#I can't even remember when I made it and I have no idea why I didn't post it

[ramshacklefey]

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and The Things They Carried rewired parts of my brain. The Odyssey was a real treat. (Especially when some of my classmates who found the language rather opaque started gathering around me at morning homeroom to hear my retellings of last night's reading assignment.)

But I know some of you probably have or had a miserable time in English class, and that may have been partly because your school didn't properly prepare you for reading the books ahead of time, so you were just totally at sea all the way through.

If that's the case, here are some tips for getting more enjoyment out of a book you're struggling with!

Look up summaries of individual chapters (CliffsNotes usually has these). Then go back and read them. Having an idea of what's happening might help you follow along with language or writing styles that you're struggling with.

Let yourself skim over particular passages you're baffled by and latch onto the ones that make sense. Finding points that you can follow might help you make sense of the trickier ones by providing context.

If you don't understand a character's motivations, especially in older books and books that take place in a foreign country, it might be because you're missing context. That's okay, and your teacher isn't expecting you to have encyclopedic knowledge of the historical and cultural context for a book.

But also, even in the most unfamiliar circumstances, you can look for things that make sense to you. The characters are still people, and regardless of context, people are still people.

But also, sometimes you just can't relate to the character. That's ok. "Well I would never ____" Yes, but this person did. And here's why. In the world they live in, it made sense or it was the only thing they could do. And there are people in real life who do that. Now you've seen a little bit of why.

You don't have to like all the characters. Some characters (even the protagonists) you're supposed to hate. Sometimes that's because the author is saying, "This bastard is fucked up, but do you see how he got that way?" Sometimes it's, "This bitch made every wrong choice possible, but damn if it didn't make some wild drama."

Remember that sometimes the author may not explain exactly why something happens because it's supposed to be a bit of a mystery at first! Keep reading and see if it gets explained later!

Look up words in the dictionary!!

If you're having trouble keeping a lot of characters in your head, make a cast list. "John is Mary's brother and he's a bit of a dick."

It's okay if there are books you simply do not vibe with. Give them a fair shake, but really, even the kids who love English class are gonna have books they hate. I despised a few of the books I read for school. But remember that struggling with a book and not liking it aren't the same thing!

And for the love of everything holy. Ask. Your. Teacher. Questions. Write them down while you're reading and ask! If you're scared to ask in class, talk to them at another time! But I can guarantee that if you didn't understand something, some of your classmates didn't either. If your teacher is remotely competent, they'll be delighted to answer your questions.

And there are no questions too simple to ask in class!! "Why did this character do this thing?" "What's up with this sentence?" "I tried reading this, and here's what I think the events of this chapter were. Is that really what happened?" "What the heck is a ____?" "Why was this bit in here? It doesn't seem like it's important to the plot." "How do we know that ____ theme is in here?"

Yes, there are themes and symbols and motifs and whatever else in books. Your teacher isn't just making it up. People tell stories for a reason. The author is trying to communicate something to you. "Well why didn't they just say that?" Because saying it in a story shows you something about it. I can tell you, "Love isn't always enough to save you." or I can show you that by telling you a story about two people who fall in love and then get their shit wrecked. I can tell you, "This war happened and it was awful," or I can show you the people who were in it and what it did to them. I can tell you, "The government is a corrupt pile of festering feces," or I can show you what might happen if we keep going on the path we're on.

And you might not agree! You can say, "No, it wouldn't happen like that." You can say, "But this war was worth it because it resulted in this." You can say, "Actually, this particular social outcome seems pretty rad to me." That's okay because stories are a conversation, not the word of God from on high. But again, give the author a fair shake.

The most important thing is that you don't just give up if you're struggling. You're in school to learn! So accept that there are things you don't already know.

I straight up do not trust you if you did not enjoy a single book you had to read for English class. I know they assigned some real stuffy stinkers and the curriculum varies across districts but not one? Not The Outsiders? Not The Picture of Dorian Gray? Not Fahrenheit 451? Not even Frankenstein? Damn. That’s crazy.

[miwiheroes]

Dropping Byler Evidence Every Day Until Season 5

Day 2 - Queercoding Jokes from the writers

I could have done three separate posts on these but you guys deserve a treat! So here are three subtle jokes that the writers make about Mike being gay to queercode him. Jokes are made about men being gay a lot in tv shows, especially ones in the 2010s, however, the ‘subtlety’ of these ones just show that they were made for queer people to pick up on. Or they are subtle clues that after S5, we are meant to look back on and laugh.

1. “El? Sorry, not interested.”

Could have easily said: Sorry, wrong number.

Could have easily said: Damn it.

Stuff like this makes me feel insane but seriously i think its really funny from my perspective (even if it wasn't intentional but like, the writers aren't THIS dumb to put in something like this without knowing how it sounds, right?)

2. "I have an idea. Boys only."

This one just a lil silly and when ppl first started to take this as a queer coded line I was literally like cmon it's probably not that deep. But then again, double meanings do exist and saying stuff like this that can be easily explained away is often used to subtly nod towards something rather than just outright joking about it. This would be to make it so the plot point is still a surprise, but would make sense on a rewatch.

Also, I only really saw this as queer coding when I remembered that Will saying 'A day free of girls' is obviously queer coding as well, and that too is a little double meaning nod towards his sexuality. So why can't it be for Mike- *gunshots*

3. "Straight... straight..." "Right on the money, as I said." "It just doesn't make sense."

Bear in mind this is literally after the van scene where Jonathan sees Mike staring at Will in the rearview mirror from a third-party perspective (meaning from Will's pov he has no clue Mike has any feelings towards him).

I view this line, and really really 'random' ass way of writing what they're trying to figure out, as a joke about the fact that the audience (who are also a third-party perspective to the van scene) have no idea what the hell Mike is thinking. We still have no idea if he knows the painting is really from Will, but we know that Will is talking about himself. And from the way Mike looks at Will, the audience and Jonathan are conflicted because this whole time Mike's been with El ('straight... straight'), and Mike claims to have feelings towards her ('right on the money as i said').

But now it 'doesn't make sense'.

This was a silly one ngl but tomorrow's might be more serious i promise

[aishangotome]

[Azel] Loving Devoutly in God's Harem - Part 2

Thank you @shatcey for providing the video for this!

Part 1

--Azel's POV--

Why did I confine the foreign book merchant's daughter to the harem? Even if I were asked, I couldn't give a logical answer.

However, I do remember the trigger.

Emma: Living God, thank you for your continued patronage.

Emma: This time, in addition to the book you requested, I've also brought my favorite book.

Emma: I searched and searched until I finally found a book that I thought you might enjoy.

Azel: I didn't ask for it, did I?

Emma: It's my way of being meddlesome.

Azel: That's quite a bold way to be meddlesome.

Emma: I'm aware of that.

Azel: Why are you being meddlesome with me?

Emma: There's no deep reason...

Emma: I heard that you can't usually walk around outside casually, so I thought you might be pleased...

At that time, seeing that smile at that moment, I found myself speaking before I knew it.

"In return, shall I introduce you to some customers?" — is what I said.

-

Emma: W-what are you doing, you shameless god?!

The woman, thrown into the bath wearing only a thin cloth by the harem servants, flushes bright red with just a slight embrace.

Azel: That's strange. You said you wanted to love me, so I'm helping you out.

(This is really troublesome.)

(...It wouldn't be funny if I was assaulted by you.)

I'm trying to keep her in check by making the first move before she can, but I don't want to think about what will happen if she doesn't back down after this.

(Does she hate me so much that she would do this?)

(...The food, clothing, and shelter should be good. I even prepared an environment where she could continue her work as a book merchant.)

(Even so, is she worried about the rumors spreading and affecting her chances of finding a lover?)

(Well, I was the one who intentionally spread them.)

There's no way the woman could hear the complaints brewing inside my head --- The woman, who had been behaving herself up until this point, suddenly climbs onto my lap.

My heart nearly stopped.

Emma: If that's how you feel, Prince Azel, then I have an idea too.

(Stop.... please stop it)

My prayers were in vain as she embraced me, our wet bodies overlapping with each other.

The vivid sensation of soft curves against me made me dizzy.

Azel: You... you're going all out, aren't you?

Emma: Yes, I am. This is a desperate attack.

The woman's face pressed against my neck, her breath ghosting over my skin.

I wanted to praise myself for not pushing her away immediately.

(Damn it... I was already trying so hard not to touch you.)

I desperately held back my hands, which were about to move if I let my guard down.

Emma: ...You hate it, right? Say you hate it, quickly.

Azel: Shall we have an endurance contest? To see who says they hate it first.

Emma: ...I-It seems this isn't enough...

A woman pushed to the edge is a fearsome thing. Trembling with shame, she nibbled at my neck, her clumsy movements fanning the flames.

(It can't be helped... This is force majeure.)

(It's not my fault. You were the one who touched me first.)

The hand that was resting on her waist slid up her back, caressing her damp skin.

Emma: ah.....

Azel: See, if you don't surrender, things will get out of hand.

(Please surrender quickly.)

My fingertips, sliding along her side, gradually neared the swell of her breast.

I forced a gap between our bodies and slipped my hand in, about to touch the tip when—

Emma: Prince Azel...

Emma: Why won't you let me go?

Her voice, so faint it was almost inaudible, reached my ears.

Emma: ...If there was a woman who could act as a deterrent for other women in my place, would you let me go?

Azel: There is no such woman.

Emma: I'll find one.

Azel: No, I won't allow it.

(I never planned to bring any women into the harem in the first place.)

(...I only let you in because I thought I could tolerate you...)

Having a shield against women is convenient, but it's not something I can't live without.

If she—if Emma leaves the harem, I have no intention of ever taking another woman in.

Emma: If we stay together like this, I'll start to get the wrong idea.

Emma: You say you want to keep women away, yet you're always clinging to me, Prince Azel...

Azel: I'll add an extra charge for defamation.

Emma: It's true.

Emma: ...If we stay together like this, I'll probably fall in love with you.

(...)

(...........)

(So that's the real reason you want to leave the harem.)

Even though I welcomed her into the harem, I have no intention of loving Emma.

I don't love her now, either.

However, being liked by her isn't exactly unpleasant.

Azel: That's extremely inconvenient.

Emma: Ah... wait a—

I moved my fingers, which had originally been still, and lightly squeezed the tip of her breast.

As I teased her in the bath, the breaths that touched my skin grew ragged.

Azel: But... I could make a special exception for you.

Azel: I shall graciously accept your affections for me.

Emma: A...Nn...Prince Azel...

Emma: Prince Azel...what about you?

Whether intentional or not, her lower abdomen, clearly coated in a nectar different from the bathwater, pressed against me.

Azel: Of course, I don't like you, nor do I love you.

Emma: ...I'm running away tonight after all.

Azel: No, you're not.

Emma: Ah...!

To prevent her from escaping, I slid my hand down towards her legs, my fingers collecting a mixture of bathwater and nectar.

When I stimulated her with my fingers, she couldn't keep up her bravado any longer. Sweet moans echoed through the room, accompanied by the splashing sounds of the agitated bathwater.

Her nails dug into my shoulders, and although I felt the pain, it strangely didn't bother me.

Emma: Even though you don't love me...n...why are you doing this...? Ah...

Azel: Indeed I am.

Emma: Don't tell me you do this with everyone—

Azel: Don't say such horrifying things.

(It's only you, of course.)

As if to scold her, I slid my finger deeper, swirling it inside. Her body tightened around me, trembling.

I moved to embrace Emma, who had gone limp, but...our eyes met first.

Emma, languid but sitting up, cupped my cheek in her hand.

Our lips met briefly, then parted.

Emma: ...Only me?

Azel: ..........So what?

Emma: You don't love me, right?

Azel: Right, you're just a deterrent for other women.

As I said this, I wrapped my arm around the back of Emma's head and pulled her closer.

As if to fill the void, I sealed her lips with mine, greedily taking in her sweet breaths.

(I don't love you.)

(This is just a physical phenomenon, I don't like you.)

(...I don't like you, but...)

When I released her wet lips, Emma smiled.

For some reason, her expression was full of joy, and my heart made a strange sound again.

Emma: It's hard to believe you don't love me after that...

Azel: ...Shut up.

(I'll never admit it.)

(If I admit it... even if you seriously want to escape from here, I won't be able to let you go.)

Whether aware of my worries or not, our wet bodies pressed closer together with another kiss.

I felt like the temperature of the bathwater had suddenly risen.

-

—Since that incident in the bath, Emma's attitude clearly changed.

Azel: You've stopped saying you're going to run away.

Emma: Because I know a greedy god like you won't let me.

Emma: Besides, I'm satisfied now that I know how you feel, Prince Azel.

(...Not good.)

Her carefree smile overlapped with the smile she showed before I confined her to the harem—

Feeling somewhat irritated, I embraced her, hiding my expression.

Azel: Don't misunderstand, I don't love you.

Azel: ...I don't love you, but don't go anywhere.

.

.

.

FIN

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[callmeizukunotdeku]

I love the idea of parentified Tim Drake.

Bruce loses Jason and isn't ready for another son. Tim sees this, he acknowledges this, and he's okay with it. He's never really been a son to his own parents so he wouldn't expect the neighbor to start taking care of him.

When Tim's parents come home, they're not mean or anything, they just don't baby him. They treat him as an equal--as someone who knows what he's doing--and that's fine, because he does.

He's been taking care of himself for as long as he could remember, so when people try to treat him like a child, it angers him more than anything. The way that they assume just because he's young he can't take care of himself.

Tim's been to galas before, though. He's talked with Bruce and the man never treated him like he was incompetent. Tim's parents would ask Tim questions about the company so that he could recite them to Bruce. It was a song and dance he was well versed in, but he didn't really mind, not when Bruce looked at him with such a fondness in his eyes, always saying, "That's really interesting. You know a lot about your parents' company. Did it take you a while to memorize it?"

And he'd shake his head and say, "No," because that was the correct response, even if it was wrong.

Even if he had flashcards about Drake industries and kept up to date with perception of the company and the stock value and who the shareholders were and what they wanted and what they were willing to do to get that.

It wasn't one bout of work. It wasn't a single night of studying to make sure he passed the test, but a lifetime memorizing information and then rememorizing it when it changed.

So when Jason died and Bruce started getting bad, Tim knew what to do.

He was used to long term projects where it would be years before he actually got to see any result. He was used to seeing adults as people who he was responsible for, though he had to admit that the responsibility had never been that big before.

When Tim showed up at Bruce's doorstep, he was young, just like both of Bruce's other sons, but his eyes lacked that sort of naïveté and childlike wonder that should have accompanied the baby fat which persisted on his cheeks.

That's what made Alfred pause at the door.

There was a kid. A black haired, blue eyed kid. He was young, like both of Bruce's sons. His lack of naïveté was something he shared with both children, only Dick's had been a fresh sort of loss, one he was still mourning, and Jason's naïveté was something long-forgotten and left to rot. It was a feeling you smelt when you left the windows closed for too long.

Still there, still somewhere, but not quite right and never able to be found, only stumbled upon in rare moments of something that could almost be called joy.

Tim's naïveté is something he left at home. He keeps it on a shelf in his bedroom, something to look at when the going gets rough, but something too fragile to be held.

Maybe that's why Alfred lets him in.

That day, Tim meets Bruce--not Brucie or Batman, just Bruce.

He meets a man who's hair's grown long, but not long enough for it to have been intentional. There's grease in his hair and bags under his eyes and you can tell that he's been biting his nails.

He's clean shaven, because that's what people can see when he wears the cowl.

Tim takes a deep breath before walking into the room.

Bruce doesn't move, but Tim doesn't doubt that the man notices him.

The room smells like alcohol--a smell he recognizes from when his own father is home, though he can't say he's ever remembered it smelling so concentrated.

"Hello," he says, when he's right in front of Bruce, "My name is Tim, and I'm here to help."

Bruce doesn't say anything, but he doesn't need to.

Tim talks to him, slowly distracting the man as he brings him to the bathroom, first trying to put a toothbrush in his hand and then, when that doesn't work, brushing the man's teeth himself.

Tim draws a bath for him and grabs him a new pair of clothes, and tells him to take his bath, only leaving the room when Bruce finally stands up and starts undressing.

Tim takes care of the sheets, puts new ones on the bed, and goes to the kitchen, to find Alfred already making food.

The butler asks him if he's staying to eat but Tim just insists that he's not hungry and brings the food up to Bruce.

He knocks on the bathroom door, and when Bruce doesn't respond, he opens it.

Bruce is sitting in the bath, knees to his chest, crying, but not otherwise moving.

So Tim rolls up his sleeves and washes Bruce's hair, then keeps him company as Bruce washes himself.

Bruce finds it easier to get things done when there's someone else in the room--talking to him, giving him something else to think about.

Tim talks as he gets Bruce out of the bath and hand him a towel. He talks as Bruce dries himself off and gets dressed. He talks as Bruce eats the lunch that Alfred made him and he talks until he gets Bruce back to bed.

He leaves, voice hoarse from talking so much after living in an empty home.

He comes back the next day and does it all again.

Alfred doesn't know what he should do. He knows, of course, that Tim is young and shouldn't be taking care of someone at that age.

He also knows that Bruce is in no state to take care of himself and all of Alfred's attempts have been in vain.

Tim's talking was what got Bruce to eat his first actual meal in a week--not just popcorn and protein bars. Tim's presence is what got Bruce to bed.

Tim was what was making things better, so while Alfred knew he should put a stop to it, he couldn't quite make himself do so.

Instead, he started doing little things.

He invited Tim to stay for meals.

Invited Tim to stay the night.

It took a while, but eventually, Tim started living in the manor.

One month, there's only ghosts in the house, the next, three beating hearts.

One month, Bruce can only think of his son, the next, he's calling Tim his dad.

One day, Bruce crosses the line as Batman, and the next day, he has a Robin.

You know how things go from there, some things are lost, others are gained. Some things stay the same, others do nothing but change.

Bruce and Tim get better, but Bruce still thinks of Tim as his dad.

No one really pays it much heed, though. That's just how they are--nothing really to note.

It's Dick, though, who starts noticing something's off, because Tim never sleeps.

When Dick was first adopted, he had nightmares.

He'd remember what it was like to watch someone fall. He did not watch it from the ground, but from the balcony, holding onto a trapeze, moments away from completing his own jump.

It took him months to finally come to Bruce, tell him about his nightmares.

Though he was never told the details, he knew it was the same for Jason. He pushed Bruce away, insisted that he'd be fine on his own, but eventually started letting him in.

He never asked, but assumed it was the same for Tim. When Tim couldn't sleep, when he had nightmares, when he couldn't stand to sleep in an empty bed, he'd go to Bruce like the rest of them did.

It was a reasonable thing to assume, and it was a belief he only questioned when he got up in the middle of the night to get water.

That same night, Bruce had a nightmare. Bruce knocked on Tim's door. Bruce slept in Tim's bed.

Tim ran his hands through Bruce's hair, promising that everything would be okay until Bruce fell asleep.

Now that he knew to look for it, Dick started noticing even more. The way Tim knew Bruce's favorite food and the way Tim took care of the man's company so that Bruce had the freedom to do what he wanted. The way Bruce turned to Tim when he had a problem or wanted to be told he did something well.

It was wrong.

It was wrong and Dick was trapped because he hadn't noticed it earlier. Why didn't he notice it earlier?

Tim came to him first, asked him to become Robin again. Dick knew about Tim from the start. Dick was there for the entirety of his stay as Robin.

He was there.

So why didn't he noticed?

Jason sees him panicking on patrol and Dick just breaks.

He breaks down in his brother's arms--arms he can feel tightening around him as he tells him everything.

They talk about it a lot after that. Jason starts noticing things too.

They bring in Babs and start making a file--compiling evidence because there's always the urge to just ignore it. To acknowledge that Bruce is doing better than ever.

But that requires them to forget about Tim.

To let the boy take care of Bruce and not live his own life.

Because, now that they're looking, they can see how lonely it is.

How he doesn't have any school friends--he had to drop out to take over WE.

How he's grown apart from Young Justice--always leaving when Bruce is in trouble or needs someone to talk to, not able to bear the idea of what Bruce might do if left alone.

Because Tim knows he'll break.

Bruce needs someone to take care of him, and Tim exists to fulfill the needs of others, regardless of how much it takes from him.

So Tim goes and helps his son. He never talks about how tired he is. He has sleeping pills to fix that, and maybe he can't take them because what if Bruce has a nightmare and then he can't wake up Tim--it's unimaginable.

Dick and Jason notice, though, and they try to bring it up with him, but they're not sure how.

Not when Tim's gut reaction is just to start taking care of them, too. Easing their worries, telling them that everything's okay.

They want so bad to insist that it's not okay, that this is going to ruin Tim and he can't spend his whole life like this.

But they want even more to be held. To be granted that unconditional love and care that comes with being Tim's child.

So they try to say something--anything.

But then, Tim smiles. He opens his arms to them and asks about their days.

And they they try to tell him that not everything's okay, but Tim is smiling, and they try, but they can't say a thing.

[theoceanoasis]

Aww, nooooooo!!! Part 2 to Hurt Rodimus where someone catches him on the bridge and talks him out of offing himself and tells them that there are bots who care about him 💔😭😭

(Bonus if it’s someone who’s had a crush on him for a while and they confess to him!~)

He didn't know why but something was telling him to go on a walk. Wanting to clear his head he decided to walk around a little. He walked towards an old bridge that didn't get a lot of people. It was quiet there which was one of the reasons he liked it.

However, on that day he found himself staring at the bridge stunned when he saw Rodimus standing on the ledge about to jump. He sprung into action running faster than he ever has in his life. Before Rodimus could jump he was already grabbing him.

He knocked them both to the ground but made sure to protect a stunned Rodimus.

"Soundwave?"

"What were you doing?"

He found his spark pounding in his chest as he looked at Rodimus's tear-streaked face. Despite that, he looked as beautiful as ever and he had to remind himself that now wasn't the time for his crush on the mech. Especially when he'd just tried to kill himself and didn't need that in his life.

Rodimus no longer stunned begins trying to stand and walk towards the bridge. He grabs him ignoring Rodimus's attempts to break free.

"Stop. There are people who care about you. They would be devastated if you died."

Rodimus scoffed.

"No one cares about me I'm nothing but a burden."

"What about Drift and Ratchet? I'm sure they would be devastated."

"They'd only be upset that they lost their free babysitter and even then they'd still be relieved that I'm finally gone and they no longer have to deal with me."

"You are not a burden."

"Yes, I am. No one loves me and I'm all alone."

"That's not true there are people who love you."

Rodimus shook his head as though the idea was impossible. Watching him try to walk towards the bridge he shouted out.

"I love you!"

Rodimus looked at him in shock and then his face went blank.

"You are lying you are just trying to get me to change my mind."

"No, I'm not. I've loved you for years. Do you remember those gifts you used to get? Those were from me."

Again Rodimus looked shocked.

"Why did you stop?"

"I thought you were in love with Drift and Ratchet and that you three had gotten together. If I had known that wasn't the case I would have never stopped pursuing you. I love you and I want to be with you."

"I can't have sparklings. If you were with me you could never have a family."

"I don't care. I love you and I want to be with you. The two of us will be our own family."

Rodimus began to cry and pulled him into his arms. He took Rodimus off the bridge and back to his home where he took care of him while he recovered.

During that time the two fell in love although neither was willing to broach the subject. Soundwave was worried about hurting Rodimus while Rodimus was scared.

The two ended up getting drunk and ended up sleeping together. Afterwards Rodimus began to feel sick and couldn't keep anything down.

Worried Soundwave took him to the medbay where they learned he was sparked. Rodimus was in shock and asked for his medical records.

They found the medic who put it in was Pharma and he did it to mess with Rodimus psych as punishment for liking Ratchet.

Rodimus began to cry and the information was immediately changed. If Pharma wasn't already dead Soundwave would kill him for the damage he'd done to Rodimus.

[bnhaobservation]

@eclecticfurywhispers said:

“While AFO's parenting does diminish Tomura's role in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't fully absolve the latter of guilt. I feel sorry for Tomura, but a rough childhood doesn't grant you a pass. This is an amazing meta! Are you suggesting that Tomura had no idea that his urge to destroy those punks was in response to them attacking first? When AFO claimed that Tenko's destructive urges were "innate" my take was that he was claiming that Tenko was "born" with "Decay". During the Final War, Tenko broke free from AFO's grip. That was a decision Shigaraki made on his own w/o AFO's encouragement.”

I thank you for appreciating my meta but I fear, from your reply, I didn’t make it clear enough, though it might be also because I developed some of the points I forgot to expand in my reply to @granny-griffin.

Anyway, here are my replies to your points.

While AFO's parenting does diminish Tomura's role in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't fully absolve the latter of guilt.

So, to clear things up, AFO’s manipulation doesn’t diminish or increase Tomura’s role, AFO’s manipulation DECIDES Tomura’s role in the grand scheme of things. Tomura wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t for AFO meddling in his life, Tomura wouldn’t even be Tomura without AFO, he wouldn’t have a Decaying Quirk who turned on with him unable to control it, causing him to kill his dog, his sister, his mother and grandparents. Without AFO he wouldn’t have forgotten he has killed his family, he wouldn’t have been taught destroying is a good thing and that he doesn’t have to resist to his wish to do so, that not hurting others made him meek, pitiful, that he shouldn’t feel guilt, that conscience, morals, ethics are a mere fabrication, that if he endures he’s the only one suffering, that he must become the symbol of fear (and other things I can't remember), when all Shimura Tenko wanted to become was a Hero.

I feel sorry for Tomura, but a rough childhood doesn't grant you a pass.

I don’t know if this is just your belief or something you felt the need to tell me in relation to what I wrote, but what I said was different. The fact he had a rough childhood or not isn’t WHY Tenko becomes Shigaraki Tomura, giving him a rough childhood was AFO’s way to further manipulate him, isolating him from other people and warping his perceptions. AFO could have chosen to give him a pampered childhood but, as long as he got to manipulate him while Tenko was in his formative years and hadn't learnt/interiorized yet right from wrong well, and managed to keep him isolated by any other source of information that wasn’t supervised by AFO, the result would have been just the same.

Now, if your culture, law and ethical beliefs, in short the things that inform your decision, tell you he shouldn’t get a pass for reason X, I’m not going to discuss your decision. I think everyone is entitled to his opinion and since we all come from different countries with different cultures, laws and ethical beliefs, we all work with different information that inform our decisions.

In the end, for the story, all that matter is solely the culture, law and ethical beliefs of the people of Japan. They decide if Tomura get a pass or not. While I’ve a general idea of how they might judge him, I’m not so deep into the Japanese legal system I can tell for sure (especially since this is a fictional story and some things just aren’t realistic or things that Horikoshi made up to suit his plot).

Of course, since I’m not Japanese and my culture, law and ethical beliefs might not agree with them, their decision might feel wrong to me. We’ve already cases in the story where people who wouldn’t get a pass in my country get a pass because in Japan what they did was allowed.

Long story short, I’ll just respect your opinion and withstand from replying to this.

Are you suggesting that Tomura had no idea that his urge to destroy those punks was in response to them attacking first? When AFO claimed that Tenko's destructive urges were "innate" my take was that he was claiming that Tenko was "born" with "Decay".

Everyone is free to interpret scene as they prefer but, if you ask me, AFO doesn’t need to declare Tenko is born with Decay. Tenko has always known he’s not Quirkless (remember the whole thing about the extra tow that tells people if they’re Quirkless or not), Decay is a Quirk and Tenko has understood it’s his own. Of course since he lacks the information AFO switched his own Quirk with Decay he assumed this is the Quirk he was born with, what else could he think? AFO repeating it would be redundant and that specific scene is actually tying Tenko’s supposed inborn wish to destroy to his hitch, which he had PRIOR to AFO giving him decay.

AFO claims Tenko’s wish to destroy give him the hitch. You can of course decide to read it as ‘Decay gives him the hitch’, it wouldn’t change much in the BNHA world where people thinks Quirks are tied to personalities, but this would be equally false. Tenko had had the hitch for a long time, it’s not Decay which gave him the hitch, the hitch is a psychosomatic symptom of distress.

In regard to the punks I wasn’t suggesting anything, the whole talk about Tenko having an urge to destroy was PRIOR to Tenko meeting the punks, but I think  that what AFO is leaving as implied is that Tenko has a urge to destroy ALL THAT HE HATES, not a urge to destroy random things, as AFO wanted to cultivate his hate. So the logical leap is that since the punks hit him and Tenko obviously hated being hit and could easily transferred his hate to those punk, AFO told Tenko he also got a ‘urge to destroy them’ and that he was wrong to resist it as conscience, moral, ethics do not exist (AFO’s words not mine, I very much think they exist).

During the Final War, Tenko broke free from AFO's grip. That was a decision Shigaraki made on his own w/o AFO's encouragement.

Yes, of course, if you had read my post you should remember I did say Tomura did take decisions. I never denied it, I never said AFO wanted Tomura to be a mindless soldier who, like Machia, needed to be ordered to act. That’s not the kind of manipulation AFO used with him. My point was the decisions Tomura took were based on the information AFO gave him.

That decision you picked up is a perfect example of this, and of how AFO’s manipulation eventually backfired on him.

Let’s start with clear up something. Tomura did rebel to AFO in the Paranormal Liberation War arc (chap 277), when AFO tried to take control of his body, he didn’t wait until the Final War.

Why did he do it?

First of all because he has gained a new info AFO had no control over, which is that AFO is a loser, because he has lost to All Might, one man. Tomura decided he wouldn’t be him but greater than him because being defeated suck which is another info Tomura has learnt.

Second because one of the things AFO liked to tell Tomura and taught him was that everything was for Tomura, that Tomura should do everything he wanted without resisting to his impulses.

Now… if everything is for Tomura… why should he give his body to AFO, AFO, who’s forcefully trying to steal his body from him? And the more it goes on, the more AFO reveals himself for who he is, he leaves behind Tomura’s friends, he believes everything is FOR HIM, not for Tomura, so he lied to him, the world he wants doesn’t match with the one Tomura wants.

By the end of the war Tomura ends up hating the master he previously respected and was grateful to.

Too bad his conscience and AFO start merging and, eventually, from chapter 295 AFO’s one manages to take control of his body but, even if AFO claims it was a perfect merging (Chap 368) we know Tomura is still in there and here and there he emerges (Chap 377) until chapter 379, in which Tomura manages to reclaim his body.

And once he reclaims his body and gets free from AFO’s control he still continues following AFO’s teaching, as he’s sure he’ll find salvation in destroying what he hates, which is another thing AFO taught him.

Why?

Because, in this case, he has no other information that could counter the ones that AFO gave him and that said that the destruction of what he hates will make him feel better. So yes, even now that he has rejected AFO, most of his decisions still come from what AFO taught him. That’s why AFO, despite being aware that Tomura CHOOSE to reject him, continue to say Tomura didn’t choose anything. Tomura has interiorized the wrong info AFO gave him, even though he rejected AFO, he won’t reject all he taught him, it’s not so simple, he wouldn’t even know where to start and it would mean to reject his own identity as well.

However you can make an informed decision only when you’ve corrected information and Tomura doesn’t have them. Doesn’t know he doesn’t have them and probably doesn’t want to know because those info are all he has. He’ll go into an existential crisis and a need to rediscover who he is and what is right or wrong if he were to genuinely manage to track down each info AFO gave him and reject them… and the mind tend to resist to this sort of things… especially in a war situation.

15 years of manipulations can’t be easily washed away.

I hope all this helped making clearer my post. Sorry if the first time it weren't.

Where really Tenko’s choices not his own?

AFO ‘Yowai mama tsuyoku arou nado ā orokana Shimura Tenko. Omae wa ima made nani hitotsu erande nado inai noni.’’ AFO「弱いまま強くあろうなどああ愚かな志村転弧。おまえは今まで何一つ選んでなどいないのに。」’ AFO “Though you've become strong, you remain weak. Ahh, foolish Shimura Tenko. Even though until now you haven't chosen anything.’ [Chap. 418]

This is what AFO said to Tomura/Tenko at the end of chapter 418 and of course it sparked discussion because what is this supposed to mean? Of course Tomura/Tenko chose plenty of things, he had free will, hadn’t he? His body wasn’t always controlled by AFO, Tomura/Tenko took plenty of decisions or is this an attempt to take accountability from him?

To discuss this and what AFO really means I’m going to talk to you about something else.

Ever hear about informed consent?

When the hospital needs you to agree to undergo a certain treatment they don’t just need your consent, they need your INFORMED consent.

The informed consent process is an ethical and legal requirement for medical treatment. It ensures that you understand your diagnosis and your treatment options and agree to have specific medical treatment. This process involves ongoing and clear conversations between you and your healthcare provider. These conversations often lead to your decision to give (or not) consent for treatment. Informed consent protects your autonomy and your legal rights as a patient. Informed consent protects your ability to make your own decisions about medical treatment. It also protects your legal right to ask questions about recommended treatments.

And yeah, it also helps your healthcare provider but, for this discussion I’ll focus on what it does for you.

Basically, your decision to say ‘yes’ if you weren’t informed, is legally considered void of value. It doesn’t matter you freely said ‘yes’ if you weren’t informed your consent is not enough.

You might also have heard if you’re a minor even though you decide to give consent to some things, that consent holds no value.

Now you might wonder, where does this lead us?

Tomura/Tenko is not a minor nor he has to undergo under some medical procedure.

The mechanism behind decisions, behind choosing something, is always the same. We choose according to the information we have. Freedom of will isn’t the most important factor deciding our choices, it’s information and they dictate our choices to the point some can predict them.

We inform our decisions and opinions through experiences, be they personal or made just by observing others, through what people teach us be they our parents or our teachers or people we trust, through confronting with others be it in discussions or in arguments.

If you tell me I have to choose between eating a pear and an apple I’ll choose the apple because I know I hate pears but I like apples. This is my INFORMED decision.

If you however were to tell me the apple is poisoned I wouldn’t eat it because I don’t want to die, and this would also be my INFORMED decision.

If you were to lie to me and tell me the apple is perfectly safe to eat when it’s not, I would go back on eating the apple and this would be my INFORMED decision… and it would obviously suck because the information I was given was false.

In Tomura/Tenko’s case, what AFO is saying, is he’s behind each information about how the world work that Tomura/Tenko received.

He got his hands on Tenko when the latter was 5 but even before that age he began shaping the world around him, the experiences Tenko would make. When he took Tenko he told him to call him ‘sensei’ (先生). The English version translated it as “master” as it is a word with many translations but the more common translation is “teacher” which would fit more with how Tomura/Tenko asks him what will he teach him.

AFO taught Tomura/Tenko how he had to see and interpret the world, how he had to see and interpret himself and his feelings, how he had to see and interpret the others. He kept on filling Tomura/Tenko with information that were aimed at influencing Tomura/Tenko’s beliefs, perceptions, will.

AFO taught him that he had an impulse to destroy, that the itch is DUE TO IT instead than due to the abuse he was suffering in his home. That he shouldn't endure abuse or he'll be the only one to suffer, that coscience, morale, ethics are lies, fabrications.

Tomura/Tenko was a small kid, thanks to the trauma he forgot most of his past, which includes the teaching and experiences he had before, and AFO took care to keep always alive the trauma inside him.

Tomura/Tenko was mostly kept isolated, having solely the company of AFO, of Garaki and of Kurogiri. They were his source of ‘reliable’ information as he trusted them… only they were clearly not reliable.

But, you might say, what about the internet?

Tomura/Tenko has no net friends. AFO took care to give him a certain view of the world, so that every information Tomura/Tenko would receive through the web would be influenced by such view. Tomura/Tenko has no reason to doubt AFO, as far as he knows he’s his savior and caretaker and he has no one else.

If AFO tells him the net lies when it says All Might is a good person, that it’s wrong to destroy things, that it’s wrong to murder, why should Tomura/Tenko doubt AFO? Where are ‘reliable’ information telling him what AFO says is a lie, when the other people around him who take care of him (Garaki and Kurogiri) agree with AFO? Why should he trust the net, the people who abandoned him, over the people who’re so nice and caring toward him?

And the more time Tomura/Tenko is left in this world in which AFO is his main source of information the more those information become part of him, influence his perception of the world, his personality.

Remember when All Might first saw him and called him a ‘man-child’? It wasn’t a completely wrong definition, since Tomura/Tenko wasn’t really allowed to mentally grow by interacting with others who were his equal and presented different opinions and wills.

It's not he didn't have Quirk counselling what stilled his growth, it's not he didn't want to grow or something and that took advantage of the fact he had too much power which made him spoiled...

...what the Heroes didn't consider, mostly because they didn't really care WHY TOMURA/TENKO IS LIKE THAT was that it was trauma and manipulation that made him like that. Tomura/Tenko experienced the world and the battles through roleplay games not through real interactions.

AFO was always around him, shaping him, telling him he can do what he wants and that everything was for him and Tomura/Tenko has no reason to believe he was lying, has no reason to think his words though.

Tomura/Tenko decides, but as his choices are all informed by AFO and AFO lies to him, his choices are all dictated by wrong info and manipulated in a certain direction. Even if he's told he can do what he wants his choices aren’t really ‘free’ because he doesn’t really know what he’s choosing and what he’s rejecting, because he’s not informed correctly.

Yes, inside him there’s his own persona, he’s not a complete will-less doll, but this matters little when all the information he receives are manipulated and he has not the means to realize it and AFO knows it. He’s a master manipulator, he knows how to give Tomura/Tenko the belief he’s choosing of his own free will when it’s AFO who put such ideas and beliefs in his head.

Tomura/Tenko is 20 when he is first sent against All Might and can interact with people with a diametrically opposite mind setting compared to AFO.

Still Tomura/Tenko’s first confrontation with All Might is easy for him to dismiss, AFO raised him thinking Heroes and especially All Might are a certain type of people, so All Might’s words are easy to dismiss like empty rhetoric and pretty words (remember? one of the first things he was taught is that coscience, moral, ethics are fabrications that allow people [aka Heroes] to run the world smoothly) and All Might clearly didn’t act in such a way it would positively impress Tomura/Tenko.

Tomura/Tenko views him as a representative of state-sponsored violence and All Might can’t prove him wrong because… he has to use violence to protect everyone.

Tomura/Tenko wasn’t taught to care about the nobility of the mean, for him use of violence makes Villains and Heroes alike and yet they’re split in two groups… but most of what Tomura/Tenko says is something that’s not really coming from him but from AFO’s indoctrination. They aren’t really HIS ideals yet, even All Might realizes so.

What Tomura/Tenko has in that moment is hate for All Might and society. When Stain will force him to tell him which is his conviction, this is what Tomura/Tenko says, not all the rest. He hates All Might and society.

AFO’s indoctrination was meant to manipulate him into believing why he hates them, but the truth is what Midoriya will nail at the end, society and All Might didn’t save him when he was an innocent child, not yet a Villain, and left him miserable. His father, AFO, they all told him this happened because Heroes and society are fundamentally bad. Due to this teaching Tomura/Tenko hates them with a passion, because he feels victimized by them. They’re the cause of his misery.

Stain’s words are harder to ignore as Stain is no Hero and Kurogiri wanted them to join forces and yet Stain attacked him… but then let him live. All of sudden someone who’s not a Hero makes something unpredictable. Tomura/Tenko tried to compete with him and loses, everyone is impressed by Stain and not by him and makes wrong assumptions on them. Touya and Himiko comes to him but he doesn’t understand their behavior. Ultimately he talks with Midoriya.

The talk doesn’t dramatically change him, it merely helps him to reframe everything in a familiar contest. It’s All Might’s fault, he decides, and this is what AFO taught him, but he doesn’t realize he’s parroting what his master taught him.

Ironically, his talk with Midoriya actually helps him to internalize, to interiorized what AFO taught him, because now HE HAD TO PONDER OVER THE SITUATION AND CONFRONT WITH SOMEONE ELSE, which is the first step to makes ideas your own as now they would come from you… but since he tackles that confrontation using the tons of info AFO poured into him and Midoriya is just a kid who makes wrong assumptions of him… well, the result ends up being that now Tomura/Tenko doesn’t just merely absorb AFO’s information but embraces them as if they were his own ideas.

This is what AFO wanted when he said there’s no point in simply telling Tomura/Tenko  an answer but that he needs to reach the conclusion himself.

In a way it’s a test to see if all the wrong information he has given him for years now really live inside him and have become his own. AFO knows that now that Tomura/Tenko is a man, albeit one kept immature, if he has succeeded in influencing him then it would be difficult to completely change his mind after 15 years of manipulations.

He’s not wrong, to completely change Tomura/Tenko’s mind would be difficult… but it isn’t impossible to partially change it, especially since Tomura/Tenko will then keep on interacting with the League… and won’t interact anymore with AFO so that AFO won’t manage anymore to teach him how to interpret his experiences.

In this new contest free of AFO the little of Tomura/Tenko’s original personality kind of come back to life, the League become precious friends he wants to protect. Ironically Tomura/Tenko, who hates Heroes because they abandoned him, want to be a Hero for the League. He doesn’t want to be their master or their ruler, all things AFO wants to be, Tomura/Tenko wants to be a Hero.

AFO used to say everything is all for him but now Tomura/Tenko wants everything to be for his companions, when he’ll submit Re-Destro he’ll ask suchi for them because they wanted it, he won’t force Touya to do what he doesn’t want to do, he promises he won’t destroy what Himiko loves, he let Shuuichi get angry at him.

Tomura is taking some choices that don’t come from AFO and could have taken more if he were to be given more time as he already wanted to be different from AFO and AFO’s attempt to take over his body as well as the revelation he manipulated him likely would have pushed Tomura/Tenko to reconsider everything he knew that influenced his mind and his decisions.

However plenty of what he chooses through the story come from AFO, from how he had taught him to see and feel the world, from the experiences he forced him to go through. We see it in the first war. AFO fed Kotarou’s resentment for Nana, which lead to Tenko’s abuse, AFO made sure Tomura/Tenko wandered for the city while no one helped him and when Tomura/Tenko faces the Heroes he quotes what he learned from that experience, that Heroes hurt their families to save strangers, that society is trash he says as he thinks back at how no one helped him. Society would always reject him, he says strong of his experiences which were manipulated by AFO. AFO taught him he has to free his violent impulses his wish for destruction that whatever tells him the contrary is a lie fabricated by society (chap. 237). Tomura wants to destroy because that’s how AFO taught him he has to fight the pain inside himself. Because he thinks his decaying Quirk is a reflection of his own personality, of his own role. He’s born to destroy… and this idea, as well as his Quirk… well they both come from AFO (and society, to be honest, as society tended to judge people’s personalities tied with their Quirk).

So, where this leaves us?

Tomura/Tenko did make some small choices that didn’t come from AFO… but too much of him come from AFO to the point if AFO had never meddled with his life he would have likely grown into a completely different person, with a completely different set of experiences and information that would inform his decisions.

As we don’t know which experiences and information he would have had, we can’t tell who he would have become (for example AFO gave him the decay Quirk and this influenced him into thinking he’s born to destroy but we don’t know which was his original Quirk. If he were to have a Quirk which also destroyed, he could have come to the same conclusion). Maybe he would have turned into a Hero, maybe he would have turned into an ordinary person, maybe he would have turned into an even worse Villain. Wondering over this is material for fanfics not for meta.

What remains true though is that way too many of present Tomura/Tenko’s important choices come from AFO, from what AFO taught him, that he shaped so much of his persona and actions that what AFO says about Tomura/Tenko never choosing anything is only partially incorrect at the end of the story and probably completely true at the start of it.

So yeah, as unpleasant as it is there’s a huge part of truth in AFO’s words… but it could have turned into a lie had Tomura/Tenko been given more time because, first he was freed of AFO’s influence and free to interact with others and second because AFO revealed his game and made clear he wanted to take over Tomura/Tenko’s body so he wasn’t the caring and disinterested benefactor he painted himself to be for 20 years and Tomura/Tenko didn’t have to take his words as reliable anymore.

A complete turn over would have probably been hard without a positive influence in his life, but for sure Tomura/Tenko would have been free to revaluate all he’d been taught by AFO and judge it again through the lenses of those new info.

But well, in the end he died so we’ll never learn what he could have done, which is just sad.

So is Tomura/Tenko innocent because manipulated?

There’s a part of the world population that think that inborn in humans there’s still the ability to choose between right and wrong even if they’re manipulated… and in real life it’s extremely hard to establish how much manipulated can be a person and how much it was due to them. Many don’t want to think that you can take a perfectly normal child and turn him into a serial killer through carefully raising him as such.

Discussing about this would be a minefield that would require psychological and educational degrees and probably would still see experts arguing because we can’t really test this theory and check if a baby is perfectly psychologically healthy and then try to raise him as a psychopath, and repeat the experience until we’ve enough data to judge, can we?

Real life cases weren’t cases which were carefully observed from start to end as an experiment would require so they leave the door open to speculation.

Long story short… this meta isn’t here to tell you if a real person can be raised and manipulated that much all his choices come from another and he’s unable to take them for himself.

This is a meta to tell you that from what we know and what we could observe Tomura/Tenko was manipulated from young age and that the majority of his life choices, especially the ones that lead him to become a Villain, were due to this.

Not that it would have made any difference in the BNHA world where Aoyama, a teen acting under duress, is viewed as a terrible Villain because, when threatened to be killed and have his parents killed if he weren’t to comply with AFO���s wishes, he choose to comply.

[gottagobackintime]

“You want what’s best for him. Because you care. You are such a positive influence on everyone in this hospital. In that respect, you are like a father. So surely Oskar deserves to have you look after him. In the same way you look after us.”

[iniziare]

Reminder to self when I've done some more writing: Remind people that I'm canon-strict, what that means, and how I guess it means that I'm reclaiming yet another term that has been rendered as being something akin to negative by the masses. Better known as, a... 'lore purist'. Hi, yes, that's me! Hi, hello, my name is Sae, how do you do?

[infriga]

Me whenever a fic has Connor take out his LED permanently:

[sherlock-is-ace]

.

[archaeren]

How I learned to write smarter, not harder

(aka, how to write when you're hella ADHD lol)

A reader commented on my current long fic asking how I write so well. I replied with an essay of my honestly pretty non-standard writing advice (that they probably didn't actually want lol) Now I'm gonna share it with you guys and hopefully there's a few of you out there who will benefit from my past mistakes and find some useful advice in here. XD Since I started doing this stuff, which are all pretty easy changes to absorb into your process if you want to try them, I now almost never get writer's block.

The text of the original reply is indented, and I've added some additional commentary to expand upon and clarify some of the concepts.

As for writing well, I usually attribute it to the fact that I spent roughly four years in my late teens/early 20s writing text roleplay with a friend for hours every single day. Aside from the constant practice that provided, having a live audience immediately reacting to everything I wrote made me think a lot about how to make as many sentences as possible have maximum impact so that I could get that kind of fun reaction. (Which is another reason why comments like yours are so valuable to fanfic writers! <3) The other factors that have improved my writing are thus: 1. Writing nonlinearly. I used to write a whole story in order, from the first sentence onward. If there was a part I was excited to write, I slogged through everything to get there, thinking that it would be my reward once I finished everything that led up to that. It never worked. XD It was miserable. By the time I got to the part I wanted to write, I had beaten the scene to death in my head imagining all the ways I could write it, and it a) no longer interested me and b) could not live up to my expectations because I couldn't remember all my ideas I'd had for writing it. The scene came out mediocre and so did everything leading up to it. Since then, I learned through working on VN writing (I co-own a game studio and we have some visual novels that I write for) that I don't have to write linearly. If I'm inspired to write a scene, I just write it immediately. It usually comes out pretty good even in a first draft! But then I also have it for if I get more ideas for that scene later, and I can just edit them in. The scenes come out MUCH stronger because of this. And you know what else I discovered? Those scenes I slogged through before weren't scenes I had no inspiration for, I just didn't have any inspiration for them in that moment! I can't tell you how many times there was a scene I had no interest in writing, and then a week later I'd get struck by the perfect inspiration for it! Those are scenes I would have done a very mediocre job on, and now they can be some of the most powerful scenes because I gave them time to marinate. Inspiration isn't always linear, so writing doesn't have to be either!

Some people are the type that joyfully write linearly. I have a friend like this--she picks up the characters and just continues playing out the next scene. Her story progresses through the entire day-by-day lives of the characters; it never timeskips more than a few hours. She started writing and posting just eight months ago, she's about an eighth of the way through her planned fic timeline, and the content she has so far posted to AO3 for it is already 450,000 words long. But most of us are normal humans. We're not, for the most part, wired to create linearly. We consume linearly, we experience linearly, so we assume we must also create linearly. But actually, a lot of us really suffer from trying to force ourselves to create this way, and we might not even realize it. If you're the kind of person who thinks you need to carrot-on-a-stick yourself into writing by saving the fun part for when you finally write everything that happens before it: Stop. You're probably not a linear writer. You're making yourself suffer for no reason and your writing is probably suffering for it. At least give nonlinear writing a try before you assume you can't write if you're not baiting or forcing yourself into it!! Remember: Writing is fun. You do this because it's fun, because it's your hobby. If you're miserable 80% of the time you're doing it, you're probably doing it wrong!

2. Rereading my own work. I used to hate reading my own work. I wouldn't even edit it usually. I would write it and slap it online and try not to look at it again. XD Writing nonlinearly forced me to start rereading because I needed to make sure scenes connected together naturally and it also made it easier to get into the headspace of the story to keep writing and fill in the blanks and get new inspiration. Doing this built the editing process into my writing process--I would read a scene to get back in the headspace, dislike what I had written, and just clean it up on the fly. I still never ever sit down to 'edit' my work. I just reread it to prep for writing and it ends up editing itself. Many many scenes in this fic I have read probably a dozen times or more! (And now, I can actually reread my own work for enjoyment!) Another thing I found from doing this that it became easy to see patterns and themes in my work and strengthen them. Foreshadowing became easy. Setting up for jokes or plot points became easy. I didn't have to plan out my story in advance or write an outline, because the scenes themselves because a sort of living outline on their own. (Yes, despite all the foreshadowing and recurring thematic elements and secret hidden meanings sprinkled throughout this story, it actually never had an outline or a plan for any of that. It's all a natural byproduct of writing nonlinearly and rereading.)

Unpopular writing opinion time: You don't need to make a detailed outline.

Some people thrive on having an outline and planning out every detail before they sit down to write. But I know for a lot of us, we don't know how to write an outline or how to use it once we've written it. The idea of making one is daunting, and the advice that it's the only way to write or beat writer's block is demoralizing. So let me explain how I approach "outlining" which isn't really outlining at all.

I write in a Notion table, where every scene is a separate table entry and the scene is written in the page inside that entry. I do this because it makes writing nonlinearly VASTLY more intuitive and straightforward than writing in a single document. (If you're familiar with Notion, this probably makes perfect sense to you. If you're not, imagine something a little like a more contained Google Sheets, but every row has a title cell that opens into a unique Google Doc when you click on it. And it's not as slow and clunky as the Google suite lol) (Edit from the future: I answered an ask with more explanation on how I use Notion for non-linear writing here.) When I sit down to begin a new fic idea, I make a quick entry in the table for every scene I already know I'll want or need, with the entries titled with a couple words or a sentence that describes what will be in that scene so I'll remember it later. Basically, it's the most absolute bare-bones skeleton of what I vaguely know will probably happen in the story.

Then I start writing, wherever I want in the list. As I write, ideas for new scenes and new connections and themes will emerge over time, and I'll just slot them in between the original entries wherever they naturally fit, rearranging as necessary, so that I won't forget about them later when I'm ready to write them. As an example, my current long fic started with a list of roughly 35 scenes that I knew I wanted or needed, for a fic that will probably be around 100k words (which I didn't know at the time haha). As of this writing, it has expanded to 129 scenes. And since I write them directly in the page entries for the table, the fic is actually its own outline, without any additional effort on my part. As I said in the comment reply--a living outline!

This also made it easier to let go of the notion that I had to write something exactly right the first time. (People always say you should do this, but how many of us do? It's harder than it sounds! I didn't want to commit to editing later! I didn't want to reread my work! XD) I know I'm going to edit it naturally anyway, so I can feel okay giving myself permission to just write it approximately right and I can fix it later. And what I found from that was that sometimes what I believed was kind of meh when I wrote it was actually totally fine when I read it later! Sometimes the internal critic is actually wrong. 3. Marinating in the headspace of the story. For the first two months I worked on [fic], I did not consume any media other than [fandom the fic is in]. I didn't watch, read, or play anything else. Not even mobile games. (And there wasn't really much fan content for [fandom] to consume either. Still isn't, really. XD) This basically forced me to treat writing my story as my only source of entertainment, and kept me from getting distracted or inspired to write other ideas and abandon this one.

As an aside, I don't think this is a necessary step for writing, but if you really want to be productive in a short burst, I do highly recommend going on a media consumption hiatus. Not forever, obviously! Consuming media is a valuable tool for new inspiration, and reading other's work (both good and bad, as long as you think critically to identify the differences!) is an invaluable resource for improving your writing.

When I write, I usually lay down, close my eyes, and play the scene I'm interested in writing in my head. I even take a ten-minute nap now and then during this process. (I find being in a state of partial drowsiness, but not outright sleepiness, makes writing easier and better. Sleep helps the brain process and make connections!) Then I roll over to the laptop next to me and type up whatever I felt like worked for the scene. This may mean I write half a sentence at a time between intervals of closed-eye-time XD

People always say if you're stuck, you need to outline.

What they actually mean by that (whether they realize it or not) is that if you're stuck, you need to brainstorm. You need to marinate. You don't need to plan what you're doing, you just need to give yourself time to think about it!

What's another framing for brainstorming for your fic? Fantasizing about it! Planning is work, but fantasizing isn't.

You're already fantasizing about it, right? That's why you're writing it. Just direct that effort toward the scenes you're trying to write next! Close your eyes, lay back, and fantasize what the characters do and how they react.

And then quickly note down your inspirations so you don't forget, haha.

And if a scene is so boring to you that even fantasizing about it sucks--it's probably a bad scene.

If it's boring to write, it's going to be boring to read. Ask yourself why you wanted that scene. Is it even necessary? Can you cut it? Can you replace it with a different scene that serves the same purpose but approaches the problem from a different angle? If you can't remove the troublesome scene, what can you change about it that would make it interesting or exciting for you to write?

And I can't write sitting up to save my damn life. It's like my brain just stops working if I have to sit in a chair and stare at a computer screen. I need to be able to lie down, even if I don't use it! Talking walks and swinging in a hammock are also fantastic places to get scene ideas worked out, because the rhythmic motion also helps our brain process. It's just a little harder to work on a laptop in those scenarios. XD

In conclusion: Writing nonlinearly is an amazing tool for kicking writer's block to the curb. There's almost always some scene you'll want to write. If there isn't, you need to re-read or marinate.

Or you need to use the bathroom, eat something, or sleep. XD Seriously, if you're that stuck, assess your current physical condition. You might just be unable to focus because you're uncomfortable and you haven't realized it yet.

Anyway! I hope that was helpful, or at least interesting! XD Sorry again for the text wall. (I think this is the longest comment reply I've ever written!)

And same to you guys on tumblr--I hope this was helpful or at least interesting. XD Reblogs appreciated if so! (Maybe it'll help someone else!)

[squirmydonnie]

I feel like I tend to have pretty bad ideas

CW: unreality in tags

I don't know that I'm venting. But it's hard for it to not sound that way.

But I'll put warnings because I don't see how else I'd feel okay without putting them there.

It's just more fair that way

[rafesheaven]

"we listen & we don't judge" escalates after a little white lie༉ೀ

warnings — fluff at first, mention of rafe being a panty stealer (are we even surprised…) reader telling a little white lie, oral (f. receiving), spanking, mirror sex, fingering, being put in a headlock, praising & degradation, slight daddy kink, unprotected sex, overstimulation wc — 1.5k a/n — based on this post i made & ty @whytheylosttheirminds for letting me spew dialogue ideas to you <333

"do we have to do this stupid challenge? i don't see what the point of it is," your boyfriend groaned while you set your phone up, propping it against your vanity mirror. "rafe, not everything has to have a point," you pout, "it's just a silly little challenge where we say things we wouldn't normally tell each other, and we can't judge, it'll be fun!".

“okay, i’ll do it,” his face softened when he noticed how excited you looked to do something as simple as playing a challenge with him. he watched your face light up, “wait, really? you’re actually agreeing to doing it? willingly?”.

"i figured if i disagreed, then you would’ve forced me anyway,” rafe teased, a small chuckle bubbling from his throat when you lightly smacked his chest. “hey, ‘m just messing with you, you know i’d do anything for you,” he planted a soft kiss on your cheek, “alright, start recording before i decide to use the camera for something else.”.

“rafe,” you smacked his chest again before hitting the ‘record’ button, “we listen, and we don’t judge,” the two of you say in unison. “the first time you buzzed your hair off, i lied, and said i liked it," you turned to look at him. "what? why did you keep letting me cut it if you didn't like it?" you shrugged, "unlike your hair, it started to grow on me."

"we listen, and we don't judge," you say together. rafe pauses to think, "whenever i don't wanna hang out with topper and kelce, i tell them it's 'cause you don't want me to go out." your eyes widen, "what? is that why they're always making those snarky little comments?"

as the two of you played, the confessions soon started becoming less innocent, “remember when i dropped you off at your house after our first date, and i asked to use the bathroom before i left?”. you quirked an eyebrow at the sound of rafe’s chuckle, “well, i went into your room and stole a few pairs of your panties.”

“i knew i wasn’t crazy when i noticed a few missing!” rafe laughed at your small outburst, “hey, we listen, and we don’t judge, remember? and i eventually made it up to you later on when we started dating.”you rolled your eyes, “since we’re not judging, whenever i don’t feel like having sex, i just say i’m on my period.”

"oh, we're going that way now, huh? okay. sometimes, after you suck me off, i tell you that i'm tired, so i don't have to go down on you." you blink and stare at him in disbelief through the screen, “you can’t judge.” your mind was racing with what you could say to get back at him before settling on a little white lie, “you know what? that’s fine. it’s fine, ‘cause i faked a couple orgasms within the past few weeks.”

you giggled at the fact you rendered him speechless, but your laughter quickly died down once you felt the anger radiating off him. “rafe—” you turned to look at him, “take that shit off,” he clenched his jaw, reaching forward, and snatching your phone off the vanity to stop it from recording any further. “where are you going?” you frown, watching him stand up, “rafe…come on, it was just a harmless—“.

his hand wrapped around your arm, “you think this shit is funny?” rafe yanked you up from your chair before bending you over your vanity. he pushed your skirt up, letting it bunch around your hips, your body jolting forward from the impact his palm made on your ass. "rafe! i was joking, i'm sorry!" you tried to stand up, only for him to shove you back down, your flesh stinging as he delivered another sharp smack. “did i tell you to move?” he grabbed your hands, forcing them to lay on top of the vanity, “don’t fuckin’ move your hands.”

he nudged your legs apart, dropping to his knees behind you. his fingers hooked into your panties, pulling them down your legs, leaving them to pool around your ankles. his hands ran up the back of your thighs to the globes of your ass, pulling them apart. “not even surprised you’re wet,” he tsked, his gaze fixated on your glossy cunt. your jaw went slack, feeling his tongue move along your folds before sucking your puffy clit into his mouth. you wanted nothing more than to reach behind you and pull him closer, but in an attempt to keep your hands planted on the vanity, you settled for rolling your hips against his tongue.

a whine bubbled in your throat when rafe pulled away and stood up, his hand landing on your ass. he leaned over you, his lips brushing against the shell of your ear, “i meant it when i said don’t fuckin’ move.” his arm moving to wrap around your neck, keeping your head upright, your eyes meeting his in the mirror of the vanity as he puts you in a headlock. he pulls you back, making your back arch into his chest as his fingers trailed up your inner thighs to your cunt, running along your slick folds, his thick digits slipping inside you with ease.

“you’re gonna stay still and take what i give you,” he pumped his fingers, scissoring them in and out of your soaked hole. you let out a strained moan, his bicep digging into your throat the more your nails clawed at his skin. “yeah…there you go, takin’ my fingers like a good little slut,” he cooed, “look at how desperate you are for it.”

the pad of his thumb pressed against your clit, circling it in time with each pump of his fingers. “r-rafe,” you whimpered, your free hand sliding to grab at his wrist between your plush thighs. “what is it, baby? you wanna cum? wanna show me what you faking it looks like?” he taunts, curling his fingers, stroking that spongy spot inside you. the coil in your stomach tightens, and you look at him with heavy-lidded eyes in the reflection of the mirror, your nails sinking into the flesh of his hand. “good girl, show daddy that he knows how to make you cum,” he rasps.

your orgasm washes over you, your cries of pleasure filling your bedroom, making your head roll forward against his bicep. “atta girl,” rafe whispered, your legs trembling as he continued to pump his fingers, his thumb still working your clit. you squirm, trying to get out of his arms, “shh, s’okay. gotta make up for all those times i supposedly didn’t make you cum, yeah?”

his fingers slipped from your cunt, snaking up your body to your mouth, pushing past your lips, and forcing you to taste yourself. rafe removed his arm from around your neck, his hand wrapping around the back of your neck, guiding you till you were bent over the vanity again. he worked the button and zipper of his pants, pushing them with his boxers, off his hips, and kicking them aside. rafe slotted himself between your legs, rubbing the head of his cock along your glistening folds.

he thrusted into you, a squeal slipping past your lips at the delicious stretch his thick length had to offer. his fingers threaded through your hair, tugging at the roots to pull your head up as he set a brutal pace. your eyes were met with your reflection, your fucked out expression staring back at you as his hips smacked against your ass. your bedroom is met with the sound of your cunt squelching around him, “f-fuck, rafe,” you hiccuped. rafe watched as your brows pinched together in pleasure, your hands gripping the edge of the vanity, and your nails scratching at the wood.

“what’s wrong? can’t take my cock?,” rafe grunted. you yelped; the searing pain from your hair being pulled is overpowered by the pleasure. tears welled in your eyes, your mascara smudging under your eyes as tears ran down your cheeks. he dipped his head, leaving sloppy, wet, open-mouthed kisses on the flesh of your neck, his tongue flicking out to run up the side of your neck to your ear, “s’what happens when you wanna be funny and run your mouth.”

he nipped at your earlobe. the tip of his cock persistently hitting your cervix as he thrusted into you relentlessly, his hand snaking to your front, rubbing your pulsing clit in harsh circles. “rafe…’m gonna cum!” you choke out a moan. “yeah? cum f’me, baby. need you to show me how good i make you feel,” rafe moaned in your ear, feeling your walls pulse around his length. your legs shook, your orgasm hitting you tenfold as you cried out his name.

his hips didn’t falter, his cock continuing to pound into your soaked cunt. “n-no, rafe, s’too much,” you stuttered, sobbing from the overwhelming pleasure, reaching behind you to push his hips away. rafe grabbed your wrists, pinning them behind your back, “no, no, no, you can take it. i don’t care if you’ve drained me completely of my cum, ‘m not gonna stop till that pretty little head of yours can’t even remotely think about saying that shit again.”

tagging: @oceandriveab @babygorewhore @bloodibambiidoll @cameronsprincess @starkeysbabygirl @nemesyaaa @rafesangelita @rafeyscurtainbangs @rafesthroatbaby @fae-of-prey @sturnioloshacker @heartsforvin @drewsephrry @fallbhind @hallecarey1 @ilovefiction4lmen @jjslaybank @kisses4angels @userchai @whinyangel @rafeysangelbaby @momoewn @kazanskied @zyafics @saintlike05 @st7rnioioss @coco-cinnamon @sturnskiss @blckbrrybasket @wearemadeofstardust0 @starkeysbebe @sabrina-carpenter-stan-account @starkeysheart

[choslut]

˖ ࣪ ، ◞ せ⌇ BABY MOMMA. featuring k. nanami.

↻ there’s nothing nanami wants more in the world than to make you a mommy, and give you his beautiful kids.

tags : breeding kink, creampie, mommy kink (if you squint), messy sex, pet names, feral nanami, marathon sex, lactation + pregnancy (fantasized), ovulation cycle // wc. 0.9k

author’s note : sorry this one’s a lil late, i’ve been busy with theme changes and real life is throwing a million and one hurdles at me and i just can’t keep up 😞 you can't tell me that nanami wouldn't be a massive family man, so here i have him completely desperate to start a family with you and give you his babies. notes and reblogs are always appreciated, and check out my masterlist for non-event based works <3 !!

this work is NSFW. minors and ageless blogs DO NOT INTERACT.

it’s been hours. hours since nanami even proposed the idea of trying for kids, and now, it’s all he can fucking think about. 

it’s all you can think about too, given the fact that he’s fucked you out of your mind, legs numb from being in missionary for as long as you remember with nanami plunging in and out of you, the tip of his cock nudging your cervix with every single thrust. 

it’s repetitive. it’s addicting. 

“hah- kento, can’t take no more…” your voice is a sheepish babble, nails digging into his back as tears stream down your face. “ ‘s too much, ken, please–“

nanami grunts in your ear, hips never ceasing movement as he ruts into you. “g’na have to, sweetheart. this one’s gotta take.”

he said that about the last one, and the one before that, and the one before that… and fuck, you can’t keep up with how many times he’s said it because he’s been going at it for so long with only one goal in mind. 

he’s gonna give you kids. he’s gonna make you a mommy, and you’re gonna raise his kids with him as his wife. 

it’s all he’s ever wanted. it’s all he’s ever dreamed of, and when he watches you lounge around the house wearing nothing but a bra and his oversized dress shirt and a wedding ring fit snugly on your finger, he really can’t stop himself from imagining what you would look like with a swollen tummy, breasts spilling out of that same bra. 

“g’na give you my kids baby…” he’s rambling half out of his ass, his brain scrambled by pure need. “gonna make my girl a mommy. you’re gonna be a great mommy, aren't you?”

he’s brought up the topic before. it was never anything serious, just asking you what you would prefer and never really thinking of his own volition. you had always agreed with him wholeheartedly, and it would somehow lead to the two of you cooing over baby clothes and strollers but never anything more. 

nanami is fucking sick of it. he’s sick of fawning over the idea and not doing anything about it. sure, you’ve made love a couple of times, but it never held any true intent, focusing on the pure need to give each other pleasure. 

well, now, nanami needs more than pleasure. he needs to see you with that swollen tummy and those massive leaky tits, and there’s only one way to do that; fucking you within an inch of your life and cumming in your cunt until it finally takes. 

“kento–“ you seemingly haven’t gotten bored of it yet, despite having been at it for over two hours. your back still arches with every bump to your cervix, nails still raking down his back as his sweaty chest squashes your own. “this one’s gonna take, promise.”

“i can’t be sure of that,” he states matter-of-factly. “although your tracker says you’re ovulating, we can’t just trust that once or twice will be enough.” is he sure of this fact? no, but he is sure that you feel too damn good to stop, even though he’s already finished inside of you enough times to guarantee your pregnancy ten times over. 

you just look so beautiful beneath him. you wear the radiance of sex extremely well, eyes fogged over and mouth hanging open as your steamy pants echo in his ear. you’re borderline intoxicating, and that’s why nanami can’t stop, even though he knows you need him to before you pass out. 

“look at me, angel. i wanna see you.” you weakly turn your cheek away from the pillow and look up at him, lips stained a gorgeous red and swollen from his kisses. “you’re gonna be such a pretty momma.”

your eyelids flutter and your back arches weakly as you cum again for the final time, garbled moans of nanami’s name flooding from your throat. despite the longevity of your session, your cunt still manages to squeeze around him impossibly, and nanami groans deeply, arms sliding around your hips as you pulls you forward to meet his thrusts. 

“kentooo…”

“i know, baby, i know.” the sheets are soiled with your sweat and his, and the tight clampdown of your walls propels him to cum one final time, hips flush against your twitching clit as he pumps you full. 

you both stay like that for a beat, nanami folded over your twitching body before he finally pulls out slowly, and when he does, the sight he’s met with is so incredibly dirty that he can barely believe he was the one to reduce you to such a mess. “oh, angel…”

copious amounts of his release flood from your cunt, leaving a translucent pool on your sheets. whilst he absolutely loves the sight and wishes to brand it on the forefront of his brain, nanami’s goal is still clear as day. 

he leans down and kisses your overstimulated clit, fingers dancing around your twitchy hole and gathering up his release before pushing it back inside with a curl of his fingers that makes you want to scream. 

“can’t waste any, my dear, or it might not take, remember?” when he looks up at you from in between your trembling thighs, the look on his face is nothing short of depraved, blonde strands of hair sticking to his forehead and cheeks stained red with excitement. 

“can’t wait to see my girl become a mommy.”

PREVIOUS : THE COLOUR RED ft. yae miko NEXT : BLACKOUT ft. tartaglia

liked that? check out the WE’RE SO BACK main masterlist.

© choslut 2024 — do not copy, repost or translate my works without permission.

[qqueenofhades]

I think its genuinely fascinating how Biden has somehow become the bad vibes sin eater for the party. I'm seeing people who were doing the whole "voting doesn't matter both old men are the same" pivot hard into voting as harm reduction. The anti voting rhetoric has COMPLETELY lost The Youths on tiktok. People suddenly remember the good things the Biden administration has done but don't associate Harris with any of the things they didn't like. In my swing state volunteers are signing up in droves. People feel ENERGIZED, the vibe shift pre and post Biden dropping from the race has just been insane

Y'know, that is a... good way of putting it. It's also why I'm quite sure that Biden has probably been planning it for a while. I don't think he was intending to step down, and didn't want to be forced out at the drop of a hat, but after he realized that the circus was never going to stop until he did, he did the honorable fall-on-his-own-sword thing and definitely, DEFINITELY spent some time choreographing this behind the scenes. Because while the roll-out has been very smooth, it could just as easily (as many of us were expecting) have been a total disaster, and that doesn't happen without SOME planning. It's also entirely possible that the campaign staff flipped from Biden to Harris are superhuman, to come up with a massive online roll-out, new branding, new signs (they had plenty of 'em in Wisconsin yesterday), new everything, but I'm guessing it's a combination of both. Biden has spent his entire political career being underestimated, and after we literally made a meme out of Dark Brandon juking the Republicans out of their shoes, we should definitely give credit where credit is due in how masterfully he pulled it off.

Because we have had eight years defined by the central question of Whether The President Is a God King Who Should Serve For Life (the MAGAts obviously think yes), the sheer idea of a president willingly giving up his power BEFORE he had to is also novel and admirable. It's sad that this is the case, but so be it. The Republicans also got a heaping helping of Be Careful What You Wish For that was undoubtedly brilliant; they've been yelling for years that Biden is old and frail and can't serve and should step down. Biden went "lol okay" and gave it to them, and now they're fucked.

Aside from that, on the most basic level, it's far, far easier to see the actual difference in the parties with Harris as the nominee, just because it shows that one party is willing to make progress and reflect the new demographic reality and social mores of America, and the other one is not. Now to be clear, Biden deserves an incredible amount of credit for coming out of retirement (he was ALREADY 77 years old when he became president and had had decades of a long and respected career in public service behind him) to fight, beat Trump, and deliver an incredibly successful presidency. He held the line against authoritarianism at home and abroad, he rescued the trashed American economy and managed a world-leading recovery from Covid, he stood up for democracy, he spent four years filling the benches with liberal judges to reverse even some of the Trump/McConnell hack job, he finally passed comprehensive infrastructure investment and the Green New Deal under the name of the Inflation Reduction Act -- and so on. Many of these priorities had been languishing for decades or were completely trashed under Trump, and he could not have done so much in just 4 years without all that age, skill, and experience. Hence why all the Ageism!!! was (aside from being a Republican/media smear job) dumb. He's able to do the job because he has had decades to study. Turns out that makes you actually pretty damn good at it.

Yes, Biden could not do as much as he wanted or originally planned, had to deal with MAGA Republicans and Joe Manchin/Kyrsten Sinema sabotaging him the whole time (lololol Manchin, possible possessor of the World's Biggest Ego and with Trump around that's saying something, popping out of obscurity to self-righteously announce he would not be willing to be Kamala's VP. YEAH ASSHOLE. LITERALLY NOBODY ASKED YOU. NOBODY WHATSOEVER. NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS AT LEAST WE WILL SOON NO LONGER HAVE MANCHIN IN THE SENATE). And yes, Biden made some serious mistakes of his own, because he IS from an older generation and a different style of doing politics/different beliefs that no longer resonate with the younger segments of the electorate. But this old white Catholic guy at the age of almost 80 still managed to be the most progressive president ever, coming in at a moment of incredible domestic and international crisis and getting us safely to the other side, and all cynicism, criticizing, and caveating aside, he deserves an incredible amount of credit for that. I mean that absolutely, and I am very grateful.

As I said, willingly relinquishing that power takes guts, and when Biden saw the writing on the wall that he had to sacrifice himself, he took his time, he didn't jump too early, and he didn't jump too late. On the most basic level, it becomes a hell of a lot easier to make the "both parties are not the same" argument when one is running a (comparatively) young brown woman and the other is still running their loathed felonious old demented orange traitor. Most Americans are not plugged into policy minutiae and details. They look at Biden-Trump, they see two old white guys. When you take one of those old white guys away (who goes in a self-sacrificially heroic manner and in sharp contrast with the coup-happy fascist) and put Kamala Harris in there instead, it generates an obvious jolt. People can see for themselves that there is a real difference that doesn't rely on closely reading news and tracking complex policy, because as noted, most Americans simply don't. The brown first-generation American daughter of brown immigrants is a quantifiably different story from "old white guy career politician," which for better or worse is how Biden was seen, especially the old part. We needed that establishment expertise to beat Trump in 2020; I still think Biden is the only one who could have done it, and as noted, we owe him a great debt for doing so.

However.... 2024 is not 2020, and it is not 2016. There has been this HUGE and unbelievable swing to Kamala because she represents the antithesis of what the last eight years of Trump-induced anger, fear, panic, chaos, and hatred has stirred up. That's why people are so ready to rally around her, just as they were (I daresay) around Obama in 2008, after the exhaustion, chaos, war, and mounting economic misery of Bush. Trump has been out of office for the last four years, but his shadow over the American political landscape has been omnipresent. Now people know that we finally have a real chance at getting rid of him forever, and just as Biden was uniquely positioned to capitalize on that in 2020, so Harris is now. Which is why, however tough it will be, she has a real shot at winning. I can guarantee the Republicans know that, and are shit scared. Because the Black Lady Army of Democracy has indeed arrived in force to Get This Shit Done and I don't know about you, but I found that incalculably comforting:

Yikes! All lined up for Kamala pic.twitter.com/Dt4OCDp7WX

— Alex Cole (@acnewsitics) July 24, 2024

This, at the most basic level, is what scares fascists the most, it's exactly what we need now, and what Harris is uniquely positioned to mobilize, along with her gangbusters appeal to young voters:

This is the energy we need. This is what Biden saw and planned for and which he launched us into, and where all that experience and age paid off. This is why people, even people otherwise disengaged, disillusioned, or checked out of the tedious and mind-numbering drudgery and depression of American politics, are responding to it. Because it's easy to understand, it offers hope, and it tells a very simple story that is nonetheless long overdue:

Thanks so much, Joe. Go absolutely waste that orange fucker, Kamala. We got your back.

[lina-lovebug]

I'd Fight The Devil

Pairing: Alastor x fem! reader

Background: reader is Lilith and Lucifers oldest, and resembles Lilith more. Lucifer has a hard time bonding with her because of this, and Alastor decides to step in.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

"DAD'S COMING?!"

(Y/N) Morningstar, firstborn daughter of Lilith and Lucifer, was currently having a breakdown over the fact that her father was on his way to the hotel.

She'd have no issue leaving, of course, but Charlie tricked her dear old sister into staying by saying she needed help with the hotel. . .and told her their dad was coming when he was two minutes away.

It's not like she didn't miss him, but things became different once their mother disappeared. Lucifer threw himself into his ideas, and (Y/N) tried maintaining their relationship but he couldn't even stand the look of her.

"I'm sorry! But I thought maybe you guys could talk while he's here?" Charlie suggested with a gulp, twiddling her fingers.

"I'm done trying with dad. If he wants to talk, he can come to me," (Y/N) crossed her arms, firm on her stance.

"I never thought I'd meet someone with worse daddy issues, but here you are, cher," Alastor, with his famous grin, looked down at the Princess of Hell. She huffed, not in the mood for his side comments.

"Alastor, please-"

"He's here!"

"-please fucking hide me!" She ran behind him, despite the mass amount of blonde hair making it obvious.

He chuckled.

Honestly, since meeting the eldest Morningstar, Alastor deemed himself her Protector. Not that the girl wasn't capable or needed him persay, but he cared for her. Being on the aroace spectrum, he wasn't plagued by a selfish desire to fuck her, but it was a sweet concern that slowly turned into a need to be near her.

A need to make her his.

"Hopefully he doesn't-"

"Pumpkin?"

"Fuck," (Y/N) silently cursed under her breath before Alastor stepped aside.

"Hey dad," Lucifer felt a pang in his sinister heart at her tone. She sounded uncomfortable and wouldn't even look at him, but he also remembered that he couldn't look at her at times.

It reminded him of happier times.

Times he didn't want to be reminded of anymore.

"So how've you been? Heard you've got a fancy job now. Probably making loads of money, huh?" He chuckled nervously.

"Dad, it's my company. I made it."

And he couldn't even remember that she did that?

Any dad would remember that his child created her own business.

"Ouch."

"And it's got a fucking duck on the logo. God, dad," She rose her voice, "you can't even remember that?"

"I've been busy, pumpkin-"

"Too busy to call? Too busy to even fucking call?!"

Charlie flinched at the harshness in her voice. She's always been a firecracker but she's never seen her so angry.

"I'm not fighting with you, (Y/N)," Lucifer stepped towards her, "why do you insist on fighting? Especially when I'm here for Charlie."

"Oh, you're here for Charlie?" Her horns started to come up through her skin, rolling back like a rams.

Just like her mom.

"I'm not making this about me. I just wish you'd make the effort instead of it having to be me," She missed who he was.

And during this, Alastor could see the pain on her face. She was furious, and rightfully so.

But he let her fight her own battles.

"I'm sorry that I look like mom. Is that what you want me to say?!"

"Yes!"

He didn't mean it. Of fucking course he didn't mean it, but it slipped out.

"Dad! That's enough!" Charlie ran to her, seeing tears well up in her sisters eyes. "How could you say that?"

"Pumpkin, I-"

"Don't," She sniffled, holding Charlie close, "don't come near me."

But he didn't listen.

He hated being the fact that his little girl was crying because of him.

"I think you've come far enough," Alastor spoke, getting infront of Charlie and (Y/N). He is excellent at saving face, so his pure unadulterated rage was hidden beneath his smile.

She hiccuped behind him, sobbing into Charlie's shoulder.

"Don't make me move you," Lucifer glared.

"And don't make me fucking kill you for hurting what's mine."

His voice turned more static-like than before, his eyes a burning red and his horns outstretched. He was a fucking shield for his Princess, and not even the King of Hell could get through. Lucifer recognized this and humbly backed away, retreating with his tail between his legs.

_ _ ☆ _ _

(Y/N) spent the next hour crying in her room. Over the years, she had started to hate herself for looking like her mom, and Lucifers' confirmation only reaffirmed it.

"Need anything else?" Charlie asked her. Although her sister wasn't searching for redemption, she had her own personal room in the hotel.

"Can you get Alasto-?"

A knock sounded at the door.

"Was he there the whole time?" She sniffled, and a muffled "maybe" came through the door.

Her bed was surrounded by napkins that she quickly placed on her bedside as Charlie allowed Alastor inside.

Alone.

The two of them.

Might as well just throw them condoms and say get to it, is what (Y/N) was thinking. She's known about her crush on The Radio Demon for a few months now, having a fantasy dream here and there, but wasn't much of an active person herself.

"Thank you. I know he tried to fix it, but I couldn't stand to look at him," Her puffy eyes made Alastors eye twitch, still a small spout of anger for her father.

"Of course, my dear," He sat himself next to her on the bed.

"Because your father, although the King of Hell, is a fucking coward", is what he wanted to say but kept those words for himself.

"Did you mean it? That I'm yours?" She asked, her hand inching closer to his.

"I never say anything I don't mean, cher," He grabbed her hand, kissed it, and made the she-demon gasp.

"I thought you hated touch."

He chuckled, "Oh, I do, but not if it's you. Your skin is warm, and it brings me comfort. You bring me comfort."

"You'd have me, even if I want to be glued to your side? Even having petty fights with my dad?"

"Darling, I'd wear your skin if you asked."

"Oh, how romantic," She blushed before both his hands came up to her face, bringing her into a needy kiss. With her, he needed to feel her.

Someday, even all of her.

"And I'd eat demons with you," She whispered against his lips.

"Oh my heart may burst, my dear."

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