#very relatable. i would've done the same

[gabugabs]

Let the record show it was Mr. Nathan Lee who intitiated the banter, therefore the defendant cannot be accused of being the sole instigator of any subsequent instances of such behavior.

ch6 of thicker than if /// @barbwritesstuff

[astralsoulacewof]

FanWing Fest was honestly one of the best weekends of my life. If you told me 10 years ago when I first read Wings of Fire that I would someday be meeting Tui wearing a Peril fursuit that I had made myself, I probably would've passed out from excitement. Getting to wear her to this event was one of the best things I've ever done. I loved every single picture I got with people, and every thing I was given. I loved seeing how excited people were to see me. I am very grateful I was able to go and brighten people's days and spread some much needed joy in the world. That's one of the biggest things I want to do in this fandom and in general: make people happy.

Thank you to everyone who stopped me to get photos (Please tag me, I love seeing the pics people get with me!), took videos, talked to me, and told me I inspired them. Hearing that I have inspired people, and seeing the things I have inspired people to create will always make my day. We always need more Wings of Fire fursuits and cosplays, and I am happy I was able to contribute to that.

One of my favorite parts of this weekend was getting to finally meet and hang out with some online friends I've met through the fandom. It was such a fun time, and I am so sad it's over. At the same time, I am so so glad and appreciative that through this fandom I was able to make friends who I cherish dearly. I would not be where I am without them, and I am so glad I got to spend that time with them.

It felt so surreal to hear Mike Holmes say that I was his favorite fan interaction (I am going to be rewatching that clip for a long time lmao). Getting to walk up to Tui in my Peril fursuit, my most prized possession, and hear her say she thinks it's amazing and even signing it was incredible. I was so grateful I was able to talk to her and tell her thank you for making Peril, because I would not be where I am right now without her. I've never seen a character I loved and related to so much. This character and this series has genuinely changed my life and I will forever be grateful

(RainWing is Kat2Nite, head made by me!)

[lovelyahoy]

Dr. Stone: One-shot. Word count:5,126.

Warnings: None I think? Maybe fluff and fast-paced. This takes place in high school, so they're like 15-16 here.

(Idea is from a scene in the movie 'Sydney White', sorry if it feels like I forced Stan into the mix lol)

Summary: [Y/N] can't believe she wondered for even a second, if the possibility of new friends was worth ruining her friendship with two very lovable individuals.

Taglist: @akiqvq (Hope you like this haha💖)

Pairing: Stanley x Fem!Reader x Xeno

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[Y/N] clutched the edges of her skirt, a deep blush adorned her face trying to avoid the gazes of the girls standing before her. This was a terrible idea, she knew deep down guilt would overtake her.

"Can't it be someone else?"

"Nope, nerd, and he's your crush? Perfect choice." Maggie grinned, flipping her black hair behind her shoulder. The girls were part of a small little clique, dominating the cheerleading team and anything socially related.

The [H/C] haired girl had just been accepted into the squad, but needed to prove herself to them as a 'friend'. What was the requirement? Ask out one of the boys they deem a loser or awkward, then leave the restaurant, leaving them to handle the bill alone.

To them, it was a quick fun joke, to [Y/N]? Dread. Pure and utter dread was already consuming her from the mere thought of going through with it. Just a few days ago they had invited her to a sleepover, and when the topic of boys came up, she excitedly expressed her interest in the science club member named Xeno.

Big fucking mistake, who knew a bunch of fifteen-year-olds could be this twisted?

"You can always get someone better, you have a decent face, nice body, and a cheerleader now." Bridgette rolled her brown eyes, not seeing the big deal on this whole fiasco. They've all mostly done it before, forgetting who they had even picked in the past.

Although she was sure no one had picked Xeno yet, which excited the girls to witness this messy prank. They could agree he was cute and would've probably skipped out on him as a choice, but knowing [Y/N] had feelings for him was too good to pass up, something Maggie didn't overlook one bit.

"So, anyways. The restaurant you'll be going to is the one near the karaoke bar, Berlin's Delight was it? We'll be nearby, don't worry." Except that's what worried her the most, having their prying eyes suffocating her every move and word.

The very next day she stood outside the clubroom, taking in a deep breath and composing herself. How would she even get him to agree to a...date? They've only been friends for very few months, meeting at the start of the school year. She was sure he didn't feel the same way at all.

A hand suddenly reached from behind her, opening the door she had been hesitating to touch.

[Y/N]'s head shifted over her shoulder, gazing at the tall blonde who held a blank stare. Xeno's best friend, the second boy she expressed interest in, but ultimately wasn't chosen for this prank because he was part of the football team and a very common crush with the female and male students.

"You've always been eager to burst in there, what's up?" She gulped, feeling sweat start to build up. Stanley guided her into the room when she muttered nothing in return, making the young boy inside raise an eyebrow in wonder.

"Ah, [Y/N]. Do you need help with a question?" Her [E/C] eyes couldn't handle the gentleness his voice carried towards her, looking away and softly shaking her head. She took a seat nearby the metal counter, taking out a notebook and pretending to start her homework.

"Nothing like that, I just...needed some company." From the corner of her eye, she watched Xeno send her a smile and a quick nod, going back to his own little science world. It wasn't rare at all for them to sit in silence with each other, he liked the company of his favorite people.

Stanley couldn't shrug it off as fast as Xeno did, he kept his caramel eyes on her nervous figure, the slight scrunch in her eyebrows, and the trembling of her hand—he knew something was up. [Y/N] was a very shy individual, being a transfer student and forced to make new friends, it wasn't surprising for her to be this jittery.

However, she had gotten over it with them, she no longer stuttered her words or flustered whenever they'd invite her to lunch. Knowing that phase was over, made this behavior all the more suspicious and concerning.

"I heard from the guys you tried out for cheer, how'd it go?" She lifted her gaze, looking to the side and feeling her cheeks warm up from how close he was to her, if she moved even an inch they'd bump noses.

"Oh, I uh, I made the team..." Something clicked in his head, from how dejected she looked, to the uncertainty she carried. He wasn't a stranger to the pranks those girls liked to play, and it worried him that [Y/N] was planning to do something she didn't want to.

Stanley pursed his purple lips slightly, noticing the way her [E/C] eyes trailed to them, blush getting a tad bit darker. He knew she liked them both, what started off as a silly little tease fest, turned into something more. But he wasn't going to rush it at all unless she decided to take the initiative.

Maybe he'd sneak in a kiss though.

Xeno kept his attention to his beaker, writing down the changes in his notepad. Despite his determination to keep focus, his ears were still very distracted by their words. The color turned a bright blue, and confusion settled in his head.

"It was supposed to be green..." He muttered, looking over the chemical bottles he used, onyx eyes dropping in annoyance and a loud sigh caught the sitting pair's attention. "Someone changed the liquids around."

It wasn't like was a bully target, knowing full well Stanley had threatened those who tried it before, effectively cutting any chance for it to continue.

[Y/N] felt a shiver run down her spine, there was no explanation other than Maggie sending someone over to do this. It wasn't a target for Xeno specifically, no, it was for her. A warning, if she didn't go through with it, they'd take the steps necessary.

"Guess I should be glad they weren't as dumb to switch around the lithium, would've exploded right in my face."

Those words made the pencil in her hand snap in half, why did she have to mention him during that stupid sleepover? Unknowingly dragging him into the claws of the cheerleaders, anger brought slight chest pains. Pranks were meant to be harmless and fun, not borderline dangerous and humiliating.

"Hey, Xeno?" He hummed in response while pouring the failed mixture down the drain, wiping down the counter while sending her a quick look—letting her know he was listening.

"Are you free this Saturday? Berlin's delight, 7 pm." [Y/N] stuffed the notebook in her bag, hesitating to move away from the pretty blonde, but knowing she had to leave the room before he could verbally deny her request. "Bye."

That solidified it for Stanley, who felt his mood drop drastically. He turned to look at his best friend, watching him blink in surprise.

"I'm sure you picked up on the signs too."

The white-haired teen chuckled softly, washing his hands thoroughly and then walking around the counter to settle next to the blonde. Both boys gazing at the door she walked out of.

"I didn't peg [Y/N] to be the type, somehow I'm more curious to see the outcome rather than upset."

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Slipping on her white pumps, [Y/N] felt her heart hammering in her chest, smoothing out the light blue sundress and putting pins to hold her [H/C] hair back from falling into her eyes. Her lips were a glossy pink, light mascara, and a pinch of highlighter.

'The girls and I are going to be there shortly, put on a show will you?'

She threw her phone into her purse, grumbling under her breath and checking over her outfit for what seemed like the hundredth time. Her mother knocked softly and opened the door, peeking her head in with a concerned gaze.

"You've been getting ready since three o'clock dear, is everything okay? We need to go soon."

"I'm ready."

The car ride was silent, the soft hum of the radio barely kept her brain occupied away from her thoughts. Reaching a red light, [M/N] glanced to the passenger seat, seeing her daughter gazing out the window.

"Okay, something's up. What is it?"

[Y/N] pursed her lips, and the hand on her dress tightened.

"If you needed to lose two friends for a new group of friends, would it be worth it?"

"Are those two perhaps the boys you like?" Her voice held a teasing tone, laughing when [Y/N] murmured a 'stop it' and covered her face in embarrassment. "Judging from that reaction, no, darling it's not worth it. If your new potential friends take away what you hold dear, they aren't real friends, now are they?"

"I taught you to follow your heart, Xeno and Stanley seem like very nice kids, even if they only came over a few times. They're good for you, don't lose good over an 'if', ever."

The conversation was finalized right when the green light sparked, driving off and getting closer to the destination. Her watch blinked 6:55 pm, she took in a deep breath and ran her mom's words again and again in her head.

It didn't take long to arrive at the parking lot, receiving a comforting smile from her mom she opened the door, waving slightly, and walking towards the crowded line. Maggie had assured her she set up a reservation, even then, she wasn't sure if Xeno would even come.

There was no text message, from him, or sent from her. [Y/N] brushed passed the angered adults muttering half-hearted apologies and going up to the hostess who was trying to calm them all down.

"Hi, I have a reservation for 7 pm under the name of [L/N]."

"Ah, yes here you are. Table for two, we have a corner booth set up for you. Follow me." The woman gave her a tired smile, eyebags prominent and cheeks sunken in. She guided the teen towards her table, setting down a menu and quickly telling her the specials.

"I'll be okay with the wait time, don't worry about me." The hostess huffed out a heavy sigh, nearly close to tears from her reassuring voice. "Two waters for now will be fine."

[Y/N] took out her phone, sending a quick text to let Xeno know about the reservation, shutting it off not wanting to see his reply or lack of one. A few seconds later she looked around the full restaurant, body going rigid when she gazed at the group of girls sitting at the opposite side. Bridgett sent her a thumbs up, smugly smiling when [Y/N] bit her lip harshly in response.

"Right over here sir."

[E/C] eyes filled with sparkles, looking up to see Xeno approach her table and sit down with a soft smile. His white hair was in the usual small pompadour style, but seeing him wear casual clothing always made her heart skip a beat.

A black long-sleeved shirt covered by a black vest and accessorized by a tie that matched the color of her eyes. Matching black pants and dress shoes.

"Hello, [Y/N]." She melted when he rolled up his sleeves, showing off the watch she and Stanley had gotten him for his birthday. She murmured a greeting back, watching his smile stretch further when she tried to hide her growing blush.

"Hi, I'm Yuna, I'll be your waitress for the night. Would you like to order drinks while you look over the menu?"

"I'll stick to water." Xeno took a sip and picked up the menu, gazing over the contents.

"A lemon mocktail please." [Y/N] needed something to quickstart herself, picking up the menu as well and nearly grimacing at the dish prices. For a damned casual place, these amounts were out of this world. An obvious reason why Maggie insisted on this place, wanting the bill to be high as hell for the boy.

"I'll admit, I was a bit surprised by your forwardness. Seems like you've grown more comfortable, I'm glad."

Shut up. The more he spoke the more she nearly folded, he set down the menu, trapping her into an intense eye contact. Holding his cheek up with his hand, his onyx eyes lidded when she couldn't look away.

"I'm sorry, I practically forced you to come."

"No worries, I'm happy to be here."

[Y/N] paused, hearing the slight edge to his words. She twiddled her thumbs, trying to hide the shakiness of her hands. Her drink was set on the table, thanking the waitress she immediately took a gulp, sighing in contentment when it started to cool off her face.

"I uh, I heard from Mrs. Hunter that you got an internship at NASA. How is it?"

"Interesting, although they haven't given me permission to meddle with actual rocket components."

"You're very smart and they'll realize the extent of it soon enough. I'm sure of it."

Xeno had seen the giggling girls a few moments after entering the restaurant, sending them a glare with a sharp smile on his lips. To make [Y/N] feel like she needed to prove herself in such a silly way, warmed his blood significantly.

Yuna came over a few minutes later, taking their food orders and walking away. Xeno immediately stood up, asking [Y/N] to give him a minute, and walked off. Ironic how panic settled within her, did he know what was happening and decide to leave her with the humiliation instead?

She stayed still, swirling the straw in her mocktail trying to avoid the confused eyes of the cheerleaders. [Y/N] wasn't planning on going through with it in the long run, even then, she deserved this treatment.

"Sorry, I needed to change something on my order." Xeno sat down once again, holding in the chuckle from seeing her inner turmoil. She looked cute like this.

"M'kay." He was intent on keeping her eyes on him, catching onto the fact that the [H/C] haired girl found it hard to look away from him. When she first sat at lunch with him and Stanley, she barely gazed up from her lunchbox, face redder than beets. Xeno liked seeing her blush, it always portrayed her emotions so blatantly even when she tried hard to hide them.

"So, will you be in the front lines for the next tournament?"

"Well, I'm the best for flashy moves like the backflips, handsprings, and such—oh! I didn't mean to sound so egotistical..." She covered her face with her yellow-colored drink, hearing him laugh lightly at her self-concern.

"If you're the best, it's natural to embrace the thought. It's not like its a lie anyway." Xeno beamed, nearly gloating for her. He'd seen her practice almost every day, only when Stanley planted the idea of joining the cheerleading team did she enhance her training.

"Don't feed my ego so much Xeno." She giggled, covering her mouth with the back of her hand.

Their food arrived and conversation slowly flowed out naturally, laughing in-between bites and having a good time. She had momentarily forgotten the reason they were really here, enjoying Xeno's company in a much more intimate light.

'Bathroom. Now.'

The lit-up text had her sucking in a deep breath, sending Xeno a brief shaky smile she got up from the table, clutching her purse. "I need to use the bathroom."

[Y/N] made her way over, the door slammed shut when she walked inside. Annoyed faces gazed at her, Maggie looked at her with a blank expression instead, arms crossed and cornering [Y/N] near the sinks.

"What are you doing? Did you forget what we're here for?"

Bridgett hopped up on the sink counter, staring down at [Y/N] who opened up her purse to take out her lip-gloss, touching up on her makeup. She ignored them, keeping her eyes on herself through the mirror.

"Chicken." Maggie taunted, leaning in the mirror, close to the teen. "Do it, or don't bother coming to practice again."

It was kind of cute, seeing someone who couldn't compare to your skill level be so adamant. Trying to hold themselves above everyone else when they offered absolutely nothing in return.

"I think you've forgotten something, you aren't in charge, only coach can kick me out."

"As the captain, I hold much more power than you think."

[Y/N] rolled her eyes, getting angrier by the second. Why did she even want to be friends with them in the first place? Right, being in a squad with people you dislike was horrible, and brought so much struggle into the routines. Yet, thinking back on her mom's words, and her own thoughts, she wasn't about to let them ruin this.

Was she really going to ruin the friendship she managed to build with these two? Over a group of girls who would drop her in the blink of an eye if she wore anything they didn't deem fashionable enough?

Yeah fucking right, she chuckled looking into the mirror. Feelings dissipating and turning to look at Maggie, who was startled at the sudden close proximity.

"When you become half as good as me, you can talk your shit. Get out of my way." [Y/N] bumped her shoulder into the black-haired girl, making her stumble back from the impact. Her confidence was only shown on the outside, inside she was freaking out, never thinking she'd be capable of doing something like that.

The girls guarding the door moved out of the way, never had they seen [Y/N] so enraged. They exchanged glances between each other, realizing how right the [H/C] haired girl was. Maggie and Bridgett didn't really contribute much to their cheers, lacking both flexibility and leadership.

Leaving the bathroom, followed by the entire flock of girls they all froze simultaneously. [Y/N]'s table was empty. Xeno nowhere to be seen and she felt a lump rapidly grow in her throat, a laugh suddenly broke her trance.

"Seems like loverboy didn't hold the same sentiment as you, guess the prank worked anyway."

"Shut up Maggie!" Nina snapped, balling her hands into fists. She was one of the 'lucky' few who only had to humiliate herself, not someone else. Seeing [Y/N], who taught her how to tumble safely, looking so sad made her feel bad.

"Excuse me?" Bridgett stepped up for her friend, raising a hand to slap the meek girl when her wrist got caught in a tight grip.

"Will you both just fuck off?" [E/C] eyes narrowed, pushing the girl back and walking to the bar counter. The squad dissipated, with Maggie and Bridgett walking out together and the other girls settling back at their table with troubled expressions.

"Hi, Yuna? I'd like to pay for the check now."

The waitress bumped her head from how fast she sprung up from the bar's lower shelves, she blinked trying to regain her balance and walked up to the frowning girl.

"Oh, that boy paid right after you ordered."

So that's why he had gotten up, he had basically done what the prank called for. Tears welled up in her eyes, startling the woman in front of her.

"I'll stay seated for a few minutes if that's okay."

Yuna nodded, watching the teen walk off quickly. She glanced at the paid bill, remembering the items he had added before sitting back down earlier.

[Y/N] stared at the unfinished plates, more than half of his chicken fillet was left and the water was topped off. She pushed away her own food, no longer feeling an appetite for the pasta. Crossing her arms over the table and settling her head on them, trying to stop the tears from spilling.

This was all her fault, having no one to blame but herself. Xeno wasn't an idiot, and surely Stanley told him the extent of what this date could mean. There was no way for Xeno to know she wouldn't go through with it, maybe that was the only reason he came, to let her feel what he would've felt if she left first.

"Well, you were right." Stanley finished his cigarette throwing it in the large bin nearby, both boys gazing at the large window and settling their eyes on [Y/N].

"I'm sure you're also aware of her real crush on us. She can barely conceal it." Xeno had assured Stanley firmly, that she had invited him out of sheer adrenaline. [Y/N] wasn't capable of going through with this cruel prank, no matter what target was chosen.

The girl lifted her head when new plates were placed on her table, Yuna smiled down at her. A pretty [Fav/Flavor] cake was pushed towards her, while a serving of steaming fettuccini alfredo pasta was on the other side of the table.

"Items he added, told me to wait like 20 minutes before bringing them out. Enjoy."

She was utterly confused, ignoring the pasta and fawning internally over the pastry. Getting a good chunk of it on the fork, she took the bite, nearly moaning at how good it tasted.

The fork stayed between her lips, staring off into space and feeling the tears stream down her face again. He was still being nice after what she had done, everything was ruined, and she had no idea how she could ever face them again.

A soft hand landed on her head, [E/C] eyes filled with unshed tears looked up to widen at the gentle smile gazing down at her. Stanley ruffled her hair, caressing gently and wiping away her tears with his free hand.

"Stanley was in the area, I went to fetch him." Xeno sat, continuing his meal like nothing had happened. Stanley took a seat next to her, pulling the plate of fresh pasta closer and eating as well.

"I'm sorry." [Y/N] picked up a napkin, wiping her eyes carefully. Her mascara was absolutely ruined, and she knew she probably looked like a damp raccoon right now. "It's stupid to be crying, you had every right to leave..."

"Don't worry, I know you like me."

...

...

The tears quickly evaporated, leaving her to look at his smug smile like a gaping fish out of water.

"And me."

Stanley really didn't need to add his commentary, but he took the chance to tease her anyway. His arm rested on the booth's seat, right behind her. [Y/N] was caged, feeling his body warmth reach her.

"I ended up using it as an excuse to go on a date with you, even if they were watching me like hawks." She poked Stanley's thigh, pouting her lips when they laughed at her flustered state, a sort of relief washed over her.

"You don't need any further excuses, we may go out together whenever you desire."

together.

They didn't notice Yuna watching them with sparkly eyes, peeking over the bar in wonder. Never had she seen mere teens be this romantic or self-aware, that girl was super lucky. The hostess sighed finally finishing up setting tables, side-eyeing her fangirling coworker.

"This isn't a K-drama, get back to work."

[Y/N] stuffed her face with the last bite of the cake, not leaving a single crumb of that amazing desert. They all got up and grabbed their things, making it out of the restaurant while thanking the staff.

The cold night was shielded by the thick sweater that enveloped her, Stanley took out a cigarette to keep himself warm. She slid her arms into the sleeves and sighed in contentment, watching the tall blonde walk forward to avoid the smoke getting near them.

Xeno matched her pace, keeping his hands pocketed. He slowly took a hand out, reaching out to hold hers. It stopped her steps, he felt her slowly squeeze him, as if checking if this was real.

He bent down slightly, pressing a lingering kiss to the corner of her lips.

"Whipped cream."

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"Well, I can't say I'm surprised." [M/N] held her face in her hands, having not one, but two boys asking permission to date her daughter, oh my it was so adorable. "There wasn't a single conversation where you two weren't mentioned."

Xeno, Stanley, and [M/N] shared a smile when they heard a loud crash coming from upstairs. Stomping footsteps got closer and out came a stumbling [Y/N], trying to put on her school shoes while maintaining her balance going down the stairs.

"Don't expose me like that, please mom."

"Ah, watch out boys, she has a killer puppy face."

Morning chills overtook her, usually, her mom would drop her off but both boys insisted on walking her. She snuggled into the sweater Stanley had given her two days ago, assuring her he wanted her to keep it.

"This also means you two will eventually be dating each other, right?"

"Yes, indeed." Xeno raised an eyebrow when she put a finger under her chin, muttering under her breath and looking up at the cloudy sky in a giddy gaze. He glanced at Stanley who was holding in a laugh, urging him to voice his amusement.

"She's imagining us together, like those BL stories she reads occasionally."

[Y/N] nearly tripped on the sidewalk's cracked cement, Xeno swiftly wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled towards him, her back colliding into his side. She jumped away from his grasp, grabbing Stanley by the tie and pulling his head down to her level.

"When and where did you see that?"

Caramel eyes held nothing but mischief, giving her a brief wink and a kiss to the tip of her nose. His fingers gently unlaced her grasp on his clothing and smoothed it out, a hand grabbing hers and continuing their walk.

"I always wondered what the big paragraphs of text you'd read were about, guess that sums it up." Xeno gave a fake thoughtful hum hiding his amusement, trailing a few steps behind them. His wrist suddenly got yanked forward, and [Y/N] was holding both their hands now.

Her lower face was stuffed into the sweater's high collar, keeping her [E/C] eyes focused on the ground, trying not to trip again. She was mortified they knew about her little...hobby...well who could blame her really? Good literature is good literature, no matter the content.

Chatter was now reaching their eyes, [Y/N] took a sharp breath in, feeling worry settle in her being like an unwanted parasite. She felt slight comfort knowing Stanley and Xeno didn't mind the gossip, they wouldn't care about people's opinion on their relationship.

She didn't either to be honest, but the thought of everyone turning against her in the blink of an eye felt scary. The school building was finally nearing, some students turned to look at them, whispering amongst each other.

"Two? Isn't that weird?"

"Maggie said [Y/N] was kind of a slut."

"Bridgett said the same, apparently she's very easy."

Stanley cleared his throat loudly, making the gossipers freeze up. He gently swung the intertwined hands, bringing her attention up to him.

"Let's have lunch on the rooftop, Xeno doesn't have an experiment to do today."

That surprised her to the very core, snapping her neck to Xeno, who was mindlessly scrolling on his phone. Feeling her piercing gaze, he lifted his face away from the screen and tilted his head at her. [Y/N] thought he looked like a lost little puppy, wanting to pinch his cheeks.

"No experiment? What's wrong?"

"Nothing at all, I'll be working on some internship papers my mentor has provided for me. If I ace them, those rocket parts will be mine to tinker with." Onyx eyes sparkled excitedly, pocketing his phone and adjusting his schoolbag strap.

"[Y/N]!"

Nina came running up behind them, jumping on her back and almost toppling them over. [Y/N] blinked at the beaming girl, her blue eyes were wide and a grin played on her lips.

"Hi?"

"I have direct orders from the girls to bring you to the gym."

Stanley and Xeno shared a quick worried glance, approaching the girls' figures. Each putting a hand on the bubbly teen's shoulders and lightly pulling her back, Nina was even shorter than [Y/N], leaving her to crane her neck to look at the skyscrapers glaring down.

[Y/N] stood a few steps away, watching them do a silent interrogation. Holding in a laugh at how serious they looked, and a bit of adoration seeing them so protective.

"Oh, no! I promise it's nothing like that, you two are welcome to tag along."

So they did, Nina held [Y/N]'s hand guiding her towards the destination. Her two almost-boyfriends strolled not too far behind, ready for whatever was coming.

...

...

"New captain huh? I expected a catfight or something." [Y/N] was still processing what had just transpired, apparently the rest of the team had voted out Maggie as the captain, sadly still having to deal with Bridgett as the vice.

"A catfight? You're more into actual combat, or am I wrong?" Stanley bumped his shoulder into Xeno's, the science enthusiast chuckled at the weak attempt to shut him up.

The childhood friends continued to play fight, nearly spilling their food over their uniforms and the rooftop flooring. [Y/N] still managed to pull Xeno's important files and Stanley's cigarette box from harm's way, even while being deep in her thoughts.

Nina along with Crystal and Hannah, finally spilled the beans on why Maggie was so persistent with this particular prank. She has a crush on Stanley, if [Y/N] had gone along with the scheme, it would not only ruin her standing with Xeno, Stanley would've been collateral damage.

"Let's go on that date soon, I need to post many, many pictures." [Y/N] finished the small bag of peanuts, taking a sip of her favorite energy drink. "Well maybe I shouldn't stir the pot but the look on her face will be priceless."

Stanley and Xeno pulled away from each other, interested in the way [Y/N] looked like she was about to start a war. Xeno slid his notes back, trying to resume his task but was stopped by her sharp gasp. [Y/N] scooted closer to them, settling in between their seated figures.

"Kiss me." She puckered her lips up at Stanley who's eyebrows shot up at her bold ask, he didn't hesitate for long, capturing her lips in a sweet kiss. When he pulled away, [Y/N] immediately opened her phone camera, ensuring the purple lipstick had adorned her lips.

Her face turned to the side, kissing Xeno on the lips and pulling Stanley closer to the frame by his tie. Snapping the photo and grinning down at it, this would indeed send the message she desired. Loud and clear.

"They can bitch all they want, as long as they know you're both mine in the end."

Xeno blinked rapidly, never had he heard her swear, and a little dazed from the kiss. He felt her fingers slightly rub away the color from his mouth and her own, smiling sweetly.

"Guess our shy little [Y/N] is gone. As much as I adore seeing you so confident, I'll miss those flustered looks you...nevermind, there you are." [Y/N] stuffed her red face in Stanley's school sweater, still holding onto Xeno's hand.

She could get used to this. Maybe a little less teasing.

︽❀═══❀═══⌘═══⌘═══❀═══❀═══⌘═══⌘═══❀═══❀︾

[aspenscore]

Author: Aspenscore

Title: A Mania Of Joels

Creative Commons License: A Mania Of Joels © 2025 by Aspenscore is licensed under CC BY 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Size: 384x512

(Really hoping the March 15 deadline includes March 15. I'm posting this before midnight on March 14 in my timezone, but it is already March 15 for Joel.)

Process TL;DR:

I've decided a group of Joels is called a mania.

My favourite part of Joel's season has been his many characters, as well as the Hermit Baths On Hermitcraft podcast, so I decided to combine those two things in this drawing.

This piece started as a bunch of sketches at work and took me about 20 hours to draw, plus an additional 8 hours fighting tech issues (including a crash that lost me the completed drawing (luckily I took this screenshot just before)).

Despite my struggles with that + screen rec software, there'll be a timelapse video of my drawing process coming soon on my channel!

Re: the title, I've decided a group of Joels is called a "mania" (like how a group of horses, for example, is a "herd").

One of my favourite things about Joel's season are all the fun intros and characters he's created, which inspired me to create something that showcases some of the main Joels we've met so far. I also really like the Hermit Baths On Hermitcraft (Another Podcast Hosted By A Straight White Male), so I figured the bathhouse would be the perfect place for a mania of Joels! I would've loved to include all the Joels, but by my count, there are at least 26 distinct Joels in this season so far, which is far too many Joels for me to fit in one image (and several of them are hard to distinguish based on appearance alone).

Since I could only include so many, I tried to choose Joels who are either recurring characters, or relevant to other things Joel has done in his videos. With that in mind, on this episode of Hermit Baths On Hermitcraft we've got Joel Who Asks You To Subscribe, News Reporter Joel, Bad Boy Joel (the statue counts as being in the season imo), Bartender (Horse Killer? :0) Joel, Officer Joel (RIP Detective Joel, would've loved to include him but it wouldn't be lore-accurate for him to be alive), Joel Who Totally Isn't Obsessed With Etho, Frogger Joel, Podcast Host Joel, and Singer Joel.

A few details I wanted to highlight:

News Reporter Joel always has a headline scroll bar with him. He doesn't know how or why. It's just there.

Joel Who Totally Isn't Obsessed With Etho not only has the Etho shirt on, but he's also in etho cosplay (headband) and has Etho face floaties (no idea where that came from but once I'd thought it I couldn't un-think it).

I'm most proud of Frogger Joel's outfit. He's got a froggy hat, frog crop top, lilypad shorts, and frog shoes with lilypad tops.

Singer Joel's kimono was originally going to have a pattern of symbols relating to Joel's season, but then I realized those wouldn't show up very well with the lowered resolution. The planned symbols included music discs, xp bottles, axolotls, slime balls, honeycomb, frogs, horses, glow squid, and glow berries.

Podcast Host Joel's abs are drawn on. Gem said it so it's canon.

Bartender Joel's vest is the same colour and pattern as that horse head...

And now for the process! I know a lot of you probably aren't that interested in it, but I spent a lot of time on this so I'd at least like to record my efforts.

This piece actually started on paper, because I work a lot and I knew I wouldn't have time to do the whole piece if I didn't at least do some advance planning during down time at my job. However, all I had at work was some scrap paper and a pencil (I couldn't even find an eraser the day I started this!), so I needed to find some way to get the aspect ratio correct without a ruler. While there were no rulers at work, I was able to find some mini origami paper, and since that's a perfect square, I was able to use it to replicate the sizing I'd chosen. I sketched out the general background layout, used two of those lines + the edge of another piece of paper to determine the vanishing point, then re-drew the rest of the background according to the point I'd determined. These techniques worked shockingly well, and when I scanned the drawing and checked my measurements in my drawing program, they were surprisingly accurate!

With the scan uploaded, along with a page of outfit design sketches I had also done at work, I ran into my next hurdle: screen recording software. To keep a long and agonizing story short, I draw on an old tablet that has very little storage, RAM, or processing power, so OBS + my drawing program were not an option. The drawing program itself doesn't have a timelapse feature either, so I had to go find another piece of software that would meet my needs. I even tried using my tablet as a third screen for my PC, which could absolutely handle the processing and storage needs of this project, but the latency was far too high for that to be a feasible option. Trying all of these options took at least 8 hours and at one point had the side effect of permanently messing up something on my main PC monitor that causes it to reset all its settings periodically (if anyone has any idea what's going on with that, I'd love to not have to re-do my settings every couple minutes or so).

My tablet's limited storage also resulted in me almost losing a portion of my footage, but you can rest assured that I've managed to save all of it, and if it's useable I will be editing it down into a timelapse + process video to upload to my channel! The video will probably include a lot of the information here, but hopefully it'll be a bit more interesting and engaging! (I was originally going to link the video here instead of writing all these paragraphs, but the drawing took so long I haven't had time to make the video).

Finally, after spending basically all of my free time at home during the past two weeks working on this drawing, I finished it just a couple hours ago.

I hit save.

And got an error message.

Storage issue.

Since the image resolution is intended to be reduced anyway (for minecraft painting, but also just how tumblr treats images), I grabbed a screenshot of the finished piece before my tablet crashed and rebooted. It saved some of my work, but not all of it, so this is now the only complete version of the piece in existence.

At the end of the day, I'm just glad I finished it on time and am happy with the final product. If you've read this far, thank you so much for your patience with my rambling, I hope you enjoy the final piece as much as I do. And thank you to Joel for creating such fun videos and awesome builds! I look forward to the rest of your first Hermitcraft season.

[confused-since-birth]

Razor's Grip - part one

Hi there! This is an idea I had for a while, it's still very vague, but i hope you enjoy it. The title is not that much related to the card, I just thought it fits the story. It isn't really proofread. Enjoy!

✨Reader x Sylus Qin, non-mc!reader, mc, the twins, Philip, and other minor characters

✨word count: 1252

✨warnings: abduction, blood, fighting, stalking, curse words

✨other parts: 2 3 4 5

A rusty taste played on your tongue, shivers down the spine in the now cold air. The sweat of struggling against your restraints proved to be an enemy in itself as skin burned where the ropes eat at your wrists, and you were trembling.

A hand grabbed your arm tugging forward. You would've fought, but there was not a drop of energy left. So you just followed silently.

The sound of a door opening reached your ears before warmth hugged you form. Without any preparations the sack over your head is pulled off, yanking a few strands of hair and blinding light surrounds you.

How you got in this situation? No clue.

The day started just like any other.

Alarm. Snooze. Alarm. Snooze. Alarm.

‘Oh god, I'm gonna be so fucking late’, mumbled under your breath as you jumped around trying to put on some pants and shoving a piece of bread in your mouth.

Rushing on the street to catch the last bus that could take you in time to college. Miraculously ending up being just in time, entering the first course of the day.

The first weird occurrence was a bird - a crow, more specifically sitting on a branch when you were eating lunch. Not moving, not making any sound - just looking at you. Not hungry anymore, sipping coffee, you decided to throw some crumbs. Usually crows jump to get them. This one? Looked at them almost confused.

Weird, but ok.

Then the last course was cancelled. It wasn't unheard of, although the professor teaching that class was painfully serious about what he was teaching. You took over the years in Linkon University many courses with him, never did he cancel or show up late.

Everyone has a bad day, right?

You were running low on dish soap and… like everything in your fridge.

Walking down the street, something was off. At first you thought that lack of sleep made you paranoid. After all, projects over projects, sleepless nights must leave their mark at some point. So, you just tried to ignore the ringing alarm of danger in the back of your mind.

A glimpse of something familiar made you stop dead in your tracks - a crow. Specifically, the same crow from lunch. On a balcony, preening its feathers. The red shining of its eyes felt like an omen. For what? You didn't really know.

You just walked faster to the seven eleven on your block. Best is to get it over with, get home, eat, then maybe sleep.

The store was empty besides the middle aged lady staring bored in her phone.

The bell at the door rang once, then twice. Silence.

Weird.

Wandering around the aisles you could hear footsteps around you, but whenever you looked around no-one was there. You got your keys in your hand and continued placing things in your cart.

Getting to the soaps aisle you feel the happiness of a college student with not much left in your pocket until the end of the month - promotion. One last bottle of dish soap, that could last you three months, that had a promotion. You go to grab it only to see on the other side a silhouette.

A man in black clothes right in front of you. Just staying there.

Spooked was an understatement.

You have never checked out so fast, only to hurry to your apartment hoping whatever this was, it was going to be done once you were safe inside.

Oh, well, you were wrong.

Staying in front of your door were two men in black attire, with weird masks on their faces.

‘what the fuck’

‘Hi there! We don't want to scare you-’, said one of them while the other continued his sentence.

‘But we want you to come with us!’

The keys in your hands felt easier than ever, your body was buzzing in adrenaline, ready to pounce if they came any closer.

‘What do you want?’

‘We don't want to hurt you, but we need you to come with us’

‘Peacefully’, added the other.

‘Yeah, sure’, you said, throwing your groceries at them just to run down the stairs for your life. Jumping down two stairs at once, felt too slow when their steps could be heard closer and closer, but breaking your leg wasn't going to get you any safety.

Getting at the front door of your complex you hit it full force, opening it, only to fall down the front stairs.

Flashing pain went through your hand and knee, but tried to get up.

Useless, as two pairs of hands grabbed you then pulled you to a black van.

‘Did she hit her knee badly? Boss said to bring her back in good shape…’

‘It doesn't look bad, just a scratch. If she would've listened, it wouldn't have happened-’

‘GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF ME!’, you yelled trying to break free, but it was futile. They didn't look buff, but surely they were more powerful than you. Struggling when they were trying to tie your amkles got you the opportunity to kick one with your foot. You tried to get up and ended up head butting the other which didn't win you anything besides a headache and something warm slowly flowing on your face.

‘Luke, just- Goddamnit! She just busted her forehead!’

‘Boss will NOT be pleased’

‘We tried ok?! Now tie her ankles, I tie her hands!’

‘LET ME GO!’

‘Lady please stop struggling, you will hurt yourself more than us, we really mean no evil’

‘Yeah, we are just doing our job.’

Being tied up left you no other option but to yell your lungs out hoping that, maybe, someone at a red light will hear your screams. It was short lived as the sack on your head made it hard to breathe.

After an hour of yelling and cursing and crying and struggling against your restraints, you just settled on laying down.

Now, in the well lit room two new people looked at you.

One was an old guy who was looking confused and quite concerned at you. He was wearing clothes that resembled those of a mechanic. The tablet in his hands had multiple diagrams on it that you almost could read if you wanted, but you didn't. You were pissed.

Then, there was a second one sitting in a chair and playing with a knife. Leather jacket, leather pants, gray - no, white hair and blood colored eyes. Eyes analyzing your forehead where there was a small open wound where your head hit one of the guy's mask, the blood and tears leaking down your face, your disheveled state. His attention moved to your abductors, the glint in his eyes changing into something sharper.

‘I thought I mentioned that she should be brought here in a well state’, his deep voice stated.

‘She did it herself!’

‘Are you implying that you found her like this?’, he said calmly while raising a brow.

Silence fell over the room as another burst of anger bloomed in your chest like a fire.

The white haired man was surely beautiful. He was tall and had a muscular body, but in your anger you really couldn't care less.

‘What do y’all want?’, you hear your hoarse voice and it sounds nothing like you.

The old man looks even more concerned hearing your voice. He stays in one place as if he was frozen, while the other says:

‘I want you to work for me.’

[seariii]

Have a sneak peek, for if the anon sees it

The long straps are almost or actually reaching her ankles, and I'm adding some more lines on the longer part of the skirt. + The belts she had unbuckled are now buckled + She's cutting her hair (well, Yuno helped) + the pale pink washed out and it's well, the whitened hair pale yellowish? + Her fishnets are broken now

If I don't pass out tomorrow's afternoon I'm finishing Saori's T2 reference sheet. The last week has been hell

[asofspades]

Also, forgot to add this is the first post about Suo, but my loose thoughts about him possibly having to leave might be related to his "dream" which is literally the emancipation of slaves, nobody has something that elaborate, it's just, if you keep adding all the little things we know about Suo and link them to the topics of the story it kind of paints a very grim picture for him.

What do we know about Suo:

- His eye patch is said to be linked to a past incident, or so does Nirei say, he says there's an ancient Chinese dragon sealed there that sometimes wants to escape, idk about you guys, but this honestly made me thing he does have a traumatic eye injury, and saying the things about it trying to escape the seal might be a way to convey that it hurts sometimes without actually saying it, traumatic injuries like that are linked to future chronic pain in the area in flares. Hold on on the Chinese aspect of the thing for a moment because I'm going to talk about it later.

- People don't know shit about him before joining Furin, even though they do know he existed before that, they know he's an excellent fighter but not who he's fought against, which is weird. However Tsugeura seems to have personally met him before Furin and still he seems to know nothing about him.

- His middle school must have been in Makochi if they knew about him, or that's what I think is implied, however that's weird because it seems that nobody (Tsugeura excluded) had even met him in the street before.

- He mentions a master, but the way he does it makes me think he's not around anymore, not in a "they're dead" way,but more in a "haven't seen them in a while" way. Which to me means Suo's master must have deemed his training and formation done, but in order to get to that point by the time he's 15, or maybe 14, since his master being gone might predate his first year at Furin, he must've trained under him for a long while and very hard.

- Suo's file mentions "brothers" and the way it does so grouping them with his master makes me feel pretty sure about thinking these are not brothers by blood, but rather brothers because they trained under the same master. Keep this in mind please, also Suo admires them, which makes me think they must've been older. But much like his master I don't think they're around him anymore.

- Suo tends to wear collared shirts, never takes them off, not even at the beach from what the CD has let us know. That is a bit fishy and I have a couple theories about it but I'm keeping them for the China related section.

Okay, let me rant now about the prevalence of Chinese elements on Suo's character, I'm far from an expert in Chinese culture but I'm going to try:

- okay, I'm going to sound crazy, when Suo first introduces himself to Sakura, and technically to the audience, as Leonardo DiCaprio, Nirei corrects his name to Suo Hayato, and Suo's way of answering got me curious, "that's what they call me". And this sparked a lot of theories amongst people of him using a fake name so he wouldn't be recognised by other gangs or whatever but, please stay with me, I feel like this might be deeper than that.

Now you guys are definitely going to think I'm a lunatic, we know China has a big "child trafficking" issue, Suo seems to surround himself with elements of Chinese culture from his clothing to the meaning of his Japanese name, that's right, I do think Suo might have another name and that his Japanese one is not the original, why, well, he might've actually been Chinese and trafficked as a child, taken in my his master and his disciples, which would explain him referring to them as brothers, and also would mean that he speaks either Mandarin or Cantonese Chinese, since it is stated in his file that he speaks "another language" which honestly that was said in a way that told me "that other language he speaks is going to be relevant to his story", if it wasn't it would've been simply stated. Also, this would mean Suo had a Chinese name prior to this and it might've been changed for a Japanese one by his master to keep him safe. Option number 2, whoever Suo's family was in China they might've had issues with a criminal organisation and Suo just got taken in by his master and moved to Japan to keep him from danger, and that's why he's so paranoid about being found. I mean, this could've also very well just been his master being Chinese and him just taking inspiration and habits from him, or his parents being Chinese but they ended up in Japan somehow. But the way the thing about him knowing a second language was stated in his file makes me think the darker options are more feasible. Also, the whole emancipation of slaves thing, sound sketchy, you know.

Also, going back to the clothing, regardless of the route it takes above, it might be that Suo either has a mark from said human trafficking, has a mark from an organisation his parents belonged to (maybe this one is a bit of a stretch), has scars, maybe from old Chinese discipline methods that involve flagellation for imperfections (during training maybe or a family thing) or there's a background of abuse or maybe the incident that damaged his eye left scars in other places as well. There could be a lot of reasons why he refuses to take off his shirt and wears a high collar.

Anyways, that's it so far, whatever it is the mysterious ways we're given facts about Suo are really making me think we're getting a pretty intense backstory when his turn comes.

Okay, I think that's enough analysis for today.

[love-byers]

one of the things that makes me so confident in byler is the sheer amount of byler scenes compared to mlvn. and ESPECIALLY the final byler scene

we get like 2 solo mlvn scenes

their fight in el's room

and their talk at surfer boy's pizza

now let's count byler:

rink o mania fight

talk in jonathan's room

talk in will's room

talk on top of the car

talk in the van

talk in the cabin

SIX. COMPARED TO TWO

the last big scene/interaction we see of a character/couple in a season is super important and says a lot about what's to come

like at the end of s1, the last interaction we see nancy have is kissing jonathan on the cheek and going back to steve. she ends the season with steve. HEAVILY foreshadowing that the story is not over between them and there is more to come, there will be a big plot point related to nancy and steve in s2.

in s2 the couples are together by the end, like literally together.

lumax are dancing, mlvn are dancing, nancy and jonathan are both volunteering at the snowball, and hopper and joyce are hugging.

and the last solo interaction we see dustin have is with steve, implying their friendship will continue and be important in what's to come, which it did in s3. 

it's the same at the end of s3. the last 4 solo interactions we see are will and mike, jonathan and nancy, el and mike, and el and joyce. 3 couples, and then the moment that begins hop's letter. all very important.

in s4 we get a solo jancy interaction, a solo byler interaction, and a solo el+ hopper interaction. the final scenes. the jancy scene isn't exactly happy, they're awkward and jonathan is still lying to her about college.

so in the same episode that mike confesses his supposed love to el, the last time we see them in the same room she doesn't even spare him a glance? the final time we see a couple together is important. and they give us nothing. not only do we not know if they're together anymore, it's making us lean towards them not being together at all.

then there's this:

in s2, jonathan and nancy take a big leap from friends to lovers. HUGE leap. but after that, it's not acknowledged at all. things continue as normal. i remember watching 2 for the first time and getting a teensy bit worried that no one was talking about it and more drama would happen.

but then we get that last look, and we know without a sliver of doubt that they are officially together, and in love.

this is more proof that the final scene together between a duo is very important. imagine if they hadn't give us that jancy moment, we would've been so confused and upset. we'd think they were together, i mean they legit smashed....but then they don't acknowledge each other? that would've implied trouble.

it's slightly different for mileven because mikes monolgue wasn't their leap from friends to lovers, it was supposed to be their leap from childish, puppy love to real love.

but it WASNT

after the monologue, we don't see them speak. and this may have been okay if they'd done something. something to let us know they're still together in love.

with jancy, we did see them have moments before the snow ball scene, like nancy comforting jonathan and jonathan seeking out her comfort (a hug) when he saw will unconscious. but the last scene was still so important. they didn't leave us with nothing

with mlvn, we aren't left with nothing, we're left with less than nothing. we get to see them in the same room, and el doesn't even spare him a glance. she even seems annoyed by mike. it leaves mileven unanswered.

the jancy snowball scene is living breathing proof that the writers know how to leave 0 doubt surrounding a couple. they know it doesn't take much. all it would've take. was one look, one smile, to let us know mlvn are okay. and they chose not to.

not only did they choose to have el not acknowledge mike, they chose to have his last scene be with will.

let me repeat that. after mike confessed his supposed undying love for his girlfriend, his last solo scene with another character, the last we'll see of him for years until s5 is him with will, the person who's in love with him.

and it's intimate. it's mike reassuring will during a moment of fear and weakness that they'll kill vecna and save hawkins, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder as sunlight cascades down on them.

and the final scene of s4 reinforces everything i've said.

this has always given me the vibe of, 'there'll be petty arguments, drama, little crushes and lies, but when the world is ending, who do you grab despite all of it?'

jonathan and nancy grab each other. joyce and hopper grab each other. mike and will grab each other.

once again i want you to imagine you confessed your supposed love to your girlfriend, and then a week later the apocalypse starts. wouldn't you go to her?? stand by her??

mike didn't. he stuck with will. because mlvn just aren't that kind of relationship. but byler is that kind of relationship.

[a-confused-spoon]

So about Caitvi...

I'm no one to judge whether or not caitvi is good representation. As far as I'm concerned, I'm happy if the lesbians watching the show are happy.

...you know what does piss me off though? A teeny tiny bit more than just "a little"?

Seeing some people defend the absence of a conversation between Caitlyn and Vi with "actions matter more than words".

Like...okay, first thing first, season 2 makes it pretty clear that's bullshit given how every other pairing previously at odds resolved things through the almighty power of talking things out: Vander wrote a letter to Silco and they became gay dads in the au, Ekko went through all possible combinations of words to convince Jinx not to blow herself up, and whatever the fuck Viktor and Jayce had going on in the finale... So yeah, crazy thing to say about this season;

Secondly, when we say "actions matter more than words", are we just not counting the verbal promise of not changing followed by abuse/ pain caused by the very much action of hitting a victim of police brutality who has utterly betrayed herself and her people for the sake of helping the same exact person who hit her because she pointed out "hey, maybe don't risk shooting a child"?

GRANTED this and most of what I'll say next is applicable to most of season 2 imo- we barely get to sit with the seriousness of a situation we just have to skip to the next one, so I wouldn't say it's a caitvi thing alone... nevertheless it's present there too, so back to the main conversation-

We know Caitlyn regrets it, but does she ever understand why it's so fucked up that she did that? Vi has a rush of emotions after realizing what Cait has done and is happy to stay with her, but once they... finish in that prison, does Vi really respect herself as an individual who has gone through some tough shit or is it a passive "fuck it we ball" attitude all the way to the finale where she wears once again the enforcer badge?

Caitlyn's personal character development (one that has to do with seemingly grief alone and nothing to do with classism and power dynamics which are a massive part of the problem both on a micro and macro level) shouldn't be something that "makes up" for what she did to Vi in episode 3, and because Vi's character was criminally neglected we never really get to see her actually give a shit about herself beyond, allegedly, her relationship with Cait- which is fucked, considering Vi always ever only sees herself in relation to others (Cait or Jinx for the most part) and never as a stand alone person.

That's why that conversation was pretty much needed here.

Aside from the fact that having a conversation with a partner isn't just saying "sorry", it's about being vulnerable, letting them know you see them, telling them where you stand, being just openly honest with one another etc. (aka is an integral part of the relationship itself), it also would've been an excellent way to let all the development they couldn't show for a lack of time still shine through dialogue.

No, it's not a "wanting things spelled out", it's a "they quite literally did that a bunch of times already in this very season, so they might as well do it for the main romance too since a conversation would also be fitting for the current situation"; examples might include that one scene with Silco and Ekko in episode 7 about forgiveness, or that one scene of Isha and Jinx where Jinx literally spells out "hey you remind me of Powder, meaning myself when I was younger, the younger self I thought I left behind-" (insert that one clip of Kronk from The Emperor's New Groove).

And before anyone puts words in my mouth, this isn't coming from a place of hate for either Caitlyn and Vi or Caitvi as a ship; engaging in criticism isn't hate for what's being critiqued, so please don't assume that some conversations don't come from a place of love for the show and the characters just because they don't openly praise every bit of what we got.

edit: ...tell you what, the more I think about it the more it seems that the issues I have with how this ship comes to be aren't even super specific to these characters and their relationship, but are actually the same exact things I don't love about the general writing of season 2 on a bigger scale (lack of commentary on class oppression, character arcs that feel unfinished or cut short, the theme of love and forgiveness ending up undermining the seriousness of some situations- I'm not complaining about the theme itself nor I'm saying it comes out of nowhere, I'm saying that probably due to the pacing/lack of time we can't sit with how fucked up some stuff is before getting to the point of "love > anything else"... which isn't a wrong sentiment, I'm just talking about the journey to get there)

[likeadevils]

Midnights Timeline

This is a very long post that puts all the songs on Midnights in order of Taylor creating them. I’ve also included a few other songs she worked on while writing Midnights and quotes from Taylor and her collaborators talking about her process.

If you don't want to read all that, check out this playlist of the album in order, or this playlist of her entire discography. WARNING: there is a very large chunk on the playlists that I have no information on (Maroon-Dear Reader).

I’ve also added this color coded scale of how sure I am of the date: 

Confirmed: There is some type of official source for the date

Inferring: Nobody has officially said “This is when we wrote it,” but all available evidence points to that date

Speculation: This date is based off pure vibes and guesswork and is highly likely to change.

Unknown: All that is known is the year (from the US Copyright Offices

Renegade: March 7-15, 2021 (Confirmed)

Aaron: “I wrote the music [for Renegade] at some point after we finished [evermore], and sent it to her, because she was inspired by a llot of the Big Red Machine stuff we were working on. And she had already sung on Birch, a song that hasn't come out yet but is one of the major ones on the record. And I think she wanted to write a song for Big Red Machine. She very much feels like part of this community to me. So I wrote Renegade, the music, and sent it to her. And not unlike a lot of the things we've done together, one day I woke up to a voice memo from her and she had written this incredible song about how anxiety and fear get in the way of loving or being loved. And she was clearly thinking about Big Red Machine. And then we recorded her vocals and everything the week of the Grammys, when I was there in LA, and it was really nice to have something to think about that wasn't related to the Grammys - just to make music because you feel like making it." (transcript from jaimie)

High Infidelity and Would've Could've Should've: March 7-15, 2021 (Confirmed)

Aaron: [Would've Could've Should've], we wrote that song together, and recorded it while we were together in LA for the folklore Grammys. It goes back that far. And the same with High Infidelity. Those songs, we actually recorded in her house, the vocals, we recorded them then. And I just kept making music, and it was kind, after we had made folklore and evermore, I started to have ideas which I would share. And eventually, she obviously made most of Midnights with Jack, and it became something different. But High Infidelity, and Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve, and The Great War, and we made Hits Different with Jack and Taylor and I also, and it was great to be part of that record in that way. (transcript from @cages-boxes-hunters-foxes)

The Great War and Hits Different: between April-October 2021 (Speculation)

In the above quote talking about his songs on Midnights, Aaron says "Eventually, she obviously made most of Midnights with Jack, and it became something different," implying his stuff was written before the bulk of midnights in fall. He also says High Infidelity and Would've Could've Should've "[go] back that far," which implies they were some of the earliest stuff on Midnights, so it's safe to assume TGW and Hits Different come sometime afterwards.

Summer 2021: Jack has a session with Sounwave, Sam Dew, and Zoe Kravitz, where the instrumentals for Lavender Haze and likely Glitch are written

Rolling Stone interview with Sounwave: Before Antonoff began to work on Swift’s tenth album, he was cooking up tracks with Spears, Dew, and Zoë Kravitz [...] During a brainstorming session, the quartet put together a track that would eventually become “Lavender Haze.”

November 3 2021: It was announced that Joe has been cast in Stars at Noon, alongside Margaret Qualley, Jack Antonoff's then girlfriend now wife. Since Joe was parachuted into the film last minute, filming had already started, making it likely he left as soon as possible.

Taylor: We’d been toying with ideas and had written a few things we loved, but Midnights actually really coalesced and flowed out of us when our partners (both actors) did a film together in Panama. Jack and I found ourselves back in New York, alone, recording every night, staying up late and exploring old memories and midnights past.

November 8: Jack gets back from touring with Bleachers. Let the games begin.

Vigilante Shit: November 2021 (Speculation)

Vigilante Shit is the sole solo writing credit on the album, which implies it was written before her and Jack were holed up together 24/7. Also Scooter and his wife divorced in July. Beyond that there's no evidence this is early in the process, besides it making sense that Taylor wrote this alone, brought it to Jack, and then fell into a creative inferno.

Maroon, Anti-Hero, You're on Your Own Kid, Midnight Rain, Bejeweled, Labyrinth, Mastermind, Paris, and Dear Reader: November/December 2021 (Inferring)

I don't have enough info on the making of any of these songs to give them each their own little blurb, but if anything pops up I will update this post and reblog it letting y’all know.

Question..?: After November 21, 2021 (Inferring)

We know Rachel Antonoff, Dylan O'Brien, and Austin Swift were there the day they recorded it thanks to this behind the scenes footage of them recording the cheering vocals. Dylan was filming The Vanishings at Caddo Lake in Louisiana sometime between October 5 and November 20. I don't know exactly which dates he was filming-- he was in New York for All Too Well filming in late October and to attend the premiere on November 12, but since we know for sure he was in Louisiana on the 20th, I'm just gonna Occam's Razor it and say Question was written sometime after he got back from that.

You're Losing Me: December 5, 2021 (Confirmed)

December 17, 2021: Filming wraps on Stars at Noon, and with it the bulk of recording for Midnights.

Lavender Haze: Early 2022 (Speculation)

Lavender Haze, Snow on the Beach, and Karma are the only songs to have Henson Recording Studios credited (I can't find studio credits for the 3am tracks so there is possibly more on there). This could point to them all being recorded around the same time time, or it could be in reference to Jack and Sounwave's original recording sessions taking place at Hensen. I lean towards the former, since 1) it seems like the Winter 2021 sessions were mostly between Taylor and Jack, and the spring sessions have other collaborators, and 2) the tabloid rumors about Taylor and Joe getting engaged really started heating up in February 2022. On the other hand, Sounwave implies that there was a notable stretch of time between Lavender Haze and Karma, so I totally understand if you want to put it with the rest of the Winter 2021 sessions. Rolling Stone interview with Sounwave: A few months [after Jack and Sounwave wrote the instrumentals], Antonoff reached out to Spears, Dew, and Kravitz to see if he could pitch [Lavender Haze] to Swift, who loved it immediately. She wrote lyrics inspired by a Mad Men scene, numerous tabloid rumors and online gossip about her relationship status, and “1950s expectations.��� “When Jack brought us in the hear for the first time, all our mouths dropped. She took it to a whole new world and made it her own. She created different pockets we did not hear.”

Glitch: Early 2022 (Speculation)

Rolling Stone interview with Sounwave: "Glitch,” one of the bonus songs on the Midnights (3am) edition, was born from the same studio session as “Lavender Haze.” I don't know if this means the instrumentals to Lavender Haze and Glitch were done in the same session, Taylor wrote the lyrics in the same session, or both. For the same reason as Lavender Haze, I lean towards this coming later in the process, as well as Glitch mentioning being together for six years, and in November 2021 Taylor and Joe had been together for a little over 5 years. That being said, Taylor could've assume the album was going to come out in 2022, and that she would stay with Joe until then, and bump up that date a bit. It's still very up in the air.

February 5, 2022: Taylor is photographed leaving Jack's house holding a keyboard.

Sweet Nothing: Spring 2022 (Inferring)

Joe is a co-write on this, meaning they likely wrote it after he got back from filming. It also mentions their trip to Ireland in 2021 and refers to it as "last July", implying it was written in 2022. While I was writing this timeline Taylor liked this post on twitter, implying that at least the second verse is in reference to Paul and Linda McCartney. The quote is from his poem Blessed, which you can read in this interview (TWs for death and cancer)

Bigger Than The Whole Sky: March 2022 (Inferring)

Claire Winter, a close friend of Taylor's, posts on Instagram that she miscarried. (I toyed with whether or not to add this, but seeing as Claire Winter made the information public herself, I decided to put it in. If she ever takes that Instagram post down, let me know and I'll delete this part.)

Snow on the Beach: April 1, 2022 (Inferring)

On April 1, Lana Del Rey posts a video on Instagram of Jack in the studio with an unidentified female voice in the background. Two days later she posts this photo, which Taylor and Jack both include in posts about Midnights/Snow on the Beach. Lana: Well, first of all, I had no idea I was the only feature [on that song]. Had I known, I would have sung the entire second verse like she wanted. My job as a feature on a big artist’s album is to make sure I help add to the production of the song, so I was more focused on the production. She was very adamant that she wanted me to be on the album, and I really liked that song. I thought it was nice to be able to bridge that world, since Jack [Antonoff] and I work together and so do Jack and Taylor. Taylor: And with Snow On The Beach, which features the genius Lana Del Rey, very lucky to have collaborated with her on that. And Dylan [O’Brien] was actually in the studio with me and Jack, because a lot of the time we record at his place, and Dylan was just hanging out, drinking wine with us, and listening to stuff, and he was just trying out the drum kit there. He wasn't serious. But we were drinking wine, and we were sort of like, 'We haven't recorded the drums for this one yet! See if you want to...' and he played the drums on the song. Sometimes it just happens like that. (transcript once again from jaimie)

Karma: Spring 2022 (Speculation)

Rolling Stone interview with Sounwave: The bubbly “Karma” came later [than Lavender Haze and Glitch], when Antonoff reached out to Spears for any other ideas he may have to contribute to the album and its synth-pop vision. “‘Karma’ was just a last-minute Hail Mary,” Spears says. “I remembered I was working with my guy Keanu [Beats] and had something that was too perfect not to send to her. As soon as I sent it, Jack was instantly like ‘This is the one. Playing it for Taylor now. We’re going in on it.’ The next day, I heard the final product with her vocals on it.”

April 19, 2022: Elle's interview with the Conversations with Friends cast is released, and when Joe is "asked if he hopes to continue writing songs, Alwyn simply says, “It’s not a plan of mine, no.”" It's possible this means Sweet Nothing was yet to be written, but I think it's more likely Joe was just denying in order to not create hype around a song that wasn't officially announced yet.

May 2022: Taylor teases Labyrinth lyrics in her NYU Commencement Speech and says m i d n i g h t very prominently on this instagram post, meaning by early summer she was likely confident in the album's name and which songs would make the tracklist.

And that's all for this timeline! Check out my others:

TIMELINES: debut • fearless • speak now • red • 1989 • rep • lover • folklore • evermore • midnights PLAYLISTS: debut • fearless • speak now • red • 1989 • rep • lover • folklore • evermore • midnights • entire discography GENERAL: tag

[dootznbootz]

Big oof guys Odysseus wasn't a cheater he was a victim you soggy feminist retelling enjoying fries. and I don't get them changing that so that "women who have been cheated on by their husbands can relate and know they're valid for being sad" because let's be honest if he was a women y'all would've been treating his situation appropriately. Feminism is about men and women being equal, and do you know how many women (and men) could relate to Odysseus's situation? He wasn't a good person (neither was anyone in Greek myth) but stop making him out to be the bad guy. It's not only insulting to his character, mythology fans but also victims. It can be insulting to male victims for this being erased and treated so lightly. And for female victims who know what that feels like and are (rightfully) disgusted when this sort of behavior gets excused.

And for those of you saying "But he had a choice with Circe!!" Um... not really? He slept with her to save his friends, his brothers. Let's put it this way "Let's say your best friend was being held captive, and the only way to save them would be to sleep with the guy who's holding them hostage. Cheating would imply there was a betrayal of trust between partners, this wasn't done out of maliciousness. This was done to ensure the safety of an innocent person/people who you care about deeply. Any good lover would understand there's a huge lack of choice in a situation like that. Again, if the gender roles were reversed y'all wouldn't have been saying this crap.

If men and women are so equal, a men getting sexually assaulted and used holds just as much weight as a woman. This isn't feminism, this is sexism towards men. And no, it's not justified because "that's what the Greeks did", it's not okay just because you lable it as petty payback/revenge. What happened to be better than your oppressor? As if you were the one's in ancient Greece who had to deal with these things. You are not in a friend group with every woman in history just because you had to deal with "scummy men".

And even if you are a victim, how can you be immature and gross to KNOW what that feels like yet still not care/be ignorant towards one suffering and easily erase it. And just because they were the same gender as people who were asses and creeps towards you or people who happen to be the same gender as you.

Tumblr never fails to disappoint me 😔 I have no doubt in my mind Penelope would beat up all these people victim blaming her husband

"you soggy feminist retelling enjoying fries."

Dear Anon, I love this phrase so much. Thank you for sharing it with me.

Sorry this took a while to get to. <3 I just answered quite a few heavy asks recently and I wanted to give a lil break in general :) You also wrote it all out very well already so I didn't really know how much I have to add or say without sounding like a broken record!

And yeah, like, he's not a good person. Nobody really is, especially by modern standards. But that doesn't mean what happened to him didn't happen. Or that people should diminish it.

I mean, I'm very very sure that Homer even shows Odysseus' PTSD from it all in the Odyssey. How he's so adamant about Nausica's maids NOT helping him bathe, despite that being the custom/culture of the time. Like Idk what other reason he would have to not ask for help, being "older" wasn't something that would've been too outta the norm, he was still exhausted from nearly drowning to death, etc. BUT this is RIGHT after he just escaped Calypso. Gives huge PTSD reaction to me.

ngl, I find it really disappointing in a way that this ancient text feels more respectful of victims and their trauma than more modern books lol. A lot of Modern shit feels like trauma porn ;~;

And you're absolutely right with Penelope. She loves her like-minded fool. She would not blame him. I honestly think she'd be the one to reassure him often because he'd probably feel guilt and/or just...need some comfort from everything.

I really hate the whole "He expected her to be faithful when he was not." Because guess what? He canonically was. He had no concubines officially listed ANYWHERE. People can take vague statements if they want but that's just it. Vague statements. All other "interactions" were against his will and/or it was coercion to save his friends. All under duress regardless.

Like in general, there is so much more potential in writing about about a character trying to help her incredibly traumatized lover. Seeing him as he is still and loving him. Him finally feeling safe again, LEARNING to feel safe again. After finally having clawed his way back into the arms he never wanted to leave in the first place, he can LIVE again. There's something incredibly beautiful in that.

I mean as you said, I find Odysseus very relatable in a lot of ways. His story is really beautiful in the whole "You've been through Hell, You've done some horrible things, but despite all that, you can achieve peace again. You can LIVE again." It's a really hopeful story in a way. And I really love that.

[soulsoffairlight]

Uh some doodles related to the au while I dread actually talking about it

*talks about in anyw-

Well let's just say that in this au the Aquatos are somehow more fucked than they already are. The Aquatos face a sudden yet vicious attack from unknown, mysterious figures one night... but don't worry. Everyone's fine.

Except for Augustus, who is kidnapped.

All kinds of threats that seem to be related to the kidnapping in some way plague the Psychonauts, and one thing is for sure: there is an otherworldly danger threatening this one.

Raz, hardly keeping it together with the tension rising in his family and the absence of his dad, begins to go through things he's never been through before.

He's always noticed that his mind was very different from others. It's... overwhelming and difficult to navigate. There's so much going on at the same time... cobwebs, figments, judges, doubts, regrets, bad ideas, all flock together at alarming rates. And not to mention, his Archetype is acting... strange. There's so much going on inside his mind that even his censors are intimidated.

But maybe if he finds a way in that place he always sees the censors come out of ... he can find out the source of the problem.

And he can fix it.

As Raz is forced to navigate his divergent mind amidst a heartwrenching case that has him losing hope, the demand for him to keep 'fixing himself' to keep up with the world around him only grows bolder. He's not sure what he is anymore. He's touched areas of his mind never meant to be touched. Milla and Sasha are worried about him. His family is growing more suspicious of him. He can hardly tell mind from body anymore. He's not sure if he's even human anymore. He's lost an eye to his own censors.

Damage is being done, and he knows it.

But he continues to punish himself through this.

For his dad.

Because he would've much rather been stolen than his dad.

@a-buncho-acred-reblogs you might wanna see this lmao

[coff-in]

aaAAAA I've been lurking and um um um I have brainrot from two of the previous asks >_> What if what if

Younger Sister Reader from the I love you more than I should post x Yandere Andrew post Decay route?? And they have the same toxic thing going on from that one post where Andy threatens to off himself if the reader moves an inch from his side. Like all I can think of is Andy having a shit ton of romantic feelings for reader that the reader is just coming into realization about while also reeling from the fact that, yk, Ash is dead? Andy telling his baby sister that he doesn't want to live if he can't have her (romantically, carnally, etc.) I just really want a jealousy scene where reader like...looks at another man and Andy is like "So. You want me to die?" and then reader has to comfort her older brother in a variety of ways that are decidedly not very sibling-like. Andy basically going "date me or I die" and reader is just. panicking.

notes from coff-in: i had trouble writing a ficlet or headcanons for this for some reason so it's just me fucking word vomiting my thoughts directly. also also also, thank you!!! i would've never thought people come to lurk on my blog, GUH IT'S SUCH AN HONOR!!! ur going to make my heart explode

[fem] reader-insert, [reader] is 1 year younger than ashley, incest, NSFW

i think it would mostly play out the same as yandere andrew with the older sibling but with more incestuous overtones. all i can think about is andrew and baby sister [reader] going out shopping or something. baby sis [reader] asks one of the employees where she could find some seasonings or something and the employee points to the aisle and leaves, then andrew comes up behind [reader] saying “did you really need to talk to him? hm? maybe you just wanted to ogle at him up close, huh? is your big brother not handsome enough for you anymore?” [reader]’s like “no no no!! I just needed to find the chili pepper, im sorry :(” and andrew makes her kiss him with tongue in the aisle to calm him down.

they’d have to get a job together, this is non-negotiable to andrew. preferably the same position so they’re close to each other but i think he’d settle on being in the same workplace in general if reasoned with enough. baby sis [reader] hides back into her shell again like she did when nina died but she doesn’t come back out this time. faced with the loss of her big sister ashley and the possible suicide andrew threatens her with, [reader] just deems it safer for her to be as introverted as possible. she’s still has some independence and autonomy but it’s only around andrew if that makes sense. she’ll cook and clean and entertain herself at home with or without andrew but in public she’s very introverted and clingy with andrew. andrew isn’t complaining about any of this though.

andrew’s very happy that he gets his baby sister to himself now! with all the fucked up shit they’ve done together he’s not too conserned with introducing themselves as a couple even if people put two-and-two together that they’re blood related. i can see him being very physically close and intimate with his baby sis [reader]. a hand on her lower back, hand holding, a finger curled in her hair, sleeping in the same bed, and like… a lot of sex. [reader] loves her brother and he’s been respectful when it came to sex. it took her a while to properly figure out how to feel about andrew’s romantic attraction towards her but she does feel the same way too (whether it was natural or something that was fostered while on the run). he likes to leave hickeys on her neck and other obvious places so people know who she belongs to.

every morning they wake up together in the same bed and say “I love you” to each other and they do it again every night before they go to bed.

i also think about semi-public sex with them, too. andrew gets jealous somehow and drags [reader] into an alleyway and forces her on to her knees and flops his cock on her face. “how about you show your big brother how sorry you are, huh?” she tries her best to take him into her mouth but she’s just really bad at it because she’s never done this before. andrew doesn’t mind, though, and praises her for her effort and eagerness because he can’t be mad at his baby sister for that long :) he cums into her mouth and her cheeks get filled up too quickly and some of his semen spills out of her mouth as she tries to swallow it all and andrew’s like “aww, what a good baby sister you are :) it’s ok if can’t swallow it all. i’ll have more for you later.”

i love this idea, thank you ‘nonnie.

----

coff-in

[eistro-phobia]

HCs for Russell Adler pt.4

— Dadler Edition

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

How could I not?

Warnings: Allusions to abortion, mild misogyny, emotional blackmail

Would not wanna have more kids. There, I'm done.

Actually wouldn't, though. He has two kids with his ex-wife already that he worries day and night about, especially after Stitch captured him. Being compromised like that cemented the fact they would not be safe no matter what corner of the Earth he hid them in. And he'd turn out to be right; after being framed, the only thing that stopped his kids from being hurt by Pantheon was the years of work he put into redacting and removing them from every database in the CIA.

Coincidentally happened to assassinate CIA agents who knew even a little about his kids. He didn't give a shit that they were innocent.

Wouldn't be happy if you got pregnant, as a result. He got himself snipped for the very same, but hypothetically, if you did, he would pull out every tactic in the book to coerce you into getting rid of it.

Stops talking to you for a while if you still decide to keep it. He'd threaten to break things off or even abandon you, swearing the kid's a stranger to him the second it leaves you. And then he proceeds to eat his words and stick by your side 24/7 when your belly starts showing. Jesus, even he wouldn't leave a pregnant lady.

Wouldn't stay home so much to take care of you as he would to stand guard. He'd use up all his vacation days and more to stick through your pregnancy and even a while after childbirth, till you've recovered and he has confidence you can fend for yourself in the worst case scenario.

Wishes for a boy despite wanting a girl in the hopes that he'd grow up and 'protect his mama'.

Is an absent father throughout their lives (who woulda thought). He's almost always on duty in some corner of the world, he's not on the greatest terms with his ex—and having a kid with you would've strained things between you guys too—all which would make him less inclined to come.

Has a checklist for this very reason. He can't make it to everything, so he tries to make it to a few non-negotiables: their birthdays, graduations, at least one game a year if any of his kids play, and one of any other occasion.

Does pay child support, by the way. Its the easiest part of being a dad for him; it supports his kids and gets the ex-wife to shut up.

100% spoils them. Same as above; he has the money, just not the time. So he spends one extravagantly to make up for the loss of the other.

Loves taking his kids to sports classes, no matter what kind. It's one of the rare few things he can relate to his kids with, and the inner linebacker in him always cheers out loud when his kid scores. He will always drive them when he's in town, no question.

Is also put in charge of taking his daughter to ballet when he's around. He's such a ballet kid dad. Picture the scene of Gru in Despicable Me; he's sitting hunched over on the plastic chairs as she watches her strut and stumble in what she calls a jetés, and awkwardly claps. It's a pain to go, especially after the mothers discovered he was single, but for his daughter's wide smile—all crooked teeth and joy—as she comes running up to him after practice, he'll suffer the back pain every time.

Is a griller dad, apparently. He swears by propane, almost going to war for it. Legitimately; he got into a huge fight with the other dads in the neighborhood when they started their 'charcoal's got taste to it' jargon.

Also is the go-to parent to wake up in the middle of the night when his kids feel hungry. He'll let out a long, tired sigh, before getting up and quietly walking to the kitchen to make them a grilled cheese. He's trained in treading silently and getting up at ungodly hours in case of emergencies; he's perfect for the job.

Doesn't yell at his kids. Farthest he'll go is the big disappointed sigh, or using his work voice to tell them off. It's a small thing, but he doesn't want his little time with his kids to be tainted by yelling; He'll always try not to argue in front of the kids or even show his stern side. He had a secure and healthy childhood and just wishes for his kids to have the same.

Sneaks them out for ice cream when his kids get scolded by their mother and run back to their room crying. It'd always be the same spot; they'd sit in silence in the car, Russell giving the embarrassed kid the space they need, ignoring the sharp zings of pain in his teeth with every lick.

Pisses his ex off with how he undermines her; she's trying to discipline them, while he keeps rewarding them every time they mess up. But he always silently goes back to the kid's room every night and gently talks to them about the issue, telling them their mom works very hard for them and to just listen to her next time.

Is considered the cool parent because of it. It drives his ex crazy, and he likes that.

Knows that it won't last long anyway, and his kids will eventually grow up to see him for the bastard he was.

Writes them each a letter for when they do. He won't be around when they become adults: he knows that much. It's basically an apology letter without the apology; he tries to explain the nature of his work in hopes that they might understand if even a little bit. He tells them their mother deserved better, they deserved better, and he was getting what he deserved. He finally asks them to let the title of father die with him and never ever breathe his name again. He was not a man worth the honor, nor the risk. After all, who was Russell if he couldn't protect his children even in death?

Bonus:

Straight up denies it if a past fling confronts him with a child; like no, that child cannot be his. He will vehemently reject the idea and send her on her merry way with his best wishes. And he will also vehemently deny that he's the one sending her anonymous checks every month cause he simply does not have any more children that he could endanger.

No I didn't accidentally post this before it was ready

[artficlly]

This might be weird, so don't answer if you don't want to, or this makes you uncomfortable.

While reading LiL (which is amazing, btw), I was wondering:

Yelena (and also Natasha) pretty clearly state in the movies that they had a forced hystero-oophorectomy and indicate it as being common practice in the Red Room. So I was wondering if it was also done to Reader, despite her seemingly having different kinds of "missions/jobs" than the others.

I was just curious as this could also influence her sex drive and desire with Bucky and would obviously add another layer as it was another part of her bodily autonomy that was taken from her (also another point making her relate to Bucky/him relate to her).

I was just curious whether this was a given to have happened to all the widows or whether Reader's situation differed from the other widows.

hi lovely,

great question! i have put A LOT of thought into this and this was gonna be revealed later in the story but i don't think it's that much of a spoiler, more of a punch to the gut (i'll just slap a nice trigger warning for sa here).

so in the movies, it's said that the widows were forcefully/involuntarily sterilised because they wanted to avoid the widows having children due to the whole emotional connection of mother and child.

idk if this is fucked up or what, i just have very dark ideas about the red room. i've kinda build up my own ideas/canon for the red room in the aus my fics are set in so, in LiL this is the same, but also there is more to it.

in the LiL universe, a lot of the widows were used as swallows where they would sleep with targets to get information, reader was likely one of many. i imagine the ones who made it through to the end of their training were likely to have specialities depending on their strengths. (e.g. nat does a lot of spy work, where as yelena seemed to be more of an assassin and the reader is almost exclusively a swallow but does know how to do other skills, but isn't as "good" at them, like how she always struggles in training with natasha) but all these women would've been sterilised to prevent them from getting pregnant from missions. i imagine a swallow getting pregnant from a target would be really inconvenient for the red room.

it's always kind of sat weirdly with me that the red room only had girls/women. theres something so haunting about, and i'm sure every woman knows what i mean, the implications of all these young women under control by powerful men. i just don't think it's that far off in the marvel universe (and the "canon" of the LiL universe) that the reader wouldn't have experienced SA in the red room itself.

but yeah, reader can't get pregnant. i really disliked how marvel handled the discussion of it in avengers, basically demonising natasha. i think that it was just another way of controlling, dehumanising and taking away the bodily autonomy of these women.

the red room did not view them as people. they viewed them as weapons.

[anerdynerd]

Got to yap about how Spock basically got sort of a second chance at being raised with a focus that's a bit different, even if it's not far from what he'd already been taught in his previous childhood and how he got to de-internalize certain things a bit post TSFS to my friend, so here y'all go, have my copy-and-pasted yap from that chat because I love thinking about movie!Spock's development🧍:

⚠️spoilers for The Search for Spock and Wrath of Khan⚠️

I also especially notice how much more open he subtly is after his death and rebirth, he lost his memory but it's all still in there somewhere, he just has to be reminded first and so he gets trained with questions and everything as he did as a kid, but I'd like to believe that the way his values were presented to him on the one hand and the way he was briefed in maybe a less pressure-full manner than the first time on the other hand has had a real impact on some issues that were more prominent before his death (I don't think Sarek would have been able to knock as much "the Vulcan way and nothing else" into Spock, as he did during a whole childhood, within the days maybe weeks/months, I'm not sure anymore, that he spent getting back on track before functioning relatively normally again)

Not to mention the question "How do you feel?" even being presented in his studying program in the first place, I'm not sure if it would've been in his old tests too or if it really was the trick question that it seemed to be at first, but him waking up and being told that he has friends that went through hell to get him back, being greeted by them with obvious relief and happiness, instantly presenting him a feeling of belonging basically right after he woke up, idk that might've done some precious work for not even letting certain internalized barriers that he was hesitant to cross build up again

Also this might not be as related as I think it is but we see that Amanda was seemingly the one mainly taking care of Spock for that time when he was getting back on his feet? I don't think Sarek showed up as much as her and was probably busy with work (although he was still there a bit, iirc), so I'm just saying that he probably didn't get to have the same influence to the same extend again

And I'm willing to bet that even Sarek wouldn't have gone as harshly on Spock as he used to, already knowing what kind of Vulcan Spock was going to be (one that chooses Starfleet and does a great service for them even though Sarek himself doesn't technically want him there but knows now that he isn't able to stop Spock)

Obviously Spock is still raised the Vulcan way and he still very much behaves like the Vulcan that he is, but I find it noticeable, that he doesn't appear to be as bound to certain barriers anymore