#either way both of them still need serious therapy

[decktech-vis]

LISA THE PAINFUL X PIZZA TOWER

italian vs italian who wins

[steddieas-shegoes]

It could have started when Eddie was basically living with Steve during his constant physical therapy post-Vecna.

It could have started when Steve took Eddie out for “adults only” dinners and movies that no other adult was invited to.

It could have started when Eddie visited Steve at work every shift to make sure he ate lunch, and giving him a very serious, no-way-you’re-getting-away-with-not-eating look.

It could have started when Steve had a migraine that almost had Robin dragging him to the hospital until Eddie stepped in and offered to keep watch over him for three days straight.

But it was hard to tell because Steve and Eddie circulated each other like the planets revolve around the sun, and circles don’t really have a beginning, or an end.

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

“Dingus! Your boyfriend is here!”

“He’s not my boyfriend, Robs!”

Robin and Steve managed to work most shifts together, which helped the time pass. They bickered like siblings, though, and when Eddie showed up, Robin tended to annoy them both or completely disappear.

Steve was clueless as to why and Robin refused to give him any hints. “You’ll understand when you’re older,” she’d said with an eye roll and snort.

“Did you just call me his boyfriend?”

Eddie would hate to hear it, but he was like a ray of sunshine anytime he entered a room. At least if you asked Steve, that’s what he’d say, and he’d probably blush the entire time he said it.

He wouldn’t acknowledge it.

He’d pretend he thought that about a lot of people.

He’d be lying.

“I did. Maybe you two shouldn’t be so obvious all the time.”

Eddie and Steve just stared blankly at Robin.

“Steve’s not even gay!”

“Eddie doesn’t even like me like that!”

They both spoke at once, turning to each other in shock.

“I do like you like that!”

“I’m into both!”

They both spoke at once again. Robin just started laughing and walked away.

“You like me?”

“You like guys?”

Okay, deep breath. One at a time.

“You go first,” Steve said, hoping Eddie would clear any doubts from his head.

“I’ve been halfway in love with you for months, Stevie. I thought,” Eddie cleared his throat, awkwardly looking down at the floor. “I thought I was being too obvious sometimes. But I knew you weren’t into me back so. I mean we can still be friends. I don’t wanna lose you.”

Steve took a step closer to him.

“I’ve been halfway in love with you for months, too. I just thought you were being nice to me.”

Eddie chuckled and shook his head at the floor before looking up at Steve.

Beautiful, incredible, stupid Steve.

Never believing that anyone could care about him for him.

“I think maybe we’ve been dating this whole time.”

Steve’s jaw dropped, but closed quickly, his mouth settling on a soft smile.

“I guess maybe we have. What gave it away?”

“Probably the fact that you’re attached at the hip and any time someone mentions either of you to the other you get this dumb lovestruck look on your faces,” Robin stuck her head out from an aisle to yell at them.

“Shut it, Robin!”

She went back to what she was doing, deciding whatever meddling she’d managed was probably enough.

“So let me get this straight…”

“That may be difficult for both of us,” Steve let out.

Eddie cackled. “Oh god. I think I’m more than halfway in love with you,” he got out between laughter.

Steve joined him, mostly happy because Eddie was happy.

He probably should have realized this a lot sooner. Like, way sooner.

When they finally calmed down, they stared at each other with the look Robin was probably describing.

Lovestruck was a word for it, but it was more than that.

They were two people who never should’ve even been in the same circle, and they weren’t until they had to be. But since then, they’d chosen to be a part of each others’ lives. They’d chosen to support each other, and rely on each other, and trust the other person to be what they needed through it all.

They existed as two separate people still, Steve would never wrap himself up in someone so much that he lost himself. Not again.

But they had spent months becoming a pair, unbeknownst to them, and it made them better, it made them find ways to grow amongst trauma no one could imagine but them.

When they kissed, there weren’t fireworks, there wasn’t a world-ending realization that this was the love of their life, or even a racing heartbeat.

There was something that settled though. Something they hadn’t realized had been waiting for months while they danced around each other.

Not even Robin’s cheering from across the store could ruin their moment.

[snowflakesincalifornia]

I couldn’t reblog the og post bc ig Tumblr’s ruined the code, so this is a copy of it. Please give credit to the og posters.

milf-percy

It dosen't really matter that Percy isn't hurt by Annabeth insulting him all the time and sometimes even being physically violent to him(he should be because that's a realistic response from an abuse and bullying survivor but i digress),not just because he's a fictional character and not a real person with free will,but also because that's Annabeth's way of showing she fucking hates him.Her treatment of him has literally not changed since they were 12 yet nobody in this dumbass fandom can shut up about how ~developed~ their relathionship is cause they make out now and are planning on having a dysfunctional cishet marriage while trashing the characters of color for being 'annoying'.

Percy and Annabeth are not 'made for eachother' because Rick wrote everyone in-universe as telling them that and i'd like to remind y'all that this is the same guy who wrote Luke,an adult serial abuser and ped0phile,as a 'hero' because of the Great Prophecy.Destiny means jack shit and Annabeth and Percy-ESPECIALLY Percy,who's been doomed to trauma over and over again despite his best efforts to escape it-should've been allowed to choose who to love instead of having it shoved down their throats by both everyone in their franchise and the creepy weirdos in the fandom too

@southasianpercy

chaoticcerise

Hi! As someone with ADHD who's been in several abusive relationships before, I figured I'd add something about why it IS actually realistic that he doesn't appear hurt, but that's actually even more alarming. So it starts with meeting them (obviously) and especially if they don't really have any healthy romantic IRL relationships to compare it to (which the books go out of their way to emphasize that this is the case) then it can be really hard to notice when red flags like that start to come up. "Oh it'll get better!" "They're still adjusting to it!" All of which are valid! There's healthy relationships that start rough and there's relationships that start really well and then something happens that doesn't go super well and it turns bad real quick. I've been in a few of both. The problem comes when it still happens after they're asked to stop, which is what happens in Percy Jackson. This can lead to things like "Oh they're just kidding, surely they don't mean it!" "Oh that's just how they flirt/show they love me!" Which, again, is fine IF IT'S WELCOME. However if it's not then eventually it's "Oh they're just like that." "Oh it's fine I guess, it's not like I can stop it." Just because someone doesn't complain doesn't mean that they're consenting. It means they're resigned to the abuse. And that means that he's internalizing and normalizing it. "We don't hear any real negativity towards Annabeth in Percy's thoughts though!!!" Well no but we don't hear any love either. We don't ever hear any thoughts about her really ever. Nothing about how pretty she is or how cool she is or anything. Percy Jackson has thoughts about EVERYONE. As someone with ADHD, this level of no thoughts is concerning and no basis for a relationship. He deserves someone who will treat him well. She deserves someone who thinks about her fondly. Both of them deserve better but they both need to undergo some character development and serious therapy first.

[musicalmoritz]

Can we get a list of all the tbhk ships you can think of ranked in order of how much you like them? I'm just curious! Leave out anything you flat-out don't like of course!

Ooooh, this will be a challenge! I’ve done the teirmaker list thing twice for TBHK ships but my opinion on them keeps changing (there are some I used to not care abt that are now some of my favorites). I think I’m gonna try to break this up into sections to make it easier

The Holy Trinity

Aoinene- Obviously my all time fave. I’ll be honest I wasn’t expecting it but this one has shot into my top favorites of all time, which is a very sacred list🙏🏻 I wasn’t expecting to love them so much because I really like the canon pairings but Beecalm’s fan fictions (and many others) altered my brain chemistry. Once I started to focus on them more I couldn’t stop and now I over analyze everything they do. And ofc writing my own fics made me like them more. I really like the potential of both of them keeping secrets from each other and Nene sort of knowing there’s something up with Aoi but being totally unaware of the extent of it (yk like if they were written by an author who gaf abt them they could be so cool). Also the “best friend becomes the villain” trope is simply superior

Mitsukou- This one recently swapped with Terukane. I expected it to be my favorite bcuz canon gays usually are but Aoinene surpassed them. I still love them tho, I like how fucked up they can be with all the cannibalism and bullying as a love language. They’re all cute and angsty but they also have some serious problems, like dudes please get therapy. Mitsuba wanting someone to depend on and Kou wanting Mitsuba to only depend on him. It’s like a train wreck I can’t look away from. But also like I want them to be happy and hold hands. Maybe they can get couples counseling

Terukane- Don’t be fooled by it dropping one level, I still love them a lot!! I like the fanon concept of them helping each other heal, especially when fics have Akane taking care of Teru. Really, this is my “I just want Teru to be happy” ship lol. The shippers are so funny and good at analyses, and I like how they both thrive off of their rivalry. They have such a comedic duo thing going on too, the final exam chapter was so funny. Their relationship is built on trust, or something like that

Absolutely Fucking Love

AoiAoi- This one may come as I surprise considering Aoinene and Terukane are so high but I’m obviously a huge multishipper. The thing with their names is so funny to me, it’s the first thing I tell my friends abt TBHK every time I introduce them to it. I love how complicated they are while at the end of the day still being very dedicated to each other. They’re both so down bad, it’s cute. Despite their initial toxicity, I strongly believe this is the healthiest canon ship but I’ll hold my tongue

Terukaneaoi- I am strongly hesitating to put this one so high since it used to be more of an after thought but I simply cannot separate AoiAoi and Terukane from this ship so it feels fitting. Even if I’m shipping two of them without the other I still imagine them being very important to each other. My enjoyment of the manga increased tenfold when I started interpreting their love triangle as “Aoi and her two boyfriends.” Lowkey believe AidaIro ship them too. This is what I mean when I say we need more poly ships

Hananene- Also struggling to put this one so high but they’re the main couple, I feel like they deserve this spot. Every now and then I start to think I don’t care abt them that much but then I remember the ending of the Picture Perfect arc and I’m like oh right. They’re soulmates. Their relationship is one of the highlights of the manga for me. I mainly prefer this ship with Amane’s personality over Hanako’s but they are the same person so it’s cute either way

Sakuhiko- This was very briefly my favorite. I headcanon them as sapphics which gives them extra points lol. I love how Natsuhiko seems to know Sakura so well, and how dedicated he is to them. I like the idea of them having a less conventional relationship, they aren’t “together” but they’re still together. Very romantic and typical TBHK fucky messed up stuff. Villain couples are elite

Aoimei- This one could’ve been higher than HanaNene and Sakuhiko but I’m a coward lol. I’m happy that AidaIro gave us sapphic breadcrumbs, even if it was only in an au. To me these two just make sense, they would be perfect for each other. Mei is absolutely a lesbian in my eyes and Aoi has gotta be some type of sapphic. I like that they stayed together even after the love potion, and how Aoi was more comfortable with the idea of Mei falling in love with her than any of the guys. I am absolutely in love with this ship

Adore

Aoimei 2.0- This is the version with No.4 Mei. I am not the first to come up with it but I do believe I’ve made the most fan content for them lol. I sometimes like this more than OG Aoimei but they’ve sadly never interacted in canon so it gets docked a section. It’s such an interesting concept, the way both of them exist as a culmination of the rumors made about them. They would have such an interesting dynamic, in my mind they are enemies to lovers lol

Terukaneaoinene- This one is soooooo underrated. Terukaneaoi is great enough on its own, add Nene and you have all the best ships mixed together. You have to be deep into multishipper hell to like this one bcuz p much every combination of ships here are enemies with each other. Best solution? They all date

Akaneneaoi- Okay I’m just gonna go through every poly variation within Terukaneaoinene here, they’re all pretty interchangeable with each other. This one is great because it’s Aoi and her two favorite people

Teruaoinene- Supremely underrated!! Teru is great, he deserves two girlfriends. And instead of Aoi and Nene being pitted against each other bcuz Nene likes Teru and Teru likes Aoi, they both get to date him AND each other. So fun

Teruakanene- Their little date was so cute (technically they’ve gone on two now). Idc if it was meant to be a Terunene date, Akane was included in my heart. Not crazy abt the lack of Aoi here but this is still an elite ship (one of my mutual named them Pineapple Pals)

TeruAoi- This one is deeply controversial. Tbh it could be above the poly ones I just listed but I like them more in the context of Terukaneaoi or Terukaneaoinene. Teru’s potential crush on her in canon is very cute to me, and I like how she seems to warm up to him throughout the series. I will never understand how people headcanon that they hate each other lol, either they’re dating or they’re best friends

Meinene 2.0- No.4 Mei version ofc. This one is a bit interchangeable with OG Meinene but I like this one a teensy bit better bcuz of the hand-holding scene. Every time I listen to “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” by the Beatles I think of them. This is truly my “I just want Mei to be happy” ship. I like the idea of Nene helping her work on her mental health/self-image issues

Meinene- OG Mei version. Their pancake date lives in my head rent free. Might like it a bit better than the other Meinene but idk they swap a lot. Recently this Meinene has been consuming all my thoughts. It feels so canon, AidaIro clearly wanted Mei to have a girlfriend

Sakunene- This ship should be so much more popular than it is. Like every ship listed below Aoimei 2.0 in this section, it could be swapped with any of the others depending on my mood. This is PEAK enemies to lovers hero/villain character foil vibes. They are everything to me. Nene having a crush on Sakura is lowkey canon so I wish more people recognized their potential

Terunene- So overhated because people have no imagination smh. If Nene came to understand who Teru really is (I think she’s learning but shhh) I think they could be absolute couples goals. Unlike most fans I don’t rly want Teru to have a crush on Nene in canon, I think most people who suggest that only say it bcuz they don’t want to try to understand TeruAoi. But I digress. Super cute ship

Akanene- Another divisive one!! They seem to have this weird animosity towards each other in canon (likely due to Aoi) but whenever they team up…oh man, I love seeing these two work together. They’re both hopeless romantics so they’d be able to match each other’s energy

Aoimeinene- A fairly recent one but I’ve become obsessed. I tend to think of each of the ships separately tho so I need to figure out how the dynamic would work with all three of them. I hope to someday write a fic for them and make this ship more popular (tho I think I’m already on my way to doing that with this blog lol). There are not nearly enough femslash sapphic ships in this fandom, I need more

HakuSumi- Not really sure how to rank this one, I love love love their relationship but I’m not heavily invested in it…still, I don’t want to put it too low. My favorite husband and wife, they deserved better :( I’m glad the fandom is starting to warm up to this one, maybe they’ll have a renaissance like AoiAoi

Super Cute!

SakuMei- No.4 Mei version. We briefly saw them together in ASHK so I think AidaIro know they would be good friends. Their personalities match each other very well and the fanfics are amazing (seriously pls read SakuMei fanfics they’re so good). I lightly associate Mei with the Broadcasting Crew so I like to think she and Sakura would hang out a lot. I headcanon them as exes lmao

Natsuteru- Almost forgot about this one…I have mutuals that would sue me over that. So we all know that Natsuhiko and Teru are exes but consider them as transfem butch lesbian exes. Yes I’m right I’m so correct. I will also accept butchfemme Natsuteru

Kounene- Okay so like…I don’t really multiship a lot with Mitsukou *the crowd boos me* I know, I know. I think this ship is insanely cute as a concept but SOME of the fans are weird abt Mitsukou and HanaNene. It throws me off a bit but I have full love for the ship itself, only when it’s requited on Nene’s side tho. I’m not crazy abt one-sided pairings

HanaKou- Again with the mtsk thing…but let’s be real this ship is art. They could do Romeo and Juliet but Romeo and Juliet could not do HanaKou. I prefer them as best friends but I totally get why so many people like them romantically. They have a funny dynamic. I have a request for them so be on the lookout for that

MitsuHana- Hear me out hear me out, this one is so funny to me. Specifically the concept of Hanako having a crush on Mitsuba. I like to think they’d have the same dynamic as Richie and Eddie from It if you catch my vibe (Hanako is Richie and Mitsuba is Eddie). It pairs well with Kounene too

HanaNeneMitsuKou- Only if Mitsuba and Nene aren’t dating, I don’t fw Mits*nene. Specifically I like this ship when things center around Kou, he’s super nice and protective of everyone so all his friends crushing on him feels so realistic lmao. The four of them would bully each other so hard too, I like to picture them acting similar to the main four from South Park. Please see the vision

SakuAoi- Rumor Girlfriends!!! I love the concept of this ship and they have been shown together a lot in official art. Tbh this one could be higher, but I need a bit more for it yk?? I totally get the concept but it hasn’t completely clicked for me yet. This one may level up in the future tho, as I said the concept is very interesting. I would love to see it in an au where Aoi is with the Broadcasting Crew.

MinaMari- We know little to nothing about their characters but the concept is so cute to me. They’d probably be higher if they had more focus in the manga but alas, they are extremely minor characters😔 They give me major Chappell Roan vibes tho

Sakoo- I’m not overly invested in them but this ship is a staple so they get this category. They’re a cute background ship to Mitsukou. I could see them having some type of crazy slowburn and getting together in their 30s

LemonFuji- A ship I came up with, they are so silly to me. I was gonna put this way lower but then I remembered it’s my favorite Lemon ship. Kinda forgot abt them tho so they could technically be moved a tier down…but no, as the captain of this ship I must go down with it. LemonFuji World Domination

Lemonkane- Not really sure where to put this one in relation to the others but I like them. The fact that they dated in canon always baffles me, I love whenever AidaIro say gay rights. It’s a little funny to me that this isn’t Akane’s main mlm ship, it’s like Lemon got demoted

NagiTsuchi- Say it with me…Old Man Yaoi. Another one I’m not majorly invested in but this is my designated ship for both characters. Workplace romance is one of my favorite tropes, especially with teachers. The Yugi Twins’ dads, trust

Like

Sakuaoinene- So I guess this tier is an “I see the vision/I could get into it” category. I’ve always been aware of this poly ship but for some reason I’ve never looked too deeply into it!! I did make headcanons for them once but beyond that I just don’t think of them often enough. I’ll have to think about it more, the concept is god tier. I like all ships between them so this could be like supreme toxic yuri or smth

Natsunene- Their little door date was so silly and no one talks abt it. I feel like I’m the only person who ships this. Please let them be girlfriends

KouAoi- One of the best rarepairs fr fr but there’s so little content so them. I have a fic idea for them but I haven’t had time to write it yet. To me this is a “crush on your older brother’s best friend” ship lolol. I think it would be more of a celebrity crush on Kou’s part but it’s still adorable

Sakuaoimei- No.4 Mei version. I have a fic request for them that I swear I’ll get around to at some point (I’m trying to stick to a schedule but school has kept me busy this week). I’ll have to brainstorm more of a dynamic for them, I feel like they’d all fit really well together. Sakura and Aoi would nerd out together about horror stories while Mei watches them fondly. Aoi deserves two ghost girlfriends

YoMitsu- I like this one as an unrequited thing, like Yokoo being the typical protagonist of a teen movie and Mitsuba being the unattainable crush. And drama! His crush is dating his best friend. Very much Jesse’s Girl vibes. I made headcanons abt this on TikTok and got ppl all invested in the lore

SatoMitsu- Don’t know much about this one but it seems sweet, he protects him from Kou’s bullying

YoKou- This one is weirdly popular for a rarepair, I feel like I see it all the time. They seem cute enough

SaKou- Satou 100% had a crush on Kou at some point. So did Yokoo but we already covered him. In like 10 years he’s gonna be going about his day and randomly be like “ohhhhh so that’s what those feelings meant”

SaKooMitsuKou- Cute poly ship! Satou and Yokoo help Mitsuba and Kou keep their violence to a minimum. Actually maybe we shouldn’t drag them in to all their drama. Nvm let them be silly boyfriends

SakuMeiAoiNene- Works with either Mei tbh (I’m too tired now to rank them separately I’ve been working on this all throughout the day). Any ship between these characters is elite, I fully support it and would read a fic abt them (or write one)

Koukane- See this one has potential but in my mind they are brother-in-laws so I’m still trying to sell myself on it. I like it tho!

SumiYako- I can’t rly see Sumire with anyone but Hakubo lol but it’s femslash so ofc I like it. I need fics and edits for them, I feel like this one could really grow on me. I want to marry both of them fr fr

TsuchiYako- At first I loved it, then I hated it, now I’m warming back up to it. I could see them having a thing without ever having to discuss it yk?? Like they’re together in some sense and they both know it without having to make a big deal out of it

MitsuKane- One of my moots said they would smoke weed together and I have loved the concept ever since. Another ship I feel like I could get into

SakuTeru- Ignore the ranking for this last category btw I have lost the plot. I cannot see Sakura with a man but if it’s nb or transfem Teru then yes. Very interesting concept

SakuNatsuTeru- This ship is so funny I need to look more into it. They all give me major poly vibes so seeing them together feels biblically accurate

SakuMei 2.0- Original Mei version. I’ve not rly looked into it but I could see myself liking this one. They give me opposites attract vibes

NatsuAoi- A rarepair that only I ship (I think). It’s super chaotic to me

LemonAoi- Aesthetically pleasing, I saw an edit for them once and it was life changing. Really I love any Aoi ships, her complex character makes for very interesting dynamics (even tho she only rly cares abt 2 ppl)

Mama Yashiro x MitsuMom- People pair them together a lot so that Mitsuba and Nene can be siblings and I’m totally here for it. Another one I’ve been meaning to write a fic for bcuz there’s not a lot focused solely on them (for obvious reasons). Let the milfs kiss

MitsuLemon- Another rarepair my moots introduced me to. I’ll have to look more into it but yayyyy their colors go together

Lemonkaneaoi- The original concept for TBHK is so fascinating to me. We could’ve had it all

TeruLemon- Fun rarepair, love the overload of blonds here

TsuchiHaku- I saw fan art of them once and I have not stopped thinking abt it

KataSumiHaku- I was recently introduced to this one and I love it, I’m obsessed

Okay there are probably more I could think of but those are ones I don’t care enough about to list. If I get invested in any new rarepairs you will probably catch me yapping abt them on here. Just assume Mitsukou and SouKou are equal btw I did NOT wanna bother with listing them separately. Again, my rankings change a lot but this is probably the most accurate one I’ve done in terms of categorization. Thank you for this ask, I really enjoyed making this!!

[maybeimamuppet]

for the au ask game… had to think really hard for this one but—

how do you think things would be different if regina didn’t get hit by that bus??

<3, sunny

send me an au and i’ll tell you about it!!! it was supposed to be five facts about it but i like to yap

ALRIGHT i’ve been thinking about this one for like three days i am not in a space to answer this well but this sitting in my inbox is haunting me so i’m gonna go for it lol

i think the easiest way is to sort of go through and say how i think things would be different for each characterrrrr??? we’ll see lol

to start with, overall, regina getting bussed is sort of the catalyst for everything coming back together. it both is and is not the climax depending on which characters journey you’re focusing on.

for example, regina getting hit is what makes her soften. it gives her a chance to step back and realize she doesn’t want to die being the kind of person she was. it’s what kickstarts her (at least supposed) redemption arc. we never actually see that happen but it is strongly implied at spring fling. without the bus, i like to think she still would’ve come to her senses eventually. but it’s entirely possible that she wouldn’t. or maybe she wouldn’t until they’re all in their thirties or forties or fifties or god knows when.

for janis, that means she’s left with this leftover, hardened, jaded middle school trauma to eat away at her forever. she’s already cynical and, again, jaded. she’s already affected by it. already needed significant therapy. already is made mean and manipulative and vengeful by it.

for janis i see her track going one of two ways. she either manages to heal on her own, realizing regina will never give her the closure she needs and so desperately wants. she gets more therapy, works on herself. develops strategies and learns how to identify the damaging thoughts rooted in this trauma and cope with them and turn them into something healthy. she really falls into her art and educates herself and makes herself into something wonderful with all the broken pieces.

OR she continues down the path of manipulation and anger and spirals. she tries but can never commit to anything serious, be it jobs or relationships or whatever. she has a long string of failed experiences with both. damian is the only thing keeping her away from living under a bridge and dying of some sort of overdose.

for cady, regina getting hit is the beginning of the end for her. it’s the moment the ivory pedestal everyone has had her on shatters and she falls back to their level. she’s hit hard, but again, it leads her to important self reflections and realizations. we get to see more of her redemption, like taking the fall for the burn book and getting to apologize to ms. norbury and janis and damian, along with her speech during stars.

without that, again, i see her going one of two ways. she continues as she is. nobody dares to bring up that she’s just a clone put in regina’s place. she’s queen of the school and she loves it. she has power but no depth. she and janis and damian never speak again. gretchen and karen follow her exclusively out of fear. aaron still wants next to nothing to do with her. she has no deep, genuine connections with anyone for however long it lasts, whether she keeps it going through college and into the rest of her life or whether it ends at graduation. either way, the effects linger with her and she struggles to form genuine relationships and she lives a very isolated, lonely life.

OR she comes to the realization on her own at some point, whether internally or someone dares to call her out. whether before they graduate or well into her adulthood (similar timeline to regina) and she devotes herself to making amends. similar to janis, she leans hard into academia and channels the drive and the desire to control into becoming very successful. she still worries that she hasn’t actually been forgiven and works extra hard to keep her friends and other loved ones close.

for gretchen, the potential of losing her “boss” is what sparks her realizing she has much more power and worth and value than she thinks. with just how anxious and sheeplike her character is in canon i find it hard to believe she would ever truly come to this realization on her own. i think she’d come close with a lot of therapy and self-esteem work, but i think having one, concrete, solid moment to shock her into it is vital for who she becomes as an adult. it’s what prompts her and karen to drop cady and learn how to do their own thing.

if regina had never been hit i see her basically just continuing as she is. following cady or eventually returning to regina and doing her bidding. maybe someday she’d get fed up and realize she deserves more and better, or maybe not.

for karen i think a lot of the same things as gretchen. she and gretchen are sort of a tag team, so i think they go through and would go through a lot of the same things. i think karen has a little more oomph but doesn’t quite know how to use it or know whether she should. i think she’s much more likely to eventually leave cady or regina’s side on her own and realize how poorly she’s been treated for however long. and who knows, maybe that would be enough for gretchen to go too. i think she does know in canon that she deserves better but she stays because it’s safer. so maybe at some point she decides it’s not worth it.

for regina i think it’s. pretty obvious lol. she has her whole downfall which i think had the opposite effect to the bus. i think that on its own would make her FUUUUURIOUS. i think she would become vengeful and vindictive and bitter and sullen and try and try again to snatch the crown back from cady. no matter what it takes, and i have no idea whether she’d ever succeed. again, i like to think that at some point, eventually, she’d work on herself and make amends and become a better person, but i think dying scared her more than they can show in a movie/musical that isn’t about her. i think, again, it’s a catalyst for changing and becoming a better person. and i think it takes time, and that’s why i’m glad the bus happened when it did because it GIVES her that time to do whatever she can and what she needs to do to apologize and improve while she still is surrounded by the same people she hurt the most.

she either is One Of Those Rich People (really angry but good at their job lawyer or corporate bitch everyone beneath her hates or some shit) or she does make an improvement and makes some genuine friends and maybe has some relationships that benefit all parties. or maybe both!!

in conclusion, as horrible as it is, i think the bus needs to happen when it does and i think the strife and the weird healing it brings is BEYOND necessary holy shit. i think it almost single handedly shapes who they all become as adults and the way they connect with each other and other people around them, and i’m very glad we got the canon we did :)

but make them lesbians

[ashkgray]

The thing about Malakai and Amerie is I genuinely like their dynamic but what both seasons seem to be pointing at, to me, is that they need a third to balance them out. Like they love and care for each other so hard but they're both messes in their own right. And while usually I would vouch for them to remain single and sort things out - especially after the whole ordeal with Rowan - I actually think when it comes to how they see and need one another: the romance is pretty much sorted and might help them grow as people if they grow together. But I think they would immensely benefit from being part of a mutual three-person romantic dynamic. Both entertainment-wise and, well, development-wise.

I'm talking either a sincere slow-burn healing plot with Rowan where they all talk everything out and get the appropriate therapy together and re-blossom romance along the way... or a hilarious 'well here's Dusty for another threesome' thing that turns serious. ( I understand he still cares for Harper but Harper and Ant have been fire (haha) this season. )

That is to say that they seem to operate best when part of a three-or-more-person group. For example: I know neither have romantic feelings for Harper as of this season, and I don't ship her with either, but when all three were just sitting on the couch together after Amerie's abortion I just couldn't help but think yeah. These two are great. But in their specific case, three's the charm.

[lbulldesigns]

r/relationships

How do I convince my 20-year-old son that I'm serious about kicking him out if he doesn't agree to therapy?

25th of May, 2021

I know that the title sounds bad but please bear with me, this is my first time using Reddit.

I (43 M) am the proud, single father to four children. V (23 F), P (18 F), and twins M and C (20 M). V, C, and M are my bio children (from different mothers) and P is my adoptive daughter and V's bio sister (same mother).

The girl's mother and I had an ugly break-up because I was dumb and panicked when I found out I was going to be a father for the first time with V, at the time I refused to take responsibility and ended up breaking my then girlfriend's heart. Because I never took responsibility, I never accepted my parental rights when my eldest V was born. I paid Child support but that was about it, and then a year and a half into my idiocy I got into a pretty bad accident and was declared dead for two minutes. Doctors at the time were able to resuscitate me and using a series of experimental drugs was able to save my life, however, I now need to live the rest of my life as a shifter (wolf).

This was something I struggled to accept for some time but eventually, I came to accept my new way of life and condition. I spent a year going through intense therapy and seminars, and through this time I had two major revelations. 1) I had failed spectacularly as a man and father, and 2) I didn't want to ever die with regret again.

The first thing I did when getting through my therapy was reach out to my ex and establish contact with my daughter, I was FINALLY ready to take responsibility but was too late. My ex had found someone new, someone who wasn't afraid to step up and do what I wasn't willing to do. He took responsibility for my daughter, and she was calling him Daddy instead of me. I won't lie this hurt but I swallowed my pride and accepted that it was no one's fault but my own.

My ex wasn't willing to disrupt V's worldview just to cater to my change of mind, which I accepted, but she was willing to slowly integrate me into her life on the condition that we didn't reveal anything until our daughter was old enough to understand. Which I agreed to.

Her husband was a good man and wanted to make this situation work for everyone, there was a bit of awkwardness when V would run up to him for hugs and look at me as a stranger (which I was) but he never rubbed it in my face or ever got antagonistic with me. I had, and still have, a great deal of respect for the man and I will forever be grateful to him for doing what I was too bullheaded to do.

Half a year after I became a father to my twin boys, a one-night stand who never informed me of the pregnancy and just left the two on my business's doorstep. Two years after that, my ex gave birth to P and I was named her and V's Godfather after my ex witnessed how quick I was to take responsibility for the boys after getting a paternity test done and it coming back positive.

And then five years after, my ex and her husband were shot dead by two trigger-happy Enforcers and they, in an attempt to cover their tracks, buried the girls in the foster system it took a year to find them both. They had been separated at some point and it was a miracle that I found either let alone both of them. After I found them, I made quick work to adopt both of them and go from a single father of two to a single father of four.

It was rough, I'm not gonna lie, V was angry at the world, P was scared of the world, and my boys were confused but C managed to adjust quickly and whilst M took to V he had an instant dislike for P.

I had explained to the boys that V was their bio sister, this secret came out to V when she was found by a friend of mine and as a result, was angry and confused about everything. M accepted this but kept asking why we were taking P if she wasn't family, which I quickly corrected that she was family.

My condition seemed to be a huge concern for P's therapist, who tried to convince P that I was untrustworthy and abusive. P told me what her therapist said and the woman was investigated and proven to be biased towards anyone who wasn't 100% human.

I tried to get P back into therapy but nothing ever worked out, she had a strong distrust for them and was also influenced by V who was adamant about not going to therapy. I know I should have continued their therapy but they seemed okay on their own after a while, both girls would open up to me about their problems and V was able to find an outlet for her anger through boxing, which I taught until she was old enough to join a team around her age group.

P in turn took up learning gymnastics and even won a few competitions, she also took up art and was a natural science whizz.

I apologize for the long story but wanted to give some insight into my family. Whilst we were able to find some stable ground, there have been some issues outside of the initial teething stage. The first obstacle was the girl's maternal uncle (42 M), he had been an old friend of mine since childhood. His sister was my ex and after I abandoned my responsibilities to his sister and niece, we lost touch. He and his sister had a falling out, I don't know the specifics, and he was never contacted when his sister died. When he found out I had both girls he wanted custody of them, but because my name was on V's birth certificate and P was attached to V, the court saw fit to grant custody to me with visitation rights granted to Sil (maternal uncle).

The second obstacle we had was my son M. As I mentioned he took an instant dislike to P, and despite my hopes that deep down he cared for her, never warmed up to her presence in our lives.

He would constantly make her cry with his insults, and he for a time would hide her school projects from her (which stopped after the fifth time when I confiscated his game console and laptop).

I tried for a long time to get him to bond with P and explain to him that his behavior was harmful, I spoke with his school counselor to get him some unbiased opinions on his behavior, and when I would bring up therapy he would retort that if I wasn't making the girls go to therapy then I shouldn't be making him go. None of my tactics seemed to work and the more I admonished him the meaner he would be towards my youngest. After some time I decided to reward him if he didn't bully his sister, which seemed to work for a while, but now I am wondering if I didn't just make him more subtle about his bullying.

About a week ago I was in my kitchen preparing dinner when I heard a loud banshee-like scream and a loud thump. I went running into my entryway where I found P on top of M hitting him again and again shouting that she hated him. I was taken by surprise by this and pulled P off of M, it was surprisingly difficult to do so because she was determined to pummel him. I'm not proud of this but I ended up taking her by the shoulders and growling at her to calm down, which she did but she looked scared and I saw that she was ready to either fight or run, I started to tell her to get out of the house for a bit and go stay at her friends to cool off but all I got out was "Get out" before she bolted from the house. I shouted after her to go to her friend's house but she was already gone.

After checking up on M and taking him to the hospital (he was fine, just some bruising and blood) I interrogated him about what happened after he blew up at me for always "going easy" on P, and he said that P was crying so he called her a crybaby. This felt extreme on her part but I knew that there was something else at play and decided to ask her the next day when I saw her. I said that P shouldn't have attacked him but asked M why he insulted her rather than ask if she was okay, and he just said "She's always crying. I can't walk past her room without hearing her cry. She is a crybaby" I felt disturbed and still feel disturbed and disappointed by his lack of empathy.

At this point, I felt something had to give and I gave him an ultimatum. Therapy or leave the house.

I know I shouldn't have given an ultimatum but P is 18 and struggling with a few personal things (I won't elaborate) and her unemployed 20-year-old brother constantly being on her back wasn't helping.

I'll try to dot point everything that happened afterwards because this is getting really long:

I went to see P the next day and found out she never went to her friend's (ex-friends?) house. I should have called and made sure she was there but she always goes to his house when upset so I just assumed she was there. No words can describe how shameful I feel for not checking.

We went to the Enforcers but they "couldn't help".

We discovered that P had at some point snuck back into the house grabbed some of her belongings and left a note saying she was leaving, and her being 18 means that we can't make a missing persons report because she's left voluntarily.

M refuses to speak to me because he feels betrayed by my ultimatium, which I'm still holding up.

I've felt like absolute dirt for the past week, and am absolutely wrecked with guilt over P.

A few hours ago my son C showed me a post from r/offmychest where M was talking about how he hopes P never comes back home, and is talking about going NC with me.

I know that he isn't taking me seriously with the ultimatium. I know I probably shouldn't still be holding true to said ultimatium but something needs to give.

He is 20, he can't keep going through life with this lack of empathy.

I plan on talking to him soon.

What can I say or do to make him see that I am serious?

And how can I do it in a way that won't tear my family apart even more than it already is?

[writing-for-life]

WIP Wednesday

So these two are torturing me and have been for a while. It’s the sequel to “The Light of Stars” (read it! Go on, you know you want to ��), and I’m currently calling it “The Pillars of Creation” (that’s a reference to the clouds in the Eagle Nebula. And I’ve shamelessly also already bookmarked that one for another working title as well. Because… brain-worms. And reasons).

I still don’t write chapters in sequence, and I wrote this chapter after finishing a particularly harrowing one because I needed to clear my head. With smut 🤣 Although my fanfic smut isn’t super explicit (I think depending on your take, they’re probably rather M than E, although I have a couple of scenes in this one that straddle the line a bit).

But if you know me, you also know that my smut is never just smut for smut’s sake. After the smuttiest of smutty intros (well no, it’s not just an intro, it’s half of a 4,700 words chapter. Give them a chance to be happy for a bit 🤣), we arrive at this point. And we aren’t done after this bit either. But you’ll need to wait for the rest. The working title for this chapter is “On the Nature of Pleasure”. Maybe I should have just called it “Sex Therapy.” Because yes, I sometimes think he needs it 🙈

“You do not need to oppose me to get what you wish for.” He tried to look serious but failed miserably.

“I wouldn’t dare, and it’s not just about what I wish for.” She slid off to the floor before she hugged her knees and let her chin rest on them.

“Is it not?” Morpheus turned on his side, head on his arm, face soft, eyes shining like liquid silver. He reached out his other arm to touch her face.

She leaned into his touch. “No.”

They stayed like this for a while, just looking at each other. There was much they didn’t say out loud, and yet, they both knew what the other was thinking. She sensed what he wanted because he didn’t attempt to hide it, and what he let her see was beautiful in its unguarded vulnerability. But she also felt how hard he fought making it real, for reasons not entirely clear to her.

“Is it okay if we close off the entrance to this space?”

He nodded, and the alcove closed shut so no one on the outside would even know it existed. Some sources of soft light, suspended in mid-air, had appeared out of nowhere to illuminate what would have otherwise been a pitch-black space.

“May I ask you to sit up?” she asked quietly.

He hesitated for a moment before he did. She gently pushed apart his knees and moved between his legs before she laid her hands flat on his clothed thighs, just looking up at him.

“I still find it difficult to see you kneel before me,” he admitted.

She shifted and sat cross-legged instead, at least for the time being. “We won’t do anything you don’t want.”

His voice was hoarse when he said, “I want everything you just… perceived, but I shouldn’t.”

“Why not? Nothing about what you let me see felt wrong in any way.” She slowly ran her hands along his thighs. “It’s okay to find pleasure in something for no other reason than it feeling good, and it just being for you.”

“It should be for you first.”

She took his hand and laid it on the side of her face. “Then you will also understand how much I wish this to be for you, and for you only.” His eyes began brimming with tears he quickly blinked away. “Can you take off your clothes? With your hands?”

He hesitantly took off his shirt, discarded it to the floor and moved on to his jeans before he stopped. “Could you take them off for me?”

“Is it truly for you?”

“What?” His brow tied itself up in knots.

“Do you want me to take off your jeans because it is what you want me to do, or because you think it would please me to do so?”

“Those options might occasionally coincide—you asked me to disrobe, after all.” He blinked slowly with a soft smile. “It is for me because a tight space such as this makes it slightly cumbersome to fully undress myself—if I am to use my hands. Unless you would like me to be… smaller? Which could be arranged.”

Thalia snorted. “Okay, but you get what I’m trying to say?”

He apparently fought very hard not to laugh. “Yes.”

The atmosphere shifted again after Thalia had taken off the remainder of his clothes, and he sat in front of her naked. Not that he had ever had a problem with it in the past, but this was different.

She laid her hands on his thighs again. “What next?”

“Would you let me undress you?”

“Is it for you or for me?”

“For me.”

“Why?”

“Because I wish to look at you.”

“And you can’t do that when I’m dressed?”

“I appreciate your form.”

“And you don’t when I’m dressed?”

He glanced down at his hands for the briefest of moments. His voice was muted, but he looked straight into her eyes again when he said, “It arouses me to see you naked.”

“Now we’re getting somewhere.”

“You are impossible.”

“So you keep telling me,” she said, and he just shook his head at her. “Do you want me to stand up?”

“No.” He just waved his hand, and her clothes were gone.

“Cheat.”

“My apologies.”

They smiled at each other for a moment before she resumed. “Would you like to touch yourself?”

His reply was an immediate and resounding, “No.”

Haaaaaaa, you didn’t think you’d get all of it, did you? 🤣

I just wanted to give you a little something to tide you over. They’re very sweet. Sometimes, they’re really not (yes Thalia, I’m also looking at you!). There is a lot of exploration of abandoning control in this one, both of self and others (not just in the bedroom of course, but you know, sometimes you just have to go there 🤣). They’re also funny, in sometimes weirdly tragic ways. He’s trying so hard. He’s doing so well. Until he doesn’t. As one would expect. 😩

[catmomjudy]

Maddie & Eddie: A Common Bond

(Gif: @bicepsie; Photo: Publicity Still)

One thing that fanfic gives us that canon 9-1-1 just doesn’t is the ability to build a friendship between Maddie and Eddie. We can imagine all of the places they’ve met and had opportunities to talk, both serious and social: 118 parties at the Grant-Nash house; at a bar after work with the 118; at other holiday or social gatherings for members of the 118 and dispatch (where Maddie works and Eddie used to); in the waiting room at the hospital; and in Buck’s hospital room (either after the fire truck explosion or the lightning strike). We can imagine that they must have coordinated efforts after these incidents because Buck would have needed physical help, particularly after his leg was crushed. And Eddie’s absence from the parade of visitors in “Recovery” (s6e12) speaks to at least one blunt conversation because I imagine that Maddie would have attempted to recruit Eddie to her cause. There is no way that, if this were real life, they wouldn’t know each other pretty darn well by now—there are just too many overlaps in their lives for this not to happen.

As JLH points out, Maddie and Eddie both have:

Lost spouses

Troubled marriages

Children

They also both:

Have killed at least once (Maddie once in s2e13; Eddie who knows?—he wasn’t firing a rifle and “covering” his team in s3e15 without knowing he’d probably actually hit someone. It doesn’t work like that.)

Have PTSD over the above incidents

Have feelings of guilt over leaving a significant other to raise a child alone

Have feelings of guilt over lost time with their young children.

The last four things are issues that no one else in their circle shares in total.

Most importantly, they both have Buck. More than anything, he’s the common link between them. They both care for him and want to support him. They are both going to continue to cross paths because of this. I can’t help but think that Buck would love for his two favorite adults to become friends (until they ganged up on him—then he would pout). Oh, that brings up one last similarity:

They are both sarcastic little shits. 🤨

As JLH says, “Maddie would be a good person for Eddie to have in his life.” I can’t help but think that post-therapy Eddie would be a good person for Maddie to have in hers.

(5/11: Updated with Ryan G. news clip)

[vechter]

Top 5 Dick ships?

hello anon i think this is prolly gonna be the last one i do i've procrastinated enough today, also forgive me for not peppering this with enough comic panels i just can't be bothered to look for the issues 1) dick/roy- in my ideal world, dick moves back to new york after his batman stint and he and roy go on a crazy, adrenaline fuelled, bonkers mission to find lian, who is obviously not dead. brings things full circle to when they first got roy custody of lian from jade in nightwing: old friends/new enemies. they talk about roy's questionable titans for hire choices, dick's fear of being batman (let alone a really competent one) realized. they are both irretrievably changed from the last year but despite it all, they still fit. they find lian, cue heartbreaking reunion. and then they kiss <3 honestly tho they have so much history, roy started a whole ass team to help dick deal with his grief over donna despite the fact that roy loved her immensely too and was probably grieving her just as much. outsiders (2003) once again i am unable to be normal about it. 2) dick/kory- kory was probably the best thing to happen to dick. at a time in his life where he was hurting and struggling to figure out who he was beyond batman's partner, kory was a breath of fresh air. both she and dick have core desires of freedom but for dick, it tangles with the discipline and bruce of it all. they were so cute with their terms of endearment ("honey", "gorgeous", etc.), their pictures in each others' apartments, the way they were always touching. also just the fact that she can fly. the deeper meaning to kory will never let dick fall. it ended awfully and hurtfully but their love for each other changed them. for the better. they will always have that love for each other, even if they aren't in love with each other. i do think they are soulmates but very very clearly right person, wrong time.

3) dick/joey- im sorry none of those initial interactions were anything less than deeply, deeply homosexual. the way dick spent his entire birthday on tamaran monologuing at joey and joey heard it all. they have inside jokes! dick feels awe when he looks at him. also the fact that joey chooses to possess dick in titans. ahhhh what a fucking fantastic nuance to their dynamic.

4) dick/midnighter- when i do accept the existence of a post n52 world, midnighter is prolly one of my fav things to come from that era. i love the idea of a dick losing himself as a spy and subsequently choosing to engage in awful, awful self-destructing behaviour and midnighter clocking that but not rlly able to do more bc he's grieving his relationship with apollo, too. their relationship would just be a lot of adrenaline and lying and covert ops and it would be short-lived bc both of them know it isn't what they want, esp not even the person they want. also a lot of attempts to extract information from each other with progressively unhinged ways of flirting and stalking.

5) dick/being single i'm so serious,,, this is prolly my top one. he needs to be single bc either he is a staggeringly great partner or an awful one, no in between. i love him but if i were a fictional character and ever had to date him, i think i would combust from wanting to clock him. unfortunately, therapy will not fix him, i think it would just make him worse so he should just be single, untethered to any place or person (well, as untethered as you can be when you are as insane about bruce wayne as he is) and able to swing away. but also swing back to the people he loves.

[mueritos]

I find it funny you post things about the wrong people becoming therapists yet you want to be a social worker and actively defend rapists and abusers 💀

CW: mentions of SA/cycles of abuse.

you must think you're really clever. the therapy industry has a huge amount of problems (like any other industry built on service to other humans, like the medical industry), and i think even the people who want to work within the therapy field (whether as a psychiatrist, a counselor, a therapist, a social worker, a sex therapist, etc) can still critique the many issues within it, mainly the racism, eurocentrinism, and the individualistic values that much of talk therapy promotes. I don't know where you got the second part of your statement, because not only is it widely inaccurate of what I was thinking of doing in social work, it also is just not a great idea to hold about people who work with people who do harm.

there are therapists/social workers who work exclusively with cops/law enforcement, and ethically those people CANNOT work with people who are victims of law enforcement or people who "break the law" (incarcerated folks). It just doesn't work, because if you work with both, it can create a conflict of interest. this is the same with people who work with victims of assault (SA or not). these therapists/etc who work with victims of assault/abuse CANNOT work with abusers. The same is vice versa, as in people who work with those who do serious harm cannot work with their victims.

I think your self righteousness is misplaced. You clearly have a lot of work to do in regards to removing your own feelings and judgement from the work that many therapists and social workers do. I don't know if you know this, but everyone (yes, even people who do serious harm) are deserving of basic human necessities, like oh i don't know. Housing, healthcare, or therapy. It is not my job as a future social worker to judge people, that is wickedly different from holding someone accountable. Judging is like sending someone to prison for 25 years, further removing them from the communities and resources that could generate accountability. Further, no one can hold anyone accountable unless said person consents to being held accountable. There are different procedures for whether they do or not. My job, as a future social worker, is to help people, because I believe all people deserve to ask for help and receive the help that they need.

Not sure if you know, but I'm against incarceration/punishment. I believe we hold punishment as the way to "teach people a lesson", but if you do not work with people and actively step in and disrupt cycles of trauma (housing crisis, hunger, substance abuse, interpersonal abuse, racism, ableism, etc), you will only find that people re-offend unless they are given the resources they need to be better. Yes, there are people who genuinely want to do harm, but harm does not exist in a vacuum, and if you are unwilling to acknowledge that, then I genuinely wish compassion to anyone who slips up around you and shows you that anyone is capable of any level of harm.

People who do serious harm are victims of the same cycle abuse as everyone else. You white knuckling your self righteous black and white morality is the reason why you cannot understand that even the worst kinds of people deserve the same access to care as victims of harm. You think that people who work with individuals who do harm as them defending them, when the reality is many of us with the brains built to do this kind of work want to stop this harm and correct abusive behavior. Unfortunately for you, people are capable of change. No one is asking you to like anyone or their actions (because I don't have to like the people I work with either, freak), but what people like me are asking you is to accept the fact that all people do harm, and when people are given the community and resources to, they can change for the better and recognize the serious harm they have caused.

Not everyone who goes into this work wants to aim their energy into the "socially acceptable" work. I think social justice morality and the sanitization of revolutionary politics has rotted our brains into believing that we must do and be the most "woke" person ever, channeling our energy into victims of harm. But what we fail to recognize through that is that some people would rather divest their energy into de-radicalization of fascists, or others want to put their energy into theory, others want to learn how to connect with the land and be sustainable, and others want to learn how to help others. And just like them, there are people who are willing enough to use their skills and compassion for conflict/resolution, accountability practices, and to help those who have harmed. Because, unfortunate for you, activists should NOT be juggling being the theorist, farmer, therapist, spiritualist, leader, mediator, protestor, rioter, etc and etc. Some people are simply built to put their energy into what they are good at. This doesn't mean that the farmer does not encourage the theorist to continue thinking and writing their theory. And I am sure the theorist, one who cannot farm and till, is grateful for the skills the farmer brings once dinner comes around.

it's funny really because I still am not sure about what I want my focus to be in social work, and for you to assume that I am "defending" abusers/rapists by thinking about working in extremely hostile, tense, and exhausting environments in the attempt to disrupt cycles of violence is me "defending" these individuals...it just reveals more about you than myself, anon. Many people already work with abusers/rapists (many of those therapists being victims of abuse/SA as well), so you may as well call the ones who are actually doing the work rn "defenders" of abuse. see how that bodes for you.

that's all I have to say.

[princesstarfire1234]

Scavengers playlist

Made this way back and have just been adding stuff as I listen to em but thought I'd share it here because why not, possibly maybe even get song recs from some of you guys ahaaa

Random thoughts and stuff about which songs are for who or why I put em there below the cut ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Alone Together by Fallout Boy - saw someone on tumblr say this song was "literally the Scavengers anthem" and they're so fucking real for that; "I don't know where you're going but do you got room for one more troubled soul" is literally them.... mann... Also that Fallout Boy album just bangs hard in general

Dare to Be Stupid by "Weird Al" Yankovic - they DO dare to be fuckin stuuuuupiiddd, i love these idiots

Dare by Stan Bush - This and Dare to be Stupid were both in the Transformers '86 movie so that's how I thought about em, aside that though I was listening to em once and just went "oh damn this is kinda them i think"

Bang Bang by K'NAAN - Shoot Shoot Bang Bang core, so much in fact that I've been wanting and still want to do a Scavs animation with this song

21 Guns by Green Day - its a lot more heavy in tone and serious compared to most of the stuff in the playlist, but I put it here cuz it sort of feels like an anthem for just the general rank and file of either faction?? like idk if that makes sense, it just kinda fit the post-war "what are we gonna do now if there's no more fighting" kinda vibe

NOT ENTIRELY ALONE by The Narcissist Cookbook - found this through someone else's Scavs playlist and while it's not a song I'd regularly listen to (it's more of a grand monologue really), I really like it and it's literally about a bunch of supposed outcasts finding each other and sticking together amidst it all

For some character centric ones I've got:

Me and The Boys by the Living Tombstone - Krok!! This one's from In Sound Mind, beautiful fuckin game, it's a lot about therapy and mental health and stuff so damn that's fitting; not only that though, but this specific soundtrack is for a character in that game that's a veteran who experienced a lot of trauma and lost all his friends in the time of the war... so yeahhh

Make A Move by Icon For Hire - love rock, it makes up most of my playlists but maybe you couldn't tell from this; anyways I just feel like it encapsulated Spinister well in vibe and it sort of being like Spin waiting for others to make a move and choosing to just blend in the background or take a back seat from what's usually happening idk how else to explain it really ahaha

need to go real quick since im typing this late so im gonna speedrun the rest lol

Cheer Up by Big Reel Fish - It's literally Crankcase, thats literally HIS song, just take a listen to it!

Bubbly by Good Kid - something about the chorus ("I never sleep, I never eat; I never leave my house alone; another evening in between what I believe and what I know") is just very Fulcrum to me, combined with the vibes

United States of Whatever & Talk Too Much - both very Misfire core to me, Talk Too Much is obvious from the title lol even if the song is about something else entirely aha and United States of Whatever is just... sillyy in a Misfire-y way yknow?

For the rest I didn't mention specifically, they're all just kinda there for vibes and I had no specific thoughts about em lolz

[nancydrewwouldnever]

The good thing about a long commute is that it leaves you with plenty of time to think, so you can really pick at those things in the corner of your brain.

I’m about to half-assed pop psychology all over this crap.

So, yesterday was really interesting from a picking apart Chris Evan’s subconscious kind of an angle. I don’t want to look at the still photos montage. I only want to think about the first and third posted video – the mouth video and the Mario Kart video.

We now know from the scare video dump in January and this dump yesterday that there’s a lot of material floating around out there on cell phones. (But, yeah, we already guessed that, didn’t we.) So, we have to really start finely parsing why a person would choose two videos as bizarrely uncomfortable as those he posted to try to sell a “serious love story” on the holiday for the serious love story. Because neither of those videos sold love or even affection – they sold the subtext of disdain.

When you both say in a video you post “you’re not going to like this” or write “she hates this, but I find it funny,” you are communicating an inherent lack of respect for the person you are showing as the subject of said videos. There’s no way you can look at either video and not see that in some way Alba is being portrayed, whether intentionally or not, as somehow inept or incompetent, hapless or helpless. She “doesn’t know what to say” or do in the first one; she is being put physically in a position which has inherent sexualized overtones from porn culture. He is physically holding her down, to a certain way of thinking. In the second video she struggles to play a video game originated before she was ever born(!), and he finds this ineptitude to be hilarious. From my way of viewing, as the audience, I don’t find either video to be indicative of cute couples’ behavior behind the scenes, but rather of an older dominant male putting a younger more inexperienced female into shaming/ridiculing situations. And then blasting those situations to the world via social media.

Why would you ever make those choices for those videos, knowing you probably have others to choose from that show situations far less riddled with open-ended interpretation. (Let’s be real, he could have shown them skiing at Okemo, not much subtext there.)

This is where we get into the pop psychology angle, which I’m probably just going to massacre, but oh well. We all started musing about that “I hate myself” quote the minute we read it in SMA. Now, I invite you to think about the psychology concept of projection.

I think that self-hatred and self-loathing he holds is far deeper and far more insidious than any of us can comprehend. I’ll give him some credit, he’s done a somewhat good job of covering it up and still having career success even while dragging it around.

But it’s bad, and I think he directs a lot of it into his interpersonal relationships with women.

That self-hatred and self-loathing is what keeps him from having true long-lasting and healthy romantic partnerships. He subconsciously detaches parts of it from himself, through his insecurities, and projects those insecurities onto his partner. Therefore, he’s already given himself an out for why the relationship will fail, but it’s not on him, because he’s projected it onto them. However, it is always on him, even if he can’t see that, because he’s never working on the actual root cause of why everything doesn’t work, doesn’t fit, doesn’t fulfill his intense emotional lacks: because he’s never acknowledged that there is some intense trauma there somewhere that set this self-hate and self-loathing into action, and that it needs to be brought into the light with therapy and worked on. Nothing will change until that happens.

Instead, the subconscious cycles and patterns are self-perpetuating, so he will continue to search out situations which feed the cycles. Ergo, always someone he can project onto, not someone self-realized enough to be the kind of person who could actually help him come to terms with his own trauma.

So, whatever this toxic situation with Alba is, it is even more toxic because it serves his subconscious need to project all his own insecurities onto her. And she’s in no way capable of stopping that, because she just doesn’t have the life or relationship experience to do so. So, I postulate that what you see in those two videos, that’s him projecting his own self-disdain, self-ridicule, and immaturity onto her in a situation he has perfectly created for it. If you’re watching those videos and you feel like Chris is viewing her through a lens of shaming or derision, know it’s not just her: he’s viewing himself the same way as well.

So, I’ll end by paraphrasing a great line from Hamlet: Get thee to a nunnery. (Apt, given Chris also has a really off-the-rails Madonna/Whore complex.)

Chris – get thee to a psychoanalyst’s couch.

(Freud's actual couch.)

[quailxcrossing]

CHARACTER DYNAMIC ASK GAME YES!!! You have so many amazing duos….

Machwell and Bartenn (I’m predictable) 5, 3 and 16!!

Magic and Ruse - 1, 6 and 8!

Ruse and Esperanza - 13, 15 and 7!

Runo and Peony - 2, 4, 9!

aaand Spiro and Tai - 2 and 11!

BWBWBWB i want to talk about dynamics so much and you selected like. all of my favorites

thank you for being one of the biggest machwell and bartenn fans ever . i will write a lot about them, just 4 you

MACHWELL AND BARTENN

5. A has to get B a gift. right now. what would they get? how long would they spend thinking about it? Machwell's POV oh god i can't even express how bad Machwell is at gifts. when the pressure is on, he truly forgets most anything that person ever liked- and his ability he feels like to fulfill this task is shot down to 0. can you imagine Francine being good with gifts? yeah. Machwell would work himself in a stupidly long tizzy, so stressed out to pick something that's not only perfect, but something that Bartenn will receive well, and he overthinks and replays fake scenarios of every possible reaction Bartenn could have-

-without actually getting him anything. and the longer this goes on, the worse he feels, the harder it is to think of anything-

gifts from Machwell will come in due time. they're heartfelt by the nature they came from him, and usually in the form of perishables. that's great! that's exactly what Bartenn wants!!!! it's hard to give gifts in Nhales anyway- and he's always so overjoyed when Machwell brings over some drinks or gummies or bbq bacon pizza, and there's always room for him to enjoy it too!! cmon sit down!!

3. what's something A thinks in their head about B that they would NEVER tell them out loud? alternately, what's something they want to say to them but haven't/can't, and why not? Bartenn's POV Bartenn definitely struggles with articulating how much Machwell really means to him; yeah they're close, but they're also middle-aged men who aren't doing Therapy-Speak at each other. its impossible for either of them to say "hey, you know you're my friend, right, and i care about you immensely and i'm sad when you're not around and you keep me on this planet"??? i dont even think he can think thoughts like that. how could he possibly say that....

16. free space: what's your favorite thing about their dynamic, as a fan or as a writer? smiles :) i just like them......I like how a character (Machwell) who originally started as literally "well he's Goat's absent father, who he would have never had any chance to meet, so he pretty much exists to make him warm-colors" and then Bartenn was a character I, like....got in a custody battle with my ex-girlfriend?? not really sure how it happened, honestly. but she gave him to me! and i was, like....not in a good headspace, so Bartenn got set aside for almost a year

and then they looked at each other....and Bartenn tried to give Machwell weed-paranoia. and ruffled his hair and told him to get his head outta his ass and chill the fuck out and come drink expired apple juice with him.

i did not mean for their relationship to be that serious. i did not mean for either character to be that serious!!!! the way these two have wormed my way into my heart is so fascinating... they literally are getting straight-man married. they keep track of each other's mental health and make sure the other one is eating and showering and sleeping. they get knocked outta their zourds and lay completely still for hours together. machwell starts to feel safe enough to go places with bartenn, and then safe enough to go places by himself. and bartenn has a companion again, someone would could never replace his late wife Lindsey, but Machwell doesn't need to- he makes Bartenn laugh, and gives Bartenn the reason to make jokes again.

i think they're a very good testament of how scarily sentient characters get to me! i really care about both of their journeys and how they found each other and are just,,,friends. just good, genuine friends, and i could roll around forever and think about how these two fucked up little men became friends and helped each other get out of their spirals just by being a buddy :]

MAGIC AND RUSE

YAY!!!! I LOVE GIRLS!!!!!

1. what were A's first impressions of B? were they mostly correct or have they changed? Magic's POV This is such a fun question to answer after just drawing their first meeting out, finally!! i've had that scene in my head for years....Magic's first impressions of Ruse were, oh geez well my head just got chopped off, but really Magic is quite used to that (her limbs are quite detachable! it doesn't hurt, she swears) and she was mostly concerned if Ruse was okay after fainting. She felt bad for startling her!! clearly, this girl was living on a hair-trigger...Magic wanted to make sure Magic herself wasn't too scary, though. She did feel a little self-conscious about causing such a fuss....

her POV has certainly changed- she knows now why Ruse was so scared, but they're definitely over that now. the story of their first meeting is a funny story Magic likes to tell while Ruse hides her face in (normal levels of) embarrassment. Magic knows Ruse is a big softie and gentle giant, who doesn't ever want to hurt anyone ever. She just wants to eat chicken wraps and go shopping and sing badly to her favorite songs as she sits pretty in Magic's passenger seat.

6. what does A think B thinks of them? or, if asked to describe their relationship, how would they do it? are they right? Ruse's POV

Ruse would hum and haw....emotions and perceptions are not her strong suit. but she'd shyly say that Magic really likes her. before their relationship is confirmed, Ruse is generally confused about Magic's feelings, but she can pick up on the fact that Magic always sticks up for her and takes her fun places and always jumps for a chance to hang out. they can spend a long time doing nothing together- their hangouts can easily span 9, 10, 11 hours, much longer than either of their social batteries. they spend their time recharging together, doing errands together....Ruse doesn't know how to explain things on the terms of internal feelings. she loves spending time with Magic, and she's pretty sure Magic does too.....right? she's right!!

8. is there anything they really disagree on? what are they most likely to argue about?

The most major thing these two disagree on is their variation in threshold, basically. they're both autistic/have a range of mental illnesses, from Magic's extreme sensory differences to Ruse's C-PTSD. And sometimes, things overlap and they clash. Ruse is very sensory-seeking, while Magic is not. Magic needs a lot of quiet time with minimal noises, and Ruse loves loud music and big crowds. Magic can handle going out for an hour or two, while Ruse wants to be at events from start to finish. sometimes they miss what the other wants, and they both get frustrated. Especially since both of them lack a lot of understanding in emotion/ conveying how they actually feel.

they're trying to find the perfect happy medium! Ruse learns to understand that Magic doesn't want to go to every loud party that she does- and Magic understands that Ruse can't stay at home parallel-playing all day. Magic likes to go to events for limited hours, and with aids like her headphones and sensory happy objects, and Ruse will happily wait for her. And if Ruse needs a day of distraction or loudness to block out the cluster of teeming slush in her brain, they'll cafe-hop or take part in outdoor activities. they do their best to make it work !

sometimes it doesn't always work out, and they are just truly incompatible in a way that neither of them will be happy. sometimes you just really wanna spend time with your bestgirlfriend, but she wants to do something that you Cannot Do- sure, they get ticked off. but they ultimately care about the happiness of the other, while preserving themselves.

and then youre gonna hit with Ruse and ESPERANZA. geezus...../posi thank you thank you thank you for bringing them up. they fuel me. they mean everything 2 me

RUSE AND ESPERANZA

13. if A needed help, how likely would they be to ask B for it? Ruse's POV ah! she would! not! Ruse is so terrible for asking for help, especially in her current situation. This Ruse we're talking about is not healing, chicken wrap eating Ruse, this is Ruse in the middle of an active coup. She firmly believes she is in this situation because she signed up for it. She does share her grievances with Esperanza, but that is different in her mind than asking for help. And even when Esperanza offers help, unrelated- she cannot take it.

15. what's A's absolute favorite (or least favorite) thing about B? Esperanza's POV

Esperanza's favorite thing about Ruse is her humor! And yes...Ruse is not TRYING to be funny, but Esperanza just loves how dry she is, how funny she is without trying...how earnest and genuine Ruse is, without needing to put on a face. Esperanza really admires that.

for what Esperanza dislikes the most, probably when Ruse's dryness turns to stubbornness, and then cost-sunk fallacy pride. She wishes she could knock Ruse outta her brain sometimes- she knows she can't.

7. are there any habits, mannerisms, practices etc. A does because of B? anything they do because they saw B doing it, or got advice from them about it, or something rubbed off on them? Esperanza's POV

Yes.....yes. quite a few. Esperanza is only just recently living in a physical body again (long story) and for a while, the only person she knew before she regained her memories was Ruse. Esperanza picked up lots of her little quirks to relearn how to exist.

One of the major ones is playing with her tail, Esperanza has never had a tail before, but she's seen how Ruse used it with her body language! So Esperanza tries her best to mirror those mannerisms. she wants to feel comfortable in her new shape and have others feel comfortable around her!

RUNO AND PEONY !!!! MY PARENTS

2. if asked to describe B to a stranger, what would A say? are they mostly truthful, or is there anything they omit? Runo's POV

I think he'd try to keep it on the lowdown best he can but he's such a wifeguy. he's weepy sobby over his wife and keeps hyping her up, did you know she's trying to publish a book she's so talented and such a good writer and so intelligent and eloquent and .....!!! i'm pretending he's not deathly shy in this situations, but honestly if Peony was brought up, he'd be gushing all about her.......man who loves a woman. augh

how does A refer to B (first name/last name/pet name/title/etc) in their head, to them directly, and to others? are they different? why? Peony's POV

This is a pretty simple answer, but to herself and to Runo, she calls him...Runo. To their kids, it's Dad. To strangers, she uses Brunowe, at Runo's request. To friends, it's whatever name they know him by (usually Runo) that's it! I mean she's got pet names but she doesn't throw those around too often, nor does she think in them!

she knows Runo is most comfy with Runo, but he's also really embarrassed to give people his nickname, hence the "this is my husband, Brunowe!" and if he ends up giving that person his nickname, that's his choice!

9. what do outsiders think their relationship is? do they consciously or unconsciously act different around others?

also kinda simple, but to others they're mostly like...aww a normal married couple. aw look, its Sunny/Indigo's parents. They just seem sweet, quiet, and in love. which they are usually anyway!

SPIRO AND TAI UAUUUGUUGUHGHHGHGHHH!!!!!!!!! CMON FISH!!!!!! I LOVE THESE GUYS........... NO ONE UNDERSTANDS /LH

2. if asked to describe B to a stranger, what would A say? are they mostly truthful, or is there anything they omit? Spiro's POV augh he's a husbandguy too. he'd be saying some real embarrassing shit he knows Tai would turn into a tomato to hear, and because it's Spiro, i can't guarantee it's PG. but yeah he's bringing up the opioid story. he's making dramatic hand motions. he's pulling out all the sickly sweet nicknames he knows Tai hates.

11. what's something A knows about B that most people don't? alternately, what's something most people believe about B that A doesn't? Tai's POV well....take everything I just said about Spiro's mannerisms above. most people see him as this really confident, semi-famous guy who is known for being very quick socially but also really weird.

what most people don't know (basically the only people being Tai, their daughter, and Star) is that Spiro is still handling a lot of things really poorly. he has bad coping mechanisms and he's scared shitless to leave his house alone, even for simple things like getting the mail. he's tethered to his house and even going in public with a safe person is too overwhelming, and Spiro tries to keep things light with a smile despite how terrified he is. ALL. THE. TIME.

everyone thinks he's completely over The Incident; this couldn't be further from the truth. i don't think there's an expiration date on trauma, but you know how Society is :(

only Tai is really deeply privy to how deep this goes, and he wouldn't share it with a soul unless Spiro was seriously in danger.

yay!

[boomboxboi]

How the BucciGang COPES 🌦️

Bruno Bucciarati

Coping?

What’s that?

He just puts all of his focus on everyone else.

If he can’t make himself happy, he can definitely make others happy.

A good jazz song and cooking helps.

Even though everyone seems to want to eat out whenever he cooks…

Or going for a fast drive.

Wind through his hair.

And the sea breeze on his face.

Distractions are a must for Bruno.

Focusing on things beyond his control are pointless so he focuses on what he can control.

Even if it feels like what he can control is extremely limited.

Leone Abbacchio

A bottle of wine.

Not that he should indulge in drinking when upset.

Music and gardening helps, though.

He will join Bruno on his chaotic car drives.

Solitude is what Leone thinks helps.

But that’s not actually what helps him.

Being around others makes his days a bit more bearable.

Also completing tasks.

Something about that smile Bruno gives when he completes a task given by him…

He also just enjoys hearing the rest of the gang laughing and joking around.

He needs to be around positive people because he gets too caught up in his own thoughts when he’s alone.

Pannacotta Fugo

Books.

Getting lost in the pages helps when he’s feeling like he’s ready to burst with anger.

Nature walks help, too.

Also likes to focus on what he can control.

But gets upset when things don’t always work out how he meticulously planned it.

Rage rooms do not help.

They just make him angrier.

He leaves them feeling like he needs to do more than just break something.

Hot tea also helps him calm down.

And he recently has started meditating.

Just don’t bother him when he’s trying to wind down.

Narancia Ghirga

Warm and fuzzy anything.

Socks?

Blankets?

You name it.

Of course, his impulse control is pretty bad.

Can justify buying anything, even if it’s useless, by saying it brings him joy.

Also likes to get his adrenaline pumping.

What he really needs is stability and a reminder that he has a support system now.

Gardens with Abbacchio.

It’s one of the few times he will either have serious conversations to process his childhood or simply sit in a comfortable silence.

Often works out because he struggles staying still.

Specifically enjoys cardio.

It gives him a sense of strength and control over his life.

And also gets rid of some pent up anger of his own.

Guido Mista

Skipping the dreaded number.

Also an avid exerciser.

But prefers lifting weights over cardio. 

Cooking also helps relax him.

And unlike Bruno, his food is edible.

Romance movies and music also put him in a good mood after something stressful.

And being around his friends.

Needs to work on not letting intrusive thoughts take over and should focus on ignoring them.

Rather than focusing on his rituals to avoid the dreaded number.

Also calms down by caring for the Pistols.

In a way, that’s self care, right?

Since they’re a physical manifestation of his soul?

Right?

Giorno Giovanna

After a particularly rough day, all Giorno needs are three things.

First, a beautiful scenery.

It could be a park, the ocean, or anything like that.

Second, he requires limited or no company.

Only those he’s close with should interact at these times.

Third, a puzzle book.

He likes to problem solve when he’s bothered by something.

Puzzle books and the right atmosphere and (sometimes) company give his brain that itch it needs to calm down.

Being able to solve any problem helps to improve his mood.

Trish Una

Retail therapy.

That dose of dopamine she gets when she buys something she likes increases her mood.

Though it isn’t exactly the most helpful tool.

But being around Mista and Narancia also lifts her mood.

They’re both just goofballs and she can’t stay angry at the world long enough when they’re both acting like fools.

Also venting.

Just verbalizing her frustrations instead of bottling them up generally helps.

It also lets her make sense of what the real issues she’s concerned over are.

And talking it over with a trusted friend gives good insights.

[boopernatural]

yoo not to keep copiously feeding the adult Ellie-verse brain goblin, but how about either appendicitis/emergency surgery and Ellie working through an adult being by her side and actually like. CARING about her recovery. like yeah, she’s known him for a while now, but the closest they got to This kind of care was when she got stung by the bee!! either that or joel shovel talking dina and maybe each of them finding out more about ellie from what she’s told each of them. and then manhandling her into therapy (affectionately)

this au takes up all my brainspace

fuck absolutely screaming at this what if it happens like when she’s house sitting over at Dina’s while she’s out of town or something? Ok so it’s a weekend and Ellie starts getting sick like Sunday morning, thinks she has the flu but she promised Dina she’d take care of her cat so she stays put.

By Sunday night she’s vomiting her brains out but she hates calling in sick so she’s gonna see how she feels in the morning.

Well, in the morning she is fucking dying, vomiting and in so much pain.

It’s like 7am and she’s kind of delirious, but she walks to the urgent care across the street, still thinking this is just the worst flu ever.

She leaves in an ambulance and ends up in the ER where they tell her she has serious appendicitis and needs to have surgery before it ruptures

MEANWHILE Joel and Tommy both notice she hasn’t shown up for work, which is extremely out of character. Tommy waits there in case she shows up and Joel is only able of waiting an hour after her shift starts and calling ten times before he has to go see if she’s okay.

Only to find she isn’t at her apartment

He is absolutely terrified because now he hasn’t heard from her since Saturday and it’s Monday and she’s missing.

He’s on his way to the police station when his phone rings and he realizes the hospital is calling him.

The hospital. Something bad happened to her, or they need him to identify her body or-

…appendicitis? Jesus Christ, this kid.

She’s already under when he gets there, so it’s a surprise when she wakes up to him at her bedside. He reminds her that he’s her emergency contact. And demands to know why the hell she didn’t call him to bring her here in the first place if her fucking appendix was rupturing.

Cue groggy, incoherent, post anesthesia Ellie and some heavy hurt/comfort where he confesses how worried he was and gives the gentlest care and comfort and takes care of her afterward 💕🥹🥺