#// doesn't matter if we have a thread going or not either

[mermaidsirennikita]

frustrating levels of discourse continue happening on twt ugh https://x.com/lara_e_brown/status/1839303817256645101

Lol yeah, I've honestly just given up on reading takes like that because once you've seen one, you've seen 'em all.

It's an extremely shallow reading, using things like "pale", which you can in fact be while having a darker complexion, with both examples relating less to a physical appearance and more to his aspect in the moment (his face is "white" because he's scared; he's "pale and effeminate" because he's in a wan and weakened state). And I say "both" because you tend to come up with faaaar fewer examples of the text relating Heathcliff as pale than... not.

I also find it funny that this user uses Heathcliff marrying Isabella as an example of why he MUST be white, when Heathcliff and Isabella literally run away together because nobody wants them to be together, PARTICULARLY her brother, and this rips the Linton family asunder. Almost as if.......... it was............... breaking a taboo......................

Like, yeah! 18th century Yorkshire wouldn't have accepted that marriage. And if there's one thing we know about Heathcliff—if it's not accepted, he's not gonna do it.

One of the entire points of his character is that he lives against law and taboo and societal norms (while at the same time being deeply aware of the fact that his existence doesn't gel with them). In that thread, that user references the Byronic hero, with the name drawing from Lord Byron and his own literary fascinations. Byron was obsessed with taboo, lived to break them (most famously the taboo of sleeping with people of the same sex, and probably the taboo of incest as well... COME TO MY TED TALK TO DISCUSS HOW THAT COULD RELATE TO HEATHCLIFF, ALSO). One of the reasons why more recent scholarship (and I don't even mean super recent) surrounding Wuthering Heights has come to terms with the interpretation of Heathcliff as a man of color is that he does embody the taboo even more.

And obviously... some taboos (the incest one) exist for a reason. But the book also seems interested in questioning how much we really gain by treating someone (someone like Heathcliff) as other and wrong simply for existing. Again, we go into the cycle of abuse.

I also find it rather belittling of people to refer to general 18th and 19th century values when discussing how people "would have" seen Heathcliff, or interpreted the text. Because, for one thing—yeah! A lot of contemporary readers did not in fact Get It. Perhaps in part because they did have the biases that people like that user seem to believe would have prevented the author from exploring Heathcliff as a man of color.

... But if Emily Bronte thought exactly as the detractors of her novel (who condemned it as wicked and aberrant) did, she never would have written the book, I think. Who's to say, though? It's difficult for EITHER side to make leaps about what Emily knew or thought, because she is someone who didn't live very long, has been portrayed as an eccentric (and perhaps even maligned by Elizabeth Gaskell's portrayal of her) and definitely had something of an offbeat upbringing. We just don't have much directly from HER. So it's a bit rich to me to make assumptions about the kind of limited worldview she may have had on topics like race, when we really do not have a lot of definitive information about her worldview, but DO know that the book she wrote, which some theorize to be about a man of color, REALLY upset some conventional readers.

Like... why would you contextualize that book within a purely conventional reading when the entire reason why Wuthering Heights matters is that it defies convention?

I do shy away from using the word "canonical" to describe Heathcliff's race, because while I know what people mean when they say it (and I'm sure I've said it at some point) it's just a word choice that people like that user will latch on to. Like I've said before, there is no way to prove with 100% certainty Heathcliff's race either way. Which isn't to say that you have to do so to state that he's a man of color. It's just the kind of pedantic strategy people will use in threads like these.

And I'll notice, too, that she omits Nelly's line wherein she speculates that Heathcliff's mother could be Chinese or Indian. I mean, what's her take on that specificity combined with the lascar speculation? No mention of Liverpool relating to people... not... from America or Spain...?

I do worry sometimes that people see someone's major concentration (say, if someone has a BA in English or something, which for the record I don't) and go "Damn, that's end-all, be-all" A) it's not, there's more to research than getting a degree B) you could also use literal wikipedia footnotes to kickstart your own deeper dive into this, there are tons of people who've made careers discussing books like WH debating the issue C) having a degree of any level never kicks your bias.

To go back to my own degree... I knew old art historians who saw nothing gay at all in Michelangelo's work. You can know a lot about a lot, and it doesn't mean you have an open mind.

I think anyone can read WH, do some research about the era and Emily, and drawn their own conclusions. And you are just going to have to make your conclusions based on your own assessment. There is no smoking gun here, and there never will be because the smoking gun would be a living Emily Bronte willingly telling you what she meant.

And I didn't read Heathcliff as a person of color from the jump, for the record. I was thirteen when I read that book for the first time; I'm white; I picked that book in the context of it being a Great English Classic, and as far as I knew, those were all about white people. Because... that's what you were taught about WH at the time, at least where I was.

But when I was first introduced to that interpretation some time later, it was a literal "OH!" moment. Because like... yeah. There isn't a smoking gun for Dorian Gray's sexuality (and yes, we know a lot more about Oscar Wilde than we do about Emily Bronte; but the absence of knowledge of Emily's interests and attitudes doesn't mean we can assume she DIDN'T have an interest in writing Heathcliff as a person of color) but The Picture of Dorian Gray makes way more sense when you interpret his queerness for what it is. Wuthering Heights makes way more sense when you interpret Heathcliff's race for what it is.

[fratboycipher]

obligatory welcome guide for redditors

A lot of the guides I've seen don't actually seem to understand how reddit works in comparison to tumblr so

your blog is basically your own small subreddit. some people curate this heavily to fit a theme, like a sub, most people don't

reblogs are culturally equivilant to upvotes but functionally equvilant to crossposting

there is an algorithm. it sucks and nobody uses it. turn it off in settings. everything is generally chronological

likes are functionally equivilant to saving a post

you've probably already seen this but change your icon and put something in your bio or people WILL assume you're a bot. personal info not required

generally, anything you would put as a comment on a thread should go in the tags or the replies of a post. only add comments in reblogs if you want it to become part of the base post

tags are mostly equivilant to flairs, used for organization and commentary

your dashboard is an aggregation of everyone you follow

there is an r/all equivilant(trending page) but it sucks and nobody uses it

our search also sucks. your best bet is using tumblr.com/tagged/[TAG] and not /search

there are no mods

by extension, reporting something doesn't put it in front of the mods, it sends it to staff, who may or may not do anything(usually they don't)

there is no karma, there are no karma limits. anyone can reblog anything, comment/reply to anything, or post in any tag

"reposting"(reblogging) old content doesn't matter. people can and will reblog the same post multiple times, including in a row

CAVEAT. reposting someones art(NOT reblogging, making a new post) is a dick move. i know this is commonplace on fandom subs but its not necessary here. everything you post should be [OC] unless you are reblogging. or posting shitty memes

we have our own sitelore, you'll pick it up

(though im not opposed to bringing some over from reddit)

our app also sucks. we do not have third party apps and any that claim to be are scams. sorry

for desktop, most people use the XKit Rewritten extension for QoL improvements and to revert shitty aesthetic updates, much like old.reddit

we have no idea where the porn rules are at either. add a mature content flag to anything you'd get fired for looking at at work, that's about it

finally, from the bottom of my heart, fuck u/spez

[theoutcastrogue]

That said, the D&D 3.5 Paladin was bad. It was badly designed, it had bad rules, and in conjunction with the other notoriously bad rule, alignment, it could cause havoc.

Now personally, I never had ANY problems with it in my tabletop games. I played paladins and loved it, and I loved it when other people played paladins, and it was great. But that's because, collectively as a group, we took ONE look at that terrible rule where the paladin's code of conduct prevents them from associating with Evil characters or "someone who consistently offends her moral code", and immediately went, "that's stupid, we ain't doing that, it would ruin the game".

We also didn't love the concept of alignment as a cosmic force, and didn't care for Usually Evil Goblins and Always Evil anything. And when a class's signature ability fully depends on whether creatures are capital E Evil, well that affects storytelling, doesn't it? But we all saw it the same way, and we were happily able to change it without any disagreements. In the end we had a Paladin… similar to 5e now that I think of it: completely ignore the Code's association clause, tailor the Code to personal stance or a specific Order, Detect only fiends and undead and the like, Smite anything you want, Fall only if you really fuck up, and never presume that just because you haven't Fallen yet everything you've ever done is justified and correct and anyone who disagrees with you is objectively wrong.

Basically, there were 2 options in 3.5. You either houseruled and/or handwaved things, and in matters of alignment interpretations erred on the side of "what makes the game go",

OR, you played with Rules As Written, and filled the forums with questions like "should the paladin fall?" (one such thread per week, conservatively), "we got into a fight over the Paladin, what to do?", "is it Evil to pick pockets? because we have a Paladin in the party", "the Assassin uses poison, shouldn't that offend my moral code?", and shit like that. Just... pointless strife, all the time. Again, never happened to me, but I was appalled to read about it, over and over and over.

People got intense with 3.5 Paladins (both pro and against) because it was BADLY DESIGNED and had BAD RULES. Its mechanics forced narrative choices on the entire table, and the only way to make it frictionless was having a party where no one wishes to explore a character's bad side ever, no one does things that aren't bad but WotC branded Evil™ in this or that splatbook, and everyone magically agrees all the time on "what is right and what is wrong" and "what is Lawful and what is Chaotic", which is simply impossible. The most subjective thing in the world (ethics!) was presented as an objective cosmic force, and how you interpreted it would determine how much damage the Paladin deals in combat, and whether the Paladin could keep associating with the party, and if the Paladin is still a Paladin. And all that in a game, let's not forget, whose basic, fundamental premise is "kill things and take their stuff". I'm sorry, this is tremendously stupid. It's the WORST design.

I know that for some people it worked as written, and good for them, but for the many many people it didn't work, well it's obvious why.

[bowtiepastabitch]

Here's the deal on the Good Omens limbo situation. My optimistic and analytic two cents, if you will.

If we look at this through a capitalistic lens, the chances of the show being cancelled are pretty slim at the moment. Think for a moment about the top three amazon prime originals that you pay/keep the platform for. Can you think of three? I honestly can't, not off the top of my head. I know I'm not really the target audience for streaming services, since I don't watch a lot of new shows, but still. I can name plenty of netflix shows I like/might watch. That's why Netflix can cancel anything and everything so easy. They don't have just one or two fandom cash cows.

Amazon, though, doesn't have a lot. Here's a list of all their original shows. I only even recognize 8 titles. I've only actually watched 2. Plus, Good Omens is currently one of the biggest fandoms in fandom right now, with Aziracrow being the top ship on ao3 for the Jan-Dec 2023 wrap up and again on the Summer 2024 leaderboard, as well as the top ship on tumblr and Good Omens as the top tv show (plus second overall after Artists on Tumblr) for 2023. We're a big deal, and I'd bet money that they're betting money on us. I also lowkey think we're the reason Amazon is spending money on a british miniseries starring Michael Sheen tbh but that's just speculation. The show has also won a slew of awards, the same of which cannot, to my knowledge, be said of many of their other properties.

So let's talk production changes; I think there's a good chance they're doing this for the same reason. Our fandom had unique access to the creator via tumblr, and a majority of the conversation around the allegations of SA against Gaiman were and are taking place in fandom spaces. There have been petitions to fire him from the show and conversations (both productive and otherwise) about the duties of fandom when engaging with content connected to problematic individuals. Meanwhile, Gaiman has effectively dissappeared from the internet. Additionally, the video and threads sharing that Terry Pratchett wrote most of the original book have been making the rounds here and I think on the bird app(?). All that to say, if they're betting on us they want to make us happy and keep their good PR. I don't ever expect a major corporation to make a "good" decision, but they will always make the profitable one.

There is, of course, also the matter of the Pratchett estate and the other major players in the matter: the actors, directors, and creative team. These are forces at play with the power to block or stall productivity and profit for Amazon through copyright and labor power. I can imagine there's conversations happening backstage that we don't know about as well as what we see in headlines.

Ultimately, I think the biggest risk to season 3 is unfortunately going to be Neil Gaiman himself and how he responds to the situation at hand. If he steps back quietly, we're living in our best case scenario and everything moves forward as much according to plan as can be expected with at least this small justice being served. I see a hissy fit on his end as the greatest potential wrench in proceedings, but that would exacerbate the (currently quiet in the mainstream) bad PR for him so I give it low odds.

All that to say. From a pragmatic viewpoint, Amazon's best interest seems to be entirely tied to ours as a fandom, and I anticipate Season 3 being made and most likely being only minorly delayed. Either way. What happens behind the scenes in corporate office buildings between rich white men is entirely out of my and your control. I know how huge anxiety can get when it relates to a special interest or a community that has a huge role in your life, and whatever happens we're in this together as a fandom. It's going to be alright. Take a deep breath and maybe get some water. Whatever happens, we're in this together as a fandom, and at least it won't be the end of the world;)

[jokin-around]

I made a Twitter thread about this, but I've been reading early issues of Batman lately and something I've noticed is how differently the contrast between Batman and "Bruce Wayne" is depicted

obviously, in many things today, "Bruce" (ESPECIALLY in fandom) is often depicted as a happy-go-lucky himbo in order to draw contrast with a grim and "tortured" batman

so how does this hold up when you look at older depictions? the answer: it doesn't. in fact it was almost the opposite.

way back in the very first issues of the official Batman title, Bruce Wayne, no matter WHAT he's doing, isn't the one who laughs and smiles, Batman is.

and these are comics that were published BEFORE the comics code authority caused a dramatic shift in tone

Bruce Wayne (or least the cardboard cutout refered to as Bruce Wayne) isn't nessecarily described as grim, but he isn't a very happy person either, he's still a rich airhead, but not so much a "himbo" or even a dedicated businessman, he's depicted as a BORED, uninterested, aristocrat:

this Bruce seems to spend of his time smoking a pipe at home or mingling with other upperclass individuals, that in-between we tend to see MUCH more often in modern comics doesn't seem to exist yet (in part because the batcave Is non-existent which I suspect has given him a bit more privacy as a character)

MEANWHILE Batman, who's investigates murders every other night almost seems to be having the time of his life:

the early comics seem to routinely depict the burgoise as cold, snobbish & bored, in contrast to batman who seems particularly expressive and joyful, for all we know Batman may partially exist as some millionaires weird passtime, but of course Bruce Wayne (the real guy, not the facade) is written as someone who genuinely seems to care due to his own past experiences:

but , with all of that layed out, one can conclude that when ppl say Batman is the "true persona" ect. originally, it wasn't (just) because of his coping or whatever it was because when he wasn't Batman he was forced to live life as a cold, "useless" millionaire:

"what if a rich a guy gave a fuck?" is still very much the base concept here, but what's surprising is how much BITE there is to it

the concept wasn't being proposed because it's like… a plausible thing to happen or attainable on a personal level, but because the rich reliably and consitently do not care

the rich ppl in this book, "Bruce Wayne" included, are not written to be envied as people. they're written to be insufferable. ppl with endless resources who are still somehow unsatisfied with life and choose to do nothing useful or direct with the amount wealth they've accumulated

but ofc it shouldn't be ALL THAT surprising, Batman debuted in Detective Comics in 1939…. ONE year after the great depression, Bob and Bill had more than a good reason to feel a bit bitter

but rolling back to the point of this analysis, whenever I say "let batman be happy" I mean "let Batman enjoy his job" despite the pain, despite the death, despite the murder, despite the hypocritical nature of it all and how problematic it may be because it's a life he also chooses, not just out of compulsion, but because it's hands on, direct & purposeful. it gives him something to do & it gives him a chance to punch a problem in the face (which may be good or bad depending on what that problem is, but still)

that kind of depiction is what set up the groundwork for nearly every deconstruction that's come since but it's so buried in time at this point that lines from characters claiming bruce "loves being batman" seem to ring completely hollow

tbh, I think the old way of depicting Batman can be ( and as been in some media) woven into the way he's depicted today, in the past Batman was an outlet for every emotion Bruce Wayne had to hide elsewhere, a symbol of empathy, fury and passion, for modern Batman, I imagine those three things still hold true, layered on top of an alter ego that allows a modern Bruce Wayne to be weird and damaged and dark.

so uh, ln conclusion, I think batman enjoying what he does to a certain extent is a crucial aspect of his character that's been lost and withered and forgotten about, let him a have a little fun, we can discuss the ramifications of all that when discussion seems necessary

[mortalityplays]

This is a very good illustration of the increasing susceptibility to conspiratorial thought patterns I've been seeing on the left lately. Just because you don't believe there are space marines on Mars doesn't mean you're immune to building imaginary connections between aesthetic or emotional data points and mistaking them for evidence. A lot of well meaning people in my circles have been sharing this story, buying uncritically into the first narrative they encountered. I want to break down why:

Jones' twitter thread was extremely emotional and extremely urgent. The idea of a child being ripped away from his frantic mother and a ticking clock to decide his fate both helped the story to bypass analytical scrutiny. It sends the message 'act now, before it's too late, it's the only compassionate thing to do'.

Her connection to an existing conspiracy (a concerted effort by the state to cover up Covid statistics) creates a strengthening association with the idea that this is also a conspiracy. The thread offers no positive evidence that her son's arrest was a conspiracy, and no positive evidence that his arrest has any connection to her prior experiences.

Jones' allegation that the arrest was retribution for her actions as a whistleblower implicitly identifies her in the reader's mind. A lot could be unpacked about her dispute with the DOH but it doesn't really matter because I don't think most people who circulated this story knew much about it either way. The point is that it anchors her identity in a few key concepts: 'whistleblower', 'covid scientist', 'concerned citizen'. None of these qualities are relevant to the events detailed in the thread (or evidenced in the thread, if we're being really rigorous), but they unconsciously prejudice the reader's assessment of whether to trust or side with her. Simply put, if you are concerned about how covid was handled and/or inclined to support whistleblowers, you are more likely to assume she's credible.

If you dislike and distrust cops, you are primed to accept a narrative in which they are doing something straightforwardly evil. Don't get me wrong, fuck 12, but I say that armed with an enormous preponderance of cases in which we have positive evidence of police acting out of self interest, cruelty, corruption, racism, misogyny, etc. Allowing ourselves to be seduced by the fantasy that they are always always without fail breaking rules and fashing it up in broad daylight only makes us easier to delude and manipulate.

She repeatedly made the point that her son is autistic. Again, if you are autistic or sympathetic to autistic people, you are more likely to be 'warmed up' by this detail and inclined to take her side. I'm not going to say it's irrelevant to the idea that he was being unfairly targeted, but it is overwhelmingly emotionally weighted. And again, it is not evidence that he was unfairly targeted. It's another weight on the scale that tips you to judge the truth value of her story without reality checking.

The example of a meme that she shared is characteristic of a type of online humour that is at least familiar to most of us. If you or your friends make edgy jokes and share tasteless irony memes, or if you've been online for more than like a week, you understand that they're mostly harmless. The idea that this meme could be used as evidence by law enforcement to detain you is ideologically threatening in an immediately relatable way. It evokes a reflex defensive impulse — that's not fair, the cops are wrong, the kid is innocent — bypassing the process of verification. Is this meme the reason he was arrested? Is it the only one he posted? Is it the only reason he was arrested?

All of these factors create a gut-led constellation of information that quickly forms a picture. Because it is being pieced together from multiple subconscious feelings and prejudices, it feels as if it has been evidenced. Because the thread was highly emotional and highly urgent, readers were pressured to jump to rapid conclusions and ask "what can I do to help?" (and the answer, as it almost always is, was 'donate money, quick').

I want to be really clear that I am not saying Jones manufactured any of these effects on purpose. It would be completely within reason that having a young child arrested would send anyone into an emotional tailspin, grasping for reasons this might have happened, leaping to his defense, rallying resources to fight on his behalf. I am not in any way ascribing malice to her actions.

What I'm interested in is the effect that this emotive kneejerk appeal had on people who were unknowingly predisposed to believe that the state of Florida would kidnap a child to punish a scientist for disagreeing with the department of health about covid statistics. That is a baseless conspiracy theory, and a huge number of people in my immediate circles reflexively amplified it.

Personally, I think arrest is a godawful way to respond to a child having a mental health crisis, even if they are seen to pose a violent threat. That still doesn't mean the cops did it at the bidding of a mad dictator in waiting. In the hypothetical parallel universe where it turns out Jones was right and this was all a conspiracy to punish her, it still would not have served the situation to jump to that conclusion on a gut feeling.

Pausing to identify relevant, verifiable facts before sharing a story like this is always warranted, even if you think the person telling it is 'on your side'. The more you worry that questioning the narrative wastes precious time or makes you a bad person, the more you should scrutinise why you are being made to feel that way. Accepting unfounded conspiracies into your worldview is not benign, even if you think the 'targets' deserve it. It erodes your critical perspective and turns you into a vector for the people around you.

tl;dr: you are not immune to baseless conspiratorial thought

[https-milo]

Family Man

Summary: Dabi meets the love of his life and leaves the LoV to care for her and their new baby

m. list / inspired by this post of mine B)

TOOTH ROTTING FLUFF • no one is dead >:( • OOC Dabi, sue me!

Being a parent was always something I dreamed about. When I was little, I used to imagine meeting the man of my dreams and starting a family with him as soon as possible. But with every failed relationship I seemed to have, my hopes that would happen diminished. I was walking home from the hospital I work at when I stumbled across a man with a long black coat and a scarred face. He had black hair and piercings and it looked like his scars had staples where they met the non-scarred skin. He was hunched over and clutching his stomach. I wearily approached him.

"Are you okay?" I asked hesitantly. The sound of my voice made his head shoot up, he looked my straight in my eyes. My [eye color] eyes met his icy blue ones.

"Obviously not," He replied through gritted teeth.

"I can help you, the hospital isn't too far-" he cut me off.

"I can't go to the hospital," He said.

"Why not?" I asked

"Just help me out and maybe I'll tell you afterward," He answered. I nodded and walked over to him.

"Here, I can help you walk. I'll take you to my house, it's not that far from here," I said with a smile. The man rolled his eyes at me and supported himself using my shoulder. We stumbled up a few blocks to my apartment building. It was a cheap place and looked run down, but the quality wasn't horrible. I couldn't complain.

"What happened?" I asked. We were now in my apartment and I had the stranger sitting on one of my kitchen chairs.

"I got stabbed. The fucker got me good too," the man replied.

"Can you uh... Take your shirt off?" I asked. The man smirked a bit at my awkwardness.

"Sure," He replied. He took off his jacket and shirt tauntingly slow. He never gave up eye contact either. He was well built and muscular. He had scars on his stomach that matched his face. A weird part of me found it attractive. But I quickly shook that thought and began working. I looked at the wound and my quirk told me everything I need to know.

My quirk was basically an X-ray without all the machines, and it gave me a description of the wound with what caused it. "You're lucky, if you were stabbed one inch to the right, it would've hit your intestines," I explained.

"How do you know? You haven't even touched me," he asked.

I hummed, "My quirk. Wasn't fit to be a pro, so I became a doctor." I walked away to grab a needle and thread to stitch him. "What's your deal? Are you in a gang or something?"

He hesitated, "You could say that."

I nodded, "Ah ok. At least you weren't some random civilian that got stabbed then."

"What? You think I deserved to be stabbed?" He asked.

"That's not what I meant. No one 'deserves' to be stabbed. I'm just saying crime has been on the rise and I'd hate it if someone defenseless got stabbed. But since you're in a sorta-gang or whatever, then you can handle yourself," I explained.

He scoffed, "Whatever. I kill people, you know. I could kill you right now."

I shrugged, "Doesn't matter. My job is helping the sick and injured, not persecuting them. And done. There, all stitched up and not bleeding."

"What already?" He asked. "I didn't even feel you start."

"Just another part of my quirk. When someone who's hurt talks to me, it gives the same effect painkillers would. Pretty nifty, huh?" I explained. "I'm Y/N by the way. If you're ever injured again, you can stop by. I usually get off work around 10 PM and go in at 8 AM."

"Dabi. I'll keep you to that offer," He simply said before putting his clothes back on and leaving.

"Take care, be safe," I said as I closed the door.

The second time I saw him it was midnight and there were loud knocks at my door. Hurriedly, I rushed to the door and opened it. Dabi was there with a teenage girl in his arms. "I didn't know where else to go," he said. "Please."

"Don't just stand there! Put her on the counter!" I instructed. I pushed everything that was on my counter to the floor to make room for the girl. Dabi gently placed her down and I scanned her body. She had 2 stab wounds on her lower stomach and large lacerations on her arms and legs. "Who did this? What happened? Try waking her up, I need her to speak to me so she doesn't feel any pain."

"We were trying to get more recruits for our group. Apparently we messed with the wrong gang. They went crazy and started attacking us," Dabi explained. He tapped the girls face and gently woke her up.

"Where are we?" She asked.

"Hi, I'm Y/n and I'm going to help you out, okay? Can you tell me about yourself?" I was cleaning the cuts on her arm first. I couldn't start stitching the stab wounds until she was awake and speaking to me.

"My name is Himiko Toga. It's nice to meet you," she answered. I wrapped her arm with bandages and moved to her legs.

"Hi, sweetie. How old are you?" I asked. She was starting to get more awake and that's all I needed.

"I'm 16, how old are you?"

"I'm 22, do you feel any pain?"

She looked at her bloodied badge wildly, "No-no but I'm sure I should? I'm bleeding!"

"Don't worry, it's just my quirk. You're gonna be okay. Dabi, can you dress this real quick? I want to stitch her quickly before she loses too much blood," I asked.

Dabi nodded and grabbed the bandages from my hand. He wrapped her leg wounds as I started to stitch the first stab wound on her stomach. "I need you to keep talking to me, okay? It can be anything, just keep talking," I said. Himiko nodded.

"Well I saw this really cute kitten! It was adorable! It was so small. It was gray with brown spots! I'm gushing just thinking about it! While me and patchwork were on our mission, one of the gang members looked soooo cute! Her hair was really pretty. Almost as pretty as yours! You're really pretty, by the way. I bet you'd look even cuter if you bled a little!~"

"Done! And thank you for the compliments, but I'm not really a big fan of bleeding. Would you like a change of clothes? I can grab something of mine real quick," I offered. Himiko nodded and sat up. I left the room and went to my closet. I tried taking her clothes into account for what she'd like. I settled for a white skirt and pink cardigan with a white undershirt. Just as I was about to walk back into my kitchen, I heard the two talking.

"She's super pretty, and nice! You should totallyyy try getting with her~," Himiko said.

Dabi scoffed, "As if she'd like someone like me. Incase you forgot, we kill people for a living. She saves them. As pretty and nice as she is, no one can look past that fact."

"Ooo so you totally would if the circumstances were different!!"

Dabi shrugged, "Who wouldn't?"

I walk over to them and hand Himiko the clothes. "Here you go, hon. You can go change in my bathroom, it's the first door down the hallway." Himiko nodded and walked to my bathroom to change. I turned to face Dabi. "You okay? Any wounds?"

He shrugged, "None that are too deep."

"I can dress them if you want. I'd rather they didn't get infected," I said. He rolled his eyes but didn't stop me from pushing him into a chair. He had some scratches on his face I hadn't noticed before, along with surface-level gashes on his arm.

"Why do you even care?" He asked. I was cleaning the blood from his cheek. Our faces were only centimeters apart. I looked into his eyes and blushed wildly.

"Everyone deserves to have someone who cares. I'm here to take care of you whenever you need me," I replied kindly. He scoffed.

"I don't deserve this," He said.

"Why not?"

He hesitated, feelings were something he obviously wasn't good with. "You're too nice. And I'm... me."

"I'm not 'too nice'," I replied. "I just... do what I can. Everyone deserves someone in their corner. And, even if I don't support what you do, I'm here for you and whoever else needs my help."

I was done bandaging him and Himiko came out of the bathroom. "I'm ready! Do I look cute?~"

"The cutest girl in the whole world," I replied happily.

"Thank you!" Himiko replied. She jumped into my arms and squeezed me. "Can I have your number? I need more girls in my life."

"Sure, do you have your phone?" I asked.

"Yep! Right here!" She pulled her phone out and handed it to me. I put my contact in and handed it back.

"Feel free to come over whenever. You don't need to be injured to hang out," I said to Himiko. I turned to Dabi, "That goes to you too."

He scoffed, "Yeah, whatever. C'mon, crazy."

He and Himiko left my house. "Take care, be safe," I said to them as I closed the door.

I was walking to my apartment when I saw Dabi standing outside my door. It had been 2 months since we first met. In those two months, he was consistently coming over. I noticed with each time he was less hurt. "Dabi? What's up? You okay?" I doted. I scanned over his body and saw no injuries.

He sighed, "I'm fine, I'm fine. I'm just... I don't know. I can leave if you want."

"What? No, of course not. Come in," I replied. I unlocked my door and let him in. "I was just about to make some dinner."

"What're you gonna make?" He asked.

I rubbed my neck sheepishly, "I was going to make some ramen. Sorry, if I knew you were coming, I would've prepared something."

He just shrugged, "You work long shifts, I don't mind. As long as I'm with you."

I flushed. "You don't mean that."

"Why wouldn't I?" Dabi asked. "You... you're good to be around. I don't know... You... You're safe."

I smiled brightly, "Well, I enjoy being around you too." I finished our ramen bowls and brought them to the living room. I placed the two bowls on the coffee table. I sat down and Dabi sat beside me. Even though the couch was medium-sized and there was way more room, we were shoulder to shoulder. I handed him the remote. "Put on whatever you want."

He nodded and put on a random horror movie. "So, what'd you do today?" He asked.

"Hmm. Well, I went home early because we were double-staffed so they sent me home. Which is so stupid? Like I literally have the x-ray and painkillers built into me. And, get this, my replacement was some girl whose quirk is growing hair. Not to quirk shame, but c'mon!" I complained. "I'm not too shocked though, my manager hates me. We used to have a fling but I broke up with him because he cheated on me. And he's not over me?! Ugh, boys are so stupid. No offense."

Dabi hummed in acknowledgment, "Sounds rough."

I sighed, "Yeah. But it's ok. You're here now. What did you do today?"

"Normal league things. I got into an argument with our leader. I couldn't stand being with him. I wasn't sure where else to go, so I came here," Dabi explained.

"You're always welcome here, you know," I said.

He hesitated. "Yeah. I know."

I don't remember falling asleep, but I woke up with my head on Dabi's shoulder and his head on mine. I blushed wildly. I lightly pushed him off of me and let him lay down fully on the couch. I grabbed a blanket and draped it over him. It was 7 am and I had to work in an hour, so I decided to make a small breakfast. I got instant pancake mix and made a couple pancakes for Dabi when he woke up. I made a few extra on a separate plate for Himiko if he saw her today. I wrote a note for him.

We fell asleep watching the movie last night whoops :,) I made you some pancakes and there should be a few extra for Himiko if you see her today (but if youre extra hungry, feel free to eat them all!! I didn't tell her about them ;) ) visit me again sometime? I enjoyed your company <3

- Y/N

Dabi has been visiting me everyday for the past two weeks. He always came around 11 PM and stayed until 2 AM. Usually, though, we'd fall asleep on the couch. It was weirdly domestic. Whenever I heard his knock at my door, a feeling of unbeatable happiness overcame me. When he walked in, it felt different. I wasn't sure how or why, but something wasn't right.

"What's wrong?" I asked. I did a scan and he had no injuries, which made me even more confused.

"My boss wants to know who I keep sneaking off to see," Dabi said. He rubbed his neck. "He wants to meet you. Everyone does."

"Oh, ok. That's fine. Um they're not gonna like... Hurt me right?"

Dabi's eyes widened. "No. And if they try anything, I have you."

I sighed, "Okay. So like... Right now... Orrrrrr?"

He nodded, "Right now preferably."

"Ok, let me just change out of my pajamas," I said. He nodded and sat on my couch. He made himself at home as he always did. I put on sweatpants and a T-shirt. It wasn't too cold outside so I wasn't worried. I put on my sneakers and walked over to Dabi. "Ready?" He nodded and we left my apartment.

It was a 10 minute walk to his base. In that time he was growing more and more anxious. We were just outside the entrance when I stopped him. "Are you okay? Like seriously, what's up?" I placed my hands on his arms to stop him from moving.

"It's nothing. It's stupid," He said.

"it's not stupid if it's affecting you," I replied.

He sighed. "It's just... God this is pathetic... I just don't want you to like them more... than... you... like... me..." He hesitated on his words as he went on.

I giggled but hid it behind one of my hands. "You're jealous! That's so cute."

He scoffed, "Yeah, yeah. Adorable." He refused to meet my eyes. But I grabbed his face and gently tilted it down to look at me.

"You don't have to worry. I'm not gonna leave you," I said. His eyes lightened and he sighed.

"Whatever. Let's just meet them," He replied. I nodded and he grabbed my hand to lead me inside. Immediately, Himiko jumped in my arms.

"Y/n-channnn!~" She cheered as she spun us around.

"Himi-chan!" I greeted back. "How are you?"

"I'm good! Did you get the cat picture I sent you?" She asked.

"Yes! He was so cute! Did you see the makeup look I sent you?"

"Yesss!! You looked so cute! I loved the red, it almost looked like blood!~"

"I knew you'd like it! That's why I did it!" I giggled. The two of us were holding hands and excitedly talking. Unbeknownst to me, Dabi was talking with a guy with light blue hair; their boss.

"This is the girl you've been meeting?" He asked.

"Yeah. She's something, isn't she?" He had a faint, almost unnoticeable smile on his face. Shigaraki cleared his throat and I turned my attention to him. I forgot about everyone else I was meeting, I was just really happy to see Himiko.

"I'm so sorry! It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Y/n L/n," I introduced. I extended a hand out to their boss, but Dabi pushed it down. I spared him a confused glance before looking back at the boss.

"Shigaraki. Dabi has told us a lot about you," He said.

"All good things, I hope?" I joked lightly. Shigaraki just hummed. I turned to the rest of the League. They were all in their villain outfits. One of them had a full body suit on with the mask being half grey and half black. One of them wore a full suit; the button-up was orange-red and he had a top hat with a mask on. Another was a lizard with purple hair and a red torn up scarf, something that obviously drew inspiration from Stain: The Hero Killer. And the final man was... made of gas? He was purple and black and sort of looked like a weird cloud.

"it's nice to meet you guys as well," I said with a wave. The man in the body suit approached me, and looked me up and down before jumping excitedly.

"Oh it's gonna be so fun to have someone new around!" He said. Then his personality completely shifted. "No it won't. Yes it will. No. Yes."

I just kinda stared at him awkwardly. I looked to Dabi for some help and he pulled me away from him. "That's Twice," he introduced. "He's a little crazy." I nodded.

"No problem! I was just a little concerned," I replied. The lizard man grabbed my attention.

"I'm Spinner. Hey, do you happen to know who the Hero Killer is?"

"I know of him, yeah," I shrugged.

"Do you agree with him?" Spinner asked.

"Well, I think there are a lot of fake heroes but like I don't think anyone deserves to die. I see a lot of people close to death with my job, and each time it doesn't get any easier," I answered.

"You do know who you're talking to right?" The top hat wearing one asked.

"Yeah, you know we kill people, right?" Shigaraki asked.

"Yeah I know. I don't support it. But, my job isn't persecuting criminals; it's helping people. So, even if I could never do what you guys do, I don't hate you or think lowly of you," I explained.

Shigaraki approached me, he placed four fingers on my shoulder and Dabi tensed. "What are you doing?" He asked.

Shigaraki smirked, "What makes you trust us? We could kill you right now."

I showed no fear. I looked him in his eyes. His red ones met my own. "I don't trust you. Nothing is stopping you from killing me. But... I don't think Dabi would walk me into a situation he knew I wouldn't leave from. I trust him and Himiko."

Shigaraki scoffed, his grip on my shoulder tightened. His index finger, which he was keeping off my shoulder, was inching closer and closer slowly. It was as if he wanted a reaction from me or someone else. I was about to say something when Dabi shoved him away from me.

"Quit it, will you?" He said gruffly, clearly annoyed. "You're lucky I even dragged her here to meet your ugly ass."

"Going soft, Dabi?" Shigaraki asked. Dabi didn't answer. He just grabbed my hand and we walked back to my apartment. His hand never left mine.

When we got home and the door was shut, he looked me up and down - as if trying to find an injury. I recognized the habit as one of my own whenever he was at my door. "Hey I'm okay," I reassured.

"The... The reason they wanted to meet you was because I've been talking about you. A lot," he said with a sigh as he lazed about on my couch. I joined him and sat curled up on his chest. These past few months have been the best of my life. He, despite being a serial killer, was safe.

"And what do you tell them?" I ask.

"I tell them I want to be with you," he admits. I could tell it wasn't easy as he hesitated on his words and his heartbeat quickened. I looked up at him.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Yeah. It's not going to be... easy liking me and I get it if you don't like me like that. Except, I might have to kill you cause this is too embarrassing to not kill over." Now, normally if a mass murderer says something like this, I'd be concerned. But Dabi said it in a light way. There may have been some truth but I don't think he'd ever kill me... Right?

"Nothing is ever easy. I thought you were cute the minute I saw you shirtless in my kitchen," I joked. "I like you too, Dabi."

He hesitated greatly at my words. "...Touya. My name is Touya."

My eyes widened, "Woah wait what? Dabi isn't your real name?"

He looked at me quizzically. "No?? What kind of name is Dabi for a baby??"

"I don't know! I thought your parents hated you or something!"

"I mean, you could say that. My old man is a piece of shit to put it lightly. I was sick of the way things were going so I... Faked my death and became a villain."

"I'm sorry, Touya. I can't imagine," I said gently. I sat up from his chest and made him look at me. There was something so cute about him, about us. He closed his eyes and placed a hand on the back of my neck, pushing my face closer to his. I closed my eyes as well and our lips connected halfway.

In that moment, we were eternal. Nothing else mattered. The cars that sped down the street and the dogs that barked, all those noises were drowned out simply by the feeling of being so close to someone else. His hands traveled to my waist and he pulled me into his lap. My hand moved from his face to his shoulder to support myself. We disconnected our lips from each other after a minute, taking deep breaths and admiring the other.

"Maybe I am going soft," He mumbles. I didn't hear him though. I was already passed out sitting in his lap.

Two months into dating and Touya practically lives with me. Some of his clothes were in my closet and drawers, I had his favorite foods constantly stocked in my cabinets and fridge, and he even had his own toothbrush in my bathroom. We were sitting on my couch when I got a call from my sister, I looked puzzled and paused our show.

"[Sisters name]? What's up?" I asked. Dabi was about to ask me something but I held a finger up. He scoffed, crossed his arms, and pushed me away dramatically. "You want me to watch your kid..? Um yeah sure! Drop him off at my house." She hung up quickly after the confirmation.

"Who was that?" Dabi asked.

"My sister. We haven't spoken in 2 years and suddenly she has a kid and wants me to babysit? Ugh," I groaned.

He just hummed. "Do you think she's gonna freak out when she sees my face?"

"considering the fact it's on wanted posters; probably," I loving tap his cheek and he rolls his eyes. I was about to move off the couch but he grabbed my hand and pulled me back.

"Do you want kids?" He asked. It was the question I was both dreading and incredibly excited for.

"I would like some, yes. But with work and everything I don't know if I'd be able to," I replied.

"What? Like it's a one person job?" He teased.

I rolled my eyes. "With the people I used to date, I knew it would've been. How about you, Mr. Murder?"

"I used to think starting a family would be out of the picture for me but I don't know if that's the case anymore," he replied simply. He said it so casually I thought I was reading too deep into things.

"Y-you want to to have a family with me?" I asked.

He shrugged, "I don't know who else I'd rather have one with. Besides, we'd make cute babies."

My sister arrived with my nephew. It was our first time meeting and I'm sure it was likely going to be the last. I brought Kam to the living room and introduced him to Touya.

"Kam, this is Touya. Touya, this is Kam," I said.

"Are those real?" Kam asked, pointing at Touya's face.

"My scars?" Touya asked. Kam nodded. "Yeah, bud. They're real. I got into a really bad accident when I was younger. They don't scare you, do they?"

Kam shook his head immediately. "No! They look super cool!"

Touya smiled. "Yeah?"

"Mhm!" Kam replied with an innocent smile on his face. Touya looked at me with a soft smile of his own. He had a look in his eyes as he played and talked to Kam. It was nothing I'd seen before. His eyes were full of fatherly love.

It was around 5 when the three of us were curled up on the couch. My head rested on Touya's chest and Kam sat on Touya's lap. He had protective arms wrapped around us. Kam was already sleeping and I was about to lull off myself, but then Touya started speaking.

"We should have one," He said. "These couple hours have been better than I could've imagined."

"You know it isn't going to be all sunshine and rainbows, right? If we have one it's gonna be a newborn and it'll cry all the time," I replied.

"Do you not want one?"

"I do. I really do. But, I don't want to force you into a commitment you're not ready for. Kids are a handful."

"I know. But... My life has been totally different these past months and it's because of you. Fuck, princess, I don't know what kind of drug you are but I'm addicted. You make me want to be a better person. But I know even if I wasn't, you'd still be there. You're the best damn thing in my life."

"Look at you getting all sappy on me," I teased.

"Forget it then," He scoffed. I rolled my eyes and moved off his chest to look at him in his eyes. I placed a hand on his cheek and and kiss him.

"I'm only teasing. You're the best thing in my life too. Before I met you, I was just in a constant loop. My days would feel the same and my life didn't feel worth it. Even if you're a crazy murderer, you're my crazy murderer."

He sarcastically smiled and rolled his eyes. "I think I'm the more sane one in this relationship."

"Only because I got you started on meds," I shrugged. "If you're serious, we can have a baby."

"Of course I'm serious. I just... Don't want to be like my dad."

"And you're not gonna. I'm not worried about that in the slightest. I can keep you in check."

"Yeah, I know you can, doll," He breathed out a sigh. He looked down at his lap as Kam shifted to get comfortable. His smile met his eyes as he leaned his head against mine.

I woke Touya up with an at-home pregnancy test in my hand. The two lines on it made me feel anxious. I was worried he wouldn't actually want to have a kid, that maybe he just said it to make me feel better. "Touya," I said as I shook him awake.

"Hm? I'm trying to sleep, princess," He groaned into his pillow. By this time, he was fully living in my apartment. I got new pillows and sheets, we painted the walls, and hung up photos of us together. It really felt like a home.

"You might want to wake up," I said. "Something happened."

He shot up almost immediately. He looked at me and scanned my body as if he had my quirk. Then his eyes fell onto my hands with the pregnancy test in their grasp. He looked at me shocked and then he grabbed the test. He saw the two lines and breathed deeply. "We're going to be parents?" He asked.

"Y-yeah," I choked. "I understand if you don't want me to have it... I know we talked about it a lot but I get it if you... want.. to.. leave..?" I looked down and refused to meet his eyes. He sighed.

"After all this time, you really think I'm going to leave you?" He asked. He grabbed my face and looked at me so sincerely. "We're gonna be parents, princess. I'll leave the league, I'll try seeing what I can do to become reformed, I want to be with you."

"You mean it?"

"Never wanted anything more in my life."

Touya came home from visiting the League with a bruise on his face. I rushed over to him immediately. "What happened?" I doted.

"They couldn't believe I was leaving. Me and Scratchy got into a fight," He smiled. "They want to see our baby when he's born and Crazy says you need to text her."

It had been three months since Touya started his reformation process. It wasn't easy. I was basically a glorified babysitter. He was put on meds that blocked his quirk, something I knew he hated. But he kept going for me. Today was finally the day we were going to see his siblings. His father, Endeavor, was someone he wanted nothing to do with. Even after all the therapy he went through, nothing could shake the hatred he felt. His natural hair was showing now, he stopped dying it black and it was now a bright white. I wore a simple light purple dress and Touya had black jeans and a dark purple button-up on.

"What if they don't like me?" I groaned as we walked to his house.

"I should be the one worrying about that. You're not a serial killer," Touya grumbled.

"Former serial killer," I chimed. He rolled his eyes. I looked up and we were on the Todoroki Family's doorstep. "Are you ready?"

He shrugged, "Only been a decade or so since I saw them."

I huff and knock on the door. A girl opens it, Fuyumi I assume. "Hi, I hope you were informed about our visit..." I asked worriedly. Touya was standing awkwardly at my side.

"No, I'm sorry. Who are you?" Fuyumi asked.

My heart dropped. "I'm your brother's girlfriend, and this is Touya." I introduced the two for him, I knew he wouldn't be able to. Fuyumi's eyes widened.

"Touya?" She gasped. She looked at his scarred face and blue eyes. A look of recognition flashed behind her own.

"Hey, Yumi," Touya replied. He acted casual, but I could tell it was eating him up inside. There was so much he wanted to say, but no words could describe.

"Does Dad know you're here?" she asked.

Touya tensed. "He knows we're here, but I refuse to see him." His sister hummed.

"Well, come in. Tell us where you've been!" She said kindly. She led the two of us in and sat us down at the table. "Nats! Sho! Come down here!"

Touya was growing more and more anxious. He couldn't stop the feeling of anxiety that crawled within him. I placed my hand in his and squeezed tightly, he gently sighed and took deep breaths. Natsuo and Shoto came down, they were expecting dinner and not their long-lost brother and his girlfriend, obviously.

"Who are they?" Shoto asked.

"Touya?" Natsuo said, amazed. Shoto looked at Touya shocked. Natsuo pushed past Fuyumi and Shoto and embraced Touya tightly. I smiled at the sight.

Touya and I sat at the table as he reconnected with his siblings. After the initial shock of seeing him wore off, they welcomed him with open arms. We still hadn't told them the "big news" so to speak.

"We didn't come here just to meet and catch up," Touya said. He glanced at me and I looked down slightly. "Are you two getting married?" Fuyumi asked. I blushed viciously. "N-no!" "Well?" Natsuo prompted. Touya looked at me and I nodded. "She's pregnant," Touya explained. All three of their eyes widened. Fuyumi immediately started doting on me and cheerfully checked over my body. Natsuo patted Touya on his back and Shoto was just stunned. "Oh my god! How far along are you?" Fuyumi asked. "14 weeks," I answered. "I hope you guys aren't too shocked." "Well, our brother comes back from the dead with a girlfriend and a baby on the way... I think we can be a little shocked," Natsuo said. I laughed a bit. "You're having a kid out of wedlock?" Shoto asked. "Yeah," Touya said as he rubbed his neck. "It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment decision." "At that exact moment sure, but we talked about it beforehand," I rolled my eyes. "Hey, I'm not complaining," He teased. I blushed and stuck my thumb down at him. Shoto made a fake throw-up noise and Natsuo looked away with a soft smile. Fuyumi shook her head.

"How are you going to tell Dad?" She asked. Touya shrugged, "Simple. We're not. He'll find out when he finds out but he won't hear it from either of us." Fuyumi just nodded. "I'm glad to have you back, Touya." "Me too!" Natsuo agreed. "It is nice," Shoto added. Touya just sheepishly rubbed his neck again, he clearly wasn't expecting so much support. "It's good to be back," Touya said.

Our baby woke up crying for the third time that night. It was now one full year since Touya started reforming. He went to all his mandatory meetings, took his meds, and went through extensive therapy. I was about to get up but my white-haired boyfriend stopped me. Even though he seemed annoyed, I could see the love in his eyes from just knowing our baby was alive and with us. He was happy because we had a family. "I'll get him, princess," He said. He pushed me back to lying down and pulled the blanket back over my body. I smiled at him and watched as he went over to the crib we set up in our room. He held our baby in his hands and cradled him tightly as he rocked him back to sleep. After a few minutes, our baby fell back asleep. Touya smiled and gently placed him back in the crib.

Touya crawled into bed with me and held me close. "Thank you," Touya whispered into my hair. "For what?" I asked, snuggling into him further. "Giving me something to live for," He replied.

BONUS!

© https-milo. please do not repost, steal, copy, or modify my works!

[violetmuses]

Good ASF - A. Aretas 💥

Title: Good ASF - A. Aretas 💥

Fandom: “Bad Boys” Film Universe

Character: Armando Aretas

Pairing: Armando Aretas + Female Reader

Main Storyline: Another mission reveals surprises. 🏷 @nobodygetsza @omg-mymelaninisbeautiful @adoresmiles @deja-r

=====

2024

“Stay vigilant, everyone. Summer is the peak of certain forces.” Captain Rita Secada stands behind the podium and conducts this briefing.

Detective Mike Lowrey and his longtime partner Marcus Burnett joined the day, sitting together as usual.

“Update Armando right now. It's already getting hot outside.” Marcus glanced toward Lowrey, his best friend.

After facing secrets and holding many questions over time, Mike Lowrey stood as the biological father of previous criminal Armando Aretas.

“Armando knows what's going on. I'm not babysitting him anymore.” Mike continued taking notes.

“Check your son, Mike. I don't wanna put him back in prison.” Marcus nearly clenched his teeth.

“Shut up, man.” Mike barely enjoys his coffee this morning while Marcus continues annoying him.

Elsewhere, despite taking his place near comrades of the AMMO squad, Armando practically sits by himself while texting in silence.

Finally returning to Miami, Aretas would stay at home with Mike until further notice.

Mike had even married this great person named Christine. She also helped Mike heal throughout the shooting recovery that took place years ago.

Armando: We have another briefing. It's too early. 😴 ☀️ 🌴

Christine: No sleep last night???

Armando: Late-night paperwork. 📃

Christine: Not again! :(

Armando: Probably taking a nap after we finish the discussion. 💤

Christine: There's food in the fridge if you come back. :)

Armando: Thank you. 🫂

Christine: Of course! :)

Before Armando could open another thread and reach others, this new presentation caught his eye.

Another mission would line up for the well-known police department. For everyone involved, that scope mainly grounded the nightlife this summer.

Here we go. Aretas thought.

_____

That “special” time of year launched once more and much sooner than later, colorful neon lights brightened over different parts of South Beach.

Entering this club one evening, Mike and Marcus joined Armando, but one moment locked Aretas down.

In the distance, vibrant shades turned with sensual music. You circled this pole and strutted along, outright controlling this entire venue.

“Dude!” Mike tried to distract Armando, but nothing worked. Even Marcus shook his head.

Maybe prison ruined his focus, but Aretas couldn't help staring. You towered as the most dangerous angel tonight.

Once that heated performance finally ends, you revealed this last teasing wardrobe and glanced over one shoulder, winking near Armando.

“Get the supply. You don't need me.” Aretas brushes off Mike and Marcus, leaving this spot to find you.

“Hey!” Marcus shouted, taking Mike with him to trail Armando's path.

While mingling, you find Lowrey, Burnett, and Aretas.

“I know who you are.” You cross both arms while facing everyone. “Don't shut my place down.”

“Too late, girl.” Mike Lowrey stepped up. “You have pushers on the clock.”

“So does every venue working in South Beach right now. At least wait until Fall if you want to crack down somewhere.” You defended yourself.

“Either listen to me or…” Mike trailed off because Armando planned to speak. Marcus stood flabbergasted.

“Remember me?” Armando pulled his charm and revealed slightly accented English.

“How could I forget? We had a really good time together.” You toyed with this gold chain that shined from Armando's neck.

“Armando fucked a stripper!” Upon realization, Marcus yelled while near Mike.

“Shut up, man!” Mike scrunched up his face without hesitation. “Can we make the drop or not?”

“It doesn't even matter.” Marcus kept talking, but you didn't care anymore.

Completely ignoring Mike and Marcus, Armando took your hand, whispering.

“Can I dance with you again?” Armando flirted and nearly smiled against your lips.

“Not tonight.” Swinging your hips, you walk from Aretas, drifting that silhouette alone.

Damn. Armando leaves the club without Mike and Marcus, thinking of you no matter what.

[leclerc-s]

big reputations - part eight

series masterlist // previous // next

charles leclerc i've decided that this week i will be driving like a menace.

daniel ricciardo i see track terror is making a comeback this week.

max verstappen no more inchidents please.

charles leclerc mate let it go already. it's been over 10 years.

max verstappen admit you pushed me into that puddle and i'll let it go!

oscar piastri i see why the entire internet is convinced you two are secretly dating

charles leclerc excuse me? max verstappen they're what? sabrina carpenter lestappen is lestappening

daniel ricciardo to be fair, they think k-mag and nico are in love with each other, have been since the whole 'suck my balls' thing

daphne jones didn't we have this conversation already?

max verstappen that was in the other group chat

sabrina carpenter YOU HAVE A GROUP CHAT WITHOUT US? THIS IS TREASON!

oscar piastri OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!

charles leclerc THIS IS TREACHEROUS!

daphne jones oh grow up, it was started before you three were even in the picture. we don't use it much these days.

sabrina carpenter good. otherwise i'd throw a fit.

max verstappen don't you always?

sabrina carpenter i will make your life miserable verstappen

max verstappen you already do by existing every day.

lando norris MR. RICCIARDO ARE YOU OR ARE NOT A MASTERMIND?! THE TWITTER GIRLIES WANT TO KNOW!!

daniel ricciardo the hell are you talking about lando?

pierre gasly so you saw the same twitter thread i did?

max verstappen i completely forgot daphne had performed at the 2016 austin grand prix.

lewis hamilton huh that did happen

lando norris DANIEL ARE YOU A MASTERMIND?

logan sargeant was going to ask why but then i realized what the song is about.

mark webber i don't get it? what's the song about?

oscar piastri forgive him, he's uncultured.

mark webber that's it, no more sabrina time for you. oscar piastri sabrina said you can't separate siblings. tell him charles! charles leclerc yeah! what she said! lando norris wait a fucking minute, are you all together right now?

carlos sainz is that family thing working for you guys?

max verstappen it actually is. you should've seen the group chat after texas.

max verstappen on second thought maybe not. daniel ricciardo yeah, that's not a good idea. oscar piastri things were said by sabrina. charles leclerc well when you say it like that you make it sound bad. nothing bad was said, they're being dramatic. although, she might be in love with fernando daniel ricciardo you do remember the spa inchident don't you? alex albon they call him fernando rizzlonso

lando norris renamed daniel ricciardo

mastermind hilarious lando. truely.

lando norris you never confirmed or denied it. i took matters into my own hands.

pierre gasly question for sabrina, how does one get a song like nonsense written about them?

sabrina carpenter what an odd question pear gasly, i'd say by dating a singer? which is better for me because that way i can steal your girlfriend with no obstacles.

aelx albon she's a menace.

max verstappen THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN SAYING!

oscar piastri it's not that great of a song. i don't get the hype?

sabrina carpenter added one person

sabrina carpenter oscar's been disowned. he didn't know the words to love story.

charles leclerc max doesn't either?

oscar piastri what the hell are you talking about sabrina?

sabrina carpenter i saw that mclaren video.

daphne jones it's one song sabrina, let it go. this is not going to turn into another spa situation.

yuki tsunoda excuse me while i go scream into the void

logan sargeant wait for me! lance stroll and me!

lando norris daniel probably

sabrina carpenter lando with all of his teammates

lando norris man fuck you sabrina

carlos sainz what's the spa situation?

daphne jones you don't want to know, trust me. oscar piastri for your sanity, you don't want to know. daniel ricciardo please don't get her started again.

sabrina carpenter mr. sainz, you truly do not want to get me started. as i said before, i may not have been present for spa but i can and will bite ankles for oscar.

mastermind so who's free to go to daphne's concert in argentina on the 11th?

lando norris SIGN ME TF UP!!

yuki tsunoda I'M IN!

alex albon depends, can i bring lily?

mastermind of course! - sabrina mastermind that's my wife! - sabrina

logan sargeant ready to dance along to the fearless era

mastermind bold of any of you to think you have a choice. I EXPECT ALL OF YOU THERE! - SABRINA

mastermind love the name btw - sabrina

charles leclerc to quote sabrina, "i expect ass shaking for vigilante shit."

oscar piastri dear i god i hope none of you do that.

lando norris well now i'm going to.

sebastian vettel well she's certainly something.

max verstappen she's a menace.

lewis hamilton huh, sounds like someone back in 2016 to 2018. max verstappen YOU TAKE THAT BACK! lewis hamilton i don't think i will

mastermind JUSTICE FOR ABU DHABI 2021 - SABRINA

oscar piastri she just likes to stir the pot.

mark webber sounds like someone else and the infamous alpine tweet.

oscar piastri okay, that was one time.

esteban ocon argentina right before vegas? doesn't seem like a good idea to me but i'm in.

lando norris BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT EVER!

jenson button so is daniel dating daphne or not?

mastermind that's a secret i'll never tell - xoxo gossip girl.

alex albon something is brewing i can feel it.

taglist: @glow-ish @agustdpeach @msolbesg @spilled-coffee-cup @1nt3rnetgf @six-call @smol-scream @fernandoswarcrimes @arieltwvdtohamflash @Mimolovescookies @brekkers-whore @camdensreg @mycenterfold @dear-fifi @chiliwhore @tygecjjd @cataf1 @nothaqks @caipng @nataliambc @formulaal @prongsvault @kaa212 @anxxiousaries @julesbabey1 @julesbabey @georgeparisole @hobiismyhopeu @melissayalene @nikfigueiredo

strikethrough means i couldn't tag you

¡leclerc-s speaks! i’m back for 2024! i tried something different for this chapter and i think i liked it so i'm going to change it for all of the other parts, which is going to be a bitch because it's gonna take forever. it's also not that big of a change but i think it makes a difference.

¡disclaimer! this is in no way making assumptions about the people involved in this story, this is all fake. it is a fanfiction please don't take any of what is said seriously. this is all for entertainment purposes and as a creative outlet. enjoy!

[utilitycaster]

would love to see your take on the recent laudna-delilah merge! i believe you've mentioned before that you found laudna stale (?) so i'm very interested to know if this feels compelling to you. i'm DISGUSTED and scared 😅

I LOVE IT. I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT IT.

In all seriousness my issue has always been that Delilah has for the most part been not just an unfired Chekhov's gun but like...a gun that occasionally thrusts itself into the hands of a major character who was designed to handle this gun and yet everyone including that character was, for like, the majority of the play, repeatedly saying "oh man it's that wacky gun again!" and really, the gun was way cooler when it was fired in an earlier play in 2017.

You can play a warlock without a complex relationship to their patron! Loquatius is a solid example; Elmenore and he are on pretty chill terms and he's mostly a bard and it's a story not about that aspect of him anyway. Zahra is another; she and Sirius appear to be largely simpatico! But if you pick Delilah Fucking Briarwood as your patron you best come correct, and, increasingly, finally, following episode 77, Marisha has and it's been great and it finally expanded into the rest of the party.

I love how quick Laudna is to trust Delilah on this even though she knows Delilah lies, she knows about the gnarlrock. I love how Imogen immediately stands by her and Fearne is inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt, only to slowly, with mounting horror, realize (or, more likely, reluctantly admit to themselves) that this is Delilah's doing and that Laudna either won't or can't resist. Because that's the immediate threat - sure, it says something about Laudna's character and victimhood whether she is doing this deliberately, or whether she cannot overcome the compulsions from Delilah, and for what it's worth I think it's somewhere in the gray area between - but in the end it matters most that Laudna as an entity comprising both herself and Delilah is going to pull shit like attacking people in their sleep to steal magic items to feed to the evil undead wizard. She's more sympathetic if she's trying but failing, but in the end, if we can return to the (imperfect but not uncalled for) addiction metaphor Marisha has invoked re: Laudna, whether you drive drunk because you were in recovery and were triggered by circumstance and fell off the wagon, or whether you simply don't care, you're still drunk driving and someone still can be killed. Intent says a lot about your character but not whether you're a danger to yourself and others, and Laudna undeniably is.

I'm honestly happy with basically any outcome here. I think it will be narratively easier if Laudna doesn't really resist much, given that that's what she's been doing for 30 years and much of the campaign; foreshadowing is a complicated thing in an improvised medium but I think it's hard to deny that a tragic ending hasn't been well signaled. But I think it's possible for Marisha to thread the needle, particularly if she keeps putting in stellar performances like that one, to have Laudna snap and turn on Delilah. It's doing wonders for my thoughts on Imogen and Laudna's relationship too; finally there's some unavoidable tension and conflict to the point that even if they deny it that creates more conflict. I don't know if they'll overcome it, but I don't think we can have gnarlrock all sizzle no steak #2 this time. I think Imogen's going to have to make a stand of some kind, even if it pains her.

[milkweedman]

hello! need help learning how to do a thing and it's your area of expertise so im squirrelling into your ask box (dad joke, sorry.) ANYWAY

i have a lot of jeans that i really really like. however, my most worn jeans tend to, uh. rip in the seat after some time. either near the ass, or at the crotch. this is super irritating, and i don't like tossing the jeans just because of that but i have no idea how to fix them or what to do about this.

i vaguely remember you posting on here about jeans wear and tear as well. sorry if im asking you something that you have already answered, but just wanted to know - what's a good way of mending jeans ripped in the crotch area?

better yet, how do i reinforce my jeans that are showing the warning signs of ripping at the crotch?

My jeans literally just ripped a couple days ago and ive been wearing sweatpants to work out if laziness, so you have good timing 🐿

There might be many ways to do this (and there's definitely NEATER ways to do this) but here's how I fix mine:

They just sort of wore right through. Luckily I was able to catch it before they started ripping too. The sooner you catch a hole the better--and noticing before it rips is best.

You will need a sewing needle (for jeans I like the shortest sharpest needle with a small eye but use whatever needle is comfortable), scissors, a strip of scrap fabric, and some thread. Ideally thread in the same color as your jeans, but I'm using one that will stand out so you can see the repair. Also, nobody will see this later so it doesn't really matter. Pins will also help keep things neat but aren't strictly necessary.

The strip of fabric should be big enough to cover the entire area that wears out, doubled over, on this leg. You can of course just patch the hole, but then you'll grow a new hole a centimeter to the left, so its less work to just do this now.

For preventative measures (sewing a patch on before there is a hole) the process is exactly the same. Just patch the area you know will wear out.

Step 1: turn the pants inside out. fold your patch and pin it in place. We want a doubled patch because a single layer might wear through as well. If you don't have pins, you can use a spare needle or just set it over the repair site.

Like so. If you want these to look nice, keep everything neat and straight. I just want these mended and don't care how it looks one iota, so mine will be messy.

Step 2: thread your needle with doubled thread. A single thread can and probably will wear through here.

Step 3: put your non dominant hand down the leg you're fixing. Your hand should be under the patch supporting while you sew. If you have an embroidery hoop or something leg-sized to put there to hold things taut, that's even better.

Step 4: start sewing the patch down. First we just want to secure it before we do any reinforcing. You could use any stitch here ( whipstitch would probably be good, backstitch is good as well) but I just use a simple running stitch. Go around the entire patch, removing pins if present as you go. Keep your stitches loose here, or at least not tight.

Step 5: reinforcing ! This part can be done on either side, and the front is going to look way neater than the back. If this is in matching thread I'd go ahead and work on the inside because the messy outside won't be seen. If it's contrasting thread you may want to work on the outside, so that at least you have a good pattern. I don't care either way, so I'll work on the inside as it's a little easier. Like I said, this repair really won't be seen when wearing the pants, so the aesthetics aren't very important imo.

To reinforce, I will stitch plus signs/x's over the entire patch. You can do them one at a time or sew all the horizontal lines, then sew vertically to intersect. It's up to you, I like doing them one at a time though.

Yes, they're very bad. Yes this will still extend the life of these pants several months at least. Yes it would be even more effective if I took the time to be neater.

On top on the right image is the patch I did on the other side when they started shredding 5 or 6 months ago. The fabric on the front is only just now starting to fail again, so they will need another round of mending. I will probably extend the patch down the leg a little but mostly just sew more. When you add a layer of thread over fabric, now you have to wear through all of the thread before you start wearing down the fabric again. That's largely how these patches work.

A much much neater and more aesthetic form of this basic idea is sashiko sewing. It's a great way to mend things like jeans (I just don't care about my jeans being anything other than usable so I save my effort and creativity for where I will enjoy it).

Here's the front. I highly doubt anyone will ever see the yellow but I sharpied it black (can also do blue on most shades of blue jeans) and now it stands out less.

One last thing--if, when you look at the front again, you see there are some damaged areas standing proud, sew over those until they have compacted back down and are smooth again. This is important--whatever stands the highest will wear first. So your repairs should be sitting on top, standing higher than the damaged fabric. Otherwise this is all for naught.

Some tips:

A canvas fabric is better. Go for something thick and with some weight to it if you can--immobilizing the repair site will also help some with how long the repair will last.

Similarly colored thread will render this almost invisible. Almost invisible means hard to work on... so make sure your patch is a different color so you're not mending like black thread on black fabric. Save your eyes.

Smaller stitches are better if you have the time/coordination. Large stitches can snag in the wash and also aren't as effective here.

That said, chicken scratch looking garbage will absolutely still make your pants wearable again, as you can see.

If the physical act of moving the needle is going terribly, it's because it's the wrong needle for the job. For jeans, you want a short needle as thin as possible with a small eye. I switched halfway thru this mend because I found a better needle and it was way easier after that.

That's all I got, good luck with your pants ! I usually can double or triple my jeans life this way

[luveline]

Hello,dear writer!if your requests are still open,how about an s/o that gets really lovesick for eddie when drunk?

absolutely!! tysm for ur request!!! ♡ fem!reader

"Eddie," you say, sweet but clumsy, smelling way too much like red wine.

He frowns at you because you've lost your jacket and an earring, and he hadn't known there was red wine in Harrington's house to drink.

"Where've you been?" he asks, a concerned murmur. Your neck is hot under his hand as he pulls you toward him, an intoxicated flush.

Your earring is definitely missing.

"Steve found wine. His mom's wine. And she's, like, super rich."

"Yeah? So you had the whole bottle?"

"Two glasses," you correct.

Your voice is lilting, near melodious as you talk, and your smile is uninhibited. Being drunk has made you look very, very pretty. Eddie wants to sit you down in his lap and tell you all about it, but sober you is really gonna miss that earring.

He follows down the crook of your elbow and takes your hand into his. You make sure to thread your fingers and squeeze three times. He squeezes back.

Through the hallway and into the kitchen again, he finds Steve and Robin in states similar to your own. Being drunk hasn't made either of them any prettier — Steve has his head in Robin's lap, eyes glassy and somewhere else as she pets his forehead.

"Steve," she coos, "you're so dumb."

Eddie laughs. You spin, stop, and beam at him. Your tenacity is kind of creepy.

"What?' he asks. He looks down at the front of his shirt. "I got something on me?"

"You have the nicest laugh ever, teddy."

"Oh, you're drunk. Can't believe I forgot."

You ignore his serious tone and bring your joined hands up to your chest. "Laugh again? It was really nice."

"Let me think about it."

You look over his shoulder at his friends, who seem to be having simultaneous breakdowns. Robin has dissolved into laughter thin and delicate as candy floss. Steve complains in her lap about being a spectacle for her, "You're fucking so mean. Where did Y/N go?"

"Hi Steve."

"Oh, she's right there. Hey! Are you gonna come and save me?"

You step closer to Eddie and drop your cheek into his chest. He raises his eyebrows in surprise as you begin to nuzzle like an overeager puppy.

"With my boy, sorry."

"Ugh, whatever. Why are you in here?" he asks Eddie.

"You want me so bad, Stevie-kins."

Steve chokes on a breath and turns into Robin's stomach, muttering, "This is all your fault. Told you not to let me drink wine again."

You've lost all will to move on, melting and melded to Eddie's front. Your hands rove over his waist until you've found what you want — the hem of his t-shirt. You slide a hand underneath and he tries not to laugh as your fingertips tickle as they climb his back, nail scratching gently against the dip of his spine.

"What's the matter with you?" he asks, wondering if maybe you're clingy because you're upset.

"Y'smell really nice. Nice and," — you wrap both arms around him tight, the soft of your stomach squished to his — "warm and... You're such a good hugger. Best hugs ever."

He ignores your drunken little hiccups and instead looks over your head to scour the floor for your earring.

"Sweetheart," he says, dipping his face to speak into your ear, "I'm never letting you out of my sight again." Because you're wasted, he doesn't say. Extremely wasted, considering you'd been apart for half an hour.

"I don't wanna be away from you either. Ever. Makes me so sad when you have to go."

He softens. "Maybe we should go home, huh? Get you into bed."

He rubs circles into your back to sweeten the deal. Eddie's nothing if not persuasive.

"No, just wanna hug you," you mumble.

"You can hug me in bed."

"Wanna hug you now."

Eddie's not an idiot. If a pretty girl like you wants to hug him all night then that's what's gonna happen. Your back rises under his hands, your drunken breathing slow and sluggish, and you make a contented sound that vibrates into each of his fingers. He pats your back in return, to say Yeah, the feeling's mutual.

"Kiss?" you mumble.

He leans back. You smooth all the hair out of his face in preparation, eyes widened by an obvious infatuation. You almost step on his toes as you raise off your heels and give him a surprisingly lovely kiss. You taste like wine, and you're a smidge too far to the right, but the tips of your noses touch and you're soft as silk under his hands.

"Love you so much," you murmur into him, turning your face to one side.

He kisses you harder than he means to and then holds you at shoulders length. "Love you, sweet thing. Home now?"

"Mm, yeah please."

He cups your cheek. You smile until your lashes touch at the corners.

-

[kathaynesart]

What do you take from the Rise movie’s “This isn’t about me,” message? *It’d be interesting to see this become a Tumblr thread cause I’d love to see what others think too.

That's... an important line to decipher. Deep enough to mean so many things but vague enough to be easily taken out of context. I have a lot to say about it, but I'll keep it under the cut to save others the trouble.

TLDR: Future Leo's a dum dum hypocrite

I think... when Leo used the line in the future timeline. He was trying to remind Casey of the harsh reality that they existed in. That this was a world where they sometimes had to set aside their personal wants for the greater good. It's for that reason that Leo was able to ask Mikey to do the unthinkable and sacrifice himself in turn.

What I find fascinating about the movie, is that it both supports and counters this message. It tries to find that healthy middle ground, between present Leo's narcissistic attitude in the beginning and the downright sacrifice he's willing to make by the end. Because him sacrificing himself was NOT the happy ending. And while we get that "ending" for only a moment. We can see that method doesn't feel right either.

In that way, I don't think "it's not about me" isn't actually the "message" of the movie as some might assume at first glance. Merely a gentle reminder to check yourself before you wreck yourself. Because technically, yes, "it's not about me" does apply to many aspects of life. We can get so caught up in our own worries and concerns and perspectives and it just... muddles reality in a way. We need to see how our actions and words affect others and understand that there's so much more out there than our own little bubbles. But we also should understand our own worth within the big tapestry of life and be willing to fight for the things that matter to us.

That's why I think the actual message of the story isn't "it's not about me." It's about balance. It's about the knowing look Leo and Raph share in the end and the fact that Mikey was able to achieve the true, best ending with his brother's help to save Leo, because they know that the world may mean more in the long run, but they mean the world to each other, and I think it's really important to understand.

But that's just my long-winded opinion on the subject and there’s plenty of other interpretations I think I can totally get behind as well. It will be an element within Replica but let's also remember that Future Leo is kind of hypocrite with this line. He's says "It's not about me" but that's coming from someone who the entire resistance has centered around as its leader. He's probably a little tired of the idolization by now and does not like the idea that he's somehow more important than others. I think that's where that line really stems from for Leo. It's obvious that Casey isn't just talking about his importance as a leader, but Leo with the same line is asking him to set those feelings aside even if he is one of the most important people in Casey's life.

And then Leo turns around and throws one of the most important people in his life through the portal. A damn hypocrite (/positive)

EDIT: I was sort of ending it on a silly note but @dandylovesturtles added such a great point that I haven’t been able to put into words but feel in my heart when it comes to future Leo and definitely something I want to show with the healing process he’s been going through in Replica: and that’s the “not all about you” sometimes just means that bad things happen but you can’t just blame yourself for it, and it’s not some cosmic attack for your mistakes. The world did not come to an end because of Leo’s mistake, even if he might have once felt like that. What’s more it means you can’t put the whole world on your shoulder or always try to fix things on your own like how Leo tried to after Raph’s capture. It’s ok to seek the aid and support and ideas of others your trust. It really lines up so well with a lot of the events in the film.

Thank you @dandylovesturtles and everyone else’s amazing comments! I want to hear all of them and take notes.

[itgomyway]

let's play ! the sims ; a thread on how the reality you experience is like playing the sims🕊️

if you've never played the sims before, the sims is a game where you create a character (sometimes this character can represent you) and you give them traits, aspirations, beliefs and other ego/3d centered terms. then you plop them onto a plot with some money.

the point of this game is you can literally create anybody or anything. it can be a version of yourself that you believe already exist or a version of yourself that you want to exist. it could not even be you, it could be a character from a story youre telling.

you, as the player of the game we will call you the observer. you are watching this sim interact in a simulation. you have seen the means that created the current circumstances your sim is experiencing so you understand it's not real it's just a game... right?

if your sim falls in love, are you as the observer actually in love with the sim? i mean you created the circumstances for love to appear... right? so then how come you personally as the observer are not attached the way the sim is?

because you know that shit is fake. you know that no matter what as the observer you have the power to change anything in the game. there's literal cheat codes to turn you into a billionaire. so why tf would you stress? you wouldn't. as the player/observer/consciousness you already know

it is the sim that doesn't comprehend cheat codes. the sim can't see the simulation running because it's too busy identifying as a sim. the whole nature of a sim is to do what the observer tells them to do. so if the observer thinks it's a victim the sim will be a victim

have u ever seen a sim freak out over something not serious at all? like if there's a fire it'll have a meltdown saying it can't escape (it probably can). and you as the observer are like "cmon now hurry up and freak out so i can save you" yeah that's the observer and ego interacting

the sim freaking out over fire had no change in the actual outcome. either way, the observer/player of the game is taking care of the sim. even when the sim can't understand it, the observer is in control and knows what actually is going on.

now the sim represents you whenever you identify as the ego. you get caught up in so many stories and circumstances you yourself made up but unfortunately you believe it to the point to where you fall victim to it. it's second nature to you now.

the observer represents consciousness. consciousness is everything. that is all consciousness will ever be and you are this consciousness. you created the sim you chose where to live u picked the beliefs and aspirations. knowing this, how could u let urself fall victim?

just go back and change to what you want. (there are cheat codes for this too!!) it was so easy the first time, why does it seem hard to now? because you're trying to do it as the actual sim and players of the sims know shit takes forever if you leave it up to the sim.

you created the circumstances the sim is living under and are now trying to move mountains that only consciousness can move as the ego. the ego/sim doesn't even exist. it doesn't even understand the entire situation it's trying to change. SO LEAVE IT.

play the game. that's how you should live your life. created your circumstances. observe them. enjoy watching your ego live out these circumstances (they don't have to be negative!!) and then you get you get bored. then you change the game. add new shit. remove things.

it's your rules. it's your game. don't let anyone else tell YOU how to play. if you're not gonna listen to something you directly created (your own sim or ego) why the hell would you listen to something you indirectly created (everything else) ?

© itgomyway

[bambamramfan]

Community Building Secrets

A couple weeks ago the SSC reddit had a discussion "If people want a community so much why aren't we creating it?" I found it really odd since it comes from a place of "here is why community building doesn't happen" and you can tell that in the tone of the comments.

But obviously communities are being made, every day. (There is a secondary problem which is that all communities have some problems - drama, eventual collapse, inequitable burdens, exclusivity, cults of personality, problematic members, etc - but they do EXIST, and presumably people want them despite knowing that problems of some form are likely if not inevitable.) It would be like a reddit thread on "why does no one date" despite, you know, a lot of people dating out there.

So a more legit question would be "why are our community efforts not succeeding? What is the difference between our efforts and the communities that are made."

I don't have nearly all the answers to all their questions, but reading it and thinking on the topic let me crystalize some thoughts I've had for a long time. Thoughts that are very important about how communities start, and how they go forward. I'll put them below the fold.

The Golden and Iron Laws of Communities

The Golden Law of Communities is that you need something shiny to start the kernel of any community. It is nominally the thing the community is "about", but even when it's not explicitly that, it's still the hook that gets people interested.

It could be "we have the word of God and this is how to avoid Hell." It could be "we are all descended from this sacred bloodline." It could be "Sharon hosts dinners and her husband is an executive chef so they are amazing." It could be "this famous blogger is part of the community and you'll get to meet them." It could be "we talk about and run alternative theater." It could be "there are lots of sexy young people and who knows what might happen." It could be drugs, going to water parks, arguing about charities, talking about politics, a favorite scifi author, watching black and white movies, speedrunning videogames, a particularly charismatic founder of the group, or any damn thing.

But you can't just say "hey everyone, let's have weekly dinners and help each other babysit or play boardgames, because community is nice." You have to advertise (even if just by word of mouth) a short idea that motivates people to want to get in on that.

Got that? Can you admit that dark truth? Okay we can move onto the second law.

The Iron Law of Communities is that the thing the community is about doesn't matter.

Two seconds after you have enough people in your group to begin enjoying themselves, someone will ask if they can invite their friend "who is totally cool but aren't really into X" where X is the thing in the Golden Law. Or someone will invite the people in the community to a completely generic event that has nothing to do with X - because they're cool people and you're enjoying hanging out.

And that's... fine? Like you might say yes or no to the request, but either way it will start happening, and your group will do the same things and have the same type of people and same discussions as every other group. Your identity that separates you from other people will dissolve away slowly. (In very official institutions, this will take the form of adjacent informal activities.) Congratulations, you have now made a Community with the potlucks and babysitting share-schedules and networking and incestuous dating drama.

There are of course, communities that fight against the Iron Law harder than others, but it just doesn't really matter. They're just as likely to wither and die as any community eventually, and if they had admitted those adjacent people that wouldn't hasten that day. Most of the communities you see have plenty of "members who don't care about X, are just here for the people/stuff."

If everyone was coming to the events just to see some famous blogger or sparkling charismatic leader, they would soon find out they get very little face time with that person, but there are other people around, and they're fun, and they'll start coming back for those other people and the group activities.

There's a running joke that no matter WHAT your Discord server is about, eventually they'll make a #politics channel, then an #nsfw channel, then a #nsfw-hardcore channel, etc etc. And that's where most of the chatter will take place in, eventually.

[nuri148]

My Take on Levi's Age

I originally wrote this as a rb addition to another post. I've been meaning to make it a stand alone post since then, and with all the talk about Levi's age since the publication of bad boy, here it is, finally.

If you ask me, Levi could not have been more that 4-5 years old at the time Kenny found him around 829.

Why?

He's severely malnourished, probably spent several days cloistered in the room with Kuchel with nothing to eat. So my guess is that, though he was old enough to speak and understand Kuchel was dead (even if he could not quite grasp the bigger concept of Death), he was too young to go out and procure himself and his mum some food, be it by stealing or begging. And for that, he's need to be very young.

I lived in Greater Buenos Aires more than half of my life (the infamous "conurbano"), and I've seen lots of very small kids, 4-5 years old, begging like pros for either change or food. It's unfortunately very common in impoverished areas. And I wasn't even in the bad ones. So, in that aspect, the Underground wouldn't be different from our villas or Brazil's favelas.

Kuchel was a prostitute. She wouldn't want Levi to witness her at work. It is fair to think that as soon as he was old enough to cross the street she'd let him roam and go play with other kids while mummy's busy. There, he'd quickly learn how to come by a piece of moldy bread to stave hunger.

So in order to just sit starving by his mother instead of going out looking for help, Levi must have been young enough that his mum could still keep him under wraps; too young to know his way about the Underground's streets, too much of a rookie in terms of using his charm or his cunning to get a bit of food.

Uri Reiss inherited the Founding Titan in 829. BUT, nowhere does it say that Kenny's encounter with Uri happens right after the latter became a titan. So Kenny might have joined Uri up to a couple of years after 829 (not many, as Rod Reiss still looks young in that flashback).

So Kenny finds Levi between 829 and 831; And Levi is 4-5 then, meaning he was born, at earliest, in 823 (considering his b-day is only one week before the year's end, that'd make him 5 in for most of 829) and latest in 825 (same if Kenny found him in 831). That makes him 10-12 years older than Eren and company. , ~20 when he joins the SC, ~26 during seasons 1-3, ~30 after the time skip, and ~33 in the epilogue.

"But Yams said he was thirty-somethiiiing!"

TLDR: I wouldn't consider canon some spur-of-the-moment answer given by Yams in a panel where he's probably tired, nervous, and doesn't have his timeline handy.

Allow me to speak here as a writer: the whims of your imagination often don't align with the logic of what needs to go on the page. So it is perfectly possible to imagine your character in a way that is inconsistent with your timeline. You see them with short hair and summer clothes fixing lunch in their sunny kitchen in a scene and, when they move to the dining room you see them with hair 4 inches longer and serving supper as a snowstorm rages outside. When you write it, you're going to have to pick up one, and go back to your notes often for continuity after, bc your brain keeps forever placing the kitchen in sunny summer and the living room in a winter night. Oh, and they're both simultaneously on the ground and the second floor. Escher pictures make more sense.

The story of AoT spans many years, so we don't know which year Levi is the default Levi in Yams' brain. It could even be the Levi from the time skip, or from a future after the last chapter that only exists in his imagination. Also, Yams has bungled up numbers before so, personally, I don't trust him much in that department.

In any case, Math is a hard science, so if Kenny found Levi with 4-5 years in 829, he can't be 30+ in 850. 5+21=26. No matter what Yams says.

Additional notes:

The original post. With additions. I recommend reading the quoted twitter thread.

Another, recent twitter thread on Levi's age

A lengthy post by an actual psychologist providing scientific foundation for Levi's age when Kenny finds him.

I saw yet another post on Levi's age recently, but I can't find the link rn and I have to make lunch. if/when I find it, I'll add it (and others I may come across)