#I'm just against hate to anyone unless they really deserve it

[dragon-tamer-1]

I know people may not like what I have to say on this, but it's just bothersome to see so many posts hating on one person for their beliefs. And to just go "if you support this person you're a terrible person". Like. No. It's fine if you don't like the person then fine, block the person, block certain tags or something. But insinuating that someone who still likes someone's art/writing/etc., just because that person making it believes differently than you, is a bad person. Just doesn't make sense to me. You're allowed to have different beliefs than someone else. Especially if said person didn't hurt anyone with those beliefs. I personally will still like what I like despite everyone freaking out about it. Maybe I'll make a separate blog if people really don't want to see that person's posts on my blog, but I don't like people telling me who I can/can't like. Seems very controlling honestly.

[spctrsgf]

the cantina

summary: men at a cantina are never a good sign. luckily, you’ve got one small trick up your sleeve that you didn’t even know you had. 

word count: 2.3k

warnings: f!reader (din uses the nickname “sweet girl,” I'M SORRY I COULDN'T PASS THE OPPORTUNITY UP), mentions of sex, protective din (deserves his own warning), fluffy as hell

a/n: i am SO sorry for my lack of activity, i've been so unbelievably unmotivated :((( here's an old fic i wrote because protective din has my heart and soul<3

“Hey.” Your head picks up at the sound of Din’s modulated voice, dragging you out of your head. The kid lets out a garble as your attention turns away from rubbing between his ears, but he quickly quiets when you resume your earlier motions. “Mhm?” Your eyes land on the thin strip of glass on his helmet in an attempt to hold his own gaze.

“Would you like to come with us?” 

Your eyebrows furrow. “To?”

Din’s helmet lifts as if in confusion, and it seems to hit him that he never vocalized his plan. “Into town. I need to meet Karga and the kid needs food.”

You look down at the kid, his pearly black eyes now pleading, and relent almost instantly. “Sure.”

Din nods, leaning against the wall as you get yourself together. You could feel his eyes tracking your moves, even through the visor, but he wasn’t judging. Just observing. It’s slightly unnerving, but you try to let it slide off your back. Pulling on a light jacket and sealing the kid in his capsule, the three of you then head on your way. 

You follow Din as he weaves diligently through both buildings and people, but it’s not like anyone’s really getting close. The locals lend you the courtesy of their attention as you pass, stopping to watch with folded emotion. Maybe they don't get many passersby here. 

Nonetheless, the harsh stares punch and stab their tiny claws into you as you fold in on yourself. The new notion makes you unbearably uncomfortable. In contrast, Din stays tall in front of you, the beskar wrapped around him serving as a barrier.

You drop your head at the snarl of one man you made the mistake of connecting eyes with, picking up your pace. As your footsteps become mindless, your mind prepares to delve into itself with the questions you’d since busied yourself away from since leaving the Crest. 

Why did he offer to take you with him?

Why was he talking to you now? He used to be so quiet.

Did he feel unsafe without you?

No, that wasn’t it. You couldn’t protect him half as well as he could on his own under all that armor. Hell, he was the one protecting you. 

Was he worried about you?

No, let’s be realistic here. He’s worried about the kid, and the kid’s recently taken a liking to you. Din wasn’t worried about you, he didn’t return your feelings…

You yelp as you nearly run into the said man’s back, avoiding a gnarly bruise from the rocket he had strapped on. Din turns, and you take a step back with increasingly red cheeks. “Sorry. I didn’t know we had stopped,” bubbles out of your mouth. 

He doesn’t say anything, just holds open the door for you to step in. It wasn’t meant to be rude, you know; he just didn’t talk unless he had to.

But, he didn’t have to ask you if you wanted to come earlier, he could have just told you to-

You squash that thought as you step into the cantina, straightening your shoulders. The atmosphere squeezes the air out of your lungs as everyone turns towards you. Or more accurately, Mando. 

He nudges you in gently as he sweeps past you, Karga already having his ecstatic greeting halfway out of his mouth.

You hover near the door, unsure of what to do. Sighing, you stride towards the bar, deciding to buy a drink and keep yourself occupied until Mando is done. You feel a cascade of eyes on you again, but this time, they’re on you for a different reason. You will your shoulders to not slump as you pull at your attire, now hating the way it hugged your form.

You gingerly place yourself on a barstool, ordering a random soda in a haste to have something to do. The bartender droid slides the drink to you, but before you can catch it, a hand reaches out to grab it.

“Put it on my tab.” The man next to you says as he plops himself onto the seat next to you. You reach out with a hand that shivers to grab the drink, meeting his gaze with a small smile.

“Thanks, but I can pay for it.” 

The man shakes his head. “How could I let someone as stunning as you pay for it? Please, allow me.” 

“Alright then. Thank you.” You take a sip of the drink. He seems nice enough. 

“I’m Qui.” He holds his hand out.

You respond with your name, meeting him halfway to shake, but instead of doing that, he lifts your hand to his mouth, placing a kiss on the back of it. 

You swallow deeply, retracting your hand. Is he flirting with me? Your brain swirls with this newfound discovery. No, that’s bullshit, don’t push it. Your eyes flick across his face quickly before dropping down to your drink. He wasn’t that cute at all, really. You much prefer men that wear a beskar helmet and have a kid with big green ears.

…too specific?

You could feel Qui’s gaze on you as you watch the condensation drip down the side of your glass, hovering in places that make you squirm. Oh Maker. You shift uncomfortably, apparently wiggling too much for the man next to you. His hand shoots out to grip your arm alarmingly fast, and you freeze, unsure whether or not to push him off. “Aren’t you gonna finish that drink, sweetheart?”

Sweetheart. You hate that nickname. 

You cough to clear the shake in your voice, turning to meet his intense purple eyes. “I’m okay, thanks. I actually have some business I need to attend to, but thanks for the chat. And the drink.” You turn to walk away, but his hand grips your arm harder, yanking you into his chest. 

“I’ll come with you. Someone as attractive as you shouldn’t be walking home alone.” His eyebrows wiggles suggestively. 

You shake your head, pulling away from him again. “I’ll be fine, really. It’s just a few blocks away.”

Qui puffs out his chest slightly. “Are you sure?”

You nod, expelling out a quick; “Yep!”

“Could I get a method of contact then, love?”

Love. You only want to hear that one from one person's mouth, and it definitely wasn’t Qui’s.

“Uh, maybe another time?” You back up slightly, unsure of how to reject someone when it’d been so long since you’d been asked.

Qui surges forward and grips your arms again. “C’mon, please? You know you wanna meet up with me again.” 

Maker, how big is this man’s ego? It certainly wasn’t helping that everyone’s now turning to watch the scene unfold in front of them, none even thinking of reaching out a helping hand.

You yank yourself from his hands, taking on a sense of urgency. “No. I said no.” 

Qui’s face twists into a sour frown, jutting out a quip of your name and then “Give me fucking something to contact you with.” 

“N-“

Qui leans in, and you could smell the foul smell of alcohol reeking from his breath. “I said give me something. I won’t ask again.”

“Please stop.” You put your hands up and step back, beads of sweat rolling down your back. 

“Give it!” He yells, and if people weren’t looking then, they sure are now.

You decide that words weren’t going to get through to this man, no matter how hard you tried. Frozen in place, you brainstorm as quickly as you could. You need something that would threaten him, or even someone-

“Is there a problem here?” 

Ah. Like that.

You hear Mando come up behind you, jumping slightly when his hand grips the side of your waist as he comes to stand next to you. Qui frowns, muttering your name in confusion. “Who’s this-“

“I’m a Mandalorian.” Mando didn’t offer his hand out, only a tilt of the helmet.

“Well yeah, I see that-“ he turns to you with a sickeningly sweet smile. “C’mon, you're hanging with him? Ya haven’t even seen his face, I bet.” 

Mando’s hand tightens around your waist, and if looks could kill, Qui’d be fucking dead. A pile of fucking bones.

You surge out of Mando’s grip in a wave of anger, coming up to Qui’s chest. “I don’t need to see his face to know he’s not a fucking asshole like you.” 

Qui’s smile only falters for a few seconds before it renews even brighter. “Ah, I’m an asshole like this? Because you might be saying something different if you and I left right now.” 

Qui’s hand raises to grip your hip, but you’re being yanked backwards into a metal covered chest before he can do so much as move. Your shoulders relax as you puff out breaths of air, coming down from your surge of anger. Mando wraps his arm around your shoulder and pulls you both diligently out of the cantina, dropping a few credits to a waitress on your way.

The walk back to the ship is quiet, and you’d assume Mando is upset at you if it weren’t for the hand that grips your shoulder tightly. You and the kid are ushered in before Mando closes the hull door almost aggressively.

You busy yourself with situating the kid as Mando watches the door close, silent. The green eared menace is already half asleep, so you don’t bother taking him out of his pod, only wrapping a blanket around him. 

You go to turn around to plot the coordinates to your next destination, knowing that Mando is preoccupied in the depths of his helmet, but when you turn, you nearly bump into the said man.

His hands fly to your cheeks in a millisecond, tilting your face left and right as if you had just been in a fight. You let him turn you around to fully assess you, confused at display of affection. As soon as you come back to face him, your eyes dart around his visor like you would be able to read him.

“Are you alright?” Mando’s voice cuts through the silence of the hull. “I- I’m okay, yeah.” You mumble, going to tilt down your face.

A gloved hand catches your chin and tilts it back towards him. “That’s not very convincing.”

“Mando, im fine-“

“Din.”

Your breath catches. “Um, yeah. Din, I’m fine. Just a little shaken, I’ll be okay. I think.” You lift up a hand that’s shivering as if it’s cold.

“You’re okay,” He states, and upon hearing two words that you’d never thought you’d hear from Din’s mouth, you relax slightly into his infinitely stable grip. “He’s not here.”

You nod, believing him. You go to pull away, feeling better now, only for the shock of the whole experience to hit you like a truck. Your chin wobbles as tears threaten to spill over the ducts of your lids. 

Din’s helmet lifts up sharply, and if you weren’t so focused on crying in front of the strongest man you knew, you would have registered it as fear. Your eyes flick downwards as a tear slipped out, not wanting to look at him. His hand shifts to your jaw as he wipes the tear away with a care you’d only seen him extend to the kid, gloves kissing the skin of your cheek. 

“I’m sorry,“ you burst out of Din’s grip in embarrassment, hiding your face. “This is stupid, I shouldn’t be crying-“

“No,” Din snarls, the ferocity of the word causing your head to shoot up. “No, don’t be sorry. It’s not your fault, it’s that idiot’s fault for touching you,” his hands grab at your forearms like a little kid and drags you towards him again, capturing you in a tight hug. “I swear I would’ve- I wanted to-“ he takes a deep breath. “You’re okay.”

You two stand like that for a while, Din whispering reassurances that you weren’t sure were for you anymore. You cry a storm and a half into the crook of his neck, between the lip of his helmet and the edge of his undershirt, finally calming down enough to pull away some minutes later.

But, when you move to pull back, Din’s arms don’t budge. You relent your efforts almost immediately, knowing deep down in your gut that both you and him need this connection now. You weren’t complaining, anyway– this is something you’d wished would happen for so long. Maybe not under these circumstances, but you would take whatever you could get.

“Din,” you mumble into his shoulder. “I’m okay. I’m here.” 

“Please don’t leave.” He barely says those three words, but you hear them loud and clear.

You tighten your grip on him. “I’m not going anywhere. You can’t get rid of me now.” 

He let out a huff of air, and you couldn’t tell whether it was a huff or a laugh. “You were never a nuisance.”

You flush. “Ah, well that’s good news.” 

Din let his helmet drop to your shoulder, the cold beskar a contrast to your burning skin. “You’re amazing. I don’t deserve you, sweet girl.”

Sweet girl. Now that was a nickname you could get used to. In fact, you already loved it.

[hypnoneghoul]

okay this post hurts to make because it always hurts when someone you considered a friend for a little while turns out to be extremely two-faced

@revengeghoulette (her previous account was @sexy-sea-basss) turned out to have been sending anon hate to at least a few people

she has been confronted in a civilized way and told about all the evidence there is against her and she chose not to defend herself

it was hard for me to believe at first because she has never been anything but sweet and kind but while there isn't a direct evidence the anon hate asks in question came from her all the information surrounding the topic is solid enough to make the conclusion. let me just say here that for someone else than her to be sending these asks they would have to have access to her private conversations

do what you will with this information; ignore, unfollow or block her. feel free to reblog so more people see it, especially those that have been victims of anonymous hate on ghost tumblr in the last few months. it may or may not turn out that blocking revenge fixes that problem for some

the reasons I'm making this post and not someone else is because I'm a decently big blog and have a "bigger audience" thanks to that. also because my friends have had enough and deserve to have a break from this entire situation. don't harass me or anyone else about this unless you want to see some of the mentioned evidence. in that case turn to @mac-and-thefox, but only if you can have a civilized conversation. if not just make your judgement about revenge based on this post and let people affected by all of this to breathe. other victims asked not to be revealed. any weird asks I get will be deleted because as mentioned I'm not doing so great about this situation and don't want to drag it out more than it's necessary. mac's stand is the same

the goal of this post is not to create drama; I've been doing my damn best to avoid such things. no, my goal is to...warn people, I guess. inform you and maybe give some a chance of getting rid of some of the hate you've been getting. if you've been following me for a while you should know I will never tolerate anon hate. this isn't my first call out post, either; some of you might remember the last time I put a hater and harasser on blast

those of you who have "known" revenge/luci are probably as surprised as I was by all of this. she has made a goodbye post, looks like the intention was to leave before she was called out

as I said this one really hurts and I have to take some time to process this emotionally because I considered myself to be quite close with rev/luci

see you soon and I'm very sorry to anyone who has been hurt by her in any way. take care

[sarnai4]

Decent

Listening to "God Games" made me happy for a very particular reason. We got to see/hear Ares AND Athena. I adore those too. They would hate me because they're rivals and if they asked who my favorite Greek god or goddess was, I'd just have to say it's a tie between them. Sorry. I just want to give Ares some credit here, though. The guy gets a bad rep because he's viewed as the bad sides of war, but there's the potential of his power being used for good. Sometimes, you have to fight for people's rights. A revolution against a cruel dictator can't happen without that spirit of battle. He might not be the god of winning per se, but there's more complexity to him than just being the god of war in general.

Plus, let's consider the other gods and their...indiscretions. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I've tried to research Ares and I haven't seen anything with him forcing himself on anyone. It's terrible that this is such a huge deal, but he deserves an Olympus award for that. Same goes for all the others gods and goddesses who are that way because we have others (*cough* Zeus, Poseidon, Calypso, etc. *cough*) who don't give a single darn about consent.

My only problem with Ares was that I thought he was a cheater. Now, I actually don't really feel that way. To be fair, I still don't condone adultery and if someone's married or in a relationship, they should be off limits...that said, the same logic means that Aphrodite should have been off limits to Hephaestus because she was actually with Ares first. That's why I find it funny how Athena refers to her as "Your lover" when talking to Ares. It's true, though. Sure, they're cheating NOW, but they were actually together until Hephaestus pulled his "Dad, Mom's gonna be trapped in this chair forever unless you give me a pretty wife. Preferably that lady who my brother really likes. :D" Of course, the story changes a lot depending on which version you go to, but I've consistently seen him trap her before she's married to him. So...I feel like those are grounds to annul the marriage.

Anyway, I just like these little war siblings and would love to see more of them in media portrayed positively.

[fellthemarvelous]

Warning: I use sarcasm when making points.

I have things to say. (And I'm going to be extremely snarky while saying them.)

Y'all, I love Crowley just as much as anyone else, but the way some people think that defending Crowley means it's necessary to villainize Aziraphale is just gross.

Yeah, Crowley is super easy to sympathize with. We all care about him.

But like...some of these Aziraphale hate takes are insane. (And no, haters, I don't actually want to hear from you unless you want to give me even more fodder to work with.)

"Aziraphale shows compassion for everyone except Crowley." (Actual footage from the very first episode, just to name one example, but okay. I guess sheltering someone who was supposed to be his mortal enemy under his wing was a senseless act of cruelty.)

"Aziraphale doesn't love Crowley." (Wait, I totally utilize my heart eyes for people I don't love too!!)

"Aziraphale has never actually trusted Crowley." (They only helped save the world together though. Weird. And then there was that time in 1941 where he trusted that Crowley wouldn't shoot him in the face while their miracles weren't working.)

"Even in second season when Crowley says "I'm a demon, I lied" Aziraphale doesn't think of Crowley's pain, he was busy being sad for himself. Before this Aziraphale even says "I'm like you now" as if being demon is worse thing than killing innocent children and animals." (Whatever the hell this is.)

This one is just really special. Congratulations on walking into the point and somehow missing it at the same time? That's exactly what makes the system so fucked up in the first place and why Crowley doesn't tell anyone that Aziraphale lied to Heaven. This moment wasn't about Crowley. It was about Aziraphale. Crowley knows the pain and trauma that comes with falling and he doesn't want Aziraphale to experience that?? Aziraphale is allowed to be scared and sad because like, I don't know if you know this, but when you've been indoctrinated into blind obedience, going against the grain is actually really fucking scary because the punishment is terrifying. This is why so many religious abuse survivors relate to Aziraphale?? Also, a demon like Hastur would have killed the animals and the children, so....

"I can not in my sane mind think that Crowley could ever trust Aziraphale with his trauma. He would never share anything that was done to him. Because chances are if he did, he would just be invalidated and belittled. Or worse, he would have been blamed even for it since he is a demon and that's what he deserves (which Crowley already believes to be true)." (What?!?!?!)

Aziraphale, most compassionate and kindest angel there is, would mock Crowley's pain? The same Aziraphale who has been mocked and abused (verbally, mentally and physically) by his superiors would turn around and do the same thing to Crowley when Crowley is the only one who has ever understood him? Aziraphale, the angel who gave the demons a chance to walk away from his bookshop without being hurt, would mock Crowley? Aziraphale, the same angel who had to sit there and listen to Shax mock him and belittle him relentlessly while he protected Jimbriel, would invalidate Crowley?

"Aziraphale only loves Crowley as an angel and not a demon." (Yeah, look how disgusted he is...planning a whole ball just so he could hold hands and dance with his demon. Eww.)

"When Crowley asks for the holy water instead of asking for why he needed something that was so dangerous he immediately jumps to conclusions and then hurts Crowley even more."

I mean other than the fact that we saw what happened to Ligur in season one when he got doused with the holy water, I can't imagine why Aziraphale would be so hesitant to hand something like that over to the love of his life. And he finally did hand it over, knowing he would never be able to forgive himself if Crowley did use it to end his own existence. Not to mention that Hell actually did plan to kill Crowley with holy water at the end of season 1. I would totally jump at the chance to give someone I love something incredibly dangerous to them, but I guess I'm built differently. 🙃 And who cares about Aziraphale's feelings on the subject anyway, am I right?

"Crowley has no reason to trust Aziraphale." (I know right? Aside from the time Aziraphale gave him the holy water even though it scared him or the time he used a human magic trick to save Crowley from having to go back to Hell again or the time he protected Crowley's identity by playing along with Bildad the Shuhite so Heaven wouldn't know he was actually a demon or all the times Aziraphale has offered Crowley sanctuary in his bookshop or when they performed their half miracle together or when they literally swapped bodies.)

"Aziraphale chose Heaven over Crowley because he thinks Crowley is beneath him." (I mean he sacrificed his own happiness to go back to Heaven too, but why bother exploring that when we can all just hate Aziraphale for doing what he thinks is the right thing to do? What even are shades of grey?)

Like I get it. I do. Aziraphale leaving was very upsetting because we wanted to see the Ineffable Husbands get their happy ending. But whenever I see people talk about how rejected Crowley feels, like Aziraphale feels rejected too. You get that, right? And I'm not saying he was right for asking Crowley to go back and become an angel again, but he wants Crowley to be safe and he mistakenly believed it would be that easy.

Just because Aziraphale has a lot to learn doesn't mean he's wrong for going back. Just because Aziraphale has flaws doesn't mean he's bad. Crowley isn't the only one suffering and heartbroken.

And we all saw that the Metatron gave him no time to begin grieving over what just happened. Instead Aziraphale turned around, put a smile on his face that didn't reach his eyes, and stepped onto the elevator because he is going to try and make changes even if he has to do it all alone.

How would revolutions get started if people saw no point in trying to change things for the better?

I leaned into bitch mode in this post. It happens.

[im-a-simp-for-my-ships]

I'm so angry, so upset I can hardly think straight. I'd been staying away from the news for a while now because I couldn't take listening to what that tangerine and his cronies were doing next.

And after thinking I'm strong enough to see what I've missed, I hear that the Supreme Court, the right hand of that shitbag in an orange skinsuit, has given the Jan 6th insurrectionists the win they wanted, have overturned YET ANOTHER long standing precedent that now gives the judiciary a giant fucking knife to gut any and all regulations that go against special interests, because they can, AND has now said fuck you to the homeless and have upheld the ban to keep them from sleeping outside even though it's more often their only fucking option when there's no fucking services to give them the help they need.

I'm so angry, so scared, I can't think straight. My heart is in my throat and I'm fucking terrified that with all these assholes telling people not to vote and to throw their vote away because both parties are bad, that it's gonna get A LOT worse come November. If fucking trump gets back into the white house, that's it. The Supreme Court is already unhinged because of what he did during his first 4 years. I'm horrified to think how much worse it can get.

They came for roe v wade. They came for affirmative action. They've made the judiciary into a hammer to break anything they don't like in their way. The majority of the court hates women, people of color, lgbtq+, the poor, and they're gonna come after every one of us just because they can.

Anyone who says both parties are the same?? You can all fuck off into a fucking lava pit. I loathe every single one of you who incite people not to vote because they need to have picture perfect fucking candidate that fits EVERY SINGLE FUCKING ONE OF THEIR IDEALS and refuse to compromise to the detriment of the rest of the country.

This is YOUR fault we're where we are. It's YOUR fault that Hillary wasn't voted president, and we got that fucking grease stain for 4 fucking years, that gave us the supreme court we have now, who's tearing up our rights with every ruling. It's YOUR fault that roe v wade was lost, and that women's bodies, which have always been fair game in red states, are now in even more danger than ever. That handmaidens tale universe is getting closer to being a reality with all the shit you dumbass fucks have pulled.

And now you want to continue with your fucking misinformation and encouraging people not to vote because what, because you think your cause is more righteous than everyone else's? You think someone can't condemn what's happening in Gaza what's happening with Palestinians and still vote blue??? You think if I don't want to hand over control of my body to the government, if I don't want to lose my right to vote, to not worry that they'll be coming after me if I'm lgbtq or a minority or anything they don't view as deserving of basic human rights, that I should be like you??? And toss this country into hands that want to take all that away??? Do you really think not voting for biden or any other democrat is gonna help Palestinians??? Really?? Are you that. FUCKING. DUMB???!! I want to shake every single one of you to wake the fuck up because you'll do nothing but make it easier for the Supreme court to keep doing what it's doing, for the party that hates anything not white, not rich, not straight unless it benefits them, to get stronger and stronger until all of us that don't think like them are crushed like fucking ants under their boots.

So fuck you to anyone who spread lies, who tells others not to vote, that a vote for democrats is a vote for genocide, because you know what? You're slowly helping to kill your friends, families, and yes strangers, because of your inaction. You're helping to put people in power that don't give ONE FUCK about Palestine. Don't give ONE FUCK about anything but turning this country into their own personal fucking playground where they can do whatever they want, with impunity.

VOTE FUCKING BLUE PEOPLE VOTE LIKE YOUR LIFE IS ON THE LINE---BECAUSE IT IS.

[bananastarion]

I don't care what someone did, unless they are a real threat to the safety of other people (and even then, there are better ways of handling that), it's not okay to put someone on blast for merely expressing an opinion on their personal blog. Even if you hate their opinion and it hurts you to see it, it's not against the law nor tumblr terms of service to express your opinions on your own blog. Just do what I do- see something you don't wanna see? Block and move on. Live and let live. Spares everybody a lot of unnecessary trouble.

Right now my dash is flooded with this crap and it's bringing down my tumblr experience, I'm literally just here to enjoy a little escapism and that's all. I don't care about petty fandom drama, like, whatsoever. I don't need to be made aware of every little upsetting thing that happens around here. Unlike a lot of tumblr, I can live with everyone not having the exact same opinions as me, even when I find them personally distasteful. We are all human beings here, have some respect and decorum. Don't fall down that slippery slope of toxic fandom culture.

Even if you think you mean well when you start a callout post linking everyone to someone's blog, you have no idea who is seeing it. You have no idea if it could end up escalating to mass harassment, doxxing and internet sleuthing. Even if you don't like them, even if you feel their personal views are a threat to you, nobody deserves that just for expressing their beliefs on their own blog. You are potentially endangering anyone you start a mass harassment campaign on, you understand that right? What if they have kids, or other innocent people who could be affected? Do you really think mass bullying will ever change someone's views, or will it just spread animosity and misunderstanding further? I understand why people feel strongly about things, but witch hunting will only make this community a worse place for everyone. I can't stand the callout culture, I won't take part in it. Just block and move on folks, we have that privilege here, use it.

Also, this is not calling out people expressing their opinions on drama on their own blogs, without naming the person being called out. Y'all are well within your rights to do that on your own blog, just as I am here. It's the people @ ing others and trying to dogpile them that concerns me. Sure, first it'll be the people you disagree with and everything's fine- but what happens when you're next? I've been in fandom for 15 years, I know how bad this can get. Please don't enable this kind of behavior.

[deandoesthingstome]

Okay, @itbmojojoejo. Mojo, after an evening of reflection, which included some very strange (and dare I say, cursed) dreams, I have the following commentary / Top 5 characters for you.

Under cut to save anyone who isn't following me for off-topic rants.

First, while I have watched, or at least been in the room with, a lot of anime over the years, it's never been an obsession and I don't really think it ever will be.

Don't get me wrong. The imagery is usually very visually stimulating and unique. So pretty/wierd/wtf to look at. And the storylines can be just as deep/intense/thoughtful/emotional as live action, but I think that's the difference for me. I can't quite get past the "pen & paper" of it.

So I'm never gonna ship myself with an anime character. And nothing at all against character shipping, but my brain isn't going there automatically and I'm probably not investing energy.

BUT, I do need something to keep me watching the pretty (or slimey/gloopy/messy) pictures, so let's dive in.

1. Toge. Salmon. (I was going to leave it at that, but...) Look. I'm an adult. Many of these stories are about children. And children can be screechy, annoying things at times. So this guy who only speaks in rice ball ingredients unless he's exercising curses is like a dream come true! Bonito flakes. (Plus, you were 1000% right about seeing more of him in JJK 0 and I really am fond of him, okay? Please tell me I'm still safe from heartbreak. No, don't say anything. I'll find out this weekend when I resume S2.)

2. Gojo. Obviously. He's the best and strongest. He's a sarcastic asshole giving his all to teach his students how to handle their shit and still has to put himself in harm's way and do some pretty unsavory things (killing cursed humans - waaahhhh) over and over. His hair is crazy. He walks around blindfolded. (I still haven't figured out why. Did I miss some dialog about it somewhere along the way?) And he's lost is best friend in possibly the worst way imaginable.

3. Yuji. First impressions. This was the initial storyline for S1 and I love his pink hair and absolutely insane decision to just fucking eat the finger to save his friend! I'm nervous for him because of Sukuna, but the tattoos (I think of the little Sukuna-faces on his face as tattoos, plus all Sukuna's tattoos) are neat.

4. Yuta. (Who I want to call Yutu because the fucking subtitles kept sticking U2 in for his name. And no, not everytime. He also had a million variations like Maki.) Who knew switching to JJK 0 would bring out this underdog? Heard about him in S1, but never met him, really until now. I was about to be torn because what a little shit, to curse his own friend like that. Who dooms themself to be linked forever to another person at like, age 5, even without a curse?? But it sounds like he didn't understand his own power/heritage and so, forgive. And also Rika is bad-ass.

5. Maki. I hated her in S1. What a bitch. But here we go again with backstory and I now admire her tenacity.

Bonus 1: Geto. Fine. Fine! I can admit this character deserves love. I guess. He's Gojo's best friend and a bad-ass technically, but also, what choice, man. What a choice. And, yes, the backstory helped clear up what is now happening in S2 (and S1 really, right?)

Bonus 2: Megumi. I'm sad for him. His father seemed like a total ass. And I love the parallel friendship with Yuji/ Gojo&Geto. Though does that mean...? No, don't say anything.

Sorry, I've lost a little steam on these, and honestly, the more I type, the more I am convincing myself there are other characters to love. Picking 5 (7) was hard. They all have their strong points and weaknesses (Mechamaru you total jerk! But also, the will to survive is so strong!) but I will not get sucked in...

Happy Friday!!!!

[earlgreytea68]

A Note on Olivia's Speech -- Kinda

OMG this is so much babbling but I wrote it all down in case it might be interesting to anyone else who feels vast amounts of guilt over writing about guys all the time??????

When I was a younger writer, I used to write a lot of het. That's what I wrote all through my teenage years and into my early twenties, just tons of traditional male/female romance novels, which honestly was mostly what I read through those years, too (aside from the classics that I was forced to read for my degree in English, which was exactly why I majored in English lol). Even when I started writing fanfiction, which wasn't until my mid-twenties, I wrote het.

But then at one point I started writing m/m love stories, and I never stopped. And I worry a lot about that, like, is this betraying internalized misogyny on my part? Why am I writing about men (and often white men), who get so many of the stories anyway? I should write more about my actual gender identity, which is cisgender woman. But every time I did, it felt so weird and stilted to me. And my motto is that unless I'm writing for money I write makes me happy, so I kept writing m/m fic.

Once, years ago, I went to a presentation at an academic conference where they discussed the phenomenon of cisgender women writing m/m fic. I know this often gets characterized as just some kind of sexual kink, and I just don't think that's what's going on with me, and that presentation noted that cisgender men are the default, so to speak, in our society. And so characters with a cisgender male gender identity are allowed to be blank slates that can be absolutely anything you want. Whereas as soon as you make a character a cisgender female, suddenly there are all these societal pressures on that character. And that did resonate with me, that try as I might I couldn't just change the pronouns of the cisgender men I was writing and ta-da! They were cisgender women! Because there's just so much other baggage that comes with being a cisgender woman that they were freed from if they were cisgender men -- even if I resented that that was the case!

But I've been doing a lot of reading this past year, and not of romance novels, of quote-unquote "serious" novels (an adjective I strenuously do not agree with, as a writer of romance lol). I read Elif Batuman's books (both hilarious but both kind of fell apart about halfway through), I read Checkout 19 (which I pretty much hated), I read Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (weird book), I read The Farewell Tour (which surprised me and I liked much more than I'd thought I would). Every one of these books had a cisgender female protagonist (or co-protagonist), and every one of these books had a major plot point where that protagonist has a terrible, unhealthy relationship with an obnoxious cisgender guy. Every. Single. Book. And sometimes it was more than one unhealthy relationship, and sometimes it was more than one female character within the book. Like, you're going along reading about these delightful and interesting adventures these fabulous women are having, then -- bam! they run up against some guy not nearly as interesting as they are and not deserving of their time and then they waste a bunch of their life (and the book) all hung up on him. And I was just like: It's the year 2023, and this is STILL what the female narrative looks like? This???? We can't tell other stories about women that don't revolve around what men do to them???

It's not that these books aren't critiquing that part of society (which I understand is still omnipresent all around us). All of the books are very conscious that the relationships are unhealthy and diminishing the woman (except maaaaybe the relationship in T&T&T, but that book also is really mean to its arguably asexual MC and basically implies that he'll never be of importance in his BFF's life because he doesn't want to have sex with her, so the book had other issues, tbh). Not a single one of those books actually, you know, has any apparent repercussions for the guy in question, who just seems to go on and live their life pretty carefree and the woman whose life they stomped all over is barely a second thought, to us the outside observer. And I'm sure that's also very true to how society works. But, all the same, it was striking to me that, even if critical, THIS WAS STILL EVERY WOMAN'S NARRATIVE. EVERY WOMAN'S NARRATIVE WAS ABOUT SELLING HERSELF SHORT FOR SOME GUY. Can we not imagine better for ourselves????

And so, Idk, I do try to put people of other genders in my m/m fics but when it comes to a character like Olivia, and thinking of what her happy ending looked like, I just could not make myself put her with a guy. And you might say: she could have gone with a woman! And yes! She could have! But I think I am craving female narratives that aren't about romantic and sexual love. Because every narrative I read about a woman is alllll about romantic and sexual love. The woman belittles herself to squeeze herself into the box of romantic and sexual love, cutting off all of the interesting parts of herself because she's been told THAT is the end-all-be-all. But I am a believer in all kinds of love, and how all of those kinds of love can give you a good and well-rounded life, and it's silly to pretend that there's only one type of love and that we should pursue it at all costs to our selves.

And then I think, well, gee, that's hypocritical of me, given that ALL I DO IS WRITE STORIES ABOUT ROMANTIC AND SEXUAL LOVE. But then it occurred to me that in writing them about two cisgender men, it does feel more like a narrative that needs to be told. Men get so many stories...but they don't often get THESE stories. They don't often get the love story. They don't often pursue their romantic love as if it will fulfill their destiny...because society tells men that their destiny has other shapes and sizes beyond who they sleep with. Maybe, I think, the world needs more narratives about guys who just love, unabashedly and deeply and fulfillingly, and THAT'S the narrative. That's the whole story. Just that. The way it so often is for women.

When I think about Olivia, and even as I sit and struggle my way with Megan in the Regency AU sequel, it's like...I want more for them than that. Like, for so long I grew up with exactly the expectation that Olivia talks about, that I needed to find a husband and that was the most important thing about me. And I watch the younger women I know still get that message. I've got a great career, went to good schools, do interesting stuff, and still a shocking number of people want to know why I'm single. What about everything else I can be????? I have great friends and a great family and I honestly like my life. Who can ask for more than that? Like, isn't the most amazing thing that could happen to Megan, especially in the Regency era, is just that she lives the life she wants??? And maybe that means she gets married and maybe it doesn't but it's cool either way and she has the freedom to choose it!

I don't mean to imply that I don't have internalized misogyny, because who knows lol. I also don't mean to imply that women shouldn't get married!!!! I have many cisgender female friends in very happy and healthy heterosexual relationships!!! It's awesome for them and it works for them and it's cool and I love them and the lives they have built for themselves. Lives come in all shapes and sizes, and that's great. But I finished yet another book with yet another female protagonist in yet another unhealthy relationship for the fifth time this year or whatever and I was just like, No wonder I gave Olivia that speech. No wonder I'm looking for another narrative.

[pacificwaternymph]

Hi so. Double life absolutely wrecked me. I am never going to be over DL!Pearl, that has now been accepted as a fact of life. So... would you mind fixing the canon for me?

Prompts 17, 24, and maybe 28? You don't have to do all of them, but they all fit the plot I'm imagining in my head rn, so I listed all three.

Thank you!!! Poor Pearl needs some more love :'( I love Scott, but Pearl deserved so much better than what he gave her. I will cite multiple tumblr posts and write a whole essay if you need me to to prove this. I don't have many things I'm this passionate about, but I will die on this hill.

17. "You don't have to be alone anymore."

24. "Unless you ask me not to in the next five seconds, I'm going to hug you."

28. "...I don't hate you." "...you don't?"

This one's a bit shorter bc I'm tired today. But I hope it will suffice <3

-

"I don't hate you, you know." Pearl blinked, and looked up at Scott. Her soulmate, who never wanted her. Who she had abandoned the first day and who in turn refused to have anything to do with her.

It was just the two of them, now. Somehow, against all odds, they were down to the last two. There was no one else to focus their anger on, no one else left in their way between them and victory. And so, there was no more avoiding what they'd been dancing around for so long.

"...You don't?"

Scott shook his head. "I'm angry, with you. And I don't know if I really like you, right now. But I don't hate you. I never did, really. It was just... easier to pretend that I did."

Pearl felt a lump in her throat. She looked back down at the lake before them so that she didn't have to face her soulmate's expression, completely unreadable. It didn't work, and she still caught Scott's eyes in the reflection of the water.

"Oh."

Silence fell over the two of them once more, nothing but the sounds of the surrounding forest to fill the space. Pearl wanted to say something, but the words stuck in her throat. How did she do it? How did she even begin to describe the complicated snarl of emotions in her chest that even a mere mention of Scott pulled back up to the surface?

She'd spent this whole time justifying everything she did with the fact that Scott didn't want her, that he couldn't stand her. He had Cleo, his chosen soulmate, he didn't need anyone else and certainly not her, reckless and constantly endangering both of them as she was.

Yet here he was. And his words didn't line up with her thoughts at all.

"One of us needs to die for this to end," Scott eventually said, pushing through the quiet in another attempt to reach her. "After that, it will all be over. We'll go back to whatever world we came from and we can forget this ever happened."

Pearl nodded. She knew this. Everyone in the games had known this, and she was sure that many of them were eager to leave this place behind.

Still, she had to wonder how the more functional pairs would handle having to leave their soulmates along with everything else.

"But... let's not do that." Pearl blinked, looking over at Scott with widened eyes. Had she heard him right?

"What do you mean?" She asked. Scott smiled wearily, highlighting the bags under his eyes.

"Wherever we end up, let's find one another. We can start over. We'll do better, be better." Scott's tone turned wistful. "You won't have to be alone anymore."

Pearl's breath caught in her throat. That was all she had ever wanted, wasn't it? To not be alone anymore. To have someone she could lean on, someone she could depend on not to abandon her at the first sign of trouble.

She was sure that she must have had something like that, in one of her past lives, to want it so badly. But she could not for the life of her remember when.

She sniffed, and Scott's smile dropped, turning to sympathy. Fat tears welled up in her eyes and streamed down her cheeks, dripping down into the lake. Her shoulders began to shake, despite her best efforts to keep them still.

Scott laughed sadly, looking not too far from tears himself.

"Unless you ask me not to in the next five seconds, I'm going to hug you," he breathed. Pearl stared at him for a few seconds, then nodded slowly.

Then there were arms around her, pulling her in close, and a hand on top of her head, gently stroking her hair.

Pearl returned the embrace, fingers curling into the back of Scott's jacket and holding on so hard she was almost worried about hurting him. But he said nothing, so she didn't loosen her grip, burying her face into his shoulder.

Eventually, Scott began to pull away. For a moment, Pearl thought about not letting go. But if Scott truly meant what he was saying, and he really did want to find her in the next life and fix things between them, then she couldn't allow herself to mess this up. She released him, already feeling colder without the context.

"Alright," Scott shook his head, and pulled himself to his feet. "Let's do this."

He offered her a hand, and Pearl hesitated for only a few moments before she took it.

[echantedtoon]

Waning Obsession Ch13 Where We Go P2

(Warnings: Kokushibo gets slapped by his father, cussing, fighting, some men being creeps, Kokushibo threatens someone, mentioned death, Y/n gets sick, etc.

EDIT: Due to getting burnout on this particular storyline, Ch14 will be the last chapter. I apologize for the hasty ending but I really do want to work on other projects, and I'm genuinely starting to like the original a lot better than the rewrite. But I hate leaving things unfinished so I'll still write a final ending. Thank you for understanding.)

The rain was still falling down from the sky as you both walked. The purple checkered haori coat around your shoulders did little to help with the wetness or the cold of the fall season. 

It felt like everything had collapsed around you, and still continued to collapse with every step you take. Mud made squishing sounds under your feet and colorful leaves added crunching noises between the squishing noises and the sounds of rain and thunder. The rain was starting to pick up. The wind felt cold.  

How did it get to this point? It seemed like only a moment ago you were safely asleep in your bed and having nothing to worry about. You felt like a criminal on the run. Only option left was to walk to the executioner's axe and accept your fate. But what had you done to deserve any of this?

"You have to listen to what I'm about to say very carefully. There is a camp just past these trees. You are to stay by my side and not leave it. Do not speak to anyone. Do not look at anyone. And do not acknowledge they're there. The only reason you're here is because I have business and then we're leaving. Don't speak to my father unless he directly acknowledges you first which is unlikely. Am I clear?"

His words were more demands than warnings. But again what other choice did you have at this point? You can't go back. You can't just walk away either. Koku-.. Michikatsu already made it very aware he wasn't about to let that happen. It really was like a restraint was wrapping itself around your body-

CLANK. CLANK. CLANK.

The sounds of metal against metal pierced the air as you both cleared the treeline. You were snapped from any stupor by the loud noises. Taken aback by what F/c orbs saw. White.  Standing before you both was a very large and open field. As dead as the Autumn's bare trees around you. White tents as large as small homes were set up and covering the plains as far as the eye could see. There must've been at least a hundred of them all scattered about. But by fair the scariest thing of all was the figures walking around. 

Men.

They were all clearly men from their height and structure alone, and they seemed to be getting closer and closer. To your horror you've been automatically walking without thinking and THAT'S why they were all getting closer. They were all going about some kind of business. Carrying supplies or such other things, but slowly eyes started looking in your direction. 

Men started stopping to stare at the shirtless demon walking across the field and towards them. No doubt he was intimidating even if missing his haori and having his hair whipping about his face because of the wind. She were more concerned about the rain soaking her body through all your clothes. The stares soon shifted from the demon to the one next to him. A smaller prettier shivering little figure with her bottom lip quivering from fear or cold of the weather. Her hair plastered to her delicate skin and framing her face. Put together by her unique watery turquoise eyes. Like two little ponds floating around her sockets. An haori coat way too big for her plopped around her figure. It all highlighted just how CUTE she looked.

"A woman!" 

The yell was a catalyst for others to stop and come out to stare at the news of a woman coming to join their makeshift camp. Eyes stared. Men went wide eyed and leered. More popped their heads out between tent flaps or walked out from between them. All to grab a glimpse and stare wide eyed at the beautiful woman who wore a look of pure fear. She shook harder scooting closer to the walking demon who didn't so much as bat an eye at her or his men and didn't stop walking with the smaller human struggling to keep up with his pace-

She squealed as two hands just grabbed her shoulders and forced her around until she was staring into the lit up eyes of an unknown male. His black hair tied up in a braid and his eyes happily staring at her.

"Look at this little lost lamb. Wondering a little too far away from home pretty thing?~ HEY!"

A hand against his face pushed him away harshly as another shoved himself into her terrified line of sight. "Back off, Karma! You have a woman already warming your bed at home!" His eyes leered widely at her face. "You're beautiful..Marry me will you?! Everyone back home will be envious if I bring back a vision like you."

She didn't have time to answer. Didn't have time to warn. Only squeezing her eyes shut and throwing her hands over her head as a thick hand wrapped itself around his throat and pulled upwards. His voice choked. Body dangled in the air. Six eyes staring straight into his soul.

"The woman is MINE. If anyone so much as thinks of touching her again, I have no qualms adding their blood on my hands."

Silence followed the declaration outside of the thunder and rain. The mud squished as the body was dropped in a puddle and discarded. The little greedy monster inside him was screaming for righteous carnage. Make an example of this one to others that threaten his future..But the logical side won. No. His father was already angry enough for him being away for so long. Murdering a soilder in cold blood and without honorable combat would only further his anger, and that would only escalate the bad situation.

"What did I tell you about looking at them?"

"I d-didnt-..."

He sighed and grabbed her arm to pull her arm to make her walk behind him. This would never be done if he kept running into distractions such as the man coughed and hacked in the mud like the pig he was. He had other things to tend to. 

The weaving through the white tents and men who looked at him dragging a shivering wet woman behind him as it continued to rain down from the sky on them both. Most looked surprised at seeing a female amongst them but some leered in want or faces turned pink taking a glimpse at her beauty. It made his skin crawl and the greedy green goblin squeeze tighter on his heart. Let them try.

His. THIS WAS HIS! And he'd be damned if he let anyone take this away from him.

The biggest white tents was what he was aiming for. Pulling her along behind him. Two guards were stationed at the entrance but were also taken off guard by the fast approaching demon dragging the girl behind him. She nearly ran into his back as he suddenly stopped. 

"Tell my father that I have arrived back. If he doesn't give me an answer in five minutes I'll come in myself." The confused guard only nodded before quickly disappearing inside the tent with a small flap sound behind him. After a second he looked at the woman next to him. "Remember what I told you. Unless he directly addresses you, do not speak or look at him. Do you understand?" She gulped and nodded. "Good."

The terrified look she gave him made him want to send her away immediately. Let her wait outside for him to finish talking but alas that wasn't how things had to go. Not even a second later the flap fully opened up and the guard was back looking like he'd seen a ghost. Her eyes widened. If Michikatsu was scary enough as a demon, then how scary was his father to be a mere human and still strike that much fear into his men?

"Lord Tsugikuni will see you now, Lord Michikatsu. He says to leave your..." The man took a look at her probably calculating on who she might be. "... Traveling companion outside."

"No." 

The man looked absolutely stunned at his blunt answer. He didn't have time to comment  before he was pushed aside and he stepped inside pulling her along with him until they were both inside the tent. 

It was mostly dark inside. Limited light came in from the crack in the flaps, and the light burning of the end of a smoke pipe. The smell of smoke had her cough a few times before she completely froze as a figure hummed from where he sat. There in the far end of the tent was a much older man. He sat there on the dry ground provided by the tent, staring at a large table. Displayed on its surface was a large map decorated in small figures, drawn lines, and small notes here and there in places. The older man didn't say a word to the demon when he dropped to his knees and pulled the woman into a similar position. There was no noise other than the storm still raging on outside. The raindrops hammered the tent only adding to the tension.

"I have returned. The spies you directed me to eliminate are dead."

"...Is that right?" His voice bluntly stared out completely monotone and devoid of emotions. In many ways it was like his own however he shouldn't be fooled by the emotionlessness of his voice. "And the traitor?"

"He won't cause you anymore problems."

"That's very interesting. Very, very interesting." His face never looked up as a hand pushed the figure of a man on a horse forward half a foot across the table before stopping. "You're late, Michikatsu."

"Forgive me. The encounter was more than either of us expected. My wounds were deep enough to warrant a week's worth of recovery and I had to remain hidden in order to not alert the enemy."

He was angry. He didn't need to look angry to know that he was angry. It was obvious by how he gripped his pipe. How he finally looked at him. How his face finally contorted into a raged scowl.

"And THAT warrants you the right to not send word to me!?" A hand slammed on the table as he stood. Jostling the figures and making the smaller woman jump next to him adding to her shivering. "You ungrateful dam brat! WHERE WERE YOU DURING THE BATTLE PUSHING KIBUTSUJI'S DAM FORCES BACK EASTWARD?! I HAD TO PULL OUT SONE OF YORIICHI'S FORCES BECAUSE MY SO CALLED HEIR DECIDED TO GO GALAVANTING OFF WITH A FUCKING WOMAN?!" His furious gaze snapped back on the girl next to him who felt herself freezing under dangerous black pupils. "AND YOU HAVE THE GALL TO BRING HER HERE IN FRONT OF ME?! ARE YOU STUPID OR PLAIN NAIVE?! WHY WOULD YOU BRING A WOMAN TO A WAR!?"

He remained unphased. Only calmly staring at the furious man glaring down on his face approaching. "I have me reasons for bringing her with me."

"And WHAT exactly is THAT, Michikatsu?!"

"I intend to marry this woman-"

SLAP-

An echo rang out as a large hand made contact with his face. There was silence once again as the rained hammered harder. Pain stung in his left cheek as his face was hit hard enough to be forcibly turned. Shocked silence was all any other person watching could offer.

"Don't. You. DARE. Utter another word of that blasphemy!!," hIs father shrieked at him. "You sound just like that lovestruck fool of a brother who wed a filthy peasant behind my back!! Our family shall not be disgraced any further just because you both fall for the first pretty face that bats an eye upon you!"

His nails dug hard enough into his palms to draw tiny amounts of blood and the little righteous gremlin reared it's hard again to strike out despite the calmness of his tone. "You asked me to find a suitable wife." He dared to open his eyes at the furious man. "I've found one I find to my liking."

"A WOMAN SO POOR SHE COULDN'T EVEN AFFORD TO EAT MY SCRAPS?! She's not even from a noble family is she?! Look at yourself! Strolling in here half indecent and dragging a soggy excuse of a dog behind you!"

"She is mine and I will not let her go. I am willing to do whatever you want for punishment but the woman is mine."

There was silence for a long tense silence as the two men  stared one another down for a long, long time before his father finally sneered.

"Fine. You want this woman?" He pointed at the woman who flinched. Before sticking his finger back into his son's face. "Then you are going to go east and drive what's left of Kibutsuji's men out of my territory with Yoriichi. I want it done with and you back here by the end of this month! If you can do that, then you can marry whatever woman you dam well please. Do I make my conditions clear, Michikatsu?"

"As clear as crystal. I'll make arrangements for her to be sent-"

"That woman stays here with me! That way I know you'll actually be motivated to get back to me instead of taking the scenic route around!" His son's eyes widened before narrowing. "Oh don't give me that look! I'll have her safety in mind. You have my word on that! Considering if you keep yours!"

"Done." Her eyes whipped to him so face it wasn't funny. 

"Then get out of my sight and get going!...And for ficks sake, cover yourself! Have you no dignity walking around half nude as a newborn babe?!"

That's how her world crumbled. Being forced to live in a tent as days slowly rolled by and time was lost other than when the sun rose and the moon faded. Her body feeling the effects of the new fate bestowed on her as she tried her best not to show it.

"Lord Tsugikuni!"

"What is it?!" The older man spat snapping up from the important letter he'd been sent to shoot the nervous looking guard a scowl.

"I-..I-Its the woman. She's b-b-been getting sicker a lot l-lately."

"Then have the camp's physician look at her!! I'm too busy to care about the likes of a woman's worries!"

******************

"You look at me with cold eyes. You see me me and turn away as if you didn't know me."

"...Do I know you?"

"You know that I couldn't have shown you me. Gave you me. I couldn't show you my weakness so I put on a mask to see you but I still want you. A flower that resembles you blossomed in this garden of loneliness. I wanted to give it to you as I rip off this mask. But I know this can't go on forever."

Her eyes still gazed at the ground. Her body small but still so strong as to crush his soul. Rip his heart out to serve on a platter to herself but somehow still rejected the notion she could do that. The whole world sitting in her grasp yet she was completely naive to it or didn't care she had it.

"I will not satisfy your desires for more than what was agreed. I can accept your apologies but I cannot forgive."

"I have made peace with that notion. But I am not here to beg for forgiveness that I will never receive, for I have hurt you and I accept you're stubborn enough to always hold that grudge."

Her form was ever calm. Looking at him for what felt like a millennia of wait. Time vanishing and space darkening except for the gravitational orbit of beauty that revolved around his mind and shown through his sights since the day he laid his eyes on her visage.

"Then what is it do you seek from me, Michikatsu?"

"It's not what I seek. It's what I desire. Wishing that love is as perfect itself. Wishing all my weaknesses are hidden." The room fell sideways in his mond. An oozing feeling on continuous falling for her over and over again. Swallowed by the monster that demanded he claim and the beast that roared at him for everything he did wrong to be made right again. "In a life where nothing was ever genuine, you carved a piece out of my heart that will never feel complete unless you yourself abide by it's beating."

Her answer a head tilt. Eyes grazing the state he was in. Clawing through bodies. Ravaged by freezing cold. No doubt such a sight she disliked but was more than ready to accept given the circumstances.

"What desire do you want that I haven't already given to you?"

Blood ran black fading to a dark purple. A stark contrast the dripping liquid made compared to the delicate object the palm held out. Staining it purity by the blood of the slain and war. Presented to her gaze which widened slightly at soft petals. A beacon of softness in the blight around them.

"Accept my devotion and become my wife. A place not beneath but beside me. For we were lovers before we were ever born in this world. My name shall be your own, your blood shall be mine, and all combinations of life will be one. Accept all of me, as I already have all of you."

She stared at him like that he told her was the most foolish thing he ever said. Heart racing. Eyes staring. Her hand slowly reaching out to him. His eyes widening as the desire he's been wanting finally being fulfilled-

"Lord Tsugikuni, word from the doctor!"

Wait. Doctor?

Heads turned on their swivels. The peace broken as the magic ended. A man panting and frantic for his life fling open the tent without any regard to anything else but delivering his message.

"My lord. She's with child."

[onelungmcclung]

mota for the meme!

the first character i ever fell in love with: I liked DeMarco early on but I was sort of predisposed to (supporting character, was already familiar with Adam Long, I root for little known actors). however, he does suffer from a severe shortage of dialogue. I found myself warming to Kidd early on, too. Crosby & Bubbles's friendship is a highlight of the early episodes. in the opening scene I wanted more of Crank and Blakely.

a character that i used to love/like, but now do not: Brady gets an enjoyable introduction but not much else. (not quite in the spirit of the question – this isn't me going off the character – I just want some good, economic characterisation stuff in later episodes too. some follow-through! but if we're going to talk about lack of follow-through we really need to talk about Westgate)

a ship that i used to love/like, but now do not: I'm still working out if I have any ships, and the show hasn't been around long enough for me to go off anything

my ultimate favourite character™: I like Crank, Blakely, Doug, DeMarco, Bubbles, Kidd, Hambone, Macon, Crosby, Brady and Rosie (and Claytor and Biddick, brief acquaintances both). if I were to pick one, it would be Kidd – but, as I have said, he is the only supporting character I have a really strong sense of, so it doesn't feel like a fair contest.

prettiest character: Peggy is very beautiful. throw over your man, I say. Paulina, I'm available.

my most hated character: I hate nobody, but I wish the series weren't told from a small number of POVs. BoB manages its large cast better. I would like fewer scenes with Egan &/or Cleven and more scenes centring other characters/dynamics/friendships. (I like the Tuskegee Airmen scenes for this reason; no single POV is centred. also the lack of narration.) I do have sympathy for every character who gets annoyed with Bucky – not because I'm disposed against him, I just think, in context, they're right 🤷‍♀️ (I did want to see him wearing a narwhal horn, though)

my OTP: possiblyyy Kidd/Rosie. possibly. thinking it over. in terms of canon, Helen/Nash had some of the best chemistry in any of the three shows. in terms of friendship possibilities, I want to see more of everyone and everything. and as I think I have made abundantly clear by now, my favourite among the crews we get to see is the Blakely, Kidd, Doug & Crosby lineup of ep 3.

my NOTP: I don't get that invested and I don't read much. the mainpairs, as usual, don't really appeal.

favourite episode: maybe episode 7 or 8

saddest death: I was genuinely upset by Hambone's 'death' (which seemed both horrifying and terrifying) except he turned out not to be dead. probably Bubbles.

character that everyone else in the fandom loves, but i hate: I'm relatively uninterested in Buck and Bucky; I blame the script; I've glanced through Miller's book and find the real guys more compelling. I'm rather indifferent to Lemmons, although I'd like to like him more. (also I like Crosby but I dislike narration unless absolutely necessary and a lot of it wasn't. and he's not a cinnamon roll, he's an everyman, come on now.)

my ‘you’re piece of trash, but you’re still a fave’ fave: I think these shows are fundamentally quite optimistic about people. but I think MotA does a slight injustice to the British forces. and I have already defended Huglin.

my ‘beautiful cinnamon roll who deserves better than this’ fave: that's the nature of the genre / this is a woobification-free zone. but the Tuskegee Airmen got short-changed. so did Westgate and the Allied intelligence subplot (at least include a glimpse of her in ep 9 so we know she's still alive? during the 'war is over' announcement mayhap? if u really don't have time for more actual subplot, which is just bad planning). a little bit more of Solly would have been nice (maybe a Solly & Rosie scene?).

my ‘this ship is wrong, nasty, and makes me want to cleanse my soul, but i still love it’ ship: I am a fine upstanding citizen (has anyone considered Biddick/Bryan... not that I consider it wrong and nasty, I just think they could work out their differences/competitiveness some other way... but I am aware the answer is 'no') (this is merely a fleeting thought)

my ‘they’re kind of cute, and i lowkey ship them, but i’m not too invested’ ship: could have probably got into Alex/Buck or DeMarco/Macon if they'd had another scene or two. I do not put it past myself to mildly ship Marge/Peggy. I don't really ship it but I think Chick and Red have good chemistry considering their lack of conversations – they seem very used to each other; not sure if JM and SCM had worked together before but their characters genuinely come across like two people with a close longterm working relationship. (I could believe they're together.) Biddick/Snyder deserves a little attention even though I don't have anything to contribute.

[woodsfae]

Babylon 5 s02e16: In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum s02 ToC • previous episode

Dislike that they're turning the Narn refugees back unless they're injured. At least they're taking the injured, but damn, Earth won't take any refugees, even temporarily? That's awful.

Vir: Stop asking me things with uncomfortable answers. It makes me uncomfortable.

Not a great time to be a Centauri with a shred of a conscience, but a political position. Especially gross to be anyone dealing with fuckhead the asshole. Mor something?

Great hate speech by Vir, he's come a long way in expressing himself. It would be nice to see Shadow-lackey die a terrible death.

I, personally, would not name any kind of ship or vessel which I wished to remain in one piece, the Icarus. I'm not superstitious superstitious but I am a little superstitious. Don't wanna get on a submersible boat named Titan Titanic, either. Just seems like tempting fate. Or if not fate, then getting mocked in memes by teenagers after your ironic death.

Dun dun dun!! Shadow asshat was supposed to have died on the Icarus with Anna! Is she dead? Is any of that crew dead?

Morden. And he's on the station!

I reflexively distrust and dislike every single person who comes onto the station specifically to see Talia. Matt Stoner. Every PsiCorps episode. That time Kosh and the Guy With The Good Hat indulged in a little, light, mental torture to evaluate her. People just fuck with Talia and she deserves a break and a nice episode where she kisses Susan and relaxes a little.

This security guard taking Morden aside looks a lot like Willem Dafoe. But I don't think he is. Probably?

Morden's playing it slick, but Sheridan is in a bad bad mood. He's got a good explanation. He's a damned liar and he's AWOL. Just because he was assumed KIA doesn't mean he isn't still obligated to report back to duty.

But of course, Sheridan prefers to threaten him with making his legal status become his actual physical status (dead).

It makes sense that someone who's seen as much trauma and been traumatized as much as Stephen Franklin would need to talk it out. And it makes sense that he would have lowered inhibitions and feel compelled to talk about it when he's in the middle of another traumatic scenario. But the religious musings spoken through the characters' mouths is pretty tedious and not my favorite aspect.

Gross earthforce spy network setup.

Garibaldi being the voice of reason and urging adherence to moral guidelines is hilarious. Maybe that's what he needs: someone who's more of a loose cannon than he is, to keep in line.

This dichotomy is dumb. Message earthforce and be like "May I detain this AWOL member of earthforce that, surprise, isn't dead!" They're so suspicious and fascist right now, of course they'll support detaining him!

Idk if Talia going to help violate Morden's rights or not. And idk what Vir is going to disclose! Exciting!

The Centauri must go through so much hairspray. Vir's hair hardly even wobbles as he bobbles.

Literally it seems like all of thise would be resolved by calling Earthforce and telling them Morden's alive. I really don't understand why Sheridan isn't using the might of Earthforce to do all this with full military backing and support.

Two creepy shadow being accompanying Morden! I don't like that at all!

People really need to stop using Talia's abilities against her and to manipulate her into using telepathy against her better judgement and against the literal law. Super dickish. Sheridan's making a lot of indefensible calls in this one.

They need a therapist or twenty on board.

The Vorlon are so funny. All of the lesser races are as bugs to us….the Minbari are the best bugs and we prefer the best bugs to any of you annoying ones.

Deep Lore Dump.

The Ancients (who haven't "walked among us" in ten thousand years) fought the First Ones and (?) the Shadows over the millennia. They haven't been around since the last Great War. The Minbari were a space-going civilization at the time! Damn! No wonder they're so elitist! They've Seen It All.

So…Vorlons are some of the Ancients? Or at least they sheltered Kosh, an Ancient among their ranks? Wild that "everyone" will recognize him if he's out of his encounter suit. Or perhaps Kosh's idea of everyone is "everyone who knew me ten thousand years ago," lol.

Very grim outcome for the crew of the Icarus, but it does make me think that Anna will be back.

Anytime there's a debate about allowing mass death and atrocities for some future greater good, I don't care. Save the people in front of you. This WWII story is grim af. iirc, Britain was great at catching German spies. I should think they could totally have evacuated Coventry secretly. Really grim.

"What did you see?" "Nothing. Shadows."

Ewwww gross, Zach the security guard is going to be an earthforce informer. I really, really do not like the implications of a group of people with armbands being spread around to intimidate the populace.

This is a good decision by Sheridan. He's good at war, and it will be better for him to turn his energy into beating an ancient evil than to spin his wheels at B5.

Kosh saying he will die if he goes to Z'ha'dum doesn't mean he'll die if he fights the Shadows, imo. Many things in this show seem to revolve around loopholes, semantics, and pedantry. What if the Shadow leaves Z'ha'dum and is defeated in another place? That's a Sheridan-worthy escape clause from Prophecy of Doom.

next episode

[halfmoth-halfman]

Cat anon here! Wrote a bit about Canary and the cat based on your reply at like 4 am so I apologize for any mistakes.

(Does this count as fanfic for another fanfic?)

…

Makarov, his daughter, and Graves were all dead by Canary’s hand. Price was out of jail, and Shephard in it. Canary finally had her estate and money back, although she couldn’t bring herself to go back, due to the memories it brought.

Canary sat outside, the sun setting, casting an orange glow onto her, in a way that any stranger who looked at her would mistake her for an angel. Keyword being “mistake”.

As she breathed in the fresh air, she could hear a soft meow. Canary looked over to see a Calico cat. Her right eye was scratched out, only leaving her left one, a menacing yellow. Despite her appearance, the cat meowed and approached Canary, rubbing up against her and purring. Canary found herself smiling, something that was rare nowadays.

Canary scooped up the cat and somehow made it to the bedroom she was sleeping in (she still refused to sleep anywhere near Price) and set her down on the bed.

The cat stretched, before making biscuits on the blanket. Canary scratched the cat’s head, surprised how friendly this stray cat was.

Unless…she too had been abandoned and hurt by people she thought she could trust. Canary frowned as she looked at the poor girl. “I’ll protect you.” She whispered.

…

After a few days, Soap entered the room to check up on Canary. He paused when he saw the cat before smiling. “Oh, ye got a cat? Let me see!” He said, walking up to her. Canary’s grip subtly tightened on the cat, still not a big fan of physical contact.

The cat seemed to notice this, because she hissed, leaping up and meowing in a way that made her seem possessed. She began biting and scratching his legs, making Soap shriek like a little girl. Canary rushed over and picked her up. “Bad kitty! Bad!” Canary scolded.

…

More instances like this kept happening. The cat hated everyone except for Canary. It was almost like karma.

And that’s what Canary named her. Karma would purr and cuddle against her, and even sneak outside and return with random “gifts” for her. But with anyone else, she made their lives hell. The club talked about getting rid of Karma, but Price, despite being one of the cat’s main targets, objected. Karma was the only thing that Canary happy nowadays, he wouldn’t take that from her. He even considered it to really be Karma, and that he deserved his shoes to get pooped in, to be woken up at 3 am, to have his shirts ripped.

…

That’s it! Fun fact, Calicos are all (except for a very small few) female! Hoped you liked this!

don't mind me i'll just be sobbing in the corner 😭 this is officially a karma stan account

there's just so much i love here. canary finally getting her revenge but still not being at peace. a little one-eyed stray being the first thing to make her smile. the cat making biscuits on the blankets!!!!! canary seeing pieces of herself in this little creature and deciding to do for it what no one did for her, and protect it.

and the cat not letting anyone near her, and being a complete menace to everyone except canary. going out and bringing her gifts, but ripping up price's shirts. i'm screaming.

what's the opposite of an emotional support animal, cause that's what karma is to the 141 LMAO

i loved this, and your fun fact, very much omg thank you so much for sharing 💜

[aphroditelovesu]

Part 2 of my thoughts:

but I’m already anticipating that one woman(sorry I can’t remember her name but the girl who was in the one shot trying to poison us) coming into the story and how Alexander will react to her doing something to us (if she does) because no way is anyone replacing us to Alexander. NOT PERDICASS SAYING HE HATES US FOR NOT CHOOSING HIM. This man needs to clam down and maybe he can be a side piece. “You would be his, one way or another”. OH. That yandere is really coming out right now and I’m LIVING for it. I love reading about people being obsessed with us because we deserve all the love and attention in the world. “He smiled like a fool in love when he saw you, asleep”. Ok, I know it sounds a little stalkerish of him to say but why did that kinda just make me want to forgive him for what I know he’s about to do. Like not you admiring us when we’re asleep, we’ve got you wrapped around our finger man. I know he just helped Persian spies kidnap us but these lines….Perdiccas approached you and picked you up carefully. He smiled one eye when he glimpsed her beauty.” I GET SO MUCH JOY READING ABOUT SOMEONE OBSESSING OVER US. Alexander, Perdicass, the generals. I don’t care who I just love reading about any of our men yearning for us so bad that they can’t help just wanting to spoil us and treat us like a goddess. Sorry Perdicass, right now Alexander is still my #1 unless he starts treating someone better than us or does something crazy and ruins everything (which I hope he won’t). Overall another gorgeous story from you! I love all of the details and the characters plus their relationships I mean their relationships are so developed and well written that I honestly can put my self in our girls shoes and picture everything happening. I just need to read more and more of your writings they’re so addictive! Can’t wait for the next chapter and any one shots about anything that you have! (Sorry this is so long I just have a lot of thoughts. I used the word love a lot too but I’m really bad at using different words to express myself)

Roxanna will cause some problems in the story! Especially when Alexander marries Stateira and Parysatis. Our girl is going to have a hard time with her...

I don't know if you read an imagine I wrote a while ago, but it shows what Alexander's reaction would be to Roxanna doing something against our girl. It doesn't end well for her, however.

Perdiccas is confused! He loves her, or he think he loves, and he lost her. He is angry and hurt and this has caused him to take not-so-good action.

Haha! I like Perdiccas and that's why I try to write him in a calmer way but his yandere side is coming out and, with the kidnapping of our girl, Alexander's will also be shown.

I'm not going to lie, I also love reading about obsessed people, I think that's why most of the reading I consume is dark romance or yandere. You can blame me if you want but I have no shame for doing so.

Thank you very much! Seriously, I'm really happy to read this! Your kind words made my day!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

[fictionfreedom]

hi. i dont know how to really start this but like. i guess i present myself as being against radqueer stuff / pro para stuff. like outwardly. but if we're being honest i feel like im probably one myself. i feel stuck. everyone who knows me i think is not okay with this stuff. basically ive just been supressing things this entire time. i dont know if its good to live that way? i guess it sucks to know that honestly a lot of people would hate me a lot for who i really am and how i really feel. i dont want people to attack me but like. i feel kind of... fascinated with the para community? like. i wont lie ive followed quite a few people in this community in secret but otherwise just suppressed it. the recent callout stuff thats going on this website though is like... it feels like its bringing stuff up. like obviously i dont agree with like acts of abuse but like. ive been breaking down a lot suddenly about seeing people who are similar to me getting harassed for things that i feel too. like i suppress it and pretend to be anti i think because i just want to survive. eveyone says like its the more moral thing to be against this stuff because its bad and gross and only bad and gross people feel that way. i dont think im bad and gross? i mean sometimes i feel that way. but like, my attractions dont feel gross in the moment. i only feel that way when im beating myself up for thinking about them. i feel like i still want to otherwise keep them to myself outside of this anon but it hurts honestly to see people who i like talking about how it makes someone a bad person and that you deserve harassment for it. i dont know if it woild be helpful for me to be open and prideful like everyone else. i dont want to be hurt. but i want friends or something that wont hate me forever or even ruin my life because i feel the way i do. i mean ive tried to stop feeling aroused and attracted to the things i do. ive tried but obviously i cant stop it and it's probably uneraseable. wtf do i do?

Wow that's a lot for an ask. I don't quite know if I'm good at giving advice but I'll definitely say this: You are in no way a bad person for these feelings, and the fact you even feel bad about them in the first place proves that. It is not a thing you can necessarily stop unless it's a trauma response, and even then most people have to go through therapy just to get close to stopping those feelings, and even then that's usually just dealt with through finding ways to have an outlet for harmful paraphilias such as certain kinks and whatnot so that they aren't actually harming anyone, such as roleplay and whatnot or through means of fiction. I will still say it's best you don't identify yourself as a Radqueer, as most Radqueers are well known to be Pro-contact which means they are fine with people acting on things like pedophilia and zoophilia outside of a roleplay/fiction scenario. If you feel that you want to express your paraphilias and whatnot to other people, even if those people aren't your friends but rather just a good community, I'd suggest looking around on here for servers and whatnot, but again I suggest avoiding radqueers and any places that say they support anti-recovery people. You may HAVE to interact with Radqueers or radqueer-type things to find stuff about different labels and whatnot, but besides that I still say avoid them or interact with them in a careful context. It absolutely isn't a good way to live, suppressing these things and beating yourself up over it, and even if you just continue to vent or talk about these things anonymously it's still a good thing to talk about. You are not a bad person for feeling or thinking these things, no matter how you feel about them, and the only thing that can make you a bad person in this situation is if you act on them in a non-fictional/roleplay scenario.

If anyone else has advice for this person feel free to put it in the comments/reblogs, and I will personally be deleting anything rude or hurtful towards this person as they are obviously not doing well mentally because of this stuff.

-Michael