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stedefxckingbonnet · 6 months

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Past Lives | Izzy Hands x Reader

Izzy Hands x Gn!Reader

Summary: Quite some time has passed since you joined the crew of The Revenge per being saved, and you've grown particularly close to the one who brought you aboard. One night in particular is breathtaking and you decide you cannot contain your feelings anymore, but you had never learned exactly how to express these sorts of feelings to another person, let alone Izzy Hands. So, you do so in the only way you know how.

Warnings: slight angst/tension, slight avoidant attachment style (w/resolution though), kissing, some strong language

Word count: 2264 (some longer ones coming your way in the near future, though!)

A/N: hi hi lovely people! This is honestly the first x reader I've written since I was probably 14-15, so please bear that in mind! My interpretation of Izzy I feel like, isn't always 100% representative of him in the show itself, but I feel like I tried to capture him at his core while exploring this more sensitive side of him that we are getting in season 2, perhaps more of a what he is on the pathway to being, and therefore already is, if that makes any sense. Just has to be unlocked in levels. Plus, Izzy deserves the world so I just wanted to write something sweet to dip my toe back into this sort of writing. Anyhow, I'd like to get back into the habit of writing these so please, do request! I hope you all enjoy this one, comments are much appreciated xx

The stars illuminated the sky in such a way that it almost looked like a painting—a bit too picturesque, like one of those artworks that only aristocrats could afford to have on the wall of their ornate mansions passed through the centuries, or even built and curated just for them. Nonetheless, it was breathtaking, and the fresh air coursed through your veins and senses so effortlessly and made you feel alive. Nights like these weren't meant to be spent hidden away in your quarters and you knew that. Once you were sure everyone had retired for the night, you quietly crept onto the main deck, ready for your moment of solace that you had been seeking for weeks now.

You approached one of the railings, scanning across the deck still to see if anyone had been lurking nearby. The coast was clear, and finally, you found somewhere to lean on as you stared out into the night sky, the wind blowing through even the hairs on your neck, making them stand. On occasion, you'd be sprayed by the sea but it was the most at peace you had felt in weeks.

"Rough night?" you heard someone quietly call from a short distance away. You almost jumped, but you quickly turned around only to see Izzy Hands. Relief washed over you, as did a nervous feeling that had only begun recently. You inhaled sharply as Izzy waltzed over, thanking the stars for not illuminating this spot too much, therefore being no way he saw you craving that much air in your lungs. He leaned beside you on the railing, awaiting your reply.

"Not at all," you admitted. "Quite the opposite. It's so beautiful out tonight."

Izzy only nodded. He joined you in looking out at the landscape presented before him. In all of his years of sailing, it was all he had ever known--the sky and the sea, yet, he had never thought it to be this ravishing before. He never noticed how lovely it could be. Being here with you, he saw it all in a new light. He discreetly glanced over at you once again. He had noticed the way your lips slightly parted when you saw something you liked, and the way your shoulders lowered when you were relaxed. He noticed that you'd twiddle your thumbs when you were truly happy—in fact, you happened to be doing it right now. Izzy allowed his lips to curl into a smile upon realizing this. Finally, he broke the silence.

"I've never seen anything like this," he admitted, almost out of breath whilst he was still looking over at you. You still hadn't noticed.

"Isn't it...divine?" you chuckled. "Beautiful seems too weak a word."

"I feel the opposite. I don't think I've ever described anything as beautiful before."

"Really? Not once?"

Izzy shook his head. "Saving it for something special, I guess."

Silence filled the space between the two of you once again, but for once in your life, it was a comfortable silence. You looked out at the sea, but this time, you could feel Izzy's eyes on you. You attempted to discreetly glance his way, and you couldn't help but smile when you locked eyes. You looked away as you practically felt your cheeks burning and your stomach turning, and you hoped to the sea gods that you weren't falling ill. But these forlorn feelings felt honestly incredible, for once. A wave of confusion crashed over you, and it was growing more and more difficult to ignore.

"You alright?" Izzy inquired with genuine concern. This entire time, his eyes have not left you.

"What? Me?"

Izzy chuckled. "Who else?"

"Fine. Just fine."

"Just fine?"

"Do you believe in past lives?" you suddenly heard yourself ask, and already you were cursing yourself for it.

"Past lives?" Izzy repeated pensively. You nodded, looking over at him intently. It took him a moment to think of a response, and even still, he seemed unsure. "This sure as hell feels like the first time I'm living. Otherwise I probably wouldn't have made a lot of the decisions and mistakes I've made, I suppose."

You felt your heart sink, and it almost felt like there was no way to retrieve it. "I see. Well, goodnight."

Without letting Izzy have another word, you scurried back to your quarters, tears streaming down your cheeks like waterfalls.

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

You awoke the next morning with a sharp pain in your chest. You winced as you forced yourself out of bed, though as you dressed, the feeling began to dissipate. You almost teared up again upon reminiscing last night. What were you thinking, asking something like that of Israel Hands? Where did that even come from? Why did his answer hurt so terribly? A million thoughts swarmed around in your head like flies, and there wasn't much you could do to swat them away. You felt like holing yourself up in your room but you knew that with Stede as one of the captains, this wasn't much of an option. After hovering your hand above the doorknob for what seemed like ages, you finally twisted it, revealing yourself to the crew. Already, everyone seemed to be intertwined in their usual antics and fuckeries--it would have been fun and refreshing to see if not for the somber mood you were in. Lucius waved you over, and you seriously thought of walking right past him, but he was your dear friend, like a brother to you and you wouldn't have forgiven yourself if you dismissed him. You trudged over to him, and he immediately recognized your gloom.

"Well good morning, mopey," Lucius teased, nudging you in the shoulder.

"Not today, Luci," you mumbled. "Not today."

Lucius' smile dropped, though he raised a brow. "Talk to me. Who do I need to punch?"

"No one. I'm just having a bad day."

"You are such a bad liar."

"I just don't wanna talk about it," you grumbled. Lucius was at a loss for words, but thankfully you knew just what to say. "The sky was lovely last night. If only you'd been awake to sketch it. You're the only one who would have done it any justice."

"Maybe I'll have another chance tonight," Lucius said hopefully.

"Maybe you will," you breathed out as suddenly, none other than Izzy himself appeared onto the deck. You gulped and turned away from him immediately.

"Whoa, whoa. What's going on with you and Iz—“

"—I don't wanna talk about it," you almost seethed. Before you knew it, a finger tapped your shoulder. You swiveled around, fighting the tears in your eyes.

"Got a minute?"

"Not exactly."

"What better do you have to do?" Izzy demanded. Your jaw dropped, and you were waiting for your thoughts to catch up with your mouth but they never did. "That's what I thought. Come on, Y/N."

"Later, okay? Not right now. Tonight," you promised. "That's my best offer."

"I'll hold you to it."

You immediately realized the mistake you had made, and how difficult and miraculous it would be to get through this entire day before possibly knowing what Izzy wanted from you.

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

The shadow of the moon was present once again, and for once, you dreaded the wonders of nighttime. It felt perilous and peculiar now, like a friend you didn't quite recognize anymore. But, a promise was a promise, you'd be damned if you broke one, let alone this one. As frustrated and almost devastated as you were, you'd never allow yourself to break a promise to Izzy. You pulled your favorite capelet over your shoulders and started toward the deck to find Izzy already waiting in your usual spot. You hadn't realized it until now, but this really was your and Izzy's spot. It's where you wiped away his tears when he cried in front of you the first time, it's where he sat with you countless times when you couldn't sleep, it's where the two of you conversed until dawn frequently. Always this spot. It took everything in you to fight off a pang of joy upon experiencing such an epiphany. Izzy didn't notice that you had appeared beside him until you looked over at him finally.

"Are you alright? You seemed a bit...I don't know. Not yourself this morning, and last night."

"I'm fine," you shrugged, knowing Izzy would see right through you like you were a phantom.

"I don't buy that for a second," Izzy rolled his eyes. And with that, silence surrounded you both once again. It frustrated Izzy to no end that he couldn't figure out what was plaguing you. He always felt as if he was able to put a finger on whatever it was that bothered you, he prided himself on knowing you that well. The last thing he wanted was for you to become a stranger after all the two of you had endured together. The thought of losing you filled him with a sorrow he had never felt before.

"I'm sorry about what I asked you last night. About past lives and stuff," you suddenly said. Yet another moment where your mind and mouth weren't synced. You regretted saying this as soon as you began to speak, but you knew that once you did, there would be no stopping, no taking anything back.

"What was that all about, anyway?" Izzy implored. You almost scoffed at his tone but when you met eyes with him, you instantly realized that he genuinely wished to know. His eyes sort of twinkled when he was curious, and this was the first time you noticed such an endearing phenomenon.

"I just," you exhaled, pausing before you spoke again, this time choosing your words carefully. "Why'd you save me that day at Jackie's?"

Izzy was taken aback at such a question. "Isn't it obvious?"

"Not at all, actually," you laughed in annoyance, which was only a coping mechanism for the extreme anxiety you were undergoing in this moment.

"I honestly can't give you an answer you'd want," Izzy admitted. "I just felt...called to. I could tell it would be nice having you around here. I wanted to give you a place you could call home."

"So, wait, you care about me?" you inquired seriously, which only earned a chuckle of disbelief from him.

"Of course I do, dammit!"

"I don't know, Iz, I just...from the moment we met I felt this connection to you and I can't explain it. No matter how hard I could try, I won't be able to. I felt like I was meant to be around you."

"You think I didn't feel that way, too?"

"You did?" you asked, a glint of hope looming in your voice.

"Of course I did. And, I do. I can't explain it either. But I felt as if we were meant to be around each other, in each other's lives. I don't know," he rambled nervously. This was the first time you had seen Izzy like this. It was a side of him you weren't even sure he possessed until now.

"I guess I sort of caked that to the past life shit," you sighed. "And when you said you didn't believe in past lives, I freaked out and took that as you not caring about me and everything we've built just felt like a huge lie."

"Everything we've built," Izzy repeated.

"I'm so sorry," you laughed embarrassedly. "I don't know what I'm talking about."

"No," Izzy cut you off, putting his gloved finger to your lips. You could feel Izzy's breath on your face. "If I didn't care about you, I wouldn't have asked you to come with me. I had only known you for a few moments and I already knew you would be...important to me."

You were absolutely baffled. You opened your mouth to speak, and not a sound escaped it. Izzy took a step closer to you, slowly moving his hand to cup the right side of your face.

"And it helps that you are just...beautiful," he whispered as your foreheads touched. You could've sworn your heart was going a million miles a minute and that you would need some sort of village medic after this. As if it were instinct, your hand made its way into his carefully swept hair, and it felt like silk between your fingers. All of your worries suddenly melted away as you melted into one another, your lips brushing up against one another's. You nodded pleadingly, yes, you wanted this, followed by a nod from Izzy and finally, like puzzle pieces, your lips connected. It felt effortless and so, so right to share such closeness. Two becoming one, two souls merging to create a love bigger than either of you. A love that had been carefully crafted ever since the first day of meeting. A love that the both of you knew would inevitably take hold, because it always did in all the stories you devoured and then later went on to show to Izzy. A love that you had craved since you heard of the concept of it. A love that Izzy never thought he would attain in his lifetime.

You gasped happily for air, yet your foreheads still touched. Izzy gazed at you as if you were the only other person in the world and the most beautiful thing he had ever laid eyes upon.

"Perhaps I haven't had any past lives," Izzy breathed. "but I will have love for you in all my next."

#our flag means death #ofmd #ofmd s2 #ofmd season 2 #izzy hands #izzy hands x reader #x reader #gender neutral reader #second person pov #reader insert #izzy hands my beloved #the revenge #israel hands #ofmd izzy #ofmd izzy hands #fanfic #fanfiction #this is my first x reader in years pls be kind

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undiscovered-horizon · 2 years

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[TW: mentions/descriptions of scars, self-harm]

Imagine showing Matt your scars.

Very self-indulgent. Scars mean you survived and you shouldn't be ashamed of them - for something tried to kill you but you persisted.

[Content under the cut due to the sensitive nature of themes included]

The night was hot - as they usually are in July. You weren't sure if the warm, stuffy air kept you awake or maybe the rumbling of the small fan standing in the corner of the bedroom. Not knowing what to do about your insomnia, you just absentmindedly dragged your fingernails across Matt's chest, right next to your head and counted cars that drove past the window.

14,

15,

16 and a motorbike,

17,

"You're not sleeping?" Matt groaned. You had a leg draped across his pelvis, one of his hands rested lazily above your knee and the other circled your waist. Although he shifted beneath you, his palms haven't moved.

"I tried and, honestly, it's so last season."

Matt chuckled at your answer. Being funny at 3am had to be as much of an achievement as laughing at that hour. It was quite odd that it was you who couldn't sleep. Most of the time Matt was the one who stayed up until early morning hours, either keeping Hell's Kitchen in check or simply thinking, dwelling. You were in New York's safest place and even that wasn't enough to get your brain to drift away, to let itself be pulled from reality by gentle waves of fantasy and exhaustion.

"You're gonna wish you were old-fashioned in the morning." His voice was quiet against your hair while he spoke before softly kissing your head. Matt's arm tightened around your waist, bringing you even closer to him. He had this peculiar habit of falling asleep after you. It wasn't even that he wanted to be like that: he simply remained restless until you were sleeping. Matt thought about that quite often and while he never came to a reasonable conclusion, he had a few theories all of which boiled down to the very same thought - he felt a responsibility, maybe a desire, to be the saviour of the day and so this self-appointed duty ended only when you fell asleep.

Smiling to yourself, you closed your eyes in an attempt to sleep, again. His regular, deep breaths kept you drowsily content, peacefully treading the line between realms of reality and dream. It was this perfectly comfortable state of hesitation where your mind slipped between consciousness and unconsciousness, leaving you only to wonder which sounds and thoughts were real and coherent.

"You have a scar here?" he asked in a hushed tone. There was a hint of fascination in his voice as it usually is with lovers discovering pieces of each other. His fascination, however, was quickly gone as his pleasantly rough hand moved along your skin, feeling more bumps: too regular and frequent to be a complete accident. Matt's brows furrowed and your heart sank, only then, among your sleepy haze, realizing what was happening.

Feeling panic and shame taint your blood, you awkwardly tried to move away from his grasp but Matt wasn't going to let you - his arms held you tighter. Your attempt to clumsily, powerlessly wriggle out of his hold was a vain effort. It was too late: he already sensed that something was deeply wrong and Matt was one of those people who stop digging only when they find a body.

"Hey, talk to me," he pleaded quietly, fearfully as if anxious that wrong words would forever scare you away. It pained him: the possibility that you hurt yourself and he never noticed. Not only was he blind but a complete fool. "If you don't want to, it's alright, just say so."

"I..." you whispered hesitantly. Your voice was shaky. "I don't know what to say." That was the truth: what does one say in a situation like this? Do you play it off? Or tell your life's story? Is there no comfortable half-measure where you don't have to reopen old wounds and bleed on people who never held a blade to your throat? An elegant answer that won't summon the burning rawness of the memories?

"Alright," he answered while gently stroking your hair. He had no clue how to act either. Although he had nothing to do with whatever wraith once gnawed at your heart and mind, he felt as if he had failed at something. Matt couldn't help but recall all the days when you seemed a little less happy, when some gloomy clouds he couldn't name hang above your head. Was there something he could have done? Words he could have said to ease your aching heart? "We don't have to talk about it."

Cars continued to indifferently pass the apartment building. Single, dismembered yells echoed through the neighbourhood every now and then. Maybe it was for the better that this side of the world was asleep at this hour: there was only one person willing to hear the pain and strength you carried within your tired heart. Perhaps that person was the only person you wanted to tell about those snakes biting at your heels.

"I don't do it anymore," you whispered after a moment of silence. Sounds of nightlife nearly drowned out your quiet voice and, just for a moment, Matt questioned whether you really said that or simply his woe-stricken imagination whispered this promise to tame his frenzied heart. You knew that he was worried to the point of being physically sick, although he was far from coercing the truth from you. There was little obligation in your decision to tell him about it. It was a curious thing to be in love - to want the other person to know every mole and freckle on your skin, every nightmare and empty thought passing your headspace. "The urge is there but I can deal with it," you reassured him. It was the truth, no matter how dishonest it might have sounded, although not all of it: you simply did not have the heart to tell Matt that this urge never quite goes away; the bite marks of this snake never leave one's skin.

"You don't have to do it alone, love," he whispered against your face. "I want to be there for you." Matt pressed his lips against your forehead in a tender, uncharacteristically long, kiss.

There was desperation in his voice as if he begged you to let him help carry this burden. And what a freeing thought that was - to trust someone with the heaviness of your heart. Matt was asking for you to let him hold your vulnerability in his rough, bloodied hands that had denied mercy so many times. But, maybe, only hands like those were scarred, ruthless, enough to understand the weight of the gift they are trusted with. Cleaner, holier, fingers might be too brash to fully comprehend their own strength and viciousness. It was a privilege of all things and creatures murderous to truly take in the sacredness of life, just like only a thief knows the true value of diamonds.

The two of you simply lay there in silence. His rough hands caressed your skin in a comforting albeit absentminded manner. The strength of his hold remained, rendering you unable to move away and, perhaps, you were completely content with that. You could only wonder about it because Matt wasn't willing to ever admit it but he recognized that wraith of self-destruction you had battled with. To some degree, it was the reason why he hurt so much upon that night's discovery: he understood and it was absolutely gut-wrenching to know that someone he loved so dearly wasn't a stranger to this inhumane urge. You, quite simply, didn't deserve it. Maybe that's what humanity has always meant - to see your own face in another's pain and loneliness; to call someone's heartache by your own name.

And every chance he had, as if trying to make up for the times you had needed it the most, he held you a little tighter. A little longer.

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castiellesbian · 9 months

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What is YOUR ideal post-series situation for Sam, if you've given that much thought?

Yeah!! So when seasons 14-15 were airing, I was super into the idea of Sam leading a collective of hunters or becoming like the Bobby of the new generation. I do think he would move out of the Bunker (and with Eileen) and maybe he wouldn't go on many hunts himself anymore but I don't see him not trying to save people. Honestly in my view he'd never have kids either, but he would be a supportive community figure for hunters, their families, and monsters who need a safe place to go (or connect them to others who can help them, like Garth). That's my ideal scenario for him, but I was also interested in the witch!Sam theories that were going around at the time too. Basically anything other than the white-picket-fence ending they gave him though 💀

#s12 with the bmol and early s14 with the au!hunters really gave a taste of that endgame for sam #and i was really surprised they didnt follow through on it #not the worst crime though with everything else in mind :|

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ferperss · 26 days

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Loved reading your lore so thank you for the tag!! @sportsthoughts

I spent waaaay too much time writing this but once I started I felt like I couldn’t stop lmao, so I’m applauding anyone that gets through it!

The story of how I ended up where I am today is a long and winding road lmao. But I think I should start by prefacing with the fact that hockey has been a part of my life since I was born essentially. There are pictures of me on a pair of skates at around age 2 when my dad first tried to teach me! Then I played consistently from age 6 to 14 but quit when they wanted me to leave the “girls” team and play with the women because I was intimidated haha. Besides playing myself I’ve also spent many hours with my dad on the couch watching Sweden play in any and all kinds of tournaments, worlds, Olympics you name it, and since he never really rooted for any other team in Sweden or outside of it I just kind of slowly fell into that same thing. I knew there was a hockey league overseas that a lot of our own players were shipped off to but I never really had any interest in rooting for a team that wasn’t team Sweden at the time.

In the winter of 2014, I was at the ripe age of 15 and I did not play hockey anymore nor did I care about any teams really, but two of my best friends at the time became OBSESSED with this one junior player and kept talking about him. This man was none other than Thee Mr Willy Nylander himself. This led to the three of us obsessing over him and we watched him play in the world juniors over our winter break. It got to the point of us picking fights with people on twitter that said he was a bad player and really anyone that said anything negative about our Swedish players hahaha. We had a group chat named after him and everything. We eventually lost interest and forgot about him but this story is important because it comes back later.

Flash forward to May 2023! Before I entered my hockey era again I had an eight month long absolutely crushing obsession with the TV show 9-1-1 that was airing on Fox at the time (ABC now thank god, I still keep track) that came to a screeching halt when the season 6 finale aired and I hated it. I swore up and down that I was never ever going to watch that show again and now that the one thing I had been so fixated on for so long was gone I did not know what to do with myself. Which sounds so dramatic but honestly sometimes I don’t know who I am if I have nothing to obsess over. So naturally I needed entertainment and as I looked up through the haze of firefighters and network drama I found that the 2023 IIHF World Championship in Tampere and Riga was on! And I had no choice! There was hockey to be watched and I sure did watch it. Now, it did not go too well for the Swedish team last year, which is okay. But one thing that happened was the constant debate on wether Willy Nylander was going to join in. His brother was there and his teammate Timothy Liljegren also joined in. But there was no word on Willy himself. And it was all they talked about. He obviously did not end up joining but all the talk had made me nostalgic. And naturally I had to revisit the old object of obsession and see how he was doing over the Atlantic and turns out he was doing quite well indeed. And because I am a sucker for team dynamics and narratives (who could ever believe I studied film for five years) I desperately clung onto the Toronto Maple Leafs like my life depended on it. What I didn’t know was that these were also transformative times, and once I’d gotten into the team and the organization, I was bewildered when Kyle Dubas all of a sudden was going to another team??? How could that be?? The Penguins?? And that’s when I found my way to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the power of Dubas’ cardigans and Sidney Crosby’s fat ass gripped me and now I split my time between my equally cursed teams like they’re my divorced parents. And here we are.

Naturally there are a lot of nuances left out of here, I’ve covered the key points but I think that there are probably so many reasons that it was the perfect time for me to get into hockey again and here we are almost a year later and there’s no going back now!! I’m stuck here forever. And I would not have it any other way <3

This is the end of ramblings and I’ll say if there’s anything I love more than hockey, it’s being dramatic, and also I didn’t spell check this at all so if it’s not perfect I’m sorry (I’d love to blame it on English not being my first language but it’s the only subject I’ve always had straight A’s in so it’s not really applicable it’s just me being lazy)

#still need fo figure out how I’m tagging my personal stuff #I was going to use #not hockey just me #but that’s not really true in this case so I don’t know #tag games

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muddyorbsblr · 11 months

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15 Questions

Thank you @ladyofthestayingpower @mochie85 and @littlespaceyelf for the tags! 💖💛

1. Are you named after anyone?

My first name (a variation of Stephanie)…no. But my 2nd name and also my preferred name, Allison, was actually originally my mother's name (only hers was spelled Allyson) and she hated it on her so she passed it on to me…? That's a whole lot of shit I gotta unpack one of these days 🥴🫡

2. When was the last time you cried?

I chose violence last week and decided to flesh out what the Season 2B finale of 'relinquish the crown' would look like, decided to title it 'relinquish the crown: you're losing me', and yep…that had me crying for a few good minutes. Whelp--

3. Do you have kids?

Lol no. My aspiration is to be cool rich aunt to my friends' kids.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Yes and IRLs despise me for it

5. What sports do you play / have you played?

🤣🤣🤣 …ohh wait, you're serious aight well…shit… I had a trainer for table tennis when I was in my late teens purely for fitness purposes and so my father had someone to do drills with.

6. What's the first thing you notice about other people?

Their eyes.

7. What's your eye color?

Brown. Hence the username "muddyorbs" 🤣🤣

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

Anyone who knows me from my horror narration days will probably choke on air at this but…happy endings, all the way.

9. Any special talents?

I'd like to think writing…and then after that I dunno, calligraphy, I guess? 😳👀

10. Where were you born?

Manila

11. What are your hobbies?

Diamond painting, coloring apps, voiceover (once in a blue moon), writing, making moodboards (when inspiration strikes), watching YouTube and retaining a whole library of random information I like to whip out when the time is right.

12. Do you have any pets?

Building doesn't allow any pets sadly (which might be a good thing because I have no idea if I'm capable of keeping another living thing alive when I'm struggling taking care of myself lol), but I have a lot of stuffed toys that I have to share with y'all one of these days

13. How tall are you?

5'4", and it's ridiculous that despite being this smol, I look like I'm tol when I go outside because most people I come across are 5'1" and under. (Just can't stand beside my father because he's 5'10" and suddenly I am smol again)

14. Favorite subject in school?

English. Honestly wasn't a big fan of the books we had for required reading, but during my Junior year in High School, we had a few weeks just dedicated to Edgar Allan Poe and that's probably my favorite memory from those 4 forsaken years lol…ohh, and that one week where we learned about sonnets and I had to write one. Good times, goooooood times.

15. Dream job?

Book reviewer. If there's a way for me to make some "sit back and relax in my humble lil mansion/penthouse" money from just reading books and hyping it up on the internet for everyone to see, then that's what I want. All my friends putting out books and lil ol' me in my reading nook, hyping them up. And then occasionally I'll come out with something of my own…maybe. When the mood strikes.

tags (if you've done it, pls disregard 😅): @holdmytesseract @infinitystoner @give-me-a-moose @maple-seed @alexakeyloveloki @liminalpebble @lokisgoodgirl @lokischambermaid @fictive-sl0th @smolvenger @wheredafandomat @ijuststareatstuffhereok89 @joyful-enchantress @coldnique

#tag games #15 questions

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drawnaghht · 8 months

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a reply to @freakova's tags on this post

#this would be a really nice ending honestly#cause YEAH why happened to his parents what gives they’re Usagi’s too#and the fact that auntie adopts the kids it shows how family can be found#+Yuichi know got lil sisters#He’s all about family (miyamoto and auntie) they could have explored it even further

same! would like to know more!!!

we never really touched on Usagi's backstory besides that his parents entrusted auntie with taking care of him, so I often wonder, if the show had been given a longer episode run, like maybe 30, 40, maybe even 26 instead of 20 - could we have seen more character backstories in general? Cuz there's also Kitsune, who's backstory we don't know at all, and then Gen and Toshiko, who we see explain their story a bit in bits and pieces through-out the 2 seasons. The fact that Usagi immediately goes back to his auntie, because he knows Hana would be safe from the ninja there, says a lot about how much he trusts his auntie. like the show makes it feel like he might actually be the most fleshed-out of all the characters, but his story is hidden almost as much as Kitsune's. I sorta get the reasoning there - their personalities already serve to tell their story a lot, Usagi is a big fan of his own ancestor and idolizes him, while Kitsune is a street-thief and grifter before we see Usagi bump into her puppet-cart and ruin her evening plans. The audience can get a lot of info out of just context-clues, but Kitsune and Usagi are also characters who are most easy to read at first, so we don't get their backstories really explored or opened the same way as Chizu or Gen, because, I can only guess, those stories don't seem to directly tie into the two larger arcs shown during the 10+10 episodes. But lol, would still like to know more, where are the activity books and character pages? a little side novel maybe? why did the age of flash games with extra info have to end before this show aired lol, if only Netflix spent money on that sort of stuff too, maybe we'd have more info besides just the shows on their own 😂😂😅

More theories and rambling below :D

My theory about Usagi's parents is that they died in one of the wars mentioned by some of the older characters in the show :) Cliche, I know! but it seems to sorta make sense. Could have been many other reasons too of course! Maybe they went to the city to find or do something related to the family business or history, but found their end somehow. One of my other theories is that there were gang wars in Neo Edo, around 10-14 years before the series starts. Maybe they found their end there? We don't even know how old his parents would have been, but judging by auntie's look and how she speaks and acts, maybe she's like, around 60-ish? she has raised her nephew for 15 years, meaning since she was around 45, so maybe her sister/brother would have been around 35-40 something when they died. I personally headcanon that it's his mom, who is the Miyamoto family member here, so maybe his dad really was a farmer by birth and thus, the family did not have a name anymore (they've always preferred staying in hiding after Miyamoto died) and that's why they gave him the name Yuichi Usagi with meaning... related to that earlier Senso-connected theory I had ^^;

The "big" wars, mentioned by Lady Fuwa and Armiral Nochi, being recent makes sense tho. bc even though a 1000 years have gone past and Edo (our real-world Tokyo) in this world has been able to embrace some more advanced tech (courtesy of the Ki-stone), perhaps even alien tech, depending on how you view what happened with Miyamoto Usagi in the show's past, some of the culture and tech has sort of stayed in the Edo period. This is mainly because the show creators and staff wanted to keep both Edo sensibilities as well as modern tech and create an interesting fusion on an artistic and story level. One of the older interviews from last year mentions that the crew was inspired by Stan's 2015 story Senso - that what if Edo got to take all that alien tech and use it for themselves? From one of Stan's answers in this 2022 Popverse interview:

"They took one of my stories – Senso, a miniseries I did where Martians invade feudal Japan – and wondered what if they took some of the technology they got from those Martians, how would it affect their society generations down the line?

That was the premise, with the story taking place in a city called Neo-Edo; with Edo being the old name for Tokyo, the capital of Japan. It also takes a lot from Japanese culture, such as vending machines, pachinko parlors, karaoke bars, and things like that. It integrated everything, the old and the new, and I’m quite happy about that."

So the wars would make sense to be more recent because to me, it seems that maybe with this tech, from a story-world level, they should be further along the line than having just flying cars and airships, right? But wars are one of those things that always and if Edo didn't have those outside influences that we had, maybe they wouldn't have some things, i.e. we don't see phones or trains on the show vs the phone boom we had in the 1980s in the real world and the hi-speed train rails japan is known for now. So they probably would have also missed out on the 60s Space Race between the US and the Soviet Union, which popularized the 1960s "space age aesthetic" for example, which is what we might think of when trying to remember 60s tech and fashion. So the show creates its own retrofuturism in trying to consider all these different elements.

(images from Flickr, Lehza Vintage)

(from The Rake, The Olympians)

I wonder if they even considered some cultural things that stuck and became popular before and after the US occupation, such as baseball Harley Davidsons and jazz - what would those be like in the world they created around the city of Neo Edo?

(from AnotherDesignBlog, Eiko Hanamura on League of Extraordinary Cosplayers, Sally the Witch on Wikipedia, 60s Vintage MENKO on eBay)

We see some semblances of what we could call western influences in how Gen installs new kitchenware in episode 5, how Kitsune looks like she could be a 1970s Harajuku girl, how Admiral Nochi and the Bat Squadron dress etc. It's an interesting balance throughout the show and thinking about it more just makes me more curious about it haha.

Maybe what happened with the Makkine a 1000 years ago is that a few sentries arrived with Kagehito's ship. Because of the surprise Kagehito expresses about the makkine warbotto self-replicating in the present (the s2 warbotto ep), we can surmise that they didn't back then, so they didn't replicate. Did they leave any ships? In the first season, Kagehito's ship is underground and covered by hundreds of years of rubble and rock. The Mogura Gang helping him then, actually find gold before they find his ship. So if any ships did come through with him those 1000 years ago, it seems that they did not "park" into the same place, or, likely that whatever happened, they were used up by locals.

The show is also quite fast-paced in reality, as we can see from how each episode jumps from POV to POV, or topic to topic and we get a lot of info in a short time, so to me it seems that the story crew REALLY crunched every bit of important info, story or jokes into the episodes, but just, didn't have more time to show or do anything about Usagi's parents.

lol what I'm doing to avoid more brainworms like this is to.... I guess continue writing my fanfic where I try to solve this (the main storyline from the comic i posted haha), but I also realized while writing this... I am waiting to see if I can get one of the new books coming out this or next year that bridges the stories/worlds between Yokai Hunter and Space Usagi, to see if there might be some new connections to be from there about Space Usagi in general, but maybe there could be something there nodding back to SR as well? maybe the new character is inspired by that or somehow bridges those things? lol a fan can hope ;D

#freakova #aghhtreplies #usagi chronicles #srtuc #yuichi usagi #srtuc kitsune #srtuc gen #srtuc toshiko #fan analysis #sorta?#aghht srtuc analysis #srtuc fan theory #long post #srtuc bat squadron #srtuc mogura gang #k half of this is just. sleepless rambles. not v good. but look at my graphics in this post!

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zalrb · 2 years

Text

OTH 2x18 Rewatch

1. IIIIIIIIIIIIIII DON’T WANNA BE ANYTHING OTHER THAN WHAT I’VE BEEN TRYNA BE LATELYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

WHY NOT, JAKE?

3. What exactly is Lucas’ job at this dealership?

4. I like how this lawyer is like, Jake, what situation do you think you’re IN right now?

because seriously, Jake, you KIDNAPPED your CHILD.

5. Jake keeps talking about Jenny being safe, did Nicki harm her/neglect her? Like I know she neglected her by leaving and I can understand being resistant because of that but he makes it seem like Jenny in her custody would put her in harm’s way and I’m just trying to remember if I missed something.

6. Also Nathan and Taylor are interesting-ish too ... it’s kind of like Haley and Taylor where they don’t exactly have the sister-ish chemistry I’d put down in my lists but there’s a vibe. Just like how there’s a kind of a vibe with Nathan and Taylor. Like when he flirts with her I’m just like ... yeaaaa

7. This is what friends who like each other look like

and they do their little squeal

7. LOL coyote ugly (2000)

really popularized skinny white girls dancing on bars

the 2000s, man, what a time

8. I wonder if Haley knows about this part of the trip

because Taylor you’re doing a lot

9. And it’s funny because James keeps touching her waist and stopping and you can tell he’s not supposed to be doing that, which is why the moment he does, he moves his hand because Nathan is supposed to be a willing but passive participant

10. LMAO by the end his hands are in the air and he’s like iiiiiiiii don’t know where to put them

11. Lucas, don’t you think it’d be a TAD suspicious that Dan is keeping a ledger of all of his illegal activity in the ceiling AT HIS WORK?

12.

The delivery was HILARIOUS.

13. Andy. you had a private investigator like 4 minutes ago, just hire him again!

14. Ha, Lucas is in black again.

15. It makes literally no sense that the police can’t find Jake.

16. Oh riiiiiiiiiiiiight, Nicki passed out in the front seat of a car with Jenny in the backseat. OK.

17. I remember watching this as a preteen and kind of digging Taylor and Nathan too and feeling SO BAD about it

18. But honestly season 1 Nathan should’ve been more like this, because this is supposed to show the danger of Nathan going back to his old ways but Nathan wasn’t like this in season 1. This Nathan is arrogant but with a bit of charm so he’s that guy you know better than to hook up with but you do anyway because his confidence is attractive and he could’ve been that guy to explain why Peyton keeps staying despite being unhappy, he could have the attitude of feeling like he owned the team, owned the school by just being like this and Haley could’ve been like yeah, this isn’t working on me so cut the shit

but season 1 Nathan was a legit villain, like not even a little shit, he was just straight up horrible but part of this is also because James is growing as an actor and he’s learning how to hit the fine lines

19. No, but Taylor, you were absolutely going to smash your sister’s husband

20.

I don’t know, Taylor, because if he went for it I high key feel like you would’ve just went for it.

21. Everyone shut up they are SO cute

22. Anna’s mirror scene is sweet.

23. NO THE JEYTON ANGST.

24. Peyton can’t just walk into an apartment without Jake hearing, come ON.

25. FOR LEYTON?????????

26. Anna leaving is like, I like how you can just pick up and leave and go to different schools like nothing. Like if she was at boarding school and it wasn’t just one big high school like Tree Hill High why couldn’t she have just transferred schools to begin with why did they have to move to a completely different town.

27. I like how Haley leaves one message on the home machine and doesn’t try his cell. Girl, do you want your husband or not? Ginuwine paged his girl at 9 and called her at 10 to see if she got his message at 9 just for a dick appointment, let step up your game.

28.

FOR LEYTON?

And it’s such a nice scene because Peyton is emotional and she was scared and then seeing him in prison, she just has to say ‘I love you’ but Jake kind of just furrows his eyebrows and shrugs and it’s like, well of course I love you too, I thought that was a given? And then they fade to Whitey but as they do you see Jake’s face because Peyton’s crying and he’s like please don’t cry

#LOL if you get my ginuwine reference then you watched OTH when it aired

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spncreatorsdaily · 1 year

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Is it worth watching the winchesters? I've only watched spn up to season 13 ( I had depression it stopped me enjoying things) around this time reason why I never got around watching season 14-15 mind you in my teen years I would watch classic spn 1-7 so much before New seasons would come out

Spn came out when I was 15 I'm in my 30s now yeah spn was on for half my life lol

Debating weather to binge the spin off once it aired I know sam ain't gonna be In it tho he's my favourite

Honestly, it's enjoyable even if you didn't watch all the way to the end of SPN — however — as a SPN fan, it would make you love it a little bit more, especially when we get closer to the end, if you finished seasons 14 and especially 15.

Otherwise, the season finale of The Winchesters may throw you for a loop.

So it's watchable on its own, and yes the "this isn't canon!" is something the show knows, however if you were already a SPN fan, then finishing the show outright before starting on this would make the show a little more enjoyable and will have you constantly asking questions. And picking up on some Easter eggs!

#asks #the winchesters

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samwpmarleau · 2 years

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tyler lockwood

2. When I think I truly started to like them (or dislike them, if you’ve sent me a character I don’t like)

I watched TVD initially when it was first airing forever ago, but IIRC I started liking him around the time the show meant us to — when we watched him learn about the werewolf thing. And that was that 🥰

3. A song that reminds me of them

Honestly, the show hit it on the mark when they chose Matthew West’s “Family Tree.” At least, until they ruined it for no reason at all. I also like “I Will Survive,” by Stephanie Bentley.

4. How many people I ship them with

Other than Caroline, I like the idea of Bonnie. They both deserved better, and I think they could’ve been good together, especially once he lost his hybrid status and became mortal again so he wouldn’t have to outlive her.

5. My favorite ship of them

Caroline 😭 Though the person she became later on was totally unworthy of him. You know and share my thoughts on this lmao

6. My least favorite ship of them

I’ll say Liv simply because the first time around I stopped watching mid-season 4 and on rewatch I couldn’t get past mid-season 5 so I didn’t really see them together. Or Vicki because he was very shitty to her.

7. A quote of them that you remember

He has a lot of good ones! One in particular I remember and like is shortly before he goes through his first transformation where he says he’s scared. The narrative had presented him sympathetically before that, but I think that really showed he was no longer a douchebag jock, but rather a 16-year-old kid facing a truly horrifying experience. For him to not only admit he was scared, but admit it to Caroline then break down was so sad.

12. Sexuality hc!

Oh gosh, idk. Haven’t really thought about it, honestly, and could see it going a few different ways. I’ll go bi (with a preference for women), because those scenes with Jeremy in early season 2 had vibes 👀 Definitely open to other interpretations, though!

13. Your favorite friendship they have

No one was really his friend :((( Matt at least cared when he died, though, so Matt.

14/15. Best/worst storyline they had

His werewolf one was the best, by far. Worst was DEATH.

21/22. When do you think they were at their happiest/lowest?

Happiest was probably the summer between the season 2 finale and through 3x01. He was so light and his relationship with Caroline was in my opinion at its closest and most wholesome. His lowest moment ... do I have to say it? Early-mid season 5.

23. Future headcanon

I DON’T CARE HOW, BUT SOMEHOW HE GETS RESURRECTED. And then proceeds to live his best life and Caroline comes back with an adequate apology and they live happily ever after.

26. When do you think they were being “themselves” the most?

His softest moments. That softness really is at the core of his character: He has such a big heart and — as he says himself — he doesn’t want to be the guy he was at the beginning of the series, the guy his father shaped him into. He shines in season 2 and beyond when he can unashamedly be a mama’s boy, sweet and lovey with Caroline, and (for better or worse) do anything for the people he cares about.

28. The most unnecessary thing they ever did?

This was the show’s fault, not the character’s, but I hated that he was made to leave so many times. That said, the first time he left I’d say was the most unnecessary because unlike later when his absences were caused by Klaus, this one was his decision. I can understand why he did it, and I’m glad he was able to learn the ropes with people who knew first-hand what he was going through, but I felt there was a better, less isolating way to go about it.

29. How do you think they would be as a parent? (And if they are a parent, how do you think they would be if they weren’t?)

HE WOULD BE SO GOOD. Between the natural kindness he has in him I mentioned from #26, he also would want to be absolutely nothing like his own father. I’m sure he would be insecure af about it, but he would be great and it’s a travesty he’ll never get to experience it.

———

send me a character and some numbers! [x]

#tyler lockwood #tvd #headcanons #ask meme #trevinodiaz

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yiangchen · 2 years

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TLOK Book 1 Rewatch Thoughts...

1. While only having seen the show as a whole once, I’ve seen Book 1 about four times now I think. I just love it. It’s honestly really really solid and I enjoy it a lot.

2. Amon is a very compelling villain. I used to think that him being a bloodbender was kinda stupid because it undermined the revolution, but I’m not sure I agree with that anymore. Due to his upbringing, he had a very valid reason for thinking all bending is evil.

3. The murder/suicide scene with Noatak and Tarrlok is so sad but so good.

4. Korra being able to airbend feels way more earned to me this time around. I had never realized that her fear of Amon was part of her mental block, and once he took away her ability to bend the other three elements, she realized she had nothing left to lose. It’s a very earned moment the more I think about it.

5. Which reminds me...Aang giving her back her bending at the end is actually earned as well. Letting go of her fear of Amon was also pivotal in her connecting to her spiritual self.

6. I absolutely love the scene in episode 2 where Korra moves like an airbender to win the pro bending match. I get major chills every time.

7. While parts of the love triangle are cringy, the way that Korra acts honestly makes sense considering she’s never interacted with kids her own age all that much before, if at all.

8. When Bolin and Korra are on their date, they do seem lowkey perfect for each other, and honestly, I can see it.

9. Also, I do still really enjoy a lot of the Makorra moments in Book 1. They’re cute, okay. Ngl. (They were my original ship back when I first watched the show. I don’t love them nearly as much as I had then, but I still like them a fair amount.)

10. One of my favorite parts about this rewatch was noticing all the little Korrasami moments. I know that they didn’t originally intend for Korrasami to end up together at all, considering that the Book 1 finale was originally the finale of the whole series and Makorra got together, but there are quite a few Korrasami moments.

11. Lin and Tenzin are still my two faves. I LOVE THEM. Also, Jinora!

12. However, my only complaint with Tenzin’s character is that I really wish that he and some of his children had some SWT elements in their Air Nomad robes.

13. Iroh II making an appearance is one of the highlights of the season imo.

14. Lin’s sacrifice is one of the saddest moments, but I kinda love it.

15. You know what? I love probending. It’s so fun.

16. Mako wearing his father’s scarf as a parallel to Katara wearing her mother’s necklace. I’M CRYING.

17. I still refuse to believe that Katara banned bloodbending entirely. It makes sense that she would ban the use of it to control/hurt people, however, I absolutely love the hc that she developed medicinal uses for it. I like to think that she trained a select few how to save lives with bloodbending and that most of the waterbending staff in hospitals have a license to do so. Technically, there is nothing in canon that disproves this. Bloodbending is illegal, but there could be exceptions if it means saving a life. Just saying.

18. The music is just incredible. The animation too.

19. Naga is the best.

#aaaand thats everything off the top of my head #tlok

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starspatter · 1 year

Text

Heroes and Thieves, Ch. 20

Title: Heroes and Thieves Fandom/Universe: BTAS, pre/post-RotJ flashback

Summary: A story about second chances, healing, and having hope.

Rating: PG-13, for references to character death, child psychological torture and trauma.

Genre: Romance/Family/Friendship/Hurt/Comfort

Word Count: 4,019 Previous Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19

Also on ff.net and AO3.

Well my head is dead and my mind is fed up of all this stupid time That has dropped off the clock and I've avoided the knock From the monster that's been running my life He's ugly as hell and well, his heart is broken His eyes tell a tale with words unspoken He dreams of a day when he can honestly say he's alright

-This Love, “Free”

————————–

Then.

“What do you mean you guys haven’t kissed yet?”

The end of December was drawing near, and they had just finished with first semester finals. The four of them trekked through fresh snow back to the dorms, Steph and Cass taking the lead while Conner and Tim tailed behind, the latter lingering a distance so as not to let the girls overhear their conversation. Tim watched as the blonde in front of him stretched her arms to the air, blissfully exclaiming: “Ahh freedom at last~” before anxiously asking her friend what she got on one of the more difficult Physics questions.

“It just… hasn’t really come up… We’ve been studying so much since then, there’s never been a good time…”

Conner shook his head.

“Dude, that’s no excuse. You gotta keep her satisfied if you plan to hold onto her past holiday break. Sometimes you just gotta go for these things, man.” He paused, clapping a hand on his companion’s shoulder as he suggestively leaned in closer. “Listen, Christmas is coming; that means mistletoe season. It’s a prime opportunity. If you want, I can totally set something up for you two…”

“I don’t need your assistance.”

Although Tim scoffed at his roomie’s waggling eyebrows, the worry of not measuring up to expectations had been weighing substantially on him over the past few weeks. Dick kept trying to push him to be more assertive as well, and had even insisted on lending him a collection of certain kinds of “magazines” as “reference material”…

“Hey, what are you boys whispering about back there?”

Stephanie had swiveled around and approached the pair, suspicious of Conner’s smirk and Tim’s evidently embarrassed expression.

“You wouldn’t be bullying my boyfriend, now would you?”

She wrapped herself protectively – possessively – around Tim, who bloomed an intense shade of pink at suddenly finding himself being fought over.

“Me? A bully? Wherever would you get that idea?”

Conner whistled innocently, while Cassandra observed the three in silence. Tim shot her a pleading look to get him out of this predicament, thinking “free me” as hard as he could, but she simply smiled slightly. Damnit, was she actually amused by his humiliation?

“Tim, don’t listen to what that mean ol’ brute says.” Steph squished her mortified prize tightly, magnifying his discomfiture further as she stuck her tongue out at her opponent, who huffed in indignation.

“Please, if I were actually a bully, I’d do something like this.”

Without warning, he stooped to scoop up a clump of crystal flakes, flinging the freezing projectile at Stephanie, who screeched and released in order to defend herself.

“Why you-”

She laughed like a shriek as she shivered and shook the ice shavings out of her mane, crouching to collect ammo herself. Packing heat – or rather coldness in this case – as she launched a quick counterattack. They began pelting each other gleefully with polar pellets, while Tim spectated uncertainly, wavering whether to break the battle up… Until a wayward missile errantly missed its mark, instead splatting straight onto his face.

“…Ah.”

The combatants immobilized, glancing in nervous remorse at the unintended casualty, who stood there in complete shock for a moment. Stephanie instantly flashed back to the water gun incident, and gulped apprehensively, afraid they might’ve made another mistake. (At least she wasn’t entirely the one to blame this time.)

As before, Tim wordlessly wiped the wetness dripping down his cheek – before calmly bending down and gathering a lump to lob right back at his assailant. Conner yelped as the unanticipated retaliation caught him by surprise, while Steph burst into an excited beam.

“Boo-yah! Tim’s on my team!”

She eagerly declared as she aided her partner in an aggressive revenge, ruthlessly ganging up on their target as he raised his hands in a desperate attempt to shield himself.

“Hey, no fair! Cass, help me!”

Fair? They were up against a superhuman and a psychic, Tim privately thought to himself. Although to be fair, Cassandra denied the other’s turn to beg for mercy, merely casting a lolling glimpse that quite plainly said: “You brought this on yourself, mister. Now deal with the consequences.” …As she simply sidestepped any stray shrapnel without choosing sides.

As they clobbered each other with clods of frost, people stopped and gawked at the infamous group of so-called “freaks” playing enthusiastically like little kids in the courtyard, but none of said shunned subjects even cared, too engrossed in their game to pay patronizing passersby any heed. Tim could sense his self-consciousness slipping away as he pitched and dodged, slipping back into old practiced habits of evading punches and bullets. The exhilaration he felt now was perhaps even more fulfilling though, without real risk of legitimate danger to his life or others’. …When he witnessed Steph was right in the path of a sizeable snowball’s trajectory though, he dove on instinct, tackling directly to the ground.

He blinked as they abruptly found their features so very near to each other, flushed and respiring heavily from combined adrenaline and chill. Rapidly beating hearts and heat of their bodies connecting through thick sugarcoated layers. He could distinguish individual flecks of powder from the fluffy pile they had landed on dusting her long lashes as they fluttered up at her “hero”, feathery and fair. Complexion as rosy as her lips, waiting with bated breath. Tim swallowed, before hastily rolling off.

“S- sorry.”

Stephanie sighed at the release of pressure, flopping back in familiar disappointment. She soon started giggling though, and before long Tim joined her as they took a timeout to just lie there laughing for a minute. …And maybe after a while he’s laughing a little too loud and too long, but by God it felt good to let his happiness out uninhibited like this, after so many years of holding himself back. He couldn’t remember the last time he had this much fun.

As soon as the chuckles subsided and they sat up though, Stephanie was startled by a sudden smack to her temple. At first they both assumed it was a signal of resuming the bout, but for some reason the assault seemed a lot harsher and more painful than before.

“Ow!”

She cringed on contact. Tim’s pupils widened when he saw scarlet seeping down her forehead, staining the rich white beneath them. …Where a rock jutted out from the bank.

“Steph, you’re – you’re bleeding…”

She touched a finger to her brow in disbelief, stunned to discover drops of crimson come off on her tip. Tim spun around towards Conner, who immediately denied any involvement, shaking his head in equal horror.

“Tim, I swear to God, bud, it wasn’t me.”

Tim swerved and glared angrily at their surroundings, as every member in the audience awkwardly averted their gaze. He grabbed the stone and stood up, grip so severe it stabbed into his own flesh.

“Who the fuck threw that?!”

He shouted at a volume high enough for the entire yard to hear, likely disturbing some of the classes where students were still testing as well. He didn’t give a shit about that though, seething to the core. Doubt darted in every whispering, snickering direction, until his vision landed on their other comrade, who remained oddly mute even in this situation. His perception narrowed. She didn’t look guilty per se (and he refused to believe she would ever dare renege on her pledge to never do anything to harm Steph), but something about her shifty, shrinking appearance told him she was definitely hiding something.

“…You know who did it, don’t you? You can tell.”

Cassandra bit her lip, declining to answer. Tim stalked towards her, seizing her shoulders roughly as he demanded a response.

“Tell me who it was – right now.”

“I…”

She winced at the strength of his clutch, cowering under his looming fury. Conner’s own lion rage awakened as he lunged forth to fasten around Tim’s wrist like a vice, violently pulling him away with a far greater force.

“Oi, get away from her!” He barked as he twisted Tim around, locking both limbs in a firm hold. “You need to cool it.”

Tim’s view darkened with a grim pall, as he lowered to avoid meeting the larger male’s lecturing look.

“Let go of me, Conner.”

He growled, glowering defiantly.

“And what’ll you do if I release you? Supposing you do find out the culprit?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Tim’s irises flared dangerously. “I’ll beat ‘em to a bloody pulp.”

“And then what? Get your ass suspended again? Kicked out? Lose your scholarship?” Conner hissed in a cruel, but concerned tone. “Stop and think for a damn second, will you?”

Tim scowled, but eventually his fist uncoiled. Conner loosened a little, relaxing as Tim’s appendage obediently descended. Stephanie spoke up softly.

“It’s all right, guys. I’m okay, really…”

There was liquid leaking through her cupped palm though, and Tim bristled again, but Conner clamped him down, resolutely shaking his head.

“Let it go, Tim. Let’s just get her to the infirmary.”

Conner offered his hand to help her up, while Tim looked on uselessly. He eluded Steph’s perspective as he stuffed his own empty paws into his pockets.

“You guys go on ahead,” he muttered. “I’m gonna… go cool off.”

“Tim? Wait, where are you going?”

Stephanie strove to stop him, struggling against Conner’s support, but Tim had already taken off, escaping towards the dormitories. When he reached his room, he slumped against the entry, sinking to the floor with his own cranium cradled in his hands. Reflecting back on his confrontation with Cassandra, for even though she hadn’t acknowledged anything aloud, he could still hear the reluctant reply resounding inside his brain:

…They had been aiming for you.

“Goddamnit!”

He revolved and pounded his knuckles into the wall, not caring if he caused any damage to either it or himself. Another voice murmured mildly beside his ear, smooth and satiated by the display of outright hostility. Insanity. Delightedly feeding on such delicious despair and self-loathing.

Now you see what happens when you get close to others? Let this be a lesson to you, JJ. Don’t you get it? You’re a blight, diseased. A dirty, perverted curse that contaminates, taints every single thing you touch – nothing but a burden, who brings suffering to everyone around you. A monster just like me.

“Get. Out. Of. My. Head.”

Tim screamed as he slammed his skull against the partition to try and get it to shut up, and when that didn’t work, he hurled himself onto the bed, trying to cover his crown with the pillow. Of course it didn’t succeed in suppressing the scalding speech either though, slowly consuming, corroding his corrupted soul from the inside out.

You’re toxic. Don’t forget that. Your existence is poison – pure and simple. I’m the only one who can withstand it. You don’t need them. Nor do you belong with them. Come back to me, my darling. Daddy will make it all better, I promise…

“Leave. Me. ALONE!”

Tim yelled at the top of his lungs as he chucked the cushion at his hallucination, who only hovered out of the way and cackled. The boy buried his visage into the sheets, smothering his polluted presence, shoulders shuddering as he began to laugh like crazy again – until he cried.

…

Some time later, he heard a knock on the door as it creaked open cautiously. He didn’t elevate to look, but he knew Conner was standing there, taking in the pathetic sight of his flatmate flat on the mattress.

“Yo.”

He entered, closing the access behind him as he crossed over and sat down gently next to Tim. After an uncomfortable gap, he cleared his throat.

“Cass reported the one who did it to the dean. They won’t be coming back after break. …She told me what happened. It’s not your fault, man.”

“The hell it isn’t.”

Tim spat as he flipped over, sleeve still shrouding his inflamed eyes. At length he removed a fraction of fabric though to peek at the other boy’s back, inquiring fretfully:

“…How is she?”

“They’re treating her at the nurse’s office. It’s not as bad as it looks. She’ll be fine,” Conner reassured. “She kept asking after you though. She’s worried about you, bro. …We all are.”

Tim said nothing, scrutinizing the ceiling.

“She wants to see you.”

“I don’t… deserve to see her.” Tim choked, eyes welling up again. “How can I face her like this?”

Conner’s countenance soured as he started to lose patience, resorting to somewhat stricter tactics in an effort to snap him out of it.

“Stop being a selfish prick. This isn’t about you. It’s about what she needs. And right now she needs you. So stop feeling fucking sorry for yourself, get the fuck up, and go see your goddamn girlfriend before I fucking kick your ass.”

He snatched Tim’s collar as he said this, in order to prove he would make good on the threat if necessary, hoisting the sagging sad sack up and half-heaving him towards the exit.

“I’ll help you get started on packing, so go. And don’t come back until you’ve apologized for leaving her alone.”

With that, he swung the doorway shut, bolting it determinedly behind Tim, who stood there dumbfounded in the hall as curious onlookers halted their own parting proceedings to goggle at him, gossiping in a susurrant hush. Shuffling sheepishly, he complied to abide by the directive for now, advancing in the direction of the health center (recalling its location from when he himself had to be carried there following his “fainting spell”).

When he arrived at the entrance, he waffled for a long while, inhaling deeply before finally rotating the handle. The clinical smell that greeted him made his stomach sick at first, but he shoved revulsion down and quietly asked the receptionist on staff as to the whereabouts of the patient he was seeking. She smiled and pointed him towards a curtain in the rear. Upon lifting it back, he encountered Stephanie propped up on a cot, dome swathed in bandages in a manner that rather resembled his own injured image shortly after they first “met”. She relieved visibly upon recognizing the visitor.

“Tim! Thank God you’re here. I was beginning to get bored out of my friggin’ mind. Can you believe they’re making me stay in a bed while they run some tests? It’s just a tiny cut, c’mon. Plus it’s the last day of school before winter vacation. We should be out celebrating right now.”

She bounced restlessly on the bedding, as Tim absorbed the ruby dye soaking through her dressing. He clenched his fist in crushing shame and repentance.

“I think… maybe we should stop seeing each other.”

She stiffened sharply, fixing him with a flabbergasted gape.

“…What? Just now, that was… a joke, right? You’re not serious?”

He regarded her with a grave grimace. Confusion and dejection distressed her chest at such curt rejection.

“Tim Drake, are you actually breaking up with me?”

“Yes. Let’s break up.”

There was zero emotion in his tenor, as her own lips quivered, tears forming at the corners of her eyes.

“But… But why?”

Tim exhaled as he spouted was probably the most cliché line in the history of bad breakups, but he didn’t really care about circumventing social pitfalls right now.

“It’s not you, it’s me. I mean it. Nothing… good can come of being with me. I’ll only end up dragging you down.”

“Tim, don’t say that…”

“You got hurt because of me. Besides, I… can’t do anything to make you happy. Believe me, you’d be a whole lot better off without me in your life.”

“Tim…”

She tried to extend towards his hand, but he backed away.

“I’m sorry.”

He turned and fled before she could react, leaving her bewildered and brokenhearted beyond belief. His own breast ached as it felt like something within him had shattered – shred into pieces once again. Whatever light had been reignited was now eclipsed, extinguished by his own hand. He should have known better, never tried to chase it in the first place. Having been burned once before, only an utter fool would run right back into the flames.

…This is for the best.

For both of them.

…

It didn’t take long for Tim to realize he couldn’t well return to the residence hall without invoking his roommate’s wrath, so he was stuck outside for the time being. Wandering back to the quad, he massaged his mitts together and blew out a puff of condensation, briefly wishing he still had some actual smokes on him right now.

Parking himself beneath the shadow of a barren tree, he idly surveyed the scene of classmates bidding goodbye before heading home for the holidays. Some were being picked up by their parents, and his intestines constricted a tad more as the swarm of “normies” joyfully received their relatives whom they hadn’t seen in so long with hugs and ecstatic chatter. He felt filthy – a black and ugly beetle, insignificant insect – petty and out of place compared to these bright, carefree families. So Hallmark picture-perfect against a pristine postcard background, shining silver and gold.

Acquiring a fallen branch, he started to scratch absently at the slush, doodling a nostalgic depiction in the dirt. Gradually, the symbol of a bat took shape – and beside it, a crude carving of two beings in capes – one big, one small. He stared sullenly at the sketch for a minute, before striking the stick simultaneously through both stick figures’ axes in an “X”.

“Tim?”

He jumped, and hurriedly scraped over the rest of the illustration with his heel as he whirled around to face his… well, he supposed “ex” would indeed be the proper term to describe her now.

“Steph? What are you doing here?”

“I managed to convince them to let me go. Wanted to catch you before you left at least.”

She fumbled with a parcel in her hands.

“I know it’s kinda early, but… I wanted to give you your Christmas present. Didn’t want it to just go to waste, after I worked so hard on it and all.”

She fished inside the bag, and retrieved a folded red scarf. It looked a little lumpy and misshapen, clearly clumsily homemade rather than a commercial product.

“Mom’s been teaching me how to knit. It’s my first time making one, so it’s not very good, but I hope you’ll still wear it, and… think of me sometimes. I guess now you could consider it something to remember me by?”

Tim remained reticent as she unraveled the muffler and draped it around his nape, tucking it tenderly so it was snug. She reviewed her handiwork, nodding in admiring approval.

“As I thought. You look good in red.”

Tim tugged the textile, fingering each fiber that was filled with such fondness – feeling his own thawing heartstrings being tugged at – torn.

“Why… would you go to all this trouble – for someone like me?”

She smiled.

“Isn’t it obvious? It’s because I love you.”

…

“Eh?”

It took a bit for the statement to sink in, and the cloth’s color seemed to creep up his mug as the significance of the confession belatedly registered. She took his trembling skin in hers, keeping it cozy as his now cherished neck was.

“Plus I wanted to pay you back for letting me borrow your jacket,” she half-kidded, concealing her own blush behind blithe humor.

He shook his head.

“This is… too good for me. You’re too good for me. You shouldn’t have wasted your time…”

“Tim, how many times do I have to tell you?” She squeezed his palm, praying he’d actually listen to – believe her for once. Believe in himself. “You’re so much better than you think you are. You’re kind, sweet, and caring – you’re not like any other guy I’ve dated before. I like you for you, no matter what you or anyone else says. If other people can’t see that, then to hell with all of them.”

He held her resolve for a long interval, before shyly expressing regret over his actions.

“Steph, I-”

She put a pointer to his lips before he could progress.

“Sh. You’re forgiven. Now let us never speak of splitting up over something minor like this again.”

Softening, she added:

“As for what I said before, you don’t need to answer me back right away. We don’t have to rush into anything if you’re not ready for it yet. I’m happy so long as you’re happy. As long as we’re together, that’s good enough for me.”

She boosted onto her boots’ toes to provide him an affectionate side-peck, sniggering as his cherry virtue exposed further at the gesture. Yup, red really was his hue, it seemed. …It suited him (more than he’d ever care – dare – to admit).

She started to separate, but he grasped back, bowing profoundly towards her as if to an angel.

“What… did I ever do to deserve you?”

He beseeched sincerely for a sign – that it was really okay for him to accept this much adoration from someone.

“Who knows,” she teased with a smug shrug, basking indulgently in flattering worship as she winked. “Maybe it’s karma from a past life or something.”

Patting his hair like a puppy, she dotingly brushed off some sunken pearl beads from the strands – like a laurel of tinsel to match her own heavenly halo; planting another precious token on top in pardoned blessing – a starry seraph ornament – before bidding him rise. As they strolled back to the quarters together, limbs still linked together in open broadcast of their bond, Steph piped up with another proposal.

“By the way, I wanted to ask you something else: I was wondering… Do you want to come spend Christmas at my place? I already invited Cass to stay overnight on Christmas Eve, and Conner said he’d come too if you would. Can you imagine it, both of them said they don’t have any plans this year, and that their folks were out of town. I mean, what’s up with that?” She shook her head. “Christmas is supposed to be a time for people to spend together. No one should have to be alone during the holidays.”

For the fleetest of seconds, an impression intruded on Tim’s conscience; of a solitary man holed up all by himself in a huge, vacant manor atop an isolated hill, hunched by the fireplace with a glass of brandy in hand, longing wistfully at his mother’s and father’s memorial portrait overlooking the mantle. He urged it aside though, and smiled appreciatively at the offer.

“I’d love to.” A nagging notion occurred however, as he agonized over accommodations on her behalf. “…Can your house really fit that many people though?”

She put on a persevering aura, pumping her fist.

“We’ll make it work somehow. Worst comes to worst, we’ll just have to share some beds.”

He arrested in alarm at what she just said, as the implications dawned on both of them. Steph swiftly endeavored to clarify, flailing and failing miserably.

“Uh, I mean, Cass and I can share a bed, of course! I wasn’t insinuating anything else by it…”

The tables had reversed now as Tim snorted at her chagrin, and she grinned as well, goading his arm. Clinging around it, she nuzzled up intimately against his shoulder, both marveling at the broad sky as it started to shed sparkling glitter again. Safely cocooned by both her company and the gift she had granted him, there was no space left for someone else to come between; waking, walking nightmare to worm its way into his warmed spirit.

…And, for the first time in a long time, what he feels isn’t fear anymore – at allowing a new stranger into his narrowly confined world once again. Chip through frigid barriers and sculpture’s solid shell in order to stir up the dormant globe – revive its stalled clock, frozen in stasis for so long. Finally melting an age of presumed permafrost; nudging, encouraging cold feet to steadily begin moving forward again.

…

It’s hope.

————————–

Well keep it in mind I'm not as stable or able To use all my guts and turn over the tables Or open the door and stare the monster between the eyes But the times have turned and burned a hole in this heart Confronted the face of what tore my life apart And I'll start by living every moment like it was my last

#TimSteph #Tim Drake #Timmy Todd #Stephanie Brown #Conner Kent #Cassandra Cain #Batman the Animated Series #Batman Beyond #DCAU #Return of the Joker #fanfiction #starstories #Merry Christmas <3 #anyone who knows what the red scarf is in reference to gets a cookie~

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defensefilms · 4 months

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NFL 2024 Wildcard Round Preview & Predictions

While I haven't posted any NFL blogs this season I have been sure to keep an eye on the happenings throughout the league, and we're finally in the part of the season that matters.

So lets dive in to the full plate of nuggets and preview this weekend's games.

1. Detroit Lions vs Los Angeles Rams

Of all the games that will be played on this weekend, this one has the most storylines and subplots.

Starting with quarterbacks who traded places 3 years ago and now face off. Fortunately, this matchup will likely be decided by more than just the quarterbacks.

The Rams appear to have found a remedy to thier run game through Kyren Williams, who is 3rd in total rushing yards, and in contrast the Lions have a more balanced attack with David Montgomerry leading their run game and Amon-Ra St. Brown leading thier pass catchers.

This is a situation where I am opting to pick with my head over my heart, and while I'll actually be rooting for the Lions to win the game because thier story in 2023 has been phenomenal, I am going to pick the Rams and Sean McVay to win in Detroit and upset the team with a better record.

MY PICK: Rams Win 27-24

2. Tampa Bay Buccanneers vs Philadelphia Eagles

I am in a state of near-catastrohic horror at what has happened to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2023.

What started out as a promising season and Philly repeatedly executing the greatest play ever executed in NFL history, has turned into a late season collapse that started with that really bad loss to the 9ers in week 13.

Thier defensive back issues have now spiralled in to a team that leak points so badly, they lost to the New York Giants in week 17, and it's crept it's way on to the offense, and the Eagles were shutout and put up 0 points.

Then you have to factor in Philly's history against Tampa Bay itself. Flashbacks to 2002 when Gruden's defensive juggernauts domniated Donovan McNabb and the Eagles, as well as the more recent 15-31 demolition at the hands of Tom Brady's Buccaneers in the 2021 playoffs.

I will say this, I am glad that Bruce Arians isn't calling plays in Tampa because he'd air it out on these Philly db's.

My biggest concern though, is that Jalen Hurts has 9 fumbles this season and Tampa safety Antoine Winfield, is joint-leader in forced fumbles with 6, and Tampa have been good at that as a team with 18 on the season.

I'll pick the Eagles to win here, only because I still think the Eagles offense has some life left in it and I am a Jalen Hurts believer.

MY PICK: Eagles Win 21-16

3. Kansas City Chiefs vs Miami Dolphins

Honestly, I don't root for the FIns and I don't even enjoy watching them play neccessarily, but I do enjoy the schadenfreud of watching Tua Tagovailoa, lead the league in passing yards and quarterback a team in the playoffs.

The Chiefs are different story and to be honest with I have enjoyed watching the Chiefs more this year, than any other season of the Mahomes era, at times it's been kind of comical.

The Dolphins are dealing with a bunch of injuries. Jaylen Waddle, Bradley Chubb, Xavien Howard, Raheem Mostert were all out in week 18 and likely in the Wildcard round too.

The Chiefs have to like thier chances and thier recievers can breath a little bit easier, knowing the Dolphins won't be thier usual high-scoring selves. I fully expect the Chief's recievers to drop passes, but this particular opponent can't make them pay them when they do it on 3rd down.

The only issue I see, is Kansas City are not a high scoring team in thier own right either, and while the Fins'injuries are worse.

I want the Fins to win but their too injured and will likely lose a close low scoring game in Arrowhead on Tyreke Hill's return.

MY PICK: Chiefs win 21-17

4. Buffalo Bills vs Pittsburgh Steelers

I honestly think that the Pitburgh Steelers are doing is winning games via witchcraft because just as recenty as week 14, the entire state of Pennsylvania wanted him fired.

The Bills for thier part, started the first 10 weeks of the season with a 5-5 record and have since ripped off a 6 game winning streak that sees them in the 2 seed.

The Steelers offense sputtered badly midway through the season, but since week 16 and putting Mason Rudolph on the field, things have been looking up.

It sucks that TJ Watt won't play, he leads the league in sacks and that matters because the Bills are the best team in 3rd down percentage this season with 49%.

Buffalo finally appear to have found some balance between Josh Allen heroics and establishing the run. To make matters worse, Buffalo also rank as one of the best pass defenses in the league, ranking 7th in opponent passing yards.

What this comes down to, is that the Bills have Josh Allen and the Steelers are quarterbacked by Mason Rudolph, and in contrast to most of the weekend's games, you can't convince me that the favorite isn't winning this.

MY PICK: Bills Win 28-16

5. Cleveland Browns vs Houston Texans

The Browns have been my guilty pleasure all season long, and those sideline-to-sideline videos on thier Youtube channel are honestly awesome.

A team whose defense has been lead by Myles Garret, and has had to find thier identity on the offensive side of the ball becasue of injures to 3 different quarterbacks this season, and while I don't love Kevin Stefanksi's play calling, he does deserve credit for the circumstance he was in this year and how his team kept winning.

The Houston Texans have undergone a rejuvenation in thier own right with newly drafted CJ Stroud under center.

While Deshaun Watson will have to watch his current and former teams from the sidelines as a result of a shoulder injury, Joe Flacco will quarterback the Browns and has since week 14, and with him has come a new confidence to the Browns' offense.

I'll gladly take the Browns and thier newly minted Joe Flacco offense, alongside the best defense in the NFL to win this one.

MY PICK: Browns Win 27-20

6. Dallas Cowboys vs Greenbay Packers

The Packers are in a unique position because of how quickly they've gotten back to playoff contention.

I get that Jordan Love has been given the mantle as appears to have been the plan since he was drafted, and I don't know what to make of him getting the Packers to the playoffs in his first season. It's kind of unreal that the Packers got over Aaron Rodgers this quickly, add to that Love isn't the finished article yet.

The other major storyline is Cowboys head coach, Mike McCarthy playing host to his former team and that will surely dominate the headlines and previews going in to the weekend.

Dak Prescott leads the league in passes completed, as well as passing touchdowns, and CeeDee Lamb leads the league in passes caught.

Plus I like the idea of Dallas' defense against a young quarterback, playing in thier home building and Dallas corner DaRon Bland leads the league in interceptions.

I'm picking Dallas to win, but beware because anyone who picks the underdog is not crazy. Jordan Love is completing 64% of his passes and the sneaky Packers, always seem to come up with something from special teams through Keisean Nixon.

MY PICK: Cowboys win 34-27

#sports #national football league #nfl #nfl 2023 #nfl playoffs #super wildcard weekend #wildcard weekend #predictions

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the-punforgiven · 8 months

Note

sorry this is so many: 4, 5, 7, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 21, 23, 28.

4. mythical creature you think/believe is real?

Honestly, I like believing as many are real as I can, just makes life more fun tbh

5. favorite form of potato?

I'm a real big fan of any form that's fried and salted/seasoned, where it's crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. Whether it's potato wedges, French fries, hash browns, or whatever, that's what takes the cake for me personally

7. what animal do you look forward to seeing when you visit an aquarium?

I've answered this one already, sorry!

13. first thing you’re doing in the purge?

Checking in with my friends, making sure they're alright. Then we'd probably band together to steal food as a squad lmao

14. do you think you’re dehydrated?

Asks that make you immediately stand up to get a glass of water

15. rank the methods of death: freezing, burning, drowning

I'd say drowning would be #1, because the surface of the ocean is really pretty from below, and because hey, would at least end up as nourishment for some fish, so it's like, relatively macabre recycling, almost

#2 goes to burning, I've only really been on fire once but it was a really neat feeling (underneath the pain obviously) and idk there'd probably be one single funky moment where you'd get to feel like Ghost Rider

#3 Goes to freezing, which I'm assuming is probably the least painful of the 3, but idk it also just feels kind of quiet and makes me feel sad to think about

16. thoughts on mint chocolate chip?

It's not bad! Not really my absolute favourite but it's not like I'd ever turn it down if it were offered to me

17. an anxious compulsion you do everyday?

Idk whenever I'm anxious body's just like "we cannot have any air in our lungs" and idk why but there's a weird little exhale thing I do and idk what it's called but it's that

19. the veggie you dislike the most?

Asparagus, I don't really have any reason more than I'm just not a fan of how it tastes

21. a number that weirds you out?

88 was my favourite number when I was in like elementary school (it had FOUR circles and I thought that was SO cool when I was a kid) and man it sure was a shock to learn it had certain connotations that I didn't know about much later in life lmao

Either that or 241543903. Like what was up with that

23. do you wear jewelry?

God, I wish. All the jewelry I have irritates my skin and makes it hard for me to wear for long periods of time, which sucks because I do love the aesthetic and wish I could wear more 😔

28. last meal on earth?

I don't know tbh, I'd probably ask for spaghetti though, I am a huge slut for angel hair pasta specifically

#Thanks!#asks #anon

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l0svers · 11 months

Text

watching that 90’s show *ੈ✩‧₊˚

episode 01

love that they kept the silly transitions ah!

also the writing is so good — it stays so true to the original

i love kitty & red so funny

THE KELSO KID AH!

screamed when michael and jackie showed up

i want a summer like this anyways

so hyped to keep watching

episode 02

not much happened lol

love that sherri is becoming friends with kitty

FEZ!

episode 03

the commercial !!

not them going to the mall to get leia her first kiss

they had no right giving jay that much rizz for that car scene with leia — also since when was he so smart

red & his massage chair lmao

episode 04

RAVEEEE

love all the references and repeated situations from the original show

why did they do leia dirty with her hair

also their rave outfits are kinda rough — love the purple skirt overalls tho

the friends reference feels outta pocket like we’re ross & rachel even together by that point of the show being on air?

episode 05

the ✨internet✨

ew creepy hot tub lady

red being scared about the computer haha

the sex phone call lmao

“the internet is just two demons yelling at each other”

i knew hot tub girl was gonna be an issue

episode 06

i LOVE gwen’s fit

SHE WAS 14?!?! WHAT

please i thought they were at least 15

“you’ve got twice the balls, act like it” — CRYING

the who 90210 but point place version is so funny

bob singing karaoke lol

THE CAR HE GAVE HER THE CAR!!

THEY KISSED!!

THE COPS!!

episode 07

criminal mastermind without the mind a kelso lol

tattoos, babies and DUI’s the unholy trinity — CRYING SHERRI IS SO RIGHT

OH NO KITTY GOT A TATTOO

it’s a cat haha

red teaching sherri to ride a bike

episode 08

red is SPEED

ski jump arms haha

NOT THE CROTCH GRAB LMAO

the moose

episode 09

not school starting soon :,(

uh oh bf vs bff time fight

“those kids are idiots”

“i like you” haha

training montage love

kitty wanting to be the school nurse so cute

her nurse nightmare woof

uh oh couple lost in the woods ft leo

love how they snuck into the country club iconic

leia giving nate water haha

not gwen being snappy — but we love the heart to heart between nate & leia

KITTY GOT THE JOB!!

awww good friendship hug thank god

kinda loving all of jay’s stupid graphic tees — like this green one with the wolves

oh no not a serious relationship talk jay, i knew it was inevitable but ahh

episode 10

OMG THE KELSO BURN IS BACK

them dancing so cute! love!

oh nate… buddy your timing so bad

uh oh the breakup talk

OH CHEEZE WIZZ IN THE PANTS

i can’t take jay seriously with all the cheese wizz on his shirt

the phone in the pot haha

not the chili’s lol

leia turning into red lol “dumbasses”

donna figuring out about the boyfriend being a kelso and about him in general

fez’s tiny pants lmao

“i have a tv in my bathroom BITCH” crying

oh fenton

THEY ALMOST KISSED :O

WHATTTT

my literal reaction was: they are not about to kiss right now right? WRONG Z

love the throwback circle

awww they’re signing the water tower!

“well i made that birch my bitch” thank you fenton for being iconic

THE AWKWARD

THEN JAY SHOWS UP

ahhhhhh

she’s gone *sobbing*

aw so glad it showed the film

other notes

i could not for the life of me tell why jay looked so familiar — then it dawned on me (no pun intended) that he was in nicky ricky dicky and dawn haha

overall i really like the show i think it’s fun and a great tribute to the original but the pacing was a little weird especially towards the beginning/middle it felt like it reached a good pace towards the end — part of this is def the episode limit but yeah

intrigued to see how next season goes

the whole nate thing is kinda random — like i understand them having the same outlook or whatever but they barely interacted throughout the season

honestly that is one of my complaints is that there were so many characters that i didn’t get attached to a whole lot of them or know much about them by the end

#kcwatches #that 90s show #tv #that 90’s show

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coochiequeens · 2 years

Text

A man is breaking records on a women’s swim team and his teammates are being silenced from speaking up about the unfairness of competing against a biological male.

'It's bringing people to tears': SECOND UPenn swimmer speaks out against trans Lia Thomas competing for the women's team and says the crowd was silent when she won most recent meet

An second anonymous female swimmer from the University of Pennsylvania has spoken out to say she and her teammates are upset by transgender teammate

Lia Thomas, 22, smashed three US swimming records at an Akron, Ohio contest last weekend

Thomas also gave an interview to SwimSwam touting the fairness of inclusive but controversial IOC guidelines allowing transgender athletes to compete

Thomas previously competed for the school's men's team for three years before joining the women's team with her last men's competition in November 20

A second female swimmer from the University of Pennsylvania has aired her frustrations and fury as her transgender teammate Lia Thomas continues to smash records.

The entire team has been 'strongly advised' not to speak to the media and the second swimmer has been granted anonymity.

Nevertheless, the teammate stepped forward to tell how UPenn swimmers are 'angry' over what has been perceived as a 'lack of fairness' as Thomas smashes record after record in the pool.

Thomas's winning time was 15:59:71, with her UPenn teammate Anna Kalandaze coming second with a time of 16:37:44.

Thomas's win was a record for the Zippy Meet, and the pool where the event took place. But she also managed to smash two US women's swimming records during earlier races at the same event.

The second anonymous swimmer to speak out over Thomas' performance has said Penn swimmers were upset and crying as they knew their times were going to be obliterated by her.

'They feel so discouraged because no matter how much work they put in it, they're going to lose. Usually, they can get behind the blocks and know they out-trained all their competitors and they're going to win and give it all they've got,' the source said to Outkick.

“Now they're having to go behind the blocks knowing no matter what, they do not have the chance to win. I think that it's really getting to everyone.

'Usually everyone claps, everyone is yelling and cheering when someone wins a race. Lia touched the wall and it was just silent in there. When fellow Penn swimmer Anna Kalandadze finished second, the crowd erupted in applause.'

What stings the swimmers the most is that the records are being set by a swimmer who didn't even make the first-team when she was competing as a man in the All-Ivy league during the 2018-19 season.

However, as a woman, Thomas broke 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:34:06 last Friday at the Zippy meet. She raced to victory 14 seconds ahead of Kalandaze - the swimmer she beat by 38 seconds on Sunday.

And then on Saturday, she won the 200-yard freestyle in 1:41:93 - seven seconds ahead of her nearest rival, giving her the fastest female US time ever for that race too.

It's the first season Thomas, who was formerly named Will, has competed in the swimming meets as a transgender woman. As Will, Thomas competed on the men's team for two full seasons.

Last weekend, she won three events and set three new school records, including two new Ivy League records.

The anonymous source who spoke to Outkick claims that after the race, Thomas could be overheard bragging.

'That was so easy, I was cruising,' Thomas is alleged to have said before bragging in front of her teammates 'At least I'm still No. 1 in the country,' while claiming she was unhappy with her time in the 500.

'Well, obviously she's No. 1 in the country because she's at a clear physical advantage after having gone through male puberty and getting to train with testosterone for years,' OutKick's source said.

'Of course you're No. 1 in the country when you're beating a bunch of females. That's not something to brag about.

'Honestly, this is so upsetting to us because we want to be acknowledged for our hard work, but it seems like this just keeps overshadowing us. Put Lia out of the picture — we have a really good team this year. We have one of the best teams we've had in years, and that's being overshadowed by [Lia],' OutKick's source said.

'Even without Lia, we had the chance to win the Ivy League this year, which is a huge deal for us. We train every single day and give up so much for this sport. And I love swimming. I do it because I love it. It's been a part of my life forever, and this is a slap in the face that the NCAA doesn't care about the integrity of women's sports.'

Penn's administration has backed Thomas publicly and says she is staying on the team and not going anywhere, with the team's coach Mike Schnur also lying low and staying out of the spotlight.

'He is just following the NCAA rules and the situation is out of his hands,' the source said.

The non-negotiable position has now left teammates feeling as though they have no choice but to speak out and risk repercussions.

'While they say they care about all of us, our interests are in direct conflict with the interests of Lia in regards to fair competition and getting to compete. While we support Lia as a person to make decisions for her own life, you cannot make that decision and then come and impede on other people and their rights,' the source continued. 'Your right doesn't supersede everyone else's right.'

'I don't know what the solution is, but I know this is not it. Because people talk about how the trans community might've been marginalized before and this is supposed to be helping, but you can't help the trans community by marginalizing [biological] women.'

'I know no matter what, biological women will never be on an equal playing field with transgender females.'

Thomas has said that she has the full support of her teammates.

'The team has been unbelievably supportive since the beginning, you know, teammates and coaches. Mike has been one of my biggest supporters and allies in this process since day one and I'm very grateful to have that support from him and from everybody on the team. I feel very supported. Just treated like any other member of the women's team,' Thomas said in an interview.

However, on Thursday, the first member of the UPenn swim team to speak out anonymously against Thomas said all support for her was fake.

'When the whole team is together, we have to be like, “Oh my gosh, go Lia, that's great, you're amazing.“ It's very fake,' she said.

'The Ivy League is not a fast league for swimming, so that's why it's particularly ridiculous that we could potentially have an NCAA champion. That's unheard of coming from the Ivy League,' the swimmer explained.

On paper, if Lia Thomas gets back down to Will Thomas' best times, those numbers are female world records. Faster than all the times [Olympic swimmer] Katie Ledecky went in college. Faster than any other Olympian you can think of. His times in three events are [female] world records.'

Also on Thursday, Thomas, gave an interview to SwimSwam, which covers college and Olympic swimming news, and praised the fairness of the controversial IOC guidelines on inclusivity saying they keep 'competitional integrity going.'

'I think the guidelines they set forward are very good and do a very good job of promoting inclusivity while keeping competitional integrity going,' she said.

'Each sport basically has to come up with eligibility criteria for what constitutes an unfair advantage in that sport. Everybody is able to compete in the category they’re most comfortable with unless there’s a proven unfair advantage that they have,' she explained.

'I'm just thrilled to still be able to swim and I love to compete and I love to see how fast I can go. It's sorta an ongoing evolution of what I think I can do.

'I'm proud of my times, my ability to keep swimming and to continue competing. And they're suited up times. I'm happy with them and my coaches are happy with them,' Thomas added.

Penn's team will be back in the pool on January 8 against Dartmouth with Thomas in line to claim NCAA titles in March.

'This is such a cloud over everything. A cloud in the locker room, especially the last few days because we all know of how things have changed in the last week,' Thomas' teammate said.

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