#I'd rather we all treat one another with respect

[soreiya]

If you want to add Cyrus to your list, I would like to tell you a few things about him.

His design is largely based on Pyrus Bitterfang's human design from the time when Hugo was still a DnD character.

And Pyrus and Hugo were a kind of item with lots of pictures showing them very physically close.

So I'd like to imagine that Hugo sometimes goes and flirts with Cyrus, like hugging him or sitting in his lap.

Also, there was a character named Cyrus in a Tangled comic who was the muscle to an intelligent she-thief. I don't know if that has something to do with it, but I just wanted to mention it.

Woah, I totally did not know about any of this. Thanks so much for the information. I always assumed that Cyrus was in his 40’s or 50’s. So it’s really unexpected to learn about him and Hugo being in a relationship. Of course it’s possible that the characters ages were changed for the AU’s comic concept. (Unless the creators like large age gaps that is.) Though as someone who doesn’t ship Varigo (due to personal IRL trauma among other things), I’d be fine with this new old ship becoming more widely spread/accepted.

I’ve been wanting to update my long Vat7K post for a while. There is a lot that I could do to make it better/more respectful. So if you have any suggestions feel free to let me know.

[jinkiezzsstuff]

I absolutely loved the Emily and Charlie ideas you wrote so I was hoping to request another Charlie x male reader with some smut (but not the main focus). Idea being everyone going out for an evening with Charlie staying at the hotel to work, secretly wanting some company but telling everyone to have fun anyway. Reader didn't go out and found her later in the evening (maybe can tell how she's feeling) so offers some company/someone to cuddle. The main smut I'd like to include would be her leaving some scratch or kiss marks and her being quite touchy/hands on.

I’m so glad you enjoyed the others teehee i tried my best with this so i hope you enjoy it but im not too happy with how it turned out tbh, idk why, i guess it could be because i didn’t feel like during the smut scenes i did charlie justice, lmk what you think.

Charlie x male!reader

After Party

warnings: creampie, biting, scratching, kinda rushed smut, angsty charlie, possibly ooc charlie but i can’t tell, charlie n vaggie are friends, im not sure if there’s anything else, oh swearing, NOT PROOFREAD beware of errors.

word count: 2K

Charlie was tired. Between her father disbelieving in her, Alastor picking a fight with him, the failed meeting with Adam, and finding out Vaggie was an angel? She was over and exhausted. She tried to keep up her mood but she just couldn’t stop the spiralling thought process of handling everything on her own. It seemed like every step forward she had to take four steps back, nobody believed or respected her.

“Cmon, we needa little par-tay.” Angel whined pushing himself over the back of the couch dramatically. Charlie hummed, barely listening as the crowd of sinners lingered in the little living room-like area. “We don’t need anymore fuckin parties, spider.” Husk muttered before taking a big swig of his drink. “I don’t know, I think a little bit of recreational activity could really brighten the spirits!” Alastor exclaimed, and as much as Charlie would like to join the fun, if she didn’t finish up the work she had she knew it would only stress her out further, but she knew the others worked hard too and deserved a little treat.

Reaching into her pocket she pulled out some cash and beckoned over Alastor. “Here, why don’t you take everyone out to relax?” She said softly, despite her desire for company and hope that one of the few would stay back to assist. “Aren’tcha comin’ toots?” Angel who jumped up the moment Charlie pulled out money asked, putting one of his hands on her shoulder. “Oh no, i’ve got sooo much to do here, you guys go on without me! Bond a little!” She smiled as brightly as she could, although anyone with a keen eye could tell it was forced. In the back of her mind she was hoping for more punch back, more of her friends to beg her to come out with them, but instead they shrugged her off and left rather quickly.

Sighing Charlie rung her hands together and walked up the stairs slowly, vacant and alone, the hotel now seemed so eerie. She made her way to an office one that had been used by the whole team she had, so herself, Vaggie and Alastor. She plopped herself lazily on the ripped leather office chair, air slowly escaping the cheap foam as she did. Charlie couldn’t help the bitter feelings stirring around in her; she was always happy to help her friends and wanted them to have fun and relax, she just wished maybe they cared a little more about her? It was a confusing sensation, she knew Vaggie cared, but at times she felt more like a personal body guard rather than friend, and Alastor, she knew deep down, didn’t actually care.

Opening her phone she decided to try and ease her mind before sorting out the paperwork she had piling, unfortunately the universe wasn’t kind to her. Opening Sinstagram the first sight she was greeted with was Angels varying posts and stories which included all the crew members piled into a booth enjoying their drink of choice. It made a scorned yucky feeling of jealousy tangle within her stomach. Groaning she pulled open a drawer and stuck her phone in it, slamming it shut after. “It’s better to just work.” The princess mumble pulling the first stack of papers near her; the billing’s for their failed comercial.

After an hour of word Charlie sat back in her seat and messaged her sore neck. Pulling her phone from the drawer she checked the time. 23:48. Having no idea when the others would get back, she shuffled from the office to the second story balcony for some air. “Oh sorry I didn’t know you were here!” Charlie exclaimed, seeing you leant over the balcony railing. Looking over your shoulder you gave the little devil a warm smile. “You can join.” You say beckoning her forward, with a sigh and a forced smile Charlie came up alongside you, mimicking your stance. “What’re you still doing here?” Charlie questioned eyeing you from her peripheral. Your brow quirked and your face turned to confusion, with a quick hum you replied. “Just relaxing..?” The statement came out uncertain and wobbly, but you weren’t quite sure what she meant.

“No, i mean why didn’t you go out with the others?” Your head tilted back as you let out an ‘ah’, now understanding what she meant. “I just, well, this is the only time i get free yknow, always gotta be doing something so it’s nice to be alone, but i also want to have fun with them, but that drains me yknow?” Charlie quickly nodded her head at that completely understanding where you were coming from. “Yeah i know what you mean. I wish somebody stayed back with me.” Nudging yourself lightly into her, she met your eyes with curiosity floating in her own. “Well I stayed back, why don’t we relax together?” You suggest warmly, smiling fondly down at her. Charlie momentarily stuttered, blushing at the way her mind wandered to naughty places.

“Ahem, uh, sure! Yes! Let’s do that!” The princess fumbled, pushing herself away from your hold. You could tell she was flustered as she walked off leading you to whatever part of the hotel she’d choose to relax in, you felt a little voice in the back of your head egging you on to tease her, and who were you to deny your great mind. “Alrighty this it my room! Uhhh, why don’t we watch a movie or something..?” Charlie trailed off leading you into her bedroom.

You took a quick look around enjoying the aesthetic her room held. Charlie kicked her shoes off and pulled her jacket from her shoulders. “You can lounge on the bed if you want, i totally don’t mind!” You grinned and got onto the bed, watching as she frantically ran around “Calm down hun, you look real stressed.” You urged her frantic pacing causing loose hairs to tangle and fly out from her ponytail. “Ugh, i know!” Sighing she finally plopped on the bed beside you and laid back hands folded on her stomach and eyes closed. Leaning over slightly to look down on her, you observed her somewhat relaxed face as you watched her slow her breathing down. Assumably trying to cease the slow crawling panic that was clawing at her. “It may be a little forward but I heard compression and hugs can help stress, you wanna cuddle or some shit?” Your voice came out slightly tight a little unsure of how to go about the request. Charlie’s eyes fluttered opened and blinked toward you, after a moment of silent contemplation Charlie sighed happily opening her arms. With a huff and a smile you scooted down, wrapping your arms around her while laying beside her.

She scooted up into your side, her right hand sliding up your chest and around your shoulder. It sent shivers down your spine, and blood straight to your dick, embarrassingly so. Ignoring the sensation, your hand gently traced shapes into Charlie’s side where your arm was placed. Charlie’s head slowly lifted and shifted from the bed to your chest, tucking herself under your chin. Her hair tickled at your nose and chin, you could smell her shampoo and the perfume she’d used. You tightened your grip subtly, enjoying the warmth she let off, and with a hum she swung one of her legs over your hips, twisting her body entirely against you.

You took a deep breath attempting to calm your heart and the tightening sensation in your pants. Like the devil spawn she is, Charlie began tracing your chest, flattening her palm against your chest and trailing down from your neck, to the hem of your jeans, and back up to your neck again. Taking a deep breath you brought your hand up to you with her hair in attempts to distract you.

“Thanks for this.” She mumbled nuzzling her face further into your chest. You hummed eyes lazily dancing around shapes your eyes made up on the canopy above. “Any time.” You replied after a moment. The two of you laid there silently, softly the two of you let your hands drift across eachother innocently. It wasn’t until charlie’s hand ducted under your shirt to touch your bare chest that the air in the room got thick and heated. Breath hitching you zeroed in on her claws softly scratching down your chest. “Charlie,” You warned as her claw nicked the waistband of your jeans. Charlie knew good and well what she was doing, could you blame her? You’ve always been so attentive to her feelings and emotional state, the first to check on her after a stressful situation and give her the best advice you could.

With sudden need shooting through Charlie she straddled your waist bracing herself against your chest. Your hands reflexively went to her hips, eyes shooting up to meet her own attempting to figure out what the hell she was doing. She traced her claws down your tshirt covered chest, and when she made it to the bottom her hands wiggled underneath the fabric to paw at your warm skin. As she did you traced circles on her hips, and quirked a questioning brow at her. “Whatcha up to princess?” Charlie smiled shyly, trying to hide her face in her shoulder. “I just want to repay you for your kindness towards me.”

Your face twisted with worry, abruptly you sat up, making her gasp and tucked your hands behind her back to keep her from falling. “I don’t want you to feel like you owe me,” You quickly say, however Charlie pushed you back down, shushing you as she did. “It’s more then just that, i think you know they though. Let’s relax, desttress.” With that being said, you tossed aside your tshirt while Charlie eagerly undid your pants, hands shaking as she did. Your hands decided not to diddly saddle and undo her pants simultaneously, needing to feel her speedily.

You were already achingly hard, precum dripping down your shaft as Charlie shakily gripped you giving your head a soft squeeze. Pulling her hand away Charlie kicked off the pants that clung underneath her knees, and readied herself against you. You hummed out in pleasure relaxing into the mattress as she sunk down onto you, above you Charlie whimpered and squeezed her eyes shut, clenching onto every vein and ridge. It was delectable, she couldn’t understand why she’d never gone for this before. Bottoming out, Charlie’s legs shook, her body would involuntarily convulse every now and again as she attempted to adjust to the size of you. Falling forward unable to keep herself up she sunk her nails into your chest making you groan deeply, bucking your hips up into hers.

Nuzzling herself into your neck as you took the reigns, thrusting up into her at a steady pace, she began to leave teeth marks and hickies along your neck, desperate moans broken out between nips and bites. Your arms encased her pulling her near as you roughly fucked up into her at a brutal pace, her juices dripping down you. Erotic, loud slapping noises were all that you could hear in the room accompanied by Charlie’s whimpers and please. “Fuckkk, yknow how long i’ve waited for this? They don’t know what their missing not staying around someone like you.” You say splaying your fingers through her hair as you do, at this point Charlie’s body laid limp atop your own, your knees up and angled to continue your rapid pace.

“Please,” Charlie begged clenching tightly around you, you huffed out a moan that you attempted to cover and slid your hands down to squeeze her ass. Groaning loudly, you pushed her over, still inside you hovered over her, pulling her legs up over your shoulders to gain new access. With this angle you were able to hit different areas making Charlie squeal. “Oh fuck Charlie,” You groaned as your balls slapped against her ass, finally you felt the band snapping and slowly you filled her with cum, pumping all of what you had inside her. Charlie cried out clenching, and convulsing against you. She tried to inch away screaming your name loudly as she road out her high against you. When the two of you had finished, catching your breaths, you laid beside her, pulling her into your chest.

She rolled her head from one side to face you, her eyes glazed over barely seeming like she was there. “Didja mean what you said about wanting this for so long?” You nodded at her, the softness in her voice was music to your ears and made goosebumps crawl against your skin. “Yeah, since i got here, you’ve had my eye.” Humming softly the princess said nothing, but buried her head in your chest.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

Am I the asshole? I had a friend I met last year online, things were fine at first, we got along well and talked but overtime this person, I'll call them C, became very distant and arrogant. It started with them ghosting me for WEEKS because they didn't like something I said once in defense/support of asexual people. They got annoyed that I said they suffer greatly and they pulled an oppression olympics reply on that. Something once they spoke again to me, I right away cleared up for them and explained I wasn't being rude, I was just saying aces suffer too and need support and a place in the community.

Then after this they got annoyed that I was messaging them too much. I was simply trying to be a good friends, but I listened and cut back to respect their boundary. C next to never talked to me unless they needed something, used me for helping ease their mental illness issues and used me for advice and reassurance seeking and venting, that's it. I got tired of it. It was one sided so I backed off, ended up leaving social media for a bit. My wife however has a page still and I checked up on this person a while back, turns out some bad stuff happened in their life so I sent a long DM to them checking on them, being polite and offering help, I explained I was using my wife's page since I didn't have one so they knew who I was, but I still cared and wanted to help them if they needed any.

Anyway. Never got a reply. Weeks went on then I ended up blocked after them ignoring me once again. I contacted C on another site and called them out. I was pissed but still remained civil, I said how I didn't appreciate how they treated me when I had been nothing but respectful and caring to them that's what I get in return? C played the victim, put the blame on me, said they didn't like how I worded something in my dm checking on them and blocked me for it (rather than replying and saying what I did wrong...), lied and said I should have contacted them in a better way (the way I contacted them first was the "better way" they described! I got told I didn't even do what I DID do!) So I point this out, I said how their behavior said a lot about them as a person then all hell breaks lose. They start getting pissed and throwing insults at my character (I called them a hypocrite because when I said this said a lot about THEIR character it was bad, but when they do the same back to me, it was fine?) when I did nothing but say this was childish and said it said a lot about them that theyd block me rather than telling me what I did wrong to bother him. I am very accountable and would have listened and corrected my mistake, one my wife says I never even made as she saw all these messages.

I am now seeing them post lies (Checked on my brothers account to see) saying I attacked them, insulted their amazing character (this is the type of person that brags nonstop about being so nice and empathic and loving..) At this point I sent a dm on this other site, I apologize that my original contacted messages I sent AFTER being blocked that first time, were frustrated and came off badly (My wife disagrees, she says I was nothing but civil!) But I apologized then explained my side of it and how it felt to me, explained how his behavior was childish because of his "block" and refuse to communicate then play the victim. I got no reply.

Ended up blocked again and I gave up after that. He is also now saying the friendship was toxic when it was only ever toxic for me since they basically used me. All I wanted was just to be told what I did wrong, if they didn't want to reply or talk to me, that would have been fine, I'd of just appreciated being told it than blocked then made to feel like the bad guy when I point out how childish this behavior was on another site and how it said a lot about them that theyd do this then play a victim when all I was trying to do was be a good friend despite the shit they put me through.

What are these acronyms?

[turtleboyo22]

Cyno is not known for his capacity for joy. Whether cracking jokes or saving lives, Cyno never displays even an ounce of emotion on his face. For this, the General Mahamatra commands fear and respect across all of Sumeru. After all, it's hard not to cower away from a man whose expression lends nothing of itself to anyone.

As for Cyno himself, he is not ignorant enough not to have noticed how those around him act when he's there. He's hyper aware of the effect his entrance will inevitably have on a room, tense silence sucking the air from everyone else's lungs. Though this can be useful for a great many of Cyno's duties, he can't help but feel somewhat resentful of the reputation he has cultivated.

In spite of what the majority of people may believe, though, Cyno spends most of his free time quite content, joking around and enjoying life's leisures. Still, those who witness him outside of work from a far may assume that he's as serious as ever due to his perpetually neutral expression. It is only those who truly know Cyno that understand that the man does not lack emotions, but rather he merely displays his in an abnormal way. In fact, for the people who know Cyno, his joy especially is not only obvious, but also exceedingly common.

The only problem is when Cyno's job requires him to comfort those who don't know him. His expressionless face and toneless voice aren't the most soothing, and his blunt way of speaking certainly doesn't help the issue. Even his jokes can't save him, as most people just stare at him blankly afterwards. This is also what made it so difficult when the general rescued a young girl; he had no idea how to make her feel less scared of him.

When Cyno first brought Collei back to Sumeru, the young girl couldn't help but fear him. After all, ever since she was a young child she had been surrounded by people who wanted nothing more than to harm her. She underwent experiment after excruciating experiment day after day for the first 10 years of her life, all while battling a life-long illness and finding out her parents had died. When Cyno had found her, Collei was still adjusting to the idea of people treating her with kindness. Her past combined with Cyno's stern disposition compounded into Collei being afraid of the man who was trying to save her. She thought it was silly, looking back.

Collei first saw Cyno happy a week after she was brought to Sumeru. Cyno had come to visit her and Tighnari to see how she was settling in and Collei found herself playing card games at a too small dinner table with her newfound guardians. Cyno had been telling puns throughout the evening, a past time of the man's that Collei had yet to become accustomed to, but Tighnari's defeated expression told her it was commonplace.

In any case, one joke in particular caught Collei's attention: "I don't think we should play poker today," Cyno said. "Why not, Cyno? You usually jump at the opportunity to beat me at everything," Tighnari snarked, making Collei smile. She'd adjusted to her new master's occasional sass over the past week, meaning she'd learnt there was no malice behind his words. "Well Collei has already been through so much, I wouldn't want to hurt her more."

A beat of silence.

"Do you not understand the joke? You see, poker sounds like poke her. As in I'd be poking Collei, harming her further. But also it's the game's name," Cyno explained.

Another beat.

"Cyno," Tighnari groaned, covering his frustration with a hand over his face. "I thought it was funny," Cyno said, stoney tone and twin expression both very much still intact. "It was insensitive to Collei," Tighnari argued, "you can't just say things like that."

"But why not? All three of us know that she's had to endure a lot of pain in the past. It's not a secret," Cyno argued back.

And as their bickering continued, Collei found herself smiling. She was fond of them, she realised, fond of the men who had rescued her and fond of their playful arguing. Her smile grew until a small laugh escaped her mouth, more and more following until she was giggling. She couldn't remember the last time she laughed.

Cyno and Tighnari immediately shut up, snapping round to look at Collei in shock. She'd barely spoken since she arrived at Tighnari's hut, and now she was giggling. "Told you it was funny," Cyno gloated and Collei couldn't help it. She was full on laughing now, arms wrapped around her torso as her cheeks ached with joy.

Tighnari started to chuckle a bit then, so endeared by Collei's antics. Cyno just watched the two. From afar, anyone would've thought it cold but typical of the general mahamatra. He did not smile nor did he laugh. In fact, he was so expressionless that he seemed almost detached. But Tighnari knew better, and Collei was starting to as well.

Cyno's shoulders had relaxed, Collei noted, not realising they were ever tense until they weren't anymore. As her laughter died down, she also noticed how Cyno's eyebrows were less bunched up now, highlighting the newfound pink of his cheeks and red of his ears.

"Proud of yourself?" Tighnari teased the man, but there was no bite to his words. It was clear Tighnari had noticed Cyno's sudden change in demeanor, attempting to prolong Cyno's (and Collei's) joy for as long as possible by jabbing further. The softness of Cyno's movements as his hand found its place upon Tighnari's put Collei at ease. Perhaps she could find a home here with these two afterall. After all, this was the safest she'd felt in years.

[chuplayswithfire]

I've always seen Ed's robe era as a standard break up response - crying in your room, making sad creative projects, wearing your ex's clothes that are still at your house, eating ye olde ben and jerry's aka marmalade - and I remain firmly convinced that this is what the show is going for, because this is a romcom, after all.

But if I were to take it as a serious cry for help, an experience of extreme mental distress and signs of a man having a breakdown and losing himself... then like damn Izzy fucking sucks. How are the Crew of the Revenge collectively having more empathy, compassion, and care for a man they've known for a few weeks than Izzy is for a guy he at least claims to view as his captain and as a man he respects?

Like fucking hells bells man, the crew are concerned about Ed's well-being, listen to his song with bafflement but offer encouragement when they understand it's sincere, and are more than willing to meet Ed where he is and call him Ed when he asks. They're down for the talent show because they're a bunch of silly and delightful people, but also they're encouraging someone who's going through a rough time and pulling himself out of it. They're being compassionate and they're genuinely eager to share their talents and see if Ed likes them.

If Ed were genuinely having a mental health crisis (which again is not how I interpret these events but if one did), then this is a great way to respond. They're encouraging Ed to reach out to them by accepting the lowering of a previous boundary (call me Ed, not Blackbeard), they're accepting of his interest in trying new things and changing up his old life, they're genuinely invested in and value his opinion of them in a way that demonstrates that they still think he's cool and admirable despite his changing his whole look and ditching the job persona that they all initially looked up to him for. The crew in general are not just hero worshipping Edward Teach who is Blackbeard, but actively like Ed the man and want him to like them too.

We also see that this is effective and healing for Ed, because after lowering his barriers and singing for the crew, having them accept him in this very vulnerable moment and respond encouragement and genuine excitement for him suggesting they do something totally new, after asking them to call him by his name and treat him like a peer instead of an untouchable idol, the next time we see Ed is him being calm, cleaning his living space, letting in the light instead of wallowing away, even acknowledging that he was not living well by commenting that he can't believe he was "living like this".

Being supported and encouraged helped him to get back on his feet and regain his equilibrium, and he gets that from the crew, a group of men and Jim who have known him for a handful of weeks.

Meanwhile, Izzy stews in his distaste for everything that's happening with Edward, and doesn't decide to engage with him about any of it until he sees Ed doing better and yet still not being the man Izzy wants him to be. Izzy's responses consist of telling Edward that he should have been killed rather than be able to live as the man he is right now, dehumanize him as a thing rather than a person, and cap on a threat to watch his step if he doesn't start acting like the man Izzy wants him to be. For some reason, this threat isn't always taken seriously in the fandom, but I'd remind everyone that the only reason Stede, another pirate Izzy doesn't respect and sees as worthless, isn't on the ship in episode 10 is because Izzy went and found the British Navy in an effort to have him killed. He told Ed that having Stede killed by firing squad - the same death he's saying he should have "let" happen to Ed - "is a humane way of ending this". Ed wasn't prepared for Izzy's treachery because he didn't take Izzy's last threat - that he would rue this day - seriously.

Izzy is perfectly willing to follow up on his threats. And he was making a threat, a serious one, right after saying that he should have had Edward killed as part of his last plan.

Like, look, Izzy's response in episode 10 is always wildly off the wall - there is no situation where it's appropriate or even reasonable for him to dehumanize Ed, threaten him, or tell him that he should be killed for trying new means of expressing himself, but if we approach episode 10's robe era as Edward being in a state of genuine mental health crisis and distress?

Then Izzy's fucking abominable. Absolutely horrendous. There's no defense. It would only further highlight that Ed was right to say he has no friends in episode 6 - because no friend would react that way even if you were just going through a breakup, let alone a genuine mental health crisis.

A group of people who only knew Ed for a few weeks have more compassion for him than Izzy.

[aita-blorbos]

AITA for refusing to join my dad's bootcamp?

I am adult, and F. When I was still a toddler, my dad (T) got thrown out of the house by the head of family (i don't actually think i'm related to the head of family? it's more like three or four large families living in the same place tbh) because he had killed a guy (intentionally) and disabled a girl for life (accidentally - well she wasn't the one he was targeting).

Anyway, I didn't know that when T came back at the head of his own group of families (he'd basically been chosen by another, already formed group, to take over their head of family who had died of sickness) and he asked that my twin brother (B, same age as me, at the time we were teens) and I join him because we were his children and it was only fair. Nothing was said about our mom being allowed to come too or anything? It was a bit fishy and people refused to let us go anyway.

But the thing is, ever since T had been banished, the whole group/family has been treating B and I like complete, utter garbage. The only person who treated us well was our mom. B even got an adult assigned to watching over him so he didn't because some psycho killer or something, just because he looks like our dad ig. Now, having an adult watching over each child as they are teens is a thing in the group i'm in, it's not shocking, but there's a relationship based on trust supposed to be born of this care, and here it was the contrary, so it sucked. PLUS! We didn't know why we were being treated like that, because no one told us what had happened to our dad! The adult who didn't trust B only took us aside when we were like 12 to explain to us that the guy was a monster. And he only did it because our dad had been trying to contact us and he wanted us to hear our family's side of the story before T's.

When I was around 15, I snuck away in the middle of the night to join my dad because i was sick of the bullying/harassment/mistrust. When it became public, B was put on the spot (he didn't know i'd left for that either) and refused to join me, which stung but you know. That's his choice and I respect him. It seems that everyone trusts him much more now that he's made a public display of loyalty.

When I came to live with T, I realized he was, actually, a complete POS and I shouldn't have come. But also, people in his group actually treated me well, so I didn't regret my choice. When T realized I didn't want to become a mini version of him, we became rather distant, until he left the group entirely (through no choice of his, may i add).

I learned later that, before I joined his group, he found a side chick with whom he had twins too, but she left before he knew she was pregnant. I learned that when she outed the boy twin (H, at the time a young adult, he's what... twleve years younger than us?) as T's son at a public gathering, like six months ago.

Since then, I've learned that T has been rekindling contact with B and H, when he took contact with me too. He basically tried to persuade all three of us (no sign of his other daughter, but she's in medschool so i suppose that's not the profile he was looking for) to join his bootcamp in which he'd teach us how to become "better versions of ourselves". Because he's an AH and because I've been learning all these years since he left that I shouldn't build my life around what others want me to be, I refused to join his bootcamp, and I advised B to refuse too (i'm not close enough from H to give him this kind of advice).

But now i'm thinking that, since he couldn't spend our childhoods with any of us, maybe he's just trying to keep in contact, you know, through teaching us and bonding with us, with sports and workout being the only things he knew how to do so that's what he focused on. Maybe I'm making a mistake, and seeing, as an adult, what he's like, would give me more perspective? What if i'm being as narrow minded as the bullies from my childhood? IDK what to do.

AITA for not joining my dad's bootcamp?

[theonlymanintheskyisme]

cozy corner kinktober

prompts:

praise, 10. orgasm denial, 11. double penetration, 16. begging.

featuring the delightful little sweet boy that is translander.

you need this. don't you. look at you. so desperate. so eager. so hungry.

A whimper. He did. Desperately. His cunt filled, dripping, and a plug deep in his arse, clenching hungrily.

He was so soaked that there was a small puddle forming on the floor underneath, a mixture of the lubrication he'd used to ease the dildo into his cunt and his own juices.

Everything ached. It was hot. It felt like if there was so much as a gentle breeze on his clit, he'd come. 

He hated it. Hated it, but he fucking adored it. Adored how he looked in that mirror. So hard, clit at full length, standing proud

If he'd been born with a cock, it would've been huge.

‘I need to, please, I can't, I just…’

oh, no. no, you're doing so well for me, my pretty boy. on your knees there, just for me. I love you. I do. nobody could ever love you like I love you. nobody else deserves to see you like this.

He shook his head, hand wandering down again.

did I say you could touch?

A whine. 

though, you have been good… how many edges are we up to?

‘Ten.’

ten. you've made it to ten, my pretty boy. okay. maybe you do deserve it. give yourself a stroke.

Didn't need telling twice. Hand moved. Resting on his growth, taking it in hand, and stroking himself. A moan. Hungry. Shivering. 

‘Please. Please, please please… I need to come, fuck, I need…’

you're so fucking hot like this. and you belong to me, you know. you always have. it's always just the two of us. nobody else could treat you like this. with the respect you deserve. 

A nod, rocking in the dildo, pushing it against himself, whimpering, whining. The head of his clit exposed to the air.

remember when we first started this, and you couldn't even look at yourself?

A nod.

you've come so far. I'm so proud of you. look at yourself.

It was true. The first time that voice in his head had guided him through a session like this, he could barely face himself. Now? Now he couldn't get enough of how he looked. Like a God. Something neither male nor female, something in between. Something heavenly. Beyond all human comprehension.

He could look at himself now. Hard, exposed, and full. So gloriously full, each toy inside he could feel. Stuffed. He was stuffed

One day that voice in his head would make him push something into his mouth too, and he couldn't wait.

‘I look incredible.’

you do. you fucking do.

Another push forward, wanting it.

‘Please. Let me come. I'm so fucking… I need it. Need it.’

okay. okay, I think you deserve it. stroke. come. come as much as you need, my good boy. you're the fucking best. there's nobody I'd rather share my life with. the strongest. the best Superhero that ever lived. it's you. nobody can beat you.

Hand pumped furiously to those words echoing in his head. And how he watched himself. Within moments, he was coming, bending, the stimulation too much, writhing, twisting on his knees, everything contracting. And he didn't stop. The second orgasm hit, and he blasted through the mirror with the heat from his eyes, groaning. 

Breathing hard as it washed over him. Lying back only when it started to subside. Looking at the mirror on his ceiling, a sheepish grin on his face.

wow. I guess you really did need it. so honest. so fucking good for me. 

A pause, still feeling his cunt contract around the fake cock still pushed inside. It felt so fucking good.

gonna have to get that fixed though.

‘I will. I will.’

[purgemarchlockdown]

!! i'd Love (with a capital l) to hear your thoughts about it too because you're really what got me thinking about it...but here's my two cents;

i think Most milgram characters are dehumanized by those around them inside and outside of milgram (the most obvious ones being haruka, amane, john, etc...which...yeah) but i think that All of them self-dehumanize in one way or another? even the ones that are viewed as rather Normal and Regular and Just Some Guys by milgram and society (yuno, mikoto, etc)

i think that if you messily categorize their self-dehumanization it could turn out like this? (god i hate categorization) :

view themselves as Less: haruka, muu, mikoto, kazui

view themselves as Different: amane, fuuta, yuno

view themselves as More: shidou, kotoko, es, john, and arguably mahiru?

about how that differs from how others dehumanize them—i think the most obvious ones are muu and amane. amane is viewed as Less than human while muu is viewed as More.?

i think i messed up a lot of these + i don't know if this makes sense? please share Your thoughts......

I see what you mean! Yeah there is a notable difference in how they self-dehumanizes vs how society dehumanizes them. I think it's less strict categories and more....hm...how do I say this...

Okay so, I think a lot of Milgram is about the simplification of complex lives into simple tales. Something easy and consumable so people don't have to think too hard about what that Means. I think the dehumanization is in play with that.

Cause there's a lot of ways to dehumanize people! And uh- the way we treated Yuno for example in T1 was a form of dehumanization! By treating her as an innocent unaware victim we Steal her agency away from her! We dehumanize her into a simple trope that we can project on and imagine whatever with.

74n5n talks a lot about how #girlboss Yuno also does this to her. Because we ignore her personal feelings in favor of having a narrative more Palatable to Us the Audience and being able to continue projecting Onto Her. It's really good, I love 74n5n's Yuno posting a lot-

When Amane gets dehumanized. it's in service of a wider narrative of "Things that aren't of god" Things that don't deserve respect and love. Things that are dangerous and terrifying.

When she Then proceeds to reclaim that for herself and Demand Respect Anyway she Complicates things. She makes thing Less Easy. Why can't the monster just stay Evil? Why does the monster have to be Kind? It complicates the tale.

Or on the flipside: Why does the monster not hate itself? Why can't it just stay pitiful? Once again, it complicates the tale.

I can talk about this for hours- But I think conflict happens between the two when the Self-Perception Complicates the Societal (Narrative) Perception...if that makes sense. Very Utena of it I think.

[dangermousie]

For a drama that was clearly filmed on a shoestring budget, they have some really pretty shots - the way QL is shot looking at Ling snap and then come out of it, is gorgeous.

And it's so telling that her main reaction is not fear of him but worry for him. In many another set-up, I'd call her naive but for her, with her issues, it is normal people that is terrified of and also while she has never snapped the way he does, she can understand going after a tormentor because that is what she wishes she could have done. His violence is not off putting for her because she wishes she could be like that.

One of the things I like about Mars is what they do with Qing Mei, who'd be the insane secondary girl in many a drama - she tried and she snapped and then she got over it. And here she is giving QL Ling's address. She is CAPABLE OF MOVING ON.

Ling's hovel is definitely a hovel and it's an unpretty dump. I love that it's almost aggressively ugly - more shows should do that for their broke characters. But also, here is QL who started the show literally flinching from anyone in any proximity, feeling safe enough to wait for Ling as he showers right there. It's both progress for her character (we earlier saw her stand up to girls in school) and because she feels safe with him.

Oooofff! This is a convo they have where he says his father never lifted a hand to him/lost his temper at him and she comments he's a good man and Ling responds that is not the case, he's just afraid of him and QL is incredulous, how can a man be afraid of his own son. I really really like that they both have severe trauma but it's a very different one and that is why they react differently and their triggers are different. And then they come to the crux of it. This is the MOST vulnerability and honesty we've seen him show anyone by a factor of a 100:

And then being himself, he tries to go "psych!"

And you can see her be relieved "what kind of parent would treat their kid that way" and the thing is, he could have just left it at that but he cannot. She is past all his shields and he's rather desperate.

God, I love this! And it makes so much sense, as I mentioned before, that she's afraid of "normal," not of someone genuinely out there because she's been abused over and over by normal. (And she doesn't mention her stepfather but she clearly wants to, and he's smart enough to catch she's omitting something.)

OK, I don't remember stuff about his mom that well but if I remember correctly, she tried to kill him at some point. And it's so interesting that Ling doesn't remember that (between his age and suppressing the trauma), but his subconscious does somehow...

Notice something - he leans in, she is uncomfortable and suggests going for a walk and he just pulls back, no hesitation or word of complaint. The violent kid who was involuntarily committed respected her boundaries the way all those praiseworthy members of community did not.

Watching them on a date is such a delight. They don't just talk out issues, they genuinely have so much fun together.

This is only barely related to the above but I wanted to talk about it - I love that always in their relationship, they meet each other where the other person is at, they don't try to change the other person, they just decide if they can live with it or not - sometimes they can't (when she decides to agree to live with her abuser, he goes "I am out,") but they don't really try to change each other - they do change each other and for each other, but this is organic and voluntary. They grow tremendously, but they never force the other to do so.

It really comes to a head with Ling's choice of being a motorcycle racer - it's an insanely dangerous profession. His bio father died from it. The whole story opens with his visiting a mentor who just lost a leg doing so. QL is very much aware how dangerous this is. And for her, Ling is her whole life - her family are dead or monsters. When he almost dies (from other stuff), she loses it. And yet, she never not once asks him to quit or even thinks about how good it would be if it was. Her father even posits it to her and she rejects it. She could get him to quit for her - I mean later on, he agrees to his father's demands in order to save her, and that wasn't even her asking. And she knows that but she won't. Because she loves him the way he is and she wants him to do what makes him happy, not to constrain himself for her. He set her free and she cannot constrain him as a return. They are both their best and their freest and their truest to themselves with each other and I love it so.

God, I love them so so so much!

[sillygoofyqueer]

The Untamed review: episode seven!!!!!!!

I should be fucking revising, instead I'm watching gay people

Nice scenery

LAN YI!!! My idol. I love you.

You're a one woman army and you're so so strong

She is shooketh by the thought of meeting another Sanren disciple awwww

I'm sobbing violently, she's so happy

SHE LIVED IN SECLUSION BECAUSE SHE MISSED YOU!!!

Who let Wangji and Wuxian in?? They're like stray cats

Nooo, Lan Yi....

Literally, Wuxian asking the right questions

THE. WHAT.

Xue Yang, you WORMHOLE

They ARE being silly, aren't they.

So how does one get the fuck out of them

The WHAT?? COLD POND CAVE

L-Lan Yi??? Don't go??? Please!!!! I love you so much

GET DOWN, WUXIAN, ON WANGJI'S BEHALF

Go on, Wuxian, you're stuck together

Hahaha the jutted chin towards Wangji

EW KILL IT WITH FIRE

WEN QING!!

WEN NING?! MY BABY NO

The boys have to work together now, hahaha

Wen Qing is honestly so so pretty, and so so ingenious

They're both looking for him toootalllyyyy

Only Cheng could recognise Wuxian literally screaming around

Hola pretty boy, let me fall on top of you. PLATONICALLY.

Maybe...untie him??? Also, stop dragging him around, Wangji.

Of course you didn't, Wuxian.

They look so gay like that, I think Wangji's in shock

"Wei Wuxian!" I don't know why Wuxian is smiling, I'd rather face an army over an angry sibling

What a gay situation you two are in hahahaha, not suspicious at all

A WHOLE DAY AND NIGHT??

Oh shit. The whole family has been looking

Wen Qing looking so pretty in the back.

Wen Qing, you aren't actually allowed to know. It's a secret.

Wangji looking at Wuxian for his reaction.

WUXIAN BEING THE LITERAL BEST LIAR AND THE SMILE TOWARDS WANGJI.

Wangji looks very pleased...

Wen Qing, stop it, I love you

The fuck is going on? We being treated to Xichen's expert flute playing.

They are all horrified

Wuxian looks terrified hahaha

THEY KNEW AND DIDN'T TELL YOU??? Booo.

Everyone's telling Wuxian he's smart, he's going to get an ego.

Okay, so, there's a lot of lore going on, but I'm guessing that Qiren has been going to Nie clan (Nie Mingjue) to talk about this growing issue, and Xichen has been holding down the fort here. They knew about the Yin Tiger Tally (that's what it's called in the danmei, I've forgotten it's name in this) but didn't expect it to reveal itself to Wangxian.

Wen owl thing, this can't be good

Is it trying to break through the border??? What the fuck?

WEN CLAN IS GOING FOR IT

It's hard to make funny comments when this is just lore 😔

Although, I do respect that Qiren is finally letting Wuxian be in the tea party (gossip session)

Ah, using it as a tracking device!!

The nod between Wangxian is so sweet

So just...hide it away? As if.

Wangji is literally bringing up good points, don't try and ignore them!

Wuxian is so eager to pledge promises, he's like a little kid. I love him.

"WEI WUXIAN!!! WEI WUXIAN!!!!! Second young master Lan. WEI WUXIAN!!!" Huaisang, my beloved

Huaisang has way too much trust in Wuxian, I would not trust this dumbass to look after himself

Literally throwing Wangji under the bus, no remorse hahaha

Wangji is so stoic, HE'S MEWING!!!

Cheng looks so suspicious lmao

Bro is about to tell Huaisang something and Wangji looks either concerned or jealous, I can't decide

BRO IS MAKING UP LITERAL BULLSHIT

The way Wangji relaxes

Wuxian gets the strangest joy from scaring the shit out of Huaisang and I am living for it

"never mind, don't tell me, don't wanna know" me too, Huaisang, me too

Lanterns???

Cheng approaching from behind like the next boss fight

Ohhh, he's jealous of Wangji lmaooo

The little exhale and smile on Cheng's face as Wuxian reassures him 😭 they're brothers

AND WANGJI'S JEALOUS OF HIM HAHAHA

Oh, he looks so sad, I feel really bad for him now. I want to cry.

Or maybe he's realising he's in love. One of the two

XUE YANG, YOU'RE LOOKING PARTICULARLY SLUTTY TODAY /pos

One of the Wens, who fucking knows which one at this point

Oh, Wen Chao.

Xue Yang has literally no chill.

HE LOOKS SO PLEASED OH MY LORD.

How the fuck is Wen #243 sitting like that?? Cannot be comfy

Bro is going to go feral in Yueyang

Literally just you wait, don't underestimate the Lans

HAHA YOUR FATHER DOESN'T LOVE YOU.

Awwz they're all making lanterns

Jiang Yanli, you are such a sweetheart but you can do better than Jin Zixuan. If he's who you want, I love you for it, but WEN QING!!!

"shall we make a lantern together and wish because we've been through so much together?" "I'm used to being alone" WANGJI MY BABY, YOU DON'T NEED TO BE ALONE ANYMORE

"you can change your habits."

"my lantern is made specially for you" Wuxian you fucking flirt!!!

HE DREW A BUNNY ON IT, I'M SOBBING

WANGJI SMILED!!! LIKE!!! AAAAAAAGGGHHHH!!!!

Bro was startled by his own emotions and took it out on Wuxian. Now chaos will ensue.

NIE HUAISANG, AWWW, I'M SO SORRY!!

"you can't afford it" he isn't wrong....

Qiren and Xichen coming to watch the show, actually quite sweet.

The lanterns look so pretty

WANGXIAN HAD A LANTERN TOGETHER

Wuxian looks so pleased, I am in love with this man

These are so beautiful, I wouldn't want to let mine go

Wuxian sneaking a look at his boyfriend

The little look between Zixuan and Yanli is adorable

I'm upset Qing was on her own, WHERE'S WEN NING?????

Ooh, everyone's wishing now, this is very wholesome

Hahaha "I don't want to fucking come back here" Huaisang, you're so real

"I want my little brother to be safe and sound his whole life" Qing 🥺🥺 the world doesn't deserve you

Cheng hearing and giving her the sweetest little smile, maybe they are in love

"I wish that I can stand with justice and live with no regrets" adorable, innocent sentiment, but that does not go as planned

That is the gayest look I think I've ever seen Wangji give Wuxian yet.

Man's is quite literally in love. Period.

Make a wish, dumbass!

Don't look at the Yin Tiger Tally, your wish should be GAY

Wuxian looks so happy and peaceful

This is such a sweet little scene, really breaks from the fucking lore

"what did you wish for?" "I wished you'd fucking grow up" YANLI I LOVE YOU. SO MUCH. YOU'RE SO ICONIC.

Wuxian's adorable ass pout, I love him

NONONONO THIS CAN'T GO SOUTH. PLEASE. NO.

Women. I love you. Stop it.

I'M FUCKING LOSING IT, GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER JIN ZIXUAN. SHE'S SO PERFECT AND BEAUTIFUL AND YOU'RE FUCKING IT ALL UP FOR YOURSELF.

Wuxian, kill him. Launch attack.

HOW FUCKING DARE YOU. HOW DARE YOU?!??!

WEI WUXIAN, ATTACK MODE. KILL.

GO FOR THE FUCKING THROAT.

RAAASRRGHRHRUSISBDISO

Smack him to pieces. Kill him.

What's going on??

Hahaha, Wei Wuxian's beating the shit out of Jin Zixuan.

HE WASN'T PICKING A FIGHT, HE WAS PROTECTING YANLI'S HONOUR

You two are barely fighting.

Look at how many people it takes to hold them back lmao.

WANGJI TO THE RESCUE!!!

Literally just wants him to stop, listen to him!

Holy shit, Zixuan looks like shit.

THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING. GOOOD SNITCH. GOOD.

The muttering of distaste. Yanli looks so upset, I'm going to beat Zixuan myself.

The way they all fucking glare at him. Good

Wangji thinking that Wuxian is crying and going to make sure he's okay 🥺

Also, don't think I didn't notice that you're calling him Wei Ying now, you sly dog.

...... Don't worry, Wangji. He's just a a fucking idiot..

Wangji can't even comprehend what goes on in Wuxian's brain

He's in love hahaha

"these ants are so cute" Wuxian, I love you

The goofy ass music that plays when Wuxian is doing anything stupid is very special to me

What is he even doing???

Bro, no need to be so harsh, Jiang Fengmian

The glare bro gives him, hahaha

Cheng just wanting to mock Wuxian, I love him

Wuxian receives joy at the thought of Zixuan in pain. What a guy.

"I'd change my surname if he didn't cry because on kneeling" Wuxian is a very loveable dumbass

He's been scolded loads by Qiren, bro ain't scared. He's plotting his revenge.

GRRGRRGRRRR FUCK OFF JIN GUANGSHAN. I mean. Hello.

Nice moustache

The lads having a get together hahaha

Basically telling them to sort their shit out haha

"Wei Ying is a naughty boy" Yes, and an idiot, but not a toddler

Jiang Fengmian doesn't need to apologise on Wuxian's behalf

"I'll scold him" "no need lmao, I did it for you"

"Tell me of your request." "ABORT THE WEDDING. ABORT ABORT."

Fuck off Guangshan, let them decide.

I like Fengmian's style.

Don't blame Wuxian for everything!!!!

I love how Cheng went literally running to Wuxian

The worry on Wuxian's face 😔

STOP TRYING TO BEAT PEOPLE UP!!

He just wants to make sure Yanli is okay...

They're just being suspicious now haha

THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT THE YIN TIGER TALLY!!!

Dramatic ending to that scene

Wei Wuxian sprinting to make Jiang Yanli feel better

AWWW, STOP, I FEEL SO UPSET FOR HER

He's trying so hard, I love him for that

Paper thingy moving aaaaaghhh

I'd probably squash it

Stop, this is so sweet, Yanli looks a little happier at least

YANLI THINK ABOUT YOURSELF FOR ONCE

Go on Wuxian, you know what someone needs

I'd beat him if it were me

YES SHE WILL!!!!

"I don't want a wife" you want a husband called-

They're literally so so sweet

Back to old men gossip (and Xichen)

THEY'RE SPEAKING ABOUT XUE YANG AND HIS RAMPAGE

They've shown their cards now, you can fight back

Guys, you can't look so worried, it creates a bad mindset

HAHAAHAHA HOW LONG DID THEY PRACTICE THAT HAHA

Cheng feeling jealous 😔

Nobody can discipline Wuxian hehehe

I love how Fengmian doesn't even try to disagree

WUXIAN LOOKS SO UPSET WHEN WANGJI DOESN'T LOOK AT HIM :(((

What's up now? More shit?

I bet he's not looking at Wuxian because he doesn't want to cry

Wuxian literally has to be dragged away from Wangji

HE'S NOT HAPPY!!! HE'S VERY UPSET

Cheng is so easily calling our gay man out haha

They're literally not even out the doors and fighting already awww

I love them

Playing tag

MOCKING QIREN HAHAAHAHAH I LOVE THEM

Wangji.....you look so very sad. You're entering gay mourning now

YOU HAVE TO TELL HIM. He'll find out anyway, he's a slippery little snake.

Awww, Wuxian with playing with rabbits, that's fucking adorable

He wants them to be happy :((

He's thinking about Lan Zhan all the time. How cute.

See, he's already figured it out haha!

I wonder if we'll go back to the future yet...

[elysianstars]

Looking back on patterns of past banners for FEH, May is when we usually get Fallen Heroes, right? And I've mentioned before, I think Engage is the strongest contender for this year. Red Alear? Evil Veyle? Corrupted Lumera? Great Fell 'Nil'? We've got enough mentally unstable dragons for a full set right there!

I guess you could throw Sombron in, whatever, I'd rather see him as something like a Grand Hero Battle the way Zephia was though. I know other final boss types have made it onto Fallen banners before (Anankos, Rhea, Edelgard), but I respect all of them more than him. Don't steal the spotlight from your kids, you've done enough already.

Alear gets protagonist points to make their appearance more likely, and f!Alear also gets 'hot girl' points (because we know what FEH's priorities are). Veyle and Lumera get points for being female, but Mythic Lumera wasn't released that long ago, so maybe it's too soon for her to get another alt?

Rafal gets points deducted for being a male DLC character, but I can still hope and pray (if he has one fan left then it's me, if he has zero fans then I'm dead, etc.). I'd be happier to see him and Nel appear on a banner together, so she's not left out, and I suppose they could make up a Fallen version of her too. I like that she's the only one of the Fell Four we never see crushed under Sombron's influence though, and she deserves to keep that status. Maybe she could have a Mythic/Ascended/some other fancy version released near the same time? She could lead a banner, and have the Winds (Zelestia, Gregory, Madeline) as the other characters on it?

I was down to 200 orbs after pulling for Legendary m!Alear, and now I'm back up to 700+ in anticipation. Please don't disappoint me FEH. I deserve a little treat at this time of year.

[mandareeboo]

Velma Review, Episode 1: "Pilot"

Frustrated by a lack of proper, unbiased review, I thought I'd give it a whirl. I want to start this off with my mission statement with this show: Velma isn't a good show. I'd say it's rather mid. But I want to treat this as its own beast- I'm tired of people who would rather compare this show to other Scooby Doo shows and movies. Each is unique, and each should be judged individually.

As such, I wanna give this the proper review status, with things like a Synopsis, Character Introduction, Fun Tidbits, and a final review out of ten points. Basically, this bitch is gonna be long, so get ready.

SYNOPSIS

We open on a monologue by Velma (voiced by Mindy Kaling) explaining that this series is telling the story of how she recruited the mystery solving gang while getting ready for school. It's implied that she wants to tell said tale because she's tired of people assuming it was Fred who began the group.

"Yeah, it was me! Not Fred and his weird sex van. This is my story, told my way. And it starts with a murder, bitch."

Cutting to the school locker room, we see Daphne (voiced by Constance Wu) and some other girls getting ready to shower. The team casually discuss how pilot episodes tend to have more nudity and sex than the rest of the series and how they don't like it. One of the girls, Krista, disagrees and causes an argument with Daphne, claiming that Daphne's favorite part of the Riverdale pilot was Betty and Veronica kissing. Daphne claims that it was "because it was immediately called out as tired in the scene!"

Velma enters with a hoodie and a cane, knocking Daphne out of the showers. She demands to know her opinions on race-point casting in a creepy, distorted voice (callout to Mystery Incorporated?). Daphne gives a very complicated but overall positive response that seems to impress Velma, who pulls off her mask.

"Velma! What the hell, you almost killed me!" "Guess I didn't try hard enough." "See? Now, if this was a show, it'd be super hot if you two kissed." "Krista, if this was a show, you'd be killed off for being horny."

Velma opens her locker to reveal Brenda, the first victim of the serial killer. Though at first assumed to be a prank, Brenda falls out of the locker. Her head opens up to reveal her brain has been removed.

It being her locker, and Velma being pretty damn suspect as it is, she's quickly carted off to questioning. Velma begins to hallucinate as a withered hand digs into her shoulder, demanding to know who killed Brenda. She's shocked out of it by Donna and Linda (voiced by Jane Lynch and Wanda Sykes, respectively) who are the town's local police officers as well as Daphne's mothers.

We soon find out two things. 1.) Donna and Linda, while nice people, are shit detectives, and 2.) Velma's mother, Diya, has been missing for two years.

Donna and Linda lament that they miss seeing Velma around their home, despite Velma's bitter attitude and rudeness. Velma blames Daphne for their friendship falling apart, stating that, "Daphne got hot and ditched me."

The detectives ask Velma for help, stating that they're fully aware that they aren't the best at this. Velma refuses. Donna and Linda tell her that she's likely to go to prison if she doesn't, then leave after telling her they miss having her around and to say hi to her father and mother- who, again, is missing.

"I could kill them all!... Okay, I see how this looks bad."

Velma runs into Fred (voiced by Glenn Howerton) and Daphne outside of the police station. Daphne is breaking the news of Brenda's death to him, and very clearly states she believes Velma committed the murder.

Velma tries to argue her innocence, but falls into another hallucination.

Returning home, Velma complains about her predicament to her father, Aman (voiced by Russell Peters), who is quick to point out that her suspicious behavior at school is likely why she's to blame.

Aman is a lawyer, and has recently started up a relationship with Sophie, the owner of a local malt shop. He's done this despite still technically being married to Diya, which has caused a lot of contention in the family. It doesn't help matters that Sophie is pregnant.

"Well, I have to go prepare myself for prison. Not that you care."

Sophie's gotten Velma a job at her malt shop, seemingly out of the kindness of her heart, as she shows no upset when Velma is visibly repulsed and storms out.

Brenda's friends hold a sort of eulogy at the malt shop. While it's unclear what Brenda was like outside of school, we're given the vibe that she was a kind person who was well-liked among her peers. "My Pony" by Ginuwine is sung in her honor.

Daphne once again blames Velma for the murder, waving around the evidence folder Donna and Linda had brought to the interrogation. Velma leaves in a huff.

Starting to hallucinate once again, Velma bangs on the door, only to be interrupted by Fred. Fred explains that he's trying to "man up" to gain the respect of his abusive father, and he'd fled his home to cry alone. Velma, emboldened by his honesty, begins to tell the tale of her own mother.

Diya Dinkley, according to Velma, was a mystery writer. She would give Velma little mysteries to solve in order to keep her out of her hair. We soon begin to realize that Diya was likely not as wholesome as Velma seems to recall, as her "mysteries" were things like Velma finding her smoking or bringing her more whiskey.

After finding her Christmas presents early, Diya supposedly went to the store to grab her something fresh to unwrap. She never returned. Her car was later found with her glasses and a gift inside. Velma blames herself for her mother's disappearance, and has begun having hallucinations out of what she has diagnosed as guilt rather than unchecked mental illness. (Yes, I know, we'll get to that later)

Shaggy (voiced by Sam Richardson) appears, causing Fred to flee out of social pressure. He claims to know who the killer is. Then, once they're together, he admits he doesn't, but he knows how they can figure it out.

Norville runs the school paper. He explains that he'd been running a little investigation into the malt shop Sophie owns, as he felt it might be a drug front. He assigned Brenda to the job. Brenda stated she caught something strange on camera, but never extrapolated as to what. Now she's dead, and the camera- an expensive piece of equipment, as Norville keeps insisting- has gone missing. Velma suddenly recalls that Sophie just got a new camera.

"If I find your camera on Sophie, I'd solve Brenda's murder and send Sophie to jail. It's a win-win!"

"Or, maybe we could find the camera... together?"

The camera, of course, is a dud. Aman admits that Sophie takes pictures of other peoples' babies for extra cash, hence the new camera. It's a work item.

As Velma tries to ask deeper into things, the hallucinations start up again, worse than ever before. She ends up convulsing on the ground and is implied to have almost died. Aman is more worried about the camera. Sophie, recognizing her distress, pounds on her chest and manages to bring her out of it.

Aman apologizes, implying that he'd never believed her about said hallucinations before- an ongoing problem for two years now, completely unchecked. He also tries to remind Velma that Diya didn't disappear. She left them.

We then see the same flashbacks, but from a wildly different perspective. She found Diya smoking and accidentally sent the cigarette into her eye. She brought the whiskey but, curious, had some, leading her to break the laptop and the bottle. Her drawings were across important pages of her newest book. Velma throws out her unwrapped present and goes inside.

This tells us exactly one thing: Velma's perceptions of the past cannot be trusted in any circumstance, even now.

Velma tries to push away lingering suspicion by coming into school the next day looking "free of any guilt". It goes well at first, but she's eventually called out and pelted with various foods and insults.

Fred, inspired by her backstory, steps forward and commands the popular kids to chill the fuck out. He makes a piss-poor speech about how, even though Velma is a bit odd, she's not someone capable of murder. Everyone eventually agrees, bolstered by Fred.

Daphne corners Velma in the bathroom, accusing her of trying to steal Fred's attention. Velma denies this, though admits she wouldn't pass on a nude of him.

"Fred? Naked? Hilarious. We've been dating for a year and he still won't take his pants off."

"A year?... Is he gay?"

"I've haven't heard that rumor."

After being told Fred kicks everyone out of the bathroom at the malt shop to pee, Velma drags Shaggy off to visit his house. Shaggy questions the validity of Fred murdering Brenda for something as small as an accidental dick pic, but Velma shrugs it off.

Velma breaks into Fred's house and starts to hallucinate, something she assumed would stop now that her guilt about Diya's vanishing has gone down. Shaggy is on the phone with her as she struggles not to have a heart attack.

Shaggy reveals he has romantic feelings towards Velma after she claims no one likes her. Velma assumes this is a joke.

"What? No you don't. You're like a brother to me. That's hilarious."

The humor keeps her mind off things long enough to have the hallucinations die down a little, and she gets to work. She quickly locates Brenda's camera but finds nothing but various teens hooking up.

Fred appears from the shower, explaining that Brenda also photographed his legs.

Fred explains that he has yet to go through puberty. It's a deep embarrassment to his family, and they've gone to great lengths to hide such a thing. Brenda having a photo showing said lack of growth could very well have made him the laughingstock.

"It's okay! I'm just gonna do to you what I did to Brenda."

Fred reaches into his robe, but before he can finish his thought he's shot in both legs by Donna and Linda. They'd popped by when they saw Norville's car parked outside and heard everything.

They arrest Fred, who seems to be baffled. He seems genuinely hurt that Velma assumed he was going to kill her. He'd been pulling out a pocket book- to pay her off.

Shaggy and Velma talk on the walk home. Norville asks why she's still hallucinating if she no longer feels any guilt, and Velma replies that she does, deep down. She doesn't believe Diya would just leave her, no matter how frustrating she was a child.

Spotting roaches crawling on a recycling bin, Norville opens the lid to find Krista's corpse. She's also lacking a brain. The episode ends.

CHARACTER INTRODUCTIONS

We meet a whole slew of characters this episode. As such, it feels important to make a little blurb on each of them. This will be long, but it shouldn't ever be this long again. Swings and Roundabouts.

Velma Dinkley is around 14-18. It's not been made clear exactly how old she is. She's moody, judgmental, and suffering from unchecked mental illness.

Velma's mental illness is both an important context to the show, but also a strangely gaping problem. No one believed Velma about her hallucinations until recently (except for Norville and Sophie). Her own father dismissed them for two years and shows no signs of trying to get her help when he finally does believe her.

They almost kill her twice in one episode and yet no one around her seems to think it wise to call a doctor or see about avoidance strategies. Her lack of assistance has led to an inflated lone wolf complex, where she honestly thinks she has to do this herself and no one can help her.

Velma has psychosis. She's at the right age to start seeing mental issues crop up in her life, and this is around the time when people start noticing signs of this issue. Yet no one has even considered getting her mental help, or a therapist, or- I dunno, at least looking up ways to help her through the delusions? She's been left to rot with hands crawling under her skin.

Daphne Blake, same age as Velma. Intelligent, meticulous, and a bit petty. Her spite with Velma runs deep, and it causes her to lash out at the girl quite often. That said, it seems she misses Velma more than she lets on- her constant badgering of Velma never seems to cross the line, and their back and forth is honestly the best joke in the episode.

Shaggy Rodgers. Going by his birth name in this show, Norville is a reporter, an anti-drug activist, and potential long-time friend of Velma with a crush. Though a bit clingy, it comes across more as just general ditziness than anything malicious. Their friendship is mostly one-sided, with Velma using him for rides or math homework, and Norville seems to realize that, though he never sticks up for himself.

Fred Jones. Rich, entitled, and a literal man-child, Fred is both surprisingly kind and EXTREMELY rude mixed into one package. It's clear that his family's abuse has run deep in him, and they've allowed him to basically be a giant baby. No one's ever given him a slap on the face to wake him up. But once he gets to know Velma, he goes out of his way to defend her, and seems more surprised than angry when Velma assumes him guilty of the murder.

I do see some form of arc coming with Fred. It's clear he wants to be better, be "the man" his father wants, and I think eventually it will culminate into... something. I'm not saying the arc will be well-written, but I am expecting something from the hints they've dropped.

Aman and Sophie. Sophie feels younger than Aman to me? Not by, like, a lot, but her mishandled hashtags and wine shirts give me "out of touch 30s-40s" vibes, and Aman reads as like. Late 40s, early 50s?

Regardless, it's clear that Sophie (though a bit ditzy and sometimes even insulting to Velma) is the one doing the heavy lifting in the parenting department. She tries to get Velma a job but doesn't have a fit when she quits. She recognizes her hallucinations and is quick to act. She's not upset when Velma coughs on her while regaining her breath. It feels less like her trying to be a mom and more like a weird, somewhat supportive older sister dynamic.

Aman, meanwhile, is focused on his work. As a lawyer, he has long hours and a lot of shit on his plate. He's basically ignored Velma entirely, giving her no assistance when the cops threaten her with jail time. When Diya left that night to get gifts, he "reminds" her to get him something too.

Donna and Linda seem like cool wine aunts to Velma, and though they're terrible police officers it's clear they're good mothers. Not much to say on them, really, besides the fact they shoot Fred in his legs which was some level of brutality when Fred was weak enough for a tackle or taser.

Diya is both a character in this episode and not, but she's important to the plot. Velma's memories of her are clearly skewed- at the beginning it's glorification, then it's demonization, then it wraps around into some form of both.

I want to be clear that the show itself is clearly implying that Diya DID vanish. If she was leaving Aman than why the found car? Why leave her glasses behind? It wouldn't be difficult to crash on a friend's couch and start the divorce paperwork. For all of Aman's iffy traits, there's nothing implying abusive tendencies that would make her feel the need to flee. Something did happen to Diya.

But, while I agree with Velma's perspective on the case, I want to remind that Velma's perceptions are clearly VERY flawed. We really don't know Diya Dinkley. Psychosis has a habit of affecting memory and the process of new information, and it's very likely that those two combined has altered her ability to explain her mother's character to us, the audience.

Here's what we actually know about Diya: she was a mystery novelist. She drank and smoked. She left an unopened gift box and her glasses in the car. The car was stashed in some bushes.

Something did happen to Diya, but her character, her reasons, and her nature are completely null and void to us as an audience. We can't trust Diya as a person. We can't trust much of anything told to us about her from Velma or Aman, as he clearly is living in denial. It's hard to say where that will lead us from here.

FUN TIDBITS

We have no active proof that the popular girls have ever bullied Velma. The only photos we saw are of Velma spilling ice cream and people laughing about it. They said nothing during the bathroom scene, and none of them mock Velma when she gives her input.

One of the books on Velma's shelf is "SCUBA: Do's and Don't's"- maybe she dives on weekends?

Crystal Cove is the name of the town, originally from Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated.

Velma was labelled "Most Revengey" in the school yearbook.

Also, since the glasses were originally Diya's, has she been wearing a prescription she doesn't need for two years?

That damn gift still hasn't been opened and it feels like it should've been taken as evidence by now

FINAL REVIEW

Velma's pilot is... bumpy. Rough. Kind of a dumpster fire, honestly. But if you can ignore the self-referential humor, it's actually not as bad as other stuff I've watched. The animation is solid- especially the hallucinations- so shoutout to the team for doing good work with an iffy script. The voice acting is really good minus a few hiccups, but usually only on phrases that I can't imagine saying with a straight face either. The plot isn't exactly inspired, but I am curious to see where they're going to take it, and who will be unmasked as the serial killer. Also, to find out what the fuck they're doing with those brains. Trophies? Gross.

Score: 4/10, not the best but could be WAAAAAAYYY worse.

[dynared]

Oh boy do I agree with your assessment that Skybound is able to execute its concepts much better than Earthspark! Despite Skybound technically being another G1 continuity, it feels fresh and original and fun, and DWJ has managed to take something old and turn it into something new, an area in which Earthspark failed somewhat. I mean, I respect what they tried to do, but due to so much being told rather than shown (ie, that one moment where Hashtag asked JB if Megatron’s harrowing story of redemption wasn’t the most beautiful thing he had ever heard? really felt like we were being told to like Megatron rather than simply shown a likeable Megatron, compared to those scenes with OP and the deer, OP saving Spike and a bunch of others with the Matrix, and him bonding with Sparkplug. It just feels more organic, ya know? And it lets the viewer form their own opinions without trying to constantly nudge them into thinking a certain way) made watching it very frustrating, and it felt like the writers were trying to tell us what to think about certain characters, and overall just not letting the story breathe and take shape on its own

Maybe it's just the differences between the mediums (namely the issue of budget for a CG show that reuses assets to save money), or maybe it's the quality and styles of the writers (Robert Kirkman and Daniel Warren Johnson are comic writers, first and foremost), but Skybound, throughout all of the Energon Universe, not just Transformers, has been very good at visual storytelling. Seeing reactions to events, having expressions and scenes tell the story in a way that if just described in the text would fall flat on its face, which in turn creates a richer world. Even in a book like the most recent issue of Cobra Commander, where the main battle is a battle of wits and words, the expressions, the surroundings, and the visuals create something that worlds alone, dialogue alone could not convey.

"Show, don't tell" is a basic tenant of writing, one that every writing teacher worth their salt will preach to their students. However, I can only blame so much of that difference on the medium. While Earthspark will never have the visual spectacle of the Skybound comics (there's a reason I want them animated by Studio Trigger) a lot of it is the writers themselves, who really want to beat the morals and messages of the story into your skull without any care for subtlety or nuance, especially Mae Catt, whose rejected script for a Drift episode had him married to Ratchet and debating a spiritual vs. pragmatic viewpoint with all the subtlety of a brick (and considering how badly Nightshade went over to the point the show got put on blast on Fox News, it's no wonder it was turned down and Catt was apparently let go for Season 2).

I'd forgive even that under the idea that it's a show for a much younger audience than the Energon Universe is for, but then you run into the issue of treating kids like morons, which kids hate. Even Marc Summers (host of Double Dare) pointed out on Quiet on the Set that the attraction of Nickelodeon to kids was that it didn't try to educate, talk down to, or preach to kids (which probably explains why he appeared so horrified at Dan Schneider's antics, but that's another story). Although noting that handicap that it's for kids goes back to a more obvious question, why would kids be invested in what's essentially a pseudo-sequel to a cartoon that ended its initial run of episodes in 1988, before some of their parents were even born? The franchise is literally 40 years old this year, and it's been 35 years since the last initial run of episodes aired, re-cut with a kid talking to a cardboard Powermaster Optimus Prime (while Japan was watching Star Saber battle Deathsaurus and his Decepticon forces). Why would kids connect to something they didn't see, aren't shown, and generally are only told in speeches why they should care about it? Skybound took the time to introduce everyone, in contrast, and make you care, even if you've been apathetic to the Robots in Disguise after years of poorly selling IDW comics that were only for a very specific subsection of a hardcore fan, and gave us reasons to care about the cast outside of the cast telling us why we should care.

Maybe Season 2 (which is going to air somewhere, Hasbro seems to have Paramount obligated to do so) will improve these issues, but I seriously doubt it. I just want Earthspark to finish at this point so we can get something else, even if, in a best-case scenario, an Energon Universe adaptation will take years to be feasible. At least Transformers One seems to be getting good feedback from test screenings.

[official-raihan]

The video of my presentation!

< A Video.

Raihan stands on a stage, facing the audience. He isn't wearing his ordinary uniform, instead in a simple white tank top and shorts. His hands are on his hips, and he seems rather confident.

"Hello everyone. This presentation, as I'm sure you're all aware, is on the specifics of handling aggressive or aggravated Dragon Types."

He tosses and catches a Pokeball as he talks, slowly pacing the length of the stage.

"Dragons are generally considered to be more aggressive Pokémon, and while this is true in many cases, it's not something you should immediately assume. Be cautious, yeah, but don't act like every dragon is going to maul you. A lot of the time, that's half the reason that attacks happen," He says, and tosses the ball in front of him. A Haxorus takes form, stretching itself and looking into the audience.

Raihan steps to the Dragon, stroking it's head. "This fellow was ready to kill me himself when we got him, but I knew how to deal with that aggression, and he's proven to be quite a nice little guy, after all."

"When you assume that a Dragon is aggressive, and immediately treat them like they are," Raihan takes a couple steps back, crouching slightly and pulling his arms up in front of his face, as though he were scared, "They're going to assume that they can take advantage of you."

As if on cue, the Haxorus lowered itself, stalking forward and hissing menacingly. Raihan takes more steps back, continuing to cower, before standing straight. The Haxorus lunges for him, but he steps to the side, and grins at the audience. The Haxorus shakes itself off, returning to his side.

"One way to combat this, is by literally combatting them. Dragons are territorial, but they understand strength well, and if you show them that you're boss, they'll most likely respect that."

He slaps his forearms, and runs a hand along the flat of the Haxorus' blades. "That's how I befriended this one."

Once more, he takes a step back, but this time he doesn't lower himself. Instead Raihan stretches to his full height, spreading his arms and adopting an offensive stance. The Haxorus mimics him, entering an aggressive stance and hissing loudly. As it growls, its tail lashes, and it swings its head upwards to display the large blades.

Raihan takes a step towards it, and they begin to grapple. Though, unlike their first encounter, it's clear that the Haxorus avoids cutting his arms. This is an example, for display, rather than a true fight.

They continue to shove and grab at one another, until Raihan eventually lowers the Haxorus to the ground. It stares up at him, tail waving back and forth slowly.

"It's probably the most effective way to calm an angry dragon, even if it may be dangerous. If you are going to do this, I'd recommend taking a class on self defense, or practicing with a calm Dragon that knows you, to reduce the risk of injury."

He grins again. "Obviously, jumping straight into fighting a wild Dragon when you have no experience with that sort of thing isn't a very good idea."

Raihan continues to talk, pointing out signs of aggression, and different warning that different species of Dragons use. He copies different sounds, and goes over other ways to tell if a Dragon is being aggressive, or simply frightened.

When he finishes, he gives a small bow before returning the Haxorus to its ball, and stepping off the stage.

Video ends. >

[discocandles]

I said I'd write this LK headcanon into a scene/ficlet so I'll write it dammit(under a read more bc long):

"Henri, get off the roof of the carriage." Sarah scolded. "You'll get knocked off by a tree branch."

"Sarah, you know that no tree branch can defeat the Great and Powerful Henr-agh!!" Henri sputters as he tries to get the tree branch out of his face. The redhead chuckles, "I told you so." going unspoken. Henri huffed as he clambered back into the carriage.

As he settles in, Henri glances over as Sarah is writing another letter to her Maman. She puts more ink on her quill when she writes to Lady Phillips, Henri's realized. They've known each other for almost a year, but Henri has found noticing Sarah's habits to be entertaining on boring rides. It started when Henri asked Moses why Sarah would side with the British.

It had made no sense. Sarah was always nice to him. She'd speak to him in French when he can't think in English, forget talking. The redcoats l'a traité comme de la merde. Moses just asked if the British treat Sarah like they do him. They don't; redcoats smiled at her and asked what a respectable girl was doing with "rebel scum". Henri guessed he'd think the British were good if they treated him like he was good too. But Henri also realized was it was fun to notice things about Sarah.

Sarah has lots of habits, like if she tapped her feet in a rhythm, she was hungry. Or the letters to pass time on boring carriage rides, like this one. Henri wants to climb the carriage again.

"You're awfully quiet, Henri." Sarah's voice broke through Henri's thoughts. "did you get hurt by the tree branches?"

"Non non, je vais bien. Je m'ennuie simplement. James is so lucky to have been rid of this trip already." Henri replies.

"He will be getting to learn more about the camp than we are." Sarah muses, looking back down at her letter, but didn't go back to writing. Her left hand reaches for her collar and curls her finger under her necklace and started flipping her locket around its chain. Henri focused on the repetitive motion.

Henri thinks he's figured this habit out. Plus vite que normale! Sarah messing with her locket almost constantly for a little over a week has helped. When he or Moses mentioned James, she'd have a hand on her necklace soon after. Sarah keeps flipping the golden locket with left hand as she starts writing again.

Henri figured the habit was about James before they left. Saras can be obvious if you're used to noticing like Henri is. Maybe he should be a journalist. But it could mean something particular about him. She could be missing him, but it's kinda late for that. Henri missed James after he left 2 weeks ago, but they'll see him by supper, so he's excited to see him. Sarah doesn't look excited at all.

The carriage shakes as Sarah dips her quill into the inkwell, and she huffs. Is she mad at him? There's no way James could annoy Sarah when he's not around, so she's probably not angry. Maybe she's worried about him? That makes sense. They haven't heard from James since he left, not like they could get it since they left yesterday morning though.

"Are you worried about him?" Henri asks. Oops, that's probably strange to ask. C'est la vie as his friends back in France say.

"What?" Sarah's eyebrows bunch together more. The hand holding her locket goes still, and she looks away for a moment to close her inkwell before turning back to look at him in confusion.

"about James. You look... worried?" Henri tries to choose his words carefully. If Sarah wasn't worried before he asked, he doesn't want to make her worried.

He seems to succeed, because rather than worried, Sarah looks almost embarrassed. "I suppose you're correct. It's just that normally when we depart after James, he sends a letter about the state of the camp and we at least know the voyage will be safe." Sarah was switching between speaking fast and slow, like a dance he learned at the own square. "But we didn't hear anything this week, so I am a bit concerned about James's well-being."

"Okay. Just wondering." Henri laughed. Sarah was fiddling with her locket again.

"I promise to give you my share of bread after supper tonight if you don't mention it to him." Sarah said. "I don't need him mocking me over what is likely just slow mail."

"Deal. I will never refuse good food."

Sarah giggles, as the carriage continues to rattle. "You never do."

[a-witch-with-words]

Oh My God

Pairing: Loki x Reader

Warnings: None- just a fluffy little blurb

Summary: You’re not sure why one of your deities has been abnormally silent recently.

Author’s Note: This is partially Marvel Loki, partially Norse god Loki.

Word Count: 1,038

“There. Are you happy now?" I set the cup of coffee on my altar and huffed. I knew I would get no response, but still rolled my eyes and finished getting ready for bed. My patron deity, the Norse God of Mischief, had been rather quiet the past few days. I wasn’t sure why he was upset, but I also wasn’t holding my breath that a god would talk to me about his problems.

As I flicked off the table lamp, my room became even darker than what I was used to. Before my eyes could adjust, I felt weight at the foot of the bed and someone crawling towards me. Having seen way too many horror movies, I immediately started kicking and punching. I went to scream, but a hand flew up over my mouth as another went to my throat.

“I'm happy now that I have your attention.” My eyes went wide as I stopped flailing and was met with emerald orbs. “Please don't attack me again. I'd rather not get blood on my new attire so soon.” He removed his hands and lowered himself to lay on top of me, his head on my chest near my heart.

It took a few moments for me to realize who he was.

“Loki!” I exclaimed quietly, not wanting to wake my roommate across the hall. He mumbled as he wrapped his arms around me, oblivious to my confusion. “Why are you here??”

He shifted to look up at me. “You gave me an offering, did you not?"

“I did.”

“And you asked me a question. That I gave you an answer to.” Our eyes locked and I tried to decipher what emotions were behind his.

“Yes,” I laid one hand on his back and the other in his hair. “But why did you come to me? People all over the world worship you.”

He dropped his head again and exhaled, relaxing. “You treat me as a friend. Yes, I am a god, but you’re one of the very few who genuinely ask about my well-being.” He tenderly nuzzled in to me and my face flushed.

“Because you are my friend. Or, at least, I consider you to be.” I gently began to rub his back and felt him tense slightly. “I’m sorry.” I jerked my hands away from him, afraid I’d upset him.

“No, please continue.” As I put my hands back, I noticed he was still strained. But after a few moments of contact, he began to breathe easier. My head was still swimming with questions, but I was more concerned about my god’s comfort.

“Do you need anything to drink? Or eat?” He grunted softly and shook his head enough for me to tell his answer was ‘no.’

“The coffee was enough, thank you. I know you have questions. You may ask whatever you’d like.” His breath against my skin made me shiver slightly and I hoped he hadn’t noticed.

“I just want to make sure you’re okay.” Internally, I smacked myself in the head. He was also the god of lies, of course he’d know a blatant one.

He chuckled softly. “Yes, I’m well aware you’re lying. But I will not pry if you do not wish to tell me.” He inhaled slowly. “I have too much respect for you to do that.”

I raised an eyebrow at the last statement. “I’d still like to know the real reason why you came to me. I refuse to believe it’s just because I consider you my friend.” There was silence for a few moments before he slowly sat up, hands on either side of my head. I let my hands trail down his arms to his wrists, still not convinced this wasn’t a hallucination that would attack me.

“You are different. You’re not like any other Midgardian I’ve ever encountered.” He furrowed his brow as he stared intently in to my eyes, causing my gaze to waiver. “You are supposed to come to your gods when you need help, or to give thanks. You regularly do that- as well as ask if there is anything we need.” There was a moment of hesitation. “And you always pay special attention to me. Why is that?”

I had five patron deities- all of whom knew they were not the only one. Though Loki was correct. I did always take special care of him. I stared back up at him and was surprised to find him eyeing me curiously.

“I know what you’ve been through.” I chose my words carefully. “I’ve followed the Avengers since day one and my cousin dated your brother.” He scowled at the mention of Thor. “I’m not saying I know exactly what it’s like.” I spoke quickly, afraid I messed up. “But I’ve heard the stories and-”

His lips crashed in to mine and I gasped softly, wide-eyed. After a few moments, he started to pull away, but I threw my arms around his neck and pulled him back in. I could feel him smile against my lips as his arms went around my body again. It was a much softer kiss than I would expect from the god of mischief, but I didn’t complain. He held me tightly, though, protectively. Once we separated, he rested his forehead against mine with his eyes closed.

“You have never once been afraid of me. Never once asked for something without offering an equal exchange.” He whispered as if speaking too loud would break me. “After everything that’s happened, you’ve always treated me…like a person.”

“Of course I have, Loki.” I rubbed his back gently and this time, he didn’t tense up. “You are a god, but you’re still a living being.”

“Perhaps,” he hesitated again. “Perhaps I could be more than just your friend?” He opened his eyes and they were shining with infatuation. I smiled lovingly and kissed his nose.

“If the gods are alright with one of their own dating a mortal.” I couldn’t help but giggle at the grin that overtook his cheeks.

“Oh, darling. Humans fall in love with gods everyday. But for a god to fall in love with a human? You will be worshipped for eternity.”