#you guys do realize that children and teens are human beings too right????

[apostate-in-an-alcove]

There's (idiotic, possibly sadistic, but definitely miserable) people in this world that have an intense hatred for children and teenagers and then choose being a school teacher as their career.

[dittolicous]

"caleb wasnt a good guy cuz he LEFT his itty bitty brother" "caleb indoctrinated philip into the murder cult then dipped so hes just as bad" "caleb wasnt good cuz he was a witch hunter too" "philip had to survive all alone in the human/demon realm to find caleb!" "caleb made philip this bad!"

holy fuck belos apologists shut up challenge

1) caleb was JUST AS MUCH of a child as philip left in an impossible situation, saying he was 'bad' for leaving philip is basically victim shaming him because his only options were a) stay in a place he hates doing something he hated or b) risk alienating philip by move to the demon realm with a person who made him happy.

theres also no evidence to suggest he just left without a word or kept philip out of the loop. for all we know he did try to change philips mind! all we have to go on is belos's VERY biased memories and a folk-lore retelling of bare details. and seeing how evelyns name is still remembered, along with the numerous rebus found in gravesfield, their friendship/courting went on for a while, a good chunk of which im betting philip WAS in the know. at the very least, he knew evelyn as well as a human amd that something was going on.

im also pretty sure caleb didnt even leave the human realm for the last time until philip was at least in his teens if we go by hair length (hair in a ponytail = teenaged to adult)

2) philip was his own damn person and you can only take 'his brother abandoned him' so far. there was likely only 2-3 years between the two brothers ages, caleb was just as likely to be impressionable amd shaped by society. but by all rights, he chose to change. philip on the other hand, for over 300 years, killed countless witches and grimwalkers, justifying it via bigotry.

and dont come at me about caleb not giving him a chance or w/e, because we see in the memories that caleb embraced and tried to reach philip MULTIPLE times before being murdered by him.

caleb leaving philip does not justify any of belos's actions. not a single one.

society failed them both, creating a toxic environment that warped their views of what was right and what was wrong. both boys made mistakes.

the difference is that caleb recognized they were wrong and chose to leave that environment when he finally got the chance.

philip refused to accept being wrong.

what exactly should caleb have done? was his misery in the human realm unimportant? was he to sacrifice his own happiness so philip could have what he wanted? he was a victim too! he was a child just as much as philip! but because he was the older brother, he didn’t deserve a better life? he'd always have to bend to philip's desires?

caleb did NOT 'make' belos. caleb did not turn philip evil. PHILIP chose to kill, to not give the demon realm a chance. philip chose to kill his brother and make grimwalkers. trying to pass off these choices onto caleb is honestly pathetic and actively missing the true tragedy of belos's character.

he could have had a good life with his brother, he could of found happiness outside of witch hunting! but he was so unable to accept being WRONG in any shape or form, to acknowledge his own inability to see calebs suffering for what it was, that only PHILIP'S happiness mattered, that he chased caleb away.

philip is not innocent, nor is caleb. their story is a tragedy. stop acting like he is to blame for belos's actions. really, putting all the blame onto caleb and not the society that left two orphaned children thinking witch hunting was the only way to survive is. fucking bananas.

like.... you do realize that's exactly the kind of manipulation tactic belos would try to pull, right?

[nobodysdaydreams]

MBS Crack AU that just came to me: SQ Sneaks Off to Stonetown, and, Through a Series of Mishaps, Accidentally Joins the Society (hear me out):

(And apologies as always for spelling/grammar mistakes, I typed this up on my phone pretty late at night, but I hope you still enjoy it).

One day, SQ, tired of being stuck on the island and beginning to get into his "teen rebel" phase decides to sneak off the island to spend the day in Stonetown. He waits for a time when his father needs space, says he’s going to the woods, and sneaks out and back on the supply boat. SQ does this a few times, gets comfortable with it, and eventually make a habit of it.

On one of these occasions, he's looking for something to do and sees a news article advertising to give a scholarship to students looking for special opportunities. SQ figures, "hey, maybe if I get this fancy scholarship, dad will see how capable I am, and maybe he'll give me some more freedom." So he goes to take the tests, and when they ask him to write in his parent's names or family information, he doesn't want to write down his father's name (then they'll call his father and get him in trouble), so he just says that his birth parents are dead (which is true).

SQ passes the exams and is brought in to meet Mr. Benedict. At first, he's like, "oh a guy that looks kinda like my Dad. Weird." because Mr. Benedict looks and acts so different that there's no way it's his dad's twin. Then Mr. Benedict says his name is Nicholas, and SQ's like "WAIT... no, no, it can't be, my dad has a different last name, probably just a… really weird coincidence… yeah that’s it” (deep down he knows the truth, but doesn’t want to admit to actually kinda liking the man who betrayed his father).

Then Mr. Benedict shows them his fancy gadgets, talks about the Emergency, and they are attacked by some people that SQ recognizes as his Dad's security team, after which Mr. Benedict explains that he is certain that the messages are coming from the island where his Dad runs his school and that humanity's last hope is to send in a team of children to stop him.

SQ is internally panicking, obviously, because on the one hand, he can't believe his dad is actually doing anything evil, his father is a good man, surely, he wouldn't, but the evidence is right in front of him.

Then the other kids start dropping their backstories and SQ's like "oh...yeah...my birth parents died too...and uh, yeah that's all there is to that story..." but inside he’s totally freaking out because his dad is the man they are trying to stop, but he can’t tell the society what he knows without telling them who his dad is, and he can’t tell his dad about the society without confessing to sneaking out, and SQ isn’t sure who he wants to tell what to because he is still in denial about his dad being evil (but the evidence is pretty compelling).

Eventually realizing that he has to get back home or his dad is gonna worry, SQ reluctantly tells Mr. Benedict that he can't be part of the team. Mr. Benedict is understanding, tells SQ that he doesn't owe him or anyone else an explanation, and says he'll always be there if SQ needs anything, which makes SQ feel even more guilty. He sneaks back home, and when the other children get to the island, he acts as if he simply changed his mind and decided to come on the mission anyway (and the other children assume Mr. Benedict must have sent in paperwork to get him admitted after them because why else would he be here on a dangerous mission?).

SQ finds being an unwilling double agent isn't as hard as one might think. Curtain doesn't use SQ as a messenger or executive and the fact that he's Dr. Curtain's son isn't widely talked about because SQ never had any friends to being with. And he’s older than the society, so he just tells them he’s in other classes with other older students (that the society is not a part of which is why they don’t see him in class).

So occasionally SQ has to come up with excuses for his dad (saying he has homework to do when he's really going to meet up with the society), and excuses for the society (saying he needs to get to bed early because he's sick, when really he's going to have dinner and work on a project with his dad). Although Constance in particular (due to her psychic powers) regards SQ with suspicion, SQ proves himself useful as he seems to have an intimate knowledge of the island, the executive's schedules, how to sneak into the forest, etc. which the other children chalk up to him just having a natural gift for spying (which must be why he was chosen for the team).

Meanwhile, what SQ really wants is to figure out the truth. He's doing all this double agent stuff and still doesn't know what side he's on. He doesn't want to betray his family or his friends, and he never asked for this.

However, when other children start freaking out like: "oh my gosh: Dr. Curtain is totally Mr. Benedict's twin!", it confirms SQ's suspicions, and at this point, he starts asking his dad more questions about Nicholas. His dad finds this odd, but figures, okay, SQ is getting older, he's curious about his family, so was I at that age, makes sense. So Curtain tells him all about the betrayal, and how (from his perspective) Nicholas broke his promise, spat in his face, and declared his brother dead to him. SQ struggles to believe someone as kind as Mr. Benedict could have ever done that, but he wants to believe his father because he still loves him.

The real turning point comes when SQ overhears his father's conversation with Garrison and sees that they are brain sweeping people (he's hiding with Kate and Constance in the cabinet in Garrison’s lab). At this point, SQ starts really freaking out, because there is no denying his dad is evil now, but he doesn’t know what to do and he can’t go to his friends for emotional support without telling them the truth.

Then, later, when Reynie is freaking out because Constance is hearing voices, Sticky is brainwashed, and Kate is running off the scale the tower alone, he somehow also finds out that SQ is Dr. Curtain’s son. So instead of SQ feeling betrayed by Reynie when he finds Miss Perumal’s letter that Madge drops, the feeling of betrayal is in reverse and Reynie feels betrayed by SQ for lying to them and not telling them that Dr. Curtain is his father.

SQ, when confronted, tells Reynie the truth: that he didn’t know about his dad’s plans, and he wasn’t trying to infiltrate the society, he just wanted to see if he could get a scholarship or something to impress his dad. Reynie asks him what he’s going to do now that he knows the truth and SQ, after some hesitation says that he can’t fight against his own father… but that he’s not going to stop them.

Then SQ goes alone to confront his dad and Curtain once again dodges his questions, which makes SQ lose the little respect he had for him. SQ then overhears the society talking about the narcolepsy thing, and realizes having never seen his dad have a seizure, there is only one emotion his trigger could be (the one emotion SQ has never seen).

SQ tells them about the vulnerability thing, and Reynie gives him one last chance to come with them, but SQ still decides to stay with his dad saying that he wishes he could be their friend, but he can’t abandon his family (and that despite everything is father has done, he doesn’t deserve to be abandoned again). Reynie asks him if that’s what SQ really wants, and SQ affirms it, but doesn’t sound entirely sure.

Then SQ hides and watches the drama between his dad and the society go down from security cameras. He feels awful when he sees how sad and hurt his dad really his, he feels happy when Reynie confirms that his dad does love him, and he feels guilty when Nicholas talks about loving Curtain but needing to leave him (because that’s how SQ feels, but he also sees how much Nicholas leaving has hurt and damaged his father and he doesn’t want to do that).

Once his dad knocks out Nicholas, SQ watches in horror, worried that his dad is gonna like. End him or something, and confirm that he is truly fully evil, but Curtain just leaves Nicholas on the floor and begins the evacuation procedure. SQ, to minimize suspicion, follows the procedure and leaves with his dad and Garrison, playing dumb to everything. SQ also figures that if this is about his dad feeling hurt, maybe he can find a way to make his dad feel better and convince his dad to be a better person too.

Unfortunately, at some point, Curtain realized or guessed that his son was semi-working with the society (and possibly knew all along about SQ's little trips to Stonetown and was monitoring him). He admonishes his son for it, but says that he’s proud of SQ for doing the right thing by choosing to come with him, because what Curtain is doing is for the good of the world and the society would only betray him in the end.

SQ then hesitantly clarifies that he loves his dad, but that he disagrees with his dad and thinks that what he and Dr. Garrison are doing is wrong. He reveals that he found out about the brain sweeping, and begs his dad to promise that he’ll stop doing stuff like that, because it’s wrong and he’ll get arrested, and all SQ wants is for them to be together and be a family. Curtain replies that he loves SQ and wants them to be a family and to be together too. Curtain also acknowledges that the brain sweeping might have been an unpleasant discovery, but that SQ has to trust that it is for the best. SQ says that he isn’t sure he's able to do that, to which Curtain replies that he will be able to soon enough (cue SQ getting gently knocked out and Curtain sweeping him).

Meanwhile, the kids tell Nicholas that SQ is with Curtain and Nicholas’ initial reaction is “I thought he said he couldn’t come! He must have felt guilty and somehow got to the island anyway and now Nathaniel has kidnapped him to get leverage over me and this is all my fault! That poor boy!” and he passes out, only to wake up to be informed that no, actually, that SQ has been Curtain’s adopted son all along and Nicholas’ nephew, and he chose to stay with his father, which again causes Nicholas to pass out. When Nicholas finally calms down and wakes up, he’s more determined than ever to find his family, stating that there must be some good in Nathaniel if he raised such a wonderful son, and that his nephew and his brother need him.

However, SQ at this point, has no memory of his uncle or his friends, and Curtain is determined to keep Nicholas from “stealing” his family again.

[randompersonunderyourbed]

little bit of a rant

Warning: this rant has strong language, if that makes you uncomfortable.

I just remembered my mom judges me for what I wear, with how much my skin is showing, especially in school. First and FOREMOST, I already have felt bad about my body my entire life without the help of my no-good mom. I’ve always felt insecure about showing my midriff because of me looking fat (no shame in being fat ofc, I just hated myself for being as such.) also wearing tight clothes for the same reason, shorts both because of body hair and how big my legs are, short sleeve’s because of my arm hair, etc., without my mothers help. Feeling confident and comfortable and showing my body in these ways is an accomplishment that I’m so proud of myself for. Then came my mom. She manipulated me into thinking that I was basically naked in that type of clothing. I could just be wearing something that show my belly button for god sakes, and she’d act like I was going to be in a murder documentary the next day. Then, she would also say “oh! The boys will be distracted from class!”, like, no! They won’t! I fucking hate when other women who not only blame random ass kids for being distracted, blame the GIRLS for actual creeps to be distracted instead of teaching men not to be as such. Not only that, but judging a grown ass woman for wearing what she wants is disgusting, but a fucking teen/child?! Your child?! For wearing what they want?! Fucking gross.

Me and mom used to go to thrift shops to buy clothes for me, which was fun, but I used to go to random tank/tube tops, point to them, and say, “that’s not a top, that’s a bra.” And I deeply apologize to all women who wear those things and get judged for feeling confident and happy with themselves. My mother encouraged that behavior, and I realize, maybe she is a bad mother. A lot of boys that I talk to, either on the phone or even just guy friends, are just chill. Every time I mention a guy friend of mine, I get judged or they hint on me liking them, which I don’t usually. My mother is way too protective of me when it comes to clothes and boys. And I fucking hate it, but if I said that to her face, I’d get likely beat or grounded. I just want to feel secure with my mother, and with myself.

She was a huge fucking drunk in the past, no shame to those who changed, I’m proud of those folks, but when I was in elementary school, I had to deal with my mother passing out, yelling at me, and acting horribly to me on a daily basis, with or without alcohol. But a couple months ago, she was mad at my stepdad, she got drunk as fuck, and fucking slapped the absolute shit outta him. Now I’m not allowed to see her right now because I was a minor witnessing their mother assault her stepfather. I’m extremely afraid of meeting her again, and touching her is out of the question. nobody should ever be afraid of their mother, in a way that children are afraid of their mother hurting them or yelling at them like I am afraid of my mother for. Every mother should be a loving good person and role model in their child’s life, not at all straying from that circumstance. And mom, if you ever see this, just know, being drunk is not an excuse. Being tired is not an excuse. Being sick, being mad, losing your temper, being sad, anything is not an excuse for how you fucking treat me. Don’t judge my body. Don’t judge my feelings. I could be out, underage drinking, smoking, doing dr*gs even, and you complain about my interests being non productive. I am not out having sex, so why do you even care about my love life? I am not your object. I am not your property just because chose to have me. Treating me like that just because you chose to raise me, it’s tiring dealing with your bullshit and the next time you drink that much, threaten me, or get violent, I will call the cops. I am not stupid. I am a human fucking being. Respect that. And if you don’t, I’ll just leave and live with dad. I don’t fucking care anymore.

[yoshiintheweb]

I surrended my life to the sims 4 werewolves. I've been playing my little silly family of woof woofs for a solid week without a day lost. I created this save a way back when the pack lunched, bc I am nothing if not a werewolf fan. And now my first sim is the leader of the werewolf hippie pack. His wife is a cool explorer from the punk rebels pack. They are not soulmates and they do not care at this point (they used to be stressed that they fight fate or some bullshit). The two Townie from the punk pack are married and soulmates. I don't know when it happened. Also hey guy is hella buff and he got that buff that quickly that i didn't realized that he didn't started builded like a bread of a man like a three days ago i think. The main vampire from the vampire pack is a friend of werewolves the same goes for the NB wizard, the Bi vampire and some meremaids. They all meet my sims in the bar in the werewolf town. My main sim and his hot wife have 4 children together at this point, bc they just want them and who am I to say no to more woof woofs to play with. Thier first born is actually a human, and his fighting for his life. I have great plan for him involving being stupid as heck. His also a theater kid. Then they had twins, both werewolves. The older twin got the trait of being better at werewolf stuff, her twin brother did not so now, she is the chosen one and he gets bullied (canonically the game said so). The youngest is a very calm toddler that i have no plans for her just yet. Way back when my first sim was still alone, he took in a runaway teenager and she is still living with them. Now she's a young adult with a job as an independent book writer and she recently won the lottery so now they are fucking rich. That's important bc i don't like rabbit hole jobs but i would go bonkers if they had non rabbit hole ones, so to this they they lives of thing they farm and find themselves and never got past 20 000 simoleons. And now suddenly they got one million more and I move them into bigger one (to this day they lives in this one 20x15 lot with little starter shack but i stacked a second floor on that then eventually changed the house entirely, and then changed that one too, cuz i run out of space bc they had twins 💀 it was stacked. For a bit i had 8 Sims loving in a house on a 20x15 lot do you know how TINY it is, but then the dog died and thing didn't get better she really didn't take that much space, miss her she was a good dog, my sims adopted her off thier backyard just bc her name was Luna and i though it would be funny if a bunch of werewolves had a dog named Luna). This gameplay made me realize that i miss the memory book from the sims 3 (my first sim had sucha a long journey and i would love to see it in the format of photo book). But at the same time i do not want to play sims 3 bc as much as i loved that gamed, the werewolves, my main occults right now, are so shitty there, straight from Teen Wolf. And i do not want to deal with teen wolf wannabees.

[incorrectbatfam]

Stepmom!Selina?

She sees what she's getting into from a mile away, but she welcomes it because Bruce's kids are a part of him, and she loves all of Bruce.

The kids all see it coming too, and while some (Damian) take longer to warm up to her, she's welcomed into the fold with open arms.

Selina's got a heart as big as her partner and while she's not always perfect, you can see how much she cares.

As a former foster child herself, Selina understands Duke's unique experiences and traumas from the foster care system, so whenever he needs to talk, she's the first one he goes to. Sometimes he doesn't want to (or need to) talk, so they'll watch boxing matches or she'll teach him little bits of Mandarin. If the kitchen isn't busy, they'll try their hand at new TikTok recipes, and film themselves either succeeding or debunking the original poster.

Being raised in isolation to be a human weapon meant Cass missed out on a lot of the things daughters typically learn as children/teens. The evening of Cass's first gala, she didn't know the first thing about doing her own hair and makeup. She's braved assassin armies, but her self-made disaster of bobby pins and eyeshadow nearly drives her to tears. Selina swoops in, wipes Cass's face with gentle reassurances, and walks her through step-by-step.

Selina considers it a privilege to have watched Dick grow from the spunky little Robin to the man he is today. Even though he's taller than her, she still ruffled his hair when he does a good job. She also keeps the first ever birthday card he gave her, which includes a pop-up bat signal and scented stickers, and remembers all of his favorite radio stations. Also, when Bruce does something, Dick goes tattling to Selina.

For a while, Carrie mooched off of her siblings' Netflix profiles, but everyone got tired of her messing up their algorithm and she was forced to make her own. She soon realized how much freedom she had because no one could see what she was watching. Selina caught on to the power trip and started researching and watching snippets whenever a new show comes out. That's how she stopped a bunch of preteen girls from watching Squid Game.

Tim often gets overlooked as not just the middle child, but the child who appears put-together and regularly takes on adult responsibilities. Selina, however, remembers that he's still a teenager. She regularly checks in and gradually teaches him that it's okay to let go and act his age. Selina encourages him to call his Young Justice friends outside of missions and take small acts of rebellion against Bruce. When Tim and his boyfriend snuck out to a famous lover's lookout, Selina gave them the car keys and covered for them.

She noticed that Jason really enjoys hanging out with Harley Quinn, bonding over not just Joker trauma but other shared interests like music taste. After Harley turns to the antihero side, Selina discusses with Bruce and they start inviting Aunt Harley and Aunt Ivy to dinner. The first time they do that, Harley is so excited that she baked a three-layer cake just for Jason. Literally, in strawberry frosting, it said, "THIS CAKE IS FOR JASON ONLY." Finding someone that Jason can relate to remains one of Selina's proudest accomplishments.

She's trying her best, but she makes mistakes too. For instance, although Wayne Manor has plenty of kitchen space, Selina does her cooking at Harley and Ivy's because Ivy can offer her fresh plant-based ingredients that suited Damian's needs. When Alfred's not available, she sends Damian to school with healthy, flavorful vegan lunches shaped into Cheese Viking characters. One time, she was tasked with bringing brownies to a PTA meeting. Incidentally, Harley was simultaneously baking a... different kind of brownie for a block party (you can see where this is heading). When an angry superintendent demanded to know who was responsible, Selina wisely kept her mouth shut and thankfully, so did Damian.

Cullen loves concerts, but he's a huge introvert who gets anxiety when he's left alone in a crowd. Selina becomes his concert buddy, and she'll go as all-out as he does. Sometimes that's showing up to a garage band dressed-down in hoodies and sunglasses. Other times it's painting their faces and looking like they just came out of a Hot Topic blowout sale. She even listens to the discography beforehand so she can blend in. Selina learns a lot about Cullen through this, because nothing says more about a person than the music they listen to.

Harper, though looking rough around the edges, turns into a giddy little kid at interactive science museums. During one of these trips, Harper got distracted by the giant Newton's Cradle so she didn't notice a fourth grade field trip sweeping up Selina. When they reunited at the gift shop, a chaperone had given Selina a school t-shirt and she was put in charge of grading ten kids' assignments. Harper laughed so hard that she spewed lemonade on the museum owner. Neither of them will let the other live that day down.

Selina and Barbara openly talk about guy stuff, and Selina is more than happy to offer advice in times of need. They're both pretty liberal talking about that stuff, and one time they did a tier ranking of all the Gotham Rogues based on how effective their gimmick is (Joker was the only S-tier). They then proceeded to get into a debate on whether or not Man-Bat and Killer Croc should qualify for the list, which led to them staring each other down at dinner while the other family members sat around them confused.

Steph's school offered a Mother's Day breakfast. Although Crystal Brown was doing her best and wanted to make it, she was scheduled a double-shift that the breakfast fell right in the middle of. Selina reached out to Crystal and with permission, went in her place. Afraid that Steph would publicly reject her, Selina sat in the parking lot for ten minutes as Bruce amped her up over the phone. Steph, thinking that no one would no up, was ecstatic and said that she couldn't have thought of anyone better. They enjoyed stacking up waffles and making the girls who bully Steph envious.

Long before she and Bruce got married, Selina made it clear that she would not be relegated to the gender-typical role of a homemaker, and Bruce happily concurred because it's 2021. They knew that to give Alfred a break, they'd have to take on some chores themselves. Instead of dividing up a boring old chore chart, they find ways to make cleaning fun and collaborative. They'll dance around the halls in mop slippers, play "guess the stain", and race their roombas. The kids see this and start modeling the behavior in their own ways—Dick swings from high places to dust them, Damian trains his pets to pick up garbage, and Cass and Duke compete to see who can clean the most bathtubs.

Some parts of the Manor are due for redecorating, so Selina and Alfred make a day trip out of interior design sketches, flipping through furniture catalogues, and looking at paint swatches. It sounds boring at first, but the menial tasks meant they had plenty of time for conversation, and she finally understood why everyone respects him. They also made room in the afternoon for a stroll through the park and afternoon tea, where he told her and her only the secret to a perfect scone.

The other Justice League partners welcome her into the group too. Whenever Selina's in Metropolis, she joins Lois and Ma and Pa for Sunday brunch where they share what their kids have been up to. Iris shows her life hacks to cooking large batches of food in a short time. Selina and Dinah discover an online store dedicated to selling vigilante gear and go on a Cyber Monday spree for their whole families. Steve Trevor, Diana's partner, teaches Selina how to fly with the invisible jet so she can surprise Bruce with the batplane.

After overcoming their initial conflicts, Selina and Talia hold a high amount of respect for each other. Talia sees Selina as not just a capable combatant, but a worthy partner to her former beloved and stepmother to her son. Selina, after spending all that time with the kids, understands the motherly love that Talia holds for Damian and makes it abundantly clear that she would never try to replace Talia in the boy's life. Regardless, looking after all those kids is hard, so they are very much open to the idea of co-parenting.

(Selina doesn't know it, but all this makes Bruce fall in love with her all over again.)

[dontwarnthetadpoles]

Buffy Rewatch: season 4

I'm not doing this rewatch in order, so i have a lot of thoughts who pop up and often contradict themselves. But i know that i'm not going to write real, full reviews, so it's better than nothing to share them under the form of "shorts" (as much short as i can do, which is not really short) comments.

I really wonder what made Whedon believe that the best way for Buffy to get over Angel, was to create a character (Riley) who was the opposite of Angel in every way, an anti Angel.

Whedon said indeed:

"The important thing for us was to find a character that was the anti-Angel and to have Buffy go through something very different, part of which was the question, 'How do I get over Angel?' That was the same thing the audience was going through. We knew it wasn't going to be easy and it was very hard trying to find somebody. But Marc [Blucas] has a quality that I love very much: he has sort of an un-David-like, firm, strong, trustworthy quality. I always think of him as Gary Cooper."

Source

I mean it seems obvious that to define someone as anti someone else means the influence and hold of the character that is seen negatively is more powerful than ever. An anti Angel means that Angel's shadow never left the show, that he is still haunting Buffy in every way, except she keeps the obsession that he represents at distance with a more positive boyfriend, who she uses like a talisman to keep her thoughts about him from becoming too intrusive.

Why couldn't Riley be himself, a regular and normal guy in appearance but with a double life of demon hunter that matches Buffy's mission, someone that Buffy would have realized she wanted in her life just by living, fighting at his side and learning to love him daily instead of being a reversed image of her ex?

In the anti Angel scenario, even if her relationship with Riley had worked, she still would have been trapped with an improved version of Angel, different but still too close. On the show, the writers didn't make as opposite as Whedon claimed to want them. Actually both men shared many common opinions and personality traits:

a sexist worldview,

the need of being needed as Angel's savior complex proved it on Ats especially with damsels in distress,

insecurities about virility developed during the crossover episode in Ats "I will remember you" where Angel gave up a possible human life at Buffy's side because he couldn't handle to be less strong than her to not be in capacity to protect her).

I don't see how creating with Riley an idealized version of Angel (one who can take her on a picnic, see her in the daylight, who would accept his strength inferiority because he can't do anything about it, one who can have as much sex as Buffy wants, who can marry and have children), someone that Angel could never be because of his personality souled or souless, would fix Buffy's problem of dependency and later of emotional distance/self centeredness?

It feels like the writers were rather presenting us of what Buffy would think to be her ideal man based on her unique romantic relationship with Angel. A Frankenstein version of the Prince Charming not in the sense that Riley is a monster, he's a good man, a brillant man and a hot man, but because he's also in some way closer to what would look like a puppet stitched based on Buffy's preferences and to who life would be given.

The problem is not only Riley's personality, but also the execution of their romance mostly the timing of it.

I think that the writers got it right when they made Buffy hook up, before making Riley her official boyfriend, with guys who are all about sex (Parker) or are bad boys at heart (Spike). In real life, any young/teen girl would have repeated the same mistake few times with other boys similar in looks or darkness/personality to the one she loved deeply and who hurt her, before growing enough to learn from the past. The solution to make her involved with Spike was more credible than to push her in Riley's arms immediately, especially when they had nothing in common in term of interests.

But the timing is all wrong: there is less than 7 episodes between her one night stand with Parker in The Harsh light of Day (4.03) and her picnic and first official date with Riley in Something Blue (4.09). The picnic happened in the same episode as 'the thing" with Spike (i don't know how to call it), and just after an entire episode on Ats where she spent a lot of time in bed with Angel. She almost ruined her relationship with Riley because of Spike (Something Blue), so by the time they had their first kiss, i didn't scream "finally the good guy she deserves" but rather " it's too much romance and disappointment in one season, and he will never make up for it because the show is already creating conflict over his identity."

Conflicts kept piling up indeed during the second half of the season: from the revelation of their secret identities to Buffy's refusal to give a chance to Riley, from her change of mind and full involvement in his life to the point she joined The Initiative for him to the shock of Maggie Walsh's attempt to kill her and Walsh's murder by Adam, from Riley's change in personality due to the effects of The Initiative's medicine on him to Faith's intrusion in their lives etc...

That's a lot to deal with in such a short period, especially when we consider too the fact that despite all those ordeals that they faced together as a couple, Riley never got passed this image that he was less than her ex vampire boyfriends. Diminished by his lesser fighting skills, the lesser danger he represented, his less cool attitude: Buffy called him a doof, Forrest said he's a mama's boy, Willow for his defense argued that "he didn't seem like he could tell a little white lie, let alone a whole bunch of big dirty ones"; though his cool potential changed depending on what the script needed him to be, and based too on his double identity.

Coming after such radical personalities (Angel and Spike) with extreme views and violent actions explain why so many fans see him as bland and boring (which he is not): they can't shake the feeling of being overwhelmed by Angel and Spike, not matter how wrong their values, their feelings, their actions were.

I read a lot that Riley was supposed to be her endgame but i don't see how it would have worked if it was planned to introduce Dawn and kill Joyce since season 2, as the rumor says. That meant Whedon knew very early that Buffy was going to die during season 5. After all that she went through to find the right guy, was Whedon going to pretend that she was leaving behind the love of her life in a grand gesture of sacrifice to save the world? Even though it looked and felt liker rather a suicide, in a season where the accumulation of misery was leading to her death anyway? What would have been the point of getting over Angel if she was not going to survive?

For me who perceives the show mostly from the angle of trauma, to get her past her relationship with Angel was in all cases a necessity because he literally stole her life: he made a mess of it, of her vision of love and she needed to heal.

But it would have required to not treat Riley as someone who was always going to suffer from the comparison, and also to make clear at one point that she chose him over Angel (during one of the crossovers with Ats preferably), and that her decision was definitive in her mind.

Riley really didn't need to be the anti Angel, and the writers shouldn't have taken the risk to fail at delivering this tale of happiness for Buffy (if they really wanted her to be happy) by trying to force on him this fake personality.

No more than they should have let Buffy trapped in the mindset "that real love and passion have to go hand in hand with lots of pain and fighting". that it's "where the fire comes from", questioning the possibility that "a nice safe relationship can be that intense".

Buffy and Riley didn't have nice and safe lives so their relationship couldn't be nice and safe and yet she still had doubts even after she started to date him.

A vision of love on which she was still clinging so strongly that she even blamed Angel for calling her his ex (during the crossover with Ats when Angel came back to Sunnydale after helping Faith, allegedly to apologize), which sent her back right to the regret that she couldn't be with him and which confirmed indirectly that Riley was a default choice.

Which begs the question: what kind of reactions did the writers expect from the fans when they didn't seem to even bother to establish Buffy and Riley's romance as a more desirable relationship for Buffy?

[tokillamockingbird427]

do u think logan is religious at all (ik i made alex religious and given the walker's vibes they're prolly a little christian) but do u think he is. actually give me ur opinion on everyone in the team cuz i'm interested

Gonna list 'em.

Rorke Only believes in a god so he can curse him out. Thinks if there is some greater creator that it's pretty evil, letting all the shit that goes on happen. Was probably also very religious when he was younger, seeing as I HC him from somewhere south/midwest. Has a "Fall from grace" when he joined the military and realized what a shit show life can be.

Elias Was probably catholic or christian enough to go to church and pray over dinner before he joined the military. Still religious afterwards, but he's too busy to be dedicated you know? That and mainstream christianity in the US tends to be... pretty shitty towards the kind of people his loved ones are (Queer, non-religious, not white.) so he doesn't like to associate with it. (Evangelicals are the people I'm talking about. Nasty bunch of shit heads.) Believes in god, heaven for the good folk, hell for the evil. He also believes he falls into the latter category. (Poor guy. Killing someone is considered the ultimate sin or whatever.)

Hesh Due to Elias still being a bit religious when he was younger he's got a touch of "Young Christian Boy." but like.... I HC him as trans and Bi so this motherfucker just nyooomed out of that as fast as he could lol. Probably thinks of communion every time he eats a cracker or drinks grape juice. Knows a lot of the christian mythos. (So like, Noah's Arc, Samson, David and Goliath.)

Logan Elias was pretty much done even considering religion by the time Logan was old enough to form proper memories, but military culture actually has a lot of religious influence so he knows "the basics" like what praying is, heaven, hell, purgatory, who Satan is. Not a lot beyond that. Might become a bit more religious after the pit, trying to find a way to help cope with the shit he's been through. Reason I mention Saint Christopher a lot with him is because he's the patron saint of travellers. Lots of people in the military actually have a Saint Christopher necklace because of that. (My Dad bought my brother one when he joined the service.)

Rest below the cut so this doesn't get too long.

Keegan Seems like a guy with a fair bit of religious trauma. Probably grew up going to sunday school, praying over dinner with the fam, getting yelled at by his youth pastor for kissing another boy, you know the usual stuff for evangelical children to go through. Very violently rejected the whole shebang in his teen years, realizing he was very much not the "Ideal Christian." what with all the ideas he had. (Women having rights, gay people having rights, minorities having rights. You know, the basics.) Still internally panics every time he enters an empty room where he thought everyone was because he still has nightmares about the rapture. I'm not giving him brownie points btw, he's just a decent human being that grew up around shitty human beings.

Ajax Actually "properly" religious. Grew up in a vaguely christian house where he wasn't allowed to say "God dang it." and went to church on easter, but otherwise it wasn't very focused. Probably leaned on it more entering the military, both due to the culture and as a way to connect to his mother. Prays before he sleeps at night, wears a cross, participates in all the holidays with his family back home, otherwise keeps it to himself because he respects boundaries. (He knows Keegans tragic backstory, keeps it "away" from him so to speak. Won't pray if he's in the room. Keegan wouldn't mind if he didn't, Ajax was just raised polite as fuck.)

Merrick Pretty non religious all around. Like he knows about all the different kinds, not very interested in any of them. Not quite atheistic because he believes there might be some greater force in the universe, but he'd liken it more to an unintelligent code/function than a conscious omnipotent being.

Kick "Funny" atheist. Refuses to believe in any higher power. Doesn't say it, but he probably thinks religion is unreasonable in the modern day an age. Makes jokes about god(s) not existing/being dead.

Neptune Mixing pot right here. Believes in rebirth and Karma, which are Buddhist. Believes in a good place a bad place and a neutral place, which a lot of religions have but their idea is closer to Christian ideas of heaven hell and purgatory than anything else. Also thinks the universe is the closest thing to god, which is Pantheism, reveres life because of that. Thinks god may be made of multiple things, which is also a lot of religions, no specific one to liken it too though. Thinks ghosts are real, which is a spiritual belief. Thinks humans are outside of whatever god is, so they don't have a problem doing their job despite the "protect life" thing.

Fun fact: Adonis, based on @satan-incarnate-666 is Muslim. I asked their help with his burial rites and that. (They were very helpful and it was very interesting to learn!)

[thejustmaiden]

So out of nowhere I was tagged and quoted by a SR shipper for a blog of mine posted in August of last year. Talk about throwback but, hey, gotta appreciate that level of snooping. 😉

Back in the day I actually used to encourage discourse amongst Inuyasha fans- both shippers and antis alike- but I've since realized that it's a lost cause. But for you, @feministmetalgreymon , I'll grant this exception. Just 'cause it's been a while so why the hell not. haha

I want to assure you, however, that nothing you say will ever convince me that Sesshomaru and Rin are meant to be together romantically or that the story intended it so. Nor will you find any validation here. You can ship them for all I care, but please for all that is good and holy while I have your attention try- I mean really try- to understand why it is so many of us Inuyasha fans are so against this pairing in the first place (newsflash: it's not about ship wars), and why we believe a romance between the two of them is completely and utterly out of character.

For those of you interested in reading this, the blog of mine in question that the above shipper mentions in their counter-argument is here for reference. It's titled "Jaken = Rin's Dad?" I'm going to try and keep this short, but I'm also making no such promises. After all, I'm not exactly known for my brevity. haha Now let's get crackin'!

Like you, feministmetalgreymon, did for your recent blog here where you took screenshots of mine to address certain parts, I will be doing the same and dissecting yours accordingly.

[Snippet 1]

I worked with kids for many years as a teacher, and many people in my family have too or still do. Two of them happen to be just over 5 feet which is quite short for the average adult woman living here. I've also worked alongside many a women of short stature, and never did I hear any of them complaining of issues with their students having difficulty differentiating them from their own peers just because they were short as well. I'm sorry but that's just ridiculous. Kids are quite smart and pick up on a lot more than you seem to give them credit for. Height is not the only characteristic they look at to determine who's an adult and who's not, and it's foolish to suggest otherwise. So unless you're a babysitter who's still in their teens and/or who has very childlike features or behavior then I'm afraid what you're getting at is total hogwash. This is just another example of how you shippers offer nothing of real substance to your reasoning, it's only ever cherry-picking or strawmanning from you guys. Stop deflecting from the real issues please, because this certainly isn't one and only winds up being a complete waste of time for all parties involved.

[Snippet 2]

Okay, calm down now. I wasn't insinuating that relationships between parents and children can't change over time in terms of how they get along. Of course that's possible, as all families experience their fair share of estrangement and abuse. What I was speaking about was in reference to the overall dynamic between the two. Because a bad mother or father can still be viewed as a parental figure to their child even if say they're not in said child's life anymore. Since Sesshomaru and Rin share a healthy bond- and just a friendly reminder that in my blog I even said that he doesn't have to necessarily be labeled her father but that a romantic relationship later would still be inappropriate- I didn't deem it necessary to address what you brought up. Plus, it kinda, umm, misses the point?? Please, let's stay on topic. And it's not captured in the screenshot, but stop acting like there isn't a small part of them that idolizes their parents at some point during childhood. Just like you mention later on how it's normal for kids to have innocent crushes on adults that they eventually grow out of? Well, guess what, the same concept applies here. Kids eventually learn that their parents are far from perfect and make mistakes too. Rin is so damn young in the OG series though that we never even get to see her reach that maturity level.

[Snippet 3]

LOL! Alright, okay, so the "unbreakable bond" bit you're mentioning was actually me quoting you sessrinners. Did you not catch that? I literally spelled it out. *sigh* The whole point I was making is that shippers like yourself make hypocritical and contradictory statements all.the.goddamn.time. One moment you guys claim that Sesshomaru and Rin were essentially strangers and meant very little to each other, only to say in the same breath a few seconds later that they were destined to be together and their bond is like no other. I agree, their bond is special, but why must that mean they're going to fall in love?

That is the root of the matter here. Too many animes/mangas have romanticized this older adult man & young girl growing up falling in love trope that it's become way too normalized and widely accepted across the world- and yes, in some cultures more than others. Sadly, you lack the awareness to recognize how this all works. You know how we know that? When we see that you shippers are so desensitized to sexualized images of girls in the media that you share posts like this one below which *subtly* imply a future romance although one half of that pairing is still just a child in the pic and then try and pass it off as cute. That's like super fucking problematic and it scares me that you can't see that (or deny you do). 🤢

After all that's said and done, Sesshomaru leaving Rin in the village with Kaede is to me the strongest indicator more than pretty much anything else he's done for Rin that proves he is her adoptive father. It's so funny to me how you somehow see the exact opposite though. 🤔 What I think is happening is that you got yourself on some squeaky clean ass shipper goggles fresh out of your little echo chamber. Because I hate to tell you, but what you're fantasizing is what you want to see and not what's actually there on screen or was written into the story. I'm strictly talking about Inuyasha and the manga of course. [For the TL; DR version skip to the last paragraph.]

Parents looking after their kids is what parents are supposed to do. A good parent will do anything to keep their child safe and ensure they are cared for, so what he did for her by leaving her there was in her best interests clearly. Besides, as a babysitter, you more than most people should understand that parents aren't always able to be there for their kids so sometimes others gotta step in to help. Haven't you heard of the saying, "it takes a village to raise a child?" Which in Rin's case is literally true! 😂 Sometimes kids are even sent off to stay with grandparents and that's who raises them instead. Or maybe they have to temporarily live with an aunt or uncle because their single parent's job requires they work out of town 4-5 days of the week so they're hardly home. But that doesn't mean that the parents care or love their kids any less, and it's foolish to assume that Sesshomaru must have thought very little of Rin simply due to the fact that he made the decision to leave her in the village. Come on, y'all are acting like he abandoned her there!!

It's just given the circumstances Sesshomaru finally came to learn that Rin traveling with him was no longer safe. I also like to think it's because he wished for her to live a more normal life and to learn how to fully trust humans again. Plus, continuing to travel with him as young as she was would have proven dangerous and unwise. Now for you to know all this and still manage to turn his past actions towards her while she was just a child into a romantic gesture is what boggles my mind. Regardless of how you look at it, from my perspective or your own, Sesshomaru is in the wrong. Either he's a father figure who impregnates his daughter at the young age of approximately 14. OR he's this man she used to travel with who maybe isn't a father to her but who nonetheless basically rapes her since kids her age can't consent to sex with an adult. Idk about you but it sounds to me like nobody here wins with either scenario we're given. In other words, you should be just as mad as we are. If only one side didn't choose to forsake their morals they know we both have in common for the sake of a ship. Welp. 🤷‍♀️

I agree, incest is disgusting but that's not the only problem we have with this pairing. A romantic bond forming between Sesshomaru and Rin would also constitute as grooming.

You realize that over the years he visited her in the village that he brought her gifts too and essentially watched her grow up right before his very eyes, right? I mean, I know you do, but I really shouldn't have to explain further why pursuing a romantic/sexual relationship with each other is plain and simple wrong. And before you say it's not because he didn't have any malintent, please understand that considering their history and power dynamic up to then that yes this is still considered grooming even if Rin supposedly "wanted it" or "made the first move." Whether you consider him her father or not, as the adult who took on a role resembling that of a caretaker in her early life- a critical developmental time for a child- Sesshomaru is obligated to turn down any advances by Rin and most definitely should not initiate any himself. As the first close adult figure she's had in her life since her parents died, it's unfathomable to imagine how Sesshomaru could go through with taking advantage of this young girl who was under his care and supervision since they met. To think he could be capable of betraying that trust sickens me to the core.

This. Now THIS is how a parent/guardian or a similar adult caretaker (babysitter, teacher, etc.) talks to a child. And, in turn, this is how some young children talk to adults. You'd be insane and delusional to deny it! We see it in our everyday lives, do we not? From where else do you think our stories draw most of their inspiration? Yes, obviously these fictional universes have aspects of fantasy that don't exist in the real world, but so how then do you suppose we're able to relate to them? The reason for that being is because these stories are written by people for people, so naturally there are going to be real life aspects embedded throughout. Sure, a little escapism doesn't hurt as we don't need to take everything so seriously, but ultimately we all need to recognize that the messages in the stories we tell matter. Most stories possess a combination of both light and dark themes, but when it specifically comes to the latter we gotta be careful with how we tackle this in children's media since kids are far more impressionable.

So if at the center of a story we have two of the main protagonists whose mom is basically their same age and to top it off she knew their dad when she was just a girl and who just so happened to help raise her, wouldn't you say that's beyond fucked up or at the very least so fucking weird? Like why would we think it's even remotely okay for our children to watch this garbage?? Really think about it. Try and be objective for once and think about how it would sound explaining this storyline to an outsider who's never watched IY or HNY. Well, antis have tried this before many times and we always get the same reaction: Ewww!

Like I said earlier, if you wanna ship it then fine, but 1) please stop seeking our approval or trying to change our minds - your ship wish came true didn't it, so why do you need us to validate it? 2) even though it's not canon, respect that we don't support this sequel portraying pedophilia in a positive light. It's harmful af to not only allow but glorify the continuation of sexualized images of young girls everywhere. And I shouldn't have to say this, but just because this trope is popular as you say does not make it right. Lolicon themes in the media have been an issue forever and it needs to stop. Yes, even some people in Japan or "the East" would agree. Shocker!

We're pissed off and rightfully so because Yashahime's TV rating is 14, not to mention it airs at the prime time kids in Japan watch TV after getting home from school. That's Towa and Setsuna's age, true, but if Rin being the mom when she's like only a year older than them (please don't argue w/ me about the math- antis have so far been right every time with it) is straight-up disgusting and not something we should be supporting or endorsing. Rin's a whole ass child!! Please don't start with the "but times were different then so her having kids at 15 is acceptable" argument either, because we've already debunked that and every other single excuse you guys throw at us. Besides, how or why would you expect young viewers to know these historical "facts" anyway, especially if as you suggest fiction doesn't affect reality so what does it matter? Yet here we are, arguing over a fictional show in real life almost a year and a half into the "Sesshomaru fucks?" sequel being announced. My ass, your ass, hell all our asses fiction doesn't affect reality!

Look, I do apologize if the tone of this blog came off as snippy or condescending at times. I do not wish you any ill will, it's just I'm not really sure what you expected to get out of all this besides maybe getting on my nerves perhaps. haha A lot of you shippers have been desperately scrambling to interact with us, lurking in our tags, jumping onto our posts screaming canon and getting so defensive even though you sought us out first. We've been sticking to our tags, so how about you stay in your lane too. By the way since we're on the topic, have you seen Twitter or Reddit?! SR shippers there are the actual worst and many Inuyasha fans (not just antis) have complained of not feeling welcomed to engage in fandom spaces anymore. Shippers swarm them and scare them off simply because fans don't like your ship and refuse to accept it. It's pathetic, really. No one should ever be bullied or harassed just because they don't like something you might. We're all fans of Inuyasha, aren't we? So let's act like it. Yashahime on the other hand, you guys are welcome to that pungent heap of trash. Fans have a right to criticize it too, but if you like it then good for you, so keep on liking it and don't mind us.

I'm almost done, but real quick back to Jaken! Let's not forget about how the official Yashahime website- which came out after my blog, mind you- described Jaken. This translation isn't the best one available but it's the only version a fellow anti friend could track down. They do recall a better one done by a native Japanese speaker who was also an anti, and that member confirmed that Jaken is indeed called Rin's babysitter. So you see, I was right in my interpretation. In the original post I did compare Jaken to a brother, but after talking to others (some comments can be found under said post) I did acknowledge that he's more of a reluctant babysitter who's not related. And if he's not at least a brother to Rin, then he's definitely not her father.

At the end of the day, the creator Rumiko Takahashi has the final word. Which is guess what? Hogosha. 💖 Probably should've just started out with that and saved us all the trouble, huh? Good day/night to you.

Papamaru bids you adieu now. 🤞

[the-ghost-king]

So I'm not going to start like an Anti-Chiron tag because I don't find that enjoyable personally, but every so often people ask why I dislike him so here's essentially a "masterpost" of my thoughts on that situation for when anyone asks, just so I have it to explain some...

This isn't nearly a full list, and there's many more "incidents" that make me less than fond of Chiron, I don't hate the old man but he leaves a bad taste in my mouth and I'm not a fan of that. He's a very twisted character.

- The Lightning Thief

This quote is literally just after Percy's mom "dies", they're all sitting on the porch of the Big House right after he's finally woken up after days of sleeping, and that's the line Chiron pulls out on him.

That's straight up emotional manipulation which was entirely unnecessary in the context of what Chiron was trying to explain. There wasn't a single reason for that, in the slightest.

Immediately following that, and Percy, who canonically has anger issues, does his best to remain calm, he is immediately threatened by Dionysus, and Chiron doesn't even tell Dionysus off for doing that; Chiron just let's it happen. It's Grover who has to speak up to tell Dionysus off...

The only reason Chiron comes out looking like a old guy in this scene is because Dionysus was so much worse in his behavior, at one point intimidating Percy with his power over madness.

- The Titan's Curse

This is the aftermath of when Nico ran away upon confirmation of Bianca's death. When Percy is telling Chiron about the situation, Chiron wishes Nico had been eaten alive rather than recruited into an army.

He'd rather a child be dead than fight against him, and he openly tells this to other children he's in charge of. If Percy went missing would he have said "I hope he was eaten <3" as well?

I don't blame Perry for not delivering the truth here, it was done in an effort to protect Nico; which wasn't something Annabeth had planned on doing... I don't blame Annabeth for that though either, she's been beneath Chiron so long that she probably doesn't realize the shady stuff he does, and to her "going to tell" probably was the "right" move because she was a child...

But the fact that Chiron believes Nico truly would be better off eaten than alive :/

- Tower of Nero

This quote from Tower of Nero shows that Chiron lied to a bunch of young children (most of them were young because the older campers are largely dead because of the war or too old for camp now). It wasn't just a little white lie that adults sometimes tell kids either; they were walking into battle and he told them it was a field trip.

Did he even begin to explain the danger he was putting these kids in? Did the children understand their situation? And how dangerous it was?

Kayla has been blindsided over the years into thinking that telling children they're going on a field trip instead of fighting a battle is something to make a joke of and not be questioned... (Again, I don't blame her she's only like 12 in the book, but still)

Apollo also agrees, which isn't on Chiron but it's a whole mother reason why I can't stand Rick's interpretation of Apollo...

<><><><><>

This isn't me being like "oh Chiron is the worst most evil character ever" I just think that he has numerous flaws which are largely ignored in favor of the "perfect wise teacher" narrative when in fact Chiron and Dumbledore share a lot of.. Offputting qualities.

I do think that some of the situation is simply a result of Chiron having his hands tied behind his back by the gods some. And he even goes so far as to confirm this in a scene of TLT

However many of the scenes in which he exhibits behaviors like that in my first three screenshots are not related to anything the gods require and are, in fact, of Chiron's own free will.

Some things I would blame Zeus and the council for, such as how he withholds information from Percy to an excessive amount for long periods of time even when Percy straight up asks about things. I could easily see that being Zeus trying to prevent Percy from claiming the prophecy as his own, and I could see reasoning that maybe Chiron had sworn over the River Styx or something similar.

But those things don't apply to Chiron making such an unnecessary comment about Percy's mother so close to her "death". It doesn't explain why he would say he hoped Nico had been eaten out loud, and it doesn't cover the fact that he led children into a battlefield without telling them that's what was happening.

I think the context of Chiron's choices and comments would be different if the campers were older. If they were in their late teens or early twenties for the most part, I wouldn't really have much to say about how Chiron handled the situation.

But this man is in charge of children and extremely young teenagers, Percy is only 12 in TLT, maybe if he would have been 16 or 17 then I could give Chiron a pass, but he wasn't. Within the context of the comment he made in the Titan's Curse, Percy is only 14 and Nico is 10 at the beginning of the book... You don't wish a 10 year old had been eaten alive by a monster no matter how bad you think the alternative is, and if you do wish that you don't say it out loud to a group of other children. In the battle from Tower of Nero we get a quick look at the battlefield, and although Ben's age, and the age of another girl fighting alongside him are never confirmed they are implied to be fairly young, and we know Kayla is only 12 at the time too; yet Chiron told them it was a field trip instead of a battle, limiting the time they would have to mentally prepare themselves for what was coming.

On top of that, the nods the reader gets to the fact that Chiron can't act out against the gods depletes over the course of the series. After TLT the amount of times the situation involves the gods interfering with what Chiron is allowed to say lessens, and by the time the Heroes of Olympus series comes around, these limitations on his speech is almost entirely gone. Yet as seen in Tower of Nero he still does morally questionable things in regards to how he treats the campers.

Like I said, I recognize that in many scenes Chiron's hands are tied behind his back because of the gods.. But there are undeniably things he does of his own free will that are, in the nicest manner, very :/

This also isn't a full list of comparisons just a few notable scenes. I don't think Chiron is equally as bad as Dumbledore, but I think it undeniable that Chiron has some significant flaws built into his character design.

A good character has flaws, and there's nothing wrong with having a character that doesn't always conduct themselves properly or have good intentions- it's actually good writing, and I can appreciate that, but for some reason I find myself personally rubbed the wrong way by Chiron. This doesn't make Chiron badly written, or poorly designed, in fact I would say Rick's Chiron is very well designed in lots of ways, but I just don't like how it's never acknowledged by anyone in the series.

Like I said, I'm not starting an anti-Chiron situation, I just think little events like those mentioned, the way he's built a child army, and how he doesn't even try to plead with the gods over raising the ages on campers being allowed to battle is a little sus. But it more so bothers me that there's no attention payed to this problem anywhere in the books, not even by a side character or Luke, nowhere.

I don't actually care that much and this isn't that important to me, but sometimes people ask why I don't like Chiron and this is basically just my explanation to hand off to them... It's not even so much that I dislike Chiron entirely, he's well written and has his "good" moments, I just don't like the way other characters interact with him and his actions.

It's more a personal beef with him rather than an aspect of poor writing or him "being bad"... PJO in general (and HoO/ToA to a much lesser extent) shows that there's not such an inherent good vs bad in the world, and that sometimes people are victims of circumstances in some situations, or they're horribly misguided in their actions, but the series does a good job of showing those people as human still, and I applaud that.

I don't really know how to tie this up in its entirety, but there's nothing wrong with having a morally grey character who does questionable things and in many aspects it is good writing. I think Chiron is a result of Rick not thinking through the implications what he's doing in lots of situations, and I can see a fairly consistent drop in Chiron's characterization from PJO-ToA which is consistent with most other aspects of Rick's work.

I also want to clarify that if you like Chiron and disagree with me, that's absolutely 110% okay, I just personally dislike Chiron and that's on me. Like my problem with many of Rick's other immortal characters, I think he missed important aspects of them in some manner and slightly (or entirely in some cases) mischaracterized them in comparison to their original myths.. Some of these characters he came around on and fixed their character in many aspects to their more "correct" characterization (like Hera), while others (like Chiron and Apollo) he never quite figured them out. Which is a running complaint I have with Rick so I'm just adding this to his tab.

But yeah, I don't hate Chiron I just dislike him and those are different things, and I don't think it's a bad thing to have a morally questionable character, Chiron just personally rubs me the wrong way and I just wanted to explain that more fully because I've been asked about it multiple times.

Also I apologize for not adding a [read more] to this, it's a complaint of mine often when scrolling through the tags but I'm on mobile currently and don't have immediate access to a computer so~

[sladewilsonisanantihero]

The Original Intent of Terra and how Deathstroke got the bad end of the stick for it

Okay, Deathstroke Children (Idk what to call you guys because fellow Deathstrokers would end this conversation immediately), I found the time to do this, so let's get to it!

(Note: My original laptop broke with my comics, so I have no images to spare, so it will be sourced. Another note: Many words will be in bold. Partly so that for those reading will not lose track.)

But if tl;dr:

Cold Hard Truth: Everyone from Terra fans to Deathstroke fans needs to stop seeing these characters as real people.

Original Terra wasn't human trafficked or whatever sob story people want to label her with. The CREATORS intended her to be written as Evil without the mental illness and to die for the shock value. They had Raven, The Literal Empath, spell this out in Judas Contract. As for Deathstroke's involvement, he was shoved into her creation story, and Marv Wolfman himself recognized his mistake in doing that.

And for those calling Deathstroke a nazi, Original Terra had nazi-like beliefs where common people should fear and serve them or be killed off just because they're 'special'. Again, BLUNTLY stated in the Judas Contract. So if you're going to call Deathstroke a Pedophile, we'll call OG Terra a Neo-Nazi. (But I highly advice for Deathstroke Fans to not start that kind of war, but I had to say what I had to say.)

Don't get me wrong. (Hopefully all) Deathstroke fans know that their relationship was wrong just like Marv Wolfman, and we do not support pedophiles! But Slade isn't a pedophile! He was never intended to be written as one! It was a mistake made on many levels and should be rewritten like OG Terra's Evil Neo-Nazi-like personality, instead of being thrown into cancel culture.

Also for Deathstroke fans, don't get upset over their content and begin any argument emotionally. Just enjoy whatever good content we can get and support it if you can. Hopefully we'll get our Deathstroke movies and so on!

So I've briefly chatted with one of you over the matter with Terra/Tara Markov and how upsetting it is about how people refer to Slade Wilson as a Pedophile. That is a serious accusation that would make it very uncomfortable to argue about since it can easily make it seem like we justify the actions of pedophiles, and that we are part of pedophile culture that does exist in social media space.

AND WE SHOULDN'T, AND FOR ANTIS READING THIS WE WON'T.

But there was a time when I used to have a blog called friendlyremindersofsladewilson, where I defended Slade and put the blame all on Terra. I was 14 at the time, and looking back at it, I am not proud of it because I realized now as an adult how I defended it for most of the wrong reasons, but still stand with the fact that SLADE IS NOT A PEDOPHILE.

And since this took place when I was so young, it compelled me to write this post because I fear some of you are really young, too, and may end up in this regretful position.

So to make it clear, what Slade had been written to do is a crime, and we should acknowledge it, but not in the way as if it was a crime acted out in real life.

What I mean by that is that there's a clear separation between fiction and reality where one isn't real (Duh!). In this case, it's about the mistakes made between fiction and reality. In reality, mistakes made by the person responsible is on the person. In fiction, mistakes made is dependent on the creator's intent, and sometimes the creators can make mistakes themselves.

Most notably Terra's:

Tara Markov/Terra was created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez.

In Marv Wolfman's literal website, he stated in his online "What the-?" column:

"Which leads to Terra. That was easy. George and I wanted a Titan who betrayed the others. we also wanted to play against every reader conception of who characters are. George and I knew her whole story before we began and we knew she would die. We set the story up with her trying to destroy the Statue of Liberty to show she was the bad girl, but we knew if George drew her as a cute kid everyone would simply assume she would be ‘turned’ from the dark side because that’s the way it was always done which is why that wouldn’t be the way we did it. Tara was insane an stayed that way right until the moment she died. By the way, she IS dead. I don’t know what other writers will do with her – if anything – but if they want to honor the original series they will leave her dead. The Terra from Team Titans was – as stated – some kid the villain kidnapped and physically and mentally altered her into looking and acting like the original. But she was NEVER the real Terra."

And it should also be noted that he stated before this statement that:

"...Only mistake I think I made with him is having him have a physical relationship with the 16 year old Tara Markov. That was wrong."

So Marv Wolfman himself recognizes that what he did was a mistake, but his intent on Terra was never to write a victim.

And quick note: Insanity isn't written as a mental illness here. It's written like how many villains are labeled as insane for having skewed beliefs that deviates from the common good.

Terra truly had some nazi-like beliefs where she BELIEVED that everyone who wasn't 'special' like her and the Teen Titans deserved to be treated like shit because they weren't 'special' like them. She bluntly said it herself in the Judas Contract.

As for George Perez's comment in an interview I found in this website:

"GEORGE: Tara was just a cute little girl, although I based a little bit of that on my wife Carol’s sister, Barbara. A little upturned nose… Barbara does not have the teeth that Tara had. I wanted Tara to be a girl who looked normal. Which also means her death caught everyone even more offguard.

Tara, she was made to be killed; she served her purpose. That was it.

ANDY: You didn ‘t get any attachment to Tara?

GEORGE: No, because I knew we were going to kill her. So I deliberately used all the things to make her as likeable and cute as possible, so people would never believe we were going to kill a sixteen-year-old. And she was a sixteen-year-old sociopath. She was one of our cleverest gimmicks; we deliberately created her in order to lead everyone astray. So we couldn’t build any fondness for her, ’cause we knew full well what her whole motive for existence was. Her existence was basically to keep the stories interesting; we were tossing a curve that no one would have expected.

ANDY: You didn ‘t even love to hate her, huh?

GEORGE: No. I loved handling her, because she was such a good idea. But she was an idea. Not as much a person. She was there to show exactly how much their humanity can be one thing they have to be careful about, the Teen Titans have to be careful about. . . they can be too trusting, or their own weaknesses can be used against them."

Terra was supposed to be a representation of An Evil Betrayal of Trust and That Not All Cute Girls Are Good.

But they took it too far by making her sleep with Deathstroke because they wanted to truly make her look evil by literally sleeping with the enemy. Y'know because this was the 80s, and women having sex was an evil act back then, and that point of view has somewhat or barely improved 40 years later.

Deathstroke was just shoved into this idea, and Marv tried and perhaps failed at trying to undo this mistake with his talk with Beastboy (Tales of the Teen Titans issue #55) and before his confrontation from Wintergreen (Deathstroke (1991); Chapter 35).

So just as I had stated at the top in the tl;dr, it was a mistake made on many levels and should have been rewritten out just as many had done with OG Terra's true personality, and be done with it.

Random person: "He still slept with a 16-year-old."

And it's not that hard to make other heroes and villains do this mistake. Because again, it's all fiction. Deathstroke's fictional. As in Not Real, so we could literally undo the damage by rewriting this mistake. Or make it worse by making Terra the rapist by her using her Earth powers to bind Slade down and force him, and you can't deny that it's plausible. Because she's fictional. Anything can happen. So why didn't Slade tell Beastboy whether he slept with her or not, maybe it was because he really didn't want to but he was forced into it. And that's just something you can't dump on a very emotional man who was trying to kill you a moment ago.

ALL THE POSSIBILITIES BECAUSE IT'S FICITIONAL!

But ANYWAY, I went way too dark there.

Ending on a brighter note: Personally to all Deathstroke fans, please value your mental health, please don't start any arguments that'll compromise it, and continue supporting Deathstroke in whatever way you can!

[3wisellamas]

(Spoilers ahead! Read at your own risk if you haven't finished chapter 2 yet!)

Kris is the Knight, Gaster is the Knight, Ralsei is sus...

How about I throw an oddball one at you? What if Dess is the Knight?

In chapter 2, Queen implied that only a Lightner can actually create more dark fountains, and literally any Lightner can if they have enough determination and a blade of some kind. And she was VERY interested in Noelle specifically for the task, touting her strength and potential, without even considering the other three Lightners right in front of her.

Noelle was Dess' younger sister. And from context in this chapter, it looks a lot like whatever happened to her, happened when Noelle was very young -- before her first spelling bee, at least, since that's where she froze up (pun not intended) on the word 'December.' But, the most important part, we don't know WHAT exactly happened to Dess. One could assume she died, either in an accident or of whatever illness Rudy has, but as others have pointed out, there's no grave for her in the graveyard. And, like, yeah, she could've been buried elsewhere, but the simplest conclusion to draw from that is that she's still alive, but either went missing or ran away from home.

She was also stated a couple times to be close to Asriel, even going to the bunker with him, Kris, and Noelle at one point. (Remember, the latter two would still have been very young children at this point, and Dess and Asriel might have been teens, around the age Kris, Noelle, and Susie are now.) And from that one scene with MK and Snowy, we know that something very bad happened there once involving Kris...perhaps this was a reference to that same event?

If so...what if the four of them opened the bunker, and Dess went inside? Or maybe Kris even went in too, and Dess went after them to bring them back? It's pretty much a given that there's gonna end up being a Dark World inside, there's just too much building up to it at this point, so if either of them went in, they'd have a hell of a time getting back out! Kris came back, perhaps even traumatized into the weird kid they are today from the experience, but Dess ended up lost in the dark...a lost girl.

(Hm, wasn't that Noelle's song? I don't think it was really Noelle's at all. Sure, she got kidnapped a couple times, but at no point was she ever "lost"...)

So, here's where I'm going right off the deep end into conjecture. Dess disappeared, and since Asriel was so close to her, he begged his father, police chief Asgore, to find her, which he never did, and might have even tried a few things that ended up getting him fired. Like, maybe even going into the bunker himself, experiencing the Dark World within, and coming back and making all these crazy claims that no one else believed except for maybe his children? That'd definitely be reason to remove him as chief of police, and also affect his and Toriel's marriage.

So, after this, Asriel, a Lightner stricken with grief and Determined to find his friend...went to the dark supply closet at his school, armed with a knife (and maybe his little sibling's old red horn headband, if you want to incorporate the theory that that's where Ralsei came from), and stabbed the ground.

Bam, dark fountain, and Ralsei's kingdom. Unlile Dess, though, Asriel came back, not having found her either, and eventually moved on and grew up, but the fountain he made persisted -- after all, while any Lightner may be able to create a fountain, Ralsei implies very early in chapter 1 that only a human like Kris can actually SEAL them!

But, this is a theory about Dess, not Asriel. Just making one fountain might make you a knight, but not The Knight -- lookin' at Kris here. At some point, Dess, still lost somewhere in the Dark World, either gets desperate to find a way out and return home, enough to try and cover EVERYTHING in darkness despite the danger it poses, or...grows to like it there, a little too much, sorta like what Susie brought up at the end of chapter 2, making more fountains so the whole world can be as fun as it is in there. Whatever the reason, Dess realizes she can create more fountains, and, Determined, goes ahead and does so. And she spends a little time in each of the worlds she creates, manipulating events to serve her desires to reach the Light World again or cover it in darkness, and even telling a few specific people, who are lonely outcasts just like her, about her home outside of that world, and the things she's learned in her time away from it all. Things she may or may not have learned herself from a certain odd man hiding behind trees in secret rooms, and giving away eggs...

Or, another possibility, she's doing it all to try and lure the people she used to know to her by creating Dark Worlds where she thinks they'd be, like, say, her sister, and her sister's friend Kris, and possibly even Asriel -- remember, the first happened to be straight-up connected to the Dark World in the school supply closet. Man, it's 2021. We ALL know just how crazy being isolated from everyone you know for so long can make you, and Dess has been lost for YEARS. But, however lost we feel as we explore all the different Dark Worlds, don't forget, she's with us in the dark...

Also, one last kicker that I couldn't really stop thinking about. The Fun Gang/F$?! Squad/Whatever are supposed to banish the "Angel's Heaven", right? Well, didn't Dess and Noelle make an angel for their dad once, which is in his hospital room? And if everyone speculates she's dead after being missing for all these years, that makes her an Angel...and the Dark Worlds she creates are her Heaven.

Okay, one last LAST kicker, since I was replaying the start of chapter 1 as I was writing this and noticed it. The Knight jailed the other three kings of the classroom Dark World and put King Spade and his "strange son" into power, right? And might have even stayed around the castle for a little while to help steer the King's actions towards the Light World, and mess with Jevil?

Guys, Lancer knows the Knight. Personally. He would have said something by now if the Knight was in our party, or if we encountered them in either of the Dark Worlds we visited. So, the Knight is definitely NOT someone we've seen yet. Furthermore...remember when we first met the kid, and his catchphrase was "Ho ho ho!" And how Susie told him he sounded like a baby Santa Claus? Wouldn't it be a nice little coincidence if he picked that up from someone literally named December, whose entire family is Christmas-themed...

[mrs-cavill-wife]

Safe And Happy (One Shot)

Pairing: Henry Cavill x Female Reader (Barbara)

Warning: Language. Fluff. Minor Injury. Zombie Apocalypse. Gun shot. Persecution. Please, say if I miss something.

Author's Note: My second fanfic, YAY! Henry is not a celebrity in this fanfic. Duh! It's a zombie apocalypse so it's kinda obvious but I wanted to say it anyway. Hope you guys enjoy it and reblog if you do. I'm all ears to feedback!

Tag List: @lexyvaldez26 @thereisa8ella @natura1phenomenon @mrsavery @number1chonie @themanfromu @littlefreya @legendarywizarddetective @lovingbearherringhairdo @zealoushound @deangal-101 @everydaymultifandom @summersong69 @jgtfvhsg @tellingyouastory @sillyrabbit81 @nuggsmum @pussyverson @oh-for-fic-sake @foodieforthoughts @fanficlover91 @r-t-doll @its--fandom--darling @poledancingdinos @hlkwrites @rmtndew

Summary: The world is a dangerous place now, but in the arms of the man she loves, she always finds security.

Barbara's P.O.V

Shit. I miss when the world used to be good. It was never perfect but no doubt it were way better than now.

An zombie apocalypse, who could have imagined that this could actually happen? Who knew that one day I would be armed, with a "beautiful" wound on my leg, hiding in an abandoned store, running away from a horde of about fifty zombies, crazy and thirsty for some human flesh.

I got hurt entering here, there was a piece of wood that grazed my leg, but luckily I had some bandage on the bag, I tied it to my leg to stop the blood. I looked at my leg and sighed, frustrated with myself.

"What the fuck dressing did you do, huh? My man is going to be pissed"

I live with my boyfriend, well husband, wasn't exactly official but we are together, he's amazing with dressings, but of course, I never pay attention when he tried to explain it to me. I'm hiding, trying to calm my breathing and think of a new plan, I don't know if I'll be able to run with my leg like that, but I think partially, it's really my fault. I'm often on those situations, I have my skills but I might not be the best, I still remember when I meet my boyfriend, on this type of shit cliche situation, today I don't complain for being dumb back there..

We met a year ago, I was running away.. again. I remember going into a dead end street, my gun had only two bullets left, I managed to kill some of those brain eaters, but I had about ten still behind me. I was already out of breath and couldn't think of anything else.

It was all very fast, suddenly my hero appeared, super skilled, I can't say where he came from but he managed to cut the heads of some of them, cut one in half, he stopped in front of me and fired with a super powerful machine gun, spilling a little blood and a disgusting substance on both of us.

"Hey are you alright, princess?"

He spoke to me after all those butchers fell dead. I was in shock but in seconds, I regained consciousness and was able to notice the man in front of me.

Broad back, fair skin, incredibly neat curly hair, a sharp jawline that could cut my soul, kissable lips.. a beautiful ax, a weapons in the waistband and at least two powerful shotguns in the back. The sun was setting and the light reflected in his eyes. The brightest blue eyes I had ever seen. There was a small brown part in one of them, I had heard about cases of heterochromia, but it was the first time that I saw it right in front of me.

"Your eyes are so beautiful.."

He laughed softly and a little shy. The sweetest laugh I've heard. Oh God, he's so wonderful, I think I died and went to heaven and that angel came to receive me. Maybe I'm not too unlucky after all.. wait, what did I just said? Oh fuck, what a good way of cause a first impression. First you almost die then act like a dumb ass needy teen. I rolled my eyes realizing what I done and he touched my arm.

"Thank you, you're beautiful too.. but are you hurt? What are you doing all by yourself?"

I nodded looking down and blushing red like a tomato.

"Huh I'm fine. I was searching for a place to stay. I heard on radio there was a small group of survivors around here. I'm always alone, so I decided to look for it but I obviously didn't payed attention on the munition I had before risking my butt."

He giggled and soft touched my cheek, wiping away some of the dirty. Gosh, I'm not going to handle and he's not making it easy..

"So it's your lucky day, pretty girl. I am from that group of survivors. They always told me to go round and look for possible new survivors."

I looked at him frowning.

"Now it's my time to ask. All by yourself? Why?"

And he smirked, looking like a made a silly question. Your hot bastard.

"I'm a prepared person. Not bragging but I always check my munition"

Touchee. I crossed my arms looking at him, trying to keep my posture but I was really melting inside.

We heard a loud noise, making us concerned. He grabbed my hand and started walking.

"It doesn't seem far, we must walk. Let's go"

"Where are you taking me? I.. I don't even know your name?"

I stopped moving and he stopped looking a little mad then he sighed.

"I will take you to our shelter. I saved you, you can trust me. We both need a bath and some rest.. and I'm Henry."

He said smiling and I nodded starting to walk by his side.

That day, he took me to the survivors. There were at least four people, some couples and children, all of whom welcomed me very well. But despite that, I thought about leaving the next day, I was always alone and until then, it was how I wanted to be and I would be like this today, if Henry hadn't insisted that I stay. I said I would stay for some days but during that, he convinced me to stay for more weeks and when I realized, we were closer than ever. Actually, those days made me found love. One of the guys of the shelter was a priest before the world was destroyed, Henry and I decided to get married and so it happened. Simple but a beautiful ceremony.

After a few years, we both decided to leave, maybe it was not a smart idea in the current situation, but we were certain of it, so we did. It was difficult, at first from hiding to hiding, sleeping on uncomfortable places, sometimes without enough food for both, we almost died a few times but together, yes, we were unbeatable. But finally, we got a place, safe enough to call home.

Henry's P.O.V

One hour left. I trust her, she's a little clumsy but my girl knows what to do, I taught her some tricks when we met but still, my heart is desperate. Today I received a radio message, it was Stuart, a partner, we have known each other since I was part of a group of survivors, he provided us with food, ammunition and weapons from time to time, even now that I am no longer part of the group, he's a great friend. I always went to get it, alone, I didn't want to risk seeing my Barbara hurt. But today, Stuart said he couldn't come, because of some injuries, so I would have to go, but Barbara decided that her chance to do it this time.

"Barbara.. baby, you don't have to.."

I remember I said trying don't sound like I was doubting her capacities.

"Well on my mind, I do need. You always do that, I feel useless, I'm no princess in danger, i can do that"

I got closer touching her back while she packed her bag with "travel" supplies. She looked at me, touched my face and smiled. I love this smile.

"I'll be alright, I know that area is dangerous but you know I know the way and I had a good survivor teacher"

She said and wrapped her arms around my neck and I hugged her feeling defeated. She never had to say much to convince me of anything. I know she was feeling bad about me doing the hard work and I think she deserves a chance. I need to show I really trust her.

"I will be counting the seconds.."

I sighed and she smiled widely packing my lips many times. She grabbed her bag, her gun and went through the door but before leaving she looked at me one last time.

"I love you"

We both said at same time, making our hearts beat at same rhythm.

She gonna be alright, I know.. at least I hope.

Barbara's P.O.V

I heard a small noise that made me wake up. I dozed off for a while when I expected the horde to calm down and preferably leave. I got up and checked outside by one of the windows. Empty. Thank God. My leg didn't hurt so much anymore, but the fact that the street was clean was a relief to m. I wouldn't have to run, just be careful.

I opened my bag and ate a chocolate bar. Stuart wasn't lying when he said that had good things this time, I got things I hadn't ete in years. I left the store quickly after eating and started walking my way back home.

I was almost closer, I smiled seeing my home. Finally, safe house. when I got on the home's street, had three zombies, between me and my house. Great.

I tried to carefully pass behind them, I was almost there, but again, I didn't pay enough attention, I tripped over something and fell to the floor, over my injured leg, I couldn't contain the scream. They heard and were already walking towards me. F U C K M E.

I looked at my house. It's not so far, I can do it. I ran, fast as I could, my leg was hurting a lot, the bandage already red with my blood but I did it. I could climb the special secret passage through the wall and done. I layed in the grass for a second trying to recover my breath, closing my eyes, finally feeling safe then something fell on top of me. I got scared until I could open my eyes. A beast. A fluffy beast.

"Hey Kal, you scared me baby"

I hugged the big black and white American Akita. It's mine and Henry's dog, our loyal companion, our dog son. We found him on our away to find a new safe place, he were a little injured on the front paws. Of course we felt in love with him and took care of him, we had to keep him and we did.

I petted him a little more before getting up.

"Alright, mommy needs a good break now. Promise to play later. Where's daddy? He had a heart attack?"

Oh he will when see my situation. I walked to inside our house and pulled the food supplies on the kitchen. I was focused until I hear the shower on bathroom upstairs. I smiled.

"What a good way of relax, huh?"

I walked upstairs, taking off my clothes though the way. When I opened the bathrooms door, I was fully naked. Oh that vision. My man, all naked.. that furry defined abs, those strong muscles.. that round booty.. and that big veiny dick, shit, even soft he's huge.. I'm so freaking lucky.

I licked my lips and tried to close the door softly but i ended up making noises.

"Thought I had told you need to be stealthy"

When I turned around, he was looking at me, with those gorgeous eyes that left me speachless since first time. Then he's face changed to worried and I realized he were looking at my wounded leg.

"Barbara, what the fuck just happened?"

I rolled my eyes then got into the shower with him. Before he could say something, I kissed him softly. He kissed me back of some type of way that I could feel how worried he were. Was a intense kiss, our tongues battling against each other, oxygen wasn't this necessary for us at this point. He quickly grabbed me tight and gave me a little boost then I had my legs wrapped around his waist. We ended our kisses with soft pecks and smiles. I looked at him. He had one hand around my back and another softly rubbing closer my wound.

"Hey are you alright, princess?"

I smiled way more with his soft voice and nodded.

"Yes, now I'm safe and happy"

[annyankers]

anyanka stuck pretending to be a TEEN when she’s a GROWN DEMON.

like her awkwardness and comedy before came from being trapped in a human body and unused to like, teen hormones and not 100% on modern social mores

but here’s an alien in a human suit trying to act natural. “why yes i do remember the black death.....from my previous history lessons. that i’ve been to. and not from any personal experience. solely from books.”

anyanka being uninterested in dances bc why would she wanna hang out with MORE children but in fancy outfits? then someone mentions food or w/e and she’s like “...okay fine.”

anyanka putting no effort into her own homework bc she can just forge everything she needs to go to w/e school buffy’s going to but buckling down when it comes to buffy’s since she was wished to help her so she ends up having to do precalc work aNyWay :/

anyanka trying to protect all the scoobies when drusilla comes for giles and trying to get to kendra in time but failing and feeling her heart drop out of her chest. her realizing just how much she’s come to care about all these puny little human twerps as she’s trying to keep them all safe and failing miserably in her own estimation.

anyanka 🤝 buffy 🤝 spike beating angelus’ ass literally into hell

anyanka playing the role of slayer in sunnydale while buffy has her Crisis. anyanka letting her go because she knows buffy needs that time to grieve and this clown car of gremlins she calls friends and family ain’t gonna give her any peace.

anyanka reADING THE SCOOBIES TO FUCKING FILTH IN DEAD MAN’S PARTY. JUST UTTERLY SAVAGING THEM. BLOOD ON THE WALLS. AND JOYCE TOO!!! THEY ALL NEED CRITICAL CARE!!!

would the cheating in lovers walk even happen with anyanka around (vengeance demons have empathy and can Sense Shit)???? who knows! i’d fucking hope for their sakes it didn’t !!!!

spike’s “love’s bitch” speech with buffy and angel looking awkward after with anyanka just like “he’s right you know” like it’s about the weather and he didn’t just read them to filth.

buffy’s bday test but with about 100000% more anyanka going BALLISTIC and beating someone within an inch of their lives for doing something so horrific to a child. (i’m praying for it being travers and not giles but you know... he did drug her so ://///////)

instead of the wesley/cordelia gag relationship a gag or legit one with wes and anyanka. like she walks in on her first day and is like “oh new watcher? well he’s very handsome and well formed so even if he incompetent he’ll be nice eye candy” and wesley’s just [dial up noises]

faith probably having a better time with her around lbr. idk how atm exactly but somehow i think anyanka being a prominent member would help faith in some way.

buffy just getting to go to prom and not worry about any hell hounds bc anyanka’s on the case since she dgaf about dances. but she does show up in time to see buffy get her umbrella award and give her a big hug.

anyanka actually helping them stop the ascension instead of yeeting.

concept: anyanka and buffy as roomies in college and tara and willow as roomies from day one. as a treat.

anyanka knocking sense into buffy about parker.

anyanka looking the amara tomb once they find out about it.

anyanka pointing out that giving the gem of amara to a dude who’s morality is literally a detachable sold separate accessory is a bad idea.

spike coming to them chipped and anyanka agreeing to be his warden and when they come over to check on them/have a meeting he’s just fucking free range in her apartment eating chips ahoy and watching matlock. they’re all like “what the fUCK??” and she’s like “eh. chains are effort, he can’t do shit to me, i can take him, he can’t hurt humans and he came to us for asylum he’s not gonna do anything. you guys are just very weird.”

okay this is TERRIFYINGLY long i’ll stop now

[psychdelia]

season 3 but instead of billy, neil was flayed.

he had been acting... off the last couple of weeks. distant and withdrawn, completely the opposite of how he usually is with billy.

he first notices the difference in behavior when the abuse stops. maybe he gets home late for dinner and instead of the usual stern look he gets before a smack when max and susan go to bed, neil just smiles all big and wide, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes, before he welcomes his son home.

then neil starts coming home later and later, giving susan some bullshit excuse about work and overtime and she eats it right up. chooses to believe that he’s somehow morphed into the perfect husband and father overnight. on top of that, he smells like bleach and chemicals and his eyes seem so dead. billy can tell what the guy is thinking or feeling through one look at his expression, but now he’s just eerily blank.

so billy follows him on 4th of july, surprised to find himself in the starcourt parking lot for the second time that day - he dropped max off earlier to hang out with her shithead friends, but it’s past closing hours so she shouldn’t still be inside unless she’s at the movies, the only part of the mall that remains open late. he watches as neil marches into the mall, fists clenched at his side. billy has no idea why neil is even at the mall so late when he should be at work or wherever he’s been going and lying to susan about. so, he follows him in.

he doesn’t know what to expect, but seeing his little sister and her gaggle of friends screaming as neil gets closer and closer to them. squinting, billy can see black veins crawling their way up neil’s neck, discoloring his face and eyes. he jumps when he hears the first bang, the sound of a firework exploding way too close for comfort.

then he spots it. the huge slimey alien being that screeches when the first firework hits it, then second, third, and so on.

and like. what the fuck.

his eyes must be as wide as saucers as he stares at the thing, gangly and screeching with every hit, trying to swing at anyone it can reach. he doesn’t have time to process what the actual fuck he’s looking at when he hears someone yell his name. max.

“billy! BILLY!” she screams, absolutely terrified. “DO SOMETHING!” she demands.

immediately, his eyes search for fireworks. looking up, he finds harrington on the second floor in matching work uniforms with a girl - buckley, his brain distantly provides. they had the same ap literature class. the fireworks get louder and louder along with the monster. he eventually finds a small kiosk set up for the 4th, so he follows suit and grabs his lighter, blindly throwing at the monster as he watches the scene unfold in front of him. his father approaching a girl around max’s age with a maniacal expression on his face, eyes about to burst out of his goddamn head. he hears the kids screaming in protest to no avail. pretty soon, they run out of fireworks and his dad’s got this girl beneath him on the floor.

he’s about to intervene when the girl lets out this piercing scream, almost louder than the shadow, and suddenly his father is thrown up in the air then launched right at the monster. he’s caught mid-air by a tentacle - wait a goddamn second are those human body parts??? and teeth????? - right in the center of his chest. billy flinches, watching in horror as his father screams in pain before he’s dropped onto the floor, head smacking the tile before he goes limp.

it feels like the world goes still for a second, everyone standing still, eyes wide and mouths open in shock at the scene before them. distantly, he hears the monster screeching, but his eyes are locked on his father’s body - torn open and bleeding out. what eventually brings them all out of their stupor and back to the real world is the same girl standing and screaming at the monster, merely feet away from the thing. her hand is shaking in the air, nose dripping with blood as the monster’s screeches grow quieter, its body shrinking. soon enough, it hits the ground just like his father. limp and silent.

billy just watches the scene unfold, his mind racing yet completely blank. he knows he should move, grab as many little shits as he can and run, but he’s stock still, unable to process what he just witnessed. ironically, it ends up being the kids who run to him first.

“billy,” max calls as she reaches him. “billy!” she grabs his shoulders, shaking him until he acknowledges her. “billy we have to go. now! come on billy let’s go!” her hands are shaking as she grips his shoulders.

he blinks a couple of times before he nods once, then again.

“shit!” he hears harrington yell, footsteps approaching them as the two teenagers run down from the top floor right before it comes crashing to the ground. soon enough, the mall is falling apart, the ceiling caving in.

billy finally kicks into action, wild eyes and expressions matching everyone else’s as the teens drag the kids out of there, the group sprinting outside in time to watch the mall crumble to the ground with his dad’s body trapped in it.

he doesn’t know how much time has gone by when ambulances, fire trucks and police cars appear. he’s stuck in place as parents reunite with their children while paramedics check on everyone, wrapping heavy blankets around them. billy manages to sneak off to the side, hiding behind an ambulance. he spots max with sinclair and susan, harrington with buckley, girl and boy wheeler close to the three byers, accompanied by the police chief.

billy’s alone, he realizes. he looks back at the mall, now in flames and taking his father down with it. his hands and legs begin to tremble and he’s sliding down the side of the ambulance, unable to breathe as he hits the floor. hugging his knees to his chest and holding his head low, he takes in short breaths and ends up wheezing, unable to get enough air into his lungs. he doesn’t realize he’s crying until his vision is blurred and cheeks are wet. he’s hyperventilating and is pretty sure he’s about to black out.

billy’s alone.

everyone here has someone and he doesn’t.

his mother left and now his father is gone and he doesn’t, can’t understand why. yeah, neil was abusive and cruel but he was all billy had left. he lost his friends, the ocean, his life the second neil ripped him away from california and dragged him to a state where he knew he’d get hurt if neil caught him with a boy again like in cali, except this time he knew it wouldn’t be just neil pounding on him for his “sickness.”

billy misses his mom. wants nothing more than to be held and comforted by her. to hear her soft voice as she sings or hums or shushes him as she rubs his back and plays with his hair and kisses his head and tells him everything’s going to be alright.

except everything’s not going to be alright and now he’s sobbing silently, soft whimpers and harsh wheezing being the only noise leaving his body.

with the rest of the world tuned out and only hearing his own choked sobs and sharp breaths, he flinches when he feels the hand on his shoulder, trying to scramble away from it.

“hey,” the soft voice says. “its okay. hey, kid, it’s okay. it’s just me.” she immediately pulls her hand away, holding both up to prove herself as unthreatening. “just me.” she repeats gently.

billy slowly raises his head, eyes and cheeks red and blotchy and puffy and wet. he finds exhausted, sad brown eyes looking over him.

“oh, kiddo, you look like you’ve seen hell.” she sounds motherly. “c’mon, breathe with me. take deep breaths, okay? count with me.” she encourages as she kneels down to his level. “deep breaths. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, breathe. in and out, just like that. you’re doing good.”

pretty soon, his wheezes and rushed breaths even out. he takes his first deep breath of fresh air, releasing a shaky relieved sigh.

“you must be billy, max’s brother. i’m joyce, jonathan’s mom.” she introduces, except neither of them are in the mood for small talk. “i, uh,” she sighs. “there’s a lot we all have to talk to you about,” she sits down beside him. “but that can wait,” she assures. “until you’re ready.” she adds on quietly.

he stares at her a couple seconds before he breaks again, a strangled loud sob ripping its way through his chest and out of his mouth. he doesn’t even think about it before he launches himself at her, fully prepared to cry to this woman he’s barely met yet spent hours knocked out cold on her ground only after breaking one of her nice plates.

she - joyce - seems to have the same idea because as soon as he starts crying again she’s opening her arms and reaching for him. they meet halfway in the middle.

“it’s not fair.” billy chokes out, trembling in joyce’s surprisingly strong arms as she holds him upright. “it’s not fair.” he repeats, louder yet more broken.

“i know, sweetheart.” she nods, rubbing circles on his back with one hand, the other gently running through his hair. “god i know.” she sighs and, poor woman, it sounds like she’s been through it. he vaguely remembers hearing about her sons - zombie boy and creepy byers. his brain isn’t processing enough to connect any dots just yet.

“she-she just left,” he holds onto joyce tightly. “she left and now he’s gone.” he cries. “he’s gone.” he repeats, again and again. “they all leave. why do they all leave?” he asks weakly.

joyce’s heart breaks for the boy shaking apart in her arms, using her last remaining strength to hold him upright and provide any comfort she can. she can’t help but look around, searching the crowd for anyone who might be there for him. she frowns when she finds everyone’s eyes on them yet no one making any moves to approach. she wishes she could hate them all a little bit for it, for leaving him alone. letting him feel alone and unwanted. unlovable. she knows the feeling and it’s the worst.

“well, blondie, looks like you’re stuck with me now.” her attempt to make him feel less lonesome seems to work, just a little, if the way he squeezes her for a second is anything to go by. “i don’t give up. i don’t leave. i promise.” she kisses the top of his head, gets the scent of hairspray, cigarettes and ash.

over the top of his head she finds steve harrington still watching them, a distant look in his eyes. he seems conflicted, staring at billy with wariness as he bounces nervously from foot to foot, holding the blanket hanging loosely around his torso.

he seems to make a decision when billy releases another sob at her promise, striding over and draping his blanket over billy’s shoulders. he goes out of his way to tighten it around him, making sure it’s comforting and cozy around his trembling figure. he hesitates once again as he goes to walk away, fist clenching and unclenching at his side before he looks back to billy with sad, tired eyes and rests his hand on the blonde’s shoulder, squeezing just once before he walks away. the same hand is nervously flexing at his side once again.

[rpmemesbyarat]

Hello Tumblr people. I’m 31 years old and I’ve been on Tumblr since 2014. That’s not really old, and that’s not really a long time, but I know it’s older and longer than a lot of other folks. Tumblr is a space mainly populated by teens and twenties, and I know when I was in that age group, I thought 31 was a Real Adult (TM) Which, shit, it’s not, it’s really not, especially not for me, but nonetheless, I have learned some things in my time that I wish I could impart to my younger self, and instead will impart to y’all. Take what you like and what works for you and leave the rest, I’m no expert or guru or authority on anything, I’m just trying to be helpful. Being nice costs nothing. I once was standoffish to someone who came and chatted to me in IMs. That guy later died. True story. I feel terrible about it to this day. I was wary and kind of snotty in those days and I regret that. It’s one thing to be careful about strangers approaching but that wasn’t what I did here. It costs nothing to be nice. It costs nothing to be friendly. To do stuff like show interest in others, care about what they have to say, comment when they share things about their day. These are tiny things that cost nothing but give so much. Don’t pass the opportunity by. And definitely don’t snub someone for no reason. If you don’t want to interact, you don’t have to, but don’t be cold about it unless it’s legitimately because you’re uncomfy with this person and want them to go away. Your safety and comfort do come before any obligation to be nice, but I hope it’s clear that’s not what I’m talking about here. Be a candle that lights other candles. You know what else costs nothing? Encouragement. There’s nothing stopping you from telling others what you like about their content, what they post, what they create, what thoughts they have, the things they say, or just how passionate they are about something. There’s nothing stopping you from saying you hope the best for someone going through a rough time, or how cute their pets are, or how you’re glad they got themselves a treat today. You don’t need to be someone’s therapist ---I know I sure don’t have the emotional energy for that--or have solutions for them, you don’t need to force yourself to say anything insincere or that you don’t have the spoons for, but when you can, say something positive to others. First impressions can be wrong but gut feelings are often right. Like I said, being nice should NEVER trump your own comfort or safety. If you get weird vibes from someone, book it. Sure, you could be wrong. I’ve been wrong about a lot of people. I’ve also been right about others, and should have left when I had the chance before they could prove to me how right I was. Technically, there was nothing stopping me. It was online, after all. I could have just vanished and they’d probably never have tracked me down or made contact again. But I was lonely, and socially awkward, and like many people, most of my human contact was online, and I thought that this was worth it. It’s not. Whatever kind of friendship or therapeutic RP or free art or support or compliments or advice you’re getting from someone online. . . it’s not worth it if they’re mean or creepy too. Whatever you are getting, you can find it somewhere else, in someone else, who won’t make you have to put up with that kind of crap for it. If something feels wrong, don’t wait around for it to get worse. Yes, you may be incorrectly judging a situation and running from nothing, but it’s better you run from nothing than NOT run from SOMETHING. And I know that things like anxiety disorders, trauma, and just different communication styles can make it hard to judge these things (I’ve thought people didn’t like me before just because they were far less effusive in their typing style than I am, and I was wrong) but if you really feel uncomfortable, like this person has said mean or sexual things to you, it’s not just the brain weasels telling you lies. If you’re truly in doubt, get another person’s opinion, but also don’t let them convince you “it’s nothing” if it feels like something. Trust yourself. Creeps, like children, will test your boundaries. Kids will do shit just to see what they can get away and how far they can push you before you put your foot down. Creeps are the same. They’ll start with stuff that you can easily ignore, brush off, and put up with without feeling it’s worth ditching the whole friendship over. But they’ll rarely let it stay there. They’ll typically escalate it if they’re not rebuked. Rebuke them. It can be scary. It can be hard. I know this. I know it firsthand. But feel no sympathy. Feel no fear. Tell them off and pack your bags. They want to know how much you’ll put up with? Show them----nothing at all, that’s what. Don’t be afraid to change your views but don’t feel the need to broadcast it. I’m never getting a personal Tumblr. Because I’m glad they weren’t around when I was a teen. I would have posted things I don’t believe now. Same for when I’m in my 20s. And I bet that will the be the case in my 40s, 50s, and 60s too. Our lives are journeys of changing, learning, and unlearning. And that’s great. But if you post every step of your journey for the world to see, there are those who will use it against you, even if it was stuff from years ago that you should be applauded for growing from, not derided for having ever believed in. Not to mention that what’s the most up-to-date woke terminology and politics changes very rapidly, and what was acceptable when I was a teen is not the preferred lingo now, and it’s likely going to keep changing, and there will be people who find your posts and don’t care about that either. I realize Tumblr gives us a format to metaphorically scream our present beliefs and show how right what you believe is, and the urge to reblog when you see something you agree with wholeheartedly is strong. And if you’ve got a blog that doesn’t easily connect back with you, or you don’t plan to have for the next five years, or whatever, go ahead. But if your blog can be easily connected to you, and therefore could be connected to you again in the future, it wouldn’t hurt to be a bit judicious. I’m not saying “don’t take a stand on anything ever because you might change your mind and/or someone might drag you”, I am saying that in the age of cancel culture and people deep digging for ancient receipts, young people are no longer getting to have their journeys, with all their rooms for fuckups and re-thinkings, that I and those before me got to have, and I think that sucks. By all means, take a stand on what you believe in now, fight for it with all your heart, just also don’t make it too easy for other people to use it against you should you ever change your mind---and don’t be afraid to change your mind either, even when it’s against the grain of what’s presently popular opinion. Find things out for yourself when possible You know how when they taught you things in school about history and America and whatnot and now you’ve found out that there’s so much they DIDN’T tell you, and at least half of what they did is a very edited sack of hooey? Well, the same is true of Tumblr, Facebook, and other online spaces as well as real life. We all laugh at our Boomer parents and grandparents who share clearly false stories on Facebook because they can’t tell that it was clearly crafted to incite their anger or endorsement based on how it’s tailored to validate their beliefs, but I see the same thing happen here. Loads of tale gets touted as “true” on Tumblr because they have been made to appeal to us emotionally by validating our beliefs. But just because our beliefs may be good or progressive or what have you, does not mean that everything that appeals to them is going to be true. When you see a post circulating that claims something really cool about history or such is true, I suggest fact-checking it. This will help halt the spread of misinformation---even if it’s harmless---and help you build your critical thinking and research skills. This does not mean “you must change your views” it means “be skeptical even when something validates your views” People on our own side can lie, and that’s not harmless even if it seems so---contributing to a culture of misinformation is NOT harmless, and we’re less likely to be skeptical of claims that validate what we already believe. Don’t fall for this. That’s all. I hope something in here was valuable to you. If not, thank you for reading and I hope you have a great day!