#which is not for me. there is also perhaps too much going on

[do-what-the-knight-tells-you]

Yes absolutely to most things on this post, but also in case anyone who wasn't already very familiar with s'mores before this post reads my response, I feel it is also crucial to point out that this practice of making s'mores is ubiquitous enough that in the lead up to especially the summertime, many stores will essentially adopt outdoor/camping as the "seasonal" section, and you will not be able to get away from skewers for roasting marshmallows that are like purpose-made for that-

(example photos from walmart.com)

Many families especially who would have access to camping or campfire-like situations will have a stash of these somewhere.

You of course can use one marshmallow at a time if you want, but they are two pronged like this to enable you to do things like offset your two marshmallows so that they each have complete surface area coverage, but one maybe a little more toasted than the other... Or stick as many marshmallows on there as you can fit. 👍

And some families may have those, but also an extremely traditional method of making a s'more especially when in a moderately forested area, and the version that you're going to see in cartoons and stuff, is to stick the bastards directly on a stick that you have scraped hopefully a majority of bark and dirt off of

And this can be taken to extremes. With that intentional skewer, you can you know pretty easily get two to four marshmallows on the end if you want, so sometimes one member of the party will be on marshmallow duty, and will pass goo-ified marshmallows off to whoever is next making a s'more, especially this might happen if you have some people who are really keen on roasting marshmallows, but maybe don't like eating them so well, or sometimes this will happen if like you're making them for kids who actually maybe too young and uncoordinated to be trusted sticking something into a fire...

But also you can do the same thing with the sticks, leading sometimes to very elaborate setups with multiple marshmallows sticking off at different points, and the tricky experiment of trying to roast them all appropriately without setting your stick on fire.

And the one point I would like to quibble with is that while we now have those jumbo marshmallows pictured above, and we even have like square marshmallows that some companies are making that are designed to fit more neatly on a half a gram cracker... In my day neither of those products existed, and the standard was just the large marshmallow, which is the size that every marshmallow on my section of this post has been so far. For comparison, here's a child playing with the sizes of marshmallow:

That's the tiny, like you would find in a hot cocoa packet perhaps, mini, which is the size you would use if you were going to build structures out of toothpicks and marshmallows, or make a little marshmallow trebuchet or launcher, also probably the size you would get if you were going to make Rice krispie treats, flat, which is the kind that have semi recently been designed specifically to fit nicely on a graham cracker half, standard, which is the size that anyone who's at least 20 or 25 probably grew up mostly seeing, and a jumbo, which is just... So much marshmallow...

(and on a personal note, while I always loved setting them on fire, probably the most fun for kids, my personal favorite way to eat them is not on the smore at all, but rather to toast them layer by layer, caramelizing the outside, and then slipping that skin off, here violating the precept that you must make it gooey (which, gooey is crucially important if you're going to squish it between two not very sturdy graham crackers with some stiff chocolate) but rather for me it's important not to make the middle gooey, so only so much of the inside comes with the skin and then you can stick the whole thing back in the fire and toast yourself another skin, and then repeat until you are out of marshmallow. This is extremely effective on a jumbo marshmallow, but then I have to drink a lot of water and lie down because that is so much sugar. XD)

Also also, part of the reason that Hershey's chocolate is usually the chocolate choice is that it is a very milk chocolate that melts quite easily and is fairly thin and brakes off into nice even squares or sets of squares. But also for anyone who has not had Hershey's, its quite a distinctive chocolate, and while others will do in a pinch, it is a distinctive enough chocolate that a s'more is not going to taste quite classic without specifically Hershey's.

(I'm not saying Hershey's is necessarily a good chocolate- if you are prone to thinking that some chocolates taste kind of like vomit? Hershey's will probably not be for you, cuz whatever chemical makes it taste that way is quite prominent in Hershey's milk chocolate. But it is a classic, cuz it was for the longest time the best shaped and cheapest and most available version of itself for this purpose)

GBBO: “A s’more is basically just an Italian merengue sandwiched between two ganache-covered digestives”

Americans:

[keferon]

This is such a complex and nuanced topic that I can’t stop thinking now about artificial intelligence, personhood, and what it means to be alive. Because golem!Prowl actually seems to exist somewhere in the intersection of those ideas.

Certainly Prowl does not have a soul. And yet, where other golems depicted in mimic au seem to operate primarily as rule-based entities given a set of predefined orders that define their function, Prowl is able to go a step further — learning and defining his own rules based on observation and experience. Arguably, Prowl is even more advanced in this regard than real-world AI agents we might interact with such as ChatGPT (which still requires humans to tell it: when to update it’s knowledge, what data to use, and what that data means) currently are. Because Prowl formulates knowledge not just from a distillation and concentration of the most prominent and commonly accepted ideas that have come before.

He shows this when he rejects all the views that society accepts — resulting in the formulation of the idea that Primus must be wrong. And in a lot of ways, Prowl’s learning that gets him to ultimately reach that conclusion seems a lot more closely related to how we learn. He learns from observing the actions of those around him, from listening to what the people closest to him say and from experiencing things for himself. And this also shows in the beginnings of his interaction with Jazz. Prowl may know things like friendship as abstract concepts, but he only can truly come to define what they mean because he is experiencing them.

In some ways then, what seems to make Prowl much more advanced in his intelligence is that the conclusions he ultimately draws — the way he updates his understanding of the world to fit the framework he’s been given — is something he does independently. And this is what sets him apart.

So is he a person? Given his lack of soul or spark perhaps not. But then again, what truly defines humanity, for lack of a better word? Because perhaps there is not a clear and distinct line to tell when mimicry and close approximation crosses over to become the real thing.

But given the way that Prowl learns and interacts with the world around him, it does not seem too far-fetched to say that he is alive. And further, that he seems a fairly unique form of life within this continuity. Therefore, is he not his own individual? In much the same way that the others this society deems beasts and monsters because of their unique abilities are also individuals.

It’s just really interesting to think about.

(But I will stop myself there, because I did not initially think this would get as long as it did and I feel like I’ve already written an entire thesis in an ask at this point!)

DAMN That’s a really really interesting essay you got here👁

If we take an artificially created algorithm based on seek a goal -> complete the goal but then give it learning capability of a real person. At what point it’s gonna just become one? And if it gains the ability to have emotions. Could they be considered “real” if it’s processing them in it’s own way completely unknown to us?

I love making stories that force me to question the entire life hahdkj

[weneeya]

soft kiss m.list | rules

pairing. haikyuu x reader

characters. oikawa, osamu, kageyama, kenma

note. apparently i'm not able to write with anything other than haikyuu, so here i am once again! i'm trying to write with different characters bc i love them all <3 don't hesitate to request!

⎯ Oikawa as sharing a kiss after a long time

It had been months since the great Oikawa Tooru had left for Argentina. You had pushed him to leave without a single thought ; it was too much of an opportunity for him to just say no because of you. Yes, you missed him like crazy, but you called each other anytime you could, fighting against the timezone. 

Argentina was so far away, and Oikawa was so busy that you didn't have a single idea of when you would be able to see him again. You tried not to worry too much about this, knowing well that he would feel guilty for leaving like this. 

You were with Iwaizumi, laying down on his couch while telling him how you felt about the distance with your boyfriend. After all, it was also his best friend, he was the best to help you right now. Your monologue was cut off by the bell of the door. You looked up to glance at Iwa who simply shrugged his shoulders. 

“You should go open,” he told you, and you didn’t understand why he would ask you to open the door of his apartment after hearing someone ; but you did it anyway, standing up from the couch to go to the door. You opened it without expecting anything, until your eyes locked on a face you knew too well. 

Your eyes widened and you didn’t even know what to say right now. You blinked a few times, trying to process when you heard his voice. “You didn’t miss me?” Tooru teased you, and the second after you were almost jumping on him. He caught you the second after, keeping his balance so none of you would fall. 

You looked into his eyes, still not realizing that he was really here now. What made you realize it was when he leaned closer to capture your lips, his fingers tangling with your hair at the back of your head to keep you close. It felt surreal, because you haven’t felt him so close since what felt like an eternity. 

You kissed him back like your whole life depended on it, your hands cupping his cheeks. It never felt so strong before, perhaps because you never spent so much time away from each other before. 

What brought you both back on Earth was Iwaizumi clearing his throat behind you, arms crossed on his chest and a grin at the corner of his lips. “At least get inside,” he told you, and Tooru nodded, taking your hand in his to get in Iwa’s apartment. You had no idea for how long he would be here, but you planned on enjoying every moment until he left again.

⎯ Osamu as a forehead kiss to check your temperature

You had been feeling sick the whole day, but your boyfriend was sadly not here to take care of you. Osamu had a lot of work to do at the restaurant, and he left too early to even notice how bad you could feel. You decided not to say anything to him while he was gone ; he had enough stress with work, he didn’t need to be worrying about you on top of that. 

When Osamu came home after his long day of work, he simply walked to the living room where he knew he would find you. Except that he didn’t expect you to be half asleep, but clearly feverish. You slowly looked up at him, and you quickly noticed the light frown on his face. 

“What’s going on?” He asked you, crossing his arms as you slowly sat back up on the couch. You sighed a bit, before you explained that you spent the day here on the couch, not even able to go make yourself something to eat. It simply made his frown a bit harder on his already tired face. “Stay here, lay down and don’t move.” 

Osamu left for the kitchen, after he made sure that you were really laying down on the couch while he was gone. He came back in the living room a moment later, with a plate in his hands, which he put on the table next to you. You sat back and he took a seat right next to you. “Eat what you can, but don’t force yourself.” 

You took some time to eat a bit, before you turned around to be facing him. You were about to say something when you simply felt his lips brushing against your forehead. It caught you off guard, his hand resting at the back of your head. He moved away a few seconds later, a bit of worry in his eyes. “You got a really bad fever. Come here, let’s get you to bed.” 

You were too flabbergasted to realize that he was already taking your hand to guide you to the bedroom. You didn’t know what you did to deserve such a sweet man, but you knew he would take care of you for as long as you would need it.

⎯ Kageyama as kissing your knuckles to ease your anxiety

Exams were slowly but surely approaching, and as always, it made you a nervous wreck. You weren’t bad at school, never really having catastrophic grades ; and yet, it made your anxiety rise like crazy. You were overworking yourself, spending hours on studying to be sure that you would pass. 

It made Kageyama worry a lot. He was bad at showing it, but he really hated those times because you were staying inside the whole day, not even caring a little about your own health. He knocked at the door of your dorm room, and the light sound he heard from the other side gave him the permission to get inside. 

His eyes met your figure sitting in front of your desk, not even looking up at him when he walked closer to you. He sat on your bed, next to where you were, waiting in silence until you would finally look up from your books. 

“Did you need something?” You asked without looking at him, and it made him frown slightly. He stood up, marking your page before closing the book in front of you. Suddenly, you looked up at him, about to say something, when you realized what was going on. You sighed slowly, putting a strand of hair behind your ear. “I’m sorry, I just…” 

“I know,” he told you softly, falling on his knees in front of you. He gently grabbed your hands in his, looking up at you. He was bad with words, he knew it ; and he wasn’t really good with showing it either ; but for you, he always tried his best. 

He raised your hand closer to his face, and his lips kissed your knuckles without saying anything more. You stayed silent too, tilting your head to the side while looking at him. No words were needed, you simply closed your eyes and breathed slowly. He always said he was bad at showing you affection, but you couldn’t ask for better.

⎯ Kenma as kissing your nose to watch you blush

Your boyfriend had never been a huge fan of PDA. In fact, he wasn’t a huge fan of physical affection in general. But if there was one thing that he loved way more than he disliked PDA, it was teasing you in front of everyone. It was his little guilty pleasure, he couldn’t lie about it. 

Kenma was currently streaming, and you were doing your own things in the rest of the house. His viewers knew you well. Even if he wanted to keep your relationship a secret at first, people began to notice things and, eventually, he had to properly introduce you to them. It was safe to say that he never missed a chance to embarrass you in front of his whole chat since that. 

He was just chatting with the viewers, when he heard some noise from outside, which made an idea cross his mind. A light grin on his face, Kenma called out for you. It didn’t take you long to join him, opening the door and raising an eyebrow. 

“Come here, please,” he asked you to walk closer, which you did without understanding what was happening. He gestured to you to lean over him, and when you did, he quickly left a kiss on the tip of your nose. It was fast, but it was enough to make your face burn all of a sudden. 

You stuttered a few words which didn’t make any sense, and all he did was to grin at you. You hated how proud he looked right now. You pushed his shoulder, moving away from the camera angle, and it made him chuckle. Teasing you really was his guilty pleasure.

thank you!!

[thetomorrowshow]

febuwhump 17 - power instability

EMPIRES SUPERPOWERS AU IS BACK

title: vision, visage, gentile, genteel

fandom: empires smp

this is the first chapter of the esh au sequel. it's back babey

~

It began, as many things do, with a bang.

Nobody knew what it meant. There were people outside, getting ready to head to work, who jumped and cursed and spun around. The noise was considered by some, likely, a firework, or a gunshot, or perhaps some new super on the scene. Perhaps a car malfunctioning, or a tire popping. Whatever it was, it was none of most people's concern, and after a moment of fright, those unsuspecting souls continued on with their days and forgot that it had even happened.

When looked back on, there was no way to know that it was the beginning of the end.

The end of Major, Primary Protector of Empires City.

Or, not the end, exactly.

But with Xornoth dead, and most other villains minor enough to be more of a nuisance than anything (and some, like Mythics, often more friendly with the heroes than with the villains), the city had settled into complacency. The defeat of Xornoth by three very powerful heroes, Major, the Mad King, and the Ocean Queen—and the disappearance of another dangerous super, Solidarity—had led many to believe that the city was going to be safe for quite some time going forward. After all, those three heroes (and the other heroes of the city, such as the Wizard Gem and Pearl) had no plans to leave, and any challengers of their authority were quickly dispatched.

And the end started with a bang.

Or, more precisely, the end started in a small house on a quiet street on the East Side of Empires City, early in the morning, as the once-feared Solidarity whistled a little tune while scrambling eggs, and the Primary Protector of the city stretched his muscles and smiled fondly at his partner.

-

"Eggs are done!" Jimmy, once known as Solidarity, declares as he clicks off the stove.

Scott, also known as Major, Primary Protector of Empires City, finishes the final stretch of his routine before groaning his way to his feet and padding into the kitchen.

"I'm getting too old for this," grumbles Scott, who isn't even thirty, as he pulls a couple of plates out of the cabinet. "Why'd I choose to be a superhero? I could've been an architect, Jimmy. Instead of getting ready to save the world, I could be designing buildings to replace the ones that Mythics destroys."

"Yeah, right," Jimmy scoffs, scooping some eggs onto the plates. "Gays can't do math, there's no way you would've been able to design buildings."

"I literally passed my senior trig class with a C, thank you very much, and Cs get degrees."

Jimmy laughs, handing Scott the plates. Scott sets them down on the counter beside the toaster, into which he slots four pieces of toast.

It's domestic and warm in the kitchen—the stove has just been clicked off, still radiating a gentle heat, which is nice when there's ice in the air and snow on the ground.

Not that Scott minds either of those things. Despite his complaints, he's eager to patrol today. He always feels more energetic when surrounded by the make of his power. And maybe he feels a bit more . . . in control, he supposes. Bigger. More powerful. Almost like he can command the skies—a thought best left for his dreams, far beyond the reach of his power as it is.

It’s a lovely day. Crisp and cold, warm and homey, and Scott can’t fight a smile as he moves toward the table and clicks on the overhead light.

"Nope—" Jimmy cries out behind him, and Scott turns just in time to see the oven window shatter, pieces of tinted glass scattering across the kitchen tiles.

"Sorry, sorry, burned my finger on the stove," Jimmy explains, holding said finger in his other hand. "Took me by surprise, sorry."

"Hand under cold water," Scott instructs, pointing to the sink. As Jimmy hurries over, he continues, "and what's another oven window? Don't cut yourself on the glass, honey, let me get you your shoes—"

Scott heads back into the living room, kicking his yoga mat aside, to find Jimmy's velcro tennis shoes sticking out from under the couch. They have a tray for shoes by the front door, but Jimmy, for some reason, just leaves his shoes strewn about the living room carpet.

"Think the landlord is going to get concerned? This is, like, the fifth oven door we need replaced," Jimmy calls from the kitchen. Scott laughs.

"Well, if you'd stop burning yourself, we wouldn't need five oven doors, would we?"

"At least one of those times I cut my finger, so I'm not sure that the burning is the problem," Jimmy jokes back. "And remember when we had to replace the whole oven because you froze it and it broke? That's arguably worse."

"We really should have been kicked out by now," Scott comments as he reenters the kitchen, shoes in hand.

"Good thing you're rich."

"Good thing you're a gold digger."

The toast pops at the exact same time as Jimmy turns off the sink. Scott hands him his shoes, then steps around him to wash his hands before getting the toast.

"Have you got work today?" Scott asks. Jimmy shakes his head.

"Nah, it's still not doing well," he says. "Jerry has us working fewer hours, trying to make ends meet. He's hoping for a bit of a boom in business with this weather."

"I guess we'll see," Scott says. He sets the plates down on the table with the butter, one right in front of where Jimmy is sitting in his chair, strapping on his shoes, and the other in front of the chair beside it. He sits there, scraping a bit of butter across his toast before tossing back his antidepressants with a bit of water.

Jimmy does the same when he's done with his shoes, then spreads jam onto his toast before loading it up with eggs and shoving it into his mouth. Scott makes a pointed expression of disgust before resolutely ignoring the sin before him.

He's got an hour before his patrol shift properly begins, so that's probably enough time to sweep up the kitchen or wash the dishes. Not that either of those activities take him an hour to complete, but who can blame him for wanting to head out early? He's just itching to get out in the cold, in what is literally his element. It's the first snow of the season, and he's expected to stay inside?

Jimmy, as always, notices. He lays his free hand on Scott's knee (his touch always so gentle) and gives him a smile somehow made cuter by the crumbs on his lips. "You can head out early, if you want. I can—"

BANG!

The whole house rattles. Jimmy's hand tightens on Scott's knee, and for a second Scott feels a hum of power thrum through the air—more intense in his partner than in anyone else that he's ever known—before there's a high-pitched whining and all the lights in the house shut down, the refrigerator's hum whirring to a stop.

They sit there, for a moment, in silence, Jimmy's hand still on Scott's knee, the aftershocks of his power still pulsing from him.

Scott forgets, sometimes, that Jimmy has such magnitudes of power, that he isn't just shattered oven doors and broken dishes. That without even lifting a finger, Jimmy could collapse a building or take the life right out of a person's body.

Then he'll get a wake-up call like this, a reminder that Scott isn't the only (or even the most) dangerous person in the house.

Scott glances over to the microwave to check—never mind, the microwave is dead, no green numbers lit up to tell the time.

The time isn't really important, though.

What on earth could've caused that sound?

Scott's first thought is a gunshot, and he knows Jimmy's is too, by the apprehensive shine of fear in his eyes that Scott can see even through the darkness of their house. A gunshot that loud would have to have come from nearby, of course. . . .

Quickly, quietly, Scott steals to his feet and creeps to the front window in the living room, peering out carefully without disturbing the blinds.

Nothing. No signs of trouble, no screams, no bodies in the street. Just various neighbors poking their heads out their doors, looking around and calling greetings to each other.

Through the window (Scott had cracked it open while stretching to let in the frosty breeze), Scott hears one of them faintly call.

"Did you lot lose power, too?"

Scott grimaces. Jimmy's not going to like that. Sure, Scott can keep their fridge and freezer going until the power gets back on, and Jimmy can bundle up until then, but everyone else is without electricity while their freezers melt and there's nothing they can do about it. As far as he can tell, none of the houses along the street have power—and if the whole street is down, that means the neighborhood is too.

Unfortunately, it is Jimmy's fault, and he's going to want to do what he can to fix it.

Which, as far as Scott can tell, is nothing. So maybe he can just not tell him about it. Maybe he won't notice that the entire grid is out.

"All clear," Scott calls back to the dining room. "Any idea what that was?"

Silence from the dining room. After a moment, Jimmy calls, voice shaking,

"Sorry. Um, no."

Scott frowns. "Jimmy? You okay?"

Another moment of silence, followed by a shuddering sigh. "Yeah," Jimmy says unconvincingly. "I'm good."

Scott pulls the window shut, blinds clanking against the glass, then returns to the dining table.

Jimmy's still sitting where he left him, hands clenched around his trouser legs. He's staring resolutely at a spot on the table, eyes just the slightest bit wet.

"Jimmy? Baby?" Scott tries, sitting down beside him and taking his hand. Jimmy looks over at him, face pale, eyes resolute.

"I'm good," Jimmy says again, squeezing his hand. "Thank you."

He's not good, that's easy to see. But he's okay, and some days, that's all Scott can ask for.

It's been over two years since Xornoth was killed, and Jimmy will never be entirely better. He'll likely always need his hip brace or cane, he'll always need his medication, he'll always have trauma responses. But Scott isn't ever going to judge him for any of it.

That's who Jimmy is. And Scott loves him for it.

And as he sits there, holding Jimmy's left hand, he finds his mind wandering to where it so often does as he gazes at the fourth finger on Jimmy's hand.

Scott doesn't even have a ring yet, so he pushes the thought out of his mind with a little reluctance. First he has to discuss the idea of marriage with Jimmy, then he has to follow up with Lizzie, and then he has to subtly get Jimmy's ring size. . . .

Well. Baby steps, and all that.

They finish eating like that, Jimmy leaning just slightly into Scott's shoulder. Right as they finish, the refrigerator starts humming and the lights flick back on, suddenly enough that Scott has to blink a couple of times to clear the floating clouds of color in front of his vision. The various clocks in the kitchen appliances flash a bright 12:00.

"Power's back," Scott says, less as an actual observation and more as just something to say, and gets up to carry their dishes to the sink, skirting around the glass on the floor. "Okay for me to head out?"

"Yeah, I've got Norman. Don't worry about me," Jimmy says, standing as well. He retrieves the broom from where it leans in the corner of the kitchen. "Speaking of Norman, I'd better get this glass cleaned up before he runs his little feet through it. Have a good day at work!"

"I'll save the world as usual," says Scott. He kisses Jimmy on his way by (Jimmy hums contentedly, all signs of his prior distress gone but for a wrinkle between his eyebrows), grabs his backpack at the door, and heads out into the frigid air of the first snow of the season.

Where the loud noise originated from is not far from where Scott exits his home, just two streets away. Not that he even thinks to go over there, instead heading for the main section of the city, assuming it would be at the hub of most activity. That's where most unidentified sounds originate from, after all.

And as Scott's day continues, he forgets about the sound, just as most others do.

Two streets away from Major's house, popular villain Mythics flees, eyes wild and breath gasping, a swirling portal crackling behind him.

-

It's possibly the best day of the year so far, weather-wise. The snow is actively falling, the streets are sparkling with ice, and Scott has never felt better.

Well, he's probably felt better. It snows every winter, after all.

But it feels so good after summer to finally return to what he is. This is the stuff Scott's made of, this is what gives him life.

It's glorious.

Scott lets out a little whoop as he slides part-way up the side of a building, the ice that already frosts its windows spreading spontaneously to the walls to give him the slipperiness he needs.

The people love it, too. Lizzie takes particular delight in sending him video compilations of his greatest tricks and most impressive fights, and the comments are always full of adoration for his skills and admiration of his power and creations.

So maybe, as he skates down a frozen sidewalk of his own creation (which he unfreezes behind him, because he knows not everyone has the skill to navigate such a path and would probably prefer a normal sidewalk), he adds a couple of flourishes to his act.

There's a group of kids at recess by Empires North Elementary School, and Scott stops to start a snowball fight before continuing on, frosting the windows of every classroom with beautiful little fractals.

He signs his name in frost as intricately as possible on the hood of someone's car, gives them a cheery wave when they run out of the store to take a picture.

He makes tiny snowmen to line the bus stop with just a couple of waves of his hand, then can't stop laughing when a little girl at the stop with her father cheers for 'Elsa'.

Maybe all of the villains of the city took one look out their windows and decided no, thank you, because there’s zero disturbances all morning. Scott doesn’t mind. He doesn’t think he could ever get bored in weather like this.

By the time it hits lunchtime, Scott's cheeks are red from the wind and hurt from smiling. He slides into a small deli and picks out a sandwich and a drink, the latter of which freezes over in his hands quite nicely.

"Major!" the deliman (and owner of the deli, if his nametag is true) exclaims, adding lettuce to his sandwich. "Keeping us all safe?"

"As best I can," Scott smiles. "How are you doing, Felix?"

Felix, the owner, chuckles, going a bit red in the face. "Never better, Major. You can have this free, all right?"

Scott chuckles as well, setting the drink on the counter and digging out his wallet. "I want to pay, don't even worry about it."

"No, no, nothing for you!"

"Come on, Felix, I'm—"

BANG!

Scott follows his first instinct—protection. Within milliseconds, there's an ice wall surrounding Felix, and another one shoots up in front of the large deli windows and door. It's instant, and Scott's never moved so fast in his life but the ice is there and time itself seems to freeze.

Everything is still for a timeless moment, snowflakes slowly swirling around Scott's masked face.

And somehow, he's the ice that lines the streets and the pipes below that travel all the way through the city and the icicles hanging from every roof and the frost paving windshields, and Scott knows that something has gone very wrong.

He's never felt this powerful in his life—nor this overwhelmed. There's so much stimulus, so many far away nerves jangling and he can't focus on the snowflake in front of him when he can see every fractal of it—

"Major!"

With a herculean effort, Scott manages to pull himself back into his body from where the tendrils of his mind have reached all the way across the city. He blinks, looks around.

The entire deli is frozen over.

Two customers are frantically trying to scrape some ice off the shelves, another is kicking at ice on the door, and Felix—

Scott can't even see Felix, a thick wall of ice surrounding him.

Scott panics. He can’t help it—his breathing quickens, his mind races, he starts feeling distantly dizzy at the idea that he might've hurt people, he might've broken something—and he notices, as his frozen fingers shake, that the frost is growing with every moment, slowly spreading to the floor and up the walls.

He hasn't been this out of control since—since he was a teenager, since before he was trained, even, since before he was a hero—

He can fix this. He knows how to fix it. Scott shuts the panic and fear out of his head as best he can and thinks back to his early days of training, back to when Aeor had taught him how to properly channel his emotions for incidents like this.

He hasn't had to consciously control himself in years.

He's never felt like this before.

He takes a slow, deep breath, letting the frenetic energy travel from his brain and heart and out through his finger tips, where frost grows into icicles. Then, with all the control and might that he can muster, Scott pulls, reeling it all back with a steady grip.

Slower than he would've liked, the ice and frost recede, all pulled back into thin air bit by bit. Scott breathes with it, in and out, until the ice walls crack and slide apart and the frost is entirely gone.

He breathes, and with it, his mind begins to settle. He’s all right. Everything’s all right.

Each of the other customers thanks Scott, casting glances both confused and a little fearful in his direction. Felix, luckily, is fine, if a little shocked. Scott subtly slides more than triple the worth of the sandwich into his hand, apologizes for the disruption, and heads out, slightly soggy lunch under his arm.

And again, he can't find the source of such a loud sound—because he remembers, suddenly, that the reason he'd headed out from his house so early this morning wasn't to see the snow, but to find the source of that first sound.

There's almost nobody out on the street, no gun or powered individual or blown transformer that could've caused it. In fact, the only other people outside are people who have stepped out of offices and shops to look around.

Scott gives them a cheery wave when they turn to him, one woman shouting a question in Spanish. "Nothing to worry about," he calls, assuming she'd asked about the sound. "Have a good one!"

"Hey, Major!" a young man waves. "How's your day been?"

"It’s been great!" Scott smiles his best winning smile. "Gotta go—heard about something on the other side of town!"

He didn't hear about anything, and he usually feels pretty good about talking to citizens, but he does feel kind of awkward standing in front of a place he just froze, like a guilty child fleeing the scene of a mess. And he doesn't even have a dog to blame it on.

What had even happened back there?

Scott had—he'd been scared. He'd thrown up normal protections, in case someone was trying to shoot up the deli and had somehow missed the bright blue superhero standing there, and then—

Then he'd felt so much.

Scott's not entirely sure what happened—one moment he'd been fine, totally in control of himself and his actions, and the next he was frost crunching under a pedestrian's foot and an icicle dripping from a gutter and the tiniest snowflake blown about by the wind.

It was nothing like he'd ever felt before.

It was terrifying.

It was exhilarating.

It was—oh, look, there's Joel!

"King!"

Scott spots Joel from across the intersection that he's currently sliding through, and pulls up a ridge of ice to give himself a sharp turn. He slides up to where Joel is leaning against the walk sign pole, waiting to cross the road.

Joel nods to him, eyes looking somewhat preoccupied behind his mask. "Hey, Major. When's your shift end?"

Scott shrugs, pulling his sandwich from where it's tucked under his arm. He ought to eat it sooner rather than later. "Dunno. I was hoping to stay out all day, if possible."

Joel raises a brow. "In the doghouse?"

"Of course not, the weather's just nice."

Joel chuckles. "Yeah, I'd guess so. You and Jimmy never fight, do you?"

"Well, do you and Lizzie?" asks Scott.

"Nope," Joel says proudly. "That's why we got married. We never fight."

Which is a lie, of course. Just last week, when he and Jimmy went over to Lizzie and Joel's apartment for dinner, Lizzie had thrown rolls at Joel all evening and Joel had implied some rather unkind things about her pet rabbit.

Scott doesn't bother calling him out on the lie. Joel's right about one thing—he and Jimmy almost never fight, and when they do, they resolve it quickly and schedule a couple's therapy appointment to make sure there are no lingering issues.

They're perfect for each other.

And once again, Scott's mind turns to the rather pleasant idea of a gold band around Jimmy's finger.

"You two really ought to tie the knot soon," Joel says casually, and Scott can't help but sputter.

"I—were you reading my mind?" he accuses.

"No?" Joel says, voice turning from confused to gleeful in that one syllable. "I—ooooh! You're thinking about it, that means it's practically official! So—are you thinking something big, whole city invited, those nice ice sculpture things like in movies—"

"Sorry, Major? Mad King? Can we get a picture?"

Joel shuts up—thankfully, otherwise Scott would've frozen his tongue in his mouth—and gestures for the two women to stand between him and Scott.

Scott smiles into the phone, and can't help but notice that there's frost on his own cheeks.

That's . . . that's a little odd. He isn't usually radiating cold, not unless he's angry. Maybe it's the high spirits he's in from the weather. That explains it, doesn't it?

Still, when the women leave, Scott scrubs at his face, hoping to warm his cheeks up enough that none of his frigidity can find a home there.

"Yeah, noticed you looked a little chillier than normal," Joel comments. "All good?"

Well, he did sort of lose control during some strange out of body experience earlier. But that's kind of embarrassing, and it was a one-off, so Scott doesn't mention it. He doesn't need Joel to tease him about it, nor tell every hero who'll listen.

He just nods, shrugs, and takes a bite of his sandwich.

-

Jimmy's alone in the house when it happens again, curled up on the couch with his blanket over his shoulders and his LinkedIn profile pulled up on his phone.

He doesn't really know what happens.

All he knows is that there's a loud noise and he doesn’t do well with loud noises, but luckily he manages to keep a hold on his powers this time.

Or, he thinks he does.

Because in the same moment as the BANG, Jimmy feels so much.

And it feels good.

[tou-dai]

There are people who keep doing fucked up things

Like rape, abuse, being a nazi etc

If you want them to live among people "like normal", I totally respect that

I think everyone should be safe, healthy, and free

I don't remember what quote it was tho. Something like, "your freedom ends where mine begins"?

I've had 8 concussions so you'll have to excuse me (one of them being from my abusive ex wife, a relationship in which i was .. damn. Only a victim of a crime/series of crimes)

Anyway

Point is i think people saying "separate these people from us in a humane a way as possible" is very reasonable

Considering some of these people do not want to be reformed

I think anyone who is compassionate and considerate of the consequences -- one way or another -- would much rather these people (no matter their demographic) be treated kindly

To be given what they need

But also: do not allow them to hurt others!!!

This is harm reduction!

I think the issue people have

Why they clutch their pearls

Is because we've all done fucked up things

Perhaps for extended periods, knowing, being in our emotions or whatever

Maybe just being ignorant and/or unwell

So we don't want to be exiled or put in jail!

And no one should have their safety, health, and freedom fucked with!!!

But now what?? It's 2025 and you have some of the worst human beings to have existed to be at the helm

Why?

Not only that: but there are people who support and relate to them, no matter what evil shit they do!!

Yall

We need to have a truly real conversation about our acceptance of intolerance and fucked up behavior in various forms

And where we draw the line

Because humanity is going to keep having this happen until we do

Edit bc I think this needs to be said, too:

There are people who want to abuse and people who want to be abused

Just like that old song (which i love ngl)

And i think everyone has a place or inherent worth

It's just our world is not designed to bring the best out of people or nurture them well

But people are also disingenuous about stuff -- they lie to themselves and others about things

Like how good or bad they are. Whether there is such a thing. Where the bar is. When it's appropriate to talk about it etc

Like many many people would say Elon/Trump need to just die

But there are many others who support them and fascism

Exactly what do you propose we do with such people?

With their votes?

How can we help them?

There are disabled minorities, like myself, who are seen as degenerates or useless

But we have many talents and ideas which are amazing

We are not afforded the opportunity to be who and what we are

Yet these assholes are at the helm

What to make of this?

We are fighting.

Who is fighting and how hard? Doesn't that depend on circumstances and constitution?

If you gave me 1 million dollars, I'd keep 100k and give the rest away.

How many could say that?

But people would judge those like me, who have destroyed themselves, body mind and soul

Just to survive

Or to be seen as human

..

I guess we'll have to see how this goes

venmo: @torchport

cashapp: $onepeaceman

"so youre saying we should just allow rapists and abusers to remain in society?" where else would they go ⁉️😭🙏 so confused can you show me this place outside of society

[coraniaid]

Not a surprise to anyone who's ever read anything I've written, I suspect, but there's something so fascinating to me about the character of Faith's first Watcher.

Well, I mean, 'character' is already putting it a bit strongly. We don't know practically anything about her, other than the fact she was killed in front of Faith. Faith never (explicitly) brings her up again after her first appearance (although she has to be implicitly referencing her, and perhaps her mother as well, when she tells Gwendolyn Post in Revelations that she has "this problem with authority figures: they end up kind of dead", and we can assume she's also thinking of her when she confronts Buffy in Enemies: "you get the Watcher, you get the mom [...] what do I get?")

There are some things we can infer about her. She was presumably in better standing with the Council than Giles (although Faith was lying about her being away at the Watcher's retreat in England, she must have been invited and told Faith about it or else why would Faith know that was happening and assume Giles would be there?). She was, perhaps, older than Giles (Faith's flirting with Giles on first meeting him is just a warped self-defence mechanism on her part so we can't take it too seriously, but she does profess to be surprised by how young he is). And, of course, from the way Faith reacts to Mrs Post and the Mayor, we can assume Faith bonded to her pretty strongly (no doubt making her failure to save her from Kakistos all the more painful).

But ... that's it. We don't even have a canonical name. Even Kendra's Watcher managed that much, and Kendra was only (barely) in three episodes. Some people -- including me -- sometimes use the name 'Diana Dormer', but that's from the tie-in novel Go Ask Malice which isn't even considered canon by those people who consider some of the tie-in books to be canon.

And yet, as I've said, she kind of fascinates me. What was she like? How long did Faith know her? What was her relationship with Faith like: was it something close to what Buffy and Giles had, or more like Buffy and her first Watcher (also not named canonically, unless you count the film)? Would she have left Faith alone in a motel room all year? Was she anything like the Watcher Gwendolyn Post pretended to be? Did Faith ever complain about her "taking the fun out of [Slaying]", the way Faith later complains about Wesley? Was Faith thinking of her when she went to visit Buffy and her mom for Christmas? Was she the last adult Faith had ever brought a "crappy" present for when visiting her home?

Why are there so few named adult women characters on this supposedly feminist show?

[carmenized-onions]

It’s been a little while since you’ve posted on here so I hope you are doing well and taking care of yourself!!! 💖

my darling loves, I'm so sorry

I'VE BEEN SO EMBARRASSED. I HAVEN'T WANTED TO SHOW MY FACE AROUND THIS TOWN BECAUSE I'VE GOT NOTHING TO SHOW FOR MYSELF AFTER TAKING SUCH A LONG TIME AWAY FROM YOU ALL.

I've been. violently busy. in a good way, mostly. One of my jobs is the best job in the world and the other one is such a bitch it makes me scream every day forever.

but i'm also spending time with friends and enjoying life !

My mom also finished her last chemo appointment just a few weeks ago!!! YIPEEE!!!! Her CT Scans look GOOD!! so no chemo for the foreseeable future. She's unfortunately got the type of cancer that doesn't go away, but at the very least, it's MANAGEABLE. And that's a huge win. I'm very very grateful.

I ALSO FOUND A THERAPIST!!! gone to 2 sessions so far. every session she uncovers a new fucked up facet of me and honestly, can anyone else relate to this, it's sort of nice for someone else to look at your life and go like "oh wow. oh wow there's like. there's like so much here." like it feels good to think oh hurray. i'm not crazy. life IS fucked!

MY BROTHER MOVED!!! this took up a lot of my time, honestly. i love him and my nephew and my sister in law dearly. so i spent a long time making their gifts. i'm silly.

OUR CAT GOT SICK!!! HE'S GOT PEE CRYSTALS CAUSE HE'S OLD!!!!! HE'S DOING OKAY NOW THOUGH!! HIS STUPID URINARY FOOD IS SO EXPENSIVE THOUGH!!!

ANYWAYS. those are my major life updates right. So what's with the no chapter happening??

i. hated. the draft i'm working on so much. that i didn't work on it for like. a month.

and then in a haze. i left myself this voice to text note in my notes app as i was falling asleep one night.

then i hated that too. a week passes. perhaps two, actually.

i finally gain the courage one night to read my draft over.

it's actually not bad at all

it's actually pretty good

some scenes definitely need reworking but that's because i need to fully realize some character feelings

I just had really intense writers' block and fatigue, honestly. But i'm finally writing and EXCITED about it, again. I'm pulling that shit up on my commute and writing whenever i can. which makes me really happy. i was not loving the way it felt like a chore, for a minute there.

that said.

100% going to be more realistic with this chapter waiting timeline, and put a 'hiatus' or some sort of 'delays' tracker on my landing page. cause like. i keep saying check back in 2 weeks. and that's not fair to me or you girl. let's keep it real.

i think we're like.... hm... 50-60% there. (i'll update my landing the day after this post, it's late and i'm eepy)

i MIGHT write some blurbs in the mean time, it really depends. i keep having ideas and then they blink out of existence. perhaps send ideas. i might do something with them.

BUT YES I AM OKAY AND ALIVE. My silence came from a LOT of life stuff getting in the way and also a lot of honestly embarrassment. i hate coming out here over and over and being like haha. i've got nothing <3

but i know that y'all will understand, and i need to trust in y'all's patience more. and i'm GONNA!!!

gonna try to start up my 'answering one ask a day' trend again. except wednesdays. i work late on wednesdays so fuck that. but perhaps all the other days you'll hear from me.

alright. i'm going to shut up now. was any of this coherent? i don't know. thank you for listening!! i missed you dearly!!

[huginsmemory]

@the-gay-prometheus THANK YOU YES! It'd been a while since I read TBOB, but with the details you really see that even though there are instances before even the sticky note, Bill doesn't do much direct physical harm to Ford, even if it ultimately ramps up to very verbal/situational abuse with only a dash of physical abuse... Even though Bill usually will happily go for physical abuse. And I mean, also looking at Bill scratching at the door thing... Bill is also desperate. There IS a timeline for how long they can stay in the nightmare realm and I think there is something terrifying on Bill's end of having that escape suddenly be shut off to him... (But that also doesn't detract from the horror of what Ford is experiencing).

Also, I think some of the 'niceties' Bill goes for could also be construed as 'carrot and stick routine', especially after the rooftop incident, with the fire and the chess set, but the thing is that it DOES come out of Bill's care for Ford and not just him wanting Ford to boot up the portal (it's a look at what we had; we can have this again, I want this again too. But it's only possible if you co-operate). And I think it comes out of the fact this is such a incredible well done depiction of an abusive relationship because just as there are often good times in abusive relationships that have people coming back to them, the person who is abusive most of the time does have a form of deep care for or love the other person, but it's a selfish love that is twisted by that person's own desires and needs which overrules their partners own autonomy (perhaps a better word is deeply attached... one can argue the definitions here. Also this is NOT me excusing those folks. Get the fuck out of there. It's just that relationships and caring for people can be more twisted than what people like to assume on the surface). And you see that with them. Bill cares about Ford, but he's also extremely selfish and not only that but self-destructive; this triangles got a whole SWATH of issues, and he can't for the life of him be honest about anything, especially regarding losing face. He lies and lies and lies (which I've chewed on over here lol). The only time we really see him be honest is with Ford about his dimension when he calls himself indirectly a monster (cough, self destructive tendencies from guilt)... And I think what's compelling is that he HAS been somewhat truthful with Ford before, because he does care about and relates to Ford. And it's possible if they did talk he would have been possibly honest again with Ford, about the nightmare dimension falling apart. But it doesn't happen because Ford refuses, which makes perfect sense narratively. And I really can't see it going any other way, without them not both being the characters that they are.

And I think WHY I really like the both of them as you've said is the tragedy of it. That Bill actually CARES but he's too fucked up over things to be able to really care properly. On top of the fact that they're both very similar characters and have found refuge and love with each other, even if it's codependent as fuck. And it all falls apart, even if there was real care and love in it, before it turned (exponentially) toxic. Good tragedy is when things COULD have turned out okay but the characters (will always) fail to make the right decisions, will always fuck it up. And you see that, cause you wonder what would happen if Bill was honest about the nightmare dimension, and to some degree if Ford would have actually spoken to Bill (and if Bill was honest in that conversation). But that's not them. Besides they've also got a fuck ton of other issues they'd have to deal with on top of that...

Really can't get over the CAN WE TALK? stickynotes. And I mean I think part of it really kinda clicked when I've seen some fanart about it. We really see in TBOB that Ford after beginning to hear voices slipping through the cracks and questions Bill, to learn what Bill really intended, ENTIRELY shuts down his communication with Bill. And you see Bill when he gets questioned in that moment responds with a heavily implied dialogue along the lines of "haha, yeah I tricked you, I'm here to overtake your dimension". But Bill still expects Ford to respond to him in some way, and it's very clear that Bill is shocked when Ford REFUSES to talk to him. And what's interesting is Bill doesn't just IMMEDIATELY begin with threats; he actually leaves stickynotes first, before Bill realizes he's FUCKED UP big time and gets really nasty. There's something pleading with the CAN WE TALK? sticky note. There's a point where Bill does realize he's not getting what he expected, that he's missing Ford, and that he's willing to possibly even smooth some things over, explain things better (maybe even the part that the nightmare dimension is unraveling perhaps) or persuade Ford into Bill's plans. But Ford refuses, and it's already too late for Bill because just like with Stan, Ford feels betrayed and when Ford feels betrayed he'll mercilessly cut the person out of his life. Ford deeply, deeply holds hurt and betrayal and as a result he has zero desire to speak with Bill again (and also uhhh big red flag to take over the world, so also. Yeah).

And it's interesting because it's a slower ramp up until Bill is desperate and threatens, uses violence, because that's what he's always used when it comes down to it, and an ultimatum is given. It wasn't just threats out of the gate; Bill DID try to speak to Ford (btw this is not me being like Ford should have spoken to Bill and it would be magically healthy, cause no matter how you slice it it's just a toxic mess tbh). Threats out of the gate would have been faster; there's over three weeks in the timeline, before Ford goes through the portal (althought we don't get too much context around exactly when everything occurs). That's a lot of time! But Bill didn't threaten Ford immediately. And I think part of that reason is because Bill expected Ford to speak to him, expected their relationship or at least their project to mean enough to Ford that Ford would speak to him and then continue their work, once his anger cooled off. And I think also part of it is because Bill cared about Ford, not that he'd admit it in the moment; but he'd rather Ford willingly be alongside him, then have to force him through threats to do the work on the portal. You see that, even after Ford spends 30 years trying to kill him and nearly even does, when he offers him during wierdmageddon to be a henchmaniac. Bill cares about Ford, wants Ford beside him. But then Ford continues to refuse to engage with him at all, and Bill realizes he's lost Ford, and progressively gets more desperate and angrier as he's still refused, and falls into the violence he usually uses, to get Ford to cooperate.

Anyhow it's one of those things that you wonder what would've happened if they DID speak, but that would ultimately be defying a big part of who Ford is... So in a way it's a juicy juicy tidbit to chew on, the implications beyond the writing on the sticky note.

[marbofmoorock]

SuperTheory post about ad implications in the TADC:

Jax seems to think Pomni is incredibly deceptive in this promo, implying she's not only hoping to prey on the viewers through her personality (likely feigning innocence if true), but perhaps is implying his view of Pomni is that her being anxious and afraid asking for help is like a cover for her real personality, which is perhaps ravenous and sadistic beyond the cute nervous visage.

It's an interesting theory, as Jax seems to imply that Pomni is conniving and/or crazy. An evil Pomni would be an interesting twist, especially considering how Pomni is considered to be a good guy by viewers up until now.

Considering her selfishness prioritizing the exit over Ragatha in ep. 1, her rather expert knowledge in understand how glitches work to escape the developer maps under the candy kingdom in ep. 2(she also called it "under the map," which doesn't sound like something someone like Pomni would say if they had no knowledge of their past), unless they were like a programmer or something. Then there's Pomni's creepy stalker tendencies exposed in ep. 4, there is a lot of evidence to suggest that Pomni is a lot more capable than she lets on(and easily missable if we don't pay attention assuming Pomni is just panicking over), adjisting to life in the circus, perhaps even feigning her knowledge of the outside world to convince the other circus members she's as clueless as they are through an orchestrated act of complete panic.

It also reminds me of Goose and how the person in the circus closest to abstraction is someone we'd least expect, saying: "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

This could mean Pomni is nearing abstraction more than anybody and might be next. Think about it: we have this strong expectation that Pomni is growing stronger mentally through surviving each episode and coming out helping others.

There's this strong implication of her being the main character and having plot armor, unable to be killed off or removed from the show. This would be a perfect opportunity for Goose and her team, as most of the audience is cheering for Pomni in the adventures/episodes. They want to see good things happen to her since she's got this protection being the lead role, but maybe that's a setup. Considering the show is inspired by the tortuous and horrifying novel "I have no Mouth and I must Scream," and the promo openly suggesting the show is a psychological horror, it would make sense to have a twist that takes out the main character to throw the audience through a loop and keep the thrill/excitement via intensifying the horror elements.

Goose also said that Episode 5 would be "The Silly before the Storm." So if Pomni were to abstract, it could happen in one of the later episodes after episode 5.

While the show is arguably about all of them, Pomni has been the main focus as she's the catalyst for the plot, as her arrival after the show theme strongly implies the show is about Pomni, even if the other characters are now part of the show too and were featured first in the pilot.

Or could all of it just be fun theatrics for promotional reasons? I guess we'll see.

So that's multiple theories:

1. Pomni is maybe faking her anxiety and fear as a way to decieve others into thinking she's not as smart or aware as they thought she was (Kind of Like YouTubers that fake mental illnesses for views).

2. Pomni potentially being the next circus member to abstract, and is rather good at acting, much better than the rest of them, despite being assumed safe due to main character syndrome.

3. Bonus: Maybe Kinger is the one deciever, as he could be faking it too, and if we're going by Judas theory(if the feast in the pilot is a reflection of the last supper painting by DaVinci), Kinger might be the deciever, as he sits in the same spot as Judas is from Jesus, as 2nd on the right). Judas could likely also be considered the 3rd, implying Ragatha as the deciever, as Judas kind of leans in his position). She could croak~ (get it, because she was originally supposed to be a frog character lol). Some speculation it is Zooble, as it would be a subversion of the expectation of Judas theory, and Goose is known to throw people through a loop with clues, especially with all of her religious symbols in paintings, then going back to say "Oh, that's just silly art....or is it~?"

Food for Thought.

[notmoreflippingelves]

[staticymaticyyourlifeisatravesty]

Thing that came to me even though I know nothing of Konrad: Konrad: *Receives vision of being brutally murdered by what appears to be a mutated to hell and back Sanguinius* Konrad: Huh so I'm going to die to- wait a minute, is that Sanguinius? Why does he look that? Is that one of his sons ...? No, no, too big to be that, what the fuck am I looking at..? Why does he have fangs the length of my forearm? And what- *Konrad, slowly realizing where he is* Konrad: ....I huffed too much sewer gas again didn't I...? The Nurgling, high as shit across from him: *Nods sagely*

[xtinyslip]

"we're all too familiar with monsters." perhaps, something should have clicked but she had long lost hope of her mother ever coming home. it was like her brain wouldn't let her go there. cecilia was almost startled at how this had so suddenly switched back to her being in the wrong. was she? mostly but she wasn't entirely sure that she was this time. "the thought of us curled up in that bed we spoke of? whether it be in some dingy motel or in a place we could actually call home is what held me together down there. what? you think i'm turning this down out of SPITE? that i'm not trying to --" hold on, what the fuck? "I AM HERE. I WAS THE ONE WHO CAME TO YOU. REMIND ME HOW THAT IS NOT TRYING TO MEET YOU IN THE MIDDLE?" no, she hadn't wanted to raise her voice, she hadn't want to lose control of the little emotion she had left to use but it was difficult not too. her comment may have been out of line but the fact he was resorting to all this now? yes, she really needed to be reminded of her literal fuck ups right now. that's exactly what the doctor had prescribed. "... you know i'm quick to admit when i'm in the wrong when it comes to us but presuming that a woman who married MY husband for money, to parade it in front of me would tell the man who's after me where i am? i was well within my right to make that judgement. i came here... looking like shit, feeling like shit wanting you to wrap your arms around me and take me home like we discussed. instead i'm met with you telling me that you're not moving donna or this katherine out but i'm in the wrong to just once have you ALL to myself? to want that? i have never apologised for wanting you and i refuse to now." was she? was she that wrong to want that? because if she was wrong to want that with him then she didn't want to be right. "do you really think i'd do that? compare you to that? i didn't mean you — donna can't be trusted." almost startled by how he'd spoke to her but also not really. there had been a numbness weighing her down since the cage and maybe that numbness was going to have to grow a little thicker to block this heart ache out but she'd do it. she didn't want to do but she would. her words were either being misunderstood or twisted and she didn't know which would hurt worse at this point. "i'm a disaster. my whole fucking world right now? is a fucking disaster so i actually get you not wanting to put us first but to say this is because i didn't want this? you? us? it's complete bullshit and you know it. it's actually insulting that you could ever say that to me when you're all i fucking want." she felt like she was literally screaming at him that she needed him, that she didn't want to walk away and — and he'd turned away from her and that was it. the final piece of all the shit that actually broke her and for a second she forgot how to breath or maybe, she just didn't want too. "... i'll go. i'm sorry, i thought --" well, she thought wrong but it looked like she was wrong about most things at the moment so it shouldn't have been much of a surprise. she should be walking away from him but as if it could get any more humiliating it was like she was frozen on the spot. like she couldn't even walk away with her head held high. how could she? well, she couldn't without... doing one thing. "or you could be totally fucking crazy with me and.. kiss me?" @fcdcdmcmories

"SHE IS. WE'RE TRYING TO.. MAKE IT SO SHE'S BETTER OFF AWAY FROM THEM. her husband was monster." and was it so horrible of him to want to do the right thing? was it so horrible of him to want to do what was necessary? maybe, maybe not, but.. he was GOING TO DO SO all the same. he couldn't hold it back. he couldn't hold back the disappointment that crossed his face, because.. he had really thought that she would say yes. they could have it. they could have it all and have a place of their own and she was saying.. no? "no, you're the one that can't possibly be serious? you said you wanted us to have a home. TO BE TOGETHER. HERE'S HOW. and don't you dare saying that i didn't try, because i am. i'm standing right here and i'm asking you to give me a chance to make this all okay, but you're too fucking selfish to meet me in the middle. HONESTLY, I.." he shook his head. now, he was the one that was angry, because.. how could he not be? "yes, throw that in my face again. as if i'm not the one that took you back after you screwed the man that tried to kill us both once. who killed me. AND WHAT ABOUT COOPER, HUH? JOE? I NEVER ONCE THREW ANYTHING LIKE THAT BACK AT YOU, but i make a mistake and you're already throwing it all away because of it, huh? and for your information? donna is there because she lost it all. because she doesn't work for him anymore. so next time? maybe don't be so quick to judge." when she said what she did? he took a step backwards, almost as if she had shot him. it almost felt like she had. the fact that she would say that? when it came to him, when he wa just asking her to have a little bit of.. patience? when they could have been together through all of it? no. "get out. get the fuck out," his tone surprised even him. he had never ; not once ; used that tone with her, but.. "you.. you have the nerve to say that.. to.. to compare me to.. as if i would ever put you in a cage? AS IF I'VE DONE ANYTHING BUT LOVE YOU THROUGH IT ALL? no. get out. get out and don't come back. clearly, you don't know me at all, so.." shaking his head. he couldn't even look at her right now. not at all. "for what it's worth? i would have chosen you. i would have been there with you through all of it, as i always, but not that it matters anymore, does it? i was asking you to take a leap of faith. for me. for us and.. we could have had it all, but.. clearly, you couldn't do that, so.. i don't think we have anything else to say to each other. it's over. FOR GOOD, THIS TIME." he snatched that key back, almost feeling as if he was taking away their entire future. that had hurt. what she had said? he turned away, back to her, so he could whip some tears away. "yeah. you should get back there." / @xtinyslip

[age-of-moonknight]

Werewolf by Night: Red Band (Vol. 1/2024), #2.

Writer: Jason Loo; Penciler: Sergio Dàvila; Inkers: Jay Leisten and Aure Jimenez; Colorist: Alex Sinclair; Letterer: Cory Petit

[sofia-not-sophie]

Help I’m thinking too hard about the unexplored world building implications of the seven kisses lead to pregnancy in a world where there seems to be/have been a patriarchy and also somehow it works interspecially despite humans and akiridions having entirely different modes of existence/bodily function

[laurellala-comics]

there are two wolves inside of you. One of them is fretting that you went through all the effort of making a new art account just to pigeonhole yourself once more into a specific fandom, which holds you back from exploring original art concepts that you care about. The other one came up with three separate ace attorney comic ideas in the last hour alone and isn't stopping anytime soon

[found--family]

am i the only one who sensed some jilted lover vibes from jensen?