours.” His eyes dance. “I swear, I thought I was going to shit myself when I saw him on the field. What about yours, Rhi?”

“Somewhere you’ll never see,” she responds.

“You wound me.” He slaps his hand over his heart.

“I highly doubt that,” she retorts, but there’s a smile on her face.

“And you Aelin? If it’s somewhere private than I’d like to volunteer to check it out. Just you, and me.” He winks at me.

“Nice try.” I laugh at him. “But I’ll pass.”

“Are you waiting for someone else?” Liam whispers in my ear.

“Shut up.” I elbow him in the ribs while I feel myself flush.

Before anyone can ask another question we move through commons and into the gathering hall, then make our way through the line for breakfast.

“Asshole,” Ridoc mutters in front of  me. “I still can’t believe they tried to kill you.” He says to Violet.

“Who?” I ask and look toward the counter. There’s a man behind it and he glares at Violet with hatred in his eyes. “Oh wow. What did you do to him?”

“I beat him during the challanges.” Vi turns to me. „And before Threshing he said that I better watch my back.”

“Hm. He really holds a grudge.” I say while we collect our breakfast. „But don’t worry, now you’re a rider with a badass dragon. Still… I can’t believe he’s this petty.”

„I’m the weakest link, right? Unfortunately for me, that means people are bound to try and take me out for the good of the wing.” Vi says.

“You’re not!” I say firmly.

We head toward the Fourth Wing section and find a table with extra seats.

“Mind if we—” Ridoc starts.

“Absolutely! It’s yours!” A couple of guys from Tail Section scurry off the bench.

“Sorry, Sorrengail!” the other says over his shoulder as they find another table, leaving this one empty.

What the hell?

“Well, that was really fucking weird.” I say as Rhiannon rounds the other side of the table, and I follow, putting our backs to the wall as we step over the bench and sit, setting our trays in front of us.

“Even weirder?” Liam remarks, gesturing across the hall toward First Wing.

Following his line of sight, my eyebrows lift. Jack Barlowe is being squeezed out of his table. He’s forced to stand as others take his seat.

“What the hell is going on?” Rhiannon bites into a pear and chews.

Jack moves to another table—whose occupants won’t make room for him—and then finds a place two tables down.

“How the mighty have fallen, Ridoc notes, watching the same show I am, but there’s no satisfaction in watching Jack struggle. Feral dogs bite harder when they’re cornered.

“Hey, Sorrengail,” the stocky girl from First Wing says with a tight smile as she walks past our table.

“Hi.” She wave awkwardly as she walks away, then turn to whisper to us. “She hasn’t spoken to me since I took one of her daggers in that challenge.”

“It’s because you bonded Tairn.” Imogen blows her pink hair out of her face and throws her leg over the bench across from us to sit, pushing up the sleeves of her tunic and revealing her rebellion relic. “The morning after Threshing is always a clusterfuck. Power balance shifts, and you, little Sorrengail, are now about to be the most powerful rider in the quadrant. Anyone with common sense is going to be scared of you.”

I blink, is that what’s going on? I look around the hall and take note. Social groups have split up, and some of the cadets I would have considered threats are no longer sitting where they usually do.

“Which is why you’re now sitting with us?” Rhiannon arches a brow at the second-year. “Because I can count on one hand the number of nice words you’ve said to any of us.” She holds up a fist with zero fingers raised.

Quinn—the tall second-year—takes a seat next to Imogen, and Sawyer arrives, sitting on Rhiannon’s other side. Quinn tucks her blond curls behind her ears and brushes her bangs out of her eyes, her round cheeks rising as she smiles at something Imogen says. Have to admit, the hooped piercings that line the shells of both her ears are pretty awesome, and among her half dozen patches, it’s the dark-green one—the same color as her eyes—with two silhouettes that’s most intriguing. I should have studied up on what all the patches mean, but according to what I’ve heard, they change every year.

I’m personally a fan of the first ones we’ve been given. I had to sew the tail-shaped patch with the emblem for Fourth Wing and the centered number two with great care, being sure to only stitch the fabric of my corseted armor, since it’s not like any needle is going to penetrate the scales.

„You weren’t interesting enough to sit with before,” Imogen responds, then bites into a muffin.

“I usually sit with my girlfriend in Claw Section. Besides, no use getting to know you when most of you die,” Quinn adds, tucking her curls away again, just to have them spring forward. “No offense.”

“None taken?” Vi says.

Then Heaton and Emery, the only third-years in their squad, flank Imogen and Quinn on the bench across from us.

“Wow. Is it a squad meeting?” I ask while munching on an apple. “Liam, I think we stand out too much.”

“You’re right. Why don’t you sit with your own squad?” Imogen asks with a raised eyebrow.

“Because they like us more than you. Even though you are their squadmate.” I smile at her coldly. “We have every right to be here. If you have a problem with it then the challanges we’ll start over soon.”

She swallows and looks at her plate.

“Is it just me or is anyone else surprised that Barlowe bonded?” Ridoc questions. “Though from what I’ve heard, his Orange Scorpiontail is on the smaller side.”

“She is,” Quinn confirms. “Which is why he’s struggling this morning.”

“Don’t worry—I’m sure he’ll make up for his lack of social standing in other ways,” Rhiannon mutters, her gaze narrowing. “You have to have some protein, Vi. You can’t just survive on fruit.”

“It’s the only food I can be sure isn’t tampered with, especially with that guy behind the counter.” she peels an orange.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” Imogen scrapes three pieces of sausage onto her plate. “She’s right. You’re going to need all your strength to ride, especially with a dragon as big as Tairn.”

I stare at the sausage. Imogen hates her just as much as me. Hell, she’s the one who broke her arm and ripped out her shoulder on assessment day.

“You can trust her,” Aon says, and I startle, almost dropping the apple.

“She hates us.”

“But she has changed.” He says and I can feel him pulling back.

No other explanation? Fine.

Vi starts to eat, and I focus on the conversation at the table again.

“What’s your signet?” Rhiannon asks Emery.

Air rushes down the table, rattling the glasses. Air manipulation. Got it.

“That’s epic.” Ridoc’s eyes widen. “How much air can you move?”

“None of your business.” He barely spares him a glance.

“Sorrengail, after class is out today, you’re mine,” Imogen says.

“I’m sorry?” She asks in surprise.

Her pale green eyes lock on her. “Meet me in the sparring gym.”

“I’m already working with her on sparring—” Rhiannon starts.

“Good. We can’t afford her to lose any challenges,” Imogen retorts. “But I’m going to help you with weights. We need to strengthen the muscles around your joints before challenges resume. That’s the only way you’ll survive.”

The hairs rise on the back of my neck. “And since when do you care about her survival?” This isn’t a squad thing. It can’t be. Not when she didn’t give a shit before.

“Since now,” she says, gripping her fork in her fist, but it’s the lightning-fast glance toward the dais at the end of the hall that gives her away. Her concern isn’t coming from the goodness of her heart. Something tells me it’s an order. “Squads are about to be condensed at morning formation. We’ll be down to two in every section,” she continues. “Aetos kept the highest number of his first-years alive—hence the patch—so he’ll be allowed to retain his squad, but we’ll probably gain a few when they strip the squads from those who weren’t as successful.” She glances at Liam and I.

As discreetly as I can, I look to my right, past the other Fourth Wing tables and to the dais where Xaden sits with his executive officer and the section leaders, including Garrick, whose shoulders look like they should take up at least two seats. It’s Garrick who looks my way first, his forehead lining with… What is that? Worry? Then he looks away. The only reason he’d be remotely worried—he knows something.

Imogen helping Violet. Violet bonded to Tairn. Ohh shit.

“Aon? Is Tairn and Sgaeyl are mates?”

“Yes. They have a bond.” He answers.

“Then Violet and Xaden are somehow connected too?” I have my suspicions.

“Yes. They have a bond through their dragons.” He answers. “But it’s not an emotional one, little one.” He adds silently.

Then it means Garrick knows Violet’s fate is tethered to Xaden’s.

My gaze snaps to Xaden, and my chest tightens. So. Freaking. Beautiful. Apparently my body doesn’t care that he’s as dangerous as they come in the quadrant, because heat rushes through my veins, flushing my skin.

He’s using a dagger to peel an apple, removing the rind in one long curl, and the blade continues its path as his eyes lift, locking with mine.

My whole head tingles.

Gods, is there any part of my body that doesn’t physically react to the sight of him?

He glances toward Imogen and back to me, and that’s all it takes for me to know for certain. He’s ordered her to help train Violet. Xaden Riorson is now in the business of keeping his mortal enemy alive.

…

A few hours later, after the squads are rearranged and the death roll is read, all the first-year riders in Fourth Wing stand in our newly issued flight leathers, waiting in front of our dragons on the flight field.

We were the smallest squad, it was logical to disband us. I don’t know why, but fortunately Liam, Ethan and I was assigned to Fourth Wing, Flame Section, Second squad. It’s Violet’s squad. Our squad’s second- and third-years went into the same squad too. I don’t complain. I’m glad that we’re still together. So now it’s our first flight lesson as a member of a new squad.

The uniform is thicker than our usual one, with a full jacket I’ve buttoned over my dragon-scale armor. And unlike our regular uniforms, whatever we choose them to be, flight leathers bear no insignia besides our rank at our shoulder and any leadership designation. No names. No patches. Nothing that could give us away if we’re separated from our dragons behind enemy lines. Just a lot of sheaths for weapons.

I try not to think about possibly fighting in the war effort one day and focus on the organized chaos evolving on the flight field this morning. I can’t miss the way the other cadets look at Tairn or the wide berth the other dragons give him. Honestly, if I had those teeth bared at me, I’d back away, too.

„No you wouldn’t, because you didn’t. You stayed and defended your friend.” Aon’s voice fills my head as he stands next to Tairn, and I can tell from his tone there are places he’d rather be.

“Only because there was a lot going on at the moment,” I respond.

“I don’t think so. Now pay attention!” He ends the discussion.

I roll my eyes but focus on what Kaori is saying from the center of the field. His hand is up, using common lesser magic to project his voice so we can all hear.

God help us when Ridoc figures out how to do that. I bite back a smile, knowing he’ll find some way to annoy the shit out of every rider in the quadrant, not just his squad.

“…and at only ninety-two riders, you are our smallest class to date.”

My shoulders dip. “I thought a hundred and one were willing to bond, plus you and Tairn?”

“Willing doesn’t mean they found worthy riders,” Aon answers. “You’re worthy. At least I think you are, but you apparently don’t pay attention in class.” He chuffs and a warm puff of steam blasts the back of my neck.

“There are forty-one unbonded riders who would kill to be standing where you are,” Kaori continues. “And your dragons know that your bond is at its weakest point right now, so if you fall, if you fail, there’s a good chance your dragon might let you if it thinks the unbonded will be a better choice.”

“Comforting,” I mutter.

Aon makes a noise that reminds me of a scoff.

“Now, we’re going to mount, then follow a series of specific maneuvers your dragons already know. Your orders are simple today. Stay in your seat,” Kaori finishes. Then he turns and breaks into a sprint, racing the dozen feet toward his dragon’s foreleg and making the vertical climb to mount.

Just like the last obstacle on the Gauntlet.

I sprint up the same way and I navigate Aon’s spikes to find the seat. My tighs ache a little from yesterday, but it’s bearable. I grip the pommel. Okay, I’m ready.

Kaori’s dragon launches into the sky.

“Hold tight.”

I feel as Aon crouches a millisecond before he hurls us skyward. The wind tears at my eyes as my stomach falls away, and I risk holding on with one hand to lower my flight goggles. Immediate relief.

“We had to go third?” I ask Aon as we fly out of the canyon and higher into the mountain range. I get it now, why I didn’t see the dragons training often even though I’ve basically grown up at Basgiath. The only people around us are other riders.

“I only agreed to follow Smachd because his rider is your instructor. Tairn should be the first.”

“So you’re an in-front kind of guy. Good to know. Remind me to spend some time at temple so I can make multiple appeals to Dunne.” I keep my focus on Kaori, watching for when the maneuvers will start.

“The goddess of strength and war?” Aon clearly scoffs this time.

“What, dragons don’t think we need the gods on our side?” Shit, it’s cold up here. My gloved hands tighten on the pommel.

“Dragons pay no heed to your puny gods.”

Kaori banks right, and Aon follows suit, leading us into a steep dive down the face of one of the peaks. I clench with my legs to remain in the seat.

We go into another climb and even a near-spiral of a turn, and I can’t help but notice that he’s taking everything Kaori is doing and making it harder. The same as Tairn.

“Why did you make it harder?” I ask. “It’s our first flight lesson, I don’t want to fall off.”

“You won’t. I chose you, now trust me. Unless you’d rather be scraped off the glacier below like Gleann’s rider back there?”

I whip my head around to look, but all I see is Aon’s tail swinging, his massive spikes blocking the view.

“Don’t look.”

“We already lost a rider?” My throat knots.

“Gleann chose poorly. He never bonds strongly anyway.”

At least I can hold my seat. It’s not that bad.

As soon as I think this, I see Violet as he falls off from Tairn.

“Violet!” I shout without thinking.

“Don’t worry. Tairn will catch her.” Aon says.

“What? But I thought the dragons never catch the newly bonded riders.”

Then I see Tairn’s claws catch her. He climbs high, then tosses her again, his back rises to meet her falling bottom. I sigh with relief as she takes her seat. She’s safe.

“Worry about yourself, little one. You have a lot to learn. Leave your friend to Tairn.”

I try to concentrate, but I can’t help and notice as Violet falls again.

And again.

And again.

Shit. We have to figure something out.

[xxbimbobunnyxx]

The Pull: Steddie x Succubus reader part 3

Summary: You move to Hawkins after spending the last decade in New York City hoping to have a peaceful and quiet next few years flying under the radar only feeding when necessary and making everyone you spend a night with forget you. But when you arrive, you feel a pull from two men like you’ve never felt before. As soon as you feel it you know flying under the radar here wasn’t going to cut it, you had to find them. Masterlist

Warnings: This chapter contains SMUT. Rough sex, demon/human sex, dom/sub dynamics, spit kink, face fucking, choking, hair pulling, M/M/F threesome. If I missed any please lmk!

A/N: this chapter is much longer than the first two, and it gets a bit angsty at the end but I promise all will be well in part 4, which will be the final part! Also I’m totally creating my own succubus lore as I go, I hope no one minds that she’s not exactly lore accurate!

‼️THIS STORY AND MY PAGE ARE 18+ MINORS AND BLANK/AGELESS BLOGS WILL BE BLOCKED IMMEDIATELY‼️

The minute his mouth was on yours you shoved your fingers into his mane of hair and kissed him back with fever. “Holy shit. You taste so fucking good, how do you literally taste like fruity pebbles?” He said as his mouth made its way from your lips down your neck.

You chuckled “is that what I taste like to you? That’s so cute. Remember what I said about my pheromones? More or less it’s the base of my powers, depending on how yours mix with mine it can change things about me. For instance, how I taste to you.” he paused his assault on your neck to give you a curious look “when you say ‘things’ what exactly do you mean by that?”

“Well-“ you were cut off by Steve suddenly turning you to face him “dude what the? Why did you do that!?” Steve didn’t answer, he just grabbed your hand and yanked you in towards him until you were flush against his chest before he kissed you so hard it made your head spin “you were being greedy” he said looking over your shoulder at Eddie who was still standing behind you both. “Also that pheromone thing is freaky because you taste exactly like those cherries you get in Shirley Temples to me. And you smell just as good” you felt Eddie come up behind you and shove his face into your neck “you do, you smell sooo sweet baby”

Baby? He’s calling you baby and they’re both touching you and kissing you and you feel like if they weren’t both holding onto you that you might faint. “Fuck-“ your voice almost sounded foreign to you when you spoke, never hearing yourself sound so submissive before “I need you I need you both, please fuck me” you saw Steve’s eyes roll in the back of his head and heard Eddie groan “oh my god, I can’t believe this is fucking real right now, we are gonna give you whatever you want sweets, don’t you worry”

Steve leaned down and grabbed you behind your knees before throwing you over his shoulder and walking towards what you assumed was their bedroom, Eddie shut the door behind him and Steve set you down gently on your feet in front of him. You wrapped your arms around his neck and looked up into his gorgeous honey eyes “mmm.. you guys smell good too you know? I could sense you the minute I stepped foot in this town and I could smell you from a mile away.. I feel dizzy standing this close to you” your eyes shifted to a bright red again and you felt your teeth sharpen, you couldn’t take it anymore you ripped your top over your head and started on the zipper of your skirt.

They both just stood there for a second taking in the fact that not only were you not wearing a bra but the underwear you were wearing were basically nothing “holy fuuuuckkkk” Eddie said as he ran his hands down his face “you are unfuckingreal holy shit” he walked over and grabbed both your tits in his large calloused hands, they felt so good against your soft skin you let out a breathy moan “I love that you guys are appreciating my beauty and all but I really need you to fuck me now, I haven’t fed since I got into town and I need it. Now.” It came out WAY whinier than you intended it to but it still got the point across because the next thing you knew you were being pushed down onto your back on the bed and your thong was being ripped from your body.

“Holy shit. You’re so fucking wet.” Eddie said before he paused “woah this tattoo is so sick!” He was looking down at your mark, a heart with bat wings “it’s my- you know what? I’ll tell you about it later just fucking TOUCH me already” that’s all it took before he licked a long stripe up your pussy to your clit where he began to suck “Oh my godddd- holy shit your mouth feels so good” you grabbed onto his hair and tugged a little, gauging his reaction, when he groaned you did it again, harder. “Stevvie, come here” you beckoned to the other boy who was standing on the side of the bed watching his boyfriend absolutely devour your cunt.

“Take your shirt off, I wanna see you” when he pulled his shirt over his head you felt yourself salivate, you had seen them both shirtless from afar but it had nothing on this. He came over and situated himself beside you, giving you another head spinning kiss before he trailed his mouth down your neck and to your tits where he took an already hardened nipple into his mouth, making you moan even louder.

You took one of your hands that was in Eddie’s hair to grab one of Steve’s hands, guiding it to your neck and leaving it there hoping he would take the hint. He immediately understood and wrapped his hand around your neck, adding just the right amount of pressure.

He looked up at you with a mischievous glint in his eye “oh? You like it rough? Is that what you’re telling me?”

You moaned “god yes, please, use me”

“You hear that Eds? She wants to be our little fuck doll” he moves his hand from your neck to your jaw squeezing your cheeks “open”

You stick out your tongue and he spits onto it, tapping your chin implying for you to close your mouth “swallow” you gulp before sticking you tongue out again, asking for more “please? you taste so good”

“I’ll give you something better to taste” he stands up and starts unbuckling his belt. Meanwhile Eddie paused his movements between your thighs to watch this interaction in awe for a moment before he moved into action “turn around, get on your hands and knees. Now.” You are barely sat all the way up before he’s moving you himself twisting you on your stomach and hiking your ass in the air by your hips “fuuuckk I’m going to fucking destroy this slutty little pussy” you whimpered at his words, your pussy clinching around nothing when you heard his belt buckle coming undone too.

You push yourself up on your hands to look and Steve and god does he look fucking delectable, he’s pulling his boxers down his toned thighs and when his cock springs free you actually fucking moan out loud because holy SHIT, he’s long and thick and so fucking hard. “God Steve, I need you in my mouth, I need you to cum down my throat.” You didn’t have to ask him twice, at this point he was so worked up he felt like he was going to bust the minute your tongue touched him.

Eddie got behind you in his knees, completely naked now and you felt a big ringed hand come down on your ass causing you to cry out “oh you like that baby?” He spanks you again, harder this time “are you a little pain slut? You wanna be smacked around?”

“God yes, please” you wiggled your ass against him, feeling his cock brush against your slick slit. He grabbed it in his hand and tapped it against your clit a few times. You couldn’t see it, but you could feel that he was big too. After a few more taps on your clit you felt the head of his cock against your tight hole. He pushed in a few inches before pulling out again.

You couldn’t take it, unexpectedly you slammed your hips all the way down against his, bottoming him out inside you.

“Fuuuuck oh my god you are so fucking tight holy shit” he started fucking into you hard and deep. Steve grabbed your jaw, tilting your head up to look at him. His cock was so close to your mouth, so hard, begging for attention without missing a beat you wrapped your hand around the base and shoved his cock all the way down your throat in one motion.

“Holyfuckingshit- oh my god” he was taken back for a moment, no one, not even Eddie had sucked his cock how you’re sucking it right now. You really are some kind of otherworldly sex being because your mouth is insane. Eddie is having similar thoughts about your pussy, it’s feels so fucking good it’s like he’s dreaming.

You moaned around Steve’s cock the vibrations causing him to lurch forward shoving his cock deeper down your throat. He pulled back for a moment half expecting you to gag, you looked up at him a string of spit still attached to his cock from your mouth “I want you to fuck my face Steve”

He growled at that, grabbing two fistfuls of your hair and shoving his cock all the way down your throat before he started fucking your face at a brutal pace “Good fucking girl letting me use that slutty little throat like this”

Eddie moved one of his hands from your hip to rub your clit and you felt yourself getting close to cumming. Steve saw your eyes roll back in your head and felt your moan vibrate around his cock “I think she’s gonna cum soon”

“Yeah I can feel her fucking squeezing my cock. You gonna cum for us baby? Cum all over my big cock? Do it.” That was all it took for your orgasm to come crashing down on you, Steve pulled you off his cock by your hair, grabbing your neck with his other hand “you look so fucking good when you cum holy shit. I was about to cum just looking at you and I really want to get a turn railing the shit out of that little pussy before I do.”

You could feel Eddie’s thrusts getting more erratic behind you “God Eddie please fill my pussy with your cum, I need it so so bad” he thrust hard and deep into you three more times before he was pushing his hips flush against yours and coming with a moan that sounded like the best song you’ve ever heard, the minute you felt his cum inside you, you could feel some of your energy returning. It wasn’t at the point where it was making you sick yet but you were cutting it close.

Eddie pulled out slowly and then sat back on his knees making a whistling noise “god damn baby, your pussy looks so good with my cum dripping out of it. Time to get you even more messy. On your back at the head of the bed, Steve, fuck her.” it wasn’t a question, it was an order. He sat down next to you at the head of the bed and pulled you into a rough kiss while you felt Steve situating himself between your legs, his cock in hand. He ran his cock through your slit that was slick with a mixture of yours and Eddie’s cum before slamming into you in one quick thrust.

He let out a stream of curses trying to regain his composure because you felt so good he really thought he was going to bust the minute he moved. “Steve, move, please, I need it” he pulled out slowly and then took a few slow thrusts in and out before he grabbed your thighs and pushed them towards your chest fucking into you hard and fast.

“Jesus Christ your pussy feels like fucking Heaven, I swear it’s like it was made for my cock” he grunted.

You laughed a bit at that in between moans “that’s because technically, it is. That’s one of the other things that my body changes-fuck” he started rubbing your clit in quick motions pushing you closer to the edge.

“You’re gonna cum aren’t you? You’re such a good girl with your little magic pussy squeezing my cock just right” the next few thrusts hit you right in your g-spot and sent you over the edge, you came so hard you felt like your soul left your body for a second. Steve wasn’t far behind you, cuming inside you deep before collapsing on top of you.

“Holy. Fuck. That was- wow” he chuckled and rolled off you to lay on the side opposite of Eddie.

“Yeah.. it really was. I feel so much better now, thank you guys” your smile was shaky and your eyes looked hazy when you looked over at both of them.

“Were you in pain before? Also did I hear you say your fucking pussy CHANGES SIZE?” Eddie said as he looked over at you, wrapping an arm around your waist. You chuckled “I wasn’t in pain yet, but I did feel pretty weak.. and yeah, it’s one of my powers it changes to perfectly fit the cock inside me. Cool right?”

“COOL!? More like.. hottest. Thing. EVER.” He kissed your cheek. “Little infernal princess” that made you blush, HARD. No one has ever called you a cute nickname before.

“That really was amazing but I am so tired I need a nap like yesterday” you looked over at Steve who was laying on his back with his arm over his eyes, you rolled towards him resting your head on his shoulder “yeah, when I gain energy I take a bit of yours.. sorry about that. You guys should rest, I’m going to use your shower if that’s okay?” You stood up and looked down at them “you guys are fucking beautiful”

Steve yawned and Eddie rolled over and laid his head on his shoulder where yours was a moment ago “the towels are in the cabinet under the sink sweetheart, wake us after, we can all go get some lunch or something” you caressed Steve’s hair and kissed Eddie’s temple before grabbing your clothes off the ground and heading to the bathroom.

Now that the hunger for them isn’t as strong reality came crashing down on you as you washed your body in the shower. You were feeling so many mixed emotions. Satisfied definitely being one of the main ones but anxiety being a close second. You’ve never felt this way, you’ve never clicked this way with anyone ever. Never felt vulnerable enough to submit in any way, never wanted to go back for more. Never before have your physical features stayed the way you were born when you were with someone. They wanted YOU, not the ideal fantasy of what a woman should be. They saw you and they liked what they saw.. You wanted to get out of this shower and go lay in between them and feel their body heat until they woke up and have them take you all over again. That was fucking terrifying to you, how would it ever work? They already belonged to each other. You would stay the same as they grew old.. the thought of loving them just to lose them sounded awful.

So you made a decision, the decision you would make with any other conquest. You put on your clothes and shoes, and quietly walked out of the door. You did award yourself a last peak at them before, cuddled together sleeping peacefully. They were so beautiful you felt your heart crack a little as you walked toward your car. You had to get out of Hawkins, you couldn’t stay here and stay away from them. You drove toward your home, where you would pack up everything and go somewhere else to start over, under the radar like you planned. You couldn’t let anything like this happen again.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 4

[td-tbbg-official]

Valentine’s Day - Short Story

“That will be $47.06. Will that be cash or card?”

“Oh my God, babe, like in your favorite video game! Isn’t that so cool?”

“You remembered?”

“Of course I did! How could I not?”

“Oh, I just… Thought that… Nevermind, I’m just kinda flattered.”

“And it’s a cute coincidence, isn’t it? You’re buying me gifts that round up to your favorite number—”

“Will that be cash or card?” Heather shouts, loud enough for the most annoying couple she’s seen today to snap out of making heart eyes at each other and look at her.

“Um, card,” the guy reluctantly says as he takes out his wallet.

“Fucking finally,” the cashier mumbles under her breath, thankfully quietly enough for the clients not to hear.

“I take it your day isn’t going well…” the girl chuckles.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Heather snarls.

Fuck this ‘customer service’ smiley face façade, she couldn’t care less. This is her fourth job this year anyways, and it’s only February. Maybe by Women’s Day, she’ll be at her eighth. That’d be a pathetic record, and she can’t believe she actually partly wants to reach it, just to feel something again.

“Oh, nothing, sorry,” the girl chuckles again. “Forget it. Have a lovely day! Happy Valentine’s!”

“Go die in a ditch,” Heather retorts, mostly to her computer, her tone hushed again in order to not get fired.

Stupid couples in this stupid store on this stupid holiday. It’s all a scam anyways. A holiday invented for the sole purpose of making single people feel lonely, aromantic people feel invalid, and benefiting off the money in those in relationships. Who the hell thought of this?

Her day could be much worse, she is well aware. She could be swarmed by TDI superfans looking to get her autograph. She could be swarmed by TDI superfans looking to cause her untimely demise. She doesn’t know which one is worse at this point. Lovey-dovey couples are the last of her worries, but she can’t help but roll her eyes at every single one.

Deep down, she knows why; but she refuses to admit it to herself. She tells herself she’s moved past him, that she’s grown as a person and, in turn, outgrown him.

But if she goes even deeper, she knows it’s not true. As mostly everything Heather Kasuga has told in her life, this, too, is a lie.

***

It’s when he drops his make-up brush for the umpteenth time that Alejandro breaks. Not into tears, no; he actually breaks his bathroom mirror. It’s only then that he bursts into tears, because he’s cut himself on the glass, and doesn’t have enough money to replace his mirror.

It’s not like it matters, anyways. He’s become hideous, and he knows this. He wonders why he even has this mirror in his apartment – it’s not like he still likes looking at himself, as he did many years ago… What has it been, a decade? And does it matter? Time stopped after Total Drama, and its importance faded away with it.

On this day, he tends to think back to that damned show, believe it or not. The bonds he’s made on it never leave his head, and one in particular stands out; it’s the one that haunts him most, the one that he wishes actually lasted.

Of course, it’s impossible. They’ve grown. She’s strong, and she’s surely gotten past him.

But he’s weak, and he hasn’t. And he knows this, but never will he admit it.

For Alejandro Burromuerto refuses to tell another lie. Whatever exists up there knows where that gets him.

***

END STORY

Ah, Valentine’s Day. The perfect day to show your partner just how much you love them by giving into the horrors of capitalism and buying them more chocolate than they could eat in a year! How wonderful.

I... seriously pity you if you were expecting something cutesy, haha! Oh my God, the look on your face must be priceless! Listen, when I said these two were going through it, I meant it!

Hey, if it’s any consolation, Chef and I are doing great. We’re watching the first few seasons back to back while laughing at every single painful moment, reminiscing of the screams we’ve heard while on set and ranking them. If that’s not true love, I don’t know what is...

coming soon to an AO3 near you.

questions, concerns, suggestions to be deposited in the ask box.

TD: TBBG is written by @canonically47. the blog is entirely run by the writer.

!!! reblogs > likes !!!

[thefamilycryptid]

MY HUGE RANT ABOUT SEASON 4

Spoilers ahead

This is going to be really rambly. It it is definitely not all of my thoughts on this season. I did have parts I liked about this season and I admit I sort of liked the ending of the season but I didn’t like the season as a whole and I like complaining so sorry this is long

First is was fat jokes at Diego, which was weird af, especially when he took of his shirt and showed he was RIPPED THE WHOLE FUCKING TIME LIKE NOT EVEN SLIGHTLY CHUBBY BRO WAS SUPERHERO JACKED???

I actually didn’t notice that it was Sparrow!Ben who got sent back with them at first, I was hoping and praying for my good ghost boy. I just kinda hates Ben’s whole character in this

Then it was constantly playing baby shark and NOONE DECIDES TO JUST SMASH THE RADIO??? Like if had played for just the first sequence then someone smashed the radio it would’ve been a bit funny but it took over a whole episode and I HATED IT

CGI vomit???? Constantly????? Also do the blood and guts look plastic to anyone else? Like practical gore usually looks pretty good why doesn’t just feel funky this season?

I liked the Jennifer plot line originally, but I feel like it just became a weird way to shoehorn Ben and Jen into a relationship.

You’re telling me that RAY CHESTNUT becomes a DEADBEAT DAD??? He was genuinely the sweetest guy season 2 and now we’re expected to believe he would just leave his wife and kid (I’m assuming Claire is his Bio kid in this, but even if he’s just her father legally it’s absolutely wack that he would just leave her and Allison).

The Klaus plot line was actually so upsetting this season. Like he screws around in every season but it’s usually tied back to the main plot somehow. But this time it literally just felt like “haha the gay addict relapses after YEARS of working so hard to remain sober”. They wrote it like it was some punchline, like we were meant to laugh about him being “haha funny comedic relief of Klaus never being able to have a happy life” and it didn’t even have any plot relevance?

And then the big one Five and Lila

I genuinely cannot express how disgusted I was with this plot line. The moment I started episode 5 I kept a literal chant of “oh god please no ” BEGGING that it was a fake setup.

But no they actually did that. They made Lila and Five have a weirdass emotional love affair while suspended in the bullshit time traveling train. I’m gonna break down specific thoughts I have about this incident just bc there is so much I have to say

1. The age gap of the characters. Lila is 35 (ish? Her time traveling is a lot less than five so we can assume she is roughly still 35) and Five is in his 60s mentally while being in the body of a 19yo (him being 13-14 in season 3 and the 6 year agegap). I feel like I shouldn’t have to explain the mental/maturity agegap between a 35yo and a 60yo.

2. There’s also the huge glaring problem of the actors ages. The fact that the writers waited until Aidan was FRESHLY legal to write him into a relationship with an actress 15 years older than him is actually disgusting. Especially considering Ritu knew Aidan since season 2 when he was 16 years old and she was in her 30s.

3. It completely ruins fives character as someone who spent several decades trying to figure out how to save his whole family, into a homewreaker who was completely ready to let his family deal with the apocalypse while he had a cushy old time in a cottage core life with his brothers wife. Five killed thousands of people for the chance to go home to his siblings and I’m just expected to believe that he would throw that away for his sister-in-law???

4. Lila is a kickass independent woman in seasons 2, 3, and in the beginning of season 4. She’s practically a single mother bc Diego’s head is up his ass, shes juggling taking care of 3 kids, having her extended family live with her, AND trying to feel normal again by playing spy in her free time. Yet after episode 5 she is reduced to a “woe is me I’m stuck between two brothers, one I’m married to and have 3 kids with, and the other I just think gets me so well even though he lied to me”. She is slightly redeemed after they get out of the train stop and returns to Diego but it was still gross that it happened in the first place and there are still weird aftershocks

Ok end of Lila and Five rant back to the other stuff

Loved Victor so much in this season btw, the only normal Hargreaves at this point. Wish we could’ve heard more about how he is apparently charming the pants off of every woman he meets, if he and Lila got together behind Diego’s back I don’t think I would’ve even been mad he simply is THAT BITCH and we love him for it.

The five Deli was actually kind of funny to me tbh. I just wish it had gone way differently, like yes definitely like all the Fives that gave up but I wish our five had solved the problem just to spite them all. Because that’s the POINT of Five’s character that he refuses to just give up on problems, even if he has to ham-fist his way through everything until he has the solution and this season just ruins that in him. Where is stubborn till the end Five?? Dead and season 4 killed him 😔

And then there was the ending.

I don’t like it for a bunch of reasons. But the main one was how sloppy it felt. Also a bunch of inconsistencies which I will once again breakdown

1. I didn’t like the whole “we must end our existence to save the timeline” solution. I feel like it’s just massively overdone and lazy writing. I honestly would’ve preferred never getting season 4 over this ending

2. Lila, Diego, and Allison being so worried about their kids being ok without them is such a weird point. Like if you cease to ever exist then your kids won’t have ever been born I think that’s the whole point of not existing???

3. This isn’t a complaint but the scene where Bennifer absorbs everyone else looks really weird to me idk why

The EPILOGUE!

I admit it was pretty cute to see all the characters from previous seasons appear again, I love the Swedes by baby girls.

But how the hell are the children alive when their parents ceased to exist?? Like genuinely how the hell does that work ??

I almost wished we could’ve gotten to see all the scenes from the mothers when they WOULDVE given birth but instead we get to see what happens without Marigold. It would’ve been a nice wrap up if we got to see the scene with Victors mom again but it’s just her swimming with the boy she’s hitting on. I feel like it would’ve been a slightly more satisfying ending that I could’ve forgiven the “erase ourselves for the good of everyone” ending.

I have more opinions so ask me abt them if you want but I promise this post would be a novels length if I said it all so I just wrote the big stuff here lol

[aquadestinyswriting]

Writing Exercise 3

Ok, so I was looking through this post again to see if I wanted to do any of the other writing exercises on it and I came across the "Shuffle a playlist on your music player of choice. For whichever song plays, describe what you “see” with your imagination." exercise. Needless to say, since I have at least 4 different playlists just for my many WIP series, I needed to give this one a shot.

I'm just gonna go with shuffling my 'Emotional Songs' playlist since that's the most extensive one I have and I use it to plot with. Placing the song and my thoughts about it under a cut to save everyone's dashes.

Tagging: @davycoquette (as requested), @druidx, @lexiklecksi and @sparrow-orion-writes because you guys might get a kick out of this.

And shuffle chose the following song:

Oh man. Ok, so let's get into this.

I feel like I'm losing hope In my body and my soul And the sky, it looks so ominous And as time comes to a halt Silence starts to overflow My cries are inconspicuous

OK, so for this part of the first verse, I typically see Elowyn staring up at the ceiling of the cavern she, Meredith and Enezeage are shivering in after almost drowning trying to swim through some flooded mineshafts to get to some Bad Guys(tm). I think it's pretty accurate to say that at least the girls are feeling a bit hopeless since the other two members of their party have just drowned and Merri and Elowyn had just about followed suit not that long before.

Tell me, God, are you punishing me? Is this the price I'm paying for my past mistakes? This is my redemption song I need you more than ever right now Can you hear me now?

The scene in my head for this part skips ahead a little bit to when Elowyn dies for the first (or was it second?) time thanks to being ripped to shreds by a Dire Dire weasel (the thing stood about 4 feet at the shoulder, which is a bit taller than Elowyn). Elowyn's sitting in the waiting room when she suddenly gets pulled through a portal by a clawed, reptilian hand and is then told that she's now Kurtulmak's Vassal before she wakes up back in the real world pretty much naked and covered in ick. Bear in mind this takes place waaay before Elowyn finally gets ordained as a paladin, so she's a rogue at this point in the story of the campaign.

'Cause we're gonna shout it loud Even if our words seem meaningless It's like I'm carrying the weight of the world I wish that someway, somehow That I could save every one of us But the truth is that I'm only one girl Maybe if I keep believing, my dreams will come to life Come to life

There are a couple of scenes that flash into my head for this first chorus honestly. All of them involving Elowyn standing up for herself, her beliefs or others that are less fortunate than herself. The first one is when she's standing up to King Storri and Captain Bloodvein about the kobolds that the party ended up taking on as companions after that whole resurrection by Kurtulmak thing. The next one that comes to mind is quite a lot later when she's up on a box trying to calm a riotous mob that's trying to get into the Temple of Moradin in Toreguarde.

After all the laughter fades Signs of life all washed away I can still, still feel a gentle breeze No matter how hard I pray Signs of warning still remain And life has become my enemy

Now, I tend to switch POV over to Meredith for the second verse, only because this song is a definitive fit for both girls, for slightly different reasons. For this first part of the second verse, the scene that comes to mind is always one where Meredith is sitting in her room in Acacia Avenue after the celebrations for Darkhide's defeat are over and the party have been chucked out to go home and sleep. The scene is not a happy one, since she's trying to pray to Moradin and not getting an answer and is slowly realising that her people are still in grave danger, despite the defeat of one of the most powerful necromancers Allansia has seen in about a decade.

Tell me, God, are you punishing me? Is this the price I'm paying for my past mistakes? This is my redemption song I need you more than ever right now Can you hear me now?

For this second half-verse, I tend to visualise Meredith sitting in her cell waiting for her trial and likely execution date after she's discovered and arrested in Fangthane upon her return there. To be fair, she doesn't believe her gods are punishing her so much as kicking herself for getting caught because she has no evidence with which to exonerate herself, so she's spending herself praying for some sort of miracle.

'Cause we're gonna shout it loud Even if our words seem meaningless It's like I'm carrying the weight of the world I wish that someway, somehow That I could save every one of us But the truth is that I'm only one girl Maybe if I keep believing, my dreams will come to life Come to life

Like with Elowyn above, I tend to see various scenes for this chorus. Most of them involve Meredith standing up to the various enemies that her party met during their adventure. I also sometimes visualise a few scenes where Meredith is trying to keep her party or her people safe from some sort of danger, even if it's not immediately visible.

'Cause we're gonna shout it loud Even if our words seem meaningless Like I'm carrying the weight of the world I wish that someway, somehow That I could save every one of us But the truth is that I'm only one girl

For this chorus I visualise short flashes of both Elowyn and Meredith trying to talk some sense into their people as matters in both Toreguarde and Fangthane start to fall apart. Mostly it scenes of Elowyn trying to stem the corruption in the Council and the Brotherhood of Cleaving's reign of terror in Toreguarde and Meredith trying to talk some sense into the leadership of her Church as a full-on Schism starts erupting.

Still, we're gonna shout it loud Even if our words seem meaningless It's like I'm carrying the weight of the world I hope that someway, somehow That I could save every one of us But the truth is that I'm only one girl Maybe if I keep believing, my dreams will come to life Come to life

For this last chorus, I tend to visualise the lead-up to the final battle of the campaign. The first scene I visualise tends to be Elowyn getting ganked on top of a sea stack and Merri having to ress her mid-battle. However, the main scene I tend to see is Elowyn trying to talk Ionah (the Big Bad) down in attempt to, potentially, save what's left of the woman's soul. There was a whole heartfelt speech about understanding why Ionah followed the path she did and the fact that there was second chance still available. The body language I can see for both women in my head at this point is just heart-breaking, because Elowyn tried so hard, only for Ionah to turn around and basically murder her son (and Meredith's husband), who is off-screen and on another plane of existence at this point.

[maybanksbabe]

𝐁𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐥 ➢𝐅𝐢𝐯𝐞

𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑭𝒊𝒗𝒆 - 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒃𝒊𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒁𝒐𝒏𝒆

𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 | 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 - On a mission to retrieve a drone to help the group look for the Merchant, more hijinks ensue. Kodi gives the boys an insight into why Kie might have shot down John B. And as usual, nothing goes the way they planned it.

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠(𝐬) - language, passing mention of sexuality, boys being idiots, canon-typical drama, if I missed anything lmk!

"THAT'S NOT GOLD," Pope stated with disappointment as Kie handed out a sturdy envelope with marker printed on the front.

"Holy shit," John B mumbled as he took in the sight of the envelope. Kodi helped Kie out of the hole and the two of them moved to join the boys with the envelope.

"This is from my dad." John B looked around in disbelief, clearly hesitant to open it just yet.

"Guys - code red. Code red - square groupers! Square groupers!" JJ alerted them as a vehicle approached. They all hurried around the side of the crypt and dropped to the floor.

"Lights!" Kie hissed and all the lanterns and torches went off. Kodi reached over to help JJ turn off his headlamp when she noticed he was struggling.

"It's those guys that robbed your house." There was no hiding the panic in Pope's voice as they huddled together and tried to keep as quiet as physically possible. JJ peered around the corner and everyone waited with bated breath.

"Is it them?"

"Homie's got a gun -" That was all the prompting they needed to turn their flashlights on again and take off in a run.

They scaled and cleared the gate with no issue at all. Except for Pope who got caught on the top. JJ drew the gun but John B immediately stopped him.

"No way -"

"You're gonna rip -" Pope's protests were cut off when his shorts came away and remained stuck to the gate. Unable to hang around, they curbed their laughter in favour of getting into the Twinkie first.

"Oh, my God..."

-/-/-

Back in the safety of the Chateau, they regrouped and composed themselves once Pope had put a fresh pair of shorts on. Kodi made her way into the lounge and saw JJ making a sandwich with mouldy bread.

"JJ, that bread had mould on it three days ago..." Pope remarked as he rejoined them. He just shook his head and carried on.

"I'll just pull off the bad parts. Plus, mould is good for you. It's just a natural organism..."

"I don't know how told you that but I don't think it's factually correct," Kodi interjected as she got comfortable on the sofa.

With the light of several lanterns and candles, they gathered around the table to watch John B open the envelope. JJ took a bite of the sandwich and immediately spat it into the wastebasket before rejoining them.

They all watched as John B unfolded a map and spread it out on the table. There was writing and small diagrams peppered across it.

"Holy shit..."

"Oh, X marks the spot -" Pope pointed to the hastily drawn X on the map.

"Wait - there's something else." He reached into the envelope again and this time pulled out a tape recorder. John B pressed the play button and it worked.

"Dear Bird -"

"Who's Bird?" JJ piped up, confused.

"That's what my dad called me..." John B trailed off.

"I hate to say I told you so... But I told you so. And you doubted your old man. I suspect, at this moment,  you're filled with guilt and self-loathing over our last fight. But don't kill yourself yet, kid. I didn't expect to find the Merchant either -"

They all shared looks of disbelief, hoping what they'd heard was true.

"You were probably right to call me out. Wasn't exactly the father of the decade. What can I say, kid? I could smell the barn. And hopefully, we're listening to this in our brand new sugar shack in Costa Rica, living off passive investments and pulling on permits."

With each passing second, John B's eyes got glassier. Filled with unshed tears as he listened.

"If not, and you find this for less than optimal reasons, well, that's what the map is for. There she is, the wreck of the Merchant. If something happens to me, finish what I started. Go for the gold, kid. I love you, Bird. Even if I didn't always act like it... I'll see you on the other side..."

John B got up and walked away from the table. Whilst the rest of them marvelled at the fact that Big John had in fact found the wreck, Kodi wanted desperately just to hug him. Give him some kind of comfort after everything he'd been through so far.

Kie beat her to it and offered an embrace that he seemed to melt into.

-/-/-

Later that night, sat on the dock, they all felt the need to relax and destress. Kie strummed her Ukelele and JJ skimmed rocks across the water. Thunder rumbled in the distance and Kodi could smell the impending storm in the air.

"How much was it, again?" JJ spoke up, though his voice came out uncharacteristically quiet.

"Four hundred mil," Pope replied without missing a beat.

"Alright, let's talk about the split." The way JJ spoke almost made Kodi believe that they stood even the smallest chance of actually finding the gold. It was oddly refreshing.

"Before we say evenly, may I remind you I am the only one that can properly defend us from those groupers who were after us," JJ stated and held up the gun. Kodi shook her head slightly.

"You haven't trained -" Pope began to object.

"YouTube, bro!"

"That's really not the way forward," Kodi remarked quietly as she settled against the wooden railing behind her. Whilst Pope and JJ bickered, she noticed John B was disconnected from the conversation. She stretched her leg out to bump her foot against his as casually as possible. He lowered the bottle he'd been drinking from and they shared a look.

Are you okay? Kodi mouthed to him and he shrugged it off. That didn't make her feel any better, but she'd made an effort at least.

"What are you going to do with your eighty mils, Pope?" Kie queried, curious. Kodi watched as he thought about it for a long beat before turning to look at them.

"Pay for college in advance. And also, textbooks. Those are expensive," he replied with a slight nod.

"That's smart. That's a good plan," Kodi agreed and picked at her sleeve.

"What about you, Kie?" JJ prompted and the conversation took a slight turn.

"Yeah, what does a socialist do when she's rich?"  Pope teased. Thankfully, Kie had the good sense to just laugh off their digs and remarks.

"I just wanna make a double album. About OBX, the Pogues. You know, the way Catch A Fire is about Kingston. Record it at Marley Studio. Peter Tosh on producing -"

"Peter Tosh is -"

"Dead, I know." Kodi chuckled at the interaction and all eyes turned to her.

"Kodi?"

"Travel and surf," she replied quietly, "I wanna see the world. Put some miles on my soul. Experience the different languages, cultures, and food. Surf at the Eddie Aikau in Hawaii. I wanna see life beyond the Outer Banks." They all seemed surprised by her answer before JJ spoke up.

"I know what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna get a big ass house on Figure Eight and go Full Kook."

"You're gonna go Full Kook?"

"Yep. Gonna get a marble statue of myself, and then I'm gonna get a koi pond. Put a bunch of those fish -"

"I'm never visiting," Kie joked and a chorus of wishful laughter passed through the group.

"What are you gonna do, JB?" Pope's question turned all their heads to the boy in question.

"To going Full Kook," he replied with a growing grin. Everyone raised their drinks and toasted.

"To going Full Kook!" They all agreed and sat back in their chosen seats. A hopeful air surrounded them. The determination to find gold was a mutual desire.

They were going to make it happen.

-/-/-

By the following morning, the five of them were making their way through the waterfront. People were still working on clearing the damage left behind by Agatha. JJ whistled and caught their attention.

"You guys see that?" Everyone sat up and leaned forward to see what he was talking about. A speedboat was going in the opposite direction to them. It looked beyond expensive.

"That's the Malibu twenty-four-MXZ. The world's finest wakesetter. Number one in quality, luxury and performance," JJ stated and they all watched in fascination as it glided by.

"Two hundred K. Easy," Kodi remarked and ran a hand through her hair, her head tipped back to soak in the sun.

"We picked the wrong parents," Pope lamented before Kie interrupted.

"I hate to break it to you guys, but that's Topper and his girlfriend." Their amazement quickly soured and all eyes watched as the boat passed by. Sarah was tucked into Topper's side and held her nose in the air at the sight of them.

"You don't have to act like you don't see us, bitch." Kodi stifled a laugh at Kie's comment and put a hand behind her head, the other splayed on her stomach.

"Relax, Kie. If she wanted to, she would."

-/-/-

Stretched out in the back of the Twinkie, Kodi had lost track of what they'd been planning to do until they rolled to a stop and John B cut the engine. JJ turned and tapped her ankle, stirring her into motion.

"Alright, keep a lookout. We're behind enemy lines," JJ warned before loading the gun. Kodi opened her mouth to protest but John B beat her to it.

"C'mon, man, just put it back."

"What?"

"JJ -"

"You can never be too careful," he replied and Kodi shook her head in defeat. Pope climbed out and leaned into the passenger seat window.

"I predict that bringing a weapon into a four-star hotel will likely cause more problems than they solve."

"For a change, I agree with Pope. This is a bad idea." Kodi and Kie were the last ones out of the back and slid the doors shut with ease.

"I swear to God, I'm gonna throw that thing in the ocean, JJ. Put it back," Kie chimed in and he shook his head. Thankfully, John B pulled it out of his hand and put it in the glove box. Like a sulking child, JJ relented and climbed out of the Twinkie to follow after them.

"So, where exactly are we going?" Kodi questioned as they made their way up to the hotel he bussed tables at.

"We're getting on the internet because only rich people have electricity right now," he rebuffed and clipped his employee card to his belt loop. They followed him into the hotel through the trade entrance at the back and made their way through the teeming kitchen.

Steam, loud utensils and shouting back and forth made it hard to think straight. But no one seemed to protest their passing presence.

"See, they got the backup generators going? Kooks don't miss a beat," JJ commented quietly over his shoulder as they passed through the main floor.

When they finally made it to the room full of computers and WiFi that was actually connected, they all seemed to become frantic. Uncertain as to what they should check first. Pope got into the nearest computer and John B retrieved the map from his backpack. He read the coordinates out and they all gathered around to watch.

"- Boom, continental shelf, right there," John B pointed out with a gesture to the screen and where the red pin had landed.

"Well, if it's off the deep end, it's not going to be much of a treasure hunt, is it?" Eyes fixed on the screen, they watched in anticipation as Pope zoomed in, closer and closer.

"Shit, it's on the high side. It's only nine-hundred feet," John B concluded with an impressed expression.

"Oh, yeah, that's not too deep." Kodi's sarcasm was met by a subtle nod from JJ and pointed looks from Pope and John B.

"Is that doable?" Kie whispered, brows knitted together in confusion.

"Totally doable," JJ assured her and Pope protested.

"Will we be taking your personal submarine?"

"How do you know this, Mister Dive Master?"

"The Salvage Yard," JJ replied, matter-of-fact, "They've got a drone that can drop a thousand. It has a three-sixty camera and everything. It's for, like, deep dives and stuff."

"It sounds exactly like what we need," Kodi stated in agreement.

"Can your dad get his grimy little hands on that?" John B questioned, clearly not convinced.

"Well... My dad's grimy little hands are what got his ass fired. I guess the salvage captain frowns  upon showing up shitfaced, turns out."

"Great..."

"The drone is there. It's in the impound yard, outback."

"How much did you say was on the Royal Merchant, again?" Kie shuffled in her seat slightly and tucked a few curls behind her ear.

"Four hundred million," JJ and John B replied in unison. Before any of them could reach the door, Pope had gotten up and stood in front of the double doors, arms open wide. Kie had a go at trying to move him, but it was no use. Thankfully, Pope didn't resist for long and they all made a dash out of the hotel, and back to the Twinkie.

"Can't we do anything legal for money?" the brainiac complained as they took off.

-/-/-

"Pope, we're not stealing the drone. We're borrowing it," John B explained for what sounded like the millionth time.

"Humans are the only animal that can't tell fantasy from reality," Pope quoted, staring out of the window. Kodi sat on the carpeted floor and watched as JJ rolled a joint, seemingly disconnected from the whole conversation.

"Did you come up with that?" John B questioned over his shoulder as he drove.

"No, Albert Bernstein came up with it, but it applies to this whole treasure-hunting thing."

"So, which is it? Fantasy or reality?"

"Why are you so weird, Pope?" Kodi nudged JJ with her foot. Thankfully, the conversation kept moving.

"It's fantasy, but possibly a reality."

"Reality," John B agreed with Kie. Kodi's attention turned back to JJ sparking up, the joint hanging from the corner of his mouth. Before the flame could make contact, Pope plucked it from his mouth and cast it aside.

"Keep the signal clear." The pout on his face was too much to bear and Kodi laughed as she watched him flip the lighter closed and tuck it back into his pocket.

"Alright, roll out." Kie went ahead and put the diversion in motion to draw out the security guard. Kodi, Pope, John B and JJ waited off to the side, hiding behind a parked boat.

"How's it going with Kiara?" JJ teased John B as they watched the guard follow Kie to the people carrier.

"It's not awkward, weird or anything."

"Honestly, I didn't think you were actually gonna listen to me..." JJ replied, amused by John B's answer.

"I was a hundred per cent sure she was into you. Pope would agree." Eyes turned to Pope, who was crouched at the end of the line. He refused to look at any of them.

"Ehh..."

"So, like, Kie. She definitely gave you the Heisman?" Kodi queried, both curious and just desperate to move the conversation along a little faster.

"Oh, no question. Yep."

"Maybe she's just into someone else," Pope suggested and it was Kodi's turn to snort quietly into her sleeve at the prospect.

"Or, maybe she's just not into guys." The three of them turned to look at her with confusion.

"What? I would know, I've got a foot in the door," she defended in a half-whisper. Mercifully, Kie had gotten the guard far enough away from the gatehouse and that was their cue to move in. The four of them took off in a sprint to get into the yard.

JJ was in front, John B next and then Pope and Kodi were side-by-side. She couldn't remember the last time she had to run like that without being chased. They caught their breath as JJ spun in the combination on the lock with slightly fumbling hands.

"Do you have the right numbers?" Pope quizzed as they watched him tug frantically at the lock, It didn't open.

"All right, so I might have the wrong numbers." A collective sigh of disappointment passed over them. None of them was sure of what to do next when a guard dog came sliding around the boats, barking and growling at them.

"Shit!" They all scattered in different directions. John B and Kodi hid around the side of the storage unit, whilst Pope and JJ took off.

"All clear?" Kodi poked her head around the corner of the unit and nodded. She watched him reach for a pipe and swing at the lock. Two tries and it split. They ducked inside and began looking around.

John B made a run for the storage cage and Kodi caught up to help him lug the two boxes they needed out of there.

"Well, that was fucking terrifying..."

--//--//--

@moremaybank @kraekat29 @thatsthewaythechrissycrumbles @bjrmaybank

[sumbreon]

more book thoughts

the shops back up you can now buy these books

ive not read anymore yet, using it to bribe myself into doing laundry but ive been stewing on things. this will be even less coherent cause im just gonna throw my thoughts out here as they come to me unlike before where we had a mild focus

what is machas plan here? turning up as félix to fuck with islin about cypress like what was the intent there because i doubt it had the intended effect with islin going 'it should be me courting you félix!' which also islin my man... ya coulda!!! oh no i just remembered hesper signed the fuckin courting card or whatever with a little paw print really good! the whole thing with cypress is really good too honestly. the pacing for after félix gives bowman (françois) the ultimatum was so good it felt like so long not being in félixs pov and seeing it from bowmans i was absolutely losing it like let me into that little bastards head again what the fuck is going on??? to then finally get his pov again and just... i dont think that could have been done any better it fuckin killed me. anyway macha clearly still wanting to fuck with félixs boys but tamer than in the first book but what for? im also both dreading and looking forward to whenever they and félix meet like its your bosses new little guy vs its the fucker who tried to kill your friends (maybe? dont know for sure that macha intended for anyone to die but they definitely could have/almost did!) so fucking with islin by being félix and fucking with bowman by attacking rangers as a viper tbh even less clear on how that ones meant to a work out whats gained from turning the rangers against the viper? whats esks relationship with the rangers? cain made a comment to bowman after the whole graveyard incident and what did you mean by that man? whats your damn deal macha?

also every bowman chapter is accompanied by the mild apprehension of 'there was a warning for intentional misgendering its probably gonna be against bowman' who the fucks gonna do that to my boy? and i love that esks general response to bowman having to avoid saying hes the supposedly dead mercier girl is why is this even an issue. esk continues to not be helpful! but i am delighted by bowman and esk throughout this book so far me everytime its bowman time:

to be clear im having a good time, bowman less so. still makes me laugh that esk referred to félix as 'the pony'. and i loved that little scene on the train with félix and esk about félixs body and i think esk was maybe already aware? when the supposed viper attacked the rangers esk says a powerful black horse could maybe do that and says félix couldnt do that being so young a black horse? wonder just how much of esk not being helpful is being a bit of an ass and if any of its lingering effects from being stuck in that trophy room? god that was a horrifying scene and from what we see of tua it affected the weapons badly, esk wasnt there as long but it was still there

senca... girl whats your angle here? what sort of game is this to you? what are you getting out of it? i believe her when she tells esk that shes on the boys's side but im still not 100% trusting her

just how many times has léa threatened to cut bowmans dick off? enough that félix didnt let her finish the suggestion. and i keep thinking about léa telling félix about bowman not counting it as cheating with félix specifically like could you boys make this any more complicated? how the hell is félix meant to deal with that info? also made me think of that post where a girl had been having gay sex with her friend for like a decade and was like sex with her doesnt count and it ended with her saying to her boyfriend if it was cheating shes cheating on her friend with him then and not the other way around (i might try and find that post again. ill probably fail)

okay laundry done i might come back and add more or i might not

[compil]

nina and maggie were right

...but not in the way they intended.

before persuading crowley to have an honest chat with aziraphale (great advice btw, save for the fact that it was at a really bad time - though they couldn't have known), they make a really good point about why it was wrong for the two to have meddled in their relationship:

"my relationship just ended. i am not ready to start another one yet. i'd just be a rebound mess, i can't start seeing maggie. when i'm ready, i hope she'll be there, but there isn't any guarantee."

this is exactly what's going on between crowley and aziraphale right now. because, despite the millennia they've been together, it's only really been a few years since they were "free". and even then it was, as crowley put it, a "fragile existence".

we see signs of aziraphale's discomfort and restlessness throughout the season - making himself incredibly busy all the time, calling crowley to report his good deeds as a replacement for heaven's validation. crowley has evidently known heaven's true nature since before he even fell, but for aziraphale, less than a decade of "freedom" hasn't yet stood up to thousands of years of servitude, and despite the damning evidence everywhere, everywhen, he still thinks heaven = good and hell = bad. i'd argue that his devotion is more towards goodness than to heaven, but he sees heaven as a prerequisite to that. that stuff hasn't gone away.

"they asked me back to hell, i said, 'no i'm not gonna be joining their team'! and neither should you!" "but- well obviously you said no to hell. you're the bad guys. but heaven... well it- it's the side of truth, of light... of good."

i'm just as distraught as anyone at s2's ending, but honestly, i don't feel as bad about it as i thought i would be. even though the whole heart-to-heart didn't pan out (not for lack of trying...), we know that the current obstacle standing between them right now is rooted right from the nature of their characters - not just some sick circumstances or, god forbid, an "oh no what a huge misunderstanding!" plot. which would be unbelievably more frustrating.

plus, i have no doubt aziraphale's going to learn what he needs to learn and find his way again. on the other hand though, i can only hope that crowley would still be there at the end of it all.

[fadingmuse]

Story Time!

It's been a while so I'm gonna give you guys something a little juicy. I've been holding back on this because this moment means a lot to me and I wanted to keep it to myself, plus, he told me to keep it a secret from my friends and other teachers lol. but now, I figured there's no harm in sharing. It's been close to a decade, and my friends still don't know about it anyway.

I've mentioned before that we used to talk a LOT, to the point that we text each other after school. The conversations were always random, we rarely talked about school, mosty music, family, hobbies, literally everything. Aside from him being my (ex) tc, I was glad that there was an adult other than my parents that I could rely on.

One night we were texting as usual. It was maybe around 9pm, and since my sleep schedule was still normal back then, I told him that I was done for the night and about to get some shut-eye. We bid eachother goodnight and that was that.

A couple of minutes later, I heard a notification from my phone. I picked it up and it was from H. I thought it was urgent since we already ended our conversatiom earlier so I instantly opened it.

It was a LONG text. By the tone of the text, I figured that it wasn't meant for me, but the text was loooooong. Like, REALLY long. So I had no idea how he didn't notice who he was texting when he typed all that. At first I contemplated about reading the whole thing, but being curious, I went through with it.

By the time I finished reading it, I was still confused because I understand none of it. I have no idea what he and the other person was talking about. Not a clue. But then H bombarded me with texts saying things like,

"I'm sorry oh god that wasn't meant for you!"

"Did you read it already? Tell me you didn't."

"..Please don't think less of me, I'm sorry."

By then, I was baffled. I mean, what the fuck was I supposed to think?

I told him that it was fine, that I would delete the text if he wanted me to, and that I don't even undersgand what it all means. So there's nothing to be worry about.

"You don't understand about any of it?"

"No? Am I supposed to?"

And just like that he opened up to me.

Just a disclaimer, at this stage he was in his 20s. He was still young. I realized that now, but back then? I never given it any thought. I knew that he has a life outside of being a teacher, but I've had view him as what I first knew him as. Mr. H. That's why I was shocked when he told about his 'hobby'.

He (used to) street race. Yep. Street race. The text that he 'accidentally' sent me was of him talking to his friend about the strategic (?) of the next race and such. It's okay if you guys don't believe me because if I were you guys, I would have a hard time believing it too cause what kind of wattpad shit is this?

I didn't know what to think. I mean, this was a whole new side of him. Of course, at my age now, I think it's hot (forgive me). But back then I was horrified, mostly worried. He kept apologizing, begging me not to think less of him, saying that he's still him. Looking back now it wasn't even that big of a deal, but I was a goody 2 shoes back then so I understamd where he was coming from. And he was right, I WAS worried.

I assured him that I won't tell anyone and that I don't think less of him. But I still told him that I don't like him doing it and that I hope he doesn't do this often (lol the AUDACITY). The more shocking development is that he straight up promised that he won't do it again. I mean, I have no idea if he held true to that promise but to this day, it still warms my heart knowing that he cared.

The whole week after that conversation he treated as if I was a flight risk. He kept reaching out to me, staring at me, asking if I still wanna be friends. I had to keep reasurring him that everything was fine. Eventually, he calmed down. In fact, he ended up being more open to me than ever. He used to tell me everything, but after that incident, he tells me EVERYTHING. So I guess it turned out to be a happy accident.

I kind of have a feeling that he actually wanted me to know this side of him. The text he sent me was long as hell, I seriously don't know how he didn't notice my name while he was typing. Plus, I had no idea what he was talking about, he could've just moved on and tell me to forget about it. Why did he choose to explain it to me?

I guess I'll never know.

[clay-cuttlefish]

Finally we've arrived at 52, the series that turned me from a casual reader of a few comics into a full-on DC fan and Question enthusiast. This is the reason I set out on this project in the first place. I love it so much.

#1

This is my fifth time reading this in full, I think, and I still get hyped at this opening issue. Look at my guys.

It's a miracle this came together as well as it did. The omnibus is great for giving some insight into that construction process.

#2

There's just so much in 52 and I can't believe they pulled it off. Part of that is that it's thematically coherent, despite how different the plots are. Grief, reinvention, self-destruction as a means to cope with loss... it all feeds into itself.

In a slightly different timeline I came out of 52 fixated on Booster Gold and stumbled back into the Question later through Blue Beetle, instead of the other way around.

It took 416 issues but they're interacting! They're together! It's paying off!

Renee's heartbreaking spiral into self-destruction is interrupted by this massive dork. I love them.

#3

I really need to read Steel. Captivated by these two.

Skeets nudging the gyro cart owner out of the way is a very good panel. Catlike behavior.

#4

Booster and Bea's conversation is so. Hhh.

In the omnibus, Mark Waid calls Vic and Renee's scene "one of the high points of the entire series", and I'm with him.

#5

Renee and Maggie...

The metahuman hospital's a really cool piece of worldbuilding.

The only plotline I don't care much about is the spaceguys. I still like them, but the bar's really high here and I want to see other characters more.

Wish this was less creepy about Starfire.

#6

Kind of obsessed with Bob the theatre teacher and villain-for-hire, conceptually.

It takes a while for the Black Adam plot to pick up steam so this part isn't quite hitting yet.

Booster having a normal one.

#7

Renee hasn't talked to her mom in three years by this point. Oof.

The exes of all time!

Booster... Ralph blaming him for Ted's death is brutal.

#8

Oh cmon girl you're smarter than this. It's Lex Luthor, when has he ever had anyone's best interests at heart.

At least Ollie's still doing his thing.

Clark hating Booster is so good.

#9

"Smart-ass." "Consistency is everything." He is so annoying!

The John and Natasha fight is great.

#10

Clark taking a page from Lois' book is so good. Ridiculous.

I like Will and Professor Morrow a lot, nice that they're back in focus.

Supernova time :)

#11

His anti-smoking rant...

"I don't owe you anything." Oof ouch my soul.

Big talk here from a guy who spent a decade hung up on Myra.

The one superheroine ass shot I respect is in the "that's a Batwoman" panel because Renee deserves to appreciate Kate's ass.

#12

Besties moment.

Black Adam's plotline is gaining speed.

Oh Ralph.

#13

Oh NO, Ralph.

#14

They both look so good here. Love his stubble.

Desperately want to hear Tot's side of their conversation, and also their previous phone calls, because I'm sure he'd have Opinions about Vic deciding to become a mentor.

Shaking him. You are so annoying!

"There's no such thing as crazy, just behaviour that society has deemed unacceptable." SO true bestie.

#15

BOOSTER...

#16

Oh god, Renee.

Billy officiating Black Adam's wedding is very sweet.

#17

Luthor's superteam is one of the series highlights.

Still very funny that there's just a guy named Hannibal on it. Zero subtlety here.

Oh Lobo. I do not care about you.

#18

He's so silly.

Renee is having truly awful time falling back into old coping measures and he's out here getting scooped and being made fun of for cockblocking.

Booster's shitty funeral still fucks me up. Choosing to believe Skeets intentionally didn't invite people for evil reasons because the idea nobody showed up is too much.

Once again, oh no Ralph.

#18/2

A backup with Vic's origins. It's about right, though I prefer him starting as the Question before moving back to Hub City.

It lists his "essential storylines" as Mysterious Suspense, The Question 1987, and Cry for Blood, which I mostly agree with. Mysterious Suspense is less important but reading a pre-DC story is useful background for the 87 run and it's his only solo option.

[annebrontesrequiem]

Currently reading Napoleon and the Empire of Fashion: 1795 - 1815 and it's just so so bad. The pictures are beautiful, but only 30 pages in an all the alarm bells are ringing for bullshit claims about fashion history.

Take this:

In addition the shape of a women [sic] of 200 years ago is very different to those of today. These women had been brought up in the world of corsets; even if these were cast aside, the changes to their body shape was permanent. The ribcage of a lady in this period was both smaller and more rounded and their shoulders were drawn back, partly by the corsets and partly by the rules of deportment.

There's a lot to unpack here. Firstly, oh my God the writing in this book, the sentences. So many typos, so many sentences without predicates. But I digress. Women were wearing stays in the late 18th/early 19th century you absolute idiots!! Yes, it's true that women at the highest, highest level of fashion went at times with stays (not corsets, btw). But like, we're talking about the elitest of the elite when it comes to fashion.

And I get that this collection is about the trendsetters of the Napoleonic Era. But you have to put this stuff in its historical context. OR else people will think that everyone was just walking around with no bust support in circa 1795, and like, that's not true. I'm not out here wearing my 1790s reproduction dress without stays. That'd be stupid.

Also corsets did not change your body!!!! Oh my God, we're still having this stupid stupid debate!!! I mean, firstly, this was the era of stays, or right on the cusp between stays and corsets. So the undergarments that these women (again, elite women) 'discarded' were stays. Stays continued to be used - pretty obviously I feel - throughout the Napoleonic Era. They were less heavily boned, but they existed. Also tight-lacing will not be a thing for literal decades, and even then tight-lacing is always exaggerated but c'mon guys!!

Have you guys collecting these incredibly fashionable dresses not considered that there is survivor bias? Why don't these fit the mannequins!! Well firstly, that rounded silhouette is like, literally undergarments at work but you've decided they don't exist now. And secondly, whose dresses are surviving? The ones that were worn the least. And these dresses are thus probably going to distort the way we look at the average body.

Also the shoulders back thing is not just stays, but is the result of how the shoulders themselves were attached to the dress - being set farther back than the way we set ours now. Like, I'm new in this fashion history circle, I have so much to learn. But you cannot be out here collecting antique dresses and acting like such asses about where they come from.

You say you love this period prove it!! Don't perpetuate myths for the sake of whatever you're getting out of it!!

Rant over

[pesterloglog]

Roxy Lalonde, Jade Harley, Calliope, Aradia Megido, Sollux Captor, Karkat Vantas, John Egbert, Gamzee Makara, Dave Strider, Rose Lalonde, Kanaya Maryam, Jane Crocker, Jake English

Candy, page 21

ROXY: thx everyone for joining us today

ROXY: we are gathered here to honor the memory of alternate universe jade

ROXY: alas we hardly knew her

ROXY: by which i mean we didnt know her at all

ROXY: cuz she fell out of the sky like a week ago and was already dead

ROXY: but i think that based on our long acquaintanceship with alive jade we can safely assume that she was totally rad

JADE: (ugh)

ROXY: so were all here to contemplate the vast cruelness of the universe that such radness was plucked in its prime

ROXY: psst callie the roses

CALLIOPE: oh, of coUrse!

CALLIOPE: pUrple roses traditionally represent love at first sight, however these roses are actUally red roses that we prepared Using a blUe dye.

CALLIOPE: the blUe rose is the most elUsive and mysterioUs of all flowers.

CALLIOPE: the combination of red and blUe in this context is meant to evoke the dUal natUre of death, in that there is nothing more mysterioUs and impossible to comprehend than the vast void of the afterlife, bUt also there is nothing that makes Us appreciate the life and and love that we already have than the mystery of death.

CALLIOPE: while death is terrifying, there is always joy to be foUnd among the sorrow. each time we witness death, we fall in love with the important people in oUr lives all over again.

ROXY: woah callie thats a beautiful metaphor

CALLIOPE: aw, thank yoU roxy. u_u

ROXY: dont sound so humble it is v v deep

CALLIOPE: i jUst can’t take credit for external inspiration.

ROXY: lmao cmon callie youre the literal muse

CALLIOPE: yes, bUt yoU’re...

ARADIA: oh no did we miss the entire corpse party

ARADIA: i hope not

SOLLUX: yes that w0uld be *such* a tragedy.

ARADIA: oh shush you

ARADIA: the tragedy is what i dont want to miss!

KARKAT: ARADIA?

KARKAT: HOLY SHIT... SOLLUX?!

SOLLUX: hey l0ser. it’s been a l0ng time.

KARKAT: IT’S BEEN A...

KARKAT: IT’S BEEN A “LONG TIME”?!

KARKAT: IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY TO ME?! IT’S BEEN MORE THAN A FUCKING HUMAN DECADE!

KARKAT: I THOUGHT YOU GUYS WERE DEAD.

ARADIA: no i wasnt dead

KARKAT: NO, I MEAN LIKE

KARKAT: “GONE FOREVER”??

KARKAT: I THOUGHT THAT YOU TWO LITERALLY DIDN’T EXIST ANYMORE!

KARKAT: OR AT THE VERY LEAST WERE TRAPPED IN A DEAD UNIVERSE PERPETUALLY COLLAPSING INTO ITS OWN ASSHOLE.

SOLLUX: 0h. n0pe.

KARKAT: FINE!

KARKAT: WALTZ IN HERE WITH NO EXPLANATION WHATSOEVER. SOUNDS ABOUT FUCKING RIGHT.

KARKAT: IT’S NOT LIKE YOUR SUDDEN AND UNEXPLAINED PRESENCE IS ANY LESS OF A JOKE THAN THIS “FUNERAL” WE’RE HAVING.

KARKAT: I MEAN, WHY STOP AT SOLLUX AND ARADIA?

KARKAT: MAYBE FUCKING NEPETA IS ABOUT TO POUNCE FROM BEHIND THAT GROTESQUE STATUE OF THE HUMAN SUFFERER T-POSING OVER THERE.

KARKAT: NEPETA, ARE YOU THERE? COME ON OUT! THE CORPSE PARTY WOULDN’T BE THE SAME WITHOUT YOU!

ROXY: SHOOSH everyone!

ROXY: there will be a reception with cake n candy after the service

ROXY: u all can have ur poignant reunions then

ROXY: before we unite in tearful togetherness we gotta unite in tearful loss

JOHN: wait... there’s more?

JOHN: i thought that nice speech callie made was, like...

JOHN: pretty much the funeral.

ROXY: lol no

ROXY: callie and i were just gettin started

JADE: oh my god...

ROXY: anyway where was i?

CALLIOPE: how the infinite mystery of death makes Us appreciate the love we have!

ROXY: right

ARADIA: so i see you managed to get out of the fridge

GAMZEE: i DiDn’T jUsT gEt OuT oF tHe FrIdGe, I wAs SeT fReE sIsTeR!

ARADIA: i see

GAMZEE: wHeN tHe DoOr Of ThAt FrIdGe pOpPeD oPeN iT wAs LikE i Be AlL sEeIn ThE lIgHt AnD sHiT.

SOLLUX: well yeah

SOLLUX: that’s what happens when s0me0ne 0pens a d00r t0 a t0tally dark encl0sure.

SOLLUX: fuck, i can’t believe y0u’re still this stupid.

SOLLUX: 0h wait i can.

GAMZEE: nO bRoThEr, It’S a MoThErFuCkIn MeTaPhOr.

GAMZEE: A mEtApHoR fOr ThE mIrAcLe Of rEdEmPtIoN!

ARADIA: redemption

GAMZEE: yEaH cHeCk It ThE fUcK oUt.

GAMZEE: i DiD My MoThErFuCkInG rEdEmPtIoN aRc. :o)

ARADIA: is that so

GAMZEE: i BeEn DoInG aLl KiNdS oF gOoD dEeDs At ThE lOsT mOtHeRfUcKeRs.

GAMZEE: pReAcHiNg ThE hOlY wOrD. mAkInG oUt WiTh OrPhAns.

ARADIA: oh hmm

SOLLUX: isn’t it “kissing 0rphans”?

ARADIA: let him talk sollux

GAMZEE: i EvEn GoT a HeAlThY mUtUaLlY fUlLfIlLiNg kIsMeSiS gOiN oN wItH tHaT fOxY hUmAn BrOaD uP fRoNt.

ARADIA: its so nice that you believe all that gamzee

ARADIA: i think i can honestly say

ARADIA: im reasonably happy for you?

ROXY: omg quiet in the back already!

ROXY: were tryin to have a beautiful and solemn proceeding up here

ARADIA: oh im sorry

ARADIA: i do agree that its a beautiful corpse party

ARADIA: but i think it would be even MORE beautiful if we could you know

ARADIA: actually see the corpse?

KARKAT: OH MY GOD ARADIA, WHY ARE YOU STILL LIKE THIS?

ROXY: oh lol ur right i cant believe that slipped my mind

ROXY: hey jake a lil help?

ROXY: im like hella pregnant here and shouldnt be doing any heavy lifting

JADE: ughhh...

DAVE: yo babe its ok

JADE: easy for you to say! youve got practice with this kind of thing!

DAVE: just remember its not actually your corpse

DAVE: i mean technically it is

DAVE: it both is and isnt your corpse at the same time

DAVE: which yeah the longer you think about it like that the more fucked up it gets

DAVE: but also when you objectively think about it the combined multiverse is a huge tangle of interrelated but totally random events and its only chance that this specific life is the one you ended up living

DAVE: you and that corpse could have just as easily switched places

DAVE: but also that would never actually happen because its not how paradox space works

DAVE: anyway my point is that nothing really matters so chill out

JADE: um, i love you with all my heart dave but youre REALLY not helping right now

ARADIA: now this is more like it

JADE: i cant look...

DAVE: oh

DAVE: here

JADE: uhh... what... are you doing??

DAVE: emotional support yo

ROSE: Dave.

DAVE: what

DAVE: id like to see you do better

KANAYA: Me Too Actually

ROSE: I’m sorry, but I’m not the one whose questionable consolation tactics are on trial here.

CALLIOPE: this isn’t a trial! it’s a fUneral!

JOHN: haha, they’ve got a point rose, you gotta admit.

ROSE: A point about what?

JOHN: um...

JOHN: you’re not great at consolation? just saying.

KANAYA: Oh You Dont Know The Half Of It

ROSE: Excuse all of you, but I’m an excellent advice giver.

JADE: umm nobody said anything about advice giving rose...

JOHN: oh yeah, the advice is top notch.

JOHN: but you’re kind of a weird person to like... cry in front of?

JOHN: no offense.

ROSE: What??

JOHN: the first time i ever got upset in front of rose irl, she put her arms around me and it was so awkward that i had to ask her if she was hugging me or reaching for something on the shelf behind me.

CALLIOPE: everyone, we’re getting rather off track...

ROSE: I was doing both for your information.

DAVE: the first time rose hugged me it was such a disaster we didnt make eye contact for like a week after

KANAYA: Jade Come Here I Shall Hold You In My Arms

JADE: thank you kanaya at least ONE of you knows how to treat a lady in distress!

JANE: Agreed. I’ve always felt that Kanaya has done an exemplary job of providing a model for compassionate, empathetic behavior, which others of her kind would do well to follow.

KARKAT: WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY?

JANE: I’m sorry, Mr. Vantas. Do you have another unsolicited political opinion you’d like to share with everyone?

KARKAT: CONSIDERING THE SHIT GEYSER THAT JUST SHOT OUT OF YOUR IGNORANCE CANNON, I’D SAY MY OPINION IS PRETTY FUCKING SOLICITED RIGHT ABOUT NOW.

CALLIOPE: EVERYONE!

CALLIOPE: be qUiet!!!!!

CALLIOPE: please. roxy gathered yoU all here for a reason.

CALLIOPE: at least listen Until the end.

CALLIOPE: after that yoU can argUe all you want.

ROXY: look everyone im not dumb ok even tho i act like it sometimes

ROXY: i know whats goin on here

ROXY: that were all drifting apart

ROXY: and i know thats just a normal part of growing up and making new families

ROXY: and i guess learning that some people have unbridgeable divides on political stuff

ROXY: i can accept that things arent gonna always be the same as when we first met

ROXY: specially with dirk gone

ROXY: damn...

ROXY: even though its been more than a year i still feel it like he died yesterday

ROXY: what callie said earlier about death being mysterious and full of love is true

ROXY: i dont know if i ever would have gotten up the courage to marry john if dirk hadnt died

ROXY: sometimes i think about what it would have been like if he was still here

ROXY: i think we can all agree that if dirk didnt kill himself there would be some big differences in the lives of people here in this room

ROXY: i cant say if theyd be good or bad

ROXY: maybe when it comes to this kind of thing... like

ROXY: infinite probability and multiple universes and shit

ROXY: good and bad dont matter

ROXY: theres no better or worse just different

ROXY: even with dead jade here whos to say that the world she came from was actually worse than ours?

ROXY: she probably died a heroic death doin something incredible

ROXY: we probably only have the great lives we do right now because of her sacrifice

ROXY: the universal odds of us all being alive and healthy and together like this are so infinitesimally low that its literally impossible for us to understand with our limited linear consciousness

ROXY: isnt that amazing??

ROXY: so even if this is the last time were all ever in the same room like this

ROXY: i think its just incredible we could be here in the first place

ROXY: out of a sempiternal number of possibilities we are the only incarnation of this exact specific moment in all of existence

ROXY: i think that we should all look around and be super grateful for what we

ROXY: wh... what we

ROXY: wh... wha...

ROXY: whoah fuck

CALLIOPE: roxy? are yoU okay?

ROXY: of course im not ok i just WENT INTO FREAKING LABOR

JOHN: oh my god!

JOHN: oh my god!

JOHN: it’s happening, oh my god!!

JOHN: ...

JOHN: oh my GOD!!!

ROXY: omg john are you just gonna keep shouting oh my god or are you GONNA HELP YOUR WIFEY OUT

JOHN: OH MY GOD!!!!!

JOHN: doing ok there, sweetheart?

ROXY: ugh whyd i let you put this thing inside me

JOHN: don’t worry roxy! we’ll get it out as soon as we can!

JOHN: er, by “it,” i mean our child.

JOHN: we probably shouldn’t be talking about him in dehumanizing terms before he’s even born, huh?

JOHN: seems like kind of a bad omen?

ROXY: omg.......... john SHUT UP

ROXY: i need like six gallons of demerol STAT

ROXY: lets GOOO

JOHN: right! going!

CALLIOPE: wait! i...

CALLIOPE: i woUld like to be there as well!

JOHN: hurry up then!

JADE: AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

JAKE: By jove!

DAVE: jesus fuck

CALLIOPE: jade! yoU...

CALLIOPE: yoU’re alive!

CALLIOPE: or, Um,

CALLIOPE: yoU’re not dead!

JADE: i am not jade.

CALLIOPE: then who...

CALLIOPE: who are yoU?

JADE: you know who i am, calliope.

JADE: we met once, years ago.

JADE: you were dead, and so was i.

KANAYA: This Certainly Is A Turn Of Events

ARADIA: ill say

ARADIA: at first i was underwhelmed with the proceedings i have to admit

ARADIA: but that was quite the twist

ARADIA: this may be one of the best death related celebrations ive ever seen :)

SOLLUX: t0p five at least.

JADE: you’re undoubtedly surprised.

JADE: but these events were not unpredictable at all.

JADE: this is exactly what i have been expecting to happen.

JADE: and while i cannot say the same thing for the rest of you,

JADE: i, at least, am exactly where i am meant to be.

JAKE: Hey uh.

JAKE: Not to come off as a total idiot here but...

JAKE: Who were you supposed to be again?

JADE: my name is calliope.

JADE: i am the muse of space.

JADE: and i have entered this body to protect your world.

[rametarin]

Not excited about Harris

However, Trump cannot be president. Anything other than, "Russia must lose and be defeated" is unacceptable in a president.

Putin and Russia at large is not your guy. And the fact he invaded Ukraine just proves it. You don't just accidentally invade like this, seize a tenth or more of a country (talking about 2014) and then "oops I'm accidentally a whole capital city/government."

And the irony is, in decades passed, the republicans would've been very hawkish about this. But, because ideological opposition chose to try and undercut both their emphasis on opposite sex marriage and the cultural institution of a consistent marital buddy system, which the conservatives feel very strongly about, not only telling them they're wrong but enshrining in federal laws contradictions to things they find self-evident and true, they went into cloud cuckooland and just became this.

Were it just the 80s or 90s still and the surviving crowd that was living and relatively young to middle aged then, you would've not only seen oodles of funding and goodies for Ukraine, but droves of Jane Doe motherfuckers piling into boats as volunteers just to shoot Putin's regime to death.

Instead we get the most obnoxious punk queer fringe antagonizing the population of Grandparents with Strong Opinions(tm), and this slow walk of a national conversation on the basis of trans rights for this scenic farce.

Those specific republicans (because it's not the entire population of the ideological base) are so indignant and furious about more or less losing that cultural argument on a legal level, that they saw Russia as a possible alternative and port in the storm. And it didn't have to be this way. The most obnoxious elements of the far-left made it far worse than it had to be, and there's no sign of it stopping anytime soon. And they don't care to what extremes the conservatives go in their indignity; all the better, they imagine, as it defeats their own position.

And then shit like this happens, and boy it sure would've been nice if a bunch of angry, passionate nativists and patriots were sober again and willing to vote to fund resistance in Ukraine against a tyrant, rather than being put into such a defeatist state at home they see this aging Slavic poor man's Ivan the Terrible as a potential savior.

And the biggest irony is, the ideological hard-left doing that was itself sponsored by Russia. And likely, still is. It's just a strain of financial sponsorship that has been present since Soviet times, in education and public institutions where unions are strongest. Encouraging the left to try to institute things that would sow discord and dissent and bolshevize the enemies of Russia. And for better or worse, gay and then trans rights certainly does that.

In being so cavalier and radical about LGBT rights at the time they did, they instituted a hyperallergenic response to it from the traditionalists on the right, which has wrecked utter havoc for domestic peace.

And the worst part is, while the left can somehow see every connection between right wing commentators financially, real or imagined and taken for granted because, "you know the right-wing Nazis are all working together!", they deny Russian Nationals do the same shit with the far left. When they have, have always, and continue to maintain those sponsorred saboteur and cultural antagonists among the left wing. They just cannot imagine they, also, are being used.

It doesn't help that the republicans just point at that and yell, "SOROS!", no. Oh my god, shut up.

But alright. I've gone decades of my life knowing the Russian connection to western academia and social movements was wagging the dog. If what it takes is the brief period in time in which they managed to finally find some purchase in the republican imagination to see the infection in their enemy to finally see it in themselves, so be it. It's progress, albeit, at a cost.

[andmaybegayer]

Last Monday of the Week 2023-09-18

Not getting a whole lot of "autumn" vibes from this thing

Listening: Many things, but the one that has been stuck in my head is once again from Siege Ubsessed! by Curta'n'Wall. A New Castle is Born. Do you want a song about. A castle? Yes, you do.

Bonus track: whatever the hell is going on in The Dark Ages

Reading: Finished Perhaps The Stars the other day. I am increasingly convinced that Neal Stephenson has the right idea on how to end most things. The end of Perhaps the Stars is good but it's less good than the rest of the series. The book is wild, so much happens, it's a dramatic change of pace from the prior books, both way more happens and it's far slower.

9A. I am mixed on 9A. As a narrator they do not feel like the 9A. To be fair, Mycroft also does not feel like he would be a great Anonymous either. Still.

Stephenson, yes. Stephenson's books end like an 80's pop song, they just hit a peak and then fade out before you can realize it's happened. An extremely effective way to fill you with what the fuck was that great.

I like the ideas in Terra Ignota immensely. I like the style and the world of Terra Ignota a great deal. I'm not actually sure if I like the prose in Terra Ignota that much.

I do appreciate how the final chapters serve as a sort of proxy for the thoughts you've probably been having while you read the series. The various peoples who have had to just endure the clashing hives get to stand up and go you guys realize an empire is not a good thing right.

Playing: Breath of the Wild, beat Vah Rudania, the Salamander beast. One left, plus maybe four or five more memories, and I do want to track down a couple more of the side quests before I hit the endgame but I feel like I'm probably not going to come back to this much after I beat Ganon.

Also beat the snow dragon Naydra fight which was a really good setpiece. You get the reveal that it's been corrupted by Ganon, which is a great oh shit moment when you think you might have to fight it. You don't but it's still a good mobility challenge. I have some video.

Watching: Nothing really.

Making: Getting back in the CAD saddle for printing things reminds me why I still keep Autodesk Fusion installed in Windows. FreeCAD is great but it has idiosyncrasies that make it less than ideal for even moderately complicated parts. Chief among these is that it is a CAD package with no first class concept of an assembly, anything involving multiple bodies is arduous as fuck.

As a result I am trying out Onshape, the cloud/web CAD package, because at least I can run that in Linux rather than rebooting. I'm going to try and see if I can spin up Fusion 360 (or maybe even SolidEdge for the first time in, god, almost a decade) in Wine/Proton/Whatever but Onshape is promising. Despite the cloud bullshit it handles pretty much like any other professional-ish CAD package.

Tools and Equipment: I have been shaving with a old fashioned safety razor for almost a year now. I had a cheap one from the grocery store but I bought that fancy precision machined aluminium one because I like the concept of a safety razor that barely exposes a blade at all. It has been good.

As a teenager my parents deemed me too ADHD to be allowed even a cartridge razor, and for years I fought with electric razors that left crappy finishes and couldn't get anywhere near what I'd call clean. When I was in University I was like "Man it cannot be that hard to use a cartridge razor" and sure enough it wasn't. The problem I have with cartridge razors is that they clog in seconds and keeping them clear is a pain in the ass. Cuts are even less likely with this fancy one but even with a plain old safety razor it's remarkably hard to injure yourself unless you really aren't paying attention.

Safety razors are marginally more dangerous than cartridge razors but you can clear shaved hair extremely easily which means they cut like a dream for a while and they aren't as frustrating to work with. The fact that blades cost like US¢25 a piece even for slightly fancier ones is a nice touch that makes me much less likely to keep using blades long after they're too blunt to serve.