#My best friend acting like her romantic relationships always takes priority

[lipglossboy]

yeah this sort of thing bothers me a lot particularly irl. Sometimes it's okay in fic like I can pretty comfortably separate certain things from my real life values especially bc I like when people are intentionally written to be toxic in fics. Like lil jealousy here and there (in some ways). But when the romance rules in a fic remind me too much of IRL constructs that my friends assume one needs to subscribe to, it does bother me.

Idk if this is part of that umbrella, but the assumption that a romantic partner should be more important than a platonic best friend irks me.

*edit: okay wait I'm maybe embarrassed. Is amatanormativity literally what I'm talking about? I thought it was mainly about monogamy.

The problem with amatanormativity is that even though it's RAMPANT in Fandom spaces, none of you know enough to even be able to recognize it, much less address it at all.

[moonsgemini]

seeking arrangements - i

summary: Lola's sister is getting married and the best man happens to be her cheating ex. In a desperate attempt to impress her family and show her ex she’s moved on with a hot date Lola turns to the advice of coworker pointing her towards the direction of a male escort. Rafe Cameron was the perfect man to take to any event for just $8,000. Her family won’t suspect a thing and when the wedding’s over they’ll never see each other again. Right?

warnings: escort!rafe x oc, mentions of a cheating ex, escort talk ??, fluff I think

wc: 4.1k

an: I love the movie the wedding date so I wanted to write a series based off of the idea, I hope you all enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it (:

series masterlist

Lola opened the door to her apartment shedding her rain coat and hanging it on her coat rack. The last of the May rain was really getting the best of her this year. She loved living in the city because it was walkable but she didn’t love it when it rained because she got soaked on her commute home. Her cat, Sailor, jumped down from the window sill of the living room and came to greet her rubbing her head against her legs purring lightly.

“Hi sweet girl, did you have a good day today?” Lola asked the black fluffy cat as she bent down and picked her up. Cradling her like a baby and kissing her face. Lola got lucky with a cuddly easy going cat. She felt like Sailor was her closest and most trusted friend.

She set Sailor down and walked over to her room with a content sigh. After changing into some comfy clothes and washing her makeup off she laid on her big grey couch. Her plans for the rest of the evening were to lay on her couch and get Chinese takeout, catch up on emails and watch her favorite show. Her favorite activities. After putting on friends as a little background noise she pulled her laptop out of her bag to check her emails. That’s when her memory of her morning at the office came back to her, her face flushed as she looked at the drafted email in front of her.

Rafe,

Hi my name is Lola and I’m in need of a date to a wedding. It’d be more than a date actually, I need a fake boyfriend in about two weeks for 5 days. It’ll be June 12th-17th in the Hamptons. My sister is getting married in the hamptons and my family is kind of nuts and obsessed with me getting a boyfriend. My ex boyfriend is also the best man in the wedding, and if it was like a regular break up it’d be fine but he cheated on me for over a year of our relationship so I want to show that I’ve moved on. I may seem desperate but I kind of am. Did I mention that I heard of you through a work friend whose cousin has a friend who hired you for some event. So if you’re interested please email me back and if you’re not then please forget I ever emailed you.

xx Lola

“oh God,” she muttered as she read it over. Did she sound desperate? maybe.

Eight months ago Lola’s sister Penny had called her squealing with excitement. She barely let Lola say hello before she was spilling the news about how her boyfriend, now fiancée, Harry had proposed to her. How he did it in the most romantic way while they were on vacation in Italy. It was hard for Lola to feel excited for her sister but she still put on an amazing act like always. All her life Penny had outshined and beat Lola in everything. She was the younger shining star that their mother put on a pedestal, little sister never did anything wrong. Penny won first place in science fairs, always got the boy, never had to try hard to get her dream job. It all seemed to come easy to her.

Three years ago Lola moved after graduating from college because she got an amazing job at a publishing office. She even got cute apartment and she felt like she was finally coming into her own. Penny came to the city when her and Harry were just friends to see him, of course seeing her sister wasn't her main priority. But she figured she’d kill two birds with one stone and invited Lola to dinner with them, where then Harry invited his best friend Thomas. They immediately hit it off and soon after he was her everything. She thought she’d be the first to get married, until two years into the relationship she found out the scum bag had been cheating on her for a year of the relationship. Lola was surprising him at work with lunch when this girl from his office crawled out from under his desk.

Ever since Penny had given her the news of the engagement she had face-timed or called Lola almost every week for the first few months whether it was about what flowers should be the center pieces or how many tiers should the cake be. Along with breaking the news that Thomas was going to be the best man, Penny just mentioned it in passing like it was no big deal. As if her sister's cheating ex wasn't going to be an important part of the wedding.

It was mentally exhausting but Lola couldn’t complain. It was her sister she had to help her and be there, she had to be a good big sister. Every time during those calls Penny would find a way to weasel in the question, “so do you have a date yet?” Lola hated that question. It was like Penny knew her sister couldn’t find a date. Every time Lola would say the same thing, “Not yet Pen.” Then she’d say, “I think Thomas is still bringing that girl from soho.” Almost as if she was trying to chip away at Lola’s finally mended heart. The last time Penny called about and asked that god forsaken question Lola blurted out a lie. “Actually yeah I-I’ve been seeing a guy for a few months but uh I didn’t want to invite him until I was sure about him.”

The lie came out almost too easy and she immediately regretted it. Where was she going to find a date. Especially someone who would want to spend 5 days with her crazy family. She had rested her head on her desk with a loud thud after she hung up the phone, catching the attention of Fiona.

“You good over there?” She asked peaking over at her coworker.

Lola lifted her head facing her, “I’m royally screwed.” She explained the situation to Fiona about the imaginary date she was taking.

“Who the hell am I going to find in a week,” Lola groaned tugging at her hair.

Fiona hummed in thought, “Okay you’re probably going to say no, but I may have a solution.”

Fiona explained how her cousin’s friend hired a male escort to go with her to a work party. The woman had been tired of going to work parties alone for the last few years and took matters into her own hands. The cousin’s friend had found him after he did a small anonymous segment in a magazine about male escorts. She knew the magazine’s editor and found the guy. Lola thought Fiona was crazy if she thought she would do that and immediately shut the idea down. But after some contemplation she timidly asked how she could get in contact with the guy, which led to the typing up of the email. She didn’t send it because she wasn’t sure if this would be a smart idea.

Lola read the drafted email over and over again, hovering the mouse over send. What could go wrong? A lot actually. Her whole family could find out and she’d be the laughing stock of the century. After that thought she definitely wasn’t going to send it. Maybe she could just go alone and tell her sister that her and mystery man broke up. As she was about to delete it Sailor jumped onto her lap and her fingers slipped and pressed down on send.

“Sailor! Fuck,” she gasped as she sat up, the cat getting off of her and standing on the ledge of the couch.

I guess there’s no turning back now, she thought to herself. She was honestly hoping he wouldn’t reply, but for some reason the rejection would make her feel worse.

-

Saturday’s were Lola’s favorite because she would go to her favorite deli and get a bagel, then head over to the farmers market. She had spent the whole night before refreshing her email with a glass of wine in hand waiting for Rafe’s reply

She was headed back home her shoulders carrying reusable bags filled with produce. Her favorite part of the day was over, but she couldn’t help but be anxious to get home and check her email. She hadn’t let herself check before she left the apartment or while she was at the market. It was 2pm now he has to have replied by now.

She made her way into her apartment unloaded the bags onto her kitchen counters before almost running to the living room where her laptop sat on the couch. Lola took a deep breath before opening her email, closing her eyes as her new messages loaded.

“Sailor this is your fault if he rejects me,” she muttered as the cat stared at her from the window sill. She looked back at her screen and the email with the subject title Hamptons Wedding staring at her. He had replied, her heart rate instantly picking up. She didn’t even know if this guy was good looking now that she thought about it. What if he ended up being some murderer? Before her racing mind took over she opened the email.

Lola,

It sounds like you’re in a sticky situation, so I’d like to help you out. Hopefully we can discuss all the details and the prices in person to get to know each other better. If you’re free this afternoon we can meet at Lucy’s in Manhattan at 6pm. Let me know if that works for you.

- Rafe

“Holy shit,” she gasped. Lola looked at the corner of her laptop at the time, 2:48pm.

Rafe,

That sounds great, I’ll see you then!

xx Lola

She quickly scrambled to her bathroom after sending her reply. It was her hair wash day and with about two and a half hours left to get ready she needed to start now.

As she was getting ready her mind was racing. What if he was ugly? But he did this for a living so she was sure that he had to be good looking. Hopefully not too out of her league or else how would her family believe her. How would Thomas believe her. What if Rafe thought she wasn’t pretty. Lola felt like she was getting ready for a blind date with the way she meticulously did her hair and winged her eyeliner. She had to keep reminding herself that this was just a business transaction, she didn’t need to impress him. Well maybe she did because he could totally reject her and turn down the idea.

When she was finally ready it was 5:21pm. She stared at herself in the mirror hoping her black dress and knitted cropped button up and boots looked good. She gave herself a small smile in the mirror and grabbed her bag. Kissing Sailor goodbye she headed out the door. The bar wasn’t too far from her apartment just a short 15 minute walk. She wore her headphones and listened to Taylor Swift trying to keep her mind elsewhere. Lola arrived to the bar and found a booth towards the back, she sat on the side facing the door so she could watch for her mystery man.

“Can you I get you anything to drink?” The waitress asked.

“Oh uh can I get a cosmo please,” Lola smiled politely. The waitress nodded and headed over to the bar.

Lola fidgeted with the rings on her fingers, eyes glued to the door. The door opened and a man walked through, probably just slightly taller than her with dark hair. Maybe this was him she thought as she sat up straighter, but he walked over to the other side of the bar greeting some other men who were already sat there. Her posture deflated a bit, maybe she was somehow being stood up. The waitress brought over her cosmo and she thanked her quietly. Taking a couple gulps to ease her nerves, almost finishing the whole drink.

The door to the bar opened once again and a tall man walked in. He was extremely handsome, chiseled features and dirty blonde hair. He was wearing a green button up and black jeans a silver chain around his neck. He stood at the front looking around until his eyes met Lola’s. He grinned and walked over to her. She couldn’t believe that this was Rafe, she felt like he was definitely out of her league.

“Hi, are you Lola?” Rafe asked even though he knew it was her. Her nervous demeanor and doe eyes definitely gave her away. His clients tended to have a certain anxious look to them, but she seemed different. She was also a lot younger than his usual clients, she seemed like she was his age but he was used to taking women in their 30s out. Rafe immediately thought she was pretty and he wondered how she couldn't find a real date to take.

“Hi yeah that’s uh me,” She smiled as she shook his outstretched hand. He sat down across from her and she really got a good look at him. He wasn’t just handsome he was hot. His eyes were blue and he had a bit of scruff as well as a bit of a mustache. His hair was parted down the middle his dirty blonde hair framing his face.

“So let’s talk business?” He asked breaking her out of her trance.

“Oh yeah, so I’ve never done anything like this ever. I just I really don’t want to go alone to this thing.”

He nodded, “Yeah that’s understandable, especially since you said your ex is the best man.” Rafe had been to a few weddings as a hired date but never one where his date was in the wedding party.

She raised her eyebrows and sighed, “Yeah just the icing on top of the cake. We were together for two years and I found him cheating on me with his coworker. I think he felt so guilty that he told me how he had been cheating on me for a year of our relationship because he felt like the spark had gone,” she laughed bitterly, “But the douche bag felt like faking it for a year with me would hurt less than a break up. I shouldn’t have dumped all of that on you.” She laughed cheek’s getting hot as she realized she’d told her tragic love story to some stranger.

“It’s fine, kind of what I’m here for. I’m sorry he treated you like that. No one deserves that. I'm also here to make sure he sees what he missed out on,” He smiled sincerely.

The waitress walked over, “Hi can I get you anything to drink?”

“Oh yeah can I just get a tequila soda,” he looked over at Lola’s empty glass, “and another one of whatever she’s having.”

“I’ll be right back with that,” she smiled.

“Before I give you a price or anything like that I just want to know a breakdown of the whole thing. I know you said five days in the Hamptons,” Rafe said folding his arms over the table. Lola couldn’t help but stare at his arms, it had been a while since she had been on a date so she couldn’t help but stare at the greek god in front of her.

Lola nodded, “Right, it’s five days and we’d be staying at my parents Hampton’s house. My dad’s a doctor and my mom is an interior designer, my mom is a bit of a nut,” she chuckled, “But uh there will be a cocktail party, rehearsal dinner, bachelorette and bachelor party, a couple of family barbecues, there’s this tradition where we all play baseball. Just a lot of events leading up to the actual wedding.”

Rafe was really fascinated by Lola, he could tell she was an anxious person. He could also tell she didn’t know exactly how beautiful she was and he had a feeling that may have something to do with her family.

“Sounds like pretty standard wedding stuff, I usually am just the date to the actual wedding but it all sounds fun,” he shrugged.

She shook her head, “You won’t be saying that after you have to hear my sister whine about every little thing and my mom hits on you after her sixth glass of wine.”

“I can handle drunk moms, I promise. For the five days it’d be $8,000. If you wanted to do any intimate stuff then that costs extra,” He couldn’t help the small smirk that formed on his lips. He knew that she was going to refuse the intimate stuff because she didn’t seem like the type but he kind of liked seeing her squirm.

“Oh no I’m good, I just don’t I won’t,” she stuttered with a flushed face, “I won’t need the extra.” Lola was a pretty good saver so the money wasn’t a problem for her, and as much as she hated to say it she was a bit of a trust fund kid.

He chuckled, “Okay, so you pay the day that we leave. We can get our story together now so that if any questions come up like how we met we can answer them.”

“Alright, so uh what’s our story?”

Rafe pursed his lips thinking for a second, “Uh we met here. You came in after work for a drink, I came up to you flirted and the rest is history. Our first date was at Romano’s and we’ve been together for six months?”

Lola nodded her head taking a sip of her new cosmo the waitress had just brought over, “What if they ask me about you? Like who you are what your job is?"

“I’m a real estate developer my company is Cameron Development. I have two sisters and I’m from North Carolina,” He took a sip of his drink. He didn’t know what he was giving her real details about his life but he felt like he could trust her. She had a warm aura to her that was pulling him in.

“How old you are? College? Favorite foods? Are you allergic to anything?” She asked nervously trying to get as much information as possible.

“Sweetheart they’re not gonna ask that much I promise,” he chuckled, “but I'm 25, I didn’t go to college my dad passed on the company to me. My favorite food is any pasta, I’m not allergic to anything. I also need to know some things about you, to make it fair.”

She sighed, “Right. Well I’m really boring. I'm 24 I grew up in New Jersey, I went to Syracuse and majored in english. I work at a publishing company and I have a cat named Sailor. I hate mushrooms and I’m allergic to bees.”

“Tell me more about your family,” He leaned back in his seat and she swore everything he did was just too attractive.

“So my sister, Penny, she’s the one getting married. She’s my younger and only sister. She’s always kinda been the golden child, her fiancée Harry is a nice guy despite who his friends are. My mom is nuts she prefers wine over water. My dad is the only one in my family who really sees me, he’s a great guy,” She smiled lightly, “Uh my cousin Tabitha is crazy but like the good kind, she’s always a good time I love her. Everyone else like my aunts and uncles are all kind of kooky.”

Rafe smirked, “Kooky eh? I think I can handle that. All seems like standard wedding guests.”

Lola started fidgeting with her rings, “I-I really can’t thank you enough for this. I’ve never done anything like this before. I just really hope we can convince people.”

“Lola you don’t have anything to worry about okay? I promise we’ll be convincing, I’m a professional remember. It’s my job to make you feel good about yourself and talk you up to your family,” He gave her a crooked smile, “Now I just need to hear more about this dick ex boyfriend.”

She pushed away the warm feeling in her stomach that rose when he said he was going to make her feel good, “Oh god. So uh he works in finance and he thinks he’s some big hot shot. When we broke up he immediately got with the girl he had been cheating on me with, I think he's actually taking her. He’s self obsessed and arrogant but I was too blind in love to see it. Someone had finally paid attention to me and I ate it up.”

“So definitely a grade A douche bag, we’ll make him jealous Lola.” Rafe reassured.

She nodded giving him a tight lipped smile. There had been a question itching at her to ask him, “so how did you start doing this?”

He laughed, “I’ve been waiting for you to ask, everyone always does. I uh kind of needed money and this girl from my hometown paid me two hundred bucks to take her to a Christmas party because she didn’t want to go alone. It sort of spiraled from there, but this isn’t my only job.”

“What else do you do?” She tilted her head curiously. He really didn’t need her to be doing cute things like that.

“That’s top secret, I don’t want to give out too much of myself for business reasons,” That was sort of a white lie because Rafe had in-fact told her what else he did but she didn’t need to know that Cameron Development was real.

“That’s understandable.”

After talking a bit more to get all their ducks in a row they left the bar, Rafe paying for their drinks despite Lola’s refusal. She was beginning to feel confident that they’d be able to pull this off. It was almost 10pm now as they walked side by side.

“How far do you live?” He asked looking over at her.

“It’s a fifteen minute walk,” She said looking up at him. Now that they were walking side by side she could really see their height difference. He was so much taller and broader than her, she felt light headed just thinking about it. Thomas had only been slightly taller than her.

“Let me walk you, it’s late.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive sweetheart, I can’t let you walk home alone.” He smiled.

The walk was filled with small talk about Lola’s job and her cat. Rafe barely spoke about himself but she knew it was to keep himself as anonymous as possible. They reached her apartment a lot quicker than she’d liked. Not that she would actually admit that.

“This is me.”

“Alright well you have my number so text me any other details I need to know, I’ll be here to pick you up in about a week. I know you have some doubts and anxiousness about this whole situation so if you need some reassurance don’t be afraid to reach out to me, but I promise this will all be fine.” He smiled hoping to ease her nerves.

“Thank you Rafe, really. You have no idea how much this means to me.” She smiled.

“Just doing my job sweetheart.”

“I’ll see you in a weeks then, goodnight Rafe.” She said before walking up to her apartment with butterflies in her stomach at the pet name he had used.

“Night Lola,” He waved before walking off in the direction of his apartment.

Lola wasn’t really regretting accidentally sending that email anymore. She only slightly regretted it because she didn’t expect him to be so handsome and charming, she would easily get sucked in to something that wasn’t going to be real. But she’d do anything to not face her family and ex alone.

As Rafe walked home he couldn’t help but think about Lola. His clients were usually older women these days, he also didn’t take on as many as he used to. Lately taking random women out to Christmas parties, fourth of July barbecues, and weddings didn’t feel as good as it did when he was 20. When he got Lola’s email he felt himself drawn to her, she seemed sweet and truly hurting about something. She didn’t sound desperate in the way other women did, she sounded hopeful. Rafe knew he would be royally screwed if he didn’t get his head in the game.

[kidcharlemagnex6]

Why Kyle Broflovski Shouldn't Be in a Relationship Just Yet.

During one my occasional musings about South Park, one question I asked myself was: why hasn't Kyle gotten a long-term relationship arc like Stan has? But then I thought about it and realized that one potential reason is that, when you really think about it, Kyle has some toxic personality traits that show he isn't actually relationship material. My explanation will be framed in the form of my opinions on three Kyle-based shippings that frequently crop up in the South Park fandom that wouldn't really work when you think about it. Those three shippings are Style, Kyndy, and Kybe.

First, I want to talk about the shipping between Kyle and Stan. My opinion on it is pretty much the same as others I've seen on here. First off, just because two people are best friends doesn't mean that they're relationship material with each other. Second, even if the two did have romantic feelings for each other, they probably wouldn't be very compatible with each other. Stan is well-meaning but reserved, preferring to listen and only provide his input when he's explicitly allowed. Kyle, on the other hand, is more extroverted but doesn't always express it in a healthy way. When you pay attention to some of Kyle's scenes, such as when he's talking about an "important" issue, he expresses his opinions so forcefully and, to be honest, condescending, that it feels like he's more interested in simply forcing his opinions onto anyone who tries to listen than actually having meaningful discussions. Not to mention, when Stan was going through his first major depressive spell, he was pretty quick to abandon his efforts to make him feel better because he "couldn't handle the negativity," which makes me feel that some toxic positivity might be included.

There also seems to be a small contingent of fans who want Wendy to leave Stan for Kyle. While it's true that they have some similarities, such as their intelligence and morality, those differences are surface level when you really examine them. As mentioned earlier, Stan is more of a listener than a conversationalist and that seems to be all Wendy is looking for. She really wants to be heard and taken seriously, and Stan is more than happy to indulge her if that's all she wants. Kyle, on the other hand, might start acting overbearing toward Wendy and refuse to take her seriously, especially if she disagrees with him on something, not to mention that if things get really heated between them, Kyle might even stoop to hitting Wendy while Stan would never do such a thing. Kyle might also get possessive of Wendy, especially when he thinks she might leave him for a different boy. Take for example the whole business with Brydon: Stan calmly told Wendy that he wouldn't stand in her way if she wanted to pursue a relationship with him, instead. Possessive? To an extent, but the way he went about it is a clear indicator that he genuinely cares about Wendy and just wants her to be happy. Kyle, on the other hand, might have become selfishly jealous and outright demanded that Wendy not talk to Brydon, which would just drive her away, anyway.

The last potential suitor of Kyle's that I want to talk about is Bebe. Ever since the episode, "Clubhouses," Bebe hasn't even expressed a passing interest in Kyle and went straight for Clyde. The way Bebe expressed her interest in Kyle, however, strongly implied to me that Bebe really only cared about the image of being in a relationship rather than the person she's dating. But if you pay attention to some of Bebe's later episodes, you'll notice some signs that Bebe wouldn't have been a good girlfriend to Kyle, anyway. The whole incident with the shoe store, in my opinion at least, is a pretty clear indicator of what Bebe's real priorities are regardless of her claims that she wants to be either a lawyer or marine biologist. Material possessions seem to be one of her primary concerns and the fact that she was willing to manipulate her "boyfriend" Clyde to get what she wanted shows that hurting other people's feelings isn't too big of a concern for her. Therefore, there's the very real possibility that if Kyle became Bebe's boyfriend, she would immediately start molding him into her little fashion accessory who only exists to give her gifts. Not to mention, the fears I expressed about Kyle's potential treatment of Wendy would also apply.

So now you might be asking, "Then who do you think Kyle would be a good match for?" To be honest, I don't think he should jump right into that. As you might have gathered from this post, Kyle, for all of his good qualities, still has too many toxic traits that will get in the way of forming a loving, committed relationship with someone. He might be smart and morally upstanding, but what he needs to work on is being respectful of other people's opinions and choices, not giving up so easily, and understanding that just because he can do something doesn't necessarily mean that he should. Once he does get those figured out, he should absolutely get his own long-term romance arc just like Stan and Wendy have.

'Nuff said.

[parieha-aaa]

below the cut is a " ( romantic ) shipping guide " for my muse , gojo satoru . this involves anything i think is vital when being involved in a romantic relationship with him in any regard .

* this will involve talk of " satosugu / sugusato ' stsg " , so beware , but suguru plays a big part in satoru's life , that is inarguable , his relationships are founded on the relationship he cultivated between him & suguru fundamentally . & the falling out has affected how he views his relationships going forward .

first things first : timeline . shipping with satoru is a lot easier if you were there during his days at school , and a lot of how he acts begins to make sense when your muse learns that he wasn't always the arrogant guy he is now ; he was humbled severely after his loss to toji fushiguro / zen'in . after that , he was humbled further when he lost suguru . suguru geto was his best friend , remains so if you ask , & satoru tends to talk as if suguru is still around . he understands that the entire reason he lost to toji & then proceeded to lose suguru is that he didn't pay enough attention , he was too cocky and arrogant , he overlooked the small details that would have told him something was wrong . thus , he tends to overcorrect , or if your muse doesn't let him correct it , he'll get sneakier about it , and he'll try to help in smaller , more subtle ways instead : bringing your favorite food back , giving gifts , god knows he's got all the money he could ever want . post the shibuya arc , your muse will not see him . they will not be able to find him , he's with kenjaku and kenjaku isn't giving up that box for anything . so after halloween , for about a month , he'll be considered a casulty of the incident , and it is ILLEGAL according to the higher ups & new jujutsu regulations to unseal him . when unsealed by his students , he'll have some spare time every now & again for special training , but he'll try to spend all his spare time with the people he loves and values before he fights sukuna . he doesn't expect to die , but there's a very real risk , and he knows that . no regrets .

secondly , his students are his pride & joy . he's trained them all from the beginning , and he's extremely proud of them , acting often like their parent . that means dragging your muse to events with the kids , to see if his students approve , to see how you guys interact , if THEY approve of you . their wellbeing , their training and schooling come first for him , taking care of them is more than important . he'll drop anything to help them , and if his potential partner can't accept that , he's alright with not getting involved with someone like that . megumi in particular , his adoptive ( unofficially ) son for all manner of things , and tsumiki fushiguro are his number one priorities . he's taken care of them since the beginning & they are very tightly tied to him and anyone getting involved with him as a result . he's not that worried about introducing megumi to his potential partner if he must , but tsumiki is a whole other deal . he'll take months to even mention her , since she's comatose . a lot of his sorcerer money is going to that hospital to keep her alive , and he's not about to give away her location to anyone he thinks could even POTENTIALLY be trouble . that's not him saying he doesn't trust your muse , he's protecting his family , his kids . likewise , his job also holds some high regard . as " the strongest " , he might play around sometimes and shrug off certain things from the higher ups , but he'll drop everything to help the students . curse , curse user , anything they need help with , anything he can do to be of service to their training , to keep them safe at the same time , he'll throw himself into completely .

however for any actual dating scenes ? he's a rich man , well off , so fully expect to go to both casual events and formal ones . that means everything from picnics to the theater is on the table . he's partial to dates that allow for all the talking , like movie nights and staying in for food / ordering in . gifts ? probably bought , but he'll fiddle around and give his own gifts as a joke , he doesn't expect you to keep it , but he's pleasantly surprised if you do --- and you'll never hear the end of it . his love language is both physical touch & quality time , so fully expect him sitting really close to your muse , practically hanging on them , sometimes with the intent to annoy and other times to see what you're doing . & he wants to know your favorite movie like the back of his hand . the most telling thing about his trust is how often he lets infinity down when your muse is around . infinity is " the unseen made manifest " , or essentially a field of space he can turn on and off at will so nothing will ever come into contact with him if he doesn't let it . the closer you push , the further away you get , the more space is allowed to manifest . him letting it down is a non verbal act that says he feels safe enough to do so around his partner & that alone speaks to volumes . he lets it down for his kids fairly often , and he'll do it for any potential lovers too . this is also something he has to intentionally let down , since it is automatically on all the time . you can remind him and he'll shrug , like yeah of course its active . he's also highly demiromantic . it will take a while to know him well , since a lot of people are out to have his head on a stick , he's seldom giving true and founded information to just anyone . unless you yourself are involved in jujutsu society , there's going to be a lot of misinformation out there about him meant to befuddle and confuse curses and curse users . not to mention he's even more careful of love especially after what he had to do to suguru geto . love is a curse , love makes you act out irrationally , makes you stupid , and stupid gets you killed out here with curses . but that's not saying satoru is above acting reckless and putting his neck out for the people he loves -- god knows he's been doing that for years for his kids .

[manicpixiefelix]

nick and y/n basically repeating history right before their eyes is crazy. the story between y/n's parents and nick's parents are so interesting? oliver being the observant person that is probably made that connection way before nana told them verbally. although nick and y/n are truly just besties, it makes oliver realize that at the end of the day, he could lose y/n that easily. so in a way, there is a relief in just staying in the uk with y/n.

also, felix reading their myspace is so funny to me. like he's so obsessed and can't hide it that they find it endearing. but when he sees that y/n and oliver is hanging with the youngs (especially nick) it makes him fume. because that could easily be him under you two's adoring eyes.

oh man the Crazy Rich Asians AU goes so hard in my mind, i love this movie so fucking much and I love intertwining their worlds because TBH i do just think they make sense!!

the thing with the reader's mother and Nick's father (also Sir James, like Felix's dad lol. if Y/N had a nickel, etc...) was born from a thing i wrote about how the reader's grandfather had established a professional relationship with the Youngs, as well as the fact that in CRA Nick's mother mentions to Rachel that she wasn't the family's first choice to marry her husband. i do think the friendship Nick's dad and the reader's mother was and still is entirely platonic, when they're around each other they seem to revert back to younger versions of themselves where they're still best friends.

Eleanor Young is just bothered by the constant reminder that most of her husband's family wanted your mother to marry her husband, and the two of them still get along so so well. it's also the exact same reason the reader's father is so insecure whenever he goes to singapore, but he has to go for business reasons and because he's insecure, no matter how much your mother insists she has never felt romantically about Nick's dad.

it takes a while for the reader to realise just how much the way they talk about nick and singapore bothers Oliver, to the point where he kind of hates talking about it and going for the first few years. he definitely gets giddy at the end of the trips and clings to the reader during the entire flight home and probably for the week after before it returns to a less intense level of interaction again. honestly i think it might be the only fight they have as children, and that's when the reader finally understands, and makes sure to prioritise oliver and know he's their priority, even when they're in singapore. i think it might also be the thing that really solidifies them as a package deal, really cements their co-dependency. that being said, ultimately oliver comes to love and cherish nick just as much as the reader, and the feeling is absolutely mutual. you, oliver, nick, and astrid becoming an absolute elite powerhouse across the world's elite social scene is one of my favourite images.

also ngl im always tickled by how we all seem to agree that Felix has probably one-sided beef with Nick Young when they're at Oxford in every AU simply because Nick is also pretty and charming and rich, and Felix is petty even if he tries to act like he's not.

we as a society don't talk about the fact that Saltburn is set in the MySpace era enough.

[deathinfeathers]

Guidelines

Introduction

Hello and welcome to my humble RP blog! You can call me Cinna (they/them Pronouns please), your friendly neighborhood autism creature who exclusively writes fucked up pieces of flaming garbage! I am in my mid twenties with a solid fifteen-ish years of writing experience under my belt. If spending the brunt of my mortal existence on tumblr has taught me anything it is the importance of curating your online experience to the best of your ability so we are very much private and selective in this neck of the woods! Before you engage with the characters you will find lurking on this blog, please make sure that you are not a child! All children will be corralled into the pit and made to fight to the death for my own, personal amusement! Thank you!

I am exceptionally mentally ill and will run and hide for weeks on end for literally no reason whatsoever! I am sorry I am hard to get a hold of OOC! Being perceived terrifies me but I love you all the same!

Content warnings

On this blog you may find mentions/implications (but no graphic depictions) of the following:

Child exploitation and grooming, CSA, SA, r*pe, suicide

You may find graphic depictions of the following:

Religous themes, systematic religous brainwashing, child soldiers, internalized misogyny, blood, gore, violence, abuse, fetishization of death and murder, cannibalism, torture, toxic and abusive relationships (work/romantic/familial), substance abuse, sexual themes and settings, sex as a coping mechanism, mental illness, PTSD, anxiety and panic attacks, stockholm syndrome, (fictional) hate speech, death, kidnapping, stalking, body horror, religious abuse and torture, cult-ish themes and settings, hard drug use, suicidal ideation, self harm

This blog is, in a big way, dedicated to the in-depth exploration of many uncomfortable topics. Keep this in mind before you follow.

Roleplay etiquette

This should go without saying but please refrain from godmodding/taking control over my character in our interactions, this includes auto hitting in violent/confrontational situations. No info-modding or meta-gaming, your character should not be able to glean information out of any internal dialog unless they can straight up read minds (in which case I would like to be made aware of this power beforehand). Remember that the muse and her values and behaviors are not a reflection of the writer. I do not agree with or condone 90% of the things that she says and does--her actions are not to be glorified or romanticized, Lute is absolutely meant to be viewed as a villain.

Interactions

Friends/mains will always take priority when it comes to threads--some of you may find this unfair but RP is a hobby and I reserve the right to engage with it In whatever way is most fun and fulfilling for myself. Don't let this discourage you from approaching if you have a plot in mind or sending in memes/starters. I'm happy to run with all sorts of stories and scenarios granted I'm given an idea to work off of. That being said, I am incredibly disorganized so threads have a tendency to slip through the cracks, don't be afraid to (politely) remind me of our interaction when this happens. I will reblog memes somewhat regularly but OOC plotting is my personal preference. I tend to struggle scrounging up enough motivation for threads with no clear direction. Lute is a character who shines the most when she is acting as an obstacle or an uplifting force to the people around her. She thrives poorly in slice-of-life type of scenarios, please keep this in mind.

Fight scenes

As a general rule, I won't write figh scenes with sinner muses. Lute isn't somebody that mortal souls are meant to be able to fight off���as the first lieutenant of the heavenly host she wouldn't be much of a threat if she sat around their power level. This isn't something I see myself budging on unless you have very solid reasoning for why you think your sinner could take her on. Same goes for the hellborn, lower class angels and humans. That being said, if your muse (sinner/human/anyone weaker than Lute) goes out of their way to taunt or harass her she will respond with violence. Keep this in mind before you go pushing her buttons.

Shipping

Ah, shipping, the magical thing which makes the rpc go 'round! Lute is not easy to ship with, like, at all! I wouldn't call her unshippable necessarily but you must be aware that she is an incredibly twisted and broken individual, ergo, any relationship she finds herself being a part of is at major risk of becoming unbalanced and/or toxic. I am very, very, veryveryvery picky with her romantic candidates as a result. Do not try to force ship with her, that is a surefire to be irrevocably crossed off as a potential partner. Lute has a tendency to develop crushes on a very specific type of people--do not take this as a sign that I'm trying to push a ship on you--it's just a character quirk that she has. Shipping will never take priority over the overarching plot of this blog. Again, Lute isn't a character who does well in domestic situations, tension, action and conflict is where it's at for her.

Smut

I will write smut on rare occasions, mostly on sindays. I exclusively write this type of content with longtime mutuals. Feel free to ask me for a link to my NSFW blog.

Drama

As a rule of thumb: don't. If there's a problematic individual you feel I should be made aware of, address the issue with me OOC. That's all I have to say on the matter. I like to keep my space as drama/discourse free as possible.

Blocking

Please hardblock me when you unfollow! I have a very poor memory so it's not unlikely that I might refollow if you fail to do this. If you happen to find yourself blocked by me, rest assured that it is very rarely a personal matter. Chances are I just don't see us vibing or you're somebody that i decided to unfollow for one reason or another. All the same, block evading is not cool if there's a legit reason behind it (and you will be made aware if there is). Please don't do that!

Thank you for reading my guidelines. This list will be expanded upon as I see fit!

[freshlybakedspiderbread]

Im here because ive had Reimu thoughts and been wanting to make a post about since a few days ago. By some psychic chance, that ship tierlist happened and gave me further excuse to brain on it.

(Speaking of, on twitter i had fun doing that ship tierlist purely for reimu ships and tweeted that. And then i did it for every pairing on the list but im hesitant to reveal what ships im eh on so if anyone cares to know they can just ask me personally...!)

Anyway, heres me writing out a lot (But Not All) possible reimu character dynamics, be it romantic, platonic, or something else, going roughly by game order or by 'factions' because this is just the kind of thing i think about on the regular

So first among sdm, i like reimu/sakuya, thats a ship ! There's a Lot of reimu pairings where its the grumpy/begruding reimu with another who is unflappable and shady (yukari The biggest example but i'll get to her) so sakuya is just one of many that fill that role. So while its a 'common' dynamic among reimu pairs, what makes this unique is what it offers for sakuya. She's an odd person, the most youkai-like among a group of youkai despite being the only human, and even now can throw them off guard with her quirks. And i think while the likes of patchouli and remilia have long since come to find that charming about sakuya, and the likes of marisa and youmu would be put off even if they otherwise like her, reimu would be the only one who like, doesnt care or think sakuya 'strange' at all. The shrine maiden treats humans and youkai equally after all, and she's hardly a 'normal' human herself, so she doesnt see anything sakuya does or the way she acts as 'strange' for humans. Just a pair of normal women n_n

Speaking of remilia, i dont ship but i do think she and reimu have a funny longstanding relationship as frenemies. Remilia was one of, if not The very first to start regularly visiting the shrine after causing a headache-inducing incident after all. And reimu best represents the wonderful parts that gensokyo has to offer remilia and her whole crew (Marisa too but the witch regularly visits the mansion anyway)

Also while its on my mind, i know there are a few out there who like reimu being a sort of surrogate sister to flandre. The only reason i dont really think much of that myself is because i already completely assign that role to marisa (and uh, i guess okina now too?!)

I'm kinda only mentioning Youmu now because i will be mentioning every other playable character and itd feel weird to exclude her, but its a pretty straightforward friendship in my mind. Both youmu and reimu are (usually, at least on surface) dutiful and semi-serious about thier jobs, and get along decently. I think youmu's always looking to improve herself and sees reimu in particular as a standard to surpass, despite being very aware of all the shine maiden's many faults. 🤔

Also i think it'd just be fun if reimu gets along fine with yuyuko and doesnt ever get irritated with her antics the same way she would with yukari.

Wait back up, i totally forgot to mention Marisa at the start of all this. Uuuuummm!!! Maybe controversial but reimari isnt a romantic ship that excites me much, if at all? 😅 i mean its fine! They've known each other forever! They see each other almost every other day! They're the best of friends who consult one another for almost anything! They're rivals and compete every incident! But its like... they're so close and solid and understanding that i feel it really limits the kind of interactions or stories you can do with them. No hate but 99% of reimari fanwork is like super basic stuff where they enjoy each others cozy company. Not saying its impossible to introduce spice or conflict into it, but it can be hard to not make it ooc, at least in my perspective. 😅😅 so i acknowledge it as a ship but im not looking to get on board or anything.

Fellow magician Alice is a fun pairing too for Reimu. Now mariali takes 'priority' to me, but i do also like reiali. Theres a lot of similar beats, like theyve known each other forever (even though Reimu forgot because shes bad with names and faces of those who dont regularly visit 😅), and alice also sees reimu (alongside her fellow magicians) as someone to challenge. the difference i think is that reimu's apathy towards any sort of 'rivalry' genuinely irritates Alice who already has insecurities about her abilities as a youkai magician. So kinda similar to reimari and even mariali, except alice is a little more... neurotic when it comes to reimu, maybe? Might need to cook this one in the brain a bit more but i do like it! (And then reimariali has plenty of potential just as ship in of itself but also for messy complicated and unrequited different feelings across all three of them... 🤔)so...

okay really quick regarding the yakumo crew as a whole. Reimu thinks Chen is cute enough, like a niece. And Ran... There's a lot i could imagine under the layers where Ran is on the surface a lot more straight-to-business about the barrier duties compared to Yukari, and Reimu can appreciate that straightforward approach and respects it. I dont think i have it in me right this moment to come up with more on the spot, but there's Something there if i ever dig deeper.... ⛏️❓️

and oh my god finally yukari. 👁 Classic ship for me... Now let me just get one thing out of the way, one common idea among fans is that yukari played an active part in reimu's upbrining and training as a shrine maiden, basically playing a mentor/guardian role since she was young. I'm not against this idea in a vacuum, but for reasons which I hope are obvious, i dont subscribe to that headcanon. Now instead of trying to summarise yukarei, how about i just spin a tale...

You're the great youkai sage, Yakumo Yukari, trying to maintain gensokyo for the sake of all youkai. You've got lots of youkai allies ( some of whom you are in love with and some of whom you are divorced with but lets not get into that right now...). You also 'work' with humans on occasion but being a youkai means you gotta make sure to be exceptionally mysterious around em and keep em guessing 😎

Other than the child of miare, the most important human is the hakurei shrine maiden, who maintains the barrier among other duties. You're always aware of generally how the shrine maiden is doing through hearing about it from others, but otherwise theres no reason to actually get involved or meet them personally. Would be weird if youkai were seen interacting with the shrine maiden after all!

One day you hear about the latest shrine maiden, named reimu, helping to put together some kind of 'spell card' system? You go along with the idea, signing it off with the other sages, though it sounds like a fanciful idea and you have doubts if it'll truly change anything in the longrun. The nature of humans and youkai is pretty set in stone after all, so you have to wonder about the shrine maiden's mindset behind such a thing? And later, apparently she solved an incident with these rules too? Maybe you'll wait like another decade or so before you'll find out more about this reimu yourself.

You dont need to wait though because soon after yuyuko's big incident calms down and you think theres nothing more to worry about. That shrine maiden (and two other humans) have crashed into your home, harassed your shikigami, and picking a fight with you just as you woke up from a nap. And then after a chaotic fight, she yells at you to do your job.

So all around, a really striking first impression is left on yukari, who comes to realise, maybe not right away all at once, but gradually, that reimu is not only special, but she can be trusted for any kind of trouble that befalls gensokyo.

Tangent but i wish i could have been there with others during uLiL's release when reimu's urban legend is the gap woman and i could have been like 👀. And that was nothing compared to later acof where the classic barrier team end up being the ones to resolve the incident. The strongest pair?!?! Reimu actually said that!!?!

Anyway this post is too long i'll have to get into Reimu and Literally The Entire Rest Of Gensokyo in other posts later... if i feel like it 🫠

[cissyenthusiast010155]

hi! i really need to write down my thoughts right now, but i also need someone to read this, so i figured you’d be the right person

it’s about 2:30 a.m. and i know i probably shouldn’t trust the thoughts that come up after midnight too much but i just can’t help but feel like i’m the most unlovable person to ever exist. and i’m not only talking romantic partners (that i obviously don’t have lol), but also friends and family. i’m no one’s first choice, not even second or third, i’m the one that gets picked if there’s no better option available. it’s always been that way and i don’t know why that is and i don’t know how to fix it…i know i can’t force others to love me. i always ask myself whether it’s the way i look or the way i act that makes people think: ugh no not her…or do i just give off the wrong vibes? but like there’s not much i can change about that as well and i don’t even know if i want to change myself.

i’ve been told that i should give it time and that eventually everything will turn out the way it’s supposed to…but what if it doesn’t? i want nothing more than a partner that i can give all my love to, that i can be gentle with, that i can be vulnerable with, that i can be committed to…but what if that’s not in store for me? do i just…move on? forget about it? but how will i move on if the thing i crave most is genuine human connection?

i don’t know…i think in the end it’s just me feeling so incredibly alone while other people around me seem happy and are someone’s number one priority. if something happened right now, good or bad, i’d have no one to call and that just makes me so sad to think about.

anyways, i will stop my rambling, thank you for taking the time to read this. i’m not sure if this even makes sense because i feel like i can barely string two sentences together right now, but still thank you! <3

-🐛

{Let’s Talk Loneliness and Feeling Loved…}

Hey heyy anon…!! First off, I am so proud of you for reaching out. Such a brave and vulnerable thing to do. Thank you for sharing. Second, everything you have said here is extremely valid. I want you to remember that. Remember that you and your feelings are valid. ♥️

Yes, as you said, it probably is not best to listen and believe your 2:30am thoughts. You’re most likely tired and not thinking thoroughly…. When you start feeling overwhelmed that late or early, try some techniques to comfort and calm yourself down. Maybe a cold shower or a hot bath (vice versa too), maybe some tea, or sometimes simply going to bed can be helpful to give yourself a kind of reset.

*sigh* I am sorry to hear that you feel unlovable, dear anon… In all aspects. I understand the feeling. Your feelings and experiences are extremely valid. You say that you’re never the first option, usually the last remaining one, and I am so sorry for you.

So you asked, are you unlovable, why do you feel so unlovable and how can you fix it?

Well for one, you are not unlovable. You at your core, as human being, are capable of love (unless you’re a psychopath or sociopath, but this is an aside). However, it is possible for trauma or for the person themselves to hinder their capability of love. This can happen sometimes when said person has been hurt, scarred, or traumatized in the past, so they put up walls to keep from being hurt. If you think this is possible for you, I highly recommend you seek professional help to accept, process, and heal from your trauma.

Second, you most likely feel unlovable because of the constant negative reassurance and the negative mindset you have around your lovability. When you have people constantly not choosing you, or people telling you that you’re unlovable, or you telling yourself that you’re unlovable, that affects you. And in turn, you will begin to believe it. Try to shift your mindset. Remind yourself that you can be loved. That you will be loved.

The most important relationship in life is the one you have with yourself. If you can’t love yourself, how can you expect others to love you. So think about your relationship with yourself. How can you improve it? How can you love yourself better? This is the first big step in healing from your feelings of being unlovable.

If people don’t like the way you look or your vibe, then they are not the people for you. Present yourself to the world in your most authentic and honest way of being, and the people who are worth your time will find you and you will find them.

Don’t move on or forget. That will lead you to neglect and ignore you and your human need for social connection. Instead, focus in on what you want to improve about yourself. Reflect the people you want to attract in your way of being.

But at the same time, don’t give it more attention than it deserves and needs. If you under-feed a plant or if you over-feed it, it can die nonetheless, no matter which method. You want to strive for moderation.

I’m sorry you feel alone. ♥️ I relate to those feelings of severe loneliness. I would remind you of these things: People aren’t what they appear, most people aren’t as happy as they appear. Let yourself be your main priority, if you don’t put yourself first, others won’t either. And lastly, reach out, don’t wait for others to pick you, pick them out first.

Of course, I am happy to take the time for you anon because you are worth it ♥️♥️. It all made absolute sense. You articulated yourself well. Thank you again for reaching out!! Don’t hesitate to reach out again and again, I’ll always be here to listen and give my two cents. Hope you have a lovely day/night!! 💞💞💞

Talk with Me ❤️‍🔥