#this got long whups

[eimids]

Making up SMUT

Leah Williamson x reader

They say best sex is make up sex? They are absolutely right.

I would like to say that this is pretty much pure filth besides the little plot in the start

Warnings: SMUT, FILTH :) (some anal stuff in the end, dom/sub dynamics, mommy kink whups.)

Words: around 2k

"Can you just be quiet for a while" Leah said with an annoyed tone and even more annoyed expression on her face.

The day had been long and full of frustration. The reason behind all of the frustration and snarky comments was the fact that you were moving to a new place. You would think it's romantic but no, the reality was a lot of lifting, sweating, arguing and eye rolling.

"So I can't even breath and eat now without you complaining?" You snapped back with the same attitude.

"Yeah but can you just do it more quietly?"

"What the fuck Leah, how can I breathe more quie- Or you know whatever I'm gonna make the bed" You just said and left.

There wasn't a lot of things ready in the apartment but you decided that you would not sleep on a mattress on the floor. So you decided that the bed would be the one thing that would be all ready for the nigh, it only needed the blankets and pillows, everything else was ready.

It was already 21.30 and you just wanted the long day to end, you took you sweaty clothes off and grabbed some clean pillow cases to put on the pillows. You didn't get far though, you heard the sound of your girlfriend walking closer to you.

"I don't know what has been your problem today Leah but I'm so tired of-" you started while putting the pillow case on but didn't make it till the end of the sentence because Leah turned you around and kissed you roughly. It was all very unexpected so you gasped to the kiss which led Leah to dip her tongue in your mouth. You tried to dominate the kiss but both of you knew that it would be Leah who was controlling it.

You moaned to the kiss which was a mistake.

"You are such a slutty girl, even with being all annoyed at me and back talking to me, all you need is your pussy to be filled right? So fucking needy cunt you have huh?" Leah just smirked against your lips.

You rolled your eyes and tried to turn around but Leah's grip was stronger.

"Oh so now you are rolling your eyes at me again? Answer the question baby or you won't be getting anything else but denial today" Leah continued.

"Just fuck me already" You said and tried to kiss her again.

"Oh someone is feeling bratty today? Hmm, let's see what I can do about it" She simply said before pushing you to the bed.

It was easy to take your underwear off since you already didn't have any pants on.

Leah attacked your clit immediately. It was a surprise and you were right away overwhelmed with the pleasure. Leah was sucking hard and the moans that left your mouth were sinful.

"Feeling still bratty" Leah asked while stopping with her mouth, she instead brought her fingers to your opening and easily pushed two of them in.

"Shit Leah, harder" You moaned in a desperate need of an orgasm.

"Poor baby, you think you are the one making the calls here?" Leah laughed a little before pulling out of you.

Next her mouth was sucking on your clit once again, you were close in the matter of minutes from Leah pushing you to the bed but you knew that Leah was not gonna let you that easily off the hook.

Your moaning got louder as her sucking and flicking on your clit did. She was clearly on a mission but you did not know what her goal was. You just tried to enjoy the pleasure while it lasted.

"Leah can I cum?" You asked as you neared the edge.

"Do it but I will say that you will not enjoy this one" She answered you which you didn't even really register the last part.

You crossed the line and started coming but Leah just stop the second you did. You tried to bring your own hands back to where you needed them most but Leah denied it. It was the most unpleasant orgasm you had had in your entire life.

”Leah what?” You asked out of breath.

”I told you that you were not going to like it” She said casually and walked to one of the move in boxes on the floor. There was a little back that she took out. You already knew that it was going to be a strap but to your surprise it was a strap that also went inside Leah. It was weirdly shaped but all you wanted was to have that thing inside of you.

You were tired to think already with your fuzzy brain, all the brattines was slowly gone and you were ready to be anything Leah wanted you to be just to get another orgasm. And this time an actual orgasm.

"Hmm your pussy looks so pretty for me, already open and ready to take my strap. Wanna have this inside you baby?" Leah asked and you knew you didn't even have to give an answer because Leah was going to fuck you with the strap.

"Please" You pleaded for the first time of the night. It was quiet but that was all Leah needed.

Leah got on the bed and got rid of her own bottoms, throwing them somewhere in the room. Then she situated you closer to the wall and her fingers dove to your folds. You let out a moan but just like that Leah's fingers were gone.

You look at her and saw the gorgeous image of your girlfriend using your cum as a lube for herself to get her side of the dildo in. She slowly got it inside of her and toyed with it for awhile and you just sat there amazed. You couldn't take your eyes of off the sight of your girl fucking herself while using your arousal as lube. It drove you to another kind of submissive mode, one you had never felt before. All you wanted was to please Leah.

"Do you deserve my cock?" She asked you after she was all comfortable with her side if the dildo inside her.

"Yes please, need it so badly Lee, I need you please" You begged. It wasn't what Leah expected, she thought that the brattines was still there but she was happy to find out that she had (once again) turned you into a submissive mess. She did take a notice of how your entire demeanor changed so quickly and decided to keep an extra observant eye on you.

She had you on your back while she got the tip of the dildo teasing your folds. It already made you moan and whine.

"Please mommy" You pleaded. You didn't even realize the words slipping out of your mouth, as your brain was completely fuzzy.

Leah was surprised by the words but they brought another wave of wetness to her already wet heat. "Let mommy make you feel all better" She just went with it.

She lined the dildo to your whole, brought your legs to her shoulders and thrusted her hips all the way til they met your ass.

"Fuck, fuck mommy please" You moaned in pleasure. Her hips were slowly drawing moans and whimpers out of you.

"So pretty and good for me now, where was this girl earlier today?" She asked you while quickening her moves.

" 'm sorry mommy, just needed y- "You tried to start but one harder push of Leah's hips cut the sentence.

Leah just laughed and started pounding into you. You tried to say how good it feels but it all came out as blubbering mess. Your brain was working overtime trying to handle all the pleasure it was getting.

Somehow Leah was able to flip you around easily so you were on all fours. Ass in the air and ready to more pleasure. You now realized that Leah was full of surprises that day as you felt her fingers on your asshole. It made you jump a bit but it wasn't anything you hadn't had before.

"Shit I'm gonna strech this ass open and fuck you in both of your needy holes at the same time” Leah explained as she started to prop one lubed finger inside of your tight hole.

”God please” You moaned as you felt your tighter hole being stretched open.

“No god in this room baby, just me” You could hear the smirk in her voice. The stretch in your ass was everything you needed. You could feel the burn of her finger knuckle deep and another finger making its way in.

You were in another planet as Leah was opening your ass and pussy at the same time. It was all you needed, the burn in you ass as it was streched open, your cunt was filled so good and the moment Leah brought her finger to your already sensitive clit, you were a goner.

”Shit, shit, shit, shit” You kept moaning as one of the strongest orgasms took over your body. Leah knew that she was supposed to keep denying your orgasm but was just in awe to see you come so hardly with a strap in you pussy and her fingers in your ass.

”Keep coming baby, keep coming” Leah kept prolonging your orgasm. Her fingers were tired and she was also on the edge. Seeing you squirm and moan in pleasure was all she needed to be thrown over the edge.

She kept her fast pounding going to get the most pleasure out of the whole situation. She was in heaven as she saw you completely blissed out in front of her.

”Mhmm that was good”You mumbled to the mattress.

”You don’t think we are done yet? Oh no we have still a lot more to come, do you think I have forgotten how you told me about your little crush on McCabe? She might come over to see us and bring a little gift even” Leah said while once again turning you over after she removed her fingers and toy from inside of you. You saw the smirk on her face and were scared of what was to come.

”Look baby, you have made a mess on my cock” She said as she turned your face to see the strap that was still inside her. ”I think you should have to clean it because you just came without permission”

Your brain wasn’t working and you just stared at the dildo in front of you.

”I. said. clean. it” Leah said much more sternly now. Now your brain got the hint and lowered your face to the dildo. The taste of your own cum was salty but you didn’t care. You just kept bobbing your head up and down until you were gaggin on the toy.

”Mhmm so good but I think you still need a bit more to learn your lesson so you wont be snapping to me anymore” Leah smirked and as she said that there was a knock at the door.

”Mhmm baby. Maybe you should go open the door I think there might be someone for you” Leah said and helped you up from the bed.

Your brain was now working a bit better as you walked with your wobbly legs closer to the door. You were very conscious about the fact that you did not have any clothes on. Was this all along Leah's plan? Was she making you angry and annoyed to later bring someone else to the bed?

You shyly looked at Leah as you started opening the door. Leah gave you an encouraging smile and you unlocked the door, still naked, to the sight of Katie.

"Shit Leah what have you done already, I thought we were supposed to ruin her together" Katie said to Leah when she saw you already all fucked and a post orgasm smile on your face.

"She was getting all bratty so I had to teach her a little lesson before you come over" Leah said proudly.

You stepped out of the way to make Katie some room to get inside the apartment.

When you saw a bulge in Katie's pants, you knew it was going to be a long night.

[freuleinanna]

wake up honey dropping a doctor who theory here. bear with me, i'm not just crying over 14 and donna, i think it actually holds!!

so, bi-generation. okay. 15 popping out in his therapized glory. so basically, i don't think he just pushed all trauma to 14 and moved on. 15 is actually post-14. meaning, he has lived that life at the same time as he continued living his own life.

remember 13 looked into Time and got split into three? yeah, that. she was in three places simultaneously. her consciousness was, at least. what can't 14, what that recent knowledge, subconsciously do the same? he's just experienced that, and he's still running on regeneration jiuce. worth mentioning, the dude (gender neutral) had a piss with Time his whole life. looking into Vortex, diving into Time itself... the doctor is not disintegrating per se, but can, as proven, survive being split. why not let one part of him live longer?

so he does. he finds home in donna and her family. he's doing whatever the hell. squinting over sci fi books, getting whupped for accidentally buying non-vegan milk for rose ("you said the orange cartbox with stripes!!!" "A STRIPE! WITH A STRIPE! CAN'T TIME LORDS COUNT, YOU DUMBO?!").

having the most difficult heart-to-hearts with his best friend, finally telling her about his companions, the master, the flux. crying, grieving, healing.

looking up at a spaceship torpedoing into the ground and saying "that's a future me problem", dealing cards to donna because it's poker night. and donna is a bit surprised, how easily he let that go, and he just smiles, and holds her hand, and kisses her knuckles gently. and it's alright. "there'll be time for that," he says.

and then they both grow old. and 14 ages. and i don't know if donna dies first or not, it's unimportant. maybe the night she dies it happens. 14 grieves, and cries some more, and says goodbyes. he calls his favorite niece, and when all is said and done, he's ready.

only he isn't about to die, because his essence has to reunite. this part of him has been away for a very long time, and it was the happiest time ever, but he has to be restored. just like 13 had to collect shards of herself back into one, so does 14.

the very particles of his being are reuniting, and it feels like spreading, or travelling, and his silly poetic mind is pleased with the sensation... only to feel regeneration coming full tide, and suddenly he's back on the roof, looking at himself.

"no way!" "will somebody tell me what the hell is going on?!"

but the thing is, he didn't get split at that moment like we think. he got back together. bi-generation. two regenerations happened at the same time, looped one into another. 14 regenerated twice.

and now, now he watches himself exhausted and broken, and he can let himself go. he can sincerely say that it's going to be alright, because he knows it is. donna is right there. she'll take him home.

and he can continue on his way.

[lurkinglurkerwholurks]

For the Batfam fic writing prompt post: Any characters + pushing through exhaustion?

The air felt too full, still reverberating with the vestiges of Tim's final shout. The ringing made his ears hurt, the sound already fading but the heat behind it remained.

Yelling had been less of a choice and more of a need, a way to vent off the pressure into a little explosion instead of one that would level city blocks. It was too much of everything—the case, the squabble over the comms with Dick, the knocked-over Coke can, the gritty sensation behind his eyelids. Bruce had just been the tipping point. Tim knew he probably hadn't meant to sound so... so Bruce about asking for an update. But Tim got prickly over perceived disapproval in the best of times, and this was not that.

Tim sucked in ragged, heaving breaths, not sure if he wanted to yell again, or cry, or turn his back on Bruce entirely and pretend this had never happened. Please, he just wanted Bruce to forget this had ever happened.

You yelled at Bruce. For asking a question. For checking in on a case he's working on. He's going to bench you, and you'll deserve it. You should have figured this out by now, you stupid—

Tim's shoulders had scrunched up to his ears of their own accord, a habit he thought he'd left behind in middle school. He was an adult now, practically, but he felt like a squabbling kid, mouthing off for no reason.

Bruce was staring at him, but not in horror or confusion. Anger? It had to be anger. Tim had snapped at him for asking a question. Bruce had to be angry. Dick had been angry. Maybe Bruce hated him.

"Tim," Bruce said slowly, and made Tim want to wince. This was it. He was going to get fired. Kicked out. Sent away forever and ever. "When did you sleep last?"

Tim blinked. That was irrelevant. But Bruce not yelling back was such a relief that he choked down the sob building in the back of his throat and tried to think.

"Uh," he said as he dug the heel of his hand into one scratchy eye. "Dunno. It's Thursday?"

Bruce's face had a way of changing without changing at all. Like, if Tim snapped a photo of a second ago and now, they would look exactly the same, with grooves scored into Bruce's forehead and around a mouth set into a flat line. But they were different, the one sort of settling somehow into the other, the rise and fall of a determination made.

"You're done for tonight," Bruce said, not an order so much as a statement of fact.

"No!" Tim protested even as Bruce reached out and flipped off the computer monitor. "Bruce, I have to, the case, I told Dick—"

He had told Dick he'd solve it, had all but bit Nightwing's head off for questioning how long it was taking him. Dick would hate him forever if he failed. Or maybe he already hated him forever, the snot-nosed idiot Robin wannabe who couldn't even crack the string of murders before the killer struck again, and this was Tim's one chance to make it right, and—

Tim whup!ed in surprise as Bruce lifted him off his feet with a grunt, too startled but to hold rigid like a fainting goat as he was hefted bridal style. The slight huff out Bruce's nose was his only concession to the slipped disc from last month but Tim remembered and it made the panic rise again in his chest.

"Bruce," Tim tried protesting again, but it was like trying to beg with one of Gotham's famed gargoyles. They really were eerily similar.

"Dick signed off hours ago, and you should have, too," Bruce said, and the even-toned rebuke made the corners of Tim's eyes prick with tears. "Jason and Damian are taking over for now."

Great, great, so he WAS the weak link, then, and everybody knew it.

Bruce carried him up through the house, not slowing or faltering. Tim was too concerned with pushing his luck or tweaking Bruce's back to struggle too much. Besides, just the act of being still, without his focus held captive by case files and police reports, had let exhaustion seep into his bones like acid, eroding the marrow into brittle, bitter strips. He hurt, he realized, in every joint from his cricked neck to clenched fingers to aching ankles. How long had he sat hunched in that chair?

Tim expected Bruce to put him down at every step, or, failing the sensible release, to set Tim down in his own room and leave. Instead, Bruce bypassed Tim's bed entirely and went to the hammock suspended in the corner. He sat crossways, the wide, interwoven body of the hammock stretched to support Bruce from his head to the back of his knees, and Tim still held against his chest.

Bruce breathed, a low and soft pushed between his lips, and closed his eyes.

"Bruce?" Tim whispered, unsure of what exactly was happening. Or, more pressingly, "I don't know what the weight limit on this thing is."

Bruce just grunted, appearing already halfway to sleep himself.

Tim's chest still felt full of hot, prickly static, but maybe the tears running down the back of his throat would drown it out soon enough.

"No one hates you," Bruce said, seemingly psychic until Tim remembered it was one of the fears he had shouted out in the echoing pit of the Cave. "You'll feel better after you sleep."

He wouldn't. He wouldn't feel better until the case was closed, until people stopped dying, until he was sure Dick didn't hate him, Bruce didn't hate him—

Bruce didn't seem like he hated him. Tim sniffed as Bruce's chest rose and fell beneath him in deep, steady breaths.

The calloused base of Bruce's thumb rubbed slow circles into Tim's temple. "Sleep," Bruce said.

This time, Tim did as he was told.

[mrawkweird]

They did that shit; this show fucking got me.

We have long since left behind the days of Dragon Ball Evolution, even though some want to act as if we never left, with some hits and misses in between but I can say that for me this one is positively among the hits. Also, Zoro's so damn cool. Honestly if this is your introduction to the world of One Piece you are going to fall in love with these characters and if you're coming in already familiar with the anime then you are going to fall in love with them all over again.

They really nailed this cast as everyone absolutely captures the heart and spirit of their character. This show also understood the assignment in giving Arlong that "Black Air Force Energy". Like, every time he pulled up the beat dropped and you were immediately transported to the block about to get your ass whupped. It's also cool how they got the original cast to dub the Japanese version as well.

A lot of love and care went into this adaptation and if studios can get their shit together I would love to see it continue. The stars aligned for this adaptation. Everyone that worked on it should be proud.

[natalieironside]

Masters of the World, part 1

Hey there, Age of Mythology fans! You can head on over to https://www.patreon.com/posts/77895021 and download the first map in a campaign I been working on (nothing is for sale, I'm just hosting it there while I work on my big-girl website)

Heyyy everybody, here's one of my side projects!  I'm making a custom campaign for the super great historical fantasy RTS game Age of Mythology: Extended Edition,which I'm pretty sure at least one other person on Earth still plays.  You can get it here if you don't have it:  https://store.steampowered.com/app/266840/Age_of_Mythology_Extended_Edition/  It's been a lifelong favorite since I was a kid and it's a great relic of the early 2000s RTS golden age; highly recommend.  Once you've got the base game plus the Titans and Tales Of The Dragon xpacks, you can just drop this bad boy into the "scenarios" folder in your game files and you'll be good to go.  More on the technical issues in a minute, but if you run into any problems try opening it in the editor and just selecting one of Player 1's units and that should fix it. 

First, a word on the production.  To put it bluntly the AoM scenario editor absolutely stinks.  A lot of stuff just straight up doesn't work.  For one thing, I've confirmed with other mapmakers that the campaign maker is irreparably broken and the only way to knit all the scenarios into a campaign is to manually write an XML document, which . . . I am not doing that.  Also, a lot of the text-based storytelling elements from AoE2 were cut and replaced with visual ones, and listen Ensemble Studios I love you but I am not going to sit here for hours and make an entire claymation movie one if-then statement at a time.

All this is to say that this scenario is not done, but it is as done as it's ever going to get, so I'm just gonna send it.

Masters of the World part 1 is a single-player battle royale (well technically it's 1v1v1v1v1v3 but who's counting) build-and-destroy map with 7 AI players.  Much like Swords of Outremer, I went a little wild with this one and as a consequence it's mad chunky.  I recommend playing with your video settings turned alllll the way down.  Also much like Swords of Outremer, I used an RMS for the skeleton; this one is Alfheim.  I'm planning on telling this story in about 7 or 8 single-player maps, and you can expect Masters of the World part 2: The Fields of Pentecost sometime soonish.

***

Masters of the World is a high fantasy scenario where you play as Ajax Ironroot, king of the dwarves, who has come south out of his mountains to deal with an ancient threat:  The Master of the World.  The Masters, a band of mighty and nigh godlike wizards, lorded over by the mysterious figure known only as "the Wizard," have long scourged the land and laid it waste as they vie against each other for ultimate mastery.  Ajax, afraid that this destruction may spread across his borders, will march forth to challenge the Masters on their own terms . . . But, to challenge them means becoming a Master of the World oneself.  

Featuring a robust cast of characters, including the vain and proud Lady Pentecost, queen of the elves, and the mysterious vampire lord Gretta, Duchess of Shadows, as well as various and sundry other original the characters (do not steal).  If you like protracted mountain sieges and massive endgame doomstack fights, like I do, this should serve; during playtesting I let the AI duke it out amongst themselves and they whupped on one another with no clear contender for like 6 or 7 hours until the game ran out of memory and crashed. 

Have fun and let me know what you think!  :)

[feybeasts]

OKAY SO LENA

This is mostly gonna be an aimless ramble about Ideas I Have because I’m fulla those dang things most days, and hey y’all seem to like when I ramble about my OCs so I’m gonna Do That More

so y’know. If you wanna learn what my whole idea for yon’ silley foxtaur is, read on

THIS FREAKIN NERD started life as an ooooold OC- the grey, wolfy version is the classic Lena from back in the day (courtesy of absolutely wonderful character design by one of my best friends, this was before I was doing art again) and she was an OC who was always near and dear to my heart. At the time I didn’t put two and two together and go “oh b/c she’s my fursona and aspirational as hell, you closeted trans fool” but hey, I got there

anywho.

I realize that, y’know, ‘sonas don’t need to have lore or be characters, but I like making characters! So Lena does, in fact, have lore. She was, at one point, a regular ol’ person, a human being who pretty much existed on gig work and odd jobs because even in my fantasies, the real world is a gig economy nightmare. The work paid the bills, but it didn’t do much else- one of the most common jobs was delivery, think like, somehow a crappier version of being an amazon courier or somesuch.

Well, on one such delivery job, our gal ended up getting lost- like painfully lost. Instead of her destination, she ended up in literally the feywild, a fact that, despite the very obviously ancient buildings and overgrown mess, she was wholly unaware of. Upon “delivering” the package to the closest thing to an intact structure, she was enticed by fresh food just kinda… left out, we’re talking like a plate of pastries or something, something you could reasonably assume was a “take one” sorta affair.

It wasn’t… that, but bless her, Lena didn’t know that. So she took one… and then another, and another, and another. It’s the classic “oh whups you’re eating the fey’s food, bad idea”, but once she proverbially popped, she couldn’t stop. Which, of course, cursed her all to hell and back- it’s kinda what happens. She was changed top to bottom, and yes, I do mean in the transes-your-gender way but also the bottom became y’know, a fox. And the top was a fox but humanoid- it’s yon form you see above.

It also kinda… made her forget everything about herself. Her name, her age, where she was born- she knew she was human, short term memory was intact, but the rest slipped away… because it didn’t belong to her anymore. Classic fey stuff, eh? Turn you into something, take something intangible because you broke “the rules”.

Well, the new owner of those little details- and by extension, our gal’s fate, was a powerful fey being who was, turns out, the Lord of Debts and Desires, and one of the stinkiest Capital F Fey you could imagine. We’re talking constantly smug, always speaking in half-truths and pregnant pauses, a real piece of work straight outta a fairytale (which, y’know, tracks, considering)

And while this fella was nonplussed about an offering to him- and all the magic with it- being hoovered up by a delivery driver, he had a new lackey out of the deal. And that, friends, is what Lena is- a lackey.

She’s technically a cursed human, but her name is one she picked (it sounded nice, almost like a meta thing I guess) and her history is a bit of a blur past the basic facts. The fey she works for pretty much bound her to a contract: work for him until he considers the debt settled, and she’ll be right back to the old self lickety split.

I’ll let you guess as to how long that is, or whether yon fey actually thinks she’ll want to go back. Because truth be told, part of Lena… doesn’t want to. A big part.

She didn’t expect to be this way, but she’s come to embrace and even… like it more than the old her. It’s confusing, sometimes frustrating, but it feels more like her than she’s ever felt.

…wonder what THAT is a metaphor for? 🏳️‍⚧️

Anywho, there’s another big wrinkle- and that is that Lena isn’t fully a fey being… yet. I say she’s technically human because there’s that little bit of her that feels like she needs to hold onto the old idea of herself- not desperation, just… momentum, I guess. But as her fingers slip from that, she becomes more and more fey and less and less human… well

I wonder what the outcome will be?

[againstme]

i was looking this up today for trauma therapy reasons, but i wanted to say something.

i think there being such a gray area between what is defined as “spanking” your child, (seen as specifically as “discipline”, using a hand or object on the butt, softer word, for some reason more socially acceptable), “hitting” your child, (seen to have direct intent, usually with hands is the definition, on other parts of the body, but not “severe”), and “beating” your child, (seen as aggressive, abusive, and with fists or objects) is so harmful.

“spanking/whupping” is seen as a form of corporal punishment usually towards children, and is seen as socially acceptable in a lot of places and cultures, and is seen as a way to “discipline” your child, and teach them obedience.

a lot of parents/caretakers of children frame “spanking” as normal, a way of teaching their children not to do wrong, and don’t see it as abuse at all. and a lot of laws are in place, at least in the United States, to protect this ideology.

spanking your child is seen as a “reasonable form of discipline.” corporal punishment towards children in schools is still legal in many states. when i was a kid, i remember the principal of my school having a wooden paddle in her office on a shelf. and if you got in trouble and sent to the office, you had the “option” of either being paddled or having your parents called. and even with that, if you “chose” the first option, they’d likely call your parents anyways.

it’s just horrible how normalized this is. especially in black culture, as a black person. “spare the rod, spoil the child” is said so much, as a way of saying that it’s acceptable to spank your child because it’s teaching them a lesson.

there’s evidence that this isn’t true, and that it just instills fear in them, makes them more prone to be aggressive themselves, and more prone to having mental illness, yet it’s still seen as acceptable. even though studies show that a lot of children that get spanked just continue with their behavior afterwards. and that it activates their nervous system, often not getting them back to a baseline for potentially hours after it happened, dysregulating their nervous system as a result. this results in long term emotional instability, which opens up a plethora of even more problems.

it’s just baffling to me. you would think there would be more protections against children, but they’re still basically seen as property, unless things are “severe.” this usually means leaving marks/bruises, etc; i was told by my mom “it’s not abuse unless it leaves a mark for 24 hours.”

this resulted, for me, in not being believed when i told authorities that my mom was abusive, and being told, aside from asking if i had proof, if anything “she did was more than just discipline.” and when i had explained things, she was able to say that she’s never “hit” me, and got away with it. she blamed it on me being “emotional.” and called me “crazy” to all of her friends, who believed it.

it’s just so unfortunate. and happens to so many kids.

[dyrewrites]

Happy WBW! Do plate tectonics exist in your world? What did the world look like three hundred million years ago?

Ooh, fun ones!

Since this is world-building and not discussing, I'm going to try and answer with Pale Blood's world of Morne - which I do not know enough about yet.

(editing to add a cut because I did not see how long this got whups)

First answer;

It is a misshapen ball of rock, ice, blasted deserts and vast chaotic forests of varying climates that was once regular victim to the debris of massive creatures battling just outside its atmosphere. Much of the mess outside the only surviving city exists for this reason. There are megafauna that grew to replace some landmasses for this reason as well, birthed by the magic leaking from scales, teeth, blood and bones that once rained from the skies.

That bit was important to explain that yes, there are tectonics! Though not all of it is natural in the way we might think of it. There were many continents once, but the constant barrage from the skies prompted much of it to snuggle up close; in the hopes it would hurt less that way. Now there is only the one, and it's a big one, but sometimes bits of it break off to go for a swim through the frigid waters - setting off quakes and making a mess of whatever is living on it - and it doesn't always come back.

Dolor survives largely because it is landlocked and, while few living there would admit it, the fall of the moon wyrm and erection of the barrier between city and Wylds has really cut down on the fear of the lands beneath it getting up and walking away.

Second answer;

Three hundred million years ago, Morne was a perfectly round pebble of a thing floating aimlessly through space. Not even a planet. It was more of an asteroid, broken from some long-dead moon that maybe orbited a planet and a sun but those had wasted away and burnt out. It was content to float in chill nothingness, with the microscopic things wriggling in its dust and rock to keep it company.

But, to the eyes of two cosmic wanderers, Morne was a shiny bauble too pretty to let pass them by. Both were known, to their own, as wyrms; immense and powerful serpents that soared through space, feeding on whatever crunchy bits of stardust they could. Som, the perceived male of the two, grabbed the little rock first. He coiled around it and his warm flesh and bright, hot gaze burned along its surface, forcing it to bubble and burst with towering mountains and ignited something in the microscopic life within. Then Vi, his sister, wrested it from him and her icy flesh and dark, cool eyes chilled the burns her brother left and drew the waters from deep within its heart out in raging rivers to nourish the budding life.

Soon, Morne had seas, it had mountains and it had life; if simple life.

The two would fight over their shiny bauble for millions of years after, with the day and night cycles of the world they'd made shifting depending on who held it. To those growing on the planet, they appeared as merely the sky, in its various shades and cloud or star-cover, with two glaring suns or two glowering moons.

Eventually, they would share their names, through the growls that shook the trees and stuttered mountain tops. Though it wouldn't be until the first creature stood upright and began to speak...and proclaimed themselves Gods for the privilege.

[wardenparker]

You’ve got me hooked on your latest Marcus ex fic collab w/ absurdthirst! There’s so much unresolved history between them two and I can’t wait to see how everything unfolds … sounds like Theresa will be back with their all hands case 🫠 hmmm?…

I feel like these 2 never stopped loving each other so I’m rooting for them!

Can’t wait!!! Hope you have a lovely rest of the week 🥰 ahead xoxo

New chapter of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Dating Your Ex will be out next week due to life getting in the way this week (everything's okay, just chronic illness whupping my ass). I'm glad you're enjoying it, nonny!

@absurdthirst and I had had this idea on the back burner for a long time and we're really excited to bring it to life!

[notgeorgelucas]

Some post-”Because of Them” Thoughts

Red and I have been discussing things after watching the episode (three times at last count) and:

1) Why did Belos return to the Boiling Isles?

On the surface, it really doesn’t make much sense. He’s no longer even remotely humanoid-looking, he’s severely depowered, and there’s a Collector running around there who can whup his butt from here to eternity. His Great Mission has failed...or has it?

It wouldn’t surprise me if he had a backup genocide plan, though on the other hand, Belos is so egotistical he would never think that his grand scheme would ever fail (and it would have worked if it hadn’t been for those KIDS!) and thus need a backup. This from the man who’s been repeatedly suckered by a 14-year-old kid.

Given what we saw in the past episode, though, Red’s wondering if he has an emergency backup grimwalker somewhere in his castle or Belos-Cave. 

2) Belos’ legacy.

It’s almost pitiful. Four hundred years, he’s schemed to save humanity by purging all those damned witches (and it would worked etc.). This has been his grand ideal, to return in glory and adulation to the human world and be known as The Greatest Witchhunter General ever.

Instead he discovers that the human world is now just as alien to him as the Boiling Isles, and his noble, heroic and tragic story has been reduced to “sounds like big bro got a hot witch girlfriend and little bro got upset” (and honestly, that is probably the greatest line of dialogue that TOH has or ever will come up with).

As a wise woman once said, “So, you’re having a little bit of a day.”

3) Evelyn.

So many questions here. What was she doing in the human realm to begin with? My wife’s initial response was “She’s a Clawthorne, duh.” Other thoughts included “running away from her mother” (family trait) and “The Boiling Isles desperately needed handsome, virile human men for repopulation purposes because the male witches could no longer...” (Very old Amazon Women on the Moon joke, sorry).

How did she get there? Might have been accidental, though I doubt it. Titan’s Blood can create temporary portals (which is probably why there was a backup vial in the cemetery as a “just in case” solution). Or maybe she had the original portal door--we don’t know, though hopefully we’ll find out.

At any rate, as I told Red, I’m certain that Caleb’s initial trip to the BI was facilitated by a) magic and b) cleavage. Teenage male. You know. Mesmerizes them every time.

But you know, if I were Luz I’d be pissed as hell that really all it took was some Titan’s Blood and a doorway...and I mean, now that they know, going back and forth will be much easier (Camila will need to get home, the kids will want to take their stuff back, and Luz has to get her palisman!). And as far as I know, Hooty does have that blood sample from King...?

4) Vee.

She’s totally adorable, and man, she has come so far so quickly in the human realm--even knows how to drive! But it’s going to drive the school principal crazy--to his point of view, first Luz was the problem student with the overactive imagination, then she was the model student whose grades soared and was a dream come true, and then she was the morose, depressed kid who clearly needed help. 

Fortunately this new kid Vee, who apparently is a cousin of Luz’s living at the Noceda’s, looks like a real bright spot! Smart, eager to learn, just a dream come true!

(She’s going to have to tell Masha the truth at some point--not that Masha’s going to care that much, honestly. This is Gravesfield, after all--what’s one more bit of weirdness?)

5) Camila.

Boy, if I didn’t love her before (and I did), I sure do now. Red and I could really relate, having met at a SF event and taking off from that. The fact that Luz, much like our own Darling Daughter, is the result of When Nerds Marry (which is what we call it) amused the hell out of us.

Manny must have been one hell of a man. And from what we could tell, despite what Luz said about “it happened long ago”, it sounds like his passing was fairly recent. Having had a creative, imaginative daughter, I can relate to the pride and the challenges that entails.

This is getting longer than I meant, so I’m signing off for now. :)

[klonoadreams]

on a scale of okay, to not okay.

Scarnoa is at the very end of okay, followed by Punch Baby Akari, Brie tilting closer to the middle, with Alolan Noa smack dab in the middle, and Sawyer being at the far, faaaar opposite end of Scarnoa, in NOT OKAY.

Sawyer kinda fucked up.

She’ll get better, but the sheer abuse this poor kid has GOT to go through is insane Even more so when you have me, deciding to go, “WHAT IF I...MAKE IT WORSE”

so spoilers, don’t check unless you wanna see it for Sawyer’s story (you can still ask questions about it tho *wink wonk*)

There is a reason behind the similarities between Sawyer and Touya, which extends to Touya’s mother. And it goes beyond just coincidence, but it’s...it’s VERY complicated.

And it ties back into the fact that Sawyer is very much on the run from Team Plasma.

Sawyer is actually Touya’s twin, separated from birth through a switch with a stillbirth that blurs the lines of coincidence and planned, because remember when I said that Alder is Touya’s father due to a weird writing quirk I have?

Still applies here.

Look at Ghetsis and his long-ass planning, and then Sawyer’s terrible luck and upbringing. Add to the fact that Sawyer was someone who is a dormant self insert that resurfaced during a severe poisoning, but before then, she always FELT something was off while being raised in Team Plasma. Always wanting to leave, never liking Ghetsis, and how that would’ve rubbed her adoptive parents the wrong way.

Anyways Sawyer is effectively a bargaining chip that managed to escape. Ghetsis is very much PISSED off, and would like her back. And while he tries to get N to coax her back, N is just ????? and continues to avoid doing so. (Sawyer got REALLY lucky here that she managed to catch N’s interest, in the same way that Touya did N when he first battled him. They may have not been rivals as in canon, but he lit the spark in N that caused him to rethink everything)

Despite everything, it’s actually rather heartwarming to see Sawyer interacting with Touya, his mom, and Alder. Almost bittersweet, as it reveals what could’ve been, but you better believe that Sawyer would’ve been welcomed into their family, regardless of her actual origins.

Side note: this does mean that Touya’s actual breaking point from his usual calm badge-collecting self (he isn’t particularly interested in Pokemon battles, but he does have fun and would like to meet up with Cheren on Victory Road eventually) is whenever Sawyer is in danger. He thoroughly whups every Team Plasma Grunt that tries anything on his watch. And even tries starting shit with N when he THINKS he’s trying to drag Sawyer back to Team Plasma.

Protective older brother. :V

[makoto-nihil]

The Ocean Hunter: Eyes of Truth - Log Entry 01-01

Log Entry 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04

First page (this!) | Previous page | Next page

***Where do I start?***

***That is a good question.***

***I could've started with that one day, but it wouldn't make sense.***

***But if I had to remember how it really all began, I might as well start here.***

~~~~~~~ == Plymouth, England; June 13, Year 10 ==

The sun rose from the horizon and halfway into the middle of the sky as the hour gave way to morning.

Torel looked up at the sky as they lied on the cool grass, hearing the morning activities unfold from the city in the distance. They were dressed in a school uniform - an aqua green waistcoat over a white shirt, complete with their blue cravat; a navy blue jacket with the school badge sewn on the left side, navy blue pants, dark blue socks, and black Oxford shoes.

A few seagulls flew overhead, cawing. A moment later a small airship - probably a newer model, still retaining the blunt copper and brass colors as its predecessors - flew by, giving off the usual whup whup whup noise like every airship that had passed by the city in the sky every day. The waves coming from the sea crashed against the cliffs at the foot of the hill. A cold breeze blew by, counteracting the noise left behind by the airship and adding to the cool morning air.

Torel blinked for a moment and continued to stare at the sky for some time before letting out a small sneeze.

"Morning, sleepyhead."

Torel turned to their side and noticed Chris sitting right besides them. He too wore the same uniform but with a few minor personal changes - he wore a loose blue bow tie instead of the uniform dark navy tie, the dark orange belted arm glove that he always wore on his left arm, and goggles perched over his eyes. Plus, he didn't wear the waistcoat, as usual. Judging from the book in his hand - Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea - and the page he's currently on, which was near the end, it would seem that Torel themself was asleep for a long while. Right now, though, he's looking down at them.

Chris promptly closed the book. "Better get up. We'll be late if we don't get back in half an hour," he said, putting the book into his satchel.

"Yeah," Torel said as they sat up with a grin, stretching and rubbing their eyes.

They took out a brass pocket watch from their pocket and checked the time. The grin on their face almost died in surprise.

"Blimey!" they shouted in shock.

They quickly scrambled to grab their satchel, which had been their pillow for their impromptu nap, and got up on their feet. Now that they were up, they got a better view of their surroundings. He and Chris were at the city park, but it was the hill they were standing on that was one of its defining feature. Likewise, the hill looked out to a spectacular view of the sea beyond. If one were to look to their right, they would see a nearby shipyard, the blackened ruins of what used to be a factory, and a small part of the city in the distance. To the left was a lighthouse sticking out from the water in the far distance. A statue loomed over the two from the pavement a few meters behind them.

As Chris slung the satchel over his shoulder and got up, he glanced at Torel and noticed something.

"Torel, you OK? You're looking rather pale."

"Huh?"

Torel touched their own cheek. It felt cold. A few beads of sweat streaked down from their forehead.

"Oh? Yeah, I'm fine. It's...probably from the morning heat."

Chris gave them a dubious but concerned look. "It hasn't been very hot or humid in the past hour." He started to move towards them, raising his left hand to feel their temperature on their forehead. "You sure you're OK? You didn't had the nightm-?"

Torel quickly caught his hand before he could press it against their forehead, prompting Chris to stop what he was going to say, and gently pushed it away. Chris pulled his hand back.

"I'll be OK. Really. Let's just head back," they reassured him.

~~~~~~~

The sun shined down from the middle of the sky as the bell rang from the building below.

"I still can't believe exams are in three days," Torel exclaimed as they and Chris exited the classroom and into the long hallway. Crowds of students surged by, fighting their way to the large wooden doors to get outside. "But when it's done, that's when we both can catch a good break!"

Chris noticed their queer platonic partner's beaming face and rolled his eyes, smirking.

"On the contrary, you didn't fall asleep in class for the first time."

"Hey, even if I didn't take that nap at the park before classes started today, I still wouldn't doze off! Not with exams coming up!"

"That doesn't justify for the previous times you did."

"Well, to be fair, I was dropped off here ninety minutes before classes began today because the butler decided, for some reason, that I should start arriving early to prepare for the exams. But, what better way to spend that extra time by exploring a part of the city-."

"Mr. Lee!"

A light brown-skinned instructor pushed his way through the crowd towards the two young adults.

"You have a phone call up at the office. It's from your uncle."

Chris blinked a bit before nodding in response. He looked at Torel. "I'll be right back soon."

"OK."

Torel watched as Chris followed the instructor to the office, disappearing into the crowd. Shortly after a dark-skinned girl with dark short hair walked past by Torel and followed in the same direction Chris had taken.

I should probably wait outside. No point staying in the hallway at this hour.

They turned around and headed for the exit. Most of the students had already exited the building by now.

"Hey, seashell head!"

Torel froze on the spot, not daring to look over their shoulder to the source of the familiar voice calling over to them. If they had, they would've noticed a tall fair-skinned student along with his buddies walking their way towards them.

"Enjoyed your little nap, Alice?" the bully sneered.

His buddies snickered.

Still not bothering to turn around, Torel tried to keep their voice steady and calm as they replied, "What nap? What are you guys talking about?"

"You should've known better not to return to you little underwater Wonderland during class~."

His buddies howled with laughter.

"Oh? No," Torel quickly said, their voice starting to stammer. "None of that sort happened today. Now if you don't mind..."

They immediately power-walked their way to the door.

Hurry up, Chris...

"Hey! Hold it right there," the bully exclaimed, quickly walking up towards them. His hand reached out to grab them by the hair.

"Hey, sod off, you guys."

A tall, burly, fair-skinned with an ashen tone upperclassman quickly stepped in between Torel and the bully, his buddies following after the latter. He had his hands on his hips as he glared at the bully.

The bully scowled. "Or what, Damien? You're gonna start a fight, like you always do? And at this hour with everyone gone? Quite bold of you."

"Oi."

The bullies turned around to see Chris standing behind them. His arms were crossed across his chest, and already at the first sight of his glare towards them, the bullies immediately jumped. Although his face appeared serious, his voice right then and there gave off a dark, menacing vibe that would freeze someone on the spot.

"What're think you guys are doing, picking on my partner?"

The bullies immediately hightailed out the door, screaming.

"Idiots," Damien scoffed at the fleeing bullies.

"Thanks a lot, you guys," Torel let out a big breath of relief. "If you guys hadn't came..."

"No problem," Damien replied, crossing his arms. "Although I'm sure Chris could've taken care of them without me."

"Yeah, I kind of forgot that he can..."

Torel glanced over Damien's shoulder to look at Chris and noticed him talking quietly to the dark-haired girl they saw earlier - Kayla, they mentally reminded themself. His hand was on her arm as they talked. She looked at him with sad eyes, but then nodded. Chris then walked back to them.

"Sorry. Let's go."

The two stepped out of the building and into the afternoon sunlight. By this time, most of the students would have gone home, so the yard was somewhat empty, save for a few groups of students lingering around to hang out and chat. Damien had exited the building just now and was heading to one of the groups, raising his arm as he announced his presence, and the group exclaiming in response to him.

"So what did Mr. Lee called you for?" Torel asked.

"He said he won't be back from work until later tonight. One of the cars being worked on at the garage nearly blew up, so he needed to fix it and probably deal with the damage in the garage," Chris replied. "But he said I could go to your house, just for today," he added, lifting a finger up.

"Great!"

***Usually, Mr. Lee would've told Chris to head straight back home or come over to the garage to help, but today seemed to be an exception. Well, can't really blame him, not with the fact that exams were fast approaching at the time.***

The two then headed for the car parked in front of the school gates.

~~~~~~~

"Something on your mind?" Chris asked, concerned.

The car drove down the busy street, passing by small shops and stalls and people walking by. Inside the vehicle, Torel and Chris were sitting in the backseats, with the former looking absentmindedly out the window and the latter reading the same novel from earlier at the park (he's a few pages near the end). In Chris's case, however, he'd had put the book down to ask Torel the question upon noticing the odd look on their face that was reflected off the window.

"Huh? Oh, just...thinking about what to do later this week, after exams," Torel said, quickly turning to look at Chris.

Chris raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"It's just that, you've been dozing off a lot ever since January. It's like you haven't been able to sleep well after your birthday."

Torel sighed.

"How many times had we talked about this? I've told you, and everyone else who had asked, it's nothing to worry about. And this morning was no exception; it was just a simple nap."

"Says the one who kept on fidgeting and trying not to scream for five months straight in their so-called nap."

"OI!"

Torel couldn't tell if Chris was serious or joking there, but he wasn't wrong.

"Did you had the nightmare again at the park?" Chris then asked.

Torel hesitated at first, but then nodded after a couple minutes passed by.

"It's always been nothing but that dream." They clenched their right hand into a fist as they spoke. "Waking up underwater, wearing some strange diving suit, and being surrounded by shadowy monsters...not to mention a strange orb of light in the distance that I couldn't reach no matter how I tried...And I know that you'd said many times before that it could be a sign for something," Torel quickly added before Chris could say something.

"They still don't believe you?"

"Nope. Mother and Uncle still think I'm crazy, but I don't know about Father. I'd told him once, but he still hadn't said anything yet. Then again, you are the only person who believed me and took me seriously."

"The ‘only person’ outside your family," Chris corrected them.

"But really, Chris, please don't worry about it. Summer break is just around the corner. The nightmares should go away eventually and I'll finally get a good night's rest!"

Chris looked as if he wanted to say something, but he then closed his mouth. The concern didn't leave his face.

"I...highly doubt it would."

As the car made a turn into an open street, Torel looked out the window and watched as a small airship took off from the ship-crowded harbor in the distance. Chris returned to reading his book.

***Back in Father's day, the harbors used to be occupied with lots of seafaring ships. There were also a few aeroships back then, but they were rarely used due to how expensive it was to transport cargo or, in a lesser case, to own one. Instead, they were used to carry travelers across the Seven Seas to the other countries.***

***After the Seven Great Monsters came, though, aeroships were immediately in the demand outside of travelling, but the ships were still being used to transport cargo across the seas that would otherwise be too heavy for an aeroship to safely carry. Still, anyone would still use whatever ship that survived a Great Monster's attack and could still sail, but at a greater risk.***

[kcyars99]

After Bombshell Rolling Stone Exposé, Black Twitter is Done With Diddy

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As more shocking allegations against Sean “Diddy” Combs become public, it looks like we’re seeing the downfall of one of music’s most successful moguls in real time. With the Bad Boy founder currently involved in multiple sexual assault and sexual harassment lawsuits, Rolling Stone released a bombshell investigative piece on his history of alleged abusive behavior, dating back to his days at Howard University.

The outlet notes that it worked on the story for six months and talked to his “former friends, acquaintances, employees, and Bad Boy artists as well as industry insiders.” The stories behind his public controversies are detailed, while incidents of alleged abuse, sexual assault and sexual harassment are all revealed. He’s painted as a volatile, narcissistic, unpredictable personality.

Blackness in your inbox daily. Subscribe to The Root.

A former classmate who remained anonymous because they were afraid of retaliation, detailed an alleged incident from Diddy’s Howard University days when he showed up to his then-girlfriend’s dorm and stood outside screaming “in a ‘belligerent’ manner” for her to come down. Soon after, the other women in the dorm were banging on doors and panicking. “They were sounding the alarm that Combs, known then by his nickname ‘Puff,’ was attacking the young woman outside.” The classmate recalled how the other students were saying, “Puff is out here acting crazy. He’s beating her.”

Another witness who stayed anonymous “due to the sensitive nature of the incident,” stated that he used what looked like a belt to hit her “all over the place.” The witness claimed that Diddy was “screaming at the top of his lungs” and he “whupped her butt — like really whupped her butt.” She explained that “She was trying to defend herself a little bit. She was crying. And we were telling him, ‘Get off of her.’ We were screaming for her.”

The piece also discusses his reaction to the death of Christopher Wallace a.k.a. the Notorious B.I.G. Nineties hip-hop photographer Monqiue Bunn noted that Biggie was planning to leave Bad Boy and was negotiating for his publishing rights. “[Biggie] was absolutely about to leave Puff,” Bunn said. “I know for a fact [because] he told me that.”

In the aftermath of Biggie’s death, he pressured Bad Boy employees to focus on marketing and album sales for the late rapper’s upcoming release “Life After Death,” not grieving. Diddy was obsessed with the album being “Number one, number one, number one, number one, number one. Top 10, top 10, top 10,”

Though some aspects of the piece weren’t overly surprising, it’s still shocking to see how long Diddy’s inappropriate behavior has been going on. Of course, social media had thoughts on the article, with Black Twitter shaming Combs.

While we understand Rolling Stone taking its time to do the story justice, some users wondered why the outlet needed so much time with the piece, with one person writing on X, “What took yall 6 months, we’ve heard our whole lives and we’re just random people. Imagine what the industry saw & was scared to speak on.”

Another user pointed out that one of Bad Boy’s most famous artists has been telling on his former boss for years, writing on X, “Mase was saying this for decades.”

One person commented on how the piece details that there were signs of his alleged abusive behavior during Combs’ time at Howard University, posting, “It’s the fact that he showed signs of being an abusive, power hungry & outrageous narcissist even during his brief stint at Howard….Every year all of his exes got together for holidays like he was a saint. What is the story behind the grand illusion? Years of blackmail?”

As many users wondered how he’s been able to get away with these alleged misdeeds for so long, one person wrote on X, “Rolling Stone’s article on Diddy is so detailed and in-depth! That man HAS to go down! He has been terrorizing women, girls, and his peers unchecked for DECADES! I need him to go to PRISON!”

Combs’ lawyer, Jonathan Davis, responded to Rolling Stone with a statement:

“Mr. Combs cannot comment on settled litigation, will not comment on pending litigation, and cannot address every allegation picked up by the press from any source, no matter how unreliable,” Davis said. “We are aware that the proper authorities are conducting a thorough investigation and therefore have confidence any important issues will be addressed in the proper forum, where the rules distinguish facts from fiction.”

As if this wasn’t enough bad news for the rapper/producer, according to CNN, its sources say the Department of Justice may be preparing an indictment against, as “Possible witnesses have been notified by investigators that they could be brought in to testify in front of a federal grand jury in New York City.”

If the DOJ is really mounting a federal grand jury against Combs, this could be the moment where the “Last Night” artist finally deals with the consequences of his actions.

Blackness in your inbox daily. Subscribe to The Root.

[pointreyesjournal]

Motorcycle Therapy : ep181

I turn my back on Floody and head for my motorcycle, but only make it about two steps before he tackles me to the ground. I manage to fall on my back, so I have a fighting chance, but he is doing his damnedest to whup my ass. Fortunately for both of us, we’ve both suffered from broken wrists and collar bones in the past 12 months, so the blows we are landing are about as deadly as a kindergarten schoolyard kerfuffle.

Floody lands a few haymakers and I manage to fight him off as best I can until I shout “Enough!” Then he helps me to my feet and lets me dust myself off.

It’s over as quickly as it began and I stumble over to the brick shithouse to gather up some tissue to stop the bleeding in my nose. When I come out of the bathroom Floody is riding away and he motions for me to follow him. I roll up the tissues like little tampons and jam them into my nostrils, then pull my helmet on a head east toward Station House Cafe.

It’s a solid thirty minute ride from the lighthouse to Station House Cafe, and my fucking wrist hurts. Plus I’ve got enough adrenaline pumping through my veins to kickstart a dead horse. Combining the adrenaline from the fight with the bloody nose, and the winding road, plus the anxiety of wondering if Floody will be waiting for me at Station House Cafe is too much, so I pull over to the side of the road and vomit down a gopher hole.

I have to ride the remaining twenty minutes with the visor cracked open, otherwise the smell of my vomit breath is just too overwhelming.

I turn the corner onto Shoreline Highway in Point Reyes Station, and Floody is standing next to the motorcycle in front of Station House Cafe. I pull up and park next to him.

We don’t even have to say a word. We’re cool. Sometimes you just need to blow off a little steam. Pick a fight with the wrong guy and you might end up in the hospital or jail. But scuffle with your best friend in a parking lot 40 miles from the closest other human being, and all is forgiven, and is forgotten.

Floody: You okay?

Me: I’m fine. You?

Floody: Do I have any blood on my face? I don’t want to freak the girls out.

Me: You’ve got two black eyes. You look like a racoon.

Floody: Dude, your nose is covered in dried blood.

Me: We’ve got to sneak past the evil hostess, and get to the restroom before Cheyenne sees us.

Floody: Okay, let’s go.

Flood pokes his head in the door, sees that the coast is clear, then we move quickly through the bar side of the cafe (it’s empty still, they only open the bar in the evenings) where we manage to find a couple of damp bar towels and furiously wipe the blood off of our faces before sneaking past the kitchen to the restroom where we both freshen up.

Me: How do I look?

Floody: You look like you were in a fight. How about me?

Me: You look like a tourist who got too close to the gorilla cage at the zoo.

Floody: We’re fucked.

Me: Yup.

Accepting our fate, we strut out of the bathroom and toward the sourpuss receptionist and ask for a table in Cheyenne’s section. She tries to play her “I can’t choose sections” routine on me but I’m not in the mood for her today.

Me: Don’t give me your jive ass bullshit today lady. Cheyenne is my girlfriend. Sit us in her damn section.

I wipe the back of my hand across my nose leaving a long trail of blood up my arm just to prove a point that I’m not in the mood to be fucked with today, and she quickly escorts us to a table in Cheyenne’s section.

Cheyenne is visibly shaken when she sees us.

Cheyenne: Oh my lord, what happened to you? Did you two get in a fist fight?

Me: Uhh, yes.

Cheyenne: With who?

Me: With each other.

Cheyenne: Honey, what the hell are you talking about? He’s your best friend.

Cheyenne is standing there with her mouth agape, shaking her head when Beri comes walking out of the kitchen.

Beri: Good lord, what the hell happened to you two?

Cheyenne: They got in a fist fight … with each other!

Beri: Does this have anything to do with Autumn being pregnant?

Floody: Call it “couples therapy.”

Beri: I’ll take that as a “yes.”

[sharkneto]

I absolutely love all your stories on A03 and anyway I, doing a rewatch and got to the ep when Five grenades the Comission and was absolutely struck by the emotion in the Handler’s voice when she realizes he’s double crossed her as she says ‘I saved you from a lifetime of being alone’—it’s so starkly different from the emotionless way she guns down Lila HER DAUGHTER and I was just wondering If you’d any insight into that. It’s shocking how emotionless she is when she shoots Lila by comparison

So glad you like the fics and thank you for this very cool ask!

I think what you have to look at is the relationship the Handler has with each of them (duh, that’s what you’re asking me).

With Five, it’s all in that comment she makes when they first get to headquarters – “In all the time I’ve been here, I’ve never met anyone quite like you… Your spunk, your enterprising spirit – well, it reminds me of myself, if I may be so vainglorious.”

The Handler sees herself in Five, and she more or less sees him as an equal. She knows he’s smart, she knows he can be ruthless, knows he’s very good at working with a bigger picture. She admires him for all that and thinks she understand him (he’s like she is, after all, of course she understands what drives him). The Handler has figured out how to bring him back to the fold, how to make her investment in pulling him out of the apocalypse come back to work for her – promise to save his family and he’s hers again – to do the great work they do together. (putting the rest under a read-more -- it got long whups)

She underestimates how much Five’s family means to him, though, because family does not mean anything to her (more on that later). The Handler is cautious when Five comes – she knows he can’t be trusted 100%. Dot’s apocalypse file is a fake (with the smiley inside), placed as a test. Five fails it. All isn’t lost, though – they have lunch together so she can determine how bad it is. He seems excited about the new body, is interested in her Cool Weapons From History, has suggestions to improve things – it might be ok. She has him take a tracker-candy, Just In Case, but she can overlook this incident as Five covering his bases (which she would expect); if he keeps working well it’s not a problem.

He doesn’t though, as we all know.

I think the betrayal hurts her because she didn’t expect Five to go as far as he does. In a matter of minutes, he works to take out the field operatives after him, removes their Single Point Of Contact To All Field Operatives (Gloria, I love you. That system is so inefficient I’m obsessed. I love S1 Commission so much), steals her Cool Weapons From History to try and kill her, and then destroys all the briefcases. It’s a very large, very thorough betrayal.

From the Handler’s point of view, here’s this man, that she saved from dying horribly alone in the apocalypse (that she could have pulled out at any time but waited four decades to do so, so she could be pretty sure he was broken enough that she could keep him on a leash and pointed in the right direction), that she respects his survival skills and abilities, that she sees as a protégé and almost an equal, and has promised to save that pesky family of his so he’ll stay working with her (jury’s out on if she would actually keep that promise or not). He owes her everything, she keeps throwing out deals to him – very reasonable deals, very fair deals – and he keeps throwing them in her face for these six losers. It’s in that pain in her voice you noted, it’s in her confusion over his usual pragmatism; he is supposed to be like her, so why is he so against being like her? That hurts. Now we get to Lila. On the surface, she and Five should be the same. The Handler picked both of them, had them both as protégés (more or less, in Five’s case), invested time and training in them. Both of them are very skilled fighters, very skilled assassins. They should be the same.

They aren’t, though, as you said.

The difference is Lila is the Handler’s daughter. She picked up Lila and trained her to be exactly what she wanted her to be; an obedient drone to do what the Handler wants her to do. A tool. She did that to Five, too, but Five was a fifty-odd-year-old man who already had his own way of thinking, own ideas, own motives; he’s his own person. The Handler likes playing with that, finds that stimulating and admirable. He’s a very good game of chess that she thinks she’s won until she loses.

The Handler didn’t raise Lila to have any of that. She shuts down Lila any time she tries to input her own ideas for how to do things, belittles her interest in Diego, sets her up to fail when she brings Diego to work. Compare that to how she delights in Five coming to her with new ideas for how to do things (“Shaking things up already! I admire that.”). Honestly, her calling Lila her daughter is more manipulation; the Handler needs loyalty and Lila doesn’t have parents. Emphasizing that she saved Lila from being an orphan and having Lila call her ‘mum’ brings a whole lot of loyalty for relatively low effort on the Handler’s part, if she’s going to be raising and training her anyway.

Lila is a tool to the Handler that outlives her use. As soon as she takes a stand, decides to side with the Hargreeves, the Handler writes her off as useless to her and thus disposes of her along with everyone else (including Five, who has also outlived his use along with the fun he’s been for her). Family means nothing to the Handler except for when it's useful for making a move, and Lila can’t be the stimulating ally/opponent Five is because the Handler didn’t raise Lila to be that.

I have quibbles with the Handler and Lila in S2 (most of them stem from that I think the Handler should have stayed dead at the end of S1, but that’s for another time), but this was a very fun ask to think about. The TL;DR – The Handler sees Lila as a tool and Five as an ally/adversary. Lila’s betrayal was a tool running out of its usefulness, Five’s betrayal was a direct attack on who the Handler sees herself as and where she thought their relationship was.

[chifuyusgangshirt]

You know, I wonder how was the aftermath of the three deities fight for Mikey. Did he remember what he did while he was "controled" by his dark impulses? Or it's Koko who told him what he did? I wonder what he felt, realizing that not only he killed someone but that he has almost killed Takemichi. Maybe that's for that reason that he dissociates himself from how he really feels and why he refuses to fight in the Kanto Manji vs Toman 2, because he's terrified of what he could do to his friends.

Good question. I don't know if I'm honest, I guess it's both. Koko probably asked him why he did what he did and he can't answer this question. (Not that he would want to anyway)

I think he knows what happend but not how and what he felt, as far as we know it's not entirely explained what exactly happens but Mikey always talks about losing his sense of self, therefore also emotions and morals.

I'm not 100% sure if he is dissociates in the common sense, it sounds more like a kind of depersonalization for me. When a depersonalization happens you usually experience symptoms like not feeling emotions anymore, a split self, not recognizing yourself (in a mirror as an example), feeling like your body isn't yours -general not being yourself, feeling unreal and having no sense of time. Is that a coping mechanism? I don't think so. Not in this case. His dark impulses are hinted to not be related to his traumatic experiences at all. I'm this close to thinking that wakui just wanted to put an evil root in him because he can and it would fit mikey. Not to show a certain reaction or consequence of idk child neglect or whatever you people wanna take out of Mikey's story.

(This also doesn't mean he has a dissociative disorder of any kind, depersonalization and derealization are common symptoms for more than one mental state)

So, he is probably there mentally but not in a state to care and considering the realness of the situation. I mean he seems very clear in what he is doing in the latest chapters, not looking especially confused or on autopilot.

Though you also have to keep in mind that he was never good with morals and handling emotions. Maybe he decided to feed into his destructive behavior and it could be the case that he knows exactly what he is doing but represses his emotions because he's just emo like that.

Does he feel sorry for nearly killing takemichi? Probably.

Does he acknowledge this emotion. Nope.

To the question why he doesn't take part in the fight, I honestly don't know.

I don't think he is terrified of what he could do to his friends. He fought them once without killing them in the bonten timeline too

But he did make them hate him to some extend.

Maybe he's just a little tired and lazy. Old habbits die hard.