#“i can't ever find anything that's not XYZ”

[gailynovelry]

Gently shaking the sort of people who go like "ew why would anyone describe a book using tropes, that doesn't tell me anything about—" honey, it's because it's a convenient shorthand. If you want to know what the story is about in actual detail, then click the link and read the summary. Maybe read a few reviews and learn what the experience was like for other people. Please, I know that you are smart enough to do a little research on your own.

And if you're not interested in the way the author described the book anyway, then why are you wasting time telling them how uninterested you are? Go find something you actually like!

[fluentisonus]

another thing that bothers me about people insisting translation can never communicate the original with the implication that it's therefore not worthwhile is like. what's the end result of that? you never read anything from places that don't speak the languages you do? you let the perfect be the enemy of the good & seal yourself into a narrow cultural bubble because you've decided it's not possible for ideas & stories to cross language barriers?

[aclowntiny]

Things Seventeen Do That Make Your Heart Flutter

I love these but also like when can I get a Seventeen *cries*

S.Coups

♡ Takes his voice a couple octaves lower to murmur sweet nothings between kisses

♡ Sits behind you with an arm wrapped across you protectively

♡ Texts you to make sure you got home safe if you ever go out late, have something scheduled in the evening, or go somewhere unfamiliar

♡ Moves your hair &/or shirt out of the way to press kisses to your shoulders

♡ Rolls up his sleeves slowly but firmly, looking genuinely a bit surprised that you're watching so intently

Jeonghan

♡ Calls you adorable with the fondest smile directed only at you

♡ Raises your joined hands up to his lips to press a kiss to the back of your hand

♡ Pulls you into bed with him, hands going to your hair as soon as you fall onto his chest

♡ Boops your nose, plays with your cheeks & nuzzles into them

♡ Teasingly swipes his tongue over your lips when you're kissing just to see what you do

Joshua

♡ Tells you this next song is for you as he takes his guitar pick from between his teeth, beginning a new melody

♡ Listens to you & makes eye contact so intently, a tornado could pass by behind you & he wouldn't even notice

♡ Holds the umbrella for you & kisses you in the rain like it's a movie scene

♡ His hands always gently rub your back when he hugs you

♡ Kisses your hand, then slowly takes his time all the way up your arm to your cheeks & finally your lips

Jun

♡ Tells you he just can't resist you, you know

♡ Pretends to bite you, every now & again very lightly actually giving the side of your face a joking bite

♡ When you're done laying down, takes both of your hands & swings you back up, making you feel like for just a second, you're flying

♡ Hypes you up constantly, telling you you're the most beautiful person ever in the whole world, actually

♡ Twirls you around the room when you're dancing just so he can admire you before reeling you in once more, your back against his chest as you move & sway as one

Hoshi

♡ Notices if you ever wear different perfume, leaning in & practically nuzzling your neck to get a sniff after he points it out

♡ Gives you the occasional little nip between kisses

♡ Holds you on his lap with both hands around your middle, resting his head on your shoulder with a huge smile as he lightly sways you

♡ When you're sitting at a table together, his foot finds your leg, hooking it & trying to pull you closer, giving a giggle or a smirk depending on how far he manages to pull you

♡ Finds excuses to slide his hands over your body as you two dance

Wonwoo

♡ Chuckles deeply & fondly when you start showing him affection

♡ Links your arms together when you share a book, pulling the pages a bit closer to his vision & you to his body

♡ Takes you to the most beautiful places, but his eyes hardly fall on the view because they won't leave you

♡ Tells everyone else to be quiet when you're speaking & considers your opinion first

♡ Gently lowers you into bed with a hand at the small of your back

Woozi

♡ Leans in & bites the tip of his pen softly as he listens to you intently

♡ Gently pulls your head onto his shoulder when you sit next to each other, his fingers ever-so-slightly running through your hair

♡ Lets you try his Seventeen ring on, smiling so widely if it fits you, too

♡ Always lets you play your favorite songs, even if he doesn't particularly like them

♡ Can't wait to spend time in private with you, because it's during the moments between only you two that he gives you the most passionate kisses

DK

♡ Sings you love songs, then bursts out into a wide, shy smile afterward

♡ Grabs your hands in his & makes you clap for both him & yourself depending on the situation

♡ Accepts any excuse to tell you xyz quality, situation, skill, or anything really is why he loves you

♡ Does love shots when you guys have drinks or even with your spoons in hand if you have ice cream

♡ Can't give you just one kiss, you'll get a ton of pecks before getting pulled into a more passionate one

Mingyu

♡ Caresses your cheek with the back of his hand

♡ Grins as he flexes & lets you hang off his arm, feeling so cool & looking just as confident

♡ Spends a whole day just to learn how to make your favorite dish with you at his side

♡ His eyes light up when you show him a new outfit you got, gaze drifting over all of it as he smiles Bigger & bigger, telling you how amazing you look in a wonder-filled tone

♡ Turns to steal a kiss on the lips when you lean in to press one to his cheek

The8

♡ Tells you he'd really like to kiss you- may he?

♡ Manages to take the most flattering pictures of you & when you comment such he remarks that that beauty is how he always sees you no matter what

♡ Lays his hands over yours to guide them as you paint a picture together

♡ Presses kisses to the shell of your ear when he looks over your shoulder

♡ Traces patterns on your back as you lay together

Seungkwan

♡ Remembers your drink order & surprises you with it as often as he can

♡ Absolutely melts into your kisses every single time, whether it's the first or the twentieth, his face breaking into the most precious smile

♡ Back hugs you, placing his hands over yours & resting his head in the crook of your neck

♡ Almost always holds your face in both hands when he kisses you, pulling you in so gently & taking his time as his lips move with yours

♡ Reminds you almost daily how much better this world is because it has you in it

Vernon

♡ Idly holds the strings of his hoodie between his lips

♡ Lets his hand slide down your jawline after he places his headphones on your head, pulling you in for a lazy kiss

♡ Reminds you that you can tell him anything, you know, expression solemn yet deeply loving

♡ Even if you're sitting at a table, he'll find a way to brush your knee with his

♡ Really casually will just tell you that you have really beautiful eyes, you know

Dino

♡ Holds your waist & guides you as he teaches you a new dance move

♡ Believes you can do anything, almost completely blind to obstacles as he expresses complete confidence in your ability to carry out your dreams & desires & show your skills anywhere

♡ Pulls up his shirt to wipe sweat off his forehead

♡ Whispers little jokes to you just to make you laugh & see your smile as you fall a little closer into him

♡ Surprises you with kisses at the most random times to keep you on your toes, giving a great big grin at your expression thereafter

[ahedderick]

Legally

I find it fascinating that so many folks have an understanding that "criminals" commit crimes and other people - don't? Or that "criminals" are identifiable visually in some way? Well, let me explain a little better.

When I had a very, very sick kid and tried to work through the school system to get disability accommodations, I was told "Get a 504 plan" with the clear understanding that that would . . solve everything. We got a 504 plan. My husband, son and I met with guidance and a few of the teachers. Son was to get XYZ to help him keep up in classes.

Some teachers did XYZ. Some did it the first week and then had to be "reminded" (nagged. begged) thereafter. One refused outright, and when I saw the guidance counselor, she whined "Weeeeeeell, Mrs. Fuller is in her last year before retirement, we....uh....can't make her. do anything."

THAT'S ILLEGAL! people tell me. Yeah, no shit. But there's nothing that can be DONE about it except take them to court - which would not have solved the immediate problem of getting my son through his school year.

When I was hired for my first full time job, in 1991, I was told that I (a woman) would never have been hired if Mr. Screene hadn't retired earlier that year. The office had an unwritten, illegal policy that women couldn't wear pants. Not any pants, not even dressy ones with a suit jacket. All totally ILLEGAL but. My only recourse would have been to file a lawsuit - and that was highly impractical for a 22-yr-old new hire working for am important company in a very, very small town.

Anyone with a disability could tell you that 'federally protected rights' to accommodations are . . not always honored. Any worker could tell you that 'mandatory' overtime pay, meal breaks, etc - do not mean anything in some workplaces. And for gosh sake's don't ask the renters who have to fight like the dickens to ever get their "legal rights"!

So when I hear folks saying "Talk about your salary, your boss can't LEGALLY fire you for that!" it makes me think .. hmmm. Would I want to take that chance. I am not sure.

A boss who breaks the law in paying or accommodating his employees. Is a criminal. Has broken the law. A teacher who refuses disability accommodations for a student with a documented need. Is a criminal. Doctors, lawyers, white collar professionals knowingly mistreating clients or steering them wrong deliberately (for profit or prejudice). Criminal. And so, so few of them ever have a reckoning.

[starliights-shining]

Heyyy! Can I request headcannons of Tfp or G1 soundwave (you choose) with a gn human reader they took as a pet but the reader likes to hide in vents and cracks in the wall from them?

Thank you!

Hello, I like the idea of soundwave just staring and not saying anything, so Tfp Soundwave it is. Please feel free to come back for some more. Anyways, Enjoy :)

When Soundwave first took you as pet, everyone thought it ws useless, you'd be more of a problem then a pet, but you proved them wrong. You sutck by soundwave, did what he asked, didn't ask questions, thats a lie, but you didn't ask questions about what he and the cons were doing, more like whats this thing do? Or why is that con doing xyz.

I feel like if you disappered he'd go looking everywhere, and after a while of thinking about where you could be hiding. He finally remebered the first time he saw you in a vent. So now he gos looking in them.

After your first disappearence, he keeps a watchful eye on vents, afriad at some point you'd cme running at him and by stepped on or worse killed. He doesn't know how others would react to you doing it and that scares him just a little bit.

After a long time of keepig you, i feel like he'd just keep small furniture in the vents he knows you'll freqent, a small nice chair in one, Maybe a little reading space in the vent in the room he's almost always in.

He won't admit it, but he likes to know which vent youre in. It helps him feel more at ease and just becasue he doesn't want to anything bad to happen to you, you might be his pet, but he still cares deeply for you.

I like to think he uses those tendrils of his to reach inside the vents to get your attention, you look up to where it came from just to see his purple blackish visor staring at you throught the enterence, Just wanted to make sure you were there still, and you in fact were :),

Lets talk bracks in the wall now, Soundwave preferes if you'd stay in a vent, because he know megatron or someone can't fit in them and get you.

The first time you jumped out at him fom one of the cracks, he just stared at you. wondering how long you've been hiding there and hoping you wont do this to spy on cons.

I also feel like hes just not a fan of of youre hiding with cracks in the wall, so if he does find you in one, he'd pull you out and have you walk with him, a servo reaching down to usher you forwards down the hall. He likes having you around, so now wouldn't be the prefect time for you do get killed, or worse missing.

If you got caught, he wouldn't know what to do, threaten them, freak out, beat them up, convince them to let you go, He doesn't know. He needs to know where you are at all time on the ship or a new ship.

If you he was to ever switch ships, I feel like he could freak out a bit, have to put some type of tracker on you jsut to know where you are at all times. Cant go having you get caught or trapped in your own hiding spot now can he.

[keratonin]

also if you really want to be a thorn in the side of the next administration, it is a GREAT time to get familiar with your local government.

find out who runs your city, your county, your school board (even if you're not in school/you don't have kids in school). find their websites. find their office's contact information and save it. you will be using it.

do they have town halls? meet and greets? can you attend their meetings? GO TO THEM. bring friends. find out what these people are doing. do your research. develop opinions on it.

next step: voice those opinions. go grab that contact information you saved earlier. if you're able, make phone calls to these people's offices. be polite and courteous (so they take you seriously) as you tell whoever picks up the phone that you're one of [officeholder X]'s constituents and you [approve/disapprove] of what they're doing with [policy XYZ. be specific about which thing you're talking about!]

stay polite and calm. send emails if you can't make phone calls. get your friends to do it too. it doesn't matter if you never voted for officeholder X and nothing they can do would ever make you vote for them. still tell their office you're a constituent and you disapprove of that one policy they're trying to push through. you really don't need anything more than that.

local governments have power, and they have fewer constituents than, say, senators and presidents, so each individual constituent voicing approval or disapproval matters more to them. let them know that you care, and you're paying attention, and this will impact how you vote when they're up for reelection. and GET YOUR FRIENDS TO DO IT TOO.

five calls from different people to a school board member in one day saying they strongly disapprove of removing books about gender from the school library, when normally that school board member receives MAYBE one call from a constituent? they will notice.

contacting your state legislature and members of congress is definitely a good idea too - it's less likely to have an immediate impact, but if enough people are doing it, we can make something happen. politicians want to get reelected.

and THAT is how we become a massive thorn in the side of the next administration. get every policy that the next administration wants to push through absolutely bogged down in a swamp of 'yeah my constituents would vote me out in a millisecond if i went along with that.' the united states government is large and complicated and unwieldy and we can use that to our advantage.

go grassroots. pay attention. be vocal. and be consistent. one phone call might not do much. it's the volume and the persistence that make the difference.

[henrysglock]

care to drop some Henry headcanons?

Hoo boy okay :3

Pets

I don't think canonverse/canon-adjacent Henry would be a pet guy in general. I like writing him as keeping spiders, but my main drive behind that is "he has no friends, and he's collecting ones that are low maintenance" rather than "he likes having pets". Especially re: his living situations in a canon setting, I think he would view anything more than spider jars to be a liability—not to mention the whole "oh, the pet is afraid of me now because of XYZ supernatual reasons" thing. It would be very isolating in that regard, and would probably do more harm than good.

However. In non-canonverse AUs, or canon-adjacent AUs where his contact with the supernatural is minimal (by comparison to canon), I think Henry would be a dog person.

If there's one thing that every version of Henry craves, it's affection. He's always looking for love, and it leads him into situations that any other rational person would deem toxic and dangerous. He's also highly anxious, whether it presents as outward neuroticism or emotional shutdowns.

What better solution than a big, fluffy, dopey dog that will always be happy to see him? One that can just lay on his lap and be petted until he feels better? One that could be trained as a guard dog support dog? Yes. I think so.

I could see Henry having a golden retriever, a St. Bernard, a Great Pyrenees, or even a particularly laid-back German Shepard. He'd probably give it a human name, too, and he'd probably talk to it like he's having a real person-to-person conversation.

If given the opportunity, he'd be a horse guy, too. They just get each other. His horse spooks at a leaf, and he's there like...Yeah, man. Me too. He's the "if my horse kills me, it was my fault" type. He would ride english style, and he would absolutely (silently) judge someone like, maybe, Jim Hopper for being a western saddle guy. They have vaguely homoerotic beef, similar to figure skaters and hockey players.

2. Clothes

Henry seems like the type to always be ridiculously behind the times until someone close to him drags him into modern clothes (kicking and screaming). He's the guy who was dressed "proper" as a kid and grew up to be a man who feels naked without a sweater of some kind. He loves summer because of all the sunlight and warmth, but he feels weirdly exposed in just a cotton t-shirt and slacks. That man would put on a t-shirt and then stare in his long mirror like [Joyce voice] she has nipples....and then he would put on a second top of some kind. Yes, it's 90ºF. Yes, he's wearing a cardigan. Don't judge him. He feels naked without it.

Don't even talk to him about shorts, either, unless he's a) inside his house or b) doing some outdoor activity that involves water.

He would absolutely be the guy who always wears a shirt at the beach/pool. That is, if you could manage to drag him out to the beach/pool.

I also feel like he's the kind of guy who always wears socks. Like. Y'know how some autists hate socks and others can't go without wearing socks? Yeah. He's the latter. But they're all just the plain white crew socks (until someone he knows buys him anything more "fun"). It's not that he doesn't like fun socks, it's just simpler if they all match each other.

That said, he also feels like the kind of guy to have house slippers. There are shoes, which stay in the garage, and then there are the ✨ House Slippers ✨. They're a staple in the winter. Socks+slippers combo outsold.

Speaking of winter: He likes some aspects of winter, like the fresh snow and the ice storms that make the trees clink like wind chimes. However. He hates how dark it is, how early it gets dark, and how damp it is. And if all that brings back bad memories, that's for him to know and no one ever to find out.

3. Lifestyle

Henry has a sleep schedule. He swears he does. It's just, y'know. 7pm to 3am, and then 4am to 7am. The man has dinner and immediately conks out. He's so tired. Don't judge him. His sleep schedule does get better relative to the sliding scale of his mental health. Happy Henry? 10pm-6:30am. Struggling Henry? See the first set of times. He's coping.

Henry is also the type of guy to run himself into the ground when he's sick, and (for obvious reasons) he hates going to the doctor. He will simply suffer with the flu for weeks rather than go get Tamiflu from Urgent Care. He once broke a bone in his hand and tried to convince everyone he knew that he could "heal it by himself". He did exactly that, but everyone was side-eyeing him the whole time.

He gets his vaccines, though. He sucks it up for the greater good, even if he's scurrying around the pharmacy like a prey animal being stalked the entire time.

He hates conservatives and everything they stand for. He has never once voted republican. That doesn't mean he likes the democratic party, but he also understands the concept of a lesser evil.

Henry loves horror video games like Resident Evil, Silent Hill, etc. even if he's curled up in a ball on his couch with a blanket pulled all the way up to his nose the entire time. He swears they're fun, and he swears he's enjoying himself, but he does flinch comically if anyone/anything breaks his concentration.

Henry has zero marks on his driving record. This does not necessarily mean he's a good driver, it just means he has a knack for spotting cops. He will absolutely go 50 mph in a 25 mph school zone as long as there aren't cops around. He pushes triple digits on the interstate—that is, until someone drives like an ass. And then he starts being a petty driver. But like...hey. They had it coming. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes, asshole.

2010 Henry Creel would drive a Prius. He would never say it out loud, but he would be insufferable about it, internally. He judges people who drive diesel engines, especially the trucks that puff black smoke.

Henry Creel is the "Did the cops see it? No? Then it's legal." type of person in like 80% of cases. He's not "above" lashing out at people who treat his friends and family poorly, even if he wouldn't do the same on his own behalf. He's not going to report shoplifting. So on and so forth.

He's a coffee person, but mainly just in the way of sweet treats. He's not a huge fan of tea (he came around on boba tea, but only just).

He's only had pecan pie once, with his epi pen ready and a friend there to drive him to the ER. It's his favorite, now, and he sighs wistfully about it whenever he passes a bakery in the fall like it's a forbidden lover. His second favorite is strawberry rhubarb, and he only realized he liked it once he moved to Indiana and tried the homemade kind. He prefers sweet potato pie to pumpkin pie at thanksgiving, but he won't say no to pumpkin pie either.

He prefers creamy soups to broth soups, but he will absolutely fuck up a bowl of chicken noodle or vegetable barley soup. He's a soup enjoyer. An enthusiast, even. Henry's never met a soup he didn't like.

I think I'll leave it here for now :3

[nozunhinged]

After a year of essentially getting payed for kicking people in the butt to do their job (or as professionals like to call it: "project manager") which is basically a culmination of everything my autistic self is NOT capable of, I gathered a few learnings about a desk job environment that may also be helpful to someone else. Because I would've been grateful if I had this advice when I started working and not 10 years and 20 jobs later.

(also no NT bashing intended here, these are just my observations okay)

1. Neurotypicals tend to forget stuff...a lot

That doesn't just go for their tasks (ehem) but also anything else from small talks to compliments and even fights or heated arguments. They deal with the situation and move on (I'm so jealous of that ngl) while probably every neurodivergent spends a lot of time processing which can be extremely exhausting. So I learned that when I'm at work I try to go "neurotypical mode", which means dealing with the task at hand and immediately move on without giving it a second thought. Of course I mess up shit in the process, but funnily enough if you just correct it with a sorry, that mistake is ALSO immediately forgotten! It's hard in the beginning but gets easier with time.

2. Imagine you are a tiny ant in a huge colony

What tremendously helped me dealing with social interactions is to shift the focus away from my overwhelming anxiety but on what this interaction is to the other person. And to them, I'm just one ant of many ants this person talks to today. To me it may have been the one single talk for the whole day, but I try to pretend that I also did this 100 times already like they did probably. And now that we know that people forget a lot and don't have elephant brains like us, it's a lot easier for me to accept slip-ups in my script or saying dumb things (or very often, just saying nothing because my brain had a blackout). I always imagine they think "well that was funny" and then they forget. And if they forget, I can too.

3. I hate to admit it but...even with the hardest things, practice makes perfect

Hear me out. I'm the first person to choose the mail or contact form if I have the choice. But at work, I mostly don't. And the first few months I caused a lot of trouble because I struggled very hard to call people. But now that I need to call people at least 10 times a day, even the necessary private phone calls got way easier. Theres no shame in having a hundred scripts for different scenarios. I still always practice every word I say before I call, but it's much much quicker and less stressful now. And I also always use the same 5 phrases like a call center and that's also fine. No one will notice, I promise.

4. Set your boundaries...no one will ask you why

That's probably the hardest one and I needed a lot (and I mean A LOT) of therapy to get to this point but: you don't have to explain yourself. Never ever, in any situation. The more you explain, the more questions will be asked. There's a huge difference between "no I can't do this" to "I don't think I can maybe I can find a way but there is reason xyz why it's impossible" — every explanation gives your coworkers and higher ups an in. When you say a simple "no" in a neutral tone, in 90% of cases the answer will be "noted". Same goes for emails. Never explain, just keep the information brief. No explanations. Polite formalities if necessary but thats it.

For days off I repeat: Never explain why you need it. You say "I need a day off". If they ask why, say you just need it. And even if they try to rope you into a discussion, stand your ground and by any means don't get tricked into giving an explanation. And if they deny you your day off and try to threaten with losing your job or whatever shit, take that one L and don't take the day but immediately try to get out of that hellhole and apply for other jobs in secret.

But let me tell you, they won't fire you over shit like this, they need you as much as you need them. And we often tend to forget that (as in, they use that tactic to keep us in place). My old employer literally went bankrupt because they laid off too many people. It will fuck them up in the long run. You always, always have something to contribute. They just don't want you to know.

That shit is so hard, the first few times I literally had to hide in the bathroom and cry to deal with the aftermath. I still fall back into explain-mode sometimes. But if you stand your ground most of the time, they will think "well they must have thought long and hard about it and have a good reason". It's so weird, I know.

5. Your 80% is neurotypicals 150%

We often have to deal with comments like "but how will you be able to put up with this workload" "you know you have to work as hard as the others right" "you're not as resilient" Blabla. Reality is, the average employee doesn't work nearly as hard as you do. They just sell it better. Go drink that coffee with your desk neighbour. Have that Smalltalk by the vending machine. Visit Josh from accounting and ask dumb questions. It's fucking exhausting but it will make them feel like you are trying hard. I know it sounds counterintuitive but it really works. Because when you try hard the neurodivergent way — aka work your ass off to prove that you fit in until you burn out— you will just get more work that you can't get done because you are yknow, burned out. But then the expectations have already been set. It's a vicious cycle.

So start slow. Introduce yourself to literally anyone (cringe I know) and if you think you're going too slow, go even slower. Ask a million questions even if you know the answer. And if you don't know, still ask. Ask every little dumb thing. I promise, it's okay. You're still working harder than anyone else, just different. But they don't need to know that. If you're done with a task in an hour that you should need 4 hours for, chill for the remaining three hours. You need it, because that one hour cost you a lot of energy! But watch out if an employee walks past, open that spreadsheet back up. And if you needed 8 hours for a 4 hour task, great! Another office day in the books, time to go home!

6. Speaking of different

I know all of these tips are basically sending all of us to masking hell but the sad reality is that this world is still made by and for neurotypical people and it's essential for our survival to manage all these invisible rules we don't understand. But I am convinced that masking can be a powerful tool if we use it to our advantage. I used all my observation skills to come up with these social play cards (my therapist suggested I literally make cards and we wrote them together, I loved them so much for encouraging that) when I started working in my company and now I have a kind of "standing" (don't ask me it's weird and I don't get it) that allows me to ask for more and more accommodations which I desperately need. I have exact time slots for availability which are getting respected, I successfully set a limit on meetings per week and I even get to turn off slack without anyone questioning if I'm working. Which in turn makes me more capable in doing my job and everyone is happy. Basically the opposite of a vicious cycle. Because turns out I'm actually good at annoying the shit out of people to deliver their work, who would've thunk. They're like "oh I better do my shit before noz comes for my ass" and it's glorious.

7. Being disliked is actually an advantage

I know, I know. Avoiding conflict is the neurodivergents bread and butter. Being liked by everyone is too, because we already feel so ostracized we try anything in our power to make up for it. But you know, if people don't like you at work, they will do their best to avoid you. If your direct colleagues don't like you, they will also do their best to keep your joint tasks at minimum level and as efficient as possible. Don't get me wrong — They will gossip, they will turn against you, they will try to make your work life harder than it already is. That needs to be endured, unfortunately. But keep doing you. You will be fine, I promise. If they hate you, you are doing something right. Being the villain is kinda fun, actually.

8. Your colleagues are not your friends

I fell for that trap so many times and still do. The second you get into a friendly relationship with any coworker, the power dynamics will shift. You will get more lenient with helping out, going out of your way with things and that will spread like a wildfire. Because when push comes to shove, they will drop you like a hot potato. Always, always keep everyone at a healthy distance. No matter how nice and lovely they are. Same goes for — no especially for — higher ups. They are most definitely not your friends. And the company is not a family. If you don't get payed for it, don't do it.

And last but not least....

You are worthy. You are capable. You are a smart, wonderful and shining individual and don't let a dumb desk job environment convince you otherwise. They are all just bullshit jobs and everyone tries to sell it as something super important. It's not. It's just a way to make ends meet. We all have something to contribute, no matter how small or niche and this corporate bullshit is not the standard you need to abide to. Keep doing you. You are doing great, I promise.

[pseudophanti]

ok this one might be a little dicey but... sooo tired of chappell roan. not her as a person! nor her opinions really. i don't think she's done or said anything wrong, in fact i largely agree with her, although i do think she needs a better publicist, but that's not really on her. but i do desperately need to never read anything about her ever again. because why is she my entire feed on every platform oh my god. i love her music and i think she seems really cool but beyond that oh my goddddd i DON'T CARE

also my hottest take - her haters are cringe and weird but also her diehard fans are also um. cringe and weird. i like her a lot too but like um. does no one else find it strange that this person who's so very very open about not liking parasocial relationship has the most parasocial fans of all time... like i understand the need to defend her and again i wholeheartedly agree she's being subjected to a lot of shit she doesn't deserve but why are you out here detailing her mental health struggle history to random people and theorising why she's doing or saying xyz like oh my god are you not part of the problem? do you not think she would dislike you as much as she dislikes any other person parasocially attributing shit to her? just because you're saying it to defend her that doesn't make it any less weird

i am of course saying that as a deeply parasocial phannie, it's just dan and phil - often to their detriment - encourage this fuckass behaviour and chappell is very much trying to prevent it. like one of the main reasons i never go into her hardcore is i know i'm a fundamentally parasocial person and i knew from the getgo she doesn't like that so i was like, well there's not much here for me then, i'll just appreciate her from afar. idk. just seems strange to me to be a huge fan and directly go against her wishes, but i suppose what do i know..

oh also. snl isn't funny usually. and i don't think that bit about her was funny either. but at the same time. you guys have got to be less touchy about it SORRYYYYY. it's a bit. it's not a GOOD bit but it's still a bit. you can dislike it and you can critique it but to overall say they can't satirise her is a bit far i'm sooo sorry. again i don't necessarily think it was good satire and it's fair to critique that but you also can't really claim they were actively trying to do harm like no i think they're just bad at comedy

[pltkarma]

Advice for Manifesting - Robotic Affirmations

Disclaimer : This is my personal advice, I am in no way shape or form an expert on this.

When starting manifestation,

it's important to know that anything you want is possible,

you actually need to try / be working on whatever you want

---

When starting robotic affirmations or manifestation it is important to start small. Not bc "you can't manifest xyz all at once" but bc it's important for you to see how it actually does work. Focusing on 1 or 2 helps create less resistance and gets you closer to your manifestation.

Once you get the hang of things and start to have that master belief of " I can literally manifest whatever I want." Then you are more than ready. ( Even for your first ever affirmation you can use that saying)

Repeat repeat repeat

Act like a robot when stating your affirmations, out loud or in your head. When affirming , it is natural to have doubts or feel silly in what your saying but you must filter them out. Ex. "I can't actually do xyz", say to yourself "I can get xyz and more!" ( There is no set # of times you have to say it, just until you feel it's done)

---

Belief

I've heard people say that belief is not important in robotic affirmations tbh, i'm 50/50 on that.

When I first started I didn't believe in a lick of what I was saying to myself ( I did the 369 method with 7 affirmations all different things) and they came to me within a week.

I've done others where I felt that it was already done ( wish fulfilled ) for a few minutes a day and it still worked

so I think it's depends on you, as long as you want it, it is yours.

---

When making your affirmations it is important to be SPECIFIC,

the wording you use matters, everything matters.

Ex, my first manifestation ever I wanted to go to a specific place. I gave myself a week to see if my affirmations came true (369 method). Guess what? I got an offer that week to go there from a family friend, the following week. However it wasn't to the exact place.

I wanted to go to famous city in xyz state, however all I said was the state in my affirmations never the exact city.

I was severely disappointed ( I still went ) , so make sure you are detailed to the tea.

Actually working towards your manifestation

Let's be realistic for a little bit. If you never open your textbook for a class, attend or atleast go over it. Just bc you said a few affirmations does not mean you'll pass or get a good grade. You aren't trying // serious, for example if I wanted to get good grades I would say

" I always get good grades, getting good grades is easy for me,

I love to study, no matter how much I study I always get good grades"

The " no matter how much " I would still intend you to study atleast a little bit.

A simpler example would be trying to find a job, if you aren't applying, what makes you think you'll get hired? But remember I said wording is important? if you are manifesting to get a job offer or to hear back from someone that is something entirely different. Also acc working towards is helps with your belief aswell.

--

All in all this is my personal advice, it is important for you to see what works best for you, as it is your desired reality you wish to build.

If you have any questions feel free to ask!

[endwersed]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Tagged by the fabulous @dear-massacre 😘

How many works do you have on ao3?

21 - it would be a lot higher, but I purged all but one of my old Destiel fics back in 2017. They weren't very good, so I can't say I really regret it 🤷‍♀️

What's your total ao3 word count?

319,994

What fandoms do you write for?

Now, just Teen Wolf 🐺

Top five fics by kudos:

Find Your Fire - Reddie (IT)

Clue(less) - Reddie (IT)

Nah, He Didn't - Destiel (Supernatural)

Worst Enemy - Reddie (IT)

as dear as a brother - Sterek (TW)

Do you respond to comments?

Embarrassingly, it's very hit and miss... I want to! I love and cherish every single comment I ever get! But I find the process of replying to comments bizarrely stressful, so sometimes it takes me... a while. And that while might be, like, years. Sorry!!

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I genuinely don't have anything with an angsty ending posted; I need my boys to be happy too badly for that. I guess I could say maybe striking out - just because it's not finished yet, and where it is in the story right now is angsty af!

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

All of them have rom-com level happy endings lol. Maybe Clue(less) - it's a childhood friends-to-lovers soulmate AU, so it has all the sap that comes with those particular tropes wrapped up in there.

Do you get hate on fics?

I wouldn't call it hate, per se - but I guess my interpretation of Stiles is a bit harsher/more rough-edged than others I've seen, and some people don't vibe with that, so I get comments telling me they don't like Stiles in my story for XYZ reason.

To be clear - I also don't write Derek as a completely faultless, entirely perfect guy. I also have him do bad (arguably worse, in some fics) things. But for some reason, I don't ever really get the same kind of comments about him!

Do you write smut?

Like, almost exclusively at this point. It's like my brain can't come up with a story unless I'll get a chance to write them fucking nasty in it.

Craziest crossover:

None, they're not really my jam.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

omg yes! years ago! It was this Destiel HS AU I had posted on AO3 (since deleted because it was... not good) and someone posted it onto ff.net and claimed it was theirs. I can't remember if I ever was successful in getting it taken down.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

I don't think so!

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have not.

All time favourite ship?

All time is so hard... I do probably have to say Sterek. I shipped them intensely back in 2012, and I ship them even more intensely now. So - yeah. Probably them.

What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Are we talking real WIP that I've actually made a meaningful dent in? Or just ideas I've put down to paper?

Because I have so many ideas, there isn't enough time to actually finish them all lol. But for fics I have actively started, I'm pretty confident I'll manage to muddle through to the end of all of them, even if it takes a little while.

What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue and smut, I think.

I tend to develop a scene around the dialogue - in that, it's the dialogue that will come to me first when I'm planning the outline, and I'll note it down for when I come around to writing the scene. Then it's mostly a case of refining that dialogue and building the scene with descriptions around it.

I also love smut as character study. It's not just about being horny for them. It's about being horny for their introspection, too.

What are your writing weaknesses?

I don't have the imagination to come up with some of the flowery prose I see and love from other people. I wish I did, but that's just not how my brain works unfortunately!

Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

I only really feel comfortable writing in languages I'm fluent in. For anything else, I think we all know Google Translate can't be trusted, so I just... avoid it.

First fandom you wrote in?

Harry Potter! Wolfstar all the way back on ff.net <3

Favorite fic you've written?

Oh god, this is hard. Let's go with a Teen Wolf fic, because they're the nearest and dearest to my heart right now.

I think I'd say feels so good inside. It was so much fun to write, and I just love loss of virginity fics so damn much.

-

Open tag to anyone who wants a go!

[southshoretides]

There was a great post I saw a while back but lost about the ideological lens of media criticism that went like "Your average Reylo-hater doesn't hate it because she thinks Rey is not submitting to Kylo as a wife rightfully should, they hate it because it normalizes abuse. People who really hate Avatar tend to think it's colonialist, not that the humans are failing to teach the Na'vi about Christianity. People who hate Harry Potter in 2024 hate it because it's a story about rich prep school kids growing up to become feds plus the trans stuff etc, not because books about magic are Of The Devil."

In other words, you can only say that shaming campaigns/social-media mobbing for people who like Problematic Content is inherently a conservative (i.e. bad) thing (which is an argument I see over and over again, and not just on Tumblr) if you define 'conservative' as entirely divorced from its object-level goals (re: family, religion, law and order, etc) and round it off to "telling people that their feelings are invalid or immoral," with the implied inverse being that it's unprogressive to ever criticize someone's tastes in media.

And I guess that's internally consistent if your modal progressive is a live-and-let-live hippie with a high openness-to-experience and agreeability scores, that's internally consistent. But it's 2024 and if that's your modal progressive, I'm wondering why. Part of the reason this sort of stuff gets me genuinely worked up in a way little else does these days is that it seems so willfully, deliberately ignorant of the last ten years of cultural change, and it often comes from people who really ought to know better.

Because if you listen to the sort of people who hate Problematic Content, you will find that they indeed don't care about media spreading the Gospel, or enforcing traditional heteronormative values, or being patriotic, in fact they have contempt for all those things (which are, yes, themselves, kind of hall-of-mirrorsy concepts, but the important point here is that most conservatives define themselves as favorable to those concepts).

But what they do care about is media that enforces harmful stereotypes, or causes harm to marginalized groups, or defends capitalism/nationalism/etc, and other things conservatives don't really care about. And it is entirely internally consistent to say "I hold progressive values XYZ, I think that fiction that opposes my values will weaken them, ergo I want to ban or suppress fiction that opposes my values." There's nothing inherently un-leftist about that, the Soviet bloc did it for decades! There are millions and millions of people who think that way who openly and proudly despise all things conservative and Republican.

Thousands of words have been spilled about what happened to the left in the 10s, how they willingly took on the pro-censorship, pro-word-police mantle once various proto-Trumps and the big guy himself ran in the opposite direction. Maybe the last few years of things (somewhat, sorta) swinging back the other way have made people forget. (And I put 'in 2024' up there for a reason: the battlefield really was very different as little as 15 years ago. But now it's not.)

But I think it's more likely that people who think you can't be both censorious and a progressive are simply still unwilling to truly accept that, that we have this whole class of people who may say the right things and vote the right way on green fuel and gay rights and whatever else, who claim the mantle of progressives, but are as strict and paranoid and closed-minded as any conservative in practice when it comes to anything outside their comfort zone, just as dependent on whisper campaigns and public moral grandstanding and consent-manufacture as the conservatives they hate.

And this is embarrassing for leftists who don't believe in media censorship, so they try to write these guys off as infected by enemy memes, or double agents, or just hopelessly confused. Either way, they're not real progressives, because they're not how I'd prefer progressives to be. And like again, fine, you can do that, but we have a term for that behavior, not a complimentary one. "Progressives don't ban books" only hold true insofar as progressives don't ban books--that the people with the levers of power in the progressive movement refrain from doing that.

Ultimately, a book banned for reasons of blah blah Jesus morals Christian America is a banned book, and a book banned for reasons of blah blah privilege historical inequity triggers trauma is a banned book, and no clever rhetoric can get you around that.

[ifonly1]

A year ago before jimin's album release when everyone was hoping for xyz Collabs on jimin's album i was wishing that let it be an album all about him without any collab or feature be it any member or any other artists. Not like i wouldn't have liked it if it had Collabs and all because it's his album he decides, I'm no one to demand anything from him, never did but just wished that it would be good if it's just him.

Reason being ever since i have joined this fandom as a jm fan i always see his antis calling him leech, attention seeker, fanservice king, then when chapt2 started every members' solos were like "Look no one wants to work with him, he's jobless, no one will work with him if it's not for BTS, others have so many activities what does jm have? He's jobless" etc etc. It wasn't just a small number of group but every single members' solos said the same thing about him while dragging him daily cause he was inactive as he was busy preparing his album. Jimin says "Silence is Golden. Don't waste time" so he always works in silence, he's pretty much inactive from past few years comapred to his self from debut. You will hardly find him posting and telling us about what he's doing, he comes once in a while and just says he's working and that's that. so what i wanted was jimin to release an album that's just about him and show how he's capable of getting big achivements as a solo artist. Thing is all his solo songs from BTS's albums are successful so that does tell his impact but yeah i was wishing for only jm album.

He did debut with an album just full of him, he achieved all the success all big achievements on his own as a solo artist. His promotion period was of just 9 days yet he achieved things many armys thought won't be possible without having a western Collab with big artists (i do remember all the things they said before and during face, i do remember all the laughing).

Funny thing is even now many call him "fandom favourite" and he was benefiting off of ship, but you ask them how and you're blocked lol. Anyways, I'm proud of all his achievements and his hardwork. He got #1 on hot 100 and became the first ever korean soloist to do that with a solo song, only k soloist who made it to #1 on artists 100, went #1 on Spotify which was first time since dynamite, got 1B streams, did all this with a korean solo song with 9 days of promo. People don't get how massive these achievements are. People hate on him yet they wish to get same achivements for their fav and when they can't they call it fraudulent.

So when in future you come to accuse him of nasty things and call him leech, attention seeker or "he's using xyz member" do look at his solo achivements and then we can talk.

P.S. as usual if anyone reads it sorry for the all the mistakes cause it ain't my first language (nor second 😂)

[lynxindisguise]

20 asks for fic writers

ty for the tag @plecotusauritus and @wanderingdonut <333

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

16

2. what's your total ao3 word count?

300,242 (damn)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

hp, have considered branching into black sails and good omens

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Hot Cocoa Incident of '77

shorn and scarred and yours

A Dog in Stag's Clothing

Sarcastic Truths and Lies By Omission

exes, horcruxes, and other reasons to panic

conclusion: bitches love hogwarts fluff, slytherin sirius, and divorce!!

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes! I love comments!

6. What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending

Uhhh I guess the corndog fic?? all my wolfstar fics currently end happily, though Of Monsters and Cowards has more of an open ending

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

They're all happy honestly, but The Hut of the Mistold is probably the most neatly wrapped up, all the warm and fuzzies, happily ever after ending.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Nothing directly mean, but I'll get comments that make me go, "why did you feel the need to say that?" Like ranting a little too enthusiastically about the main character's choices or commenting on how they wanted more of xyz in a chapter (especially when the fic isn't even finished!) Oh and I got one the other day from a guest on a reply I made to someone else that was clearly trying to start an argument about something that had nothing to do with the fic??? I don't respond to those comments.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Typically I write a little smooching that fades into a vague description, but I wrote six different versions of smut for don't cover our tracks

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I write a lot of AU's based in other worlds, but not crossovers. (Unless @impishtubist and I make the ineffable wolfstar crossover happen!)

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of. And hot take—I genuinely think a lot of cases of "fic stealing" are just coincidence. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but I do believe we're all collectively tossing around one brain cell, and we're bound to have similar ideas.

I once read a fic that shared a lot of themes/ideas/details with one of my fics, and upon discovering this, I plotted to trick the writer into becoming my deeply beloved mutual.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I've had people ask if they could translate my fics before a few times, but I don't think anything has come of it?

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not currently... (refer to 10)

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

Wolfstar

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

... probably the ATLA AU :/

The idea possessed me back in January of last year, and I plotted out the entire thing, but I've had no motivation to actually write it. I think the problem is that it's too cinematic, and I can't translate it to prose.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Probably world-building, in the way that I can look at one world and say "how would this translate to another?" "what little details and references can I pull from and play with?" "how do I adjust my writing style to make this feel like the genre I'm replicating?"

Also unusual metaphors, zingy little commentary, and comedic timing in dialogue.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I really struggle with prose. Which sounds silly, but like, I'm not writing prose—I'm translating the screenplay in my brain to prose, which is weird. And I think it can make my writing really jarring because it's lacking that slow, immersive reflection that is just so delicious when done well.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Dude I put a few Welsh words in hotm and panicked that even those would be wrong. If it was ever important for the story, I'd find someone who spoke the language to help me.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

hp

20. Favorite fic you've written?

Please Don't See Me

tagging @kaaaaaaarf @spindrifters @impishtubist @soloorganaas @femme--de--lettres @fruityindividual @worldenough-and-time

[thewittyphantom]

Finally, here's Lulu's dialogue with Sora, Shay, and Dennis.

Lulu: You're... Sora: I'm Sora. From Duel Academy. Lulu: Duel Academy! Sora: Sorry! Didn't mean to frighten ya! Ever since I heard you were back, I wanted to apologize. I'm sorry what Duel Academy did to you and the people in the XYZ Dimension. I know an apology doesn't fix anything, but it's still something I needed to do. Lulu: What's Heartland City like right now? Sora: Since the war's over, the XYZ Dimension is rebuilding. Duel Academy is also helping to make up for what we did. Lulu: I see...That's good. Sora: Now that I got that off my chest I'll leave you alone- Lulu: Wait. Before you go, would you like to Duel? Sora: What!? Against me? I did tell you I'm from Duel Academy, right? Lulu: Yes. But Dueling someone is how you get to know them. Sora: All right. Let's do it! You know, you and Zuzu and Celina are a lot alike - and I'm not just talking about looks. Lulu: Huh? Sora: They think they can solve everything through Dueling too. Lulu: Haha! You may be right!

[flashback] Shay: Lulu! Lulu!!! Lulu: Can it be... Shay: *pant pant pant* Lulu! Lulu!!! Yuto: Lulu! Lulu: Yuto! Shay: It's you...It's really you, right? Lulu: It really is me, Shay. Shay: Finally...I had a whole speech and everything, but...Lulu!!! Lulu: Shay!!! Yuto: Sorry it took so long, Lulu. Lulu: It's okay, Yuto. Thank you, Shay. Sniff... Shay: You're safe now, Lulu. Let's go home. Back to our world. [end flashback] Shay: I know there's still a lot you don't understand, but you can take your time. Lulu: Thank you, Shay. Shay: Just make sure you don't leave my side! You don't know what may happen. Lulu: Thanks, Shay. But you know...I'm not a kid anymore. You don't need to babysit me. Shay: But...But just in case... Lulu: Shayyyy! Shay: Okay. Oops... I forgot to say this...Welcome home, Lulu. Lulu: I'm happy to be home, Shay!

Dennis: Lulu... Lulu: You're...Dennis? Dennis: I don't know how much you know about me. So I'll tell you everything. I'm the one who saw you in Heartland City...and told Duel Academy. Lulu: !? Dennis: Duel Academy sent me to Heartland to find you and lead the invasion of the XYZ Dimension. Lulu: ........... Dennis: I am truly, truly sorry for what I did. I won't ask you to forgive me. But I want you to allow me to help rebuild the XYZ Dimension! I want my Dueltaining to make the people of the XYZ Dimension smile again! Lulu: ........ Dennis: You don't have to answer me yet - you just got back after all. But I'll wait as long as it takes. Lulu: When you were Dueling on the streets of Heartland... Dennis: Huh? Lulu: I thought that was the type of Duel that would make everyone happy. Dennis: But I... Lulu: You're trying to atone for your past, right? I think that's a good first step. I want you to show me how you Dueltained again. The kind that made those kids in Heartland smile. Dennis: ......Well if you insist...As a Dueltainer, I can't say no! It's showtime! Is there anyone here that would like to join in my extravaganza? Lulu: Oh! Dennis: Looks like Trapeze Magician has chosen you to Duel me! Lulu: Gladly! Dennis: Thank you...Thank you, Lulu!

[akc-g]

the thing is ultimately idc what ppl do. u can do whatever u want. nobody can stop u from doing what u want. fictional characters ARE just fictional characters. ur not doing anything illegal aside from technicalities that we can argue abt all day. all of this ultimately IS debating based on ur personal morals n frameworks n none of this tangibly affects reality. there are sliding scales of acceptable for like everything in these discussions etc etc dark media has its place. i dont like that u will get, like, 'anti' spaces for lack of a better word that refuse to have anything troubling in fanwork or leave room for nuance. i think these spaces are very kid-orientated n we as adults need to actually argue w each other not 15yos who just learned the concept of fandom but im getting off topic.

my points onwards are that fiction is ALWAYS grounded in reality in some way - the characters exist for a reason, the story exists for a reason, fanwork exists for a reason. asking urself why you enjoy xyz n how you enjoy it is like a thing everyone should be asking themselves and your feelings from that also exist for a reason. nothing exists out of nothing. my feelings on this subject don't exist out of nothing - your feelings on this subject don't exist out of nothing.

and the second point that hasnt been talked to death is that, okay, yeah, fandom politics do not affect real life. but if they don't matter, if ppl upset dont matter, then why do YOU need them to matter? why is it just vacum sealed fiction when someone complains but when you talk about it, its suddenly important queer media? it clearly matters to you. it clearly has an impact on you. why can't it have an equally negative impact on others as the positive impact it had on you? why does fandom only matter when it helps? besides that something not touching the real world can be true while it very much effecting the niche space you inhabit, which is important in this context.

i respect that ppl get defensive of their interests and the things that bring them comfort, letting go of coping mechanisms or simply happy interests is difficult. i generally dont think ppl on the 'opposite side' are some kind of inhumane monsters. we r all just ppl trying to find something to make ourselves feel better abt our world. what makes you feel safe isn't inherently a good thing tho just bc it makes u fuzzy. this goes for like. everything ever but *post context*. ig my whole point is less ppl have no media literacy but that ppl deliberately have none bc ppl want to stay comfortable in the niches theyve created.