#(which basically just led to me not getting help most of my life even though i needed it)

[starlit-mansion]

I deleted the tumblr app off my phone which has been good for not accidently wasting an entire hour every morning but sometimes i do want to look at tumblr on phone so i manually log in using the browser version and it's incredibly poorly optimized and is my version of virtuous suffering

[pixiesndberries]

𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐑 𝐅𝐔𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄 𝐇𝐔𝐒𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐃, 𝐉𝐉𝐊 𝐌𝐄𝐍 —

a small series of Jujutsu Kaisen men as your husband !

☆ OUR STARS : Nanami Kento, Gojo Satoru, Geto Suguru, Choso Kamo, Aoi Todo, Toji Fushiguro, and more !

━ REQUESTED BY : none

━⁠ WARNINGS : none

ෆ PIXIE'S NOTE ! : heya pookies I know it's been a while 🙏🏻 but here I am creating another series to pay off the days I wasn't posting so much —⁠ forgive me my pookies 🏃🏻‍♀️💨 we have holiday break so I'm going to grind a lot 😝

NANAMI KENTO, as your husband !

• Nanami is the perfect standard for male wife, argue with the wall —⁠ this man knows how to cook, clean his home, does his own laundry, and mostly basic life skills that most men barely know which is pretty much a big turn on.

Nanami who always supports your decision as long as it doesn't have any bad effects in your life, he respects you a lot to whatever you do in your life —⁠ he thinks that just because you are married it doesn't mean he have full possession on you, though sometimes when you asked for his opinions about your decisions in such situations he isn't shy of what he thinks.

Nanami the type of husband who will always do small and big things for you even though you can do it yourself —⁠ carrying groceries for you, helping you in the kitchen, sending you to your work, helps you clean the house, and goes to the mall with you.

; he surprisingly took the shopping bags form your hands gently "your hands will get numb, this is pretty heavy." he says with his usual tone as he looks at you softly, you can't help but to smile in his small little gestures and gosh it's making her heart melt.

"thank you, kento." you say as you gave him a big smile and pressed a kiss on his cheeks making him grin.

Nanami who is being a worrywart when you don't reply quickly when you're out with your friends late night —⁠

; kento | sent a message.

10:24 pm

kento : just got home love ❤️

kento : what time are you going home?

11:04 pm

kento : love, tell me when you're going home I'll pick you up ❤️

kento : is everything going alright?

kento : kind of worried, hope you respond soon 😅

11:07 pm

kento : please reach out to me when you can so I can pick you up ☺️

kento : I'm worried 😢

you : love I'm fine sorry, we we're drinking just a tiny bit 😭

you : you can pick me up now 🏃🏻‍♀️💨

Nanami the type of husband to use cringe emojis but you appreciate it anyways, he barely use his phone or try to use emojis —⁠ headcanon : he learned using emojis from yuji or gojo 🙏🏻 you find it silly and cute anyways.

Nanami who's phone is always filled with your photos and some sceneries with you in it —⁠ he doesn't like taking photos of himself that much though, he loves taking photos of you and look through it when he's not busy or when he misses you and he's at work.

Nanami when he learned how to use Instagram and he can't stop posting you —⁠ Gojo probably tried influencing him to use social media once and he was like no??? not until one time you took a photo of him during one of your dates and you asked him, "hey can I post this?" and of course he said yes and after that you kept posting him at some times which led him to the idea of posting you as well since he thinks you deserve it too.

; nanami.kento1990

tagged : @y/n.igcom | ❤️

itaaa.yuji and 13 others liked this post.

gojosatoru | he knows how to use Instagram 😦 ???

gojosatoru | WHO TAUGHT YOU ⁉️

itaaa.yuji | first post !!

nobaraaaa | parents 🙏🏻

Nanami who is nervous to talk about the future he wants with you — not totally nervous it's more like when you talked about kids you wanted soon with him he will always be like, "sure I also thought about that." with his usual tone but deep inside talking about it was his hyper fixation and he can't stop thinking about it.

Nanami who never in his life forget about giving you flowers in small or big occasions —⁠

; "happy mother's day." he says softly with a grin in his face as he hands you a bouquet of your favourite flowers, "kento, I'm not a mother yet." you laugh as you take the bouquet from him, admiring the flowers for a second. He never fails to make you feel happy, "maybe soon?" he chuckles then makes his way to give you a hug. "sure." you laughed and happily hugged him back tightly, exchanging I love you.

Nanami who never left by your side especially when you are not okay, he will leave his work for a day or even weeks if you really need him by your side —⁠ he will never get tired of comforting you; if you need a shoulder to cry on? He's there. He can stay all day in bed with you to make you feel better —⁠ take you out in a vacation if that's what you really need or probably do every house chores just to make you rest.

─ REBLOGS, LIKES, AND COMMENTS ARE APPRECIATED FEEL FREE TO REQUEST!

[dawnisatotalqueen]

PROMISE

title: promise

character: steven hyde x reader

warnings: alcohol use, marijuana use, mentions of virginity, mentions of assault, cursing, semi frequent use of l/n (last name), zen masters (jackie x hyde) if u squint

summary: when you met the boys, you made a promise to never date any of them. though this gets harder and harder to follow as you all get older and more attractive.

disclaimer: i do not support danny masterson in any way, shape, or form. i just have an attachment to hyde </3

word count: 2972

part two

You were a maneater. At least, that’s what your friends said and you didn’t necessarily disagree. In your mere 17 years of life, you had accumulated nearly 30 boyfriends. In a town like Pointplace, there weren’t very many eligible bachelors, and it didn’t help that you swore off dating the hottest one.

Years prior, at the very beginning of middle school, when you had met Kelso, Foreman, and Hyde, you made a promise. You promised to yourself, and to them, that you would never date them. You enjoyed their company a lot, which is exactly why you didn’t want to risk dating any of them.

Naturally, as time progressed and Fez joined the group, he was included in the group of boys you wouldn’t date, though in all honesty, you probably never would have dated him regardless.

As you got older, you had started to ever so slightly regret your promise because as you got older, so did the boys, and oh boy, was one of them hot.

Hyde was gorgeous and exactly your type. But did you think Hyde was hot because he was your type, or did you think he was hot because he set the standard for your type? The world may never know.

To put those feelings aside, you upped the ante on your dating game. You were the most “desirable” out of your friend group except for maybe Donna or Jackie. You dated jocks, nerds, stoners, and basically any other clique in your high school.

That led you to now, walking into Eric Foreman’s basement, which is where you usually were, waiting for a guy to show up for a date.

You wore a pretty black dress and your signature green bomber jacket.

Donna was the first to look over, whistling with a grin. “Damn! You look great.”

Jackie looked over, gasping a little and pushing up off of Kelso to rush over to you. “That dress is gorgeous!! Much better than what you usually wear.” She looked over the dress.

You giggled at the backhanded compliment. It was something you were used to with Jackie, and you found it endearing. “Thanks! Got it just for the date. Definitely keeping it, though.”

Hyde raised a brow. “You don’t usually dress up for dates. Must really like the guy, huh?” You didn’t notice it then, but he shifted uncomfortably, his posture tensing.

“Damn it!! Stupid lucky guy, getting (L/N) to dress up all nice for him..” Kelso crossed his arms over his chest, pouting.

“At least we get to be blessed with the sight.” Fez sighed happily.

“I don’t know, I don’t really like him.” You shrugged. “He’s just takin’ me somewhere fancy, figured it was the least I could do.”

“Well, you look great. Hope you have fun.” Donna got up, patting you on the back.

“Thanks!! I’ll swing by after, yeah?”

“We’ll leave the door unlocked.” Eric commented, smiling.

“Great!” You heard a honk outside. “That’s my queue. Cya!” You grinned, heading out the door.

Hyde rolled his eyes, or, that’s what everyone assumed. It was a little hard to tell with the glasses. “Doesn’t even have the decency to knock, and she’s giving this guy a shot?” He scoffed.

“Someone sounds jeaaalouusss!!” Kelso snickered.

“I’m not jealous. I just think (L/N) could do better than some dude who can’t even knock on the door.”

“It’s okay if you’re jealous, Hyde! I mean, she’s going out with a popular jock. It makes sense you’d feel insecure.” Jackie returned to her spot next to Kelso.

“Why would I care?”

“It’s obvious you guys have a little back and forth thing.” Jackie giggled.

Donna hummed, leaning against the couch. “I figured you guys would’ve at least made out by now.”

Hyde scoffed. “Never gonna happen. She literally swore off ever dating me, Foreman, and Kelso.”

“Is that all that’s stopping you?” Eric raised a brow.

“No.” Hyde was almost too quick to answer. What he didn’t say was that he thought you were out of his league. He was a teenage dirtbag, and while you were their friend, you also were more of a social floater than anything. You dated jocks and the most popular guys in school. He’d be stupid to think you could ever be interested in dating him..

Right?

..

It had been a couple of hours since you left, and everyone had sort of faded out. Eric retreated upstairs to his room, heading to bed, and everyone else had returned to their respective houses.. Everyone except for Hyde, that is, as he had found himself recently staying in the Foreman’s basement after an incident with his Mom.

He lounged on the couch, taking a puff from a blunt that he had rolled when he heard the door open.

You stumbled in, reeking of cheap booze. More importantly, though, you had visibly been crying. Your mascara left streaks down your face, and your nose was red and puffy.

“What happened?” Hyde sat up straight, stiffening. Did that guy hurt you? He would kick his ass if he hurt you–

“That guy was a douche.” You huffed. “Got me drunk, then tried to get laid.” You wobbled over to the couch, sitting next to him. You held out your hand, and Hyde got the message, passing you the blunt.

“Did he hurt you?”

You shook your head. “Pushed him off.” You deeply inhaled the smoke before blowing it out, sighing. “Sucks. Used to it, but it sucks.”

“You’re used to it?” He stared at you, a little bewildered.

“Most guys get pissy when I won’t sleep with them.” You kicked off your heels, leaning back. “Don’t wanna lose my virginity to some guy I don’t even like.. Is that bad?” You looked at him, frowning.

“That’s not a bad thing.” He pushed a piece of your hair out of your face. “Plenty of people wanna save it for someone special. Like the whole til marriage shit.” He shrugged.

“Guess so..” You looked down before smiling, nudging him. “Why can’t every guy be as nice as you?”

He raised a brow. “You think I’m nice?”

“Yeahh!” You grinned, your slurring words the evidence of the alcohol still in your system. “In your own way. Liike, you may not act like it, but I think you care about everyone. At least a little. Like when you took Jackie to prom! Or now, you’re comforting me after a shitty date.”

“If you keep goin’ you’re gonna make my ego big.” He snickered.

You smiled, leaning your head on his shoulder. “Shut upp.. Point iss, you’re super sweet in your own way, and that’s what mattersss..”

He wrapped his arm around you. “You flatter me too much.”

After you didn’t respond, he looked over and realized you had fallen asleep on his shoulder. He sighed a little, propping you up and then picking you up. He took you to his room, laying you down on his bed and tucking you in.

He sat down next to you, watching you for a second. You looked so completely and utterly peaceful. He let out a breath before standing up.

Was your promise all that was stopping him from pursuing you?

He stood still for a second before heading to the door and flipping off the light. “Night, doll.”

..

You were very confused when you woke up the next morning, and you were in Hyde’s bed. You were still in the same clothes from the night before, and there was no evidence that anyone else had been in bed with you, so you felt pretty confident that you didn’t sleep together.

You scooted off of the mattress, getting up and peeking your head out the door. You didn’t see anyone in the basement, so you figured it must’ve been earlier in the day. You walked around, spotting a blanket on the couch, and you figured Hyde must’ve slept on it. But, he was nowhere to be found.

You decided to head upstairs and hopefully wash your face, maybe even get a change of clothes that Laurie left behind.

When you opened the door to the basement, you hissed a little upon seeing that the Foreman family were all sitting around the table, eating breakfast like the classic sitcom family.

You turned around, trying to tiptoe down the hallway when the floor board underneath you squeaked. You hissed, turning around when you heard Kitty’s voice behind you. “Y/N? Is that you? This early in the morning?”

You turned around, smiling awkwardly. “Ah.. Yeah, sorry. I um– I let myself in.”

Kitty gasped a little, getting up from her chair. “Goodness! You look awful!”

You assumed she was referencing your tear smudged makeup. “Yyyeah.. Rough night.”

“Let me get you cleaned up.” She put a hand on your shoulder, ushering you through the hall.

That left the boys in the kitchen. Red looked at Hyde, raising a brow. “You slept on the couch last night.

Hyde paused. “Yup.” He shoved a bite of his food in his mouth.

“Did she stay over?” Red leaned back in his chair, eyeing the curly haired boy.

Eric whistled lowly. “Dang, Hyde. Maybe Jackie was right about you being jealous.”

Hyde rolled his eyes. “It wasn’t like that. She had a crappy date and passed out. I didn’t wanna wake her up just to make her leave.”

Red looked at him for a second before raising his brows. “Well, that was nice. But you two really need to stop letting random kids crash here.” He cringed.

..

Meanwhile, you were in the bathroom with Kitty. You washed your face, looking at yourself in the mirror. Your eyes were a little swollen, but it was nothing major. You sighed a little before Kitty spoke. “I’ll get some clothes from Laurie’s room for you to change into. I can wash your clothes for you.”

You smiled at her, nodding. “That’d be appreciated, thank you.” You took off your jacket, handing it to her.

She smiled at you, taking your jacket before freezing when she saw your wrists.

You hadn’t realized it, but the jackass that you went on a date with had left bruises on you when he was trying to get handsy.

“Did.. Someone..” Kitty trailed off.

“No! No, no. Nothing like that. I, uh, I pushed him off of me.” You reassured her.

She frowned. “Oh, dear.. That had to have been hard.”

You looked to the side, frowning a little. “...Yeah.”

She put a hand on your shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze. “Well, you’re safe now. And you’ll have clean clothes soon enough.” She smiled, heading out the door and getting you some clothes.

Laurie’s clothes were comfortable. Kitty got you a pretty simple tank top and some pajama pants, which you didn’t mind. She told you she’d let you know when your clothes were clean, so you made your way down to the basement. It had been about an hour since you had seen Hyde and Eric since you took a shower during that time.

The usual group had gathered in the basement during that time, watching something stupid on TV. You made your way down the stairs, running a hand through your hair.

You casually walked over, sitting on the arm of the couch, putting you next to Kelso and Jackie. Only then did everyone realize you were there.

“Hey (L/N)!” Donna grinned, raising a teasing eyebrow. “How was your hot date–” She paused when she saw your appearance. Slightly swollen eyes and bruised wrists were the first thing to stand out.

“Jeez! You look awful!” Jackie looked over at you, and you couldn’t help the giggle that came out. She sounded just like Kitty.

You hummed. “The date was shit, but it’s cool. Didn’t really like the guy anyway, and I got free food.” You shrugged it off.

Hyde watched you, his eyes drifting down your body before they landed on your wrists. He didn’t see that the night before. You really did have to fight off that douche-bag.

Donna got up from where she was next to Eric, going to the back of the couch and hugging you. “Aw.. I’m sorry, babe. You can do better anyway.”

“Like Hyde said yesterday, you could do way better than a guy who honks!” Fez hummed, nodding to himself.

You blinked, looking in Hyde’s direction, seeing him shrug. “It’s true.”

You could feel your cheeks heat up, and your eyes soften, but before you could dwell on the butterflies in your stomach, you heard a honk from outside. You all paused, and Eric looked in your direction. “Do you have another date?”

You shook your head, getting up off the couch. “Who could that be?” You went to the door, opening it and going up the outside stairs, spotting a familiar car. “..Oh god.”

The guy you had gone out with the day before got out of his car, spotting you. “(Y/N)-- Can we talk?”

You grimaced, crossing your arms. “Why?”

You could hear your friends gathering up behind you as you walked up the driveway.

“Listen, I get kind of weird when I’m drunk, I didn’t mean to be so pushy.” The boy frowned, looking down at you.

You grumbled, rolling your eyes. “And I suppose you didn’t mean to ditch me and make me walk home too then?”

“You had to walk here?” Before you knew it, Hyde was by your side, looking at you.

You looked at him, frowning a little before shrugging. “Yeah. It’s–”

“Please, just– just give me another chance.” The boy stepped closer to you, trying to grab your shoulders.

Hyde stepped between you, pushing the guy away by his chest. “I think you’ve done enough.”

“And who do you think you are?” The guy stood up straight, getting in Hyde’s face.

“I’m her friend. And I don’t appreciate how you treated her.”

“Well, frankly, I think it’s none of your business how I treat her.”

“It kind of is when she busts into my basement crying.”

“Don’t be dramatic. I was just trying to have some fun.” The guy rolled his eyes. “And the bitch was basically asking for it with that dress–”

Hyde punched him, and he held his bleeding nose. The guy growled, throwing a punch at Hyde, and before you knew it, they were fighting. You squeaked, reaching your hand out. “H– hey there’s no need to fight it’s fine–”

The guy elbowed you. Right in the eye.

You hissed, holding your face. “Fuck–”

Hyde looked between you and the guy for a split second before he nailed his knee into his stomach. “You’d seriously fucking hit a chick?! What is wrong with you?!”

The guy coughed, holding his stomach and backing up toward his car, hurrying in.

“Yeah, screw off!” Hyde called after him, looking over to you.

Donna and Jackie rushed over to you, Donna, holding your shoulders. “O– ow shit– How bad is it?” You moved your hand off of your eye.

Jackie hissed. “Yikes. That’s gonna bruise. But it’s okay!! I have some absolutely great makeup that’ll cover it up, no problem!”

You giggled a little through the pain. “Ah, I don’t think that’s my biggest concern–” You looked in Hyde’s direction. “Are you okay?”

..

You and Hyde were left alone in the basement as the others were grabbing some stuff to help with your current conditions. Donna and Eric were getting an ice pack, Jackie was getting her makeup, and Kelso and Fez… Well, they were doing something.

You held a warm washcloth, dabbing at the little cuts and bruises on Hyde’s face. It was one of the few times you had seen him without his glasses for such a long period of time.

Once you were done, you sighed, smiling at him. “Y’know, you don’t need to get into fights for me.”

Hyde leaned back. “What? For you? Nah, the guy just had a very punchable face.”

You playfully rolled your eyes. “Right, right, my bad.”

He straightened up a little, clearing his throat. “Well, uh, are you good? I mean, that guy said some pretty nasty things..”

You shrugged a little, looking down. “I’m all good. He’s not the first guy to react like that to me rejecting them. He is the first guy to give me a black eye though.”

At the mention of your black eye, Hyde leaned forward, pushing your hair out of your face and oh so carefully touching your cheek. “Does it hurt?”

You stared at him, your breath hitching. “A little.”

He seemed to take in the fact that the two of you were mere inches away. He swallowed, looking down at you. “(L/N).. I uh.. I didn’t like that you went out with that guy.”

“What?” You furrowed your brows. “Why? Because he was like– a douche?”

“I mean, yeah, but I think it was ‘cause I uh…” He licked his lips. “I might, uh..”

Before he could say what he had on his mind, Donna and Eric made their way down the stairs, and you and Hyde quickly scooted away from each other.

Donna handed you the ice pack, and you pressed it to your eye, hissing a little.

“Jackie will be back with her makeup pretty soon, but I’d suggest not putting it on at least until the swelling goes a little down.” Donna hummed.

“Yeah, she–” Eric had started to go on a ramble about something, but you weren’t paying attention. Your eyes were on Hyde, who had casually gone back to his chair, acting as if your moment didn’t happen.

Was he going to say he liked you? What would that mean for your relationship? You were attracted to him, you had to admit, but did you like him?

Should you break your promise? 

[riveroftales]

😗Ummm…. Do you think you could do a little Drabble or some HCs about Genya with a mom figure? Like, maybe Himejima gets married and his wife meets Genya and is determined to give him a stable family and a good female role model. Like sure he totally ignores or is embarrassed by her at first but then she makes him food or cuts up watermelon for him 🥺 Maybe he eventually opens up to the “mom” and she tries to help him untangle all his teenage anger. MY POOR BOY NEEDS A FAMILY AND HIMEJIMA CANT DO IT ALONE. (Also pls feel free to ignore if you don’t like the prompt. Tysm I love your writing and the blind Genya AU kills me in the best way possible)

➳ ғᴀᴍɪʟʏ

𝖢𝖢'𝗌 𝖭𝗈𝗍𝖾: AHHH IM SO SORRY FOR BEING INACTIVE MY EXAMS LITERALLY START THIS THURSDAY AND IVE BEEN CRYING BECAUSE OF IT🥹

Himejima was like a father to Genya. His father was an asshole, so having a good role model made Genya adore him so much more.

He loved his mother. His mother was gentle, smiled a lot and despite being weak, she was able to protect.

He didn’t have anyone in his life to replace his mother and he wanted to keep it that way. That is, until Himejima got married.

Genya was beyond happy that Himejima got the chance to fall in love with someone who loved him and who he loved back, but he didn’t know how to approach the new addition to their tiny family of two.

The poor boy’s cheeks would always flare up intensely whenever he saw you. At first, you thought he genuinely liked you which led you to reject him politely during the hashira training one day in front of everyone else.

It was after Genya passed out from embarrassment when Tanjiro told you Genya just got nervous around every girl whether he liked them or not.

Genya was basically your son, so you had a mission to get him to think of you as a mother.

Even though he ignored you at most times, you managed to talk to him even if he didn’t respond. You opened up about everything and told tales of your past.

You ruffled his hair often with a soft smile before you always went up to your husband to kiss his large hand since he was far too tall for you to kiss his cheek.

Genya stayed up late often to train, so you also started staying up to make him little snacks occasionally.

You would call his name and give him a small plate of a few pieces of onigiri and smile when you see his eyes light up as he ate. Your favourite part was occasionally surprising him with another small plate of watermelon cut into adorable shapes.

You really babied him a lot. He was a huge kid, but you couldn’t help it. Genya was like a shy tiger.

The kid occasionally started warming up to you and he started initiating conversations. He could see the way your eyes lit up every time he made effort into your relationship.

You often say together with the three of them, showing them how to make some of your dishes. Himejima would help with the cutting and washing, while you guided Genya with the cooking.

You cried for the first time in years in your husband’s arms after Genya had left for a mission and he had said, “Bye, mom! I’ll be back soon! Please make a lot of food for me when I get back!”

You obeyed your baby’s request. How could you not? You loved seeing the hidden joy in his face whenever you fed him some food directly. Himejima smiled to himself when he heard the laughter his newfound family let out. He was beyond thankful to the gods above that he was alive to experience something so precious.

Genya soon realised that you weren’t his mother. You were never his mother, and you would never be his mother, but he would love you the same. He loved his mother, but he also loved you. His mother taught him how to love because it was all she could teach before she passed, while you helped teach him the rest.

You were there to hold him when he cried in your shoulders on the day his older brother nearly blinded him. You didn’t judge him for eating demons. You didn’t look down at him when he confessed he couldn’t use breathing forms.

You were there for everything. You were there during both Genya’s and Himejima’s sparring sessions, you were there to cook for your family, you were there to listen, you were there to love them. You were even there when Himejima had to leave abruptly to the demon amuse headquarters after an emergency meeting was announced. You were there when you saw Genya fall in the trapdoors on the floor which appeared so suddenly because you didn’t have a good feeling of leaving him alone, making you run up to his training ground to retrieve your son.

You ran as fast as you could when your husband’s kasugai crow led you to where the big battle was happening, only reaching during daybreak.

You felt your heart drop and tears sting your eyes when you saw corpses everywhere, but the sight of your unmoving husband was the only thing you were focused on.

The kakushi had to hold you back even when you screamed at the top of your lungs, yelling at Himejima to open his eyes.

You choked on your tears when you asked about Genya, your son. You knew he was also gone from the silence you received.

You couldn’t even cry anymore. Your eyes just closed before you passed out.

You woke up with a message from Sanemi that Genya had turned into ashes. Your little boy didn’t have a body to bury, meaning he’ll never have a proper funeral.

You folded Genya’s clothes really neatly and placed it in your dead husband’s arms as he laid so beautifully in the casket. You placed your son’s gun on top of his uniform, unable to watch the burial since tears were blurring your vision.

You woke up the next day, wishing you could feel the weight of Genya’s leg over your stomach as he slept in the most atrocious position ever while Himejima’s arms refused to let you go even in sleep one last time.

[greynatomy]

Espresso

Alex Morgan x Fem!Reader

I really liked how this came about when writing. I was scrolling through tiktok and this came around again of andrew garfield describing emma stone (which is the most romantic thing to describe a person you love).

Let me know what you think!

-grey

———

All of the United States Women’s National Team players are in the conference room, just finishing up a meeting with their coaches. Everyone is split up in their normal groups with the younger players sticking together. But there was one thing that they all have in common. It’s the love of one particular artist.

“Ohmygod! It out in five minutes!” Sonnett practically yelled for the whole world to hear.

“What’s starting?”

“The documentary all about how Espresso was written and put together.”

“Wait! That’s today?”

“Yes, Ashley. Come on. Keep up.”

Emily sets up her laptop, refreshing every second until the documentary shows up on Netflix.

“It’s right there! Click it.”

“I am, chill.” She swats Ashley’s hand away.

———

“Now, ‘Fairytale,’ what’s that about?” The interviewer asks.

A smile instantly shows up on your face.

“Uh, it’s pretty straight forward.”

“But go into detail. From listening to it once, I know it’s about how much you love someone and always wanting them close by.”

“That’s basically it.”

“Give me more man.” You both laugh. “Who’s it about?”

“Uh, I won’t be saying who, but she was-is pretty special. I’ve known her since we were kids. I was a pretty shy kid growing up, kept to myself most of the time, then she shows up out of nowhere basically demanding to be friends.”

“Then you became more?”

“Then we became more. She helped me open up and like the song says ‘with you I lose all my fears,’ she was always there to help me get by.”

You are now sat on a stool with your guitar and perform the song that was just talked about. (Fairytale by We Three)

“Are you still together?”

“Oh.” You let out a breathy chuckle. “No.”

“What happened?”

“I actually have no clue. It’s been, what? Thirteen years.” You start giggling.

“What’s got you gigglin’ over there.”

“Nothing, nothing. Just the number, that’s all. Don’t ask me about it.”

“Alright then, let’s backtrack. You said you don’t know what happened. How is that possible to not know what happened that led to the breakup?

“I just never got the closure that I needed, I guess. I mean yeah, she said she just didn’t love me anymore, but what else? What did I do? What could I have done differently? Just those questions that I have that haven’t and probably never will get answered.”

“Do you know what she’s up to now.”

“Uh, yeah I do. Not to sound creepy, but I’ve seen how she is and she’s doing amazing. She’s moved up in the world. A true inspiration, especially to her daughter.”

“So she has a child?”

“Yeah. And she looks so much like her.” You give a sad smile, a tear slipping from your eye.

“She must be real special to you, even after all these years.”

“She was like a shot of espresso, she’s like, being bathed in sunlight, she’s incredibly energetic and enthusiastic and she had this sense of play and fun which was, incredibly exciting. And then just like the sunset that illuminates her beauty she left, while like a dark night I got pulled into darkness.”

———

Alex Morgan sat in silence throughout the whole documentary. She hasn’t caught up with your career like you had done with her.

“I’ve never been described as a shot of espresso.” Ashley breaks the silence.

“That was the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard. Also very heartbreaking at the same time.” Rapinoe speaks up for the first time.

“But isn’t it weird that she’s still caught up on this girl after thirteen years?” Kelley questions.

“I don’t think she’s caught up, she just wants the closure she never got.”

“Man whoever left her just like that, we needa have some words.”

Alex excuses herself, saying she was tired and was gonna go up to her room. On the way to her room, she though about more of her life and the evens that happened in the past year.

She divorced her ex-husband after nine years, co-parenting—if you can call him seeing his daughter only when he feels like it.

And now that she’s thinking about it, the only reason she can come up with was not wanting to be the reason that you can express your love freely to the world. Alex isn’t out, she never was, never even planning to. That’s why she broke up with you because it wasn’t fair to you.

No, she just needs to tell you.

For closure.

Her thumb hovers over your contact, hoping it never changed.

Sunshine ☀️

Hi.

It wasn’t long until she got a reply.

Lover ♥️

Hey.

Sunshine ☀️

Would you like to grab a cup of coffee with me? To catch up?

Alex throws her phone on the bed, anxious to know what you would say. Her phone vibrating makes her grab her phone just as quick as she threw it.

Lover ♥️

When and where?

~~~~~

no part 2

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for "forcing" my best friend to break up with his boyfriend?

🧸

I (22 cis m) and my best friend 'A' (21 ftm) have been friends since we were 10 years old and I love him more than anything. He’s genuinely the sweetest, most thoughtful, and funniest person I’ve ever met. He means everything to me and we’ve been there for each other through the hardest times of our lives so far and I plan on staying until the end.

It’s always been us two. Btw, everyone mentioned here uses he/him pronouns exclusively.

A has been with his boyfriend (21 cis m) for about 2 years now, and from what he told me, things were going great. Even if I’m not too fond of his boyfriend. A few days ago, we got pretty drunk at a friend’s housewarming party. A and I live together, and as soon as we got home, he suddenly started rambling about how he wishes his boyfriend cared about him the same way I do.

Legit felt like I was in some dumb romance movie for a moment there. I felt a little uneasy and asked him to elaborate. In short, his boyfriend essentially treats him like a doll instead of a person with real emotions. He feels as though his boyfriend just uses him to get his daily fix of physical affection and sex, that’s it. The only positive thing his boyfriend can say about A is that he’s cute, which boggles my mind. It’s true but there’s so much more to him as a human being.

A is an incredibly talented artist, super kind, super emotionally intelligent, and has a plethora of interests he loves to infodump about. I’m trying my hardest not to make this entire post about how amazing he is. He’s helped multiple friends clean their depression apartments and took them out to get fresh groceries etc. because it’s basic decency to him. He has such a big heart and holds so much love in it for everyone in his life. Being around him is just so easy and makes life worth living.

He’s just an incredible person all around and every single person that has him in their life recognizes that, except his boyfriend. They’ve had issues in the past because they’re not sexually compatible, which led to some miscommunication and made A feel like he was coerced into things he didn’t want to do. He just did them to make his boyfriend happy. He does a lot of things for his boyfriend, actually. He’s constantly buying little gifts, remembering what he likes, and plans cute dates for them to go on. His boyfriend does none of these things.

I want to mention that A has bpd and avpd. He has an intense fear of rejection and will do everything in his power to appease others so they won’t leave him. I always take the time to reassure him that I love him for who he is and not what he can give me. Basically just making sure he feels loved. Keep in mind, his boyfriend is aware of this but he just gets annoyed when A seeks reassurance from him. His behavior has made my blood boil several times in the past already, but I always kept it to myself for A’s sake. If I was vocal about disliking his boyfriend, it probably would’ve caused A a lot of distress and emotional turmoil.

Still, I don’t think this relationship is healthy for A and I know him well enough to know he won’t break it off on his own. It’s just his combo of personality disorders that makes it impossible for him. I told him about my concerns and he agreed, but said he feels bad for his boyfriend since he apparently doesn’t have any friends outside of A. From my POV, it just looks like his boyfriend knows A is out of his league and is grasping at straws to make A stay with him out of pity.

This is where I might be the asshole. I got a little frustrated and raised my voice, which I severely regret. I don’t want to blame it on the alcohol but it definitely had a hand in it. I finally told him about all these grievances I have about his boyfriend, how much I dislike him and how A deserves so much better, etc.. At one point, I essentially gave him an ultimatum. It’s me or his boyfriend. I didn’t really mean it, it was just a heat of the moment thing I spat out. I would never leave him like that.

A started crying and begged me to calm down, at which point I realized how shitty I was being and immediately began apologizing. We hugged, I comforted him, and we spent the rest of the night cuddling and talking about how he could approach the breakup.

Now that I’ve sobered up I feel like absolute shit. I know it’s not my place to tell A what to do with his romantic relationships, even if I’m his best friend. Plus, I want to be 100% honest here and say I might have romantic feelings for A. I think I have for a long time, but I always wrote it off as intense platonic love. So I may be biased in this whole conversation about his boyfriend.

I didn’t say these things because of that. I genuinely think his boyfriend is a huge dick and full of shit, no matter how sweet and loving he pretends to be. It’s all in the way he treats A. He’s one of those guys that paint their nails (nothing wrong with that but you know the kind of guy I’m talking about), pretend to be feminists, and steal their romantic partner’s personality to seem cooler. He even asked A to stop taking testosterone because he didn’t like how hairy A was getting or some shit like that.

He’s pansexual but has only ever dated girls and started dating A before A began medically transitioning. There’s obviously nothing wrong with that and changes nothing about the fact that he’s pansexual, he just pisses me off when he criticizes A for being 'too masculine'. You can have a preference for feminine people but don’t make that shit your partner’s problem when they just want to pass.

I feel like A’s boyfriend just thought A would always stay the smooth, baby-faced twink he was before going on testosterone and now makes him feel guilty for looking like a grown man. Some people don’t know how to appreciate hairy tummies.

Sorry for making this so long but I just want to be as honest and informative as possible to get proper opinions on the issue. A is now dead set on breaking things off because he now knows that I actively despise his boyfriend and he always puts my opinion above everyone else’s.

Was I in the wrong for doing this or am I just protecting my best friend? I’m glad he intends on ending things but I feel a bit like a conniving snake considering everything. It feels like I’m taking advantage of his mental state even if I’m not doing it consciously.

[avelera]

Headcanon: ADHD Hob and Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria

So I went down the rabbithole on ADHD and rejection sensitivity dysphoria (and found this lecture that legit made me tear up if you have or think you have ADHD, go listen to it here) and it got me thinking, as everything is wont to do, about Hob Gadling and how if he had ADHD, which I think there's lots of fun in-text hints at that at least allow that interpretation, what are some other ways that could manifest besides his ebullient and never-ending love of life in all its endless variety?

So as sufferers of ADHD know, it's not all fun and games. The flip side of living with a dopamine-starved brain that's always seeking out new experiences and seeing the world through that lens is that other emotions slam us hard too, like rejection sensitivity dysphoria aka, "the most minor criticism can feel like an actual knife in the chest, no I don't mean mildly bummed out, I mean full on fight-or-flight brain meltdown because someone told you a comma is in the wrong place in your manuscript (not that I'm speaking from personal experience yes it's that dumb)".

ANYWAY, so I'm thinking about Hob and RSD and specifically 1789.

Specifically the line, "It's just how it's done," referring to horrific practice of human trafficking and how Hob basically shrugs while, to his minor credit, looking suddenly uncomfortable and guilty, about the fact he actively profits from this industry, and the way he cringes in on himself when called out kinda seems to indicate that he knows it's a vile practice and isn't super comfortable with being reminded of his fact by someone he respects, like Dream.

A couple notes on that little exchange between Hob and Dream:

1 ) The face Ferdinand Kingsley-as-Hob makes in that moment is absolute textbook adult ADHD rejection sensitivity dysphoria. Namely, the point where you know criticism hits you like a knife in the heart, particularly from people you respect, and you just have to cover that flinch of literal physical pain with a careful poker face.

The way Hob's tone suddenly goes cold and with his very genteel, received-pronunciation manners he levels Dream with perhaps the closest he's ever come at this point to lashing out, "You're giving me advice...?"

I'm not saying that canonically it's RSD, or that neurotypical people don't suffer pain and disappointment when receiving disapproval, but to my eyes at least, Ferdie Hob takes Dream's comment very seriously, much more so than the comic counterpart did (who needed multiple nudges before he even realized what Dream was trying to tell him about getting out of the shipping business and still seemed a bit clueless about why Dream would want that or care by the end).

2 ) Going into proper headcanon territory, I personally chart Hob's journey from destitute to wealthy slave trader as the product of someone who stopped giving a shit about others after everything he suffered in the 1600s. To be perfectly clear, this is not a fucking excuse for it, it's an examination of motives.

Because technically, after everything Hob suffered in the 1600s, he could have emerged with more empathy for the plight of others. But clearly that didn't happen. From an entirely human motivation level, that leads me personally to the conclusion that since no one helped Hob when he was at his lowest (not even Dream, though I dearly wish it was otherwise and wrote extensively on what would have happened if he had) that led him to the belief, put simply, that fuck the world so long as he got his. Why should he care about anyone else if no one cared about him?

But to go back to the topic of this essay, RSD, there's an additional element to that theory on why and how Hob leaned into not giving a shit about others, and that missing factor from what's described above is the element of everyone is doing it. Specifically worded as, "It's just how it's done."

Another really fascinating lecture I listened to on ADHD talked about how the most common trauma reaction ADHDers have to their sense of rejection, shame, and guilt that comes the way our brains react to the world is by hiding. And that also got me thinking about 1789 Hob in this context.

Because Hob as we see him in 1589 is loud in his happiness. He's sitting there, bold as brass in the middle of the White Horse, showing off his wealth with a banquet, loudly declaiming about how he pretended to be his own son twice, worked in the Tudor shipyards (what would have been 50+ years before) and just how he spent the last 100 years working his way up to his knighthood. The man does not have an ounce of caution in him. But, he is also by far the happiest we ever see Hob (up until Dream ditches him in the middle of their date).

This is important because to my eyes, Hob is living openly and unashamed and with only the barest hint of caution typified by pretending to be his own son every couple decades. The way he describes his last 100 years sounds like an ADHD dream, basically getting a boat load of money from Caxton's printing press (basically the first tech startup unicorn of the modern era) and then running around wherever his interests took him where he also made money hand over fist, kept climbing, and eventually reached the point where he could purchase the acclaim and regard of a member of the (albeit minor) nobility. All of this after being born a peasant. That's just validation and money and prestige and getting to pursue your special interest and live as your authentic self all over the place. And I do mean authentic, Hob doesn't even seem particularly worried about talking openly in the White Horse about being 200+ years old, a strong case could be made that he's not that careful in his personal life either.

So anyway, Hob has this amazing century literally followed by the worst century imaginable, filled with the sort of horrors that can tear a man's soul asunder. Losing his family, his beloved wife in childbirth with their new baby, his adult son, his home, his money, everything he spent a century building. His title and name are gone too because of the nature of how he lost it with the accusation of witch craft, which also means he can't just fake being his own son again to get it all back because they're explicitly going to notice that this time.

And how did this all happen? Because Hob got noticed. He lived there 40 years, overconfident is his own words. Which is a wild thing to say about a bunch of witch hunters showing up at his door! He blames himself for being drowned as a witch. On the one hand, I imagine he has to think that way because otherwise he has to admit to the sheer brutal randomness of life, so in a way he's trying to take control of the narrative by blaming himself.

But it also smacks of ADHD again because ADHDers very commonly shift the blame onto themselves after years of their unique nervous system response making them a round peg in a square hole of wider society. We learn over and over that the mistakes we make are our fault, because of "laziness" or "apathy" which isn't apathy at all but deep agony over our inability to accomplish tasks in a neurotypical way without the support we need, but I digress. But it sure sounds like Hob may have been paralyzed by grief for literal decades and then blamed himself for not getting the mental spoons together in that context to move on and reinvent his life after losing his wife and child. Which would be a very ADHD thing to do.

So after this absolutely brutal smackdown by reality for living too openly, too loud, too ADHD, getting paralyzed by the powerful emotions he felt (if we follow the headcanon) over the grief and loss in his life, what is Hob's next step?

Hiding.

Blending in.

Not rocking the boat.

And again, not excusing it, there's plenty of other industries he could have gone into to blend in that didn't involve human trafficking. That said, if he went to sea, which we know Hob did on many occasions from the comic, it would be seen by his peers there at sea as a normal way to make one's fortune, and then.... well, we have as evidence that this is his current peer-group the sort-of pride with which Hob announces how he's making his fortune these days in the "shipping business", as if he's expecting Dream's approval.

That to me, reads a bit like the people pleaser/social chameleon aspect of ADHD. Hob is expecting to be praised for being successful by Dream the way he would likely be praised by his peers in the shipping business or among the wealthy privileged men of England. He's so steeped in that world now that he's clearly taken aback when Dream takes the (at the time more radical but not uncommon) stance of, "This is wrong."

And Hob knew it. But he was blending in. He was going along with how things are done. He wasn't rocking the boat. He has other hints at trauma responses too, "salting money around the world" in case there's political upheaval, for example. This is not the loud, boisterous Sir Robert Gadlen untouched by loss or trauma. He has been humbled and tempered and, indeed, made afraid by what happened to him.

This sort of wild swing towards protectiveness? Again, also ADHD. As the lecturer I linked first noted, ADHDers are textbook defenders. They are always defending themselves from the world that can suddenly, unexpectedly, plant a knife in their heart because of a perceived rejection. From a world that wants their brain to work in a way it doesn't, so they have to come up with myriad painful coping mechanisms to fit in, blend in, mask, and function. Hob was forced to protect himself after the 1600s, so he did, with money, and with not caring about other people, and with insulating himself from privilege, and becoming a social chameleon.

1589 Hob tries to earn back Dream's interest, but he doesn't fawn. Dream shows interest in Shaxberd and Hob, already starting to get irritated, tells him no, Shaxberd is crap.

And you can tell in 1789 that Hob is thinking about that day again when he gets Dream's disapproval, because who does he reference? That lad, Will Shaxberd. He's fearing rejection and abandonment again, or at least it's crossed his mind after Dream's admonishment. But this time, Hob is fawning more, very nearly flirting. He's trying to play the game better this time, trying to keep Dream's interest, social chameleoning the subject onto safer topics, things he thinks will interest Dream, as Shaxberd so clearly did, so let's talk about him if that's what you care about. Again, another ADHD social chameleon, people pleaser aspect. We are nervous empaths, we are constantly picking up a bazillion signals both real and imagined. And we're so fucking terrified of that RSD knife in the heart, we become people pleasers to avoid it. After the shipping business brag fell through, Hob pivots to talking about Dream and what, in his experience, Dream seems to like and talk about favorably.

So anyway, many many ADHD-esque rambling words later, there's a few more little details I'd add to the list of "possible ADHD behavior, not just the fun parts" for Hob Gadling. Is it canon? Maybe not. But it does make for a great headcanon, in my opinion.

[duchess-kyuupid]

Can you do one where the twst boys are walking with Fem!reader to class or something and reader trips but instead of getting up they just lie there contemplating life and acting like everything is falling apart but they as just being dramatic for the hell of it-

Crack and fluff basically lol

It doesn't matter who just whoever you like writing the most! Thank you ❤️

Of course! I'm going to do three characters who I thought would fit the scenario the best <3 Thank you for being my first request dearie!

Ik it says fem!reader, but I didn't use any pronouns or anything so it can be read as gender neutral :)

~ Twst Men with an overdramatic Reader Falling Down~

[Ft. Rook, Idia, and Sebek]

Rook

- In a moment of weakness on your part, you had asked Rook to help tutor you in the basics of etiquette in this world. Namely, you were just curious about the differences between your world and theirs- for example you mentioned once in a passing comment that it was common curtesy to open doors for people, even strangers, if they were going to be coming in after you. You've even done so when you were walking into class with some people behind you, but all that resulted in was weird looks from your classmates. And not even a thank you! And I mean, it's not like you were expecting to get a thank you, but at the very least, those people could try acting a little more polite! You recounted this story to Rook and he laughed, saying that such a courtesy is not only seen as a lowly servant's job, but it's also the fact that everyone at NRC are mages, so most people will just open the door with magic. - Anyway, so that's how you ended up here, receiving a lecture from Rook about etiquette and the importance of being elegant and beautiful- even more than you already are, at least. - You've been here for hours now, and your initial curiosity has basically evaporated into boredom with a strong longing to just go back to Ramshackle and relax. But you knew there was no way you were going to be able to escape, not with a hunter like Rook keeping his eyes on you like a hawk. - "Ah, mon coeur, it appears as though you've stopped listening! Non, non, mon beauté, this simply mustn't do! Why don't we practice something a little bit more engaging? Some dance lessons shall do just fine, allez!" - And then suddenly you were dragged out of your comfy chair as Rook leads you to the middle of the room to start his lesson with you. He's clearly been enjoying this, with the big smile that hasn't left his face since you've walked in. - So, despite how tired you feel, you accept his proposal to dance. I mean, how could you say no to his face which smiles so brightly that it puts even the sun to shame? - But of course, you also didn't really have the heart to tell Rook that you've never danced before- at least not like this. This formal type of dancing, with Rook's hand settled on your waist and gently holding your other as you two sway to the non-existent music- you don't have very much experience with it, not at all. - So it was only natural that you got stuck staring at Rook's face, again not paying attention to the words that he was speaking about how to waltz elegantly. Your body followed his movements and words on instinct, like you were stuck in a trace just so that you could focus on the one thing that was most important right now: him. - Alas, all good things must come to an end. While you were busy shamelessly staring at Rook as he led your dance, you tripped over your feet and landed face first on the floor. ....Why are we here, just to suffer? - You made no movements to get up, if only to hide the embarrassment ridden on your face. - "Rook, I think this is the end for me...Tell my wife I love her," you made a fake coughing noise, "And delete my search history." - God, how did you even get here? Falling to the floor is literally the last thing you want your crush to see you doing, and yet here you were- your only salvation is to joke about it and hope that Rook doesn't think of you any less for your terrible dancing skills. - But as you were wallowing, Rook simply smiles and picks you up off of the floor with a chuckle. You stare at him in surprise at his strength, as he literally just treated you as if you were as light as a stick. -"Oh là, là, mon beauté! Your dancing skills are truly magnifique! Especially for a first time, I must say you glided through the floor like you were the epitome of dance!" He says as he inspects you for any injuries, making sure to dust off and straighten your clothes in the process. "Vraiment élégante! S'il te plaît, mon coeur, dance with me again!" - Honestly, if your face could get any redder, it would. This man is going to kill you one day if you don't get your pounding heart under control.

Idia

- It was one of those rare days in which Idia was forced to go to class in person, and the two of you were literally watching the clock and counting down the time for the lunch bell to ring. - As it so happens, there was a new, special event that was only going to go live for 24 hours, but the gacha pool only had a limited amount of units that were going to be released per server. - If you two didn't hurry, then everyone else was going to snag this thing and you two would be left with nothing! Nothing but crushed hopes and dreams after months of saving specifically for this day. - Of course, Idia lost his chance to get it in class when Professor took his phone and chewed him out for using it during his lecture, and you didn't have the game downloaded on your phone yet (you really only played it when you were hanging out with Idia in his dorm room, after all). But you were both determined to get it. - When the clock strikes 12, the two of you were going to bolt out of there and make a break for his dorm room to hopefully make it in time. Idia would have to get his phone back later, right now the surest bet would be at his dorm, where he keeps several different computers so that you can try to get the thing too. - 11:58.....11:59.... 12:00!!! - The bell rings and the race to his room begins! - Alas, neither of you could really straight up run there, because if you got stopped by a hall monitor or a teacher, then that would be the end. So you two decided that the best way to go about it was to speed-walk there. - Oh, but you had almost forgotten about how enormously tall Idia is. His version of a "speed-walk" is basically your sprinting pace. You'd never notice because most of the time he's slouching, but this man stands at (183 cm/6'), and his legs are just so ridiculously long that you couldn't help but to fall behind simply because you weren't running. - And Idia notices this too, so in an attempt to help you, he decides to pinch at a loose piece of your clothing (this was already going out of his comfort zone, so don't expect him to just outright initiate physical contact without asking) and drag you forward to meet his pace. - Unfortunately, he failed to think his plan entirely through, as his grip on your clothes were not very tight and you were not expecting to be dragged like that. To make matters worse, the halls were also getting crowded as people were making their way to the cafeteria. - Long story short, Idia lost his grip, and you tripped over, getting lost within the crowd of people at the same time. Idia stops to look behind him in surprise to see you getting swallowed into the mob with a terror-stricken face. - "Go, Idia! This is your chance!" you cry out with fake tears escaping your eyes, "You're gonna have to leave me behind, but don't worry, I'll catch up with you. I won't die here...." You give him a tearful thumbs up as the surrounding students calmly walk around you. - He salutes you with tears in his own eyes, "Your sacrifice will not be forgotten." And he turns around to start full-on sprinting towards his destination. - And you stay there on the floor for another second before chuckling when you come to a certain realization: - "I have now both literally and figuratively fallen for him now, haven't I?"

Sebek

- Sebek, being the gentleman that he is, has decided to walk you back to Ramshackle after learning about Malleus' fondness towards the human who calls him 'Hornton.' - Of course, this has become a regular occurrence for the two of you now. Sebek still walks with you under the guise of making sure that you're not a threat to Malleus, but that's only because he doesn't know how to admit that he's become fond of you too. - The two of you were joking around, generally enjoying each other's company on your walk back home, when all of a sudden you find yourself falling to the ground. - You honestly have no idea what had happened to get you here, but what you do know is that following the few seconds after, Sebek is already yelling at the top of his lungs and interrogating the surrounding students who were unlucky enough to have seen you fall over. - "YOU! DID YOU TRIP THEM ON PURPOSE?" - So you just stayed on the floor, pitying the poor people he began to yell at for basically no reason as you began debating with yourself on the purpose of life. - For the most part though, you were just waiting to see how long it would take Sebek to stop for a moment to realize that you were still on the floor. - Ironically enough, it was when he started interrogating some other people when the ones who he just chewed out came over to you to ask if you were alright and if you needed help standing back up. - "WHAT ARE YOU DOING SO CLOSE TO THEM?? BACK AWAY THIS INSTANT, HUMAN!" Sebek yells (when is he not yelling?), this time actually scaring off the people he was just accusing of tripping you. - "ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" - "No, I think I must've broken my back falling for you." - "I'LL TAKE YOU TO THE INFIRMARY THIS INSTANT, AND THE ONES WHO DID THIS WILL NOT GET OFF LIGHTLY!" and just like that, your pick-up line is ignored as Sebek picks you up and begins to run over to the infirmary. Literally the only thing that you could think of now is the fact that, even if you weren't joking and you had actually broken your back, Sebek would probably have made it worse because this is definitely not the correct way to carry someone who's broken their back. In fact, you think, I don't think you're even supposed to pick them up in the first place. - Well, you wanted to tell Sebek that you were fine, that you were just messing with him when you said that. But at the same time, you kinda liked the feeling of having Sebek carrying you like this. It was rather comfy. - "Sebek, I have a first aid kit at Ramshackle that has some things that could help. It's closer than the infirmary, so let's just go there," you say, adjusting yourself so that you were more comfortable leaning against him. - He looks down at you and notices your peaceful-looking face- a face that does not say "help me I've just broken my back and I am in immense pain," and he finally takes a moment to think back on what you said earlier when he asked if you were alright. - With a dramatic gasp, his face flushes pink as he realizes what you had actually meant to say, and in his surprise, he accidentally lets you go too. - "Hey! Was that really necessary?" you pout as you fall to the ground, again, for the second time today. You look up from the ground to see his flustered face and you catch on that he finally figured out what you told him earlier. - "Sorry! You just caught me by surprise," Sebek states, his voice sounding quite meek in comparison to how it was earlier. - "You're going to have to make it up to me for dropping me like that, you know," you say, standing up and dusting yourself off lightly, "And my price is that you carry me back the rest of the way. That's the only way to make things even." - With a flushed face, Sebek nods and picks you up again, this time he became much more aware of how close he was holding you, but he noticed that, strangely enough, he didn't have any problems with it.

Just thinking about how many seagulls it would take to drown out the sound of Sebek's voice lol I'm thinking around 78, honestly

~~~~~~~~~

Sorry for being a little late with your ask! I was hoping to post this for Valentine's day but then work and college decided to drag me through the mud for a bit </3 Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, and thank you for reading!

[adamcoled]

comfort | rhea ripley

rhea ripley x fem!reader

summary: comforting rhea as she handles the disappointment of not being on the summerslam card.

word count: 1,620

warnings: some small sexual implications basically

a/n: just something simple i wrote in my upset over no rhea at ss :/

With Rhea’s schedule, you definitely didn’t get to spend time with her as much as you’d like. She was on the road often, and you led a normal life at a home she’d frequently have to be away from for days at a time. You tried to attend any shows that were close enough and aligned with your schedule, but your priority was always PLEs. And of course, with SummerSlam being the second biggest PLE of the year, you were absolutely going to be there. While you and Rhea would be traveling together for the most part, she had plenty of media events so you wouldn’t be seeing much of her in the days leading up to the show. However, Rhea was home for a couple of days ahead of her schedule in Detroit, and those days would be reserved solely for the two of you. 

But during those days, you couldn’t help but notice that Rhea seemed off. You knew her better than anyone, so when there was a difference in her mannerisms, you could tell. She wasn’t her usual smiley, flirty, goofy self that she was with you; she was much quieter, reserved, and seemed to be lost in her own head. When she arrived home late Tuesday night, you figured she was just tired. You had greeted her at the door by practically throwing yourself into her arms, and she kissed you chastely before placing you down and mumbling that she wanted to shower and get in bed. Salaciously, you offered to shower with her - smiling innocently despite your intent - but she said she was going to be quick and you’d might as well just wait for her in bed. You frowned at that, but tried not to feel too disappointed since it was late and she probably was exhausted; you just hadn’t seen her in days and missed her desperately. 

Then the next morning came, and you were certain something was up. You’d woken up before her and decided to let her sleep in - even though she would probably give you hell for it later. Some mornings, you two would go out for a nice little breakfast, but you took it upon yourself to cook up something for you two at home. Cooking wasn’t exactly your specialty, but for her, you would always go all out (to the best of your capability). Once the meal was done, you made a plate for Rhea and set it aside before checking your bedroom to see if she was awake yet. 

Sure enough, she was, but when you walked in you saw her sitting up with her head in her hands and her phone discarded to your side of the bed. 

“Rhea…” you began, making your way over to her in concern. “What’s wrong baby?” 

Hearing your voice, she lifted her head and you placed a soft kiss to the top of it, to which she immediately smiled, but it wasn’t a genuine, wholehearted Rhea smile you knew so well. She saw the worry in your eyes and knew she wouldn’t be able to fool you for a second, nor did she want to. With you, she knew she could be open, transparent, and honest; with you, she could be weak when she had to be strong everywhere else. 

“They’re keeping me off SummerSlam,” Rhea revealed, pushing hair out of her face in frustration. “Not enough time and not enough build for me and Raquel.” 

Your eyes widened upon hearing this, because it didn’t make sense to you how she just wasn’t on the card to defend her title as one of the most over wrestlers in the company. Even more puzzling, it truly seemed like they were heading down the Rhea v. Raquel path, something even Rhea had told you about weeks ago. Now, she was matchless and off the card besides any Judgment Day antics for such a major PLE, making Rhea’s feelings entirely reasonable. You weren’t even sure how to comfort her, but to her, all she really needed was just you. 

“Oh, Rhea. I’m so sorry, you deserve to be on the card. You’ve worked your ass off for this,” you consoled, crawling back into bed next to her. She leaned into you, relishing in your warmth despite how defeated she felt.

“It just fucking sucks. Even worse when it makes people start questioning me as a champion, I’ve seen that a lot on social media recently.”

Just hearing that made you angry, because it was entirely out of Rhea’s hands at that point.

 “What control do you have over the booking? Of course you’d be out there if it was up to you!” you exclaimed, letting your emotions take over for a moment. Rhea chuckled at this, loving how passionate and fiery you could be - especially over her. 

“People don’t think about that, they just see me not defending the title and run with it,” she sighed, shifting from her spot beside you to lean back against the headboard. Her eyes focused on the ceiling, lost in thought and vexation. “I’m sorry for how I’ve been last night and this morning, love. I know you were worried.”

Your gaze softened, placing your hand against her cheek before connecting your lips to hers. It was the first real time you’d gotten to kiss her since she left the week prior and you had missed the feeling so terribly, and so did she. Rhea deepened the kiss, her tongue swiping across your bottom lip deviously. You were glad she seemed to be feeling better, at least. 

“You have nothing to apologize for, I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I know you try to shoulder things on your own sometimes,” you chided, pushing a few of her stray hairs behind her ear. Though you thought she looked incredible every time she showed up on WWE television, you loved being able to see her in this state so much - bare-faced, still not even fully awake, hair a little messy. 

“Well you always pry it outta me,” Rhea laughed, squeezing your thigh. 

“Because I need Rhea Ripley to know she doesn’t have to be invincible. You can feel things like a normal human and I’ll be here to remind you how amazing you are.”

“Baby, I knew I wasn’t invincible the moment I met you,” she corrected. “My kryptonite.”

Rhea pulled you on top of her, earning a surprised gasp and giggle from you which she adored. Once you were settled, she took a moment to appreciate how beautiful you looked. She was so in love and so in awe of you, and she felt that constantly, but it was like her heart was going to burst out of her chest each time she was physically near you. 

“I feel like I’m disappointing you. I mean you took off work and committed to traveling to watch me perform, and now I’m not even on the show,” Rhea spoke honestly. She was heartbroken that she wouldn’t be able to see you in the crowd, cheering her on during her match. 

“Shhh,” you silenced her. “I’m only disappointed for you, but I still get to be with you for a few days even if you’ll be busy most of the time. I don’t have a single regret.”

She knew you would feel that way, but that didn’t erase the small amount of guilt she still felt. Regardless, she appreciated the hell out of you, and already was in much higher spirits just from talking to you. Of course, her frustration was still there, tugging at her, but now she had you looking at her so sweetly and it helped infinitely. You were proud of her no matter what and she could only hope that she’d make it onto the next PLE card to put on a good match for you. 

“God, how did I get so lucky?” she asked, kissing your forehead, and then your nose, and then your lips. You rolled your eyes, about to open your mouth to tell her you were the lucky one (which she already expected you to say) but she stopped you in your tracks by bringing her hands to your butt and squeezing. She watched your eyes light up mischievously and laughed, certain the action had your thoughts running - it absolutely did to her. 

“I made breakfast, by the way,” you mentioned, almost as a joke because you were well-aware food was likely the last thing on her mind now. And you were right about that.

“You’re an angel, but do you really think I’m thinking about breakfast right now?” 

“Hmm, maybe,” you giggled. “And I’m not an angel. I’m just your girlfriend.”

You were still teasing, so Rhea played the same game. She traced her thumb along your bottom lip, reveling in the way your lips almost instinctively parted as if you were inviting her in. Realistically, you were. You had been craving her since she got home the night before and now she had enticed you fully. 

“Don’t play dumb, pretty girl. But at least you know you’re mine,” Rhea grinned. Her thumb left your lip and instead her fingers entangled in your hair. Her lips came crashing onto yours, now a much hungrier, devilish kiss. She was consumed by both passion and love for you, but also anger over SummerSlam. Even still, you and Rhea were going to have a great weekend in Detroit and show them exactly why she should have been on the card. 

“‘M not playing,” you got out between feverish kisses. 

“Then how about we start?” 

But for now, you two were just going to enjoy each other. 

[raemanzu]

Okay, story time, containing awkwardness of the closeted queer nerd variety. And the dangers of using weird passwords.

Picture this common frustration: I have been locked out of an important online account.

No, I don't remember what kind of account. It might have been an online banking account. Now I'm thinking it was probably my car insurance.

In any case. All I remember is that it was something very financially significant, and I NEEDED to get into that account, so I could pay an important bill or something, something time-sensitive.

Stress was high. I did not have very much money and did NOT want Collections to be called. I was also a very young adult.

This was back in the early 2010s at the latest. I had only lived outside of my childhood home for a year or three at most. In my outer life I was a quiet modest Mormon girl coping with living in a New Scary Liberal Place, insistent that I was definitely Not A Lesbian and had not left Utah because of being in love with my best friend, definitely not, we were just good friends.

And in my inner life I was an extremely confused repressed queer ace nonbinary person doing very whacky gay chat roleplays with my future QPP, who I was now living with at their parents' house, featuring many anime and JRPG-inspired OCs with various complicated relationships with sexuality or lack thereof, including some intersex boys who were basically sex slaves to a bunch of royal women.

What does all this have to do with getting locked out of my account?

Well, there was a moment when I called the customer help line hoping someone could get my account unlocked, and the guy on the other end asked me what my password was.

"Oh. Um." I paused for what felt like an embarrassingly long amount of time. I had a habit of using names or features of my OCs combined loosely with L337 speak to help me come up with unique but memorable passwords. "Uhhh, I'll just spell it. So it's the numeral zero. Capital W… lowercase o… m… e.. n…"

At this point my face is starting to get kind of hot.

"Number 4… m..e…" I finish in an awkward laugh.

"Okay, so just to check, it's 0, Women with a capital W, 4, me?"

"Yeah," I laugh again, realizing that the likelihood of the average person having at least one question about that password and what led to it, is pretty high actually. In my flustered state I may have even rushed to try and awkwardly explain "it's an inside joke!"

BUUut if I said that much, I hope I stopped at that point, instead of regaling this random man with even a brief summary of the story of a traumatized sex slave who was desperately afraid of being forced to please royal women in bed. (hmm I wonder if there are POSSIBLY any PARALLELS between this idea and my asexual nightmares about being forced to temple-marry a random dude… lol).

I'm not sure I DID actually stop there though because I'm the kind of socially awkward nerd who sometimes infodumps that kind of thing, like a missionary wanting everyone to hear the good news of My Amazing OCs which definitely are just quirky because I'm So Creative, they have nothing to do with my Inner Identity Crisis. Even more so back then. (I'm a TINY bit more self aware now).

I don't remember what the guy said, if anything. But I was dying inside, wondering if this random man was constructing an entire narrative in his head around this poor technologically challenged closet lesbian. I may have even said that I had "moved in with my best friend" when I gave my updated address, because this account was based in Utah rather than Washington. Which is even more incriminating.

In any case, some part of my brain was convinced he was onto me.

Because I just had to go and use a weird awkward in-joke as a password.

Luckily, he didn't ask any more questions (out loud). Maybe he forgot about it all right away. I got access to my account restored, and immediately changed my password to something safe and completely indecipherable.

But yeah, 10+ years later, me and Cal still laugh about the 0Women4me incident. Still definitely not a lesbian, but for different much more queer reasons.

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #385

The funk persists today, too. Tenacious little fucker, innit?

Nonetheless, I woke this morning and prepared for the various things I intended to do. Today was my monthly visit to my psychotherapist, Je. I talked some about the contents of my 382nd letter to you. We spoke on what I can only define as “rejection paranoia”, which I am defining as something separate from Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria (RSD for short). RSD is something that a lot of autistic and ADHD folks deal with, and I definitely deal with that (though I wonder if those with C-PTSD also have heightened sensitivity to rejection since... y'know... being rejected often leads to being abused).

I'm defining “rejection paranoia” as perceiving it and feeling icky about it before it has even happened. And... I get that my brain is trying really hard to protect me (albeit in the most misguided way possible), but... I wish it would stop doing that particular thing. It's more than a little annoying, not just to me, but probably to everyone around me, too.

Counterintuitively, as it was explained to me, the only thing for it, really, is to practice radical self-acceptance when I notice it cropping up. This time, I was able to notice it only a little while after the fact (as opposed to not at all), which is a huge improvement compared to past instances of this occurring. When it happens, I'm supposed to basically just sit with myself and tend to myself in the same way that a kind friend would.

...I'm pretty good at doing that for other people. I need to improve upon that when I'm trying to direct my kindness towards myself. I think on some level, after the life I've led and after all the ways I've been viciously trained to think about myself... I am probably a little disgusted at myself. I generally find myself boring and insufferable. I do get brief periods of respite where I don't think that way about myself, and rationally, I do understand that I am not, in fact, boring, disgusting, and insufferable. But... ya know. Brains are gonna brain. Longstanding thought patterns are not easy to change.

...But they can be changed. They can be changed with practice and effort. I can expand the amount of time I can think kindly about myself, just like we can expand the amount of time we can hold our breath, via apnea training. Apnea training isn't easy. Rewiring our brains isn't easy. But the results are worth it, I like to think.

...If you haven't tried apnea training... I'd suggest it. Even if you never intend to do freediving or merman training, it's still a great way to strengthen your diaphragm, as well as to practice mindfulness, breath control, and self-mastery. And it's relaxing as hell, to boot. All you gotta do is follow apnea tables that are right for your body. In my world, there are apps that will help you with that.

STAmina was the one I used before the rib injury took away my ability to expand my lungs properly. You just record your personal best time and the app will generate tables for you that are right for your body. And you lie in a bed and practice once every two or three days, with a soothing playlist, and you let go of all the tension in your body, and the app will tell you when to hold your breath and when to breathe normally.

...I really miss doing it. Oh well.

After physical therapy, I went into work to make sure that Ka and Tr got my message about not being able to come in on Saturday, due to needing to travel for the English test; I will go into work on Thursday this week, instead. We have folks who will come chill at the house and tend our cats, which is wonderful.

...Tr and Ka were both able to notice that something is “off” with me today; I guess this funk must be worse than I thought. Still, I'm kinda clunking along through it. Being productive. Being fully aware that my mental state is compromised so that I don't fall into some lame-ass self-hatred spiral. It's all right. As long as I am mindful and don't end up hurting myself or anyone around me by being a weird crankypants, it's just a matter of waiting for my brain to resume normal functioning. And it will; it always does.

While I was at the store, I got a bunch of stuff for the house. Like angel hair pasta, and some pork, and a big thing of mascarpone cheese, and some mushrooms. I intend to make a pasta thing by mixing the mashed confit garlic with the mascarpone cheese to make a sauce. And then I'll cut up the pork, cook it, and add it to the pasta, along with the sauce. And maybe some tomatoes and mushrooms, too. I'm hoping to have sufficient gumption to get it done tomorrow. I guess we'll see what happens.

...Maybe make some Great Northern Beans too, while I'm at it... it's been a while, and I think I'm kinda getting a hankering for them. They're really good when mixed with a fresh allium of some kind, a splash of olive oil, and a splash of vinegar. Very yummy.

The Greek truck used to make the thing I described, along with gyros, souvlaki, and dolmades. I used to go there all the time with M, back when we were both database analysts for the same company. The gentleman who ran the truck used to call me “sunshine” all the time. M, J, and I haven't been to the food trucks in a very long time. Maybe we'll fix that, this coming spring...

...If we do, you can bet that I'll take pictures for you.

So, I went home and J helped me put the food away in the fridge and in the cabinets, where they go. Then I did most of the dishes. It was almost time for me to head out to physical therapy by the time I was all set with that. J finished the last few dishes while I was out; super duper grateful for him for that; a sink that is not full will make it a lot easier for me to have gumption to cook tomorrow.

At physical therapy, it was brought to my attention once more that, likely as a result of the rib injury, I have clockwise rib cage torsion, if you're looking at me from a top-down view. Some relatively painful manual therapy techniques were done to try to kinda shove it back into place, and we were partially successful. I can move my right arm around a little better now, at least for a little while.

...I really gotta get back to doing my exercises... I'll do them before bed tonight. I feel a little bad for having dropped the ball on them.

I went home after that. By then, I was pretty hungry because I hadn't eaten at all, and it was like 3:30pm or 4pm by the time I got home. I was a bit too tired to cook anything, so I just ordered in. I felt somewhat better after eating, but it didn't take the funk away. Oh well.

Not having the energy for much else, I played a few runs of Hades. This time, I got very close to felling Asterius:

...Like with anything I practice, I will continue to improve. It's only a matter of time before he falls to me.

Though... I notice... when I'm in a funk like this, or when I'm too tired or in too much pain (like with the tooth extraction) to be attached to the result... I play better. And that seems counterintuitive to me; I figure I should play better when I'm feeling alert and healthy and good. Weird.

...I can't help but wonder if you know something about that. I can't help but wonder if maybe... you were so good on the battlefield simply because... you weren't attached to whether or not you walked away from your encounters alive.

…

...I hope there will come a day when you can be alive somewhere in a peaceful place and everyone else is alive and well, too, but... you still don't have to fight anyone anymore.

...Sephiroth... keep trying to build that kind of wholesome life for yourself, okay? Please keep striving towards a world where you can go to therapy, and have tea, and get yummies from the grocery store, and then come home and play video games while someone who cares about you watches and cheers you on. Please keep striving for a world in which you can make your own yummies in the kitchen, or else get yummies from somewhere else if you're not feeling up to making them.

I'll be over here cheering you on to become the best and healthiest version of yourself, no matter what happens. And if you need a break, you can find one here at my house. So don't give up, okay? There are lots of people who are able and willing to love and support you, even if sometimes it's hard to believe.

I think I'll play a little more Hades and then go to sleep. You'll find me here if you wanna hang:

I'll write to you again tomorrow. So please try to stay safe out there, at least until then.

I love you.

Your friend, Lumine

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

Hey Sex Witch!

I am a gay cis man, and while I don’t consider myself ace, I find it difficult to feel either romantic or sexual attraction to other men. Now, I’ve spent most of my time around straight men, and most of my queer friends are women. I also didn’t have any out queer friends at all until well into my adult life, largely through lack of access. Porn was basically the only source of sexual gratification for me.

I suspect that a fear of rejection/physical assault led me to overcorrect and just assume that all men around me were inexorably off limits during my formative years. Which, while not GREAT, did offer me some emotional and physical protection. I now live in San Francisco though, but while I’ve visited the Castro many times, I still can’t quite break out of the “everything is platonic by default” and feel the emotional sting of desire that I feel when I look at a male pornstar. (This is despite despite the fact that the men in these bars are at least as attractive as the men on the screen - I can say “This guy ticks all the boxes I find appealing” but still feel like any prospective spark is being smothered. I understand some of it is the fear of being “the creepy predatory gay” (thanks Popular Culture!) but I also just find my brain going into the platonic interaction zone before I’ve even considered making eye contact.

(For the record, I don’t blame the porn. “Porn addiction” is, ironically, quite the fresh load. I’m as sure as I can be that this is just late-stage pragmatic sexual repression refusing to die completely.)

Do you have any recommendations for normalizing (renormalizing?) sexual attraction and potential chemistry? If so, I’d love to hear!!

hi anon,

I have a question: you mention that you go to "platonic interaction zone" before you even make eye contact. what happens after that? do you ever actually talk to these men? based on your statements about growing to think of all men as off-limits and fears of coming across as predatory, I worry that maybe you don't.

it sounds like, more than anything, what you need is some practice initiating interactions with people who strike you as cool and attractive and interesting to get to know better, particularly in gay settings where the risk of hitting on someone who will respond with homophobia is very low.

I'm not talking about flirting or pickup lines or waltzing right up to someone and announcing sexual interest, I just mean approaching and striking up conversation. give them a compliment, ask a question, offer to buy a drink or an appetizer, whatever. just, you know, talk to them and give them an opening to talk to you back. deepen that conversation if it's going well, and politely bail if it turns out you don't click.

the worst thing that can happen is a bit of awkward conversation, which happens to everyone all the time anyway and is more or less the price of being human, so no real loss there. the best thing that can happen is that you meet a new best friend or a great romantic love. the middle ground between those two points is a thrilling mix of potential dynamics, none of which you'll ever discover if you never put yourself out there.

back to your idea of the platonic interaction zone: I get what you're saying, but I also think a lot of unintentional hurt can come from the idea that there's anything fundamentally different about approaching someone in a platonic manner vs a sexual/romantic one. either way, the goal is to make a good impression on another person and learn more about them to assess them as potential company.

making a habit of approaching people to chat can also help dispel that sense of being creepy or predatory. every time you have a perfectly pleasant interaction with someone, boom, there's another reminder that you're not a criminal of the heart who's skeezing everyone out. hell, if anything you'll actually get better at picking up cues by regularly talking to a wider variety of people - and, if you're ever in doubt, just ask and give them the option to continue the interaction on their terms. "hey, it seems like you wanted to get back to your friends. should I go?" "you can be honest: would you rather keep sitting alone? no hard feelings!" "I'm gonna pop outside for some air, do you want to keep talking when I come back?"

now at this point you're probably saying "hey Makenzie how does this apply to sex and romance" because you still have to talk to people that you want to do sex and romance with!!! and you'd be amazed how easily striking up a friendly conversation can turn into sex and/or romance. very often the thing that makes people most attractive is getting to know more about them and finding little things that excite you and draw you to them. sure, they're good-looking, but you're never going to find out about their very cute laugh or their passion for cooking or your mutual interests unless you actually go talk to them.

and hey, listen: knowing that someone was interested enough to take the plunge and start a conversation is a great feeling. someone confessing interest right up front, that's good shit. people like to feel seen and wanted. but very few people want to be the one to take the plunge, so being bold enough to do so automatically sets you apart.

you're smothering your own spark, babe. next time a guy is ticking all your boxes, get out of your own way, tell him you're digging the vibe, and see what happens next.

[limitbreaker23]

How to watch episode 19&20 wearing shipping goggles

So, I rambled about the beloved Zhancheng Sunshot Campaign episodes here, but still have many thoughts within me, which culminates in this extended cut.

I'm calling episode 19 and 20 of The Untamed the Zhancheng Sunshot episodes, because they basically are just one mini-movie of them wandering around, investigating Wei Wuxian's disappearance and sunshooting while being cute.

Starting with their power couple entrance.

We're picking up with them after the entire "insert Golden Core in shidi" drama after a 3 months timeskip. This is just a whole banquet served for a starved shipper like myself. Just think of all the sweet and salty filler you can use those 3 months for. Jiang Cheng was all by himself after the Core debacle, having nothing but spiritual power and a fancy hat. Without a sword, he basically had to hitchhike or walk to the Cloud Recesses to find help. Lan Wangji had just led an group of disciples to take his home back from the Wens. His uncle was still injured, most of the Cloud Recesses had been burnt, his sword was also unavailable. He does carry a sword in episode 18, but it doesn't seem to be Bichen and he is without one when we pick up with him here.

This is also the first time we hear Lan Wangji speak again since episode 14. So, it's necessary to have him say something iconic like "Kneel" to make Jiang Cheng melt on the inside. He does make an incredible entrance, even without a sword. As does Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Cheng flies in all by himself. He has no sword, no disciples, and no one knows where he got the fancy robes from. He has Lan Wangji though, who basically works like a sword to carry. Good choice, Jiang Cheng!

Wearing your shipping goggles, you can happily fawn over them taking the lead in this moment together. Lan Wangji walks ahead, he has Wangji somewhere in his pouch, some neat strings available for chord assassination. Jiang Cheng isn't using it in this scene, but he does have Zidian. Even without borrowed swords, it wasn't a bad idea of them to infiltrate the Indoctrination Bureau. There's an entire fic waiting there how they did that. I can already feel the tension in their sudden need to trust each other in several life threatening stealth situations. Tehe~

After retrieving their swords, Zhancheng find themselves staring dramatically at the horizon to discuss their feelings. Jiang Cheng discusses his feelings because he does that all the time. It's all very normal. They match sky for cinematographic purposes, not because my shipping goggles come tinted.

We also learn that Jiang Cheng thought he'd find them all (aka Lan Wangji, Jin Zixuan, and probably Nie Huaisang who fainted and was carried back to dage, and even possibly Wei Wuxian) regrouping in Lanling. So, during the three month timeskip, he did in fact either go there first to get his new robes and help, or directly to the Cloud Recesses, where we last saw Lan Wangji's grand return after missing him dearly for several episodes.

I'm in favour of Jiang Cheng hitchhiking to the Cloud Recesses for simple reasons of it being closer, him having no means to travel without Sandu, and mostly because he reunited with Jiang Yanli only later in Qinghe when she was with Jin Zixuan in Lanling after departing with Song Lan. Obviously also because I wear shipping goggles and want Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji to go purple robe shopping. Which they could also do in Lanling. Many options, much food.

After sharing his worries with Lan Wangji, they are reunited with their swords. Sandu and Bichen are very sad to be separated. Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji look cute together.

Jiang Cheng lets Lan Wangji pull at Wei Wuxian's sword to find it has sealed itself. The utter display of trust and lack of questioning is something people wearing shipping goggles latch on. There is also delicious tragedy in this, because if Jiang Cheng had pulled Suibian now, the Core debacle might have doomed all of them less or more, we'll never find out. What we can find out, after adjusting our shipping goggles, is that this moment can come back to haunt Zhancheng almost twenty years into their future. As if they needed more angst potential.

Zhancheng regroup with their supporting cast on the Unclean Realm's battlefield. Jiang Cheng can finally reunite with his sister, hugging her while Lan Wangji watches like he wants to be hugged like that. Jin Zixuan also regrets not getting any hugs. With the Jiang siblings hugging it out, Lan Wangji can also marvel at Wen Xu's head, taken off by Nie Mingjue. Ah, the delicious fuel to have Lan Wangji of all people look vengeful at someone. Wen Xu broke his leg, burnt his home, murdered his fellow disciples. Lan Wangji could really use a hug right now. Looking at you, Jiang Cheng, not at Jin Zixuan scooting in there.

The best thing about their strategy discussion with Nie Mingjue aside from all the looks Lan Wangji throws at Jiang Cheng is them asking for the same assignment without previous discussion.

Lan Wangji looks delightfully worried about Jiang Cheng's angy moment, but does not have a snickers available. A hug might do. And Jiang Cheng searches for Lan Wangji to look at in his worried moments. Just hug.

Some wordless communication and in sync movement fogs up the shipping goggles. Nie Mingjue also approves of young heroes sticking close together for fighting and comfort. Jin Zixuan almost gets smacked out of the way by Lan Wangji trying to hurry after Jiang Cheng.

Next time we see Jiang Cheng, getting some soup from his sister, it is dark. This can mean many things like they finally had time to take a bath and stop smelling of blood, but they can also have a few lovely fic filler hours together. Tehe~

Next time we see them, Jiang Cheng has also retrieved/recruited some disciples of his own and is allowed to command the Lan disciples, except for Lan Wangji, who has a special spot at his side. The disciples seem very used to Jiang Zongzhu giving commands, they are off like he threw them a treat. Dog trainer Jiang Cheng strikes, I guess. Lan Wangji approves of good displays of leadership.

Sticking close to Jiang Cheng means Lan Wangji can witness the beautiful display of leadership and Zidian usage from the front row. His glance from the side is gasp and giggle worthy for a lost shipper soul like mine. He approves of an efficient, dramatic usage of spiritual weapons.

Their investigation of the reversed talismans not only comes with memorable lines, but another display of standing closer than necessary and trusted words. Their hands almost touched. Jiang Cheng has never heard of reversed talismans, he doesn't know about this, and he isn't afraid to ask for Lan Wangji's opinion and help, which is just melting me like butter in the sun.

Honourable mention to them putting Lan Wangji on a Scully box for this scene to appear giant because his heels didn't seem to have been enough next to Jiang Cheng. Lan Wangji's magically changing height doesn't seem to bother Jiang Cheng. He will be fine with three centimetres smaller Lan Wangji, three centimetres taller Lan Wangji, and Lan Wangji wearing heeled boots to appear taller. He will have to carry him when his little feet hurt, though. Do not go Sunshooting in heels.

Alas, the necessary heartbreak for such legendary love stories! Lan Wangji watched Jiang Cheng return from his confession scene to Wen Qing. Don't be sad, Lan Wangji, he came back to you! The disciples in the back cannot believe the audacity of Jiang Zongzhu giving a comb to somebody else. Bless them being on our side!

The episode then follows our heroes on their travels around Yiling where mysterious murderings hinder the sightseeing but give us more shared looks and words and standing next to each other.

Jiang Cheng has also taught his disciples to bow properly to Lan Wangji and him at the same time, which is very gasp-worthy.

The climax of the Zhancheng episode is approaching, and Jiang Cheng can't wait. Lan Wangji can't quite wait either, touching Jiang Cheng. Lan Wangji often touches people. It is normal.

Zhancheng stake out Wen Zhuliu and Wen Chao from a rooftop spot. They are sitting delightfully close to peek into a tiny hole. Most likely, they just jumped up there without making much of a sound. But how did they find the delightfully useful hole? It's nice sometimes to think about them giving each other a leg-up and then wandering around the shingles in search of the hole. Maybe their shoulders touched.

In times of shock and disgust, find yourself a travelling companion to share the burden.

A compilation of Lan Wangji watching Jiang Cheng hug everyone but him.

Sadly, our beloved Sunshooting with Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji episode comes to an end with a devastating break up. Sandu touched Lan Wangji's chest much like Lan Wangji's arm touched Jiang Cheng's chest before. The rift between them grows. Lan Wangji leaves. Jiang Cheng stands up for his family. There was never a happy ending here. But food was served to fight the sadness.

[utah-werewolf]

Warning: long post ahead

Why is Koba likely my favourite villain ever?

I've been rewatching the new Planet of the Apes movies and I think Koba might remain my favourite villain, if not one of my favourite characters in general.

Proximus Caesar is a strong contender, too, but I think two factors make him less fascinating to me - firstly, he is actually a very human character, which takes away some of the fun, and secondly - I don't think they gave my man Kevin Durand enough screentime. I can see he had a lot of fun acting as Proximus and he was perfect for the role, but he could definitely use more exposure. I think it's likely Proximus will return in the future and I sure hope he will, because I think this character has a lot of potential. Potential that - so far - has been wasted.

The colonel - great villain as well. You want to hate him, because he is so cold and cruel after all, but also you can't help but wonder what you'd do in his place. How can you be sure you'd be compassionate towards another species, one that is clearly about to become dominant over your own? Is morality stronger than survival instinct? Because in the long run, it's all about mankind's survival. The colonel is desperately grasping at the last options to ensure that humans survive, and even though his actions are objectively terrible - I just don't have the audacity to say I'd be a noble hero when the world I know is about to be lost forever.

But Koba, holy shit. Koba is on another level for me. First of all, I don't think Toby Kebbell gets enough credit. While Caesar is an amazing character and Andy Serkis plays him masterfully, I think it was actually Koba that was harder to play, at least in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Koba is wild, he's completely unhinged, so you have to find that balance of an insane, animalistic character that is as smart and complex as a human. Basically the wildest, most violent chimpanzee (yes, I know he's a bonobo), but add to this intelligence and motivations only known to humans. I have no idea how I'd do that, but I know Toby's Koba would be a perfect example for me to learn from.

He is both irredeemably evil and very easy to empathize with. Real life stories show that if you put the nicest, most peaceful human being through continuous abuse, they'll likely turn into a monster, or become extremely unstable at least. As much as it's not an unbreakable rule, it's perfectly natural.

Koba was abused for many years, in ways we can't even imagine. And initially when we see him, there isn't much about him to show the damage done to him. Sure, he's scarred and clearly doesn't like humans, but that's about it.

But oh boy, by the time he attacks the human colony, he goes completely downhill. This character becomes absolutely terrifying. You've seen him do "civilized" things, such as speaking, helping his friends etc. So you subconsciously start to treat him like a fellow human. But then he becomes increasingly vicious and animalistic, while still just as smart as before. You see that Koba can be pretty charismatic when he wants to. His hatred and determination will push him to do borderline suicidal things, such as charging at a tank through fire while blasting two machine guns at the same time. It's scary, incomprehensible and - let's admit it - a bit badass. You wonder how someone this insane can also remain cool-headed enough to plan this cunning scheme. There is so much poison and determination in the way Koba speaks it's crazy.

By the end of the movie you know he's too far gone and there is no redemption for him, at least not in this story. But it doesn't feel particularly satisfying to watch him die. It's a well-deserved end to his life, but everything that led to this moment was started by some abusive, power-drunk human. And also, you can't say Koba was entirely wrong about us - many of us are kind people, but as a collective we are truly a destructive, pointlessly cruel and incredibly selfish mass.

As they say, the end justifies the means. But only when it benefits OUR people.

[yappacadaver]

hey I'm pretty curious about the emmy lore but completely out of the loop so like. you wanna yap with me for a bit?

something something inherent tragedy of his romance plot?

Ooh girl…. Ik I just went on a multi-paragraph rant about it but lemme tell you lol…. Also TYSM FOR ASKING ABT POOKIE I LOVE TALKING ABOJT HIM EVEN WHEN THE WRITING DOESNT GIVE US A SATISFYING EXAMINATION OF HIS PLIGHT

So obviously major spoilers and I’m putting this under a read more this time because I’ve learned my lesson

So you actually get a choice to make with him, involving the trajectory of his future. In my opinion only one of the two possible outcomes is tragic, but the tragedy is really swept under the rug and, as a result, a lot of people don’t seem to see it.

But for some backstory!!! This is emmrich!

He’s a necromancer, as indicated by the presence of his skeletal assistant, Manfred. Necromancy is an art both feared and widely misused, but emmrich comes from a culture where tending to the dead is a highly valued custom. He’s lived basically his whole life in a large underground tomb called the grand necropolis, which is big as a city and home to countless dead, undead, and spirits. One such spirit, a wisp of curiosity, lives inside manfred. The order to which he belongs, the Mourn Watch, dedicate their lives to keeping peace with the spirits and keeping the balance of magic in check.

Emmrich was brought to the necropolis as a child, after he was orphaned. He struggled with the death of his parents, and also came to possess a great fear of death itself. The fear is described very much like ocd, a certain terror that couldn’t be reasoned with, that could only be soothed (but not overcome) with the rituals and routines being a Watcher offered. Emmrich fears dying, and this fear led him to a dream of immortality.

There’s a lot more to emmrich than his fears though! He loves flowers, taking up botany as his hobby. He loves manfred, and dotes on him like a father might. He loves to teach, being a tenured professor of necromancy and taking a curiosity spirit under his wings to teach it about the world. Emmrich has great compassion for all, living and dead, approving of diplomatic solutions and using his gift of corpse whispering to soothe the fears of the dead and help stave off the suffering of those still alive. Emmrich is a romantic, enjoying poetry and candlelit dinners, wishing for love that lasts a lifetime and beyond. He’s sensitive to the judgement of others, easily wounded by the many negative reactions to his necromancy outside his homeland. If romanced, he expresses great concern over how others might see his relationship with a potentially much younger partner, and worries he looks foolish for how smitten he becomes. Love has been on his mind all his life, as he desired (but by the time you meet him, has sort of given up on) a deep and loving marriage.

The player can really throw him for a loop by flirting with him, and even more so by confirming you want a committed relationship with him. This can really shake up his world because of how it throws a wrench into his current plan— a plan for immortality.

Having never gotten over his debilitating fear of death, Emmrich has instead decided to circumvent death altogether by becoming a lich. A lich is, like in most fantasy settings, a powerful mage whose spirit is kept in the undead husk of their body, granting them an infinite lifespan. Ofc the irony would be that he would technically have to die to achieve this, and it’s further complicated by the fact that the ritual to become a lich could fail, killing him outright if he doesn’t possess the proper peace of mind. Emmrich has thus far not been able to work up the courage to take this step, and berates himself for it. Lichdom, he argues, would not only finally free him from his biggest fear, but would open his eyes to countless magical secrets, giving him endless time for study and reflection. He would gain lifetimes upon lifetimes to travel the world, to read all his books, and to do tangible good as an undead steward of peace. He would also have to make absolute peace with loss, as lichdom would doom him to outlive his mortal friends.

Emmrich… is really bad with loss. The loss of his parents was deeply traumatizing, of course, and he still deals with it. Manfred, who is basically like a son to him, can die to protect him and Emmrich immediately freaks out and rushes to try and bring him back to life. If romanced, Emmrich and the player character Rook will have a fight where Emmrich tells them to hang back in the final battle, that he can’t bear to lose them. Conversely if he’s been made a lich by this point, he will lament that he’s doomed himself to mourn them for eternity.

And that’s the tragedy!!! In being unwilling to accept a finite amount of time on this earth, he can bargain for infinite time— to spend it in grief! All that he loves in life, his friends, his flowers, romance and connection, all of it will leave him, over and over and over again. And ofc, it shouldn’t be understated, part of the process of becoming a lich is dying. As a skeleton he has no nose with which to appreciate the flowers fragrance! As an undead husk he has no warmth to share! He has to give up on ever seeing his son manfred (because to become a lich, the must make his peace with his loss) and give up on possibly reuniting with his parents in the afterlife, if such a thing exists. And all of that is completely divorced from the wider game’s messaging on what it is to be immortal in the first place (and it’s not good)

Conversely, you can convince him to give up that dream of immortality and resurrect manfred. If you do, not only does he get his skeleson back, manfred grows from the experience, learning to talk (in stilted responses) and even gaining the gift of magic! Manfred immediately affirms his affection for emmrich, and emmrich embarks on the new journey of teaching his boy magic and enunciation.

“I have moments of regret for what lichdom might have been, but none would make me exchange this for anything.”

As someone with avoidance issues, who struggles to live a life not controlled by fear, his arc just sticks with me. I’m reminded of some good advice from very early on in his story, that seems to foreshadow what is imo his best ending

I think emmrich, and all the skeleton fuckers/lovers, might forget that the finite nature of life is not something to be escaped but embraced, that leaving things unfinished for others to pick up and carry on for you is a wonderful way to leave one’s mark on the world. That grief changes us but shouldn’t take our whole shape, not while there’s still so much to love. #savemanfred

[hana-no-seiiki]

well now that your ocs have been brought to my attention I can’t stop thinking about them 😭 so that led me to think about if justin and reader were dating before, doesn’t that mean everyone was trying to kill him too?

I answered this thrice and every time it got deleted for absolutely no reason.

Tumblr. Why?

I’m not mad anymore just tired 😭 This happened to my Batfam x Deadpool reader + other drafts too wtf

Thank you for your curiosity over my babies though anon! It gave me the motivation to write this several times over lmfao

warnings: mentions of dick size, tons of justin (yandere ex & jock) slander, slander towards filipinos cause i hate my fellow countrymen sometimes, attempted murder, cheating (by reader)

[ previous ask for context ]

So, Justin is pretty smart. He knew what he was getting into from the beginning. He knew the risks. He knew that he’d potentially get killed.

His archetype is morseso based on the bad boy who’s smart rather than the usual jock. I’m thinking of making someone else the himbo or even making a bimbo/thembo but we’ll see.

So, despite his grades being rock bottom due to the Yan! Faculty, Yan! Student Council, and Yan! Rich Students teaming up to end his academic life, they can’t change his wrinkly brain.

Justin prepared every meal of his (male wife material fr fr) and shared them with you to squash any attempts at poisoning.

He got buff(er) and attended Aikido + Boxing lessons to help defend himself when he’s apart from you.

Did I mention he’s like, the tallest, buffest dude in school? (Which isn’t a huge achievement in a school set in my universe’s version of the Philippines.)

( Fun Fact: Midnight Darling is set just a little south east of The Guest is God )

Canonically speaking, my character design sketches of him is just the genderbent version of the mc. Albeit his fashion sense included less b l a c k and is leaning more to the basic sports for brains guy style. So he technically is on equal footing with you in everything if not excels more.

But he’s unfortunately late to the party.

And he gets slandered to hell and back every single day.

I mean, if they can’t kill him in the physical sense, might as well emotionally damage him til he breaks, right?

Your poor goons had to pull a lot of strings and delete so many goddamn posts about him. Many rumors and articles were about his appearance, his terrible grades and how he’s definitely not worthy of you. A lot of those posts shit on his dick size.

Your goons mostly did it for your approval, they couldn’t care less about him. They also made sure to destroy the social lives of those that questioned your decision to date him. Sure, they sooner want him dead and all, but arguing against the decision of your being was utterly disgraceful. Horrid to even think about doing.

In addition to all that, you had to publicly cheat on him just to lessen some of the blows. He has received so much footage of you being with someones else that people have begin to add that he likes getting cucked to all the rumors that has piled up.

And don’t get me wrong, most if not all your harem are down bad masochists, but it still hurts seeing you with someone else.

Yeah, Justin would have already lost his sanity with the shit he has to deal with everyday if he were anything close to normal.