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[nightravenxd]

Idk what I'm writing but I'm going with it

Might make this a series ngl

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

TFP!Megatron x reader

₊˚.⋆⁺₊ Small/big hate

Me when I see that one person:

He also reminds me of a cat in this picture

✮ ⋆ ˚｡𖦹 ⋆｡°✩

Being stuck in the sharp clutch of the Decepticons was not on your bucket list. The only reason it happened was because while heading home, and being at the wrong place at the wrong time, a battle broke out between Megatron and Optimus when they crossed paths.

Megatron assumed that you were related to the Autobots, but he soon realized he messed up big time when he saw that you had no clue who they even were. And the only thing keeping you alive was purely being bait for the Autobots.

You found out that trying to escape was useless since you were stuck on a ship, a thousand feet and more up in the air, and you didn't want to set the record for the highest cannonball ever made.

So you stuck where you are. Whether you liked it or not. Though you did give an earful to them when you got the courage to, but mostly because your bladder felt like exploding after holding everything in for 3 or 4 hours straight, you lost track of time.

Everything you needed was put in Megatron's room, because to "keep an eye on you better", but frankly you'd rather be put anywhere else than in the room of this ugly, big, shark like teeth's room.

Often, he paid no mind to you, leaving you to be snuggled up in a makeshift blanket which was just a rag, but it served its purpose. But sometimes he would tease you or threaten you with his claws and cannon.

When he does that, you curl up in the blanket, the only thing providing some sort of shield against him, even though it's highly ineffective. Nothing guarantees you that he won't slit your throat with his claws or blow you up, because you're merely a pawn in whatever twisted game he was playing.

But now you were glad he wasn't in the room, he went out earlier to do some work. But you knew once he comes back he'd be in one of two moods. Either pissed off, or rather calm in an almost eerie way, probably because he's tired since you've seen him sitting by his desk next to your makeshift bed, reading or writing something, or just sitting/laying on his bed, staring into space.

You knew it was night since you felt tired, tired from doing absolutely nothing here. So you laid down and covered yourself with your blanket and tried to fall asleep, hoping to wake up back at home, that this was only a very long nightmare.

But as you almost fell asleep, the door opening to his room made your eyes shot open. You didn't need to shift much to see him come to view, the door closing behind him and locking as he sat down on his bed.

You decided to try and fall asleep again, and you also heard Megatron lay down on his bed. Thinking that he would be silent and try to fall asleep, you didn't concern yourself.

But oh boy were you wrong.

He kept moving around, and the metal against metal stabbed your ears, he often huffed or groaned. He wasn't usually like this, he was never this restless and it pissed you off. Can't you get five minutes of sleep here?!

When you had enough you sat up. "Are you trying to keep me awake?" You snapped, glaring at him. You already hated him enough for abducting you, but now ruining the only peace you had? That won't do.

His eyes flashed to you, seeing you sitting up, glaring at him, made his optics narrow. "Careful with your tone." The fact that he was telling you to be careful, made your hatred for him rise. "I won't while you keep trashing around like a restless child!" You pointed your finger at him.

You saw him get up and make his way towards you. He then grabbed your face between two digits, his claws digging into your skin. "I don't like repeating myself."

He squeezed your face tighter, feeling his claws break your skin. You then pushed against his digits, trying to ease the hold he has on you, only for him to squeeze a bit more.

"It hurts!" You tried to mask your fear by being loud and "angry". But the whimper you let out after you said that couldn't be contained. You were sure he knows that you're scared, and he probably likes it.

Finally he let go of you, and you dropped onto your bed. Your face hurts, but you're glad your jaw wasn't dislocated. "I will do worse if you ever raise your voice at me like that ever again." His voice was cold, his eyes, too.

You didn't like it, you didn't like how everyone was cold to you, even your own parents when you were a kid. You only let out a small noise of agreement to his words.

Noting what he did now, he will do worse if you ever raise your voice at him again or defy him. Maybe it was your loveless childhood, but him acting like this only made you want to try and warm him up a bit, maybe if you pleased him and listened to him, maybe he would be a little less cold...

By the time you looked up again, he was already on his bed. Trying to sleep again. You stared for a while, and noticed his frown slowly deepen until it couldn't anymore and he opened his eyes again.

You wondered if bots had insomnia, but if they do, Megatron certainly had it. But you decided to lay down again, your back facing him. Then you felt a bit of blood trickle down to your lips from your cheek. You then wipe it off with your sleeve, not caring if it will be stained of blood tomorrow.

But you couldn't sleep, because of what happened not long ago. The adrenaline you felt was making you unable to fall asleep. You then turned to face Megatron. And saw him rubbing his face, in the same predicament as you.

You don't know what possessed you to speak. "Do you need help?" Your voice was low, but in the quiet room he was able to hear it and he turned to look at you. He got up and went to the desk where you were laying, sitting down on a chair he pulled out from underneath the desk. He then grabbed you and put you beside his hand, then propped up a datapad so that you could see it.

He then showed a picture of a small hill with a cottage-like house on it. It was only the small hill that was clear from the trees surrounding it. The rest was a dense forest.

You recognized the place, sometimes you would come there, put a blanket in the grass and enjoy the scenery. You found it by accident, while taking a walk in the forest you found that clearing. The cottage was abandoned, but it was well kept. It just needed some cleaning, but you never had the time or motivation to do it.

You felt eyes on you, his eyes. You looked up, and he was looking at you, thinking, a distant look in his eyes, though they seemed dimmer than usual. "I go there often." He looked back at the picture on the datapad, shoving whatever thoughts he had away.

"I go there sometimes too." It was honestly a beautiful place, but still surprised that he visited it too. You were glad the cottage had a friend other than just you. "Why do you go there?" To be honest, you wanted to know more about the big guy, maybe he wasn't so cold after all.

"It makes me come up with ideas about poems." Now that was something you weren't expecting, he likes poems? Writes them? Out of everything you thought he liked, writing poems was not one of them.

"How many poems have you written?" You felt yourself relaxing, letting your guard down at this lighthearted conversation in the middle of the night, at least you think it's the middle of the night.

"I lost count, but I stopped when the war started. Only recently have I written more." Now that's intriguing. "Can I see some?" You leaned forward, eyes on the datapad. He exited the image and found a poem he's written. But it was all in Cybertronian so you couldn't read it.

But even if you can't read it, you're sure it's great. Judging by how much is actually written on there. When you looked back up at him again, his eyes were half closed, shoulders slumped. He was tired, tired from a lot of things.

He suddenly got up and grabbed you with him. He laid down and put you on his chest, right where the Decepticon symbol was. You heard a light hum under you, it was probably his heart, or whatever they have.

When you looked up, his eyes were closed, and he was about to fall asleep. While thinking, you realized that maybe he just didn't want to be alone, battling for so long, having no one by his side to put his trust into. It's tiring, maybe that's why he couldn't sleep, he felt lonely.

Tiredness washing over you as well, you laid your head back down on his chest. The warmth and the hum of his spark lulled you to sleep, the first time you actually felt calm in your sleep during your time here.

[storm-angel989]

Hi!! I was wondering if you could do valentino x teen reader where as, teen reader is in her rebellious era and how valentino would handle the situation?

Thank you in advanced! i love your works and i hope u have a great day!

Hi friend,

So I tried to make this different from my others- rather than going through a hair dying, secret piercing rebellion, what about those of us who decided we wanted to change the world without truly understanding why the world was the way it was? Those of us who tried to protest, to fight against the way life is run? 

Enjoy!

<3 Mandy  

Valentino stared at his daughter in disbelief. Disbelief that she would be so bold. Disbelief that she would dare to question the very thing that brought them the comfort and safety they surrounded themselves with. Disbelief that she honestly thought she would get out the door, let alone get away with dressed….

Dressed like that. 

“It’s a statement, Dad,” Reader snapped. “Now move, my friends and I have plans.”

“If you think for one second my daughter, Vox and Velvette’s niece, is going to involve herself in anything that has to do with canceling soul bound contracts you’ve got another thing coming,” Valentino retorted. 

“Hell is paved with the labor of unpaid souls,” his daughter replied as she crossed her arms over her chest. “And it’s about time my generation does something about it.”

Valentino took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose, “put your tits away. And then we can talk about your misguided ideals.” 

“Aren't you the overlord of lust?” She growled. “Shouldn’t you be so proud that I…”

“I will not tell you again. No daughter of mine will leave this building dressed like…like…” Valentino couldn’t bring himself to say it.

Readers eyes narrowed. “Dressed like what, Dad? Like one of your whores? My point exactly, you wouldn’t want your daughter dressed like this! Those souls are someone's daughter, someone’s..”

Valentino felt his temper flare, and it took every single ounce of his self control to not explode right then and there. How could he have raised such a disrespectful brat? A child who dared to desire to shout about things she knew nothing about? A child who so blatantly disrespected everything her family had worked so hard to build. 

“Go to your room,” he said finally, “now.”

“I hate you!” She screamed. 

To his relief, she whirled around and a moment later, he heard the door slam. With a sigh, he turned back to the table and tossed what remained of his now cold breakfast into the trash. 

“You’ve got your hands full today, don’t you?” Vox remarked as he took a drink of his coffee. “Good call on keeping her home.”

“Where did I go wrong?” Valentino asked as he poured himself a cup of coffee. “Anyone?”

Vox and Velvette exchanged glances. To Valentino’s irritation, Vox smirked and Velvette rolled her eyes.

“If you have any ideas, please, I’d love to hear them,” Valentino said sarcastically as he flopped himself back into his chair.

“I mean, Val, you’ve always been so good at keeping her out of the dark side of hell,” Vox began slowly. “Maybe it’s time you show her what life would be like if we didn’t…if we didn’t offer the employment opportunities that we do.”

“Or! Better suggestion, if you don’t want to traumatize the poor kid,” Velvette interjected, “offer to let her sit in Vox’s office and read through any contract she’d like. See the terms and conditions and see that really, we’re doing all sinners and hellborne a favor. And we pay them. Better than most, I would think.” 

Vox choked on his coffee and in one fell motion, his cup slammed against the table. “You want me…to take whatever evil that swept up my sweet niece…into my office and let her loose on our contracts? Just let her know all the dirty details?”

“Obviously, keep the worst ones tucked away, but give her a chance to see…even the slightly more in our favor agreements,” Velvette replied. “Shove some common sense into her face. That’ll help.” 

“If it’s the best idea we’ve got…ugh,” Valentino grumbled. “When exactly will she find her common sense again?”

“Sorry Val, if she’s anything like us…it’s gonna be awhile,” Vox answered with a grin.

[one-flower-one-sword]

His fingers curled into claws, and he aimed directly for Hua Cheng's right eye!

It all happened in under a second. Hua Cheng dodged just as fast, but the attack still left two bloody scratches on his cheek.

For the first time, Hua Cheng faced an opponent he couldn't overtake in speed. His gaze turned sharp, and he changed tactics on the spot - he called forth millions of wraith butterflies, and they swarmed the man in a frenzy. The myriad butterflies wrapped the white-clad man inside a large, shimmering silver chrysalis, but that likely wouldn't last long. Hua Cheng was about to grab Xie Lian when the silver butterflies shrieked and exploded into sparkling powder!

Seeing the subtle change to Hua Cheng's expression as so many wraith butterflies were destroyed at once, Xie Lian knew that this wasn't good. The white-clad man had blown apart the wraith butterflies, and now he was hidden within the shimmering silver powder that choked the air. His newly grown hand struck out once more, aiming again for Hua Cheng's right eye!

TGCF Volume 6, page 76

In this previous post, I've speculated about the logistics of Hua Cheng being blind on his right side and his usage of the wraith butterflies as a sort of disability aid in some instances. This above scene of his first direct clash against Bai Wuxiang is another one of those moments where the text isn't directly stating something but it's possible to extrapolate from what is described and from what is implied.

Hua Cheng is extremely skilled at direct combat at a very young age already, evidenced by the way he manages to injure several of Qi Rong's lackeys when they capture him as he's only ten years old:

"I called for five or six guys, and they still couldn't catch the brat. He trashed and bit them until they were bloodied all over."

Volume 2, page 351

And then later as a young soldier in the army:

"Although the boy was carrying nothing but a worn sword, he was still highly effective and struck down many of the binu. [...] "You've never used a saber before, right? You use a sword, but the sword is tricky. Although it's fast and extremely aggressive, its range is fairly limited. If you've never used a saber before, try it next time. I think you might be even stronger with it."

Volume 3, page 124-127

(The horrifying thing about this is of course that while Hua Cheng probably possessed natural talent, the reason why he had to learn to defend himself against adults as a mere child was that he was so severely and frequently beaten by them)

Also in my previous post, I speculated that Hua Cheng always keeping his right eye covered likely meant he learned early how to compensate for his blind spot in combat, since that obvious weakness is something his opponents would immediately notice and try to take advantage of. Until Bai Wuxiang, we never witness him fighting anyone who can actually injure him, not since he's become a Supreme Ghost King. He defeats 33 heavenly officials in a row, and even fighting two against one with Feng Xin and Mu Qing, he defeats both of them with ease.

I would argue that, aside from being extremely skilled with a saber and having immense spiritual powers, it can be extrapolated from the above quote about his fight against Bai Wuxiang that it's also Hua Cheng leveraging his superior speed against his opponents that prevents them from taking advantage of his blind spot.

(As an aside, I would assume that even when Hua Cheng is in a fake skin that has both eyes and not in his true form, he's still blind in the right one because it's, well, fake. If the text ever actually contradicts that (I've not read volume 8 yet) I will add corrections)

But now, he's facing Bai Wuxiang, who is just as if not even faster than him. Judging by the fact that Bai Wuxiang aims his attack at Hua Cheng's right eye twice, he's correctly judged his blind spot to be the most vulnerable place to go for, thereby managing to bypass his defense long enough to injure him.

Hua Cheng immediately reasses the situation, realizes he needs to create more distance between himself and his opponent, and switches to use his wraith butterflies as a sort of distract-defend-attack combo. And against everyone else, this would have worked - we see this when he uses them to drive Feng Xin and Mu Qing back after they kidnapped Xie Lian away from him:

The butterfly deluge was blocked by the formless spiritual shield and shattered into shimmering silver light, which rapidly recrystallized into new silver butterflies and attacked once more. The onslaught was completely unstoppable - Feng Xin and Mu Qing gave ground slowly as they kept their shields up, and Hua Cheng steadily advanced step by step.

Volume 6, page 63

And then again to keep Feng Xin away and occupied while he faces Mu Qing with Eming:

Meanwhile, each arrow Feng Xin shot at the butterflies was snapped by their sharp wings. The sheer number of butterflies was ultimately too difficult to deal with!

Volume 6, page 64

But Bai Wuxiang is infinitely more powerful and simply destroys all the wraith butterflies at once, which then gives him the opportunity to immediately go for Hua Cheng's blind spot a second time and aim his attack there again.

If we continue to read the wraith butterflies as not only a weapon but also a disability aid of sorts, these fight scenes demonstrate both the possible uses of them as such and also their limits. While they're feared for good reason and have multiple functions - acting as his eyes and ears like spies, defending like a shield or cutting like a blade - they can help him make up for his blind spot to a certain degree, but they can't erase it. They're an aid for his vision loss, not a replacement.

(Which is a good thing imo, just to make that clear. I feel like it's always such a wasted opportunity when characters sustain a disability and then it's either magically fixed or they continue on as if they're still able-bodied. But Hua Cheng is disabled, and the ways he's found to empower himself and to navigate a world that's pretty hostile to people like him, don't take away from that)

Like I mentioned above I haven't read Volume 8 yet, where as far as I know there'll be more fight scenes, so I might come back to this post in the future to add further observations or correct previous ones!

[footnotesaregreat]

Hua Cheng's Simp Diaries 101

*a list of his simp moments bc you've never seen a man so deeply in love*

1. found and kept xie lian's earring from the first time they met when he was 10

2. plays with it a lot

3. kept the umbrella xie lian gave him when it was raining at his shrine

4. only ate from the offerings at the shrine when he was certain it was xie lian himself who told him to

5. was one of the few people who didn't kneel to pray to xie lian bc it was what he asked

6. he brought fresh flowers to the shrine everyday for xie lian's statue to hold

7. he tied the red string of fate on the finger xie lian had tied his own hair around to protect him in the cave

8. he turned his ashes into a ring which he gave to xie lian

9. told him it was nothing important

10. made him his reason to live because xie lian told him to

11. he built thousands of statues and shrines for xie lian

12. he challenged the 33 gods that ridiculed xie lian beat them in battle and burned down their temples *girlboss*

13. he's been drawing xie lian's picture from when he was a child from the first day that he saved him

14. made a big ass door for the shrine so it'd be better protected

15. when xie lian was blown away by the sandstorm at ban yue pass and accidentally grabbed onto him he only said: gege there you are don't fly away again

16. literally sucked venom out of xie lian's hand and then proceeded to explode the snake that stung him

17. made sure to give xie lian the ferns that did not grow with humans as fertiliser to heal his hand bc he knew he would feel bad about that

18. killed hundreds of ghosts at ban yue pass in seconds before xie lian came down there

19. protected him from the snakes leaving mu qing alone to fight them

20. taught xie lian how to play dice just to hold his hands bc the motherfucker definitely just changed the dice himself

21. he gave xie lian dice that would always bring him to xie lian as long as he wanted to see him

22. when he fought with qianqiu and accidently hurt xie lian he felt so bad

23. eming was crying actual tears

24. he came into the heavenly capital to take xie lian away immediately bc he rolled the dice he gave him and he wanted to see him

25. once he saw how much qianqiu didn’t know about the gilded banquet he took them to qi rong's lair and forced him to tell the whole story so there would be no misunderstandings

26. he built a literal temple in the ghost city for xie lian specifically for the mid autumn festival so he could "make things interesting" for xie lian's "amusement"

27. he lit up 3000 blessings lanterns for xie lian from the temple he made in the ghost city

28. spent billions in gold to get the lanterns

29. *twice*

30. he captured the fetus ghost before xie lian bc he couldn’t let him hurt himself and to do so kissed him in the pretence that they shouldn't have their mouths open

31. brought xie lian back to paradise manor and instantly made him feel so comfortable that he actually let his pain show while removing the needle he'd stepped on

32. he went to puqi village to bring xie lian’s hat back bc he mentioned it while rambling after their first kiss

33. he cleaned puqi shrine and took qi rong out of the house along with the rest of the trash

34. when he saw he xuan come in with qingxuan he threatened him bc he didn't want xie lian involved with the whole thing with he xuan and the wind and water masters

35. got his people to watch over qi rong and lowkey lang ying and guzi and also probably to look after the shrine while they would be away with qingxuan and he xuan

36. when xie lian FINALLY asked for his private communication array password his eyes legit twinkled

37. he purposefully set his password to sth very much embarrassing so that no one but xie lian would dare reach him

38. the only time xie lian actually used it himself was when he was legit imprisoned by jun wu

39. he actually found xie lian's password funny and the poor thing got the validation he wanted for his joke after 800 years of having this password

40. he constantly changed outfits to watch xie lian struggle to keep his eyes off him

41. while qingxuan was in xie lian’s body he wouldn’t hurt him so he punched he xuan into the ground to release his frustration

42. totally sailed across black water's domain with xie lian's dead body in a coffin

43. the worst suffering for him is watching his beloved get trampled and ridiculed which he experienced when xie lian descended and the people turned against him

44. also watched him get stabbed a hundred times

45. and saw him drunk in a graveyard crying and breaking down

46. he thought he hadn't won xie lian over yet but he had even though xie lian himself hadn't realised it yet

47. he made a new donation box for xie lian while shirtless and sweating even though he's a literal ghost and doesn't sweat

48. he pretended to be unconscious even though as mentioned he's a literal ghost just so he could have a laugh and totally freaked out when xie lian attempted to perform cpr *on a literal ghost*

49. proposed to xie lian and for some reason said he was kidding

50. he’d already given xie lian his ring and wore the string of fate (smooth bro)

51. built a coffin to safely cross the sea with xie lian and successfully caused him a boner (erectile dysfunction cured great success)

52. went along with xie lian to the east sea to protect him from black water but still didn't interfere with his choices

53. when xie lian did the soul switch he sucked his power from his body so that he could bring xie lian's soul back and again freaked out when xie lian kissed him to get the powers back

54. he only practices writing with a specific poem that specifically describes the specific feelings he has for xie lian

55. when he lost control of himself he *intensely* kissed xie lian and afterwards he was so worried that he had hurt him

56. he turned into lang ying even though xie lian told him to not be with eachother for now since they would both be busy

57. even though he was with him he sent the litter to carry them

58. had yin yu gather all the ghosts and the clothes while searching for the brocade immortal so that xie lian could work faster

59. he tattooed xie lian's name on his arm but his handwriting is so awful even xie lian himself couldn't tell what was written for the longest time

60. he ignored xie lian telling him to not do all the chores and did them for him while maintaining lang ying's form

61. he refused to change even when it was clear that xie lian had figured it out and was struggling to write whatever he’d asked him

62. he tried to make himself look good when xie lian asked him who is the prettiest, strongest etcetc

63. he was definitely crying tears of joy whenever xie lian picked him up and told him who cute he was

64. he shared his ✨feelings✨ about looking weaker than he is and feeling powerless

65. did not want xie lian to have to protect him but still listened to him and accepted the help

66. went with xie lian to mount tong'lu to protect him and make sure no one messed up with him

67. he told xie lian anything he wanted to know about whatever they encountered at mount tong'lu

68. he changed the bloody rain to red flower petals so he wouldn’t get xie lian wet

69. he brought him under his umbrella and shielded him from the boulders refusing to help anyone else

70. he tied THE FUCKING RED STRING OF FATE to xie lian's finger to make sure the two would always find their way back to each other

71. he quoted a line from the oldest known chinese novella literally meaning "not even death can do us part"

72. he showed xie lian what happened between yin yu and qi ying so he could better understand their situation

73. he was very ok to just hang around inside the mountain and told xie lian that if it was with him he wouldn't mind staying there

74. he heard and comforted xie lian's worries about his guoshi and told him exactly what he needed to hear

75. it later helped xie lian remain calmer when the identity of white no-face was about to be revealed

76. when the rest of their group where being loud he told them to shut the fuck up bc xie lian was sleeping

77. when pei ming was being a little shit and commented on the red string tied on their fingers he covered it with an illusion

78. then he showed it to xie lian who was worried that it was gone completely

79. he said to xie lian: "i know you can’t die, and you’re not afraid to die, but no matter how tough you are, don’t think yourself incapable of getting hurt.”

80. and: “not dying doesn’t mean not getting hurt, and it definitely doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt. when you see something strange and dangerous, don’t just touch it. find me. let me take care of it.”

81. when xie lian replied with: “...you too. if there’s something dangerous, you don’t touch, i won’t touch either, alright?” he was downright giddy, giggling, eyes twinkling, hair twirling

82. he built tens of thousands of statues and painted all of his encounters with xie lian throughout the years

83. he also sculpted the two of them boning (my guy was so sexually deprived)

84. he was so so scared when they ended up in the cave bc he didn't want to make xie lian uncomfortable in any way

85. he never wanted to make any kind of move that would frighten xie lian

86. he healed xie lian's frostbite wounds that even xie lian himself hadn't noticed

87. honestly can't separate the moments at this point the man is a ball of affection

88. when xie lian hugged him and showed him that his feelings were reciprocated he said: "your highness, you really will be the death of me." BRO IS LEGIT LIVING IN A SAKUATSU FIC WHAT THE FUCK

89. his eyes would not stop twinkling the whole time xie lian held his hand

90. he was in such a good mood that he didn't even say anything *extremely* insulting to mu qing and feng xin

91. he is just a little bby

92. he loves xie lian so much

93. when xie lian asked him about his ashes he once again said that they were absolutely safe and if the place he kept them was destroyed he wouldn't want to continue existing anyway

94. he basically turned into a ghost for the sole purpose of protecting xie lian and being with him

95. he twirls his little braid and fidgets with the coral pearl from xie lian's earring

96. he KISSED xie lian before they jumped into the kiln and this time without any false pretence of "transferring powers” or performing cpr" *once again on a literal ghost*

97. his spirit stayed in the mortal realm after dying in battle for xie lian and when he saw him told him once again that he will never forget him

98. also referred to xie lian as his beloved

99. also said that he wanted to protect him

100. and that he is his most devoted believer

101. and if his beloved felt bad that he stayed to protect them he would just not tell them

102. very slay of him

103. he was still so young there i-

104. they are the death of me

105. in the form of a literal ball of ghost fire he followed xie lian and did his best to warm him up and protect him even though he couldn't do that in that form

106. when white no-face held him and forced him to stay still while people stabbed xie lian a hundred times he couldn't take it and transformed into a vengeful spirit

107. he found xie lian in yong’an and offered to fight for him again as wu ming

108. while in yong'an he protected xie lian multiple times

109. the best and most beautiful statue of xie lian he built was inside the kiln and ended up being the one that broke xie lian out thanks to the powers he’d transferred to him

110. he continues to give xie lian spiritual powers by sticking his tongue down his throat and xie lian is going for it ofc

111. sent out his people to find the humans xie lian needed for the spiritual array

112. immediately noticed someone extra joined the array and told xie lian to check it out

113. when xie lian had to go to the heavenly capital with jun wu and his guoshi he asked him for a kiss bc staying back to take care of the spirits and the people in the array was just so hard to do without

🎐🍒🔥✨gege✨🔥🍒🎐 at his side

114. when xie lian connected with him through the spiritual communication array he instantly knew sth was wrong bc xie lian would never say his password unless it was an emergency

115. he gave qingxuan spiritual powers to have a way to connect with xie lian and sent help immediately

116. came to the heavenly capital despite knowing that jun wu would find him

117. talked with xie lian's guoshi and even spoke respectfully to him *mostly*

118. he sent he xuan to the array to give qingxuan his fan and transfer powers maybe bc xie lian cares for him or maybe bc he tolerates qingxuan *guess we’ll never know*

119. let's be honest from this point on, even more than the rest, every moment should be added

120. the man is a ball of love

121. he quoted himself while he was evaporating into butterflies because he's just such a poet and a romantic

122. he dies 3 times for xie lian

123. three

124. separate

125. times

126. he came back on the same day they first met

127. he lit another 3000 blessing lanterns for xie lian

128. "they spent eight hundred years running towards each other. this time, it only took an instant to fall into each other’s embrace."

129. he turned puqi shrine into a gay monument to xie lian

130. he left an essence of evil inside xie lian *successfuly caused mu qing and feng xin strokes*

131. he asks xie lian to call him 🧧🥟🗡️✨san lang✨🗡️🥟🧧 bc it means husband so xie lian has been calling him his husband all along

132. he got spoiled by xie lian and tried to bone every chance he got *fair*

133. when someone goes to pray to either one of them, for the prayers to be successful they must pray to both of them *together*

134. treated xie lian to yuanxiao and he finally remembered how it tasted after 800 years

135. he was definitely shaking from happiness when the answers to the riddles from the ghosts wrote "my husband is hua cheng" *even though the ghosts didn't know grammar*

136. when xie lian temporarily lost his memories he followed him everywhere to keep an eye on him

137. it's implied that mu qing and feng xin found him to tell him the situation with xie lian and then he went to find him so maybe he trusts them more now

138. he immediately sent yin yu to capture the creature that ate xie lian's memories

139. he loved every second of making fun of him

140. he made xie lian call him 🧧🥟🗡️✨gege✨🗡️🥟🧧

141. you bet his eye was twinkling the whole time

142. eming is used to taking baths with xie lian but when he went to him while he didn't have his memories hua cheng slapped it *save eming*

143. when he got sick he didn't want xie lian to have to take care of him but they talked about it and agreed to let the other take care of them whenever they needed it

144. when the whole fiasco with xie lian’s statues happened they made statues of hua cheng to keep them company

145. he has given up on learning calligraphy since he can just turn xie lian on and he forgets about everything

146. no one is doing it like them

147. hua cheng is insane for all of this

148. and very valid bc xie lian is gorgeous

if anyone made it here here's some tgcf playlists i'm quite proud of

[ultimateshixiongfuckertournament]

Round 3, Match 3: Quan Yizhen vs Sakura Matou

Match 3 is between Quan Yizhen (shixiong: Yin Yu) from Heaven Official's Blessing vs Sakura Matou (shixiong: Shirou Emiya) from Fate/Stay Night

Propaganda under the cut

Quan Yizhen:

Obsessed with his shixiong, much to said shixiong's chagrin. Someone who's a proper quanyin shipper can write better propaganda, but I just know he belongs here

Someone who's a proper quanyin shipper can write better propaganda

Well, okay. So Quan Yizhen was originally a street kid that was taken in as a disciple by the sect master at Yin Yu's (the shixiong in question) request because he was impressed by Yizhen's potential. But all the other disciples hated Quan Yizhen's guts due to a mix of his utter inability to read social cues and envy towards his raw talent, only Yin Yu was nice to him which is why Quan Yizhen's obsession with his shixiong took off. Yin Yu is the only person Quan Yizhen cares for.

Eventually his cultivation led Yin Yu to ascend to godhood and he took Quan Yizhen to heaven with him as a deputy god because he knew he couldn't leave him alone. Quan Yizhen doesn't care about prestige, he only cares about martial arts and shixiong, so he asks Yin Yu if they can't go back and if ascension is really that great to which Yin Yu replies to give it a try: Quan Yizhen does and actually ascends as a proper god.

However because Quan Yizhen is so naturally talented he quickly came to eclipse Yin Yu, which he didn't even realize because, again, he has zero social skills. This festered resentment in Yin Yu who eventually exploded and told Quan Yizhen to go kill himself... while Yizhen was wearing a robe that made him follow all fo Yin Yu's commands, so he almost does kill himself. He was stopped and Yin Yu was thrown out of heaven.

But!!! Quan Yizhen doesn't care about any of that! He still wants to meet his shixiong and is sure it was all a misunderstanding. Quan Yizhen actually beats up his own devotees if they trash talk his shixiong, nevermind that as a god his existance is dependant on said devotees. But he doesn't care about that! He only became a god because of shixiong.

When he finally meets his shixiong again, he recognizes him by Yin Yu's mannerism despite Yin Yu wearing a mask. Yin Yu hits him on the head with a shovel and he still doesn't care!! Quan Yizhen still follows his shixiong like a loyal puppy. When later Yin Yu dies trying to protect him Quan Yizhen cries and apologizes for not being able to protect him despite only being good for fighting. Quan Yizhen carries his shixiong's corpse all the way while heaven if falling apart. The last chapter implies Quan Yizhen is trying to nurture Yin Yu's soul to get him back and in the post-canon extras Yin Yu makes a cameo. So Quan Yizhen was succesful!! Death can't take him from his shixiong!

give it to quan yizhen!!!! his whole THING is unconditional love for his shixiong. No matter what Yin Yu does, qyz will love him forever!!

#i will not have my boy who literally calls out SHIXIONG any time he sees yin yu#and desperately chases after him even after everything#lose like this

#yall better give this to quan yizhen#if there's ever a shixiong fucker IT'S HIM

#yes!!!!!!!!#quanyin#he loves him so much!! it’s unconditional!!#vote qyz#tgcf#svsss

#quan yizhen is a real deal shixiongfucker#admit that every time you see his name you're screaming “shixiong!!!!!” reflexively in your head#polls

#qyz propaganda: wdym this guy was ready to kill and be killed for his shixiong#qyz is the most precious#he fights his worshippers if they talk shit about his shixiong#never minds the fact that said shixiong nearly got him killed#THE SUN AND MOON PAIRING#he's the epitome of head empty only shixiong

Sakura Matou:

She has been experimented on, tortured and abused since she was a child, a character broke down after experiencing a single day in Sakura's life. Literally her only lifeline in this world is her senpai Shirou, whom she fell in love with because of his determination. She visited his house every day to help with chores to the point Shirou gave her a key. She is only happy when she's with her senpai, any other time she's gloomy and people avoid her.

In her route she sleeps with Shirou (making her an actual senpai fucker) in an act that reclaims her agency over her body. Also on this route, she's being possessed by All The World's Evil and if Shirou agrees that is best to kill her, Sakura completely gives up and lets herself be killed. But if Shirou doesn’t agree she fights to stay alive despite her massive suicidal ideation, but this also make her emotions more unstable, eventually leading her to be fully corrupted and she turns completely yandere over Shirou. Eventually Shirou saves her at the cost of his body and Sakura resolves to wait for her senpai. In the true ending they get to have a life together, in the normal ending Sakura would wait for him her whole living, still living at his home and planting flowers.

Please please vote for my girl, she has suffered more than anyone and she loves Shiro so so much.

[prosepoetryanddrama]

Put Your Money on Me (Part 3)

Fugitive Sirius Black x Bounty Hunter Remus Lupin

Part 2:

https://www.tumblr.com/prosepoetryanddrama/754368764428140544/put-your-money-on-me-part-2?source=share

___

Sirius Black had not lived a simple life, not in any regard. The schools he went to, the clothes he wore, the choices he made. None of it had ever been simple. 

Creeping through dark hallways, only the moonlight to guide him, as a young child to listen to the musings of the unsettling men that paraded in and out of his father’s study. Finding white powder sprinkled in his mother’s designer bag as a teenager. At sixteen, staring at his reflection in the mirror while gunshots rang out from the basement. None of it had been simple.

But nothing, nothing had been as complicated as explaining himself to the, rather lovely looking, man in front of him. He watched as the unnamed man raised a skeptical eyebrow as Sirius, normally rather cool and collected when he wasn’t wanted for a crime he didn’t commit, babbled on. 

He explained, in a rush of words, how he didn’t kill Pettrigrew, how instead the man had snatched Sirius’s gun and shot himself in the arm before fleeing. How Pettrigrew had attacked Sirius in order to cover up his crimes, not the other way around. 

“Ok. Ok,” Hhe interrupted, “and what exactly does it even have to do with your brother, uh, Reginald?”

“Regulus,” Sirius corrected, shaking off the slice of pain that shot down his body at the thought of his baby brother. 

“Pettigrew,” Sirius spat, “had starting working with the Death Eaters, helping run their supply chain.”

The man gasped appropriately at this moment, at the fact that the martyred police officer, who was actually alive, was working with the Death Eaters.

“This is some soap opera level stuff,” the man muttered. 

While the man didn’t seem as hostile as before, Sirius couldn’t tell from his blank face and carefully even voice, whether or not he believed him.

“Pettigrew started-, he started, dealing to Regulus,” Sirius muttered, swallowing down the ball of emotion in his throat. 

The brown haired man looked up abruptly from where he was staring at Sirius’s shoes and his large, honey eyes widened even further.

“He was found,” he whispered, realization creeping over his face, “Your brother was found dead but no cause of death was revealed. It was substance from Pettigrew. Right?”

Sirius hummed in response. “Yes. We were… estranged, my brother and I, at the time of his death, and I obviously didn’t run in those circles anymore,” Sirius gestured to where his badge and gun would normally be.

“So I didn’t know that he was getting in that trash. After his death, I did some investigating.”

Sirius laughed without humour, a cold, cutting thing. “It took me longer than I’d like to admit to realize it was Peter. I confronted him but,” he paused, “obviously that didn’t go according to plan”

The man was silent for a few moments, staring aimlessly at the ceiling, his arms crossed. Sirius noticed the peculiar red shade of his jacket, and found himself frowning.

“So,” he started eventually, his voice reaching in and disturbing the silence that Sirius had found himself immersed in recently.

“So, where’s Pettrigrew now? Why did-, what’s his name? Barty Crouch, the Lutienant, say he’s dead?”

Despite Sirius’s attempt to tamper down his rage, a low growl came from his throat at the wretched name.

“The whole fucking force is corrupt! That’s why!” Sirius exploded, his loud, shrieking voice making the dust jump in the broken down house.

He clenched his jaw, “Barty Crouch, most of all. The man has always hated me, could never get over the fact that I was a Black.”

“So you’re saying he lied?”

There was shock in the man’s voice, but no confusion. He was apparently more than familiar with the unsaid corruption that swallowed Gryffindor City. 

“Ok, fine. If I believe you, let’s say, why are you in the city still?” The man turned his head quizzically. “Why not flee? You have money. Are you trying to clear your name?”

“I’m still here to clear my name, but I’m also here to track down Pettrigrew,” Sirius responded. “I won’t stop till he’s in a cell, he’s the reason that… my brother’s dead.” 

The man looked at Sirius with a gleam in his eye, though his posture was no longer as defensive, “How exactly do you plan to incriminate Pettigrew and clear your name, without getting caught or dead?”

Sirius smirked, feeling his spirits rise for the first time in a long time.

“With your help, of course.”

___

Sirius bowed his head on Remus’s wooden kitchen table, his fingers pressed against his forehead. He felt Remus sigh from behind him, before Sirius felt his cool palm on his neck. Sirius leaned back into Remus’s touch, feeling the pressure in his chest ease slightly. 

Remus had that power over him, to rile him up and then ease him down. It scared Sirius sometimes, how much power that handsome and so, so kind man had over him.

Sometimes, when he arose in the lazy mornings before Remus, tangled in cotton sheets, he thought, “I could love you forever.” 

Sirius was eager for progress, for something, anything to happen. He wanted to leave this apartment, and stroll down the street, as a free man. He wanted Pettigrew rotting in a cell, and he wanted little Harry back in his arms. He could have none of this without a change, but he was also scared. 

Now, he had Remus, quiet and charming Remus, and he was scared to lose him. In this small apartment, they existed in their own capsule, free from the outside world. It was all kisses under the hot spray of the shower, falling asleep on the couch with Remus’s head in lap and Sirius running his hand through the soft curls. 

The love between them was real but fragile and tender, and Sirius was scared to find out if it would survive the storm. He consoled himself by reminding himself that he would fight for Remus till the end.

How could he not?

“Sirius?” Remus’s careful voice interrupted his thoughts. 

Sirius blew out another breath before speaking, trying to unscramble his thoughts, “this is good. Weasley, when the time comes, can be witness to Peter.”

He continued, “I need to find Peter, though, only then can Arthur confirm it was him that he saw.” 

Remus shushed him gently, “and we will, Sirius. This is something, more than what we had before. I’ll let Potter know and he can do some more digging.”

Sirius’s heart clenched painfully at the reminder of James, and oh, Lily and Harry. He longed to have them near him, his true family, not those crime lords that he shared blood with.

Sirius nodded, “yes, I feel-, I feel hopeful. Dlightly.” 

Remus laughed before wrapping his arms around Sirius’s neck and lowering himself down onto his lap. He pressed his forehead to Sirius’s and breathed him in, shutting his eyes.

Remus leaned forward and pressed a scorching kiss to his lips, “You should be.”

He opened his eyes, “I’m going to clear your name, Sirius Black, and now and then, I’m going to love you forever.”

___

Ok, new part!

Y'all I need advice. If you feel comfortable, please leave a comment of your opinion.

I can't decide what to do next. I've kind of lost gusto for this au because I don't really have a full plot, I'm kind of just showing snapshots of the story, and I don't know if that is entertaining to readers. I kind of want to, in the future, revamp and make it a long story on here and/or a03. For now, then, I would move onto other stories.

Do y'all think I should stop with this for now (I feel like this is a good, hopeful place to leave the story) and eventually make a full length fic or would you prefer for me to continue just posting little snippets of this au as such?

Any feedback would be appreciated? Thank you to everyone who has shown me love for this story and my writing, it has been so, so encouraging.

@moon-girl88

@yourgalgremlin

[carlthecloakedartblog]

5 Times Elliot Refused Service and the 1 Time He Didn't

[1] [2] [3] [previous chapter] [5] [+1]

you can also read on my ao3 <3

5.

It started with a bang.

Literally.

A crash echoed from outside the front window, followed by a clatter that made Elliot instinctively wince. He didn’t even want to know what it was.

He looked anyway.

Outside, a garbage bin had tipped over, its contents scattered across the sidewalk in a sad sprawl of greasy paper bags and crushed soda cups.

Elliot pressed his lips into a thin line. He’d deal with it later. Probably.

Then came the jingle of the bell.

“You’re—” Elliot began, eyes still on the receipt printer.

“—blacklisted. I know.” 007n7’s voice was a familiar sigh, but today it had a… tone. Not defeated. Not tired.

Just… resigned.

And behind him?

c00lkidd.

Wearing a handmade cardboard pizza costume.

Complete with googly eyes.

And glitter.

Elliot blinked.

c00lkidd struck a pose in the doorway, arms wide. “TA-DA!”

Elliot stared. The costume was definitely a triangle, sure. But it looked like it had been made with a glue stick and the reckless abandon of a child with no sense of limits. Pepperoni blobs were crayon-scribbled red circles. The cheese was... yellow yarn.

007n7 sighed. “He’s making an entrance.”

c00lkidd struck a proud pose, triumphant. “Nailed it.”

Elliot raised an eyebrow. “You crashed into a trash can.”

c00lkidd pointed a finger at the door. “That was a tactical distraction.”

There was a beat of silence.

Then Elliot snorted. Just once. Sharp and sudden. He immediately looked like he regretted it.

007n7’s eyes flicked toward him, a blink of surprise—like he wasn’t used to hearing it. Like it startled him more than the crash.

“I brought a peace offering,” c00lkidd said, pulling out a ziplock bag with two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches stacked inside. “Made ’em myself. No crusts. That’s the fancy part.”

They were uneven, slightly squished, and the jelly was already starting to seep through the bread.

Still, they didn’t look too bad.

Elliot stared at the bag like it might explode. “Are they… safe?”

c00lkidd grinned. “Mostly.”

Elliot sighed and took the sandwiches anyway, setting them behind the counter. “This doesn’t fix anything.”

007n7, from beside him, offered a quiet shrug. “He spent all morning trying to make them perfect.”

c00lkidd perked up. “And putting glitter on the crust!”

Elliot didn’t even ask how or why the crust had glitter. He just leaned back slightly, arms crossed. “And what exactly is the goal of all this?”

c00lkidd puffed out his chest. “To win your heart!”

007n7 choked on air.

007n7 turned bright red. “He means your forgiveness. For the blacklist. That’s what he meant.”

“Sure,” Elliot muttered, biting back a laugh. “That’s what I assumed.”

Another beat of silence.

Then Elliot said, “...You’re still blacklisted.”

c00lkidd nodded solemnly. “That’s fair.”

“But,” Elliot added slowly, “if the pizza prince here wants to parade around in that thing for the next ten minutes, he can stand by the window and do mascot duty. Free advertising.”

c00lkidd gasped. “I accept this noble mission!”

He bolted to the window and started doing half-remembered Fortnite emotes in the pizza triangle costume, nearly taking out a chair.

007n7, meanwhile, stood awkwardly by the counter, hands in his pockets.

“Thanks,” he said, quietly. “You didn’t have to—”

“Didn’t do it for you,” Elliot replied, but he was watching the kid with the faintest twitch of a smile at the corner of his mouth.

The bell jingled as another customer walked in, casting a confused glance at the child-dancing pizza in the window.

Elliot just handed them a menu like this was totally normal.

[brellafaun]

tuamre episode 6 megamix

apparently viktor does NOT like me leaking his diary entries as we had a storm gnarly enough to knock the power out last night. condensed episode 6 thoughts below!! (this one is a rollercoaster)

klaus just. going along with being deployed is so. something. the montage of him falling in love with dave immediately followed by him trashing the pills HURTS. greek tragedy

"our little psycho" girl do not let him hear you calling him that

"ʷᴱ ᴰᶦᴱᵈ" "what was that??" "we died." i love these morons more than words can describe, actually

fnaf ass umbrella jumpscare. can't convince me that wasn't reggie from the afterlife being a bitch

watching the hazel and cha-cha argument has me feeling like more of a child of divorce. get me out of here

knowing what we do now about that order actually makes this episode so much more fun to rewatch. five may not be my favorite but he can be a slick little bastard

sorry, handler, the sexy typewriter clicks distracted me what were u saying

dot ily but YES HARD FEELINGS

really love vik using the side entrance to the academy!! gives much more of an idea of how big the mansion really is and the background of the basement level shows off that reggie fully purchased a city block to build it with the old butcher shop equipment. making of season 1 book my beloved you are a hallowed artefact to me

also leonard looking around with that smile... fucking creep

"i just feel like every time i see them, i come away feeling like there's less of me" guys is it normal to have a visceral reaction to this line or

BUT YOU COULD NEVER BE THE CHEESE TO HIS MACARONI, BITCH

eugh stop toxic yaoi-ing in front of me

genuinely hate the way he's scoping the mansion. everything this man does makes my skin crawl

DON'T. FUCKING SMILE ABOUT IT

the family meeting argument highkey sucks because both sides are right in a way?? viktor obviously has a right to feel hurt about it but he was definitely bringing a lot more baggage in and the others didn't leave him out intentionally. i mean... dude, five isn't there either. that being said, they definitely should've called. or something. allison was right about making sure none of that conversation happened in front of leonard though

what kid in the history of ever would want a reggie figurine. aside from leonard. do you think anyone put him in a j [GUNSHOTS]

YESSSS VIKTOR CAUSE MORE METEORLOGICAL EVENTS!!!! PUT THE PLUVIA IN UT MALUM PLUVIA

"that's a coincidence" vik. viktor. babe.

never not over his stupid "Mr. Five" nameplate

I'D EAT LUNCH WITH YOU DOT

love how toxic the handler is. go girl be a general nuisance

actually nevermind i hate the bathroom scene. diversity loss win(?) the commission has gender neutral bathrooms that your FREAK of a boss can torment you in

the worsties arc progressing with bonding activities such as cha-cha taking hazel out into the wilderness to properly old yeller him and then failing to actually do so

cuckoo bananas <3 this dork <3

ngl it is cute to me that hazel has cha-cha's favorite chinese food memorized

CALL THAT BITCHASS CHIMP OUT ON HIS LIES LUTHER. THAT'S THE ENERGY WE NEED TO BRING

the reveal that reginald never even opened any of the samples/packages luther sent back gutted me the first time and still hurts. of course now we have more context as to why luther was sent up there, but the neglect he was dealing with expanded into ways that he didn't even consider until this point. it's even worse to me that the first(?) package he lifts out is marked days 125-150. that's so early on in the four years. he didn't open a single one from the start, let alone the ones that morphed from lunar samples to poetry luther wrote.

"please leave me alone" what if i exploded.

complicated thoughts on this flashback. on the one hand, adorable and gives much more of a sense of what the kids had to do for escapism. on the other, YOU ARE SIBLINGS CUT THAT OUT

as ridiculous as luther's "just in case" axe is, it also hurts. poor baby is so hyper-vigilant at 13 :(

again. the noon and half-past noon line is GUTTING. they never got to be kids.

"what was her name?" "his name was dave." YOU'RE ALL HEARING FROM MY THERAPIST

^ also choosing to believe that diego was projecting a bit on his end. not intentionally

leonard just REEKS of overconfidence at this point. he's not remotely trying to hide how much he's playing vik

every time they kiss it takes nine years off my lifespan

carla is lowkey cute WHO THE FUCK SAID THAT

yessss five. scheme. SCHEME.

the way luther is sitting hurts. trying to make himself small but he literally can't. no i'm not crying that's your monitor.

ALLISON'S LAUGH AUUUGHGHGDKHJHFJDSHFKJDSKH

what is it with this family and consuming the NASTIEST expired food. five and his twinkie, these two and the cola...

the fort falling apart followed by allison's "we're not kids, anymore" makes me want to scream-cry, tbh. one of the only relics of something they made as kids, somewhere they felt safe if only for a moment... "now that dad's not here to catch us, we can go anywhere we want"

cha-cha going to get hazel jelly donuts and waiting for fresh ones :) cha-cha finding hazel and agnes and resuming the worsties arc :(

said it before, i'll say it again, klaus and diego's moments together this season are sooo good. klaus offering to conjure patch... god

dave's death. sick and fucking twisted.

hi mom :) please don't be the "came back wrong" trope :)

POGO GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE

"your father isn't here anymore" "you can do whatever you want, mom" is one of the most important exchanges in the entire show for me, actually. grace finally being free from the role reginald forced her into is so important.

LUTHER HOT DOG SLAMMING COUNT: 10

allison. dude. you don't have to be grateful for your abuser. that court mandated therapy is NOT cutting it jfc

DANCING IN THE MOONLIGHT SEQUENCE. i actually adore the lights, the costuming, the choreo... it's such a fun sequence and honestly does rattle around in my head a lot. i just wish you two weREN'T FUCKING WEIRD.

also not a dress guy by any means, but allison's is so pretty omg. the teal/seafoam color underneath the maroon?? so cool!!!

aaaaaaaaand hell nah cut that out

harold jenkins setup... so evil

WORSTIES ARC HURTLING TOWARDS ITS CLIMAX HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAH

...did five steal gloria's heels??

diego and grace walking together in the park :( grace telling diego the truth :(

VIKTOR FINDING THE BOOK. I AM VERY NORMAL RN.

dave :((((

five waving the grenade at the handler is so iconic. i don't even go here but i jive with it.

AAAAAAAND REWIND. VERY NORMAL ABOUT THIS. SO VERY, VERY NORMAL.

"(...again)" don't fucking play with me rn

five stealing allison's coffee is so real <3

[not-available-for-comment]

Was in the process of coming down with the lung infection I’ve been fighting for the last 2 months when the new year rolled around, but I did want to write a small post about 2024 because it was WILD and I don’t know how I managed it.

Positives from 2024:

Published my first academic paper

Wrote what was effectively a small software program to process some data at work

Got a new job in a new country

Moved in with my girlfriend

Moved to an absolutely gorgeous city I already love

Negatives from 2024:

Caught covid twice (first time was actually over Christmas 2023 but I was recovering for most of January) (do not come at me about masking: I caught the first one from a small group of people I trusted and the second one from my girlfriend)

Exploded my spine and had to spend 3 months very painfully learning to walk again

Had a major muscle spasm that added an additional month to spinal recovery. Spent most of the first half of the year needing mobility aids & other accommodations.

Watched my country slowly slide towards an election that it increasingly looked like the orange guy was going to win

Didn’t give myself enough time to pack for my move and basically trashed all my joints and utterly physically and emotionally exhausted myself trying to pull it off

Didn’t have enough time to rest once I’d moved and ended up jetlagged and beat up for about 2 months. 2nd covid case was at the end of those 2 months.

Orange guy won

Various settling-in dramas at new job and at home

Small child visited my house with a bad cough, which is one of two possible avenues for the lung infection I rang in 2025 with

The positives of last year mean a lot to me, and tbh the negatives, even though there’s more of them, are nothing so long as I get to be with my girl. But god I’m wrung out like a dishrag. Honestly I think I ended up so sick from this most recent illness because my body had had enough, and it was taking me down till I’d rested properly.

I’d do it all again to get to where I am now but please God I hope I don’t ever have to, or at least not any time soon.

[devilofthehounds]

God Eater 3 Character Novel | Memories Like Fireflies: Chapter 2

[image id: A novel cover. In the foreground is a young Lulu Baran from God Eater 3. She is looking sadly at a pair of goggles in her hands, a fresh scar across her right eye. Behind her is a crimson Biting Edge-type God Arc, dried blood beneath it. Behind that is a faded image of present-day Lulu looking off into the distance. The text, when translated into English, reads “God Eater 3 Character Novel | Chapter 2: Lulu Edition | Memories Like Fireflies”. /end id]

This is a fan translation. Original text here.

Masterpost 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

I remembered wandering alone in what looked like an old, abandoned manufacturing plant.

My parents and I were supposed to be looking for a safe haven together. But one morning, they suddenly disappeared.

Apparently, I was such an annoying burden that even my own parents decided to abandon me.

I didn't resent my parents. I knew I was a bothersome child, and I felt awful for it.

Still, I couldn't accept the fact that I was no different from the discarded scraps of wood and steel lying around me.

A sense of loneliness and hopelessness kept rising up with each passing moment. I just kept going, desperately wading through trash, spilling tears into the strangling silence.

I just wanted to find a reason for me to exist.

"Ah..."

Suddenly, a huge shadow passed overhead.

An Aragami, clad in blue armor, landed on top of a pile of scrap wood, towering over me.

Red eyes caught mine. With a roar, huge blades deployed from both of its arms.

I squeezed my eyes shut as it rushed towards me at a breakneck pace.

But in the next moment, a commanding voice shook the atmosphere.

"Hey, kid! Back up a little!"

When I opened my eyes, all I could see was a woman taking a huge blade head-on.

Her arms were fitted with red armlets, and she held dual crimson God Arcs that were clashing with the Aragami she was facing.

"Alley-oop!"

Using the Aragami's blade as a foothold, the woman launched herself into the air.

As she danced through the air, she dodged and parried the Aragami's attacks, delivering sharp slashes with precision.

She almost looked inhuman, like a bird flapping its wings. All I could do was stare.

Eventually, the Aragami died, its face stabbed through by the God Arc. It collapsed into the pile of scrap wood, its body sliding towards me.

"W-Wah!"

Even though it was no more than a corpse, it was frightening to see a huge Aragami sliding towards me with its mouth wide open.

Just as I was about to be swallowed up, the woman swooped in and landed on the Aragami's head, as if sewing its mouth shut. She smiled at me.

"Hey there! Looks like you're still alive! There's no need to worry anymore!"

She had bright red hair and a bright red God Arc. Red diamond-shaped earrings dangled from her ears.

I couldn't make out her face behind the large goggles over her eyes, but the sight of her smiling happily while stomping on an Aragami left a strong impression on me.

That smile seemed to break the tension. My strength left my body, and I collapsed.

"Whoa, wait, wait! I just saved you; don't go dying on your own!"

As I fell, she leaned over and patted me on the cheek.

As my consciousness began to fade, I heard another voice—a man this time.

"...A survivor?"

"Looks like this kid is the only one. Let's take her to a nearby base."

The man spoke again.

"No, we'll take her to Baran."

I heard the woman sigh and click her tongue. After that, my consciousness faded completely.

The most intense pain I'd ever experienced abruptly awakened my sleeping consciousness.

"Ah... Aaaaaaaaaaah!"

At some point, I'd been strapped into a chair.

My hands were locked in place, clutching dual God Arcs. Armlets that seemed to bite into me were turning me into something else.

In my mind, I could see the smiling face of the woman who'd saved me. At the same time, my head felt as though it would explode from the pain.

In that moment, I barely regained consciousness. As soon as the restraints were released, I collapsed to the floor.

"...Did you survive?"

Once I managed to look up, I saw a man with a large scar on his face standing with his arms crossed.

"Who...?

"Goh Baran. I will be your teacher."

Dazed and unable to comprehend the meaning of his words, I was taken to another room.

It was the biggest facility I'd ever seen. As we moved, I saw lots of equipment and people who looked like researchers.

Once my mind became clear, I was made to change into all-black clothes. After passing through several doors, I arrived at a large room divided into squares.

"There you are. Stand there and watch for a while."

The man known as Goh Baran took one look at me and said those words.

There were dozens of kids around my age lined up in the room.

They all wore the same black clothes as me, as if to erase their individuality. Each of them held a God Arc in their hands.

Amidst the tense atmosphere, the kids looked expressionless, saying nothing. They stared straight ahead without making the slightest movement, giving an eerie, robot-like appearance.

"Let's start with the basics... Begin!"

With those words, the kids all began swinging their God Arcs in unison.

The sight of them endlessly repeating their drills without breaking ranks was impressive, but they all seemed somewhat desperate, lacking any sort of enthusiasm.

As I stood by, Goh approached me with a stern look on his face.

"First, I will only tell you what you must accept. You have become a warrior. A sword of Baran, meant to slay gods... an AGE."

It was then that I was finally informed of the situation I was in.

That this was a large Port known as Baran.

That I had become a God Eater, one who would devour Aragami in the Ashlands.

That we were tools of Baran and no longer had any rights as human beings.

And that our value was solely dependent on our obedience.

"Do as you are ordered and serve Baran. Those who cannot do so have no place. Be prepared to be disposed of immediately."

It seemed I had truly become more like a tool or machine than a human being.

I had no choice but to nod.

I was scared, but it was possible I could find meaning in this place.

At least, I thought to myself, there was more hope than being buried under that pile of trash.

My armlets' restraints were released. Two matching blades—a Biting Edge—fit into both my hands.

Black, rugged, and heavy. But I knew in my gut that these would become my wings, just like hers.

"First, drill the basic movements into your body. Concentrate."

"...Okay, mister."

At my reply, the training hall fell silent. The kids stared at me, their faces scrunched up.

"...Just 'yes' will do. Watch your mouth."

Goh's fist hit me square in the back of my head. I thought I was going to pass out.

It was pathetic, but this was the beginning of my training as an AGE.

It seemed the martial arts taught here were from a region called the Far East, which was also Goh's birthplace.

Although Goh's instruction was strict, it was also easy to understand, even for an amateur. He patiently stayed by my side until I mastered the basics.

Apparently, I was a fast learner.

I was able to quickly memorize the basic moves I was taught.

"...You seem to be doing well."

As he observed my movements, Goh nodded in approval.

It was the first time in my life that someone praised me.

"Thank you very much... Master."

It felt natural to call him that. I didn't get hit this time.

I bit my lip to hide the growing smile on my face and gripped my God Arc tightly.

Maybe I could really find a purpose in this place.

Maybe I could be needed.

Just as my heart filled with anticipation, it happened.

"Next is sparring. You will compete against each other. Those who underperform will be punished."

"...Huh? Sparring? I thought we were training to fight Aragami..."

"I told you, you're tools for Baran. It's only natural to judge your abilities in comparison to one another."

My master's words made me feel uneasy, as if I had still fundamentally misunderstood something.

My first opponent was a girl clutching a Short Blade.

"Yaaaah!"

I was intimidated by her yell, louder than I could've possibly anticipated based on her appearance.

During training, our God Arcs were disconnected from our armlets, dulling their edges.

Nevertheless, during a serious match, injuries were unavoidable.

"...! S-Stop!"

My feeble pleas fell on deaf ears.

Somehow, I managed to keep dodging her attacks at the last second and find an opening to attack. But.

I was unable to bring myself to take the opportunity and grasp victory.

The next moment, I was hit by the flash of a blade and knocked over.

The next time as well. And the next. And the next.

In the moment that determined the victor, I was unable to press forward.

"...You could see their movements. Why didn't you attack?"

By the time my master came to speak with me, I was covered in bruises, all due to my reluctance to fight.

"Because..."

I mumbled as I looked across at the other students. They looked to be relieved to be avoiding punishment.

"If I win, someone else will be punished..."

Once again, my words brought silence to the training hall.

If I won, my opponent would lose. Those who lost were punished, and those who underperformed were disposed of.

I was certain they would hate me. They would never forgive me.

I was so scared of having such feelings directed at me—of losing our bonds because of me.

"...It seems I made a mistake in choosing you."

After saying those words, my master slapped me hard across the face.

"Such kindness is childish. No one here wants your mercy."

I just didn't want anyone to get hurt because of me. But the gazes of the students watching from off to the side quickly changed to what I had feared.

Some were filled with confusion and pity, but most pierced me with contempt.

"That's it for today's training. Dismissed."

At the command of their master, the students left the training hall.

"Ah... Wait..."

The sight of them leaving without looking back overlapped with the vision of my parents disappearing without a trace.

An empty feeling spread through my heart: the realization that no one in this world needed me.

It seemed there was no place for me here, either.

Even though my surroundings had changed, in the end, my value was no different than the trash in the abandoned plant.

I had no fighting spirit. I was certain the decision to dispose of me would come in the not-too-distant future.

The time in which I'd discovered hope had been short-lived.

In that case... it didn't matter. But...

"I..."

I called out to my master, who remained alone with his arms crossed.

Even if I was to be disposed of, there was one more thing I needed to do.

"I have nothing to say to you. Get out of my sight."

His tone left no room for discussion. But if I backed out now, it would be the same as never having the feeling to begin with.

"I... Um..."

"..."

"Um... I...!"

".........What?"

A disgusted look was finally turned on me.

"Please, let me see the person who saved me back then. I haven't thanked her yet."

"...If you feel indebted, then pay it back to Baran."

"But I really want to repay her... before I die."

At my words, my master's eyes widened slightly.

"...After being made painfully aware of your helplessness and even accepting that you will be disposed of, you say the last thing you want to leave behind is gratitude to your savior?"

I had no value. There may have been no grace left, no hope for the future.

Still, the one who showed me a moment's hope before I became worthless—it was definitely that person.

Even if I were to die, my only wish was to thank her.

Seeing my unwavering gaze, my master let out a thin sigh and uncrossed his arms.

"...Follow me."

Translator's Note

[manicali]

Alright, I keep seeing stuff like this and thinking ot aint that bad i rarely hear love songs and then I listen to another person’s playlist and go “Oh. Wow.” (Also why are they WEIRD love songs? Like what? “I aint gonna cheat on you” seems to be a recurring theme and it baffles me)

Anyway welcome to my list of songs that aren’t love songs. Warning most of these are in fact comedy songs because I like them.

1985 by Bo Burnham

The After by Daniel Thrasher

Aint no rest for the wicked by Cage the Elephant

Alastors Game by The living Tombstone

Aliens Aint Shit by Carter Vail

American Idiot by Green Day

Apple by Charlie xcx

Artificial by Daughtry

The Axemans Jazz by Reddie and Abel

Back in Black by AC/DC

Bad Child by Tones and I

Best Friend by Carter Vail (technically about love of the platonic variety)

Bug Dawgs by Hanumankind and kalami

Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen

Bone by Imagine Dragons

BOOM BOOM BOOM by Dan Bull

Bull is the Spider by Dan Bull

Californication by the Red Hot Chili Peppers

Careful What You Wish For by Jack Harris

C’est la Vie by Weathers

Cherry Bomb by The Runaways

Chicken in Black by Johnny Cash

Cool kids by Echosmith

Courtesy Call by Thousand Foot Krutch

Devil Town by Cavetown

Cradles by Sub Urban

Cutthroat by Imagine Dragons

Dirt Man by Carter Vail

Disc Golf by Bug Hunter

Dopamine by Madiline (split brain version, i swear it’s like heaven)

The dope show by Marilynn Manson

The Dragonborn Comes by Vinny Marchi

Dull Knives by Imagine Dragons (WARNING! This song is very dark)

Eat your young by Hozier

Edge of a revolution by Nickleback (i love nickleback)

Enderman Rap by Dan Bull and Rockit music

Explode! by Mother Mother

Eyes Closed by Imagine Dragons

Get What you Give by Felix Cartal (original might be by david bowie but idk)

Gossip by Måneskin

✻h+3+яд✻7lucjlot6 by vyral

Half of my life by Elise Ecklund

Heathens by Twenty One Pilots

Hells Greatest Dad by Jermey Jordan and Amir Talai (thats right I am adding hazbin songs)

Help Let me Go by Danny Gonzalez

Highway to Hell by AC/DC

History Will Not Repeat by Jessie Page

Hotel California by Eagles

The house always wins (2023) by the stupendum

I don’t like myself by Imagine Dragons

I ghosted Kevin Johnas by Danny Gonzalez

Igowallah by Daniel Thrasher

Im gonna kill Santa Claus by Danny Gonzalez

Insane by Black gryp0n and baasik

It boy by bbno$

Ive got a bone by Dan Bull

Jericho by Iniko

Johnny Johnny by Danny Gonzalez

Leinads Waltz by Daniel Thrasher

Living in a Haze by Milky Chance

Manic Pixie Dream Boy by Lady Charles

Microwave by Ricky Jamaraz

The Monster by Eminem and Rhianna

My Dad is Rich by Danny Gonzalez

No roots by Alice Merton

Not Like Us by Kendrick Lamar

NPC by legrand

Numb little bug by Em Beihold

One more Pull by the chalkeaters, black gryp0n, rustage

Party in the USA by Miley Cyrus

Perception Check by Tom Cardy

Pop 101 by marianas trench

Psyco Killer (2005 remaster) by Talking Heads

Pumped Up Kicks by Foster the People

Puttin on the ritz by Taco

Quiet Please by Dan Bull

Radioactive by Imagine Dragons

Radio Play by Silvia Hound

The real slime shady by Dan Bull

The Sad Sad Alpha Man by Vinny Marchi

Slime by Danny Gonzalez

So long Mom by Tom leher

The Spark by Kabin Crew

Spooky Man by Danny Gonzalez

To the bone JT music

Trash Friends by Carter Vail

Video Killed the radio star by The Bugles

Voices in my head by falling in reverse

Walking on the sun by Smash Mouth

Welcome to the Internet by Bo Burnham

Yes Im a mess by AJR (seriously ajr is great)

[dracrownian]

just me ranting about irl stuff because i'm going to explode otherwise probably.

stepdad has been back in town for all of a week and i'm ready for him to get another job assignment out of town again because he is driving me absolutely insane.

as if him constantly having his earphones in when we're trying to ask him things/let him know dinner is ready/etc isn't bad enough, he doesn't help around the house unless we specifically tell him to do something (including taking out the trash, but then if we try to take it out ourselves, he gets annoyed because we "don't do it right" or something), he doesn't clean up after himself except for washing his own laundry (and that's a whole other issue because he'll pull stuff out of the dryer and just. leave it on top of the dryer. instead of folding it and putting it away. because if someone left something else in the dryer, it's always towels. and when called on this, he says "I don't know where they go" like he hasn't lived in this house since 2007 jfc), he literally left a chunk of food on the counter a couple days ago instead of wiping it down.

my breaking point was wednesday when I went downstairs to get painkillers and he's like "how many of those do you take a day? you know they can give you stomach problems right?"

first of all, that was my first (and only!) dose of the day. secondly, I take a maximum of 2-3 doses on the worst days. third, I am thirty-six years old. I have been managing my own pain for well over 20 years. I think I can handle some painkillers appropriately.

(my breaking point should've been when he was in the kitchen going through mail instead of twenty feet away at his desk, while my sister and I were trying to put groceries away, and when she politely asked him if he could relocate his mail, he tossed it in the floor like a child throwing a tantrum. when I say I hate men, this is what I mean.)

[jese6mint-cloud]

the souls of selanniya (inspired by total slaughter island

Date 3rd of march you are a detective finding the missing cases it's 2am

You walk to the abandoned apartment building complex

The apartment complex was abandoned 2 months ago

Your name is joey Martino

You walk inside and go down a misty hallway with your 90 glowsticks since flashlights were too expensive you light 5 purple glowsticks and you see a girl about 12 years of age

Stacy Age 12 gender female Hair color pastel megenta skin tan cause of death pushed off a balcony she fell getting her head inpailed by a knife she thinks your the killer and she will stop at nothing to find you

Abilities: telekinesis teleportation flight ink manipulation

Species soul

Her voice is a child like teen voice she misses her mom and dad and younger brothers and sisters

She usually appears in misty hallways

You run You escape her but you find yourself in back parking lot

You pop out a blue glow stick and saw a horrifying sight

You saw a shirtless spirit a 15 year old boy hands are gone

Mark age 15 gender male hair color dark navy cause of death getting his arms crushed by a truck and neck snapped

Mark was a nice kid loved to surf but now he's dead because that killer he wanted to be known but that can never happend

Abilifies Telekinesis teleportation flight Hydrokinesis

Species soul

He talks in a layed back stoner voice you can here him when he let's out a soft laugh

You run but he's to fast you then throw something to distract him he's distracted you run back inside and lock the door and then walk down the hallway with pink glowstick until you looked behind you and saw aa headless girl

Julia age 13 gender female Hair color hot pink cause of death getting her head crushed by a trash compactor

Species headless soul

Even though she has no head she has eyes everywhere and can see you she's not dumb

Before she was killed she had a huge crush on mark she was gonna confess to him that day but the killer ruined everything

Abilities telekinesis teleportation pyrokinesis super strength

Shes brittish

She wants you dead

You run but she can see you but you manage to outsmart her and hide for a little while

You open an orange glow stick until you saw a giant 18 year old

Tanner age 18 gender male hair color ginger skin color light

A Scottish boy who had dreams of playing baseball but the killer took it away from him tanner Is angry and he thinks your the killer

Cause of death getting his limbs ripped apart slowly and painfully

He can crawl on the ceiling like mangle from fnaf 2

Abilities telekinesis teleportation 360 fully articulated flexibility

You then run and run until you find yourself in the daycare you took out a green and teal glowstick

Then you saw two little girls

Nia and Cora age both 3 gender both female Hair colors (Nia dark green Cora light teal) a pair of grief struck twins skin color both dark brown both are African twins they are the strongest out of the spirits but don't know how to use their powers these two were only babies gone to soon

Cause of death both dropped down the stairs well at the same time both their tiny bodies exploding on impact

They look at you and become angry they

Abilites: telekinesis teleportation Chlorokinesis and Electrokinesis

They levitate knifes into the air and aim them at you

You run as the knives hit the wall the twins close behind you ran down the hallway

You ran into a pair of siblings an older brother and younger sister

Danny age 14 gender male hair color red skin light cause of death getting ripped in half by two cars driving opposite direction

Danny has four arms and four spider legs

Lily age 9 gender female hair color lavender cause of death getting her head blasted by a powerful gun

Both siblings look at you with different faces (Danny is enraged) (lily looks devious)

Dannys abilities: crawl on ceeling teleprotation pyrokinesis

Lilys abilities: Electrokinesis telekinesis teleportation flight

They run at you Danny cuts a hole into your hand with one of his legs

You run out and all the spirits come out of know where all lead by Stacy they charge and grab you they drag you into a room and beat you almost to death but when they got distracted you escape and never went back you also left your glowsticks behind in their but you didn't care

(Stacy died in 2011 Julia died in 2011 mark died 2011 Danny and lily died 2011 Nia and Cora died 2012 tanmer died 2010)

(Sorry for bad writing)

[puc-puggy]

so my dad was simple, as men often are. (not because they are inherently simple but because being denied emotional intelligence and told to suppress every emotion except for anger and horniness is a limiting factor). he was heinously traumatized a-child-called-it style, developed PTSD and possibly trauma-induced BPD/schizophrenia, and self-medicated with hard drugs for many years to deal with all of it. he spent much of his time in psychosis and his violence was easily understood and explained. NOT the same for my mother. she did not have the severity of trauma that my father had and that you would expect to result in such severe mental health issues.

and she was malicious in a way that felt inexplicable for years. my father was out of his mind and consumed by guilt in his moments of violence. with my mother, it was a 50/50 shot between legitimately being out of touch with reality and just. outright intentional malice. hurting you because she knew it would hurt and wanted you to hurt. the rest of the time, she was damn close to SuperMom.

and i finally get it. i finally fucking understand what caused it. it's fucking hermeneutic labor.

[additional id under cut]

so my mom had 10 younger brothers and sisters, and she was parentified to hell and back. for years, none of my aunts or uncles believed anything that me or my siblings said because my mom raised them too, and she was nothing like this. they only had SuperMom.*

we're white trash on both sides with all the endemic poverty, criminality, and trauma that comes with. my uncle jeff holds the county record for evading US marshals the longest and when he turned himself in, they beat him so bad he was in the ICU for three weeks. dad was in prison for more of my life than out. uncle bob has had 3 babies addicted to opioids at birth. these are extremely high hermeneutic labor loads. so she's 17 and SuperMom to 10 traumatized kids in an unstable environment already, meets my dad with his child-called-it background, & pops out her first kid by 20.

and i realized that she has been The Parent to every single person she's ever loved, all of whom have extremely high hermeneutic labor loads. when she and my dad were "separated," he was so proud of himself for having his own apartment for the first time in his entire life. she found the place and co-signed the lease. the hermeneutic labor for the entire family unit was completely her responsibility starting at like age 7. nobody else even knew what she was doing.

and nobody can maintain that permanently. 10 kid siblings, a husband, 4 kids of her own, and the kids her kid siblings were having. especially with the endemic trauma. so she collapses, she can't do the hermeneutic labor, stops providing all of the Interpretation of Communication and conflict resolution, and everything immediately catches on fire and starts exploding because her life is an exercise in balancing the instability of poverty & trauma for 15+ people at any given time. and she's blamed for it because she's usually the person keeping the balance.

and this is where the malice starts. the resentment. now she's got 4 kids of her own and it's never going to end. she literally can't perform this labor 24/7 in perpetuity but she loves us and can't leave us to burn by abandoning the responsibility, so when she inevitably breaks down and all the labor stops, she's additionally unable to interpret and resolve her own resentment and anger. no longer just letting fires burn, actively starting some. and now you have DemonMom. using every ounce of her vast hermeneutic interpretive abilities to break us down and make everything stop for a second.

it finally fucking makes sense. she's human again. i can see how these circumstances would manufacture this result in an otherwise fine human being. I can understand the nature of her failure, which means i can finally understand the nature of her success. she maintained an ironclad grip on an extended family unit for decades, enforcing and manufacturing a sense of stability out of absolutely nothing. of course she couldn't do it forever. of course she started to hate her kids. of course she couldn't manage it herself and of course nobody else knew what to do because she had always fully managed it.

jesus fucking christ

[img 1: In this essay, I argue that a pervasive form of care labor that falls largely upon women in contemporary American society should be described as “hermeneutic labor.” Related to emotional labor but distinct from it, hermeneutic labor is the burden- some activity of a) understanding one’s own feelings, desires, intentions, and motiva- tions, and presenting them in an intelligible fashion to others when deemed appropriate; b) discerning others’ feelings, desires, intentions, and motivations by inter- preting their verbal and nonverbal cues, including cases when these are minimally com- municative or outright avoidant; and c) comparing and contrasting these multiple sets of feelings, desires, intentions, and motivations for the purposes of conflict resolution. Hermeneutic labor is related to emotional labor because it works on the emotions— and, more broadly, the emotional domain of interpersonal life. Yet it is distinct from emotional labor because it pertains to explicit processes of interpreting emotions (as well as desires, intentions, and motivations) through cognitive processes, such as delib- erating and ruminating. Naming “hermeneutic labor” permits us to distinguish its harms from those of related forms of care labor. Indeed, many of the harms that fem- inists point out in analyses of the undue burden of emotional labor placed on women may actually be describing the harms of hermeneutic labor.]

[img 2: Hermeneutics is a method of interpretation for unpacking the latent levels of meaning in communication cues. Originating as a theory of interpretation for religious texts, her- meneutics entered philosophy in the twentieth century and is associated with philoso- phers in the continental European tradition such as Hans-Georg Gadamer, Paul Ricoeur, and Linda Martín Alcoff. According to hermeneutics, the work of interpreta- tion is a complex and learned skill, one element of which is understanding one’s own prejudices as one investigates various layers of meaning. This requires skills in self- reflection, as well as nuanced and often intimate acquaintance with the meaning of cues from others. Hermeneutics recognizes that communication happens within a world of interpreters with cognitive biases, and thus encourages actively resisting the illusion that individual expression will be transparently received as intended by the per- son(s) to whom it is expressed. “A hermeneutically trained consciousness” must be sen- sitive to alterity (Gadamer 2004, 271).2 Although Gadamer worried about extending hermeneutics beyond textual interpretation and into psychological interpretation, its methods are highly useful for discussing interpersonal relationships and their commu- nicative components. Indeed, hermeneutics has been notably applied to philosophical analyses of race, gender, and sexual violation in recent years by Alcoff, and as a form of critique by Lorenzo C. Simpson (Alcoff 2006; 2018; Simpson 2021). Applied to inti- mate relationships, hermeneutics is a useful term for designating the ways that individ- uals interpret the behaviors of others, balancing sensitivity to the fact that others may have very different desires, thought patterns, and communication strategies than oneself with confidence in one’s ability to interpret others’ communicative cues. Hermeneutics recognizes the entanglement of self and other, as well as of cognition and emotion. When performed as a burdensome activity involving one or more of the components identified above, the work of interpretation may be called hermeneutic labor.]

*for context, the woman used a cattle prod on human children (me and my sibs). her reaction was extreme to say the least

i fucking. figured out my mother. i finally understand. only took 30 fucking years

[agarakairin]

My view on Mob and Reigen's relationship as a whole is such a nuanced and complexed thing for me to digest.

On one hand, Reigen gives genuinely good advice and life lessons, as well as showing proper responsibility (like dealing with adult espers, buying him lunch after work, dealing with customers that pressure him, as well as overall just being there for him whenever he's in a pinch) when it comes to looking out for Mob.

But on the other hand, I'm also aware that Reigen is a lowkey pathological liar who just hast vast amounts of luck. Said man had manipulated and lied to an 11 YO for 3 years, gaslit them into thinking their friends were fake so that they would only focus on helping him earn more money, only for said child to get less the minimum amount of pay for their work.

In the middle of all that though, there's the fact that Mob and Reigen's relationship, at it's core, really just boils down to them being friends. It fascinates me how, Reigen has always seen Mob as an equal, as he has stated on previous occasions how amazing he thinks he's skill is, and that he himself doesn't want to feel outdone/left behind by him, while on the off hand, also feeling proud of he's development

So on one hand, we have the insightful, wholesome teacher-student dynamic

While in the other, we also have a manipulative, trash conman who is codependent on an autistic coded, shy introverted kid who can't deny or say no to save himself.

Like, my view of them is constantly changing between the typical master and student relationship, to complexed and nuanced codependency and character growth between two people who are broken inside in their own respective ways, while also being the saviours of the other at the same time.

The fact that Mob literally brought meaning and color to Reigen's life, while Reigen also ALWAYS being the final boss, the who was always able to bring Mob back to reality whenever he's about to explode.

Reigen and Mob's relationship are a lot of things:

Teacher and student.

Friends.

Equals.

And the fact that my brain constantly has to remind me all of these things when it comes to them is something that I feel like I've never really felt about master-student relationship in other pieces of media

Reigen and Mob's relationship is nuanced and complexed, and I cannot thank ONE enough for being able to create such an interesting dynamic.

(Also, because of their nuanced relationship, my brain is in a constant switch of 'wholesome Reigen and Mob bonding time!' to 'heyyy wants some psychological/emotional angst between Reigen and Mob??? :D' and I cannot tell you how often I am overwhelmed sometimes with the amount of possibility and potential these two have in a fic)

[weirdlet]

A03 First Lines

Tagged by @beckyh2112

rules: post the first lines of your last 10 fics posted to ao3. if you have fewer than 10 fics posted, post the first lines of all your fics.

1.  Max was late.

From Running With Scissors, a Harringrove A/B/O wherein Billy gets the crap beat out of him by Neil, and gets subsequently adopted by Steve Harrington.

2.  In the elevator, he slips up. 

From Fools Rush In, my long-running, life-eating wintershieldbones A/B/O wherein Brock Rumlow finds himself pregnant and out of a job since HYDRA exploded, and decides fuck it- if Rogers won’t help him, he’ll do it himself.  Then the Soldier attaches himself to him and things get really fun.

3.  It’s a beautiful day for a late lunch in Stark Tower, and Cameron’s crossing the main lobby into the food court, laptop case swinging and humming a merry (off-key) tune, when he hears it.

From Objects in the Rearview Mirror, wherein Cameron Klein (the guy who refuses to launch Insight even with Rumlow’s gun on him) is having a lovely day at Stark Towers, only to encounter Agent Rumlow again about his own business.  In the Fools Rush In universe.

4.   May, '86 It’s spring, warm and bright and it’s like the air itself just makes things get sticky.

From Summer By My Side, where a teenaged Brock Rumlow and his boyfriend fool around in the locker room.  Prequel to Fools Rush In ‘verse, and to Only Ever A Fool’s Hope.

5.  He doesn't beat his head against the wall because that would only bring down the tranqs and the straps, and he wants what little freedom he has. 

From Small Favors, a non-a/b/o mpreg of Brock Rumlow stuck in an experimental facility and getting rescued by the Winter Soldier, who has some fellow-feeling for someone going through what he’s undergone.

6.  Little Lan Min reaches out a chubby hand towards the light that pierces the sky, bundled up against the arctic cold and pressed to a fur-lined breastplate.

From Sun Child, a collection of shorts from LJ days, wherein fic memes sprouted like weeds and it was amazing.  Princess Zura of the Fire Nation is in exile with her young daughter, butting up against many of the familiar situations we know from the show itself.

7.  Brock spends the trip out to the Lemurian Star with a bucket and his breakfast in his hand. 

From Only Ever A Fool’s Hope, a kink-meme fill about Brock Rumlow finding out he’s pregnant on the eve of Project Insight, then getting blown out of a building and losing it. First line taken from Bounding Main’s song, ‘Where Were You When The Ship Hit The Sand’

8.  The Soldier is flagging. 

From Ash, another kink-meme fill from way back when.  A/B/O, HYDRA trash, the Winter Soldier is pregnant and that cannot be allowed to continue. 

9.  The op goes south, and Clint finds himself in a hole with an assassin (not himself, despite Tony’s assertions his time in the circus does not leave him with a case of third-personism, thank you), and no way out. 

From Sanctuary, wherein Clint Barton and the Winter Soldier have hot sniper hate sex and then have to deal with the aftermath of some of the other modifications HYDRA made to him.  Non A/B/O mpreg,  Also, back in the days when I could finish something!

Ya may notice a running theme or three.