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#initially i want to make more but maybe later
stop-talking · 2 days
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How do you think jhutch characters would handle a baby?
I'm not quite sure if you're asking "what would they do if you handed them a baby" or "what would they do if you told them you're pregnant" but I'm gonna assume you meant the latter. (feel free to send another request if I got it wrong)
Ranking Jhutch characters from worst to best fathers:
Billy
☆ Would play dumb when you hand him the pregnancy test.
☆ "What's this? Oh, you're pregnant? Can't be mine. My pull-out game is too strong." (literally has NO pull-out game, refuses to use condoms because he "can't feel" with them on)
☆ Basically ghosts you until the paternity test proves it's his. Then he actually ghosts you.
☆ Drops off the face of the fucking Earth for years. Doesn't pay a dime in child support.
☆ Maybe he comes back like 3 years later drunk and demanding to see "his" kid idk. Literally the worst.
Derek
☆ Honestly I headcannon he had a vasectomy at like 24-25.
☆ His mom hit him up once she heard about his prostitute scandals and chewed him out. Gave him "the talk" even though he's a grown ass man... finally got him to get snipped when she brought up the possibility of paying income-based child support for 18 years.
☆ Assuming he doesn't have one, though...
☆ He'd initially be mad and blame you. "I thought you were on the pill!!"
☆ Then he'd be like "Is it too late to... you know... get rid of it?" (and kind of dance around the subject because he's too much of a wimp to just say the word abortion)
☆ Wallace and his mom would both force him to get his shit together and apologize. Eventually he'd come to terms with the fact he's gonna be a dad.
☆ He'd be the kind of bastard to throw an over-the-top gender reveal party. The kind that burns down half of California or pollutes a major water channel.
☆ I think he'd be a really good girl dad. He'd let her paint his nails and stuff. Spoil her. <3
☆ He would treat a son completely differently. Teach him to "be a man" or whatever when he's still learning to walk. Force him into random ass sports.
☆ He'd have them mostly taken care of by a nanny. That's probably how he was raised, anyways. Derek Danforth is NOT changing a diaper.
Futturman
☆ Whether we're talking pre-show or post-show, he'd freak the fuck out if you handed him a positive pregnancy test. I'm talking full-on pass out.
☆ Pre-show Josh would be like "Babe we can NOT afford a baby I literally live at home with my parents and work as a janitor."
☆ His parents would be so crazy supportive though. They've been hinting that they want grandkids for YEARS.
☆ They literally clear out a room IMMIDEATELY after hearing the news and offer it to you to use as a nursery.
☆ His mom buys you more baby clothes than you could possibly need. His dad builds a crib from scratch.
☆ Overall Josh is stressed asf but he does his best to be there for you, and his parents are OVERWHELMIGLY supportive.
☆ Post-show Josh, on the other hand, doesn't have that support. But he's survived unspeakable horrors across multiple dimensions, how hard could a baby be?
☆ Extremely hard, apparently. One day he just loses it and makes a huge decision without asking you.
☆ "Josh WTF happened to our savings??"
☆ "TRUST ME BABE we need to invest in Apple!!"
☆ You're pissed but it pays off in a few years and you're both able to live comfortably.
☆ Then in 2015-ish he did the same thing again, pouring all your savings into bitcoin. This time you SWEAR you're going to leave him, but it all pays out in the end. He gets your kid through college with that money.
☆ Overall he's a really good father, too. He had great parents, and even if he's not experienced with kids, he's naturally a very caring and attentive person.
Mike
☆ Cries when he sees the pregnancy test. He's not even sure if it's happy or sad tears.
☆ Gets sick to his stomach overthinking about how he's going to be a terrible father. His dad walked out on him, so he has literally no idea how to act.
☆ Abby, on the other hand, is absolutely delighted. She's always wanted a "little sister". Mike has to remind her that technically it's her niece. Or nephew. There's no guarantee on the gender yet.
☆ Eventually he comes to terms with it all. He's taken care of Abby for ten years, he isn't completely clueless.
☆ Takes you to all of your Dr.'s appointments, checkups, etc. Holds your hand. Makes all of your weird pregnancy cravings and doesn't judge.
☆ After the birth, he lets you rest. Nearly works himself to death trying to take care of the baby all on his own because he wants you to recover.
☆ I'm talking getting up bleary-eyed at 2am every night to microwave some formula and feed the baby. After working a 10 hour shift.
☆ Pulls the "I have a baby on the way" card at work in an attempt to get a raise. It works, thankfully. (In the novel version of the movie; it says he gets a job as a contractor at the end. So hopefully he can afford a kid...)
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[Remember: these are just MY headcannons. If you think differently that's fine. I didn't include Clapton because he's literally in highschool... and we all know Peeta is an amazing father.]
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meowmeowriley · 18 hours
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Bunny!Ghost anon, you know who you are. I'd like to once again address you because this is your. Fault. I've now discovered this will be a much longer fic than I'd initially anticipated. Because of that, have a little snippet of a scene that's been eating away at my head, but won't come till later in the fic. Just to tide y'all over till I can get you a proper first chapter. 😘🐇
*** Watership Down-Bad, scene ???***
Johnny was sitting at his desk when Simon entered the Sergeants's shared office, his back to the door. He didn't look up when Simon knocked on the doorframe.
"Unless someone's dead or dying, give me a minute." Johnny grumbled without stopping. He was typing like a mad man.
Simon considered his options for a moment. He could make himself known, Johnny would ask what's wrong, they'd talk, distracting Simon from his overactive mind. He could walk away, letting his maybe partner? the Sergeant finish his work.
The poor man looked exhausted though. And disgruntled. Truly, he looked how Simon felt. Fuck it. Simon shifted.
He hopped quietly up to Johnny's desk. Took half a second to evaluate his target and plan his trajectory. Then launched himself.
"Bloody christ!"
Simon landed on the desk, the keyboard went flying. It came unplugged from the monitor as it flew, then crashed into the ground loudly, keys detaching and scattering who knows where about the room. Simon huffed, settled his chin onto his dewlap, and stretched his legs out and behind himself. He closed his eyes, but not before catching a glimpse of a stunned Johnny, arms up from jumping and pushing his chair back from the desk when he'd been startled, mouth agape.
Silence.
"Ghost?" What a stupid question. Who else? Not like he could answer, though.
If anyone were to ever ask, Ghost hated being pet, being touched. Ghost had bitten his fair share of people for getting their grubby hands on his plush fur. But... Simon craved connection. He hadn't realized how desperate he was for affection until it had ben offered, and he'd lashed out, like always. Outside of his warren, he always lashed out. But Soap was a stubborn bastard. Going so far as to continuously reach out towards him, even though he always nipped. So he flopped. And if the self proclaimed 'rabbit expert' didn't see this as the tentative olive branch that it was, well then Ghost was fucked, and Simon would be alone forev-
Simon was suddenly being pulled off the desk. His eyes flew open of their own accord and he made to bite the arms that were intent on restraining him, legs kicking spastically in protest.
"Oh go ahead then ye bastard, ye've bit me before, and ye will again a thousand times." Johnny pulled him off the desk and situated him in his lap. Simon, the large bunny that he was, sprawled with his back legs in soaps lap, near the edge of the desk, and his head resting on Johnny's shoulder. One of Johnny's hands cupped his rump, supporting him, not restraining.
They held their positions for a moment, both waiting for the other to decide this wasn't what they actually wanted. Eventually, ever so slowly he could feel himself aging, Johnny brought a hand up to stroke down Simon's back. Then again. And again. He brought his hand higher, pushing Simon's ears back to his body, and breathed what could've been a slight laugh when they bounced back up.
"Suppose we'll talk later then, aye?" Did he expect a response? Surely not. He wouldn't be getting one anyway. "Hang on," Johnny instructed as he started to shift himself lower in his seat, most likely to be more comfortable. Unfortunately he jostled Simon, who was not pleased.  "Don't bite me just because you're a touch uncomf- ach! Ye fucker!" He chuckled as he scolded Simon, who had buried his face in the other man's shirt to bite at his peck.
Simon was now on his side, curled a little, head tucked under Johnny's chin. Being pet. It'd been so long since he'd willingly been pet. It was pleasant.
He lost track of time, only noting its passage when the petting stopped, and he mourned the absence of it. Johnny's hand stilled on his back. His world shook as the human beneath him began to snore. Simon settled in deeper, snuggled closer to the kindness he didn't feel he deserved, and allowed himself to purr. No one would know.
***
"The fuck is all this?" Gaz said aloud as he entered his shared office with Soap and found the remains of a keyboard scattered all over the floor. Had the man finally lost it?
Thump.
He looked around. Soap was asleep, head thrown back, drooling and snoring in his desk chair.
"Wha-"
Thump.
Curled up against Soap's chest, evidently kicking the desk, was the biggest fucking rabbit Kyle had ever seen in his life.
"Ghost?"
Thump!
Louder and more incessant this time. Didn't that mean he was angry? He looked pretty pissed. Maybe Gaz didn't actually need to file the report on the rookies breaking each others noses again. He threw up his hands in surrender, and left as quietly as he could.
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morgana-larkin · 2 days
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a cute prompt [i hope] reader's been teaching at abbott for over a year now, usually commute or in rare occasions, drive in her car, but now, goes to the school riding bicycle saying it reduces carbon footprint, saves her from expenses and as an exercise. But she just really love bikes, Jacob joined with this, next day he arrived at school riding a bike, then Janine and Gregory. Barb, tho was always dropped off by Ger with their car, rode it the bike during break for fun. Abbott staff decided to have a biking get together next weekend, Melissa initially declined but later on agreed because of Jacob's teasing that she's a schemmenti and doesn't know how to ride a bike [unfortunately, it's true] also, she secretly enjoy seeing you biking. They meet up in the park, with their bikes and decided it's time to go around the area. Melissa, embarrassed, said maybe she wouldn't go that far and maybe wait for them. So the crew didn't argue and left, r stayed. When the staff is out of the earshot and sight of the she beamed and said she'll teach Mel how to ride a bike. Melissa, being flustered and a stuttering mess still acted offensive about the *assumption* of her not knowing how to ride. R gave her a look and agreed to teach her. This is long, but I don't know. I feel like I'm always rambling lololol
Anon, ramble all you want. I don’t mind detailed prompts. And honestly when my ADHD meds wear off, I’m like Spotify, where I do the whole playlist and then recommended. Like I literally don’t shut up lol. Tbh they wore off 3 hours ago lol. So I went a little off just a bit, I didn’t make Melissa flustered until she was being taught instead of flustered before. And it was cute, it really was! Anyway, a little smut at the end but it’s really cute and funny. Not edited in the slightest and I hope you like it!
On another note: I’m accepting Melissa Schemmenti, Chessy and Marilyn Thornhill prompts. So send them! I do currently have 9 that I still need to do but I’ll get to all of them!
Side note: for the gif I was literally watching her eat a tomato for 5 minutes…ok I’ll shut up now.
Teaching You
Warnings: 😏, fluff, sweet praise(non sexual praise), small injury part for Mel
Words: 4.3k
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It’s spring time and the weather is finally warm enough for you to bike to work again. You get your helmet on, sling your backpack on and put your coffee mug in the water bottle holder. You unlock your bike from the lock wrapped around your bike and the bike rack in your apartment building and bring your bike outside. You kick up the kickstand and get on your bike, you check your helmet one more time and the little bell on your bike, then you take off.
You have a smile on your face as you’re happily biking to work on the busy Philly streets. You’ve always loved biking, your family are all big on biking and so are you, just something about it that you enjoy. You stop at a red light about a block away from the school and Melissa ends up pulling up to the light as well. You both end up seeing each other and you wave at her with a big smile then the light turns green. Melissa drives off with a smile and a shake of her head.
Once you pull up, you see Melissa parked and leaning on the brick wall of the school next to the bike rack. You pull up near the rack on your bike and get off and lock your bike.
“Hey hon.” She tells you with a smile and you look up at her after locking your bike.
“Hey Mel.” You tell her and then the trio is walking up to the school.
“Y/n did you ride a bike to school?” Jacob asks and you nod. You don’t really want to tell them how much you enjoy riding a bike, afraid they’ll make fun of you. This is your second year at Abbott but no one has seen you ride a bike before.
“Ya I did, it’s great exercise and helps saves the planet a bit.” You tell them and they all smile.
“Great idea.” Jacob tells you and you all walk in together. You and Melissa walk together with the trio trailing along behind you two.
Melissa tells you a joke and you laugh and playfully shove her gently with your shoulder and she does it back to you. The trio behind you smiling at the scene in front of them. You all enter the break and see Barb there on her phone, with Mr Johnson mopping the floor across the room.
“You guys all got here at the same time?” Barb asks all of you.
“More or less.” Melissa says.
“Y/n rode here on a bike this morning.” Janine says and Barb looks at you and smiles.
“Did you, dear?” She says and you nod. “How lovely.” She tells you and you smile.
After school you lock up your classroom, holding your helmet and start to walk out. Melissa ends up locking her classroom when you walk by and she joins you.
“Hey hon.” She tells you as she’s putting her phone in her purse and walking beside you.
“Hey Mel.” You tell her casually.
“So any plans for the weekend?” She asks you and mentally facepalms. It’s Monday, the weekend just happened.
“I don’t know, maybe some plans will come up but at the moment I’m free. You?” You ask her and she’s thankful you didn’t question why she asked you about weekend plans on a Monday.
“Nah, nothing yet.” She says to you and you end up at the bike rack. You put your helmet on and unlock your bike and put the lock in your bag.
“I can’t believe we didn’t know you rode a bike to school and it’s been over a year and a half.” She tells you and you look up at her and smile.
“Well I don’t do it in the winter, you guys just never saw me bike and I don’t really talk about it since it’s normal for me.” You tell her and kick up the kickstand and get on.
“Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow then?” She asks you and you nod.
“Yep, see ya tomorrow.” You tell her and you pedal off. Melissa watches you bike off and she smiles, she already thinks you’re cute, but seeing you happy on a bike warms her heart. She walks to her car with a smile.
The next day it seemed that Jacob decided to also ride a bike to school and you smile as you see him pull up to the rack as you’re locking yours.
“Hey hon, and Jacob.” Melissa says, confused when seeing Jacob as well.
“Hey Mel.” You tell her. “It seems Jacob also decided to bike to school.” You tell her excitedly.
“Well like you said, good exercise and good for the environment.” Jacob says with a shrug.
You all walk in the school, you and Melissa chatting and joking around. When you walk in the break room, Jacob joins Janine and Gregory and Melissa joins Barb. You on the other hand just drop your lunch off and get a coffee then you start to walk off when Melissa stops you.
“Hey hon, why don’t you ever stay?” She asks you and you look at her and realise that they’re all looking at you.
“Oh um, well I guess because you already have your groups of people to hang out with and I don’t want to intrude on that.” You tell her and they all look at you sadly. “It’s alright, I’ll find my own group of people.” You tell them and then walk out before anyone can say anything. Unknown to you, Melissa looks at where you were standing with a shocked and a bit upset face.
You don’t run into anyone after school as one of the parents was late to pick up their kid, apologies flowing out of their mouth and you wave them off saying it’s alright.
The next day it seemed you started a trend as Janine and Gregory also decided to bike to work.
“It’s so much fun to bike!” Janine says excitedly after getting off her bike. You all lock up your bikes and head into the school. You arrive at the break room and you go to put your lunch in the fridge and make your coffee. You go to walk out but Melissa stops you again.
“Hey hon, come sit down here.” She tells you and points to the empty chair at their table. You look at her a bit shocked. Your crush just invited you to sit with her and you blush. You then mentally facepalm as you realise you sound like a high school girl with a crush. You do end up sitting down with her and Barb and you have a nice morning.
At lunch, Barb asks if she can try out one of the bikes for fun. To which you accept and she has a lot of fun biking around the parking lot. All of you are sitting outside having lunch watching Barb bike around.
“Maybe we should get together this weekend and do a little bike ride together.” Janine suggests and you look surprised.
“Really?” You ask her and she nods.
“I’m down.” Jacob says immediately.
“Ya me too.” Gregory says.
“Ya I would love too.” You tell them.
“I wouldn’t mind joining as well.” Barb says and then you all turn to Melissa who’s sitting beside you.
“What?” She asks.
“Do you want to join us on a bike ride together this weekend?” Janine says to her.
“Nah I’m good.” She tells you all.
“Why not?” Jacob asks and she shrugs.
“Cause I don’t wanna.” She tells him.
“Is it because you’re such a tough Schemmenti and you don’t know how?” Jacob says a bit to tease her playfully and doesn’t know that he’s actually right.
“I know how to ride a bike!” She tells him defensively.
“Ok then prove it. Join us this weekend.” He challenges her.
“Fine, what’s the time and place?” She asks and you all settle on Saturday at noon at the park since there’s a lot of bike paths there. You give her a bit of a weird look as she was pretty defensive but you don’t ask her about it.
Melissa keeps watching you bike away after school with a smile on her face.
Saturday at noon, you all show up with your bikes at the park. Melissa is the last to show up.
“Hey hon.” She tells you once she sees you and you turn around to face her with a smile.
“Hey Mel!” You tell her and beam.
“Alright so we should decide on a path and the distance.” Barb says and you all nod and settle on one after a few minutes.
Mel looks a bit worried when you turn to look at her. “You ok?” You ask her and she looks at you, everyone looks over at Melissa as well.
“Ya I’m fine, just I probably shouldn’t go that far. Don’t want to sprain something and then can’t walk for a few days.” She tells them all. “I think I’ll sit this one out.” She tells them and when they go to question her, she gives a glare and they all shut up.
They decide to just bike off without Melissa, except you. You hang back and Melissa looks at you with a quirked eyebrow. You look and see that everyone is just about out of sight and you look back towards Melissa.
“Shouldn’t you be biking alongside them?” She asks while still holding on to the bike.
“Maybe, but I’d rather stay here and help you learn how to ride it.” You tell her with a friendly smile. She looks at you confused.
“I already told all of youse that I know how to ride a bike, I just don’t wanna.” She says defensively again.
“Ok then prove it, use the kickstand.” You tell her and she looks at you confused.
“Kickstand?” She asks and you look at her with a knowing glance and you nod. Melissa looks at her bike, searching for what you could possibly mean.
“Mel…” you tell her and she looks at you as you get off your bike and you kick out the kickstand and let go of your bike. Melissa sees what you do and does the same thing then looks at you with a proud smile. It falls when she sees your face, you’re looking at her a bit sad.
“Did no one teach you how to ride a bike?” You ask her and she looks down at the ground, embarrassed.
“No, they didn’t.” She admits and you walk over to her.
“It’s ok to admit you know, I’m not going to judge you.” You tell her and she looks up at you. “If you want to learn then I can teach you.” You offer again and this time she smiles and accepts. You lock your bike up nearby and then you go back to Melissa. You show her how to sit on it properly and show her how to be when not in motion. Then you tell her how to ride. “It’s mostly about balance, like skating or balancing on one leg.” You tell her. “There’s a reason that the expression ‘just like riding a bike’ is so commonly used for stuff that you know how to do but it’s been awhile. It’s pretty straightforward.” You tell her and then you get off and tell her to try it.
You held on the bike with part of a handle and the seat the whole time so it wouldn’t fall over. Melissa got on just like you showed her and had one foot on the ground while still on the bike when she won’t be in motion just like you showed her and she looked at you for praise with a smile. You gave her a proud smile and a thumbs up and she beamed.
“Now here comes the tricky part, balancing yourself while pedalling. Now I’ll hold on the bike like I’ve been doing and you’re going to pedal ok?” You tell her and she nods. She then blushes when she realises that your hand keeps accidentally touching her butt and missed when you told her to pedal.
“Sorry what?” She asked when she sees you looking at her weirdly.
“I said you can start pedalling.” You tell her and she looks embarrassed then goes to try and start pedalling. She pedals slowly and crookedly and you manage to keep up with her to keep the bike up. “You’re doing it Mel, you’re biking!” You tell her and she has a huge smile. “Do you want me to let go and try and bike by yourself?” You ask and she widens her eyes.
“Uh no, I’m still trying to focus on pedalling and not balance.” She tells you and you smile.
“It’s alright, it’s at your pace.” You tell her without judgement.
You guys take a short break, mostly so you don’t tire yourself out.
“You’re learning it Mel, I bet by the end of today, you’ll be biking circles around all of us.” You tell her and she blushes and looks at the ground with a smile.
Turns out the first time you let go, she noticed how your hand touched hers on the handle and your other hand touched her butt and she lost focus and fell.
You ran to her and luckily she fell on grass. “You ok Mel?” You asked her and she looked embarrassed and had a pout. “Hey it’s ok. Most people fall the first person they try to pedal on their own.” You tell her. “I did.” You say and she looks at you.
“You did?”
“Ya, and I mastered pedalling by then. They took the training wheels off, I go to pedal, and fell right over.” You say with a laugh and she giggles. You then help her up and she blushes at the fact that you’re touching her. You on the other hand think her pink cheeks are embarrassment from falling. “Want to try again?” You ask her and she thinks, your hands still on her.
“I um, I don’t know.” She says, she can’t think properly with your hands on her.
“It’s ok if you don’t want to continue but I don’t want you to get discouraged because you fell on your first attempt.” You tell her genuinely. She decides to give it another try, and on the fifth attempt she was doing it. You were so proud of her. You ran after her and yelling “MELISSA LOOK YOU’RE DOING IT! OMG I’M SO PROUD OF YOU!” You yell as she’s going faster than you’re running. Melissa got flustered that you said you were proud of her and lost focus and fell.
You caught up to her and she fell on the pavement this time and scraped her hands. You kneeled down as soon as you caught up to her and took her hands in yours to inspect them.
“Oh they don’t look too too bad. But I think you should clean it to avoid infections.” You told her and she was looking at you with flushed cheeks. “What?” You asked her and you gently dropped her hands.
“N-nothing.” She said.
“Um ok.” You say confused. “But Melissa you did it! You rode a bike!” You excitedly told her and hugged her and Melissa froze. You pulled away and saw she looked tense. “Oh sorry, I should have asked to hug you. I’m just very proud of you.” You tell her.
“It’s alright, the hug was actually nice. I’m just not used to physical touch.” She says and looks down.
“I’m sorry.” You tell her and she looks up and gives a smile and whispers to you.
“I rode a bike.” She whispers excitedly and you smile.
“Ya you did. How about we go to my place and I can take a look at your hands and clean them. Unless you want to go back to your place and do it.” You said.
“Um, we could, um go back to yours.” She says, stuttering a bit and you nod.
You manage to get both your bikes in her car, somehow. You biked to the park since it’s only 15 minutes of bike riding away from your house. And you get back to your place and bring Melissa to your apartment. You get her to sit on the couch while you get cloths, a bowl of warm water, disinfectant and some bandaids. You bring them all to your coffee table and get her to hold your hands out. Looks like they were bleeding a bit.
You take one of the cloths and dip it in the water and then you wipe the scrapes on her hands. Once the bleeding stopped and the scrapes looked clean, you grabbed the disinfectant. “This might sting a bit.” You tell her and she nods. You put some on a clothe and wiped her hands. She did flinch a bit but other than that she seemed to be alright. You put a couple bandaids on her scrapes, where it was bleeding, and it looked alright. “Alright did you get hurt anywhere else and Melissa looked at you.
“Um nope.” She told you she avoided eye contact.
“Melissa…” You said and gave her a pointed look.
“I’m fine.” She said. You sat up a bit and adjusted your position on the couch so you’re on one knee.
“Melissa, where else does it hurt?” You asked and she crossed her arms and pouted. “Ok, if you’re gonna act like a child then I’ll treat you like one.” You told her and she looked at you and gasped in disbelief. “Either show me where it hurts or I’ll treat you like a child.”
“It’s one of my knees but I can’t roll up my pants to show you.” She tells you and you look at her with a “oh”.
“Well here.” You say and take the blanket on the end of the couch and cover her top part of the legs. You can take your pants off and still keep your modesty.” You tell her and she chuckles, she still takes her pants off and you see blood dripping down her right leg. “We should have made you wear elbow and knee pads.” You tell her and you get on your knees on the floor and get to cleaning her knee. Melissa sees you get on your knees in front of her and some fantasies make their way to her mind and she blushes. You look up and see her flushed face. “You ok?” You ask and she nods.
“Yep.” She says, voice a bit high pitched but you ignore it. You finish up with a bandaid on her knee. Just when she thinks it’s over, it isn’t.
“Oh I almost forgot!” You exclaim and hold your hair where it is, then bend down and give her a kiss on the knee next to where the bandaid is. She felt your lips on her knee and she blushed even more. “A kiss to make it better! Want me to do the same with your hands?” You asked her and she held out her hands. You kissed both of them better and her cheeks have turned from a pink to a red. You look up at her again and see her red cheeks. “Are you sure you’re ok? Are you running a fever?” You ask and feel her forehead with your palm. Oh if only you knew what you do to her. “You feel fine. I hope you’re not embarrassed, cause you don’t have to be.” You tell her and rest your forearms on her legs.
“Ya I’m…fine.” She said and give her a questioning look. “What?” She asked.
“Melissa? Are you hiding something from me?” You ask her and she avoids eye contact. “What are you hiding from me?” You ask her and you get up and bend over to rest your hands on her legs. And Melissa has a perfect view of down your shirt. She really has to focus on where her eyes look right now.” You notice how she stared at you, well more specifically down your shirt and her cheeks got even redder and avoided eye contact even more. You see how she keeps glancing at your hands near her thighs and she doesn’t know what to do. You decide to test a theory and move your hands subtly up her legs, near to that spot in between her legs and her breath hitches and her face feels like it could be on fire. You lean into her more and look at her eyes. “Melissa, something you’re not telling me?” You ask her with a slightly lower pitch voice and she’s breathing deeply right now. Just when you’re about to pull away, she grabs the back of your head and pulls you forward and gives you a kiss.
You’re stunned for a second but then kiss her back and Melissa is stunned. You’re kissing her back? She pulls back and looks at you and you’re smiling at her with soft heart eyes. “Do you like me back?” She asks you and you nod.
“Wait, does that mean you like me?” You ask her and she nods. And before you know it, both of you are surging forward and kissing each other. You end up straddling her lap and she deepens the kiss by slipping her tongue in when you grant access. Her hands roam all over from your chest to your knees. She feels so much of you and yet can’t feel enough of you. She tests the waters and puts her hands under your shirt and feels the skin on the side of your stomach and you don’t stop her. She roams her hands up and you two take a second to breathe before making out again. She continues to move her hands up and feels you smile. So you realise she’s moving her hands up and you’re happy about it. Does that mean she has your approval to unclip your bra? Just as she finishes that thought you unclip your own bra and she smiles. Just as she was about to go and touch your breasts, her phone rings loudly and it startles both of you.
“Hello?” Melissa answers and forgot to see who it was. She’s breathing a bit fast and you can see she’s trying to control it. So of course you decide to be a little shit and dive to her neck. “Oh Barb hi-i” she squeaks the last part out a bit as you decide to suck on her neck.
“Are you ok?” Barb says on the other line.
“Ya I’m fine, why?” Melissa says and tries to get you to stop but ends up holding your hair and letting you continue as it feels good.
“You sound breathless and like something surprised you.” Barb says gently and Melissa can’t think for a second as you removed your shirt and bra at the same time and she just stares. All she can think about is wanting to suck them. You begin grinding her leg and you nod your head to the phone and she suddenly remembered Barb asked her a question.
“Ya I’m fine just ya catching my breath, I ended up biking with y- y/n to her place since it’s like 20 minutes… instead of the-the 2 hour one you wanted to do. We just got back and I’m… catching mmmy breathe.” She stutters throughout the entire sentence as she just feels and sees you grinding her leg and you ended up leaning towards her so your breasts are almost in her face. You were torturing her and she knew it.
“You need to catch your breath after a 20 minute bike ride?” Barb asks and Melissa is really cursing in her head.
You decide to end her torture and grab the phone from her. “Hey Barb it’s y/n.” You say and Melissa decides to grab your breasts with her mouth and you pull the phone away from your mouth enough so that Barb doesn’t hear it.
“Oh hi y/n, is Melissa ok?” Barb asks.
“Mmhhmm.” You say since Melissa is teasing you now. “She’s alright, just she did 20 minutes to my place then 20 minutes back to her ca! Car.” You say as Melissa decides to rub your clit through your underwear and pants. “Ya so she’s fine.” You blurt out and hand the phone back to Melissa.
“Hey Barb, I caught my breath.” And Melissa is still rubbing your clit so you can’t tease her right now. You don’t pay attention to what Barb says and then hear Melissa talk again. “Ok, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” Melissa says then hangs up. “You.
Little. Minx.” She says to you and you smile. She rolls her eyes at you then pulls her hand away from your clit and you whine. She sits up with you still on her, your legs wrapped around her waist and her hand grabbing your ass. She brings you to your bed with you sucking her neck and then drops you on the bed.
“Ah.” You say as she actually dropped you on purpose. She crawls on top of you and leans in to your ear.
“You were a great teacher with me for biking. Now let me show you how I pleasure a woman.” She tells you and you shiver and rub your thighs together. She notices how you react and she smirks, she pulls back and looks at you. “And when I teach, I like for the person to tell me how well I’m doing.” She tells you and then takes her shirt and bra off and then makes you breathless all night.
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tobiasdrake · 2 days
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Thinking about redemption yesterday got me thinking about fallen heroes today, and how rare it is to see a character initially painted as a hero be driven to heinousness for legitimate reasons.
Often times, if a hero goes bad, it's because of an external force corrupting their mind. Or it's a misunderstanding and they were secretly still good all along. Or they were just having a rough day and they'll be good again in five minutes.
We rarely see get to see heroes go sour purely on their own merits. Maybe because their values weren't so benign as they'd seemed when pushed to a natural conclusion. Maybe because they expected too much of themselves or of others. Or maybe personal experience taught them to believe something else.
Whatever the case, as often as writers will attempt to examine the transformative power of better angels, we rarely get to see the transformative power of worse devils.
Which brings me to....
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Sayaka Miki is a character that holds a special place in my heart, not for overcoming her flaws but for being consumed by them. She's a cautionary tale into the perils of righteousness.
I need to preface this by bringing up that the characters of Madoka Magica are children. They're irrational, judgmental, ignorant of risk, and quick to throw themselves into horrible mistakes with absolute confidence. Because they're children. That's how this works. The villain of the series is a psychological predator who feeds on the impulsivity and poor judgment of youth, grooming them into self-destruction.
The entire system of Magical Girls exists to give these children enough rope to hang themselves with and then to kick the ladder out from under them. That is the plot, with Sayaka being the primary means by which the show demonstrates the complete journey from rope to ladder.
I just. I need you to understand that even at her worst, Sayaka is a victim of predatory incentives and calculated coercions meant to cultivate her worst traits while stripping her of hopes and dreams. To drown her in mistakes she could never take back. She didn't have the life experience to know better. That's why her predator targets children.
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Sayaka's rope is woven from virtuous self-image. It's not immediately apparent when we meet her, but Sayaka's fatal flaw is ego. Her moral compass is wound extremely tight, and it's only later that we realize it's wound around her neck.
Like many children, Sayaka is trying on an identity moreso than expressing her inner self. She wants to be altruistic. She wants to be selfless. She wants to be a true hero. She wants to live by nothing more than high-minded ideals, expecting no reward for her efforts (but receiving it all the same).
She wants to be the kind of person that Mami was.
But she has no idea who Mami was. She wasn't there to see Mami fracture. To see her break down in vulnerability and express the isolating misery she lives in.
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Sayaka didn't see that. She only saw how cool Mami looked when she was killing Witches. So when she tries on an identity, she's specifically trying on the identity of Mami - blissfully unaware that her interpretation of Mami was nothing but a mask. She is emulating the behavior of a victim already consumed by the predatory incentives she's accepting.
Sayaka was doomed from the moment she made her wish.
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Once again, the show does a brilliant job of concealing this at first. Right off the bat, it's easy for Sayaka to be the hero. She saves both her BFFs Madoka and Hitomi from a Witch in her debut adventure, before being immediately thrust into a moral argument that's super easy for her to win.
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This is what a hero looks like! Should we stand by and let monsters eat people YES/NO
Sayaka says no. Sayaka says letting monsters eat people is bad. Solid Bioware-level moral dilemma she's got here. Sayaka won +10 Paragon points for the choices she picked out of this conversation tree, lemme tell you!
Moments like this work to disguise what's going on here with Sayaka. Obviously Sayaka's making good choices and doing the right thing when the alternative is Kyoko going "Want me to break your crush's limbs so he needs you for life support?" That's awful, so since Sayaka's against it then that means she must be right. Right?
Kyoko is the devil. Sayaka is the paragon.
But this is a story about nuanced and complex people. Sayaka isn't that person. Sayaka likes the idea of being that person. She's being dishonest - With herself, with others around her, and with the universe.
She's trying on an identity, not fully understanding who she really is or what her limitations are.
Incidentally, so is Kyoko, which is what makes their Yin and Yang dichotomy so potent. Having never been tested like this before, Sayaka is more selfish than she truly understands - While Kyoko, damaged by trauma, is more selfless than she wants to believe.
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The thing Sayaka doesn't quite grasp is that, to an extent, it's okay to be selfish. It's okay to want things for yourself. Again, the identity she's trying to live up to was a lie to begin with. She only saw the mask; Never the humanity underneath. So she fails to recognize her own humanity; Her own needs and wants and desires.
She imprisons her own mind in a cage of altruism.
Sayaka is warned multiple times against spending her wish on another person. But she doesn't understand the perils of it. She lacks the necessary perspective to grasp the level of sacrifice she's making. (Because she is a child. I cannot stress this point enough.)
When she makes her wish, Sayaka wants her sacrifice reciprocated. She wants to be rewarded. But she doesn't want to want that. She wants to be the selfless hero for Kyosuke. To silently grant him a miracle because it's the right thing to do for her friend. But she expects, without consciously thinking about it, that the universe will deliver her nice things because she is good.
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But life doesn't work like that. It doesn't give you things you aren't willing to reach for. Sayaka said she just wanted him to be happy. She just wanted to help people. She just wanted to dedicate her life to virtue and altruism, with no wants or needs or desires of her own.
Kyoko was being cruel and unfeeling when she suggested crippling Kyosuke; She was trying to express a mask of selfishness, the same way Sayaka's been trying to express a mask of selflessness. But she wasn't the only person telling Sayaka that it was a mistake to do this. She's just the only person who said it after the fact.
So the universe calls her bluff. While Sayaka waits for her sacrifices to be rewarded, fracturing more and more from learning what those sacrifices truly entail, someone else claims her prize. The work gets harder, not just physically but emotionally. And she only gets what she asked for. Nothing more.
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This is what a hero looks like. She wanted to be Mami.
Remind me. What was Mami's reward for her sacrifices?
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Oh. Yeah. That's right.
The thing of it is, there is a reward for a Magical Girl's sacrifices. There is a prize you're meant to receive for the unjust hardships and self-destruction that you're volunteering to undertake.
It's the fucking wish.
That she, in her righteousness, gave away.
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Sayaka's rope is woven from virtuous self-image. Her fatal flaw is ego. She was undone by arrogance expressed in ignorance, not of glory the way we often think of egotistic people, but of righteousness. She held herself to a standard no reasonable person could ever live up to, and it crushed her as it came crashing down.
And yet, she was a victim all the same. Because she was walked, hand-in-hand, to that pier by a predator. Children are meant to learn from their mistakes. Not to die for them.
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melrosing · 3 days
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Do you think Jaime sincerely regrets what he does to Bran despite only thinking of it once?
ya of course. I think something that maybe needs to be said more often (particularly regarding Jaime’s POV but also broadly applies to others) is that you are not always going to see a character doing the workings that lead them from point A to point B. you have to fill in some of the gaps yourself and surmise the changes in thinking that have taken place offscreen.
The Jaime and Bran thing is a good example of this. we can gather from the scene in which the push takes place that this isn’t something Jaime wanted to do, but felt compelled to: he helps Bran up when he initially falls, and when he asks Bran his age etc a reader can gather when rereading the scene that this is Jaime trying to make time as he deliberates what he’s going to do next. then ‘the things I do for love’ is said with ‘loathing’. already we have plenty to determine that Jaime was not happy w this line of action, but felt he needed to take it.
then we get the AGOT-early ASOS scenes where Jaime comes across as a cut and dry villain and does nothing to help himself, half-jesting to Bran’s own mother about what he did and demonstrating no remorse whatsoever. shocking on first read but a rereader should be able to go back based on what they learn of Jaime later on and realise that he talks differently to what he feels, and maintains this darkly careless front specifically to avoid digging up his true feelings on difficult subjects. this is made apparent over and over again.
then there’s a big gap where Bran is neither mentioned nor thought about by Jaime, when suddenly right towards the end of the book he declares himself ashamed of what he did. so now the reader realises that Jaime has been thinking about what he did, even whilst we haven’t read those thoughts. and then looking at how the act was performed in the first place, we can realise he’s always been ashamed of what he did, has just been telling himself and others differently for his own complex reasons.
I think there are a lot of people who can’t accept that character work sometimes takes place off the page as well as on it, and a character won’t always declare every step they take in a new direction, but sometimes a certain line here or there will tell you that that work has been taking place. if executed well, this is just good writing: it’s boring having the writer spell everything out for you, good books should feel like you’re working with the writer to build the full story.
a lot of people do want it spelt out though lol, you see that a lot with discussions re Jaime, because I’d say he’s maybe the most ‘show don’t tell’ character in the series. and like I always say this isn’t fuckin Paradise Lost or whatever you do not need a degree to crack it but idk like. reading is a skill?? spend any amount of time in asoiaf fandom and truly u will realise that some people just. well they haven’t honed that skill yet lol
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val-of-the-north · 2 days
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A small detail of the Kindred of Rot
At some point I was made aware of a very easy-to-miss detail on one of the enemies of Elden Ring. I must thank Zlofsky from Twitter for this. The detail in question is this [x]
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(Here's the version for those who don't want to use the link)
As you can see, the Kindred of Rot can have this peculiar red "spike" protruding from the back of their heads. I had not heard many people actually talk about this detail in length, but I heard it posited that it was actually found only on the Pests that Gowry takes over, and that it was some sort of parasitic mushroom, like the one that infests ants in the real world. The idea was very compelling and fit the theme of the Scarlet Rot neatly, so I eventually decided to verify it. Sure enough, the spike was there after his borrowed Pest body died.
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So yeah, that's it then! It was all Gowry and he was actually some sort of parasitic mushroom all along! To consolidate the discovery, I decided to kill another Kindred of Rot in Caelid. That proved to make things more complicated than I first thought, as after the fight I realized it ALSO had the weird red spike on the back of its head!
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So I thought maybe it's all the ones in Caelid, because Gowry can choose from all of them as the next host. Sounds reasonable right? So I went to check in Elphael instead, to see if this theory was true, only to be met with other corpses sporting the red spike. I started thinking that maybe the variant MISSING the red thing was actually the uncommon one, until I found a gentlebug who did not aggro even as I stood pretty close. There I could finally see that he did not have one! And later on, I found another one that I could avoid aggroing, and sure enough, it also didn't have the red spike.
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And when killed, both sprouted that red thing too!
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So what is their deal? It's clearly not tied to Gowry at this rate, but it's also such an insignificant detail that I could not help but wonder about... so I decided to do some final testing. I went back to Caelid and found a chilling Kindred of Rot. It would be my test subject. Here's its neck states in order:
Idle - No Spike
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Getting Up - No Spike
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Start of Aggro - Spike
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During Aggro - Spike (this was hellish to get)
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Dead - Spike
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So in conclusion, the red spike seems to only appear when the Kindred of Rot initiates a fight. This still doesn't tell us anything concrete, BUT it does leave some room for speculation. Maybe it's just some kind of organ or antenna that pops up when they are distressed or aggravated (though it's noticeably absent in the young ones). Maybe it truly is a parasitic mushroom, using the Pests as soldiers and making them attack us against their will.
Whatever the case may be, I had never seen anyone really talk about this design element before, so I thought it was worth putting it out there. Maybe it can help someone with their theories.
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The Tommy timeline is making me insane
We know the 911 writers are REALLY crap about timelines. I mean, just within the Eddie Begins episode there are several dates that just don't add up. I love those writers, but they can't even count to 10, lol.
Tommy was never supposed to come back, so him being in his late 20s-ish in 2005 when Chim joins the 118 was of no consequence, but now that Tommy is back, that makes it really difficult to say how old he really is.
Some people have speculated that he's 45, but I find that too old. Lou was born in Nov 1984, which makes him 39 currently. I could see Tommy being 1-2 years older than that AT MOST.
So let's say Tommy was born in early 1983 and go from there.
He would have started school at 6.5 and finished HS at 18 years old in 2001. Which means he could have joined the army that year and started training to be a helicopter pilot.
There's a program called "From Street to Seat", also sometimes called "High school to Flight School", so that is a possibility. Training would have been around 2 - 2.5 years until he'd achieved the rank of Warranty Officer and be a fully trained helicopter pilot in late 2003. After that, you have to enlist for TEN years at minimum to repay them getting you through flight school.
At that point, the US had entered the war in Afghanistan and just started the one in Iraq.
Tommy could have been stationed anywhere in the US, or been deployed to one of those countries, or at first, as a still very young officer, been deployed to an allied country like Germany. In the early 2000s, there were many bases in Germany where US soldiers were stationed, only serving short missions in Afghanistan or Iraq. So that's an option if we don't want him to be permanently stationed inside a war zone.
Now, how did young Tommy leave the army early so he ended up being a firefighter just two years later?
Well, there's always medical discharge, but if it was for any injury, him already being a member of the team (and by the looks of it no longer a probie) in 2005 is a bit tight. He'd have to recover from his injury, then apply, then be accepted, do the basic training at the academy (18 weeks) and his probie year... so yeah, that's really a very tight timeline.
Another option would have been Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Back then, army members could not be actively asked if they're gay and therefore fired for it, but if they voluntarily disclosed/confirmed it, they would be kicked out.
If he was lucky (and probably the version I'm going for in my fic), and had a very lenient superior officer, he might be offered medical discharge for depression. Usually, that can get you out of the army pretty quickly.
So, to recap:
Born between Jan/June 1983
Finished high school summer 2001, joined the army
Finished flight school in fall 2003, was deployed somewhere or in service in the US
Found out/discharged in early 2004
Started LAFD academy in summer/fall 2004
Started his probie year end of 2004
Just finished it when Chimney joined in (should be late) 2005, at now 22 years old.
Still an incredibly tight timeline, and I wish Chim joining had been more like 2007 or so, but alas. It works.
You are welcome.
And I need to lie down. God I hate inconsistent timelines, lol.
Oh and I just looked it up, and apparently you're only a probie for 6 months at the LAFD, so I guess that makes it a little easier.
I mean, if you shift things around a little, you could even make him only 40 now, born in summer 1983 instead of early. Maybe he was initially gifted and able to enroll in school at just barely 6 years old.
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girlbloggercrowley · 8 months
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i am a believer in the s3 1941 kiss
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dutybcrne · 3 months
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Forever love the idea of Kae being an absolute nerd once you get to know him. Dude acts all suave and charming, then upon getting home, his time is most preferred spent reading the latest rec Jean’s given him with a cup of tea in hand and a plushy tucked under his chin. Or is constantly abt .5 seconds away from infodumping or smth, esp the more he gets attached to sb.
#hc; kaeya#//Sb in the knights brings up an obscure fact & Kae has to restrain himself from dumping MORE on the subject#//And/or giddily making plans to investigate it with Lisa later first chance he gets#//I love the idea of him Immediately after finding out Jean loves romance stories; he tries his hand at penning one under an alias#//Then subtly suggests it to her; and just Anxiously awaits what she thinks#//It’s canon that he does love making up stories so; so much#//Dude loves learning things; and the more he likes the person sharing/is intrigued by them; the more he’d wanna#//Love the idea of him specifically learning all abt things his favorite like just to have the connection with them#//Only to genuinely end up interested in the subject for himself and his own whims too; sometimes obsessing more than them initially#//Also loves collecting things; if I remember correct#//Has a lil stash of things he would LOVE to ramble on and in abt given the chance#//In my mind; it’s either collected feathers of birds he’s found over the years#//Or it’s dried/pressed flowers he’s managed to acquire through various means#//Maybe even both#//Do like the latter tho#//Maybe the feathers thing was something he started with Luc as kids; then kept to it out of nostalgia#//Then the plants was just his own interest throughout his journey with his dad before being left at Dawn Winery#//Everything he had collected in a little bag or hastily pressed in a book before an showed him to properly#//Wants to go back and get new flowers so they look prettier now that he actually knows how to preserve them#//And to learn abt them from people who ACTUALLY know them best; not just from books
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awogga · 10 months
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people are getting into discourse over whether or not gwen can be considered canonically trans in spiderverse since it’s mostly only evident through visual cues and genuinely from the bottom of my heart i am ready to accept it as canon except for one glaring issue: her conservative police captain father so gracefully accepting her gender identity and pronouns is really stretching my suspension of belief
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tardis--dreams · 9 months
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I should call the doctor's office *calls, in tears* *they don't pick up* oh thank GOD above- i should call the doctor's office *shaking and throwing up while calling* *they don't pick up* oh hell yeah! I should call the doctor's office *calling* please don't pick up please don't pick up please don't pick up ple *they don't pick up* I'm so happy rn! Aw fuck i still need to call the doctor's office though ㅠㅠ *they don't pick up* ah well i tried my best I'll just ask in person on friday when I'm there anyway (((:
My mother: *shakes head disappointedly*
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awek-s-archived · 1 year
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my mom n her bf have an interesting financial agreement in place now it’s kinda making me seethe w rage
#let me explain bc I can’t rage to anyone enough abt this it’s crazy#so he moved in a year ago.. maybe a few months after they started seeing each other. he was rly hyping himself up to us about how he’s like#sooo hardworking around the house and he is generous w money etc#not why my mom started dating him btw like she has her own rented council house and makes more money#but he has 2K saved up bc he prefers alcohol and smoking to eating. more on that later.#so they had kind of an initial agreement of sharing financial responsibility that essentially ended with#my mom paying the rent. the bills. the gas. the electricity. the weekly food shopping. anything else the bf wanted while they were out#bc he didn’t pay for it himself he would just add it to her basket and make her pay#meanwhile he pays monthly bills for his car which amount to smth like £200-£400 a month. he makes that in a week.#and whenever his son asks for money he sends it. his son is 20yo and doesn’t WANT to work btw.#he CAN but CHOOSES NOT TO. he lives in Bournemouth which is a huge tourist city and there’s jobs round every corner.#meanwhile the bf smokes HER cigarettes and downs a 1L bottle of whiskey in 2 days#pays for nothing#obviously my moms not ok w this arrangement#so she was like ok. starting the new financial year (april 2023) we are literally gna split everything up. bc it’s not normal that she pays#everythjng as if he’s her child not her literal boyfriend who is almost 50yo#especially since like if he does happen to have to pay smth he always asks for the money back 🤨#so my mom. fairly. asked him if they should split rent and bills into 2 (them two) or 3 (me included)#making sure to specify I’m a full time student and don’t have a job rn#and he was like split it into 3 and you pay his share#when I heard I was like ????? AINT NO WAY u think that’s fair. because he had said before that if his son lived here he wouldn’t be making#him pay rent. but he wants ME to.#so it’s definitely some kind of payback tactic at my mom for actually making him help around the house financially#by the way I’ve always told my mom that when I make money if I’m still living here I’ll pay rent. no questions asked. since that’s fair and#I’m an adult. i have given money for bills before when I was more stable financially than I am now#I’ve bought medications and other things. I’ve contributed more actually than HE has w my student finance and odd job payments#and my kofi donations mostly go to household things even if ppl who donate rly want me to get stuff for myself 😭#anyway and so my mom was like ok since we are being fair and u want me to pay 2 shares#u send ur son £50-£150 every week so Alex can get that too#will cont—
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abysalm · 1 year
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Why does it hurt so much...
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I'm watching Jojo with my boyfriend (I barely remember anything at all) and discovering me and Okuyasu's brains ring at the same frequency as I continue to mumble his lines before he even says them. Earnestly
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fuckyeahisawthat · 2 months
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Controversial opinion among Dune book fans maybe, but I loved the changes they made to Chani's character. Making her a fedaykin who is already an experienced fighter before Paul arrives was a brilliant choice. Dune Part Two is a war movie, and this puts her at the center of the action, side by side with Paul, and gives her a much more active role than she has in the book.
We got a hint of where things were going in the beginning of Dune Part One. The first thing we ever know about movie Chani is that she's a fighter. She serves as a voice for the Fremen, telling us the story of their struggle from her point of view. I wrote here about the difference this change makes compared to other adaptations of Dune, what a perspective shift it is to have the world of Arrakis introduced not by an outsider, describing it as a dangerous but valuable colonial prize, but by one of its native inhabitants, who tells us before all else that it's beautiful, her home that she's fighting to liberate. I am so, so glad that the second movie followed up on this characterization.
I never found Chani and Paul's love story in the book particularly convincing, because why would this woman, who already has a prominent and respected place in Fremen society, even give the time of day to her deposed would-be colonizer, let alone fall in love and have children with him? Without a compelling reason for Chani to love Paul, she ends up feeling like a prize to be won, and "indigenous culture personified as a woman to be wooed (or conquered) by the colonizing man" is a trope we've seen and don't need to repeat.
But as soon as you tell me it's a barricade romance I get it. Cool cool cool, I know exactly what this relationship is now and it makes sense. Movie Chani doesn't respect or even particularly like Paul when she first meets him, and she doesn't think he's the fulfillment of any prophecy. She comes to respect him, and eventually love him, through his actions. He's brave--sometimes recklessly so. He fights well. He's willing to stick his neck out on the front lines with the other Fremen fighters. He can (after a little help) hack surviving in the harsh desert environment. He's not too proud to learn from others. He seems to genuinely want to be her equal in a common political struggle. All these qualities make sense as things she values.
Fighting side by side as equals is just about the only way I can see movie Chani falling for Paul. And it fits perfectly with the film's pattern of reversals that Paul's capacity for violence would initially be one of the things Chani likes about him, only for her to be repelled later when she sees what he becomes.
And as for Paul, well, he's had people deferring to him his entire life. Someone who doesn't take any shit from him is probably refreshing. He seems to like people (Duncan, Gurney) who challenge him and engage in a little friendly teasing--and aren't afraid to go a few rounds in the sparring ring.
It's easy to speedrun a romance when you're spending all your time together in mortal danger fighting for a shared political cause. Especially if you then start winning in a war your people have been fighting for decades. Are you kidding me? That is the perfect environment for intense battle camaraderie to turn into romantic love, and lust.
It makes sense that this version of Chani never believes Paul is any kind of messiah. Of course a character like movie Chani wouldn't believe in or trust some outside savior to liberate them. She's been working to liberate her own people for years. The more Paul invokes the messianic myth, the more he starts sounding once again like someone who plans to rule over them, and the more uncomfortable Chani becomes. In this way she becomes a foil to Jessica, the two of them representing the choices Paul is pulled between. It's a great way of externalizing the political and philosophical debates that often happen within characters' heads in the book.
And of course this version of Chani would leave Paul at the end of the film. It's not just the personal, emotional betrayal--although that stings. What common cause does she have with someone who just declared himself emperor and is sending her own people off in a war of conquest against others? Given the important role she plays in Dune Messiah, I am super curious to see how they get her back into the story, but girl was so valid for being willing to just gtfo. Given that she has the last shot of the whole movie, I'm sure she'll be back somehow, and I can't wait to see what they do with her character in any future installments.
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certifiedfreec · 4 months
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i feel like there would be some subtle signs that ghost took an interest in you…
- one time you were showing him something on the computer, and he took that massive 6’4” body of his and leaned it right over your shoulder to read the screen. as if that wasn’t close enough, he rested one of his big ‘ol calloused hands on the desk beside you, effectively caging you into your seat. you could practically feel the warmth that radiated off of him when he did that. (he really likes the smell of your shampoo, by the way.)
- he watched you make your coffee one morning, memorizing your order down to the number of sugar packets you used. after that, you’d head down to make your morning cup and all the exact ingredients would mysteriously be laid out on the counter for you. he’d pick on you later about drinking coffee instead of tea, though. maybe he’ll make you a cup for you to try- back in his own office, of course ;)
- everyone in tf141 knows you’re a perfectly capable soldier, so they think it’s odd that ghost always finds ways to provide extra backup for you during missions. guarding you from danger, making sure your area is clear of threats…he can’t help but want to protect and take care of his fellow teammate, though he has a list of other ways he’d like to take care of you :’)
i feel like there would be some subtle signs that keegan took an interest in you…
- he saw your phone screen after training one day, immediately zeroing in on the artist you were listening to. later that evening he casually brings up the exact same band/person, because he’s coincidentally one of their biggest fans! maybe he’ll ask you to go to one of their shows when you’re off duty… looks like you’ve found yourself a concert buddy ;)
- he bullies you, but it’s with the best intentions. it’s more like him relentlessly nagging at you until you match his snarky energy and give him some sass back, which he loves to provoke from you. you always have the best comebacks when he uses his dry humor on you, and he thinks it’s adorable. he definitely likes to push your buttons, but he’d like to undo them even more <3
- ever since he revealed your “shared love” for your favorite artist, he sends you music recommendations for you to listen to (that will hopefully make you think of him whenever you hear them!). pay attention to the lyrics, because he might be trying to tell you something with them… :))
i feel like there would be some subtle signs that graves took an interest in you…
- if you have any snacks or candy on you, he’s nonchalantly stepping right beside you and doing that “underhand-behind-the-back” gesture for you to shake some into his palm. (sometimes he imagines that’s what your lips taste like- omg who said that???)
- he let you wear his jacket during an operation where you were in the freezing cold outside for an extensive amount of time. he watched you shiver through your orders, trying your best to be a good soldier for him :( he walked up to you and draped his shadow company jacket over your shoulders (which smelled deliciously like him) and flashed you that toothy grin. “you look like you’re ‘bout to get frostbite, soldier. take this.” (he was definitely thinking of some other ways that he could warm you up…)
- he took his time when he read through your file, and wow, it looks like your city’s professional football team rivals his. it’s the perfect way to initiate banter with you. he’ll be giving you a hard time about it for sure, and maybe he’ll make some interesting bets with you depending on how well the season’s going ;)
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