#including my uncle and trying to cope with that

[tomlinsun]

“...We joked about it at first just being like [REDACTED] or whatever, and people really took that up!”

[spicyicymeloncat]

Guys what if ex-villain Misako? What if the reason why Lloyd went to Darkly’s isn’t because of Garmadon, it’s because Misako has personal connections. And while she isn’t evil anymore, it would make sense as to why she opted to leave Lloyd, yknow. Like she thought she wouldn’t be a good parent. And also why she dated Garmadon in the first place. Also it makes their relationship so interesting. Rage filled person who is trying to fight the temptation to be evil x seeming innocent secretly devious person. It would be great.

[glitchtricks94]

TWST Guys Bringing You Home!: Heartslabyul Edition

Welcome to part one, I'm planning on writing all the dorms + Idia. Ortho will just be included with him, personally, since Ortho is too adorable to ever defile in any manner outside of being a cute little brother. Headcannons, headcannons, headcannons! Let's start this off with some cottoncandy fluff, shall we? Not gonna lie, I felt like a mom gushing about all her chaos children over tea writing this. I hope you enjoy these headcannons, and let me know your thoughts. I love interaction and would love to hold a conversation with you guys. Anyways, sit back, relax and have fun. -Glitchtricks Word count: 4k

Ace Trappola

Oh, this is such a delight to see. Little Ace is in love! Ace is super awkward and very defensive, and yet somehow little ol' you broke down all those walls of arrogance and faux confidence, such a special darling you are. So, how would he be if he decided to bring you home to meet his family?

Two words: Nervous. Wreck. Ace is a disaster before bringing you home to meet his brother and father; he's sweating, internally screaming, his anxiety is spiked, and you have to handle everything with your usual grace. Ace has some bad anxiety, which he confided that he coped with it by being all snarky with everyone, i.e. being a dick way too often. You didn't mind though, but you did gently encourage him to come to you if he felt too overwhelmed by everything, just in case he needed to vent. How sweet! There was a lot of texting back and forth, nights cuddling on your near dinosaur era furnishings of Ramshackle, and plenty of kisses on his temples, Ace had calmed down enough to not feel like an anchor was being dropped on his chest at the thought of bringing you home. He was ready to announce you as his to his family!

Oh dear, sweet Seven, he couldn't have predicted any of what happened... First, his brother decided to do the worst thing ever and brought up Ace's old view on dating and how his first girlfriend got ghosted. Ace wanted to die then and there, even being collared by Riddle was more tolerable than this hell... "Hey, (Y/N), you know my baby bro here had a gal before you, right?" "Oh? He did?" You said, your pretty eyes widening. "He's never mentioned her before..." "Dude, please, don't...!" Ace quietly pleaded, humiliation seeping in like a cold rain. "Yeah, he went out a few times with this one girl in middle school. She'd always go to amusement parks with him and stuff, topping it off with a Ferris wheel, but he ghosted her." Ace's brother continued, sipping on his tea. "And why's that?" You prodded, sipping your own tea as you shot a small glare at your boyfriend. You shared stories of your exes, but why didn't he? Did he not trust you? You didn't know whether you should feel hurt, or pissed. You chose to feel pissed. "Got bored, 'cording to him, she was just bland beyond her coffee tastes and liked a lot of stuff that just didn't click with him. She was pretty, but had as much depth as a piece of paper." The elder Trappola explained. "Her friends called him out for his shit, and he swore off dating, too much of a hassle in his opinion, so I'm surprised he decided to go out with you, much less bring you home." "I see." You hummed. Ace knew he was in the dog house and was now preparing to ask Sam if he sold flowers and romance stuff to try and make it up to you when you both got back to Night Raven.

Well, at least pop likes you! Can't wait to have you as an in-law! During dinner, Ace's dad smiled and chatted all about his boys, saying how proud he was of Ace for bringing home such a sweetheart like you! You ended up forgetting the upsetting conversation from earlier given how jovial Mr. Trappola was, he was like that one cool uncle that was trusted with looking after the baby, or that one cool barbeque dad your friends might have. Card tricks were shared, food was eaten and conversation was exchanged, if at a little of your boyfriend's expense. Funny stories were shared, like that one time he accidentally hit his brother in the groin with a bat as a kid when he came home for the holidays, or that time Ace got pranked by his dad with a classic; pouring soap on his head while he was rinsing out his own lather. "My hair was never as silky as it was after that." Ace laughed, starting to loosen up as he threw his arm around your shoulder. You leaned over and pecked his cheek, making both your faces bloom red as you both grinned happily. Overall, you're basically already known as the best in-law ever even before Ace put a ring on it. He's already planning how to ask a few years down the line, though~!

Deuce Spade

Another cute boy, who's mildly awkward when in love. Oh, how sweet! He took a lot of time learning how to properly approach you. didn't he? Deuce is beaming with pride having you on his arm, smiling that cute little boy smile he shows off when he's excited. He loves holding your hand in his as you stroll about the rose gardens of Heartslabyul. You knew he was close to his mom, having ditched his old delinquent days after hearing her crying on the phone to his grandmother, and he often talked about you to her, sometimes while you were sitting right there! Oh, how your cheeks reddened hearing him spout compliments about you to his mother. Both you and Deuce were arranging to meet his mom and grandma, in fact Deuce wanted to introduce you as soon as possible! You're one of the most important people in his life, so he wanted to share you with his familial circle asap. So, how does this all go?

Oh, honey, grandma practically fell in love with you on first sight. You met Deuce's grandma and mom at the same time, the two sitting at the dining room table in Ms. Spade's home, sipping away on their tea. It was a little awkward with Ms. Spade, but granny practically pounced on you when Deuce said you were his significant other. She was just smiling up at you, going on about how much of a cutie you were the whole while. It was quite nice, talking over tea, Deuce smiling happily as he had an arm respectfully wrapped around your waist. Needless to say, mom relaxed a bit seeing how her mother was reacting alongside her baby boy.

Deuce didn't know why he didn't expect the baby pictures to be brought out... Baby books, baby books and more baby books. You were surprised by the sheer amount that Deuce's mother loved to do scrapbooking, it was like there was a mountain of baby books from when your sweet card soldier was growing up! There had to be about six books sitting on the coffee table. Everyone had gathered into the living room after tea, Ms. Spade excitedly flitting about the place like a child on sugar, gathering all these books to stack, Deuce slowly turning red seeing his old baby books being yanked out again. You sat next to Deuce, holding his hand with your fingers interlaced. "Here's when Deuce was two, he always played with his food, he was such a messy baby!" Ms. Spade gushed, showing off a picture of baby Deuce smiling up at the camera; baby food was smeared all over his smiling face, his hands caked in the stuff and the bowl on his little head, his pretty jade colored orbs shimmering with joy. "His little smile is infectious!" You chirped, smiling warmly at the picture of your darling boyfriend. Deuce buried his head in your hair, hiding from his embarrassment.

Deuce felt like melting into your embrace at this point. You made his night. After a fun dinner filled with embarrassing stories from when Deuce was young, warm hearty laughter and sweet gazes exchanged with your boyfriend, the two of you settled into bed, you sneaking out of the guest room grandma insisted you stay in to steal some kisses and snuggles. You settled into Deuce's arms as he kissed your rosy cheeks, tangling your legs with his under the covers. Looking into his eyes, you've never seen him look so happy since he got an 86 on his history exam. "I love you so much, baby." Deuce whispered sweetly, your heart fluttering in your chest. "I love you too, honey." You replied, your own voice laced with the sugar of your love for the jade eyed boy. "I wanna say thanks for coming with me to meet my mom and grandmother, it meant a lot to me." "Deucey, it's no trouble!" You chirped softly, smiling up at your lover. "I'm just happy they like me." "They love you, you fit perfectly into the family!" Deuce laughed, his shoulders shaking. "It's honestly a relief that you get along, I was scared things would go wrong. But, I guess I panicked for nothing." The navy haired first year continued, turning to gaze at you with so, so much love. "You're perfect after all." Deuce was gonna be the death of you, he was always so sweet. You could mark this day as a sweet, sweet success: Your boyfriend was happy, grandma loves you, mom thinks you're perfect for her son, and everything felt like utter bliss. So, without saying another word, you sealed your night with Deuce with a kiss...~

Cater Diamond

Cater being in love honestly isn't surprising; being in love is such brand booster! Cute Magicam couples? Yes please! Being real though, Cater's honestly a major handful for you, because under that cheery "Caycay is gonna slayslay" vibe that the 3rd year carries, he's honestly a complete wreck and is terrified that you'll get tired of his anticks. Shocking how he and Azul aren't besties in that regard. However, he had no need to fear! The marvelous S/O was here to save the day: Cuddles, kisses, spicy ramen and at home spa treatments were being rapid fired from your heart to claim Cater's love and destroy his anxiety! So, with the day saved, you and your lovely boyfriend could be free to talk about a tough topic; when are you gonna meet his family? Cater ended up laughing at your question and told you to start packing your bag, he's going to talk Crowley into letting you have a weekend getaway! Even if he disliked his sisters!

Already he was regretting life... Cater's sisters immediately burst out to greet their baby brother after his mom called, and the first thing they do? Tell you that your shirt is super not cute and Cater should go buy you another one. "It's what a good boyfriend would do!" The eldest sister said, folding her arms over her chest. "Yeah! It's what our boyfriends did!" His other sister chimed in. Cater was here less than five seconds and already he felt like blowing a gasket... "But this is my favorite shirt. That I bought myself." You said, crossing your arms over your chest. "You don't get to tell me what to wear, so shush." "Way to stand up for yourself, honey bunny~!" Cater chirped, smiling at you as he led you inside with an arm around your waist. The ginger boy swore he fell even harder than when he first started dating you in that moment.

Cater was internally screaming at how his sisters acted and just wanted to go home. Oh, and mom didn't really like you, so there's that. The room was a bit tense as you sat and shared tea and some lightly burned pastries made by Cater's sisters. Cater himself was suffering the overly sweet baked goods and planned to just spend the after noon there. "So, how did you and my son meet?" Mrs. Diamond asked, eying you with a sharpened gaze. "Oh, I met him at Night Raven. My friend had gotten into a predicament and I ran into him while he was painting his dorm's roses!" You explained, a warm smile coming to your face as your boyfriend started to blush softly. "He was so cute and charming, still is, honestly." "Awww, babes, stop!" Cater giggled, nuzzling your cheek against his, making you laugh in turn. "I see." His mother huffed. The rest of the time was awkward to say the least.

You could tell your boyfriend could finally breathe after you left the house. Dad wasn't around that day, bit too busy with his banking job, so you didn't get to meet him; not that you really cared, Cater's sisters ruined a good chunk of the afternoon and made your poor honey work himself to the bone! Cater dropped the cheap, fake smile on his face when you both made it out of the house, his anger flaring up as he started muttering various rants under his breath. "Caycay, do you wanna get some lunch? There's a nice ramen place we could go to." You gently suggested, wanting to make your sweetheart feel better and ease his stresses. "It's that reaaally nice one you saw on Magicam the other day. The one that Vil praised" "That...That sounds wonderful honey bunny." Cater sighed, looking at you with a tired grin. Without much thought, you pressed a kiss to his cheek, making his heart flutter. So over lunch, you both came to terms that the fam might not dig on you, but that didn't matter to you or Cater. You had each other, and that's what mattered most to you two lovebirds.

Trey Clover

You have such a good man on your hands, even if he's a touch shy with his affections. When you first broached the topic of meeting his family, Trey was taken aback. He adored you to no end, and he could see a future with you, even if it'd be long distance for a few years, why hadn't he thought of showing you off to his family? "Of course I'll introduce you, darling." He said with a warm smile, leaning down to press a peck on your cheek, "How about we visit this upcoming weekend? I'm sure Riddle can hold it together long enough."

It was a really sweet reception when you showed up. Trey's parents were told about you ahead of time by their eldest, given how he's the responsible boy he is, so you were greeted by a small banner and a custom cupcake in your favorite flavors. The banner that was hung read "welcome home!" in bold, glittering rainbow letters; it tickled you pink! You felt at home already when Trey walked you up to the bakery, and the feeling intensified when his little siblings ran over, cheering over their big brother being home and asking if you were the person mom and dad talked about on the phone with Trey. Already you loved Trey's family, they were adorable in your eyes! "I hope you're ready for the insanity that's my family." Trey playfully remarked, pulling laughter from everyone around him. You hugged your boyfriend with a smile on your face. "I look forward to every minute we stay here."

Trey loved baking alongside you, but you and his family? Talk about heaven! Trey had to help out in the family business still, given his parents ran a bakery that had opened for lunch, so alongside the sweet smells of cake, the occasional smell of crisping pepperonis and melting cheese filled your senses. You found it odd at first, but your boyfriend's father swiftly explained that a demand for some more dinner and lunch friendly goods should be offered and they complied, if only a touch. You were surprised by how willing Trey's parents were when offering your help to ease the rush, helping your darling make and top some sugar cookies with oversized chocolate chips. You ended up swiping kisses from your boyfriend while his mom worked the front of house and his dad prepared the pizzas to be sent out. It seemed the more homely setting brought out the more affectionate side of your lover; small coos of adoration left his lips, tiny kisses peppered your cheeks, and skin to skin contact was through the roof as he guided you by taking your hands into his. It was all so romantic and sweet.

It had to be a bittersweet departure after your little weekend of fun was over, but everyone loved you. You had your bags packed back up with Trey, the luggage sitting in the foyer as you ate a delightful breakfast, feeling right at home as you sat next to your beloved. Trey was holding your hand under the table as you two dug into the fluffy blueberry pancakes his mom and dad had made for everyone, one of his little brothers quickly getting your attention. "(Y/N)?" The little boy called out quietly. "Yes, little one?" You asked, your voice a soft coo. The 3rd year glanced over at you as you interacted with his baby brother, watching carefully. "Will you come back with our big brother again soon?" "Well, that depends on both me and your big brother, dear. I'd love to, though!" You replied, flashing a smile to the little guy, who hugged you. "I'm gonna miss you..." He whined. "Me two!" Trey's sister piped up. "Me thwee!" The youngest chimed in, Trey and his parents chuckling at your interactions. "You have quite the partner here, Trey." His father spoke, looking at his son in pride. "You really do, sweetie, you better try and hold onto them!" Trey's mother spoke, smiling warmly. "They're a keeper!" "I know." Trey replied, looking at you now hugging his younger siblings, warmth bubbling in his chest. "I plan to treat them right." Overall, you had a new home in the Clover family, and your boyfriend's thinking of ways to properly propose to you after the trip. Never hurts to plan it out!

Riddle Rosehearts

Oh god, oh no, this one hurts. This will never ever end well if he picks the S/O... You knew Riddle had some problems he was trying to work through, you understood, truly! And Riddle was eternally grateful for your presence and influence in his life, you had to be the best thing to ever happen to him! You were his angel sent from the stars. Which is why he dreaded introducing you to his mother. He knew his father would've been okay, and he honestly has zero issues showing you off to him! If he was actually at home that is...He was currently abroad when Riddle accidentally let it slip that he was dating. So, in came the demands to meet you to make sure you were good enough for her baby, and the news that you two were going to his house for dinner.

You both had pits in your stomachs when you showed up to the Rosehearts household... You were greeted by the intimidating visage of Riddle's mother, who was standing in the yard with her arms folded tightly over her chest, her eyes boring into you. "Hello, mother." Riddled greeted, closing himself off to your presence and tensing up, his shoulders stiff; a telltale sign that he was stressed. You had to bite back the urge to coo and coddle him like you normally did when he was upset. "Riddle." His mother hummed looking at you with disdain. "Why is your...companion here dressed like that?" She asked sharply, making you feel embarrassed. You had asked Rook of all people to style you, but it appears it's simply not up to par with the impossible standard's Mrs. Rosehearts held. "We had asked one of our fellow classmates to dress them in the finest clothes they had available." Riddle spoke. Riddle's mother tsked. "I thought that I raised you better than this, they look terribly tacky, and I thought you would've had better tastes. Come. Dinner is waiting now." Riddle clenched his fists, feeling sorrow well up in his chest as he looked at you apologetically. You rushed forward, hugging Riddle from behind and kissing his cheek to reassure him. It was still quite the sting hearing his mother act so harsh, though.

Dinner wasn't much better either... You made sure to study proper etiquette with Riddle before you came here, but none of that seemed to matter as you choked down the bland food. Seriously, who doesn't bother to season meet and just serve nothing but tomatoes, onions and iceberg lettuce for a salad...? You tried your best, but Mrs. Rosehearts just eyed you in disgust, biting her tongue but looking at Riddle with a disappointed gaze. Riddle himself couldn't tell if sorrow or anger was bubbling up in his chest. You explained you were from another world when she asked where you were from and she looked at you like you just spat on her when you told her you were magicless; despite her already knowing that. She made Riddle tell her about you after making him nearly break down in tears over the phone last night. "Pathetic! I raised my son better than this, and yet you're barely passing, have no magic, and carry no knowledge of anything worthwhile! You're nothing but a waste of his time and my own!" The harpy of a woman shrieked. Oh, that was it, he picked his side of the fence...

Riddle felt a cord finally snap as all of his years of strict, lonely suffering drove him forward. "Why can't you just be happy that I finally found someone, mother?" Riddle hissed, catching the attention of his present parent. "Because, your selection was terrible! I could pick you a much better partner." Mrs. Rosehearts said, you feeling like you could start crying. "No! I-I don't want anyone else, much less an arrangement where I'll feel nothing for the other party!" Riddle barked angrily, slamming his fist on the table as he stood up. "I want who I fell in love with! I want my rose! I want to stay with (Y/N)!" "When will you see that you're worth more than them?!" "They've been nothing short of an angel to me, fixing the damage you caused!" Riddle yelled, his face bright red from anger. "They're worth far more than me from where I stand!" "Then you can just take that garbage and get them out of this house, you and I will start studying to find you a suitable-" "If they leave, I'm leaving with them, in fact, that's a wonderful idea!" Riddle bellowed, you looking up at him and rising from your seat. Rushing to his side, you tugged him out of the house as Riddle's mother screamed at you two from the kitchen and out the door, Riddle yelling that she won't take you away; he's had so much stripped from him, he refuses to lose you. This entire situation was a disaster, but you knew your precious prince loved you so dearly. Once you two made it back to his dorm, Riddle looked exhausted. You asked him what you could do to ease his struggles after he changed into his pajamas. "My rose, tonight, I just want to forget everything, rules and all..." Riddle whined, looking at you with tired slate grey orbs. "I just want to hold you in my arms and wake up to your face..." "Of course, my love." You cooed softly, kissing his cheeks as you both crawled under the covers of his bed, Riddle curling into your form instantly. Under the warmth of the duvet, everything felt right; you were his and he was yours, and no tyrant was ever going to rip you apart. Riddle had proven his iron clad love belonged to you and you alone.

[tbhimnoteasyonmyself]

On Tee's Lonely Grief

I've seen people talk about New's and Phee's grief, Pimpa's grief but the gang has never been considered that much on account of their guilt. This episode, however, brings attention to that. Especially in Tee's case. Especially in the scene when he finds Non dead.

And I have to say, I fucking love this scene. So I'm here to tell you why.

PS: For the sake of this post, unlike what's normally my policy, the pictures used will not be edited in any way, shape or form unless stated otherwise. I think it would be taking creative liberties with the photography and it would diminish the validity of my analysis.

So:

Tee finds Non's body upstairs with his uncle's goons (dressed in entirely black outfits which obviously invoke death) very suspiciously looming over it.

So he does what capable and strong Tee, who has to support himself and his father and his uncle's business and now Non (as we saw very clearly this episode) would do: He lashes out. He demands answers. He threatens people. Because that's how he learned to solve his issues.

Yet he gets mostly silence. Arguably, the same exact silence he initially offers the 2 other people grieving Non this episode: New & Phee.

And so he argues with his uncle, makes accusations, mirrors New in the present moment so well it's uncanny.

And then he's alone. Everyone leaves, including Non's body. And now there's no one to perform that idea of a strong ruthless guy to. Now it's just Tee. And the contrast between the act of Tee and Tee is remarkable: one moment he's cold, and the other moment he's completely broken.

So he screams, at the top of his lungs, which is interesting. Because we do see Tee cry but not much. Tee's just not a person who cries. Which, besides being very relatable, is also terrible. Why? Because crying relieves you. It helps you cope, it releases the tension from you, at least a bit. Tee not crying here means this (Non dying), unlike the guilt of what happened before with him and the gang bullying Non

(something he is allowed to shed at least a single poetic tear about) Is a burden he can't be relieved of. At least, not at that moment.

So we watch as Tee screams helplessly. And the environment is so telling. GOD, I FUCKING LOVE THIS SHOW

There's an empty space. Virtually nothing is there with Tee. Because, of course, he's alone in the room, we know this, but he's also alone.

No one else knows this story like Tee does. No one else has been with Non when he was a creative student trying to make a film, when there was life to him in all senses of the word and also saw his dead, lifeless body. No one else has been the cause for both Non's problems and Non's death. No one has liked Non as a friend and cared for him and watched him die without being able to do anything about it. No one in Tee's life knows what he's going through, what it feels like. No one in Tee's life is able to share his grief. And he can't escape it either.

You see that weird ass mirror there? Why is it there? There are curtains around it. But it's not a window. That's odd. But while it makes no sense decoration/architectural-wise, it makes so much sense from the point of view of symbolism.

There's no escape. Even when it really feels like there should be. Because Tee, the guy with all the solutions, should be able to find a solution, shouldn't he? Besides... We come to care so much for him and for Non... So how come there's no solution? Because, we, like these teens do to adults, naively trust the narrative. Of course, there's no solution. We all knew this from the start. We're only here because of this: Non is dead.

So, instead of a way out, a hope for something better than what's going on in that room, we get just more of it. Tee and we alike, have no escape. We're both forced to face that scene, forced to accept it. And Tee, if he dares look for that way out, will only have to face himself.

But interestingly, he never does. Tee never looks at the mirror on the wall. He doesn't even acknowledge it. Which, of course, might be a reflection (pun intended) of how he tries to pass the blame of Non's death to his uncle.

He repeatedly claims he didn't know what would happen, that he wouldn't have brought Non back if he did but... Is that true? As Perth's character (BOMBASTIC SIDE EYE, btw) says:

"You already knew, right?" Because, let's face it, it was obvious. Things could only go poorly for Non if Uncle Joe got his claws on him. Tee had to know that wouldn't end well.

So this scene also tells us that, despite deep down his immense amount of guilt telling him he is guilty of Non's death, Tee doesn't want to acknowledge it. He maintains that position, in fact, nearly all the way until the end of episode Ep.11. where he slightly changes his narrative.

He never planned to.

Right now, he's a new person. One that would not make the same mistakes as in the past but that, despite the changes, is inevitably the one who somewhere in the past did make them.

But back to the scene.

Tee is framed right in front of the blueish-grey curtains and we all know what that means, I do not need to cite the ancient scrolls. But I wanna add that grey is also:

a colour associated with sadness;

seen as a colour of death, as it is literally in greyscale, hence colourless, lifeless AND because it can also be interpreted as a mix of white and black, both of which are mourning clothes colours, depending on the culture;

a reflection of Tee's grey morality because, naturally, while we understand Tee's motivations and background, he did some pretty fucked up things that his good intentions and unhelpful help attempts cannot erase.

And then Tee finds a small paper, written by Non (in vivid blue, properly highlighting not only Non's depression but also Tee's).

And the paper reads: "I'm gonna get out of this place. I'm not a loser." And it hits him even further because Non (at least in Tee's vision, I'll leave Non's death up for debate, I'm sure people will have theories) wanted so bad to be victorious once, to succeed just once. He wanted to get a chance to live normally and it didn't happen.

This, of course, ends up shaping Tee's own path, as he meets White and gets a chance to do things "right" and as he becomes this "new person" and gets away from his uncle. But, in that moment, none of that is relevant because it hasn't happened and Tee cannot know it will, he can only know, with written proof, that he failed. And now Non's dead.

And so, in the last part of this scene, we see a more zoomed-out shot. And Tee's still alone but now we have a more clear vision of just how tiny that space is. And how he's nearly taller than the frame. How his grief is bigger than the space in which it was brought to him. But also how the weight of it, represented by the walls, is nearly crushing him. Another gigantic, and perhaps the biggest of all, responsibility on Tee's shoulders.

Furthermore, as @shannankle has marvellously described and explained in this post about sex scene framing, the framing gives us a level 3 visual gaze which is used to remind us as the audience of just how intimate and profoundly shaping of Tee this moment is: we are not supposed to be here, this moment is Tee's and Tee's alone. Because, of course, he is alone. In all senses. The access we're getting is nearly forbidden. Even to the other characters. Because they don't get to see it, they only hear about it (or we assume they do).

And, to top it all off, the cherry on top of this great scene: all of this happens while Tee is wearing his school uniform. Because, of course, it had to. Because we need to be reminded: this is a teenager. Tee, who's mourning his dead friend whose corpse he just saw and whose death is largely his fault is just a teenager.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

I (20enby) am in college with this girl (22F) that I’ll call Eva for the purpose of this.

I used to like her a lot because she had a very peppy personality and was very nice to everybody. I wasn’t her closest friend and she wasn’t mine, but we got along quite well. However, she changed last summer. Now, she is constantly trauma dumping on everyone in our class, from talking about her ex and how she still loves him, how her uncle died and her unhealthy coping mechanisms. She also makes a lot of edgy jokes (think suicidal ideation, self-harm, ED and SA jokes. she does not SH or have an ED, she openly says so). I understand coping through humor and talking about your stuff with your friends, but there is a difference between talking about your problems to a trusted and willing friend and shouting those things across a crowded classroom. One of my close friends has tried talking to her about reining down some of the jokes a bit because it makes some people in the class uncomfortable (i am struggling with suicidal ideation and a SH addiction and my friend has been SAd before). She has been called out by teachers saying they will report her if she continues. She. Will. Not. Stop.

All of this came to a head a few weeks ago when she and several of her friends came to my lunch table to eat with me (I was alone but i don’t know if they did so out of the goodness of their heart or because there were no other seats as the place was pretty crowded and they’ve seen me eat alone before without caring that much). They were discussing how Eva might just be an alcoholic and she repeatedly asked my opinion. At first, I tried to explain how really i didn’t know because a) i have never gone drinking with her b) i don’t have the landmarks to answer that kind of question. She insisted and asked me over and over. By the fifth time, i answered that my only landmark on alcohol was my alcoholic father and did not peep another word for the rest of the conversation.

Now, her friends and her don’t answer my questions on the class groupchat and make a point not to sit next to me in class or ignore me in the corridors. I find it ironic how i am given the cold shoulder over this when i only gave her a taste of her own medicine after she pushed an issue i said i didn't want to talk about, but i still feel bad since she was trying to include me in the conversation, and some of my friends said i went too far. AITA?

What are these acronyms?

[totally-not-a-tickle-blog]

Hi can I infodump about Roy and my interpretation w/ him when it comes to coping mechanism regards sexual abuse to you?

Click here to allow me 👇 (long text)

.

To be honest I don't think he'll leave the more ""stereotypical"" type of victim bubble since 1- He's not a big focus in the show and 2- It's quite complicated and I don't know if Sr Pelo and the team would go that deep, but I like to overanalyze things. With that being said:

It feels off for me when he's shown as easily affected whenever his uncle is mentioned. I personally don't see it as HIM.

It's vague and anyone can see it whatever they like, it's 100% fine, but Roy is just... stubborn and ignorant. Those are two of his biggest traits and it's impossible for it not to affect how he deals with that trauma; he already has to deal with arrogant parents (mostly mother), not being himself even if he wants to (what pretty much hurts his natural ego), so being aware that even ANOTHER member of your family took advantage of you in even worst ways is basically a shot straight to the head. He's fighting something already and he'll definitely be in denial with a second one, not to mention that if people actually began to act all "soft" after finding that out IT'D MAKE THINGS WORSE.

It's literally the same as going to someone who wants to be seen as superior and mock him by treating them like a baby. It'll just make him try harder and harder to be taken seriously, including trying to ignore the trauma more and more.

And to be honest, even if he told his parents he'd stay in denial. Carmen and Richard are questionable parents but they're not monsters like some people think they are, they'd offer help and ask him what they want and need to know, but it changes nothing on how they treated him before nor his personality will suddenly change. I also have a lot to talk about his relationship with his parents, but that's for another one if I feel like it.

Now coming back to the beginning, when I mention that he doesn't get triggered when his uncle is the topic, I see it like that because his mind couldn't properly see the uncle as an enemy. He knows that what happened is wrong and that he's an asshole, but I'm talking about something more personal. A poor example for the sensation itself: You eat in a restaurant, and weeks later you find out that the waiter spit in your food. Will you come back? No. Are you also full MAD at him? Also no. You got angry in the first moments, sometimes still do, but you didn't even saw anything wrong with your food back then. You recognized it, but your brain didn't.

Now, when it's the sexual abuse itself, it affects him way more mostly because it makes him feel stupid, paranoid and dare I say disgusted maybe. I admit, that part is mostly me projecting, but it still makes sense in a way. It's more of a internal change instead of an external one (are those the right words?), since the consequences isn't as obvious and explicit if you did recognized the scene as a trauma at the time. You may not be against physical touch, but you may struggle interacting nicely afraid that you'll mess up again. I hope I didn't messed up on that part, or any at all--

ALRIGHT, briefly, Roy don't want sympathy, but he needs empathy, just like his friends are doing. They know what Roy goes through and still won't let him do whatever he wants, don't try babysitting him nor desperately tries to search for help right away like that. He's focused on his parents and can't handle even more trauma right now, and if he does start to try helping himself it'll be when he's older and don't have as much ego as he does now.

Ty for reading and I am SO SO sorry if I said anything shitty, sexual abuse is a topic that I always had some sort of interest on (studying and talking about), so I tend to think about it a lot specially when a hyperfixation is included.

EDIT: Just wanted to add that Roy's anger issues are also a nice response to everything I just said (nice in a "it connects" way, not good), someone as low-tempered as himself wouldn't be able to handle with the pressure of "You need to vent" without "exploding", thinking that his abuse consequently made him weaker and less worth of respect; "That shit just makes everything worse, so it's easier if I just ignore it!"

[yesiknowimshort]

looking at the fanon from canon with tim drake

(to the best of my own knowledge; take with a grain of salt; i’m open to discussion and disagreement; we can take this like an english lit class analysis)

this is inspired by discussions with @boredandboredmind about misconstrued info with jason and tim on their own posts about it.

also do not take this as hate to tim fic writers, you’re amazing and you best believe i’m checking the tim x reader tag constantly. i just want to be able to help give you easy access to half-canon-compliant info, and you can choose to take it or leave it.

and especially if you only know tim through online media (which is always valid and i’ll hear no argument!), it can be hard to differentiate between what it is “out of character, completely fanon” behaviour, and what is actually plausible.

RELATIONSHIPS

with his dad

tim’s relationship with his dad is extremely complicated. they both loved each other… but both of his parents had a very different way of showing their love to what tim needed.

for the majority of his life, his mother and father were super neglectful of him and his interests, which of course is how we had nine year old tim drake running around figuring out people’s identities and tryna convince nightwing to go back to batman bc tim said batman wouldn’t cope without a robin, as if he knew them personally.

bruce generally disapproved of tim being left alone while his parents were on business trips, so he looked out for tim a lot during those times.

after the death of tim’s mother, his father was all moody for a bit bc his company had gone to shit… oh and his wife died. anyway he was acting like mr crabs when he loses his money for a while until his physiotherapist dana winters was like “yo get a hold of your life man”. so jack attempted to reconnect with his son… but tim was already deep in the mantle of robin and hanging out with bruce wayne.

tim was a little reluctant at first but after a while he did really appreciate his dad trying to be a dad for once… but it conflicted with the life he had already made for himself.

tim was sneaking out to do hero work, skipping school, coming home in the early hours beat and bruised, being snarky and angsty to his dad, super secretive; basically coming off as a reckless hooligan teenager (even tho he really wasn’t) which made jack incredibly angry at tim a lot of the time, causing them to have a lot of fights.

jack was also super insecure as his position as tim’s dad as he felt inferior to the relationship tim had built with bruce.

so one day while tim was out, jack raided tim’s bedroom (10/10 parenting skills there, well done jack) which dana winters was horrified by and actually sided with tim when tim came home and blew up at his dad -anyway jack found out tim was robin.

he stormed to bruce and was like “fuck you and fuck my son’s role as robin. he’s going to boarding school”.

long story short, tim resumes the mantle of robin and his dad deals with it and they begin to really get along again, like a true father and son… and then his dad is murdered. tim finds him and is distraught, and that’s when we get this classic image of tim and bruce:

(it’s horrible obviously but i love this illustration so much. the way tim’s half in and out of the robin gear, the single eye you can see, the way he’s half collapsed over his father’s body and clinging to bruce for dear life) anyway then tim goes into the care of bruce wayne.

with bruce

lemme start of by saying: tim would only ever use the wayne name for business means as future ceo/controlling shareholder of W.E.

tim will always be a drake.

he quite literally made up a fake uncle so he wouldn’t get adopted by bruce, even though bruce really wanted to adopt him. not only that- he went as far as to forge a new will including this fictional uncle to avoid being bruce’s son

he struggled a lot with bruce’s “affection” after his father’s death since he never saw bruce as a father beforehand, only ever as a mentor. and of course, up until later in his robin career, he wasn’t even an orphan. he still technically wasn’t since dana winters ended up marrying his dad and becoming his step-mum, but she’s basically forgotten sadly.

he also consistently makes a point to make sure people know he made himself robin, and it wasn’t batman’s choice at all.

he appreciates bruce of course, but it’s more on an intellectual and emotional level than anything else. tim came from money (albeit, new money), and even though his parents' company basically died with his father there would’ve been some amount of inheritance money. not to mention without a shadow of a doubt, he would’ve had an account his parents had been saving for him.

living in another manor house and working around international companies and important people, wouldn’t be too different from what his life would’ve become had his parents not died.

tim would appreciate bruce not for the life he gave him, but simply because of bruce being intellectually stimulating for him. remember; tim sees the life he has as the life he made.

he reminds me of damian in the fact that both of them would struggle with dealing with people who bored them, people who couldn’t offer them anything.

anyway bruce = respected equal, bruce ≠ tim’s new dad.

 with jason and damian

boom. all you need to know.

nah but seriously...

jason attacked tim in the tt tower when he came back to life but can you really blame him? he was replaced, and it made sense for him to come after tim since as we know, tim forced himself into the role and did, technically, steal jason’s spot before bruce realistically would’ve replaced him.

but they never held that grudge throughout jason’s reintegration into the family. of course they’d have sibling fights (note that tim doesn’t think of any of his adoptive brothers as real brothers; but jason is closest to), but a little roughhousing is normal. i’m the eldest of 6 brothers and believe me, we fight all the time. literally yesterday one of them and i bit each other while fighting (if you don’t think damian and tim would do that, you’re kidding yourself). but we love each other, and if anything happened we’d jump to each other's defence.

moving onto damian...

the way tim views damian is very telling of tim’s worldview and childhood. when damian arrived, tim demanded that regardless of being batman’s son or not, damian must work to earn the love and respect of bruce, “like everybody else” he had said. clear projection from tim here, since up until dami, tim was the only one who wasn’t “wanted” per se, and also tim’s had to work for people’s affection and attention his entire life. look at his parents; they were the half-arsed “that’s great honey” and then back to their phone call type of people (well we know where tim gets his steadfast work ethic from).

anyway, tim finally had the spotlight on him for a while only to have it turned for some little genetic abnormality.

tim’s suffering from the “been the only/youngest child for too long” phenomenon; they do not believe there is room enough in one's heart for more unconditional love. it’s quite sad if you think about it; he was in his mid-late teens by this point.

tim was quite patronising of damian when they were introduced, but he quickly pulled the “i’m just messing with you” card and did try to fix it, but stubborn-as-tim damian just started to preach his favourite “i’ll inherit everything without even trying” play. this obviously pissed off tim to no end. it seemed damian knew the perfect way to get under his skin, and it was putting tim even more on edge. it made him feel insecure in his place with bruce. for the first time tim didn’t think he was gonna be able to get his way easily.

eventually though, batman assures tim that damian being his biological son doesn’t change anything that he has with tim, and that tim doesn’t have to prove anything to him.

yes, if you look up tim and damian, you can see that damian has done some horrible things to tim and the two have very thin patience for each other, but that’s simply because they both understand the perfect ways to piss each other off. it’s just so easy for the both of them that they can’t help themselves.

i also will say that damian views the relationship as much more “mortal enemies” than tim does, but he is a child several years younger than tim, so it’s natural for him to view it as a bigger deal than tim.

all in all, jason and tim, and tim and damian are simply just brothers, and if you have more than two siblings, i’m sure you know as much as we deny it, everyone had a favourite and a least favourite sibling -it’s natural. for tim, his favourite is jason, and his least just happens to be damian.

just like damian’s favourite is dick, and least favourite happens to also be tim.

with stephanie

(now i don’t know as much about steph as i do for tim so feel free to correct me)

stephanie brown got into the hero scene by being the best little shit i’ve ever heard of and messing up her villain dad’s plans. her dad was cluemaster, a friend of the riddler, and she would literally just show up and spoil their plans in annoying ways (hence her name; spoiler).

she was tim drake’s girlfriend -it’s important to note that she wasn’t robin’s. she had no clue about his double life and broke up with him because she thought he was being unfaithful (fair enough).

when tim’s dad took robin away from him, steph stepped up to the plate with a made up robin costume and (like tim) demanded to be the replacement.

her 71 days in the spotlight as the first female robin ended in a couple different ways (thanks comics for making it hard). bruce dismissed her for his belief that she couldn’t follow orders, but he also didn’t believe that she could live up to tim... ouch. he didn’t even approve of her as his partner until she was killed. oh god here we go again...

i personally don’t acknowledge that she died. just- nope. i always look at it as wrong place, wrong time for steph. she could’ve been a great robin, but tim left massive fucking shoes to fill, and i reckon bruce was looking for any little reason to fire her -disobeying one order to not involve herself in a fight just happened to be the perfect opportunity (according to bruce). not to mention steph (and this isn’t necessarily a wrong thing) was undisciplined in hero-ing.

not to say tim was straight-laced and serious, more that him being at an equal mental level to bruce, and the both of them having built strong trust in each other, gave him a lot more leeway to do what he wanted and have the means to back up his actions.

ORIGINS OF POPULAR FANON

obviously i’ll never know exactly where something came from. this is more my speculation and attempt and supplying the headcanons with canonical evidence or debunking them.

where does “tim is a sickly boi” come from?

his lack of a spleen.

i’m not sure if most people now know that’s the reason why, but that’s gotta be how it started.

without a spleen, our body's other organs like the liver can take over many of the spleen's functions. you'll still be able to cope with most infections but there's a heightened risk that a serious infection will develop quickly, especially from certain bacteria and parasites like malaria.

if he got on antibiotics and rested when he started to feel ill, he’d be fine, but tim would never remember to take antibiotics and gods forbid he let himself rest so... he’s working until his body forces him to take a break.

mimi approved fanon  👍

where does “tim doesn’t care for himself” come from?

he’s a stubborn person. people don’t emphasise this enough. usually, people just use the motivation of depression (which, fair, it could be included in it). however, he will literally do whatever the fuck he wants because he’s tim fucking drake and that's all the excuse he feels he needs. like he is prepared to sacrifice everything *cough cough* himself to see his plan go through.

he’s also stubborn in his need to prove himself as we know. as a self-appointed robin; his mantle had felt fragile to him. not to mention damian made his grand appearance to push tim into that sweet sweet middle child category.

and as we already know, his dad also forcefully took the mantle from him and stopped him from seeing bruce. every time things start to go well for tim... it all seems to go to shit.

this in turn led to the fanon of ‘chronic perfectionism to the point of halting self-care in order to complete x, y z to prove himself’.

he also canonically doesn’t care much for sleep; in teen titans when superboy finds him awake tim just goes “it’s only three, i’m checking my emails”.

mimi approved fanon 👍.

where does “tim’s a coffee addict” come from?

he actually is only ever depicted drinking/buying coffee like 3 times (i don’t know for sure, please correct me if it’s more/less).

it ties in well with the previous point; tim’s coffee addiction is a way to justify how he can still function when he’s on 5 minutes of sleep, battered and bruised and still able to kick arse and be intelligent.

mimi approved fanon 👍

where does “tim have abandonment issues” come from?

his mum dies and he loses how his dad used to be.

he gains a better version of his dad and then his dad acts like an arsehole.

his dad gets better again and then his dad dies.

he had steph and then she left him because he just couldn’t explain who he was.

he gets bruce and then damian shows up.

he gets bruce back and then bruce dies, and nobody believes him when he says he’s alive.

yeah... it makes sense.

would be mimi-approved fanon, but i’ve never like the way i’ve seen it portrayed in fanon.

i see a lot in fics he does the “i’m pushing you away first to protect us both” and i just don’t personally agree with the depiction. call me petty but that’s my thoughts.

where does the perception that tim’s the soft one come from?

no fucking clue honestly.

mans blinded deathstroke’s (/jericho, hard to explain) good eye on purpose while delivering a one liner about fighting blind, and then told the man he just fully blinded that he agreed with deathstroke that he (tim) could be vicious when he had to be.

that one-on-one moment in the teen titans comic is demonstration enough of tim being the opposite of the soft one. none of the robins are soft. if we’re going off who’s the most “sensitive”, then it’d be dick or damian -those two have the shortest fuse.

tim blinded someone by throwing his fucking birdarang at the guy’s one good eye and was sure enough and committed enough to what he planned to do that he had the precision to make sure not to take the eye out completely -only debilitate him. that’s some calculated callousness right there.

he also boasted to the teen titans about lying to batman, after he just lied to starfire about staying put in a fight (and his lie used that ‘goody two shoes’ perception of himself; he’s self-aware of how he can come off)… and then he broke his friends out of the tt tower by cutting glass in the shape of a bat. dudes cocky as.

not to mention he literally stalked batman and ran around solving murders and dropping off the evidence to gordon before even being a robin. he was on the CIA’s watch list for crying out loud.

tim is extremely underestimated. to the point where (as @forcesofnatureunleashed accurately described) this “uwu” version of tim has taken over the fandom and made him out to seem like a mega wimp and a quiet tortured soul.

i’m not dismissing the shit he’s actually gone through, i’m just saying he’s gone through enough that you don’t need to make up that he was berated by his dad, can’t talk about his pain, and relies on his tech, when he’s quiet literally the best martial artist in the family and highly respected by ra’s al ghul.

you don’t just get respected by ra’s al ghul; especially if you were an overly sensitive, shaky-knee-ed, spineless, weakling.

STRONGLY mimi disapproved fanon 👎

[lollytea]

Does Philip still get kicked to death in the La La Land Machine AU?

Nah Philip doesn't get the punishment he should have in this AU. He definitely believes his life was ruined beyond repair but he actually got off so easy.

He did get fucking beaten to a bloody pulp by Eda after putting his hand on Luz's shoulder. Unfortunately he didn't die. But he's so whiny about it that you'd swear he did.

He considered Hunter disowning him to be a stab in the back that he never really recovered from.

He had a very fucked up relationship with Luz too. They were initially on friendly terms. She looked up to him while he saw a lot of Caleb in her. He actually intended to try to make her the next star in his brother's place if Hunter "didn't work out." So Luz also turning her back on him made him furious.

Rumors of Philip's crimes of child abuse began to circulate and there was definitely plenty of evidence to support it, which led to inevitable controversy and well deserved public admonishment.

However, because Philip was such an influential and inspiring figure, there was also a huge part of the public that chose to believe that he was being slandered.

What can even be said? A celebrity with a good publicist will never face punishment.

It's all a hate campaign devised to tarnish Philip Wittebane's good name! His brother would be rolling in his grave. Hunter Wittebane should be ashamed of himself for spreading these lies. After everything his Uncle has done for him. It's insulting how ungrateful he is.

During this time, Hunter is strongly advised to block all these comments out.

Philip Wittebane dies of heart complications 10 years after he lost custody of his nephew.

The news breaks late at night and Hunter can't put his phone down.

He doesn't really know how to feel.

But seeing his Uncle's name cropping up everywhere online, scrolling through comments about how the world lost a legend today, oh it has him seeing red.

He's well and truly spiraling.

That man should have died from Hunter's fingers squeezing his throat. Instead, he passed away peacefully in a world that blindly loved him.

It's nearly 3am and Willow rolls over in her sleep, arm instinctively reaching out for her boyfriend whose usually lightly snoring beside her.

She finds him in his office, scribbling away in his notebook, manic and agitated.

He's recalling dozens and dozens of stories and frantically jotting them down, all about the things that man put him through.

He doesn't know why he's doing this. To cope? To assure himself that these things truly happened? He just feels like he needs to articulate them for once just to emphasize how not okay this all was.

That's all it is at first. A way for Hunter to come to terms with Philip's death. But in time, it becomes so much more than that.

There was a lot of people that hurt him. And Hunter is telling the story of them all.

It's shaping up to be a legit autobiography.

And of course, if he's going to talk about his life as a teenage boy, he has to mention Willow. Falling in love with her changed everything, how could he not mention it?

But he'd have to provide some context as to how their relationship functioned. And it was impossible to do so without explaining a little more about how she was exploited too.

Hunter doesn't want to tell Willow's story for her. Even if he's still livid about it all these years later. But Willow shrugs and says "Tell my story, Mr Writer. I trust you to do it justice."

And then this project just gets bigger and bigger. And now, with their permission, the book includes the mistreatment of the likes of Gus, Amity etc.

Hunter does not hold back. There are names. There are details.

Two years later, after a lot of smug cryptic tweets from Willow, Hunter's book "The Golden Screen" is published.

By this point in time, people are a lot more willing to accept that famous people are garbage sometimes. Especially Philip Wittebane. Even though he had a controversy over a decade ago, peoples memories are very short when it comes to the moral alignment of celebrities. So yes, people are now conceding that it is very likely that Philip Wittebane was a vile depraved monster.

It's kinda bittersweet. He didn't face the consequences he should have while he was alive. But at least his legacy was burned to ashes.

[buglaur]

MacMahon Legacy | Gen Three, Roxana

“ you’d probably expect the former president’s daughter to be a well-mannered, respectful young lady, but with that you couldn’t be further from reality. after forming a strong bond with her terrible role model of a grandpa, roxana is preparing to take his legacy a step further. time to cause some chaos.. ”

keep reading for rolls.

martial status: couple

FINALLY!!! i can keep a spouse 😭 although i’m not sure how i’m going to go about keeping a happy couple this gen, the miscellaneous fun roll might make it tough 😅

children: five

...my fucking god. rest in peace my sanity trying to take care of them

primary career: crimelord

roxana is just gael’s evolved form

secondary career (spouse’s career): detective

oh my god corrupt detective intentionally covering up his crimelord wife’s wrongdoings. i am so in love with this concept 😭 @whiimms made him for me and i’m so excited to get him out here, but it might be a while until we see him! he’ll be the second last dad we meet

generational goal: deadbeat parents

(the heir, spouse and helpers may not help their children this generation, apart from basic needs. this includes helping with homework, mentoring or encouraging children in skills, and reading books to them. for toddlers, it is permitted to provide basic care such as food and diaper changes, but try to avoid any parent-child interactions that raise a skill bar, such as flash cards, reading books, potty training and so on. each child should age up to young adult with at least one negative character trait)

not only does she need to have five kids.. she isn’t allowed to help them with skills or communication 😐 i am gonna change this slightly though!! i’m making it so that other household members can help the kids, because otherwise i’d surely go insane. mommy rox won’t be super involved with the kids but grandpa theo and uncle raff can help out. most of the dads aren’t sticking around anyways.

miscellaneous fun: half-siblings

(sims born this generation must each be with a different partner)

not only does she need to have five kids, and not only is she not allowed to help them, they all need to be from different fathers. oh my fucking god. this gen is insane how am i going to cope 😭 you might have already seen the post but take a look at them here!

after 10 months, 402 posts and 1453 pictures, the macmahon legacy finally reaches gen 3!!!

okay sorry to be soppy here, but i really just wanna say thank you so much to everyone who interacts with my legacy 😭😭😭 ngl sometimes when i have bad days i go back and read comments or tags on my posts and it really does make me feel that bit better 🥺 i’m so honored that there are people that follow along each post and care about my silly little characters!! hopefully you find this generation as entertaining, ily everyone reading this rn ❤️❤️ it really really means so much

[hello-nichya-here]

What are your thoughts on MJ's daughter supporting Israel and trying to distance herself from her dad? Girl won't even defend him

Jesus fucking Christ, are you guys coordinating these asks? This is the third time one of you asked me it, I'm legit impressed.

Let's get the easy, and horrible part out of the way first: nobody on the fucking planet has any excuse to support Israel. You can hate Hamas and the goverments of countries like Iran without excusing the literal genocide of civilians in Palestine, because yes, that's what Israel is doing right now.

Paris Jackson (and everyone else, famous or not, that is still pretending Israel isn't commiting all kinds of crimes against humanity right now) should have known better and needs to get her shit together.

Now, onto the messy part:

Although Paris has recently said "it's not her role/place" to defend her dad, lets not forget the other things she said on that same controversial statement:

1 - She fully believes her father is innocent and called the "documentary" Leaving Neverland pure lies.

2 - She believes that everything that could be said about her father's innocence has been said already and she'd have nothing new to add to the conversation.

3 - Her cousin Taj has become basically the leader of the family's campain to clear Michael's name and has been doing an amazing job.

4 - She's not as patient as her father was to deal with that kind of stuff and she has been focusing more on trying to recover from her mental health issues.

That last one is important, specially when we remember that Paris has claimed to have been sexually abused in school (which left her with PTSD), and that she has struggled with addiction, paranoia and a freaking suicide attempt.

It would not be surprising to me if having to listen to allegations of childhood sexual abuse is extremelly triggering for her - especially since the person being accused of being the abuser is her late father, who was murdered by his doctor when she was just 10-years-old, and she was treated like a stupid child in denial everytime she tried to point out the things being said about him were not true.

Considering she has continued to praise her father over the years, both with small things like posting a family picture on Father's day this year and big things like saying he was a super accepting man that was totally cool with her not being straight, and DID defend him publically every now and then, like, once again, calling "Leaving Neverland" pure lies when it came out, I'd say she's not really trying to distance herself from her dad or imply she's starting to think he might have been guilty. I think she just genuinely cannot fucking stand having to act as his lawyer only to have every word she says ignored, no matter how much evidence she offers to back it up.

(And before anyone brings up the fact that Taj was also a victim of sexual abuse in his childhood and has is still speaking out in support of his uncle, including of how he helped him deal with his trauma, keep in mind that people cope differently and heal at different paces).

Do I think she could have phrased some things better? Yes.

If either of my parents were accused of something horrible and a bunch of people kept insisting they were guilty despite all evidence poiting to the contrary, would I interact with said celebrities? No, and it is extremelly disappointing whenever Paris does that...

... But then again, Michael was at war with his record label, Sony, for years and was convinced they were not only sabotaging his career but also trying to murder him, yet he still was ready to go on a final tour that was going to make them A LOT of money. Like father, like daughter.

Honestly, I would not blame the entire Jackson family if they just made one last big documentary to try and clear Michael's name, then, regardless of how it was taken, packed all their shit and moved to a remote island, far away from the spotlight and never spoke to any journalist or had any social media presence again. They've been getting screwed over and surrounded by awful people in the industry, the media, and amongst other celebrities since the goddamn sixties, it's a miracle anyone of them is still trying to "play the game" or explain themselves.

[cynicalrecoverysociety]

50 lb Down Retrospective

Long, rambling journal below the cut. tw mention of suicide

So today I weighed in at 241 which is 50 lbs down from my highest weight of 291. I believe that was in 2017. I've gone up and down since then. This is not the first time I have written a 50 lbs down post. Last time I wrote it it was days before my great uncle's suicide. I was on the best track in my life, consistently dropping weight and making really positive strides. Of course life happens. My uncle was very close to me, I just called him Uncle. Losing him was hard. He was in his 90s and it was his time but I did not handle it well. As the weight graph will reflect.

I gained back about 25 lbs after his death. Kinda lost it. Ended up getting into therapy and finally tackling some of the issues around that and now many other things. It has helped me break out of the binging cycle and cope with my food addiction. I have been losing slowly but steadily this year. I did a cut in March and lost about 10 lbs. Then a few lbs a month until 3 weeks ago when I started my current 90 day journey (which includes a cut).

This journey (and journal for that matter) have been incredible so far. I'm trying to be the healthiest in body, mind and spirit I've ever been by the end of this. I just feel so . . . Different than I did a few years ago. It's hard to articulate. I'm much more patient. I feel like I'm getting better every day. I feel like That Girl. I feel like I'll never have to make another 50 lbs down post but that if I do I'll survive that too.

[iam-emmet]

//What am I doing with my life??

//this is basically a 'the story thus far' except it's set up like a bad infomercial

Are you bored with your life? Wanting to try new things? See new places?

No?

Well, who cares. Arceus sure doesn't. Congratulations, you've won a great trip to the wonderful land of Ancient Sinnoh! Don't worry about the people you left behind, you won't even be able to remember them anyways!

Welcome to Hisui, the historical name of the beloved Sinnoh region. Here you will learn to fight pokemon thrice your size in hand to hand combat, solve ancient feuds, and cope with the fact that almost everyone here hates your guts!

Just remember to trust your instincts, and if they say don't take the cold medicine, there's probably a good reason for that.

Along the way you will get a phone and contact people from The Future! This includes the twin brother of your soon-to-be adoptive parent (more on that later), as well as the leader of an evil team, and a bunch of other random people.

But not everyone hates you! You have the Warden of Lady Sneasler and some random kid on your side! And let's not forget the blond fuck-face who lives in the walls.

Oh no, it seems you've been sent Back to The Future. Now you're out of time twice! Unfortunately you're also wearing a modified version of an evil organization's uniform so you have to dodge Officer Jennys until you make it to the subway station some rando you met on the internet works at. Luckily, he's actually not a creep and he's your adoptive uncle. Not that you realize that, it's not like him and your dad look basically identical. Not at all...

But that's boring, so now you're going to a private school you probably broke into until a Dragonite decides to carry you off to another region. Whatever, you don't care. You've been displaced so many times it'd be weird if it didn't happen.

[We interrupt this program to give you: Emmet gets to not have to deal with anything bad as his twin didn't go missing. Dumbass decides to eat a weed brownie and is paranoid the weed monster wants to eat his joltiks]

It's fine, you get to catch this cute pokemon. You're smart enough to not eat its 'wish granting mochi' so nothing bad happens-

Oh look, your uncle finally caught up with you. He also hasn't slept in a week and is stupider than usual. Oh no he ate the mochi. Oh wonderful, he's possessed. Now you have to deal with your guardian completely delirious and convinced his brother is back when he's clearly not. It's definitely not scary to watch someone interact with something you can't see.

[We interrupt this program to give you: Welcome to Wonderland, Emmet spends the entire time absolutely blasted out of his fucking mind]

Your time has been cut short as some other God got bored of your existence. Goodbye, fuck you, no one needed to remember you anyways. You're now living in the Who-knows-where Place and get to watch the boy version of you deal with your problems instead. Also your dad went AWOL but we're not entirely sure what he's up to at the moment.

[We interrupt this program to give you: Alternate Emmet got Winter Soldiered after trying to get Ingo back from (where he thought he was) in Team Plasma and Akari didn't get isakaied]

You've actually interacted with that guy before, but you had more problems to deal with than an alternate universe version of your uncle being brainwashed.

That's all we got so far, but aren't you so glad you were chosen for this shitshow?

[@thetraveleroftime]

[all-souls-matinee]

A Ghost Story for Christmas

Throughout the 1970s the BBC ran a holiday special that adapted the works of M.R. James into made-for-TV-movies; celebrating the ‘tradition’ of telling scary ghost stories at Christmastime. They later included a few exceptions to the James rule, and then rebooted it for limited releases in 2005. James is a horror staple; even if you haven’t read his stuff you would recognize the setups and themes of his stories because he was widely publicized in 1910s Cambridge and came to have a ton of influence on the genre. I’ve always been pretty indifferent towards his writing, only familiar with ‘Casting the Runes’ and ‘Rats’ (neither adapted here), but was so charmed by this thing’s existence that I picked out seven episodes that sounded the most interesting and watched in a randomly generated order. All of them are available for free on YouTube/Tubi and run from 30-60 minutes if you’d like to check it out for yourself.

A View from a Hill (2005), story by M.R. James

An archeologist visits a bankrupt squire at a country estate to assess his family’s collection of local archeological finds. Against the protests of his servant, the squire lends our protag a pair of binoculars from the collection.

The editing on this one sucks so hard. There’s a ton of potential in using binoculars as a kind of adder stone that allows you see both shadowy figures and an entire building that isn’t there, and it’s too bad that it’s just flashing images and jump-cut edits. We do get a taste of James’ penchant for stories within stories, usually conveyed by a wise old man, which I love. A certain je ne sais quoi in inviting the unpaid manservant to sit down and talk about how the local weird guy was gallows-robbing and boiling skeletons in a big pot and then went crazy, made a pair of magic binoculars, and got killed by ghosts. Respective reactions to this were to take a long drag on a cigarette say “that didn’t happen” and take a sip of wine and say “it’s an interesting story.” Thank you British people for my life.

The Ice House (1978), original teleplay by John Bowen

A man vacationing to cope with the death of his wife begins to suspect brother-and-sister resort owners are up to something when they show him a mysterious vine growing on their property.

The concept of gothic horror set at one of the country health clubs that were popular in 70s England is honestly very clever. A forbidden room, a mysterious object, the image of a middle aged man wandering around at night with a candle instead of a young woman, it all mostly works, but doesn’t ever quite get anywhere. These are simple stories intended for sharing around a hearth or at a sleepover so shouldn’t want for things like character development or complex filming, but because this one was so ambitious you can feel how lacking it is. Gothic horror also isn’t my thing even at its best, and here its definitely... not (tw for incest.) The biggest point in its favor is the ending, which is at least a natural resolution to the story Bowen was trying to tell.

The Ash Tree (1975), story by M.R. James

Squire Richard inherits a beautiful estate from his distant uncle Matthew, only to be troubled by the sins of Matthew’s past as a ruthless employer of witch hunters. 

The framing of Richard-as-Matthew was confusing, the lighting and editing off, and I really dislike the witch genre so was predisposed against this one. I did like the wise old man character (the mild affect he has while explaining that anyone who touched Matthew’s body was physically wounded in bizarre ways??), and will give it credit for going from the most boring to the most insane one of the bunch. All of these are pretty tame so it was kind of a shock to have them cut to a topless witch torture scene and then to have an ending where he’s mauled by, um, spiders made from human baby heads. The titular cursed tree does burn down at the end, so that’s all good then.

Whistle and I’ll Come to You (2010), story by M.R. James

Pressured to take space from his wife’s care home, an old man goes to stay at a seaside hotel and finds a mysterious object™ while beach combing.

John Hurt is putting in such a powerhouse performance that it almost feels unfair to compare this to the cheaper 70s stuff. Cinematography and set dressing convey a subtype of loneliness that feels like scum on glass, and tension is built up wonderfully with nasty audio, a scary statue, the image of a pillow slowly dragged under a door. A figure on the beach is made frightening only through film techniques. It also strays much further from the source material than other adaptations, but that’s not without purpose. Hurt’s aside that losing someone to dementia is the opposite of our concept of a ‘ghost’ is more chilling than any of these goofy little vignettes have a right to be; no wonder they replaced the whistle with a wedding ring.

Stigma (1977), original teleplay by Clive Exton

Katherine and her teenage daughter take a trip out to their summer cottage, stopping to watch a team of workers attempt to remove a boulder from the property. Katherine is exasperated with her family, distracted by the workmen, and while cooking dinner finds her hand covered in blood. Only problem is she hasn’t cut herself.

This one was so fucked up and bizarre and I really liked it. As a kid one of my favorite ‘true’ stories was about a house in the Southern U.S. that inexplicably dripped blood from its walls, and this reminded me of that with an added human element. There’s a lot packed into the runtime and characterization considering how simple the plot is. Something both very charming and very chilling about amateur acting and grainy film stock that’s then transformed by moments of pure pathos and truly beautiful shots. The image of blood welling from skin with no visible wounds made me physically shudder; my only issue is that it over-explains itself at the end. So close.

Lost Hearts (1973), story by M.R. James

A preteen named Steven is sent off to live with a distant relation, an eccentric, kindhearted old man obsessed with the occult, and keeps seeing mysterious children around the grounds of his estate.

This one surprised me because I can’t stand the premise, but it really grew on me with time. Even though there’s no mystery (’those children you’re seeing definitely Aren’t little dead ghost children, why, the old man loves kids he adopted two orphans that mysteriously vanished’), it had the best pacing out of any episode I watched. There are some truly arresting and memorable shots like Steven’s benefactor clipping a flower with garden shears and grazing over a cherub statue, or his untimely demise filmed entirely in silhouette. The ghost children’s makeup has them in grey body paint with long vampire fingernails (and, later, open rib cages), which would have terrified me as a child. Even as an adult the image of them tapping on glass windows and humming a leitmotif is memorably creepy.

The Mezzotint (2021), story by M.R. James

Curator Edward Williams comes into possession of a print, a mezzotint, depicting a country estate. When a friend takes a look at it there’s something ever-so-slightly different about the image. Maybe Williams simply missed the moon peeking between the clouds and the figure stepping onto the lawn (spoiler alert: he didn’t.)

The prosthetics that traumatized so many kids who watched The Witches in the 90s never bothered me growing up, but that painting in the beginning gave me nightmares for months, ergo The Mezzotint is the most compelling of any James story. A deep-seated fear of something moving when you can’t see it is just so deliciously scary; I wish it hadn’t had such an unimpressive filming style (Mark Gatiss wrote/directed, and you may remember him from another show), but the pacing, the acting, and the mezzotint itself were great. The wise old man in this one is even played by an old woman- #feminism!

[stranger-rants]

If Steve's parents were anything like Neil, he would be a very different character. Genuinely baffles me how people don't understand that and choose to ignore Neil's influence on Billy in favor of creating a "better" victim out of Steve.

Also like, why is that level of abuse the default consensus? Steve's parents aren't in the show because they literally don't matter. All in all, he's fine. His attitude in S1 doesn't mean he has shitty parents that treat him terribly--it means he's a teenager with an attitude and equally immature friends.

Plus I think calling them "neglectful" is a stretch because child neglect is a whole other facet of abuse that no one goes into beyond "they leave him alone all the time." There's a difference between having workaholic parents and straight-up negligence to grow up with, and if it had much bearing on him as a person, it would have been touched upon at least a little bit considering Steve's role in the show at large. The Duffers aren't stupid enough to ignore that; if it mattered, Joe would have made sure it mattered, and they would have included it.

(Same with Eddie, for that regard. We don't know anything about his mom, fine. His dad is probably in jail, he was probably a terrible influence anyway [the effects of which have probably left a strong impression], but, as it stands in the show, Eddie's just fine with his uncle who loves him to pieces.)

Like Anon said, Steve acts like every fucking teenager does about their parents. No one likes their parents all the time lol. He's clearly not traumatized by them, let alone to the degree that Billy is. Ignoring canon to justify blaming Billy for what he goes through, and choosing to ignore the intentionally clear abuse in the show, just because they don't like him is heinous.

(This ended up much longer than I intended oops--your posts get my brain movin')

No, I get it.

I had this argument with people in the 911 fandom for another character (Evan Buckley). I had seen a lot of fanworks assume that his parents were physically abusive, and I pushed back against that idea because I just did not see that in the way that he coped with everything. It didn't make sense. What did make sense was that his emotional needs were neglected because his behavior indicated that he was always seeking out validation from his peers and doing everything he could to prove his worth. I kind of see the same with Steve.

The thing is, I was right! When Evan's parents were introduced it was also revealed that they neglected him emotionally. They gave him everything else he could need, but they did not bond with him. (They had lost a child from Cancer. So, they distanced themselves from Evan emotionally while he was growing up.) They never hit him, but their behavior hurt him nonetheless despite them thinking they were doing the right thing. His trauma is still valid, but it's not the same as his sister who was in an abusive relationship for years (and people don't give her nearly as much sympathy because she doesn't always cope well).

We would be better off recognizing just how diverse these stories can be rather than comparing pain and using one person's "better" coping skills to judge an other's more harsh circumstances. Me saying one is more harsh isn't me trying to compare pain, because pain from trauma can't be measured neatly. A sore foot can hurt more than a broken leg sometimes. It's just that one can be more dangerous or need more immediate intervention/care.

[s-sputnik-k]

I'm asking about the plastic tupperware 👀👀

CW: anxiety

SO I'll try to keep this short but there's so much I wanna talk about skdhdsh

Me, my mum and my sibling were lucky enough to get VIP to Blind Channel in the UK last week. We've actually met them before as we got into them at the start of 2018, around the time when Alone Against All came out, because I remember my mum showing it to us and being like, isn't this band good! isn't he cute! About Niko and at the time we were just like. Mum it's just a dude in a hat.

But now he's our dude in a hat and we love Blind Channel!

So ye we met them in late 2018 when they supported All That Remains and Sevendust, it was mad because they literally just stood at the merch stand of a really small venue, there was barely anyone interested in talking to them so we got sooo lucky. Joel came out to the merch stand late, his hair wet presumably after a shower, and my nan (for some reason we brought out nan to the gig, we love her tho) was like "Have you been sleeping?" and he just looked so confused, and was like, "No... I had a shower..."

That isn't really relevant to the story but it's kind of a family inside joke sjfhsh

So ofc, we were so excited when they got awards in Finland, we waited on the results of UMK and watched Eurovision despite it not being our normal family tradition, because we loved Blind Channel and could not BELIEVE that the guys my mum befriended on Instagram back in 2018 were doing all of this. I also didn't notice until I watched Dark Side come out that Aleksi was in the band skfhssh I'm so unobservant I thought they were just mates (my mum hasn't talked to Niko on Insta in ages btw so I'm not gonna claim to actually know the members loll but put it this way, at the time I spoke more to Niko through my mum than I did to my uncles)

So that brings me to most recently where we got VIP tickets, including meet and greet, to the Birmingham show on their European tour. And I was wondering what the hell to give them as a gift.

(dw this is relevant) I met a cute Scottish band called Single By Sunday a while back and gave them origami cranes matching their hair colours (idk if the band is still together but they're really cool dudes!) and the crane thing was kinda personal to me because they were one of my first healthy coping mechanisms, where I would make those to calm down back in primary school. And they're also meant to bring good luck, I don't really believe in luck but it's a nice sentiment.

So I spent an hour every day for the past week or so customising and folding these delicate little things:

They have the logo in the middle, and they say blind channel one way and their names the other way.

And now we get the story of the tupperware:

Ofc they're delicate little things and I wanted to protect them so my brother suggested put them in a container. I tried to find the container that was the least pasta sauce-stained.

So, it's Saturday afternoon, we got up super early to get the coach to Birmingham, we walked around grand central and bought a big plush pig from a plush shop and called him Porko. More on him later skfhs he's his own story tbh

So we got into our outfits at the hotel and headed to the venue, and we got let in for VIP by none other than... Santeri, the tour manager (I think) who I actually had no idea who he was up until the previous Wednesday, I'd just seen his face in videos a few times before then, but my mum pointed him out to me at the Manchester gig.

So, Saturday. I was shaking so bad when the band came in skdhdhs I haven't shaken that bad in a while lmao. Felt so funny holding a little tub while I was shaking like a madman.

Santeri was funny that day anyway, pretty sure he asked us to please be orderly because he was hungover, lmao

My sibling gave Joonas the pig plush, if you saw the video on their story recently of Olli and Joonas throwing a big plush against a wall backstage, that's the pig we gave them skdhdsh

So then it was my turn. I think I was last in the line to get a picture, not that I would have noticed, I felt like I had tunnel vision I was so nervous skdhss. So I tried to do the whole thing I'd practiced, it was so awkward because I was holding like so many things, with the tub and the lid and trying to get my phone on the camera app to hand to Santeri (he was taking all the pictures on our phones), and trying to hand out the cranes at the same time.

So ye I went down the line handing them out, until I got to Joel, and only him and Olli were left, and there was one crane left in the box, which was Olli's

Considering the vivid memory I have of that feeling of panic, I'm surprised I didn't cry on the spot lmao.

I just stared at Joel and the box for like TEN SECONDS STRAIGHT skfhshdb I had no idea what to do, I was trying to think out a way to explain something that I had no idea how it happened, only to have Santeri come over and hand a crane to Joel.

Took me like another 10 seconds to process what the hell happened, I was so confused until after jsjjfsh

So after that I got to Olli fine, gave him his crane and told him I still play bass after he told me last time that us bassists have to stick together :} I love him sm fr sjfhsh

So ye and I was dying so much after the whole cranes connundrum that I almost had my picture taken holding tupperware, luckily my sibling snatched it out my hands before Santeri took the pictures dkfhsh

Also, Santeri is rlly nice like, they were on overtime and he let me get Aleksi to sign the back of my jacket since he wasn't in the band last time I met them

But that doesn't mean he didn't give me a heart attack and a half lmao, my mum explained to me that while I was having my 'tunnel vision' moment, Santeri had taken Joel's crane from the tub (I'm still amazed at how I literally didn't see that happen) to look at it because he was curious

And then while they were packing up after the VIP, Santeri had his hands full of all the gifts (he held Porko the pig at arms length away for some reason djdkdsj which we found hilarious), was struggling to hold all these delicate little cranes, so we offered him the tub, and he was like "are you sure? Are you sure you really don't need it?" And we were like, ye take it!! We don't mind

So ye, that's the long-winded story of how giving blind channel origami cranes was both a nightmare and a dream come true, and how we gave Santeri the tupperware that was almost in my picture with Blind Channel

This probably isn't as wild to others as it is to me because it was literally 2 days ago and I'm still so excited sjdhsdh and Santeri is an icon and a meme for us now skdhsb

[beeceit]

Is there something about itbotb Purple's design/characterisation that you didn't expect to include but ended up liking too much to leave out? And/or what's the biggest change from when you started putting together ideas to now?

I absolutely love this question!! It really made me think and I appreciate that SO MUCH I accidentally deleted the first version of my answer (That I was super proud of ):< ) but let's see if I can recreate it bc I have A LOT to say

Okay so Purple's design was absolutely NOT what I expected in any way shape or form! He was originally going to be very sleek and techno, taking some inspiration from Shelldon and the rest from 80s sci-fi (long black coats my beloved) and then I got the Firefly theme stuck in my head and was struck with A Vision and remembered that Donnie was the only one hyping up Leo's cowboy fit in Clothes Don't Make The Turtle. I wanted to make him similar enough to my design for the Renegade Animation (not abandoned, btw, just... lacking time and energy to really work on it rn) that it could be seen as an If-Things-Went-Differently look at him, as Renegade has Donnie as 29 and vengeful where Purple is much calmer. I'm using a lot of Grim Reaper imagery for Renegade and absolutely fell in love with Donnie having a scythe and cloak, so Purple has a western style version of that. That's also where the first thoughts about giving him a skeleton arm came from. A lot of the details about the prosthetic arm are going to be coming in a future chapter so I won't say much about the arm itself here. I think that Donnie makes things to cope, and the more fucked up he is about whatever he's coping from the more intricate it'll be. So the arm he lost is both meant to match Blue's missing arm, and to show what Purple can do when he's not so crunched for time and materials. He lost that arm pretty close to the initial invasion, even before Raph died, so there were plenty of materials around to salvage and food wasn't scarce yet so he could give the arm his whole focus. The silly little black glasses were just kinda me fucking around and then they became central to the design, same with the snake bite piercings. I was driving myself crazy, could not come up with anything, and then as soon as I tried out those the rest of his look came so naturally. Stonertello started as a joke also, but the more I thought about it the more I went "Oh that fucks actually, let's explore that." Frankly, I don't think Donnie, at least how I characterize him, would be able to cope with all the Everything without some sort of chemical intervention. I've seen multiple people's version of f!donnie smoking, but I don't approve of cigarettes, so I tweaked it to marijuana which I'm more okay with. For that I'm heavily relying on my friends who use, specifically my autistic friends and how they've described marijuana helping with their symptoms. With his marijuana use I also wanted to give Blue a bit of a background for dealing with helping a loved one struggling with addiction, so he's not coming out of the gate entirely with helping Leo. Purple's use genuinely started healthy but as things got worse the more he isolated and relied on it until it became an addiction. Purple's characterization is actually very personal to me bc I'm trying to mesh Donnie's canon character with what I remember of my uncle, and we're going to see a lot of his character through Casey, not just from Blue. My Uncle Jim passed away from cancer when I was 11 and I can't remember a time before we knew, so I very much grew up watching him slowly deteriorate and I really don't remember any version of him that wasn't very weak and muted. (Except for that time he tickled me until I pissed myself in front of god and everyone at a family gathering. I don't care if I was like 7 and you're dead now, I hold grudges /j) I love Purple so much, I may even like him more than Blue tbh

As far as changes to the story as a whole, I have SO MUCH to say about that too, but this is already ungodly long so I'll go into that later :)