#and to a 16 year old boy there is no greater crime

[8thparadox]

instead of providing content that people will enjoy i am providing art of my orc oc :)

Her name is Ukask't (or Uka). She was part of the orc army that marched on Erebor for the BotFA, but she got injured on the way there and fell behind the group. By the time she made it to the lonley mountain few members of her army remained, and we quickly being picked off by the elves, dwarves, and eagles. Orcs do not retreat, and so by the time the sun sets Uka is all that remains of her army. Alone, injured, and in a strange land, Uka finds a cave on the far side of the mountain which used to be used as a stop point for dwarven shepherds. She cautiously builds a camp there over the next few days, not having a set plan but knowing that she wants to survive. Once she realizes that all the elves are gone and the dwarves and men are in the mountain, she sneaks out and picks any good thick fabric and clothing that she can find off of the orc bodies, which have been left where they fell in the battlefield. (Being a rather young orc - but not so young that she is still being taken cared for my her parents - and rather low on the pecking order, Uka didn't have any clothing of her own before this, and marched only in her armor. Orcs do not weave, and all textiles they have are stolen and thus in high demand. She chose all purple. As that is her favorite color.) At first she just eats these bodies as well. For an orc a dead orc is just.. meat. the same as a dead deer or a dead man is meat. It's November, and the weather quickly drops before freezing, and the meat stays good, but after a close call almost getting spotted by a dwarven patrol she decides not to risk it as often. Instead she sets up traps around her cave to catch small game.

[starry-bi-sky]

thomas wayne au excerpts - things that could've been part of a grander fic except there's no grander fic

thomas wayne au - an au i made last year where danny is literally just. thomas wayne. his full name was Daniel Thomas Fenton and he started going by Thomas Nightingale after he was disowned. because of course. here is a link to the first post if anyone wants to see a more in depth view of the au (its also the start of me using the ‘danny fenton is not the ghost king’ au lmao

additional info: bruce is the result of a failed cloning attempt from vlad - vlad used a combination of danny's dna and an unnamed girl (Martha's) to make him to try and balance out the ectoplasm use. this resulted in a slightly liminal but otherwise completely human and stable baby boy. Bruce is, by all accounts, Danny's biological son. Danny named him Bruce

Danny was 24 when he died, he took in Bruce when he was 16. He is, so far, a single father in this au. (But if I WERE to add martha she wouldn't be sam or a DP character but rather a separate character on her own.)

Essentially they would go as:

Martha, 19: water does terrifying things to corpses

Danny, 19, half ghost: *heart eyes* really? tell me more they're morticia and gomez your honor

---- Like starlight -----

Bruce's father could light up a room. He was like a sun, his gravitational field could just pull you in, and before you knew it you'd be orbiting around him like one of his many planets.

He's seen it in action before, in the rare moments Thomas Wayne would allow him to accompany him to the socialite events he went to; the fundraisers; the charities. Bruce, as tall as his father's waist, would cling to his leg and watch as people drifted towards him and his star-blinding smile.

It's fitting that his father's favorite thing in the world were stars, he fit right in with them.

As an adult, Bruce has tried copious amount of times to mimic him. To try and capture a fraction of that light, that charm, in his own act - but here's the thing. Thomas Wayne wasn't made of starlight only in front of the cameras, he was made of starlight outside of it as well.

(So when older socialites laugh and tell him he's so much like his father, Bruce just thinks they are liars. They've only ever seen the Thomas Wayne his father showed them, Bruce is nothing like his father.)

In the manor, whatever room he stepped into seemed to brighten, and maybe it was just Bruce's own child-memory fuzzing it to raise his father onto a pedestal, but he stands by it. His father was a solar system, his very own galaxy. Bruce was just the lucky planet that was close enough to orbit him.

--------- arrival time ------

Ancients, ancients, what the fuck convinced Danny to ever go to Gotham of all places? Crime Capitol of the world? He's not sure, but he's been wandering around the country for the last few months, swapping between flying late at night as Phantom, and taking the busses and trains when he had the money, and was too exhausted to fly.

And of course, what convinced him to come here with his kid no less, who was just at the cusp of turning a year old? Whose curiosity of the world was growing greater by the day? Who wanted to look around and explore, and was growing tired of being held at all hours of the day by his father.

But he was going to be held, at least for as long as they were in Gotham for. He didn't trust the stuff on the sidewalks, and he didn't trust the people walking on it. Bruce was tiny, and Danny would lose his mind if he lost him in a crowd.

In his arms, Bruce whined and wriggled, pushing at his shoulders in the signature way he did when he wanted to be let down. Danny tightened his hold, and adjusted his place on his hip.

"I know, bumblebee." Danny muttered, resting his chin on Bruce's small head. His hair was still thin, but it was dark and soft, and tickled his throat a little. "But not yet, I need to find somewhere for us to stay first."

He needed to find somewhere for them to stay, permanently. He couldn't keep living like this, and he couldn't let Bruce grow up like this either. Constantly moving, homeless, unsure of when he was going to eat next? It wasn't good for him. But he needed to find a city he liked, and after that? He wasn't sure. Where did he start?

But Bruce doesn't like his answer, he whines at him, louder, and his wriggling increases. He wants down, he wants to move. They were in a new place again, he wanted to explore. He's too little to fully understand what his dad's saying. "Dada." He said, his voice thick with the accent of a child first learning to speak.

"I know," Danny repeats, stressing the word as his eyes flitted about. There was a park nearby -- maybe he and Bruce could stop there for a bit. Bruce could move around, and Danny could figure out his next move.

It was getting dark, he didn't want to be out in Gotham when it was dark. Shuffling, he moved the inside of his jacket to wrap around Bruce better. It was getting cold, too. Last winter with Bruce had been hellish - Bruce's liminality meant that Danny's immunity to the cold hadn't been passed down to him. Danny had spent all winter terrified that Bruce was going to get sick and die. He didn't want to go through that stress again, especially now that Bruce would be moving.

He hoped they could find new living arrangements soon.

---- dniwer eht klolc - clockwork's conversation ---

Laughing quietly as Bruce ran out of the room, Danny turned his attention back to the mirror, his fingers curled around the knot of his tie. They'd been planning this outing for weeks since the movie was first announced, and Danny wasn't going to let anything ruin tonight.

Humming under his breath, his hands fell from his tie and he steps back. They were leaving in half an hour, at best, but experience from the last six years has taught Danny that he wants to be ready before then.

In his reflection, the clock behind him stops ticking, and a wave of nothing washes over him, a subtle shift he's gotten used to that was the sensation of time stopping. Ticking, soft and coming from all four sides of the room, filled his ears.

Danny's smile drops. And behind him, Clockwork swirled into existence like a blackhole reversing its pull. "Don't go out tonight, Thomas." He says, his voice stern.

That wasn't happening.

He reaches up to push back a loose strand of hair out of his face. "Does something happen to Bruce, Clockwork?" He asks, his voice deceptively calm. That would be the only reason he would postpone tonight. If it endangered Bruce, then he would just have to break the news to him that they'd have to go tomorrow.

In the reflection, Clockwork's lips thinned, pressing together tersely. He looked tense, the grip on his staff was tight, tighter than Danny's seen it before in recent years. And it worried him a little.

Clockwork is silent for a few seconds, hesitant, before he finally speaks. "No, Bruce will be fine." He says, and uncharacteristic of him, he shuffles, "But--"

Ah, good then. Danny's smile returns briefly across his face. Then it could be something Danny can handle. "But nothing then, Clockwork." He says, interrupting the Ancient firmly. He leans back slightly to look over himself again in the mirror, before going to undo his tie. He's changed his mind about it.

"Boo has been looking forward to our movie all week, I'm not crushing his hopes by changing my mind last minute." In just a few seconds the tie was off his neck and tossed onto bed behind him. And Danny was reaching over the dresser beside him to grab a pearl necklace, he normally didn't wear it, it belonged to Mrs. Wayne and he inherited it after she and Mr. Wayne passed away last year. It wouldn't hurt to wear it for a special occasion like this.

Clockwork's lips tightened, and his shoulders tensed up. "Thomas," He says lowly, "Please."

...Clockwork never said please. Danny's never heard him say please in the last ten years he's known him. This... must have been pretty serious -- but, his core tugged at him. He couldn't cancel without finding the reason why. Bruce was so important to him, Danny couldn't break his heart with this without learning why. He wouldn't allow it, and neither would his core.

He hooks the necklace around his neck and turns to face Clockwork, frowning deeply. "Does something happen tonight?" If he knew the reason -- he just needed to know the reason.

Clockwork stares at him, and something that Danny can't catch appears across his face. "...I cannot tell you." He says after a long moment, his voice quiet.

That... is not the answer Danny wants. He won't cancel.

He frowns. "If something happens tonight..." He says slowly -- Clockwork said that Bruce is unharmed. That must mean Danny was able to handle it. He allows himself to smile reassuringly, and he steps forward to clap a hand on Clockwork's shoulder. "Then I will handle it, alright? I promise."

He gets no response back. Clockwork's expression unreadable as he nods silently - Danny's anxiety curls in his gut. He's being so unlike himself. But he shakes Clockwork's shoulder gently and steps around him, leaving the room.

After a minute, he feels time return to normal.

[ukrfeminism]

Boys are watching violent porn on their smartphones then going on to attack girls, police have said, as new data showed children are now the biggest perpetrators of sexual abuse against other children.

Police data shows there has been a quadrupling of sexual offences against children, in what officers say is the most authoritative analysis of offending against youngsters.

The report from the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said the offending by adults against children was usually more serious, but said they were alarmed by the growth of sexual offending by those aged 17 or under.

In one case a child of four was referred to police after allegedly using a smartphone to upload an indecent image of a sibling. Police declined to give any more details.

In 2022 a total of 107,000 reports were made to police in England and Wales alleging sexual offences against children, ranging from rapes and, in a quarter of cases, to the making and sharing of indecent images.

The NPCC said 52% of alleged offenders were children, compared with around one third a decade ago.

Police received reports of 14,800 rapes and sexual assaults against children aged 10 to 17 where the suspect was classed as a child, the overwhelming majority being boys.

Ian Critchley, the NPCC lead for child protection, said: “This is predominantly a gender-based crime of boys committing offences against girls.

“I think that is being exacerbated by the accessibility of violent pornography and the ease with which violent pornography is accessible to boys and, therefore, a perception that is [normal] behaviour, and that person can carry out that behaviour that they are seeing online in the most violent way against other peers as well.

“Clearly the accessibility to smartphones has just rocketed, not just in relation to 11- to 16-year-olds, but in relation to under-10s as well. That accessibility has really exacerbated that and I think this is a debate that does need to be had in our society.”

A third of attacks take place within the family, the most common setting for abuse, and eight out of 10 victims knew their attacker.

Police said it is estimated as few as one in six offences are reported to them.

Critchley said the clear-up rate – where someone is charged or cautioned – was 12% where a child is physically attacked and 11% for indecent images offences. The clear-up rate for child-on-child attacks is 15% for sexual assault and 12% for rape.

He said offences involving AI were already being reported to police. These include “nudification” where the photo of a person – usually female – is digitally stripped of clothing to make it appear as if they are naked.

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) announced it was increasing the capacity and raising awareness of its helpline through which adults can report suspicions about child abuse. The charity last month said it was taking 14 months for a defendant in a child abuse case to stand trial after being charged, placing a greater strain on victims.

Wendy Hart, the deputy director for child sexual abuse at the National Crime Agency, said about 830,000 adults in the United Kingdom are estimated to pose a danger to children. “The severity of offending has increased, as have the complexities faced by law enforcement in tackling it,” she added.

“We are now seeing hyperrealistic images and videos of abuse being created using artificial intelligence, for example, while the rollout of end-to-end encryption by technology platforms makes it a lot more difficult for us to protect children.”

[lobotomizedlady]

feminists have been real quiet about this one https://www.tumblr.com/tzimiscelord/740439048285454336/tzimiscelord-do-feminists-kno-source?source=share

Citing a single page of a study (which you didn't link to) that has an extremely small and specific sample size (less than 500 women, and only college aged women under 21, it's right there in the ss) and presenting this out of context "self reported" info as if it's an indisputable fact is so on brand for MRAs. If these are apparently the results for college women I'd be very interested to see the results for college men from the same study-or would that hurt your narrative? There's been studies with far greater sample sizes number wise where about 35% of college men admitted to having "forced a woman to have sex", and OVER HALF admitted they would do it if they knew they could get away with it.

Anyways, studies are not infallible. Especially studies with less than 500 participants lol what a joke. God you people are so intellectually dishonest it's insane. And again, we have no way of knowing if this study is conducted by a respected academic or a dishonest hack bc you took a page out of context and drew conclusions from it.

If you believe, as you seem to, that a THIRD of women have committed statutory rape, (again this study is solely involving an 18-21 demographic and would therefore count an 18 yr old with a 16 or 17 yr old as sex with an underage person, so if these are real results it's still not indicative of what you're claiming) and think 8.9% of women under 21 have held a man at GUNPOINT and raped him you're demented, any sane person can see that there's something off with those stats.

Wanna know the number of men who report being raped in studies with far larger sample sizes, conducted by respected researchers and with a diverse population? Always around 3%. And that's including men who are raped by other men, aka the majority of male rape victims, as most assaults on males are male pedophiles attacking male children. Crime statistics are by far the most reliable way to see the discrepancy, however. 98%-99% of rapists are male and these stats are consistent through every country and time period. More boys under 12 committed rape in the UK in a year than women of any age. It's that uneven.

It's also fascinating how in every society and time period where these crimes have gone mostly unpunished, it's men we see marrying little girls and making it illegal for wives to refuse sex from her husband, not the other way around. Wonder why that could be! Surely it can't be that men are more likely to rape and abuse women than the reverse, it must be a feminist conspiracy! Fuck, even male /animals/ are always the ones committing rape. It's literally visible in nature too. Not an excuse since humans have control over their actions, but more evidence that the urge to rape is very male.

Anyways. L + stop sending me these stupid asks if you can't be bothered to do the bare minimum and link to FULL studies not just a fucking screenshot.

[reasoningdaily]

As the world braced for the verdict of the Chauvin trial, in Columbus, Ohio, there was another fatal shooting of 16-year-old Black girl named Ma’Khia Bryant. Many who watched the graphic and gut-wrenching bodycam video have decried the officer who deemed it necessary to use lethal force to defuse a physical altercation involving the Black teenager.

When juxtaposing what feels like a never-ending pattern of police brutality against Black people with the treatment of white perpetrators, there is an obvious disparity that highlights the pervasive nature of systemic racism. White gunmen who commit heinous crimes are often treated differently, with police being able to apprehend white suspects and bring them safely into custody.

Three recent examples of this: 21-year-old Dylann Roof, who was safely arrested after entering Emanuel African Methodist Church in Charleston, South Carolina and killing nine people in 2015. What’s even more disturbing is reports that police brought Roof Burger King following his arrest. In 2020, during protests of the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, a 17-year-old gunman, Kyle Rittenhouse, used an AR-15 assault rifle to kill two people and injured a third. Law enforcement apparently offered Rittenhouse and a group of militia members water at some point before the shooting took place.

In March 2021, after a gunman shot and killed eight people, with six of them being Asian, Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office Director of Communications remarked that the shooter was having a “really bad day.” These comments drew public outrage at the humanization of the mass shooter. Black youth aren’t given the opportunity to be humanized, with a number of tragic stories illustrating this.

Over a decade ago, 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley Jones was fatally shot by Detroit police who were looking for a murder suspect. In 2012, the world was gripped by the killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, who was shot by neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman, who thought Martin looked suspicious. In 2014, a Black youth named Tamir Rice was shot by police. Rice, who was only 12 years old, was thought to be 20 years old. In 2015, a video of McKinney, Texas police officer Eric Casebolt went viral. Casebolt was filmed yelling at Black teenagers and threw one teenage girl to the ground while kneeling on her back. The video sparked rightful outrage at the excessive force used on the young girl.

Examining patterns of police treatment towards Black youth highlights a prominent issue: the adultification bias, which is the phenomenon where adults perceive Black youth as being older than they actually are. When the adultification bias was examined, one study found that Black girls as young as five years old were perceived as being less needing of protection and nurturing, compared to their white counterparts.  

Research indicates that Black boys are perceived as older and less innocent when compared to their white counterparts. “Black boys can be seen as responsible for their actions at an age when white boys still benefit from the assumption that children are essentially innocent,” shared Phillip Atiba Goff, Ph.D., who authored a study examining this phenomenon in more detail. Black girls are treated disparately compared to their white counterparts and are more likely to be seen as older, while having to navigate the combined effects of racism and sexism.

The adultification bias contributes to the continued harm and abuse that Black youth face, not just at the hands of law enforcement, but also in the education system. When Black women and girls are mistreated, harmed and abused, it is less likely to be reported on. The Say Her Name campaign co-founded by scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw was designed to bring greater awareness to this issue.

Disrupting the adultification bias must first begin with awareness that this problem even exists. Despite the wealth of evidence detailing the ways it manifests, greater understanding is necessary. Training about the adultification bias should be mandatory, especially for folks working with and around Black youth populations. Understanding the ways that the adultification bias manifests as well as how to mitigate this type of bias is imperative.

Although research indicates that those who are marginalized are likely to internalize some of the biases and stereotypes about their own identity group, it is likely that having more Black people working with Black youth populations would lessen the occurrence of the adultification bias. One can assume that having experience and exposure to Black youth may increase one’s understanding, and limit the adultification bias from taking place. Resources must be allocated to support education about the adultification bias and how it can be interrupted. Lastly, rather than resorting to punitive measures when dealing with Black youth, we must encourage the learning of de-escalation and conflict resolution strategies.

[rotzaprachim]

Brazil Cracks Down on Surprising New Threat: Neo-Nazis - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

By Julia Vargas Jones

Reporting from Nova Petrópolis, Brazil

Nov. 7, 2023

By Julia Vargas Jones

Reporting from Nova Petrópolis, Brazil

Nov. 7, 2023

Leer en español

In southern Brazil in July, Laureano Toscani and João Guilherme Correa were smoking cigarettes along a busy road in their prison-issued garb, shorts and sandals, waiting for a ride after seven months in jail.

Mr. Toscani was once convicted of stabbing a group of Jewish men, and Mr. Correa has been accused of murdering a couple leaving a party. But this time, they were behind bars for attending what they said was a harmless barbecue.

The Brazilian authorities, however, say it was something far more sinister: a meeting of the Hammerskins, a neo-Nazi group founded in Dallas in 1988 that they say has recently found its way thousands of miles south, to Brazil’s most starkly conservative region, reflecting a surge in far-right extremists in Latin America’s largest nation.

In September 2022, the state police in Santa Catarina began trailing the Hammerskins as members strategized on how to attract new recruits.

Two months later, as eight men met at a farmhouse outside the coastal city of Florianópolis, a police hate-crimes unit burst in, arresting everyone under anti-discrimination laws and accusing them of being members of the Hammerskins. Two other accused members were arrested weeks later.

On the members’ phones, the police said, they found antisemitic and racist content, including a message that one had sent in a group chat saying that “Black people need to die every day.” The police said they believed the group was aided by at least two American Hammerskin members who had traveled to Brazil several times.

The raid was part of a larger crackdown on neo-Nazi groups amid a rise in extremist movements and sentiments in Brazil that has spurred a greater number of school shootings and stabbing attacks, including at least 11 this year.

In February, a 17-year-old boy wearing a swastika armband was accused of throwing two homemade explosive devices into a school, but no one was injured.

In March, authorities said a 13-year-old boy fatally stabbed a teacher while wearing a skull mask commonly worn by an American neo-Nazi group.

And last month, a 16-year-old boy was accused of firing at a school, killing a classmate and wounding two others. Another student was injured trying to escape. The teenager had previously posted a photo of a swastika drawn on his face, the authorities said. In the three cases, which all occurred in or around São Paulo, the authorities arrested the boys.

The authorities say they have thwarted hundreds of other attacks.

Many of the attacks did not target Jewish people specifically. Brazil has roughly 100,000 people who identify as Jewish, according to estimates, or just one in every 2,000 people.

But researchers believe that those who have carried out or planned such attacks often turn violent after consuming extremist or neo-Nazi content online that frequently exhorts violence against any person who is not white.

In April, Brazil’s new justice minister, Flávio Dino, ordered the federal police to investigate what he called the growth of “hate and intolerant speech by neo-Nazi, neo-fascist and extremist groups.”

“If you mention Nazism, neo-Nazism, threaten a school or say you will attack a school, we will call for your arrest,” Mr. Dino added.

Brazil’s federal police have opened 21 investigations involving neo-Nazis so far this year, the same amount as in the three prior years combined.

Data on the size of Brazil’s neo-Nazi movement is sparse, but most researchers agree that it has been growing. One researcher tracking neo-Nazi groups, Adriana Dias, an anthropologist at the State University of Campinas, estimated that the number of groups increased from the hundreds in 2019 to more than 1,000 last year.

SaferNet, an organization that helps the Brazilian government combat online crime, has been collecting reports of neo-Nazi activity online since 2017, when it recorded almost 1,200 complaints. By 2021, complaints had grown to nearly 14,500, but they have since fallen as neo-Nazi groups have increasingly migrated to private-messaging platforms, researchers said. Still, there were 945 complaints in the first half of this year.

Antisemitic attacks have risen around the world, including in Brazil, since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out last month. Last month, the Brazilian Israelite Confederation received 467 reports of antisemitism, compared with 44 in October last year.

Some researchers linked the rise in neo-Nazi activity in Brazil to Jair Bolsonaro’s four years as president. Much like how American extremist groups gained strength during Donald J. Trump’s presidency, the Brazilian far right latched onto Mr. Bolsonaro’s inflammatory rhetoric as tacit approval of their views, researchers said.

After a state visit to Israel in 2019, Mr. Bolsonaro’s first year as president, he said that Nazis were leftists and that “we can forgive but not forget” the Holocaust, drawing criticism from his Israeli counterpart.

In 2020, Mr. Bolsonaro’s secretary of culture was forced to step down after giving a speech that was so similar to one by Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi Party’s chief propagandist, that parts seemed to have been copied.

And at a news conference in 2021, one of the former president’s aides made the “OK” hand gesture in front of cameras, a sign that has been appropriated to signify “white power” in white supremacist circles. He was charged with hate crimes, but the case was later dismissed.

The “gesture started appearing in the Brazilian far right, even among groups that do not explicitly identify as neo-Nazis,” said Odilon Caldeira Neto, a professor of contemporary history who studies the far right at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora. That, he added, helps neo-Nazi groups “get pulled into the political center.”

While the Bolsonaro administration investigated neo-Nazi groups, the issue has become a priority under the leftist president who defeated Mr. Bolsonaro last year, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Raids on neo-Nazis groups have taken place in at least 10 states this year.

In July, the Brazilian police carried out a four-state operation against 15 people connected to a neo-Nazi group called the New SS of Santa Catarina, which used 3-D printers to manufacture handguns.

In one raid, the police were met with gunfire as they entered a rural home in Nova Petrópolis, a picturesque mountain town of about 20,000 people, many of whom are descendants of German immigrants.

The person firing at the police was a woman alone with her toddler and an infant. No one was injured and the police said they found two handguns, 96 rounds of ammunition and a trove of Nazi materials, including a swastika armband, German World War II memorabilia, the flag of an international neo-Nazi group and supplies to produce merchandise for a local neo-Nazi group.

The woman was arrested after firing at the police, but she was released on bail hours later.

Later that evening, belongings were still strewn at the home and the front door was busted. The woman who had been arrested said the items that the police had taken were personal belongings bought while traveling.

Many investigations have been concentrated in southern Brazil, where 73 percent of the population identifies as white, versus 43 percent nationally, and 62 percent voted for Mr. Bolsonaro last year, versus 49 percent nationally. Some researchers believe neo-Nazi groups are attracted to the region’s German history.

Before World War II, from 1928 to 1938, Brazil had the largest Nazi Party outside Germany, with 2,900 members across 17 states, according to Brazilian scholars. After the war, Brazil, like other South American nations, became a refuge for Nazis fleeing prosecution.

In 2020, the city of Porto Alegre, a southern state capital with a population of 1.5 million people, renovated a park to include an original design from the 1930s on the pavement. The design resembled a swastika, and residents complained. An investigation by the city concluded that there was no link between the design and the Nazi symbol. The design has since been vandalized.

Under Brazilian law, it is a crime to discriminate based on race, religion or nationality, as well as to display a swastika for the purpose of spreading Nazi ideology. Both crimes can lead to yearslong prison terms. All 10 people accused of being Hammerskin members have been released from jail with ankle monitors while they await court hearings.

Waiting for his ride from jail in July, Mr. Toscani said they had done nothing wrong. “They arrested us for throwing a barbecue,” he said. “You know what they found when they arrested us? A machete and a book.”

The book was “The Turner Diaries,” a classic of the extremist canon that Timothy McVeigh said inspired his bombing in 1995 of the federal building in Oklahoma City that killed 168 people.

Arthur Lopes, the chief of the Santa Catarina police hate-crimes unit, who arrested the accused Hammerskin members, said some were covered in extremist tattoos. “Everything but the swastika,” he said.

Jack Nicas contributed reporting from Rio de Janeiro.

[coochiequeens]

Another day another perverted man trying to hide from being identified as an abuser by hiding behind a pronoun

By Genevieve Gluck. December 9, 2023

A trans-identified male and his partner have been sentenced to a combined total of 16 years and 9 months in prison for their roles in the horrific sexual abuse of a 4 year-old boy. Naomi O’Brien, born Nathan, reportedly encouraged his lover, Jonathan Walker, to sexually abuse the toddler.

content warning - sexual abuse of young children

Walker and O’Brien were arrested earlier this year after a complex, joint investigation undertaken by the Greater Manchester Police and the South Wales Police. The UK authorities had first become aware of the situation after being tipped off by the FBI, who had discovered that Walker was sharing disturbing images of child rape through messaging application Kik.

With O’Brien’s explicit direction, Walker sexually assaulted the young boy and filmed himself performing sex acts in front of the boy. He recorded the sickening abuse and shared the videos with pedophiles online. In addition to raping the toddler, Walker had also been downloading horrific videos of children and babies being abused and raped.

Investigators analyzed chat logs containing messages exchanged between Walker and O’Brien that indicated their sexual interest in children. O’Brien was discovered to have encouraged and aided Walker in sexually abusing the young victim on several occasions in March 2023.

Walker, 33, was found guilty of sexually abusing the 4-year-old boy, along with engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child and possession of indecent images. He was sentenced to 12-and-a-half years in prison, while O’Brien, 31, pleaded guilty to multiple counts including intentionally encouraging and assisting another to commit a sexual assault against a child, intentionally encouraging and assisting another to engage in sexual activity in the presence of a child, and engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child.

For his crimes, O’Brien was sentenced at Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court to 4 years and 3 months in prison, with a 4 years and 4 months Sexual Harm Prevention Order and Sex Offender Notification Requirements for life.

Disturbingly, O’Brien was referred to as a “woman” and “female” by police.

“Following a tenacious and lengthy investigation of 1,865 messages, our dedicated team was able to prove that the female suspects’ chats were not simply a case of role play or fantasy – she had knowledge that the male had an interest in sexually abusing a young boy on the direction of her,” said Detective Inspector Zoe Marsden, of the Greater Manchester Police’s Online Child Abuse Investigation Team, while referring to O’Brien as a “female” and using feminine pronouns for him.

“This is a significant result for what is a very vulnerable and innocent 4-year-old child who was subjected to multiple counts of abuse, but also for all other children in the community who could have been subject to similar offending by a predatory female who was inciting others to commit acts of sexual harm against the most vulnerable in society,” Marsden added.

O’Brien frequently posted highly sexualized images of himself on his public social media profiles, where he uses the name Morgan Naomi Clarke, and appeared to work in the sex trade.

Following the announcement of his sentencing, multiple news outlets reporting on the case took lead from the police and referred to O’Brien as a “woman” or as “female.” The BBC labeled O’Brien a “predatory woman,” as has The Oldham Times. The UK Sex Offenders Database has also listed O’Brien as a woman, having used the information that was provided by the Greater Manchester Police to the public.

On Facebook and Instagram, O’Brien had regularly shared photos of himself in women’s lingerie. In some instances, O’Brien can be seen pretending to be a young girl as part of a pornographic schoolgirl aesthetic. One such photo from March 2020 depicts O’Brien in a girl’s school uniform, tagged with the term “ddlgprincess,” a reference to the incestuous fetish subculture known as “Daddy Dom-Little Girl.”

The convicted sex offender also ran an OnlyFans account and sold sex through the website AdultWork under the moniker TS Taboo Goddess. O’Brien shared pornographic content of himself on OnlyFans while using hashtags related to the “age play community,” used to connote adults who have a sexual interest in pretending to be children.

“I am a pro-domme, have been since young and ‘innocent,'” reads O’Brien’s Adult Work bio. “No limits, Daddy. The more debauched, the better.”

On his X account, O’Brien shared a brief video of himself watching pornography that appears to depict minors with another man. The pornography is digitally rendered, and the ages of the characters depicted are unclear. Yet O’Brien tagged the clip with terms such as “teen,” “barely legal” and “no limits.”

In 2015 O’Brien was positively profiled by The Sun for his attempts to win a national beauty pageant, Miss Transgender UK. During the interview, O’Brien stated that he began identifying as transgender at the age of 21.

“It wasn’t until my late teens that I had the opportunity to dress as a girl as often as possible. When I did this I felt more confident and happy, I felt like the person I always wanted to be. It wasn’t until I was 21 that I realized I could live fulfilled this way and gained the bravery to change my body and my life,” O’Brien told the outlet.

O’Brien was similarly spotlighted by Caters TV for his bid to win the beauty pageant in a video produced by the program. In the clip, O’Brien cautioned viewers against discrimination.

Special thank you to Dalton Report for his contribution in bringing this case to light.

[beardedmrbean]

A reform of sex crime law coming into force at the turn of the year will toughen sentencing guidelines for crimes in which children and young people are the victims.

The law is not intended to restrict non-abusive sexual relationships between young people, and Julia Korkman, Senior Programme officer at Heuni, the European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control, says that there are many positive aspects to the legislation.

But she is concerned about whether young people fully understand the implications of the legislation. She says it's important that nobody is accused of a crime because they did not understand the law.

"I would not be at all sure that all young people have the knowledge and understanding that the law requires," said Korkman, adding that ensuring this understanding is society's responsibility.

"Although some young people commit serious crimes, in my experience a quite significant proportion of situations involving young people are not black-and-white," said Korkman. "There are uncertainties, incompetence and communication difficulties."

Large proportion of perpetrators are young people

Korkman's concerns are especially relevant as so many of those accused of sex crimes against children are young people.

Helsinki University's Institute of Criminology and Legal Policy investigated child sex crime verdicts at the district and appeal court level in 2017-2018.

Nearly a quarter of those convicted were aged between 15 and 19, with nearly half of those aged under 18.

Nearly all of those convicted, 99 percent, were boys and men. The majority were known to victims at least online, and some of the offences took place online.

More than 90 percent of the victims were girls. More than 60 percent of them were aged between 13 and 15.

A young person's risk of being a victim of sexual violence is many times greater than for older age groups.

Age of consent is 16

The research suggests that a significant proportion of young people have sexual experiences before the age of consent, which is 16.

Sex acts between young people close to the age of consent are not punishable, if they are consensual.

Korkman says it is also important to consider carefully if the age and development difference is such that there is reason to suspect a crime or if young people are in consensual relationships with people in the same development group. According to Korkman, the vast majority of relationships are consensual.

"If there is coercion or pressure or if the other person is several years older, there is of course reason to suspect a crime in that situation," said Korkman.

"But for example a consensual relationship between a 15-year-old and a 20-year-old is a borderline case, where the circumstances should be taken into consideration and in my opinion the young person's own view should be heard."

The new law offers better opportunities to weigh up those situations than before, according to Korkman.

Among those asked to make such assessments are adults who work with the young people, who have a duty to report suspicions of sex crimes that come to their attention.

"In the new law it is stated in many ways that reports should not be made if the two young people are at the same level of development," said Korkman.

Korkman says that the age gap can be as much as five years, if the younger party is close to the age of consent, that is if they are 15 years old.

Tougher punishments for serious crimes

Under-16s are not seen as capable of giving consent for sexual contact with an adult.

Sexual intercourse with a child under 16 is child rape.

Other cases of sexual acts involving children will, in aggravated cases, be punished as aggravated sexual interference with a child.

The minimum sentence in those cases is two years in prison.

Aggravated child rape carries a minimum sentence of four years in prison.

16- and 17-year-old victims' cases are handled according to the rules for adults, but their status as children is an aggravating factor at sentencing.

A perpetrator not knowing the age of their victim does not free them of criminal responsibility.

Child rape convictions will not rest on the lack of consent, evidence of intercourse with a child aged under 16 is enough.

Timo Ojala, a Justice of the Supreme Court, says that child rape can also cover sex acts between young people, and the criteria for child rape are met at an earlier stage than the criteria for rape of an adult.

"The threshold for a crime in sex between young people is lower than that for adults," said Ojala.

He adds that the law is intended to ensure sexual self-determination.

"It is not acceptable to coerce verbally or otherwise young people or anyone else, in order to get consent for sex," said Ojala.

For under-16s, the boundary for punishable coercion is significantly lower than the boundary for adults.

"In that way situations that would be permissible elsewhere are grounds for serious criminal offences when they occur between young people," said Ojala.

The influence of intoxicants such as the extent of drunkenness, should also be assessed carefully.

"Is the young person still capable of making decisions, or have intoxicants been given so that they might consent to sexual intercourse?" asked Ojala.

The threshold for adults' impeded decision-making is considerably higher than for those aged under 16.

If another person's drunkenness has been exploited, or if the perpetrator has attempted intercourse that way, the victim's right to self-determination has not been respected.

Age a factor in sentencing

If the suspect is 18 or over, and the victim is under 16, and the offence is child rape, the minimum sentence is two years' prison. The maximum is 10 years.

If the perpetrator is 15 to 17-years-old, a reduced sentencing scale is used. If the victim is an adult, the sentence is between one and six years in prison.

Under-18s usually have suspended sentences, meaning they do not go to jail. That could change with this reform, as minimum punishments for serious sexual offences are harsher than before.

It is estimated that the change will increase the number of prisoners by around 100, and some of them will be young men.

Sexual pictures can't be shared

The law also affects sharing and keeping of sexual images of children. Young people can send pictures of themselves to other young people.

But the pictures cannot be shared further. The new law states that sharing a picture is punishable.

Criminal records stay for 20 years

Sex crime convictions can have serious consequences for children and young people. In addition to the effect on the victim, the perpetrator's life can change forever.

A conviction can affect their choice of career, closing a lot of doors, especially to working with children. A conviction can also lead to the loss of a job or study place.

If a conviction is for more than two years in jail, the criminal record stays in place for two decades. Sentences up to two years are visible for 10 years, and a suspended sentence stays on record for five years before the record is expunged.

The limitation period, or the time after an offence is committed when it can be prosecuted, is longer for sex crimes.

[balsamfir-fics]

A Hope Never Forgotten (1/4)

Genres: angst, 99% canon, more angst, smut, childhood crushes to strangers to lovers, pining, more pining,

Pairing: Viktor/Female Reader

Word Count: approximately 6k

Warnings: 18+ for explicit smut (part 3)

Summary: You're Heimerdinger's adopted daughter, hoping to escape the burden of his legacy. He's your father's cherished mentee, the perfect protégé to take your place. Growing up together when Heimerdinger boards the young scientist at your home, you become an unlikely pair. You're inseparable, 16-year old Viktor thinks, until you steal his first kiss, upend his world, and leave without another word in the same twenty-four hours. Life goes on, and he thinks he might just get over you.

But when he sees you for the first time in over a decade later, hope rears her ugly head and resurrects long-dormant feelings. As you cross paths with him time and time again, you think that maybe, someday, you might stop running from the mistakes of your past.

Notes: PSA to GN/M readers/writers: please see the notes in part 3. Otherwise, this is unedited and was written in a cumulative 24-hour fever state, so be forewarned. Crossposted to Ao3 under the user balsamfir.

—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If there’s something that Viktor had learned over the years, it was that hope was a fickle mistress. She came and went over the past half of his life, toying with his emotions and unsettling him when he least expected it. Above all, she was a tease – she was false promises that never came to fruition, and over time he learned to resent her before concluding that it was best to leave her alone.

Now twenty-eight, he thinks he has controlled his hopeful impulses by pouring himself into his work. The scientific method left no room for hope; only hypothesis, agnostic of emotion, and the rigorous testing that would result in an answer. The only sort of postulative thinking he allowed himself to indulge in was his dream of a better world for the Undercity, a vision he shared with his labmate of two years as they pored over their revolutionary merging of science and magic.

In Jayce he has a partner, someone who he can rely on as friend and experimenter, someone to refine his theories and clash with him in the effort of using disagreements towards discovery. It has been a wonderful two years since he first stepped into the younger researcher’s destroyed apartment, seeing an equal in the Talis boy. To Viktor, it was wildly refreshing; only once before had he felt something similar, and that experience left him with such a bitter taste in his mouth that he didn’t think he could ever befriend someone that closely ever again. Jayce proved him wrong, and their combined efforts begat Hextech, an innovation that was beginning to revolutionize the world several times over.

He was happy with his achievements thus far – not content, of course, because the nature of science was such that something would always await discovery. But Viktor enjoyed knowing that he and Jayce managed to convince their mentor that the Hextech crystal could be stabilized and controlled. No greater joy in his life thus far compared to the feeling of flying as the core changed gravity – he had been weightless in body and spirit, invigorated by success and excited for the many applications to come.

This revelation had been months ago, when Heimerdinger was forced to admit that magic had its good uses. Two weeks ago, after an impressive collaborative effort between Piltover’s universities and Runeterra’s largest corporations, the Hexgates had been opened to the public – already it was changing the nature of trade and travel. The lab secured enough funding to more or less carry on for decades, and Viktor couldn’t wait to use Hextech to address the needs of the polluted and crime-infested city below.

He was in such a good mood that he agreed to return to his teenagehood home, Heimerdinger’s Estate, where he spent ages thirteen to eighteen working with the Yordle he considered as a surrogate father, friend, and mentor. Since leaving at eighteen, he rarely frequented the main house, having moved into a small apartment downtown that would better accommodate his stiff leg and be closer to work. That was his excuse, at least, and one that was more than convincing. Truth be told, the home held too many memories for him, happy ones that had been tainted in a split second, and he felt uncomfortable going back. He’d wanted to escape long before turning eighteen, but hadn’t money of his own to spend on rent – so when the opportunity came to leave he took it at once. Heimerdinger seemed not to mind; he understood the necessity of youth finding their own independence, and was more than happy to frequent upon Viktor’s home instead of calling the dark-haired researcher to the Estate.

The past few months had been a flurry of activity at Heimerdinger’s home, primarily due to his position as the head of the Council and all the diplomatic meetings that other Runeterrans demanded when Hextech was first revealed. Viktor sent Jayce as the lab’s representative whenever he could, preferring to stay in the shadows unless absolutely necessary.

But it was this latest round of funding and Jayce’ enthusiastic ideas for improving the Undercity in the past week that added as much bounce to Viktor’s step as he could reasonably had, and he immediately agreed to visit the Estate without asking why Heimerdinger was so insistent on his attendance.

The car drops him off at the front gates; this should have been his first sign, because Heimerdinger has always instructed that Viktor be dropped off at the front steps. As he walks up the rounded, opulent driveway, he sees that several moving vans and furniture companies are moving boxes into the building, preventing his driver from pulling all the way up.

Even at this point, the alarm bells don’t go off in his head – simply because there had been so much activity at the Estate as of late. It could have been anything.

He later wished it had been anything else but what he was about to witness.

A small body and set of long ears pops out from around a van, as if sensing Viktor’s presence.

“My boy!” Heimerdinger is positively buzzing with delight, and it makes his aura seem several times larger than the Yordle really is. “Over here, quickly, it’s important!” Viktor grins, limping faster on his cane to meet his longtime mentor.

As he comes closer to the frontmost van, however, he hears the voice of someone who sounds nothing like moving company staff; worse, he hears a hissed protest at Heimerdinger, as if to hush the head Councilor. If Viktor had hackles, they would be raised – or perhaps even simply lifted from his body. He slows his pace, the pain in his leg suddenly acute, and dreads the turn around the vehicle.

He still hears the angry fussing as he makes the turn and reaches the front steps of the manse. His eyes widen in surprise, though he should have been prepared from sound alone for the sight before him.

Your arms full with an impossibly large wooden box of what seem to be encyclopedias, you lean back to support the weight as you try to privately whisper at your father. “Dad! Why is he here? I told you not to bother him; I visited him yesterday–” he hears you say, and his insides twist at the blatant lie you serve Heimerdinger.

“Even so,” Heimerdinger clucks indignantly. “You’re here to stay for a few months; in the least Viktor should come to see you get settled in so we can have dinner as a family later.”

You almost drop the box as you hear the click of his cane against the marble steps, and Viktor almost jumps forward to help you in instinct (not that he could have helped anyway; he doesn’t have a spare hand or the strength to help with a box like that). Both of you jump back in twitchy surprise, and you duck your head in a small bow of acknowledgment as Heimerdinger, blissfully unaware, beams at you.

“Viktor,” you say, and the direct address sounds like both honey and poison to his ears. “Hi. Nice to see you again,” your glance shifts towards your father. “... so soon after yesterday,” you append hastily, and Heimerdinger turns to Viktor expectantly.

“Why didn’t you come yesterday evening if you knew she had arrived?” Heimerdinger asks Viktor. “Her things didn’t come until today, so dinner might have been less hectic yesterday.”

Amber eyes flick up to meet yours, searching for both an immediate response and for something deeper, darker. You plead with him, knowing you have no right to, but your ever-intelligent childhood friend catches on immediately.

“Ah,” Viktor hems and haws, stammering in an impossibly endearing way (Shut up! You tell your brain). “I had been told someone was too exhausted from her trip –” he sees you nodding vigorously from the corner of his eye. “--and I thought it best to let her recover.”

“Very well,” Heimerdinger buys it, and turns abruptly to head into the mansion. “It’s very sweet of you.” His voice is warm, warmer than it should be, you think, but you have no idea that Heimerdinger thinks you and Viktor are still sweet on each other.

It’s not a factually incorrect statement on your end, but still not quite the truth. Viktor is someone you cherish, someone you admitted somewhere around the age of twenty-five must have been the love of your life, but the past three years you have matured and learned how to let the past be the past – how to love a memory while understanding that the future would never be.

“Children,” Heimerdinger says sharply from the top of the stairs, using a collective term of address neither of you have heard in twelve years. “Are you not coming in?”

You start. “Yes, Dad,” you eke out, and hoist the box up higher with trembling arms.

“Er,” Viktor calls out, and both you and your father turn to peer down the steps. “I hadn’t known that the invitation was for dinner; I’ve only stopped by because the Estate was on the way to an important meeting.”

“A meeting?” Heimerdinger narrows his eyes – he is intimately aware of Viktor’s professional schedule and hadn’t known about this at all.

“An impromptu one,” Viktor says hastily. “But a very important one even so; Jayce and I are meeting with potential lab assistants at the university.”

Heimerdinger looks unconvinced, but he has no way of knowing that Viktor is lying to him. “A disappointing discovery,” he says, but his tone is light. “Well, as you know, my daughter will be in Piltover for a few months, so there will be plenty of time to break bread together.”

No, he didn’t know, and his intense gaze fixes you at once. You avert your eyes, coughing and hoisting up the box, ignoring Viktor and struggling up the steps.

“I’ll see you later, Professor,” Viktor calls out with an awkward wave, and sets off back towards the front gate. Every step on his bum leg screams at him as loudly as his heart screams at him to turn back towards the house and ask you every question that queues in his lungs, but he grits his teeth and makes it past the gate.

Behind him, the fake smile you had plastered on your face melts away – Viktor is the last person you wanted to see in this city, and also the last person you expected to run into so soon. Still, while his retreat pangs at your heart, you are relieved to see him go – you are too unprepared to deal with the conflicting feelings his proximity arouses in you.

Viktor darts through the open gate and moves to the side, pressing his back against the tall stone walls that shield the Heimerdinger Estate from the road. His breaths come in short bursts; if he were prone to anxiety he would likely have gone into panic. He holds a hand over his wildly racing heart in an effort to calm it, but the sight of you floods him with memories he has tried to keep dormant. You can’t be back; it’s an impossibility he has never prepared for. Long ago he made up his mind to stop hoping for your return, from imagining a future where you would reunite – he thought it best to assume your place was everywhere but Piltover.

His assumptions were wrong, and hope – that temptress – whispers at his ear for the first time in many years. Twelve years ago, you walked out of his life without a backward glance or a good-bye – today you walked right back in, just as abruptly.

—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Your legs barely fit under the gap in the railings on your bedroom balcony on the third floor; it had always been easy when you were younger, but now, at sixteen, you had outgrown most of your favorite contortions. Legs swinging at the knees, you relish in the breeze that passes by – you survey the vast gardens below and watch as a topiarist clips at an artfully designed bush.

A throat clears behind you and someone knocks a familiar beat onto the frame of your balcony door. You smile privately, knowing that it can only be Viktor, but the smile fades quickly when you realize that this will be one of the last times you are with him like this. In an act of self-preservation, you shove these thoughts deep into the recesses of your mind; you knew what you had to do and why you were doing it. For now you should enjoy your time with him, savoring every millisecond until your time was up.

“Sparrow,” he states, using the nickname he crafted for you two years ago when you decided to become firm friends. So much has changed; when you met four years prior and Heimerdinger forced this scrawny, brooding boy into your life, he had such a thin, reedy voice that cracked every other sentence. Now you can see him settling into himself, finding confidence in his studies and establishing his place in Piltover’s academic circles.

“Vik,” you acknowledge in return, and motion for him to join you. “Oh, wait.” You twist, fingers clasping at the balcony rails as you glance back at his leg brace. It’s far too bulky to fit under the railing with you, but forcing him to crumple himself into a cross-legged position is less than ideal. “I’ll come inside.” You scramble to your feet, dusting off your creased slacks (you would sneak them off to the maids later on for a fresh pressing – your father needn’t know you were running around wild again).

Golden-amber eyes follow you as you pass in front of Viktor and pat his chest along the way. His heart seizes at your touch and at the soft train of unforgettable fragrance that wafts when you cross his path. He chuckles when you don’t pass before his vision; when you met, you had been an inch taller (a fact you were incredibly proud of in that first year when the two of you were on shakier terms), but he’d grown a lot in the past year and quickly began to tower over you.

Viktor knows not to take your accommodation as charity or an insult to his disability; by now he has settled into the comfort of your easy consideration of him and no longer takes offense. He knows you enjoy being outdoors, letting the wind sail through your hair and the sun warm your skin, but he also knows you also quite like sitting on the plush cushion of your bed.

Leaning on his cane, he follows you to the bed where you kick off your shoes, leap up, and sit cross-legged before waiting for him expectantly. He sits across from you, folding his good leg onto the covers and letting his braced leg hang off the side. You scoot closer, bunching up the sheets between both of you in the process, and he laughs a little at the ridiculous sight. He earns an expert eye-roll at that, but you’ve long stopped caring about decorum, especially around him (he thinks that you’ve never really had pristine upper-crust manners around him at all, a fact about you he has always found refreshing).

“So,” he says tentatively, leaning to the side to study your face. For once he can’t quite read your expression – he can tell from your eyes that you are happy to see him, but something guarded swims behind your irises. Something static crackles from your body language, and it’s odd; he’s rarely seen you nervous, and it makes him start to worry. “What did you want to tell me?”

His eyes roam your face freely, gaze eventually locking to yours as he notices you swallow, hard, in his peripheral vision. He stills, rapidly blinking twice, and nearly jumps when you take one of his hands in both of yours.

You were the one who had sent for him earlier; you had been on the balcony for quite some time and yelled back into your bedroom, hoping that your voice would carry into the adjoining playroom that you and Viktor shared and where you typically spent most of your time. But he hadn’t responded – a staff member passed by instead on the way to check on another room on the floor, and you’d asked him to find Viktor and let him know you wished to see him – that you had something to tell him.

It wasn’t like you to do that; you usually barged in on Viktor in any number of places around the house (and once, accidentally, in the bathroom), too impatient and impetuous to hold in a thought you wanted to share with him. He watches you now, carefully, wondering what you possibly have to say that you haven’t blurted out already. His stomach sinks lower, and he wonders if you might have said yes to one of your classmates who Viktor heard was sweet on you and that you were breaking this news to him now. You’ve never hidden anything from him, not to his knowledge, and his curiosity – both intellectual and personal – burns away at him now.

You exhale slowly, curving your lips into a small ‘o’ to let the air out. The answer to his question was complicated; all you knew is that you wanted to tell him something, but now that you were faced with the moment you faltered. Did you want to say everything? Tell him that you were leaving tomorrow to fulfill your dream of going abroad and seeing the world? Tell him that you were in love with him and that every day by his side was equal parts home and torment, and that you were in part expediting your travels so you could avoid it? Or perhaps that you were sick of living under the burden of your father’s expectations and needed to extricate yourself from the legacy of your biological parents? The first truth could be something he would eventually come to terms with; he knew you wanted to see the world beyond Piltover and you had always told him about your dreams of taking him to foreign lands. Certainly he would be shocked by the date of your departure and have many questions, but the reasoning for your exodus would have made some sense. The second truth was one you were less excited to part with – your brain didn’t want to tell him, but every nerve in your body was screaming for you to reveal your hand. You knew it was wishful thinking to imagine that he, your brilliant best friend, could possibly return your ardor, but even if he was affronted by your feelings, you had a feeling your friendship would at least survive eventually.

The third, however… the third was the one that would probably crush him immediately. Ever since your father brought Viktor into your home for after-school tutoring, you had watched Viktor blossom into a surrogate son for him; a mentee that fit every aspect of your father’s vision of science. You… you were born to your father’s best friends – intelligent, game-changing researchers who had made Heimerdinger your godfather. When they passed away in your infancy, his heart had been broken into pieces and repaired only by the immediate needs of your care and adoption, but you knew that a part of his healing had been dependent on Heimerdinger’s hope that you would follow in their footsteps and work with him at the Academy. Viktor fit that more, and you first thought that with him around your father would relent and transfer his family ideals onto your friend. But when Viktor moved into the Estate last year, he enthusiastically adopted your father’s vision, thus giving you a second source of guilt. While you could imagine letting Heimerdinger down (you were well-practiced in testing dear old Dad’s patience), it was Viktor’s excitement at one day running a lab with you that you couldn’t bear to burst – but you knew you inevitably would. It was Viktor who chided you for not applying yourself as much as he knew you were capable of, and you always dismissed him with a wave, because you couldn’t bring yourself to tell him that your future lab would never be – that you would never be his partner in that way.

“Sparrow,” Viktor valiantly tries to keep his voice calm as he rubs his thumb over the back of your hand. “What is it?” His coaxing jolts you out of your churning thoughts.

You blink, noticing that he’s closer than ever, and you feel like a deer staring down a hunter’s muzzle as you are trapped in his piercing, golden gaze. Inside your ribcage, your heart pounds in its confines, demanding to be set free, and impulse (something you have never bothered to control) takes you.

Your body moves of its own accord, settling to reveal the second truth. The others, you imagine, will fall into place in time. Viktor leans in with concern, tilting his head and coming even closer. The distance he covers is almost imperceptible, but the movement towards you makes your head swim and you squeeze your eyes shut. His brows furrow in concern but within a half-second your lips are crashing onto his.

With closed eyes and no prior experience – unless the back of your hand or your pillow counts – your aim is somewhat off and your lips press half onto his mouth, half onto the soft skin of his cheek. Viktor recoils, startled, and you lurch back at his reaction. Hand flying to your mouth, your eyes widen and you immediately start to apologize before he comes to his senses and darts to you, pulling your hand away and tucking his knuckle under your chin to bring you back to him.

It’s him who initiates this time, and he’s smart enough to close his eyes after making contact, though Viktor himself doesn’t know what he’s doing based on a similar lack of experience kissing. All he knows is that his heart is singing raucously in celebration, threatening to explode from his chest as he realizes that it’s you, the person he loves most in this world, kissing him of all people. Whatever previous worries he had about that other classmate dematerializes at once.

Call it teenage hormones or pent-up frustration, but you both find this awkward, yet scintillating kiss to be not nearly enough. You push back, clumsily trying to get more of him, trying to give as much as you’re getting. All of the magazines you’d read and all the gossip you’d heard from classmates runs through your mind, but you can’t remember a single bit of technical advice as your teeth clash against his. He doesn’t seem to mind it, at least, and you sure as hell don’t care either because it feels right even if you both might be wrong.

His lungs scream for air and he pulls away with a soft pop. A haze swirls in his eyes and something about the way he looks at you from beneath those expressive, dark brows catches your breath and you forget yourself. You lunge forward, compelled by that heady gaze, and kiss him again. The motion sends him falling backward, but the bed is small and you’re uncoordinated in your fervor – making it such that, for once, he’s the stable one and you are unsteady. Viktor’s hands fly to your waist, setting fire to the skin beneath your summer clothing, but he remembers to support you as he brings your chest carefully to his.

Your hands pull at the fabric of your bedcovers beside his head. He shifts beneath you to straighten out his good leg between your crouching ones. His tongue pushes into your mouth and the sensation is foreign and kind of weird, but somehow you tolerate it and experimentally mimic the gesture. This earns you a strangled noise from Viktor’s throat. You pull away in lost confusion, but he lets out a small “no” before tugging you back into him with one hand at the base of your neck. Leaning your weight against him, you shift to the side so you can free one of your hands to clutch at his collar, thumb brushing beneath his shirt to curl at his clavicle. Under you, Viktor wriggles, but when his fingers brush at your sides you realize he quite likes it. A gasp leaves your lips and your breath heats his, and his neck strains to regain contact.

Moving of its own accord, Viktor’s hand shakily traces up your ribcage and to the side of your breast. It strikes you that nobody has ever touched you there, well, except for yourself, and the sudden intimacy of his touch coupled with the knowledge that it’s him (Viktor! Your most cherished friend and the object of your secret affections!) has you pressing closer into him, leaning into his touch. When he palms your breast fully, you inhale in shock – you hadn’t thought that you could feel so much sensation through so many layers. Your fingers reach up to tangle into his dark curls and he rolls into you in response, his own breathy moan ghosting over your lips.

It’s only when his kisses move lower, towards the unexplored skin of your neck, that your rational side slams into you. You tense, a motion that Viktor interprets as you straining your neck to give him better access. When he gladly presses soft kisses into your neck, his nose bumping against your earlobe, you finally snap to a moment of clarity and jolt back.

You nearly go toppling over the side of your bed; if it weren’t for Viktor’s other hand at the small of your back (which now slides down to your hips in absent confusion), you surely would have fallen.

“Are you okay?” Viktor asks. He leans up on an elbow, other hand pressing gently into your hip. He looks deliciously rumpled, tangles wilder than ever and his eyes clouded with affection, and the sight breaks your heart.

“This… this was a mistake,” you choke out, and Viktor feels like you’ve just dumped freezing water on him.

“Wh-what?” His voice is bewildered, incredulous, and the erection that sprung to life the instant you first pressed your lips to his immediately begins to soften.

Instead of answering him, you clap a hand to your mouth and scramble off the bed. He thinks he hears a sob as you flee from your bedroom and out of his sight.

He lies there, half on your bed, half off of it, highly confused with a mixture of hurt and arousal. He knows he can’t give chase; you will be long gone before he even reaches half the distance you’ve covered. Viktor sighs, falling onto your mattress off of his propped-up elbow, and he stares at your ceiling. Maybe things will be resolved before dinner, or tomorrow – goodness knows he would need time to process what just happened, too.

—----------------------------

Tomorrow never comes, because you leave the next day without a trace. Viktor is so surprised by the suddenness of it all that he doesn’t feel the loss until he braves a visit to your empty room a week later. He has no idea how you managed to hide something so monumental from him, something that should have been logistically impossible to occur without evidence.

As he stands in your empty room, staring at the bed you spent your last moments together on, his cane clatters to the floor. He doesn’t notice, simply sleepwalks to the bed and sits on it with his hands clasped together to give his fingers something to do. Curling forward, he rests his forearms on his knees and bows his head as he presses his thumbs into the corners of his eye sockets. Viktor’s analytical mind tries to think through every possible permutation of reasoning you could have given for leaving, thinking through every one of your interactions to see if he might glean some clues. He comes up empty a few hours later.

The short walk back to his room not twenty yards away is a long one, with his cane accidentally forgotten in your room. The wall along the hallway supports his weight, which feels much greater than the reality of his slight frame, and he crumples himself into his own bed without washing up.

—------------------------------

On the day of your departure, in the caravan that sets you off on your long journey to Ionia, you take out a stack of embossed stationery and a pen.

The ride is bumpy and you imagine your handwriting will suffer as a result, but you feel compelled to write. Your mind still reels from the scorching trail of Viktor’s touch and the burn of his amber eyes into yours, but the jolts from the caravan center you in the present, reminding you that your escape is underway and that you must put Viktor behind you. Writing to him might alleviate the longing that hums in your heart, but you worry that you may not be able to forget him – that if he responds, you may crumble from want and come running back to Piltover.

The letter must never be sent, then, you resolve. It must be written, if only for you to attempt to process the tumultuous feelings within, but you deem it far too dangerous to send. It is too dangerous to hope that last night was true and that he loved you back; it was better to let him continue down the path of his own destiny and for you to give him the space to shine, without your privileged lifestyle and legacy getting in the way of his own success under your father’s guidance.

Yes, you tell yourself, this is the right thing to do. You’d listened to his dreams of opening his own laboratory, running his own research under his name – you know he always saw you as an important part of that dream. He’d equally listened to your fanciful accounts of foreign lands (retellings from your father’s ambassadorial connections), eyes lighting up as you described things you had never experienced but desperately wanted to. Once he whispered to you by the fireside, the two of you wrapped up by the staff in one giant blanket after a particularly exhausting snowball fight outside, telling you that he’d follow you to the ends of Runeterra if you asked. At the time you had dismissed it as camaraderie and the excitement of best friendship – now you see it as a roadblock to his future should you ever invite him on a lifelong global adventure.

Indeed, it would be foolish to send the letter. Your pen hovers over the sheet as your heart and mind fight for the right to determine the fate of your letter. They come to a truce; your heart will write the words, but your mind will seal the paper away in a safe place, never to be discovered by anyone but you – never to be brought up again.

The pen nib touches the paper, and the words flow freely.

Later you tuck the letter away into one of your favorite books, where it will sit with its siblings to follow, never to be placed into an envelope. All, except one.

—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Viktor’s eyes flit back and forth now, unfocused and looking at nothing in particular – it’s his mind’s eye forcing him to watch the vivid playback of his youth.

“What in the world?” He questions aloud, too overcome and too overwhelmed to consider trying to seem sane.

He hasn’t heard from you – not concretely – ever since you vanished without a word a dozen years ago. It’s still difficult for him to process the fact that you’re back; if it weren’t for the adrenaline coursing through his veins, he might have thought he was asleep and caught up by a nightmare.

Not only are you home, here!, for the next few months, but you told Heimerdinger you’d met with Viktor yesterday? He remembers no such thing; yesterday he had gone home with one of the researchers from another lab that he’s been seeing on and off when the other man shyly asks for a drink. It was fine, something that was mutually beneficial (he still had needs, after all), and otherwise an uncomplicated relationship that Viktor was already planning to end soon.

The look in Heimerdinger’s eyes as the Yordle glanced between you both had been affectionate and largely unsurprised – Viktor wonders if there were other lies you’d told your father, lies that might involve him. He shakes that thought away for now, still preoccupied with the way you look. You had been sweaty and covered in a fine layer of dust from moving your wares, but you were dressed simply in slacks and a blouse and looking more awe-inspiring than any of the dreams he’d had of you in those first few years after you left. He hadn’t had one in years now, you fading into a ghost of a memory – a relic of a past life – because he had moved on.

Or so he thought.

He thinks back to the only time he’s remotely had word from you, two years after your departure, because the visions he had of you had been most acute then. He had been only eighteen, still young, still highly hormonal, and just barely beginning to get over you when a letter sent him into months of a dark frenzy. Viktor recalls twisting in bed at night, conjuring images of what he thought you must look like – dressed in exotic outfits to suit the locale you were in.

Here and now, seeing you again, he realizes that his visions of you were so horribly wrong. They pale in comparison to the real thing. It’s then that he feels the full impact of time and age. You both parted as children, meeting again now as adults, and he wonders how terrible the next few nights will be now that the image of you is seared into his mind.

[stellocchia]

Ok, I've somehow seen quite a few people around saying some things that I just cannot agree with, so let's discuss them:

1) Tommy had no character development. He's a stale character. I'm gonna guess this people have never seen a Tommy stream or a stream involving Tommy at all. This boy has sacrificed so much and changed so much I'm shocked at how many people don't seem to see it.

Let's analyse this from yesterday's stream: he finally gave up the disks after realizing that they really aren't worth his friendships, he apologized multiple times for the things he's done, he recognizes that he's done some awful stuff and that he was becoming someone he didn't want to and actively decided to change his course of action (it is to be pointed out that he and Ranboo are literally the only characters who admitted to their wrongdoings, everyone else still acts like they're on this moral high horse, which is kind of frustrating), at the bench he admitted that, no matter what he's been through, it's not an excuse for his actions. Also he immediately took charge in trying to protect his old friends and the country that threw him out and left him to die trying to left any grudges aside in favour of working towards their common goal. Old Tommy would never have done that! Remember he refused Eret's help multiple times even when he was exiled with Wilbur because of his betrayal? This boy has changed...

2) He betrayed Techno. No he didn't. He was clear with Techno from the start about not wanting to harm Tubbo or destroy L'Manburg. What happened there is that neither of them listened to the other, they both knew their objectives didn't align, but they thought they could change each other mind.

This is obvious when Tommy asks Techno: "You're not really siding with Dream are you?" Or something along those lines. Also it is to be pointed out that Techno did say that he still respected Tommy and that he would respect his decision (which is honestly the most character development we've seen from Techno so far...) and also one more little detail: Techno was siding with Tommy's past abuser! How could Techno think Tommy would be on board with that? He saw the effects of Dream's influence on him! (This is honestly just so frustrating to me...)

3) Niki did nothing wrong. I'm sorry, I know this is controversial and I probably should look at her vod, so my opinion may change later on but, for now though, Niki what the Hell was that?!

Let's start from how everyone immediately believed Dream's accusations, no questions asked. Tommy was right in being angry that no-one (aside from Techno and later Ranboo) stood up for him. Hell, they all still believed Dream after he literally admitted to manipulating Tubbo for the disk, to the fact that he literally only cared about the disk and the fact that his objective was to destroy L'Manburg from the start! He basically told them all to their faces that he was using and manipulating them and they all still went: "yep, seems trustworthy to me!"... are you kidding me?!

So, if everyone was acting so extremely dumb, why am I singling out Niki? Because of the way she attacked Tommy mostly, it was just so hypocritical. She was in the revolution, she saw him fight for L'Manburg, time and time again. And sure, he made a mistake, burned down George's house (which was an accident by the way) and he got punished for it! She knows he'd been exiled because they met before now in canon. He already paid for his actions! Heck, he's literally the only one on the server who ever had any official repercussions for his actions! And still she blames him for all of their problems! The guy who, once more, was willing to give up everything, including his last life, for people who, honestly, don't deserve it one bit. She blamed him constantly, said that he was nothing but a lier (sure he didn't admit immediately to his crime when he burned down George's house, but he did at the end! And that was the only time he lied in an important way! Come on! Plus, as I said before, he already paid for his crimes!)

Also Tommy hasn't been in L'Manburg in months in smp time, and everything fell apart anyway, it just feels very unfair to blame him for everything. Especially when you have Dream right there, admitting to be a manipulative ass and wanting to destroy everything! And especially after you have a 16 year old child-soldier telling everyone in a very obvious way that Dream abused him in exile. (He didn't state it directly, but it was impossible not to understand). At this point it just really feels like victim blaming. I'm sorry, maybe I'm misunderstanding Niki's character, admittingly I don't watch her, so feel free to correct me if I missed something big, but that's just how it felt.

Some last few considerations:

I'm gonna admit I'm sad Techno and Tommy split apart. I loved them together and I really don't think L'Manburg deserves Tommy right now... because it is true that they threw him out at the first hardship they encountered and then left him to die, it is true that they never really tried to get him back and it's true that they never stood up for him. Time and time again they forced him in the position of the hero and then acted like that was just what he owed them, but it isn't. He doesn't owe them his life, he doesn't owe them his loyalty, he didn't even owe them his disks! But this is Tommy's choice (even Techno recognized) and he chose to, once again, be selfless. He could have stayed with Techno and chose the easy path, the safe path, but he decided to stand up for what he believes in and fight for his ideals and I think that's something we can all respect in a character.

I hope the others (especially the adults... please don't let the literal kids of the server be the only rational ones...) will be able to put their grudges aside and fight together for the greater good... but I have the feeling they'll fall apart. So adamant in not being on Tommy's side that they'll end up helping Dream take over. Also I'm so afraid for Ranboo and Tommy right now, I feel like at least one of them isn't gonna survive today (either that or Ranboo will switch sides).

Also, Punz is not gonna betray them in this battle, or at least, that wasn't the plan he and Dream had. Dream was planning to do something big that would force him to leave for a while and was planning to leave Punz there as his spy on the inside. Their plan is going swimmingly so far...

(Also, on a little note, I love how supportive and understanding Fundy was of Ranboo after the reveal of his "betrayal". He thinks Ranboo was right, he still trusts him and I just... their friendship just makes me so soft and it's honestly my favourite relationship in the smp)

[stagandsteer]

Complete transcript of the Wonderland interview, by Catherine Santino, below the cut :)

In 1993, the year in which Freeform’s new thriller series Cruel Summer opens, actor Froy Gutierrez was yet to be born. Chat rooms and beepers, just two of the symbols of 90’s culture featured in the show, were absent in Gutierrez's own childhood. Instead, the 22 year old grew up among the endless, glowing feeds of social media — and the inevitable pressures that they create.

“There’s a kind of self-awareness that comes from growing up with the internet, which everyone in our cast did,” Gutierrez, who stars in the upcoming series, tells me over Zoom — his boyish charm tangible across the screen. “We’re all technically Gen Z or like, older Gen Z. And so you have to unburden yourself from curating a persona online.”

Due to the dizzying evolution of technology in the past two decades, Gutierrez and I had drastically different experiences with the internet growing up — even though he’s only seven years my junior. I fondly remember a time without the prevalence of social media, while Gutierrez was born into an era where internet presence was not only common, but expected.

Like most of Gutierrez’s peers, the actor was active on social media from a young age, but his presence has quietened over the years — even with 1.7 million instagram followers. “If there’s a general consensus on the internet of a certain readership or viewership, you know about it, because people tweet about it directly to you,'' he says. “There’s a kind of lumping in of the character you’re playing with who you are, that people do. I don’t know if it’s intentional. It’s probably just a human thing, but that happens. And it can be hard not to internalize what you read about yourself, you know? Words have power.”

In 2017, Gutierrez appeared on supernatural MTV drama Teen Wolf, a show with a massive internet fandom. Suddenly, fan theories and commentaries about his character, Nolan Holloway, came in droves, something that the young actor wasn’t necessarily prepared for. “I was still a teenager,” he says. “Around that time, you're an adult, but you’re still figuring things out. So I learned where to set my boundaries because I didn’t know where they were beforehand.”

When Cruel Summer came around, Gutierrez assumed he would be portraying the “desirable young male” he was used to auditioning for. “The first time I read the character, it definitely felt like an archetype. When I auditioned for it, I walked in and was very much myself, and Michelle Purple and Jessica Biel responded very well to it.” However, after he got the role and production ramped up, he was pleasantly surprised. “It didn’t really hit me that they were wanting to take him in such a unique direction until I showed up for wardrobe one day to do my first fitting for the pilot,” Gutierrez recalls. “I looked at the mood board for Jamie and it was like, young Heath Ledger, Keanu Reeves and Kurt Cobain. And I was like ‘Oh shit, I need to step my game up,’” he laughs. “I couldn’t get by doing the same thing that I’ve always done when it comes to characters like that.”

Cruel Summer takes place over the course of three years — ‘93, ‘94, and ‘95 — showing splices of each year in every episode. Produced by Jessica Biel, Tia Napolitano, and Michelle Purple, it centres around the kidnapping of a teenage girl and the fallout of the crime in her community in Skylin, Texas. Gutierrez plays Jamie Henson, the boyfriend of the missing girl, Kate. In her absence, a quiet nerd named Jeanette suddenly rises the social ranks and assumes Kate’s place — including dating Jamie. When Kate returns, Jeanette is suspected to be involved in her disappearance, throwing Jamie into some seriously challenging circumstances. His character could easily be a one-dimensional archetype — and truthfully, I expected him to be — but Cruel Summer took the opportunity to explore toxic masculinity and its widespread impact.

We see Jamie caught in the middle of conflict, unsure how to respond to a traumatic event that certainly no teenager expects to be faced with. He’s not a hero, but he’s not a villain either. It’s unclear whether we’re supposed to root for Jamie or not, which makes him that much more interesting to watch. “He talks a lot about his desire to protect the people around him, regardless of whether or not they asked him to protect them,” Gutierrez says of his character. “He kind of superimposes his own idea of what the people around him need. In order to maintain the peace of the people around him, he kind of robs the people around him of their agency. It’s just a really fascinating character to play in that way.”

Gutierrez has also been able to explore the ethics of true crime in a time when the genre is exploding in popularity. Though Cruel Summer is fictional, it questions the effect that public opinion can have on criminal cases — and perhaps more importantly — the well-being of the people involved. “When it comes to the investigation of a crime, you have to weigh the good it can bring into the world versus the bad it can bring. Or making one person seem suspect, or airing the dirty laundry of a private citizen for the viewership of loads of people.”

Despite his eloquent reflections on Jamie throughout our conversation, it’s clear that Gutierrez doesn’t take himself too seriously. He speaks into the camera like we’re old friends on FaceTime, and when my dog unexpectedly jumps into my frame, he gushes excitedly and asks what her name is. He’s able to laugh at himself one minute and share poignant truths the next. It’s refreshing, much like Cruel Summer.

Another likely contributor to the show’s authenticity? The fact that the cast was kept in the dark when it came to overarching plot points. Instead of knowing the show’s trajectory ahead of time, the actors would receive scripts for the next episode while they were filming — and they were subject to change. “We didn’t know where it was going,” Gutierrez says. “And we were told, “‘This might happen here, or this might happen there.’ And it would shift around.”

Without foresight into their character’s arc, the actors have no choice but to focus only on where they were in that moment — a difficult task when a single episode spans three very different years. Gutierrez faced an even greater challenge, as, unlike the two female leads, his character didn’t undergo any drastic physical transformations over the three years.

“I didn’t really compartmentalise the character,” he explains. “I kind of thought of the different years as different phases in my own life. The first year, ‘93, was a complete absence of any regret. You’re still very young, I was just thinking of like, a complete golden retriever,” he laughs. “A 16-year old boy who just wants the best and isn’t aware. ‘94 is me right before I made the decision to go to therapy, where I was making all these bad decisions and I didn’t know why. And then ‘95 was a whole desire to wrestle with those things and really look at yourself in the mirror and take accountability.”

Gutierrez didn’t only infuse personal experience into his behind-the-scenes work — some aspects made it onto the screen. The actor, whose father is Mexican, grew up spending time between Mexico and Texas and is a native Spanish speaker. Because Cruel Summer is set in Texas, Gutierrez suggested creating a similar background for Jamie.

“I was talking with Tia Napolitano, the show-runner, and I was like, ‘Hey, you know what would be really cool? What if the character is half-Mexican, too?’” Gutierrez says. “And she's like, ‘Oh, yeah, let’s write it in the script.’ And I got to write a couple lines in Spanish, which is really cool. [Jamie] could have been this mould of a cool, likeable jock. And then he ended up being this very nuanced human being, which is awesome.”

Though he is learning to appreciate all parts of his heritage, Gutierrez hasn’t always embraced his identity. “I remember feeling like I might have been not American enough for America, and not Mexican enough for Mexico,” he says. “And I remember having a bit of time in which I had an accent in both languages. Even my name — in Mexico I always went by ‘Froylan’, which is my full name. And then in the U.S., I went by Froy, because I thought it would be easier for other people to say.”

He continues: “I identify as Latino, but I”m also very wary of auditioning for Latino roles because I’m aware I don’t look like a typical Latino person. I don’t want to be someone that you can just sub in for that role, when I’m really white and blonde. And so whenever I do get a role like this, one where he’s not written to be any particular direction and we’re able to collaborate, I’m able to inject some of myself in there. So it’s been really cool to embrace all sides of my history.”

But of course, as is true for Gutierrez, Jamie’s cultural background is only a small part of who he is. Cruel Summer is committed to portraying him as a nuanced character that breaks the moulds of masculinity while tackling complex inner conflict. “Living in his shoes and walking in them, a big question that came up for me was, ‘What is the difference between guilt and shame? [Jamie]’s coping mechanism was terrible and unhealthy, and caused more pain for the people around him. But at the same time, the shame that he internalized made it worse for him. One thing I really learned, is that shame is about yourself and beating yourself up. And guilt is about taking accountability and apologising, moving forward without expecting the relationship to come back. It's just about trying to heal what happened and then moving on, on the terms that the other person sets. It’s not about you, and I think that’s what the character learns throughout the show.”

[foolish-one-ftv]

Taylor Swift + Ages

Three (3) There is a video I found from back when I was three. You set up a paint set in the kitchen and you’re talking to me (The Best Day)

Five (5) I’m five years old it’s getting cold I’ve got my big coat on (The Best Day)

Seven (7) I hit my peak at seven (Seven)

Seven (7) and Nine (9) She said, I was seven and you were nine. I looked at you like the stars that shined in the sky (Mary’s Song)

Thirteen (13) I’m thirteen now and don’t know how my friends could be so mean (The Best Day)

Fourteen (14) At fourteen, there’s just so much you can’t do and you can‘t wait to grow up someday and call your own shots (Never Grow Up)

Fifteen (15) In your life you’ll do things greater than dating the boy on the football team but I didn’t know it at fifteen (Fifteen)

Fifteen (15) Good thing my daddy made me get a boating license when I was fifteen (No Body, No Crime)

Sixteen (16) I was sixteen when suddenly I wasn’t that little girl you used to see (Mary’s Song)

Sixteen (16) I’m crazier for you than I was at sixteen (Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince)

Sixteen (16) Teal was the color of your shirt when you were sixteen at the yogurt shop you used to work at to make a little money (Invisible String)

Seventeen (17) We were seventeen and crazy, running wild, wild (Starlight)

Seventeen (17) It’s like I’m seventeen, nobody understands (I Think He Knows)

Seventeen (17) I’m only seventeen. I don’t know anything, but I know I miss you (Betty)

Nineteen (19) Don’t you think nineteen’s too young to be played by your dark twisted games? (Dear John)

Twenty-Two (22) I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling twenty-two (22)

Twenty-Three (23) Did you ever hear about the girl who got frozen? Time went on for everybody else she won’t know it. She’s still twenty-three inside her fantasy (Right Where You Left Me)

Twenty-Five (25) Twenty-five years old, oh, how were you to know (Dancing with Our Hands Tied)

Thirty-Two (32) It’s okay, life is a tough crowd. Thirty-two and still growing up now (Innocent)

Eighty-Seven (87) and Eighty-Nine (89) I’ll be eighty-seven; you’ll be eighty-nine. I’ll still look at you like the stars that shine in the sky, oh my my my… (Mary’s Song)

[meikuree]

list 10 different female faves from 10 different fandoms

I was tagged by @chocochipbiscuit for this ages ago but I’m only getting around to this now because I wanted to find a time when I could just sit down and GUSH about my faves with abandon... hence the lateness... thank you for the tag though, i love doing these things!! this got LONG because i am horrifically verbose, so i’m putting this under a cut:

1. aerith gainsborough (final fantasy vii): probably my earliest fictional crush/fave ever... one of my siblings used to let me watch her play ff7 when i was eight or nine-ish and i've loved aerith since then. i adore her because she's so selflessly compassionate and nurturing -- she's been through an incredible amount of loss and metaphysical loneliness (as the last remaining person of her race) but she still channels her energies towards Greater Causes and uplifting others! and she's still wonderfully modest and down-to-earth about it all and just a Thoroughly Good person in general... one of my comfort characters :,)

2. bethany hawke (dragon age 2): honestly i love all the women in the DA series & can wax poetic about them all in equal degree, such that sticking to one fave per game is in fact even harder than the time i had to sit for the final exams for my degree, but... bethany is probably one of my first picks. i've always found it interesting how she's in immediate senses the more pleasant of the two DA2 siblings to get along with and at the same time someone who is Good but willing to fudge her morals just this side of ambiguity a little. that sort of goodness that coexists with moral flexibility and understanding of practical realities is what draws me to her... basically Goodness With An Edge. also the fact that she is in fact very wise beneath her innocent/youthful exterior and Quietly Competent and is someone who gravitates towards mentoring others while in abject structural/personal circumstances in some storyline choices!! i have a type!!

3. furiosa (mad max fury road): i really love furiosa's story and the way her background and heritage drives the plot. the fact that she's tried to keep her heritage alive all these years... the way she derives her strength and identity from the community where she was raised by women... and then the moment she realises that her old community is gone always get me GODDDD. and then the fact that that moment catalyses one of the most profound realisations in the film afterwards, and leads to the protagonists turning around to revolutionise a violent regime afterwards!! it's all about the loss, and resilience, and quiet, stalwart persistence in spite of it all.

4. franziska von karma (ace attorney): i like hypercompetent characters. franziska is, in the narrative, a woman who was a hypercompetent child prodigy. but i don't love her for that; i love her for the development she undergoes afterwards when she learns to accept failure and become more emotionally measured in general (i think... it's been a while since i've played these games). i also find it very funny that she's mean and abrasive to everyone but has a soft spot for women and young girls like pearl and alternately CARES deeply about how they perceive her or goes out of her way to help them. #franziskaisalesbian anyone?

5. janai (the dragon prince): um, she is incredibly beautiful. honourable warrior who is deeply loyal to her sister and homeland and then learns to look beyond received narratives about racial enmity and hatred? i'm sold. i also love the development of her relationship with amaya.

6. ianthe tridentarius (the locked tomb): honourable mention to this horrible, gremlin girl for being the reason I picked up these books!! she’s a walking bag of moral transgressions and I Enjoy It So Much, IT IS SO REFRESHING. I also appreciate the fact that her particular brand of abhorrence is presented in the narrative free of moralitis, or sententious attempts to link it to gendered failings (e.g. the failure to embody ideal precepts of gender)... which is the treatment Evil Women are often subjected to in stories. Ianthe is Rotten, full stop, and there aren’t any notable attempts to graft an exonerative backstory over it, but also no attempts (yet) to unfairly penalise her for Garbage Moralistic Commentary. at the same time she’s not blandly, beigely villainous either; she is capable of a certain degree of care, however warped or fucked up its actualisation might be. she is complex! in all, a very delicious character. 10/10.

7. harrowhark nonagesimus (the locked tomb): breaking the one-fave-per-fandom rule for TLT because it is that special. I don’t regard harrow as a fave in the sense that I “love her with all my heart” like with aerith or bethany (gideon would take that place, actually -- she's the moral compass of the series!) — it’s more that I love the trajectory she undergoes in harrow the ninth. but I also really enjoy how thorny, difficult, and (morally, but not only) complex she is. I find the meditations on her grief, loneliness, and devotion in Harrow the Ninth comforting and beautiful, as do I the framing of her insanity/madness.

8. billie lurk (dishonored): oh boy, I love how jaded and embittered she is, and the way she's very flawed and human as well... the broad thematic flavours in her backstory of regret over committing ~irredeemable crimes~ and being haunted by your past, and dwelling within the grittier side of life are all very compelling to me! her perspective as someone who is Not A Chosen One and an anti-heroine is refreshing too

9. leliana (dragon age: inquisition): cheating for this one by counting this as a separate game from DA2, hah. she is immensely Intimidating and Cool, i love that she specialises in the domain of spymastery and subterfuge! she is also complex, but some of the things she stands out to me for are that particular brand of realistic, Rugged Faith she has, and the way she's clear-eyed about the sacrifices it takes and ruthlessness she has to wield in service of it

10. pieck (shingeki no kyojin): yes, the character i have written every single one of my 16 fics about in one form or another was bound to make it into this list somehow. honestly i DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO SAY... it's all there in said fics! and there's too much to encompass in one brief answer. but: it's things like her quiet unassuming competence, the way she Takes Responsibility even when she could do the easier thing of resting on her laurels and/or succumbing to despair, her gritty resigned optimism, and the way she takes her obligations to others seriously & twines both ruthlessness and generosity within herself... she's a lot more complex than initially observed by many people, in my humble opinion, and there are still threads to her i’m teasing out to this date!

i’ll tag: @lightdescending @todustagain @kallistoi @leksaa90 @rose-gardens @acerinky @frumpkinspocketdimension @whiteasy no pressure!

[queenwitchrowena]

☽〇☾ — ROWENA MACLEOD

❝ she wore her scars as her best attire, a stunning dress made of hellfire.❞ ☽〇☾  —  AESTHETICS

BELIEFE IN PROPHECY AND MAGIC OLD AS TIME  — WINTER SOLSTICE ORGIES  — BACKLESS FLOOR LENGTH GOWNS AS CASUAL WEAR —  WINGED EYELINER SHARP ENOUGH TO CUT YOU  — FINDING REDEMPTION AND MEANING IN UNEXPECTED PLACES

☽〇☾  — CHARACTER INFORMATION

Name: Rowena MacLeod Nickname: Ro (To a few people.) Age: 378 appears mid to late 30’s  (spent an additional 190 years in Hell) D.O.B.:  1643 Place of birth: Isle of Skye, Scotland Gender: Cis Female Species: Human/Witch (Natural) Height: 5’2” / 157 cm Weight: 110lbs / 50kg Eye color: Green Hair color: Vivid red copper Relationship Status: It’s always complicated and often fake. Sexuality: Sexually Progressive Powers: Innate magic, learned spell work, ability to create spell work. Weaknesses: Overestimating herself, pride, volatile anger, recklessness Occupation: Witch / Con Artist / Hunter Consultant / Queen of Hell Weapons: Hex Bags, spells, natural magic, Voodoo dolls, crystals, potions, alchemy, manipulation. She is capable of using traditional weapons such as knives and guns when necessary.

Personality: Rowena is intelligent, ambitious, proud, manipulative, Machiavellian, petty, sarcastic, reckless, often self serving, hateful, seductive. She resents anyone who dares to have authority over her. She flirts like mad with people, often for fun, often for her own gain. When she is on someone’s side she can be sweet, calm, warm, and courteous. When she has labeled someone as completely useless, unfortunately in her way, or an enemy, she can be ruthlessly vicious and violent. People that cross her may find themselves in various precarious situations up to and including violent deaths.

Rowena is hard to get to know deeply, she builds walls to keep people from hurting her, not just physically, but emotionally. She is never quite able to be rid of the parts of her that fear and loathe her past. She has always been a dreamer. She is slowly learning to trust and value people and loyalty, even if she might deny it.

Likes: People who can do something for her, knowledge, power, money, magic, Winchesters and their pet angels (though she will not state that out loud), creating her own spells, her son (not that she wants to, she hates him because it’s easier for her), flirting, elegant states of dress, stability, freedom.

Dislikes: Authority over her, being used, baring her feelings, feelings, weakness, abandonment, her own desperation, her past, swallowing her pride, not controlling a situation, being underestimated, being undervalued, people denying their own abilities with magic, most hunters, most other witches, her son lol, most demons, anything that makes her appear unsophisticated, limits.

Appearance: Rowena is a slim petite woman. Pale skin that burns and freckles if she doesn’t stay out of the sun or apply some sort of charm. She keeps her fiery red hair long, with fringe, and alternates between letting it curl naturally or straightening it. She wears it both up and down.

Her clothing choices tend to learn towards the impractical and formal. Long sleeve floor length gowns, dresses, heels, and assorted jewelry. She wears bold winged eyeliner and often bright and shimmery eyeshadow looks, bold red and coral lipsticks. Rowena may occasionally wear something that makes her blend in a bit better, stylish slacks and blouses, sometimes a suit jacket. She never appears not put together if it’s within her control.

Rowena has a number of scars on her body made by the insertion of spell work in the form of hex bags. There is a scar on her outer right thigh, one on the left side above her breast, and one on her left hip above the bone. She also has very faint stretch marks on her belly from pregnancy.

☽〇☾  —  BACKSTORY

Rowena MacLeod was born the daughter of a Tanner in 17th century Scotland. She was one of several children born to her parents.

Her mother did not follow witchcraft, her father forbid it, he was a strict man. But she knew that she was born a witch and that magic ran innately through her. She was forced to not speak of it, though she couldn’t always control it. Even without training or knowing the right words, Rowena could speak things into happening given enough passion.

She was different from most of her siblings, the only other one who was capable of magic was an older brother, Fergus, though he too was made to tamp it down. He died when they were still young. A fever took three more of her siblings in childhood, and her mother was often absent or in her own head after that.

When Rowena was 15 she fell in love with a charming wealthy married man. He promised her that he’d take her away and that they would be together. When she was 16 she found herself unwed and pregnant. Her father threw her out in shame, and though her lover housed her in the village after, he did not visit nearly as often after. She knew later his promises were all lies.

He came to see her only once more, on the eve of their son’s birth. It was a long and hard birth and it was said that she wouldn’t make it. Her lover kissed her on the forehead and told her that he loved her. It was his last kindness. He left her there, dying, penniless, and went back to his wife and other children, expecting her death. Though Rowena managed to make it through, weak as she was, with a healthy son to show for it. She named him after the brother that she had been closest to.

Afterwards, baby Fergus’ father denied ever knowing Rowena at all. She was alone, with a child she couldn’t help but desperately love, cast out of her family for her sin of bearing a child outside of marriage, and labeled a whore by everyone else.

She sought to use her magic, thinking it would be what would save them. But what little she could do only earned her a worse reputation. Rowena was forced to take her baby and leave, she thought elsewhere she might be able to tell people that she had been widowed, but it hardly mattered. She had nothing and no one, and a baby to care for. Life was hard for them. Rowena was often unable to provide even the most basic things for her child. With her reputation she couldn’t find any reputable work. Instead, she sold her body to pay for what meager little she could to keep a roof over their heads. And she learned what she could of magic from wherever she could.

She did her best for her son, taught him what she could, and tried to shield him from what she was. Until he grew to look more and more like his father, the man who had broken her heart.

She could barely look at him, the boy she loved, that only served to remind her of what she hated about her life. She wasn’t a good enough mother, he was the reason she was forced to scrape to get by. She couldn’t help but tell herself those things. And she couldn’t help but tell him in fits of anger.

When he was 8 and devoid of all the pretty baby fat of youth, Rowena was caught and about to be tried for her crimes as a witch. Before that could happen, she left her son in the care of a workhouse, unable to keep him with her. She told herself she would be back, but she had nothing to offer him, and he was a painful thing to look at. The personification of a wound never closed. At a certain point she knew that she had been gone too long and made up every reason she could to justify it.

She found the opportunity to study under the great Milanese witch Leticia D’Albioni, and soon after that she finally joined the ranks of the Grand Coven. The Grand Coven were critical of Rowena having a child with a “non-magic”, but they were willing to overlook this because of the great talent she possessed. However, her immense raw skill and recklessness with extreme witchcraft made them wary of her. This eventually led to her being hexed by the coven with a binding spell that restrained her magic, as well as being banned from performing magic, taking on students, or forming her own coven.

Rowena didn’t stop using her then limited powers when possible, still stronger than many witches, but she did fear the Grand Coven and their worldwide reach for centuries. She stayed off their radar as much as possible, learning where she could, and managing to take care of herself in other ways when necessary. She’d dodge the occasional run in with other witches, demons, hunters, The British Men of Letters.

300 years later, Rowena resurfaced, recently run out of the UK by a member of the British men of Letters. And with a goal in mind, intending to reclaim her lost power and start a coven of her own to do so.

It wasn’t until she learned that her son, who should have long been gone and forgotten, was reborn as the demon Crowley and King of Hell, that she was set on a new vicious path.

She reinserted herself into Fergus’ life. (Refusing to call him by his newer chosen name, though she would never explain to him what the name meant to her.) Rowena attempted to use her son for his position of power to help her with the Grand Coven. Aware of her manipulations, her son assisted anyway and captured the head of the Grand Coven, Olivette, for her. Tortured by Rowena, Olivette revealed the Grand Coven was much-diminished in its power because of a concerted campaign against witches by the Men of Letters. After learning this Rowena sought again to put together her own coven, something far greater than what the Grand Coven was, though she was met with either disinterest or thwarted plans. Still, she remained by her sons side in hopes that his power would be useful to her.

This led to frequently recurring encounters with the Winchester brothers and those that surround them. Sometimes on opposite sides, sometimes as allies.

See here for further detailed information.

☽〇☾  —  POST SEASON 15 EPISODE 3

Rowena expected to die and have her body eventually deteriorate and release the souls that she carried with her, back to hell where they belonged. Instead she found herself dead, but with an incredible amount of power stored within her from the souls that she absorbed. As she arrived in Hell by her own choice, Rowena is able to take control of Hell’s throne through the use of her still in tact magical abilities, and fear.

She is a powerful soul inhabiting her own body, though technically still dead, and has never become a demon.

As ruler, she immediately shut down all demon deals and overhauled hell to work the way that she wanted it to. Her opinion is that humans do plenty of things to put themselves in Hell, no need to assist the process. People will end up where the ought to.

☽〇☾  —  CURRENT

Since her arrival in Lebanon, Kansas, and once again a member of the living, Rowena has returned to reside in the Men of Letters bunker with the Winchester brothers.

[amethystpath-writes]

Red is A Beautiful Colour

@badthingshappenbingo

Fandom: original

Prompt: phantom pain

TWs: blood (not detailed), torture (not detailed), captivity

******

Red. It was a terrible colour, one that Seera couldn't stand, physically or mentally. There was a time it was her favourite colour. It brought joy and an overwhelming sense of self, of indulgence. It was bliss and beauty. Red was tasty. But now...red was pain. And it was forced in front of her eyes everyday.

Yesterday was an older woman. She was dressed in rags just like all of the others thrown just out of Seera's reach. The woman was tolerable. She had a blood disease, would have made Seera sick.

Today was different. Today was a young man, though he could have been a boy. He might have looked to be 16 if it weren't for the mass swelling on his face. His lips were cracked, blood oozing out. Knees were bruised. Arms were traced with streaks of red from sharp blades. Whoever he was, the boy was young and he didn't deserve to be used as a...whatever Seera's captor's goal was. The boy was crying now; from the pain no doubt. Or maybe he was only afraid of Seera. There was no reason to be scared of her, she couldn't get anywhere. Whether it was from the weakness at not having a proper meal in days, almost a week, or because of the chain, she could never reach the daily lessons that the people who captured her threw in her room.

It was funny; how Seera's captor thought he could ease the creature out of her if he made her feel guilty. He didn't realize she was used to the cries and pleas of her prey. What he was doing made her feel more awful about her him than it did herself. By the time she was done feeding, she had the power to make her victims forget any trauma they felt at the initial attack and during the process. She could wipe away any dizziness they felt at losing a little of their red life essence. Now, when they were thrown at her feet, beaten nearly to death...that's when she knew she wasn't a monster at all.

The door was opening. She watched the boy in front of her flinch, then tremble some more. So he is more scared of then than me. Good to know.

"How do you feel?"

Seera rolled her eyes. It was the scientist. She shouldn't have expected anyone different. The scientist was always the first familiar person to visit her. He had to get his reports, see if his precious project was making any progress. "My teeth feel like hell," she said.

"Which ones?"

"The ones you wear around your neck."

The scientist hummed, jotted something down on his notepad. Seera was so sick of seeing those yellow pages. "And you, boy? Has she made any advances on you?" Seera watched as the boy tensed. He didn't say anything. "Has she made any advances on you?" the scientist repeated, being sure to enunciate if only to encourage an answer from the boy, who was now making every effort to scoot closer to Seera. Interesting, she thought.

"N-no," the boy muttered. "She hasn't, but I- but I am on her." The scientist didn't seem to hear the last part. Or if he did, he didn't care.

"Do you see this?" Seera laughed, or as much as she could with the pangs of pain shooting through her gums. There were no teeth anymore; they pulled them out. Why did it hurt so badly? "He prefers a death from a fangless vampire than a death delivered by your kind. Look what you guys have done to him." She lifted her chin, raked her eyes over the scientist's body. "I think it's time for a self-evaluation, no?"

Again, he wrote more on his pad of paper. Seera sighed. How stupid could a scientist be? Weren't they supposed to be the smartest bunch of humans? This young boy seemed more intelligent than the fifty-some year old man in front of her.

"So phantom pains," the scientist said. "Nothing else? Are you hungry? Maybe feeling a change of mentality?" The latest of the suggestions was the most obnoxious. It was the entirety of the scientist's experiment with Seera. His theory was that if he could make Seera feel bad for being a vampire, for preying on her natural prey, then maybe she could adjust to being a human. Part of this theory, of course, also involved de-fanging his captive. And here they were. Seera didn't feel bad for feeding. She only felt bad when seeing red because it made her nonexistent teeth hurt more than the chains she was stuck in 24/7.

"My teeth feel like hell," Seera repeated. Fascinatingly enough, the boy was now grasping her shoulder, trying to hold his beaten self up. "And I guess I could add that I couldn't stand if I wanted to." While the scientist jotted this note down, she whisperer to the boy, "Open the wound on your arm. Lift it to my lips when you're done." He obeyed, but waited until the scientist was done speaking since he'd started up again.

With the same investigative voice, the scientist asked, "Weak how, exactly? Do your limbs feel heavy, brain fuzzy? Describe your weakness to me."

"Let's see. My legs feel like there's lead attached to them. Maybe because there is. Perhaps you should take the chain off." She smiled even though the scientist didn't find it funny. "In all seriousness, they are heavy. And my heart," Seera held a hand to her chest. "Oh, right. I don't have one." She cackled as the man began scribbling out what he'd begun writing on his report. "My chest feels empty. I'm hungry. I-"

"-We gave you food."

"I don't eat bread."

He looked to his paper and scrunched his brows. "A moment, please. You're saying more than I can process." You are truly remarkable, smart one.

The boy lifted his arm. Shakily, but he managed to get it far enough that Seera was able to grasp it herself and lick the red streak. She hummed at the taste. Her absent teeth stung even greater, but she didn't mind. Seera felt like she could fly. She told the boy, "Are you sure you want this?"

"They'll kill me more terribly," he said with the barest of a nod.

Seera didn't usually kill her prey, but the boy was right. If she didn't kill him, the people that captured the two of them would, and he'd already been beaten to the point of crawling. If they had no use for him, if he didn't work for the scientist's purpose, then he didn't have a purpose at all.

She nodded. "Okay. I can make you sleep after some time. Would you like that?" He nodded. While the scientist was still writing, Seera pressed her lips to the open wound on the boy's arm and sucked as if her lips captured a straw. A growl rumbled through her as the blood coated her tongue and throat. The pain in her gums was gone and she could swear she felt fangs in the empty spaces once again. It was then that she eased the boy to rest while she finished taking his life. A part of her broke at the crime, but another assured her she was doing the right thing. She wasn't a monster, but everyone in that lab was.

Seera leaned the boy against the wall before standing. With one small kick of a leg, the chain burst away, then the other as she kicked with the opposite foot. It didn't take the scientist even a second to look up with frightened eyes. "How-" His eyes traveled to the drained boy. He dropped his pen and pad of paper."He-" Seera allowed herself a smirk while the scientist soiled himself.

"You may keep your souvenirs," she said and took a couple of steps closer to the man who held her captive. "I have new ones." She touched the teeth around the scientist's neck then smiled widely at him. Before he could yell for the guards, Seera sunk her teeth into the skin of his neck. She didn't bother putting him to sleep.

Red was a beautiful colour once again.

[multiverseforger]

The young Devil Dinosaur was nearly burned to death by a tribe of Killer-Folk, hostile beings native to his planet, but was rescued by Moon-Boy, a young member of a rival tribe, the Small-Folk. Exposure to the Killer-Folk's fire activated a mutation in the dinosaur which gave him powers greater than others of his species and turned his skin from olive green to flame red.[10] Devil's early adventures on his home world include encounters with extraterrestrials and a brief teleportation to modern day Earth.[11]

Later, Godzilla rampages through the Marvel Universe (Earth-616). In an attempt to stop the monster, S.H.I.E.L.D. shrinks Godzilla with Pym Particles and attempts to teleport him via a time machine to the prehistoric past. However, Godzilla's radiation apparently distorts the time machine so that he is transported to the alternative universe of Dinosaur World instead. While there, he briefly unites with Moon-Boy and Devil against a common foe before being pulled back to the main Marvel continuity.[12]

Member of the Fallen AngelsEdit

After Ariel, an extraterrestrial mutant with teleportation powers, teleports the Fallen Angels to Dinosaur World, the group convinces Devil and Moon-Boy to join their team and return with them to Earth-616. During his time with the Fallen Angels, Devil Dinosaur accidentally kills "Don", the super-intelligent mutant lobster on the team by stepping on him. Devil and Moon-Boy return to their own universe when the Fallen Angels eventually disband.[13]

Dinosaur World againEdit

After their stint with the Fallen Angels, the duo's life back on Dinosaur World is interrupted numerous times by events occurring in the main Marvel continuity:

During a conflict between Slapstick and his time manipulating foe, Doctor Yesterday, Devil and Moon-Boy are briefly teleported to Earth-616.[14]

In the midst of a tussle between the Technet and Lockheed inside Excalibur's lighthouse, Devil is once again briefly transported to Earth-616.[15]

Young Celestials transport the Hulk back in time to combat Devil.[16]

A renegade Skrull flees to Devil's planet and uses his shape shifting abilities to impersonate the late leader of the Killer-Folk, Seven Scars.[17]

Due to the manipulations of the interdimensional traveler Access, Devil Dinosaur's world briefly merges with the DC Comics Universe where he encounters Anthro, a Cro-Magnon man.[18]

In the midst of a battle with a Kraken, Hulkpool and his unwitting companions accidentally time travel to Dinosaur World where Devil Dinosaur, Moon-Boy and the Small-Folk help destroy the kraken. During Hulkpool's effort to return to his own time, Devil and Moon-Boy are briefly teleported to the American Old West in the year 1873. While there, Devil attempts to eat a cowboy's horse.[19]

Stranded on Earth 616 in modern timesEdit

New York CityEdit

Some time later, the sorceress Jennifer Kale, in an attempt to return Howard the Duck to his homeworld, inadvertently teleports Devil Dinosaur and Moon-Boy into her New York apartment. The disoriented dinosaur rampages through the city before being subdued by Ghost Rider.[20] Stranded in modern-day Earth-616 after their teleportation there by Kale, the pair is hypnotized into joining the Circus of Crime. After being rescued by Spider-Man, Devil and Moon-Boy are relocated to the Savage Land.[21]

The Savage LandEdit

The Heroes for Hire mercenaries go on a mission to retrieve Moon-Boy from the Savage Land and encounter Devil Dinosaur in the process. Devil is found fiercely guarding a nest containing a clutch of eggs that apparently he himself has laid and the dinosaur abandons Moon-Boy to ensure their safety. The discrepancy between this development and his previously presumed male sex is noted by the mercenaries, who can only speculate as to the cause of the change.[22] After returning to the U.S. the Heroes for Hire disband and group member Paladin leaves alone with Moon-Boy to collect the reward from the S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists who hired the mercenaries.[23]

Devil and Moon-Boy SeparatedEdit

Moon-Boy would remain under the custody of S.H.I.E.L.D. for some time, which drove Devil Dinosaur into a sort of saurian depression. Refusing to eat, or defend himself, he was in danger of dying. However, Stegron, the dinosaur man, became worried about the survival of the Devil-Beast due to it being the last known of its species. Leaving the Savage Land without the permission of Ka-Zar and building an army of reanimated dinosaurs, Stegron marched across the U.S. attacking S.H.I.E.L.D. base after base, until he was eventually stopped by the Fifty State Initiative. However, the group discovered the motive behind Stegron's plan and, though he was arrested all the same, the Initiative recruit Reptil smuggled Moon-Boy back to the Savage Land, where he was reunited with his companion.[24]

Reunited in the Savage LandEdit

Reunited in the Savage Land, the companions' adventures continued:

When the Roxxon Energy Corporation attempts to extract vibranium from the Savage Land, the inhabitants of the Savage Land including Ka-Zar, Devil Dinosaur and Moon-Boy enter into battle to save their home. Roxxon's forces are soon subdued.[25]

Devil Dinosaur meets the Pet Avengers when they are accidentally transported to the Savage Land. Out of shock and anger, Devil attacks the group. Eventually, the group of animalian Avengers are able to return to their own world.[26]

An ancient entity attempts to conquer first the Savage Land, then the world. Moon Boy and Devil Dinosaur fight to defend innocent Savage Land citizens endangered by the entity. They are joined by many other heroes, some lost in time. The entity is killed by Zabu.[27]

The Savage Land Mutate, Brainchild, creates an army of cybernetic dinosaurs and steals Devil Dinosaur's eggs in order to experiment on them. Spider-Man arrives and helps Devil and Moon-Boy defeat the cybernetic dinosaurs and rescue the eggs. At the end of the adventure, one of the eggs hatches revealing a red baby Tyrannosaurus.[28]

Adventures with Moon GirlEdit

In the Savage Land, a group of Killer Folk got their hands on the sacred Nightstone. Moon Boy and Devil Dinosaur fought to reclaim it, but Moon Boy died as the Killer Folk were sucked into a vortex through time with the Nightstone. Moon Boy's dying wish was for Devil Dinosaur to reclaim the Nightstone and to avenge him.[29]

Going through the portal, Devil Dinosaur ended up in New York City. The Nightstone had fallen into the hands of Lunella Lafayette - a genius 9-year-old - who deduced the Nightstone was actually a Kree Omni-Wave Projector. Lunella had identified the Inhuman gene within her own DNA and feared being transformed into a monster due to the changes brought about by Terrigen Mist. Due to several Terrigen clouds that had been drifting around the city following the Inhumans' detonation of a Terrigen bomb, she took drastic action and intended to use the Nightstone to find a way to remove the Inhuman DNA. With Lunella refusing to give up the Nightstone, Devil Dinosaur was forced to bring her on his rampage through the city as he searched for the Killer Folk. Although Devil Dinosaur fought the Killer Folk, they managed to escape with the Nightstone.[30]

Lunella ended up harboring Devil Dinosaur in her laboratory that she had built in the depths of her school, growing more and more frustrated that she was stuck with the "big red dummy" but found him useful when he helped save the lives of her teacher and class during a fire.[31] However, the Hulk (Amadeus Cho) arrived, seeking to apprehend Devil Dinosaur for his earlier rampage and accused him of the fire. Lunella refused, declaring that she needed Devil Dinosaur and, growing frustrated with Amadeus patronizing her and undermining her intelligence, drew out a few homemade weapons to fight him, but only accidentally ended up knocking out Devil Dinosaur.[32]

Lunella, feeling responsible for Devil Dinosaur's arrest and, feeling kinship to the beast stuck in a place he did not belong, broke him out under the moniker of Moon Girl, a nickname the other students used to bully her.[33] After the Killer Folk - who had conquered territory previously owned by the Yancy Street Gang - failed to kidnap Lunella from school to be their blood sacrifice to the Nightstone on a full moon, Lunella decided to end things. She and Devil Dinosaur fought the Killer Folk once more and won, reclaiming the Nightstone. Lunella hoped she could finally use it to ensure she would not transform into an Inhuman, but at that precise moment she was caught in a Terrigen cloud.[34]

Devil Dinosaur took Lunella's cocoon to her lab and watched over it for several days until she hatched. Lunella was at first relieved she had not changed physically, but was dismayed to learn her Inhuman power caused her consciousness and that of Devil Dinosaur's to switch. Devil Dinosaur proceeded to make her even more ostracized at school due to freaking out in class and attacking other students whilst Lunella rampaged through the city. Eventually though they returned to normal.[35]

Devil Dinosaur and Moon Girl's next opponent came in the form of Kid Kree - a misunderstood Kree boy who had failed to enter the academy twice, who sought to capture an Inhuman to impress his father and make a name for himself on Earth as Captain Marvel had - who disguised himself as a new student, Marvin Ellis, in Lunella's class. Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur fought Kid Kree several times,[36] once being separated by Ms. Marvel, who recognized their fight as the childish squabble it was, but still entrusted Moon Girl with a device to contact her if things ever got out of hand.[37]

Lunella is then approached by Hulk, who gives her the Banner B.O.X. (Brain Omnicompetence Examiner), and is surprised when she solves it in mere seconds, proving that Lunella is the smartest person on Earth. After consulting experts, Moon Girl, Hulk and Devil Dinosaur encounter Mole Man, who was attacking the city with a group of monsters. The next day, at her lab, Lunella ends up having a vision of herself in the future, where she is approached by Earth's smartest heroes. After school, she is approached by the Thing, who takes her for a walk when Hulk appears. When the two start fighting, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur manage to contain them while protecting the civilians, until both of them are left unconscious. Meanwhile, Doctor Doom is surprised to discover that Moon Girl is considered the smartest person on Earth and vows to prove himself superior.[38] During science class, Lunella is attacked by robot drones until she is saved by Riri Williams. They follow the drones to a nearby alley, where Moon Girl encounters Doctor Doom. After Doom escapes, Moon Girl and Ironheart go to Moon Girl's secret lab, where they discover that the energy signatures of the drones are mystic in origin. While tracing Doom's location, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur arrive at the Sanctum Sanctorum and are found by Doctor Strange.[39] Waking up from a dream, Lunella is reunited with Devil, who was shrunk down by Strange. While walking back home, Moon Girl and two of her classmates are attacked by Doctor Doom and his Doombots. Moon Girl uses an enlargement potion on herself to help Doctor Strange fight Doom and his robots. A few nights later, while installing an energy sensing probe, Moon Girl is found by five members of the X-Men.[40] Arriving at an abandoned mall, Moon Girl reengineers a Cerebro helmet with the Omni-Wave Projector to locate Doom, only for her and the X-Men to travel back to the 1980s. Once there, Doctor Doom arrives with an army of Doombots. The X-Men and Devil fight the Doombots until Moon Girl takes off the helmet, sending them back to the present, where they discover that Doom is actually a Doombot. Lunella takes the Doombot to her lab to analyze it.[41] Lunella later makes a major discovery about her Inhuman power: it only activates during a full moon. She then encounters an army of Doombots, along with Thing, Hulk, Ms. Marvel, Ironheart, Doctor Strange, Kid Kree and the Killer Folk, who went to her aid after being recruited by Lunella.[42]

Lunella then receives a call for help from an alien girl named Illa and, after building a spaceship, goes to space with Devil and crash land on a moon. While exploring, Lunella discovers that Illa is the moon.[43] She soon realizes that Illa is lonely and wants company and does not understand Lunella at all. After a brief fight between Devil and some giant bugs, Lunella leaves, despite Illa's objections. Unfortunately, in the process, she is sent to a parallel universe where she meets another version of herself and Devil Dinosaur. Meanwhile, the Doombot head creates robotic versions of Lunella to avoid suspicions of her absence.[44] After fighting their counterparts, Devil Girl and Moon Dinosaur, Lunella and Devil get back on their spacecraft and return to Illa who tells them that they'll never leave her. Back home, the Doombot head begins to have problems with one of Lunella robots. Moon Girl and Devil manage to find Ego the Living Planet and reunite him with Illa, while the Doombot discovers that the Lunella robot is acting independently.[45]

Meanwhile, the Doombot head has created multiple Moon Girl replacement robots who to his surprise are acting like real little girls.[volume & issue needed] He tells them that they will be obsolete when the real Lunella returns.[volume & issue needed] While up in space Lunella has united Ego and Illa as a family.[volume & issue needed] On the way to Earth she uses the Omniwave projector to tearfully return Devil Dinosaur to Moon Boy in the Savage Land where she thinks he belongs and then returns to New York where she tosses it away in the trash.[volume & issue needed]

Admitting she was wrong MooN Girl brought him back as she, Ben Grim, and Johnny Storm reformed the Fantastic Four and even gave Devil his own uniform.[46] Afterwards while Wilson Fisks's daughter Princess is enrolled in her school Moon Girl decides to turn Devil into a human boy and enroll him in her class to tone down his destructive accidents. Taking attention away from princess causes her to begin focusing her and her father's negative attentions on the two.[volume & issue needed]

During the Monsters Unleashed storyline, Devil Dinosaur was with Moon Girl when she was studying the different Leviathon attacks.[47] Later, Kei Kawade demonstrates his abilities to the heroes present by summoning Devil Dinosaur, though Moon Girl was also brought along during Devil Dinosaur's summoning.[48] When the Leviathon Servitors attack the Baxter Building, Kei Kawade summons Devil Dinosaur to help fight them.[49] Moon Girl, Devil Dinosaur and other heroes later encounter other monsters until the Leviathon Queen is defeated by Kei Kawade and his new creations.[50]

During the Secret Empire storyline, Devil Dinosaur and Moon Girl join up with Daisy Johnson's Secret Warriors. After rescuing Karnak from a prison camp, the Warriors encounter the Howling Commandos after falling into a trap. While driving West, the team is found by the X-Men. After escaping New Tian, the team meets Dark Beast, an evil version of Beast, who's tortured by Daisy and Karnak on information of an Inhuman who can help them. After receiving their information, the team encounters Mister Hyde along with Hydra's Avengers. After a brief fight, the team is captured until they break out when Daisy uses her powers to destroy the Helicarrier they were in. While trying to break Devil out of his cage, Moon Girl meets Leer, the Inhuman Karnak mentioned, who knocks her unconscious when the Helicarrier crash lands. Fortunately, Moon Girl and Devil have switched brains just in time, enabling Moon Girl to lead the Warriors to an Inhuman prison camp. There, the Warriors plan a jailbreak with the imprisoned Inhumans when the Underground resistance arrives to help them. It's later revealed that Leer is Karnak's son and that Karnak had sold him to Mr. Sinister to help activate his powers.[51]