#They were probably trying to address the sorts of people who do actually 'just follow orders'

[bonefall]

Oooh, can you talk about the meta reason you rewrote the blizzard holly relationship and blackstar's backstory?

HOKAY

But I'm gonna preface this one; I hate Blackfoot's Reckoning. I think it's one of the most "solid" written books in the series and I still fucking hate it. I talk about authoritarianism on this blog a lot, and I think BFR was the one time that the series actually tried to textually address what they'd put on the page.

So TW for fascism, including discussion of an incredibly unfortunate quote from the book that is either an accidental or purposeful invocation of the Nuremberg Defense.

Blackfoot's Reckoning is a book that's supposed to delve into Blackfoot's backstory, what made him the cat he was during TPB. Throughout the book they're questioning, "what made him act the way he did?" And trying to drive home that Blackfoot needs to learn from his mistakes so that he doesn't repeat them

But, at the same time, they cling to their slimy Good and Evil dichotomy. So the book decides that Blackstar wasn't an Evil cat, no, he was just a Good Mislead Boy Who Loved His Clan. He's constantly lied to, mislead, people are murdered and he's duped into believing whoever gets framed, suppressing critical thought about his actions. They're trying to both write a "reckoning," but also make his motivations more sympathetic.

So in between questions of, "Is Blackstar really a Bad Boy?" and happy rewards for Blackstar when he goes through a memory, they've decided to shove in replays of Blackstar's most gruesome moments but this time he frowns :( and feels Guilty when he does them. In the eyes of the writers, if you feel sad doing hate crimes, that means there's a goodness inside of you actually.

And just like Clear Sky, all Blackstar "needed" was divine intervention. You can simply retcon in a "reckoning," even if it was never in the main series for the 10+ years the character was alive and active.

But it's not enough that Blackstar himself was getting a stupid retcondemption. No, see, they have to remind you that he was following evil people. The dichotomy inherently crunches away the nuance-- Good and Evil are inherent qualities. Tigerstar and Brokenstar are Evil People. Blackstar asks, "If I was following Evil People, what does that make me?"

The narrative concludes, "A Good Person, but mislead."

And because they can't have nuance with their Good and Evil dichotomy (or couldn't at the time), they failed to address the authoritarianism spectacularly. Think I'm reaching?

They literally wrote the Nuremberg Defense into their book. I'm not doing hyperbole, Blackstar word-for-word thinks the Nuremberg Defense, "I Was Just Following Orders," but then they bury it in a barrage of scenes showing he's Actually A Nice Guy who is Sad to do Bad Things. Either they attempted and failed to do something more meaningful with this book, OR they are so fucking stupid they accidentally included the famous Nazi officer legal defense for a character who DOES A HATE CRIME for a racist dictator.

What was IN TPB was a Blackstar who supported a massacre and expulsion against another group, was complicit in the use of child soldiers, and rehearsed a public execution for a mixed-race character. Like it or not, this is a really heavy subject... and what they decided to do was downplay every one of his actions, because he was good deep down.

And I just find that disgusting. This was ABSOLUTELY the wrong conclusion. They can't show Blackstar ACTUALLY being bigoted. They can't delve into REAL hate, or the idea that maybe he LIKED the power he had over people. Those are Evil People Things. He has to "know," deep down, that what he's doing is wrong.

He cannot have a real change, in spite of the title of the shitty book being Blackfoot's "RECKONING," because he is not bad to begin with.

So, Hollyflower and Blizzardwing.

To recap for everyone who didn't read BFR; Hollyflower is raising her three kits alone because Blizzardwing cheated on Featherstorm with her. Black only learns that he is an accident because he stayed up late one night and overheard an argument. By day, he gets bullied by Clawpaw specifically that he might be mixed-Clan and has to seethe over the truth he knows.

it's dumb. I'm sorry. This is dumb and boring, which is even worse

The war criminal was bullied as a child and that's why he did bad things :( He was good all along he was just sad :( shut up shut up shut up

The "bad environment" he was raised into was... having a single mom and being suspected of maybe being half-clan, but then learning that he isn't half-clan, and being indignant that he can't just share the information he knows about because it would make things complicated or something idk

None of this particularly contributes to his mindset as an adult because he does not HAVE a unique mindset as an adult.

He was just nebulously Sad and followed whatever strongman leader came along, constantly being tricked and bamboozled by outright lies.

"Omg WindClan killed Raggedstar >:0 ??? Oughhhhh that butters my biscuits... was it wrong that Brokenstar sent my baby nephew to battle? No, nevermind that thought that makes me uncomfortable :("

He never has any particular bigotries that were exploited, he was just tricked and mislead the entire time, while also being sad, because God Forbid Blackstar ever have been an 'evil cat'

He gets THANKED by his dead parents for keeping the secret??????????????????? girl ok.....

as usual the bully itself never really gets addressed

It was cheap and easy to just make Blackfoot's backstory the same shitty 'bullying' they write for most villains. This bullying is how he ends up bonding with Brokenkit, a villainous 5-year-old who says, "other cats don't matter" because he's eeeeeevil.

They're supposed to have a commonality connection, Blackstar who is Good Deep Down and Brokenstar who is Evil Deep Down, and that is supposed to serve as the reason why Blackstar willingly blinds himself to the incredibly obviously evil things that his superiors do.

His flaw isn't that he had bad intentions, it's that he didn't think.

FUCK that. FUCK this book. FUCK the Erins for trying to say that there are fundamentally good and bad people. That with the death of Tigerstar, of Brokenstar, of whoever, the society gets to return to 'peace' because now there's no Evil Tyrant to lead everyone astray.

The Erin's depictions of hard childhoods are sauceless. Dry, unbuttered, burnt bread. You want to see a BAD home environment? I'll SHOW you a bad home environment, not just a single teenager being rude. You wanna see the sorts of conditions that prime young people to joining radical causes for a sense of belonging? I'll GIVE you those conditions. Let's TALK about what bounces around in the head of people who aid and abet tyrants.

It's not this dumb ass sadboy shit I'll tell you that much

#warrior cats analysis #tw authoritarianism #tw fascism #bone babble #They were probably trying to address the sorts of people who do actually 'just follow orders' #but you can't DO that with a character who is in a POSITION OF POWER #That is a VERY different person from. say. a secretary or prison guard #Black is equivalent to some kind of General or Vice President position #And NO those people were NOT 'just following orders' that's why they hanged. That's why the defense didn't WORK #It's a MITIGATING FACTOR and it doesn't apply to ILLEGAL ORDERS #People as high up as this character were executed because they had power in this position YOU FOOLS #You can't be THIS high up and have no thoughts or underlying ideology

[munson-blurbs]

Mailman!Eddie x Reader

Here she is, folks...the mailman!Eddie fic my weird lil brain conjured up. Big thanks to @eddiemunsonsmum for giving me the idea to turn this into an actual story.

Summary: Your mailman keeps delivering love letters to you. You're determined to find out who could be behind such a mean prank, but Eddie doesn't make it easy.

WC: 1.1k

--

If someone told you that you’d be waiting for the mailman to deliver a love letter from a secret admirer, you probably would have laughed in their face. If they told you that you’d be waiting to confront the mailman about these love letters, you would have dismissed the notion completely, perhaps with a slight flick of your middle finger.

And, yet, here you are.

“Morning!” Eddie chirps, holding out a stack of envelopes as he climbs the three stairs up your porch. His navy shorts hit right above his knees, leaving his lower legs and their dusting of brown curls exposed. He adjusts the mail sack so the weight is more evenly distributed across his back. You place your glass of iced tea on the snack table in front of you, wiping the condensation from your palms. He has a smile on his face, as he always does when he sees you, but it falters when he notices the frown on yours. “What’s going on? Something wrong?”

You bite back a scoff, taking the mail from his grasp. Sure enough, there’s another one, smack dab in the middle of bills and junk mail. “Yeah, something’s wrong,” you hold up the envelope, unable to mask your irritation. “You keep handing me these stupid notes, and I need to know who’s sending them.”

Eddie blanches, cheeks flushing a deeper pink that can’t solely be attributed to exposure to the summer sun. “Wh-I just deliver the mail,” he stammers, taking a small step back. “I don’t know who—” 

“Save it, Eddie,” you snap, feeling the heat of anger blooming in your cheeks. “There’s no return address; there’s no stamp. Which means that someone is giving you these to bring me, and it’s not funny anymore.”

“Funny?”

You sigh impatiently and roll your eyes at what must be feigned incompetence. “Look, it’s obviously a prank. Who’s going to send love letters to me?”

The hurt and anger in your voice catches him off-guard, and he nearly slips off of the step as he starts backwards. “I, um, I don’t know, okay? They’re just in the pile and I-I gotta finish my route.”

The remainder of Eddie’s shift is filled with him silently chastising himself. 

Way to go, Munson. You try doing something romantic and she thinks it’s a prank. Just tell her how you feel. Stop being a coward and ask her out already. She’s been nothing but nice to you, not like the rest of the people in this town. 

You’re not home in the afternoon again until the following Saturday, and you’re in the same position you were before: standing on the porch, anxiously awaiting the mail. Well, anxiously awaiting the mailman. You hadn’t received any of those fake love notes since you’d last spoken to Eddie, but you couldn’t stop thinking about them. Who would be so cruel to tease you like that? It was middle school behavior; something you’re far too old to be dealing with.

Eddie ducks his head as he hands you the mail, wanting nothing more but to hide behind the curtain of curls that he has to keep tied back on hot days like today. If he could just escape without having to–

“Are you gonna tell me who’s slipping you those notes now?”

Shit.

He peers up at you, barely able to make eye contact as shame settles into his cheeks. “No one’s slipping them to me,” he mumbles, tucking his lower lip between his teeth.

You throw your hands up in the air before resting them on your hips in complete exasperation. “Seriously?” you balk. “How many times do I–”

“No one’s slipping them to me because…” he pauses, massaging the back of his neck with trembling fingers. “...because I'm the one writing them.”

The information crushes you like a boulder on your chest. Eddie was behind the prank this whole time? Was this some sort of sick joke between him and his mail carrier buddies? “You?” you choke out, eyes stinging with tears. “Why would you do that? I thought we were friends, Eddie!”

“We are!” he tries to reassure you, but you shake your head in disbelief. Small towns always had an overabundance of small-minded people, but you’d never thought that Eddie was part of that group.

“Well, friends don’t screw with each other’s feelings and write fake love letters for entertainment.” You cringe at the way he’d probably seen your face alight with excitement the first few times you’d gotten a letter, thinking that maybe someone actually harbored romantic feelings for you. But when months went by with no prospects in sight, your outlook became increasingly cynical.

Eddie’s jaw drops at your accusation. “They’re not fake,” he tells you, keeping his tone soft but insistent. “I like you…a lot…but I was too afraid to admit it.” He exhales, grateful to have confessed his feelings but terrified to see your reaction. “I thought the letters would make you happy, but it looks like I royally fucked that up.”

His words ring in your ears. I like you…a lot. Eddie Munson likes you a lot. Likes you enough to write you letters about how he thinks you’re beautiful, that your smile brightens his whole day, that he could listen to you tell stories about damn near anything for hours on end and never get bored. The man with the chocolate-hued eyes who gave you butterflies every time he was in your vicinity–flutters that you’d tried your best to ignore, because how could someone so handsome and sweet ever be into someone like you?

You let your gaze lock onto his, though your vision is still a bit blurred from your earlier surge of emotion. “Almost royally fucked it up,” you gently correct him, taking a few steps forward to meet him where your walkway met the porch stairs.

Eddie barely chokes out a “Wha–” when you pull him closer by the strap of his mail bag, pressing your lips to his and kissing him like he’s only dreamt of being kissed. Your fingertips of your other hand tangle in the locks of hair that have already slipped from the ponytail; his land on the small of your back as though they’ve always resided there. You two melt into each other, only breaking apart when you realize that Eddie still has a job to do–one that doesn’t involve making out in front of your house.

You’re at work on Monday when Eddie delivers the mail, still thinking about the taste of your mouth on his. When he opens the mailbox to place the stack of envelopes inside, a bright yellow handmade card catches his eye. 

Two can play this love letter game. Picnic at Skull Rock after your shift?

--

#eddie munson #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson x f!reader #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson stranger things #stranger things fanfic #eddie stranger things #fanfic #stranger things

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for calling the cops (twice, kind of) on someone in a car who swerved at me on the side of the road?

(Disclaimer: I hate cops. But I felt extremely threatened and wasn't going to let this go without something happening.)

I am a high school student and have not yet gotten my license, and therefore cannot drive alone. To get to school I ride an electric scooter, it looks a bit stupid as a high schooler but it is the only way possible for me to get to school on time. (I have a class before school in the morning, and both parents have work.) I've been doing this for over three years and have had no problems until recently.

Two or three weeks ago, I was on my way home from school. I noticed a car approaching from behind, and moved to the very edge of the road as I would normally. I was literally in the gutter on the side of the road, nowhere near where cars would be. This car, however, then sped up rapidly and swerved within 2-3 feet of hitting me. Probably not trying to actually hit me, but clearly trying to scare me or something of the sort. The person in the passenger seat was screaming the whole time.

The car sped off (I should mention that the speed limit on this road is 25 mph, and the car was going at least 50-60 mph) and after standing in shock for a moment I followed them home since they apparently lived in my neighborhood. I caught two teenage boys leaving the car, and asked if they had been in that car and had swerved at me on the road. They denied everything and went inside the house.

I went home and after a short while, came back with my father to back me up. Asshole move from me, I know, but he insisted on going in case the boys decided to get violent. I made him wait a short distance back, then rang the doorbell. Waited for a while, no answer. They were clearly still inside; the car was still parked on the road nearby and I hadn't been gone for long.

When they didn't answer, I then went home and called the police. I gave them the license plate number and the guy's address, and they said there had been reports of him speeding and being reckless before. The cops went to the house and yelled at them, and I thought it was over then. I most certainly did not want to press the issue any further, the shock and adrenaline was wearing off at this point and I just wanted to be done.

But several days later, I was sent screenshots of the driver of that car spreading hate about me on Snapchat for getting him in trouble. Now this is kind of difficult to explain, but I am unfortunately somewhat well known for riding an electric scooter to school. But up until this point, people just were aware of my existence. After the Snapchat posts and messages about me were spread, all of that turned into pure hate. Every time I was seen with that stupid scooter, people would scream that they wished I would fall and stuff like that. None of this had happened before, and I was (and am) miserable and scared. I don't feel safe anywhere around school because this is still ongoing.

I also tried to contact him via Instagram messages, to which he did not respond. That was three times that I attempted to contact him: first by following him as he was getting out of the car, second by ringing the doorbell, and third by messaging him.

Two days ago, I got my mom to pull me out of school early because I was feeling like crap after some particularly bad harassment in the morning. In the office as I was asking to sign out, I started crying in front of the school police officer, and she asked for the full story. I told her about the online posts and the catcalling and harassment I dealt with every day, and she took it very seriously. I didn't want her to do anything really, but she did anyway (I'm not upset about this honestly, it was probably a good thing). She said that the patrol officers usually didn't do much about stuff like this, but she could and would do a lot more.

She pulled the guy out of his class after I had left to go home, and in her words "put the fear of God in that kid"; telling him he should have lost his license and that since he was 18 he could face real consequences and go to jail for stuff like this. He has been told that he has to stay at least three feet away from me at all times.

Since then, he hasn't said anything to me in person, and hasn't posted anything publicly online. I still don't feel safe at school or anywhere in the area, but I've been taking an alternate route to try to avoid being seen and yelled at as much.

Am I the asshole? I honestly think we both might be, but I do feel somewhat justified by the fact that he at least got some sort of consequence for threatening my life like that and causing that level of problem.

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

[mooseonahunt]

Cat’s Out of the Bag

Minecraft Streamer AU

Okay so I’ve had this thought brewing for a bit, but it’s about irl Serennedy vs their SMP characters. It’s about their relationship in and out of the Minecraft roleplay. It’s a lot so I’ll put it under the cut.

If they’re following the plot of the RE4 remake (with plenty of changes to make it fit Minecraft), then they’re clearly not together as a couple. But, for all the same reasons that we ship them, they’ve got those little moments interspersed in the roleplay and their fans pick up on them, too. It’s subtle enough not to out them, but it’s also subtle enough for it to be dismissed as being close friends (which they are; they’re dating but they’re also each other’s best friends).

So that kind of brought me to their shipping boundaries that I’ve posted elsewhere. Luis is chill with being shipped with other characters as long as the CC is also fine with it, but there’s kind of an exception with Leon. Luis is the captain of the Serennedy fanbase even though Leon has never outright stated his shipping boundaries. He never addresses it. Naturally there’s a divide in the fandom over whether or not it’s okay to ship Serennedy because, on the one hand, Luis is incredibly supportive of it, but on the other hand, Leon hasn’t ever said anything about it. It’s unclear what his thoughts are about it, but Luis is his best friend and encourages it, so it’s probably fine, right? There’s a lot of discourse over this.

It’s not like Luis and Leon are hiding their relationship on purpose though. It’s just nobody’s business. If they come out, they come out, but it’s not a huge deal. Besides, focusing on them as strangers developing a sort of friendship is ideal for the story they’re trying to tell. They reason it would make for a more compelling narrative if they’re not sure where they stand with each other because of their pasts instead of having them be together from the start. It makes for great storytelling getting to establish this sense of unease and distrust that develops into total trust after they open up to each other.

Then there’s also the fact that nobody knows they’re living together. They were roommates before they were together, so they each have their own rooms. They stream in their own spaces and don’t interrupt each other when they’re doing their own things, so nobody knows that they’re living together– which brings me to what I’ve been thinking about for a couple days now.

The news that Serennedy is, in fact, canon between the two actual streamers and that they live together doesn’t come out until well into the RE SMP’s story. It doesn’t happen until Luis’s character is killed off.

Luis is upset about his character dying, even if he did propose the idea himself. He wrote his way out of the SMP because he’s in grad school and his workload has started to pick up tremendously. He loved his time on the RE SMP, but he knew he couldn’t devote as much time as he wanted into it with his classwork piling up, so he made the decision to kill off his character. He didn’t realise how bummed out he would be about it until the day of. He finishes his stream, but he’s so sad over the end of his character, so he goes into Leon’s room while he’s still streaming. The chat goes wild. They realise Luis and Leon live together.

Luis walks over to him and asks to be comforted, so he sits on his lap and hugs him while Leon finishes up his stream. Again, the chat is going crazy. Serennedy is trending on Twitter. But that’s just a hug! It’s still totally friendly! Totally platonic! Leon pecks Luis on the lips because he knows he’s sad. That’s the end of the shipping discourse. People who thought they were queerbaiting are losing their shit. It’s like Nov 5th, 2020 for the Hellers except it’s actually clearly reciprocated. Leon ends stream like nothing’s happening. Ashley calls him to ask if everything’s okay because outing themselves like that was an insane move, but she’s happy for them and feels relieved that she doesn’t have to worry about slipping up and accidentally outing them herself.

The craze goes on for like a week and then everyone accepts it as the new normal. For a while nobody can get the Serennedy shippers to shut up about being right about them. Of course there are haters that drop the RE SMP, but they’re a minority and it’s not really noticeable when they leave.

This is subject to change as I continue to develop the AU, but I like this as the reveal. Sorry for rambling. I’m just really into this AU rn

#Minecraft streamers au #serennedy #luis serra #luis serra navarro #Luis Babygirl Serra #leon kennedy #leon s kennedy #resident evil 4 remake #re4 remake #re4r #moose posting

[kstaki]

Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger vs. Donbrothers/Kyoryuger Early screening Stage Greeting First timing report

(I am just going to address them as their Character it would be a little confusing for some if I use their name)

There might be some spoiler from the movie?

First timing.

They were having issue with microphone while introducing themselves.

Everyone in audience were calling out to them. 🥹 even they call out the Director 🤣 (he did Donbrothers)

Rita at first like eh eh eh is it on? The rest help them out.

(Apparently trying to figure out it was on or not didn’t seem so obvious)

Then Saruhara was also but they also teasing him until he like leave me alone

Tsubasa apparently say he sort of still on a run, he came from Kyoto? Then he has a new hair duo he said Sononi did it for him.

Kijino was like EHHH YOURE CALLING ME ? (He did it also in the second time)

Then King Ohger were ask about their other role they played in alter world

Gira was like I become Uchu ah…he tried to do different facial expression to show the difference between both of Gira.

Yanma was mentioned about him and Shiokara. I think it was about usually Shiokara follow him then how in this opposite? Like he just follow whatever Shiokara said and just act it out? (plus considering Yanma doesn’t like to prepare too much for a scene)

Himeno mention apparently the director and rest were apologising to her because she had to eat the flower which wasn’t very nice and that she create it with the image of an unrequited Cinderella in mind. (Probably to both they felt so bad?)

(Jeramie mention like he cry watching?)

Rita didn’t expect to do again the dance and singing but it was different then what theh did in the Idol episode. They did mentions that even in main story this probably the most they have seen Rita’s smile the most?

(Yes they still sang and dance the Moffun song…DAMN IT TOEI I WANT A RITA CHARACTER SONG…I mean Moffun is ok but come on…sorry I am still forever salty)

Kaguragi got mention about sumo that he was ask to give a face he normally don’t show. So he gave a really pathetic looking face. The audience found it cute

Jeramie was too into ‘Come on’ (I think I remember he mention he came up with it) after having to finally got a chance to change out of his usual get up.

Rita mention that he had a lot of pose for it.

Then Jeramie was too into the Come on that he end up walking opposite direction to which he pointing. I think he try to save it by saying it the other side!

Tarou was worried since it been a year since they were together. End up everyone did alright.

Kijino mention how he was impressed they did Avataro change in one take

Tarou mention nothing had change just the two hairstyle (Haruka and Tsubasa)

I remember that Kaguragi was saying that Takano-san is huge fan so that why he able to do the script. Kaguragi got mention about the Sumo match the ‘Hao’ ‘Hao’ gesture to the person he fought with whose name was Jackie-Chan 😅

There was one point Tarou said Takano-San name wrongly the King-Ohger corrected him 😂😅

Apparently they were asking about Prince about his action scene how much he train (If I remember correctly)

He was super shy but serious although he was at G-Rosso before which the King-Ohger said to him.

Most of the King-Ohger seem like were teasing him.

Kingohger were saying they had work with their suit actors to do their own action scene.

Director mention he thought King-Ohger would be too overwhelm by Donbrothers but King-Ohger was amazing. He did mention some part in movie would be only be understood by people who watch the main story.

Also parts that was cut out of the movie from what director said would be added in blu-ray (IT A WIN a bit I hope it for both of them since Director was for Donbrothers)

Director mentions that Murasame actually appears in beginning. Asking if we notice it or not. (I mention in my previous spoiler where they are)

There was moment Kaguragi got mention about how the two blue know each other then they share about their story. Like they never thought they get work with each other in this situation. I think Yanma mention was at one point jealous Saruhara got it first?

Haruka was ask to do her killed moment again then Yanma also when he got electrocuted

Tarou say we got a bond Gira last min say his famous line Sekai O Shihai Suru! When they were leaving the stage.

#kingohger #ohsama sentai kingohger #ohsama sentai king ohger vs. avataro sentai donbrothers #ohsama sentai king ohger vs. kyoryuger #spoilers #vs movie

[chirpsythismorning]

I love it when milkvan accounts have "the superhero and the heart 💜💙" in their bios, like yesss address her by exactly what she doesn't wanna be seen as, and him as how his other love interest standing in the way of milkvan sees him

I can honestly say it's gotten to a point where I feel bad? Like, completely separate from byler obviously, just seeing some of their takes on things, it makes me feel pity almost because their interpretation of what's happening is just so superficial and yet they truly believe it's the most beautiful love story on the planet.

I'm not even the type of byler that hates milkvan tbh. I am a byler that was a milkvan back in the day. Like, I hate to admit this, I hate it so much, but I literally remember rewatching season 2 to prepare for s3's release and I skipped all of s2 practically so I could get to the end to rewatch their reunion! I was that bad!

For those that don't know, s2 was seen as like a big risk from Netflix's perspective, because they were scared that the show would tank since El wasn't with the boys again, specifically Mike, for the entire season. And so I can honestly say, at one point, I contributed to a large sector of fans back then who thought it was the Mike and El show and ended up missing a lot as a result. Though, upon coming across theories post s3 (Mike in front of the closet in Will's room was what opened my eyes officially), I remember rewatching s2 and seeing that shed scene and feeling instantly that it was romantic... And so apparently, all it took was me actually watching it instead of skipping over it to realize....

So that's probably a part of the problem for them still, is that they're watching the milkvan scenes with undivided attention (with rose-tinted goggles), and they're glossing over everything else. Even now, with one season left we still see them downplay Mike and Will's relationship by saying Mike hates Will? And that alone could not make it more obvious that they do not actually watch the show.

Most bylers on the other-hand are capable of watching milkvan scenes, multiple times, like we analyze them to death. And most of us are coming from a good place, genuinely trying to understand these two characters and where they are both coming from. Though, I have yet to see a byler scene be analyzed by milkvans? Like they just don't talk about them beyond downplaying them both romantically and platonically? I'm convinced they've seen every byler scene maybe once bc they were forced to on the first watch but they've avoided their scenes ever since... Not great for their ability to understand the show obviously.

Many of them do in fact view that first meeting in the woods as like them falling in love at first sight. And genuinely, A LOT of people got hooked on Stranger Things in the first place because of Mike and El and them sort of viewing all of their interactions as irrefutably romantic.

And that isn't inherently bad! It's not! But now when you add Will in the mix, you start to see the hypocrisy seep in through the cracks. And it's because by comparison, they view fans merely speculating about Mike's potential feelings for Will as something to be seen as perverted or gross. And so that for me, is when I sort of start to question the groundwork of milkvan.

Because quite frankly, I didn't see any of these people getting angry and defensive about how gross 99% of the audience was for shipping Mike and El in s1-2. As far as I can remember, the show was a hit in large part because it followed this very successful trope of self insert nerdy boy meets girl who is way more 'cool' than him, and people ate that shit up bc we always do. It's what we're used to. It's safe. From what I recall, no one had any problem with Mike trying to kiss El in his basement bathroom after like 3 days of knowing her, during a very traumatic time in their lives and only specifically after Lucas implied Mike was already in love with her and wanted to marry her at this point.

They saw that and said, that's love bitch.

And bylers say this all the time, but it is absolutely true: If the roles were reversed, if El was the best friend of Mike's who went missing and instead Will was a boy they found in the woods while looking for her, fans would have been saying this is obviously a best friends to lovers story between Mike and El!!!.. And that bathroom scene? If that happened between Mike and Will? They would have saw that and said what the fuck kind of sick shit is this.? And maybe it would have been in large part because the circumstances at play, bc it doesn't really matter to me personally when it comes to that situation whether it was a girl and a boy or a boy and a boy, it was an odd choice to make, plain and simple. And that's what I'm trying to say here. That to them, one is true love, and one is disturbing.

Mike's known Will longer. If he is queer (he is), then it's very likely he did have a crush on Will at the time he met El, not necessarily super consciously or anything. But even despite that, I don't think Mike would have felt comfortable with kissing Will in that situation, nor any other boy or girl. They prove this when Mike's makes that comment in s2, chastising Dustin and Lucas for merely being interested in getting to know Max, despite never having spoken a word to her? Like that tells you right there the circumstances and everything at play is what led Mike to try to kiss El in that moment, a moment that was unprecedented and never would have happened in any other scenario.

Even in the case they found Will in the woods instead of El, I don't even think that scene would have happened either? And this is because the whole point of it was for El to ask Mike if she was still pretty despite having a buzz cut (looking like a boy like everyone in the story has been hinting at us that entire season), for Mike to say pretty, really pretty, only for him to look visibly uncomfortable with himself, followed by trying to overcorrect this moment by kissing her.

That scene wouldn't make sense with Mike and Will bc it was happening in the first place because of heteronormativity. And it existing and people thinking it's like peak romance, is in and of itself proving the hypocrisy of an audience that is eventually going to call Will and Mike ending up together, coming out of nowhere and perverted...

Bc you just know if El was Mike's best friend, they never would have had any interest in Will as this boy they found with superpowers. They would have got those scenes of Mike looking everywhere for El and instantly latched onto the boy/girl slow-burn best friends to lovers trope.

The crazy together scene???? If that scene was between Mike and his best friend El, fans would have been rooting for it to end in a kiss... Why do you think the Duffers had that awkward long pause at the end? They were nodding to the fact that this audience is willing to see one thing, but not the other. Even when the thing they're willing to see is overcast by things that should make you a little bit more critical of it in the first place.

Putting Will or any other boy in El's place in that scene in the bathroom or other moments between Mike and El in s1 would have completely removed the romantic lens for most of the audience back then, and it's because... wait for it... HETERONORMATIVITY!

We as a society see a boy and a girl being nice to each other and pressure them to make it official. Hell no a boy and a girl can't just close friends. Either one of them is harboring secret feelings or one of them is gay.

Heteronormativity is literally why most of society latched onto these 2 characters, not necessarily the pieces that made up the whole. And so they have to make up excuses despite the circumstances bc it is so normalized that they don't think twice about it, because they've never had to think twice about it up to this point.

Stories have always catered to them. In fact, the stories we've been exposed to our whole lives has created the expectations we have in the first place.

And so like... I do feel bad but only bc I'm a decent person and don't like to see people hurting genuinely.

No doubt I will feel satisfaction seeing some folks who were hurtful to bylers get a taste of their own medicine, but I genuinely hope that they can eventually learn to accept it and appreciate the story for what the Duffers intend it to be when it's all said and done.

As for the superhero and the heart... again, I feel bad like genuinely, I don't know how to even explain the unnecessary guilt I feel that these strangers who I don't even know are going to be whiplashed tf out of next season...

#stranger things #anti milkvan #sorry that i sort of went off on a tangent #i just don't feel like i'm the type of byler to hate milkvan? #maybe it's bc ive reached a point where i feel zero threat to like byler or whatever? #but that's the thing #it's not even about shipping byler and like wanting them to be together #i've just been along for the ride this whole time and going along with what's presented #and byler is obvious to me based on the evidence #and so i like talking about it and analyzing it bc there is so much to still discover #if byler didn't happen i wouldn't like be heartbroken #i would just be like 100% genuinely confused #bc i'm not here bc i'm like queerbaited constantly #i'm here bc i like tv shows and movies and get fixated on ones that are smart and interesting every other year #and st is the fixation rn #and byler is like the life and blood atp #bc there's just soooooooo much! #hopefully milkvans will allow themselves to rewatch byler scenes finally post s5... #bc you just know most of them can't bc it makes it near impossible to convince themselves milkvan is superior... #like... it's obvious the show doesn't want you to feel that way by the end of s4 #so... #but it's inevitable they'll have to choose between being bitter forever or just simply accepting it and appreciating it for what it is #i wish them all well #besides like genuine homophobes who are pieces of shit #i look forward to them saying this was fanservice or last minute or something #that will be... peak entertainment

[leviismybby]

Hi Klara, I’m not any of those other anons. I have been following you for a while and I wouldn’t go so far as to call you a homophobe. But one of your tags to an anon ask not too long ago sort of rubbed me the wrong way as it was kinda homophobic, whether intentional or unintentional. It was about that Halloween official art edit with Levi wearing a black cropped long sleeve shirt, and your tag was along the lines of “why do people like to degrade Levi so much”. I decided not to comment at the time but since we’re on the topic of homophobia… I don’t think you meant that statement with malicious or blatantly homophobic intent, but I think it’s worth considering that line of thinking. It isn’t degrading for a man to present in a feminine fashion, nor is it meant as an act of humiliation or degradation for someone to want a man to present in a feminine way. Anyway, I’m not trying to accuse you, I like you a lot which is why I follow you. I just thought this was worth addressing. Take care.

Oh hey, anon, I probably should've worded it differently haha, I was not addressing the edit itself, of course, there is nothing wrong with a man dressing up feminine. What I meant by that was a certain group on Twitter who often see Levi as nothing more than a pawn to step over, I have seen so many people say some pretty nasty stuff about him, especially when the bad boy leaks came out and some people were sick enough to celebrate Levi almost getting sex trafficked because in their mind it confirmed their headcanon, which is just sick. Still tho I could've worded it differently to specify more what I actually meant and I did want to but I can't edit asks I answered any more thanks to the new update!

I am so sorry if I happens to offended anyone with the tags but I really had no bad intentions. :))

You take care too anon! ❤️

#anonymous asks #Levi #levi ackerman

[oddberryshortcake]

WHAT DO YOU THINK Lilia and Silver’s conversation will be like at the end of this Chapter? After things calm down?

(cause they Have to have a talk, twst pls 😭 these boys are overdue a conversation)

IT CAN GO A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS!! 

First things first, I don’t think Lilia had any intention of telling Silver anything about his past. 

Lilia lies a decent amount to people he cares about and he has some pretty justified reasons to (even if they are a detriment to himself and others, such as never telling Malleus that his magic and life were significantly depleted via hatching him because he didn’t want Malleus to feel guilty and the senate shamed him for it) 

Silver’s bio parents have been dead for over 400 years. The people who knew him back then are all gone, the kingdom he was once a prince to has been erased by history.

There’s no easy way to tell your son, who is physically and mentally only 17 years old, that he was actually put under a 400+ year old spell to keep him asleep as his home decayed around him. 

How do you even explain that to a kid? And let’s not forget Silver’s bio dad killing Malleus’s mom, which is something that is also a secret to Malleus. 

I’m sure Lilia figured that since so much time had passed, that there’d be no way Silver would ever figure it out. Lilia could give him his bio parent’s ring and talk about them distantly, not as someone who knew and interacted with them, but as someone who could simply just confirm that they loved Silver and wanted the best for him. 

Liliia promises to talk to Silver about everything, because now he has no choice but to. But that assuring smile he had, I think, is both a calm under fire sort of vibe but also, I think he witnessed Silver overcoming his complex feelings over his origins and remembers how Silver fought to live with his reassurance. 

His biggest fear might’ve been Silver hating himself for his lineage, and he did for a moment. But Silver overcame that and Lilia has the chance to finally be truthful with him and probably express all the complicated things he felt- like his contemplation over killing Silver, the fact the Knight saved Lilia and the egg, that he adopted Silver to see if he could love a human and he could. 

Now here’s a crazy possibility, what if twst throws the biggest curveball ever and wipes Silver’s memory of everything that happened (He established in 7.3 that he has trouble remembering his dreams, this includes his signature spell which he can only access while dreaming) 

Would Lilia still tell Silver the truth? 

Who knows. 

It would suck if they reverse development but there’s always a possibility. Maybe Lilia would try to continue on as nothing happened and then decide (maybe at Malleus and Sebek’s insistence) that he does need to talk to Silver about these things. 

I keep getting vibes that something bad might happen even after the overblot is over with. That’s also me being very attached to the 1959 Sleeping Beauty movie (and Maleficent 2014!) where, despite everything, Aurora is always cursed one way or another. 

Best case scenario- We get an absolute banger of a monologue from Lilia and a follow up conversation, a nice little wrap up to the question Lilia asked himself years ago. Can he love a human? Yes he can! Also Malleus is his son too, and the senate can stay tf away from him lol And the found family is found once more. (I hope this one happens)

Worst case scenario- Silver (or everyone) forgets everything and we simply wipe this under the rug. Or, it could be glossed over with no solid wrap ups like poor Scarabia :( 

One question that still remains that hasn’t been wrapped up yet is the exact reason why Silver is falling asleep so frequently when the spell he was under has seemingly been broken for years. I hope the game will address that so we can see is it Silver’s lack of self-love? Was the spell never fully broken? Will it ever completely break? What would Lilia and Silver’s relationship be like when this blessing turned curse isn’t hanging over them 

If 7.7 doesn’t get back on a plot development track I’ll cry 

#twst spoilers #twst #twst thoughts #Sorry this came out as more of a tangent I'm spacing out in a lecture lol

[bubblesandgutz]

Every Record I Own - Day 807: The Rolling Stones Hackney Diamonds

This marks the end of my Stones posts. And given their age, this album may come to mark the end of The Stones as a recording entity. And as far as I'm concerned, we're going out on a high note.

Even the diehards will admit that The Rolling Stones peaked decades ago. And the diehards will also probably agree that by the time the '80s were in full swing, The Stones were a legacy act with little new to offer. No one is gonna canonize Undercover or Dirty Work. There were still hints of their magic sprinkled throughout their work through the '90s and into the first half of the '00s, but really, people held onto their love for The Stones based on their earlier classics and their continuing reputation for putting on a solid live show.

Maybe there was some sort of creative rut for the Stones. Some loss of purpose. Some struggle to hold onto their original sound while moving forward. I've been playing music long enough to know the tricky balance of pleasing the old fans while keeping things fresh and exciting. The Stones had become a nostalgia brand, and that brand generated a lot of money. Were they putting out new albums to keep the merchandising and ticket-selling machine in the public eye? Or was there some genuine creative joy embedded in those later records that just wasn't translating? Everyone knows Mick and Keith's friendship deteriorated over the years. Was that rift behind the waning quality of their albums?

And then there's the big question: did the world need a new Stones album in 2023? It'd been eighteen years since their last batch of new material. While there were defenders of A Bigger Bang (2005), it didn't convince anyone that the band was back in top form.

I was skeptical. But on a long solo drive across Eastern Oregon last fall, I decided to give Hackney Diamonds a listen. I'd already listened to Exile on the drive, followed it up with Tattoo You, and figured this might actually be my last chance to listen to a brand new Rolling Stones album while they were still active. I put on Hackney Diamonds as I drove across the high desert and, to my surprise, it sounded fucking great.

No Stones album has ever hit me on first listen until Hackney Diamonds. The band doesn't try to do anything new. The production is big and shiny, but it still sounds like a real band. Jagger doesn't address our tumultuous world like he might have back in the '60s, and maybe the album's odes to turbulent relationships are a little simplistic. But maybe there's actually more there than we hear on that first listen. Are "Angry" and "Bite My Head Off" just your typical songs about having a spat with a lover? Or is it about battling the public's expectations? Is "Depending On You" another forlorn love song? Or is it actually a plea to Richards?

Curiosity also drove me to read the Pitchfork review for Hackney Diamonds, who unsurprisingly shat on the band for "acting their image rather than their age." The remaining paragraphs go on to rail against a wealthy band wringing more money out of middle aged men. I'd counter that people as rich as Jagger and Richards don't really need to take the time to write another album and take another year off from their private lives to go on tour just to be a little bit richer in their eighties. And pandering to middle aged men seems no less noble than pandering to the twenty-something youth market that Pitchfork depends on for advertising revenue (and hate to break it to ya, Pitchfork, but your initial fanbase is middle aged now).

Is it shameful to grow old? Is it shameful for Mick and Keith to keep doing the thing they've done for 60 years? Is it shameful to love what you do and to try to hold onto it for as long as possible? Sure, maybe at some point the magic ebbed away, but the band always had their highs and lows. And if Mick and Keith drifted apart, perhaps the passing of Charlie Watts reminded them that their days were numbered, and they could either pack it in and become mired in the rusty stasis of old age, or they could go out in a blaze of glory.

I refuse to think art and music are creative pursuits that only belong to the young. Sure, I wanna hear music made by excited young people, but I also wanna hear music made by people my age. And I also want to hear music made by people with decades of experience who know exactly what they want, exactly how to do it, and how to have a fucking blast in process.

And that's exactly what Hackney Diamonds sounds like. If the story ends here, then it provides a satisfying narrative arc to the history of The Stones. Excellent work, Glimmer Twins.

#the rolling stones #everyrecordiown

[liloinkoink]

I know you're suffering, but personally I love bad dating sims and I'm having the time of my life. and I'd love to know more about the game and/or isekai's hypothetical plot

one, please know this is how this cut off in my notes.

two, yes of course. i would love nothing more

i’m putting this under a cut actually

the game plot i think i mostly got most of the information out in asides and can be pieced together in the fic—player starts at the engagement party, picks a love interest, and then does what they can to get rid of the villain and get a happy ending. most of what i came up for as far as routes and endings goes is in the fic itself, since Martyn took the entire party to just throw out ridiculous and annoying amounts of exposition, as is isekai standard. i honestly had a lot of fun coming up with those—i did bounce the game plot around in a gc, so they’re not 100% mine, but i thought what we came up with was pretty clever

stuff about the game i couldn’t fit because there was no reason to even come up with it, but would influence martyn’s actions if this wasn’t a oneshot, includes like. the way the game works, you only pick one person at the party, and the rest of them sort of drop off out of the plot. if the player picks, say, cleo, then impulse goes home to his kingdom, etho is standoffish and you don’t talk much to him, and Scar will mostly avoid genuine conversation on account of committing so much crime. there are opportunities to change your route later—impulse will write you a letter somewhere mid game, maybe, or you have a random encounter w etho or scar—but switching from your chosen love interest mid-game greatly increases the chance of getting one of their bad ends

Martyn doesn’t actually know the endings that well. he knows the parts of the game Ren is in pretty well, but the good ends? not so much. had i written more of this, that’d probably have caused him problems—there’s probably crucial information on character motivations and such in those—but eh.

(i sort of wanted to include some neutral ends, but that seemed like too much work)

as for the rest of the fic’s hypothetical plot, there were actually two!

we did actually come up w some ideas for if the fic proceeded as a normal isekai, mostly in that we all got wildly invested in isekai treebark. personal favorite message in that particular part of the conversation:

Ren is genuinely a compelling character in this fic to me (the hardest part of writing this was truly trying to pretend he wouldn’t be deeply beloved in fandom tbh), like. again, i alluded to a lot of this without directly saying it or said it in parts, but Ren’s pretty lonely/insecure here in this piece. he’s trying to do what he can for his kingdom, have a relatively pleasant marriage with someone who could at least be a friend.

and yet. who are bdubs’s romance options, to Ren? the captain of the guard who is supposed to be trusted to keep him safe? the financial advisor who is supposed to help keep his country afloat? two foreign powers who he’d want to keep the peace with, who could lead armies to his door? his fiancé colluding with any of these people is a horrifying prospect, especially if he doesn’t know it’s ‘for love’—it could just as easily be purely a bid for power. and really, it’s not paranoia if they’re really out to get you. he goes from sort of uncertain about the whole thing to his trusted people suddenly turning on him, accusing him of being a villain and keeping apart true love while he’s simply trying to follow the life set out for him to be a good king. when he loses that path he sort of just. loses his mind. listen ren has not done anything wrong i’m an AtPM Ren apologist listen—

speaking of ren apologists. Martyn was also a pretty lonely and an entirely purposeless person before meeting the micra, which. he wouldn’t directly address or acknowledge it, but this familiarity with what Ren is feelings is a large part of why he wants to see a happy ending for Ren so badly

so Martyn stretches out the hand he couldn’t admit he wanted someone to offer, and Ren falls in love instantly. this actually makes Martyn’s entire goal easier—Ren is no longer interested in playing the villain in Bdubs’s story. he wants to be the love interest in Martyn’s. had a few ideas abt that particular desire, ranging wildly from really cute (i cannot stop thinking abt smth Beans said abt Ren seeinf Martyn across a garden and the wag of his tail being audible under his cape) to crushing to my soul (he’s a lonely guy, Ren is. thinking about how isolated he feels and how much Martyn is a light in the dark for him kills me dead)

the ending of the actual isekai plot was going to involve Ren faking his fucking death so the two of them can run away together. personal favorite conversation that never was would be Ren telling Martyn he should be dead (as lead up for proposing to fake his death and elope) and Martyn, who has been trying to avoid that for weeks, being like Ren for fuck’s sake—

i don’t have so much for the timeloop because i literally refuse to flesh it out to avoid temptation. however, a dating sim is a game where one is encouraged to play over and over again until they get the desired ending (or even just to see what will happen). Martyn’s own canonical third life lore is that he’s been playing in death games a while. it matches up pretty damn well, i think, and if i were interested in running with it, i imagine something interesting could be done with it

also, Martyn would be meeting Ren for the first time again every single loop. which is a fun detail to me. i want to be tragic about it—Ren repeatedly forgetting about him should be angsty—but i genuinely cannot believe he wouldn’t fall in love over and over again tbh. it’s love at first sight every single time, simply because Martyn cares about him too much not to show it and Ren will be swept away by that every iteration

that said, if you’re interested in the idea of an isekai timeloop, i genuinely recommend Surviving Romance. it will feel like a bit too much at parts bc it does have maybe Too many premises. but keep going, it’s worth it

also, bonus trivia. i need you to know there was so much stupid shit we came up w abt Martyn before being isekai’d that i couldn’t fit because Martyn didn’t think it was noteworthy enough to mention. that man owns an ita bag. he has downloaded mods to romance Ren and deleted them due to bad Ren characterization (too much Cool Sexy Evil Villain, where is the sad and lonely cringefail dogboy who Martyn fell in love with??)

#oink asks #medusasresfridas #treesekai

[clubkira]

hi everyone!!

sorry this is gonna be a VERY long post so if you’re not interested just scroll dw i’ll put everything under read more lol but i got this anon ask today and i wanted to address some of the points the anon was making in it.

this anon brought some things up i'd like to address bcs this does actually matter to me the things they’ve said and i want to try and clear any misconceptions up.

i know i don't really interact w much of my mutuals (again, that's on me) but i really don't mean to make myself seem self centered or like in a clique of some sorts (i feel like that's smth that's been going around lately?) and i really only talk to a few people online, which is who i interact with the most! if you see me interacting with the same few people on here, it’s most likely bcs i am close to them and talk to them outside of tumblr, i find it hard to talk to others bcs i’m just generally shy and when i first joined tumblr in the summer it seemed everyone already had an established friendgroup so i didn't feel like i fit in anywhere. for checking up on people, i do try but i'm not the best at comforting people, but i do see your point in that and i will try to reach out more to people when i see them struggling. i don't mean to just watch my mutuals go through hardships without saying anything but i worry that what i say will not sound genuine. this isn’t an excuse for me, ofc this is just my explanation

the constant attractions of jjk writers is really just a joke 😭😭 like i swear, i have never actually been serious or angry abt how many jjk mutuals i have LOL i just think its a funny pattern considering i don't really write for the fandom ykwim (i do see your point, but it's all just jokes) though i have some strifes w the jjk fandom which might be how this joke kind of got misconstrued? jjk fandom is just unfavourable imo but i don't actually hate any of my jjk mutuals!!

i'm a very impulsive and emotionally driven person so i do ++ i say things without thought bcs i'm just so in the moment i can't think 😭 and it leads me to wanting to deactivate like atleast every other week Imao. it's smth i've tried to hold back by just shutting up before i say smth i'll regret but also bcs i know that i'll probably be fine the next day and that i'm just being dramatic but yeah i have seen that i am guilty of it! i do acknowledge that of me and want to change.

if you're talking about the "not acknowledging others in conversation" specifically about servers since you mentioned we've been in a few, i also do see your point! normally i'm very shy in servers so i tend to just stick to writing channels where i dump all my wips, and i apologize that i haven't acknowledged the people who were in the channel before me! it's usually just one dump and then i exit out of discord, and also in just normal conversations like in general chat or etc sometimes i forget to reply to some people i’m talking to or i'm just more confortable talking to certain people in a server and i do apologize if i've ever done this to you. i don't mean to purposely ignore or make you think of me as self centered bcs of this.

think that was mostly everything i wanted to address, i really don't interact w my followers on here as much as i should / want to just bcs i'm usually on discord, inactive bcs of uni or i'm just so so late replying to asks 😭 i'm sorry to not only this anon but also any of my mutuals or followers if i've ever made you have a bad experience with me, i do apologize and it's not my intent to come across as self centered or unapproachable!

since you said this is a quality that some people are noticing, it does worry me that this behaviour of mine is to the point of where multiple people see me in this light and i do want to change that which is kind of why i’ve calmed down on this account and just queued up posts

this anon ask came from a different blog of mine (a blog i haven't announced yet cuz i was just semi-quietly posting there, it’s not a huge secret that it was me but i didn’t want yall to think i was moving or deactivating again 😭) but i wanted to post it here as well just to clear anything up!

i probably won't be on this acc for some time (no i'm not deactivating lol i just priv my works for now while i'm frolicking elsewhere while uni kicks my ass) and i won't delete this post or anything, bcs i don't want to hide from this. i do see your points anon and realize my own faults and i'm glad this was brought up, and i am in no way a victim so please don't treat me like one just bcs this anon brought these up LOL

anyways sorry for all of that! that was super long but i wanted to touch on all the points they had and if you have anymore questions i'll try and answer as best as i can but i’m also not gonna be on this account too much atm again so if i’m late to replying (like usual) i’m sorry </3 i do try to log in here once a day tho to check notifs so anything sent in i’ll probably see when i have time!

sorry for any typos in this too i’m writing this all at like 1 am😭😭😭

#( 𝐂𝐋𝐔𝐁 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐄 ) #i hope i’ve cleared some things and again i do acknowledge i am not entirely innocent in this #i will definitely take what you’ve said into account when it comed to my behaviour! #oh also! #if anyone wants my other acc btw you can ask for it ^_^ i was going to announce it at some point but i wanted to set it all up first LOL #and also it was a tokyo rev centered acc and i hadn’t posted any tr content on here so i wasnt sure if anyone would be interested 😭 #am i suppoded to tag this as discourse??? idek anymore

[specialagentlokitty]

Thomas Barrow x Male!reader - love to hate you, hate to love you

Part 10:

The next day you were getting ready for your night when there was a knock on your door.

“Lord Grantham is asking for you.”

“Thank you Markus I’m on my way up.”

You put your sword on your hip and he led you to the drawing room and you bowed your head in respect as you entered.

“My lord, you asked for me?”

“Ah yes, I was actually going through some of the land owners today, and I came across a familiar name. Chiron, he’s a friend of yours is he not?”

“He is my lord yes.”

“He purchased a large mass of land from me, I was wondering perhaps if you knew why, it was an odd thing to see.”

You nodded your head.

“Of course my Lord, as you are aware I grew up in place with many other teenagers. Well, Chiron had decided to bring that here.”

“Oh how wonderful.” Lady Cora smiled.

You smiled back and gave a nod of your head.

“Do you think he would accept if we requested to visit the land, I should like to see what he’s done with such a large mass of land.”

“He would gladly accept my lord yes, in fact I’m going to be up there for the weekend of you would like to come then, we do have rooms available should you like to stay the night. Though it is rather bumpy there are no roads so no cars can get there, but we can have people help.”

“I see, thank you. I will come down on the Saturday and stay.”

“Oh Robert do let me come, I should like to see the man that raised such a polite young man.” Lady Cora smiled.

“Does he have a telephone?”

“Yes my my lord, I will write down the number for you and have Mr Carson pass it along.”

“Thank you, that’s all.”

“Very good my lord.”

You wrote down the number, and you quickly shadow travelled to the camp to warn Chiron about the visit ahead of time.

“I see, well, we can hide somethings, and have the demigods address you by name for the weekend. But what about the training? The armour?”

You sighed.

“Uhm.. tell him it’s tradition? They don’t know much about ancient Greeks, so they would believe it, but what will you do?”

“If I remember correctly I was rather good at hiding the fact I was a centaur from you.”

“Ah yes the magic wheelchair that apparently solves all your issues.”

Chiron rolled his eyes.

“Where will the stay?”

“Lord and Lady Grantham can stay in the big house, the ladies maid… Athena’s cabin… and the valet…”

“There’s no room in any other cabins.”

“My cabin, I have a spare room.”

“Then it’s sorted, everything will be ready for Saturday but are you sure it’s a good idea?”

“Why did you buy the land?!”

Chiron looked at you.

“We need a farm, what else was I to do?”

“I don’t know! Oh bloody hell Chiron…”

You pinched the bridge if your nose.

“As long as he tells us prior visits we should be fine.” Chiron said.

“Where did you even get money to buy land?”

“I have savings.”

“I strangely enough don’t believe that but fine, just make sure everything suspicious can be explained I really don’t want to be trying to explain this to him. The ladies maid will.. probably be Anna or Mrs Hughes I assume but… I don’t know who the valet will be. Maybe Mr Bates but this will be hard terrain for him.”

“We’ll have it all ready.”

You nodded and left, appearing in your office.

You were so busy over the next few nights you hardly saw anyone, and on Friday you left again, straight to the Hade’s cabin, and you unpacked your things.

You were dreading tomorrow but you were hoping it would go well.

You spent that night at the big house drawing up plans and ensuring everything was ready for the weekend, and as the following morning came around, you waited at the end of the road with a few of the older demigods.

“Why are we doing this?” One whispered.

“Because he’s the Earl, that’s why you fool. Be polite and respectful. Ensure you remember what you were told.” You hissed.

He quickly nodded and you heard the call of your name.

“They need your help in the forge!”

“Come help these then!”

You swapped places with Leon and you jogged down the dirt path, past a few buildings and you stood in front of the forge.

“You needed me?”

“I’m sorry, we just don’t have the time to do these one by one. We need a faster way of making them.”

He set a sword in a barrel of water.

You looked at it.

“How many are you making at a time?”

“Two.”

“How many can you fit at a time.”

“Maybe six.”

“Have you tried it?”

“I’m scared somethings going to go wrong if I do..”

You nodded and took your jacket and waistcoat off, setting them on a nearby bench, you rolled up your sleeves and pulling on an apron.

“Right, you two over here.”

Two more jogged over.

“Is this safe?”

“I’ll be completely honest I’m not sure, maybe we should have Arthur on hand just in case…?” You mumbled.

“I’m already here and waiting for your plan to go belly up.”

You glared at the man and he grinned at you a little as he sat on the bench watching.

You got the next six swords ready to be worked and all four of you put them into the oven, carefully watching.

“I think it works.”

You turned around and walking over to a cart fully of metal scraps.

“Is there more coming?”

“A load more this afternoon.” Arthur said.

You nodded and saw familiar faces being led down the dirt path by Chiron in his wheelchair.

Smiling, you walked over and stood in front of them.

“My lord, my lady, thank you for coming.” You said.

“Thank you for having us, Chiron told us you already have everything planned out where we’ll be staying?” Lady Cora asked.

“Yes my lady, you two will be in the big house, and Mrs Hughes and Mr Barrow will be staying in the cabins.”

You heard some yelling and you turned around.

“Oh no…”

You ran up and into the smoke, grabbing the arms of Demigods you pulled them out of the smoke and ran back in.

You grabbed the final one and there was a load bang, and the pair of you were throwing to the ground by the sheer force.

You hit the floor and groaned a little, sitting up to watch people throwing buckets of water on the fire.

“What did you do?” Chiron asked.

You pushed yourself up and looked at him.

“Completely my fault, we may have pushed the oven to its limits…”

“So you decided to blow up the forge?” He asked.

“Okay so accidents happen, we know better now. And it’ll be fixed in a few hours anyway.”

There was a second smaller explosion and you looked over.

“Somethings stuck!”

You ran over and looked at it, reaching your hand in you pulled out a small bit of metal and the turned off the fire and you waved you hand in the air trying to ease the pain.

“Arthur!” Someone yelled.

“I’m fine, Arthur go away!”

You dodged him and walked back over to stand in front of them smiling a little.

“Sorry, I’m sure that does not make a good light for the tour. But it was my fault.”

“Is your hand alright?” Lord Grantham asked.

Arthur room your hand and you slapped his hand away.

“It will be yes, just a few small burns nothing major my lord.”

“Let me take a look.”

Arthur slapped your hand away and he took your hand while you huffed and wrapped it in a bandage.

“Come see me if it gets worse. And stop being so stubborn!”

He walked away and you rolled your eyes.

“(Y/N)?!”

You sighed.

“I’m sorry but I must go.”

Walking back over to the forge.

They watched as you spoke with the others and you walked around the front, climbing on the windows and shutters until you were on the roof.

They tossed some things up to you and you caught them.

“Should we carry on our tour?” Chiron asked.

“Yes of course.” Lord Grantham said.

They looked at you once more before being led away.

You fixed the broken roof, and you jumped down, setting the tools aside.

“Try four this time.” You said.

“They might be best, but still won’t be fast enough.”

“We’ll expand then, over the weekend carry on with this and I’ll talk to Chiron about it.”

With that, you grabbed your belongings and pulled them back on before making your way to the big house where Chiron was sat with everyone in the living room.

“We need to expand the forge.”

“Why?” Chiron asked.

“So we don’t blow it up again.”

“I’ll look at the plans later.”

You nodded your head and clasped your hands behind your back.

“How do you find it my lady?” You asked.

“Oh it is wonderful, is this the man you told us about?”

“Yes my lady, this is Chiron, he raised me and taught me all I know.”

She smiled and nodded her head, and you walked over to the desk, sitting down you went through some of the papers.

“Do you work here too?” Lord Grantham asked.

“Yes my lord. On my days off and half days I come here to help out.”

“Is it not exhausting?” Lady Cora asked.

“Not at all my lady. I missed this dearly when I moved back to England, I’m glad to have this so close.”

They carried on talking and you stood up, taking some papers with you, you padded to room opposite the living room and set them down on the table.

You walked back into the living room and stood next to Thomas and Mrs Hughes.

A young teenager came in looking a little lost.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but luncheon is ready.”

“Thank you Jones, go on, go sit down.” Chiron smiled.

The teen nodded and ran away, and you led everyone out to the tables.

“Where is everybody sitting?” Lord Grantham asked.

“Well, we’re separated into tables, based on the cabin names. You and her ladyship will sit at the big table with Chiron, Mrs Hughes and Mr Barrow can sit wherever they’d like.” You said.

“Very well, is there no footmen?” Lord Grantham asked.

“I’m afraid not my Lord, but everything is already laid out for you.”

He nodded his head and looked to the large fire in the middle of all the tables.

“We don’t have to do that do we?” Lady Cora asked.

“No my lady, that’s just for the others.” Chiron chuckled.

You took Mrs Hughed and Thomas over to the rest of the tables.

“Sit wherever youd like.”

“Where do you sit?” Mrs Hughes asked.

You pointed to an empty table.

“All alone?”

“It’s just myself in my cabin.”

“May we sit with you?” Thomas asked.

“Should you want to of course.”

You led them over and sat them down before sitting down yourself.

Putting some food on your plate, you took it to the fire and tossed some in before going to sit down.

“Mrs Hughes, I hope you don’t mind staying in a cabin full of strangers, if you do we can always move you.”

“Nonsense, I’m sure they’re lovely people, and I should love to hear more about this way of life.” She smiled.

“Is this how you were raised?” Thomas asked.

You nodded your head and looked around, gesturing for one of the young demigods lurking nearby to come over and he handed you a dagger.

“It’s breaking…”

“Would you like me to fix it for you?”

“Yes please my friend gave it to me..”

You nodded your head.

“Go eat, I’ll have it fixed in a few hours.”

You set the dagger on the table and carried on eating.

“Is that real?” Mrs Hughes asked.

“It has to be, he’s got one and all.” Thomas said.

“It is real, it’s tradition.” You said.

She nodded her head but looked a little confused.

“Tradition?”

“We have some strange customs.” You smiled.

You carried on eating and excused yourself after to go and fix the dagger, and you were at it for a few hours before you finished it.

Setting it aside to cool, you ran a hand through your hair.

“The delivery is here.” Leon said.

You walked over and watched as the Pegasi dragged them all over, and demigod unclasped them, letting them walk free.

“Is this going to be nearly enough?” Arthur asked.

“No, but the others are bringing everything over with them.” You said.

He nodded and you picked up some of the metal, tossing it around in your hand.

“Focus on armour for now.”

The boy behind you nodded his head and you jumped into the cart, taking a bucket you began to load it with metal.

You handed it down and stood up, walking along the carts.

“(L/N)?”

“Oh, my lady.”

You jumped over the edge and jump down, clasping your hands behind your back.

“How May I help?”

“I was just wondering what’s going on, I saw all the horses.”

“Ah, would you like to look my lady?”

“I would.”

You led her to the forge and gestured to the boy.

“This is Timothy, he’s our best blacksmith. He’s currently teaching the younger ones how to use a forge, which is why we have all that metal.”

“What happens after that?”

“Well my lady, it will be taken to the armoury, where they can take whatever they’d like at any time and train with one another.”

“To fight?”

“We have some strange customs, but yes, to fight and protect themselves.”

“And you went through this same training?”

“I did my lady, the teenagers enjoy it, they find it fun.”

You took her to one of the training grounds and she looked around.

“Women training with swords and shields?”

“Women should be allowed to protects themselves to my lady, don’t you agree?”

“I certainly do. This is very modern thinking.” She smiled.

You smiled at her.

“Perhaps her ladyship would like to learn?”

“Oh heavens no, I don’t think Lord Grantham would ever approve.”

“Approve of what?”

You both turned around to face Lord Grantham.

“Me learning how to do what these young women can do.”

You smiled a little, and you felt someone behind you, so you stepped a little to your right and they stumbled forward.

“Leon?”

“I was hoping to get the jump on you but apparently not.”

“Well, maybe if you stopped stomping around the place you could.”

He pointed his sword at you and everyone looked.

“Train with me.”

You looked to Lord Grantham.

“I would be interested to see what exactly you can do.”

“Very good my lord, follow me.”

You led them all to the middle of the cabins, and people brought over chairs and benches for everybody to sit around.

You went into your cabin to grabbed your coin, and you flipped it, catching the sword you pulled of the apron and tossed it aside.

“Right you two, I know what you’re like so remember the rules.” Chiron scolded.

“Yes sir!” You both yelled.

You placed the tip of your sword against the floor and you smirked a little.

“You have nothing.”

“I’ve got you this time.” Leon said.

Thomas watched you carefully, his eyes glued to you, carefully watching what you were doing, ever step you took and every well thought of move you made.

You didn’t even raise your sword to attack, you simply used it to defend yourself, easily dodging the attacks.

You tossed your sword up, and you grabbed Leon by the arm, sweeping your leg under his, you knocked him and threw him over your shoulder.

He landed on his feet and you caught your sword, bringing it down to block his.

“You know you’re not going to win this.” You said.

“I can still try, I’m the only one here that can give you a run for your money.”

You rolled your eyes, and suddenly dropped your sword, you ducked under his as people cried out your name, and you grabbed his wrist, placing your hand on his stomach you flipped him over you again and slapped him into the ground, standing up, you pointed your sword at him.

“I win.”

“You cheated..” he wheezed.

Rolling your eyes, you held your hand out to him and pulled him up, stabbing both of your swords into the ground.

“Go to Arthur.”

“I think you broke a rib..”

“Don’t be so dramatic and get out of here.”

Leon grinned a little and walked away and you turned around.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t longer my Lord.”

“No need, that was impressive. You really don’t need to raise your sword in a fight?”

“Not if you know what you’re doing my Lord.”

He nodded his head.

“Chiron said he’d like to discuss land plans with us both, perhaps you can show Mrs Hughes and Mr Barrow around until our return?” Lady Cora asked.

“Certainly I can, there’s a lot to see.”

#Downton abbey #downton abbey x you #downton abbey x reader #Downton abbey imagine #thomas barrow #Thomas barrow x reader #thomas barrow x you #thomas Barrow imagine

[jess-moloney]

Jess just followed this. Thoughts?

https://www.instagram.com/elawc?igsh=MXcwMzNobzhxZ2RiNQ==

Honestly, I have no idea. I saw that she also followed a page specifically for male abuse victims. I'm not saying that women can't or shouldn't follow pages like this, but the content in it is very specifically addressing men who have been abused. It seems in a way like a support group for men who are victims of abuse and the reels and posts are supposed to be male-oriented. It seems odd to me that Jess would follow a page like that and it makes me wonder what exactly she gets out of it.

I know that people will try to detract from all of this (by people I mean her stans) by fruitlessly pointing out "OMG SHE'S A DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COUNSELOR SHE GOT THAT CERTIFICATE AFTER 2 DAYS OF EDUCATION!" But nothing has ever really "come" of that either.

I looked into that certificate, what you actually learn, what it qualifies you to do and it's not much. It mostly allows you to answer their hotline (in a volunteer position), drive people to appointments, and be an "advocate" yet it doesn't qualify her to do much more than that. Considering the reviews the organization she got the certificate from has about their hotline and people working there (not to mention the taxpayer scandal they were exposed for) it doesn't seem like it's an organization on the up and up or really helping anyone as much as it's just a place that likes to take donations and pretend to be a charity.

The certificate she got also requires that she "donate" a year of her time to volunteering for PeaceOverViolence however they see fit (within the realm of what she's qualified to do which isn't much). Since she's gotten that certificate she's never brought it up again or advocated for anything related to their organization or services. Once again, I know that people will say something about how she's "private" or it's charity work so she doesn't have to "broadcast it to the world" but she did feel the need to broadcast to everyone she got the certificate in the first place. Wouldn't she also want to show the work she's doing to help people? Why she got the certificate? Advocate volunteer work to hopefully inspire others to do volunteer work?

I know this is a very long answer and seems pointless but in a roundabout way what I'm trying to say is that I think she follows these organizations and pages and does these things for a cover story. I can't tell you how many Jess stans I've seen insist that Jess could not possibly be abusive because she got that certificate. I also think Jess monitors pages like the one for male abuse victims because she wants to see what men like that are saying to be able to better manipulate Jamie. As to why she's following this one, maybe she plans to get another (different) certificate from them to try to boost her engagement and get followers back.

The engagement she got off of this post must have given her some sort of ego boost and attention whoring high like she's never seen before (it's probably why she leaves like and comment numbers visible unlike all the posts around it which got little to no engagement)

She seems very oddly into this image of wanting to help/save abuse victims and women and things like that but then never follows through with showing that she's really done anything to support the causes either. It's armchair activism at its finest. At the very least she could do a fundraiser on her IG account for one of these charities if she really believes in these causes. She could make awareness posts or stories about it. She could do a lot more than make a giant grandiose post about how great she is for getting this certificate which she never seemed to use to do anything (and doesn't grant her very many "privileges" anyway). She does this to appear like she's "woke" and "feminist" but in reality, she wants the image more than she wants to take the time to engage in any helpful activism or cause.

#jess moloney #jamie campbell bower #jamie bower #mail

[alan-duarte]

TIMING: Current LOCATION: Alan Duarte Real Estate PARTIES: Alan & Lil @the-lil-exorcist SUMMARY: Following Jude’s book Lil ends up finding Alan. Talk about a haunting job follows. CONTENT WARNINGS: n/a

Lil was growing tired of following the Planner of her sibling, especially because Jude seemed to enjoy writing more so in riddles than actually helpful notes. Although she didn’t doubt they knew what it meant, Lil was mostly clueless about it. So, it had taken her a while to realize Jude was planning on taking a job the week they went missing and that the random address was where they were planning on meeting the other.

So, about a month late, Lil decided that she should go see if the job was ever completed - and more importantly if that’s where they all went missing. Shutting the blasted book, she realized that the address seemed to be a real estate company and shuddered at the idea of what the job might have been. Lil wasn’t against doing exorcisms in houses -hell she did a lot of them but often they were more done out of convenience to the seller than truly needing to be done. It tended to be really annoying for Lil, and often she had to ask Jonas to come and help, knowing that it wouldn’t be good to just exorcize them. She figured Jude did that too.  Still, opening the door she called out “Hello - is there someone named Alan here? I think I’m about a month late to the meeting, but it should be under Jude Ballard.” 

Lil didn’t look like her sibling much, besides the long dark hair, but she figured that she would at least figure out who Alan was before interrogating him on what the hell the meeting was for. She didn’t bother trying to look professional either, thinking that it was silly to do. 

______

“Hello,” Alan looked up from where he was, hunched over a desk while he stubbornly refused to sit down. After all, it was just a few contracts to sign, nothing that would take long (his back disagreed). If the name June Ballard didn’t immediately ring a bell, a moment of introspection on meetings where he had been stood up managed to bring a memory back. That really had put a dent in his plans, and he couldn’t help the look of crispated frustration on his face as he remembered. June and he were meant to meet. They had been recommended by a mutual friend, and then, they never showed up. 

“You are a month late indeed,” he raised an eyebrow, and clicking his pen, put it away in one of the pen holders while he motioned her to come into his office. “Can I get you coffee, tea?” His own mug sat on a coaster near his computer and he felt like being civil, just in case she was also the sort that could tell ghosts to haunt his ass if need be. “Did you come here to do the job? Jude sent you?” 

______

Lil’s eyes locked onto the other as soon as he spoke moving towards the other trying to figure out if he knew or not. After all, once she let him know that her sibling wasn’t coming for a reason any sort of upper hand was lost. She saw the flash of annoyance on his face as she mentioned that the appointment was about a month ago, but it didn’t seem out of place. 

Going into the office Lil looked around and crossed her arms, not used to being in an office setting. Usually when someone asked for her help she met them in their haunted place or a hole in the wall. She wasn’t a ghostbuster after all - she hardly qualified for hauntings that involved professionals or - well rich people. The man standing in front of her seemed to be both of those things, so she tried to stand a little taller and not fold. 

“ I’m good but I appreciate the thought, “ Lil said, the words sounding a bit archaic out of her mouth as she tried to not thank the other directly. She didn’t know Alan and - well she wasn’t the only family member who would have helped someone who was supernatural. She really didn’t want to be promised bounded now.  “Sort of - Well I’ll at least help you if you answer some questions cause I’m not exactly sure what the meeting was for. So, probably. I’m Lil Ballard - Jude’s younger sister. When’s the last time you heard from them?” 

______

It felt like she was reading a script as she replied to him. Alan didn't comment on that and decided to let her speak some more instead. It was a sound way to test the waters after all, and an opportunity to show her that he was not the easiest person to deal with and certainly not someone to mess with.

When she told him that he would be helped if she was first helped, he pursed his lips in amusement. Maybe she was made of a similar wood. That promised to be interesting. "That must have been around 5 weeks ago," they set an appointment then, one where Jude had been a no show. Alan had ultimately decided to postpone putting on the market a house he knew to be haunted. 

"I tried to reach out again, but they never answered my voicemail."

______

Lil listened carefully to the other’s words, wanting to see if there was anything that he wasn’t saying. She wasn’t quite sure if she trusted Alan, noticing how they seemed to be carefully talking to each other. It could easily be that a haunted house could have ruined the other’s business, but looking around Lil wasn’t sure that was the case. 

“Jude didn’t?” Lil said in almost disbelief. Jude had a lot of flaws but Lil never knew them to not be prompt with their work. “So the job that you had wasn’t completed then? Do you know if anyone tried to exorcize the place or was it a no call and no show?” She tried not to look too eager for the lead. 

Still, hoping to shock Alan,  Lil said bluntly,” ‘Cause you were the last appointment they had, and now Jude and the rest of my family are missing. That’s pretty suspicious and house hauntings  are a good way to get a lot of people in one area.” Her eyes searched the other’s face hoping to find something there. 

______

"I've been trying to find a replacement for a month already," Alan tried not to sound too annoyed. He was annoyed, but chances were if they were missing, that poor Jude had met their end. It was not the best time to be tactless, "there are a lot of frauds around town." This, she must have been aware of. People who pretended to be the real deal and disappeared with your money, and sometimes made the haunting even worse.

Yet, for all he tried to be careful with his choice of words, she wasn't returning the favor. Understandably so. 

Their whole family. Gone. 

This wouldn't be the first time this town claimed a whole family for itself. He had grown up here, he knew that, he heard the stories, the facts. Alan came to realize this was what it all was : facts, not stories.

Leaning back into his chair, the realtor replaced his tie along his shirt's buttons. There wasn't much he could do for her, so why was she telling him about that? To make him sad? Doubtful. He didn't look like the right crowd for it. Did she want him to help? He wasn't a PI. He knew one though, one who was incredibly tactless but efficient. "What did the police say?"

______

“Yeah, I know. Which is why I think it would have been stupid for you to disappear Jude.” Lil said, looking at the other knowing that she was tipping her hand quickly. Still, she couldn’t see anything other than mild surprise on the other’s face. Eyes flickering to the book in her hand, she wondered if Jude hadn’t gotten to haunting. It at least narrowed down the time frame they had all disappeared, but it didn’t give her a whole lot of clues. Although the man in front of her seemed suspicious generally - Lil was fairly sure he would have waited until after Jude had cleared the house. With everything around them looking neat and tidy - she was pretty sure. 

 “So I’m guessing you didn’t do it?  Fuck I thought I finally had a lead.” She sighed, going to the seat and tapping her fingers against the book for a moment and shaking her head at the thought of the police. “They didn’t know anything, really. Everyone in this town disappears sometimes.” 

After a moment she thought and figured that she should at least keep the connection Jude had worked for. After all, their reputation was important even if Lil didn’t really contribute to it. “ If you still have a spirit problem, I’d be happy to extend Jude’s offer. I think you’d find my skill set very similar to theirs.”  

Which was true. Although the Ghostbusters might have blacklisted her, Lil was actually very good at her job. Jacob wouldn’t have allowed anything less, even if she was ultimately more of a stain on his reputation then a boon at this point. “I can assure you at least that I’m not a fraud.” 

_______

“I didn’t do it?” His eyebrows furrowed, and the businessman tried to paint the portrait of a man who would have never been able to commit such a terrible crime. “Oh my God, you don’t actually believe… Do you go around accusing everyone who spoke to your sibling of murder?” He agreed that considering the state of the town’s police, she’d have to take this matter into her own hands. “The police deal with disappearing folks every week or so,” he agreed. Some were because of Alan, though he kept that much to himself.

Arms crossed over his chest, Alan wondered when she would get up and leave. Her reason to come here was now obsolete. Alan didn’t know what happened to her sibling, and he couldn’t precisely help her there. When she offered something much more inviting than that, he had to conceal his delight. She was dealing with a lot. Now wasn’t the time to get all giddy about this. “I still need to get rid of that ghost,” he nodded. “Just tell me your price,” arms crossed over his chest, the realtor leaned back into his seat, looking at her with a small smile : “If you’re as good as I heard Jude is,” not was, “I’m more than willing to hire you any time the opportunity rises.”

_______

“No, just the suspicious ones,”Lil said slightly in a huff although letting it go easily. After all, she did accuse him. “I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry. It just seemed like the timing matched up.” Lil nodded at the idea of the police. She wasn’t one to call them often anyway, but they hadn’t really been helpful at this point either. Even in a town full of strange happenings, they didn’t seem to know much more than the average person. Although if Lil was being fair, they might just be overwhelmed. 

“Whatever you and Jude had come up with,” Lil said calmly, not knowing what the price was. She never dealt with money when it came to exorcisms, and she wasn’t really sure what the going rate was. It would make her father absolutely batty - and well Lil enjoyed that. Besides, she never really felt great for taking money for exorcism. Most of the time when she came into a town, she was their last hope and she took that seriously. She only took the jobs for money when her and Jonas needed more money. She would have thought that they would be the ones that haunted her, but in all honesty they were usually just the ones that the Ghostbusters that were nearby didn’t know how to do. Supernatural folks were harder to exorcize, and Lil was often the only one stupid enough to try. In those cases, she figured the money was more so a guarantee in case she died.  When the other compared her to her sibling Lil laughed slightly and said, “ Jude’s probably better, but I’m more likely to say yes to whatever job you have.” 

After all, Jude as cunning as they were, was still in the Ghostbusters. They were still respected by the community, and Lil wasn’t. Jude would have to stay no to most of Alan’s requests based on general practices, while Lil was more free to say yes if she wanted too. It was likely that most of the ghosts weren’t poltergeists, and while Lil was more sympathetic and might have Jonas come and see if they would move on willingly she wasn’t above forcing them too. 

_______

“The suspicious ones,” he could have tried to look a bit more offended. His eyebrows drooped, giving him the air of a fed up old dog who just wanted to go back to his nap. “That’s alright,” he didn’t seem to think so, but what did it matter. No harm done here. He crossed his arms and with a light shrug, invited her to move on with no hard feelings left on the table. 

“They might be better but you’re in front of me right now, and I’d rather just be done with that damn house,” if you wanted something done fast and well, you had to pay the price. Alan was always willing to do so. Sacrificing a bit of money in order to earn more was a bit of a no brainer. “Who knows, maybe you’ll find a clue as to where they went there,” he pointed out. Jude did disappear with a copy of the house keys. “I sincerely hope that you do find clues as to where your sibling might be,” he offered a brief look of sympathy. Though he might have not known her well, or at all, he had siblings too, and he would have turned the world upside down to find them, should they go missing. 

Standing up from his seat, Alan headed toward the custom made cabinets on the side of the room. Opening one of the doors, he searched through a list before pulling open a drawer among many and taking out a set of keys. Keeping one inside, he held out the other to Lil Ballard. “You’ll need this. The address is written on the keychain,” he pointed out. 

“Do you have any more questions?” He finally asked, sitting on the edge of his desk now. 

_______

Lil nodded thinking that she was being - well judgemental - something that she hated. Maybe it was because of the stress, but most people did that to her and it wasn’t fair that she was doing it to a man she didn’t know. There was a tiny bit of unexpected guilt there, that she wasn’t quite sure what she was going to about. 

“I can handle it today if you want,” Lil said, her head tilting slightly. After all, Jude hadn’t completed the job and while it was understandable it was Lil’s responsibility to fix the relationship. After all, when Jude was back they were going to want to have the account back. Lil nodded slightly at the kind words, not thanking Alan. It wasn’t a personal thing, but she was a bit too cautious of fae in the town to risk it. Something that was closer to her mom’s teaching then her dad’s. 

Grabbing the keys she looked at the address for a second and nodded. “Okay that looks in order. How many spirits do you think are in the house?Are we talking about regular ghosts or poltergeists?  Are you worried about the neighbors seeing anything?” Lil sounded a little more like her usual self listing almost instinctively  the questions she normally asked. Thinking about the rest of her day, she probably could go over there without much trouble. She probably should act like it would take her days, but she wasn’t business savvy and she needed to make her morning shift tomorrow. 

________

“Sure. But don’t rush into it if that’s not how you usually do it,” he didn’t need another exorcist disappearing on him. The good, competent ones were hard to come by, and those who agreed to work for him were even more rare, as if it was his fault that this town was a fucking mess. “You can take the week, I’m not so desperate that I can’t wait a few days,” a pause, “you know, beggars can’t be choosers.” Alan met a lot of choosing beggars, in his line of work, and he certainly didn’t want to be that kind of person himself. 

She grabbed the keys, and Alan could notice a shift. Straight to the point questions were not unusual, but she seemed a lot more comfortable now, while addressing these things that were clearly normal, mundane to her. “I have no fucking clue. The furniture moves around, the doors slam, and some rooms are freezing at times. I know what that means, but I also don’t know exactly what that means,” trouble, for certain, but how much and what kind? Those questions were an enigma to him. This just wasn’t his thing. “As for the neighbors, if they’re not in the know, they’ll probably call me saying there’s an intruder. If they’re in the know, they will cross their fingers for you,” he gave her a slight shrug. This town could be very normal, but it could also be quite supportive of those who kept everything safe. 

________

“Doesn’t really make a difference to me, but yeah I can just get it done by the end of the week,” Lil said nodding appreciating the time. After all, most people wanted her to get it resolved immediately. It was nice that the other was letting her take her time to properly consider it. It was the difference, probably, between Jude’s clients and hers. 

Lil nodded at his explanations, figuring that it was a poltergeist - something that was mundane to her even if it wasn’t to most people. While it would be idiotic to think it was immediately easy - any exorcism posed risks and needed to be taken seriously - it wasn’t something she would be worried about. It sounded like the spirit  hadn’t started possessing people yet. “Poltergeist, probably just one. I would think it’s someone who used to live there - but that’s not particularly important.” While Lil had some sympathy for ghosts who were just trying to move on, she didn’t really for poltergeists. It was one thing to be confused and want to go on, but it was another to terrorize the living and possess people. At the other answers she nodded and said, “Fair. If the police come I’ll just say that I was checking in on the property and that the intruder left before I got there. I’ll message you when I’m done, and make sure to get you the key back.” 

Lil gave the man a slight smile, still feeling lost. After all, she hadn’t found anything to help her siblings yet. Still, at least she had an activity. There was something she could do, and even if she was useless everywhere else she was still a good exorcist. 

________

“Alright,” he gave her a look. She seemed quite confident about that, and if she proved to be as efficient as she appeared to be right then, there was no doubt he’d be reaching out to her again. After all, haunted houses weren’t a rarity in the local housing market and the realtor knew it wouldn’t belong before he needed an exorcist’s help once again. 

Arms crossed over his chest, he hummed in approval. Even though he didn’t know the first thing about those revenants, she seemed so sure of herself he couldn’t do much else than agree. “The last owner left in a hurry, and sold me the house for practically nothing. Whoever is in here could have been here for a little while,” prior to that, Alan had no record of when the house was last inhabited. “If the police stop by, you can tell them you work for me if you want,” feeling as though everything had been said, the werewolf glanced at the young woman with a sympathetic smile. “I’ll keep my ears open regarding June,” with his hearing, it wouldn’t be hard to do, but Alan had a feeling all he’d get is radio silence. People disappeared all the time, never to be found. 

“Until then… I guess I’ll see you next week, yeah?” 

#wickedswriting #the lil exorcist #lil threads

[fannish-karmiya]

Since people first started noticing translation errors and missing lines in volume 1 of the official MDZS English translation, I have become increasingly uncomfortable with how fandom discusses it. It's only grown worse since volume 2 came out and also had missing lines, and I feel like I really have to say something about it.

Look, it's fine that you're upset that the translations aren't perfect. It is unfortunate, for sure! But I've been seeing people harassing Suika and turning them into a scapegoat since day one, and it's only been getting worse and worse. That is not acceptable.

I always thought, based on the timeline, that Suika was probably being rushed on the MDZS translation. Seven Seas wanted all three MXTX books out for the holiday sales, and they didn't care that TGCF was fully translated, SVSSS was partially complete, and MDZS meanwhile needed a new translation from the ground-up. Giving it longer and releasing it later, or delaying all three books, was never going to happen because companies love holiday releases and the sales associated.

Even hearing about the Seven Seas workers trying to unionise because they're overworked and underpaid hasn't changed anyone's opinions on the matter; somehow Suika is the exception, and I find it very mean-spirited and cruel.

I've seen people say things like:

'This news about SS has nothing to do with Suika, they're just a bad translator.'

'Suika is unprofessional and doesn't care about MDZS, only TGCF.'

'Translation is a professional, full-time job and they're clearly not up to it.'

'I don't trust Suika now because they blocked so-and-so on social media.'

And that's much more kindly worded than what I've actually seen out on social media; I'm paraphrasing and not doing a great job of conveying just how bad it really is!

Look, I don't follow Suika. I don't even know much about them. I have no skin in the game besides basic human decency. I just see that people are being cruel and turning Suika into a scapegoat for what is clearly a company-wide problem, and I find it extremely disappointing.

Suika addressed the situation regarding volume one, and their response was very professional. One thing they revealed is that the editorial staff make a lot of changes to the translation after they've turned in their draft:

This translation is not the sole responsibility of Suika and Pengie, and yet they're the only ones being blamed for these errors. They're not the ones in charge of the errata sheets on the website or updating the ebooks with the new corrections; that's on other staff at Seven Seas if those aren't done yet or something is still missing. Is it simply because they're the most public faces in fandom who are involved in the MDZS translation that they've become the scapegoats for everything that went wrong?

I find it deeply ironic, given that a significant theme in MDZS is that Wei Wuxian is turned into a scapegoat by the cultivation world and blamed for all sorts of things he was uninvolved in.

People were criticising those who were less bothered by the translation errors for being 'classist' and not understanding that the books are very expensive for some, especially if they have to import them. But there's no sympathy at all for Suika, who is working on the TGCF revisions, MDZS translation from scratch, and a third job on top of that!

How can you talk about classism while ignoring that the translator is busy working three jobs at once?

People talk about how it's totally OK to block anyone on social media, for any reason, including simply disagreeing with something they say. But when Suika blocks people because they're being harassed because of the translation, that's suddenly a black mark against them?

Everyone was excited that we were getting translations by fan translators who know the genre and what fans want, but now that those translations weren't 100% perfect, I suddenly see a bunch of talk that fan translators aren't good enough and shouldn't have had the job. 'Oh, no, it should be done by professional translators'.

The thing is that mainstream fiction is not translated in the same way as manga or light novels or C-novels, because it's being done for a different readership. Go look up, say, a Murakami Haruki novel on Amazon and read the preview! It lacks any of the original honorifics, and I swear it seems like even the language has been shifted to sound more like it was originally written in English. A 'professional' translator who doesn't work on these genres would not leave honorifics intact, they would not know that 'jindan' is popularly translated as 'golden core' or that 'qiankun pouch' should be left intact rather than translated in full. We'd wind up with more stuff like 'senior martial sister' and it would be a disaster.

The problem isn't that these fan translators aren't 'good enough' or don't care about their work. It's that they're being rushed and not paid for full-time work, even though translation like this is a full-time job. How can people in one breath criticise Seven Seas for these things, then turn around and say that the translation errors in MDZS have nothing to do with it and it's all just Suika's fault?

Why do you feel the need to turn someone into a scapegoat and heap hatred onto a stranger online?

#mdzs #mdzs fandom #mdzs translation

[maryellencarter]

So I've been tussling with how to write this post for some time now.

Uh, the background good news first? I appear to have worked almost an entire pay period and also March is a three paycheck month, so I'm making some very solid progress on getting caught up on my bills, and it seems like this might even continue. I know I tend to be more optimistic than is usually warranted, but 70 hours in my time clock when working all my scheduled hours would put me at 72 is pretty damn impressive, especially compared to how I've been doing for a really long time.

So then I was poking around and trying to figure out what one even does with disposable income. I've been going to a knitting group at a local yarn shop recently (I forget if I mentioned here but a friend was able to get me some KN95 masks and some helpful information about transmission rates so I can socialize safely again! This is probably a big factor in me being less depressed and more worky again also), but I don't really enjoy owning yarn I don't have A Plan for, so right now I've got a cable sweater for Leia, a fancy silk lace scarf, a puffy hexagon blanket, and a crochet baby blanket going, and I just really don't want any more yarn until I finish with one or two of these projects.

Recently, though, as y'all have probably seen, there was an announcement going around about the American Girl doll brand announcing a pair of 1999-themed Historical Character dolls. Because Tumblr is the "we are getting old" website at this point, there were Noises. (They have a Pizza Hut "Book-It" reading program playset. I have never been smacked in the face with nostalgia so hard in my entire life.)

As some of y'all may also remember, I used to have a whole collection of American Girl dolls and furniture and whatnot, because I was trying to do the whole "believe you can be safe and stable now and have the things you were never allowed to have as a kid" thing with a reasonable part of the money I'd inherited from my then recently deceased grandmother (a lovely human being, and by extreme genetic good luck the relative I take after physically, so that I don't have to deal with the whole "growing up to look exactly like my abuser" thing that some people have to suffer through). Then the 2016 election happened, I had a horrible depressive spiral, was unable to work, sold 90% of my collection to pay the rent, eventually became homeless anyway, and lost the other 10% by trusting the wrong person to keep my stuff safe when I had no other options.

ANYWAY! Not the point. The point is that I started poking my nose back into the American Girl website, and then the wiki in order to try to figure out what all I'd missed, and I'm kind of being like "hey, I could hypothetically afford some of this stuff again now".

(I personally find it hilarious that the brand is trying to walk a line between "Addressing trans and nonbinary identities in our helpful book on puberty for preteens? Sure, we'll do that, we're progressive! Also did you say Harry Potter collaboration? That's a license to basically print money from customers who are nostalgic for the same era we were most popular in, let's do this", which is exactly the kind of seesawing I expect from Disney -- who owns American Girl via Mattel.)

So *anyway*, and this is the part of this post I'm really struggling with: I also used to be heavily involved in the part of the American Girl adult collectors fandom that describes itself as "queer-friendly and socially conscious". That part of the fandom runs the wiki (which is an extremely useful and well-constructed resource). I don't know who-all from those days may still follow me on Tumblr, and I'm actually not looking to cause drama, just sort of thinking out loud as I so often do on the tunglrs, but after five years away from the fandom and having poked my nose back in, I'm running into a royal shitton of memories (and a little new information) that's making me go "Holy fuck, this place was *incredibly* toxic, no wonder I got utterly burned out on trying to interact with the dolls and items the way they demanded everybody should. No wonder I still feel like I'm walking on eggshells to even say anything or post a picture related to this fandom."

So. Let's be real. I'm saying "the way they demanded". It's one person, backed up by other mods who don't create their own separate demands. This particular section of the fandom is ruled with an iron fist by one self-described Angry Black Woman who... the very kindest way I can find to describe it is, she's a walking talking demonstration of how you cannot create a single safe space that's safe for everyone. I made a post several years ago that went a little bit viral, where I pointed out that being uncomfortable with a very verbally aggressive black authority figure can actually be because of the "very verbally aggressive authority figure" part, say if you're a survivor of emotional abuse *koff koff*, and doesn't have to mean you're "uncomfortable with black anger" Because You're Racist. That post was a direct reaction to multiple instances of seeing this person tell people "you're pushing back against me being verbally abusive, that's a racist action on your part".

That's the kindest, most nonconfrontational way I can come up with to talk about the situation. Less tactfully, after going to look over the forum rules for this subsection of the fandom -- hoping to realize I'd just been an extremely sensitive tortellini at the time and they weren't that bad, because I know I was an extremely sensitive tortellini in other matters -- in actual fact, I've been reminded very loudly that these rules are a 13k essay on topics such as You Must Be Okay With Verbal/Emotional Abuse If It's Directed At You By People Of Color, All Cultures Of Color Are Closed Cultures Now (So Don't You Dare Put This Black Doll's Clothes On Any Other Doll), and the real kicker for me, Only Selected Queer Identities Are Suitable For Public Discussion (subsection We're Redefining Queerness To Exclude Polyamory, new since I was last here, with sub-subsection Oops We Didn't Mean To Exclude Asexuals Only Those Icky Cishets, and fun guessing game Are We Excluding Aromantics Or Did We Just Forget They Exist, Ask And See If You Get Banned).

I... genuinely didn't mean to go on that long. But this is exactly why I'm making this post. Because I have a *lot* of trauma from trying to figure out what's actually racist or offensive and what's not, while being in a community where anything the main mod doesn't like can suddenly be declared an offense against social justice, and if you ever step on her toes, you're likely to be relegated to the ranks of the damned (aka the white Christian mommybloggers who own more than six white dolls or less than 50% dolls of color). And as probably all of you know, I do a lot of thinking out loud about trauma. Which is a PROBLEM, because this person definitely still follows me here (I don't know who else from the fandom does), and Tumblr blocks don't keep people from seeing your posts, only interacting with them.

So. Uh. There's probably going to be... more of this. I'm making this post now because I'm almost done sewing a doll skirt, I want to show it off here, and I'm also having a really nasty anxiety attack over how this person is definitely going to metaphorically rip it to shreds in the dedicated forum thread for mocking homemade doll clothes (mostly from Etsy) that don't live up to her exacting standards of Historically Accurate Doll Costuming. (The skirt is gathered instead of using 1800s-style "cartridge pleats"! The horror!)

Yeah. So. Um. I guess... if you follow me from when I was last in AG doll fandom, here's where I stand, at least right now. I'm not going to name any names, but you likely know who I'm talking about. I'm not going to go after anybody or cause trouble on their blog, but I'm not going to pull any punches when I'm talking about the ways they and their policies have made me feel unsafe in the fandom. And I'm not going to follow their byzantine rules based on the concept that a single doll can only have one ethnicity and one backstory. A doll, in its essence, is a shapeshifter the way a character actor is a shapeshifter, and not all of us want to create 50+ fixed individual characters that can't wear each other's clothes.

If you can't live with any of that, feel free to go commiserate with each other. I'm not planning to go back to the forum, so don't worry that I'll see anything you say there. (I'm not even planning to publish the rules publicly, since they're not viewable when logged out, although they are a trip and a half to read without the context of the dramas that shaped them.)

If you're scared what will happen to your standing in the fandom if you like my posts or keep following me, though... maybe that's a place to start thinking.

#american girl #yeah i'm tagging it #i'm not turning off reblogs either #we'll see if anybody cares