#and I bet he’s tried to be a caricature of every single one of his friends

[pyjamacryptid]

Merlin has definitely played dungeons & dragons (since the 20th century, duh) and he’s definitely played a himbo paladin called Wart PencilLizard

#bbc Merlin #merlin emrys #and other ttrpgs besides #and I bet he’s tried to be a caricature of every single one of his friends #Gwen’s inspired character wasnt a charicature ofc #he made her a healer queen and played her with so much reverence his party was like ‘u good bro?’ #he made gaius a gnome cleric lmaooo #Percival was a puppy of a barbarian fighter who retired for the farm life #Gwaine was a rogue with a privileged past #totally a half elf that denied he’s half elf totally human 100% don’t tell the elf king his son’s running around pickpocketing #I have more silly ideas but I also have a Headache so #feel free to add lol #merlin #arthur pendragon #dnd #dungeons and dragons #ren rambles

[pandastern]

Gravity (Bakugo x OC)

Part 4: Different Convictions (past)

Bakugou x Vigilante!OC

Warnings: angst, explicit language, violence

Word count: 2433

Genre: enemies to lovers ; angst ; romance

When a new student makes an entrance, Bakugou has a real bad feeling. There is something about this girl that just doesnt feel right. From the flaming hair to the calculating glint in her green eyes, everything about her just pisses him off.

Little does he know that his fate is intertwined with the person he despises so much, defining his future path in a way he would have never expected.

“Fuck…”

Artemis sat in the courtyard at the back of the school, her arms dipped into the cool water of the decorative fountain UA had built to make the space more… decorative.

The cool water soothed the growing ache in her body. Her arms and hands, in particular, hurt from the overuse of her quirk. Artemis sighed deeply. In her head, the fight played again and again. She had lost control. She had become so close to breaking the rules she had given herself. Disgust spread through her gut until she felt like she had to gag.

No, she couldn't let that happen ever again. 

“Artemis?” The low, rumbling voice of her homeroom teacher made her flinch.

“Mr Aizawa.” She sighed and shook her head, dunking her arms deeper into the cold water.

Aizawa narrowed his eyes at his new student. He could clearly see the burns on her skin. “So...are you just going to sit there, sulking like a child, or are you going to tell me what happened there?” he said, sighing deeply, his lazy drawl making his voice deeper. “If your arms are burned, you need to see Recovery Girl.”

“No, I'm fucking fine. I don’t need help, thank you very much. Leave me alone,” Artemis hissed through gritted teeth.

“Ah, I see,” Aizawa replied dryly. “It's practically normal to forcefully rip out a whole school’s water supply in mere seconds.”

Sitting down next to her, he crossed his arms and gave Artemis a stern look. Her eyes flickered up to him, a myriad of emotions passing through those green orbs. Suspicion, anger, fear… He had seen these kinds of eyes before.

“Miss Moon, I’m giving you one last chance to tell me. I won’t ask again.”

Her jaw clenched. Aizawa kept his unflinching eyes on her, studying every movement. Finally, she let out a ragged breath.

“Yeah well… I got angry. I lost control. Shit happens!” she growled, evading his gaze. “Are you going to expel me? Give me detention?”

Her last words sounded more like a challenge than anything else. So much defiance in such a small body.

“No. Here at UA, we dont expel students for accidents,” Aizawa responded. “The principal won’t be pleased and the school will be without water for a while, but what is the city’s tax money is for.”

With a sigh, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a can of iced coffee from one of his pouches, opening it casually and taking a sip.

“In any case, it wasn’t just a one way attack. Rest assured that Bakugou will be reprimanded for his reckless behavior, as well. Whether you like it or not, if you want to be a hero, you will have to learn how to work and rely on others, even If you don’t see eye-to-eye with them.”

“Eye-to-eye? Sure, that’ll happen.” Artemis scoffed and looked up at him. “Relying on others... Funny you should say that considering you prefer to work alone, Eraserhead.”

Ah. So she had done her research before coming to this place. 

“Regardless, I am able to work with my colleagues seamlessly should the need arise. A hero has to be able to do both. If you can’t, you die. Simple as that.”

Aizawa could clearly tell that this stubborn girl in front of him wouldn’t crack. Not now, anyway. He sensed that there was something lingering under the surface of those deep green eyes that were way too old to belong to a 15 year old girl. He sighed.

“In any case, I would prefer that an incident like this does not happen again. The paperwork is horrendous. Am I understood, Miss Moon?”

Artemis swallowed and nodded. Shadows passed through her eyes, as if she’d just evaded grave danger. “Yes, sir. Sorry… about the pipes.”

Aizawa nodded and got up with a groan. “All right. Get yourself cleaned up and go home. Tomorrow won’t be any easier.”

As he walked away, he couldn't help but shake his head. There was something so strange about this girl, but he couldn't put his finger on it yet. He would have to keep his eyes on her in the future. For now, though, he had to prepare the rescue training trip the school had planned for his class for tomorrow.

Artemis sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. The sensation of the shaved side of her head still felt so incredibly unfamiliar to her. After her fight with Bakugou, she’d tried to save what was left, but she’d ended up having to finally admit to herself that the only thing she could do was shave off the burnt hair and give herself an undercut. 

Class 1A was currently boarding a bus to an external training facility. The flame-haired girl watched as their class rep Iida ushered every single student into the vehicle with ridiculous hand gestures while continuously blowing into his coach whistle like a caricature of a flight attendant. Artemis couldn't help but roll her eyes. It wasn’t that Iida was a bad person - in fact, he was as straight cut as a hero could be - but the boy was so much of a stickler it was tiring. 

When it was her turn to board, she let herself fall into the seat next to Kaminari and Sero and stared out of the window. She’d managed to lose herself in thought, when the scent of burnt sugar and nitroglycerin suddenly flooded her senses. Great.

“Heh, nice hair cut,water hazard,” came the smug, taunting voice of Bakugou Katsuki.

A quiet groan escaped her lips and she looked up. Crimson eyes stared down at her in a silent challenge. Hadn’t he had enough already?

“Ah, what a glorious day for you to remind everyone what a giant piece of shit you are. Congratulations, boom boom boy,” she replied with the sweetest smile she could muster. “Don’t worry, we know! No need to prove yourself.”

If looks could kill, she would have been dead this instant.

A small smirk tugged at the corners of her lips. Artemis would have thought that getting almost shot in the face should have been enough to deter him from any further attempts to get a rise out of her. Seemed like she was wrong, though she’d be lying if she said she was disappointed.

“Tch. You little… I'm gonna kick your ass!” Bakugou spat.

“Oh, really?” Artemis chuckled. “That’s funny, considering that I wiped the fucking floor with your sorry ass yesterday.”

Ah, there it was. The blood vessel at Bakugou’s temple. Artemis couldn't help but smirk.

“You just got fucking lucky! Next time I’m gonna break you in half, trust me,” the ash blonde growled with gleaming eyes.

“Move along. No fighting on the bus. And hurry, we don’t have all day.” Aizawa’s voice cut through the tension before Artemis could retort.

As Mr Anger Issues walked along, grumbling something under his breath, Artemis rolled her eyes again. She really wasn’t in the mood for this today.

“God, I hope this guy gets diarrhoea for the rest of his goddamn life,” she muttered, directing her gaze towards the window again.

A snort next to her caught her attention. Kaminari gave her a mischievous wink and nudged her and Sero in a conspiring way

“You mean… explosive diarrhoea?” he snickered.

The image of that cracked Artemis up. “Well, as a quirk, it would suit him even better.”

“Ahem!” Aizawa’s warning voice cut them off.

“S-sorry, sir…” Kaminari muttered and scratched the back of his head.

Artemis sighed. There were a few things that she’d have liked to say, but she knew that Aizawa would be so quick to get on her back that it wasn’t worth it. At least at this moment.

“So, rescue training, huh?” Sero started in an attempt to change the subject. “I’m pretty sure they’re gonna divide us into teams again, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, I think so, too. Artemis, you haven’t been in our other training sessions. Are you excited?” Denki asked, giving her a flirty wink.

Artemis chuckled softly. “Well…” She considered how best to word her response. “I’m… curious to see how it’s gonna work. Teamwork is always a challenge. It depends on who you’re in a group with, and who you’re up against.”

“That's true. Personally I’d rather not get paired up with Bakugou or Todoroki,” Sero said with a sigh.

“Ungh, yes,” Denki chimed in. “Don’t get me wrong, they are super hard hitters. But Bakugou is, well, Bakugo, and Todoroki freezes your ass If you're not useful. Bet you I’m gonna end up with one of them.”

That made artemis perk up. “Freeze you? So, ice powers… That is interesting. If I were paired up with him, I could most likely use his quirk as ammunition,” she said more to herself than to the boys next to her.

“I wouldn’t press my luck if I were you. He’s… not a team player. If you're not up to his standard and deemed useless, he’s gonna consider you dead weight and take you out,” Sero said, scratching the back of his head.

“Well, I’m not good at many things, but I certainly ain’t useless in a fight,” Artemis scoffed. “Though I do share his sentiment. Someone who can’t pull their weight in a fight is a liability. Taking them out of the equation is the easiest way to ensure success.”

“Damn, that’s… kinda badass?” Denki said a little nervously. “I didn't pick you for a solo player…”

Artemis shifted in her seat so she could face the boys next to her better. She could clearly see the naive sentiment in their eyes. Usually, the wide-eyed believed that teamwork made the dream work and everything was gonna be all right with ‘friendship’. Not exactly something she could ever understand.

“It’s not badass, it’s common sense,” she said, crossing her arms. “I’m not dying just because someone can’t pull their own weight. The mere wish of wanting to help without the skill to do so does more harm than good. So, best to get out of the way and let those who actually don’t mind getting their hands dirty do the work. This isn’t a game. You either fight and win, or you die. And a dead soldier is a useless soldier. Simple as that.”

That she even had to spell that out to a group of people who were set on becoming the future heroes of tomorrow made her blood boil. The oh-so-familiar steel inside her soul stiffened her posture and she sighed.

“Heroes nowadays spouting about teamwork and ‘oh, happy friends, let’s work together to create a dream’ is utter nonsense, if you ask me. It’s too easy to forget that this isn’t a popularity game. It’s a job. A job that can cost lives if it isn’t done right. No-one gives a fuck about how popular you are if you can’t do your job. Teamwork is only sensible if it’s beneficial for every party involved. It has to be result-oriented. Teamwork just for the sake of teamwork is stupid.”

Artemis ran a hand through her hair and directed her gaze out of the window again.

“That’s why I prefer to work alone. I know my abilities and I know myself. It’s nothing personal.”

The sudden uncomfortable silence that spread around her was something Artemis had not expected. Had she said something wrong? Looking back at Kaminari and Sero, she frowned. Both of them stared at her with their mouths slightly agape.

“What?” Artemis asked, confused. “Why are you both looking at me like I kicked a puppy in the face?”

“Dude,” Kaminari began, clearing his throat. “That’s… kinda harsh? Is that how you work over there in Europe?”

“Yeah… I mean, we are classmates. We gotta stick together. Who can we rely on if not on our friends?” Sero asked.

Artemis sighed again. “That's exactly what I meant. Yes, we’re classmates, but what does that really mean? Teaming up should essentially be dependent on the skills of each party that can work together to accomplish a goal. Whether you’re classmates or not has no part in it. For educational purposes, it might make sense, but in the real world, teaming up just for convenience will most likely turn deadly.”

“Sounds to me like you’re either scared shitless and don’t trust anyone, or you think you’re better than everyone else and arrogant enough to believe no-one can match you,” Bakugou interjected with a nasty smirk from his seat down the bus.

Artemis’s eyes narrowed at the angry blonde. He wasn’t as thick-headed as she’d thought in the beginning. It seemed that he was not only an excellent fighter, but also very perceptive. A dangerous combination. 

“Big talk coming from you, Mr I’m-Better-Than-You,” Artemis purred, leaning forward and focusing her eyes on him like a predator on its prey. “You pretend to be hot shit every day, Katsuki Bakugou, but what can you do exactly? Be loud and do more damage than necessary? My guess is you're overcompensating because you know you ain’t shit.”

“Tch, as if. Don’t act like you know anything about me, you sorry excuse of a squirt gun,” he spat and turned away in his seat.

Something told Artemis that she had hit the target quite well.

The bus came to a halt, and the conversations of the class became louder as a big glass dome came into view. Aizawa rose from his seat.

“All right, class, quiet down. I’m not gonna say it again.” He crossed his arms. “The pro hero Thirteen is gonna wait for you inside. I am expecting you to be on your best behaviour. I will not tolerate any stupidity, or I will make you all train after class ‘till you drop. Is that clear?”

The students hummed in agreement and started to get off the bus.

Aizawa’s dark eyes fell on the newest addition to his class. What he’d overheard her say on the bus ride made him feel slightly uneasy. While she had made some sensible points, her apathy concerning teammates and the people around her was concerning. It was a dangerous, slippery path that could easily go in the wrong direction. He would have to have a conversation with her about that, but something told Aizawa he’d have to be smart about it. Artemis had so many walls up, she may as well have been a high security prison.

He wondered what kind of life this child had lived up to that point that could possibly have made her that way.

#mha #bnha #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #bakugoxreader #bakugou x oc #katsuki bakugou #bakugo katsuki #bnha bakugo #bakugou #mha x oc #mha fic #bnha fic #gravity

[jammyjess]

Hey friends!

I found King Falls AM at a time in my life where I felt scared, hopeless and alone. I didn’t want to be here at all, and I thought for the most part I’d never be happy again. I’m still most of those things, but every day in King Falls makes that a little easier to be okay with. I thought long and hard about what I could manage for this, but most of all, I just wanted to say thank you. So. Here goes.

Thank you for Sammy Stevens, who is my favourite kind of character. He’s sassy and pretty and humble and full of love.Thank you for his cynicism and snark, but also for his ability to push aside his own beliefs and ideas and wants when it matters. Also, for letting him Suplex Grisham, because that was pretty neat! Thank you for the way he relates to the people around him, but especially to Lily. For a character who makes mistakes and actually tries to learn from them - he doesn’t always get it right, but he tries, and that’s so important. He’s made me laugh, he’s made me cry, he’s made me want to scream. I adore his backstory, it means more to me than I can say, but also thank you for the way you handled the events around 75. It was so meaningful. I love him with everything I have, which is why it hurts me to thank you for his pain, which is so unbelievably relatable to my own. For my own hurt that comes out of his mouth. The kind of hurt that transcends circumstances. I was in a dark place before this show, and parts of me are still there, but watching Sammy grow, and change and heal has meant everything to me. It gives me hope for better days. For Sammy, and for me too. Thank you for giving him the courage to stick around, and for giving him hope. Thank you for Benny Arnold. Who I can’t write about coherently without bursting into tears. He’s messy and flawed and just absolutely gorgeous. Seeing him grow through the years has been an absolute joy, but most of all, I love his ability to remain untainted by the horrors he’s been through. He’s still got the same heart, and it’s the best heart there is. I love his passion, his hope, his resilience. His belief in everybody around him. He remains unapologetically himself through everything, and I adore him. He is The Good, and I’m so glad we have him. Noah brings such complexity to him too, and I can listen a thousand times to a single episode and continue to feel all the things. 

Thank you for Emily. For making a strong, intelligent, badass women who’s also soft and desirable and loving. For letting her write her own story and for letting her be more than a prize to be won. She’s so good natured and considerate and thoughtful, and even in her worst moments she never loses that. Every moment she appears is wonderful and Jess KILLS IT every time! I’ve especially enjoyed phase two Emily, as her relationships with other characters become more integral to the story. Thank you for speaking out against the Frickards of the world through her, because it hurts and it’s hard but it’s so important. Using your audience for good means so much. Thank you for the thoughtfulness and care with which you consistently apply to sensitive subjects. For day-to-day happiness, for happy places and for months of quiet kindness without ever being asked. 

Thank you for Jack Wright. For the reminder to choose love (even when it’s hard. Maybe especially when it’s hard.) For the reminder that we’re all worthy of love, in all its forms. The affirmation that nobody corners the market on sadness, but also that we don’t always have to go it alone. That grief is universal, and that’s not always a bad thing. For quiet moments of humanity in the midst of absolute tragedy. For vulnerability, for heartbreak and moving forward together. For forgiveness and acceptance, and humility. 

Thank you for Dwayne Libbydale, who’s a special kind of chaos. I am again lost for words, but I love him, I love him, I love him. 

Thank you for Pete Escobar Ed Edwards Yardboy Myers and his funyuns and disdain and snark (even if me saying I love him means he’ll never listen to this show again.) Thank you for PHENOMENAL journalist Lily Wright, who is an absolute delight! She feels like the personification of grief, loss and trauma, but at the same time so, so real. Her reluctant acceptance of King Falls as home is beautiful, and I hope she gets ALL THE HUGS really soon. She’s not afraid to speak her mind, even if it means alienating the people she loves. Her shaky vulnerability with Sammy, Ben and Emily is so good, and I’m so excited to see where the future of Lily Wright lays. King Falls Chronicles was some KILLER story telling, and Candace was the icing on the cake. The acting chemistry she has with everybody is absolutely on point. I’m so glad we get to keep Lily. That she’s found home. Thank you for #DeputyDead. His unwavering optimism and willingness to see the good in everything and everybody is absolutely wonderful. 

Thank you for Debbie and RoboTim, who I still believe in, despite all evidence pointing to ‘don’t do that.’ Thank you for Maggie Masterson, an Actual Icon. And for our Man’s Man’s Man and his lil Kingsie Bab. For Regan who is a sweetheart and Chet who I hate to love.

Thank you for villains that fill me with white hot rage. Who’s actions are explained, but never excused. For Frickards and Gundersons and ShadowFUCKS and HFB3’s and Leland Hills and Ernies and Grishams. They’re different levels of despicable, and I adore hate them all. 

Thank you for ridiculous caricatures ; the Gwendolyns and the Cynthias and the Jacob Williams. Thank you for SPORTSBALL (CHOP. DAT. WOOD.) and WALL CRABS and GARBAGE BEARS and DANGER NOODLES  and every other ridiculous Benism. 

Thank you for Teareal and serendipity and redrum roses and for the inability to see the word ‘ghost’ and not correcting it to APPARITION. Thank you for Dan & Larry and boy band battles and Doyle’s Conspiracy Cavern and Devon Hamptonframptonshire. For Golden Owl, Finn and Gator Jack and Alvin and every other ridiculously loveable character you’ve created. Some of them barely last longer than an episode, but their chaos will fuel me for a lifetime. 

Thank you for Mary Jensen, who is the mom I wish I had. All moms are champs, but Mary is perfect. Thank you for Betty and Nancy and Loretta and Marigold. All who I expect deserve the praise they’re given. 

Thank you for Herschel and Cecil, who are cranky old bastards and who probably shouldn’t fit together, but they do so effortlessly. The care and compassion they have for each other is inspiring, and I too hope to have a friend like that someday. Trent is wickedly skilled, and I’m sure he hears it so often but!!!! 

Thank you for BE WELL BUDDIES and silly puns in the titles, and short jokes and RoboTim mixups and Science Institute break-ins with vigilante superheroes and mysterious callers. Thank you for love through overnight oats and moustache talk and non-binary pals. For a willingness to grow and change and learn and laugh. For the electrolocaust and my favourite threesome and for sammiversarys. For Ben posting Sammy’s bail, and heart-to-hearts in jail cells. For stupid bets and bensplosions and the fucking kickball story. For creepy dreams and technical terms, for badly timed BEEPS for awkward flirting and on-air confessions. For idiots who can’t keep secrets, let alone not talk about them on air for more than five minutes. For missing hikers and weird shadow tornados and notebooks and shooting down UFOs and death by damnation. For the SECOND BEST small town in American Celebration, for Christmas Gifts for Ben’s Mom and Jupiter Jaundice. For Ben’s monopoly tactics and Sammy’s audible eye rolls, for prophecies and ‘legend-has-it’s and for love and love and love.

Thank you for the mysteries, and for the constant need for MORE. You do cliffhangers so wonderfully, and I feel like I’ve never anticipated anything so keenly in my life. Tim Jensen, The Dark, Merv, Death by Damnation, The Rainbow Lights, The Zombies. 

Thank you for Cameron Chambers??? How does he do it?? I have no idea, but I hope he keeps doing it. Especially all them Christmas BOPS. Legendary. Jazz-Hands worthy! 

Thank you for making Zombies the F- plot. 

Thank you for the Eagle Screech in the DALE’S DOLLAR TREE ad. And all the other ads too, I guess. I don’t understand The Fucky List, but thanks for that too! Thank you for JACK IN THE BOX JESUS which has caused my internet to constantly recommend me eat at Jack in the Box, despite the closest one being literal continents away.

Thank you for continuing to choose this. For being open to sharing so much of yourselves with us. Thank you for fan interactions and live listens, Q&As and twitter replies and twitch streams and retweets and Beyond the Falls. Thank you for the love and care you show us all, which above all feels genuine. 

Thank you for being the catalyst for a community where I finally feel like I belong. Like I’m important. Like I matter. Thank you for being the reason for hours and days and weeks and months of in-jokes and teasing and theories and head canons and screaming and food talk and love. For so much kindness. And acceptance. For a space to be myself without fear. For people I feel like I’ve known lifetimes, and for whom I hope I can love for lifetimes more. For people to cheer on, and cry with, and poke fun at. For stupid nickname changes, and memes and words in reactions. For making me feel like i’m part of something much bigger than me. For a place to be passionate without judgement. For a place to just be. For friends. For family.

Thank you for the push I’ve needed to create again. And for all the others you’ve inspired too. 

Every moment inside King Falls have been an absolute blessing, but the impact it’s had on my life outside of it is absolutely everything.

Congratulations on (almost) 100 episodes. What an adventure it’s been. I’m so excited for everything the future of King Falls holds, but most of all; Thank you for making this fuckin’ mean something.

#contest entry #100 eps!! #kfam100 #king falls am #kfam #thanks #kfam discord #ramble #unashamed fangirling #long post #text #words

[natsspammityspamspamham]

Dino Watches Anime (April 26)

I haven’t made one of these for a while, and after the first draft went and deleted itself, I wondered whether it was worth making another one (I make these primarily for myself then get really surprised whenever people notice these). During harsh times like these, I find myself being drawn to the cheesiest and the most cringe-inducing shows, but maybe I just like them because you can put them on double-speed without missing a thing because you know what’s going on. It’s like instant noodle broth: satisfying, warming, but you know it’s going to kill your insides with self-crisis. Seriously, I didn’t come to terms that I really, really like romance as a genre until a little while ago. 

With that being said, I want to take a short break from romance now. 

I often ask myself, “Why are you watching these when you can be watching really good anime?” Well, that’s probably because I don’t want to have my analytical brain on right now. I want to watch an anime that takes two brain cells to enjoy. I only have two. Once I garden some more, maybe then will I get into the stuff I know I will enjoy like Hunter x Hunter (2011)

Things that I just started but couldn’t get into

NHK ni Youkoso! (1/24)

For one, I didn’t want to watch this before because it would’ve hit too close to home. The show’s about a NEET aka a freeloader (not in employment, education, or training), and I’m... almost that description (but that’s mostly because of the pandemic). Really, this show is riddled with paranoia, and it wants you to really know that with its changing art styles to its cynical script lines to its main character honestly needing some help (seriously, he needs help). I read further (aka spoilers) and realized that I probably won’t have fun with this anime right now, and I will never touch the manga because that stuff is even more insane than its adaptation. NHK ni Youkoso is about people who fall between the cracks of normal standard society and their desire to seek their own normal by any means necessary, and during stressful times, I think it belongs on the backburner.

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (2/12)

After seeing how much I enjoyed Kakushigoto (which will be mentioned later, I just thought, “Wow, I want to see that other really famous work!” I didn’t enjoy it at all. I forgot why I put the series on-hold. It’s about a suicidal teacher who will stop at nothing to die then ask people why they almost killed them. Through a bunch of errors, he ends up becoming some sort of a harem king to his students (and he attracts the weirdos). I enjoyed the lengths Studio Shaft went to to make this anime appear the way it does (which helps in a lot of ways), but I just can’t continue with it until a much later date.

Appare-Ranman! (2/?)

I just lost interest after looking at the rest of the cast. I’m all for being vibrant and out there, but some of those character designs imitate more of a “racial stereotype/caricature”. I’m not saying that I dropped the show only because of that (I’m quite dense when it comes to that), but I didn’t like the characters either. I can’t get behind a show that won’t let me enjoy it a single moment over two episodes. 

I’ll pick it up again later (probably)

Free! (5/12)

I feel like they’re shoving fanservice a lot. I try to skip every fanservice scene, and I managed to watch up to episode 5 in less than an hour, and I didn’t even get through them all. But I will say that ending is stuck in my head now. (humming)

This show has taken me at least two attempts to watch so far. Let’s see how many more it takes before I finish/give up!

Darker Than Black (18/25)

I’ll probably finish this one for the sake of finishing it. I just find that the episodic nature gets stale after a while, and the overarching story is often disregarded. In exchange, we do get some fun side stories, character development, and world building, but I’d like to settle down too, you know?

Clannad (1/23)

Yeah, I’m doing that now. I’m going to see whether my feels bones are as strong as they were before... after I take a hiatus because I’m not sure if I’m in the appetite for that kind of romance now that I’ve watched two shoujo in a row. 

Sousei no Onmyouji (20/50)

I bet you, someone was like, “Let’s throw all these shounen cliches into a pot then see what comes out!” Bruh, this is bordering that story I wrote when I was 14, and I’m not even dissing this anime. I enjoyed it but need a break now. It’s very cliche, predictable, and honestly, I can see why it has such a low rating. Studio Perriot likes cutting corners sometimes with their long-running series (*stares at Naruto*), and this anime is no exception. Sometimes, it feels like a visual novel. “We don’t need to animate anything if she’s so fast that no one can see her.” Dang, but it gets repetitive. It also has a magical girl power that only works when the main couple does it? Cool, but that also gets repetitive. I just didn’t see myself watching the same thing another 30 times (at least right now).

Maison Ikkoku

I’m actually on the fence about continuing this one. It’s really sweet, but I’ve had my fill of romance. I have been wanting to watch some more Rumiko Takahashi works though. There’s no reason for me not to continue this. It gives me strong Princess Jellyfish vibes (which I should also finish). 

Recently Finished

Itazura na Kiss

Just... end my suffering. It’s not worth it. The thing about shoujo anime is that I watch it late at night when my brain is at its worst when it comes to analyzing or taking in any emotional circumstances. Then I asked myself, “Would I want any young, impressionable people to watch this?” And my first thought was “F**K NO!” This anime was an absolute trainwreck. As my Discord friend put it “It’s so bad, yet you can’t look away!” But what makes this anime unique? What sets it apart? It shows life after high school. Just like Clannad, it shows that life is more than your secondary education. There is more to life than just being a teenager. I’m not saying these characters ever grew though because that’d be a FAT JOKE. 

Episodes 1-13: Girl gives boy a love letter. He laughs and doesn't even want it and goes "no thanks". Girl gets upset. Then they find out they're living under the same roof after the girl's dad made them a house out of popsicle sticks (because the dads are childhood friends). She keeps trying to push herself onto him, and his mom joins in and is plotting so much more than you'd expect. The best part is that this main girl already has a childhood friend who's like "please marry me. I'll cook for you, work for you, take a bullet for you, slice my head off if it means you won't chip a nail--" then the girl replied by chasing after the guy who calls her stupid on a daily basis and genuinely believes she can't do anything. 

Episodes 14-25: Guy gets dragged to his own wedding and generally does not care for the girl unless she’s either not looking or is on death’s bed. He practically deserts her every other time, and we’re supposed to think it’s romantic when he finally gives a crap about his wife (even when she’s pregnant). The show constantly reminds you that even other characters have doubts that our main character cares about anyone other than himself and his aloofness. They have a bunch of missed affairs including a hoe that tries to leave her husband on her honeymoon to get with Mr. Aloof and a nursing student that genuinely cares about MC and the fact that her husband doesn’t care about her at all.

The moral of the story of this anime: If you chase after somebody long enough, they will cave in and marry you even if they don’t like you, want you, insult you, bully you, or generally show all the signs of an unwilling partner.

Anyway, this anime is crap. I can’t believe I watched it. I want those few hours back (I fast-forwarded a lot, okay?) I can’t believe I finished it. Looking back makes me want to press undo. Having this under my history is a shame to my family. Even if I was sleepy and generally out of it, that’s no excuse for choosing this. Sayonara

 I will say that Daisuke Hirakawa and Nana Mizuki did give good character voices despite the circumstances. That, and I haven’t heard from Hirakawa besides those couple of scenes from School Days (which... is a different type of romance), Free! (which I dropped when his character joined), that gumball scene from Jojo, and that introduction to him being the new Demon Slayer villain. I didn’t realize he was that old though.

Special A

This is one of the anime that my sister watched, and I thought, “I need to be reminded of what a somewhat healthy relationship can be” I wasn’t disappointed because the last anime left such a bad taste in my mouth that literally anything could’ve soothed the aching wound which was bad decision making. Even under regular circumstances, I probably still would’ve enjoyed it, but since it came at the right time, I give it an extra nod of approval. I also never realized that the second opening was inadvertently drilled into my brain because I kept overhearing my sister watching it. Now that I’ve grown up, I realize I was listening to the voices of some of my favourite seiyuu. Go figure. 

The story was really sweet with characters that I genuinely liked by the end (not my favourite cast by a very long shot, but it was slightly above average). It was slightly above average for me in a lot of ways (ironically), and it was enjoyable. The art is very fitting for its time, the music was very... ordinary, and the story was simple enough that you knew exactly what was going to happen at any given moment. This show should be titled: Special A(ppreciation for those brave people who have fallen in the friendzone; we’ll get ‘em next time). 

Akatsuki no Yona OVAs 

Unlike the actual TV series, this stuff actually ends conclusively without ending on the CLIMAX OF THE BIG ARC. SERIOUSLY, I WAS ROBBED. You can say, “There’s a perfectly good manga right there.” Shut up. I want my fight scenes animated with a big helping of a strong female lead. It gave me a sudden appreciation for Hiro Shimono and his character Zeno who literally just inserted himself in last minute in the anime (but these OVAs perfectly explain everything). You probably shouldn’t watch the anime without watching these OVAs because they’re canon, funny, and touching at times. It enhances the series.

According to the animation, we know it can do fight scenes. Give us another season, cowards! Actually, it’s Studio Perriot, so if we ever get it, it might be two stickmen duking it out. 

Haikara-san ga Tooru Movie 2

You know, I really enjoyed the movie. The first one. This one? Not so much. Actually, I felt so done. I was looking forward to this so much. It’s like going to a restaurant, expecting really good pasta, and then being served some leaves from the weeds out back. Eventually, it tastes better when you add some dressing and cheese, but it still isn’t a bowl of pasta. This show casts aside everything I like about it (present-tense because they didn’t kill everything of it) and leaves one little inkling of its valued ideas. Instead, we get a romance-chasing movie that feels a bit more like an amnesia fiction that’s slightly higher quality than usual. I can’t say I regret watching the movie. There were some redeeming qualities, but they jumped from a 9/10 to a high 6/10 that managed to squeak itself into an overall 7/10. 

(This gif is from the first movie, but I can’t find any from the second movie anyway)

Currently Watching (Not Seasonal)

Samurai Champloo

This anime is a staple of Shinichiro Watanabe, and after this, I will probably watch Cowboy Bebop, Carole & Tuesday, and Space Dandy. I did enjoy Sakamichi no Apollon and Zankyou no Terror. 

Plus, after all that romance, I need some samurai slaughter. The fight scenes and the music get me every time. I don’t even need to say anything else about the anime. The fight scenes are enough to watch alone.

#dino watches anime

[birbleafs]

AF Zine Pre-orders + Fic Preview

Hello everyone! 

I can finally share about the recent project I’ve participated in :D In a Fowl Mood: an Artemis Fowl Zine is a charity zine that features new art and fanfiction made by amazing fans like you and pre-orders are currently OPEN from now till OCT 7th ! All proceeds will go to Make-A-Wish to benefit children with cancer. Be sure to check out @artemis-fowl-zine for more pre-order details and updates. We’re all really excited to be on this project and hope you’ll consider purchasing a copy! 🌟🌟

Here’s a snippet from my fic for the zine. Enjoy! :) __________ Strange Creatures Seven-year-old Beckett Fowl was the first to glance their way; Holly could’ve sworn the child had canine-like senses, what with the way he had whirled around at their near-silent approach. He was the very picture of innocence as he bounced up to them, his radiant curls and bright-eyed stare reminiscent of an eager golden retriever puppy. “Holly’s here! And S’Mulch Dinggus!” Beckett squealed happily as he launched himself at her. Holly embraced him warmly, before waving a greeting to Juliet who stood patiently behind the boy. The dwarf tutted, unimpressed at the butchering of his name. “We’ve been through this the last time, little Mudskipper. It’s Mulch Diggums.” “That’s what I said,” Beckett giggled, turning back to look at Juliet. “S’Mulch Dinggus. Funny he can’t remember his own name.” Before Mulch could get a protest in edgewise, he was interrupted by a small, polite cough. He turned and saw a bespectacled, raven-haired Mud Child appearing by Beckett’s side. Myles Fowl had the same piercing blue eyes as his free-spirited twin, but unlike his twin, he was the seemingly more precocious and finicky of the two. He looked every bit the likeness of his eldest brother, Mulch noted humorously—from the meticulously pressed suit and tie to the neatly-combed dark hair. Heck, the kid had even perfected the infamous Fowl glare to an art form, crystalline and frigid as an Arctic winter. “You’re finally here as summoned, Mister Mulch,” Myles greeted solemnly. He ignored the wet, icky sounds of Beckett blowing raspberries beside him. “Took you long enough.” “Summoned?” Mulch frowned, before a thought struck him. He grinned toothily at Holly. “So that’s what this is about, eh, Captain Short? ‘Detained’, my hairy as—” “Language, Mulch,” Holly said, stepping on the dwarf’s toes all while matching his grin with a serene, innocent smile of her own. “Okay, okay. I’m sorry I had a Retrieval squad jump you back there in the house. But it’s not like you were likely to be agreeable and come quietly if you knew the Fowl twins had extended an invitation and personally requested for your… er, assistance.” “Is not invitatitions,” Beckett chirped as he chewed on a piece of purple beeswax crayon. “Arty said summons would do in the tongue of magicks, so we summons S’Mulch!” He gave a sagely nod, his mouth stained and flecked with purple now. Mulch gave Holly a look of disappointment. “Frankly, I’m hurt you think I’d even pass up the chance to humiliate my favourite Mud Boy, and what’s more, by teaming up with his own cute brethren. Okay then, little Fowl nuggets. What dwarfish advice would you need this time?” “First of all, we’re not nuggets,” Myles said coldly, just as Beckett clucked like a gleeful hen and made flapping motions with his arms. “I assure you that we are still one-hundred percent Homo sapiens, even if Beck has gotten very good at animal mimicry of late.” “I see this one’s got a great sense of humour,” Mulch observed drily. “Definitely Artemis’ brother.” “A-hem. As I was saying...” Myles scowled at the interruption, and Mulch held up a placating hand in apology. “Secondly, Beck and I, we thought it through for many weeks—Well, I did anyway. However, we weren’t able to make any significant progress in the lab even with Professor Primate’s expertise—” “Not quite sure where you’re going with this riveting story, kiddo,” Mulch muttered. “But I’m still listening, if that helps.” “—and after several failed attempts, we have conceded that we need help from someone with the right skills. Skills we do not yet possess.” Myles paused, his young face pinched with doubt. But his hesitation was fleeting, and he met both Mulch and Holly’s curious expressions with a determined gaze once more. “We want to throw Arty the best surprise Eldest Brother’s Day when he gets back,” the boy said. “So, would you please honour us, Mister Mulch, and teach us how best to make—” “Flatulence!” Beckett crowed as if on cue, punching a fist victoriously into the air. “Please, brother. Not this again.” Myles groaned. “You boys want me to teach you how to let a mighty rip?” Mulch asked, incredulous. “No, that’s not it!” Myles cried, exasperated. “Beck has gotten it all muddled! He means the fettling process used in pottery, not the crude effusion of intestinal gas!” He tugged frantically at Beckett’s sleeve, trying to stop his twin from belting out his favourite self-composed tune called A Song of Gas and Fire, to no avail. For two whole minutes, the group was forced to listen to Beckett’s high-pitched singing of “Pbbthh, pbbthh, rattle-boom! Gas and fire, gas and fire! Heave-ho, the window’s blown!” “Thanks, little Mudskipper, for that, uh, delightful performance,” said Mulch, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes once Beckett had finished his song. “I gotta say, you sure are a natural. But there’s still something I don’t really get. Why would you need my help for the surprise? Like don’t get me wrong, kiddos, I like you two enough. But what’s wrong with Holly or Juliet here, or even Butler himself? If anything, they’re better suited at picking out the mushy gifts...” He trailed off, thinking hard. “Well, I trust the Big Man’s taste for the sentimental, at least.” “Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence, Mulch,” Juliet deadpanned, with only the slightest roll of her eyes. “It’s true Butler had some good suggestions for gifts, but this is a Fowl twins initiative, so we figured we’d let the kids decide on their own. Besides, Beck had other ideas...” “My ideas the best ideas!” Beckett chanted, beaming brightly. “We decided that we want to make Arty a sculpture for Eldest Brother’s Day.” Myles supplied, glancing at Mulch once again. “We know that Mister Mulch is highly attuned to the necessities of good clay work by virtue of his biological make-up— “S’Mulch is good with muds and gas! I wanna learn how to blast clay backwards too!” “—therefore, you are best suited to teach us how to sculpt and—” “And flatulence!” Mulch tried his best, he really did, but he couldn’t hold back his laughter any longer. He didn’t know which was funnier: the thought of the twins gifting Artemis Fowl, ex-criminal virtuoso and menace of the People, a squishy caricature blob of his miniature being or Beckett performing a pompous and fartastical symphony of A Song of Gas and Fire for his dear eldest brother. Either way, he was rightfully tickled and the twins were in luck. Unbeknownst to many, Mulch had spent some time dabbling in pottery and sculpting with clay when he’d lived amongst the celebrity Mud Men; he had chalked it up as weird hobby of sorts. “You Mud twins are hilarious,” he said, once his laughter had subsided and he’d managed to straighten himself up again. “All right, I’m sold on this crazy venture. I’ll help with the sculpting of a masterpiece for ol’ Arty-boy.” From the corner of his eye, he caught a glance of Juliet’s smug expression. Her lips were curved into a wide Cheshire grin as she tapped Holly’s shoulder expectantly. The elf only groaned, before she reached into her back pocket to fish out a single gold coin and slipped it into Juliet’s fingers. Mulch frowned at the exchange, throwing them his best hurt-puppy look. “Running a betting pool on me and for only a single gold coin? I’m affronted, ladies.” “You only wish your crooked mug is worth half a penny,” Holly shrugged. “I’m being generous because Juliet’s a friend.” “Aww, I knew you were a big old softie inside!” Juliet sighed happily, reaching forward to teasingly pinch the side of Mulch’s face.

#artemis fowl #artemis fowl zine #beckett fowl #myles fowl #holly short #mulch diggums #juliet butler #af zine #fic preview #zine preview #fanfic #everyone's works are all really amazing and i'm excited to see it in full!!

[thesecretfandom]

Wanderlust: Sunsets y el Amor -- Bughead (Chapter 6)

Word Count: 3,230

Rated: T

A/N: I got this chapter up pretty quick after the last one. Needless to say I’m pretty proud of myself. Hope you enjoy this update! (Read on AO3)

(Previous Chapter) (Next Chapter)

Jughead woke up the next morning not remembering how he'd gotten from the airport in Madrid to their hotel. He had vague memories of the strange hotel room they'd found themselves in. It was odd in the fact that it was not a hostel, Airbnb, or bed & breakfast, but a real hotel. The sheets were ridiculously clean, the smell of laundry detergent permeating the air when Jughead fell onto the plush mattress.  

What was weirder, the room was for six but there were only two queen sized beds. Tucked in another, partially closed off room, a bunk bed fit for kids. Betty was feeling non-confrontational when they'd arrived, and willingly gave up the beds to the other two couples.  There was no door closing off their room, but a curtain separated them from the others.

These few facts came running back into his mind when he spotted a veil of blonde hair cascading over his chest. He was acutely reminded of his unfortunate position when he knocked his head into the wooden ladder built in to the side of the bunk. He wouldn't complain, however, about Betty laying almost completely on top of him so they would both fit on the small bed.

He forgot the dull ache in his head as he listened to Betty's soft breaths. Her hair was strewn across her face, and with each puff of air expelled from her lips a strand of hair would flutter up before dropping back to Jughead's chest.

One breath in particular fused with a yawn, sending a wad of hair into her mouth, which she immediately spit out. Jughead flinched when the wet hair landed on his cheek.

"Mm…" Betty groaned. Her legs curled into his as she slowly woke up.

Jughead lifted his hand away from where he held Betty's waist and pushed her hair out of her face and his. Her eyes squinched together and her hand clawed at the t-shirt on his chest. Jughead watched closely at all of the little movements the beautiful girl made as she woke up. Her lips puckered, then smacked. Her eyelashes fluttered as she struggled to open her eyes.

"Good morning." Jughead whispered, lips against blonde hair.

Her eyes finally rolled open, a little smile crossing her lips as her eyes found his. "Good morning."

Jughead's hand was still resting on Betty's cheek. He rubbed slow circles on her cheek with his thumb. She was so, so soft. His hand drifted to her neck and Betty sighed staring up softly.

"I love you." Jughead whispered. He would never get tired of saying that.

Jughead bent his head toward Betty and just before their lips touched she said with a huge, yet tired, smile, "I love you too, Juggie."

Jughead smiled into her lips, just a quick peck that Betty tried to hold on to. Jughead slid his arm under the blanket and gripped Betty's leg. He slid out from beneath her, once again knocking his head on the ladder as he peeled himself out of bed.

Betty's fingers wound through his, refusing to let him go. She whispered softly, "Stay."

Jughead knelt next to the bed and dropped his lips to Betty's forehead. "I'm just going to take an excessively long shower. The bathroom is actually clean and I bet the hot water will last longer than five minutes."

"Mm, that sounds nice." Betty sighed, curling her knees to her chest. "You left a cold spot on my tummy."

"I'm sorry." He replied and brushed his fingers through Betty's hair. "You know, I wouldn't be opposed to sharing the warm water."

Betty raised a single eyebrow, her signature move. "Maybe next time."

"Suit yourself." Jughead pulled the blanket up to Betty's chin before retreating to the semi-luxurious bathroom. He thought back to the run down and dirty bathrooms of the hostels of their past. This one was a huge step up. The shower was lined in a faux-granite tile, the shower head and knobs a polished stainless-steel. It was about a hundred times nicer than the bathroom he grew up with.

Jughead luxuriated in the warm water. The pressure of the water down his back was strong, like a massage he never knew he needed. The complimentary soap was coconut scented, a step up from the complete lack of soap he'd been washing himself with for the past two and half weeks. His hair had been greasy for longer than he could remember, beginning way back when his mother had first left him. Now, he gratefully took the free shampoo and lathered it into his ever-growing black locks.

He was reluctant to leave the warm water, a chill settling on his naked body when he stepped out of the steamy room.  Betty was still laying in bed, but she seemed to have woken up a bit and was scrolling through her phone. Jughead sat on the edge of the bed, allowing his hand to rest on Betty's hip over top of the covers.

"What are you looking at?" Jughead asked, shaking out his wet hair. Betty cringed when the water hit her face, shielding her phone.

"Just scrolling Facebook," Betty spoke quietly. A yawn escaped her lips before she spoke again. "Just the usual old high school friends partying and tagging each other in memes."

"Fascinating." Jughead sighed. "I've never really used Facebook much."

With sudden force, Betty sat straight up and grabbed him. One hand grabbed his shoulder, the other just a flat palm against his bare chest. His heart sped up, but he was sure that Betty hadn't sat up with the ultimate goal of leaving him flustered.

"Jughead!"

He waited a moment for her to elaborate. "Betty!?"

"I just realized we aren't even Facebook friends."

"So what? I just said I don't use Facebook."

Betty raised her eyebrows for probably the thousandth time that morning. "That doesn't matter. It's the principle of the thing. I'm adding you now."

"How do you even know I have an account?" Jughead sighed, not willing to create a stronger argument.

"Found you!" Betty wasn't even looking at Jughead now, but staring intently at her phone. "Oh my God. You were so cute in high school."

"Hey!" Jughead reached to grab Betty's phone from her hands. "No snooping on my shame years."

"Ooh, Jughead the edge lord. Is this you at Prom?"

"Archie made me go. I swear to God, I will kill him for posting that picture." Jughead was in a constant state of cringe as Betty laughed at the plethora of photos Archie had tagged him in over the years. "Please, do not judge me for my past."

"Don't worry, Juggie." Betty finally laid her phone on the bed and leaned in to Jughead's embrace. "I swear I will never tell a soul about your emo phase, just so long as you don't judge me for the whole blue eyeshadow, cheerleader phase that I went through."

Jughead was quick to whip out his phone now. "I promise, I won't judge you… but that is something that I absolutely have to see."

"No!" Betty tackled Jughead against the bed, grabbing for his phone. Jughead couldn't even be bothered to fight back because he was acutely aware that Betty was now stradling his towel clad waist. Betty seemed to notice this as well, and shifted off of the bed. "Okay, you know what… go wild. Just remember not to judge me. I'm going to go take a shower."

Betty left Jughead with a kiss on the forehead. "Okay Miss Top-of-the-Pyramid."

Betty glared over her shoulder. "You promised you wouldn't judge."

Jughead raised his hands in surrender, but returned to his phone and Betty's' old photo albums on Facebook.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Veronica took the lead as they hopped on a bus into the heart of the city. Since their hotel was on the outer edges of Madrid, hence the affordability, it took upwards of thirty minutes to arrive at Sol station. The heat was ridiculous, and after a sweaty bus ride, Betty desperately needed a relief from the confinements of her cotton T-shirt.

Jughead was wandering down the massive open courtyard, his camera lifted to the world around them. Betty caught his eye as she peeled her T-shirt from her body. As she pulled the fabric over her head she noticed the boy point the camera in her direction. Click.

Betty rolled her eyes at him, but was flattered nonetheless. Veronica hooked her arm through Betty's as they approached a statue surrounded by tourists with cameras raised.

"El Oso y el Madroño." Veronica said, when it was clearly within sight. "The Bear and the Strawberry Tree."

"Don't pretend like you actually know the word for strawberry tree." Betty teased. "We know you speak conversational Spanish, but who even says strawberry tree?"

"I've been exposed." Veronica held a hand to her chest to feign shock. "I'll admit, I looked that part up. But I do know some non-traditional words, you know."

"Like what?" Jughead didn't mean to be challenging, and Betty assumed he was actually just curious.

"I can't think of any right now… Come on, girls. I'm craving a frozen dessert." Veronica took Cheryl with her other arm and started marching them into the crowd. "Meet us at the palace in two hours boys. I need some time with my girls."

Veronica led the two girls through tall buildings, down narrow alleyway that twisted through the city. Souvenir shops lined the streets, but eventually led to an open courtyard. Caricature artists lined up around the perimeter, separated by a few vendors selling traditional, homemade jewelry, ornaments, and tchotchkes.

In the middle of the courtyard, Plaza Mayor, was a tall bronze statue of a man on a horse. Betty noted that it was probably the most generic statue on planet Earth, as she was sure she's seen statues nearly identical to this one in every major city she's ever visited.

There was something different about the whole scene, though. The building surrounding her was a vibrant scarlet, and children and young adults alike sat randomly on the cobblestones eating food bought from street vendors or one of the many restaurants built into the surrounding building.

"There has to be and ice cream parlor around here somewhere." Veronica huffed, fanning herself with the map that Betty had swiped from the hotel lobby.

"Well, I for one vote we head into this shady alley." Cheryl was clearly hiding from the sun. A large sunhat lay hiding her red waves, a pair of classic Chanel sunglasses perched on her porcelain skin. Already she'd asked Betty to reapply sunscreen to her shoulders in the short hour that they'd been in the city.

They followed Cheryl into the shade, and Betty was relieved when the heat dissipated significantly. They followed through the short alley until it ended in a burst of sunshine. Betty stuck her head around the corner of the building to find all of their dreams answered.  A sign in the shape of an ice cream cone protruded from the building above a set of glass windows.

"Ladies, we are saved." Veronica pushed past the other girls and marched quickly to what would be a cool, air conditioned shop.

Veronica insisted on ordering for them, even though the menu was written in both English and Spanish. They all ended up with different flavored fruit sorbet, cherry for Cheryl, raspberry for Veronica, and lemon for Betty.

There was no room to sit inside the small shop, so they found their way to a grassy hill hidden in the shade of a few tall trees. The grass was slightly damp, and cool against Betty's bare legs.

"What were you and Jughead giggling about this morning?" Cheryl asked, popping a spoonful of the bright red delicacy into her mouth.

"Nothing, really." Betty shrugged, thinking back to her morning with the wet and nearly naked boy. "I found his Facebook profile.

Veronica snorted at that.

"What?"

Her friend glanced sideways at her. "Nothing, just… I saw some pictures of Jughead on Archie's profile. I'm just trying to imagine what it would have been like if you two had met in high school. Angsty emo boy and the cheerleader. It would make a great teen romance novel."

Cheryl was passively listening and rolled her eyes.

"That isn't what I was referring to. It was later, after your shower." Cheryl fixed her with a knowing look. "Some giggling… then quiet."

"What do you want me to tell you, Cher? We were making out." Betty responded bluntly. There was no use trying to hide it. It's not like she was ashamed of making out with her boyfriend.

"You know," Veronica started, "I have noticed you two being a little more touchy feely the past few days."

"Is that a crime?" Betty licked her spoon, frowning at her now empty cup.

Veronica and Cheryl shared a look; one Betty was unable to decipher.

"Okay, girl… what are you hiding?" Veronica set down her empty cup  and moved closer to Betty.

"Nothing!" Her claim was met with two competing scowls. It was clear that they would not be giving up on this anytime soon. "Okay, okay… Jughead told me he loved me when we were in Rome."

"What?" "OMG!" The two girls said in unison.

"And I said it back." Betty grinned. Just saying it out loud brought the fuzzy feelings back. Her stomach twisted and she felt her cheeks get hot.

"She's blushing!" Veronica nudged her shoulder.

Her friends pestered her for a while, and it felt strangely akin to how they'd acted at slumber parties when they were younger.  She'd been forced to retell the story, spaghetti and all, to satisfy their girlish needs. Though both agreed that they would have freaked out to hear the same three words, Cheryl still claimed that Reggie was only arm candy, they were both equally happy for Betty.

Eventually they dropped it, or got bored of the conversation, and they found their way to the Palace of Madrid. At mid-afternoon, the line to enter was a bit long, but nothing compared to lines in Rome. They decided to find the boys before entering the magnificent building, but it seemed they had arrived first.

They saw Reggie first, standing tall above the crowd. Betty hugged Jughead as soon as they caught up, earning sidelong glances from the others in the group.

Betty whispered into his ear. "I may have told them about the 'L' word."

Jughead leaned in so that his mouth was next to her ear. "Me too. I don't know how, but they just pried it out of me."

"I love you." Betty stated as if it was the most normal thing in the world. She pulled against his neck, leading his lips to hers.

"I love you too."

--------------------------------------------------

The sun was just beginning to set when the palace closed to visitors. Jughead stood with Betty at his front, his arms draped over her shoulder and chin resting on top of her head. Betty's hand found a place on his forearms as she leaned back into his embrace. Her back to his chest; it felt so familiar.

It wasn't long before the day had come to an end. They stopped for dinner and drinks at a restaurant near the bus stop that would take them back to their hotel. Three margaritas later, they were tipsy returning to their room as each couple collapsed into bed, Betty and Jughead falling down share the bed with Archie and Veronica as Reggie turned on the TV.

Jughead couldn't focus on what appeared on the screen, instead his nearly drunk mind had eyes only for the blonde beauty snuggled in next to him. Even when Betty fell asleep, her head sharing a pillow with a sleeping Veronica, Jughead's eyes didn't leave her.

When everyone fell asleep, leaving only Jughead to turn off the TV, he slid his arms under Betty's limp body. Even in her drunk and sleepy state, Betty swung her arms up to wrap around Jughead's shoulders as he carried her to bed.

Jughead woke late the next day, a quick glance at his phone saying it was almost noon and an empty bed next to him proved that Betty was already awake. When he finally found the energy to crawl out of bed he found that Betty had already packed his bag.

"I'm just so excited to go Barcelona!" Betty gushed as she tucked Jughead's laptop into its case. "Our train leaves in two hours. Is it weird that I want to just go to the train station now?"

"It's a little weird…" Jughead admitted. He was sitting on the edge of their bed, Betty standing just in front of him. He set his hands on her waist and pulled her in. "Why spend two hours waiting for a train when we can spend two hours here?"

Betty crawled onto his lap, and as she did Jughead's lips moved to her neck, sucking on the soft skin behind her ear. As Jughead's lips moved, Betty arched her back and tipped her head back to allow Jughead to nip at her skin. Her fingers tickled the skin just under his shirt, before moving up to cup Jughead's cheeks.

Betty pulled him away from her neck, much to Jughead's disappointment, and crashed their lips together. Time seemed to pass in a blur, lips traveling over one another as they passed the time. Before they knew it, Archie knocked on the wall and shouted to them.

"You guys done in there?" He called, an air of teasing in his voice. "The bus to the train station leaves in ten minutes."

"Okay, Arch." Jughead sighed, his eyes still locked on Betty. He dropped one last kiss to her lips before Betty crawled off his lap. "We're coming."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The three hour train ride was long, but when Reggie produced a deck of cards, they found that they could easily pass the time, and in Archie's case lose twenty euro to Jughead who was surprisingly good at Blackjack. Betty sipped on an orange juice as Veronica was dealt into the game and managed to win back Archie's money.

As they sped through the Spanish country side, Betty held Jughead's hand under the table and watched the land speed by. The train stopped at a station near the beach, only a short bus ride to their house on the beach.

They arrived late in the evening, dropping their luggage at the door. They decided that the beach was the best option for a sunset swim. The palm trees swayed lightly in the breeze, as did Betty's hair when she tugged out her ponytail.

Jughead waded into the water, leaving Betty standing on the warm sand. A pink and orange glow covered the evening sky, casting a warm glow over her friends. She wondered again how she'd gotten to this point in her life. Three weeks in foreign cities, her life had changed so drastically already.

She was stuck, standing in the sand, her mind wandering to what came next. A short time in Barcelona, but ultimately the second half of their trip was one she most anticipated. Paris next and from there…

"Betts, are you coming?" Jughead called, now waist deep in the water.

"Yeah," She called back. "Just… enjoying the view."

-------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I’ll have you know that next chapter will be a good one for sure, we’ve hit the halfway point and things will be picking up from here. Enjoy and feel free to leave feedback!

#bughead #bughead fanfic #bughead fanfiction #betty x jughead #betty cooper #jughead jones #bughead au #riverdale #riverdale au #riverdale fanfic #riverdale fanfiction #wanderlust fic #edit

[imeugene]

Watchman, Always Watching

We call him Watchman. Not because that’s what he calls himself, it’s actually what he calls us but you say the same phrase over and over again and it becomes a thing. It’s kind of weird to think about cause the nickname he gave us and the nickname we gave him is the same. “Watchman! Watchman!” is what he would say when he entered the store. It started with my dad first because he’d watch over the customers to see if anyone steals. Plenty of opportunists in this neighborhood but that’s how it is over here. Soon it spread to my coworker, then my brother. I’m consistently the youngest so I’m Watchman Jr. 

He’s about my father’s age, late 50’s to early 60’s, a night time customer. There is always a distinction between night time customers and day time customers at the liquor store. If you’re an all day customer you have a problem. He comes in wearing his neon yellow construction vest each time so I want to say he comes in after work. A skinny man, Black-American, wears glasses that seem to cover about half his face. A bit gaunt, maybe that’s how he is, but I’d like to imagine that years of heavy labor never allowed him to gain a pound of fat on his body. He buys Milwaukee 6-pack and maybe a shot of Gilbeys. That’s the cheapest beer combined with the cheapest and smallest liquor. It’s the beer and liquor of the homeless but in this neighborhood where the most common complaint is how hard times have become, the savings choice. You can tell a lot by the drinks people choose. A working class guy like him coming in to buy the same cheap stuff everyday, he favors the buzz over the taste. He knows exactly what the price should be so he’s probably frugal and a bit of thinker at the very least. Plenty of people come in everyday, buy the same thing, never aware of how much it is. It’s just part of their daily program. Give a $20, take the change, go home. It’s certainly not because they’re wealthy to the extent money is no longer an issue, just that the lack of money has become an ingrained issue. But Watchman notices. He always makes noise when the price increases.

I tell the few who notice the same programmed response. Everything is going up. Rent is going up. Gas is going up. Food is going up. So is liquor. It’s at that point they come to realization that’s its a universal truth and even us being “prestigious” business owner of something like a liquor store are just mere pawns in the games of a world much larger than any of us. But that doesn’t stop the complaints, they see the store owner in front of them. They have a direct connection to the man who prices every single item in the store. This isn’t McDonalds or Walmart where they’ll be crushed by the corporate steps. All they have to do is complain to make their voices heard. Unfortunately it falls onto my father’s deaf ears and they know that. They know that if put in my father’s shoes they’d make the same choices. It’s a business, not a charity. We have to remind them that sometimes. 

But Watchman never makes his noise in a serious way. More like something to fill the void of silence. He’s certainly a peculiar person. He espouses the negative stereotypes of his race. He pretends to hide beer in his vest and run away. Complains incessantly for no reason. Asks for free every single time. Tells us his plan to get away with a free beer. It’s as if he plays a caricature of his race, complete with exaggerated manner of behavior and speech. Like a meta-level social commentary. I find the theory of it funnier than the reality. It’s kind of uncomfortable cause it’d be like laughing at what I think a minstrel show was, besides he’s just a regular old black guy who works construction, so I don’t know what to take of it. I think he realizes this, he’s perceptive, goes back to noticing the change in prices. Now he talks about marrying my mom and he tells me it’s ok to for me to call him daddy. He never takes his change. Always the same return when I try to give it to him, “Son put that into your college fund”. It’s about 7 cents max. I return the favor when he’s a bit short but that’s rare. 

In a lower class neighborhood like this there a hood moments. It’s usually a culmination of a guy whose just had enough. That movie “Falling Down” with Micheal Douglas, he plays an office worker who just had enough of the life and has a break down leading up to a chain of events where he ends up with like an RPG on the boardwalk and in a confrontation with the police. That’s kind of what a hood moment is. It’s hard out here. People are always watching their back, distrust is high amongst each other and the larger world itself. Life can’t get any worse, to some people prison is literally preferable because at least in there you’re taken care of. In the real world, you can easily end up in fate worse than that and you see just that all around you. Stress just builds up. You end up living a life with a permanent chip on your shoulder cause you have it worst. You can bring up starving kids in Africa but nobody has actually  of us have ever seen a starving kid in Africa, that’s just TV and you see all sorts of things on TV. Hood moments always transpire over the smallest infractions, it’s never really about the infraction. Like I said it’s a culmination of all the infractions over the course of lifetime and a deep seated somewhat rightful resentment of the world. That small infraction is just the straw the broke the camel’s camels back. But when you’re stuck in a neighborhood where everyone is like that, everyones on edge, everyone is one straw away from something like even murder, it leaves everywhere a powderkeg waiting to explode. But this is a liquor store so it’s a big powderkeg. This sentimentality exists everywhere in the country but what separates the hood from upper middle class is that in the back of everyone’s head, they have nothing to lose so it’s dangerous.  

My dad from time to time have these hood moments. People come in disrespecting him because of his race. Complaining about prices after he’s already explained the situation to them every day  before that. Dealing with homeless people who smell of a literal human shit and at times even cleaning it. My mother’s complaints which are perfectly logical in her head but not based on any type of actual evidence. Just dealing with the same general petty bullshit that the hood is rife with on a day to day for most of his day, for most of the year. It has a way of weathering down a man’s spirit. 

Our neighborhood passed a law banning the use of single use plastic bag. It’s been the biggest source of complaints. It’s probably because of the environment and the recent push to protect which I’m all for but that’s because I come from a bit of money. People around here have more immediate issues to address than something abstract like global warming. Those words are in the same playing fields as Dow Jones or the conflict in some place in the world where no one can point to it in the map. People already pay 5 cents per bag because of the county tax and now they’re telling us that we can’t have plastic. It’s absurd to the people here. Its worse particularly in the liquor store (everythings worse at a liquor store) because beer is chilled so when it leaves refrigerator it naturally gets wet because of the humidity or whatever science behind that. Wet paper = ripped paper. You need to legally be able to cover the alcohol to not get an open carry ticket and in a neighborhood where most residents don’t own cars and the cops are fierce, that’s an imperative. Combine that with the economic situation in which the cheapest single paper bag bought in bulk costs more than the 5 cent charge the government requires so we’re losing money on every bag which is more or less required for every purchase. Legally we could charge more for the bags but when the major chain grocery stores across the street who buy bags in what probably seems like millions in bulk can get away with the 5 cents, we can’t. We can’t increase cause we’d seem like the greedy ones. People don’t already want to pay 5 cents for a bag they don’t like. It’s a perfect storm for the making of a hood moment. 

Watchman bought his usual six pack of Milwaukee, got his paper bag, my dad probably reminded him to hold it from the bottom like he does everyone else but he probably didn’t listen like everyone else. He leaves the store, bag rips, beer hits the ground, and one can explodes. See Watchman is already a frugal guy, he buys the 6 pack of the cheapest beer and the cheapest liquor shot. He doesn’t have to, he has a job, he can get away with a Budweiser but he doesn’t. He comes back into the store, not necessarily demanding another beer but in true Watchman fashion he asks for it in the most extra way. My dad already reminded him to hold it from the bottom, he doesn’t feel liable, he’s not an unreasonable person but so he doesn’t feel like he should loose money on the mistake of another in which he clearly tried to prevent. I bet all those infractions that slowly build up over the years just rushed out. My father had a hood moment. He reprimanded Watchman, someone similar in age to him, yelling at him about Watchman’s fault in the matter. I was witness to all this. I like Watchman, I’ve seen these infractions drive long time customers away, sour relationships, even create enemies. I was just waiting for Watchman to explode, it was only natural. But he didn’t. He kept his head low and just replied mannerly to everything my father said. He didn’t create a bigger fuss, he just waited him out until my father ran out of steam. These things only escalate when both parties involve themselves. It’s a battle of whose the winner or the loser of the day. Watchman had every condition ripe to be explode right there too but like I said he didn’t. That day Watchman took his free extra beer, got a new bag and walked away. The next day Watchman came in and he honestly didn’t seem phased by the encounter. Did his usual routine. Said his usual jokes. It was as it never happened. He looked at my father and yelled “Watchman, always watching!”. Later on my father confided in me that he respects Watchman.

#listlo

[statemant]

LESSONS ON LAYERING - LANVIN MENS SS 2019

We have been surrounded with the various news around shifts going around LANVIN house after Alber Elbaz left the house, there were designer, ownership movements, lot have been said both on positive and negative sides, but it looks like none of these affected to Lucas Ossendrijver, who since 2006 delivers fantastic collections at Lanvin’s Menswear division. He is kinda in his own zone and creates in what he believes to be a modern men’s wardrobe.

The last day of Men’s Paris Fashion Week is always a Sunday and Lanvin has a morning spot for several years now, at Palais de Tokyo. They have tried various areas of the legendary building and this time we were taken to the basement. I love the pre-show minutes, to look around and “check” all the attendees (I bet many of you also do), some of guests seemed kinda sleepy after Saturday night hangovers but immediately after the show started, the music woke up us all.  

It was an instant love from the very first look. Lucas has put a strong accent on a perfect layering, which is quite a trend in Menswear at the moment, but what made this particular offering special was the final look of the layered outfits, you couldn’t understand which of the pieces were separately worn and which were just mixed & matched fabric one piece – anyways, it was all perfect. There were lots of everything all of us needs – shirts with overworn knitted sleeveless pullovers, variety of outerwear – mackintosh, workwear inspired jackets and coats, and ofc, a new luxury sneaker, a must! Some of the shirts featured hand-drawn prints featuring symbols like eyes, star signs and roses made by an tattoo artist, discovered by designer himself, on Instagram, work was based on one single word/concept - “encyclopedia” and all of that also developed into jewelery.

Even if most of the garments were elevated with incredible styling, in the showroom you could find-out that they are all very well-made, very wearable modern pieces and quite easy to be styled on your own way, just for any age and any style. And designer also noted: “I always like this space between: not formal and not casual. Not boring and not a caricature. It’s in between, a space where things blend.” - It’s  rare when show actually represents designer’s exact ideas and vision (and their wording about it) and there’s no unnecessary bullshit explanation of the collection.

I really don’t remember last time, when I’ve liked every single look from any collection this much and I’m surprised why Lanvin heads just does not give full control to Lucas over entire brand, cause all of that transitioned into womenswear could be all sorts of greatness  - and Lanvin womenswear needs all of that, very much!

#STATEMANT #PERCEPTIONS #SS 19 #SS 2019 #PFW #PFWM #MENSWEAR

[yesbothways]

Dear ‘Supergirl’, I love you! Also, are we breaking up?!?

I’m one of those folks who is currently in a passion love-hate or else hate-love relationship with the show Supergirl depending on the day.  I wanted to write this long post for folks who are also processing this currently.  I had been thinking for a long time that aside from the single thread of the Mon-El storyline, Supergirl still had a solid, core identity as a show.  The show’s appeal to its audience rested on four foundations in my mind:  1) the incredible likability and reliability of their dynamic lead with her awesome combination of classic hero problems and recognizable lady problems 2) a charismatic and deep sisterhood that formed the central love relationship and unified the dramatic arcs of the show and also let it pass the Bechdel test every episode quite easily 3) positive representations of both women and the men who are also outsiders that they share love bonds with, and 4) general lightheartedness and positivity, so even when it went dark, it was just not all THAT dark.  At its worst, the show was fluffy or annoying. 

With the trust I had established through s1, I thought that what they were trying to do with Mon-El was to depict a narcissistic, sexist guy who turns into one of the good guys.  I thought, well, they think that’s a positive message.  They’ve depicted him an “outsider” or misfit, because he’s among all these high-functioning outsiders acting like an incompetent norm.  And I thought, well, this was a terrible idea.  When you write a subversive story, and then you subvert your subversion, you get normative crap that’s even more generic than the original crap.  It’s a parody that’s hard to watch.  But it’s all well intentioned.  And it will be over soon.  It’s not the show.  This won’t kick the foundations out from under the show.  

I am honestly no longer confident that this was well-intentioned or that it won’t topple the show.  I am holding onto a strong, final thread of trust in this show.  But this feels now more like backlash within this show against its own core identity and values.  The way they have written Mon-El feels like a gender panic and also a heteronormative panic to me.  And it is absolutely NOT the actor.  He’s clearly fine.  He even seems like he’s probably really sweet in real life while acting like a complete jerk on tv, kind of like when Orlando Bloom tries to play a villain, and it’s like, yeah, no, you buy teddy bears for your girlfriend and one for yourself to match when you do, don’t try to play me here, babe.  It’s the character, the caricature they have written.  When they could have written ANYONE - a thousand other men instead of this one.  So why this one?  

They wrote a self-consciously narcissistic, anti-social, sexist guy into this show and then legitimately shipped him with the lead.  I would have bet a hundred dollars easy that they would never do that.  From the interview I just read that explains the concept behind this character and also the feel of the show, he’s not going anywhere anytime soon.  He’s living in Kara’s house and apparently working in the control room at the DEO, both of which are inexplicable.  A lot of folks have meticulously catalogued 1) the shadiness of Kara’s expression of consent in this relationship including her saying no several times before saying yes and being told by Alex out of nowhere that she likes him and not agreeing and 2) the continued disrespect for Kara that Mon-El has shown, which only increased after he started admitting to liking her and continued after they got together, and 3) the sheer unbelievability and plugged-in feeling quality of Mon-El’s character in the show.  

At this point, I don’t see any good intentions gone wrong.  From everything that I can see, Mon-El’s storyline is merely sexist backlash.  Mon-El’s entire job in the narrative has been to salvage the intrinsic worth of men who would have no superior status in the previously established value system of this show.  He’s there to show that all of this women-centric and “soft-man” backchat against normative stories is not a threat to the fragile egos of sexist men.  Kara still wants this man.  She wants him no matter what he does.  There’s no cost to who he is.  The princeling has not been dethroned.  Don’t worry, folks.  He’ll still be okay and come out on top.

At one point trying to understand all of this, I started to think for a second that Mon-El might be some superhero they’re trying to establish in order to launch a spin-off.  But I honestly cannot fathom anyone investing in Mon-El’s stand alone show.  He’s as derivative of Superman as Supergirl, and he’s far, far less likable.  He satisfies no unique or unrepresented niche in the world of heroes.  I simply don’t think he could stand on his own the hero of a show.  No, he’s there in Supergirl’s world specifically to be mediocre and weak on his own.  He’s there to prove that even the most “undervalued” guy, which in this particular world is a self-centered, privileged, immature guy, still has what it takes to get with Kara and live up to her as a hero.  And I don’t get it honestly.  We have a whole executive branch of our government currently dedicated to preaching that lie.  

Yes, there’s an active demographic that affirms Mon-El’s storyline constantly.  And I trust that many of them still believe in the worth of the sexist prat turned boyfriend hero storyline and believe that somehow Kara is getting something valuable from this relationship.  Many fans will jump at other fans to defend Mon-El’s worthiness and desirability, whether in defense of the actor, the show, a perplexing defense of Kara, or in defense of the intrinsic and untouchable worth of the fragile white privileged masculinity that Mon-El represents, I do not know.  It’s complicated, of course.  But unless my ability to Google is just plain broken, Mon-El’s storyline is tanking the ratings and reviews of the show.  The more someone genuinely likes the core tenants of this show, the more they dislike what Mon-El’s storylines does in this show.  

Given that capitalism itself is saying NO to this, I have to think that the creators will change their minds and let Mon-El go (hopefully not to the dark side or to an early grave, but to space and an unseen hero quest away from us all).  And yet, there’s a powerful emotional drive behind this character.  You can see it displayed in any social media thread.  So my emotional brain is stuck thinking, the decision-makers might let this franchise crash and burn before they let this go.  The presence of Mon-El asserting dominance over Kara by lying to her and stepping over her boundaries without consequence, sustaining his desirability to Kara through their sexual relationship, and displaying his legitimacy in standing up to her as a hero that so far remains rhetorical and will no doubt rise symbolically in the coming episodes may be the price that we have to pay to have a woman superhero occupy any space in the mainstream.  

I hope that my imagination is not strong enough to see the “twist” that’s coming that will redeem what I can only call an enormous waste of screen time and this actor’s charisma both.  Because, otherwise, I am braced for more backlash within this show against its own values.  AndI have two specific anxieties forming around two characters that I know many people share:  James Olsen and Lena Luthor.  

In regards to James, does anybody like the new, weak rivalry between Kara and James in place of the rich solidarity they had before through s1?  I keep wondering how far James will drop in the value placed on characters in the show. I keep wondering, will he be gone soon or, far worse, dead?  His exclusion from the Valentine’s Day episode and his third wheel status with Winn and Lyra at the bar recently made me worry.  His little speech about playing it cool and acting like you don’t like your own girlfriend made me real nervous.

My worry over Lena is far worse.  She entered marked VILLAIN, and she has risen into a heroic ally and a great friend.  I’d say nearly everyone loves the subversion of the old Super / Luthor rivalry depicted in this character.  That fits perfectly with the core identity of this show by individuating this show from Superman and affirming the themes of individuated identity, ignoring stereotypes and prejudices, and being a hero no matter how you were raised.  One of the best moments this season was Kara rescuing Lena after she was pushed off her balcony.  That iconic image of Superman carrying Lois became Kara carrying Lena -- not only two women, but two rivals made allies, and a character marked as evil written as her own woman.  They’ve banked a lot of positive emotions and themes regarding this relationship so far. 

Will they have a sudden backlash against their own story here, as well?  Their only excuse for Mon-El and Kara’s relationship seems to be that it was inevitable and yet somehow also unexpected, because Kara clearly does not like him.  So will this become inevitable and also unexpected, because Kara clearly does like Lena?  I’d like to say no, no way, not on this show.  But I don’t know anymore.  They spent an entire episode affirming Kara’s hero status through her faith in Lena when everyone else would have forsaken Lena outright.  So I hope they know that Kara’s status will take another brutal blow if they turn Lena evil now.  However, they seem to have written Kara a whole “love” story without considering her at all.  So I would not be able to feel genuinely surprised at this point.  

#supergirl #kara danvers #lena luthor #james olsen #karlena #supercorp #kolsen

[celticnoise]

There are a handful of journalists in this country upon who you can always rely.

One of them is Gary Ralston.

There is a consistency to his work that you can put the mortgage on.

Unfortunately, we are not talking about the highest of quality here.

If you want sophomoric writing, village idiot opinions and pro-Sevco spin he is the go-to-guy at The Record.

Today’s piece from him is remarkable in every above respect.

Above all, it is an endorsement of the Ibrox point of view, pushing like a hard drug every conspiracy theory in vogue over there, even those which have already been shot down by those at their very centre.

That is Ralston’s day job, no matter what his official contract of employment should say.

This man is a Sevco propagandist. And today he excelled himself.

Entitled “Rangers’ call for SPFL inquiry is the only way to restore trust after voting fiasco”, you already get the gist of it. Suddenly, the club that has lied, smeared, threatened and up the stakes of hate are the paragons of virtue here, and the guardians of trust.

You would laugh if this wasn’t such a serious moment for our national sport.

“The beautiful game has been reduced to an ugly caricature of a sport in which fair play is just another commodity to be bought and sold on a market of blatant self-interest,” he squeals early in the piece. You would think, to read that, that every club who had voted Yes were doing so for utterly selfish reasons whilst those who voted No did so with no agenda whatsoever … except that’s actually the reverse of what actually happened.

It is the clubs who voted no for whom self-serving motives are the most obvious.

And since when is it not representative of “fair play” to call the leagues after 30 games based on what has happened over the length of the campaign so far?

This is the weakest part of any argument against ending the season now; the “void” supporters would disenfranchise every club and every supporter in the land and do so under the cover of “sporting integrity.”

It is like a bad joke.

Does Ralston prefer – as some at his paper do – voiding the campaign?

He never says in this piece, but ending the season as-is and voiding it are the two options left when you conclude, as most reasonable people do, that there will be no more football until August.

“The corporate governance of the SPFL has been woeful, their arrogance and disdain for member clubs a shameful blight for an organisation that should exist for the many, not just the very chosen few,” Ralston writes.

But you know what? The way this voting saga has unfolded may give the impression of unprofessionalism, but the motion itself was right on.

It is “the many” who spoke loud and clear about wanting the campaign ended so that they could get their hands on much needed funds.

It was “the few” who tried to prevent that, foremost amongst them the club with the second biggest income in the league.

This was not a revolt of the little people, coming out swinging for fairness and justice … this was an attempted coup led by those in the officer corps, at the very heart of the Scottish football power structure.

The vote had the overwhelming support of the clubs.

Ralston is not singing their praises but crying the blues for a cabal which was defeated in a shame-faced effort to derail the wishes of the rest for their own ends. Sevco is the guiltiest of all of them in that regard, with nothing left to play for and doing what they did out of spite and anti-Celtic sentiment.

“(Events) around the vote last Friday night that gave Nelms his release clause to shaft Inverness and Partick Thistle deserve more than just a glib line in an official statement,” the piece says.

But if he wants to talk about being shafted, how about the way Inverness has released private communications in an effort to shame Dundee and promote the idea of a conspiracy? Someone on that chat has also released transcripts to several Ibrox fan sites.

I believe that might well be the most disgraceful act in all of this.

And it’s now that Ralston’s strains against his strait jacket with his first stab on behalf of the Ibrox club, targeted against the SPFL CEO.

“The SPFL say they will launch an in house enquiry, but it’s too important an issue for transparency and supporter confidence to allow chairman Murdoch MacLennan, whose impartiality has already been questioned by (Sevco), to mark his own homework.”

Let’s imagine for a second that MacLennan said what he’s alleged to have said once upon a time; I’m still not sure why Sevco wants to bring that up now. Because this motion had the sum total of nothing to do with the Ibrox club. To read Ralston you’d think this was all done to shaft them, when in fact this was a vote on much bigger issues.

Sevco did propose their own counter-motion, but when the club’s own opening statement on it freely admits that they knew it lacked competence why are we even still debating it? To my eyes, they quite blatantly manufactured a controversy when it looked, initially, as if the SPFL proposals would pass at the first go and they have been stoking it ever since.

“The decision of chief executive Neil Doncaster – he really is the Teflon Don – to be party to a call to sanction the result of the ballot before all votes had even been received appears a sinister manipulation,” Ralston adds.

I don’t know a single person who does not think Doncaster is a prize idiot.

But for a national title to dredge a paranoiacs phrase like that up from the basement of the fan forums of Sevconia is ridiculous.

It’s an allegation without a shred of proof … “sinister manipulation” for God’s sake? He sounds like one of the nuttier writers over at Ibrox Noise Up.

This is his second to last paragraph, and it sums up the general stupidity of the whole piece.

“An independent investigation is a must to restore fan confidence but unless other clubs, particularly Hibs and Aberdeen, decide there are concerns to address then the next football crisis is just around the corner.”

And right there is the central thrust of it; this is really all about one club and their concerns and those concerns have nothing to do with the greater good of the game. I have yet to hear a single official at a single club support the idea of voiding the campaign, and most clubs are perfectly happy with the way the vote went. For Sevco to get even a minor victory here they need allies, but their behaviour over the last week has repelled many clubs.

Chris Sutton summed it up with a late Tweet;

“Democratic vote… overwhelming result… frustration must really be the wheels came off after the winter break… but blame everyone and everything else…”

It is easier to get the word out if you have a pet hack to do your bidding. We might not be impressed by Ralston’s scribblings, but I am betting the PR department at Ibrox, who are floundering right now like a drowning man in stormy seas, are happy enough.

Celtic should be taking note of all this, and I’m sure we are. We aren’t named directly as conspirators trying to do Scottish football harm but you don’t need codebreakers from Bletchley Park to work this out. It is the subtext to the whole piece and to numerous other articles I’ve read in the past few days … as if this whole thing were confected for our benefit.

Sevco is desperate right now, so we can assume that the PR war over all this is just getting started.

We had better be watchful, every single step of the way, and ready to correct every false narrative.

As Scottish football goes through the current crisis it is important to keep up with developments and the key issues. We are determined to do so, and to keep you informed as well. Please subscribe to the blog.

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#CelticNoise #Celtic #CelticFC #TheCelticBlog #News