#NO I'M NOT GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE REST OF THEIR FITS BECAUSE THAT IS NOT WHAT'S RELEVANT TO ME FOR CHARACTER DESIGN!!!!

[duvetchico]

Write me karina mall date n I'll kiss u 👅👅👅

(Pretend I'm a male bird trying to seduce u into writing this)

mall rat

summary jimin’s boredom drags you out of your depression nest and into a mall date full of cuddly crimes, weird juice, and the slow realization that she’s your favorite person to suffer with.

genre fluff / crack / girlfriend brainrot

pairing yu jimin x fem!reader

i hate birds especially when they're male so im only doing this for the ppl

masterlist.

it begins at war. well, not really. it begins with you horizontal on the couch for the fifth hour straight, remote lost somewhere under your ass, half-dead from whatever seasonal depression was cooking up this time.

jimin’s draped over your legs like a stylish barnacle, wearing her 'i’m up to no good’ hoodie (you knew because it was yours, stolen, and she only wore it when plotting). she’s scrolling through her phone aggressively, thumb tapping at light-speed.

“i’m bored,” she said.

“congrats.” you didn’t even look at her. you were emotionally and spiritually one with the couch.

“no like,” she huffed, dramatic as ever, “i-need-to-go-out-and-buy-things bored.”

“what the fuck,” you muttered. “you literally ordered six shirts last night.”

“yes. and now i wanna touch them in real life.”

“jimin i am in a state of complete and total sloth. i cannot mall. my body will evaporate under the fluorescent lights.”

she sat up fast, excited now, like a toddler who just saw a dog. “mall.”

“no.”

“mall.”

“absolutely not.”

“mall date.”

“no.”

“i’ll buy you that overpriced cinnamon pretzel you like.”

pause.

“...fuck.”

- jimin had her sunglasses on even though the sun was nonexistent. she was strutting in like she owned the food court. you were ten steps behind her, still waking up.

you looked like her tired little assistant. she looked like she was about to host a ted talk on how to seduce women in the cologne aisle.

“babe,” she called over her shoulder, “should we get matching tote bags?”

“should you stop financially ruining us?”

“that’s a no.”

- you weren’t even in the squishmallow store for ten seconds before she screamed, “LOOK, IT’S THE WEIRD TOAST ONE YOU LOVE.”

you tried to deny it. tried to act normal. but the squishmallow had eyes. and a smile. and you folded.

“you’re weak,” she said proudly, already buying it for you.

“you enable me.”

“and i’d do it again.”

you walked around the rest of the mall with a giant smiling piece of bread in your arms. at some point she took a photo of you and posted it on her story captioned “baby’s first loaf”

- you sat on the fitting room bench watching jimin do stupid little runway spins in outfits she had no intention of buying. she was narrating herself like it was a documentary:

“here we have the rare lesbian, hunting in her natural habitat… hunting for discounts.”

“jimin.”

“she spots her prey—an overpriced corduroy jacket. will she attack?”

“please shut up.”

“she attacks.”

you laughed against your will and she grinned so fucking smug.

- “try this,” jimin said, handing you a mystery cup of juice from some random vendor.

“what the hell is this?”

“i don’t know. it was free.”

you drank it. instantly wanted to curl up and die. “it tastes like grass and feet.”

“why is it spicy,” she whispered after sipping. “who puts ginger and feet in a drink??”

“capitalism.”

you both made matching disgusted faces and tossed it in the trash like war survivors.

- you were sitting side by side outside the mall now, sun setting, squishmallow between you, her head on your shoulder.

she was humming something dumb and playing with your fingers absentmindedly.

“today was nice,” she said, voice soft.

you hummed. “you dragged me out of the house like a hostage.”

“but did you die?”

“emotionally, yes.”

she giggled and kissed your cheek. “you love me.”

“shut up.”

“you do love me.”

“say it.”

“fine. i love you. now buy me ice cream or i’m taking the squishmallow hostage.”

“deal.”

[pumkinzee]

Could you write smth similar to your husband!jason HCs but with percy please? i love all that you've written!

PAPER RINGS ˏˏ HUSBAND!PERCY JACKSON

pairing: Percy Jackson x gn!reader

⌑ - English isn't my first language so I'm using a translator and my basic knowledge of the language!

𝐑equest 𝐨pens! + 𝐫ules!

If Jason planned for months what the proposal would be like, he is the complete opposite. He always knew that he wanted to marry you, he knew that you were the one, the one who would raise his children, the one who he would wake up in bed with every day, he already knew that he would spend the rest of his days with you, he just didn't know how to handle the idea of ​​marriage. Too nervous? Yes, but mostly hesitant, he spoke a lot with his mother about how to take it and how to analyze when the right time would be. It took him longer than necessary not because of the decision, but because learn to organize. 

When you told him yes, he had a fit of nervous laughter, you thought it had all been a joke and you almost got angry with him until you saw how he started to cry from emotion. Yes, it was a complete disaster. 

Small and special wedding, his friends, his mother, Paul and Estelle, what we would all think. Beach wedding? Try to get the idea out of my head. Honeymoon to Montauk, you guys couldn't afford anything too expensive, it was a special place for him and he got to make it special for you too, it was the perfect place. 

You move in together a little while after the wedding, a comfortable and bright flat with a sea view, always lit up, sand on the floor and the smell of blue food, if that makes any sense. The move is quicker than you thought because of how used he is to moving, schools, houses, cities, everything Sally did for him unconsciously developed in him a great speed when it comes to moving.

As boyfriends he was already cuddly, as a husband? You're lost, wait till you spend the first week with a clingy, complaining husband, the kind that clings to your foot and you end up dragging him while you walk because he won't even let you go to the bathroom.

He is afraid of losing his ring, he wears it whenever he leaves the house, even when they go to the corner just to buy bread, he is very proud of his marriage. He tells his life to people who mention his ring just because they thought it was pretty, they learned to stop asking stupid things to stupid strangers.

He's not allowed to touch the kitchen, even if it's with all his heart and Sally taught him how to cook, I don't think he has any talent for cooking, I feel like he forgets he has things in the oven, he doesn't know how to turn on the stove, he cuts his fingers. You better cook or you'll have the kitchen as a decoration, sometimes you just ask Sally for help.

Sally? Oh, she LOVES you. You become another of his children, spoiled and pampered who will always have a plate of blue cookies on the table, she talks to you for hours about so many different things that you never get bored.

With Paul it's much the same, a good cup of tea and you'll be comfortable talking with your father-in-law about adult life and life in general.

They love you, you are never bored and you are always invited to spend the holidays with them, there comes a point where they ask about you so much that Percy wonders if they ever hesitated to adopt you before the wedding.

Estelle adores you, she loves it when Percy brings you with him because she can run to you so you can hug her and carry her into the air. You spoil her a lot secretly from Sally, she is your little accomplice to play pranks on Percy.

Percy develops a baby fever that lasts...oh, how it lasts.

nswf cut!

Once you were lying on your bed, happy to be alive since demigods live less than average, and the next you have Percy between your legs. He doesn't say much, at first you think he just wants cuddles and is being whimsical, but you quickly realize he has something else on his mind.

Dealing with horny Percy is...wow. Dealing with him on your honeymoon was just the beginning, he's quick and possessive, but not toxic possessiveness, he owns you because he wants you to be there for him and him alone, it hurts his heart when you're not with him. He is healthily obsessed with you.

Kisses on the neck drive him crazy, he is not a very vocal person, but be prepared to have to shut him up, you will never see him making as much noise as now again

He loves being on top of you, reading your features, how you roll your eyes, how you shyly moan his name. He gives you kisses all over your face when you take him because he knows which is big

He has a very big ego, sorry, this man is obsessed with the way you squeeze him or squirm because of him

Sex in public? Yeah, well, no. Places where no one is there but someone could walk in, he knows what he's doing.

nsfw cut!

He’s a dad son

Yes, we would all want to see him with a daughter, he would treat her like a princess and spoil her a lot (Estelle would be jealous) but I feel that with a son he could be the boy he never could; He would scream, he would laugh, he would run around the house, they would watch movies until late, he would take him to the movies, they would play soccer together, he would take him to the beach, he would be the boy Gabe never let him be.

He is not overprotective, but that does not mean he is irresponsible, he knows that, if his son has his powers, he would know how to defend himself perfectly, he would train him but in his own way, being the son of the most powerful demigod will not make him weak, and Percy knows that.

If your son gets suspended or something, Percy will defend him the way Sally defended him.

Blue food everywhere.

You come home from work and the first thing you see is Percy asleep in the living room with your son asleep on your chest, the television is on and there are cookie crumbs on the floor.

©pumkinzee

[deadbeatbirdmom]

One of the themes in RWBY is about the current generation being failed by the previous one. We see it a lot with the mess that is the Xiao Long-Rose-Branwen family.

Every single member of Team STRQ failed Yang and Ruby, to a greater and/or lesser extent.

(read more cut because this gets long, although I make no promises that I'll cover everything, and please forgive any typos, I'm very tired)

Raven abandoned her daughter and her husband (yes, husband, according to 'The World of RWBY' book by Daniel Wallace, written with input from CRWBY), and the rest of her team. Yang wasn't old enough to remember her, and may well have still been a baby at the time. The reason why seems to have been for Raven to take the leadership of the Branwen tribe of bandits, although I think it was more complicated than that, which would fit with Raven being such a complicated woman.

Summer. Yang's super-mom. The mother who stepped up. I deeply respect that. She had the best of intentions when she left on that super secret mission with Raven, presumably to confront Salem. To protect her family, and hopefully so she'd never need to leave them again. Unfortunately good intentions pave the road to hell, and she ended up never going home to her girls. That truly tore the family apart, and it never really recovered. Yang's abandonment issues aren't only from Raven leaving, and a lot of Ruby's issues come from trying to live up to the memory of Summer while being held to impossible standards.

Tai didn't react well to the loss of Summer. To quote Yang: he shut down. Yang had to pick up the pieces and keep things together. Alone. Because Tai was always busy with school, and Ruby couldn't talk yet. It's striking that Yang refers to her dad by name in Alone Together when talking to Weiss about it. Most kids don't do that when referring to their parents. Your mileage may vary about what that means, but to me it sounds a lot like resentment. Don't get me wrong, Yang loves her dad. But it's entirely possible to feel both love and resentment.

I do empathise with Tai. I'm all too familiar with grief and loss and depression. I'm sure he did his best, and as far as we know he did keep his kids fed and clothed, and gave them treats from time to time like the boba tea mentioned in the RWBY Beyond episode. But the fact remains that Yang ended up doing more to raise Ruby than she ever should have or would have if at least one of her mothers had stayed. Yang had no reason to lie to Weiss about that.

And Tai definitely failed his daughters. Even without anything else, there's the incident when Yang and Ruby were left alone when clearly too young to be unattended, and Yang went in search of Raven, with Ruby pulled in a wagon. That they weren't devoured by Grimm is thanks to Qrow, and possibly Raven for getting Qrow there, because I don't know how else he found them in time besides good luck for once (or very bad luck for the Grimm).

Does that mean Raven might have given Yang more than one save, or wriggled out of her rule about that by getting Qrow to do the saving? Does she secretly have a bond with Ruby, and that was Ruby's save? Whatever the case, Raven failed them too, because Yang wouldn't have been looking for her if she hadn't needed a mother, and Raven was well aware she no longer had one.

I do think it quite likely that by this point Raven had become the Spring Maiden, so might not have felt able to return even if she wanted to - it would have risked endangering the girls if someone learned Raven was a Maiden and tried to take the power for themselves.

Did that near disaster give Tai a wake up call? Did Yang only raise Ruby until then? We don't know for sure, but as someone raised by a single mother for a while, I can tell you that single parents can't work and raise children without help. There doesn't seem to be any extended family around to have done so, probably all killed by Grimm in the dangerous world that is Remnant... Plus there's Ruby's words to Yang when they're reunited in Volume 9: "If you thought we wouldn’t come for you, then you must’ve forgotten who raised me." I really don't think Ruby is referring to Tai there. Especially with referring to just herself and not both Yang and herself with 'who raised me.'

Childcare exists in Remnant, at least in Argus (there's a mention of needing to collect Jaune's nephew from childcare in Volume 6). I can't imagine it's unheard of in Patch. Yet Tai doesn't seem to have used it. To be clear, if any of the rest of Team STRQ had been left as a single parent they'd have needed help with childcare too, you can't both work and raise children at the same time. That goes for Summer too, even super-mom would need help. Maybe Tai's teaching job didn't pay well enough for him to afford it. Maybe he feared reaching out for help would mean losing his daughters, and I have no doubt that he loves them, and not just because they're all he has left of their mothers.

The way Tai talks to Yang during her training session in Volume 4 does make me wonder if he associates her far too closely with Raven, because while there are similarities Yang is very much her own person and also influenced by Summer far more than by Raven. We don't see him interact much with Ruby, but I wouldn't be surprised if he similarly associates her too much with Summer.

It doesn't help that Yang and Ruby so closely resemble their mothers - and they do, despite Yang's hair and eyes being different to Raven's, apart from when her eyes turn red. That must've given Tai quite a shock the first time it happened... Anyway, my point is that Raven is like a dark reflection of Yang. Or Yang a bright reflection of Raven, I'm not sure which. The physical resemblance of mothers and daughters can't have helped Tai with constant reminders of them, especially as they grew older and the resemblance more striking.

Qrow... I'm sure Drunkle Qrow did his best to help out, but at the time his mindset on his Semblance would have limited him to fleeting visits rather than living with Tai and the girls. He simply loved them too much to want to risk Misfortune hurting them.

That and Qrow was raised by bandits, a rough upbringing where he was made to feel like a bad luck charm. I'm not entirely certain he'd have seen the problem with Yang having to raise Ruby. There is a story in the Yang official manga anthology where Qrow acknowledges kid!Yang has every right to be angry about being burdened with the responsibilities of grown ups, but how canon those anthologies are is ambiguous.

One thing for sure: both Yang and Ruby were familiar with Qrow being drunk, and having to deal with that, although never as bad as it got in Volume 6.

And yes, Ruby does talk about Qrow teaching at Signal, and having taught her to fight, and that Tai taught Yang, but that does not mean they were a happy family living together while that happened. Sorry, this family has been haunted and broken ever since Summer disappeared, and the cracks appeared when Raven noped out of there to be a bandit queen.

I've mostly talked about how Yang was affected. But Ruby was too. Sure, she had more of a childhood than Yang did, because to some extent Yang made sure of that. Chances are Ruby got good at pretending things are fine when they aren't. That and Ruby is quite possibly socially awkward for a reason: she was at least partly raised by a child only two years older than she was. Yang did her best, I've no doubt about that, but there's no way she knew what she was doing.

Why does Yang seem comparatively normal if she at least in part raised herself? Because she's good at blending in and wearing masks. She'd have to be to avoid raising suspicions with her teachers about the situation at home, because Tai couldn't have been the only one who afraid about the kids being taken away. One of Yang's worst nightmares must've been about being taken into care by social services and separated from Ruby. Presuming of course that Remnant has social services. It surely has to have something because of the likelihood of those orphaned by Grimm attacks, in addition to the more usual family breakdowns.

In conclusion: this is such a messy family, and as has been noted by @one-real-wrimonkey that's part of what makes them so interesting (sorry, I hope you don't mind being tagged).

[dropthedemiurge]

Love for Love's Sake - Director's commentary

[Extra content from Bluray boxset]

If you take it to other platforms, please leave credit and original link. And don't share links to videos publicly as well, thank you ^^

[Translation by AmetistLex]

Director Kim Gyuna: When I got to know about "Love Supremacy Zone" from our CEO, I stayed up all night reading original novel. I immediately knew when I read it, that this was a work I must create no matter what. I kept reading and imagining how to film the scenes. I told CEO that I really want to make this project.

Q. Stories about each main actor's casting?

During the first round of audition, I was really surprised that Taevin came extremely prepared. We gave actors a small script that he memorized but Taevin also read original novel and webtoon, so we could have a deeper talk with him (even during first audition). That's how we realized that with this actor we will be able to bring to life such difficult character as Myungha. We cast him quite quickly.

In the case of Joowan, playing role of Yeowoon, he was cast a bit later. There were a lot of actors trying for that role, but we had a very clear vision for the character so it was difficult to find someone matching that image. But when Joowan entered the room, we were immediately shocked: he was very tall and very cool looking. But at that day he could barely speak. We asked him whether he was nervous, but it turned out that he practiced the script for 2 weeks, 12 hours a day (from 10am to 10pm) before the audition, to the point of losing his voice. His passion was so impressive, and we thought that even if he ended up lacking somewhere, he'd be able to overcome it with this passion. That's how we decided to cast him.

We picked an actor for the role of Sangwon quite fast, too. The fans admit that all our actors fit the images of the original characters really well, and this actor (Minsu) matched a lot traits of Sangwon character in the original novel. Fierce/wild and manly, with a deep voice. Of course, his acting was good, too, so we chose him.

And finally, we didn't cast Woongki through audition. We made an offer to him instead. CEO said that there's this guy - even though he's an idol, he's been acting since he was a kid. So we contacted him and asked to meet us because we liked his image. Surprisingly, he was also very good at acting, his entertainment charms were a great help to match Kyunghoon's image too. Woongki is energetic and bright, but as we kept talking with him, we realized how solid/secure he was.

It felt like a fate to cast these actors in LFLS. Of course, there were difficulties but it all worked out perfectly.

Q. How would you brag about each actor?

Lee Taevin always prepares very diligently, and he's smart. So no matter the discussion, he receives feedback well. It's a lot of fun to work with him. The production team has to prepare more than actors, but he studied the source very passionately and kept saying "I want to try acting like this, what do you think about doing that?". I thought many times that he's a true actor who's overflowing with the passion.

When it comes to Joowan, like I said, he can practice for 12 hours a day. If he wants something, he'll do it even if his body breaks or if he's in pain. He won't even say anything - actually, there were many times when it broke our hearts. We kept telling him that he should speak up, it's okay to tell us (if he needs rest or something), but without any complaints, he worked until the work was done, that's what kind of person he is. That is very amazing of him. When someone is physically exhausted, inevitably there are things they won't be able to do but Joowan is the opposite – after finishing filming, he'd tell someone else how (badly) he made it through. Then we'd ask if he's okay, why didn't he say anything, but he'd go "No, I'm really fine!". His willpower is very strong, he's reliable.

Minsu has a great depth. He listens more than he speaks, thinks about details a lot and has many deep thoughts. I realized he studied Sangwon's character so much that he could talk about him in such depth. He contacted me a lot, even after script reading has just ended, he'd call and say "I had this thought on my way, what do you think?" And after we discussed, his memo app would be filled with a lot of notes. His depth and sincerity are his charms.

And Woongki has the most overflowing energy. Of course, other actors are energetic too but his vibe is just different. I thought that he might be the reason the four main actors were able to bond so well. And like I said, he has a great trait of being solid/secure. It might be a simple word to describe it but I mean he has amazing inner strength that can't be faked. When other actors struggle with their acting or emotions, he helped build them up. So beside just being cheerful, that's his biggest virtue.

Q. What was the most difficult during filming?

We had a lot of discussions with the cinematographer/operator. Since there's a lot of CGI in this project, we worried about how much we could actually film. And we thought a lot about how to visually convey all the complicated details of this fantasy story. We worked tightly with CG team but sometimes executing our ideas was difficult due to various restraints. I had a fear we wouldn't be able to deliver our ideas properly so we discussed everything a lot together with our teams. I think the result was good.

Q. What was the moment you enjoyed the most?

Preparing and post-production are fun but I enjoy shooting on set the most. You can immediately get feedback from everyone's energy, they give good or bad reactions. Creating something together is a lot of fun. And since our actors are good, when the scenes I imagined in my head came to life, it was extremely joyful.

Q. If you had to choose your favourite scene?

I really liked a lot the cut from episode 7 when Yeowoon says "I love you". I had a vision of this scene in my mind but reality was even better, so I thought this would definitely made viewers' hearts flutter.

I also love the scenes where the four characters are together. Even though the story focuses on Myungha's character and his relationship with Yeowoon, I actually love all four characters. So the scenes like one in the restaurant or rooftop when they grill meat have totally different energy. Comparing to the scenes with only Myungha or Myungha with Yeowoon, scenes with four characters together are full of complete joy. Even when shooting was hard and everyone was exhausted, filming those scenes was a lot of fun. If I had to pick one scene as a highlight, it'd be the one where four friends are eating meat together.

Q. What other parts of novel you'd like to put in a drama series?

Our characters are high school students, and usually at that period of life you mostly study. But since our story is about finding happiness, we removed a lot of studying scenes. But there were a lot of studying scenes in the original novel, like Myungha and Kyunghoon studying together, teaching Yeowoon and eating fruits. I thought such scenes could add one more spoon of sweetness to the drama.

Q. What are flaws and advantages of the novel and drama series?

I don't think none of them have flaws, both novel and drama complement each other. The novel, because of being just the text, relies a lot of reader's imagination and sometimes author's intention doesn't get delivered properly. And in the drama, we can visualize and show those messages more clearly. So I think both formats help each other.

And novel has scenes that we couldn't show in the drama, as well as more details for the emotional moments. Even fans say they can't choose one or another. This mutual supplement creates an effect of the loop.

Q. What did you try to bring to life the most from original novel?

We mentioned it during our group reaction to the series as well: I really wanted to bring to life the sunset scene. After I read the original novel, I had three key scenes that I definitely wanted to properly visualize. To the "world is changing" scene when main characters meet for the first time, we paid attention the most. Then, the final kiss at sunset in the ending. Since those were the beginning and end of the story, I wanted to open and close the story well so we focused a lot those scenes and had a lot of ambitions.

Q. Say a message for the actors.

Taevin, Joowan, Minsu, Woongki, every time I have to wrap things up with you, one phrase always comes to mind: "I'm always grateful to you, you did so well". I really want to say this to you guys. I was very happy to work with you on this project for such a long time, it was a very meaningful time. Thanks to you, Love Supremacy Zone received so much love and stayed in the hearts of many people. I believe you will become amazing actors – one day, one project, to anyone. I hope you will be happy in the future, thank you and I love you~ Let's be happy!

Q. Message to the fans who loved this series

First of all, thank you. I want to express my love as much as you've loved us. I think the biggest reason this project was completed was the love that you, fans, gave us. Without your love, we wouldn't even end up here, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Actors and staff think this way too. You gave us so much love and we were able to work on this project so joyfully. Thank you a lot for all the love. If you keep loving us in the future, we'll love you even more too. Thanks to you, we were able to complete this project. Thank you and be happy. Goodbye!

// other Love Supremacy Zone extra content //

[rj-anderson]

I've just realized I never posted another update here about how we got my 93-yo mom into assisted living a couple months ago, and it is THE ABSOLUTE GREATEST STORY and I'm still just reeling with amazement over how it all came together, so here it is under the cut.

As you will know if you read my earlier posts about Mom, I've been her primary caregiver for the last few years, especially since my dad passed away in early 2020 (we were able to hold a beautiful, well attended memorial service for him right before the first lockdown, another bit of timing I am still very grateful for).

And as you will also know if you read those previous posts, Mom's mental clarity and ability to look after herself has been going downhill for the last couple years, and despite her overall sweet disposition and gratefulness for everything I was doing, by Dec. 2024 I was at my wits' end and really close to burning out. Only a blessed last-minute increase in respite care, thanks to a pilot program coordinated by my local hospital and Alzheimer's Society, enabled me to keep going while I waited and prayed for a long term care placement for Mom.

That being said, we'd already been warned that it could be up to five years before Mom got an offer, because despite her acute nerve pain attacks, chronic vertigo and increasing cognitive issues, she was not considered to be "in crisis". (I was definitely having a crisis as her caregiver, but that didn't count.) So from an outside perspective, it looked unlikely if not downright impossible that we would find a place within the next 12-18 months, unless Mom had a major health crisis.

Despite that, though, I had a strange deep-down confidence that something was going to change soon. In fact, part of me really felt sure that it would happen by spring at the latest. Now this was a bewildering feeling to have, because I am one of the least mystical woo-woo people in the world, and objectively it didn't seem likely to happen at all. So I found myself praying that God would keep me from clinging to false hopes (if they were false) and prepare me not to be discouraged or bitter if my feeling turned out to be groundless.

But I also found myself praying, "Lord, I don't how this is going to work out with Mom, but I look forward to praising you for whatever you're going to do." Because I remembered how things had gone with my Dad's care, and how the best plans I had in mind turned out to be not nearly as wise or good as the way God arranged it in the end.

Anyway, a number of things happened in December that made me question my belief that Mom would be best off in long term care, despite all the efforts I'd gone to choosing the right places for her. I took her to see the closest home on our list, thinking it would be a positive experience and put some of her fears to rest, but EVERYTHING about that tour was a disaster. It was far too big, and noisy, and overwhelming, and my mom kept saying "I could never go to a place like that, I would be totally lost. I'd rather be out on the street."

So I ended up having to take that particular home off the list, which brought our options from three down to two and made it even less likely to get a room offer. But that experience did make very clear what kind of place Mom wanted -- small, homey, quiet, and easy to navigate, with fellow residents she could talk to, and ideally some opportunity for Christian fellowship. Unfortunately, I didn't know of a single long term care home in our area that fit that description.

Until the first week of January 2025, when I joined my regular Zoom prayer meeting with three women from my old church. And as I was telling them about my difficulties, one of them said, "Oh, I wish your mom could go to the home where [a woman who also used to go to our church] is living! It would be so perfect for her!"

Now, I had heard plenty about that woman and the wonderful Mennonite assisted living home she'd moved into a few months earlier, but I never thought it could be a fit for my Mom. However, after that conversation I looked up the home's website and realized that not only was the place much closer than I'd thought it was, it sounded like they might actually be able to provide the level of care Mom needed.

I called the care home. We had a good, thorough talk about Mom's needs. I set up an appointment for a tour. And from the instant I stepped in the door, I knew this was the place our family had been praying for. Not only was it newly renovated, small, quiet and cozy, offering home-style meals and regular church services, there was a lovely vacant room with a view that immediately made me think, "This is Mom's room."

Long story short -- and skipping over a multitude of other unexpected blessings and mercies of God along the way -- we moved Mom into her new apartment in mid-February. They even allowed us to paint the room her favourite colour, and set it up with all the furniture and pictures she needed to make it feel like home, before we brought her in. And since then, she's been getting all the medical and personal care she needs, I've been able to enjoy regular visits with her while also having a life of my own again, and despite having had twelve acute pain episodes over the six months before the move, Mom has not had even one attack since she got there.

Despite all the hardships, discouragements, seeming dead ends, and other ups and downs of the past year -- even because of them, in some cases -- God has been faithful and very, very good. So I am keeping the promise I made a few months ago, when all seemed utterly hopeless, and praising Him for what He's done.

[dollie-disaster-darling]

Higuchi and Chuuya fanart!!

Happy late birthday, Higuchi and Chuuya! I took too long, sorry ;P !

I originally planned to do them separately, but then I realized their birthdays are really close! And I really like the crumbs of interactions they have. Especially in wan. They're really cute!

It'd be funny if they kept running into each other for some reason. I just imagine them going to a karaoke place separately after work to sing out their feelings, but they just happen to see each other. Higuchi would be giving her heart out to singing sad songs about her failed marriage and upcoming divorce that she fully realized up in her head. And I know Chuuya is probably into hard or foreign rock, but I just really like the image of Chuuya belting out K-on songs, rolling the R's all the way.

Worse than the rest minis, but I like them ^^ We don't talk about the disappearances of the hat. I don't know why the lowest Higuchi looks like she's in the fish eye angle.

I just thought that Higuchi's lemon fit was cute and that it'd be cute if Chuuya ended up wearing something like it by happenstance. I call them the 'citrus colleagues' :DD !

There's this one dialogue where Higuchi says that Chuuya follows the law when it comes to driving normally, but during emergencies, he'd make his motorbike go vroom over buildings and yell 'Yeah!'. So I imagine that every time Higuchi hears a particular strong revving sound followed by a specific 'yeah!', she immediately knows that shit is going down.

^ the full thing. This is definitely messier than some of my other insubstantial creations and I tried drawing some things I can't really draw. I'm a little happy with it ^^ But I honestly revoke my right to be a Chuuya fan. I messed up his hair and colors bad. I swear, the haircuts in bsd are going to one day get me to stop ☠️☠️. And I don't like drawing guys because I suck at drawing them and I think I sucked at drawing the little guy here too ☠️☠️ I really am better off not drawing any guys forever. So much respect to the Chuuya fans and so much love to fellow Higuchi lovers! Happy (late) birthday to the both of them!!

[msbluebell]

It's also possible that Blade could be talking about Yingxing, because Blade seems to depersonalize himself from Yingxing and consider the man dead. It's hard to pin down for certain who it's supposed to refer to, as "beloved" is used for anyone from friends to sisters in this game (Anxa's sister is referred to as his beloved). So it can be that he buried a "beloved friend" or "beloved sister" or "beloved comrade" "beloved romantic partner". Beloved does little to indicate what we are looking at. Baiheng's death was a complete and total one. She used the power of the Pseudo Sun to create a vortex that ripped her and most of Shuhu apart. She somehow got the power of the Pseudo Sun (which, interestingly, is a part of the Flint Emperor. She should not have been able to get her hands on that unless she stole it from the Creation Furnace...which only the Furnace Master would have access to). She was then completely and totally ripped apart until nothing but a single lock of hair and a few drops of blood remained.

In this case Baiheng completely and totally, of her own volition and with no fault to Dan Feng, killed herself to save others. Something that Yingxing acknowledged in Blade's character stories later.

Now, it's possible that this could be a metaphorical burying. In which case this does not make sense since Yingxing and Dan Feng, Imbibitor Lunae's character stories, talk about her death later. And there is no blame for Dan Feng in her death during that time.

Here Dan Feng considers the possibility of burying his old friend (Baiheng) and their hollowed blood. (There's no body, so this must be a metaphorical burying).

It's possible (and somewhat implied by the "creating a new life" line, but there's no implication on whether or not he went through with it) that it could also refer to the Draconic Abomination if you subscribe to the theory that Baiheng is the Abomination, which Jingliu seems to believe. But that would not be "burying", that would be "unburying".

What's more, Blade holds himself very much accountable for the "sin". His entire character, every single drop of it, revolves around paying for "the big sin" (as I like to call it). Hell, Jingliu tortured him every day for presuming hundreds of years until he was so utterly maddened and brainwashed that he seems to almost be incapable of thinking of anything else.

Which, now that I think about it, why would he say Dan Feng is the one who single handedly buried the beloved if he holds himself to accountable for "the big sin". Unless this out of context conversation is Blade trying to stop Dan Feng and urge him to let Baiheng go and rest in piece, which could be totally possible. But we don't know for sure. Yingxing is bloodied and guarding Dan Feng, so they're obviously somewhere dangerous (possibly at the Sedition itself) so we don't know for certain if this conversation is a flashback or not. Possibly it is?

Anyway, if this is the case of Blade removing himself from the sin and laying it at Dan Feng's feet, it's very out of character and hypocritical for him. As paying the price is literally known for (which ironically, he got from Jingliu during her...lessons). Not only that, but this is Blade's relic set, so the beloved would have to be in reference to his own assignment of identities. And we already know how Blade refers to Baiheng.

To Blade, Baiheng is the bosom friend. Now it's possible the beloved is a one time reference use. But it still doesn't fit the exact narrative they seem to be going for. So unless this is a hint that Baiheng isn't the Dragon Abomination, I'm going to withhold judgement.

As for it being Dan Feng? Well, just breaking it down. Blade seems to approach Dan Heng the way everyone else does. As though he is Dan Feng in denial about his identity. Often using phrases such as "quit hiding" against him. Which is a metaphorical burying as well. Though with the way it's approached and the way the game approaches Dan Heng's identity with Dan Feng, I doubt it's supposed to be that way.

Yingxing would be the "beloved" with the least amount of inconsistency in this case, as Blade actively disassociates from that identity in a parallel and contrast to Dan Heng's arc disassociating from Dan Feng. Which is fun because Blade seems to give everything "good" to Yingxing and everything "sinful" to himself, the opposite of how Dan Heng and Dan Feng worked. But Yingxing is also referred to strictly as craftsman in most of his stories, so even he has holes. Though, interestingly, he does have a grave.

See that sword at the front?

That's Yingxing's sword.

Now what is my conclusion? I don't know. There's good arguments for anyone. So unless it's outright confirmed or we get more context it could be anyone.

Blade describing Dan Heng as "the one who single-handedly buried the beloved" is really interesting

if beloved is Baiheng, then this is implying that Dan Feng could have prevented her death somehow and chose not to. Or simply that because she sacrificed herself to save him, her death was his fault.

The other option, however, is that "the beloved" is referring to Dan Feng and that Blade blames Dan Heng for killing him. That's obviously not what happened, but it does sort of make sense, in that by denying his identity, Dan Heng is letting Dan Feng die. That suggests, then, that Blade doesn't actually want Dan Feng to be dead, either in a "the pain of death is too kind" way, or in that there's some lingering affection or something still wants from Dan Feng.

There's also the use of the phrase "single-handedly" which very ironically feels like Blade denying Yingxing's involvement.

(Then again, all of this could just be Blade's insane rambling that doesn't actually amount to anything.)

[autixel]

any guy can be babygirl, but it takes a man to be a single mother.

[zivazivc]

mutant mayhem spoilers

i can't believe that the first ever image that surfaced about the movie (I think at the end of 2021!) actually already gave us a hint about how this movie was going to end... I was just so in denial about it that I completely erased those early theories out of my mind. Not to say that I didn't love the movie, I had a blast in the theater, but that ending with everyone learning about and accepting the turtles and them going to school was not for me. Maybe I'll change my mind about it when I see future installments of this new version, but for now I'm being one of those sulking older fans about it.

[kazz-brekker]

great! a job that i was planning to apply to tomorrow has taken down their online posting, meaning that the position is filled before i even had a chance to submit my application! i love to feel like shit about myself and my absolute lack of a meaningful career and the fact that my dad will unintentionally make me feel even worse about this tomorrow by asking me why i hadn't already applied for it!

[vamptastic]

it's kinda weird that when you look at health recommendations for various medical conditions associated with fatness it's always 'just lose 10% of your body weight to see a risk reduction' (so like 20-30 pounds for the average overweight or obese person according to the bmi) but then in day to day medicine there's not really a way of like, removing obesity as a diagnosis on your insurance paperwork for example, even if by a certain standard you've lost enough weight to reduce the risk of health conditions that insurance would be concerned about. if you're an average height weighing 300 pounds and lose 30 pounds, which seems to be the amount that's considered reasonable to lose and maintain if you want to like, reduce your cholesterol, you've gone from morbidly obese to morbidly obese.

[doberbutts]

I've told this story before but the non-negotiable in allyship really reminded me of my gaming group. So one of my best friends is a twin and while I know *her* pretty well I don't really know her brother as well despite knowing him for roughly same length of time. We play videogames together and her brother asked to join us so at some point I took him aside and had The Talk with him because we at that point had a recently out trans fem within the group and she had just barely started hormones and hadn't done any voice training etc so I fully intended to head any trouble off at the pass.

So I basically had the "respect my friend's pronouns or die by my sword" discussion because while he knows I'm a trans guy and had so far been chill, I didn't know if that extended to all trans people.

What I did not expect was for him to pull an uno reverse on me and invite his two trans woman friends to game with us as well and did a "no no, *you* respect *my* friends' pronouns or die by *my* sword".

When I was working at Petco, one of my coworkers came to me having a total panic and anxiety meltdown and when I finally got them to tell me what was going on, the revealed they had sought me out because they were having Transgender Feelings and wanted advice. I ended up giving them my old binders that were too small for me but a perfect fit for them, and one of my roommates gave them their first masc haircut.

A few weeks later a customer speaking Spanish was saying many nasty things about my coworker and reacting with disgust. Another coworker- a cis gay man who speaks fluent Spanish- came to get me first so I could pull the other coworker away while he effectively cussed them out in Spanish. He told us the sparknotes version of the English translation and it was mostly horrifically transphobic drivel. My coworker had responded mostly neutrally to me being trans, but for him to be visibly steamed the rest of the day over my other coworker definitely bumped my respect for him.

And I've talked about how a cis lesbian friend of mine visibly bristles at anyone she even thinks is being shitty to me about being trans to the point of making them splutter and back down.

A cishet woman I am only sort of acquaintances with once caught me wincing at being she/her'd at a trial and asked if that had been happening all day. When I responded the affirmative, she stormed off and I didn't see her the rest of the day. The next day, any time anyone referred to me there was an audible pause before a deliberate choice to choose masc versions.

Another trans woman who is a friend of mine once beat up a bully for calling her trans boyfriend a heshe when they were in schooling together.

It's about holding the line. It's about making the active choice to show up for each other. And it's about linking hands and refusing to budge.

If you cannot hold the line with me by your side, then we are not moving together.

[niffl]

I just love being alive

[leadendeath]

maybe it was just that it was january. bUT SUDDENLY I HAVE A HUGE CREATIVE "WANNA DO ALL THE THINGS" STREAK after feeling pretty meh creatively and in general tbh and it's not even a manic episode it's genuine "i'm in the zone" with doing stuff

whys normal english speaking so hard

anyway made some ''warmup'' simplistic patches last week. finalized an idea recently. got a patch idea conceptualized‚ drafted‚ and MADE/FINISHED in the same day a few days ago and it fucken slaps. nothing ever turns out how i want. but this did. that never happens + that aspect of creating, the disappointment, the "eh." feeling really doesn't bring the dopamine like it should when finishing something yknow lol. normal people feel good when theyve finished something. ive hardly ever had that feeling. i wonder if getting some professional help with the dopamine situation hopefully later this year will help that. i sure hope so.

[goatgoesmbe]

Thinking about Reader who feels like she's never feel like she was treated like a woman

I'm talking about getting flowers, good morning texts from 'guy friends', or getting a barrage of compliments on her pictures on Instagram

Growing up, you never fit what was expected of you, always heard how you were very unladylike, whether it was your attitude or how your appearance was not soft and delicate

I'm saying, resting bitch face, being tall, also muscular.

You're not insecure about it, but it would be nice if people just be normal about it and treat you like every other girls

And It's not like you were desperate, just thought it must be nice to be treated like a princess

Getting into the military at young age, following your oldman footprints

And then you met Gaz

Gaz who opened doors for you whenever you were walking around the base, being considerate when he touched you as he fixed your gear. You didn't want to think much of it, but it's kinda hard to when it seemed like he was looking for an excuse to touch you, with him standing behind you, hand on your hip, guiding your shot at the shooting range

Gaz who made you blush by slipping your hair behind her ear

Gaz who picked a small flower and slip it to your ear with that charming grin of his

Gaz who made sure to walk on the curbside when he was beside you as the team go out to hangout at a pub

Gaz who made you involuntarily tear up when he said you're pretty

Gaz who took candid pictures and sending it to you, telling you how gorgeous you are (the flirt)

Gaz who punched a recruit when he overheard him making an attractiveness tier list of the women in the base with his buddies, without you in it because you're 'don't count' (he thought the tier list itself is just weird, but their comment of you is what made him snap)

EDIT : Imma add that reader is STRONK, like- you could take down Ghost in hand-to-hand combat training. And Gaz would stare and thought to himself "I wish that was me"

tall&buff!Reader series

[suiana]

yandere! dragon hybrid who's been ostracized since birth. his father fell for a dragon and his mother died during child birth. it's been him and his father since and things with the rest of society haven't been good. after all dragon-human relationships are taboo and you know how people are with those deemed weird.

yandere! dragon hybrid who's bullied and left out. no matter how hard he tries, it's never enough. people are heartless, even if his father tries to tell him otherwise. how can you change the foundations of society? when all humans are taught that dragons are dangerous and a threat to mankind. poor little dragon, left to deal with life all alone... then he met you :3

"why're you crying?" huh? is someone talking to him? he quickly wipes away the tears, sniffling softly as he musters up a small smile. can't show anyone he's hurt. it'll just worsen things and he doesn't want his father to worry. "n-nope! not at all!" "you're lying!" the young dragon can only watch in silence as your tiny hands rub at his wet cheeks, your warm body fitting snugly by his side. huh... this feels nice. is this what it's like to have a friend? do you want you be friends? "don't cry! crying is bad because it means you're sad." you pause before grinning at him. for a moment, the little boy feels his heart skip a beat. is this normal? is he sick? he hopes not. he doesn't wanna be sick, not when he finally feels wanted by someone. "you can come to me if you're sad! I'll make you happy!"

yandere! dragon hybrid who grows up by your side as your best friend. you two are both adults now and you're the only one who's been nice to him. even when he's tried befriending others, none are as sweet or as welcoming as you are. it hurt at first but he's learned to accept it. it's okay if others are mean, you're by his side, and that's all that matters.

"you're my best friend." best friend. somehow, that title is a little irritating to him. but he pushes it aside. why would it be annoying? it must just be him overthinking things again. no one's going to steal you away from him. "yeah, you're my best friend too." the dragon feels his heart flutter again. oh, your sweet smile and beautiful voice... how he wants to capture this moment and put it on repeat for eternity. sure, the best friend thing is still off-putting but like, you're here! that's all that matters. he'd give up everything for you, you know? but then you just have to go and mess it up by running to that boy again. "again?" he feels his annoyance spike again. it's like the best friend title but worse. this... this boy. you've been getting too close to him lately. all you ever do is gush about him when you get the chance and it's starting to get on his nerves. you don't get this excited talking to someone who's 'just a friend'. "mhm! sorry, I'll be back tomorrow!" and off you go, running along with that nobody and leaving him in the dust. best friend? hah! that's it. he's made up his mind about this... issue. you're being stolen away from him and he's going to fix it. don't worry, you only need him anyway. who needs another friend when you have him?

yandere! dragon hybrid who's turned out to be rather possesive. he's decided he doesn't want to be just friends anymore and now he's making sure you see that. by killing off that guy you're crushing on, of course. i mean, what better way than to show you?

"get away from me!" he pouts. you've never screamed at him before. is it because he's dirty? well, he supposes that he is covered in blood. does it stink? "I'm sorry, I'll clean up and we can go for ice cream-" "ice cream?! you think we can just go back to being normal after you- you killed him?!" oh, you're really mad. the dragon's smile falters and he lowers his clenched fist. what to do... what to do... he really doesn't like making you upset. he remembers throwing your toy away once and you ignored him for a whole week! he never wants to experience that again! "I'm sorry... what do you want me to do? how do i make up for it?" he smiles again. ah, right. maybe he can just get rid of another pest that's been annoying you? perhaps that guy that's been looking at you funny? maybe you'd like it? "no! you can't make it up to me! he's dead god damnit! you're a murderer! just piss off and leave me alone!" silence. then he's caging you against a wall. his eyes are wide, face completely devoid of his usual smile and warmth as he keeps you trapped between him and the cold wall. he can't let you escape. he won't let you. you're his. "you're mine, remember? my best friend." best friend... he doesn't like the sound of that anymore. it's too... how do you say it. too small of a title. too small to encapsulate how he feels about you. "i want all of you, darling."

yandere! dragon hybrid who finally has you. yay! you're his now! sure you might be a little snappy but that's alright! you'll warm up to him again and you two will be happy together! only this time, you're not just friends anymore.

"oh piss off. i don't need you staring at me 24/7." it's been like this for a few days now and your dragon's feeling a little down. he knows that humans are emotional. hell, he's half of a human! but he really misses how you used to treat him and he just wants you to smile at him again. "I'm sorry..." what does he say now? you're mad at him and clearly don't want him to bother you. is it because he took you to his secret hide out? he hasn't told you about this place before because he wanted to surprise you. but clearly you aren't happy :( "you're just really beautiful." he means it. you're the stars, the flowers, and everything that's beautiful in this world. if he had it his way, you'd be the face of beauty anywhere and everywhere. the dragon looks up and freezes. is that... a blush he sees? "...flattery will get you no where." god! you're blushing AND saying that! it feels like heaven's blessing him! "a-ah..." he stammers and looks away, rubbing his fingers together. inside, his heart is thumping and his brain is racing with imaginary scenarios. soon, you'll want him to compliment you! and then- "my mate." god, he hopes that day comes soon. to call you his mate... that would be a dream.