#and then acted like an asshole all the way to the point of first aid killing him. BUT ALSO

[lord-squiggletits]

I'm fighting so hard not to say something salty about how FAST the other Autobot medics gave up Pharma for dead and being irredeemably evil. But like, I'm a Pharma simp but I don't want to be that embarrassing

[mineonmain]

as @lurkingshan said earlier today, "Get bent, Maya"

I haven't been this pressed about a fictional character (antagonist???? she is one to me now!!) in a hot minute. Before I get into her in this ep, I wanna preface by saying that I do have the actual manga, but I wanted to finish watching the show before I went and read the manga for comparison, so that i'm going into this with basically an open mind. So I have no idea how this compares to the manga version of her.

Also if it wasn't clear, Spoilers for I Hear The Sunspot ep 7. Okay.

So it's the start of a new academic year, and we're introduced to freshman Maya, who is a Science major, is also Deaf/Hard of Hearing, and is Kohei's new tutee in the university as a result of having a mutual friend. That is the extent of what we know about her. Other than Kohei being her tutor and maybe a pseudo mentor/companion who can understand and appreciate her disability, they have absolutely no connection. They are not childhood friends or family.

Which begs the question, why on gods green earth is she so invested in what Kohei does or doesn't do, and who he is or isn't with???

Lady, he doesn't know you. He doesn't owe you anything, because you objectively mean nothing to him. So you've grown up with a really severe and isolating disability, I get it. But that's not a good enough reason to become so bitter that you decide to become judge jury executioner on every (visibly) abled person's morals. (Which is so incredibly telling, judging people on how visibly disabled they look or act, when you have a disability that is fairly invisible, unless you can see hearing aids or a cochlear implant or something like that. Interesting how that works, huh.) (Having a disability doesn't give you a free pass to be an asshole.)

Maybe, just maybe, you're allowed to act like that based on how people act towards you. But what gives you the right to walk up to the friend of a friend (??) that you absolutely know nothing about, and mete out judgement? To decide how that person is allowed to interact with someone else, a someone else that you have no claim or authority over?

Oh, but god forbid that Kohei have a friend who doesn't treat him like a social leper, who doesn't have every interaction of theirs revolve around Kohei's deafness, who for once makes him feel included and normal.

Kohei is a grown ass man, who can make his own decisions, including his own mistakes. Who are you to suddenly come into his life and make decisions for him without his involvement, consent, or approval? And who says that any person who is friends with someone with a disability has to be physically and morally perfect?

How dare you?

If I were to sum up my biggest issues with Maya, it is in the way she talks. It's entirely indicative and reflective of how she views and interacts with society. One of the first things that Kohei tells Taichi is that he is able to understand what someone else is saying if they speak slowly, partially by listening and partially by lip reading. it's a small accommodation that we even see Taichi's friends making for Kohei. That means that when anyone talks they should talk clearly, and slowly, and try to enunciate their words properly. If we look at the way Maya talks, she barely opens her mouth at all. If I didn't know any better i'd have thought it was ADR. Given she is someone who has lived with the same sort of disability that Kohei has, she would require similar accessibility needs. And yet, while she expects the world around her to accommodate her needs, she doesn't accommodate for the world. She expects people to speak in a way that she can understand, but she won't do the same.

I'm assuming that the narrative point of Maya criticising Taichi right now is so that we get to see him go on a growth journey, where he'll become more passionate and dedicated about learning note-taking and even maybe signing (and advocating for the deaf community as an ally), and not just be a passive friend who seemingly 'takes advantage' of Kohei, and in the process become the person that Kohei truly needs, and not the person Taichi thinks is good enough.

But here's the thing. I don't care if Taichi has any growth or not. I don't care if he changes or doesn't change to maintain his friendship and relationship with Kohei. I don't care if he tries to become someone that Maya (and Kohei) can approve of.

Because Kohei already likes him the way he is.

And it's none of Maya's goddamn business. Get bent

[lukaherehelp]

Playboyy EP3 - Sacrificing Yourself

okey had my girl dinner, I'm going in!

Just like I did last week, instead of a full commentary, we are going through some pointers, which are A LOT in this third episode.

So!

Ladies, gentlemen and nonbinary dieties, we can all take the clown makeup off, we can leave the river Denial, it was roleplay!

I swear motherfuckers I spend the whole week in distressed thinking this was for real, you assholes! You are still the cutest tho

Let's start with them, shall we?

Soong & First

We dodge the bullet of Soong being an actual psyco and jump into "problems in paradise" which FAIR, cause we've barely seen any communication between this two for this first two episodes. Mind you, it could have being off screen, this roleplay adventures had to be talked about at some point... But I feel like that was the extent of their communication.

I want to remind y'all that the Baddie Bunch is a group of young rich kids (all of them are 21), so the Playboyys are bound to have much higher street smarts and wisdom when it comes to life that the twinks. Soong, in specific, is 3 years older than First.

Why am I remarking this? Because First is clearly drunk in love with Soong but his "love" for him is purely based on them being sexually compatible. Is there anything else that they enjoy apart from rough sex? We don't know, fuck I don't even think they know!

And that's were the whole "we can have normal sex for once?!" thing comes from. Soong seems to like First back, to the point of allowing this now broke kid to stay with him even tho he can barely provide for the two of them. That's also the reason why Soong probably is taking more clients than before, even if that means spendid less time with First and paying less attention to him. First calling him a leech when First is now the leech was so ironic...

But First is so drunk on love that he cannot compute Soong not being there with him physically and mentally 24/7. Again, this kid lived in a golden cage for 21 years of his life, he thinks he knows but doesn't know shit about how real life works, even less so when you are at the lower ranks.

If they want to work out, First needs to have a reality check and grow up, learn that a relationship like the one he wants cannot be based soly on roleplay. And learn that life outside his cage is tough and requires "sacrifices".

Staying with them for another second, we need to talk about this:

Now, we are going wild. Rightfully so, this is the first hint we get that is not attached to Nont's investigation. So I wanna throw my two cents about it:

I don't think this is hinting that Soong was involved in whatever happend to Nant. You see, we have being especulating about Nant doing sex work, obviously, but I don't think he ever actually worked at Playboyy at any point. In any case, I don't think this scene hints at that.

My theory is that he probably was doing sex work in a room in the same apartment building where Soong lives. Could have being during one of the first sessions with Dog Man or maybe another client that went way too far. Either way, my two cents is that Soong probably met Nant after aiding him against a problematic client and that's why First crying in distress triggerd the memory: Nant seems like he's pleading, so maybe he thought Soong would rat him out, not knowing that Soong is also a sex worker.

He could have also asked Soong to not tell anybody about what happend, scared that his "secret life" would come out. I'm staying in that theory for now.

We don't have much about this two afterwards: Soong missing First and First being angry and heartbroken about the whole ordeal. So yeah, moving on!

Now, to the Lovebirds™

Teena & Zouey

Oh lord this was hard to watch... But let's talk about it.

Everything starts good, everything gucci. Teena is acting like a "top-tier" boyfriend see what I did there to Zouey even in front of the Baddie Bunch.

And then we get them being cute in private. You know, cuddleling, kiking about Zouey's friends where did I hear the "do you care about my friends?" line before /s. You know, boyfie behaviour... although they are not dating. Nothing wrong about that. All good.

Things start to fall apart as soon as this two sit up and Zouey goes "be my boyfriend! I'm ready to have sex now!". Oh lord.

Zouey clearly likes Teena and wants to be with him. And Teena also seems to like Zouey back. The thing is, due to the Baddie Bunch, Zouey has gotten this unspoken idea (to us) in his mind that to keep Teena, to be his boyfriend, they have to sleep together. But as much as he "thinks" he is ready, Teena and us clearly see that he is not. Teena tells him again that they don't need to have sex, that he doesn't need to "sacrifice himself" for them to be together.

But Zouey pushes through, saying that he "is in the mood", that Teena has "succeeded in making Zouey want him". Baby boy, you have been wanting this man since you first layed eyes on him, you are just cautious, which I applaud you for. But, with a second assertion from Zoueys part, we have Teena taking the lead and being sweet and slowly easing Zouey into what's about to happen:

picking him up to sit him on his lap while he kisses Zouey's temple

observing how Zouey is still cautiolsy touching him

the tiny kiss to the nose

Teena spends the whole time reasuring Zouey that he would not mock him, he knows how inexperienced Zouey is. He's making sure Zouey feels save.

Now, the downfall starts the moment Teena introduces a safe word. Which is always a good thing to have, but no to relay on solely with a first timer, buddy. also wanna point out how I kept singing red lights by skz everytime teena said red light because I'm that unserious

So, when we are "at the gates" of this taking further, hell breaks loose. Zouey asks Teena to go one step further but quickly regrets it. Now, I'm a girly that firmly believes that anything apart from a yes is a no, so Teena being a little pushy after Zouey shows discomfort already made me go nah uh buddy, but I can see where Teena is coming from...?

Zouey is freaking out, as he has done many times and is trying to make him relax again... but it doesn't work. And that's when the unfortunate phrase comes in:

" If we're going to be a couple, we'll have to do this someday. "

First of all, bullshit. You can have a serious relationship with somebody without the need of getting sexual. HOWEVER, and I can't believe I'm about to say this, I have to side with Teena here for a second.

HEAR ME OUT BEFORE THROWING STONES AT ME! Their relationship has being highly sexual from day one, period. Does that mean that the prospect of taking it all the way someday is there? It doesn't... But Zouey did start this encounter with "be my boyfriend! I'm ready to have sex now!". He's the one that put out there that if they date they will get intimate, not Teena.

Now, it wasn't fortunate from Teena's part to be "we should just do it" as if they were treating this like it was a fear to bungee jumping.

And Zouey, again, uses words that have never came from Teena's mouth (that we know of) to express his discomfort with the situation. Yes, Teena said that they didn't need to have sex if Zouey didn't want to. But Teena never said that they couldn't date because they didn't have sex. That last part, has only happend on Zoueys head. And why? Because that's what he has being hearing from the Baddie Bunch.

The scene ends with Zouey asking Teena to leave and Teena, not wanting to upset Zouey any further, going along with his request.

The last we see on the matter is Zouey and First day drinking at uni (god, I miss sneaking beers into art school lmao) while they compare their heartbreak and talk about abuse and consent. That's a whole post on its own and I still have another two couples to talk about to we closing here.

NEXT!

Keen & Captain

Lord baby jesus, we starting strong with this couple.

That "test" to join the rugby team: fuckin disgusting, I hate men. I don't care if it was for the hahas, nah uh. I'm leaving the gym. Fuck this team. But the team being homophobic... Are we surprised? Maybe is my own experience talking, but I didn't expect less from an sports team of a private university lmao

To light up this post a little, I gotta say: couples that share kinks stay together, so that in my eyes makes KeenCaptain endgame no matter the drama that the future holds for us. I'm going back to Delululand.

They are already giving me Brat Captain and I'm thriving, I signed up for this and I'm getting my moneys worth. Also this:

*fourthreactingtotheearthmixearbiteinthemoonlightchickentrailer.gif*

This sneaky little bitch is recording it and, again, are we surprised, we already knew that was going to happen. WHAT I DIDN'T EXPECT was Captain already releasing the fuckin think and hilariously backfiring on him a comedy I tell you. I fear that tape might get out of the confitment of the rugby team and get Keen, whoms both the team captain AND coach, in deep shit. However, I cannot wait to see what Captain will do with the wig and makeup he requested from Nont.

ANOTHER THING before I get into the last couple:

the gasp I gasped, y'all. Kaya, remind me this weekend to make the kiss/fuck count post, I feel like we are going to need another graphic by the end of this series.

ANYGAY, TO THE JUICE PART OF THIS MYSTERY:

Prom & Nont

Nont is slipping, bruh. To a degree and at a speed I'm starting to get stressed.

Almost getting caught by Captain when he's threatening Phop with penknife, asking for the wrong drink at the house, the accidental slap to Zouey and how not in control he is everytime he's with Prom when he clearly doesn't have ANY control on the situation. Honey, you pretty face and cunty ass is not going to work with Master, sorry to break this to you.

That being said, let's focus on the investigation:

Phop had Nant's laptop but is not truly clear to us where he got it since they got interrupted by Captain before Phop could spill the beans.

Nant was obviously doing webcam.

Now, tell me why Nont is adamant that the person that threw the laptop away was Nant's boyfriend? When did we stablished that Nant had a boyfriend? Nont fits right in into this friend group, another clueless boy that lived in a golden cage and is now seeing the darker side of the world.

the name here is Nant's btw

Here we are introduced with Nuth whom let me pull my guide real quick is described as:

Nuth dreams of becoming a sucessful film director one day, but with the lost of a family member, he has become introverted, depressed and unmotivated, making him currently unemployed. This has made him dive head first into the world of webcam. [...]

Nont, whom clearly has a modus operandi with his way of investigating, jumps right into creating his own account in the webcam site and getting in contact with Nuth after seeing that Nuth and Nant used to text throw the website.

Now, Nuth points out some of his fantasies to Nont:

" Meeting strangers, having sex with twins in a small room, the twins make out and lick all over my body, I wear a mask and I'll make them moan like a dog with the camera on. "

Sounds exactly like Dog Man, doesn't it? Way too soon to be suspicious of him tho, so I'm also putting this under the category of red herring. Nuth does panick the moment he sees Nont's face and blocks him, but I'm not speaking on that for now. Too many posibilities.

With Captain's help, Nont is able to recover the video of Nant with Dog Man and I guess he indeed gets stabbed in the video. I cannot imagine what that has to be like. Seeing something so horrible happen to someone that looks exactly like you... But I guess is not a deadly wound since Nont keeps assuming that Nant is not dead? He could be in denial, that too.

Nont, however, still in the mood to go see Master Prom and I cannot blame him and my brother keeps sliping in front of this man whom clearly knows that he's being lied too but clearly is having fun seeing Nont trip on his feet.

"You used to hate it here", "I had to convince you to come", "I thought you've changed enough to drink wine"... Prom is us, we are Prom. We sharing a braincell with this man, whom clearly is the only motherfucker holding a braincell.

god, now I want wine but I don't have any... sad

The "I can have sex in real life, why do I need to join a call?" line? Sir, I'm free anytime you want me too. I don't have any other responsibility than to please you. What can I say, I'm a simple woman.

"I'll make you moan like a dog". Yeah, I would also get triggered after so many dog references pointing at your brother's disappearance, Nont. That being said, Prom catching that Nont has become terrified and keeps making him more scared... He's making his move in this 3D chess they are playing.

This is him pushing Nont to see for how much longer he can keep the façade. But this leads into a really important frame.

I don't know the rest of y'all, but from my friends that are into heavy bdsm stuff I have learned many things and one is that all the toys, props, accessories, ropes, EVERYTHING is stored in the same place. Is more convenient that way and easier to hide from the prying eye.

So unless it got blood on it and had to be thown away, no dog mask for Prom. Neither the harness for what I can see.

we have a full face mask and I feel like that's the mask he was talking about here and in the foreplay video.

PROM IS AS MUCH OF A RED HERRING AS THAT FUCKING CABINET, I'LL DIE ON THIS HILL.

And with that being said, seems like next week we have more heartbreak but also a lot of mix-and-match and I cannot wait. See y'all next week.

Luka out!

[drac-kool-aid]

Ok, so more on the doubling aspect of gothic fiction, as I feel it important to bring up what Bram's intentions were with the act of impersonation he has Dracula commit.

Spoiler alert: It's Racism.

Ok, so the loss of identity is frightening, right? Even in the modern day and age, your identity being stolen and used to nefarious ends is a great concern. It is, of course, heavily tied with financial concerns nowadays, though, as it usually involves a loss of significant income and a long arduous legal battle to regain some of your losses, if any.

But in Dracula, well, on the surface, it's still about a loss of identity and the loss of control that comes with it. The one-two punch of Dracula using Jonathan's identity to post the letters and to steal the child, thus cutting him off from aid of the villagers, is, of course, a horrifying exploration of Dracula's continued abuse. We know that, at least for Dracula, his intent with these actions is to further trap Jonathan (mentally and physically) with him in the castle, cutting off any avenues of escape.

But that isn't exactly Bram's intent. See, the horror of Dracula's impersonation of Jonathan isn't just Jonathan's personal loss of identity, the horror (to your average Victorian) would also be that a non-British person, a foreigner, is able to seamlessly masquerade as a British man.

And, it's not just the supernatural doubling occurring in this one scene. Let us not forget that Dracula has a library of books on Britain, that he first engaged Jonathan in their nightly long conversations, so to practice his English. English, that he wishes to practice until his accent disappears.

Nowadays, our reading of those scenes in the beginning focuses on the xenophobia from a different direction, that of the transplanted person, sympathizing with Dracula in a way (based on the posts I saw circulating when those days were released). Now, our concerns center around how it is unfairly expected for those who become expatriates to perfectly don the guise of their new home, sanding off anything that might denote them as "other". This isn't the wrong read, and that is a very important thing to consider because it is a very real and valid concern. Also, cause it's a hell of a lot less racist than what the concern was for the Victorians.

The Victorians saw someone who wasn't British (and I am using British here deliberately, as this fear extended towards anyone not British, like the Irish) learning to become British, to seamlessly join their society, and therefore work whatever "evils" they may upon them from the inside. Their fear, simply, is that they might not be able to tell the non-British from the British anymore, thus erasing any sort of idea of being inherently extraordinary.

For context, London has developed into the melting pot of different cultures it is today (fuelled, of course, by the rapid expansion of the British Empire), and the Victorians were getting a little nervous with the idea that the "British Identity" was expanding. Y'know, classic racism.

(That is not to say that Britain wasn't home to people from all races and cultures before Victorian era, just that the average Victorian was starting to notice.)

Americans were sort of the exception, in that by this point, British aristocrats were marrying American heiresses in order to fill empty ancestral coffers. By exception, I should say, accepted to an extent and expected to drop some of their more American traits, and thus nominally become British, with the caveat that they were (of course) not truly British.

Notice how the Victorians assumed everyone wanted to be them?

(Not quite counting Quincy here as no one would ever mistake him as anything but Texan, and in fact, he plays up his non-Britishness and thus is not a threat)

Anyway, tl;dr, Dracula's symbolic doubling of Jonathn is actually steeped in racism and xenophobia, and the Victorians were kind of assholes about anyone who wasn't both white and born in Britain claiming to be British.

[frail-and-freakish]

look i appreciate all the Somerton dunking but can you guys stop acting like some guy on youtube having awful takes about the aids crisis makes the entire 1990s-2010ish radical queer opposition to marriage/military/hate crime legislation/assimilating into the church/etc a modern hot take from privileged gen z guys who don’t know their history. this take might have spread to weird academics who took shit from community organizers (like the Gay Shame conference at university of michigan who stole and de-fanged the work of Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore’s based as fuck collective of the same name) and then spread to people like somerton through like. twitter discourse.

but the people making this point at first were people who had lived through the AIDS crisis, who had been unable to visit their partners as they died of AIDS, who had experienced these things not just as a talking point or a collective memory but in a material, acute way. Sycamore has a great anthology of queers who grew up during the AIDS crisis and a 2006 anti-marriage/assimilation anthology called That’s Revolting and there’s a lot of overlap between the two

in contrast the people fighting for gay marriage in the 80s were by and large not aids survivors who wanted legal rights but conservative gays like Andrew Sullivan who basically argued “to shut those pesky little ACT UPers up we should just ‘coax them into traditional values’ so they won’t resist us anymore and also they won’t be sluts anymore”.

obviously this isn’t black and white like there are people who did great work in ACT UP who later did pro marriage organizing in the 2000s. and the specifics of these writers’ work aren’t as relevant now as they were then (i haven’t seen anyone argue that we should be fighting to repeal the rights we already have because assimilation bad and I’m glad that’s not a discourse topic). but this one guy being an asshole doesn’t mean this important queer line of critique came from privileged outsiders and we can’t take important things from it.

[foreverlogical]

Politico has launched a five-part series on the American "anti-vaccine political movement," and yes, there is no way to understand current anti-vax hoaxes except as a "political" movement. But Politico focuses this first entry on the Biden administration’s lack of options when it comes to actually doing a damn thing about the hoaxes, and if anyone has a solution, please drop a line to either the White House or federal public health officials because there sure doesn't seem to be one that any of the rest of us can find.

The problem, at its core, is that a large chunk of Republicans decided to make a political movement out of pandemic denialism, claiming that the most significant worldwide health crisis since AIDS or the 1918 flu epidemic was no big deal, even as over 1 million Americans died around them. Even the simple act of wearing a mask to slow the spread of the virus so that hospital morgues would not be quite so overwhelmed was seen, by a certain collection of self-absorbed monumental assholes, as an infringement on their burping, ignorant freedoms.

It was inevitable that this would evolve into contempt for the rapidly developed vaccines that would soon make COVID-19 far more survivable. Because if you're already pushing the theory that the whole pandemic has been either faked or overhyped, then dismissing the resulting vaccines would logically follow.

Even before the pandemic, all of this really stemmed from the intentional political remaking of conservatism into an explicitly anti-science, anti-education movement. This was a necessity for conservative pundits and politicians who needed to sell the base on a party platform of letting polluters pollute, letting drillers drill, and telling everyone else that whatever horrors they or their loved ones had to face as a result were simply the price of patriotism.

Campaign Action

The anti-vax movement is not exclusively Republican (although if you're looking to conspiracy-promoting gadfly Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as evidence of "Democratic" support for those themes, then you're going to have to explain why Kennedy sells his shtick almost entirely to far-right crowds and on far-right platforms). But Republicanism is now inextricably linked to it. Case in point: the vicious cruelty of aspirational fascist Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida. He has been the most aggressive in pushing dangerous pandemic hoaxes to his base, and his gleeful, purely political appointment of an infamous anti-vax hoax promoter as Florida's surgeon general was one more middle finger. There's no other way to read the elevation of hoaxer Joseph Ladapo to the state's top health post other than a willingness, on DeSantis' part, to kill Floridians outright if there's a chance it could boost his own credentials within the conservative movement.

Because once you've appointed someone to fraudulently alter scientific findings and then announce anti-vax conspiracies as official state government policy, you've erased all of the more charitable interpretations.

That still leaves federal officials in their current bind, however. Republicans have been promoting anti-vaccine sentiments as a supposed part of conservatism's new identity; there is no way for the White House to respond to anti-vaccine hoaxes without being immediately dismissed as doing so out of partisan spite.

So I guess we all live with the return of diseases like polio, since preventing polio or anything else is just too damn partisan now?

I don't have any deep pundit insights on this one; it's the lack of options that's most maddening. The first rule of conspiracy theories is that anyone who rejects the conspiracy theory is declared to be in on the conspiracy, and calling out Ladapo, Kennedy, and others as obvious self-promoting charlatans and snake-oil hucksters will only boost their appeal to the ignorant jackass brigades who follow them. Conservatism is a cult; it no longer has policies, freeing followers to "believe" whatever needs to be believed to support the Dear Leaders of the moment.

This is convenient for anyone looking to be the next Dear Leader; it is catastrophic for anyone who expects the government to do the bare minimum of protecting citizens during a natural or human-made crisis. And as unfortunate as it is, anti-vax cranks are not primarily harming themselves. They're harming other people, which means the good old have fun with that, and let me know how that works out for you approach is neither satisfying nor responsible.

We may need cult deprogrammers to help sort this one out because I don't think either political experts or sociologists will have solutions. And whatever you do, don't talk to historians: It will turn your stomach to learn about the denialism and conspiracy promotion that happened during long-past pandemics—and how those turned out.

[episodicnostalgia]

Star Trek: The Next Generation, 105 (Oct. 24, 1987) - "Where No One Has Gone Before"

Written by: Diane Duane & Michael Reaves Directed by: Rob Bowman

The Breakdown

On Starfleet's orders, an Engineer named Kosinski is sent to improve the Enterprise’s warp efficiency with the aid of his mysterious assistant. Kosinski immediately reveals himself to be quite the pompous dickhead with a massive ego, but orders are orders, so Picard and Co. induldge him.  The first test goes so unbelievably well that the Enterprise finds itself in another Galaxy, which everyone acknowledges is a bit too far to make a return trip using standard warp speeds alone.

Excitement over this new technological achievement is soon quelled when Kosinski finds himself unable to repeat the experiment, leaving the Enterprise potentially stranded in the middle of nowhere.  It turns out that Kosinski was actually just an idiot the entire time, and it was actually his assistant who made the jump, on account of being a ‘traveller’ with special abilities that allow him go wherever he wants, with few limitations. Unfortunately, exhaustion just happens to be one one such limitation; and this dude is plenty exhausted after the jump.

Wesley has been the only person up to this point to notice the Traveler, and has tried to bring it to Picard’s attention, but everyone keeps getting too irritated by Wesley’s “Wesleyness” to bother listening to him.  But once Picard IS willing to listen, he pays the Traveller a visit where the mysterious visitor explains that he is a) from a group of advanced space jumping folk, and b) that Wesley is super special and that he should be encouraged in his specialness, but never told about it overtly (apparently he needs to figure it out on his own, for reasons that are definitely not arbitrary).  And with that, the Traveller agrees to one last attempt towards bringing everyone home.  It almost fails again, but Wesley is evidently able to transfer some of his special-boy-energy to aid the Traveller before he disappears-possibly-to-death. With everyone home safe, Picard decides to let Wesley become an acting ensign, to start him on his chosen-one journey toward specialness.

The Verdict

This may be the first episode (chronologically speaking). That I can honestly say I like. Oh, there are still plenty of hokey and down-right-cringey moments, also Wesley is more involved than I care for, but at it’s core this is a solid little episode. The Traveler and his story are both intriguing, and there’s some solid groundwork that’s established seemingly in the service of Picard becoming less of an asshole to children (and hopefully also just in general). I can understand why others would rate this lower, but with Star Trek one has embrace a little campiness, and an embarrassing dose of optimism; That being said, ‘Where No One Has Gone Before’ very closely pushes the limit of what I can tolerate for both.

3 stars (out of 5)

Additional Observations

ST: Voyager is basically the same plot + 7 seasons.

I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I actually don’t despise Wesley this time around. I mean yeah he’s still the worst (sorry Wil Wheaton), but his character serves the plot, and he legitimately does nothing wrong. Indeed, he actually helps, all while enduring a lot of abuse. I came very close to rooting for him.

At the same time, the way the crew bullies Wesley is also hilarious, if only because it goes completely unaddressed. It’s like the show is trying to gaslight the audience into doubting that it’s even happening.

[crimsonfluidessence]

Prompt 4: Off the Hook

Content Warning: Drug and violence mentions, Endwalker spoilers

Esredes was in trouble again, and he knew it.

The teenager sat in a chair inside his manor, arms crossed and feet kicking in the air idly. "So," his mother said with a stern look, a look he was avoiding eye contact with. "Would you like to explain to me what happened, Esredes?" Esredes certainly knew what happened, that was for sure. He'd been out with friends and they had all gotten their hands on fogweed. Esredes tried one little inhale of it, and proceeded to cough his lungs out. But Mother didn't need to know any of that, no no. He had an idea, a plausible story forming in his head. "Ovoix really wanted to explore beyond our limits." He said. "I told him you would be mad, but he said if I didn't go he wouldn't talk to me again." "Then Ovoix isn't really your friend, Esredes." She remarked. "I always had a bad feeling about him. Listen, you." She pointed at him. "No spending time with him again. I will be having a talk with his parents." "Okay, Mother. I'm sorry." Esredes put on his best guilty face. "I really didn't mean for this to get out of hand..." She sighed, crossing her arms. "If I catch you going down there again, I will ground you. Understood?" "Understood." Wow. That had worked better than expected. For once, he could escape her punishments.

Of course, it was easier back then. People took more pity on a noble and a softer face, even if it was less than the others. Nowadays, his face had sharpened and now that he was pardoned, he hung in so many balances he might as well be declared a tightrope circus act. That meant whenever he messed up, he needed to be very precise, and very calculated.

The easiest way was to, of course, simply be clean about it. Use the Dark Knights, use the Inquisitors, stay in the shadows and watch. It wasn't as satisfying, but cleanliness far outweighed personal desires. But failing that, there were other ways to win.

Take the time that one of Esredes' own counseling clients was almost murdered by his own biological father.

It was not exactly a time Esredes wanted to talk about, as there are some things you can't forget hearing on linkpearl, but he'd done exactly as he should have. He ran to stop it, told the apartment desk women it was an emergency and the young man was in danger, then proceeded to burst in and kick the man's face into unconsciousness. Of course, did the Temple Knights who came up appreciate the effort? No. They immediately tried to arrest him, blaming him for all of it. Being a former Temple Knight had its perks, even in light of everything else working against him. Esredes held up his hands, obeyed the command to step away from the victim despite being in the middle of administering first aid, and stood by, calmly explaining the situation. The first time the Temple Knight tried to arrest him, the victim on the floor protested. But the asshole had the audacity to try again the moment it was them alone and the others had filed out. "I think you should put your hands together." He had said. "I think we'll take them off when we get into a nice Inquisition room." Esredes stared back at him. “You know I’ve been proven innocent of my original crime, do you not? My record is clean. ‘Tis not very ethical of your place in the order to lie to an attempted murder victim.” The Temple Knight's expression soured harshly at that. He ran his tongue along his teeth and smacked his lips. "Right. But it's for safety reasons. I think you might be a flight risk. I think you might be one literally." That was most definitely a hiss. “I’m not resisting detainment. I am standing here awaiting your escort, and that is that. To do so would only endanger myself unnecessarily.” "...Fine. You know the way? Walk." “Very well.” He said to this, and turned and began to walk out. Each time he looked back, the man was right there with a hand on his lance the whole way. Considering they never even confiscated his sword and he was allowed to walk out of the questioning room before he even finished his entire statement, Esredes declared that one a success. He was on a mission for both survival and pride reasons to never be arrested. Detainment was normal, but he really couldn't afford an arrest on his record.

Of course, he had done nothing wrong. He was entirely innocent of any negative involvement, why, he'd even held back from completely eviscerating the would-be murderer for legal defense purposes. Still, he counted his blessings. The last time he'd argue he did nothing wrong didn't work as well.

Argue was a bit of a strong word, of course, as both times he had to be talked to in that detainment, it was from people he knew, had a good relationship with, even, making things more awkward. It was especially awkward when he was being questioned by a client. You know, because sometimes you're the unluckiest man ever and you make a client out of a High Inquisitor not long before you get detained for an act of vigilantism.

It wasn't even bad enough to be qualified, he wanted to argue but didn't. He had done nothing but try to ensure an incredibly dangerous and wanted criminal didn't get away while he was being chased. He hadn't interfered or obstructed law enforcement from arresting the man. He was entirely wanting to see this arrest occur. And yet, he was the one in trouble for committing vigilantism? Fucking bullshit, he wanted to say. I've done way worse and not been caught. But it was an extremely unwise position to argue on this. So he didn't, and he took the charge with profuse apologies, and grumbled to himself about the community service charge. There went his clean record. But the community service ended up being to counsel prisoners and then be hired for it at the end, so it was barely a punishment to begin with. He was more pissed about the record by the end of it.

Perhaps he was lucky because of his connection. But he didn't need that to get himself out of trouble, either.

Enter Alvere Travanchet. Who the hells was Alvere Travanchet? The name was known to Esredes already, but not from the man himself. Instead it was from his deceased lover, a fellow harrier in his movement. And when Esredes first saw the way the man stared at him after he showed him a sketch of Alais, he knew he was in for danger. The stalking and monitoring that followed was a given, Inquisitors tried that first each time. But to even manage to follow him using a proxy to one of his recruitment meetings? That took something else. This one was more of a threat. Or would have been, anyhow, if not for his actions completely backfiring on him. Alvere was a shadow, secret Inquisitor. As far as the public knew, he wasn't one. Not until he had met with Esredes' boss and been instated as a public Inquisitor, causing the noblewoman he was a House Knight for to kick him out of her house. Esredes had been planning to cancel his follow up to that meeting. If Alvere somehow stalked him to it he might just arrest him and try to get his pardon undone for execution purposes he most definitely wanted to perform himself, after all. But he found the man staring off a thousand yards out on a bench in Empyreum, had him speak to him about how he just got kicked out of his house, and went on ahead with the meeting. Nothing more ever came of it.

Months later when the two were having an argument, though, he brought it back up in the middle of his anger. "You spied on me. I found you on a bench after I learned about it, and I was pissed. Yet I still picked up your flask for you, and put it aside. I don't think you would ever do that for another person unless they were soft and cute and didn't challenge you on the mountains of bullshit you entertain." "Of course I did. Did you really think I wouldn't?" Alvere leaned in and snarled at him. "But I did nothing. You are still holding meetings, secretive ones, yet I chose to trust you are up to no harm. I let it go, I stopped." He pulled back, his expression and voice turning icy. "Fool I am. Trusted. Hoped." Esredes crossed his arms. "Oh no, I knew you would. That's everyone's first instinct. You're not original in the slightest, Alvere.. And you're really going to frame it as a sign of trust. Is it really that, Alvere? Is it really?" "Name it. You don't believe my trust, so name it. What would make you believe. Nothing." Esredes sighed. "Perhaps not switching your personality off every time you talk to me would help? You know, as a start?" Alvere narrowed his eyes. "Then I am self centered, head up my ass, violating inquisitor." He gestured around. "So much trust here."

That had been perhaps their worst argument. They almost broke it all off entirely. But Alvere was certainly right about a few things. He had taken the bait perfectly. Esredes had leaned so hard into Alvere's emotional issues despite his hatred that he gave up on pursuing him.

And now he simply kept it that way, and let the Black Wolf curl around him protectively, as he continued about his work as usual. Some spy he was, weak at his foundation. But that was okay. Every Inquisitor was weak if you drove the needle in at the right vein, and the wolf was a great boon. It was a good thing that he could still get away with it without Alvere, then. Alvere once thought it was a brilliant idea to confront his father financing a gang with the child who the gang wanted to take back. Sure enough, it went exactly as Esredes anticipated it would, and it went awry. A mind mage tried to turn the two to the gang's side, and if it were not for Esredes following and hiding and sounding an alarm, it could've been catastrophic. Sure, in order to follow and hide, Esredes had to break into a minor noble house, sleeping powder a noble man, and break a chandelier and window in order to attack the mind mage and Alvere's father, but what was a little illegal home invasion when the suspect was guilty and attacked an Inquisitor? He absolutely got detained for that one. It was not a painless detainment. Once again he was cursed to be interrogated by someone he knew- in fact, in all three of these situations he was, weirdly enough- but it was not exactly a happy reunion. Still, he was not charged with a crime. He was free to go. And go home he did, to get ready for a ball while emotionally in the complete dumps.

But emotional turmoil was temporary, and record charges were forever.

Someone who Esredes went to Garlemald with came into his office without warning to search his office on a warrant of suspecting him to be harboring dragon's blood, because his fellow harriers never got it through their heads to be quiet about things. That time, Esredes was almost certain he would be arrested. Still, he sat there calmly in his office chair and didn't hinder the Dragoon's search. He evasively answered his questions. But of course, the Dragoon found nothing. He didn't keep dragon blood in his office. That was miles and miles away safely stored at camp. He wasn't sloppy. And so he left, and nothing more came of it.

He also thought nothing of his neighbor boarding up her upstairs window for a whole week soon after that, claiming she had a home invader while he was at work.

Being a former Temple Knight had its perks, even when you were legally at the very bottom. And if he strengthened his web of connections well enough, maybe he would eventually ascend his status entirely and become impossible to take out.

Oh, what a reality that would be. To finally be free of the crushing weight and more easily get down to business. Yes, this was the outcome he craved. And who cared how many wretched members of law and order would need to be bent to his will like a toothpick to achieve it?

He would take back the power he needed to change Ishgard to Shiva's Will, one way or another. And so the man continued his legal dance.

[vole-mon-amour]

The Newsreader, 1x05.

Ah yes, raising homophobia even more, great coverage. Ugh.

A wild thought: what if Dale is HIV positive himself? Though I think he should have told Helen in the first place & she would have thought on it. Still trying to guess what The Big Mystery is.

Lestat like this when?

They're right to do so, really.

As a bisexual, I'd like to hit you on the head with something heavy. You know, to actually put you at risk. Asshole.

i feel sorry for Noelene, but also: she didn't hesitate even ONCE to go with that quote. Didn't even fucking blink. If I were here, I wouldn't even open my mouth on it. LGBTQIA community deserves better.

Helen is a bit... clingy. Actually intrigued about her past. Any exes? What did her dad do to her? Why is she like this? Literally throwing food and dishes when she's sad and angry. How old are you, really?

And back to alcohol she goes. :/

Lindsay, I swear to fucking god. Are there any actually good people on this show? I mean, yeah, good for Rob trying to protect Noelene, but he is also homophobic and afraid of HIV positive people.

You're gonna have a stroke like that, bestie. <3

I want to punch Geoff.

Sam's ability to cry when his characters needs to be in that state, what a Man. And yes, it is very, very difficult. How it showed Dale on the lines about struggling with this alone.

"Just... sorry."

Fucking called it. Ugh.

Oh Dale. :(

My first impression thinking Dale has AIDS and didn't tell Helen: So he... he didn't tell Helen??? Yooo, I thought WAY better of him. I'm just so ??? This is the first thing you do with your sexual partners. Thinking about this having an entire plotline in Queer as folk since it's THAT important. Yo, seriously, I did NOT expect Dale to act this way.

My second one after the ending of the ep: Well, if it's about the allegations, he didn't have to tell her anything. Good for him to keep it to himself.

What an actor. What a character. Good side of Dale is that he wants to protect Adam after all he did to Dale. Bad side? He's a mess & he needs therapy as much as Helen.

He was, and still is, a bag full of shit. And so are you. I'm disgusted.

I see how they are focusing on this, but at what point are they going to say out loud that she's an alcoholic?

Listen, lady, if it wasn't about Dale being HIV positive (which, turns out, he's not), he doesn't have to tell you SHIT. You don't own him & he owes you NOTHING. Why is everybody in this show so... awful?

I like the diversity of characters Sam is not afraid to portray.

"I told him, Helen. I stopped it as soon as it started." I mean, yeah, it's cheating (I guess? Technically? Were they together, for real?), but what did actually happen? They kissed? And that's a tragedy how? Yeah, yeah, it's bad and they can't communicate, but he makes it sound like they started having sex and Dale suddenly backed out as soon as he was inside Tim or whatever. Yeah, I'm all confused about everyone in here. Also, scratch that previous statement about HIV, "if Helen has any concerns, direct her to me". So he isn't actually HIV positive, but there were false rape allegations (that were also proven false)?

I think the idea of Dale being HIV positive might have been more interesting, idk. And that he got it from one of those dudes & that's why the families don't talk and why Dale avoids him. And again, Dale didn't have to tell Helen anything? Besides maybe about kissing Tim. *sigh* Oh, the drama out of basically nothing.

And Helen was definitely more concerned about Dale 'messing around' with Tim than with the allegations. Oh, I can't wait to finish s1 and get back to my natural habitat. This show is so much from every point of view. And I saw people talking about Dale and Helen marrying in s2, dreaming about or whatever, and: are you for real? They are a mess. They don't work together. They don't even match. What wedding? They don't know how to talk to each other without tantrums and basically don't know how relationships work. They would be MISERABLE.

[luvrblythe]

well.., are they? || gilbert blythe x f!reader

jealous gilbert basically

got carried away again omfg someone stop me

warnings : cursing (from me lol), billy andrews, slut shaming but no sexual activities actually happen, idk if thats it

i was also inconsistent bc i kept using both "u" and "you" i apologize for that

— he would never say it out loud thats for sure

— if u weren’t together or anything he wouldn’t really be all petty about it

— big boy knows his place

— but he may throw in some subtle moves to get ur attention

— if he feels like it that is

— idk where i’m going with this

— but if you were together or like he was courting u or smth

— he’d definitely do something abt it

— if u thought he was protective while he was only crushing on u bbg he’s like 10 times worse now

— or better, if u like that sort of stuff

— he’s definitely not possessive protective, he just rlly doesn’t want u getting hurt :(

— i’m going off topic

— billy’s an ass

— we all know that

— but he also has a maaaassive crush on u

— and u being u 

— u were oblivious to his painfully evident attraction to u

— your mind and heart was too full of your gilbert you couldn’t possibly think of any other man in that way

— gilbert on the other hand, has known about billboy’s crush on u for years

— flashbacks to when he keeps calling him “bud”

— he didn’t rlly do anything abt it at first, bc yk, he didn’t rlly have the right to

— but u were his girl now 

— side note he wouldn’t call u “his girl” if you didn’t like it:))

— alr back to billiards

— he was soo fucking

— ugh idk but he was acting like a grade a asshole that's for sure

— he’d like constantly be around u

— and like help u out with stuff like gilbert would

— u didn’t think much of it, most of the boys u knew were gentlemen

— but then he started spreading rumors

— apparently u two made out when u came over his house over the weekend

— when u were actually at gilbert’s

— here we go

— monday came and it was torture

— the second u came through the door, the girls rushed to you and pulled u into their little corner

— side note #2 i’d give anything to be invited to their little corner

— u got bombarded with questions

— somehow they all knew they were just rumors

— they all understood how in love u are with gilbert, and they knew u too well to know u would never

— except josie

— she was being a bitch about the whole thing

— called u nasty words

— “you enjoy being passed around, y/n? i mean i’m not surprised, we all knew how you were gonna turn out. just didn’t think it’d be this early.” 

— fuck u josie

— the girls immediately came to ur aid, especially anne and diana

— i love them all so much

— meanwhile outside, billy and some boys were playing catch

— while gossiping ofc

— while u were basically scared for your life, billy was being congratulated

— for stealing blythe’s girl apparently

— “such sweet lips she had, couldn’t get enough of me. she was practically begging for more!” he laughed while tossing the ball to charlie

— ugh

— “really? y/n? y/n y/l/n? i never thought she’d be disloyal to gilbert. the two are practically engaged.” charlie added

— “i thought so too, but—, guess she just couldn’t control herself.” billy replied as he laughed along with the other boys

— what he didn’t know was that gilbert was listening the whole time

— ofc he knew this wasn’t true, he was practically glued to u all weekend

— omg new blurb idea

— anyways

— the second he heard this his mind immediately went to u

— how were u doing? were u alright? oh what would people say about u if they heard about this?

— he knows u arrive to school earlier than him so he concluded that u probably already heard about all this

— he desperately wanted to check on u

— but he had to deal with this dickhead first

— gilbert blythe style

— he walked towards the group

— but not like power walk walk

— yk that slow smug walk that ppl do when they’re about to confront someone?

— like they’re just letting their feet carry them and smirking? u get the point

— he walked over, jaw clenched but smirking nonetheless 

— “hey billy! how’s it goin’?” he smiled as he swung his arm around billy

— “hehey, bud! oh– have you heard the news?” he replied

— “yep, yeah the second i got here.” gilbert smiled

— billy pulled away so he could face gilbert “hey, uh– i’m sorry ‘bout your gi— y/n. i mean we all know how girls get. they can be such—”

— ooh

— before he could finish, gilbert’s fist met his face

— he punched him so hard he literally fell to the ground

— the boys gasped, which caught the girls’ attention

— it also caught your attention, which halted ur sobbing 

— oh did i mention u were sobbing? bc you know, 19th century, small town, word gets around, and unfortunately for u weren’t rich and privileged so ur reputation was very fragile

— u all scurried towards the window

— and u saw gilbert bend down to billy’s level, fisting his collar in his hand

— “try saying anything like that about my girl again– or any girl for that matter– i’ll aim for your mouth next time so you’ll finally zip it.” he sneered

— i literally don’t know how to write threats i’m so sorry

— billy couldn’t say anything. but before he could even nod, he was shoved down to the ground again

— bro where’s the teacher my god

— he made his way inside, prepared to comfort you

— and when he was met by your tear stained face and glossy eyes, his heart broke for you

— he pulled you aside while the girls retreated back to their little corner

— he led you to the coat room area thingy i forgot what its called

— and just pulled you into his arms

— my touched starved ass omg

— u rubbed your face on his shirt to wipe your tears which made him laugh

— u pulled away, but staying close enough so your chests are almost touching, and he kept his hands on your shoulders to ground u and to remind u that he’s there

— “i hate him now.” you mumbled

— “just now?” he chuckled, reaching his hand out to wipe a stray tear off your face

— “he’s dumb, and stupid,” “those mean the same—” “whatever!” you cut him off

— “i mean if you’re gonna spread a rumor, at least make it believable. and there weren’t even any witnesses! he didn’t even know where i was this weekend, and he has siblings! if i was at his house they would know.” you rambled angrily while playing with one of the buttons on his vest

— “adorable” he thought

— “i know, sweetheart, i know. but it’s alright now, he won’t be doing that again anytime soon.” he said while rubbing ur arm and tucking ur hair behind ur ear

— “everyone will think badly of me now.” you huffed, a soft pout adorning ur lips as u looked down at the wooden floor

— “don’t you worry, my love. i’m sure only very few people would believe that nonsense. and you said he was stupid right? billy isn’t capable of getting away with spreading a rumor. your name will be clear in no time.” 

— god i love him so much

— “what else did he say?” you asked, your voice soft as you looked up at him

— “he said your lips were sweet.” he replied, jaw clenching at the thought of billy knowing how amazing it is to kiss you

— only he is supposed to know how your kisses feel

— “well.., are they?” you laughed softly, attempting to lighten the mood as a sweet smile started growing on ur pretty face

— “hm, i don’t know, i'm having trouble recalling.” he replied, putting on a faux thinking face

— “oh my! we can’t allow that now, can we?” you gasped sarcastically as he laughed at your antics

— “perhaps you need a reminder?” you looked up at him with a smirk

— “oh fine, since you insist.” how could he deny such an offer?

— you leaned up to peck his lips once, but before you could pull away, his hand found the back of your head while the other rested on your waist, deepening the kiss and pulling you closer if that was even possible

— it made your head all fuzzy

— a good fuzzy

— when you pulled away he was looking down at you with the smuggest face ever

— you wanted to smack it off him

— lovingly

— then mr. philips finally arrived

— when you went to sit down you saw billy in his seat with a grumpy face and a bruised cheek

— you looked at gilbert as to say “you did this??”

— and he did nothing but wink at you

— and he did keep his word

— your name was cleared and billy apologized to you

— with his parents and siblings right behind him

— prissy was so disappointed

— this turned into protective gil instead of jealous gil

— oops

[lipstickchainsaw]

Since there was some discussion about Brian and Taylor’s relationship going around, I want to give my own two cents.

Taylor and Brian were a much better fit when they met than they were when they actually got together.

Brian is a young man who’s really struggling with his masculinity. He doesn’t want to be his dad, a man who’s lost all the warmth in his heart and doesn’t really know how to engage with people, and Aisha has already warned him that he’s starting to act like the abusive asshat that terrorised them both and got Brian to trigger. He’s tried to conceptualise his masculinity into his leadership of the Undersiders to some degree, but, well, that’s not really working.

Alec is a little shit who has to be dragged kicking and screaming into taking any kind of responsibility, and he’s perfected a social strategy where he makes every one of these interactions too tedious to bother with. Lisa is obviously not a follower type either, and I don’t think Brian’s ever under any illusion that he can really tell her what to do. Hell, she’s the only one in contact with their boss, which obviously influences their dynamic regardless. They’re partners at best.

Rachel is even worse. To get her to even listen to him he feels like he has to become the exact kind of asshole he hates and he’s actively trying to get away from, but he doesn’t see any other options for dealing with her, because he doesn’t understand her and doesn’t know where to start. This inability to understand someone else’s point-of-view also plays a part in his attempt at getting custody over Aisha, simply because he doesn’t seem to have taken her wants into account when putting together their living space.

Then in comes this competent, thoughtful newbie, and by god she looks up to him. She treats him like the leader he wants to be, she actually listens to him when he’s sharing his insights and perspective. She basically validates the fuck out of him and the image of positive masculinity he wants to project. She might not be very attractive, really, but by god she feels a deep need inside him.

On Taylor’s part, she’s been horribly isolated and her self-esteem has been beaten into a million pieces. She’s still trying very hard to take seriously everything she gets involved with, but it’s leading to nothing but frustration every time because her bullies find some way to ruin things for her. Her cape life is her last ditch attempt to have something that actually works out for her.

And in steps this professional, capable, engaged (and also very handsome) guy who instantly praises her for her foresight in taking a first aid class, who works with her, and, on their third meeting, tells her he wants her on the team over one of his current teammates. It’s like crack to her socially isolated mind, so naturally she’s absolutely smitten with him.

Now, would this relationship have worked out long-term? Probably not, they’re teenagers in their first relationship, meeting a very basic need in each other that they would eventually grow out of. But who knows! Maybe they’d find a way to have their relationship grow along with them!

Of course, Taylor then messes this up by forcing a kiss on him, and Brian kind of messes it up by not quite understanding his own feelings on the matter, because, in part, he doesn’t know what liking someone is, and he also kind of wishes Aisha would look to him the way Taylor does, so naturally he puts Taylor in the sister zone.

By the time they get together, though, things have changed a lot for both of them.

Brian has obviously gone through something horribly traumatic, and he’s even less able to be the man he wants to be. Other people are now needing to take care of him, and he’s not sure how to behave in that kind of situation. He feels helpless and useless, and this isn’t helped by Taylor going so deep into the cape life that he simply can’t keep up anymore.

He tries to advise her to slow down, to take her time, but he’s constantly ignored (if there’s one issue I have with @incorrect-wormquotes it’s that those quotes often give the ‘common sense’ lines to Lisa - the enabler in chief who criticises Taylor exactly once at the start of arc 30 - instead of Brian, who’s canonically the always-ignored straight man), and simply isn’t really taken seriously anymore.

He clings to Taylor because she’s there, and willing to help him out, but it’s far removed from what he wanted.

And on Taylor’s part, well, her priorities have shifted. She’s fully committed to the cape life, and she’s dealing with both her territory and her big Dinah rescue mission. Her boyfriend doesn’t end up even close to the top of the list. Brian needs serious psychological help and she just... doesn’t really get to it, which is a shame, especially when contrasted with the help she gave to Rachel before, helping her turn from basically feral into the core of a marginalised community that lasts all the way through Ward.

And Taylor just... doesn’t respect him anymore. She blows off all his advise and criticism, and whenever she needs emotional help, Brian literally only beats Alec on the list of people she’d go to for help. She trusts Rachel and Lisa more with this than she trusts Brian (there’s a reason those ships are so popular!) Brian ends up by the wayside, almost more of a trophy than an actual boyfriend to her girlboss lifestyle.

Thankfully they actually break up before she abandons them to go save the world or whatever.

[south-park-meta]

I wrote this mostly as a response to the last reblog but It felt argumentative as a response when I do get what the person I reblogged was saying and I'm just trying to get that I don't get the big picture of it all.

Anyway, this is why I don't understand seeing Cartman as redeemed:

He dismissed Kyle as 'same old Kyle' instead of acknowledging any wrongdoings, forced himself into Kyle's home despite knowing he was unwelcome because he knew Kyle was a kind enough person to cave, had loud sex in Kyle's home, yelled at Kyle when confronted for giving him AIDS, then went back to having loud sex in Kyle's home instead of trying to be a kind guest for the duration of the stay, made his sermon at Kenny's funeral about Kenny not being Jewish but having 'Jewish qualities'/made the speech about himself and his Jewish family, and only wanted to go back in time when his daughter said she didn't want to be like Kyle-- not because it's some greater good. Just...Kyle's an asshole, don't be like Kyle. I do think Cartman genuinely loved his family. I just can't get from there to the redemption part. If his life is only the way it is because he's lied, then he's not redeemed. There's no redemption without the atonement of sins. And when Yentl first comes into the picture: Kyle Yentl? Her name is Yentl? Can we fucking stop this and talk about Kenny, please?! Yentl Oh, is that, uh…? Cartman Yeah, that's-that's Kyle, yeah. I'm sorry, honey, could you just give me a couple minutes? I just need a few more seconds with them and I'll be right out to the car. which seems to be pretty clear that he's talked about Kyle not just in an omission sense but in a way that makes himself the victim and Kyle the unreasonable aggressor, built on actual lies rather than just not talking about his life in South Park at all. And this is carried through in how he responds to Kyle saying he gave him AIDS when he says it's just 'lashing out' at Yentl. I just really really don't get it because it feels like 'Cartman is happy and genuinely loves his family and therefore is redeemed even though he lies about his past to that family, acts like Kyle is crazy when accused of any of the sins he's meant to be redeemed for, antagonizes Kyle throughout even after acknowledging he knows Kyle's bothered by his presence (which should be obvious from their first interaction anyway), and only agrees to help because it will insult Kyle MORE'. Very sincerely I don't understand the redemption even in a both sides have a point way because the redemption of Cartman relies on giving him a pass for not doing the actions that show he's sorry for the things that made him need redemption in the first place. He's continuing to be cruel to his primary victim and lying to his family throughout to facilitate the cruelty. It's not redemption it's just Cartman learned to be an asshole in a way that's harder to call out.

[sth-lgbtq]

in your opinion, what becomes of sonic the hedgehog in his adult years? (or just later in life?)

(cw for talks for mortality and such)

I've adopted a lot of my adult Sonic headcanons from @sonicaspeed123, mostly the fact that... well, y'know what they say, live fast & die young. Sonic is very much a mortal, and considering the kinda life he leads he certainly gets a serious injury in his 20s, and I'd be stunned if he makes it to 30 (yet considering the crazy feats he's accomplished, there's a chance he'd push 40). Regardless, he knows for a fact Eggman will live longer than him, or at least has a successor prepared in the event he kicks the bucket (Metal Sonic?), so he considers Tails his own successor. He works hard to prepare the kid for a future of world saving while still letting him be a kid, something he himself didn't get - preparation or a normal childhood.

Sonic's always been disabled (chronic pain) but he's ignored it his whole life, until it gets too bad to ignore in his early adulthood, and/or he makes it way worse through his recklessness. When that time comes, he starts using mobility aids - he's initially very depressed about losing some mobility, but he gradually becomes completely accepting of and accustomed to it, though he still pushes himself too far sometimes; walking without crutches on his worst days, literally jumping out of his wheelchair at the first sign of a Badnik, I mean he's Sonic, middle name Goes Fast, he'd run on a broken leg - and he probably has! Depressingly, he doesn't care about the long term negatives of pushing himself like that because even he knows he'd never see the big five-oh without a miracle.

Because of how aware he is of his mortality, I'd bet he'd hate the idea of long term committed relationships. There's some he absolutely couldn't avoid, like taking Tails under his wing, but when it comes to romantic relationships... He's on the aro spectrum to begin with, but even then, he'd never subject the people he does feel a connection with to his lifestyle. Especially Shadow. Sonic loves Shadow's company, and his softness, and his smile, his morals, the way the moonlight sparkles off his eyes, the infinite sweetness in his ever-rare laugh... but the longer he thinks about living life with him, the more depressed he gets. He refuses to be another Maria, he cares about Shadow too much to let that happen. Sometimes he feels guilt for allowing himself to be such a close friend in the first place - hell, during depressive episodes he considers himself a greedy asshole for befriending anyone to begin with. He's the kinda guy who refuses to even cry around his friends, but he knows for a fact he'll eventually die around them.

I don't know how exactly he gets over those feelings. Probably by reminding himself that, for what it's worth, he's a great friend in the moment; he's the best father- I mean, brother, that Tails has ever had, he's gotten Amy and Knuckles out of their own emotional pickles from time to time, and he's really cracked Shadow's shell. The list goes on, but when he's gone, he knows that that's what they'll all remember. That's what everyone will remember. And they'll appreciate that, even if it hurts to lose him.

He doesn't want to die, but in his mind it's a balancing act: He has to be as good of a friend as possible to counteract the pain of losing someone so close, but paradoxically, in becoming so close, he only makes that pain worse. That's how the depression spirals start.

He probably goes on a year long journey of self discovery at some point during his mid-life crisis at 20, learns to process all this stuff and recognize that there's only the moment, and you never go anywhere if you always dwell on the past or worry about the future. Every world has its end. I know that's kinda sad, but that's why we gotta live life to the fullest in the time we have. At least, that's what he figures.

Anyways thanks for coming to my "Sonic dies young" TED Talk.

[klirk-hammurton]

Imagine exploring a Haunted House with your favorite band(s) and member(s)

Requested by @kissmaidens-blog

Paul Stanley

Will do it if you really want to. Packs extra flashlights and batteries

Stays right next to you the entire time. Doesn't like the idea of splitting up to explore

VERY protective. He's such a good boyfriend 💜

Is extremely over confident on the outside but is low key scared

Puffs his chest out to show he isn't scared. You see he's faking it but go with it anyway

Threatens any assholes in there that might jump out. Would definitely kick their ass without hesitation.

Nobody messes with Paulie's girl, especially ghosts or spirits

Probably wears a cross necklace under his shirt just to be safe

Pulls you against his chest at any weird sounds. He smells nice. His cologne is to die for.

Will hold onto your hand like it's his lifeline

Gene Simmons

He may be known as The Demon, but he does NOT do ghosts or haunts

You have to physically drag him to the haunted house.

He turns to be hard headed and wants to prove a point after you mention how he chickened out on The Queen Mary. The man likes to keep his pride in tact.

Will probably throw his flashlight at his own shadow thinking it's a ghost or spirit

Cardio check anyone? The man will run if a ghost appears. Ghosts are a no go

You almost feel bad for dragging him into this, but his determination to prove you wrong is priceless

Is horrible at faking bravery

Definitely carries a crucifix in his pocket. Is not afraid to use it.

Has a bag of nothing but batteries and flashlights. Flashlights for DAYS.

Keeps his arm wrapped around your waist. It's because he's scared but he plays it off that he wants to protect you. Who's protecting who exactly at this point?

Ace Frehley

Would definitely talk shit to any spirits in the house

Brings salt, holy water, crucifix and snacks.

Gets a little nervous but puts on a brave face for you

Would fall in love with the bats that call the inside of the roof home

Trips going up the stairs because he's clumsy. Blames it on the ghost.

Would want to check out the cemetery in the back of the house

"I ain't afraid of no ghosts!" Gets freaked out by the curtains blowing from a breeze

Holds your hand the entire time and takes the lead the whole way. Probably gets lost for a moment and plays it off like nothing happened

Basement is a no go though

Is a nervous giggly mess the whole time. His laugh is priceless.

Peter Criss

Plans ahead and brings batteries, flashlights, first aid kits, etc.

Brings you a pair of rosary beads to wear around your neck. It matches his pair. What a hopeless romantic

Threatens to kick anyone's ass that tries to play any dumb tricks

Will definitely throw hands for you

Keeps his arm wrapped around your waist in case he has to pull you out of any sort of danger

Acts like he's a tough guy because he is a tough guy

If he finds a stray animal, he's bringing it home. Yes, that includes a possum

Is always in fight mode for fight or flight response. The man is tense and wants to protect what's his

"I won't let anything happen to you". And he means it. He watches you like a hawk

Low key enjoys the adrenaline rush

Vinnie Vincent

Thinks you're joking at first at wanting to explore this old haunted house. Thinks you're crazy. But you're his crazy.

Walks into the cobwebs and turns into a ninja on the spot with swatting it off

Agrees to split up. Comes looking for you 5 minutes later

"I'm not scared. I'm just worried about you" he's scared....but he's precious. He wants to impress you

Nervous laughter all the time

Will definitely throw his flashlight at anything that moves.

Is horrible at putting on a brave face

Definitely not going near no damn graveyard

Would probably trip running down the stairs if something chases after both of you. He let's you go down first. Such a gentleman

Even though he was scared shitless, he would probably do it again

Eric Carr

Is stoked about exploring an old haunted house with you

Definitely thinks it's a fun date abd enjoys the thrill

Let's face it, this adorable bean will crack jokes at the ghosts and spirits because that's just a part of who he is

Is also very protective of you and will pull you close against his chest if you feel scared

Holds your hand the entire time so you don't get separated

Would probably try bargaining with the ghosts using snacks.

"We're just here to check out your house, no need to be alarmed. Did you just throw a picture frame at me? That was rude!" Definitely throws the picture frame back where it came from

Wants to explore the attic, basement and woods surrounding the house.

Gets lost in the cemetery. Finds you through a humorous game of 'Marco Polo'

He's like a puppy after any adventure. He definitely wants to do it again and starts goolging other haunted houses

Tommy Thayer

Isn't too hot on the idea but will definitely give it a try. Has a 'don't knock it til you try it' mentality

Does this lot of extensive research on the house beforehand so he can impress you with a bunch of factoids and history

Takes mental notes of possible escape routes

Stays close to you but let's you freely roam around. Keeps his eyes on you at all times

Brings flashlights but also brings old lanterns too to match the spooky atmosphere

Brings salt and holy water as suggested by the psychic he got advice from

"That's a really creepy ass doll over there. It better not move."

Keeps up a brave face the entire time. Uses the 'You better fucking not' glare at anything that seems sus

Would probably use a lot of "I've seen this in a horror movie once" scenarios to try to lighten the mood

Will definitely get cocky towards the poltergeist that tries throwing objects at you

Eric Singer

Is super excited about your new adventure together

Almost forgets to bring flashlights because he's so stoked

"It looked so much smaller in the picture". Is low key intimidated with how big the house is

HAS to poke the gargoyles on the stairs leading to the door because trapdoors are things in movies

Seriously.....he's convinced there has to be a trapdoor somewhere. He's a kid at heart

Will step in front of you like a guard dog when he sees a shadow figure. He may be short but he's feisty

Squeezes your hand if you get scared and comforts you. Will offer to leave if it's too much for you

Puffs out his chest to make himself more intimidating. High key wants to impress you too.

Picks a day when there's a full moon to explore the house. Would probably tell ghost stories

Probably has the worst luck at finding the weak boards in the floors

[donghyuckcuyhgnod]

let me in

“oh, i’m sorry- hold on just a second,” you said to your friend, her nodding her head in response. you fished the vibrating phone out of your pocket, confused to see that jeno was calling you. jeno never calls me, you thought. with confusion, you answered the call and put the phone up to your ear.

“hello?” you said. the sound of a few other people bickering in the background was heard, before a distant, “dude! she answered!” was heard. you assumed it was chenle upon hearing the voice.

“hello? y/n?” jeno finally said, nervousness in his voice.

“yeah, it’s me. why’d you call-“

“can you come over? something is wrong with jisung,” he said, the voices in the background now quiet. you assumed they were too focused on listening to the phone call.

“what do you mean something is wrong with him? i’m with a friend right now, i can’t be rude and just leave!” you said, which caught your friend’s attention. she shook her head at you, an understanding look on her face as she mouthed the words, “it’s alright, go!”

“y/n, please!” jeno begged. you sighed, looking at your friend as you silently thanked her, blowing her a quick, friendly kiss before standing up and leaving the coffee shop you were in. “i’ll be there soon,” you said, hanging up the call and walking to the nearest bus stop.

—

“i’m here!” you yelled as you walked into the dorms. jeno, jaemin, renjun, chenle and donghyuck came running to you as soon as they heard your voice.

“jesus, y/n! what took you so long?” donghyuck asked, his actions of hugging you like a koala completely contradictory from his sassy tone of voice.

“it’s called the bus, hyuck,” you laughed, affectionately patting him on the head. “now, what the hell did you guys rush me over here for? and where’s jisung?” you said, noticing that the sixth boy of the group, your boyfriend, was missing.

“that’s why we called you here,” chenle said. “he got home from his voice lessons a few hours ago and he went straight to his room. since then, he hasn’t come out and he refuses to let us in. he’s acting really weird,” jaemin said. you sighed, worry now taking over you as you pushed through the five boys, heading straight down the hall and to his room. they followed close behind you, but you stopped them before they could get any closer to jisung’s bedroom door.

“just. . . let me try. he might open it for me, but not if you guys are up my ass,” you scolded them. they nodded, backing away a bit as you turned towards his door. lifting your balled fist up, you sighed as you shakily knocked on the door.

“sung? it’s me, baby. wanna let me in?” you asked softly, the sweet tone of your familiar voice grabbing the said boy’s attention. before you could say another single word, the sound of his lock clicking was heard before another round of silence. looking at the boys, they all urged you to try his doorknob. just as they had suspected, it was unlocked, and you slowly let yourself into his room before closing the door behind you. turning around, you saw your boyfriend sitting on the edge of his bed, his back facing you. his head was down, his hands anxiously rubbing his thighs.

“jisung? are you okay?” you asked, making your way towards the boy. you sat next to him, trying to look at his face but he desperately avoided your eyes. “jisung, you’re going to have to face me sooner or later,” you said, your hand now lightly placed on his thigh in comfort. he sighed, slowly lifting his head and looked at you.

you gasped, a loud screech coming from you the moment your eyes caught his bruised eye and busted lip. “park jisung!” you yelled, “who did this to you!?”

other than a quiet sigh, jisung remained silent. your hand reached up to his cheek (the one that wasn’t swollen and bruised), as you rubbed it gently. “baby, what happened?” you asked more softly this time, his eyes never once meeting yours. for a few moments, the two of you sat in silence. to be quite honest, you weren’t entirely sure what to do. before asking any questions, you decided on cleaning his wounds.

“come on,” you sighed, pulling him up by his hand. he looked at you with confusion in his eyes, and you were pretty sure you heard and felt your own heart crumble into pieces. jisung looked unusually sad, his teary eyes boring into yours, and you couldn’t help but pout at him. his hand still in yours, you forced him to the bathroom where the first aid kit was located.

walking out of jisung’s room, you gave a warning glance to the boys that stood outside of the door. they instantly understood, seeing as jisung was clinging to you like a koala as you walked to the bathroom. his arms were tightly wrapped around your back, his face buried in your neck, causing you trouble when walking. however, you didn’t say anything to him about it.

“sit,” you demanded, pointing to the closed toilet seat. upon hearing your tone of voice, jisung immediately did as told as he watched you fish everything you needed out of the sink cabinets. taking a wet cloth, you dabbed the cut on his lip, wiping the now dried up blood so that you could clean it.

applying ointment to his bruised eye, you sighed. “are you going to tell me what happened?” you questioned, a serious tone in your voice that jisung had never heard before. he opened his eyes, looking at you through his lashes as you stood between his legs. you put your hands on your hips, and for a moment, you reminded him of his mother when she would scold him as a child. you seemed disappointed, and jisung didn’t like to disappoint you.

“well, i. . . i got into a fight,” he trailed off as you looked at him incredulously. “well, obviously! i should’ve rephrased the question—why did you get into a fight? that’s not like you, sung,” you said. you continued cleaning his busted lip, jisung wincing every once in a while due to the sting of the cleanser. he stayed silent.

you groaned in frustration, “jisung, if you don’t tell me anything, i can’t help you! now tell me! what happened!?” you threw the hand towel in the sink, once again putting your hands on your hips as you stared at him. jisung had never seen you mad, and his heart fluttered at the anger in your eyes. this time, however, it wasn’t a good kind of flutter.

“one of the assholes training me was shit talking you! he was saying all these bad things about you right to my face and i lost control! he wouldn’t shut up, y/n! he rambled on and on and on and on about how you weren’t good enough for me! which is bullshit! everything he was saying about you was utter bullshit! how in the hell was i supposed to just sit there and listen to him!?” he finally bursted, standing up from the toilet seat. his voice sounded strained and broken, tears flowing freely out of his eyes as he kicked the wooden cabinet.

your eyes began to tear up as well, seeing the frustration and sadness in your boyfriend made your heart ache. had he really fought someone. . . in defense of you? you sighed, your eyes trained on the now cracked cabinet. you could hear the worried whispers of the other boys just outside the door, the obvious hesitation to go in being discussed by them.

jisung’s breathing was heavy, and although his back was turned to you, you could clearly see his chest heaving up and down. his head hung low in shame, and the sheer thought of raising your voices at each other lingered in both of your minds. it was bound to happen eventually, you thought, but you didn’t expect it to be in a situation like this.

“jisung,” you whispered, and you could see his head tilt towards you in the slightest. “i’m sorry, i. . . i didn’t know,” your voice trailed off. he turned to you, his cheeks red with emotion, his eyes puffy and red.

“why are you apologizing? i’m the one who got into a fight. i shouldn’t have pushed him. i was just so angry! i’ve never been that angry before, y/n. . . i’m so sorry,” jisung admitted, sitting back down on the toilet as he held his head in his hands. you took one big step and reached him, pulling his face out of his hands and up to look at you.

“it’s okay, jisung. i’m not mad at you. i just worry about you. i’m your girlfriend, that’s what we do. i don’t want to see you get hurt,” you sighed, gesturing towards the small injuries scattered around his face, and even on his fist. “this better not happen again, park jisung.”

“i know, i know. i’m sorry. please don’t leave me, y/n. i don’t know what i would do without you,” he said, his eyes tearing up again.

“who said anything about me leaving you? stop apologizing and just calm down, okay? park jisung, i am never going to leave you and you better know it. i’m right here, baby, okay? i’m not going anywhere,” you said, your voice filled with sincerity and genuineness. jisung’s lip quivered, his arms wrapping around your middle as he hid his face in your stomach. your own arms wrapped around him, your fingers tangling in his hair as a method of comfort.

“calm down, sung. it’s okay, i promise.” you leaned down, pressing a loving kiss to the top of his head as you allowed his tears to wet your shirt. he finally calmed down, his eyes looking back up at you. seeing his expression nearly broke your heart, and you simply couldn’t stand seeing him this way. so, instead of letting your own tears fall, you decided to lighten the mood.

“well, did you win?” you said, referring to the fight that initially caused this whole situation. this, like you had hoped, caused jisung to giggle despite the tears in his eyes.

“hell yeah, i did,” he responded, causing you to laugh along.

[evnovia]

— because i’m a hero.

Bakugou unloads his worries for you in the only way he knows how.

+ pairing. bakugou x reader + warnings. lots of swearing, some violence (can be seen as abusive/toxic), mention of sex + word count. 1.436 + author’s note. who hurt me? this playlist and its title did, now suffer with me :) jk there’s comfort i’m too much of a sappy bitch to make it edgy

The door to your hospital room slams open with a powerful bang that nearly threatens to displace the flimsy wood from its hinges.

You refuse to turn your head towards the clamour and acknowledge your unwelcome visitor, feigning disinterest by relaxing your features into a cool, blank facade. It’s silent for a few moments—no boisterous yells, no low growls, nothing. Restraining your curiosity, you keep your eyes trained on the bare, weathered tree outside your window.

Your heart contracts with a greater force at his slow, sardonic snicker, sending more blood rushing to the muscles in your arms and legs and nearly kicking into your fight-or-flight response. “Tell me, was it fun?”

After one deep inhale followed by a lengthy exhale, you languidly turn to gaze upon the number three pro hero, Dynamight. He’s in his signature tight, black costume with his toned muscles on display, mask pushed up into his hairline. His blond locks spill over the makeshift headband in sharp spikes that you know from experience are delightfully soft to the touch.

Agitation and fury radiate off him in waves, exacerbated by his heavy breathing coupled with his clenched jaw and fists.

A flock of concerned nurses crowd at the entryway, evidently conflicted on whether to step in and risk their neck to an infuriated Dynamight or to simply turn a blind eye to the hero’s rampage. You send them a weak smile, flicking your wrist to aid their conscience and leave you to handle the ticking time bomb in front of you.

Once they hurriedly shuffle outside, carefully closing the door behind them, you heave a sigh. “Was what fun, Kats?”

“Stop acting like such a prissy ass bitch,” he seethes, liquid venom oozing out between his pretty lips. Bakugou edges closer to your bedside, leaning in to fist at the collar of your hospital gown. “What else would I be fucking coming in here for? Were you having trouble paying rent even with all your shitty rescues? Pretty smart fucking plan, I gotta hand it to ya—taking up camp in the hospital where the cost is already paid off for dumb fucks like you.”

His knuckles dig into the soft flesh of your neck. You concentrate on the flash of pain to ground yourself, chewing on the inside lining of your cheek to keep your own words level and calm. Two fiery knuckleheads is a recipe for disaster, and a hospital is the last place you want to duke it out with him anyway.

“There wasn’t any heroes aroun—”

“Oh, that’s it!” The heavy sarcasm laced in his tone raises your mouth into a snarl, eyes hardening on his own deadly crimson ones. “The selfless cripple stepped up when there was no one around to help out! Rather than waiting for help with the other civilians, you thought you could play hero, right?”

Smacking his hand from your clavicle, you purse your lips to guard the hateful words bubbling in your mouth from spilling out into the open as Bakugou fans the raging flames in your stomach. In order to keep the situation from escalating any further, you reach over for the red call button on your bedside to give both of you time to cool your heads.

Before your fingers can graze the button Bakugou snaps, trapping your wrist within his larger hand. With your other arm hanging uselessly in a cast, he’s free to entangle one hand into your hair, harshly pulling on the locks to tilt your head up towards his bulky form that climbs up onto your bed and straddles your waist.

“You just can’t quit, huh? After almost fucking dying on your last mission and landing yourself months in this hell hole, you still didn’t learn a fucking thing. It’s all a game to you. Nothing scares you, not even an A-list villain.” You wince at the cracks in his voice. “Did you miss it here? Why do you bother getting all beat up when I can kill you right here—no need for any of this pointless bullshit if you’re dead!”

“Shut up, asshole. Don’t start with me,” you warn, cursing your weakened muscles for being unable to fling Bakugou off your lap. It’s laughably easy for him to pin you down and halt your fruitless flailing with a brawny thigh to your abdomen that knocks the wind out of you.

“This is what you wanted! You needed to hear how great of a person you are, right? Saving people even when you’re off-duty—even when you got discharged this fucking morning! How heroic of you!”

The last thread of your sanity snaps.

“Shut up Bakugou! You know that’s not what I became a hero for!” Your voice raises to rival his own deafening volume, lungs aching from your sudden screeching added onto your previous injuries.

“Hah? Don’t make me laugh.” The menacing smirk etched onto his face only serves to rile you up further. “You did all this for you, didn’t even give a second fucking thought about other people—spare me your fake righteous crap.”

“What did you want me to do? Watch while innocent people get slaughtered by villains—”

You’re cut off by a stinging pain in your scalp, Bakugou’s sharp pull to your hair angling your face up towards the ceiling as he drags his knees closer to your waist.

He smashes his forehead against yours. There’s not enough force behind his pounding to leave a mark on him, but the lacerations near your temples open up once more, oozing blood down the sides of your head.

Bakugou’s features scrunch up, poison still spitting out of his mouth, but eyes watering with unshed tears all the same. “What is it gonna take for you to learn to save yourself first, dumb fuck? Should I help you get back on death’s door for it to get through your goddamn skull?”

Your expression instantly softens at the helpless worry scattered in the burning reds and gentle pinks of his irises. “I did evacuate with the rest of them, Kats. We were all huddled up in the storeroom, but I saw a kid run back when he heard his mom screaming outside.”

The tension in Bakugou’s face melts off, leaving the defeated slouch of his brows, mouth relaxed into a frown. He lowers back until he’s seated in your lap, releasing your wrist in favour of tenderly wrapping his arms around your waist and cuddling his head into your neck while cautiously avoiding your wounds. “You still should’a stayed where it was safe, idiot.”

You giggle lazily with no amusement behind the act, lifting your hand up to his sturdy back to trace abstract loops into the spandex. “He was yelling out the filthiest curses I’ve ever heard. I think even his mom was shocked—I saw her lecturing him about it afterwards.”

Bakugou grunts into your sensitive skin, understanding your plight without needing to hear your explanation. You two fall into a comfortable silence, reveling in one another’s presence with an occasional nip to your nape.

“Come live with me.”

A short, estranged cry escapes your mouth. Bakugou remains unmoving, curled up into your torso. “Kats?”

“Maybe it’ll stop you from holing up in this stupid place all the time.”

You land a smack to his shoulder blade, scoffing at the implication that your pockets are so despairingly empty that you are forced to rely on the free services gifted upon injured heroes. “You know I pay rent whether I’m at home or not, right?”

He presses his fingers into your sides, massaging the sparse areas that aren’t covered in wraps of bloodied bandages. “I don’t fucking care. Move in with me, your apartment is shitty anyway.”

You hum, shifting around to fight off the numbing sensation spreading throughout your lower limbs. “That’s not what you said the last time you were there.”

Shivering at the snarky grin pressed into your neck, you tighten your hold on the tight fabric hugging his waist. “That’s because I spent the whole day fucking your brains outta your—”

You dig your own fingers underneath his ribs to silence him from tainting the innocent atmosphere of the hospital any further. His spine straightens as he removes his head from your shoulder, looming over you with a cocky smirk. “Live with me.”

“It doesn’t even sound like a question at this point,” you point out, unable to resist pecking his lips after.

“Because it’s fucking not.” Bakugou chases after your retreating mouth, swirling his tongue with yours once reunited. His long fingers grasp onto the back of your head, bringing you infinitely closer.