#who even is this who else has grievances that we didn't account for

[malscare]

You know the scene in the Osomatsu san movie where Todomatsu snaps at Atsushi? That is R*bin after a disagreement.

HEEEEELP LOL

[luveline]

Hey Jade! Could I request some more kisses before dinner au? Steve and reader both have a bad day (Reader with her pregnancy and steve is just overwhelmed with looking after everone?) and they have a fight in the evening before, during or after dinner. The girls get a little upset and make a plan to get the two talking again and to make up and the night ends with a big cuddle. Thank you, love you and your work, you're actually so beautiful! Xx

HI!! thank you so much angel, I hope this is OK!! ♥ dad!steve x pregnant!reader, 3k.

You said we could do this. 

Steve thinks about that line most of all. Your argument blurred into one big glob of anger, wanting to be right and silly grievances, fatigue. The only thing that stuck out was your upset face as you'd sniffled and murmured, "You said we could do this," like Steve had let you down. 

Steve regrets arguing with you, but what he hates most is having lost his cool in front of the girls. He resents himself for it as much as he does you, and he's finding it difficult to let any of it go. 

It's Avery who's claimed his lap, while Bethie and Dove lean on either side of you, Dove's face against the bump of your stomach like a pillow. Steve strokes hair out of his eldest daughter's face one silky strand at a time. He knows the girls aren't used to fighting, Steve grew up seeing it, and he didn't want his kids to see it because he knows it creates a strange and sometimes suffocating anxiety, so you and he have always argued in private when you could. 

You're very pregnant (exhausted, hormonal, going through huge changes) and Steve is trying to do a lot more to account for that (similarly exhausted, and wondering if perhaps he has sympathy hormones). The baby bump means you can't and shouldn't be doing as much. You've worked your entire pregnancy, through two trimesters of intense morning sickness, and the third and last trimester offered a reprieve from that and nothing else. 

As your uterus moves and your bump drops to make room for the last hurdle of the baby's growth, you can hardly breathe. You're always aching. Steve insists you take it easy and even if he didn't insist it's not exactly a conscious decision either of you van make. Being kind to yourself is being kind to the baby, and you're the best mom in the world —you're slowing down whether anyone likes it or not. 

Worse, your Braxton Hicks have started. They come at irregular times and never last long, but each time prompts the am I going into labour early? panic. It's not fair, Steve wishes he could take it from you, and he doesn't want you to do more than you can, but he needs a little more room to breathe, and some forgiveness. 

Because Steve did assure you that you could do this. You wouldn't have agreed to another baby if you didn't think it yourself, neither of you being that irresponsible. Lots of things come before wanting. Steve wants a big family, he could cry every time he looks at you lately and the unignorable evidence of another family member to love and cherish that is your distended stomach, but he loves the one he has now. Before you even thought about trying for your fourth, you had to know it wouldn't hurt your first three, or each other. 

Steve knows you can do this. He can do it. Today was just a bad day, and he needs your faith in him, or this is never going to work. 

Steve wants to say that to you, now he's had time to think. I'm sorry I let you down, but I need you to forgive me, and I need you to trust me that we can do it. He also wants to say Thanks for being a dick about Beth's doctor's appointment, obviously I forgot to take her on purpose, I just don't like her. He decides he hasn't calmed down enough to talk to you yet. He's mad at you but he fucking loves you, he doesn't want to hurt your feelings anymore than he already has. 

Avery kisses Steve's cheek unexpectedly, snapping him from a reverie of racing thoughts. He meets her gaze to ask what she wants, but she's swift to slide down the lengths of his legs and onto the floor. 

"Bethie," she says, meandering to where her sister sits, hands catching on Bethie's bare knees, "do you want to come and colour in with me?" 

"Why don't you bring your colours down here?" you ask. 

"I don't want to carry the table," Avery says, referring to the green and purple picnic bench she has in her room. She can't carry it, even though it's only small. She's smaller. 

"I can grab it for you, Ave," Steve says. 

"That's okay, daddy, you're tired. Please, Bethie? I need your help staying in the lines." 

Bethie raises her eyebrows. Reluctant, she climbs off of the sofa and Avery takes her hands. Steve can hear them whispering as they reach the stairs, their creaking steps covering words but not sounds. 

Steve usually puts his life into perspective quite easily. He doesn't often get angry, having had the privilege to choose pretty much every aspect that's worth agonising over. He was lucky enough to love you, and to have you love him back. He was lucky enough to have a say when you got pregnant accidentally the first time, and beyond privileged to be able to ask again, and to have you yes, to want to say yes to the second, the third, the fourth. 

He doesn't get angry at you much. When you're mean, of course, when you fall for the same weaknesses he might. A short temper, a mistimed snark. He was really mad at you a few years ago when you burned your arm on a pan he told you multiple times was hot. He was so mad he couldn't speak not that long ago when you assured him you could clean the hot sauce off of his first Hellfire shirt with a lemon and ended up bleaching the black sleeve a mottled brown. But you were cleaning his shirt because you loved him. You burnt yourself trying to help him clean your shared kitchen. All these things he's angry about, they're mistakes, or they're moments of weakness in a long receipt of kindness, and sweetness. Plus, you're the prettiest woman he's ever met, you're prettier every day. That deserves something, he thinks. Reverence, patience, anything you need if it means he gets to keep being with you, gets to keep having these stupid fights. 

And there it is. The anger wears away. Steve remembers how much he loves you (which hadn't been in doubt, the love part, but the volume —when he's mad, he loves you astronomically, and when he isn't, he loves you so much they haven't made a word for it). He wants to say sorry and have you say it back. You'll kiss him and let him hold you, his hand over your tummy, and hopefully you'll admit to understanding where he's coming from. If he's really lucky, you'll let him massage your shoulders, or hold the bump up to take the weight off. 

"Dove!" Bethie shouts from the top of the stairs. "Dove, come and help, please? We need another hand for the drawing!"

Dove perks up by your side. She slides off of the couch with little convincing, your fingers twisting a curl of her hair as she goes. 

"Have to help me," Dove says. Bethie sighs and begins down the stairs to fight the baby gate. 

Steve opens his mouth about the second they're both out of earshot again and you still beat him to it. 

"Baby brain made me act like a bitch. Sorry." 

"I knew it was baby brain and I still took the bait, so…" 

"You think I was baiting you?" you ask. 

"Not on purpose?" Steve rests his cheek across the top of the couch, fake leather cool on his skin. "You had a real reason to be mad at me. I said you didn't have to take her and then I let you down." 

"You didn't let me down," you say.

"And you're not a bitch," he says,

"I feel really embarrassed after we argue. Maybe you make me feel that way," you say, looking down at your hands, "but I don't think so. I wish you wouldn't get so mad with me." 

"I wish I didn't, either." 

"Not that we don't both get angry."

"I know what you meant." The conversation is stilted and jagged and frankly painful to manoeuvre. "Do I really make you feel embarrassed?" he asks. 

"No," you say. "I'm sorry, I don't know what I'm trying to say. This part never gets any easier." 

"But we'll keep doing it?" 

You put both hands over your bump and give him a long, serious look. "Yeah." 

Steve shuffles closer to you on the couch and tries to land you both on the same page. "What did you mean by that? That I make you feel embarrassed after we fight? I'm not mad, I just don't get it." 

You offer your hand as though you're afraid he'll reject it, pinky finger bumping his where it rests on his thigh. Steve takes it gently. 

"Stevie, sometimes, you get really mad when we fight and I– I don't blame you because I know why you get mad like that, and you've never been cruel to me for the sake of it, you aren't cruel. You've never hurt me just being angry. You've said stuff to me that hurt my feelings–" 

"I've never hurt you for no reason," he says, worried, hoping you'll agree. 

"Of course not. Steve, you've barely hurt me. But I… I think I feel embarrassed after we fight 'cos I can't stand thinking you had that much disdain for me." You squeeze his fingers. "Even for a minute. Which isn't your fault, that's how being angry works. You get so annoyed at someone that you lose it."

"I don't hate you, though," he murmurs. "You really think I have disdain for you? 'Cos I don't, honey. Not for a millisecond. That's not what it'd be about." He can't believe he's loved you this long and this is the first he's hearing about this feeling in particular. "When we were fighting earlier, I wasn't thinking about how awful you are or anything like that." 

"What were you thinking?" you ask hesitantly. 

"That I wish you'd see my side." It comes out in a rush, a sigh, his hand sliding up your wrist. "I just wanted you to see my fucking side for once."

"Are you kidding?" you say. 

He backtracks. "Sorry, not for once. That wasn't fair. It's what I was thinking, though" 

Much less insulted by his thoughts at the time of a blow up argument than the notion that he thought you were refusing to see his side after you literally asked him to tell you his side a second before, you relax. Or, you sag, and your brows pull together in pain, free hand moving to your chest. 

Steve sidles in as close to your side as he can get and covers your hand with his. "You okay?' he asks softly. 

"I'm fine. Tell me your side."

"I'm sorry for upsetting you," he says honestly. "But I need you to cut me some slack. I know you're having a really hard time right now, and I know you know I'm trying to make it work just as much as you are. Is that okay?"

You take his hand from your chest and put it over your baby bump. He could weep with relief. 

"That's okay. I really am sorry, Steve, I know I took it too far." 

"Well, I got angry twice. I wish you'd told me how you felt about it, you know? I would've told you a long time ago that I– I love you even when you're pissing me off. You don't have to feel embarrassed thinking you've lost my respect or something." 

"I know it doesn't make sense," you say. 

"But if that's how you feel," he says. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I just want us to be okay again. 

"We're okay again," you say, staring at him for a few long, slow seconds. "I love you." 

"That's the best one, right? After we fight? I love you, too," he says, hand slipping under your shirt. He'd do it if you weren't pregnant, but now you are he does it for a different reason, feeling along your ballooned tummy for something in particular. "Has she been kicking today?" 

"Only every time you talk," you say, beaming, knowing how special that is. You move his hand to the very top of your bump. "Feels like she's inside my lungs. Would you…" 

Steve grins and leans down. You pull the hair from his eyes, holding him to your chest. "Listen, lovely girl. You gotta give your mom a break, go back to sitting on her bladder for a bit. The only person who should be making her breathless is me." 

"Corny," you say, scratching his hair. 

Steve puts his ear to your stomach. She won't talk back, and he can't hear much, but he tricks himself into thinking your weird stomach gurgling is the baby speaking. 

"No," Avery says, much closer than Steve thought she was, the troupe of them having made their way downstairs while Steve was busy laying on your stomach. "This will work, Beth."

"I don't want them to be angry," Bethie says. 

"They won't be angry with us. Mom doesn't get mad, she gets disappointed, and dad only shouts when I den-danger my safety." 

You snort and Steve tries uselessly to cover your mouth. "It's a make up plan," you whisper. 

"Oh. We have to still be fighting, then," Steve says. He springs up, gives you a very tender if he says so himself kiss to your cheek, and crawls back to his empty seat. 

"Let's go," Dove insists, prancing through the open door. 

You and Steve try to look dreadfully morose. 

"Daddy," Avery says, "Mommy, we made you something to say thanks for being the best dad and mom's ever made."

"You did?" you ask. 

"And to stop worrying," Bethie says, drifting toward Steve on automatic. 

"My loves," you begin. Steve knows what you'll say —We're sorry. 

"Just listen!" Avery insists. "You're the bestest ever, and we have the new baby coming and we'll have to take new photos but we can't because she's still getting bigger, so we drew one." 

"Baby photos always make you happy," Beth says.

It's a family portrait on a jagged edged, five feet long piece of paper from one of their paper rolls. You're all very tall and there have been efforts to make each person individual. Steve stands out as the only one with shorts and no eyelashes. Your baby bump has been drawn like you're carrying Pluto around in your abdomen, and Dove is quite small in comparison. Avery has drawn herself to Steve's left, and Bethie stands to hers. It's the most impressive thing Steve has ever seen. 

"Oh, wow," he says. 

"Woah," you agree. 

"This is me," Dove says, pointing at herself. 

"That's me," Bethie says, almost dropping her corner of the portrait.

"And there's me and dad and mom and baby," Avery says, pointing at each figure, her arm blocking the crayon hair. "We're the biggest family ever." 

"And the best," Bethie says.

"Best," Dove agrees. 

If things hadn't been okay between you and Steve before, they are now. In an instant. The girls have presented you with evidence of his very greatest achievements. 

"How much do you think it would cost to get that framed?" he asks you. 

Your laugh jumps from you as though it had a mind of its own, loving and exhausted, fond. Unsurprised. 

"Couple hundred bucks," you say, hand cupping the bottom of your stomach. 

"We have that, right? To spare?" 

You absolutely don't. Steve says it to make you laugh again, only half joking, and is rewarded by your happy smile. You shuffle down the couch into his arms and he wraps you up without closing his arms, hands extended to the girls where they hesitate. 

"Come on," he says, waving his hand toward your back, "this mom sandwich is missing at least three pieces of bread." 

Avery cheers and sprints into his reach. Beth and Dove aren't far behind. 

—

kisses before dinner au

[spacechild-glitchypix]

A lot of people are making a lot of public statements considering this is a situation that has pretty much nothing to do with them.

Look, I'm usually one to be pretty civil on conversations like this in public because I generally feel like people are less likely to listen when you're angry and shouting but I'm also acutely aware that none of you are really paying any attention. You're glossing over statements, you're intentionally reading Rose's statements and apologies in bad faith. If you aren't going to have the good graces to truly listen to either Kab or Rose then, respectfully, back away. You're not contributing anything positive to the conversation, you're talking in circles about points already being addressed and claiming they aren't because the answer doesn't suit your narrative

You can think Rose's comments made in the privacy of his own server are unprofessional until the cows come home but, frankly, his professionalism isn't any of your concern unless you're employing him. And, as for the biphobia comments, I'll speak as someone who was literally in those discord screenshots.

The stuff said in Marshie's post is true but, on a larger scale, this was a common discussion in this server. It wasn't started by Rose, it certainly didn't end with Rose, this was an entire server of queer people who were just sick of the heteronormative way some people would develop their MCs. And if you took that as a personal attack then I apologise but I can't help you with your own feelings. We never expected this to reach public eyes, none of us would've actually said this to a person's face about their own MCs. We're not bullies, our words were posted in a public setting without our permission, the fact you people seemed to have missed that (or even claimed that we apparently weren't private enough because somehow we were supposed to just know one of our members was leaking screenshots of our conversations which is a stance I have seen at least one person take) is honestly very telling.

No one should be expected to be 100% polite or civil in their own spaces (this also includes Rose's blog, before one of you fires blossoming-attorney's post at me), we're allowed to have areas where we can speak our own grievance with friends and be hyperbolic without having to worry about people taking our works out of that space to be put completely on blast to the public. Have none of you people ever complained about a boss before???

But more importantly than that, I just think the level of tone-policing and dogpiling and harassment being leveled at one of my friends over a racist smear campaign is fucking appalling. I don't care if you do not think this is racist because race wasn't brought up, if this wasn't racism then why is Rose the only person you people have thought to go after. Why is he the only person that was named, why did no one try to find anyone else in those screenshots.

This fandom is, quite frankly, a racist cesspit, the people who started this harassment campaign by publiclly posting this bullshit on a throwaway reddit account are scum, the people who pushed it without any sort of critical thinking should be deeply ashamed of themselves and every major artist in the community making a statement as to their stance on this whole ordeal needs to back off

This community has destroyed an incredibly important space where me and many others made a number of good friends for nearly a year over the adrenaline rush of jumping on a bandwagon. You've hurt one of my good friends and tried to get him fired from his job to further a racist smear campaign because you didn't like that he's an outspoken black person.

I hope you're fucking proud of yourselves

[wrestlingisfake]

A brief history of CM Punk-AEW drama

Saw someone ask for a full recap of the Punk/AEW drama. So I spent an hour writing a decent summary, and by the time I finished they deleted the post I was trying to reblog. That's okay, I get it. But since I put in the work I'm just gonna make my own post, in case anyone else has questions.

I have tried to keep this as unbiased as possible, with a summary of the discourse at the end. If anybody needs more clarification on anything you can send me an ask.

CM Punk signed with AEW in 2021. Right away a big issue that came up was his ex-friend Colt Cabana. (Long story.) By early 2022, rumors began to swirl among the wrestlers that Punk was using his star power to get Cabana pushed out of the company. Cabana's friends in the company assumed the rumors were true and resented Punk. This came to a head in May 2022, when Adam Page referenced the rumors on live TV, in a segment with Punk. By this point Punk's relationship with Page and the Young Bucks was damaged beyond repair.

On September 4, 2022, during the post-show scrum for All Out, Punk aired his grievances with the Young Bucks (always referring to them as "the EVPs") and Adam Page. Punk clearly believed the Bucks manufactured the "Punk is trying to force Cabana out" story and leaked it to wrestling news sites to turn the locker room against Punk. Punk closed by saying that if anybody had a problem with him, he had an "open door" policy, and he'd be in his dressing room. The Bucks and fellow EVP Kenny Omega went to see him. A fight broke out. Everyone involved--even people who just tried to break it up--was suspended for a while (except Punk, who was going to be sidelined for months for a torn triceps either way).

We don't have much solid information about the September 2022 fight. Most reports I read suggest Punk and his friend Ace Steel made it physical, with Punk punching one of the Bucks (maybe both, I can't remember) and Steel throwing a chair and biting Omega. One account said the Bucks kicked the door open, unwittingly hitting Punk's dog in the face and knocking several teeth loose, which would have provoked Punk's side. It's also been suggested that since Steel's wife was in the room and in no condition to flee a potential three-on-two ambush, this could have made Steel and Punk feel they had to come out swinging. There is no footage of the fight, but there were neutral parties who witnessed it (notably including AEW's chief legal officer, Megha Parekh). Everyone involved signed NDAs and can't/won't talk about it on the record.

For the next nine months, it wasn't clear if Punk wanted to come back to AEW, or if AEW wanted to bring him back. Lots of people suggested that Punk and the three EVPs could talk it out and then make a lot of money turning it into a fake wrestling feud. But Omega and the Bucks showed no interest in talking to Punk or working with him. Ultimately Punk returned in June 2023 on a new show, Collision. The idea was that the EVPs (and anyone else who couldn't co-exist with Punk) would stay on Dynamite, and Punk would have carte blanche on Collision.

Within a couple of months, reports emerged about backstage issues involving Punk. The main one that blew up involved Jack Perry, who was always tight with the Bucks, and was typically on Dynamite, and not on Collision. Perry had vacation time scheduled and wanted to shoot an angle to explain his absence, in which HOOK would throw him into a car windshield. For some reason it didn't get done on a Dynamite taping, so arrangements were made to shoot it at a Collision taping. Everybody who thought the windshield spot with real glass was a bad idea asked Punk to talk Perry out of it. It's not clear whether Tony Khan approved the spot for Dynamite, or rescheduling it for Collision, or allowing Punk to have the last word. Ultimately the windshield spot was canceled.

On August 31, 2023, Perry wrestled Hook at All In, and they finally did the windshield spot that Punk previously nixed. Perry went out of his way to reference the earlier story, saying "You know what this is? Real glass! Go cry me a river," as if daring Punk to do something about it. After the match, Perry went behind the curtain just as Punk and Samoa Joe were getting ready for their match. By all accounts, Punk complained to Perry, Perry was like "what are you going to do about it?" and Punk decided that justified starting a fight. It was broken up very quickly, and then Punk got all hostile with Tony Khan, saying "this place is a joke and you're a clown." Punk was asked to leave, and within a week he had been terminated with cause.

The "CM Punk did nothing wrong" position, generally speaking, is that AEW is severely mismanaged, with Tony Khan allowing the Young Bucks and their friends to do a lot of dumb bullshit, leaving Punk no choice but to take matters into his own hands. Punk's enemies within AEW conspired to turn the locker room against him, and used wrestling news outlets to spread anti-Punk stories to turn the fandom against him. In any case, Punk is the biggest star AEW has ever signed (if not the biggest star AEW will ever sign), and it was bad for business to let him get so discouraged.

The "Punk screwed Punk" position, generally speaking, is that his grievances with AEW management stopped mattering whenever he resorted to physical force. His Bruiser Brody approach to throwing his weight around is backward and outdated in the 2020s (and didn't even end well for Brody in the 1980s). His assumption that the Bucks planted anti-Punk stories in the media is unfounded, and rather paranoid. He resents the EVPs for lawyering up instead of burying the hatchet, even though he feels totally justified taking the same approach with Colt Cabana. Basically, Punk thinks he can do what he likes, and anyone else who does the same against Punk's wishes is a snake, a clown, or soft.

Splitting the difference between these takes: Everybody should have talked this out by early 2022, before it got out of hand. Tony Khan should have gotten out in front of the the "Punk is trying to get rid of Cabana" rumors before they got online. Punk and Cabana should have come to terms on how they would co-exist as soon as Punk joined the company. Adam Page should not have bottled up his grievances until he was on live TV, and Punk should not have bottled up his resentment about that until a media scrum. Once it got past that point, and the first fight happened, Khan needed to take charge and settle it, immediately. He needed to choose, in September 2022, between keeping Punk aboard at all costs, or showing Punk who's boss at all costs. Instead, he tried to have it both ways for a year, until Punk made that impossible.

[saltygilmores]

THOUGHTS WHILE WATCHING GILMORE GIRLS: APPLICATION ANXIETY (SEASON 3, EPISODE 3, PART 4)

I didn't think I'd be going into four chapters+ for this filler/completely lacking in boy drama episode, but here we are.

Shady Taylor Business as per uzh. He’s committed so many white collar crimes that he’s in over his head trying to keep track of them all. Does ayone else just think of Taylor as the Mayor? He’s technically “town selectman", which is a real thing, and after many years I've finally looked up what a selectman does. I won't bore you with the details, but somehow Taylor got put into a position of authority that involves a heavy responsibility for other people's money. I know we have seen the actual mayor of The Hollow before, but only twice so far, I think. Taylor is treading into the shark infested waters of airing private grievances with Luke Danes publicly, again. Has Taylor learned nothing from the last time he tried this stunt at the emergency meeting he called about Jess and his sidewalk drawing? He really loves poking that hornet's nest. It's not going to be pretty.

Miss Patty waving at Rory and Lorelai. She is such a treasure. A horny, horny treasure. She must be protected at all costs.

Taylor calls his malt shop a "necessary service", which immediately calls me back to our comedian friend who predicted Taylor would classify his malt shop as a "necessary service" in order to stay open during the pandemic. How was that guy so spot on about everything?

That's real slimy, Taylor. Taylor Doose is slime. And not the fun kind of slime, either. According to Slimy Doose, If a 3/4ths majority of the town decide Taylor should have that building then he gets that building. It's just that simple! Check the towns bylaws! Which were probably written by Taylor! Why does Taylor want to run Luke out of town so badly? His diner is literally the only attraction in town that keeps the town economy churning (well, not Rory and Lorelai's money, but everyone else's). Taylor spends 7 years trying to find the money to fix a small wooden bridge. Like Tumblr, behind the scenes, The Hollow is being held together with paperclips and fairy dust. If tourists ever find out that Luke's special coffee is nothing more than ordinary Folgers, it's all over.

No, Salty is NOT going to research the nitty gritty details of eminent domain for you to determine if Luke is correct. You're on your own, people. I'm here to make the masturbation jokes.

Now things are real getting real loopy doopy as Taylor stands his ground that his proposed soda shop is even more necessary than a hospital. DId someone vote this guy in? According to Google, yes. A town selectman is an elected position. The people who voted for Taylor may even be voting in larger elections, which is a scary thought. Ya'll voted for this putz, you live with him.

KICK HIS ASS!

RORY YOU ARE NOT HELPING. Sit down! Oh, you already are. Well, keep sitting. And stop talking. The town decides they love their beloved coffee proprietor Luke so much that they refuse to side with him and don't give a flying cupcake if he gets screwed into next week. If this were my unrated Gilmore Girls spinoff, The Hollow, which explores the gritty realism of small tourist town life, the Malt shop goes under in a few years because the economies of these towns are very shaky. Someone is going to turn around and Eminent Domain Taylor's ass and bulldoze his businesses to build luxury townhomes.

If looks could kill, man. Someone PLEASE edit a cartoon bloody axe or hatchet into this screen shot for me. I'm going to use this face on the promo posters for my horror movie series, "Blood In The Hollow." Luke's Revenge.

Rory saying "Ice cream soda, yum" and a couple of elderly people nodding is enough to count as a majority vote. I know they worship Rory in the Hollow for some reason but how does she have that much power? Can't we get some kind of auditor in here to examine the electoral process in The Hollow? Then an accountant to audit Taylor's financial books.

Yay! We hate you Luke! Go get fucked! But keep the free coffee coming.

Even after what she just did, you know she’s going to shamelessly march right over to the diner where she won’t pay him for her food and coffee. I saw Lane unaccompained at the meeting, and started thinking since Mrs Kim apparently lets Lane go to town meetings unsupervised, they're a perfect opportunity for her to get out from the watchful eye of her mother and get up to some teenage rebellion/shenanigans. I still say she should have hooked up with Jess to give her mother a coronary.

Welcome, Shenanigans. We get an introductory story about Rygalski's musical interests, which Lane finds rather keen. Keen is like my new favorite word. It's old fashioned sounding so it just works with these old fashioned teenagers.

Get a hold of yourself woman!

Don't underestimate this geek in a dorky sweater. He's smooth.

Could she be any dorkier? Sheesh.

Don't tell me Lorelai doesn't looks jealous watching Rory kiss Dean. Dean actually listens patiently while Rory updates him about her life, and this behavior continues to feel highly suspicious. Is it because he was at home jerking off while everyone else was at the meeting and now he's not so cranky?

Don't worry Deano, you won't be lonely. There are other fish in the Hollow. Maybe you'll even manage to trap some poor innocent teenage girl and brainwash her into marrying you. I'm still not sure how he pulled that off.

I saw these oven mitts on Amazon yesterday and thought of Lindsey Lister. Whenever she's cooking one of Dean's meatloaves, she's quietly side eyeing the box of rat poison under the sink. Rory is mildly irritated because his question is "blunt and out of nowhere." and a discussion About Our Future is underway.

I'm going to keep a scoring system for this discussion: +1 point to Rory because Dean's question was really "out of nowhere" and dropped on suddenly her late at night. +1 point to Dean because his question wasn't totally unreasonable. Minus 1 point for Dean because Rory hasn't even been accepted to Harvard, no less any college, yet. + half point for Dean doing the bare minimum and believing in the idea that Rory will get into Harvard later. Minus 1 point for Dean because even if she did get into college she isn't going to start for another year, so he could have waited like, at least another 6 months before it would matter. Minus 1 point for Dean because there's no guarantee they will even be together a year from now (and they won't be).

Minus 1 point for Rory even entertaining the silly notion that she could have a "Weekends only" relationship with Dean when he is a controlling maniac who tracks her schedule and gets angry if she does not spend every minute of her free time with him. MInus 1 point for Rory engaging in more "I promise I will spend every spare minute of every day that I'm not studying with you" and "we can talk on the phone constantly during the week" negotiations. Enough with the negotiations!! Minus a kajillion points for Dean just because he's rotten hamburger meat. What is he going to do Monday-Friday after he graduates hgh school, without Rory to kick around like his personal hacky sack? Reversing the roles for fun: Dean: What are you going to do when I leave for college? Rory:

"Christianne Amanpour spends of a third of her life in foxholes in third world countries! She was on C-Span last week getting an award! And she has a family!" Girl?! Rory Gilmore is comparing her life to that of an award winning, world renowned field journalist, someone who travels the world and risks her life on a regular basis, to her life as a boring high school student dating another boring high school student, some illiterate 17 year old softball playing clown from Stars Hollow Connecticut whose own mother is still trying to abandon him at a gas station, hoping that a pack of wild dogs will find and adopt him as one of their own instead. If Christianne Amanpour can survive being blown up in a war torn country and go home to her husband and family at the end of the day, then surely Dean Forrester and Rory Gilmore can make it work. Rory, pleaase. Settle down. Minus -2 points for that sheer ridiculousness. I'm not sure Dean even knows who Christianne Amanpour is, anyway. This goes on WAY too long so I will summarize so I can get on with my life and finally finish out this episode. R: Dean you should to go to college in Boston D: I'm going to junior college R: Junior college in Boston?! D: No dorm rooms R: Rent an apartment! D: With what money? R:Why are you being like this? D: Realistic? R: Stop being so serious D: Forget it Jackson: What happens to Rory's room when she moves out, can i rent it out to put my tools in it? Lorelai: Idk (panic sweats at the thought of losing her codependent relationship with Rory if she moved out) Springsteen (Harvard Dinner Guy) on answering machine: I looked at Rory's records and even though I'm just some rich guy who graduated decades ago and I don't actually attend Harvard anymore or work at Harvard and I only met her once over an awkward dinner where she barely said anything, she's definitely a shoo in for Harvard, she may as well just pack her bags and move in right now. like she should find a dorm room that's already occupied and kick out whoever's living there already and take over their room. I'm going to tell everyone I know that Rory is definitely for sure going to Harvard there has never been a more Harvardy student that has ever ever Harvarded before. The end. Things Googled While Watching GIlmore Girls: Selectman, is a selectman elected, codependent relationship Things Not Googled: Eminent domain

[navree]

Does Aegon ii wants to be king in the book?

It's a bit murky in the book, just due to the nature of the reports coming in and the fact that it's being compiled several decades after the fact.

There is an element of Aegon that does want to be king, or at least feels that he should be king, or, more likely, that he should be Rhaenyra's heir, since his primary grievance with the Velaryons (in the book there isn't the show's interpretation that they ever got along and that he was any kind of older brother figure to them) is that he and his brothers feel like the Velaryons stole their birthright. And given that he was born after Rhaenyra was already the named heir and grew up knowing that Viserys wasn't changing it, it doesn't seem like he had any expectation to be king, even if he resented the idea.

In the book, Aegon does not initially want the throne. He's reluctant and he does at first press the fact that Rhaenyra is Viserys's named heir and the natural successor to the Iron Throne. He explicitly says "My sister is the heir, not me. What sort of brother steals his sister's birthright." (which is an incredibly fascinating insight into aegon as a person but that's a story for another time) He doesn't seem to want it with any desire within himself, and is actually pretty adamant that he wont' be involved with Alicent's plan to crown him. And what convinces him isn't anything about his rights or his wants, it's family.

There's only one account of how Aegon was convinced to accept the crown, and it's that Criston Cole bluntly told him that if he didn't and he let Rhaenyra be queen, then she would kill any trueborn Targaryen male heirs in order to make sure that the road was clear for her bastard sons. That includes not just Aegon but also Aemond and Daeron, as well as Aegon's two sons. "Whilst any trueborn Targaryen yet lives, no Strong can ever hope to sit the Iron Throne,” Cole said. “Rhaenyra has no choice but to take your heads if she wishes her bastards to rule after her.” It was this, and only this, that persuaded Aegon to accept the crown that the small council was offering him". Aegon's primary motivator in being king is the fact that if he doesn't, his family is going to die. And while people sometimes chalk this up to Septon Eustace (the man doing this part of the retelling) just being pro Aegon, the text offers up no alternative explanation. Nothing from Mushroom or Munkun or anyone else, so all we have approaching a reason for Aegon to claim his crown is this worry for the safety of his brothers and his sons.

However, it does seem like once Aegon decided he was in, he decided he was all in, since he was the one who eventually got tired of all the secrecy and planning and demanded to have a public coronation. So in the book, it seems like once he accepted that this was going to happen, he decided to just get completely invested in it, and to see it through to the end at 100%. Which makes sense, Aegon is not someone who does things by halves in the book, his sheer stubborn determination is a huge part of his character and why he ultimately wins (or at least, outlives Rhaenyra).

[worldofwardcraft]

Parsing the sentence.

June 3, 2024

Sentencing for Donald Trump, who was convicted last week on 34 counts of falsifying business records, will take place on July 11. Since these are E-level felonies, first-time offender Trump’s punishment may range from probation to a fine (not more than $5,000) to a maximum four years imprisonment per count (that's 136 years, if you’re keeping score at home).

The decision on sentencing, of course, is entirely within the discretion of trial judge Juan Merchan. But what factors will he consider in making that decision? NYU law professor Andrew Weissmann outlined some of them the other night on MSNBC.

The first thing most judges look for is evidence of remorse on the part of the defendant. However, it's hard to think of anyone less remorseful than Donald Trump, who's psychologically incapable of admitting even the slightest mistake.

Still, let's see how repentant Trump was at his 40-minute, grievance-filled rant before the cameras the morning after the verdict announcement: "This was a disgrace. This was a rigged trial by a conflicted judge who was corrupt…We didn't do a thing wrong. I'm a very innocent man."

Okay, so not sorry. However, something else judges take into account are the chances of recidivism, i.e., how likely it is that Trump would commit those crimes again. Are you kidding? The man's been a fraud, a cheat and a lawbreaker all his adult life. He still hasn't stopped defaming E. Jean Carroll, despite millions of dollars in fines.

Then there are Trump's repeated violations of Judge Merchan's order not to publicly discuss the witnesses or jury. Merchan found Trump in contempt for disobeying that gag order on ten separate occasions, fining him the maximum amount ($1,000) each time. The last violation was a disparaging comment Trump made about the jury. Threatening him with jail, Merchan wrote,

In doing so, Defendant not only called into question the integrity, and therefore the legitimacy of these proceedings, but again raised the specter of fear for the safety of the jurors and of their loved ones.

Finally, Merchan will likely bear in mind the open disrespect Trump has consistently shown towards the judge, the prosecutor and the entire proceeding. “The irony for him,” Trump’s niece Mary said recently, is that “if he behaved like a human being throughout this trial, I think that the risk of prison would have been fairly low.” But as it is, it's hard to believe Merchan will not impose some sort of incarceration, even it's only home confinement. With a good chance that home will be Rikers Island.

[izzyspussy]

What's something you really want to talk about but haven't had an opportunity? Can be anything. A project, an achievement, a grievance. Hell, a weird dream you had!

It's gonna be a fandom thing because nothing else is sparking joy right now, so sorry anon if you wanted something relevant to real life or me personally or whatever.

Anyway.

I read a fic a while ago that was a gang bang for the magical sex magic that exists for plot reasons - because in this case there is canonical precedent. However, it was Richie getting banged, and he was a virgin, and it was to bring Stan back to life. I don't remember that many details about the actual fic I read, but the concept brain-wormed the hell out of me and now I have my own version that I like to revisit.

Basically, the Losers are sitting around in Mike's loft after everything is over (no serious injuries). Richie is bringing some levity to this shit, which is much easier and much less getting-beeped now that the shit is not on-going. Something something, considering the unprecedented intimacy they've undergone and the apparent fact that magic is real-ish, he's almost surprised they didn't have a big orgy.

Mike laughs and casually mentions that indeed sex magic is real-ish. In fact, he even has a book in here somewhere with sex magic in it. He dismissed it early on because it wasn't relevant to them, he says.

Everyone is curious, and they'd all rather talk about freaky ambiguously ancient hanky panky than about what they've just been through, the two different active crime scenes they're avoiding, the difficult decisions they're going to have to make when it comes time to return to real life. Reading the room, Mike explains briefly that it's a ritual that will allegedly bring a person back from the dead if they choose to come along.

"What the fuck," says whoever says it, probably Bill or Richie, "That's so relevant to us, what is it?"

And Mike says, deadpan, "A big orgy. And besides which," he adds, "it requires a virgin and we obviously don't have one of those. So."

So there's a big long pause wherein, five of them assume, they are all quietly grieving the fact that there could have been a way if only basically everything in their lives had gone a little differently.

Except actually, Richie is just working up the guts to ask Mikey to, "Define 'virgin'."

"What do you mean 'define virgin'," says whoever says it, probably Eddie or Bev.

"It's a social construct!" Richie points out, avoiding eye contact. "Oral counts, or doesn't. Anal doesn't count for girls, sometimes. It's not a real thing, so- What does it mean in this case?"

Everyone stares at him. He stares at Mike's dusty record shelf. His knee bounces.

Delicately, Mike asks, "Is that relevant?"

Richie laughs. "Depends on the definition."

So Mike gets up and he digs through his piles of discarded books and notes (he kept them all of course, you never really know what you might need, what you might be able to- finesse, if you make yourself believe in it, if you have no other choice). He finds the right account and skims it, translating in his head, and gives aloud an approximation of how the ambiguously dead culture defined 'virgin'. Richie nods, seemingly compulsively, for several long moments.

Then he gets up and crosses into Mike's kitchenette, opens and closes cabinet after cabinet until he finds the whiskey, takes a double directly from the bottle, and says, "So, hypothetically. If we did have one of those..."

So - delicately, delicately - Mike explains the entirety of the ritual.

They need a virgin, as there defined, who has a strong spiritual connection to Stan (Richie flexes his hand; the scar may be gone but the oath behind it remains).

They need as many other people willing to participate who also have a spiritual connection to Stan as possible (it's the P&P hand flex all around).

They need everyone to fuck the virgin, as there defined, one after the other, such that th- such that Richie is so overwhelmed with pleasure and love for Stan that his petit mort ends up just a little bit literal.

If it's working, Richie will basically astral project into the macroverse afterlife, where Stan's spirit will be waiting. If Stan wants to come back to life with Richie they will - basically - have tantric sex, drawing them both back into Richie's body.

Richie says, "Mikey, that's not an orgy. That's a gang bang." Everyone stares at him. "What? I'm just saying, those are different things."

They have to, uh, leave some organic material behind inside Richie for Stan to possess instead of Richie's body because then their spirits might get mixed up. I'm making it up so that they all fuck a bunch and make Richie cry, it only needs to make enough sense to satisfy me personally.

Bill laughs. "W-we have to kn-knn-knock you up, Richie!" Richie does not laugh. Richie blushes very, very deeply and looks like he could not speak if his literal life depended on it. "Oh," says Bill, pensively.

"That's disgusting," says Eddie. "I have to go first." This is a thin excuse to ensure that he'll be the first one to fuck Richie - ever! !! - made thinner by the fact that he insists he has to go before Bev too. The other Losers make resignedly amused looks at each other. Richie looks like he will spontaneously combust at literally any moment.

Uh. And then they gang bang Richie in Mike's loft while thinking about Stan (and in Eddie's case, dirty talking about Stan). And Eddie goes first. And Stan goes last.

And then they immediately realize they made a huge mistake because now they have to somehow get to Georgia without, uh, leaving anything behind so that Stan can go back into his own body lmfao.

And then probably Richie has a nervous breakdown about how to explain all this to Patty.

Yeah.

[mellometal]

ATTENTION: This is some recent information about the current events with Chris Chan that I've been able to find, plus additional information that I couldn't find anything on that is now public knowledge.

ALL videos about any updates will be linked so you can watch them for yourself, if you wish.

Again, OBLIGATORY trigger warning: This post will be going into very sensitive subject matter, including r@p3, s3xual assault, elder abuse, and inc3st. I will also be mentioning the site Kîwî F@rm$ and the person who runs it (Null). DON'T go onto Kîwî F@rm$. Just stay away from there. It's like 4chan (another site full of REALLY fucked up shit, depending on which forum you go to), but worse.

If anything I mentioned is triggering for you or makes you otherwise uncomfortable in any way, you don't have to read this post. It's not worth putting yourself in a bad state mentally. Take care of yourself, please. Consume media that sparks joy for you.

ALRIGHTY, LET'S GET TO IT. Because there's quite a lot of bullshit that happened since the first post I made about the current events. And some more information that will most likely be the nail in the coffin for Chris. I'm patiently waiting for more updates as they come and I'll share them here as soon as possible.

The person Chris was in a call with was revealed to be a troll under the name "Bella". The screenshots of messages and the audio from the call have all been confirmed to be real.

It's also been revealed that Chris confided in Null about her having a girlfriend, having s3x with her, all that. Here's a list of things to describe this "girlfriend" below, which I will compare to Barbara in bold:

This woman is "in her over fifties". (Barbara is eighty years old. Most people would assume that someone's in their late fifties when this terminology is used. Eighty is well over fifty.)

Her favorite person was the late Adam West in the 60s, as it was "for her son back then". (I don't know if Chris is referring to her half-brother Cole Smithey [he does movie reviews, and he's most famous for being one of the only people to give Toy Story 3 a negative review] here, or if she's referring to herself before she came out as trans. I'm adding this here anyway.)

Chris has known this woman "for a long time", offline and in-person. (OBVIOUSLY she's known Barbara her whole life, since she's, AGAIN, HER MOTHER! DUH.)

They've been having s3x "every three nights". (Like how Chris admitted to doing to her defenseless mother. PRETTY FUCKING FISHY, IF YOU ASK ME.)

They began having s3x on June 27th. (The same day that Chris admitted to doing to Barbara.)

This woman was an accountant when she was younger. (Barbara's job was EXACTLY this.)

Chris said she feels grateful to "enlighten" her girlfriend with s3x play that she (the woman) "missed from even her exes". (I didn't mention this in my initial post, but if you chose to watch the videos that were linked, Chris mentioned that Barbara's boyfriends and ex-husbands "have never been able to make her 0rg@$m" like Chris did. SHE EVEN MENTIONED HER LATE FATHER. THAT'S FUCKING DISGUSTING AND DISRESPECTFUL.)

Chris has been "keeping her girlfriend safe" too. (She had been "taking care of Barbara" since Bob, her late father, passed away. This right here is proof alone that she was talking about HER MOM!)

Her girlfriend "didn't want to do it at first", it was "very painful" for Chris's girlfriend in the beginning, and it took a few tries for them "to get going". This included Chris doing it FOR her because she thought her girlfriend would "feel better" due to her lack of mobility and lucidity. (Chris said all of this exact stuff TO "BELLA" during their call.)

Null initially thought that Chris was lying about sleeping with her mother to cover up the fact that she had a girlfriend and having s3x with her. Why? Because apparently people would believe Chris would have s3x with her mother than some other unknown woman. Chris told Null to keep her girlfriend's identity secret because she was afraid her girlfriend would get trolled and she'd end up losing her.

What Null realized was that what Chris told him completely matched the description of Barbara. Note that before he looked into this, he was unaware of the context Chris was giving him about her "girlfriend".

It's extremely possible now that Chris admitted to s3xually assaulting Barbara to Null and "Bella", but she wanted Null to keep it confidential. Chris wanted NULL to keep the fact that she admitted to committing a VERY serious crime A SECRET.

If Chris WAS actually lying, she'd use a lot more CWCisms (her own phrases) or say that she was "using her psychic powers" to have s3x with Barbara's fictional counterpart in another dimension. But no, Chris was VERY straightforward and talked about it casually like if you were to talk about the weather.

Chris, according to Null, slept in a parking lot in her car the other night. At least for a few hours, though I don't remember where the FUCK else she slept (maybe a hotel room eventually), considering she had -$200 in her bank account. I believe some people who are in contact with Chris sent her some money to get food too.

Null revealed that he set up a GoFundMe previously for Chris to attend a Brony convention, which was a test to see how Chris would be able to handle commissions. The GFM was successful, to say the least. Chris fulfilled commissions successfully, DESPITE NOT WORKING ON THE FUCKING COMIC. Y'KNOW, THE THING SHE'S PAID FOR ON PATREON TO DO!

Well, due to recent events, he has since taken down the GFM and is refunding all the money to all the donors. He was debating on sending Chris money (the GFM money, since Chris isn't able to go to the Brony convention), but he decided not to do so. He told Chris to sleep in her car, spend the night under the stars, and reflect on her current situation until the morning, when Null would help her find a temporary roof over her head until August 5th.

Barbara tightly manages Chris's finances. Those are Null's words, not mine. You want to know why Barbara's been having trouble with the house and shit? CHRIS HAS BEEN STEALING MONEY FROM HER FOR YEARS. HER CREDIT IS ALL SORTS OF FUCKED, SHE'S BURIED IN DEBT, AND IT'S CHRIS'S FAULT. THE PERSON WHO'S SUPPOSED TO BE TAKING CARE OF HER.

How did we find out about Chris recently getting more money, specifically $750? Well, Null has had access to Chris's emails for the past few years (Chris knows this), and he found an email that Barbara had sent Chris money.

That's a violation of the EPO (Emergency Protective Order) that was put into affect for Barbara. Chris was NOT supposed to contact Barbara in ANY way, shape or form.

Null asked Chris about this and told her that this was a violation of the EPO. He asked her if her mom sent her money. Chris denied it at first, and then went into the whole goddess bullshit she goes into. She then admitted to accessing Barbara's banking account online and wiring the $750 to HER account. Chris also said that she'd pay her back the $750 after receiving the $1000 that Null was supposed to send to Chris. Null was obviously upset with what Chris had done. Who wouldn't be?

Guess what Null did in reaction to what Chris told him? HE BLOCKED CHRIS AND REPORTED HER TO THE POLICE. I'm honestly surprised he stuck with her this long. He genuinely wanted to see Chris become a better person.

It's only a matter of time for Chris's arrest. With all this information that's out there now, more information probably coming very soon, plus people close to Chris confirming all of this....I feel it's safe for me to say that Chris did s3xually assault her mother.

I don't feel bad for Chris anymore. I have no sympathy for Chris. Any ounce of respect for this person has been long since gone. I don't feel comfortable even referring to Chris as a person. She's a monster.

I talked about Chris a few times a few years ago on Instagram, and I got yelled at for tearing this motherfucker apart. Because apparently I was an "ableist bully" for having my grievances with Chris, despite the fact that I'm autistic too and I've never "bullied" Chris for being autistic. Not even once. My grievances had more to do with Chris using her mother and their animals to exploit them for her own monetary gain INSTEAD OF TRYING TO FIND A JOB. I've even tried to suggest that she go work through a temporary work industry and get paid daily. (At that time, I didn't know that trying to interact with Chris wasn't a very good idea. I've since learned, obviously.)

Here's a link to Gibi's video:

Dillon Thomas's video:

The stream with Null:

Geno Samuel's stream:

Here's Rogue's video and live stream he did about the situation. Rogue is one of my FAVORITE YouTubers, as edgy as his content is.:

Thank you for your time.

[iron-parkr]

I have held my tongue about things for too long, but I refuse to sit back anymore. No sarcasm, none of those empty words that do nothing but cause trouble and misconstrue the rest of the post. Just this:

If you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all.

It is literally one of the first things children are taught when they reach the age where they begin interacting with other children. And that's because everyone in the world - every single person out of the seven billion who live on the Earth we all share - has a completely different life experience than the person next to them. We all have a different perspective, a different worldview, and that's okay. It's wonderful, even, and it should be celebrated! We're all different, with different opinions and different tastes and different preferences, and that's awesome!

What's not awesome is speaking ill of someone, regardless of your feelings toward them. What's not awesome going behind other people's backs to gossip and go back to the pettiness of middle school and high school. What's not awesome is refusing to own up to your mistakes and faults and instead blaming other people time and time again. What's definitely not awesome is perpetuating frankly disgusting and deplorable behavior, to the breaking point where people feel they have to leave to find sanity and peace and get away from the "drama" for their own mental health, in what should be a close, diverse community of people who come together to share their love for fictional characters and original characters and the worlds they inhabit.

If you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all.

This OC community should be a fun and welcome and inclusive place for creators to share their hard work, but instead it's become a battlefield, a war of sniping and "he said, she said" and poking noses in places they most certainly do not belong. You are not entitled to anyone else's problems or situations. You are not entitled to everyone's attention all the time. The level of pettiness and immaturity that pervades and infects this community is astronomically high, bolstered and maintained by creators who most likely will not admit to their fault, and it's quite frankly ridiculous. A large majority of us in the community are adults (that is, over 18), and yet so many of you act like immature children whining and complaining because things didn't go your way or you think someone did x, y, or z and it's all a conspiracy against you specifically, out of everyone on this website. It's easy to fall into the mindset that the world revolves around Tumblr and fanfiction and OCs and the "drama", but the sun will rise and the sun will set regardless of what happens on this website.

There are people in this world without food, without water, without homes, without the basic necessities needed to live. There are people fighting for their lives against oppression and bigotry in war-torn nations. There are people who live every day wondering if it will be their last. And then there's you, focusing all of your attention on the perceived and long since passed slight of a stranger on the internet, fixated on defending your honor to someone you will never meet face to face within this lifetime. If you have a legitimate grievance with someone, by all means, go to them directly and open that line of respectful communication! But be respectful, be open, and be kind, even if everything in you wants to stew in your hatred.

There is a person, a real, living and breathing person, behind every account in the community. A person who has other responsibilities and obligations outside of the virtual world, who may well be inundated with other stressors in their life that leave them emotionally exhausted at the end of every day. Your words, your thoughtless vitriol and accusations, may well be the catalyst to irreversible decisions for someone who shoulders enough physical, mental, and emotional burdens to fill ten lifetimes. Do you want that on your conscience?

People change. People make mistakes and make bad decisions and say the wrong things, but they are capable of change. Labelling someone for only those mistakes and bad decisions doesn't allow them room to grow and mature and become someone better.

I love the OC community. As someone who has no outlet to talk about OCs with anyone in my non-online life, it means the world to me to be able to do that here. But it's excruciatingly painful to love something that hurts me again and again, because seeing members of the community, especially people I've come to know and love as friends, upset and hurt over words and actions and people in the community to point of leaving genuinely breaks my heart.

Before you point fingers, before you accuse and jump straight to gossip and negative speech about others in the community, acknowledge your own mistakes first. I'll gladly admit to mine if you want me to. If you are completely blameless, if you have genuinely never done anything wrong in your life and on Tumblr - go ahead, throw that first stone.

Otherwise, be kinder today than you were yesterday. Be kind every day, to everyone you meet, whether that's out in the world or online.

If you don't have anything nice to say, don't fucking say anything.

[nolabballgirl]

Hey could you explain why you think Robbe is being racist in the clip? I have doubts regarding the source of his info on the incident (talking canon the only option looks like it was Aaron who repeated the butchered version of the incident as told by Amber because braincells what) and the account was not available. The only way he gets to know that BA is racist is when Yasmina says it in the clip because nobody else in the entire show uses that word with it's due weight. He thinks Yasmina may be wrong and tries to think it might be something else and he is fucking wrong and insenstive for that. He did not defend Britt's actions He said it might be another reason for (in Yasmina's words ) 'they didn't want me to come for ibiza'. He just doesn't realise how big the issue is and so equating his problems with Yasmina's was also wrong because they are different in nature. He was being utterly ignorant to think that the discrimination he faces and the discrimination Yasmina faces are comparable you can't compare tomatoes and potatoes. But I am not being able to see the racism in Robbe. When he heard what Yasmina had to say about her daily experience he just said that hate is not the answer because it never solves the issue in our day to day life, hate perpetuates hate and it's true. He never said Britt wasn't wrong in what she did or police her that Yasmina should apologise, he said they'll listen when Yasmina said they weren't listening to her apology. He appears suddenly, is misinformed, has no idea what Yasmina has been facing because nobody has told him and feels entitled to think he knows how it is for Yasmina. That's being ignorant and a bad friend. And he should apologise for that and learn from it. I am genuinely asking as I feel safe to ask only you. I am sorry if I said something wrong.

hi, Anon! thanks for your ask and your comments! so, i think in order to address your questions as to why robbe's behavior is problematic in this scene, we have to delve into the concept of "whitesplaining" and why it's so wrong. see, racism comes in all flavors and degrees - it's not always so egregious or readily visible as someone calling someone a racial slur or engaging in a hate crime. rather, its a complex, system of behaviors that serve to undermine and hurt people of color in different ways. and a lot of times it's peoples' own subconscious biases and prejudices that underpin these acts. and unfortunately, the queer community is not immune from this.

whitesplaining is one of the types of behaviors that has its roots in white supremacy and white privilege, and so it's important for allies to recognize when they are engaging in this type of conduct. and that it is in and of itself a category of racist microaggression, (and honestly shows the writers' own racism/color blindness trumping real grievances here.)

the term generally refers to the concept of white people explaining away race and difference by declaring "people are people" and essentially denying/negating people of color's own feelings, "making them feel as though they are in the wrong." whitesplaining also involves talking over POC and not listening to them, passing a white person's own judgment as the right answer. it's a riff on the term "mansplaining" so that adds another dimension to a white man (robbe) speaking over a woman of color (yasmina).

let's look at what robbe says. right off the bat, robbe puts yasmina on the defensive by saying "that’s not the you I know." he doesn't even ask her to explain her side of the story, but immediately paints her as in the wrong. honestly, it doesn't matter if robbe heard the story from aaron or from britt herself or didn't even know anything. the fact is that he whiteplains during the entire conversation and calls yasmina a bossy bitch and asks her why she's so hard on everyone, when she says she was only trying to show everyone how racist britt was. do you see how problematic that is and how it serves to uphold a racist ideology of a white person putting their judgment as the correct one and negating the feelings of a woman of color? and then to say that she's not the only one with problems? further diminishing the problems of a woman of color as trivial and condescending over her? it's more than just being a bad friend here. it goes deeper than that.

(and of course the costume/warddrobe dept chooses to put robbe in a sweatshirt with a racist slur and caricature. i think you can understand why many of us were so upset at this 2 for 1 package!)

and i think the important thing here is to point out when our favorites are doing problematic things and that we similarly recognize when we are engaging in wrong or harmful behavior and make corrections to our own conduct. personally, even though i am a woman of color, i have sadly used racial slurs in the past ("g*psy") and ableist language ("l*me"), but i have educated myself to remove these terms from my vocabulary altogether and point out to others to stop using them too. just because we have engaged in problematic conduct in the past doesn't mean that we can't change for the better, such as trying not to whitesplain to our friends of color! anyway, these are my thoughts - i hope this helps!

[bigskydreaming]

am I the only one who's a little uncomfortable with the way they brought back dickbabs after all the Ric bullshit and the shit they made her say after? like...I know we didn't get a lot of dickkory interaction in reference to the shooting, but the one panel where he mentions it in passing to kory and they show her getting angry/protective of him in an instant speaks volumes to me over the repeated uh..."you can't be happy if you're not the Real You/it's Your Fault for not remembering me/how dare YOU leave us behind on PURPOSE when we NEEDED you" stuff they made barbara say which is a weird choice for someone with her characterization and history, but also if you're going to give her that kind of a role in the story, isn't it gross to push dick and babs together afterward like nothing happened? but then again maybe I'm just being unfairly hard on babs, because I haven't seen anyone else of the same opinion - maybe I'm missing some information? thoughts?

Mmm, I get what you're saying but I don't think that's really a Babs thing or a Dickbabs thing in specific. I mean, I had a similar reaction to Tim's part of the story as well, and I think its kinda just an overall annoyance with DC's approach to moving past the Ric Grayson arc while coupled with dissatisfaction in regards to how shit their approach to the arc was in the first place.

Like yeah, I had a lot of gripes with how they had Babs acting throughout that arc, particularly the end, but it was the exact same gripes I had with every single member of Dick's family. And I had the same reaction to Bruce after the arc trying to be like, oh I was there watching the whole time (cough bullshit) and hurriedly trying to move them past talking about all that, and its like I said here with Tim, I mean.

Its a little tricky with Tim because he's Dick's younger brother and who the fuck even KNOWS what age he's supposed to be, but I have a hard time picturing him as much younger than eighteen at this point with as long as he's been around and its like.....I kinda expect the same thing to happen when Jason shows up and even Damian if they bring him in. Like I mean, its that thing where it seems like Taylor and other writers feel they're bridging this gap of how long its been since Dick did stuff like this with Tim and the others, and that they feel like they have the characters all being 'gracious' in like, moving past that quickly and dwelling on how that went down as little as possible?

And I'm just like....no! Stop acting like its for Dick's sake that none of you want to talk about that time or that its his fault that its been so long since there were these close moments. YOU guys were the ones who dropped the ball! Its everyone ELSE who was shit at handling how Dick losing his memories affected HIS life, and even before that, there was a huge chasm between him and the others, and once again, it was because it was every one else who was shit at handling how Dick being kidnapped, tortured, killed, and then shoved off on some secret mission before he even had a full week long to process the trauma of all that and get even close to back to thinking things through rationally, like....affected their lives instead of his.

*Shrugs* Its not a single character or ship, honestly, its just DC. Its just them being shit at judging what kinds of storylines people want for Dick's character, and then when it all blows up in their face, they backpedal furiously and pin it all on Dick's character because he's the one who is most comfortable with accepting blame, which lets everyone 'get past everything' and 'back to normal' quicker than if DC tried to pin the responsibility (and thus the acknowledgment of accountability) on any other character.

I mean, sadly, I can't say that DC has learned nothing over the decades, because they DID learn this move from how Dick and Bruce were written during their estranged years back in the eighties, and how fandom reacted to that. At the time, it was CLEARLY, DEFINITIVELY, WITHOUT A DOUBT....Bruce's fault. It was his responsibility. He was the one who over and over KEPT telling Dick to leave every single time Dick was written sucking up his pride or hurt over what Bruce had said or done initially and going back to the Manor to talk it over with Bruce....and it was always Bruce who KEPT the estrangement going. Just like it was Dick who tried consoling Bruce about Jason's death and Bruce who responded to that by kicking Dick out of his house for good, which in turn meant Dick was the one who had to once again get past all that to even come back and try and help keep Bruce from trying to get himself killed after having just been basically disowned by the guy.

Rinse and repeat, over and over and over. It was always one way. It was always Dick reaching out, it was never Bruce going after Dick to ask him to come home, or to apologize, or to say that things were his fault or that he could have done things differently or that he should have been more mindful of Dick's feelings or not taken him for granted, etc, etc.

And yet, over and over and over....people kept describing that as two-sided. Every single fight between them during that period was one that Bruce unequivocally instigated, that his actions WERE the thing that Dick was REACTING to and which led to these confrontations, and again, it was never once Bruce taking the initiative in repairing their relationship or moving past a confrontation. And yet again....people described this as both of them being at fault.

And the takeaway DC got from all of that was like.....they can always count on it being in character for Dick to just...take it, while people are willing to let it slide or be like "well the characters are just like that" as long as its Bruce, or well, any one that Dick's fighting with basically, who refuses to ever take accountability and be the one trying to rebuild a bridge THEY burnt.

Its a huge problem, a massive gripe for me, but honestly, I really don't think it has anything to do with Babs specifically, or something that's fair to put ON her even if it does bug when she's the one in the picture at the moment. I think if it seems more of a Babs specific thing just now, that has more to do with her being the one who is most frequently sharing this title with Dick at the moment, while everyone else like Tim seems more slated as guest stars, but yeah.

Its a massive, wide-spreading problem, but it really is less about any other character in specific and more about how DC regards Dick's character as being 'useful' in that he can solve almost any family dispute by throwing himself under the bus or give them a common grievance in the form of well, himself.

[fakeikemen]

I know I am very late to the party but— I just absolutely love Zuko's redemption?! And the way it was handled by the narrative?! The fact that he is held accountable for his mistakes. That he is made to learn and grow from those mistakes. And that the guilt he feels because of his wrongdoings is what compels him to go out of his way to make it up to the people he has hurt. And that the narrative makes him make up for his mistakes in a very specific way to each character to address each of their personal grievances. It's just *chef's kiss*.

I have seen so many characters who exhibit shitty (sometimes even abusive) behaviour who are given a background of childhood abuse to justify their unacceptable behaviour. We are just supposed to accept the sad back story as an excuse for the character's actions and lo! Suddenly the narrative paints the character in a positive light, all the other characters forgive him without the said character working towards earning their forgiveness. But the fact that everyone is responsible for their own actions doesn't change.

Zuko is such a beautiful subversion of this trope.

From the beginning, the show portrays Zuko very carefully, showing us that even if he is mean and rude and occasionally does bad things™, his heart is definitely in the right place and that at his core, he is a good person.

And yet no one absolves him of his actions. Not the narrative, not any of the other characters and definitely not Zuko himself.

After his first confrontation with the Gaang in B3 Ep13 "The Western Air Temple", where Zuko fails to make a fair argument for himself, everybody rejects him and turns him away. Disheartened, Zuko leaves without arguing any further.

The one exception to the hostile warding off is Toph; who doesn't have any bad experiences with Zuko or personal grievances against him. Her first introduction to Zuko via Iroh's description of him, paints him in a positive light. Further, he seems to be someone who is like her if she goes by what Iroh says.

Once her lie detection skills let her know that Zuko is being sincere, she pretty much backs off:

So naturally Toph tries to reason with the rest of the Gaang:

Katara: And what was all that crazy stuff about setting Appa free? What a liar!

Toph: Actually, he wasn't lying.

Sokka: [Sarcastically.] Oh, hooray! In a lifetime of evil, at least he didn't add animal cruelty to the list.

Toph: I'm just saying that, considering his messed-up family and how he was raised, he could have turned out a lot worse.

Katara: [Sarcastically.] You're right, Toph! Let's go find him and give him a medal. The "not as much of a jerk as you could have been" award!

Toph: All I know is that while he was talking to us, he was sincere. Maybe you're all just letting your hurt feelings keep you from thinking clearly.

Katara: Easy for you to say! You weren't there when he had us attacked by pirates!

Sokka: Or when he burned down Kyoshi Island!

Aang: Or when he tried to capture me at the Fire Temple!

Once again, the narrative makes sure that "Not as much of a jerk as you could have been" is simply not an excuse for the hurtful actions and choices that have been made.

This conversation also focuses on what each of the character's personal grievances from the war are and how Zuko had triggered them by doing something similar. (In addition to Sokka talking about Zuko attacking the Water Tribe and Katara talking about the necklace incident— although the Pirates and the necklace incidents are actually combined.)

The first thing that Zuko does is, stand up to Combustion Man (even if the whole Combustion Man plot is contrived bullshit, that makes no sense, atleast it is properly used as a step of Zuko making amends with the Gaang).

After which the Gaang is willing to listen to what he has to say, so he says:

Zuko: Listen, I know I didn't explain myself very well yesterday, I've been through a lot in the last few years, and it's been hard. But I'm realizing that I had to go through all those things to learn the truth. I thought I had lost my honor, and that somehow my father could return it to me. But I know now that no one can give you your honor. It's something you earn for yourself, by choosing to do what's right. All I want to do now is play my part in ending this war, and I know my destiny is to help you restore balance to the world. 

He doesn't try to play the "I was having a really hard time and I wasn't really myself so I did some bad things" card. He never does even as the story progresses.

He accepts that his mistakes made him grow and learn in a way that wouldn't have been otherwise possible but he knows that his choices have hurt people nonetheless. And he takes full responsibility for it.

The Gaang accepts him just as the Firebending master that Aang needs. And while it does look like Aang has forgiven him; the rest of the Gaang are sceptical about him and rightfully so.

And then we get a series of episodes where Zuko— a previous representative of the Fire Nation to these kids, helps these kids to deal with the trauma that was caused by the Fire Nation.

To Aang, becoming a firebender is a dreaded duty looming on the horizon in the near future due to his own personal history of trauma with the element. Aang, whose entire race had been wiped out when the Fire Nation had been at its strongest, whose first experience with fire ended with him burning his friend.

Zuko takes Aang on a trip that results in both of them learning the actual meaning of Firebending. That fire isn't just a representative of death and destruction. That it is life and creation too.

Aang returns with his fear of fire absolved, with a new vision of fire as an element and his bond with Zuko cemented into a strong friendship.

Then there's Sokka, who has lost his mother to the violence of the war. And soon after his father left to fight in the war. It is pretty evident that for Sokka, his father's absence plagues him more. His coping mechanism has made him supress memories of Kya to replace them with memories of Katara instead. But his coping mechanism can't do the same for Hakoda because filling the hole that Hakoda left was Sokka's responsibility.

Other than this, Sokka, whose cultural upbringing taught him that his primary duty was to protect the women in his life, feels like a failure for never being able to protect them from the war. While Katara needs no protection after her training under Pakku, he still strives his best to help Katara when she needs it. But he couldn't do the same for Kya, Yue and Suki (because he knew she was imprisoned and was counting on him to free her but there was nothing he could do about it). This issue is far less acknowledged by Sokka himself.

So, Sokka wants to embark on a solo journey to rescue Hakoda from the prison. He doesn't want to take Katara or anybody else along because of the huge risk it entails.

But Zuko willingly decides to go with him. They make it back together with not only Hakoda but Suki as well. This time, Sokka not only manages to bring his father back from the clutches of the war, he also doesn't fail the woman he wants to protect in the hour of her need.

And he was able to successfully do so because Zuko stood by him as his ride-or-die and selflessly helped him. This allowed Sokka to let go of his scepticism and accept Zuko as a trustworthy friend.