#exit 82

[bemoreheritageposts]

be more chill heritage post

IM SCREAMING

[aquaticmines]

Its funny to think that there’s just a chunk of highway in Westopolis that Shadow particularly hates now

[where-does-the-heart-lie]

Water is Thicker Than Blood Chapter 82

TA DAAAA the infamous letter finally opened are you happy??

{Start} {Prev Next} {MasterPost}

So exited to hear yall's thoughts on this chapter its been 55 chapters in the making. Yall are gonna love the upcoming chapters i already know.

Theres gonna be a hiatus next week, sorry for the extra long cliff hanger. It's finals week for me and i should really pay attention to that instead of my anime boys, you now how it is.

[athenamikaelson]

A/N- finn is hot- don't try to fight me on this

Klaus Mikaelson X Soulmate!Reader x Elijah Mikaelson Ch. 25

Word Count- 3.2k

Warnings- mentions of STDS, sex, condoms, bananas, THEO, decapitation, Kardashians

“Why are you smiling like that?” I finish applying the lipstick Rebekah sent me as an apology gift for attacking Elena, and glance over to Theo leaning against the doorframe.

“I just had a good dream,” I mumble as I stand up from my desk and grab my jacket.

Theo hums.

“So it has nothing to do with you letting that mutt slobber all over you last night…or his brother coming over right after and spending the night with you… I must say sister, juggling two bitches,” Theo wipes away a fake tear, “I’m so proud of you.”

I whip around and glare at him, “Theodore Monty Y/l/n, watch it!”

Theo smirks at me and raises his hands. 

“All I’m saying is that like 3 weeks ago the only side piece you had on your arm was Elena, and now you’ve got two brothers. Upgrades sister, hell ya!”

Theo throws out his palm for me to high-five. I don’t. Instead, I walk around him and down the hallway to the front door. 

Theo continues to speak.

“Now I know you’ve had zero playtime soooo I think we should chat about this. For example, we should have the talk.”

I freeze. 

“Theo, I will smother you in your sleep if you continue to talk.”

“Y/n, I don’t like children, I don’t want any nieces or nephews running around.”

I glare over my shoulder at him, “They’re vampires, you dimwit. They can’t have kids.”

Theo thinks to himself for a moment before nodding, “Okay. Well, what about STDs? What if there are vampire STDs you could catch? One look at that mutt from last night and I bet he’s got something you can catch other than fleas.”

I feel my face drop as Theo continues to mutter things to himself about vampire sexually transmitted diseases. 

I shake my head, open the front door, and leave the house, hearing Theo call from behind me. 

“Fine run! But don’t think for a second young lady that we won’t be discussing things later! And trust next time I see either one of those fools I will be asking them about Vamp STDs!”

At that exact moment, our 82-year-old neighbor Shelley, exits her house. I’m pretty sure her look of pure shock and horror mirrors mine. 

“Oh hi Mrs. Davenport,” Theo yells happily.

—

“Hey Bonnie, how are you?”

The phone line is silent for a moment as I hear Bonnie closing a door.

“I’m fine…I guess. My mom’s going to finish her transition,” Bonnie’s sad voice makes me frown as I stare at the red light in front of me. 

“I’m sorry, Bonnie,” I think back to last night and try to shake away the image of Esther’s decapitated head from my head, “If I would’ve known your mother…”

“Don’t apoligize, Y/n. It’s not your fault. And ya… it sucks she has to become a vampire but…it beats losing you or Elena. And I swear, Y/n, as soon as Damon told me that if the originals died, you would die with them, I tried stopping the spell. I would have never done it in the first place if I knew you’d die too.”

Bonnie’s earnest voice makes me smile, “I trust you, Bon. And thank you.”

I hear someone say something to Bonnie and she sighs, “I’ve got to go.”

“It’s ok, Bonnie. We’ll talk soon. Give yourself some time with your mother before coming back to this mess over here. You deserve it.”

“Okay, thank you. And when I get back we’ll find a way to get you out of that soul bond mess and away from the Mikaelsons.”

“Uh, ya, ok. Bye, Bonnie.”

I end the call and pull into the Grill’s parking lot. As I step out of my car, cross the street, and enter the grill, one thought won’t leave my head.

“What if I don’t want to break the bond?”

—

“Y/n?”

I stop walking and smile when my eyes meet Finn’s brown ones.

“Hey, Finn,” I slide into the seat in the booth across from him and can’t help but smile at the obvious discomfort he has plastered on his face.

“You look…”

“Uncomfortable…yes I know. A lot of things have changed since I was last part of civilization,” Finn fiddles with the ring on his middle finger and it reminds me of the anxious tic I do quite often. 

“We could’ve met somewhere else. I know that being in big crowds like this unsettles me too,” I smile softly at him. 

Finn eyes a group of passersby wearily but still shakes his head, “No…I’m alright. If I’m going to be a part of this world I’ve got to learn to live with these things.”

I nod, “Okay. So, why exactly did you have Rebekah call me to meet you here?” Finn turns his attention away from a drunk woman who seems to be having the time of her life, “You said you’d help me find my Rose.”

Oh…ya I did. 

I cringe slightly, “So here’s the thing Finn,” I’m about to tell Finn that there is no way in hell Bonnie would agree to bring another old ass vampire to Mystic Falls after what just went down, but as I look at the helpless expression on Finn’s face and the loneliness in his eyes, something in my breaks, “My witch is currently out of town for a family thing,” Finn’s shoulders sag and his face drops, “But, she said she’d be happy to help as soon as she gets back.”

Finn eyes me for a moment before a soft smile on his face appears, “I’ve waited 900 years for her…a little longer will be fine. Thank you for helping me, Y/n, I know you don’t have to but…”

“Finn we’re friends, that’s what friends do,” I say simply and Finn frowns. 

“Friends?”

The way he says the word aloud is as if he’s never heard it before.

“I mean you don’t have to be my friend, I was just-”

“I would like it,” Finn interrupts me, “It’s just that I’ve never really…had one before.”

His words bring back memories of me crying in my room, wondering why no one ever wanted to be around me and it makes me realize just how much me and this 1,000-year-old man have in common. 

“Well, I just got my first friend like 3 months ago, so I’m pretty new to this whole friend thing too.”

Finn frowns, “I don’t understand why someone wouldn’t want to be friends with you.”

I shrug, “I’m peculiar, remember?”

Finn’s upper lip twitches, “That we are.”

—

“Wait… so Kim is the oldest?”

I groan at Finn’s words, “Finnias, no! We’ve been over this Kourtney is the oldest! Kim is the one dating Kanye.”

Finn nods thoughtfully, “And we don’t like Kanye?”

I shake my head, “No because he was mean to Taylor Swift.”

I watch as the wheels turn in Finn’s head as he continues to piece together all the information on pop culture I’ve given him in the past hour. 

“Alright, I think I’m understanding. Actually…remind me again who Hannah Montana is?”

“Well, don’t you two look comfy together!”

I roll my eyes as I turn to see Demon Salvawhore smirking down at Finnias and I.

“What do you want, Demon?”

“I thought his name was Damon,” Finn questions me with a confused look.

“It is, but I still haven’t seen him and Lucifer in the same place at once so I call him Demon.”

Finn nods but looks down at his hands with a confused look.

“I just saw you two here chatting it up so I thought I might come say hi.”

“Well, we’re kind of in the middle of something here. So feel free to take your leave,” I glare at him.

“It’s alright, Y/n,” Finn says and I turn to see him getting out of the booth, “I should probably get back to make sure my siblings are still alright. But…thank you, for today and helping me.”

I smile up at Finn, “Anytime, Finnieas. And I’ll talk to Klaus about buying you that phone so I can show you how to text.”

Finn nods his head, smiling, and then walks away.

My smile falls as I glance back to Demon.

“What do you want?” “Why are you avoiding me?”

I blink slowly at him, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Damon gives me an “Are you serious” look.

“Don’t play dumb with me, Pukey. I’ve tried calling you all night last night and all this morning. Only to find you here with yet another original.”

I stand up and glare at him, “Finn is my friend.”

“Ya? Just like Elijah and Klaus are right?”

This bitch.

“I’m not doing this with you right now, Damon. Leave me alone.”

I turn and walk away but Damon’s hand grabs my upper arm.

“Y/n, stop.”

“Is there a problem here, Y/n?”

I turn to my right to find Rebekah at my side, glaring at Damon.

“No, Rebekah. Nothing I can’t handle.”

Rebekah smiles at me but doesn’t move. 

Damon drops my arm but doesn’t leave, “Why are you mad at me?”

It’s my turn to give him an “Are you serious” look, “Really Damon?! You almost killed the Mikaelson yesterday, which almost killed me, and then you actually did kill Bonnie’s mom who is now turning into a vampire?!”

Damon rolls his eyes and I fight the urge to slap him.

“Bonnie’s mom needed to die,” He says simply and I glare at him.

“And why was that?”

Damon doesn’t blink, “Because it came down to you or her,” His voice comes out strong, “And I’d pretty much kill everyone in this town if it meant my best friend stayed alive.”

Oh, Jesus Christ, I’m going to cry.

“Oh…”

Damon tilts his head, annoyed,  “That’s all you have to say. Oh?”

The next thing I know I’m throwing my arms around him. 

Damon doesn’t move for a moment, but after a few seconds his arms wrap around me and he pats my head awkwardly, “Ya, okay, Pukey. Love you too.”

I let go of Damon and fight back tears in my eyes. Damon rolls his eyes and fies his jacket trying to act tough. 

“You’re too emotional,” He says nonchalantly.

I punch him in the arm, “You just called me your best friend. Not takebacks, Demon.”

Damon rolls his eyes dramatically, “Ya whatever, Pukey.”

He reaches out a hand and messes up my hair before turning around and walking away, not before I spot the small smile on his face.

“You guys are odd.”

Rebekah’s British accent makes me remember she’s standing beside me. 

“Ya, kind of.”

Rebekah rolls her blue eyes and a wave of jealousy flows through me. How is it that someone can be this pretty?! 

“So…Elijah didn’t come back until early this morning,” Rebekah’s lips morph into a smirk, “Do you know anything about that?”

I feel my face heat up, “Um…nope.”

Rebekah raises an eyebrow, “Are you sure? Because the smile that was plastered on his face all this morning says otherwise.”

I furrow my brows, “What does him smiling have to do with me?”

Rebekah gives me an “Are you serious” look, guess it’s common today, “Maybe because the only time my older brother smiles is when he’s around you…And he was really smiling this morning.” 

At her tone I freeze, “Wait…do you think that we…” I move my hands around, “Y’know…”

Rebekah raises an eyebrow at me, “Well, didn’t you?”

I shake my head viciously, “No! All we did was kiss and then he watched Coraline with me until I went to sleep!”

Rebekah’s face falls, “Seriously? You’ve got my older brother all giddy after one kiss.”

I shrug, “I doubt he was “giddy”.

Rebekah nods her head, “Oh trust me, he was practically singing when he was making his morning coffee. 

I snort out a laugh at her words and try to imagine Elijah singing. 

“I like seeing him that way…happy. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen any of my siblings like that.”

At her solemn voice, I frown, “How are you doing? After everything…”

Rebekah shrugs, “I’m fine. There’s no reason why I shouldn’t be.”

Her dismissal has me frowning deeper, “Bekah, you’re mother died. I know that she tried to kill you but it doesn’t change the fact that she was still your mother.”

Rebekah looks at me but her face doesn’t betray how she’s really feeling, “I’m fine, Y/n. Finn was the mummy’s boy. I don’t give a damn about that woman.”

I nod but still don’t believe her, “Well if you ever do need to talk to someone. You can always call me.”

Rebekah eyes me for a moment skeptically, then nods, “I won’t need to but…thanks. I guess,” Her attention strays for a moment, “There is someone I need to go talk to. Goodbye, Y/n.”

“Bye, Rebekah.”

—

I pull into my driveway but feel a frown come over my face as I notice an unfamiliar expensive-looking black car in my usual parking spot.

I park beside it and hurry into the house, worrying about Theo.

“Theo! Are you okay-”

“So, both of you have your bananas, and these right here are condoms,” I turn the corner and my jaw drops as I see Theo holding up a banana and a Trojan condom. An unfamiliar sound comes out of my mouth when I look at the two figures sitting on the couch before him with bananas in their hands and annoyed looks on their faces. Klaus and Elijah. 

“Theo what the hell are you doing?!?”

My yell of utter horror catches the three men’s attention.

“Oh, goody! Sister, I’m glad you’re here,” Theo drops his banana on the coffee table before Klaus and Elijah, a table that is covered in condoms and STD pamphlets, “After our little talk this morning I got to thinking and decided that if you and I aren’t going to talk about the elephants in the room, I’d just call up your boyfriends and have that chat with them myself.”

I stare wide-eyed at Elijah and Klaus, “And you both agreed to this?!?”

Elijah releases a deep sigh and Klaus glares at my little brother, “Your infant here called us and said we had to get over here because you were in danger.”

Theo raises his hands, “YES! In danger of catching a vampire STD.”

“Theo! Those don’t exist,” I screech at him.

“That’s exactly what we’ve tried to explain to him for the past 30 minutes, Elskan. For some reason, it isn’t sticking,” Elijah raises his head and shoots a dirty look at my brother. 

“Thirty minutes!? You’ve been sitting here for thirty minutes letting my 16-year-old brother have the sex talk with you!?”

“Well, 15 of those minutes were filled with threats,” Klaus mutters.

I glare at him, “I thought I told you to stop threatening my brother.”

Klaus turns his glare onto me and raises his hands in exhaustion, “The threats were from him, Love! And they were quite imaginative.”

“Thank you, I’ve been working on them for a while now,” Theo smirks at Klaus, and the hybrid growls at him. 

“Niklaus, please,” Elijah sighs.

Theo turns his attention back onto me, “Well now that you’re here,” He drags me over to a chair and pushes me down into, “I can finally give you the talk.”

“What talk,” Elijah asks confused.

Theo looks at him like he’s stupid, “The sex talk, dumbass. Since you,” He points to Elijah, “Like to spend the night in my sister’s bed without asking me permission. And you,” He points to Klaus, “Like to slobber all over her like the dog you are. I thought it would be a good idea to have this discussion before things move further. Now gentleman pick your bananas back up.”

“Theo! NO!”

Theo ignores me and smiles at Klaus and Elijah, who haven’t moved.

“One more dog joke out of you, Theodora and I swear I’ll-”

“Niklaus!”

Elijah and Klaus eye each other and Theo just stands there tapping his shoe on the hardwood floor. 

“Theo go to your room, right now,” I stand up and glare at him, “We are not having this discussion right now…or ever!”

“But the vampire STDS!”

“Theodore there are no such things as vampire STDS! GO TO YOUR ROOM!”

My yelling has all three men looking at me wearily. 

Theo raises his hands in surrender, “Ok, fine. Just trying to help.”

“And leave the condom here!”

Theo halts and turns back to the table and Klaus, Elijah, and I watch as Theo empties maybe 30 condoms from his jeans. 

“Bloody hell,” Klaus mutters.

I glare at Theo as he skips out of the living room and down the hall to his room. As soon as I hear his door close I run a hand over my face.

“Elskan-”

I raise a hand stopping Elijah before he can continue. 

“Nope. Whatever you’re going to say…just nope.” 

“Well, I’m never going to look at a banana the same way,” Klaus’ says sarcastically and I’m silent for a moment before a loud laugh escapes my mouth.  

I move my hands from my face and find Klaus smirking at me, and Elijah smiling softly at me with a bright look in his eyes. 

“Why didn’t you both just leave,” I asked incredulously, “You two are the strongest and oldest creatures alive, and yet you stayed to have a teenage boy teach you how condoms work?!”

Klaus and Elijah side-eye each other. 

Elijah stands from his seat and fixes his suit jacket, “When we heard that you were in danger we hurried over here as fast as we could…but when we came inside and found this,” He gestures to the table of condoms and bananas, “We were going to leave.”

“And then Theodora locked the door behind us and told us that if we didn’t sit down and shut up he’d never give us his approval. And then said that we can bet our asses that if we don’t have his approval, you’d never speak to us again. I of course told him to go to hell but my brother here sat down like the good boy he is,” Klaus says and rolls his eyes.

“And yet you’re still here,” Elijah mutters. 

“So let me get this straight,” I look to both of them, “You endured Theo’s company for 30 minutes, just because you want his approval?!”

“If his approval means you accepting us…then of course we did.”

Klaus mutters something about Theo and daggers, but I ignore him. 

“You really care that much?”

Klaus and Elijah both give me “Are you serious” looks. 

“Love, I thought we made our thoughts about you quite known,” Klaus says as he stands, “We want you. Even if that means you come with a less than exceptional little brother as baggage.”

I snort at Klaus’ words and Elijah walks across the table and over to me, “There is nothing in this world I desire more than your company and happiness, Y/n. Please believe me when I say that.”

I feel my face heat up at the attention of the two men and I nod.

“I believe you.”

“Great,” Klaus says then pauses, “Also…I was just wondering what exactly was discussed by you and Theodora to warrant all of this,” He gestures to the table with a smirk. 

Oh fuck.

[bemoreheritageposts]

be more chill heritage post

Jerm & Jerm!

[rotzaprachim]

yeah i think the amount of time the left and wider liberal/centrist american culture have spent nitpicking the politics and Sketchyyyy national and international opinions of the american jews who make up 2% of the national population and went about 80% for Harris in comparison to the amount of time spent unpacking and analysing the nice corn fed applebees racism of the christians and evangelicals who make up over half the country and went wildly for trump - 82% in evangelicals' case- might be something reallllly worthwhile of a serious little think. a serious chat. idk. maybe time for some self reflection.

my point isn't that american jews are politically perfect or harmless but that i think we've been exotified and scapegoated on a systemic level in a way that has genuinely and systemically allowed the normal and Comfortable mainstream american christian conservatism to go sliding under the ice as a weird little national quirk

[macrolit]

The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century.

As voted on by 503 novelists, nonfiction writers, poets, critics and other book lovers — with a little help from the staff of The New York Times Book Review.

NYT Article.

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

Q: How many of the 100 have you read? Q: Which ones did you love/hate? Q: What's missing?

Here's the full list.

100. Tree of Smoke, Denis Johnson 99. How to Be Both, Ali Smith 98. Bel Canto, Ann Patchett 97. Men We Reaped, Jesmyn Ward 96. Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments, Saidiya Hartman 95. Bring Up the Bodies, Hilary Mantel 94. On Beauty, Zadie Smith 93. Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel 92. The Days of Abandonment, Elena Ferrante 91. The Human Stain, Philip Roth 90. The Sympathizer, Viet Thanh Nguyen 89. The Return, Hisham Matar 88. The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis 87. Detransition, Baby, Torrey Peters 86. Frederick Douglass, David W. Blight 85. Pastoralia, George Saunders 84. The Emperor of All Maladies, Siddhartha Mukherjee 83. When We Cease to Understand the World, Benjamin Labutat 82. Hurricane Season, Fernanda Melchor 81. Pulphead, John Jeremiah Sullivan 80. The Story of the Lost Child, Elena Ferrante 79. A Manual for Cleaning Women, Lucia Berlin 78. Septology, Jon Fosse 77. An American Marriage, Tayari Jones 76. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, Gabrielle Zevin 75. Exit West, Mohsin Hamid 74. Olive Kitteridge, Elizabeth Strout 73. The Passage of Power, Robert Caro 72. Secondhand Time, Svetlana Alexievich 71. The Copenhagen Trilogy, Tove Ditlevsen 70. All Aunt Hagar's Children, Edward P. Jones 69. The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander 68. The Friend, Sigrid Nunez 67. Far From the Tree, Andrew Solomon 66. We the Animals, Justin Torres 65. The Plot Against America, Philip Roth 64. The Great Believers, Rebecca Makkai 63. Veronica, Mary Gaitskill 62. 10:04, Ben Lerner 61. Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver 60. Heavy, Kiese Laymon 59. Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides 58. Stay True, Hua Hsu 57. Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich 56. The Flamethrowers, Rachel Kushner 55. The Looming Tower, Lawrence Wright 54. Tenth of December, George Saunders 53. Runaway, Alice Munro 52. Train Dreams, Denis Johnson 51. Life After Life, Kate Atkinson 50. Trust, Hernan Diaz 49. The Vegetarian, Han Kang 48. Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi 47. A Mercy, Toni Morrison 46. The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt 45. The Argonauts, Maggie Nelson 44. The Fifth Season, N.K. Jemisin 43. Postwar, Tony Judt 42. A Brief History of Seven Killings, Marlon James 41. Small Things Like These, Claire Keegan 40. H Is for Hawk, Helen Macdonald 39. A Visit from the Goon Squad, Jennifer Egan 38. The Savage Detectives, Roberto Balano 37. The Years, Annie Ernaux 36. Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates 35. Fun Home, Alison Bechdel 34. Citizen, Claudia Rankine 33. Salvage the Bones, Jesmyn Ward 32. The Lines of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst 31. White Teeth, Zadie Smith 30. Sing, Unburied, Sing, Jesmyn Ward 29. The Last Samurai, Helen DeWitt 28. Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell 27. Americanah, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 26. Atonement, Ian McEwan 25. Random Family, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc 24. The Overstory, Richard Powers 23. Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage, Alice Munro 22. Behind the Beautiful Forevers, Katherine Boo 21. Evicted, Matthew Desmond 20. Erasure, Percival Everett 19. Say Nothing, Patrick Radden Keefe 18. Lincoln in the Bardo, George Saunders 17. The Sellout, Paul Beatty 16. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon 15. Pachinko, Min Jin Lee 14. Outline, Rachel Cusk 13. The Road, Cormac McCarthy 12. The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion 11. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz 10. Gilead, Marilynne Robinson 9. Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro 8. Austerlitz, W.G. Sebald 7. The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead 6. 2666, Roberto Bolano 5. The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen 4. The Known World, Edward P. Jones 3. Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel 2. The Warmth of Other Suns, Isabel Wilkerson 1. My Brilliant Friend, Elena Ferrante

[mariacallous]

President Donald Trump's support among Latinos has plummeted as he nears his first 100 days in office, with many saying they feel betrayed by the scope of his policies, particularly immigration enforcement.

Concretely, almost three in four Latinos (72%) now disapprove of the way Trump is handling his job as president, with 54% who do so strongly, according to a new poll by the Pew Research Center. Only Black people surveyed have a higher disapproval rate of Trump, with 82%.

The scenario contrasts with the gains made by Trump with the demographic in the last election, swinging 19 points to favor Trump nationally compared with 2020, according to preliminary exit polls. Harris still won a slight majority of the electorate, 52% to 46%, but it was a dramatic decrease over Joe Biden's 33-point margin in 2020.

Overall, 59% of respondents disapprove of Trump, compared to 40% who agree. Only Whites are close to having a net approval of the Republican, with 49% approving of him, including 39% who strongly do so. Asians, the other Demographic surveyed, shows a 69% disapproval rate, compared to a 29% approval one.

Partisanship continues to be a significant factor in people's views: more than 9 in 10 Democrats disapprove of Trump, with only 7% approving. In contrast, 75% of Republicans continue to approve of him, but almost one in four now disapprove (24%) with 14% disapproving strongly.

[bemoreheritageposts]

be more chill heritage post

Exit 82 Theatre announced their cast for Be More Chill! Matt Dalton as Jeremy, Ryan Everett Wood as Michael, Lizz Ritacco as Christine, Sal Pavia as the Squip, Jason Arellano as Rich, Lisa Adams as Chloe, Katie McGrath as Brooke, Emily Neilsen as Jenna, Billy Cardone as Jake, Vincent DiStefano as Mr. Heere/Mr. Reyes, Carly Cosentino, Frankie Confalone, and Bridget Hughes as ensemble stars.

Please be respectful of the new cast!!

[finelythreadedsky]

JSTOR Wrapped: top ten JSTOR articles of 2023

Coo, Lyndsay. “A Tale of Two Sisters: Studies in Sophocles’ Tereus.” Transactions of the American Philological Association 143, no. 2 (2013): 349–84.

Finglass, P. J. “A New Fragment of Sophocles’ ‘Tereus.’” Zeitschrift Für Papyrologie Und Epigraphik 200 (2016): 61–85.

Foxhall, Lin. “Pandora Unbound: A Feminist Critique of Foucault’s History of Sexuality.” In Sex and Difference in Ancient Greece and Rome, edited by Mark Golden and Peter Toohey, 167–82. Edinburgh University Press, 2003.

Garrison, Elise P. “Eurydice’s Final Exit to Suicide in the ‘Antigone.’” The Classical World 82, no. 6 (1989): 431–35.

Grethlein, Jonas. “Eine Anthropologie Des Essens: Der Essensstreit in Der ‘Ilias’ Und Die Erntemetapher in Il. 19, 221-224.” Hermes 133, no. 3 (2005): 257–79.

McClure, Laura. “Tokens of Identity: Gender and Recognition in Greek Tragedy.” Illinois Classical Studies 40, no. 2 (2015): 219–36.

Purves, Alex C.  “Wind and Time in Homeric Epic.” Transactions of the American Philological Association 140, no. 2 (2010): 323–50.

Richlin, Amy. “Gender and Rhetoric: Producing Manhood in the Schools.” In Sex and Difference in Ancient Greece and Rome, edited by Mark Golden and Peter Toohey, 202–20. Edinburgh University Press, 2003.

Rood, Naomi. “Four Silences in Sophocles’ ‘Trachiniae.’” Arethusa 43, no. 3 (2010): 345–64.

Zeitlin, Froma I. “The Dynamics of Misogyny: Myth and Mythmaking in the Oresteia.” Arethusa 11, no. 1/2 (1978): 149–84.

[two-white-butterflies]

the last time | m33 and c55

Description: You wanted to be his priority - is that too much to ask? After moving on from Max, he sees you around the paddock - with someone that treats you so much better.

Pairing: max verstappen/indie-actress!reader, carlos sainz/actress!reader (eventual)

Rating: Teen [angst]

taglist forms

yourname_daisies: happy new year everyone ✨ have a blessed 2021. i found love last year and i hope that you find yours this year. 💕

82 comments 12,349 likes

maxverstappen1: 🦁❤️🎉

thisloveisgood: my fav actress to f1 wag pipeline

bestianlives7: we gotta gatekeep her

esties9nando: This white man stole my wife??

Max reminded you of summer. Sunny. Smiling. Warm. He was your vacation, your rest and your home. "I missed you," you mumbled leaning deeper into his touch. "How was filming?" he inquired, pouring you a glass of wine. "Hectic, but nothing compared to racing." you chuckled - pressing a kiss to his jaw.

This year - everything revolved around him. It revolved around his practices and how he could fight to win the WDC. He slumped on the sofa beside you - reaching for the blanket and allowing it to cover the lower part of your torso.

"What movie are we going to watch?" he reached for the popcorn in the coffee table. Excited for what kind of film you'd choose. Last time it was horror - but you were in a romantic mood. "Something romantic comedy, I kinda wanna sleep tonight." you chuckled, browsing through Netflix's large catalogue of movies.

A small exhale exits his mouth - the air conditioner was making the room colder. A perfect temperature for watching a movie. "I can't wait until we get to watch you in Netflix," he prophecized. "I have a feeling that it's going to be soon." you smiled.

"Yeah, we'll watch your movie next month right? Licorice Pizza, I've already told everyone to watch it." he boasted, showing you that he did his job spreading the good word on the grid. A small giggle escapes your mouth - seeing that dedicated smile on his face.

"I can't find anything - let's just rewatch black mirror." you sighed, pressing on the familiar poster. It wasn't like you were going to watch a single thing tonight.

yourname_daisies: a piece of art ✨

18 comments 3,492 likes

maxverstappen1: ❤️📸

licorizepizza: 💕

y/nsuperfan: when she posts him all the time but he doesn't post her 😭 you can do so much better than this queen.

Carlossainz55: hermosa y hermoso 💪🏽 - yourname_daisies: gracias señor ✨

"Max Verstappen! You are champion of the world!" the man behind you screams into his mic. Even though your boyfriend finished second in the race - he won the WDC. "He did it!" you smiled, embracing your friend who was cheering for the both of you.

Max steps out of his car - jumping with joy as he began to embrace his team. He hugged Christian first, then his best friend then one of his engineers - but he passed you. He didn't even look in your direction. That was the moment you knew. You weren't his priority.

Mijn Pearl (Y/N L/N) Congratulations on the WDC Maxie! I'm so proud of you!!

You stared at the message that you sent out to him. It's been six hours. According to your friends he's currently partying in the redbull yacht - completely oblivious of your existence. "Did he seriously forget about you again? Just because he's champion of the world doesn't mean that he's allowed to forget you." your best friend antagonized - annoyed that you were being treated this way.

"He's probably overwhelmed with winning. I'm sure that he hasn't touched his phone since." you hid your phone inside your pocket. About to cry because of his neglect. He didn't even look at you. It was like - you disappeared into thin air.

"I don't care about him. Let's go party!" your friend screamed, pulling you inside one of the nightclubs. You shrug. It was probably the best thing to do. Anything to take your mind off him.

Carlos sits beside you - a cup of water at hand. "What are you doing here?" you inquire, surprised to see him in this kind of place. "I ditched the redbull party a few hours ago. Me and Lando were looking for you." he informed, taking a shot of his vodka.

A fake smile paints your lips - you completely forgot about how furious you felt about Max. "I decided to hang out with my friends," you lied - not wanting to talk shit about your boyfriend. "Ahh, I see. Do you want more alcohol? Lando will drive us home." he half-yelled due to the techno music blasting the room. "Yeah!" your best friend yelled in return, dancing to the tune with her upper body.

"Shit, are we gonna get that drunk?" you giggled, already seeing the drinks pile in your table. Soon enough Lando and Carlos were sitting beside you. Gossiping about F1 and other team's strategy. "Bottoms up!" Carlos suddenly yelled, prompting for all of you to take shots.

Carlossainz55: Anyone know what's happening? 🤣

798 comments 239,192 likes (posted 3:23 am)

foolishone38: Who is the girl in the second slide? With the black hair? She's so hot 😭 - bechele87: she's max's gf - foolishone38: not anymore...

imolatifosi5: y/n wasn't in the redbull afterparty? how was carlos hanging out with her? and where is max?

Gluteous Maximus (Max Verstappen) Where are you?

Mijn Pearl (Y/N L/N) Hey I'm in Lando's apartment. me n BSF/N so drunk 💀 we had to haul ass to the closest room

Gluteous Maximus (Max Verstappen) u safe? i can pick u up

Mijn Pearl (Y/N L/N) I'm too sleepy. I'll meet u in the hotel room tom. ily congratulations baby 💗

Gluteous Maximus (Max Verstappen) Thank you! ❤️ night

You couldn't stop crying on the drive home.

"I can't believe that I'm feeling this way." you wiped the tears away from your eyes, drunkenly mumbling about how Max made you feel alone. "You poor thing," your best friend pulled your head closer to her chest. "I felt invisible," you sobbed while Carlos rubbed comforting circles on your back. "It's normal to feel that way," he mumbled - unsure on how to comfort you.

"You need to talk to him - communication is the most important part of a relationship." Lando lectured while driving his car around the busy city. "Since when did you become an expert in love?" Carlos slurred, body moving alongside the car. "Since now." Lando popped his lips, halting in front of his apartment building.

"I don't know the entire story but I'm on your side." he removed his seatbelt, opening the door to his car.

yourname_daisies: 'Licorice Pizza' is nominated for three academy awards. I'm so proud of us! 💗✨

89 comments 28,129 likes

maxverstappen1: congratulations ❤️ - yourname_daisies: thank you max

LandoNorris: Don't forget us when ur rich n famous

You didn't tell him about the troubles that you were feeling in the relationship. You figured that time would heal everything, and his fame would settle down - but it never did. The fame never got to his head - but the neglect got to yours.

"Max, can we get an autograph?" his fans followed the both of you around. At first, he entertained them - but as more of them draw closer you both attempted to run away. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, attempting to navigate a crowded street.

One of the paparazzis bumped your shoulder. And the worst thing happened. He dropped your hand - and you swore that this would be the last time. The last time you dealt with this.

MAX VERSTAPPEN AND GIRLFRIEND CONFIRM BREAKUP.

(TWO YEARS LATER)

Carlossainz55: We look good together, no? ✨

0 comments 349,239 likes

comments have been restricted.

Max didn't think that he'd ever see you again.

He's read articles about your new life. How you won an Oscar a year after breaking up with him. How your dating one of his friends.

He sees you from across the paddock - wearing a color that he'd never thought he'd see you wear. Red. Ferrari red. With Carlos Sainz trailing behind you loyally.

He sees you walking towards him, and he contemplates on whether or not he should say 'hi'. He sees you walking towards him - until you're already past him. Bumping shoulders but never looking back.

[atwhughesversion]

Canucksblr’s “most Canuckian experience” bracket — Round 1, Poll 1

helloooo canucksblr, welcome to the initial bracket for our tournament! (more info can be found here).

we’ll do one poll, which will be open 24 hours, per day for the next several weeks. in each post, below the poll, i will provide more context if necessary/possible for the two canucks moments™️ that you are choosing between — it’s been a long season, and maybe you’ve forgotten the details to some things in the bracket.

once the bracket is done i will also present some other notable canucks moments that exceeded the 16-spots for this bracket so if you have something that you don’t see represented above, feel free to still send it in and i will add it in there!

todays poll:

the context:

demko, our beloved goalie, was injured in march 2024. he came back for the end of the season, but was injured again in game 1 of the playoffs. then we found out he would not be ready for the start of training camp (he ended up not playing until december 2024). the reason? he had a torn popliteus, and by demko’s own admission, he was the first NHL player to ever have this injury (making it difficult to work out a recovery plan). not goalie, player. they could only find a few other professional athletes at all who had experienced this. what a trendsetter, thatcher…

this season has been riddled with injuries — it’s felt like we constantly had players exiting games early. we finally made it to the final game of the season, and were already eliminated from the playoffs. but, just so the hockey gods could laugh at us once more, lankinen, our other beloved goalie, had some muscle strain and ended up having to leave the game early.

[bemoreheritageposts]

be more chill heritage post

so apparently during the friday performance of Exit82′s be more chill @incendiarysongbird informed me that Michael lost his mountain dew red in his backpack during the play scene and i don’t think i found anything funnier 

[idontknowreallywhy]

(Explanation for this reposting spree here)

Composition (MIA Series Part 3)

Chapter 4 - Poco a Poco Crescendo*

(*Getting gradually louder)

Hope is a song in the darkness.

Love is the courage to wait until you hear it.

💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚

He still wasn’t talking. Occasionally it looked as though he wanted to but that flash of panic would cross his face and he’d press his lips together and gaze into the distance.

The doctors said it was just a matter of patience - of waiting for him to be ready. But they’d also said Virgil was ready to go home and they couldn’t have been more wrong about that so in all honesty he had stopped paying them much mind.

Virgil knew his brother could form words because he muttered… pleaded… screamed them in his sleep. Not in a language Virgil could readily understand… he’d borrowed Dad’s phone once when he had stepped out to have a discussion with the consultant and whispered the clearest and most common sound into the translation app - uciec - flee? But the rest were too jumbled and it didn’t recognise his attempts as words.

It was probably better not to know.

But the not knowing clawed at him. How could he help his brother recompose his melody when he didn’t recognise the darker notes in the harmonic line?

Step by step, that’s how. He clung to the faint note of hope that resided in his chest. He had to believe that when Scott started talking it would be ok, that they could work it out together.

But so far the best Virgil could get out of him was when he’d hum along a little as Virgil sang. Sometimes it would match what he was singing, other times not so much. The clearest was when he sang Mom’s lullaby - then the tune was clearly recognisable, if husky and faint.

💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚

It was three in the morning and Virgil had startled awake, heart pounding, as his brother shouted again in his sleep. Within seconds, a nurse was at the bedside checking Scott’s stats, flicking a small torch over his face. After presumably confirming all was well with the machines they paused for a moment to pat a now quietly slumbering Scott on the shoulder before making a swift exit.

As soon as the door clicked shut, Virgil tiptoed across the floor and settled himself in his usual chair by Scott’s right shoulder. Leaning forward on the fall rail, he hummed to calm himself as he made a cursory check of the various readouts. Mostly same as usual: Moderate fever, blood pressure uncomfortable but not too concerning, oxygen sats were ok. So much better than they had been at the start. The maddening beep of the pulse monitor had thankfully been shut off but the gleaming red number betrayed a rate edging on tachycardia. Again, as expected in the immediate aftermath of a nightmare. Which was… a lot of the time.

He watched as it began to tick downwards - 102, 101, 100, 99, 98, 97, 96… 92, 87, 86… it hadn’t been that low yet, he must finally be resting… 84, 82, 80, 79… Virgil’s own galloping heart rate slowed a little too. This was good. This had to be a good sign.

He turned and reached out a hand to stroke Scott’s hair and his heart jumped nearly from his chest as the glow of the monitor screen reflected eerily from the wide dark eyes gazing up at him.

“Hey Scotty.”

His right arm lifted a little and Virgil took his hand and squeezed it. Scott frowned a little as if concentrating and Virgil’s fingers were squished together, just a little, just for a moment.

“Love you too.”

It was hard to tell in the near darkness but there seemed something different in Scott’s wildly dilated eyes. A sense of intent in the tiny muscles surrounding them. As if right now he meant to be looking rather than staring passively.

Virgil did his best reassuring smile and maintained the eye contact as gently as he could. After a little while his brother seemed to sag, exhausted and let his eyes drift closed again. Another little hand squeeze which Virgil returned while brushing the sweaty strands of too long hair from Scott’s cheek.

“You want to get some kip now, Scotty…” the tiny shake of the head rejected the suggestion before Virgil had even finished asking “… or shall we sing a little bit first?” Another squeeze confirmed.

Virgil unlocked the safety rail and shuffled forwards to drape an arm across his big brother’s emaciated chest and rest his head on the overly angular shoulder. Ever so quietly he began to sing her song and relished the sound and feel of the faint hum of accompaniment vibrating in Scott’s throat.

They’d get there they’d get there they’d get there.

A trickle of wetness ran into his hair and he faltered, his throat closing before he could reach the end of the line. He swallowed hard to recover then realised Scott had finished it for him.

“… eee.”

So softly, barely audible but it was there. It was more than a hum it was a vowel sound. The RIGHT vowel sound.

Hardly daring to believe it, Virgil started again:

“You’ll soar through the…”

“… ‘ky”

“Or sail on the…”

“… eee”

“And when you get…”

“…. hhhohh…

“That’s where I shall…”

“.. eee”

Virgil wasn’t sure whether his emotions had stumbled out in the form of giggle or a sob, perhaps somewhere in-between. With a satisfied hum, Scott pressed his cheek into his head and the timid, hopeful note in Virgil’s heart swelled into a triumphant chord of determination.

They were going to go home. Together.

💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚

And yes, the song is written and makes an appearance later.

Previous Chapter

Next story…

[lesmisshippingshowdown]

Round 2 Exit Polls - now with added Steal Points!

Hi all, as requested last night here's an update on the running totals for our two concurrent steal contests.

Friendly reminder that we are STILL OPEN FOR STEAL SUBMISSIONS until March 19th @ 19:30 GMT/UTC! If you're in line to post a fanwork STAY IN LINE!!!!

Anyway, without further ado... the stats.

ROUND OF 16 STEAL

Combeferre/Enjolras vs. Bahorel/Bahorel's Laughing Mistress

Popular Vote Total: Combeferre/Enjolras 61% vs. Bahorel/Bahorel's Laughing Mistress 39%

No steal works submitted yet!

Cosette/Marius vs. Enjolras/Feuilly

Popular Vote Total: Cosette/Marius 64.8% vs Enjolras/Feuilly 35.2%

Total + Steal Points: Cosette/Marius 62.6% vs Enjolras/Feuilly 37.4%

A small dent in the margin from Enjolras/Feuilly steal works!

Cosette/Éponine vs. Marius/Enjolras

Popular Vote Total: Cosette/Éponine 74.9% vs. Enjolras/Marius 25.1%

Total + Steal Points: Cosette/Éponine 77.8% vs. Enjolras/Marius 22.2%

A slight extension to Eposette's margin of victory!

Valjean/Javert vs. Bahorel/Jehan

Popular Vote Total: Valjean/Javert 75.6% vs. Bahorel/Jehan 24.4%

No steal works submitted yet!

Courfeyrac/Grantaire vs. Joly/Bossuet/Musichetta

Popular Vote Total: Courfeyrac/Grantaire 11.5% vs. Joly/Bossuet/Musichetta 88.5%

No steal works submitted yet!

Enjolras/Grantaire vs. Courfeyrac/Enjolras

Popular Vote Total: Enjolras/Grantaire 85.6% vs. Courfeyrac/Enjolras 14.4%

No steal works submitted yet!

and now for the two big guns on the steal front...

Jehan/Montparnasse vs. Bahorel/Feuilly

Popular Vote Total: Jehan/Montparnasse 41% vs. Bahorel/Feuilly 59%

Total + Steal Points: Jehan/Montparnasse 82% vs. Bahorel/Feuilly 18%

A gigantic swing in the polls, largely due to jehanparnasse MVP @mysunfreckle dusting off and posting a whopping 33,000 words (!!!!) of WIP. THIS is the power of poll stealing. Is this something Bahorel/Feuilly can recover from, or is the writing on the wall for the one time victors of this matchup?

Turning Woman #3/Musichetta vs. Courfeyrac/Marius

Popular Vote Total: Turnchetta 47.1% vs. Courfeyrac/Marius 52.9%

Total + Steal Points: Turnchetta 58.1% vs. Courfeyrac/Marius 41.9%

The only poll where both sides have submitted steal works so far, through a gigantic communal effort (11 Turnchetta fanworks submitted, if my counting is correct!) Turnchetta Nation have managed to swing this poll in their favour, albeit by not as ludicrous a margin as Jehan/Montparnasse. Can they keep it up or are we due for a Courfius fightback?

GREAT ROUND 2 STEAL-OFF FOR ELIMINATED SHIPS

The current leaderboard for this portion of the contest is as follows. If your ship isn't mentioned here, it's because we've not seen any steal works submitted for them so far!

Combeferre/Courfeyrac - 5.5 points

Éponine/Montparnasse - 2.7 points

Combeferre/Grantaire - 0.7 points

As it currently stands, the ship with the current smallest margin of victory from the main bracket is Turnchetta. So if things finished as they are we would in fact be up for a Courferre vs. Turnchetta rematch in the Sudden Death Poll!

TROUBLESHOOTING

If you feel the current totals do not reflect your contribution/we say there's no steal works submitted for a ship but you definitely think you've posted something, please follow these steps:

Check that you do not have either mod (@lonelyroommp3 or @glindalesbian) blocked. No beef if you do, and if you really hate our vibes you're welcome to reblock us after the tournament has ended, but as this is a sideblog we cannot see anything you post or send to us if you've blocked our mains. We don't want to miss out on seeing your hard work because we made a post that annoyed you or insulted your taste in Les Mis ships 10 years ago!

Resubmit your work by posting it to the #lmss steal tag, and send us an ask letting us know you've done so. Note that Tumblr sometimes eats asks with links, and we don't have DMs due to being a multi-member sideblog, so please make sure you complete both steps to cover all your bases!

(Please note we aim to reblog all steal works but depending on the volume of submissions we may have to queue your post for later - just because we've not posted it on here it does not necessarily mean that we haven't seen it or accounted for it in our totals! Look out for a like in your notes from either of our main blogs to confirm it’s been seen.)

[rockalillygirl]

Murderbot Holding Hands

(Minor spoilers alert for Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol, Exit Strategy pls check the tags)

First real post because I’m shy. Don’t know why it’s going to be a hyper-specific murderbot meta but here we go:

I’ve been rereading all the books after finishing System Collapse <3 and I want to talk about a small moment in Artificial Condition that I’d never noticed before. It’s near the end of the book when Tapan is in ART’s medsystem after nearly dying, and SecUnit says that when Tapan wakes up it’s holding her hand.

When Tapan woke, I was sitting on the MedSystem’s platform holding her hand. (Artificial Condition, p. 155 in my ebook)

I thought it was a really sweet moment, but it also kind of puzzled me because of SecUnit’s aversion to touch. Later when I was reading Exit Strategy, I noticed a similar moment when SecUnit holds hands with Mensah to help disguise them as they’re trying to escape TranRollinHyfa.

[Mensah] took a deep breath and looked up at me. “We can look calm. We’re good at that.” Yeah, we were. I did a quick review to make sure I was running all my not-a-SecUnit code, then I thought of one more thing I could do. As we stepped out of the pod, I took Mensah’s hand. (Exit Strategy, p. 87)

Reading these scenes felt different in a couple ways. In my opinion, SecUnit taking Mensah’s hand in Exit Strategy seemed like more of a big deal because it was a part of SecUnit’s reunion with Mensah, and we see its thoughts and emotions leading up to it. And it tracks that SecUnit might feel ok holding Mensah’s hand in that situation because of their close friendship. But the moment in Artificial Condition is more mysterious. We don’t get any of SecUnit’s internal monologue at the beginning because the scene opens when Tapan wakes up. And even though it’s clear in the book that SecUnit likes Tapan along with Rami and Maro, I wouldn’t say their relationship is anywhere near as close as its bond with Mensah. So why did it hold her hand?

I think it’s a neat moment that’s fun to ponder! And I have some vague ideas I’d like to share about it. (Some of this is based on the books and some is my speculation as an ace/aspec person dealing with touch aversion.) (Also none of these thoughts are mutually exclusive!)

Maybe SecUnit saw holding Tapan’s hand as a form of first aid after her traumatic experience and didn’t want her to panic waking up in a strange ship’s medsystem. This fits with SecUnit bracing itself to hug Mensah in Exit Strategy. (The memes of this moment are perfect lol)

But I was the only one here, so I braced myself and made the ultimate sacrifice. “Uh, you can hug me if you need to.” She started to laugh, then her face did something complicated and she hugged me. I upped the temperature in my chest and told myself it was like first aid. (Exit Strategy, pp. 82-3)

But I feel like SecUnit might not care as much about comforting Tapan in a similar way if it hadn’t already built up some kind of trust with her? Which brings me to Thought 2:

I think SecUnit might have felt safe holding Tapan’s hand because of the moment in Artificial Condition in the second transient hostel when Tapan laid down next to it. (Ofc I think rescuing Tapan from Tlacey’s ship was also a factor, trauma-bonding and all. But to me this moment in the hostel is more important.)

Thirty-two minutes later, I heard movement. I thought Tapan was getting up to go to the restroom facility, but then she settled on the pad behind me, not quite touching my back… I had never had a human touch me, or almost touch me, like this before and it was deeply, deeply weird. (Artificial Condition, pp. 136-7)

This is one of my favorite sequences in Artificial Condition (which is also my favorite book in the series because of ART! And because I find it quiet, reflective, and weirdly cozy even though objectively few cozy things happen now that I think about it). The scene is pretty mundane with a lot of fun bits like SecUnit pretending to need to use the restroom, be on a diet, etc. And we usually don’t get to see SecUnit hanging out with only one person. So it gives room for some small, but important feelings that I don’t think SecUnit has time to explore when it’s busy saving the day. Like how it feels about physical contact with humans.

(idk it reminds me of how like in ghibli films there’s usually at least one scene with the characters eating a meal or something because it sort of grounds everything else. I just like it!)

Tapan being close to SecUnit seems to throw if off-guard, but the context of the scene feels non-threatening and pretty mellow. So I think this gives SecUnit the opportunity to check-in with itself about this new experience. It still feels weird about it, but not in a scary or upsetting way. I think it’s almost this mutual vulnerability (Tapan feeling vulnerable and seeking comfort and SecUnit feeling vulnerable about her closeness and its own boundaries) that creates a bond between them, and that’s why SecUnit reaches out to Tapan to comfort her when she wakes up onboard ART.

That scene has become really special to me. And I would argue that it’s an important moment to SecUnit too because it brings it up again in Exit Strategy, along with a later moment in Rogue Protocol, thinking about times when it’s experienced physical contact with humans in a non-traumatizing way.

Except it wasn’t entirely awful. It was like when Tapan had slept next to me at the hostel, or when Abene had leaned on me after I saved her; strange, but not as horrific as I would have thought. (Exit Strategy, p. 83)

These moments seem to lead up to SecUnit offering to comfort Mensah later on because it’s reached a point where it feels willing to do so for her sake, even if it doesn’t want to seek out that kind of comfort for itself. And it’s really cool to see SecUnit navigate this throughout the books.

SecUnit starts the series with a strong innate sense that it doesn’t want to be touched by humans, but it’s allowed to refine those feelings in light of its new experiences. It’s boundaries are situational and personal, and even well-meaning humans sometimes struggle to understand them at first. Other times, SecUnit finds it difficult to understand it’s own feelings regarding touch and even changes its mind. But, importantly, the narrative always presents this as valid and worthy of respect.

This is a much more nuanced and realistic portrayal of defining boundaries than I’ve seen in a lot of media- one where it’s a constant and sometimes confusing process of self-discovery.

And these might seem like obvious concepts to some people, but they weren’t for me growing up. I really wish I’d read these books when I was younger, and maybe I would’ve given myself more grace to define my comfort level, grow, and change. But I’m glad that I’m in a place now where I can see and appreciate these things in what’s become one of my favorite series.

Anyway, I don’t want to say "thanks for coming to my TedTalk” lol. But very grateful to anyone who reads this and hope it was thought-provoking. Would be interested to hear other people’s thoughts on these scenes!