#also for people who did learn in school but. makes more sense there to improve the school teaching

[oidheadh-con-culainn]

started down a train of thought about how language survival and revival would be assisted by cheaper courses and classes, and then about how it should just be free, and then about how it should actually be incentivised, and then realised I just wanted ALL education to be not only free but incentivised so that people weren't choosing between education and work and we could focus our societal energies on giving people more knowledge and skills and it would probably improve a lot of things

but also in the meantime irish courses should be cheaper/free for those who didn't get a chance to learn at school tbh

[adelheidvonschicksal]

Bakugou, Shinsou, Todoroki, and Villain Deku x Fem Quirkless Reader SFW and NSFW! S/O is Quirkless but she’s the most hardworking in Class 1A, training and studying twice as hard so she knows a lot of weaponry and fighting skills.Polite though cold, she mainly is alone due to growing up with nobody to love her, no friends, parents, nobody not even teachers or police were there all bc she was Quirkless though she was determined to be the first Quirkless hero no matter what.

Todoroki and you rarely cross paths at first. You’re both too focused on your own goals. Otherwise, you’re similar in that you’re generically polite to one another in passing but with little else to discuss. It makes sense to you that someone born with everything wouldn’t need to communicate with you who was born with nothing. You categorize him with everyone else who thinks it’s foolish for you to become a hero even if he never had the opportunity to say it out loud.

It isn’t until you first see him interact with Endeavor that your mind begins to change. You thought too hastily that the son of the number two hero, a boy with two quirks in one, a pretty face, tall, rich would have it all.

It wasn’t any of your business, but your mouth had already opened before you even realized it, calling out to him with some ridiculous lie that Mr. Aizawa needed him. When he asked why, you could only tell him that you thought he looked miserable.

You didn’t become friends after that. You don’t think anything really changed for the several weeks you were preoccupied with your own training.

This continues for a while until your parents visited the school after the entire Kamino Ward incident to remind you once again how lucky you should feel that your better classmates were with you, that you should be grateful they’re still entertaining your silly endeavors, and in your heart, you know they mean your existence.

When Todoroki came to your aid, saying you were one of the people he respects in class, in fact, he’s sure the most respectful person in your family, you don’t know what to say. When asked why he intervened, he simply said you looked miserable. You blinked at him. Once and twice then you laughed, dry and sore, but you laughed. For the first time in a long time. Then, you started crying. Also, for the first time in a long time.  

Over the years, you remained friends with him, developing into even more than that sometime after your hero careers developed. You still have difficulty showing emotions at times, and your family life never improved the way his family did, it’s still easier to be more vulnerable around someone who gets it.

You’re working on being more expressive, because it leads to more rewards, like the last time you got emotional and soft and well, romantic, and he kissed you.

Shouto adores that awkward bit about you though. He defends you from anyone who dares to say you don’t care about those you protect because your reactions around fans are subdued or that you’re stuck up because of your distant nature and formal language. He always mentions how sweet you are when someone asks why you’re dating.

He loves to see your normal, straight-faced expression melting into the soft, little blissed-out face you have whenever he sinks into you causing your nails to squeeze into his shoulders just a bit harder and your strong legs to tighten around his waist like you don’t want to let him go. It all leads to whines and moans he doesn’t think he’d ever hear otherwise.

The two of you get along well, learning new experiences together, and he wants to and makes you feel more love than you had growing up. You can rely on him to do what he says and to mean what he says since he’s straightforward and open in the way he carries himself.

You and Bakugo have been enemies since the day you met. As soon as he discovered you were quirkless, he made it clear that he thought you were a waste of space in the Hero Course especially since you remind him of a certain somebody.

However, you still keep that same arrogant face similar too Shouto’s—like you don’t care about anything, including what he has to say. It’s simply that you’ve heard rude and callous things from people before so hearing it again from someone new doesn’t bother you.

For you, Bakugo is everything that reminds you of the things you want to be. Strong, excellent quirk, high battle-IQ, even if his personality was as abrasive and loud as grating rusty nails over a chalkboard. You make it your goal to one day beat him in a fight to gauge your own abilities. And, secretly, maybe a part of you wants to be acknowledged by the “better” half of society.

Unfortunately, he never seems to want to entertain you, no matter how respectfully you ask for his time. So, you end up back to square one, trying your best to catch up with your classmates and failing to notice the way he watches your work ethics or cleverness.

Your final year of school you find you start to care less and less about what others in your class think about you. You successfully gather quite a few accomplishments, such as saving civilians, holding back villain groups, and working with hero agencies to stop several crime sprees during your final internships. It isn’t spectacular, but it’s enough to earn you a small reputation from other quirkless people, and a degree of respect from Bakugo, who also seemed to become more open minded over the years despite that temper still flaring frequently.

Thus, it seemed like you guys got paired together often. You guess people thought your calm demeanor worked well to stifle his temper while he could play bad cop when needed be, and his overwhelming strength made up for the things you lacked with only skill to rely on. Then, it didn’t become unnatural to grab something quick to eat or drink or walk back to the dorms together after a mission.

It all comes to a boil when you get hurt—protecting him of all people—and wind up on bed rest for a few days. You’d thought he’d be angry with you for getting in the way the next time he saw you, but he was angrier by the fact that you’re trying to force yourself back on the frontline before your injuries healed all the way.

You agree on the deal that he beats you in a fight, which you’re surprised he finally accepts.

It doesn’t come much of a surprise to you when he wins, but you are confused by the way he looks at you when he pins you down to the floor, asking yourself if you’re imaging the red tips of his ears nearly hidden in the yellow brush of unruly hair.

You’re definitely not imaging when he kisses you, or when after your tongues meet and your head feels dizzy that your hand unwittingly finds its way into his pants, with him returning the favor.

That day you learn that Bakugo is a lot more quiet and less combative with you when you’re lying on your side, staring into crimson eyes, and palming and stroking to raise to a finish neither of you knew you needed.

When he finishes first and relaxes beside you after your own end, you crack the tiniest smile as you ask him, “Does this mean I win?”

When you start dating a few weeks after, you can only suppose that you did.

You are aware of the quirkless factions that occasionally rise every few years demanding more respect and rights in society. While you agree with them on a fundamental level, being a hero means you can’t support any illegal ways the demand this.

You also thought your old classmate wouldn’t be leading one of the few villain groups that managed to make a name for themselves in the country. Midoriya was always a kind person, the only kind person to you seeing as you once shared a dream. Maybe that kindness is what led to him choosing the opposite side of society as you.

You worked hard, studied hard, made the right friends with the right technicians, and somehow made a small name for yourself as a hero despite your quirkless status. Deku did the same, but instead of a hero, he became a villain. The thought still breaks the small part of your heart that can be bothered to care about your past.

You think your biggest goal would be able to bring him to justice and try to restructure the plight for quirkless people the way you deem right, and maybe save him as a side effect. It’s harder said than done when going against a crime syndicate.

It doesn’t help your position as a hero when said villain is quirkless and often lets you go for old time’s sake. In all your familiarity with being an afterthought, you don’t put the pieces together with how obsessed he is with you, teetering between wanting to see you succeed where he couldn’t and wanting you to join his side.

This leads to a situation where he’s unsure if he’ll end up falling for you, or if he’ll end up corrupting you.

You notice how many people who get targeted by the quirkless villain are quirkless haters themselves, discriminatory companies against mutant-quirks, and well, sometimes, it’s even the very heroes and organizations that talk down on you and outcast you as a worthless or traitorous hero despite no proof of such.

After years of torment, hero society makes it easy for you to push the awful world to the back of your mind and let it melt away whenever you find yourself alone with him.

When it all first starts, you do feel a tinge of guilt. You’re supposed to be a hero but you’re in an increasingly complicated relationship with a villain you’re supposed to be hunting. But you’re slowly questioning why you should do your fellow heroes any favors especially when your palms steady against a chest broader and more sculpted than you remember and face familiar but more handsome than before.

The evidence is left on your body in the form of bite marks on your neck that speckled over your breasts before ending, only to restart against between your thighs.

It’s supposed to be the last time, but you suspect that’s a lie.

After all is said and done, the scale between your remaining loyal to your colleagues and switching sides tilts to Midoriya.

Shinso Hitoshi is your biggest yet silent supporter. He became your friend when he defended you from the other students who would bully you and talk behind your back as a quirkless person; in reality, they ran off when they saw him; he didn’t have to say a word.

He plans to enroll in the hero course and recommends that the two of you work together to achieve that dream, which leads to you dating very early into the school year.

You often spend time together, eating lunch on the rooftop, walking home together, and spending time in your dorms together. Many others mentioned how you’re an odd couple, never really seeing the two of you talk much. In reality, you’re both fond of each other’s presence and the quiet so it works. He is your first friend, your first boyfriend, and your first kiss.

After he starts adding more friends to his rother and joins the hero course, you start to worry that the only person you can say you care for in this life might drift away from you. However, none of that changes. He still trains with you and protects you, spending his time with you enough that even Aizawa mentions the normally stoic boy gets distracted when you’re around.

He thinks you’re so precious even with that plain faced look you always have; it gives him cuteness aggression really bad to all he wants to do is cup your cheeks and pinch at them like when he sees an extra cute kitten. He hasn’t given in yet but it’s only a matter of time.

Due to more programs opening up at hero agencies, you manage to get your foot in the door and become a support hero after graduation. It isn’t what you thought it’d be but helping people makes you excited all the same especially since you get to work with your boyfriend sometimes.

The two of you often celebrate a job well done after work, and it’s one of those happy, slightly tipsy times that he also becomes your first time.

[swytchoocos]

ੈ✩‧₊˚𝐌𝐞? 𝐒𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐤?ੈ✩‧₊˚

Pairing: Ran haitani x fem reader

Description: You attend beauty school in Japan you find yourself falling for the charismatic and popular delinquent ran haitani you started to think you were thing but little did you know you were just one of his side bitches.

Ps: sorry reader I made you really naive in this but you get him back at the end x.

Warnings: heavy smut, MDNFI 🔞, angst, agression.

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You were a bright student at the beauty school, always eager to learn and improve your skills. You had reputation for being kind and naive, and your classmates loved your cheerful and helpful nature. You spent most of your days in class, learning all the latest techniques and trends in makeup artistry. As you walked down the hallway, your mind was filled with thoughts of the upcoming beauty competition that you were preparing for, completely unaware of the drama that was about to unfold in your life.

Despite your naive nature, you weren't stupid by any means. You had a strong intuition and a talent for reading people's emotions, but when it came to relationships, you often found yourself making poor choices due to your trusting nature. You were so focused on your studies and career goals that you often missed the signs of potential heartbreaks and betrayals.

You sat in class with your friends, chatting amiably about the latest gossip and news around the school. One of your friends brought up the topic of the delinquents they had seen down the street that morning, mentioning the name Ran Haitani. The mere mention of his name sent a shiver down your spine, and you couldn't help but feel a little curious and intrigued. As your friends continued to talk about Ran Haitani, you couldn't help but interject with a question. "What's he like, really?" you asked, your curiosity getting the better of you. Your friends looked at you a little surprised, as they knew you were usually quite reserved and shy when it came to guys.

One of your friends spoke up, "Oh, he's just a bad boy thats hot, ya know? He's got this charm that draws people in, and he's fearless when it comes to taking risks." Another chimed in, "But he's also got a reputation for being a player. He's got a way of making girls fall for him and then breaking their hearts."

You listened intently to your friends' description of Ran Haitani, feeling a mixture of confusion and intrigue. Part of you couldn't help but feel drawn to his charismatic persona, but another part of you was wary of his reputation for being a player who breaks hearts. You tried to shake off the conflicting emotions you were feeling, telling yourself that it was silly to be so interested in someone you had never even met. But the more your friends talked about him, the more you found yourself wondering what it would be like to be on the receiving end of that charming smile and dangerous gaze..

As the conversation continued, you found it harder to shake off the thoughts and feelings that were stirring within you. You knew deep down that getting involved with someone like Ran Haitani would only lead to trouble, but for some reason you couldn't help but feel a strange sense of excitement at the prospect.

After class ended, you and your friends left school and began walking home. As you walked past a corner, you spotted a group of delinquents hanging out, their intimidating presence instantly catching your attention. Among them was Ran Haitani, his sharp gaze and confident stance instantly recognizable. And next to him was his younger brother, Rindo, who seemed to have a more playful and mischievous demeanor. Your friends tensed up as they saw the delinquents, but you couldn't help but feel a little bit of excitement. Part of you was scared, but the other part was intrigued, and you found yourself watching them intently, trying to catch a glimpse of Ran Haitani's infamous smirk.

Your friends whispered to you to keep walking and not attract any attention to yourself, but you couldn't take your eyes off the two brothers. They were so different, yet at the same time it was clear that they were close. Ran seemed cool and collected, while Rindo had a more carefree and carefree attitude, but both of them had a dangerous aura about them. As you watched them, Ran's gaze suddenly flicked in your direction, and your heart skipped a beat as his eyes locked onto yours for a moment. His eyes held a hint of recognition, as if he knew who you were, and a hint of something else - interest, perhaps? Whatever it was, it sent a shiver down your spine and you found yourself unable to look away.

Your friends tried to tug you away, but you were frozen in place, unable to tear your eyes away from Ran's intense gaze. Finally, Rindo noticed your staring and nudged his brother with a sly smile. Ran's expression remained impassive, but there was a hint of a smirk on his lips as he continued to look in your direction.

You could feel the heat rising to your cheeks as your friends finally managed to pull you away. As you walked away, you glanced back over your shoulder, and saw that both Ran and Rindo were still looking in your direction. You couldn't shake off the feeling that ran noticed you, and you couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking. As you and your friends continued walking, your friends suddenly erupted into whispers and exclamations. They had noticed the way Ran Haitani had been looking at you. "Did you see that? one whispered. "He was totally checking you out!" another squealed. You shook your head at your friends excitement and speculation. "No" you said, trying to dismiss their assumptions. "He wasn't checking me out, he was just looking in my direction. It doesn't mean anything." Your friends tried to argue, trying to convince you that Ran was obviously interested in you, but you didn't want to believe it. You didn't want to get your hopes up or read into things that weren't there.

Your friends continued to debate with you about Ran's intentions, but you remained firm in your conviction that it was all just a coincidence. You didn't want to admit that the thought of Ran being interested in you excited you, so you tried to play it cool and act nonchalant. deep down, though, a small part of you hoped that your friends were right and that Ran really was interested in you. But you quickly pushed that thought aside, reminding yourself that he was a delinquent with a bad reputation, and that getting involved with him would only lead to trouble.

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A few days had passed since your encounter with Ran Haitani, and you had almost forgotten about it. But fate had different plans in store for you. As you walked into the convenience store, you noticed Ran standing by the chips aisle. Your heart skipped a beat as you remembered him, and you couldn't help but feel a little nervous you tried behind another isle until it was to late he was already looking at you. Ran smiled lightly as he saw you, and he sauntered over to you with his usual casual confidence. "Hey there" he said, his voice smooth and playful. You tried to act casual and calm, but your heart was racing and you couldn't help but feel a little flustered in his presence.

You tried to come up with a witty response, but your mind went blank and you just stumbled over your words. Ran chuckled at your nervousness, clearly enjoying the effect he was having on you. "You're cute when you're nervous" he teased, leaning against the shelf next to you. Your cheeks burned as you heard his compliment, and you tried to regain your composure. "I'm not nervous" you managed to say, your voice betraying you by cracking slightly. Ran smirked, obviously enjoying your attempts to act casual.

He took a step closer to you, and you could feel the heat radiating off his body and the scent of his cologne filling your senses. "Oh really?" he said, his voice low and seductive. "Then why is your heart beating so fast?'" You could feel your heart beating faster and faster in your chest, and you couldn't deny that Ran was right. You were a nervous wreck, and you couldn't understand why he had such a strong effect on you. You tried to come up with a response, but your mind was a jumble of nerves and conflicting emotions.

You were completely under his control, and you knew it. His touch sent electric currents through your body, and you couldn't tear your gaze away from his intense eyes. He leaned in closer, his breath hot against your ear as he spoke, his voice a whisper, "You can't hide it from me, you know. I can see right through you.'"

Ran's words sent a shiver down your spine, and you could feel the intensity of his gaze boring into yours. Suddenly, he blurted out, "Go on a date with me.'"

You were taken aback by his sudden proposition, but before you could respond, he continued, "Don't overthink it. Just say yes." Your mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions, but somehow you found yourself nodding in agreement. "Uh, yes sure."

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A few hours later, you found yourself at Ran's house, alone with him in his room. As you sat on the edge of Ran's bed, your mind was racing. How the fuck did you end up here, alone with him in his room? You tried to push past the shock and focus on the present, but your thoughts kept going back to earlier. The date had been a whirlwind of flirting and teasing from Ran, and you found yourself getting more and more worked up. His intense gaze and confident demeanor had left you feeling flustered and horny at the same time.

You remembered how he had whispered suggestive things into your ear, and how he would touch you in ways that made your skin tingle. You tried to push those thoughts away, but the memories kept replaying in your mind, causing a heat to pool in your stomach.

Ran turned around and stalked over to you, his eyes dark with desire. "Can't stop thinking about me, can you?" he asked with a smirk, leaning down to press his body against yours. His touch ignited a fire within you, and you found yourself responding to his advances. Ran's hands ran up and down your body, exploring you as his lips crashed down onto yours. "You taste so good," he breathed, his words sending shivers down your spine. "I wanna fuck you so bad rightnow."

Ran lifted you a bit more on the bed, his hungry gaze devouring your body. He kissed his way down your neck, leaving a trail of kisses and bites as he explored your sensitive skin. His hands tugged at your dress, revealing your lace bra and panties.

With his fingers, Ran unhooked your bra, freeing your breasts. He took one swollen nipple into his mouth, sucking and teasing it with his tongue, causing you to arch your back and moan loudly. His hands cupped your breasts, squeezing and kneading them as he continued to pleasure you with his mouth.

"You like that, huh?" Ran murmured against your skin. "You're so fucking responsive, baby. I'm gonna make you cum so hard." You could only nod, your body trembling with anticipation. Ran's hands moved down your body, his fingers slipping beneath your panties and finding your wet folds again. He stroked your clit, circling it slowly, building up the pleasure until you were writhing beneath him. "Please... Ran," you begged, your voice hoarse with need. "I need more..." Ran chuckled, his warm breath fanning your skin. "Patience, baby. I'm gonna make this good for you."

Ran positioned himself between your thighs, his hard cock pressing against your entrance. Your eyes locked with his, a mixture of excitement and nervousness reflected in your (e/c) gaze.

"You ready for me, baby?" Ran asked, his voice low and seductive. You nodded, your heart pounding. "Yes,please... I want you..." With one smooth thrust, Ran filled you his cock sliding deep inside your tight pussy. You cried out, your body adjusting to the invasion, the sensation both overwhelming and exquisite. Ran began to move, his hips thrusting in a steady rhythm. Each stroke sent waves of pleasure through your body, your walls gripping his cock tightly. You wrapped your legs around his waist, pulling him closer, urging him to go deeper.

"Fuck, you feel so good," Ran groaned, his muscles stracing as he drove into you. "Your pussy is like a vice, milking my cock..."

Your hands gripped his shoulders, your nails digging into his skin as you rode the waves of pleasure. Ran's pace quickened, his strokes becoming more intense, hitting all the right spots within you. "I'm... I'm gonna cum, Ran!" You cried out, your body tensing. Ran's fingers found your clit, rubbing it in circles as he pounded into you. "Cum for me, baby. Let go..." your orgasm hit you like a storm, your body shaking as waves of pleasure rolled through you. You cried out, your walls clenching around Ran's cock, milking him as your juices flowed.

Ran grunted, his own release building as he felt you tighten around him. He thrust a few more times, then pulled out, his throbbing cock glistening with your combined fluids. Your eyes widened as you saw him stroke his length, his hand moving in a blur.

With a guttural groan, Ran erupted, his hot cum spraying across your stomach and breasts. You gasped, your body still quivering from your orgasm. You reached down, your fingers playing in the warm liquid, smearing it across your skin.

Ran collapsed beside you, his breathing ragged. He pulled you close, his hands gently caressing your body. "That was fucking incredible, baby. You're amazing." You snuggled into his embrace, your heart racing. You had never experienced such raw passion, and you couldn't help but wonder what the future held with this charismatic delinquent. Little did you know, you were about to discover the true side of him....

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Days after you guys would meet up and go on dates randomly and he would text you during the night sexting he would buy you random things as well and this drawn you to develop deep feelings for him it made you think that this is turning into something serious between the two of you.

But that's when lately you couldn't help but notice that Ran had been acting bit distant lately. He was constantly glued to his phone, and whenever he received a call, he would make an excuse to step away. Something felt off, and your suspicion and worry grew with each passing day. You thought to yourself it might be something important since he was part of gang.

One day, as you and Ran were out on a date, you noticed him scrolling through his phone more than usual. You tried to shake off the feeling of unease, but you couldn't help but glance over at his phone, wondering who he was texting. Just as you were about to ask him about it, he suddenly got a call, and he looked at you with a guilty expression before quickly stepping away to take it.

Ran reappeared after his phone call, his expression guarded and distant. You couldn't ignore the feeling of unease that had been building up inside you, and you decided to confront him.

"Who were you talking to?" you asked, trying to keep your voice steady. Ran's expression remained guarded, and he avoided eye contact as he replied, "Just a friend." The words stung, and your suspicion flared up. "A friend?" you repeated, your voice betraying your disbelief.

Ran seemed uncomfortable under your scrutiny, and he looks at you. "Yeah, just a friend," he repeated, as if trying to convince himself as much as he was trying to convince you. Despite your growing suspicion, you didn't want to jump to conclusions and cause a scene so you decided to drop the conversation for now. But deep down, you couldn't shake off the feeling that something was off.

Ran seemed relieved that you had dropped the subject and quickly changed the topic, trying to brush off your concerns. The rest of the date continued awkwardly, with Ran still distracted by his phone and avoiding any mention of his "friend". After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, you gathered up the courage to bring up the conversation again. "Ran, can I talk to you about something?" your voice was hesitant, unsure of how he would react.

Ran paused in his scrolling and looked up, a hint of annoyance flickering across his face. "What is it?" he asked, a note of impatience in his tone.

You swallowed, trying to ignore the pang of hurt in your chest. "It's just... I can't help but notice that you've been acting different lately. You're always on your phone, and you never seem to have time for me." Your voice was quiet, laced with a mixture of concern and insecurity. Ran's face softened slightly at your words, and he set down his phone. "It's just some stuff with my gang," he said, sighing. "Nothing for you to worry about."

He reached out and took your hand, his touch surprisingly gentle. "I'm sorry if I've been distant. It's just been a tough time dealing with some gang-related issues." Ran's gentle touch and sincere apology helped to soothe your worry some, and you tried to push aside your nagging doubts. Maybe you had been overthinking things, and he was just having a hard time dealing with his gang-related issues.

The walk home was quiet but not uncomfortable, and you found yourself walking side by lado in companiable silence. When you finally reached your doorstep, you turned to Ran, thanking him for walking you home. He smiled, looking more like his usual self. "No problem," he said, leaning in to give you a quick kiss on the cheek.

"See you soon," he said, as he stepped back.

You watched him walk away, his figure disappearing into the night. Despite your lingering doubts, you tried to push them aside and focus on the fact that he had reassured you and apologized for his behavior. When you finally made it into your apartment, you felt exhausted both physically and emotionally. The events of the night had left you feeling drained and confused, and you couldn't shake off the lingering doubts about Ran. As you stepped into the shower, the hot water cascaded down your body, loosening the tension in your aching muscles. After the shower, you collapsed into bed, hoping that sleep would bring clarity to your chaotic thoughts.

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Next day as you made your way to your beauty school, your mind was preoccupied with thoughts of Ran. He hadn't called or texted you since the night before, and you couldn't help but worry that something was wrong. You tried to push aside the nagging feeling of doubt and focus on your classes, but your mind kept wandering back to him.

Hours later you were walking home from your classes, lost in thought and still worried about Ran, when your phone suddenly rang. You glanced down at the screen, seeing that it was Rindo calling. Surprised and a bit worried, you answered it. "Hello?" you said, your voice slightly hesitant. Rindo's voice came through the phone, "Hey, is Ran with you?" he asked, skipping any pleasantries.

As you were about to tell him something else your words caught in your throat as you suddenly spotted Ran in the distance, his arm casually slung over the shoulder of another girl. You froze, feeling a knot forming in your stomach as you watched them chatting and laughing together. "what the hell" you breathed, your voice barely above a whisper.

Your mind was reeling, and you felt unable to tear your gaze away from the scene unfolding in front of you. Ran seemed completely engrossed in his conversation with the girl, seemingly unaware of your presence just a few yards away. Ran's head suddenly snapped up, and his eyes met yours. You watched as his expression changed from surprise to careless, and for a moment, he just stood there frozen.

Feeling the tears welling up in your eyes, you quickly turned away and walked away as fast as you could, wanting to put as much distance as possible between yourself and Ran. The hurt and betrayal of seeing him with another girl was almost too much to bear. As you hurried away, your mind raced with conflicting emotions. How could he do this to you after everything you'd been through together? The thought of him with another girl was like a dagger to the heart, and you felt like you couldn't breathe. You replayed the scene over and over in your mind, each time feeling a fresh wave ofhurt and anger. How long had he been seeing this girl behind your back? Had all his talk of gang-related issues been a lie?

As the shock and pain began to subside, you felt a wave of realization wash over you. Your friends had warned you about Ran, telling you that he had a reputation as a player. You had been so blinded by your feelings for him, so eager to believe his excuses, that you didn't want to listen. The bitter realization hit you like a ton of bricks. You suddenly understood why he had been so distance lately, why he had been so secretive about his phone and his whereabouts. You were the side chick, not the main event.

"Asshole.." you whispered. Your hand balling into a angry fist as your knuckles turned white.

As the realization settled in, your anger and hurt began to transform into something else: determination. You couldn't - no, you wouldn't - let Ran get away with treating you like this. A plan started to form in your mind, fueled by your anger and hurt. You knew Ran was a player, and you knew how to hit him where it hurt the most.

The thought of using Rindo to get back at Ran was appealing, and you slowly began to formulate a plan in your mind. You knew Rindo had a bit of a soft spot for you, and you believed that you could easily manipulate his feelings to further your plan.

Ran try to reach out to you to give you a lame ass excuse on to why you seen him with that girl he stepped into his house, feeling frustrated that he hadn't been able to reach you. But as he looked around, he noticed something was off. There were clothes scattered on the floor, leading towards his bedroom.

Confusion and concern washed over him, and he cautiously walked towards his bedroom. As he stepped through the door into his bedroom, his eyes widened. The scene that greeted him was one he had never expected.

There, on HIS bed, was you – with a very naked Rindo and the view of your ass as you ride rindo. You looked back at Ran, your expression smug and challenging as you met his gaze. A smirk played on your lips, clearly enjoying the effect you were having on him. You moan out Rindos name. "Oh fuck rin."

Next to you, Rindo looked a little nervous but he was feeling to good to give a fuck anyways still lounging shamelessly on the bed. You get off of Rindo, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek as a casual farewell. He looked a bit dazed and satisfied but also cautious, unsure what would happen next.

You walk as you grab your heels and stop infront of ran you turned your attention to Ran, your gaze meeting his defiantly. A petty, smug smile tugged at the corners of your lips as you spoke. "Hope you enjoyed the show," you taunted, your voice dripping with sarcasm. "and I guess this whole side chick and side man is fun don't you think?."

Ran's jaw tensed further as you spoke, his anger reaching a boiling point. The sight of you with Rindo, coupled with your petty and mocking words, pushed him dangerously close to the edge of his self-control but had no words to say because he didnt expect her to do that.

You turned away from him, a sense of vindictive satisfaction coursing through your veins. You knew your words had hit a nerve, and judging by the look on Ran's face, they had stung just as you wanted them to.

As you walked away, you could feel Ran's gaze burning into your back, his anger and jealousy palpable in the air but you didnt give two shits.

"See you around haitani." You smirked to yourself as you walked away, feeling a sense of bitter satisfaction. You knew Ran was seething with anger, and the thought brought you a small measure of comfort.

With a final glance back at the mess you had left behind, you continued walking away, leaving Ran with his face dumbfounded..

︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶︶︶︶⊹︶︶︶︶⊹︶

@mdsbabygirl

[morallysuperiorlips]

Accepting Crit as a Writer (or creative person in general!)

One of the biggest challenges I have faced (and honestly, still face) as a writer and artist is the dreaded CONCRIT. I still post my stories and art, but I shy away from viewing comments or messages about it because I DREAD the idea of seeing something about "what I could do better" or "what sucks."

But on that same note, how do I improve unless I get that crit?

The hard truth is that criticism is a necessary part of the creative process. You will never get better without it!

But while it might suck to receive, there are things I've done to help lessen to blow of it, and even decide what is and isn't worth listening to.

The primary thing I do is consider the source. In my years of writing and submitting things to contests and getting my work ripped apart, i’ve learned that just because someone might be a good writer themselves does not mean they’re a good reader/critique-giver (and no, that’s not to say they’re illiterate. It just means they might miss context/not understand the themes you’re going for, etc.). I try to figure out if there’s merit to the critique based on who gave it (i.e. is this someone who’s word I immensely value? Is this someone who might know what they’re talking about? Do they have the story’s overall meaning/theme/idea at heart and is it showing in their critique or has there been something that they might have glazed over?)

Answering those things usually allows me to venture forward with sorting through what works and what doesn’t.

One time I had a pro playwright critique my play and he absolutely shredded it and indirectly told me I should stop writing while I’m ahead. While it devastated me in the moment, I eventually decided that a washed up old playwright judging a high school competition 1.) Shouldn’t be the one to wreck me and 2.) Didn’t offer anything constructive that was worth accepting into my rewrites, because I realized that he also just didn’t like my subject matter; it very clearly made him upset. So, he was nobody to me, he didn’t like the topic, and thus, his critique did not have my story’s best interest at heart, therefore his critique was useless to me.

I’ve also gotten crit on short stories from people who weren’t very good at picking up on context clues, so they criticized things that would have made sense if they read between the lines (which, no offense to anyone, but as a pro reviewer, you should be able to do that lmao). Granted, this is case by case because sometimes I DO need to make things more clear even if it is subtle, and I’ll usually go about that if I see the same critique on things I thought were evident enough over and over again. But a lot of times, it’s a matter of “this particular reader missed something that I haven’t noticed being missed before and therefore the crit is useless to me.” If they can’t be bothered to try to make as full sense as possible to the story to give me crit, 8/10 the crit has no value to me bettering it. But again, that can be case by case, and I would be very careful about applying this advice to any crit you get.

In that same vein I’ve also had people make WILD accusations/reads/predictions and immediately say it needs to be “fixed.” That’s usually crit that I toss too, because you cannot please everyone, and people read things differently. But if it’s not a consistent issue, and/or completely goes against the grain of the story, it’s not useful critique to me. It’s not a blaring issue that needs addressing, the specific reader just has tastes and that’s okay!

All of that to say, when it’s evident the person understands what’s going on, has an idea of what I'm trying to accomplish in the prose, or grasps my themes, then I’m more open to accepting their crit and chewing on it, even if it is a one-off “I’ve never had that issue raised before.” That still leaves room for things to be tossed but it still gives me a lot of food for thought and might drive me to make some changes I might not have previously considered, which is never a bad thing. In fact, it usually works out even better than before!

If it’s something I keep hearing about, then yeah, I’ll go and change it. If it’s something that’s pretty polarizing in where some readers like it and some don’t, I’ll gauge what works better for ME, the writer. If it’s one-off things, I’ll consider the source. If it’s devastating blows to my ego and story, I’ll consider the source.

I feel like accepting critique is a bit of an art form and definitely doesn’t happen overnight. I learned all this from YEARS of threatening to quit writing over the slightest “I didn’t like this” and even then I still have a knack for taking it personally. The important thing to know, no matter how deep down inside your passionate soul it is, is that crit is necessary to growth, and a necessary part of the process!

P.S. Another thing I like to do is make fun of silly crit. Fun fact: my Tumblr tag, morallysuperiorlips, is based off of a piece of criticism I received that I have memed to absolute shit among my friend group. So, you could always just do that too to make yourself feel better :)

[yellowhollyhock]

After Leo’s depression arc I want Raph to just go off on him for how Leo treated everyone during it. Just because he’s better doesn’t mean his actions have hurt those closest to him.

I can totally respect where you're coming from, like an acknowledgment of how that ordeal affected his siblings

Personally though, that's a fic I wouldn't want to read

My siblings and I grew up with various undiagnosed mental health conditions. Two of them had symptoms became a lot more severe in their late teens. Symptoms of depression and anxiety sometimes look like being a jerk to the people closest to you.

As the sibling dealing with this, and also not knowing about my own symptoms at the time... I would never want them to feel like they have to apologize for what they were suffering. It was hurtful sometimes. Anxiety attacks are much harder to spot than panic attacks and can look like a person acting meaner than usual; so if someone is having anxiety attacks often and you don't know what it is, yeah that stings. I was hurtful sometimes, too, echoing ableist ideas I'd learned at school or church without really understanding what I was saying or realizing it applied to the people I loved the most. Also, I didn't know until more recently, but I had a lot of symptoms growing up too that were hurtful to them, like how out of control mad I could get if the light was on too late at night, not understanding yet that I was overstimulated and thinking it was common sense that they should turn off the noisy light. Or just ignoring them for hours at a time, or trying to pretend to be emotionless because I didn't know how to process things.

None of them have ever made me feel like I had to apologize for that. We were all kids, kids dealing with really difficult stuff, and we just give each other grace.

As we've all grown up and understood ourselves and each other better, we're a lot more likely to apologize for the ableism we've worked to unlearn than for symptoms we didn't know how to deal with. It's also a lot more healing and productive to make more positive memories together (which we already had a lot to draw on, just mixed in with and complicated by the hard memories) than it is to analyze our past and try to decide who was more hurt or who was more wrong.

That's the fic I want to see for the 2003 turtles, over and over honestly. To me, it would be more satisfying to read about Leo realizing why he acted the way he did and why it was unhealthy, taking better care of himself and then seeing his behaviors improve because that's what happens when you're healthy, than to read about him getting yelled at. And the show kind of did that! Leo comes back from his training with the Ancient One acting much kinder and more Leo than he has in a long time, maybe ever. I'd like to see the other turtles learn from his experience about their own needs amd how they can take better care of themselves and each other

Raph getting to meet with The Ancient One for help with things he's been dealing with his whole life that his family didn't even realize were symptoms because they just thought it was normal, is a fic I would love to see a hundred different takes on.

Or, while Leo's gone, or even before, Splinter talking with his other kids about what Leo is going through and helping them not blame themselves, and all of them helping each other navigate a really difficult situation

Anyway that's just my opinion shaped by my experience. Everyone else is entitled to theirs

[lotus-flower-writes-history]

The Unofficial Black History Book

Huey P. Newton (1942-1989)

'The Revolution has always been in the hands of the young. The young always inherit the revolution.' - Huey Newton

This is his story.

Huey Percy Newton was born on February 17th, 1942, in Monroe, Louisiana. The youngest of seven children to Armelia Johnson and Walter Newton, he was named after former Governor of Louisiana, Huey Long.

His family relocated to Oakland, California, in search of better economic opportunities in 1945. His family struggled financially and frequently relocated, but he never went hungry or homeless.

Growing up in Oakland, Newton recalled his white teachers making him feel ashamed for being African-American, despite never being taught anything useful. In his Autobiography, ‘Revolutionary Suicide’, he wrote – “Was made to feel ashamed of being black. During those long years in Oakland Public Schools, I did not have one teacher who taught me anything relevant to my own life or experience. Not one instructor ever awoke in me a desire to learn more or to question or to explore the worlds of literature, science, and history. All they did was try to rob me of the sense of my own uniqueness and worth, and in the process nearly killed my urge to inquire.” 

He also had a troubled childhood; he was arrested several times as a teenager for gun possession and vandalism.

Huey was illiterate when he graduated from high school, but he taught himself to read and write by studying poetry before enrolling at Merritt College. 

During his time there, he supported himself by breaking into homes in Oakland and Berkeley Hills and committing other minor offenses. He also attended Oakland College and San Francisco Law School, ostensibly to improve his criminal skills.

He joined Pi Beta Sigma Fraternity while still a student at Merritt College and met Bobby Seale, a political activist and engineer. Huey also fought for curriculum diversification, the hiring of more black instructors, and involvement in local political activities in the Bay Area. 

In addition, he was exposed to a rising tide of Black Nationalism and briefly joined the Afro-American Association, where he studied Frantz Fanon, Che Guevara, Mao Zedong, E. Franklin Frazier, James Baldwin, Karl Marx, and Vladimir Lenin.

Huey had adopted a Marxist/Leninist viewpoint in which he saw the black community as an internal colony ruled by outside forces such as white businessmen, City Hall, and the police. In October 1966, he and Bobby Seale founded The Black Panther Party for self-defense, believing that the black working class needed to seize control of the institutions that most affected their community.

It was a coin toss that resulted in Newton becoming defense minister and Seale becoming chairman of the Black Panther Party. Newton’s job as the Minister of Defense and main leader of the Black Panther Party was to write in the Ten-Point Program, the founding document of the Party, and he demanded that blacks need the “Power to determine the destiny of our Black Community”. It would allow blacks to gain “Land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice, and peace.”

The Panthers took advantage of a California law allowing people to carry non-concealed weapons and established armed patrols that monitored police activity in the Black Community. 

One of the main points of focus for the Black Panther Party was the right to self-defense. Newton believed and preached that sometimes violence, or even the threat of violence, is required to achieve one's goals. 

Members of the Black Panther Party once stormed the California Legislature while fully armed in order to protest the outcome of a gun bill.

Newton also established the Free Breakfast for Children Program, martial arts training for teenagers, and educational programs for children from low-income families. 

The Black Panthers believed that in the Black struggle for justice, violence or the potential for violence may be necessary.

 The Black Panthers had chapters in several major cities and over 2,000 members. Members became involved in several shoot-outs after being harassed by police.

On October 28, 1967, the Panthers and the police exchanged gunfire in Oakland. Huey was injured in the crossfire, and while recovering in the hospital, he was charged with killing an Oakland police officer, John Frey. 

He was convicted of voluntary manslaughter the following year.

Huey was regarded as a political prisoner, and the Panthers organized a 'Free Huey' campaign led by Panther Party Minister Eldridge Cleaver. And Charles R. Geary, a well-known attorney who was in charge of Newton’s legal defense.

Newton was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter in 1968 and sentenced to 2-15 years in prison. However, the California Appellate Court ordered a new trial in May 1970. The conviction was reversed on appeal, the case was dismissed by the California Supreme Court, and Huey was acquitted.

Huey renounced political violence after being released from prison. Over a six-year period, 24 Black Panther members were killed in gunfights with the police. Another member, George Jackson, was killed in August 1971 while serving time in San Quentin Prison.

The Black Panther Party, under the leadership of Newton, gained international support. This was most evident in 1970 when Newton was invited to visit China. Large crowds greeted him enthusiastically, holding copies of "Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung," as well as signs supporting the Panther Party and criticizing US imperialism.

In the early 1970s, Newton's leadership of the Black Panther Party contributed to its demise. He oversaw a number of purges of Party members, the most famous of which was in 1971 when he expelled Eldridge Cleaver in what became known as the Newton-Cleaver split over the party's primary function.

Newton wanted the party to be solely focused on serving African-American communities, whereas Cleaver believed the party should be focused on developing relationships with international revolutionary movements. The schism resulted in violence between the factions and the deaths of several Black Panther members. The Black Guerrilla Family (BGF) was one of several factions that had broken away from the main party.

Then, in 1974, Newton was accused of assaulting a 17-year-old prostitute named Kathleen Smith, who later died, raising the charge to murder. Instead of facing trial, Huey fled to Cuba with his girlfriend at the time, where he remained for three years. The key witness in the trial was Crystal Gray. And three Black Panther members attempted to assassinate her before she gave her testimony.

Huey returned to the States in 1976 to stand trial but denied any involvement. The jury was deadlocked, and Newton was eventually acquitted after two mistrials.

In 1978, he enrolled in the History of Consciousness program at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and earned his Doctorate in 1980.

"War Against the Panthers: A Study of Repression in America," his dissertation, was later turned into a book.

On charges of embezzling Panther Party funds, Huey P. Newton was sentenced to 6 months in prison followed by 18 months on probation in 1982.

On August 22, 1989, Newton was assassinated by a member of the BGF, named Tyrone Robinson.

Huey was 46 years old at the time of his assassination. Robinson was convicted of Huey’s murder in 1991 and sentenced to 32 years to life in prison. 

His wife, Fredricka Newton, carried on his legacy. 'Revolutionary Suicide,' his autobiography, was first published in 1973 and then republished in 1995.

Huey Newton was not perfect, but he did fight to protect the rights of the Black Community. The rights that we're still fighting for today.

__

Previous

Ruby Bridges

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Henry "Box" Brown

___

My Sources

[atlaskrr]

Comics that resonate with me in an unexplainable way - a rec list

☆ amount represents how much is resonated with me (aka how obsessed i became or how deep i loved) which is a personal thing not a quality thing.

sorted by sections below ⬇️

Manga

Zeikin de katta hon☆☆☆ - delinquent wants to use library. OH NO! he needs to return a book he lost when he was child. welp. reimbursement time. he does (while embarrassed) and ends up working in the library in the process and growing as a person. messages relate to the books and library practices in the chapter.

pos: AUGHHHH. comforting, imformativs, beautiful messages, well-written characters that each carry a message, and makes you fall in love with libraries and books (you will appreciate librarians 10x more)

neg: some charas can feel exagerated and some jokes are repeated one too many times

Magmell shinkai suizokukan☆☆☆ - i wanna work in an aquarium! a well renowned first ever deep sea aquarium! and i am. just as a janitor. but its ok since i get to watch and learn about all these wonderful creatures. i hope people see how beautiful they are too. each chapter carries a message tied to the creature it covers.

pos: GOD DAMN the art is beautiful. informative on the deep sea, well written characters and their psychology, nice mystery build up along the slice of life, you will be enraptured by the "ugly" deep sea. will make you believe in yourself and your dreams and that you can always grow and improve

neg: some scenarios of the world dont make sense with how the creatures would usually behave, weird age gap side-story (did not happen and was handled responsibly but still)

Butai ni sake☆☆ - they said i sounded scary. what if everyone will misinterpret me again? im at a new school for hs. i got this. how can i learn to be more, less scary? wait what club is showcasing right now? the... threatre club? maybe thats the answer. chapters show the club preparing for plays!

pos: RELATABLE AF characters. the messages are strong throughout and all the showcase of what goes on in a theatre club is very accurate. it makes you fall in love with the art and if youre already a theatre kid like me, i think youll be impressed and find it relatable.

neg: besides the main 2 characters, side characters can feel underdeveloped. ESPECIALLY one of them. the ending is very open-ended on the romance that they kept on implying (though it mightve just been bait)

Yokai gakkou no sensei hajimemashita☆☆ - imagine the most pathetic man you can muster. now make him 100x more wimpy to the point hes hussled by kindergardners. thats the mc of yohaji abe haruaki! he became a shut-in after trying to teach at a school and getting scared away by delinquents. but wait! a family friend has let him work at a school. with its own island?! wow this is an amazing oppurtuni- ITS A SCHOOL FOR YOKAI?! starts out as comedy but plot and characters develop along the way

pos: AMAZING characters, well developed relationships, great development throughout the story overall, fun yokai trivia, and well incorparated comedy. also. GAY. like- well written abd casually. pretty art btw.

neg: humour can be repetitive and too questionable for some. lowk the mangakas kinks are slipping through into it 💀 the timeline of one year feels like its streching on for ATLEAST 2 with the amount of shit that happens. once again, lots of questionable things. like time travel age gap. or just age gap ship bait. or just the mc. he gets a pass tho.

Manwha

The makeup remover☆☆☆ - i am ugly. but im ok with that, i mean im just a photography student. but i guess i could try more... how does everybody just become beautiful? how do they learn? OMG HE FUCKED UP MY MAKEUP. wait whos this new random dude. and why is he asking me to be his model for a makeup competiton??? the story follows this duo in the makeup competition.

pos: AMAZING STORY. AMAZING MESSAGES. each character FEELS like a message. they're well written. it feels realistic. the makeup looks SO CREATIVE. the relationships between characters are developed well and the diverse cast of backgrounds allow for good subplots that make you CARE and think about the messages they carry as they resonate in your soul. it shows both the good and bad of makeup. realistic. truly.

neg: very vauge open ending on relationship front as they kept teasing multiple relationships and it just- no payoff. spme character backgrounds were not explored enough.

Sambong barbershop☆☆ - theres a virus spreading around to ugly people when they break. im scared ill be next. but then a cat steaps her watch, she follows it to a barbershop and- is that a humanoid cat?! smoking a cig?????? oh and a majestic dude who cut hair with gigantic scissors. blablabla she ends up working at a barbershop. sambong barbershop. it shows how one can grow as a person yet stay the same as the mc works at the barbershop.

pos: good message, complex charas (they can be assholely but theyre human), cool action scenes and fantasy elements, very realistic as, well youll see how the development goes if you read this comic.

neg: artstyle takes a while to grow on you and ending was- random. and ambig. also, because its very realistic it guves a more harsh vibe to the message rather than positivity (not a full downside tho). also the world-building is very unclear and vauge.

Surviving romance☆☆☆ - ive been isekaid into my favourite romance novel. ahh this is the life, ill get my happily ever after, who cares about those faceless extras. lalalala- ZOMBIE OUTBREAK??? I DIE?! wait. im. alive again. at the beginning of that day. WHATS GOING ON??? the story follows how she'll survive this nightmare by getting to know unknown extras she has never cared for along the way.

pos: AMAZING development throughout the story as always by lee yone. characters and relationships grow very well and the mystery us very well developed and hints are rlly good! as hidden yet visible as they need to be. the pacing was good and the artstyle is very charming. the visuals are also used very cleverly and creatively. you can even see hints in the first few scenes! also, friendship! and a good, hopeful message for anyone struggling.

neg: ending can feel very luck based. also very open-ended (personally part of the charm tho). also questionable age losgistics and some might not like the character attitude switch ups.

Peace restaurant☆ - the dimensions have all collapsed together, right in seoul. naturally, theres war over land. but one safe haven owned by a mysteriously strong and feared lady, is peace restaurant. the newly awakened demon king is ready to fly there and when he does- be gets beat up. and not by the warrior there- BUT BY THE LADY???? the story follows the growing mystery behind the mc and the "fight" agaisnt people who oppose her restaurant.

pos: love the mystery and found fam. fun exaggerated characters yet also clearly more depth hiding beneath that. love through cooking. comedy that grows plot my fav genre fr. also, very cool dishes and world. also good character and relationship development for one chara. also, HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS!

neg: other characters could be more well developed and complex. change can feel too fast suddenly accepted by the mc. the current arc (chap 26ish i think?) is dragging FAR longer than it needs to. could benefit from more realistic characters (though its probably a writing choice for the tone of the story)

Webtoon

Cursed princess club☆☆ - gwendolyn is beautiful, just like the rest of her siblings, everyone in her life thinks so. though her life in inside the palace due to her overorotective father. but when she and her sisters are set to get engaged to the plaid princes and her fiance calls her UGLY. her world shatters as she realizes hes right. she runs into the forest as she cries and WHATS THAT. she passes out and wakes up in a mansion with princesses having a tea party outside. huh. so this isnt a haunted forest? WAIT WHATS WITH THE LONG NOSE? AND HOLLOW EYES?? AND- LOBSTER HANDS???? she has just stumbled upon the cursed princess club. the story shows a journey of self improvement and self love.

pos: WAAAA I ACTUALLY CRIED AT THE ENDING. very well written characters that develop over time, creative curses and good foreshadowing. the subversion of tropes is PEAK. it has good callbacks, parallels, analogies, etc.

neg: i feel like many characters can be explored more, worldbuilding unclear, and cam often times focys on romance more than id like. humour is very often misplaced such as in serious scenes when they should be before or after the peak of tension instead of well- at the peak. some relationships and feelings feel- random? and also bad people are way too easily forgiven. i feel like there needs to be a line to the positive messaging on that front.

Maho shonen☆ - ahh magical girls. teenage girls with superpowers. ah! 2 guide are descending and- TWO FULLY GROWN MEN?! and the gaurdians are, well.... they're certainly not cutesy, on the inside at least. and the grown men? they're just plain horrid at their job. the only thing they gain from all this, is trauma! not like they're already stocked up on it. oh, and each other of course! the story shows how the two will get through this whole ordeal as well as their daily life.

pos: the story WILL grow on you. cool art, good trope subversions esp in the price of being a magical girl. explores the psychology of it all and has well written characters that deal with realistic issues. also very nice duo dynamic.

neg: the humour may not suit everyone as it can be a bit more mature. it does take a few eps to get good and grow on you.

Our walk home☆ - two academic rivals.... wait, why aren't they acting like rivals at all? they're even getting along? and finding things in common?! they're letting the masks slip. but their rivaling schools won't be happy to hear about this from their top students. afterall, no one from the two schools are allowed to be friends. the story shows how these two mask-wearing academic achievers get through life together. and maybe, just maybe, fall in love.

pos: VERY good exploration of identity and self-worth and VERY relatable. the characters are very well written and have simple yet recognizable designs, a cute dynamic between the mcs.

neg: honestly, i don't know. it just didn't attach to my soul. probably secondary character relationships could be further expanded on.

The bathroom ghost☆☆ - ghost are scary. but this ghost, is just REALLY BAD AT HER JOB! what's a ghost to do when she can't scare? and is stuck in a mall bathroom of all places? worse yet, the managers keep badgering her about it! this follows her hijinks.

pos: the COOLEST artstyle I've seen in a comic with a very fitting and unique feel. cool character design, simple, yet entertaining, comedy, great use of body language, hidden plot developing. mc is very endearing and so are the rest of the characters. it's just so feel-good and heartwarming.

neg: takes a few episodes to move on from episodic if you dislike that. honestly, i just need more. that's my only complaint. GIVE ME MORE VOLPEE

[shinesurge]

ALSO while we're on the topic of audiences and editing: i made some irl comic friends and they're both extremely Colorado Art School Kids, and my own storytelling education is "angry weird child trapped in appalachia making art out of necessity" so we run into a lot of fundamental differences in our approaches (WHICH is good and fine actually! i'm Learnin stuff). One of the biggest ones is oh my god, holy shit, creators have GOT to interact with audiences more.

One thing my Very Seriously Educated Comic Friend keeps wanting to help me with is that kc tends to be harder to parse because I don't hold the audience's hand, which y'all know is a thing I angst about a lot for various disorderly reasons. He's right! There are a lot of places I could improve in that regard. Mechanically. There's nothing for it as far as actual content goes; Kidd Commander deals with a lot of nuance and abstract concepts and there's not much to be done about that without compromising the story, which I personally won't do, so I've accepted it's better to lean into it rather than worry about appealing to a bad faith audience.

When I tell him this, that there's little sense in trying to dumb things down because there IS no point where that will work any better than it does now, we usually argue (like, the way that you argue about art over coffee). He thinks the goal here is much closer than it is, he's proposing a quick detour to the gas station instead of trying to land on the fucking moon lmao. It is. So SO clear that he (and most storytellers I talk to tbh) has only ever discussed storytelling with other educated artists and not the majority of actual comic readers/media consumers, who have never engaged with media analysis in their lives. Even when he's trying to discuss the theoretical Common Denominator Reader it sounds like this

When I quit interacting directly with The Webcomic Ecosystem for my own health I made the conscious decision to immerse myself into the reader side of things, specifically BECAUSE there are always going to be more Readers reading me than other writers, and I feel like that feedback is very valuable. I also want to understand another perspective that is different from mine! It's certainly got its pitfalls but there are a lot of positives that come from this and I do recommend it if you've got the stomach for it. I genuinely think one of the things that has improved my work and my relationship with it the most is spending a decade reading feedback from people who will never, ever, ever understand comics more complex than instagram pop psychology strips. Or relatives who don't understand how sequential pages work, or people who watch youtube Ending Explained videos, or readers who don't know what to do when a protagonist makes a bad decision. I ALSO went to school for storytelling, I was primed to have this exact problem and I did for a while. But being brought up isolated in a creative wasteland irl AND jumping directly from academic media analysis to the fucking webcomics reddit did a great job burning away a lot of that lmao. WE'RE the weird ones for writing papers about books, or caring to learn enough to create functional stories; this is a WEIRD WEIRD THING we are doing and it's important to know that so you can make informed decisions about your creative actions. Read the comments, be horrified, adjust expectations accordingly.

[perpetualexistence]

Alley Cats AU: What Eva Did

Eva has anger issues. That's not even a rumor worth talking about at school. It's just a fact.

Even before her official exile, others knew to stay clear of her. She'd either snap at others or be stoic. Everyone else just knew to let her pass if they saw her or risk her wrath.

It had always been like this since Eva could remember. She couldn't tell you what caused her anger issues. She had a pretty decent home life all things considered. She just knew that when something annoyed her, it frustrated her. And when it frustrated her, she wanted to scream and punch at the nearest thing.

"Just calm down." People always told her. "Count to ten. Take a deep breath and let it pass."

It never worked. A deep breath always became two, then ten, then became a lot more rapid and her exhales always end up becoming screams.

Her parents tried to help her express her anger through calming activities like painting and poetry. They stopped when they had to repair the damage of an easel being thrown into the wall. Nothing seemed to work.

Until high school when she found out about the girl's wrestling team. It looked really cool. Her parents were worried that this would only encourage her violent tendencies. But after enough pestering and more broken drywall, they decided to let her give it a shot.

And it worked. Letting out her frustrations in a controlled environment meant she could smack someone around but still have the sense not to take it too far. The adrenaline was going out naturally. It also led to her having to exercise more to stay fit. In its purest form, exercise is simply a way of tearing apart muscles in order to rebuild them stronger than before. It's destruction that's actually positive for once. And getting away from people to jog or exercise meant she could scream all she want. In fact, she found herself screaming less after a good morning jog.

Her stoic demeanor didn't change, as much as her parents would like it to. They wanted to see a daughter without anger issues and with plenty of friends. A calm, happy child. Which is what Eva was. Her calm involved a lot more screaming with a lot less potential for injuring people, and she was relatively happy with making semi-decent friends with her team mates. But it wasn't what her parents envisioned. And that pissed her off.

Anger issues don't just magically disappear. Eva still got triggered by things like people being stupid. She wanted to leave whenever it happened, but teachers would simply tell her to sit back down and not make a fuss. She tried using the only method she knew how, breathing deeply. Which almost always led to outbursts.

Another trigger of hers was being called dumb. She struggled with learning even without her anger issues. Her parents had tried tutors. Some were condescending. Some did genuinely mean well.

No tutor wanted to stay after getting yelled at or seeing her throw her book against the wall.

Combine all this with a reputation for getting angered easily and you have a certain group of students who find it hilarious to poke at her and watch her blow up. Even though things were changing for the better, it doesn't help when you're still in an environment actively seeking to trigger you.

And then, the worst happened. Some would call it inevitable. Even when it was completely preventable.

Eva had a bad day.

Her grades are in the gutters. She hasn't managed to find anyone willing to tutor her in weeks. She wouldn't give a shit about her grades except her coach has told her if she doesn't improve then she'll have to be benched. She can't get benched now because the most important match of the year is coming up. She's been looking forward to one of the few joys in her life. She can't let something as stupid as grades get in her way. But if she wants help at this point, she'll have to beg for it. And she hates begging. It's pathetic, and Eva is not pathetic. Everything is coming to a boiling point and she still has to drag herself to class by class. She has to suck this up. She can't fuck this up. She can't let the world fuck this up for her just like it has everything else.

She's seeing red, so she goes after the nearest red thing she sees. A brick wall. She punches it and she knows she's making a spectacle. She punches it and she knows her knuckles are going to be torn to shreds. She punches it because she has to. She can't stop, even if she wanted to. All this anger needs to come out, and this is the way it has to be then so be it.

She can see other students surrounding her like they're watching a caged lion ripping apart a gazelle. She can feel them staring, making comments. She knows this is going to be their gossip of the day. It makes her want to act like a lion as she screams louder and keeps punching that wall. The red is coming from her knuckles now and she can't bring herself to care. She can and will make it through this one way or another.

She's barely able to acknowledge when one girl breaks through the crowd and tries to ask others to give her space that they'll never yield. Bridgette approaches her with nothing but good intentions. She puts an arm on Eva's shoulder and asks if she's okay.

Neither girl knows what a rage attack is. Neither girl knows that at this point, at the peak, the only thing Eva can do is ride it through until she's tired herself out. Neither girl knows just how horrible of an idea it is to get closer to someone during a rage attack. An even worse idea to touch them and make them feel as if there's no way out.

One girl just sees another hurting herself and wants to help.

Breaking things always helped Eva feel better.

Bridgette's arm was a thing.

Eva's not the only one screaming anymore.

It takes two security officers to take her down and drag her away.

It takes a miracle, plus a lot of bribery, in order to keep Eva from being expelled. She's also lucky that despite what Eva did, Bridgette is still too kind to press charges.

Still, she can't completely avoid consequences for sending another student to the hospital. She's kicked off the wrestling team. None of the girls want to spar, train, or even hang out with her now that they know how far she's willing to go. The coach agrees that keeping her on the team would make the team look bad to other schools. Everyone at school is either scared of or hates her. Nobody is willing to say as much to her face. Those who had fun with provoking her run at the sight of her in fear that they're next. Even the teachers are terrified of her. Some going as far as to start giving her better grades to keep her happy. She does feel bad for what she did to Bridgette, but she has no idea how to apologize because non-rage feelings are hard. Not that it matters. No one else will let her get remotely close to Bridgette. Others will try to block Eva's path or will usher Bridgette away.

Everyone ostracizing her combined with not having outlet of wrestling just leads her to get even angrier. The angrier she gets, the more scared others get. She's at least aware enough of what's about to happen again and doesn't want another repeat of Bridgette, so she runs to take out her frustration in an abandoned alley far away from people.

That's how Noah finds her.

He knows what happened because even though no one told him directly, he's not deaf. The two have never really interacted with each other before now. They ran in different circles.

And now Eva's in the last place he really has to call his own, absolutely wrecking it. Which, to be fair, isn't really changing it too much. Logic says the best thing to do would be to leave her alone and find somewhere else to read. Except this alley is his somewhere else to read. He's not about to give it up. Besides, his interactions with Justin are proof that he clearly has no self preservation instincts. So to deal with her he goes.

Noah's actually the best person to help her out in this situation. He doesn't try telling her to calm down or react with fear or aggression. His monotone voice doesn't trigger her and he's not stupid enough to get closer. She shouts at him and he doesn't yield (the perks of having eight older siblings). So she rants while still destroying shit, but unlike Bridgette, Noah comes out of this interaction unscathed as she successfully calms herself down.

Noah does feel bad for her despite his reputation as a little bundle of hate. Still, he lets her know that he's not about to let her do whatever she wants with his alley. He's expecting her to try tossing him out of his alley, but she doesn't really give a shit about that. Nor does she give a shit about bullying him because of what he did to Justin. It's not her problem, and she's got her own shit to deal with.

And, well, Noah's got no idea how to help her, nor does he really care to. So long as she doesn't plan on beating him up or throwing him out, he's got no problems with sharing the alley.

Noah reads, Eva exercises. She manages to bring a punching bag into the alley while Noah actually makes a little pseudo-bookshelf of books he's ferreted away from the library. Sometimes it's just Eva by herself unleashing all her rage. Other times it's just Noah reading by himself. When they're together, they hang out in comfortable silence. Neither one forces conversation. It happens anyways, bit by bit.

Eva actually has somewhere she can just relax for once. In return for the company, she starts threatening to whale on anyone who tries screwing with Noah. This doesn't help with Noah's social exile, but it does stop all the physical bullying that'd been happening.

Noah even agrees to actually tutor Eva as thanks for the bully protection. She still gets frustrated, but he's patient enough to wait her out. It leads to her getting less frustrated during tutoring. There's still the thrown book here or there, but her recovery gets quicker. Her grades do start improving. They start talking to one another in the hallways between classes. Sometimes about small things. Sometimes it's just Noah doing yet another hating Justin rant and Eva begrudgingly listening.

All of this has the unintended consequence of rumors spreading that Eva and Noah were dating.

Eva didn't really care enough to say anything. But she'd be willing to throw hands if Noah wanted her to. Noah didn't see a reason to try to stop them because that would just make people think they were trying to cover it up. (Besides, if he was passing as straight then no one would ever think that he once had a thing for Justin.) So they let others think whatever while they were content with being friends.

They weren't Alley Cats yet, but they were two mangy cats in an alley. They were content to leave it like this.

And then Krazy Glue happened.

<- What Noah Did | AU Masterpost | What Izzy Did ->

[So, this one took a little while! Not only because Sea Monster AU pushed it back. I knew that Eva's character arc was going to center around her anger issues. They're a central part of her character, even though canon doesn't take it much farther than 'watch Eva wreck shit'. Given that I in no way have experience with anger issues, I wanted to make sure I took the time to research anger issues and people's lived experiences with them. This post in particular was a major help. I HIGHLY encourage you to read it. It goes into what actually helps people with anger issues, as well as how you can support friends with anger issues. It also goes into what a rage attack is, which I'd had no idea was a thing going into writing this. I do sincerely hope in my portrayal of Eva's rage attack I portrayed the fact that neither her nor Bridgette was in the wrong. It was an unfortunate accident caused by circumstances outside of their control. Eva's not at fault or broken for lashing out or getting angry. But it is Eva's responsibility to make amends for causing harm to someone else. Her character arc's going to be internalizing the fact that she really isn't just 'the girl with anger issues', learning healthier ways of dealing with them (some of which she's already doing even though she doesn't fully recognize that yet), and making amends when her anger issues do cause harm without demonizing her for causing it in the first place. Normally I'd put this blurb in its own little post, but I wanted to include it here because I do think sharing the post on anger issues is important, and that there should probably be context surrounding it, too. Also, if you do find genuine issue in any way I've portrayed this, PLEASE let me know so I can fix it.]

[thrilling-oneway]

Idk why but it feels like they’re dropping the ball with everything tsukasa related recently. Do they just not know what to do with him anymore?

Nah, I think the previous Tsukasa event was really good, I think this time they just. Needed an event here and he was the only viable option. They're doing two events for every troupe and Nene is obviously gonna be the opera house and they're clearly planning something with Rui too so yeah. Tsukasa. Honestly I think this event could have been really good for him if the writing was better.

Like. They say in i think it was chapter 1 that he needs to learn to act physically in character. Like sure he can run around and do stunts and swordfight but can he do all of that as someone else? It's a pretty interesting thing to look at. Only they rely heavily on plot convenience to show his development. Like they bring up core strength (this is consistent with past stories) and flexibility (this is not consistent at all) as things he needs to work on, then drop these in favour of parkour and how fast he can run?? I understand that the parkour was smth he needed to do for a show, but couldn't do so he was disatisfied with his performance. That's totally in-character and makes even more sense when you read his card story and realise he already lost out on the lead role (shaking colopale WHY DID YOU LEAVE THAT IN THE CARD STORY). But the running is literally Not Relevant at all and only exists as a conflict for plot convenience with the plot device thief charatcer.

The issue is that the thief thing is too... Plot device-y. Yeah yeah wxs typical funny shenanigans but ultimately Tsukasa doesn't really learn much because while he learns the stunt in the end it just... Is completely disconnected from his acting. He improves the running and the parkour but does it as himself, and while the people mistake it for being part of the show and he has to improv, this is after he did all that. So he didn't learn how to do physical theatre in-character... And if the writers decided that it was in-character for the role, Tsukasa has gone back to acting characters similar to himself so again not really learning anything new. There's a really good scene with Daigo in chapter 5 or 6 where he talks about how he figuratively hit a wall and that was kinda the highlight of the event for me (aside from emunene crumbs in Nene's card story lol, and this one shoutout to how much Tsukasa trusts his friends in ch7).

Also they completely forget the thief as soon he's caught lol. Turns out he was a kleptomaniac ex-troupe member but they literally don't bring it up until partway through chapter in in a scene that quite literally begins with "So did you find out who the thief was?". Or something along those lines I'm paraphrasing. It wasn't good asfhsgsdjsjks

I think they do know what they're doing with Tsukasa and what I have read of Star of the Story makes it pretty clear. Tsukasa's current thing is improving in different aspects, like playing smaller roles like in SotS (which he still needs to work on iirc), but it felt like they didn't really know what to do with this event specifically, well they did they just executed it badly and used plot convenience so it could even happen. Oh well maybe this will play into a future Rui event somehow considering he was the one who said he thought Tsukasa needed to work on his core strength for stunts like. Ages ago. Not that Tsukasa worked on his core in this event but WHATEVER I NEED TO STOP COMPLAINING.

Tsukasa6 will probably be in the next wxs arc so they'll probably be back to more relevant stuff for then. Especially since that arc will probably be the "Rui and Tsukasa realise they are going to graduate high school soon and Tsukasa has mentioned multiple times in supplementary materials that he wants to go abroad at some point and they kinda need to work out what they're gonna do and how this will affect wxs" arc (or as I've been calling it: wxs disbandment arc 2 <peggle 2 gif attachment>). So that's fun. But yeah I think they know what they're doing they just needed to pad for time here so Daigo's troupe got two events.

[disdaidal]

Giving you a character: Billy, of course. :p

Of course, Billy Hargrove was to be expected :D

How I feel about this character: I have strong and complicated feelings about this character. He's a bad boy, the kind of guy I would have absolutely hated in high school but also the kinda guy who would not be boring at least. :D He's loud and obnoxious and parties like an animal, but his taste in music is impeccable (I love rock and metal and music from the 80's and I will not take criticism for that). He's got pretty eyes (that curly mullet is... well, let's say, H&M did it better <3), a nice body and a great fashion sense (denim-on-denim and leather jackets ftw) and he drives a Chevrolet Camaro from '79 like a madman. He can also be pretty funny when he wants to be, ridiculous even. So, what's not to like really? :P

All the people I ship romantically with this character: I mostly ship him with Steve, Eddie and Argyle (the last two are totally crack and fanon but who gives). I think Billy and Heather could've been hot, more than friends, maybe even friends-with-benefits if not an actual couple. Just sayin'. I've seen some great headcanons, maybe even fanart of Billy and Chrissy and I think, you know, the princess and metalhead setting could've worked with them, too.

As for my most 'problematic' Billy ship, I actually really like Billy and Hopper. There's this whole daddy kink thing involved I suppose. Lowkey my favorite crackship Ted and Billy as well. :P I'm also very supportive of Billy and El in general, I think the actors had great chemistry in s3 and I can see why some ship them, so I suppose I lowkey ship them (in spirit), too.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Though I ship Billy and Heather romantically, I also love seeing them as 'gay besties', supporting each other and protecting each other. It's one of my favorite headcanons in this fandom. Same goes for Chrissy I suppose, if not romantically involved.

Though Billy had his issues with Max, maybe even than beyond just normal 'sibling-ship', I still enjoyed their relationship a lot. It's clear that they spent a lot of time together (whether they actually hated it or not), and that they deeply cared for each other.

My unpopular opinion about this character: The majority of the fandom seems to think (or at least acts like) Billy is the worst character in the show and at least used to actively bully and harass Billy fans and shippers (his actor got his fair share of that also I hear). Though Billy was definitely not the nicest character or even particularly 'goody-good' (he was a bully and quite shitty at times actually), acting like he's worse than Dr. Brenner, for example, is bullshit. We clearly did not watch the same show.

Also, for other Billy fans... He might be your baby, but he's not an actual baby. He's not really your son or child and you don't need to 'protect' him from the haters who can't separate fiction from reality (just block them) or tw/anti Karen or any other character you don't like in favor of Billy (you're no better). Billy can also be shipped with characters other than Steve (male or female, older and younger, even self-inserts) and just because you don't like it, doesn't make the ship automatically 'problematic'. It just means there are people out there who like different things than you and you need to learn to suck it up and look away. It's for the best.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon. That Billy wouldn't have faced such gruesome death. He wasn't a good guy, but he didn't deserve to die, especially so young. I also wish we could've seen what really happened between him and Max between seasons 2 & 3 because clearly their relationship improved there. Such wasted potential.

[mislamicpearl]

Thoughts about Ninjago DR S2 eps 18-20 (finale):

I'll put the summary here so the spoilers can stay hidden. Overall, I think this might be my favorite part of Dragons Rising so far. So many things have been improved upon by leagues from season 1, with the villains being more likable, the setting and plot way more interesting, the new characters growing into their own, no more filler side plots, even the humor is better. While of course it wasn't flawless it is finally making me excited and eager to see the next season, rather than cautious and apprehensive, and not even just because I want to see the OG characters, but because I'm genuinely invested in the new gen ones.

And now for the spoilers:

Lmao Zeatrix went all uwu suddenly with that apology. But it is nice to see she's not an all the way bad person like her sister (maybe). Wonder what she'll do now?

Wyldfyre schooling her on how to apologize was so cute haha. And her suggestion of punishment hilarious. (Also when are we going to get more about how she grew up??)

It's fun seeing Wyldfyre and Arin as a duo together (despite how sad it is that Arin is still rebuffing Sora).

"Normal people lock doors. I was raised by dragons and even I know that." So many good Wyldfyre moments in this episode.

Okay Lloyd is unconscious but Zane and Cole are RIGHT THERE to help you instead Sora, you know they're spinjitzu masters too right? Heck they LITERALLY used to be teachers at one point!

Aw, Frak is a good boy actually, I like him.

The way Sora balanced on her tiptoes at the edge like that was cool haha

When Jordana handed Sora the note with the math equation on it my sister said "Sora, help me with my homework", and for some reason that made me and my other sister crack up so much we had to pause the video.😆

Yeah knew it, Roby was a red herring, of course the old guy who likes tradition is the bad one.🙄

Ahahaha Arin jumping on the exercise ball and it launching away was too real. XD

I'm not a fan of shows making young characters not know what older technology is, so I was glad that Arin called it a rotary phone, BUT it was also funny when Wyldfyre said she still doesn't know what they are because in HER case it actually makes sense.

Also my sisters reminded me that Lloyd, who's likely close to a decade older than Arin, didn't know what a VHS tape is, which makes it even funnier.

Woah woah woah what the heck that evil lair was DISTURBING, bro wants to murder his own nephew!

Love we're still continuing the joke that no one can remember Jordana's name.

Yooooo Lloyd saw Arin betraying him in a vision!😭 This boy is going to get traumatized worse than Wu with Morro.

Oh okay, Cole temporarily got his powers back through the Chekhov's gun mech, sure. I mean it's not the first time characters have gotten their powers back after losing them just through sheer will, and you know what, this isn't even the worst way it's been done, so whatever. Also guess the mech really did belong to Lilly.

Lloyd used wind!!! That feels SO satisfying somehow. Just imagine Morro's reaction if he'd seen. XD

Yikes, freaky mask...

Wyldfyre is a smart cookie with that switcheroo.

Oh my gosh, Cole's reaction to seeing Wu was so sweet, he missed him so much.😭

He really asked if he died omg

Sora's apology to Jordana was so sweet, I hope she heard it all.

Zur is revealed to actually be a very nice guy haha. (Had to search up his name though, seriously why are all the names of the new characters so unintelligible?)

I like that Arin feeling even more betrayed that Lloyd didn't immediately leave Sora's fight to deal with his revelation that Wu caused the merge, felt believable; he's young and already not in a good mental space right now, and mixed with his anger at Sora and not having learned proper spinjitzu from Lloyd, it's no wonder he'd feel especially bitter towards Lloyd not giving him more credence in favor of helping Sora, the new golden child, even if that's not what Lloyd was doing. Like really, Arin's whole "turning to the dark side" arc is written crazy good!

Lmao why was Geo cheering Nokt's win??

Nothing like making sure the audience knows your new protagonist is better than the old ones by having the previous protagonist tell her so. Hey I know that's just Lloyd trying to be a good teacher by encouraging her after her loss but still, that line felt kinda self-indulgent on the writers' part.

What do you know, someone evil took all the powers and stopped you from taking them back with the cup, Roby. Actually, what's the point in giving all the powers to the winner in the end when they're gonna return to their original owners anyway? It's not like they'd need them to fight.

So uhhh was it PLANNED by Nokt and Rox for Sora the tech master to be their final opponent? Cause there's no way they could've known that (especially considering her first match was rigged to sway in her opponent's favor), much less that she would've used her powers to remove the shock collar thingy.

DANG Ras not holding back with that warhammer, that looked painful! XD

Nya came back! Without Jay but I'm glad she's not missing the finale.

Again, Frak is a good boy. He deserved to say that "ninja go"

"I sincerely detest rising dragon" lmao at that line delivery XD

Oh my God Roby, how long does it really take to activate that cup thing?? Stop talking and just do it!

THAT 360 FIGHT AGAINST NOKT WAS SO COOL!

"How did you learn perfect spinjitzu?" "Not from you." BRO I KNOW I WANTED ARIN TO THROW IT IN HIS FACE BUT THAT WAS SO COOOOLD!!😩

Okayyy see Wyldfyre roaring in Roby's face instead of going for the kiss? That's more in character for her and really funny. And Roby just going with it? Very sweet.Still, glad this is going to stay a long distance relationship.

KAAAAIIII! Kai coming to save their butts! Kai soloing Nokt! Kai saying "don't you dare touch her"!!!

Nokt really said he would end Kai with his own daughter's powers, I can't

Love Euphrasia taking out Cinder immediately after they got their powers back. XD Good girl!

I really felt Lloyd and Sora's heartbreaking cries for Arin, it's just like seeing a father and daughter losing their son/brother.😭

Awwww the group hug tackle on Kai!

But... I'm a little disappointed Kai and Cole couldn't get their own moment together, since they're reuniting for the first time after the merge.

Aww but the Cole and Bonzle hug was cute.

Look, I don't dislike Sora as a character or anything, but calling her the "greatest elemental master of the merged realms" isn't sitting right with me. She only won by default against Nokt, without even knowing rising dragon technique, and probably would've lost to Frak too if he hadn't had a change of heart. The entire tournament was purposefully written so that she'd be the winner; Nya would've beaten Nokt if Blekt hadn't cheated, and Lloyd was disqualified for being injured, not even to speak again of how Zane was taken out like garbage for no reason in the first round, without it even having been rigged like Cole's game was. Maybe this wouldn't bother me so much if Sora wasn't designed to look so obviously appealing to the "new gen" crowd with her pink-haired catgirl thing going on, I mean she looks just like an overly designed fan OC, but the fact that she's a child genius, and always being told by others how amazing she is - except of course by the people who were completely wrong about her and were getting in the way of her potential - and now being celebrated as "the best" mostly by circumstance... is kinda making her dangerously close to becoming a special snowflake in my book.

Oh hey it's Frohicky lol. Can't say I really felt his absence.🤷‍♀️

Love that Kai promised Nya they'd find Jay together, best big brother for real.

Lloyd already putting Arin's picture up like he departed, what is it with these ninja overreacting 🤣

*chants* ev-il Ar-in ev-il Ar-in!

[nothorses]

Oh god, thank you, like if we did assume anon comes from a good place we understand where anon comes from but also like...yea nothings going to help if we don't like, Have A Replacement and you definitely know more than us about this one.

If it's alright to ask: we're wondering if you have any sort of knowledge that could be passed onto us (and others in a situation like ours) to mitigate that?

For more specific context, people definitely sing their praises to IEPs a lot and we saw someone mention them somewhere, but we have very unfortunately been on the end of it where it has been used as a vehicle for oppression and ableism anyways (WE PROMISE those twitter threads will be moved here to Tumblr we just haven't done it yet sory sksksk), because we had abusive parents who were "only" emotionally abusive if that makes sense.

We understand IEPs are helpful to lots of folks but it can be isolating as all fuck when praise is all people do rather than look at some of the tiny nuances or the ways people use it to keep the status quo instead of helping folks. Like how it was used as an extension of Autistic conversion "therapy" / applied behavioral analysis "therapy" when we had to put up with it.

Nutshell/TLDR: how do people use what they have learned to improve education when they didn't really. Learn anything. And how to bring attention to some of the things that nobody wants to talk about without sounding like we're being dismissive. We're so burnt out here when it comes to discussing any education system before university. Please share your wisdom (but only if you want to)!

I am not like, The Expert here, but I will offer some thoughts! Just take them with a grain of salt; I don't know everything, and I could always be missing things.

I will say that IEPs/504 plans are of particular interest to me right now, and imo, the problem is pretty broad and pretty deep.

My own personal context is that my brother was diagnosed with ADHD before even starting school, was put in SpEd early on, and had some pretty traumatic experiences because of that (we picked him up from school once to find him in an isolation room- a closet with one bulletproof window in the door carpeted floor-to-ceiling- because he had acted out in class. In first grade). He believed wholeheartedly that he was incapable of controlling himself, and he developed extremely low self-esteem. I don't know if no diagnosis would have been any better for him, but his diagnosis and "accommodations" (iirc he had an IEP) actively did him harm.

I, on the other hand, was not diagnosed with ADHD until I was 22, and I had to go out and do it myself. I had struggled with school my whole life, I had been in shouting matches with my mom about it, I have trauma about it, and I developed a different kind of low self-esteem around being told I was "choosing" to fail. Once I was medicated, my grades suddenly shot up, my GPA shot up, and I got into a pretty damn good grad school about it. I'm left wondering how things might have been different for me if I'd been understood as someone who was trying but struggling, and who needed support, rather than someone who was not trying at all.

I also don't think it's reasonable to expect that every disabled kid is going to be identified by the system, which is what most teachers seem to think is the issue: that they aren't good enough at armchair diagnosing 6-year-olds yet. It's just not gonna happen. Someone will be missed, and they shouldn't have to struggle alone because nobody else realized what they were struggling with.

Imo, what we need to be pushing for most urgently is universal accommodations, available without any need for diagnosis, disclosure, or anything else: Buckets of fidgets kids can grab whenever, alternative seating options, built-in breaks and frequent snacks, no penalties for late work/tardiness/absences, no graded tests, etc. (I would also like to see more project-based learning & growth-oriented grading, personally!)

As far as learning more: I can recommend some readings to start, and I'll link them here. They're also pretty dense; the grad school recommendation is to read the intro and conclusion in full, and just read the first and last sentence of every paragraph aside from that.

Here's the big folder (which I need to update) of all of the education-related readings I have ever been assigned. I recommend specifically searching "disability" and "democratic"/"democracy"; those will probably be the most relevant to what you're interested in.

Some good starting points:

Leonardo, Broderick (2011) - Smartness as Property: A Critical Exploration of Intersections Between Whiteness and Disability Studies

Carolen, Guinn (2007) - Differentiation: Lessons from Master Teachers

Alverman (2001) - Reading Adolescents' Reading Identities: Looking Back to See Ahead

Veletsianos, Houlden (2020) - Radical Flexibility and Relationality as Responses to Education in Times of Crisis

[astarzzlv]

Headcanons of Princess Estelle's life at government school? How did each of those headcanons shape her?

Hii! I'm so glad you asked cuz idk where to put these info in my story (⁠〒⁠﹏⁠〒⁠)

Reminder: Estelle only keeps in touch with a few of her primary school friends. The bonds weren’t super strong since she didn’t have much time to hang out with them, and after primary school, she was sent off to a private school. So, most of her interactions were just at school.

Also, in government primary school, there were subjects that weren’t taught as thoroughly as in private schools, like advanced foreign languages, basic business and creative arts (like music, drama, etc). To keep up, Estelle had tutors come over to the palace to help her out. So, while she learned a lot about blending in with commoners, she also had to balance that with her royal education.

Positive:

1. Learned to blend in with commoners

Going to a government school helped Estelle connect with all kinds of students from different backgrounds. It really opened her eyes and helped her understand and relate to people outside her royal life, making her a bit more down-to-earth.

2. Toughened up against judgement

Once her classmates found out she was a princess, the gossip started flying. This taught her how to brush off negativity and focus on the real friendships in her life, which made her more resilient.

3. She improved her communication skills

To fit in with her classmates, Estelle learned to drop the royal act and speak more casually. This helped her become a better listener and communicator, which is super important for her future.

4. Appreciated authentic friendships

Estelle learned to value people for who they are, not what they have.

5. Gained a sense of independence

Estelle had to figure things out on her own, which was a big change for her. She couldn’t rely on her status or authority to get by, so she learned to navigate situations by herself. This helped her develop a sense of independence that she values now.

6. Honed Her Wit and Humor

Estelle picked up on how her classmates joked around, which helped her develop her own sense of humor. She learned to use wit and sarcasm to connect with others and diffuse tense situations, making her more relatable and helping her fit in better. It also gave her a way to express herself that didn’t always involve her royal persona. (now you know where she learned how to cuss like a pro)

Negative:

1. Faced envy and fear

Some classmates were jealous of her, some got scared of her status as a princess, which made things awkward. Estelle had to be careful about who she trusted, leading to a feeling of isolation even when she was around people.

2. Pressure to hide her identity

Keeping her royal identity a secret was tough. It made her feel like she had to hide parts of herself, leading to frustration when she couldn’t just be herself.

3. Dealt with fake friendships

She thought this would only happen in private school. But no, Estelle ran into a lot of people who just wanted to be friends because of her wealth. This taught her a hard lesson about trust and made her more guarded around new people.

4. Struggled with her identity

Attending a school where she had to hide her royal background left her feeling conflicted. She often felt like she was walking a tightrope between being a royal and wanting to fit in.

5. Misunderstood as the teacher’s pet

She often got labeled as the teacher's pet, with rumors flying that she paid them off for good grades. That really frustrated her because she was putting in the effort, and it made her feel like no one recognized her hard work.

6. Accusations of favoritism

Estelle constantly dealt with rumors of favoritism, which added a lot of pressure. She felt like everyone was watching her, making school even more challenging.

Estelle's time in government primary school really helped her understand commoners better and appreciate their struggles. But it also opened her eyes to a harsh truth: it doesn’t matter what your background is; anyone can become a villain or betray you. That realization was tough, but it made her wiser and more cautious in her relationships. Despite that, she still believes in the goodness of people and knows that true friendship is about loyalty and trust, regardless of status. Ultimately, she learned that while some may let her down, there are still genuine connections to be made <3

[bcbdrums]

🍓🕯️🔪

"🍓 ⇢ how did you get into writing fanfiction?"

well. one day in 2004 when visiting my cousin in the hospital after her car accident. i missed an episode of Bonanza, due to...you know, being at the hospital. this was back in ye olden days of TV guides, recording things on VCR's, and....no....wikis.... not like we have now. no sites to tell you everything, no screencaps, no youtube... and ye olde dial-up internet days. and anyway.... the TV guide descrip made that episode sound thrilling. and...and i just had to know!

and i knew... i remember, knowing in my heart. that if i went online and tried to find out what happened. i'd never get off the computer again. well, i was right. the short conclusion to this tale is i found specific Bonanza fansites loaded with fanfiction!!! and i devoured it. i wanna say within the same month? i was hand-writing fanfic in spiral notebooks for Bonanza. still have that spiral notebook and that unfinished fic, literally locked in a treasure chest. and i still remember the entire plot, what i planned to do with it... yeah.

no, i never did find out what was in that episode i missed/didn't get to record... like i said, no wikis or anything of that nature... (we had to leave from school that day so i didn't get to go home and program the VCR; i'd not known that morning we'd be going to the hospital later.) and they didn't re-run the episode again... so i've still not seen it... but, i started writing fanfic that summer. a defining moment in my life. and yes, my cousin is well!

"🕯️ ⇢ on a scale from 1 to 10, how much do you enjoy editing? why is that?"

ohhh, hmmm... idk if i could scale it. maybe right in the middle, a 5 or 6? this will make more sense if i describe my process perhaps.

so if i'm really in the writing zone, i just...plow ahead until i'm finished. and then i go back and edit. when i'm "in the zone" oftentimes i don't see things that could genuinely be improved by better phrasing, better language choices... they just elude me cuz i'm so hyperfixated on the story and it's so clear in my head, so, of course it's great on the page! (example: Forfeit was written this way.) usually i then just quickly fix obvious typos/grammar things and toss the fic into the void. then i'll return a few months later when it's no longer fresh, and then see soooo many things that could be better, and depending on my mood i'll go back and heavily edit, or, i won't.

the other process... if i'm not "in the zone" usually i write a few lines, get stuck, and to get myself unstuck i go back and edit what i've done. fixing things, adding things... and usually once those few lines are edited i have the next ones ready to be written in my head. it's a slower process overall.

editing for other people is a whole different ball game. i love doing that (as long as i'm in the mood/have the energy/time) because it helps me refine my writing craft too, in trying to assist someone with a totally different style than mine. it's great. and i've edited/beta-read for so many diff people now with such a variety of styles it's really making me more aware of my own, and how it's changed over the years. and i also just enjoy helping people.

the idea of something getting better just appeals to me i guess. it's a good feeling, it's productive. so in that sense, i enjoy editing. if i feel really stuck on a project, then it can become just another slow-down however. that would be the only negative i suppose.

"🔪 ⇢ what's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?"

haha, already answered this in a prior ask but i'll choose a different one.

i spent days learning how to waltz properly. all the techniques, and the process by which one learns... to write one character teaching another character, very, very methodically. and apparently i did it well, i received a comment about it from someone who actually waltzes professionally if i remember correctly who was very pleased with my writing of it! can i waltz? or dance at all? no, no i cannot. but i could probably talk someone else through how to learn!

thank you SO much for the ask!!! ^_^

[amtrak12]

Hey hi! I read your Helena Wells meta earlier, from ten years ago, and I found it so interesting and spot on, and at the end you were so sad that you felt like you didn't have a good grasp on the character - do you feel that has changed, since then? And if so, how? Or, what do you think of Helena these days?

(the meta you posted and linked here: https://www.tumblr.com/purlturtle/736985181321314304/your-helena-tangent-got-me-thinking-and-yes-this )

Oooo fun and deep questions! :D Thank you!!

Obviously, that was 2.5 high schools ago so I had to reread my original meta to refresh my memory. My first thought is: OMFG LEARN PARAGRAPH BREAKS!! O_O But then, as I kept reading and saw how many spaces were missing after periods and how the sentences after the missing space read like a new paragraph -- my second thought is, I think Tumblr did me dirty at some point in the last 10 years of formatting changes and I actually did use appropriate paragraph breaks originally. Rude. -_-

But on the point of your actual questions! lol

I don't remember writing that exact post, but being nervous and uncertain about my Helena characterization does ring a bell. I was DEFINITELY more confident in analyzing/meta-ing Myka or Pete (if it was in relation to Myka). HG made me nervous and that was only like 10% because she's British and I'm American.

Some of my uncertainty probably came from my lack of historical knowledge (which has not improved. Fun fact: this is why I nearly never invented an artifact for fic). A not-insignificant portion of my uncertainty probably also came from how confident the rest of the fandom spoke about Helena. It seemed like she was meta-ed more often and by more people than Myka was. (Which makes sense as -- in general -- Helena was/probably still is the more popular character in the B&W ship.) I don't remember ever feeling like someone was way off base or out of character with Helena, but I do remember reading meta/fic sometimes and struggling to decide if I disagreed with a character trait/action that the person assigned her or if it was an accurate aspect of Helena's character that I hadn't internalized yet.

Basically I had Opinions about how Myka (and Pete for that matter) should be written and definitely noticed when a fic disagreed with me. But figuring out HG was like the wild west to me and I could never pin her down with firm barriers on who her character is and isn't.

I am very, very rusty on my Warehouse 13 knowledge because it's been nearly a decade since I was deep in my analyzation of the show. So, I wouldn't say I have a better grasp on Helena's characterization today than I did in 2014. But there are some aspects I feel like I could understand better if I took the time to rewatch and meta.

Loss of a child -- look I don't have children, but I do have niblings now that I adore. I'm also raising a dog who taught me I do not have the energy or anxiety coping mechanisms to raise a human child, because worrying about her almost does me in on its own. And I'm in my mid-30's now and seem to have a better understanding of parent-child relationships (or I'm at least way more interested in exploring them now, both from the view of the child and the view of the parent). So, exploring Christina's death and just how much that affected Helena would absolutely be on my list of deep-dives. I never ignored this before, but I'm certain I could pull more out of this backstory today than I could've in 2014.

Helena's guilt -- I started rambling at the end of that post about which things Helena felt guilty about and whether she felt guilty at all. As far as I remember, I usually wrote her as feeling some measure of guilt for her past actions. (Although I was also usually writing full AU settings so it was a moot point.) But I also wasn't wrong when I pointed out how she didn't show any obvious signs of regret over her S2 actions, unless it was something that had hurt Myka. If I was going to go back and meta WH13, I would explore this topic deeper for sure.

Interestingly, it's not something I could've explored deeper prior to 2022-ish. But now I've watched the series Lucifer which deals entirely with guilt and has a protagonist with shut down emotions who doesn't regret things and then, through incremental changes over 6 seasons, opens up, learns to feel every emotion again, unpacks a lot of shit etc. And I have been FASCINATED by how the writers pulled that off, because on the surface it is not a show (or a protagonist) that I should care about. (And if I had watched it from ep 1.01 instead of completely ass backwards, I wouldn't have cared about him.) BUT I DO CARE! And I want to know how they pulled off Lucifer's character arc. And then I want to use some of the techniques they used to explore guilt and pain and apply them to Helena to see what emerges in her character. Because I think it would be really interesting.

And then finally, I'm not sure I have anything new to bring to the conversation around what Helena's future with the warehouse and/or happy ending looks like. But I could also never make up my mind on what would work best for her. Does she return as an agent? Does she become a regent? (Probably not, but you never know.) Does she just become the live-in inventor who doesn't venture into the field unless absolutely necessary? I have absolutely no idea what her future with the warehouse would look like if a romantic relationship with Myka is her happy ending. (Which is my personal goal obviously lol).

Because -- and this is where my Opinions on Myka come into play -- our girl Myka Bering is not leaving that warehouse. Ever. She is the new Artie. She will take over as the lead agent when he retires/partially retires. And then she will die there. In South Dakota of old age (because I refuse to let her die on a mission). Pete? Oh, my boy Pete will meet an awesome lady and retire to be a stay at home dad. He'll walk away one day. Myka? Absolutely never. You're burying her at the warehouse. Which means Helena will have to have some kind of relationship with it again, and I would have to figure out what that looks like because both today and in 2014, I can't decide what option fits her best.

I hope this answers your question! It was so deep and I love it :D I just don't have new thoughts on WH13 yet because I haven't looped back around to a full blown obsession with it yet. (It will happen. Round 2 of BERING AND WELLS ARE THE BEST THING EVER will absolutely happen at some point in my life because that's how I roll and they are.) So this is less meta about how my thoughts on Helena have changed, and more about how my approach to her character would change given the experience I've gained in the last ten years.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS ASK!