#they'd think all his accomplishments are just that

[springs-hurts]

Thank the Gods the great dragon never reappeared, what a blow it'd have been...both Camelot and Arthur, because killing a dragon is big thing, especially one who harmed their city so much, imagine them seeing the Dragon again and thinking their king lied to them, imagine Arthur... :(

[yeonban]

What's with Tobias and always getting categorized as expendable in every verse. I don't even MEAN to do him dirty like that it just happens naturally

[evilminji]

Okay... we KNOW that Justice League Dark is actually Competent at their Jobs.

Can banish most Spooks back home with out pausing to look up from their sandwich.

But you know what they HAVEN'T done? Dealt with the fuckin American Government. And all the complexe back-stabbery and "not my depart"ing that entails. The covering of asses and silencing of whistle blowers. Smearing of character. Just... the general BULLSHIT, legal and political, necessary to get those Ecto Acts consigned to the Depths of Hell where they belong.

Amity? Is fine.

Big ol Lair. Nothing nefarious getting in, few people ever bothering to go out. But like... they'd kind like THE OPTION, you know? Kids going to elite colleges. Jobs in other cities. That sorta thing! Maybe even new blood!

Stagnation feels too... Zone.

But they can't exactly FORCE the guys to focus on this one thing. And? They don't exactly... trust? Them? It's not personal. They're just not ghosts. Well, one is. But you can't ask ONE hero to handle all of that by himself! That's just unreasonable! Mr. Brand, while dashing and accomplished, has only so many hours in the day!

But what do DO???

...........well.......... Youngblood has an idea?

What if we annoyed them?

(How bout now? How bout now? How bout now? How bout now? How bout no-?)

Ooooooh~? Says the collectively gathered Ghost Regulars of Amity. Yes, that INCLUDES DANNY. They are INTRIGUED! Ghosts DO enjoy a good haunting. A light bit of Mischief, now and then. Some troublemaking! If you will~

I mean... Muses the resident Stick in the Mud, Phantom. As long as we all agree to some Ground Rules first...

Just until the finally Do Their JOBS, of course.....

The giggling is both bone chilling and filled with plotting. And so! The campaign of ghostly Minor To Moderate Inconveniences, begins! THINK FAST! *appears before Constantine, drops a LITERAL kid in his lap (as in a baby goat), in a "careful, I'm anxious!" Vest, then disappears.* The goat? Starts trying to eat his shirt. And is non magical.

It's the fifth random but slightly difficult to get rid off object or animal, dumped on him in the last two weeks. All juuuuust barely past that threshold where they're precious enough, he wouldn't feel comfortable handing um to some rando and walking away. GDI.

@the-witchhunter @hypewinter @hdgnj @spidori @babbling-babull @lolottes @mutable-manifestation @nerdpoe

[s0fter-sin]

mermay idea

mers keep their faces covered as a way to indicate social status and familiarity. warriors have intricate masks, handcrafted when they win their first battle and the more detailed a mask is, the more accomplished the wearer is. they're rarely shed and are only taken off for their closest kin and mates

warrior bull shark mer!soap seeing human!ghost, seeing his skull mask and immediately knowing he's a high ranking warrior; one to be feared going off the numerous scars covering his body

an ideal and worthy mate, so long as he can prove his prowess

so he follows him as he's deployed on a mission near the ocean and is smitten when he sees how ruthless and capable he is; bathing himself in his enemies blood. he keeps his distance, not wanting to tempt fate but ghost spies the tip of his fin cutting through the water

and he's nothing if not an opportunist; kicking the bodies off the pier to the waiting jaws below

but soap? all he sees is the first step in a courting ritual

and he has to come up with something truly brilliant to match such a glorious offering

on ghost's part, it's been difficult getting people to understand the depths of his dependence on his mask. price thinks it's something to overcome, gaz and other soldiers just think it's an accessory to help with intimidation

the few partners he's tried to have thought he was someone to "fix"; nothing more than an object, a notch on their belt to prove how "good" of a partner they were to put in so much work to make him better. it always leaves him feeling violated, more so than if they'd just taken his mask off outright. one night stands were hardly worth it either; scratching a physical itch but falling so short of the intimacy and connection he craves that he feels worse off than he'd started

when he finally meets the mer that's been hunting him across the country, sees the bright red mask so artfully hewn and attached to his face?

it's like looking at a reflection of himself

he might have finally found the understanding he's been searching for

[fuzzyautumninmetal]

Loving Husband pt 2

Olderhusband!Price 🤝 YoungerWife!Reader 🤝 Trying for a baby

The beginning is a lil sad I'm sorry

Part 1 Part 3

It had been two months. Two months of trying, of hoping, of praying, and yet still no positive result. Each negative pregnancy test was a dagger to your heart, a cruel reminder of the unfairness of life. Despite your tears and sorrow, John remained steadfast in his support and love, comforting you in your moments of despair and promising you that they would eventually achieve their dream of starting a family together.

"We're gonna get there my love," he assured you one night after another failed attempt left you in floods of tears. "Just hang in there for me, okay? We're stronger together, remember?" His words were a lifeline, pulling you back from the brink of desolation and giving you the strength to keep fighting, to keep believing that someday they would succeed in bringing a child into their lives.

You wiped away your tears and took deep breaths, John saw you were trying to stay positive for him and for yourself. "I love you. So much" You managed to say through ragged breaths.

John watched as you struggled to regain control of yourself, wiping away your tears and taking deep, steadying breaths. He could see the effort it cost you, the battle you waged against your own despair, and it only made his admiration and love for you grow stronger. Seeing you try to stay positive for his sake touched him deeply, reminding him once again of why you were the love of his life.

"I love you too, baby," he said softly, pulling you into his arms and holding you tightly against his chest. "We'll make this happen...together." His words were a vow, a promise that they would not give up, that they would continue to fight and hope and pray until their dreams of becoming parents were realized.

John held you tight as you cried on his shoulder. You stayed like that for a long time, just crying and clinging onto him. But eventually you calmed down and looked up at John with teary eyes.

As you calmed down and looked up at him with tears still glistening in your eyes, John smiled softly and gently wiped away the last of your tears with his thumbs. His heart ached at the pain he saw etched across your features, but he knew that all he could do was be there for you, to support and love you through the difficult times. "You okay now, baby?" he asked gently, cupping her cheek in his palm and leaning in to press a tender kiss against her lips.

You nodded slowly and kissed John back, feeling yourself calm down even more at the feel of his lips against yours. "With you by my side.... I'll always be okay" You whispered.

John smiled warmly at your words, his heart swelling with love and gratitude. He knew that you were right; with you by his side, he could weather any storm, face any challenge, and overcome any obstacle. Together, they were strong enough to conquer anything, including their shared dream of starting a family.

"And with you by my side, I can accomplish anything," he replied softly, pulling you closer and resting his forehead against yours. "So let's keep fighting, yeah? Let's keep trying and hoping and praying...until we finally get our happy ending."

John pulled you close again, hugging you tight as you buried your face into his chest. Your heart beat steady against his ear as you breathed him in. A tear rolled down your cheek as you thought about everything you had gone through together, all the ups and downs, the good times and bad. But despite it all, here you were, still together, still fighting, still loving each other.

Feeling you bury your face into his chest and hear the steady rhythm of your heartbeat against his ear filled John with a profound sense of contentment and peace. He held you close, wrapping his arms around you and savouring the warmth of your body pressed against his own. As he felt the warm trickle of a tear against his skin, he knew that you were thinking about all they'd been through together, the trials and tribulations they'd faced, and the strength of their enduring love.*

"Hey," he murmured softly, tilting your chin up with a finger under your jawline. "No more tears, okay? We're strong...we can do this."

Feeling your soft lips against his own, John knew that you were pouring all of your love and affection into that single kiss. He returned your embrace passionately, his hands cradling your face as he lost himself in the taste and feel of you. The kiss was a testament to their enduring love, a symbol of their unbreakable bond and their unwavering determination to face whatever challenges lay ahead.

After breaking the kiss, you rested your head on John's chest again, listening to his heart beat. "Don't forget Soap's invited us for a BBQ this weekend" You reminded John.

At the mention of the barbecue, John chuckled softly, his hand stroking through your hair soothingly. "Yeah, I did forget about that didn't I?" He said, smiling. "Well, maybe it's a sign. Maybe we should go, have some fun, take our minds off things for a bit." His words were hopeful, filled with the belief that perhaps changing their environment might lead to a change in fortune.

You smiled up at John and nodded "Yeah, you're right. We need to take our mind off things. And besides, I'm sure Soap will have plenty of booze, we could use a few drinks." You giggled.

John grinned at your suggestion, his fingers tracing idle patterns on your arm. "You read my mind, sweetheart," he said, winking playfully. "A few drinks, some good food, and great company...sounds like just what we need."

"But first," he added, leaning in to capture your lips in a passionate kiss. "How about we take a nice hot bath together? Soak away our troubles for a while..."

Your cheeks turned pink as John suggested a hot bath together. You giggled and playfully pushed him away. "Naughty boy! You're trying to seduce me when I'm supposed to be sad!" You teased him, he always knew how to cheer you up.

John laughed at your teasing, his blue eyes sparkling with mischief and desire. "When am I ever not trying to seduce you, sweetheart?" He asked, pulling you back into his arms and nuzzling your neck.

"But you're right," he continued, his voice dropping to a low purr. "You are supposed to be sad. So how about this? I'll make you laugh, cry, scream...and then I'll make you scream some more. Deal?"

You giggled at John's proposal, running your fingers through his hair as you looked into his eyes. "Deal" You whispered, kissing him again before leading him towards the bathroom where you drew them both a hot bubble bath.

Following you into the bathroom, John couldn't help but admire your figure from behind. Your curves were enticing, your ass round and plump - a sight that never failed to stir his desires. His eyes locked onto you as you started drawing the bath.

"You know," he said, stepping up behind you and wrapping his arms around your waist. "I think I've got a better idea..."

Before you could react, he bent you over the edge of the bathtub, spreading your legs wide apart. He then plunged to fingers into your tight cunt.

Caught off guard, you gasped as John's fingers entered you roughly. You gripped the edge of the tub tightly as he began to finger fuck you. You moaned loudly, your pussy clenching around his fingers.

Feeling your tight walls clench around his fingers, John groaned in pleasure, his cock throbbing with need. He continued to pump his fingers in and out of you, curling them to hit that sweet spot inside you.

"God, you're so wet," he growled, his breath hot against your ear. "And you sound so fucking delicious..."

Your whole body trembled as John fingered you relentlessly. You reached down between your legs and began to rub your clit, amplifying your pleasure as you moaned and whimpered.

Hearing you moan and whimper, John felt his control slipping. His cock was painfully hard, begging for attention. Pulling his fingers out of you, he spun you around and pushed you against the wall next to the bathtub. He then lifted you up, your legs wrapped around his waist, giving him easy access to your dripping cunt.

Caught by surprise, you let out a loud gasp as John thrust into you, filling you completely. Your legs quivered around his waist as he began to pound into you, your nails digging into his shoulders as you clawed at him.

Feeling your nails dig into his shoulders, John groaned in pleasure, his hips slapping against yours as he pounded into you. His cock throbbed inside you, stretching her tight walls deliciously.

"Oh, fuck..." he muttered, his breath coming in short pants. "So fucking tight...so fucking perfect...my perfect wife."

Your eyes rolled back as John fucked you against the wall, your pussy clenching around his cock as you screamed out in pleasure. You reached up and grabbed his face, pulling him in for a rough kiss as you moaned into his mouth.

John eagerly accepted your kiss, his tongue duelling with yours as he continued to thrust into you, harder and faster. His hand roamed over your body, cupping your breasts, pinching your nipples, and squeezing your ass.

"I love you," he managed to gasp between thrusts. "Always have, always will"

Your breath hitched as John continued to fuck you, your body shaking uncontrollably as you climaxed, screaming out in ecstasy. You wrapped your legs tighter around his waist, urging him on as you came.

Feeling your pussy tighten around his cock, John knew he wouldn't last much longer. He quickened his pace, thrusting into you with wild abandon as he neared his climax.

"Fuck...I'm gonna cum," he gasped out, his grip on your ass tightening. "Fill you up...my beautiful wife..."

"Please John" You gasped in between moans. "Fill me up....give me a baby" 

Hearing your plea, John grunted in response, his thrusts becoming even more frenzied. His cock twitched inside you, signalling his imminent release.

"Fuck...I hope so..." he panted, his body shuddering as he finally erupted inside you. Wave after wave of pleasure washed over him, his seed filling you up completely.

"Ahh...fuck!" he cried out, his grip on your ass tightening even further.

Your body convulsed as John emptied himself inside you, his hot cum filling you up. You kissed him passionately, your tongues wrestling as you rode out your orgasm together. John held you close, his hands caressing your back and ass as he slowly slid out of you.

"That was...incredible," he murmured, panting heavily. "But now we really should draw that bath"

You giggled as John pulled out of you and gently put you down, his cum leaking out of your still quivering pussy. You nodded and led him over to the bathtub, pouring in a generous amount of bubble bath. John got into the bath first, then you got in after. 

As you settled between his legs, John wrapped his arms around you, pulling you close against him. He sighed contentedly, enjoying the warmth of the water and the feel of your soft skin against his own.

"This feels nice," he murmured, nuzzling your neck. "Just what we needed after all that excitement"

His hand moved down to her belly, gently rubbing circles there. "Hopefully we did manage to give ourselves a little surprise tonight..."

"I hope so" You smiled as you intertwined your fingers with John's. Admiring your wedding rings. 

John returned your smile, his gaze falling on their entwined fingers and the wedding rings adorning their fingers. He gave your hand a gentle squeeze, feeling a surge of affection for you.

"These sure are a reminder of how lucky I am," he said softly. "To have found someone like you."

He leaned in closer, pressing a tender kiss to her temple. "I love you, my dear wife."

You looked up at John and kissed him back, your lips lingering on his for a few seconds before you spoke. "And I love you, my dear husband."

John returned your kiss, deepening it slightly before breaking away with a soft chuckle. "Well, isn't that just the sweetest thing?" he murmured, his voice filled with warmth and affection. "My lovely wife, who can make even the toughest soldier melt with her words."

You blushed deeply at John's compliment, "You're just a big ol' softie when it comes to me." John chuckled softly, leaning in to press another kiss to your cheek.

"Guilty as charged," he admitted with a grin. "There's no denying it, sweetheart. But don't go spreading that around, okay? I've got an image to maintain." You laughed softly and shook your head, "I wouldn't dream of it, darling."

John grinned, leaning back against the edge of the tub as he pulled you closer to his chest. The warm water lapped against them, creating a soothing rhythm that seemed to match the steady beating of his heart.

"You know," he mused, his fingers idly tracing patterns on your stomach. "I think this might just be my favourite part of the day."

He chuckled softly, nuzzling your neck. "Not the sex - though that was pretty damn fantastic - but this. Just being here with you, relaxing and talking. It's perfect."

You smiled softly as John talked about his favourite part of the day, his fingers tracing patterns on your stomach. You closed your eyes and snuggled deeper into his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. "Mine too."

John smiled, his heart swelling with happiness at your words. He tightened his hold on you, pulling you even closer if that were possible.

"And to think," he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper, "we almost didn't get married. Can you imagine? All those missed moments...all these wonderful memories we could have missed out on."

You sighed softly and cuddled deeper into John's embrace, your fingers tangling with his as you gazed out at the stars twinkling in the night sky through the window. "I know. It's crazy to think about."

John nodded in agreement, his gaze fixed on the stars outside. A sense of gratitude and appreciation welled up within him, making his heart swell with emotion.

"But we did get married," he said softly, his voice thick with sentiment. "And for that, I'm truly grateful. Because without you, my life would be nothing more than a series of battles and losses. With you, it's a journey filled with love and laughter."

You smiled softly at John's heartfelt words, tears pricking at your eyes. You squeezed his hand and turned to look up at him. "And without you, I'd probably still be wandering aimlessly, trying to find some meaning in my life. With you, I've found not only love, but also purpose."

John's heart pounded in his chest as he listened to your words, his grip on your hand tightening instinctively. He swallowed hard, a lump forming in his throat as he fought to keep his emotions under control.

"I love you, sweetheart," he whispered, his voice choked with emotion. "More than anything else in this world."

You stared at John for a moment, admiring him, "And I love you, more than anything. You're my whole life". You gave him a gentle kiss before you began washing yourself, once clean you started started getting out of the bath.

John watched as you began to stand from the bath, his gaze trailing appreciatively over your wet, glistening form. He couldn't help but admire your beauty, both inside and out.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked, reaching out to pull you back down into his lap. "John" You laughed as he pulled you back into the bath.

John smirked, wrapping his arms around you again, holding you close. His lips brushed against your earlobe, sending shivers down your spine.

"I thought we had all night," he whispered huskily, his erection already stirring beneath the water once more. "No rushing off to bed just yet, Mrs. Price."

"Sorry Mr. Price" You smirked as you started grinding against his cock. John groaned as you ground against him, your movements sending waves of pleasure coursing through his body. He reached down, his hand sliding between your thighs to guide his length to her entrance.

"Not sorry enough," he muttered, thrusting up into you. His other hand moved to cup your breast, thumb rolling over her nipple teasingly.

You moaned softly as John thrust into you, his hand squeezing your breast as his thumb rolled over your sensitive nipple. You arched your back, pushing yourself further onto his cock.

John's breath hitched as you took him fully inside you, a low growl rumbling in his chest. He held your hips tightly, guiding your movements as you rode him.

"That's it, sweetheart," he groaned, his free hand moving to stroke your clit. "Ride me...just like that."

You moaned louder as John stroked your clit, the sensation causing your pussy to clench around his cock. Your hips moved faster, grinding against his hand as you fucked him harder and faster. "Oh god, John" 

John grunted in response, his grip on your hip tightening as you picked up the pace. He could feel himself losing control, his climax building rapidly.

"Fuck, sweetheart..." He gasped, his thrusts becoming erratic. "I'm gonna...fuck, I'm gonna cum."

You smirked at John, you were feeling spontaneous tonight, you decided to take charge. You wrapped your hand around his throat. "Not yet baby" You slowed down your pace. "Not until I say so." 

John's eyes widened in surprise as you grabbed his throat, slowing down your movements. He groaned in frustration, wanting nothing more than to release himself. "Yes, ma'am," he rasped. "As you command, Mrs. Price."

You smirked at John's submission, you loved seeing him like this, needing you. "Good boy" You mumbled. You leaned forward letting your lips be dangerously close to his but not kissing him knowing it drives him insane.

John bit back a groan as you teased him, your lips tantalizingly close but not quite touching his own. He wanted to reach up and grab you, force you to kiss him, but he knew better than to defy his wife. "Oh fuck, sweetheart," he breathed, his cock twitching inside you. "This is torture."

You giggled at John's words, you liked having power over him. You leaned back and started riding him again, your hands resting on his shoulders for support. You started fucking him faster.

John let out a guttural growl as you resumed your passionate movements, his hands gripping your hips firmly. He could feel his climax approaching rapidly, every thrust driving him closer to the edge.

"Fuck..." *he gasped, his thrusts matching yours. "I'm gonna...oh fuck"

You slowed down your movements again. "Not yet Mr. Price" You smirked at John, you were enjoying torturing him. You leaned down and began kissing his neck, nipping it occasionally.

John groaned in frustration as you slowed down your movements once more, your teeth grazing his neck adding another layer of pleasure to the mix. He gripped her your tighter, desperate to maintain control.

"Sweetheart..." he warned, his voice strained. "I'm warning you...if you don't let me finish soon, I'll have to punish you later."

You smirked at John's threat, you loved the idea of being punished by him. You continued to ride him slowly, torturing him. "Is that a promise Mr. Price?"

John gritted his teeth, his grip on your hips tight enough to leave marks. He was teetering on the edge, his climax threatening to spill over any second now. "Yes, it's a fucking promise," he growled, his voice laced with desire and frustration. "Now stop teasing me and let me finish."

You laughed at John's words, you loved how much he needed you. "Oh so demanding" John groaned, his patience wearing thin. But despite his frustration, there was an undeniable thrill in submitting to your whims. "As your husband, I demand it," he said with a smirk. "But if you want me to beg, I will."

You smirked at John's words, you loved hearing him beg. You stopped riding him completely, leaving him hanging. "I would love nothing more than to hear my husband beg"

John let out a frustrated growl as you stopped moving entirely, leaving him hanging. His cock throbbed inside you, desperate for release. "Shit" he groaned, his voice strained. "Let me...please, sweetheart. I need to...oh God, I need to cum."

You smirked at John's begging, you loved hearing him plead for you to let him cum. You started riding him again, your movements slow and sensual. You cupped his face and ran your thumb over his bottom lip. "That's a good boy"

John let out a relieved sigh as you finally started moving again, your movements slow and sensual. He opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out was a low moan as your thumb grazed over his lip.

You smirked at John's reaction, you enjoyed making him squirm. You rode him for a few minutes before speeding up your pace, your hands running over his chest and stomach. "How's that Mr. Price?"

John groaned in pleasure as you sped up your pace, his hands reaching up to grip your hips tightly. He could feel his climax approaching rapidly, every thrust bringing him closer to the edge. "Fuck, yes," he gasped, his voice strained. "That's it, sweetheart...just like that."

You smirked at John's words, you loved hearing him praise you. You leaned down and kissed him passionately, your tongue exploring his mouth. You broke the kiss only when you felt John's cock pulsating inside you. "Cum for me baby"

You sped up the pace, your head falling back. "Oh fuck" You gasped. Your cunt clenching around John's cock, his fingers gripping into your waist hard enough to leave bruises. "John!" You cried as you fell forward.  John's entire body tensed as you urged him over the edge, his cock throbbing inside you. He could no longer hold back, his climax ripping through him with a force that left him gasping for air.

"Fuck, sweetheart," He groaned, his thrusts becoming erratic as he spilled himself deep within you. John laid beneath you, panting heavily as they both recovered from their intense orgasms. He could feel your hot breath against his skin, your kisses and gentle bites sending shivers down his spine.

You lifted yourself off John slightly, looking down at him. You had a satisfied smile on your face, your eyes sparkling with happiness. "Can't I get out of the bath now?" John chuckled softly, his arms wrapping around her waist as he pulled her back down onto him.

"No, sweetheart," he murmured, his voice husky with satisfaction. "We're staying right here until the water cools."

[still-searching-for-something]

Today was Yom HaShoah, the day that Jews remember the Holocaust. The Holocaust was the industrialized genocide of the European Jewry by Nazi Germany and its collaborators from 1941-1945.

This is a really simple opening statement, but bear with me--I think it gets a lot more... 'yeah, buts' than most people may realize. And I think a good way of illuminating that is to break down the difference between how gentiles and Jews commemorate and remember it.

In my experience, gentiles seem to view the Holocaust as the ultimate example of mankind's barbarity to mankind. Like, the distillation of evil, the most obvious example of dehumanization and bigotry brought to its horrifying and extreme conclusion. They emphasize Nazi Germany's responsibility, elevate the instances of non-Jewish Frenchmen and Poles and Germans who made efforts to save Jewish lives, and generally view Nazi oppression as a catastrophe of whom Jews were one of many victims. And they emphasize the Allied Powers' role in ending it by liberating the camps and invading Germany. Hence why International Holocaust Remembrance Day falls on January 27th, the day Auschwitz was liberated.

But Jews have a different perspective.

We view the Holocaust as the most extreme manifestation of--but far from the conclusion to--mankind's barbarity to Jews. Not to his fellow man, per se, not to some universalized insert minority here slot, but to Jews, particularly and deliberately. The Nazis could never have accomplished their genocide were it not for the two millennia of anti-Jewish hatreds and dehumanization embedded deep in the institutions and political structures of European society. They didn't have to persuade Europe that the Jews were incurably evil, the Europeans already believed that. The Nazis had 99% of their work done before they'd even come to power, work that was done by the the Russian Empire, the Romans, Martin Luther, Christian Passion Plays, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the centuries of blood libels, the Fourth Lateran Council, the New Testament, the Spanish Empire, and on and on and on and on. It's as if some people think Hitler just woke up one day, out of the blue, with a total hatred of Jews and managed to use propaganda to convince the previously 100% tolerant Germans to hate Jews, too. Antisemitism did not begin or end with the Holocaust.

The sole responsibility of Nazi Germany in the Holocaust is also just... not true. Vichy France rounded up 13,152 Jews in the Vel' d'Hiv roundup, with not a single German participant, and sent them off to be murdered in Auschwitz. Vichy passed antisemitic legislation without any outside coercion--French Jews were hiding as much from the French police as they were from the Gestapo. France, of course, was the home of the Dreyfus Affair--antisemitism was and is a deep part of French society. And it isn't just France. Ukrainian nationalists participated in the Lviv pogroms, killing maybe around 8,000 Jews, Poles perpetrated the Jedwabne pogrom, and that doesn't even bring in that countries like the US, Switzerland and Ireland and Britain blocked Jewish emigrants, and I could just keep going on, but I think you get the point. Quite simply, six million Jews interspersed throughout Europe don't get murdered if it isn't without the collaboration of--or at minimum, silent assent and indifference--of all of their neighbors. The Nazis were the primary perpetrators of the Holocaust, of course, but almost all of Europe collaborated on some level, too. And this is a history that gets wiped away in favor of the comforting narrative of the Allied Powers bursting into Auschwitz, killing Nazis, and being horrified by what they've found, and then the poor people in the surrounding towns having NO IDEA about what had been going on. I think this narrative is why gentiles have International Holocaust Remembrance Day when Auschwitz was liberated--when they 'came to the rescue'--and why we have Yom HaShoah on the day in the Jewish calendar that the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising began--when we died on our own terms in spite of our murderers.

Think of the tiny, unwritten, centuries old minhagim of small Jewish shetls and towns like Trochenbrod, which were entirely annihilated. The end of the burgeoning Yiddish cinema. Yiddish going from 13 million speakers to 600,000 today. See how many entries in this list of shetls end with "town/city survived, but all/most Jews exterminated." Imagine for a moment, the potential rabbis and scholars and actors and scientists and artists who could have lived, had they survived or been born of Jews did. Three and a half million Polish Jews, to around 15,000 to 20,000 Polish Jews today. Imagine if Thessaloniki were still a majority Jewish city. How many Jews worldwide would be alive today had the Holocaust never happened? I've heard estimations of 32 million, compared to the real life 16 million. To kill such a massive number of people from an already tiny minority group--that has real consequences. The cultural loss for the Jewish people is staggering and beyond human comprehension.

And yet, the Nazis deliberate targeting of us is, in many ways, being pushed aside. Magnus Hirschfeld was gay, yes, and advanced the Institute of Sexology way ahead of its time and yeah, the Nazis were homophobic. But they were homophobic for antisemitic reasons. They viewed his work as Jewish perversions BECAUSE Dr. Hirschfeld was Jewish. In fact, they viewed homosexuality as a creation of the Jews. But so many progressive queer people, especially those who run in antizionist circles, seem to be trying to co-opt the Holocaust as being their trauma, downplaying Hirschfeld's Jewishness and holding the Institute up as proof that queer people were the 'real' victims of the Holocaust, entirely shutting out the millions of Jews, Sinti, Roma, and Slavs who were murdered. You can also see this in anti-mask conservatives comparing masking mandates during the pandemic to anti-Jewish legislation in the Holocaust, or the comparisons of the ongoing war against Hamas as being a 'modern day Holocaust.'

This phenomenon, Holocaust universalization, gets so much pushback from Jews for a reason--it downplays the anti-Jewish character of the Holocaust. It's softcore Holocaust denial. And it's so ridiculous we even have to say that, as the whole point of the Holocaust was to be anti-Jewish, to be the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question." It's 'All Lives Mattering' the Holocaust. Holocaust universalization, and Holocaust inversion--the phenomenon of talking about Jews, Zionists, or Israelis as perpetrating a 'new Holocaust'--minimizes and trivializes the astounding damage and traumas and death and destruction wrought by the Holocaust. It's a polemical lie, so incendiary and so insulting--imagine telling a sexual assault survivor that they're morally no better than their rapist--that the only thing it can be is antisemitic. It is beyond reprehensible to talk like that, but it's so mainstream and acceptable to do it. Activists who say these things need to examine their own rhetoric, because it's dangerous, antisemitic, and adjacent to Holocaust denial. Not a place I think anyone should want to be.

The Holocaust is not a lesson Jews should have learned, an educational seminar, a 'card' Jews play, a choose your own adventure novel, a philosophical meditation on the nature of mankind's evils, or an empty slate upon which to project modern politics, warfare, or your ideology onto.

The Holocaust is, quite simply, the industrialized genocide of the European Jewry by Nazi Germany and its collaborators from 1941-1945. And today was Yom HaShoah, the day we remember that.

[dahliakbs]

(Wanted to get this out of my head, don't take this to seriously plz)

Masterlist

Platonic Yandere! Batfam x Rescued! Reader : Isolation

How many times had they told you, how many times had you heard the same phrase over and over again. Everytime you asked it was always the same reply and at this point it was starting to get to you.

Your life had been changed by these very same people but only one thing stayed the same.

The isolation

A couple months ago you'd cry and beg for a life like this but now that you were experiencing it, it was frankly speaking a bit tiresome.

Back then you'd been trapped in a lab, being experimented on till you collapsed from the pain and exhaustion but now it was different.

Ever since they'd saved you from that madness you never had to go through anything like that ever again. This time it was different...

You were allowed to eat when you wanted to, bathe when you wanted, you were allowed movies and any other kind of entertainment from your newfound family.

But there was always one thing they'd never allow you to do.

Go outside, Go into society.

They'd always came up with excuses and reasons as to why you weren't supposed to go anywhere near the outside world but you still never truly understood why you weren't allowed out there.

Everytime you bright up the idea they'd either blatantly ignore it or conversation there. Like the other day when you'd overheard the others talking about some sort of school that your new younger brother attended everyday.

But when you finally asked them about it they'd all went dead silent and instead you were rushed out of the room quicky and sent to your bedroom. Where you spent the rest of the evening with your lovely brother Dick.

He'd gotten you to forget all about what you'd said earlier and instead got you wondering about what movie you were going to watch later.

It was honestly so scary how they'd manage to get you to change your mind and forget about something in a matter of seconds. But that was until he left the room.

The thought came back to you while you were picking out the movie and it made you pause and think about the the many thoughts they'd somehow made you forgotten.

The marks on your body were still extremely visible and even looking at yourself in the mirror was a hard task to accomplish but this time you let the memories flow back in.

The suck experiments, the pills they'd made you take almost every single day, the way they stripped you of your humanity and turned you into a mindless test subject for whatever experiment they wished to carry out.

Then your thoughts drifted back to the night you'd been captured, the night you'd been freed and showed a new life. The night your saviors promised you a new life where you never needed to wort about any harm coming to you graciously clinged onto them and the little hope they gave you.

But something felt wrong.

You never felt truly free.

Instead you felt as if you were still caged and under their control.

Even if your life had been changed for the better they were still withholding s lot of things from you. So you made up your mind.

You'd start uncovering any and every secret they kept from you, whether it was for you own good or they just chose not to tell you.

And you started with the lonely grandfather clock stood in the middle of the hallway.

Anytime you questioned it they'd always change the subject and immediately try to steer you away from it. The one time you'd been close to figuring out what they kept in there you'd been stopped by you little brother Damian.

He'd always kept an irritated expression in his face when speaking to you but his actions always showed you that he was only putting it on for show.

So when he caught you trying to decipher the clock he'd quickly grabbed your arm with unbelievable strength and quickly pulled you away from the wall.

"Why do you want to know what goes on down there so badly" he immediately asked but then gave you no chance to answer the question.

"If you want to know so badly it's just the batcave, nothing special since you already know we're vigilantes"

Of course you'd already known they're secret since they were the ones who saved you but if they knew that then why were you still not allowed down there.

And that was the question you were going to answer tonight. So you waited till you knew atleast everyone was either out or in bed and snuck down the hallways until you came across the lonely grandfather clock.

Finally seeing the clock up close nearly made you second guess yourself. Why would you second guess your saviors when they were the ones who got you out of that mess.

It just felt so wrong but you always had a feeling that there was something they'd been keeping secret.

You could see it in the way they acted around you, always treating you as if you were a delicate toy that they just absolutely needed to keep away from the outside world so at least now you'd be one step closer to finding out why.

So you quickly set the clock to 10:48 and went inside before anyone could we you. Then you approached the large computer set in the middle of the cave ready to turn it on but it was already on.

Lighting up the entire cave with video feed from the hidden surveillance camera's around the manor, but instead of showing you the many rooms around the manor it showed you something rather bone chilling.

It showed you video feed of your bedroom.

Video feed of the room you thought was your private safe haven. A place to relax when the manor was just to much for you but instead it was being broadcasted onto the large computer kept only in the dark cave.

You honestly didn't know what to think.

It wasn't the first time in your life that you'd been watched as if you were nothing but entertainment but this time it was being done by the people you trusted.

If it weren't for the voice you heard coming from next to you you were pretty sure you would have fainted on the spot.

"Your not supposed to be down here (reader)" Damian stated, clearly ignoring the shock on your face.

"What is this" you immediately asked.

"I told the others that something like this would've happened but no one listens to me in this household" he started taking quick steps towards you but your body couldn't bring itself to react.

You'd already felt so relaxed and safe around these people that your body didn't even think of them as a threat.

But your mind was racing with thoughts like why would they do this or what would possess them to do something like this.

"Well talk about this tomorrow morning" he takes your hand and leads you back up those grand stairs you'd came down just a moment ago.

In that moment you allowed him to escort you back to your bedroom, you allowed him to grab you s glass of water and you drank it with no hesitation.

Welcoming the tired and dizzy feeling that came after drinking the small glass of water. Allowing yourself to quickly pass out under the watch of your supposed savior turned new captor.

[pancake-breakfast]

I think chapter 2 of TriMax Volume 6 might just be my favorite thus far. Everything in it hinges on this one iconic scene.

This isn't the first time Wolfwood has pointed a gun at Vash's head. Maybe it won't even be the last. But it holds a bit more weight here because just a few pages ago, we saw a flashback where Wolfwood pointed his gun at someone else's head.

His hand shakes as he aims at Knives. His breath is heavy, and the memory of the Fifth Moon incident is fresh in his mind. He knows if he can just pull the trigger, he can end it here. This being of destruction will be gone, and maybe this time his fancy scientists won't be able to bring him back.

But then Knives does Plant things, and under the weight of it Wolfwood finds he just can't follow through. He fears his own death too much, and Knives will surely kill him.

When he points his gun at Vash, it's different. His hand is steady, his breath calm. The memory of everything that happened at the Dragon's Nest is fresh in his mind; just this morning he warned Meryl that she and Milly should remember that, despite his ideals, Vash is still a loose cannon that they'd do well to avoid. He thinks to himself that if he can just pull the trigger, if he can just take out the less intimidating of the brothers, then one of these monstrous twins and half of the problem will be gone.

This time, there's no crushing sensation of oppression. There's no air of fear and malice. There are no threats or memories of twisted promises. There's only a look, wary and concerned...

...but even by the time this happens, Wolfwood has already lowered his gun. He's decided not to pull the trigger, not because of an immediate threat on his life, but because... well, it's Vash.

Wolfwood surely knows that if he pulls that trigger, he catastrophically fails his mission, and whatever consequences might await him on the far side of such a failure aren't going to be anywhere near pleasant. But it doesn't seem like it's fear of Knives that makes him lower his gun. At the very, very least, Wolfwood knows no one stands a better chance at taking down Knives, but he also knows Vash. He's seen Vash's fake smiles and knows his real ones. He understands Vash's ideals despite very much not wanting to and not knowing how he could possibly accept them for himself. He's fought side by side with Vash, and been standing at his back since day 1.

And before this night is out, only a few minutes after pulling a gun on Vash, Wolfwood's right back there again, moving in tandem with Vash, being a human shield so they can accomplish Vash's goals together.

It's only when the fight comes to a close that Wolfwood realizes that's what he's been doing. He didn't put any thought into falling in step behind Vash, didn't dwell on the fact that Vash trusted and moved with him during the fight. It's only afterwards, when they stop to catch their breath, that he realizes Vash hasn't looked his way through the whole battle. That Vash didn't need to look his way through the whole battle.

Not only did Vash trust Wolfwood at his back, but he knows Wolfwood well enough to move intuitively around him, not hesitating and always understanding what Wolfwood's about to do. And at that moment, Wolfwood realizes two things:

First, that there's no way Vash didn't notice when Wolfwood pointed a gun at him. If Knives could figure it out while half dead and barely knowing Wolfwood, then Vash, who's awake, alert, and has spent plenty of time with Wolfwood, can surely figure it out.

And second, that when he's fighting back to back with Vash, nothing else really matters. All his (quite legitimate) fears about what Vash is and how dangerous he can be, about Knives, about finishing his job, about what he himself has become... they all melt away. He's where he needs to be, where he should be, and that's all there is to it.

[ofloveandstardust]

A/N: I saw that Cain and Abel aren't like present in the show and I know they're technically Adam and Eve's kids, but let me have this please— I just wanna gush about this since it's been invading my mind.

cw: fem!reader (no pronouns, but reader is called wife/mama/mommy/mother)

Imagine: Being Adam's wife and having two sons with him.

I can definitely see him being excited over having sons. Like, hell yeah! But but but also— I have this feeling in my gut that he'd be okay with being a girl dad, sooo after having your sons he's just like "Wifey, Sugartits, Babycakes—" Any nickname under the sun until you finally ask him what he wants and he just says he wants a daughter.

You can't tell me he didn't name Abel— and 💀 It's even funnier since Abel does have a little more resemblance of his father than Cain does. Cain was named by you and looks more like you. However, you can say his attitude is similar to Adam's. I can see them both having Adam's eyes when thinking up of how they'd look, but I'm leaving things up in the air. Just for this, because I think it'd be neat, the boys are twins. Cain is the older twin while Abel is the younger one.

Cain is kind of a menace...but still a good kid. He always pulls that "Because I'm the oldest" card with Abel and if he ever whacked his brother and he started crying, Cain immediately does that thing where the sibling just panics and stops them from crying or else he's getting in trouble with mama and papa. He teases his younger brother, but will get upset if anyone tries to bully Abel. Oh, but the biggest menace he is towards? Adam. Cain doesn't hate his dad at all. No, he just prefers you more and lowkey is a mama's boy. Adam can have Mr. Perfect (Abel), but he at least has mama.

Then Adam just straight up has beef with his own son 💀 Because Cain takes up your time and he swears the little shit is taunting him when you're not looking. Cain comes up when you and Adam are kissing or anything like that, holding his hands up like, "I want Mama's kisses too... 🥺" You can't resist because that's your baby and he's so adorable. There's this stare down between Adam and Cain...meanwhile Abel, being the good bean that he is, waddles towards you all and goes, "Mama! Papa! Look what I drew! :D" and it's just a sweet little drawing of him, his brother, you and Adam.

Speaking of Abel, he's a good boi. Cain calls him Mr. Perfect sometimes because Abel has some natural talent. He's especially good with music, much to Adam's delight. Still, he looks up to his brother and despite Cain's jealousy, they do get along nicely. They have this little game where they're building their own city and decide over several elements of it. Abel somehow always brings sheep into the mix, but his brother isn't complaining.

Abel doesn't play favorites and says he loves you and Adam equally. He always wants to make sure the two of you are present at the same time when showing his accomplishments or what he's found. Speaking of which, he has special interests that last for a while until he moves on to another one or some just last a very long time. An example would be sheep, as mentioned before. He even has a lamb plushie (I can see him watching Lamb Chop's Play Along and loving the show). Cain knows how precious this little lamb is to Abel and will raise chaos if it ever gets lost or stolen (he calls the plush "The Chosen").

Here's a funny little thing: the boys not recognizing Adam in the mask he wears. From the day they were born, they always saw their father without his mask and have grown used to seeing his actual face. One day, they ask you where he was and you tell them it's work related but he'll be back to teach them some new songs. Just imagine Adam coming back, calling out that he's home, which cause the boys to rush up to him. Then they just stop because... "Mama, who's this stranger in our house!?" Abel literally starts crying— saying this isn't papa. Meanwhile Cain's mind immediately says violence is the answer (thanks, Adam). You have to calm both boys down and explain to them about the mask.

Flight lessons are stressful. It all started when Cain began jumping off of the furniture and escalated to him jumping off the bunk bed (because it'd be adorable for them to have bunk beds). So, it seems like it was time to show the boys how to use their wings. It's harder than it looks. Abel isn't okay with jumping off from anywhere unless Cain is going to jump with him. Fine with his brother because he enjoys doing this. Eventually, they're able to fly and it's a joy! They can fly around Heaven with you and Adam and it's absolutely adorable.

Cain and Abel have different ways to refer to you and Adam. Cain calls Adam 'dad' or 'papa' but does call him 'father' when he's upset or serious. Meanwhile, he calls you 'mama', 'mommy', or 'mom' (mom is more frequent when around others or strangers) and it's rare when he calls you mother. Abel just calls you two mama and papa. He'll only use mother and father if he's around people he doesn't know or meeting for the first time.

I have more thoughts about these little beans such as how they are around Lute (#1 and only Babysitter), Emily (Abel affectionately calls her Auntie Em), Sera and possibly Lucifer and Charlie (because you can't tell me Adam would not brag about having kids 💀). Like, I can see Cain being brutally honest when he first sees Lucifer because he's that type of kid. Will 100% make a comment about the man's height. There's also the fact that both boys are into music like their father. Abel once asked, "So if that's Queen, then who's the King?" when Adam tells them about Queen. Also, I can very much see Cain getting into gardening. If you want more of these then let me know!

[bellaxgiornata]

Seeking Forgiveness [Part Nine]

Pairing: Matt Murdock x Fem!Reader Word Count: 4k [Series Masterlist]

Warnings/tags: 18+ contains angst, emotional hurt, delayed comfort, pregnant Reader, mentions/fear of miscarriage

a/n: Long time no update, I know. I was stalled with this fic because it wasn't supposed to be long, but then it grew into something bigger and needed a new direction and it took me a bit to figure that out. Now I think I've found it. Feedback and reblogs are always appreciated!

Matt’s fingers slowly ran over the braille document on the table before himself, his mind struggling to focus on the work he was supposed to be accomplishing right now. He'd promised Fog yesterday at the office that he'd help him sift through some more information for a case they'd been working on first thing in the morning, but his mind just couldn't stay on task. Repeatedly he'd had to run his fingers over the letters just to get a couple of them to form words in his mind, but then in mere seconds he'd forgotten what he'd just read.

But how could he focus on work right now with what he was doing later today? The only thing he could think about since the moment he’d woken up and shuffled out of his bedroom this morning was you. Because today was Saturday. It was the day you’d agreed to meet with him for that coffee where you’d planned to have an important conversation with him. And as much as Matt had tried not to let himself hope for too much to come from this talk, he couldn't stop that hope from growing inside of himself. It had been steadily growing brighter and brighter ever since you’d first agreed to meet the other night. 

As his fingers traced the braille letters of the same line on the page yet again, Matt could feel the weight of Foggy’s eyes on him from across his kitchen table. He could tell Foggy had begun to notice his behavior, his increasing annoyance becoming apparent in the way his fingers had been steadily tapping faster against the table in less of an absent fidget and more of an agitated rhythm.

Once more Matt tried to read the line again, retracing his fingers over it as he leaned further over the document, as if getting closer to it would somehow help him to concentrate. But then he found his mind once more diverting from its task, instead thinking of himself sitting with you over coffee in only a matter of hours. Because soon he'd actually be talking to you, hearing your voice again, possibly even the sound of your laughter that he so sorely missed. And if he was lucky, maybe you'd let him hold you in his arms again, even if it was just to say goodbye.

“Alright,” Foggy said in exasperation, slumping back in his chair. “What is it that's got you so distracted? Because I've been here for almost a half an hour now and you haven't even read the page that's been sitting in front of you for just as long. Is it some Daredevil thing that's on your mind? Because buddy, that can wait until later tonight. We have actual legal work to accomplish right now.”

Matt released a defeated sigh, sitting back in his chair and pushing the document away from himself as his attention shifted over to Foggy. He felt guilty for not being able to focus on work–a problem he'd truly struggled with for far longer than just this morning if he was being honest. Ever since he'd learned you were pregnant his mind was often elsewhere.

“It’s nothing to do with that. It's just–I'm meeting with her this morning. To talk over coffee,” Matt told him. 

Foggy suddenly sat up straight in his chair, the annoyance in his body language immediately disappearing. He said your name in question, the tone of it hopeful.

“Yeah,” Matt acknowledged with a nod. “She agreed to talk and that's all I can focus on. I'm sorry, Fog. I just–just can't think about anything else because I don't want to mess this up with her. I doubt she'll give me another chance to sit down with her.”

“I don't know man,” Foggy disagreed. “I think she wants things to work between you both. From what I hear, it sounds like she's just scared.”

Matt pulled a face, his head canting to the side. “Scared?” he repeated. “Scared of what?”

“Of things not working out between you both,” Foggy answered. “I think you both really want the same things. And from what I’ve heard, I think she’s scared you might hurt her again.”

Matt frowned as he shifted his attention away from Foggy, his right hand reaching up to messily run through his hair. He wasn't certain of the truth in everything Foggy had just said. Matt had a feeling that he wanted far more from you than you wanted from him. And that scared him . But he absolutely refused to ever be in a situation to let you down again. He’d learned from his mistake–he would never break a promise to you again.

“So what exactly are you both planning to talk about this morning?” Foggy questioned. “Just the baby? Or…is there talk about you two getting back together?”

Matt's hand ran another pass through his hair in nervous frustration. Of course that's one of the things he’d wanted to discuss with you, but he was certain that particular topic wasn't even on the agenda for this morning. It probably wasn’t even remotely on your mind. It didn’t matter if you’d asked him to hold you in your bed the other night after the scare you’d had because he’d known exactly what that had meant. He was just happy that at the very least, you found his presence comforting still.

“I think we're just talking about me being more involved with the baby,” he answered. “That’s all the talk is about. And don't get me wrong, I'm happy we're even discussing that after the mess I made of things over the past few months. Because I do want to be more involved in things with her and our daughter even if she hasn’t been born yet. But I…”

Matt trailed off, the frown deepening on his lips as his focus dropped down towards the table. He heard Foggy lean forward, resting his elbows along the surface of it as his pulse accelerated in anticipation.

“But what?” he pushed.

Licking his lips nervously, Matt's eyes slowly closed. “I want more,” he admitted aloud. “And I know after how I messed things up that I don't deserve it with her. She's far too good for me, Fog. I get it. But I still want it.”

“Want what, exactly?” he asked. “The relationship?”

“Yes,” Matt answered immediately. “And I still want her to move in with me like we had been planning before everything fell apart and she found out she was pregnant,” Matt confessed, finally bearing his heart to Foggy. “I want her here . I want to set up the crib in our room that’ll be our daughter’s bed. I want them all in that room,” Matt said, gesturing behind Foggy to his bedroom, “where I can sleep next to both of them every single night. Knowing they're both safe with me. And I want to make space in the closet and the dresser for both of their things. I want to accidentally pull out baby pajamas instead of a tie in the mornings.” A sad smile tugged at Matt’s lips as he imagined everything in his mind while he spoke. “I want her to keep that growing stockpile of diaper boxes in her apartment right over there,” he continued, gesturing a hand towards the closet past his couch where he kept his Daredevil suit. “And I want to wake up and make coffee to the sound of a baby babbling.”

Tears were beginning to sting at Matt’s eyes as a flood of emotion began to well inside of him. He'd never realized quite how much he had been wanting until he’d suddenly given voice to it.

“I just want her to be here so that I can make her breakfast in the morning and dinner in the evening,” he continued softly. “I want her here so I can rub her back when she's throwing up or her feet when they're sore after work. I just–”

He paused, wincing. He found himself wanting so much that he never realized he'd even wanted until you had come into his life. But how would he ever be able to have any of that? After how he'd ended things with you and walked out on you when you'd begged him to stay? How did he get you to still move in with him? Let him be a part of your life again? Trust him again?

“I just want it all,” he whispered, fighting back the burn of tears. “But that's not what this talk is about today, and I understand that.”

“You could still tell her,” Foggy suggested gently. “You could still let her know how you feel, Matt. Be open with her about your feelings.”

Matt shook his head, his heart feeling leaden in his chest. “No,” he told him. “I think that's the last thing she wants to hear right now. I can't push my luck, Fog. Maybe someday I can tell her all of that, but I don't think today is that day.”

“I don't know, man,” Foggy countered.

“I can't ask for too much when I don't deserve it,” Matt said. “She needs to know I'm serious first, so that's my focus. I'll take whatever she gives me and show her that I mean it when I say I want to be a part of things. That I’ll really be there when she needs me.”

“For the record, I don’t exactly agree with that route,” Foggy told him. “But if you think telling her how you feel will somehow push her away instead of bring her closer, then I’m not about to argue because you’re obviously not going to listen. I’m just happy to hear that you’re both sitting down together to talk finally. We’re all rooting for the both of you to figure this all out, Matt.”

Matt’s attention focused on Foggy across the table from him. He heard the truth in his words with how steady his heartbeat had been. It felt good to know at least his friends believed in him. But he knew it would feel amazing to finally have you believe in him again, too.

You didn’t have to search hard to find Matt. He’d sent you a text when you’d left your apartment and made your way to the coffee shop letting you know that he’d already arrived early and grabbed a table. And now there he was, sitting in a corner booth with a coffee in front of himself and another across the table from him. A wave of nerves hit you at the sight of him in his dark jeans and snug-fitting gray shirt, your stomach twisting anxiously as the reality of sitting down with him actually hit you. It had been so long since you’d both really sat down together to talk; the only other time had been earlier this week on the night he’d shown up at your apartment because he’d heard your panic. But that had been under entirely different circumstances than this. 

Matt’s head instantly spun in your direction as the door to the shop shut behind you. You figured he’d probably picked up on your strong reaction to seeing him, and that only increased the nerves running loose in your stomach. Beginning to make your way over towards the corner booth where he sat, his covered gaze focused on you, you chewed your bottom lip while awkwardly maneuvering your small bump between the tables and chairs. Briefly you were reminded of your third date at this very coffee shop with Matt. The memory of it had you longing to be able to slide into the booth beside him and wrap your arms around him now, desperate for some of his strength to transfer to you. 

“Hey, Matt,” you greeted lightly, slowly sliding into the bench across from him. “I hope you weren’t waiting too long on me.”

A timid smile spread over his lips as he shook his head. “Not at all. Though I already ordered you a coffee.” His hand gestured to the cup now in front of you. “Vanilla latte, iced. I hope that’s okay. If not, I can grab you something else.”

“No,” you said, a nervous smile forming on your own lips as you shook your head, getting comfortable in the booth. “It’s perfect, actually. Thank you. I’ve been on an iced vanilla latte kick for weeks now.”

The smile on Matt’s mouth turned sheepish as you reached out and picked up the ice cold cup. You drank down a sip of the coffee, reveling in how good it tasted as you watched Matt’s hand awkwardly scratch at the back of his neck.

“So I’ve heard,” he said. “Karen mentioned that the other day actually. I figured it would be a safe bet.”

“Oh,” you said. “That makes sense then.”

Lowering the cup back to the table, you shifted anxiously in your seat. Normally things had never been this tense between you and Matt, but you weren’t certain how to navigate whatever the pair of you were now. You weren’t entirely sure how to just be around him anymore, especially not while currently carrying his child.

“So how’re things at the office?” you asked him.

“Good,” Matt answered. “Busy. There’s a handful of cases that we’re working on and I think we’re all realizing we may have overextended ourselves, but we’ll figure it out.”

You nodded, your finger toying with the condensation on the outside of your plastic cup. “That’s good. How’s uh–” you paused, not certain you were allowed to be asking him something so personal, but the question had already started to come out before you could stop it, “–how’re things going at night? With, well, you know…?”

Matt sent you a small smile, his covered gaze focused on you from across the table. Your eyes dropped back down to your coffee cup, your heart beating a little harder. You forgot the effect he had on you, but with him sitting right there after months apart, you couldn’t entirely ignore it now. 

You missed him.

“Also good,” he answered. “Not quite so busy, but still…busy.”

“Right,” you muttered awkwardly.

How the hell were you supposed to talk about the baby growing inside of you when you could barely look at him to discuss normal pleasantries? It felt so wrong being so awkward with him as you sat across the table. You found yourself struggling with this meeting more than you’d anticipated, wishing things just felt like they used to be between you both.

“How’re you doing?” Matt asked softly.

The gentle tone had caught you off guard, your gaze flitting back up towards his face. He looked just as nervous as you felt. And Matthew Murdock didn’t generally get nervous.

“Do you want the polite response I usually give people?” you half-joked. “Or do you want the honest answer to that question?”

“The honest one,” he replied.

“Well,” you began, your gaze dropping back down to your coffee cup, “I’m tired all the time. I’ve probably finally reached your level of tired.” 

You paused, smiling down at your cup when you heard him laugh lightly across the table from you. The sound had a warm, pleasant sensation gradually settling in your stomach.

“I almost always have a headache I can never seem to get rid of,” you continued. “I’m guessing that’s something to do with the hormones and increased blood flow. And I feel like my lower back has a personal vendetta against me as of late.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said, amusement in his tone. “How’s the nausea?”

You shrugged a shoulder, your eyes once more returning to his face. Internally you cursed him for being so handsome. It only made you long to grab him and kiss him like you used to be able to. Clearing your throat, you tried to ignore that thought.

“Better,” you answered. “Not magically gone like I somehow assumed it would be once I got out of the first trimester, but I don’t want to vomit all the time. Though uh–” 

You paused as a grin spread over your mouth, noticing how it was quickly mirrored on Matt’s face as his head tilted curiously to the side. That flutter of warmth in your stomach felt like it was steadily heating you from the inside at the sight of it.

“What?” he pressed curiously.

“So when you’re pregnant,” you began, the grin remaining on your lips, “your sense of smell heightens. Also because of the hormones, I assume. But I’d wanted to tell you about that little symptom the moment I started experiencing it because I figured if anyone else would understand how gross passing a dumpster smells, it’d be you.”

“You’re certainly not wrong,” he agreed with a chuckle.

“And that symptom hasn’t exactly disappeared yet,” you told him, your grin having grown into a smile. “So some things still make me want to puke. Particularly the smell of bell peppers for some unknown reason.”

“Duly noted. I’ll make sure not to bring any near you,” Matt teased. “But I’ve read that ginger helps–”

You raised a hand, cutting him off and shaking your head as you pulled a face. Matt’s brows furrowed beneath his dark lenses, his mouth suddenly closing.

“Sorry,” you said, your stomach churning. “It’s just that I tried using those hard candies they make for morning sickness so much that the ‘g’ word now makes me immediately want to puke. They’ve had the reverse effect on me.”

“Oh,” he breathed out, the smile falling from his lips. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

“That’s alright,” you assured him, picking up the cup of coffee from in front of you again. “I didn’t expect you to.”

That uncomfortable, awkward silence fell over the pair of you again. You took a sip from your cup, watching as Matt’s left hand on the table began anxiously tapping along it. Swallowing down your drink, you supposed you should probably discuss the real reason you were both here.

“So uh,” you began, clearing your throat as you set the coffee cup back onto the table, “we should probably talk about the baby.”

Matt nodded, a tense smile now drawing itself across his lips. As if he was nervous about this topic of conversation.

“You were saying the other night that you wanted to be more involved?” you asked. 

“Yes,” he answered earnestly. “If that’s alright with you, of course. I know she’s not exactly here yet, but I’d like to be as a part of things as I can be.”

Eyes dropping back down to your coffee cup, your index finger smeared a drop of condensation along the side of it. There was a heaviness in the air between you both, one you didn’t need Matt’s senses to detect.

“How involved?” you asked softly. “You want updates if something is going on or…do you want to actually attend appointments with me?”

Matt perked up in the booth across from you, the movement drawing your attention back over to him. He was sitting a little straighter now, something hopeful written across the features of his face even with his glasses on. 

“Would that be alright?” he asked. “If I wanted to go to some of your appointments with you?”

“I suppose so,” you answered slowly. “But I don’t know how interesting they’d be for you. Unlike the rest of us, you don’t need technology to hear her heartbeat. I’m assuming you’ve already been listening to her since I got here.”

Another sheepish smile slipped onto his lips. “You wouldn’t be wrong,” he admitted. “I’ve grown quite fond of the sound of her heartbeat. Especially hearing it beating so close to your own.”

A flush crept up your neck, your gaze dropping back down to your coffee as one hand nervously began spinning your cup on the table. You hadn’t expected him to tell you that, or for how it made you feel. 

“I have an appointment in a couple of weeks,” you told him, trying to ignore the heat in your cheeks. “I can let you know the details when it gets closer if you’d like to come with me.”

“I’d like that,” he replied. “A lot, actually.”

Nervously gnawing on your bottom lip, your gaze still averted from him, you weren’t sure how to broach the next thing you’d considered bringing up. Matt had wanted to be more involved, but how much more did he truly mean? 

“So you also said that you wanted to be around when I didn’t necessarily need you,” you began carefully, your eyes slowly drawing back up to his face. “What’d you mean by that exactly?”

You saw the way his throat bobbed as he swallowed hard, his finger tapping faster atop the table. His other hand reached up to readjust his glasses along the bridge of his nose before he spoke.

“I know we’re not together,” he answered slowly, “but I’d like to spend time together. With both of you. If that’s okay? Not–not all the time. Like I said, I know we’re not together and I’m not going to delude myself into thinking things are other than what they are right now. But I’d like to help you out if I could. Cooking or cleaning occasionally so you can just rest. Grabbing groceries if you need. Anything like that.”

“You…really want that?” you asked, eyes narrowing curiously. “Especially with how busy you are?”

“I want to help,” he assured you.

You nodded slowly, aware that having him around you more often would only make you miss him more. But if things were ever going to progress back to how they once were between you two, you figured this was a good first step to reaching that.

“Okay,” you whispered.

His dark brows jumped up onto his forehead in surprise. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” you answered. “If we’re going to figure this parenting thing out together, I suppose we should start figuring it out before she’s born. Right? It only makes sense.”

A broad smile broke out across Matt’s face immediately. The sight of it nearly blinded you with how happy he’d suddenly looked. 

“You mean that?” he asked. “About doing this together–raising her together? Do you really mean that?”

“With how much you clearly seem to want to be a part of this,” you told him, “it seems cruel not to try to see if things can work out. So yeah. I think we should focus on taking small steps towards that and see if things can actually work out eventually so we aren’t just…co-parenting.”

There was a faint tremble to his lips that you’d just barely caught despite that beaming smile on his face. The sight instantly reminded you of the other night when he’d asked for permission to feel your baby bump. He’d gotten so emotional the moment he’d felt your daughter move and experiencing that with him had felt special in a way that you couldn’t exactly describe. You just knew that after that moment, you didn’t want to keep any more of those experiences from him. Not if he was truly going to give you and your daughter all of himself.

“Plus, I could use help thinking of a name,” you added with a small smile. “She’s not just mine, after all.”

Matt sniffled softly, his lips still faintly trembling. He almost seemed to be on the verge of crying, and you wondered if he wasn’t wearing the glasses right now, if you’d have seen his eyes rimmed in red and filled with tears.

“Thank you,” he whispered, his hand sliding across the table towards you. “For giving me this chance despite everything.”

Your eyes dropped down to his outstretched hand, studying it for a moment. You knew what that hand meant beyond the obvious gesture. Hesitantly your right hand released your coffee cup and slowly slid across the table towards Matt’s. Carefully you wrapped your fingers around his, your heart beating a little faster when his gripped yours in return.

“She deserves both of us,” you whispered. “As long as we can find a way to make this work.”

Tag List: @mattmurdocksstarlight @just-going-through-the-motions @paracosmic-murdock @yeonalie @auroraslibrary @1988-fiend @will-delete-this-later-probably @two-unbeatable-beaters @danzer8705 @ragamuffin285 @callmebrooklynbabes @spookyboogyuniverse @peachy-aisha @stevenknightmarc @nerdytreeflower @fucktthisworld @remuslupinwifee @kmc1989 @thychuvaluswife @mywellspringoflife @thornbushrose @yarrystyleeza @shiorimakibawrites @marvelcinematiquniverse @vallovesthedilfs @scoliobean @this-is-music @mattmurdocks6thscaleapartment @ashlynhasmanyhyperfixations @swissy23 @babygorewhore @that-girl-named-alex @warsaur @lareinaisabelle @pazii @senjoritanana @mischiefmanaged71511-blog @xxdrixx @jess-rye @hannahbohen @theclassicvinyldragon @karolamurdock @theoraekenslover @mr-underhills-things @jennifer0305 @capswife @amazexng @blackhawkfanatic @ladywholikesreading @powellssaturn @sunflower-tia @indestructeible  @allllium @gamingfeline @kezibear @vallovesthedilfs @the-skys-musical-echo @justanerd1 @better305 @n3versatisfied @scriptedmoon @loves0phelia @roxytheimmortal

[d-targaryenshoe]

Muddy Games - Anthony Bridgerton

Word Count: 1728

Summary: Anthony Bridgerton and a game of Pall Mall, without winning it's never good enough it is.

As the sunlight met your skin, you felt the heat radiate from the So huge window shining into your bedroom, or perhaps it may been the warmth that radiated from your husband's body who still sounded pretty much asleep next to you. 

Staring at the ceiling, a smile appeared on your face. It may have been happiness even though adoration was also still a valuable option.

You pulled the covers from your body as you carefully took hold of Anthony's hand, trying to pull yourself from under his grip meanwhile, but the Lord was smarter than you knew.

"Dearest, it's almost half of the day, we must go downstairs to the family." You chuckled, feeling Anthony's arm tighten around your waist before he pulled you closer once more. "Anthony, we've arrived last night, we didn't even see them."

"We still have enough time to conversate with them, they'd understand me if I desired to lock myself in here with my newly wedded wife." He answered, placing his lips on your neck.

"They would, hm?" Running a hand through his brown hair, you smiled while raising an eyebrow at the man. "We really should sr-tart of this da-"

"Anthony? Y/n?" A young female's voice was sounded on the other side of your door after a knock was heard. "YOU MUST MAKE HASTE." 

Anthony sighed to himself, rubbing his forehead before getting up out of bed and opening the door for a small crack. hiding his uncovered body behind the door, meeting Eloise's eyes. "Sister? Nice to see you on this delightful morning, is it not?"

"No, it is not." She answered.

"The sun is shining to its greatest?"

"Sun? Ah, very hot, too hot." She fanned herself with her hand.

Eloise grinned sarcastically at her brother, giving him a toothy smile, trying to peek into the room but no one could do as Anthony positioned his hand on the doorframe. "Do you need assistance with anything, El?

"No, just hastening the two of you up with whatever you're accomplishing, everyone's downstairs, we're almost beginning a Pall Mall game." Eloise shrugged, before loudly speaking up. "DAPHNE WOULD LOVE TO SEE Y/N AGAIN AFTER SUCH A LONG TRAVEL." 

Anthony squinted at the younger girl, shaking his head before she waved him off and walked away, knowing how much of a strong connection you had with the other Bridgerton sister.

Anthony closed the door, walked back into the room, and started to relay Eloise's message, but you interrupted him with a chuckle. "I heard everything, dearest. Let's not keep your family waiting." 

You leaned in and gave him a quick kiss before getting out of bed to get dressed. Anthony smiled at you, grateful for your understanding nature, and started to get ready as well. 

"Thank you for the concern, but I'm ready to face them. We'll handle it together." You replied with a smile as you walked down the staircase, holding hands. 

As you stepped outside, the first thing you saw was the family waiting on the grass field. They were all smiling and waving, and you could feel the love and warmth radiating from them. 

Despite the overwhelming feeling of being surrounded by so many people, you knew that you were very much ready to be a part of this family.

Eloise was standing next to Violet, who immediately embraced you and welcomed you to the family. 

"Oh, brother, I must say, you and the clothes on your body are a much more pleasant sight." Eloise smiled, but the smile quickly faded as she saw the look Colin gave her.

"Eloise, that's enough. Let's not embarrass the newlyweds," Violet said, giving her daughter a stern look. 

"I'll think of a number and the person to guess it, picks first?" Colin suggested.

"What? I do not accept. The oldest should pick first, Colin." Benedict snapped.

"The oldest? The youngest, much rather!" Eloise

"I just got married, I should be choosing." Anthony urged.

"Why am I afraid that this is how every Pall Mall game goes?" You asked Daphne as she chuckled. "Because it is, is it not?"

Daphne catches your eye and nods her head. "Very much so, excuse me for a moment."

"All of you, almost starting a contest on who shall pick first, when the only person who has not said one thing, is your wife, Anthony, maybe she is the one to pick first?" Daphne gave her brother a stern look, hearing Eloise laughing quietly.

As Anthony clears his throat, he agrees with Daphne's suggestion that you should be the one to pick first. "Yes, that's a great idea. Dearest, why don't you pick first?" he says, giving you a warm smile. 

You nod, picking the black mallet, and noticing Anthony's expression of shock. You can't help but laugh as Benedict teases his brother about the mallet of death. 

"So it is yours?" You ask, holding out the mallet towards him to take, but he shakes his head, kissing your temple.

"No, not at all, it's yours now." Anthony smiles.

"Is it? Because the last time I tried to do so, you almost beate-" Colin his words were stopped by the look his brother gave him. "What?"

"You exaggerate, dear brother." Anthony placed his chin on your shoulder, standing behind you and wrapping one arm around your waist. 

"I've had enough, shall I watch those two all day, or may I start this game?" Eloise sighed, swinging the mallet in her hand towards you and Anthony. "I much would like to do the second thought."

" I think we should indeed begin with the Pall Mall game, y/n, love, why don't you start? violet kindly smiled, placing her hand on yours before returning to her seat.

With a determined look on your face, you swung your mallet and successfully struck the round bowl through the high arch of iron.

"Well, well, well! It seems your mighty mallet has finally proven its worth." You teased your husband, making him place his lips on your neck, making you lean into him. 

" It was just a stroke of luck." He muttered against your neck, before releasing you and walking towards the spot to give it his best try. "Dear family, watch closely, Benedict, you indeed. I'm about to show you how it's done."

Anthony steps up to take his shot, his eyes focused on the target. He swings his mallet with confidence, but to his dismay, he misses the ball completely. His expression turns from determination to frustration.

"Well, well, Anthony. I must say, that was quite the swing!" Benedict laughed, throwing his arm around his brother's shoulder.

Anthony's face turns red with embarrassment as his siblings join in on the laughter.

"Oh Anthony, perhaps you need a bit more practice before challenging Benedict." Daphne tried to hide her smile behind her gloved hand. 

"I think I'll keep score. One point deducted for every missed shot, Anthony." Eloise adjusted the bow in her hair, smiling at the Bridgerton brother.

Anthony tries to maintain his composure, but the teasing continues to rattle him. "Enough! I'll show you all in the next round."

"Alright, here goes nothing!" Daphne sighs, taking Anthony's spot of position. Daphne takes a deep breath and focuses on the ball. With a swift motion, she strikes it with precision.

The ball hits the target dead center, causing a loud "clang" sound. 

"I did it! I did it!" She cheered, embracing you and Eloise with joy. 

"Okay, Daphne, we've heard, now it's my turn." Colin tries his best to concentrate. "Alright, here goes nothing!"

"Colin, that position? You really must work on your aim." Anthony spoke, having Eloise chuckle. "Don't chuckle, you too."

"Just you wait, Anthony. I'll get better with practice." Colin answered, striking the ball and scoring another point. 

"Everybody move, I get to try now." Benedict swings his mallet and hits the ball with a strong force, but unfortunately, it veers off course. "Damn it!"

"What happened, Benedict?" Anthony raised an eyebrow, leaning his hands on his mallet.

"It's your fault, Anthony! You distracted me!" Benedict pointed a finger at his brother. 

 "Me? How on earth did I distract you?" Anthony rolled his eyes. "It's not my fault you missed your shot."

"Okay, okay, my turn, go away," Eloise said, She hit the ball, but it flew through the air and landed in the mud. "Oh no! The ball went flying, there goes my shot!

Anthony let his eyes run over the field and remembers which direction it went. "Y/n, dearest, the ball went in that direction, care to join?"

"Of course, we must retrieve it." You smile, taking hold of your husband's hand and following him in the direction, trying not to ruin your gown.

" Look for anything round and shiny. It could be partially buried." Anthony said, doing his best not to slip away in the mud. 

Letting your eyes scan the ground they stopped at a particular point. "I see something over there! It's partially hidden under the mud."

The both of you carefully unearth the ball, covered in mud, but otherwise intact. "Thank goodness! Our family's legacy is safe."

the both of you find yourselves alone in the middle of the muddy mess. Your clothes are drenched and covered in dirt. The rain pours down, adding to the chaos.

"Well, my love, it seems we've found ourselves in quite a predicament, the desire that burns within me is too strong." Anthony softly spoke, removing the sleeve from your shoulder

"Oh, stop it, Anthony. You're just as disheveled as I am." You chuckled, as Anthony pulled your body closer to his. 

"But that's what makes this moment so perfect. No expectations, no inhibitions, just us, here in the mud." Anthony smiled at you, tightening his grip around you. 

 "Are you suggesting we make the most of this muddy situation?" You asked, removing the strand of hair that fell on his forehead.

"Absolutely, dearest, let's embrace the messiness and create a memory that will last a lifetime." You share a passionate kiss, your bodies intertwining as they revel in the spontaneity of the moment. 

The rain continues to pour, washing away your worries and leaving only their love behind. The mud still clings to your clothes, but you pay no mind.

 In this moment, nothing else matters except their love for each other.

[mysteryshoptls]

SSR Leona Kingscholar - Platinum Jacket Vignette

"Happy 100th Anniversary"

[Land of Dawning – National Museum of Art]

Leona: Who'd've thought I'd get to lay my eyes on paintings that I've only ever seen in artbooks like this…?

Leona: That's the Land of Dawning's National Museum of Art, for ya. This'll probably be good for perusing.

???: Heey, the King of Beasts's got a great lookin' mug in this painting.

Floyd: I wonder what's goin' on? Oh hey, Sea Lion-senpai, you tell me.

Leona: Huh? Why should I have to explain anything to you?

Floyd: 'Cause you're right here. But hey, if you don't know nothin' about it, that's cool too?

Leona: Tch… Fine, whatever, just don't start something annoying. You better get lost after this.

Leona: In order for him to establish his ideal nation, he required cooperation from the hyenas…

Leona: Once he came to that conclusion, he himself went to where the hyenas lived in order to negotiate with them.

Leona: There, he spoke at length as to how he could best utilize their strengths and abilities. This painting depicts that scene.

Floyd: Uh-huh. 'N so, what'd the hyenas do? They just went along with what the King of Beasts said without causin' a fuss?

Leona: The hyenas were already pretty hated. And the king was offering a trusted position directly under him.

Leona: It was a tremendous boon for the hyenas, from their perspective. So, of course they took him up on his offer.

Leona: He didn't let what society thought of them sway him, instead he gave jobs to each hyena as what suited their individual abilities…

Leona: This single moment shows just how accomplished the King of Beasts was as a ruler.

Floyd: You think so? I know I wouldn't like having someone sizin' me up and choosing what I gotta do～

Leona: It's the same with sports, ain't it?

Leona: Imagine having a good shooter stuck on defense, or a spindly guy on offense…

Leona: If the team goes along with a coach that gives asinine directions like that, they'd lose even the easiest of matches.

Leona: That goes for both you all in the basketball club, as well as us in the Spelldrive club.

Leona: Anyone can be useful, even if they don't have the constitution or strength.

Leona: For example, if you got a guy who's got nimble fingers, you just gotta put 'em where they can steal the ball or disc from the opponent.

Leona: Then, you use someone who can stay in control of game and send them towards the goal.

Leona: There's no need to have everyone rushing around the field. Any number of tactics can be used to score goals.

Floyd: I get what you're sayin, sure, but whaddya do if your teammates don't listen to what you say?

Floyd: See, I don’t like doin' anything if it's boring, y'know. There's tons of times I get bored in the middle of a basketball game, too.

Leona: Heheh. What, they not giving you any rewards over there in the basketball club?

Floyd: Eh, you saying the Spelldrive club gets somethin' for winning?

Leona: That's right. We get the finest reward one could ask for:

Leona: Victory.

Leona: Our club runs on the merit system. Anyone who can't show their worth during a match gets dropped from the starting team…

Leona: But with just a bit of effort, anyone can get their chance in the spotlight and even find their names on the lips of people outside this academy.

Leona: Plus, this school throws a lot of support towards the Spelldrive team, so even certain grades can be overlooked from time to time.

Leona: Essentially that means each one of our victories matter much more than any of the other athletic clubs' wins.

Floyd: Hmmm… I thought you guys in the Spelldrive club were a bunch of try-hards, so I didn't think I'd like it, but I'm likin' the sound of that merit system.

Floyd: Maybe I'll join the Spelldrive club too. Don'tcha think I'd be great at it?

Leona: No way, absolutely not. …Also, how long you plannin' on following me? I'm already done explaining things, hurry up and leave me alone, already.

[Land of Dawning – National Museum of Art]

Floyd: Mmkay, next. What's this painting?

Leona: [sigh]… This painting's showing the Thorn Fairy's men all celebrating their master's endeavors.

Floyd: They're, what… dancing around a green fire? Looks kinda like a campfire! Bet they're havin' fun～

Leona: True, they look pretty carefree. Seems like the Thorn Fairy's subordinates don't mind doin' menial tasks.

Floyd: Menial tasks…? Oh, right, there's a ton of cleanup to do after making a fire, or something like that, huh.

Leona: An astute observation, little merling. I'd expect nothing less from someone so naïve in the intricacies of fire.

Leona: Here on the surface, even the smallest flame can grow into a blaze with a little mismanagement.

Leona: Especially in places where the air is dryer… like where I come from in the Sunset Savanna.

Leona: It's not that bad during the rainy season, but there's gotta be extra caution thrown to the wind during dry season. As a precaution, we've enacted regular fire drills.

Floyd: Uh-huuuh. Didja do those fire drills too, Sea Lion-senpai?

Leona: Yeah. Like I said, fire can be a matter of life or death in my country. That's why those fire drills are essential services.

Leona: It's a pain, but the royal family's gotta do it, to set a good example for our people.

Leona: Since a majority of the country get together to observe, it's basically just another huge traditional event at this point.

Leona: Although… Let's just say there's been times that I've had other things on my plate that I completely forgot to take part.

Floyd: Mhhmm… And so, what all do ya do during those drills?

Leona: To be perfectly frank, it's basically getting practice in with handling water. A buncha people'll hold onto a large hose and put out a huge fire in real time.

Floyd: Wow, that's lamer than I thought. Doesn't sound like much fun to just watch happen.

Leona: Oh, not at all. It's not so bad if you're just there to watch it go down.

Floyd: Eh, whyzzat?

Leona: Because they get to witness the glorious scene of the royal family being tossed around by a giant hose.

Leona: You might think that'll invigorate the gathered public, seeing how willing we are to risk their life for the country…

Leona: But if you ask me, I think there's something more to it.

Leona: People can see them in regal attire caked in dirt, and their miserable faces all swollen from the smoke in their eyes…

Leona: They can even see those well-groomed manes completely sopping wet and pathetic. I bet it bring a gleam of joy to them all, heh.

Floyd: Heh, Sea Lion-senpai, I see right through you. You say you'd sometimes forget, but you def haven't been takin' part in it for a while, haven'tcha?

Leona: Well now, who can say?

[Land of Dawning – National Museum of Art]

Floyd: Hey, I think this is a painting of when the Sorcerer of the Sands got his hands on a magic lamp.

Floyd: He looks like he's havin' the time of his life. Most of the Sorcerer's paintings are of him lookin' real smart and proper, so this one's kinda cool and different.

Leona: This tale is of one where he finally achieved his heart's desire after a long and difficult journey. No wonder he'd be ecstatic.

Floyd: You mean he worked super hard for that single lamp? Bet all the trouble he went through to get there was fun, at least.

Floyd: It's boring if you can just easily snag something you want. The more you want something, the more it's worth tryin' to get it.

Leona: Makes sense to me. So what, when I saw you slackin' off the other day, that was you trying your darndest to get class credit, or something?

Floyd: You're one to talk. 'Specially since you skip class waaaay more than I do.

Floyd: Wait, so you were in the botanical garden then too, huh. You shoulda said something, we coulda been skiving buddies～

Leona: Unlike you, I ain't all that impressed with conversation. I was taking a snooze in the tree shade.

Leona: I'd just found a good place to get some shut-eye, I ain't looking to waste time on idle prattle.

Leona: I prefer a quieter, cooler, more comfortable place…

Leona: Now, that would be a place worth sleepin' in.

Floyd: Ahah, that's some stuff to be picky about when you're just plannin' on sleeping there.

Leona: I ain't asking for much. At the very least, all I need is for you to not be there.

Leona: Trying to sleep somewhere noisy'll affect my sleep quality.

Floyd: What, you saying there's different types of sleep, now? Doesn't seem like where or how ya sleep really changes anything to me.

Leona: I am much more of a delicate being than you are, is all. If the quality of my sleep ain't pristine, then it'll slow down my thinking processes.

Leona: I ain't gonna be happy if I can't be quick on my feet and some conniving sneak tries to get the better of me.

Leona: At the very least, I make sure to increase the quality of sleep I can get in my room by taking precautions.

Floyd: Huh, like what?

Leona: I'd roll out a rug under my bed, for one. Even just doin' that'll keep the noise coming from the floor below to a minimum.

Leona: You got all the freshmen, four to a room. There's fighting and arguing over their personal space almost on a daily basis.

Leona: And it wouldn't do 'em any good if I were to intervene on their behalf every time they got in a tussle, right?

Leona: That's why I try a buncha different things to help keep the volume down. It's for all our sakes.

Floyd: You say it's for your underclassmen, but you're just doin' it to get some nappin' in.

Leona: Oh me, oh my. How absolutely wretched that you cannot even see just how loving and kind of an upperclassman I am.

Floyd: Uh-huh, sure… Anyway, I'm gettin' bored lookin' at all these paintings. I think I'll go look around elsewhere.

[Floyd leaves]

Leona: Yeah, yeah, get outta my sight already. Geez, his attention turns on a dime. Whatever, I guess I'll also… Hm?

Leona: This artwork depicts the scene where the King of Lions introduces his newly born cub to his people. Well now, what an absolutely cheerful looking spectacle.

Leona: When their belief in a future filled with hope is suddenly overtaken by despair…

Leona: I feel like I would be able to say this from the bottom of my heart: …Long live the king.

Requested by @farfalla049 and @sakurakudo.

[1shirt2shirtredshirtdeadshirt]

Today on popping the corn and feeding the children, what do you folks think of this discussion? :)

I'm always curious to hear what other Trek fans, especially queer Trek fans, think about our place in Trek history and how we fare as the queer participants within our fandom. What have your experiences been like?

Overwhelmingly I've found a great reception and a welcoming attitude, but I admit that has increased considerably since the 90s. However, there are still some Trek fans who seem to be vehemently in denial about queer history in Star Trek, or the fact that anyone who has worked on Trek has pro-LGBT attitudes. This always surprises me considering some of the blatant queer content we have already seen in Star Trek such as the Jadzia Dax and Lenara Kahn kiss.

Anyway, I enjoyed the discussion that followed and seeing the overwhelming outpouring of support coming from Star Trek fans in response to this thread.

Here was my two cents contribution:

"No, what they said was factual.

Have you forgotten Nichelle Nichols was indeed an African American woman in the core seven bridge crew back in 1966?

Or the fact that Gene Roddenberry went out of his way to write The Motion Picture Novel, creating the term "T'hy'la: friend, brother, lover" so that fans could choose which interpretations of Kirk and Spock they saw fit? He also embraced K/S fans and hired a number of them to write the earliest Star Trek novels, including the very first official one (The New Voyages Vol. 1 & 2) which included slash fiction as well as Gene's approval/forward in the books.

In case anyone has forgotten, here's a little bit of background on Gene Roddenberry and his perspectives on queerness in Star Trek.

He admitted that in his early life he was very affected by how society and culture treated the LGBT community, and that he too found himself subjugating and judging others for that lifestyle because it was what people did at that time. As he got older and had more life experience, he began working with a number of queer artists in Hollywood -- and through TOS, a number of queer individuals began asking questions about Kirk and Spock.

Instead of vehemently shutting down this perspective, Roddenberry was intrigued, and saw potential to tap into a large audience (LGBT) that most others didn't want to go near or acknowledge publicity-wise. He saw it as an opportunity to expand the fanbase while also pushing yet another envelope.

But with the heat already on the show for what they'd already pushed, he found he was often stuck between what he'd like to do and what production would let him get away with. There are a number of Kirk and Spock scenes in scripts that got cut out for leaning a little too obviously romantic. Tiny trickles of that content still made it in were infamous moments like the backrub scene in Shore Leave. Even the 2009 movie had a K/S moment while Spock Prime and Kelvin Spock talked that was written and filmed that was cut out of the final product.

Queer subtext and coding has always been relentlessly weeded away at with an excuse ready to go for why they always try to cut us out, but we all know it's because they are scared of the homophobic backlash and ratings hits. Look how violently homophobes went after the gay romance episode of The Last of Us **just this year**. This has always been our reality, so for someone like Roddenberry to make efforts in the 70s? That was massive.

But Gene as well as the queer/slash Trek community managed to accomplish some things in the 70s which I'm surprised more folks don't talk about or give much credit.

In the same TMP novel which features "T'hy'la" and the famous footnote, Gene cleverly wrote Kirk with a bisexual/pansexual lens: Kirk describes himself as *preferring* women but being open to "physical love in **any** of its many Earthly, alien, and mixed forms." (Direct quote from Genes book). Basically, Captain Kirk was DTF with whoever if there was a connection, which was a very progressive take for a character in a novel written in 1979, but made sense for the future which would have a lot less hang ups about sex and love compared to our current rather puritan/conservative society.

I also prefer women, but I married a man. Shout out to Gene Roddenberry for giving us a seat at the table back in the 70's when folks *still* try to insist there is no place for K/S or queer concepts in Trek, because he made efforts -- however small -- to employ queer people and show queer perspectives. According to David Gerrold, LGBT+ representation was a big thing that Gene personally pushed for in TNG and wanted various depictions of love/couples in the Risa scenes, to name one example.

In the 70s, fanzines led to meetings and swapped fanmade magazines, which got so big that they needed hotel centers, then convention centers, then one day the TOS cast came to one and what we know as modern fan conventions were born -- inspiring even George Lucas who attended Trek conventions in the 70s and saw how popular Trek was in syndication; it was a great climate to launch his Space Opera. Star Wars then became so huge that we got TMP.

But none of that would have happened without the level of organization, passion, and creativity that those fans poured into Star Trek and their characters after it got cancelled and went into syndication.

Without queer folks we wouldn't have George Takei, Theodore Sturgeon who gave us Tribbles, Bill Theiss and his amazing TOS costumes, Mike Minor's art direction, Merritt Butrick, David Gerrold (writer for TOS, TAS, TNG) to name a few of many queer contributors to Trek that Roddenberry respected and tried to go to bat for wherever he could in a climate that was absolutely impossible to gain an inch in.

At a time during the 70s and 80s when so many people resented and feared the queer community and wanted us to disappear, especially in the 80s during the AIDS epidemic which many homophobes claimed was "God's punishment to the gay community" or "Gods's answer" to our "hedonism", thinking we'd gotten our just desserts and should just disappear . . .

During that time, Gene Roddenberry gave us queer folks a place to say: "You know what? Sure. Write your stories. TV says you guys shouldn't exist, they pull books with queer people off the shelves and burn them. Laws exist specifically to forbid you guys from loving each other, and call you mentally ill. You can't even hold hands in public. But I'm going to validate you guys and invite you to write novels or work for me, try to see what we can get by production, and allow you to see yourselves in my characters if you want to. There's a place for you in our fandom."

He gave us bi/pan Kirk, he gave us K/S is open to interpretation. In Phase 2 Kirk's surviving nephew Peter, son of his brother Sam from Operation: Annihilate!, was going to be written as gay and living on the Enterprise with his partner -- that also got chopped and reworked into a script that wouldn't get used until decades later. That was huge at a time that being queer was officially listed as a mental illness, and villainized due to the AIDS crisis.

So before you try to dismiss or tell K/S + queer Trek fans whether or not they deserve a seat at the table, remember that Gene Roddenberry was among the **first** to pull that seat out for us in a climate that was ruthlessly against LGBT+ folks." -- 1Shirt2ShirtRedShirtDeadShirt

P.S: Have some cute bisexual/pansexual K/S pride gifs. :) Pride month is a hop, skip and a jump away.

LLAP!🖖💚

[echantedtoon]

Tipping Point

(Warnings for yandere themes and pregnancy mentions.)

-It didn't happen overnight. Your husband was not someone to be feared yes but never by you. He was always so considerate and responsible. His presence always so stoic but gentle. The way he loved to hold your smaller form against his own. Listening to the soft heartbeats emitting from your form. You gave him the peace of mind he never got before.

-He's never had any say in anything before. His life, family, or what transpired between his brother. His inferiority complex and jealousy driving him to do unspeakable things. Unspeakable things you never held against him. You were perfect. Everything his past wife wasn't. He had everything he wanted. Finally surpassing his brother in life and strength (he was much stronger surely with his hundreds of years getting stronger and he was stronger than a dead man), the high ranking position he deserved, and a perfect wife.

-Just when He doesn't think he could be anymore blessed along comes with the news that you two were expecting. Two little ones. His own lineage. Muzan is pleased with the news, after all he thinks they'd be great to study and Kokushibo couldn't agree more already planning out what and how their lives should be. Everything is perfect.

-In his eyes only. You however have a very different view. Your husband was always kind and respectful in the beginning. He was everything you loved, but you started notices the shifting behaviors. Starting with the news of a person with hanafuta earrings and sun breathing was found. He started acting different. More distant, he didn't come home as often, but when he did he was dismissive...Until he wasn't. One day you're surprised by a new rule he placed on you. "You are no longer to go out anywhere by yourself. You are to stay within the house and go anywhere without me. Understood?"

-When you politely ask what brought this about, he only says that it's for your own safety. You can tell he's lying there's something intense about the way he's looking at you but giving him the benefit of the doubt you agree assuming he was just worried. However it was more than just overprotectiveness. His entire perfect world shattered the moment Muzan announced the existence of his brother's successor. Every buried memory, every locked up emotion, it all resurfaced.

AND HE WOULD NOT HAVE HIS ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN VAIN.

-It started with just the one rule. It was pretty overbearing but not impossible. You barely went anywhere anyways as your home had everything you need but slowly more and more overbearing. "You are to not leave this home at daylight." "You are to stay inside at all times. Yes. Even if I am not present. Misbehaving will be punished by the loss of luxuries." "Your skills are starting to lack. ..No. You cannot go to town. I will get what you need."

-It felt like the walls were slowly pushing inwards and inwards and constricting you. Every time you tried to bring up the same dismissive behaviors would play out. He wasn't going to risk outside sources convincing you to leave him. Not like last time. Yoriichi would not convince you to not leave him again. However he didn't see his possessive behavior was driving you away from him.

-Learning you both were going to be parents was the final straw. It's like something in him snapped. He seemed so pleased with learning about it only to sour the news by discussing the plans he had for perfect heirs. To train them and mold them into the perfect heirs.

-You nearly fainted from fear right then and there from what your husband became. So you fled. Fleeing during the day and never looked back.

-The rage and completely disarray of emotions pumping through his body was enough to boil Muzan's blood and send a shockwave to the lower ranks. The betrayal enough to shatter his sanity and send what little control he had left in him diving off the cliff of his tipping point.

-The monster underneath is clawing out. And it won't rest until it finds what it seeks.

[koishua]

thinking about volleyball player!jaehyun in the haikyuu world, maybe playing for aoba johsai in an alternate timeline or wherever and you're his biggest supporter and lifeline :(

he had transferred schools from s. korea to japan in his first year of high school and had struggled to keep up with the language, so you'd helped him throughout the entire year, sharing notes and slipping answers from the seat right behind him. you'd tapped on his shoulder the day of his arrival, and from that moment on when he was startled awake while dozing off in a class he did not understand, the stone of your friendship started rolling. quite fast at that.

years would pass by and he'd become a sought-out volleyball player, scouted left and right for professional teams after high school and he'd always search for you in the stands. his eyes would sparkle when he spots you running inside, out of breath, clearly coming from something important and yet?? you still made time to be there for him?? jaehyun's eyes only sees you and you see your own reflection in his. no matter how much people throw themselves at him left, right, above and below, myung jaehyun can only ever look at you; the object of his desires, the center of his world, the greatest gift in his life.

meeting you, jaehyun believes, is what made his life turn for the better. along the way, he'd made many precious friends, all no thanks to his beyond charming personality and your interventions from time to time. still, not one of them come close to where you rest in his heart, the largest space reserved for you and only you.

and it's SO obvious. myung jaehyun is smitten by you. he's always been at least a little bit in love with you. everyone could tell that even if they didn't have any personal connections to either of you. and as much as he adores your very existence— myunjae practically worships the ground you walk on, is what his teammates would say— you can't help but fall in love with him as well. everything you do is for each other. out of love for one another. out of concern and worry. out of mutual respect. everything myungjae does is for you.

his fingers would point at your direction whenever he scores a point, countless pictures of this mini ritual of sorts (ever since his first match in high school up until the days of glory where news outlets would all report about his monumental achievements globally) being turned into compilations... his greatest accomplishment in life, whenever asked in an interview, would be meeting you and having you in his life. myungjae's fans are unique in a sense that they'd protect you as much as they'd protect him. even more, at times. to them, you are the sun that their planet jaehyun revolves around and they adore you for who you are and for what you mean to jaehyun :(((!

you'd once gotten admitted to a hospital because of a health issue and jaehyun, who'd scored the winning point, pointed not towards the stands, but at the camera pointing at his somber face, knowing that you'd be watching him even though you were supposed to be asleep, recuperating. fans had found out about your condition and had sent countless bouquets and notecards, wishing you a speedy recovery. not a single one had disturbed your privacy and a video would then go viral on the internet of jaehyun profusely thanking his fan for handing him a get well soon card in front of the hospital when he'd gone to visit you (able to recognize his masked face even from afar) dhfhhfhfbfb i just can't. i can't stop imagining this scenario y'all this au lives rent free in my brain someone write this out into a 50k worded fic

[fanaticalthings]

I think the reason why I like Battinson so much is because I feel like this version of Bruce is the most likely to cry when it comes to like, anything, but especially his kids.

I always make jokes about how all it takes is for one mean comment from his kids for Bruce to start absolutely bawling, but I actually could see this happening with Battinson, but instead of crying when his kids bully him, he just cries when they do, well, anything.

Like this man looks like he's about to cry 24/7, so imagine him with 6 hyperactive, intelligent, sassy and adorable children?? He would not survive, they'd tear him apart, but especially with overwhelming love lmao

Everytime he signs adoption papers, he cries. Doesn't matter if he's done it a million times.

His kids want him to read them a bedtime story? He's holding back tears.

Kids want a hug? Totally not crying haha.

Seeing any of his kids with various accomplishments? Tears of pride, no matter how many achievements they reach.

Kid gently implies they'd like to be left alone? Bruce is immediately all "oh no they hate me I did something wrong what did i do do i apologize should i tell them i love them am i a bad parent-" He def has separation anxiety with all of his kids.

Basically anytime any of them call him "dad"? He's hiding in his study to cry out all the overflowing affection within him.

Like I genuinely feel like this Bruce would be the most emotionally vulnerable with his kids. Like he'd be SO soft with them. I bet he's always happy to do little things for/with them, like brushing their hair, eating breakfast with them, watching TV, playing with Legos, etc.

I could see him being the most attentive father, always being cautious and trying to make sure he's doing everything right as a parent. I need to see him cuddle his kids.

DC needs to let Battinson have a Robin because I know that man would drop anything for his children.

and dont get me started on how absolutely devastated this Bruce would be if one of his kids got hurt (and imagine how anguished he becomes after Jason's death)