#I once had a friend say like. you're not that southern you're in (state)

[torchickentacos]

13

13: Favorite Food

Hello!!! I LOVE food, and absolutely can't choose just one, so here's a top five. Longer post where I just talk about food.

Seafood. I just have to have the entire category here. I was pescetarian for a long time and would still be if I was just eating for myself. Flaky white fish battered and fried, sushi, oysters, salmon with herbs on top, crab and lobster, shrimp, the lil dudes in the shells, all of it. I have not met a fish I don't like. Seafood, especially sushi and shelled things, are a rare treat for me, but when I do eat it I'm in HEAVEN. But one of the best ones is fried tilapia with cajun seasoning or a southern seafood boil. My seafood tip: find a place near you that does seasonal seafood/rotational menus. Way more likely to be fresh.

Biscuits and gravy. Southern comfort food number one, in my opinion. Flaky biscuits coated in WHITE gravy, not like. turkey gravy. My mama always used chipped beef instead of sausage, but it's good just about however you make it.

Apple dumplings/apple pie. Same category because they're sort of the same dish but repackaged. Look, you've got a crust, apple, spices, and sugar. That's gonna be good no matter what you do with it.

Anita's breakfast burritos. A rare indulgence for my family but it's SO GOOD.

Finally, outback steak. It's more of an association thing because one night it was just me and my grandma, and we were hungry and she was like "let's be real fancy and get outback" because that's fancy shit to me. Last legit fancy resturaunt I went to was my Uma's 100th birthday dinner like eight years ago. ANYWAYS granny and I just stayed in and watched netflix and had a great time on the couch in the basement eating steak watching queer eye.

[starry-eyes-love]

Darlin', You're Beautiful

Pairing | Best Friend Joel Miller x Curvy F!Reader, AU (no outbreak)

Summary | After having been stood up from another date yet again, you went to the park with Joel Miller, your best friend, to hang out. You're lost in your own head, not believing that you're beautiful when Joel reminds you of where beauty truly lies, from within.

Warnings | 18+ Minors DNI, age gap (she's mid 20s, he's early 40s), reference to reader being curvy, language, self esteem issues and discussions, terms of endearment (honey, sugar, baby, darlin'), heavy kissing, sexual tension a bit, brief reference to smut, fluff.

Word Count:  2.6K

A/N: This one comes from a space that's been taking up my personal headspace for far too long. She’s a little emotional, but that’s ok. Remember, beauty comes from within. Enjoy :) 

Joel's words lingered in the air, “baby, I’ve wanted you for so fucking long,” he whispered, while slowly thrusting inside of you. He was giving you a gentle reminder that beauty, true beauty, was seen from inside a person's soul. 

Main Masterlist

Joel leaned back against the old oak tree in the park, the soft rustle of the leaves above him providing a calming backdrop. His heart was pounding in his chest, nerves taking root in his body. Man, she’s beautiful, the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known.  And you were, you were beautiful.  You were beautiful because you had a beautiful soul.  

For all of your life, you didn’t believe that you were beautiful.  Society had a specific version of what beauty was, and you felt like you never lived up to that expectation. You were not skinny with a flat stomach, you had a little bit of a tummy on you.  You were sitting in the park, watching the Texan sunset with your best friend, Joel Miller, and you were silently scolding yourself yet again. Your second date with a guy last night didn’t go as planned, the man never showed up.  Somehow once guys saw that you weren’t the super skinny woman with a big chest, they didn’t want to be with you, and they’d bail on you every chance that they had.  

Joel hated seeing you like this, berating and belittling yourself over not being what boys thought were beautiful.  And that's who you were attempting to date, boys.  Joel, being a man in his early 40s, saw women differently than what men in their 20s did.  You weren’t a baby in life, being in your mid 20s yourself, but the men that you attempted to date were.  They were too egotistical, caring more about getting laid and the final score at the end of the night than treating a woman with any real respect. 

So after sitting with his back against the tree for a bit, and taking in the beautiful Texan sunset, Joel tipped his baseball cap back slightly to look at your face. As he stared at you, he noticed that your once warm eyes that were full of life and happiness, now looked lost. Without giving it another thought, Joel opened his mouth and said the thing that he’s wanted to say to you for a long time. 

"Darlin', there's been somethin' on my mind that I wanted to tell ya," he stated, his voice heavy with that slow Southern drawl.

Glancing over at Joel with curiosity you said, “What is it, Joel?"

While grabbing a blade of grass and beginning to twirl it between his fingers, a nervous habit that he had, he said "well, sugar, I've been thinkin' a lot about the type of men that you’ve been tryin’ to date. And well honey, they’re just little boys. Little boys who think they know what’s right for a woman, but they don’t. They don’t know what’s right for ya.”

You told him “ok” in a voice that you didn't quite recognize as your own, one that was so meek and mild. You weren’t the girl who usually got down on herself so much. But recently it had been too much with being stood up on dates, or just being told no in the most embarrassing and rude way possible.  Usually a few situations like this wouldn’t bother you, but recently, it has become too much. 

Joel, shaking his head, looked back over at you and said “Darlin’, when are ya going to stop believin’ all the garbage these boys say, and start believin’ in something that matters?”

“What matters Joel, huh?” you said, straightening up and shooting him a dirty look with your eyes. This was not the conversation that you wanted to have right now, one that discussed your choices.  Yes, Joel was right, but you didn’t want to hear him say it right now.  You didn’t want him to rub your nose in the fact that you couldn’t seem to pick a good guy to go out with ever. 

“Ya gotta start believin’ it honey, that you’re beautiful, and not waiting on some dumbass guy to say it to you. Y/n, you are beautiful.” Joel said, looking at you tenderly, trying to communicate the feelings that he’s felt for you inside for a long time.

You just stared at Joel, pondering why he would go to this length to say this to you. In the last 5 years that the two of you have been friends, not once did Joel Miller ever say that you were beautiful.  It’s just not something that the two of you have ever talked about before. And if you were being honest, you wondered why now he chose to bring it up. 

"Joel, you're sweet. But come on, let's be real. I'm not exactly the definition of beautiful." you said, looking over at him.

Joel sighed, trying to make you understand what he saw. "You may not see it darlin’, but I do. I see it every time you smile with the way your eyes light up. Or the way you snort when you laugh, especially when you find something really funny. When you talk ‘bout things that you love, I see you open your heart up to the person you’re talkin’ to. Or even that cute little blush that ya get when you get embarrassed. Beauty isn't just about appearance darlin’; it's about the way you carry yourself, the kindness in your heart, and the way you make other people feel."

Shifting uncomfortably, clearly not used to receiving these types of compliments from anyone, but especially a man and your best friend. "Joel, you're exaggerating. I appreciate it, but I'm not the type of girl people describe as beautiful."

Joel once again shook his head. He wanted you to see what he saw, the beauty that you had within you. "That's where you're wrong darlin’. You have this unique charm that goes beyond what people think is beautiful. It's about you being genuine, and baby, you are as genuine as they come."

“Well, I’ve never felt like it.” You looked over at Joel with soft eyes, wanting to believe everything that he was saying to you.

“Well that’s what’s wrong darlin’. You are the best type of beauty possible.  Beauty of the soul. And baby, I can’t get enough of it if I’m being honest.”

“Joel, what are you- what are you saying?” you asked softly, with slight irritation in your voice at how in-depth this conversation has gone. 

Joel scooted closer to you, and tucked a loose strand of hair behind your ear. “I’m saying that it’s your uniqueness that makes you beautiful darlin’. That it’s something rare to find, that you’re something rare to find. And baby, I find you incredibly attractive because of it."

A soft blush tinted your cheeks at Joel saying that you were attractive. "Do you- do you really mean it?" you asked, trying not to get your hopes up, but secretly hoping Joel was flirting with you.  Sure, you two have been friends for five years, but you’ve secretly have had a crush on Joel Miller ever since the start of your friendship. You didn’t think he’d ever look at you the way that you hoped, that he wanted to be with you in the capacity of being ‘more than friends.’  You always thought that he liked women that didn’t have curves like you did. 

Joel looking at you with hooded eyes said, "Baby, I've spent enough time with ya to know that there's more to beauty than what meets the eye. It's about the way you make people feel, the way you make me feel.  That genuine kindness you show me and others. That’s what makes your truly beautiful darlin’."

A thoughtful silence hung between the two of you, as you absorbed his words. It wasn't that you didn't believe him. But when people, specifically other men, have made you feel less than beautiful for many years, it took its toll. You couldn’t help but slowly start to believe those inappropriate statements by others, when it was others that were constantly saying it to you that they didn’t find you beautiful or sexually attractive. 

"Joel, it's not that I don't appreciate your words, I do. It's just that, it's hard to change when other people are mean for so long, and where they have made me feel less than beautiful as a woman.”

Joel slowly nodded, understanding the depth of your silent struggle. After a moment he said, “I get that darlin'', I do, it's just that-” Joel found himself standing at the precipice of no return with you. After contemplating his choices, he decided to throw caution completely out of the window, and he decided to act on the feelings that he’s had with you for a long time.  Joel leaned forward and cupped your cheek, gently running his thumb up and down it. “If ya don't believe my words darlin'', then please believe this.” He then leaned forward and gently kissed you softly on the mouth.

What started out as a gentle, soft kiss quickly turned heated. You softly whimpered into his mouth when his one hand went to the back of your neck, that spurred something deep inside him. As soon as he heard you moan he took the kiss a step further and gently ran his tongue along the seam of your lips, asking you for access into your mouth. When you opened for him, he dove his tongue in and started a slow caress. Gentle and smooth strokes, back and forth, inside your mouth, against your tongue. You two were doing a slow dance of passion and love behind your kiss. Nothing rushed, just gentle exploration.

When you moaned into his mouth, that’s when caution once again completely went out the window. A switch inside of Joel had flipped, and his kissing became more heated. Joel gripped the back of your head in a firm hold and tilted your chin up so he could lean forward and deepen the kiss into your mouth. It was at this moment that you realized two very important things. One, Joel Miller was an excellent kisser. And two, you wanted to sleep with your best friend really bad.

As you pulled away, gasping for air, you heard Joel let out a low growl. When you looked over at him he had very dark eyes.  His pupils were blown wide, and the air around you two crackled with sexual tension.  Joel moved back towards you and started kissing down your neck, nipping and biting over your pulse points and the areas of your neck that he knew were your most sensitive zones. “No one's ever kissed me like that before” you said, while moaning softly at what Joel was doing.

“That's a damn shame darlin''. A beautiful woman like yourself should be kissed like that all the goddamn time.” He said while sucking on your neck and then running his tongue over the love bite that he just made to soothe it. 

“I want more” you gasped, moaning again at Joel’s minstrations on your neck.

“Good, you should want more.” He said, moving to the other side of your neck and continuing his exploration. Joel was trying to find out what made you moan, squirm, and call out to him; making sure to keep doing that to intensify what he wanted to do again, and that was kiss you once again. He wanted to make sure that you knew without a doubt what he felt for you, and that any real man would know how to make a woman feel beautiful.  And goddamn, you were hot as hell and so sexy that he barely could think straight. 

With a slight smile, you gently shook your head while pulling away from him and finally admitting out loud to him, the thing that has been your biggest secret. “No Joel, I want more from you, with you. I have for a very long time.” You then reached out and gently cupped Joel’s cheek, running your thumb over his patchy beard. 

Joel looked at you with intense eyes, heart pounding hard and fast in his chest at the realization of what you were asking. Finally, after all these years you wanted him the same way that he wanted you. When you two first started hanging out he didn’t think you’d like him in a boyfriend type of way, as all your interactions were more based on friendship than anything else.  Now he felt stupid, hooking up with random women periodically over the years, having you play wingman with him at the bar, thinking that you never wanted more. I’m not gonna fuck this up anymore with her, he thought, focusing on showing you what he wanted.

Joel leaned forward and gently whispered in your ear, “well darlin’, why didn't ya say something. How ‘bout this, I take ya back to my house and show you what a real man does to make a woman feel so fucking sexy. Would you like that baby, for me to show you?”

When Joel pulled back to look at you he saw that you eagerly shook your head yes for him.  He tsked at you while resting his forehead against yours and said with his eyes closed, “Now come on baby, ya know better than that. Use your words, darlin’ tell me what ya want, please.”

When Joel pulled away from you gently, you nodded your head and then leaned in. Your mouth was right next to his ear when you gently whispered “fuck me Joel, that’s what I want. I want this, I want you. Help me forget about all those other men.”

Joel's eyes glazed over at your admittance. Pulling back he whispered “filthy girl” but then gave his own head a little nod, telling you that he understood what you wanted.  When Joel stood up, he reached out to help you up.  As the two of you walked back to his truck, he laced his hand into yours, showing you how much he actually cared. Once inside his truck, Joel kissed you passionately yet again, telling you with his actions of what he intended to do with you when he got back home. As he pulled away he then ran his hand through your hair for a moment, enjoying the quiet intimacy that was present.

 “I'm gonna treat ya right baby, the way you should’ve been treated all along. My only wish is that I wish I would've done this a lot sooner. For that honey, I’m really sorry.” And with that admittance Joel gave you another tender kiss on your lips. Once he settled into the driver's seat of his truck, you silently reached over and took his hand in yours. The 30 minute drive back to his house was done in silence.  But this silence for once wasn’t awkward, nothing with Joel ever was. You didn't know why you didn't see any of this feelings before, but now you were glad that the two of you communicated.

As the sun faded and dipped below the horizon, two souls were intertwined and connected. Joel's words lingered in the air, “baby, I’ve wanted you for so fucking long,” he whispered, while slowly thrusting inside of you. He was giving you a gentle reminder that beauty, true beauty, was seen from inside a person's soul. Joel spent the rest of his life, and yours, reminding you of this. And with each reminder it always ended the same way, you two wrapped up into each other’s arms. He told you each and every day how much he loved you, both inside and out, with saying just one simple sentence, “Darlin’, you’re beautiful.”  And you were, you were beautiful both inside out. Not because a man told you, but because you finally started to believe it yourself. 

The End

Taglist: @punkshort @shotgun-shelby @strawbunnyx @orcasoul @pedritoferg @chiogarza @jesfreedark @untamedheart81 @rainbow12346 @nandan11 @swiftpascal @eliza-8 @joeldjarin @vickie5446 @nastiasnow @staywildflowahchild @ratoonstown @l3laze @its-always-420-on-the-moon @kirsteng42

[notchainedtotrauma]

Joe Biden, as a senator, was notoriously against bussing, that is, the end of segregation throughout schools and was fighting it against with all his might. He was also an admirer and mentee of Strom Thurmond, who was basically the embodiment of Southern racism in all its cruelty and a notorious segregationist.

Interestingly enough, he once voted (this shouldn't be surprising, for at least one reason) to overturn Roe vs Wade: https://nypost.com/2022/05/04/biden-once-voted-to-overturn-roe-v-wade/

He is also infamous for the humiliation and harassment of Anita Hill...during the Clarence Thomas hearings. Anita Hill had suffered sexual harassement and unwanted touch at the end of Clarence Thomas. They spoke in 2019. Well, here is the source below.

I did all of this because sadly, even now, even as humans on this very website, are fighting for their lives and that of their loved ones and have to put it into the hands of strangers and look anxiously and refresh the page every hour, people will talk about single-issue voters and Project 2025 and Biden being better than Trump and Trump being worse for Palestine. That man was out for the blood of Palestinians as a fucking senator, was contributing happily to the fight against abortion and helped Clarence Thomas being nominated by ridiculing and minimizing his victim. Let me repeat the last phrase: the circus of cruelty and misogynoir he threw at Anita Hill was very probably what got Clarence Thomas in. Robinette is partially responsible for Clarence Thomas. The same Clarence Thomas that is being flown around to "exotic" islands and having his bank account fattened like a bad bitch.

And before you throw that at me, yes, Anita Hill did vote for Robinette.

But if you're going to try to convince people to vote for this man, saying he's not Trump, especially with that man's past, and no actual guarantee other than HIS WORDS, that he's actually changed (and no, the public optics of being Obama's best friend or having Kamala as a vice president don't say anything) is not going to cut it anymore. Especially when that man says in a State of the Union that abortion makes him uneasy. Also, maybe instead how telling us to vote repeatedly, you should be following the states that are putting him on the ballot on not.

And as to Palestine...if you have anything that resembles electoral politics just hush. Just hush.

[kuromitos]

Street smarts, Love Dumb

[Tim Drake x Fem! reader]

Plot: Out of all the people he could have fallen for, he falls for the one girl who can't tell he wants to be more than just a classmate.

Note: I have the headcanon that Tim would be in a tomboy x geek relationship dynamic cause it would be so cute. Also, the reader has a nickname here, so no y/n here.

Content warning: implications at one night stands, and a kiss scene is added in this story. Nothing super graphic, but it's still hot and heavy, so this is only for 16+ readers and above.

A tale as old as time.

A tale that at least everyone has experienced once in their life.

The tale of falling for your classmate.

But this version of the tale is not as simple as it seems. Why? Because of the characters involved.

First, you have our protagonist. Tim Drake. Adopted son of Bruce Wayne. Young CEO of Wayne enterprise. Incredible intelligence and is handsome. The object of many students' affection on gotham university campus.

Then you have his love interest and our second protagonist, the star player of the female softball team. Good looking, easy to talk, well liked, and she originally from the southern side of the states, so she has a cute accent to boot. Some call her 'Belle' short for Southern Belle due to the way she talks. Also, has many admirers on the campus.

They met at one of her games and the rest was history. Tim had feeling for this girl for quite awhile and he isn't exactly the best at hiding it. His family constantly has been teasing him about his feelings for the sport star since they caught him staring at her during on of their visits to check on him.

"Just ask her out" they say

"It's not that hard." They said

"Don't be a coward, Drake." They say in an arrogant tone like they know better.

But they don't understand. He has asked her before. It is that hard, and he's not being a coward. He can't get to her. Why? Because she is oblivious to a crazy amount. Like it's insane how oblivious she is.

The amount of flowers he sent her with sweet sentiment filled cards only to be met with a 'thanks for the flowers, you're a great friend.' In return.

The flirty compliment thrown her way is disregard with a simple laugh and a comment on how he was lying

Showing up to every single one of her games to the point her teammates would tease her by saying that her 'number one fan' was here. Only for her to laugh it off and dismiss it.

It was driving him completely crazy. Nothing he does is getting thru to her. He can accept the fact the she not interested in him, he actually prefer that over this, but it the fact that she doesn't even notice his attempts at changing their relationship is what driving him up the wall.

It gotten to the point where he starts to think she not even interested in guys. But those rumors of her hooking up with some guys from the football team, which were confirmed by her in a drunken call one night, made him chase those thoughts away.

That's when it came to him. He was going at this the wrong way. He been trying to show her affection for her in a way that can be perceived in a platonic way. He needs to show it in a more direct approach. A way that can't possibly be seen in a 'just friends being friends' way.

And Tim will find out the perfect way.

Tim had to plan this out perfect for this to work. All he needs to do is a moment alone with her to set things straight. The first step to that is finding the perfect day for this plan to start. Everyone knows that the softball team practices every Wednesday and has games on the weekends, so Tim had to do extra research on her schedule.

She has morning classes and afternoon classes every day except on Friday with she only has one evening class. When she doesn't have any classes during the day, she either sleeps in or just does her own thing, which is either working in her hobby or hanging out with her friends.

With that information, Tim believes that Friday is the perfect date for the plan, but there's one issue. Veronica.

Veronica is Belle's roommate that she pretty close to since they are from the same home state. When Belle isn't at practice or class, Veronica is most definitely at her side, which throws a stick in Tim's plan, especially because Friday is Veronica's free day. No classes, no clubs, no plans, meaning she is going to be in the dorm with Belle, meaning no alone time with her. Friday can't do.

Which leaves the second opinion, Wednesday. It's not perfect due to her softball schedule, but she only has one morning class right before practice, and Veronica would be busy with classes all day. So she will be free after practice, which now leaves Tim with another obstacle.

Her sleeping habits. The moment she gets to her dorm, it's light out. The struggles of being a star player are that they run you rampant, something Tim can relate to. Except he does that to himself.

When she tries, she is dead set on getting some sleep. Nothing is stopping her. So Tim just needs to find a way to get to her before she gets to . . .

That's when the light bulb popped up, and Tim was ready for the plan to commence. And with the perfect spot to boot.

"Huh? Tim? What are you doing in my room?"

"Just wanted to stop by for a visit."

Surprising her in her dorm is perfect for this plan. Is what Tim is currently thinking as he was going over his plan in his head. Based on past conversations about her upbringing and her originally being from the south, it was easy to deduct that she was raised on southern hospitality. Obviously, someone like that won't take a nap when a friend visits. You stay up til they leave. So Tim has her to himself for a good while. Now, on the next step of the plan.

"It's been a while since we lasted talk. How have you been?" "I should be asking you that. Feel like an eternity since I seen you,Timmy." That caught him off guard, for one thing he didn't think she noticed him unless he makes his presence known. The second thing is he just now realize they haven't been talking to each other since he started planning this scheme.

"Well... I have just been busy with studies and Wayne enterprise stuff is starting to pile up as well. Life has been pretty hectic lately, you know? Hahaha.." He tries to laugh it off, but based on the look on her face, it's not working.

"Oh yeah? A'right." She sits on her bed with a down casted look on her face, "you usually text me if you're busy but you didn't even answer mine I sent ya."

'She sent me a message?' Is what Tim thought. He thought that was dick or Bruce blowing up his phone. "Hey, I'm sorry. Honestly. I've been swamped with -" but his explanation was interrupted by her famous laugh and her erratic hand waving

"Doesn't matter now. Ya here now! Let's catch up okay?" She patted the spot next to her as a sign for him to sit with her. He takes the invitation. When he sat down beside her, his brain started to go into overdrive.

At the start of this plann he was getting cold feet, thinking that this plan could jeopardize their relationship, and probably just back out. But now he's determined as hell to go through no matter what. She messaged him first. She never does that. This is a sign that he has a chance, and he is going to take it now!

"Actually, I came here to tell you something." Phrase 1: set the mood. Gotta to get her relaxed. "You do? It's not bad, is it?" "Of course not." Tim scooted closer to her where they were shoulder to shoulder. "It's good news depending on how you feel about me." He places his hand on top of hers. She doesn't move it away. Good sign. Phrase 1 is going smoothly.

"How I feel? I like you a lot, Timmy. " "I know and like you too. But it's kinda different." Time for phrase 2: layout the foundation. Make it obvious that he is going to confess. "Different?" "Yeah. Not how you like your teammates or your roommates." Tim gotten closer to her face, noses so close, lips so close. Her cheeks was turning pink. Is the plan working? Tim thinks so. Time for the last phrase: tell her.

"Belle, I really like you. Would you want to-" the room door slammed open with a loud sigh coming out of somebody. Veronica. The loud noise made them both scurry away from each other.

"You won't believe what happened ! Mrs. Douglas went into labor right before classes started! It was insa- Huh? Why is Wayne doing in here?" Veronica asked while walking in the room. Tim got up and headed towards the door. "I was just leaving. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye." And he was out of there.

He was going thru so many emotions right now. Mad. Embarrassed. Confused. Disappointed. Mostly disappointed because he never got to actually say it to her. Now he got to do all over again. Or so he thought.

As soon He was at the elevator, he heard his name being called out to him, turns around to see Belle run towards him. "Yeah? Is something wrong-" she grabs his face and kisses him. Soft lips on top of his slight chap ones. Her hands move slowly down to his neck while his hands move to her waist. The kiss wasn't anything tim imagined it to be. It was slightly better. She separate from him with little line of spit connecting their lips.

"Were you asking me out? You were asking me out right!?" She asks excitedly. Tim, still surprised by the kiss, just nodded his head. "Tommorw after practice. There's a diner that serve really good burgers and shakes. Let's go there okay? See ya." And she runs back to her room.

Guess the plan worked out well.

A/N:This took too long to write. I hate myself for that. But I hope you guys like it anyway.

THAT'S ALL I GOT! BYE FOR NOW ＼(^_^)／

[the-badger-mole]

would you do a little one shot about aang with a steam baby?

How Do You Mend?

It took Aang six years and nine months to figure out that Katara was the absolute best he would ever get in this lifetime. It took another four months for him to try to find his wife and two children. The plan was to show up in the Southern Tribe with an armful of gifts for all three of them and a shiny new saddle on Appa to rescue them from the desolate frozen desert Katara had been born in. He was greeted by his stony faced ex-in-laws telling him that Katara and her kids had moved on years earlier and were living well in the Fire Nation. That was fine. Aang knew that his friend Zuko would be taking care of Katara and her children as if they were his own blood.

Katara greeted him with the cool, impassive expression he recognized from the few diplomatic trips she took with him. She was glad to see him, despite what her eyes seemed to convey. She had been planning to write him, but maybe face to face was better for something like this.

They were getting married. Katara and Zuko, that is. It hadn't been announced publicly, but the rest of their friends and family - which apparently no longer included Aang- already knew. Katara had a request from Aang in particular, which she told him she expected him to have no issue with. It had, after all, been nearly ten years since Katara had left. Ten years since he'd seen his first two children. They barely remembered him, and Zuko had been the only father they'd known for most of their lives.

"They're my kids!" Aang insisted. "I'm their father!"

"If you care about them, even a little," Katara pleaded, "then do this for their sake, not mine. He just wants to make sure they're taken care of. We both do."

"So what I think doesn't matter at all?" Aang felt his anger rising again. The familiar tug of the Avatar State pricked at the base of his skull and through his fingers and toes. Katara recognized the signs, but she met his eyes firmly as the wind picked up.

"No," Katara replied coldly. "Your opinion hasn't mattered in a long time, by your own doing. The only reason we're asking you is because of your position. Any other man would be considered an abandoner, and we wouldn't need your permission.

"You're asking me to give up my kids!" Aang whimpered. Katara rolled her eyes skyward and sighed.

"You've already given them up," Katara told him. "I'm only asking you to make it official. You have other children now. Other airbending children. You have your legacy. Let me have mine." Beyond her, Zuko stood at the top of the stairs, alone now. He was keeping his distance, but he looked formidable with his dark robes and even darker scowl. He turned back to Katara and sighed. He was no good at this sort of thing. People tended to listen to him because he was the Avatar, but he was never very persuasive on his own. But he still had to try. He begged for time to adjust to the idea, which Katara gave, grudgingly. Aang was allowed to stay for a few days- was expected to, in fact (as Avatar, he had recently been neglecting his duties to at least be seen in company of foreign dignitaries). He kept his eyes open for reasons to say no. For any sign of insincerity in Zuko to suggest that once he had Katara, he would drop the pretense of wanting to be a father to children that weren't his.

Aang had his chance to see Zuko with Bumi and Kya at a dinner hosted in Aang's honor. They had his attention as much as the Crown Princess had. Izumi, too, seemed to have accepted the new additions to her family. The three were nearly inseparable the entire evening. Zuko danced with both Izumi and Kya throughout the evening, letting them stand on his feet as he took them through the still unfamiliar steps. Bumi tugged at Zuko's hand, urging him to pile plates high with the sweets he was otherwise only allowed in small portions. At one point, Izumi had run to Katara to fix one of the Southern Water Tribe style braids she'd insisted on for the evening. Katara and Zuko's engagement hadn't yet been announced publicly, but still, the Fire Lord was never far from Katara or their three children. There was genuine affection in his face whenever he looked at Bumi and Kya.

Aang slipped away halfway through the evening, making his way to the stables, where Appa was being kept. He was, perhaps, not as surprised as he should have been when Katara appeared in the doorway.

"He loves them," she told Aang quietly. "He already thinks of them as his own. Izumi thinks of them as her siblings. And I'm adopting her, too." Aang was silent for a long moment. He turned away and busied himself with a matting in Appa's fur.

"I came here to ask you to forgive me," he told her.

"I forgive you," Katara said simply. "I did a while ago."

"But you won't come back to me?"

"No."

In the end, and for the first time ever, he gave Katara exactly what she asked for. He signed away his paternal rights, allowing Zuko to adopt Bumi and Kya officially at the same time he married Katara. It was, Aang thought as he made his way back to the Air Temple, full of squalling babies and aggravated mothers, the greatest sacrifice he'd ever made in his life. His last gift to the only woman he'd ever loved and her children.

Follow up to Severing the Tie and to How Things Fall Apart

[captain-mj]

Newer Racer!Graves x Seasoned Retired Racer!Price

I had to ask my friend for some help with the specifics of racing but we got there! They're Formula 1 racers btw. All info I got for this was either from my friend or just stuff I made up so don't come at me for accuracy

Price got back on the track for the first time in a little over a year. He won his championship and by all means, he should be able to retire somewhere. Technically, he was retired. But even though he wasn't interested in getting back behind the wheel, he still missed the track.

A few Formula 2 racers had replaced him. He had his eye on a few, the most interesting one being the Southern one.

Phillip Graves. The man certainly raced interestingly. Price had watched a few of his previous competitions. He cut corners, broke rules, and couldn't stay in the lines any more than a child could. But he won races. Usually by a substantial margin.

Price was interested in seeing if that favoritism would carry over. Or, reluctantly, that skill. That baby face was manipulative. Price was positive of that.

Before their first race of the season, Price walked around, interviewing them. He got a rather sweet deal with a popular sports podcast, though to be honest, he didn't know a damn thing about them. But they'd make sure he'd have access to the track and an excuse to talk to everyone. It was perfect for a grid walk.

Several were old friends that he enjoyed talking to. Ghost waved to him but he kept his helmet on as he talked with him. He answered all of his questions with a lot more openness with other interviews. Price knew half of it was lies, but he was trying to make him seem more valuable and how could he ever fault his friend for that?

Price continued moving through the crowd as he mused over the new guy. The man had just popped up on screen, a recording of a previous race, and was working to remove his helmet at the moment to answer the interviewers questions. He was a little shorter next to the person than Price expected and he wondered if he wore lifts in his shoes when he was swarmed by the press.

Graves came out on the track and Price felt the air leave his lungs. The baby face was gone. He had a mustache, like the ones dads and pornstars have, and a five o’clock shadow. The small scar on his cheek has healed quite a bit from last season when he had gotten it.

Price was trying to figure out when the man became attractive.

Graves talked with the interviewer for only a moment before making a face and pulling away, as if they offended him. He caught Price’s gaze and beelined for him. His jacket was loose and undone since he didn’t have to get in his car yet and his hair was tousled by the helmet.

When did this guy get attractive?

Price slowly tilted the microphone to him, still scrambling for the answer to that question. “State your name for me.”

Graves paused and raised an eyebrow before leaning in. “Phillip Graves. The Shadow.”

“Fun name.”

“They gave it to me. Not the other way around.” Graves looked around casually. “What questions do you have?”

Price stared at him for a moment, debating the normal questions before deciding against it. “Are you friendly with the referees?”

Graves snapped his attention back to him. “I’ve met them once or twice. Why?”

“Your penchant for rule breaking. You think it’ll carry over?”

Graves clenched his jaw, the only sign of this being the stretch of his scar. “I win fair and square.”

“If you say so.” Price responded with a smile. “Done anything new to your car?”

“Modified it a little. Took out some unnecessary parts.”

Price worried what this guy could mean by unnecessary part. What could he have possibly done to his car??

Graves smiled at him. "John, right?"

"You familiar with me?"

"Used to be a big fan."

"Used to be?" Price smiled.

Graves shrugged. "You're retired. Can't be my favorite anymore." He grinned wildly. "Plus, you couldn't beat me anymore."

Price laughed. "Think so huh?"

"Know so." He smiled at him and walked away, something horribly confident in his gaze. "Now if you'll excuse me." Graves pulled on his helmet and patted Price's shoulder. He left to go get in his car.

Price quickly got off the field and watched as they took off. Graves's technique was spot on. Exactly what one would expect from Formula 1 drivers. Up until he was in second place.

Price watched as Graves carefully put himself at the line, bullying the other driver further out field. They were going such a close speed but Graves was slowly gaining on him.

For a brief moment, Price thought they'd collide. The crash would easily set fire to everything around them. The impact crushing them both.

But Graves pulled ahead and got in front of them, making sure they had no room to get in front. In a move that more closely matched street racing, he swerved slightly at the last second, just to make sure they couldn't try as he passed the finish line.

Price enjoyed the show, even if he thought Graves was being a bit of a show off. The race itself wasn't serious, more of a chance to get them driving after the off season.

Graves smiled at the cameras, his face on the big screen. He winked at Price who met his stare head on.

Price may not beat him in a race, he wasn't sure he wanted to get back behind the wheel at the moment, but he was definitely going to come out on top of this little thing they had going on.

It took two weeks for them to be caught making out in the locker room.

[redpanther23]

GREETINGS FROM MEOWTER SPACE.

In my travels I've come to find that I have an extremely strange family background. I'm going to be talking about it in some essays, which may contain descriptions of abuse and neglect. Here's the first one (it's long as fuck.)

On my mom's side, my great great grandmother was Creek. She was alive when I was born, and we briefly met. She was over 125 years old (nobody knows how old exactly.) The men on that side, who were all Scottish, died in their early 40s, except for my grandfather, who left when my mom was a kid. (I met him once, but my mom didn't want me to be around anyone Christian as a kid, so I never met anyone else on that side of the family.) I barely know anything about my Scottish ancestry, although growing up we called the native grapes "bullises," which is a Gaelic word for plums (they're also called muscadines, but I don't know what the truth is anymore.)

My family were subsistance farmers since before colonization, until my grandma became a schoolteacher. Our family moved to what would later be the Free State of Jones from what would later be Alabama, though I'm not sure why. During the Civil War, people in Jones county refused to fight, since nobody owned slaves in the area, and it was declared a Free State. My grandma lives in the Free State, in abject poverty with my uncle and his wife, who just scream at each other and beat their kids and neglect their 15 hoarded dogs all day. And if they have a problem with me saying so, they can eat shit and die.

My mom went to school for anthropology, and taught geology at the University of Southern Mississippi. She was extremely ashamed of how poor our background is, and I wasn't allowed to visit family much, although I wanted to very badly. I got to live with my grandma and my two adopted uncles who are around my age for a little while when we were kids, and they're some of the only positive childhood memories I have. I was extremely isolated and abused, especially by my step dad, who is currently (to my knowledge) employed as a programmer at a major video game company, as well as being a child molester starting when I was 2 or 3 years old (some of my earliest memories.) His name is Rigel Cameron Freeman. I ran away when I was 16 to live with my dad. When I told my mom what he did, she called me a liar and quit speaking to me, and that was the last I heard from her directly. So far as I know, she's been in mental hospitals pretty much since I left.

My dad's mom, whose first name was Ellen, was Ashkenazi Jewish, descended from a family who left Germany before the holocaust. She was a beatnik who was friends with Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsburg, and she had personal beef with Grace Slick over a boyfriend. My dad's first guitar was a gift from Cat Stevens, although this was something he was a little embarrassed about and only mentioned to me once. She was especially close friends with Tiny Tim. She was in California trying to break into acting, and almost got a part in the Godfather allegedly (actually all of this is alleged by my dad, I only met her once. He really didn't like her, so I don't think he would make it up.)

Then she met my grandfather, Bob Marshall, who was probably in California to do drugs (sacred family tradition.) I have reason to believe he was mostly Choctaw and possibly Irish, although on that side of the family it's traditional to claim to be "French or Italian" unless you're very drunk, and then it's okay to be Indian. They moved up to Alaska and lived on the Athabaskan reservation, where my father, Rogan Russell Marshall, was born on April 19. Later, my grandfather became a civil rights lawyer, and he defended the right for prisoners with AIDS to be desegregated (basically anyone with AIDS would die in solitary before that.)

My dad got into Emerson, dropped out because no one could afford textbooks, moved to Mississippi and started this crazy punk band, and then went ahead and wrote some movies anyway. My favorite is called the Attic Expeditions, it features Seth Green, Jeffery Combs, and Alice Cooper, and it's very trippy and fun. Unfortunately, he became disabled from the same autoimmune condition I have, ankylosing spondylitis, which, if you're born male, has much more severe symptoms (which is why I chose not to start testosterone.) AS used to be thought of as genetic, but has recently been linked to environmental pollutants, and I was likely exposed to something released by one of our many chemical factories (my uncle who abuses his kids and dogs is adopted, I mentioned earlier, grew up in my grandma's house when we were kids together, and has the same symptoms, and multiple people who lived on the same Hattiesburg street as my dad in the 90s were diagnosed.) He was living in Massachussetts in his mom's basement when he married my step mom, a public defense attourney, to get health insurance, and they lived in Miami for eight years together until she left him, shortly after I moved in.

After that, I had to drop out of high school, and I lived in hell for about seven years while I worked full time, usually multiple jobs, to take care of us, and all the cats he would bring home (as many as 13, but I ran my house like a cat ranch and it was kind of beautiful.) His physical and mental health was dogshit, he wouldn't stop doing hard drugs, and our relationship was so hopelessly abusive that I had to quit speaking to him as well. My feelings are complicated because, while I love and admire his work, and he taught me a lot of extremely valuable and positive things, the things he did to me would put him in prison if I believed in the law. I owe him everything, and at the same time, I almost wish we'd never met (I'll have to talk about that in another post as well, because it's a lot, and exremely heavy.)

My third parent, Scott Panther, I honestly don't know very well. According to local legend, and there are many about him, he's Scottish and Cherokee. He was close friends with my parents before I was born, helped start Rong (and probably came up with the best ideas for it.) He was my mom's boyfriend for a long time before I was born.

My mom met Scott and Rogan at a Rong show, I was conceived after a Rong show (Scott drove Rogan to her house), and the night I was born there was a Rong show. Scott was overdosing when my mom went into labor, and I was born at 4 AM while multiple tornadoes passed through town. Later that night, he was ready to play the show (hats off). No one told Rogan I was born, though in the full video of the show he mentions the other people in town who were born on April 18. Unfortunately, the video is probably lost - he gave all the Rong tapes to someone I don't know, and he didn't say who (he may have even been lying and threw them away.)

I inherited a lot of personality traits from Scott, as many people who know us have noticed, although I gained them not through direct teaching, or through any modern understanding of genetics. I've read that before colonization these kind of things were more common and better understood.

[lala1267]

Wayamaya

- A hot summer day on the beach with your lover, Elvis Presley. (That's basically it, lol)

- Warnings: seductive behaviour??

(Probably some mistakes since I made this at 3 a.m., lol. And it's short and sweet.)

Driving in a pink Cadillac down to Wayamaya Bay. The radio was playing some of the most popular songs of the sweet 60s. Sun rays played in your soft, shiny hair as they seeped into your eyes, which are big like cherry pies

Elvis was driving. The windows rolled down to let the warm summer breeze in. His hair was a jet black and messy. The wind blew through his velvet hair as his blue eyes stayed focused on the road. Palm trees and hibiscus flowers decorated the sides of the dirt road as your car drove smoothly over the few rocks. Elvis turned to you, and his lips curled to form his iconic smirk

"Whatcha doin', baby? You ain't talkin' much"

He stated with his deep, southern drawl slipping from the tip of his tongue. You turned your eyes towards him, followed by your head. Your plush lips formed a smile as you looked into the depths of his bright blues.

"Oh, nothing. I just got distracted. All of these flowers are so pretty. You see 'em?"

You asked as your delicate finger pointed to the tropical flowers on the side of the road. Elvis's eyes followed your hand, and his eyes met with the exotic flowers. He chuckled before speaking again.

"Yeah, I see 'em. But they ain't as pretty as you, my pretty baby."

He chuckled and took one of his hands from the steering wheel, and placed it under your chin. You let out a soft giggle as you looked up at him.

"Oh, stop it. No need to make me blush."

He looked down at you before letting out a chuckle.

"Don't be like that, little one. You know you're a pretty baby. My pretty baby."

You felt a blush rise in your cheeks before answering him.

"I know, I know. Stop making me blush."

He smirked. His only goal was to make you blush until you were a tomato.

"Hmmm, I don't think ya do. Say it. Say that you're my pretty baby, go on."

You rolled your bambi eyes before giggling once more. When it comes to Elvis, you have to do what he says, or he'll just keep bothering you. You sighed and looked up at him while smiling.

"I'm your pretty baby. Happy now?"

He chuckled and carresed your cheek with his thumb.

"Very."

And with that, his eyes shifted back to the road ahead. The rest of the drive was peaceful and sweet. Your eyes seemed to drift towards him naturally. You couldn't help but admire him, crave him, and worship him. He was everything: a boyfriend, father, lover, friend, and very nearly God to you. He was the dream man for every young girl. But to you, he was your man. And you were his girl. His dolly.

Soon enough, Elvis parked the car near a beach. The sand was golden, and the sky was like heaven. It was almost like a Norman Rockwell painting. Elvis smiled at you before opening the car door and stepping out. You followed and mirrored his actions; stepping out of the car and walking down to the shore. Elvis wrapped his arm around your shoulder and looked down at you with a loving smile.

"So, baby, what do ya wanna do first? We can lay in the sand, and maybe kiss. Or we can go swimming. It's up to you."

You looked back up at him with complete admiration before replying.

"I would like to swim first. The water seems nice and it's pretty hot today."

He smiled and nodded his head

"Well, let's go. But wait."

You looked at him and raised a brow

"What?"

"Last one there is a rotten egg!"

He exclaimed before immediately sprinting towards the shore. He had always been rather childish around you. You just seemed to bring out his soft side. You watched him sprint. His long legs looked so toned and perfect. But he was very fast since he had a history with football. You knew that you didn't stand a chance, but yet again, you gave into his childish ways. You let out a giggle before running after him. The two of you ran like children after an ice cream van. After what felt like running a marathon, you reached the water shortly after him. You laughed and gasped for breath. Elvis turned to you and chuckled before walking over to you and grasping your delicate hands.

"You okay, baby? I didn't mean to get you all tired."

You caught your breath and looked up into his eyes while giggling.

"I'm okay. But damn, you can run like a cheetah."

He smirked and shrugged his shoulders, trying to smugly take your comment as a compliment before replying sarcastically.

"What can I say? I am pretty darn fast. Too bad your little legs can't compete."

He let out a chuckle. You rolled your doll-like eyes before playfully nudging him.

"Oh, shut up. My legs aren't that little."

You giggled. He smirked and eyed you up and down.

"Ya sure about that, hun? Last time I checked, you were only up to my shoulder."

You laughed before replying to his smug comment

"That's because you're like a giant. It's not every day that a girl gets to date a 6 foot tall rock star, you know."

Elvis chuckled once again before slapping your butt playfully.

"Enough with the silly talk. Let's get in the water already, baby."

The two of you stripped down to your swimming wear. You held hands as you both stepped into the marine blue water. Soon enough, the both of you were swimming swiftly in the water. Elvis had his arms wrapped around your waist from behind as he gently and slowly swam around with you. He whispered sweet nothings into your ears and kissed you ever so gently. If he wasn't yours, you'd be jealous of his love. Just the feel of his touch sent electric shocks throughout your veins and into your golden heart.

After a long swimming session, both of you walked out of the water and onto the sand. Elvis sat down. You were about to do the same when he raised a hand in order to stop you.

"Nuh uh, you're gonna stay standing and put on a show for me."

"A show?"

"Yes, a show. A show for the camera so that I can save these memories."

You smiled as you watched him pull out a Polaroid camera from the beach bag that the both of you had packed previously. He pointed it towards you and looked through the lense. You giggled and smiled sweetly as the breeze blew through your hair.

"I'll put on a show for you, alright."

You smiled before doing a few cartwheels and twirls. He watched you like a father watched his daughter. He always had a smile on his face whenever he was admiring you.

"That's good and all, but I want a show. Not a circus performance."

He followed his statement with a suggestive smirk, heavily implying for you to do some provocative things while he filmed you. You instantly knew what he was talking about. You smirked and began to move your hips a little and play with the straps of your bikini. The way your body moved pulled him into a sort of love spell. Golden sand between your toes, your hair blowing in the breeze, your body moving seductively as he watched. You were like an old movie star who was blessed with beauty and grace. You couldn't help but break into laughter as you saw the look of awe on his face. He began to laugh, too.

"How do you expect me to stay serious when you're sat there basically drooling?"

You asked while still laughing. He looked up at you and smiled.

"I can't help it, baby. You just make me so hot. You're perfect."

The rest of your day was spent with him; having fun on the beach and falling more into the concept of true love.

(Okay, this was really short and shitty. But I'll try to stay more active!).

[lunareyes-shifts]

Tyde rises

the part of the show where I get to ramble about one of my Drs!

star of the week🥁🥁🥁🥁

surprise, it's not the owl house (though someday)

Today, it's Avatar: The Last Airbender!

Born from two different fathers, we share one loving mother. Aang was sent off before me, as they figured there was only one avatar and he was born more recently. As our family moved along the coast, a few Air Nomads came across me and tested me. I thought it was a little dumb, but played along. Next thing I knew, I was shipped off to the Western Air Temple. I trained there for years and, despite starting late, grew faster than any of my peers. I realized I was a boy and, after telling the nuns, they allowed me to stay, saying knowledge transcending our physical vessels and whatnot. I excelled at water and air control. But, eventually, my mentor told me that I would have to reunite with Aang, and that there were two avatars. I freaked out. How would Aang feel about meeting a brother who he thought was his sister, that he barely knew?

In this dr, I'm Aang's older brother and kinda the bonus to the avatar. There's two spirits in this reality, but there have only ever been two avatars in times of great desperation. Foreseeing what would happen, the spirits put me into the world. Raava and Rta (order) melded with Wan and his brother, Yu Ni (with you), and they helped restore balance. Centuries go by without the reincarnation of dual avatars, so that story becomes legend and Yu Ni and Rta are regarded as fiction. So when they’re discovered, as Aang and I were, they’re kept separate, to dissuade any possible fear or speculation as nothing momentous had happened yet. Obviously, that doesn't last long

lil picrew

I flew off and crashed in the sea, and I panicked, and while drowning, screamed for Aang. He heard me, through the avatar state. So Aang and I froze at the same time, albeit across the world. After he discovers what happened to the air nomads, his avatar state breaks me out of my ice. I wake up scared and alone in a world that’s nothing like what I knew, just off the coast of Kyoshi Island. After a bit of swimming, I end up there. I meet Aang a day and a half later. The locals take nicely to me, but become wary after realizing there’s a second Avatar, because it shouldn’t be possible. But it is, because the spirits knew Aang could not save the world on his own. so yippee, there's me!!!

My robe is a token from my dad, who was from the northern water tribe, and the orange shawl is from the southern air temple that was shipped to us when they were planning to tell Aang he was the avatar and what it would mean.

Officially, I meet the gaang when they get to Kyoshi Island, and from there, tiptoe around mentioning the whole trans thing until the end where aang almost drowns. When he doesn't, he's like "you are.. different than I was told" and I'm like "still avatar tho :D"

I get my air bending tattoos for making the spicy toss (because I am of the owl house 😔) which is throwing two fireballs in the air and spreading them with air. it doesn't really hurt anyone unless focused, in which case it would be two quick swipes of fire and then forced and focused with air, though it makes the air uncomfortably dry.

Toph and I vibe in a way that's the equivalent of "you're my friend. we're having soft tacos later" but she could beat me up!

Sokka and I are insufferable jokesters but I still bear with him in the serious stuff better than the rest of the gaang.

Aang is really awkward at first, but he eases up once we have a bonding episode.

Katara and I are the group therapists, but since I have seniority, I always make sure I hear her out. (my waiting room therapist gets all this tea.)

So yeah! all fun times! I'll spin a wheel or something for my next dr rant!

[fishnapple]

If you're comfortable with it, can you possibly answer all/some of these for your Ask Game? 🐦‍🔥 🔑 🌟 🦜 ⚡️🦅 (NGL, some of these are things I can relate to, for better and worse! 😂)

Hi, Hope you're doing well 🌼

Thank you for the questions. I would love to hear your take on these too.

🔑 What’s something you’ve learned about yourself in the past year?

That's I'm weak and some wounds might never go away completely, but I'm okay with it. The human heart is a resilient thing 🫀

Another one is that I have the capability to let go of something that previously I thought I would never be able to do so myself, unless some outside events forced me to do it.

🌟 If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be?

I'd say keep on going, the future is always better. One piece of advice I really wanted to tell my younger self is don't seek approval from people, even those close to you. They might not really want to hinder or restrict you, but everyone is different. Some can't see or accept a different point of view. Their rejection doesn't mean you're doing something wrong.

🦜 Do you suffer from imposter syndrome and how do you deal with it?

I do, all the time 🫠. I have had self-confidence issues since I was a child. External validations couldn't elevate it because I'm the one being hard on myself. I figured out that this issue goes hand in hand with a feeling of self-importance, an expectation, that I should be someone doing something important, that I should always be able to keep up the "good position" that I'm in, but the fact is I'm just a normal, average person. It's fine to be an ordinary person.

The way I deal with it is to be confident in knowing that whatever I do, no matter how good I am at it, I would still feel that imposter syndrome, so I just do it anyway, in the best way I can, no matter how I feel about it inside. A part of myself can just sit in the corner and worry while another part just does whatever it wants 😂. The result always turns out better than I thought. And if someday people do find out that I'm disappointing just like I dreaded then I just have to do better then.

🐦‍🔥 What’s a belief you once held that you no longer do?

That's friendships can last forever, once you're friends, you stay friends forever. When I was a teen, I really believed that. But this belief created laziness, I didn't realise how much effort was needed to maintain a connection. And people change, drift apart, and finally fade from each other's lives.

🦅 What does personal growth mean to you, and how do you pursue it?

For me, personal growth means the increase of self-awareness. The assumption that I know myself completely is a false one. The best way to know myself is to observe myself in different situations and environments. And journaling, lots of journaling.

I find the names of The Southern Reach Trilogy's 3 novels by Jeff VanderMeer are really fitting for the journey of self-awareness. (Brilliant novels btw, the writing is phenomenal)

Annihilation, Authority, Acceptance

Those three states, annihilation of the old and false self, authority over the self, acceptance of the self.

⚡️How do you honor your boundaries?

I state them clearly, seriously. If they are violated, I will remove myself from the situation or the people who caused it. Or at least avoid them as much as possible. Having a calm and serious attitude is usually enough for people around me to respect my boundaries. Basically this is my face 😐. The more triggered you act, the more likely they want to advance further into your boundaries.

🪷

Get to know your Tarot readet - ask game

[flyingpotstickers]

Need A Little Love?

Eliza looked at Lena, and Lena felt gooseflesh raise on her arms, her eyes shutting naturally to try and keep out what she knows will be a cold look of regret.

Kara had brought Lena home this summer, it was their first summer Together. As a Couple. Sure, Lena had visited Eliza and the Danvers' family home a few times here and there as friends, but ... there was a difference.

Prodding Lena with a little nudge, Kara could tell she was anxious. Lena blinked weakly--- hating herself at the same time she was doing so. Kindness is weakness, or worse you're complacent.

No.

Lillian's voice seemed to be banished--- as soon as Lena opened her eyes, though the chore seemed to be like the longest of her life, Eliza was giving her the brightest smile and the kindest look.

"I just hope y'all know what you've put me through these years," Eliza states with a warm, Southern welcome though she has a tear in her eye. "I never thought I'd live to see the day my Kara was this happy. Cm'ere, Lena. If that's okay?" She asked at last, half hesitating as she saw Lena freezing up.

For once, Lena acts first. "Of course, yes. I--" she started to say.

"Hush, just let me love you for a second okay? That's all we need sometimes. Just a second of love."

// a lil toast to @wonder-never-wander &, to his Az: thanks for helping me keep this doofus alive. (said with all the love of a proud ukr)

[thenightling]

About a year ago I joined a Facebook group called "The Trailer Park Pagans are at it again" (now called "The Trailer Pagans are at it again!") and it was funny. It poked fun of racists in Pagan communities such as the antisemitic Asatru, or racists who burn themselves in their meth lab and think it was the work of a vengeful God answering their invocation.

And for a while it was fine. Pagan bigots need to be taken down a peg. There was one "True American Pagans" club being mocked by them that had red, white, and blue pentacles, and were disturbingly exactly like bigoted Southern Christians but were Pagans.

But then "The Trailer Park Pagans are at it again!" started to post out-right hate for any and all Wiccans. And when I commented about something silly I saw posted in a Wiccan group several of them turned on me for simply being IN a Wiccan group and told me I'm "One of the people they mock." Umm... No. I was invited to "The Trailer Park Pagans are at it again!" group when it was originally to attack racists, antisemites and homophobes hiding in Pagan communities, not bashing the Neo Pagan equivalent of hippies. "But they culturally appropriate!" Well, wait until you learn the history of ALL Neo Paganism. There's a reason that "Neo" is there.

Apparently a large faction of them deemed all Wiccans to be "Trailer Park" and don't seem to get that the "I'm Neo Pagan, and if you think Wicca counts as a form of Neo Paganism, you're an idiot" is suspiciously like "Catholics don't count as REAL Christians."

I actually have seen that a lot. "You're ignorant if you think Wicca is Neo Paganism." No, it literally defines neo Paganism. It's a paganism that's new. It's cobbled together from old world beliefs but so are all flavors of Neo Paganism from Asatru to Hermetic. None of them are pure to their original forms. The modern Asatru was conceived in the nineteenth century by a bigot (and that's why so many neo Nazis have latched onto it). Even the Poetic and Prose Eddas aren't complete and were modified by the Christian monks that "preserve" them.

So the group shifted from attacking bigots to attacking Wiccans, and then it drifted to targeting people who claim to have psychic abilities like Empathy. Why? They don't harm anyone. It's true a lot of people I've met who claim to be empaths are actually really, really bad at reading the emotions of others, or even showing compassion but in general their beliefs aren't hurting anyone.

And there's also uncomfortable classism. Where if you are poor and pagan you should be mocked out-of-hand even if you've never wronged anyone in any way and practice accurately to the beliefs you connect to.

And finally, there's now just plain anti-Pagan content all together. Christians joined it just to bash non-Christians, all Pagans, and I dare say, maybe even other Abrahamic religions.

A group that was originally to call out bigots in the Pagan communities has become nothing more than a hate group, itself.

I hadn't left that group because I kept hoping that they would revert to what they had been when I joined them.

But not anymore. I don't think it'll ever be what it once was. I'm going to leave it tonight.

I still believe in the Wiccan Rede. And take seriously the rule "Harm no one."

It feels good to announce my leaving that group. I'm not announcing it in that group. There's really no point. It'll just be mocked. But I did feel I should state it elsewhere and acknowledge how dirty I felt staying in a group that was shifting toward blatant and unjustified hate for "The other."

The group did originally have good intentions of calling out and mocking bigots but I think they lost their original motivation and may not have noticed the drift.

A friend of mine was in a Nordic lore group that went from talking about a shared love of Norse mythology to blatant antisemitism that went unchecked. She finally left when a post about Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology was met with "He culturally appropriated!" and "As a J-- he must have had an ulterior motive!" and "typical zionist stealing from us!" etc, etc. And no mod stepped up to stop it.

That's how the deterioration of The Trailer Park Pagans group felt.

[classicintp]

It's pride month and living in the south I'm either hearing more of or just more aware of all the garbage people talk about that "make kids gay." From eating certain fruits to your dad kissing you on your face to show affection, I'm hearing enough to make a bingo card out of this stupid shit.

My dad kissed me and all four of my cisgendered, heterosexual siblings on their faces. Up until I was 9 or 10 years old, me and my younger brother pecked each other on the lips like we did to our mom when showing affection. That kind of feels weird to say today, but it was how everyone in my mom & dad's family were when they grew up, and not just us either, it's how all my cousins were with their siblings when we were all growing up too.

In the 6th grade I met the guy who would be my best friend for 15 years. I was 11 years old, he was 13. We went to each other's houses almost every weekend, and we always slept in the same bed when we stayed overnight. And there was no limitation on "always." We were in our 20s sleeping next to each other on a twin mattress at his dad's trailer so we could commute to work and save gas one night, and did the same the next weekend at my home in my bed. If we were in the same dwelling and going to bed, we slept in the same bed, always, and at least for me I believe it was so we could both wake up at the same time so neither of us felt obligated to stay quiet and awkwardly ho-hum around waiting for the other to wake up. I grew up with 3 brothers, we shared beds throughout our lives and this just felt like another brother to me, you know?

He came out as gay when I was 21. He was a no-doubt-about-it, had-always-only-been-sexually-attracted-to-men, gay man; he told me he knew he was romantically attracted to boys before he and I met. After the initial shock and (in typical cishet fashion) wrongly making it about me and how hurt I was he had lied to me for so long, we still slept in the same bed when staying overnight with each other. For some reason, two men who were sexually active with very different types of people sleeping next to each other under one blanket in the same bed wasn't weird to me and I can't remember anyone in my life ever seriously questioning the behavior despite living in southern Louisiana of the United States, a very conservative part of the country.

All of that happened and I never once felt romantic or sexual attraction to another man. I have always been a cisgendered, 0-on-the-Kinsey-scale heterosexual, and when the concept of non-binary genders started to become more acknowledged in the media I spent weeks questioning my identity because why not? Trying to figure out whether I was actually cishet as I thought or if that was just a mask sewn over my face by the culture I was raised in that I'd grown accustomed to. With a bevy of options to match exactly how I felt in practically every defining moment of my life, peeling through every potential curiosity that I have ever wondered about or considered, I came away from that period of reflection knowing for sure I definitely am cishet without exception.

And now in my 30s I have to deal with co-workers shooting the breeze with stupid fucking takes like "My wife was gonna let his (6 year old son's) friend sleep in the same bed and I said HELL NO. You ain't letting him get used to cuddling up with other dudes until it feels normal. IT AIN'T NORMAL." No, you ain't normal big dog, the only thing wrong with your son is you're his dad.

[lunavenefica]

Isn't it a bit of appropriation to take Celtic pagan culture and use it for your witchy nonsense? I mean, the only people who could possibly get away with this stuff are the Irish/Scottish etc.

I usually don't reply to these questions but since I can see that whatever you're trying to say comes from a place of ignorance I'll give you a quick history lesson:

1)Who were the Celts?

"Early sources place Celts in western Europe and also occupying land near the headwaters of the Danube River. Their home territories have often been traced to central and eastern France, extending across southern Germany and into the Czech Republic.

In 279BC the Celts were known to have looted Delphi, the sacred Greek site. Strabo (Geographer) recorded a meeting between the Celts and Alexander the Great in 335BC in the Balkans. Classical writers had recorded a large-scale migration of Celts soon after 400BC, this migration took the Celts from central Europe into Northern Italy and Eastern Europe."

As you can see, the Celts weren't only Irish or Scottish, that's something you could've googled and discovered in about 2 seconds.

2) Is it cultural appropriation?

Once again, it would've been enough to scroll through my blog to get your answer, if we're really going into cancel culture and cultural appropriation the answer is still NO!

First of all we have 2 admins, 2 different people with different backgrounds, I (the person answering this ask and managing most of the blog), 'Isidora' am literally of Slavic descent, I was born in Eastern Europe, in the Balkans, near the Danube river quoted in point n.1, and live in Italy, while the other person 'Blaiz' is from France and has Breton roots. So technically speaking, it's not cultural appropriation.

If we're talking about morality? It's still a no!

As absurd as it can seem, different cultures have a LOT, and I tell you, a LOT of common traditions, there may be some smaller differences or a change of names but you'll find a lot of similar holidays, practices and traditions in most cultures.

3) Are we using Celtic Pagan Culture for our witchy non-sense?

Never have I stated that I'm a Celtic Pagan, I am an atheist and see Witchcraft as a craft that combines a bit of psychology, science, self-help and fun to keep myself motivated to work on whatever I need to improve in my life.

What I'm sharing here are my notes and an insight of the history of certain Holidays, or ways to modernize what people did for centuries, because with the progression of technology what was easy to do in the past (like having bonfires) can be difficult in the present.

The other admin, Bleiz is a pagan who works with Breton deities.

They are pagan, there are MANY branches of paganism and there's absolutely nothing wrong in exploring them since the Celts were one of the most widely spread populations in the Ancient Age and there's been a LOT of contamination.

That being said, I hope you find something better to do in your life instead of sending passive aggressive anon messages trying to invalidate someone's beliefs/ruin their day just to get a response on topics that you clearly have very little knowledge of.

Educate yourself before speaking and respect other people's beliefs.

That's all, happy Halloween and touch some grass.

Yours truly,

Isidora

NB : Here is Bleiz writing!

My friend answered really well to your ask. Like she said, descendants of Celtic people are not only in Ireland or Scotland. There is a part in France, called Bretagne, where they stayed and kept a lot of their celtic traditions (mixed with christian religion, but that's another thing). A part of my family comes from there actually. In some villages, we still celebrate the old festivities going back to the celtic people (which were rebranded as 'christian honors' because they were so engraved into the cultures and traditions of Bretagne that the Church couldn't completely suppress them).

Not everyone on this site is american, and we all come from different backgrounds. Your question could have been really interesting, however with the tone you used, it looks more like an aggression to my origins and a disrespect to my ancestors who were murdered by the church because of their beliefs of the ancient gods.

If you don't know something, we would be glad to explain them to you, but please, next time, try not to be so aggressive. There is no shame in not knowing something.

Take care of you, and I hope this will help you to get into Celtic History, traditions and cultures through the different territories because it is fascinating!

Trugarez, kenavo!

⛤Bleiz⛤

[thetaylorfiles]

Does your friend want to trade husbands? Mine is useless TS connection wise lmao You're winning the six degrees of separation game! Although you did have a friend who went on a date with Taylor years ago right? It's just a matter of time now before you run into her at a party or something. Girl, I'm here manifesting that for you!

This post is brought to you by my first dose of Concerta. I was recently-ish diagnosed (by a doctor) that I have HDHD. I tried another one that didn’t work and now I’m trying this. Today is my first day and, I must state that I had an espresso when I normally don’t, but I’m in the mood to organize, so things, and my mind feels clearer. It’s got to be placebo affect or the coffee but I’ll take it! Anyway this’ll be far too long I’m sure. (Oh hey, now you get why I’m so obsessed with t swift! Kaylor began as a special interest and thankfully, by the time I stopped believing, I was hooked on her music and personality. Oh my god what was my point? Okay, clearly adhd not cured! 😂 um it’s long? Don’t read if you don’t want?

——-

Answer:

Yes, but that doesn’t count as an actual TS encounter. And now that I’m Very Old, if I attempt to make that happen via any connections, it would be to get my daughter anything personal or signed from her or just anything as long as it focused on her.

I introduced her to Taylor slowly over the years. And now she’s obsessed. But in a 10 year old way. She doesn’t know much if folklore or evermore unless it’s exile because Mom was so fucking obsessed with it she had no choice to listen and assume I’m right that it’s best ever. She knows that hits and the deep cuts I make her listen to.

My love language is giving gifts. I hate getting them unless I’m so comfortable I’m married to you or you’re my child and you’ve written something. Ha. So I give her tons of makeup and what not. But I found my 4 lover books with the diary entries and the posters and left them out. She sheepishly inquired if she could look at them all…? I said, “they’re yours.”

There was a point. Oh, don’t forget the perimenopause. And the cannabis. That really contributes to being forgetful. Why am I writing so much?!?

Oh!!! Yeah, I was close friends with a guy that was a working actor and still is. He’s not recognizable by name unless you know actors really well. He’s a character actor that books all sorts of series and guest spots but always as a friend. He’s super hot. Well he was back in his 20s. He told us that he was daring her. We made fun of him (She wasn’t cool the ), but more just to annoy HIM. He wasn’t super super smart but he was so sweet but still had that bad boy swagger. You know? He was like a brother to me but I get whey women hit on him.

So back in early twenties he dates her for … I wanna say a few months. She didn’t live here on LA at the time as far as I knew but came out often. Maybe she had another house? Anyway, they were more friends who were attracted to one another who met up when both were in town. Only one of our group met her, his best friend. All we heard was that she was nice and far from a boring good southern girl. That she seemed like a city girl. Anyway, they hooked up off and on. They never went anywhere together as they weren’t together. They were each others last night call after date one and two failed to produce the necessary love spark. But they were both stupid hot.

That’s all I know. I never met her or saw pics. No wait. I did. I saw one of them together at her place wherever she stayed then. Why did I explain that? Please tell me you asked me to! I’m sorry. I’m so high and wanting to talk and like make and complete goals!! 🤣🤣🤣 k, night. Gotta watch some tv downstairs once kids have vanished. Shhh

I have a feeling I didn’t answer a single one of your questions, nor did I speak to whatever you wrote about. I apologize. If you were in person you’d love me. When I get high (vapes), it makes me so much damn more pleasant!

Oh my god. Go to sleep!! (Bethenny voice on Scary Island) I’m referring to myself by the way. K, night. Tv time.

[ihavetoomuchhomeworkforthis]

Okay so I have a small collection of out-of-context quotes that I decided I should share with you guys haha :)

(Most of them are from AP World History last year. There are like 4 different people for "J," but otherwise most of the same initials are the same person)

Alright, in chronological order and without further ado:

"Math's not even real. Like birds." ~Mr. M Things that aren't real -- * math * birds * wyoming (however, E states he can prove that wyoming is in fact real)

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"don't get distracted by boobies" ~dad "THEY'RE BIRDS!!" ~dad "they're BIRDS, [sibling]. They're birds." ~dad

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"...be in someone's shoes, but... they have no feet" ~J

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"RING RING RING RING RING ...BANANA PHONE!!!" (repeated) ~G's ringtone in class

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"I was the healthiest meal at McDonalds" ~J²

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"I'm a reasonable ass" ~Mr. M "I am an ass, but I'm not THAT much of an ass. I'm a reasonable ass"

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"The Middle/Dark Ages in Europe were the dumbest place on Earth." *southern country voice* "Oh, I have a headache, I'm gonna throw a leech on my arm! Oh look, my headache is gone!" ... "I don't know why I went all hillbilly there, you guys are probably smart. If you're a hillbilly, I'm sorry." ~Mr. M

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"Wow it just got really silent in here, do you want me to play you guys songs from my childhood?" (YEs) "Okay, I'll play you guys songs from my childhood." *starts playing "Wheels on the bus" from his computer* "I didn't say WHEN in my childhood!" "I was going to do baby shark but that wouldn't have been in my childhood." ~Mr. M

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"Oh my god, brownies come in the same way they go out" ~Mr. M "I think you should leave" ~S

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"Greg! Greg! Greg! Greg!" ~Greg

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Why are you drawing on his nose?" ~Mr. M "He took my glasses" ~S "Rudolph, give her back her glasses" ~Mr. M

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"when I hit puberty my eyes were cured, I... looked into the sun and then I had perfect vision." ~G "I don't think that's how it works." ~S

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"I think I'm blinder than you" "No, we're about the same level of blindness"

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"She gave up everything, she doesn't kill herself like she was supposed to" ~Mr. M

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*in a seductive voice??* "Jesus." ~G

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"Jesus has faces on his shoes"

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"I know more than the history teacher" ~G

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"There's bird babies down here, this one's dabbing" ~Mr. M

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"When you make Mary or any woman into a mountain region, they don't really like that." ~Mr M

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"I only called my pregnant wife the Buddha ONCE." "Because she's ENLIGHTENED!" ~Mr. M

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santa's killing everyone" ~Mr. M

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*angrily speaks vaguely German-sounding gibberish* ~Mr. M

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"...Hockey-- where everyone's going like 20 miles an hour on knife shoes" ~G²

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"That's a pretty big suitcase" (random teacher in the hallway referring to my french horn) "Thank you" ~me, not knowing how to respond

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"I gOtTa gO PEE PeE" ~Mr. M *sarcastically (mocking E)*

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"As someone who doesn't have feet, I approve this message." ~Alexa (the device) (ask her "do you have a favorite artist" (not who's your favorite artist))

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"Look at the theft! I'm a three biological dart!" ~[my sibling] ???

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"Trumpets, hit me." ~Mr. T

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"I want [J²], [J²]'s pretty" ~W

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"I am Europe. I am- I am all of Europe. Every country." ~W

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"We need more bottom" [band]

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[emphatically] "Your boyfriend is awesome" ~G (to K)

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[nonchalantly] "I had four lunches today." ~G like 2 minutes after he told K her boyfriend was awesome

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"will there be, like ... two males" *struggling* "two... men together" ~G "all my friends are girls" ~G "yes, rooms will be based on sex. Like, gender, not-" ~Mr. M (many people were hysterically giggling at this point, Mr. M gave up)

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"I don't have DNA" ~G "I am very... patriotic" ~G

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"Is my butt tie-dye?" ~[G³]

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"I do adore you, [J³]" ~F yes they're both guys, no I don't remember the context. I'm not sure there was any in the first place

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"¿dónde está tu CABEZA?" ~T translation--"where is your head?"

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"Next time, use the *potty* at a better moment." ~J³(?) "potty" being emphasized derisively

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"Are you my pupil? Because you're the middle of my eye. ...Pretty good, right?" ~B [in calculus] ("the middle?") "it's 'the APPLE of my eye'" "you know what I mean" ~B "that's how you know it was a good pickup line, when you have to say 'you know what I mean' after it"

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"I want the cake COOKED, and on a PLATE" ~mom I think it was a metaphor for, like, homework or something??

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"if we take this [the seating arrangement] as a spectrum, with [K]'s peak femininity on one side and [M]'s peak masculinity..." ~J4 ("yeah that's... not bad, that's pretty accurate actually") "Does that make [T²] a femboy?" ~J4 (I forget about everyone else but I was trying really hard (and failing) not to laugh, and T² was embarrassed/laughing/ blushing kinda) "[K, his girlfriend] are you alright with that?" (yes) *whispering* "[J4] knows what a femboy is?" ~T² "apparently" ~K

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"Eventually we'll learn taxes, and that's all that matters" ~J4

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*all doing/teaching each other cursive* "No, before the t. Yeah. Faaaaart" ~J5

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"the united states would become the great arse- -nal of democracy" ~history textbook (yes, the line cut off there)

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"Nay! I am not Stephen Hawking, bro"~T

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"I want to taste defeat!" ~B ("You want to taste the feet??" ~A)