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tsw1234 · 28 days

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Moth To A Flame - D.G.

"And you'll leave him, you're loyal to me"

Word Count: 1549

Pairings: Dick Grayson x fem!reader

Notes: Heyyy pookies...how have you been... So, sorry for the long upload wait, y'all when I tell you that school's been kicking my ass like I need to lock in. I feel like I rushed towards the end so if you guys want any corrections or additions please let me know. I give my deepest apologies. Anyways let me not bore you, take this as an apology ;)

Synopsis: You've been hooking up with Dick Grayson (or mystery guy as your friends know him) for almost a year now. Despite multiple protests against it from some of your friends along with your best friend Jason Todd, you just can't seem to call it quits. Why?

Warnings: Toxic-ish and manipulative Dick, suggestive content, mentions of smut, cursing

Oh Dick Grayson, where to even begin? Dick is a very goal oriented person; he's always believed in shooting for the stars, to do the impossible. It's safe to say he's always had a tendency to want things he shouldn't have (which isn't much considering his dad is Bruce Wayne).

Insert you, Jason Todd's best friend of almost 2 years and roommate of one. Last year, you and Jason decided to move in together. At this point, you were aware of his ‘Red Hood’ persona and it didn’t hurt that you knew how to do a stitch up or two. From there, your friendship only blossomed.

You were first introduced to the rest of the Wayne family at Bruce’s Gala, around the same time you and Jason moved in. Jason needed a plus one and who else better to ask than his bestie of course! So there you were, on the arm of Jason Todd in a red dress which complemented his red tie perfectly. From the moment you walked in, you caught the eye's of all Wayne family members, Jason was always alone, why wouldn't you? But you resonated with one Wayne in particular; and just like that you became Dick's newest obsession.

Dick being the man he is, tried everything under the sun to charm you (and he did) but you weren't the type of person to give in easily. Though what you weren't aware of, was Dick's ability to be patient and persuasive. And after three long, and agonizing weeks of sexual tension and flirty remarks, you finally gave in.

Flash forward to present day, you and Dick have been hooking up in secret for about 7 months now; and girl do you have him whipped. It doesn't matter that he's been fucking a different girl every week, you were his main priority. You were aware that he was hooking up with others, so you took it as an opportunity to do the same. But Dick wasn't too fond of your decision to reciprocate his actions, despite him doing the same, leading to a huge fight between the two of you.

Now Jason? Although in the dark about who you were hooking up with, he was still caught up regarding all the drama between you and Dick. Jason wasn't fond of this "mystery guy" you would tell him about. He didn't like the fact that "mystery guy" could call you, ask to talk and you'd drop everything to go resolve whatever issues the two of you had. He didn't like hated how loyal you were to him.

Jason just couldn't wrap his head around the fact that a person as gorgeous and funny as you could ruin yourself over and over again for some douche. He wasn't the only one who expressed their dislike for Dick. Cue all of your friends having an intervention with you in your living room.

"Girl you guys have been hooking up, on and off for almost a year at this point. If he wanted to make it official, he would've. Stand up. If he can hook up with others, so can you!"

"How many girls does he have to fuck before you realize that he don't care about you. Was that drunken night when he came to you with hickeys not enough?"

"Why don't you go for Jason instead? He's the one for you, I feel it. He treats you so good, he truly cares for you and he truly loves you."

After hours of opinions exchanged and your friends giving you guidance on the situation, the day was done and the group chat had parted ways, each member returning to their homes. You take a shower and change into a shirt (that just happened to be Dick's) and a pair of shorts. Unbeknownst to you, there was still one more person paying you a visit.

In the midst of you watching your favorite movie whilst eating a snack you hear a series of knocks at your apartment. You pause the movie, place your snack to the side, and walk towards the door. Before opening it, you glance through the peephole in order to get a glimpse of who you're potentially about to interact with.

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear." you mutter as you open the door. "What do you want, Grayson?". He was still in his Nightwing suit which had to have meant he had just gotten off of patrol.

"Still giving me attitude, princess? I know we got into an argument but I at least thought you would've blown some steam off by now." he says walking past you, stepping into your apartment. You scoff in disbelief and turn your head to look at him. The audacity this man had was ridiculous.

"There's no way you just walked in here like that-"

"Relax princess, I'm just here to talk." he voices, throwing his hands up in defense. You roll your eyes and close the door behind you, making sure to lock it. "Whatever Grayson, I'm going to the bathroom. When I get back, you have five minutes to talk your head off and that's it." you warn.

Perfect timing. He's been trying to find an excuse to snoop around ever since he saw your friends leave your apartment, gossiping about the relationship between the two of you. He just needed evidence. In that moment he noticed your phone, that you left at the living room table, blowing up with notifications. Lucky him. After double checking to make sure you were still in the bathroom, he walked on over to where your phone was and picked it up. Your phone unlocked with ease the moment it saw his face thanks to him putting his Face ID in your phone. How he got your password to do so is a whole nother situation. Once your phone unlocked, he tapped on the messages within the group chat with your friends.

Reading those messages irked him. He didn't like your friends. He didn't like how they would speak about your relationship which he claimed they knew nothing about. He didn't like how they made him out to be the villain when it came to you. What really set him off were the comments they made about you and Jason. Why couldn't they respect the fact that you two were together hooking up.

Once you walked out the bathroom, Dick started reading out the messages one by one.

"[Name] get a grip."

Reply: "Seriously girl, we can't save someone who doesn't want to be saved."

"Leave her alone guys, she clearly has conflicted emotions between him and Jason."

"Really? You're just going to let them talk about me that way? And you like my brother?". You could tell he's pissed as he has a stern tone in his voice.

"Why are you going through my phone? And how did you even unlock it?" you question. At this point you could feel your blood boil. "That's not what I asked."

"Are you for real right now?" you scoff. "You're so unbelievable!" you chastise, leading you to walk around in circles and go in a rant about how he was being unfair and hypocritical. If you were paying attention, you would've noticed the way Dick's body tensed up or how his jaw clenched. He was turned on by your frustration and he would've let you continue if that meant he could listen to you scold him some more, but you weren't the only one who had anger that needed to be released.

He grabs your arm and leads the both of you over to the couch where you sit.

"Your friends think so highly of Jason, as if he's some type of angel and it's sickening. Does Jason know that when you're scared at night or bored or horny you call me? Huh?". He's toying with the hem of your shorts. Your hands are folded across your chest and your head is turned away from him out of pure annoyance. That drives him crazy, you giving him attitude. He grabs your chin and pulls it towards him, forcing the two of you to make eye contact. Exactly what you've been avoiding. Step one of how to get you to forgive him.

"Does Jason know that it's me leaving you with the inability to walk the morning after I fuck you in your bed the previous night?"

"Fuck you." you dispute. Girl he's been trying since he entered your apartment. "Is that an invitation?" he quips, raising an eyebrow. You suck your teeth at him. Taking a deep breath, and closing your eyes you try to remember what your friends said. Fully convinced that you were standing your ground, you open your eyes only for them to meet with Dick's blue ones, filled with lust, staring at you expectantly. Damn it.

"Come on pretty girl, please?". You hated when he begged. You hated it when he begged because you knew that you would give in every time and that's what he was banking on. And so, you drop all your walls and give in, which you'll make a mental note to scold yourself for. But that's tomorrow you's problem. Right now? Your attention is dedicated to the man currently in between your thighs.

#dick grayson x reader #dick grayson #jason todd x reader #bruce wayne #batfam #red hood #red hood x reader #nightwing x reader #dick grayson imagine #nightwing x you #dick grayson x you #dick grayson smut #nightwing smut

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allysunny · 4 months

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(You're) My Antidote Pt. 2 | Miguel O'Hara x Fem!Reader

ˡᵒᵛᵉˡʸ ᵐᶦᵍᵘᵉˡ ᵃʳᵗ ᵇʸ ᴷ⁵ⱽᵉʳˢᵉ ᵒⁿ ᵀʷᶦᵗᵗᵉʳ

ᵖᵃʳᵗ ¹ | ᵖᵃʳᵗ ² | ᵖᵃʳᵗ ³

Synopsys: It has been a few weeks ever since Miguel saw you glitch due to the antidote he'd given you. He's far too afraid to face you, and hasn't seen you in a while. Peter B. Parker talks some sense into his head, reminding him of what's truly important.

Words: 2.6k words

Warnings: Angst, fluff, exhausted-Miguel, but also very soft-Miguel, Peter B. being a great father and having actually good advice, pain and screaming, syringes, blood, untranslated Spanish (please correct me if any of it is wrong!). Do mention if I forgot something!

A/N: Hey everyone! So, I've finally gotten around to write Part 2 of this fic (I had nearly forgotten about it, so I'm very, very sorry for the delay), but here it is! I hope you all enjoy it, and I hope it was worth the wait!

“Miguel?”

The voice that called out to him was gentle, soft. The one voice he could listen to for hours and hours without ever getting tired.

Yours.

“Miggy… Wake up, my love…” He could feel your soft, deft fingers brushing his brown locks away from his face. You liked to get a good view of him at all times. You played with his hair for a while, and he hummed in satisfaction. He’d stay like this forever if he could, lost in your embrace and your touch, time suspended just for the two of you.

“Miggy, wake up… C’mon, we have things to do…”

No, all he had to do was stay in bed with you, while you ran your fingers through his hair, massaging his scalp and making him forget about all his problems.

And then you tugged on his hair harder.

“Miguel?”

No Miggy? And why were you tugging on his hair so harshly? What was happening?

Ouch – that’d been a particularly hard tug. What the shock were you up to? It was far too early for you to be playing these sorts of games with him.

“Miguel? Miguel!”

Miguel’s eyes flashed open, and he blinked away the sleep.

Before him, was a red-haired baby, staring curiously at him, and back at her hand. Peter B. Parker quickly scooped her in his arms, talking to her in a soothing voice.

“C’mon Mayday, you’ve played with his hair enough. Let’s not hurt dad’s boss, alright? Give him a break.”

“¿Que coños estás haciendo aqui?” Miguel grumbled, running a hand through his now messy hair. It was bad enough he was asleep and not actually next to you but having mistaken Peter B.’s voice for yours annoyed him to no end.

“Jessica asked me to check up on you. According to her, you weren’t even supposed to be here.” Peter replied as his child climbed all over him and pointed her tiny web-shooters at the wall. “

“Yeah, well, I’m working. Not sure if you’re familiar with the concept,” he grumbled again, facing the monitors in front of him. Files and files and files on you, your health, your life, your family tree, his family tree, his DNA, just anything he could get his hands on. He’d fallen asleep on top of papers, each with a different combination of chemicals and elements, all of them experiments on a new antidote for you.

Failed experiments.

“I am familiar with the concept of work, Miguel, but it’d never occur to me to work myself to exhaustion while my wife suffered by herself at home.”

This seemed to get Miguel’s attention. Every single Spider-Person in the Society had warned Peter not to bother Miguel, and most importantly, to keep you off his mouth. Everyone knew what was happening to you at this point.

Pregnant with Miguel’s child, who was slowly killing you from the inside with 50% of his Spider DNA.

And everyone also knew that Miguel had been spending unhealthy amounts of time inside his office instead of at home, by your side. They were, of course, all far too scared to say something. He didn’t seem to budge, not to subtle pleas, not to direct asking. He was hellbent on finding a cure.

Miguel’s nostrils flared and he huffed, raising a finger, and pointing right at Peter’s face.

“This is none of your business, Parker.” He said through gritted teeth, anger evident in his eyes.

“Yeah? Well, I don’t care. You might not care about anyone’s lives other than hers, but I am a husband too. And I would ditch everything – and I mean everything – to be with her at a time like this. Especially if I knew… If I knew she might…”

Miguel slammed his hands down on his desk, the sound echoing through his office.

“Do not finish that sentence. Don’t you dare.” Although he was furious, his voice was nothing but a whisper, and tears threatened to spill from his eyes.

“Alright, I won’t. And then what, Miguel? Forget this. Go home to [Y/N]. She needs you right now.” Mayday crawled on her father’s arms once again, and he rocked her gently. “Think about how she must be feeling. Terrified, all by herself, without her husband by her side.”

Miguel’s shoulders hunched. He was usually a tower of a man. But right now? He felt as small as possible.

“I can’t go back home,” he whispered, shoulders shaking. “I can’t go back home without an antidote. How am I supposed to face her? How am I supposed to look her in the eyes and tell her, her supposed genius of a husband can’t find a cure to the child that’s killing her?” When Miguel turned to face Peter, he was crying, and his eyes were drowning in sorrow. “Her screams, Peter… No man should hear such screams come from his wife… And I’m failing her… I don’t know what to do…”

Peter was stumped.

He’d never seen the cold, apathetic, always professional leader of the Spider Society behave like this. Sure, he seemed to be heartless and a jerk, but he knew that when it came to you, Miguel was willing to hold the weight of the world in his shoulders.

And it seemed like right now, he was.

Peter placed a comforting hand on his friend’s shoulder.

“Go home, Miguel. Go to her. You really think you’ll ever disappoint her? She knows how hard you’ve been working for her. Just… Go to her, alright? Before you can’t and you blame yourself for the rest of your life.”

Peter’s words did something to Miguel, and he felt his heart ache. Slowly he nodded.

“Thank you.” Nothing else needed to be said. Miguel wasn’t one for words, but Peter recognised the weight behind the ones he had just uttered.

Within seconds, a portal had been opened, and Mayday was happily waving at the man that walked through it.

The house was quiet. Almost too quiet, but he quickly picked up on the sound of the TV coming from your shared bedroom. He took off his shoes and made his way to the source of the noise.

If Miguel were speaking the truth, he’d say he was terrified. He had spent the past two weeks working non-stop to find a cure and had only checked on you three times.

He was dealing with a bunch of different emotions, all gut-wrenching in nature and far too difficult to understand. He didn’t want to see you like this, feeble, weak, laying down in bed as the baby growing inside of you sucked what little was left of your life. He wanted to remember you vibrant and full of life, full of colour and smiles.

He didn’t want you to see him like this either. Tired, exhausted, dishevelled. Dark bags under his eyes, oily hair that had seen better days. He’d been working non-stop for you.

He didn’t want to come home only to tell you he couldn’t find an antidote yet, that you’d have to suffer more. Couldn’t deal with the failure.

But (as much as he hated to admit it), Peter was right.

Although he wasn’t ready to accept defeat, he didn’t want to take the time he had with you for granted. Shock, he’d been doing far too much of that.

He approached your bedroom and his gaze settled on you, neatly tucked in your bed, hands rubbing soothing circles on your belly.

You looked pale. Fragile, He was afraid to even speak, should the quietest whisper tear you apart.

And still, you turned your head to face him, and the whole world lit up within your smile.

“MIggy!” You exclaimed and tried your best to sit up even straighter. You opened your arms for him, and, just like a moth to a flame, he was instantly drawn to you. He kneeled by your side and laid his head near your hands. Your fingers reached into his hair and massaged his scalp, just like you knew he liked.

“Lo siento…” he sobbed into the mattress, afraid to meet your eyes. “Lo siento tanto, cariño…”

“Shhhh…” you tutted, hands reaching to his jaw, so you could cup it and force him to look up. When he tries to look away, you grip his chin with whatever strength you have left, and he finally meets your eyes. “You’re here now. That’s all that matters.”

“No, my love, I’m so sorry, I’ve been so focused – ”

“I know,” there were tears in your eyes, but you refused to let them fall. Miguel was always so strong for you. It was your turn to be the strong one. How ironic. “But you’re here. You’re with me. With him.”

“Him?” Miguel asked, looking at your belly.

“I just feel it.” You offered him a smile, and he tried his hardest to reciprocate, ignoring the ache in his chest. Ever since he’d seen you glitch, Miguel had been afraid to show even the smallest of smiles. He was afraid the smallest of joy he felt around you would be taken away just as quickly.

After the first time, he’d refused to give you any more of that godforsaken antidote. Still, there’d been aftershocks. The following days, he’d seen you glitch once or twice, but it eventually faded away with time. On one hand, he was glad.

On the other, it only made him worry more. The glitching was over.

But you were still in pain.

“Mind if I sit next to you?” he asked, taking your hand in his and kissing it.

“Only if you shower first. You reek of Spider Society, Miggy, and the sheets are clean.”

He smiled once again and did as you asked, hopping in the shower, and washing the exhaustion and grime of the day off him. When he was ready, he put on a pair of sweatpants and walked into the bedroom, relishing in the way your breath hitched as you looked at his bare torso.

“Necessitas algo, mi amor?” he asked, raising an eyebrow comically. You looked away, cheeks heating up with embarrassment. You’d been married for years, and he still had this effect on you.

“Yeah, for you to get under the covers with me right now. But put a shirt on - you’re distracting me from my show!” Miguel chuckled, and he was surprised at how long it’d been since he’d last heard it.

“What’re you watching?” he asked, lifting the covers so he could sit next to you. He did so gently, afraid to disturb your peace – and the baby inside of you that thank heavens was giving you some rest.

“Pasiones Entrelazadas,” you replied, leaning into him. His touch had you melting, and you pointed at the television in front of you. “Isabella was getting married to Luis, but his evil twin Diego kidnapped him and took his place, and now Isabella thinks Diego is Luis.”

“Huh.”

“Yeah, and Marisol, their mom, well, she’s totally on Diego’s side, because if it weren’t for Luis, Diego would be the heir to her ex-husband’s money.”

“And why doesn’t she like Luis? Isn’t he her son as well?” Miguel shook his head, trying to keep up with the plot of another of your wacky shows.

“Well, Luis is actually the son of another man.”

“¿Qué?!”

“So, Marisol actually slept with two men when she was younger. She was married to Xavier, this big CEO guy, but she’s a little slut so she was fooling around with Antonio on the side. Xavier found out and divorced her. She found out she was pregnant shortly after. Luis is Antonio’s son, but Diego is Xavier’s. And if it weren’t for Luis, Diego would be entitled to his father’s fortune.”

Miguel was too stunned to speak.

“[Y/N], mi amor, that makes no sense.”

“Shhhh – Isabella is about to sleep with Diego!” You shushed him again, gesturing with your hands to keep him quiet.

“How can they be twins and still – “

“Shhhhhhhh!”

Miguel sighed.

“Fine, fine. Let’s watch.”

And you did.

For about ten minutes, before you fell asleep on his shoulder – not a rare thing to happen.

With all the care in the world, Miguel eased you down, fetching your pillow and propping it against your belly in the way he knew provided most comfort. He leaned over your body and placed a gentle kiss on your cheek.

Perhaps all would be right. Perhaps you could endure this together, as long as you had each other. Perhaps, all would be okay.

These were Miguel’s thoughts as he drifted to sleep.

And then they were promptly interrupted by a loud, shrill scream, and the body next to him contorting in pain.

“Honey? Honey, I’m here!” He yelled, turning on the lights and sitting up to get a good look at you. You were sitting up as well, hands instinctively wrapped around your stomach. It’d become your priority after you got pregnant – the baby came first. Even if it was the very thing that was killing you.

Miguel could see you convulsing, limbs twitching and twitching, and you kept on screaming. He quickly sprinted towards his home office, opened a drawer on his desk and removed the (original) antidote and its gun, returning to your bedroom in the blink of an eye.

He basically threw himself on his knees next to you and grabbed your arm.

Once you realised what he was about to you, you tried prying your arm from him, crying loudly.

“No!” you screamed, tears streaming down your face. “P-Please! Don’t – Miggy, don –” your words were interrupted as another scream was ripped out of you. You fell flat on the bed as your body twitched, and Miguel had to try his best to keep himself under control. The woman he loved the most was suffering. She was convulsing and screaming some of the most blood-curdling, truly horrifying screams he’d ever heard. And yet, she was begging him not to use the antidote on her.

“My love, I’m so sorry… I have to…” he said, grabbing hold of your arm once again.

“No!” You sobbed, thrashing around the bed, silk sheets flying in every direction. “You’ll hurt him! God – no, please! Miggy, it hurts! Miggy, no –“ Another scream.

And another.

Miguel had two choices. He could stand by and watch as whatever was inside of you killed you. He could simply wait it out and watch as unimaginable pain consumed your every limb. He could wait and see what happens.

He could wait. And it’d be too late.

Shock it.

He did not need to think it twice. Miguel grabbed your arm and injected the antidote in your veins.

You were still in a matter of seconds, breathing heavily and staring at the ceiling with tears in your eyes.

“Miggy?” you whispered; voice nearly broken.

Miguel looked at you and slowly brushed the hair away from your sweaty forehead.

“I’m here, mi amor. I’m here,” he repeated these words over and over again, reassuring you with his voice.

“Miggy… I think…” your eyes teared up once more. “Miggy I… I peed myself…” You closed your eyes and cried silently, looking away from him, which made Miguel’s heart break. You’d gone through thick and thin together, and peeing yourself was going to make him think less of you?

“Let’s get you cleaned up, shall we?” Miguel got up and slowly peeled the bedsheets from you to reveal your exposed legs.

That’s when all the air was sucked out of his lungs.

You hadn’t peed your pants. Not at all.

That was blood.

A/N: And that's it! I hope you've all liked it, hehehe. I'm sorry if the show seemed real shitty - I used to watch telenovelas with my nana when I was younger, and I swear their plots were all like this. We'd then sit on her porch and discuss whatever wacky plot was going on this time. It was fun.

Anyways, I hope you all have an amazing day ahead!

Taglist

@tarjapearce , @estella-satn , @meganswife , @cold-blooded-girls , @marcswife21 , @edgycatx

I'm not very sure how to tag people, so in case this doesn't work, I'm sorry!!!

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jackactuallywrites · 2 months

Note

I am asking very nicely for part 2

I need our pathetic duo

Besties are making fun of MC for being an idiot and they take her to a club and WHO'S THERE? 💀

They meet in a smoking area and MC is going through all stages of grief

That's us btw

Drunk and Disorderly

Pairing: Simon Ghost Riley x You

Rating: Still pretty mild

Warnings: Alcohol, smoking, clubbing, Liverpudlians

Summary: You to the club assuming Ghost won’t be there. More fool you!

Notes: we simp for @xxven providing all these excellent plot ideas it would not happen without her 🫡

Word count: 1,666 (spooky!)

“I’m not going back to the pub.”

You were being uncharacteristically firm; usually, enough badgering from Katy and Elle would have you giving in and trudging off to the pub, but this time you were absolutely resolute. Elle was less than impressed, letting out a heavy groan as you vetoed the classic Friday evening plans, “Is this because of the whole Ghost thing?” You glowered at her, and Katy snickered, “Can’t believe you thought Soap was some girl chatting him up.” You huffed, “It’s hard to tell in that lighting! Plus, a lot of the girls around here have that haircut.” Elle did her best to hold back her amusement, whereas Katy did no such thing, cackling at you outright, “You twat.” You made a face at her, “Bite me. We’re not going to the pub.” Elle acquiesced, “Alright, fine, fine. What about the club?” Katy grimaced, “So we can watch you get embroiled in lesbian drama again?” Elle grinned, “I mean, what’s a night out without a little drama?” “A little drama? You almost got your extensions ripped out.” “But I didn’t.” You interrupted, “I vote to go to the club as well.” Katy huffed, “That’s because you know you won’t see Ghost in a gay bar, isn’t it?” You saluted, “Absolutely. Two against one.” She sighed, knowing she’d been beaten, “Fine. But no drama!” Elle held her hand over her heart, “No drama!”

Of course, it had been a promise that couldn’t be kept. Elle had a habit of finding herself in the middle of arguments, no matter how hard she supposedly tried to keep out of them. It was lucky for her that Katy was there to console the jilted lover and convince her not to throw her drink over Elle’s head. Elle was unbothered as always, already finding some beautiful person to dance with. With Katy busy soothing troubled lesbians and Elle trying to seduce anything even remotely sexual, you were left alone, though you didn’t mind.

You couldn’t think of a better place to bury your embarrassment than in the middle of a gay club, your face painted with colour and sparkles, your tits pushed up so high they practically touched your chin, and your waist cinched by your corset, your confidence absolutely untouchable. You’d already gotten several numbers that night, not that you planned on using any of them, still silently pining for a certain murderous spectre, but it had done wonders to restore your self-esteem after that dreadful night the week before.

The memory had long since faded into irrelevance in your mind, the music seeming to pump directly into your veins, the bass pounding along with the beat of your heart, your hips swaying, your hands touching your hair, your neck, absolutely enraptured by everything in that moment, lost in the sensations of absolute peace that only pounding music and heavy drinks could provide. You danced until your feet hurt, and the sweat began to bead up on your forehead, threatening to ruin the intricate swirls Elle had spent so long on, finally taking a break from your dancing and heading out for a breath of fresh air—in the smoking area.

You paid little attention to the patrons as you pushed open the heavy door into the cool night air, letting it flow over your face, enjoying the smoke-tainted breeze. The door shifted slightly behind you, someone taking the weight of it out of your hands, holding it open as they came into what was generously called a garden, though was more accurately a group of cheap metal chairs on fake grass, grouped around a single space heater. Most of the chairs were occupied by a group already deep in conversation, some of them known to you, huddled together, with two chairs left out. You were too happy to sink into the available chair, taking the weight off your feet, leaning back and stretching out your ankles, only somewhat regretting your decision to wear heels. The person who’d come along behind you sunk into the last available chair, and you finally looked over at them, wondering if they’d be good conversation.

Fate, it seemed, had a very funny sense of humour.

Ghost was sitting in the chair beside you. Ghost, terrifying Lieutenant, was in the smoking area of a gay bar. He was looking at you curiously, still wearing that trademark skull balaclava, inexplicably allowed to wear it no matter where he was, dressed in a slightly more casual version of his usual uniform, a thick black jumper paired with the classic cargo trousers that every soldier favoured. And there you were, in your skimpy sparkly dress, arse out, tits out, dignity left somewhere behind on the dancefloor. Your only saving grace was the hope that he might not recognise you, as crushing as that might have been.

The nod he gave you was friendly enough, as well as the “Alright?” he offered in your direction, and you did your best to squeak out an “Alright!” in response. Thankfully, he didn’t seem entirely bothered by your practically virginal awkwardness around him, his attention on the cigarettes in his pocket, digging out his lighter as he pulled up his mask, revealing a clean-shaven jaw as he clamped the cigarette between his lips. You were clearly not one for subtlety, as he offered the pack out to you, clearly noticing you staring.

Broke and gasping for a quick smoke was probably a better look for you than desperate, so you took one from the pack, trying to remember where you’d stashed your lighter, but Ghost was already leaning in with his, the tip of his cigarette touching against yours as he sparked them up, taking in a deep breath to encourage the embers to catch. You were absolutely spellbound to be so close to him, able to smell the slight hint of cologne that lingered around him, but you leaned away the moment he did, trying to look at least somewhat casual about it, as though smoking with your lieutenant was something you did every day. It was an undeniably insane scenario, yet when he settled back into his chair, entirely at ease, the tension seemed to dissipate from your body. He wasn’t judging you or staring at you with murderous intent, nor was he stained in blood with sweat trickling over his sculpted chest. He was just a man, sitting in a rusted chair, smoking cheap cigs out in the cold. It might have been the alcohol that caused this revelation, or perhaps the soothing effects of the nicotine, but you could feel the anxiety fade away as you looked at him, noticing just how ordinary he seemed.

“I’m not gonna grass you up for being drunk and disorderly if that’s what you’re worried about.” Ghost’s soft voice snapped you out of your revelation, the man clearly having cottoned on to your weird behaviour around him, yet he’d entirely misconstrued the true cause and given you a perfect excuse. You leapt on the opportunity, smiling, “Hey, I might be drunk, but I wouldn’t say I’ve crossed into disorderly just yet. I’m just worried what Elle will say if she catches me talking to a Manc.” He hummed at that, “What, she a scouser?” You nodded, “And proud of it.” He snorted, his lips curling into a slight smirk, “Why would anyone be proud of being from that shithole?” You gently kicked his leg with the toe of your heel, “Hey, nothing wrong with Liverpool!” “Scousers are what’s wrong with Liverpool. And the world.” You rolled your eyes at him, “Yeah, yeah, get over it. She’s perfect.”

There was something easy about his company, the conversation flowing like water as you idly gossiped about the various officers you’d seen out that night, some of whom were decidedly less than single, as well as occasionally dipping into the finer points of what military equipment you each favoured, with him favouring the classic goretex and you preferring the AKUs. Your cigarettes had long been stubbed out, and the psychological warming effects of the alcohol were beginning to fade, your skimpy dress doing very little to protect you from the chill.

After the third time you’d been wracked with shivers and the second time you’d refused his jumper, Ghost took matters into his own hands, tugging it over his head and offering it out to you. You opened your mouth to protest, but he cut you off, “If you don’t take it, I’ll give you a formal reprimand.” You pursed your lips, rolling your eyes at him, but you took the jumper from his hands, tugging the warm material over your head and letting it fall down over your body, shifting in the chair so it covered more of your exposed skin. The fabric swamped you, but you weren’t complaining, amused that the hem of his jumper was longer than your dress. You grinned at Ghost, holding your arms out to showcase how long the sleeves were on you, “How do I look?” Ghost had long since pulled his mask back down, but you could see the slight crinkle at the corner of his eyes as he smiled underneath it, “Warm.”

The heavy door opened again, revealing a very happy-looking Elle with a big lipstick smudge on her cheek and a somewhat tired-looking Katy. Elle pointed at Ghost, wrinkling her nose and booing loudly, “Manc!” Ghost looked at you, then back at Elle, folding his arms over his chest, showcasing the tattoo sleeve that wrapped around his forearm, “Scouser.” She responded with a childish stream of incoherent babble, and Katy sighed, “Come on, we’re off.” You weren't about to bicker with Katy, so you pushed yourself up from the chair, looking down at Ghost, “You’re not getting this back, you know.” He shrugged, “Fine by me.” You smiled down at him, “In a bit then.” He nodded as you left, his eyes flicking over your body, drowned by his jumper, “In a bit.”

#jack writes #ghost cod #simon ghost riley #simon riley #cod #cod fanfic #cod mw2 #ghost mw2 #cod fic #simon ghost x reader #ghost x female reader

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moonsorchid · 2 months

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Rewatching ep.28 of Love Between Fairy and Devil and having some *cough* strong emotions

Part 1 (because I have a lot to talk about)

(spoilers ahead)

Um, what does that butterfly do to Shangque?

Shangque, baby, no, no, no, no, don't do this to yourself

I can never get tired of Canglan sea visuals

So Jieli has to keep taking an antidote every three days? I had totally forgotten about that. I try to find reasons to justify Ronghao’s actions – apart from him being a total snack – and I am sorry but I fail

Oh, my baby is at the bridge. She is so happy! I was so happy too when I first watched this scene. If only I knew

Look how happy he is too! He is finally smiling naturally. So excited that he will meet Xiao Lanhua at the bridge

But hey, will his brother let him be happy? Noooooooo. Little brat

Btw, if I was Dongfang Qingcang and people were outside my palace messing with my personal life, I wouldn’t have kept my cool

This whole scene of people asking him to kill Xiao Lanhua, is causing me nausea, and I wish I was kidding

But I have to pause and admire DFQC’s costume and the light. He looks majestic and there has never been a scene where he looks more a King than this one – I think

For a moment there I thought he was going to burn them all and I got excited. But he just used like one of the last three remaining blasts of hellfire to half destroy a pillar

Xunfeng, seriously, please get a hobby, do something else with your life other than trying to ruin your brother’s life – yes, I am angry, very angry

DFQC is way calmer than I could ever be. He explains eloquently why Xiao Lanhua is the best and how he has helped him. He has come such a long way

I hate though that the kingdom learns first that he loves her and wants to marry her before she does

Awwwweeee, he wanted to prepare the greatest wedding for her. Now I am sad. We never got to see that wedding. Petition for a season 2 to see the wedding

Question: DFQC realized in Lucheng that Xiao Lanhua is the goddess of Xishan. Why doesn’t he reveal this information now to stop them from b*tching about her being a fairy?

Xiao Lanhua is waiting at the bridge

Awwwwe

Oh now, you are all “Please think twice” and you act like you care for your brother. You exhaust me, Xunfeng

Xiao Lanhua is still waiting and it’s night now

Oh no, not the scene with the spikes. Not my baby. I am not emotionally ready. Nooooooooo

I had not prepared any tissues – I am keeping them for ep. 31 – but I feel like I will need them. Damn, it's so much harder to watch this scene for the second time. I don’t want anyone hurting them, I can’t!

And they keep on hitting the spike over and over and over again. *trying not to cry*

Xiao Lanhua is still waiting. I mean they could have done that with the spikes the next day. Let them have a romantic night for crying out loud

Aaaawe, he arrived. My heart.

This should have been the most romantic scene of the show, not one of the most heartbreaking scenes *pouting*

Their first kiss as a couple *melting*

Love how she pulls away and he still wants to kiss. Not sure if that was in the script *wink wink*

Why did her bracelet do that sparkle thingy? What did that mean? Why now?

Poor DFQC and poor Xiao Lanhua

I hadn’t realized on my first watch that he created thunder. So, Xiao Lanhua knew exactly how he felt

He went through all this excruciating pain and he still thinks of keeping her warm

Awe the marriage proposal. Finally something cheerful. I love that he had planned to have the proposal the day after they would hang the locks at the bridge. Who knew he would be so romantic *heart shaped eyes*

Xiao Lanhua is all like I don’t care about the treasures and stuff, but look, I made you this grass bracelet, will you marry me? She always has a way to subvert his expectations, right?

Oh come on, Xunfeng, let them kiss! I wanted to end this part on a good note, but you just had to show up like a fart during a date

Stopping here and pretending Xunfeng never happened. They just got engaged, grass bracelet and all, they are happy and ready to kiss.

Part 2 coming soonish (depending on my blood pressure I guess)

#i apologize about the language and the ranting #i am usually polite and kind and a lady #but not when i watch this show #it has my emotions running wild #it's just a show #i keep reminding myself #however don't let this fool you #i adore every second of it hehe #exactly because it evokes such strong emotion #love between fairy and devil #lbfad #rewatching #mine #orchid's reactions

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motherofplatypus · 1 year

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I wanna talk about something that i believe it has 50/50 chance that people will agree or absolutely wreck me, but I'm doing it anyway because I've argued about this back then and the amount of people who don't find this problematic is mind boggling. This is about the massive double standard that Adrien has within the fandom. Trigger episode: Multiplication.

I can still remember the oh so infamous scene of Felix from S3. Y'all remember? When he disguised as Adrien, tricking Ladybug, and about to non consensually kiss her? Man, the fandom was on fire that day, calling it sexual harassment and how much people hate him. And don't get me started with the legendary accursed wax statue scene from Puppeteer 2. Man, the writers must be high, drunk, trippy, and wasted when making those episodes. I want what they ate.

So, anyway, Multiplication exist, Mari is done with Adrien, Adrien speedrun his feelings towards Marinette within a day or less, and skipped twenty steps of How To Start A Relationship Like A Normal Person and went on to kiss her without consent, multiple times (is that why it's called Multiplication?). Sounds familiar with what Felix and Marinette did? Although in Marinette's case she doesn't know it was Adrien, but I'm putting her here anyway bcs i can and i want yall to live that moment again with me.

Why are people hating Felix and Marinette for what they did but glorifying Adrien when he did the same thing? I've seen so many people calling it cute or just straight up losing their mind in the sea of shipping and UwU and stuffs. This is a problematic thing in the show that i dont see many people talk about.

"Oh, but kissing is a normal way of greeting in French."

For those of you who gonna use that as an argument (one I've seen multiple times), here's one word you might've skipped when you're reading this post: CONSENT.

Watch that episode once more and tell me if you see anything that shows Marinette is willing to be kissed. If there's any trace of her giving him consent to be kissed.

Find any?

Hugging is also normal, but if you're about to hug someone and they refuse to be hugged, what will you do? Will you come back another day and try to hug them again, or will you not do that again because you respect their boundaries and consent?

Adrien did none of that. He just goes on and on and on for days to come without as much as a little thought that maybe, just maybe, he should stop because Mari is very visibly and obviously not okay getting kissed.

"Oh, but he thought Mari is still into him, because she's been acting all clumsy around him all this time."

Fair enough, but back to the keyword here: consent.

I'll give him a pass for trying to kiss her twice. Once, because like the statement above, and second, because he needs to make sure that Mari indeed refuse to be kissed by him. But he tried like what, four times? We've joked about him being blind, but this is plain idiocy.

And let's talk about Alya too. Girl, your so-called best friend is visibly uncomfortable with the idea of getting kissed, and she also told you why she's done with Adrien. Why on heavens through hell would your action be forcing your best friend to receive the kiss? You're a shameful excuse of a best friend.

"Oh, but Alya has been listening to Mari talking about Adrien non stop, so of course she's gonna make her take the kiss because maybe she wanted something to finally happen between them."

Like i said, she's a shameful excuse of a best friend.

(Lord, i can still remember when Alya holds Mari down, and Adrien just take that chance to kiss her. Good lord, that's blatant harassment.)

Alright, let's just say y'all and the writers are hellbent in having Adrien try to kiss her multiple times, here's an alternative that would've worked: he also kiss Nino and Alya as greetings. That's normal, right? Kiss your homies hello, don't leave others craving for your kiss from those luscious cherry lips. Why isn't he kissing them too if kissing is a normal way of greetings? Just, seriously, the situation would be far, far, far much better if Adrien also kiss the others, because then it won't look like a sexual harassment on Marinette.

Why didn't the writers think of that is beyond me, but these are the same people who make Felix and Marinette scenes in something they always call a "kids show", so it's to be expected.

And so, it has been a piece of my thought. I know some of you will be furious with this, but what's an opinion without some spicy replies. And so, I'd like to hear your opinion. Do you agree, or disagree. Am i being ridiculous with how i perceive this topic. Share your thoughts.

That being said, I'll see you all next time. Byeee.

#why the writers aren't getting sued or reported for how they treated the children in this show is still a mystery #miraculous #miraculous ladybug #miraculous lb #mlb #adrien agreste #chat noir #marinette dupain cheng #miraculous adrien #miraculous marinette #miraculous salt #mlb salt #ml ladybug #adrien salt

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pteroducktyll · 9 months

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FtM Hysto Recovery + Tips (Plus general tips for dealing with low/no spoons or recovering from any surgery)

I haven't been on Tumblr for years, but recently re-joined to check out art, as I start to work on getting my idea for a graphic novel off the ground (as well as getting serious about improving my art again). However, I'm hoping these first few posts get found by an entirely different audience. This is being written in 2023.

I'm going in for a laparoscopic hysterectomy on Thursday (today is Monday) and want to share my experience, as much as spoons will allow, so that other people can hopefully benefit in the future. I, personally, have struggled to find things online that fit my situation as a trans man with a history of pre-cancerous pap smears, abnormal bleeding, PID and ovarian cysts (but not PCOS). Although hysterectomies for "GRS" or gender affirming surgery purposes are easy to get where I live, mine in particular is primarily being done to avoid cancer and to stop the abnormal bleeding and random debilitating pain that comes out of nowhere every few years and upends my life for weeks/months. So if you're someone facing the prospect of a laparoscopic hysterectomy, regardless of your gender identity, and have a history of medical issues (but not PCOS or endometriosis) in your reproductive region, this blog may help you! Or, alternatively, if you're a trans man looking to get a laparoscopic hysterectomy, whether or not you've had issues in that region, this might help you, too!

It should be noted that this is written from the perspective of someone in their 30s with a complicated medical history, including Type 2 Diabetes and a very rare kidney disease (which has an average life expectancy of 29 years for men, but we aren't sure how it affects trans men), so the pre-surgery process I've been through is not the typical one. I also have chronic pain and know from my past experiences with very severe pain that a) I have a low tolerance for any pain beyond what I deal with day-to-day and b) I have a high tolerance for opiate pain medication, which means it takes a higher dose for me to address the level of pain that a lower dose would address in someone else. These both affect the length of time that I'll likely need to be on painkillers, and how functional I'll be while I'm on them. This, in turn, affects how quickly I'll be able to do things like return to work and driving.

I should also note that although it's common in some places for this surgery to be completed as day surgery, my jurisdiction almost always keeps people in overnight; this is because it takes almost 24 hours for the anesthetic to work its way out of your system, and until it does they won't have a true indication of your pain levels and, therefore, won't be able to make sure it's adequately controlled before sending you home. It's much easier (in my experience, and according to the doctors!) to stop you from having pain in the first place than to get it under control once you do.

Also, I live with my partner and a roommate, and my retired parents are about 90 minutes away and have a guest room. My support network isn't huge, but it's high quality. My partner managed to get 3 days off work for my surgery and the 2 days following, and after that is on a light workload for about a week in case she needs to take care of me. She also has a lot of flexibility with her job, and her boss really likes me, so if there are complications or she needs to spend more time at home to look after me, I don't think it's completely out of the question. All of this is to say that I'm going into this surgery from a very privileged place, in terms of not having to do much to look after myself in the aftermath. My surgeon did advise me, however, to take 1 week (for sure) off work if I could, and that I may need a second week. My work consists of two research jobs that draw heavily on my brain power, but don't require me to move around at all, especially as I work from home, so the issue is the painkillers, rather than actual healing time. Other jobs will require different amounts of time off work.

Because I'm neurodivergent and like to have as many details as possible about ... literally everything, I'm going to make this as detailed as I can. Essentially, I'm hoping to share everything I know and experience without leaving anything out. If it's too much detail for you, I'm going to be doing my best to include useful headers.

Notification of Surgery & Lead-up

I received notice about my surgery just over a month before my surgery date; it was around June 26th that I was emailed and told my surgery would be on August 3rd. I had previously met my surgeon in January, and was told it would be a 6-8 month wait until surgery. Between that appointment and being given my surgery date, I'd had bloodwork done, as well as an internal ultrasound. I've had several internal ultrasounds before and while they are far from pleasant, they are not as dysphoria-inducing for me as they are for other trans men, I'm sure. I am more physically uncomfortable during them than mentally/spiritually uncomfortable.

In the notification email, my surgeon sent additional attachments; about 200 pages of information from a) their office specifically and b) the health authority [one document about hysterectomies, one document about recovering from surgery in general]. These documents answered most of my questions, and also had instructions about fasting, pre-surgery instructions (there's a special sponge I have to buy and use the night before surgery and the morning of surgery) and recovery information. The documents were very generic, and because they came from different sources, the information was sometimes contradictory. I, personally, took the information on board in this order of trustworthiness:

Things my surgeon had said in-person during my consultation appointment in January

Things included in the information from my surgeon's office directly

Things included in the documents from the health authority

If there were contradictions that seemed extremely important (e.g. one document said to wash everything my face with the special sponges, while another said, in all caps, to absolutely NOT wash my head or face with the sponges), I followed-up with the surgeon's office or the most appropriate person (e.g. pharmacist).

Pre-surgery Appointments

Because of my medical history (diabetes and Alport's Syndrome), I had an extra step in here. My surgeon required me to have a consultation with my internal medicine doctor's clinic (but not with my specialist) to get the all-clear and make sure my risk level wasn't too high. This doctor made some assumptions about the medications I'm taking, which led him to think I had both diabetes and a heart condition, which would have put me in a much higher risk category. Because of that, he ordered extra bloodwork, and an ECG, and booked a follow-up with me for a few days later. That initial appointment with him ended on the assumption that the surgery likely would be postponed. However, the bloodwork and ECG all came back fine, and at the follow-up he gave me the all-clear and said my risk wasn't very high at all.

I had a few other pre-surgery appointments.

One was with the surgeon. In my case, the doctor actually doing my surgery is a resident colleague of the surgeon I initially consulted with. Now that I had a specific date for the surgery, and my life situation had changed a bit since the consultation (e.g. work), I asked to meet with the surgeon to ask questions that had come up since the initial consultation, and so that I could meet the person who would be cutting into me and make sure I was comfortable with her. She answered all my questions really well, and it turned out I was more comfortable with her than the original surgeon. This was a quick 5-10 minute talk, but I highly recommend asking for it, even if your surgeon hasn't changed. You'll have another chance to talk to your surgery just before being wheeled into the OR, but you'll be nervous and may be medicated by then, and it's just nice to have this conversation ahead of time and in an environment where you can look at a list of questions you've written down, and actually pay attention to the answers.

The hospital required another two appointments before surgery:

The pharmacist

About a week before my surgery, the pharmacist called for 5-10 minutes to discuss my current medications, supplements, vitamins and holistic medicines (if I were taking any) and to find out what time of day I take them at. Easy peasy.

2. The anesthetist

Exactly a week before my surgery, the anesthetist called to discuss the operation itself and the anesthetic. I'm not sure if the doctor I talked to will be the anesthetist who is actually in the room with me, or if it was just her job that particular day to call and get the information that will get passed onto the one who will be in the room. She was very nice, and explained the method of anesthesia, as well as how I'll likely feel when I wake up, etc. She also saw on my chart that I have a history of chronic pain, and zeroed in on my back and shoulder. She asked if there are any positions that make me more comfortable, and then explained the position I'd be in for my surgery -- tipped back toward my head -- and that this sometimes gives people back and shoulder pain even if they don't have any to begin with. She said my arms would be alongside my body, fairly tight to it, and I said that would be fine. I practiced laying them beside my body later that day and promptly discovered that's actually pretty painful for one arm, but I'll mention that when I get there and hope for the best! If I was having the conversation again, I'd answer by saying I wasn't sure how that would feel but that I'd practice it before the surgery day to see, and then ask who I could talk to if it turned out there's a better position or if that one wouldn't work. Ultimately though, the surgery should be 1.5 hours to 4 hours at most, so I'm not overly concerned. What you should take away from this if you're having this surgery and don't already have back/shoulder pain is that you might wake up with some, but that it should go away in a day or maybe a little less. This type of surgery also requires the surgeon to inflate your belly with gas in order to make room for the scopes and so that they can see what they're doing. That gas can stick around for a day, sometimes two, according to the anesthetist and can be a little bit painful or uncomfortable. I can't remember anything else that came out of this conversation.

In terms of pre-surgery appointments, that was it.

Tips and Tricks for Being Prepared

The next little bit is information I acquired through talking to my therapist (who's had several laparoscopic surgeries!) and many hours of research online, as well as living as a person who often has few spoons.

Get your first 1-2 weeks of meals planned and ready in advance. For me, this means I've picked up a large number of cans of Alphaghetti-type foods, and I'll be buying as many frozen meals as I can but have VERY little freezer room because my partner and I share with our tenant. Other options include things like HelloFresh, identifying nights when it will be easier for your partner if you order food in (if you can afford to), making big batches of food leading up to surgery while you're well and then freezing them, creating a list of meals you'd appreciate friends bringing over [remind them to bring them in disposable containers, so you don't have to feel guilty when it takes you weeks to get the containers back to them!], etc

Buy some Depends/adult diapers. I bought store brand (Life brand, specifically, which is Canadian) ones. The only ones I could get were maximum absorbency unless I wanted to pay twice the price for name brand ones, but I suspect I could do with a minimum absorbency one. I bought the underwear-style ones. In the store brand, they don't look very underwear-like at all, but if you have more money to spend, some of the name brand ones look convincingly like underwear! I also bought 'Unisex' ones, but would have bought womens if the unisex ones weren't an option; I suspect the mens' might have a built-in bulge area that would be awkward for me. The point of the adult diapers is that their 'waistband' is not a traditional waistband -- it's about 8" tall, very thin, and crinkle-cut so that it doesn't put pressure on your skin. This will stop you from having clothing pushing on your incision sites. BONUS is that they ARE absorbent, so you won't have to also wear pads to deal with discharge (which can, apparently, last for 6 weeks). Try the Depends on for a day a few days before surgery. Yes, it will be awkward and you'll feel silly. I am literally sitting in bed, with nothing wrong with me, wearing nothing but an adult diaper and a tee shirt while my partner's at work. But this has 2 purposes: 1) chances are you haven't worn these before, and you want to make sure you've got the most comfortable ones you can in terms of fit and style; 2) if you've worn them once already, it'll be familiar when you go to put it on when you're ready to leave the hospital; you'll know which side is the back and which side is the front, and the 'weirdness' of wearing them will be less unsettling. You're going to have other weird stuff going on, this doesn't have to be yet another weird thing happening!

If you live alone or your partner doesn't (or can't) change the sheets, layer sheets on the bed. That's right, layer your mattress with bottom sheets. That way, you can peel the top one off and have a cleaner sheet beneath it. It won't be the same as being able to sleep on a fresh, clean sheet straight out of the cupboard or dryer, but it's going to be better than the one you've slept, sweat or, universe forbid, bled on.

Get a LEAKPROOF (truly) travel mug with a handle. After surgery you'll have maybe one comfortable position to lay in. You're not going to want to get out of that position to retrieve your water, but you're also going to need to be drinking a lot of water (it helps you recover, and also helps get your bowels moving again). Being able to lose your water in the bed is a luxury, but a necessary one. I got mine at Winners for pretty cheap.

Get a nightie or onesie. I usually sleep naked. I don't really own pyjamas -- when I need to cover up to sleep (like when I visit friends or travel), I throw on a pair of joggers, or boxer briefs. But those both have waistbands and, remember, we're trying to avoid waistbands. I ordered a sleep shirt from Oodie, which was on sale, but still expensive (I paid around $60, including 1-2 business day shipping because I didn't think of it until the last minute), as well as a halloween one-sie from Old Navy that's apparently leftover from last year's halloween stock. I'm expecting the onesie to be way too hot, but I need something I can wear out in public in case I have to get groceries, or pick something up at the pharmacy, or stand outside because the building's burning, without exposing myself. I also borrowed a robe to go over the sleep shirt when I leave the hospital.

Have whoever's picking you up bring 2 pillows. One goes between your abdomen and the seatbelt, and you sit on the other one.

Have whoever's picking you up bring fast food. When you leave the hospital you're going to either be ravenously hungry or feel like you never want to eat again. Either way, fast food is going to be the one thing you didn't realize you needed so badly in your life until that moment. Your body's going to be craving carbs and fat, and fat is also what's going to help your pain pills kick in.

Have ice cream, chips or other junk food on hand. This is mostly so that you have something to eat when you take your pain pills. Fatty foods help opiates work faster; as someone who takes them several times a month for chronic pain, I've sometimes noticed a difference of -hours- between taking them with fatty foods and taking them on their own.

Get a walking aid. We use our abdomens for everything. If you don't already have something like a cane, pick one up. Keep the receipt though; if you don't end up using it, you can usually take them back. With that said, my therapist said it's at about the 2 week mark when you feel like you actually need one. If you don't have a cane but you have walking/hiking sticks, dig them out and keep them handy.

Grab some baby wipes. You can get laparoscopic incisions wet, but that doesn't mean you're going to feel like you have the energy or endurance to shower right away. You're still going to want to keep your pits and bits clean.

If you take daily medications, organize them in a pill organizer. Things can get confusing when you're on painkillers, or when a partner is dishing out your meds. You know exactly how many you take, and how often, so the best way to approach this is to get a pill organizer and get all your doses for a week ready before your surgery. Monday AM, Monday PM, Tuesday AM, Tuesday PM, that kind of thing. There's nothing worse than being on painkillers and trying to remember if you've already taken That Very Important Medication You Can't Miss or not. Or, worse, not even realizing you've missed something that can give you withdrawal symptoms, and suddenly waking up a few days after surgery feeling worse than you've ever felt in your life and wondering if you need to go to the ER, only to have it turn out that you missed your meds.

Buy something for yourself that you can look forward to. I bought a video game that I've wanted for a couple of years that was finally on sale. I haven't touched it, and won't until sometime after surgery when I feel up to it. Giving yourself a little reward when you're going through something hard is always nice.

If you're diabetic...take a minute before your surgery to remind your partner/anyone you live with/anyone who's going to be looking after you about how and when to check your blood sugars, what numbers are abnormal for you, and what to do about them. Being ill or recovering from a surgery can really throw your diabetes out of whack, even if it's well-controlled beforehand, and recovering from surgery might make you feel a lot of the same symptoms you'd feel from a hypo/hyper or DKA, so make sure you (or someone else) test your sugars regularly and have things on hand to deal with abnormal or worrying results.

Take your phone everywhere. Painkillers (and pain) can make us unsteady. As someone who's taken a fall and had to wait hours for my partner to wake up and find me and help me back to my feet (and then bed), I don't recommend it.

These are the things I know about pre-surgery, but I'll try to update...eventually if I learn anything new post-surgery.

#transmasc #trans guy #trans man #transmasculine #ftm trans #surgery #medical stuff #hysto #hysterectomy #disability

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gralunaisland · 8 months

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A Hilariously Low IQ Pro gr///vian Raid On My Blog

(The pictures make this post really long so I'll put them and my words below the "keep reading")

Oh my gosh guys 😂. I don’t look at tumblr for one second, and now I have a ton of hate asks!

This is legitimately hilarious!

Nothing like the toxic side of the Pro fandom shooting themselves in the foot by acting like actual toddlers over me disliking a fictional ship! ^^

But before I get to these funny asks, I have a post I’ve been working on that’ll set the stage for this—the prologue, if you will.

There’s a (very silly) reason I’ve been targeted, and it’s again so amusing.

I can’t wait to post it for y’all’s entertainment! Tumblr drama is always so interesting, isn’t it?

Have a wonderful day, everyone! Even the (specifically, not all) toxic Pros! I sure hope especially y’all can find some happiness outside of being big bad meanies on tumblr. (*´∀`*)

Edit: there’s a bunch of asks I’m getting as I type this that seem to be from the same disgruntled person lol. I think I’ll try to group those asks into one post because I feel like this person is trying to fill my blog with hate.

Edit 2: and if I just get duplicate hate asks (which I have been), I’ll probably just delete those. Not good content for me to keep responding to the same brain-dead message ^^!

Edit 3: change of plans: I’ll be screenshotting all the asks and making one mega post about it since it’s one person. Hope to post it soon!

#hahahaha I’ve truly made it in life #I’m such a threat to pros that #at the very least one very butthurt pro has made it their mission to target me #which is even more sad than if it were a bunch of pros attacking me!#anti gruvia #anti juvia #askgraluna #anti juvia lockser #anti juvia loxar #fairy tail #ask #defend gray fullbuster #gray fullbuster #anti gray x juvia #anti pro gruvia fandom #toxic #toxic behavior #toxic fandom #toxicity

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iamlittlelostsoul · 9 months

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First Love

Hello my lovelies~!! It's 4am here and I can't sleep yet I'm feeling a lil romantic today (cries in single) no angst (wohooo!) and a lil bonus of some smut<3

Malleus is such a bbg CHANGE MY MIND I DARE YOU<3

first time writing smut so hope you all liked it ≧◉◡◉≦

Summary: Falling for her was the happiest I've ever been. Stay by me hold me tight and kiss me.

warning/s: NSFW. smut.

MalleYuu || Malleus x OC(Yurika)

if you're curious of my oc here's her profile! -> Yuri

(and if you'd like you can listen to this while reading it <3)

youtube

______________________________________________________________

Malleus pov

It was a hot summer evening when we first met.

By the garden at the abandoned dorm called Ramshackle a place that is almost in ruins but still has its lovely charms.

It was where I spend my evening or midnight strolls because of the quiet and perfect atmosphere.

Never did I expect that this place that looks almost like some ancient ruins have 2 inhabitants, If I'd not missed the opening ceremony maybe I might have known?

So like I was saying I was on my stroll when a cat or raccoon (?) looking monster kicks open the door and started throwing a tantrum like a small human child about how is he not getting any cans of tuna when he is such a great and mighty creature soon to be a great mage.

A girl with short, silvery purplish curls came following the monster, grabbed her shoe, and threw it at the little thing before it could even think of running and escaping her wrath.

It was quite a sight I couldn't help but snort.

She halts scolding the little monster and stares up at me.

It was quite weird I felt my chest tighten and my heart skip a beat as her curious dark gray eyes bore at mine.

I could clearly remember how our first conversation went that time.

"Oh-..hey! Sorry you had to see this." she says as she bows politely.

"it's no problem child of man" I said as I take a few steps towards them.

The talking cat monster took this chance to flee which the girl responded to with a groan of frustration.

"I'm Yurika. Yurika Evermore by the way! Call me Yuri" she says as she switches back her attention to me with a smile. It picked my curiosity that she doesn't seem to fear me does she perhaps not know me? I thought that time.

Which turned out to be correct as she waited for me to introduce that time.

Not wanting her attitude to change once finding out who I really am I told her to call me whatever she wanted.

It's better later that she finds out who I am.

She has a very charming personality I thought as I left her that night and lay on my bed fully awake a smile graces on my lips which I only found out when Lilia pointed it out as I came back though I gave him no details on why perhaps I am smiling.

It was not long till we met again. And she was as bubbly as our first meeting, although she does have a slightly sarcastic and sassy attitude it's no surprise she managed to befriend so many such as myself.

Every time we met my heart always skips a beat and would sometimes pound loudly.

Even when she finally discovers who I am she still treats me like she does to her friends and still calls me "Tsunotaro" which somehow eased my heart I got a little too fond of her calling me Tsunotaro.

She taught me so many things and somehow managed to help me get a little closer to the other students.

'I like her.' I thought. 'I really like her very much.' I thought once again as I stroll Ramshackle's garden in the middle of the night. The place is slowly becoming more homey and lively as flowers bloomed along the patches and of course, the garden while to dorm is slowly getting redecorated using the allowance she gets from the headmaster, it was quite a surprise she managed to bargain for an allowance knowing how stubborn the crow man was.

We gradually grew closer and closer. And I was never not thankful for my lucky star for sending this girl to NRC and allowing her to meet me. And become my first friend....or maybe something else?...

Gradually my thought gets almost filled up with her. How is she doing today? Has she eaten already? Is Grim giving her problems? Is she having a hard time with classes? plenty of questions fill up my head the temptation to check on her every time and day is quite a struggle to resist.

And somehow Lilia has me all figured out telling me I fell in love.

'Love. So this is love?' I thought. 'I like it'

If there would be anyone strong and capable enough to steal my heart I knew it definitely is her.

Although I was a little anxious though...does she likes me back? or will I get friend-zoned like Shroud's depiction of an anime he watched.

I was fearful so I got as much bits of advice from Lilia on how to court a human.

And I start with gifts. I send her jewelry, dresses, and fabrics she could use for her hobby. I'm not sure how much I should give to make her content so I gave her as much as I could which is a huge pile that reaches up to the door.

That should suffice right?

I followed it up with quality time. There's nothing best but spending time with the person you love. Watching movies, evening/midnight strolls, studying, and many more. And she seemed quite pleased with my presence in her life.

He also tries to ward off any possible rivals not like they're strong enough to even rival him nor would they even dare or maybe a certain lion beast man might? Although he did try his best not to push them off too much and upset her.

He did everything he could to court her he's not sure though if he's succeeding or not...but seeing as she never reacted badly maybe he is succeeding...

So putting up a brave and confident face as I went to visit her for their usual hangouts.

I enters her dorm and I'm so proud of her seeing the dorm looking more livable and home-like.

We went on with our usual routine chatting about what went on our day, watching movies, and such...till I decided to spill the beans.

"Child of man" I whisper as we watch a musical show she loves so much that she claims exists in her world.

"Yeah?" she says as she turns her attention from the screen to me.

"I...would like to tell you something" I confess I could feel my cheeks heat up and my heart pound loudly.

"go on" she says as she stares up at him curiously

"I...love you." I said.

So many emotions passes through her face as her mouth hangs open and she stares at me in disbelief. "O-oh...really?? Like really?? romantically?" she says sounding a bit too eager and excited.

Which made my heart soar and I felt the butterfly in my stomach flutter around at her words. "Yes...yes I do. I love you, Yuri." I whisper directly on her ear.

She shudders in response as her mouth kept hanging open until she spoke "yes! I love you too" she says jumping in my arms as we tumble and fell on the couch with her on top and we both stare at each other for a moment before laughing in unison.

I've never been so happy in my whole life. Neither could I then imagine a world without her after meeting her I think the world would feel all monochrome and blue.

Cause she's my world now. And I revolve around her like a planet to the sun.

I wrap my arms securely around her waist as I asked permission to kiss her.

She answers with a nod. And I made little effort to waste time as I press my lips on hers.

She answers my kiss with a kiss and we share it passionately on the living room couch thank seven Grim is sleeping over at Ace and Deuce's room.

I roll my hips on hers and she lets out a soft moan as she felt my arousal press on her womanhood.

I continue kissing her not wanting to let go we didn't even realize we were already standing and walking up to her room with her legs wrapped around my torso and I carry her while are tongues clash and dance into the passionate rhythm we share.

I press her on her bed as I pull back to catch our breath. Were both panting with our cheeks flushed and clothes a bit wrinkled and messed up but neither do we mind it as I pepper her neck with soft fluttery kisses before gently sucking and nipping leaving a hickey or two near her jaws.

I hastily began to remove our clothes a little too eager and impatient as I struggle to unbutton the last button of her blouse.

She laughs as she lends me a hand.

She looks so beautiful bare and naked for someone like I. I cup her breast and gave it a few squeezes. She writhes and moans as I gave her left nipple a small lick.

I circle my tongue around her already hard nipples before suckling on it she moans a little louder.

I repeat the same actions on her right sooner she's moaning my name. Oh how lovely it sounds coming out from her lips.

I spread her legs and gets in between her.

My hands slowly glide from her chest to her cunt, gently exploring the entrance before putting a finger inside.

Her eyes flutter close as she throws her head back and her body arches towards me. I continue thrusting and curling my finger in her cunt.

Once i'm sure she's comfortable enough I added another this time moving my fingers faster and pushing in a little deeper. Her walls clench and unclench on my fingers as I move and add another in.

Our hearts pound loudly and became one, our breathing ragged.

She writhes and moans loudly pleading for more and whispering sweet I love you's.

Pulling out my fingers I decided to take it a step up. Making sure she's comfortable in her position I pump my cock a few times and gently rub the tip by her entrance before slamming in.

I groan and she moans. Grabbing on her waist I thrust in while her arms hook around my neck and pull me in for a passionate kiss.

Eager for more I began fastening my pace and pushing in a little too deeper. She moaned loudly as we kiss tongue-to-tongue teeth-to-teeth. Her nails dug on my back it'll surely leave some marks and I'd gladly wear it with pride.

My cock twitched inside her and her walls pulsate and tightens.

A low rumble came out my throat feeling closing and I knew she does too I hasten my pace and thrust deeper occasionally grazing her prostate making her scream and beg.

I let out a groan as I did one final thrust deep inside of her before releasing his orgasm. She follows along after a few seconds passes by.

We're both pant chest rising and falling, eyes hazy with lust and love, Cheeks burning red with passion and adoration for the latter.

Her pussy is filled to the brim with his cock still inside and their adjoined cum some even leaking out of her entrance.

I lean down on her chest, face nuzzled on the crook of her neck as I pulls out. Cum oozes out of her cunt dripping along her thighs to the sheets

"I love you, my child of man" I whispered lovingly.

"I love you too, Tsunotaro" She whispers back.

[...end]

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gatzilksis-2 · 2 years

Text

Dirty, Dark Dungeon

18+

You lifted your pounding head, and immediate horror set in. You were tied to a chair, ropes around your arms and ankles. You pulled against them, but you had never been a very strong person.

The room around you was not just a room. It was a genuine, old-fashioned dungeon. The smallest bit of light came in from the torch-lit hall, streaming through the barred window in the door.

You were bound but not gagged, so you decided to yell. "Hey! Anybody out there! Someone help me!"

"Shut up!" grumbled a deep, aggressive voice just outside the door. He was guarding the door.

FLRTFWRRRRRRR!

The strange sound reverberated off the door. The guard chuckled. You knew he'd farted, and you pictured him to be some fat, disgusting pig. At least you couldn't smell it in here.

"Sorry, sir. I thought you'd be longer," the guard's voice boomed to someone else.

A lock clicked, and the dungeon door opened. You recognized the guy straight away. He'd been at the street fair serving food. He was huge, as wide as the door with a barrel of a belly under old, stained white cloth. Long, brown hair hung in a ponytail behind him, and a beard grazed his chest.

"What are you doing?! You stared at me earlier."

The huge man smiled and quickly removed his shirt. His body was somewhere between fat and muscle, and it was all covered in thick hair. "I thought you looked weak."

He turned around and backed up the biggest ass to your face, donned in gray trousers. You closed your eyes and turned your head away. The smells of sweat and body odor radiated from the ass. You kept your mouth closed, wondering what you had done to deserve this.

GR-BRRRRRRRRR...

He started farting, and you found it hard to breathe already. His gas was deadly, evil. You had smelled nothing like this, and you didn't want to. But his farting ass inched closer.

....RRRRR-FWRRRRRR...

"No!"

He pushed his ass against your face hard, your head hitting the back of the chair. You held your breath as his blast just kept going.

....RRRR-PHLRRRRRRR!

It stopped finally, your face was hot and buzzing, having been shaken by the flatulence. You had to take a breath. You choked on the fart and the natural smell of this fat man's asshole.

He pushed his ass back even further, squishing your face. The man laughed heartily. "Good one to start off on! Oh! Here's number two!"

You fought again, but you couldn't move your face even a centimeter. He was too heavy, too strong.

He leaned forward and reached back to force your nose against the crack of his pants. You whimpered, and he backhanded you hard. Your cheek and teeth pulsed with pain. "Don't try to fucking fight!"

He practically sat on your face, smushing it more than before. It was worse now, because his nose was in the crack.

FRRT-BWOOORRRRR-MMRRRRR!

Your face shook again, and vomit rose in the back of your throat. The odor was so much worse already. It was worse than a deer corpse found on the roadside in hundred-degree heat. It was worse than anything.

You yelled into his ass, again trying to get free. It was no use. There was no getting free.

PHWRRRRRR! BRBLRRRRR!

The second one had the nastiest tone yet. You were so close to throwing up, but there was nowhere for it to go. You started feeling light-headed, and the potency brought tears to your eyes. This was horrible. How could a human create such a horrific smell?

The ass parted from you. You took deep breaths, trying to force the farts out of your nose and lungs. "Why?!"

"I told you. You look weak." The massive man pushed down his pants and underwear in one motion. His ass looked even bigger naked, and it was as hairy as the rest of him. The sweat smell grew stronger, mingling with the farts in the air.

You stared at the fat, bare ass in horror. This couldn't be good.

@gatzilksis-2 to buy my stories or order one of your own

#eproctophilia #farts #eprocto #fart kink #gatzilksis #flatulence #fart fiction #fart stories #male fart fiction #male fart stories

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my-year-of-game-boy · 1 year

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Week 6: Pokémon Trading Card Game 2: The Invasion of Team GR!

You know, I had a whole anecdote that went on for three paragraphs about how I got the first Pokémon TCG game, but Tumblr ate it. I don't think it's interesting enough to recount and I'm on a self-imposed deadline. Here's the cliff notes: I had just got a Game Boy, and I wanted this game. My parents pulled a ruse to make me think I didn't have it. I was excited to actually be able to play the Pokémon Trading Card Game with people because everyone at school thought you just smacked down cards with the highest HP and that meant you win. Then I was remiss that they never made a sequel.

Obviously, they did make a sequel. That's why we're here. I hadn't heard about it until I was an adult, as it's pretty obscure as far as Pokémon games go. The game was never released in English and even the Japanese version was published by Creatures instead of Nintendo! Both of those facts make it a bit of an oddity in the grand scheme of things. I'm guessing that it didn't make it oversee more due to timing than anything. By the time it would've released, the GBA was already in full force and the Pokémon series had moved onto to Generation 2, and outside of a couple of promo cards, this game was still stuck with in the Gen 1 era.

I had a funny bit about how I didn't talk about the game for three paragraphs, but it's lost now, like trading cards in the wind...

The key points that separate this game from the one I spent many hours on over the years is the addition of cards from the Team Rocket themed expansion (As well as various promos, original cards, and the vending machine set that didn't leave Japan), a brand new story set after the original game, and the option to play as a boy or a girl. I especially appreciate the last point, even moreso because, again, the story is set after the original game and you play as the same protagonist. So, you know, there's some deep feelings there.

;_; When I first learned about the game, I found the fact that it only had, maybe, a hundred so new cards to be very underwhelming. I likely would have even if it came out in English a bit more contemporarily. However, the addition of a secondary land mass, unique rulesets for many of the fights in the second half of the game, and a drier amount of card drops at the start really do add a whole new feeling for something I was a bit worried would feel more like an expansion pack. That said, I'd still run with the old standbys of Haymaker, Rain Dance, and Charizard decks. Okay, that last one isn't as good, but nostalgia is strong and the AI is still pretty predictable.

Scyther clears everything, it just does, this is peak performance.

The fan translation by Artemis251 is solid and feels more like a proper localization than just a translation. The names of characters match the first game's English version, while pack art and logos are changed to be consistent with that game, as well. Some might argue that this goes against the purity of a translation, but personally, I respect the amount of extra work that went into this and find it very charming. The only real issues I came across was some text getting jumbled after reading it the first time in the Game Corner, and yes, this game has a Game Corner.

Playing the Pokémon Trading Card Game with Pokémon Trading Card Game trading cards!! While the story itself is pretty basic, bad guys show up and steal everyone's cards, you have to get them back, that's not what we're here for. We're hear for more sweet, sweet card games. One of the things I love about the Pokémon TCG video games is how they don't showcase the field as a whole by default. Instead of trying to poorly capture the layout of a typical TCG match on the Game Boy, the games instead focus on just the Active Pokémon, that combined with the menu layout, is very evocative of a traditional Pokémon game's battle screen. This works in spades and makes the series stand out and hold up a lot better than other card sims on the handheld.

Are you seeing this? What are they thinking about? I need to know.

The gorgeous pixel-artification of the already charming Pokémon card art helps with the appeal, as well. Some of these cards in particular exude a powerful energy. I think that's a big part of why the TCG has really preserved for all of these years, even with people who don't play it. It's a shame that we never saw another single-player Pokémon TCG game on, say the GBA, to see what the sprite artists could do on my powerful hardware that still wasn't quite up to snuff to render straight card scans. The pixelated version of Yu-Gi-Oh! cards just hit different.

This is my favorite card and my brother chopped it up when we were kids...

Playing this game was like making up for lost time, trying to squeeze the years without TCG games into this one little cartridge. I put 40 hours into over the last month, completing the main storyline while getting distracted by other card duels along the way. And there was still so much post-game content that I could stick my teeth into. Why didn't I have this game when I was 12? Does this game just represent any other aspect of lost time that I've been haunted by in my adult hood? Or am I just overthinking the fact that it's neat to get to play a sequel to a childhood favorite decades later?

I-is that Voltorb going to be okay?

#game boy #retro aesthetic #retro gaming #video games #nintendo #pokemon #pokemon tcg

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flowersbark · 1 month

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Holy shit. Okay. Hi. I’m also a csa survivor. I’m legit so desperate for anything sort of recognition on this issue I’ve been having for almost 2 years now. https://www.tumblr.com/flowersbark/740288973409288192/fellas-is-it-a-proship-to-project-cocsacsa-on

It relates to this post, except I am going to get EXTRA personal on this.

Tw for r//pe, gr///ming, Self-h//rm, and csa (obvsly)

Okay so I also really really reallyyy don’t like proshippers, I am hypersexual, and I have zero access to any sort of help atp in my life. Now that I have those things out of the way right now, I am essentially in a dilemma a lot like that post. One major problem, it’s not me JUST wanting to project, it’s me wanting to BE in that spot of the victim again for some reason. And I mean like srsly getting assaulted again and all that horrible stuff. Like, i THINK these ideas, thoughts, and urges I have are called “intrusive thoughts”?? But I’m not sure. I’m disturbed by them regardless.

This has been so frustrating to deal with bc first of all, I’m not a victim to gr//ming, second, yes, I am a victim of csa at a young age, and third, I find myself having some sort of YEARNING to be hurt in such a way. (Not cocsacsa, just to not let things get mixed up btw) I have looked around on the internet for so long about this issue and I find NOTHING on it, like, am I just going crazy? Am I trying to cope with it in the worst way possible? Like, I genuinely don’t know, and it drives me mad because on one hand, I have this massive theory that it’s a mental attempt of “self- h//rm”, and then on the other hand, it’s a bizarre extreme version of yearning for touch and affection, but I’m just so unsure because I can’t find any other personal accounts of anyone else!

I acknowledge that your post wasn’t about this oddly specifc scenario, and I’m so sorry that this is so out of pocket, and possibly even counterproductive (idk) but as another csa victim, would you be able to offer some sort of insight? Is that something I can even ask for on here? It’s okay if you can’t, or don’t want to, I fully understand if I just never see a response to this. I really hope things get better for you and that you’re a having at the very least, a decent day regardless. Thank you.

Also p.s., sorry for not being able to answer that question, I myself am also uncertain on a definite answer for that. Like, the most I can say is that I think it’s okay to explore unhealthy dynamics, so long as they’re both acknowledged as bad/unhealthy/traumatizing things, and not put out to the public since people can take/look at things and get weird and nasty🤢 (so generally just used in a private and secure setting)

HI !!! uhh

first off, yes you can ask for advice, insight, anything. thats why i made this blog, other than to just vent to strangers. second, thank you for giving me your opinion on the csa proship situation.

i do think what you're going through are intrusive thoughts, and i get those a lot too. especially about going through what i did again, or worse. i also fucking HATE those thoughts, especially because my mind makes it by people i know irl, especially classmate im close to. it makes me feel disgusting and like im sexualizing and making my classmates horrible people when they ARENT. intrusive thoughts arent a reflection of who you are, theyre a reflection of who you DONT want to be, thats why theyre so disturbing.

again, the almost yearning for it is intrusive. it's also a trauma response. like how people who are used to being mentally abused will seek out and be with people that will treat them like that, its kinda like that. its not a good way to cope, but its not the WORST. as the absolute worst would be repeating the cycle.

im sorry if this doesn't help, its kinda just my word vomit with no revisions,, but i hope it does. it gets better, i promise. keep going.

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eldritch-thrumming · 4 months

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I'm a cis het female, but I'm always trying to learn and be an ally. My lesbian niece is a Gaylor, so I'm at least passingly familiar with some of the ways people thought her music was queer coded.

But I'm interested in why you personally feel betrayed by Taylor.

(It might seem obvious from someone with your subject position, but I'm confused as an outsider. A debunked theory doesn't seem to be enough... Has she been actively homophobic? Tried googling and it was a shitshow.)

gonna preface this by saying sorry to my mutuals and followers who hate t*ylor sw*ft--i already lost like ten followers for posting about this lol

for anyone curious, this is the nyt article i'm referencing and this is the response planted in cnn.

if you're at all familiar with the online fandom, then you know that there's a stark divide between fans that consider themselves "hetlors" and fans that consider themselves "gaylors." the gaylor camp is focused on queer readings of her music, uncovering what they consider to be queer flagging, and making references and connections between taylor and other gay artists. the hetlor camp is focused on spreading violent homophobia in gaylor's comments. i personally consider myself a part of the gaylor community because of my interest in doing queer readings of mainstream media, even though i personally don't believe that t*ylor sw*ft herself is gay and i don't really care one way or another--her personal identity doesn't affect the way i choose to interpret and read her music.

HOWEVER, it's important to point out that t*ylor has made many, many, many overt references to queer artists and queer culture--whether she's gay or not, it's dishonest and a rejection of her work to deny that she's made these references. here are some examples:

the song "ivy." many fans have speculated about the references of the album evermore to the themes of dickinson's poetry, specifically the song "ivy." this has been a long-time fan theory, doubly fueled by the fact that evermore dropped on dickinson's birthday. t*ylor seems to have confirmed this theory by allowing the use of the song in the show dickinson, when emily and sue reunite after a big fight and the publication of one of emily's poems (i don't watch the show, so sorry abt some narrative details here lol).

2. dedicating a performance to loie fuller. during the rep tour, taylor dedicated her performance of the song "dress"--largely consider one of her queerest songs--to fuller, a gay choreographer and dancer.

3. on the eras tour, she plays dusty springfield's "you don't own me" directly before she comes on stage. springfield was pretty openly bisexual for the 1960s and made quite a few statements about being with women. in 1990, she released her thirteenth studio album titled reputation, with black and white cover art. there are also some 1989 tv/dusty springfield color references in the cds.

4. she references the lakes poets. she published the song "the lakes" as a bonus track on folklore, which is a clear reference to the lakes poets, especially wordsworth, who was gay.

5. she made herself the gay sheriff of gay town.

6. she posted a picture to her own insta with a friendship bracelet that very clearly said "PROUD" with the colors of the bi flag. she wears the bi flag in her hair in the YNTCD music video where, again, she makes herself the gay sheriff of gay town.

7. she explicitly states "gay pride makes me, me" in the making of the ME! music video (i want to say this is in the Miss Americana documentary, but i honestly don't remember)

8. she has used the phrase "hairpin drop" in two separate songs. the phrasing first appears in "rwylm," a bonus track on evermore, where she sings "i swear you could hear a hairpin drop"--"dropping hairpins" is a historical phrase in the queer community that means dropping hints that you're a part of the community. now this one i've always been iffy on, but i think the intention is undeniable when we get to the midnights 3am track "the great war" where she returns to this phrasing. the lyrics in "the great war" is "finger on my hairpin trigger"--there's no way this is a mistake with the way that the fandom went so crazy over the phrasing in "rwylm." she herself has repeatedly referenced the online community and she's very aware of the conversations her fans are having--there's no way she didn't know we were talking about this. using the phrasing a second time by changing the traditional phrase ("hair trigger" and "you could hear a pin drop" are the traditional phrases) is undeniably intentional.

ok so. these are JUST the references that have been overt, explicit, and very clearly intentionally reference queer culture, queer history, and established queer flagging.

what's really important here is that the nyt article outlines these references, which are confirmed, among others made in taylor swift's public performances and published artwork, including lyrics and album ephemera. no where in the article does the author speculate on individual muses of any song or posit an opinion about her personal relationships. the article is focused on the gay fans and the ways we have built a community with each other through lyrical analysis and interpretation.

the important thing to note about t*ylor sw*ft is that she very rarely makes explicit public statements about anything published about her or any rumors about her in the press. that's why there was so much uproar about tree paine (her publicist) directly addressing the rumors that deuxmoi is perpetuating about a marriage to joe alwyn--because it's not normal. instead, she tends to speak more covertly through showing up places with people (for example, she went to dinner with sophie turner after the news of their divorce broke), making references through her style (wearing the color of a current era or the next era coming up), releasing new music (she addressed the matty healy scandal by releasing a song with ice spice and having her join the tour for one night!).

so with that being said, unless and until taylor or tree comments openly about either of these articles, we have to understand the cnn response as her opinion and coming from her camp. (i currently think this came from her father, as he's been very heavy handed in her pr lately.)

if you actually read the nyt article, there's literally nothing wrong with it. so to frame this opinion piece as "dismaying," "invasive," and "inappropriate" is capitalizing on established homophobic tropes about the queer community. why is it "dismaying" to be mistaken for a gay person? why is it invasive to read someone's work and say "hmm, there's a blatant queer reference here, i wonder if she's trying to tell us something." "i wonder if this person is gay" is a morally neutral statement. this response in cnn has given her straight fans license to go after her gay fans even harder than they did before. some of my mutuals and friends have been getting death threats, one has been doxxed previously and i'm worried it will happen again, and our comments are being inundated with slurs.

the reason i feel personally betrayed by taylor is because she has repeatedly capitalized off of my community as outlined above (and again, these are only the references that have been confirmed--there are plenty more ("dear reader," "paris," "hits different," "cowboy like me," "dress," "seven," "this is me trying," "high infidelity," "maroon," i could literally go on and on) and then allows the media and her fans to drag us through the mud and frame our community as aggressive, invasive, and repeatedly sexualize us by insisting that our sexuality and community is solely about who we fuck. if i get called gross, disgusting, or invasive one more time for stating that "bet i could still melt your world, argumentative antithetical dream girl" is gay, i will literally fucking lose it.

you cannot repeatedly and routinely reference openly gay artists in your work and then become "dismayed" when your gay fans recognize those references and begin to make connections. if you're a real ally, you would see nothing wrong with being perceived as gay. because there's nothing wrong with being gay! she has built her career off of autobiographical, confessional style writing and the interactions of fans speculating on who songs might be about. i'm old enough to remember the liner notes that revealed who each song was about! you can't foster that type of relationship with your fans and then turn around and get upset with them for caring about this stuff and recognizing patterns.

so i'm just kind of over it. and i'm over her being a billionaire climate criminal who emits 1900x the global average of carbon in tons and getting away with it. i'm over her remaining silent on palestine and allowing her film to be shown in israel. she cannot simultaneously be a mastermind genius business woman and also a billionaire bound by contracts and lyrical phrasing that she has no control over. the fandom sucks and she sucks for not defending us despite using her "allyship" for monetary gain, regardless of her personal identity. the gay community has taken enough hits from her and her fans, i'm done and i'm out.

ETA: i know this reads as angry in some places and that's because i am angry, but totally not at you, anon. i know you were asking this question in good faith, i'm just still in my feelings about this and dodging so much hate on tiktok.

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thelivebookproject · 1 year

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What do you mean 2022 is ending? (Or: Annual Review!)

Hello hello hello -yes, I'm alive and I still remember my Tumblr password! Good news all around on this the last night of the year :)

2022 has been a year of many changes, personal achievements, and several moves (one including to another country!) and start-overs, so while on a personal level it has been extremely satisfying and full of plans, my reading and reading-related activities took a setback. I went MIA on bookblr, I disappeared on poor Carrie in the Forgotten YA Gems book group in GR, I have no idea what has gone on in the publishing world, and I definitely didn't read as much as I wanted to. But sometimes life is just like that, and we don't have the emotional energy to do 1482459 things at once (much as we'd like to...), so I'll say that it was okay and it was what I needed for 2022. I hope 2023 will be different so I can come back and pester y'all once again! I miss my online reading spaces as much as I miss the books themselves.

But let's not start being melodramatic... I DID READ SOME THINGS. Let's recap!

As I mentioned on my 2022 is here post, this year I set myself no goals other than "vibes".... And to read 90 books, which should have been more than fine to achieve but, for the first time in four years, didn´t happen.

Goodreads has been shaming me for the entire year...

That said, 52 books is still quite a lot (one book a week!) so here are my top 5:

La suma de los días - Isabel Allende [link to GR]

El peligro de estar cuerda - Rosa Montero [link to GR]

The League of Gentlewomen Witches (Dangerous Damsels #2) - India Holton [link to GR]

The four books of the Wayward Children saga I read this year, by Seanan McGuire [link to saga]

Love on the Brain - Ali Hazelwood [link to GR]

I also participated in the Reading the World and the 2022 Summer Bingo Challenges!

If you'd like to see for yourself what I actually read so you can ask for reviews or comments (or tell me your own thoughts!), you can find me on Goodreads and Storygraph. I keep them very updated so everything is there!

And now, on to you: how have you been? How were your reading years? What are you loving, what are you reading, what has been published and you loved/hated, what is going to be published and you can't wait to get your hands on it? Tell me everything!

And a happy start to 2023 for all!

#2022 #annual review #thelivebookproject

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greekcookingmadeeasy · 1 year

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Greek Style Chicken Meatballs-Giouvarlakia Soup with egg-lemon Sauce

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Greek Style Chicken Meatballs-Giouvarlakia Soup with egg-lemon Sauce – Giouvarlakia Avgolemono me kima Kotopoulo BY: Greek Cooking Made Easy SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/greekcookingmadeeasy

Check my YouTube Video: HERE

Κοιτάξτε επίσης την συνταγή μου σε YouTube βίντεο, το λίνκ είναι: ΕΔΩ

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Serves 5-6 persons Giouvarlakia are a traditional Greek dish of meatballs made from minced meat and rice. In this recipe, I use minced chicken instead of meat. Chicken Meatballs are first shaped and then prepared as a soup with lush Avgolemono sauce i.e. egg-lemon sauce. The result is a lighter in taste, texture and calories, warm, nourishing, winter soup. A supreme "Mama" comfort soup, ideal for the winter flu season. A new chicken soup for the soul! Would you like to know how to prepare it?

INGREDIENTS Ingredients for the Giouvarlakia Soup: • 750 gr / 1 lb 10 oz minced Chicken • 120 gr / 4.2 oz / 0.6 cup Rice, either Arborio or Greek Glassé or Carolina • 2 medium Eggs • 1 large Onion, finely chopped • ¾ bunch fresh Parsley, finely chopped • 1-2 stocks cube Chicken • 2 lt. / 8 cups boiled Water • 100 ml / 0.4 cup Olive oil • Ground Salt and Pepper

Ingredients for the Egg-Lemon sauce: • 2 large Eggs • 100 ml / 0.4 cup fresh Lemon juice • 1.5 tbsp. Corn Flour • Optional: ½ Lemon, extra parsley and ground Pepper for garnishing

METHOD: A. Prepare the meatball mix earlier for the Giouvarlakia Soup: 1. Place the minced chicken in a large bowl. 2. Add rice, chopped parsley and onion. 3. Season with ground salt and pepper.

4. Break the 2 medium eggs in a separate bowl and whisk them, before adding them in the mix. 5. Blend all ingredients very well with your hands (use disposable gloves to avoid cross contamination). 6. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for 2-3 hours for the mix to set and its flavors to merge.

B. Make the Giouvarlakia Soup: 7. Bring the bowl with the meatball mix from the fridge. 8. Pour the olive oil in a wide, deep pot (with lid). 9. Shape small balls with your hands and place them in the pot, making sure they are all the same size!

10. Meatballs should be the one next to the other, not on top. 11. Note: My pot was not wide enough, so I had to place a few meatballs on top; try to avoid it, to prevent meatballs from sticking together. 12. Melt the stock cube in a small cup with warm water. 13. Season meatballs with a bit more ground salt and pepper. 14. Add the melted stock in the pot. 15. Now place the pot over medium heat. 16. Add 2 lt. boiling water to reduce cooking time. Take care to pour the water at the edge of the pot, to prevent meatballs from coming apart.

17. When water starts boiling, reduce heat to very low. 18. Place the lid on top of the pot and let chicken giouvarlakia simmer for about 25'. 19. After 25', test if meatballs are ready. Rice should be tender. 20. Remove from heat.

C. Prepare the Avgolemono (egg-lemon) sauce: 21. Melt the corn flour by whisking it in the lemon juice. 22. Break the 2 large eggs in a separate large bowl and whisk them. 23. Next, add the lemon mix in the beaten eggs. Whisk until they are combined well.

D. Finish the Giouvarlakia Soup: 24. Using a ladle, add a couple spoonfuls of the warm soup in the egg-lemon mixture to help raise its temperature. Whisk well to incorporate. 25. Repeat by pouring spoonful after spoonful of hot soup into the egg-lemon sauce mixture until it gradually warms up and turns creamy! Be patient with this process! 26. Tip: Failing to bring the temperature of the eggs up will result in them curdling when pouring back in the soup.

27. Now pour the Avgolemono sauce into the soup. This sauce will give the soup its creamy consistency and extra lemony flavor! 28. Make the "kissing sound" like I do for 100% success 😘😀!! 29. Mix everything by gently shaking the pot by the handles. 30. Now turn on the heat again to very low and simmer the soup for a couple more minutes.

31. Turn off the heat. The wonderful, nourishing soup is ready. 32. Tip: Alternatively, for an even lighter result, replace the egg-lemon sauce with 1 tbsp. Greek yoghurt/p.p. to be added when the soup is served.

E. Serving suggestion: The Giouvarlakia Soup should be served very hot with lots of brown bread and half lemon on the side, for those who enjoy it very lemony.

Optionally, you could sprinkle some more chopped parsley and a bit more ground pepper on top!

Wasn’t it easy to make this nourishing, warm, comfort soup?!

An amazing, creamy Soup with a wonderful combination of flavors, and yet light for the stomach for those who suffer from indigestion or a stomach flu virus!

A delectable Soup, healthy, wholesome and nutritious.

A nourishing meal for the whole family to enjoy!

F. Storage Info: When it cools down, Giouvarlakia Soup can be stored in the fridge for up to a week. Or split it in smaller containers and freeze for up to 1 month.

Check my YouTube Video: HERE

Γιουβαρλάκια Αυγολέμονο με Κιμά Κοτόπουλο BY: Greek Cooking Made Easy SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/greekcookingmadeeasy Σερβίρει 5-6 άτομα Τα γιουβαρλάκια είναι ένα παραδοσιακό Ελληνικό φαγητό με κεφτεδάκια φτιαγμένα από κιμά και ρύζι. Σε αυτή τη συνταγή χρησιμοποιώ κιμά από κοτόπουλο αντί για κρέας. Οι κεφτέδες κοτόπουλου πλάθονται πρώτα και στη συνέχεια μαγειρεύονται σα σούπα με πλούσια σάλτσα Αυγολέμονο. Το αποτέλεσμα είναι μια πιο ελαφριά σε γεύση, υφή και θερμίδες, ζεστή, θρεπτική, χειμωνιάτικη σούπα. Μια υπέρτατη Μαμαδίστικη σούπα, ιδανική για τον χειμώνα και την εποχιακή γρίπη. Μια νέα κοτόσουπα, θαλπωρή της ψυχής! Θέλετε να μάθετε πώς να την ετοιμάσετε;

ΥΛΙΚΑ Υλικά για τη σούπα Γιουβαρλάκια: • 750 γρ / 1 lb 10 oz Κιμάς κοτόπουλο • 120 γρ / 4,2 oz / 0,6 φλ. Ρύζι Γλασέ ή Καρολίνα • 2 μέτρια Αυγά • 1 μεγάλο, ξερό Κρεμμύδι, ψιλοκομμένο • ¾ ματσάκι φρέσκος Μαϊντανός, ψιλοκομμένος • 1-2 κύβοι ζωμός Κοτόπουλο • 2 lt. / 8 φλ. βραστό Νερό • 100 ml / 0,4 φλ. Ελαιόλαδο • Φρεσκοαλεσμένο αλάτι και πιπέρι

Υλικά για τη σάλτσα αυγολέμονο: • 2 μεγάλα Αυγά • 100 ml / 0,4 φλ. φρέσκος χυμός Λεμονιού • 1,5 κ.σ. Κόρν Φλάουρ • Προαιρετικά: ½ Λεμόνι, επιπλέον μαϊντανός και τριμμένο πιπέρι για το γαρνίρισμα

ΜΕΘΟΔΟΣ: Α. Ετοιμάστε νωρίτερα το μείγμα κεφτέδων για τη σούπα: 1. Βάλτε τον κιμά κοτόπουλου σε ένα μεγάλο μπολ. 2. Προσθέστε το ρύζι συν το ψιλοκομμένο μαϊντανό και το κρεμμύδι. 3. Αλατοπιπερώστε.

4. Σπάστε τα 2 μέτρια αυγά σε ξεχωριστό μπολ και χτυπήστε τα με το σύρμα, πριν τα προσθέσετε στο μείγμα. 5. Ανακατέψτε όλα τα υλικά πολύ καλά με τα χέρια σας (χρησιμοποιήστε γάντια μιας χρήσης για να αποφύγετε τη διασταυρούμενη μόλυνση). 6. Σκεπάστε το μπολ με πλαστική μεμβράνη και βάλτε το στο ψυγείο για 2-3 ώρες για να δέσει το μείγμα και να ενωθούν οι γεύσεις.

Β. Φτιάξτε τη σούπα Γιουβαρλάκια: 7. Βγάλτε το μπολ με το μείγμα κεφτέδων από το ψυγείο. 8. Ρίξτε το ελαιόλαδο σε μια πλασοτέ, βαθιά κατσαρόλα (με καπάκι). 9. Πλάστε με τα χέρια σας κεφτεδάκια και τοποθετήστε τα στην κατσαρόλα, φροντίζοντας να έχουν όλα το ίδιο μέγεθος!

10. Τα κεφτεδάκια να είναι το ένα δίπλα στο άλλο, όχι πάνω στο άλλο. 11. Σημείωση: Η κατσαρόλα μου δεν ήταν αρκετά φαρδιά, οπότε έπρεπε να βάλω λίγα κεφτεδάκια από πάνω. Προσπαθήστε να το αποφύγετε αυτό, για να μην σας κολλήσουν μεταξύ τους. 12. Λιώστε τον κύβο σε ένα μικρό φλιτζάνι με ζεστό νερό. 13. Αλατοπιπερώστε λίγο ακόμα τους κεφτέδες. 14. Προσθέστε τον λιωμένο ζωμό μέσα στην κατσαρόλα. 15. Τώρα βάλτε την κατσαρόλα πάνω από μέτρια φωτιά. 16. Προσθέστε 2 λτ. βραστό νερό για να μειώσετε το χρόνο μαγειρέματος. Φροντίστε να ρίξετε το νερό στην άκρη της κατσαρόλας, για να μην σαν χαλάσει το σχήμα των κεφτέδων.

17. Μόλις το νερό αρχίσει να βράζει, ρυθμίστε τη φωτιά στο πολύ χαμηλό. 18. Βάλτε το καπάκι πάνω από την κατσαρόλα και αφήστε τα γιουβαρλάκια κοτόπουλου να σιγοβράσουν για 25' περίπου. 19. Μετά από 25' δοκιμάστε αν είναι έτοιμα. Το ρύζι πρέπει να είναι μαλακό. 20. Αποσύρετε από τη φωτιά.

Γ. Ετοιμάστε τη σάλτσα Αυγολέμονο: 21. Λιώστε το κορν φλάουρ ανακατεύοντάς το με το σύρμα μέσα στο χυμό λεμονιού. 22. Σπάστε τα 2 μεγάλα αυγά σε ξεχωριστό, μεγάλο μπολ και χτυπήστε τα με αυγοδάρτη. 23. Στη συνέχεια, προσθέστε το μείγμα λεμονιού στα χτυπημένα αυγά. Ανακατέψτε μέχρι να ενωθούν καλά.

Δ. Τελειώστε τη σούπα: 24. Χρησιμοποιώντας μια κουτάλα σούπας, προσθέστε μια-δυο κουταλιές από τη ζεστή σούπα στο αυγολέμονο για να αυξήσετε τη θερμοκρασία της σάλτσας. Ανακατέψτε καλά να ενσωματωθούν. 25. Επαναλάβετε ρίχνοντας κουταλιά-κουταλιά ζεστή σούπα μέσα στο αυγολέμονο μέχρι να ζεσταθεί σταδιακά και να γίνει κρεμώδες! Να είστε υπομονετικοί με αυτή τη διαδικασία! 26. Συμβουλή: Αν δεν ανεβάσετε τη θερμοκρασία των αυγών, θα κόψουν μόλις τα ρίξετε μέσα στη σούπα.

27. Ρίξτε τώρα τη σάλτσα Αυγολέμονο μέσα στη σούπα. Αυτή η σάλτσα θα δώσει στη σούπα την κρεμώδη υφή της και έξτρα λεμονάτη γεύση! 28. Κάντε και τον ρουφηχτό "ήχο φιλιού" όπως κάνω εγώ για 100% επιτυχία 😘😀!! 29. Ανακατέψτε τα πάντα σείωντας απαλά την κατσαρόλα από τα χερούλια. 30. Τώρα ανάψτε ξανά τη φωτιά στο πολύ χαμηλό και σιγοβράστε τη σούπα για μερικά λεπτά ακόμα.

31. Σβήστε τη φωτιά. Η υπέροχη, θρεπτική σούπα είναι έτοιμη. 32. Συμβουλή: Εναλλακτικά, για ακόμα πιο ελαφρύ αποτέλεσμα, αντικαταστήστε το αυγολέμονο με 1 κ.σ. γιαούρτι/α.α. που θα προστεθεί μόλις σερβίρετε τη σούπα.

Ε. Πρόταση σερβιρίσματος: Η σούπα Γιουβαρλάκια κοτόπουλο πρέπει να σερβίρεται πολύ ζεστή με μπόλικο μαύρο ψωμί και μισό λεμόνι στο πλάι, για όσους την απολαμβάνουν πολύ λεμονάτη.

Προαιρετικά, μπορείτε να πασπαλίσετε λίγο ακόμα ψιλοκομμένο μαϊντανό και περισσότερο φρέσκο πιπέρι από πάνω!

Δεν ήταν εύκολο να φτιάξετε αυτή τη θρεπτική, ζεστή σούπα γεμάτη θαλπωρή;! Μια υπέροχη, κρεμώδης Σούπα με τέλειο συνδυασμό γεύσεων, αλλά και ελαφριά για το στομάχι για όσους υποφέρουν από δυσπεψία ή τον ιό γρίπης που χτυπάει στο στομάχι!

Μια απολαυστική σούπα, υγιεινή και θρεπτική.

Ένα πλήρες γεύμα για να απολαύσει όλη η οικογένεια!!

Ζ. Πληροφορίες φύλαξης: Μόλις κρυώσει, η Σούπα Γιουβαρλάκια διατηρείται στο ψυγείο έως και μια εβδομάδα. Ή χωρίστε τη σε μικρότερα δοχεία και καταψύξτε τα για έως και 1 μήνα.

Κοιτάξτε επίσης την συνταγή μου σε YouTube βίντεο, το λίνκ είναι: ΕΔΩ

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maybe-a-little-wicked · 2 years

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*SPOILERS For Dr. Strange MOM.

Also, a long rant on the similarities and differences between the story progression of Daenerys Targaryen and Wanda Maximoff.

I know that Wanda’s villain turn was very controversial, but I actually liked it. And this is coming from the person who vehemently hates the tropes of ‘women with power cannot handle that power and go mad’ or ‘evil queen’s or the like. I still have somewhat of a problem with it in that sense, but if you’re going to turn a powerful female character heel, I feel like this was the way to do it.

Throughout the movie, I kept comparing Wanda’s heel turn to Daenerys’. Famously (or at least I talk about it enough lol), I HATE and LOATHE and DESPISE Daenerys’ ending for many reasons.

Something I’ve reblogged multiple times and love is this quote: “Burn them? I wouldn’t do that.” “You will. I’ve written it.” “No, I won’t. I won’t do it. You can write it, but I won’t be there...and all your readers will know.”

I love this quote for Daenerys, because it feels exactly right. Daenerys wasn’t there in the end. That wasn’t her.

But for Wanda, I didn’t get that feeling. I don’t think it’s so much of an acting thing (because I believe both Elizabeth Olsen and Emilia Clarke are amazing actresses who play their roles very well), I think it’s a writing thing. It’s an ‘understanding the character’ thing.

Wanda was there. In all her pain, torment, desperation, and despair, she was there. Wanda did villainous things, but at no point did I view her as a lost cause. At no point did I not feel sorry for her or understand her. Wanda was the same girl we got in Age of Ultron; grown, matured, and different of course, but she wasn’t a completely different person from who we were shown and told she was.

And at the end, Wanda remained true to who she was. Because, yes, she messed up. Her story started that way, when she originally sided with Ultron. But Wanda cares about people. She doesn’t want to be a villain, she doesn’t want to be a monster. Daenerys was the same, but we don’t get to see her for who she truly is, who we spent years seeing the heart of. Daenerys also did villainous things. She lost her way, even before season 8. She was capable of making great mistakes, but we were continually shown that at her heart, she cared. She didn’t want to be a villain or a monster. She wanted to save people, she wanted to love and be loved. Wanda is the same, but Wanda’s story felt right to me.

Wanda was a tragic character who went down a dark path, but she was still Wanda. She was influenced by the dark hold, pain, and tragedy, but never at a point did I say “she’s not here. Her character, the essence of who she is, it’s gone.” It’s not the same as it was with Daenerys.

And as we have seen in Wanda’s story time and time again, she realized her mistakes and did better. She chose to be the hero, even when she sometimes acted as the villain. Even when she had every reason to be the villain, and to feel justified in that. In the end, she chose to do the right thing.

Daenerys was the same, but we don’t get the satisfying ending of her remaining true to who she was. Instead, we got this lame, disrespectful, and unsatisfying ending where they blamed everything on her being a Targaryen, on being mad, on being paranoid. They chose the plot over the character’s true progression and essence, and it showed. Daenerys wasn’t there, in the end. This character that I loved and adored was gone. I couldn’t even truly sympathize with her because she just wasn’t there. It was so supremely upsetting.

Other things that I think played a role in how their endings/characters were perceived:

1. Wanda had a reason for everything she was doing. Even when she took it too far, we all knew exactly why she was committing these horrible acts. There was no reason or point to Daenerys destroying King’s landing. It didn’t serve her at all.

2. While Wanda was definitely influenced by the darkhold, there is never this cop out ‘she went mad with grief or power,’ not like how that was the explanation for Daenerys.

3. It didn’t feel quite so blatantly sexist. (As I mentioned above, there is still a troubling problem with tropes though.) Wanda was powerful and incredible, but it wasn’t her power that corrupted her, it was an outside influence. And even then, the corruption had nothing to do with her power or greed. There’s this concept people put on Daenerys which is “absolute power corrupts absolutely”. It’s a shitty cop out excuse for why she would do what she did, and it shows. It’s not used for Wanda, which is why Wanda’s story in MOM didn’t piss me off.

4. Wanda was allowed to be a tragic villain. She cried, she raged, she wanted to be reasonable, she begged, she was in pain and you could see every second of that. Part of why Daenerys’ turn in the end doesn’t work is because we get so little of that grief or pain. All we see is this disconnected version of her flying overhead on Drogon. Her whole character arc at that point was completely disconnected because they were trying to portray a tragic villain but they weren’t actually showing us a tragic villain.

5. Wanda was allowed to be powerful and unstoppable. This idea of ‘absolute power corrupts absolutely’ is kind of pointless when you’re killed so easily. There was no one capable of stopping Wanda, only temporarily holding her off. No, Wanda had to stop herself (with a lot of help from America). Wanda had to confront her own demons and pain. Daenerys was completely delusional at the end. There was no confronting her own power, pain, or truth. It was an unsatisfying end to a beloved character.

6. Wanda was not ‘put down’ by a man. Again, we see the sexism. Dr. Strange was the main character of the movie, but he couldn’t stop Wanda, nor do I think he would have killed her. She wasn’t a rabid, feral monster that a man had to kill for the greater good. Obviously, we can see how that isn’t the case with Daenerys, who was ‘put down’ for being rabid and feral by her own ex-lover. Yikes.

7. It’s incredibly difficult to side with heroes who don’t seem very intent on saving people, but especially the villain (and especially in circumstances where the villain was once a hero who knew the heroes). At a certain point, there was no sympathy for Daenerys from anyone around her. It was all fear, weariness, and betrayal. No one really acknowledged all she had lost. In contrast, we see Wanda continually sympathized with. (Though I will say, I think they could’ve done more in this aspect). Strange tried to speak to Wanda, Wong tried to speak with Wanda, America tried, and even the Wanda from another universe, whom she had physically tortured, sympathized with her. The heroes weren’t just heroes because they saved the day, it was because they acknowledged the pain and suffering of other people, and it made it all feel more organic and honest. You could root for the heroes in MOM because they cared more about the people in their stories than being considered the hero (if that makes sense). In that regard, it also enhanced Wanda’s story. It wasn’t just about the audience sympathizing with her, it was the other character’s too. It was validating.

#wanda maximov #wanda marvel #dr strange #multiverse of madness #Daenerys Targaryen #Daenerys #I rant because i have ADHD #So I can't just write a paragraph and be done with it #scarlet witch

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