#the season is hitting me really hard this year idk why

[inverse-problem]

trying to hang onto every shred of normality I have as the days get shorter and I get ever more tempted into hibernation

[bitchkay]

Me watching Haikyuu remembering how I wanted to play volleyball in highschool😔👊🏽💔

[ashleyisartsy]

Problems (objective and personal) I'm not seeing discussed a lot w this new WatcherTV thing, in no particular order:

-Alienates people internationally who literally CANNOT GET the streaming service!

-Alienates casual fans who don't watch or want to watch all of their shows. Putting down 60 bucks a year to watch just one or two shows is kind of insane, at least for me.

-The volume of content Watcher has produced historically hasn't been enough to justify a separate streamer. I understand there's no way a small team could compete with something like Netflix, obviously, but that's what you're trying to do by putting yourself in the streamer market.

-Will this streamer be secure? What steps are in place to protect your viewers info? ESPECIALLY payment info.

-Will it be easily watchable on multiple devices? I watch YouTube videos on my phone at work 90% of the time, or at home on my TV thru my switch. Is this a browser only deal?

-What are the internet requirements for this? Believe it or not most streaming services won't run on my internet personally. I don't have any for that reason. I can watch YouTube on 360p, or on my 2-bar-reception phone data. Not everywhere has stable reliable internet.

-The suddenness and totality of the move was going to be jarring no matter what, if the idea had been introduced gradually or started as a hybrid model to test audience interest there wouldn't be nearly this amount of pushback.

-I understand the people saying "pay artists!!" Bc I am one, and I get that their quality is expensive and they have a whole company's worth of people to support. I do actually think their work is worth paying for! Everyone's is! But convincing anyone to pay for something they previously got for free is going to be a hard sell. They were still getting paid before, they're now just asking us to pay instead of the advertisers. Idk about you, but that's a way bigger hit to my pocketbook than a multimillion dollar company's bank account.

-I get that YouTube can be a really shitty place to be a creator sometimes, and that being beholden to advertisers is something they don't want to be. It's why they left Buzzfeed! They already have a patreon and merch and it's clearly not been enough for their ambitions. But shooting yourself in the foot because your running shoes are wearing out isn't going to make you a better marathon runner. They had to know that there was going to be a not small portion of their audience unwilling to make this move with them (and again, lots literally aren't able to!)

-If they had a free w/ ads option, or even did a hybrid model with whole shows behind the pay wall, or even just ran a fucking crowd funding campaign to help cover costs of new seasons of shows, any of those things could have worked. They don't even have YouTube memberships turned on, which I've personally seen many many channels do even when they already have a patreon. It really doesn't seem like they've exhausted other options, at least from an outside perspective, which is all we have as viewers!

-I get that this has been in the works for a long time, and that there probably isn't a way for them to back out now. But I hope they can find a way to make this more accessible if they want it to work at all. I truly am not wishing for their downfall, but the whole situation is an awful mess.

Idk, rant over. As a lot of you are I'm feeling very disappointed and upset with this one, and I'm not paying for it either. Hope the boys can salvage this one for their and their crew's sake. Would really hate for this to be the end.

[sea-buns]

hey to a gorgug liker what do you think about his nightmare section from sophomore year? cause I feel like the horror there is less “ah my grandparents were racist” and more “fuck am I being a stereotype? are the people who hate me right about me?” cause wrt to his having to modulate between barbarian and artificer in fhjy it’s like. idk

oh boy do I have thoughts

Tbh, I had zero recollection of the racism stuff until reading this. It was just SO MINOR. His trial in the forest felt really lackluster to me. I feel like everyone else's really dug into an issue at the core of their character and his felt more like "everyone is getting a trial, what do we do for gorgug?" And idk if that was just a bad delivery/call on Brennan's part or if it could have been helped by Zac engaging more in it but it just. Didn't feel like anything. It was a lot more about the dice than the horror of the claustrophobia and the bugs and you've never fit in anywhere you live to make yourself smaller wherever you go you're just the loser who hits hard. Like yeah I guess there was an overarching theme of Gorgug gaining confidence in himself but it was done very poorly imo.

And I think his trial in the forest was wrong for putting such an emphasis on his intelligence. I think that would have been much better suited in fy, back when he was still being heavily bullied, but beyond that it felt like a quick and easy thing for them to grab. Yes, he had insecurities about his intelligence with all the complications with Zelda. But, to me, the focus of fhsy was his HEART. It put a spotlight on how his social circle has grown, and his bully is his friend now, and he's not alone anymore. His interactions with Ayda, the friendship book, trying to help Fabian, I believe in you spring break, it's Gorgug keep going. I made a post earlier in the season (including a great addition by another user) that I think articulates that emphasis on his emotional intelligence very well.

Fhjy HOWEVER. I think it's doing everything that sy failed at. It's giving him space to have an inner conflict. It's addressing lots of little issues and conflicts he's had over the campaign and combining them into one coherent piece. Like, guy was in a relationship pretty much all of fy, and then dealt with the fallout in sy, but I don't think we've EVER seen as much quality relationship development with Gorgug as we have in jy. He and Fig spent an entire summer together trapped in a tour bus and no season has indicated that bond and friendship more than this one. He and Riz have found something to bond over, meanwhile in previous seasons there was pretty much zero one-on-one personal interaction between them. Fabian expressed sadness over Gorgug leaving the Owlbears, because it was the only thing they had that was just for them to hang out and be friends.

Just with that, we're already doing leagues more with Gorgug's character than we ever have. And I haven't even STARTED on his barbificier journey, oh dear god lmao.

Gonna preface this bit with a post I made before the season even started. It was about Zac's steady improvement in his performances with every PC, and how I was predicting that it was gonna culminate into a Gorgug that does him the justice he deserves. It was initially supposed to be a criticism, but I got a little lost in the sauce of loving my boy lol. Still very relevant to the topic of this ask!

God, where do I START?? Addressing his relationship with rage? I'll be honest, I didn't think that would ever be used as a character arc. And I'm not even sure why I've felt that way. I just didn't think... I didn't think about how he might've had a dislike for his own rage. Like, the WAY he rages isn't bad by any means, but I don't think it ever crossed my mind how actually harmful his lessons to sing to combat rage were. No, I did not like the way Porter went about teaching him (a bit too unsupportive of his capabilities and reminiscent of shitty teachers for my liking). But his point about EMBRACING anger; that rage is not bad and does not— should not— need to be stifled. THAAAAT. That opened up such an interesting dialogue for Gorgug.

I do appreciate the beginnings of Gorgug's interest in artificing in fhsy. I think the crumbs of it back then did a great job of leading into his larger commitment to multiclassing. And I think what he's been doing with it this season is exactly what was lacking in his section of the nightmare forest. His trial was a puzzle, based entirely on die rolls, where his solution after failing even when he's assisted by the enemy is to essentially give up. I understand that facing their fears was the whole point of the trials, but his section came off as incredibly anticlimactic and unfulfilling. Just the fact that it was a trial based on stat numbers more than the development of the character itself.

Where junior year succeeds in actually showcasing his intelligence and the evolution of the worth he holds in himself is with the hands-on approach it takes. Yes, the academic rolls are still dice and stats, but there's a physical manifestation that wasn't there before. Gorgug is smart when it comes to getting his hands dirty. It is in the practical applications of his skills that his brand of intelligence shines the most.

And while, once again, I did not LIKE Porter's heavy resistance to multiclassing....I have to admit that I don't think Gorgug would have had such a boost in confidence without that struggle. Even if my boy had trouble expressing it to Porter verbally, HE STOOD UP FOR HIMSELF. Instead of simply rolling over and agreeing that he wasn't built for a technical class and it was stupid to try– he was DEFIANT.

The kid who said "I'm a dumbass. Eat me you stupid bug." took on FOUR CLASSES. Three school years worth of artificer simultaneously. AND stayed with the Owlbears. AND went along on party missions to help Kristen's candidacy. AND was always on deck to help the party with the overarching plotline.

AND HE ACED IT!!! THE FIRST BARBIFICER THAT THE AGUEFORT ADVENTURING ACADEMY HAS EVER SEEN!!!!! He is paving the way for every unprecedented multiclass that follows.

Just in comparison to who he was in the previous season, the amount of drive and self-worth he's gained is astounding. In my eyes, it's done more than enough to makeup for the way his development fell flat in sophomore year.

i hope this fulfilled the ask in the way you were hoping! i told you i'd get carried away lmao. writing a bunch about any of zac's characters is always such a joy. gorgug had always been my favorite of the bad kids but i always found myself wishing he went deeper, y'know? and now it's real. my precious anxious boy has been handled so well. and watching zac's growth as a performer has been such a blast.

thanks for the ask! :D

[strangeharpy]

I am deep in my feelings about Follow the Leader today. It's almost six years old (will be turning six on 7/23) and it's been such a major part of my life that whole time. Technically longer since our first test recording (episode 0 if you will) was recorded on 5/25/2018.

It's something that's brought me closer to several of my friends, something that has really changed my life, and something that I'm deeply proud of. We're always improving, always striving to tell good stories in an engaging manner. I feel like we hit that goal almost all of the time.

I'm just a little sad because we've had some absolute banger recordings for season eight (which started Monday) and I worked really hard to make them cinematic and impactful, but we don't have much of an audience so not a lot of folks will hear them. Seriously, I feel like we've gotten some really great roleplaying out of all our players this season, and it just sucks that we don't have a wide reach. Like, I can't stop thinking about the recording we just did (for ep 88), or the one before that.

Idk, it's just a little discouraging. I'm not going to let it stop me from having fun with my friends, which is why I started the podcast in the first place. I still want to continue telling stories. It's just... no one out there is doing it like we do, and it makes me sad that because we're not playing D&D, people who might find our stories interesting won't give us the time of day.

Bleh. Oh well. The only thing to do is keep doing what we do and being who and what we are. Which we're not going to stop doing any time soon. Here's to six years and as many more as we can manage.

[alice1505]

I made the mistake of rewatching Sherlock because I never did finish it back in the day (I was -clenches fist- seething over the queerbaiting and rage quit after not fully watching episode 1 of s4) and I'm here to make my side hyperfixation (what year is this??? Who am I???) Tumblr's problem. The more I sit with s4, the less I like it 😂 There were pieces and elements I liked, but overall, it left a bad taste in my mouth. Forgive me if any or all if these points have been talked to death, I missed all the discourse and I'm hella late, but I need to flail and send my thoughts into the void because what even WAS that season? I can't believe I avoided it for years, got drawn in by a couple of tiktoks making fun (affectionately) of superwholock Era and That Scene about the fucking phone charger port, binged all of it, only to be left with..... that. Not nearly as disappointing or rage inducing as spn's ending but by God, did it leave a hole in me. So please ignore my rambling thoughts as I slap them down here for my own sanity.

• First and foremost, what - and I can't stress this enough - the fuck was UP with the assassination of John's entire character???? What was that??? Why????

• Related to that point - I can appreciate the angst point and potential it provides, as I'm reading many, many fics, but AYO WHY didn't anyone rip John an entire new one for that beat down he did on Sherlock????? Hello???? 911?????

• Tell me why everything felt so stilted and borderline icy. Like I get the high emotions and shit, but after a certain point... 😭 was there a falling out between Benedict and Martin that I'm not aware of? Did they just try to ungay everything so hard and were so pissed at the audience picking up everything THAT THEY PUT???? into this show and their interactions that they just hit the brakes hard enough to make everything feel weird???

• A lot of it felt weird. Off kilter a little. Forced in some places, toned down in others (and toned down where it shouldn't have been), a nod to ships but weirdly/hatefully??? Idk if that makes sense. Like the whole Sherlock and Molly phone call (I do not mean any hate to this ship, I really hope it doesn't come off this way. Not my cup of tea but you are valid). Why was Molly so upset BEFORE the call? Did I miss something? Also I don't personally think or feel she'd still have those feelings for him??? I??? I am bamboozled.

• to that whole point, Eurus was.... Hmm. Mmmm. She was. Something. (Confused derogatory)

• I like Mary as a character. I also hated her. (Definitely biased by my shipper trash ass self for johnlock, I'm sorry). Wtf were those messages, please. Edit: AND ANOTHER THING. John's reaction to Sherlock's death - awful, gut wrenching, beautiful, my heart breaks with and for him, utterly devasting. John's reaction to Mary's death - had me sitting there like🧍‍♀️(it was weird. so weird. awkward. w h y. (we know why, but also the acting choices were Something TM, in both cases! for different reasons!) i'm sorry i just can't get past my anger and put off-ness with mary, fun as she could be)

• why did mycroft and John switch roles 😭 pls. The last episode was just. So Much. The lackluster responses from John, to John, to Sherlock, between them, like.... hello???? Who are these people?? Help me. Moriarty saved me for a brief shining moment tho, God bless.

There's more I could spew, but that's what's sitting right at the top of my head. I guess all this just to say, if a show runner/writer really just fucking hates the audience they got (instead of the one they wanted), they probably shouldn't have fucking become a show runner/writer in the first place. Either hand it to someone who can actually handle it and listens, or fuck off. I will never understand when shows and plots and characters gets kamikaze'd because of a show runner being pissy and egotistical. Like ????? Grow up. Learn from Bryan Fuller and Hannibal or something.

Sorry for all the rambling, bless anyone who reads this and makes sense of it 😂

[robotnuts]

heres my bitching post sorry

the main thing i didnt like was how they treated grif's character. he was so angry and i feel like some of his character got leeched out to simmons. for a season that tried to call back so much to the original, that even tried to even out the great destroyer plotline from BGC that didn't make any sense, i wish they handled grif's character with more care. like a red team member manipulating sarge to do what they want is GRIF'S mo, not simmons, and i wish grif had been the one to rally and convince sarge to come help caboose instead of simmons. i feel like the grimmons breakup was the emotional scene that hit the least for me i didnt cry about it i only started crying when the credits rolled, and thats because grif felt pretty ooc for me. which sucks as a grifhead but what can you do

similarly theres kind of a weird abuse apologia thing going on where its like. im fine with how sarge treats grif because it's so clearly like water off a duck's back and grif just manipulates sarge to get his way and rolls his eyes at him and doesnt give a fuck throguhout seasons 1-10, i can take it just as a fictionalized comedy duo that isn't taking itself seriously and grif isn't actually 1:1 like a soldier being abused by his superior irl. and then shisno had the problem of making grif go "actually this really hurts my self esteem and makes me feel bad" and makes you retroactively view their dynamic in a different light. this isnt as bad as shisno, but having sarge say "i was only hard on you because i wanted to push you to be better" made me like :/ because. yknow. if we're taking it seriously, the fact that sarge was "psuhing" grif doesnt make his treatment okay. what makes his treatment okay is that theyre wacky halo man characters and obviosuly there has to be a crazy sargeant character and its not really bothering grif that much. but :/ very minor but i thoguht id mention it

um um um. tex coming back was incredible and made me scream i knew she was gonna come back i was spoiled but i didnt expect how theyd do it. really good. they got me again with the fucking chex at the end of course they did!!!!!!!!

oh right biching. um. what the fuck was going on with wash honestly LMAO like him having his fuckign DID and talkign about his memory issues was completely made for me but his role in this season was so funny and strange WHY DOES HE HAVE A DOC TULPA OH MY GODDDD. like in my ideal world of a final season it absoltuely would have had a more filled out cast and wash and carolina woul dhave been part of the reds and blues the whole time because i want this to be my sitcom where everyone is friends forever but like. I do understand why burnie wanted to take down the cast to sarge/grif/simmons/caboose as the original four founders (rip joel LMAO).

also the stuff with tucker was so scary !!! ahhhHhh why did they send him to time prison for 10 years AHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! SCARY!!!!!!!!!!!

idk ill also update this post with stuff that i loved it was really funny and i did like it overall, i need to watch it again i was tipsy/drunk for most of it and also talking about it irl so i missed some bits that my friends went crazy for and i need to watch the commentary. its not all bitching thats just waht sticks in my mind easier. god that campfire scene with the barenaked ladies song i was CRYINGGGG. it obviously felt short/rushed or whatever but like. ugh. its just a potential possible future anyways you guys KNOW in my head all the reds and blues are together on chorus forever and ever always doing their bits. i really am just glad we got more of it to watch together and got to get on burnie's wild ride one last time. thank you

[quinnxey]

acolyte review (before season finale)

i was really interested in this show esp because its based in the high republic. this is the first time we've gotten a media recreation other than glimpses in jedi: survivor and I'm also pretty sure the kids show disney made was also based in the hr time period. but anyway - other than the books as well, this is the first live-action retelling of a hr story.

i feel like a lot of people didn't like it because of that, but it really hooked me in. I've always been pretty into the hr book series and have loved this idea of "before the chosen one" trope. in the acolyte, we're 100 years or so b4 anyone like obi-wan or anakin or luke have been born. its another really great setting up - plus, as an avid hr reader, it helped me visualize what was going on during that whole shebang

but so - during the start of the acolyte I was a little bit wary and a tad bored. i feel like they started with a fairly slow (if murder is slow) introduction to the story, but I really do understand why they did it like that. once shit hit the fan and we were getting jedi action (plus the dents of twins? alive?/whats going on? sort of thing) I was really starting to get interested. the characters in acolyte are SO well done - like honestly its kind of craz how good they're written. even the "good guys" have good writing, which can be hard to do for heroes when the villains usually have all the sweet ass storytelling.

i thought the force here was sooo well done. like this idea of osha not being able to use the force after some time - ESPECIALLY her using the excuse of "if you were a jedi" (or something along these lines) "you would know that the force gets weaker if you don't practice with it" like girl ok! and with qimir and him being like dude, no.

QIMIR! ok so i understand the whole reason people like him is because of his looks and the fact that he was naked (which I will get to) but I'm SOOO interested in his character arc. his manipulation tactics are honestly so believable that IM having a hard time trying to discern whether or not the jedi are good or bad. i think I've always been fairly pro-jedi esp with how the orig tri plays jedi out to be and how the hr books have all these really anti-jedi antigonists. I've always believed the jedi to be a good force of nature, and haven't really paid much mind to this idea of "what if". in the acolyte, it feels like. they're REAL people.

idk i feel like sometimes it gets hard to see the real people in jedi and not thin k they're just some servants of the light or whatever. for me, I feel like that also comes from the "no relationships" motto, which sort of defeats the whole "human/person" idea for me. i hate thinking jedi arent people and don't have faults, but with how a lot o the media portrays them, that's how I've felt for a really long time. in here, I felt like I was seeing real people in real situations. idk

with how sol was acting with osha ("do not confuse [her] emotions with your own") I was sooo in love with that. him not knowing whether or not its his emotions or the force pulling them together (because we all know the force puts padawan/master together when it knows they're a good fit) but still continuing. him choosing to SAVE OSHA INSTEAD OF MAE. and going on to say he "did his best" and "tried to save both of them" to osha and flicking the blame on mae by saying the fire was all her fault (which it was, but he deliberately didn't tell osha what "really" happened ((in the words of mae I suppose))) but this isn't me saying that sol is a bad person and should totally get stripped of his title or whatever - someone (not sure who) on here talked about how he was the only one out of all the jedi on the trip to actually go and do something about his guilt. he went and he trained osha to the best of his abilities, he trained younglings (telling them NOT to trust what they initially see, to keep searching for answers), and he went on trying to make good with mae even after he knew she was going to kill him.

but so on the dark side (plus I guess qimir being naked) I was really interested in this idea of jedi not being able to harm the unarmed. we see this happen with sol and aniseya, where she DOES technically look like shes about to go off and kill someone with her whole dust act, but she is STILL technically unarmed. sol goes and stabs her because he has no idea what is happening. cue 1st action. 2nd action is when we have the scene between sol and qimir where he almost attacks him while he's "unarmed" (pls I don't trust this man) but osha stops him. with OSHA, we see this happen when she sort of attacks qimir while he's unarmed - and not just unarmed, also litterllay butt naked. that's like the full ass definition of unarmed. it goes fully against jedi code - if she had killed him, she would have killed him unarmed and with no dignity, which no jedi would ever want to do. because she had the option to do it, he basically tested her - it was his way of seeing whether or not she was a "good" option for an apprentice. he prob would have taken her anyway, but with how it went with mae, he was defo being wary.

but him being a sith for me was pretty easy to see right off the bat, since he disappeared and then sith master just "appeared" I thought, oh yeah, that's qimir. but as the fighting went on and I went between the costume differences between him and feeble qimir, I thought, well...no?? it doesn't make sense. he doesn't look the same - and then it WAS HIM. but also I think this idea of osha becoming sith apprentence and mae becoming jedi apprentice would be so interesting. ying and yang but they switch lmao

but I'm supppeper excited for the season finale!!! my prediction is that osha accepts being qimirs apprentice, mae accepts being sol's apprentice (if that happens), and maybe/maybe not they find osha and qimir and qimir convinces osha to fight against her past master. idk. would love to see some kyber bleeding in s2. love!!

[according2thelore]

But what if we didn’t want to be spared? What if we wanted to hear all your thoughts about Dean and him talking to Sam about Dean getting shipped off when he pissed off their dad?

Would you tell us then!??? ;)

in reference to this post here!

omg, hello friend!

well if you insist 👉👈 

talking from a meta perspective, this is so fascinating to me! because a lot of john's control in the show is enforced by his absence.

in "bad boys," dean is punished by john's absence, and he has to face the legal ramifications of his theft. in all of season one, john's control is exerted over his sons by his absence--they follow his text almost religiously, and dean has become more loyal in his absence, not less. his intentions have to be assumed, so they are assumed pure and for the benefit of his sons.

we see multiple times (but off the top of my dome, in "the girl next door") that sam is controlled from afar by john (i.e., in john's absence) from having and maintaining "outside" social relationships. he keeps him working almost 24/7 for research (triple red eye, anyone?), and controls where and how he can spend his time (sometimes using dean as an enforcer of these rules).

it's like john is most effective when he's not there. the threat of him looms over the narrative in season one, and the shadow of him is lingering around every corner until the show ends. i mean, hell, this conversation happens in SEASON FOURTEEN. TWELVE YEARS after john dies in canon. the things that sam and dean kept secret from each other on behalf of their father, and the things we are still finding out about their relationship with him never end.

he is THE absent father, but john is absent in the way that sound is absent in a party when the music is cut off--it's oppressive, it's disorienting, and someone hits you in the stomach with their elbow because their groove has been thrown off.

and so i think it is SO INTERESTING that john also controls both sam and dean with dean's absence (or, really, his exile).

dean is the obvious one, because it's a punishment. in my head--although i guess we never get this confirmed--john sends him on individual hunts that dean could take care of solo. that way, dean has to work hard for his penance, and it's another way to keep him in check, instead of sending him off to...idk...organize bobby's sock drawer.

but also sam! john is inserting himself into and causing friction within their relationship. "i think you knew that" means that john did not tell sam that he sent dean away. it means that john didn't even tell sam what dean was doing while gone, because "it wasn't because i ran out on you."

the fact that sam does not correct dean here--or after--that he knew dean was doing something else, or doing something important, implies that john a) left out information [i.e., not giving an explanation at all for dean's absence] or b) LIED and told sam that dean ran out.

sam acknowledges that this is an apology. so john actively causes friction in their relationship (as we also see in season one) through controlling access to the truth, and controlling through exile.

i also like the fact that dean is bringing it up, in sam's words, as a "deathbed apology." UNTIL THE END, this is one of the things that dean wants to clear the air on. he knows that this hurt sam, and he is still thinking about it. it haunts him. which means he also never told sam the truth, himself.

if he comes back, and sam is furious like "hey man, why did you run off?" dean just grins and accepts it and either goes along with the lie or dodges the question. sam's disapproval and pain are part of the punishment.

it also has fun implications for stanford, because what is "if you walk out that door, don't you ever come back" if not "sending away"? while i'm sure the words were spoken in anger and pain (as seen by dean in S4), john's control has always been absences and exiles and that stays true here. he is able to control both sam AND dean through sam's exile, because now dean can only depend on john, and sam completely cut off from everything he has ever known. it's a punishment for leaving, and a last minute (effective) method of controlling his departure. sam doesn't have any agency over whether he can come back, or if he wants to keep contact with them. he turns sam's act of agency into a punishment.

(not to mention, it's all very biblical in the michael & lucifer-ity of it all. the good son is exiled and proves his worth, being ultimately accepted into the fold. while the bad son is cast off for disobedience, and the good son accepts his exile and turns away from his brother. the father becomes absent. god and john are both more powerful in their absence, and the resulting power vaccuum is still about god, even when he's not there. who is most loyal? who is right? does this man/being deserve our loyalty? if he hurt us sometimes, does that make him bad? was he ever good? should we lie to ourselves and say an unequivocal yes, anyway? because if we tell the naked, scary truth, that means that we hurt each other for no reason, and will keep choosing to do so. because that's what he taught us to do.)

all this to day, THE IMPLICATIONS! THEY ARE RUNNING AROUND IN MY BRAIN! this scene is SO fascinating to me because it reveals an interesting new facet of their relationship to john and each other. do i think some of john's control was exerted as an act of love for his sons during some pretty intense extenuating circumstances? yes. do i also think that things like this were an insane power play meant as a punishment because john was an angry man? also yes.

(i didn't even get into the "you practically raised me" and "you were the one that was always there for me. the only one." which are also INSANE and i'm eating those words rapidly.)

thank you for this ask, lol!! it was so nice to see! i'm so lucky i have folks who love to scream and shout w me about these fellas! i hope my thoughts made at least a little sense. i am stirring this scene in my brainrot cauldron rn.

-lizzy

[quackquackcey]

HII!! I just wanna say you’ve been one of my favorite writers recently! Derek’s Kumquat, is one of my favorites that I go back to every now and then. I always check to see if you have anything new when I need my Sterek fix. I just wanna say thank you for all your hard work bc you deliver every single time idk how you do it. So this is my first ever request! I saw a fanart by thebookwormfanboy a year ago that I haven’t been able to get out of my head, which I will attach at the end. I’ve looked for fics similar to what the art entailed, but they just didn’t quite hit the way I needed them to. So I thought you’d be the perfect person to ask. Basically, Stiles and Derek see each other again for the first time in 2 years after the events of season 4. Except Derek has put on weight since Stiles last saw him. He’s not chubby, but just thicker and bulkier. A little rounder where he used to be sharp cut. Like a dad bod. And hairier since he stopped waxing his chest and trimming his beard down to stubble and instead lets it be fuller. He’s still built and has muscle, but like I said, he’s not super cut with washboard abs like in seasons 1-2. And Stiles can’t stop looking at him. If Stiles thought he couldn’t be even more attracted to Derek than before, he was sorely mistaken. Stiles is super turned on by the obvious difference in his and Derek’s build/body types. Derek: “Why are staring? I know I’m not as cut as when we first met but- Stiles?” Stiles: internally *give me a baby so I can make you an actual dilf* Queue in GIMME A BIG BOYYYY by SZA. Do you see the vision?!?! If anyone could perfectly execute this and make it sexy, I think it would be you. Also no pressure if you’re not feeling it. Thank youuu.

ahhhhh what a sweet ask 🥰 it really means a lot to me that you enjoy my fics so much!! 😭 I'm touched & v flattered, thank you for reading and leaving such a kind kind ask that brightened my days!

& omg a request!! pleasantly very surprised ahahaha I never get requests, & yESSSS I SEE THE VISION 😩 I'M SO HERE FOR IT! plush muscles plush muscles plush boobies plush muscles 🤤 I don't know when I'll have time BUT mark my words, I will def write a oneshot or something about this (& I'll tag you when I do!!) 🥰 If you have any other requests, feel free to let me know! 💛

[centeris2]

just played the update so you all get to suffer my thoughts

Gonna preface this with I fully support and want SSO to reuse and recycle events. I love when SSO went "we're decorating the mall and Silverglade Village again for Christmas! Not changing the quests even remotely!" I loved that, I loved the feeling of 'tradition' (or something familiar to look forward to) as it happened year after year. Not to mention it made things easier on the team.

Okay, now that is out of the way:

Camp Western

I'm sorry Camp Western but you were at a disadvantage because I was not in a mood for an event, I feel like we just finished the Spring Event and I'm so tired and do not have time or brain space for an event. I also have no inventory space so anything giving me player items is not something I want to do right now because my backpack only has so much space left. But I overall really liked the western event last year, and I was like 45 XP from hitting level 27, so gonna do it.

(Yeah, level 27. It's mind boggling, idk what happened.)

I am relieved Camp Western looks to have nothing new added to it, other than new gear (which I will skip due to the "no inventory space" thing.)

Now to the actual stuff:

I feel like all the stuff that made Camp Western really cool last year isn't there anymore. Which is hard to believe because nothing changed about the event.

Coming off the Spring Event where races gave you 800 horse xp, not having anything comparable feels... lacking. I'm sure their logic is "Camp Western has unlimited Horse XP because of the gold!" which is true.

But if I wanted to run around in circles getting 2 hxp per shiny thing, I could do that in the Hollow Woods, without the threat of things attacking me. There is also wisps, rune tablets, and crafting plants to pick up.

Want to grind gold for shillings? Also not Special anymore, I can do that in Hollow Woods harvesting light or around the map picking plants without being chased. Not that being chased matters for me right now, I ended up with like 70+ beast repellents last year somehow.

Want something to do with mini games for as long as you feel like being in game? Hollow Woods, again! Or anything in game that triggers a 'cut scene' now has the same basic mini game.

300 horse XP for collecting the horses around Firgrove? Ehh, why do that when I can repeat the races around the ranch, Firgrove, or anywhere else that doesn't involve getting chased by things. 300 horse xp isn't a lot anymore when you can repeat a race, or when past events gave 800 horse xp in a single race. 800 horse xp in like a minute, or 300 horse xp that requires trading an item (albeit one that isn't hard to get) and finding the horse and dealing with dangers and leading it back? Ehh it just...

Idk. I don't want to say past events were too generous and too easy in terms of rewards, but it doesn't feel as rewarding, ya know?

Additional caveat: I have like over 3k gold from last year and over 1k summer tokens because I did all the activities and token exchanges every day, so I am rolling in tokens. However! This is exactly WHY I did that! So I could go "ehh, I don't have the time/energy/interest in this event, I got enough tokens and gold to buy what I want if a pet comes out, and I can be on my merry way."

I do like that they've increased the stack sizes for things, so all my gold can be in one stack now (and I could condense my lures and beast repellents). I also do like that it is basically a repeat. Yes, I am still calling that a net positive.

I had other complaints but they were mostly bugs unrelated to Camp Western, like hot keys not working.

Oh I'm really glad they've just gone to "season tokens" rather than having every event every year have a unique currency. That was annoying. That's not new I'm just happy about it.

Also what is this weird black cloud thing that we can hide in. I don't understand it. Do the wolves lose interest if we pass through it, do we have to stay in it, does it only work if we aren't detected already? Why does SSO insist on having like 5 different versions of a stealth mechanic and they are ALL different.

TL;DR - The neat things they tested out with Camp Western last year they added to the game permanently, which makes Camp Western not feel special anymore because you can do basically the exact same mechanics elsewhere (possibly for better/easier rewards too oopS)

[amour393]

ok. dragons rising part 2 thoughts

these will be in no particular order but I'll try to stay somewhat organized XD

spoilers ahead!

(this ah. got long)

Characters

Lloyd: As sad as I get when I think about Lloyd growing up, I love what they're doing with him. Seeing the parallels between him and Wu is so poetic and I LOVE the dynamic with Lloyd and Arin. Lloyd is kind and strong and wise and he has been treated so well in dragons rising

Arin: Speaking of, Arin is absolutely amazing. He is precious and adorable and I love him. Sweet polite boy I love you so much you have never done anything wrong ever and I love you

Sora: Sora is fine, I like her but I'm not like obsessed with her character like I am with Arin. I love Sora but I'm never super jazzed about her. Her arc in part 2 was alright but I wish it had more buildup. I think with a few more moments here and there of her trying to use her powers without Riyu would have made the payoff much better. And I know they were trying to go for a "resistance never quits" moment with her speech at the end but. Idk it just didn't hit the same

Zane: Zane I love you. I feel you I also am BROKEN over Pixal being gone. Literally everything about Zane in part 2 was perfect. I love him so much and he loves pixal so much it makes me unwell. Also. Zane Day is now an international holiday

Nya: I love Nya's dynamic with Sora and how she gets to be like. The first positive female influence in Sora's life. Especially because Nya didn't have that as a kid or uh ever so I love that. HOWEVER!!! Oh my goodness gracious give Nya feelings. She has emotions. She has trauma. What are we doing guys. I'll go episode by episode later but I am incredibly salty at how Nya was treated in episode 14. and also. OH MY WORD. WHAT ABOUT JAY. You have said his name TWICE and Cole looked more distraught than you!!! You care about this boy more than almost anyone else in the world!!!!!!!! Why aren't you acting like it???????????? I see you with a lightning dragon but that's like the most we get.

Kai: oh Kai I absolutely love how they are treating you and i also hate it. It's like with Jay gone they were like haha let's make Kai stupid so he'll be the new comic relief! However I love teacher Kai. He is my favorite, the growth, the development, the parallels! Yes! Kai is an accomplished ninja!! He's been a ninja for over 10 years at this point!! He has learned so much and grown so so much since then and I love him so much.

Wyldfyre: I'm about to make a lot of people really mad but I absolutely despise Wyldfyre. I love the concept of Kai having a kid to train (and all of them each having a next-gen kid to train) but Wyldfyre was not the right fit and I just disliked her more every time she was on screen, which was really upsetting because every time it switched back to her and Kai I was already annoyed and I don't want to be upset when Kai's onscreen but she is just so intolerable it made it hard to enjoy Kai, which is so so sad because I absolutely love Kai! Wyldfyre is selfish, arrogant, irritatingly reckless, petty, and INCREDIBLY rude and disrespectful to Kai. I don't care if she was raised in the wilderness. Kai spent all of part 2 trying to help her be better and the most of a character arc we got from her was her. Not acting like a jerk. Which we should not have to be proud of!! Not being a jerk is expected!! That's not a character arc that's just being a decent human being!! I think Wyldfyre's character could have worked in theory if she had literally any likable characteristics but she just doesn't. I don't think I have ever disliked a ninjago character this much which is such a bummer. It fills me with rage every time they compare her to Kai. Sure, in the early seasons Kai was kind of reckless and a bit self-absorbed. But not nearly to this extent, and Kai was still likable. The things about Wyldfyre they try to play off as humor aren't funny, they're just annoying or gross. I'm not opposed to the concept of Kai adopting a feral child, but if the feral child is like this then I don't want it. Replacing Wyldfyre with Skylor or a new character that is actually likable would have made Dragons Rising SO much better.

Cole: on a MUCH more positive note, I literally don't think they could have done Cole any more perfect. I am SO GLAD HE'S BACK I MISSED HIM SO MUCH. Cole being thrown into the Land of Lost Things is absolutely heartbreaking and says so much about his character. Cole, who had an entire character arc over fear of being forgotten ending up in the Land of Lost Things? I AM BROKEN. Dad Cole is back and better than ever. He found a bunch of children and immediately adopted them? Perfection. Could not be better. He actively chooses to remain in the Land of Lost Things to protect them?????? Amazing so in character it hurts and I love him so much. A lot of this season made me remember how much I love Cole. I spent this entire season freaking out over Jay that I forget how much I love Cole and this season did not fail to remind me. His first line being "NO ONE TOUCHES THESE CHILDREN!!!!!" is amazing and perfect and so in character. I cannot applaud what they did with Cole enough. Well done. I am very curious to see where Wu is leading him, can't wait to see him in season 2. I will die mad he didn't get to see Zane or Kai or Lloyd but ITS FINE IM FINE

Geo: I would throw him in with the other characters but oh my gosh. Geo's existence is absolutely perfect. The symbolism?? The metaphors?? Absolutely perfect. Him being a hybrid of two peoples who have a reputation for hating each other being the Master of Fusion, of bringing two things that don't belong together? I am destroyed. It occurs to me that when they first met Geo was probably like "yeah, I'm half geckle half munce and I was exiled from my people since they hate each other and they will never reconcile their differences" and Cole was like "Well that sucks but I have some good news for you" but then Geo couldn't even leave to try to find Shintaro. I am depressed. I love love love Geo based on his symbolism alone, not to mention the fact that his powers are genuinely super cool.

Other Characters: when i tell you I lost my BLOODY MIND when gulch showed up it is a vast understatement. I freaked out I screamed it was amazing. It was so fun seeing Gulch again. This is the dragons rising I love, new characters doing important things and running into old characters we know and love. Frohicky is fun I love him. Lobbo has never done anything wrong and I'm so proud of him for winning the Zane lookalike contest. Slay king. Jordana is uh there I guess, she's boring so far. I will give thoughts on Arrokore when I talk about episode 14

Villains: Beatrix is incredibly boring and I am SO glad she's not gonna be the actual villain. Lord Ras is much more interesting and compelling (is Chima the Wyldness????? Because he is definitely from Chima and the writers are COWARDS for saying anything different). This is the first time we've had a Ninjago plot genuinely stretch across more than one season and I am sooooo relieved that Beatrix isn't actually the big bad. I'm really excited to meet Ras' master. I'm not going to lie I literally forgot about Rapton and had to come back and talk about him. I cannot emphasize how neutral I am about him. He is a Guy and that is the extent of my feelings. Same with LaRow I keep forgetting about her

Speaking of villains! That brings us to the Administration. I absolutely love it. The concept of the Administration is so interesting and I cannot WAIT to learn more about them and see more of them. There's something so interesting and also poetic about an organization of micromanagers being part of the same realm as the Realm of Madness that just. hnng. The Administration is totally sick and i can't wait to see more of them. Which leads us to...

Jay: Hm. Ah. Where do I begin. When I tell you I screamed, I lost my freaking mind it is not an understatement. I think I've watched those same 20 seconds like 30 times at least and I need those five lines tattooed on my brain. I have so many emotions. It breaks my heart. I'm elated. This is everything I've wanted. I'm so mad that's all there was. It makes perfect sense. Why would they do this. There's something that destroys me so much about Jay- sweet, kind, fun, creative, quirky, genuine Jay- in an organization of micromanagers. He is passive-aggressive and sassy and degrading and mean and I LOVE HIM. It is so inherently not who Jay is (except for being sassy I'm so glad he's a little brat) and I think that's great. It makes me SO excited to see what they do with him in season 2. If they don't do him justice I will RIOT. This has the potential to be one of my favorite plot points in all of ninjago history if they do it right, but if they do it wrong I will be broken. He looks so good in this animation, I absolutely LOVE IT. He is beautiful and sassy and it BREAKS ME that they don't know he's there. They were so close and they missed him. No one knows Jay is there. I am destroyed. He's a manager!! He's working his way up in the world!! I am so proud of him. He would buy himself a worlds best boss mug. Everyone loves him and they hate him. I might make a whole other post just on how I need that reunion to go but. I miss him so much. So much. I don't know how long I can wait without them knowing he's there. Go find your brother. You know where everyone else is now GO FIND YOUR BROTHER!!!!

Episodes

11. Temple of the Dragon Cores - Solid episode? It makes me curious about the lore. Surely either the Wyldness or the Garden are Chima there's no way Chima is separate. There are literally snail people and giant trees. If that's not Chima core idk what is. Rapton is there I guess. The guardian thing was cool. Lloyd dropping random earth-shattering facts is such a Wu thing to do I am LIVING for it.

12. Gangs of the Sea - When I say I spent this whole episode wishing for Bentho I'm not joking. I freaking miss him why didn't they mention him it would have been so easy!! Arin you are so cute and I love you.

13. Wyldly Inappropriate - This episode filled me with so much rage solely because of Wyldfyre. I'm sorry Wyldfyre truthers I am happy for you but oh my word it's just painful. She is so arrogant and just straight up unkind I hate her so much. This episode would have been so much better with Skylor instead. Or literally anyone but Wyldfyre.

14. The Last Djinn - Ok as a skybound truther I have So Many Emotions about this episode. How did Nya know this was a place of the djinn and she was just? Fine? Ok. Arrokore is fine as a character but i absolutely hate what it did to the Djinn. Having a character who has lost their whole society is fascinating! I would have preferred if they made him more of a Ronin-type recluse, where he's extremely paranoid and distrusting instead of just straight-up depressed. All of the experience we have with Djinn is that they are extremely powerful and evil and crazy and dangerous. Switching from Nadakhan to Arrokore was such a hard shift that as a fan it was so hard to be able to enjoy Arrokore as a character. That's not the main thing I'm upset about, overall he's likable and he's fine, I just think he could have been a lot cooler. My main issue with this episode is Nya. Is she just perfectly fine? GIVE HER EMOTIONS OH MY GOSH. SHE HAS TRAUMA YOU COWARDS SHOW IT!!!!!! Literally one of THE most traumatizing times in her life was directly tied to a Djinn and she runs into one and she's just. Fine? There was pretty much NOTHING that alluded to Nya having any sort of history with the Djinn except maybe a little bit of salt when she's talking about their showmanship. A Djinn kidnapped and tortured the love of her life. A Djinn almost destroyed her entire home. A Djinn captured her and caused her own possession. A Djinn killed her (more or less). You want to look me in the eyes and tell me she's going to run into a Djinn and just be perfectly fine? Absolutely not. They could have done this SO much better. Show the trauma. Show the distrust. Show me Nya jumping in front of Sora, show me the fear running through her. Give me Sora asking how Nya knows so much about the Djinn and Nya just can't bring herself to answer. Or she does! And we get a moment of "the only other person who remembers is Jay, and he..." [ACTUALLY SAD MOMENT THAT GENUINELY SHOWS THAT NYA HAS EMOTIONS AND ACTUALLY CARES ABOUT HER LITERAL FIANCÉ WHO SHE LITERALLY GAVE UP HER LIFE FOR] and maybe Sora comforts her! A "we'll find him, Nya" moment. Just a moment. Nya left and Jay fell apart and I hate how Nya is shown to be perfectly fine when Jay has been gone for years. We could have had a little arc of Nya overcoming trauma and distrust and learning that not all Djinn are the same! Okay, fine, we didn't get that. But how dare they let Nya start wishing. Wishes got her killed. Wishes caused the most traumatic weeks of her life. Wishes almost killed the love of her life. You want to tell me that she's just totally fine firing off a few wishes? SHE DIED. GIRLY DIED AND SHE'S JUST MAKING WISHES LIKE IT'S NOTHING? We could have had a moment of Arrokore saying they have to wish for it and Nya being like "NO Sora you can't trust him, they're all the same" and then Arrokore proves himself! Even so, Nya should not have let Sora make a wish without protesting, and she CERTAINLY would not have made one herself. As a skybound stan this episode made me so sad. It was genuinely a good episode but I am so so broken up over what could and should have been. Zane did put a picture of Pixal on a broom though so this episode gets points for that

15. They Call It Doom - YOU'RE TELLING ME THE ADMINISTRATION JUST CASUALLY ALSO SHOOTS BLUE LIGHTNING. FINE OKAY THAT'S GREAT. I already shared my Nya and Arrokore and whatnot thoughts but still. I'm still salty. Anyway this episode's ending was glorious. Teacher Kai you will always be famous I'm so sorry this is the trainee you got stuck with. NO ONE TOUCHES THESE CHILDREN lives in my head rent free and his powerup is so so cool. Baby Serpentine. yes.

16. Land of Lost Things - so you're telling me that Cole has adopted stray children who have run away from home because they felt unwanted and unloved. no I'm totally fine I'm SO normal about cole and his character and the respect he got and the sacrifice of him staying there to protect these kids. I am so broken but its fine I'm fine everything is fine

17. The Administration - See aforementioned thoughts on Jay. The Administration is so cool I love them and I am stoked to see more of them. It's giving men in black tbh. They are so cool. When they follow the directions and find Zane and they're like oh hi Zane! we didn't even know you were here! A) peak comedy and B) when he said "who did you think was going to be here?" THAT WAS DIRECTLY TO US THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT JAY AND IM SO MAD AT THEM FOR IT NOT ACTUALLY THOUGH. Also I don't remember which episode Zane Day and Gulch was in but every moment of that was both perfection and also the peak of comedy. The music when Jay walks on screen destroyed me it was so so good. He is a tired office worker the headcanons were RIGHT. Cannot get over that. I love the look of the Administration, the style, it all looks so good. The concept of a whole organization with an entire division assigned to realm reassignment is fascinating. I want to see Kai's teaching in this episode is great and the parallels between him and Wu were amazing. At the end of the day Jay was here and that gave me enough serotonin to last me a good long while.

18. Absolute Power - I'm not gonna lie this was hard to enjoy because I just wanted to see more of Jay but it was a solid episode. I wanna know what Beatrix' sister's elemental power was. Ras is very cool I am so glad he's going to have a bigger role. Nya and Cole's relationship in this episode is everything to me. They are So Siblings and also Best Friends I love them so so much.

19. We Are All Dragons - good for the Imperium kids starting the revolution, but Rapton being the traitor made no sense. It's like they tried to pull a Kallus in Rebels but there was not nearly enough buildup for this to make sense. I really couldn't care less about Rapton so I'm not mad about this it just didn't make that much thematic sense lolll. I did really like Sora's moment with her parents and rejecting them in favor of the found family, but her speech didn't make sense. It would have hit so much more if she actually explained what ~being a dragon~ means but she really just went WE ARE ALL DRAGONS!! and everyone went YEAH!!!!!!!!!! like girlie uh what does that mean. I liked the parallels but Lloyd's moment was better.

20. The Power Within - I still don't understand why Beatrix wanted to uh. destroy the universe but pop off. I'm not gonna lie I literally cheered when Wyldfyre got sucked into a mergequake. Kai's reaction was in theory great but i am still salty it was over Wyldfyre, this child has been absolutely horrible to you Kai what are you doing. I don't understand how everyone is perfectly fine when everyone comes back from the merge quakes when Beatrix literally went through one of them. I loved Sora's showdown with her parents and I can't wait to see what's up with Ras. I will DIE MAD THERE'S NO MURAL ON THE WALL but WHATEVER.

Returning Characters

I want Pixal back so bad. I'm very optimistic she'll be here in season 2 and I cannot wait for her to be back. I'm hoping that she'll come save Zane from, idk, sensing his signal or something.

SKYLOR. OH MY GOODNESS BRING BACK SKYLOR. I need her back so bad it's unreal

I want Vania back. I want fugidove back. WHERE IS GARMADON. WHERE IS HE. WE HAVENT EVEN MENTIONED HIM WHERE IS HE.

I miss Ed and Edna and Lou and Cyrus Borg and Scott and the elemental masters (WHERES KARLOFF I MISS HIM SO MUCH) and BENTHO and yeah. i miss them

SO, I have a lot of thoughts as you can see and this probably isn't all of them. I want all of everyone's thoughts please send me asks send me messages I just want to scream

AND BRING BACK JAY

[sevensoulmates]

As always it's a delight to get to read your posts and meta, it's just as satisfactory and fun as it is watching the show. You're just awesome ❤️

You know after watching the last episode (and now that we know little bit more about Marisol) it made me feel really sorry for her, because I just know she'll be collateral damage while Eddie figures himself out and that's just so sad. And I wasn't really sure why those comments Eddie made about him/Marisol when they encountered Buck and Tommy at the restaurant and after having sex with her made me feel so uncomfortable, but then you pointed it out and I was like yeah that was kinda like locker room talk, Eddie was overcompensating here like trying to be a big macho man and that's why it felt so weird.

I'm baffled about Eddie's situation the most because I'm sure it's gonna be hell for him for a while since he will have to work through a lot of issues to finally be at peace with himself. And until stated otherwise my headcanon is the same as yours. I'm sure he is a gay repressed man (and not no get into the gay Eddie vs demisexual  Eddie discourse but I'm sure he may be both) I grew up in a Mexican household, I was raised catholic and although I wasn't in the army my dad was and he raised me and my siblings with an iron fist. So Eddie's background/storyline has always hit too close to home for me. I'm just dreading all the issues he's going to have to face.

Which brings me to this. To show his coming out arc and make it into completion do you think they will have to show us more about his childhood and upbringing, not just having Eddie talking about it but to have scenes like we did with Buck's childhood?

And why do you think the scene about Buck apologizing to Eddie for hurting him at the basketball court had to happen off screen?

Btw thanks for always replying to my questions.

Hi there!!! No problem!!! You always have super interesting questions to ask, so I am always delighted to answer them!

We all know how Eddie feels about "performance". I just feel like why would Eddie feel like the performance stops once he's actually made it past the dating phase and into the relationship phase? Maybe the external pressure from others is off (none of his family or the firefam questioning him, etc) but in order to KEEP the relationship, it really would require MORE performing.

It's fascinating to me, because we don't see Eddie acting this way with Shannon. You could make some arguments that their relationship was pretty fractured from the get-go and we didn't really see their dating/"honeymoon" phase but even when they were ~slightly~ back together in season 2b, Eddie wasn't acting like that with Shannon. Even when they were sleeping together, he wasn't. The most he did was make a couple of cringe comments about his "dashing good looks" or something, but that was more poking fun at himself. Even when Eddie was telling Buck about how "sex complicates things" with Shannon, he wasn't out here smirking or making comments about how good it feels to finally get some after two years of (apparent) celibacy. Say what you want about their relationship, but at least Eddie respected Shannon enough as a person to not start speaking about her that way. Their relationship was far too serious for that.

With Ana, it was so incredibly hard to watch because even though the storyline ITSELF wasn't about sex, a lot of their scenes had that edge to it? Like the sex-scene fake out in season 4, "grade me on a curve", "you really like to see me dressed up" "and the other thing" it was so ODD and FORCED. At the time of s4/5 airing you could maybe chalk it up to Eddie overcorrecting since it's his first real relationship after Shannon, but then he goes and does the same thing with Marisol which now makes it a pattern.

Once it clicked in my brain that the reason his relationships with women feel so fake is that he is literally putting on a show of hyper-heterosexuality (idk if that's a real term or not but roll with me here) it all made sense. I think seeing him "in a relationship" with Marisol for real was the final puzzle piece to seal this deal for me.

His extreme performances with these women, combined with their purposeful lack of development into full characters, all points to the fact that none of these relationships are going to work out. Eddie is not going to be able to actually settle down with his "endgame" partner until he actually finds someone he can be his true, real self with and "doesn't have to pretend with them" ;)

Is it bad that I actually enjoyed getting to know Marisol a little? Putting aside the actress, Marisol, the character, is interesting, because we're actually getting to know her a little bit more, far more than we got to with Ana. But I find both of these love interests fascinating in one mutual way: the fact that they put up with Eddie. Like I think about other characters and if they would've been okay being treated by their partners the way Eddie treats his girlfriends and I'm like.....hell no!

Oddly enough the only person I could see putting up with it was Buck before he finally started realizing that he doesn't have to be in a relationship with someone just because they want him. Only someone who also has deep insecurities, abandonment issues, and a general lack of self-respect would put up with Eddie's BS to his girlfriends. That's not to say that Eddie's a horrible person or abuses his partners or anything, but it's basically indisputable that he does not ever put in any emotional work to actually create meaningful relationships with his girlfriends. So why were Ana and now Marisol, so willing to accept that?

Ana resisted the break-up even though she could feel Eddie's whole heart wasn't in it. She was willing to keep trying in a dead relationship just in the hopes that something would work out. The same goes for Marisol. Idk about you, but if I was in a relationship with a man for going on 4-6 months and he knew NOTHING about me? I'd feel unloved, uncared for, and unappreciated, and I'd LEAVE.

We know that Marisol was scared of Eddie rejecting her or fetishizing her and that's why she didn't tell him about the nun thing, and I understand her reasoning and fear there. But gworlie, what else do we know about you? Can Eddie name a single hobby you have outside of loving Jesus and DIYing houses? Does Eddie even know your last name? It really makes me think that Marisol is unfortunately the type to just let things like this slide in the hopes that some man will accept her, any man. Since they rarely do because of the nun thing. And boy, do I understand that feeling, but that's NOT real love. I bet you anything once we get to the Eddiemarisol breakup she's gonna be very similar to Ana in that she knew Eddie's heart wasn't fully in it, but she just didn't want to be alone again.

I think that like attracts like, and Eddie's clutching onto this relationship for the same reason Marisol's clutching onto this relationship: because it's easier than being alone and being judged for it.

This is a tangent but I also want to point out that one thing that Eddie found uncomfortable about Marisol being a nun was the fact that nuns used to be his teachers....but was Ana also not a teacher? Just because she wasn't a nun, doesn't mean she couldn't have also been in a position of power that Eddie could've found uncomfortable. I find it interesting that even though Marisol's not a teacher, the show found a way to connect her to teachers and therefore to Ana.

As for Eddie's coming out arc, while I don't think it's entirely a necessity to have flashbacks to how he grew up, I certainly think it would help a lot of people who can't read between the lines if they had some. I especially would like to see scenes of young him + Shannon. Maybe seeing how the pressure from his family and church led him to believe men have to be a certain way, potentially microaggressions about being lgbt that he might've seen from his family/church (I don't necessarily mean full-on homophobia but possibly like little ways in which he was shown that there was no other "acceptable" option from his church other than heterosexuality. I think seeing scenes of how he and Shannon got together could be enlightening too, how their community reacted to them getting pregnant, etc. I think all of this, combined with a mirrored storyline in the present (similar to Buck Begins) would really drive home the point the show is trying to make, especially if they can finally be overt about Eddie's queerness. BUT all of this can still be done present day without the need for flashbacks either. I just think it would be a way to make the storytelling more rich and to spell it out more obviously for the people in the back.

As for Buck apologizing to Eddie for the basketball scene...I would've liked to see it too, but at the end of the day, it's like Ryan said in his interview...Eddie was always going to forgive Buck because he loves him to his core, because he knew Buck didn't come at it from a place of truly wanting to hurt Eddie. All of it was a manifestation of Buck's own issues, and by this point (especially after the lawsuit arc and the deadbrother arc) Eddie is aware of that. We did see plenty of scenes where Buck was scolded and demonstrated he was aware his actions were shitty, and Eddie probably assumed that letting Buck stew in his own guilt was atonement enough. And so I think likely the writers felt that in the end, the sentiment got across. Separately--given all the switcheroo stuff that happened with 7x04 and 7x05, I wouldn't be surprised if there WAS an apology scene and it got cut for time.

[bodynblood666]

Pancakes After a Long Slumber

me writing something who knew that was possible!!! this was for someone on twitter but I thought I'd but it here 😭. ending is kinda rushed don't yell at me alright.

Pairing: Aurora x Mountain

CW: Nothing really, mention of Mountain biting Sunshine, kisses while sleeping, idk what else.

Word Count: 2k

Summary: Mountain has been hibernating for months and now is finally the time for him to wake up. This year is Aurora's turn to wake the sleeping beast from his slumber

                  Stray rays of morning sun shone through Aurora’s window casting onto her shut eye lids, stirring her awake. She so desperately wanted to go back to bed but knew she couldn’t, as she had a very important duty to-do this morning. She rolled over in her bed towards her nightstand and picked up her phone that was resting on the charger. 8:26, the clock on her phone read and she groaned at the thought of getting up so early. But she happily agreed to this mooring’s task, so she really has no right in complaining. 

            She rolled out from underneath the plethora of fluffy winter blankets on her bed; blanket she will need to change out soon. A shive ran through her body when her pawed feet hit the cold floor. Aurora opened the door of her room and the smell of pancakes and coffee wafted into her room all the way from the kitchen. When she reached the kitchen, she saw her whole pack sitting around waiting for breakfast to bed ready. Well almost everyone. There was one big earth ghoul missing and who had been missing for months. 

            At the beginning of October, Mountain had gone into hibernation, and he was determined to hibernate all through hibernation season this year. Past years he had to be woken up early due to tour and other projects around the Abbey, but this year he was finally able to hibernate fully. Every year a different ghoul was chosen to go and wake Mountain up from his slumber and fortunately for Aurora this year was her year.

            “Hey Rory, Mount’s pancakes will be done in second.” Swiss said as he flipped over a few pancakes on the oven. 

            “Thanks, Swissy!” Aurora replied, taking a seat at the table with her fellow ghoulettes. 

            “Oh, I can’t wait to have Mountain back!” Cumulus exclaimed, holding onto Cirrus’ arm with excitement.

            “I know you’re excited Lus, but I’m trying to eat here.” Cirrus pried Cumulus’ claws out of her skin and off her arm.

            “I’m sorry, I’m just so excited to see him again.” Cumulus was all but bursting with joy. “You’re so lucky you know Aurora? You get to wake him up and see how cute he looks with his hair all a mess and his sleepy little face.”

            “I think she gets it honey,” Cirrus says while petting the back of Cumulus’ hair. “Now remember Aurora, you can’t go in there and just shake him awake and be done with it. We learned that the hard way. Ever wonder why we don’t let Dew wake him up anymore?”

            The three ghoulettes turn to see Dew sitting at the kitchen island nursing his cup of black coffee. He feels their eyes on him and turns to hiss at them. Cirrus waves him off and turns to look back at Aurora.

            “You need to be gentle with him. It bad to wake him up quickly so just go slow and don’t make and don’t make any quick movements, ok?” Cirrus continues and Aurora nods her head in return.

            “You guys make it seem like if I’m not slow, I’ll be attacked.” Aurora chuckles but the immediately stops when she sees the two ghoulettes in front of her exchanging looks. “Will he actually attack me?” 

            “Most likely not, he doesn’t seem to want to harm any of the ghoulettes.” Cumulus reassured the growing anxiety filling Aurora’s body. “But he will 100% hurt any of the guys.”

            “That’s a big fat lie.” Sunshine said while taking her seat next to Aurora with her plate of food. “He bit me last time I did it.”

            “That’s because you threw a pillow at him Sunny!” Cumulus scolded.

            “I did no such thing! I was wake him up like I always wake him up.” Sunshine said trying to defend herself. 

            “By throwing a pillow at him?” Cirrus asked

            Aurora chuckles watching the madness unfold in front of her until a voice call her name. 

            “Rora,” Swiss calls, “It’s all ready for you and the big guy.”

            She jumps up from her seat and practically runs over to the oven to take the large pile of pancakes. The pile of pancakes was sitting on the countertop right next to the over. Aurora wasn’t sure how many pancakes were on the plate but there had to have been at least 15 possible more. Strawberries, blueberries, and orange slices, drizzled with a bit of honey and topped with a small bit of whipped cream. There was another plate next to it and Aurora assumed it was hers. There were only about 3 pancakes and had strawberries, whipped cream and maple syrup on it. Swiss knew how much she liked strawberries and had a distaste for any other fruit.

            “Thanks again Swiss.” Aurora said picking up the two plates of food.

            “No problem hon, make sure to give the big guy a hug for us, ok?” Swiss asks while return to his work at the oven. Aurora nods her head and heads out the kitchen straight to Mountain’s room.

            After a few paces, Aurora was face to face with the big wooden door that was Mountain’s. There we intricate wood carving, carved in the door much like the rest of the ghoul’s doors. But his door showed images of past earth ghouls and ghoulettes before him all dancing around trees and sitting in flower beds. With her hands being full, Aurora had to use her elbow to open the heavy door. A cold breeze flew out of the room and sent a painful shiver down her spin. When she stepped into the room it was completely covered in darkness, with only faint light shining in from the curtains. Aurora saw the remanence of the long burnt-out fire sitting in the fireplace. She placed the food down on an empty table and walked over to the fire, hoping to bring it back to life. With a little bit of poking, Aurora was able to relight the fire and the temperature in the room immediately went up.

            With the fire restored, light filled the room illuminating every surface. Aurora noticed the slightly wilted plants sitting on various tables and shelves. She noticed the dusty, half ridden books in the bookshelf. And finally, she noticed the long tail hanging off the edge of the bed that seemed to grow out from under the pile of blankets on the bed. 

Aurora smiled to herself quietly as she walked towards the bed and shucked off slippers. The noises coming from the creature on the bed were low and matched with the breathing rhythm of the blankets. Aurora could hear Mountain’s soft mumbles and groans as he slept. She smiled to herself once again as she slowly climbed into the bed, making sure not to move too quickly. Once she presumed, she was in front of Mountain, Aurora slowly lifted the blankets up revealing the slumbering earth ghoul under them. His dark brown curls lose and draped just above his eyes. His body curled in on itself as he slept. His face was soft and peaceful as pleasant dreams filled his uncurious mind. A shiver ran through Aurora’s body yet again as she started at the earth ghoul in front of her. Even though the fire burned, the room was still freezing cold. 

            He wouldn’t be mad if I crawled in there with him, right? Aurora thought as her muscles tensed in the frozen air. 

But Sunshine said that he bit her once and I don’t want to get bitten.

But it is so cold out here, he’s asleep he wouldn’t notice if you just crawl in there.

            Aurora’s thoughts battled between what she should do and in the end warmth won. She slowly but surely crawled in the blanket pile and tucker herself into Mountain’s side. Warmth immediately filled her body again as she let out a pleasant sigh. Aurora laid like that for a few minutes before she started to feel herself falling asleep. But she couldn’t fall asleep, not yet anyways, she had to wake Mountain up it was her job. Part of her felt bad for waking him up but she knows he would probably sleep forever if she didn’t. Aurora looked up at the slumbering ghoul and her heart swelled with joy. She never looks at his face in full. They’re always passing each other in the hallways, staying in the own little corners on stage and occasionally catches glimpse of each other’s faces in Mountain’s candle lit room on lonely nights. But she’s never really saw his beautiful face before. She never saw the freckles that adore his face. She never saw how perfect his hooked nose was. She never saw how angular his jawline was. And she never saw how perfectly thin his cupid’s bow was. 

            Aurora lifted her hands and started tracing Mountain’s lips with her thump. She leaned forwards and pressed a light kiss to his lips. Even thought Mountain had been asleep for months, he still tasted of honey and fresh river water, Aurora had to get another taste of him. She leaned forwards and pressed her lip to his again, instead of pulling back she moved to press her lips to the inner corner of his mouth. She trailed kisses along his jawline and up to his cheek, then along the bridge of his nose, across his forehead and finally on both of his eyes. Right as Aurora was about to kiss the tip of Mountain’s nose, she felt stirring under her hands and saw his face shifting. It wasn’t long until big dark brown eyes were sleepily staring into her ocean blue ones.

            “Well, I’ve certainly never been woken up like this before…” Mountain hummed as he pressed a kiss to the palm Aurora’s hand.

            “Did you sleep well, Mounty?” Aurora’s free hand brushed through the messy, tangled brown curls of his head. 

            “I did, but I missed your beautiful face. Glad it’s here now.” Mountain nuzzled his nose into Aurora’s neck, pulling her close in the process. 

            “I brought breakfast.” Aurora said, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “Swiss made pancakes and yours has strawberries and blueberries and orange slices. As well as honey and whipped cream.” 

All Mountain could do is hum. Breakfast did sound nice, but he couldn’t care less about it right now. All he cared about was the tiny ghoulette in his arms. Oh, how he had missed Aurora with her strawberry and pine tree scent. He missed catching glimpse of her perfectly round face. He missed sneaking her into his room late at night while everyone is asleep. 

“Mountain?” Aurora called bringing Mountain out of whatever daze he was in. “Did you hear me?”

“What did you say?” Mountain lifted his head up just enough to look into her eyes.

“About breakfast, I’m sure it’s getting cold.” Aurora repeated herself.

“Breakfast can wait.” Mountain buried his face back into the crook of her neck. Aurora stared at him dumbfounded at his words. He hadn’t eaten in months, isn’t he starving?

“Aren’t you hungry though, Mountain?” Aurora asked. “You’ve been in this bed for so long, don’t you want to move around?”

“What’s a few more minutes going to do?” Aurora giggled as he spoke into her neck. “Besides why would I want to go anywhere while you’re in my bed?”

Aurora’s face flushed at his words.

“Well alright but only 5 more minutes. You need to eat and I’m hungry.” Aurora said, hands returning to his hair.

“Whatever you say, my princess.” Mountain gripped her tighter, making it so she can leave his warm embrace. The two ghouls stay like that for hours, falling asleep in each other’s warm embrace. It isn’t until later, when Cumulus comes in, is when they wake up and actually eat breakfast. Breakfast that has long gone cold, but they still eat it like its fresh out the oven. They sit in silence as they eat, tucked into each other’s side and tail wrapped around each other. They wouldn’t have it any other way.

[barclaysangel]

Junior Wheeler if he was 9 years old during season 1 of Chucky (oneshot)

Hey y’all! I could not for the life of me figure out a proper name for this oneshot, so this is what we got. This AU totally escalated and I needed to write something involving it. In this AU, Junior is 9 and the younger cousin to Jake. Caroline and Lexy are also twins and 9 years old in this AU, but they won’t be mentioned in this oneshot.

Idk if I’ll continue writing this AU because I hate following the show’s timelines. But if y’all just want fun found family stuff where Junior’s 9 and doesn’t follow any timeline, then maybe I’ll do that instead. Also I wrote this within 3 days and without rewatching 1x08 so this is all by memory. Pls lemme know what you thought about this! Comments help fuel and motivate me!

Enjoy :)

Tags: @series-thoughts @zelinksupporter @streets-in-paradise

Word count: 2.3K

Junior didn’t mean for things to get this far. 

Chucky wanted him to kill his dad but he couldn’t. How could he? Sure, his dad was mean sometimes. Sure, he put Junior on a diet and was constantly having him run laps. Sure, if his dad was angry he would grip onto Junior’s shoulders so tightly that he would leave bruises—bruises that would be obvious right now if he didn’t have a shirt on. But that didn’t mean that he wanted to kill the only adult left in his family. 

And then his dad called him and his mom a “quitter”. 

What happened next was something he couldn’t quite process just yet. 

His dad started to go downstairs and without thinking, Junior’s temper got the best of him. 

He pushed him down the stairs. 

His dad stumbled forward and then fell, smacking his head what looked like a hundred times before finally making it to the bottom…

…and a pool of blood began forming from his skull and slowly surrounding his body. 

After that, it was like a blur.

Everything seemed to go far too fast for Junior to control and the next thing he knew, he was at Chucky’s house with that blonde woman that looked so familiar, Tiffany.

Wasn’t he supposed to feel different now? His dad was dead, Junior was finally free…but why didn’t he feel free? He didn’t feel safe. He couldn’t even eat the chocolate chip cookies that Tiffany gave him, his stomach was just twisting in knots. 

One door, one…two…three…four windows. He noted in his head, going back to a habit he had whenever his dad yelled at him, counting every single exit strategy he could find. 

It felt like he might need it, with all the Chucky dolls that were in the room and the other woman that called herself Chucky. Something about her seemed so bold yet also mean. But it’s not like Junior had anywhere else to go. He had no parents and he doubted that Jake would want to be around him. Junior was always a brat to him. Jake would rather be with Devon. 

Except Devon was tied to a chair right now and kept staring at Junior, wanting him to help him. But there wasn’t anything Junior could do, he was too afraid. He just had to keep looking away. 

At least Tiffany was nice to him, he could accept that. There was something almost motherly about her, but it made him want to cry if he focused too hard on that. 

He missed his mom so much…

“Well, I don’t see a lady.” Junior suddenly heard the woman Chucky say to Tiffany, having been so distracted that he missed almost the entire conversation. The way woman Chucky stood up and faced off to Tiffany reminded Junior far too much of his father’s intimidating stance. 

Before he had time to really try and find more similarities, Tiffany smacked the woman Chucky so hard she fell to the floor and the slap was almost loud enough to echo in the entire room. 

Junior gasped and jumped, his eyes now locked on the fallen woman. Then, it was like something strange happened. She seemed to have woken up, looked around the room in both confusion and horror, and then looked right at him. 

Suddenly, she didn’t look like she did before. She looked almost afraid and panicked. 

Maybe it was because Tiffany hit her? He thought to himself. 

Then Chucky, the one in the doll that Junior had been carrying on him until he got to the house, told Tiffany to kill her. 

Tiffany looked like she was about to cry but the woman Chucky didn’t look at her. She kept looking at Junior instead, staring at him in a way as if she was trying to figure out why he was here. But she should’ve known that since he had been there for almost an hour, right? 

“Junior, kill her!” 

Junior was snapped out of it, blinking a few times as he stared at the doll. “W…what?”

“Come on, you already bumped your dad off already! She shouldn’t be any different, she can’t even move!” Chucky snapped at him, once again reminiscent of his father. 

Junior looked down at the woman again and she was shaking her head just slightly. This time instead of looking fearful, she held a comforting gaze, whispering something to him about how it was going to be okay. He wasn’t sure if that was actually what she was saying, there was a roaring in his ears and his heart was racing far too fast. He couldn’t breathe and soon his vision blurred with tears filling his eyes. 

I don’t want to do this! 

I don’t want to kill anyone!

I just want Jake! 

I want my mom! 

I want to go home!

A small squeak of distress left Junior’s lips and then Tiffany was lunging at the doll Chucky with what looked to be a small knife in her hand. Before he could keep watching, the woman Chucky’s hand grasped onto his shirt and tugged him down, moving to his knees. Then her hands were around his face, a gentle grip on him to keep his face right in front of hers. 

“Look at me, okay?” She said quickly. “Don’t look behind me, just look at me. You don’t need to see that.” 

She was probably right because Junior wasn’t sure if he did want to see since he could hear both Tiffany and doll Chucky screaming, so he kept his eyes on the other woman. 

“What’s your name?” 

“Huh?” 

“What’s your name, kiddo?” 

“J-Junior…Junior Wheeler.” 

“It’s nice to meet you, Junior. I’m Nica, Nica Pierce.” 

“I thought your name was Chu—” 

“I’m not him,” Nica quickly said, “He…he’s not here right now, I am. I won’t hurt you, I promise.” She spoke in a reassuring tone and even though Junior wasn’t sure if he believed her, something about her genuine eyes made him think that he’ll be okay. 

“How old are you?” She asked this time. 

“Nine.” 

“You’re so young…are you in fourth grade?” 

Junior shook his head. “Third.” 

“What’s your favorite subject?” 

“English…I like reading.” 

“That’s good, reading is really important.” Nica smiled softly at him and Junior couldn’t help but to return the smile. 

“Do you like music?” 

“Yeah, I do.” 

“What’s your favorite song?” 

“...‘We Got The Beat’ by The Go-Go’s.” 

“The Go-Go’s? You got good taste, kid.” She chuckled a little. 

Chucky’s voice screaming out cut off the questions, “YOU FUCKI–!” 

Nica’s hands moved up from his cheeks to his ears, cupping them in an attempt to block the sound of the angry doll’s cursing. Junior couldn’t hear what exactly she was saying but through the muffled noise, he could understand enough that she was telling him that it’ll be okay and to breathe. 

He didn’t understand the “breathe” part at first until he noticed that his breathing had picked up again. Junior kept looking at Nica and started mimicking her own breathing, in through his nose and out through his mouth. The more he looked at her, the more he realized that her eyes were gentle and comforting, as if all she cared about in that moment was him. 

It reminded him so much of the way his mom would look at him. 

And somehow, in all that chaos, he started to feel safe. 

For just a brief moment, Junior looked over Nica’s shoulder to see Tiffany starting to approach them, a needle in her hand. “What are you doing?” He blurted out without thinking, not entirely sure if the needle was meant for him or for her. 

Nica seemed to know the answer because she whipped and immediately moved herself up enough–somehow not moving her legs despite Junior having seen her walking before–to shield him with her own body, and even had her arms out to make sure he stayed behind her. “Tiffany, please. Let Junior go. He’s just a child.” 

“I’m not gonna hurt him! I’d never hurt him,” Tiffany said as she waved around the needle, certainly not making Junior feel relieved over her comment, “besides, he has no father anymore. No mother. And every little boy needs a mother.” 

“And you think you’ll be a good enough mother for him? Tiffany, you’re a murderer.” Nica spat out, venom in her voice. 

“So is he,” Tiffany retorted in a casual tone, “he pushed his daddy down the stairs. He already has such great potential!” 

“I didn’t mean to…” Junior whispered so quietly he barely heard himself. But Nica must have, because she didn’t move away from him at all. In fact, she moved herself just enough that she almost completely blocked his view of Tiffany with her head. 

“You manipulated him,” Nica started, “you and Chucky both did. What he needs is stability and he sure isn’t going to get it from you.” 

“Of course he will! He’ll be with us!” Tiffany replied enthusiastically and took another step closer to the both of them. “My twins are getting older, they’ll be adults soon and they’re off doing their own things. But with you…we can start over! We can raise Junior and be a happy little family!” 

Twins? Junior thought to himself, unaware that Tiffany and possibly even Chucky had children. What did that mean? Were they humans like Tiffany? Or dolls like Chucky? Junior doubted he’d get an answer nor did he fully believe that he wanted an answer anyway. 

Once again looking over someone’s shoulder, there was a man. He didn’t recognize him but there was a gun in his hand, looking at Devon and then at the three of them. Junior opened his mouth to say something but Nica beat him to it. 

“You really think that you’re capable of having a family and being happy?” Nica laughed sarcastically, almost sounding like Chucky for a moment. “You’re not. Everything you touch, you destroy. You don’t know how to love…and you certainly don’t deserve love either.” 

Tiffany looked at Nica as if she had been the one to get slapped, shaking her head with tears now in her eyes. “No…that’s not you saying that, Nica baby. That’s Chucky.”

Nica leaned a little more forward to face Tiffany, away from Junior and he was now able to see the man getting closer as quietly as he could until he was almost right behind Tiffany. “Oh no, Tiff…this is all me. Not Chucky. Me.” She said strongly, keeping herself in front of Junior. 

Before Tiffany could do anything, the other end of the gun that the man was holding connected to her head. He must have hit her much harder than when she hit Nica just a few minutes ago because she was unconscious before hitting the ground. 

There was silence for maybe a second or two before the man pointed his gun at Nica. “Kid, get away from her!”

Junior’s eyes widened and he tried to throw himself in front of Nica. “No!” 

His attempt failed because Nica immediately used her arm to push him back behind her. “Junior, stay back!” She told him quickly and kept herself in front of him in a protective manner. 

The man still had the gun pointed at them, more at Nica but Junior was right behind her, but she began speaking to the man. “You’re Andy, right?” Nica asked him and Junior supposed that she took his silence for a yes. “I’m Nica. Chucky, he-he possessed me but I’m not him, I’m me. I’m in control right now.” 

The man—Andy—didn’t seem to believe her so Junior managed to speak up. “It’s-it’s true…Tiffany hit her and then she was Nica. She’s nice to me…please don’t kill her…please…” 

Junior started to find it hard to breathe, tears filling his eyes once more just as Nica spoke again. “Andy, please. I’m not going to hurt anyone, just please put the gun down…you’re scaring him.” 

Andy looked right at Junior, not saying anything before he slowly lowered his gun and Junior felt like he could breathe again. “Are you Junior?” Andy asked him and he nodded after a moment. “Your cousin, Jake, told me to find you.” 

Jake’s okay…he wanted to find me…I’m not a brat to him! He must love me then! Junior thought to himself but decided not to voice them out loud. Instead, he looked over at Devon and pointed at him. “Chucky tied Devon up. He needs help.” 

Andy nodded and put his gun in his pocket, going over to untie Devon. Junior managed to hear Nica quietly say something along the lines of, “Did I do that?” before she turned her attention back to Junior and cupped his face softly. “You okay, honey?” 

“Uh huh.” He nodded, no longer feeling like he was about to burst into tears. That was a good thing, his father would complain about him not being a man if he did end up crying. 

Nica smiled gently at him, her eyes so caring. “We’re going to get you out of here, okay? You’re gonna be back with your cousin and be safe and sound before you know it.”

“But…what about you? You’re coming with me, right?” 

“I can’t stay here, I don’t know what Tiffany will do to me. So I’ll be leaving too,” Nica reassured him and smiled at Junior again, “we’ll figure everything out together. You ready to go, Jun?” 

He didn’t know what was going to happen next. Where he or Jake will go, what will happen to Nica. He hated not knowing. But he didn’t have any other choice. He couldn’t stay here. He couldn’t stay with killers even though he was one now. 

So Junior nodded and looked at Nica as bravely as he could. 

“Yeah, I’m ready.”

[yabagofmilfs]

☕️ california!!

this is a broad question, haha. as a concept, california is elite. you want to go to the beach today? cool, see you there in 20 minutes. feel like going snowboarding? two hours to the mountains. want to go on a hike and jump off a waterfall? meet me in malibu. want to go camping or to the lake or the desert? anything you could possibly want is within a few hours drive. our food is god tier—our mexican food is untouchable of course but we also have huge korean and vietnamese communities, and also for some reason an entire city founded by danish settlers who now sell some of the best pastry in the world.

san diego, san luis obispo, and monterey are some of the most beautiful places on earth. i can’t believe i can just drive to a beautiful town and eat fresh caught fish tacos on the beach whenever i want. (why don’t i do that more often what’s wrong with me.)

on the other hand, most of our cities are not walkable, we have almost no public transportation, and we measure distance in minutes rather than miles because traffic is horrendous no matter where you’re going. rent is very high and good luck buying a house if you don’t have generational wealth on your side.

on the other other hand, we don’t have hurricanes* or tornadoes or blizzards. but we also only really have two seasons: A/C on (~april-november), and A/C off (its a good year when you don’t have to run it on christmas). we don’t have the infrastructure or quite frankly the common sense to handle rain, and we’re all resigned in a very desensitized way to probably dying when The Big One hits and we all fall into the ocean.

everywhere has its pros and cons, but they feel like pretty extreme ends of the spectrum here. it’s hard for me to imagine living anywhere else, but at the same time idk how sustainable it will be to live here much longer. :(

sorry for the long ramble, hopefully that answered your question!