#yeah she's a teenager who has EVERY right to be Like That. however why does everyone forget she's Like That??????

[no-psi-nan]

Everyone loves evidence-based analysis except when it contradicts popular fanon <3

[konpeitonom]

jimmy headcanons with curly’s niece who is only working with pony express because of her relation with curly… naive and dumb and he doesn’t think she deserves to be working there (sfwandnsfw😬)

jimmy taking advantage of curlys niece.

sfw/nsfw — lowercase intended ^_^

fem reader - content warnings for legal age gap (18-25 implied reader, jimmy 30s-40s) jimmys character overall. manipulation? don’t like don’t read, block button is right there. minors do not read the nsfw section

requests are open and heavily encouraged, i write for every mw character ^.^

notes; requester is my friend yayayahahh i hope u like this.. short bc i did not have many ideas. u mentioned in dms he’d have a soft spot for u but idk if i showed that well oopsies. ~ never proofread as always

SFW

— you didn’t deserve your place at all, only got in because your uncle is some high and mighty captain. pony express is cheap, so he’d wonder why they’d add someone completely useless- young adult/older teenager who knows jack shit.

— was bitter about it (as if he didn’t use curly to get his job as well) but stopped when he noticed how cute you were. an idiot who has no idea what she wants to do in life, he needed that.

— i think he started pursuing you at first to kind of piss off curly. maybe not intentionally but like subconsciously, he wanted to hurt curly. and you boarding the tulpar was the perfect moment for that!!

— he’s met you before. him and curly are long-time friends, so probably at some sort of family gathering.. you didn’t catch his eye though, you were a teenager.

— i think he’d grow to have a bit of a soft spot for you, however. i think the others would think it’s simply because he and curly are close, so he has a bias towards curlys niece.

— you’d look up to him. he’s your cool uncles friend! how couldn’t you? and he’s a pilot? that’s cool. so cool. on paper, at least.

— no one would really be mean to you, but if they were, jimmy would get upset at them! it might come off as “he’s just so nice..” to you, but in reality he feels as if he owns you in a sense. you just look up to him so much.

— jimmy thinks it’s cute you’re so dumb and naive. he can mold you to whatever he wants. he has to play smart about it though. he can’t have you running off crying to your uncle, like he’d do anything- but still.

— hes the co-pilot, and while it’s a vital role it’s not like he’s the captain. still though, he’d use that as an excuse to sort of boss you around. like, “that’s not how you’re supposed to do it, are you blind?”

— then right after would say something sweet to keep you coming back. and he likes you, like “yeah, there you go, good job. do it right next time, yeah?” .. he doesn’t speak that way just to anyone, you’re special.

— would touch you subtly.. like light touches on your hips, waist. enough for you to notice but also enough for you to be like, “he’s just friendly” !!

— curly doesn’t notice it, ngl. even if he did he’d just brush it off like, “jimmys always like that with girls, pay no mind too it. but tell me if it gets too much, kid” .. and would still do nothing

— maybe he’d have a ‘talk’ with him? but that’s really it

NSFW

minors do not read

— for your first time, he would be nice about it. seriously. especially if you were a virgin. i mean, in his head he isn’t saying nice things but he’s gotta make you wanna stick around him, no? he’s charming with his words, so allll the shit things he does either flys by your head or are excused with how ‘nice he is sometimes!’

— we see this in the way he interacts with daisuke. he knows exactly what to say. ^_^

— after awhile he’d shame you to hell about it, sorry. doesn’t matter if he initiated it first. you’re still fucking weird for wanting to be with an older guy like him, let alone your uncles friend.

— he’d say shit like, “what if he walked in right now, huh? that’s your uncle.” and would laugh in your face as you clenched around him.

— he fantasizes about doing it in the cockpit, but he knows he can’t because curly can walk in at any time. too big of a risk for him. though maybe that’s the fun of it all.

��� he’d do it if you suggested it though haha.. would make you call him captain because he’s weird like that. his jealousy for curly is evident in your relationship!

— “is this what pony express hired you to do?”

— he is a panty stealer. when you fuck there’s a 50% chance you’ll have to run back to your room to get a new pair of underwear because he isn’t giving it back.

— the other 50% is him cumming in your panties and making you wear it. yeah he’s gross, sorry. on your next trip you’ll know to bring double what you usually do.

— sex is all about him, honestly. i mean he knows he has to make it worthwhile so you’ll stay, but besides that his first priority is to please himself.

— contrayer to popular opinion, he likes it when you’re riding him. he feels in control; because at any time he can just grab your hips and fuck you himself.

— likes seeing your face contort and flush, pushing his face away in embarrassment as you make a mess of yourself on his cock.. he lives off that shit

— ok i’m done i hate this man

[keilanana]

𝑻𝒐 𝑫𝒆𝒇𝒚 𝑭𝒂𝒕𝒆

ɪɪɪ. sɪʙʟɪɴɢ ᴀᴄǫᴜɪʀᴇᴅ

You get a new addition to your family, and all is right with the world.

(Hopefully nothing from the next chapter ruins this for you haha.)

Watching Mum trip over herself to follow Mother around and tend to her every, little need was pretty funny at first.

But now you (unfortunately) have no right to laugh anymore, because as it turns out, learning that you're going to be an older sibling in just a few months really puts certain things into perspective, and now you're basically doing the same thing (although you at least had the dignity to be a lot more subtle about it, Mum.)

You don't know why, as you can't recall ever acting like this when your siblings from your first life came along, but everything just suddenly seems like a threat. For every sharp corner Mother passes by, you're quick to reach your hand over to cover it in case she gets close enough for contact. When you catch her going up or down the stairs, you're already rushing to her side to offer out a hand in support.

Yes, Mother of course laughs at all of this, and makes sure to tease you for doing the very things you laughed at your Mum for, but you can tell from the fondness in her smile and the bright twinkle in her eyes that she genuinely does appreciate all of the effort you and Mum were putting in to ensure her and the baby's comfort and safety—even if the measures Mum took could be pretty ... excessive.

("I can understand sanding down the corners of our dining table, but there is absolutely no way I'm letting you put carpets over the walls. I think Mother would actually kill me if I let you."

"You weren't there when it happened, [Y/n]! What if the next time she bumps into a wall, she pushes her baby bump back in?!"

"Mum of mine, I do not believe that is physically possible."

"HOW WOULD YOU KNOW?!"

"MAYBE BECAUSE ONE OF US WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO INHERIT THE INTELLIGENCE I CLEARLY DIDN'T GET FROM YOU!")

Yeah, just thinking of all the times you've had to be the voice of reason between you and your Mum despite being the actual child between the two of you was enough to give you a headache. And the more Mother's stomach grows, the worse it gets.

At this point, I'm starting to believe that someone's gonna have to hold Mum's hand when the baby comes.

The thought makes you pause, ponder for a bit, and then cringe.

Poor nurse.

Other than Mum's (and admittedly, yours) overprotective tendencies, though, you're happy to report that Mother's pregnancy is going fairly well. From the visits your little family makes to the hospital every now and then, your younger sibling seems to be developing fine, and has been repeatedly reported as quite healthy, to your family's relief, pride, and joy.

What gets you all feeling really joyful, however, is the doctor revealing that the baby's gender can finally be determined.

"Wait!" Mother stops him before he can say anything else. "Don't tell us just yet! I want it to be a surprise!" she insists.

"Wha—a surprise?" Mum repeats, clearly confused. "You didn't want it to be a surprise last time!" she complains.

Penelope rolls her eyes at the childish tone in her wife's voice and takes her hand. "I know, which is why I want it to be a surprise this time," she explains. "Besides, you wouldn't want to turn down a cake, would you?"

When Mum only answers with silence, it's pretty easy for you and the doctor to guess who won.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Three weeks of anticipation later, the gender reveal cake is delivered on your doorstep in a white box by a teenage girl with short, curly brown locks.

"Hope you folks like it," she says with a wink once the package is placed into your arms. "It took a whole lotta effort keeping it in tact, driving it all the way out here."

Her words cause a semi-guilty smile to grace your features. "Right. Sorry about that," you say, and you really do mean it; you couldn't imagine having to deliver a cake somewhere so far out in the country, especially with only a rusty old vespa as your noble steed.

The girl only laughs good-naturedly and ruffles your hair. "No need to apologize, kiddo. Hope ya'll enjoy the cake!" she says.

With that, she turns around to leave, but not before throwing back a quick, "Congratulations!" over her shoulder in reference of who exactly the cake was made for.

Thus, with the cake now in your possession, you bring it into the dining room, where Mother and Mum are already waiting in their designated seats at the table.

"She seemed nice," Mother comments, obviously referring to the delivery girl you'd just spoken to.

You hum, telling her, "She was," before setting the box down and opening it.

The cake is, as the delivery girl said, indeed in tact, and covered in frosting and all sorts of fruits to keep whatever flavor the cake itself was hidden.

"Oh, this is so exciting!" Mother says, clapping her hands with a giddy smile on her face. "Anyone already have any guesses?" she asks, looking over to her wife.

Mum hums and holds her chin in thought for a moment before eventually settling on: "Strawberry."

Nodding, Mother then turns to you and lifts her brows expectantly.

With an amused huff, you sit down in your own chair just as Mum rises out of her own to grab three plates and a knife. "You know what? I'm thinking strawberry, too," you decide.

Tilting her head curiously, Mother leans back in her seat and begins to caress her stomach. "May I ask why?" she inquires.

You shrug. "Just a feeling, I guess," you answer.

The conversation ends after that, as Mum is finally prepared to cut the cake.

"Alrighty, then," she begins once yours and Mother's attention is fully on her. "Here we go."

Setting the knife down for only a moment, Mum pulls the box's walls all the way down—not just to make cutting the cake easier, but to also give you and Mother a clear view of it from your positions, as well.

With that said and done, Mum picks the knife back up and inhales deeply, obviously hyping herself up for what's about to come. It feels a little silly, getting this anxious over a cake, but there's still this sort of tightness in your chest that makes it only a little hard to breathe. Is it anticipation? Dread of the inevitable? A mix of both?

In the end, it doesn't matter, because then a knife is slicing right through frosting and—

"Strawberry," Mum breathes, a triumphant grin slowly beginning to overtake her face. "Looks like we're gonna be welcoming a little girl into our family next."

You and Mother throw your hands into the air and cheer.

(Later that night, the bakery your cake had come from gets a call from you to let your delivery girl know that you folks did, indeed, enjoy the cake.)

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

It is midnight when Mother's water breaks and Mum practically throws you into the car to drive you all off to the hospital.

It is about three in the morning when you get to leave the waiting room at last and see the labor (pun intended) of your Mother's work.

The baby is small—probably the smallest person you've ever seen—and, unlike you, takes a lot after Mum with her dark skin and soft tufts of platinum blonde hair.

"Oh," you say out loud without meaning to, eyes wide as you take in the infant held in Mother's arms. I'm an older sibling.

You knew you would be one for a while now, of course, and actually were one in your previous life, too. But ... there was just something about this moment: about seeing the little person that's been growing in Mother's stomach finally out and about in the real world, her eyes closed and her face all scrunched up, that had your chest exploding with an overwhelming warmth and your eyes threatening to flood with tears that you were desperately trying to keep in.

(Spoiler alert: you fail. Badly.)

"Hello, little love," Mother says, sounding so exhausted but still so happy at the same time. "Would you like to hold your baby sister?" she asks.

Still in shock at the sight of her, you can only manage a nod and then stare dumbly as the baby's handed over to rest in your arms.

"Um." You blink, mouth slightly agape. "Oh, wow."

(Across from you, Willow snorts.)

You watch, absolutely captivated, as the infant's chest rises and falls with each breath she takes. But then her face twitches, and your eyes automatically lift to watch as it scrunches up. It awes you, almost, the way she seems to struggle simply opening her eyes, but then her stare meets yours and it's like a puzzle clicks into place.

"Hey there, little sister," you greet, voice barely above a whisper. "I'm so happy to meet you."

Your sister babbles, unable to properly respond, obviously, and reaches up. Almost instinctually, you lift her higher, allowing her to reach your face and pat her small palms wherever she can, still babbling like you can understand every noise and gurgle.

You laugh and nod along anyway and pretend not to notice the tears you'd failed to hide.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

"You're gonna rule the world someday."

Your newly acquired sister, Odette (named after one of Mother's favorite stories, Swan Lake) looks up at the sound of your voice and tilts her head. It's been two months since her birth, and in those short months, you've learned that although Ody (the nickname you proudly bestowed her with the moment you thought of it) takes a lot after Mum, she is most definitely every bit of Penelope's daughter just as you are without a doubt Willow's child.

While you had inherited most of Mum's, er ... impulsiveness, Odette had the good fortune of inheriting Mother's patented Stare of Judgement™, which you had the honor of seeing it in action yourself ... because Odette had focused it on you and Mum when you both attempted to do something stupid that was very safe, creative, and fun.

(That's what you tried telling Mother, at least.

She didn't fall for it for even a second and the two of you got sent to timeout in the living room again.)

Odette babbles, snapping you out of your train of thought, and you smile down at her as you start running your hand through the platinum cloud that's been growing atop her head.

"Man, look at all this," you say, curling a strand of Odette's already curly hair around your finger. "At this point, your hair's gonna end up bigger than your head," you joke.

Odette babbles again in response and takes your free hand in between her smaller ones to play with your fingers, making your smile grow into a grin.

"Oh yeah; definitely queen of the world material." You nod. "Don't worry, I'll make sure to be there with you every step of the way. Who else's hands are you supposed to play with?" you ask.

"Ababa?" Odette blinks up at you.

You nod once again. "Exactly!"

She stares at you for a moment, as if processing your words, and then looks away to return her full attention to your hand. You chuckle, amused by just how much personality Odette could convey despite not knowing how to properly speak yet.

"Man ..." Turning your head to gaze out the window, you smile as you watch the trees dance to the wind outside. "I didn't think it'd be possible, Ody, but I ... think I'm more than a little used to this life now, y'know?"

The infant blows a raspberry.

You laugh. "A wise queen, too!"

(Outside, the wind howls, and as it does, a single orange leaf falls to the forest floor.

So it appears, the seasons have finally begun to change.)

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[atopvisenyashill]

Can you talk more about your theory of Jaehaerys and Alyssa? You've mentioned Alyssa a few times, saying you didn't like how everyone talked about her, but I couldn't find a post going into detail about it.

oh yeah, i think like with his kids, jaehaerys is doing some hardcore editorializing when it comes to his mother’s legacy. i think the sources we have purposefully play down her influence and intelligence because depicting her as she was, which is a competent leader, a loving mother, and a shrewd politician, makes jaehaerys look really bad for vindictively stranding her in a shitty abusive marriage. so like, as an example, septon barth (who i usually love!! most of jaehaerys' good ideas come from barth or aly, it's THEM that was the Good, Peaceful King not jae!!) has this to say about alyssa:

“That Queen Alyssa wished to do the right thing, no man should doubt,” Septon Barth wrote years later. “Sad to say, however, she oft seemed at a loss as to what that thing might be. She desired above all to be loved, admired, and praised, a yearning she shared with King Aenys, her first husband. A ruler must sometimes do things that are necessary but unpopular, however, though he knows that opprobrium and censure must surely follow. These things Queen Alyssa could seldom bring herself to do.”

What's angering here is this is just false. Alyssa is not someone who is paralyzed by people pleasing; in fact, some of her biggest moments come from Alyssa taking decisive action and being willing to face the consequences! As a matter of fact, the exact issue she's having right at this moment when Gyldayn throws this in is Alyssa taking an action she knows is unpopular but sticking to her guns anyway!! She's confronted with her not even legal son making off in the night with her not even legal daughter and marrying, and last time this happened, her husband died from stress, her two oldest got stuck under siege for months, all of which culminated in a bloody civil war that got two more of her kids killed. OF COURSE she tries to stop it - she's doing the unpopular thing she thinks is right! And then, when Rogar tries to supplant Jaehaerys with one of her grandchildren and publicly humiliates her, she tells him to fuck all the way off and saves her son's throne yet a-fucking-gain. Oh so she didn't bother running tail tucked between her legs to her teenage son to apologize for getting angry at him for eloping with his barely pubescent sister? That's not a moral failing, that's a moral backbone.

And this is a pattern with Alyssa Velaryon. She attempts to help crown Aegon while still captive with Maegor, she plays along at court to try to protect her other children, she makes the difficult decision to abandon poor Viserys in King's Landing for the chance to escape to safety with the children she has on hand - which OBJECTIVELY is the only goddamn reason Jaehaerys is alive, because if Maegor had gotten his hands on another of Aenys' sons, he absolutely would have tortured him to death just like Viserys - she doesn't publicly contradict Jaehaerys to protect his claim, she refills the King's Guard in a smart move by giving people a fun little tourney to impress the royal family with, and when caught between Rogar and Jaehaerys, she sides with Jaehaerys every single time! Yes, she doesn't go to Dragonstone to get Jaehaerys after he marries Alysanne because Rogar tells her not to. But why does Rogar tell her not to? He plays on her fear of people seeing Jaehaerys as another Aenys! But does she let that stop her from trying to contact her son? NO! She sends ladies to him so she knows what the fuck is going on and so she's not publicly shit talking him. She sacrifices her marriage to protect Jaehaerys! And before the depression of having lost everything even though she's done everything she's supposed to do takes over her, she makes sure to get a competent Hand in that position!

But how does Jaehaerys repay all those years of Alyssa doing her best to protect him, of Alyssa sacrificing her own happiness and well being for him?

Thus was the peace made between the young king and his former Hand, and sealed that night by a feast in the great hall, where Lord Rogar sat beside Queen Alyssa, man and wife once more, and raised a toast to the health of Queen Alysanne, pledging her his love and loyalty before all the assembled lords and ladies. Four days later, when Lord Rogar departed to return to Storm’s End, Queen Alyssa went with him, escorted by Ser Pate the Woodcock and a hundred men-at-arms to see them safe through the kingswood.

He forces her away from court, to the seat of the husband that hates her, to die having his children. We know Alyssa is unhealthy during this time. We know she's older. We know she never recovers from the depressive episode after Rogar attempts a coup. Yet she has two more children! Even after she says how afraid she is of childbirth before the first one because of her age and her previous baby loss!! Jaehaerys stands there and does nothing while Alyssa is butchered by the husband he stranded her with!!

And then what does Jaehaerys do? Well, he does the exact same goddamn thing to his own wife. He forces pregnancies she doesn't want on her, pregnancies that severely impact her health, and then like...doesn't even bother parenting the children he's forcing on his wife.

The joy was therefore not entirely unalloyed when Her Grace was found to be pregnant once again. Prince Valerion was born in 77 AC, after another troubled labor that saw Alysanne confined to her bed for half a year. Like his brother Gaemon four years earlier, he was a small and sickly babe, and never thrived. Half a dozen wet nurses came and went to no avail. In 78 AC, Valerion died, a fortnight short of his first nameday. The queen took his passing with resignation. “I am forty-two years old,” she told the king. “You must be content with the children I have given you. I am more suited to be a grandmother than a mother now, I fear.”

King Jaehaerys did not share her certainty. “Our mother, Queen Alyssa, was forty-six when she gave birth to Jocelyn,” he pointed out to Grand Maester Elysar. “The gods may not be done with us.”

He was not wrong. The very next year, the Grand Maester informed Queen Alysanne that she was once more with child, to her surprise and dismay.

He says to the Grand Maester that essentially, he's totally cool with Alysanne being butchered during childbirth for the off chance that she has another healthy living child. This is the woman he's supposed to have a grand, amazing romance with and he treats her as disposable as he treats his own mother. So, in my opinion, just like how there's an underlying story here about a monstrous father who is likely raping At Least One of his kids and exerting severe and horrific sexual control of the rest of them, until he's dying and not a single one of his relatives even want to see him anymore, I think there's a story here about the ways in which sons will purposefully and vindictively harm their own mothers even when they have practical saints raising them.

He wants me gone, Catelyn thought wearily. Kings are not supposed to have mothers, it would seem, and I tell him things he does not want to hear.

[aqours]

anyways if i'm going this deep in lemme share this teen mom Ashley fic idea i had i'd love feedback on the idea

this is completely unrelated to my other idea regarding this this is an entirely different can of worms i'm putting this under a readmore just bc it's a bit long and also filled with dead doves so only open and eat it at your own discretion

so basically the idea goes like this- when they were teenagers (her 14 and him 16) Andrew and Ashley got into some kind of big fight (still working on it) most likely due to him having a girlfriend in hs at the time. during this period, in an effort to make a point and piss him off, Ashley gets a boyfriend of her own (who just so happens to have messy black hair and green eyes wow what a coincidence) who was in a class with Andrew. some incident happens where Ashley "accidentally" leaves her phone with explicit texts on view (but also tis like the 90s so maybe i'll redo that) and Andrew talked with his classmate and then uh there was another second missing person, and after an intense argument Ashley and Andrew "slept in the same bed" and anyways a month later Ashley announces she's pregnant casually at the dinner table putting the pregnancy test she put right on it.

"Huh. Not the reaction I was hoping for."

"Forgive me for not being particularly fucking thrilled at the idea of being a grandmother at 32, Ashley."

"You know, if my kid has a kid at 15 and their kid ALSO has a kid at 15 you could be a great-great-grandma at only 75."

"Please shut the fuck up, Ashley."

and Andrew is in complete denial it is. it's been 6 years and every single person except Julia refuses to believe it isn't. at one point when Alexis "Alex" Graves is a baby she makes a comment she has her father's (green) eyes with a wink and grin at Andrew. during the Burial Route when Mrs. Graves is trying to plead with Andrew she finally says "... If you won't do it for yourself, do it for your ------------------" and it's like his brain physically blocks out any insinuation with he's the father with white noise. so he's been living as the kid's uncle officially and has no idea how to act around this kid most of the time.

Ashley is not a good mom by any means and has had CPS called on her more than once but incompetence won't remove the child entirely and she does like. actually love this kid but her obsession with Andrew is clearly more important to her, the fact this kid keeps him tethered to her even if he won't admit, and also because she spoils the kid however she can to try to prove she's a better mother just because her daughter is happier than she was, when learning Alex hit another kid to get their candy she was outright like fuck YEAH if you want something take it!!! girlboss gatekeep gaslight to this four year old and Andrew at least tried to teach the kid right from wrong in response. during her first birthday Mrs. Graves asked Ashley if she was gonna do anything and Ashley didn't see a point the kid is 1 they won't remember the birthday there's nothing they'd want and she doesn't seem to process the point of a birthday for a baby isn't about toys and fun but to celebrate their life. when Ashley suggests they can get by on mugging people Alex says she can pose as a homeless sad kid and for the first time in a while at her Ashley lights up and says THAT'S why you're mama's favorite <3333

babies don't make everything better the co-dependent toxic satanic demonic summoning cannibal incest game's plot now also includes a 6 year old that has also eaten people now with two of the most awful parents imaginable around her and if anything Ashley might get colder once her mom is dead because now there's no way

thoughts? i really want to write this but i'd love feedback

[sillygoofyqueer]

*checks phone*

*sees new chapter of Three Blades*

*falls out of chair before clicking as fast as possible*

Where do I even begin?? Everything is perfect!! I’ll start from the beginning and work my way through.

Hua cheng and E-Ming have The Best sibling relationship and I love every second of their interactions. Love how they playfully argue. It’s clear they know each other very well. I also love how seamlessly they switch dynamics from a petulant 8 year old to a calm teen assessing the situation.

Speaking of relationships, it’s interesting how seamlessly Hua Cheng and Luo Binghe work together. I guess that comes with the territory of knowing each other for decades if not centuries. The concern they have for WWX immediately after seeing him is so cute. I hope you know I am squealing SO HARD over here.

Hua cheng after learning Wwx is the wielder of the 3rd blade: *shocked pikachu*

Once again I am left wondering why WWX is in a graveyard because, well, yeah. Also still wondering what Wwx gave up but I’m assuming that will eventually be answered. Right??

Yin yu being the only one with enough sense to not only have them set up a medical room but also manage finances is amazing. I am curious how much he pays himself. Part of me is like, ‘he probably cares for them a lot and it’s probably not that much.’ And the other part of my brain is like ‘he has to deal with all their BS. He is paying himself handsomely.’

I hope you know I was cackling throughout the ENTIRE Chenqing and Suibian interaction. They are absolutely insufferable around each other and it’s amazing. Part of me wants to see them united against a common enemy (*cough* the ones who buried Wwx *cough*) because they both care a lot for Wwx so I kinda wanna see them go feral on whoever hurt him. In the meantime I will enjoy whenever they get reunited with wwx and them fighting the urge to kill each other.

Xin Mo is Tired™️ and I feel a little bad but also he had to know something like this would happen with Suibian.

Speaking of Suibian, she had a different name??? Did Xin Mo and E-Ming??? Or is that just a suibian thing?

Wwx waking up like “am I dead? I was supposed to be dead. Why am I alive and in a bed???” Is priceless. Even more priceless is Wwx thinking E-Ming is HC’s child.

Was that a Shen yuan mention I saw?? I heard they were friends but it’d be funny if they were roommates. Like, Shen yuan barely leaves his room and if he does it’s for food, forced human exposure or to rant At Length about novels. So for weeks WWX has LBH and HC going in and out of an apartment they share until Shen yuan is randomly eating in the living room and Binghe walks in and promptly trips over his own feet. Cue later interrogation of WWX by LBH. Idk, just thoughts.

I feel like the fact that WWX’s spiritual veins being reconstructed is important but I can’t tell how just yet. Maybe having to do with his golden core and all that? Idk. Too early to tell.

Love how wwx is nonplussed by literally waking up 4 days after being buried alive and his only comment is ‘guess I missed lunch with my friends :/‘

As always Four, I wish I could give more kudos because your fics always make me ~feel things~. Please remember to take care of yourself and take breaks.

Luna, you make me go feral. Hey. Hey honey bun (/p). Let's start blabbing. Hua Cheng and E'ming are the most sibling siblings out of the siblings. If that makes sense. However, sometimes E'ming says the most in depth things in his eight year old form and Hua Cheng will bully him instantly by being like "oooh, little baby trying to be smart?? Shut up." And just shoves him from any elevated space possible. I link it back to whenever my youngest brother tries to argue with me and I'm just like "You can't talk back to me, you're like..five." (he isn't). When E'ming is in teenager form, Hua Cheng is more likely to pick him up and dangle him around a bit, before dropping him in a general direction and seeing what he does. Luo Binghe and Hua Cheng have spent centuries upon centuries practically living together, of course they bond and are such close besties (family) that their swords (who expected to have to sort of manipulate the bond to make them feel like family ((like the previous god trio))) kind of watch in relief and awe as they do. When Wei Wuxian comes in, he's obviously in a dangerous situation and it's like...an almost instantaneous Protective™ reaction because oh my god tiny little teenager (not a teenager) is our missing friend (brother) and is bonded to our swords' missing partner (sister). They'll be even more Protective™ friends (older brothers) as they get to know the baby through his personality and are like..."ohh yeah, baby brother." Hua Cheng learning that this almost-fully dead teenager (young adult) is the third wielder: Somebody come pick up their definitely traumatised son before I adopt him into my not family- I dunno what you're talking about, Wei Wuxian's just chilling...in a graveyard....after almost being buried alive........usual stuff for a guy like him!! And, I swear on all that is holy (my life), you will learn what he sacrificed. Eventually. I've had threats (/j) of people coming to my house so they can find out what it is. You'll find out in due time. There are clues, alright? I swear. I prommy. There's a clue right from the first chapter. I pwomise. When I get to Yin Yu's perspective, it's going to be the most underpaid yet overpaid worker dealing with his maddeningly rich bosses having insane problems that he shouldn't be dealing with but is because he loves those guys. Until the new 'boss' comes in, causing a brawl between spiritual weapons and is the most rabid "working-class guy who's out of his depth in this new role" ever. I can't wait to explain it more. The way he pays himself varies wildly depending on how he's feeling: "Oh, I don't want to take advantage of their kindness, I love it here" *watches Hua Cheng sob violently into a portable Dianxia statue as he tries to sign off on the taxes agreement because there was another unsuccessful search* "...I'm giving myself a raise." Suibian and Chenqing are like two cats who hate each other, hissing and scratching - however, the moment Wei Wuxian is in view they're like little angels, kicking each other whenever he turns away. They actively curse each other out, even in weapon form, just having constant back and forths whenever Wei Wuxian's even lightly distracted. Xin Mo finally understands what headaches are and is constantly suffering trying to keep the two under control like the good older sibling that they are - they do understand that Suibian is Like That™ because they're certainly...interesting - while E'ming watches them all end up brawling because of course Xin Mo resorts to fighting to fix things as a former war god's sword.

I like to think of Shen Yuan's friendship with Wei Wuxian as 'this guy I tried to give money because I thought he was homeless is actually pretty cool and I let him stay at my apartment occasionally. We go to cafés together and he enjoys my bitching.' But I will not rest until I have Luo Binghe tripping over his own feet at the sight of this ragged nerd.

Wei Wuxian has woken up in this strange room and he is this close to losing his mind, but he falls back on COMEDY when he's confused. He isn't usually this trusting but Hua Cheng has answers and a son sword child thing that Wei Wuxian can respect. And hey, all I'm gonna say is that he's used to being in precarious situations. He's more worried about disappointing his friends than himself. He's also secretly extremely worried about another person (**cough cough** foreshadowing **cough cough**)

[teaveetamer]

The Edelgard discourse really is a never ending nightmare, that's incredible how someone can fight over how" you misunderstood a character" because they like her so "she has to be clean", in a game designed for 12 year old little boys. Man, it's like the MHA fandom fighting to death over ships in a manga designed for teenagers

I think the thing that baffles me—the thing that has always baffled me—about this discussion is just how much of a no-win situation it is to try and discuss any interpretation of Edelgard besides the one they obviously want you to have.

It's always like:

Them: Guys Edelgard is such an amazing, complex, morally grey character! Me: Yeah, but I really didn't like how she sided with the Agarthans and continued working with them even after she found out about the fact that they were doing human experimentations. I don't think that was worth the cost. Them: Wait no you're wrong she never did that and even if she did she totally had to because they were forcing her. If she had it her way she would never do anything bad ever we swear.

Like? That doesn't make her a morally complex character? In either scenario? If she would never do anything bad ever then she's not morally complex she's literally an angel. If she only did bad things because she was forced to, not of her own volition, then that strips her of the agency that would be required to make her morally complex.

And the absolute irony of parading out "she's morally grey" as a conversation ender or to get you to stop talking about the bad things she's done. "Morally grey" should not be the end of the conversation. It's the start. Things that are "morally grey" are inherently things that can be argued about, because the entire point is that it is not clear-cut as to what is the correct decision.

Look at the classic Trolly Problem. For the five people in the audience who are unfamiliar:

If you do nothing, five people will die. If you divert the train then one person will die. How you answer will depend on your own morals and values, and there's not really a right answer. Someone is going to die no matter what you do, and that's horrible.

You could argue that diverting the train is the correct thing to do, because you would have overall less loss of life (one death vs. five).

You could also argue that not diverting the train is the correct thing to do, because flipping the switch is an action on your part. You, specifically you, killed the one person because you are the one who made the decision to flip the switch.

When it's laid out like this, many people choose to flip the switch. However, there are variations on the Trolly Problem. If, for example, the choice was between doing nothing and physically shoving one person onto the tracks to stop the train, the number of people who are willing to sacrifice one person for the sake of five drops pretty significantly. Being closer to the consequences of their actions (it's much easier to justify choosing to kill someone when it's just flipping a switch vs. physically shoving them onto the track) weighs on their conscience more heavily.

But if you were the person being shoved? There's nothing morally complex about your role in things. You didn't decide to stop the train yourself.

That's how conversation around the moral complexity of Edelgard feels. Her stans want to insist that she's simultaneously morally complex while also not believing that it's possible to hold an honest, good faith opinion that she's anything other than completely, 100% correct to do what she does. She's supposed to be complex while also being the body being shoved onto the tracks by powers greater than she. They treat every conversation like it's a foregone conclusion that Edelgard is the body, so they can't comprehend why you might want to talk about complexity.

And just as a side note because I know someone is going to send this post around or screencap it or something and say "look at Vee, she's such a fucking idiot for not getting that Edelgard is pulling the switch in her metaphor! Fodlan was going to be ruined without her!"

I would actually argue that Edelgard's action might have done more harm than her inaction would have. Dimitri and Claude were already reform-minded people who had plans to institute changes in their countries as soon as they were old enough to succeed their positions. Dimitri openly defines his positions on crests (they are powerful and useful tools, but ultimately he believes people without them have their own unique abilities that should be elevated as well) and states his intent to exonerate the people of Duscur and provide reparations to them for what Faerghus did. Claude talks numerous times about his desire to tear down the barriers between Fodlan and Almyra and foster understanding and mutual trust between them. Rhea had always intended to step away from the Church of Serios once she'd revived Sothis, and she wanted to pass that responsibility to Byleth when the war began. Crests were already dying out anyway, and Hanneman was already working on tools that would narrow the gap between crested and non-crested people. If she had done absolutely nothing it is incredibly likely that Fodlan would have taken the course of reform anyway, just without one country being in charge of the entire continent. Nothing about the war actually changed either Dimitri or Claude's perspectives on anything, and in fact at the end of AM and VW they go on to do... basically exactly what they said they were going to do from chapter 5.

Her war actually delayed major reforms in Faerghus and Leicester, because Dimitri and Claude had to put all of their energy toward fighting the war (and in Dimitri's case, surviving on the streets) instead of focusing on reforms.

[soleminisanction]

Hi :D i loved your sticks and stones work! Amazing! Anyways id been going back through the robin 1993 and other era-related comics and realized what was bugging me about some fanon characterization of steph being the 'popular social one'. They get her's and tim's social life completely swapped. Steph isn't a team player and the one willing to work with everyone. Could just be because Steph's a supporting member but I realized she focused mostly on crime fighting and was much more of a loner. She didn't do team ups pretty much till she was Batgirl. Tim, however, had an active civilian social life and constantly teamed with other vigilantes. Idk if thats just my interpretation though. Anyways :)))

God yes! You are so right! That has frustrated me for years, especially in the recent canon when they've been having every teenager with a cape suddenly go "OMG haiiiii Stephanie :) :)" for no fucking reason when it makes ZERO sense! She's a weird loner who does not know any of these people!!

And that's doubly true when it comes to her civilian friends. Steph's civilian life as a whole is weirdly under-developed given how much attention she's gotten over the years, especially since she, y'know, had her own series. Yet they still couldn't be bothered to give her much of anything to work with. It's so frustrating.

Seriously, here is, I'm pretty sure, a full list of the friends Steph was shown having pre-Flashpoint who aren't members of the Bat-clan:

These two Black girls from Robin #61 who only exist so Stephanie can yell at them about how stupid their friend is for keeping her baby and how stupid they are for thinking it's cute of her to do that, and then later she talks about how dumb and immature they are compared to her, and they're never seen again.

Her baby-daddy Dean, who's only shown once outside of Robin during the Cataclysm event, and then only shows up again 2 years after her pregnancy has been resolved so Stephanie can beat him up for no reason. (Seriously, this is the only page he's on before she kicks him in the nuts and knocks him around, he doesn't say or do anything else to her, she just wails on him for no reason)

Two randos from the Robin/Spoiler Special who exist to make a plot happen by inviting her to a warehouse party that she drags Tim to and are never seen again. Their existence also makes no sense in Steph's personal timeline because she's been "dead" for a year and will be in college in like two months so why the hell would she enroll in high school again??

Effa, the little African girl also from the Robin/Spoiler Special, who only exists to make Stephanie look good by sucking up to her.

Jordanna Spence and Francisco Garcia from her Batgirl run, supposedly. In practice they're actually just two people that Stephanie doesn't like and whom she calls "friends" in quotation marks and has no idea why she keeps hanging around them, and yet she keeps bothering them because the plot said she's gotta.

Supergirl, as forced and one-sided as that relationship was.

Wendy Harris, even though "Proxy" only really lasted for a grand total of 5 issues.

A nameless rando she's shown playing ping-pong with, once.

...and that's it! That's all the friends Stephanie has ever had who weren't members of the same extended anti-crime family, and two of them are people she only met because of those connections.

Compare that to Tim, who has dozens of civilian friends and at least twice as many caped ones, and yeah, it's absolutely ridiculous that people pretend Stephanie is the """social""" one.

But y'know, she's the perky-happy blonde girl, so people just assume she must be popular. Because she's written almost entirely in stereotypes and cliches since 2008.

[phantomwritezstuff077]

The Runt - Billy the Kid

Warnings: gunshots, Jesse Evans existing is his own trigger warning

Chapter Thirteen

The next morning Laurie was sitting on the fence of the small horse pen, watching a few of the guys play baseball as Artax stood by her, gently nuzzling her with a nicker. His brown eyes were still the softest and kindest looking things Laurie had ever laid her eyes on, she believed that this horse truly understood her, knew how she was feeling. Her arm was feeling better, it just hurt a lot whenever she moved it a certain way and she needed to change the bandage every now and then, but she was okay, mostly.

A gunshot sounded from the top of the hill, catching everyone’s attention and causing Laurie to jump and fall backwards, falling right in front of Artax with a grunt as all the guys rushed over to the fence, grabbing their own rifles before taking aim at a few riders trotting down the hill. Billy made sure he was deliberately standing in front of Laurie to make sure she was shielded from any crossfire if this was an attack.

“Jesse, it’s me, Baker!,” one of the riders called as he and his buddy came trotting over on their horses, Laurie immediately identified both of the horses as mustangs. 

“Hold your fire, hold your fire!,” Jesse demanded, making everyone lower their guns as Laurie climbed back over the fence. She was curious as to what was going on but she was also wary, she didn’t know these unfamiliar men. Jesse walked over to the man as he and his friends pulled their horses to a stop. “Fellas, allow me to introduce you to a very old friend of mine, Frank Baker.”

Artax pinned his ears as he snorted, pawing at the ground from the pn, he clearly didn’t like this Frank Baker guy, and if Artax didn’t trust somebody, Laurie didn’t either. The teenager stuck close to Billy, eying Frank like a spooked doe.

“Sure am happy to see all of you. Me and Jesse go back a while,” Frank said, “Always talked about going into business together. That’s why I’m here.” His eyes landed on Laurie. “Didn’t know you guys were accepting runt girls now, too.”

Laurie looked at the ground. Great, another person in my life to call me that, the young teenager thought. Billy shot Frank a look, oh, if only looks could kill. Frank seemed to completely ignore Billy’s glare and he continued to speak, “We have an opportunity for you boys, and girl, opportunity to make a great deal of money, as well as have some fun.” 

Frank sat up from his horse as his little business offer continued. “You know, I know you need to quit this place. I read the papers. And I also think that you need the money to put some meat on that kid’s bones, too.” His gaze averted to Billy, who was standing next to Laurie and often looking at her to check in and see if she was okay. “I understand that you’ve got William Bonney here with you.”

“Yeah, I’m here,” Billy confirmed, looking back at Frank. “And that ‘runt’ as you call her has a name, it’s Laurie.”

Frank tied his reins to his saddle horn and dismounted, removing his riding gloves as he slowly approached Billy, who instinctively tucked Laurie behind him, keeping his blue eyes trained on Frank. 

“It sure is a real pleasure to meet you,” Frank said as he shook hands with Billy, “We’ve all heard a lot about you. It’s my understanding that the kid behind you has been your travel buddy.”

Billy didn’t say anything as Jesse glanced over at the interaction and Laurie could tell he wasn’t really happy. But she couldn’t figure out why exactly he seemed upset. Her train of thought was interrupted, however, after Jesse suggested that they go inside. However, Laurie didn’t follow, instead, she turned back to where Artax stood. The young stud seemed antsy, snorting and pawing at the ground, pretty much chomping at the non-existent bit in his mouth. Something was really bothering the quarter horse, Laurie wasn’t sure what it was, but whatever it was, it was something bad. 

A/N:

Super short chapter, sorry!

I haven't updated in a while omfg

Tag:

@slutforsnow

[soildmud]

2 cents on the cupsnroses situation

okay i read the google doc and i think understand the situation now? um anyway i was reading everything cupsnroses did and honestly it is so embarrassing how someone who’s practically a legal adult is acting like a spoiled brat on the internet.

firstly, you are not entitled to people’s protection against your triggers. that is YOUR responsibility and YOUR issue to work out NOT on the internet. i understand that it’d be easier if people were to just not bring it up with you, but it is something you know is prevalent in the fandom, and you shouldn’t expect people to bend over backwards for you. also, it is SO ironic that you get upset about it, despite the fact that you flailed your arms around yelling at everyone to just block people and keywords. why don’t you take your own advice dawg?

secondly, the whole thing with their ocs. firstly, i don’t agree with the wording from the google doc about cupsnroses art and the “sexualisation” and “pornographic” nature of their art. they are 17, almost 18, and i believe it’s okay for them to post characters with “big boobs” or revealing clothing, especially because 80% of their art was not with intention of being suggestive. HOWEVER, i do agree that they should not have posted their actually suggestive artworks publicly until they were of age, to avoid legal problems. they also should have been more strict with their age restrictions on their suggestive account, because i was able to follow that account when i was 17. but i don’t think the wording was very good in the document to say that they couldn’t draw that kind of art Period. they can, because believe it or not, teenagers are sexual beings. they have sex, think of sex, etc. i would know because i Am a teen. so yeah, maybe reword that part because teens, especially 17 y/o’s, are allowed to draw that art—just not publicly.

next, my personal criticisms with their ocs. i want to preface this by saying cupsnroses has mentioned that they do not like it when people point out that they draw girls with big boobs and curvy hips, etc. they don’t like the sexualisation, i suppose. i think that’s fair to have that boundary, but it’s also kind of hard to take seriously when you clearly take pride in drawing your women like that. in fact, every single fem-oc you’ve ever drawn has the same exact body type. petite and curvy. i think the only oc i’ve ever seen that slightly changed that trend was smithy(?), because she was chubby—even she was still curvy with a large bust. your ocs are nearly copy and pastes, and all lack any sort of personality. even cuphead loses his entire personality whenever you draw him with his wife—YOUR OC.

anyway this might be mean but honestly you deserve a bit of real criticism. grow up, the world is not going to bend to your will, and reflect on what you have done. does this make you feel good? do you feel like a good person now? do you think this will benefit you in the future? i suppose not, now that you have most of your mutuals against you, right? and one more thing: maybe come up with original ideas before you throw a bitch fit that someone stole your concepts.

cupsnroses, if you see this, just know i’m ashamed of having been so trusting of you. i genuinely believed you were a cool person, if just a little childish and unoriginal. but now i really know who you are. a tall child with unrestricted internet access.

have the day you deserve.

[gachagon]

This volume was genuinely the best out all of them. I loved the journey that Ruby had to go through, the journey of a young hero who has a lot placed on her shoulders who is crumbling under the pressure, and who is given actual time to try and heal and get better from the trauma she has faced during all of this...it's a really beautiful arc of the Hero's Journey that I wish and hope more shows do in the future.

That ending song was beautiful as well, and I already know V9 is gonna be my new favorite ost after 8. I can kind of see why people might hate this, considering it's mostly a filler season we've been given to develop the protagonist more, however I love seasons like this where the writers decide to spend time and energy making the characters have more depth to them then they did before.

I also am a bit confused by why everyone thinks this is them just writing themselves out of a corner, considering we really didn't know where the Brothers came from, and all that stuff with Salem can still happen, it's just not really relevant to what Ruby and the gang are going through right now. The whole point of this season seems to be to take a break from the constant fear and dread that IS Salem, so it doesn't surprise me that we don't get to hear about her at all in this volume. Nothing has really changed besides Ruby's mental stability and her new outlook on life as a Huntress.

Before Ruby was pretty much the generic Hero who thoughtlessly fought to protect other people with no regard for her own well being, not because she felt like she had to, but because she personally feels obligated too. Which I think is why the countless failures she has faced really hurt her psyche and made her doubt her own self worth. When you're told to be perfect, you hold yourself to those standards, and if you fail every time it can really eat away at you. But Ruby actually got time, some confirmation and support from someone else that yeah this shits really fucking difficult. They're going up against the unkillable and that is NOT an easy task for a teenaged girl.

I feel like time and time again Ruby and many of the adults around her have just been pushing her to continue without really considering that she might get tired one day, that she might not want to be the one to fight Salem. So it takes an actual omnipotent being who creates life to tell her she DOES have a choice, and that at any moment or time she CAN stop if she wants to, that she can let someone else take that burden for just a moment if that's what she really needs.

And in the end Ruby chooses to just be herself, because she realizes that the ability to "choose" was what she needed in life. To be able to depend on other people, and fail without having everything crumble around her is the thing she needed to keep going. And now I can't wait to see how she faces off against Salem in Volume 10, she has a new resolve, one that isn't so easily broken by failure as well (which is what Salem thrives off of when beating people, crushing their ability to continue is what has kept Salem stronger then any foe in the show in my opinion.)

[arcplaysgames]

yeah because Mitsuo is not the killer, I know this, you know this, we all know this

if finding a fake killer gets me tuna tho i'm in, i'll frame a man every day, i don't care

WAIT WAIT THE STORYBOOK FROM THE SUN LINK IN P3P GOT PUBLISHED? Man its a dark children's book. Beautiful but nihilistic. You know the kids who read that are going to have a lot of difficult questions their parents do not wanna answer. Good, though.

Summer Festival! Nanako is adorable. AND GET THIS. BRACE YOURSELVES. MAKE SURE YOU ARE SITTING DOWN AND HOLDING ONTO SOMETHING.

DOJIMA ACTUALLY SHOWS UP TO TAKE CARE OF HIS DAUGHTER. I KNOW. I KNOOOOOOW. Shocking. Usually this girl is being raised by six teenagers and the human personification of a mascot character.

A STUNNING turn of events!

Teddie is such a manipulator lmao. First he suggests everyone pair off to enjoy the festival bc That's What You Do At Festivals, then gets the boys deliberating who should go with who, then while everyone is all turned around, he swoops in to take all the girls out around the festival so no one is 'left out.'

lmao. i love Teddie. I'm actually trying to pin down why Yosuke's horny boy bullshit annoys me but Teddie does not. It may be because he's SO flagrant about it, he's SO over the top, you know going in its a Yes, And scenario. Or, you can slap him, lmao.

After, Rise invited me out to a one on one date to the festival. She's very funny and boisterous but I think I'm friendzoning everyone in this playthru. I haven't found anyone I wanna date. And I know there is one more option coming so I don't want to accidentally pen myself in, like with Akihiko and late-comer Aigis. Poor Aigis.....

Not about to let anyone begin to assume he's a good dad, over in the Hierophant SLink, Dojima reveals that his wife died in a hit and run while Nanako was in nursery school. Which explains why Nanako barely remembers her.

Dojima's whole deal is that he's still working that case, still trying to find out who killed his wife. He claims its for Nanako, that someday in the future, she'll appreciate it.

And listen. The trauma of your spouse being murdered is not a joke. That's really heavy stuff. Your life falls apart as a pillar is just suddenly taken out, and surviving the loss of that kind of load-bearing structure is very fucking hard. I got zero judgement there.

However. Nanako doesn't give a shit. Her mother is a distant figure that doesn't affect her life anymore but via her absence. There is zero doubt in my mind that Nanako would remember Dojima more fondly as a man who stepped up to be her fucking father rather than having the closure for, sorry, a woman she has likely already forgotten the face of.

So again: get your shit together, Dojima.

SUMMER BEACH EPISODE. lmao poor kanji on his bike. also, Teddy is in bear mode. WHY is Teddie in bear mode? That seems much harder to travel with.

I'm not even gonna squint at Yosuke. Yosuke, someday, you will look back on your youth and feel so goddamn embarrassed at yourself. You are the very model of a modern repressed bisexual.

LMAO irl cackling. his response is so blaise. "why would i????" hahaha

lmao i missed it but chie and kanji were racing at like mach speed.

Of course because we need shenanigans, Teddie has been pulling at swimsuits to no avail. Well, almost no avail.

Hey, what is with the lightning bruiser boys and their tiny swimsuits, lmao. We are creating such a Specific trope here with them, it's bemusing. The venn diagram is something all right.

(Wait i JUST fucking noticed that Kanji has a fucking scar in the exact same place Akihiko does. What the fuck. That is a WILD coincidence.)

FUCKING YOSUKE AND REVERIE'S AVERTED GAZES LMAO. gdi teddie.

the voice acting here is a fucking treat, i cannot tell you enough.

everyone's doing amazing, sweetie

compared to the spring camping trip, this is a ten out of ten

[greatrunner]

‘Wolf Pack’ Impressions (Ep. 5-8)

1x05 - “Incendiary“

Sarah Michelle Gellar and Armani Jackson are easily the best part of this series

Ramsey is a duplicitous cop with a personal agenda connected to the werewolf murders, and the confidence in this narrative reveal is superbly supported by Gellar’s steady performance.

Everett started out like a walking ‘anxiety (get nervous)’ kind of character in the same way Scott was your prototypical ‘kid with asthma on TV’, but has otherwise not been pigeon-held in a quagmire characterization where his kindness disallows him from defending himself from assholes (Harlan, Austin, his mother) or assholes experiencing no consequences for their fuckery (see: Scott’s every interaction with discount Logan Lerman).

Additionally, his connection to the werewolf killing people is not in the least overshadowed Harlan and Luna’s bio-family drama. His status as a forced-werewolf has allowed him to become what he considers his ideal self and I’m here for it, honestly. Scare the shit out of your bullies.

Garrett really isn’t contributing anything to the current trajectory of the plot besides some nice UST between himself and Ramsey. He is, at the moment, a distraction (like he considered himself in Harlan’s flashback).

Harlan actually becoming proactive in the narrative and contributing to an episode something other than self-involved anger? Say it ain’t so.

This series seems to want to depict teenagers authentically, but lapses right into tried and true trope(s) of ‘unsupervised parties’ and ‘teenagers have easy access to drugs to the point of being pushers themselves’.

Luna’s subplot with Austin feels more necessitated by plot than anything they’ve got going story-wise, so not terribly unfamiliar territory in the box of ‘Jeff Davis can’t do teen romance’.

However lukewarm I am on Everett and Blake’s romance, it at least feels companionable vs. Luna and Austin’s “oh, hey, you drew pictures of me, so clearly you like me!” mess.

I like Prisha. I hope we see more of her next season.

1x06 - “After Party“

Balthier’s (Gideon Emery) appearance was a nice throwback (and definitely less hammy), especially working as a springboard for Ramsey’s story.

Ramsey as the avenging werewolf mother who goes into law enforcement to track arsonists is certainly a narrative I’m here for, and a large part of the reason why I was never interested in dismissing the arsonist storyline continuing on in the background without the teens.

By and large, the story becoming more motivated by Ramsey’s desire to find her son, protect him from [the] harm (of others), at the same time protect him from the authorities is just *chef’s kiss*. I love this monster woman, she is precious to me in all her violence and underhandedness.

Everett being handed the name of the murderous werewolf feels lazy as hell. Yet it does very little to my general enjoyment to how Everett remains at the center of unraveling the red herring of a ‘teen arsonist' plot.

Ultimately the best thing to come out of the reveal that the weird kid at the pool party was the werewolf projecting into Everett’s mind was the use of sound and visuals with the dead mean girl (Phoebe) to alert him about the next victim (Austin).

And, yeah, I was kinda sad about Phoebe’s death. Especially after that dead-straight heart-to-heart they had about Blake’s mother’s infidelity, and why she cut everyone out of her life. She was a jerk, but was also intercommunicating her pain in a similar way as Blake. Let this girl have friends, please!

1x07 - “Lion’s Breath” / 1x08 - “Trophic Cascade”

There are elements to Everett’s narrative (and the idea of lycanthropy being a cure-all for all disabilities or even autism) that hits a decidedly sour (abelist, anti-medication) note. I like the idea of it boosting your confidence, or even changing your perspective on the world (since the person has become an uber predator). But altering things that are often a case of nature or nurture, not so much.

That said, the Everett’s growing steadiness and unwillingness to give his parents emotional neglect and dismissal any more room in his life is incredibly thrilling.

That scene with his mother (”You should be nicer to me”) fucking rips. But it's also what makes part of the finale so bitter. Everett’s mother really white-woman-in-distressed her son, and her exaggeration of events really got his Black ass, swirl-silly father to try and get him confined. Fuck. Everett’s. Mom. I hope Ramsey eats her.

Luna’s loss of faith in her family and friends is a far more interesting note in her stakes than Austin (who promptly disappears from the plot), and a nice reversal of her role as the believer and her brother as the inward-looking jerkass. She neither trusts her father or her brother.

Ramsey’s agenda regarding her lost children, particularly the undercurrent of discomfort from the reveal that she’s known where they were for some time, is something I’m looking forward to see play out in the next season. She doesn’t appear to be angling to nix Garrett but at the same time she’s making it very clear (to the audience) that she won’t be separated from them again.

Even as the arsonist (lmao, what a wet flop of a reveal), driving her son out of hiding (and harming him, losing his trust), she’s gone out of her way to protect the new members of her pack. And the reasons feel like an illustration of how she views who’s worth saving and protecting vs. who isn’t. It’s not altruistic, but I wouldn’t call it intentionally malicious either. She’s a wolf, and she uses her ‘humanity’ so to speak in a way that will benefit the wolves. Again, I’m here for it.

The Malcolm reveal was pretty weak, all things considered. There was no build up, and they literally have the guy spelling it out to the audience.

How did he know she was the wolf from seventeen years ago that murked his crew? How did he know Baron was her son? Why was he not a bigger character in the story if he was going to be that important to the finale?

Ramsey turning out not to be the mysterious caller was a relief and a frustration. But I’m also expecting this to belly flop should it ever get a proper reveal.

Basically, this was like any finale of Teen Wolf. Rushed to hell and back.

Could’ve done without the grim-dark trailer rendition of “Can’t Fight the Moonlight”.

My overall (first) impressions of Paramount+’s Wolf Pack first season is that it’s Teen Wolf if Teen Wolf was written more a little more competently, and Jeff Davis’ preoccupation with white boys didn’t (or wasn’t allowed to) push the protagonist (Armani Jackson’s Everett) into the margins like he did with Tyler Posey’s Scott McCall.

The super-hero-fication of werewolves ah-la HEROES (everyone gets a special ability!) is kinda eye roll-inducing, but I can deal with it.

But, if Ramsey was going to be the fire-starter all along, then the story honestly should’ve been tailored to that instead of telling and not showing that part of the story in favor of a whodunit that basically went nowhere like the Kamina plot. It seems like an ass-pull to intentionally make her the antagonist when there were better and stronger elements in her character that qualify her for that.

Part of me wants to accredit a lot of the show’s success to Sarah Michelle Gellar’s skill as both an actor and an executive producer.

Please, do not kill her character off.

[gothicemoowl]

Push chapter 3: Murder family

Summary:

Takes place in the alternive version of murder family

Notes:

LMK if we should add some trigger warnings for this chapter.

Honey, I rose up from the dead, I do it all the time

Cuz, I can't think of any you wouldn't be expecting.

"But I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time

I got a list of names, and yours is in red, underlined

I check it once, then I check it twice."

-Look what you made me do, Taylor swift.

{Present: Stolas}

Stolas walked downstairs for breakfast. The servants were still cleaning from Stella's not divorced party.

He sighs, what an awful fucking party. The only good thing that came from it was seeing Blitzo again…

Blitzø now…

Why did he change his name anyway?

He walked into the kitchen. "Octavia, good morning, dear." Stolas says.

"Hi dad." Via says.

"Octavia, don't slouch!" Stella scolds.

Octavia sits straight. “Right. Sorry.” She says.

Stolas frowns, he hates how Stella talks to her, but if he says something, they'll fight about it, and that would cause more distress for Via than really necessary.

So instead he glances Octavia's way and smiles at her, hoping it'll do…something. "So, Via. How have you been?" Stolas asks.

Octavia shrugs. "I don't know."

"Octavia, don't shrug." Stella says. "It's unbecoming of a princess."

"Sorry, mum." Via says.

'Don't bow to that one, he bows to us, idiot.'

'Oh right, sorry father.'

Stolas glares at Stella, but she pays no mind.

"The party was so fucking loud." Octavia says. "I could hardly concentrate on anything."

"I know what you mean." Stolas says softly, "what are you working on? Perhaps I can help you with it?" Stolas suggests.

"I don't need help." She sighs. "I just need quiet."

"Right… Well, the party is over now, so it should be quieter." He says.

Via doesn't respond, just scoffs quietly and puts on her headphones to continue eating.

Stolas returns to his meal as well; he has completed trying to relate to his teenager for the day he supposes.

"Octavia! Take those fucking headphones out! It's impolite."

"Must you criticize everything she does? Isn't criticizing me enough?!" Stolas shouts.

Suddenly the room goes quiet.

"How dare you!" Stella says. "She's my daughter!-"

"She's our daughter, Stella!" Stolas shouts back. "And I don't appreciate you talking to her like that."

"I will talk to her however I please!" Stella shouts.

Octavia got up and ran to her room.

"See what you've done?" Stella asks.

Stolas sighs, "Octavi-"

The door slams.

Stella glares daggers at Stolas, she has nothing but hate in her heart for him…and as it seems, anyone.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Stolas? I do everything around here. I take care of the castle, I make sure our daughter is presentable while you encourage her to dress like a-

Stolas shouts. "Don’t you dare say it, I'm the one who actually took care of her. When she had nightmares, I took care of it, when she was molting, I helped her-

Stella laughs. "Oh right, like I do nothing around here?! I take care of the house, hire servants, organize every meeting, every party, threw our anniversary party-"

"Shame it couldn't have been a divorce party." Stolas interrupted.

"Excuse me?" Stella asks. "You're a pathetic excuse for a man, you're lucky I haven't left your scrawny ass yet! Why must you ruin everything? Do you think it's easy for me? Easy to admit that I'm married to a soulless prick year after year?" She asks.

Stolas gets up and leaves, not wanting to respond to Stella's insults.

{Past: Stolas, age 16:}

Stolas slammed the door to his bedroom.

He throws his grimoire across the room and pathetically throws himself on the bed.

"You- uh…good?" Blitzo asks him. The imp was tidying up the place, and Stolas knew that he was busy and had work to do- but, he needed a friend right now…

Was he really selfish for that?

"He's really going to force me to marry stella." Stolas says, sitting up.

"Yeah, you know that already." Blitzo says. “So?”

"I can't marry her, Blitzo. I can't!" Stolas says.

"So…don't. No one can force you to marry anyone. And they certainly can't force you to have a baby with them either. It's your life, tell them to call it off or you’ll leave.” Blitzo suggested.

"I wish it were that easy." Stolas says. “They’ll take everything from me.”

"Well, no one said freedom was free." Blitzo says.

"When did you become so smart?" Stolas asks.

"I've always been smart, you've just been too…" he lingers on the word, realizing what he was about to say.

"Yes?" Stolas asks in amusement, he crosses his arms, awaiting what the imp was about to say.

"Engrossed in your own…miscellaneous activities." Blitzo says, smiling with the fakest of innocence.

"Nice save." Stolas says.

"Mhm." Blitzo returns to dusting the bookshelf.

"And how do you suppose I could escape?" Stolas asks. “If I wanted to.”

"You can literally disguise yourself as an Imp, or a person, a sinner. Take the book and leave."

"And those who are more powerful, if they find me trying to escape my duties?" He asks.

"So, they take what? Take your powers away? Big deal, you're like everyone else." Blitzo shrugs.

"They might kill me." Stolas says.

"So…your choices would be dead…or you fuck Stella." Blitzo says.

Stolas hums. "Good point."

"You still have free will, a brain, a heart. They can try, but they can't take that." Blitzo says. "You still have control over your life, just don't surrender to them.”

Stolas blushed without meaning to. "I- um, I'm going for a walk." He says, heading to the door.

Blitzo didn't respond, just got back to work.

"Blitzo?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you." Stolas says, closing the door behind him.

~~~~~present:~~~~

He had no choice! Blitzo was wrong!

Stolas sighs. Blitzo was never wrong…

He looks through his desk’s secret compartment, full of things Blitzo had given him, things he left behind…

A letter caught his attention, scented with hellrose.

Perhaps it’s not too late to have some control over his life…

Perhaps there’s still a chance at happiness.

A chance Blitzø does still care…

He just needs to take it slow, be understanding…

He should call him!

{I.M.P:}

Millie and Barbie were practicing to shoot with their new crossbow.

"So, who exactly is this Stolas guy?" Loona asks Barbie while she holds up a picture to be the target. "He seemed to strike a nerve with you and dad."

"What has he told you about it?" Barbie asks.

"Nothing! I tried asking him about it last night, but he just avoided the question. It's weird. He's usually so…eager to talk to me." Loona says, sitting up.

"Strange, it's almost like he loves you or something." Barbie remarks.

"You know what I mean! Don't change the subject." Loona says.

“Stay still, please?” Millie asks.

Barbie exhales sharply. "He's just some privileged asshole bird who broke your father's heart. That's all."

Millie shoots, but misses because Loona moved again. “Loona-“

"He did? Is that even possible?" Loona asks.

"You'd be surprised." Barbie answers.

"But, how did they meet?" Loona asks. “How long were they together?”

"Look, don't get me wrong. I love exposing your father's stupid embarrassing secrets. But I will not be in a conversation involving that father pecking cloaca having buffleheaded pompous prick."

Millie and Loona look at her.

"You were waiting for an opportunity to call him that, weren't you?" Millie asks.

"Doesn't matter!" Barbie says. "Shoot the fucking target."

Millie shrugs and does, this time nailing it.

"He must have really done a number on him, huh?" Loona asks.

Barbie was about to answer-

"Guys, I'd like you to meet our newest client!" Blitzø says.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Millie!" Millie says, shaking her hand.

"Just kill the bitch." Mrs Mayberry scowled, ignoring Millie completely.

"Don't worry, Ma'am. Here at I.M.P. there's nothing we do better than killing bitches." Blitzø said.

"That better be true." She says, stomping away.

"Can't believe someone cheated on her." Barbie says.

Blitzø couldn't tell if that was sarcastic. But, he chooses to ignore it. "Alright. Are you two ready?"

"Born ready!" Millie says.

"Yeah, sure. Let's kill a bitch." Barbie shrugs.

Blitzø takes the book and opens the portal. "Okay, we're gonna do this quickly and discreetly. Loona, I'll call you when I need the portal-"

"I know the drill, Blitzø." Loona rolls her eyes.

"Alright! Let's go lick some ass!" He says.

"The expression is kick some ass, Blitzø."

"Mines better." Blitzø says.

They go through the portal, leaving the book with Loona.

Blitzø, Barbie, and Millie sneak up to the house.

"This one should be easy enough." Blitzø says, aiming and shooting the target instantly.

"Great, done, let's get out of he-"

A gunshot. "Ah! A new hole, scatter!" He shouts.

"Shit!" Barbie curses.

All three imps split up, each of the family members following with their own weapons.

~~~Loona: 🐺~~~

After they left, the phone rang. "Hello? Imp."

"Oh, hello. Is Blitzø there?"

"Who is this?" She asks.

"This is…uhm. Stolas Goetia."

Loona smiles. Oh…this was too perfect.

"Stolas, interesting name. What the fuck do you want?" She asks.

"I want to speak to Blitzø, please?" Stolas asks.

"You have to answer a few security questions first…"

"Security questions?" He asks.

"Yes, first question: are you old enough to hire an assassin?"

"I'm not interested in-"

"Answer the question." Loona says. "Or I'm hanging up."

"Yes."

"How old are you?"

"Thirty-six." Stolas says.

"Wow. Old. And what species are you?" She asks.

"Why does that matter?!" Stolas asks.

"Sir, if you're not going to cooperate, I can't help you." Loona says.

"I'm an avian." Stolas says.

"More specific." Loona says.

"Owl."

"How do you know Blitzø?" She asks.

"We were friends." Stolas says

"Why past tense?" Loona asks.

"It's…complicated." Stolas says.

"Great, what's your favorite color?"

"You've got to be kidding me." Stolas sighs.

~~~Blitzø, Millie, Barbie:~~~~

The husband of the bitch followed Blitzø to the woods.

It was hard to keep quiet with the hole in his shoulder, but he's been through worse.

"Where are you mother fucker! You think you can just kill my wife and get away with it? I don’t think so." He says angrily.

Blitzø slowly reaches for his gun, but the guy snuck up and shot his arm again. "Shit!"

"She was my everything! And now yer gonna pay!" He says, aiming for his middle.

Blitzø then quickly shot him in the head. "Should have shot me somewhere more dangerous, asshole." He says.

What a nice couple.

He's sure the two of them will settle nicely in hell.

Now he's gotta find the girls and head back. Knowing them, they should have the kids handled by-

A loud explosion is heard.

Ah. There they are.

~~~Loona: 🐺 ~~~

"Seasons of love by jonathan Larson! Okay? I have answered all your ridiculous questions, now will you please-"

"Sorry, Blitzø isn't here. Call again later." She says before hanging up.

Loona chuckles. That was kinda fun.

~~~Blitzø, Millie, Barbie:~~~

"Damn kids." Barbie says, climbing out the window. "Millie, when we get back, tie my tubes.”

"I can try." Millie says, throwing the grenade in the house.

"Blitzø! There he is!" Millie says, running over to help him.

"Glad to see you both made it in one piece." Blitzø says.

"Damn, you look like hell." Barbie says.

"Gee, sis. I wonder why, maybe it’s cuz’ I got shot twice in the fucking arm?! Thanks so much for the concern.” Blitzø says.

“Next time, don’t get shot.” Barbie orders.

“Just call Loona." He says.

“Okay, okay. Geez.” Barbie texts her, and a couple moments later, the portal opens.

"Mission accomplished!" Millie shouts.

"Any chance she'll pay us more for killing the woman's husband and kids?" Barbie asks Blitzø.

"I think she was counting on them being miserable." Blitzø says.

"Damn it."

They go through the portal, and Blitzø falls on his face.

“The hell happened?” Loona asks.

Millie helps him up. “Few bullet wounds, no big deal.” Blitzø shrugs. “Where’s that first aid kit?”

“Still in your office from last time.” Barbie answers.

“Right. Thanks.” Blitzø walks to his office to find it.

Loona follows.

She grabs the kit and hands it to him.

“Thanks, Loonie.” Blitzø says, first cleaning the wounds with disinfectant.

“Need help?” Loona asks.

“No, I got it. I’m used to taking care of my wounds myself.” Blitzø says.

"So, your owl friend called." Loona says.

Blitzø paused. “What?”

“Stolas. He called.” Loona says again.

Blitzø hums, "what did he want?" He continued on like he just didn’t care.

"Don't know, I hung up before he could tell me." Loona explains.

Blitzø looks at her and smiles.

"What?" Loona asks.

"I've never been prouder of you, Loonie."

"Whatever." Loona grumbled, “I’m going back to my desk.” She leaves, slamming the door.

Blitzø finished the bandages, then texted Stolas.

Blitzø🐎: you called?

Stolas🦉: I just wanted to talk…our last conversation didn't end well.

Blitzø sighs.

Blitzø🐎: We have nothing else to talk about. You're doing me a favor, I'm grateful. I don't think there's anything else we need to establish.

Stolas 🦉: I'm sorry.

Blitzø 🐎: Don't worry about it.

Blitzø threw his phone harshly across the room.

He doesn't have time for this shit! He has to focus on helping his mom!

But, Blitzø couldn't stop thinking about Stolas… no matter what he did!

It hurt- it fucking hurt!

How can that stupid bird possibly think Blitzø would want to talk to him after everything he did?!

{PAST: Blitzo, age 11}

Blitzo's schedule as Stolas's personal servant was relatively simple:

He gets up first thing in the morning to deliver Stolas's breakfast, then once Stolas is done, he takes a shower while Blitzo clears the dishes and gets his clothes ready, after that he helps Stolas get preened and dressed.

While Stolas did school work Blitzo cleaned Stolas's room then prepared his lunch.

After clearing those dishes, he helped Stolas practice magic and study spells, he basically had to do it on his own since Paimon wasn't going to help him.

After dinner, Blitzø cleaned up after him, stripped and made the bed, and got Stolas through his nightly routine.

He accompanied Stolas throughout the rest of the day until the owl went to sleep…that's when the real work began.

See, there was one member of staff that Blitzo hated more than anyone, and that was paimon's butler Lays. Blitzo was assigned to him, so that meant that Lays had to be a huge pain in the ass 24/7.

After Stolas went to sleep, Blitzo had his own schooling to finish, Lays insisted on teaching him and assigning something every morning which he was to finish every night before he could sleep.

"Why do I have to do homework? Can't I just be a slave?" Blitzo asks. "Isn't torture overkill?" He asks.

Lays rolls his eyes. "Master Paimon has entrusted me with your care. And while I'm in charge of you, you're going to get a proper education."

"But why?" Blitzo asks.

"Throughout your life, you will meet people who will take advantage of you, and underestimate you. You don't want to give them a reason to." Lays says.

"What's underestimate mean?" Blitzo asks.

"It means to think of you less than you already are." Lays explains. "Imps have two options in life. We surpass expectations and make something of ourselves, or we comply and be what they want us to be."

"Who's they?" Blitzo asks.

"You'll understand when you're a little older." Lays says. "In the meantime, I want your six paragraphs explaining hell's hierarchy done by tonight."

"Tonight?!" Blitzo asks.

"And don't rush it. Every mistake made will be corrected six times each. And you will be rewriting the paper until you get it right." Lays says before exiting.

Blitzo sighs. "Great."

And sure enough, every day after Stolas went to sleep, Blitzo had to fix over 20 mistakes and had to rewrite the paper two more times before it was good enough for Lays.

He stayed up so late that every night Blitzo would be found passed out by his work. When Lays found him like this, he'd cover him with a blanket and leave him alone for the rest of the night.

~~~Present:~~~~

Blitzo hated Lays for a while…but now, he kinda owes everything to him.

He didn't know at the time, but Lays was trying to explain how he was already being taken advantage of more than he knew.

It's only fair that he now takes advantage of his knowledge of Stolas's book.

He's willing to be as nice to Stolas as possible to get what he needs from him.

He doesn't care anymore, he doesn't care how much harder he has to work, or how much he has to push.

He will take care of the family he was forced to abandon for the sake of Stolas.

He will take care of them.

"I don't trust nobody and nobody trusts me

I'll be the actress starring in your bad dreams

I don't trust nobody and nobody trusts me

I'll be the actress starring in your bad dreams

I don't trust nobody and nobody trusts me

I'll be the actress starring in your bad dreams

I don't trust nobody and nobody trusts me

I'll be the actress starring in your bad dreams"

-Look what you made me do, Taylor swift.

Tag: @susstardust

Hope you liked it! Loo Loo land is next!

[squill79]

The Woman Who Was

Trigger warning for transphobia

It was an average weekday. George wastes his time lying around and eating junk food, as he typically does. He used to be a family man. He would stay in shape and pass the football around with his teenaged son, Bryan. Ever since the divorce however, George has become a shell of his former self. twice a month, Bryan stops by to see his father, and today was one of those days. "How's it going dad?", Bryan asks as he enters the living room.

"What? How's it what?", George tiredly responds as he awakens from a nap.

"I just ask how it's going", Bryan answers as he gazes around the apartment. "Wow, this place gets messier every time I stop by. You've got garbage and clothes everywhere, I'd like to see this place look nice for once".

"Well, I don't normally have others over, besides you I guess", says George.

"Well maybe you should have someone over, put yourself out there! I mean you and mom have been separated for a few years now, it might be good to meet someone again", Bryan suggested.

George pondered, "Maybe... just as long as she's not like your mom. I mean come on, was it so hard for her to just cook my meals and do my laundry every day? You know, like women are supposed to do?"

Bryan was disgusted. "Ugh, women aren't supposed to do anything, dad! Don't be gross".

"Yeah I bet she taught you that", George snarked.

Bryan chose to change the topic, "Alright dad, let's set you up an account on an online dating site". Bryan set up an account for his dad. George spent the next hour scrolling past various women he felt didn't meet his standard in terms of appearance, interests, and views. Eventually, he stopped on a girl who went by the name of Luna.

"Hey, this girl is real pretty! And she's only in her late twenties! She loves cooking and cleaning and is looking for a man who is strong, supportive, and has a great sense of humor! I'm all those things!"

"Sure you are, dad", Bryan said sarcastically.

"I think I'm gonna set up a date with her", George said.

That's great, dad", Bryan responded. "I think I'm gonna get going now but let me know how the date goes".

"Yeah, I'll see ya kiddo", George said distractedly. This was the first time he had been excited for something in years. He spent the rest of the day cleaning the apartment in case he wanted to take her home.

A few days later, George went to meet Luna for dinner at a local restaurant. George arrived first and sat down at a booth. Shortly after, Luna entered looking even prettier than she did on her profile. She wore a stunning purple dress, had long dark hair, was 6 feet tall, and wore sparkly make-up. George was amazed. "Wow", he exclaimed when she sat down, "You're even more beautiful in person!"

Luna laughed, "Why thank you! It took me all day to look like this".

"Yeah I bet", he responded.

"So what do you do all day? What are your hobbies?", Luna asked.

George stammered for a moment. He didn't want her to know he spends all day slouching around at home once he gets home from work. He had to make something up. "Well I... exercise. I jog, I bike, I go to the gym", he answered as he used his phone to secretly create a membership at his local gym.

"Oh that's nice, I'm a real health nut too. What muscles have you been working on?", Luna asked.

George did not know how to respond. "Oh you know... sorta a mix of them all. I try not to discriminate'". The two both laughed. George then asked, "So what are you into? Your bio said you liked cooking and cleaning".

"Well yeah, I do, but that's just what my mom wanted me to say", Luna replied. "What I really want is to be a big performer one day. So far I've only done small shows but I hope to be in something bigger one day, maybe Broadway".

"Oh that seems interesting", George responded. "Can you sing for me?"

"Right here!?!? In a restaurant!?!?", Luna confusedly exclaimed.

"Yeah, why not?", George asked.

Luna laughed and the two continued to talk for the rest of the night. they both had a wonderful time and agreed to keep seeing each other.

For the next few weeks George and Luna had become a consistent part of each other's lives'. They jogged together, went to the beach and an amusement park, watched movies, George even started working out to get in shape for her. In that short time, George was happier than he had been for the entirety of the last few years. One Saturday afternoon, the two were having a picnic. George could tell that Luna had something on her mind. "Is something wrong?", he asked.

Luna had been hiding a secret that was eating her up inside. A secret that she was not yet prepared to share. So instead, she made up a lie. "Yeah it's just... your son".

"My son?", George questioned, "What about him?"

"I want to meet him. I mean, I'm just nervous that he might need time to adjust to me being a part of his life, you know how kids can be", Luna answered.

"Oh I doubt that", George replied. "Meeting you was actually his idea in the first place. But sure, you can still meet him! We'll set up a dinner date at my place tomorrow."

"Sounds great", Luna nervously responded.

The next day, per his father's invite, Bryan met George and Luna at the apartment for dinner. "Hi, how are you?", Luna greeted him and shook his hand.

"I'm great, thanks", Bryan replied. He could see that Luna was visibly nervous but refused to acknowledge it. He looked around and saw that the house was much neater than it had been last time he visited. "Wow dad, you really tidied up the place".

"Oh... yeah", he said. "Just wanted this place to look nice". The three sat down at the table to eat. Bryan talked about his classes and friends and Luna discussed her acting career. Bryan could still tell she was acting nervous. She was sweaty, kept rambling, and was often unfocused on what he was saying. Eventually, George got up to use the bathroom and left the table. This gave Bryan the opportunity to ask her, "Hey, are you feeling ok?"

"Yeah", she answered. "Yeah, I'm ok. It's just... your dad, is he... on the conservative side of the spectrum?"

"Oh... yeah", Bryan responded. "Yeah, I love the guy but he's pretty right wing. It's actually a part of why he and my mom divorced in the first place. I've tried making him see our point of view but he's a stubborn guy. You know how parents are. Why do you ask?"

Luna sighed, "If I tell you, do you promise not to tell your dad?"

"For sure, totally", Bryan promised.

"... I'm transgender. I have been presenting as female since I was twelve and had a sex reassignment surgery at eighteen. I don't want to keep it from him but I'm scared to let him know".

Bryan attempted to console her. "Oh, well that's not-".

"WHHHAAAAAT!?!?!?", Bryan was interrupted by his father, who as it turns out, could hear them the entire time. "You mean I've been dating a man this whole time?"

Luna was in shock. She had not a clue what to say. Bryan stood up to defend her, "She is not a man!"

"Great, more of your woke nonsense", George retorted. "Men can't be women! Men are men!"

Luna finally stepped in. "So all that time we spent together, it means nothing because I was born a man?"

George angrily pointed at her. "You deceived me! I thought I was dating a women. How can I ever trust you?"

Luna scoffed. "I only lied because I was worried you would react this way, and I was correct".

"Get the hell out!" George yelled. Luna sobbed and egressed the apartment.

"Great going dad", Bryan said sarcastically. "Yet again you drove away a perfectly nice girl because you're an ignorant buffoon. It's exactly why mom left you".

"Yeah well, good thing I don't need anyone. I'm better off by myself", George told his son.

"I sure hope you are", Bryan stated as he left the apartment. He proceeded to cut off contact between him and his dad.

By the end of the week, George had gone back to his old slobbish, lazy, unambitious self. He quit working out and spent all his time eating junk and watching TV, fantasizing about how his life could be had Luna still been in it.

[septembersghost]

I saw someone say it's taylor's "fault" that people are being so damn weird about this football player rumour (which idgaf about other than I hate football and think that guy is lowkey hideous lmfao) and I hate that she gets blamed for how the press has treated her since she was a literal teenager.

yeah absolutely not (and sure, we could get into all the ways football is unethical, though that's no single player's fault. that man is the antithesis of my taste in men, but tbf, there are very few boyfriends of taylor's that i ever found attractive myself because of reasons).

i personally don't believe this is true and feel like it's something being milked for attention (glamour magazine running a "timeline" of a relationship that doesn't even exist, please be for real right now. the countless people letting the misogyny jump out and saying she's beneath him/doesn't deserve him, uh? again, be so for real!!!), but whether there's truth to it or not, it makes me so sad and a bit sick that we're back here again. i had hoped we had progressed, but it turns out we have not. for the record, i think linking her with every random dude who breathes in her vicinity or says her name for press is every bit as damaging as conspiracy theorists because it's a gross invasion of her privacy and IS what she's cited as damaging. she has begged the press not to do this and yet they continue to do this - how is that her fault?

yes, we, as fans, do know what we know and acknowledge her documented relationships and discuss them in relation to her music because her experiences inform her art and her writing is diaristic. that is not an invitation to stalk her, harass her, gather outside of restaurants, chase her car, and that is not an excuse for the press to invasively pry into every moment of her life without end or boundaries. what she HERSELF shares with us is, imho, fair to discuss, because she would not lay that into song if she didn't want it to be understood and heard. but dear john would be every bit as impactful if it were about john smith two blocks away, all too well would be every bit as beautiful if it were about jacob doe on an upstate farm. these men are well-known because she travels in celebrity circles, but it's not their status that makes the music matter or gives it resonance. when we talk about the music in its original framing, even when the muses come up, it's ultimately always about taylor. why is she shamed and made an example of for doing what...basically every other artist ever does, sharing her life and her loves and heartbreaks and journey and her words in her music? we can't unknow that information, but it shouldn't be used to exploit or dehumanize her? why is it taylor being splashed everywhere without asking at "fault," when she has every right to write her stories and share her voice however she sees fit? why is it that taylor gets made into the problem for being sincere and vulnerable?

sure, we know she's fallen hard and fast in love before, but what's happening right now is a total regression into an unpleasant, outdated mode of thinking. i could not care less about this guy, but i do care about taylor, and everyone needs to take a step back, allow her to heal (and be single! for goodness' sake!) and let her grow through this without immediately deciding how to report on every movement she makes and whittle her down to a caricature again and demand so much of her human existence.