#so he could actually learn a lot from her

[catscraftsandcommentary]

Source material is comics, which a) there's a lot of them b) a bunch of different people wrote them c) plotlines keep getting rewritten/edited/etc, so as far as I can tell, it's like if you took the top 50 AO3 fics in a given fandom and declared them canon.

That said, here are the major characters in Batman/Bat-family: if anyone who's actually READ the comics wants to correct me, feel free

Bruce Wayne (Batman): a megabillionaire who was orphaned as a child, raised by his parents' butler, and eventually chose to study lots of different fighting techniques so he could fight crime. Usually has A Thing against using guns and killing people. Also has A Thing about bat puns/names and adopting/mentoring every orphan or sad looking child he meets.

Thomas and Martha Wayne: Bruce's parents. They're killed by a mugger in front of Bruce when he's a kid, and after their death, their hometown of Gotham goes through a SERIOUS decline.

Alfred Pennyworth: the Phil Coulson of DCU. Looks like just a mild-mannered British butler...until you threaten his family. Then you realize that he's actually the badass who taught Batman everything he knows. Including high society manners and deflecting unwanted attention. When in doubt? Listen to Alfred.

Richard "Dick" Grayson (1st Robin, Nightwing): the first orphan that Bruce brought home, Dick's parents were circus acrobats. He's the 1st Robin (child sidekick) to Batman, and when he grows up, he moves to Gotham's sister city Bludhaven to rehab that, using the new name Nightwing.

Jason Todd (2nd Robin, Red Hood): an orphan from the streets, he gets adopted while...trying to steal the tires off the Batmobile (Batman's fancy ass car-tank hybrid). I think. Eventually he is captured and killed by the Joker (Batman's most important enemy), but because it's comics, he doesn't stay dead. Afaik, he has an on-again, off-again relationship with the Batfamily after his resurrection.

Tim Drake (3rd Robin, Red Robin): a child prodigy and the son of absent socialite parents, Tim becomes Robin #3 after Jason's death when Tim tells the Batfam that Batman *needs* a Robin.

Damian Wayne (5th Robin): son of Bruce/Batman and Talia al Ghul (daughter of R'as al Ghul, who leads the League of Assassins). He's hidden and raised by his mother to be the heir of both Batman and R'as. He's half spoiled brat, half bloodthirsty child assassin, and all headache.

James Gordon (detective, police commissioner): Batman's ally/contact in Gotham's police department; his daughter Stephanie becomes the first Batgirl

Stephanie Gordon (Batgirl, Oracle): works with Batman as Batgirl, but is eventually shot and paralyzed by the Joker (NOT while working). Went on to become the IT expert (info gathering, hacking, mission coordinating, etc) under the name Oracle. Sometimes dates Dick Grayson and/or recovers from paralysis after surgery.

Cassandra Cain (2nd Batgirl): daughter of two assassins, SEVERELY neglected childhood, she was raised without language and learned to interpret body language as almost a superpower. But she's mute and has very poor social skills. Evetually adopted by Batman as his only daughter.

Stephanie Brown (Spoiler, 4th Robin, Batgirl): daughter of a minor villain, she dons a costume to "spoil" his plots and discovers a taste for heroing. Briefly works as Robin after Tim Drake...gets injured? Dies? Idk.

Lucius Fox: Bruce's master inventor/tech devemoper at Wayne Interprises

Clark Kent (Superman): an alien from the planet Krypton, he's adopted as a baby by Ma and Pa Kent (small town farm couple) and becomes a reporter for the Daily Planet newspaper in Metropolis. He marries Lois Lane (a coworker) and has son Jon (Superboy). He's Batman's ally and a founding member of the Justice League.

Diana of Themyscira (Wonder Woman): princess of the Amazons, she's an ambassador of her people to the wider world and a founding member of the Justice League.

...I relied heavily on wikipedia for this. It seems like everytime I run into a new name, I look up just enough to get a working understanding "who is this, how do they connect," and then I keep reading.

AU where the Justice League forms like usual, except Batman maintained his “totally a myth” status and has in fact been active for years before the JL forms. He’s very cautious about trusting them, but still joins, and the others sort of accepts that as long as they trust that Batman has a really hard time with trust, it will all work out in its own weird way

Then, one day, in the middle of a JL mission, the League gets in a tight spot. Out of nowhere, this blue and black blur swoops in and saves everyone’s ass. Maybe breaking some shackles that were proving very difficult, maybe disarm a bomb that the League was just a hair’s breadth too slow to reach without help, but whatever happens, the shadowy figure pauses just long enough to say, “Hey, Batman, you know you there are these things called cellphones now and you can just call sometimes, it doesn’t have to be this dramatic?” and bounds away after shouting ‘let’s do brunch! Bring your new friends!’

Batman is mortified.

No one lets it go.

The entire rest of the mission, the whole League is asking so many questions. Who was that? Do you know him? How do you know him? What’s going on? I didn’t know there was a vigilante in this area?? They don’t let up until he talks.

“That was Nightwing.” Batman is mumbling. The JL forces him to bring them to the Brunch. Brunch happens to be in a run-down apartment on the edge of a bad neighborhood, at five in the morning, in costume. Nightwing introduces himself as Batman’s lovechild with justice.

“I did not realize Batman had a child,” Martian Manhunter says, calmly enough that no one’s sure if he’s accidentally plucking a really loud thought out of the air or if he’s trying to make a joke.

Nightwing stares for a moment falling over laughing. He doesn’t get up. Batman starts trying to apply anti-Joker venom but Nightwing just kicks him and laughs until he cries. He keeps trying to wipe his eyes and his mask keeps getting in the way, so he asks everyone to leave so he can please get a hold of himself

He is still laughing when they leave. Everyone is confused. Batman is furious.  Nightwing manages to breathe long enough to say, “We’re just so glad you’re socializing now, Batman.”

Superman turns to look at Batman very slowly. “…’we’?”

Keep reading

[mona-risms]

HII!! it's 🪷 Anon, I saw ur reply to my request and it's totally fine! If it's still possible could I request a demon that was made by gwi-ma specifically but hates him just as much as huntrix does. So reader(either fem or nb) helps defeat gwi-ma and live happily ever after with the girls(platonic if that's ok)

-🪷 Anon

◆ MAIN COURSE: HUNTR/X and Gwi-Ma's demon!gn!Reader

◆ TYPE: SFW, platonic

◆ ALLERGEN WARNINGS: None I think???

◆ NOTES: YAYAYAYAY THANK YOU FOR UNDERSTANDING 🫶🫶🫶

Gwi-Ma would probably be severely Picky when it comes to ever using his power for anything. So in this case, you were probably created as some sort of failsafe/watcher/whatever the fuck for Jinu and his plan with the Saja Boys. You ARE made by him after all, made w his very essence. Why would you Ever fail him or go rogue, right? Lol

Hence, you observe. Not HUNTR/X, not at first. You observe humans first; all the way from how they move to how they speak and even how they breathe, and then you adapt. Using whatever demon magic tomfoolery there is, you manage to get yourself into their personal staff team, probably thanks to some poor guy's soul that you ate tf up so you could gain whatever skills they had that'd qualify. Yk, like Kirby

You get close to Bobby, their manager. And as a result, you also get close the HUNTR/X trio, or at least as close as you can manage for a short amount of time obvi. You learn their likes, dislikes, how they are professionally and how they are personally. And as you do so, you even start to learn about Yourself—things you like, dislike, preferences, how you respond to certain things—even though you're not supposed to be anything else but an observing demon in disguise that serves Gwi-Ma. But the more you 'observe' aka spend time with them, the more you begin to question what the need is to terrorise and kill humans, especially this specific lot

Zoey shows you her turtle collection and the notebooks of ideas and pure vibrant creativity. Mira teaches you some of their choreo just for the fun of it, if you wanted to learn, and takes you shopping to the cutest punk fashion stores (girlie the plug frfr), and Rumi would want to go out to EAT EAT EAT and bask in the very rare quiet w you, maybe even involving her lightly strumming or fingerpicking her guitar. These girls are so unbelievably welcoming w you and Bobby is so happy asw. I think Bobby gets really happy when he sees his staff and his girls getting along :((( he's like a silly dad or an uncle

But wait. You weren't just sent to observe HUNTR/X though, were you? While yes he can see and hear what his demons can anyway, you were sent to watch the Saja Boys and make sure they're not being fucking incompetent. And yet when Jinu sees you ohhhh man

You feel his presence before you hear him—a discordant chime in the winds, like an old rusted bell.. or a weathered bipa.

"You're getting a bit too comfortable with them, don't you think?"

You scoffed and crossed your arms, pointedly looking at the horizon, "Like you're one to talk. How's seducing Rumi going for you?"

"As planned, obviously," Jinu walks over to stand beside you. "And you? Any developments in your.. friendship approach?"

"Yes, actually. Though it's not like I report to you—I report about you too, don't forget that."

"Right, right. My mistake." He leaned on the metal bar as he watched you quietly, though as he spoke your attention is mildly stolen by a certain blue tiger-demon lightly headbutting your hand, with the magpie fluttering to stand on the railing. "I shouldn't overstep, right? Might make him angrier if I even dared to suggest that his precious servant is deviating."

You felt yourself stiffening at Jinu's words, though your hand went to scritch the tiger's head anyway, "No, Jinu. We shouldn't—we wouldn't want to make him angry over false accusations, would we?"

You see his eyes narrow at the corner of your eye—he caught on to the sudden mirrored circumstances, of course, he wasn't slow in the least. He pushes himself away from the railing and places his hands in his pockets, "Guess not. ..Just be careful of where your loyalties lie."

And he teleports away before you could respond.

"Asshole."

When the Saja Boys start their plan, that's when you start fully going down the descent of an existential crisis. Every time they/random demons attack, even when HUNTR/X doesn't know it, you're there. You're there to watch and observe, to see if everything's going to plan or it's all going to shit. But you can't interfere, not without Gwi-Ma's permission—just watch and consume souls. But as you're watching it's like. What the fuck. What the hell. Why is this necessary dude

It's the train scene when it all comes ahead and very much apart, where you're inside the train and very much aware of what's going on, and you hear Gwi-Ma in your head, pleased at how the trio is falling fucking apart bc of Rumi's secret

You heard singing from inside the train, singing that went on as perfect as usual.. until Rumi.

You heard hesitation. You heard the shame. And the worst part of it?

You could feel Gwi-Ma within you watching, anticipating.

...

One moment you were inside the train, the next?

You were right in front of the ogre, with Rumi pushed away from your proximity. Your hands, once human, had changed its form to the claws Gwi-Ma blessed—no, cursed—you with as you held back the giant club with a demonic growl. You bore your teeth, and your patterns blazed as bright as your eyes; the colour couldn't belong to anyone else by the one who made you.

Even the hulking demon had to take pause at the sight of you, at the sheer presence of Gwi-Ma on your person, and the trio could actually see something like genuine fear in its eyes.

"You..."

You could hear Rumi's shattered confidence in her voice, and you dare not look back in case you see the three of them look at you as anything but a monster. You don't know if you could take it, take feeling like you were wrong.

So instead, you barked out, the demonic cadence layering on top of your voice—a voice he even doctored to make you more trustworthy, "DON'T JUST STAND THERE! THE PASSENGERS!"

And you push against the ogre before forcing a teleport to the demon realm on the both of you, the scream leaving your lips gutteral and inhuman.

Gwi-Ma is worse than unimpressed. Furious, actually! Congratulations, you pissed off a Demon King! And you still see the souls drawn right into his fire, which would've looked beautiful, if it weren't for the implications of the sight—they couldn't kill of the demons on time. His mark on Rumi's breaking down their entire dynamic and Rumi herself, and the amount of people he's killed and consumed was staggering

His fire's looming at you, fed and absolutely enraged at how his own fucking creation went AGAINST him. He was lenient with his treatment on you, biding his time and leaving you to do your thing because he was expecting you to act upon his will perfectly, NOT grow attached to the people he wanted GONE. Jinu is one thing—someone self-serving, even if the look he casts on you at the top of the shrine with his pets looks like it belongs to someone who's anything but self-serving—but you were made of his very self. His essence. And if you weren't going to make yourself useful? He'll unmake you as easily as he made you

Skip to the near end, when the Saja Boys perform Your Idol and everyone's brainwashed into sacrificing themselves to Gwi-Ma before Rumi interrupts it all. By now, you're probably most likely fused back into Gwi-Ma, seeing as how you're useless sentient when you're not going to serve him. But the remaining consciousness of you can hear Rumi sing.. then Zoey, and then Mira. And Jinu not only hears them too, but he feels that lingering something from within Gwi-Ma himself

When he sacrifices himself, he gives half of his soul to Rumi. The other half? To the person who never got the chance to have a soul of their own—you. Because at least he knows you can put your loyalties on the trio where he couldn't. You're the one who grew much closer to the three of them, it's only right

Deapite your body still originally designed by Gwi-Ma, you've made it your own. With your sentience and with Jinu's soul, you successfully help HUNTR/X and you get to witness the new iridescent Honmoon that only they could make—it's so much more beautiful than the streaking soul retrieval you saw just before your 'death'

You disappeared after that day. For a little while, anyway.

Your sustenance came in the form of mostly people who weren't going to be missed, namely criminals, or people who much preferred death to whatever fate they had—an ugly thing, but half of you still lived because of Gwi-Ma's essence, even if Jinu's soul had minimised the need to feed enough that you can sustain yourself temporarily via human foods.

But eventually you were found anyway. You were leaning on the railing that Jinu had contronted you at, his friends sticking close to you, when you hear three sets of footsteps from behind you.

"Ahh, guess I've been found," you turned around to look at them, your expression softer than it's ever been this whole time—you felt much more free, and judging from the way the trio had stuck to each other stronger than ever, judging from the way Rumi had opted for a simple short-sleeved shirt that showed her markings, iridescent as the new Honmoon? You figured they felt free too.

You raised your hands slowly in surrender, though you made no other move, "If you're here to kill me off, I-- oomph!"

You don't even manage to finish your sentence before you feel Zoey immediately on you, practically glomping with you with her short frame, and you feel your shoulder getting wet. You look back up at the other two, and even they're making their way over with teary looks and quivering lips before immediately joining in the pile.

"Are you-- what-- why are you three crying? I--" Your eyes start to sting, and your arms hesitantly wrap around the three of them, as if scared that one wrong move could make this moment dissipate. "Why--"

A large sniffle from Zoey as she buried her face even deeper into your neck, "We looked EVERYWHERE for you! After we sealed the demon realm away, we-- we couldn't find you and-- and--"

"We thought you got sealed off too," Mira piped in, her voice noticeably much raspier and thicker than usual, "but we looked everywhere. Even had Bobby use whatever contacts he had 'cuz he was looking for you too."

"You're not.. mad? You're not gonna kill me?"

You feel claws digging into you—Rumi's, still uncontrolled, you realise—at the question, "No. Are we mad? Sure, for not telling us and disappearing at the worst time possible, but I know what it's like to-- to hide. We just.. missed our friend."

Friend.

Because that's what you are. Not a demon, not Gwi-Ma's creation. A friend.

You felt yourself crumple in the pile, and the others followed suit as all four of you end up crying on the ground. The only spectators are the magpie and the tiger.

[dailypj]

(Assuming that you’ve already put some thought into characterizing PJ, tho feel free to ignore this if not! I’m just trying to scope out how to potentially write PaperJam’s character into a fic, since him being sort of a skeptic could mean that he wins the idgaf war too well and has no impact on the central plot yknow)

Do you have ideas for any fun internal conflicts or character arcs for PJ? If there’s a multiverse-threatening conflict unfolding, what would PJ be doing about it, if anything? What mcguffins or circumstances could be triggered that would quickly pique PJ’s interest enough to get involved?

As always my first piece of advice for writing anything pj is to go through the resources provided by his creator, @7goodangel (@-ing in case you wanna put in ur 2 cents, he is ur guy)

Here are the links for:

Pj’s bio

Pj info tag

Pj faq page (bit of a shortcut for the info tag since it holds answers to a lot of previously asked questions, tho not all of them)

now for an actual answer, there's a long ramble under the cut, enjoy

first thing that ik for sure is canon, pj would step in if it's necessary to protect his family (I believe it was a comment somewhere by 7 that stated that pj would go as far as suffocating someone for threatening his kid's life)

if the multiverse being in danger has the capacity to hurt his loved ones I'm sure he'd do something about it, but I think the lengths he's willing to go will vary depending on what/who is causing it and which other characters are joining the fight

Ink for example is definitely an interesting ally considering their past. a conflict between them is pretty much inevitable, especially if you take from canon and had them separated years prior

Now if pj’s loved ones aren't present here, that’s where my guesses on how she’d act get fuzzy. In the past, pj took it upon herself to judge whether certain aus should stay alive or be erased. She believed that what error did was wrong not because it was a massacre of innocents, but because he did it too indiscriminately

(I’d say it was pretty easy to gain a dehumanizing view of others when the 2 biggest influences she had referred to the masses as just fictional characters or anomalies…)

Now, she does indeed spare aus she deems acceptable, but I’m not sure how much she’s willing to risk for them. Cuz like, part of her self-given job is motivated by the want to prove she isn’t a mistake to the man who wants every universe to die

Basically she’s got some pretty dark grey morals and it’s fun to deconstruct them (or make them worse if you wanna go the antagonist pj route, equally fun imo)

now a more headcanon-y idea (aka the trait I tend to exaggerate in nearly every pj varient I've made thus far for angst purposes) is leaning into the whole "I have to be useful to be worthy of anyone's care" thing, and just strongly wanting to disprove bad assumptions/expectations about herself (especially the mistake thing) which couldd lead to her going down a phase of believing she should follow in ink's protector footsteps to try and become more of a priority in his eyes (with the added bonus of keeping fears other characters may have about her "becoming like error" at bay)

does it work? idk but maybe if she just obsesses over it even more the identity crisis will be worth it Slash J

so ya that's my 2 cents on a potential conflict based on canon stuff, absolutely feel free to go ham on whatever direction you feel like taking pj I'm just a big advocate for "learn the rules before you break them" 👍✨

[cxttlefishcxller]

Zira my fine friend you have ABSOLUTELY come to the right place!

This is actually SUPER emotional for this part of the game, and it really comes from just who the Songbird (big robot birb) really is, and the function it has in keeping Elizabeth (that girl right there) safe and sound in the tower she'd been locked inside of all of her life.

She'd been in that tower since she was like BABY baby, and the Songbird's function was more or less to keep her safe, keep anyone OUT of the tower, and to check up and make sure that Elizabeth was present, accounted for, and in one piece multiple times a day.

By the time that Booker (protag of the game) finds her, she's a young adult, resenting her prison, and resenting the Songbird itself for being the symbol of her captivity. But deep down, it WAS her only friend for her entire life, and it hurts her to see it hurt.

But Booker was there to do the one thing the Songbird was NOT supposed to allow: to take Elizabeth out of the tower. And worst of all, he succeeded. So for a large part of the game, the Songbird tries to find and take Elizabeth back. But it's got all of the drive of a sentinel and none of the care or forethought -- it destroyed the tower just trying to keep Elizabeth inside. It's nearly killed Elizabeth and Booker BOTH, multiple times, trying to fulfill its directive. So there's nothing left to do but take it out.

Elizabeth's big thing is that she can open interdimensional portals -- things she calls "tears". (read like ripping paper, not like crying, English is a bullshit language jfkdl;sf) And the Songbird was built to thrive in incredibly high altitudes, flying above and around a city that was already thousands of miles in the air. So when Elizabeth opens a tear into Rapture (the undersea city from the first two Bioshock games, deep in the Atlantic Ocean) the pressure of being at the bottom of the sea is too much for something that can't even be in a FEW feet of water without suffering structural damage.

This scene is so impactful because of how complicated Elizabeth's feelings are for the Songbird itself. This is her jailor. Her captor. Her best friend. The thing keeping her safe. The thing keeping her in chains. The only real interaction she had with the outside world for the whole 19 years of her life. And always, ALWAYS, the Songbird listens to her.

And having to watch this (Creature? They never really explain just WHAT the Songbird is, but I'm led to assume that everything that's a giant metal thing that wants to Hurt You in a Bioshock game has a real human person -- or the remnants thereof -- inside of it) die right in front of her eyes, after ALL OF THE OTHER BULLSHIT she learns about her powers, her past, and the reasons she was locked away in the tower in the first place...it's a lot like losing the last bit of her childhood and security, in the most liberating and most devastating ways all at once. On top of that, she's complicit in killing it, which SEVERELY messes her up for a while after this scene. Booker didn't do this. Comstock (el bad guy) didn't do this. SHE did.

TL;DR: This scene hurts real bad because a victim of neglect and religious-flavored zealotry just got to give that abuser's biggest tool and also her only friend a death that was not quick (despite her best attempt here at making it merciful) because it was the only thing she could do at the time.

BIOSHOCK INFINITE (2013)

[lilysouph]

The Hayffie-discourse is dumb and here's why:

They're fictional characters, it really isn't that deep, get over yourself. I feel like this is the most obvious one, but I just had to say it.

"but what about Lenore Dove?" Well first of all, nothing about Hayffie ever interrupts with Haymitch's relationship with LD. Lenore Dove is his first love, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't deserve a second after she's gone. Humans are complex beings, and love isn't a pie chart. Haymitch loving Effie doesn't take away any of his love for Lenore Dove. They each have their own pie, and they're even different flavours. If the sole soulmate thing floats your boat, then fantastic, you go with that. Personally I don't want Haymitch to suffer in a depressed drunken haze for the rest of his life where he continues to punish himself for the Captiols actions, but maybe that's just me. Besides, Haymitch having a dead girlfriend is nothing new to us, and idk why we're pretending otherwise. It was always a part of his story

"they have such differing views, her being Capitol and him hg survivor", did we read the same book? If SOTR told us anything about Effie, it is that she's always had a different view of the tributes and games than other Capitol members. Yes she's deeply brainwashed, in the same way someone in a deeply religious cult would be, but there's a layer of her that doesn't buy into the animalistic view of the tributes and games. And that's sort of the beauty of her character and her relationship with Haymitch, that throughout the years she sees more and more the faults of her people. And maybe her ditsy uncaring nature is a façade, covering her rebel thoughts, or maybe it's a coping mechanism to keep from falling apart every time one of her kids are killed, but it could also be just someone learning from their mistakes. Why does that make them unlovable?

"The age difference tho!" What? The six year age difference between two characters in their 40s? Ok let's address it. Effie is likely between 20-22 ish during SOTR. Why do I say that? Cus in BOSAS Snow is 18 and graduating, meaning he would be 18 starting the University. Now, we don't know how schooling works in the Capitol, all we know is that there's lower grades and upper grades. For all we know, stylist school could be 2 years or it could be 4. Where I'm from, in my actual homeplace, it's 2. That's also my headcanon for Effie, placing her at around 20 as a recent graduate. That's a four year age gap, which isn't a lot even at 16, but it's definitely not a lot at 30/40.

Truth be told, I think a lot of the age difference discourse is a lot to do with plain ole misogyny. You rarely see this same outrage over relationships where the man is the older one and the woman is the younger. People have had no problem shipping Johanna and Haymitch for years, and that's an even bigger age gap. Even canon ships like Remus and Tonks in Harry Potter (13yrs), where the likelihood of him having first met her as an infant is extremely high due to Sirius' close relationship with his aunt Andromeda, but ig that's neither here nor there.

In conclusion:

Fandom spaces lately have had a heavy focus on canon-accuracy, and what's more canon compliant. While there of course is nothing wrong with preferring the canon choices made by the author/creator, it's important to remember that a big part of fan culture is and always has been to be able to take the original stories and material and spin off it with your own thoughts, mind, and creativity. The push for only canon-compliant material has become a bit of a problem, and is to be completely honest, something that does not belong in fandom spaces. Hell, you even see this in fandoms like Harry Potter's Marauders, which is entirely made up of fan-made material, where people are complaining that certain characters are behaving ooc when there is no actual canon material on the character.

Now I get that a lot of y'all are new to fandom, so I'll be kind, but rule number 1 of fan culture is "if you don't like it, don't interact with it", it really isn't that deep. Hayffie is probably one of the most normal and common ship dynamics on the internet, and if you think that's "too toxic", wait till I introduce you to the incestuous and 20+ yr age gap minor/adult ships we've all had to stomach over the years. You've got a tough battle ahead of you if the plan is to take down every ship you don't agree with. If you don't like it, don't interact with it. Hayffie has existed for longer than some of you guys have been on the internet, and ships like Hayffie will continue to exist long after you've left the fandom. Life is too short to spend it on actively hating on ships and shippers you don't like. Let people have fun with fiction, free your whimsy and joy and creativity and all that.

[allthingsfangirl101]

Not Impressed – Tyler Owens

"Explain to me why we drove forty minutes to see a group of storm chasers?" I asked as we finally got out of the car. I instantly stretched, trying to get any relief for my back.

"Only because they are the best!" My friend, Lily, giggled.

"You mean, the hottest," I corrected, sending her a knowing look.

"Tyler Owens is GORGEOUS!" Mandy sighed dramatically.

"Yeah," I scoffed. "And will most likely die, chasing a damn weather report."

"I know how you feel about. . ."

"Don't," I cut off Jess. "You pestered me for days to come here. I'm here. That doesn't mean I have to hop on the same hopeless bandwagon and goo and gaw over these guys."

"You can at least enjoy how sexy Tyler looks," Mandy smirked.

"For the time being," I mumbled under my breath.

Luckily, I was saved by the over-the-top truck and RV pulling into the rest stop/gas station. I honestly had no idea how my friends knew that the YouTube-famous Tornado Wranglers would stop here. These guys may be good at tracking national disasters, but my friends were good at tracking people.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes as my friends started screaming and excitedly jumping up and down. I could only handle their fangirling for so long. To save myself from second-hand embarrassment, I turned on my heel and headed into the gas station.

I absent-mindedly roamed around, grabbing a few snacks and drinks. I checked out and let out a disappointed sigh when I saw my friends still shamelessly flirting with the Tornado Wranglers.

I walked over to the picnic tables and slowly ate some of the snacks. A lot more time passed. I finished the snacks, but stayed at the picnic table. I knew my friends would come and find me when they were ready to leave.

"Hiya, darling."

I looked up from my phone to see the head storm chaser smirking at me. I smiled politely at him before turning my attention back to my phone.

"I'm Tyler," he introduced himself.

"I know," I shrugged, not looking up from my phone.

"Would you like a picture?" He asked, clearly fishing. "Or a signature? Or a shirt?"

I looked up at him with no amusement on my face. "What makes you think I'm here for you?"

"Well. . . You're here and. . ."

"My friends wanted to see you," I clarified as I stood up and threw my trash away in a nearby trash can. "I, unfortunately, was dragged along."

"Unfortunately," he repeated, clearly surprised. "So you're not. . ."

"Impressed that you chase after tornadoes instead of doing something worthwhile with your life?" I taunted. "No, not at all."

* * * * *

I walked out of the motel office and sighed when I saw that tornado chaser and his friends talking in the parking lot. I quickened my step, hoping to go unnoticed.

It didn't work.

"Well, if it isn't Ms. Not Impressed."

"If it isn't Mr. Trying To Kill Himself," I shot back as I kept walking.

"Whoa," he stuttered. "That seems a bit harsh."

I was hoping he'd give up as I jogged up the stairs, but he didn't. "At least tell me your name!" He called after me.

I stopped walking and crossed my arms over my chest. "Why?"

"So I don't have to keep calling you boring nicknames," he tried to flirt. He tried to pout to get me to give in, but it didn't work. What did work was me realizing that he would probably follow me to my room if I didn't tell him.

"Y/N," I said before walking away.

"Now, was that so hard?" He asked as he chased after me.

"It was painful," I mumbled. He started walking with me and kept looking at me as he got closer.

"I'm Tyler," he reminded me.

"Congratulations," I scoffed.

"What's with you?"

I stopped walking and turned toward him. He cleared his throat as he apologized. "I'm sorry. I just. . . I'm not used to women not fawning all over me."

"Hopefully, you've learned something from it."

"Why aren't you swooning?" He asked.

"Seriously?" I scoffed. "Does it matter?"

"Actually," he said, slightly clearing his throat, "it does."

"It's simple," I sighed. "I'm not into your type."

"My type?"

"Adreneline junkies."

"I wouldn't consider myself an adrenenline junkie," he stuttered.

"Adreneline junkies only care about one thing," I scoffed. "The next big chase or jump or whatever. They don't care about the people in their lives. They would happily die chasing the next big thing, not giving a damn about the person they leave behind."

I turned around and started to walk away.

"Wait!" He yelled, chasing after me.

"No," I spun toward him, catching him by surprise. "I will not wait. You know something, Tornado Wrangler, I've been here before. I used to be in love with an adrenaline junkie just like you. And guess what? The adrenaline won. And I had to bury him."

"Oh," he said under his breath. "Y/N. . . I'm sorry. Maybe we could. . ."

"No," I cut him off. "You seem like a decent guy, but I am not getting my heart broken by another adrenaline junkie."

Part 2 Coming Soon

[kings-highway]

As Haikyuu fan, are you surprised that Yamaguchi is the captain in 3rd year? I was shocked when I knew it. I thought it will be, Hinata.

And, why do you think Haikyuu is fans favorite for m/m shipping? Like, what about Haikyuu that made shippers love it so much?

Hi hi!

I definitely was surprised to find out Yamaguchi became captain, and you'll probably be surprised to find out that I actually have big opinions on it. Overall, I understand why Yamaguchi became captain and I think it was a relatively interesting move, and do definitely respect the choice. It certainly leaves a lot of interesting options open. *However,* I do also think it was the haikyuu narratives' weakest decision. And I mean that in terms of symbolism and balance. Yamaguchi is given *zero* interaction with captains, or to-be captains, on any teams, that show any kind of affinity towards leadership and growth in that direction. The only point you see him showing leadership qualities is his scene with Tsukki, with the "what else do we need but our pride," philosophy. Otherwise, the character arc he goes on is far more concerned with his personal lack of ability. Yamaguchi's story is "I want to be good enough to stand on the court" NOT "I want to be good enough to support my team." which is a very important distinction. And what's upseting about this is that I can see Yamaguchi's character arc so clearly to become captain, but they never give him those moments. Ennoshita is clearly shown wrangling and having moments to corral the team, Daichi is obvious a constant pillar of support and understands what makes everyone tick perfectly - all they would have had to do is, say, show Yamaguchi giving one (1) pep talk that was to someone other that his childhood best friend, or like, not panicking and thinking Yachi was dead when all he needed to do was give her Gravol.

I think the best way to fix the Yamaguchi-to-captain story would have been to give him even just one or two moments in the Inarizaki match where he is able to identify Kita as both the captain and a spare player, and recognize that valuable players are not always star-lineup players. Because at the end of the day, Ennoshita was a Daichi-style captain, but Yamaguchi is a Kita-captain. He works relentlessly even when there is little payout, his skills are all honed and practiced instead of raw talent, and he certainly could earn the #1, but I think his hatred of his bench position is what sets him apart from Kita and makes his eventual captaincy feel like a random decision, because a true captain would have learn, at some point, that if he wasn't the best player for the team, then it was good he was sitting out. Like Kita does - and like vice-captain Suga demonstrates as well.

And on TOP of it all, Hinata is given *direct* comparison to Daichi several times throughout the show (learning to receive, being the only middle school captains to "care" when they lose, they both have the same bike scene where they stop in front of a TV to learn about the volleyball game.) AND Hinata is explicitly stated to be like "direct sunlight" where characters are CONSTANTLY describing how being with him makes them want to fight as hard as they can. Fucking *Tsukki* even says it, at the training camp, how Hinata just being in the room makes him feel like he has to work way harder. Plus he clawed his middle school team together from the ground up with his own hands, he was made to be a captain. But for some reason Hinata is denied being the team captain, maybe because it would be "too obvious," even though Hinata LEARNS that "it's about the team" lesson that Yamaguchi never does in his pursuit of a better serve.

So I like Captain Yamaguchi, I think it does work well. But I think it was a weak storytelling decision that, because it's not played into, actually detracts from Yamaguchi's storyline by making him (in the meta narrative) as important as the others. So you get your four first years, and you have the star setter, the mastermind blocker, the ace, and the captain, whereas Yamaguchi spends the whole series supposedly showing that "even average people can learn to fight," that's sort of detracted from by the storytelling choice of him secretly being the to-be captain the whole time (unless, of course, they had leaned into the Kita-thing.)

---

Also Haikyuu fans have mostly M/M shipping because they have 100+ named characters with personalities, backstories and futures and 6 of them are women.

You can talk about what toxic women-hating discourse you want to, but the truth is, the haikyuu fandom *loves* it's women. And they respect pretty much every canon M/F Ship. Mika and Daishou are ADORED. If someone doesn't like TanaKiyo, it's usually to swap it for KiyoYachi, a F/F ship. I don't know about you, but pretty much every DaiSuga shipper I know is also like 90% sure that canon DaiYui would be absolutely delightful. Personally, if Bokuaka weren't so popular I think Yuki and Bokuto would have been an adorable ship, and I wish people shipped Terushima with Hana more. They have a lot of good, natural chemistry with the very few named women available, but unfortunately this is a show about boys' sports teams and my god it shows.

And unfortunately it's the fault of the haikyuu promotional team and writers for creating the shipping culture it has, because these characters have fucking government assigned best friends that always appear together. All the most popular ships are literally besties and appear beside each other as mascots for their team. I mean, look at this picture: This is the loading screen wallpaper for the Haikyuu mobile game "Fly High"

That's... yep. With the exception of the Miya Twins, that's every character + their most popular ship.

As a result, I think the haikyuu fandom tended to latch onto the pairs idea. All the common ships - even rarer ones - are usually based on who the characters' assigned bathroom buddy is. And notably, the only break for this is Asahi-Noya-Tanaka. Where Noya seems to flip between standing beside Tanaka and standing beside Asahi, which REALLY highlights even moreso why these pairs are taken as romantic, because then only reason this happens is because Tanaka's actual pair is his future fucking wife.

And before anyone says "but SakuAtsu-!" yall cannot escape the fact that Sakusa's first biggest ship was his cousin (and assigned bathroom buddy) that yall shipped because they were pairs and only managed to break out of it when the cousin-fairy came down from the sky like a fucked up Cassandra Clare plotline. But, Atsumu was only "free" to be shipped because his assigned bathroom buddy was his brother.

This isn't, obviously, to diss any of these pair ships - I love all of them! Because I love friends to lovers more than anything else, and I think it's really cute that all the haikyuu characters get a little bestie to follow them around. But I also think the "Haikyuu only likes M/M ships" idea is a bit of a correlation/causation misdirect, because it's a show that really does only have M/M friendships, and still absolutely adores the women when given them. At least... on my side of the internet. If you're experiencing Kiyoko hate call 911 and leave the building now, you're in the wrong half of the fandom my friend.

[justnamedjosie]

i'm honestly so relieved to see so many people actively defending ragatha due to the latest episode.

after watching ep 5 i immediately had the feeling people were going to hop on the ragatha hate train, she's a well written female character who has normal human flaws just like the rest of the members of the circus, she slips up and says something insensitive to jax about whatever incident that caused jax to lose his friend (which by the end of the episode she owns up too and apologizes for by the way), yet people saw this and instead of being like "wow this character made a mistake and apologized for said mistake because nobody is perfect and everyone slips up and says something mean every now then, wow she's such a real and complex character!". we got "she's the devil incarnate".

like please get me to understand why you guys HATE this girl, these fans are literally repeating the same behavior that they showed towards pomni and gangle. it's a very uncomfortable pattern i'm seeing in this fandom of female characters being ripped to shreds for simply having flaws, like any well written character would have. and then seeing the male characters (mainly jax obviously, though i have seen the same behavior with caine a bit) be excused of literally any fault of their actions because of whatever reason they can pull out their asses at any given moment.

like no, jax shouldn't be justified or in any way excused for his behavior towards the other members just because he has issues. if that's the way these fans think then i'm honestly surprised they don't give ragatha the same treatment. like i'm not saying that any of the characters shouldn't be held accountable for their mistakes just because they have problems, hell no. i'm saying after learning that ragatha grew up with an absolutely awful mother, which would definitely explain her people pleasing behavior towards everyone, that those fans would be a lot more empathetic towards her, but i guess not.

i truly don't understand. like i love jax as much as the next person, but i can acknowledge that he's not a good person and his treatment of the others is wrong, no matter what he's internally dealing with. his issues that are slowly being revealed to us EXPLAINS his behavior, but absolutely doesn't excuse it. so it truly boggles my mind that ragatha can make these mistakes (which are so much smaller than what jax has done to others) and she's immediately deemed horrible and unforgivable. make it make sense.

at best it's simple favoritism over their favorite character that can do no wrong in their eyes (which in the process they completely mischaracterize them) and at worst it's blatant misogyny. i truly don't know what else could explain the influx of hate towards ragatha. it's okay if you don't like ragatha, not everyone will like the same character. it only gets frustrating (to me at least) when these people hate a character for something that isn't true in the slightest and that they completely made up.

the silver lining to come out of this is personally i've seen more ragatha defenders than these fans. i'm glad there are people who actually understand her character and can appreciate how well written she is! ragatha has made her way into being one of my favs on the show, and i can't wait to see where her character will go from here.

(also this isn't supposed to be a jax hate post or anything, like i said i love jax. i just really dislike how the fans have been treating him and by proxy ragatha as well.)

[bloatedandalone04]

Stick With Me, Darlin’

Summary: Spencer has never been very fond of your side of the family, and that feeling only grew every time you whisked him away to visit them. Though those visits had become less and less frequent each time, your family’s harsh and cruel words grow in hostility, leaving Spencer no choice but to finally say something to his in-laws.

Word Count: 4.3k

Warnings: angst, fluff, smut, toxic family members, swearing, protective spencer, mentions/implications of eating disorders & being underweight, insecurities, self-doubt, body-image related topics, unprotected sex.

Spencer didn’t like the times you whisked him away to visit your family. You didn’t like it either, and he had never been a fan of any of them. He only put up with them because they are the reason he met you and fell head over heels, and that was it. 

Quite frankly, Spencer despised your parents and your two older sisters. He’d always been a family man, but definitely not with yours. His in-laws were people he didn’t consider part of his family. Only you are. 

Your family isn’t nice at all, and he really didn’t like the way they treated and talked to you. It pissed him off a lot, actually, but he’d learned how to bite his tongue, simply because you’d asked him to, and he’d do anything for you. 

Every few months, Spencer would take you back to your parent’s house, where you and he would stay for a few days, catch up with everyone, then leave again. Every single time, you left with a seemingly permanent frown on your face, because your sisters had degraded you, or your parents had belittled you. 

Every single time, Spencer hated it. 

You and he had only been here for one day and one night, and Spencer was ready to pick you up and carry you home just to shield you from their harsh and false words. He didn’t understand how you could just sit there and take it, but then he realized that, before him, this was all you knew. Your family was all you had, and you didn’t know the right way to be treated until he came into your life and showed you. 

Spencer was sitting at the dining room table, your mother at one end and your father at the other, and across the table were your two sisters, Haleigh and Maya, who were looking as malicious as ever. Next to him was you, his sweet wife who deserved to be spending your evening anywhere other than here. 

He was moving around the vegetables on his plate when your sister spoke up, her gaze casted onto you. “Y/n, you’re looking a little plump lately,” Haleigh said as she picked up her glass of wine, and her eyes were full of fake concern. “Are you doing well?”

Spencer looked over at you and watched as your face fell a bit, and he felt that familiar feeling of protectiveness beginning to creep up his back, because you were fucking perfect, and she had no right to comment on your weight. 

Your family had watched everything you ate before you met Spencer, and you were quite underweight when he married you. You were constantly shamed and picked on, and you had let their words get to you until they almost killed you. Only recently had you reached a healthy weight, and he didn’t want to see you spiral again. 

Spencer moved his chair a little closer to yours, letting you know that he wouldn’t hesitate to jump in and say a few comments of his own. 

Your face heated up in embarrassment as you gave your sister a fake smile, one Spencer saw right through. “I’m fine, Hale,” you answered, subconsciously brushing your leg against Spencer’s under the table. You looked down at your plate, noting you’d barely taken three bites before you’d lost your appetite, and you knew it was because of Haleigh. “Spencer’s been doing a great job keeping me fed and taken care of.” you added, brushing your pinky finger along his knuckles. 

Spencer glanced down at your hand, his lips curling upwards instinctively, despite his mood quickly going south. “That’s right, darlin’,” he mumbled, leaning in so his mouth was close to your ear. “You look perfect.”

His words make your face heat up even more, but before you could say anything, your father cleared his throat pretty loudly, breaking the quiet, intimate moment that was happening between the two of you. “So, Y/n,” he said, making Spencer straighten up and drop his expression back to neutral. “When are you and Spencer gonna give us some grandchildren?”

You bite down on your lip as you quickly look away from your father. “Um, well, we’ve been talking a lot about that,” you say, leaving out the part where you and Spencer had been actively making love with the full intent of you getting pregnant pretty frequently. You reached for your wine glass and sipped on the cool liquid as you met Spencer’s eyes. “We’re both ready for that, if and when the time comes. But we’re not in any rush.” 

Spencer raised a brow as he looked over at you, sensing your hesitation about sharing more than that. He knew that if you told them you were trying, they’d make this visit all about it, because you both knew that they’d want to be around the baby at all times, trying to pretend he or she is their own. That wouldn’t be happening on his watch. 

He took your hand in his properly as he locked eyes with your father. “Once we do decide to start a family, I hope you’ll be respectful about our choices and not involve yourselves,” he stated, making sure your parents knew that when he and you had a baby, it would be just that, yours and his. They had their chance three times now, and both your sisters had inherited your parents’ bitterness. 

The table fell silent, your mother and father, as well as Maya and Haleigh, sharing offended looks, as if a husband demanding respect from his wife’s family was unheard of. 

But you were smiling up at him, clearly finding the protective tone in his voice endearing rather than offensive. 

You went back to picking at your food as you laced your fingers with his, but he could tell your appetite was lost after your sister’s rude and untruthful comment, and it just made his jaw tick.

“So, Spencer,” Maya was the first one to find her voice as she looked over at him and fluttered her lashes in an overly seductive way, as if she were talking to a man at a bar and not her younger sister’s husband. “I know you gave up hunting, and I was just wondering if you missed it at all? Or has my dear baby sister ruined that part of your life for you?”

Her blunt question surprised even you, and you glared over at her, yet you weren’t surprised she was talking about you as if you weren’t sitting across from her. 

Spencer, however, took the question harder than you did. He clenched his jaw and tightened his grip on your hand, needing to take a deep breath in order to refrain from going off on his in-law. “I gave up hunting for a reason, Maya. It’s in my past now, it doesn’t define me. What I have with Y/n, that’s my present and it’s my future,” he said, his voice surprisingly calm despite his anger brewing in his bones. “And let me make one thing clear, your sister hasn’t ruined anything. She’s given me something far more valuable. A reason to come home every night, and to build a life worth living.”

His words send a shiver down your spine while simultaneously shutting Maya up, and she sat back in her chair while her fork hit her plate rather loudly. She was clearly feeling embarrassed and she wore a petty look on her face. “Wow,” she mumbled, looking over at you with jealousy in her eyes. “Hard to believe my…little sister could mean that much to someone.”

Her bitter words barely registered in your mind as you looked up at Spencer. He’d always made sure you knew that you’d always have a protector in him as long as he lives.  

Spencer’s thumb traced circles onto the back of your hand as he met Maya’s icy gaze, her eyes daring him to say something else, to defend you some more as if she could keep this going all night, but he wasn’t having it. He’d actually heard quite enough degradation of you to last a lifetime, and he wasn’t about to sit and bite his tongue when she was clearly more than fine with continuing on as if you weren’t present at the table. 

“You know, Maya, there’s so much bitterness buried deep within you, I think you might want to take some time and try to figure out why your little sister is farther in life than you are,” he finally said, his gaze unwavering, and his voice deadly calm. He looked over at your mother, then at your father, “And as for the rest of you, if you can’t show some respect towards your daughter, towards my wife, then maybe it’s best to keep your comments to yourselves, ‘cause I’m sick of hearin’ ‘em.”

Maya was once again reduced to an offended silence, while the rest of your family looked at him like he had two heads. Meanwhile, you were looking up at him with such adoration, such love and happiness in your eyes, he regretted not saying something sooner. 

But he was done holding back now. If they couldn’t try and be decent to you, then he was done trying to be decent with them. 

He stood up from the table, the napkin he’d been told to place on his lap falling to the floor as he pulled you up with him, “Come on, darlin’,” he mumbled, “Take a walk with me.”

You willingly followed after him, leaving your parents and sisters at the table with their jaws hanging open. Spencer led you out of the dining room and out onto the front porch, where the cool air fanned across both yours and his heated skin. 

Once the door shut behind him, you turned to Spencer with wide eyes, but they weren’t holding any surprise, because you weren’t at all shocked he stuck up for you and set down some ground rules after all that. He held off on doing it for as long as he could, but it was inevitable. “Spencer,” you whispered, letting go of his hand and reaching up instead, your fingers weaving their way into his hair. “I can’t believe you just did that. Do you know how mad they’re gonna be?” 

Spencer shrugged all too casually as he wrapped his arms around you, pulling you right up against his chest. “Let ‘em be mad. I’m not gonna sit there and listen to them if they can’t respect you,” he tilted his head down, his frame towering over yours in a protective shield. “I’m never gonna let anyone hurt you, including them. They’re lucky they’re still in your life after all the shit they’ve said to you.”

He leaned in and pressed a kiss to your forehead, then rested his own against it, feeling the way your body trembled in his arms. 

And then he kissed your lips, claiming you as his right there on your family’s front porch.

After you and he’d retired to your old bedroom for the night, you went into the bathroom to get ready for bed. You came out wearing a thin pink nightgown, and you avoided Spencer’s eyes as you walked over to the mirror in the corner and looked at yourself. 

He was sitting in bed, the sheets draped over his legs as he sat back against the headboard. He watched as you carefully studied your stomach and sides, turning to the left and the right as you inspected your reflection. He’d seen you do this countless times in the past, but not recently. Fuck, he couldn’t stand your family. 

“Darlin’,” he called out to you, and his brows furrowed when you turned to him with a frown on your lips. 

Before he could ask you what was wrong, you opened your mouth and asked him a question of your own. “Do you think I’m fat?” His eyes widened a bit as he sat up straighter, his arms coming up to cross over his chest. “Or that I’ve gained too much weight?” 

Spencer’s eyes flickered all over your body, the same body that drives him crazy. He’d never met a more sexy, more sweet and stunning woman, and he loves every single inch of you. He thought he’d finally been able to get that seared into your brain, but of course, your family had managed to fill your pretty head with doubts and insecurities he’d tried so hard to help you get rid of. “Come here, baby,”

When you stepped towards him and played with the hem of your nightgown, Spencer made sure you could see the way his eyes roamed over your body with an undeniable fondness. 

He reached out and grasped your hips, pulling you closer as he shifted on the bed so you were standing between his thighs. “Listen to me. You are fuckin’ perfect exactly how you are. Everything your sisters said today, get it out of your head, okay? They’re bitter because they’ll never be anything like you,” he wasn’t one for comforting, but he’d comfort you a thousand times over again, and he’d never complain about it. His hands slid up your sides, coming to rest just below the curves of your breasts as he leaned in and pressed a kiss to your temple. “You drive me wild.”

You bit your lip and Spencer got to watch the goosebumps form on your arms from his words, or maybe they were from the way he ran his thumbs along the sides of your breasts, or the way his lips brushed along your ear.  “So, you don’t think I need to lose weight?” you asked, bracing your hands on his bare shoulders as you lifted one of your knees onto the bed next to his hip. “And I don’t look plump?” 

Spencer’s big hands slid down to your ass, and he pulled you closer to him as he leaned in and nuzzled his face into the crook of your neck. “I think you’re perfect,” he said, guiding your other leg up onto the bed as he placed open mouthed kisses along your skin. Then he turned and leaned back against the headboard again, bringing you with him so you were straddling his hips. “Look at you…prettiest woman I’ve ever seen.”

You were blushing profusely now as you looked down at him, the position altering yours and his height difference for the time being. “Really?”

“Mmhmm, and let me tell you somethin’, no man in his right mind would want to change a single inch of you. Especially not me,” he murmured, his voice full of promise as his hands moved to your waist and his hips subtly bucked up against yours. “You’re my dream come true, darlin’. Don’t you know that by now?” 

You looked like you were in a daze as you nodded slowly, and Spencer pulled you down for a deep kiss that left both of you feeling a little light headed. You opened your eyes when his fingers pushed down the straps of your nightgown, and you only had one final question for him, “And…you don’t regret giving up hunting for me?” 

Spencer never thought about it like that. He saw it as a way for him to be in an early grave if something were to go wrong, or possibly spend the next five or so decades with the best person he’s ever met. 

“Regret it? Baby, givin’ up hunting was the easiest decision I’ve ever made. It wasn’t even a choice when it came to you,” he mumbled, wrapping his arms around your waist as he leaned his head down and buried his face between your breasts. “Being with you is exactly where I’m supposed to be. I’d give up everything a thousand times over for you.”

His hands found the bottom of your nightgown, and he slowly bunched the fabric up your body until it was pooled around your waist. You reached in between your bodies and pushed down his boxers, freeing his already hard cock. It really never took much for him to get hard for you, and that just made you feel every bit of perfect as he told you. 

As Spencer kissed along your breasts, you lifted yourself up and slowly sunk down onto him, your eyes closing as you dropped your head onto his shoulder. “Fuck, darlin’,” he groaned under his breath, his hands gripping your hips as he helped guide your movements. He had to grit his teeth together to stop himself from being too loud since he knew the walls of your parents house were very thin, and it was why you couldn’t get away with anything when you were a kid. 

The bed was old and creaked with every roll of your hips, but it wasn’t loud enough to be heard. At least you hoped it wasn’t. Spencer didn’t really care either way. 

One of his hands slid up your back, tangling in your hair before he pulled you down for a heated kiss, his tongue delving into your mouth to brush against yours. 

You moaned against his lips as you rode him, the muffled sounds you were making mixing well with the soft creaking of the frame. Your gown had slipped down your body, your chest now completely bare and brushing against Spencer’s with every roll of your hips, and you shivered as his chest hair pricked at your sensitive nipples. 

“Oh, God,” you moaned against his mouth as you moved on top of him, your hands caressing his face. “I love you.”

Spencer groaned at your words. “I love you too, darlin’. More than anything in this world,” he rasped, then he kissed you again as he flipped the positions, pinning you beneath him on the mattress. His hips never faltered in their pace, his cock driving into you with deep thrusts that had you squirming under him. 

One hand was braced beside your head, the other sliding down to grip your thigh and guide it higher around his hip, giving him better access to you. He swallowed every pretty sound you made for him, kissing you like this was his last night with you. 

“You feel so good, baby,” he murmured in between kisses. He couldn’t seem to keep his mouth away from yours, which was good, because it allowed you both to muffle the sounds. Sex had never been quiet with the two of you, and the fact that you were guests in your parents’ house didn’t seem to phase either of you. 

You wrapped your legs around his waist, your mouths connecting in messy kisses that left your lips wet and connected with each other’s saliva. Your fingers were in his hair, and his chest was pressed against yours, your breasts swaying softly with every thrust, and it was all too much but also not enough. 

Spencer could feel your body tensing beneath him, could feel the way your inner walls were beginning to flutter and tighten around him, and he knew you were close, so he picked up the pace a bit more and slid one hand in between your bodies until his fingers found your clit. “Cum for me,” he whispered against your lips, his voice a little strained as he held himself back. “I’m right there with you, baby, I’ve got you.” 

His words really did it for you. Or maybe it was the way he worshipped you like you were the most precious thing he’d ever seen.

You whimpered and buried your face against his neck, then let out a soft cry of pleasure as your eyes squeezed shut. You kept your legs around his waist as you came, and a sharp gasp left your lips as your nails gently dug into the skin of his shoulders. 

“That’s it,” Spencer cooed, feeling your warmth flood around him. He thrust into you a few more times before he was there too, and he buried himself deep inside you as he filled you up. 

He wrapped his arms around you and buried his face in your hair, his hips rolling lazily against yours before he finally stilled, his big body covering yours entirely. He peppered your face and neck with kisses as he rolled to the side, pulling you with him so you were cuddled against his chest. 

“You’re perfect,” he mumbled, one big hand stroking up and down your back as he caught his breath. 

You smiled, tracing lazy shapes onto his toned, tanned chest as you tried to regain control of your breathing. “I love how much you want to protect me,” you whispered as you and he bathed in the afterglow, your bodies sweaty and shiny. “No one has ever stood up to my family before. You make me feel special, Spencer. Every day.”

Spencer tangled his other hand in your hair and tilted your head back so you were looking him in the eyes. “Baby, you are special. You’re everything I’ve ever dreamed of. Even more, and your family doesn’t see what I do,” he promised, leaning in and pressing a kiss to your lips. “You’re beautiful, kind, sexy as hell, and I’ll always protect you. I can promise you that. It’s just you and me.”

You smiled up at him and leaned in to press another deep kiss to his lips before you tnageld your legs with his and reached for his hand. You spun his wedding ring around his finger a few times as you fell into a comfortable silence. “You and me,” you mumbled, pressing a kiss to his ring before looking up at him again. “I don’t want to stay here for another few days. I can’t do another dinner like that. I miss our home and our bed. This place never felt like home to me.”

Spencer ran his fingers along your lower back. “Then let’s go home tomorrow,” he said simply, not one ounce of hesitation in his reply. “I don’t need to be anywhere but with you. I know stayin’ here upsets you, so we’ll leave. You don’t belong here anymore, darlin’. We’ll leave first thing in the morning and go home.”

His words made a big, grateful smile take over your lips. He was only here for you, and that was it. “Yeah?” you murmured, reaching up to cup his face in your hands. 

“Yeah, baby,” he confirmed, resting his forehead against yours. “First thing tomorrow, we’re leavin’. And then, when we’re home, I’ll make love to you in our bed, cook you breakfast in our kitchen, and then we’ll sit out on our porch after dinner and I’ll let you talk my ear off until you fall asleep.” 

Your smile only grew and you nodded quickly before leaning in and kissing him again, a kiss of which he returned just as fiercely as he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you flush against his chest. “Sounds perfect,” you mumbled against his lips before you were once again rolled onto your back. 

-

The next morning, as breakfast was being prepared, you and Spencer quietly packed up your things and got dressed, attempting to be subtle about your sudden departure. 

When you got downstairs, though, your mother saw you trying to sneak out the front door, and she called your name. Her tone was firm and held a hint of anger, and you froze, your hand locked tightly with Spencer’s.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” she asked, getting the attention of your two sisters and father. She crossed her arms and looked between the two of you, then her eyes landed on the bags you were carrying, and she let out a harsh laugh. “You’re sneaking out? After everything we’ve provided for you? Did we really raise such an ungrateful brat?”

The rapid questions had you tensing up, and your body instinctively moved closer to Spencer’s. He instantly stepped in front of you, shielding you from the mean glares of your family. “Enough,” he all but growled, beyond fed up with the four people who were currently trying to ruin yet another day of yours. 

But he wasn’t having it. 

“I’m not gonna let you talk to my wife like that, not now, and not ever again, do you hear me?” he asked, but it didn’t sound like a question at all. And he didn’t intend for it to be one. “We’re leaving, because your lack of respect towards your daughter is pissing me off. She’s the most incredible woman I’ve ever met, but you’ve never cared about her enough to see that. But not anymore. She’s with me now, and I won’t have you trying to tear her down.”

His words were stern, a hint of warning behind them as he stared at your family, but when he turned to you, his eyes were filled with pure love and adoration. 

“Come on, darlin’, let’s go,” he said, guiding you back towards the door. Your mother’s mouth was wide open, and your father’s jaw was locked tight. Maya and Haleigh were fuming as they looked at you, but you couldn’t bring yourself to care anymore. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry things had to come to this, but she comes first. Always. I hope one day you’ll all see what an amazing person you let walk out of your lives.”

With that, he led you out the door and down the steps of the porch, and once your feet hit the gravel, he had you in his arms. 

“Are you okay?” he asked, one big hand cradling the back of your head. 

You clung onto him and nodded quickly, holding him like he was your lifeline. “I’m more than okay,” you said back, burying your face against his neck as you finally let yourself be free from the expectations and cruel words of your family. 

It was all behind you now. The only thing you had to focus on was your future, and as far as you knew, your future was the one holding you.

[yunwangja]

merit | team yn

masterlist

team yn

2nd year college students

yn

taking up cognitive science, decision & cognition track

the hardworking, passionate, competitive girl

she was instilled with the mindset that she has to do her best to fulfill her purpose

contrary to what it may seem, there isn’t really that negative pressure to push herself too hard

she doesn’t get “burnt out” because she has a healthy mindset

you could say she’s a positive person - “i’m doing this because i want to be my best, and not because my parents say so”

and at the same time, she enjoys it a lot; being active, studying, putting herself out there - it’s her personality so she doesn’t have hidden wounds about it

views as her competition with akaashi as challenging. she started it, but well it was more of an exciting thing for her

like she hates it when she loses but it drives her to be better, yk?

despite her passion, she doesn’t push her friends to be the same though

she is very reliable and helps her friends a lot when it comes to acads and others

but she doesnt pressure them, if that makes sense

also has a big brother ! athletic, smart, and two years older than him, but he’s chill ! same univ but diff course

hajime iwaizumi

also taking up cogsci, cognitive neuroscience track

big bro of the group lowkey !

he helps yn a lot - drives her to places, assists her if she needs help with class rep or org duties

serious and protective of his friends, but calming when anybody’s crashing out

smart too but iwa < yn, they’re both very hardworking in that sense

is team yn with the rivalry ofc, he’s more neutral over akaashi though

like “i don’t care about you but i don’t want you to d1e though” lol

when for example, akaashi gets a win, he just calms yn down by thinking of other opportunities she could win the next time

meaning he’s not a basher much LOL but again he does help yn out so if he has info he says it

either is on the same side or opposite side of tsukki in situations, no in between

like they’re either so passionate about how they disagree or the other way around

in the same building as oikawa’s dorm, though they’re in different floors (this has a story wait for oikawa’s - spoiler alert - but also not actually)

whenever oikawa would talk about the two’s rivalry he would just let him be LOL

and as you've seen, his socmed is handled (hacked) by oikawa sumtimes

hitoka yachi

this girl is taking cognitive science too, cognitive development track

in this world, her heart is in creating environments where learning feels safe, accessible, and encouraging, especially for children and neurodivergent people !!!

yn’s girl <3 her roommate as well

academically smart < creative !

still the clumsy, artsy friend though!

lowkey a basher LOL but yachi < noya

she kinda hated akaashi’s group esp before they got together

when tsukki asked why she just answered: “because theyre men ???”

it probably was influenced with the rivalry though

“they open their mouths too much” LMAO

the one who initiates hangouts in the group

she’s special because she’s the one where yn can show her feminine side a lot

not that yn conceals it, but she just has more of a “hardworking competitive student” vibe than a girly girl one

they study together at cafes - she asks yn to tutor her (it's her love language ok)

yn’s not a strict teacher w her so when yachi gets overwhelmed she’ll just let her sleep while she continues to do her stuff LOL

yuu nishinoya

a sports science~ major

it sounds fancy but he chose it because he's well... he's athletic (even in this world)

he took it up coz it sounded smart and he was like, "oh it'll just be like a sciencey PE subject right?"

HE HAS ANOTHER CAST WITH HIM IN THE SAME MAJOR !!! STAY TUNED WHO LOL (yeah it's from the other group)

an akaashi hater LOL

“don’t mind him yn he’s not that smart even”

“he talks all smart i dont even understand anything he says”

as always the chaotic one

partners up with yachi a lot, esp when it comes to studying (they love dozing off together)

is just like a solid yn supporter

“QUEEN”

“YOUR BRAIN IS SACRED YN”

gets scolded a lot by iwa but he doesn’t really care

treats yn lowkey like a mom sumtimes (esp when iwa is annoyed at him)

has a lot of petty arguments with tsukki - also his roommate

would come over to yn and yachi’s place whenever he has a fight with tsukki

it would get as petty as “he didnt want to hear me chewing on my chips”

kei tsukishima

also a cogsci major, computation & cognition track

idonteven think i should explain this because he smart right

as mentioned in previous characters, he argues a lot

starts the petty fights with noya most of the time

here’s the thing - he’d make a comment that he thinks is subtle and noya would get fed up

and then he’ll think it’s ridiculous to argue over it (but they’re already arguing)

doesn’t really care about yn and akaashi's rivalry

he just wonders why yn is so pressed about it since he’s closer to her

“it doesnt really matter tho”

“you’ll live”

“stop being obsessed”

“are you inlove with him” (subtle foreshadowing)

he’s smart but he’s not as passionate as yn

he could be if he tried though, but well it’s a chore for him

when you ask him for a hangout suggestion, he’ll always recommend the bar

because he loves watching live bands

note: these are how i envisioned them to be when i started forming this smau. but along the way, there might be times their personalities may shift a little and/or expand more. just wanted you guys to take note of this in case i forget some of the details i wrote down here or make something along the way that might not be written here. but rest assured the core of their personalities will be consistent throughout !

i had to research a LOT because i have to focus on their majors (at some point) for this story ! don't worry though i'm dumb so they're not gonna sound all academic much really LOL. i just had to make it make sense and create a world where they were really focused on univ (esp for the main leads).

anyway, stay tuned for the bros...

taglist: @lvtilzs @tojirin @mayyhaps @tenjikusstuff4 @3lectraheart @kaikaidenkai @avis-writeshq @x3nafix @reverd-ck @mintynoo @loveyislost @nishinoyaismycutie @applepi-05 @cupidsblonde @kokoiinuts

[aliensupastar]

for a show that has a motto of "every second counts", it sure does love to waste my fucking time

why has it taken two whole seasons for carmy and richie to make up? why was carmy not wanting to do restaurants anymore an idea introduced at the beginning of THIS season instead of built up seasons one, two, and three? sure, back in season one there's a mention of his motivations being tied up in wanting to fix his family, but then we see him gain hope for the restaurant at the end of the episode, and then be inspired in season two and determined to challenge himself and his staff in season three (for better or for worse). it just feels like he's doing the same thing again, running from good things in his life, removing himself under the notion that he'll get in the way of good things happening. that's the same thing donna did, removed herself from the bear because she was afraid she'd get in the way of a good thing! and it's not inherently a bad thing for your main character to run into the same issue over and over again, it's called having a fatal flaw! but that doesn't mean your main character can stagnate in the way that carmy does. in season one, carmy progresses, he learns that he hasn't been abandoned by his family and mikey and that he's not a hopeless cause. in season two, he backslides, avoids responsibility and uses claire as an escape and it ultimately leads to him failing his family, and it's devastating to watch. season three should've spent time with him apologising and then reintegrating himself into the function of the restaurant. have him slide back into the mentor role again (for sydney, tina, and marcus), learn how to collaborate with richie so that the front of house and back of house communicate with each other properly, start learning to be there for natalie like she tells him she wants him to in season fucking one. he calls her to apologise for not coming to see the baby and she still ends up comforting him, and SHE still has to bring the baby to HIM.

and carmy is my favourite, so he's the only person i'm talking about here, but the other main characters also have disappointing arcs. i like richie learning how to deal with frank being in his family; it could've happened in one season instead of two. i like sydney's dilemma between shapiro and the bear a lot, it feels like she's the only character that's been really progressing. i like natalie's baby storyline, i think "ice chips" is the best episode of season three... i think francie fak could've stayed a gag instead of having her appear onscreen for the first time and then have her issue with natalie be resolved in one day, with no actual details of what betrayal took place. there is quite literally nothing for nat to do in season four, and sure she can't be at the restaurant considering she's just had a baby, but y'know, mothers are human beings with a lot of interesting things going on, too, and i don't think having a child means nat should be demoted from main character to recurring character (though i get that it's probably tied up in the fact that abby elliott had a baby in real life and couldn't be on set as much).

but, instead of giving its characters or the pace of the show any sort of momentum, the writers devote way, way too much runtime to the fucking Faks. do any of us give a shit about ted fak telling his new girlfriend kelly that he loves her? i'm serious. this show used to be a genuine dramedy, now it's a melodrama that cuts to its family of comedic relief characters fucking around a few times per episode.

i've been a fan of the bear since it premiered, it is without a doubt, my favourite show of all time; there's no other show out there that means this much to me. and i know tons of people hated season three, but i thought its worst crime was being imperfect when the first two seasons were perfect, and i figured if the showrunners/writers could learn from the criticism of season three, then season four could really turn things around and it would come back better than ever.

i realise now that seasons three and four being filmed at the same time was a bad sign. i think there's still hope for season five, it hasn't been filmed or even confirmed yet, and the show has a tendency to switch up its style, but i am beyond disappointed that we've had two dud seasons. this is still my favourite show ever, and i will be writing more carmy fanfiction ASAP, and continuing to hope that season five is better.

p.s.: i very much stand by all my opinions in this post, but i would love to hear other opinions and have discussions about season four/the show in general!

[dani-luminae]

So you know how the OG Wizard of Oz movie (the one with Judy Garland) featured "real life counterparts" of Dorothy's friends from Oz and other characters?

Like the Wicked Witch was a lady named Gulch who wanted to take Toto away, and the Tinman Scarecrow and Lion were all farmhands? (At least Wikipedia credits them as such.)

Suppose that the similar premise exists for Wicked (thinking mostly about movie version of stage version could also apply.)

Fiyero, Boq, the Cowardly Lion, Nessarose and Elphaba all have "counterparts" who exist in Kansas, in Dorothy's world.

Elphaba, or rather Almira, is an ambitious yet overlooked daughter of Mayor Gulch of Wamego, the small town closest to Dorothy's farm. (The real-life Wamego, KS was my birthplace and their claim to fame for tourism is that Dorothy is from their town. If this is debated, I got no clue about it.)

Mayor Gulch blatantly favors her little sister, the wheelchair-bound Iris. Iris can be cold and firm, and has a crush on Hickory.

Hickory is a farmhand, good with an axe and likeable enough, but doesn't reciprocate Iris's feelings. He paid attention to her for the first time because Miss Valentina directed him to when he was first charmed by her.

Miss Valentina is a relatively new arrival to Wamego, a pink-loving socialite and social climber. While she seems shallow, she cares a lot more than she lets on, and would like to use her popularity and charm to help people. She's one of the few people who see Almira for her true potential. Valentina's also got her eyes on Donovan, the son of a wealthy landowner.

Donovan might have been born into wealth but doesn't much care for it, hiding his frustration behind cool confidence. He'd been a farmhand on several farms in the area, including the Gales' farm, and has been nicknamed "Hunk" by several young ladies who are charmed by him. And yet, despite being pressured to marry Miss Valentina in a union that would benefit both their families, his heart's set on Almira, who he sees as a kindred spirit.

The Cowardly Lion is a local stray cat who lives around the Gales' farm. Dorothy calls him "Zeke," and though he's quite timid most of the time, Zeke happens to be very good at hunting spiders.

The Wizard is a local charlatan who was once very familiar with the deceased Mrs. Gulch, wife of the mayor.

In the beginning, Almira does encounter Toto, but it's mostly a misunderstanding; he got away from Dorothy, lost his collar, and was thought to be a stray. Almira knew he belonged to Dorothy and tried to help, only to be bitten by him. Dorothy, believing as much of the town does that Almira is just a distant and unsociable black sheep in the Gulch family, thinks that Almira meant to be cruel.

~~~

Upon her return from Oz, however, Dorothy discovers that Almira never meant to hurt Toto and that she rescued Zeke from some bullies while Dorothy was away; Almira is actually quite an animal-lover, feeling that animal companions are one of the first friends who never overlooked her.

Dorothy also learns that Almira and Valentina were friends when they once attended the same boarding school, and that Almira and Donovan are in love despite the very public arrangement between Donovan and Valentina's families.

Dorothy wonders if there was more to the story in Oz than she was told by Glinda. She'll probably never find out.

[midorisudachi]

"Lamentation of the Wolf"

It's been forever & a day since I last posted here on Tumblr! Not only was I super busy for months upon end (which also includes having worked on a lot of Star Wars cosplay - including my OC Mando - from January through mid-March), but I had hit a huge Art Block of Doom.

Playing Dragon Age: The Veilguard for the first time (last month in May) was such a delight. I can go on for a long time praising that beautiful game, but I will save that for another time. Due to the fact that I was touched by that exquisite game, it brought back a creative spark in me, and for the first time in 9 months, I felt I could draw once again.

For those of you who haven't played DAV (or haven't beat the game yet), I am going to post SPOILERS below:

For starters, this is not a Solas & Mythal "ship" or anything romantic of any sort. I wanted to create a piece with lots of symbolism which told the relationship between these two elven "gods". I was inspired by the artwork/murals from Solas' regrets. I took some artistic license by making their outfits a bit more detailed (than how it shows in the murals). 

As we all learned in Veilguard, Mythal turned the spirit of wisdom - Solas - into a physical form & he would serve her. (Notice Mythal gripping onto his arm?) Solas was loyal to her for the longest time, which is why I drew him holding on to her. (I added two symbols - spirit form & Fen'harel/Dread Wolf - to his outfit.) It's showing the deep bond they had with each other. I also wanted Mythal to appear like this goddess, which the elves had believed in her for so long as the "All-Mother" and "Protector", yet we know all the wrong that she and the other Evanuris did; the peaceful face I drew her with is like a mask. I put a crescent moon next to Mythal because in Elven lore, Mythal was thought to have created the moon. 

I actually felt sad while drawing the Titans in this piece; they didn't deserve what Solas & Mythal did to them with the dagger. I made the lyrium - the blood of the Titans - being taken away from them (see the sadness in the Titans?), and I eventually turned the lyrium red to signify how it had mutated to the Blight. That's also why there is a red "river" at the bottom right, showing that beneath all the mountains, trees, & flower, there lies the Blight underground. 

I drew this with sepia Sakura Pigma Micron pens, then coloured it in with a mix of Copic Markers, Ohuhu Markers, Coloured Pencil, & watercolour. White accents are with a gel pen & the gold is Golden Acrylics brand. I know this piece isn't 100% perfect - as it is with traditional artwork - but I am happy with how this came out.

Scanner killed the colours, though! It's much more vibraint & metallic in real life.

I hope everybody likes this!

Dragon Age/Veilguard/Solas/Mythal © Bioware & Electronic Arts

Fan Art © me, Jacqueline E. McNeese

[boobxrry0]

Here’s a list of HCs for Amphoreus college AU. Warning there’s a lot below the cut

Phainon

- Who is his roommate you ask? None other than Mydeimos. Who else??

- He used to use a skateboard all the time in Highschool, but he doesn’t use it that much anymore so it just kinda. Stays in the corner of his dorm (yes this is a sk8 reference. Sue me)

- He came out as bisexual about a month after first year started. who was surprised? …No one.

- Doing bullshit nonsense competitions at 2 am with Mydei, and they get noise complaints all the time.

- He leaves his hair on the shower wall. Mydei yells at him for it.

- Been trying to learn piano since 5ever. They own a keyboard that is currently collecting dust in the living room.

- When Mydei leaves to take care of his library, Phainon tries to bake something. It usually ends up being terrible. I mean it. Black crisp over the top of that thing type shit.

- Forgets to wash rice.

- Whenever he actually sits down and tries to study, he gets distracted on his laptop. It got so bad Aglaea had to literally yank it away from him and now he’s not allowed to have a laptop. Even at the dorms

- ^ Ever since then he’s been actually doing better in his classes

Mydei

- Cooks basically every night for Phainon, but if he’s being a little bitch he’ll order him shitty food and then makes something for himself.

- ^ This got so bad he just started cooking for him again. Because nobody in college has the time or money for that

- He plays electric guitar! If they go anywhere and there’s a guitar of any kind, he’ll just sit down and start playing something.

- Mydei tried skating. He was not good at it.

- He works for his mom and dad at the family owned library occasionally. It’s quick money, really. He genuinely thinks he’s gonna take over full time. If Eurypon and Gorgo don’t mind.

- Phainon tried convincing Mydei to get an odd tattoo. He did not speak to Phainon the rest of the day.

Tribbios

- A professor!

- Literally the best history professor you could ask for. Ain’t nobody failing her class because she’s that good of a professor.

- Super fun. Breaks in her class constantly, fun stuff at the beginning of class. Etc.

- Genuinely cares for others

- Surprisingly old??? She taught Prof. Aglaea when she was in college. Which wasn’t that long ago but still!

- She loved teaching. And her subject.

- Sometimes goes into other classes and everybody cheers. Typically she goes into Aglaea’s class.

- Sometimes her younger sisters will come visit the class. Everyone is surprised by how young they are, considering Tribios’ age.

Tribbie/Trinnon/Trianne (whatt!)

- They’re not in college! Um…

- Tribbio’s younger sisters

- Triplets

- Chaos Co.

- All of them are super observant. Sometimes they go up to people in class and point blank “You look like you’re struggling with your love life. Remember communication is key!” (They get a lot of their advice was watching/listening to Tribbios)

- Trinnon in specific has really good intuition. When someone is about to walk onto the road, she’s grab the nearest piece of cloth/their hand and say “wait” and the next second a car going a kjadraillon miles per hour will rush by. People have cried and hugged this girl for saving their life.

- Tribbie has a keen eye for lies and truth. Tribbios has never been able to lie around her. No one has. She will just huff and say “don’t deceive me.” (Tribios said that one time. ONE TIME to a person and now Tribbie uses it all the time.)

- Trianne will literally encourage people to take the first step. And then she will remember everything and makes sure she sees it to the end. She doesn’t know why. She likes watching over people, and then if they ask to help she will gladly do so!

- They all collectively write/draw on walls.

Castorice

- Good grades in everything. Everything.

- She and Polyxia are inseparable. You will never see them apart.

- If Polyxia is sick she will stay home until she feels better. Take care of her.

- Physical touch.

- “it may be my last year but it doesn’t mean I’m not going to try hard.”

Polyxia (?!?!???!)

- Everyone sees her and immediately thinks she’s just a ghost.

- She is the one who cooks. Castorice helps occasionally.

Aglaea

- Yes, she teaches fashion design. And yes, she also teaches debate. So what?

- chill when it comes to debate. Fashion design? Absolute critic. Gordon Ramsey of fashion design.

-Literally the newest professor. Used to be a student not too long ago. But she’s already highly respected as a teacher.

-There’s some rumors going around about her relationship with Prof Anaxa….

- She addressed said rumors. Turns out they’re exes!

Anaxagoras

- We already know he’s a Professor.

- Math (Calculus) and Science (theoretical physics & Astronomy)

- There’s already so much about him and his teaching style and it’s all canon here.

- Yes this includes the gun

- ^ Insert the video of the Choir teacher with the nerf gun except its kids answering questions.

- “THEY GOT GINA!” Vine

- Extra thing, people keep commenting about his eyepatch. He has never addressed it. And he never will (it was something stupid)

Cipher

- Absolute troublemaker.

- Falls asleep in class even if she was right on time.

- Struggles with money.

- Kleptomaniac

Hyacine

- Volunteers for everything. Everything.

- Training to be a doctor

- Tries to help the teachers as much as possible.

- She sometimes brings little Ica to the campus. A lot of people gather around.

Probably going to add a bunch of stuff later when we get more info on Hysilens/Cerydra!

[misslavenderlady]

First off, thank you so much for the tag!!!

Second off, I can definitely see the heart you put into this! The people in this fandom are bursting with creativity and insightful ideas on a movie that came out 35+ years ago and I think that's so beautiful. Our ideas and insights and theories keep it going, which inspires even more people. I'm really proud of you for doing this.

I'll add some thoughts too, but please know I'm not trying to steal your thunder! You've just really inspired me 💜

Let me just say I do like Star. She was in no way written perfectly, but I chalk that up to limitations with movie time and the shit-ton of changes they made and stuff the cut out. That's definitely not her fault, nor is it that of her actress. In fact, Jami Gertz did fantastic with what few bits she was given to work with.

It's kind of interesting because she's both a very positive character for the era she comes from, but she's also limited by it too. Unlike a lot of the other female characters of the 80s, she's not a victim of any gender-related mistreatment. She's not harassed, assaulted or r*ped. It isn't even brought up. It's really not good that such a simple thing is considered progressive for a movie of that time, but it's still a nice palette cleanser after seeing so many gross characters look up skirts or try to grope some poor girls.

Yes, you do see that shrinking violet personality come in when David reels her in, but she isn't treated like an object for their desires. Honestly, I actually think her romance with Michael is very sweet. It may be brief and very sudden, but the passion Jami and Jason had going on irl definitely shows on camera. They're just very shy and cute and honestly, I find their sex scene to be one of the better ones I've seen in movies. I think I like their relationship because it plays on one of the few characteristics we see for her. She just wants to be normal again. She wants to be a girl in love with a sweet boy. The feelings she has for Michael are very real, and it's to a point where she trusts him to save her and Laddie.

Another thing I see in her is a sense of bravery that I don't think even she realizes she has. She's willing to warn Michael about the risk of the blood even at the consequences of David being mad at her, she sneaks away from the boys so she can talk to Michael and ask for help (that's no small task for anyone getting out of an abusive relationship), she insists that Laddie be saved first, even if Michael only has the strength to get one of them out, she gets in the faces of two vampire hunters and screams at them to protect Laddie from harm (seriously, she could have been killed), and she picks up a weapon to fight Max when she learns who he is.

It really is a shame that we don't see the Star we see in the book and certain cuts from the script. There's just so much more to her. She's a kind, playful spirit who keeps hope going strong. She encourages Laddie to hold on to his human memories, she adores Paul as her companion and a kindred spirit who understands her loneliness, and in a version of the script, she helps Michael get the killing blow in.

I know deep down she was only meant to be the love interest, but I see a spark in her that could have been more. And honestly? This movie would have been a bit more empty without her. When it comes to Michael, she's the shoulder angel to David's shoulder devil. The two of them in a quiet battle to get Michael to turn to their own side.

They could never make me hate you, queen 😩💜

Building a Better Star (aka, the Star Essay)

I like Star. I’m getting that shit out of the way right here at the beginning, just in case. I like Star, I like what she is, I think she deserves better writing. 

Also - these are my takes. These takes may not be your takes. We can have different takes.

Okay? Okay. Let’s go. 

For the purposes of this analysis and suggestion, I’m only going to be going off of movie canon Star, rather than book canon Star, because while they’re basically the same, there are a few background elements in the book that expand  on Star’s internal thoughts and relationships with the boys that you could only get from exposition in the book, and that’s not as available a source as the movie, so. 

Since I’m either posting this on tumblr for the four people who will read it, or filming myself talking about this like a normal person with normal hobbies, I won’t explain who canonically she is because that’s unnecessary for this audience of me and a discord server, but rather who she is as a character as presented.

The thing about The Lost Boys is that it exists as a double edged sword of characterization for all its characters. They’re all incredibly simple, and in that white space that’s left behind where deeper characterization would be put in other movies, here there’s just a void, leaving the audience to fill in the gaps however they see fit with whatever they can glean from the surrounding world. 

The vampires are the prime example of this - of all the characters, they get the least amount of dialogue and have the most void to fill in who they are as characters. Star is the runner up, having more character, but the same amount of void in her backstory. 

So who is Star? 

Star is The Girl of the group, a trope wherein you have a group of characters who make up the core of your main cast and usually they’re all male, with one or occasionally two exceptions being girls - if it’s two, one will be the ‘nerdy’ or otherwise ‘not strictly desirable by main male cast’ role, and the other will be The Girl, who is almost always the love interest of the main male, who, even though she’s more of a main character then the secondary girl, typically does less than them. As presented, Star fits this trope easily, as well as filling out the subtropes that it consists of. 

She’s soft-spoken, pretty, demure, stays out of most of the fights in the story, offers the protagonist advice but never tells him directly how to face the conflict of the story, offers support but never directly physically supports the protagonist. She’s an inciting incident all to herself, but never actually drives the plot forward except to be a shining prize on the mountaintop of the narrative that the protagonist must climb in order to claim. 

After being in the Lost Boys fandom for about two and a half-ish years now, there are some take-aways specific to Star that the fandom tends to play on the most. 

And I want to add in here, I do not have a problem with these traits being assigned to her. Star, like the rest of the cast, is a very malleable character. The void around her is just as vast as the other vampires, and this is fandom - we play with blorbos from our media like dolls. This entire thing is purely based on what I personally would like to see Star become, and since I’m a freak, I don’t just write fanfic, I also do this. Apparently. So take everything I’m saying with a giant grain of salt.

The traits that I most see attributed to Star are:

-She’s a shrinking violet, either unwilling or unable to interact directly with the conflict of the story

-She’s being held against her will to the point that leaving in any capacity is not only not an option, but would lead to physical harm/possibly death if she tried (ie, she’s an abused captive) 

-She cannot be held responsible for any bad decisions she’s made in the past or makes in the current story, or any bad turns the plot takes 

The first assertion is held up pretty well by the canon of the movie, and most of the fandom also agrees that it would have been nice if the movie actually did make Star a little less soft. There have been several outcries for Star to ‘vamp out’ like the Boys did, to at the very least give her a scary vampire face! Her tiny confrontation with Max at the end of the movie would have been a perfect space for that, but unfortunately, the movie has 80s-itis and being the female love interest and a victim in the plot, Star isn’t allowed to be aggressive in such a blatant manner. 

Star also hangs back whenever the Boys have presence on the screen. She’s never in the forefront, sharing the space, she’s in the background, watching them, only observing. The one time she directly contradicts them, ‘Leave him alone’ she’s told straight up to ‘chill out, girl’, and she doesn’t continue the conflict. When she does decide to try and be more forward with Michael, directly affecting things, she waits until there is no other persons of consequence around in order to do so. 

The second assertion of her being held against her will is a little trickier to pin down as a trait, but evidence of this is implied with how she contributes to the narrative - mainly, in asking Michael directly to save Laddie and her from the Boys, or at the very least, the situation she’s in. Though, it should be noted, that Star never makes a direct statement of what that situation is. She hedges that it’s being being driven to kill to sate the vampiric nature, but when taking scenes like David simply saying her name to get her to come to him, being told indirectly to back off when the Boys are hazing Michael, and backing away in a fearful manner when Michael is drinking the blood wine into consideration, there’s the darker notion that she’s being abused in other ways. 

Because the movie is meant to be a lighter flick, full of scary-yet-alluring vampire punk boys and over the top monster-hunting gore, billing it as a ‘horror-comedy’ excludes any deeper exploration or more explicit on-screen showing of verbal, emotional, or physical harm that Star may be experiencing. Doing so would take away from the fantastical and darkly whimsical nature of the story, grounding it too much, and making the Boys, though they be villains, into villains we wouldn’t love to hate.

Thus, the darker implications of what Star might be facing behind the scenes, when Michael isn’t around and before he came along, is left to the audience’s interpretation, as well as any ability Star has to struggle against them. The fandom frequently interprets as none, thanks to the plot of the movie being what it is. 

The third major assertion that the fandom tends to adopt is that Star is largely if not completely irresponsible for the missteps of other characters and for her own predicament. 

This given trait is the most difficult to back up with evidence directly from the canon as it relies heavily on filling in the blank spaces of Star and the other character’s backstories. Star is not responsible for Michael spotting her in the crowd at the concert or deciding to follow after her. Star technically didn’t tell Michael to accept David’s goading to race. Star told Michael she both didn’t know how to help him, and couldn’t explain it. Star is not responsible for Michael’s induction into the Boy’s gang because, well, she told him what he was drinking was blood. Star never directly acts to drive the plot forward until the beginning of the third act when she does admit to Michael that she needs his help, thus, cannot be held responsible even in part to Michael’s involvement. 

Lack or acceptance of Star’s responsibility for her own inability to leave the Boys is even harder to pin down, as we have no movie canon for what her life was like before meeting the Boys. The implication from the world around them is that Star is a runaway kid like many of the people seen in the opening sweep of Santa Carla, likely from a crappy home and was taken in by the Boys but soon got in over her head, but this is never directly confirmed. 

The idea that Star made a bad choice, and was not just manipulated and coerced after the ‘honeymoon’ period with the Boys is somewhat controversial as it paints Star in a less favorable light. She isn’t an innocent victim, but rather someone who made a bad call and refuses to acknowledge her own agency in that decision, instead placing any and all blame on the Boys. 

‘But what if she’s tried that already?’ Unfortunately, that lies entirely in the realm of off-screen possibilities that are not support by any canon. Star in the movie is never shown or implied to have tried escaping before, and in the book she merely has internal monologues about wanting to leave, not that she’s ever attempted it. 

Giving Star any one of these traits on their own isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Star is very much helpless in this situation - she’s in a den of immortal man-eating monsters while only being barely half of one herself, and refusing to take the option that would grant her more physical power to assert control in the situation, because the act required would be a shattering of her moral compass. Regardless of her involvement in how she got here, she deserves to be able to leave and make better choices. 

But giving Star all of these traits at once with nothing else to her flattens her completely. It does her, in my opinion, an incredible amount of injustice to absolve her of any kind of responsibility in her own problems and then rob her of any bravery to take a risk and change it herself.

And that’s not a good character. 

In order to build a better Star, we need to first accept a truth that might be a slightly hard pill to swallow: 

A good Star is not necessarily a protagonist. 

At least, not in the same way that Michael or Sam can be. Michael and Sam are protagonists in that they’re the heroes of the story. They face the main conflict head on and drive the plot forward with their actions, and are who we’re rooting for to win. We see them and their actions as ‘good’. They are absolved by the framing of blame in what is done to them. (Michael in getting in over his head with the Boys by ignoring the reservations and loose warnings of others, and Sam of murder with the fact that the Boys are man-eating monsters bent on getting back at them when one of their own is killed.)

If you make Star a protagonist in the same way, with her needing to be framed as ‘good’ in the story, but only keeping the character traits previously listed, then she’s a boring character. She becomes only nebulously ‘good’ just by virtue of not technically having done anything that could be considered ‘bad.’ Being counted as a heroine only by default. 

And that sucks. That puts her simultaneously on a pedestal where she can do no wrong, but is an empty shell that’s there to smile or cry and do nothing else. 

Often, when talking about female protagonists, antagonists, anti-heros and characters with grey morality or amorality, the added layer of them being women forces ten times the scrutiny on not just how they’re built as a character, but on their creators and why they’re choosing to build the character in the way they are. Any mistakes plot-pushing decisions made by the character aren’t as likely to be accepted as just the character acting in the story, but get traced back to the author. The audience constantly asks the question, ‘if it was a male character, would there be consequences for this act, or are you treating this character special because they’re a woman?’ 

In this case, it’s ‘Michael also fucks up, and yet is treated as a victim, deserving of sympathy and being saved by his brother rather than having to fight all on his own. Their situations are the same. Why not Star? The only difference between them is gender.’ 

This essay is not about whether or not Star is deserving of being saved, nor is it saying that she deserves being trapped in the situation that she’s in. But much like how Star reminds Michael that she did indeed tell him that it was blood in the bottle and he scoffed at her, Star deserves not to be a lifeless doll being acted upon, and a good female character deserves to not be a pretty, perfect Barbie doll that does no wrong and always looks pretty. 

So with the knowledge that a better Star cannot be purely a protagonist, how do we lower her from the boring pedestal? 

My suggestion: by inverting her three main traits

The first: If she’s billed as meek and demure and soft, then make her more aggressive and vulgar 

The second: If she seems to be kept at silent gunpoint, then give her more freedom to act

The third: Make her at least partly responsible for her own situation, regardless of whether or not she thinks she is 

The first revised trait is the most important in my opinion to building a better Star, as it will help direct and reinforce the second two. 

A large part of Star’s lack of presence in the movie is quite literally, a lack of physical presence. Star seems to hate even being near the vampires, and depending on what kind of story you wish to show her in, it could make sense. But chances are, if she’s given the shrinking violet trait, she’s been given the other two as well, and that makes a bad Star. She must be allowed to speak, and more than that - she must be allowed to show emotion. 

Let Star be angry. Let her be hurt in a way that’s not beautiful and languorous, a wilting agony of suffering in silence. And I’ll say it: Let Star say the Fuck word. As silly and simple as it may seem, such a small detail can transform a character. Star deserves to be as rough-edged and imperfect in her words and attitude as any of the rest of the Boys, possibly more if she’s in a situation that she hates! If she had the bravery to run away from home, then she should be afforded the bravery to be more than a pretty, silent, pure woman who doesn’t know what a cigarette is. 

The second revised trait is going to be the most fluid in interpretation because it relies the most on the author or artist or fan’s personal interpretation of what the relationship between Star and the Boys is really like. 

In the movie, Star seems to move with the Boys. She’s usually near them enough that they can keep an eye on her, as we see with David watching Star talking to Michael before the beach race. The only times we see Star distance herself physically is right after the bonfire, where she comes to the Emerson cabin to convince Michael to save her, or when she and Michael have sex. The first time, she seems desperate, like she may not have much time, and the second, she’s been left there on her own while the Boys go out and cavort, likely with the implication that she should stay where they can find her when they get back. 

Again, this is the trait that can be toyed with the most, but a good way to combat the feeling that she’s being held against her will is to give the notion that there are parts of being around the vampires that she likes. There are tiny hints of this in the movie, and the book expands on this. In the movie, there’s a moment during the race where Star seems to be enjoying herself while riding with David - at the very least, she’s enjoying the speed and thrill, if not the person she’s with. In the book, Star and Paul have the best relationship of any of the boys, with Paul trying to cheer her up and promising a ‘happily ever after’. To keep it from feeling like a full captive situation, give Star a reason to feel a bit conflicted over the pack. She’s there in the first place, after all. 

The third revised trait is going to be the most controversial, as it’s a hard thing to admit when people in real life do it. 

Admitting that sometimes, the problems we find ourselves dealing with, are our own fault. We make a bad call, we make a poorly informed decision or decide in the heat of the moment. Sometimes, we are lied to, but the lie is flimsy and we chose to swallow it because it’s what we wanted to hear at the time. I like to ask authors writing villains this - what’s worse and more compelling; a villain who lies, or a villain who tells the protagonist a truth they don’t want to hear? 

And, as backwards as it sounds, making Star partially responsible for her situation is giving her more agency in her story. It gives her a reasonable character flaw that she has to confront and defeat. 

Here is where I’m going to throw in an interesting observation about a specific scene that I think helps lend itself to this particular revised trait: the scene where she asks Michael for help directly. In canon, the scene goes about like this - Star comes to the cabin, Michael tells her that he knows about the vampires, and when he expresses that he thinks it’s basically done for him, Star tells him that it’s not, he’s not fully gone, and that she needs his help to save all three of them. Now, there’s something really, really interesting to me about this scene: Star is NOT a reliable narrator during it. At all. 

To say that she’s lying outright about everything would be untrue, but when you examine it, you realize that she’s being untruthful all the same. When Michael gets upset, accusing her of not caring about him because in his eyes she let this happen, she says that she DOES care about him, using physical touch to reinforce this. When she’s soundly rejected, by Michel slapping her hand away and demanding to know why she REALLY came, she very reluctantly tells him that she was hoping he’d help them. It’s her last answer, the last thing she wanted to say. Obviously hoping that the emotions would be enough to persuade him, rather than just saying that she needed help outright, which would be easier to say no to. 

Secondly, the WHY. Star states that Michael was ‘supposed to be her first, because it’s what David wanted’. When watching the scene, the delivery, the body language, and given the full context of the plot and how we’ve seen Star behave? We can only come to the conclusion that Star. Doesn’t. Know. That. 

Max’s ultimate goal is to get Lucy, and to get Lucy, he needs Michael and Sam to be on board, or at least BE vampires. Killing one of her children would hardly serve that goal. Given the ending fight, Max doesn’t give a dead rat’s ass about Star. And Star? She doesn’t even know Max exists. David telling Star to kill Michael to turn her into a vampire is not only pointless, but going expressly against Max’s wishes. We don’t know how much of Max’s plan David and the Boys know about, or given their personalities and implied relationship with him, even care about, but defying him in this instance doesn’t seem like the smartest thing to do. 

Not to mention - Star does like Michael. She hugs him at the end, she does give him a warning about the blood, albeit a weak one. She does attempt to fight Max in the end, even if she fails. As for her thoughts on David, those are more complicated. Whether the relationship is real, coerced, that she’s simply a pawn being used to tug Michael around or whether she and David did like each other at one time, is unknown, but it is clear that Star knows that David is interested in Michael, and doesn’t like it. So it would then be logical to assume, given this, that Star would assume, based on what she knows and has been able to observe, that she’d pain David in a worse light. Insinuating that it’s HIM who’s pulling the string, assuming what he wants and what his intentions are, even if she DOESN’T. KNOW. 

All this to conclude: Star is an unreliable narrator taking actions based on her own flawed assumptions. Which means she’s going to make mistakes, and miscalculate her position. She’s going to cast herself in a certain light, and like anyone, maybe not want to admit when that light is suddenly not a reflection of her best. 

So, how do I conclude this. 

Star is an interesting character, and I do enjoy her. If you managed to sit through this to get to here, and if there’s anything to take away from this, it’s that I enjoy Star and I want her to be a better…her. She deserves to cuss and spit, she deserves to be angry and sad at her predicament, she deserves to be loved as a whole person and not some untouchable angel. Let her fight. Let her bite. Let her bleed for her freedom and personhood.

Most importantly, if you allow the Boys room to be more than they are presented as on screen, then you can afford to give that to Star. 

Thank you for reading, if you did. 

@misslavenderlady (I almost forgot!)

[spooky-kakashi]

if they commit to the Damian becoming some type of doctor storyline, it would be the perfect reason for Damian to become closer to Harley, a psychiatrist, and study under her. i think this would be soo beneficial for him because so far iirc he’s been with the league and his dad, which have opposing ideologies, but having him hang around and learn from someone who doesnt operate in a black and white mode but instead in a million shades of gray is gonna do awesome things for his character