#I'm getting exhausted just writing this

[mothhball]

how do I tell my sister that I don't really like her current boyfriend without seeming like a hater like,,, something about him gives me the ick.

From what I've seen, he's constantly starting petty arguments and being melodramatic. My sister is no saint either, but he's lowkey gaslighting her into thinking she's the damaged and insane one in the relationship. At least from my perspective.

I just don't have a good gut feeling about him idk And obvi I can't outright tell her because they've only been dating for 3 months and are still very much in the honeymoon phase.

He just seems like an exhausting person to be around idk

ETA

I love my sister but she's also the type of person who's unable to stay single for longer than 4 months very wild from the perspective of someone who's chronically single (maybe my unwillingness to put up with stuff like this is the reason idk)

[emo-batboy]

A Wild Battinson (Social Media AU)

Part 43 (Masterlist)

(Part 44)

Me, to myself: I just think the series was better when I posted several times a week because the pacing felt more natural, and it translates better when people binge it.

Also Me, holding two jobs and a bat: If you try to post once a day again, I will disconnect your head from your shoulders—

@bruciemilf guess who’s back

Anyways, folks! :D So I'm thinking of a new upload schedule where I spend a bit preparing the next ten or so parts then post it all in two weeks? I think that would be fun (and much better for my creative process.)

I’ll be posting the next part very soon :) But it's going to be drastically different from what I've done before. Let’s see if anyone can guess why.

Yada yada don’t die LOVE Y’ALL

[soaps-mohawk]

So...there might be a bit of a wait for chapter 50. I have the inspiration but the energy is nonexistent.

[oh-phoenixx]

"Effort" - Jegulus microfic - 583 words

-

Regulus was normally very good at hiding his emotions. He had learned at a young age that he could not be loved if he expressed the things he truly thought, if he asked questions to appease his love of learning and knowledge. The first time Regulus had reached for a document of his father’s, just to see what it was that had always kept him from spending time with his family, he’d had his fingers broken.

However, with the stress of his upcoming OWLs, Regulus was having a harder time keeping up a façade of apathy. James had only been trying to help, he knew that. But studying with James was hell. It just showed Regulus everything he was not, everything he could not be.

James Potter, who got four Outstandings and five Exceeds Expectations, yet had no notes, no ‘study tips’, nothing to offer Regulus. He had just shown up to the exams and fucking perfected them, and Regulus could not deal with it.

“James, you’re not helping,” Regulus snapped, as James attempted to explain some formula that Regulus had already given up on understanding.

“Sorry,” James replied sheepishly. “I guess I just…got it.”

“Yeah, well some of us have to put actual effort into studying. We can’t all just turn up and get Outstandings,” Regulus spat, moving from where he was sat across from James to stand by the window. With his back turned to James, Regulus allowed himself to soften a little, to be vulnerable. “I…I try so hard, James. I spend all of my free time studying. I’ve basically given up my social life so I’ll at least pass my exams, and you just…you just understand it all so easily.”

Regulus felt arms wrap so carefully around him that he could do nothing other than lean back against his boyfriend. His perfect boyfriend, who had been so patient while Regulus studied and studied in place of spending any time with him.

“Angel, I’m not any smarter than you just because I did well in some stupid exams,” James said softly, placing a kiss to Regulus’s shoulder. “You’re the smartest person I know. I want to write down every word you say, I want to listen to you speak every day for the rest of my life. I just…I get the exams, I get how they work and I remember the things I need to remember. But that’s not real intelligence, that’s not genius. What you’ve got is genius. The way your mind works, that’s genius. Not some silly grades on some silly test.”

Allowing himself to hang on James’s every word, and trying to convince himself that he believed it all fully, Regulus turned in James’s arms to plant a kiss on his jaw. “I love you,” he whispered against James’s skin.

“I love you, angel,” James said back, looking down at him with an expression so kind it could have rendered Regulus stupid. It probably would have, had Regulus not seen that exact look on James’s face every time he looked at him. It was so strange, really, to become used to such affection. Regulus never believed he could be loved this way, let alone become accustomed to such devotion.

It was another type of love, in and of itself, Regulus believed. He spent every single day in love with James Potter, and he did not doubt that James felt the same way. If that was not the purest form of adoration, Regulus did not know what was.

[wantonlywindswept]

forgotten fox ficbit

With Palpatine's dying breath, he curses Fox to be Forgotten.

(Fox isn't really bothered.)

---

There was a personnel transfer authorization sitting in Marshal Commander Thorn's crowded inbox.

He didn't remember requesting a fourth commander. The Guard was in desperate need of one following Thire finding Palpatine's wrinkled ass dead in his office, and the ensuing shitshow about the former Chancellor being a Sith and also controlling the war from both sides. Interim Chancellor Organa was incredibly competent and parsecs better than their previous natborn overlord, but even he was being swamped by the uproar in the Senate and the peace talks with the Separatists and the doubled amount of assassination attempts and the petabytes and petabytes of datawork--

Thorn couldn't remember requesting another commander, but he also couldn't remember the last time he slept.

Commander Vertex stood calm and at the ready on the other side of Thorn's desk, all-black helmet tucked under his arm as he waited patiently for Thorn to remember how to read. His hair was stark white, and there were vine-like scars wrapped around his neck that disappeared down into his blacks. The remnants of Sith lightning, Thorn knew, now that they'd been briefed on what that kind of thing looked like. 

Vertex's file was sparse, mostly redacted, and marked him as coming from the Special Operations Brigade, which Thorn could entirely believe.

"This isn't part of an investigation, is it?" he blurted, brain-to-mouth filter entirely gone after five too many cups of caf and an inadvisable number of stims over the past month. "The Guard was already cleared of suspicion involving the former Chancellor's death--"

Vertex held up a hand. Thorn's mouth snapped shut. 

"It's not," Vertex said, his voice firm, reassuring. There was something about it that made Thorn relax, as if his beleaguered hindbrain knew that the other commander had everything under control.

Spec Ops troops were amazing.

"The GAR is just reallocating resources given the recent upheaval," Vertex continued. Thorn nodded along like that all made sense. "I'm here to help with anything you need."

The word 'help' triggered a sudden burst of manic hope in Thorn's chest, and he lurched forward across his desk, grabbing Vertex's free hand in both of his own. The commander didn't even blink at the sudden movement, calmly meeting Thorn's wide, desperate eyes.

"Can you--" Thorn struggled to keep from sounding like he was begging, which he definitely was. "Can you do datawork?"

Vertex's sigh was entirely exasperated, and the roll of his eyes oddly, familiarly fond.

"Yes, Thorn. I can do your datawork."

---

Pt 2

[kanonavi]

Spoilers for Simulanka Day 3

There's a conversation that I've had with friends from time to time about the fact that the world of Teyvat is, at its core, incredibly kind. Shockingly so, even for most fictional stories that aren't directed towards children. Even though the traveler has faced many antagonists on their journey, the people around them have always banded together to overcome those challenges. Even when people are hurt it's very rare for anyone to die, and many of the antagonists in question aren't pure evil and have their own reasons for taking the actions they take. They may not always operate on the same morality as the traveler or the player, and they might not be "good people", but they still believe that what they have to do is right, or at the very least necessary.

To put it more simply, Genshin is filled with characters that are made to be liked. Not every player will like every character, but very few of them are actively trying to work against you, and even when they do there's still something there to like. Except for like, Il Dottore, but he's likable for how unlikable he is (I have to say that or my Dottore enjoying friend will be sad lmao).

I got to thinking about this when playing the last part of Simulanka because it was a reminder of how, despite the kindness that they've been shown by Teyvat for the past three and a half years, the traveler's morality is still shockingly black and white in many situations.

We see this the most in how they interact with the Fatui. The Fatui, particularly the Harbingers, have cause a lot of damage in the past, but a lot of the grunts are just ordinary people following orders. the commission line in Mondstadt with Viktor, Golden Apple Archipelago 2 and The Chasm come to mind for times when we've interacted with Fatui grunts in a way that really humanizes them and shows that a lot of them really are just people doing a job. Some of them have just been surveyors or low-level guards, but the traveler and Paimon treat them like they're cartoon villains until proven otherwise (and sometimes even after proven otherwise).

The way that they acted towards Simulanka Durin before the party gave him their blessings also seemed to reflect this, especially in comparison to the other party members. Wanderer was obviously the most sympathetic to Durin, since his memories were like looking into a mirror for him, but Nilou, Navia, and Kirara all stepped forward to give Durin their support while the traveler was still showing doubts. They were thinking about how the residents of Simulanka might not forgive Durin, or how his form was too big and scary to coexist with everyone, which was an incredibly unsympathetic outlook even though they were ultimately able to change Durin's form.

It honestly reminds me a lot of how the traveler treated Scaramouche/Wanderer in Inversion of Genesis, like he was a person to be kept the company of only out of necessity as a means to keep him under control, even after Nahida said that she trusted him. Even though something did go wrong at the time, it still showed that the traveler's suspicion and distrust of Scaramouche was strong enough to outweigh their trust of Nahida, despite Nahida having proved herself many times to be wise and worthy of trust in the past. That mistrust and even disdain for him even carried over into when he reappeared with no memories, as the traveler was forcefully adamant that he needed to reclaim his memories and atone, to the point that it seemed like they were being a little bit mean about it.

It's arguable that Scaramouche deserved that treatment, since he was kind of a little shithead who caused a lot of harm in the past, but the traveler was also witness to how deeply he was hurt and manipulated in the past, and therefore would have some kind of understanding of why he turned out the way that he did.

Despite the traveler's usual helpfulness in Simulanka, Nilou, Navia, and Kirara all feel like contrasts to them. Nilou's whimsical outlook and positive mindset allowed her to grasp the magic of creation and even gave her the initiative to try and change Durin's form with magic in the first place. Navia is used to taking care of "the little guy", as it were, through the Spina, and was therefore willing to listen and empathize with the toy people who didn't want to undo the power of prophecy. (With those guys also being called "conservatives" or a "conservative radical" in English, that doesn't really have a good connotation depending on your political leaning, but Navia listened to them anyway). And with Kirara, while I haven't played her little sidequest yet, the description of her outfit described how the little cat burglar stole and returned the emotions of the cats that they hadn't been given when they were created, casting her in the role of someone who can understand the balance that anger, sadness, and pain bring to happiness.

The three of them, as well as the Wanderer, all carry Teyvat's fundamental kindness with them, and it was then coaxed out of the traveler only when all of them had already stepped forward.

It made me wonder if this is some kind of lesson that the traveler has to learn before reuniting with their sibling, that they need to be more willing to put their trust in people, or at least be more understanding of others. While the abyss twin hasn't divulged too much of what they've learned yet, they've made it clear that there are lessons that the traveler needs to learn about the world before they reunite. While that likely has a lot to do with various truths about Celestia and the sky being fake and all that, perhaps they're hoping for their sibling to learn that at least in Teyvat, sometimes people who cause harm to others are simply trying (or have tried and failed and lost hope) to find a path towards co-existing with others.

Since the abyss twin is supposedly born of Teyvat as well, perhaps they've already understood that part of this world from the very beginning and are waiting for their sibling to catch up.

[goldenshrikecomic]

Question for you! What makes Nero an appealing character for you specifically as a creator? I love to hear people's thoughts on their fictional bebes :]

I love writing his kind of characters. I love love love portraying flawed mindsets, bad behavior born from insecurity, characters who have tunnel vision and anger management issues, straight up selfishness, greed, desperation, struggles to fit in with kind and considerate people. Not saying Nero has all of these, but I love musing about these characters the most. Which honestly sucks because there's this ridiculous and loud mindset going around calling these characters out, and their writers with them. It's ILLEGAL to enjoy morally grey characters, god forbid they're villains, and man it's so tiring to see. Sometimes it feels like baby sensory videos are the only safe media to consume.

BUT on the topic of Nero, I just get him. I get his train of thought, and while I don't agree with how unfair and offensive he is, I get where he comes from and where the anger stems from. He's the easiest character for me to write. There's a lot to him that is still unexplored in the comic, I can't talk about that. But those parts of him are very important. I also really like his design, he's a joy to draw.

[askthisfishprince]

((hey guys!!!))

((just wanted to make a little announcement that the blog is gonna go on hiatus for bit! During this time I wont be making responses for any questions unfortunately.))

((Just need a little break from Eri to focus on some other things at the moment! He will be back though! 🕺))

[somewhereincairparavel]

I'm so immersed in my jason grace new rome uni fic that I'm studying ancient roman law terms using this as an excuse. help.

[lovesodeepandwideandwell]

🏘️

[palettepainter]

[cringefailvox]

i just want you guys to know i'm writing the silliest fic rn. just truly so ridiculous

[novelconcepts]

Sometimes I genuinely do forget just how much energy it takes for me to be a presentably-social human being in the workplace. Like, yeah, I've got social anxiety, but it's more than that. It's that I'm constantly multitasking my work on files, my phone calls, my sorting of paperwork. It's that I'm constantly trying to remember the giant if-then-unless chart of my basic function. it's, most of all, that I have to consciously force my voice to project beyond its natural low murmur. That I have to pretend I'm not critically depressed or impossibly worried about the state of the world. That I have to laugh off misgendering and joke my way through the day to keep up the capable, hardworking, cheerful image I somehow cultivated with these people. I get home after all of that, and I'm so exhausted I don't even have the energy to talk to people I love, and it feels crazy, but also. Also. Yeah. I've burnt so much just by existing in the world. We don't give people enough credit for that.

[astradyke]

can't tell what i miss more, terrible influence tour summer/autumn or amazingphil channel. surely there will be nothing of an emotional nature happening in the tags of this post at all

[edwardallenpoe]

Oh hey since it's butchtober i wanted to say that since I started bodybuilding (ten whole months ago holy shit) i have felt the best i ever have. Like one of my other posts, I rlly do see me in the mirror and it's great.

I do have some bad days and i have had bottom dysphoria (i've started packing and it's helping! I'm learning a lot and it's been really interesting so far.) But it's all okay in the grand scheme of things bc I'm getting there y'know. These are just milestones.

Anyways uhhh anything at all that you can do to help make your body feel like a home is worth it btw. Anything at all. As long as it's safe, pls try your best if you can. It's worth it.

[meownotgood]

I haven't been able to write in a few days. im going to start my period so my hormones are crazy. when I found out work was going to be super busy again today I laid in bed and cried for like twenty minutes lol. DON'T MAKE ME WORK I WANT TO WRITE ABOUT MY FAVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!