#when we were in the same school she did kinda do this sorta thing.

[spacedace]

@proshipper-on-ship​ thank you for the Dick & Dan idea you added to my other post, please enjoy some of the fall out your comment resulted in haha

“So,” Bruce tried, looking hesitantly pleased at the surprisingly light atmosphere around the table. “Anything new and exciting going on with anyone?”

There was a smattering of answers from around the table. Jason didn’t offer anything - which wasn’t surprising, that he was even there and largely not starting a fight was more than enough as far as Dick was concerned - but with some ribbing from Steph, Tim eventually admitted to finally asking that boy he’d been interested in out. Dick joined in on teasing his little brother - and even Jay gave, for him, some gentle ribbing over finally getting the balls to do something, eh Timberland? - while very carefully avoiding mentioning his own sorta-kinda thing with Dan in Bludhaven. He’d deal with his siblings making him miserable and embarrassed over it all when he actually scored a date with him thanks very much.

Things were going good.

And then Damian cleared his throat, looking imperious and uninterested at the same time as he waited for everyone to turn to look at him.

“I have an announcement on an alteration to my personal life.” He declared, chin up and looking like he was already over this whole family-bonding-time thing, which was fair. Damian had gotten better over the years, but he was still not exactly the cute and cuddly little brother. Dick still had the scar from the last time he tried to hug Dami without warning a year ago and got stabbed for the effort. Still, he was sharing, willingly even! That’s progress!

At the head of the table Bruce tilted his head, looking as cautiously hopeful as Dick felt over the youngest Wayne actually offering to share something personal. “Have you decided on what college you want to go to then?”

“No.” Dami dismissed easily, without more than a glance in Bruce’s direction. “Night and I have decided to take some time to travel before continuing any further schooling.”

Huh, honestly, Dick was kinda surprised. With how much of a perfectionist Dami was, he’d thought he’d throw himself into college with the same ferocious, competitive drive he did everything else. But then again, if Elle Nightingale was going to be taking a gap year or two, it wasn’t as if it was that much of a surprise that Dami would go and join her.

The two gremlins had been practically inseparable since they were twelve and discovered a shared love of stabbing people and adopting every animal they see. If Dami’s best friend was going to go gallivanting across the world like she always dreamed of doing, Dick couldn’t actually be that  surprised that Dami would be going with her.

Dick took a sip of his drink as Dami opened his mouth to continue with what was probably going to be to most people the world’s most harrowing game of “how many incredibly dangerous animals can we see before we end up dead on our gap year” that the two demons were undoubtedly planning.

He regretted taking that sip almost immediately as Damian said, “Night and I took our marital vows yesterday. She sends her regrets that she was unable to join us for family dinner tonight.”

Predictably, the room broke out into utter chaos.

Dick choked on his drink, spraying across the table and splattering Babs with a shower of wine. She didn’t even seem to notice, dropping her own glass as she snapped her head over to stare at Damian, the sound of breaking glass and a deep red stain pooling across the table following as she did. At the end of the table, Jay made a noise like a dying goose as the samosa he’d just popped in his mouth threatened to kill him. Cass, perhaps the most outwardly calm at the proclamation, only stared with wide eyes at her younger brother as she hit Jason on the back in an attempt to make sure he didn’t die.

Dick could practically hear the old shrieking AOL dial up noise that was Tim’s brain attempting to process what his little brother had just said, while sitting next to him Steph gave a small shriek of you what? Duke’s head was on a swivel, eyes darting from Damian, to another family member, to Damian and back again as if unsure who to even look at in the moment.

Bruce just…stared, frozen in place, face caught in the most open look of shock Dick thinks the man has ever shown in his life.

—

Damian sniffed and cast a caustic look towards - of all people - Jason, “Unlike some people, I share my good news with the family in a timely manner.”

Jay sputtered, “You know what, fuck you! Fine, you want me to share the news?” Jay snapped his head towards the rest of them. “Jazz is pregnant, baby is due next month on the sixth. Baby shower’s next weekend at Robinson Park, show up or don’t, I really don’t give a fuck.”

Or maybe he was just going to try to kill them with a heart attack.

“What the fuck?!”

“Language!”

“Who the fuck is Jazz?!”

“Language!”

“Night’s elder sister and guardian, Drake, keep up. You should know this, you’re dating her brother.”

“I’m what?”

“And Grayson is having flirtations with her other brother.”

“Dan is Elle’s older brother? Wait - how do you know about that?”

“Todd and I are in the Nightingale family group chat. We have endured far too much waxing poet about your posterior over the past months.”

“Why do they all have variations of the same name? Who gives all their children the same name?”

“He likes my ass?”

“Oh my god, bigger picture Dick, focus.”

“Seriously, do they all have the same name outside of the older sister? I feel like we need to acknowledge they all have the same name.”

“Can we go back to the fact that Damian got married? To Elle? Yesterday? How did you even do that without anyone knowing?

“Dr. Nightingale is a notary.”

“…Dr. Nightingale as in the woman Bruce is investigating Dr. Nightingale?”

“Okay but the name thing? Please tell me you’re not naming the baby some variation of the name Daniel.”

“If the gremlins get their way it will be. Do you know how many lists we’ve made that they keep sabotaging?”

“So you have Dan’s number? Could you give it to me?”

“Jesus Christ, Dick I’m begging you.”

“Why did you guys even get married?”

“For the diplomatic immunity.”

“You don’t have diplomatic immunity.”

“I do now.”

“What does that mean?”

[shelbgrey]

Hiiii!

Can i ask for a mark sloan x reader (kinda?) but mostly derek sheperd x reader (platonic)

She is younger than derek and she is his person and he is hers, it also helps that she never really had feelings or attraction to mark and always rejects him (maybe she likes someone else in the hospital?) and she is a major merder supporter

I love addison bit she had no right showing up to seattle the way she did💀

Being Derek Shepherd's person headcanons:

Paring: best friend!Derek x reader, Mark Sloan x crush!reader, love interest!Jackson Avery x reader

Summary: the reader is Derek's person and only wants Derek to be happy. Mark is in love with her, but she loves someone else.

A/n: sorry this is so short, I've just lost motivation to write this last few weeks

MasterList ML2

You just couldn't understand how or why this happened, Addison cheated on Derek and now you were following him to Seattle.

You didn't expect Mark to do this, let alone Addison, but you took Derek's side like you knew he'd do for you.

Derek has been your best friend for as long as you could remember, you guys go way back. To the point you knew each other as kids. You were in the same class as Amilea and that's how you met.

But you didn't become friends through her like you'd expect. Amilea was actually really mean to you growing up. Derek nor the rest of the family knew Amilea messed with you everyday at school.

Derek only found out because Amilea was forced to invite you and her whole class to one of her birthday party's. Derek saw Amilea pushing you around and immediately put a stop to it. Even mark helped a little. Then you guys had sorta been best friends ever since.

Anyway, you moved to Seattle and it actually brought you two closer. He bought a trailer to live in and you got an apartment close by. You guys are close but not close enough to live in cramped trailer with him.

You actually loved the fact he found someone new. Meredith seemed to understand Derek better and he seemed to smile more when she's around.

You and Meredith actually became very good friends and you even lived with her and your other intern friends for a while.

You couldn't stand it when Addison showed up, and she had no right to show up the way she did. It hurt you to see Derek in this position. He wanted to do the right thing so badly.

You were the only one he could genuinely open up to without being judged. If your not good with advice that's okay, he's just thankful your there to listen.

You and Addison did used to be good friends, and you'd be lying if didn't say she was like a big sister to you. You never peged her as a cheater, but here we are.

But even though you had Derek's back through thick and thin, it's wasn't hard for you and Addison to fall back into the routine of your old friendship.

But there has been a few times you've become a messenger or they'd use you against each other.

“Hey, don't shoot the messenger Shep” you said rolling your eyes after passing a message to Derek from Addison.

Then fucking Mark showed up...

He's always flirted with you and even though it seems genuine with you, I think it pisses him off you don't fall into his charms like other women do.

You've always known Mark liked you, but unfortunately you never felt the same way. You knew deep down he was a sweet person, but you only saw him as a close friend.

The last time you regected him was when he started the affair with Addison.

But it's always been you in Mark's eyes and it he can't help but be crushed. I wasn't about sleeping with you anymore, it was more than that. He wants to he the one to make you happy, protect you, and wake up with you every morning.

“what's wrong with me? What I wouldn't give to have y/n look at me the way Meredith looks at you” Mark told Derek one day.

Derek has always been over protective of you. When you were a kid he protected you from bullies now he feels he needs to protect you from certain people at the hospital.

Usually he'd be pissed given the circumstances Mark and him were once in, but he couldn't help but feel nothing but sympathy for Mark. He had seen the way he looked at you. It wasn't the lustful look he gave Addison, but actual love.

But Derek wasn't gonna help set you and Mark up. He knew you didn't love Mark and he wasn't about to put you guys in a relationship that wasn't genuine.

What really crushed Mark was when you started showing interest in Jackson Avery. It was huge mental battle because he cared about you both so much.

You didn't realize this, you thought everything was good between you and Mark. You'd never intentionally hurt him. As far as you were concerned you, Mark, and derek had become this amazing trio again.

What you did know is you never felt this way before until you met Jackson. He was kind to you from the start and honestly loved that fact you wanted to be around him because he was just being himself and you weren't choosing to be around him because he was an Avery.

He'll even listen to you drool over him. “Jesus, you might as well jump his bones right now” he joked.

You were usually the shy one, but you actually stated flirting with him first, which he found adorable. “why have a Harper Avery Award when I have an actual Avery to hang out with... Those awards don't have your eyes”

Derek was actually glad you found someone like Jackson. He loved seeing you smile more and just be more up beat.

“can't help it, he's sweet and funny... And have you seen those eyes?”

Mark did learn to move on and when he found lexi he couldn't help but notice things about you and Jackson he hasn't before.

Like he saw the sparkle in your eyes every time you looked at Jackson. Mark notices the way Jackson treats you and cares for you.

He relised he's thankful your happy and in a loving relationship. He's happy too now, so there's no since at being jealous now.

Everything seemed to be at peace now, you had Jackson, Derek and Meredith got married on a post-it note, Mark had lexi, and Addison went to work at a private practice.

[bvttoneyes]

request where Benny Weir gets set up on a blind date with the reader

"300 Awkward Blind Dates Later ~ (benny weir x fem!reader's version)

tw! idk cursing ig

i forgot abt my inbox's ngl also guys putting the same req in my inbox twice is not going to make me do it faster!! also ive alr had to delete some reqs too PLEASEEE read my rules befire requesting any songs

It was Rory's fault he was doing this. He complained ONE TIME like a week ago about being single and so Rory put him on a blind date?! When Rory had told the whole friend group about setting up a blind date tonight for Benny everyone laughed, except Benny of course.

It was way too last minute to cancel the date so he had to just suck it up and go on this date with someone he had no interest to know about. Great.

"Hey Rory, next time you set someone up on a date don't you think the people going on a date should know about it?" Benny says, with an annoyed tone, sarcastically.

Rory's eyebrows furrowed, "she knew about it, she's going on the date. So by your rules... it's fine!"

He then walked off before Benny could hit him. Ethan turned to look at him with an amused smile, so did Sarah and Erica.

"Well, we're gonna go to class. Have fun on your date tonight." Sarah said teasingly before the two girls walked off laughing.

Ethan just patted his shoulder, somewhat comfortingly but also so Benny wouldn't see him laugh.

He was sitting in class, not paying attention. Just thinking about tonight. Rory wasn't known for having the best type in woman for example: Debbie Dazzle. The evil fucking doll that was turning the entire student body, and part of their friend group, into dolls!

"Mr. Weir! Whats the answer?" The teacher yelled across the room.

He was awaken from his daydreaming, he looked at the bored and it was blank. Nothing. Shit.

"uh, France...?" Benny asked with his confused smile.

"that might be correct," the teacher begun, "if this were Social Studies, but Mr. Weir... this is Science! Care to share with the class what you were dreaming about that was so important you can't pay attention?"

The look the teacher had on his face of sarcasm and a smug annoying smile. But Benny just shook his head in response.

"Then pay attention to the lesson. If I have to get on to you again I'm writing you up." Then the teacher got right back to teaching the class.

He made it through the rest of the school day without thinking about the date, but when he was walking with Ethan home it is alll he could talk and think about.

"Why would Rory set me on a date and not tell me until that day! Who does that ya know? And it'd be too rude to cancel this last minute... wait... Rory never even told me where!" He ranted about this whole thing the whole walk home, Ethan not really being able to get a word in at all.

He went to his house, found somewhat nice clothes. Three buttons at the top sorta shirt, and jeans. It was different from the shirts he usually wears because it wasn't just vertical lines across the shirt with a bunch of colors. It was one to two color max kinda shirt. He even brushed his hair.

He called Rory and found out where this date was, and he took his grandma's car. His brain then started filling with all of the positives that could come out of this date.

What if you're smokin hot?

What if you've seen every star wars movie?

What if you were nice?

His mind was just filling up with "what if". He got to the Restaurant you two were meeting up at, not super romantic but not McDonald's kind of casual.

He spots a really gorgeous girl sitting by herself at a booth, that has to be you?

He walks over, "Hey are you here on a blind date? Set up by Rory?"

You nod at the man, "Yeah... I don't really know him that well he kind of just started telling me about his single friend..."

He laughs at that before adding on, "I didn't know we were going on a date until today. He also did not tell me your name?"

You smile at him before responding, "(Y/N), and you're... Benny right?"

He nods in reassurance.

You were both there for hours, laughing and chatting. Until the restaurant was starting to close. You had both had appetisers, main dish, milkshakes, and then more dessert.

They told you they were closing and you both realized how long you had been there.

"It's been really fun talking to you... could I get your number?" Benny asked you, with a nervous undertone in his voice.

You smile and nod your head in agreement, taking one of the napkins and a pen from the checkbook, writing your number down to talk to him more often. You hand the napkin to him, as he grabs the pen and checkbook out of your hands. He had gotten the money from his grandma before the date but you didn't have to know that obviously. He actually told her to give him more incase he wanted to buy a video game.

He wasn't expecting to stay long, just get mac 'n cheese and then decide you two won't work well together. But he didn't want the video game and the amount he brought perfectly covered the check with tip.

"Do you want me to drive you home?" Benny asks after signing the checkbook and putting the cash on the table.

You looked at him with somewhat a shocked look, "oh, uh yeah if you don't mind. My dad said he was going to be a little bit late."

He heard the nervous chuckle at the end of that, and that is when he realised he fell for you. Hard.

[rebouks]

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hmmmmmmm where to even start, I love these past few scenes with the og Finch fam cos I think it does a really good job of encapsulating their family dynamics..

We already know that Oscar's pissed off with Noah for what he said but I don't think we can really blame him for thinking Oscar might just be like meh if something happened to Sid. It's no secret they don't have the best relationship-.. not to say they don't love each other cos they do, a LOT, but I think you can love and admire someone and still find it really hard to get along or be around them for too long.

I think what's REALLY interesting here though, is how Oscar's always felt second best to Noah (aka Golden Boy) but in reality, it's actually been Noah in the backseat all along.

I rewatched Breaking Bad recently and there's a scene where Jesse says something to his brother about him being the favourite cos he's well behaved and does well in school and wins trophies etc etc. but his brother's just like ?? are you kidding? you're all they talk about! It made me think about Oscar/Noah and how similar it is with them.

Almost since the moment he arrived, everything was always about Oscar. He's the one they worried and argued over, the one who took up more of their time and attention, the one who needed them the most, yet it still wasn't enough.

Sid's always been brash and a tough love type of person and in terms of the type of mother she was/is, probably not what Oscar needed. I don't think it's either of their faults, or that either particularly did anything wrong, it's just the way they are. Alton's always been inert too, which doesn't help. He's rubbish in an emergency, never makes any decisions until it's too late, never steps in when he should-.. and on the rare occasion he does, he'll probably go about it in the wrong way. Noah's the placatory one on the side-lines, trying to pick everything up once it's fallen apart; except he's clumsy with it and he's not very good at reading the room or putting himself in other people's shoes so his "help" often feels insincere and judgemental and that doesn't help either.

Sure, Noah's closer to his parents and spends WAY more time with them, he's barely ever fallen out with them and he's never felt neglected by them/resented Oscar or anything but I still think he's undeniably aware that he's not the favourite Oscar claims he is. He was just easy in comparison. I think Oscar's somewhat aware of it though, he briefly mentions it in this scene, saying; "They didn’t prefer you. You just weren’t a little cunt like me." Although.. he kinda overlooks this fact most of the time, probably because of his bitterness toward feeling like a misfit in his own family and general penchant for ruminating on the past.

Sid/Alton were just never equipped to deal with a kid like Oscar. He needed patience, empathy, trust and guidance but he didn't get any of that-.. like they gave up on him before he even knew what that meant. As guilty as it makes him feel, he'd be relieved if Sidney wasn't around cos he'd have no one to prove anything to anymore-.. like how Wyatt felt free when his father died!! A strong comparison maybe but the same undercurrent of never feeling worthy is there, y'know? Even if the relationship is much, much different.

It's a shame really, but no matter how much Oscar grows as a person, his family still kinda see him the same way that they used to; the unstable and impulsive one. It's like they're blind to all the nuances of his personality and sometimes I just wanna shake em like ahhhhhsdkjskdjk.. Oscar could do 9 good things and 1 bad and you can guaranteeee they'd focus on the bad :/ (side note: this is probably the main reason Robin is sorta like eh toward them all as well - more so than the other kiddos - cos he can sense all this and it pisses him off almost as much as it does me fkjfjk)

I don't know, this family is SO interesting to me.. like I don't think any of them are wrong for how they are or how they act with one another but they're so inherently mismatched that they just don't work. They've never been much of a functional family unit if you include Oscar, however cute they can be sometimes, and they probably never will be. That's just the way it is...

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

Am I the asshole for not inviting my friends friend to my wedding?

👰‍♀️

We’re all women in our mid 20s. I have this friend Fran* who I was friends with in hs lost contact and re-connected with. Fran js friend with Tisha who I was friends with middle school and some of hs and not gonna lie I ghosted her (I’ll explain later.) Fran and Tisha are super close.

I got engaged recently. And I’ve been planning a wedding. Fran likes wedding stuff and wants to watch the process with me. However she’s been inviting Tisha to our lunches without telling me Tisha is gonna be there. It’s uncomfortable because when they ask about my wedding Tisha always has something to say. “I’m thinking about a spring wedding” “the weather is awful here in the spring time” (example).

So for some info. When in school Tisha started using me as a butt a lot of jokes as the years went on. She was always trying to call me dumb, and project her insecurities on Me. (Tisha does/did have a hard life). I ended up telling Tisha some issues I was going through and later she used it to make a joke saying I was dumb for letting that sorta stuff happen to me (not super dark but still a dick move). She loved to use me as a therapist in private and love to make fun of me in public. Something snapped in me, and every time she was be rude to me I’d say something like “that’s a weird thing to say” or is look her up and down and just make a face. When she’d asked to cheat off my papers I’d tell her she wouldn’t want to cheat off my stupid answers. I was lucky I had other friends that I just hung out with to avoid her. She never asked for answers and I never expected her to.

I went to college far away, lived away for awhile and then moved back to work at a start up that has been awesome.

When I reconnected with Fran it was awesome. We mutually reached out since we both liked the same restaurants in the area.

Fran would try to get me to wanna hangout with Tisha and try to plan something and I told her that Tisha is a good person, but I don’t really need to reconnect with her. She would “respect” that until later she would ask again. I never told her the details because I still questioned if I was being too sensitive or not about Tisha. Not gonna lie I do pity Tisha and I hate the idea that someone like that ever did intimidate me. She’s just a reminder that I was ever awkward. Fran hasn’t asked me for the whole story. However I couldn’t avoid Tisha forever. Fran would throw a party and Tisha was there. And I knew she would be. And she was the same.

Tisha fran and I are all bisexual. When I’d hang out with them they’d sometimes refer to me as a lesbian or a wasted lesbian because now I’m marrying a man. I’d tell ‘em I’m uncomfortable with that since I’m bisexual. Fran respected it, Tisha would “forget”.

Tisha dropped out of college and I did for a bit. I told her I did the same and she would just tell me the career she was doing was so much harder than mine that I couldn’t understand how hard her life is. (It was a hard program, and she does have a hard life but again it’s that “I have it worse Olympics”) Tisha even made a joke that I got a job I wanted and I didn’t even needed to finish my college program for it since I got the job before I got my degree. I just said yeah I’m a quick learner.

I don’t see Tisha much, maybe 3 times a year before. So I just figured I’d roll with the punches because I love Fran she is awesome. Tisha kinda brings fran down too. They both kinda enable each other to be down in their dumps. They’re not dating but they’re like each others plus ones. I’ve been helping fran budget, opening new banking accounts and getting a credit card that’s good for her. Fran was grateful and tisha heard she said we were bowing our heads to capitalism.

Anyway ever since I got engaged fran has been brining Tisha everywhere. I had planned on telling fran privately, I don’t want it hanging out with Tisha, but also Tisha is not coming to my wedding. Before I could do that, while we were at lunch, TISHA MADE THE ASSUMPTION SHE WAS A BRIDES MAID.

I asked her why did she think that and she said we’ve been friends longer than fran and I. I said you’re not invited, we don’t talk privately, we don’t text, we don’t hang out, and you don’t like my fiancé because he’s a man. Fran was shocked and said couldn’t Tisha be her plus one and it’s uncofortable to talk about events someone isn’t invited to. I said that they both have been asking about it. The lunch ended.

Fran has been asking me to consider letting Tisha ve her plus one since dating is hard. Tisha thought the things I mentioned were objectives so now she is texting me, and said she wants to meet my fiancé to get to know him so she can go to the wedding.

I was trying to be nice by never mentioning to fran I really hate Tisha, but now they’re both upset and I regret not being mean. I feel like an asshole.

[hyunsusgf]

find your way back to me. (prologue)

synopsis … losing contact with your best friend that now lives hundreds of miles away has to be the worst thing that has ever happened to you.

pairing … lee eun-yu x fem!reader

warnings … none expect eun-yu because sorta kinda really out of character

lovely notes … a series started whoop whoop we celebrate at midnight. also, might change the same of this cause it’s kinda corny

꩜ [ 1.2k words ]

you and eun-yu first met in your first year of high school. none of your friends ended up going to the same high school as you, so you were all alone. you weren’t necessarily timid, but you weren’t outgoing enough to put yourself out there. eun-yu was the one who approached you first. you were sitting at the very back of your first class when she decided to sit directly next to you. neither of you said anything, but it was nice to have that kind of company in a new environment.

you didn’t exactly know why she chose to sit next to you. maybe she just wanted to be friendly, or maybe she thought you looked approachable. regardless, you were glad to have someone to sit with, at the very least.

during the first few months of school, both of you engaged in small talk in class and between classes. she'd crack a joke or two that made you laugh louder than you intended, and you’d make small doodles on her paper when she wasn’t looking. 

you were somewhat well-acquainted, although you didn’t speak outside of school. the in-school friendship was enough to make you actually want to come to class and do your work.

as time passed, the two of you became actual friends, not just casual acquaintances. you walked to classes together, sat by each other in more than just your first class, and sat together at lunch, doing everything bored friends do at school. you even got in trouble together from time to time for something as minor as talking too loud in class or not paying attention to your teacher.

you enjoyed spending time with eun-yu, and it seemed reasonable to assume she enjoyed being around you too. you spent most of the day together, so it would be concerning if she didn’t like your company.

toward the end of your first year, you and eun-yu began spending time together outside of school. you'd go to the movies to see whatever was newly released, though you mostly spent the time chatting and laughing because the movies were never very fascinating. you'd also go to the park to spend hours on the swings. 

you had other friends, as did eun-yu, but they weren’t as fun as she was. you didn’t enjoy hanging out with them nearly as much as you did with eun-yu.

then, in february, eun-yu gifted you a heart-shaped box of chocolates and glittery lip gloss. it was an odd gift, but you had been talking about wanting it for so long because of how pretty it looked. you hadn’t bought it yourself because you decided you had better things to spend your money on. in return, you gave her red heart-shaped lollipops and a silver heart-shaped necklace. everything exchanged between you two was heart-shaped “in the name of love,” your words.

after that valentine's day, you and eun-yu became even closer. not necessarily as friends, but in a general sense. you spent more time in each other’s presence, though your relationship remained normal. nothing much changed between you, except for the increased closeness.

at the start of your second year, you and eun-yu became inseparable. you sat next to each other in every class you had together, still walked to classes together, and continued to sit together at lunch. outside of school, you still hung out almost weekly. it got to the point where your mother expected her to come over and got concerned when she didn’t. your mother was so used to eun-yu's presence, as was everyone else around you.

everyone grew accustomed to seeing you together. if one of you wasn’t present, someone would inevitably ask, “where's the other one?” you spent every waking moment together, never questioning your friendship, or rather, your feelings for her.

it felt strange to over-explain yourself, but everyone hears stories about people who fall in love with their best friends and can do nothing but watch them from afar. you didn’t want to end up like that, so you had to think about your feelings for her, romantically.

your relationship with eun-yu continued to blossom as time went on. the two of you remained inseparable despite the usual bumps in the road of friendship. you were grateful to have met her in your first year of high school because she was literally everything to you.

but as fate would have it, something had to go wrong. problems arose when your mother told you that you would be moving after your second year because she had a new job opportunity elsewhere. with only half of your second year remaining, you knew the end was approaching rapidly. naturally, you were devastated to leave almost all your family, but most of all, you were heartbroken about leaving your best friend of almost three years.

three years may not be the longest time, but she was still your closest friend. you didn’t know how she would react when you told her the news, but you had to inform her. leaving without a word would be inconsiderate.

you feared she’d be angry, or worse, hate you. However, when you told her, she maintained a calm demeanor. it was clear she was upset, but if it deeply troubled her, she didn’t show it. so, you made the best of the time you had left together.

as your second year ended, you and your mother packed everything necessary. before you could leave, you had to say goodbye to eun-yu. you knew you wouldn’t have much if any, time left with her now that you were about to move.

as you approached her apartment, you were relieved to see her already sitting on the front steps. she noticed you before you could fully approach her, and you could tell she was excited to see you. you hadn’t been able to hang out much recently due to the packing and preparations.

not wanting to waste any time, you ran up and gave her the most bone-crushing hug you could muster. this would be your last hug with your best friend, and you wanted to imprint it in your memory. you wanted to remember every detail about her. your biggest fear was losing her forever.

before parting ways, you told her how much you loved her. you weren’t sure if she understood the depth of your love, but she reciprocated it, and that was all the reassurance you needed. you promised to keep in touch while you were away and to never forget each other. you promised.

then, you moved. it felt like you were across the country. you'd never felt so far from home, and it was overwhelming. you wanted your house back, your school back, your friends back, and above all, your eun-yu back. you wanted your best friend more than anything. it's not like you didn’t keep in touch, but it wasn’t the same as seeing her in person. hugging her, talking to her, being with her in person—nothing could compare.

but, once again, fate was not on your side. you and eun-yu stopped texting and calling as often as you once did. both of you became so busy with your own lives that you either forgot or didn’t have time to talk as you used to. and as quickly as you became friends, she became a distant memory in the back of your mind.

[tea-and-secrets]

something ive noticed in my transition - women just do not treat me the same. its weird /: it felt like one day i was the butch everyone hid behind & felt safe with, and the next i was scaring ladies by just like existing

idk it just hits me really fuckin hard every now and again yk? like tn for example. i work at a restaurant, we close at 11pm, i typically take the last bus of the night home. tonight there was this woman (20s? 30s?), real pretty, real white, and obvs new to town. anyway, she got on at the same stop i did, and she got off at the same one i did (i live in company housing, and most all of us have 2nd jobs so its quite routine to see another [redacted] employee on the city bus to/from work #2). now its a mile long walk right on the edge of the creepy ass woods, in the pitch black, to the company apt complex. and i was walking behind her the whole way 😐 she got so freaked out y'all! mace open n ready, keys in the fingers, pretending to be on the phone, etc. and im jus over here takin my sweet ass time walkin so i can star gaze. i felt bad for her feeling scared, so idk i just made noise and turned my flashlight on and tried to let her get as far ahead of me as possible. mostly cuz i was Not about to have her call the fuckin c*ps on me, an entire ass queer brown man, for daring to walk home in the dark behind her. BITCH WE GOT BEARS OUT HERE like if ur so "scared" of me wtf u gon do when u come face to face wit them? die??

sorry that was all over the place im just. so tired!!!! of cis women & white people being "scared" of me because of who i am and what i look like (ive been told i look like an ndn chulo 🤔 sorta danny trejo mixed wit rez kid, but fagged up real good). i miss the "innate" kinship, the "i do not know you but that person is being creepy af so ig we've been besties since grade school" or "hi, ik im walking so close behind u but its cuz ur bleeding. heres a tampon hun" or "were bonding over having a very similar experience within this society" kinda thing yk?

of course, i still have that with [most] other queers it just, hurts ig. to have my "role" flipped so suddenly. i *like* being someone ppl flock to for safety. i *enjoy* protecting others and providing comfort. i *want* randoms to feel comfortable enough with me to ask for help if they need it. idk 😐 hard bein 🫳🏽 and a 2Spirit fagdyke

.

[incorrectlumityquotes]

Lumity Episode Master List

Well, this is it gang. It's over. The Owl House is finished. Part of me will always be bitter about Disney gutting season three.

BUT at the same time, part of me is glad that The Owl House is over. Because that means lumity is canon forever and nobody can change that. What's that Disney? You don't like the gay? Well too bad. The only way you can change it is to make more episodes which I know you're not gonna do.

Nana-nana, boo-boo. Stick your head in doo-doo.

It's been a fantastic journey and if you ever wanna go through it again, there's always Disney Plus. But if just want your lumity fix without going through every single episode, then here you go.

I did it for starco and now I'm doing it for lumity. Here's every single episode the led up to lumity.

Spoilers for a show that we painfully know has ended.

"I Was a Teenage Abomination"

The revolution was a lie. Do you remember? When we were young and you wanted to set the world on fire? Sorry that's a reference to a song I like.

You can't do a list about a ship without actually starting the ship. The episode where Luz and Amity first meet and thank jeebus they did. Personally, I thought the first episode was okay and I didn't like the second one. But this episode was amazing. 10/10.

Luz feels like she isn't learning as much as she could from Eda so she sneaks into a witch school. With witch kids. We meet Willow and then we meet Amity, who I honestly thought was going to be some kind of Draco Malfoy bully type character. And she's kinda sorta like that in this episode. Little did we know the love that was gonna blossom here.

"Covention"

I get it. It's like coven and convention. OH now I get it. Well, we can't have them be enemies to lovers without them being enemies first. Willow and Gus invite Luz, Eda and King to the local covention where Amity just happens to be checking out the Emperor's Coven panel.

Yeah, she's still upset over the whole 'pretending to be an abomination thing.' We get some classic Malfoy-esque bullying from Amity that pushes Luz to challenge her. Since the Clawthorne sisters refuse to have one up over the other, they both cheat, embarrassing Amity.

The scene where Luz apologizes to Amity was the first hint that Amity would go beyond a Malfoy-bully character. Even though Amity was still upset, she broke the pact and Luz held no ill will towards her.

"Lost in Language"

I'm lost in language and I don't know what I'm thinking about. I'm back on my feet. Eager to be what you want me. Sorry. That's another song.

We get the first seed of the actual lumity ship and my first "I ship them" episode. Luz goes to the local library and the show shock everyone by showing Amity...reading to kids in the kids corner. You guys gotta remember that at the time this blew everyone's minds. The bully character reading to kids in the library? And they love her? Everyone's view of Amity changed, especially Luz's. Then we met Edric and Emira, who unlike Amity, are super cool and nice. All of which plays to the theme of the episode.

We (and Luz) discover that Amity is a lot more than she seems. She's not the bully character. Same with Edric and Emira. They're not the cool ones; they're the bullies. And that's the same way Amity feels about Luz. But with a little teamwork and a horrifying children's character come to life, Amity agrees to try to be a friendlier witch.

"Adventures in the Elements"

We wouldn't see Amity again for another several episodes. Thank goodness for that other country airing the episode early, am I right, people? Anyway.

Luz finally goes out with Eda for some serious witch training after Amity (oh cramity) warns her about the baby class. We get Amity making an actual effort to be nice to Luz, which almost completely goes to hell when Luz takes Amity's training wand. But then she does the "You'll only get hurt bit," and we see more of those little glimpses.

It's safe to say that after this episode Luz and Amity actually did become friends. No ill will on either side.

"Understanding Willow"

Luz and Amity became friends in the previous episode. Just Luz and Amity. Willow and Gus were a different story. Especially Willow. This is that story. It's the full story.

It's revealed that Willow and Amity used to be friends until Amity's parents forced Amity to push Willow away, something Willow still resents her for.

In the lumity side of things, Luz starts wiggling her way into Amity's heart with her upbeat, positive attitude. It's infectious. We even get a lumity hug, even if it was one sided.

"Enchanting Grom Fright"

Come on. Come on. Do I even have to at this point? The episode that blew this ship into the stratosphere.

It's Grom season and everyone's getting a date. Except for Amity who is unfortunately named the grom queen which means she has to fight a horrifying shapeshifting monster. Horray for The Boiling Isles being a safe and sensible place to live. Luz, being Luz, takes Amity's place so she doesn't have her worst fear come to life in front of everyone. But Luz is unable to face her greatest fear, and it takes the power of Wan to put Grom back in his place.

I love this episode. I love talking about this episode. I love how Amity is staring at her note because she's contemplating putting it in Luz's locker. I love how she says "Watch it, nitwit," before she realizes who she's talking to. I love how Luz and Amity randomly meet at the woods. Is it sloppy writing? Fuck you. I love when Amity grabs her dress when Grom tears her note. That's such a kid thing to do.

This is already way too long. I should move on.

"Wing It Like Witches"

The final part of the original lumity trilogy. We get the stupid fakey made up magical sport. Fuck you, Harry Potter. And we also get Boscha being a royal B. Someone tell her to see you next Tuesday. Am I right, people?

Luz, being Luz, wants to stand up to Boscha for Willow but, being Luz, makes things so much worse. Amity pops in and out of the episode to try to help but the gay panic is too much for her. Amity admits, out loud, that she loves how Luz seems to always get herself in over her head when she's trying to help someone. But they lose anyway. Fuck you, Harry Potter.

Enchanting Grom Fright was huge. But this episode was a bunch of fun. Fuck you, Harry Potter.

"Escaping Expulsion"

After breaking Amity's leg because we didn't want her anywhere near the season one finale, she finally makes her grand return. We also meet her parents and Odalia is one of the biggest Karen's I've ever seen. Luz gets expelled which is bad but she's more concerned over Willow and Gus. She tries to cut a deal with thicc mama Blight, but gets roped into product demonstration. Odalia tries to kill a child and fails when Amity appears from the rafters like Sting and announces to the world, "Stay away from my Luz."

It was awesome. We get a return blush and Luz officially starts crushing on Amity back. Reminds me of another post I did long ago telling everyone to be freaking patient. This episode also marks Amity being a part of the Hexsquad, but not one hundred percent into the friend group just yet.

"Through the Looking Glass Ruins"

I'm looking at you through the glass. Don't know how much time has past...I forgot the rest of the song.

It's funny because I guess the lumity stuff was actually the B-plot to this episode. This episode was very important for a lot of reasons. It introduced Phillip's diary, the galderstones, Matt and Gus kinda became friends. But we're not here to talk about that.

Luz discovers the there was a human in The Boiling Isles who donated a journal to the Bonesboro library. And since Amity works at the library, you know the whole two stones thing. And we see Luz crushing hard on Amity for the first time.

Unfortunately, Luz does get Amity in trouble again for like the fourth(?) time or something. That puts a real dent in things. But Luz comes through for Amity (offscreen) and gets her her job back. Amity makes the first move right at the end of the episode marking the beginning of the purple Amity era.

"Knock, Knock, Knockin' on Hooty's Door"

Hey, hey, hey! Please tell me I'm not the only one that got that reference. Don't make me feel old.

This is it. The most important episode since Grom. Dana and the crew knew that the series had been cut short so they had to speed things up. So they turned to...Hooty? Yeah. Okay. Sure. Whatever.

Luz is torn between finding a way back to the human realm and trying to ask out Amity. And you know that old saying about chasing two rabbits? Yeah. Hooty's solution? Kidnap Amity and force the two into the tunnel of love. Amity is actually totally digging the tunnel of love but Luz is afraid that Amity is going to make fun of her. Both ideas backfire and Amity starts to the think that she's been rejected already.

But that's to Hooty losing his mind, and a little advice from Eda, Luz asks out Amity. And she says YES! Lumity canon! In episode 8 of season 2! That's how you do it, Star vs the Forces of Evil! You give the people what they want. And now that Amity is Luz's girlfriend, she can help get more info out of the echo mouse.

And the love stuff too.

"Eclipse Lake"

Oh right. Amity. The girlfriend of Luz. The girl who is in a romantic relationship with Luz. Luz's girlfriend. That's Amity.

We have the first episode of Luz and Amity being a couple and hoo-boy, did Amity make sure to let us know. Nervous about having her first serious girlfriend, Amity wants to prove to Luz and herself that she is an awesome girlfriend. By going into the titan's veins to steal some of its blood.

As one does.

Hunter tries to prey on Amity's (and his own) insecurities about having to prove your worth. But it takes King and some well placed emoji messages to remind Amity why she fell in love with Luz in the first place. That Luz is so different from her family and her social circle. She doesn't have to prove anything to Luz. Luz wears her affection on her sleeve.

"Follies at the Coven Day Parade"

Night of the living dead is on its way. I keep making a lot of song references here.

This is the episode were the couple hits their first snag as a couple. Luz has a serious problem communicating when something is wrong (more on that later). After the traumatizing events of the previous episode, Luz can't bring herself to tell Amity that she promised her mom that she'd leave forever, especially since Amity is doing so much to get closer to Luz like learning Spanish. But Amity ain't no dummy. She can tell when Luz is hiding something. It's made even worse when Amity gets a hold of Luz's phone, which anyone who has been in a relationship could tell you, is a trap.

Luckily, trust and compassion win out in the end. Luz tells Amity exactly what happened, and they communicate. But if Luz was honest with Amity in the first place, we'd only have half an episode.

"Any Sport in a Storm"

Again, Lumity takes the B-plot.

While huntlow is becoming a thing, Luz and Amity try to search for the author of the Azura book series. On the way they parody fan theories in the nicest way I've ever seen in a show. And the big twist of the author of Azura turns out to be that there is no twist. It really is just a fantasy book series that Luz really likes that sometimes washes up in The Boiling Isles.

This episode is important because it serves to remind people what Luz and Amity have in common. Pointing out the fact that the two girls are different is fun, but sometimes you just have to go back to basics and remember that Luz and Amity just really like each other, get along, and are both nerds who like the same book series. And that whole opposites attract thing is bullshit. The key is compliments, not opposties.

"Reaching Out"

Hoo-boy. This one is heavy.

It's a special day for Luz, which is not a good thing. She wants to do anything but be alone with her thoughts. Good thing Amity shows up with a problem that could distract them all day.

Amity thinks that signing up for the Bonesboro Brawl could bring her closer to her dad (since her mom is obviously a lost cause) and ditches coven tryouts to compete for the championship title. Luz tries to help, but when Amity has the competition in the bag, Luz tries to help even more to keep herself busy.

But, as usual, Luz gets Amity in trouble and it really hurts this time. Not only did Luz get Amity in trouble (again), but she won't talk to her (again). When Amity has had enough, Luz does what she only does as a last resort and actually communicates.

That's when everything changes. It's the anniversary of Luz's dad's death. And usually Luz and Camila spend the day together. You know, to make it hurt less. But this year, she can't be with her.

This episode is important because after seeing Amity at a low point an unfair amount of times, this time Amity is seeing Luz at her lowest point. Amity makes this one face that, to me, says that Amity is shocked (to say the least) that her girlfriend was in pain this whole time. But she was so wrapped up in her own problems that she didn't notice. Or at least, that's my interpretation.

Luz and Amity make up and pick flowers together. It wasn't pretty or that romantic. It hurt and was kinda sad. But if you want to paint a pretty picture, sometimes you're gonna use some dark colors. And they're stronger for it.

"Clouds on the Horizon"

Oh yeah, baby. You know what this episode is.

When all hope seemed lost, it turns out not everyone believed Bellos' promises of paradise on the Day of Unity. While the adults are trying to stop the draining spell, Luz is sent on a slightly less dangerous mission of rescuing Amity from her mom's house arrest. Thicc Mama Blight even broke Amity's tamagachi thing. That bitch. See her next Tuesday.

But hope comes in the form of a Noceda as Luz enters through her bedroom window, Romeo & Juliet style. She promises Amity a slice-of-life future and Amity can't hold back anymore and

Gifs you can hear. Am I right, people?

We get it. Our first kiss. Our babies grow up so fast.

Actually no, that took forever, but you get my meaning.

Season 3: "Thanks to Them" "For the Future" "Watching and Dreaming"

Okay yeah, this is a bit of a cop out, but also, not really. Since Disney decided to be, well Disney, season three was cut short. Just enough to finish the story, but not enough to get lumity centric episodes. Everything was mashed together into 3 forty minute episodes.

Yes, we do have a lot of important lumity moments, but they're generally spread around all three episodes. None of them are more important than the other.

"Thanks to Them" had Luz coming out to her mom and introducing Amity. "For the Future" had Amity comforting Luz about her palisman. "Watching and Dreaming" had more kisses.

Unfortunately, I have to end the list by just saying watch all of them or none of them. Not very specific for a post that's supposed to be a specific list. Sorry, gang.

[iamyouknow-yours]

Marcel is a Mikaelson. He does not have to call himself a Mikaelson as he is fully within his rights to denounce the very toxic family but he is one.

I hate the way the show treated him, I hate the way the characters treated him, and I hate that he is involved with Rebekah. I hate the way he and Hope are only kinda sorta siblings.

1. The show:

So we know Julie Plec is very much a white liberal. We know this. We know she has sexism issues, we know she has racism issues (black women will save us all, really Julie????). I don't know which of her multitude of biases made her (and the rest of the writers) think that the way they wrote Marcel and the Mikaelson's relationships with him, was normal (or like normal in the context of the show). But boy howdy.

The plantation house. We're just going to have the Mikaelsons move into the house where Marcel was owned as a slave????? That's what we're gonna do?????? And where his abusive biological father lived and y'know, abused him. Fucking what the fuck?? I feel like this just epitomises the way the show treats Marcel.

2. The characters:

The family never treats him as part of the family unless they want something from him.

They did not raise him as a son and it is weird and terrible and he was a child!!!!! Why did you adopt him if you didn't want a child???

Why is Klaus so scared of having Hope if he's already had a child?

Why does Klaus treat Marcel the exact same way Mikael treated him just because they're not blood related?? (if they actually explored this it could have been interesting but no they just only half treat Marcel as a Mikaelson).

YOU'RE TELLING ME THEY DIDN'T CHECK?? THEY DIDN'T CHECK HE WAS DEAD????? Not once in the 80+ years did Klaus or Elijah go back to New Orleans or even send someone to fucking check that his SON was really dead??? Didn't think to do that???? No???

3. Rebekah:

Oh my god what do I even say about Rebekah?

They could have at least made her be daggered for the time when he was a child and only meet him when he was already an adult and a vampire because that way she's only technically his aunt and not a full fucking adult who saw him grow up!!!!!!!!

Hope:

Idk man, they were siblings. Let them be siblings. The whole thing in Legacies where the Mikaelsons just kind of left Hope alone? Weird. Bonkers. Batshit. I know it's because they couldn't get the actors but maybe think about that before writing your fucking show my guy.

Or in TO where Hope was just left alone and Klaus was not there as a dad for like 5(?) years.

Hayley was the only good parent on The Originals or Legacies canon, fight me.

(side note, you're telling me Caroline would leave Alaric, Alaric, an alcoholic, vampire-hating, weirdo (Caroline and Alaric being romantically involved briefly WAS WEIRD GUYS, WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK HE USED TO BE HER FUCKING TEACHER) in charge of the school for supernatural children??

You're telling me she left him in charge of parenting Lizzie and Josie?? Yeah okay sure.

And look how well that turned out. Locking teenagers in goddamn prison worlds, excellent headmastering there Alaric well done. And just swell parenting of the twins. Favouring Hope over them at all times and letting them bully each other weirdly for years and allowing your mentally ill children to just get more mentally ill from your parenting. Great moves. Very good.

Okay Legacies rant over)

Yeah okay my whole rant is over I think.

TL;DR: Marcel deserved better.

(and so did the kids on Legacies.)

Also PSA, the only reason I have so many feelings about this is because I like the freaking shows okay? I like the characters (except Alaric and Damon and the ones we're supposed to dislike like Mikael and Esther).

[averagetmntfan]

a special thank you to my moots.

(TW: suicidal thoughts, ig?)

ahem- so as I have mentioned, today is my 1 year old this platform! I honestly cant believe it’s been this..long? A lot has happened, too. And honestly for the longest time, it wasn’t going well. Like- at all.

(rant continues under the cut:)

I’m don’t want anyone to feel sorry for me. Im doing much better than before, so it’s really not a big deal anymore. I’m just giving some brief context for my 2023- early 2024 school year.

so, I made this blog a couple days before the whole situation went down. Which I think I briefly mentioned on here.

so for a bit, I had felt very uh- isolated in my friend group. I had kinda always been the odd one out. We had different interests. Their sort of fun was hangin’ out, gossiping and what not. And I was into cartoons, and art. I never really told them, though. There were sorta judgy, and I was very insecure. Because they make fun of people. And I didn’t wanna end up by myself.

But anyways- usually, they’d all leave. And tell me to watch their stuff. And since I’m sort of a pushover irl, I didn’t really argue about it. But when I say all of them leave-? I meant all of them. All 4 of em. And it often did upset me.

also they’d talk to people I didn’t even know- which, okay yeah- but I couldn’t talk to them. I didn’t wanna get dirty looks. I’m not a very outgoing person. I like to think I keep to myself often.

So, Halloween comes around. And this stuff doesn’t end. And for a bit more context, one of my friends was getting super annoying by me. And I’m pretty sure she didn’t like me, like- at all. She easily got annoyed at me. And only me.

so she went to the Halloween dance- last block of the day

blah blah skip to after school and I text the group- “where are u guys?” None of them respond. So I search a lil bit, then head outside. Where- guess what? All of them were.

I asked “Why didn’t you answer the text?”

and my friends that gets annoyed at my easily said a snarky “my phone was off.” And was generally just being fucking bitch. And I use to be a big crybaby and stuff- and eventually grew out of it. But this- this sentence really upset me. I stormed off, avoiding all of them.

eventually I got on my bus and- well. Uh. Let my feelings out, if you will. I remember it very cleary, too. It was one of the most tears I had shed in a long time.

I get home, and the girl texts the gc, clamming I stormed off for “no reason” and I had enough. Saying smth “I obviously didnt storm off for no fucking reason”

a bit more of arguing keeps going, and a lot more sobs. It was one of the worst days I had ever had.

a few more days go by, and the situation gets worse. I avoid all of them, and hung out w/ a diff friend. I ranted/vent to her, telling her my friend was a Hippocrate for complaining about our other friends leaving, even tho she did the EXACT same fucking thing.

Which, was talking shit. So that wasn’t great and rlly bad of me. And I guess karma hit hard bc she texted me after school, saying I was talking shit abt her. Bc my friend was friends with her friends. So..awkward..

and really- the next day, it was over. I was free. But at what cost, really? I lost all my friends. Became an outcast, really. It was pathetic, now that I think about it.

for the rest of the year, I rarely spoke to them. And never talked to the other girl.

I spent most my time in the library, reading. And skipping out on eating. I was so unhappy. I don’t wanna say depressed but- very close.

it really made me hate who I was. It made me feel like a terrible person.

And that’s when I really did start using Tumblr more. It was sort of an escape, of mine. And god, I’m so glad I set up and account. I Met do many amazing and unique people one here.

This is sort of corny but, I really think this has helped me through a lot. Since a few months early I lost my privileges to tik tok, and discord. Which, yeah. Sucked.

but so many things had happened-! Joined a rp group, met a new online friend (which we are now very very close<3), found out about a LOT of facts, found other people who shared my interests!

so here we are, one year later.

it was really something. I’ve met so many wonderful people on here, man. Especially my moots. You guys know who you are. I’m not gonna tag you guys, but I’ll do a quick smth smth ig

FIRST OF- my first closest moots-!! Ghosty, cookie, Sleepy, Ally, And my Pooks, Ari. So many awesome things happened with these guys. A lot of funny moments, too. Lmao.

AND ALL MY RAMSHACKLE PEEPS- dew, anomaly, Schnozz, reboot, Bailey, lilac,- you guys are literally AWESOME UGH- I seriously enjoy every interaction I have with you guys. It genuinely makes me so happy

sorry this is super corny and stuff, I really wanted to make something meaningful for this. Thank you guys for being so amazing.<3

— jj

[spacedace]

@proshipper-on-ship​ thank you for the Dick & Dan idea you added to my other post, please enjoy some of the fall out your comment resulted in haha

“So,” Bruce tried, looking hesitantly pleased at the surprisingly light atmosphere around the table. “Anything new and exciting going on with anyone?”

There was a smattering of answers from around the table. Jason didn’t offer anything - which wasn’t surprising, that he was even there and largely not starting a fight was more than enough as far as Dick was concerned - but with some ribbing from Steph, Tim eventually admitted to finally asking that boy he’d been interested in out. Dick joined in on teasing his little brother - and even Jay gave, for him, some gentle ribbing over finally getting the balls to do something, eh Timberland? - while very carefully avoiding mentioning his own sorta-kinda thing with Dan in Bludhaven. He’d deal with his siblings making him miserable and embarrassed over it all when he actually scored a date with him thanks very much.

Things were going good.

And then Damian cleared his throat, looking imperious and uninterested at the same time as he waited for everyone to turn to look at him.

“I have an announcement on an alteration to my personal life.” He declared, chin up and looking like he was already over this whole family-bonding-time thing, which was fair. Damian had gotten better over the years, but he was still not exactly the cute and cuddly little brother. Dick still had the scar from the last time he tried to hug Dami without warning a year ago and got stabbed for the effort. Still, he was sharing, willingly even! That’s progress!

At the head of the table Bruce tilted his head, looking as cautiously hopeful as Dick felt over the youngest Wayne actually offering to share something personal. “Have you decided on what college you want to go to then?”

“No.” Dami dismissed easily, without more than a glance in Bruce’s direction. “Night and I have decided to take some time to travel before continuing any further schooling.”

Huh, honestly, Dick was kinda surprised. With how much of a perfectionist Dami was, he’d thought he’d throw himself into college with the same ferocious, competitive drive he did everything else. But then again, if Elle Nightingale was going to be taking a gap year or two, it wasn’t as if it was that much of a surprise that Dami would go and join her.

The two gremlins had been practically inseparable since they were twelve and discovered a shared love of stabbing people and adopting every animal they see. If Dami’s best friend was going to go gallivanting across the world like she always dreamed of doing, Dick couldn’t actually be that  surprised that Dami would be going with her.

Dick took a sip of his drink as Dami opened his mouth to continue with what was probably going to be to most people the world’s most harrowing game of “how many incredibly dangerous animals can we see before we end up dead on our gap year” that the two demons were undoubtedly planning.

He regretted taking that sip almost immediately as Damian said, “Night and I took our marital vows yesterday. She sends her regrets that she was unable to join us for family dinner tonight.”

Predictably, the room broke out into utter chaos.

Dick choked on his drink, spraying across the table and splattering Babs with a shower of wine. She didn’t even seem to notice, dropping her own glass as she snapped her head over to stare at Damian, the sound of breaking glass and a deep red stain pooling across the table following as she did. At the end of the table, Jay made a noise like a dying goose as the samosa he’d just popped in his mouth threatened to kill him. Cass, perhaps the most outwardly calm at the proclamation, only stared with wide eyes at her younger brother as she hit Jason on the back in an attempt to make sure he didn’t die.

Dick could practically hear the old shrieking AOL dial up noise that was Tim’s brain attempting to process what his little brother had just said, while sitting next to him Steph gave a small shriek of you what? Duke’s head was on a swivel, eyes darting from Damian, to another family member, to Damian and back again as if unsure who to even look at in the moment.

Bruce just…stared, frozen in place, face caught in the most open look of shock Dick thinks the man has ever shown in his life.

---

Damian sniffed and cast a caustic look towards - of all people - Jason, “Unlike some people, I share my good news with the family in a timely manner.”

Jay sputtered, “You know what, fuck you! Fine, you want me to share the news?” Jay snapped his head towards the rest of them. “Jazz is pregnant, baby is due next month on the sixth. Baby shower’s next weekend at Robinson Park, show up or don’t, I really don’t give a fuck.”

Or maybe he was just going to try to kill them with a heart attack.

“What the fuck?!”

“Language!”

“Who the fuck is Jazz?!”

“Language!”

“Night’s elder sister and guardian, Drake, keep up. You should know this, you’re dating her brother.”

“I’m what?”

“And Grayson is having flirtations with her other brother.”

“Dan is Elle’s older brother? Wait - how do you know about that?”

“Todd and I are in the Nightingale family group chat. We have endured far too much waxing poet about your posterior over the past months.”

“Why do they all have variations of the same name? Who gives all their children the same name?”

“He likes my ass?”

“Oh my god, bigger picture Dick, focus.”

“Seriously, do they all have the same name outside of the older sister? I feel like we need to acknowledge they all have the same name.”

“Can we go back to the fact that Damian got married? To Elle? Yesterday? How did you even do that without anyone knowing?

“Dr. Nightingale is a notary.”

“...Dr. Nightingale as in the woman Bruce is investigating Dr. Nightingale?”

“Okay but the name thing? Please tell me you’re not naming the baby some variation of the name Daniel.”

“If the gremlins get their way it will be. Do you know how many lists we’ve made that they keep sabotaging?”

“So you have Dan’s number? Could you give it to me?”

“Jesus Christ, Dick I’m begging you.”

“Why did you guys even get married?”

“For the diplomatic immunity.”

“You don’t have diplomatic immunity.”

“I do now.”

“What does that mean?”

[bookwormgirl123]

୨୧ epic: the high school au: polisseus edition ୨୧

these two are pretty central to the plot, so I thought I’d make them their own post!

(this is going to be in bullet form, but i’ll try to make it a timeline sorta thing?????????)

୨୧ so!!! odysseus and polites met at a playground when odysseus was 8 and polites was 7, and they’ve been best friends ever since ୨୧ but because ody went to public school, they didn’t go to the same school until middle school, because the private middle school was still under construction by the time ody was in middle school ୨୧ polites fell first, he developed a crush on odysseus the first year they went to school together (for reference, poli would’ve been 11 while ody was 12) ୨୧ odysseus sensed that polites had a crush on him, but at this point he still thought he was straight, so he pretended not to notice it for about a year, until finally he asked him out for what was basically a pity-date ୨୧ eventually, ody realized he really was enjoying polites’ company, and not in a platonic way (basically, polites was odysseus’ bi awakening) ୨୧ unfortunately, that was the year that penelope moved to ithaca, and odysseus was, as we know, head-over-heels for her, so he broke it off with polites  ୨୧ and that’s how their story ended ୨୧ jk but nothing really happens for like 5 years ୨୧ in his freshman year, polites dated perimedes, which made odysseus really jealous but he couldn’t figure out why (especially since he was dating penelope at this point) (ody sir you are a mess) ୨୧ eventually, polites broke it off with perimedes bc he still had feeling for ody (which actually worked out really well for perimedes who was developing a crush on elepenor) ୨୧ after the breakup, the romantic tension between ody & pol comes to a height, though they both thought it was one-sided  ୨୧ nothing really happens for another year ୨୧ and BOOM! (this is where the main drama of the au comes in lol) ୨୧ at the christmas dance, polites kisses ody under the mistletoe (note that odysseus & penelope are still dating at this point, and they did attend the dance together, but penny’s probably in the bathroom or something in that moment, so she doesn’t know) ୨୧ in the moment, odysseus does kiss polites back, but after a second or two he runs off ୨୧ for the next few weeks (?) ody avoids polites (out of guilt bc he feels that he betrayed penelope), but it unintentionally has the opposite effect as he intended it to, bc they were normally so close ୨୧ eventually, their friends force them to talk. odysseus tells polites that he shouldn’t have kissed him, which makes polites defensive & he points out that ody kissed him back. they have a huge fight that ends with them making out  ୨୧ for the next few months they see each other in secret (which odysseus does feel really bad about, he just has no idea what to do lol) ୨୧ so yeah. that’s kinda the main drama of (my interpretation of) this au, so eventually they do get caught. very teen-drama dramatic, y’know? idk when or where, but my vague thought was that penelope would see them kissing or something, would run out of the room crying (but like. no one sees her, so after a while odysseus or telemachus notices she’s gone but doesn’t know where she is, until eventually ody put two-and-two together and realized he’d been caught) ୨୧ anyway, penny breaks it off with ody, and he’s caught between trying to win her back and not doing that (again, out of guilt) ୨୧ that’s kinda all I have for now?????? my original plan was to have odysseus end up with penelope, while polites ends up in a poly relationship with permides + elpenor, but seeing there’s a demand for odypol… (aka one comment lol) now I’m considering having odysseus end up with both of them ୨୧ so yeah. that’s it. byeeeee!!!!!

[the-dumpster-fire-of-life]

Hi! First off, I just wanna say that I love your writing! It is very very good and I enjoy it very much :D

Second off, I have a request for TWDG

So, how would Marlon, Louis, Clem, Violet, and anyone else you want to add react to their future S/O who has a cat they really really love. Like, say if reader was with Clem whenever her and AJ got rescued. When reader wakes up, they immediately start looking for their cat and when whoever come to check on them, they bring out a knife they have in their shoe and start threading them until reader gets their cat back.

You don’t have to use that idea, just a little thing I thought of. Thank you for your time and thank you if you decide to write this! (Btw if you do you have a request that’ll be prioritized on my blog!)

Have a great day/night!

(Hey! This is basically same thing on my other account, I copy and pasted the request so I could put it on both of my accounts if that makes sense lmao. Anyways, Enjoy!)

Marlon, Louis, Clem and Vi x Reader who's missing a cat Platonic, brother AJ and Sibling reader

MARLON

When they heard the crash and found you guys, Marlon didn’t see your cat around

Much less even know there was a cat in the beginning 

So when he heard you had woken up, at first he was sorta relieved but apprehensive

Didn’t help when first thing you did when meeting was pull out a knife they missed in your boot and point it at his neck

You were demanding your cat

Marlon was so fucking confused

“What cat- there was no cat when we found you two and the boy.”

“...whAt-”

When he finally explained, he felt bad because you looked so sad

Your heart was so broken

Your cat was gone

You didn’t know if it ran away or had been eaten by walkers

And Marlon also felt bad because he knew what it was like being attached to an animal

Like he didn’t know what he would do if he lost Rosie

Clem also helped you trying to find it, Marlon tagged along also

And there was no luck until Marlon heard meowing by the gate

He jumped ngl

He then saw the cat

He felt so proud when he returned it to you

Felt like a damn hero with his hands on his hips

He loves the cat also!

He doesn’t like when the cat tries to play with his haier thinking it’s a fellow cat but-

Rosie surprisingly liked it too

Your cat liked him a bit too

Because we all know that if your pet doesn’t like them they gotta go

So yay! All good

LOUIS

Louis when he came to check on you was kinda excited new people were at the school

He and the others hadn’t seen anyone for a long time

But that excitement quickly turned into fear when he was thrown into the wall with a knife to his neck

Hands up and saying “Ay! I come in peace!”

Only thing he got from your yelling was that you had a cat, your cat was gone, and you wanted your cat

Problem was…Louis had found it and claimed it as his own-

Dw he was glad he had what you wanted

But he found the amazing creature who loved him and he loved it

Was so sad that he couldn’t keep it

He missed animals

Except Rosie, loves her to but he hadn’t seen a cat in a long time

Once you took the knife away from his neck he was like

“Okay, thank you for not murdering me- and yeah, I got a cat. What does your cat look like?” 

And once you told him he felt so sad he had to part ways with the amazing animal

But nonetheless he gave it back

Felt happy he reunited y’all

And also was so freaking happy because the cat followed him around

You didn’t wanna tear him away from the cat so you let them hang out

And Louis and the cat are best friends now

The cats always on his lap or sitting on his shoulder when eating dinner or playing a game

Always plot

Anything and everything

Pranks, gossip, day-to-day routine

Have their own language

CLEM

You had been with Clem and by extent AJ for a while

So she was pretty used to your cat

She loved it also

The cat was so cuddly

Also AJ loved it also, ever since he was a baby he always seemed fascinated by the little cat

So when you and Clem woke up and you started freaking out about your cat

She sorta panicked also and tried helping you find it

When y’all were introduced with everyone at the school your cat was still missing

Until you guys went hunting, Clem heard meowing and thought it was your cat

And she was right, she found the little feline in a tree as walkers were trying to get it

Once she killed the walkers the cat seemed so excited to see a familiar face and jumped down to her

She walked back with your cat in hand and was so relieved when your eyes sparkled seeing your animal

She missed the cat too tbh

AJ also was excited to see it again!

VI

Vi before it all absolutely loved cats

I believe she had one at some point

When the world went to shit she didn’t think about cats a lot

But when she did she never thought she would see one ever again

So when she went with Marlon and Louis when they heard the crash

She was shocked when she saw you, Clem and AJ all in the car surrounded by the dead

And even more shocked when she saw a cat there

The cat didn’t stick around though, hesitant but ran off when it saw the three teens

Vi was a bit sad but helped you guys out

When she heard you woke up and went to check on you she also got a knife to the throat and was threatened

When she heard you saying you wanted your cat it seemed like it clicked

She explained to you what happened to the cat and you seemed scared a bit

Like the cat could’ve been eaten or gotten hurt

So she helped you in finding the cat

In the hunting grounds, maybe in the school or she once snuck you guys out to the train station to go and find it

But no luck

Until one day she found out it had snuck through the gates and hid behind some of the bushes

She got it out with some food and it liked her a lot 

It rubbed it’s head against her hand when she picked it up and let me tell you she loved it so much

When she returned it to you she was happy at how happy you two seemed

But it didn’t end there

No ma’am 

The cat loves sticking around her

Y’know those movies where someone dramatically sits in a chair, turning it around with a cat in their lap and is like

“I’ve been expecting you…”

THAT'S VI AND THE CAT

“I’ve been expecting you, (Name).”

“...How long have you been waiting there for me to come in?”

“A while actually. Louis came in and I thought he was you but he passed out in fear- I’m pretty proud of myself.”

You can’t tear them away from each other

Ever

PLATONIC AJ

You had been with Clem since the beginning, and there when AJ was born

AJ never remembered the cat coming along, in truth it was there before he was

The cat was pretty old

But he loved it so much

He never really understood there wasn’t a lot left

But he always liked holding it and how the cat always liked nuzzling its head against his hand

So when you and Clem were asleep, he was angry he couldn’t see you guys and was in a strange place with people he didn’t know

He was also angry because your cat was missing

So he tried finding it everywhere

The others didn’t know what he was looking for because he didn’t tell them and didn’t wanna talk to them without you guys

Everyone just sees him looking under tables like

“Kitty? Where’d you go? (Name)’s gonna wanna see you when they wake up.”

So let’s just say when you guys woke up he felt sad and a bit disappointed in himself because he couldn’t find the cat

So he tried even harder

And he did find the cat

And he felt so proud giving it back to you once he did

The cat also was so happy to see him

Little cat member of the family

[weirdthoughtsandideas]

Something I’ve been thinking about is how a lot of DCLA characters, if they’d be set in like, a public high school, I believe a lot more of them would have been seen as ”nerdy” and ”weird”.

Especially the violetta characters. Theatre kids have always gotten the stamp from non-theatre kids that they’re weird and odd. So, they mostly keep to themselves and have their own little bubble of people they hang out with, and they barely know any other people outside of each other.

But by putting them in a performing arts school… suddenly you got ALL THE ”WEIRDOS” IN ONE PLACE. No wonder there’s so much drama! Everyone’s ”nerdy” and ”odd”, but that’s the NORM here.

It’s weird to think, but Ludmila may have been considered way more nerdy if she went to a public high school. She’d be vocal in the theatre department if she school would have one, but outside of it? People would call her nerdy for her astronomy interest and overdramatic for her whole personality. She would not have been able to ”shine” the way she does on stage and around other theatre kids.

The SL characters does go to a ”normal” school. But they still keep inside their own little bubble. I mean… the avarage person doesn’t even THINK about roller skates as much as they do. But for them, it’s the most important thing in the world! Plus, a lot of them are still theatre kids, too!

Ámbar would never admit it, but she definitely would get a ”geek” stamp, especially due to her interests in roller skating and singing. Also because of her high grades, which in fiction steretypically mean you’re a big nerd. But, to be fair, Blake is a prestigeous private school where they aspire for students to get high marks. But, why is Nina a nerd for being good in school but Ámbar is popular when doing the same thing? But IS Ámbar even popular or does she and her friends just have that idea? Because they don’t seem to be friends to anyone else than with each other (actually, that’s the thing with a lot of ”popular” school characters. They only hang out with like 3 people max, and the rest of the students seem unbothered by them. So is the popularity just in their heads?)

Ámbar is the best skater - she’s popular in skating. Outside of roller skating circles, absolutely not a single person would care. I mean, we kinda see this in the show. If any character even mentions roller skates to a non-roller skater, they seem to be really uninterested. Sometimes it can kinda be a bit cute to see how Ámbar has this facade of being popular and cool, and then she’s like ”we’re training for a roller skate competition!! :D I’m gonna sing at open music!! :D”. She’s AS MUCH of a nerd as the girl she thinks is lamer than her for having the same interests.

Luna and Violetta are both at the core pretty ”nerdy girls”, but in different ways. And yet they are popular… amongst their friends that share the same nerdy interests as them. Same with Bia. She’s an artist, she’s the local art kid, but she’s also popular! In her circle of people that are interested in creating art (not necessarily drawing like her, but still).

Anyway. Idk where I wanted to go with this but maybe this is why the DCLA shows speak so much to us ”nerds”, who were never really popular in school, had some more niche and ”nerdy” interests and were considered weird by peers, plus more often than not kept to our own little group of friends, or to ourselves, and barely knew what was going on with anyone else of our peers.

I mean, the DCLA shows were very popular and the ”cool kids” watched them too. But the cool kids never latched onto them the way we did, I feel like. They sorta watched it and then moved on. We watched it and stayed forever.

(Ok, I might be generalizing now ofc, but still)

[bronzetomatoes]

Sorry I would like a second opinion on a personal issue from people who had no involvement in the situation so. Sorta long post ahead

Ermm so there's this girl in my band class. And like at our school that means we've all been in the same class with the same 20-some people for both band and English for 2-3 years now, so we're a pretty close group as far as full high school classes go. But yeah there's this girl I've sorta known in passing the past couple years

When we got to school for the new year in September, this girl (gonna call her Alice, not her real name) had just come out as trans, started growing her hair out, was very skittish and socially awkward. Last year she had a friend group, this year none of them seemed to be talking to her. After chatting with us for a day in October, she asked if she could start hanging out with us at school more often. We all sorta went 👍 ofc you can

We really did not have anything in common, but we could tell she needed friends and like. It's fine, ofc, and our band teacher spoke to us privately about how great it was to see Alice have friends + the impact she could see it having on Alice.

After like a month or two, the early awkwardness and stilted conversations had... not gone away. But like I thought That's okay, being socially awkward isn't a crime, not everyone is good w that shit. We still very much did not have Any common interests, and honestly? We didn't even seem to enjoy each other's company that much, she just sorta hung around us bc she needed friends. We didn't find each other funny either, which sorry if that seems stupid but like thats kind of a big deal for me and my friends

One thing I started to notice was that she seemed... overly familiar? Like she started laying on pretty thick with flirting and sexual jokes in a way that kind of just fell flat. I kinda pinned it as social awkwardness + not taking hints, but my friends and I had known each other for YEARS before we started that shit, not. 3 months. And like it wouldn't have been a problem if Alice would like, stop when we asked her to.

On the one hand, I feel like some of my friends were a little harsh in the way they started icing her out, but on the other hand I had been fighting off a Bad Gut Feeling for months at that point and didn't much feel like going to bat for Alice? But anyway

I missed a lot of lunch hours for extracurriculars, which is when most of this shit goes down, so apparently Alice had kept on full sending it w the heavy flirting and sexual comments. Literally asked one of the more reserved guys if he was circumcised out of fucking no where. Asked one guy out, found out he had a gf, immediately moved onto another guy. Asked someone if his friend was single, guy said "no, but I don't think he's looking for anything rn," Alice replied "lmk if he gets better," kept making weird ass fucking jokes (including an incest joke about her REAL LIFE LITTLE BROTHER) until it was just like. This shit has gotta stop

And THEN. Alice's old friends told us that the reason they all fucking dropped her was bc she a) wouldn't quit it w invasive questions abt their sex lives (non-existent) (we're in high school band get real), b) went to someone's house to hang out and READ THEIR DIARY. And c) wrote. self-insert porn about herself and one of their friends and then showed it to them. ANYWAYYYYY we had had ENOUGHH but I feel really bad bc she really and truly got dropped by like 20 people all at once. And like some of us had a free period together so it was like we had been chatting for an hour a day from October to February and we all kinda just dropped her. But on the other hand what the actual fuck

And the thing is, we did give her a chance to apologize. We explained everything that had been making us uncomfortable and asked her to stop, and rather than, idk, deciding to stop hitting on all our friends, she tried to explain why she should be allowed to do it 😭😭 and like at that point I couldn't keep giving her the benefit of the doubt. It ain't misreading social cues if you're being told directly and you refuse to change your behaviour

This all went down like a couple weeks ago but I had to get it off my chest. Don't blame the band teacher or anything her heart is always in the right place but WOO BOY was it misguided 💀

[pogirosary]

My Realization of Self and God

I never thought much of my spirituality and how it affected the people around me. Especially my family, relatives and friends. I always thought it was strictly between myself and God. Growing up as a young boy no one ever called me a name,nor degraded me in any way because of my "religion" or my "religious practices." I never had to defend myself against harsh religious comments. I can't say that during our younger years, we all "respected" each other's religion. Sixth grade and below, we didn't really understand things such as respect and religion; Seventh grade and above, guys were more interested in girls and cars and girls were more interested in guys and their cars. Religion just wasn't one of the personal characteristics we were interested in. As an adult however, it seams to be just the opposite. Religion and the religious practices of a person are very important to that person's family and friends. Sometimes a change in a person's religion or religious practices causes such an outrage in that person's family that the person becomes ostracized from his or her family. 

My "spirituality" has become a concern of some in my immediate family. My beliefs and spiritual life is not the same as it was when I left home at the age of 18 after enlisting in the Navy. Words such as "idol worshiper" and "Mary worshiper" have been used by those who I hold in very high esteem. My core values (which I will explain later) have been strained, but they do remain in tact. I respect everyone and their view of what I have become, even if I don't agree with their assessment. when I was very young, patience was one of the things I lacked and a temper was something I had in abundance. Today I have an abundance of patients and the strength and guidance from God to use it wisely against the temper I once had. So, bring on your judgments of me and my wife but also know that I leave judgment to God. I will continue to live the religious practices, traditions and spiritual mannerisms I have learned from the Catholic Church, prayer and research. I leave it to the Lord to defend His religious practices, traditions and spiritual mannerisms as they are lived out in my life. 

Some might say I "converted" to Catholicism but, no, I think I grew into it. It took a lot of thinking, soul-searching, research, looking back and looking forward, trying to see how God and spirituality fit into my life. It did not happen "overnight" or even over a decade. 

I was born into a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant world - Baptist to be precise. The first church I remember attending is Donald Smith Memorial Baptist Church in Oaklawn, Illinois. It was kinda-sorta behind our house. It was a rectangular two-story building. The first floor was for "Sunday School" for the kids, the second floor was the main chapel. It was just pews, pulpit and a large head and shoulder portrait of Jesus above the choir loft behind the pulpit. I even remember Mrs. Cunningham who was both my first grade public school teacher and my Sunday School teacher. She would seek out my Mom every Sunday morning <sigh> I couldn't get away with anything that year. I was too young then to really understand who God was and what he did. 

After 5th grade, my family moved to New Lenox Illinois. We started going to Ridgewood Baptist Church in Joliet. I don't remember too much about it. If my memory serves me correctly, both of my sisters, at one time or another, worked in the Church Office. it was another rectangular building with pews and a pulpit, with no pictures, statues or any other artwork. It didn't leave much of an impression on me. I don't know, I was still young then. After a couple of years, my parents started going to the First Baptist Church of New Lenox. It was very small. Again, it was another rectangular building with pews and a pulpit, no pictures, statues or any other artwork. I don't remember much about it either. I was baptized into that church when I turned 18 and was on my way into the military. I think it was more of me "covering all my bases" than a real commitment. I was a senior in high-school, I didn't want to commit to anything. I had just joined the Navy because I didn't want to be drafted. At that time, most draftees were being sent to Vietnam. 

The military had all kinds of "chaplains" ironically, the only ones I met were Catholic Chaplains. It's "ironic" because my record clearly stated that I was Protestant. 

My first ship, the USS Oriskany took me all over the Pacific and Indian oceans. Everywhere we went there was always a Catholic Church and the Catholic Chaplain always made it a point to invite me to "tour" the Church with him. Many of them were very old and very elaborate with sculptures, paintings and stained glass. Many people have what I will call an "uneducated view" of the religious sculptures, paintings and other artworks. The artwork in a Catholic Church comes from a time when most people could not read or write. Many of the great Masters could not read, but they wanted to glorify God. They did so through their artwork. What I see in especially the old Churches is the Bible in pictures and sculptures. Michelangelo, painter of the Sistine Chapel, creator of many statues - most notably, "David", architect of St. Peter's Dome, and much more, could not read or write; but he could praise God and preach the Gospel through his hands, to others who like him, could not read the scriptures but they could "read" his sculptures and paintings. It's the God that the artwork portrays that is being worshiped, not the artwork nor the artist. 

Is it wrong to sit down and gaze upon a picture of someone long past, say, a parent? Someone you might have loved very much, and yearn for them to come back? Is it wrong to look at that picture and talk to that person as if he or she was there with you and tell him or her how much you miss him or her? Is it wrong for you to believe the person in that picture is in Heaven looking after you? Is it wrong to ask the person in the picture for help and believe that he or she is praying with you to God for an answer? Is it wrong to go to the grave-site of someone you love and discuss a problem with them? Is it wrong to ask that loved one to help you pray or to pray with you to God? 

Through the Catholic Church, architecture and art, I have come to know and believe in two families; my earthly one, consisting of my parents and sisters, and my spiritual family, consisting of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Pictures of my earthly family come from cameras, pictures of my spiritual family were made by the Masters. Both are made by humans. 

 The Rosary - nothing seems to say Catholic more than the Rosary. I've heard many say that it isn't found in the Bible. That's true, very true, the Rosary is in fact not found in any Bible. But, the Bible is in fact in the Rosary. Again, artwork created for those who could not read or write. The Rosary through it’s mysteries, contain the New Testament, from the birth of Jesus to his death, resurrection and beyond. I use it every day as an aid in prayer, it helps to "make the world around me go away", so that I can speak and listen more reverently and clearly to God. If non-Catholics would just listen to the words or read the Rosary, especially the last sentence of the "Hail Mary," they would know that we are not praying to Mary or anyone else, we are in-fact praying only to God. 

 My commitment to God and to religion did not happen over night. It happened over many years of searching self and soul; searching the earthly world and the spiritual world; searching various religions, cultures and ways of life. I have called on St. Peter, St. Paul and a few other saints who were once as human as I am now, in just the same way I still call on my Dad and Mom for advice. Catholicism as I know it, is not a religion, it's a way of life. A way of life defined not by anything earthly, but by a God that is open to everyone, a God who is compassionate but demanding unquestioned faith and belief. 

 The self and soul search goes on, the earthly world tries to pull me in one direction, the spiritual world tries to pull me in another direction. I put no boundaries between worlds, I try my best not to judge anyone in either world. I do my best to leave judgment to God. 

It doesn't matter what we label ourselves as, Protestant, Catholic, Jehovah Witness, Methodist, ... What matters, to God, is how we live. Do we follow Jesus and his disciples? Or do we judge each other on how we go about our daily lives, how we as individuals worship, or how we as individuals interpret individual passages in the Bible? Do we throw away the Bible and peck at each other over "our" individual interpretation of individual passages of a very large book? 

God made us all different, maybe we should accept the differences and accept each other as brothers and sisters the way Jesus accepted his disciples and all those who believed and had faith in him. "Catholic" is only a label, how and what I believe and have faith in along with how I worship is my way of life. It is between me and God and wrong for me to judge others on their way of life. 

Lastly, through my research, Catholicism teaches me that I should not only "love" all of humanity, but that I should also respect everyone's race, age, sex, career, culture, customs, traditions, character, religion and their points of view. Essentially, as a Catholic, I should respect every aspect of every person's life. It is OK to respectfully disagree with someone but wrong to disrespect them or any part of their being. So, bring on your criticisms of my religious practices. I'll just pass them on to the Lord and let Him deal with them.