#which is. admittedly. a very high goal

[ectoplasmer]

aghgdfhhf i love my boyfriends,,,, i love them so much,,, gdhdjfdcfjfv

[monsterfactoryfanfic]

if I've learned anything from grad school it's to check your sources, and this has proven invaluable in the dozens of instances when I've had an MBA-type try to tell me something about finances or leadership. Case in point:

Firefox serves me clickbaity articles through Pocket, which is fine because I like Firefox. But sometimes an article makes me curious. I'm pretty anal about my finances, and I wondered if this article was, as I suspected, total horseshit, or could potentially benefit me and help me get my spending under control. So let's check the article in question.

It mostly seems like common sense. "...track expenses and income for at least a month before setting a budget...How much money do I have or earn? How much do I want to save?" Basic shit like that. But then I get to this section:

This sounds fucking made up to me. And thankfully, they've provided a source to their claim that "research has repeatedly shown" that writing things down changes behavior. First mistake. What research is this?

Forbes, naturally, my #1 source for absolute dogshit fart-sniffing financial schlock. Forbes is the type of website that guy from high school who constantly posts on linkedin trawls daily for little articles like this that make him feel better about refusing to pay for a decent package for his employees' healthcare (I'm from the United States, a barbaric, conflict-ridden country in the throes of civil unrest, so obsessed with violence that its warlords prioritize weapons over universal medical coverage. I digress). Forbes constantly posts shit like this, and I constantly spend my time at leadership seminars debunking poor consultants who get paid to read these claims credulously. Look at this highlighted text. Does it make sense to you that simply writing your financial goals down would result in a 10x increase in your income? Because if it does, let me make you an offer on this sick ass bridge.

Thankfully, Forbes also makes the mistake of citing their sources. Let's check to see where this hyperlink goes:

SidSavara. I've never heard of this site, but the About section tells me that Sid is "a technology leader who empowers teams to grow into their best selves. He is a life-long learner enjoys developing software, leading teams in delivering mission critical projects, playing guitar and watching football and basketball."

That doesn't mean anything. What are his LinkedIn credentials? With the caveat that anyone can lie on Linkedin, Mr. Savara appears to be a Software Engineer. Which is fine! I'm glad software engineers exist! But Sid's got nothing in his professional history which suggests he knows shit about finance. So I'm already pretty skeptical of his website, which is increasingly looking like a personal fart-huffing blog.

The article itself repeats the credulous claim made in the Forbes story earlier, but this time, provides no link for the 3% story. Mr. Savara is smarter than his colleages at Forbes, it's much wiser to just make shit up.

HOWEVER. I am not the first person to have followed this rabbit hole. Because at the very top of this article, there is a disclaimer.

Uh oh!

Sid's been called out before, and in the follow up to this article, he reveals the truth.

You can guess where this is going.

So to go back to the VERY beginning of this post, both Pocket/Good Housekeeping and Forbes failed to do even the most basic of research, taking the wild claim that writing down your budget may increase your income by 10x on good faith and the word of a(n admittedly honest about his shortcomings) software engineer.

Why did I spend 30 minutes to make a tumblr post about this? Mostly to show off how smart I am, but also to remind folks of just how flimsy any claim on the internet can be. Click those links, follow those sources, and when the sources stop linking, ask why.

[girlgenius1111]

might just love you 'til the end

post... that match. a bit of angst, mostly fluff. alexia is not pleased after her performance against chelsea. you aren't quite sure what she needs from you. you decide to give her space, but that isn't really what she needs. alexia tells you... eventually.

-------

It was a long day, a tiring and difficult match, and Alexia probably would have resorted to one of her coping mechanisms, if she hadn’t missed that last shot on goal. It seemed to take something out of her, and even from your place sitting on the bench, you could see how angry she was acting. Underneath that, though, you could tell that she was really just disappointed in herself. 

Watching her blink back tears as she made her way around the pitch was almost too much for you. You wanted nothing more than to grab her hand, pull her into the tunnel, and hug her until she wasn’t sad anymore. You knew better than to try to comfort her now, though. Alexia hated nothing more than seeming weak, especially in front of the team. Anything she needed or wanted from you would have to wait until you both got home. And even then, you weren’t sure what to expect. Sometimes she’d just shut down after a bad game, go to sleep, and wake up with a new passion the next morning. Sometimes she’d shut down, but her fury at herself would linger for days. Very rarely did she talk about it. Only when she really reached her breaking point, which was admittedly a lot harder to reach than other people’s were, would she let you make her feel better.  

It wasn’t necessarily a healthy array of options that she normally went with, but you couldn’t argue that it didn’t work. It worked for Alexia, and that was what was important. Even if giving her space until she asked for something else hurt, you knew it was what she needed. 

She acted pretty much how you expected her to as you both made your way into the locker room and headed for the showers. The blonde gave you nothing more than a high five and a weak smile, before she launched herself into her post match routine. You did the same, icing various parts of your body that hurt after a rather physical game. You kept your eyes on your girlfriend, though, watching the hollow way she brushed through her hair and the mechanical way she laced up her shoes. You were done before her, sitting in your locker looking at your phone, trying to figure out how bad the social media situation was going to be for her, when her white nikes appeared in front of you. You looked up at her with a smile, though it fell slightly when you took in the completely emotionless look on her face. She’d shut down, then, like you’d expected her to. You knew it was coming, but it didn’t make it easier that she wouldn’t let you help.

“¿Lista?” She asked roughly, not meeting your eyes. 

“Yeah, let’s go.” You replied, getting to your feet, grabbing your bag, and giving Mapi a reassuring look from where she sat waiting for Ingrid to be ready to go. You knew your girlfriend’s best friend worried about her, and that she had tried to talk to her after the match, but it hadn’t really gone anywhere. You were surprised when, as soon as you were out of the locker room and had walked a ways down the hall, Alexia dropped her bag to the ground and pulled you into a tight hug. 

You returned the hug, sighing into her shoulder, feeling her bury her face in your slightly damp hair. The hug was for you, you could tell. To make you feel better, even when Alexia wouldn’t allow you to do anything to make her feel better. She held herself a bit tensely, and when she pulled away, her eyes searched yours, her worry clear on her face. 

“Te amo,” she whispered, pressing a light kiss to your cheek. “I am proud of you, always.” 

“I love you, Ale,” you replied, a thousand more words on the tip of your tongue. You wanted to tell her you were proud of her, too, that it wasn’t her fault, that she didn’t need to deal with today all by herself, but you knew she wouldn’t accept it right now. Instead, you grabbed her hand in yours and squeezed tightly. 

The captain kept her hand in yours as you both walked to her car, and though you expected her to pull away from the contact, you were glad that she was letting herself have something to make herself feel better. The car ride home was silent, and you predicted the rest of the night to be the same.

------

You knew to let Alexia deal with it how she dealt with it, but you did put your foot down on a couple things. When she headed right for the couch, going to put the match replay on the TV and take notes, you shook your head, taking the remote out of her hand. 

“Not tonight. It won’t make you feel better.” 

“I have to watch,” she argued, but you cut her off. 

“You can watch tomorrow. Tonight we are going to watch a movie, order dinner, and go to bed early.” 

“Amor,” Alexia sighed, her brow furrowed, no doubt thinking about how she could convince you to let her do this. 

You switched tactics, knowing there was one sure way to get your girlfriend to agree with you. “Please? For me? I don’t want to watch that again right now.” 

The blonde softened, nodding her head at you. Satisfied, you flopped down on the couch next to her, grabbing her arm and draping it over your shoulder. 

Alexia smiled despite herself, leaving a soft kiss on the top of your head. She was still practically silent as you picked out a movie, but she pulled you close to her, slipping her hand up the front of your shirt and  running her thumb back and forth across your skin. 

Even if she was only letting this happen because she thought she was comforting you, it was still better than nothing. Better than the rare occasions that she’d sleep on the couch, almost as a punishment for herself when she didn’t perform the way she thought she should’ve. The blonde had gotten better since getting together with you, mostly because you pointed out the inconsistencies in how she treated you after a rough game, and how she treated herself. Some rough days sent her spiraling back to her bad habits, though, and you were glad you could pull her away from those, at least for today.

-------

“Cariño,” Alexia whispered, jostling you slightly. “Let’s go to bed, vale?” 

“Hmm?” You mumbled, barely opening your eyes. “‘M not asleep.” 

“Oh, sure. You are just watching the movie with your eyes closed?” 

“Sí,” you sighed, turning against her slightly until your head was laid on her chest. It vibrated under you as she laughed, and the sound woke you a bit more, glad to hear something even remotely joyful come out of your girlfriend’s mouth. 

“Venga, amor, it is time for bed.” She insisted, gently sitting up and easing you into an upright position. You pouted at her, wishing the smile on her face would reach her eyes. When it didn’t, you rose from the couch, grabbing Alexia’s hand, and pulling her towards the bedroom. 

You both made quick work of your nighttime routines, and you were glad to slide into the bed, undeniably exhausted from the physically and emotionally draining day. Alexia slipped in next to you, though she didn’t really get comfortable; she remained halfway sat up, staring at the ceiling above her. You tucked yourself into her side, burrowing under the covers until you were surrounded by soft fabric and Alexia’s sweatshirt. She seemed wide awake, and you laced your fingers with her, rubbing your thumb comfortingly along the back. 

“Sleep, baby. You need rest. Everything will feel better in the morning.” Alexia nodded mechanically, giving you a half smile that you didn’t buy for a second, before her eyes fluttered shut. “I love you. You’re my favorite person.” You whispered. 

She opened her eyes again at your words, softening slightly. She turned on her side and pulled you into her chest, wrapping you up tightly in her arms. “Te amo, mi niña, eres perfecta.” She whispered. 

-------

You fell asleep easily. Alexia, evidently, had not. You realized this when you rolled over in the middle of the night, seeking out your girlfriend to curl up against, and only felt cold sheets next to you. 

It woke you up, and you opened your eyes, in your sleepy haze worried Alexia had gotten sick or something. You looked around the room, and towards the bathroom, but no lights were on. You sat up in the bed, forcing yourself to wake up more. Once you had thought about it for a minute, you had a sneaking suspicion about where your girlfriend had disappeared to in the middle of the night. You grabbed your phone from the nightstand, checking Alexia’s location, and sure enough, her little profile picture was at a park a few blocks away. It had a football pitch, and Alexia sometimes slipped away there when she wanted to clear her head, but not deal with seeing people she knew at the Barça training ground. 

You dragged yourself out of bed, even though you had half a mind to call Ale’s mom and get Eli to deal with her, knowing she could scold her daughter much more effectively than you could. It was the middle of the night, though, and you knew that Alexia may need a softer approach. You weren’t really sure what headspace she’d be in when you found her, and it was at this thought that you began to move faster, pulling on joggers and a shirt, and rushing down the stairs. You could visualize what she’d be doing, taking shot after shot on goal, but you couldn’t figure out how she’d be acting. Upset, or sad, or angry, or still completely blank. You grabbed your car keys, not really wanting to waste a second longer than possible by walking to where Alexia was, although it wasn’t far. 

It only took a few minutes to arrive, and you pulled into the parking lot with your attention completely fixed on the figure across the park, running down the pitch with a ball at her feet. As you got closer, you took in how exhausted Alexia looked, as if she’d been at this for hours.

“Ale?” You called, finally arriving at the pitch and trying to get your girlfriend’s attention from the sidelines. She didn’t look over at you, too caught up in her own thoughts, trying to angle her shot in just right. 

You moved closer, and finally she saw you, just out of the corner of her eye. She stopped what she was doing, turning to face you. “Amor?” She questioned. “What are you doing here?” 

You resisted the urge to roll your eyes at her question. “Really? You’re asking me what I’m doing here?” Your girlfriend had the decency to look slightly embarrassed. “It’s the middle of the night, Alexia. What are you doing?”

“I could not fall asleep.” Alexia told you, walking over to you, her ball abandoned behind her. 

“Why didn’t you wake me?” You asked, brushing a few pieces of flyaway hair off her forehead. She melted into your touch, her body slouching down towards you, giving you even more of an idea of how exhausted she was. 

“I wanted you to rest.” She said quietly, and it was a perfectly believable explanation, but for some reason you had a feeling that there was more to it than that. You fixed her with a look, raising one eyebrow. The blonde sighed again, grabbing your hand in hers. “Can we go home?” 

“Only if you promise to talk to me when we get there. Otherwise I’ll make you stand in goal while I shoot.” You teased, happy to see a small smile on your girlfriend’s completely drained face. 

“Promise.” She said, giving your hand a squeeze as you both began to walk towards the park exit. 

-------

You sent Alexia to shower upon arriving home, sitting on the couch until she was done, absolutely sure that if you got back in bed, you’d instantly fall back asleep. Alexia very timidly walked out of the bathroom 20 minutes later, all bundled up in a sweatshirt and sweatpants even though it was rather warm out. 

Alexia looked weirdly nervous as she sat down next to you, her eyes everywhere but on yours. She reached for your hand very hesitantly, relaxing slightly when you intertwined your fingers with hers easily. 

“What’s wrong, Ale?” You asked. 

“I am sorry about today. Really sorry, amor.” 

You opened your mouth, prepared to tell her that you forgave her for sneaking away in the middle of the night instead of waking you up, but you stopped when you looked at her closer, and found tears in her eyes. Something about the way she’d phrased it, too, that she was sorry about ‘today,’ didn’t sit right with you. 

“What are you sorry about?” You asked, frowning when Alexia chewed on her lower lip instead of answering. 

“I disappointed you today.” She said finally. 

“Alexia,” you rushed to contradict her, but she cut you off. 

“No, I know I did. I am sorry, I will do better, mi amor, I promise.” 

“Love, you did not disappoint me.” You insisted, cradling your girlfriend’s cheek and wiping away a stray tear. She shrugged, like she didn’t believe you. “You could never disappoint me, Alexia, especially not by missing a shot. Why do you think that?” 

Her eyes flicked up to yours, finding only sincerity there, as she took a deep breath, and spoke. “I told you I was proud of you.” Alexia mumbled, her cheeks flushing. “You did not say it back. And you normally give me a hug after matches in the locker room, but you did not, not until I hugged you.” 

You were sure you felt your heart crack in two. “Baby, I’m so sorry.” You said, reaching to pull her into a hug. She shrugged out of your grasp, though, and you were furious with yourself in that moment. 

“You do not need to be sorry, I understand.” She said, albeit rather miserably, looking so angry and upset with herself, when she really should have been directing that at you. 

“No, Alexia, look at me.” You insisted, gently tilting her head to look at you. She was barely holding back tears, her lip wavering sadly. “Oh, my love. I didn’t say it back because I didn’t think you’d want to hear it. You never listen after rough games, I was trying to let you have your feelings for the night, and then try to make you feel better tomorrow. I didn’t think you’d want comfort, Alexia, not today. I am so proud of you, Alexia. Every day, I am proud of you, especially today. You did everything you could do, I know that. It just wasn’t our day. Estoy tan orgullosa de ti.” You emphasized. 

Alexia nodded slowly, but you could tell she didn’t fully believe you. 

“Would you ever be disappointed with me for missing a shot?” You asked, slightly amused when the blonde whipped her head up to look at you, a frown set on her features. 

“No. Never.” Alexia said quickly, appalled at even the idea.

You smiled at her sadly. “Can you not imagine that I feel the same way about you, Ale? That I love you just as much as you love me? 

Your girlfriend swallowed roughly, reaching to pull you into her lap, and into a hug. You let her manhandle you the way she wanted, wrapping your arms around her and kissing the side of her head repeatedly once she grabbed on to you. 

“It is hard to believe sometimes. It is… too good to be true. That you love me like I love you. I do not always feel like I deserve it. Especially when I am grumpy all day after we lose, and I sneak out of our bed, and make you come find me in the middle of the night.” Alexia said, her voice dripping with insecurity. 

You pulled back just slightly, pressing your forehead to Alexia’s, threading your fingers through her hair. “You always deserve it. Always, Alexia. And I would get out of bed in the middle of the night to come find you every day if you needed me too. I’d get on a plane in the middle of the night and fly halfway across the world to find you, if that’s what you needed.” You whispered, leaning forward to press your lips to Alexia’s. 

She kissed you back, hard, trying to tell you how much everything you’d said meant to her. 

“I’d rather not, but I’d do it.” You mumbled against her mouth, feeling her smile against your own lips. 

“Okay.” She said finally, and it was clear to you that she believed you a bit more now, and that she’d believe you even more tomorrow. “I will keep my fleeing of the country to a minimum.” 

You laughed. “Good. Because I want to go to bed.” 

Alexia nodded enthusiastically, rising up off the couch with you held securely in her arms. “Me too.” 

She carried you towards the bedroom, already physically more relaxed than she’d been all day. 

“If you set an alarm for the morning, I will make you sleep at the park tomorrow night.” You told her, letting out a rather undignified squeak when she gently threw you down on the bed. 

She smiled at you mischievously, her bad day completely forgotten. How could she think about her performance when you were so perfect, and so pretty, and she was so tired.

“No alarm.” She promised, turning her light off and collapsing onto the bed next to you. It had been a mistake, not waking you up before. Because when you pulled her into you and began to scratch lightly at her back, she went completely limp, and she knew you were all she needed to fall asleep. Alexia didn’t need to practice her shots until her legs were numb. She just needed to lay her head on your chest and hear your heartbeat in her ear, and she’d remember that everything would be okay. 

------

hope you enjoyed :)

[embrosegraves]

ℕ𝕖𝕨 𝕋𝕠 𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤

(request) Fernando Alonso x Fem!Reader x Carlos Sainz Jr "What are you doing?" "Giving you affection." "Disgusting...do it more"

Warnings: None I think?? I did most of the Spanish translations all by myself!

You lived with the goal of trying and experiencing as many new things as possible. Which is how you found yourself in a triad relationship with the only two Spanish drivers on the Formula One grid. You never thought that you’d ever get into a situation like this. At first when both drivers approached you and made their intentions known, admittedly you had taken a while to think about it. You had weighed the pros and cons, thought for hours on end and even questioned how you used to identify with relationships before eventually accepting their advancements. 

It was a new thing for you. You had only ever been in a monogamous relationship before meeting the two Spaniards. Thankfully, the relationship was also a new experience for Carlos and Fernando. You remember asking them if they were in this relationship as each other’s boyfriend or just as your boyfriend, which had made them think a fair bit about what they wanted. Eventually they figured out that there was no harm in being each other’s boyfriend as well.

Growing up, your parents showed you plenty of affection and love. However that had mostly been verbal praise or a high-five. The only time either of your parents had given you a hug was when you were upset. They usually didn’t give you hugs or kisses unless for special occasions and as you grew older those rare affections became even more sparse. So it startled you every time Carlos would come up and kiss you randomly or when Fernando would tuck you under his arm as you walked beside him. 

One night, early on in the relationship, you had been prepping some veggies for dinner when the front door had opened. You listened as two sets of footsteps entered the house and knew that both Carlos and Fernando had finally finished their duties for the day. Finishing the veggies you moved to put the kettle on so that you could make yourself a tea. 

“¿Té o café?” You called out to them, grateful for having learnt some Spanish in school. They both walked into the kitchen, Carlos grabbing two plastic cups while Fernando went to the fridge to grab the jug of cold water. [Tea or coffee?]

“Ninguno para mi gracias.” Carlos said. [None for me, thanks.]

“Fern? ¿Cualquier cosa por ti?” [Anything for you?]

“Un café sería estupendo.” Fernando replied as he set the jug of water in front of Carlos before going around and placing a kiss on your cheek. Your whole body froze the moment you felt Fernando’s lips make contact with your cheek. [A coffee would be great.]

Seeing you react that way made Fernando chuckle. In turn, his chuckles made Carlos look over to the both of you. He saw how you weren’t moving and how Fernando was now leaning on the counter next to you. It didn’t take him very long to figure out what had occurred. Carlos hesitated for barely a second before he convinced himself that it was the only logical thing to do. 

You could feel how close Fernando was leaning towards you. You could hear him chuckling. You were acutely aware of the skin on skin contact he was maintaining, his hand resting on the small of your back underneath the oversized shirt you were wearing. You almost jumped when you felt Carlos come and take the coffee mugs from your hands and place them on the counter. You knew he made damn sure that his hands brushed yours as he did so. 

Once Carlos had made sure the mugs were safely away from the counter edge, he grabbed your hips and turned you so that you were facing him. His hands made their way up your body, lovingly caressing every curve and dip in their path, until finally they came to rest on either side of your face. Fernando had caught on pretty quickly, if the way he pressed his body to your back said anything. With Carlos in front of you, gently caressing your face, and Fernando behind you rubbing soothing circles on your hips and love handles, you were absolutely sure that you were as red as the Ferrari that Carlos drove. 

You tried to open your mouth so that you could speak, but before you could even think of the words you wanted to say, Carlos had dipped his head and gently pressed his lips to yours. Apparently Fernando didn’t want to be left out of the kissing because no sooner had Carlos lent in, Fernando attached his own lips to the junction between your shoulder and neck. 

“Wha- What are you both doing?” You managed to breathe out between kisses. The onslaught of touch was almost overwhelming. 

“You looked like you needed some affection, Querida.” Carlos whispered, his hot breath danced across your ear. 

“Would you like us to stop?” Fernando had barely lifted his lips from your shoulder, but you heard him anyway. 

“Yes- No- I-” You were conflicted. On the one hand, you were nowhere near used to the amount of love they were showing. On the other hand, however, Fernando and Carlos made you feel like you were dreaming.

“It’s alright, Amor. We can slow down.” Fernando had finally lifted his head, only to rest his chin on the top of your head. “We go at your pace, Dulce Niña.” [Sweet Girl]

“I need a little space, please.” You managed to whisper. The moment they loosened their grip on you, you moved to the corner closest to where they were. You wanted to be in your own space but you didn’t want to be far from them, in case they felt offended or guilty. 

You took a few moments to yourself, thinking over how to explain to them just how unused to affection you were. It wasn’t their fault that they grew up in a culture where casual displays of affection between lovers was so common. Just like it wasn’t your fault that you grew up never witnessing or experiencing casual affection at all. Part of your mind was going insane, telling you that they would think differently of you for not having the same experience. No matter what you told yourself, you just couldn’t get rid of that nagging little voice. 

“Are you alright, Mi Amor?” Carlos looked at you with worry. He thought what they did was a harmless bit of fun. He wasn’t expecting you to act as you had. Fernando wasn’t any better. He looked just as worried, though slightly more concerned. 

“I’m okay.” You said, taking a deep breath. “I just- I need to get used to it.” 

“Used to what?” Fernando spoke softly, as if trying his best to not spook you. 

You couldn’t bring yourself to look at them. “The affection.” 

Your voice was so quiet you honestly didn’t expect for either of them to hear you. You almost wished they didn’t, but luck was not on your side. 

“What do you mean you’re not used to affection?” Again, Fernando spoke. Holding his arm out slightly as if to stop Carlos from moving towards you. You were thankful that he did so because you weren’t sure you could handle being surrounded by a pair of arms at the moment. 

“I never got a lot growing up and the only boyfriend I ever had didn’t last long enough to get more physically affectionate.” You whispered.

“Does it make you uncomfortable when we kiss you?” Carlos looked almost like a wounded puppy. He never ever wanted for you to be uncomfortable in this relationship. If you said the word, he would happily never kiss you again. Okay maybe not ‘happily’ but he would do it nonetheless. 

“It doesn’t make me uncomfortable, Carlitos. I’m just not used to getting kisses all the time. I think I just need to ease myself into it.” 

By now you had moved to sit on the floor. It was always something you did when your feelings or thoughts got too overwhelming for you. Just sitting on the floor was already making you feel better. It didn’t take very long at all for both Fernando and Carlos to also sit down on the floor. They didn’t want to push you to talk about something that you were potentially very private about. If you wanted to tell them, then you would do it when you were ready. 

The three of you had sat on the floor for the rest of the night, quietly talking to each other about how to go forward. You told them as best you could about how the amount of romantic affection made you feel. Carlos had suggested dealing with it by pretending to be teenagers in their first relationship as a joke, but Fernando had decided that it was the best way to go about navigating the new influx of affection. 

As childish as the idea was, you were grateful that they wanted to help you overcome the unfamiliarity that you had receiving affection. You loved that they were determined to make sure you were comfortable in the relationship. 

You were broken out of your reminiscing when you felt kisses on both your cheeks. 

“Where is your mind today, Hermosa?” Carlos’ voice came from your left. 

“Must be somewhere special if she didn’t hear us walk into the kitchen.” To your right was Fernando, with a cheeky grin on his face. 

You turned around so that you could look at the two of them. “I was thinking about when we were sitting on the floor a few years ago. Talking about being teenagers in love.” 

Both of your boys were smiling at you. Carlos was holding your hand and Fernando had a hand on yours and Carlos’ waists. 

“We’ve come so far, no?” Carlos said softly. “We have grown in ourselves and our relationship. We’re no longer teenagers anymore.” 

Fernando pinched Carlos’ waist gently. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m still a teenager, Corazón.” 

“Alright you two,” you laughed. “wash your hands. You’re gonna help me with dinner.”

They both saluted you and spoke in almost perfect unison. “¡Sí Señorita!”

I feel so bad for how long this took me to write lmao but at the same time, I'm glad I took as long as I did because I'm finally happy enough with it to post

likes, replies and reblogs are always appreciated <3

[tethered-heartstrings]

Something i could never understand is...why do people want Jack to die???

Jack is an obstacle plenty of times and is sort of flippant about Will's state of mind in the beginning, but in all fairness he was trying to stop a MURDERER and I could see how he would value saving lives over Will's health. (Not saying it was right of him, but I get it. And Alana does rightfully chew him out to a point.)

Its clear he just assumes that Will not wanting to be involved im the mass murders is a natrual response to seeing all of that stuff, Jack has no idea that Will and Hannibal are having murder husband fantasy dates until the later seasons. Which in all fairness, he has a right to be concerned about lol

People villainize Jack for a lot of reasons, and only want to see the bad in him. People hate him because he's a cop (okay, so is Will, and everyone else on the team for that matter but only seems to apply to Jack?), because he didn't take care of Will's mental instability/deterioration (as if Will isn't a grown man who should/could stand up for himself and admit to Jack when he isn't doing well), because he was "too dumb to see Will was Very Obviously Ill" (as if we the audience don't get special privileges on what happens behind closed doors and Jack is just supposed to read minds), because he was a criminal investigator "too dumb to not see it was Hannibal all along" (as if Hannibal didn't manipulate literally everyone in his vicinity to make himself look normal and stable and safe and trustworthy), because he "doesn't care about Will" (as if this wasn't literal manipulation Hannibal whispered to Will during his mental breakdown to drive a wedge between him and Jack), because he isn't perfect and he isn't allowed to be flawed, and tbh a big factor of it is racism. and many more reasons.

Of course Jack has flaws, that's what being a human being is. Everyone on the show has faults, but people focus and amplify only the characters they don't like. Hannibal, and to be honest Will also, are literally right there in the same frame and are horrible people, who have done so much worse than Jack. But people don't want to be critical of their faves. Hannibal fans often also have like, main character specific lens so only their favorites are talked about highly and everyone else is dragged through the mud (Jack, Alana, even Abigail) and are not allowed to be seen as a multifaceted character. (admittedly, the women on the show are very poorly written which can contribute to this for the female characters of the show but I digress)

Jack genuinely wants to do something good, he wants to save lives, and he wants to so badly he can get horseblinders on and focus too much on the end goal and not on the path itself. That isn't evil though. He does care about Will, and in a very dad-like way he wants what is best for him but it isn't entirely through Will's lens ir his best interest. He trusted that Will would talk to him, and Will didn't. Like sure he hinted the job wasn't good for him and it was affecting him but that isn't specifically saying "hey Jack, I have headaches that won't go away, I can't sleep, I am sleepwalking, I am losing time, I am scared. Help me." Yeah, looking at horribly mutilated bodies all day isn't good for anyone. He tried to get Will genuine help, by setting him up with a well-renowned psychiatrist per someone else's recommendation. He tried, but Hannibal didn't do his job. He lied to Jack saying Will was fine, rubberstamped him sane. What is Jack supposed to do? Call him a liar? A well respected professional in the field? Be real. And to your point, again, Will never said how bad he actually was, so it makes sense Jack is doing his job and prioritizing saving lives.

Jack also didn't want to believe Will was guilty. The evidence was piled so high against him they eclipsed the sun. Jack is smart, his entire job is finding evidence to lead to a conclusion. He can't just suddenly turn a blind eye because it's Will. Jack was willing to risk his career to help him, a career that took decades and immense hard work to achieve. He then trusted Will and Will betrayed him. He wanted to trust in him until the very end. People get mad at Jack for not trusting Will but then call him dumb for trusting him later like lol what the fuck do you want?

Jack also knows when he messed up. He lives with the guilt of Miriam going missing forever, he knows he fucked up and makes it a point not to make that mistake again. He isn't careless. He cares for the people he works with. You could see it in his face how devastated he was when Beverly died, when Will was arrested. Even thinking about Miriam. There is a tenderness in him being the one to take off Will's mask and straight jacket, as an act of humanizing Will and saying "I trust you".

Jack is also a good husband who loved his wife. Yes, his job kept him away from home a lot, but Bella isn't dumb and she knew what his job entailed. He took care of her as best as he could. He wanted to do anything to support her after her cancer diagnosis, he was always in her corner. Of course he wanted her to do chemotherapy, of course he didn't want her to die. He didn't want to lose the love of his life and traverse the world alone, his most trusted and longtime support system gone. He broke the law to smoke weed with her and join her, and be a part of her care and comfort. And in the end, he did the hardest thing by letting her go so she wasn't in pain anymore. It wasn't passive, it wasn't that she died and he just watched. He pushed the plunger to give her peace. He is a human being capable of compassion and love and care.

People forget we have the audience view, so we see Hannibal being manipulative and murdering, and we see Will wake up from nightmares covered in sweat and sleepwalking. But the characters in the show aren't us! They only see what is in front of them or told to them. And they act like if they weren't in the same shoes they wouldn't do the exact same stuff.

To put it shortly, Jack is a complex and flawed character, as is literally everyone on the show and people in real life. He genuinely tries his best and wants to do good things in the world. He is sooo far from the worst character on the show (I argue he might be the most morally stable and centered) but is made out to be the worst person ever, when he isn't. He doesn't deserve to die, and he doesn't deserve to be murdered. He deserves a nice, peaceful, retirement (or vacation, not sure he could stay away tbh especially now that Bella has died) and to be left the fuck alone.

[butts-bouncing-on-the-beltway]

Role call. Who on Tumblr was politically active during the Free Tibet years?

I'm going to establish this post as an anchor space to have a conversation about the Lessons we learned from Free Tibet and how we may or may not be effectively applying those lessons to our work around Free Palestine as a current socio-political banner.

If you were alive, aware, and involved during Free Tibet's groundswell into and out of the public eye, your stories, reflections, and thoughts are welcome. This goes doubly for perspectives within the movement such as the experience of seeking and obtaining allyship/solidarity from the international community as some living in or with family in Tibet, ground work in organizing the dustribution of funds, resources, or resistance, publicity and public awareness/consciousness, etc.

I'll start. I was (admittedly) young when this was happening, but already had been engaged and involved for a year or two in politics more broadly. I had been working with the UUA youth programming on a variety of community initiatives when a delegate of ministers traveled to meet with the Dalai Lama and several Tibetan activist communities both in their home mountains and abroad in exile. They've done this quite a few times over the years, before and since this particular delegation. One of the ministers who worked with us attended. He was gone for 18months sabbatical/spiritual and social development work on the trip, and when he came back, he led the district's interfaith activist groups through dozens of trainings and salon conversations to help us understand what he'd learned and what he wanted US to learn.

He came away with [and invited us to come away with] a few major foundations

1) any act of imperialism or colonization is a cause for profound and expansive grief. In fact the grief itself was part of the point because until we see the suffering of every person on earth as a violation of and offense to the humanity of EVERY person on earth, we will struggle to hold ourselves accountable for our own complicity.

2) complicity can be coerced, and that is always the accountability of the coercive authority structure, not the accountability of the individuals being coerced. This is not mutually exclusive with the need to repair the harm done to a community following coerced complicity as a form of reintegration into the healing process of a fractured social order.

3) we needed to operate with two paths of possibility - diasporic and indigenous. Ultimately, the preservation of a people, their culture, their humanity, their communities, is a complex one with very few guarantees. Every effort should be made to answer the intracommunal calls to action that are being made so as to ensure that on the micro/mezzo level (individuals, families, and small regional communities in particular) people are able to self-direct towards a diasporic-mobile preservation path or an indigenous-remaining preservation path as best suits their needs in the moment, and that a diasporic-return path is being established and maintained as effectively as possible (erosion of this path should be considered a warning sign of high risk actions being taken against the indigenous-remaining [coerced/autonomous] population). The goal, this minister explained, was always to preserve access to autonomy on both the individual and communal level, and that sometimes this would look like things we didn't understand or didn't want to understand as victory. As long as it came with the community in need at the helm, it was our job to wrestle with that possibility proactively rather than risk imposing our own needs-assessment on them. [Disclaimer: this came in the wake of concerns around the possible death of the Dalai Lama's reincarnation and heir being selected/identified by an imperial assembly rather than by the existing Tibetan process of identification, and specifically in the wake of the Dalai Lama's statements that all, even his own role, must one day end which had incited many difficult conversations around the world]

4) resistance was both an imperative and an active tense verb, meaning that any of us engaged in resistance needed to be in real conversation with others about it or we were NOT in fact resisting anything

5) slogans are catchy, but they can't be all you have. It is too easy to say the same words as others while acting against them, both intentionally and unintentionally.

I really was present in the tail end of this work's public prominence, and while I have done my best to stay aware since my initial exposure, I lack some of the necessary current reflections on the experience from various people and perspectives. Others who were engaged and involved, especially if it has remained in your primary focus of activism, what were your lessons so to speak and how have you grown or developed your approaches in response?

[suzukiblu]

comfort w tim please? (i just want some fluff dkjshekdb 😂)

Well, this excerpt isn't Tim comfort, but hopefully counts for Tim fluff?

Context: pre-identity reveal/identity porn/idiots to lovers TimKon.

"Sounds like supervillain talk, dude," Kon says. Tim resolves to dial back on that at this point in his career. He's laying groundwork, yes, but subtlety is still the wiser course of action.

"You say that like you've never socialized with a supervillain before," he says dryly.

"Well, usually ones who wear a bit less," Kon replies, grinning wickedly at him.

"So you're telling me I should invest in a crop top before I try to take over the world and remake it in my own image?" Tim asks still more dryly as he raises an eyebrow at him with a little smirk, and Kon laughs and steps in a little closer, giving him a not very subtle up-and-down with his eyes.

"Only if you're trying to recruit me for your evil plans," he says, grin turning sharp. Tim wants to lick his teeth. "So I dunno, what are your feelings on Daisy Dukes?"

"I'm going to be honest, I'm not actually that much of an exhibitionist so at this point we're just describing my ideal costume updates for you," Tim informs him.

"Oh yeah?" Kon asks with another laugh even as he visibly preens at the suggestion. Tim is all for that, personally. Both the preening and the theoretical updates, in fact. And, a little more weirdly, just the idea of having anything to do with what Kon might ever decide to wear.

Yeah, that's probably a later thought, Tim decides. Like, a private-time kind of later thought.

"You're solar-powered, aren't you?" he says reasonably. "Showing a bit more skin can't hurt."

"I wonder if Superman would buy that excuse," Kon says musingly.

"Power Girl exists," Tim says still more reasonably. "And Supergirl wears a miniskirt, last I checked."

"Valid," Kon says, putting on a mock-thoughtful expression and tapping the side of his jaw. "Maybe I'll put in some cutouts and go for a lower neckline, tell the big guy he's making the rest of us look like prudes. What do you think, bikini or high-cut bottoms?"

"I don't know the difference," Tim lies, desperately trying not to overheat and die at that question and every single accompanying mental image that his useless brain has so helpfully decided to supply. "You'll have to provide examples."

"Will I now," Kon says, grinning all over again and pointedly cocking a hip. "What, pretty boy, you want a fashion show?"

"Well I did want to be a photographer when I was a kid," Tim says, although it was definitely never that kind of photography he had in mind. Kon laughs again and shifts in even closer, though, so it's worth it. Tim is mortified, but also undeniably into just . . . all of this, really, just everything about this conversation. Robin can't flirt with Superboy, but, well . . .

He's taking advantage a little, he can admit, but it's still just . . . nice.

He's wanted to flirt with Kon for way too long, at this point. Indulging in a little bit of it isn't the worst thing he could do.

And again, it's Kon, so it's not like it's serious or anything. The guy won't even remember this conversation tomorrow, much less anything about Tim Drake.

. . . admittedly that'd be counterproductive to Tim's long-term goals here, but still. He's willing to take his time on this. There's a plan. It has steps. Layers. Processes.

"I like you, man," Kon says with a wider grin, which is in absolutely no way whatsoever in the plan. "You're funny."

It occurs to Tim, almost disbelievingly, that he might've . . . made a good impression on Kon? Somehow?

Well that's weird.

[heliza24]

In which I try to figure out Armand:

My brain has been ticking away thinking about Armand ever since episode 2.1. I have been fascinated and irritated by Armand in the off-season, so to speak, because I love Daniel and relate to him so much, and I know Armand is going to be very important to him. But we were given so little of Armand last season it has just felt impossible to get a grip on what his deal is. I am admittedly not a book reader, but I also feel like these feelings are still justified because the show version of Armand is so different than the book, in circumstance at least. So he’s the character I’m most interested in this season.

We still didn’t get a lot of him in ep 1, but I’ve been thinking about him and synthesizing some of the stuff that people have been saying about him in interviews, especially about his relationship to control. I’m specifically thinking about Hannah describing him as “Louis’s creature” and saying that he’ll do whatever Louis wants, and that this is part of their sexual dynamic as well. I think this makes sense with what we’ve seen in the trailers; it seems like Louis is the more sexually dominant one between them. So Armand is happy to be more of a sub in the bedroom and in their original flirtations. Maybe in their earlier dynamic as a couple too, we’ll have to see. Meanwhile, he’s in the background, arranging scenery, pulling strings, trying to do everything he can to hold onto Louis and keep him at least passingly happy. This, by the way, perfectly meshes with his role as director at the theatre. Never in the limelight, but always in control. (The stage management school of sexuality, if you will.). I think that emphasis on control probably becomes more pronounced as the years go on, and Louis is sitting in his grief for Claudia and more of their initial spark dies. But it also perfectly explains the Rashid act. Armand is comfortable playing a servant role. He’s comfortable observing from just off stage. He’s comfortable doing those things if it means ultimately having a better grasp on the way the scene unfolds.

For his part I think Louis is probably drawn to the way Armand seamlessly irons out the bumps in his life. The penthouse is a cage, but Louis is his own jailer; Armand isn’t the one keeping him there. There’s probably an interesting comparison to be made against Lestat here. Lestat revels in melodrama and high emotions, while Armand is intent on maintaining a facade of calm stability. It makes sense to me that Louis would have leaned into this facade, even if he knew it was partially a falsehood, after losing Claudia. I think this is true even around Claudia’s death. It was easier for Louis to forget and forgive whatever part Armand played in it, and allow Real Rashid to hide those diary pages away, than to really reckon with Claudia’s death.

I think Louis requested the interview as part of his general goal to narrativize and soften his own memories and grief, and Armand acquiesced in order to keep Louis. The original goal of the interview was for Louis to convince himself he really had killed Lestat, literally and maybe emotionally too. I think it’s possible that Lestat is back in the picture somehow and the interview is Louis’s last ditch effort to convince himself not to return to his maker. But then of course the whole thing goes off the rails and Louis ends up facing down his true memories for the first time in years. It makes sense that when put in an uncomfortable situation- watching Louis talk about Lestat- Armand would default to his old role of manipulating things from the wings of the metaphorical penthouse stage. Him stepping into the interview is a big departure from that, and shows how effectively Daniel has rattled him.

So how this plays against Daniel is interesting. Armand is putting on a big show about how he and Louis were able to manipulate Daniel in San Francisco. But I wonder how true that ever really was. I imagine even in San Francisco, Daniel represented a completely opposite dynamic to Armand’s relationship with Louis, which would have hooked Armand’s attention. If Louis appeared in control on the surface, but relied on Armand’s ability to arrange the periphery of his life, Daniel would have appeared to be easily (and perhaps happily) dominated, but resistant to Armand’s larger attempts to control his life. Obviously I don’t know exactly how they’ll play out a 1970s devil’s minion scenario. But I imagine that Daniel’s addiction, and Armand’s misguided attempts to protect him from it, will play a role in whatever kind of break up and memory erasure ensues. Whether it was the addiction or his personality or something else, there was some element of Daniel that was too wild for Armand to tame. He threw him back into the pond, all memories of being snared on the fishing line erased. And it’s entirely possible that Armand feels this loss of control very deeply. As heartbreak and loss, but also as a scary moment when his grip on the love that he needs in his life faltered. It’s possible that the break up with Daniel made him even more determined to control outcomes with Louis. And it’s also possible that the pain that he felt when he originally lost Daniel is causing him to revise and edit his own memories of his relationship with Daniel. If Daniel broke Armand’s heart, it would be a lot easier to remember him as a silly boy Armand manipulated in tandem with Louis than someone Armand actually found fascinating. Admitting otherwise means admitting his own weakness. So memory becomes the monster, again, even if you are the one controlling the vampire amnesia.

For what it’s worth, I currently think that Louis doesn’t know about Armand’s past with Daniel. I don’t think Louis would be as vulnerable with Daniel if he knew. And that would point to Armand once again subtly manipulating and managing Louis, completely hiding his connection to this mortal from him.

Regardless, I don’t doubt that Daniel was less fearsome in San Francisco than he is now in Dubai. (The show’s insistence that an elderly disabled man is just as powerful in his own way as an immortal vampire is perfection, and it makes me want to kiss all the writers on the mouth). He’s even less controllable by Armand than he once was (if he ever was), and he’s intent on finding out Armand’s truth, and the truth of their connection. I was really struck by Assad saying in an interview that the thing that Armand wants most is acceptance. He craves love and acceptance, but is terrified to show his real self and be vulnerable. Thats why he’s continuing to play stage manager to Louis’s love. But Daniel is coming for his true self in Dubai whether Armand wants it or not. And I imagine that is both extremely confronting but also ultimately attractive to Armand.

I deeply hope we get to see Daniel crack Armand’s sense of control. I hope we get to see Armand being vulnerable to Daniel and Daniel being receptive to that. I also hope we get to see Daniel facing down Armand as the source of his trauma (because being stalked, bitten, and then having your memories forcibly repressed is trauma, even if Daniel was attracted to Armand through it). I hope we get to see the way that trauma and fear and desire and love intermingle. And I also hope that when Daniel breaks Armand’s sense of control and sees his true self, he still likes what he sees. Because I would like Armand to get that acceptance from someone, even when his worst tendencies are laid bare.

(Oh, and while I’m making predictions- I’m not worried about 70s Devils Minion not happening, or them interacting in the 70s but it not turning into some form of romance. There is simply no better way to add stakes to the Dubai iterations of the characters than to give them this hidden history, and Rolin has talked extensively about needing to bring Daniel into the story in a personal way and crank up the conflict happening in Dubai. The penthouse is no longer just a framing device, but a site of active conflict and growth, and the only way you do that is exploring past and future DM dynamics. In ep 1 it’s still mainly acting as a frame, but I’m really excited to see its importance grow over the season).

Armand is such an intriguing mystery, but if I’m right about some of this stuff I actually relate quite strongly to him too. (I am reminded of a Brennan Lee Mulligan quote, where he describes characters you love/play as being garages attached to your actual personality of a house, and sometimes some piece of writing or improv shoots a sniper rifle perfectly through the garage door into the house and hits you in the heart)

@bluedalahorse warned me that this is how you really get stuck on a ship, when you see pieces of yourself in both characters, and I do fear that she is right.

So we’re really in it now, is what I’m saying. Send me your Armand thoughts, I want all of them. I will be counting down the days until episode 5 and obsessing until it airs. I’ll check back in on this meta later, I guess, to see how correct or incorrect I was.

[animatedjen]

Out of curiosity, what is your favorite planet to explore out of all the Jedi games? Also, I know it’s a little early, but happy holidays!

Happy holidays! 🎄 Ooh this is tricky. The art direction and environment design in Fallen Order is more memorable to me, but the movement mechanics and level design feel stronger in Survivor.

For actual gameplay exploration, my favorite planet is probably Koboh: it's huge, filled with different unique biomes, and has secrets to discover around every corner. It changes with the game's story, as new roaming enemies appear (to fight you or each other!) while new friends gather at Pyloon's. There's also a great sense of verticality, from the skybound Observatory to the Phon'Qi Caverns to the half-sunken Lucrehulk. Its High Republic roots give the planet some history and mystery, though I'd say Jedha does that even better (really love the Sanctuary Temple!) And the planet's circular layout, two types of mounts, and fast travel make it easy to find your way back to familiar territory. I spent a lot of my first playthrough just roaming the different regions and finding surprise boss fights or hidden chests tucked away in yet another cavern.

Fallen Order is intentionally emptier, with big cavernous spaces and environments that echo their former glory. Focusing on the Zeffo means we explore vaults and tombs, spaces where the mystical side of the Force is put front and center. The planets Zeffo, Dathomir, and Bogano all have big focal points that drive the story (and our exploration) towards a specific goal - but the level layouts are winding and it's easy to get lost/stuck, especially without a fast travel mechanic. Still, the stylized color and lighting gives each location their own distinct visual identities and I think they're overall more impactful to look at, even if more challenging to explore.

There's a very (very) good chance Tanalorr will feature prominently in Jedi 3, and I'm hoping it could become the best of both worlds. Maybe an upgradable skiff to travel between islands, or improved jump abilities to ascend tall mountains. Contrasting the "lived-in" areas of Hidden Path refugees against the frozen-in-time High Republic buildings and any secrets left behind by the Nihil or other ancient groups. Maybe something even older lurking in the bowels of this nexus in the Force.

Until then, we'll keep exploring our other Jedi planets :) Admittedly these days I'm more focused on in-game photo/video projects than gameplay, which would be a completely different ranking: Bracca, Jedha, and Coruscant would go way up on the list. But these are adventure games first and Cal dress-up simulator second, soooooooooooo

[akutasoda]

Helloo! Can I request kurapika, Feitan and chrollo angst hcs with a reader who’s a traitor? Like they were only with them to gather information and potentially kill them

snakes and spiders

synopsis - they never thought that someone could betray them like this

includes - kurapika, chrollo, feitan

warnings - gn!reader, angst, mentions of blood/murder, wc - 898

kurapika ★↷

↪the phantom troupe weren't entirely unwise to the fact that someone from the kurta clan had slipped the net. originally they did think nothing of it but when someone that fits a similar description surfaces in the hunter exams, they became suspicious.

↪they knew that if he was a survivor, he probably would have clue on who belonged to the troupe and so they hired an outsider. you're job was simple - gain kurapika's trust to keep an eye on him and if he got too close to the truth, kill him.

↪you figured that the best starting point was to join the hunter exams and build from there. you quickly gained the trust of a few of his associates and eventually they introduced you to your target who was none the wiser to your intentions.

↪you managed to build up a friendship with kurapika that extended outside of the hunter exams. you kept in contact and eventually he started telling you about his goals and what kind of missions he was heading on - all of which was swiftly delivered back to your employer.

↪however you weren't made aware of the fact that two of kurapika's companions, gon and killua, had seen you with chrollo. it was an oversight that you ignored but now kurapika knew. no amount of excuses could get you out of the situation and so you owned up.

↪kurapika was absolutely shattered. he would never of guessed someone as genuine as you would turn out to be a big lie, to his sworn enemy no less. he could never forgive you and he now lumped you in the same category as the phatom troupe themselves.

chrollo lucifer ★↷

↪chrollo took great pride in the fact that the phantom troupe was as successful as it was. he would never admit it but he did view them as somewhat of a family and therefore he would ensure they were safe.

↪so when a stranger shows direct interest in joining, he becomes suspicious. admittedly he was impressed with the skillset you possessed and could agree that it would benefit the troupe substantially but he needed to know you wouldn't betray the troupe.

↪you knew very well that chrollo was searching for a sign that you weren't right for the troupe but you would make sure he wouldn't find one. afterall, how else could you get close enough to kill him? eventually and very begrudgingly, you had been accepted into the phantom troupe.

↪it took a long time for the other spiders to even begin accepting the idea that you could be trusted. missions and meetings with other spiders became crucial in gaining enough trust that they would stop suspecting you for having other intentions.

↪and no matter how long it took, you pressed on long enough to the point that chrollo willingly started accepting you as a proper member to the troupe. even longer for him to value you the same as the rest of the spiders but once he got there, he realised how valuable and loyal you were to the group.

↪or atleast he thought so. he thought he'd be angry, furious even but even now as your knife became plunged deep into his chest he could only feel overwhelmed by sadness and hurt.

feitan portor ★↷

↪the phantom troupe had quite the high bounty over their head when it came to people looking for contracts and such. obviously, the more physical infiltration missiond became higher payed but you settled for a lower information retrieval job.

↪squeezing information out of a the leader himself certainly would be a tricky mission and so you opted your sights onto a different member of the troupe, specifically feitan. the de facto leader in the absence of their main leader.

↪it was still quite the challenge but much more manageable than chrollo. although maybe it did look a bit suspicious when the brand new member to the troupe actrd much more friendly to feitan than the rest from the get go.

↪you knew very well that it would take a long time to gain the trust of anyone, let alone enough for them to start talking about the information you needed to complete your missions. so you were prepared to play the long game and do so by any means necessary.

↪feitan himself was normally quite reserved unless needed not but after a very long time, you managed to get him to be slightly more friendly toward you than the restt of the spiders were. he was rather suspicious of you for quite a while but eventually that would start to dissipate.

↪in it's olace, he would start to trust you more and more - evident by the fact that he became more willing to go on missions with you and the fact that he became quite a bit more talkative than usual.

↪feitan had begun to see you as more of a friend than a coworker, very quickly however it seemed like his trust became misplaced. nobody could tell but he was absolutely seething and he swore that when the troupe caught you, you would suffer more pain than he had ever inflicted in anyone yet.

[aimportantdragoncollector]

Some mechanics and world-building for my werewolfverse too long to be included in And Then There Was One:

-The bite infects everyone with a magical passenger, the wolf. The wolf and human are both sharing the body but the wolf can override human actions when humans break the rules. Werewolves never kill fellow werewolves. The wolf finds harming people to be repugnant.

-Werewolves only kill humans in self-defense, either by accident or because they got cornered by too many humans to avoid non-lethal violence. (Admittedly, the humans would disagree with their definition of self-defense because from the human perspective it's not self-defense if the werewolf was trying to bite you first.) Werewolves prefer biting as a method to bring enemies down instead of killing them.

-One of the side effects of the werewolf bite is that in the period between bite and the first transformation, people regress and become docile/obedient around fully grown werewolves. This means that bite victims are extremely susceptible to brainwashing during the change. It's sort of like being erased down to a childlike level and then going through childhood again, with all the programming that society gives you in childhood about what is right/wrong/normal. And the new childhood overwrites the first one in terms of perceptions of normal. This creates the high rate of Transhuman Treachery.

-The brainwashing goes a level deeper because the wolves are influencing the minds of their hosts, and the wolves really really want to bite everyone and take over the world.

-If the biting victims are able to escape the pack before they transform, then they can avoid the brainwashing. However, they are still susceptible to the inner wolf's urge to bite people, which grows stronger the more they care about someone. The pack rejects the existence of strays and hunts them down. They have ways of forcing strays into the pack, but I won't discuss that in this post because of spoilers. There is only one werewolf pack and the pack wants to keep it that way.

-Werewolves can communicate telepathically and make decisions by group consensus. It's a direct democracy (aka policies are decided by majority vote, not legislators.) Pack leaders are not the people who make decisions, they are the people in charge of executing the will of the pack. Thus the werewolf concept of leadership is different and pack leaders will be seen fighting in the front lines instead of staying safe like human leaders.

-Unity is the big advantage of the werewolves. The werewolves don't have internal conflict like humans because goals get made as a pack, and even if some people disagree, once the pack has made a decision everyone sticks together.

-Werewolf society is very utopian. They are able to conquer human issues of poverty because everyone in werewolf society shares resources. The bite cures mental illness and addiction, thus eliminating some causes of poverty that humans find so difficult to overcome. Werewolves treat each other better, because they all have a sense that everyone is family. The urge to help each other also combats the "free rider" problem that human society has where one person just doesn't want to contribute.

-In rare cases, some humans are so vile and evil that the inner wolf rejects them. Then the bite causes them to sicken and die instead. I will note that this is not a moral judgement so much as a pragmatic one. If someone has committed horrible crimes in the past but can be made a productive member of werewolf society with some brainwashing and restraining rules, then they will survive the bite. But if someone has such a strong desire to harm others that the wolf would need to be in control all the time to stop them, then they are considered irredeemable.

-Historically there have been a lot of volunteers to become werewolves. It cures all illness! A society where everyone has an upper middle class lifestyle! Werewolves downplay the brainwashing aspect because they know that would scare people off, though some have noticed. At the start of Kazuo's story, the werewolves have taken over about half the world and have reached a tipping point where they know they are stronger than humanity and are revealing their claws.

[rongzhi]

June watches! Not a very movie-watchful month once again, but on the other hand, I'm most definitely on track for my goal of watching 365 movies this year (241 already out of the way), which is all that matters. Obviously.

Favorite New Movies watched: Andromeda Strain, Klute, Total Recall

Also Memorable: Boyz n the Hood, High Fidelity, [The hurricane Katrina part of Hurricane Season, which is a basketball movie so forgettable I am suddenly actually wondering if I actually watched the whole movie. Pretty sure I did, because I remember the credits rolling. But don't ask me what happened]

Least favorite: Willow (sorry if that movie was your childhood, although admittedly I quit trying to force myself to watch it some time around when Val Kilmer got dosed by the sex pollen or whatever it was while sneaking into the princess's tent. So I do need to finish the movie at some point.)

[avastyetwats]

A Lover's Spar

Continued from here. @izzyeffinhands

Stede let out a high pitched yelp when Izzy lunged, prompting Stede to block the attack with his own cutlass. Then came the threat and Stede frowned while taking some steps back to put more distance between them, remaining on the alert. "You wouldn't." He huffed with a pout, not believing that he would actually hurt him. It was an empty threat, he was sure of it. Only meant to provoke Stede and get a rise out of him. Which, to be fair, was working. Especially when Izzy followed his threat up with another lunge and had Stede not been on the alert and dodged, he would've succeeded in running him through. He gasped. "You would." He understood why, though, but he was still being pouty about it. His husband almost hurt him! And he was grinning like he was amused! "You can't--ahh!" Another shriek when Izzy lunged forward again prompting Stede to knock it away with his cutlass while striking forward which was easily blocked. Now he was getting a little annoyed and it was fueling his determination and want to win.

So, he lunged and stabbed forward, but Izzy easily dodged by spinning on his good leg and followed it up with a fury of swift strikes which Stede was unsuccessful at blocking or dodging. His shirt paid the price for that. He felt the tip of Izzy's blade glide over his body with each strike followed by the feeling of cold air against now exposed skin, his shirt completely cut open which was very much deja vu from their first ever meeting. Why did Izzy love doing that so much!? It was something Stede always wanted to know because not only was it infuriating, it was admittedly very sexy. "Oh, Izzy!" Stede whined, pouting yet again. "Did you have to do that!? I really liked this shirt... it was one of my favorites." He frowned, standing there looking completely disheveled yet a little delicious with his chest now fully exposed. God, Izzy was so skilled with his blade and his admiration for his husband was made evident with that bulge between his legs. Funny how he was annoyed, sad, impressed and aroused all in one.

He looked down at his chest to survey the damage and then, without warning, he lunged forward and slashed at his leathers, intending to hit him. But because of all of the layers Izzy wore, Stede's sword wouldn't be able to cut through them all and into his body, but his goal was to land some hits on his husband and that's exactly what he was trying to do. Then, as another surprise, he reached for the small turquoise pouch attached to his hip, popped it open, grabbed some of it's contents and threw it right at Izzy's face, intending to temporarily blind him with his secret weapon: sand.

[cator99]

genuine question - why do you think the iba lied about khelif failing a gender test and not any of the other female boxers who also beat russian athletes (especially ones who stood between russian athletes and prizes, rather than worthless first round matches like khelif's)? and why would they lie when it would take a 2 second cheek swab to expose the truth? like genuinely, i'm interested, why do you think this conspiracy is a likely explanation rather than khelif simply having a sex development disorder? it all feels very q-anon, especially since the ioc have very carefully said that they were incorrect to claim it wasn't a dsd case.

See previous post. I wouldn't call the timing of her disqualification a "worthless first round".

Also this:

To expect the IOC to immediately clarify beyond what they already have and to find a legal way to subject an athlete to further qualification testing after she's been allowed to compete in the olympics is very controversial and I'm sure goes against some policy or another that they cant just bullzode because of a media storm, all of which when taken into consideration further brings into question the authority of the IOC– which should be questioned, by the way... but certainly not as a result of meddling by the IBA, and Russia, and people like Giorgia Meloni, whose personal gripes come from a clear desire to destabilize and subject the IOC to scrutiny for their own political gains, and to further their own agendas. When the Russian and Italian government's politics and policy goals are examined (which admittedly I am not well versed in doing so, I don't have a high school diploma let alone a polisci degree) it becomes clear to me why we should be wary of such malicious interference. This isn't Qanon-tier conspiracy, it's just common sense for someone who values both womens rights as well as LGBT rights.

Bach's comment on the matter expressed nothing but misunderstanding of the vague term that is "differences in sex development". He thought that meant transgender because if you aren't well-versed in transgender terminology then it sounds a lot like something that trans people would use as a euphemism for the long-term effects of HRT and and possibly surgeries. They had to carefully correct the statement, and then went silent because I'm sure everyone involved is in the middle of some very headache-inducing conversations to further investigations on these matters a day after it's happened and immediately make a definitive statement beyond that.

We'll just have to wait and see.

[blorb-el]

What is :dhosurro? I saw it in a fic and your post was the only thing that came up with a Google search lol. Also, I'm trying to get into Superman, so do you have any good starting places, or is it better to just bounce around? Anyways, I think you're really cool, and I love your blog. have a splendid day!!!

Anonymous asked: my bad that was YOUR fic please ignore me while I die of shame

OH NO DON'T DIE OF SHAME! it is indeed a word I made up, but the plant itself is canonical - you can read the story in the second story in Superman 236. I suppose I could have just called the flowers surrus, but I liked the idea of there being different species of this flower and this being the most aesthetically pleasing, so I appended the prefix for beautiful, which is :dhoia, to create :dhosurro (pronounced n-doh-surr-oh).

(^ that lady's jumpsuit is sick as hell. Also when I came across this story I immediately went, oh, opioids metaphor. Then like a year later I was like.... weed metaphor??? And then now I'm back to thinking it's an opioid/general addiction metaphor considering denny o'neil (who wrote the story) was pro legalization of weed but apparently struggled with alcohol addiction. Art by Dick Giordano.)

As for starting places! It really depends on how you like to read comics, if you want proper story arcs and context to things or if you're okay with a random dude showing up on the page for whom you have like 6 words of context in an editor's box. I distinctly remember the first four Superman comics I read in high school, on the advice of Some Random List Online: Birthright, All-Star, Superman For All Seasons, and Matt Wagner's Trinity oneshot. When I started getting back into Superman, I initially started with jumping around, and then pretty quickly found out that I loved the older precrisis interpretation of the character the most.

Birthright is top goddamn tier. Best origin story in my opinion. There's a moment about halfway through with a gun that made me understand not just Superman but, like, all superheroes. Mark Waid gets Superman in a way that very few writers do. I liked the art, but it isn't for everyone. If you liked Birthright, I highly recommend the current World's Finest 2022 run, with Mark Waid and Dan Mora. If you thought it was a little out there, the most 'standard' origin story is Geoff John's/Gary Frank's Superman: Secret Origins, and while I personally am a Huge Hater of John Byrne's Man of Steel it was the canonical origin story for a huge chunk of time that many comic fans love (post-Crisis, pre-Flashpoint), has admittedly good art, and is probably worth reading just for the context it gives to the era.

On a similar 'origin story' note I think that all Superman fans should read the first few issues of Action Comics, 1-10 or so. They're amazingly snappy - you can tell Siegel and Schuster assembled the story of Action 1 out of proposed newspaper strips, with the result that said action comes fast and furious. I also adore Action 12, wonderful wish fulfillment where Superman goes after irresponsible driving.

Superman: For All Seasons is a good story, I'm just not a huge Tim Sale fan. If you liked it, especially the art, Superman: Kryptonite is also a great story if kind of tricky to track down. It's in Superman: Confidential.

All Star Superman is a fantastic story and I don't regret reading it as one of my first four comics at all, but I think it works better the more you love Superman - every time I come back to it I get more out of it, and it's out of continuity so you can fit it in whenever. Morrison's stated goal was to write the version of Superman you see on a cereal box, and they get to break down the psychology behind the icon. It's a great book to show you the flawed, fascinating 'man' behind the super. If you liked ASS' (lol) general 'anything can happen' vibe, check out Morrison's N52 Action Comics run for another take on an origin story told out of linear time that has a lower powered, T-shirt clad Superman start with facing down corrupt bankers and end by facing down a cosmic bully. If you were eh on the writing style but liked the examination of how Clark balances being Superman and Clark Kent, the storyline 'Who Took the Super Out of Superman?' is an interesting Bronze Age look at the balance.

The Matt Wagner Trinity is just a really good look at the Trinity and a fun three-issue short story, Superman in particular comes across as really great in it. If you like the idea of short, character driven, self-contained stories, Superman has some excellent Elseworlds/one shot stories. Some of my favorites are Superman: Speeding Bullets (what if Thomas and Martha Wayne had no biological children but baby Kal-El fell in their backyard?), Up In the Sky by Tom King (6 issues: a little girl gets kidnapped by aliens, superman tracks her down), Superman Smashes the Klan, and Faster than a Speeding Bullet in Superman Adventures (2013) by Matt Kindt.

If you liked the focus on interpersonal dynamics in the Trinity oneshot, one of my favorite Superman titles is DC Comics Presents, which is about 100 issues of the Pre-Crisis Superman (my favorite incarnation of the character), where every issue is a team-up. I'd recommend almost all of them, but my particular favorites are #85 with Swamp Thing by Alan Moore, the 3-part arc beginning with #27 with J'onn, Kara, and the Spectre which is Clark's first encounter with Mongul, #41 with the Joker, and #50, where Superman teams up with...Clark Kent? And of course, if you also like Batman, pretty much any run of World's Finest is worth picking up, my ultimate favorite WF issue is the original run's #289, the infamous Kryll Way of Dying. If you like lois, my favorite story with that relationship is the 2-parter Is There a Doctor in the House/Under Enemy Fire from Superman Adventures #11-12 (1996), nominally set in the DCAU continuity but very readable as a standalone. This entire run is pretty great. And if you like the Justice League, the 2000s series is justly famous, also starting with a long Morrison run, and later on including the famous Tower of Babel storyline by Mark Waid.

As for non comics, I have a rec list of STAS episodes here and a rec list of radio show episodes here! If I had to pick just one, for the radio show I'd suggest listening to Clan of the Fiery Cross for its historical value or The Headless Indian for character dynamics. For STAS I would watch the origin if you're not tired of origin stories by now, or the best standalone episode IMO is The Late Mr. Kent. btw in the superbat server we might be starting a DCAU superbat themed curated watchthrough soonish if you might be into that pspsps

The Elliot S! Maggin novels Last Son of Krypton and Miracle Monday deserve a separate bullet point because they are so fucking good. Miracle Monday is one of my two favorite Superman stories. Maggin's interpretation of Superman isn't to everyone's taste but it sure is to mine.

For other Superman media, with the understanding they all have their own flaws, I'd recommend the first Christopher Reeve movie, Justice League: Action shorts, the DCAMU's Death and Return of Superman movies, SOME episodes of DCAU's Justice League (hereafter and for the man who has everything), the 50's George Reeves show's Panic in the Sky and The Dog Who Knew Superman as well as the Reeve movie The Mole Men, Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman's pilot and further episodes if you like the clois romcom vibe, and Henry Cavill in Man of Steel, again with the understanding that all of these are more or less controversial in their own ways.

A note of caution about a few pieces of Superman media in particular: you'll see American Alien recced around. The author has been accused of being a serial rapist and has admitted to being a serial abuser at the point in his life he wrote it. I believe in the general principle of separating the artist from the art, but since this particular story is very self-expressive to the point of almost coming across as self-insert pseudo wish fulfillment, this inextricably stains the story to me. Your mileage may vary, and the author has made a public apology (which I find rather insincere, but again YMMV).

On a similar note the movie Superman Returns was directed by Bryan Singer and stars Kevin Spacey, both of whom have been credibly accused of child molestation. Even before I knew this I had some qualifications about it, but other fans like it. The plot will make much more sense if you watch the first two Reeve movies, as it's supposed to be a sequel to Superman II.

[authorsadiethatcher]

It's 2024 and I'm admittedly unsure how to feel about that. 2023 came and went with both highs and lows. But I haven't done a State of the Thatcher Address for a few months, so I think a new year calls for one.

I'm behind on writing already this year, but mostly because my writing efforts at the end of last month were less than successful. The holidays really messed with my head this year. I'm playing catch-up from the beginning, but I've got four months of bimbo fun planned for all of you. And I'll talk about about my upcoming plans below.

This is a good moment to remind you that my books are available on Amazon, Smashwords, Apple, Google Play, Barnes & Noble, Everand (formerly Srcibd), Kobo, and Ream. I'm too lazy to link every single one of those retailers, but I will point everyone to Ream, which is a subscription site similar to Patreon, but for authors. I post every story I write there, even the ones I can't publish to Amazon. And I also post pictures, like the one above, that were considered for my covers. I'm always looking for new ways to make Ream valuable to my readers.

Here's the link to Ream: https://reamstories.com/sadiethatcher

In addition to my erotica writing, I also write fantasy, urban fantasy, and paranormal fiction under the name Libby Feron. I've got six novels and a series omnibus published so far with the goal of writing and publishing another series this year. In fact, my January is packed, because I need to write the first book so I can deliver it to my editor and publisher for a late winter/early spring release. For those who have read or followed the Magic's Most Wanted Series, Tempest's little sister is getting her own series as she heads off to a college for magic. The new series is called Magical Misfits Academy and the first book is titled Clash of Souls. For updates free content, check out my website and sign up for my email newsletter at https://libbyferon.com.

And now let's talk about upcoming projects I'm working on. I wrote a series about a bimbo retrovirus way back in 2014 and now I'm returning to the virus idea ten years later. It will be a completely different story concept this time and I'm in the middle of writing the first book. It should be fun, sexy, and spicy.

Other projects I'm working this month include a special commission called Bimbo Legal. It will feature TG content and be a long novella or short novel. I also have plans for a series about a bimbo power up (inspired by Mario) although unlikely to have any video game references. And at the end of the month I've got plans to write about an evil corporation that bimbofies people who protest against it as a means of reversing PR problems. And that's just January.

As you can see, I have a lot to write this month, which is one reason I opted not to hunt down links for every retailer my books are on. I trust that you have a search engine that can help you. And assuming I don't have an interruption in my schedule like I did in January of 2023, you'll be seeing a lot of great content from me very soon. Now it's back to writing.

Have a happy and sexy 2024!