#truly moon girl tragic

[viewlumia]

Live footage of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur getting cancelled

[queenlucythevaliant]

'Yes, that old oak with which I saw eye to eye was here in this forest,' thought Prince Andrei. 'But whereabouts?' he wondered again, looking at the left side of the road and, without realizing, without recognizing it, admiring the very oak he sought. The old oak, quite transfigured, spread out a canopy of dark, sappy green, and seemed to swoon and sway in the rays of the evening sun. There was nothing to be seen now of knotted fingers and scars, of old doubts and sorrows. Through the rough, century-old bark, even where there were no twigs, leaves had sprouted, so juicy, so young that it was hard to believe that aged veteran had borne them.

'Yes, it is the same oak,' thought Prince Andrei, and all at once he was seized by an irrational, spring-like feeling of joy and renewal. All the best moments of his life of a sudden rose to his memory. Austerlitz, with that lofty sky, the reproachful look on his dead wife's face, Pierre at the ferry, that girl thrilled by the beauty of the night, and that night itself and the moon and ... everything suddenly crowded back into his mind.

'No, life is not over at thirty-one,' Prince Andrei decided all at once, finally and irrevocably. 'It is not enough for me to know what I have in me- everyone else must know it too: Pierre, and that young girl who wanted to fly away into the sky; all of them must learn to know me, in order that my life may not be lived for myself alone.

From War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

[hmar177]

DALLAS WINSTON ONE SHOT <3

******SMUTTTTTTTYYYYY******

I'm not sure when I stopped loving Jack, but I know it crept out of the subconscious of my mind the second I saw that damn photo. I know I shouldn't feel this way, Jack is perfect. He comes from a good family, he's sweet and charming, he gets along with my friends and brings my mom flowers everytime he comes over. He was everything I could have dreamed for myself. He is who I should want. But that damn picture of Dallas Winston.

I wish he had just stayed on his side like he was supposed to.

My predicament started a few months ago when I was walking home from school. I had to stay late after my final class to run over a few plans with the committee for the dance coming up. It was my first dance that I was fully running myself and I was over the moon about it. I loved planning big events like this. My brain worked meticulously over every detail and it was so satisfying watching it all come together.

After I had finished my meeting with Sally and Davis, I found myself taking my normal walk home. It was a beautiful day out. The sun was just low enough in the sky to cast a gentle, warm glow on my face, the leaves left a quiet hum in my ears, and I found myself inhaling the glorious scent of the freshly landscaped houses as if the scent would live forever in my lungs if I breathed deep enough.

As I rounded the last corner before my street, I heard loud screeching coming from behind me. A car full of what seemed to be 4 or 5 rowdy boys came barreling down the street. Blasting loud rock music and howling like a pack of wolves, the boys came up fast. I stopped in place and watched as they came closer. They slowed up ever so slightly as they passed me, giving me a good chance to glance into the vehicle. I didn't recognize them, but I did recognize the driver. Dallas Winston.

With his sunglasses sitting low on the bridge of his nose and a cigarette hanging lazily out of his mouth, he held my eyes as he cruised by. I can't tell if I imagined it or not, but I thought I caught a hint of a smirk on his face before he punched the accelerator once more and took off before I could even register the entire exchange. It almost felt like I had just hallucinated that whole sequence.

What were a bunch of greasers doing over here on the west side? Not that I ever had anything against them, I just figured they would want to stay clear of a bunch of privileged, snotty folks who are constantly after their demise.

I had never met Dallas before, but I knew bits and pieces about him. Grew up with a rough homelife, dropped out of school, and even wound up in prison for a while. Everyone in this town saw Dallas and all the greasers as less than. I saw them as kids who just had shit luck when it came to the parents department.

I knew some greasers. There were quite a few in my grade, like Sodapop Curtis. He was one of the sweetest kids I ever met. Had a heart of gold, and a boatload of love for some girl Sandy he always seemed to mention. Soda dropped out a few months ago though after his parents both died tragically in a car accident. Another example of kids with shit luck and no ones around this town to sympathize for them.

Later that night, I found myself sitting at my desk trying to work on my short story. I was assigned by my English teacher to write a short story loosely based on a truly exciting and invigorating time in my life that made me feel alive. The only problem was I have never had an experience in my life that could remotely be described as such.

Everyday, I wake up, go to school, go to event committee meetings, or to my internship at the local newspaper, The Tulsa Chronicles. After all that, I either come home and do homework, or just hangout at the drive in with my friends and my boyfriend Jack. Nothing about my routine is special or interesting. It never changes and I don't see it altering anytime soon. In a town with so little to do, it is quite the tall order to ask us to find something interesting to write about.

I want to be a writer some day, so when I can't complete a simple short story for school, it horrifies me that I may be chasing after a hopeless dream. I intern at the Tulsa Chronicles in hope of it being a good addition to my college applications, but for now I am just helping with the printing and shipping of the papers. One of the editors told me if I had a writing piece that I was proud of, I could pass it along to them and they could give it a read and see if there were any opportunities for me to write something for the paper soon. I was hoping this short story could be that piece that I was proud of, but that is looking like a pipe dream now.

After staring at my blank paper for what feels like hours, I decide tonight is not the night that I am going to find any inspiration, so I turn out the lights and climb into bed. Maybe my dreams will inspire me. Maybe I'll dream of those greasers, flying through neighborhoods and screaming, sounding like they are high on the freedom that life has to offer. I want a taste of what they are having.

The next day is the same as all the other ones, not to anyone's surprise. I woke up, went to school, and made my way over to the Tulsa Chronicles. When I walked in, the newsroom was buzzing much more than normal. In a town as boring as Tulsa, there is not a ton of news to report, so when the newsroom was like this, something major must have happened.

“Rose, get to the printer stat. We need to start loading up these boxes now!” my boss Susan yelled from across the room.

“On it!” I let her know.

As I made my way to the printer, pages were flying out faster than I have ever seen before. This must be a big story if they have the printers working this hard.

Page after page, I watched them stack into a nice pile until the cover page finally flew out.

It read, “Delinquent youths turn heroes after daring fire rescue”

Right next to the title, I saw their faces, Ponyboy Curtis, Johnny Caid, and Dallas Winston.

Pony and Johnny's pictures didn't shock me. Cherry Valance told me a few days ago how sweet and kind they had been to her at the drive in and they always seemed like kind approachable kids. But cherry had also mentioned that Pony and Johnny had protected her from, Dallas Winston

Dallas had always seemed so cold and foreboding. Even his smirk from yesterday's drive by left a chill down my spine. It wasnt that I was afraid of him, but Dallas Winston wasn't someone you just assumed you could become fast friends with. You had to earn his loyalty to be seen with him. His picture being tagged alongside this story seemed extremely out of character. Dallas had his family of greasers and he had himself. There wasn't much else he was looking after. Especially not strangers in some random church fire.

I picked up the front page and looked at it very closely. Part of me didn't want to assume like the rest of this town that this was a mistake, but a bigger part of me couldn't help but think this wasn't true. Dallas Winston saving children he didn't know? Dallas didn't walk by a child in the street without trying to terrify them in some way. Something isn't adding up. Were we all utterly wrong about him? I couldn't help but just stare at his picture, trying to see him run into that burning church. Coming out covered in ash, carrying a couple kids in his arms and placing them down gently before rushing back inside to save more. I felt a twinge in my chest. Something I haven't felt before.

“Rose! Quit daydreaming and pack up those papers. The delivery service will be here in 20 to take those boxes out. They better be filled!” Susan yelled.

“Yes of course.” I replied, suddenly taken out of my temporary, and odd trance.

As I loaded each paper into the boxes, my eyes lingered a little too long on Dallas’s face as each paper piled onto the next. After what must have been hundreds of papers, I “accidentally” misplaced one in my bag sitting next to me. I don't know why I took it. I would surely be getting one of these papers delivered to my house within the next day or so, but part of me wanted to just have this for me. I also didn't want to explain to my dad why I needed his morning paper, the one I had helped package and ship out and have had access to for over a day.

After loading the last box and as a sudden calmness came over the newsroom, it was finally time to head home. I grabbed my bag, making sure the paper was tucked in enough so that it wouldn't be seen, said goodnight to the staff, and made my way out.

As I walked out of the building, I looked up to see Jack leaned up against his shiny new sports car that his parents just bought him as a good job for making the basketball team present. It sounds ridiculous and it is ridiculous. When you come from money like Jack's family, there are very few occasions that don't involve an illustrious gift such as the sports car he now leans against.

I say all this with complete understanding that I come from a family very similar to Jacks. I am privileged and I know that, but I don't see that as a reason to act any differently towards others. Why should the number that's on my fathers paychecks determine whether I am a better person than others? It doesn't. But people like Jack feel that it does. But Jack makes me smile, and my mother hasn't shut up about those lilies he brought her this past weekend when he was over for dinner. Who could hate Jack, right?

“Hey there honey. How was the journalism world today?” Jack says with a smile as he opens the passenger side door for me to get in. Jack picks me up whenever he's in the area and he knows I'm here. It's very sweet of him. Another reason to love him, right?

“Busy. There was a big story today so there were a lot more papers to print and ship.” I told him.

“Really! What was the story?” He asked.

I hesitated for a second.

“Oh I don't remember. I didn't really get a chance to read it. Too busy getting them into boxes.” I explained. I don't know why I lied. I think a part of me felt guilty about the things I felt and thought as I looked at Dallas’s picture the past few hours and another part of me wanted to keep Dallas to myself for a bit longer because by morning everyone would be talking about him. More people would be picturing him as this grand hero, and I still wanted to be the only one who saw him that way.

The rest of the ride, we sat in comfortable silence. That was the best way to describe me and Jack's relationship. Comfortable. Our parents set us up freshman year of highschool and we fell into the narrative with ease. He was cute and popular. It made sense why I should want him, so I convinced myself I did. And it worked for a while. A long while now. But as we come towards the midway point of Junior year, I'm not too sure how much longer I can convince myself that Jack is what I want. But what would be my reason for leaving him? He was too nice to my parents? He made one too many jokes that made all my friends laugh? He was too popular? Too athletic? On paper he was perfect. Trying to tell anyone that my time with Jack was coming to an end would make me sound like the biggest fool. So I just stayed. There was no reason to leave, even though I wanted there to be so badly.

We pulled up to the front of my house and he came around and opened my door. I thanked him and looked up to my house. The big, beautiful white home sat on top of the hill at the top of my street with a huge porch that wrapped around the whole house, and perfectly painted blue shutters. It was truly out of a magazine and I was eternally grateful for being able to be raised in a home as beautiful as this one. The dining room light shined bright and I knew my parents were in there waiting for me to arrive so we could have dinner as a family. Jack took my hand and walked me to the door. My mother opened it as we took the final step onto the porch.

“Jack!’ My mother said, “How kind of you to bring Rose home. Won't you come in and join us for dinner.”

A pit immediately formed in my stomach.

“I'd love-” Jack started before I cut him off.

“I'm actually not feeling very well so I think I am just gonna go to bed.” I quickly sputtered out. Facing Jack I said, “Maybe another night.”

I gave him a quick peck on the cheek before rushing up the stairs and straight into my room before anyone else could say anything. That was definitely rude of me, but the thought of having to sit next to Jack for the next hour, knowing I smuggled home a paper with the only intention of staring at the man on the cover made me extremely nauseous. I may not feel for Jack the way I used to, but I wouldn't be disrespectful, and if I was gonna be disrespectful, I wasn't gonna allow him to eat dinner with me and my family as if everything was fine and dandy.

I sat down on my bed and immediately removed the paper from my bag. It wasn't often that I had strange outbursts such as the one I just had downstairs, so I knew my parents would leave me be for a while. I took the paper, and got comfortable. Reading the entire article front and back and learning that what the title states was indeed true, I took the cover and discarded the rest of the pages. Holding Dallas’s picture up, I thought about the words in the article and how they described the man I was looking at. Bold. Courageous. Brave. Not words I would initially think of when I heard the name Dallas Winston.

His face held hard lines in his jaw and forehead. He had strong dark features and striking eyes. He was beautiful in a rugged and tired way. A way that you never see here in the west side neighborhoods. I was mesmerized by his stern stare. I wanted to know everything about him and I wanted to know it now. I wanted to spend a day with him and learn what it took to earn his trust. To earn a glance from those haunting eyes. The way he looked at me as he rode past me in his car yesterday felt like a shot of espresso. It jolted something awake inside of me. I needed another hit. I craved it.

Before I could comprehend what I was doing, my body was up and at my desk. I was opening my drawer and pulling out a pair of scissors. I slowly and carefully cut around his face making sure not to accidentally trim anything important off, because truthfully it was all important. He was important and I needed to know why.

I held the small picture of Dallas Winston between my fingers, holding as close to the edge as possible, with fear I might smudge it, and I grabbed a piece of tape. Walking over to my bed, I taped the picture on my wall right next to where my head lays when I sleep. I could hide it during the day behind my pillows when I made my bed. It was just for me. He was my new interest. He was my excitement that I had been looking for, I just had to find a way to make these little daydreams something real. As I crawled into bed with the image of dark raven eyes flashing through my mind, I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep, Jack, my parents, and Tulsa all feeling like a distant memory rather than my reality.

It could have been 3 hours or 3 minutes, but before I knew it, I was woken up by the sound of my desk lamp falling to the ground and a soft breeze coming from my window that I was sure was closed when I got into bed. I shot up like an arrow and reached for the lamp on my bedside table, flicking it on as fast as I could. As the light flooded the room, I was immediately met with the eyes I saw as I lulled myself to sleep. I had to be imagining him right? Dallas Winston stood right there in the middle of my bedroom, standing at least 6 foot 2, drowning in his leather jacket, with his signature blue jeans, and a black eye that was shining through even in the dim lighting.

“Dallas?” I began before he ran over to my bed and clasped his hand around my mouth and the other one slid behind my head keeping me quiet and still.

Slowly he shook his head as if to tell me, now is not a time for talking. I assumed he was scared my parents would hear him, which I am now realizing never even crossed my mind. My parents would lose their minds if they strolled into my room right now to find a greaser, Dallas Winston worst of all, standing in my bedroom at, I flashed my eyes to my clock, 2am. But my parents never even entered my head, nothing really entered my head. Not fear, not my parents, not jack. All I could think about was that incredible shot of adrenaline I felt when I saw him, and coming up with a plan to make him stay as long as possible so I didn't have to stop this feeling.

All of a sudden I heard sirens, and red and blue lights flash past the house at a high speed. I looked up at Dallas who was looking out the window to make sure the coast was clear. His hands were still firmly placed around my head. I studied his face while he wasn't paying attention to me, just as I was doing last night. But this was ten times better. The picture didn't do him justice. He was gorgeous. A light sheen of sweat coated his forehead from running I assumed, and his hair drooped gently in front of his eyes, giving him a rugged elvis look. I could stare at him for hours and not get bored for a second.

Once he saw that he was in the clear, he slowly brought his attention back to me. He studied my face for a second, a small shimmer of something in his eyes but I don't know what it was. After a moment he brought his eyes around my room, studying the pictures and posters on my walls that I'm sure I'll be embarrassed about later, to the books on my nightstand, and with another flick of his gaze, he was locked in on something behind me. He stared long and hard and I couldn't think of what it could be. He slowly came inclose, his lips right next to my ear.

“Well I'll be damned. Looks like I have a fan.” He whispered, his warm breath hitting my neck.

My eyes widened, the picture. Dallas WInston was looking at the picture of him I cut out and taped next to my bed.

“Now tell me darling, if I remove my hands, can you stay quiet and not let anyone know I am here? Because I do have a few questions about this I'd like to ask.” He said quietly with a shit eating grin on his face, so good, that it could seduce the Queen of England.

I slowly nod. Why am I not terrified right now? A known felon is standing in my room right now in the middle of the night. He snuck in my window in an attempt to run from the cops. I am harboring a criminal right now as we speak and all I can think about is how I can end things with Jack so that this lasts forever.

“Good Girl.” He says softly, then slowly takes his hands off my mouth, immediately missing the feel of his touch. God I was so fucked.

He pulled over my desk chair and took a seat right in front of me, our knees almost touching. He held the picture between his fingers looking at it, then up to me.

“So tell me, what's a nice girl like you doing hanging up pictures of bad Dallas Winston on her pretty pink bedroom walls?” He asks.

I think I stopped breathing. What was I supposed to say? There was no real explanation for why I hung up the picture other than I was chasing a feeling I couldn't even name. I stared blankly trying to say anything, trying to think of something to say that would make him as interested in me as I was in him.

“Well?” He pushed after I sat there stunned for I don't even know how long.

“Uhh, I, Uh….. I think I want to feel what you feel.” I said. Shit. That didn't even make any sense. He for sure thought I was crazy. He looked at me puzzled.

“Honey, the last thing you want is to feel what I feel.” He gave a small laugh that created small needles in the back of my throat and moved to get up.

“I want to feel alive. I want to be reckless and have fun. You have fun, don't you?” I said quickly, anything coming out of my mouth was just a hidden plea for him to stay.

He stopped in his tracks, and looked back over to me. The moon casting a soft glow on his hard features. The shimmer in his eyes came back for a second. He slowly sat back down.

“Oh, I have fun. But the kind of fun I have would give a soc like you nightmares.” He said with venom on his tongue. I couldn't tell if he was threatening me or daring me to push him more.

“Show me.” I whispered. Dally smirked at me pondering my dare for a split second, before he slid his switchblade knife out of his pocket and softly dragged the blade from my fingertips, up my arm, and across my collar bone. Every hair on my body stood straight up. My breath hitched ever so slightly and he moved the blade to my neck and held it there.

Part of me was truly scared, and another part of me felt that there was something a bit performative too. Dallas Winston wasn't going to hurt me. I knew that for a fact. He leaned in close, taking a strand of my hair in his other hand, and brought his lips to my ear.

“Are you having fun yet?” He said. I couldn't see his face, but I could hear the smirk in his words.

I backed away so I could meet his eyes. A fire raged behind them. I would give anything to look inside his brain, even for just a moment. I smiled at him and I could see the excitement grow. I don't know why, but I liked what was happening. I liked the uncertainty of what he was going to say and do, and I liked that I trusted him for no reason at all.

“I think I like you more than I should.” I say. I don't know why I said that. I wasn't even embarrassed that I did. It was like being close to him unlocked a new version of myself that I didn't know existed. A version of myself that had confidence and a desire to push the limits. I felt alive.

“Do you like me more than your boyfriend?” He grinned.

“Do you want me to?” I challenged. He grinned and his gaze flicked down to my lips for a moment before it returned to my eyes. The knife at my throat is all but forgotten.

“Let's make a deal. If I can kiss better than a soc, you have to go out with me.” He said.

“And if you can't?” I said, barely a whisper.

“Oh honey, there are very few things I can't do.” He said leaning in and attaching his lips to mine. I felt the knife hit the bed next to me as I melted into his kiss and his hands wrapping around my face.

It was soft and slow for all but a moment, before I knew it he was laying me down on the bed and forcing his tongue into my mouth. I guess it wasn't forcing it, more like me waiting for it and craving it.

My hands roamed his body, feeling his toned muscles through his thin black tee shirt. I slid his leather jacket off, as his hands found their way under my shirt. He planted his hand on my stomach and pushed me down to the mattress keeping me in place. A breeze gently floated in from the window, and it made me hyper aware of the slickness that was now coating my thighs.

His mouth moved to my cheek and then to my neck. I clasp one of my hands over my mouth to muffle my moans. He placed his thigh between my legs allowing me to move my hips to get some relief.

God what was I doing? How did it come to me grinding on Dallas Winston in my bed at 2 in the morning. I couldn't bring myself to stop though. It was all too much. Too good.

“How am I doing sweetheart?” He said in my ear before he brought his face back up to look me in the eyes. “I think the tears in your eyes are telling me that I'm gonna see you tomorrow night.”

I moaned into his shoulder, as I felt his hand trail down my abdomen and underneath my waistband. He teased there for a moment, smirking down at me waiting for me to stop him, but there was no way in hell I wanted this to ever end. I gave him a quick nod before he cupped me over my underwear. He quickly covered my mouth with his own as he knew I was about to moan. He chuckled softly into the kiss.

“My God Dallas. Oh my god” I moaned into his mouth.

“I am a God, aren't I?” He growled before sliding his fingers underneath my underwear and inside of me. The pleasure was so overwhelming, that I bit into his shoulder to stop myself from crying out. He groaned from the pain, but I knew he liked it.

As his fingers pumped in and out of me, he slowly started to grind himself into my hip. He was hard. I felt him poking through his tight jeans, begging to be let out.

“Dallas. I want you.” I begged. I need more of him. I need him closer.

He removed his fingers from me, leaving me feeling empty. I looked up at him and he immediately placed his fingers into his mouth, sucking me off of them. I let out a moan. He was trailing kisses down my chest, then my stomach, never taking his eyes off of me.

“I know baby, I know. Not yet though.” He assured me. “I just need a little taste first.”

He grabbed the waistband of my shorts and my underwear and slowly pulled them down, never stopping his trail of kisses that now led down my leg.

“So beautiful.” He whispered to himself as he was now eye level with my core. “Spread your legs for me baby.” I do what I'm told. “That's it. Good Girl. Now lay back and let me worship you.”

Dallas wastes absolutely no time diving right in and taking all of me into his mouth. He licks from top to bottom and back again before taking my clit into his mouth and sucking. “So sweet.” He moans into me.

I have to grab the pillow on my bed and cover my face because the scream I almost let out would have surely woken up the entire neighborhood. Dallas’s name on the tip of my tongue. The name about to escape with every moan that shoots through me, which would not only let the town know I was in the middle of the most erotic moment of my life, but also it was Dallas Winston that was buried between my legs.

I feel one of Dallas’s hands remove from my thigh and I look down to see what he was doing. I look down to see Dallas’s mouth still attached to my clit, but his eyes boring into mine with the most seductive look I have ever seen in my life. Without ever looking away from me, Dallas removes his mouth, now just an inch away from me, and takes a little gold foil packet out of his pocket and takes it straight to his mouth. He rips the foil open with his teeth and slides the condom out.

He stands up. His 6 foot 2, god-like stance, looming over me, made me feel so small and helpless on my bed. God, I wish I could be a fly on the wall right now, wanting to see what I might look like. My shirt pushed up, shorts and underwear thrown about the room somewhere, My hair probably a mess, and tears staining my face as Dallas Winston stands over me, slowly unbuckling his belt.

He smirks down at me and he pulls his pants and boxers down, revealing his erection and my god it was big. I honestly didn't know if it was gonna fit inside of me. Right on cue, as if he could read my mind, Dallas says, “Don't be scared darling, you can handle it.”

He goes to put on the condom, but I sit up quickly, grabbing his hand, stopping him. “Can I do it?” I ask him. He looks down at me with hooded eyes and a smirk that could kill.

“Fuck yeah you can.” he says in a breathy tone as he hands me the condom. I take the condom out of his hand and hesitantly grab his dick. A low grumble comes from his throat as I give it a little pump before rolling on the condom.

The second it's on, he pushes me on my back, and comes down on top of me. He starts to position himself at my entrance and looks me in the eyes. “Baby, as much as I want this to last forever, I'm not gonna last very long.” He leans in kissing me hard and chuckles against my lips and I smile at his words. Yeah, me neither.

I take a deep breath and he thrusts inside of me. I clasp my arms around his neck and hug him as close to me as possible. He is big and it hurts so good. I bite into his shoulder again trying to distract myself from the pain, but also from the fact that my orgasm is seconds away and he just got inside of me.

He whimpers in my ear as I kiss his neck profusely. He finds a steady pace that has me borderline drooling. “God Dallas, don't stop. It feels so good.” I barely get out because I can barely catch my breath. I shoot one of my hands out and feel something sharp hit my finger. I look down to see Dallas’s knife still sitting next to us on the bed. It must have nicked my finger. Before I can register what's happened, Dallas takes my bloodied finger and sucks it into his mouth while holding my gaze. His eyes were hooded, and looking drunk off sex.

“Come for me baby. Come on. I know you're there. Show me how good I make you feel.” He begs me. Between his words, and my finger in his mouth, I'm there in a second. Burying my face into his neck, my orgasm rips through me harder than it ever has before. My nails digging into his bicep and a drip of sweat going down my forehead. Dallas still thrusts into me hard and fast for a moment more before he takes my lips into his and I feel his dick twitch as he spills into the condom.

He lays on top of me, breathing heavily in my ear for what feels like an hour, but was probably only a few minutes. He slowly removed himself from me, then pushed up so he was hovering over me again. He smiled down at me as I grabbed his face with my hands, pulling him down to kiss me. His kiss was so gentle, the word love flew through my head, but it was only a fraction of a thought.

I brushed my finger over his cheek bone, before noticing my finger was still bleeding. I brought it to my face, inspecting the cut. It wasn't deep at all. Just a knick. Dallas took my finger to his lips and planted a soft kiss to the cut. Adab of blood coating his lip, only for a second before he licked it off.

“What time are you free tomorrow?” He asks as he nuzzles his face into my neck, no doubt leaving more hickeys.

“Maybe around 7?” I told him. “I just have to go break up with Jack, and then I'm all yours.” I giggled lightly. He came back up and looked at me with the most serious expression I saw all night.

“All mine.” He smiled.

***hope you enjoyed!!!!!!!!! DALLAS WINSTON I LOVE YOU***

[fairytale-poll]

SEMIFINAL ROUND, MATCH 2 OUT OF 2!

Propaganda Under the Cut:

Miss Piggy:

In the movie, she pretends to be Lady Holiday and when her identity is revealed is leaves on of her shoes there cinderella style.

Cinders:

She spent decades searching every moon and planet trying to find her wife (Rose), who was kidnapped on their wedding day. Eventually, she found Rose, and they embraced, only for Rose to die in Cinder’s arms. And so Cinder killed the king who had kidnapped Rose by punching through his chest and into his heart.

And then Cinder got a somewhat happy ending, in which she met Rose’s clone who had Rose’s memories.

What if Cinderella was a Sci-Fi lesbian? Well here she is. She has a whole love song about searching the stars for her girlfriend after their wedding was interrupted and she was taken away. She spends years searching only to when she finally finds and embraces her watch her be shot. Cinders is so devastated by this that she plunges her wedding ring into the heart of the man who shot her love killing him.

Lesbian space princess who elopes with the terrifying soldier who was previously conquering her planet and spends decades searching for her when they’re separated. Listen to her song https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6w9V-gMgBF4

I think the way she punches the evil king through the heart as revenge for her wife is pretty neat.

She’s a revolutionary married to a woman, what’s not to love? From Cinders’ Song: “ When I was a little girl, my mother always told me / “Someday your prince will come, my love” / But as I grew, I knew it was a princess who would hold me”.

her girlfriend got cloned and most of said clones were brutally slaughtered in war and she searched for her girlfriend all throughout the galaxy and when they were finally reunited on the battlefield her girlfriend died. and a clone of her girlfriend who due to technical errors retained her memories, so does that count as the same girlfriend? theseus’s girlfriend? anyway vote for cinders she’s been through hell

Lesbian!! Has to search for her lost love Rose with her glass wedding ring that changes color when its near its partner!! Gets to embrace Rose once again for one final moment before the villain kills Rose right in front of her!! So Cinders kills him in return!! And she’s left as (almost) the only surviving main character from her own album but!! She is eventually reunited with a clone of Rose, and while they cannot have a truly ‘happy ever after’ together they are the ones graced with the closest thing to it

SPACE LESBIANS (she’s in love with Rose Red, who gets kidnapped on their wedding day and Cinders searches the galaxy to find her, waiting for her white ring to turn crimson, indicating that its twin was near) She took her name from the ashes of her burning planet <3 She also killed Old King Cole >:)

shes a tragic lesbian and killed a violent dictator shes literally the best

shes gay shes traumatized she dates both rose red and sleeping beauty. badass space wanderer looking for her wife

Her wife Rose gets kidnapped on their wedding day and Cinders spend the next thirty years looking for her. She finds her (:D) and then Rose dies (D:) and then Cinders kills the guy who killed Rose (girlboss).

shes a lesbian. she lost her wife, Rose (yes, as in sleeping beauty) the day they got married bc she was kidnapped. she spent 20 YEARS looking for her. as soon as she found her wife, Rose DIED IN HER ARMS. Cinders has gone through Too Much to lose this poll

(Her info from the wiki) the Princess of a planet burnt by King Cole’s army, after it is ceded by her stepmother. She is imprisoned, meets Rose and plans to marry her. She is released by her godmother for the wedding, then flees when the attack happens, spending thirty years looking for Rose. Her half of the wedding ring will light up when she finds Rose.

“When I was a little girl, my mother always told me 'Someday your prince will come, my love’ But as I grew, I knew it was a princess who would hold me I looked to the stars for you, my love” She’s lesbian Cinderella IN SPACE. She fell in love with her wife in prison and they ran away to have a secret marriage but the empire kidnapped Rose on their wedding night and Cinders had to leave her behind. She searches for Rose for decades with the glass ring that guides her to its twin on her wife’s finger. She finally reunites with her love after Rose rips three supersoldiers to pieces with her bare hands (hot) but then then the evil king kills Rose so Cinders fucking punches through his heart. And then a clone of Rose (who is also lesbian Sleeping Beauty IN SPACE) finds her cradling her wife’s body and they have a happy reunion(?) and maybe they didn’t have a happy ending BUT WHAT IF THEY HAD EACH OTHER? HUH? AAAAAH

she’s everything. she’s a princess from a long since conquered planet. she was imprisoned to make a statement of the brutal reign of old king cole. she met her wife while she was in prison, a beautiful brutal soldier covered in scars from battles. cinders and rose fell in love, so cinders’ godmother in white broke her out of jail so rose and cinders could be together. they were going to be married, except that OLD KING COLE intervened and kidnapped rose to make her the genetic base of his unholy army. so cinders spends THIRTY YEARS searching the galaxies for her love (and sings a really cool song about it called “Cinders’ Song”) until finally she arrives during the final battle just in time to see old king cole SHOOT ROSE DEAD. so cinders punches the king so hard (with her wedding ring) that he just Crumples Into Dust. the end! (no we do not talk about the fiction.)

lesbian, for one, and for two i don’t really care i just think it’d be cool if she got in/if she made it past the first round

no one seems to have linked cinder’s song yet, so here [Link]

better yet, listen to the whole album too, for context and also what comes after. it slaps and also tragedy it’s such a good album suhc a good band too

Someone already sent the song as propaganda, so I will provide SPOILER propaganda. [Click link to see spoilers.]

[Link]

[helvegen-s]

Rage, rage | two

index

Pairing: Azriel x Hybern!Princess!OC

Summary: Nimue was a gift for the King of Hybern. His shining jewel, the perfect heir. However, she knows who the villain of the story is. When she saves her father's enemies from a tragic end, she realizes that now it's the Cauldron who has a gift for her: a mate.

Warnings: violence, injuries, description of injuries, PTSD, bad language, again The King of Hybern...

A/N: so here it is, the second part. I really hope that you're all liking it. It's starting to settle, our protagonists are meeting and it's getting more interesting!! As always, any kind of support would be greatly appreciated! Thank you all for your time❤️

Nimue stands in the middle of her enormous room: a chamber so deep within her father's castle, it is carved directly into the mountain rock. She doesn't see natural light, hear the ocean waves, or watch birds fly.

Not that she has ever seen them. She simply knows they exist, how they sound, how they smell, because the Cauldron has told her so.

She observes her own reflection in the huge mirror on the wall. The girl she sees is truly beautiful. She possesses an ethereal beauty that seems to emanate from within her, as if she were imbued with the same magic that created her. Her long, silky hair falls in wavy cascades of silver, with flashes of light that seem to dance with every movement. Her eyes are of a hypnotic color, like the whitest of pearls, shining with ancient wisdom and fierce determination. Her skin is pale as the moon, yet it gleams with a radiant glow that seems to illuminate even the darkest night. Her figure is slender and elegant.

The reflection the mirror returns is that of an ancient, wise, powerful being.

However, she only feels like a child, surrounded by things she knows from others' words.

When her father isn't listening, Nimue asks the Palace cooks to recount to her what the world beyond the walls is like. In particular, it's the words of old Ferlan that she enjoys hearing the most: she describes the landscape beyond the cliffs on which the castle stands, the dense enchanted forests, the fertile plains where people live in beautiful villages, the beaches of black sand and cold water, the cliffs where giants were said to have once dwelled...

It's those stories that comfort Nimue's lonely heart, that shed light on her shadow-filled world.

Before she knows it, she's wandered so far in her daydreams that she doesn't even know what time it is.

That's when she feels it in the air, even before hearing it. That sweet scent that accompanies The Voice...

"You have everything in your power to be free, child," it whispers in her ear. The scent, the presence, like a smoke-shaped entity, swirls around her, caressing her cheeks and tucking strands of hair behind her ears. "No one would dare stand in your way. Once you decide, the world will bow to your will. Your father will submit to your will..."

Nimue violently shakes her head. The Voice steps back, but when she becomes still again, it clings to her skin once more.

"But father... what has he done to me?"

The Voice laughs, and Nimue feels like she's going to be sick.

"What has father done to you? You're foolish, child. Foolish. Foolish. Innocent. Foolish," it spits out word after word, and Nimue feels them like daggers.

"Father brought me into the world, father gave me life. I owe everything to father, and he asks me to fight in his name. To protect my people from those who wish us harm."

Nimue clings to her own words like a mantra.

"Father loves me..." she whispers into the air, for The Voice is no longer there with her. She wonders if it was ever really there at all, or if it was just feverish imaginings to soothe her own loneliness.

Father loves her. But she knows he's not a good person. Nimue knows what lies beyond, and she longs to see the sunlight, to see the sea, to feel the rain on her skin...

Nimue knows her father isn't a good person. But neither is she.

She knows she has to kill her father. But where will she find the courage? She only knows these four walls that surround her. What will she do when she kills him? Will the Cauldron be angry with her? What kind of child kills their own father?

She spins, and spins, and spins with the same questions for years. Since the moment she gained enough awareness in her fae body to realize that her "father" wasn't the hero of the story, and she was just another puppet in his conquest game.

The only thing she was sure of was that she wouldn't be the good one either. That she wouldn't let her father win that game.

With light steps, she leaves her room and decides to wander around the castle for a bit. Curiosity is what moves her.

In these past weeks, her father's castle has been filled with various guests of all kinds, a very diverse selection. The legions of the attor, her father's elite soldiers, the highest-ranking officials, there were even two males from Prythian and a few simple humans.

Humans. Nimue had been smelling them for weeks in every corner of the castle. That stale stench that seeped into her pores.

She wondered what reasons the King would have to bring humans into the cleanliness of his castle, but as always, even if she asked, the answer would be the same: politics is not Nimue's concern. Nimue only fights, fights, fights.

However, today the hallways were surprisingly empty. Empty of humans, attor, and even the guards.

Where was everyone?

And it was right at that moment, in that desolate and gloomy hallway, that Nimue noticed the silence.

There were guards all over the castle. Magical guards isolating something, someone. There was something blocking her senses, and no matter how much she extended her magical perception, she couldn't feel the Cauldron.

The Cauldron.

Her heart skipped a beat when she realized she was alone without the presence of the Cauldron. If until then she had felt lonely, she realized it was nothing compared to the pressure she felt in her chest.

What was happening?

She began to run, like a lost child in an enchanted forest.

While she had never seen the Cauldron after she emerged, she had always lived with its constant presence in the castle. She knew it was there, it comforted her, it kept her company. Sometimes she even believed that The Voice she heard was the Cauldron itself, seeking to keep her company.

She kept running, and running, and running, not knowing where to. As she turned a corner, she felt the need to grip the white stone wall so tightly that she felt a nail break.

What was that pain in her chest? By the Mother, she had never experienced an arrow to the heart, but she imagined that's how it must feel. What was happening to her?

As soon as she caught her breath, she continued running somewhere, with that throbbing pain between her ribs.

And she heard it:

My creature, my sweet creature.

She stopped abruptly, all senses alert and panting like a racehorse.

Come, princess. I have gifts for you. Follow my voice, sweet girl.

Nimue almost sobbed. That voice, sweet, like a mother's... The Cauldron was calling her.

She finally saw it clearly: she knew which doors to open, which stairs to climb, which corners to turn. She saw it so clearly that for a moment she was blinded by all that power that the Cauldron emanated.

"I'm coming!" she cried, desperate.

She knew which door it was behind, and when she opened it, the wave of power that greeted her completely stunned her.

And then she began to process her surroundings: in the throne room, there were all the guards, all the creatures that formed her father's court. All surrounding a truly grotesque scene.

Nimue put on the intimidating mask she had practiced so much, while her gaze danced from figure to figure: an Ilyrian (an Ilyrian male, she hadn't seen any!) lying on the floor, its black and powerful wings now nothing more than torn limbs and patches of skin. A little further away, another Ilyrian male (by the Mother, two in one day!), this one with an arrow lodged in his chest and kneeling in a pool of his own blood, next to him a beautiful blonde female with tears streaming down her face.

She kept looking, there was everything in that room. When everyone recognized her presence and turned to look at her, she felt as if time stood still as she advanced, making her way among the guards' armors. With her head held high and her curious gaze, she tried to calm her own nerves and continued observing.

There were humans there, those women her father had once called queens. Queens of what? Also that hateful Jurian, with whom she had coincided a couple of times, enough to decide he was nothing but trash. And two females...

Her gaze returned to the group beyond, where behind the Ilyrian she found a pair of fae, and unwittingly she recognized him, his darkness.

Rhysand.

She frowned and continued walking towards her father, circling the whole scene while feeling all eyes on her, following her graceful movements.

Come, child. And look at the gift, look at it...

And she set her eyes on the Cauldron.

She forgot about that phantom arrow lodged in her chest, and stopped next to her father, her gaze fixed on the Cauldron.

She felt her father's accusatory gaze on her, but putting that aside, he spoke:

"You arrive at the perfect moment, my dear daughter," and after those words, she felt as if everyone in the room breathed again after her untimely interruption.

What the hell was going on there? What was the High Lord Rhysand doing in her castle? Who were those accompanying him?

"You arrive at the perfect moment to witness the miracle of the Cauldron. To witness the demonstration these humans will perform for it..."

Her father continued speaking, but Nimue completely ignored him. She just stood there, next to the King of Hybern, and analyzed the whole situation.

The two fae males who had been hanging around her house for weeks, the blonde and the redhead, bound by her father's magic. Weren't they allies? Why was her father imprisoning them?

A little further away, the two guards holding one of the two human girls began pushing her towards the Cauldron.

She heard screams, pleas, denials from all sides. The King spoke, the human Queens, the fae female next to Rhysand, some of them shouting at each other.

But Nimue only had eyes for the poor human they were pushing towards the Cauldron.

What were they going to…?

And as if she were a feather, they lifted her above the edge of the Cauldron and submerged her in a single motion, plunging her until she lost sight of her.

Nimue felt pure terror. Memories that weren't hers flooded her.

Skin dissolving, bones breaking, desperate screams.

She screamed into the air, bringing her hand to her mouth to stifle the sob that escaped her chest. Her father stopped her by pulling on the leash, even before she had thought of throwing herself towards the poor girl.

Rage, rage, rage, rage, rage.

Everything that happened afterward was like a blink.

The Cauldron spat the girl onto the flagstones as if she were a fish out of water.

Look, child. I have given you a sister. I have created a sister for you.

Nimue breathed so fast she thought she was going to faint.

The people present were saying things, shouting, crying, laughing.

The other human fought tooth and nail against the guards, her screams piercing Nimue's eardrums, who only let herself be infected by the rage of that poor human.

Her rage. Rage. Rage.

The rage that boiled in every nerve of her being. It bubbled at the tips of her fingers, beneath her skin, in her eyes, everywhere.

If she opened her mouth, she felt like her own rage would burst forth in torrents, like a river after the snows.

Her rage was going to burst out, all over her father.

The second human kept fighting. Nimue never imagined the human spirit could be so untamed.

And the hand of that woman pointing at her father made something change in the air.

Nimue felt her leash loosen, felt her father getting a little nervous.

And she saw the moment.

She saw the weakness in the air, the King's doubt.

And she embraced it.

The second human emerged from the Cauldron, transformed into something.

And Nimue exploded.

A beam of white light burst from her chest, throwing her father backward. The King's head hit one of the columns, and everyone present in the room recoiled at such a wave of power.

What rage. What immense rage. It consumed her inside, burned her. So much, so much rage.

She raised an arm and pointed at her father, feeling how, again, energy rose from her feet to the tips of her fingers. She struck the King again with all that rage.

"You're a monster!" she shouted. She shouted it again and again, while feeling that with every pulse of power she directed towards him, she was gradually breaking down his shields.

However, the King of Hybern laughed, kneeling on the flagstones and trying to regain his composure. A venomous, disgusting laugh that made bile rise in Nimue's mouth.

In a last attempt to take control of the situation, Nimue raised a shield in the center of the room, around the Cauldron. In two agile leaps, she positioned herself next to Rhysand.

"Show me a place," she demanded. Rhysand clung to the brunette female beside him, tears streaming down his face. His gaze jumped from Nimue to the Ilyrian males, from the Ilyrian males to the new fae females, and back to Nimue. "Tell me a place and I'll get you out of here! Quickly, show me!" the princess demanded again.

The guards pounded Nimue's white shield again and again, and behind her, she felt the King of Hybern standing up.

Her gaze met Rhysand's again, and the male, trembling, took Nimue's hand.

"To Velaris," he managed to whisper.

Nimue didn't know how, but as soon as she heard the name, she knew exactly where it was, what it was. She chose whom to take: the two Ilyrian males, the beautiful blonde fae female, the two girls who had been submerged in the Cauldron, the female clinging to Rhysand, and finally Rhysand himself, whose hand Nimue held when she let her magic transport her and everyone else away from there. Away from Hybern. Away from her home.

To Velaris.

Taglist:

@lilah-asteria @agentsofsheilds @leptitlu @just-here-reading

If you want to be added to the taglist, just let me know! Thank you for your support 🥰

[boundless11]

Why Tory Nichols Is Not an Underdog in Cobra Kai

The Cobra Kai fandom often frames Tory as the ultimate underdog due to her difficult home life and financial struggles. But while her circumstances make her a complex character, they don’t automatically qualify her as an underdog in the narrative.

Being an Underdog Is About Overcoming Odds, Not Creating Them. An underdog is someone who faces overwhelming odds but earns sympathy through their perseverance and ability to rise above challenges. Tory, on the other hand, often creates the conflicts that put her in opposition to others.

Aggressive Behavior: From the skating rink incident to the school brawl, Tory consistently initiates or escalates conflicts. This aggressive stance makes her more of a bully than someone we root for.

Manipulative Tendencies: She doesn’t just react to circumstances; she actively manipulates situations to her advantage, like tripping Sam at the skating rink when she saw her talk to Miguel or even goading her into the drinking game at Moon’s party or even feeding Robby lies about Sam.

Difficult Circumstances Don’t Automatically Make Someone an Underdog

Tory’s tough upbringing—financial hardship, caring for her sick mother and lacking parental support—makes her life difficult, but it doesn’t make her an underdog in a narrative sense. Hardship might make her tragic or sympathetic, but it doesn’t make her the underdog when she’s the one dishing out the blows—both figuratively and literally.

Tory Is the Aggressor, Not the Victim.

True underdogs often find themselves forced into conflicts beyond their control. Tory, however, actively chooses to antagonise others like her hatred for Sam is based on preconceived notions and jealousy, not genuine wrongdoing. From the moment they meet, Tory seeks excuses to go after her, despite Sam’s attempts to de-escalate situations. Her behaviour is driven by her own bitterness, not necessity. For example, at the country club, Sam calmly explains you shouldn’t steal when Tory had swiped a bottle and Tory’s response is to escalate with snarky insults and hostility.

The Narrative Frames Her Too Strongly for an Underdog Role. She wins the All-Valley Tournament, achieving what should be an underdog’s crowning moment. However, the victory feels hollow because it comes with Silver’s interference, further undercutting her claim as an underdog.

Her physical prowess is highlighted repeatedly, making her appear stronger and more formidable than most of her opponents. She rarely feels outmatched in fights. Underdogs aren’t the ones who win because of external manipulation or superior strength—they’re the ones who surprise you by succeeding against all odds.

Many fans point to Tory’s socioeconomic background as proof that she’s the underdog, but this conflates backstory with narrative role. Yes, Tory has a tragic backstory, but her choices and actions move her away from the qualities of an underdog. Instead of inspiring sympathy through perseverance and humility, she alienates others by embracing aggression and manipulation.

True Underdogs in Cobra Kai

Demetri: Starts as a weak, untrained nerd who is bullied and written off but works hard to become a capable fighter and earn respect.

Miguel: Begins with no training and limited confidence, yet rises to success through his dedication, all while maintaining his integrity.

Sam: Despite being framed as the “privileged girl,” Sam faces trauma (PTSD, relentless targeting from Tory, and emotional isolation) and still fights to overcome her self-doubt and fears.

Unlike Tory, these characters embody resilience and growth in the face of genuine adversity, without resorting to harming others.

It’s time to stop mislabeling Tory as an underdog and recognize her for what she truly is: a tragic antagonist, not the scrappy hero.

Sorry it had to be said.

[jamesirius]

“All he had to do was ask you out, not my fault he was too stupid to get around to it. This—” He gestured around at the Burrow, encompassing the entirety of the ridiculous fake dating scheme. “—Was a last ditch effort. If it hadn’t worked, we were about to give up.” “We?” “Me and Hermione.” Ron caught sight of the look on her face and smirked at her. “Oh, come on, you thought I came up with that on my own?” “It was an absolutely mental idea, so, yeah, I did think that.”

Keep Reading

Ginny is not totally looking forward to a Christmas spent at home with all her relatives asking her why she's the only unmarried Weasley child. Ron suggests she bring Harry as her fake boyfriend. There are a million ways this could go wrong.

Featuring happily married Ron and Hermione, lots of Weasley babies, the family curse to only have boys, Cedrella Black meddling in her granddaughter's love life, and endless amounts of sugar, mistletoe, and other Christmas shenanigans.

Well, happy new year! Fruitcake has been such a joy to write - I was working on it viciously all through Christmas because I really wanted to finish it in the holiday season. Everyone's responses have been so wonderful to hear, I am truly thrilled people read it and enjoyed it. This last chapter was really just an extra to show more of their life together so here are a few notes and future endgame thoughts in case anyone is interested:

Harry is not subtle. Honestly it's shocking that it took Hermione such a long time relatively to catch on to him in HBP. In this one, since Ron and Hermione are thirty, and have been married for years, and generally no longer have the emotional ranges of teaspoons, they caught on much faster.

Yes, Ron and Hermione's baby is a girl. Everyone except Harry, Ginny, and Cedrella is shocked by this.

Harry and Ginny also go on to have three daughters, which neatly parallels Cedrella and her sisters (although with less tragic endings): Aurora Lily, Felicity Molly, and Cedrella Ginevra. Aurora has the green eyes, Felicity has brown, and Cedrella inherited the Black family grey. Life has a way of working out.

All the other Weasleys did end up having more kids, all girls, once the curse was broken: Bill and Fleur had two more (I think this is less planned and more because they're one of those couples who is literally always having sex. By the way, please notice that Harry and Ginny are being disgusting on the porch swing exactly the way Ginny was making fun of Bill and Fleur for doing a few chapters ago.); Charlie and Steffan adopted a girl named Robin (Wren wanted a brother but he adapts quickly); Fred and Angelina have two girls; George and Cassie have one. And finally, way after everyone else, because Penelope did in fact swear she was done after two, Percy has a tail-ender little girl.

I like to think Ginny did eventually become an Animagus and join the Marauders on full moon nights - something the Marauder kids would bring their eventual spouses into once actually married (as obviously, Remus' secret isn't technically theirs to share).

Did you catch the initial canon divergence mentioned in this chapter? And now you know why Remus' secret has never gotten out.

Yes, Harry and Ginny did get engaged in 2010 so it might be a little quick but we do have to consider that Harry's been in love with her for two years and neither of them like wasting time. I do think they went traditional with it (marriage, then babies, probably when Ginny stepped back from playing professionally to coach) just because Cedrella would have had a fit if they didn't break the curse properly. And they do love her.

Is the curse ACTUALLY real? You know, it was very unclear...

Thank you again to everyone who read the fic, or these notes, or both! I hope Fruitcake provided a bit of joy in the holiday season for you; it certainly did for me!

[millerstale]

Moonlit Waves

pairing: golden!retriever!joel x fem!blackcat!reader (Faith)

summary: On a moonlit beach in Cannon Beach, Oregon a 36-year-old, Joel, finds himself drawn to the ocean’s waves as they crash against the shore. It’s been a year since he lost his wife in a tragic swimming accident, and now he’s grappling with the haunting memories that keep him from the water. His solitude is interrupted when Faith and Ela, two college students spending their summer vacation, invite him to join their bonfire.

warnings: slight age gap [22/36], touchy Joel, touchy reader, talks about death, depressed Joel, trauma dumping, Mental health topics such as panic attacks and depression

an: this story goes back and forth between 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person pov ✿ is used when there is a time skip

content guidance: This story explores aspects of mental health and contains depictions of self-harm, alcohol abuse, panic attacks Please read with care.

wc: 3.9k

3rd person(pov)

The waves crashed onto the beach in a hypnotic rhythm, each one foaming up the sand and receding back into the dark ocean. Joel walked slowly along the shore, the moon casting pale light on the water.

It had been a year since the accident that took his wife's life. Everywhere he looked, memories came flooding back. The gentle surf that used to soothe them as they lay on the beach now seemed treacherous and foreboding. The water that had once brought them joy now only held grief.

Joel thought it would be a temporary feeling but was recently proven wrong ever since going back to the ocean. After contemplating for 20 minutes Joel decided that staying in the same spot wasn't going to help his sadness.

He started walking towards the south end of the beach. As he walked, two young women's laughter interrupted his thoughts. They had made a small fire further up the beach and were roasting marshmallows. They seemed so care-free, I wish I could be like them.

"Hey!" one of the girls shouted. You turn to see the red-haired girl waving at you. Surprised that they even decided to speak to you when looking like this.

"Oh, hey!" You shout so they can hear you over the crashing of the waves and crackling of the bonfire. You can't take your eyes off the black-haired girl and her Amber eyes.

"You should join us; we need more people to roast marshmallows with" The black-haired girl laughs at something said by the red-haired girl. Her laugh is contagious.

"I wish I could, but I can't. Thank you for the offer though!" Joel speaks in an almost sad tone.

For a moment Joel considered joining them, seeking the company and distraction their youthful cheer could offer. But he quickly thought better of it. Their lighthearted fun felt worlds apart from his own heavy heart.

Walking away Joel decided to head back up to his house. He owned a lovely 4-bedroom 3-baths home. Although he has 2 daughters, their rooms have been emptied ever since they moved away to college.

Joel climbed the steps to the front porch and unlocked the front door. Stepping inside, memories came flooding back of family dinners, birthday parties, and movie nights on the couch. Now the house felt too big and too empty.

He wandered into the kitchen, a room that held so many memories of his wife cooking and baking. He could still picture her standing at the counter, mixing ingredients while they talked and laughed. But now the counters were bare and the kitchen silent.

Joel walked slowly through the downstairs, tracing his fingers along the walls and remembering. Finally, he climbed the stairs to the bedroom he had once shared with his wife. He sat down on the edge of the bed and looked around at the photos on the nightstand, the closet filled with her clothes.

Grief washed over him as he realized anew that she was truly gone. Tears filled his eyes as he thought of how much he still missed her after all this time. He fell back onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling as tears rolled down his temples. "I still love you," he whispered to the empty room. "I always will."

Exhausted from the emotions of the day, Joel eventually drifted off to an uneasy sleep, still fully clothed on top of the covers. The crashing of the waves outside faded into the background, replaced by memories of happier times spent with the love of his life.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Faith (pov)

Sitting on the beach having a bonfire was not on my to do list but my best friend insisted that I should come because it would be fun. Let me tell you, my idea of fun is much different than hers. When I think of fun, I imagine air conditioning, a comfy couch, and a good book. Not sitting on lumpy logs listening to the waves crash while sand inevitably finds its way into uncomfortable places. But I obliged and went along, because that's what friends do.

As I sat down on the log, I immediately felt a stick jab me in the backside. I jumped up and did an awkward dance trying to remove it from my clothing. My friend laughed and said, "This is gonna be good." I rolled my eyes and sat back down, this time carefully inspecting the log before placing my tender flesh upon it.

The bonfire itself was rather pathetic. The flames barely licked the sky and mostly just produced a lot of smoke. I started coughing which only made my friend laugh harder. I glared at her through watery eyes. "This is your idea of fun?" I asked. She just smirked and handed me a stick of roasted marshmallow. I grudgingly accepted it and had to admit, gooey marshmallows do make everything better.

As much as I hated the smoke going down my throat, I'm glad my friend dragged me to this silly beach bonfire. It was an experience I never would have chosen for myself but one I'll surely remember. Sometimes you have to step outside your comfort zone to make memorable moments with the people you care about. I'll still take my book and air conditioning next time, but I suppose a lumpy log and some sand in strange places aren't so bad, as long as you've got good company.

I turn to my friend who has been patiently waiting for me to finish this introspective ramble. She smiles knowingly and hands me another marshmallow, this time chocolate. I take it gratefully and stab it on my stick.

As we roast our marshmallows in companionable silence, I reflect on how lucky I am to have a friend who pushes me to try new things, even if they seem like no fun at first. It's easy to get stuck in a routine of comfort and familiarity, but every so often, we need a nudge to break out of that and create new memories.

Our marshmallows are perfectly golden brown now. I pull mine off the stick and blow out the tiny flame, then carefully peel off the roasted exterior. The gooey center stretches as I pull it apart, finally breaking with a satisfying snap.

My friend and I crunch into our marshmallows, the sweet stickiness coating our fingers. The waves continue crashing in the distance and the fire crackles and pops, filling the air with the scent of burning wood. This silly beach bonfire may not have been on my original agenda for the day, but I'm so glad I let myself be persuaded to join. New experiences, even the so-called "no fun" ones, are what make life an adventure.

I take another bite of marshmallow, savoring the gooey sweetness. My friend grins at me, bumping my shoulder lightly. "Told you it'd be fun," she says with a wink. I roll my eyes good-naturedly. "Okay, okay you were right."

We fall into an easy silence again as we watch the fire dance before us. The flames remind me of the spark of joy new experiences bring, even unexpected ones. Life would be dull without those spontaneous moments that push us out of our comfort zones.

I turn to my friend; grateful we took this chance to make memories together. "Thanks for dragging me out here," I say sincerely. She smiles softly. "Anytime. What are friends for, if not to push each other to try new things once in a while?"

I chuckle. "True enough." We clink our marshmallow-sticky fingers together in a toast, a silent promise to keep nudging each other forward, into life's sweetest adventures. I pop the last bit of marshmallow into my mouth and sigh contentedly. Some "no fun" experiences turn out better than expected, especially when shared with good company.

After settling down for a little bit, Ela decided that telling ghost stories is a great idea knowing that I have a genuine fear that a ghost is going to possess me in the middle of the night

I let out an exaggerated groan.

"Come on Ela, you know ghosts freak me out!" I say, half pleading and half laughing. She grins mischievously. "That's what makes it fun!" she responds. I shake my head at her in mock disapproval.

"Alright, go ahead with your story. But if I have nightmares tonight, I'm blaming you!" I say with a grin. She launches into a tale of a haunted house and mysterious goings-on, complete with creepy sound effects and dramatic pauses. I play along, gasping and groaning at all the right moments.

Though I do feel a twinge of nervousness as her story progresses, I remind myself that ghosts aren't real. Still, there's something about a scary story in the dark that gets the imagination going. As Ela finishes her tale, I realize we're both laughing more than scared at this point.

"Okay okay, you win this round," I say, giving in. "That was a good story...even if I may need a nightlight tonight." We chuckle together, the mood lightening. The fire crackles softly as we laugh once more, marshmallow sticks discarded. Though some "no fun" experiences do turn out better than expected ghost stories after dark may be pushing comfort zones a bit too far for my taste.

Still, I'm grateful for the memories we create together, fun or not. Ela looks to the side and motions for me to look too. I see a man, a handsome man.

"Uhm no ma'am. I love you with my whole heart, but I will not be asking a stranger to join us." I say scowling and Ela. I always knew she was crazy, but this is next level insane.

"Hey!" Ela shouts, I'm still looking at her as if she's lost her mind. The man looks up at us and turns around to face his body towards us. He looks like a model standing in front of the moonlight, waves crashing in the back. It's like a scene out of a movie.

"Oh, hey!" He shouts, probably so we can hear him over the crashing of the waves. For some reason I can see him looking directly at me. I'm not the type to get nervous but, something about his stare was so intimidating.

"You should join us; we need more people to roast marshmallows with" Ela laughs and taps me. "What?" I ask tilting my head at her.

"You look so mean right now. You're going to drive the man away" she says laughing at my scowl. I can't help it; she just invited a complete stranger to our bonfire. While I was scowling at her she made a weird face claiming that was how I looked right now, making me laugh.

"I wish I could, but I can't. Thank you for the offer though!" the man speaks in sad tone. For some reason I can't begin to understand, I want to check up on him.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Joel (pov)

I wake up in the morning and rub my eyes adjusting to the light shining in. Last night was not my best. I remember that girl that I saw last night with black hair and amber eyes. She was breathtakingly beautiful. I should've accepted her friend's invite. At least I think that's her friend.

I get off the bed and walk into the bathroom to take a shower, wash my face, and brush my teeth. I decided that I should head out to the beach considering I have nothing better to do.

The hot sand feels warm between my toes as I walk along the shoreline. The sound of the waves crashing against the beach soothes my mind. I sit down and gaze out at the vast ocean, watching the boats in the distance and the seagulls soaring above.

Being here reminds me of summers as a child, building sandcastles with my parents and siblings. Things were simpler then. As I sit deep in thought, I notice the girl and her friend from last night walking along the shore.

The black-haired girl smiles and waves as she approaches. "Fancy seeing you here," she says. I smile back. "Small world," I reply. "Mind if I join you?" she asks. "Not at all," I say, patting the sand next to me.

She sits down and we begin to talk as the waves roll in. Her name is Faith, and she's just moved here from out of state. We chat about life, our interests, and goals for the future. I find myself enjoying her company and witty sense of humor.

"Do you always approach strangers on the beach?" I ask in a humorous tone not wanting to sound like I didn't enjoy her company.

"No, just the cute ones. I completely forgot to ask, what's your name?" Whatever you want it to be. I don't know what about her energy intrigues me so much, but her presence is just extremely comforting.

"Joel. Joel Miller." She gets quiet for a couple minutes just staring at the ocean waves crashing and fighting to get over one another. I wish she looked at me that way.

"Well, Mr. Miller," She pauses looking around. "Do you want to spend the day with me and Ela?" I contemplate, I don't want to bring around sad energy. For the longest time I couldn't even get out of bed because of my wife. As much as I miss her, I do need to get back into life.

"Are you going to be at the beach later?" I ask. I wonder what she does for a living considering I've seen her at the beach multiple times.

"Yea, me and Ela practically live at the beach" She laughs. I never heard it up close but now that I have, I never want to forget it. Her laugh is like a cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter day.

"Do you want my number so you can text me when you want to hang out?" Surprised I look up and smile. I'm glad that she asked first because if she didn't, I might've never gotten it.

I happily agree, and we exchange numbers. As she walks away, waving goodbye, I can't help but smile. Perhaps this day at the beach turned out better than expected after all.

As I get to my house, I look in my pocket for my key but instead drop the paper with Faiths number on it. The wind instantly wiped it off the floor and off into the unknown.

Walking into this house the energy feels less heavy. I wonder If I was the one weighing down the energy in the house. Maybe, just maybe, I needed a nice day and company.

I decide to go see if Faith is at the beach so I can get her number again but to my dismay she and her friend are nowhere to be found. Dammit. I always mess things up and seem to never learn from my mistakes.

I go back into my house heading to take a shower and wash the sand out of unpleasant places. Hoping that maybe Faith will be there tomorrow.

✿

A few days later, I'm back at the beach. I still haven't heard from her but I'm hoping today will be the day. I lay my towel out and grab my book, settling in to read.

Before long, I hear a familiar voice. "Hey, it's you!" I look up to see her smiling face. "I'm so glad you're here," I say. "I'm sorry I didn't text you; the wind took your number" We both laugh, and she says it's fine because she didn't text me either.

"So, what do you do for a living?" she seems too carefree I don't even think she has a job. I've never seen someone who works being so full of life.

"I actually study Marine Biology." wow. I never thought her for someone who studies the ocean.

"Why?" I've heard of many reasons why people study marine bio, but they never intrigued me. Not like how she does. She could be telling me about the reason the grass is green, and I would listen to every word not missing anything.

"Uhm..." she goes silent for a moment. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." I let her collect her thoughts because this is exactly how I would've reacted if someone asked me about Maria.

"No, I want too." She starts "When I was 14 my mom took me and my brother to the beach, and we were playing around in the water. Of course we could swim, but I guess we just went out too far." Her voice starts cracking and I can already tell where the story was headed.

"My brother, James, He couldn't swim as good as me, but he was still a fairly good swimmer. The waves just got really strong, and he was pulled under. I think I panicked and tried diving under to save him but after that my memories get really foggy and I can't remember what happened after that."

I feel for her. Losing someone you love to the ocean is something that I can relate to, but I don't want to dump anything on her right now.

"Honestly, I just remember waking up in the hospital and asking for my brother. My brother was like my anchor, and he was always so obsessed with the ocean and wanting to study Marine Biology that I ended up getting into it too." She speaks so highly of her brother, smiling and reminiscing about her memories with him.

"I'm so sorry for your loss. He sounded like such a great person." She smiles at me and shakes her head. Bringing up her hand to rest her head on it. "He was the best."

We sit in silence for an hour, and she ended up resting her head on my shoulder. Contrary to popular belief, it's very easy to fall in love with someone in a couple weeks. a couple days even. Because I fell in love with this girl the moment I laid my eyes on her.

The sun starts to set, painting the sky in vibrant hues of orange and purple. "I'm glad we ran into each other again," her words vibrate from my shoulder. I couldn't agree more. I was beginning to think I'd never see her bright smile and hear her joyful laugh again.

"I have to go meet up with Ela but thank you for listening to me and being here. I enjoyed today a lot." I get her number again, determined not to lose it this time. As she walks away, waving goodbye, I know our chance meeting today will stay with me for a long time.

I grab my things and head home, the smile still on my face. Perhaps this day at the beach turned out even better than I imagined.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Faith (pov)

I've never spoken to anyone about James besides Ela but for some reason I was willing to tell Joel. I'm not sure if it's because of his energy or what it is but I know that I want him to stick around.

Joel is such a comforting person and he's not afraid to sit in silence. His presence alone seems to calm me, which is something I rarely experience around others. He has a quiet confidence that puts me at ease.

When I told him about James, I could tell he was listening intently without judgment. He asked thoughtful follow up questions and seemed genuinely interested in understanding my perspective. His empathy and compassion were reassuring. I felt heard.

Our conversation left me feeling less burdened. Joel has a way of making heavy things seem lighter. I'm grateful he came into my life at the right time, giving me space to open up and process things at my own pace. His calm, grounded energy is a welcome balance to my anxious thoughts.

Our conversations over the past weeks have brought me comfort and peace of mind. Joel's gentle, nonreactive presence has allowed me to share parts of myself I'd locked away for too long. His patience and caring have helped me find forgiveness and release.

While I never thought it would happen, I text Joel. A simple "Hey" I've always had trouble texting guys because they tend to stop talking to me after hearing that I study marine bio. They claim that it takes up too much of my time and that I'll never have enough time for them.

Joel's responses surprised me. Instead of making assumptions, he asked me about my studies and career aspirations. He listened attentively as I told him about my hopes of working with sea turtles and helping protect endangered ocean species. When I finished, he said, "That sounds like meaningful work. I'd love to hear more about it sometime."

I realize how rare it is to find someone who doesn't judge my interests, but embraces them as part of what makes me who I am. For the first time, I feel truly seen and accepted by someone I care about besides Ela.

While in my thoughts I hear my phone ding. Picking it up off the sand I see it's a text from Joel.

"Hey" a simple hey but my heart starts running laps. I'm convinced my daddy issues are showing because I should never be attached to a man this fast. Even Ela's confused.

"Girl answer the damn text" Ela slaps my arm and scowls at me. I'm starting to think she knows something that I don't because every time she sees him, she starts looking back and forth between me and him.

"Okay damn. You didn't have to hit me." I turn my body away from her like that was going to stop her from being nosy and peaking at my phone. I text back a "wyd" hoping I'm not being too dry.

Ela snatches my phone and holds a finger up to my face signaling me to shush. I must've been too dry, otherwise Ela wouldn't have snatched my phone straight out of my hands. Considering she has my phone it's my turn to be nosy. She texts him saying "I was asking because I was wondering If you want to go out to dinner with me."

She's bold as fuck, I'll give her that. I wouldn't have sent that but I'm glad that she did because I've been wanting to go out with this man since that one day at the beach when I first gave him my number.

I grab my phone back from Ela and read the text she sent. I can't believe she actually sent that. I glance up at her and raise my eyebrows. "Thanks for that," I say, trying not to smile too much. She shrugs and grins. "You owe me big time for this one."

I get a text back almost immediately. "Dinner sounds great. How about tonight?" My heart skips a beat. I can't believe this is actually happening! I text him back saying tonight works and ask where he wants to meet.

Ela is practically bouncing up and down with excitement for me. "I told you he liked you!" she squeals. I laugh. "Okay okay, you were right. Thank you for pushing me to text him." I give her a hug. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

We make plans to meet him at a casual seafood place near the beach called Stephanie Inn Dining Room. I'm already dreaming up our conversation over plates of crab cakes, hoping the chemistry I felt that day at the beach continues tonight. With Ela by my side cheering me on, I feel ready for anything.

Thank you so so so much for reading I pulled an all nighter for this lmfaoo writing is genuinely so fun I didn't even notice until I looked at my clock 😭

[misstrashchan]

2, 3, 7, 20, 27, 28, 29, for the rwby ask game? If you don't mind!

2. Rank the soundtracks

From favourite to least:

V1

Not a single track I don't love. Forever iconic, each and every one.

V5

Ignite is my favorite Yang song, as is Path to Isolation for Weiss. Smile is such a tragic song of showing Ilia's parents telling her to cope by smiling, by hiding, to the present where it's twisted into an angry mantra and she's still hiding who she is in a different way. The Triumph feels like such a comeback song with how high energy it is, all our girls heading back to each other, jumping back into the fray. All that Matters is PEAK bumbleby pining angst song. All Things Must Die is glorious, and tbh I think even This Time is pretty underrated as a song for Blake/the White Fang.

V7

I find myself relistening to this one a lot. Trust Love is my favorite OP (and yes that is in part the refrences to the Little Prince I can draw). I also like Touch the Sky and Brand New Day as these kind of recovery songs for all the characters that had been at their lowest or feeling lost finding their hope and confidence, happy in themselves. Let's get Real is a song that DID get me into Renora a little, it's a bop. Was over the moon to have an Oscar song in Fear that encapsulated the theme of the volume and complimented Ozpin's fear speech. Hero makes my brain go AAAAHHHH at how it captures the hubris of Ironwood. Such a great tragic downfall song for his character. Until the End is a great listen and such a lovely surprise to have a Ruby song after so long. War is a certified banger and a great song for the RWBY vs Ace Ops fight.

V9

In fairness I don't think I've listened to this one enough, but the more I do it definitely grows on me. Inside feels like the most unique OP, Checkmate is catchy as hell, Trapdoor makes me INSANE as a Ruby spiralling song. Pleasantly surprised to have a Jaune song in Quiet that's very moving. Worthy is beautiful as a Bumbleby confession/kiss song, truly magical. As a whole I feel the songs lean into being more gentle and introspective as to the usual hardcore rock ballads we know RWBY for, even Checkmate with it's jazziness feels fresh and new. I haven't actually listened to the Edge or Guide my Way enough to have an opinion on them, but I remember liking them, Guide my Way is a nice continuation and evolution of the Red like Roses song trilogy.

V3

When it Falls is SO HARDCORE. Bleeding edge and tragedy for the death and destruction to come. I'm the One is fantastic at laying out Emerald and Mercury's trauma's and subsequently coping mechanisms. Neon is one I like to listen to a lot, it's so fun and upbeat. Divide is brutal and chilling as the song to introduce us to our main villain after seeing her for the first time in all her dark glory at the end of V3. Not Fall in Love with You is... eh. It's my Turn is a good Weiss song, but it's not one if my favorites.

V6

I really like Rising as an OP, it feels the most... magical? fantastical? idk. I like the vibes. Indomitable is what I feel like singing all the time in wake of the recent RWBY news! We really are indomitable! Nevermore as a true triumph over Blake and Yang's trauma at Adam's hands, while acknowledging the tragedy of Adam's own situation. And Big Metal Shoe is a certified banger, love all the fairytale references crammed in there. Miracle is... fine. One Thing is a great song for Neo's return and revenge quest, but I never bought into the Neo hype so I'm kinda mid on it too.

V2. SACRIFICE I LOVE YOU FOREVER AND EVER PLEASE REPRISE IN THE SHOW LATER WITH CINDER PRETTY PLEASE. Now it's Time to Say Goodbye is an incredible banger of an OP, but it felt a little misleading considering it's a song all about losing innocence and leaving behind childhood, which feels more appropriate for V3 and the FoB than V2. Shine, Dream Come True and Boop are all fun and cute but I'm not hugely into Arkos or Renora so I'm kinda neutral on them. I'm also kind of mid on Time to Die as a song.

V8. Honestly this is just the soundtrack I find myself listening to or remembering the least, even though I really like Friend as the perfect Penny song that had me tearing up, and Truth, while short was a great bittersweet song for Cinder. And it was nice to get a Nora song too. The opening for this volume never really grew on me like all the others did (aside from the "some ROSES WILL NEVER BLOOM, SOME HEROES CHOOSE THE WRONG SIDE"). I also just associate this soundtrack with fandom arguing a lot about what song applied to who and it felt exhausting.

3. Favorite Ruby ship?

ROSEGARDEN ALL THE WAY BABY!

7. Favorite lines I already answered for @hoepunkausta

20. What are you looking forward to seeing in Vacuo?

*vibrating at a frequency unknown to man* idk I think a reunion hug between Ruby and Oscar would be neat maybe. Like @aspoonofsugar has pointed out all the set up at the end of the extended epilogue points to these two having a second alchemical wedding and so their relationship having a certain amount of focus/development in Vacuo seems apparent. After so long of not seeing them onscreen together I'm excited for any interactions honestly. I miss my kids.

Wanting to see WBY all trying to support Ruby more and her actively trying but still struggling to open about how she's feeling. More of what see saw with Ruby/Yang in the Boba episode. I'd especially like Ruby and Weiss to have a heart to heart.

Very curious about what Theodore is gonna be like and whoever the hell the Summer maiden. With the Dorothy allusions and those who've lost their homes trying to make one in Vacuo, I'm expecting an exploration of "there's no place like home" to be leant into.

RAVEN. TELL US WHAT HAPPENED ON THAT MISSION WITH YOU AND SUMMER. RUBY AND YANG DESERVE TO KNOW. For real though I'm hoping we see what lead Raven to rejoin the fray too, and how she'll interact with Yang and Qrow and even Ruby, what tension might be there. Delicious family drama....

Speaking of delicious family drama, the Schnees! all reunited! I want Winter and Whitley to tackle hug Weiss to the ground! Also the Schnees appear to be being confronted with all the harm their family and company has done in a kingdom like Vacuo, so I'm curious to see how Weiss handles that. Also Winter is clearly Not Doing Good, so something I'd really like is if Weiss (as her sister) and Ruby (as a friend of Penny and someone she also offered the maiden powers too) and maybe Jaune (who was there with Penny in her final moments) offer comfort to her and they all grieve together.

Emerald. Honestly suprised we didn't get much of a sense of how she was doing in the extended epilogue, not even briefly like Mercury. But I'm super excited for what her arc holds. Seeing her integrate with the group, if Ren, Nora and Oscar are already on friendly terms with her but RWBY are all still a bit wary of her because they've spent less time together. Seeing more of her friendship with Oscar develop (gimme that Little Prince/Fox allusion with their friendship in taming each other pretty please) and like. Mercury. Emerald KNEW Mercury and Tyrian were being sent to Vacuo, she saw him off in the ship, but Ren seems suprised to see him and Tyrian on the cameras in the epilogue. Did Emerald... not tell them? Even though that's incredibly important information that could help her new allies? Because... she wanted to protect Mercury? Because she still feels conflicted? It's incredibly juicy and I can't wait to see how Emerald and Mercury's relationship comes into conflict during the Vacuo arc. Gimme that Emercury angst pretty please.

Vacuo in general. By virtue of the books I think they have the most interesting world building, the food, the culture, the different words for weather phenomenon, the fauna, the nomadic tribes, the history of being a once incredibly beautiful oasis full of everything they needed, then exploited time and again and left with nothing and yet still surviving and carving a home and life for themselves. The world building of Vacuo is one that is inevitably tied to the story because of their fraught history leading to tensions between them and all the refugees from Atlas, Mantle and Vale seeking their aid and shelter in their kingdom, not to mention the Crown seeking to restore the monarchy, it'd be easy for them to be divided and conquered by Salem, and so our heroes have to find a way to overcome that and bring everyone together. So just getting to see the kingdom animated and learn more about its history and culture would be cool. I also like desert punk aesthetic, so I'm hoping whatever new outfits our girls get will have a little of that. (part of me hopes for maybe some Trigun inspiration... we've had Gurren Laggan inspiration in Yang's outfits before!)

I would also say I'm looking forward to seeing my darling cringefail wife Cinder but I don't know if she'll be in Vacuo or with Salem in Vale wrecking shit.

27. Favorite voice performance?

AARON DISMUKE AS OSCAR HANDS DOWN. Him being the VA for Oscar meant I was destined to like him, I usually do with characters he voices. The fact he has to also voice Oscar when controlled by Ozpin, and sometimes Oscar pretending to be Ozpin, and completely nails the subtle differences in all of them is phenomenal. And as the merge progresses he's literally having to mix and merge their voices together too!!! It's crazy!!! The awkward and shy intonation becoming a more sincere and quiet confident voice as Oscar develops, and gaining Oz's mannerisms in speech with a deeper and more serious tone. That is some crazy talent this man has.

Always impressed with how well Linsay Jones and Miles Luna hold up in earlier volumes, they've consistently been the best voice performances from start to present. Also Cherami Leigh as Ilia is absolutely fantastic, it's rare I've heard her get to flex her emotional range like that in her voice work for such a complex character.

28. Fairytale character you'd want to see RWBYfied?

With how character songs are a big thing in the show and semblances that can hypnotize and mind control exist, and instruments sometimes being weapons (gestures to Flynt), I'd love an allusion to The Pied Piper or the Lorelai Siren as a villain of some kind. Bonus if you had a Little Mermaid/Lorelai Siren allusion for that victim/monster/hero duality RWBY likes to play with.

Not technically a traditional fairytale but also very much one, the Last Unicorn, one of my alltime favorite books would be beyond amazing to be alluded to, even a tiny bit. Amalthea the unicorn being the last of her kind, the rest hunted down by a wicked beast at the order of a tyrant. She is associated with silver, the moon, hope and purity constantly. A story that is both a love letter and deconstruction of fairytales, an exploration of the nature of humanity and mortality. Tell me that wouldn't be perfect as an allusion to a Silver Eyed Warrior (also thought to be a myth) trying to find out what happened to the rest of her kind.

29. Favorite opening to sing along too?

TRUST LOOOOOVVVVVEEEE AND OPEN UP YOUR EYESEESSSSS TRUST LOOOOVVVVVEEEE THE TRUTH IS THERE BUT SOMETIMES IN DISGUISE

[kayberrie]

Post-Siege of Mandalore Ahsoka just makes me so sad.

Like, this is a girl who has been fighting for the better part of her rather short life. She’s gone from being a youngling to a soldier to an outcast to a soldier once again. And she was so close. Everything was going to be perfect, the Clone Wars would be over, and she would be what she’d always wanted to be, what she was meant to be. A peacekeeper. A Jedi.

But the Order fell. Her brothers turned on her. The Clone Wars did end, but nobody truly won. Ahsoka’s world crumbled, and yet she still has to keep fighting. Fighting the Empire, fighting Thrawn, fighting herself. It never ends. She never gets to see her masters or her brothers or her culture again. Ahsoka can never stop, because it isn’t in her blood to stop, it just isn’t possible for her. But it’s eating her up, and despite what some people may think, Ahsoka was never truly happy after that tragic day on an icy, unnamed moon. She left that girl, the young and joyful Jedi, in the snow alongside a pair of twin lightsabers.

and that just makes me really sad.

[rainbowstargazerlilies]

Mechs Ships Tournament: Resurrection Round Part 2!

Hi! The winner of this poll will proceed into the final poll to face off against the other Resurrection Round poll winner, Polymechs And Lyf, and the HNOC trio. This will only run for one day. Hope you all are ready!

Link to the other poll here

Propaganda under cut:

Tim/Bertie:

The entire “Tim Goes Mad” section of GTVTMK. Tim looses it because his best friend dies and goes on a murderous rampage. Also that one art that Reegis made of the younger version of the two of them. 

gay moon bitches fr

Gptvstmk

*blows up the moon for you*

#TimBertie are literally so stuckycoded ngl#ITS ABOUT THE DEVOTION ABOUT CHILDHOOD FRIENDS GONE TO WAR ITS ABOUT THE VIOLENCE OF TRAGIC LOSS#ITS ABOUT GRIEF AND THE WAY IT HURTS YOU SO YOU EXTERNALIZE THAT HURT TO THE ONES WHO TOOK YOUR LOVED ONE#HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT MOON KAISER IM PISSING ON THE MOON YOU IDIOT!!!#im normal about timbertie (tags via @watermelonselfship)

Carmilla/Odin:

Lesbiabs

Because. Unethical lesbians who should be in sickly sweet love is not appreciated enough.

FUCKED UP TOXIC MILF YURI!!!!!!!

kinda bonkers women

TOXIC MILF YURI!!!!

Violinspector:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/37936555/chapters/94742191

violinspector (the stars claim them)

The Stars Claim 'Em 

yoyr fanfic idk i thought this was funny [Poll runner's note: I'm the author of The Stars Claim Them.]

it slaps. that’s all

no thoughts. only them.

Ashes/Jonny:

bc like... the vibes. i also like ashes as hades and jonny as cerberus. ashes is so cool, and jonny is so... jonny. 

their backstories both end with them murdering their father figure and then literally burning all of their ties to their former homes. its narratively satisfying. of course theyd be together.

#ASHES/JONNY MY EVERYTHING#good lord okay#they're best firneds. they were there for eachother since the beginning#jonny's a freak and ahses has to deal with jonny's bullshit & is also really the only one who knows how to put up with her bullshit#they're so awful but they really truly care so much about eachother#they're smoking buddies#ashes & jonny taking a moment and sitting together for a few minutes without saying a word#smoke break#they just Understand eachother do you feel me. they just Get eachother please (tags via @dropitdoeeyes)

Ivy/Raphaella

them <333 science vibe lesbians. Pedantic archivist and sciency scientist. Must I say more??? 

science saphics + ivy infodumping while raph does science™ is awesome

https://archiveofourown.org/works/41629023/chapters/104419359 :3

they could be called research paper which is based so vote them

no heart of gold, just flesh and blood - quantumducky - The Mechanisms (Band) [Archive of Our Own](Fic contains gore and some sexual content. It's about a vivisection :3) (via @mothocean)

#ivy raphaella sweep!!!#do it for the nerds! do it for the girls! do it for the nerdy girls!!#aa (tags via @jewishdainix)

Brian/Galahad:

i think they would kissies

Galahad sat on a murder chair because Brian said to. (via @bookworm-girl2002)

[tlbodine]

Overthinking: You Can't Scare Me

This is one of those Goosebumps books that completely missed my radar at the time. I didn't know it existed until I started doing this series. Which is, on the balance, probably for the best. I think kid-me would have been very excited by the cover, which is one of the scariest in the series, but disappointed by the story, which is basically a daisy chain of shaggy dog stories.

You Can't Scare Me came out in January of '94, the first book in the second year of the original run and #15 in the series. It's also a playful, one may say indulgent, experiment with form. A frustrating near-miss of a story? Or a thoughtful treatise on the art of writing horror? Let's overthink it.

First, the Plot: This one has another ensemble cast, and much like Say Cheese and Die, a great deal of You Can't Scare Me is simply spent riffing on the interplay of its various characters. You've got Eddie, his friend Hat (who always wears a baseball cap), and a couple gum-chewing girls named Molly and Charlene.

All of them are jealous of class know-it-all and possessor of Big Dick Energy, Courtney.

It starts with a field trip where Courtney not only shows off her academic prowess, but fearlessly handles a snake and some bees, both of which had frightened Eddie. He's embarrassed about this and vows to get revenge by scaring her, and his friends conspire to make it happen.

Unfortunately, no matter what they do, they simply cannot scare Courtney. Their plans keep going sideways.

They hide a rubber snake in her lunch bag, but she shares her lunch with the teacher and HE gets the scare instead.

They try dropping a tarantula on her head but miss, catching Molly instead, and Courtney saves the day.

They try to get Charlene's dog to do a vicious Cujo act and scare her in the woods, but they lose the dog and Courtney ends up finding him -- and another, vicious-seeming-but-sweet-in-her-hands stray.

Courtney is infuriatingly calm and heroic. She even rescues a cat out of a tree.

Finally, at wit's end trying to find something to do, Eddie convinces his brother to help join the scare attempts. Eddie's brother has been filming a movie about a local legend of mud monsters, who were created when a poor part of town was flooded and the rich folks did nothing to save them. Now, on full moons once a year, the mud monsters rise up for vengeance.

Nobody believes in the mud monster myth, but they decide to give it a shot anyway, having the older teens dress in mud monster makeup and luring Courtney out into the woods by the creek. Just as they are creeping up on her, staggering and moaning their way toward her...Eddie sees his brother and friends. They had a flat tire and were late.

The mud monsters coming up on Courtney are REAL.

She is scared for the first time -- truly terrified! -- and runs away. Unfortunately, Eddie and his friends are ALSO too scared to gloat and enjoy it, so they also have to run away.

Later, Courtney is gloating about having seen real monsters, and Eddie is resigned to the reality that they will never be able to scare her. They're just too scared themselves.

Overthinking It: This book is so strange. The backstory of the mud monsters is both tragic and horrific, but they are relegated to a final twist, more background character than anything. The majority of the "scares" in this book are actually inverted. We see, time and again, Eddie imagining how the scary scene will play out. And then we witness how it ACTUALLY goes, unravelling the frightening bits.

It's like that forum game, where you undo the thing the person above you said. Or like de-powering a boggart with laughter.

You know how every Goosebumps book has a fake-out "Gotcha!" scare in an early chapter? This book is all gotcha, all the time.

What's particularly funny about this book is that the main characters are clearly the villains. Courtney is a little condescending, but she's well-meaning and generally kind. She's not a bully. This isn't like a Haunted Mask situation, or Be Careful What You Wish For, where she's tormenting these kids and they're here to get back at her righteously. Eddie and his friends are kind of dicks, and they deserve to have their pranks blow up in their faces once in a while.

I think in some ways, You Can't Scare Me is actually a book about writing Goosebumps books. It feels like an exorcism of sorts, a release valve for the frustration of churning out title after title of what you hope will be your best, scariest work, for an unappreciative audience who is impossible to please. You want to be scared, kids? You REALLY want to be scared? Well, damn -- how do you do that without getting too real, and actually traumatizing the little brats?

But perhaps that's too cynical of a take. It's not rooted in anything - just my own projection - and it may simply be that Stine (a comedy guy at heart) wanted an excuse to write something funny. And this book is funny, if you meet it on its own terms. It made me laugh aloud more than once. And, hey, you know what? Sometimes that's enough.

If You Liked This, THESE Will Really Give You Goosebumps:

Weird recommendation, but hear me out: Last Cut of the Dead. It's a zombie movie in three acts, and I don't want to spoil it for you, but let's just say it's a movie about theater, and it's both scary and extremely funny. Very similar vibes.

For another darkly funny take on the "friends conspire and scheme, and a prank goes horribly wrong," try Jawbreaker (wherein a group of girls has to cover up an accidental murder).

Incidentally, there's a folklore root to this particular story, as collected by the Brothers Grimm: The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was. It's one of my favorite fairytales, actually, because it's about a guy who spends the night in a haunted house and just repeatedly fails to be afraid by all the spooky shit going on around him.

[allyendergirl]

Ok so I’ve never truly been like, attracted to any character in a piece of media that I’ve been obsessed with mainly bc the media my brain obsess over is always male centric and I am lesbian, but I just watched season 5 of the Dragon Prince and I think I’ve finally felt it. Real attraction to a fictional character. That Blood Moon assassin lady was SO FUCKING HOT, LIKE WHAT THE FUCK LIKE OMG SHE KISSED JANAI AND IT WAS SO CUNT SONSO SO HOT SO WOMAN FUCK SHE WAS SO HOT AND SHE TALKS SO PRETTY ANS SHE WAS SO PRETTY AND SO BAD BITCH AND SO FUCKING HOT SHE KISSED THE QUEEN SHE WAS HOLDING HOSTAGE AND IT WAS SO HOT GUYS LIKE BRO I GOT FLUSTERED, I LIKE GASPED I GIGGLED IM OBSESSED

Also fucking slay for Elmer he’s a real one and such good blorbo material.

And Claudia doesn’t deserve Terry, I just KNOW she’s gonna try and kill him or something bc he’s gonna be all like “I won’t let you keep hurting yourself like this” and later in the series Big Purple Star Bitch will probably make her do it or something. Claudia is also killing herself for her dad and his mission and I’m soooooo UGH about it. Not bc it’s bad writing or I don’t like it, but bc it’s all Veirens fault and he’s selfishly taking his daughter down with him. “I’d do anything to save my family no matter what” THEN GET THAT GIRL AWAY FROM THAT STARY BITCH. GIRL YOUR DAD DIDNT DESERVE TO BE SAVED AND YOURE KILLING YOURSELF TO SAVE HIM BLEGH ICKY BAD THIS IS GOING TO BE VERY NARRATIVELY SATISFYING. IM SO SAD THAT SHES GONNA BE THE NEW PAWN FOR THAT STAR SPANGLED PURPLE BITCH.

All the couples including Terry and Claudia, ARE SO FUCKING CUUUUUTE BRO. The way Terry is so accepting and adaptive to Claudia is sssooooooo heartwarming, the way he helped her manage her anxiety and all her other baggage is so precious, HE JUST SUCH A GOOD FUCKING MAN.

Amaiah and Janai ARE SO FUCKING EVERYTHING AAAAHHHHH SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP I WAS REALLY SCARED THAT WE’D GET TRAGIC LESBIANS THERE FOR A SECOND BUT NO! I WAS SO WORNG😍😍😍😍 I can’t wait for their wedding.

And of course Rayla and Callum are the sweetest beans🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰 Callum really had a glow up and he’s so pretty now.

[colourstreakgryffin]

Can I request💕 aizetsu well if you write for him, aizetsu with a demon girlfriend basically she's sad all the time just like him and barely knows how to comfort each other so if aizetsu is crying or sad they'll both just start crying together, and she's really really scared of the other hantengu, thinking urogi is gonna fly away with her or sekido is gonna shout at her

I do write for the Upper Moons! I’ve written for Urogi more than once so I don’t mind doing Aizetsu too! Another emotion clone! A bit short, once again

Aizetsu

Aizetsu is a continuously dejected demon. He is never truly happy, but he always wanted a potential partner of his to be able to feel happiness. That wish is crushed when he meets you

A demon girl so sensitive and tragic, she cries over everything and it just broke his heart apart, tears well up in his eyes but he can’t do a single thing to fix the problem. He can barely handle himself, let alone another breathing creature

Aizetsu cries over every little problem too and when you catch him crying, it makes you cry too and since neither of you can comfort, the night just ends to you two cuddled in your futon and crying until it hurts to continue

Aizetsu was crying over his issue until you start crying, now he’s crying over you being upset, and you’re crying over the fact he can’t fix his issue

Aizetsu may be extremely pitiful with his state but he isn’t weak or pathetic, he can stand up for himself easily, and that comes through with how afraid of his clone brothers you are. They scare you on purpose and he is riled

They know your emotionally weak and need to be protected from fear and sadness, but they continue to fuck with him. Aizetsu truly does hate letting you be around his brothers since they make you more scared and upset then you usually are

Aizetsu has been actively trying to stop his crying so you won’t anymore since he hates how upset you get. Yes, your crying voice is cute and your tears taste beautiful but he doesn’t want you to cry over everything like he does. You don’t deserve to be a miserable being

Aizetsu wishes he could be a better man for you. He is worthless, he can’t make you smile. All he can do is pity and bawl, why do you like him? Is it because he’s like you? He does wonder why but he truly doesn’t want to lose you

Despite everything emotionally and his inability to stop it, Aizetsu will never let a slayer touch you. He is one of the main four clones of the Upper Moon 4, Hantengu. He has more than anything power to spare and he can easily drop slayers left and right for you

“It’s just… so sad… this pitiful rabbit… killed by a human trap. It just makes me want to cry… h-huh? Dokusha, my love. D-don’t… well, I can’t stop you. Just hug me then, we can be sad together”

[fairytale-poll]

ROUND 2D, MATCH 1 OUT OF 8

Propaganda Under the Cut:

Once Upon a Time (in Space):

She spent decades searching every moon and planet trying to find her wife (Rose), who was kidnapped on their wedding day. Eventually, she found Rose, and they embraced, only for Rose to die in Cinder's arms. And so Cinder killed the king who had kidnapped Rose by punching through his chest and into his heart.

And then Cinder got a somewhat happy ending, in which she met Rose's clone who had Rose's memories.

What if Cinderella was a Sci-Fi lesbian? Well here she is. She has a whole love song about searching the stars for her girlfriend after their wedding was interrupted and she was taken away. She spends years searching only to when she finally finds and embraces her watch her be shot. Cinders is so devastated by this that she plunges her wedding ring into the heart of the man who shot her love killing him.

Lesbian space princess who elopes with the terrifying soldier who was previously conquering her planet and spends decades searching for her when they're separated. Listen to her song https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6w9V-gMgBF4

I think the way she punches the evil king through the heart as revenge for her wife is pretty neat.

She’s a revolutionary married to a woman, what’s not to love? From Cinders’ Song: “ When I was a little girl, my mother always told me / "Someday your prince will come, my love" / But as I grew, I knew it was a princess who would hold me”.

her girlfriend got cloned and most of said clones were brutally slaughtered in war and she searched for her girlfriend all throughout the galaxy and when they were finally reunited on the battlefield her girlfriend died. and a clone of her girlfriend who due to technical errors retained her memories, so does that count as the same girlfriend? theseus's girlfriend? anyway vote for cinders she's been through hell

Lesbian!! Has to search for her lost love Rose with her glass wedding ring that changes color when its near its partner!! Gets to embrace Rose once again for one final moment before the villain kills Rose right in front of her!! So Cinders kills him in return!! And she's left as (almost) the only surviving main character from her own album but!! She is eventually reunited with a clone of Rose, and while they cannot have a truly 'happy ever after' together they are the ones graced with the closest thing to it

SPACE LESBIANS (she's in love with Rose Red, who gets kidnapped on their wedding day and Cinders searches the galaxy to find her, waiting for her white ring to turn crimson, indicating that its twin was near) She took her name from the ashes of her burning planet <3 She also killed Old King Cole >:)

shes a tragic lesbian and killed a violent dictator shes literally the best

shes gay shes traumatized she dates both rose red and sleeping beauty. badass space wanderer looking for her wife

Her wife Rose gets kidnapped on their wedding day and Cinders spend the next thirty years looking for her. She finds her (:D) and then Rose dies (D:) and then Cinders kills the guy who killed Rose (girlboss).

shes a lesbian. she lost her wife, Rose (yes, as in sleeping beauty) the day they got married bc she was kidnapped. she spent 20 YEARS looking for her. as soon as she found her wife, Rose DIED IN HER ARMS. Cinders has gone through Too Much to lose this poll

(Her info from the wiki) the Princess of a planet burnt by King Cole's army, after it is ceded by her stepmother. She is imprisoned, meets Rose and plans to marry her. She is released by her godmother for the wedding, then flees when the attack happens, spending thirty years looking for Rose. Her half of the wedding ring will light up when she finds Rose.

"When I was a little girl, my mother always told me 'Someday your prince will come, my love' But as I grew, I knew it was a princess who would hold me I looked to the stars for you, my love" She's lesbian Cinderella IN SPACE. She fell in love with her wife in prison and they ran away to have a secret marriage but the empire kidnapped Rose on their wedding night and Cinders had to leave her behind. She searches for Rose for decades with the glass ring that guides her to its twin on her wife's finger. She finally reunites with her love after Rose rips three supersoldiers to pieces with her bare hands (hot) but then then the evil king kills Rose so Cinders fucking punches through his heart. And then a clone of Rose (who is also lesbian Sleeping Beauty IN SPACE) finds her cradling her wife's body and they have a happy reunion(?) and maybe they didn't have a happy ending BUT WHAT IF THEY HAD EACH OTHER? HUH? AAAAAH

she’s everything. she’s a princess from a long since conquered planet. she was imprisoned to make a statement of the brutal reign of old king cole. she met her wife while she was in prison, a beautiful brutal soldier covered in scars from battles. cinders and rose fell in love, so cinders’ godmother in white broke her out of jail so rose and cinders could be together. they were going to be married, except that OLD KING COLE intervened and kidnapped rose to make her the genetic base of his unholy army. so cinders spends THIRTY YEARS searching the galaxies for her love (and sings a really cool song about it called “Cinders’ Song”) until finally she arrives during the final battle just in time to see old king cole SHOOT ROSE DEAD. so cinders punches the king so hard (with her wedding ring) that he just Crumples Into Dust. the end! (no we do not talk about the fiction.)

lesbian, for one, and for two i don't really care i just think it'd be cool if she got in/if she made it past the first round

no one seems to have linked cinder’s song yet, so here [Link]

better yet, listen to the whole album too, for context and also what comes after. it slaps and also tragedy it's such a good album suhc a good band too

Someone already sent the song as propaganda, so I will provide SPOILER propaganda. [Click link to see spoilers.]

The Lunar Chronicles:

Linh Cinder:

Her glass slipper is her prosthetic foot. She's a cool badass mechanic queen. She's named Cinder because her aunt set her on fire as a toddler but she survived. She's a a cool cyborg with psychic powers, and she's also a really good mechanic.

She's a cyborg and she's from the Moon

She is a badass mechanic who is also a cyborg and did not intend to get dragged into this mess. She becomes a fugitive of the law, running from the prince who is also her romantic interest and is just objectively the best.

I love a sarcastic character and I love a good confrontation scene and she's great with both

she's a cyborg she's a mechanic she's a princess she's a fugitive she's the best.

She's a mechanic she's the lunar princess she has two prosthetic limbs she's supposed to be dead. Her best friend is an android who's a fangirl of her boyfriend (Kai, the emperor). Her ball was actually her showing up to keep Kai from getting seduced by her aunt (who's queen of the moon) and then killed. Instead of losing her slipper she just lost her entire foot. (That's all just in the first book.)

look man, if you've read tlc you know why but if not: cinder here goes through a lot, from living in a shitty household to leading a rebellion and witnessing what's practically a massacre (TWICE), getting stabbed in the mc'freaking heart and surviving, being a wanted fugitive, Oh, and also, she loses her goddamn FOOT instead of a glass slipper lol (albeit the foot is a prosthetic, which i might've forgotten to add, her left arm and (i think) leg are metal due to getting BURNED as a toddler by her somewhat power hungry aunt)

She's SO cool she's a mechanic and really clever and also an amputee and her prosthetics are very cool and she has fun space adventures with her little gang of found family and is also the heir to the crown on the moon and is trying to get control of it from her aunt (who's a dictator) so she can help the moon people be less oppressed! tl;dr she's a girlboss

She literally got set on fire. Shes a cyborg. Shes such a girl boss that her love interest kept her severed prosthetic foot as a memento. She is a revolutionary [against her will] and a politician [also against her will]. Shes a skilled mechanic, and called the queen of a super-powerful alien race with the ability to manipulate people’s perceptions of reality ugly TO HER FACE. Queen does not give a shit and just wants to hang out with her robot bestie and her dork ass boyfriend who is also the leader of an entire country. Shes iconic, she is the moment.

she's a teenage cyborg who works as a mechanic and is secretly royalty - a badass and i love her!!

Kickbutt cyborg Cinderella princess

Cyborg and mechanic is a fun new twist on classic Cinderella! (At least when I read it and it was new). Plus she’s got her Prince/Emperor all wrapped around her fingers before the ball!

she's cool as fuck that's why!! cyborg cinderella in a cool-ass future sci-fi world, she doesn't have glass slippers so she loses her ill-fitted cybernetic foot, she has a gun in her cyborg hand (mostly uses nonlethal projectiles), she has cool sci-fi magic mind powers, she's from the moon, she's a mechanic & she's smart as hell, she literally forms a ragtag team of other fairytale inspired characters & dethrones the evil queen of the lunar monarchy. also her prince charming is cool & funny & they're so sickeningly in love their feelings could power the sun. anyway vote Cinder ✨️

cinder is a mixed cyborg mechanic who has acquired beef with both her stepmother (adopted) and her bio aunt (tyrant queen levanna) and manages to escape their attempts to keep her down (including arson when she was like. 3 years old) and ultimately overthrows her aunt in a revolution lead by her and the other fairytale retellings (red riding hood and wolf, rapunzel and her ‘prince’, and her cousin snow white and her prince) and establishes a democracy! i enjoyed the series growing up and i personally think that cinder is very cool :]

The first book in The Lunar Chronicles is a retelling of cinderella, and my gosh it’s amazing. Cinder is a cyborg and faces a lot of prejudice, and it’s interesting to see that even in the future, where the book is set, there’s still so much discrimination, and Cinder faces it so well. She’s smart and snarky, and has such character growth and cares so much and akhjfqwthbj

shes cinderella if cinderella was a cyborg and also secretly an alien moon princess. fucking amazing series everyone should read it. It's very common for Cinderella retelling that "girlboss" her end up sending the weird message that victims of abuse should simply stand up for themselves <3 I really like Cinder because she's spunky and snaps at her stepmother, but it doesn't. do her any good? It just makes her stepmother worse. Also one of her stepsisters is nice, I love Peony.

Cyborg Cinderella, long-lost princess of the moon, revolutionary against the evil queen.

she’s a cyborg! instead of losing her shoe on the steps of the palace her entire foot comes off 👍 thats hard as fuck she’s so cool

I have to say this now, because I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to share this story for ages now, because it’s so amazing. Not only did Marissa Meyer, author of the Lunar Chronicles and creator of Linh Cinder, start off her writing journey as a Sailor Moon fanfiction author, but I have a second-account story of how amazing and nice she is... [Click link to read the rest of it]

[sunfl0w3rmoon]

Here’s the thing about the canonical marauders

First you have Remus, the werewolf boy who never thought he was worthy of love and then FOUND love amongst his three best friends and Lily, who finally had a place in the world, and then lost ALL OF THEM in a DAY and spent twelve years alone on the full moon, in pain, screaming, crying, missing his friends and hating Sirius even while he loved him

Then there’s Sirius, who had such an abusive childhood, with so many prejudiced expectations thrust upon him, who found a way out and stuck to it — created his own family when the one he was given initially didn’t act like one, who put so much blind trust in his chosen family because he never thought the “good ones” could turn bad, only to lose two of his closest friends at the hand of someone HE trusted to keep them safe, and then spent twelve years surrounded by dementors, constantly reliving his mistakes and bad memories, living with regret and despair

Next there’s James, sunshine incarnate, who had so much faith in the world, and such a big heart — who took in his best friend when he had no where else to go, who loved and trusted his friends implicitly, who came up with ideas to make other’s lives better and more enjoyable, who loved the same girl all throughout school and CHANGED FOR HER because he realized he was a bit of a shit, and then MARRIED her, only to be thrust into a situation where they had to go into hiding with their newborn kid, who died SO YOUNG, and never truly got to live

And then there’s Peter, the “runt of a boy, always tagging along”, who never felt truly included or part of the gang, stuck being the fourth wheel, who the others had to help out because he wasn’t as smart, always looking for bigger, stronger people to protect him because he wasn’t brave enough or strong enough to stand up for himself, who became a spy for the death eaters because no one would ever have expected him to, who GAVE UP two of his BEST FRIENDS to the man trying to kill them, with no remorse and no second thoughts, because by then he’d had enough of being the one left behind and forgotten

Like did the author that must not be named NEED to give them such tragic backstories???? Was that NECESSARY????