#and she told me 'i feel bad bc they probably don't know better' (& she was naturally also very afraid of seeming 'angry' @ them)

[britneyshakespeare]

You know last week before my night class started I was chatting with this girl who sat across from me and mentioned how I was tired and could really use a cup of coffee and she goes "oh, so I guess coffee is your spirit animal?"

And I was like... no... no not really...

[thebearer]

just thinking about brat tamer!lip, like he would literally fuck you until you can’t even think or do anything but whining and he'd be so mean about it, i love hiiiim <3 could u write something like that?

brat tamer! lip is so special to me bc he's so real for that lol.

minors dni 18+

"Why you gotta be so fuckin' mean, huh?" Lip grunted, one hand on the headboard to steady himself, the other tangled in your hair, yanking until your scalp screamed.

"Just gotta run that fuckin' mouth, huh? That's all you do? Just fuckin' run that mouth." A particularly hard thrust annunciated his irritation, leaving you gasping, a gut punch of a feeling to your cervix that had you breathless.

He was being mean, so mean, you'd made a point to tell him that too. You supposed you deserved it, for how mean you'd been earlier.

"What? You got nothin' to say now? No mean ass comments? C'mon, baby, let me hear you. You were so fuckin' loud and obnoxious earlier." Lip sneered, pulling back on your hair so you whined, pulling you into his chest. His hips didn't stop, hands moving to hold you lightly by your neck, just enough pressure to have you clenching and whimpering.

"You gonna say you're sorry t'me?" Lip rasped, nose pressed to your temple, hands snaking up your throat to grab your jaw, pull your face towards his. "Say you're sorry."

"'m n-not, sorry." You whined, legs wobbling when his hips snapped into you, sending you reeling all over again. "You were the one ignoring me-oh!"

"I was working, you fuckin' brat." Lip sneered, fingers curling and pressing into your jaw. "How about I come to your fuckin' job and start actin' all horny and desperate? See how you like it, huh?"

You pouted, satisfied that you'd gotten him so flustered and furious. "You'd like that though. I know you would. You'd like it if I came in and-and distracted you like this? Desperate." Lip growled.

"N-No, 'm not." You whined, your voice lilting and nasally, that pitch that had his abs clenching, waves of pleasure shooting through his own body.

"You are." Lip huffed, his breath hot on the shell of your ear, the ghosting of a whine trailing. "Say you are."

"No." You whimpered, hips grinding down to meet his thrusts, desperate for friction. You were already so close.

"Say it, or you don't get to cum." Lip commanded, yanking your jaw towards him so you faced him, noses brushing. "Say you were actin' desperate or I stop. I'll cum either way, but you... fuck, you won't get to cum."

You knew he was being serious. He'd jack himself in front of you, probably tie you up and make you watch while he told you what a bad girl you were. You huffed, bratty and petulant, making Lip suck his teeth.

"I-I was..." You leaned against his chest, head lolling back in pleasure when his free hand rolled your nipples. "I was desperate." You muttered, eyes closed, refusing to look at him when you grumbled the phrase.

"Look at me." Lip growled. "You know better, look at me."

You blinked, looking at him through hazy, blurred vision, lust drunk and so close to your own orgasm it was painful. "I-I was desperate, Lip, please." You whined, lip jutting out in the perfect pout.

His eyes flickered down to your lip, teeth baring and resisting the urge to bite your lip. Roll it between his teeth, pull it so he could hear you whine and cry. His cock twitched at the thought, hammering into you.

"Say you were a bad girl." Lip commanded, his free hand gliding down to your mound, fingers ghosting over your puffy lips, purposely avoiding your clit when he knew you were so desperate for him to touch you there- knew it would send you over the edge. "Say it."

"I-I was... Iwasabadgirl." You sobbed, his pointer finger pressing on your clit, rubbing just enough to have you bucking in his arms, legs shaking and flooding his cock, overtook by your own orgasm.

Lip held you while you shook, slow rocks of his hips until your eyes were glassy, body still shuddering with aftershocks. "There she is. There's my bad fuckin' girl." Lip grinned, lying you against the pillows, sprawled out and whimpering.

His hips ground slow against you, feeling your spasming clenches, hearing the wet squelch that filled the room. "Can you be good f'me? Lay there and let me finish?" Lip tilted his head to the side, tapping your cheek lightly to look at him, hovered above you with piercing eyes and flushed cheeks.

You nodded brainlessly, muttering some sort of agreed nonsense. Lip snorted lightly. "Good girl. 'm close, alright? Just give me a sec."

[marblecakemix]

I'm still so bitter about how the trans community never told me the negative effects of T and binding. I'm so lucky that I didn't do any of those things, bc now I know they would bring me extensive pain, destroy my whole menstrual cycle, skeleton structure, and overall well-being forever.

I learned about it from people the trans cult despises the most, women that they are calling terfs. They saved my life, my dear friend saved my life because she found Radblr and showed me that my feelings are valid outside of the gender spectrum and that it's okay to be just a woman. I know if not for her and this wonderful community I would have gone through T and probably let my boobs be cut off even though I did like how I looked before entering the trans cult.

I'm so bitter about being lied to by omission, by a community that was supposed to protect me from this big bad world.

And the funny thing is, I feel so much better now, I don't have to take my anti-depression meds, because I'm genuinely happy and at one with, my body now. The big bad everyone around me was screaming about saved my life and I know I'm not the only one.

There are many like me out there and many women who weren't so lucky and now are detransitioning (51k just on Reddit).

My rage has no end and I'll fight for every single one of those women. They deserve to feel as happy and at home as I do now. I know I can't do much, but maybe I'll stir something in those lost women by telling my story. I really hope I do.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for coming out as bi to my girlfriend and voicing my concerns to her

I (18M) have been dating my girlfriend, L (20F) for three years now. our relationship has been great so far, we were attracted to each other from the start. she has always been very flirty and tbh that's how she won me over at first, because teenage hormones are gonna teenage hormones y'know, but when I got to know her better as a person I realized my feelings for her weren't just sexual - she is kind, gentle, overall really sweet. I was, and still am, attracted to her in every way. L is also openly bisexual, fully out, and idk I've always felt so safe around her because she doesn't judge others, I think she's so beautiful inside and out. she has been my first girlfriend ever so I always do my best to be supportive and make her feel loved.

a few months ago I realized I'm bi. I thought, hey, since she always speaks about her own bisexuality I think I can tell her I'm bi as well. she was, as usual, very non-judgemental but she said something that I didn't like, something like "you see how much I love and trust you? someone else would've been like OMG YOU'RE PROBABLY JUST GAY AND YOU WANT TO CHEAT ON ME WITH A GUY". I was,, confused bc 1. I think supporting your partner when they come out is the bare minimum, 2. she is bisexual herself and I don't think shes gonna cheat on me with a girl, I never acted like I was great for supporting her and 3. I know I'm not gay because L can do whatever she wants with me so I dunno what that comment was for. I've enjoyed my intimate encounters with her too much to be gay and she knows this.

I was a bit annoyed but still grateful that she was supportive. I noticed our sexual activities increased after that and a part of me wondered if she was trying to make sure I'm not gay. which made her look like a bit of a hypocrite because she never had to "prove" to me that she's not gay. not complaining tho - I just found it odd? I think it's a weird double standard, but then again I know women are always putting up with double standards so I feel like I can't tell her abt how strange her comment was. I just don't want L to think I'm not attracted to her and I started feeling like an asshole for telling her I'm bi.

but she got actually upset over something else that has nothing to do with us being bi - when we first started talking, she was dating another guy. I knew this, so I was respectful, I thought that L being flirty with me was some kind of joke until she told me she was serious and she couldn't stop thinking about me. L didn't cheat on him, she broke up with him before she started dating me, and recently I told her "hey... I won't be that guy one day, right? I trust you and I know you won't cheat on me, but I remembered how our friendship first started and if you ever stop loving me I would like to know before you feel ignored enough to start flirting with other guys". she got very visibly upset, she said I was right, said she felt cheap and like a whore and ???? NOT AT ALL WHAT I FUCKING MEANT. I was trying to tell her I want us to have communication, because I love her and I want our relationship to work out.

I feel like a shitty person and boyfriend, first for telling her I'm bi even though it wouldn't have an impact on our relationship, then for trying to voice my concerns and accidentally making her feel that way.

I've apologized a few times and we're good now but she introduced me to her best friend and,, this girl just started talking abt how she will guide me so I can properly take care of L? it made me feel really stupid. I felt like a child tbh. we are bi but not poly (I respect those who are, just giving you context) so idk why she felt she had to insert her friend into our relationship. am I really so bad that my girlfriend has to ask her friend to teach me how to be good to her? I would understand this if L had some sort of disability but her friend just talks to me about BDSM and doms/subs and like ??? I feel like L being a sub has fuck all to do with our argument, but I still feel terrible. pls help me make sense of these things. I want to know if I am the asshole.

[starfxkr]

hii hii, my day was straight shit today, i almost got assaulted by a guy that asked me to hang out and smoke with him. i had to start leaving to go to work and he asked for a hug and tried to shove his face into my chest, i pushed him away and told him not to do that and just sped walked off while he was calling after me. luckily God had my back and two of my friends were walking past so i called them over to me and asked if they could walk with me to the bus stop bc i was scared and i told them what happened. he was calling me and following us and when he caught up to us, he started accusing me of having his weed pen (which i gave back to him) and wouldn’t stop asking me for it even though i checked my bag. i got so overwhelmed that i literally burst into tears while i was telling him that i didn’t have it and had to walk away. my friends were yelling at him to leave me alone bc i was crying and that i didn’t even have pockets so i didn’t have it and he told them that he was gonna call the cops and my friend told him that she didn’t care and that she would call them herself and after she said that he walked away. she called our mutual friend (who’s like a older sister to both of us) and she was like “i’m coming to the campus tomorrow and if you see him lmk so i can slap the shit outta him”

how do you think the boys would react to that situation if they got a call from one of the girls friends saying she almost got assaulted?? ik rafe and jj are crashing out immediately (especially pogue!rafe and trap!jj)

it takes rafe .5 seconds to find that asshole and knock his block off, like i'm talking there's a 1% chance the other guy doesn't even make it out alive. if you ask him what he's been up to he just replies, "just ha to handle something everything's fine." and when you find out he's dead/in critical condition you know he had something to do with it but you dont feel bad.

jj (especially trap!jj) takes his time with it, he's beating him to death and the whole time calling him everything but a child of god for thinking about doing some shit like that and he's cagey about exactly what he did because he told you he was gonna go fuck him up but you don't push it.

pope's got a vengeful streak, he might not get physical but he's gonna put some shit in motion to ruin his life. would probably cut the breaks off his car tbh and no one suspects him because it's pope he'd never do anything that crazy.

john b brings you with him when he goes to fuck him up to make sure he's got the right guy. he wont kill him but he beats him realllll bad to the point you have to pull him off and the guy knows better than to say shit about it.

[theitgirlnetwork]

Better

Ch. 11: Three Months But It Feels Like Forever

Note: Hello! Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it and just a warm hope you had a good day to those who don't. Another chapter written in the middle of the night, so...you know. Still I hope you enjoy it. Unfortunately our fave couple still has troubles ahead, but there's a fun, a little (a lot) crazy surprise at the end. As always, thank you for all of the love on this story, I'm really grateful for it. It really inspires me and makes this stuff even easier to share. You're all great. I love interacting so feel free to continue. Also this is short but the next one will be longer bc it's something big. Also again, this taglist situation is probably my bad so I'm gonna sort it out, try again next chapter, and then y'all can tell me if it worked, bc atp I'm embarrassing myself. Thanks and I hope you enjoy. <3

Charlotte's Work Party Look

Lip's Work Party Look

“So this is bullshit. He dumps her for one basketball game?”

“That’s not what happened, he was having an inner conflict, and he was only sixteen.”

“Sixteen year old piece of shit.”

Charlotte huffs, continuing to run her fingers through his blond curls. Lip is laid across the couch, his head in Charlotte’s lap, hand underneath her thigh. Debbie is sitting on the floor in front of the television and Troy Bolton had just told his friends he didn’t give a shit about Gabriella. 

“He’s just choosing basketball and his friends.” Debbie protests, breaking free from her basketball boy trance to argue with her brother.

“Basketball and his friends can’t get his dick wet-ow! Charlotte.” he winces, rubbing the spot on his scalp where his girlfriend had decided to bury her hand and tug. “Damn it, I was just sayin’ he’s got like one game left in the season, why does he need to break up with her to play? And that shit she just wrote on the board is wrong-why the hell are we watchin’ this shit?”

“You just don’t get it.” Debbie huffs, pausing the movie. She pushes off of the floor and grabs the popcorn from the coffee table. “Let’s watch try again when he’s not here.”

“Oh excuse me.” Lip rolls his eyes as his sister storms off, running up the steps. When he looks back up at his girlfriend, her cheek is dimpling with her deep frown. “What?”

“You ruined movie night” she fake pouts, rubbing her hand along his chest.

Lip smirks, before indulging her, sitting up and tilting her chin with his finger. “Aw, did I?” he kisses her cheek, “I don’t think I did.” her jaw, “We could go in my room and make our own movie.”

“Yeah?” Charlotte hums, meeting his lips briefly with her own before pulling back. “Can’t. I have work.”

“Stay here,” he murmurs, pulling her back to him. “You can dance for me.”

Giggling, Charlotte lets herself be pulled back in, exchanging kisses with the blond until his phone buzzes on the couch next to him, a dreaded name lighting up on the screen. She pulls back fully this time, standing to go get dressed. “Your professor is texting you. At 8:36 at night.” 

Blue eyes watch Charlotte disappear up the staircase before closing tiredly. Lip had been dodging almost all of Helene’s communications. He would read her texts to make sure they had nothing to do with his job, and only responded when they did.  He’d hoped that was enough, but everytime Charlotte saw that name pop up on his phone she would retract from him. Leave the room, pick up Liam, interact with anyone but him. One morning she asked again, if she had a thing for him, or if they’d hooked up in the past. No matter how much he wanted to, Lip just couldn’t bring himself to answer her with a yes.

“Fuck,” he breathes to himself, before running up the stairs after her. He pushes the door to his bedroom open. “Charlotte-” he pauses, staring at her, taking in her form. She stands in her work outfit, if you could call it that, the only thing offering an ounce of covering is the one leg of a juicy tracksuit she was putting on over it. “Um, what the fuck?”

She turns, meeting him with confusion, giving him a glimpse of the front which only has him letting out a laugh of disbelief. “What?”

“What? You’re gonna wear that to work?”

“Oh,” she shrugs, putting her leg through the other hole and pulling the pants up. “Yeah.” she chirps, reaching past him to grab the matching jacket, zipping it over the small bikini top she has on.

“The only thing that shit covers is your nipples.” Lip says, scratching his head.

“S’a stripclub, Phillip. They’re supposed to see stuff.” she giggles. Her laughter stops when she sees his stoic face. Charlotte makes her way over to him, cupping his cheek, “Hey, you said you were good with this. You’re not?”

Lip looks away from her for a second, shifting on his feet. He’s too embarrassed to admit to her that he thinks he agreed to this whole stripper situation too soon. He’d never been a jealous guy, so he didn’t think it was a problem, but he supposes that jealousy is a new feeling that Charlotte had brought into his life. “No, baby I am, just…shit.”

“What shit. Like shit? Or shit.”

Lip closes the distance between them, waiting for her to meet him in a peck, patting her ass when she does. “Watch your mouth.” he mumbles against her lips.

Big brown eyes just stare up into his blue ones. “M’workin’ for us, remember?” She whispers, wrapping her arms around his neck and rubbing his hair at the nape. “Besides, why would I look at the losers that hang out at the club, lookin’ at me all night when I could come work and be with my sexy boyfriend?”

“Good point.”

“Yeah?” she laughs, letting him pull her into a bunch of small pecks, between matching smiles. The couple starts to get lost in each other again, only breaking away at the sound of Lip’s phone going off again. Charlotte pulls back with a blank look on her face. “Your other girlfriend is trying to reach you.”

Lip rolls his eyes and sighs as she slips past him again, running down the stairs. “Bunny-”

“Just take me to work, Gallagher.”

“You do privates, honey?” A drunken man slurs, leering at Charlotte, waving a hundred dollar bill in front of her face. He’s with a group of older men who’d been tipping shittily and buying the cheapest drinks since they’d gotten there.

“No, sir I don’t, but the ladies that do are on the other side of the club…and they charge more than that.”

The man’s lip curls as he stands, scowling at the woman. Charlotte subtly takes a step back, glancing over at security, ready to call them if he got aggressive.

“Hold on, wait a minute, Trent. That’s my daughter in law you’re talkin’ to.” a voice rasps. 

“Frank?” 

The scraggly man emerges from the crowd of older men on the couch, positioning himself between Charlotte and the other man. “The one and only.” His gaze drops briefly. “Nice outfit.”

Charlotte wraps her arms over her chest and frowns at the man. “What’re you doing here, Frank?” She looks at the group behind him. “Are you in trouble?” 

“Trouble? I’m enjoying the ambience! You and your lovely naked friends are a sight to behold-”

“Oh, God, Frank!” Charlotte gasps, covering her mouth to hide her disgust. 

“What? You have a beautiful form!”

“I’m calling Phillip.” she huffs, turning to go to the locker room, she pauses as a thought passes through her mind. Twirling back around she makes her way back over. “Frank, what are you paying with?”

“Oh,” the older man produces a sock full of cash from his pocket. It’s familiar to Charlotte. Ever since Frank and Monica located the first squirrel fund, Fiona had started keeping the money in a new place. In the dry rotted hole on the floor between the wall and the dryer. Inside of the sock that Frank was currently dangling in Charlotte’s face. “I came into some money.”

“Hey, that’s-” Charlotte tries to grab it, only for Frank to yank it away at each attempt. “For the house! For bills, for Carl’s field trip this month-”

“That’s my house that you’re shacking up in fyi. This is Gallagher money, and therefore it’s mine to spend. Now point me in the direction of the ladies giving private dances. I’m a private man.”

“Frank, I can’t let you spend that-” Charlotte argues, grabbing one end of the sock and pulling. Frank is tugging at the other until he stumbles into a table, causing a couple glasses to fall and shatter, leaving Charlotte with the sock. Charlotte stands over the man angry, disgusted, and feeling a wave of hate she’s never really felt for anyone. Up until this point, she really didn’t consider Frank beyond the far and few in between memories Lip shared. But now she was seeing the man be shitty live and in person. And she was fed up. “It’s for your fucking kids you deadbeat!”

Two seconds later security is grabbing Frank and the manager on staff that night, Sarah, is pulling Charlotte a couple steps away. She can distantly hear Lip’s father yelling and cursing as he’s dragged from the club. “Lottie, what happened?”

“I…Frank is my boyfriend’s father, and he’s trying to spend their house money, and he was being a dick about it-”

“Okay, okay. Well, Frank knows he’s not really supposed to be in here anyway, so it won’t happen again. The new guy at the door must have let him slip through. But, because a personal altercation occurred out on the floor, I have to send you home, babe.”

“Damn, really?” Charlotte whines, looking at the crowd starting to pour into the club, no doubt big spenders. She could practically see the dollar signs fading away. Sara offers her a sympathetic look, shrugging. “Fine, okay, let me call my boyfriend to pick me up.”

Lip had been dead asleep when Charlotte let him know she needed to be picked up from work. He has work tomorrow and so in an attempt to get some real sleep, he was in their room at V and Kev’s house, taking advantage of the quiet. He’d rushed over to get her, grabbing Kev’s car keys without asking and noting to himself that a car should probably be the first thing on their list to purchase with the Bunny Bank. When he pulled up out front she was already waiting there for him, the big burly security man, John waiting beside her to walk her to the car. 

He and Lip exchange nods as Charlotte climbs into the car pouting. “What happened?” Lip immediately questions, barely letting the door closed. “Someone was fuckin’ with you?”

Charlotte huffs, buckling her seatbelt, allowing him to turn the light on and try to check her for any bruises or injuries. “No…kinda, just- your dad showed up.”

“Fuckin’ Frank.”

“Yeah, right, and he had all of your house money, and I tried to get it back, and he wouldn’t give it back, and we fought and I told him he was a piece of shit deadbeat.”

Lip frowns at that. He hates this part of having a girlfriend. It’s fucking humiliating. He doesn’t know how Fiona lets a bunch of different guys get involved with their family shit. Finding Frank drunk in the yard, Monica coming and spewing her bullshit, now Frank was showing up at Charlotte’s job. And she was fighting with him over money he’d stolen from his children. It’s fucking embarrassing. “Yeah, well, that’s Frank, don’t worry about that shit okay?”

“Well he was stealing from-”

“Fiona and I handle it, it’s not your problem, alright?” Lip says, muscle in his jaw jumping in irritation. 

From the corner of his eye he can see Charlotte stare at him with a hurt expression for a moment, before sitting back in the passenger seat, facing forward. “Okay.” she drops the sock full of money on his lap.

The rest of the ride is quiet, Lip drives her through dingy streets, in a borrowed car and wallows in shame. Charlotte is leaning as far into the door as possible, far from him. When they pull up to their neighborhood she hops out of the car before Lip can open the door, going over to Kev and V’s house. Lip follows a couple paces behind quietly, assuming the fact that she’d left the door unlocked was a sign she still wanted him to come with her. 

As he enters the room he finds Charlotte already in her pajamas, curled up on the bed facing the wall. Small movements let him know she’s crying. The blond quietly slips behind her, wrapping his arm around her waist and resting his face against hers, pressing soft quiet kisses against her cheek. “M’sorry, baby.”

She just offers a sniffle in response.

Lip sighs loudly, dropping his head to the desk. His eyes fucking burn. He got little to no sleep after he’d basically told Charlotte off and made her cry, and she was quiet as hell this morning. He was such a screw up. “Fuck” he curses, grabbing a cigarette and his lighter from his bag, leaning back in his desk chair as he sparks it. 

“Gallagher! You have a visitor!” Eric calls from the hallway. Immediately, Lip’s mind goes to Charlotte. Maybe she was feeling better and didn’t fucking hate him for telling her off for caring about him.

“Let her in!” 

The door creaks open revealing Helene with a condescending smile plastered on her face. “You’re a hard man to hunt down, Phillip Gallagher.” 

He just sighs, exhaling a cloud of smoke into the air. “M’busy.”

“With what? Work or your girlfriend?” Helene sits in the chair across from Lip, crossing her legs, rolling her eyes when he doesn’t bother answering, taking another drag. “I’m kidding. But you have been ignoring my calls.”

“Well, you’re here now. What’d you wanna talk about?”

A muffled voice that could only be Eric’s is heard through the door. “His office is this way. You look great by the way.” The door to Lip’s office pushes open again, and who enters this time has him shooting out of his seat.  “Gallagher, your girlfriend’s here.” Eric grins, tucking his hands into his pockets as Charlotte slowly makes her way in, eyes flicking between Lip and Helene.

“Fucking shit, okay-” Lip mumbles under his breath, holding his arm out for Charlotte to come to him. He watches as she rolls her shoulders back, standing straight and walking behind Lip’s desk, leaning into him. “Hel-Helene, this is my girlfriend Charlotte, Charlotte, this is my old Professor Helene.”

“Nice to meet you, young lady.” Helene says, holding her hand out.

Charlotte takes a deep breath before setting down the bag she was carrying in her hand, reaching over and taking Helene’s hand. “Nice to meet you too, Mrs.-”

“Miss.”

“Ms. Helene.” Charlotte finishes, a tight smile on her face. 

The blonde woman laughs, tossing her head back. “Just Helene is fine.”

“Mm well, I dunno. Doesn’t seem right.” Charlotte shrugs, leaning further into Lip. “Thank you, by the way, for helping him get this job, it’s been wonderful.”

“You’re welcome. It was no problem at all, Phillip is a special boy.”

“I know,” Charlotte grins even harder, roughly patting Lip’s cheek. “A very special man. So proud of him.” 

Lip watches the exchange trying to figure out if he should be nervous, laugh, or think it’s hot that Charlotte is staking her claim right now, running her hand along his hair, face and chest as she pretends to smile at Helene. 

Eric clears his throat stepping further into the room himself. “Charlotte, something smells great, and it came when you did so either you smell amazing or you cooked something.”

“Oh, I,” She takes a piece of blue tupperware out of the bag, placing it in front of Lip. “I made you lunch, you didn’t eat breakfast this morning and you didn’t take lunch so…I thought we could eat and talk, but, I see you’re busy.” 

Lip turns to her, voice softening as he grabs her hand. “Bunny, I’m sure I can-”

“Oh, that reminds me.” Eric sighs, tapping his own forehead. “I meant to give you some assignments from my dad, I know it’s your lunch break, but you’d have to stay late otherwise.”

“Fuck.” Lips breathes, running his hand through his hair. 

“It’s alright bro, I could take Charlotte to lunch.” Eric offers, not withering under the looks he received from the couple. “My girlfriend and I are meeting up anyway, let the girls hang out and spend my money, Becca’s always looking for a partner in crime.”

Charlotte looks at an apprehensive Lip. And she knows it’s wrong, but the way he and the cradle robber across the desk interact makes her feel petty. “Sure, if Lip’s busy.”

Lip fixes Charlotte with a look of betrayal that has her questioning her decision, but Eric is already guiding her away from him out of the door. Yeah, fuck that. Lip thinks, grinding his teeth as he goes to follow them out of the door. Helene’s hand shoots out to stop him before he can get far. “Oh, and Lip, before you get back to work, there’s a work dinner for all of the different departments that I’m hoping you’ll attend. I mean, I know your boss, Mr. Avery is excited to meet you there.”

“Look, uh, Helene, I mean, thank you for all of this. For the job, recommending me and shit, but,” He scratches his nose, “the texts, the calls, they have to stop. Like, now you’re visiting, and that’s weird, you see I have a girlfriend so…”

“Of course, I wouldn’t ever want to disrespect that, I just thought, after everything, we could be friends.” Helene stands, grabbing her purse. “Well, I can see now that’s inappropriate. But you really should come to this party. It’s good for your career to make friends and shake hands. Bring Charlotte with you.” 

Lip tucks his head, “I dunno, I don’t…don’t really think Charlotte is gonna be in the mood, we uh, need to talk.”

“No matter what was going on, my husband and I always made it to each other’s work functions. We always supported each other’s careers. If someone can’t do that for you, are they really the one?”

The young man recoils, frowning at the implication. Yes. She is. Period. Full stop. They were out of tune today, but Lip knows what he knows. And he knows he and Charlotte are there for each other. He knows they love each other. He knows that these past few months were the best of his life. Even when he and Charlotte weren’t on good terms, he knew he wouldn’t want to be struggling to communicate with anyone else. “You uh, mean ex-husband. And she’ll be there.”

Helene barely hides the hurt look on her face before she lets out a short, “Great.” 

“Do you think this is okay?”  Charlotte twirls, the skirt of her brown dress flaring around her gives Lip ideas that he knows he shouldn’t be having. Especially while they were fighting. Kinda. Something else he’s learned over these last few months is that Charlotte holds stuff in. When she’s upset she doesn’t explode like his family does, shit like he does. Breaking property, getting arrested, fighting. She doesn’t withhold affection like Helene and Karen used to. No, she still let him touch her. Quietly letting him press his lips to her cheeks, not moving when he rubs his hips, bringing him lunch. It was the stillness. The angry tears. The lack of warmth that let Lip know things were strained. And it hurts. 

“You look great, bunny. Fuckin’ beautiful.” Lip says from his bed, tapping his cigarette ashes into Ian’s ashtray.

“Okay, good. You ready?” Charlotte asks, smoothing her hands over her dress as she looks in the mirror. Her voice is so devoid of emotion, but her eyes are extremely expressive. Big brown pools full of sadness as they meet his in their reflection. 

But Lip is new to this. New to trying to maintain. New to trying to keep someone of value. “Babe, uh, should we talk or somethin’?”

Charlotte takes a deep breath before turning to Lip with a tired smile. “Later. Let’s get you to your work thing and after you wow them with your big genius brain, we’ll leave early and try to get on the same page.”

“Yeah?” he stands, looking down at her.

Charlotte just shrugs, reaching over and adjusting his tie with a small smile playing at her lips. “Yeah.”

And that’s the game plan. When they arrive at the party, which they find is being hosted at a friend of the company’s house. If one could call it that. It looks like a fucking mansion, down to the marble columns. Lip felt out of place, everyone here looked so…expensive, and not in the ‘I worked my ass off way’. He felt different than he did when he’d met Helene’s friends back when they were hooking up. The only thing preventing the bounce in his leg as he basically paraded his intelligence to the highest bidder with the future of his family on the line, was Charlotte’s soft, steady hand on him at all times. Fingers intertwined with his. Rubbing circles on his back. Rested on his thigh as she leaned into him. All Lip could think about was the fact that he was here for her, for them. He could secure their futures together if he turned this internship into a permanent job. He could…could…shit. Is that what he wants? Hell, is that what she wants?

Lip’s thoughts are interrupted by Eric and Rebecca’s entrance. The latter immediately beams as she sees Charlotte, squeezing her way between crowds of people, turning her nose up at a tray of hors d'oeuvres being passed in front of her face. “Lottie!” she cheers, tugging Charlotte up by her hands, pulling her into a hug. “You look gorgeous my love, who are you wearing?”

“Um, I’m sorry, my mother got me this dress, but if you wanna pull the tag out-”

“Oh, no, honey it’s fine. You can call me with outfit details later, I need to go find Eric’s bitch of a mother.” she murmurs under her breath. “Sorry I couldn’t make lunch earlier, but thanks so much for reminding that asshole to bring me something. It’d be just like him to go to my favorite restaurant and bring me nothing.” Rebecca scoffs, tossing her hair before fixing a fake smile on her face, leaving to find her boyfriend’s mother. 

“You,” Lip pauses, laughing in disbelief as he stands, looking between Eric and Charlotte. “You went to lunch together. Alone.” He nods to himself, still chuckling, slowly walking closer to Eric. 

“Phillip.” Charlotte tries, putting her hand on his arm. “Phillip, we were already there when Rebecca said she wasn’t coming, stop.”

“Yeah, man, it’s nothing serious, I just took your girl to lunch, she’s probably never been to the nicer restaurants in Chicago before-”

“Man, I’m about to knock your fuckin’ head off.” the blond continues, calmly putting his drink down, the force making a sound that gathers the attention of passersby. Charlotte tugs at Lip again, pleading to him his ear, telling him to go get their jackets and she’d use the bathroom. 

“Please, Phillip. Please. Just go get the jackets. Please. We don’t have to talk to him. Please.” she begs, cupping his face. Eric huffs as he watches the woman coddle her boyfriend and takes a deep swig of his drink wandering off to go find Rebecca. 

Lip runs an angry hand through his hair stalking off to the room where the jackets are being kept without saying a word, trying to maintain his temper. But of fucking course. Of course he’d meet a girl like Charlotte. Of course she’d make him fall in love with her, and like a fucking idiot, he would. And of course they’d meet a jackass like fuckin’ Eric who wanted her, who could give her the things she deserved like nice dinners, cars, houses, the pretty fucking outfits she likes to wear. He could give her that without planning for months, saving, taking money in and out of their joint savings to take care of his batshit family. Lip slams the door behind him, going to sift through the coats before pausing, hearing sniffling from the other side of the room. “Uh, hello?”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” a watery voice says, stepping out from the closet area Helene is clutching a tissue in her hand, going over to Lip. “I’m sorry, it’s just-” her words are cut off by sobs.

“Uh, shit, sit down.” Lip says, guiding her to sit on the bed in the room. 

“I…my son just called, let me know he made it back to school okay. And…it slipped in conversation, his father went on a date. He’s started seeing someone. I’d thought…he’d maybe surprise me by coming here. Oh, and I was so rude about Charlotte earlier, but my partner is the one not here.”

Lip watches awkwardly as the older woman sobs, placing his hand on her shoulder after a moment, glancing around. Sure he felt bad for her, but after all this time, he’d realized she really had been a bitch to him. And her ex-husband. He’d thought so highly of her before, thought she was the best thing that would ever happen to him. Now she was crumpling in front of him and he could barely bring himself to comfort her. “Sorry. But, I thought that was like…you guys’ thing. Fucking other people.”

“No, that was more me, he…tolerated it.” 

“Oh. That’s…shitty.” Lip whistles.

“It is.” Helene sighs, sniffing one last time. She wipes her face before fully looking at Lip. “I think I was filling some kind of void you know? Low self-esteem, issues with aging, I have them all. The only relationship I had outside of my marriage that meant anything is you.” 

They hadn’t even heard it. At least, Lip hadn’t. The door opening. The sound of Charlotte coming to check on him since he hadn’t returned with their jackets. But he did hear her curse before slamming the door. He couldn’t move fast enough, leaving Helene behind he slips between the bodies of movers and shakers in scattered throughout the house, swinging open the door and running down the steps, finding Charlotte stumbling in the grass as she kicks off her heels, grumbling. “Charlotte!”

He catches up to her quickly, grabbing the car keys from the valet stopping at Kev’s truck. The woman keeps walking, head held high as she limps out of the gate. “Charlotte, are you serious? Get in the car.”

“No!” 

“Fucksake.” he growls, getting into the car and backing out of the driveway, following alongside her slowly as she makes her way on foot. “It’s fucking dark, get in the car.”

“Leave me alone.” she huffs, crossing her arms, whining to herself about the dirt touching her feet.

The muscle in Lip’s jaw jumps, his scowl going deeper. He reaches over and lights a cigarette, smoking out of the window. “You know, you’re the one who went on a fuckin’ date with someone else today.” 

Charlotte laughs, speeding up. “It wasn’t a fuckin’ date. His girlfriend was supposed to go, and she canceled. We were already there, and you were too busy eye-fucking that old professor that you conveniently left out you used to literally fuck.” 

“I really don’t wanna talk about eye-fucking when you get naked for half of Chicago, alright?” Lip grits. Too far. He knows it immediately. He watches her stop, and look at him with hurt he never wants to see, her tear tracks shining in the lights from the streets. His own eyes glisten with unshed tears. He puts the car in park, cigarette still balanced between his lips as he hops out walking around the side and grabbing a kicking, protesting Charlotte by her waist, tossing her over his shoulder. Lip places her in the car and slams the passenger door before getting back into the driver’s seat, staring forward at the road.

Charlotte pettily snatches the cigarette from his mouth, opening her window and flicking it to the road. “Why didn’t you tell me you dated her?”

The blond takes a deep breath, letting his eyes slip closed. “I was embarrassed, and I thought it’d freak you out. That you’d ask me to quit cause she helped me get the job. And I would if you asked me to.”

“I would too. Quit. If you asked me to.” Charlotte sighs.

“I don’t wanna ask you to do that. You like it, it's good money, shit you just started. But I do hate it. Thought I wouldn’t, but I do.”

“So, we’ll talk about it more. Until we both know where we stand on it.” she says, facing forward too, she's quiet for another beat before speaking again. “I’m telling the truth about Eric.”

“I know.” Lip scrubs his hands down his face. “I know. And I am sorry that I yelled about that stupid shit with Frank. That bullshit just shouldn’t be your problem.” 

“I want it to be my problem. I love your family and I love you. I want to be part of it. I want…I want to be your family. So I care about the money you guys saved being stolen, I care if Liam’s diapers get bought, and I care if Carl gets to go on his field trip.”

“Fuck, bunny, I know you care. I just don’t want you to deal with that shit, it’s fuckin embarrasin’ you having to see my family like that. Having to kick in money for the house.”

“It’s stuff I wanna do. Ian doesn’t walk on eggshells with Mickey. None of you do. You treat him like an honorary Gallagher. Why can’t you do that with me?”

The couple turns to each other now, Lip reaching over the console, grabbing Charlotte’s hand. “You’re fuckin’ better than us, bunny.” He says, one tear finally falling.

Charlotte reaches up, wiping away the drop before smoothing his hair. “You’re gonna stop talkin’ about my boyfriend and our family like that. Nothing is better than you.” She smiles as Lip brings her hand to his mouth kissing her hand. “Well, except Chad in high school musical, I mean, I let the Troy slander go, but he’s different-” she laughs into the kiss that he pulls her into, the two of them smiling into the embrace as they share soft, tender kisses. 

The pair stays like that for a while. Wrapped up in each other. Sitting in the dimly lit car, running Kev’s gas on the side of the road without a care in the world. After a few moments of peace Lip decides to take a risk. It’s a big one, a very Fiona style decision. But those were random loser fuckers who got her off when she was vulnerable. This, this is Charlotte. His Charlotte. Who'd singlehandedly made his life better in the short time she'd been here. Who he loves an unexplainable amount that almost pisses him off. And he’s scared. Fuckin’ terrified. But he has to try.

“Sweetheart, how long have we known each other?”

Charlotte scoffs, playing with his fingers with an absent smile. “Well, three months, but it feels like forever. You know, I never know if people mean that in a good or bad way. I mean it the good way, obviously.” she beams at him, looking into his eyes and finding him with a serious face, her smile fades. “What?”

“Do you work tomorrow?”

“Hm, nope, not supposed to. You?”

His chest tightens as he answers her. He doesn’t believe in stars aligning, or cosmic whatever, but he thinks that this might just be the fate shit that Debbie is spewing all the time that makes no scientific sense. “Nah, I uh…threatened my boss, so I gotta see if I still have a job. I think he has a thing for my hot girlfriend that I’m..I’m uh really in love with.”

“If he does, he doesn't stand a chance. Because I really love my boyfriend.” she hums. If anything was gonna be his confirmation, Lip thinks this is it. Those words were enough. “So what’s with the questions? You wanna do something?” she asks cutely, leaning her cheek into his hand.

This is it.

He looks down into her brown eyes and decides this is what he wants to see forever. Looking at anything else sucks anyway. 

“Yeah, um…”

Just fuckin’ do it pussy.

“You wanna go get married?” 

[powderblueblood]

powder my love would u ever bless us with a hai universe cass finnigan bonus episode bc i’m an eddie-took-her-anal-virginity truther until i die and lord what i wouldn’t give to see that written in ur spectacular way…call it morbid fascination and also and as well additionally: me being a dirty fucking whore

sweets baby i've got good news and i've got bad news, eddie unfortunately did nort take cass's anal virginity (she and mikey b have been backdooring for quite some time now) but there were certain... differences that cass wasn't quite prepared for! minors dni as always fuck off, warnings for smut (anal, premature ejaculation), cass being an asshole no pun intended (but i believe she felt mad guilty after this), embarrassing sexual situations (cumming early is nothing to be ashamed of, but consider who we're dealing with), eddie feeling shitty :( part of the hellfire & ice universe

HAWKINS, INDIANA. AUGUST 1984-ISH, SOMETHING LIKE THAT

Cass Finnigan is having a weird year.

It's what she keeps saying, mostly because it's what people keep telling her-- because that's kind of Cass's bag. She listens to what people tell her with a keen ear and an open heart and not very much consideration for the consequences. She takes direction very well, according to her drama teacher and her choir director and her friend Lacy and, most importantly, her boyfriend Mikey B.

So, when Mikey B said they should take a break, she said, okay! And when her parents said they were getting a divorce, she was like, if you think that's for the best! And when her church elders told her that her parents' divorce would be seen as a blight in their otherwise idyllic Christian household, she agreed because He does know better than we do! And when Lacy said she should maybe think about hooking up with other people, on the level this time, not as a drunken extracurricular, Cass said, you are so right.

"Just for the... fourth or fifth time, are you absolutely, positively sure about this?"

That's pretty much how Cass ends up ass up in the back of Eddie Munson's van on a rainy Tuesday afternoon.

Shifting her hips back, she scoffs. It's a high, tufted sound because Cass is a high, tufted kind of girl. Definitely high right now, anyway.

"Munson. Are you seriously asking me to second guess you putting your dick in my butt?"

"Salient point. Roger that. Sorry. Just... tryin' not to be... like, a d-- a dick." Unimaginative choice of words for him. "Sorry."

Fuck Cass Finnigan's weird year. Eddie Munson is having a weird freakish immediate right now.

There he balances, floor of the van digging ridges into his kneecaps through the holes in his denim jeans. Said jeans are slung past his narrow hips, along with his boxers, the worn elastic of the waistband tucked pretty snug under his balls.

Eddie's holding his dick with consideration. Like he's about to give the little (hah!) man a pep talk.

Don't fuck this up for me, okay? When we get in there, fucking pace it out, alright? I'm serious, man. It might feel like you want to geyser out the second we squeeze on in--oh god--but be cool, okay?

Forty minutes ago, he'd met Cass in a clearing near the usual pick-up spot, one big enough that he could haul the van into. Eddie usually hated being near the orbit of Hawkins High during summer vacation--something about a work life balance--but then work comes calling and, y'know, it's kind of the most inconspicuous place in town.

Cass'd been nervous; Eddie noticed that, out of the rotating faces of that particular friend group, she'd never been saddled with the task of picking up for them before. Well, she and that Lacy chick, but Eddie had reason enough to believe she wouldn't be caught dead.

"Uh, you wanna hop in a sec?" Eddie'd hesitated, regarding the raindrops bouncing off Cass in her pink plastic parka, "It's really comin' down out there."

"Sure. Just for a sec."

Cass was twitchy, but keen. She and her big eggshell blue eyes darted around the back of his van, probably noting every flaw in the interior so she could report back to her clique later.

But then she sat all criss-cross applesauce and was like, "How's your summer vacation going?" Delivered in the clipped monotone of someone just making small talk, but delivered all the same.

They swapped a couple of same Hawkins, different day type sentiments, and stilted as it was, it wasn't entirely terrible.

Inexplicably, it made Eddie be all, "Would the lady care for a sample?" like he's a fucking weed sommelier.

Which, in a manner of speaking and if the manner is ditch weed, he kind of is.

Twenty minutes in, and Cass was already feeling it. Her blue eyes were closing into a squint and that squint kept studying him. Rolling him over in her gaze, kinda like he was one of those optical illusions she couldn't quite figure out.

Eddie, despite himself (or so he'd like to think), felt heat rising in his cheeks. Something about this had an encroaching sense of familiarity.

"What?" he mumbled, ashing the joint into an empty soda can.

Cass leaned back, heels of her palms supporting her and pushing her chest out just so. "You think I'm pretty, don't you?"

Admittedly, that kinda put a hitch in the spell she was attempting to cast. Jesus, these sweater monkeys and their indefatigable egos. Eddie's eyes involuntarily rolled. "No. I think you're a dog. The blonde hair and the perky tits do nothing for me, honestly. Soft as a monk."

Now, here would be an opportunity to volley back, to fold humor into one's foreplay like cheese into an omelette but Cass E. Finnigan, god bless her (and she is blessed), does not have her eye on Eddie's preferred ball.

"Yah, but you think I'm pretty like, you wanna..."

But he is still, fallibly, a guy edging toward kinda stoned and pliable.

"I wanna..."

And she is still, fallibly, a very hot, slightly stoned, inattentive girl.

"You wanna fuck me."

And instead of a gaze, it was more like a glaze, like a well-practiced Skinemax impression that Cass had whipped out as a party piece. She removed her pink plastic parka with unnecessarily seductive precision, and through the haze, it had occurred to Eddie that he hasn't ever really entered Cass Finnigan in his rogue's gallery of jerk-off material.

Maybe that was an oversight.

Because now, in this moment, in this ticking time bomb of a second, he's staring, like, right down the barrel of her asshole.

Dick in hand.

Eddie's hard, of course, even though he kind of feels like he shouldn't be? Not in a forbidden way that would usually get his blood thumping, hard in a way that kind of feels like an imposition. Like, there should have been more lead up to this. Like, Cass should have kissed him. Or he her. Or something.

I mean, she didn't even turn around to look at his dick. It's kinda rude.

She, right out of Penthouse Forum, just sort of flipped her skirt and shimmied her underwear and leaned forward and presented herself and demanded he get his cock out and then she was starting to sing his tune but now he's just staring at her. The back of her. Poised and peaches and cream and perfect, sure, but not for him, it doesn't feel like.

Eddie's an ill-chosen accessory here. An awkwardly misplaced lamp in a room that, yeah, apparently can benefit from a lamp. But not this lamp.

Cass's asshole is very pretty, though. Her pussy, too, from what he can see. Pink and petal-y in a way he'd never seen up close in person before. (The thing with Nicole Summers humping him on a log in out by Forest Hills a couple years back hadn't exactly been an all-you-can-eat-with-your-eyes kind of affair.) Looking at it long enough makes his tip and mouth water a touch, and looking at it too long makes Cass be all, "Are you, like, okay back there?"

Eddie opens his mouth to answer but is swiftly cut off by Cass chirping, "Oops! Oh duh, you're probably like, what is she thinking--"

Fascinatingly, without even changing position, she digs around in her fuzzy little backpack and tosses a tube of KY Jelly over her shoulder. Right. Right.

Eddie squeezes out what he considers a decent amount after whacking that tube against his palm a couple times. It comes out with a flatulent puff of air. Cass has really gone through this stuff. If Eddie were a more primitive man, he might be inclined to slap Mikey B on the back and/or ass the next time he sees him.

"Not your first rodeo, huh?" he mumbles, breath uneven, smoothing the jelly over the length of himself. His eyes flutter closed under his own touch, ceasing the rhumba of Cass Finnigan wants you to fuck her in the ass Cass Finnigan wants you to fuck her in the ass Cass Finnigan wants you to fuck her in the ass for all of a half second.

"Whut?" Cass caws.

"Nothin'. Um..." Eddie's got one ambitiously lubed up hand all of a sudden. Overshot that mark. First of many. "...can--" Jesus Christ. How to sexify this deeply unsexy yet sexy situation. "--can I touch you?"

"Um, yah."

Um, okehhh, he mockingly mirrors her faux-Valley Girl accent back to himself. See, blue sky situation, Eddie would say that back to Cass and she's think he's funny, and they'd laugh together and it'd be hot but the thing about girls like Cass is they have no sense of humor about themsel--fuck, his jellied thumb feels nice sinking into her little butthole.

"Is that," fuck his stupid fucking trembling fucking voice, "does that feel okay?"

"I can't even really, like, feel it-- oh my god, that's not your dick, is it?!" Cass, in all goddamn sincerity, starts to turn around, face all hitched in a grimace that Eddie can't stand.

"No, it's not," he says, through gritted teeth, hand extracting from her ass and resting on her cheek. "It's not my fucking dick. I thought you might need-- or want, I dunno--"

"Does it usually take this long with you? Like, guys don't usually take this long to just stick it in. You know that, right?"

Mouth gaping, Eddie feels something shrink inside him. He can't tell whether it's his ego or his faith in the Hawkins male populace (not that he had much to begin with), but he's learning more and more about the kind of world Cass Finnigan orbits in as the seconds tick by.

Kinda sad, he thinks, angling himself against her ass, kinda sucks that ol' JC or MB or whoever only lets her use the back door--

A jolt smites clean through Eddie as his leaking pink tip touches Cass's puckered pink hollow. "Hnn. Mm."

Eddie pushes just a little, mouth popping back open. He feels Cass tense from the extremely tentative, extremely light grip he's got on her hip. Again, he is like full Jekyll and Hyding in the way that he feels like he's intruding on his own sexual encounter yet completely turgid from tip to taint.

It's so weird. That joint wasn't laced with anything, was it?

"You okay?" he asks, voice a squeak of urgency.

"Yh--yah," Cass says, but there's hesitance. Like she's almost about to ask him if he's okay too.

"Mind if I--" Mind if fucking I?! What am I even fucking saying? Shit, God, please, anybody, please let her say--

"Yah, sure."

Not the begging or panting he hand in mind for his first time back here, but it'll do. Eddie, slowly, ever so carefully does it, eases himself a couple more mannerly millimeters into the confines of Cass's ass--and not to suck his own dick, but this is gonna be a tight squeeze, if it'll squeeze at all. If it'll squeeze at all, oh fuck, oh please...

With a high, sharpish gasp, Cass seems to register that fact as well.

"Holy shit."

Blonde locks go flying over her shoulder as she finally tries to angle back and get a look at that certain member of the party that was of no interest to her fifteen minutes ago. How the tables fucking turn! In doing so, she accidentally thrusts back a touch, edging the reddened tip of Eddie's cock further in--

"Shit, shit, shitshitshit!" Barely an inch inside, Eddie feels his balls constrict and his back seize.

Cass snickers in a out-of-body, near ironic kind of way before winding out some direct-to-TV type whimper that someone somewhere on some planet must find attractive. Mikey B, possibly. It sounds flat to Eddie.

If she's making fun of him (she is), he isn't in the room to hear it.

All Eddie can focus on right now is sensation. The fact that if Cass moves even the tiniest iota--

"Y'know, you can like, slap me a little or something. If you w--"

"No, I-I don't-- fuck, just-- please don't fuckin' move, please don't fuckin'--"

Too goddamn late! Cass, with whatever curious shifting she's managed to do, has Eddie's throbbing, space hopping over eager bastard of a cock popping out of her asshole. The grip Eddie has on himself does no good to stem what's coming, badum-tss. With a groan, a gasp and a shudder, a pull like an anchor aweigh from the base of his belly, Eddie spills in a few hot thick ropes.

He feels a drop or two of sweat drip from the nape of his neck as he watches his hot, white, premature cum roll in a rivulet over Cass's lower back. Oh... no.

"Um."

"I am so," Eddie hasn't even got a chance to re-regulate his breath yet, and he's feeling around him for a napkin or an old t-shirt or a flunked essay, something, "so sorry, I--"

"Ew," Cass sits up, holding her skirt aloft and batting away Eddie's pleading offer of a gym sock. Which, fair enough, ew, but it makes Eddie recoil a touch. He watches as she cleans herself up with a wet wipe she grabs from that weird little monster of a backpack purse type thing she carries.

Eddie sinks back to sit on his heels, wiping himself off with the stupid old gym sock and tucking himself away. A sourness has started to sting in his gut, that post-nut clarity hitting all the harsher thanks to Cass's tiny daggered glances at him.

He's really never not gonna be an object of disgust to someone like her, is he? He can't even breach guilty pleasure status.

"So stupid," she's muttering, readjusting her underwear and smoothing out her skirt, "Last time I ever listen to that uppity bitch..."

He's just a dare bored girls give themselves on rainy August afternoons.

"We could-- if you wanted, just gimme a sec and I--" Eddie starts before he can stop mortifying himself with his own words.

"Listen!" Cass snaps, flipping her hair, "This was a gross and egregious mistake. Like, please don't get attached just because this-- I mean, what was that, like, two seconds? Dude."

Eddie is an ant. Eddie feels two specks of dust tall in this very moment of white hot humiliation. Eddie also feels like he wants to toss something back at Cass, something about her stupid fake accent or douchebag scamming boyfriend or idiot made-up Christian overlord, but Eddie also feels too small to even be mean which is the suckiest fucking part of all this right here right now.

Instead, his lips stretch into a tight smile, condescending as he can conceivably make it. Rain's still thrumming like gunshots against the roof of the van.

"Okay. Freak show's over, honey. Better get going."

"Ugh, whatever. Not a word of this, to anyone. Understood?"

"Not exactly a lot to tell."

A scoff and a snarl sees Cass Finnigan retreat back out into the rain through the van's creaking doors, and Eddie's heart sinks even further, if possible. This is not what's meant to happen in these porno-like scenarios! He's meant to send her off with a buttload of cum probably still dripping out of her, and he's meant to feel on top of the fucking world! Not like he's thirteen years old and someone just played a shitty prank that he swore he was too smart to fall for.

Well, that's it. On Eddie Munson's good and apparently sexually repulsive name, this is the last time he intimately trifles with some airhead in-crowd girl.

Next person he's fucking is a straight up weirdo and it's celibacy 'til then. Freaks or nothing. Blood oath.

[campgender]

Hi, my friend has a chronic illness that flares up sometimes and we've been wanting to hang out but it has gotten cancelled a couple times lately bc of her not feeling well enough on the day. I want to ask her how she feels cuz I care abt her a lot and want an update but 1, I don't want her to feel pressured or like I'm asking just to ask can we hang out now, and not bc I care abt how she's feeling (does that make sense? I may be overthinking this) and 2, I genuinely wanna know how she's doing but idk what to say if she responds with her not being better, sometimes u don't feel better and that's ok but I always want to offer comfort somehow or just convey my friendship? but I feel the same everytime and don't want to sound repetitive ?

Any thoughts?

this is really kind of you & it means so much to me that you want to support your friend & are putting so much thought into it! my response is inherently based in my own experience to an extent & everybody’s different, but a lot if not all of this is stuff i’ve heard regularly from other chronically ill people. of course, don’t say anything you don’t mean – if some of this isn’t the case for you, just adapt accordingly :)

i understand worrying about being repetitive but i think that’s totally okay to do! for one thing, it can be difficult to remember things period when you’re ill, especially during a flare, & for another, internalized + societal ableism is a hell of a force. it never hurts to have a reminder that not everyone is trying to force ableist expectations onto you + your friendship & that someone cares about you!

i think you can definitely tell your friend pretty much what you told me! like, “hey, it’s okay if you aren’t feeling up for responding but i just wanted to check on you! not trying to pressure you to hang out or anything, i just care about you & how you’re doing”

honestly the most important + supportive thing people have ever told me is that it’s okay if the answer is “bad.” i’m literally like surprised pikachu meme every time somebody offers to let me vent about having a rough time & then it helps me just to talk about it. it’s really socially unacceptable to talk about chronic pain & a lot of people get frustrated when you’re complaining about the same thing & there’s not really anything they can do, so just the opportunity to be like “yeah shit fucking sucks right now” means a lot.

obv the appropriateness of this depends on the person & their relationship to disability but most of the time i’m very like, radical acceptance / embracing / etc about the fact that i’m probably just gonna get sicker, so sometimes when i’m having a rough time emotionally & am like “what if i’m this bad for the rest of my life” my gf (who doesn’t have chronic pain / chronic illness) will say something like “then i can’t wait to be there with you ❤️” & it’s more meaningful to me than i can begin to put into words.

again everybody’s different but for me one of the biggest things is when disability stuff just… isn’t a big deal to the other person. which, it’s totally okay for you to need support from others when someone you care about is going through a hard time & when things change! but abled people are constantly horrified about like, every aspect of my life, so being able to talk casually about symptoms & somebody mirror the mood / tone i set – laugh if i’m joking, be upset about the ableism i experience & not my body itself if i’m complaining about people being weird about it, taking things as they come – is so affirming.

other things that have been helpful + meaningful for me are friends sending me notes, stickers, & art in the mail – having something tangible can make me feel more “real” & part of the world, something i struggle with due to being homebound – & peer support around medical neglect, which often just looks like talking to someone after a doctor’s appointment & them reaffirming my reality / experiences & saying i didn’t deserve to be treated that way.

oh one other change in language i’ve made over time & probably picked up from a few other ill people in my life is a sort of realistic encouragement – there’s not necessarily anything wrong with “i hope you feel better soon!” because like, i get that the message is well-intentioned, but it can be awkward & difficult to receive when you don’t know if that’s gonna happen. instead, i try to tell people something like “i hope you get a bit of relief soon” or “i hope things are a little easier tomorrow.” a 7/10 pain day may be horrifying for most people, but when you’ve had a streak of 9s, it can be a much-needed taking the edge off, & i try to make space for that breadth of experience in my language.

i’ve answered a few similar questions before so i’ll add my “asks” & “faq” tags on my chronic illness blog in the reblogs if you want to browse! much love to you & your friend and feel free to lmk if you have any other questions 💓💓

[zorosroronoas]

I don't like Moldaver because I feel like the writers are trying to make her one of "the good guys", but her introduction is her murdering a bunch of innocent people over a piece of tech that isn't even important to the average person in the Wasteland. If I'm misunderstanding the narrative's course and she turns out to be a proper villain, I'll like her a lot more.

Barb is excellent, and I am thoroughly invested in her relationship with Cooper — which is unusual for me because I tend to not enjoy romance-related subplots.

I think Maximus's character is going over my head because I find him boring (only a couple of his scenes piqued my interest). His fandom's kinda making me dislike him, though. So many posts about "him" obsess about a different character, which doesn't exactly challenge the idea that Maximus himself is bland.

If they spent more time obsessing over the details that make him — the character — interesting or endearing without mentioning irrelevant people, I'd probably like him a lot more because I'd be noticing things that I missed before.

-

These are just the thoughts of a random Fallout fan at 4:00 AM.

hello!

i disagree that the show is trying to make moldaver 'one of the good guys' tbh. i don't think it's that simple. i think the point is that she's a deeply flawed individual, just like everyone in this world, but she's not a senseless monster either. she's not entirely good & is willing to do bad things to achieve her goals, but she's also a product of what has been done to her & those she loves.

also i don't think the tech she's trying to bring back is useless by any means. we're told whoever controls that tech, controls the wasteland, for better or worse. & i don't think wilzig would give his life for nothing either.

i think moldaver is ultimately someone who had good intentions but was twisted by the world she inhabits & has to play by its rules. do the ends justify the means? who knows, i don't think it's an easy answer to give.

i love barb too! i need to know more about what her feelings are regarding vault tec & what they're doing. does she feel any remorse for what she's contributing to? she says vault tec would exist with or without her, & while true, it's also just an excuse in the end. obviously she's doing it for her family, but again, do the ends justify the means? does her family even want it?

i personally love maximus. i do think there's a whole lot more to explore with him & as i've said before, he's not as charismatic as the other 2 protags at 1st glance, but i believe it's by design. he definitely has his own important arc in season 1, so i don't find him bland at all, if a bit more understated. like, lucy & cooper were always going to shine. it was a given. they're just the kind of characters that work imo. they also have more set goals & a clearer arc, while maximus' is still not as clearly defined & a lot more internal? but as i've also said, i knew right away that maximus was going to be more difficult for ppl to love unfortunately.

i can't speak for other maximus fans & frankly i haven't navigated the fandom to see their behavior so i can't say if i agree with you or not, but personally i'm defensive of him bc i can already tell he's not nearly as loved as the other 2 & i feel like part of it is bc ppl hold him to a different & unfair standard than lucy & cooper.

either way, thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with me, i really appreciate it!

[juneviews]

gmmtv 2024 part 2 trailers first impression & ranking :)

from most excited for to least excited:

us: I SCREAMED!!! of course gl ranks number one, let's bffr, but legit this looks so indie & good I love it! sing is gonna be so good at being the abandoned lover hahaha, and the girls have so much chemistry & are so cute!!! I ship it already <3

breakup service: I did NOT expect to get an off as MAIN in a straight romcom again after 4 fucking years, I'm beyond elated!!! the fact that he's paired with a very popular singer also makes me happy! the plot looks really fun & reminds me of catch me baby and midnight motel so I'm all in!!! my man deserves this sm <3

hide & sis: gawin in a role like this??? ATE DOWN!!! but honestly the whole cast is perfect, I can't believe we're gonna get pepper & lookjun playing an on-screen couple! I hope this one is more like ps: I hate you & nothing like the jungle but I'm super excited I love everyone here :)

the ex morning: bruh if you'd have told a kristsingto show would be 4th on this list I would've laughed in your face but... tell me why this plot seems so fucking cute?? I feel like we haven't gotten this type of second chance bl before, and idk if it's nostalgia or what but I'm actually really into it lol

thame po: yooooo this morning I could not picture estwilliam together, but actually I like them a lot already! as a lykn fan I'm happy to see them in a series, and the plot is quite original which is becoming more & more rare so I'm excited!

sweet tooth, good dentist: I still don't know how to fully feel about mark & ohm t, I feel like they look way too similar, but oh well. this looks very sweet (like its title) & y'all know I love dumb romcoms like these so I'll be watching!

leap day: this looks insane & the cast feels random af but it seems interesting! I hope it doesn't end up being one of those shows who thought throwing gun & his insane talent in a show would be enough to cover its bad writing *cough* home school *cough* midnight museum *cough* excited to see pond in an interesting role for once though lmao

the dark dice: this looks like the thai high school squid game to me, it seems interesting & I love that aungpao is in here, but I'll have to see how I feel once the show starts airing to see if I'll watch it or not.

scarlet heart thailand: this teaser told me nothing so I googled the original, ngl it's a slay for tu she looks so pretty, and I do love historical shows so I'll probably be watching! also very happy to see tay, force & phuwin here :)

friendshit forever: I legit thought I was gonna get a mookpat gl bruh lmaoooooo, but nope instead I get girls fighting over a dude ;_; like I get it new is hot af but bruh in 2024 we still have girls having cat fights... I'm good :/ the title is hilarious though :')

ossan's love thailand: this trailer actually made me happy bc contrarily to my initial thought I think earth is ADORABLE as haruta! and the actor they chose to play the ossan??? DAMNNN DADDY 😏 probably still won't be watching since I hate remakes but this looks better than I anticipated!

the heart killers: call me a hater but I did not feel this at all, I feel like it's a more boring mix of not me, only friends & midnight motel and I don't particularly care for either ships so I will not be watching... I'm sure this show will be fine without me though lol

perfect 10 liners: we are but even more boring, they even pulled up aouboom & marcpoon LMAOOO. again all love but I don't care for this at all, it's so basic I can't do this to myself anymore, I'm sorry it's called self-care at this point :')

revamp the undead story: again I don't care for bounprem & THE gmmtv vampire show is my golden blood for me babe, like sorry but jossgawin forever 🫶 (more seriously this doesn't look bad but I simply do not give any fuck to watch this show)

[familyvideostevie]

can you write some eddie munson agreeing to be tutored by the reader after season 4 only for him to not be able to focus cause he's got a raging crush on the reader and she teases him because it's so obvious?

thank you for waiting for this! eddie is cute and he is going to graduate bc he deserves it, me and eddie are both bad at math we are soulmates (prequel blurb here) <3 | 1k, fem!reader, fluff

"When I agreed to tutor you I didn't think you'd spend most of it staring at me," you say lightly. Eddie is sat across from you at your kitchen table and he's just looking at you, chin in his hand as you grade his practice math final. He flushes a little, but doesn't pretend he's not staring. It's been like this for months, and you try not to call him on it out of fear that he'll stop.

"Can't help it! You're just so pretty. And much better to look at than calculus worksheets." He's grinning, his cheek smushed where it rests in his palm, eyes wide and full of mirth. It's nice to see him looking this way -- well rested, pleased, not in pain. When you'd started tutoring him, he'd just gotten out of the hospital after the strangest few days Hawkins had ever seen. But whatever happened was over now, and Eddie was innocent, and he was determined to graduate. When you were asked to help out, you didn't hesitate to say yes.

So, even when he makes you blush like this, you don't engage, because you are committed to getting him that diploma. You know how much it actually means to him.

"Did well on this one, Eddie," you say, sliding the paper back to him over the table, a red 86% scrawled on the top. "Nice work." His ring-clad hand reaches out to pick it up, and he looks at it with an indecipherable expression before chewing on his lip and looking back at you, no trace of flirt this time.

"I have to be honest," he says, softly, without the joking undercurrent you so often hear in his voice, "I didn't really have hope this was going to work out."

"Eddie," you jump in, trying to be firm. "Come on. You're smart, and I know you want this. You've been doing so well!" You feel a little worked up, honestly, because you hate when he doubts himself. So many people have doubted him and he has been through so much and while you're just now finding yourself in the Eddie Munson orbit you don't want to leave it. Because he's unlike anyone you've ever met before.

"No, I know," he sighs. He taps his fingers on the table, probably to whatever song has been stuck in his head this whole time, never one to sit still. "You've told me a million times. And I hear you, I swear." He grins a little at how much you want to stick up for him. "It's just hard to believe it's almost over and I might actually do it."

"You will do it. It's just your finals now. And we don't have to bother studying much for English because we both know it is your best subject when you actually go to class." He laughs, shaking his head at you.

"Hey! I got a B on my last history paper too, don't forget!" How could you? He'd found you in the hallway immediately after he got it back and picked you up and spun you around, right there in front of everyone. You'd blushed through your entire biology lab.

"Yeah, you did, Eddie," you say. You can't help the smile that sneaks onto your face. Eddie, for his part, can hardly take it. How good it feels to have someone believe in him so easily, how kind you are, how determined. You barely knew each other before this, and here you are, helping him graduate after the worst experience of his life just because you wanted to.

"Now, it's just math," you say, back to business. "I know we can shoot for a pass based on this practice, but let's not kill ourselves over it, okay?" You shuffle through your papers, looking for one of his past assignments, but Eddie is quiet.

"Hey," he says. He's more serious than before, and when you look up at him his eyes are on his hands, fingers tugging at his watchband. "I'm sorry for all the...flirting. It it's too much, even though you're nice about it. I know you're working hard to help me outside of your regular life."

Your mouth falls into a confused "o" and you reach across the table to grab one of his hands. He looks surprised at the contact, but curls his fingers around yours. You like him flirting with you and you usually flirt back, just a little. You just want him to graduate, and he's never actually addressed the flirting before and how much you know he likes you. But you can tell, and you like him too, this kind boy who has been to hell and back and is still good.

"I don't mind it. I like it, can't you tell?" You squeeze his hand. "I'll even go on a date with you. After you graduate. Because I know it means a lot to you and I want you to focus." He's grinning now, bouncing in his chair a little. He was pretty sure you liked him, but how sure can a guy really be?

"You think I can't do both? Graduate and date you?" He's joking, mostly. You roll your eyes and take your hand back, and he makes a noise that is so endearing you feel something in your chest constrict and you are griped with the sudden urge to hug him.

"I'm sure you can, Eddie, but I think giving you some extra motivation never hurts. Plus it's only two more weeks. You just have to get through finals, which I know you will."

"But I've had a crush on you for like, months," he whines, running his hands through his hair like you're stressing him out.

"If I can deal with my crush, you can deal with yours." You feel a little bold now that the truth is out, plain and simple, and you wink at him. He clutches his chest like you're causing him pain.

"So, just to clarify here, I can take you on a date after I graduate?" You hand him another math test and he takes it without looking at it, eyes locked on your face.

"Yes," you tell him. He relaxes back into his chair and picks up his pencil.

"First thing I'm gonna do after I flip Higgins the bird, baby." Your cheeks heat, and you wonder if you're just going to be blushing for the rest of forever because of this boy.

"Calculus first, though," you remind him.

"If you say so." He sends you a wink of his own.

want to be added to my tag list for full-length (non-ask) fics? send me a message and specify for steve, eddie, or both! reblog, send feedback, requests open, masterlist here!

[jardin-de-limaginaire]

Heyy How you doing? I wanted to make a request for Mischa Bachinski × reader where reader is like this popular but not mean kind of girl in town. Like everyone loves her and she's in every club she can and has good grades in school (which can be a problem for ocean), her friends'parents absolutely love her, etc. And like mischa and her don't talk to much, so he thinks she doesn't even remember his name. (Kind of like the song Gold Rush by taylor swift now that I think abt it? Idk).

The point is ofc she likes him, but she thinks he doesn't like her bc of his angry persona and all of that stuff (also what would people say if they saw her hanging out with someone with such a bad raputation?)

And when they finally clear things up and become friends they end completely falling in love w each other and have to tell each other at some point.

I feel like this is way too long and specific, so don't worry if it bores you or smth, ily :))

Hello! I'm currently very busy with school, but I'll still try writing oneshots at any opportunity I have! And don't worry, I love writing very long and detailed works, and I find it easier when the request is longer because I know what I need to write.

(P.S. In this fanfic, (Y/N) has two moms, which will be referred to as mama and mom, cuz I just felt like it.) (Also, they will appear in the next request too, so be prepared to see them again)

Also, sorry for not writing in a few weeks, I've been going through a long depressive episode lately, but now I've got the motivation to write again

(TW: None!)

Word count: 1,364 words

Beauty and the beast (Mischa Bachinski x Popular!fem!reader fluff)

(𝓨/𝓝)'𝓼 𝓟𝓞𝓥

"The most loved girl in town" has been a Title that I've worn like a badge for most of my life. Ever since I was younger, I knew three things:

"Be friendly to others because you don't know what they're going through, be smart so that you can one day help others live a better life, and last but not least, be happy for making others happy"

At least, that's what my parents always told me, and I obeyed them. These rules have been actually helpful for me. Thanks to them, I am now known by everyone in town as being "The most loved girl in town", thanks to my personality.

I always help others when in need, and thanks to that, I've made a lot of friends. Yes, some of them have been fake to me, but I still have forgiven them.

I am also one of the best students in school. I've never got any grade below 79%, and I am also in every club in St. Cassian high school, including the school choir.

Speaking about the school choir, I am friends with a lot of people, even with my rival, Ocean. We don't hate each other, but we are indeed rivals in every class. After we get the scores on one of our tests, the one who has the lower grade needs to buy Taco Bell from my friend, Noel, and pay with the "loser"'s money.

Even if I have a lot of friends in school, I am not friends with one boy, who's name is Mischa Bachinski. To be honest, I would like to be friends with him, but I don't think he would want to be friends with me, a goodie two shoes.

I should probably try to become friends with him. Everyone has a good soul. There's no such thing as bad people. Mischa is just misunderstood, that's the problem, and I would like to try to break him out of his shell formed of anger.

The next morning, after I woke up, I decided to make a little bracelet for Mischa, since I want to start a friendship with him, and there's no better way than to make a friendship bracelet.

I spent a few minutes making the bracelet, which also included his name, and I felt very proud of myself, yet I was still kind of scared that he might reject my friendship bracelet.

After I was done making it, I put it on my wrist, and then took my backpack, and went downstairs to eat together with my moms.

As I was walking downstairs, I observed the decoration around the house. There were seventeen pictures of me, going from up to down. The first picture was a picture of myself when I was one, and the seventeenth one was of me in the present. I'm not exaggerating one bit when I tell you that my moms are very proud of me. They always brag with pride about how smart I am to everyone they meet. Most parents even beg me to be friends with their kids, so that they can learn to be "better". Of course, I befriended their kids, but I never tried to change them. Everyone is perfect in their own way.

"Goodmorning, (Y/N)! How was your sleep?" Asked my mama. I looked at her and I smiled, as my other mom was making breakfast for us.

"It was wonderful!" I said as my mom gave me an omelet.

"Well, we're glad that you slept well!" Mom said as she sat next to mama and me.

I began eating as if there were no tomorrow, and then got off my seat and waved at my moms.

"Wait, (Y/N)!" Mama said as she walked to me, and pulled my sleeve up, to show the bracelet that I was planning to give to Mischa.

"Young lady. Who is this "Mischa"?" She asked as she smirked. I blushed a little.

"Oh, he's a boy in choir, and I want to become friends with him, so I made him this bracelet," I said, and both mama and mom smiled at each other.

"That's good, honey! Hope we can meet him one day!" Said mom, as both she and mama waved at me.

I waved back and then headed off to school.

I have gotten to the choir and looked around for Mischa. he was indeed here, but he was sitting on his phone.

I walked up to him.

"Hello, Mischa!" I waved at him. He looked at me surprised.

"Wait, you remembered my name?" He asked. I nodded. "What do you want from me?"

"Well, I would like to become friends with you, only if you don't mind!" I said, and I took the bracelet off my wrist and showed it to him.

he looked in awe at the bracelet and extended his hand to take it. He took it so gently, it was as if he never got any gifts from anyone.

"Wow..." He said, and then looked at me. "You really had time to make a gift...for me?"

I nodded. He looked even more in astonishment at the bracelet. He looked like he wanted to cry, but he hid it behind the facade of someone with a "cool guy" persona. "Thank you, druh!" He smiled at me.

"Sorry if I seem rude, but what does "druh" mean?" I asked with a confused smile. He started chuckling. "Druh means friend in ukrainian." He said, still looking at the bracelet.

"Wait, you see me as a friend?" I asked once again. He smiled again.

"Of course! No one here ever gave me a gift, and you are the only one who gave me something even if we don't know each other very well."

He explained. My eyes sparkled. Then he added with a slight blush, "Thanks." I smiled brightly at him, and we continued chatting until class started. I just know that this will start a beautiful friendship.

I'll never forget the day when I befriended Mischa. Since then, we've been like two peas in a pod, rarely separated. Even though I've only been friends with Mischa for a few weeks, I consider him one of my closest friends.

After school, Mischa waited for me outside, and we decided to walk home together. He held my arm, and it felt so nice…but also weird. It was like a tingle running through my body, and my heart started beating fast.

We talked more and more, while slowly getting closer and closer to each other. I could feel a lump form in my throat. Why was I reacting like this? Maybe it's because I had never felt this before. Was this normal? Or was I overreacting? I couldn't tell. Our arms were touching, which was weird. I didn't like being touched by strangers, and Mischa was definitely not the type of person whom I would willingly touch. However, I enjoyed holding hands with Mischa. We arrived at Mischa's house. "See you at school, (Y/N)" Mischa said with a saddened expression as he wanted to enter his house. I stopped him, which made him look back at me "Hey, Mischa," I began, "I actually wanted to ask you something…" "Yeah?" He replied, sounding slightly nervous. "I…I…really like you! I blurted out. His face changed completely, and he looked shocked. He looked at me for a moment. "Why?" He asked. "Well, I guess I don't know! I just found out today that I have a crush on you, and then I couldn't stop thinking about you!" Misha began laughing. "Well, (Y/N), I like you too." He said, smiling. "Really?!?" I asked as I wasn't sure if I heard correctly. But then, it happened: he hugged me. A hug from Mischa Bachinski. "Yes, (Y/N), I really like you too." He said as he broke the hug. We stared into each other's eyes and smiled shyly. This relationship will truly begin like any cheesy romantic comedy.

𝑅𝑒𝒷𝓁𝑜𝑔 >> 𝐿𝒾𝓀𝑒 (𝒩𝑜𝓉 𝒻𝑜𝓇𝒸𝒾𝓃𝑔, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝐼 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎 𝓃𝑒𝑒𝒹 𝓂𝑜𝓇𝑒 𝓇𝑒𝓆𝓊𝑒𝓈𝓉𝓈 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒹𝑒𝓇𝓈)

[biconickyoshi]

NAtLA first impressions (eps 1 & 2)

Here are my thoughts as someone who has been a superfan of the original series since 2007 (spoiler-free first, then spoilers below)!

Honestly, I'm feeling pretty middle of the road about this adaptation so far. I like a lot of the costuming, and some of the actors are good, while others have felt a bit lackluster. There's also some characterization choices I didn't like too much for certain characters (which I will get into in the spoiler sections below). The score is definitely not as good as the original series - I don't particularly like the new elements of the score, and when themes and motifs from the original score are used, I feel like they aren't used enough. The bending, while better than the 2010 version, still feels a bit fake and clunky, as do a lot of the special effects. There's also a problem with a reliance on exposition dialogue, moreso in the first ep than the second.

Now we'll get into the spoiler section. Don't read below this if you do not wanna be spoiled.

EP 1: "Aang"

What I liked:

Getting to see a bit more of the Air Nomads (which makes the genocide feel even more devastating)

The design of the Southern Air Temple felt very warm and inviting - I liked that there were lots of trees and whatnot

The added details about the Sozin purposefully allowing news of the war to be leaked to the Earth Kingdom to throw everyone off their trail of planning to attack the Air Nomads

Making the comet a special event for the Air Nomads, which brings them all together at the Southern Air Temple for Sozin's attack to happen

I like that Wolf Cove was actually called Wolf Cove (since it's never name dropped in the actual show)

Zuko and Iroh did a good job - I think Dallas is capturing Zuko's energy pretty well, and while Paul's Iroh feels a bit different than the OG, he's still doing a good job

What I was not so keen on:

Yep... I really didn't like that Aang didn't purposefully run away, and instead went to "clear his head" after Monk Gyatso told him he was the Avatar, fully intending to return before getting caught in the storm.

They really weren't kidding about removing Sokka's sexism. Instead of Aang being released bc of Katara's anger at this, they just happen upon the iceberg, and somehow while trying to waterbend their canoe closer she waterbends the iceberg open behind her??

Exposition dump from Gran Gran... and her basically just straight up telling Aang to his face "You're the last airbender! All your people are dead! And you're probably the Avatar too!" It all felt very wooden and definitely a bad change from how Aang realizes he's in the future in the OG series.

I had high hopes for a lot of the actors, and I hate to say it (especially considering Sokka's actor is likely not even indigenous at all), but Sokka has felt like the best actor so far. His lines come across a lot more naturally than Katara's and Aang's often do. Aang is alright, and of course looks and acts the part, but the way he speaks his lines sometimes feels too quick/unnatural. Sadly, I think Katara's acting has been the worst so far - in this episode I didn't see any of the emotion in her eyes that I felt like I should've been seeing. I will say I think she got a bit better in ep 2.

Aang, Katara, and Sokka just don't feel close. They never got time to go penguin sledding, to hang out with the village kids, etc. They still feel like strangers.

Speaking of, I guess Aang went out of the Avatar State by thinking about Gyatso? Again, that distance between him and the siblings (especially Katara) is glaring. Katara in general just seems to lack the spark she has in the OG.

EP 2: "Warriors"

What I liked:

Seeing the Fire Navy port - it felt very SEA-inspired, and that street food looked delicious lol.

Kyoshi Island being run by a woman (Suki's mom). Just makes more sense to me lol.

Suki - I looooved how they portrayed her as this kind of socially awkward character who wants to talk to Sokka but doesn't know how. It makes so much sense with her being isolated her whole life. I also felt like her and Sokka had quite a bit of chemistry.

The final Kyoshi battle was pretty cool

I kinda liked Zhao and Zuko both being at Kyoshi Island

Zuko's desperation to find Aang - he really felt like a kid to me in this ep with the acting choices Dallas made.

Strangely, I don't hate them nerfing the Avatar State a bit by making it to where Aang can only enter it when he's in an Avatar shrine. I didn't even realize it at first but the reason he goes into the Avatar State in the SAT is because Gyatso's skeleton was in Yangchen's shrine. I still prefer OG series Avatar State though.

I like that Kyoshi warns Aang with the vision about the Fire Nation's attack on the Northern Water Tribe. It gives him an incentive to get there faster instead of meandering.

What I was not so keen on:

Zhao seems to be a much less arrogant character here, at least outwardly. I know he was probably a bit cartoon villain-y in the OG series, but this dude just feels like another commander. Maybe that will change as I watch more. He's definitely conniving.

The goofy ass high beam lights from the Kyoshi statue's eyes

Kyoshi's characterization... This Kyoshi feels like the caricature all the casual fans perceive her to be (i.e. violence and strength are the best way, smite my enemies type of thing). I also didn't like how she just kept berating Aang for running away (which is weird that everyone keeps accusing him of this bc this version of Aang literally didn't even run away).

Aang is very driven to master the elements and defeat the Fire Lord in this version, which isn't necessarily a bad thing... But I feel like if anything, they could have at least kept it to where he ran away the night of the genocide, even if they didn't want to show him ignoring his responsibilities to go on adventures in the bulk of the show. A major part of Aang's character arc is him learning to accept his destiny and stop running/avoiding.

Once again, no Sokka sexism arc. This ep in the OG series was very important for him, but that's nonexistent here.

Once again, Katara's acting, while better than ep 1, feels like it's lacking emotion.

Overall, it's obviously better than the 2010 movie so far, and I enjoyed the eps to a degree, but there's still a lot of things that I wasn't super fond of. The changes that they seem to have made so far aren't too extreme yet, and I'm actually looking forward to seeing how far they end up deviating from the original show.

The whole time I was watching, I just couldn't stop thinking about how much better the original show is. I just kept missing the characters I knew and loved. Also, I still firmly believe this world and story truly works best in animation.

[minijenn]

Jen Tortures Herself With Every Dreamworks Animated Movie Ever: The Boss Baby: Family Business

So would you believe me if I told you this movie is better than the first Boss Baby? I mean it's not... much better, but still, improvements were made here. Let's talk about them.

We jump foward to a now adult Tim, who has fallen out of touch with his brother Ted (the original Boss Baby) and struggles to connect with his daughter Tabitha. He soon discovers his baby Tina is on assignment from BabyCorp to stop a new villain intent on wiping out all parents. Tina gives both Ted and Tim a formula to make them both young again, recruiting their help on this mission and roping them into all sorts of Mischief ala the first movie but... like I said, marginally better.

So yeah, once again, very silly plot for a very silly movie. And yet... I don't know, it feels more... genuine than the first one did? Like it leans less on the obvious "oh look at funee baby in suit talking like a businessman" (though there is still plenty of that) and leans more on character interactions and I gotta respect that. Especially since it actually gives me a reason to care about Ted and Tim this time around, actually strengthening their bond and reflecting on how they weren't there for each other growing up like they promised they would be, and how they're given a second chance to change that now. Idk, just some pretty nice thematic stuff in there, along with Tim learning to be a better dad to his kids along the way (daddy issues in Dreamworks movies, they never stop, I Swear).

The characters here are... ok. Better than they were in the first movie, I mean fuck, the titual Boss Baby is toned down a lot and is honestly one of the least painful parts of this. Tim is also better, mostly bc he's actually an adult here so he's not your annoying kid stereotype like he was before. Tina is... kind of annoying, being the source of all of the "business baby" jokes and she grates on the nerves every now and then. Tabitha is ok though, getting some good development alongside Tim. Then we have our villain, Armstrong, who is... surprisingly funny? Like he isn't the funniest dreamworks baddie by any means, but he was certainly watchable. Hell, you could kind of say that for this movie as a whole, really.

The humor here is a little better, striking surprisingly a little more mature than last time (featuring an insane joke about agnostics like what the fuck Dreamworks I never would have thought you'd ever reference religion again after Prince of Egypt holy shit). The emotional beats also hit just a touch more, feeling a good degree less forced than the first movie's. And yet for everything this movie does well, I think its biggest problem is it drags on for far too long, just meandering with scenes that don't need to be anywhere near as long as they are, into a movie with a longer runtime than it probably should have had. It gets... tiring, after a while, and you get to the point where you just want the damn thing to end.

The animation here is really nothing special, basically looking identical to the first movie's, though I will say a few of the imagination sequences were sort of eye catching here. The music is also pretty simplistic but there were a few diagetic songs that I thought were... ok enough. Pretty unoffensive in that reguard, though of course, the pop songs just couldn't keep their nose out of this movie either.

Like I said, its far from being anything resembling good, but fuck, I watched Spirit Untamed last night and this was better than that and it was also better than the first movie, so that's gotta count for something. Even then though, it doesn't count for... that much.

Overall Rating: 4/10

Verdict: Pay tribute to the Greatest Dreamworks Character Ever: The Agnostic Kid

Previous Review (Spirit Untamed)

Next Review (The Bad Guys)

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for pacifying my little niece in a "strange"/unnatural way when her mom doesn't like how i do it?

so i have autism and i cannot stand the sound of crying babies, not only is it grating to my ears but i feel like i have to do everything i can to help the baby feel better. i feel so bad about it and i gotta make the baby happy somehow; except i am REALLY bad at interacting with children and have no idea how to act around them normally. anyway, earlier i woke up to the sound of my little niece screaming because she accidentally hurt her arm and she wouldn't let anyone put a bandaid on it bc she was scared. which fair, i get it, it's scary.

i decided that i wanted to somehow get her to stop screaming though bc it was loud so i walked up to her and she immediately stopped screaming out of confusion (lol) bc i rarely ever leave my room, and i got down to her level and just stared at her. of course i tried to look nice by smiling but i straight up didn't know what to say so i just stared. she stared back and i went "hey, its ok. stop crying." and left back to my room when she just kept staring at me silently (she doesnt talk yet), which i guess is a win if she stopped crying.

apparently that was weird to her mom and she told me to be more normal about it. i told her that if it worked it worked, but she still didn't like it cause it was freaky apparently. which i kind of get but i'm 4'10" with dorky ass glasses i don't think i'm that scary, i'm just socially awkward. maybe she's just worried that her kid will pick up on the habit and while it sounds funny it probably isn't good. kinda feel bad about it so idk if i'm gonna do that again either way but i'm curious

What are these acronyms?