#I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS BUT IN A GOOD WAY

[dryococelas01]

1. Yes

2. My mum. Look at answer 1

3. So many things. Mostly dumb and embarrassing stuff as a teen. Not starting transition years ago and not doing so now.

4. Incredibly

5. Single

6. I don't. But if I had to... in a way that I would be remembered.

7. Ketchup and hot perinaise in a wrap. I... will not explain why.

8. Not really. Used to swim a lot but can't for medical reasons

9. All the time.

10. So far back I can't remember

11. Romantically? No. Not right now.

12. Too many times. Twice in the last month.

13. Strongly dislike yes. Not yet hate

14. Family

15. Gecko, snake. Want some beetles maybe.

16. Tired and with a rough stomach.

17. No.

18. Not incredibly.

19. Yes. Transition. And maybe like... kill Hitler. Mostly transition.

20. Never have

21. Work. Been procrastinating last few days and headache and need to get it done.

22. No strong desire but not against. Depends what my partner wants. If I do though I'd prefer at 3 minimum, 4 maximum. A lot I know but it works well in my experience, sibling dynamics wise. Am a 4 child family myself, know 3 and 4 child ones, they all seem to function well compared to the ones I know with fewer or more.

23. No

24. Biology chemistry maths

25. Isn't this 14 again? Uh... I would like to meet my 'girlfriend' from when I was 14 again as I was kinda shit about the break up. Want to apologise.

26. Sleep. Pizza.

27. That girlfriend situation mentioned at 25.

28. No.

29. See 25 and 27. Though we had broken up at the time so idk if it counts.

30. Sleep and work issues. Mentally having trouble working.

31. I fucking hope so.

32. Green, one of the greens that's not quite turquoise but has a bit of blue in it.

33. Yes

34. Dont remember

35. Mum

36. Perhaps? Hard to say. Don't socialise enough for it to be relevant, to my dismay.

37. Forgive. It is hard to forget at times.

38. Fuck no

39. I'll get back to you when

40. No. What. No.

Missing 41 to 50 it seems? Or I can't see them. Anyway

51. Carrot cake.

52. Cause and effect yes. Spiritually? Idk

53. Wrote a few lines of a fic ill probably never publish.

54. If it is not an actual relationship in my opinion. I.e if a partner is abusive, is themself cheating etc. Or if its consensual cheating (like a cuckoldry kink thing), but that's a whole different can of worms and comes to the question of if that would count as cheating

55. I can be a bit sour. Idk if I'd call myself mean.

56. None

57. Yes.

58. Snow

59. See above.

60. Yes.

61. Never experienced it... potentially. Not my first choice of pet name but itd get me blushing.

62. Good company

63. Nah my names great.

64. Hard to kiss nothing mate. Unless you count non romantic kisses, gave my mum a kiss on the cheek recently. She's like a 5 hour drive away and I can't drive though.

65. My closest friend of the opposite sex is engaged. So if she approached me id probably tell her fiance whose another close friend. But if we are talking hypotheticals, like a fictional new closest friend (let's call them andy). I'll go along with it I guess! Clearly yet along with them.

66. Yes

67. My PhD supervisor

68. My best male friend.

69. Nah. Hogwash.

70. Family. Friends. David Attenborough (jk). If someone would die otherwise... I'd jump in I think. There'd be reticence but yeah. So that nebulous other person.

70 horrible questions ... Fuck it

01: Do you have a good relationship with your parents? 02: Who did you last say “I love you” to? 03: Do you regret anything? 04: Are you insecure? 05: What is your relationship status? 06: How do you want to die? 07: What did you last eat? 08: Played any sports? 09: Do you bite your nails? 10: When was your last physical fight? 11: Do you like someone? 12: Have you ever stayed up 48 hours? 13: Do you hate anyone at the moment? 14: Do you miss someone? 15: Have any pets? 16: How exactly are you feeling at the moment? 17: Ever made out in the bathroom? 18: Are you scared of spiders? 19: Would you go back in time if you were given the chance? 20: Where was the last place you snogged someone? 21: What are your plans for this weekend? 22: Do you want to have kids? How many? 23: Do you have piercings? How many? 24: What is/are/were your best subject(s)? 25: Do you miss anyone from your past? 26: What are you craving right now? 27: Have you ever broken someone’s heart? 28: Have you ever been cheated on? 29: Have you made a boyfriend/girlfriend cry? 30: What’s irritating you right now? 31: Does somebody love you? 32: What is your favourite color? 33: Do you have trust issues? 34: Who/what was your last dream about? 35: Who was the last person you cried in front of? 36: Do you give out second chances too easily? 37: Is it easier to forgive or forget? 38: Is this year the best year of your life? 39: How old were you when you had your first kiss? 40: Have you ever walked outside completely naked? 51: Favourite food? 52: Do you believe everything happens for a reason? 53: What is the last thing you did before you went to bed last night? 54: Is cheating ever okay? 55: Are you mean? 56: How many people have you fist fought? 57: Do you believe in true love? 58: Favourite weather? 59: Do you like the snow? 60: Do you wanna get married? 61: Is it cute when a boy/girl calls you baby? 62: What makes you happy? 63: Would you change your name? 64: Would it be hard to kiss the last person you kissed? 65: Your best friend of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do? 66: Do you have a friend of the opposite sex who you can act your complete self around? 67: Who was the last person of the opposite sex you talked to? 68: Who’s the last person you had a deep conversation with? 69: Do you believe in soulmates? 70: Is there anyone you would die for?

[idontmindifuforgetme]

Not immediately jumping to unsolicited advice when someone confides in you

Avoiding absolute statements when you do give someone advice. You do not know someone better than they know themself. All you can do is offer guidance. Thinking otherwise in any capacity is symptomatic of ego and lack of empathy.

Accepting the fallibility of being a person lol. A lot of people will say they “get angry” when they notice someone floundering, so their solution is to yell at them or get extremely cruel with their words. In this case you don’t have the capacity to give advice, and you would do more than damage than good in giving it.

Never using being honest as an excuse to be cruel

Asking your friend questions. Gently prompting them into the answer that fits them best. It is better than immediately giving commands as to their next step

Knowing that time and place matter. When someone is fresh off a difficult situation, the last thing they want to be slammed with is advice. They just want to be listened to. Active listening > advice in that scenario.

Kindness costs you 0. Not coddling someone ≠ being liberally rude to them under the guise of honesty

Asking yourself if you really have their best interest in mind or if you’re reacting out of a selfish place and disguising it as “caring” for your friend

Being patient …. Many people need to be told this

Is it emotional labor or are you just poisoned by therapy speak?? There does reach a reasonable point where we all hit the ceiling about “helping” our friend / finding it difficult to see them self sabotage / whatever the situation may be… but I feel like a lot of people forget what friendship really is tbh. Not everything is emotional labor. Taking a little bit out of your day to listen to a recurring issue isn’t the end of the world. I won’t harp on this too much bc people have varying limits, but I don’t like the weaponization of just being there for your friends these days

Remembering your compassion. We are all struggling all tripping out all trying to get it together. I just hate how some people don’t find it in them to empathize. If you can’t empathize then why are you trying to give advice? How do you expect to put yourself in their shoes? Compassion informs sound advice.

Asking yourself if you’re okay with being spoken to the way you’re speaking to someone right now, even if their excuse is just that they’re giving advice / trying to help. If you dish it but can’t take it, that’s a good sign you’re saying something fucked up

Delivery matters. A lot of people seem to forget this. Does it make it okay if someone is yelling at you / tearing into you / lambasting you with a “good” point? Like we all deserve a base foundation of respect and common decency. No one is wrong for centering their feelings in that scenario.

[heliza24]

A Devil's Minion disability rec list

There are so many reasons I love Daniel/Armand, but the most important is the way that thinking about these characters asks us to explore themes of illness, neurodivergence, disability, and dysfunctional bodies. From Armand being sick when he was turned, to Daniel's Parkinson's, to Armand being extremely autistic coded, to the way the past DM/book DM timeline is inextricable from the AIDs crisis-- you simply cannot escape crip themes when you contemplate Daniel and Armand's love. The other reason I love Devil's Minion so much is that the corner of the fandom that has sprung up around them does not try to escape these themes. Instead I have engaged in deep conversations about disability, met other disabled fans, and read so much incredibly thoughtful and beautifully written fics that explore aspects of disability that I would never have thought of myself. There is a lot of painful eugenics rhetoric happening in the US right now, and I have found myself being drawn back to these thoughtful fics when I need some comfort. So I compiled my list for you in case you would like to read them too:

The Good Nurse by @welcomingdisaster, 63,876 words, Explicit

This is a slight AU, where the second interview never happens and instead Armand is hired as Daniel’s live-in caregiver as his Parkinson’s progresses. The lyrical prose, along with the side plot of Daniel investigating a piece about conspiracy theories around autism that illuminate some interesting things about Armand, make this one really special.

Question: Can an Immortal Meet Mortality? by @hummingbee-o0o, 7,920 words, Mature

This is one of my all time favorites and I think about it all the time. I love when a fic weaves together the different pieces of Armand’s life around a single theme. This one centers around all of the epidemics that Armand has lived through, from the plague to AIDs to Covid. The recurring image of Daniel’s TB vaccination scar and the way Armand thanks it for keeping Daniel safe is so beautiful.

Run, Arun! by @nightcolorz, 3,274 words, Mature

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how Armand chose to violate the great laws when he turned Daniel, but hadn’t considered that Armand’s autism might make him feel like a violation himself. I also love how this is written in the second person, which is hard to pull off but this writer does really well.

hold very still by @mycenaae, 2,796 words, Mature

A fic that truly captures the chronically ill fantasy of having a vampire boyfriend: Armand uses his mind gift to take away Daniel’s Parkinson’s pain for a short while.

Backroads to Sonoma by burntcrimson 20,251, Mature

I am generally extremely picky with AUs but this is one of my all time favorites. In the middle of the AIDs crisis, Daniel is driving cross country, interviewing truckers and sex workers. He picks up a Armand as a hitchhiker, who he realizes he knows from childhood. Armand is sick and set on revenge, but his time with Daniel still leads to unexpected love.

I think this works so well as an AU because this version of Armand retains some of his otherworldliness and dangerousness; how that intersects with his diagnosis is really interesting. It’s also got the prose of like, the next great American novel, so that doesn’t hurt either.

Saffron by @maester-of-spreadsheets , 4,509 words, Teen

Set during season 1, Armand helps Daniel fall asleep despite his insomnia and pain while temporarily dropping the Rashid guise. It's very tender and really captures the feeling of what it is like to live with fatigue. Also shoutout to a fellow DM Writer server member!

i'll ask for more time (but mother forgive me) by @ignorethepineapples, 3,512 words, Mature

Another all time fave by a fellow member of the DM author’s discord! This is another one that weaves together different scenes from Armand’s and Daniel’s life through theme— this time it’s around illness, and around both of their turnings. The fic imagines Armand’s fatal illness as syphilis, which can have Parkinson’s like symptoms (this is so good that if the show doesn’t do this, I’m rioting). The fic connects this to Daniel’s fear during the AIDs epidemic and his eventual turning that saves him after a fall from Parkinson’s nearly kills him. Daniel’s turning is imbued with such tenderness, it makes me cry.

Chipped Fang, by anonymous, 12,013 words, Explicit

After being turned, Daniel is in agonizing pain. It turns out that one of Armand's fangs fell out and became embedded in his neck during the turning, and Armand has been suffering without his missing tooth as well. This is not the same as giving Daniel chronic pain after turning because of Parkinson's but I really love anything that points to the idea of vampire's bodies being fallible and still capable of problems, and I think this is such a clever idea and execution.

Portraiture by @sylvies-chen, 4,436 words, Mature

Armand has the idea that he and Daniel should participate in the couple’s trend of painting portraits of each other as a way to sneakily help him rehab his trembling hands (I always love when fics casually maintain some symptoms of Parkinson’s after Daniel becoming a vampire). And well, it’s been over 400 years since Armand was painted and really seen by a lover, so this is very sweet.

and so you did. by evaniigouki, 7,890 words, Explicit

There are a lot of great fics that mention that Daniel has retained some of his Parkinson's symptoms after being turned into a vampire without centering their plot around it. This is just one, which I like because I think it really captures the verbal sparing that Daniel and Armand get up to in the show. This is set in the penthouse immediately following season 2. I really like how this fic captures a whole mix of emotions: Daniel is angry that Armand has erased his memories, Armand is desperate to be wanted by someone after Louis has left, and they're both attracted to each other in an incredibly complicated way.

Til the Act is Done series by @apoptoses, 13,944 words across 2 fics, Explicit

The one book canon fic on this list! These fics aren’t literally about disability, but I’m recommending them because the restrictions of vampirism can sometimes be read as a metaphor for disability, which I think works especially well here. These fics are about Daniel trying to understand how Armand experiences sex, as a full body experience that’s focused on blood and biting instead of genitals. It is very sweet and very hot and resonated with me as someone who experiences sexual dysfunction as part of my medical condition.

you like control, well I do too by @gaysie, 9,975 words, Explicit

Another beautiful piece that tracks moments of Armand and Daniel’s lives around a theme; this time it’s food and eating disorders. (A big trigger warning for this of course; only read if it is safe for you to do so). This fic tracks how Armand’s need for control morphed into an eating disorder as Marius and the other men he was loaned out to commented on his weight, and how Daniel’s binges extended from drugs and alcohol to food. And how they both find acceptance and healing in each other.

A Love that Never Was by @mitchiesawyer, 13,303 words (so far), Mature

The only in progress fic on this list but I think the chapters that are up still merit inclusion! This fic takes the concept that Armand has Dissociative Identity Disorder seriously, and has Amadeo (with an occasional appearance by Arun) front when he turns and falls back in love with Daniel after the events of season 2. When Armand returns he has no memory of turning Daniel, which has me holding my breath and hoping that Armand can admit he loves Daniel just as much as Arun and Amadeo do.

Daddy by @verimuru and @graygiantess, 1,128 words, or in comic form, Mature

Another one that perfectly captures the chronically ill fantasy of having a vampire boyfriend- in this one it's Armand taking Daniel out dancing, and using his vampire skills and accumulated capital to protect him from Covid. Graygiantess's (another DM writers server member!) always witty dialogue is in good form here, and I love Verimuru's illustration style in the comic.

Defect (5 +1) by @aberrantangelsmind, 6,290 words, Explicit

What if Marius told Armand that his eye shaking was wrong, akin to a vampire disfigurement? How would Armand try to hide the shame of that flaw with the Children of Darkness or with Louis? And how would he feel when Daniel’s vampires eye also behave in an unusual way? This fic posits the idea that these unique eyes are remnants of being turned when Armand and Daniel were sick as mortals, which means they’re badges of resilience. That’s so beautiful! I love this interpretation of that trait.

The Devil, his own self series by @sburator, 37, 422 words across 2 fics, Explicit

This is such a nice slow burn, with Armand acting as Daniel’s caregiver after the events of season 2 and slowly convincing Daniel to accept the dark gift. Past DM happened in this fic, but some elements are reimagined in the current timeline with older Daniel, like the blood locket, which I liked. I also really like how much agency this fic (and Armand) gives Daniel, to be angry, to be annoyed, and to make his own decision regarding immortality. When he does accept it, it is very beautiful.

the old man and the vampire series by Zeebruh, 35,757 words across 2 fics, explicit

This one was written before season 2, and I haven't really revisited it since, but I had to include it because it was the fic that turned me from Devil's Minion curious to Devil's Minion obsessed. I love the accessible sex that happens in part 1, and I love the push-pull toxic past devil's minion timeline described in part 2.

Love can not fill the thickened lung with breath, nor clean the blood by me, 47,329 words, Explicit

And last but not least, a little self promo to round it all off. This is my long fic, that spans from post season 2 to Daniel’s turning. I tried to incorporate all my disability thoughts here- from Armand’s thoughts about breaking the rules for Daniel to Daniel’s reconciliation with Armand being shaped by his experiences with chronic pain to Daniel’s Parkinson’s lingering post turning. There is also a lot of kinky disabled sex which is both hot and tender (if I do say so myself). I’d love if you checked it out.

That's it for now! If you have other favorite DM fics that explore themes of disability, illness or neurodivergence, please feel free to reblog and add them or send them to me separately. I would love to have enough new favorites to write a second list soon.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

What are your thoughts on Alyno's relationship, and do you think the good aspects about them outweight the toxic ones? I mean they're definitely at least less toxic than current canon Lovesquare, but that bar is pretty much subterranean. 😬

(Also sorry if you've already been asked this, I found your blog relatively recently and I love reading through your thoughts and critiques! It's always interesting reading through your takes <3)

I'm so glad that you like the blog and, no, I don't think I've been asked this so let's talk about it!

DJWifi or Alyno is a fine couple most of the time. There are really only two major flaws in how they're written and one minor flaw that gets elevated to a major flaw because of the other flaws. I think it's pretty easy to take them and make them into a great couple, but canon has squandered that potential making them into a couple that is just kind of there because everyone needs to be paired off to earn a happy ending, I guess. (This show is incredibly amatonormative.)

Let's go through all of those items one by one.

Flaw One: How They Got Together

Alya and Nino get together in Animan, the episode that starts with Nino having a crush on Marinette. Of course, when Nino is prompted to tell Marinette about this crush, he chokes and says it's on Alya instead:

Marinette: Uhh... Can't wait to hear... about this lucky girl! Nino: Oh, yeah... Adrien:(from the earpiece) Tell her it's you! Nino: It's youuu...uur best friend Alya! Adrien, Alya and Marinette: What?! Marinette: Alya? Awesome! Alya: No! No! It's not awesome! Marinette: I can fix up a date for you guys! Alya: Say what?! Seriously?! (calls Nino from the earpiece) You didn't even ask me first! (calls Marinette back from the earpiece) Uh-uh! Nino's like... a brother to me! Bleugh! No! End of discussion!

This leads Marinette to lock Alya in a cage with Nino in spite of the fact that Alya is clearly not interested in Nino:

Ladybug:(takes Nino and Alya to the empty gorilla habitat and locks the cage) Stay put and you'll be safe. (then leaves) Nino:(he looks at Alya) Uhh... Hey, what's up? (Alya lets out a disgusted groan.)

This questionable series of events somehow leads Alya and Nino to get together off screen:

Alya: Ladybug locked us up together in the same cage all afternoon. Nino: It turns out we have tons in common. You know, Marinette, the girl I've got a crush on? Marinette: Oh, yeah! Nino: Actually, it was you. Marinette: Huh? Nino: Or that's what I thought. But after chilling with Alya that whole time... Alya:(interrupts) Yeah, well...we don't have to give her all the deets, do we? Nino: Oh, yeah, my bad.

What an incredibly lackluster romance! Alya and Nino deserve better than this! I actually don't mind Nino having a crush on Marinette, but if you want to go that route, then there needs to be a bigger gap between him crushing on Marinette and Alya. As is, it makes Alya feel like a consolation prize which is not cool.

I'm also not wild about Alya's change of heart. How the heck did she go from "he's like a brother" to "I want to date him" in the course of an hour? If you're going to give us such a dramatic change of heart, then you need to actually show the change happening. At the very least, explain why! They might not need to give Marinette the details, but they do need to give them to the audience!

Alya and Nino generally feel like a fine couple after this episode, so if you missed Animan then you'd have no reason to question their love, but this being the start of their relationship really undermines the romance for me. It's way too lackluster for one of the show's main couples!

Flaw Two: Nino's Blabbermouth

Season five was the season of character assassination and the episode Illusion was dedicated to ruining Nino, giving us many questionable moments including this scene where Nino outs his and Alya's secret identities in a crowded cafeteria:

Nino: What's up is Ladybug and Cat Noir don't have us to help them anymore. Alya: (nervously) Um, um— uh— what do you mean, "us"? Nino: Well, us, you Rena Rouge, me Carapace! (Alya kicks his leg underneath the table) Ouch! What's the big deal? We can tell Marinette and Adrien we used to be superheroes. (The camera pans to a shocked Marinette.) Nino: It's not like we have any Miraculous that Monarch could steal from us. The only ones who need to protect their secret identities are Ladybug and Cat Noir, not us. And anyway, I already told Adrien about Carapace. (Adrien laughs red-handed.) Marinette: Adrien knew? (furiously) Alya, did you know that he knew? Alya: What, no, I swear I didn't know at all! (kicks Nino's leg for the second time) Nino: Ow! Come on! He's my best bud, I can tell him stuff! You and Marinette tell each other stuff, don't you?

Yes, this reveal was only to Marinette and Adrien, but holy shit a crowded cafeteria is not the place to be talking about this kind of thing! Nino, what are you doing? We even see Lila overhear a later part of the conversation, making it clear that wasn't one of those confusing moments where the show used a seemingly public place for a confrontation or reveal, but later context makes it clear that it should be read as a private moment.*

Because the show let there be consequences for Nino using this location AND let the group use the extremely private boiler room later on, Nino comes across terribly! He is so gods damn lucky that Lila only overheard the part about Gabriel (as far as we know.) This scene is a pretty massive betrayal of Alya's trust and Nino never even apologizes for it. It makes him come across as a bad friend, a bad hero, and a bad boyfriend.

I would never include a moment like this unless it was part of a character arc where Nino learned the error of his way or part of a plotline where Alyno breaks up. Because the show never gave this moment proper consequences or payoff, it just makes Nino look like a terrible hero for no good reason and it makes Alya's choice to stay with him pretty questionable. Can she really trust him when he's been shown to treat her most precious secrets with such casual disregard?

*Note: this really only happened in the early seasons when the show didn't have more private locations animated, Volpina and Miracle Queen being prime examples. Both episodes contain a scene that seems extremely public, but later episodes make it clear that the events were only known to the characters who were present in the scene.

Flaw Three: Why Do They Even Like Each Other?

This is the minor issue I mentioned at the start. I don't think side couples need to be deeply developed and sometimes crushes just happen, but when you introduce issues like how the couple got together and Nino being a questionable partner for a superhero, then you do start to wonder why Alya is sticking with this guy? What does she see in him? Why should we want them to stay together outside of amatonormativity?

I don't have a good answer for those questions and it really undermines them as couple. If you're going to do things like mutual identity reveals and episodes centered on their relationship, then you do need to give their relationship some substance because you're giving it too much narrative weight for something so underdeveloped. That's extra true when you're denying the lead couple their own identity reveal! Alyno being fully revealed while also full time heroes is a massive insult to the love square from a narrative perspective and just further cheapens the square's eventual identity reveal.

Fixing Alyno

In spite of all these issues, I do actually like Alyno and tend to put them together in my own stuff. They have the potential to be a fantastic couple. I even use their relationship to help guide how I write Nino because he has so little substance in canon!

For those who don't want to read the massive post I just linked, my main inspiration for Alyno is the fact that canon made Nino a film buff. That's a fantastic match for a nascent vlogger! I love to include scenes of him teaching her how to frame certain types of shots or him helping her learn how to edit footage into an engaging story. It's such an obvious way to let them bond and I'm so disappointed that canon never went there. I actually make the Ladyblog the reason they got together by having Nino help with the filming and by having him run along after Alya in the early story because he's trying to keep her safe. Dude needs to earn his miraculous somehow!

Final Thoughts

I'm pretty neutral on canon Alyno because canon has given them so little substance while also introducing some pretty major flaws, but I like their potential and happily ship them in the realms of fanon. One of the many cases where it's less a love of canon and more a love of the potential I see in canon. Much like the love square, I'd be totally fine with canon Alyno breaking up forever, but I like to give them a happily ever after together in my own stuff.

[reallyhipbullshit]

I know this is maybe kind of a hot take, but I actually think this law is kind of bad. I’m not saying this as a defense of the Catholic Church, nor do I think their intentions are coming from a good place. But if you know anything about the history of how child abuse reporting is handled in the public school system, and how law enforcement has chronically handled it extremely poorly, or how much of a nightmare the CPS can be, you could understand how strictly abiding by this law could turn into a giant fucking shit show.

It’s complicated because I think laws like this, and services like CPS should exist. But I do not trust priests to responsibly report this stuff. The problem is, kids make stuff up all of the time. And kids who have to do confession in church especially make up shit during confession. The probability that a 6 year old child who might be upset with their parents would lie to a priest in confession about getting hit isn’t a small probability.

Most responsible and competent educators and social workers understand this, and it’s up to them to be able to parse out what’s actually going on with the kid before action is taken. The problem is, there are ALOT of social workers who suck shit at this, and it’s very easy to accidentally ask leading questions to a child that will result in them telling you something that didn’t actually happen. You think a fucking random priest is going to know how to do this?

There are a lot of wonderful dedicated CPS employees and foster parents in the system. But there are just as many who are not. I’ve had to deal with CPS within my own family, and I can tell you it’s not a great system. This is mostly due to how criminally underfunded it is and how little the employees are paid. A priest could potentially be throwing a fucking grenade into the lives of a family by blindly reporting stuff said in confession. I believe this law was drafted with good intentions, but from what I can tell it does not take a lot of this in mind. Also imagine the potential for a priest who might have a vendetta against people in their church to weaponize this.

If you think I’m full of shit, please do some reading about the Satanic Panic. A bunch of innocent families lives got horribly destroyed over laws and systems like this not being enforced well. Behind the Bastards has a few episodes that go into pretty deep detail about this. A lot has been reformed since then, but it’s still a major problem.

Please don’t take this the wrong way, I’m very pro protecting abused children. It’s just the system we have in place to do so is horribly flawed, and it could cause way more harm that it could prevent. Also fuck the Catholic Church I don’t give a shit about them or priests.

in case anyone was forgetting what the church was all about

[jarofstyles]

can we get a picture blurb for this picture 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

Yes you can 🙂‍↕️

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Warnings- a real yearner, complicated feelings on his behalf, there’s only one bed (😁)

The bed was far too small, her feet were fucking freezing, and Harry’s heart was in his throat.

It had been a matter of necessity, sharing the bed. As many times as he had insisted he could take the floor, she had given him a glare and told him to get into the bed. The place was set at some sort of arctic temperature and the hardwood would kill his already aching back, so he was secretly relieved- but he was also terrified.

The crush he had on her had been festering for months. Pathetic, maybe, with how scared he was to try anything past friendship, but their dynamic was just so good and he didn’t want to fuck it up. It didn’t matter how many times he wanted to reach for her, didn’t matter how soft her lips looked and how he had noticed the exact brand of lip balm was apparently a newer variation of the one he carried around. It didn’t matter than she was touchy with him and tended to lean into his body, because for months she had been in a relationship.

A shit one at that.

Jacob was a dickhead. Harry had been shocked when he met him because he felt like one of the one ones who was seeing past his slimy little charming act, but he had tried to be supportive. It was one of the hardest things he had ever done for a friend, he thinks.

All things considered, his growing feelings hadn’t even been something he could appropriately bring up, so he didn’t. He continued their friendship, though he wondered how Jacob would have felt knowing how close the both of them had gotten, letting himself indulge in her easily given affection.

Their friends had told him many times that she liked him, mainly because she wasn’t half as much of a touchy person with a lot of them but he had let it slide off his shoulders. He wasn’t someone who interfered with relationships.

This time was different though, because she was single. One month into being single and their annual trip to Nora’s house on the lake and the both of them being the last to show up meant they shared a room and a tiny bed.

Her whole body was slightly cold as she laid against him, the duvet pulled up to her chin. Her body was cocooned inside the blankets but it wasn’t seeming to be cutting it.

“I know you’re awake.” Her voice was a whisper into the dark room.

“You’ve got me there.” He replied, stretching himself the best he could before returning to his base position. “You alright, Button?”

“No.” She grunted, turning her head to look at him. “I’m fucking freezing. I don’t know why Nora makes it colder than the arctic but I already run cold. The iron deficiency doesn’t help.” The huff nearly made him laugh because fuck, she was cute. An adorable little thing. “Can you do your job?”

Harry knew she was cranky because of the long drive and now the trouble sleeping but he held back the laugh again- he didn’t want to be subjected to a sleepy Y/N’s wrath. “M’sorry? What’s my job?” That was a genuine question, because he had already tried to mess with the thermostat and had his fingers nearly chopped off.

“You’re a man. You’re supposed to help with body heat n’stuff. So you’ve got to cuddle me, please.”

That sounded like a dream. Having full permission to hold her the way he wanted was something he wanted to jump at, but he was slow with it. “Oh? Well… M’sorry. Didn’t know I was fucking all of this up, I suppose.” He teased, rolling into his side and felt her grab his arm to pull it around her.

Scooting back into him, she got closer than was probably appropriate for two friends, bum nestled against his crotch and nearly molding herself to him. Her hand lifted the duvet over them again, trapping the heat in as he gave into her wishes. “Is this sufficient for you, princess?”

“No.” She mumbled, blindly moving her legs back and wriggling one under his own. Tangling their legs together wasn’t something he had expected her to want, but she had forgotten her weighted blanket at home. Maybe he would be a better substitute. “That is.”

“Good. I’m glad.” He spoke with a little bit of her hair in his face, but he didn’t mind. She smelled so fucking good that it was almost dizzying and the knowledge he was going to spend all night up close and personal was nearly enough to get him giddy. His heart was still fluttering.

“S’okay if you wake up with a stiffy or somethin’. It’s natural, so don’t be weird and embarrassed about it. Just don’t move too far from this spot, cause if I get hypothermia and die in my sleep ‘cause of it, I’m coming back to haunt you.”

[oltammefru]

I've been thinking recently about Theresa and the end of Ep14 and her creating Civilight Eterna, and the question of like: Was she aware of the consequences of her actions? That doing so would extremely fuck up her loved ones, Kal'tsit most of all? The more I think about it the more I come to think that the answer is "yes, but she did it anyway."

Her behavior at the end of EP14 is kind of insane because like, despite how willing she is personally to sacrifice herself for the good of the future and how she tells Kal'tsit "My dear Kal'tsit, since we're all clear about our respective endings, why should we go through sorrow yet again?", at the same time she's like not really willing to let go either. (Think about how the moment she is out of sight, she goes on a mad scramble throughout time itself because she needs so, so, so desperately to know, if she can't have anything else, that her loved ones are ok. She says one thing, but then does another.)

Despite the path that she had chosen and her determination and willingness to see it through, at the end of it all she still doesn't want to go, she is still the person who listened in wonder to Kal'tsit as she told her stories about Terra, the world outside of Kazdel that she wanted to but never got to see, she is still the one who wanted to be able to hold Amiya and read her bedtime stories and assuage her of her nightmares, she is still the one who wanted to be there for her loved ones, in whatever form she can.

And despite all her willingness to sacrifice, and the selflessness of almost all her deeds, she is still in many ways a selfish person (which she acknowledges herself). This is one of the central contradictions of her character, that despite her selflessness, she is characterized majorly by a few specific, extremely, extremely selfish choices of such enormity that they arguably outweigh all of her selflessness. She passed on the crown to a 10 year old child (and Theresa knew Amiya would accept, since she is like that, even though it's not a question that Amiya could given an actual, non-coerced answer to) because so believed she could carry on her ideals, she erased the Doctor's memories both to free them from the shackles of their past, but also to shape them into the person she wanted them to be to best carry out her ideals.

There is such a delightful hypocrisy to this. She, in some sense, wanted desperately, in that selfish core of hers, more than anything else, was to live a life where she was free from the burdens of the past and the shackles of fate, but she still forced that onto Amiya. At the end of Babel, she is walking toward her literal death, but she is still vaguely aware of how death works for the Sarkaz, that she will return to the Originium but still exist in some form, and so she is still hopeful about this: "it's time to say goodbye… we'll meet again in the future won't we… Kal'tsit… Amiya… Doctor." But this time, it really is the end for her, after this there will be nothing left of her, it is a total and complete annihilation of the self. (Which, the thing about this is that like, she deleted the Doctor's identity and subjected them to this, but is unwilling and scared to go through it herself). Despite her virtues and her selflessness, despite what she tells Kal'tsit about partings and endings, she is scared.

The thing about Theresa is that she is a hypocrite, but she is a hypocrite in a highly specific and interesting way. If you pay attention to depictions of Theresa throughout the story, she is someone who believes that fate can be overcome, that the cycle of violence can be broken, except when it comes to specifically herself, for which she is incredibly, incredibly pessimistic, and believes that she's a failure and was unable to break free from her fate. ("To change a man is to make them believe, to make them believe is to destroy their faith, nothing can save such a lost soul.", "But yet, there is no antidote to loneliness, there is no end to nomadic wandering, there is no cure to a terminal illness..." etc.) This is why she's willing to do what she does in Ep14, intentionally choosing to perpetuate the cycle of violence and inflict suffering on other people for the ends of her (and her people) and this something that she fully acknowledges and is perfectly ok with doing in Ep14 even though she could have just like, not. She chooses to act against her ideals because she is a failure, a victim of fate, the sacrifice on top of which the future will be built, an obstacle that the true idealists must and will overcome. She is a hypocrite because she believes that Amiya/the Doctor/Kal'tsit are better people than her, that they are capable of doing what she isn't, and so she is willing to subject them to standards that she doesn't apply to herself.

She can't bear the idea that this is it, that there will be no more of her left, and is willing to do anything to assuage this, and so she makes CE, so she can linger and be there for her loved ones in whatever form possible. I think in this there is a conscious understanding that doing this will hurt her loved ones, and especially Kal'tsit most of all. It's not something she wants to do, but she thinks of Amiya/the Doctor/Kal'tsit as better people than her. She is deliberately doing something that will hurt them yes, but they are strong, and will get through this, like they always have. But herself? She is scared, she has nothing left and soon she will be nothing at all. And so (like she always has), she chooses to go out with one last moment of selfishness.

[moesthoughts]

Having thoughts about toxic, possessive Shauna showing the rest of the girls who f!reader belongs to 🤍

possessive shauna marking you

pairing : toxic shauna shipman x fem reader

warnings : season 3 shauna, marking, blood, rough sex, knife play kind of??, choking

➛ it’s not surprising shauna shipman is so protective of you, it seems that everyone wants to take everything that’s hers away from her.

first jackie, who was taken away from her too quickly, the guilt forever sticking with her. Then her baby, who she felt like was everyone’s but hers.

➛ she does everything to make sure the group knows you’re hers, her nails digging into the skin of your thigh when you sit next to each other, tugging you roughly away from conversation when she doesn’t like it. She wants you all to herself, and the group has noticed.

➛ from the scrapes on your back from being pushed up against the tough bark on trees, the sharp wood cutting into your skin. The bruises and bite marks on your neck and chest from her biting into your sensitive places and licking the blood away, sucking harshly on your neck to suck any noise out of you.

➛ your legs ache from long sessions in your shared hut, how shauna would eat you out, forcing you to be loud so everyone can hear you, no matter how late it was into the night. She wants to remind everyone that shes the only one who can you feel good.

➛ you’re instructed not to hide your marks, no matter how bad your neck looks, no matter how many questions are asked. You wouldn’t hide them either way.

➛ shauna reminds you that you belong with her, that you can’t get with anybody else. She kisses you with hunger, that action alone putting you in a place where you can’t leave.

➛ she insists that you always stay by her, she gets anxious when you leave her side too long. afraid that you’ll stray too far away and get yourself hurt, or die. It doesn’t matter how strong you are, she still has a sense of protectiveness over you.

➛ she will yell in people’s faces if she doesn’t like what they say are do to you, she’ll get physical if she has to. Other girls ask how you deal with her, you can only shrug.

➛ shauna, who fucks you silly with the handle of her knife. Laughing as you whine when she hits that sweet spot. She helps you oh so “sweetly” the next morning, smirking at the others while she helps you wash off in the lake.

➛ you wear shauna’s clothes, she wears yours. You love the sweater she still has from before the crash, her initials sewn in with a pretty blue threading. She loves seeing you in her clothes, loves showing you off.

➛ shauna who refers to you as her girlfriend anytime she gets, talking to melissa about you with a cheeky tone. subtly bringing the conversation towards you any time she can.

“we need someone—“

“My girlfriend can do it, she’s probably more capable than any of you anyway.” her unnerving smirk never is wiped off her face as she drinks in the states of disbelief from the group.

➛ she refuses to let you touch anyone unless you’re giving them a hug, anything else she gets so worked up and jealous. Why are you touching lottie’s hand while speaking to her? why are you caressing akilah’s shoulder?

she’ll push you against a tree, her fingers tight around your throat while whispering harshly into your ear. You’re hers, not anyone else’s.

➛ sometimes you feel isolated from the group, but you didn’t expect anything else from being under the wing of the antler queen. Getting special treatment out in the wilderness causes jealousy.

➛ getting slightly larger portions of food than anyone else, ignoring the daggers glaring into your soul as you ate.

➛ everyone knows you belong to shauna, and that’s all she cares about.

trying a new format.. idk if I like it but i think it’s better than the one i have rn. ALSO THANKU FOR REQING ME ANON

req me!

masterlist

[lizardboiii]

WHATTA MAN

꒰ ft. Vinsmoke Sanji x reader

꒰ synopsis: Slipping up while drunk and admitting you wanna have his baby♡

"You so crazy, I think I wanna have your baby." -Salt-N-Pepa

│cw: 18+, SFW, suggestive undertones, no use of y/n, fluff, f!reader

│wc: 1k

│notes: i feel like Sanji's character is always misinterpreted as only a freaky gooner in the anime i hope in future episodes they start showing his character justice. i had a lot of fun with making him silly yet charming. enjoy <3

│AO3 Link!

The room was surprisingly quiet. Only Brook’s faint singing drifted through the crack of the door. The muffled symphony was accompanied by pots and pans clinking softly against each other as Sanji scrubbed away the remnants of dinner.

Yet, your mind didn’t focus on the background noise. Instead, your eyes remained fully entranced with Sanji’s arms. More importantly - his hands.

Beads of soapy water slowly cascaded down his thick forearms before tapering off at his wrists. Said forearms flexed with his every movement. Their toned muscles were fully on show now that Sanji had rolled up his sleeves. 

Kicking your legs back and forth under your stool, you allowed your spinning gaze to lower. Sanji’s large hands continued to work at one of the many plates. His veins protruding against his pale skin. 

Drunk, and ready to make poor decisions, you called out to him without thinking, “Sanji.”

The tall blond male dropped his work immediately. His discarded porcelain splashed into the sink with an audible “plop”. Spinning around in some sort of tornado of love, Sanji dramatically placed his thick hands on top of the counter, “Yes, My Swan~”

You watched his speedy form in a daze. The unethical amounts of plum wine you consumed over dinner seemed to eradicate any sense of shamelessness. But that was for “morning you” to deal with.

Hiccuping, you allowed your inner thoughts to spill, “Has anyone ever told you..”

Sanji’s cigarette hung loosely from his plush lips. The darkening ash simmered down its paper wrapping, cascading gently through the air.

“You’ve got nice hands?”

Abruptly, Sanji’s teetering cigarette fell to the floor. His mouth agape, you could see the gears twisting and turning inside of his head.

Then, Sanji suddenly cupped your hand in his. Your eyes widened at the action, immediately focusing in on the feeling of his rough hand against yours. His larger hand practically engulfed your own. Firmly holding you in place.

“Mademoiselle,” Sanji’s thumb caressed over your knuckles, “...Are you complimenting my hands?”

You jolted at his tender touch. Forcing your gaze away from his hand, you meet his fixed gaze timidly. Their striking blue easily pulled an answer from you.

“I think they’re beautiful.”

Your statement gut-punched any prince charming mannerisms Sanji had left in him. Clasping his hands together, a loopy smile plastered itself on his face as he swayed in place.

“My Swan!” Sanji’s eyes turned to hearts as he seemingly fangirled, “I had no idea you felt that way! I promise to always take good care of them for you!”

A giggle fumbled out of your mouth as you watched him. His lean frame pranced around the kitchen, new vigor entering his body. That was until he managed to slam his head against one of the many pans hanging above the counter.

Your soft giggle easily turned into full blown laughter. Wiping the tears from your eyes, you jumped down from your wobbly stool. The wooden seat spun on its legs threatening to fall over itself.

In a drunken stupor, you fumbled your way to Sanji’s side. Kneeling down next to his embarrassed form, you offered a lopsided smile.

“Are you okay?” Your question came out more garbled than you liked. Laughter and wine mixing up your speech.

Sanji’s rich laughter matched your own. Pushing a strand of hair behind your ear, Sanji gave you a soft smile, “Of course I am, Mademoiselle.”

Strangely, your stomach flipped when Sanji’s fingers brushed against your ear. The feeling of your heart beating in your chest was starting to become hard to ignore. 

You took in a shaky breath, “...I’m glad.”

There was a small silence between you for a moment. Yet, it wasn't the awkwardly suffocating silence you felt when watching Zoro train alone. Nor was it the boredom inducing silence when reading with Robin.

It felt comfortable - natural even. However, as quickly as you started it, Sanji ended it.

“You're far too sweet to me, Mademoiselle.” Sanji threaded his thick fingers down the lock of your hair tucked behind your ear, twirling the end of it. Your face burned when he suddenly brought the piece of hair to his lips, placing a chaste kiss against the strand, “I’m nervous you’ll ruin me for anyone else.”

You weren't sure what 'Plum Wine God' possessed you.

“You so crazy.”

But you were certain the words that left your mouth could never be taken back.

“I think I wanna have your baby.”

You don’t think you have ever seen Sanji’s eyes get so wide. His jaw slack in shock. If he hadn't already lost his cigarette he most definitely would have now. Then, the nosebleed that bursted out of him really had you considering grabbing Chopper.

You could only watch in horror as the taller man practically malfunctioned in front of you. Face a deep shade of crimson, he almost frothed at the mouth. 

Cautiously touching his shoulder, you reeled back in surprise when he abruptly snapped up from his love-induced seizure. His usual uncovered eye was casted in a dark shadow. You swallowed thickly at the sight, sobering up slightly.

“Sanji?”

Your limited cognitive functions could barely process when Sanji rapidly stood to his feet, taking you with him. He spun you into his arms, carrying you in a predictable princess style.

“Mademoiselle, I can’t begin to express how honored I would be to be the father of your children.” Sanji’s grip tightened on you, “But you and I both know you're not in the right state of mind right now.”

Though his tone was slightly playful, his eyes held a sense of seriousness you had only seen in battle. You couldn't help but smile. Such serious eyes paired with a blood stained nose was wholeheartedly Sanji.

Nuzzling into his chest, you mumbled teasingly, “I wanna have your baby sober or drunk.”

Sanji let out a deep sigh, biting back another outburst, “It's time for bed, My Swan.”

Wavering in and out of consciousness, you could feel Sanji carry you across the ship. The quiet echo of crashing waves against the ship's side mixed with the salty breeze easily lulled you further into sleep. 

Eventually, you felt Sanji gently set you down onto your plush bed. He pulled your silky covers over your exhausted form before he placed a tender kiss on your forehead.

“Goodnight, Mademoiselle.”

You snuggled into your pillow, “G’Night.”

There was no doubt - you were really going to regret this tomorrow.

・❥・

[angelicyoongie]

(you're) always on my mind (Il)

— pairing: bird hybrid jimin x (f) reader — word count: 5.4k — summary: When your workplace announces that they've decided to promote collaboration between departments, you suddenly find yourself face to face with your sworn nemesis Park Jimin. Your plans to avoid him are quickly foiled as his presence turns the floor into a madhouse, your coworkers all vying for his attention. With so many people at his beck and call, why is it that Jimin is always so insistent on getting in your way?

01 - 02 - 03 / Masterlist

You stifle a yawn, blinking your bleary eyes at your screen.

It's not that the project is so demanding that it's keeping you from sleeping, it's more so ... everything else. It's been two weeks since you started working with Jimin and those weeks have consisted of jealous looks from the bird hybrid's groupies and dealing with an increasingly infuriating partner.

The thing is, Park Jimin just won't leave you alone.

"Coffee, for you."

You look up at Jimin as he gently pushes a takeaway cup over to your side of the table. He holds another one in his hand, presumably for himself, and gives you an encouraging nod as he catches your eye.

You tentatively reach out for the drink, finding it just the right side of hot as you wrap your fingers around it. You eye it suspiciously as you bring it up to your nose, giving the cup a discreet sniff. It simply smells like coffee, nothing more and nothing less. You doubt Jimin would poison you – but you wouldn't be surprised if the bird hybrid's definition of funny would be to prank you by putting something less than savory in your drink. Still, you hold his gaze as you bring the cup to your lips, determined not to give him the satisfaction of reacting if there is anything wrong with it.

You take a small sip, expecting the worst, but the taste that hits your tongue is normal. You drink a little more just to be sure but the taste remains the same. Based on the roast, you know that it's from the café down the block, the one that sells really good but horribly overpriced coffee. You've gone there with Jungkook a few times for a special pick-me-up when work has been rough but it's not something you would splurge on regularly.

"Thank you," You mumble, confused yet grateful that Jimin went out of his way to buy it for you.

Jimin's lips curve with a proud smile as he sees you enjoying the drink, his feathers ruffling happily as he takes his seat.

"My pleasure," His eyes crease under the force of his grin, the pale blush in his cheeks quickly hidden by his coffee cup.

You turn your attention back to your work, determined to get as much as possible done. Somehow it feels like you've seen more of Jimin in the past two weeks than you did Jungkook in the past three years, even though you worked side by side for all that time. It might be because Jimin insisted that you would work on the project together – squeezed into the smallest meeting room the department offers. If you're not looking at your screen, there's nowhere to look but directly at Jimin.

The bird hybrid just seems to constantly demand your attention in one way or another. If he's not sitting in front of you, he's walking around in circles, airing his ideas out loud to get your input. No matter what changes you propose, Jimin is always ready to challenge them, often turning a simple yes or no question into a discussion. He has a peculiar working style that absolutely grinds your gears but you can't deny that it works decently well.

Though, the absolute worst part of it all, is that Jimin is somehow becoming more and more attractive every day – and it's not like you can avoid looking at him. Your traitorous heart is beginning to feel confused and it certainly doesn't help that Jimin keeps pestering you about eating lunch together every day.

Even now, it's like clockwork as the time shifts to noon, Jimin's piercing eyes flicking up to meet yours as he coyly asks, "So, what are you doing for lunch today? I found this really nice ramen place just around the block a few days ago, I think you'd like–"

"Jimin-ssi!"

The smile on the bird hybrid's face turns into a grimace as the door to your private work room is flung open, his question interrupted by the same gaggle of people that never leaves him alone. The woman who called out his name, the one you've learned is another bird hybrid from Jimin's old department, sends you a hard glare when you don't immediately remove yourself from Jimin's presence.

You know this situation isn't exactly well-liked by his admirers – you've seen the frowns and heard the whispers whenever you leave the room – but she truly seems to detest the fact that you're working together in such close proximity. You're not sure what gave her the idea that you would take her precious Jimin away from her when that's the last thing you'd want to do, but you don't want to stick around to stoke that ire even more.

"It seems I'll have to decline, Park. Do enjoy your ramen though."

You quickly grab your essentials, shooting Jimin a strained smile before you slip out of the room. As scary as that woman is, you're thankful for her interruption today. A small part of you was tempted to take Jimin up on his offer for once, just to see why he's trying so hard to share a meal with you.

Shaking your head, you beeline straight for Jungkook, desperate for some fresh air and to look at something that isn't Park Jimin. You think you might be starting to go a little crazy from being cooped up in that room. That has to be the only explanation as to why you'd be willing to spend more time with him.

Of course, you should have known that Jimin wouldn't give up that easily.

You've been working on the project for a month now and despite the constant interruptions by his groupies, he never misses a chance to ask you out for lunch. He is nothing if not persistent. You have steeled yourself since that day you almost slipped up – now more determined than ever to not give into Jimin's charms. The thing is, you still can't figure out if he genuinely wants to share a friendly meal with you or if it's just another ploy to one-up you somehow. So many weeks of working together has started to shift your perception of him and you can concede that he's not as horrible as you first thought, but that's all there is to it.

You hold back a tired groan as you settle into the two-seater squished into the corner of the room, taking the tablet Jimin hands you with a muttered thank you.

The project has finally gotten to the stage where it's time to review all the ideas and plans you have so far so that you can narrow it down and choose the best direction to move forward with. Once you settle on that today, you should only have to spend a few more weeks crammed in here with Jimin before the design department takes over.

You watch as Jimin chooses the chair next to the couch, his wings looking awfully squished in that narrow space. The bird hybrid looks as unbothered as ever, tapping around on the tablet in his lap. Still, you can't shake the feeling that maybe Jimin has just gotten so used to conforming and contorting himself in public spaces that he doesn't even notice it anymore.

Clearing your throat, you catch Jimin's attention, his eyes as attentive as ever as they find yours. You nod at his compressed wings as you say, "Let's switch places, you look uncomfortable."

"Oh."

Jimin stares at you as if you've grown two heads, the purples in his eyes twinkling under the overhead light as he cocks his head. He glances over his shoulder as if he had forgotten he even had wings, seemingly considering your offer for a second before shaking his head.

"That's okay. You're tired and the couch is more comfortable than this chair anyway," He smiles.

"Park, you're crammed in there," You huff, ignoring the warmth that creeps up the back of your neck at Jimin's consideration. "You have wings, I don't. Please take the couch."

You can tell from the gentle look that crosses Jimin's face that he's going to chivalrously deny your offer once again. Before you can stop yourself, the part of your brain that maybe cares just a little opens your mouth and you find yourself saying, "Then let's share the couch at least. It would still be better than that chair."

For a moment, the shock on your face is mirrored on Jimin's. The bird hybrid shakes off the surprise much quicker, his smile brightening to a grin as he pushes himself out of the chair.

"Well, if you insist, then I'll gladly accept your offer."

The couch dips under Jimin's weight, his deep blue wings taking up so much space it almost feels like you've squeezed in another person between the two of you.

"Are you sure this is okay?"

You can tell by Jimin's shuffling that he's trying to make himself as small as possible and that just won't do. You won't allow him to view himself as an inconvenience.

Scooting forward on the couch, you leave a decent gap behind your back and the seat, making room for Jimin's wings.

"There, you can relax them a bit if you'd like. It looks painful holding your wings so tightly to your back all the time."

You look away before you can read Jimin's expression, turning back to the tablet in your lap. You worry your bottom lip between your teeth, belatedly realizing that maybe you just overstepped a boundary – that maybe it would've been better to wait until Jimin asked instead of just assuming what he needed.

Your cheeks turn warm with embarrassment as you mindlessly click around on the screen, your mind elsewhere as you try to come up with a decent apology. Judging by how Jimin hasn't said anything yet, you fear that you really did do something inappropriate.

Just as the words reach the tip of your tongue, your hands clenched awkwardly in your lap, you feel movement behind your back. Jimin lets out a deep, relieved sigh as he loosens up the position of his wings, letting them splay out as much as the couch allows. Even with the added space you gave him, his wings are so large that you can feel the feathers ruffling against the back of your shirt in tandem with Jimin's breaths.

"Thank you."

Jimin says it so softly that it catches you off-guard, your heart skipping a beat from how tender his voice sounds.

It seems it has caused your brain to short-circuit, because the next thing that comes out of your mouth is, "Are they heavy? Your wings, I mean."

Jimin is quiet for a moment. "Yes and no? They're the same as any other limb so I'm normally not very conscious of them. I don't notice the weight, but they can get tired and achy, just like an arm. Choosing to work for a human-based company probably wasn't the best decision on my part – it's not exactly made to accommodate someone like me."

You see Jimin shrug out of the corner of your eye.

"I see," You murmur.

The pit of your stomach feels unexpectedly heavy. Even though Jimin is your sworn nemesis, it still upsets you that he has accepted that hurting himself is the only way he'll be able to fit in. It makes you wonder if Hoseok is experiencing the same thing too – if the deer hybrid hasn't told you simply because he's expected as a hybrid to change himself to fit in alongside humans.

Jimin lightly knocks his arm into yours, the touch shaking you out of your thoughts.

"We should start reviewing our work if we want to go home today," He says, raising an eyebrow as he angles his tablet in your direction. "But if you want to spend more time with me–"

"There's no time like the present, let's start reviewing!" You sputter, tapping your screen rapidly in other to wake it back up.

Jimin lets out a low snort at how easily flustered you are, hiding his smile behind his hand as he begins to look through your collected ideas.

Once your embarrassment dies down, you find that the review session with Jimin goes by without a hitch. For the most part, you both agree on what ideas to keep and which to scrap, making your review session more productive than you had anticipated. You had imagined that Jimin would oppose all of your picks just to torture you, but it's quite the opposite. The bird hybrid listens and agrees with your chosen ideas and for the few he doesn't like – he provides good reasons as to why they won't work. You find yourself nodding along to his criticism, agreeing with the points you hadn't thought of yourself. Not only that, Jimin seems to do the same – in turn valuing your input and insight when you go through his proposed plans. It's such a stark contrast to the Jimin you've gotten used to that it's enough to make you wonder if you stepped into an alternative universe this morning.

You pause as you click on the next slide, your brows furrowing as you see a familiar idea. 

You had included it in your proposal to Mr. Shin, the same one you threw away and never got to turn in. So how did it end up here?

"What's this?" You ask Jimin, pointing to your screen. "I never submitted these ideas."

"Ah," Jimin glances at your tablet, scratching the feathers at the back of his neck as he admits, "I did."

"I saw you throwing out your proposal when Mr. Shin announced that he had picked mine. It didn't feel right that you spent so much time on it and didn't even get to submit it because of me so I, well, turned it in for you. After you left that day."

You blink at him. "You went through my trash?"

"Well, it sounds bad when you say it like that!" Jimin groans. "I wanted us both to have an equal chance. Once Mr. Shin looked at it, he realized that your ideas were just as good as mine and wanted them implemented. I was favored because I'm a transfer, that's all. And I would never steal your ideas – I told him that I would refuse to use your concepts if you weren't willing to work together on this project."

You're not sure you like how it makes your stomach flutter. The high walls you've built to protect yourself are crumbling more and more with each passing day you spend together.

"Thank you, I appreciate that."

The smile Jimin gives you is almost blinding, his wings curving slightly inward almost as if they're trying to get a little closer to you.

You hate to admit it but maybe Jimin isn't as bad as you made him out to be. You may have imagined him as your enemy, someone who only wanted to tear you down and steal your opportunities, but so far Jimin has been nothing but nice to you. A little annoying sometimes sure, but he's never done anything malicious.

You offer him a smile in return, noting how the tops of his cheeks seem a little more red than usual.

Maybe it's about time that you admit that Jimin deserves a second chance.

"I've missed you," Jungkook whines, clinging to your arm. "Work is so boring without you!"

"We literally eat lunch together every day," You laugh.

You use your sleeve to wipe off the layer of dust that has settled on your monitor over the last few weeks. Jungkook holds on tighter to your other arm, pouting as he says, "That's not the same."

"I know," You sigh, lightly knocking your head against Jungkook's, "I missed you too."

After six weeks of working with Jimin in that small room, it almost feels foreign to be back at your desk with so many people milling about. You're honestly thankful that the bird hybrid had a meeting outside the office today, it gives you half a day to work without any disruptions. Your poor heart needs a few hours of calm and there's nothing like Jungkook's antics to take your mind off the rather confusing feelings you've been dealing with lately.

"Soooo.." Jungkook leans back in his chair, his eyes wide with faux innocence as he asks, "How has it been working with the enemy?  You haven't complained as much the last couple of weeks."

It seems you're quiet for just a moment too long, Jungkook letting out a gasp as he exclaims, "Don't tell me Park Jimin has won you over?"

"Shut up," You huff, knocking his hand away from your arm. You bite the inside of your cheek, annoying flashes of Jimin's smile as you accept the coffee he brings you every morning – and how he never ceases to be irritatingly attentive and kind – racing through your mind.

"I guess he isn't as bad as I first thought," You concede.

Jungkook hums, avoiding your sharp glare as he turns to his computer. You can tell from the slight smirk on his face that he definitely isn't going to let this go – he's just going to wait until the perfect moment to interrogate you.

"Interesting."

"Don't make it weird," You hiss, "He's just a decent person, nothing more."

Jungkook nods. "As I said – interesting."

You rub the skin between your brows, already regretting not faking your disdain for Jimin. It seems your time apart from Jungkook has softened you too much and made you forget just how much of a persistent gremlin he can be when he thinks there's some juicy gossip to be uncovered.

You boot up your computer with a groan. You still have four hours to go before Jimin will return to the office and Jungkook is going to use every available second to interrogate you until he does. A fleeting, hopeful thought crosses your mind that maybe Jimin will come back sooner than he's supposed to in order to save you. Just as soon as you realize what you were just daydreaming about, you pinch your leg so hard it makes you wince, bringing yourself back to reality.

You were so excited to have some time away from Jimin but the moment he's gone, you're what, missing him?

You shake your head, ignoring the little flutter in your stomach that confirms you're right.

Sure, Jimin might be charming and sweet when it's just the two of you but the bird hybrid is an absolute flirt and you really shouldn't be reading anything into his advances. It's a recipe for getting hurt.

It seems the time you've spent alone with him has made you forget just how shameless he is when it comes to getting attention. You don't have to wait very long, only a few hours in fact, until that reminder smacks you in the face again.

"You're so annoying," You whine, giving Jungkook's chair a shove.

The moment Mr. Shin left his office for a meeting in another department, it was like the whole floor exhaled, low chatter bursting to life as the elevator doors closed. 

Jungkook had seen it as his chance to get some answers, his mischief mode activated, and the constant pestering was starting to get on your nerves.

"Says you," Jungkook huffs, rolling himself back to his desk. "It's a simple yes or no question! Do you like him or not?"

"I tolerate him," You say, narrowing your eyes as Jungkook grabs the arms of your chair.

He pulls your chair flush with his, his own eyes narrowing in return, "That's not what I asked."

"Too bad," You wave your hand, "That's all you're going to get."

"Don't make me tickle you," Jungkook shakes out his fingers, "You know both of us will regret that."

"Jungkook, that's inappropriate! We're at work," You hiss as you snatch one of his hands out of the air, pressing it firmly against his chest. You're not going to let Jungkook expose you as a tickle squealer in front of your coworkers just because he's curious about something you don't have an answer to yet.

"What's inappropriate?"

You jerk back at the sound of Jimin's voice, shocked that you didn't notice the bird hybrid approaching your desks. You drop Jungkook's hand as you notice Jimin's burning stare, his violet eyes fixated on where your skin touched your friend. The fact that you feel so flustered by Jimin's sudden appearance makes it hard to think, your brain refusing to catch up.

"Nothing?" You squeak. You quickly clear your throat as Jungkook snickers under his breath, adding more confidence to your voice as you say, "It's nothing. You.. You're back earlier than expected, though?"

Jimin's gaze flickers between the two of you slowly, his expression unreadable. "The meeting didn't take as long as they first assumed. They offered to take us out to lunch to make up for it but I told them I already had an appointment I couldn't be late for."

Your heart thumps in your chest as Jimin pointedly looks your way. Surely he didn't rush back just to ask you out to lunch like he always does?

"Anyway," Jimin says, "I wanted to tell you that I'm back and that we can hold our progress meeting after our break is over."

"Right, sounds good," You smile.

"Talking about taking a break–"

Alarm bells start going off the moment you register Jungkook's teasing tone. The swift kick you land on the bottom of his chair is ignored, Jungkook's doe eyes spelling nothing but trouble as he continues, "If you don't have any lunch plans yet, Jimin-ssi, you'd be welcome to join us today."

It takes everything in you to not reach out and throttle him. You have no doubt Jungkook is doing this partly for the drama and partly because he thinks he's helping you in some roundabout way, but this is not it.

"I'm sure Jimin has some prior arrangement already–"

"I'd love to," Jimin's feathers ruffle happily behind his back, his beaming smile directed at you and only you, like you were the one to personally invite him. The force of it makes your heart race.

"Great!" Jungkook claps his hands, undeterred at being ignored. "Mr. Shin won't be back until the end of the day and there's only ten minutes left until lunchtime, so how about we head down now?"

Jungkook sends you a pointed look before you can protest. "Half the floor has already left, so we won't get in trouble."

"Fine," You smile through your teeth, your fleeting plan of sending Jimin to his desk and using that time to slip away foiled before you could even set it into motion. "Let's go eat lunch, then. Together."

"Let's," Jimin grins, taking a step towards the door. The bird hybrid's wings seem bigger than before, more relaxed, as he waits for you and Jungkook to grab your things.

You drag your feet as you follow Jimin, dreading the not-so-subtle questions you're sure Jungkook will be asking to test the water for you. While Jungkook is one of your closest friends and an overall great guy, you think his biggest flaw might be how much of a meddler he is.

"You and your damn muscles," You huff as Jungkook manhandles you into the elevator, blocking any chance you have at escaping.

"Please, you love them."

You only roll your eyes in response, knowing he isn't entirely wrong. You do like the extra space his muscles provide on packed elevator rides but aside from that, you couldn't be more neutral about Jungkook's body.

"Oh?" Jimin inquires, his violet eyes staring intently at Jungkook's arms, "They don't look that big?"

"I'll show you," Jungkook puffs out his chest, gladly offering his arm to the bird hybrid as a chance to show off.

Jimin wraps his hands around Jungkook's bicep, his gaze briefly flickering over to you before it returns to the man next to him. Something awed, maybe jealous, passes over Jimin's face as Jungkook flexes his muscles.

The bird hybrid doesn't shy away from squeezing and feeling up his arm, a sly smile crossing his lips as he says, "I didn't think you could get more handsome Jungkook-ssi, but look at you."

Jungkook sputters at the unexpected compliment, his cheeks turning red under Jimin's undivided attention.

You cross your arms, something unpleasant bubbling in your stomach as you watch Jimin's touch linger, the bird hybrid offering a few more compliments before the elevator announces its arrival.

Jimin exits first, leaving a flustered Jungkook behind. He looks at you with big eyes, hand covering the left side of his chest as he says, "Oh, he is good at this. I think my heart fluttered a little."

You swallow thickly, the reprimanding voice of your past self echoing in your head, reminding you that this is what Jimin is - a flirt. You're not special for receiving a little more of his attention lately, it's all just circumstance.

"You should get that checked out," You mutter, stepping out of the elevator to catch up with the bird hybrid.

Your goal is to do everything as quickly as possible – get your food, eat, and get out. But even you couldn't have expected just how awkward lunch would be.

From the moment Jimin took his seat next to you, you could feel the other people in the cafeteria staring you all down with envy. The situation certainly isn't made better by Jungkook and Hoseok - the two of them openly gawking and giggling whenever Jimin makes a comment that's even remotely funny. You know Jimin is charming, you can't deny that yourself, but you expected a little more resilience from your friends.

In the end, you end up picking at your food, unable to stomach much with the growing pit in your belly.

"Are you okay?" You glance over at Jimin, noting the concerned furrow between his brows.

"I'm fine," You force a wobbly smile, "I think I must have eaten something bad for breakfast."

"Should I go get you some medicine? There's a pharmacy right around the corner."

"It's fine." You quickly shake your head as Jimin begins to stand up, grabbing his arm to pull him back down into his seat. The bird hybrid doesn't seem convinced, his wings ruffling with protest behind his back.

"Wait, Y/n, did you try one of the protein shakes I gave you for breakfast? I told you not to drink it on an empty stomach–"

Jungkook's voice turns muffled, blending into the background noise as you shift your eyes from Jimin and meet hers across the room.

It's the same woman, the bird hybrid from Jimin's old department, who stops by your little makeshift office every day to drag him out for lunch. She's a swan, you think, known to be awfully territorial over what they consider to be theirs. And you have no doubt that she's staked her claim on Jimin, regardless of whether he knows or not. 

But he's not hers.

And he's not yours either.

The realization feels like a shot to the heart.

Even from the other side of the cafeteria, you can tell her gaze is venomous as she stares you down. The uneasy feeling in your stomach keeps growing, clawing at your insides, desperate to get out. She's looking at you like she knows what you're thinking – what you're feeling – they all are, and you absolutely cannot let Jimin find out.

"Uhm," You hastily push yourself to your feet, "I need to use the bathroom. I'm not feeling good."

You scurry off as fast as your legs can carry you, ignoring the familiar voices that call out your name. You don't stop until you reach the bathroom that's a little ways down the hall from the cafeteria.

Locking yourself in a stall, you sink onto the closed toilet lid, hands covering your face.

"Fuck," You whisper.

You like Jimin.

You can't pinpoint exactly when it happened but in retrospect, it's obvious your feelings for him have been growing for a while now, blossoming into something beyond your control. The worst part is – you don't even know if Jimin is single. It's never been a subject that has interested you before recently and you honestly just assumed that he must be taken based on the amount of attention he always garners when he walks into a room.

You take a deep breath, lightly slapping your face to bring yourself back to reality.

Jimin might be taken but he might also not be. You won't know for sure until you ask - or well, until you get Jungkook to not-so-casually bring it up with him. You might have a chance.

Until then, you just have to go out there and pretend that nothing has changed, that all is still like it was. You still have a job to do, regardless of your feelings.

Quickly washing your hands, you brace yourself to walk back into the cafeteria. Your flushed appearance can be blamed on not feeling good – you're certainly not going to admit it's because you finally understand that you like Jimin.

You tap your hands on your trousers as you step out of the bathroom, making sure they're dry as you walk back down the hallway.

Your steps halt as you reach the corner, your feet rooted to the ground as you hear Jimin's hushed voice in tandem with another. You plaster yourself to the wall, holding your breath as you listen in to what they're talking about.

"Be serious!" A female voice hisses. The swan hybrid.

"You expect her to help you? To treat you right? She's human, Jimin-ssi, she doesn't know anything about what it means to be a hybrid."

The swan hybrid spits out the word like it's a curse, followed by the sound of annoyed, rustling feathers.

"Do you think she's going to even look at you once your little project is over? She's just going to run back to her "friend"."

Oh.

She's talking about you.

The anxiety bubbling in your stomach roars back to life, your hands shaking as you find you can't do anything but listen - your feet unable to move.

Jimin's silence feels like a knife through the heart. Surely he doesn't think anything is going on between you and Jungkook? He knows you're just friends. And even so, you believed that you had grown closer lately, so much so that maybe you would continue to talk even when the project was over. But judging by his lack of response, it seems that you haven't given Jimin that impression at all.

"She doesn't deserve you. She can't do the things I can do, babe. "

You hear a deep sigh, Jimin's, his voice tight as he admits, "You're right. I know that.  She's not you–"

Before you even realize it, you're already halfway down the hallway, feet carrying you straight back to the bathroom. Your blood is roaring in your ears, the last part of Jimin's sentence mercifully too muffled for you to hear.

It seems you got this all wrong. It doesn't matter if Jimin is single, because he clearly doesn't like you like that. It seems the kindness he's been showing you has just been him being a good co-worker, keeping things civil and friendly.

You must have been projecting your feelings onto him, reading into things that didn't even exist.

How mortifying.

You stumble back into the same stall you only left a few minutes prior, eyes burning, as you lock the door behind you. You're not sure which emotion is strongest – disappointment, embarrassment, heartbreak, but it hurts all the same.

You can only hope that Jimin hasn't noticed your growing interest in the same way as the swan hybrid had.

There's only one thing you can do to save yourself from further humiliation, to make sure that doesn't happen. 

You have to pretend your feelings never changed. That you only tolerate him at best.

You have to pretend until it becomes true again.

Maybe it's time to go back to how things were, to distance yourself. Even if you fooled yourself into hoping for something more, the truth is that there is only one thing you and Jimin can be.

Enemies.

a/n: welcome back! it sure wasn't my plan to spend two months on this chapter but i've been jumping from one assignment to another and i've been more or less sick this entire time, so it sadly took me much longer than expected :( but here we are with ch 2! there will be three chapters total for this fic, so we still have one more to go.

what do you think so far? will jimin be able to clear up this misunderstanding and will the mc trust him enough to accept it? 🫣

i would love to hear your thoughts so far and reblogs are very much appreciated 💖

[uponpalewings]

This is why i loved the movie "Deepwater Horizon" so much, becuase it was about a well known and documented tragedy that many people remember first hand; But the suspense leading up to the explosion, the collection of characters you feel connection to, the rage at the actions the 'villians' push forward leading up to the climax, it all culminates into a massively amazing and horrifying conclusion that everyone knew was coming but didn't know how hard the impact of seeing all these people die would be.

The viewers feel real heartbreak at the deaths of the people in the movie, which the actors played amazingly well, fleshing out names we've heard before into people you know and have feelings twoards. sure some of the characters are of the 'asshole' archetype, but they are completely believeable characters and act like people that my uncle worked with during his time in the oil feild. The movie makes you attached to these characters even when you know that the 'twist' is coming up and most of them wont make it out alive, it still leaves you gripping the edge of your seat in anticipation of 1) what they will do when the tragedy happens, and 2) if/how they survive. Unless you've read the entire report on the deepwater horizon catastrophe you probably don't know the names of who died and who survived (bc lets be real, nobody really needs to unless its concerning safety measures or a niche job) so it leaves movie watchers tight with tension on who will make it out without need of any other story cues.

This is the kind of jumpscares and twists that make up good movies and shows: the kind that the viewer can see coming from a mile away but still blow their expectations out of the water. becuase unlike the regular twist where its two seconds of WOW factor, you have instead a gripping and exciting/scary situation that nobody knows how the main characters are going to get out of. we get to see real creativity and thinking in creating the rout to success or escape from hell.

it makes these more common twists we see today seem incredibly cheap by comparison, ESPECIALLY ones where the setup is for a good, easy-to-see but amazing twist but then is subverted by a cheap cop-out like the last season of Game of Thrones. writers have gotten it into their minds that shock factor is good, and fan-predicted actions are bad.

Not only does this leave fans of the movie/shows feeling disappointed and bitter about what could have been a great ending to a great show, but also makes engaging in ongoing shows less fun; questions about if interacting with the writers in fan-space will drive other shows to this bitter conclusion as well, so "might as well not engage at all" until the series is over. The problem with this is that without engagement from larger groups of fans through theories and other things, it is regularly apparent that the shows don't get enough attention and big networks decide to scrap the projects as a whole despite whatever promise they have.

which again, in cyclical fashion like the snake eating its own tail, causes writers to end their stories quicker with un-engaging shock value and bad twists to keep the money flowing and the networks pleased, making fans less and less inclined to watch new shows, (ect. ect. ect.). its a never ending cycle that keeps getting worse the more time goes on. there is no way to escape this but to pray and hope that our suggestions as fans to be acknowledged or taken into consideration, for writers to make shows and movies like they used to, as a well cooked homemade meal instead of fast food.

tldr; writers cop out good twists with suspense for cheap shock factor, and its making new shows and the entertainment industry as a whole worse

Rewatching Treasure Planet (great movie, watch it) made realize something about the way that stories convey information to their audiences. There's been a lot of discussion on the overuse of plot twists and how many stories prioritise surprising their audience over telling decent stories. However, if you instead reveal the "twist" to the audience before it becomes known to the characters, you can build tension and stakes. Treasure Planet comes right out and tells you that Long John Silver is the main villain almost immediately after his introduction (And even before he's introduced we're warned about a cyborg, so you'd have to be pretty dense to not put 2 and 2 together and realize he's a bad guy). So when the audience watches him and Jim bond and grow closer, it builds tension for when Jim finds out and it highlights the tragedy of their friendship, because we all know it's not going to end well. Then, after the truth is revealed, stakes are created because we want the friendship between Jim and Silver to be repaired, because we know it was real, but we don't know if can be after what Silver's done. And all of this would have been lost if Silver's true nature had been a cheap plot twist. The tragedy would be completely overshadowed by the surprise and betrayal, and any investment in their relationship would have been built on the false impression that Silver was a good guy.

Another good example of this is Titanic. Even if you were somehow ignorant of the ship's sinking, the film makes sure you know that it sank with its framing device of Old Rose telling her story to people salvaging the Titanic's wreak. And Titanic's plot structure could only possibly work if you know the ship is going to sink. I'm not just talking about building tension, tragedy, and stakes for the characters like with the above example, I mean that if you didn't know that the Titanic was going down walking into the film, the abrupt shift from romance to suspense-disaster would be an increadibly tough pill to swallow. But it works because we expect it. You don't walk into a film called Titanic without expecting the damn boat to sink.

However, the sad thing about both of these examples, is that despite all the benefits that came from telling the audience these things ahead of time, I think the main reason the creators didn't make them plot twists was because they couldn't have. Treasure Island is the single most influential piece of pirate media out there, and you'd have to have been living under a rock for over a century to not know the Titanic sank. So, the writers had to work around the fact that these important turning points in the narratives were common knowledge, and they wound creating incredible stories as a consequence.

I want to see more of this style of writing in stories where the writers aren't forced to do it. We've clearly seen that you can tell some really damn good stories by giving information to the audience before the characters learn it, and I just wish more works would do that instead of trying to surprise people with shocking twists.

[tokyo-daaaamn-ji-gang]

even if it's late, I gotta request: Shinichiro as your boyfriend headcanons?? 🥹 any aspects you want, but I'd LOVE to see how his family and friends react and interact <33 have a great night/day!!

Here are some (Shinichiro definitely deserves to be a boyfriend)!

Both his friends and his family actually thinks he's joking or trying to trick them when he announces he's seeing someone. They've teased him about being rejected for so long that they're pretty surprised someone accepted his confession this time. Shinichiro has a hard time trying to convince them this is real (Mikey even suggests you're imaginary at first before meeting you). 

Begs his friends (and Manjiro) to not embarass him before he introduces you to them (of course they all ignore this and tell a bunch of embarrassing stories about him instead).

They're all pretty friendly towards you though they have a tonne of questions. Emma, Izana and Mikey (Mikey asks the most random ones like if you like taiyaki? and can you fight?)  They want to know everything about you (this has never happened before so they're pretty excited) and Shinichiro's friends want to know the details of him asking you out (they're still pretty surprised). 

Shinichiro can't stop saying my girlfriend/ my boyfriend. He just loves saying that he finally has a partner. 

And definitely brags about you to his friends a lot, he just loves talking about you, especially in this early stage. Everyone get's a bit sick of him going on and on about you eventually lmao. 

Shinichiro also get's a lot of random advice about you and how to be a good boyfriend in the early stages. 

Shinichiro makes sure he does basically every romantic gesture he can think of (especially seems to love bringing you flowers). He likes how happy it seems to make you.

He is a bit shy when it comes to getting physical, he badly wants to hold your hand, hug you, kiss you etc but get's a bit nervous to (he overthinks it a lot) ends up nervously laughing while asking you to. And yes this get's him teased by his friends.

He automatically grins everytime he sees you, he doesn't even seem to notice it but he get's so much happier when he spots you. 

His siblings love you and unfortunately for Shinichiro like to have your attention anytime you're altogether. You've been stolen away from Shinichiro a few times by his siblings when he planned to hang out with you.

Shinichiro offers to drive you around everywhere, likes the feeling of you being so close to him and wants you to see how much fun being on a bike is (or how much fun his bike is).

He's a very good listener, you can say you like something just once and he'll remember it.

Whenever you hug him, he always murmurs that being in your embrace is the best place in the world

He's a lot happier overall with you around too, not that he was exactly sad before but he has an extra spring in his step and smiles even more then before.

Also refuses to work late anymore, he used to stay late with the bikes if something needed doing but now wants to get back to you as soon as possible. Shinichiro actually doesn't even realise this though, it's Inui who points out that he's started doing this.

Has so many pet names for you, seems to use a different one every time. (He keeps a sort of draft list of them where he writes down new possible ideas)

Secretly plans to marry you (his friends already know because they were teasing him about it and he started blushing and not meeting their eyes)

He also daydreams a lot about you while away from you and apparently makes a certain face while doing it, the others call it his "boyfriend face".

And finally, even after the hardest days for him, coming home and seeing you and the way you look at him/ treat him always makes him smile.

[pokemonshelterstories]

You’ve mentioned roaring moon a few times- can I ask why you were looking after it to begin with? Was it a research thing, rehabilitation, or something else entirely? When skimming it seemed interesting but with recent comments about paradox Mon it just gives me more questions

i've talked about my experience with RM a lot, but since my work has started getting published, i can talk a bit more about the actual process of the kind of work i was doing.

RM was an escapee from the great crater a couple of years ago, back before security was ramped up. this was shortly after the incident in which it was discovered that professors sada and turo had passed away. up to that point, the great crater was basically left to its own devices under the assumption that there were people down there monitoring it. escapee paradox pokemon were rare but not unheard of. nowadays, there are so many researchers and rangers keeping an eye on it that it would be hard for a pokemon to break out, but it definitely happened a few times in the past. RM was heavily injured and seemed emaciated based on our limited understanding of the species, so it was decided to have somebody rehabilitate it.

the reason why that person was me is several-fold. i have been a certified pokemon rehabilitator for many years and and had recently obtained my licensure to work with inherently dangerous species. i also was, at this point, a certified dragon-type specialist (one of my more recent rehab patients at the time was an aggressive dragonair). as a volunteer ranger, i had access to a capture styler. the cherry on top was that i live in artazon and thus could work closely with hassel, a highly-experienced dragon-type specialist who lives here.

that being said, i was simply the primary caretaker for RM. fairly early on, i was asked if i would be willing to continue housing RM instead of releasing it so that it could be researched. as part of both the rehab and research process, i had access to an entire team of researchers and pokemon care experts to help me. all of RM's care was paid for by naranja-uva academy in exchange for research access, and i worked regularly with a professor who hails from a dragon clan. i had an elite four member ready to jump in at any point. it's in spite of all of the resources i had access to that i felt that RM needed to be rereleased into the wild instead of continuing to serve as a captive research specimen.

taking care of RM was like having another job. almost all of the time i wasn't at the shelter or at school went to training RM, taking it out for flights, planning for its enrichment, and organizing various tests. the times i took it to the academy to be researched were actually a reprieve, since it meant i had a few hours where i could focus on myself. although i'm grateful for the opportunity, and i'm glad that i had what i needed to make it work, it was not a pleasant experience for me. in addition, i could tell that RM was starting to get stressed by its captivity in spite of all of the work i and my team were doing. releasing it was for both of our good. if i had thought RM could thrive in captivity, i would have found somebody else to take over its care; the way i feel about captive paradox pokemon comes from the experiences i had and what i saw. i don't blame myself or anyone else for how it went, because we really didn't know how it would go. but i couldn't in good conscience recommend that it happen again.

i think if they found the right individual pokemon, it might be possible for a paradox pokemon to live comfortably in captivity. but i will always hold that it's something that needs to be handled in the way that a zoo or research lab handles potentially dangerous pokemon- not just one person trying to care for it.

[airandyeah]

Footballplayer!Sukuna X Toughgirl!Reader Who Do You Think I Am? Pt.4

My Masterlist Series Masterlist Sukuna's POV for this one!!! Warnings: Suggestive, Sukuna finds stubborn women hot, specifically you..

Sukuna’s used to attention. He thrives in it.

The girls crowd around like always—laughing too hard at his jokes, asking too many dumb questions, brushing their fingers across his arm like it’s accidental. Gojo’s throwing in some bullshit story beside him, and Sukuna laughs along, but he’s not listening.

Not really.

Not until he sees her.

There’s a shift in the air, something quiet and sharp. He notices the boots first—buckle-heavy, worn in. Her walk is casual, steady. Like she owns the ground beneath her feet.

Like she doesn’t give a shit who’s watching.

And she’s not looking at him.

Everyone always looks.

But she? She doesn’t even glance. Keeps walking like she didn’t just steal the breath out of his lungs without trying.

He cuts off mid-laugh.

“You good?” Gojo asks, smirking like he already knows.

Sukuna ignores him. Shoves past the crowd. One girl pouts, another whines—he doesn’t care.

He’s already moving.

“Oi!”

She doesn’t stop.

“You seriously just gonna ignore me?” he calls out, a lazy grin tugging at his lips. He doesn’t know what he expects—some stammered response, maybe a flinch. A blush. A glance.

Instead?

She turns like a storm.

And suddenly there’s a finger in his face.

Sharp.

Accusing.

Like she’s challenging him to bite.

“You don’t impress me,” she says, voice steady, bored even. “Your stupid bike doesn’t impress me. And neither does your fan club, so go find someone else to bark at.”

He should be pissed.

He wants to be pissed.

But instead, there’s this weird, hot twist in his chest. The kind he only gets before a fight—or a game.

He watches her walk away like a fuse just got lit in his gut.

Gojo finally catches up, breathless with laughter. “Damn. You’re down bad, huh?”

Sukuna doesn’t answer. ~~~ The locker room is finally quiet. The showers have stopped running, the guys have cleared out, and it’s just Gojo and Sukuna now—Gojo slumped backward on the bench with his hair still wet, scrolling his phone, and Sukuna sitting forward, elbows on knees, staring at the floor like it’s gonna answer all his questions.

Gojo glances up. “You gonna talk or keep sighing like a teen girl watching drama reruns?”

Sukuna glares at him. “Shut up.”

Gojo raises his brows. “Not until you admit you’ve been moping like a kicked dog since she walked off.”

Sukuna doesn’t answer right away.

Then he huffs, scrubbing a hand through his hair. “It’s not moping. I just—she’s different.”

“Mmhm.” Gojo grins, obnoxiously.

“No, seriously,” Sukuna growls, finally standing and pacing a few steps. “I don’t know what it is, man. She’s just... cool. She’s hot, yeah, whatever. But it’s not that. It’s the way she walks, the way she doesn’t look at me like I’m some goddamn prize or something. The way she talks—hell, the way she told me off like I was a nobody.”

Gojo’s smirk deepens. “So, what, you into girls who threaten your ego?”

“No,” Sukuna says quickly. Then, quieter: “Yes. Maybe. Shut up.”

Gojo snickers.

Sukuna throws his hands up, exasperated. “I just—fuck, Gojo. I want to talk to her. Be near her. I wanna, like, hold her bag or some shit—walk her to class. Not even because I have to. Just... to be there. Close.”

Gojo whistles. “You wanna hold her bag? Damn, you’re in deep.”

“I wanna kiss her,” Sukuna mutters.

That shuts Gojo up for half a second.

“I wanna see her face when I say her name. I wanna know what her room looks like. I wanna know what she listens to when she’s pissed. If she sleeps on her back or curled up.”

Gojo whistles again, quieter. “You’re whipped and you don’t even know her.”

“I know her,” Sukuna snaps. “I mean—not really. But I know the type. I know she doesn’t take shit from anyone. That she hates people getting in her face. That she only just started talking to that Tiffany girl, and even then, she barely responds.”

Gojo blinks. “You’ve been watching her that close?”

Sukuna just sinks back onto the bench. “...I want her.”

As the locker room doors swing open, the late afternoon light bleeds in. Sukuna’s still chewing over everything he admitted to Gojo—not that he’d ever say it again—but it’s buzzing under his skin now, raw and alive. He’s about to say something else when he nearly walks into someone standing dead-center outside the doors.

Tiffany.

Not her usual chipper, bouncing self. No excited waving, no endless stream of half-finished thoughts. Instead, her arms are crossed, pink nails tapping against her arm. Her eyes—bright but serious—lock straight onto Sukuna’s.

Gojo lets out a low whistle under his breath. “Ooh. She looks ready to scrap.”

“Tiffany?” Sukuna frowns.

She doesn��t waste time. “If you’re thinking about my best friend, you need to get your act together.”

That hits him harder than it should. “What?”

“She’s not like the girls you’re used to,” Tiffany says, voice sharp as glass. “She’s not gonna chase you. She’s not gonna fall all over herself because you smirked in her direction or wore your shirt half off. And she’s definitely not going to put up with being treated like one of your little games.”

Sukuna blinks, stunned. He expected attitude from the girl, not... this.

Tiffany steps closer, unwavering. “She’s been through enough. She’s private. Keeps to herself. But I see the way you look at her.” Her voice lowers. “So if you’re serious, really serious—not just thinking with your dick—then maybe, maybe, she’ll give you the time of day.”

Gojo coughs awkwardly behind him. “Damn.”

Tiffany’s gaze lingers one more second before she spins on her heel and walks off down the hallway, pigtails bouncing, leaving nothing but stunned silence behind her.

Sukuna exhales.

“...I’m so in trouble,” he mutters.

Gojo grins, clapping him on the back. “That? That was a threat wrapped in friendship. You better step up, lover boy.” ~~~ It’s just another morning. She’s leaning against her locker, backpack sagging on the ground as she swaps out her textbooks with one hand, iced coffee clutched in the other. The hall is crowded and loud, as always, but it’s just noise—until it isn’t.

She doesn’t even need to look up to feel it—him—approaching. Heavy footsteps, purposeful. Her gut tightens with that sixth sense of impending chaos.

Then, suddenly, her bag isn’t at her feet anymore.

She whips her head around.

And there he is. Ryomen Sukuna, looming, pink hair messy from wind, sharp eyes locked onto her with the barest hint of smugness. And holding her backpack like it belongs to him.

“Are you out of your fucking mind?” she snaps, slamming her locker shut.

He shrugs. “You’ve got coffee and books. I figured I’d carry it.”

“You figured?” She steps forward, brows furrowed. “You don’t get to figure anything, you brainless meathead.”

And then—smack.

She slaps him upside the head. Not hard, but enough to ruffle his hair and make him flinch slightly, grumbling something under his breath.

He doesn’t let go of the bag.

“Fucking idiot,” she mutters, turning on her heel and stalking down the hallway.

Sukuna follows.

And though she doesn’t look back, he sees the way her mouth twitches at the corner—like she might just be smiling.

It doesn’t take long before the whispers start. It’s impossible not to notice.

The sight of Ryomen Sukuna—shirt tight across his chest, his backpack slung over one shoulder, hers clutched in one hand—trailing behind a girl who just called him a fucking idiot? Unheard of.

“She just smacked him—did you see that?”

“No way. That was her bag he picked up?”

“Is he... carrying it willingly?”

A girl by the vending machine gawks openly, her gum freezing mid-chew. A guy nudges his friend, eyes wide. Even a few professors pause in the hallway like they’ve just seen a solar eclipse.

“What the hell is going on?” someone mutters under their breath. “Did Sukuna finally snap?”

“He didn’t even yell at her back. He followed her.”

“I thought he hated everyone.”

“Is he... into her?”

And still—he says nothing. He just walks. A step behind her. Holding the bag like it’s made of gold and not ratty canvas and covered in keychains that jingle obnoxiously with every step.

It’s not obedience, not really.

It’s reverence.

And it’s terrifying.

The whispers ripple louder now, like static building in the air. Sukuna trails just behind her, completely unfazed. She doesn’t even glance back, doesn’t slow down. She walks like she expects the world to move around her.

Which is why no one notices Yorozu at first—until she steps directly into their path.

“Oh—oops!”

It’s fake. Painfully so. Her foot twists unnaturally, the fall exaggerated and dramatic. She lets out a breathy gasp, arms flailing as she “stumbles” forward with the grace of a bad stage actor, clearly aiming to land right in Sukuna’s path—just close enough for him to drop the backpack, maybe catch her, maybe even cradle her in his arms.

Except—he doesn’t.

He stops. Doesn’t even look at her.

Yorozu hits the floor with a very real thud, the air leaving her lungs in a shocked wheeze.

Gasps erupt down the hallway. Someone stifles a laugh.

Sukuna steps over her without pause, only tilting his head to avoid brushing against her flailing limbs. He adjusts the weight of the backpack on his shoulder.

“Watch where you’re going,” he mutters coolly, not at all to her, but to the girl ahead of him. The one he’s still following. The only one he sees.

Yorozu’s friends scramble to her side in disbelief. She looks up, red-cheeked and stunned as Sukuna walks away, not even sparing her a glance.

The whispers now are vicious.

“She tried to trip into him.”

“Oh my god, she thought he’d catch her—”

“That’s so embarrassing.”

“Why is he following her? What’s so special about her?”

No one has the answer.

Tag list is always open! Im probably about to edit and drop chapter 5 too, so be ready ig. Tags: @nina6708 , @sherrieblossoms , @charlie-xo , @iloveredwineee , @kyo-kyo1 , @clp-84 , @book0fdr3ams , @enhasrii Perm Tags: Perm tags: @thenightperson , @makingtimemine , @nina-from-317

[minothtime]

I'm a translator, which is sort of linguist-adjacent, so let me try to shed some light onto this! Lengthy sort-of-explanation under the cut

(Disclaimer: English is my second language, so please forgive me for any mistakes, oddities or typos ^^;)

first of all, the whole "referencing posts or known sentences to evoke feelings" is what linguistic in-groups are like! Tumblr has its own set of specific words and references that are constantly being flung around. This exact thing happens in other circles -4chan boards, kpop stan twitter, tiktok comments- or even smaller groups like fandoms! References are what separates the in-group from the out-group, as Etymology Nerd explains in this tangentially-related short.

But... Tumblr feels different, somehow, right? Because it's not just very specific references made in a relatively close-knit fandom. We're not talking about the Zohar or about Hyunjin actually being part of Odd Eye Circle. These references are SITE-WIDE! They're extremely easy to come across and you can find an explanation by asking literally anyone! How come?

Well, I'd wager this has to do with two things: Tumblr's unique features and the Tumblr userbase itself.

Tumblr is unique among other social media for many reasons. One of them is the interaction with old posts: there's no stigma surrounding it, unlike other social media, and there is no deterrents put in place by the website itself either. This way, posts can live in the common consciousness for much, much longer, cementing them in people's minds and becoming part of the website's zeitgeist.

To be fair, I personally believe that this is the case thanks to those "popular" or "iconic" posts being spread across the internet, giving new users the chance to look for them and reblog or interact with something they are familiar with. This naturally extends the lifespan of such posts. This is also why humorous posts like "the tubby custard machine", "tea tastes different in hot water" or "children's hospital", among a slew of others, have an easier time surviving the passing of time than more serious or niche posts.

Tumblr's userbase, on the other hand, is also quite... unique. This section will all be from my point of view and from observations I've made myself, so do not take my word for it. Or do. Don't hesitate to chip in about this part yourself!

Anyways. The Tumblr userbase - or "ecosystem", as it has been called. There's a staggering amount of variety in this webbed site, and many others before me will probably explain it better than I ever will (Strange Aeons, for example). Since the so-called 2018 "exodus" (when nsfw was banned from the platform and many users left for greener pastures), Tumblr has been considered a "dead" site, when it couldn't be further from the truth. Somehow, by virtue of not shooting themselves in the foot like literally every single other social media, Tumblr has survived. Even if its behavior towards trans people (mostly women) is still very suspect. But I digress.

Basically, I think Tumblr users like to feel included. Because so many of us have struggled socially, we suddenly find ourselves in a site filled to the brim with people similar to us. A site with accessible inside jokes that are funny, easily understandable, and easy to use. A site with the bare minimum rule of "don't be a fucking jerk but otherwise go nuts". These references make people feel good when they see them, when they understand them, and when they use them themselves. "Oh, I know what you're talking about! I get it!". Also personally as an autistic person i like knowing what something means. And I love making references other people get. It's something I struggled to do before and now I can do it!!

That's the socio-linguistic explanation for the iconic post references. But, really, I think that also affects the whole typing and rethorical-question side of things!

This very clear distinction between a question that requires an answer (usually marked with question marks) and rethorical questions (no question marks whatsoever) helps a lot! Neurodivergent people who struggle with tone suddenly have a clear-cut indicator that helps make them more comfortable, which perpetuates the system. Because it's great!!

The hyper-exaggerated compliments might come from a place of necessity, tho. Language has evolved to a point where non-ironic/common sentiments like "oh i rlly like ur art!" or "wow, what a cool use of space!" feel lackluster and barebones. The way the internet requires exaggeration for anything to be taken seriously, because of the flashiness or the so-called "algorithm speak", has bled into everyday speech patterns. If I'm talking about a painting i saw and I say "god it makes me wanna claw my eyes out. it makes me wanna scream and yell and grab the artist by the lapel and shake them like a maraca" my mother will look at me and go "what the fuck". My friends will just smile and nod in agreement.

Now that I stop to think about it, this obsession with hyperbole probably comes from a place of desperation - we want to be perfectly understood and leave no doubt about our stance. This, of course, is the natural consequence of those many years the internet at large spent obsessed with so-called "irony". Being earnest wasn't "cool", so you had to appear unaffected by everything and behave as unimpressed as possible to be taken seriously at all. Nowadays, you can't say you like something without having to preemptively write seven paragraphs defending your stance. And this sucks.

I'm a staunch supporter of the bring-back-earnestness movement. While saying things like "i'm gnawing at the bars of my enclosure" is funny and all, sometimes just commenting a heartfelt "i really loved this piece. I think about it a lot!" feels mor efreeing than having to think a funny, quirky way of saying the same thing you've been adding to the tags of your reblogs for five years.

TLDR tumblr is how it is bc neurodivergent people. my advice: be yourselves, don't be malicious, be earnest, be curious, never be afraid to learn.

do feel free to correct me on anything i've said if necessary! i might be linguist-adjacent and very interested in sociolinguistics and neurodivergent behavior online but i'm not omniscient and i love to learn.

(play xenoblade chronicles x it's a very good game)

when did tumblr collectively decide not to use punctuation like when did this happen why is this a thing

[ivanhoe1820]

I often think about the fact that Crowley and Aziraphale were basically smitten with each other from day one. Most other shows would, I think, have gone a pretty straightforward "enemies to lovers" route with it, probably having them being directly hostile toward each other for a while before settling into some tense truce that eventually speedruns it's way into a passionate romance. Not Good Omens, though, they're too good for that.

Like, you know, they like each other IMMEDIATELY. On the wall around the Garden of Eden, watching Adam and Eve, freshly fallen courtesy of Crowley, wander off into the world to face the horrors, while they giggle with each other over silly jokes. Even then when, by all rights, they really SHOULD have been hostile to each other they just couldn't bring themselves to be.

Like, URGH I don't know if I'm expressing this properly but they've liked each other since the beginning and they never really bother pretending to be enemies other than the absolute minimum level of lip-service to their respective authority figures and it's just so...I don't know, so REFRESHING, at least for me who's watched/read waaaayyyy too many "enemies to lovers" things that tread over the same old ground.

It's just nice to see people who like each other from the get-go, you know? Without the media in question trying to convince us you can only have chemistry with someone if you start out disliking each other? It's nice.