#we’re being fed good folks

[howmanyepsofmlseason6areleft]

Illustrhater full episode is available on the Disney Channel USA Youtube Channel! (+New episode airdate!)

The full 2nd episode was uploaded to Disney channel USA in English yesterday, making it easy for anyone who wants to watch the episode (in a legal way at least, I sure we’ve already seen it on miraculous.to lol).

In other news, Gloob has confirmed they will be airing an unknown new episode this Friday, Jan 31st at 7:45 pm Brasilia Standard Time (Source). They will also be dropping a trailer on Wednesday, so watch out for that (whether it be to watch it or to avoid spoilers).

Now, I know that we know nothing about which episode it will be just like last week, but I’m going to make a safe bet it’s going to be Sublimation, since Disney Channel USA is airing that the next day. Still, in the updated version of the airdates post ive listed the premiere as ‘unknown’, since you can never be sure!

Now, if the pattern continues I think it’s a safe bet we can expect Gloob to drop new episodes the next two Fridays as well, but let’s see what happens! We know Disney will be dropping them on Saturdays anyway, so we have that much at least.

Anyway, as mentioned the airdates post is updated, the pinned post is updated, and see y’all Friday!

[dee-the-red-witch]

How to ACTUALLY date a trans girl

(This column was originally submitted to Autostraddle as a reply to their "A Trans Guy’s Guide to Picking Up a Trans Girl" but since they've apparently passed on it, it gets to be posted up free everywhere else instead.) Picture this- you’re a trans woman who’s been in transition for three years now. Your dating life has gone from abysmal to amazing in alternate fits and spurts and you’ve found not just one, but three awesome partners despite the many, MANY pitfalls you’ve experienced along the way. And then one day, your social media feeds ping up with screencaps of a guide to picking up girls like yourself. Needing a good laugh, you click through. And read. And proceed to smack your forehead with your own palm in frustration a few times and giggle and some other lines on the first readthrough. But things feel off, so you read again. And begin to seethe. And then start opening up the Word document and start typing frenziedly into it. Because honestly? At the end of the day, as a trans lesbian who dates all sorts of people on non-male parts of the amorphous spectral mass that is Gender, I feel like I’m obligated to. I wanted to go into that first reading and find a column that actually got things right, and this was so far off the mark in the worst ways, so I feel like I have to set some things down on paper. Because this guide reads, in so many ways, like everything my cisfem friends have complained about in the straight dating scene for years. Reading through it that second time, I felt almost the exact same sense of of sheer grease and sleaze that I’ve felt reading incel pickup guides. I felt like I was being seen as a pretty object at best and a disposable sex toy at worst. I wasn’t treated as human. At best it was a bunch of stereotypes, none of which applied to me. But under it all, I saw other bits- the tricks an abuser used to lure me in. The lies my rapist fed me. The excuses made by folks online for why I should be treated like a monster or thing because of my identity. You know, the specific blend of misogyny that singles out transfem identities in general- transmisogyny. And since we’re addressing the elephant in the room, I want to address a few particular points from Gabe’s article before I give you some real idea of how to go about this. And I want to emphasize here- this is after editing out a page of swearing, going over Gabe’s own past history of transmisogynistic writing, and just cutting it down to the actual points where the original article really went wrong, and also pick up a few points at the end that’ll actually work well for trans guys or anyone else who might be interested in a relationship with a trans girl. First off, if you’re trans as well? Stop playing the ‘we’re both trans’ card. ESPECIALLY if you’re coming at it from a ‘Why yes, I used to be a woman’ angle. For one, you’re telling us at the same time that you see us as former men, which is usually very much not the transfem experience (Personally, I always felt like I was putting on a ‘man’ act. All the time. Badly.) and for another, you’re being transphobic to yourself and your own identity. If we’re there to date you, it’s as the man you are- be that guy.

Secondly, just because the trans woman experience shares similarities with the experience you had trying to be a woman up until you came out and transitioned, it also has staggering fundamental differences, and your attempts to relate are going to highlight those differences in ways that aren’t going to work in your favor. We didn’t get to go shopping in public, or if we did, it was fraught with fear at being caught out in the early stages of transition, followed by massive frustrations with both trying to figure out where we fit into women’s sizing. And then discovering that absolutely nothing available in local stores, including thrift shops, would fit right, especially not that cute choker we’d always been drooling over. That nothing smelled right for lotion or perfume because we were dealing with a body chemistry that was going through a slow shift on HRT. And we don’t need or want to be reminded of just how much we stand out from the other girls in those kind of regards.

Also, maybe, just maybe, don’t do things that would get seen as completely misogynistic and creepy if you pulled them on a cisgender woman. Don’t go digging into her socials- stalkers and chasers pull that crap and it’s beyond tiresome. Don’t try to deduce what her pretransition life was like, that’s for her to share, if she chooses to. Don’t see her as a stereotype- some of us never played New Vegas, owned cat ears, or like thigh-highs. On that first date if you ever get there, don’t bring her flowers, lovebomb her like mad, constantly find little ways to touch her, any of that- if she has any experience, she’s waiting for the other shoe to drop in response, because she’s had this treatment before and it ended oh so badly. Just be yourself. And get it through your head that the bear is still definitely a choice regardless of everything- after all, we have examples like Gabe to prove that transmisogyny certainly isn’t limited to cis folks.

What should you do? Treat her like any other woman. Treat her like a human being, because we get so little of that, even from the rest of the LGBTQIA+ community. Yes, you’ll more than likely have to take initiative, because we’re used to seeing our attractions, needs, and desires as being perceived as aggressive or predatory by others. When you touch her, do it with assertion and intent- none of the little brushes and stalker moves- ask if you can hold her hand, or put an arm around her, so she knows you actually want to be here and want contact with her. Listen to her, and pay attention- let her be open and honest about her experiences and interests, and remember what she tells you, because she’s going to need to know that she’s wanted and valued for who she is and what she’s into, and it will be part of how she connects to you. And finally? Common sense and communication- every last one of us is different in a lot of ways, and asking or making room to talk about things from physical contact and sex to social activity or group outings or anything else can save a lot of blunders from ever happening. All in all you can and should date trans women! Please! A lot of the best relationships I’ve ever had were with other trans girls and I don’t regret any of those. But you have to put down the pickup guides, stop seeing us as fetish dispensers and sexy lampshades, and actually deal with us as people, first.

[biancadoes1]

People fall in love at work all the time. Why do fans find it so hard the believe that actors aren’t the same? We could probably come up with a rather long list.

Is it that people just don’t want to believe that Nic and Luke are happy? It sounds too good to be true, right? Gosh I wish folks would understand that just bc you’re unhappy and don’t like the cornflakes that are served doesn’t mean you have to spit in everyone else’s bowl too.

I find it crazy suspicious that it’s been so quiet and then this article that speaks loudly gets recirculated. Okie doke.

Maybe Nic will go all Beth Dutton soon and take back control of their narrative whatever that might be. Secretly I hope Luke’s the one who clears the air. It would probably break the internet though!Fingers crossed for 2025.

They wanna be miserable and enjoy the drama, end of.

They can go do that in their own depressing corner. I wanna enjoy what we’re being fed.

I agree as well that the silence is sus and I think Luke would be the one breaking the silence, too.

[teamhappyme]

all that you ever wanted from me was sweet nothing

aka the four times you save mike dodds + the one time he saves you

mike dodds x female!reader

word count: 9.3k

a/n: me? keeping mike dodds alive and well in every universe? absolutely. a good old fashioned 4+1 for you folks! this was another labor of love that has been years in the making because I could never string enough good things together - until I did! it's not my best, but it's one of my favorites, and i love writing for this guy! it's a niche character, but one near and dear to my heart. (I refuse to give up my Taylor swift lyric titles so fight me)

****

The first time you saved Mike Dodds, it was from the awful coffee in the squad room. 

It was his first week with SVU, and, let’s just say, everyone is adjusting. He stepped over you while getting the victim’s disclosure, he pursued a lead not pertaining to the disclosure without telling Liv, and to top it all off, Rollins’ sister was behind the whole situation. 

So, it’s been a tense week for everyone. 

After Kim was remanded to Rikers, and Amanda was released from the hospital, everyone could let out a sigh of relief.

You were wrapping up some paperwork in the squad room after getting back from the courthouse, Liv talking with the chief in her office. You could only assume the accolades he was giving his son, while Liv just had to sit there and bite her tongue. You don’t envy the position she’s in right now.

To keep your eyes open a little longer, you made your way to the breakroom to grab a soda. Much to your surprise, you found the sarge at the coffee machine, ready to pour a heaping cup of old coffee.

“I wouldn’t drink that if I were you,” You warned him as you fed a dollar to the vending machine, pressing for a coke to come out. “I guarantee it’s been sitting there since this morning, maybe even last night.”

He nodded, placing the styrofoam cup back on the table. “Thanks for warning me. I’m pretty sure everyone else would’ve let me suffer the consequences.”

“Rollins and Fin would’ve watched the whole thing, but Carisi would’ve ran in to save you. We’re not too fond of perpetuating the newbie pranks, especially on a sergeant.”

You offered him the coke once it came out of the machine, and he took it, giving you a nod of gratitude. He didn’t open it right away, taking a few seconds to fiddle with the tab. 

He looked up at you, looking quite defeated for the confident man that walked in here three days ago. “I’m not trying to step on any toes here, detective.”

“Dodds,” You started, but he cut you off. 

Again.

“I’m the new guy, the new second in command here, and I understand that it’s going to take some time for you guys to warm up to me,”

“Dodds.” You held your arm out in front of you, hoping he would stop talking. “First things first, stop interrupting me.”

He had a sheepish grin, and hung his head. 

“SVU isn’t like the rest of the department. It’s not as simple as getting the statement, arresting the perp, and going to trial. We have to connect with the victim, make sure they feel safe and supported enough to tell their story. And most importantly, we listen to Liv. She gives a masterclass everyday in being an SVU cop.” You paused for a second, taking another look at him. Of course he looked defeated, the welcome into special victims is never an easy one. “Listen, we’ve all been in your shoes. There’s a learning curve, and it takes a minute to get there, but you will. You’ve got good instincts, you’ve got the rank to prove it. You’ve just got to think in another way now.”

You saw the chief exit Liv’s office, and heard the dejected sigh leave Dodds’ mouth.

“I’m not worried about the learning curve. I know I have a lot to learn. What I’m worried about is not being taken seriously.” You looked over at him, and saw that he was locked on his father’s figure, following him out of the precinct. “I know everyone’s worried that I’m the boss’s son, thinking they have to watch themselves around me. But I’m not his puppet, and I’m not here to report back to him. What happens at SVU, stays at SVU.”

“I appreciate that.” He gave you a pointed look, not sure whether or not to believe you, but you only smiled. “Listen, we’re all straight shooters here. I’m not worried about who your father is or how you got this position. Everyone deserves a fair chance, and after these last few days with you, I think you’ll be just fine here.”

Honestly, you were never worried about his placement here. Sure, the rest of the squad was a little suspicious, and maybe gave him a hard time, but he’ll learn his place. And hopefully, they’ll see this guy, honest and vulnerable, instead of the shadow of his father the next time they look at him.

“Thank you. I know you could’ve chewed my head off after that disclosure, so I appreciate your patience.”

You laughed while moving back to the vending machine, getting a coke for yourself this time.

“It was your one free pass.”

“Technically two, since you saved me from the burnt coffee.” He added, walking back to the bullpen. 

“Yeah, next time I’ll let you drink it.”

****

The second time you saved Mike Dodds was after the Lily Evans case. 

It was never easy losing a kid, no matter how many years you have on the job. After three months with the unit, he felt like he hit his stride.

All until today.

It was late when Dodds and Liv came back from the Evans house, looking particularly jaded after informing the grieving parents they closed the case. 

It was business as usual for the next thirty minutes, paperwork was finished, a celebratory job well done for solving something in a timely manner. And just like that, we move onto the next one.

Once Liv emerged from her office, the rest of the squad started to pack up. 

“You going to see Amanda?” Fin asked.

“Yeah, I thought I’d stop by.”

“You know what, she’s been living off takeout. How about we all go up there, and I’ll cook us a real meal.” Carisi interrupted the Lieutenant, Fin in agreement to eat some real Italian food.

The smile on your face was automatic, loving the small moments in your day where there was a little room for happiness. 

“Hey Sergeant, you wanna join us?” You all looked to Dodds, slouched in his chair, the weight of the world resting on his shoulders. 

You’ve all been there before.

“Uh, rain check. Paperwork.” He sat up straighter in his chair, pulling a random file from his desk.

You exchanged a look with Carisi before setting your things back on your desk. 

“I’ll meet you guys up there. And don’t let Fin eat all the garlic bread,” you teased, trying to keep the happy moment alive.  

Once the rest of the squad left, you walked back over to Dodds desk. He continued to comb through the files on his desk, pretending to look busy.

“I know being a Sergeant is a big deal, but there’s no way you’ve accumulated this much paperwork since you’ve been here.”

“Well with all the joy rides you and Carisi go on, you’d be surprised how quickly those car change requests pile up.”

He said with a smile, and you resisted the urge to roll your eyes. 

“As appealing as that pile of paperwork may be, it’s got nothing on a home cooked Carisi meal. So,” you paused, giving him the opportunity to speak first if he wanted. 

He didn’t.

“Why are you beating yourself up over this case?”

“Lily Evans could still have been alive when we first got to her parents house. If I had taken this seriously, we could’ve got to her and maybe she’d be alive right now.”

“Sarge,”

“And I know I should have listened to Liv, she’s got this down to a science. But I just wanted to-“

“Dodds, what did I say about interrupting me?” You chided, and he held his hands out to you in surrender. “I know you don’t want to hear it, but she was gone the moment she got in the van. It’s not easy to accept that at first, but some of these cases, you have to believe it if you want to get through it.”

“I thought it was going to be an easy transition to SVU. Major Crimes was high stress, kidnappings, negotiations, terrorism, all while having the eyes of the media and the city on you.” He shook his head. “I thought I was doing okay. I was listening to the Lieutenant, I was really learning from her, from all of you really. I thought I was bringing something to the table. But Lily, she was just a kid.”

You placed your bag down on the floor, moving to sit in the chair next to his desk.

“My second case with SVU was the Johnny D take down. I transferred from Brooklyn Homicide, so I thought I’d seen it all. Until I walked into that basement, and found four teenagers and kids locked in that basement as sex slaves. I threw up as soon as we got out of the basement, just barely missed Rollins. I couldn’t sleep for the next week, and when I finally cracked, Liv was there to center me. She reminded me why we did this job, of all the people we help, despite the most gruesome cases we catch. It takes a special cop to work in SVU, and you don’t stick it out, you don’t feel this guilt if you’re not cut out for it.”

He looked at you for a few seconds, not saying anything as he took your words in.

“How do you get up and come back to work every day?” He asked and let out a long breath.

“I took Liv’s advice: go home, talk to someone you love, and don’t make this job your whole life. Easier said than done.” You said with a laugh and he joined in. “But you’ve got your dad, he’s been on the job your whole life. He knows what it’s like.”

“He’s not really the talking type. And I’ve never… failed at something before. He expects a lot out of me here, and I want to prove to him that I’m cut out for this.”

“You’re not failing here, Dodds. Trust me, you’d be hearing an earful from Rollins and Fin if you were. I’m actually really impressed with how you’ve adjusted. We’re not an easy squad to assimilate to.”

“You can call me Mike,” he started, a small smile on his face. 

You felt your cheeks get warm, and you hoped to god they weren’t bright red. 

“Okay, Mike. Then pack up your stuff, cause you’re going to eat the best Chinese food of your life tonight.”

“What about Carisi’s fantastic meal?” He joked as he closed whatever files were open and shrugged his coat on.

“He’ll understand. Now come on, we don’t want them to run out of egg rolls before we get there.”

“Alright, alright,” he joked, running to catch up to you. You waited in silence for the elevator, and you felt a shift in the dynamic between you two. A good shift, one that happens when you finally earn the trust of your partner. 

Mike spoke your name as you stepped into the elevator, and you looked over at him.

“Thank you for listening. It means a lot, to know that you have my back, in the field and otherwise.”

You smiled, gently clapping his shoulder as you responded, “Anytime you need an ear, I’m there. You’ve got a squad of incredible listeners surrounding you now. All we ask is the same in return.”

“You’ve got it.” He added without hesitation.

Mike Dodds was going to be just fine here in SVU.

****

The next time you saved Mike Dodds wasn’t exactly your finest moment.

Mike accompanied you to Gary Munson’s house on what was supposed to be a quiet Sunday afternoon. But after a call from his wife Lisa, saying she was finally ready to leave, your Sergeant graciously offered to accompany you to the house.

No one wanted to be back in the presence of Gary Munson, the rogue corrections officer accused of assaulting dozens of female inmates. The case hadn’t even gone to trial yet and it was already causing a lot of tension in the department, not to mention the DA’s office.

“Dragging me out on a Sunday is pretty cruel, even for you Detective.” Mike commented as you walked up to the Munson house. “I smell egg rolls and fried rice in the near future.”

“Hey, I paid last time. It’s not my fault you have a bleeding heart almost as big as mine and agreed to come along.” You said with a grin as you knocked on the front door.

Dodds had been at SVU just shy of a year now, and since the Lily Evan’s case it sort of became tradition to celebrate the closing of a case with that same greasy Chinese food. Even as the cases took longer to close, the two of you could be found there at least twice a week. It became your place, somewhere to meet when it was two a.m. and a case was keeping one of you awake; on a Saturday afternoon when the two of you had nothing better to do with the time off work; and of course, as a reward for helping each other out whenever they asked.

You waited for a minute before knocking on the door again as Mike walked around to the side yard.

“She calls and says she’s ready to leave, and when we get here there’s no answer?”

“What was her exit plan?” Mike asked, joining you back on the steps.

Before you could answer, Lisa opened the front door.

“Hi,” she began, “sorry for keeping you guys waiting.”

“Is everything okay?” You asked, attempting to take one foot in the door when Gary stepped out into view.

“Everything’s fine here.” He answered for his wife, her body stiffening at his voice.

“Mr. Munson, we're here at your wife’s request.”

“I… overreacted when I called you guys. We’re handling things.”

“That’s good to hear. So, you don’t mind if we come in?” Mike asked, trying to get some control of the situation.

“Do I need to call my lawyer?”

“We’re not here to talk about the case.”

“Oh right, you’re here because Lisa wants to leave me. Forgive me, I’m just a big, dumb CO.”  Gary commented as you shared a look with Dodds. 

He was already spiraling.

“Mr. Munson, we don”t want any trouble.”

“Great,” he replied, opening the door further for you to enter. “Neither do I.”

Lisa let out a deep breath as you entered the house behind her. You watched as Gary talked to their kids, trying to convince them everything was normal, but they were too smart for it.

“Why don’t I go upstairs with her and start to pack.” Lisa suggested as she moved towards the stairs, motioning you to follow.

“No.” He commanded back, causing you both to freeze. “She can stay down here with the kids. You go up.”

This was going to be the power struggle of all power struggles. You walked over to sit with the kids as Mike and Gary went into the kitchen. You exchanged another look with him, and he gave you a small nod. It was okay.

The kids slipped their headphones on as you tried to listen in on the conversation in the kitchen, but you couldn’t hear much. You took out your phone to text Liv, a gut feeling telling you this wasn’t going to end easy or as you planned.

You waited for a few more minutes as Lisa packed a bag for her and the kids before coming back down the stairs.

“Alright, Tommy, Annie, backpacks.” She handed her children their bags as they hugged their dad goodbye.

“Ok kids, let’s go,” you started, trying to shuffle them and Lisa out the door.

“Wait, I don’t get a goodbye hug from Mommy?” Gary asked, now cornering Lisa on the stairs. “Isn’t that the jacket I bought you for your birthday?”

“Okay, we’re going to go now,” you ushered the kids onto the stoop, still keeping one foot in the house as you saw Lisa throw her jacket on the floor.

In one motion, he grabbed Lisa off the stairs, pulled a gun from his waistband, and slammed the front door in your face, kicking you onto the step.

“Gary! Open the door!” You yelled out as you got to your feet, banging on the door. “Right now Gary! Open the door!”

After thirty more seconds of incessant knocking with no response, you turned to find the kids huddled together on the sidewalk.

“Ok guys, it’s okay. My sergeant is just going to talk to your parents for a couple more minutes. While we wait, can you go into your nice neighbors house until I come get you?” You noticed the older woman two houses down standing on the stoop, a young girl and a dog with her.

You walked the kids over quickly while calling this in over the radio. You checked your phone to see Liv had answered your earlier text, and that she was already on her way for backup. She should have just come along in the first place.

Instead of going back up the front steps, you ducked under the bay window to try and get a look inside the house. You could see Munson holding Lisa in a headlock, his gun pointed at Mike as he handed over his own guns.

“Shit,” you breathed out, knowing this was going to end with a gunshot from someone.

You backed away from the window and called Mike, hoping to god that you could try and talk Munson out of this before any patrols showed up.

“Detective, you’re on speaker.” Mike said when he answered, the sigh you let out when you heard his voice was a little too loud.

“Dodds, what’s going on in there? The kids are asking for their mom.”

“Tell them she’s not going anywhere.” Gary piped in, his voice beginning to shake.

“I’ve told Gary that we can talk this through, get him what he wants, what he needs.”

“That’s right, I’m here, listening to you, my Sergeant is listening. Do you want me to call a family member, or your union rep?”

“No, I’m done talking. I want you to get my kids somewhere safe, that is all I need. Now, hang up the phone.”

“Mr. Munson-“ the line went dead before you could finish.

“Dammit,” you ran your hands through your hair, trying to think of a way to slow this down. You ran to the back door, then to the storm door, both locked. He had planned this from the moment he came home. This is always how this was going to end.

Back at the front of the house, you saw Liv pulling up and you ran to meet her.

“What’s going on? I got the radio on the way over.”

“Munson’s holding Dodds and Lisa in the house, he’s armed.”

“You didn’t search him?” She asked, and you tried not to take the agitation in her tone personally.

“Lisa told us there were no weapons in the house, we confiscated his piece already. I was getting the kids in the car when all of this went down.”

“Okay. Is anyone hurt?”

“I spoke to Dodds five minutes ago, and they both seemed fine for now. But he doesn’t want to talk anymore.”

You heard the distant sirens, and you could only imagine the escalation Gary was making inside the house.

“Is there another way in?” Liv asked as the first of the patrol cars made their way down the street.

“Back door and storm door are both locked, I haven’t checked for anything else.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back.”

She ran over to the first patrol car, getting ready to set a perimeter around the street and then the house as the rest of ESU began to roll onto the street. Liv kicked it into gear, ordering everyone around and trying to come up with the best plan of action.

It wasn’t until Finn got out of his car that you ran into action to. You began to debrief the hostage negotiators on your last phone call, and to describe Gary’s demeanor through the entire duration of this visit. You stressed to them that he was no longer in the talking mood, but they were still going to try.

“ESU is going to try to plan a route in. You know the layout, what’s the best way in.”

“Fastest and clearest is through the back door. But, Lieutenant, give me two more minutes to find another way in. If I can get in there, one female cop is better than twelve SWAT guys taking him down.” You asked, trying to prove yourself in an attempt to earn her forgiveness quicker.

She thought about it for a moment before slowly nodding her head. 

“You have a minute to sweep the perimeter again for a secondary entrance. Go.”

You wasted no time in running back through the driveway, past the back door and into the backyard. All the shades were drawn except for one cracked piece, giving you a clear shot to the living room. Munson had a tighter grip on Lisa, his gun still pointed at Mike.

You had to get in there. 

The back windows were locked as well as the doors, but you weren’t going to give up. On the side of the house, you noticed the top window opened the slightest bit, and prepared to go in. 

You pulled a lawn chair over to give yourself a boost, and took a deep breath in. The window opened quietly at first, and you could begin to hear Munson’s voice again. Slowly but surely you got the window open in silence, and you swung one leg in to the kitchen.

You froze for a second, stuck without a view of what was going on in the living room, praying no one could hear you. After a few seconds, you swung your other leg in, quickly getting to your feet and grabbing your gun.

“… maybe your lawyer will plea out, 9 out of 10 corrections officers cases don’t make it to trial.” Mike was still trying to talk him out of it, even with a gun to his face.

You peaked around the corner quickly, making sure no one had moved since you looked through the window.

“Munson, drop the gun!” You yelled out as you entered the room, catching him off guard enough for Mike to make a move. 

Lisa slipped out of Gary’s grip and ran over to you as Mike struggled for Munson’s gun. 

“Put it down, Munson!” You yelled out again, but before you could move closer, a shot went off and Mike went down.

Gary froze, putting his arms up as you ran into action. You kicked the gun away from him as SWAT barged in, all guns pointed to Munson.

“Take him.” You yelled out to them as you turned to Mike, finally able to give him your full attention. You knelt down next to him on the floor, watching as he applied pressure to his shoulder. “Hey, can I take a look?”

He nodded, breathing heavily through his nose. You pulled his hand away as blood continued to pour out, but it was a through and through, thank god.

“It’s a clean shot, Mike.” You said as you placed his hand back over the wound, covering your hand with his to apply more pressure. “Hey, stay with me. The medics are on their way in.”

“You shouldn’t have done that.” He got out with a grimace as Liv led the medics into the house.

“I wasn’t just going to leave you in here.” 

You moved out of the medics way, your hands covered in Mike’s blood as they treated him.

“He’s right. What the hell were you thinking climbing in through the window without any view?” Liv asked, slightly less agitated than earlier.

“I was thinking I’m the one who left him in here.” Her eyes softened the slightest, the way they always do when she cares for someone. “And I think you would have done the same thing.”

“Careful,” she replied, a small smile crossing her face. “You don’t want to end up like me.”

“There are worse people to be.”

They finished wrapping Mike up, and you two followed him out to the ambulance. 

“Detective,” one of the medics called out to you as they loaded him in. “He’s asking if you can ride along.”

You looked to Liv for approval who gave you a nod.

“Keep us updated.” She added as you hopped in the back of the bus, sending her a thumbs up before they shut the door.

Mike fell asleep almost as soon as he got in the ambulance, but the medic assured you he was stable. He had lost a good amount of blood, but given the position of the shot, they were confident he would be okay.

The surgery was quick, and the doctor said it was a routine procedure. He’s been sleeping and recovering in the ICU for a couple hours, and the rest of the squad would be on their way over once he was awake.

“Detective, he’s awake.” A nurse came out to find you, escorting you to Mike’s room.

He was sitting up straight, arm bandaged from shoulder to elbow, but he looked completely unfazed.

“I come out of a workout class looking worse than you do right now. How is that fair?” You said as you walked into his room.

“Well, I regularly go to the gym, so that helps.” You rolled your eyes, resisting the urge to smack him on his bad shoulder.

“Ok, hotshot, we get it.” You let out a breath, taking in his hospital state again. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I got shot. I know it was a through and through, but God, it hurt pretty bad.” He said with a laugh, only to grab at his shoulder, moving too fast for his new injury.

You thought about what he said earlier, how you shouldn’t have gone in the house on your own. Maybe he and Liv were right. If you hadn’t gone in, without telling anyone, without any backup, he may not have been shot. It could’ve ended peacefully, without any harm to anyone.

“What you said earlier, you were right. I don’t know what I was thinking going in by myself. I put you and Lisa in danger, I got you shot. If you didn’t get the jump on him he could have hurt you two even worse-“

“Stop.” Mike interrupted you, placing his hand on your forearm, gesturing for you to sit down on the side of the hospital bed. “I didn’t say that because I was mad at you. I don’t blame you for me getting shot. You shouldn’t have come in because it could have been you in this hospital bed, with a gunshot wound much worse than mine. And I wouldn’t be able to have that on my conscience, you getting yourself shot for me.”

You didn’t say anything for a few seconds, instead you just sat there, looking at the man that you most definitely would have taken a bullet for. And you’re pretty sure he would do the same for you; how terrifying to know someone cared for you like that.

“I’m really glad you’re okay. I don’t know what I would’ve done…” you trailed off, not wanting to think about what could have happened.

“You shouldn’t have come in, but if you hadn’t, I don’t know if I would be sitting here, relatively unscathed.” he reached over, grabbing your hand in his. “Thank you for that.”

You squeezed his hand in recognition as your eyes began to water, not knowing what to say next.

“Are you sure you want to stay with us in SVU? You get shot twice in one year, that would have most people running away.”

“And let you drink the squad room out of coke on your own? Not a chance.” He replied.

“Good. Joint Terrorism would be too boring for you anyway.” You said with a smile.

“In all seriousness, I feel like I can make the biggest difference here. There’s time to move up the ranks later. Right now, I want to be at SVU, with you by my side.” He admitted, as his hand held onto yours tight.

There was a shift in the air, a conversation the two of you had been avoiding for a few months. It wasn’t the time now, and it may not be for a while, but now it’s out there. And neither of you are going anywhere.

A knock on the door pulled you out of your bubble, dropping Mike’s hand as the rest of the squad came into the room. They greeted Mike, lightly ribbing him about having nine lives.

A hand fell on your shoulder, and you looked up to find Liv behind you. She had a knowing smile on her face, but you knew she’d never ask. At least, not yet.

Instead, you focused on your family in the room, and how grateful you were for everyone to be here, safe and sound.

****

The fourth time you saved Mike Dodds happened off duty.

You agreed to be his date to an NYPD fundraising gala that his father was dragging him too. Mike warned you that they were a long night of politics and fake smiles, but you’d be lying if you said you weren’t a little curious to see how the brass lived.

Unfortunately, Mike hit the nail on the head with the political atmosphere. You’d been at the gala barely an hour and you’d already spoken to two people running for district attorney. If you weren’t listening to someone’s campaign pitch, then you were hearing from the brass how much trouble the SVU squad caused the department, despite the “good work” we all do.

“I hate to say I told you so, but, I told you so.” Mike said while handing you a glass of wine. 

“How many of these has your dad dragged you to?” You asked as he took a sip of his beer.

“Too many. And now that I’ve ruined his dreams by staying at SVU, he’s going to continue to drag me to them as punishment.”

“Well, if the drinks and the food continue to be free, I’ll come to as many of these as you need me too.” You offered.

“First I’m paying for Chinese food, now I’m paying for galas, you’re an expensive date.”  Mike joked as you shoved his completely healed shoulder. He hasn’t let you pay for dinners since he got shot.

“That’s the price you pay for greatness.” You said with a smile, making him laugh. “Is he really still pissed at you for not going to JTTF?”

“The Five-Year Plan has been officially ruined, I’ve been told. I must have really pissed him off if he’s calling Matt and begging him to come home.”

“Your brother?” You asked.

The little brother that Mike had spent his whole life looking out for. He was responsible for him since he was a kid, and every one of Matt’s failures was considered one of Mike’s in his fathers eyes. The last time Mike talked to him was last year, after he picked him up from rehab. He was catching a plane to Mexico City with no plans of coming back.

“He called me last week, asked to help get dad off his back. I guess I’m the new disappointment in the family.”

“Hey, if your dad wants to go play savior with your brother, let him. But don’t let him and his agenda get in your head. He’s no better than these political puppets surrounding us.”

“Speak of the devil,” Mike muttered under his breath, nodding his head behind you.

You turned to find his father, Chief William Dodds, approaching the two of you.

“Hi son,” he greeted Mike with a firm handshake, then turning his attention to you. “Detective. It’s nice to see you.”

“You as well, Chief.” You shook his hand next, resisting the urge to squeeze too hard.

“Don’t you two clean up nice. Most cops that come to these things have no idea how to dress, they’ve spent too much time in the ranks to know what life is like outside of it.” Chief Dodds commented, and you gave a polite nod of your head.

If you didn’t care so much about Mike, or your career, you would’ve chewed his head off right here, right now.

“Well, we don’t have time for all the show business like you guys do, we’re busy keeping the city safe.” Mike added.

“My son, he gets so defensive, takes every comment personally.” His father said and turned towards you. “Mike didn’t tell me you were coming tonight, or else I’m sure he would have asked me to be on my best behavior.”

“Dad,” Mike tried interrupting him, but it was no use.

“But I never thanked you, for acting quickly at the Munson call. If it weren’t for your quick thinking, Mike could have been hurt a lot worse.” You took the compliment from the Chief, but waited for the other shoe to drop; you knew when you were being set up. “Although if you didn’t leave him in there alone with an armed perp in the first place, we could have avoided all of this. Nevertheless, it was handled, and I’m sure you acted just as your Lieutenant trained you to.”

It was no secret that Chief Dodds was not Liv’s biggest fan. He undermined her every chance he could, and he never tried to understand how SVU was different from every other department. Mike being placed as the Sergeant was his way of getting an inside scoop, but boy did that backfire on him.

And once you piss off Olivia Benson, you piss off her whole squad.

“Our Lieutenant is the best commanding officer I’ve had in my time at the department. Ask anyone that has served with her in SVU and they will tell you the same thing. It’s a shame that you didn’t get the opportunity to learn some things yourself. A lot of people hold her in high regard, so I’d be careful what you say about her around here.” 

“And if I were you, I’d watch my tone around your District Chief, Detective. Especially with your Sergeant standing in ear shot. It’s clear to me that SVU has no respect for the chain of command, and it would be a shame for you to learn this the hard way. Mike has already had to deal with the repercussions of being tied to SVU.” Chief Dodds threatened, and you actually had the audacity to scoff at him.

Mike began defending you, but you stopped him, holding your hand out in front of him.

“I don’t scare easily, Chief, and it's going to take a lot more than threatening my reputation to get me to turn my back on Lieutenant Benson and Special Victims. As for your son,” you looked back at Mike, his eyes steady on you the entire time. “Sergeant Dodds has been an incredible asset to our squad, so much so that our Lieutenant wanted him to stay in permanently, which I know is a sore spot for your ego. So you can continue to take shots at me, and my character, because you don’t really know me. But I’ll be damned if you think I’m going to stand here and listen to you drag Mike’s name, and his stellar reputation through the mud because he decided to make his own path. One that doesn’t involve all these fancy parties and pictures that you so thoroughly enjoy.”

Chief Dodds was stunned into silence, running a frustrated hand through his hair. He looked at Mike who also had a stunned expression on his face, but a smile was starting to show through.

“Excuse me.” The Chief removed himself from the situation, moving on to the next party goer with a smile on his face.

Once he was out of ear shot, your shoulders deflated and you turned around to apologize to Mike. 

“I am so-“

“Do you want to dance?” He interrupted you, his smile now fully covering his face. 

It took a few seconds for you to actually hear what he said, and when you did, you couldn’t help but laugh. Clearly, he wasn’t mad about you going off on his father. 

“I’d love to.” 

Mike took your hand and led you to the small dance floor, weaving in and out of older couples dancing the night away to the orchestra. You quickly took in your limited audience, including two Sergeants from your precinct, and the deputy commissioner of communications. He wrapped his arm around your waist drawing your attention back to him.

“You alright?” He asked as you curled your hand around his shoulder.

“Just a lot of people here, watching,” you said as Mike began to laugh.

“You just chewed my dads head off, a district chief, in front of these people, and now you’re scared of them seeing you dance with two left feet?”

“I don’t have two left feet.” You replied, squeezing his shoulder in jest. “I just don’t want people talking about me, that’s all.”

“Cmon, they’ve got better things to talk about than me and you.” 

“If they heard anything I said I’m sure they’ll be talking about the crazy SVU detective for ages.”

“Hey,” he squeezed your waist, drawing your attention back to him. “No one has ever stood up to my dad like that, not for me.”

“Well someone should have. I know he’s your dad and you love him, but that doesn’t give him the right to control your life or talk down on you.”

He shook his head as you continued swaying together, slowing down a bit to match the tempo of the music.

“It means a lot for you to do that. And if I wasn’t so impressed with your outburst, I would’ve done the same for you. I should have.” 

“I’m not worth getting into a fight with your Dad, Mike. Like he implied, I’ve got no real future outside of SVU, not that I’m really looking.”

“You’re worth it to me.” Mike said, eyes locked on your own. “If it weren’t for you I wouldn’t have made it a week in the squad. You’ve changed my perspective on a lot, both on the job and off.”

You smiled, lightly ducking your head as you felt the blush creep onto your cheeks. 

“Well you’re not so bad yourself, Dodds. You’ve taught me a lot too, maybe too much. One day I’m coming for that Sergeant’s shield of yours.” You joked, and he threw his head back in laughter. 

It was so nice to see him like this. It was rare to get a moment of pure happiness on the job, and you weren’t sure how honest you wanted to be about changing your relationship outside the precinct.

“As soon as you pass the Sergeants exam, you can have it. You’d be better at this job than me any day.” 

You moved a step closer to Mike as more people stepped onto the dance floor. You’d never seen this many cops dancing in your life. 

“I meant to tell you earlier, but, you look beautiful tonight.” Mike said, trying not to be obvious in looking you up and down. 

You were blushing now for sure.

“Would you take it back if I told you I had to borrow this dress from Liv?” You had panicked last night, not knowing what to wear to a gala, and not wanting to embarrass Mike. 

“Not a chance, extra points for trying so hard.” You laughed as he put some space between you. 

“Mike, I know you’re a show off, but you better not be doing what I think you’re doing.” You warned, but it was too late as he lifted up your arm, gently spinning you underneath him. He smoothly pulled you back into him as a few people cheered for you. “Do you have to be good at everything?”

“Unfortunately, I do.” You hid your smile in his shoulder, not missing the way his hand slid comfortingly over your waist and lower back.

And unfortunately, you fear you could get used to this feeling.

****

The first time you were saved by Mike Dodds was in the middle of a bar fight.

This wasn’t your finest moment, yet you rarely seemed to be on your best behavior around Dodds.

The two of you were undercover in a joint operation with Vice. The bar had been home to an underground gambling ring for years, and a few weeks ago you got credible intel that they may be branching out into sex trafficking.

Three other Vice detectives were in the bar with you as their Captain and the rest of their squad surveilled from an unmarked van outside.

“You want a refill?” Mike asked as you finished your second club soda, trying to hide the sour look on your face from all the bubbles.

“And pretend I’m not choking on this awful carbonation instead of a smooth vodka? No, I’ll pass.”

He got the bartender’s attention and ordered himself another alcohol free beer and a Diet Coke for you.

“Thanks.” You tipped your glass to his and took a refreshing sip before conducting another once over around the space. 

“Simmons is still situated by the door, Ruiz and Lawrence have been under for an hour now.” Mike stated into his earpiece, updating the team outside. 

There was no timetable on this, and as far as Liv was concerned, we were on our own in terms of conducting our investigation.

“This whole joint investigation thing is feeling a little one-sided to me.” 

“Well give it a little longer before doing a lap to check-in with Simmons. If they don’t want to help us, they can tap in two of their guys from outside. Lieu already made that clear to their Captain.” Mike said before taking a sip of his non-alcoholic delight, his face scrunching in discomfort.

“Looks delicious.” You said with a smile, earning a laugh from the Sergeant. “I’ve been meaning to ask you, have you talked to your dad since the gala a few weeks ago?”

“Oh, you mean since that SVU detective tore a Department Chief to shreds?” He joked as you rolled your eyes. “I have, and he was extremely talkative thanks to the fact I avoided him for a week after.”

“Do I owe you Chinese food for the rest of the year in order to keep my job? I should know that my outbursts don’t come cheap.”

“He told me that he was impressed by you.” Mike started, a smile slowly appearing on his face. “He was mostly upset about your blatant insubordination, especially in such a public place, but he was impressed. I think he may even like you.”

“Are you messing with me?” You asked, not fully trusting the relaxed smile he was giving you.

“He asked that I bring you along to the next gala, all of them actually, ‘if it wouldn’t be too much trouble’,” he finished in air quotes, signifying the direct words from Chief Dodds. “My father is impressed with you, and probably wants you to be his next conversational opponent.”

“And what did you say, you know, about bringing me along?” 

You hoped you didn’t sound pathetic, or eager, or anything other than an inquiring friend. But it was hard to act normal when you felt the butterflies in your stomach and your heart rate increasing over the fact that Mike and his dad were talking about you.

“I said I’d have to ask her. Not sure how she feels about spending so much of her free time with the Dodds.” He said before turning in his chair to face you. “But I told him I had a good feeling you would, you don’t just tell off a Police Chief for a work friend. And of course, as long as Liv lets you keep borrowing her clothes.”

“Funny,” you said while shoving his shoulder, earning another laugh from him. It was then that you saw Ruiz head up the stairs, subtly motioning for you to meet her in the bathroom. “Ruiz is back up, I’m gonna go check-in with her.”

You walked straight to the bathroom, having to dodge a noisy bachelorette party on your way. Ruiz was washing her hands when you walked in, and you quickly cleared all the stalls before she began talking. 

She kept it short so that she could get back to the game, but they weren’t getting far on the sex trafficking front. Apparently the boss was going to be here later on, but even then there was no guarantee he would offer anything up. Their investigation, of course, was going to be handled by the end of the night, but there were no promises for us. 

You waited a full three minutes to exit after Ruiz in case anyone was watching her. When you left the bathroom and started making your way back to Dodds, you saw a Blonde woman sitting in your seat, cozying up next to him at the bar. As you got closer, you recognized her from the bachelorette group, a sparkly pink sash giving her away.

“Hey, everything okay?” Mike asked as you joined the two of them.

“Yeah, just a bit of a line in the bathroom.” You said, watching as the new girl continued to look Mike up and down. “Did you make a new friend?”

“I’m Alex!” She jumped in, big smile covering her face as she moved to place a hand on Mike’s arm. “I came up to get a round of shots for my group of friends. It’s Lizzie’s last weekend as a single woman, and we cannot let her be sober for one second of it. But then I got distracted by Mike over here - a guy as handsome as him shouldn’t be sitting alone at a bar.”

“Well, luckily I came back in the nick of time.” You said, hoping she would order her shots and be on her way. 

“I was telling him about our weekend - we’re down here from Albany, we’re not city girls. We’re headed down the street for our next stop, apparently there’s a popular karaoke bar that all the famous people stop in at. I told Mike he should come with us, invite a few of his cute friends along too to keep the party going.”

“I don’t really see him joining you for the rest of your night, Alex, but thanks for the invite.” You replied while taking a step toward Mike, lightly wrapping your arm around his shoulder, hoping she would take a hint. 

“Okay.” Alex said with a chuckle before continuing, “But you should be careful, leaving your man alone in a bar with those pretty brown eyes of his, cause someone’s gonna come up and take him away.”

“His eyes are hazel, actually, they’ve got a little bit of green in them depending on the lighting. I know it might be hard for you girls from upstate to differentiate colors, so I can help you out.”

You never considered yourself to be a jealous person, especially over someone who wasn’t even yours to have. But something about this girl coming up to Mike on this night, after the recent events that have gone down between the two of you, you felt a little protective over him.

“Everything alright over here Alex? Where are those tequila shots?” Another blonde woman with a pink sparkly sash came over to us, checking in on her friend and drinks.

“Yeah, they’re coming. Just trying to tell my new friend here to keep an eye on her boyfriend or he may decide to join the group of pretty out of town girls for the night.”

“Listen, Alex,” you remove yourself from Mike, taking a step closer to the girl who was really ruining your already shittiy night of undercover work. “I don’t know how bar etiquette works at your little townie spot up in Albany, but us city girls like to take the fight outside.”

“Alright, why don’t we just continue our night and let you girls go back to your party.” Mike interjected, feeling his hand on your lower back, steadying you out as Alex only laughed.

You took another step toward her, not knowing what your next move was, before the bartender stepped in.

“You,” he pointed to you, then to the door. “Fighting’s gonna get you thrown out any night lady. You’re done.”

“Thank you, sir,” the girls replied.

Before you could open your mouth to say anything else, Mike was standing behind you, arm wrapped around your waist to lead you toward the exit. Simmons eyed the two of you as you walked out, shaking his head with a smile on his face. You weren’t going to live this down.

The two of you made it down the block before breaking away from each other, looking back to see if anyone followed. When you looked back at Mike, his hands were on his hips, a growing smile on his face. 

“Don’t,” you warned while running a hand through your hair. “Don’t say anything.”

He didn’t, but he couldn’t keep his laughter in any longer. You wanted to yell at him, tell him it wasn’t funny, that there was still an investigation going on, and this was completely embarrassing for you both. Instead, you joined in his laughter.

“Were you really going to fight the innocent bachelorette party from Albany?” He asked through his fits of laughter as you rolled your eyes.

“Of course not. But how else was I supposed to get the drunk bridesmaid away from you so we could continue our surveillance? Offer her more sparkles?”

“Or offer to buy the next round of shots.”

“Now you tell me,” you said as you leaned against the side of the building. “At least we didn’t mess up the whole op, then I’d be in really deep shit not only with Liv but with Vice, and there’s nothing I hate more than owing a favor to a Vice cop.”

He nodded, agreeing with you as he settled in next to you. You knew you should go check in with the Captain, confirm they don’t need you for anything else before leaving the investigation, but you weren’t going to move until Dodds did. And the way he relaxed next to you, you had a feeling he didn’t want to leave any time soon.

“No one ever notices that my eyes are hazel, you know. It’s kind of weird how you hit the nail right on the head with the fact about them turning green.”

You turned to look at him, a little smirk on his face as he leaned his head back against the wall.

“As weird as talking to your dad about your close friend’s gala availability?” You hit back, watching him laugh and nod along with your point. You smiled to yourself for a second, remembering the conversation from earlier. “You’re sure I don’t owe you, he does like me, or at least tolerate me?”

“Do you want to talk about how much my dad likes you or how much I like you? Cause let me tell you, I’ve got him beat by miles, I like you more than I’ve ever liked anyone.”

“Mike,” you started, watching as he pushed himself up to stand in front of you.

“Are you really going to look into my hazel eyes and tell me you don’t like me? That you weren’t going to get in a bar fight with a random girl for me?” He asked, and you let out a shaky breath.

“You know it took me a while to figure out your eyes were hazel, I thought they were brown for a while. I’m not some crazy person who just studies people’s eyes all day.” He nodded, trying to hide his smile as he let you finish, “and I wasn’t going to get in a fight with her. Maybe, maybe I would have shoved her, but I wouldn’t have thrown a punch.”

“Well that’s reassuring.” Mike added, and you couldn’t deny him now. Not when he was listening to you ramble on about his eyes, and his father, and all the weird things you two knew about each other.

“I like you too.” You confessed. “And you’re right, I wouldn’t attend galas and tell off police chiefs for just anyone. I’d only do it for you, Mike.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” He said while wrapping his arms around your waist, pulling you close.

Mike’s eyes flickered down to your lips, taking his time bringing his gaze back to your eyes. You felt yourself nod the slightest bit, gently guiding him closer to you. His lips were soft against your own, slow and gentle as you kissed him back. He pulled away for a second, another check-in, before you leaned in again. You let him take the lead as you ran your fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck, trying not to smile as you felt his teeth graze your bottom lip.

“Sorry,” he mumbled against you, lightly pecking your lips a few times.

“Don’t be, I’m not going anywhere.”

Hours could have been spent lazily kissing Mike Dodds, feeling your stomach slowly build with butterflies. But you caught the smile he was trying to suppress, and it became contagious.

“Well,” he said with a laugh, gently resting his forehead against yours. “I guess you do really like me.”

“I guess so.” You leaned back to kiss him again, not wanting to let him go now that you know how good he feels. His tongue danced across your lips for a few seconds, and you relished in the feeling before slowly pulling back. “I don’t mean to be a total buzzkill, but we aren’t exactly going to be able to hide this for long at the station.”

“We’ll figure it out.” He assured you, gently kissing your forehead. “If some shuffling needs to be done, or conversations need to be had, we’ll take care of it.”

“So your dad may get to move you around after all, how nice.” You said with a laugh, as Mike nodded. If it meant you could be together, and Mike was happy with it, why the hell not. 

Before he could say anything else on the subject, his phone began to ring.

“Please don’t be Liv, please don’t be Liv,” you begged as Mike pulled away from you, quickly answering his phone.

“Hey Lieutenant,” he greeted Liv on the other end of the call and you closed your eyes. This was going to be good. “No, the Captain got it wrong. She got us thrown out for threatening to fight another woman.”

You rolled your eyes as he continued to talk to Liv, pacing the sidewalk trying to set the story straight and wrap up this godforsaken joint investigation.

Mike pulled the phone away from his ear now, walking back over to you.

“She wants to talk to you.” He said, trying to hand you his phone.

“No, she’s going to yell at me in that Liv tone, when I didn’t really do anything wrong!”

You caught his small smile before he gave you a quick kiss.

“Then you can explain that to her.” He said, holding out the phone to you. He kissed you one more time, for good luck and courage, before placing the phone in your hand.

You tried to hide your smile as you took a breath and placed the phone to your ear, ready to plead your case.

“Hey Lieu, I did not get into a bar fight with the bridesmaid from Albany.”

****

[atopvisenyashill]

in my “sansa and arya rebuild the north and everything is FINE THANKS” prediction/wish fulfillment idea, i think arya would serve briefly on sansa’s council as like, mistress of laws or an equivalent, in an attempt to get some laws on the books protecting the smallfolk, except there’s a lot of things she can’t do in an official position & she gets a lot of pushback that she can’t react to the way she wants to, until finally she gets so fed up she leaves the position and initially is just helping with like, moving people from place to place - so many displaced people bc of the wars and the long night, and arya is not just sailing around westeros, but also helping remnants of the dothraki, unsullied, and golden company find homes too, with some of them asking to go back to essos, and then arya keeps getting sidetracked bc people are like “hey so we’re trying to overthrow the good masters, do u think u could bring some supplies on your ship” and she’s getting involved in various peasant/slave uprisings - but once she starts missing home, she just goes straight to being a bandit in the woods. sansa sends her lil messages like “hey this lord is being weird about some of the laws you passed maybe check him out” and arya takes her band over to see he’s withholding food from the common folk while feasting every night and fucks him up without it being traced back to her.

[azure-firecracker]

ATLA Live Action Stream of Consciousness (Episode 4, Part 2).

Are we doing Cave of Two Lovers? With Sokka and Katara?

As a folk music girlie I love the minstrels (Sokka cannot consistently shake on beat).

It’s so musician core to go into a dark cave just for the acoustics.

OMA AND SHU ARE GAY NOW!!! LET’S GO LESBIANS LET’S GO!!!

I love lead hippie guy he sounds like he’d sell me some kombucha.

SECRET TUNNEL!!!

I like that people actually remember Iroh being a war general and have bitterness towards him for that. One of my critiques of the OG was that they didn’t address that enough. (On a narrative level I’m fine with that Earth Kingdom soldier beating him up but my emotions were like NO!)

Bumi stop torturing poor Aang.

HOORAY Zuko made a good decision for once!

“I’m coming Uncle.” MY HEART!

The Sokka/Katara arguments continue to be interesting and develop the characters well.

This guy was in Ba Sing Se okay that’s INTERESTING!! And I like the direct Ba Sing Se story gives Iroh more accountability. NOW IROH TAKE THE ACCOUNTABILITY!

This is a great addition because now we the viewers want Iroh to get rescued but also we really understand the Earth Kingdom soldier here.

Why is Iroh so angry though? I’m all for character expansion but at we don’t need another moody character here.

FLASHBACK WE’RE GETTING A FLASHBACK!!

IS THAT LEAVES FROM THE VINE FOR IROH AND ZUKO I CAN’T THE EMOTIONS!!!!

But it is funny that Dallas Liu is here because isn’t Zuko supposed to be like 11?

I like Katara being so forgiving and so adamant about being forgiving.

Why does Sokka get all the credit for leading the tribe? In the original Katara bore that burden too but ofc they have to take every important thing she did and give it to a male character.

Why does Bumi get to decide whether Aang should be the Avatar? I don’t like him he doesn’t scare me he’s just annoying.

Why are the badger moles scary now?

We like when Zuko gets to kick some ass too! I love this scene (but Iroh’s still too angsty for me).

Okay Katara saving Sokka and fighting things out doing more things is she getting better? If so I wish they’d showed more signs at the beginning if it was supposed to be some sort of character arc.

I do like Bumi dropping war truths on Aang. I’d like it more if he didn’t irritate me. 100 years and he’s still fed up over some friend drama?/

I actually like the stuff about making hard choices. Something I often think about when writing Azula.

I do see a recurring theme that the Avatar is supposed to be violent and Aang refuses it…that’s a theme I like.

Okay leader Katara I see you!

This ending is sweet I do like it (they kept the cart ride from the show!)

ANOTHER FLASHBACK?!

Iroh’s energy in this flashback is what I need more of.

AAW THEY’RE PLAYING LEAVES FROM THE VINE AGAIN!

I’M ON THE FLOOR THEY CAN’T DO THIS TO MY HEART!!!

[angelmichelangelo]

LOL MORE SONIC SPOILERS STAY SO AWAY FROM THIS ‼️‼️‼️ i totally agree with knux and tails falling out of the spotlight in certain scenes, but the moments we got of them were sooooo good like. tails immediately jumping to save sonic, and kuckles jumping to save them both,, and when they land right after and knux has his arms around them both it squeezed my heart so tight like I LOVE THEM. something about a big red smashy dude giving his little blue brother shit for trying to be a hero alone and not listening to his team felt so ... familiar. hmmm. seems like maybe ive seen this somewhere before ... i think my biggest qualm was the emphasis on eggman and gerald cause like yes the relationship was interesting but some scenes felt dragged out and took away from the main plot a tad too much for my liking. then again jim carrey was wonderful and i totally understand whyd they wanna milk his scenes since he likely won't be returning. as a canadian it's my duty to appreciate all of jims work 🫡🫡 i think overall there was a great balance between children's media (aka tasteful violence, lessons in teamwork and grief), and content for older sonic fans (ie. lore & SA2 based scenes and references) which was just all so well done. PLUS THE POST CREDITS im so so excited to see my girl amy on the big screen, i am praying to every deity listening that they don't wash her down to a simple love interest and actually let her explore her own power & dynamics between all the characters

MORE SONIC SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT !!!!

YES YES YES i immediately thought of what you said before about something feeling very tmnt-y when they had that moment :( tails trying to comfort him and sonic not in the headspace for it and lashing out and knuckles stepping in :((( UGH THEYRE SO BROTHERS!!!! i love them so so much :( them in that cornfield with knuckles like holding them SO TIGHT was just. omg i could write essays about how much i adore them. im itching to get my google docs open but im so busy with advent fics atm so it may have to wait until after christmas lol

and yeah! i agree with the eggman scenes. jim carey steals the spotlight SO WELL like, he’s just so iconic in every sense of the word. he’s fantastic and the fourth wall break was amazing and UGH STONE ?! HELLO?? it was just so funny but there were parts were i was like. ok lets wrap it up folks we got two hedgehogs to watch duel it out lmao — but yes to what u said about it mostly being there because he’s likely not to return now, it makes sense they wanted to get the very best out of him whilst they had the chance, so i can allow it :’)

AND AMYYYYY OMGGGGG someone behind me in the theatre like. GASPED when she showed up like i was like yknow what same. AND METAL SONIC LIKE !! we are getting FED in the next movie. i want it so badly like. tomorrow. i NEED it lmfao

so far the sonic movie team has been good at fleshing these characters out so i have a fair amount of faith they’ll give amy the same amount of love. again, we had the knuckles spin off and we’re getting the shadow movie so like. when paramount wanna give me the deep emotional tails backstory movie/series, then im ready to drop all my money into it because ugh i just know they’ll do it so so well :( i love my yellow/orange babies of the family so clearly hahah

there’s just so much to look forward to with this franchise. we’re so lucky to have even gotten one good movie out of it (considering it’s. rather bumpy start lol) but yeah. i could just rewatch that movie a million times over it was so fun :D

[aspiringwarriorlibrarian]

2023 Year in Review

1. 28,490 notes - Jun 16 2023

You know, it’s kinda funny how much of high fantasy centers around kings and nobility and courtly intrigue considering that the archetypal high fantasy, Lord of the Rings, had the rather explicit moral of “saving the world is up to this backwater hick and his gardener because no politician, least of all inherited nobility, would have the ability to see past their own ambition and throw away a weapon”. Oh sure, Aragorn is a great king and all, but there’s a reason he’s over there running a distraction ring while the hobbits do the real work. Sauron loses because he gets distracted by kings and armies and great battles (i.e. typical high fantasy stuff) letting Frodo and Sam sneak through his back door and blow it all to hell.  

Just saying, maybe old Jirt knew what he was saying when he said that the small folk doing their best and holding to each other was more powerful than a dozen alliances and superweapons and we should respect him for it.

2. 22,425 notes - Jul 6 2023

“LOL. You think your vote matters? ROFL and LOL.” Yes, I am aware my vote carries less and less relative power the more people I’m voting with, but unlike your glorious violent revolution, it actually exists.

3. 20,183 notes - Mar 7 2023

The 4 approaches to “orphaned etymology” problems in fiction

1. Obviously we can’t call it French toast if there’s no France so we’re just gonna replace it with something else.

2. The word abattoir sounds too French so it wouldn’t make sense for it to be here without a France. Even though we use English without there being an England.

3. This is called a Ming vase because when you tap it it makes a “Ming!” sound.

4. I am JRR Tolkien and every single word I write has a fictional etymology attached to it that I am translating into English for your convenience.

4. 17,918 notes - Dec 26 2023

As to whether the Gavle Goat’s consumption should be seen as a good omen or a bad omen, I’d say good. Traditionally the Yule goat is made of straw from the final harvest and as a talisman against hard times, and there are unproven theories that its shape is inspired by Thor’s goats, who are constantly killed, eaten, and reborn to provide endless meat for Thor and whatever guests he entertains.  Therefore, its use by birds as a food store and safe harbor is an affirmation of its original purpose and truly in the Christmas spirit of generosity in lean times. What’s more, the birds eating it seems to be have been the one outcome to unite both goat burners and goat keepers, as they have decided not to scare the birds away from their safe harbor and not to harm the goat, a decision that has been universally lauded. 

As omens go, this one’s all positive: safety, plenty, and unity between previous ideological opponents through a creative third solution built on shared values (birds being fed and sheltered is a good thing). May more birds find their way to the Gavle Goat next year. 

5. 11,031 notes - Apr 24 2023

Okay hearing that people actually do this has made me morbidly curious so... My house was split into Parents and Kids bathrooms...

6. 9,188 notes - Mar 16 2023

The best decision The Mandalorian ever made was centering their show around an archetypal masked, taciturn gunslinger who wanders from town to town never putting down roots, and then revealing that he acts that way because he’s a massively awkward introvert who uses that archetype to avoid having to socialize with people beyond the three interaction scripts he already knows.  10/10, top tier characterization, I love seeing this man outshoot a bar full of people and then get scammed by a random mechanic because he’s too polite to confront her about it. Truly a hero of our times.

7. 5,183 notes - Mar 21 2023

Okay but for a corporately mandated love triangle (Gale was meant to be Katniss’ cousin, publisher asked to make him the childhood friend with a crush), Hunger Games absolutely nails it. It can’t just be solved by polyamory because it represents her choosing between two aspects of herself. Yes Gale sometimes acts like a dumb teenager because he is, but not to an obnoxious level. The one and only time Peeta and Gale get a conversation about it, both of them fully acknowledge that it’s Katniss’ choice so fighting over her is pointless. It’s not a marketing gimmick to generate unnecessary tension, it’s a complicated relationship that informs all three of their characters and is deeply intertwined with the series’ themes of war and trauma.

8. 4,122 notes - Jul 1 2023

I mean I’m not even trans and I can still tell Nimona the movie is basically ND Stevenson going back and saying “okay, let’s do it on purpose this time”.

9. 3,850 notes - Jan 4 2023

What I really like about the dinner mystery is that they could have made it super easy or had Blanc go on about how obvious it is since he needed to solve it quickly, but instead he’s thrilled by it. He points out every subtle clue, all the foreshadowing, the style of it, and he even tells Miles that it was satisfying and the perfect bite-sized mystery. “A dramatic, passionate, and colorful crime for a fashionista!”. He might have solved it easily, because this is his job, but he can still appreciate the artistry in it and enjoy solving it.

It provides a nice counterpoint to the later reveal, where he is genuinely disappointed by how dumb the murders where but still prioritizes the victims. He might love solving the mysteries, but he knows what’s really important. So what could be better than a mystery with no victims?

10. 3,467 notes - Apr 6 2023

Honestly when you hear that someone once held bigoted views in the past but no longer does that shouldn’t be a disappointment, but a victory. Yes! We got ‘em! One less person on the wrong side of history and one more for us! This is exactly what we want, for people to leave their prejudices behind, and we succeeded!

Created by TumblrTop10

[mywifeleftme]

92: Aquariana // Aquariana

Aquariana Aquariana 2013, Drag City (Website)

The Source Family were one of the more successful new religions (read: cults) operating in Southern California during the early 1970s. Founded by Father Yod (pronounced “Yoad”; né Jim Baker), a towering, bearded figure with a few alleged murders (via karate chop!) and bank robberies under his robes, the Source Family operated a popular health food restaurant in L.A. and cut dozens of brainstewing psych rock records that have become holy grails to men who physically resemble late period Jerry Garcia. Yod assigned one of his 13 wives (Isis Aquarian, née Charlene Peters) to document the cult’s journey over the years, resulting in an incredible trove of video recordings, some of which were used to assemble 2012’s The Source Family documentary. The footage, much of it eerie and gauzily beautiful, gives us a good idea of what day-to-day life in the Family was like, from its origins to Yod’s corporeal demise in Hawaii following a hang-gliding accident (!).

The Source Family were as close to a prototypical cult of the era as you can get: white robes, buffet approach to Eastern and Western spiritual concepts, illiberal attitudes toward “personal possessions,” semi-involuntary polygamy, institutionalized drug use, etc. If you’ve ever listened to recordings of the sermons of Jim Jones or David Berg, Baker’s hep gibberish will sound strikingly familiar, and indeed, the Source Family followed the standard trajectory—from monogamy to a form of free love that mostly allowed the leader to fuck all the hot girls; from soft notions about kindness and peace to dark mutterings about an imminent apocalypse; from vegetarianism to moral loopholes that sanctioned the killing of dangerous outsiders. The Source Family never went the way of the Peoples Temple because, when faced with a mounting crisis (the cult’s disastrous move to Hawaii), Baker decided to disclaim his godhood instead of doubling down on it. No one knows why he eventually told his followers he was only a man, but I have a hunch: he wasn’t a sawed-off little gnome, and he wasn’t crazy. Unlike his murderous peers, Baker didn’t have much to overcompensate for; he was a huge, built guy who didn’t need a cult to get laid, impose his will, or feel important (though he got off on all of the above). In the end, no one died, and so it feels a little less vulturine to nibble at this particular cult’s artistic output than it does, say, the Manson Family’s.

On that note, let’s turn to the music. Record nerds are always on the lookout for cult music because it often goes extremely hard, be it Manson’s acoustic freak folk, Scientology space jazz, or “Veteran of the Psychic Wars.” The albums the Source Family are known for (released under a variety of names like Ya Ho Wha 13 and Father Yod and the Spirit of ’76) are out-there freeform acid jams in which the cult’s more experienced musicians try to work around frontman Yod’s untrained drumming and bellowing—a member of the No-Neck Blues Band pops up on the 2012 documentary to gush about their records, and you can see why acts like NNCK and Jackie O Motherfucker would lose it for this stuff.

The album we’re looking at today, by contrast, is a solo piano recording from the mid-‘70s by Aquariana, another of Yod’s wives, that went unissued till 2013. Aquariana had a Queen Guinevere-type look, and the liners note that she would frequently spin her own long golden hair into thread to sew and embroider with. A capable pianist with a multi-octave voice, Aquariana’s music could broadly be called folky, but it feels a little more theatrical than that, influenced by show tunes and AM soft rock. Her songs are mostly about love (-ing Father Yod), bearing children (of Father Yod), and the magnificence of Father Yod. It’s midway between devotional music and the type of stuff a medieval bard would be retained to write in praise of an egotistical baron. You can practically see Baker being fed grapes in the producer’s chair while she plays. Though it’s not as overtly weird as Ya Ho Wha 13, there’s still a lot of stuff on Aquariana that no sane producer would’ve allowed, like the way she tunelessly holds and holds and holds her notes on “Oh My Love” and “One Love” until you start to think your record is skipping. That strangeness is why it exerts the particular appeal it does, and it does have a particular downbeat intensity that holds my interest, despite its rudimentary songcraft.

Chicago’s Drag City label was behind the documentary and mid-2010s series of Source Family music reissues. Unlike reissues of, say, Manson-adjacent music, the label was able to work with surviving Family members like Isis Aquarian. This meant of course that they couldn’t dress up the reissues too salaciously (see LIE: The Love & Terror Cult), but Baker’s group already had such a strongly creepy aesthetic that there wasn’t much need to. A designer would be hard-pressed to come up with a more uncanny cover than Aquariana got: the singer at the piano in her ruffled gown with an unreadable expression, the head and shoulders of her husband-father visible behind the instrument, the portrait framed in ornate white fabric. It feels like the work of an outsider trying to underline the cult’s depravity in red pen—yet the composition and cover design were by Yod himself. Make of that what you will.

92/365

[nwodwols]

⚠️ livid post regarding community work ahead

The park I was doing water distribution at has since been swept and had the awnings above the cement benches completely removed. This park is near no housing, there in no playground or schools or anything. It is literally a quarter-mile strip of grass that runs along the goddamn train tracks. The ONLY thing it is good for is resting. But apparently that’s not okay for the folks that need it the most

It’s been a terrible summer for unsheltered folks in Phoenix with the record breaking heat and the city is ramping up their criminalization of mutual aid. A couple I know that lives near the zone has been targeted by police for months because they share water, ice, and resources their daily. They’ve had drones hovering over their house and one of them was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor resulting in being barred from the zone just yesterday. They are getting evicted from their home because a neighbor doesn’t like their water stationmaster. It’s a small igloo container that they place water bottles into and folks walk by and grab one, they never walk onto anyone’s property and no one stays there

I sat through a city meeting on Heat relief this summer where the city basically stated that local orgs and communities should be in charge of aid because we know what we’re doing and then fed into the “city bungles everything” trope. Meanwhile law enforcement in this same city sits outside of food distro sites and harm reduction events waiting to arrest houseless folks. They harass volunteers who are on the ground. And they kick folks out of shaded areas

I don’t know what to do anymore.

What I do know is that the more we help each other, the quicker this capitalistic policing system is rendered obsolete. Please take care of yourself and look out for your neighbors - all of them, housed or not

🙏

[medeasgalpal]

oh i’ve been looking into connections between Scottish and Appalachian folklore and I just found a fun one.

***

the story told in northeastern Tennessee goes like this: one day, a young man goes out to the field to see after his family’s cows. in the midst of the cows is a young woman he’s never seen before. the cows seem to like her, and of course, she’s the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen. he invites her home and she’s fed and given a place to stay at the farm. she offers to take care of the cows in return, an offer that is gratefully accepted. the mysterious woman becomes a beloved member of the household and eventually the larger community. she becomes known for her lively dancing. 

meanwhile, the young farmer is hyping himself up to ask her to marry him. once he finally works up the courage, he runs out to the field, looking for the girl. strangely, he doesn’t find her with the cows. he wanders further through the fields until they give way to forest. from the edge of the woods, he spots her. he calls out, but she doesn’t seem to notice him. there’s something strange about her. though her lips don’t move, there’s a song on the air. shadows are cast in a strange way, as if light was coming from further in the forest. her eyes are fixed in that direction. afraid, the young man leaps into the woods and grabs her shoulder. as he pulls her away, he catches a glimpse of her eyes, gone cold white. the music stops, the light fades. they return to the house.

the young woman never danced again after that day. she rarely spoke or smiled. no one ever found her in the woods again, but she would look off blankly towards the mountains. the young man got a job with the railroad and got married to a girl in town. once his parents passed away, the strange young woman kept the farm and the cows by herself.

***

I love this story for many reasons. it reminds me of Cowboy from Old Gods of Appalachia and the stories I grew up hearing about ghostly women hitchhiking who would disappear after you pick them up. but while I was reading about the more unusual Good Folks, I was surprised to hear that our cow loving spooky lady has a counterpart back in Scotland. 

“The gruagach haunts the fields and pastures, and is usually seen as female, with the exception of Skye where the gruagach there is described as male. Either way, the name ‘gruagach‘ comes from the long hair, whether referring to male or female – the term itself means ‘long-haired one.’ In terms of referring to men, it was common at one time for those who were of free or high rank in Scotland to have long hair, and on Skye he is referred to as being tall, wearing the dress of a ‘bygone period’ and having long yellow hair.124

The sole remit of the gruagach is in looking after the herds of cattle. If offerings of milk are faithfully made to her (or him, if we’re talking about Skye), she will happily look after the cattle at night and ensure that no harm comes to them. The milk should be given to to the clach na gruagaich, ‘the gruagach stone’, which is often described as a stone with a hole of depression in it. 

Carmichael tells us: “In making the oblation the woman intoned a rune:

A ghruagach, a ghruagach,

Cum suas mo spreidhe,

Cum sios an Guaigean,

Cum uap an Geige.Brownie/ 

Brownie,

Uphold my herds,

Keep down the ‘Guaigean,

’Keep from them the ‘Geige’.”125

This was done by the dairymaid on a weekly basis according to Reverend MacQueen, writing in 1774, every Sunday,126 and failure to do so would lead to disaster. On Skye, where the gruagach was seen as male, he was often blamed for the unfortunate circumstances of many an unwed mother, up until the late seventeenth century, at least.127″

it’s well known that the folklore of Appalachia is influenced by the Irish and Scottish settlers who wound up here, but I feel like it’s hard to find stories where that connection is as clearly seen as this one. I’m also obsessed with the idea of an Otherworldly being who just wants to take care of your cows. I was only really aware of the under-the-hill courtly sorts of Good Folk, but there’s many more. highly recommend checking out the Tairis site linked above, it’s got some really well-researched information about Scottish folk practices.

[starplusfourletters]

Quantum Leap s1e12 (the trans rights one)

QL set after 1995 is breaking my brain. Ziggy + Party Rock Anthem = blue screen of death for me

OOOOH time shenanigans that make no sense LET'S GOOOOOOO

oh I actually really like the mom character

omigod the writers googled "teenager 2012" didn't they WHAT SELF RESPECTING HIGH SCHOOLER WAS TALKING TWILIGHT IN 2012

Okay. Obviously the thesis of this episode is trans rights are human rights. But I think the way the way that thesis is being presented damages the story and by extension the message itself:

We have straight and queer characters within the Leap reacting to the narrative and trans-ness. We have straight and queer characters OUTSIDE the Leap reacting to the narrative and trans-ness. We have a LOT of different narrative beats (the support group, the basketball games, the running away, the school politics) that all reveal something about the trans experience. All of these elements show this story from a different angle, and they avoid the trap of portraying trans-ness as exclusively painful or negative. I think this is very well done.

What I think isn’t well done is the way the story grinds to a halt every three minutes for the Powers That Be to look directly at the camera and say “HEY! Are you getting it??!? We’re concerned you’re not getting it!!” 

The case-in-point of this for me is Ian. Like, if the Powers That Be are concerned the audience isn’t picking up what they’re putting down, Ian is just the OBVIOUS solution. They’re nonbinary, and because this is Quantum Leap they can occupy the rather unique position of being outside the story while still in-universe. Ian can speak-to-the-audience-without-speaking-to-the-audience here. Hell, Ian should be DRIVING this ep. But we’ve got Ian pulling up GRAPHS of statistics about trans people’s mental health? And HOLDING THEM UP TO THE CAMERA? Nonononono.

TLDR: show don’t tell and trust your characters and your story to convey your thesis; that’s kind of the point of fiction, right?

And maybe more importantly, trust your audience. You have an important message you want to convey and you don’t want to get it wrong, I get that. But I don’t think any staunchly anti-trans people are going to watch this episode. And the people whose minds you could change don’t want to feel like they’re being spoon-fed. We’re all going to get more out of sympathetic-but-flawed characters interacting with each other in a way that feels genuine; that, again, is kind of the point of fiction.

okay sorry rant over

Wow this principal is actually terrible at noticing when the door swings wide open in her tiny office. Those lines could have been heard thru the door just sayin

"Your fear is not my responsibility" turns all around in a very cool way. Seriously this ep is full of good lines and ideas and characters at real risk of being smothered by the feeling of being hit over the head by political preaching

...good news folks we solved trans rights

OH SHIT IAN??? WHAT'S IAN DOING??? Legitimately took me by surprise there

[kiri-cuts]

Sympathy for the Blair Witch in The Blair Witch Project

As the legend of the Blair Witch tells it, the fur-covered evil that haunts the woods of Burkitsville, Maryland, is one bad bitch. Among the usual witchy shenanigans rumoured by the locals – murders, disappearances, strange shapeshifting visitations – the Blair Witch, formerly known as Elly Kedward, is also said to have been responsible for the vanishing of local children. Don’t go in those woods, Mary – she'll serve you as a boneless banquet.

The 1999 found footage horror is still a masterstroke of horror genius. Via its shaky ‘90s cam-work, the film remains one of the few horrors that manages to serve up its terror without ever revealing its villain’s appearance. Every spine tingle of fear instigated by the film is conjured via rumours, conjecture and atmosphere. 

Nothing concerning the Blair Witch is ever legitimately proven or given weight. The monster exists solely in our imaginations and in those of the three filmmakers convinced that “it’s very hard to get lost in America these days, and it’s even harder to stay lost.”

As they plunge deeper and deeper into the woods, trapped in a seemingly neverending loop that sends them in circles, they become swallowed up by a country they’ve glaringly misjudged and put too much trust in. And as they do, they’re quick to point their fingers at each other.  Naturally, there's one particular person who takes the brunt of the blame - and she ain't one of the two guys.

The tail-end of the ‘90s was a weird time loaded with anxieties about the upcoming Millennium. The shifting geopolitical climate brought concerns that Americans were all too eagerly starting to become each other’s scapegoats within a country that was losing its way. At the same time, there were growing concerns that both technology and the media were changing and growing at such a pace that reality, and the ways it could be presented to us, were beginning to distort.

As Josh tells Heather during one of his many rants against her, “I see why you like this video camera so much… It's not quite reality. It's like a totally filtered reality. It's like you can pretend everything's not quite the way it is.” And to that, I say, RIP Heather, you would have loved TikTok.

We're currently lost in the peak of a decade of falsehoods, posturing, AI, and conspiracy, all fed through the often literally filtered lenses of whatever our social media platform of choice is. Staged and polished, rumours are easily made ‘fact’, monsters born and cancelled daily, and through it all, we’re just pointing our fingers at each other - more interested in assigning blame than we are in studying and undoing the damage of whatever misdeed took place.

The Blair Witch Project is a scarier film if you can believe that the force tormenting Heather, Josh and Mike is some actual ancient ghoul. But that would also be in dispute of the obvious: Throughout history, none of the women accused of being evil witches were ever actual evil witches.

Then, as now, people were happy to scapegoat the different and the marginalised and to point fingers far from where the actual guilty parties stood. Perhaps the best witch stories in horror aren’t the ones where a once powerful witch continues her reign of terror against good, honest, God-fearing folk, but the ones where a woman has been falsely accused of witchcraft and tortured and killed, only to return so she can reap her vengeance upon mankind. 

What category The Blair Witch Project falls into is simply a matter of perspective. Whatever the case, I can sympathise with a woman who just wants to be left alone to enjoy her handicrafts and her hobbies and her little homemade knick-knacks in peace without some ambitious twenty-something showing up with a camera to document it all.

Maybe one of the reasons why the film continues to haunt people and feel relevant is because the real villain of the film might not be a witch, but the stories that are built about her and why - the morbid instinct to gaze into these abysses and monetise them. The real villain may be a country that manufactures monsters in a bid to bury actual blame and accountability. The real villain could be a society too busy arguing about who lost the fucking map to find the fucking map so we can find our way out of the woods – and time and again, it won’t be men who are held accountable for any of it. 

[starseedfxofficial]

Tech Takes the Lead as Fed Hints at Caution When Tech Lifts the Market and Financials Take a Backseat: A Fun Spin on the Latest Moves Hold onto your trading hats, because the Nasdaq just pulled off a nifty leap, giving us fresh record highs like it's the weekend sale at your favorite store—you know, when you magically find everything you didn't know you needed. Tech's been flexing its muscles, with Salesforce (CRM) and Marvell (MRVL) leading the charge. Meanwhile, Energy, Materials, and Financials were off having an afternoon siesta, lagging behind. Honestly, it was a tale of two markets: Tech and friends were living their best life, while the others were, well, still in bed. The S&P 500 (SPX) pushed up by 0.61% to 6,086, the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) took a 1.24% stride to 21,492, and the Dow Jones (DJIA) moved up 0.69% to 45,014. Even the Russell 2000 (RUT) joined in, though more modestly, at +0.42% to 2,427. Powell's Pow-Wow: A Chat on the Economy Cue Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who must've been feeling pretty zen about the state of the economy. He commented that the U.S. economy is "in remarkably good shape," a statement that's basically the central banker equivalent of saying, "We're not in a crisis, folks." He added that monetary policy is in a "very good place," though inflation is still a nagging thorn. It’s like trying to swat away a fly during a picnic—we're getting there, but it's taking a bit longer than we'd like. Powell also mentioned the Fed’s goal of reaching more "neutral" rates over time, signaling that while we're not out of the woods yet, at least we can see the light peeking through the trees. Meanwhile, Fed's Daly (yes, one of those voters we’ll hear more about next year) isn’t too keen on rushing things, deciding instead to play the "wait until December" card to make her next policy move—honestly, it’s a strategy a lot of us could use around holiday shopping. Underground Insights: How It Impacts Forex Traders Alright, enough about stocks. Let’s talk Forex. All these moves by the Fed? They’re like someone gently tweaking the dials on a jukebox. The softer-than-expected ISM Services PMI caused a nice little bid in Treasury notes, which means traders were reacting to what looked like weaker economic momentum. This, my friends, translates into a softer U.S. dollar—and you know what that means. For those holding currencies like the Euro or the Japanese Yen, it’s time to take a closer look for opportunities. You could be that person who spots the dip before everyone else jumps on board. On that note, the Beige Book (a.k.a. the Fed’s neighborhood gossip report) stated that economic activity rose slightly across most districts, while employment levels were either flat or barely moved. Price increases were modest, which means the inflation monster isn’t growing fangs—yet. Forex traders, keep your eyes peeled here: these modest price upticks might turn into a trend that could tip currency pairs like USD/CAD or USD/JPY. New Faces, Same Old Policies? Not Quite Meanwhile, U.S. President-elect Trump—yes, you read that right, President-elect—announced some key picks for his administration. Paul Atkins for SEC Chair and Frank Bisignano for Commissioner of Social Security Administration. But what does this mean for us market players? Well, Atkins is known for being relatively pro-business, which might mean less regulatory friction for the finance sector (hello, volatility!) and some unexpected ripples in stock-related currency pairs. For Forex enthusiasts, there’s a golden rule: political appointments equal market uncertainty, and market uncertainty equals potential opportunities. Remember to keep an eye on those politically sensitive currencies like the USD and GBP, especially as Trump’s decisions start taking shape. Bottom Line: Where’s the Opportunity? Here’s the hidden gem—while most traders are glued to the big headlines about tech earnings, the subtle shift in T-notes and ISM data is giving you a whisper. The Fed’s cautious approach means interest rates might stay lower longer, giving high-yielding currencies like the Aussie dollar a boost. It’s all about reading between the lines. The next level traders—that means you—are the ones who see beyond the tech stock hype and spot the trends beneath the surface. And remember, when the herd goes one way, sometimes it pays to check what’s happening in the other direction—that’s how you find the hidden gems. As always, trade smart and don't let the market fool you. It’s all part of the game. —————– Image Credits: Cover image at the top is AI-generated   Read the full article

[bitchslapblastoids]

In response to prev’s tags, @locamotivednp, I originally had a bit about how this was reminding me of the puritanical shaming side of twitter fandom but I took it out bc I thought it was too salty on my part. But yeah. Also, the notion that d&p stopped sharing stuff with us bc we’d like… been naughty and we had to earn their trust back, and now we have, but we’re on thin ice…. Is just wrong?? Yeah, they stopped sharing as much for years bc they were closeted and Dan was experiencing complicated emotional turmoil and needed his public identity to not be so tied up in the implications of DanandPhil. And then they basically continued to make no joint content for years because their careers diverged. They (mostly Dan) needed that for reasons that have very little to do with us.

They are now in a new chapter of their career that is almost solely built around the magic of their chemistry and our investment in their relationship dynamic. They aren’t rly gamers, they aren’t vloggers, they don’t do sketch comedy or video essays etc. Their joint content is literally Dan and Phil being silly and endearing and in love together. That’s the content.

I still have a really hard time believing the way that they characterize their return to dapg and the ensuing tour as all this happy experimental accident. I think it was much more deliberate, tactical, and planned out than that. They both signed with major talent agencies right before relaunching the dapg channel... they’ve never fed us so well, so consistently, with so much silly flirtation and domesticity and genuinely given the people what they want. I think that’s them “reclaiming Dan and Phil.” That’s them perhaps even sitting with folks at the talent agency having a strategic plan meeting and finally just naming the source of their tremendous success to the obvious core truth that is… their largely queer audience built a community largely based around shipping them and feeling deeply connected to their relationship/chemistry (even non-shippers seem to still mostly prefer joint content bc they just bounce off of one another so well).

I hope this doesn’t come across as cynical because that isn’t how I feel at all. I think it’s actually rly lovely for them (dan) to be able to shake off all the hangups (i think bc he’s finally able to feel secure in what he was able to accomplish on his own, sans DanAndPhil) and celebrate the magic of their chemistry. I don’t think they’re exploiting their relationship or us or anything like that, rather, they’re radically accepting that the more open they are with their affection, the more we lose our shit, and that was the truth all along so why not just lean into it and go balls to the wall with the content? Is it also lucrative? Yeah, but we’re willing consumers and plus… their dynamic together was always lucrative, they can just be less cagey about it now. (And yes I do also think they are individually talented in their own rights and their chemistry isn’t the only reason they became successful).

I’m on such a tangent here, but my main point is - their distance from us and their presence in our lives is fully in their control. They’re in the drivers seat, and I think way more so than some of their audience gives them credit for. It’s literally not about us, lol, and it’s not like if we’re good or bad little boys and girls we’ll get more or less from them and we’ve only just finished our last and longest punishment. We weren’t put in a time out; they had careers to pursue and identity crises to resolve. We haven’t earned their trust again; they’ve just embarked on a new chapter of their career. The end. ily.

Not to go full demon but I found where they stayed and I have some insights….

1. If they were there 5 nights, they spent between $15,000-20,000 total usd ‼️‼️‼️

2. The place is primarily designed for couples. Words used to describe it frequently include “romantic,” “discreet,” “secluded,” “intimate”

3. Every villa on the property only has one bedroom with one king bed. If you need another bed in your space (i.e. if you bring a child), they will bring a single-sized rollaway type bed to you. One reviewer mentioned how the staff would literally remove the single bed each day for the aesthetics and then bring it back at night.

Sooooooooo they balled out on SUCH a bougie, romantic, secluded getaway. And then they shared it with us!! 🥺🥺🥺

[cybermoonmoon]

Just found a file with one of my Covid rants. 

This from April 12th, 2020.

Like everyone I'm going out of my mind. However, we have to hold out till the Vaccine. That or we just spread more death. I spend my days listening to 50's~60's Do Wop. That, and cleaning my digs. Endlessly mopping dusting polishing. Polishing the polish. These days even plastering, and painting. Also I'm tired as in real fucking tired all the time.

Is this a symptom or am I just fed the bleep up? 

We're all just sitting here...and sitting. ...and sitting. It occurred to me. What if back when I was seeing a shrink. Actually, I was seeing two. Long story. What if one of them fell asleep on me.  This while I'm spilling my guts about the stupid boring traumatic horrors of my existence. What's the etiquette for that? This sounds like a problem Thurber would have made a cartoon for in a 1928 New Yorker. Still, what to do? 

Does one leave, and if you do should you pour pancake syrup into his lap? Which you always carry which is one of your problems. Deduct his nap time? Perhaps also go to sleep, and then compare dreams?

And another thing.  What if I really was abducted with my aunt by them saucer guys from her back yard in 1956. It sure seemed real at the time ‘VVI’ our station manager gave me a few paid sick days when I had what I thought were traumatic flash backs. 

Btw WBAI is likely the only radio station on earth that would give a person UFO flash back sick leave. Then there's all that Angel, and Demon stuff that went on when I was going to Catholic school as a kid...that noise looked pretty 3-D at the time. I ever tell you the story of the statue of Saint Teresa in our church waking up, and telling some of the kids to, "...Pray". 

That was my first X File. 

The Church hates it when that happens.  It was a big deal the bleeping bishop even showed up and ordered the whole school Nuns everybody never to talk about it again.

Which is why you never heard of it.

They were freaked. It something when you're a kid, and you see adults lose their shit. Being kids they forgot...being a weirdo I didn't.

This is the thing about being so much closer to 100 than 20. You have tons of stuff in your head, and now loads of time to think about it. My film reviewer friend the late Paul Wunder always said... "Everyone has at least one good script in them.” Basically, one more or less decent movie up their sleeves.

Pretty much.

You folks have a good day and take care of each other.