#if anyone has any other things to know about men

[thesummerestsolstice]

Assorted thoughts on the Silm AU where all the elves are hobbits:

Eol isn't a bad dude here he's just a hobbit who was raised by men and is therefore very unaccustomed to Hobbit social norms. He takes Aredhel on their honeymoon and everyone think he's kidnapped her. Aredhel loves the trip though, even when Celegorm interrupts it to try and "rescue" her.

Gondolin is a neighborhood that hosts really awesome exclusive parties that very few people get invited too and no one can ever find. Turgon runs all the parties but no one's ever been able to get any information out of him about it.

Maeglin did once get kidnapped by Morgoth and blackmailed for party location information. He showed up and it was the most awkward night anyone there had ever experienced. He didn't even steal anything he just loomed over everyone and made insensitive comments about how short they were. No one blamed Maeglin of course, and he was fine afterwards. Turgon called Morgoth several mildly rude things at the party though so you know he was at the absolute end of his rope.

Caranthir is an aspiring textile merchant who often does trade outside of the Shire. During one of his trips, he meets a dwarfish warrior named Haleth and they end up getting married.

One day two very lost, sad dwarves named Tuor and Turin show up in the Shire and become the absolute talk of the town, especially when Idril (who has completely refused the many gentlehobbits who tried to court her) almost immediately runs off and marries him (say it with me, good for her!) Soon afterwards they have adorable little dwobbit Earendil.

Said Earendil, as a young adult, takes a perilous boat journey up the river to seek the elvish king, Manwe, to tell him that Morgoth is being a huge dick. Manwe is confused about this, because Morgoth was released from elf-jail with a guard who was supposed to stop him from doing anymore crimes. (He got imprisoned first because of an incident involving public drunkenness and tree-related vandalism)

The guard was Sauron. He did not, in fact, stop Morgoth from committing more crimes.

So Manwe and the other elvish nobles (the Valar in the original Silm) go down to the Shire, apprehend Morgoth, and return the stuff he stole.

As an apology for letting Morgoth cause so much chaos down there, Manwe leaves one of his finest warriors to guard the Shire. And that is how Eonwe ends up becoming the first elf ever to be deemed a hobbit-friend.

[niobiumao3]

So, here's what X-Men 97 did that TBB did not, for its main character death. Obviously, huge X-Men 97 and TBB spoilers.

The death happens at a pivotal moment story wise, but is NOT immediately abandoned for other plot.

Remy (Gambit) dies towards the end of an episode which is in and of itself a real jaw-dropper, much like Plan 99. Out of nowhere a safe haven for mutants is being glassed, and Remy sacrifices himself to put a stop to it, because he's a little crazy but also well aware of what he's capable of and knows it might be their only chance to save SOME of these people who are his fellow mutants. The episode ends with his lover, Rogue--who's finally decided she agrees with Remy on things and is going to choose him and the X-Men over an alternative--holding his lifeless body in her arms.

Tech, on the other hand, dies 1/3 into an episode and vanishes from sight. Our POV character here, Omega, is injured and doesn't witness most of the ensuing escape, so when she wakes up, she demands they go back for him, crying, and we see Wrecker cry and Hunter explain he didn't make it.

...and then the episode keeps going. They're betrayed. A villain tosses Tech's broken goggles at Hunter and threatens them. Omega is captured, the remaining members of the Batch barely escape. For almost twenty minutes of runtime AFTER Tech dies, the story keeps going and has NOTHING to do with him dying (save the dig about the goggles). His death gets maybe, at most, 2 entire minutes of focus between Omega and Wrecker's reactions, Hunter's when Hemlock gives him the goggles, and Echo looking at the empty pilot's chair. That's it; for the bulk of the episode Tech's death has next to ZERO involvement in the story. It's not the climax. it's just A Thing Which Happened, and that massively devalues it from a narrative viewpoint. No one stops for more than a single breath to react to it, thus we as the audience don't.

(If anyone is winding up with 'that's because they can't due to the everything', this is why it's NOT GOOD WRITING. If you want the death to matter to your viewers/audience then you need to MAKE the time for it in your story, somehow. This isn't real life, you DO in fact control the horizontal and the vertical when making your plot.)

In X-Men 97, the death is the immediate focus of the next episode and a character's entire arc of the ensuing episodes. In TBB, it's a footnote.

In the following X-Men 97 episode, Remy has a funeral which Rogue doesn't attend, not because she doesn't care but because she's off raging against the machines, trying to find those responsible and kill them. There's a gorgeous eulogy for Remy, some thinking back on who he was and what he meant to them, a friend angry at Rogue for not being with them. It's so good. We cut to Rogue, absolutely furious with grief and looking to take it out on, well, everyone. She winds up putting herself into a coma as a result.

Literally nothing like this happens for Tech. Nothing close. There's a several month timeskip in S3 eps 1-3 which negates any immediate mourning or revelations to people who wouldn't know (Crosshair, Phee, Shep and Lyana), and we see NONE of Wrecker, Hunter, OR Echo's processing. Just what we saw in Plan 99, which again, is almost nothing. For a main character who as of S2 had the third most screen time of any character.

In X-Men 97, Remy keeps coming up as someone to remind them of what they're fighting for, what he would want for them. Tech is a skillset and a pair of goggles.

Remy is the first thing on Rogue's mind when she wakes up from her coma. She's instantly grieving him all over again, and mentions him numerous times throughout the remaining episodes as someone who wouldn't want this for them, or would have hoped for that. He's a guide for her even though he's gone. The rest of the characters reflect on him off and on--not his skills or abilities, but who he was, his nature. Remy's death completely changes Rogue's behaviors, almost 180 degrees, as well.

Tech is mentioned for what he could do, not what he liked or didn't like, how he felt about things, save for once: when Phee reveals he told her all about Crosshair. This is the only time someone talks about him like people talk about Remy in X-Men 97, and it happens twelve episodes after he died.

No one's actual narrative course changes trajectory in the case of Tech's death either. No one is shown making different decisions based on his loss (just the lack of his skills), no one is bringing him up as a rallying call for themselves, nothing. He is excised from the show in terms of his emotional, character impact. The loss is of someone who can decrypt things or knows stuff, not of a beloved sibling.

Remy's presence remains throughout the rest of X-Men 97, despite him dying in episode 5 of 10. Tech vanishes and becomes an occasional reason they have to do something the hard way and a background prop.

If you want to know how to actually write a main character death and have it MATTER and make it good story telling, watch X-Men 97.

[tarotofbadkitties]

The biggest thing Patrick gets wrong in the movie is that he underestimates how central tennis is to both Art and Tashi's sense of self. Patrick loves tennis, but it's being free and having fun hitting a ball with a racket to him. It's life, love and a sense of purpose to Art and Tashi. Sometimes this misunderstanding just causes conversations to go off the rails, but other times it causes him to miss something really important staring him right in the face because they were "just talking about tennis."

Patrick assumes that because Art has a wife, a daughter, and more money than he knows what to do with that he should be happy with leaving tennis. He assumes Art's misery is because he's accomplished everything he needs to accomplish to make his family financially secure and well-respected in tennis, but Tashi just can't let go of the competitive tennis lifestyle. If Patrick made all the money he could want and brought home enough trophies, he'd be looking forward to being husband and being dad, and the thought of more tennis just to do it would make him miserable. That's why he thinks the solution is to just let Art quit and give Tashi a new dick and a new racket to keep her busy.

Patrick suggesting these two losers she loves are an interchangeable collection of means to an end is what he gets slapped for. Tashi doesn't actually care more about tennis than she does these humans she's involved with. That's why she was fighting and fucking with Patrick when she should have been preparing for the Pepperdine match. That's why she married her high-profile client rather than having a sensible affair to keep the focus of the public on her professional ability. That's why she decided to have a baby. That's also why she winds up having sex with the 271st best tennis player in the world. Just like both men got her heart regardless of who won that match, whether they won any other matches against anyone else had nothing to do with whether she loved them or not. She wasn't falling out of love with Art because he was losing games, she was falling out of love because he was losing love of life.

[gaymurdersalad]

[ HOWDY Y’ALL! WE INTERRUPT THIS PROGRAM FOR A FUN BROADCAST!

If you haven’t noticed, it’s pride month! That means we’re legally allowed to be gay for an entire month before we have to disappear into our burrows once more! To celebrate the occasion, I decided to do a fun little pride post! ]

[ I’ve gathered all the little fuckers in The Void to poke and prod at them like zoo animals. In other words, I figure they all have some neat identities and wouldn’t mind being interrogated in honor of pride month. I’ll go ahead and turn it over to them, but I’ll say now, no matter how much they kick and scream, I am definitely NOT holding them at gunpoint! This workspace is… definitely OSHA approved. Don’t let them tell you otherwise. Have attem! ]

> This is fucking stupid. Stop waving that gun at me. I’m talking.

> My identity isn’t anything special. I’m just some guy who decided he was a guy way later than everyone else did. I don’t really give a damn what pronouns people use on me because usually they just end up avoiding me at all costs or scampering away like frightened animals.

> I’m bisexual, is that anything? But, like, only bisexual in a sexual way. I could not fucking fathom living a long prosperous life with anyone. How the hell are you supposed to enjoy someone for that long? Getting married seems like a scam. I bet it is. I bet it’s like the invention of Valentine’s Day for greeting card companies. You’re not actually supposed to be in love with someone for that long, it just doesn’t seem possible.

> … My marriage with Dave does not count, that wasn’t an officiated wedding. I’m fairly certain he fished those rings out of a water fountain and pawned his dress off a hooker. I do vividly recall dumpster diving for my tuxedo.

> Uhhhhhh wuh? Hmmmm, I’onno what the hell I am, Old Sport! Fuck!

> Shit, I guess I like everyone. A hole’s a hole. Why the fuck would I discriminate? I think I got a preference for men though! They’re so fuckin’ easy to romance! Unless they’re the likes of Sportsy, then it’s the hardest goddamn thing you’ll ever seduce. He gets real gay when he’s on acid, but then again, I get real gay on cocaine. Man, our wedding was immaculate. Imma tell our kids about it one day!

> Likewise, I’ll be any gender you fuckin’ want me to be. I got like, pocket gender, I can just whip it out on request. Want me to be a dude? Fuck yeah, alright. Want me to be a pretty lady? No goddamn problem at all! I can be both at the same time or one more than the other— who gives a shit? I’m just havin’ fun.

> Good fucking lord, really? That shotgun does not scare me, you orange fool—

> … I have a complicated identity. As any other living organism does.

> I have found that over the years I do not experience sexual attraction and that I experience little to no romantic attraction. I only recall feeling romantically attracted to one person in my entire life. I doubt it will happen again. > And it may seem, uhm... Embarrassing, but I do deviate from your traditional "man's man". In laymen's terms, I do not feel particularly drawn to being male. I am very certain I was born with the intention of being a man, but my mind has refused to accept it. I am not sure why. Instead of feeling like a proper bloke, I feel rather empty. If I could have it my way, I would be some... human silhouette rather than a full fledged man. I do not know. This is idiotic. > I cringe every time someone addresses me in a masculine way. I wish I could simply have no pronouns. I can deal with them because I am indeed a grown ass... person, but I just wish it were not so. Whatever. I am done complaining.

> Oh! That’s very simple, this is really easy.

> I literally don’t have anything going for me at all.

> What with the entire fabric of time being on my shoulders and all, I don’t even think about gender or romance much. I do love being a girl! It’s one of the things I miss most about being alive, actually. Pretty dresses, playing with makeup in the bathroom, trying to curl my hair without burning my scalp— I mean, it sounds horrendous sometimes, but you can’t beat it. Feeling alive and content in your own skin. Just one of those precious things that spawned from the chance of life.

> … Uhm, Uhhh… Men.

> Yeah. I Like Them. I Think… Yes, I Could Probably Date A Man Or Two. I Don’t Know, Employee, Why Did You Pull Me Out Here? You Know I Have Copious Paperwork To Do! Some @$!# $#*@ Kid Just Fell Into The Ball Pit And Got Mauled Jaws-Style And His Parents Are Really Grilling Us For It. Dumb&@#*s, It’s Not My Fault Their Kid Heeded The Call Of The Sirens. I Swear, This Job Is Going To Kill Me Or Force My Hand Into Becoming The Next Purple Guy—

> extremely in love with my wife and my gender!

> it was actually very cute how we met, employee. have i ever told you? heh heh, we met in highschool. she was on the football team and i was a cheerleader, can you believe that? oh, i was head over heels for her instantly. she was strong, she was quick thinking, she was so hecking beautiful, employee… i never got to tell her how i felt while we were in highschool, but we were good friends. very good friends. come a few years later, some old buddies of ours want to have a get together and dish it out like old times… go vandalize and drive off into the sunset in the back of a pickup truck sipping on horrendously cheap beer and laughing off our university work or our jobs. when i get to our spot, though, i see her. i’d recently wised up to my gender, y’know, had my hair cut and fresh scars on my chest, so suffice to say i looked nothing like i did when i cheered for her during football season. she’d done the same, employee— she grew out her hair to the middle of her back in such beautiful dark curls, her bangs tied back so every inch of her perfect face could glimmer underneath the neon lights of the derelict bowling alley we’d found ourselves in. she looked at me, and i sensed instant recognition. she smiled through her bright red lipgloss and rushed up to me, wrapping me up in a hug, and i swear, she hadn’t lost any of those muscles— almost broke my ribs!

> the rest of the night, we were so… comfortable together. sure, during highschool we were close, but without saying a single word about what happened to us between then and now, we understood, and employee— i think it brought us closer. it was around three in the morning while we sat around a bonfire with the rest of our buddies when she layed her head on my shoulder and i felt an unfathomable warmth. i knew i wanted her for the rest of my life.

> … i just love her so much, employee.

> oh ok

> its rlly whatever. any pronouns any gender anybody who wants me. who cares

> oh i do have a preference for girls. theyre pretty. if you disagree u are not blessed enough to be loved by gods best creation and ur pissed about it. i can tell

> what if i was actually catholic would that be fucked up or what

> …

> … I cannot… physically stress how abhorrent sexuality is to me. What… What an utterly damning notion. Someone’s greedy hands cursing you and plaguing your with their own dirty human desires. How disrespectful. How… invasive. Why on Earth would it be my responsibility to supply someone with something to love? Am I really subject to whatever the hell people think of me? Whether they “love” me or perceive me as some… some man, some object of attraction? Disgusting.

> If I could shed every trace of a sex or gender from my loathed corpse, I would. Often times I lay awake at night and consider skinning myself for the hell of it. I’ve related this to David and he said I sounded “fuckin’ insane”. Stupid bastard. I want to be a skeleton. I wanna be a fucking skeleton! Pretty and thin and not alive whatsoever! God damn this accursed body and its… rancid flesh and unidentifiable mystery goop. Ugh. Ugh!!!! God, the biggest blight on my “life” was being cursed with gender!

> I was born as a female which was just laughably wrong, then I recall amending that and trying to become a man, but none of it worked. All of it sucked. All of it was wretched. The ideal form is a ghost or ghoul or skeletal figure. You can’t romance a ghost or ghoul or skeletal figure. Can’t have sex with that. Unless you’re really, really determined. I don’t think even David could be that serious about his sexuality.

> … I… Hope. Oh dear. Oh god, I really am unsafe from the horrors of this world. God, I wish that bear had taken me out before I showed him to his grave.

[misscammiedawn]

On a TV Glow kick so tried to read the episode 601 synopsis.

Here's the best I could get:

Page 1:

[…] Mr Melancholy has escaped his ancient prison trapped inside the dark side of the moon [..] Moon Men's lunar forces have finally […] weird teenagers. Now there's no moon. We see […]

[…] last the end of last season Mr. Melancholy finally tricked […] began back at their old sleepaway camp […] nightmarish hellscape the likes of which they aren't […] deep underground, hugged only by the […] place where they first laid eyes […]

Page 2:

[…] Mr. Melancholy's awful reign has officially begun. Someone get her a tissue.

Things have never been worse. A country-wide mandate passed by Senator Spr[..] never ending math class. A new dress code restricts any citizen in the entire country from […] music the college radio station now only plays […] Double Lunch has been transformed from the coolest club in town into Mr. Melancholy's […] where Marco and Polo are keeping all four members of the [Arcade Laser Brigade?] planning to kill them anytime soon. He's just planning to feed endlessly on their weirdness, […] everything beautiful about their souls into stinky star fuel.

So where is Isabel? Where is Tara? […] are our heroes […] somewhere very far away… in a town reminscient of the real world they need to […] but different in so many subtle, insidious […] ways. But the thing is for sure, this town is bled of magic and wonder.

It's all […] place our young heroes no longer even remember they are The Pink Opaque. Here they [..] like heroes anymore. Here every battle fought, every secret they ever shared […] heartstopping […] the pages of this very episode guide […] real, but instead in this world all this was just the weekly transmissions of a dumb TV show. Absurd, right? Who would fall for such a […] Isabel and Tara. At least at first…

Can Isabel and Tara find each other again on the hazy shores of the psychic plane? Can it […] destroy as it glows dimly? The Luna Juice and soil is caught […] I have much time. But then again, time might not exactly [?] think it does. […] right now, aren't I? But you're also reading it right now. Strange…

Tara is the first one to realize something is very wrong […] this "home" where she's been placed is little more than a prison […]

-

I love the authentic conversational tone of the era and would love to know what exactly the "you're reading it right now. Strange..." part elaborates as.

It seems to be inspired by the Season 6 episode of Buffy "Normal Again" (itself a reference to a Star Trek episode "Frame of Mind") and confirms that Double Lunch is a location in the fiction of the show as well as within the suburb that the movie takes place. It makes sense why Tara would want to take Isabel there.

Given the climax of The Pink Opaque is said to be a reaction to Twin Peaks' season 2 finale (Director Jane Schoenbrun referring to the ending as an act of violence towards anyone who had love for the show and its world/characters) I chose to take the Double Lunch sequence to harken to the Pink Room sequence from the Twin Peaks movie, an middle ground between extremes of reality and the metaphysical.

Anyway. TV Glow is amazing.

If anyone can get a better screenshot and make out better detail I'd love to read.

[msbhagirathi]

Word Prompt "Colly wobbles" for the IPK 13th Anniversary Fiesta by @arshifiesta.

Character: Kaveri Khushi Gupta, Arnav Varun a.k.a AV

FF: A River Runs Through It

Author: meera30

Reason: Coz I am in love with this ff right now. Now stop finding reasons and read on.

Khushi didn't know how did he do it. It was freezing cold outside in Detroit and here was the man in question giving out a presentation which he had prepared ~in merely five minutes~ before the meeting had to be started urgently.

Clad in a crisp white shirt rolled up to his forearms, the angry gash visible just as a slip of cut, the jacket and the waistcoat already lying on the chairback. Tie hanging a lil bit loose from its usual place. Shiny charcoal colored trousers hugged his legs like a second skin. Yet, he looked as fresh and energetic as ever.

Illegal.

How can he be so perfect?

Why did I of all people had to fall for him?

She knew that her being physically bulky had nothing to do with who she fell in love with. And yet she felt a bit wretched for having fallen for such a personification of perfection.

Sometimes, she didn't know which one was more comforting? To have been immune from his charm and just keeping to herself in college or having badly fallen for him strong enough to keep away all the strangers she had met just so she could forget that one man. And yet, the 'date other men to forget him' idea was as terrible as it sounded.

As she could go no further then two minutes of looking at them and instantly comparing them to him. She knew she was being horribly desperate. But then anyone would be if the man in question was the subject of discussion...

She started scribbling an insignia (for the umpteenth time) in her notepad which she had used earlier to jot down the good points.

"Ms. Gupta. Its good that you are at least concentrating on something but I would much rather that something to be nothing but this presentation."

Arnav Varun was looking at her with that knowing smile as if he had found a key to a mystery puzzle he was looking for. His glasses gleaming at an angle.

Embarrassed at being in the wrong side, Khushi immediately changed the page and looked up at the projector screen.

"Sorry sir."

Did he know?

Had he seen her drawing his name initials in her notepad with such an interest?

What was with that smile?

And yet now he continued with his presentation as if nothing had happened. Voice unflinching and firm. Emanating an authority. An air of importance.

Hey shivji! Why do I have to be the one target that you are never tired of playing with?

The gravel in his voice still used to send chills down her spine in a good way of course.

"Okay everyone that would be it for now. If I happen to have something else I would be calling all of you back. Please be ready for more impromptu meetings this week. If anyone has any questions please do ask or you're free to leave, thank you for your attention."

Khushi gingerly raised up from her chair praying to let her go to a certain someone sitting in the Kailash parvat with his wife who loved creating sweet troubles for her in situations like these. She quickly wanted to slip away along with the rest of the others.

But, Arnav Varun didn't let that happen. He looked up from his laptop at her.

Please don't tell me to stay back.

Please tell me the one thing I am yearning to hear from you for half a decade now.

Please let me go.

Please stop me and kiss me.

Hey shivji! She might have as well become a lunatic by now.

She was about to leave when..

"Khushi.."

She turned back only to find him sitting at his chair relaxed. All tension and seriousness gone with everyone else from the room. He sipped his glass of chilled water.

There was something in this man that made her feel at peace and nervous at the same time.

"Yes sir."

She heard the sound of her voice which shivered slightly.

Don't get the wrong idea okay? I am DEFINITELY NOT scared of you.

"No 'sir' please, just AV, when we are alone."

"Okay.. AV.'

He smiled.

"Show me your notepad once Khushi."

NO. PLEASE NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

'Uhh.. I am in need of it urg-"

"Yeah yeah I know you need it I had seen you noting down points in it. But please I assure you I don't eat paper and I would return it within a few sec. Please?"

Khushi very hesitantly held it out and before he could open it to her eternal mortification and second hand embarrassment, Arjun's name came flashing out on her mobile screen.

A whole wave of relief hit her whole being as she excused herself to pick it up as an important call, leaving behind all her things in the room.

After fifteen minutes when she came back to her cabin she realized she had left all her things in the meeting room. She was about to sprint back to the room. When she spotted her things: her laptop bag, her water bottle and her notepad neatly sitting in the center of her desk.

At lunch break, she entered the cafeteria and already found the whole team along with (of course) AV himself sitting at the corner-most booth. She walked up and sat at the chair two seats away from him. She saw his phone lying on the table.

Suddenly it came alive with a notification and she saw the lock screen. A sprawly drawing. Careless strokes of blue ball point pen. Carved into the paper on a ruled page which seemed familiar.

An insignia, which she had scribbled on her notepad, out of boredom, sitting in the meeting room, a few hours ago. She couldn't believe her eyes.

Heat rushed to her ears and a slow blush crept onto her face and refused to go away. She couldn't believe the fact that Arnav Varun had taken a click of her drawing and set it as the lock screen on his phone.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw him check the notification and quickly closed off the screen, checking if anyone else noticed it or not and went back to the conversation going on.

Khushi couldn't pull out the image of her insignia on his phone screen. Her mind kept replaying the image and she couldn't stop herself from blushing. Her body had gone into over-drive. Her heart was fluttering. Her hands and legs felt shaky. Her palms felt clammy. Warmth surrounding her face and neck and the rest of her body. Her stomach was in colly-wobbles.

Hey shivji, please, I must be looking like an idiot. Please help me staaaap this blushing, my cheeks are hurting now. Uff. Stupid AV. Stupid me.

[tumblingxelian]

I have to admit I'm impressed with how awful a father CRWBY made Taiyang while giving him a veneer of reasonability.

To the point that his ability to just spout off things reminds me of an Aunt and Uncle who have no idea just how badly they are painting themselves.

As in - when he makes a judgement call about how Yang lost her arm that fits it into his "Over dependence on his semblance" it's incredibly telling about him not ever actually asking anyone about what happened.

It means he never talked to Yang about it, or even you know offered because while Yang wouldn't have said everything she'd probably have said a little.

Or talked to any of the students who probably got information about what happened from Blake when she dragged Yang to safety. Which wouldn't have been much but probably included the fact that Blake was attacked by someone, Yang intervened.

Given that students presumably died when Beacon fell and that Yang was a first year student... Like by itself, Yang being alive enough for a teammate to save her is a victory.

Nevermind context of her going up against someone that fought Blake, who came back injured herself, and Adam probably did get ID as going around killing students. So the fact that Yang was vastly outclassed would have been known, you know if Taiyang asked at all about "What happenend". Or worse - he did and still blames Yang. Like what did he expect her to do - leave Blake to die? Yang got Blake enough room to run, Blake used the opportunity to get both of them out of there but Yang bought that opportunity for Blake.

Meanwhile I'm looking forward to the Belladonnas actually talking to Yang. Because I don't think it's an accident that we didn't see said interaction before we started being shown in detail the grease fire of the Xialong Rose family.

From my perspective Tai is a rather interesting execution on the archetypical father on these fronts. IE, he's not a classic bad father the way Jac is, or the classic emotionally distant husk archetype. Yet to me, he is still 100% a big problem and done a lot of harm to Ruby & Yang with lackluster parenting & 'teaching'.

As outlined here.

I think this is one of the reasons why a lot of people struggle to actually see him as flawed even when e gets basic facts wrong.

Another reason is just how much undue credit men are given by default that women have to earn. Hence lots of people shrugging off Qrow's drinking or Ozpin's manipulation, or Ironwood's authoritarianism until they couldn't anymore.

Though being more charitable, I would also note how CRWBY often play these characters against their more traditional archetypes to help offset the audiences presumptions.

For instance,

Ozpin is a mysterious headmaster of an adventurers school but he's the 'fun' headmaster who both helps the kids go on adventures but unlike certain other headmasters sends an adult escort with them.

Or Ironwood, he's a big military hard liner who wants more tech, bigger weapons and to throw his military around. But he asks about the kids, he jokes casually, he's not just some General Ripper.

& Qrow of course is the bitter veteran and mentor, who is super badass & drinks/smokes, but in contras, he's also seemingly functional, friendly and clearly has a good rapport with his nieces.

Its easy to see why people saw those aspects and were willing to ignore things like:

Ozpin sending teenagers into terrorist dens, Ironwood backstabbing his allies while making himself out to be the victim, and Qrow's blatant dependence on alcohol to function.

Cos CRWBY made them characters & not archetypes.

So when the shit hit the fan and subtext became text, subtly problematic behavior became blatantly problematic and festering problems once seen as comedic now had real weight.

I feel Tai fits the same mold, he's on the surface 'functional', he definitely cares, and even seems to do some 'fun dad' stuff. He just also as no idea how Yang's Semblance works, & was absent or otherwise none functional for so long its left deep scars on Yang having to keep the family together & Ruby outright says Yang raised her.

He's in many ways a more realistic and nuanced portrayal of a dysfunctional or toxic parent who may not obviously have issues the way an open abuser like Jac, or an absentia parent like Raven might but can still do harm.

Also excellent breakdown on how the surrounding context of the Fall of Beacon. Team RWBY are first years, Blake is an incredibly experienced combatant, Yang had been put through the ringer. Literally everything was on fire and even people like Ozpin died.

The fact the whole team made it out at all is nothing short of a miracle. But accepting that "Sometimes bad things happen" is a surrender of power, its an admission that there was nothing to be done and that is terrifying. Especially for a man whose had two of the most important people in his life vanish on him without a trace.

He wants there to be something in Yang to blame because then there is something that can be done about it. Add in his clear and overtly stated projection of Raven onto her, and hos incoherent his reads on her personality are given Yang's addressed stuff like stubbornness & strategy well before this.

& you get a parent making being dismembers in a no win situation against a more powerful opponent the victims fault while giving vague, generalist advice to feel like they're doing something.

Gosh I want them to just adore her, and her to adore the Belladonna's.

Thanks for the ask, and good luck on that essay you mentioned, remember to tag me ;)

[maevecrom]

People come up with the dumbest and most outlandish things to hate on Feyre. Now she’s a side piece? Or a wanna-be side piece? In the books, she said she didn’t have the nerve to ask Isaac if he still wanted to see her after getting married. And Isaac was betrothed to a total stranger because of his father’s wishes. It wasn’t as if Isaac was in a relationship with his wife prior to their marriage. Once Feyre came back from the Spring Court and saw Isaac with his wife, she was happy that he clearly loved her and wished them well. She literally never thought about him again. The only reason she ever slept with him is because she had no other outlet or relief from her abusive family and the stress of poverty.

But these people who claim Feyre is a side piece will go on to make fics in which Nesta fucks her pregnant sister’s husband. While it’s gross and pick me of Feyre to sleep with Isaac when he’s betrothed to a stranger, it’s so sexy and empowering when Nesta sleeps with Feyre’s husband. And I find it quite funny how in these fics Nesta is portrayed as this cunning, powerful, temptress that can get any man while Feyre is some dumb girl whose only purpose is to birth heirs for Rhys. They headcanon that Rhys secretly desires Nesta and understands her better than anyone, that they earn for each other, that Rhys regrets not meeting Nesta before Feyre, and that Rhys and Nesta hate fuck before Rhys goes back to Feyre and Nesta goes back to Cassian.

Of course there’s also fics in which Nesta sleeps with Azriel while he’s in a relationship with Elain. And of course much like the fics in which Nesta is Rhys’s mistress, the author has to make it abundantly clear that Nesta is prettier, sexier, and more powerful than her sister.

It’s almost as if they believe that the only way a woman can be valuable is whether or not they’re desirable to men. They don’t see how demeaning it would be for Nesta to screw her sister’s husbands only for said husbands to go back to her sisters and never acknowledge her in public. But in their minds, Nesta is more desirable to her sisters’ husbands and apparently very men in Prythian, so she’s better than her sisters in every way and deserves love more than them.

I have absolutely nothing more to say than… I don’t know who or what brought upon this absolute gem. This absolute annihilation. This absolute destruction of hypocrisy. But, I’m proud. So, so proud of my followers/anons. 

Me towards anyone that called feyre a side-piece while simultaneously shipping rhysta:

[dolche-tejada]

Round 7 : The Duality of Qin and Hades

I don't think there was any other round conclusion that left me that confused at first. I mean... why did Hades died so tragically when he was fighting for his family and to honor his dead brother's memory, motives that usually tend to be some huge green flags in those kinds of mangas ? And then I realized the answer was right there : Hades was doomed to lost like this precisely because he was fighting for the honor of his family. To understand what I mean, you had to take a look at Hades and Qin as characters

Let's begin with Hades. He is at his core a tragic figure and this well before his actual downfall. From the moment he's introduced into the plot, Hades is defined above all through one thing : Duty. He's one of the most feared and respected gods of Valhalla, someone on which everyone rely and the Ruler of Helheim.

And this is his tragedy because Hades does not assume the responsibilities and duty that come with his status, he endures them and lets them define his entire life.

His whole language is always axed about how he has to do this or how he can't lose that just because that's who he is, never because that's his own choice.

Hades has no desire to avenge Poseidon. He's emotionally exhausted (look at the bags under his eyes), he admitted not having fought for a long time and more importantly : He damn well knows that Poseidon couldn't care less about being avenged. But he has to fight anyway because it's his inherent duty as an older brother, his vow is part of who he is.

He wasn't supposed to fight in the Ragnarok and didn't even want to kill Qin against whom he hold no real grudge. Quite the opposite, he even comes to sympathize with him and admiring him. But he still chooses to fight without hesitation since it's his duty as a god and king of the Netherworld. He can't lose again a mere king of men.

And that's where Qin comes in.

His introduction actually sums him up perfectly : We see him making his own way by breaking through walls into the gods' VIP lodges instead of waiting in his room ; he ragdolled Ares who tried to force him to leave ; and when Brunhilde asks him to follow her to the entrance gate, here's his answer

This is his core character : Qin doesn't care about traditions and expectations. He doesn't follow the path that is expected of him, he traces his own road (literally and metaphorically) and makes no compromises with anyone, whether they are gods or humans.

When confronted to Chi You, a tyrannical demon god who oppresses his country and people, Qin doesn't resign himself to accept it like previous kings did, he actively fights against this status quo and forces it to bend to his notion of duty

It can be long (his fight with Chi You literally take six days), it can be painful but this is how he proceeds and that's his greatest source of pride. He's not defined by his status as king, he's the one who defines what it means to be one

This is an essential component of his backstory and Round 7 writing. When we meet Qin as a child, he's the radical opposite of the one we know : He doesn't try to impose himself as a person and rather immediately conforms to the expectations of those around him.

Chun Yan scolds him for not acting like a child should ? He forces himself to act as such to satisfy her. His guards and the locals of Zhao use him as a scapegoat for the people they've lost ? He apologizes and endures hatred and excruciating pain because that's what is expected from him. That he passively endures

You know where I'm going with this : Little Qin is basically Hades' foil. Both represses their feelings to conform themselves to duty and exterior expectations, which make them utterly miserable (which isn't that apparent for Hades yet but I'm coming to this).

However, Qin grew up from this through his meeting with Chun Yan, which made him realize something that will forge him into a king

A lesson Alvitr will also remind him at the end of his fight by asking him to say clearly what he wants when he started to doubt of himself. Something to which Qin just answered : "I want to win... No matter what !"

One wants to win because he has made a promise from his own will, the other has to win since his vow define him.

Because Hades never learnt that lesson and always suffered from it. I've seen a lot of people praising him for how cool and badass of a big brother he is in his backstory, for wiping out a whole army of titans to protect his siblings but imo this is just sad. Instead of talking to his family about this threat and trying to find a solution together, he immediately assumes that he has to deal with them alone, even tho he knows that they are too much and he might actually die.

And when Poseidon asks him if everything's okay, he isn't even able to ask for help or just look at his brother when he's lying to him

But miraculously this time he managed to win this battle, thanks to his trump card : Ichor Eos. An ability that highlights how self-destructive Hades is when it comes to protect his duty and family. To activate this trump card, he has to hurt himself and bleed. Fulfilling his duty literally requires from him to sacrifice himself.

And despite this, Hades still insists that everything is fine afterwards. No matter how heavy his burden is, he will never be defeated because that's what the world expects from him

Except he did. Sadly this time, his burden was too heavy and he got destroyed in the process. Hades died and not even in a satisfying way. Just compare with the others fighters' death :

Lu Bu died feeling joy for the first time in his life, happy to finally fighting an equal

Adam lost with a peaceful smile on his face, knowing that he did his best to protect his children

Poseidon was bitter in his last moments but held on to his pride until the end

Heracles remained faithful to what he is and inspired Jack to become a better person

Raiden had the best sumo fight of his life and vanished with the woman he loved

Zerofuku finally got to be happy too

Nikola gave the most wholesome speech ever known to Mankind after making science evolved once again

And Leonidas was proud, having proven that Sparta will always be the strongest

But Hades ? Nothing of that

In his last moments, he was convinced of having let his family down and being a failure as a result, apologizing to them for this just before disappearing forever under their eyes.

And the most painful part of this is that Hades was the only one to see himself as such. The members of his family may have admired him for his strength and his willingness to make any sacrifice for the honor of gods but they still loved him first and foremost as a person. Adamas was ready to throw away his own pride as a god (the thing Hades literally died for) by killing a crippled half-dead Qin for winning in a fair fight. Hermes composed a requiem in his memory and Zeus was both heartbroken and sorry to hear his last words. He knew his brother had nothing to apologize for but realized that the latter didn't.

At the end of the day, Hades didn't lost this battle of kings just because Qin was stronger. He lost because Qin was the better king and learn to find worth in himself rather than in what people expected from him, while Hades let his responsibilities consume him throughout his whole life.

[seleneprince]

File about Severus Snape's werewolf daughter (because she deserves it and I want to do it)

Name: Livia Eileen Prince

Born: 30 August 1980

Blood status: Pureblood

Nationality: British with Italian roots

Also known as: Liv, Princess (by Draco), Prince Bastard, that viper (by Sirius Black), Snape's girl.

Species: Werewolf (since birth)

Hair: Ivory black

Eye colour: Onyx black with motes of grey

Family:

Severus Snape (father)

Unnamed werewolf woman (mother, deceased)

Eileen Prince (paternal grandmother, deceased)

Tobias Snape (paternal grandfather, deceased)

Boggart: Her father's corpse

Patronus: Snake

Affiliations: Hogwarts, House Prince, House Malfoy (she's practically one of them), wherever her father is.

House: Slytherin or Hufflepuff

Faceclaim: Jessie Mei Li (Shadow and Bone)

Trivia:

-She's half Asian on her mother's side.

-She's Severus Snape #1 defender and supporter. She adores her dad and will gladly fight anyone that insults him. She's not afraid of facing grown ass men is she sees them disrespecting him.

-House Prince has Roman-Italian roots, so Severus named his daughter after one of the most relevant women in Roman story. Her second name is because Severus wanted to honor his mother but felt that it could be a bad omen giving it as first name. He doesn't want to accidentally curse his child to the same fate.

-To the public, she's considered an illegitimate child from House Prince, an ancient family of purebloods whose line was thought to be extinct.

-Severus wasn't going to ask the Malfoys to be the godparents because he didn't think they would want anything to do with a child with lycanthropy. They were furious at his reasoning and proclaimed that any child of his was considered family to them.

-So yeah Lucius and Narcissa are the godparents, because they wouldn't have it any other way.

-Because of this, Draco and Livia have been practically raised together and share a very close bond.

-He accepts Livia's condition but it doesn't apply for others like her. He's an hypocrite like his parents.

-She has her own room in Malfoy Manor because of how often she has spent the night there, thanks to her father's busy life. They also have a special room for her during the full moon nights.

-The only people that know of her condition are Severus, the Malfoys and Dumbledore.

-Remus finds out as soon as he interacts with her and he's flabbergasted.

-She's been learning Potions ever since she was old enough to hold a spoon. There's no way in hell Severus Snape wouldn't teach his daughter Potions.

-Despite this, her favourite subject is Care for Magical Creatures. She has a knack for it and connects with them better than with humans.

-Regardless of which house she ends up in, she'll be friends with the Slytherins.

-She plays Beater in the quidditch team. It's the only time she doesn't have to worry about her strenght.

-Ron is her favourite of the Golden Trio, but she's interested in Harry's trayectory.

-Really sharp and developed senses. Nothing ever escapes her. She also gets easily overwhelmed the days prior the full moon.

-She's a natural Legilimens like her father, which she found out after accidentally seeing one of his memories once. It was very uncomfortable for both.

-Severus has never told her the whole story with the marauders, only some pieces of it here and there. She knows it from the Malfoys and her own individual research (aka peeking into certain people's minds).

-Because of this, she dislikes Sirius and Remus a lot, specially the first. She doesn't see the point on hating James Potter if he's dead.

-One of the effects of her lycantropy is that she's naturally good with Dark Arts. Might be the only useful and painless thing her condition gave her.

-Her copying mechanism is dark humour, which she started to apply first with her lycantropy. She makes jokes about it and tries to take it with philosophy. She's not asshamed of it.

-She knows how to brew the wolfsbane potion but still prefers when her dad does it.

-At some point she has to share the Shrieking Shack with Lupin for the full moon nights. It makes an awkward experience for both.

-She goes by Prince instead of Snape to hide the fact that she's Severus' daughter. This was decided by Severus himself, to protect her from the danger of being associated with him. Livia isn't fond of this idea, but understands the reasons behind it.

-She doesn't really aprove of Draco's behaviour most of the time, but is too amused by it to stop him. If she really dislikes something he did, she'll play along in public but will chastize him in private. Kinda "I don't agree with you but I'll defend you anyway because we're supposed to be a team".

-She knows more than she should. Severus long gave up on trying to hide anything from her.

(In this AU, lycantropy has nothing to do with AIDs. It's a blood curse that happens to be contagious and, like all curses, it can be passed down to generations)

[sweetfirebird]

you all know I don't watch Bridgerton or anything... I don't think I even spelled that right. But anyway, apparently the hints for the next season involve f/f and a black/white pairing for that f/f (and I know it's gender swapping someone from the books in addition to ... is the term race swapping? well that too) and apparently this has made a lot of romance and Bridgerton fans very angry.

And a lot of other romance readers/writers were surprised by this. I am not blaming them for being surprised but let me tell you... There is more than a mere streak of conservatism among romance readers. It is built in to the genre I think. And yes, I mean even the ones who read m/m and post rainbows in June are often conservative, and you know one thing those readers hate? Well, two things those readers hate? Women who do not center men in their lives and also black women as romantic leads.

They will say they don't, but they also will not read or watch anything like that. And if they do, they will be harsher than they would ever be to the worst written m/f out there.

(I also suspect this discomfort extends to queer stories featuring vaginas/vulvas in any way. I don't mean vaginas as in, "vaginas means women" I mean, there is a lot of misogyny in the romance genre but also specifically these readers dislike stories that mention vaginas in anything other than a 50 Shades "her inner goddess" way. Cocks are allowed. Cunts are not. So, some trans romances, f/f, any romance that isn't cis m/f in which pussies are talked about in noneuphemistic ways, freak them the fuck out and that makes them angry as well.)

These kinds of readers will suddenly get super critical of writing and pacing and technique and historical accuracy in a way they do not give two shits about with cis m/m or m/f. And if anyone involved in that romance is not white, or more particularly black, that part of the audience is especially inclined to do this.

And this show apparently replaced some "beloved" male character from the books with this black woman for this romance, and oh yeah, that actress is going to get hate and Netflix had better have her back. Actually, she probably is already getting hate because even the original author of the books is getting hate right now and Julia Quinn is, as far as I know, white.

But anyway, no I was not surprised at the anger and the strength of the backlash. Romance has a lot of internalized misogyny and also a lot of racism baked right in. If this had been a side ship, they would have just ignored it completely. But because it's replacing a major m/f white, ship, people are losing their minds.

... Actually if an interracial f/f couple were side characters on most shows, they wouldn't even be a ship. They would already be together and kept away from any sexual tension or wooing or will they/won't they vibes. Or they would not even be a ship until they show was about to be canceled and then the producers would throw in an awkward kiss or something in the final season.

Anyway. I am rambling now but like, yeah. Not surprised at the hate. Only surprised that Netflix is having it be an actual romance on screen.

[salemshotspot]

I saw that post about how no one would want to read austin/shawn/trips but /I/ would op. /I would/.

STONE FACED STEVE AUSTIN

Steve Austin x Shawn Michaels x Triple H

WORD COUNT: 2.6k

DESC: Steve Austin has some doubts about his partners' feelings.

WARNINGS: jealously//angst with a happy ending//not proof read//characters not fully acting in character//brief use of generic pet names [baby]

A/N >> I'm not sure if this is any good but I enjoyed writing it

TAGS: anon

Enjoy!

——————————————————————————

Although Steve was not scheduled to be on air this particular evening, to everybody’s surprise he decided to turn up to the arena and watch the show on the backstage TV. Wrestlers coming in on their days off to watch the show wasn’t anything new, everybody did it from the undertaker to the rock; but not Steve, he never normally came in on his days off which is why everyone raised an eyebrow when they saw him sat backstage with an unreadable face.

Steve was pulled from his thoughts briefly as he heard the voice of Mick Foley, or as the world knew him at this point ‘mankind’; although in ring they weren’t on the best of terms to put it lightly, outside of the ring the two were good friends. ‘Steve is that you?’ He joked before continuing ‘it’s good to see you buddy! What brings you here today? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you here on one of your days off.’

Not at all in the mood for conversation Steve abruptly muttered ‘felt like it’ as he takes a generous sip of a beer he previously took from the fridge which was accessible backstage for stars and crew alike. Mick knew Steve well enough to know he didn’t want to be bothered right now so he simply hummed in agreement and left Steve to his own devices. Almost perfectly timed with Mick’s exiting of the room Steve’s attention was drawn back to the TV as he heard ‘are you ready?’; it was dgeneration x’s entrance song.

Steve was a private man, to him his business was his and only his which is why nobody knows for the past few months he had been dating both Shawn and Hunter, he was honestly surprised the two men hadn’t accidentally told anyone about the relationship yet and for this Steve was thankful; he wasn’t hiding his relationship out of shame but more so because of his desire for privacy, he didn’t want people talking about his business, about his partners when it didn’t concern them in the slightest and he was so grateful to his partners for understanding this.

The real reason Steve had come in on his day off was one which filled him with shame; he was jealous, he knew it was stupid as he knew just as well as everybody in his line of work all of the storylines which they partake in are works of fiction. His partners currently had a running bit where they were both fighting over Chyna, desperate to one up the other in order to ‘win her affection’ and with each stunt Steve couldn’t help but grow more jealous, more irritated with his partners. As he always struggled vocalising his feelings when things bothered him Steve decided to do the one thing he knew how to do to feel like he had an ounce of control over his situation; he was there to keep an eye on them, he almost felt as if he was physically present he could stop anything from happening. He knew it was a stupid fear to have, he knew his partners would never actually betray him but he couldn’t help the way his mind would wander.

The sound of dgeneration x’s entrance song died down as the group entered the ring, Hunter’s voice pulling Steve’s attention back to the TV; ‘get over yourself Shawn, Chyna clearly wants me and I mean can you blame her’ he says flexing his muscles as he crowd cheers. The sound of the crowd siding with Hunter led to Shawn challenging Hunter to a no DQ match, winner gets to take Chyna on a date; before Hunter could accept or decline the offer Shawn practically ran over to him and subjected him to some sweet chin music, the sound of the impact echoed through the arena as Shawn’s foot connected with Hunter’s chin and Hunter fell to the floor.

Steve rolled his eyes as his partners fight grew progressively more violent; Hunter reaching under the ring for a chair as Shawn snuck up behind him with a set of the steel steps which lead up to the ring. After about half an hour of fighting Shawn finally managed to pin Hunter long enough for the referee to count to three. Upon winning the fight Shawn jumped up and ran over to Chyna and gently cupped her face in his hands, looking into her eyes with pure adoration as he gently placed a kiss on her lips as the crowd cheered and Hunter dramatically rolled his eyes at Shawn's showboating. Once Shawn pulled back from Chyna he turned to Hunter who was playing up his heartbreak for crowd sympathy to which he opened his arms offering a hug to Hunter causing Hunter dropped his heartbroken act and wrapped both Shawn and Chyna in his arms.

Watching the screen Steve crushed the can he was holding with his hand causing small traces of beer to trickle from the can onto his hand which instantly grew sticky as the beer settled on his hand. Steve couldn't believe what he was seeing; in all of the months they had been together Shawn hadn't once looked at him with such adoration in his eyes, he had never once held his face in his hands before kissing him and Hunter had definitely never wrapped him up in his arms the way he had just seen him do to Shawn and Chyna. Steve began to kick himself, he knew he should've listened to himself when he tried to ignore his feelings for Shawn and Hunter; Steve was far too caught up in his thoughts to notice that his partners were no longer on the screen, they were entering the room which Steve had been sitting in all evening.

'Steve?' Shawn questioned, voice laced with confusion and excitement; hearing Shawn say Steve's name caused Hunter's head to turn towards the room while Steve stayed turned away from the men in the doorway. Shawn frowned as Steve ignored him, Hunter assumed he simply didn't hear Shawn so, while walking into the room with Shawn following behind, Hunter said louder than Shawn did previously; 'Steve this is a nice surprise.'

Upon noticing that Steve was actively ignoring the two Hunter sat on the two seat couch next to Steve who, upon feeling the couch dip slightly, shifted his body further towards the edge of the couch facing away from the man who had just sat next to him. Before Hunter could speak Shawn swiftly walked over to the couch and sat on the arm which Steve was facing, trapping him between his partners who were desperate to uncover what was bothering him.

'Steve is everything ok?' Hunter questioned as he placed a hand on Steve's shoulder supportively, however, to Hunter's surprise as his hand rested upon Steve's shoulder his entire body tensed up. Hurt and confused Hunter pulled his hand away from Steve; he's never been anything less than recuperative to his touch and he couldn't for the life of him figure out why he was acting this way.

'I'm fine' Steve snapped back as he stood up and pulled another beer from the fridge before turning back to his partners, his eyes glossed over with anger; 'believe me I'm completely fuckin' fine, not that either of you care about that though' he continued coldly.

Both Shawn and Hunter felt their hearts drop at Steve accusation; 'what is that supposed to mean' Shawn asked, voice wavering as Steve let out a mocking chuckle 'you know exactly what I mean' Steve instantly replied. Before either of the men could say another word Steve said in a whisper, almost as if he was telling himself rather than the two men 'I ain't putting myself through this' before he stormed out of the room, leaving the two men sat in a shared state of shock and confusion.

Shawn looked over to Hunter, realising the usually stoic man had his head in his hands, hair falling over his face; Shawn dramatically fell back onto the couch, his head landing in Hunter's lap. As he looked up into Hunter, a small smile forming on his face due to Shawn's actions, Shawn questioned his partner; 'are you ok?'

Hunter sighed and began playing with Shawn's hair; 'I'm ok Shawn, I'm just worried about Steve, he's never acted like this with us before.' Shawn hummed in agreement, also worried about his currently missing partner. As the two men sat in silence with their shared anxiety filling the room both of their eyes glanced upwards towards the TV which was now playing highlights from that night's episode of RAW and after a few minutes their segment was being highlighted, that's when it hit the two men.

As they watched themselves on the screen practically throwing themselves at Chyna Shawn spoke up; 'do you think that he-', with guilt lacing his voice Hunter interjected, 'I think so.'

Although the two men were certain they had gotten to the bottom of Steve's outburst they couldn't help but feel they were wrong; Steve isn't the type to get jealous, especially when he knew there was nothing to be jealous of, or at least that's what they thought.

The two men got up off the couch and began searching for Steve but he was nowhere to be found, Shawn spotted Mick and asked if had seen Steve anywhere to which Mick replied by explaining he saw Steve about ten minutes earlier declaring he was heading home.

Now the men knew where Steve had gone they began formulating a plan to reconcile with their boyfriend. After about forty minutes the two men had a plan they got into Hunter’s car and drove to Steve’s house. The men walked up to Steve’s house and Hunter, after hesitating for a moment, knocked on the door to which Steve opened after a matter of minutes.

‘Steve’ Shawn began 'please let us in, we just want to talk to you’ he practically begged. Although Steve was angry at the men he hated to see them look so sad and although his better judgement was telling him to slam the door on the two men he instead begrudgingly he let the two men into his house.

Hunter was the first to break the silence; he was always good at getting a dialogue going, it was like his secret talent, ‘Steve we know why you’re mad’ he began, causing Steve’s eyes to briefly widen, was he really that predictable? Once Hunter finished speaking Shawn picked up where his partner had left off; ‘we’re sorry about our storyline with Chyna, we’ve been thinking and we’re going to speak to Vince first thing tomorrow to get our story chang-‘ Steve immediately cut the man off, he felt a small pang of guilt and adoration strike his heart, he couldn’t bring himself to believe they cared about him enough to drop a storyline just to put his mind at ease.

‘Let me stop you right there' Steve’s voice filled the room with ease ‘now I personally couldn’t give two shits about what you two do with yourselves, you’re grown men for crying out loud’ he continued, the volume of his voice increasing with each word. Both Shawn and Hunter were at a loss for words as they were sure they had figured out why Steve was upset; as Steve continued speaking he noticed Hunter wince, he had always been sensitive to sound and Steve always forgot; after lowering his voice he continued to speak, Hunter silently thanking him. 'I really don’t care about you loving on Chyna’ he stopped speaking and lowered his gaze to the ground, suddenly overcome with embarrassment, he couldn’t believe he was actually talking about this. Noticing him grow increasingly embarrassed, Shawn placed his hand on Steve’s shoulder, his thumb gently rubbing soothing circles, signalling to Steve he was safe and could share anything with the two men. With a deep sigh Steve practically blurted out ‘it’s not the fact you’re loving on other people that I mind, it’s the fact you never love on me like that.’

Simultaneously the three men froze, Steve out of embarrassment and Shawn and Hunter as they were at a loss for words, did Steve really think they didn’t love him? Almost offended by this accusation Shawn pushed him to elaborate which is when Steve spoke about the way Shawn looked at Chyna as he kissed her, the way he ever so gently cupped her face in his hands, the way Hunter wrapped both her and Shawn in his arms in a way he had never done with Steve.

After what felt like hours of silence, which was in fact a couple of seconds of house ambience filled silence, Hunter and Shawn smirked at each other in unison; they didn’t know their boyfriend was so jealous but they weren’t complaining. Noticing the men smirking at each other Steve immediately attempted to act like this whole thing hadn’t happened, claiming the men must think he’s stupid. Before he could continue to spiral Shawn reached up to his face, cupping it ever so gently just like he had with Chyna so many times before; ‘baby nothing you could ever say to us could be close to stupid, you’re feeling like me and Hunter aren’t loving on you enough and that’s our fault, let us make it up to you’ Shawn cooed.

With his attention completely captured by Shawn, Steve didn't notice when Hunter began to speak, in order to pull his attention back to the room Hunter softly pushed Steve backwards on the couch, encouraging him to sit back and relax. As Hunter lay Steve back he began peppering kisses over the man's face, gently speaking between kisses; 'Shawn is right, we're so sorry we've not been paying enough attention to our precious baby', he moved to whisper into Steve's ear; 'let us show you how sorry we are.'

Hunter wrapped his arms around Steve, rendering him unable to move, not that he was complaining being wrapped in the arms of his boyfriend. Steve would've been more than happy to stay wrapped in Hunter's arms with Shawn cuddled up closely to the two, all three sharing a comfortable silence. The silence was abruptly broken when Shawn gently lifted the fabric of Steve's shirt, the cold air hitting his abdomen causing him wince for a brief second as his body grew accustomed to the temperature change he was experiencing. Feeling his partner wince under his touch Hunter tightened his hold on Steve attempting to provide extra security for the man in his arms; once Steve had adjusted to the temperature Shawn began planting soft kisses down his abdomen, muttering praises between each kiss.

As Hunter rubbed circles into Steve's shoulder with his thumb the man he held so firmly yet gently in his arms began to grow tired. Hunter could see him physically attempting to force himself awake to which Hunter softly chuckled; 'you don't have to stay awake for us baby, we'll still be here when you wake up, we're not going anywhere' to which Shawn hummed in agreement.

Hearing the words and the silent encouragement of his partners caused him to finally allow himself to sleep, nuzzling his head into the crook of Hunter's neck he sleepily muttered 'I love you, I love both of you so much.' Steve almost immediately fell asleep in the arms of his partners, Shawn and Hunter quickly falling asleep, the three of them feeling safe and content with their relationship.

Shawn, Hunter and Steve have never felt happier than when they were together, even if sometimes they needed reminding of how much their partners really loved them.

[number-one-toku-robot-lover]

Things to know about men, I suppose.

[inkskinned]

what is with men being mad any time a woman raises her voice where did that even come from. someone posted a video of a small electrical explosion, and the top comment was of course the woman screams. the second comment is women try not to scream challenge, level impossible. i had to go back and watch the video again. there is, somewhat fainty, a little gasp emitted off-camera, more of a yelp than a scream. it is mostly lost in the crack of the explosion. afterwards, you hear her voice, shaken, say, are you okay?

i am helping one of my friends train her voice pitch lower, because she wants to be taken seriously at work. she and i do each other's nails and talk about gender roles; and how - due to our appearance - neither of us have ever been able to be "hysterical" in public. we both appear young and sweet and feminine. she is cisgender, and cannot use her natural voice in her profession because people keep saying she appears to be "vapid". we both try to figure out if our purposeful voice lowering is technically sexist. is it promoting something when you are a victim to it?

a storm almost sends a pole through a car window. in the dashcam, you can hear the woman passenger say her partner's name twice, crying out in alarm. she sounds terrified. in the comments, she is lambasted for her lack of calm. how is that even fucking helping?

in high school, i taught myself to have a lower voice. i had been recorded when i was genuinely (and righteously) upset; and i hated how my voice sounded on the phone speakers when it was played back. i was defending my mom, and my voice cracked with emotion. it meant i was no longer winning the argument: i was just shrieking about it.

girls meet each other after a long summer and let out a little joyful scream. this usually stops around 12-14, because people will not tolerate this display of affection (as it has the effect of being passingly annoying). something about the fact that little girls can't ever even be annoying. we are trained to examine each part of our lives (even joy) for anything that could make us upsetting and disgusting. they act like teenage girls are breaking into houses and shrieking you awake at 3 in the morning. speaking as a public school educator: trust me, it's not that bad, you can just roll your eyes and move on. it does not compare to the ways boys end up being annoying: slurs in graffiti, purposefully mocking your body, following you after you said no. you know, just boy things.

there's another video of a man who is not allowed to yell in the house, so he snaps his fingers when he's excited about soccer. the comments are full of angry men, talking about how their brother is unfairly caged. let him express himself and this is terrible to do to someone. eventually the couple has to address it in a second video: they are married with a newborn baby. he was trying not to wake the infant up. there is no comment on the fact women are not allowed to yell indoors. or the fact that it could have been really alarming or triggering for his wife. sometimes i wonder if straight men even like women, if they even enjoy being in relationships with them.

for the longest time, i hated roller coasters because it always felt inappropriate and uncomfortable for me to scream. one of my friends called me on it, said it was unusual i'm so unwilling. i had to go to my therapist about it. i don't like to scream because i was not raised in a safe situation, and raising my voice would have brought unsafe attention towards me. even when i am supposed to scream, it feels shameful, guilty. i was not treated kindly, so i lack a basic form of self-protection. this is not a natural response. it is not good that in a situation of high adrenaline - i shut up about it.

something very bad is happening, i think. in between all the beauty standards and the stuff i've already discussed - this one feels new and cruel in a way i can't quite express. yes, it's scary and silencing. but there's something about how direct it is - that so many men agree with the sentiment that women should never yell, even in an emergency - it feels different.

is the word shriek gendered automatically? how about shrill or screech? in self defense class, one of the first things they tell you is to yell, as loud and as shrilly as you can. they say it will feel rude. most women will not do this. you need to practice overcoming the social pressure and just scream.

most women do not cry out, even when it's bad. we do not report it. we walk faster. we do not make a scene. what would be the point of doing anything else? no matter what we do, we don't get taken seriously. it is a joke to them. an instagram caption punchline. we have to present ourselves as silent, beautiful, captivating - "valuable."

a woman is outside watching her kids when someone throws a firecracker at them. she screams and runs towards her children. in the comments, grown men flock together in the thousands: god. women are so annoying.

[countess-of-edessa]

the thing about taking advice from anyone on tiktok or instagram including catholic and christian type influencers, parenting advice, relationship advice, etc, or internalizing any stories of horrible relationships and betrayal people tell on those platforms, or reading about all the ways interpersonal relationships can end horribly and be cycled through extremely quickly on those platforms is that you are necessarily then consuming the thoughts and experiences of someone who is willing to put their face and name on a public social media platform to talk at you. and like 1% of those people have a good reason for doing so and the other 99% are completely unhinged. so everything you’re consuming has first gone through the filter of "is this person weird and insane enough to make Instagram reels of themselves crying?" and if the answer is yes maybe their advice doesn’t apply to your life because you’re a normal person who would not do that.

[du-hjarta-skulblaka]

So an LP channel I love presented a theory that the mage circle in DA is essentially built to fail, things like templar incompetence and brutality and poor training of mages are allowed to spread specifically so that there are enough incidents to keep the widespread fear of mages fresh, and I LOVE that. Given how Bioware writes I sincerely doubt its intended, but its a take that I really love particularly when you look at all the cultures with mages outside of the chantry that do just fine (mainly thinking if the dalish here but like...there's enough casually mentioned apostates out there just vibing to suggest that circle training against demons isn't all that effective)

Downside is it makes Vivienne all the more infuriating to deal with. I already struggled talking to her because she's like...she's literally fighting for her own oppression, it drives me insane