#I might be blowing it out of proportion but I can see it becoming the more prominent ship for mouthwashing

[bubblewater]

Pre-game, I can definitely see the intrigue in shipping Curly/Jimmy because the homoerotic addition magnifies the tragedy of the in-game events. The ship is interesting, for sure, but it lacks hope.

The chemistry is there— it’s just incompatible and detrimental. So it makes it not good chemistry to me b/c it’s so goddamn sad.

The overall thing for me is that I don’t see this ship as a hurt/comfort or angst with a happy ending. I like my angsty ships to have hope and a chance of redemption.

I just don’t see anything redeeming about a character who refuses to acknowledge his culpability for the multiple crimes he committed against his crew members and took himself out to escape consequence.

My personal gripe with the Curly/Jimmy ship is when:

1. Jimmy’s manipulative personality is diluted or underplayed to make him more palatable and you’d wanna root for him

2. completely disregard the in-game events that Jimmy was the cause of (everything) and write him as if it never happened.

[This could work if you keep his skeevy personality and create the progression of his corrupt nature eroding him from the inside.]

3. Jimmy’s abusive nature is fetishized because it’s hot??? He’s a rapist, guys.

[Make him suffer Crime and Punishment style. Have him go insane with the guilt that he refuses to face as it consumes him. With a dash of homophobia and self-hatred to sprinkle into the Curly/Jimmy ship]

HOWEVER— a character analysis of his obsession with Curly, Curly enabling him, and the underlying connection and tension between them would be a good story. I just don’t see it being written well with the type of nuance it deserves.

One thing about the jimmy curly toxic yaoi situation that I've found extremely funny is how ive seen more people get pissed and complain about it of it but havent really seen it

In fact I've maybe seen...eh give or take 3 pieces of fanart on here and I'm stretching it thin rn

[luna-azzurra]

do you have any tips for writing arguments/fights?

Before you write an argument, know why each character is upset. Understanding their motivations will make the conflict feel authentic.

What are their personal stakes? What do they stand to lose or gain?

What are their emotional buttons? What specifically sets them off?

Keep Dialogue Realistic, Arguments often involve interrupted sentences, raised voices, and heightened emotions.

People often cut each other off in heated arguments. Use dashes or ellipses to show interruptions.

Use short, sharp sentences to convey anger or frustration.

Don’t be afraid to use exclamation points sparingly to show yelling or intense emotions.

Example:"I can't believe you did that!" she shouted. "I had no choice!" he interrupted, throwing up his hands. "You never listen to me!"

Show, Don’t Just Tell, Body language and physical actions can add a lot to an argument. Show how characters are feeling through their actions:

Clenched fists, crossed arms, pacing, or avoiding eye contact can show tension.

A character might slam a door, throw something, or storm out.

Flushed cheeks, narrowed eyes, or a furrowed brow can convey anger or frustration.

Build Tension Gradually, Arguments often escalate rather than start at full intensity. Build the tension step by step.

Start with a minor disagreement or a tense conversation.

Let the argument build as each character becomes more invested and emotional.

Reach a peak where the characters are at their most heated and emotional.

Decide whether the argument resolves or leaves characters estranged.

Use Emotional Beats, Incorporate moments of realization, regret, or empathy within the argument. These emotional beats can add depth:

A character might have a sudden realization in the middle of the argument.

Show a character feeling immediate regret after saying something hurtful.

A character might momentarily see the other’s point of view, even if they don’t fully agree.

Reflect the Stakes, Make sure the argument reflects the stakes of the story. The higher the stakes, the more intense the argument should be. If it’s a minor disagreement, keep it low-key. If it’s a life-changing issue, let the emotions and tension run high.

Vary the Pacing Not all arguments need to be fast and furious. Vary the pacing to reflect the ebb and flow of real conversations, Use quick back-and-forth dialogue for intense moments. Allow for pauses where characters collect their thoughts or calm down slightly before the next surge of emotion.

Consider the Aftermath, Think about the consequences of the argument. How does it affect the characters and their relationships moving forward?

Are characters feeling guilty, relieved, or still angry?

Does the argument bring characters closer, or does it drive a wedge between them?

Example of a Written Argument

"You never take my side!" Luana shouted, her voice echoing in the small apartment. "That's not true," Jamil replied, his tone defensive. "I just don't think you’re being reasonable." "Reasonable?" She laughed bitterly, crossing her arms. "You call ignoring my feelings reasonable?" "I'm not ignoring your feelings!" Jamil snapped, taking a step closer. "I just think you're overreacting." "Overreacting?" Luana's face flushed with anger. "You always say that! Every single time I bring up something important!" "Well, maybe if you didn't blow things out of proportion—" "Don't you dare say that!" she interrupted, her voice trembling. "I can't talk to you when you're like this." "Fine," he muttered, turning away. "Maybe we shouldn’t talk at all."

[soaringwide]

PAC: How to overcome your fears regarding relationships?

Hey :p

Here is a new love pick a card about a topic I've personally been struggling with recently, so I really wanted to dive into it.

The goal of today's reading is to look at what fears you're dealing with in matters of relationships; fears that might manifest as blockages or obstacles in your love life; and how to overcome them.

As always, this reading is meant for multiple people and there are only three piles, so take what resonates and leave out the rest. It can help focusing on your issue or a specific relationship while selecting the pile.

I offer paid readings as well, don't hesitate to reach out to me in DMs.

Ko-fi ★ book a reading ★ pinned post ★ instagram

PILE 1

Cards: 3 of Swords, 9 of Pentacles, King of Wands, Queen of Wands, Slow Down, King of Pentacles, Manic, Queen of Swords, King of Cups, Queen of Cups, 2 of Pentacles, 5 of Pentacles, the World, 7 of Wands, the Magician, the Emperor

Your fears surrounding relationship have to do with heartbreak and loss. It seems you've had your heart wounded deeply in the past. The pain was intense and it took you so long to sooth it, and you had to use all your resources to revive yourself from this state. You had to learn to be independent and flourish for your own sake, to tend to your own inner garden and make a life beautiful and enjoyable for yourself. So you not only are scared to get your heart broken again, but also to lose your individuality and the peace you built for yourself. I think you are attracted to people like you, strong individuals with ambition and passion, but you're scared it's going to get in the way of your own path and vision and lead you apart, breaking your heart once more. I believe you overthink quite a lot and expect things to go wrong before they even do.

These fears are rooted in your relentless mind, forever going full speed from one extreme to the other, in a frenetic quest for meaning and movement. It seems you have trouble feeling satisfied by anything for long because you're always looking at the next adventure, the next prize, the next achievement. It's not that you're ungrateful or anything, but rather, that you are scared you're going to be left with nothing if you stop trying to fix what's wrong in your life. You keep looking for problem to solve, perhaps due to your triggered survival instinct, and it's hard for you to stop and appreciate what you have. So the root of your fears is in your own mind, in the pathways you built years after years and that you solidified. It seems you have a hard time finding your balance, go with the flow and stay in the appreciation of the present.

These fears manifest in relationships by a hard grip on your feelings by your mind. See, your feelings are strong and run deep, and they can get overwhelming very easily. As a result, you react by dissecting them like some freaky science experiment and try to break everything down to understand them, but also to keep them under the control of your logic. It's kind of a toxic pattern, an abusive move from yourself towards yourself. Your words can be harsh and hot tempered because you feel hurt easily and can blow things out of proportions fast. You're so scared of losing your agency and getting hurt that it makes you hyper aware of every little blow at your heart and you go to war a bit too easily. I'd also say that paradoxically, you have a hard time being honest about your feelings and communicating them in a gentle and open way. You may even wait till things become unbearably painful before saying anything, instead of acting earlier when the need arose the first time. You struggle with the idea of vulnerability a lot and perhaps your way around that is to wait till it feels like it's the other person's fault for hurting you instead of your own inability to express yourself authentically.

For what external influences play a part here, I'd say first that you have a strong personal sense of what you need from life and relationships, but that you doubt yourself a lot. You keep comparing yourself to what others have, or what society expects and this is making you feel depleted and resource-less. It's like, people say one thing, and you know it's wrong, but for some reason you keep entertaining the idea even though you know it's rotten and useless for you. In addition, you also feel pressed by time, as if you felt you were following some type of transcending schedule you had to abide by, and if you are late or out of sync, then that means you are failing and it's causing your fears to intensify. This is making your fears worse because these expectations weight on your mind and make you feel broken and worsen you destructive patterns.

For how to overcome your fears, your first need to let go of the struggle mindset. No, life is not out there to get you and you aren't going to lose everything if you dare opening up to love. You are too defensive of your heart and too combative in your approach. You need to replace that mindset by bringing all elements of yourself in harmony. Your mind shouldn't fight your emotions, your passion shouldn't clash with the respect of your boundaries. What I'm trying to say is to take a look at what you're over-doing and what you're neglecting, and bring some balance within yourself. You must also bring clarity in your mind about what it is you want and hold the vision, knowing that you will find what you need when the right opportunity arises. Also, don't hesitate to advocate your your needs and wants. Not like a tyrant, but like someone who knows themselves and know what's best for them, and go after whom they desire without fear. Yes, the battles of the heart are scary and it can be hard to go for what you want due to the fear of loss and pain, but you need to make a conscious decision to not only open up, but also let the other person know where you stand. Trust in your magic, your skills and power, you have everything that you need to succeed.

PILE 2

Cards: 4 of Swords, the Magician, the Star, Inner Awareness, Let Go rx, Queen of Pentacles, the Fool, 5 of Swords, 10 of Cups, Jealousy rx, Optimism, Queen of Cups, Page of Wands, 3 of Pentacles, Death

Your fears regarding relationship come up as fearing your hopes and dreams won't manifest. You are a romantic, a dreamer who has a beautiful and idealistic idea of what love can and should be, but you're struggling to find it. You may currently be in a state of isolation and afraid of it will never end, and that you'll be missing out on the joys of love. You are highly in tune with your higher desires, have a strong faith in the vision you have for the relationship you dream of, however, you're also highly scared that this will not become a reality, because you worry you do not have what it takes to reach your dream. I'd also say you're painfully aware of you own flaws and issues, and you worry you won't be accepted as you are.

The root cause of these fears shows up as a struggle to let go of your need to control and predict when the situation would require to simply take a step forward and embark on an adventure without worrying about the future. You may have been neglecting your love life for a while before this moment, not leaving enough space for relationships to bloom, because you perceived it as a treat for your well being at the time, which might simply mean that you hadn't met the right person or at the right time, and I think it shows up here because these disappointments made you very wary and careful about love and it's holding you back presently.

These fears manifest in your relationships by placing too high of an expectation from the get go on them. This gap between reality and dream is putting pressure on the relationship and on yourself. You may see the relationship as failing and struggling to communicate because you feel so vindicated. You might know that your approach is not working, but failing to understand why, and thinking things were not meant to be as a result, circling back on this idea of fated and perfect love. You may also compare the relationship to the ideal in your mind excessively, which is creating even more tension, anger and frustration, because it doesn't match your ideal.

For the external influences, it seems your current mindset was shaped by an environment that didn't encourage honest and authentic communication of your emotions, needs and desires. Paradoxically, you were told to always remain optimistic and hopeful, that things would always work out without effort, but without giving you the keys to how to work towards that in reality. It's as if it fed into your dreamy nature without allowing you to understand how to build the bridge between dream and reality. You didn't learn the power of your actions and how to take accountability for them, which is again feeding this imbalance between your inner world and the reality of a lived relationship. Also, circling back on the fear of not being accepted I highlighted in the first paragraph, this is also linked to your lack of skills in communication, because you expect people to understand you without having to express yourself, which is unfair to them.

For how to overcome these fears, the cards point at a few things. First, we're being led back to this idea of embarking on an adventure, with passion and confidence, and stepping out of your comfort zone. You must learn that the way you are approaching things is not working and need a deep transformation. You must learn from the mistakes of your past and start anew. Look at the future with hope but take actions toward what you desire. Also, keep in mind this idea that building a relationship requires team work and constant effort, and that things will not always be perfect and dreamy. Some days will be hard, but it doesn't mean they will never be sweet. Be open minded and enthusiastic and learn not to draw hasty conclusions on the relationship or on your person.

PILE 3

Cards: 3 of Pentacles, Page of Pentacles, 10 of Wands, Joy rx, 10 of Pentacles, 10 of Swords, 7 of Pentacles, King of Wands rx, King of Pentacles, Ace of Pentacles, 2 of Cups, 8 of Wands, Forgive rx, Intuition rx, 4 of Pentacles, the Hermit, Knight of Cups

Okay so heads up, this file feels a bit like the results of your own doing.

Your fears regarding relationships have to do with the idea of being burdened with responsibilities and losing access to the usual ways you find joy in life. I'm getting strong fear of commitment. That a committed relationship could get in the way of your present social life, friends and party habits. I see you quite mesmerized by what looks like glitter, as in, what seems attractive and exciting in the moment, which makes you ignore everything else that is around it because you're so fixated on what's in front of you. Basically, it seems like a lot of work and sacrifices for a reward that seems unsure and unsatisfying, and you fear that.

This is all rooted in what seems to be a fear of endings, as in, you fear closing a chapter of your life, both because of the pain of closing such chapter will cause (grief for a time of your life that is gone), as well as for the loss of the pleasures that come with it. You also fear things slowing down and being out of your hands, that your happiness won't depend from your own will only anymore and that you would have to work for it with someone. However, you of course don't see that behind every ending is a new beginning, and that things might not be as clear cut and as desperate and you imagine them to be. It's a bit over dramatic I feel.

This manifest in relationship by a bit of a toxicity if I'm completely honest. The cards point at rigidity and stubbornness as well as pent up anger and passive aggressiveness towards your partner. You might get fed up of them easily, because you feel restricted in your freedom. There is an inability to look past your own trauma and you're pushing its patterns onto your partner instead of addressing them directly. You end up hurting the both of you on the process.

For the external influences, I feel like there may be a connection that is triggering all these wounds for you here. Perhaps someone you were not expecting, someone who wish to come into union with you, to communicate freely and to make you a solid romantic offer. You sense that and it's making you spiral. This connection is putting pressure on you by asking you to make amends with the way you act and to own up to your bullshit (sorry). It may also trigger your intuition that is trying to tell you something, which you are refusing to listen to.

How to overcome these challenges then? The cards point at a need for a deep, thoughtful introspective journey, which will lead you to let go of your resistance to change. You're currently holding everything in, and I'm getting the image of a dam that is about to break down, little cracks growing and growing, and you're trying to cover them with your hands, but it's a losing battle. You need to learn to come forward, be vulnerable and authentic with your feelings and move towards what calls your heart without negating your deeper feelings and intuition. Make amends to you heart and pay attention to its whispers.

[themeraldee]

Ok but what about homelander who gets bored one day and decides to go searching through adult vids on the internet, scrolling past videos upon videos centered around him or the seven (HOMELANDER AND MAEVE CUAGHT FUCKING IN THE AIR?!?!? NOT CLICKBAIT) but nothing catches his eye. That is until he comes across you. Ur not doing any crazy shit just wearing pair of his brand of panties and nothing else. But it’s the way you look up at the camera all innocent like your not fitting a monstrous dildo down ur throat that makes him click on ur channel

And then he becomes obsessed with you, ur number one fan 🤧🤧🤧

Oh mate the 'HOMELANDER AND MAEVE CUAGHT FUCKING IN THE AIR?!?!? NOT CLICKBAIT' bit made me think of all the weird candid moments and stories people would be sharing on reddit/tumblr/twitter and I low-key want more of that in the show 😂 where are the conspiracy theory boards!!! where are the creep shots!!! Anyway that was off topic. Sorry about that 😂

Oooh hoho hoo how the tables turn. Who's the fan now?

It would take a little while for him to slowly descend into madness. I see this as a desperate attempt for him to soothe his ego. So like he comes back from a meeting where he got talked back to or he got scolded by his corpo parents so he's thinking about how there are millions of people who love him, revere him. He should look at that, not the people in his life that make him frustrated.

He's trying to jerk off, make himself feel good but he's too much in his head, his own voice coming back to him and scolding him too for caring so much about their opinions all while Edgar or Madelyn's voices keep coming back to him.

So instead he seeks out fans that could get his mind off the repetitive and distracting thoughts. Might as well indulge in how much people love him. Fuck Edgar. Fuck Madelyn. He's a superhero for fucks sakes, what do they have on him??

He skips all the stupid ones where people dress up as him and Maeve. He doesn't need to watch someone try to be him. He wants someone to worship him.

So there you are with your soaked little Homelander panties sucking on the silicone of the Homelander's Star Spangled Banger looking up at the camera with those doe eyes as if you were not pretending to be sucking his cock.

That image more than does the job, and he doesn't even get to the part where you fuck yourself with it before he blows his load.

At first that'd be enough for him. Satisfied, no longer thinking about what happened. Until time goes on and he keeps thinking back to that look you most definitely meant for him. If you weren't looking for his attention you wouldn't have presented yourself so perfectly right?

He watches the rest of your content in one night, really pushing the limits of his stamina as he blows load after load to the sight of you getting yourself off to his name in multiple ways and positions.

After the obsession fully sets in I see him having a little bit of a crisis between deciding whether he should be the only one who gets to see you like that. It's literally made for him after all. OR if he secretly likes how much other people drool over you while they couldn't stand a chance with you.

He ends up finding who you are and where you live and he watches through the walls of your home as you record yourself. He gets the front row seat and all the parts that come before and after. All the little insights in your life that others don't see. So he makes the move to meet you... aaaand the rest is history...

ALSOO being the attention whore he is I see him even wanting to record one with you. Where all you see in the frame is his naked thighs and cock so no one can actually tell that it's him while he has you sucking him off. Knowing that nobody else will get you like this and that all your fans are watching you finally blow him like you've been clearly wanting to for so long just blows up his ego to insane proportions.

[whatsk-poppinhomies]

Pairing : boyfriend!Hwang Hyunjin x F!Reader TW : jealousy ; possessiveness ; trust issues ; angsty ; Word Count : 2.2k Request : Anonny : Can you write a fic in which a chan/ a member picks you up after a long day at work and gets upset or jealous when he sees you talking and giggling with a male coworker? He becomes even more angry when he realizes that despite how much you talk about your job & everyone at work, you have never mentioned a male coworker. A/N : I feel like Hyunjin suits the jealousy trope so well (might just be me though) He just seems like the type that would be so dramatic and blow things way out of proportion. Also! I love writing jealousy tropes and fics, I think it's so fun, so thank you for this request!! The gif I used is from this blog post!

Exhausted couldn’t begin to describe how Hyunjin felt as he climbed into his car, giving himself a moment to rest his legs, his back, his everything before making the drive to your work. You both got off at the same time, which was very convenient today considering all he wanted to do was go home and cuddle with you and maybe take a hot bath with you between his legs. 

Whenever work was particularly tiring, you were all he thought about, going home with you and just being with you, it gave him enough strength to get through the rest of the day, knowing that you’d be there with him to give him back the strength and energy that he poured into his work. He honestly just loves being with you, everything about you and your presence is so soothing to him, he could listen to you talk for hours, and usually he would. His head would be laying on your lap as you played with his hair and told him all about your day and all the things that happened at work. You’d talk about the people that you work with, fellow employees that were once just people that you had to work alongside, but now they were like your closest friends. He just loved hearing about your life, knowing what you were up to when you were away from him, everything about you was precious to him. 

Now, he’d never verbally claim that he was the jealous type, although deep down he knew that he had the tendency to be a bit jealous, but it was all for a good reason. You were his, and he just felt like everyone in the world should respect that, and for the most part, they did. The one person that he felt respected it the most though was you. You never talked to a guy for longer than a minute without Hyunjin being around, even if it was another member, you respected him enough to keep conversations with any guy as short as possible. 

That’s why he wasn’t particularly happy to see you standing outside your work, chatting it up with some dude, and not just chatting, but you were smiling and giggling. He had heard so much about your work, but this guy… any guy for that matter, had never been brought up, not even once. It was clear by the way you were with the guy that you had known him for a pretty long time too. He was getting impatient, and it was clear from both of your casual demeanors that you had been talking long enough, so he honked his horn, grabbing your attention and the attention of the guy beside you. 

You waved excitedly to him, and he would have let it slide, he would have completely forgotten about all of it if not for what happened next. The guy's arms were held out, and you had every opportunity to refuse the hug, to let the guy know that you needed to go, but you hugged the guy back. It wasn’t exactly an awkward hug either, no, it was the hug of two people that weren’t just coworkers. 

A sea of green washed over him, and it wasn’t just jealousy that he felt now… He was angry, he was humiliated. How could you do something like that when he was right there… And what were you doing when he wasn’t there? He was pissed… and he wasn’t going to let this slide. He’d get to the bottom of it immediately. 

“Hey baby!” You exclaimed as you climbed into the car, leaning over the center console to press a kiss to his cheek before sitting properly and clicking your seatbelt. You were in a wonderful mood, far too happy at the moment to pick up on the drastically different mood that he was harboring. “How was work today? You were probably really busy, you barely answered any of my texts.” Is that why you were doing this… Because he hadn’t responded to your texts like he usually did? 

“Yeah… I was super busy…” He said almost robotically, not wanting to get too worked up in the car. It was no place to have an argument, and even though he was pissed off, he didn’t want to get into an accident, he didn’t want anything to happen to you. “Just wanna go home and soak in the tub, ya know…” 

His eyes were laser focused on the road in front of him, his hands gripping tightly on the wheel to keep his emotions in check. Even still, you didn’t seem to notice that he wasn’t his usual self when he was with you. Did that guy back there have your mind clouded? Were you still thinking of him? “Oh? Maybe I can join you? I know you love when I take-” 

“No…” He cut you off as he quickly turned onto your street. “I just want to be able to stretch out and relax.” He said, taking a deep breath as he pulled into the driveway, thankful that the car ride was so short from your work to the house. You were silent as you both simultaneously climbed out of the car, and you continued that silence as you followed him into the house, only speaking once you shut the door behind you. 

“Okay… What the hell is wrong? I know that you had a busy day at work, but why are you being so short with me?” You asked rather sternly, placing your bag down on the little bench beside the door and then toeing off your shoes to follow him deeper into the house. 

“So now you notice?” Hyunjin sassed, going straight to the fridge and pulling out a can of beer, something that he rarely did, if ever. “Took you long enough.” He mumbled, the popping of the tab permeating through the otherwise silent house. 

“The fuck are you talking about?” You retorted, your head shaking as you leaned over the kitchen island to grab the drink from his hand. “I noticed in the car, I just didn’t bring it up because I didn’t want you to get worked up while driving. Clearly something is bothering you, so tell me.” 

Hyunjins eyes rolled as he sinply grabbed another can from the fridge, giving you his famous side eye as he popped the tab once more and started swigging it. “Clearly you wouldn’t give a damn about what’s bothering me since you don’t respect our relationship.” He leaned back against the counter opposite from you. “How could you not know?” 

“What in the actual fuck are you on about right now?!” You shouted, and while you hadn’t meant to get so loud, you couldn’t help but be both insulted and confused by his statement. “You know what… I don’t want to know what you’re talking about because it’ll only piss me off more.” 

You took a swig from the beer can that you had taken from him, your nose crinkling at the taste of it before setting the can down to turn and walk away, but clearly he wasn’t done yet. “Oh, that’s right. Walk away! All I ask is that you respect me, love me the same way I love you, I guess that’s too much to ask for though!” He called after you and you paused in the middle of the room, your hands moving to your hair to run your fingers through it in agitation before whipping around to face him. 

“I’m walking away because you’re confusing the hell out of me! I don’t know what you’re talking about!” You shouted back to him, your chest rising and falling heavily, his words, although they didn’t make an ounce of sense to you, they were hurtful nonetheless. “Just take your bath, maybe you’ll actually be able to have an adult conversation when you’re calmed down.” 

“Oh I’m calm!” He retorted, slamming his hands down on the counter, his palms slapping against the granite top sounded painful but he didn’t seem to care right now. “As calm as someone can be when they see their girlfriend flirting with another guy! Giggling and talking up a storm with whoever the hell he is! Giving him a hug! I know those hugs! Those are my hugs!” His nostrils flared with irritation, but his words were allowing you to see where his mind was, what he thought was going on, and while you understood where he was coming from, he hadn’t even given you an opportunity to explain. “Is that why you never talk about him? Hmm? Because you don’t want me to know about your secret lover?! Well I found out!” He seemed so proud of himself, his arms crossed over his chest as he backed up to lean against the counter, his smile quite snide as he looked at you. 

You clapped your hands, nodding your head slowly and you unamusedly chuckled. “Good job, Hyunjin. You found out that my best friend's little brother got hired. I trained him, it was his first day and he did a really good job. He’s like a little brother to me…” Hyunjins jaw fell slack as he looked at you, and you could only scoff at his sudden realization that he had fucked up. “You know, it’s one thing to worry and ask, but to just jump to conclusions and accuse me of shit… I see what kind of person you think I am… And it’s really fucking upsetting actually.” 

He moved around the counter quickly, grabbing onto you as his head shook, his mouth moving but no words came out, only nonsensical sounds that sounded a great deal like begging. “I… Well… When… I… Baby…” He rambled, but you pushed against his shoulders, creating the distance between the two of you that you felt you needed now. “Please… I just got scared… You’re my love, and I… You looked so happy… I didn’t know… You never told me…” 

“And you looked like you were having a great time MCing for Music Core, but I never doubted you and I never accused you of cheating.” You shot back, furthering the distance with every step he took towards you. “Clearly I loved you, respected you, and trusted you more than you do me…” He took one more step towards you, his long legs filling the space faster than you could create it, and before you knew it, you were backed against the front door. “Hyunjin stop…” You mumbled, keeping him at arm's length, your hands against his chest. “I’m upset… And I think maybe I should just spend the night somewhere else.”

“No… I don’t want that… I want you here with me…” He pleaded, and while you could see in his demeanor that he wanted to be close to you, he stopped trying, letting you keep him as far away as you possibly could. “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to upset you… I had a bad day and… And all I wanted was to be with you and I saw that… I was upset too.” 

You rolled your eyes at his reasoning, sighing with exasperation. “So you’re going to accuse me of cheating whenever you have a bad day and I’m talking to one of my coworkers? That’s not fair…” Your eyes closed as your head fell back against the door. “I… Look…” You slowly opened your eyes to look at him once more, quickly glancing away when you saw his pout and the way his eyes watered. “I understand bad days… I’ve had them too… But that doesn’t mean that you can just hurt me because you think you saw something. You were willing to throw away a perfectly good relationship because you assumed something… And that’s a deeper issue than just a bad day at work.” 

He shakily gasped as he stared at you, and even though you weren’t looking directly at him, the sound of his sniffles let you know that he was crying. “We can work on my issues together… I’m… I don’t want to ruin the relationship… I love you, baby… I don’t want you to leave…” His hands moved to grab yours, moving them off his chest so he could step closer to you. “Just stay here with me and we can talk about it…” 

Your head shook as you pulled your hands away, side stepping away from him with a heavy sigh. “I need to take some time to think. I think you do too… I’ll be back after work tomorrow and we can talk about it.” You quickly kissed his cheek before turning to the front door, hesitating for just a moment when you heard his almost silent sobs from behind you. “I love you, Hyunjin…” You whispered before slipping out the front door. 

You weren’t leaving him, but some things were better handled by oneself, and this was something he needed to think about on his own. You knew that staying there would only have him coming up with excuse after excuse for what he did and apologies that were only said to make you stay. You needed him to realize that you loved him, that he could trust you, and that was something that he needed to be alone to realize for himself. 

[terapsina]

Fading Cinders - elejah fic

- ao3 -

Rebekah found Elijah just as he was about to leave the house, noting the heaviness that seemed to weigh down his shoulders.

"Do you think you can go through with it?" she asked, scrutinizing her brother for signs of second thoughts.

"Whatever are you referring to now, Rebekah?" His voice was cold, showing no chinks in his seamless armor. And yet Rebekah had known him for a millennium, she saw the turmoil in his every line of movement. In the way, the skin under his eyes was tight with a fought-back grimace, even while his eyes seemed to remain flinty with oncoming battle.

"Don't treat me like a fool just because you've become one, Elijah," Rebekah scoffed and narrowed her eyes. "Are you ready to threaten her life? You know I'm not going to play a very gentle jailor here, and a threat means nothing if you're unwilling to go through with it."

She saw him close his eyes and found the taste of something like regret at the back of her throat, sharp and a touch bitter.

"She lied to me. And mother-"

"-might be planning something," she finished for him, pain flashing through her chest with betrayed denial like water hitting the surface of boiling oil. It could still be nothing couldn't it? Just Elijah borrowing some of Nik's paranoia and blowing it out of proportion. But could she take a chance that slim? "And you are still a pathetic fool in love with the latest Doppelganger-"

"-Elena," he snapped, eyes opening with a glare.

"Elena," she corrected herself with a roll of eyes. At least he had enough respect for Rebekah's intellect not to try denying the obvious. "So, the question stands, are you really ready to go through with putting Elena's life in jeopardy to find out what big, terrible spell our mother is about to cast?"

"She has left me very little choice in the matter," Elijah said, the heavy air around him seeming to gain a few additional tons of weight made up of pain and the resigned betrayal of a man doomed to scorch his own heart to cinders.

Rebekah had known months ago, the moment her back had crashed against the side of the car, when she'd recognized Elijah and saw the way he hovered in front of Elena like a guardian angel.

He might as well have covered the ground around Elena's feet in a rainbow of flower petals, it would have been less obvious.

Not that Elena was any better. Busy being torn between the two Salvatores and yet somehow still finding time to stare at Elijah like all the wind had just been knocked from her lungs, instead of Rebekah's.

They were honestly straight out of a Shakespearean tragedy. If she wasn't so angry at Elena for her first betrayal, Rebekah would almost have been fascinated by the oncoming trainwreck.

Because Elijah might not see it - busy thinking himself absent from the battle for the human girl's heart - but Rebekah certainly saw - unfortunately.

Elena was maybe entangled in the mess that was Stefan and Damon vying for the first spot for her hand right now. But not so busy as to not have her breath catch, and her heart flutter when someone so much as mentioned Elijah's name in her hearing.

Like Rebekah said that first time - pathetic, the both of them.

"I will do as I must," Elijah said, eyes clouded over with centuries of age "Our family means everything, always and forever."

Something cracked behind his eyes, and she felt the hatred Elena had inspired in her when she drove that dagger through Rebekah's back, doubling in intensity at seeing the breaks in the brother who had remained unbroken for a thousand years.

Rebekah was watching herself lose her brother, she realized with a sharp drop in her stomach. Whether Elena Gilbert lived through this day or not, Elijah would never forgive himself for what he was about to do.

Viciously, Rebekah hoped that Elena would be forced to face the ruin she'd made of her brother's heart.

But it was a vain hope. She knew her brother too well for that, Elijah's old oaths to his siblings meant he could not keep Elena safe this time, - would in fact, have to be the one placing her in harm's way - but he would not use his heartbreak to inspire more pain than he had to in her.

And suddenly Rebekah wasn't sure what drove her bloodthirst more.

That old petty wish for payback? Whatever deal Elena had made with their mother last night while protected behind the secret wall of a privacy spell? Or the oncoming loss of her older brother to his own foolish, foolish heart?

"She doesn't deserve you," she tried, frustrated and angry and terrified to her core.

"No, Rebekah," he disagreed and looked at her with eyes that for once, hid nothing, "if I am about to prove anything, it's that I will never deserve Elena."

[gallusrostromegalus]

So how eldritch can we expect your version of Hollows to be? Because if there's one thing I take joy from the various fandoms you stick your fingies into is the extremely enjoyable (cursed) way you describe the gods/monsters

I'm definitely looking forward to all these Bleach shenanigans~ :3

Have a Sample:

*

He doesn't sleep.

Kaname just lies there, fingertips tracing over his chest. It bothers him now that his skin is unblemished. There should be something, he feels. A ring of raised flesh, an abrasion, something?Surely this feeling in his chest means he's about to become one of them.

He presses his chest, trying to feel it out. His heart still beats, his lungs ache- Maybe it's in his Liver. You can live without half a liver, can't you? Or was it gallbladders? Retsu had told him, once, when-

He does not cry out. He swears he can feel the hole growing every time he thinks of someone who was ever kind, who ever trusted him, of Shuuhei and Saijin and home and anything more than surviving the next hour. He does not cry out, but he can't grit his teeth hard enough to hold the little whimper entirely in.

Unfortunately, it's enough to wake his companion.

Wonderweiss is a pure creature, and even under better circumstances, Kaname isn't entirely sure he could deny him anything. Under these circumstances, he's given to spoiling the creature. So the small Arrancar had been allowed to curl up beside him, sleeping with his back to Tousen and his face to the door. Saijin used to do the same, when they traveled together, at least in new villages.

Perhaps he couldn't deny himself the faint comfort of another warm body. Perhaps he feels like he deserves the way the memory cuts at him. Perhaps he hopes the memory will finally cut his chest open.

But Wonderweiss stirs at the noise, sitting up. He sleeps at a twisted angle, chest flat on the bed and hips nearly facing the ceiling. When he moves, Kaname feels Weiss' top half rise, but not the bottom, like his spine is little more than a polite suggestion.

"Ahm?" He asks, nudging Tousen.

"I'm fine." Kaname lies.

"Hmg." Weiss grunts, sitting up all the way and patting at him, humming with concern. Small soft hands on his face, arm, shoulder, stomach-

"Weiss?" He frowns. "Did you grow more hands?"

"Ah!" Weiss chirps.

"...Good Job?" he tries. He can feel the edges of his eyes burning with exhaustion, even when they're closed. More hands. Sure. Why not?

"-I wondered if I would learn what kind of a freak you were before you died." Gin drawled from the doorway. "Have to admit, didn't think you'd be into-"

Wonderweiss made a noise that roughly served the same function as a growl, but sounded like it had been turned inside-out, a low, wet thumping from the middle of the Hollow's chest. Weiss started to get up and Kaname felt the bed dip like the hollow had also tripled in size overnight.

"Fuck off, Gin." He groaned, sitting up and wrapping his arms around what he hoped was Weiss' abdomen. "Don't bother, he'll only give you a stomachache." He mumbled, tugging a bit against Weiss, who had previously been roughly the size and shape of a small child, but now seemed to be taking on the scale and proportions of a moose.

"I mean I shouldn't be surprised, you always did have a soft spot for animals-" Gin teased, and Weiss gave him another wet growl. "-Seriously, you feel safe enough to sleep with this thing?"

"If Grimmjow or Baraggan decides to do me in, that's one less warm body between you and The Old Man whenever push comes to shove." Tousen shrugged, tugging more insistently at Weiss, who seemed to sit back a bit. "The microsecond it takes him to blow through me might be your only chance to slither off like the coward you are."

Gin didn't immediately respond. "You know how lucky you are that you can't see that thing, right? He looks like a pipe organ made of ribcages."

Weiss trilled a short set of scales smugly.

"Is. Is it actually supposed to be doing that?" Gin asked, sounding almost genuinely concerned. "I thought it wasn't supposed to shapeshift until-

There was the faint sound of Gin's foot crossing the threshold into the room.

Wonderweiss' furious screaming probably woke every hollow in Hueco mundo, if not the lighter sleepers in the soul society. A high, almost metallic scraping noise, like a knife on a chalkboard, followed by a deep, resonant boom as something elaborate that Kaname absolutely did not remember including in Weiss' specs happened in the Hollow's thorax, and the wall opposite the door exploded.

Ah. The "wonder" in Wonderweiss. Must be short for "Wonder what the fuck that was". "Fuck!" Yelped Gin, and the Hollow launched off the bed, galloping after him through the echoing halls of the city.

Kaname sat on the edge of the bed, contemplating chasing after them. On one hand, he didn't want Weiss to come to any harm. On the other even the effort of sitting upright was making his arms shake and stomach churn. He realized he was rubbing his chest again, searching for the hole that had to be forming there.

Well, if he became a Hollow, perhaps he'd become a bastard-eating one like Weiss and devour Aizen. It'd serve him right after all this. There was some dark comfort in that thought and slowly, he rolled back onto the bed and tried lying still with his eyes closed again.

Kaname does not sleep.

He does manage to stop thinking for a while and is nearly startled when Weiss returns, humming cheerfully. He feels like he's returned to his regular size and number of limbs now, as he climbs awkwardly over where Kaname had rolled onto his stomach to rest.

"Kahnm?" Weiss tries, nuzzling at his shoulder.

"I'll be alright." he mumbles, reaching up to pat Weiss' head and this time, it almost feels like it might be the truth.

Satisfied, Weiss settles over Kaname this time, probably only two arms folded over his side and chest resting across Kaname's back, legs sprawled out to the side like a great cat as he resumes his vigil of the doorway. The weight is comforting, and more presicent in his mind than the sensations in his chest.

This time, Kaname sleeps.

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

Some thoughts about writing Ed and Stede going to ✨therapy✨

One thing I think I see a lot in OFMD fics is therapy being like an instant fix, but I think it's way more fun to think about the new wrinkles and situations therapy can lead to. Sending Ed and Stede to therapy can be a great way to help them heal but I think it works best and is most in-character when you think about why they're going, how it's going to help, and what new issues might arise.

I do not think these two would just decide to go to therapy without a push. In my latest multi-chapter fic, which required me to actually think about this, I figure that it wouldn't occur to Stede and Ed would either think about it on-and-off for years, dismissing at first as something not meant for people like him, or he'd get spooked into thinking it might be a good idea for him. In that fic, the push is Ed realizing after he blows a small incident out of proportion that he's on the verge of a panic attack like constantly and deciding he doesn't want to live like that anymore.

I think couple's therapy is a really good option, it gets a reputation as only for couples in crisis but it works for anyone. It allows them to support each other and talk through their issues with a mediator. Plus, Jackie as their couple's therapist is one of the casting choices I'm proudest of!

I 100% believe Stede will go along with therapy for Ed's sake, and then when they start talking to him he'll be like "wait no." He will begrudingly go along with things, thinking he's just humoring Ed, and will be deeply surprised when some of the techniques to stop self-hating thoughts he learns actually work. You get out of therapy what you put into it, so I think Stede's progress will be slower.

For Ed, I think it'll get worse before it gets better. He's going to have cycles of grieving for what happened to him, feeling angry about it, feeling guilty for feeling angry about it...learning that he's not a monster for having negative emotions will be tough.

Therapy will turn Stede Bonnet into the slipperiest motherfucker alive. If he doesn't want to talk about his feelings he'll just start listing therapy buzzwords. Ed's probably gonna fall for it a couple times before he catches on.

I could see these two becoming competitive about how well they're doing in therapy. Like, "ooh, watch out, babe, I'm being way more vulnerable than you right now." This could be variously encouraging and annoying

Talking things through will still be hard. Real people don't really talk in therapy lingo. It's gonna be awkward and scary and weird.

One of the benefits of therapy is helping you identify triggers and areas to work on. This is scary. Part of good communication with your partner is finding areas where you can communicate better.

There will be times where they'll react to a situation well and times when they react poorly. Therapy isn't magic.

[tarot-junkie]

-firstly. These readings have been and were always hypothetical in my opinion. ALWAYS. Everyone interprets the data differently. I remember getting into an argument where someone said he would or will propose and I said BULLSHIT bc of a pentacles card 🫠. Admittedly…Way too in my head to interpret it without bias on REGULAR readings for evans. Whoops. My bad. Yikes. Frankly I looked at some of those readings incorrectly. //

I remember a while ago you said that the tower moment would most likely be for the fandom not for Chris and that has stuck with me ever since. You most definitely hit the nail on the head with that one

That’s the one thing I can agree on maybe getting right. And to be fair, the switch flipped for me when another friend read about his FS last year. It was a different take than most - Something about how she/FS had an idealized version of who he was and even SHE had to change her perception a bit. The tower showed up in her reading, “what will she think about him” or something along those lines. So then I wondered aloud if it was always about the fans and how they perceived of “Chris evans” LLC. And the image was the tower. And seeing it over and over wasn’t about HIM changing.

Consider the stark contrast between who he is/appears to be, and how most people have been like 👀 about the whole thing. It’s jarring for those who have invested a lot. (Sounds dramatic but) has shaken some foundations.

I don’t always ascribe to the “he needed to be fixed and heal himself and THEN will be rewarded with her” schtick bc that’s not how things always work. If you KNOW him personally, you might be able to argue that- but as it stands currently, we can only quote Kneepads (People) re: how he “feels” according to a SOURCE 🫠 and say that “that is accurate.”

Someone used the word shambolic yesterday and it really represents my feelings on this whole nonsense. (Chaotic, disorganized, MISMANAGED). These dumb plays ….what some people would just say “ugh you’re blowing it out of proportion,” really just make it seem like some people sat around in a room and came up with ALL OF THE DUMB ideas on what to do to release this. And they can’t sell it because they’re not that good at faking story lines.

I’m not saying all of it is PR. The public side of it is ABSOLUTELY PR. The timing, the cardboard cutout nature of all of it. I’m just saying if they came up with the idea of “let’s walk thru Central Park” then it becomes a whole mess of a sprint and it’s awkward af. If they take a pic of them kissing it looks like he’s making out with her mouth-chin character. Which is weird. They can’t sell it bc they’re faking a side of it for the public. Not the whole thing. Just the public part. That’s why I said at one point, maybe it’s real and they bungled the shit out of it bc they are awkward.

I also got the vibe some of this shit was for spite, so whatever clever blogs have said he likes watching it all burn…. I think back to some public questions we’ve discussed “Is she going to the premiere?” NO. Then she goes and it’s a dumb circus. Make sure she’s spotted looking “hot.” Is he ever going to do BOSTON Con? NO, his anxiety is too bad. And then he books TWO this year. And so on. And so forth. LSA kept saying “STOP SAYING THIS, it’ll happen!!” 😂😂😂😂

So. I think we need to just be all Justin Bieber and never say never. All the people like “ohhh they won’t last” 😬🤷🏻‍♀️😂 suffice it to say….old dude is doing tf he wants.

YIPPIE. HOORAY.

[sirenascelestiales]

Honestly, considering the show/writers never acknowledged Daphne’s marital rape of her husband, and they only had a slight acknowledgment of Edwina’s feelings on Kate x Anthony, like I don’t think there will be a satisfactory resolution to Pen’s betrayal of the Bridgertons (Marina/Colin and Eloise/Theo) or of Eloise’s “friendship” with Cressida (and anything else she might do as “revenge”).

I think they’ll blow over the latter “I said I’d rather die than be her friend and I still mean it” and hugs all around or some other scene like that (which I know is simple and that’s my point). And Pen will apologize and confess that cause she’s so in love with Colin and she wanted to be noticed and she’ll be forgiven without much else from Colin. And maybe a little more for Eloise, if that.

(Spoiler’s for the books in case people care about that).

They forgive her for Whistledown in the books, Colin is worried more about her being revealed as Whistledown than her writing shit about him (tho nothing she writes is like Marina/Colin is not in the books. Daphne basically forgives her for anything she wrote about that but tbh she doesn’t seem to mind anyway). And, they like sorta acknowledge it as “wtf” thing, but it’s blown over quickly imo. “Oh well that’s nice dear” sorta reaction. And Eloise does have even more of a backbone than in the books but idk I just don’t see why and what people seem to want out of Bridgerton.

Eloise is going to somehow befriend and fall in love with Crane! You’re telling me the girl running around with Theo and “radicals” will suddenly fall for the guy boring the fuck out of Marina?

Like, I’m sorry but Bridgerton is pretty people hooking up with a regency background. They will not “do right” by most people’s standards of how the characters should act and how to apologize (Daphne and Simon make up after professing deep love in the rain! Anthony is shocked into confessing for real cause Kate fell of a horse! It’s for DRAMA, and then it’s resolved kinda easily?)

I’ve seen some more of nuanced takes against Pen, at least these people aren’t reducing her to a fat villain (cause when they did that I could not take them seriously 😒). And honestly a lot of it is fair, that’s good! The writers don’t care.

But now I keep seeing people hating Eloise to the point that they want a comeuppance that is not proportional to her “revenge”…and like… it won’t be as serious as y’all are making it to be. This “revenge”. Like please, the writers aren’t going to suddenly take this world seriously. See above and those are just 1 example for each season!

If they wanted to acknowledge all the hurt Pen put people through and make her work to become a better person, they could! I just don’t think they will because it’s 8 episodes per season and in this season they’re trying to find a way to get Colin and Pen together and Eloise and Pen as friends again by end of season. I don’t think they’ll extend a conflict into Ben’s season (I actually hope they don’t, I like Ben and Sophie’s story for the most part and while I love Anthony and Kate they shouldn’t be the focus either).

Idk what people expect I guess. if you’re watching it for Pen to be taken down a notch… might not be the season for you. If you’re hate watching I guess tag it with “anti” whatever and not the regular tags?

I’m sorry if you think she does not deserve an happy ending, I don’t necessarily disagree that she’s undeserving of some crow eating for what she’s done. However, I don’t think the writers care to make her go through that. And I don’t watch Bridgerton for brilliant character development that I think some of y’all want.

That being said I’m curious about how they’ll manage LW post Colin x Penelope marriage. In the books it basically disappears, and maybe they can use that to have a build up to Pen! However that means to me making their relationship last longer than as season and I do not want that for any of the couples.

[laventadorn]

Just reread TNER again. Wondering if maybe Sirius won’t die in y5 in this fic! Interested to see if maybe a more patient and lenient Snape will equate to an easier occlumency experience as well. (Not asking questions, just nobody to talk to about it offline 🤪)

The whole series of events that lead to Sirius dying in the books always bothered me. If Harry had just trusted Snape and stayed put everything might have turned out ok :(

hoho :3

i wish i could answer without blowing all the secrets wide open! also that i could sort the next chapter out so we could get closer to learning these secrets orz

i'm doing a readmore in case people want to completely block out even the possibilities of theories:

i did not care for the end of book 5. i understood what it was trying to do -- harry gets a devastating lesson that forces him to grow up; another source of protection is removed for the hero, who always has to walk his journey alone -- but i didn't much care for... the way it was executed, shall we say; particularly as the emotional effects seemed pretty short lived. sirius dies because of some really poor decisions all around, harry goes, "oh, i screwed up. well, he wouldn't want me to be sad!" and then boop, feelings taken care of! ???? don't you have things to work through, my guy??

idk, i feel like the effects should be in proportion to the event; otherwise it just really feels like you can see the marionette strings moving.

buuut if sirius lives, the question does become, how do you remove or handicap him enough to keep him from obstructing the hero's lonely destiny? certainly it's difficult!

[cheapsweets]

The titanic Choglaem

My response to this week's Bestiaryposting challenge from The Maniculum!

Unlike the other challenges, I didn't have a clear idea how this was going to look until I sat down to this - I was in a little bit of a rush,

It's a pen and ink drawing (dark sepia ink, and a sailor fude nib) over a very loose pencil sketch mostly to get the proportions right. I wanted to do more ink drawing because I figure it'll encourage me to learn, and there are a few spots where I managed to smudge the ink with my fingers, and the ventral scales look a little wonky (clearly I need to use more references!). If I'd had more time I might have drawn more scale detail, as snake scales are really cool, but I had fun and (hopefully) learned a bit! :D

Reasoning below the cut...

"The Choglaem is bigger than all other snakes or all other living things on earth." - large snek! This immediately made me think of Titanoboa (while cool, I'm not convinced bestiary writers would have been familiar with Palaeocene megafauna) and the fabled Sucuriju of the Amazon rainforest (a massively over-exagerated anaconda). I can't think of many creatures in nature or myth (apart from lions and rocs, respectively) that eat elephants, so this was going to be interesting...

"The Choglaem, it is said, is often drawn forth from caves into the open air, causing the air to become turbulent." - I wasn't sure how to represent this, and the other behaviour at the same time. Maybe I should have included some dramatic clouds or other atmospheric phenomena; I'm going to be interested to see how everyone else tackled this element!

"The Choglaem has a crest, a small mouth, and narrow blow-holes through which it breathes and puts forth its tongue." - For the crest, I felt I had two options; either something resembling the Naga of south east Asia, or spines like an oarfish - I went with the latter. I didn't want to give it a hood, since it notes below that this creature is non-venomous, and for the same reason I decided not to give it a cockerel's crest and wattle (associated with both the anecdotal crested cobra, and of course the cockatrice...)

We also have the tips of the snake's tongue poking out of its nostrils. As for the mouth, if it's going to be eating elephants (!) I'm not convinced the mouth can be that small, so I figured that from the front, with the jaws closed, it looks like it has a small, dainty mouth (at least until it opens it...!

"Its strength lies not in its teeth but in its tail, and it kills with a blow rather than a bite. It is free from poison. They say that it does not need poison to kill things, because it kills anything around which it wraps its tail." - Now if I was being smarter, I would have looked at the difference in anatomy between colubrid and non-colubrid snakes (including boas and pythons) - I'm way more familiar with colubrid snakes, having kept a garter snake years ago!

Reading this paragraph back, I missed that it seems to whack creatures with its tail; that would have been fun (KA-POW!), but it made sense to lean more towards the constrictor-side of things in terms of illustrating the hunting behaviour.

"From the Choglaem not even the elephant, with its huge size, is safe. For lurking on paths along which elephants are accustomed to pass, the Choglaem knots its tail around their legs and kills them by suffocation." - I figured we'd have some stylised trees on either side to represent the elephant trail, and a somewhat startled looking elephant starting to get knotted up...!

I also thought I'd try putting a simple border on the picture to frame it this time round (an idea that I've definitely stolen from a number of the other awesome participants in these challenges!).

I'm looking forward to seeing what this creature ends up being :)

[marmorafarms]

So I want to talk about how careful you have to be not to become a bully, and how easy it is to become one. How even if you've experienced it before, you can slip into it. This is going to be long, so I'll put it under a cut.

At my work, I have a coworker who is, quite bluntly, a little off putting. She is very anxious, is always apologizing, and always has an energy of being "freaked out" at all times. Her vibe is not calming. However, she's very sweet and kind, and she really wants to do a good job at work. I've never had an issue with her, but I have felt a little offput by her. I try and be nice, and I think we're friends.

Well recently, she made a mistake at work, one that she was reprimanded for. Basically she stopped to fix a sliding door that was shut, and her client walked away. We had had an issue with a different person who lost a client, but this coworker sprung into action. It took her a hot minute, but she found the client playing with toys a few feet away, just barely out of sight. However, she had made her nervousness very public, saying her worries and fears out loud, and people heard.

And then suddenly, it happened. All of my coworkers started shit talking her behind her back, talking about how incompetent she is, spreading unrelated rumors that might be false about her vaping inside the building, (we had a different coworker smoke weed in the building, and this coworker vapes too) and taking what happened and blowing it out of proportion. How do I know that it was blown out of proportion? Because I went to my boss.

I was being pulled into the drama, shocked by what I was hearing, and saying that her behavior, based on what I was told, was awful. I even said she was hard to be around, and people took that and started ranting about how much they hated being around her. One person said they hated how she typed, and that the way she typed stressed them out. And I said NOTHING. I didn't tell anyone to stop, I just fueled the fire.

One of my coworkers told me a behavior she claimed she saw (but didn't report) regarding the coworker vaping weed around clients, and I went to my boss. That was super concerning to me, since said client was a child. Call me a narc if you want, but I couldn't be having someone take a kid for their bathroom break and then start vaping with the door closed. I had to report abuse once before, and this is something that would count. So I did it. And that's when my boss sat me down and we had a talk.

Nobody had ever said anything about my coworker to my boss UNTIL THE MISTAKE HAPPENED. Suddenly, everyone had some complaint about her. About her attitude, about how she was with her clients, about her vaping. Everyone went to my boss, sometimes with the pettiest shit, and just laid it all out. My boss started to not even be able to take it seriously because it was getting to the point where my coworker was reporting she felt like she was in a hostile environment. People were giving her the cold shoulder, refusing to look at or talk to her, stopping talking when she entered the room, all of that shit. And now she was taking a break from work to calm down.

My blood ran cold when I heard that. I realized I was apart of the problem. I was engaging with people when they said shit, and didn't question their claims. I didn't stick up for her, I just allowed them to say stuff and even said myself that she annoyed me sometimes. But here's the thing--I was bullied very very badly in school. And I was suddenly seeing that I was becoming that which I hated.

I had a long think about everything, and I went to my boss and told her that what was happening wasn't okay. We work with people with mental illnesses, many of whom are ostracized in their lives for being weird or off putting. How can we say we want to make that stop and then do it ourselves to people around us? So my boss and her second in command (I'm forgetting the official title oop) decided to sit with me and come up with an anti-bullying thing for our upcoming meeting, but we're working on how to make it sound like a typical meeting thing, and not something specifically about my coworker.

Anyone can slip into bullying and being an asshole. So when you hear rumors, or want to start talking shit, think deeply about why you're doing it. Don't take everything at face value. Stop and think about it, and form your own opinion instead of just nodding along. Stand up for people. If someone says something like "oh xyz" happened say "you should report that" and then stop engaging in the conversation.

I hate that I became a bully, but I'm gonna cut that shit out right now. I messaged my coworker asking how she's doing and saying everything will be okay. She said my message made her smile for the first time in days. Be someone's light. Be someone's hope. If you didn't see what went down with your own eyes, then you're just making assumptions and maybe think you're connecting dots when you really didn't connect shit.

Be nice, and don't feed into gossip and rumors.

[epickiya722]

I really wanted to say something abt it, as you brought up how ppl seem to want Toga and Ochako to fight over Deku.

It reminds me of when some bkdks say that "If one of them was a girl, nobody would bat an eye and say that they are canon right away", and while i think that's true to some degree, i think things wouldn't change that much if Katsuki was the girl, specifically. At least, not when it comes to this group.

Bc, Kacchan is somehow controvertial over him being a schoolyard bully and insicure kid, and the fandom blowing it WAY out of proportion. I think that would happen the same way if he was a girl, but now added a much thicker layer of mysogyny.

Bc then they would most definitely pit him against Uraraka, just like they do to Toga, and be as horribly sexist as one can possibly be. Bc just like Toga, he wouldn't fit the perceived "perfectly sweet, wholesome submissive wife" role that they want Uraraka to be in so badly.

I'm saying this reminds me of what you said, bc this group, (made all basically of men), don't hate togachako and bkdk just bc they're homophobes, no, they actually hate any ship that have these two with other characters.

Bc they also have a twisted want for mha to insert in some harem shit between any girl Deku has a any interaction with so they can project onto him as the protagonist surrounded by women, and in the end be satisfied with seeing Uraraka become the pretty, submissive housewife bc that's her job as the nice main girl.

So if anyone else has a genuine shot with Deku or Uraraka, it breaks that illusion that this is what they are going to get, no matter what. And that's what they are used to getting.

Absolutely agree, Anon!

I feel like if Katsuki was a girl, there would be that group of people who would call her a bitch and "she and Izuku wouldn't work out" and definitely would view Katsuki as too "dominating" due to personality.

I hate this for several reasons because if you're shipping IzuOcha because you view Uraraka as the "perfect, submissive little wife" and that's it, you are not a true fan of her.

Like no one who is a genuine fan of her would look at her as just some "wife" for Midoriya because she's "meek and sweet".

First off, she's not "meek and submissive". Uraraka isn't a shy character. She's a lot more outgoing and social than Midoriya himself is. This is the same girl who even decided to do her internship with GUNHEAD, a Pro Hero named GUNHEAD.

Yes, she is a sweet soul. Yes, she is kind. But Uraraka isn't meant to be a girl that should be viewed as submissive because she is a nice girl. On Midoriya’s part, it's like saying he must be with her because "that's what a real man would do". He can't be with a guy, he can't have emotions. He can't cry. It's the only way some of these "fans" will actually like Midoriya. If he "gets his girl" at the end. Even though the story never was about them like that. Hell, if it was, Uraraka would have been introduced in the first episode and Midoriya would have some monologue about liking her or she is seen admiring him from afar behind some trees.

They don't care for his or Uraraka's characters like that.

Sexist and misogynistic, indeed!

Second, damn, can these kids like finish school first? We really need a timeskip where they're married? Like they can't beat the bad guys first?

Like I want a graduation timeskip! Ain't this story about how Midoriya and the others become great heroes? Last time I checked, marriage isn't needed for them to be good heroes. If it was a requirement, All Might would have been married.

And the harem thing? Ooooh, the amount of headaches I have probably gotten from going into certain tags on AO3 and here and seeing Midoriya being shipped with every single female character before I can get to the filter and exclude buttons.

I just can't sometimes, Anon.

I know a lot of Shonen and other genres in anime and any other media have certain tropes they use over and over, but sometimes it's nice to break away from said tropes.

Off topic kinda, but speaking of harems and girls, I love how in canon that they girls don't harbor romantic feelings over Midoriya and fight with each other. I also love that while they express Todoroki's pretty boy status, they don't fight over him either. They mention he's handsome and move on. Like I love that right there.

When some common tropes are taken and twisted into something a little more tolerable or feels not so played out.

[ikiracake]

Super self-indulgent Star Wars: Clone Wars AU idea that I’ll probably never write but I need to get it out of my brain before it eats its way out (full disclosure I’ve never seen a single episode of SW:TCW I just read way too much fic):

It starts out when Cody, frustrated with finding Obi-Wan’s lightsaber on the battlefield again, decides that if he’s going to be hanging onto the stupid thing 50% of the time anyways, he might as well learn how to use it. But he also knows that his brothers are assholes, and if they see him trying to train himself to fight with a lightsaber, they’ll never let him hear the end of it. So he trains in secret, so no one can bother him.

Enter Anakin, fresh off of another argument with Obi-Wan and looking to blow off some steam. He for some reason decides to find a training room on Obi-Wan’s ship rather than return to his own, and in his search to find somewhere where Obi-Wan can’t find him and lecture him more, he stumbles upon Cody. The two freeze, and share a super awkward stare-down.

But then Anakin surprises them both when instead of making some sort of comment on what Cody’s doing, he points out a mistake in Cody’s stance. Cody, bewildered, corrects himself, and somehow he finds himself going through a lightsaber training session with Anakin Skywalker as his teacher. By the end of the session, both men are still a little awkward, but they both found they worked well together, so when Anakin tentatively offers to teach Cody more later, Cody agrees.

Thus begins a rather strange partnership. Cody asks Anakin early on not to tell anyone about what they’re doing, and Anakin figures what’s one more secret to keep from his old master. But pretty soon it becomes clear that Cody’s preferred form is Soresu, because that’s what he’s most familiar with, and he just naturally picked up so much from watching Obi-Wan that it doesn’t make any sense to switch gears now and try to teach him a different form. Only, Anakin’s Soresu is terrible, and he’s really struggling to teach Cody the form. But because he’s starting to grow attached to Cody as his secret student, he decides he’s going to have to swallow his pride and go to the Soresu expert for help. Obi-Wan is baffled, but pleased, when Anakin approaches him out of the blue and asks him to help Anakin become better with Soresu. Over the course of their training, Anakin and Obi-Wan start to bond again, several of the wedges that Palpatine had subtly placed between them coming loose now that they’re interacting more in a less stressful environment. And Anakin turns around and passes on what he’s learned to Cody, who is blossoming as his student.

Everything is going smoothly, until one day during training, Anakin finally realizes that they’ve hit the point in Cody’s studies that a non-Force sensitive should not be able to keep up anymore. Cody is doing flips and dodges and moves that can’t be explained by the standard clones’ better-than-average reflexes. Anakin briefly stumbles, feeling like he’s been hit upside the head by a tank, because holy shit Cody’s Force sensitive.

What happens next is a miscommunication of epic proportions, where Cody and Anakin end up having two completely different conversations with each other.

What is actually said, is this:

Anakin, right after Cody has done a Force-assisted flip: Kriffing hells, you’re using the Force!

Cody: Ha, ha, very funny sir. Everyone knows that clones aren’t force sensitive.

Anakin: Well that’s clearly a lie.

Cody: Sir, the long-necks would definitely have caught something like that, I can assure you. It must be just your good teaching.

Anakin:...wait. Does that make you my Padawan?

Cody: Sure.

What Cody believes is happening is this: Anakin is joking around, teasing him like he usually jokes around and teases Rex. He has grown a bit fond of General Kenobi’s former student now that they’re getting to know each other, and is secretly kind of pleased to be treated like one of Skywalker’s friends. It’s all just a big joke.

What Anakin believes is happening is this: Cody is well aware he’s force sensitive, but has to hide it because he’s scared that he’ll be decommissioned or removed from service if anyone knew. In Anakin’s mind, this explains his desire for their lessons to be secret. But if Cody is force-sensitive, and Anakin is training him, then logically Cody is actually his Padawan. He doesn’t pick up on Cody’s sarcasm, and believes that Cody has accepted him as his master. He’s also missing Ahsoka fiercely, given her recent departure, and that affects his understanding of the situation. 

Now Anakin is even more stressed out because oh shit he just adopted another spontaneous padawan, only this time he has to keep him a secret. He desperately wants to go to Obi-Wan for help, but he promised Cody not to tell, so he can’t go that route. He also knows he needs to register his new padawan with the order to make it all official, but how to do that without revealing who it is and potentially exposing Cody to danger?

He ends up going to Yoda, and tries to vaguely explain the situation without actually explaining anything. Yoda either knows exactly what’s going on down to who Anakin’s new padawan is, or he has no idea at all, but either way he’s a massive Troll in it for the laughs, so he basically just hands over his datapad with the login info already put in so that Anakin can register Cody as his padawan without telling anyone. Cody is officially now a member of the Jedi Order, and has no idea.

After this, shenanigans ensue as Anakin gets more and more stressed out about hiding not only a secret wife, but now a secret padawan who he still needs to train and keep alive despite the fact that they’re in completely different battalions and not always together. Ironically, this new stress actually helps him to cling more strongly to the light; now that he has a clone as a padawan, he’s more cognizant of his men’s lives, and he learns caution in battle, leaving behind his more reckless plans because now he needs to take care of his padawan’s brothers. He also continues his Soresu lessons with Obi-Wan and the first time the form ends up saving his life and the lives of others in battle, he buys Obi-Wan a big mug with “world’s best master” printed on it. He’s too busy trying to juggle all of his responsibilities to visit with Palpatine, and Palpatine starts to lose his influence over Anakin’s mind.

Eventually the whole charade blows up in typical Skywalker fashion - it comes out that Cody is, in fact, force sensitive (the only reason Cody hasn’t actually caught on at this point is that a) Anakin’s training tends to be less traditional and is heavily influenced by war jargon, so the lack of familiar Jedi teaching methods threw Cody off a bit, and b) he’s already stressed out enough about being the Marshal Commander of like a third of the GAR and trying to keep Obi-Wan’s ass alive, he is going to remain blissfully ignorant of any other world-shattering revelations until this stupid war is over thank-you-very-much), and that he’s actually Anakin’s padawan. The realization that Cody’s force sensitive leads the order to search for other force-sensitive clones in the ranks, finding many. The Jedi healers, curious and unable to pass up the opportunity to search for novel markers of force-sensitivity in humans that are the perfect subjects because they’re literally genetically identical, do a bunch of studies on volunteers, and discover the chips in the clones’ brains. Sidious’ plans are revealed and promptly foiled, with Cody personally taking Sidious’ head when he surprises the Sith with a mid-battle switch from Obi-Wan’s Soresu to Anakin’s Djem So. The Galaxy is saved, and the Separatists quietly surrender when they find out that they’ve been duped.

We get our happy ending where clones, both force sensitive and not, have been welcomed into the Jedi order. Anakin proudly watches as Cody is knighted, his twins and Padme invited to the ceremony and watching happily in the crowd alongside Obi-Wan and Ahsoka. He never falls, and the Jedi Order remains strong. The galaxy is at peace.

THE END

(I know it’s stupid and self-indulgent and probably not very in character but what the heck the idea makes me happy at least lol)

[roppongi-division]

Zakari's Thoughts on Shinagawa Division

Ritsuko Okada

"Oh geez, another scientist? Is there some sort of phase going on that I didn't hear about? When did becoming a crazy and, quite possibly, murderous researcher become a thing? And to make matters worse, I think this woman may be crazier than the previous two we've spoken about. I mean, they all have their levels of 'crazy', but this woman..." Zakari shivers at her photo.

Miho Kobayashi

"I know her. She's one of the people running that huge medical company. I've seen her on T.V., magazine covers, newspaper articles. Even the company's website has her face and a few others on it. I'm sure being a businesswoman is cool and all, but I don't think it's for me. I'll stick to performing dangerous and life-threatening tricks on stage in my parents' nightclub, thanks."

Sumire Shinomiya

"I like Sumire! My parents are a bit apprehensive when it comes to her, but I think they're just blowing things out of proportion. I ran into her when I ventured into Shinagawa once, out of curiosity. I saw a bunch of people gathered in a circle behind a plaza. I went up to it and saw they were having a bunch of robots fight each other! I thought it was boring until I found out they were taking bets on who would win, which immediately got my attention!"

"I put all of the money I had on me on the robot being controlled by the purple-haired ponytail girl. And what do you know? She won! I would have wanted to see another match, but the police had to come at that exact moment. It sucked watching her get arrested, but thankfully she got out the next time I visited. A girl like her is way too smart to be behind bars."

"After I introduced myself, she gave me a list of where the next robot fights would take place. Because of incidents like before, they couldn't use the same place twice. I told her that no matter who her opponent is, I'll always bet on her!"

CodeX

"Wow... I think this might be the first team we've faced that I can say I'm a bit scared to face. ...But, it's a 'good' scare, though. Like, I know going up against may be dangerous, but... you know how the threat of losing or dying can bring something out in you that you didn't know you had? It's kinda like that with this team. Facing them is risky as hell, but... well, you know me. I've never backed down from a challenge, no matter how risky it is! After all, the greater the risk, the greater the reward!"