#EXCEPT MERCURY MERCURY CAN GO FUCK HIMSELF

[imabiscuitinthousandworlds]

i need to rip off mercury's stupid head with the stupid splitting jaw i need to punch him into a wall WHAT THE FUCK MAN AND ALSO HOW DARE YOU HURT MAX PISS OFF I HOPE YOUR STUPID BEASTS EAT YOU

[pluckyredhead]

What the heck is going on in Batman/Gotham War?

I know a lot of people in fandom are confused and/or upset about what's been going on in Gotham War - why is Bruce acting like this, what is Selina doing, why are the Batkids taking sides. So I figured I would fill you all in on what's been happening in Batman and Catwoman since Chip Zdarsky took over with Batman #125, because it has been BONKERS and I have been enjoying the hell out of it.

Below, the quickest summary I can manage while still being comprehensive:

[Content warning: mental illness, abuse, suicide (...ish), LOTS of violence.]

The first arc, "Failsafe," starts with Batman and Robin (Tim, in this case) in pursuit of the Penguin, who is on a killing spree. In the very first issue, Tim gets shot in the neck. Bruce has to take him to the hospital, but first he has to strip him out of his costume and put him in civilian clothes to preserve their secret identities, triggering memories of when he had to do the same to Jason's dead body. There is LITERALLY NO PURPOSE TO ANY OF THIS EXCEPT WHUMP (Tim is back in action with a fucking BAND-AID on his neck very quickly), which is how I knew this was going to be good. Beat Tim up! Make Bruce cry about Jason! I want these men to suffer! (There is also SO much to be said about Tim's own Poor Mental Health Decisions throughout the entirety of Zdarsky's run so far, but that's for a separate meta post.)

Anyway. Bruce leaves Tim in the hospital and goes to confront Penguin, who turns out to be dying of mercury poisoning. He kills himself and makes it look like Batman did it, forcing Bruce to flee. (Penguin actually faked his death and is alive elsewhere under an alias, but that's not important right now.)

In the Batcave, a massive robot called Failsafe emerges. Failsafe attacks Bruce, who usually eats killer robots for breakfast, but he can't seem to get the upper hand on this one. Duke, Cass, Steph, and Dick show up to help, but Failsafe beats them all too, while Tim gets an injured Bruce away and to the Batcave.

In the Batcave, Bruce puts on a weird purple and red Batman costume and a new personality takes over: the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh. Now, Zur has a very complicated history going back to 1958, but for the purposes of this story, all you need to know is that when he was younger, Bruce decided it would be good to hang out in a sensory deprivation chamber until his mind created a secondary personality, Zur, who is essentially Batman without Bruce. Zur is pure efficiency who does not care about anything but the mission. He created Failsafe, for one purpose: to kill Bruce if Bruce ever crossed the line and killed someone. And right now, Failsafe believes that Bruce killed Penguin.

Failsafe nearly kills Tim, which Zur is okay with writing off as an expendable soldier's death, but this causes Bruce to take control of the body back because "Tim isn't my soldier...HE'S MY SON!" (Tim Nation, why are you not ALL OVER this story? It's catnip.)

Babs calls in the JLA (SuperBat fans, you will also want to read Bruce's adoring description of Clark when he shows up), but of course Failsafe has kryptonite, which it stabs Clark with. The League dumps Clark and Bruce into the JLA jet and distracts Failsafe while Tim flies Clark and Bruce to the Fortress of Solitude. Bruce tells Tim he's a good boy and jumps out of the jet and into the ocean so that Tim and Clark will be safe from Failsafe. He's rescued by Arthur, who takes him to Atlantis to heal. THIS HAS ALL ONLY BEEN FOUR ISSUES SO FAR.

Two weeks later, Bruce wakes up to discover that Failsafe has taken over Gotham. He teleports up to the JLA Watchtower on the moon to lure Failsafe there, then blows the Watchtower up, hoping to catch a ride on one of the Javelins. But Failsafe has already destroyed them, so Bruce RIDES A BOOSTER ROCKET BACK TO EARTH, OXYGEN MASK CLAPPED OVER HIS FACE. The whole thing has some powerful Scooty-Puff Jr energy.

The only tricky part is reentry, when Bruce starts to burn up - his costume is fireproof, of course, but his chin is exposed. SO HE TAKES OFF HIS LITTLE BAT-PANTIES AND PUTS THEM OVER HIS HEAD. I swear to god this happened in a real comic book and the entire "Bruce falls off the moon and survives" sequence is utterly delectable goofy nonsense and I truly cannot recall a time I've had more fun reading a comic book.

Anyway, Bruce lands directly outside of the Fortress, BECAUSE OF COURSE HE DOES, and runs inside to find Clark and Tim. While Clark keeps Failsafe distracted, Bruce and Tim program nanobots to inject compassion into Failsafe. I SWEAR TO GOD. They zap him with the nanobots, but Failsafe pulls a high tech space gun out of the Fortress and shoots Bruce with it anyway, apparently disintegrating him. Tim falls to his knees in the snow, weeping. TIM NATION, WAKE UP, THIS RUN IS CANDY FOR YOU.

But of course Bruce isn't dead! That wasn't a killing gun, it was a "zap you into another dimension" gun!!! THAT was the compassion!

So Bruce finds himself in a dystopian alternate Gotham, and I'll be honest, I didn't love this arc ("The Bat-Man of Gotham") as much as I loved "Failsafe," but it has its moments. In this Gotham, Bruce Wayne is dead, so Regular Bruce is like "Oh boy, time to Batman this place up." Also he's plagued by hallucinations of a skeleton version of Jim Gordon who is still wearing a trench coat AND A MUSTACHE. Like I said, it has its moments.

This Gotham is controlled by Arkham, and anyone who is diagnosed as "crazy" is locked up. A new villain, Red Mask, is in charge, and Selina and a Venomed-up Harvey Dent work for him. Bruce teams up with an orphan kid (of course) named Jewel and goes after Red Mask, who turns out to be some guy named Darwin Halliday and ALSO...the Joker. Well, he's the Joker who hasn't been Jokerized yet. But one time he breathed in some chemicals that let him see into the main reality of the DCU (???) and glimpsed Regular Joker and now he wants to build an interdimensional machine to mentally connect with Regular Joker across universes which he assumes will make him insane, NATURALLY.

Bruce attacks Red Mask, who sics a Venomed-up Ghost Maker on him. Ghost Maker cuts off Bruce's right hand. Bruce cauterizes it with an electroshock machine and ties some spikes on it (SERIOUSLY) and goes after Red Mask again. Meanwhile Red Mask mentally connects with an alternate dimensional Joker...but instead of it driving Red Mask insane, he's what drives the Joker insane. Desperate to become the Joker somehow, anyhow, he jumps into the interdimensional portal, and Morally Dubious Alternate Universe Selina kicks Bruce in after him.

Meanwhile, Tim is in full "I KNOW I SAW HIM DIE BUT HE'S NOT DEAD" mode, which: bless. So he teams up with Jon Kent, which...gosh, what an astonishingly boring duo. I love Jon, I love Tim, they're perfectly nice and normal around each other, I'm falling asleep. Anyway Tim fights Toyman for a while and then makes a VERY stupid costume where the entire torso is a giant light-up R, because "I want him to see that Robin is coming to save him." GET A THERAPY, TIM.

Bruce finds himself first in the Michael Keaton Batman universe, then the Red Rain universe, BTAS, Batman Beyond (yes I know they're the same universe but I guess he goes there twice), Silver Age, Kingdom Come, Gotham by Gaslight, and more. Adam West gives him a utility belt. The Dark Knight Returns Bruce builds him a robot hand.

Finally Bruce and Red Mask reach the end of the multiverse, which is a Gotham asteroid floating in space, surrounded by giant Jokerized sharks. LUCKILY BRUCE HAS BAT-SHARK REPELLANT IN HIS ADAM WEST UTILITY BELT!!! Honestly this whole arc was worth it for that moment.

Bruce knocks Red Mask out, but now he's stuck. He has a device from Batman Beyond Bruce to get home, but it's only good for one person, and he can't leave Red Mask there to die. Of course, that's when Tim shows up in his stupid giant glowing R costume and they hug it out, thereby fulfilling but also compounding all of Tim's issues since 1989.

Anyway things are fine now, right? Sure, Bruce is hallucinating that his family is on fire, and the Zur personality is not going neatly back into the box where it's been all these years, and he still has a robot hand (Damian, hilariously, immediately announces that he wants one too), but he's FINE. He is a little bit mad at Selina, because she broke out of jail (she was in jail because she killed her fuckbuddy because he was trying to kill Bruce), and also because she didn't tell him Penguin was alive and that would have stopped Failsafe, and also because Other Selina kicked into another universe. Selina, very fairly, is like "Well I'm not responsible for Other Selinas and also maybe don't build robots to kill yourself with and not tell anyone about them???"

THEN we got Knight Terrors, the summer event in which a villain called Nightmare caused everyone to fall asleep and, uh, have nightmares. Bruce, specifically, had a nightmare that he met an eight-year-old version of himself that vomited up a man-sized bat with a gun for a head. I laughed SO HARD. Bruce also had his body borrowed by Deadman for the duration of the event, so while he endured the psychological toll of nightmares like everyone else, he also endured the physical toll of everything Deadman was doing PLUS the mental toll of being aware of what was happening in the waking world even though he couldn't control his body. As soon as the event was over, he lapsed into a coma so that his body could get some damn rest.

Okay. Now we're up to Gotham War.

(I know, I know. But for all of you who are like "How could Bruce do this???" about Gotham War...*points up* THAT'S HOW. HE IS NOT WELL.)

Bruce awakens from his coma and IMMEDIATELY decides to Fight A Crime even though Babs is like "Maybe don't?" But he can't find any crime, which is...weird. His kids confirm that Gotham's been super quiet since he's been out.

Selina hears that Bruce is awake and is like okay, time to pay the piper. She calls all of the Bats to a meeting and explains that she's the reason crime has been down. See, villains like Joker and Two-Face always have goons, right? But what if the goon supply dried up because the goons have better jobs? So Selina has trained All The Goons In Gotham to be...cat burglars. No violence, no stealing from anyone who can't afford it. More importantly, no helping Scarecrow or whoever commit mass murder.

All of the Batkids are like "Hmm...I feel uncertain about this, but it's working...I don't know what to think..." except for Jason, who thinks it's hilarious and is instantly Team Selina, and Damian, who is staunchly Team Bruce. Bruce, meanwhile, is like "No! NO! THIS IS CRIMES, AND CRIMES IS BAD!" and Selina's like "I mean, robbing from the rich is basically a victimless crime" and Bruce screams, I swear to god, "MY PARENTS WERE 'RICH'!" Inexplicable scare quotes and all. I laughed so hard.

Anyway this is the basis for Gotham War and it is endlessly hilarious to me because everyone in the Batfamily is supposed to be a genius and yet not one single character has pointed out that:

There are jobs the goons could be doing that AREN'T illegal. It's not just violent crime vs. nonviolent crime. There are in fact many other jobs! I am POSITIVE Gotham needs construction workers and hospital orderlies. (Yes, I know it's hard for people with records to get jobs. That isn't addressed.)

Being Batman is SUPER ILLEGAL.

They are all so stupid.

Selina's plan doesn't even work, because one of her thieves gets killed by a rich person defending their home, and Bruce is like "See? This is why crime is bad!" and like...pretty much snaps. He's particularly fixated on Jason, even (rhetorically) threatening to kill him, which is when the other kids jump into the fray on Jason's side, all except for Damian, who like I said is firmly Team Bruce. (This makes complete sense to me, Damian has been dealing with severe trauma and isolation pretty much nonstop since 2018 and he and Bruce have finally made a tenuous peace, so I can understand why he wouldn't want to lose that.)

Also, Vandal Savage buys Wayne Manor. It's so random and SO funny.

OKAY BATMAN #138. Bruce has kidnapped Jason and injected him with a variation on fear toxin which will be triggered whenever Jason's adrenaline spikes, the idea being that Jason is no longer capable of killing - but in practice, Jason is no longer capable of even getting up off the floor, he's so terrified. I want to be really, really clear here: Bruce is like 90% Zur here, and the only reason he goes this route and doesn't kill Jason is because the remaining 10% that's still Bruce loves Jason and is trying to help him. He's just incapable of good or humane help because Zur literally can't do feelings.

Dick knows something is up and is sneaking around Bruce's Secret Other House We've Never Heard Of to figure out what it is. Damian attacks him to protect Bruce. Tim attacks Damian so that Dick can do what he needs to do, and handcuffs Damian to a parking meter:

THERE IS SO MUCH TO UNPACK HERE!!! TIM GO TO THERAPY! DAMIAN GO TO THERAPY! EVERYONE GO TO THERAPY!!!!!

Dick figures out what Bruce did to Jason (it's on the computer, for...some reason?) and absolutely loses his shit on Bruce, beating the crap out of him, which tbh is the only thing that felt off to me in this run because frankly I don't think Dick likes Jason that much. BUT WHATEVER.

Tim pulls Dick off of Bruce. Bruce leaves them both tangled in a net and flees as the cops approach. Zur's like "Good, fuck 'em" in Bruce's head, because the cops will expose Dick, Tim, and Damian's secret identities and Bruce will be free of the dead weight of a family, but the little bit of Bruce still in there throws Dick a batarang so he can free them all in time.

Then Bruce leaves. Damian is devastated.

I WILL NEVER RECOVER FROM THIS PAGE. Damian really thought he could have Bruce's love and loyalty if he turned on everyone else! Tim is going to be a therapy dog to a Wayne even if he has to settle for the one he doesn't like! That unresisting, blank hug made me SCREAM when I turned the page. Incredible. (Also the art fucking S L A P S, god bless you Jorge Jimenez.)

ALSO it turns out that Selina's second in command has been Vandal Savage's daughter Scandal Savage the whole time and they are turning Selina's cat burglar army into their own personal army WHOOPS. (This also feels very OOC for Scandal but at this point I trust Zdarsky with my life so let's see where things go.)

SO THAT'S WHAT'S GOING ON IN GOTHAM WAR. TL;DR:

Bruce is unhinged because he nearly died like 19 times in a week and it unlocked the smaller, meaner purple Batman that lives inside him.

Selina is unaware that you can get money legally.

Tim is going to have a nervous breakdown if he can't fix someone, ANYONE.

Damian needs a hug but ideally from someone he actually likes this time.

Jason is so scared.

THE END.

[cillivnz]

THE OTHER WOMAN [anakin skywalker]

pairing. ANAKIN SKYWALKER x JEDI!READER

trope. unrequited love, ‘the other woman’.

word count. 1.6k

warnings. 18+. f!reader, cursing, virgin!reader, loss of virginity, heavy angst, rough sex, no aftercare, degradation, vaginal fingering, unprotected sex, size kink, tummy bulge, creampies, crying, unrequited pining, clit-play, sadism & masochism, emotionally vulnerable reader and unavailable anakin.

a/n. personal experiences inspired this. could possibly be the prologue to a series, depends on reception. single quotes ‘’ indicate telepathic communication. descriptions are not intended to offend, just to depict a state of vulnerability.

“HIT ME!” MOANED THE MASOCHIST, “NO,” SNEERED THE SADIST.

Love’s a silly little thing that’s made Saints do questionable things, so how were you expected to be any different as a Jedi with tainted ethics? Except, the sole purpose of being one— a Jedi, is to be damn near a Saint. Well, you’re near one, now.

With your face buried in his sheets, and his cock buried inside you.

“Ani— fuck,” you sighed in fulfilment.

this was home, homely; beneath him every night after a long day of you awaiting the sight of him in the Temple, and for him, distracting himself by killing all evil and bottling up all thoughts of his lost love.

“How many fucking times have I told you not to call me that?” You flinched at the smack landing on your ass cheek. The hopes of him rubbing the supple flesh to soothe the pain went in vain.

The sole reason for the success of your “relationship” or even why Anakin agreed to your pathetic advances in the first place was because you were symbiotic, yin and yang of a very wicked balance.

HE LIKED INFLICTING PAIN, YOU LIKED BEING INFLICTED UPON.

When Padmé Amidala left the Coruscant for Naboo, abandoning her Ani with a broken heart, you volunteered to pick the pieces.

“ANAKIN, TALK TO ME,” you urged, clutching onto his onyx Jedi robes. His jaw clenched, an eyebrow irking at your audacious hand placement.

“Leave me alone,” he pushed himself away from you, but you were adamant as ever.

“It’s her, isn’t it?” Your gut churned out a warning, intituition telling you you’re digging a hole that’s bound to be deeper than the bond you’ve formed with Anakin Skywalker over the decade of knowing him— from Slave to Saviour of the galaxies.

His head whipped towards you, his broad back tensing as he turned threateningly slowly towards you.

“I can,” you were unsure of what you were going to propose— hell, you were unsure of what you were even going to say.

‘I can make you forget her.’

He sneered, you squirmed.

“I’d love to see you try, sweetheart.”

First pet name Anakin Skywalker learned to use, coincidentally, too, for you. He had heard a sleazy man on Tattooine say it to his mother. For the longest time, he had thought of it to be vulgarity, until little Skywalker used it for you in front of Obi-wan and was quick to learn that it expresses endearment, not disdain.

After ten years he calls you ‘sweetheart’, and you knew better than to blush over it, but you were flushed, anyway.

You strip yourself bare; physically and egotistically. You lay yourself bare for your first love to unravel, even if there wasn’t much to remove physically; you were laying your soul bare to him, for him.

Mere virgin, inexperienced and shielded. Jaded just from communicating with two-timers, but so, so willing to bend over backwards and break your back for Anakin Skywalker’s mercurial self and pretty face.

While he sees your naked flesh on display for him, you see the first emotion on Anakin’s face that was not indignation towards you. Desire. He desired you, but the speed at which he masked his emotions proved to you that it wasn’t half of what he felt for her.

“You have no idea what you’re setting yourself up for.” He grabbed your chin with his metallic arm, one you’ve admired for the valour that gave it to him and one you’ve shamelessly fantasised about.

One snap was all it would’ve taken for him to break you in half with that faux robotic limb, but Anakin wouldn’t do that. Not just yet.

“What makes you think you can compare to her?”

“She is the kindest, strongest, most generous and most beautiful woman in the galaxy. What makes you think you can compare?”

What really makes you think you can compare?

You’ve been selfish, cursing the entirety of their relationship, which was as one-sided as your love for him.

You’ve been impatient, reckless and impulsive, and it’s evident in your performance as a Jedi.

You can’t even fulfil your sole purpose because, by Maker, he’s clouded your mind with himself and left little room for rationality.

‘I can try,’ you think, and of course he’d read it. ‘To fill the void.’

‘Let me in, please.’

‘Please let me try.’

“Bend over, ass up, face down.”

That’s how you two started, and how you persist.

He insists on fucking you in the same position, same force and speed of his thrusts, every night.

You know better than to ask for more. Maker’s giving you more than you deserve, isn’t it? Gratitude has been a virtue of yours, so you stick to it.

Even if there are days when he doesn’t show up to your room, knock curtly thrice before barging in to find you stripped and on your knees for him, you still love him.

He’s forgiven, he’ll always be.

You take those days to forget him, to jump down the Tower instead of climbing further up the spiralling stairs of a love doomed before it blossomed.

Anakin Skywalker only brings despair with him, a fact even the Order knows now.

“An-ah!—Anakin, slow down!” You squealed, his thrusts never faltering.

He was taking out his frustration for the Maces of the Order onto you.

“Shut up and take it,” he grunted, going faster.

You were crying, a mere mess in his bed.

The tip of his cock was assaulting your g-spot, and it felt like a punch to the gut.

You felt him there, too, snaking a hand down to your tummy to feel the bulge of him going in and out of your tight channel.

He rubbed your clit vigorously; the swollen bundle of nerves had been begging for his attention, which, his balls slapping against it was sufficing, but the extra heed paid had you writhing in overstimulation.

You were sobbing, softly, but loud enough for him to hear over the sound of skin-on-skin slapping and his own haggard breath.

He pulled out, making you clench around just his tip. It was like your body was trying to keep him in.

“Can’t have me stay and can’t have me go,” he said under his breath. He spread your cunt with his hands, watching your abused hole leak your juices.

He eyed you for several moments, making you self-conscious as jolt away from him. He only spreads you further apart to spit into your hole.

Your body jerked away from him, but his metallic fingers were faster in being shoved inside of you.

The cold metal felt like ice to your hot insides, the juxtaposition of a sensation sending a shiver down your arched spine.

“Oh, you like this?” His human hand cupped your mound. “Is cock too much for your little pussy to handle?” He mocked, but you sensed a tinge of amusement underlying his tone.

“You have one purpose, and you fail to meet it.” He pulled out his fingers, causing your head to snap back to look at him.

You see him seated on the bed, leisurely stroking his cock as if he has all the time in the world, no necessity for release while you ached to come undone.

‘I’ve given you more than she has.’

Anakin’s cock may be the biggest in this galaxy, but your pride’s bigger in every other.

His jaw clenched, but his cock twitched.

With one swift leap, he was on top of you— the predator atop his prey— pounced and ready to penetrate— eat you alive.

“Not a word out of you, y’hear?”

“Not. One. Word.”

He aligned the tip of his member with your tight entrance and forced his way in, fucking you dumb with merciless thrusts, just the way you wanted.

You were drooling, panting, screaming, moaning, crying, all while Anakin drove his hips into yours wordlessly.

The silence was eerie and scary, not even a grunt was sounded, and how you yearned to hear his groans of pleasure, knowing they were for you.

He then moaned, once again reading your mind with that impeccable bond of Force that Maker’s aligned your souls with, but your heart nearly dropped to your cunt when he said,

“Padmé, fuck.”

You clenched out of instinct, spinal cord taking over all senses while your brain was too weak, too fucked to react.

A normal person with self-respect would ask him to get the fuck out and never, ever come see you again, but you had ego, not the former, and the difference between the two is what’s allowing you to let him finish and go, like every other night, like a part of you would normalise this foreplay as long as you feel his touch— feel wanted by him.

When his seed tainted your walls once more, you sighed in relief. You couldn’t bear to look at him with tearful eyes.

You hear him shuffle into his robes, then silence, yet his presence was still felt.

You hear the doorknob twist, so you turn around to lie on your back, not expecting a lurking Anakin lingering by the doorframe. You peer at him through wet lashes, doe-eyes reduced to slits while you reciprocated the venom exuding out of Anakin for the first time towards him, clenching your jaw. Your chest huffed with forced respiration, drawing Anakin’s attention to your breasts.

It was then he used the force not to hear the string of curses flowing through your mind for him, but to talk to you, for the first time.

And for the first time he ever said,

‘If I didn’t like you, I wouldn’t come to you.’

“Like” isn’t “love”,

But it is something—

‘—But you mean nothing to me, so your love is useless.’

‘And I won’t always be around as the other woman,’ you were going to go berserk.

But which one of you was lying, sneering sadist or moaning masochist?

main masterlist. more of Anakin. blog directory.

[hlficlibrary]

✤ Omegaverse Fics ✤

A series of posts with the top five fics of each category by kudos plus five more hidden gems from that category! Remember to leave kudos and a comment on the fics you enjoyed to show your appreciation! You can find the library's other recs here.

- Top 5 H/L Fics -

1️⃣ Cold Little Heart by seducedbycurls {T, 194k}

Louis is a soft omega with an abusive past and an alpha child A few months after getting a divorce, Louis meets Harry, an ex-military alpha wolf that offers him something -odd.

In exchange for teaching him how to cook, Harry will babysit his son, Abraham Louis really could use the help

2️⃣ Swim In The Smoke by whoknows {E, 101k}

“What about this, Captain?” Liam asks, nudging the boy kneeling between their feet with the toe of his boot. The boy hisses and swipes at him, slurring out something unintelligible around the makeshift gag Niall had to stuff in his mouth. He misses by a mile and tries again, just as ineffectively.

Harry looks down at him, at the way the sun streams over his face and shoulders, at the way the gag stretches his mouth, lips pink and chapped. He’s lithe and pretty, smudged all over with dirt. They had found him tied up below deck, mostly unconscious, next to a barrel full of gold. He’s clearly a prisoner, but there’s something familiar about him, something that niggles at Harry’s brain. Something he can’t quite put his finger on.

“Put him in my cabin,” Harry decides, turning back to deal with the rest of the loot. The boys screams out jumbled curse words at Harry’s back, muffled by the gag, and Harry can’t understand any of it.

3️⃣ With love comes strange currencies by mediaville {E, 16k}

One day One Direction will be over and Louis won't be around Harry every waking moment. He'll be able to finally get some space, let their bond dissipate as it's bound to do, if they don't mess up again. He can move to Costa Rica and forget that Harry Styles popped his first knot inside him. Until then, he's going to have to deal with this.

or, They're Accidentally Mated and Dealing With It Rather Badly.

4️⃣ You Smell Like by mystic_believexx {M, 185k}

For her part, Jay took everything in her stride, barely batting an eyelid when Louis came into the kitchen the night Harry left and said, “I seem to have accidentally become the pack’s Alpha”. 

Ever since Harry left town, Louis’ found himself with the role of pack Alpha, despite being human. So he can’t wait to hand over the reins when Harry returns. Except, it’s not quite that simple…

OR The one where Louis is the Alpha’s mate and everyone is aware of it except for Louis and Harry. Go figure!

5️⃣ Queen of Arizella by seducedbycurls {M, 277k}

Stealing from Royalty is punishable by death.

Louis starts over, doing his best to keep his hands at his sides but he is hungry and he tries stealing from the wrong Royal.

Harry is King of Arizella, he needs a Queen and who better than an omega on the run from death? Louis will learn to become the perfect Queen -the perfect fake Queen, but only for a few months.

A fake lover, a fake Queen, but a real bond.

HIDDEN GEMS:

💎 Love After the End of the World by @mercurial-madhouse {E, 162k}

“Wait. Just so I’m clear in me fucking noggin,” Niall says. “An international worldwide takeover is well under way and the only thing standing between having hot showers and a second end of the world is us five fuckers?” 

Society shattered when all electricity suddenly cut off across the globe, plunging the world into darkness. Now, Prometheus Industries is the sole remaining supply of power, a saving grace to those who survived Lights Out. As fugitives in no-man’s land struggling to break into Prometheus HQ, death lurks around every corner for Louis and Zayn. Things get complicated when a routine recon falls apart and Louis collides with Harry and his mates Niall and Liam, survivors with their own agenda.

When staying alive is already a constant battle, the deadliest weakness is to be in love. For Harry and Louis, finding each other sits on top of the endless list of What Else Could Go Wrong.

💎 Unveiled by @phdmama {M, 65k}

The train grinds to a halt and Harry leans forward in his eagerness to take it all in. It’s a gorgeous Spring day, the sky the same intense blue that he knows from home, which comforts him. There’s much here that looks almost familiar, but then so much that is new and strange to his eyes. The bustling station platform and winding streets beyond paved in cobblestones look much like home. There are vehicles ranging from small to very large, some with strange and unusual shapes of which he can only guess the purpose. But most surprising are the people. There is a crowd gathered, filled with men and women, some in what looks to be a military uniform, some in what must be the street clothes in this Land.

There are no robes. And not a single one of them is veiled.

💎 dip you in honey by delsicle / @eeveedel {E, 28k}

Princess Harry, the pearl of England, is set to be married to the youngest prince of France in just six months. Anxious about his performance on his wedding night, he enlists the help of his loyal handmaiden Louis to help him practice everything he needs to know

Omega/Omega AU

💎 I'm Weaker Without You by The_Halcyonic_Lachesist / @chai-hat-tea {T, 20k}

Alpha Lord Louis Tomlinson is a rake who refuses to settle down. Will he settle down for the Society's most talked about Omega? What about the enticing scent that belongs to the Beta? How will he react to said Beta pursuing the Omega too?

💎 Where I'm Meant To Be by Halos_Boat / @halohamilton {E, 6k}

Harry and Louis have been sleeping together casually for a while. As two Alphas they never wanted to define it as anything more.

When Louis helps Harry out with his rut so he can get it done in time for his exam, they're forced to face feelings they were harbouring for a while.

[pub-lius]

WAKE UP ITS HAMILTON TIME (hamilton pt 1)

everyone thank richard for getting me to put all my knowledge about alexander hamilton in one place. if you're at all new or confused, @thereallvrb0y once asked me 3 years ago to tell him everything about every historical figure i can, and since then i have been doing that. now we are onto the last one on the list he gave me, and studying hamilton is literally my life's work, so here it is. on tumblr.com. for free.

my sources for this are Ron Chernow and Hamilton himself and a strange amalgamation of knowledge from different museums, documentaries, interviews with historians, and other otherwise publicly accessible knowledge that i have compiled into the vast library inside my mind! you can find my notes in the link in my pinned post. let's go (this historical research is sponsored by the ghost of freddie mercury and my aunt who made me a whole pot of coffee)

Background Information

Ron Chernow loves to talk about how the island of St. Kitts and Nevis was formed, but that's not fucking important. What's important about Hamilton's birthplace is that it was positioned in the Caribbean in such a way that made it a very easily accessible port, however the coastline was pretty smooth which made it generally unideal for mooring ships.

Source: The St. Kitts' Scenic Railway; Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the US Navy by Ian W. Toll, p. 112 ("Basseterre Roads was not a good natural harbor. It was little more than a dent in the otherwise smooth coastline that ran along the western side of the island. There was no pier- visitors were obliged to run their boats directly onto the beach, sometimes surfing in on waves that broke heavily as they reached the shore.")

Now, notice that St. Kitts and Nevis is, in geographic terms, to the right-ish of the Caribbean. That means when you're coming from Jolly Ole England, you might make a pit stop in St. Kitts and Nevis. So if you ignore the fact that the island has no natural harbor (at least not a good one), it might be a good economic prospect for a young merchant, right?

Well, not if that merchant is James Hamilton, because he was an idiot. And I say that lovingly, or at least more lovingly than Ron Chernow did. Ron Chernow also emphasized that St. Kitts and Nevis was filled with the 18th century version of Shameless, and also Jewish people. Ron Chernow might not hate Jewish people, but he does hate the character archetypes in Shameless. In Shameless terms, James Hamilton was like Frank Gallagher.

Disclaimer: knowledge of Shameless is not necessary to understand that being compared to a guy named Frank is not a good thing

I've already made posts about Hamilton's parents and brother (here, if you'd like to read that ig. weirdo), but I want to talk about the things that Hamilton would have learned from his parents. Later in life, Hamilton vaguely alluded to his father's failings in business being due to an excessive amount of generosity and not really understanding where he should and shouldn't spend his money. This did not by any means make Hamilton stingy with his money, or even smart, for that matter, but it did make him want to be something specific: independent.

James Hamilton's tragic flaw was his dependence on other people, whether it was his older brother or Rachel Faucette or his business partners, etc. Due to the position and order in which he was born, James was never destined to be a leader. He wasn't exceptional academically like other non-first-born-sons, such as James Madison, or dispositionally inclined to organize and inspire, like George Washington. He was just a dude, and he was a dude who was not built for 18th century society, especially not in the Caribbean. From what we can tell, James Hamilton was a gullible, moderately intelligent man with symptoms of autism and non-descript mental health issues. He was basically fucked from the get-go.

Source: Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow (p. 12-16); Papers of Alexander Hamilton, vol. 25, p. 89, letter to William Jackson, August 26, 1800 ("In a capacity of a merchant he went to St. Kitts, where from too generous and too easy a temper he failed in business and at length fell into indigent circumstances.")

Rachel Faucette was like James Hamilton's polar opposite. She was forced to learn how to provide for herself, not being able to rely on anyone, because that could be ripped out from under her feet at any moment, and the only thing concrete in her life was herself. She was a woman, and that was what most women had to learn at some point.

Rachel was also perfectly poised to be the clear moral guide for young Hamilton. When James Hamilton left, he basically sacrificed any reverence his son might have for him, and instituted Rachel as Hamilton's sole role model for his developmental years and i just burned the shit out of my hand with coffee.

Disclaimer: James Hamilton had nothing to do with me burning the shit out of my hand with coffee, I promise. You can't blame all your problems on deadbeat dads

If you're a Sigmund Freud fan, (good opener, I know), you're aware of the Oedipus Complex, and that's not exactly what I'm talking about, but yk. look it up. This theory proposed by Freud was only partially rejected by the psychological field (due to the fact that not everything is about wanting to fuck your mom and kill your dad, and also that's not the story of Oedipus Rex like. at all??), but the part that still rang true was that children do have a unique attachment to the opposite sex parent.

Psychological studies show that children tend to describe their opposite sex parents more favorably than same sex parents. Why? I don't know, I'm not a psychologist, I'm an 18 year old who drinks coffee like he was 5 kids to raise.

Source: "The Relation between Attachment to Opposite Sex Parents and Attachment to Romantic Partners" by Gary L. Grogan and Dr. Mary E. Pritchard, p. 10 ("However, most significant for the present inquiry were the findings that respondents described their opposite sex parents more favorably, and same sex parents more critically.")

This statistic is visible in Hamilton's descriptions of his parents, and must have been enhanced by James Hamilton's early departure in his son's life, the consequences from that which seemed constant, but also by the reputation his father had built on the island he left Hamilton on. Hamilton would grow up to see his mother not only providing for herself and her children, but also overcoming the consequences of James' actions, which provoked resentment towards his father, and admiration towards his mother. This will develop as a theme throughout his life, but we'll touch on that as he grows up. He isn't even born yet! So let's get on to that.

Source: so when I say Hamilton's description of his mother, I really mean HIS son's, but JCH most likely got this description from his father, Life of Alexander Hamilton by John Church Hamilton, vol. 1, pg. 42 ("...a woman of superior intellect, elevated sentiment, and unusual grace of person and manner. To her he was indebted for his genius."); for the sake of my reliability and reputation, I'll include JCH's description of his grandfather for comparison, Intimate Life of Alexander Hamilton by John Church Hamilton, p. 13 ("Hamilton's father does not appear to have been successful in any pursuit, but in many ways was a great deal of a dreamer, and something of a student, whose chief happiness seemed to be in the society of his beautiful and talented wife, who was in every way intellectually his superior.")

Early Life

Alexander Hamilton was born ginger on January 11, 1755, and I don't entertain the argument that he was born in 1757 because I'm not an anarchist and I believe society has laws (I'm actually lying, I'll talk about the birth year debate in the college section). Hamilton was not, however, born black or Jewish. He was also, potentially, born not James Hamilton's son.

"Wh- WHAT?! *cries*" I hear you say, and I know, it's shocking information, but yes. First off, Hamilton was not black in any percentage more than the Pillsbury dough boy is black. This theory comes from the fact that Rachel Faucette was a lower class woman and therefore we have no proof that she WASN'T partially black. I don't even have to dispute that for anyone with a gram of critical thinking skills to see that that isn't a valid historical hypothesis.

The Jewish thing has a little more merit to it, and there's a whole book about it that I haven't read. There is some evidence to suggest that Rachel Faucette's ex husband, Johann Lavien, could have been a secret Jewish person, and possibly caused Rachel herself to convert, and she tried to pass on that to Hamilton by having a Jewish woman educate him when he was a toddler (that last part is a true fact, and is the earliest piece of information we have about Hamilton's education). If this is true, (and it's nearly impossible to prove true or false because well if Lavien was a secret Jew, it was a secret), it did not impact Hamilton's religious beliefs in any way, and he identified as a Christian throughout his entire life.

We'll do a paternity test on Hamilton later, just hang tight. See, this is how I get you, I say something controversial, and then I don't talk about it until 16 paragraphs later.

Source: Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, p. 9 ("A persistent mythology in the Caribbean asserts that Rachel was partly black, making Alexander Hamilton a quadroon or an octoroon. In this obsessively race-conscious society, however, Rachel was invariably listed among the whites on local tax rolls. Her identification as someone of mixed race has no basis in verifiable fact. (See pages 734-35 [this is in Chernow's Acknowledgments, and he just talks about how he used a paper trail to come to this conclusion, and thought genetic research would only confuse the evidence. He also discusses that there is a small chance that Hamilton fathered a black child named William Hamilton, but I can go ahead and tell you that's false due to the fact that Hamilton had just arrived in America when William was born -HWS]) The folklore that Hamilton was mulatto probably arose from the incontestable truth that many, if not most, illegitimate children in the West Indies bore mixed blood."); Life of Alexander Hamilton by John Church Hamilton, vol. 1, p. 42 ("...rarely as he alluded to his personal history, he mentioned with a smile his having been taught to repeat the Decalogue in Hebrew, at the school of a Jewess, when so small that he was placed standing by her side upon a table); Ibid., vol. 7, p. 710-11; Papers of Alexander Hamilton, vol. 26, p. 774, "Comments on Jews"

Hamilton's education began with his mother, who is almost definitely the person who made him fluent in French by the time he came to America. Despite limited access to books (34 books in both French and English to be specific), Hamilton still studied everything he could from a young age, with an early love for learning new things and proving that he was smarter than you. However, most of his education was in the School of Hard Knocks Community College, which was amply provided by the environment around him.

In the height of the British Empire, the Caribbean was essentially a social prison for anyone who broke the moral laws of the colonial, Eurocentric society of the time. This included pirates, prostitutes, drunks, thieves, and basically anyone who didn't fit the mold for a member of high society and/or someone who could serve high society and their lives of luxury. Hamilton, by birth, was one of these people.

Hamilton's father moved the family to St. Croix right before he left, which was a dramatic shift from Hamilton's life on St. Kitts and Nevis. In St. Croix, everyone knew Hamilton's mother as the disgraced ex-wife of Johann Lavien, and therefore knew her two sons as "whore-children", which was a word usually given to illegitimate children. Here, Hamilton was roped in with the degenerates of society, and it was practically said directly to him that he was destined to be unholy, unclean, worthless, and disgusting. Could you believe that this would have an impact on his mental health?

Along with seeing the poor lifestyles of the inhabitants of the Caribbean, Hamilton also saw glimpses into a very different world: ~rich people~. There were few rich white people on the islands, and they owned vast amounts of enslaved people, with the black to white ratio being 8:1 in the Caribbean. These enslaved people were forced to live in horrible conditions, and Hamilton saw it everywhere- his mother owned three people, but they were often rented out to garner profit for the white family, rather than working a plantation as others in the Caribbean did. Violence towards enslaved black people was only part of the violence young Hamilton witnessed in the Caribbean, some of which came in the form of dueling *insert ominous music*

Source: Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, p. 18 ("To the extent that dueling later entranced Hamilton to an unhealthy degree, this fascination may have originated in the most fabled event in Nevis in the 1750s [a duel between two men where one of them was killed"); Ibid., p. 19; Ibid., p. 23-24

James Hamilton abandoned the family in 1765, and the reasons he did so are debated, but most likely are due to debt. However, there's another possibility that I've alluded to before: Hamilton's paternity.

So, remember, Rachel Faucette is not a perfect angel, and she also didn't particularly care for matrimony. There is a chance that she was with other men besides Hamilton and Lavien, and though we have no evidence that she was, there is an interesting character I'd like to throw into the mix.

Thomas Stevens, a moderately rich guy, was a merchant who lived on King Street in Charleston, St. Croix, with his wife Ann and his son Edward, who was born a year before Alexander Hamilton. Thomas Stevens was a very generous guy, and Edward Stevens would later be lifelong friends with Alexander Hamilton. And uh. They looked almost exactly the same. I really wish we had a portrait of Edward Stevens, but according to literally everyone, it was hard to tell the difference between him and Hamilton. Now, statistically, we all have some kind of doppelganger out there, but like what are the chances that they grew up down the street from each other and their parents had suspiciously close connections? Now, I'm not saying that Hamilton should have been Alexander Stevens, I think that's pretty irrelevant, but it is possible that Thomas Stevens... you... ARE THE FATHER!!!

Source: Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, p. 27-28 ("Nevertheless, in the absence of direct proof, the notion that Alexander was the biological son of Thomas Stevens instead of James Hamilton would clarify many oddities in Hamilton's biography.")

The Hamiltons' life post-dad-desertion was actually somewhat comfortable due to Rachel's kickassery. She established a little store for a source of income, relocated a couple times, rented out the enslaved people (as one does, i guess, that's such a wild phrase), and kept a pet goat for milk and cheese and idk soap or whatever else people make with goat milk. Her sons would help out, possibly providing an origin for Hamilton's incessant need to be productive at all times without resting. At times, they were supported by his aunt Ann Lytton Mitchell, who he would remain loyal to until his death. During this time, as he was old enough to understand what his father did, is probably when his fiercely loyal, chivalrous and family-driven attitude developed.

Source: Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, p. 22-23; Ibid., p. 28

I'm so hopped up on caffeine I could do a triathalon.

Hamilton and his mother were both afflicted by a strange and unspecified illness in the winter of 1768. The primary symptom was a severe fever, and they were treated with purgatives, medicinal herbs, and bloodletting. Nothing helped, and Rachel died at 9 pm on February 19. Hamilton miraculously survived.

Immediately, Hamilton and his brother James had everything they owned taken away, indebted by bills charged against them by local debtors. Their half brother inherited whatever else belonged to their mother, which brought up the marital scandal all over again, beginning a legal battle that lasted for around a year. In the end, the two Hamilton brothers were left with two things: jack shit and fuck all.

Custody of the two boys was appointed to their cousin, Peter Lytton. In my notes, I described him as "white trash" and "insane", including the quotes, so idk who said that. Peter Lytton lived with his black mistress and their illegitimate child. He killed himself on July 6, 1769, and what's strange about that is that we don't know if he shot or stabbed himself. I don't know who got confused about the difference between a knife and a gun, but that isn't my problem.

To make a bad situation worse, Peter Lytton didn't leave the boys anything in his will, and neither did his father, who did "his best" to help. His best could have been even just mentioning the name Hamilton in his will, but whatever, I guess.

These events held very important lessons for the young Alexander: 1) nothing lasts forever; 2) everyone dies; 3) the legal system is terrible; 4) rich people hate you; and, most importantly, 5) the only way out was up.

Source: Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, p. 22-27

On His Own

This marked a split between Hamilton and his older brother, but this didn't seem to affect him as much as what happened with his parents- possibly because he wasn't biologically his brother, but I don't really care about that. What's more important is that Hamilton was almost entirely on his own, with inconsistent housing, so he couldn't always rely on the Stevenses. He was in a very similar situation that his mother was in at one time not long ago: alone and self reliant.

Hamilton was already working for the mercantile company, Beekman and Cruger. This company was later renamed, so I'll just say that Hamilton worked for Cruger, who was a business man with ties to New York. Hamilton worked as a clerk at this import-export business, giving him the responsibility to monitor intake and outtake as well as the organization of papers and just generally keeping everything in line. Due to the international relevance that was St. Croix, Hamilton often used French in his business dealings. Here, Hamilton perfected his handwriting into that elegant mess we know and can't read, picked up information on shipping/navigation, and learned his famously proficient math skills, particularly in relation to finance and economics.

Hamilton's famously maniacal work ethic began here, but so did his yearning for military valor. The first piece of personal correspondence we have from Hamilton is a letter to bestie Edward Stevens, and was made very famous from The Musical.

"Im confident, Ned that my Youth excludes me from any hopes of immediate Preferment nor do I desire it, but I mean to prepare the way for futurity. Im no Philosopher you see and may be jusly said to Build Castles in the Air. My Folly makes me ashamd and beg youll Conceal it, yet Neddy we have seen such Schemes successfull when the Projector is Constant I shall Conclude saying I wish there was a War. I am Dr Edward Yours Alex Hamilton (sic)"

Source: Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, p. 29-30; Alexander Hamilton to Edward Stevens, November 11, 1769, St. Croix; Library of Congress, Image 13 of Alexander Hamilton Papers: General Correspondence, 1734-1804; 1734-1772

When Cruger left St. Croix for New York due to medical reasons in 1771, he left 16 year old Alexander Hamilton in charge of his primary source of income. And you're probably thinking that's a stupid idea. Because it is.

BUT ITS ALEXANDER HAMILTON. SO IT WAS FINE??? Well, fine for everyone besides the captain of the HMS Thunderbolt.

The Thunderbolt pulled into St. Croix's busy harbor after crossing the ocean and manned by a veteran captain, however Hamilton was not satisfied with the outfitting of the ship nor the quality of the goods that had been transported.

"Reflect continually on the unfortunate voyage you have just made and endeavor to make up for the considerable loss therefrom accruing to your owners." -Alexander Hamilton to Captain Newton, February 1, 1772

You can really see Hamilton's "I'm better than you and I know it" attitude shining through, made more shocking than ever than the fact that he was SIXTEEN YEARS OLD and talking to a man who was LITERALLY TWICE HIS AGE. The only reason he didn't lose his job over this is because he was right. The mules that had been transported were in such poor health, Hamilton had to pull strings to get them sold, and the wood was too waterlogged to be sold on the open market, so he sold it to a private buyer who was able to find something to do with them. He showed quick thinking, confidence in his abilities, and managerial skills. It was these skills that would later appeal to George Washington, not his financial abilities, and led to his most important appointment.

Source: Papers of Alexander Hamilton, vol. 1, p. 23, letter to Tileman Cruger, February 1, 1772 ("It would be undoubtedly a great pity that such a vessel [the Thunderbolt] should be lost for the want of them [cannons]."); Ibid., p.4, letter to Captain Newton, February 1, 1772; Alexander Hamilton: A Biography by Forrest McDonald, p. 128 ("Taken aback, Washington replied, 'I always knew Colonel Hamilton to be a man of superior talents, but never supposed that he had any knowledge of finance.")

Cruger's firm also engaged in the Atlantic slave trade, as did the majority of trading firms in the Caribbean and the American south. It was this exposure to the abhorrent conditions on slave ships and the violence African people faced in the triangle trade that shaped Hamilton into a vocal opponent of slavery- when it was convenient. More impactful was the fear he developed of slave revolts, as was very common in the Caribbean because of the disproportionate slave to free/black to white ratio in the islands, and this would later define his views on the French Revolution and public protest in general. He and Thomas Jefferson had this in common.

Hamilton continued studying books in his free time, and the local newspaper, the Royal Danish American Gazette, began publishing poems from an anonymous young writer- obviously it was Hamilton. His poems ranged in subjects, and aren't particularly good, but they're better than any poems I've written angrily in my journal about my evil exes, so that is to his credit.

Hamilton's poems took a religious turn, most likely traceable to the arrival of Reverend Hugh Knox, who took in Hamilton as a mentor. Clergymen were a hot commodity in the hell hole that was the Caribbean, and Knox had a lot of work on his hands, but he took a particular interest in Hamilton, specifically in getting him out of the aforementioned hell hole. He saw that Hamilton was incredibly intelligent and hard working, almost to a fault- he was probably the first person who was genuinely concerned for this dude's health over how much he worked.

Fun fact, Knox also had personal ties to the Burr family, but that is literally only a fun fact and not a sign that Burr and Hamilton were star-crossed lovers in fair Verona or whatever Chernow has deluded himself into thinking.

Source: Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, p. 32-33; Ibid., p. 34

Source: National Guard Bureau, "Examining Lessons from Katrina 10 Years Later"

Then, a massive hurricane struck the Caribbean on August 1, 1772. It was incredibly damaging, causing mass destruction in St. Croix, and this is most definitely one that we in the south would evacuate for. Even my dad would evacuate for this one, and it took a lot of convincing to get him to evacuate for Katrina.

In reaction to this event, Hamilton wrote his famous letter to his father detailing and reflecting on the storm. And finally, I'm giving y'all my analysis of this letter that I keep saying I'll do. However, this post is already incredibly long, so I'm going to do it in a google doc and attach it here.

Source: Alexander Hamilton to The Royal Danish American Gazette, September 6, 1772

The letter was published to The Royal Danish American Gazette, which spread around the afflicted community. Knox's congregation gathered money for the anonymous young author (now not very anonymous) to sail to the American mainland for his education. Originally, Hamilton went to study medicine, due to the high demand for doctors in the Caribbean (his knowledge of anatomy would remain helpful throughout his life). However, at some point he decided he would not be going back to the Caribbean, and switched his focus to law, but we'll discuss that more in part two.

Source: Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, p. 37-40

Well, there's part one. I did all of this in one day because um. I don't know, but it is now one in the morning and i have to wake up earlier than normal. so that's fun. i hope y'all enjoyed. shout out to my mom for proofreading half of this, and shout out to my aunt who gave me coffee, that was a horrible idea. i'll be back with part two at some point, which will probably be more concise because hamilton's childhood in the caribbean is where most of the theories are, so yeah. love y'all.

[gpuzzle]

Ramona Flowers Twice Removed

Based off a small discussion with @centrally-unplanned (shoutouts homie)

One of the less obvious things about Scott Pilgrim is the way in which it has an underlying running arc with Ramona that's significantly less explicit than Scott's arc (except in Book 5). Ramona has to confront all of Scott's exes, and how they reflect on her the same way that Scott's exes reflect on him - and that's one of the more clever things that BLOM does in the comics.

The first one is Kim, Scott's High School ex; Kim is in a lot of ways a parallel to Ramona. Scott's pet name for both is very similar (Kimmy, Rammy); both of their last names are largely biological (Pine and Flowers). Ramona's head glows while they're watching the Lucas Lee movie, which in turn mirrors the Scott vs Simon Lee fight and the Knives-Ramona fight smashed together; the Simon Lee fight particularly sticks out as that's when it glows hardest. Scott also obviously lies and about how "he doesn't even remember his high school girlfriend" - and corrects himself to "girlfriends" to make himself look cooler; Ramona's lie comes later, when she's saying she didn't dump him for any cocky pretty boys (Todd). That entire arc gets resolved on the personal level by Scott introducing Ramona to Kim. The resolution between the two is just "hey, he can still hold a friendly relationship with one of his exes", which Ramona is utterly unable to do up until that point.

The next one is Envy, whose parallel to Ramona happens at a number of levels, from the superficial (both share the middle name initial V, but Natalie gets a cool menacing nickname, and Ramona gets to be a motorhome - obviously a sign of Ramona being way less "cool" than Envy) to the obvious (both of them are mercurial people, Envy out of ambition and Ramona as a self-defense mechanism). Ramona has to wrestle the girl that is mentally torturing Scott and who has moved into fully incompatible territory with him; but she also has to be honest to Scott and admit she just dumped Lucas for Todd with zero hesitation. The thing that brings their fight to a halt is the two pseudo-bonding over a terrible ex; and this Hyper-Scott character in Todd - but also in Scott being willing to intervene in Ramona's side during the Ramona vs Natalie fight and make it clear that no, he's not using her as a rebound to get with Natalie.

After that, it's Lisa, and this one is testing Ramona's faith in Scott not to cheat on some random girl he was connections to, and with whom he might have cheated before. Ramona's entire arc is this perpetual fear of Scott cheating on her, and in this arc she does - she makes out with Roxanne off-screen! Ramona is terrified of some influence from the past, however no-strings-attached it is, taking Scott from her, and she's not realizing that - and it's projection from who she is, in a sense.

On volume 5, we finally arrive at Knives and the confrontation that Scott did do the cut-and-run thing, but it was dumping someone else for Ramona, and Ramona now has to deal with the fact that Scott cheated; so it triggers her temptation to get moving again; that "real life is waiting", to quote one of the Twins. That Scott isn't perfect when it comes to that, and that he's going to fuck up - but he's also not better than her, because her two exes here are guys she two-timed. But she can't reconcile that at the present time, so it triggers her defense mechanism - escape.

Volume 6 has Ramona confronting herself entirely off-screen - the last of Scott's exes. And that she too hasn't been perfect; she admits as much, and comes back for herself - and Scott, though she can't fully admit it until she gets The Power of Love. She has to want to change versus the one who sees things going poorly and bails as soon as possible.

I think especially because we don't get to see Ramona through Volume 6 until she comes back, that's not made sufficiently explicit as a running arc. Which is understandable; it's hard to do the Vol. 6 narrative well while also showing what Ramona was up to and making that arc more explicit.

[enby-andi]

I've reblogged a post from a star trek blog and I mentioned this episode of voyager but screw it I wanna talk about this episode because imo it's more fucked up than threshold.

SEASON 5, EPISODE 17: "Course: Oblivion"

The episode starts out really nice!!! There's a wedding going on in the mess hall!!! Tom and B'elanna are getting married!!! Chakotay walks her down the aisle!!! Seven catches the bouquet!!!

After that everything is Same as Always. They are trying something new with the engines. B'elanna is telling Seven what to do while she and Tom are on their honeymoon. She goes to their quarters and IMMEDIATELY gets sick (and not the fanfiction "Congratulations! :)" sick).

Tom finds her and takes her to sickbay. The doctor diagnoses her with cellular degradation due to radiation. The rest of the crew are trying to figure out why. Chakotay and Tuvok are trying to figure out why parts of the ship and replicated food are going bad and immediately disintegrating except for food Neelix has gotten from other stops on the route for the past six months.

And the B'ELANNA FUCKING DIES.

SHE FUCKING DIES WITH TOM CRYING HER NAME AND TELLING THE DOCTOR TO KEEP TRYING AND THE DOCTOR RESIGNEDLY STOPPING REVIVAL ACTIONS.

Tuvok and Chakotay go over all their travel logs and realize something. They go to sickbay where Tom is grieving his FRESHLY DEAD WIFE and tell the Doctor to inject her with a solution.

AND B'ELANNA TURNS INTO A PUDDLE OF MERCURY LOOKING LIQUID.

AS IT TURNS OUT, THIS ENTIRE CREW AND THE VOYAGER SHIP ARE DUPLICATES MADE OF THIS FLUID THAT HAVE ALL THE EXACT SAME MEMORIES AS THE ORIGINALS BUT FORGOT THEY WERE DUPLICATES.

And I'm sure you're asking: Andi, when could this have happened???? It happened in the episode "Demon" ONE WHOLE SEASON AGO IN 4X24. These biomimetic lifeforms (called Silver Blood) from a demon class planet duplicated the entire crew and the ship because they had never encountered human DNA before. Janeway let them because otherwise they couldn't have gotten the dilithium they needed safely.

SO THE ENTIRE CREW AND SHIP ARE DUPLICATES AND ARE SLOWLY DISENTEGRATING AND IT IS HORRIFYING. EVERYONE BEGINS TO LOOK LIKE A CRONENBERG EXTRA. PEOPLE ARE DYING. JC LITERALLY HAVE A MOMENT AND HE FUCKING DIES. JANEWAY GETS THEM OUT OF ONE LAST SPACE CONFRONTATION AND THEN SHE FUCKING DIES IN THE CAPTAIN'S CHAIR. HARRY KIM IS NOW THE CAPTAIN BUT DEAR GOD THE COST AND THE ONLY SENIOR STAFF LEFT ARE SEVEN ANS NEELIX.

After Chakotay dies, Janeway had ordered the crew to try to find the OG Voyager crew so that they can duplicate them again and get a few more months so they can find another demon class planet to survive on. Harry and Seven are pushing the ship to its limits. They can only use impulse, life support, and can barely send out a distress signal. A ship is approaching. Harry braces himself for a confrontation. Something in engineering explodes.

The Ship is the OG Voyager. They got the distress signal. They notice it's gone. They turn on the view screen -

The duplicate Voyager has completely disintegrated into the liquid. The OG Voyager is confused as hell as to what happened here, but make a note of it and move on.

What I found the most fucked up??? After this episode, the viewER HAS NO IDEA IF THE EPISODES BETWEEN "DEMON" AND "C:O" DETAILED THE EVENTS OF THE OG VOYAGER OR THE DUPLICATE ONE. IF IT WAS EVER MADE CLEAR PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I HAVE BEEN HAUNTED BY THIS EPISODE SINCE I WAS IN THE 5TH GRADE AND I NEED CLOSURE!!!!

AND!!!!! IT WAS SO FRUSTRATING BECAUSE THEY GOT SO CLOSE!!!! THEY ALMOST MADE IT!!!! BUT THEY WERE TOO LATE AND DIED!!!! ITS SO FUCKING TRAGIC 😭😭😭😭

[broodwolf221]

been toying more and more with evanuris characterizations. some loose ideas under the cut bc i expect this will get rambly

initial caveat that this is just how i see them and isn't necessarily purely sourced from canon etc etc

mythal (the great protector) - calculating, cunning, observant, patient. she plays the long game as a matter of course. she's also selfish and self-centered given the esteem she's been treated to for so long, and can be somewhat mercurial

elgar'nan (god of vengeance) - brash, demanding, uncompromising, determined. he doesn't stop and doesn't fail - if he does 'fail,' that's just a sign that he needs to keep going until it isn't a failure anymore. easily driven to extremes of emotion, with a volatile temper

falon'din (friend of the dead, the guide) - haughty, persuasive, charismatic. he and dirthamen have a special relationship and awareness of each other, but where dir keeps to himself, falon'din plays the role of elgar'nan's eldest (alongside his twin brother of course) and has the same powerful presence as his father does. he feels like he is the natural successor to elgar'nan's throne, in due time.

dirthamen (keeper of secrets) - reserved, enigmatic, condescending. where falon'din performs his duty as child of elgar'nan and mythal, dir all but abandons his own, throwing himself instead into his studies with an affected disregard for anything beyond them. despite these appearances, he is in fact deeply in touch with the goings-on in arlathan and with the other evanuris and has more than once played a long manipulation, some even unknown to his brother.

andruil (goddess of the hunt) - driven, patient in the hunt and impatient in life, manipulative, jealous. i think with her, exploring the... void? i can never remember, anyway it fucked her up, made her more paranoid and selfish, made it so that she felt like she had to control everything to be safe and remain in power. i think prior to that she was still selfish and entitled, but also more sincere in her desire to protect her family and improve her skills

sylaise (the hearthkeeper) - detached, contemplative, observant, meticulous, reserved. i think she's associated with the vallaslin and its application, and i tend to see her as being somewhat withdrawn from the other evanuris, with the possible exception of june (her husband and/or brother - orrrrr maybe both. i could see the evanuris being... like that. keeping the bloodlines 'pure' and all that)

june (god of the craft) - obsessive, single-minded, distant, blunt. i see june as being so deep in the things he does, the things he makes, that he can't - or won't - see anything beyond his workshop. while largely just who he is, i think it's also something of a way of coping with the constant pressure, fear, and uncertainty that exists at all times within the evanuris as they seek their own ends.

ghilan'nain (mother of the halla) - wary, meek, passionate, compassionate. i think ghilan'nain is the least like the other evanuris, because i tend to see her as being something else entirely before she was inducted into their ranks - which i tend to use the (now abandoned) ttrpg canon of her and andruil getting together as the inciting factor for her inclusion into their fold. but she feels like that invitation can be revoked at any time and does her best to not make waves despite having strong feelings about what's going on in arlathan and a different pov (perhaps a hunter before she was an evanuris, or perhaps even a slave?)

[teecupangel]

from @fanworldbuildingfun:

A not so small, early Monday thing

Apparently, you can survive the Gallows. It wasn’t even that odd a thing. It was just not normally spoken of, for various reasons ranging from legal (no idea how to treat person), to political (fear of punishment no longer being a deterrent)

This, I propose: Desmond ends up in Firenze, but too late to stop the Auditore execution. Just after the scirmish Ezio started in fact. Auditore were already being taken down, in all the mess that resulted, and normally that would have been it, as far as Desmond knew

Except… They still glowed important-golden in his vision. Now, it can be all of them or, as I was initially mulling over, only Petruccio. So Desmond steals him away, and has to quickly find a place where they would be safe l, while the guards are in high alert. This means, he can’t reunite Petruccio with his family at once

As a result, Desmond also misses the window of opportunity to get himself and Petruccio out of Firenze. Which turns out a good thing, as not only Petruccio’s recovery has been slow, but was followed by a bout of sickness. Petruccio simply didn’t have a strong immune system, and the stress of Gallows made that even worse

So Desmond was stuck taking care of him. More, perhaps, than he would have otherwise - as he did not have a constant, reliable access to a medic. Which, at one point he deemed a good thing - after the one he consulted recommended a healing that, even to Desmond’s not-medic, basic knowledge, was Bad (think lead or mercury, or even bloodletting)

It takes time. But Petruccio gets better. Better than Desmond ever remembered seeing him, in fact (and doesn’t matter if it’s due to modern-ish treatments, or Isu bull). That, and the kid turned out to be fun to be around. Smart. Inquisitive sometimes, perhaps, too much so. Or may e Desmond just wanted someone to share the things he learned with

By the time they manage to leave Firenze safely, though, the main line if ACII is almost over

In fact… Desmond brings Petruccio to Monteriggioni just after Ezio finished collecting the feathers

…and not long after Ezio has heard Minerva’s message in Rome

teecup Additions:

We never did find out what was Petruccio’s illness but I always headcanon’ed it as something like a compromised immune system because of how he’s described to be ‘bedridden’ a lot but we do see him leave the house before.

Desmond could just go ‘fuck it’ and start giving Petruccio healthy food and boiled plants with medicinal properties and it would start to work because what Petruccio was lacking was the vitamins to help boost his immune system. Desmond has no idea what was working and he’s just gonna chalk it up to clean water and clean food. XD

Oh man, the reunion would be awkward as hell too. Like, the Auditores would be so happy to see Petruccio but they would definitely be sus of Desmond.

Not to mention, Desmond would realize what was going to happen next because Ezio knows who he is and he’s still wearing Altaïr’s Armor and that means Cesare will be attacking them soon.

So Monteriggioni will be saved by Desmond’s warning and Mario wouldn’t die.

But this would complicate things even further because now everyone thinks either Desmond is a spy or he had inside information about the Borgias which makes him dangerous.

Except Ezio who believes that Minerva’s words were meant for Desmond and, if Desmond was here, this meant that Desmond was some kind of divine being meant to save the world.

(Cue Ezio starting a Desmond worshipping cult with Petruccio as his co-founder? XD)

[pegasister60]

NO. 16 NO WAY OUT

Mind Control | Paralytic Drugs | "No one's coming."

--

Billy's still in there. They've taken control of his body and thus his powers but he's not brainwashed. He knows right from wrong, he doesn’t want to do any of this. He just can’t move.

--

You feel like screaming.

You were so close, so fucking close, to breaking that dumb sorcerer of the week’s staff. 

If you’d managed to snag it you could’ve snapped it over your knee, charred the remains into some unrecognizable crisps, and then hit the guy through a wall and called it a day.

Instead, you’ve been crammed further into your own headspace than you’ve ever been in your life and you’re currently rushing back to front while your body probably moves without you. Which, y’know, wouldn’t normally be at all alarming—Marvel and Mercury take point by themselves in a number of do or die situations and you are comfortable with that—if it weren’t for the fact that the person moving you is about to make you kill your coworkers.

So, yeah, internal screaming is appropriate here.

You feel Solomon pull you to the front and it saves you from getting lost on your way back. You nearly slam into the controls but manage to keep from hitting them hip first.

You’re a little surprised Marvel isn’t here but it makes sense. You were both fronting when the spell made contact so it stands to reason you both got tossed to the back. Solomon can bring him to front, you’ve got to rip this fucker a new one.

Except you can’t.

Nothing’s working. You can’t move, you can’t speak, you’re not even sure the body’s breathing. The degree of control the spell has over you is fucking alarming and were it not for Achilles showing up to do his job you’d probably get pulled from front until you calm down.

There’s a bright side to this situation: the sorcerer probably can’t read your mind and thus has no idea that you’re about to conspire against him with your headmates instead of blindly following along. So you have privacy to think of a way out of this while Marvel appears beside you to keep an eye on the situation outside.

So, the facts.

Your body isn’t responding to attempts to front from you or Marvel at all. You don’t normally think about what it feels like to move an arm but having nothing happen at all is a deeply unsettling feeling. You feel Achilles brush that aside for you and focus on other aspects of your situation.

You call for the slightest bit of lightning and none crackles from your fingertips despite Zeus’ efforts. That’s a bummer because your body is currently being made to carry the sorcerer a state over and it’d be cool if you could shock him into dropping his staff or something. But that’s a no-go.

The guy can clearly make use of your blessings given that flight and the Speed of Mercury are active. Mercury himself is none too pleased about this and is swearing up a storm of curses in the corner. This is not reassuring.

Solomon reminds you that the League may not be a match for Captain Marvel but they’re certainly enough to handle the sorcerer. And with that there’s the start of a plan.

Marvel is still trying to use the controls and you just let him. Achilles will step in if he gets any more distraught about this and you’d gladly settle for the Courage of Billy Batson if Marvel needs the blessing more.

Instead, you focus on the outside. 

Of course this guy made you fly straight to Metropolis. He wants you to take out Superman before any back-up can come and then annihilate the back-up. You want to tell him to fucking shove it, but instead your arms set him down on a rooftop and you’re scanning the sky.

You reach forward in the hope that maybe now that you’re further from the staff that you can do something. No dice.

Instead, you feel a stab of helplessness that Achilles can’t touch as Superman comes in sight.

It���s an immediate shift. The air crackles with magic that should be yours alone and in a delayed reaction you are filled with rage. How fucking dare this guy do this to you, to Captain Marvel. The fucking audacity to think he can disrupt your headspace like this and keep his knees.

“When this starts working again I’m going to beat him into the ground.” You look at the room’s other occupants. “And you’re all going to let me.”

It’s not even a demand. It's a fact. This sorcerer’s a dead man walking.

Hercules claps a hand on your shoulder.

He moves back from where you hadn’t even noticed him trying to fight off the control. He can’t do it, it’s not control of the mind or of emotions. That guy is out there puppeting your body and powers only in such an infuriating loophole. But at least your head’s clear again. You’ll revisit your homicidal rage later.

Oh, wow, you didn’t even realize the body’s been fighting Superman for a hot second. Stuff is on fire and everything.

The other thing you can be grateful for is that the sorcerer clearly doesn’t know your real strengths. 

Yeah, he’s making the body sling the Power of Zeus’ lightning at Superman and that’s gotta hurt, but he’s not using it to power up the Strength of Hercules. 

The Speed of Mercury could definitely be stacked on both of them to make a flurry of devastating blows that would put Supes in the infirmary for days. Instead it’s just being used to make the body zip around and dodge blows.

And since the guy can’t read your mind, he can’t access the Wisdom of Solomon. Small mercies.

You’re not paying super close attention to the fight itself anymore—it’s too crowded in front now for you to see—and are instead hanging back with Solomon as you try to find flaws in the plan. Well, besides the glaring one.

You really, really don’t like this plan. It feels like it should be a last ditch effort, but with every grunt of pain you hear from Superman it feels more and more like your only option.

So much of it is just sitting around and waiting. Hoping that your teammates can get you the opening you need.

Because they’re here now. You’re in front again now that everyone else has stepped back to let you see. The Justice League is on the scene and the fight’s moved to the ground, which is great for the plan.

You can only catch glimpses of your teammates but it seems like they’ve engaged the sorcerer. They have correctly identified his bullshit staff as the source of the problem. Solomon offers to tell you its name but you don’t care.

Civilians must have been cleared out of the area and/or fled because now Flash has joined the fight. This is also good for the plan.

You just need two seconds.

You hate this plan, actually. It’d terrify you if Achilles wasn’t right behind you and if Marvel wasn’t right beside you. 

Solomon says it’s the best option. Marvel says it’ll be okay. Achilles tells you to be brave.

So, when the staff gets knocked out of the sorcerer’s hands, you don’t hesitate. You lunge forward for the controls and fight through the lingering stiffness to say the name.

“Shazam!”

Relief floods you as the lightning strikes and reverts you to your small form. You’ve never been more happy to be small and frail and malnourished than when you feel the spell take hold again.

You don’t even care that that asshole just made your small form break its good hand trying to punch the Man of Steel, though Atlas is certainly feeling it. You’re laughing and it’s edging towards sounding hysterical.

It’s a pyrrhic victory that feels more like a loss when you watch Superman process what just happened. What it means.

Achilles grips your shoulder tightly to keep you from freaking out at the look of absolute rage on Superman’s face. Supes turns that gaze on someone you can’t see behind you and walks right past your small form’s attempts to harm him.

Damn, the sorcerer might not even have knees by the time you get your turn.

--

Whumptober: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, ALT 12, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, ALT 1, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31.

[sparklecryptid]

Because I'm in the mood for angst at the moment - well, I suppose I should preface this by saying that I generally like Regis? It's just - sometimes, it's just *so satisfying* to /blast/ the occasional character. (Usually those in some position of authority.) So - remember the Regis-Kills-Ace-Before-Ace-Is-Implausibly-Resurrected scenario? Imagine if that happened in All The Bastards (1/2)

(2/2) None of the Bastards will ever forget this. Or ever trust Regis

-

It takes a second for Ardor to realize what has happened. In the second it takes him to realize that there is a hole where Ace’s presence in his magic once sat like a gathering storm Jules eyes have widened to saucers behind her thick glasses.

“No,” she says and it’s desperate and pleading and she looks at Ardor for assurance when Ardor has none. He’s frozen and curling his magic inward to look for any sign that Ace is still there. Any sign that his brother is being cruel and not dead. “No. No! Where did Ace go? Ardor - Ardor please where is he? Why can’t I feel him anymore? What happened to our brother?”

Her voice break at the end and Ardor can do nothing but catch her as she throws herself into his arms and sobs.

-

Persephone is cleaning. It’s her day off and she has plans with her husband and Ace and Nyx for dinner. She thinks that she’ll make something rice and some sort of meat and sauce. As for vegetables - perhaps some sort of tomato? Or maybe corn.

She decides on corn eventually and is in the process of pulling the cobs out of the fridge when death latches onto the bond she has with her siblings and she spares a moment to panic before the chill leaves. For a moment she thinks it was a fluke but then she realizes she can’t feel Ace anymore. All of her siblings are alive. She can feel their magic thrumming through her bonds like a live wire. Her siblings are fine.

All of them are fine except Ace. Ace’s magic has vanished and Persephone swallows the lump in her throat. She puts the corn down on her counter and reaches for her phone.

He doesn’t answer.

Persephone’s can feel the rage in her welling to uncomfortable levels. Ace is hers. Her brother. Her brother. Hers.

He doesn’t get to die without them. He doesn’t get to die when she can prevent it.

Persephone calls Ardyn.

He doesn’t answer either.

-

Thanatos is fine.

He is fine.

His little brother could be dead - could because unless there is a corpse in front of him Thanatos is not going to believe Ace let something as stupid as death take him - Ace could be dead and Thanatos knows that he should do something. He knows that he is shaking and that his eyes are glowing and maybe studying forbidden magic was a bad idea because the ground beneath his feet cracks open.

He usually has more control than that. But his brother could be dead.

His brother could be dead.

Thanatos lets out a hysterical laugh and blindly reaches his magic out for Ace’s. If Ace is alive Thanatos will find him. If Ace is dead Thanatos won’t find anything.

Thanatos doesn’t find anything.

He reaches out again, latching onto Ardyn’s magic and Thanatos makes a truly stupid decision. Without a beacon, without anything to guide him but his Uncle’s magic Thanatos forces himself into a warp and finds himself in Regis’ throne room.

“Hey,” Thanatos says as he stumbles in between Regis and Ardyn, “Where the fuck is my brother?”

-

Mercury and Jupiter are in Niflheim when Ace’s magic fades.

An MT helmet is crushed in Jupiter’s grip.

“Hey,” Jupiter says, “Can you find out where Uncle is?”

Mercury is frozen in spot. Stilled for once as too many scenarios run through her mind that she hadn’t ever needed to think about before. Ace was never supposed to die.

“Hey!” Jupiter drops the helm and stalks toward her sister. She grabs Mercury’s face in her hands. “We aren’t gonna find out anything if you freeze up! Where the fuck is Niflheims Chancellor?”

Mercury pushes Jupiter away and pulls out a cellphone.

“Give me a minute.”

-

Bard pause. She thanks her audience and stands up. She packs her instrument away and calmly makes her way to an alleyway. A quick soundproofing spell ensures she won’t be overheard.

She takes a breath.

She screams at the top of her lungs. What happened to her brother? Why can’t she feel him? What happened to her brother?

She doesn’t know. She opens the group chat to find everyone freaking out but neither Thanatos or Ardyn are online.

Neither is Ace.

Bard takes another breath.

Her brother has to be fine.

He has to be.

[thefandom-casserole]

Episode 45 Notes-

- THE SPAGHETTI SOUNDS 😭

- I cannot believe they did the PODCASTER as their intro that’s amazing

- I’ve seen a ton of stuff about the Taylor angst and godddd how did we skip from NORMAL to Taylor. I cannot wait

- I’ve missed opening music!!!!!! ❤️

- Chaos orbs- wtf lol

- 🪄Linc has one of the Chaos Orbs that STOP Willy (this was a bit)

- Mastermind Rogue wow Taylor

- “Taylor has the most insufferable ability I’ve ever seen” “I know that”

- RadFact: Taylor misses disguising himself as a trashcan and getting shoved on his stage

- RadFact: Linc’s bathroom regiment is taking off all of his clothes and putting on completely new clothes (they get dirty??) (germaphobe Linc) (Linc only pees at home)

- Linc doesn’t do his own laundry

- NormalFact: Normal is the founder of the SchoolYear Book club, book club that discusses the Year Book

- I just got sent messages going insane about his experience halfway through the podcast and I’m so fucking scared oh. my. god.

- RadFact: Scary’s been in science classes and has developed a favorite planet, which is Mercury, because Mercury has the longest day and night

- Venus has the longest day-

- That’s amazing

- Beth Brittaed the fact I love that

- More orbs!!! There’s Normal-orb!!

- HermieFact: (my jaw dropped I thought he forgot-) Hermie didn’t technically have a childhood because Scam thought a Teen (Freshman) was the funniest time for a kid to become living (he has fake childhood memories)

- He didn’t miss them awww

- TERRY JR VS GLENN

- IM SO EXCITED AHHHHH

- TERRY JR. TRUED TO KILL MICK OH. MY. GOD.

- Terry Jr. WANTS TO BE BANISHED FORVER OH NO THATS SO SAD

- The awkward fighting sounds 😭

- The Kiddads are all so sad

- NO TERRY STARTS CRYING

- “I deserve this. I tried to kill your son. I’m a bad person” “you’re not a bad person! Come here my sweet baby boy!”

- RON AND TERRY OH MY GOD

- Normal was asleep… sure…

- WAY too defensive to have just been asleep

- Normal is NOT crying 🚫❌🙅🏼 no way

- What do you do when your arm itches. You cut it off

- Terry Jr. he can. He cut it off.

- Terry’s memory!!!!

- “I love you so much!!”

- Ron’s getting a haircut???? How…? (Jk jk)

- “You become the person you choose to be around!”

- Oooh they don’t even use hell… they ruin the friendship for nothing

- “I’m a prosniper…”

- “You lied to me kiddo…”

- No…

- “I don’t think you’ve been someone you’d choose to be around lately” AHHHH

- Dude. Scary and her bio dad.

- Terry coming to Scary’s soccer games meant a lot… I’m going to sob… a good day for Scary kinnies

- Oooh bonus points for Scary’s memory slay

- Glenn’s hesitance at the “…he asked me… to kill him…”

- Welllll Nick’s not technically your son buddy boy 💔

- “Do you wanna hit him?” “Kinda” that was unnecessarily funny

- The new Glenn voice I’m crying 😭

- THE CLOSE/FOSTER/SWIFT MEMORY!!!

- “YOU MUST HAVE TONS OF MEMORIES WITH THIS CHAP”Except he didn’t live any of them

- Oh my god. Is that what happens. I’m going to explode omg

- PLEASE say they play off of the Jodie Glenn timeline shit

- I’m going to explode rn

- This is such a good episode oh my goodness

- No… absentee… father Glenn…

- Taylor was born crying like a baby

- Baby Taylor noises oh my god I love you Freddie

- Glenn is such a piece of shit holy cow

- Where did all of his character development go 😭

- “Jodie’s been here like. 3 times” I get that this is about Taylor and Nick but. Man that sucks for Hermie

- “Dang I’m not really sure I like that guy…”

- NO THE PARALLELS OF THE ABSENTEE PARENTS

- “We’re cool now” “absolutely- well-“

- TAYLOR ANGST TAYLOR ANGST IM SO EXCITED

- Taylor wants Nick to go back and time and be there for him

- Oh my god

- Oh. My. God.

- Time traveling must be a metaphor for something but I cannot physically think

- All the. All the training stuff not being about training.

- YESSSSS THIS IS HOW TO ADD ANGST WITHOUT BEING OOC

- AHHHHHHHH

- “Dad… I didn’t even know where you were…”

- No… Nick you’re ruining this… oh no… you’re gonna give Taylor such a bad idea

- TAYLOR’S MEMORY OH MY GODDDDDDD

- Mama’s boy Taylor!!!

- The boy who Taylor surpassed has a dad…

- This is so sad. I feel so bad for Taylor this is so sad oh my god oh my god

- Awwww Glenn’s got some depth!!!!!!!!

- He admits being a shitty dad!!!!

- He wants to restart everything…

- Disney

- “There is no fixing this”

- The US military… omg

- Like in the Guy Who Doesn’t Like Musicals

- OMG OMG GOING INSANE

- AGENT SHMEGAN WTF

- Nooooo Linc got them into this…

- JODIE MORGAN ARE ALL IN HANDCUFFS

- Jodie’s letting them know to get Taylor and Nick out

- Why should Normal be the king of Hell…

- NORMAL AND TAYLOR ARE GOING TO FIGHT

- SECOND EPISODE

- OMG

- OMG

- OMG

- O. M. G.

- ONLY oNE OF THEM LEAVES ALIVE

- THIS FUCKING EPSIODE

- How did it go from the spaghetti to this

[munsontm]

Unknown to most people, usually because Eddie doesn’t really advertise it outside of his uncle and his bandmates. Eddie is a music virtuoso and a multi-instrumentalist. meaning, that not only is he a highly skilled music performer. he can play multiple instruments to an exceptional level if he puts his mind to it. but---he “wastes” it all on being in a metal band, hehe. eddie could be a concert pianist of violin player or he could be a grade A popstar. but those things don’t appeal to him, obviously.

his parents never acknowledged that eddie had musical potential. not even when they took him to the local dive bar with them where he’d sit in the corner and teach himself to play the old piano with little to no assistance apart from the old bartender who felt sorry for eddie with his deadbeat parents. it’s wayne who catches eddie playing the old acoustic guitar of his not long after he moved in with wayne. eddie swore he’d never played a guitar before, but he quickly picked up the chords by sound alone which kinda floored his uncle. when wayne asked eddie how he did it, eddie just shrugged, said he just fucked around til things sounded right, which is what he does with all instruments. there doesn’t appear to be method to how he does things, but clearly there is plenty going on in that big haired head of his, and he doesn’t often share it with others. while eddie’s primary instrument is the electric guitar (lead) he can also play the acoustic guitar (rhythm), piano, bass, drums, violin and the harmonica (he was bored), exceptionally well. Wayne wanted to send him to a music school on a scholarship, but Eddie refused because he didn't want to leave his band and friends or Wayne as well as be stuck in a place full of judgey rich kids.

but eddie isn’t just exceptionally talented at playing instruments and learning technique etc. he’s an exceptional when it comes to his instrumental and stage performances too! think freddie mercury or david bowie. he can deliver both the raw technical prowess as well as the raw emotion and substance that it takes to be a truly great musician, and that’s actually a tough thing to balance. but eddie was born to be a musician. not to be super corny, but the music really is just inside of him so to speak. once he and the boys get big. they’ll blow the socks off the metal scene, and where the genre was beginning to waver once CC got on to the scene, they will revive the genre singlehandedly, and inspire a new wave of horror metal-like bands. 

the drawback of being a musical genius---is that eddie can come off as being a snob at times. things which both wayne and his cc boys have to remind him about. eddie can sit a criticise a piece of bad music for hours while in the presence of someone who LOVES that song, and not realise he’s being a complete bitch. he’s just speaking technical truths. and there are often times where he openly criticises music he doesn’t like. alas, that’s just part of him. it’s part of all of us really.

[onlineloversnetwork]

It is Christmas day in Toronto. The Graham residence is primarily peaceful except for a few bustling bodies making preparations for tonight’s merrymaking — a specially curated dinner for friends and family. Halls are fully decked, flooded by the sweet, piney scent of a Douglas Fir standing tall and garnished on the main floor.

The certified bachelor is re-charged by the present state of calm afforded him. Not to be disturbed behind bedroom doors he takes a restful gaze toward high ceilings. “Fuck,” he mutters to himself as thoughts soon drift to very particular members of the guest list. Nonetheless, a certain confidence in his servitors allays any threat of stress for what promises to be an enjoyable evening for all.

Indeed, the night progresses with great care, attention and effort to the ease of the gentleman appearing of robust mind and spirit. Glasses are kept filled, a warm and lively chatter swells the air. 

Later, he is summoned by the faint chime of the doors bell, of which, he answers himself.

��Are you going to invite me in, stupid?”

Aubrey, completely unsuspecting of the visitor, excitably pulls his estranged step-sister inside with a grizzly bear of a welcome.

“Sis? Is that you?” He jokes. 

Her pageant queen appeal under a blue New York baseball cap with minimal make-up. Smooth, chestnut skin and the most striking eyebrows. Her dark hair is cut short into a bob pushed behind pixie-like ears to frame a square jawline. A thin, pouty mouth with only a smattering of clear gloss. Pretty brown eyes reflect hazel under the glittering light of the foyer. 

“I didn’t know you were in town.”

“Are you surprised?”

A mercurial type of woman. Intensely alive as if her life depended on it. From the moment he laid eyes on her that day at the wedding, Aubrey regarded qualities in her he’d only hope to one day find in a marriageable mate. A fact he’d never allow himself to share out loud. Least of all to her. She’d laugh, amused. Voted most likely to tease him into hardness. 

“I missed you, brother.” Her words emphasized like honey. 

“You look good,” she follows up, removing her coat and draping it across her petite arm. 

The girl wore all black. No stranger to tantalizing fashion moments. A full body, form fitting catsuit that hugged her slender curves.  

“Can I get that for you?” The man of the house asks politely.

Reluctant, “Thats ok — I’ll hold onto it. You know how I get cold.”

The two exchange a set of barely legal glances as she steps out in front of him. A soft perfume trails behind to affect the playboy suppressing a growing tightness in the cashmere of his pants. He uses the opportunity to separate from the intoxicating beauty that is his older step-sister now making her way across the room to Aubrey's mother. The guests now spread intimately throughout the homey manor. A satisfying blend of spices, florals, tobacco and booze wrapped around them. 

When he is ready to brave her again he finds her alone on the balcony of his library. Her long, wool coat once again blanketing her body against the wintry temperatures. First, observing her from afar, his hands cozy in the pockets of his slacks before making himself known.

“Aye — It’s bloody cold out there.”

She is startled a little by the intrusion (as were his intentions) though attempts to mask it.

“Aye.” She calls back, rolling her eyes hard. 

“What are you doing out there?” He pokes.

“I’m chillin’.”

“Girl—” As if to reiterate the chilled weather.

“Guy.” She smirks, looking over her shoulder at him before averting her focus.

A Carby Musk approaches slow on her neck prompting the preoccupied seductress into new awareness.

He stands not too far behind. A heavy silence meets a starry night sky.

“It’s good to see you.” His voice husky in tone. 

“You too.” Whipping her body around to face him.

“I really like what you did to the place, Santa.” 

“Oh — This?” He is trained in modesty.

“I just — you know…” He hesitates to describe the true sense of joy he feels around this time of year.

“They really seem to get along, don’t they?” She continues.

“Yeah. I’m happy they found each other.” 

“Me too.”

“Listen…” He starts.

The two appear raw in front of the other anticipating what isn’t being said, but, may just be about to. 

“Keep me warm,” she says, drawing an inch closer to his warm body. In the same motion flicking her cap and disrobing the protective covering to fall elegantly at her feet. 

“I wondered when I would see this outfit again.” His face beams with that wide, toothy smile.

“Why? So you can ask me where I got it and gift it to one of your little girlfriends?”

This time he doesn’t hesitate to grab her firmly by the throat with a thick, kind hand.

“Don’t be such a bitch.”

The sudden gesture forces her to brace herself.

"I'll be yours," she whispers, smokily.

His eye contact unflinching, intensifying the squeeze of his grip on every side of that pretty little neck.

“Show me,” he challenges. In the heat of the moment, lips meet in a kiss of wet, hungry passion. 

“Make love to me,” she cries into the deep of his mouth now gentle and sweet. A sudden tear drops from her winged eye, wetting a flushed cheek. He pauses briefly to study the magnitude of her needs. 

“You missed me?” 

Butterflies begin to fill her stomach explosively.

“I want to feel you inside me—” is the gracious response of his receptive step-sibling, unzips the front of her attire past a pierced belly button. 

The refined man watches the woman undress as she puts herself on display for his eyes only. 

“I need to be punished.” She says. "Badly."

Her words make him want to own her. 

Mindful of the bitterly cold, Aubrey, lifts her from her thighs up to his waist, legs wrap around and she is carried inside with him kicking velvet loafers off one by one. With prioritizing strength guides them both near the back of the room. Her nude body placed deliberate and safe atop the furniture, legs guided further apart with a nudge of his own body.

Together, they work to undo his trousers. She assists in raising his shirt over his head. A violent steam emitting from their bodies. For the first time, nothing held back.

He pushes into her hot and heavy, sliding snug into her wetness. His beard prickly on her face while she breathes in a soft rhythm to deep, filling strokes. A low, throaty moan escapes her quivering lips, swollen with desire. He is the lover she imagined he would be — attentive and effective, rough and tender.

***This is a work of fiction. Events are a product of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual events is purely coincidental or an exaggeration of public knowledge***

[sn33z3s]

stan’s indulgence, kyle’s reliance

or: revisiting the “unrequited” question, talking about kyle and his soft underbelly and stan’s assertiveness, or lack thereof. (once again, this is a twitter thread i’ve turned into a tumblr post. please pardon any mess)

my starting point here is: kyle rarely willingly exposes his vulnerability to anyone except stan. kyle wants to prove himself in front of as many people as possible, but only seeks approval from stan. that is, stan’s approval, specifically, indicates success for kyle. of course, there are times kyle is pretty clearly in the wrong.

a fanon view i struggle with is the portrayal of stan as a pushover; pitiful and neglected by kyle. now, there is a difference between having a weakness and being a pushover, but i’ll elaborate on that under the cut.

stan often does not let up when he feels wronged by kyle. in the Console Wars, in The Fractured but Whole, in the Vaccination Special, after kyle fucks up, kyle is dejected, folding faster than stan to regain stan’s well-regard:

in my first post about stan and kyle’s consistent character traits, i talked a little bit about kyle’s excessive idealization of stan. kyle has a desire to see stan reach his full potential and becomes frustrated when stan falls through the cracks. (i’ve also discussed certain parts of YGO & Assburgers, including those which i feel are focused on in a way that exaggerates why the episode goes down how it does.) whether kyle is coming from a “good” place or not is up to the viewer’s definition, but regardless, kyle needs stan as much as stan needs kyle.

stan’s dedication - weakness, habit, call it what you will - to kyle is often read as the indicator that their friendship is uneven, that stan puts more into the dynamic than kyle, who does not reciprocate stan’s feelings in turn (or reciprocates less of them, or is unaware, and so on). here’s me linking a thing i made again; this time, it’s the video of kyle expressing his affection for stan.

cartman has a line from the Vaccination Special (to Stan): “I don't know why you don't stand up to [Kyle] more, it's really disappointing.” here, cartman is half a stand-in for the audience and half speaking uniquely, as a character, out of resentment. narratively, cartman’s line was inserted partially to build the “surprising” moment of stan doing just that: standing up to kyle, culminating in the broship’s deterioration. 

so it’s clear that stan follows kyle happily most of the time; he can easily be described as very puppy-like. kyle is skilled at getting what he wants out of stan. at the same time, though, stan asserting himself is not really anything new.

stan, the empathetic type, the person on the other side of kyle’s red string, simply wants to be there for the mercurial kyle, only desiring kyle’s companionship in return. however, stan is also the protagonist, and arguably the the character of the main four that goes through the most meaningful arcs, while kyle is reactionary. this is very important when considering how stan and kyle fight and how their best friendship has gone from representing youth and inseparability to the realism of growing up.

in episodes like You’re Getting Old, Assburgers (will i ever shut up about them), and even Guitar Queer-O, i find the initial “wronging” was on stan’s end - though i stand by my interpretation that neither stan or kyle are better or worse during the YGO arc at least. the order of events in those episodes reads to me as stan going to kyle before vice-versa. however, when stan and kyle are on opposite sides of a thing, almost any thing, stan does not always ask kyle for forgiveness first.

i’ve talked in decent length about how i see neither stan nor kyle as more dependent and instead just dependent in different ways. i think the places stan and kyle come from are misconstrued when not individualized. in my opinion, stan runs on empathy, responding accordingly. in contrast, kyle pointedly runs not on empathy but on sympathy instead and the ability to eventually recognize what is objectively correct. in other words, kyle occasionally struggles to put himself in other people's shoes. however, he'll often know what is morally right. stan can quickly put himself in others' shoes and is likely to give people the benefit of the doubt, but it's never guaranteed that he will - and when he doesn't, he removes himself.

so, from the same angle, i see stan being kyle’s keeper (his protector, his vassal, we can get fancy with this) as the prelude to how much kyle needs stan. the show expresses this frequently and parallels that in their Stick of Truth dynamic, post-YGO arc. kyle’s position as the one who relies on stan is not insignificant. if stan is the knight, then it’s critical to note that a king will injure himself without his retainer, the person who could defend [kyle] with his own life.

kyle’s goal is to be an upstanding individual, but stan is the one person whose validation matters deeply to kyle. ultimately, it’s a validation he would have no reason to worry over if he did not need stan just as much as stan needs him.

[renecdote]

Buck + waiting <3

Using this one to fill the 'loss of vision' square on my hurt/comfort bingo card...

“When can I go home?” isn’t the first question Buck asks, but it’s close. Third, maybe fourth, somewhere right after “what about work?” It shouldn’t be a surprise that this answer is just as disappointing.

“Not today,” the doctor tells him. “Maybe tomorrow, but it could be a few days.”

Buck looks down at his lap, frustrated tears burning in his eyes. Eddie is asking follow up questions—about tests and home care and whatever else—but Buck doesn’t listen. He can’t listen, because if he listens then he has to think about it, and if he thinks about it—

Eddie catches his hand before he can rub at his eyes. “Don’t touch.”

Buck jerks his arm away—guilty, immediately, with the way that Eddie instantly lets him go—and he turns his back to Eddie and the doctor both, rolling onto his side. He moves too quickly, though, everything blurry and dizzy around him, vertigo swooping through his stomach. Buck has to close his eyes against it, trying to breathe—to only breathe.

There’s that saying: it’s the hope that kills you. The wait and see and likely temporary and probably won’t need surgery. Hope kept Buck going when his leg was crushed, then chewed him up and spat him out when he coughed up blood at Bobby and Athena’s house and lost his hard won job to blood thinners. Hope is a mercurial bitch and Buck is tired of playing her games.

He can’t squeeze his eyes shut because it hurts, even with the painkillers they’ve given him. All he can do is stare at the back of his eyelids, imagining the world he knows beyond them. If he opens one eye, it’s normal, just the way he remembers (and he does remember, too intimately, what the inside of this hospital looks like). But the other...

“I know you don’t believe it just yet,” Eddie says quietly, after the doctor has left them alone, “but it’s going to be okay, Buck.”

Maybe, Buck thinks miserably, but also maybe not.

He’s tired of fighting to get his job back. He’s tired of injuries that aren’t his fault. If he’d done something stupid, if he’d taken a risk, put himself in harm’s way—it would be different. It wouldn’t be an unlucky chunk of brick to the face. Wrong place, wrong time, bad fucking Buckley luck strikes again.

Eddie sighs, the uncomfortable hospital chair squeaking as he adjusts his weight. They’ve been waiting for hours only to hear that they’ll be waiting for even longer. Days. Possibly weeks even after they let Buck go home. It all just depends. The same words he heard after the first surgery on his leg, except different this time because at least he could do something about it then. He could choose to have that second surgery, he could choose to work his ass off with PT, he could set his sights on going back to work and crawl until he could run to get there.

Now it’s just… wait and see, the eye is a delicate thing, all you can do is rest and let it heal.

A fear tears slip out, stinging, burning hot down his cheeks. Buck sniffles, trying to swallow them back but not quite succeeding.

“You can go home,” he says, voice rough, wobbly around the emotion. “We don’t both have to be stuck here.”

“What?” There is genuine confusion in Eddie’s voice. “I’m not leaving you. Carla is picking Christopher up from school and taking him to Pepa’s for the night, we don’t have work—why would I leave?”

Buck shrugs, one-shouldered. He reaches up to wipe at his eyes, then jerks his hand back down, clenching it tight around his pillow.

“Hey.” Eddie touches his shoulder. “Look at me.”

Buck doesn’t move. Eddie gets up, footsteps squeaking on the floor, and he comes around the other side of the bed to face him. Buck reluctantly opens his eyes. He can almost imagine that Eddie’s face is just blurry, concerned features doubled, because of the tears.

Eddie smiles. “Still pretty,” he murmurs, touching Buck’s face, gently wiping away the tears.

“Stop,” Buck protests weakly. His eye is bloody and bruised, face swollen around it; he doesn’t need a mirror to know that it’s far from pretty. But it’s not about how he looks. Eddie knows that.

“Even if there is permanent vision loss,” Eddie starts, and Buck shakes his head, regretting it immediately when his headache pulses, dizziness threatening to unravel him. He slams his eyes shut. Eddie’s hand cups the back of his head, holding him still, waiting until the pain and dizziness subside before he continues.

“Listen to me,” he says seriously. “Even if there is permanent vision loss, you’re gonna be okay. I’ve got your back, remember? Always. And whatever happens, we’ll figure it out.”

When the tears come again, hot and fast and unstoppable this time, Buck doesn’t even try to fight them. Eddie bends awkwardly over the bed to hug him and Buck presses his face against his partner’s neck, holding tight, and for as long as that moment lasts he can pretend that he’ll open his eyes when it’s over and everything will be okay. He can pretend, and he can hope, and maybe this time the hope won't kill him. Maybe this time, it really will be okay.