#In person transactions are working fine I don't know what the problem is

[pirefyrelight]

after about 3 years of the same cracked phone screen my phone has started giving off imminent death knells (constant literally constant USB port connected USB port disconnected and because it's a system notification I can't block them outright though I can snooze them for two hours but this means my screen is never actually off which drains the battery and worries me when it's in my pocket)

And i thought hey, might as well get a new one. The paint on the case is also worn quite a bit away and the fingerprint scanner only works when it feels like so it will be nice to upgrade. It might even take less than 10 seconds to switch tabs.

Now here's the problem. Samsung won't take my fucking money. I have ordered this phone three times already. They send me a confirmation email. Then a day later they tell me (with the order code and model number a scammer wouldn't have don't worry the only thing they're scamming me for is my time) that the order was canceled due to insufficient payment info so I went back to the website (through the browser not clicking links on the email this isn't a scam but it feels like it is) and double checked everything was correct except for the big *canceled order* label.

I have done this three times. I have used both my credit and my debit card. I made an account for the third one.

I feel like I'm in fucking crazy town. What Do You Mean It's Not Complete show me the fucking box to fill!!

Customer support is also useless, to be expected. They have a little box you can describe your issue before even entering the chat room but they won't read that so I copy pasted the text whatever doesn't matter. They gave me someone else's payment information in the process so that's assuring.

They eventually just told me to go buy it from my local best buy and sure fine yeah that's a good look.

I went to best buys website and ordered the phone and my only complaint is that they sent me a verification code by email but then went to the next page before I even got the email?? That's sus. Wh why did you send me a code? If you're going to the next page anyway??

Whatever. Best buy has same price as from the official site, and free shipping arrives sooner than if I got the expedited shipping first try from the official site.

Just give phone? Give fone me. I give money you. You gib fone me. Asjdjfk

[malewifeharem]

CELEB JING YUAN?? ☁️

celebrity!AU jingyuan

彡- ,, a collection of my brainrots about dating jing yuan as diff types of celebs!

cw ⁞ none unless ur allergic to rich hot general fluff. not proofread.

an ⁞ this may be a little ooc, i apologise ehe. I TRIED PLEASE I PROMISE RGRGGRHRGHGRHG

imagine ceo!jingyuan picking you up from work at your office, patiently waiting for you in his car. he doesn't understand why you want to continue working when he's already mentioned countless times how he could provide for you. you'd never have to work a day in your life again! (lets pretend we're hardworking in this) he gets out of the car to greet you with a smirk before opening the car door for you.

"get in, princess."

you smile at him and thank him for sending you home again — this has become a habit of his, though he sees it more as his duty. you quickly arrive at his residence and were about to bid him goodbye when he suddenly stopped you — his hand gripping your wrist, reluctant to let go. you ask him what's wrong and he just has the saddest pout on his face, looking like a dejected, kicked puppy. (lion?)

"why won't you let me spoil you... i know how much you hate your boss, if you resign, you'll never have to deal with him again. i'll pay for whatever you'll ever want and need, darling," he murmurs sleepily, pulling you closer to him so he can rest his head on your chest. how are you supposed to say no to him like this?! you don't notice his smug smirk as he hears your heartbeat fasten rapidly — he already knows you'll give in to him this time. (sly mf)

imagine artist!jingyuan who sits in his studio everyday, painting his beloved lover onto countless numbers of canvases — his work forever preserved. they all lay untouched, scattered on the floor. he's displeased. you'd visit his studio occasionally and always find him grumbling and utterly frustrated with himself. usually, when he's hit with a creativity block like this, it passes within a couple of days but he's been in this state of discontent for weeks at this point.

"i've been painting for ages now but nothing is appealing," he groans.

you turn to look at the multiple canvases strewn all across the floor and you beg to differ but ultimately decided to stay quiet — you won't be able to understand an artist's grievances anyway. you comfort him to the best of your abilities and you can tell that he appreciates it a lot — the weight of his eyebags lifting slightly. you return to the studio a few days later to see it in a completely different state of mess, the canvases from before are now replaced by sludges of clay.

"oh, you're back. ah, so you've seen the ceramic statues. it's you, my love. it seems your beauty is so breathtaking that it must simply be portrayed in multiple forms of art."

imagine world renowned author!jingyuan who sits in his garden everyday, inscribing his poems on scrolls — the work forever preserved. he hums in satisfaction as he rolls up the piece of parchment, slotting it into a case before sending it off to you via his personal cycrane. you're already reading his first draft within a few hours and pointing out any mistakes he's made so carelessly — making sure to add sarcastic comments by the side to add salt to the wound. after a few days of corrections, the work is ready to be sold to the collectors — the two of you meeting up to thank them for the smooth transaction.

"must you be so cruel every time you mark my work, my love?"

"it's because you're so sloppy with your work, 'yuan. aren't you a famous author? hm?"

"sorry, i work best with a reward-based system. maybe you should give me a kiss for every grammatically correct sentence."

"if that's what will solve your problem then fine."

"don't act so cold, we both know you'd like that."

you notice that his writings have become longer and you haven't been able to spot any mistakes either. (rip your sore lips)

[ladysophiebeckett]

Some of you are being really weird about Aura Maria in regards to her treatment of Freddy and her overall character\personality traits. Overall, if you dislike a character its fine. It means nothing to me. But these posts about Aura Maria are getting a little misogynistic.

The facts are, that yes--she is immature, she does string Freddy along, she is very extroverted and charismatic and a lot of men like her.

You know who else is immature, strings someone around, is very extroverted and charismatic and a lot of women like them?

This guy right here.He's gonna string around his assistant for at least half a novela.

But there's already some excellent meta on Aura Maria and Freddy vs Betty and Armando and u can read them here and here. so I'm not gonna get into that.

Again, if you don't like Aura Maria thats fine. She's a flawed character in a show with other flawed characters. I don't like Patricia, for example. I think she's annoying, she's mean, her goal is to find a man to fix all her problems and she fails at it. She's immature. She's classist. She gets paid 3x more than the other secretaries bc she's a nepo hire and yet still can't make any payments bc she's terrible with money. I could go and on.

But a lot of you like her and sympathize with her and her problems and how nobody wants to help her.

Aura Maria is also sympathetic character. She became a teen mom. The guy that got her pregnant is not in the kid's life nor in hers. She's a receptionist at a company who's alternate slogan is 'women don't advance here'. Her parents kick her and her son out, yes it was a consequence of Aura Maria's party girl antics. But that's not a good enough reason to kick out your daughter and grandson. Knowing that she's a receptionist and doesn't make much money to begin with.

And then the Mario of it all. No, she shouldn't have gotten involved with him but he's the one in the position of power. He shouldn't have gotten involved with her, he shouldn't have encouraged it, nor should he have been seeing her and Patricia at the same time. Both women who work where HE works. And who does he want to fire when he gets caught? Aura Maria. She's the one who gets the low end of the stick.

Aura Maria and Patricia are looking for men with money to support them and don't do well in this endeavor bc the only man that looks like a prospect is using them in some way. That or the men they encounter don't take them seriously.

Freddy likes Aura Maria and yeah she does like him but she doesn't take him seriously as a prospect bc he's not rich and when you're a poor young single mom--bc REMINDER Aura Maria is in her early 20s forced to grow up quickly (she was a child having a child)--living in your friend's\co workers house--he doesn't completely fulfill her list of requirements of what she needs financially. She's not looking at the full picture. Much like Patricia, who doesn't look at the full picture when it comes to her transactional relationship with Nicolas.

So because Aura Maria mismanges her relationship with Freddy, I'm supposed to what? Have her burned at the stake? That because Freddy is kind to her, and does things out of his own free will over and over again, that Aura Maria needs to be devoted to him? Automatically? Because people think she owes him?

If you don't like Aura Maria, that's fine. But a lot of the posts I've seen in the general tag are past not liking a character bc the vibes are off--it's becoming about hating her bc she's not reciprocating to one guy bc you think he's earned it. Or it's about her not being a good mother bc she's not acting 'like a mother'. And want to see her punished for it as a result, as if getting sexually harassed by Gutierrez (ON TWO OCCASIONS) isn't punishment on it's own.

Because reminder (again)---that Mario AND Gutierrez have taken advantage of Aura Maria in some way bc of their position of power. Bc Aura Maria is young, beautiful, and poor. She can be easily be taken advantage of and tossed away. (Much like another character who gets utilized as a consequence of financial fraud)

But Freddy is the true victim in all of this bc Aura Maria sometimes take advantage of his kindness. Do you realize how dumb that sounds?

There is a double standard in how Aura Maria is being viewed bc she's not acting grateful or humble or self sacrificing enough to gain sympathy. She's being judged solely on how she's treating (1) man and not about all the other factors she's living in--some of them out of her control.

If one can feel bad for Patricia even tho it's primarily her fault that she's in the predicaments she's in, then I don't see why one can't extend that same grace to Aura Maria.

[rontra]

I have never played persona so I wasn't sure if I would understand your failteacher comics but I just looked up the characters for a little bit of context and I'm 👀👀👀👀 at it now xD

Without being too spoiler-y, why would you say they'd have a messy relationship? (Besides the fact of Becky taking advantage of her client's loneliness)

HAHAHA yea i think the like dramatic irony enjoyment of knowing (even just roughly) what's going on with becky is very strong so good on you there (obviously toriumi has no idea what's going on with her and becky is doing her best to Handle It, but it contextualizes her behavior for Us...<3)

it's yummy isnt it... its yummy

anyway, the rest of this very long post is just me analyzing a fictional situation i myself engineered, so if that sounds boring please dont click the Read More LMFAO <- cursed to put a lot of thought into Character Stuff

basically they have great potential for mess, which they're Currently keeping a lid on, but would exponentially increase with time. teehee.

as for what WILL happen, im not spoiling anything concrete of course… (winks at the Knowers who already know my Vision….

well, this AU isn't ever going to devolve into a "super destructive toxic nightmare" mess or anything, just to get our working definitions of 'mess' sorted out at the top of the post. not this time. atm (as of comic #3) it's shaping up more like a "this seems . inadvisable and absolutely Don't Try This At Home, but i guess it won't…kill you" mess (LMAO)

to assess their situation at present… there is one half who wants money (and can't ever make enough of it to satisfy her extortionists), and one half who wants intimacy (and is scared and unable to get it on her own). on its exterior face, it's simply a lonely person hiring a professional to keep them company, which is a fairly common thing n not rly super noteworthy; the parentheticals are what make things a bit uh thorny for these characters

the "problem" here is not the transaction itself; they're both willing to supply their half of the trade just fine, and neither party is doing anything wrong by engaging in it. but for these two specifically, there is also a mutual willingness to bend the rules of their transaction—because they're both cornered in some way, and desperate for what the other one is offering to trade

to elaborate on "rules", i mean, first and foremost, that their relationship is not "real"—these people Don't know each other personally and intimately, and they're Not Supposed To. their relationship should never be "real"; they're not friends! (or lovers, for that matter!) they're in a conditional exchange of money for services. right now, these characters are participating in and maintaining a kayfabe; they should operate under a tacit understanding that A) this is not real, B) they both fully know it's not real, and C) following the script is the comfortable way to get what they both want without causing undue risk to either party. creating and then maintaining a fake "reality" together is regulated by a contract between them, and it ends when their booked time ends (and not a minute over time!)

but to return to the earlier point, they're also both cornered and desperate, which drives them both to go beyond what might be considered appropriate. i think this is compelling; it's probably unnecessary of me to add this paragraph but i want to underline (just in case) that i don't think either of them is like "at fault" or w/e (there is no "villain" between them). they're showing Signs Of Mess that could snowball into something much more messy, but it's not something they're doing to hurt each other; they're making decisions based on skewed risk/reward estimations that might not be healthy, and could realistically have harmful consequences for both parties, but they're not, like, Evil (lol). two women getting wrapped up in each other's personal graveyard spirals…it's yuri, isn't it?

with that squared away, and putting it plainly;

toriumi should not be asking her to "break character" when the character itself is what she's paying for; this nudging of their little kayfabe, if indulged, could easily snowball and erode the professional boundaries between them (what she calls "distance" in #3). she is paying 'becky' to 'be here' (paying kawakami to conjure 'becky' into existence by pretending to be her), but she isn't really being mindful of the type of role that this necessarily demands of her in turn. the built-in emotional walls between them are there to protect both of them, but she doesn't fully respect them (despite instinctively sensing their protection in how "safe" becky feels to her). in the end, toriumi is bad at "staying in character" herself, and she can't help but try to root out the actual person behind the mask—despite the fact that no one wants this erosion to happen! possible dire consequences for her wallet aside, losing sight of the line between "transaction" and "investment" (pardon the pun) is a one-way ticket to a very messy place where one or both of them is likely to get hurt...

on the other end, and not helping the situation at all, kawakami identified toriumi as a soft target pretty much immediately, and is actively trying to elicit sympathy and endear herself to her (she is being quite choosy about what vulnerabilities she "lets slip" in #2) in order to make her keep booking and paying. of course some amount of "salesmanship" is part of the job—#grindset always be plugging smash that like button comment n subscribe—but the major difference here is that she's overtly attempting to foster in her client the exact kind of dependency/personal attachment she should be discouraging (for, frankly, both of their safety). like not only is she out fishing to get toriumi hook line and sinker on purpose, but it's also alarmingly reckless behavior on kawakami's part; there's a lack of regard for her own wellbeing involved here on top of it all. again, a messy place where someone, maybe everyone, gets hurt in the end

crucially though, as comic #3 finishes setting up, they're both willing to endure these shenanigans from the other half. at this stage, toriumi does realize that kawakami has her unilaterally wrapped around her finger, and nonetheless agrees that she'll call her again; while kawakami knows very well how this kayfabe is supposed to work, but is indulgent (even rewarding) towards toriumi for her clumsiness. that mutual willingness to keep playing this game would—if the AU continued on these tracks uninterrupted—probably compound until the situation they've made becomes super confusing and unclear for them emotionally...

of course "taking advantage" is sort of a loaded phrase colloquially… but i would say in many ways they are "taking advantage" of each other, yea. the "we both benefit, so it's okay" logic was already vaguely raised as justification in #3; if elaborated a bit with the above in mind, their situation is one where "even if they're both overstepping what is considered appropriate for their arrangement, they've also both decided the benefits outweigh the costs by a wide enough margin to make it worthwhile"

it's got the marks of a sort of symbiotic relationship... their individual motivations for being involved w each other are totally unrelated (cue the "hold on, does. kawakami even like women???" question), but they both feel they benefit enough towards their priority goals to be OK with the other one taking something "less valuable" from them (toriumi even calls out the “sales pitch” becky is doing in #2, but ultimately decides that’s fine because she’s willing to buy). i think each and every moving part here has great capacity to go "too far" and ruin things (perhaps even causing Severe damage in the collapse), but if the situation were to continue in this same rhythm, without that kind of dramatic change, i would say "they're both evaluating the scenario with their own personal goals in mind, and are extracting what they want from one another relatively(?) peacefully(??)". like it might ultimately be a selfish game but they're adults they'll figure it out probably idk its none of my business what they choose to get up to. wouldn't get into that type of shit myself though LOL

women are playing kind of dangerous games with each other but i forgive them because it's interesting to rotate in my mind...<3

another thorn to consider for their future bonding endeavors from here on ofc is that without being "cornered" the way they are, they would not be running this type of "risk math" in the first place. it's hard for either of them to fully back away at this point because they're already cornered in their personal lives; toriumi is incredibly isolated and lonely with a pretty insecure lifestyle even when she's NOT actively sawing through the branch she's sitting on, and kawakami famously MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE, NEEDS A LOT OF MONEY RIGHT NOW because she's being extorted by an unrelated third party. looking ahead it does kind of start to look like an ouroboros of "taking advantage of each other" bc it's hard for both of them to leave their individual situations; it's kind of like, if they weren't here with each other they'd be ... well, they'd be here—just with someone else...

they didn't put each other in this jam—it was unrelated personal circumstances and sheer coincidence that pushed them together—but now that they've committed to each other, it's hard to reverse back out, if that makes sense. i think that kind of thing is interesting too, because it makes me want to see them recognize this, connect, and help each other pull out of their Greater individual personal messes. you know? we can make it if we try... just the two of us... 😔

(unfortunately step 1 of that is ofc to make a genuine personal bond that isn't wrapped up in all this for-pay roleplay stuff. drat!)

tl;dr they're both simmering under high pressure and don't try this at home, but they do already have a sort of tacit agreement forming that this level of messy play is OK between them—as long as the rewards continue to outweigh the risks. at the end of the day, it's a delicate balance ultimately hinging on a money-for-services transaction, so if either of them stopped feeling like paying their half was worth it, it would rapidly come apart. i guess it's kinda like the ways you can tell if animals are genuinely beefing or just playing rough—are they willingly coming back? 💀 ...

no lmao where's that post thats like "this would be terrible if it was anyone else, but considering the people involved this is actually the best option" HRBHJDJG that's kind of how it feels. like if they're gonna be stuck with Somebody (and they would be), its probably good luck that they got Each Other. at least the narrative can sustain the balance of this one and maybe even solve it down the line. heart

to round this post off i would say if i had to nominate one of them, kawakami is probably the most "in control" atm—since she figured out very quickly that she was dealing with an easy mark and moved in to make her a regular customer (quite successfully i might add per the end of #3 lmaoo). i think that's been kinda fun, since in her SLink she's immediately on the back foot due to being unmasked by the inciting incident. we know she will lie and attempt to play to the listener's sympathy, so unleashing her with her Mask Still On has been fun 😭 for her part, toriumi is not only taken with the funny maid (& emotionally invested in her IRL situation to boot), but also very clumsily trying to obtain something she's scared to have, which makes her very impulsive/erratic in her rulebreaking compared to kawakami's much more intentional plays...

play of the game 🧹 (<- there's no maid emoji idk its housekeeping)

of course, my future plans will immediately jostle this entire dynamic into something else and make this whole post obsolete, but i don't wanna lay that out ahead of time. smiles.

anyway, otome dissection on the playlist or whatever

[moni-logues]

The ~engagement 'issue'~

I feel like I'm seeing more and more posts about readers' lack of engagement with writers on here and I now want to say something. I don't say things short so buckle in lmao

TL;DR: idgaf if you, readers, comment on my shit or not. I care that you enjoy it and, if you did, job complete, mission accomplished, well done. I want to be part of a community, not a service provider/'content creator'. I write because I want to and getting to hear people's thoughts and feedback is just a huge fucking bonus to that. Also, readers I love you.

I love my readers. All of them, loud and silent alike. Readers who comment with long reviews, pulling out quotes or bits they liked, reacting with predictions or responding to the characters. Readers who just comment that they really liked it! that it was good! Readers who like. Readers who read and leave no mark at all. Readers who follow me and readers who come across something I wrote another way, who didn't follow me before and don't after. I am deeply grateful that anyone takes the time to read the things I write, whether you've read everything I've ever posted or just one drabble.

I know that all writers are similarly grateful to have this space and to have people here who read their work. I do, to a certain extent, understand the frustration with regards to like:comment ratios.

However.

I know that reviews take effort. I am a chronically unenthusiastic person and it takes a lot for me to summon the energy to respond how I feel I should, in a way that I think would make the writer happy, in a way that I feel is befitting how I actually feel about the fic I read. There are other reasons I have been reading less recently but one of the reasons is that I feel pressure to review every single thing I read. So I just don't read!!! Isn't that stupid???? Sure, I'm putting imaginary presure on myself by thinking I need to respond in a particular way and that is very much my problem (and I'm trying hard to address it and read/review more anyway), but I feel like readers are taking a bit of a bashing right now and I don't ever want readers to stop reading or to have the reading experience spoilt by feeling a pressure to respond.

I write because I enjoy it. When I first started writing, I had no followers. It took me months to get 100 followers. It took almost a year to get to 1k and then I started over with a brand new blog. I wrote all 60k of A Fine Line by myself, with absolutely no one else reading it because I wanted to. I love getting comments from readers; I love hearing people's thoughts about the shit I write; I love this little community here... But that's what it is: community. This is not transactional! or at least, I don't want it to be! I am not writing fics as a service for which I am paid in reblogs. I am being a fan of BTS with other fans of BTS and we are making up little stories and imagining scenarios and having all kinds of fun with each other, whether you write or gif or edit or just consume. We're in this together!

I saw once, I don't remember where or when, a thing that said, if you are feeling miserable, do something nice for someone else and it will lift your mood. This is, in my experience, absolutely correct. Writers, if you are feeling miserable about your engagment, engage with others the way you want people to with you, write a review for someone else's fic that would make your day if you received it. We writers are all readers, too, and we are not exempt from these ~criticisms~ just because we write.

I am not trying to ~call anyone out~ or, in turn, criticise writers. I'm not. I understand. I do. But every time I see one of these posts, it upsets me, because if I were an active, engaged reader, it would make me feel bad. If I were a silent reader, it would make me feel bad. I don't ever want to make anyone feel bad for enjoying something. Readers don't owe us anything! If this issue is ruining the writing experience for you, it is on you to examine that; it is not the fault of your readers. If it means that you no longer enjoy writing, stop writing. Our time on earth is short and precious! Let's spend it, as much as we can, doing things we enjoy! Not doing things that make us miserable!

Fin.

[ladyelainehilfur]

even if I didn't already know that Bumseok (forcing myself to use the korean name to avoid confusion) was going to betray them, I don't think I would've supported their friendship. That relationship had cracks from the very 👏 beginning 👏‼😀

Bryce never understood the fundamentals of a solid relationship. Friendships are not transactional, I do this for you, then you give me love and affection and attention. That's not how it works.

Gray and Stephen (DAMMIT I MEAN SUHO AND SIEUN) bonded because they found a need they were able to fulfill within each other. More importantly, they were willing to help each other, no strings attached. Stephen needed Gray's companionship and Gray needed Stephen's warmth. If Stephen was absent, Gray would worry instead of thinking he was abandoned. If Gray became cold, Step--SUHO WOULD TAKE IT IN STRIDE.

Anyways, Bumseok thought all he needed was money to buy their loyalty. Suho and Sieun never cared about his money; they just wanted him to feel comfortable around them. Unfortuntely, the moment Suho failed to be the perfect friend, Bumseok started turning on him. There is a very thin line between love and hate, and that one mistake of forgetting to follow Bumseok on insta caused Bumseok to dig deeper for more of Suho's faults.

And the really big problem is that he never thought to communicate his feelings. Bumseok does not realize friends aren't mind-readers and a successful friendship is one where there is two-way communication. For example, Suho knew Sieun's parents were mostly absent and thus understood Sieun's loner tendencies. Sieun knows Suho works part time jobs, so he doesn't get upset if Suho falls asleep and misses something they planned.

There was no way for Suho and Sieun to know Bumseok was being abused at home because Bumseok never told them. How was Suho supposed to know he doesn't like being talked down to, and he hates being left out, and all he has are them?

It makes sense that he doesn't understand why he did all those horrible things to Suho. He knows Suho never did anything wrong but he cares about his feelings above anyone else's. He's already abused at home, would it have killed Suho to change his entire personality just a little to accommodate the fact he needs to have his feelings satisfied? He was also angry they would so easily share their time and affection with Young yi even though he was there first. He was there first. They were supposed to be his group of inseparable friends. She ruined everything. It's all her fault.

Well, he knows it's not her fault, but he can't very well blame himself. He was abused at home so to him, he's always the victim in every situation no matter what. Anything he does, he believes he's within his right to do as the victim. He only sent people to beat up Suho because Suho hurt him first. Suho hurt him by not following him back. Suho hurt him by not choosing him over Young yi. Suho hurt him by acting like everything was okay and that their arguments were no big deal.

Suho is straight forward, no nonsense, what happens in Vegas stays there. Sieun is more than fine with that, but Bumseok never was. Everything always had to reach its logical conclusion: with everyone knowing their roles in his trauma (even though HE DOESN'T COMMUNICATE HIS TRAUMA), he'd get a heartfelt apology and in return, he'd keep spending money on them and they'd give him love.

But Suho doesn't really apologize to anyone (not even Sieun) so that friendship was never going to work out, was it.

[mercurygray]

Nonbinary, GNC, and genderfluid friends, I have a sensecheck question for you all - it's about something that happened at work this week.

For context, I work in a large cultural organization in the suburbs of a major city. The geographic area we're in is probably not considered very progressive or diverse.

Yesterday, I took a phone call from a visitor who wanted to make some comments about an interaction she had at one of our service desks. Caller identifies herself as a longtime supporter of our org, an older woman who grew up in the South. (This will become important later.)

She came up to the desk to ask a staff member about current programs and promotions. Staff member asked (as is standard procedure) if the visitor had a mailer or flyer. Visitor then turns to her spouse, standing next to her, and says "Can you give the lady what she asked for?"

Staff member then says, clearly confrontationally, "Don't call me a lady."

I'm going to pause the story here to share that the staff member in question identifies as nonbinary. If you were to walk past them in a room, you'd see an assigned female at birth person with long hair. The only reason I know that they are nonbinary is that because when I was first introduced to them they said "I go by [name] because it's more androgynous' and I had to make a jump from there. They use they/she pronouns.

The customer's main point, in calling, is that she's totally fine with whatever my staff member is or isn't - she doesn't want to be called out in the middle of a service interaction that would have taken two minutes for a correction on an extremely minor point of language. She grew up in the south, and she was taught that it's polite to call someone 'lady' or 'gentleman' in the context of 'this person I don't know but need to make indication of' She contends that it's none of her business what my staff member identifies as and none of this should have been a problem.

I respect the staff member's desire to be perceived as they want to be perceived. I can appreciate that the visitor is perhaps using out of date language but isn't going to change. I can also appreciate to this staff member this might be a micro-aggression. To be completely honest, I agree with the visitor and think confronting someone in the middle of what should have been a short transaction is not going to change the culture or anyone's minds.

Do any of you who work in retail environments have any opinions for me? How would you have reacted if this exchange had happened to you?

[just6f]

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[thedarkmistress16]

Can you share a story about a rude customer?

So typically I come across customers who're already in a bad mood, but very few of them have entitlement issues? Like one woman entered during our opening hours (barely anyone was in the store that morning so I was stocking) and asked me questions about a specific charging cord that told me she doesn't go to this store normally and only stopped in for one quick thing without realizing or knowing what store she was in? (more on this later) I told her where the aisle was, how far down it was and what side it was on, turning back to my task. And a few seconds passed before the lady answered in a "well can you help me?" with attitude in her voice and in a way that implied she expected me to guide her over to that section and be one-on-one with her? Which is fine but the more you spend talking to customers the less time you have for your other tasks and bada bing you've got a long line of customers (time is money). Plus, the lady immediately gave me: oh she's a bitch vibes when she addressed me and my internal defensive measures had me being curt but courteous with her while answering to the best of my ability (I've been there a few months at that point and our electronics section is really hit or miss, on top of me not personally using those products in particular because of the kind of store this is and typical product quality).

Soon as I was talking with her my manager stepped out and took over, and I moved back to my original task. I overheard snippets of the woman's attitude and my manager's underlying and growing frustration and shortness with her, so I knew it was the customer being problematic and asking unnecessary questions (ex: our prices are clearly marked in that particular section). Stuff like the customer saying "yeah that's what I meant" as if the employees are stupid or didn't specifically understand the question to answer it correctly (or, what the customer wants to hear).

Eventually, my manager walked to stand next to me and the customer came up in line and directly asked me how long I've been working there (implying like I had no idea what I was doing). Without missing a beat, I held eye contact with her and I resolutely responded with thin patience: "Oh I've been here for a while/a few months now," as my manager oversaw the transaction and the woman's surprised "Oh." back. She didn't say anything else more to me. When the customer left, my manager and I shared the same kind of look that everyone who deals with those kinds of customers do and stated along the lines of: "I don't know what her problem is."

But then she came back in again and asked my manager about some directions? So I dunno if she was rushing around and didn't look at any signs for our store or lived outside of the area or just running an errand or what, but whatever it was had her looking for a charging cord in a general-type store with a tiny electronics section that only works for specific ports. Yeah, I dunno.

[applesfallingfromblondehair]

Just my thoughts… Interestingly we haven’t, to my knowledge, discussed the affect his leaving so abruptly had on his fellow cast. Maybe, Jade, who likely knows why he left, has avoided mentioning him because she had to (legal reasons but Joel did so…) or because she doesn’t want to put his name in the same sentence as a celebration of the casts success. The play was presumably a big deal for her and others careers, maybe she feels the negativity tarnished it. Let’s not forget that Jade had a baby just prior to the play and is still breastfeeding so she was managing a lot to make this work (I’m a mum and I’ve breastfed so I say this based on experience). You don’t do all that unless you want to be part of an important experience.

We don’t know why he left the play or the previous film. What we do know (because he has deliberately chosen to share it) is that he has continued partying, dating and socialising. It’s seeming more and more unlikely that there is an issue with his physical health. Also, if alcohol/drugs were a problem I’d like to think his close friends and family would not be out partying/drinking with him still. Please use some common sense here! Sharing his mum and family gives me hope she/they are well. I hope. I don’t buy the sexual identity reason. The play’s message speaks to that. It makes literally no sense.

We don’t know him. We hope he is ok as we would for any person but we don’t know him. Some of his interactions with such young girls (not just Stella, there were others way before her and some disgusting IG accounts) lead me to conclude that he is nothing like the sweet, modest mummies boy he portrayed himself as publicly, which is fine. He has every right to do what he wants but do it publicly and you will be judged and it will make it harder to sell an image. He also must know or will soon realise that such young, attractive girls will be attracted to his money and status. Genuinely, as recent photos have shown, he’s attractive but looks older than his years and these girls are not blind. If he were not wealthy and famous, they probably wouldn’t look twice. Relationships are said to be a transaction and these are no different.

I do hope he is happy and healthy and so are his loved ones. Regardless of whatever issues he’s faced/facing his actions led to a lot of disappointment for many. It’s good to move on but people don’t forget. Those who know more than us, seemingly have not…

I feel like I might have neglected to talk about Jade, and for that I am sorry. I have always held her in extremely high regard, having a baby and almost immediately jumping in a project like Cock while still breastfeeding + getting married and then going back to work the next day + just generally being a badass bitch, writing and directing and starring in her first one woman show in NYC (tickets available now) really is incredibly impressive. And you're right, maybe she could have put a lot of hope in Taron's pull for the play. What I'd like to say is, however, that in the end most people who had tickets and were let down by the man still went to see the show (multiple times, sometimes) and the show was good enough to keep everyone's interest alive and kicking, so at the end of the day I don't think the damage on that side of things was as massive? And it probably still was a very important formative experience for everyone involved.

I don't really know what to reply to the rest, honestly. You made points that we have already raised several times, and I can't help but agree. Although I'm not sure what you mean by: "It’s good to move on but people don’t forget. Those who know more than us, seemingly have not…" but I assume you're referring to the cast potentially being angry at him. Listen, it could very well be the case, of course. But I personally don't think that Jade's lack of acknowledgment of Taron's (sadly neglectable) involvement in the production is enough to assume that her post was deliberate and mean-spirited.

[lazykcdoodler]

Thoughts on Louie and Della's Relationship + which of the triplets is my vote for Most Likely to hold any sort of longterm grudge against their mom (and why it would be Huey)

I was looking through the Della Duck tag in my blog, when I came across some discourse about the Della-Louie relationship dynamic that I reblogged a while back. I was reading thru the comments and saw someone's HC about how S3 Louie might still hold a small grudge against Della for stealing the Spear of Selene.

And I'm like, no?? If any of the kids in S3 and beyond would hold any sort of substantial grudge against Della for taking the Spear, it would obviously be Huey.

Wait, why did I think that-

Then because Huey's not explored enough, I had to take a step back and think about why I thought of him as the most likely candidate.

First, to work thru my thoughts on Louie and Della's relationship, and why he's less likely to hold a grudge against her in the long run. To start things off, he and Della already had their big clash and make up in the S2 finale. Remember this?

Their small arc in S2 did important things for their character development. That's not to say that they'll never argue again, or that they won't ever have problems. I can certainly see Louie using the Spear as ammunition for a future fight, if things came to that. But Louie and Della have other traits in common, aside from sharp scheminess and their tendency to think that they're the smartest people in any room.

Louie and Della are communicators. Yes, they're both sly and manipulative. But their success in that department comes from their ability to understand people. Dewey might've inherited Della's impulsiveness and natural charisma- but his inclination toward dramatics, his need to be well liked by others, and his desire to stand out among his family and peers, all mean that Dewey is more likely than Louie (but not Huey) to keep secrets and his personal feelings quiet. Della and Louie? Much less so.

It took Louie less than a year to voice his insecurities about his capabilities as an adventurer to Huey. When their mom came back to the Manor, Louie voiced his personal concerns in the very same episode. Louie is a crier. He complains a lot. He's an excellent orator. By far, Louie is the easiest triplet to read as a character, because his thoughts and his intentions are made known to the audience very quickly.

On Della's side of the equation, it's strongly implied throughout the series that she served as the emotional translator between Donald and Scrooge. Don't get me wrong; Scrooge and Donald love each other very much, and they understand each other in a way that very few others do. But when wires get crossed and either of them clam up on their hurt feelings (or fight about other things to avoid the elephant in the room), Della comes in to mediate. She voices whatever the other person won't say out loud. But that deserves its own post.

Regardless of any trouble between Louie and Della, I'm sure of three things. 1) Della and Louie love and care about each other, 2) Della is trying her hardest, Louie doesn't like getting into fights, and he admires passion as a trait in other people, and 3) in spite of everything- despite how agreeable Huey is, or how Dewey's such a momma's boy- out of the boys, Della's relationship with Louie is probably the healthiest in the long run. When it comes to his feelings, Louie is the most emotionally honest triplet. If he beats around the bush, it won't be for long.

While Dewey and Della ride the same wavelength (which causes its own problems), she grounded Louie in Timephoon and said those infamous words because she's been in Louie's place before. She knows what scheming and selfishness got her and her family, and she doesn't want Louie to do the same thing. Because she knows she was harsh- and she knows she might've been too harsh, since she just began learning how to be an authority figure- Della is probably less confident with her ability to handle Louie properly. Which means she's more likely to go to Donald for help with Louie's issues, far more often than she might for Dewey and Huey. Louie will always let Della know where she stands with him. And while she won't take his shit, Della will listen and reciprocate his emotional honesty with her own.

Huey is not good at emotional honesty. Don't get me wrong, he's great at helping other people. But unlike Louie, Huey is as emotionally transparent with his insecurities as a steel bear trap.

So. Why Huey? As I mentioned above, he and Della have stuff in common. They enjoy video games and exploring. They're both outdoorsy. Della is giving this her best shot, and Huey's a kind kid. They get along fine, so obviously things must be fine. Right?

Rrriiiigggghhhhtttt. So, why do I think that Huey's the most likely of the triplets to have any residual resentment toward Della for taking the Spear?

Dewey admired Donald's commitment to his family, but he had to learn to respect him. Louie respected Donald's passion and work ethic, but he had to learn to admire him. Huey never had to learn any of that; Donald has held Huey's respect and admiration from Day 1.

Huey's uncle has a terrible temper. He's easily misunderstood by others. He's the hardest worker on the planet, but he's often underappreciated. Huey can relate. This intrinsic understanding is the root of Huey's longstanding admiration and respect for Donald's character and Donald's efforts. Despite their pre-series financial insecurities, Donald successfully raised three boys on his own while providing them with a relatively middle class lifestyle. Despite everything, Donald is rich in the love of his family and friends.

When it comes to Donald's difficulties with public society, out of his brothers, Huey is the most empathetic to their uncle's plight. He might not be a father of three, but Huey holds the best understanding of the responsibilities that Donald undertook on their behalf.

And therein lies the rub.

Huey Duck is the Responsible One. He works hard, takes his duties as the eldest triplet very seriously, and helps Donald wherever he can. Whether by serving as a vocal translator during a bank transaction, taking charge of his siblings when their uncle is away, or speaking in Donald's defense when his brothers call him boring or lame, Huey tries to makes things easier.

Della probably did some of those things for Donald when they were younger, and vice versa. I'm 99 percent sure that Donald has been teaching her how to AdultTM since she got back from the Moon.

(Because her impulsiveness got her stranded for 10 years).

Huey and Della love each other. They get along great. They have plenty in common. But Huey Duck is by-the-book, and naturally inclined toward hard work- just like his Uncle Donald. Della ripped up the book, took a shortcut, and had to learn to become hardworking the hard way. Huey Duck is the Responsible One. Della had to take a crash course in becoming a Responsible Authority Figure after Louie's scheming almost erased the family from history.

There are many reasons to admire Donald, but his ability to wrangle the three of them is probably near the top of Huey's list. If Donald wasn't responsible before the SOS Incident, he certainly learned to be. Huey has his own lifetime of trouble dealing with Louie's cons, Dewey's impulsiveness, and their collective recklessness and disregard for Huey's work and Huey's passions. They're difficult and infuriating, but Huey tries. And whenever Huey tries, his respect for Donald probably rises. Because Donald isn't their sibling- he's their uncle, their guardian, their first parent since the day the triplets hatched. While the triplets probably had honorary family in their lives long before they met Scrooge (apparently, Mouseton and Duckburg are very close to each other), Donald was HDL's only parent for 10 years.

Because Huey's mom was reckless, and got stranded on the Moon.

At least Huey knows where Louie and Dewey got it from. (It's bad enough, coming from them).

But Huey Duck is the oldest. He needs to be a figure of strength and capability. He needs to be a leader, needs to provide support, needs to be a good role model. His family relies on him for that sort of thing. Mom's been through a lot. Uncle Donald has been through a lot. Huey spent ten years watching his uncle go through a lot. Huey needs to set an example. He's the oldest- which means he needs to extend a hand, make an effort, and bury any proverbial hatchet even if it kills him a little.

(Huey wants things to run smoothly. Huey doesn't want to be a burden for others. Canonically, Huey locks away a lot of his own problems and internal anxieties...until his control slips. Huey hates it when that happens).

Let the record show that I love Della Duck. She's one of my favourite characters. I love how hard she tries, and she's come amazingly far. I'm sure Huey appreciates her efforts.

I'm not saying that canon Huey holds a grudge, or that he secretly resents his mom. I just think that out of all the triplets, he's who I'd pick as the most likely to do so. And unlike Louie and Dewey, Huey knows how to hide certain thoughts and feelings successfully. Huey can be anxious, but he can't be mean (he's already weird and nerdy, he can't afford to be mean). Huey has spent his entire life honing his control over his less...socially acceptable emotions. (Hello, Duke). If Huey has grudges about Della and the Spear or anyone and anything else, I have faith in his ability to hide those negative thoughts for a long, long time.

Until he can't.

[phantaloon]

i really really shouldn't be saying this considering how shit is going on in my country at the moment, but holy shit y'all this is the only media site i trust at this point

basically, my country El Salvador is going through a really really tough political crisis, and it has been going since President Nayib Bukele came into power in June 2019, because, in a few words, he's an arrogant manipulative corrupt megalomaniac who's building a dictatorship

early this year, his party Nuevas Ideas gained control of both the Legislative Assembly and the Judicial Court, so like that one single party is in charge and has a majority of control of the entire state. And sadly, every single politician in that party is only a puppet who follows every single on of Bukele's orders, thus every single thing in my country is controled by what one man says.

What has he done the past two years? Engaged in insanely expensive projects that do not reflect what has been spent (stealing money from the state), made pacts with gangs (which are a huge threat in El Salvador) so that murders are not discovered while the missing persons cases keep growing and growing and growing, encouraged sexist homophobic behaviors and laws, and there are so many things that have happened i honestly can't point out right now because there's one thing going on that i just need to talk about

Bitcoin. If you've heard of bitcoin you'll know it's a currency that could plummet or rise in the blink of an eye, a network where stealing is as easy as a click, where there are no traces of money movements or transactions, it's all around unstable and dangerous

and yet, Bukele passed a law in June/July in which Bitcoin shall become El Salvador's official currency in about a week, despite the fact that we've been perfectly fine having the USAmerica dollar as a currency

Of course, people have realized how much of a problem that is, with Bitcoin, you could be a millionaire today and suddenly your money means nothing in a month, who knows how much you'll have then

Coincidentally, local banks have been experiencing crazy scams and robberies like never in their history, people go to the bank and no sorry you have 5 dollars in your account.

So the government comes, says how dangerous banks are, how your money isn't safe, how unreliable they are, but hey look at this shiny new currency we're gonna give you (don't worry about how you won't know how much money you'll wake up with tomorrow <3)!

So there's activists, trying to educate on how dangerous having Bitcoin as a currency can be

and this happened today

one of if not the biggest anti-bitcoin activist in El Salvador was detained this morning, with no charges, no lawyers, no explanations, just cops waiting for him outside the house he was staying at (not his own) as he went out

at this hour, the government has said HE has been behind the bank robberies, despite ALSO speaking up about how the banks most likely were working with the government to set up the whole bitcoin is better move

so now everyone is scared, because this guy has been speaking against the government since the start of the year, and now they've taken him in under false claims, so the government is now taking in people against it

and now everyone's scared to do it, my family won't let me speak up about everything going on in my country over at twitter, because fuck if they took an adult man with thousands of followers, who has a big media presence, can't they take everyone else who speaks up against them?

so here i am speaking about this on tumblr, because surely the police isn't keeping tabs on tumblr right?? they couldn't??

idk what my point coming here was, perhaps it was to vent about how scared i am of one day everything being controled by Bukele and Nuevas Ideas, maybe i just want the rest of the world to know somehow, maybe i want someone to know I'm scared, idk, but i am scared, because they're gonna start taking out activists now, they're displaying their power, showing how easy it is to just take us if we move against them

i ask nothing of anyone, maybe share if you can, because god knows how the whole bitcoin thing is gonna affect us, and who will go next?? what crime are they gonna accuse everyone else of?? what power move are they gonna do next?

[nakachuchu]

Cookies & Cream Ice Cream | Haiba Lev

SYNOPSIS: You marry Japan’s top model by accident.

READER: gender neutral

WORDS: 1013

WRITTEN: 04/15/2021

NOTES: Thank you for requesting from my event! I changed it to a CEO person so I hope that's okay. "___ or ___?" "I'm allergic to both." + You wake up in Vegas next to them and learn that you're married to them.

You were a busy person. Your days were full of long work hours that consisted of shouting at people—because they were useless and slow—and looking over the company budgets and factions of the company you were the CEO of.

You rarely got breaks. You didn't even have time to go back to your hometown to visit your family during the holidays because the holidays were good investing times.

So when you finally got the chance for a small two-day break after your important meeting in Las Vegas, you took it.

Your mind usually drifted off to work and you didn't like taking breaks because it felt like you weren't doing anything useful with your time, but your assistant, Yaku, hounded you to rest.

You knew he cared for your well-being. He had been your assistant for around four years and he was hardworking.

You felt a bit bad that he had to come with you to Las Vegas instead of being able to spend the weekend doing whatever he wanted, so you invited him out for drinks after the meeting.

You remembered the way his eyes lit up like an excited puppy when you first offered him a drink.

The two of you chatted and drank in a fancy bar. You learned he used to play volleyball and he went into great detail about his tall junior who always got onto his nerves.

You certainly didn't expect to wake up to the very same junior Yaku had been complaining about.

Lev approached you and Yaku last night after he walked into the bar after running away from people who knew who he was. You were only tipsy at the time and Yaku seemed to know him, so the three of you ended up drinking together.

Before you knew it, you ended up completely drunk. You could vaguely remember your drunk self cooing at how attractive Lev was. You even ended up on his lap with your arms around him, blabbering incoherent words.

The words that Lev could hear were usually mixes of “You’re so pretty,” “Look at me. I wanna see your eyes,” “Hey, are you single,” and the infamous “Let’s get married.”

He laughed it off at first because he wasn't as drunk as you, but then he continued to drink to challenge Yaku and eventually ended up equally as drunk before accepting your marriage proposal.

Your memory was a bit foggy when you woke up, but you were certain that Yaku was not this tall or had silver hair. In fact, Yaku seemed to be completely missing. What wasn't missing was a surprisingly new and shiny diamond ring on your ring finger.

You let out a shriek, falling off the bed in your surprise. You groaned and rubbed your sore butt as you sat up, sighing in relief when you realized your clothes were on.

Lev groaned while rubbing his head. He struggled to sit up, then blinked a few times until he settled on your body on the floor.

His face lit up. "Ah—You're Senpai's boss!"

You cringed. "Yes, that's me. Please lower your voice. My head is killing me."

"Sorry. Hey, where is he anyway? I wanted to brag some more about how much taller I am.”

You fumbled for your phone that was on the nightstand, then dialed Yaku's number. You let out a sigh when he didn't answer.

"Wherever he is, I hope he's okay," you muttered.

Lev hummed and twirled his hair between his fingers. You blinked at him, then narrowed your eyes before widening them and frantically climbing onto the bed.

You knocked Lev onto his back, straddling his waist and grabbing his hand to inspect it. Your eyes darted back and forth between the ring on your finger and the ring on his finger.

"No," you whispered. "Please tell me we didn't get married last night!"

Lev blinked. "Am I that bad? I think I'm pretty cool. You know, I was ranked Japan's number one model last year."

"That's not the problem! I don't even know you and I got married to you! That's the problem!"

He frowned. "Then we'll just get a divorce, but I really think we should give it a shot."

"Give what a shot? Our fake marriage?" you retorted.

"Doesn't it seem fun? It's like something out of a movie," he said.

He leaned over to grab the room service menu and opened it. Your face contorted into a deadpan expression as he read the menu.

"Oh, this sounds good. Grilled salmon or shrimp pasta?" he asked.

"I'm allergic to both."

"That sucks."

You rolled your eyes before quickly realizing something. You logged into your bank app on your phone to check your recent transactions, then let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank God. I didn't pay for this. I'm assuming you did," you said.

He frowned for a moment before shrugging. "If I can afford a whole garage of sports cars, I'm sure I can afford two diamond rings."

"I can see why Yaku talked shit about you last night."

"You know, that's really mean. Oh, how about ice cream? You're not allergic to ice cream, right? Truthfully, I like cookies & cream. What about you?"

You didn't know if you were supposed to be impressed at how nonchalant he was or how rich he was.

"I like cookies & cream too," you admitted.

“Let’s go out for ice cream then,” he decided as he grabbed you by the hips and lifted you off him.

“For breakfast?” you questioned.

“It’s past noon, so it’s not breakfast,” he retorted.

“You’re a smart-ass,” you retorted.

“Who’s your husband,” he added. “You bagged a good one.”

You groaned and fell back onto the bed, burying your face into the pillow. Lev scooted closer to you, bringing his face right in front of you. You could feel his hand patting your head.

“There, there. You’ll be fine,” he cooed.

You turned your head to the side to look at him. “You’re not that bad when your mouth is closed.”

“I’ll take what I can get."

[rakimaiirisa]

The jungle of the inn keepers door bell caught Thoralds attention and he looked up from his mead hopefully. A woman stood in the doorway, an unsure look on her face as she peered into the dimly lit inn. Remembering the description his employer gave, Thorald jumped to his feet and hurried to her, extending a hand in welcome. "Are you Arisa Bear-Tooth?" He asked and the woman nodded. "In the flesh" she said cheerfully.

He led her to the table he had occupied earlier and called for the serving girl to bring him two tankards of hunningbrew mead. Taking a deep swig of her drink, Arisa sighed happily.

"It's been awhile since I had some good mead. But let's get to business..Why did you want to interview me?" She asked.

Thorald nodded, "You're the dragonborn, the one the Greybeards called for, m’lady. The people of Skyrim want to know more about you and my employer, The Black Horse courier,wants to be the one to tell your story. Please allow me to be the one to tell it"

Arisa looked down at her tankard for a moment then took a deep breath. " Alright. But if your expecting tales of daring adventure, you're going to be disappointed.."

He shook his head, "I just want your take on things, m’lady, Nothing more. " She smiled at him and he noticed the amusement in her eyes. "You can call me Arisa, m’lady is so formal." she said. He nodded slowly. "Ok then.. Arisa, let's get started." He pulled out a leather bound journal and pheasant quill out of his bag. Placing them on the table, he readied himself to write.

1. What is your full name?

"Arisa laenhal Bear-Tooth."

2. "Do you know why you named that?"

"My father and mother fell in love with the name. Had I been a boy, my father wouldve given me a Nordic name, since I tend to look like my mothers race more. (Noting his confusion, she shrugged.) I am half nord/half mer. I look like my mother more then my father, Tho there are some traits he passed along.(she pulled back her hair and Thorald noticed her pointed ears from her mer ancestry) . My middle name is in honor of my bosmer grandmother. I've never met her tho. She passed before my birth. As for my surname, myfather insisted that I take my mothers. He said he didn't want me to suffer the prejudice he faced, especially when dealing with my mothers people."

3. "Are you single or taken?"

Looking down at her mead, she sighed. "Single and I'm only interested in one person. And I don't want discuss who it is."

The jingle of the door bell made them look up. A tall lean dark haired nord with messy circular black war paint around his eyes stood in the doorway. He glanced at them then walked to the bar, the innkeeper Hulda, greeting him fondly. Thorald recognized him, one of the companion's from Jorvaskkr. As he turned back to Arisa, he noted the wistful look on her face. Could this be the person she was talking about earlier? Maybe this could be in a future story! He mentally rejoiced at the thought.

4. "Have any powers or abilities?"

"Since I'm the dragonborn, I can shout like the dragons, without needing training to use the Thuum . I'm very good with destruction and conjuration spells. And according to Eyorland Grey-mane, I'm not bad at working the forge.

5. (Taking a chance)."Stop being a Mary sue. Give me the details, Arisa. "

"You might want to not ask me in that tone or consider the interview over." He apologized, noting the hard look in her eyes and inwardly cringing. Don't blow this,you idiot! You might never get another chance to ask her anything again. he thought.

6.,"whats your eye color?"

" blue."

7. "Hair color? "

"Dark brown."

8. "Have any family members? "

"My father, Rilgor NightSky and my mother, Elena Bear-Tooth. I am a only child.

9." Oh, how bout pets?"

"I have my horse, Stepper. He's a good horse, very reliable and runs like the wind when I need him too."

10. Moving on to something different, Are there things you don't like?"

Laughing , she said " Spiders and Draugr overlords. Been poisoned and blown off my feet too many times to count."

11. "Do you have any activities or hobbies you like to do?"

"Tinkering with the dwemer automatons I find, I also like to try to create new spells. My attempts have been a hit or miss so far."

12." Have you hurt anyone on purpose before? "

"I've tried not to."

13. "Ever…killed anyone before? "

Not if they didn't deserve it.

14. "What kind of animal are you? "

(She grinned and Thorald noticed that her canines seemed a bit longer then normal.) "What do you think?" . "How bout we skip that question?" He said hastily. He didn't want to know.

15. " Name your bad habits?"

(She shrugged.) Procrastinating is one thing I can think of. And blowing my money on things I enjoy. That wouldnt be a problem but I tend to overspend and then I find myself broke until the next job comes along..

16. "Do you look up to anyone at all?"

I have great respect for my shield brothers and sisters of Jorvaskkr. I have learned a lot from them.

17. Are you gay, straight or bisexual?

I enjoy men and women.

18. Do you go to school?

I study with Vignar Grey-mane and Vilkas. They are teaching me the history of tamriel. Vilkas is also trying to teach me how to handle the transactions for the guild. (She frowns slightly) That's not going so well to be honest.

19. "Do you ever want to be married and have children?"

"I don't know...I would like to get married but children? I'm hardly ever home so I'm not sure. I guess it just depends.

20. "Do you have any fanboys or girls? "

I'm not sure.

21. What are you most afraid of?

Hmmm.. I guess letting life pass me by.... And losing people who are precious to me.

22. "What do you usually wear?

Depends on the weather, but I prefer light clothing and armor.

23.whats one food that tempts you?

Snowberry Crostata. Tilma makes the best but Huldas isn't that bad either.

24. "Am I annoying to you? "

(Shrugs) I've dealt with worse.

25. "Well, it's not over.! "

(Another shrug) it's fine.

26.what class are you(low/middle/high?"

When I was with my parents, I was, considered middle. Living in whiterun.. I guess you could say im still middle. I own breezehome and im still able to provide for myself.

27.

"How many friends do you have? "

Im friendly with the whiterun citizens and I can count on my shield brothers and sisters to back me up so quite a few.

28.

"What are your thoughts on pie? "

The only pie sold in whiterun is apple and I am just not a fan of it. Sometimes Hulda will give me one for helping her cut firewood bithe I just give it to Farkas or Vilkas when I see them.

30.

"Favorite drink?"

It's some brew Farkas made. He's calls it the sabrecat stunner. It's really strong but man, so good.

31.

"Whats your favorite place?"

Hmmm.. I have to say Jorvaskkr. It's noisy but there's something comforting about it. Plus, Tilma is a great cook!

[gettin-bi-bi-bi]

Hey Maddie, firstly thank you for the advice you give us all the time. You're always the most helpful. I wanted to ask you how to approach this. I spent a weekend with my boyfriend and even though we also haven't had sex yet, we did other stuff. I made him come a few times but whenever it was my turn...he wasn't that successful. I was taking a while and sometimes he'd ask me if I was close but I eventually just faked it. Tbh it was the pressure and now I've lied to him (this happened twice) but I don't want it to happen again. I do feel a bit guilty about bc I think he doesn't quite believe me that I really came. How can I tell him (without it being uncomfortable) that him not being very patient with me just makes it harder for me to come? Specially bc he takes too long as well and I never pressure him. I was at it for nearly an hour and I never once pressured him in any way...he never really pressured me either but he kept asking me if I was almost there and stuff like that. Thanks Maddie

Aaaah yes.... this old problem. I’ve faked a bunch of orgasms in my life because I either didn’t want to make the guy feel bad or because I was getting bored and wanted to just be done with it. And for a long time I wasn’t confident enough to do it myself in front of someone else or to really show him how I like it. Though there was also that one guy whom I did give a suggestion and he just refused to take my constructive criticism bc he thought he knew my vaginé better than I did. 🙃

So... what would my advice be?

I think, that you should try to be comfortable touching yourself in front of him. It is perfectly fine if he doesn’t know (yet) how to make you come. No one can just magically know what gets someone else going, it takes practice. So maybe if you masturbate in his presence that takes some pressure off it and also he could pay attention to the movements that you make. And he doesn’t just have to sit there and stare at you. Maybe he can kiss you or stimulate your nipnips or whatever you like - this can be team work. Sex is something that you do together and it doesn’t have to be a transaction where you pay each other in orgasms one after another, you know? So don’t be shy to play around and help yourself or show your partner “this is how I would do it”.

A little example from my personal life is that for a while my partner wasn’t really getting the pressure right so what I did was to show him - with my fingertips against his arm - what his current technique felt like versus how I would do it myself. He understood the difference right away, changed his technique and voila! So, it doesn’t have to be a big deal. It can just be “hey, honey, could you do it more like this instead of that?” And in your case, also tell him that his questions if you’re close make you feel uneasy and pressured even though you know that’s not what he’s trying to do. But for me personally it would also just get me ~out of the zone~. Like... if I really were close and then my partner would ask me “are you close?” I’d be like “I was, now we gotta start all over.”

Some people feel hurt when they are being told that they are doing something “wrong” or “not right” and especially the whole sex thing and getting your partner to orgasm is a sensitive topic for many people. But if you talk to him and say “hey, I really want this to work but there’s a couple if things that could be improved upon” then your partner’s ideal reaction shouldn’t be to be butt-hurt but instead to be excited about being shown what you like. Nobody can expect from him that he instinctively knows how your body works - that’s impossible and not what makes someone “good in bed”. But to be interested and open for suggestions without being offended, that’s what makes someone a good lover.

You wanna know how to do all that without it being uncomfortable but the truth is that it will probably be a little uncomfy or awkward. That’s normal though, especially when you’re young an unexperienced and haven’t had these kinda conversations much. It gets easier when you get older and more experienced. But learning to talk about those things is also part of exploring sexuality. It’s not just about learning what gets you off and what gets your partner(s) off, it’s also about learning a language of how to talk about it. Awkwardness is part of that process and that’s okay. It’s worth it!

Maddie

[mintjamsblog]

Hi, I love how you write Alfie and Tommy (especially your Alfie POV fics), you've got his voice so right! I wondered what you think Alfie's relationship is? Like has he slept with men or women or both? Has he ever had a serious relationship? With who? I don't know whether I sent this ask already, so sorry if I did! Thanks

Thank you, I love writing Alfie so I’m glad you think I’ve got his voice, he’s certainly complex! But I have a lot of feelings about his relationship history, so here goes…(bear with me…)

Alfie Solomons relationship history (headcanons)

He’s always been an outsider. Even as a kid in Camden Town. Not only was he Jewish and fatherless and a loner by nature, but his brain worked differently too … he made connections quicker than most.

The great advantage of being an outsider was that it made him an excellent observer … not only of situations but of people. And what his observations told him was that most people were greedy and selfish and cowardly and almost always less intelligent than him. Consequently he finds very few worthy of his time and even fewer worthy of his actual interest.

He knew from early on that he had an eye for men – but also that it was a danger, a weakness. He slept with a couple of women, paid them, just to try it, just to confirm that it wasn’t really for him. And he’s had very little to do with women ever since, not that he has anything against them, they simply don’t feature heavily in his life. There was his mother of course, who he respected, loved, but she didn’t coddle him, she was always working, always busy and expected him to be too. And there is his maid, Edna, who he appreciates greatly but she doesn’t live in (because he likes his own space thank you very much). There are very few women in his line of work and none at the bakery (even his office staff are men). It suits him fine. He’s not scared of women in any way, but he does have a sense that there’s more trouble when they’re around. Usually caused by men.

He’s spent most of his life on his own, fully accepting of the fact that he’d never have a conventional set-up, a marriage or kids. He’s always been selfish, grumpy and busy enough not to care, plus it’s just easier on his own. Life is less risky when you only care about yourself and it gives your enemies less leverage.

That said, he’s not without desires…but he’s always known where to get his kicks. It’s easy enough to find the right kind of men if you hang around the right kind of places (the docks, canals, certain movie theatres and clubs).  But it has always been pretty transactional, a fix, a release, and necessarily secretive. 

There was someone once. In France. He developed an affection for a soldier in his ranks – a bright, intelligent, innocent lad from south of the river. He had wit and ambition and a thirst for life that Captain Solomons found captivating. It was reciprocated for a while too; might even have made Alfie believe that there could be something more for a man like him – something beyond just sex. But the war put an end to it, the lad was killed a year before armistice and that was that. It only reinforced Alfie’s sense that feelings are a weakness, that warmth is fleeting and generally snuffed out by people or events outside your control. So when he came back he closed the door on the whole episode, locking love in the same sealed box as war in his tidy mind. He saw little point in keeping a lid on his volatility after that either. 

Once back in Camden he figured he’d just take whatever life offered him and trample anything in his path. He reverted to the old haunts to get his release, although with increasingly less satisfaction – whether the men are actually getting younger or it’s just that he is just getting older he isn’t sure – but it always feels slightly inadequate. Still, sex is a necessity, a commodity to be bought when required. 

His increasingly unhinged persona (which he carefully cultivates) means that people tend to stay at arms length, so the chances of sleeping with anyone other than those he pays, well, they’re extremely slim. And if anyone did approach him he’d most likely assume it was a trap, because being gay in Camden in the 1920s leads to a necessary level of paranoia (to which he is naturally prone anyway). 

He is not a people person. People just frustrate him. Waste his time. Take too long to catch on. Which makes him liable to fits of temper and frustration and unpredictability. Which just exacerbates the whole ‘insane Jewish gangster’ reputation and makes people steer clear. It’s a self-perpetuating cycle (and one that suits him very well, thank you). 

Consequently no one has EVER spent the night in his house or his bed. EVER. Generally this suits him absolutely fine, but occasionally there’ll be a certain dream (about the lad in France, or his mother’s death) that will make him crave some human contact…a warm hand on his shoulder maybe. On those mornings he will occasionally share breakfast with Edna, make her stop and sit and drink tea with him. 

But then he meets Tommy. And he can’t help but be interested. Because despite the fact that he is a cocky little upstart from the godforsaken city of Birmingham he has a rare combination of qualities that rouse admiration in Alfie.  He’s wiley and quick and absolutely sure of himself. 

And, well, he looks like that. It’s kind of hard not to notice. 

Alfie is thoroughly intrigued but also actively annoyed by this. Because he also has this strange and unwelcome impulse to want to look after Tommy. He’s only little afterall, and far too brave for his own good and he just walks around rubbing people up the wrong way and, well, looking like that. Stands to reason he’s going to get himself in trouble. And Alfie absolutely shouldn’t care if he does, and yet he can’t help it. He finds Tommy Shelby creeping into his thoughts at the oddest and generally most inconvenient of times. 

Everything was far, far easier when he didn’t feel like this. Because feelings only cause problems, and he has enough of those. So he tries very hard to not notice Tommy Shelby. When that doesn’t work he tries very hard to focus only his most irritating attributes. His constant smoking, drinking, eye-rolling and weird reliance on his fucked up family.

But then Tommy nearly gets himself killed (again) by the priest and finally, Alfie just can’t help himself. Has to step in, tell Tommy what’s good for him, take some control – because of course the silly boy is never going to realise that’s what he needs. But then he wasn’t banking on Alfie. 

Once he’s admitted to himself that he wants Tommy there is really no going back. Because Alfie Solomons takes what he wants…it’s a process of accumulation. He is ruthless and relentless in his pursuit and happy to employ any method of coercion necessary.  His uncanny powers of observation allow him to see things in Tommy that others might not. It unnerves Tommy, he knows that. In the end it’s a combination of taking away Tommy’s power and giving him the best sex of his life seems to work.

In bed Alfie is surprisingly selfless, if you can call it that, because he’s not actually trying to be selfless, it’s just that he fucking gets off on making Tommy lose it … lose control … lose himself. The only way Tommy can accept any pleasure or affection, so it seems, is by being forced to. By having his power taken away. Which given that Alfie likes nothing more than to be in control suits everyone just fine, thank you very much.

And now Alfie can’t imagine not wanting to do what he and Tommy are doing for as long as is humanly possible. Or until Tommy fucks off for a better offer at least. Which is bound to happen, let’s face it. (Because he looks like that after all).