#very big ouchie girlies

[butididntpourthewhiskeys]

I Love You, It’s Ruining My Life Songs

1. DENIAL 🫣

💜 Lavender Haze: just confirms what I thought since Joever happened and I started to look at Midnights a bit differently. I literally think she was in denial that him staring at the ceiling with her and not talking much, not reading into her feelings was NOT a good thing or the sign of a healthy relationship 🙃 also, her trying to convince herself that she doesn’t want to get married, she doesn’t need the 1950s shit of having a ring on her finger, having babies, feeling SAFE…. just screams denial and delulu lmao

❄️ Snow On The Beach: Ouch. Big ouchie. When she released this song in Fall 2022 I remember thinking… wow why is she so obsessed with the beginning of their relationship and keeps on writing about it. I feel like we now have an answer and it’s that this is what she kept holding onto when things had already hit the fan 🥲

🚫 Sweet Nothing: NO song screams more denial on Midnights than this one. Her posting the Linda and Paul McCartney thing had already told us that she wrote this because she loved the idea of this love yet it wasn’t actually what she was going through. Also, it’s so interesting that she and Joe wrote it together.. again, it’s giving massive ‘i will do anything for him to be 100% in again’ aka she tried to recreate something with him that clearly wasn’t there anymore at the time

🗑️ Glitch: Falls into the same category for me as SN. Things had gone to shit but she was so obsessed with the idea of the two. And being honest, so were we??? Sometimes I wonder if she just LOVED the narrative of Taylor and Joe, victim and savior, Burton to this Taylor….she loved what was there, she kept on holding onto this dream of him from back when she was shipwrecked. I literally think she thought she could just hold onto the memories and him and things would work themselves out again

❌ Betty: Honestly, this song coming up in that playlist makes me SICK to my tummy for obvious reasons. A massive red flag that Joe came up with the idea for the song… but lets talk about this in greater detail on April 19th (aka WELCOME HOME CHEATER)

❤️‍🩹 Lover: BIG BIG Ouchie. She thought this was forever. She thought she could just go wherever he goes but, clearly, she was in denial, overseeing so many signs telling her that it won’t always be enough. I think Lover was this idea of “but what if it does work out” even though her gut feeling was telling her that this love won’t be forever

🚩Cruel Summer/False God: Have ALWAYS been such red flags when it comes to a relationship dynamic. Cruel Summer is all about them playing games in the beginning and her suffering from it. False God is the idea that if communication doesn’t work, you can just have sexy time instead and they would get away with it?? Both signs of a very unhealthy rs dynamic and it makes me feel so validated that she sees that now

🙃 Ours/Superman: Girlie knows she’s always been a lil delulu… lol

👑 Bejeweled: SUCH a wonderful way to end this playlist. This is literally the beginning of the end of being in denial. That song was a direct warning, an awakening that she’s NOT okay in the rs and that things are NOT going to be okay anytime soon if he doesn’t put in the effort.

[togrowoldinv]

Midnights Thoughts!!!

Okay y’all I’m dropping my first thoughts on midnights below. Let’s chat about the album!

Overall, I love it, I love it, I love it! Very lyric styles of folklore and evermore meets the sounds of Lover and Rep!

Lavender Haze:

-Okay this is the pop music standard

-the lyric “one night or a wife” so true

-we are back in bridge city

Maroon:

-sick New York reference

-bopping chorus

-“so scarlet it was maroon” very Wanda

-“carnations you thought were roses, that’s us” JESUS CHRIST

-scarlet lips seems a lil fruity

-easily a fave

Anti-Hero:

-this is for the archer girlies

-“I’m the problem, it’s me” ☹️

-“I wake up screaming from dreaming”

-it is definitely exhausting being the anti-hero

-it’s giving Natasha

Snow On The Beach:

-the beginning of this song is like when you aren’t sure if you really saw someone or you just wanted to see someone so your brain told you that you did

-“stars by the pocketful” is actually so cute

-lyrically brilliant

-where’s Lana though?

-the key change is good

You’re On Your Own, Kid:

-immediately chills

-this makes me nostalgic for high school

-reminds me of my friends and how I love them so much and how we have each other even as time changes

-“just to find my dreams aren’t rare” SHUT UP TAYLOR

-“pages turned with bridges burned” end of rep vibes

-very big sister energy

Midnight Rain:

-the beginning is wild

-lyrically I enjoy it

-very true of thinking of someone after a long time

-could make a good fic

Question…?:

-“a color I’ve searched for since” very illicit affairs like

-she says “her” a lot

-upbeat but sad

-“did you wish you put up more of a fight?”

-bridge city

Vigilante Shit:

-great vibes

-definitely the revenge she spoke of

-the girl from mad woman

-girl power anthem

-“don’t get sad, get even” tattoo this on my forehead

Bejeweled:

-“didn’t notice you walking over my peace of mind in the shoes I gave you” it’s giving my tears ricochet and the jewels she gave them

-obsessed with the way she says ✨shimmer✨

-this song scratches the itch in my brain

-one of my faves

Labyrinth:

-I cried a lot

-the breathing instructions, thank you Dr. Swift

-“I’ll be getting over you my whole life” PLEASE SEND HELP

-crying, shaking, throwing up

-Natasha Romanoff’s song

Karma:

-vibes

-lol spider boy reference

-“karma is my boyfriend” so true

-the voice layering is cute

Sweet Nothing:

-Joe!!!!!

-this is what love sounds like idc

-please someone love me like this

Mastermind:

-absolute banger

-get what you want bestie

-“I’m the wind in our free flowing sails”

-this song feels like the end of a movie when everyone comes home after a long day

Omg plus new tracks!

The Great War:

-okay the drums rock

-I like it and processing it is a lot with this chaotic surprise lol

-“I vow I will always be yours” cute!!!

Bigger Than The Whole Sky:

-“every single thing I touch becomes sick with sadness” SAD but good fic material

-“I’ve got a lot to live without. I’m never gonna meet what could’ve been would’ve been” 😭

-I am a shell of a woman

Paris:

-funky fresh

-“draw a map on your bedroom ceiling” adorable!

-I love love

High Infidelity:

-great rhythm

-“the slowest way is never loving them enough” ouchie

-feels regretful yet unapologetic

Glitch:

-sounds like a rain stick lol

-interesting vibes

Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve:

-intro has similar sound to Mary Jane’s Last Dance

-“the gods honest truth is that the pain was heaven”

-Taylor don’t be shy and release the rock and roll version please

-“I regret you all the time”

-“god rest my soul, I miss who I used to be” GOOD GRIEF

Dear Reader:

-younger me needed this

-her whole heart is in it

-advice for Nothing New stans

[theveryfires]

in hindsight | eddie munson x reader

summary: if eddie munson knew two things about his life, it was this. one he was utterly in love with his best friend, two, he was definitely going to die.

a/n: back to my regularly scheduled crushing eddie munson fic. ALSO i have tried a different writing style for this one, so let me know if it works or if theres anything i can do better! as always i hope you enjoy my silly little fic ;)

Eddie Munson knew two things for certain, number one he was undeniably, completely and utterly in love with you. And number two, he was going to die. 

He had fallen in love with you slowly. He had always imagined it being like the movies, that he would see someone and instantly know they were meant to be together. Stupidly, he had been waiting for that moment to happen, completely oblivious to the millions of times a day he fell a little bit more for his best friend. 

You had transferred half way through middle school after your parents broke up. He had watched you trip over your words as you introduced yourself to the class, twirling your hair and staring at the floor rather then facing the room of strangers. You had worn flares, instantly letting him know you maybe weren’t going to be like every other dick in school. The only other empty seat was next to him, and for once someone didn’t wince when they realised they had to put up with him for a semester. You were oblivious to the rumours, the nicknames the endless bullying. He would learn you wouldn’t of cared even if you did, you weren’t like that. 

At lunch he had watched you sit alone, politely declining joining Jason and his idiot friends with a dead look behind your eyes. Eddie had almost snorted chocolate milk when he noticed, the dejected and confused looks on the jocks faces the most entertaining thing since one of the younger kids had dropped spaghetti all over Jason by accident. It had been in the second he had decided you needed, had a god given right to become his right hand man. Eddie hadn’t gone into your friendship head over heels in love with you. It had crept up slowly on him, until it so suddenly had consumed him. 

You were kind. Above all things, the sarcasm and heavy wit, you were kind. He had admired the way you always stopped to help someone, holding doors or being a shoulder to cry on to anyone that needed it. You loved films and music. You were obsessed with Rocky Horror, dressing up as Meatloaf for Halloween and laughing so hard you fell to the floor when he appeared from his trailer as Dr Frankenfurter. You were always humming along to some tune that was playing in your mind, the lyrics of the greats, Elvis, the Stones, Fleetwood Mac, Queen, Bowie, Metallica. You weren’t chained down to one genre, you didn’t confine yourself in any box and it made his head spin with how much you just knew about stuff. On every movie night without fail you would chirp in with fun facts, whisper all the lines to the Breakfast Club, hand in the air and crying by the end. You didn’t care about keeping up appearances with him, he could tell you felt comfortable around him. He saw you in no makeup and pyjamas more than he saw you dressed up. Spending whole weekends on the sofa or lying in one another beds, listening to music or watching day time tv. 

He liked that he could just be quiet, not have to constantly spout off about something or show off. With you he wasn’t ‘Eddie Munson’, he was just Eddie. Some nights you would persuade him to take part in your night time routine. Painting his face with a clay face mask, braiding his hair back with a much needed oil treatment. You had introduced him to the wonders of moisturiser, of too hot showers and a good muscle relaxing body wash. You had bought him his first ever expensive shampoo and conditioner, treated him to department store cologne instead of the one he got at the gas station. When you came into his life, Eddie had felt himself become a better version go whoever he had been before. He loved those nights, even subjecting himself to listening to the girlie music you played. His face and turned a beet red when you caught him singing along to ABBA, your jaw dropping as you squealed and pulled him up from his position on your bed. “I knew it! I knew you liked them! It was only a matter of time Eddie, everyone loves ABBA!” He had tackled you to the floor, the pair of you play fighting until he had you pinned and your breathe was mingling. He eyes had been dark, you could hear his heart hammering when he leaned down “Don’t tell a soul, or i’ll tell Gareth and Jeff…” But he couldnt think of a thing, you were an open book and you knew it. Smirking up at him, using that brief second of hesitation to pin him to the floor. “I have no skeletons in my closet, unlike youuu, Fernando.” You had winked and it had sent Eddie into overdrive, not that you noticed. 

You listened to him, all his rants and raves about the dead end town and the life he wanted after graduation. He hadn’t realised he had included you in those dreams. Just assuming you would always be by his side. Stealing his cheesy fries, wiping your greasy hands on him after. Twirling his curls when you were reading, stealing his jumpers on colder days and head banging along to his music on the way to school. He ran through his campaigns with you, grinning when you played along with him. Pretending to be various characters as you paraded around his trailer, face contorting into various expressions, looking to him for approval every now and then as you acted out various scenes. 

Eddie had realised how bad it was one day in the cafeteria. You hadn’t done anything out of the norm, no scene stealing moment that should of set his heart aflame. Everything had just suddenly clicked, it all made sense and it had stopped Eddie’s heart. 

You had your headphones on, trying desperately to finish a essay and block out the noise of the cafeteria. He had been talking to Dustin and Mike about something, whipping himself into a dramatic frenzy when something had caught his attention. He had felt funny the whole day, the weird feeling starting when he had picked you up that morning. You were wearing your usual flares, a long sleeve black crop top that showed a sinful inch of your midriff. Your hair was down, nothing new. Maybe your makeup was different, the eyeliner smokier than usual. Maybe it was your perfume, something he had found increasingly difficult to resist or ignore. You had smiled brightly as always, but it had made his chest hurt, like someone was gripping his heart and forcing it to beat out of rhythm. 

He hadn’t felt it since leaving you for your first classes, but then when he saw you again the feeling had rushed over him all over again. He had watched as you clipped your hair up, several curls falling and framing your face as you scribbled furiously, Whatever Dustin had been babbling about became unimportant. The sound that had distracted him in the first place surrounded him, you were singing. He had heard you sing before, yelling away in the shower, humming lowly as you made breakfast, screaming along with him to the radio in his car. But this felt different, your voice was low, breaking in and out as you tried to focus. Eddie had frozen in his spot, trying desperately to listen to what you were singing along to under a bated breath. It was The Stones, as always. ‘Can’t You Hear me Knocking’ leaking out of your headphones due to the music being turned up so high. 

Eddie had felt something powerful hit him. He was convinced there was an arrow in his chest for the rest of the day, his blood leading a trail to you. For the rest of the week he couldnt act normal around you. Suddenly everything that had come so easy felt scripted, forced. He didn’t know how to act around you anymore, every hug or nudge or nap you took against him set his entire body aflame. He hated it, now so intensely vulnerable to someone that appeared oblivious to his fumbling. 

And now here he was. Just two weeks ago he had realised he loved you, that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with you by his side. He didn’t care what he did, if he was famous or just stuck in a dead end job and a trailer. As long as he had you he hadn’t cared. And now, well now none of it mattered. 

Eddie was struggling to breathe, begging Dustin to take you back home, begging you to let him go as your hands scrambled to find purchase on his wound ridden body. He was bleeding and it was bad, you both knew it. Dustin had tried but you had forced his hands off of you, apologies lost in the mad rush back to Eddie. “Please, you need to go Princess.” He had pleaded with you once more, blood spurting out his mouth as he forced himself to talk. His grip on you growing weaker by the second. But you refused to, shaking your head furiously and refusing to let him die alone. “I can’t I…what am i gonna do…i can’t do this without you Eddie.” You couldnt stop crying, an unbearable feeling gripping you, a arrow in your back and a trail of blood leading to him. 

He had closed his eyes when your hands had stroked through his curls, trying to wipe away the grime that coated his face. “Why couldnt you just stick to the plan!” You were furious, yelling at him through broken sobs when he had tried to smile despite the pain. “I never was one for rules.” 

A bittersweet laugh had racked through you, hands holding his jacket tighter and tighter, not ready to go, to let him go. 

But you were running out of time, you needed to get back through the gate and Dustin was yelling at you through his own tears. You had held Eddie tighter, pressing your face into his neck as gently as you could, shaking with grief when he used all his strength to pat your head gently.

“God this sucks.” He had groaned, the pain hitting a steep crescendo. You had held him tighter, wanting to tell him so much without any of the words to say it. “This isn't how i wanted...how i wanted to tell you but...christ...I…I love you. I should of told you sooner…. in hindsight” Eddie Munson’s heart stopped twice that day, all within a few minutes of each other as he willed whatever higher power there was to give him this one blessing. And just as the darkness started to wrap around him, as the image of the girl he loved began to fade away, her screams following as Dustin and Steve dragged her away, he heard her cry out. “I love you too Eddie, I always will.” 

[softschnappi]

Winter Showers Bring...Tacos and Mike Wheeler?

hey guys! Finally sat down a shat out a 2k fic even though I have 80+ wips to finish...anyways...hope you enjoy! fun fact I coincidentally had tacos the night after I wrote this...

pairing: ryers

summary: Richie and Will share a shower together and Mike finds out, but he’s cool with it. It’s a little awkward, some shenanigans ensue and there’s a lot of talking about relationships (between richie and will and about mike and el)

warnings: swearing, lots of mentions of sex but no actual sex, showering if you consider that a warning?

read it on ao3

“Is this warm enough for you, baby?”

Richie reached his hand behind the shower curtain and felt the stream of water for himself, making sure it wasn’t scalding hot as Will usually enjoyed. “It’s good. I’ll just never understand why you want to feel like you’re burning in hell when you shower,” He paused, “You can’t blame me for not wanting to walk out of here looking like a hot cheeto.”

“You know I hate being cold,” Will reminded him, pulling off his sweater and shirt. They fell onto the floor in a wrinkled pile, followed by his pants, socks, and underwear.

Richie followed in suit, setting his glasses on the sink counter before stripping naked. “I know, I know, princess can’t have the room temperature below seventy…” He watched as Will rolled his eyes and stepped into the shower with him.

Will squirted shampoo into his palm, as Richie soaked his hair under the water, before beginning to scrub his boyfriend’s hair.

“You wanna get tacos after this, baby?” Richie asked, placing his hands in the familiar position of around Will’s waist, massaging his wet skin with his thumbs.

Nodding, Will replied, “Yeah, okay. Then we’ll watch that movie, right? And actually watch it this time?” He raised an eyebrow, expecting the smile that appeared on Richie’s face. It seems like every time they tried to relax together and watch a movie, they get distracted and end up fucking or just fooling around in some way or another.

“Tonight yes, because Mike and El are going to grace us with their wonderful presence, but next time...we’ll hopefully have to save the food for later…” Richie reached and grabbed the shampoo bottle off the shelf and squeezed some directly onto Will’s head. Every time they fought, which was very rare, or especially had sex, Richie always ordered some type of food to eat. Pizza or fast food, never anything healthy. “Well, unless you wanna get back at them, give them a taste of their own med-”

Will furiously shook his head as Richie rubbed into his scalp. Mike having El over all the time was no problem, he could care less, but hearing Mike’s bed begin to creak along with loud grunts and girly moans coming through the wall happened one too many times, and there was no way Will wanted them hearing him and Richie. They’d only recently told their inner circle about them being in a relationship, even though they’ve been together over a year, and Will would rather die than have anybody listen to him having sex.

“I was joking!” Richie laughed, “I know you’re no exhibitionist. Fuck, I mean you’re so shy you have trouble asking for a handjob, such a shy little baby...trying to hide your face from me when you cum even though you look so cute-”

Reaching behind him, Will stared into Richie’s eyes with a squint and his cheeks tinted pink, and turned the shower handle to the right, watching as his boyfriend writhed with pain as the sudden hot water hit his body.

“Ow! Ow! Fuck! Okay, I’m sorry, just-” He yelped, cutting himself off as the water temperature turned back to normal. “You can be a real asshole sometimes, under all those layers of whatever innocence you have left.”

“Well, I wonder who I got it from?” Will scratched his wet hair, pretending to think.  

Richie playfully gasped as he reached for the blue loofah and soap. “That’s not very nice. Ouchie, you hurt my heart…my feelings are so hurt, scrub me squeaky clean or I won’t buy you tacos.”

“You-”

Bang bang bang bang!

“Will? Hello?”

It was Mike, banging on the door with an urgent tone in his booming voice.

Will’s eyes went wide as both he and Richie froze. He blinked a few times before licking his lips and shouting back, “I’m in the shower! What do you want?”

“Okay, stay in there!” Mike told him as the bathroom door swung open. Will flailed his arms around in a panic, dropping the loofah and slapping a hand over Richie’s mouth to prevent him from giving himself away. “Sorry, I really really gotta piss, fuck !” Continued Mike once he was inside, an audible unzipping sound coming afterword, followed by him pissing into the toilet and sighing with relief.

Richie began licking into Will’s palm, for the sole purpose of just being a little shit. Will pointed a warning finger at him with a serious expression on his face. Richie responded by smirking into his hand and raising a challenging eyebrow at him, before letting out a loud and long fart. Putting his face into his hand, Will began to regret life and at the same time contemplate murdering Richie. He knew Mike heard it, and he knew Mike would think it was him since he didn’t know Richie was in the shower with him. Will’s cheeks burned with embarrassment with every silent second that passed and it felt like Mike was taking an eternity to piss.

Almost tripping over all the clothes, Mike turned the sink on, trying to hold back his laughter. If that was him in there, he would have waited until he was alone and then let it rip, but he guessed that Will was just super comfortable around him. But the silence between them was only making it worse.

As he soaped up his hands, Mike noticed the familiar pair of glasses sitting on the counter. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Those were definitely Richie’s, but why would they be here instead of on his face? He was essentially blind without them. Mike’s eyes trailed to the scattered clothes across the floor, which he now realized was a lot for one person. Well, he also now figured out that it wasn’t just Will in the shower because one, there were two towels also on the counter, and two, a Hawaiin printed shirt would never belong to Will, and neither would those pizza socks or PlayStation printed boxers.

“Hi, Richie,” Mike announced.

Richie shoved Will’s hand off of his face. “Hi, Mikey! Wanna join us?”

“I didn’t fart, that wasn’t me I swear , it was Richie!” Will pleaded aloud.

Mike burst into laughter. “Yeah, I was like, shit Will, you couldn’t wait until I left?” He paused, catching his breath and regaining his composure. “Anyway, sorry I had to intrude like that. I, uh, didn’t know you guys were at this stage yet…” It was a little shocking for Mike if he had to be honest. Sure, they only recently told him that they were together, but Mike really hadn’t thought much about what they were doing before they told people. It was a jump, for sure, to see Will doing relationship stuff after all these years of...not.

“Well, it would be nice if we didn’t know what stage you and your missus were at, but we do,” Richie fired back, earning himself a light smack on the chest.

“I--uh--well--sorry--I--we--” Mike stammered, face heating up with embarrassment. Will does such a good job at keeping Richie moderately quiet that he and El just assume nobody is home. Which will always be the wrong move. Richie and Will always make sure to check the entire apartment, sometimes even the cabinets just to be safe, before they get down and dirty.

Reaching down and grabbing the fallen loofah, Will waved his hand to dismiss Mike even though he couldn’t see him. “This totally isn’t awkward at all, but let’s drop it.”

“Right,” Mike replied. “I just came in here to piss, enjoy your shower,” He hurriedly finished before walking out and shutting the bathroom door.

Richie and Will each let out a long breath. At least Mike was cool with it, as he should be because it’s not like he’s had to suffer through hearing them fucking.

As Will began to wash Richie’s body, he said, “Well that was certainly something.”

“I kinda wanted him to come in here. I mean, you would have to leave since there’s barely enough room for two people as it is, but I bet Mike would let me wash his balls.”

Will visibly cringed at what came out of Richie’s mouth. It was like his ears were being poisoned. “I hate that...so much. Never say any of it ever again. And enough about the ball washing thing, you’re so gross!”

Richie raised his arms a little in defence whilst Will ran the soap over his upper thighs. “I’m just saying it would bond us more!”

“Okay, maybe it would, but I’m still not in favour of it. It’s embarrassing, it’s kinda weird, I wouldn’t wanna look at you, and you’d probably scrub too hard on purpose. End of conversation, I’m not letting you wash my balls.” He continued to wash Richie as he turned around to show his backside, before speaking up again, “You know, I’m surprised you’ve stayed soft for this long. You’re usually a huge perv when I shower with you.”

Richie laughed. “Thank you for the compliment, dear, but you’ve forgotten I haven’t washed you yet.” He batted his eyelashes and poked Will’s nose. “Don’t act like you don’t like the attention, shy boy. Or like you haven’t gotten hard from me washing you.”

“That was one fucking time! Fuck, always about sex with you. You’re nasty. It’s so hard to put up with you just so you can pay for my $5.99 taco box, it really is.”

Leaning in close to his face, Richie mocked, “Aw, it’s so horrible isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it is,” Will replied, licking his lips and putting his arms loosely around Richie’s neck as he got closer. “You’re a real piece of work. I don’t usually do this stuff for free, but you’re hot and have a big dick, so...”

Richie’s face faltered a little at that. “I feel bad, I’ve corrupted your brain so much since we met, but then again you’re so hot when you say stuff like that…” Will only saw Richie smile for a second before his waist was pulled closer and he pressed his lips against his. Will immediately opened his mouth to let Richie’s tongue inside, letting out a little sigh after he groaned into his mouth. Kissing down his neck and beginning to suck a red mark onto Will’s neck, Richie’s hands roamed his back before sliding down and giving his ass a squeeze.

Bang bang bang!

“You’re going to use up all the hot water, assholes!” Mike yelled from behind the door.

Shit, how long have they been in there?

“Yeah, and I have to pee…” El chimed in.

Will immediately reached behind him and turned the water off. Richie pulled back the curtain and they both quickly stepped out, wrapping a towel around their waist. Grabbing his glasses and putting them on his face, Richie followed Will out the door, neither of them bothering to pick up any of their clothes.

“Sorry,” Will mumbled to El as they passed by her on the way to his room.

“Did you enjoy your shampoo? Because that’s as far as I got with you…” Richie said once they were both standing in Will’s room.

Will giggled, “Shit, you’re right. It was basically your shower and I was just...there.” He dug through his dresser and slipped on a fresh pair of boxers.

Richie grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the bed before he sat down. “How about I just Uber Eats the food? Do you wanna pick up where we left off?”

“Mike and El are home…did you already forget that?”

“You and that dirty mind of yours, I swear, Will, all you think about is sex,” Richie playfully huffed. “Such a bad influence. I just meant kisses. Can’t a man just kiss his boyfriend around here?”

Will rolled his eyes with a small smile and pushed Richie back on his bed before climbing on top of him and connecting their lips.

“Are you guys gonna get your clothes?” El shouted.

Richie let out an exasperated sigh as Will stood up. “We really need our own place. I don’t know how much more I can take.”

Will whipped his head around to look back at him and flushed. “You really mean it?”

Giving him a small shove with his foot, Richie grinned, “Go get our clothes, buttercup, we can leave the talking for later when we finally get those tacos.”

[raeynbowboi]

My Two Cents on Female Characters in Animated Television Shows

Recently, while discussing my disappointment with the lack of development for the girls in My Hero Academia, I received a rather pointed response that accused me of not caring about female characters at all. This couldn’t be further from the truth, as often girl characters are usually some of my favorites in most shows, but where I think this person got confused is that they mistook my criticisms for contempt. You can criticize something without disliking it. Although I laughed and rolled my eyes at the accusation being the staunch feminist that I am, I figured it was a worthwhile topic to discuss: the portrayal and characterization of female characters in media. Particularly, animated television products.

Even though I wasn’t alive at the time, let’s rewind the clock back to the 1980s. During this decade, most animated television series were more focused on selling toys to go with the product than telling a good story, and this was also the time when gendered products exploded. Boys watched He-Man, G.I. Joe, and Transformers. Girls watched My Little Pony, the Care Bears, and Jem and the Holograms. The biggest shows usually had a gender division, though there were some shows that catered to children as a whole. What we usually got out of the boy shows is a cast almost exclusively male with maybe one or two female characters, such as with the 80s Voltron series were Allura was the only female character on the side of good. Likewise with girl oriented shows, most of the cast was girls with only a small handful of boys, though the Care Bears was an outlier due to having a rather fine mix of the two. During this era, if a girl was on the team, she usually didn’t do much. She was the damsel to be saved or the love interest to be smooth talked. She rarely had much more personality than “is a girl”. They were just kind of cookie cutter stereotypes who existed to be saved and supported by the real heroes. Some shows however did focus on strong warrior women such as She-Ra and Spider-woman. However, both of these were female spin-offs of boy shows and were again gendered products aimed only at female viewers.

The 1990s saw the emergence of shows with female leads that weren’t necessarily aimed exclusively at girls, but more often than not, it was more of a case of shows aimed at girls that just happened to attract a male audience. This happened with shows like The Powerpuff Girls or Daria, with Daria being a spin-off of Beavis and Butthead created to give MTV a female icon to draw viewership, as well as serving as a feminist icon and a voice of the disaffected nihilism of 90s teens. Shows aimed at a broader audience like Recess, The Magic School Bus, and Captain Planet started a trend of including more female characters, but it was still very common for the ratio to be tipped in favor of male characters. And this trope still remains at large to this day. This ratio is usually about 3:2 or 2:1 in a smaller group. Unless it’s aimed at girls or designed specifically to appeal to both genders, most products have more boy than girl characters.

Now with the 2000s, this is when my earliest childhood memories come back to me, and it’s the girls from this era of media that turned me into a feminist. I grew up on shows like Teen Titans, Avatar the Last Airbender, Kim Possible, and Totally Spies. This is when I would argue girl characters were really starting to really leap out and become actual people, though there were shades of this in the 90s as well. They were far more deep and complex than girl characters were in earlier media. Katara was still a maternal figure and a healer, but she had pride, a temper, and could be bossy. Starfire was a beautiful alien princess, but she was a warrior princess who was just as good in a fight if not better than her male teammates. Kim Possible was a super popular cheerleader, but she was also an honor roll student and a kick ass secret agent who retained her humbleness about it most of the time. While Clover was totally boy-crazy and fashion obsessed, she was balanced out by the academic Sam and the sporty Alex, and all three spies had episodes where they were the one saving the day and figuring out the problem. Fortunately, the 2010s have continued this trend of fleshed-out female characters, as shows have allowed female characters to exceed the normal parameters or expectations of their genders to treat them more like people, such as Flame Princess in Adventure Time donning very traditionally masculine clothing when she raps, both of which are not stereotypically feminine.

However, where Western Animation has progressed greatly, Shonen Anime has fallen majorly by the wayside. A common criticism of Naruto is that Sakura spent most of the time standing around doing nothing, and this sadly applies to all of the women. Kurenai is a Jonin level ninja, but she’s only ever shown in a single fight against Itachi and Kisame where she uses exactly one technique, and it’s used to show off how strong and cool Itachi is because he could counter her illusions with his own. Hinata is driven to become stronger due to being inspired by Naruto, but barely gets any screen time or skill improvement, and her only notable fight in part II is against Pain where it was a vehicle for her confessing her feelings for Naruto, and then triggering Naruto’s 6 tailed form so that Naruto could win the fight. Heck, Ino was standing ten feet away from the wanted terrorists that killed her teacher and she did nothing the entire fight. It’s not like she had mind control powers that would have been useful or anything. Sure the arc was for Shikamaru’s character growth, but even Choji did something and Choji sucks. And Tenten... Well she doesn’t matter. You could literally replace her with a lamp and nobody would be able to tell the difference. She’s just there because every squad must have a girl character.

So, now it’s time for the big feelings ouchie word: Strong Female Character. When people hear this they assume it means a character like Calhoun in Wreck-It Ralph, that tough as nails no bs cranky type of female who don’t need no man and yes, Calhoun is a Strong Female Character. And so is Katara. And Sadie Miller in Steven Universe. And Quinn Morgendorfer from Daria. Being a Strong Female Character isn’t about being tough or being a walking tank. Strong Female Characters simply have strong characterization. They’re well-constructed. Katara lost her mother when she was young and she had to take on her mother’s responsibilities, causing her to become very mature at a young age and to feel like anyone in need of help should get it because that’s her ‘job’ in a sense. Taking care of others is what she’s done since she lost her mother, it’s become her identity, and she could never reject that self-appointed duty without losing who she is as a person. Raven from Teen Titans pushes people away because she’s destined to destroy the world, and she hates herself for what she was created to do. She views herself as a living curse, and she doesn’t want to let people get close to her because it’ll hurt that much more when she has to fulfill her destiny and hurt the people that she cares about. Sadie Miller has only ever poofed one corrupted gem, but there’s a clear personality at play. She has low self-esteem and puts up with people telling her what to do because she’s a pleaser. She likes to make other people happy. Quinn is as classic girly girl as you can get. She’s shallow, vain, and bows to peer pressure. However, she voices that she doesn’t always like having to be like this, but that if she didn’t, she wouldn’t have anything in common with her friends. She’d rather be a shell of her real self surrounded by friends than her true self and alone. As Daria points out, Quinn wears superficiality like a suit of armor because she’s afraid of looking inside and finding nothing. But in later seasons, she begins to embrace the things that make her stand out by becoming more openly invested in her studies regardless of what it makes people think of her, and honestly, nobody really cares. A Strong Female Character doesn’t have to lead an army to be strong, she just has to be a fully defined person. So, now let’s bring the discussion full circle back to My Hero Academia. Earlier I mentioned the standard 3:2 ratio for larger groups. That is to say, if there’s an odd number of main characters, expect one extra boy for every boy-girl set. Too bad in My Hero Academia, it’s a 2:1 ratio of 14 boys and 6 girls. That’s 30% of the class size. They barely make up 1/4 of the class. And of those six maybe three of them have strong personalities. Tsuyu Asui, Momo Yaoyorozu, and Mina Ashido all have very distinct personalities, stand out in the class, and and have been given noteworthy character traits. Tsu tends to favor logic over emotion but doesn’t always like that this is her go-to response because she’s afraid people will think she’s heartless. Momo has high expectations for herself, and had a whole arc dedicated to her disappointment from the tournament arc. And Mina has a clearly defined personality, flaws, and tends to speak the most of the girls in the class. While Jiro’s not necessarily flat, we know less about her than the other girls. Uraraka’s character is so fixated on being the cute love interest that she doesn’t have any other personality traits. And Hakagure’s only real gimmick is that she’s invisible, but other than that is just a stereotypical girl. There’s nothing wrong with a female character not being a central figure in the narrative. What is wrong is when female characters are left to being window dressing. Jiro’s parents are both musicians and Jiro seems to like music too so why is she trying to be a hero? We know next to nothing about Hagakure. Sure, there are boy characters we don’t know very well either. Shoji, Koda, Sato, and Aoyama are still largely underdeveloped. But see, it’s problematic not only because the ratio is so heavily slanted, but because the girls that need character development don’t get much screen time. Uraraka has used the disarming training she got from her internship a few times, but that’s not a personality or a character development. And what happened when she went to the Yakuza secret hideout? She got left outside with the rest of the girls while most of the plot happened inside with the boys. Heck, Nejire who is part of the Big Three, we saw the backstories and training for both Mirio and Tamaki, but Nejire was just sort of ... present. She wasn’t given a character. Now, does that mean that I hate the girls in My Hero Academia? Of course not! Tsu is one of my favorite characters, and I like Jiro. She’s cool. But that doesn’t mean that I’m happy with the level of development and focus they’ve gotten. They’re characters too and they should be allowed to be more fleshed out in the story.

[elizzea-blog]

best girl from black butler  /  kuroshitsuji going canon divergent after the luxury liner arc to fit isola storyline and because i didn’t catch the canon material although i know the major plot points.

literal personification of   “ you can’t fight crime if you ain’t cute ”  !!

she’s sugar and everything nice being cutesy ,  ladylike and loving all things girly 

but she will not hesitate to cut you down if things go south for people she protecc

a natural genius in fencing that all boys she sparred with are marked scared and scarred.  ouchies ,  for a man’s ego.

her mom trained her rigorously more than  “ ciel ”  since her dad is the head of a club for knights and chivalry ,  and her fiance is going to be the queen’s watchdog.

her auntie taught her how to act weak and small to only smile and wave for her husband so she’ll inspire a husband who will protect her.

she said  “ fuck it ”  when she dropped the act to save and defend her mans when ciel returned from war and when zombies are gonna end them.

has no problems gutting a moving corpse ,  but is very scared of ghosts.

totally updated with fashion ,  she won’t tolerate uncute things ! 

thinks her fiance is very cute and no ,  she doesn’t tolerate your constructive criticism about ciel phantomhive.  next question.

has big uwu energy !!  has a very big heart and warm to anyone she meets ,  extending optimism ,  hope ,  kindness and love to people who deserves it.  she thinks everyone deserves to be loved anyway.

also big dick energy because she is very strong headed ,  dedicated ,  will driven and to see her crestfallen and giving up is like she died inside.  which rarely happens.  

also loves celebrating the small things in life ,  making a big deal out of it by doing parties for close friends and family or she doesn’t mind planning small tea parties.

PLEASE TAKE CARE OF HER .

[periperimommy79-blog]

Don't give up

This is my first scribble - knowing me it'll be a novel sized scribble, apologies -, and it will be about my breastfeeding journey in the UK.

Nothing I write should be considered medical or professional advice, it is only my personal experience and loads - no, really, LOADS - of researching the internet (even translating Spanish, Italian, French and German articles - thanks Google). And of course my final conclusion on the matter. Which is: do not panic or stress, relax and it will fall into place. Emotions are more important than I believed before. Mind over matter? Sure. But heart and soul over mind. Always. So do not despair as it will hold you back.

My journey began in May 2013 when I've truly understood love, holding my baby girl for the first time❤. I was set on breastfeeding and never gave it a second thought. I believed it was the natural way, so formula feeding was a choice for those who did not WANT to breastfeed.

5 days after her arrival we were back in hospital as my little angel lost over 16% of her birthweight. When we talking of a 6.8 lb baby that is a lot.

She wasn't getting fed enough, probably was getting some as she managed to stay hydrated... just above the ouchy line, but not enough to sustain her weight.

So we were told to supplement after offering the breast. She needed to get stronger to be able to suck properly, as feeding on the breast takes a lot of energy, especially if the reward is near nothing.

I was devastated. It felt like I've failed my baby. I kept beating myself up for starving my child. Up till today when I look at her early pictures my heart goes out to that baby with so much pain and sadness in her tiny eyes. I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive myself for not pressing harder when my instinct told me something was wrong after 2 days. As a new mum I was not given credit by the seasoned professionals visiting us every day for 5 days when I said she sleeps too much, she doesn't eat only goes on for a few sucks then falls asleep. Her latch was checked and seemed good, so I was labelled a worrier. Until the day 5 weight check when our world collapsed.

Not for a moment did I want her to starve any longer but I also wanted her to get breast milk. So I've followed professional advice. Increased and increased then increaed the formula again and kept offering the breast before each feed. Also followed the set time for feeding, every 3 then 4 hours, and so on as she grew.

Tried expressing after feeds as well, but it was a disaster and disheartened me even further. The lack of milk when expressing made me accept that I am one of those women who just can't produce milk. It happens. It's not my fault. It's just how it is. I gave exclusive breast feeding my best shot and by offering the breast until she was 6 months old I did give her the "best of both worlds".

5 years down the line I can see where I went wrong. In November 2018 my little man arrived. He was a surprise: we were trying for nearly 5 years with no luck, then decided it isn't happening for us, sold all baby and toddler stuff. Was about to sell the nursery furniture when we found out about him 😊 everything else had to be bought again 🙈

What did I do different?

1. With my girl we had help, honest help, but untrained and unexperienced help from lovely people. If you want to breastfeed and it's not working, having professional help is important. Finding the right one is key. With our son we had picked up on the "not enough milk" on day 3. Again, started formula topups. We were upping it to 30ml each feed and he wa gaining well so we stopped the topups. Then weighed him 3 days after. He lost weight again. Back to formula. Gaining again, decrease formula. Baby lost weight again. Hospital as his weight is up and down. We know why but go in anyway. So luckily we went. And met 3 amazing and experienced feeding specialists.

Turns out if you look at an already latched baby feeding you will not be able to establish if the latch is good or not. You'll need a feed observed from start to finish to tell. He wasn't latching properly. So with help and instructions he was latching fine after 5 hours of trying. He fed with big gulps for 10 minutes on each breast then followed with lots of sucks and fewer swallows on each. We were in there for 2 days, BF, express, topup. I felt more sure of myself when we left and very greatful for "my 3 angels" and their knowledge.

2. Have support. With my girl I had the understanding and backing of our family - I was shaken of what happened and feeling an utter failure. But I was not pressing breastfeeding, scared of her losing weight again I accepted formula as the only way.

With my boy I decided I will not give up as I did with my girl. Unfortunately my partner and our family did not believe I can breastfeed and my partner was very agressivly against it - being told I'm selfish for trying to breastfeed, that I rather starve him than accept that I will never have milk and the best one: he'll call social services if I don't give up the idea of not giving him formula - not the support I needed.

His whole family gave me the cold stare for carrying on and even my own mother said just give him the bottle and spend the time gained with my daughter. Emotional pressure...hmmm, mother knows best. Good thing I'm now a mother too, so took the tiny gold out of this comment and spoke to my girly, explaining what and why is mommy doing what she's doing. I swear that little girl is more supportive than some of the adults close to me.

So I ignored all negativity, got courage from 3 of my friends and told my other half if he can't be supportive then at least keep his mouth shut and stay away from me as stress has serious negative effects on my supply. He stayed away and kept his mouth shut and I've carried on. It was hard times. To carry on and not give in. Even harder that the people I expected to back me had turned their back.

So surround yourself with people who raise your spirits, who will assure you and make you believe that you can do it. Ignore the nay sayers. It is your baby and body, as long as you're both safe you call the shots and do what feels right.

3. Research. Knowledge is power. Gather as much info, as many tips and methods as possible. Watch videos, read, go on forums and ask questions. Find groups. Shape all info so it fits the two of you.

With my daughter I just accepted what I was told by the professionals in the hospital and after we left it. I did not know of other moms who struggled but succeeded. I did not know there are ways to try to increase milk supply. I did not know I was breaking the demand and supply ring by increasing formula and not boobie time.

With my boy I was constantly reading, watching, getting in touch.

What worked for us? These:

1. Did not follow rules of timed feeding.

Yes, I've kept to the 3 hrs with him, but only that I didn't let him go longer than 3 hrs between feeds. Not even at night. Not until he was gaining weight well. If he wanted to eat 30 minutes after he came off the breast then I've put him back on.

Ever heard of supply and demand? SOOOO TRUE! When your baby is sucking for 3-5 hours non stop (cluster feeding)? Or eating for 1 hr then 40 minutes break and another hour session aaaand repeat? They just ordering their meals ahead. Telling your body they need more. Let them.

When we were topping up with over 30ml formula, I did it in smaller portions during his cluster feeding periods which were always evening meals - 60ml topup: 2x30ml or 3x20ml and put him back on the boob in between. It is time consuming, but works. Sometimes he refused the last portion cuz he was too tired/full. If it was only one meal, I let him skip that formula amount.

2. I started expressing only after his last feed before his big sleep each night. It saves time during the day and I can sleep more during the night. It is app. the same time each day, so my body is expecting it.

Now I can get 3x as much out as what I've staryed with. He drinks this still as a topup after his last meal of the day the next evening. Past few days he doesn't even drink it all and it makes me happy! They're hungrier in the evenings - getting filled up for longer time to sleep - and if he refuses his favourite meal with the easy access (he prefers breast milk over formula, but prefers the bottle to the breast as it is easier) must mean he had enough already 😀.

3. I had looked at pictures of how my breast is built up, where he needs to press to get the milk going.

I finally understood that I did have milk, even with my daughter - she kept sucking for 6 months and never took more than 90ml of formula, looking back I was such a fool not to realise that she wouldn't have gained weight as well as she did on 360ml of formula a day - they just could not get to it efficiently.

Once I worked out where his mouth needs to be on my aerola I looked for ways to put it in. It sounds funny, but my aerola is rather large and his cute mouth is so little, so he needed help to "stuff it in". Now he doesn't need it as he learnt to do it himself as well as his mouth is a bit bigger.

4. Made myself realise, understand and trust that I have enough milk for my baby and stop worrying over it.

I looked for proof and reminded myself every time I started to doubt myself again (maybe because a look from other half, or baba wanting to eat and eat - not because I did not have enough now but because he will need more soon so he is ordering) that I have milk. So when he was gaining on 420ml formula a day until he was 7 weeks old I convinced myself and reduced the amount to 360ml. Then 300ml. Always checked his gain. Now we're 180ml a day and reducing. And he is gaining.

It was hard not to increase formula as suggested by some people, but I knew he is safely gaining and worse case senario he will not gain enough, but he will not lose weight again, even if my supply decreases or can't keep up with his demand.

5. Stopped timing our feeds. I take note of the bottles still - will do until they're out of the picture -, but not of how long he is on each breasts. It is not important. I'll put him on when he asks. And because he is gaining he will ask when he is hungry because he has the energy to let me know. He will now not sleep if he's hungry no matter what I do. Dare to go shopping too long and the roof comes down!

This way feeding feels natural, not a must do thing which commands my day and full attention. I even enjoy it now, that I relax. No clocking in and out 😊 honestly? This is one of the best feelings other than seeing the numbers go up on the scale and down in the bottle.

Do not get me wrong. I have nothing against formula, we're lucky that is available. I do not judge anyone who chose to formula feed their LO. Mixed feeding has it's advantages as well. Not the way I am doing it now, but when you replace meals with a bottle to gain some time off boob duty.

But to me exclusive breastfeeding is the end game, so at mo formula is an unwanted must.

I will stop here for now, my eyelids are getting glued at each blink.