#also not pictured: my favorite kind of sign which is '(thing you might be interested in) 60+ miles ahead'

[a-d-nox]

astro hypothesis: dress for the occasion

everyone is always mentioning to dress like your venus sign. recently, i have seen a lot of tiktoks where people are like dress like your crush/boyfriend's venus sign to look like his dream girl. and i was like what about dressing for the occasion? which brought me here! grab your venus persona and take a look at the houses.

5h - prom, dances, dates, and clubs

5h cancer (4°, 16°, 28°) and/or 5h moon: elegance is key. you might be drawn to long, flowy gowns with shimmery fabric. something light but glowy! often the fabric is dark (black or midnight blue) or slivery/white. a sweetheart neckline or off the shoulder cut tends to look beautiful on these people. often you are drawn to semi-sheer fabric as it adds some mystique to your appearance.

5h libra (7°, 19°) and/or 5h venus: light pastels or ivory are likely to grab your attention but a plain white or black dress is likely to give you that elegant/timeless look that you want most in pictures to remember your day (otherwise, you might take pictures in a colored dress and turn on a black and white filter). you want the wow factor! so a-line, a ball gown, or fit-flare dresses might be your go to look. a floor length dress is likely a must for you. silk, satin, chiffon, and/or organza are likely on the tags of these dresses even if you don't know what these materials are by the naked eye. dresses with a sweetheart neckline or off the shoulder sleeves are likely to make you feel elegant. you may like very simple accessories - plain earrings, a dainty bracelet, small pendant necklace, classic heels, etc. a v-neckline, bateau, or strapless design is likely to fit your elegance same could be said about a low back dress.

5h aquarius (11°, 23°) and/or 5h uranus: you are likely to be drawn to the blue family (sky, sea, ocean, water, turquoise, etc.). iridescence/holographic/shimmery material might draw your attention in a store. you often go for something very atypical in the store (might be from seasons ago - its likely the last of its kind). something a-line, flowy, and/or high-to-low might be of interest to you - the cuts of a dress bring interest to your favorite parts of yourself (example, maybe its a two piece dress). something high neck or off the shoulder is likely of interest to you as well. a loose braid and/or waves might be all you need to finish out your look.

7h - wedding attire

7h aries (1°, 13°, 25°) and/or 7h mars: as a bride you should be wearing pure white. nudes or off-whites aren't likely to hold your attention anyway. grab the pure stark white. it is likely that reds are going to be an accent of this wedding - roses, nail, polish, bridesmaid dresses, etc. but if you aren't in the wedding party, go for the red whether its a fiery red or a deep burgundy, its the way to go! no matter if you are the bride, the guest, or a member of the wedding party - you should opt for a fit flare dress or mermaid silhouette. or be really dramatic and go for a deep slit, a plunge neckline, or something backless! the devil is in the details too so things like careful beading, sequins, or embroidery should be something critical to your look (if not the fit and/or the drama). alternatively, minimalism/modernism might be something you enjoy for your look.

7h gemini (3°, 15°, 27°) and/or 7h mercury: as a bride, you might lean towards ivory or whites with an undertone of some color (like a blush). you don't tend to go for the traditional white color, in my experience. if you are a guest or in the wedding party it is likely you will find yourself in soft pastel colors! movement is of the utmost importance to you so opt for a-line or flowy gown. you might also enjoy wearing things that are asymmetrical - the hemline might be high to low or you might like the one shoulder strap design. these people also like details in their dresses whether it is lace, embroidery, beading, ruffles, tiered skirts, or glitter - the options are endless. chiffon, tulle, or organza might be the fabrics for you because they are light and breathable.

6h - everyday clothes and workwear

6h pisces (12°, 24°) and/or 6h neptune: soft fabrics like cotton, silk, or jersey in gentle, soothing colors such as ocean blues, seafoam greens, lavender, and soft pinks. loose, flowing clothes like maxi skirts, wrap dresses, or wide-legged pants that move gracefully. style would likely be bohemian and free-spirited, incorporating layers, delicate patterns, or subtle prints (florals, paisley, etc.). clothes would be cozy and easy to wear—think oversized sweaters, soft cardigans, and flowy blouses. might like jewelry that is delicate, handmade, seashells, pearls, and/or celestial themed.

6h libra (7°, 19°) and/or 6h venus: these people have a natural sense of style and an appreciation for their appearance. outfits would likely be classic, well-tailored pieces in soft, neutral tones like blush pink, dove gray, cream, and pastel blues. the fabrics would be light and luxurious - like silk blouses, cashmere sweaters, or satin skirts. well-fitted blazers, A-line skirts, and or high-waisted trousers make them look polished and graceful. they effortlessly blend comfort with sophistication. everything else is minimal yet thoughtfully chosen - delicate gold or silver jewelry, a stylish handbag, etc.

9h - graduation and religious events

9h taurus (2°, 14°, 26°) and/or 9h venus: elegance, luxury, and comfort ("it has pockets too!"). a sleek, well-structured dress in an earthy tones like emerald green, soft brown, or blush pink. the fabric might be luxurious, like silk, satin, or velvet. a silhouette would likely be timeless and flattering - a wrap dress or an A-line dress that cinches at the waist, emphasizing femininity and grace is well suited for this placement. delicate embroidery or subtle jewelry accents. understated but beautiful accessories, like a simple gold necklace or pearl earrings.

9h leo (5°, 17°, 29°) and/or 9h sun: bold, glamorous, and attention grabbing. vibrant colors like gold, fiery red, or royal purple. the fabric might be something that shimmers or catches the light, such as sequined, satin, or metallic materials. a silhouette could be daring and statement-making, like a fitted flair dress, a high-low hemline, or an off-the-shoulder design. ruffles, a thigh-high slit, or an open back, ensures all eyes are on them. accessories would be bold—think large, sparkling earrings, a dramatic statement necklace, etc. yes, realize what my sub-header is for this section.

9h sagittarius (9°, 21°) and/or jupiter: it's never just one graduation or church event and thus never just one dress/opportunity. the dresses would likely have a regal, flowing quality to it. jewel tones like deep sapphire, royal blue, or amethyst. flowy, A-line, and/or empire waisted dresses that gives a sense of movement. fabric might be lightweight and ethereal, like chiffon, tulle, or silk. intricate embroidery, beading, etc. accessories would be tasteful but luxurious, like a delicate gold bracelet or a jeweled hairpiece.

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[cultivating-wildflowers]

forgot to charge my camera battery the last time I went for a drive so have some ugly phone pictures

I’m so normal now

[fieryjeannearchives]

🃏: Senku-chan, we’re good friends, aren’t we?

🧪: Why are you getting gross all of a sudden?

🃏: So ean-may! I just wanted to ask you for a favor.

🧪: Pff, should have started with that. What do you want me to re-invent this time? Mirinda?

🃏: No, no… It’s about helping me out rather than re-inventing something.

🧪: Okay? So, what is it? Stop beating around the bush and—

🃏: Can you help me choose my fiancée?

🧪: Hah?! Mentalist, I’m a scientist, not a matchmaker.

🃏: I know, I know! It’s just… I got all these requests and I don’t know who to pick! I’d usually go with the prettier one and call it a day but at this point, I really want to settle down, you know? So~, who better than my favorite scientist to help me sort this out?

🧪: You’re insane, ask someone else.

🃏: But Senku-chan! You know I would help you out with it if our roles were reversed.

🧪: That’s completely different. First of all, I have no intention of choosing a fiancée and secondly, if for whatever reason I ever did, I would only ask for your advice because you’re a mentalist… That’s kind of /your/ thing!

🃏: I’m not just asking you this as a scientist, although I’m hoping you have some sciencey way to help me, I’m asking you this as a friend. This is important to me.

🧪: Tsk, you have lots of other friends. Ask Ukyo, for example. I bet he would be much happier to help.

🃏: I did, but I want your opinion as well.

🧪: Fine… Did you print their profiles or…?

🃏, taking out the copies from his bag: Yup~! I wrote down my notes from our interviews along with their basic information. No pictures though, not that you would care about that anyway~.

🧪, taking them and starting to read them: No, not really. Okay, these three, out.

🃏: So fast!

🧪: I don’t want to waste more time than the necessary on this.

🃏: At least read them first!

🧪: I did! This one comes from a rich family, which might be something that interests a superficial man like you, but she’s too greedy. You will probably end up with a headache from dealing with her constant demands for more. Then this one has a similar background to yours, being a former celebrity and all that, but I think you’d be better off with someone with more contact with the real world.

🃏: The entertainment industry /is/ part of the real world.

🧪: You know what I meant by that. You need someone more grounded… Like this one, who is a lot more calm and mature than the other two. However, she seems a better fit for a friend than a wife. Even in your description, you don’t sound attracted to her at all.

🃏: I could… eventually—

🧪: Or you could waste both of your time.

🧪, taking another profile from the pile: Alright, this one is too impulsive, will also tire you out, and with this one, it sounds like you’re babysitting rather than dating.

🃏: Now you’re just being mean.

🧪: Hey, you asked for my help. Now zip it.

🧪, continues to discard profiles until there’s only one left: In theory, she would be the best option. You both have a fair amount of things in common to bond over, but she has strengths in what you lack, and vice versa.

🃏: Sounds promising~.

🧪: But! She’s either a liar or you made her up. I would have known if there was a scientist with her qualifications… Could have really helped us out at the main lab.

🃏: Maybe she was just recently unpetrified.

🧪: Doubt it.

🃏: Well… Whatever the case might be, if she made it this far, she might still be worth checking out. Who better than a liar for another liar~?

🧪: That’s stupid.

🃏: Well, if you have any better ideas, then I’m all ears, Senku-chan.

🧪: Ugh��� if you are that desperate to get married, then fine. I’ll do it.

🃏: Very funny.

🧪: I’m serious. Compared to the other candidates you brought, I’m a much better option.

🃏: Except for the fact that I want an actual marriage, not just signing up some papers and then continuing acting the same as always.

🧪: Yeah, I know. We can definitely do that.

🃏: Wouldn’t that be a lot of wasted time for you though?

🧪: I already choose to spend most of my free time with you anyway. If you think about it, the only thing that would change is how we spend it.

🃏: And you would be fine with that?

🧪, staring at 🃏as if he was an idiot: I wouldn’t be offering it otherwise.

🧪: Anyway— [breaks the pages and throws them to the trash bin]

🃏, scandalized: Senku-chan!!

🧪: What? Haven’t we settled this already?

🃏: But that has to be the worst wedding proposal ever!

🧪: As you didn’t planned this from the beginning.

🧪: They were all made up, weren’t they?

🃏: Maybe~. Honestly, I was surprised when you ended up choosing the one based on you.

🧪: Ah, that makes sense— Wait, who were the others?

🃏: Nobody you need to worry about~.

🧪: 🙂

[cornyregans]

Hi, what kind of father was Caliban like towards Juliette, Hermia and Tybalt, and what kind of husband was he like towards Cordula? (I assume he's 10+ years older than her)

He lacks a bio, personality points, interests and career. We only know his primary aspiration (Fortune) and zodiac sign (Capricorn).

So I'm curious what headcanon you have about him based on his Shakespearean counterpart.

Hi! I added a read more because it got a tad long. Apologies if some things seem vague, as I do want to talk about certain aspects in greater depth eventually.

From what I saw from his kids' memories, I always assumed that Caliban was fairly present in their lives considering he taught them the majority of their toddler skills. I think he was a pretty good dad to them all things considered, but it took a while for him to really come into his own, as he had some demons to battle early on due to the circumstances he found himself in.

When it comes to his relationship with Cordelia, I tend to veer towards them being genuinely in love. For one thing, they tend to have really good chemistry when they're resurrected, so there's definitely an innate attraction between them. Also, of the three sisters, Cordelia is the only one whose husband doesn't share a name with the one her Shakespeare character had (though I headcanon Caliban's middle name as Francisco to make up for it 😄).

I don't really interpret their age difference being that big (I picture Caliban being around two or so years older), but I can see why you or others might. First, Caliban's default hairstyle could imply he's a bit on the older side, what with it giving the illusion of him having a slightly receding hairline. Second, there's Caliban's age when you look at his SimPE data, which states he was a day away from elderhood when he died. As for me, I tend to interpret both of these things as being a result of stress.

One of my headcanons about Caliban is that Contessa really hated him for marrying Cordelia, who I believe was her favorite child and intended heiress. This is, in part, because I don't think Caliban came from the kind of money the Capps did. Instead, I picture his father as having been an old associate of Valentine Monty, only to have a fallout with Patrizio a few years after the feud began, which led him to relocate to the east side and start a new life. So not only did Caliban not come from the old money Contessa would have liked, but he was also descended from ex-Monty sympathizers. As a result of this, he always constantly felt the need to prove himself to Contessa, though deep down he knew it was a fruitless endeavor. In continuing to do so, he ended up aging much quicker than he otherwise would have.

I always viewed Caliban's professional life starting when he interned as a gofer for the Capps back when he was in school, and that eventually worked for them full time after he became an adult. Despite this, he was confined to the lowest possible rung on the corporate ladder due to Contessa's distaste for him. Every time he complained about it, she would always tell him he was lucky he still had a job after "deflowering" her daughter. Luckily, Cordelia made enough money to support their family, so they were able to live a comfortable life regardless of Caliban's lack of advancement.

With these factors in mind, I don't believe Cordelia and Caliban's marriage was arranged in the ways I believe Goneril's or Regan's marriages were. Instead, I'm of the mind that Cordelia married Caliban for love, but that she only managed to do so because of circumstances out of Contessa's control.

These interpretations were, in part, inspired by Cordelia's marriage to the King of France in King Lear. In that play, France proposes to Cordelia despite her not having a dowry to speak of. While I don't think that Cordelia and Caliban's marriage occurred under those exact circumstances, I do think both men falling for each of their Cordelias played a part in why those marriages occurred. As for the Shakespeare interpretations about Caliban in particular, most of those don't have much to do with his love life.

One of my Caliban headcanons that takes inspiration from Shakespeare relates to his height. I think I eventually settled on him being 6'8", which would make him look pretty massive compared to how I view most of the other sims in Veronaville (for reference, he towered over the 5'2" Cordelia, and all three of their children are more than a foot shorter than he was). In fact, Contessa considered him so monstrously tall that she referred to him as a minotaur. The Shakespearean aspects that reflects this comes from Shakespeare's take on Caliban being compared to a variety of animals in appearance. These isn't the Sims really replicated, so I just did my own spin on it instead.

Unfortunately, I don't have access to my simming laptop at the moment, so I don't have a way to check the exact personality I gave Caliban in my photoshoot neighborhood. I don't have many fleshed-out headcanons about Caliban's interests, but I definitely think he was interested in money, but disinterested in work (or at least talking about it with others).

[thrudgelmir2333]

About Phoenix Ikki

This post is partially copied from a response of mine on Reddit, but I thought I'd expand on it here on Tumblr, where I can structure my ideas better. There's some thoughts I've had about the character of Phoenix Ikki for a while that I wanted to get out there. If you ask around the Saint Seiya fan community which character is their favorite, there's a relatively solid chance they're going to answer 'Phoenix Ikki'. In fact, you might even get told Ikki 'inspired' a lot of Saint Seiya fans. He's one of those shounen symbols of 'badassary' and 'uncompromising attitudes', like Takamura from Hajime no Ippo, but also of emotional distance, like Itachi from Naruto. In a lot of ways, if you grew up with Saint Seiya characters, there's a powerful possibility you looked forward to seeing Ikki show up and beat the crap out of some villain for hurting Shun, his little brother. It was an effect intensified by how much Ikki was usually withheld from the story. The absence of Ikki in a lot of ways made you want to crave this supposed member of the protagonists to show up.

Shun himself reinforces this interest, being adoring and forgiving of Ikki and his distance in every instance. This means all the reinforcement you get as a reader/audience is that Ikki is someone you're supposed to admire, to look forward to showing up, to be an example of how 'brutal and badass but also protective' a Saint could be.

I'd like to offer an alternative point of view on all this. I think Ikki is, well, actually a bad character. I also think that his absence had more to do with that poverty of personality to his character than any kind of perceived 'coolness' to him.

Maybe I'm the one off here. Maybe I just don't identify anymore with this sort of character. If you wanna conclude that from my post, that's fair. But I wanted to ask, though, "Isn't it about time we acknowledge Ikki is... kind of a bad character? And a terrible role model for young boys? And probably a sign of things that were to come in anime fandoms, even in the early 90s?"

Pictured above; Phoenix Ikki, deeply contemplating how little effort he has to put into the story

First, let's talk some technicalities.

This is where you'll see most of what I wrote on Reddit.

First off, I'd like to establish that I think Phoenix Ikki, in technical terms, is NOT the worst Bronze Saint, but he's definitely the worst after Seiya. And also that the way some of the other Bronze Saints, mainly Shiryu, outshine Ikki as quality characters should really expose how poorly written Ikki is to more people.

People rightfully talk about how Seiya's character stopped growing after a certain early point in the story. There's no denying that. Ikki, however, as a character, doesn't trail far much behind Seiya in my opinion. This is such to the point that I got a theory that maybe somewhere in Kurumada's mind he intended to kill him off after the Black Saint Arc, or ideally against Shaka.

I believe this because all of Ikki's involvements in the story past his battle with Shaka (and perhaps some of them during the Silver Saint Arc itself) have been needless interventions that either only reinforce how his character hasn't changed from his Black Saint days or steal the spotlight away from other characters, usually Shun.

Before we continue, another important technical note, this time on action, and this one goes especially to those concerned about how can such a strong character like Ikki be 'needless'. One important thing to retain here is that action can be written in a lot of ways, which is to say SCALING OF FICTIONAL CHARACTER IS A FABRICATION YOU DERIVE FROM HOW THINGS ARE ALREADY WRITTEN and not some kind of result from a scientific analysis of inalterable story facts.

So its not that Shun needs Ikki to save him, but rather that a choice was made by a human being for Shun to be written that he needs Ikki to save him. He could have been written, instead, to do it on his own, and even then something ridiculous like winning the Japanese lottery, just to add to the triumph of, idk, beating Capella.

Sorry for the earlier caps, I just always feel I have to remind people of that important fact whenever discussing action, become some people think that the usefulness of a character is derived from fights they win. Like they're real life wrestling competitors or something. The reality is, Ikki interferes in the events he does because he's written as such and he gets the results he does because, likewise, he's also written as such. They are choices by Kurumada.

And the reality of those choices is that they are open to discussion on weather or not they caused more harm than good to the plot and its remaining characters. This goes beyond the mere antipathy aspect in Ikki; the character is flat in a CREATIVE sense, being what the author of Rurouni Kenshin called "a joker card".

This means a character designed to counter the villain's respective 'joker'. AKA, Ikki exists to not to advance the plot in important ways (slaying main villains, help friends overcome trials, add to the story message) but to occasionally show off during an episode or two to deliver the audience the red meat of a high-octane action scene against a giant ogre or something.

What does Ikki actually DO in the story?

To understand the reason why I call Ikki a 'joker card', it is important to put his character's role in review. If you do, you'll find that most of his interventions in the story don't contribute to the plot's overall progression or the development of any of the characters, including himself.

So, just to quickly sum up his role; in Sanctuary Arc, after 'sacrificing himself to defeat Shaka' (which is where Ikki's character should have come to and end) he battles Saga only to stall him so that Seiya, a worse character, can reach Athena's Statue. This is something that can easily be written around to bolster Seiya instead, or have the lesser Bronze Saint character group that had just rejoined the story take on (instead of sitting back 'guarding Saori'). Ikki then contributes to a combination attack against Saga, but its mostly done by lending his Cosmos to Seiya, which means in terms of a physical measurable character choice, it's too abstract a gesture to feel emotionally impactful.

Yes, that's all he does in Sanctuary after Shaka. He then fucks off cause he's too cool to hang with his little brother and his friends. Moving on.

He comes back in Poseidon to show off to Caça, saving Shun, Hyoga and Seiya's life from him. The battle climaxes with Ikki defeating Caça but declaring that "Caça would have won if he had used an illusion of Esmeralda instead". It sounds touching, until you realise that it shows how Ikki is STILL not over Esmeralda, this despite his redemption arc. This is because, without that permanent grief, Ikki has no good reason to justify being away from everyone else other than just that he's an anti-social douchebag. Then Ikki, again, contributes nothing to the battle with Kanon and Poseidon that Shun couldn't have been written to do on his own. All of his involvements are in Shun's presence and taking away opportunities from the story to write Shun heroically.

And then Ikki fucks off again after posing for the arc ending picture.

Notice how, once again, Ikki's appearance is entirely predicated on taking action away from the main characters against a villain written to be particularly dangerous. Caça and Kanon act as the Poseidon Arc's joker cards; characters designed to give the cast a big giant obstacle to look cool overcoming, except it's really all fed to Ikki instead, who looks cool doing it but otherwise does nothing in the plot.

Finally, he stays away from Hades for the most part, thankfully, only to then show up to get the story rid of Aiacos (which was written to the point of being a non-character at the time, just a big Judge Joker) and have a fruitless battle against a Hades-Possessed Shun that ONCE AGAIN is all about drawing tears from the audience about how Ikki can't get over himself and do his job.

It's Saori, the character EVERYONE calls useless, that actually saves Shun, not Ikki. If Saori is a "useless", like everyone always says, what does this make of Ikki?

Oh, and then Ikki returns in Elysium for one final coolness shot; he takes a blow from Thanatos so that the story can reinforce the idea of "Oh, no, trust me guys, Ikki is TOTALLY special. Thanatos says so. Cause he took a hit and wasn't written to just fall over."

And then the story ends with him contributing to another abstract combination attack, instead of making any character choices. We don't even get a personal confrontation between him and Hades for, you know, HAVING POSSESSED HIS PRECIOUS LITTLE BROTHER THAT IKKI IS SO MOTIVATED FOR.

Oh, and guess what, thanks to Next Dimension, we know that after all this, with Seiya crippled and Sanctuary in ruins, Ikki fucks off yet again, cause apparently nearly losing Shun to an evil God taught him nothing about the need to stay by his loved ones.

The Terribleness of Ikki

I don't know if you've noticed by now, but all Ikki ever seems to do is pop in front in the camera, talk about how cool he is, and then whine about how "Death Queen Island was SO hard" until he Genma-Kens someone. And then fucking off.

Does he have a life? Can we imagine that he goes to a bar or something to drink his sorrows, or works in a farm like Shiryu, when not fighting a Holy War? Or does he just stalk Shun, looking for opportunities to swoop in and look like the big pathetic attention-needing loser emo older brother that he really is?

It's almost like the character doesn't exist for any other reason other than to show up and look cool, like a decoration. Almost as if, bear with me, the story of Saint Seiya didn't really have anything planned for him past a certain point, so they couldn't give him any meaningful contributions to the story.

Meanwhile, just to compare, Shiryu has a whole character arc about overcoming his crippling blindness, which he manages to do:

A) Without using it as a prop-trauma for how cool he is;

B) Without pushing away his friends;

C) Without neglecting his duty as a Saint;

D) Without disrespecting all the struggles everyone else go through;

E) And without making it the sole defining characteristic of his personality, unlike Ikki "My-girlfriend-is-dead" Kido;

Which is frankly hilarious considering that the reason Ikki told off Seiya early in the story and left the group to be on his own was because, I quote "he doesn't work well in a team", cause he's such a hardass, right?

Sorry, Shiryu. You had that whole 'character development' thing going, but look how cool I look.

Yeah, well, everyone in Seiya's team does a better job at being a Saint than he does, so maybe Seiya was on to something when he almost punched Ikki that night for saying such a dumb thing. This, of course, without going into all the things Hyoga and Shun also go through to show upstanding and emotionally strong they can be. I only mention Shiryu because if I talked about them as well, I'd be writing this post all day.

So you might be asking "That can't be it, right? You have to be acting reductive, Thrud. This can't be the extenct of such an influential character's contribution?"

No, seriously, it really is. Ikki never grows past his distant, traumatised self, he never learns to overcome his pain and personality problems and all of his contributions to the story's challenges is to act as the sleeping giant behind Shun's smiley face.

We're pretty much at the end stretch of ND, and Ikki is YET to show signs of change. He's just done a bit of fighting and hasnt had any friendly interactions with anyone. It's 2024 and Ikki is STILL a giant asshole.

Even the thing he's most beloved for, his contribution to action, ultimately falls flat in story terms because most of the antagonists he takes on, with the exception of Shaka, are written to be just temporary obstacles to the story (like Aiacos) or are people Ikki saves Shun from (like Caça). Shaka has a whole thing involving challenging the Bronze Saints conceptions of evil, and in the manga he even has his manipulation of Ikki, but everyone else Ikki defeats look like they were written in just so that Ikki could have someone to look cool beating on.

Which is to say you could probably envision a version of Saint Seiya WITHOUT Ikki, and you wouldn't lose that much, story wise.

So why is Ikki so beloved? What is going on here?

Well, because simply put, the fandom identifies with how macho and action-oriented he portrays himself. They like him BECAUSE he's an anti-social prick who tells you "You can replace having healthy emotional development by just being a badass". And to some people, especially in shounen circles, that's the ultimate power fantasy, giving you a bigger trip than being reincarnated as the most overleveled slime demon princess.

But don't take my word for it, peruse the internet yourself and try to find someone defending him who doesn't talk about how "badass" he is.

The fact is, not just in anime but in media in general, a lot of people love identifying with assholes who put down everyone else's contributions to the group, act like they are above it all and fall back on a fantasy that "they don't need anyone" and "are secretly the best". They reinforce the idea you don't have to put in effort to make others like you, because you can just be violent and dismissive and that's somehow automatically worthy of admiration.

Yet, put anyone problem in the story that cant be solved with punching, or put anything too complicated in the story to solve with a Genma Ken, like Hades' possession and Poseidon about to kill Seiya at the Main Breadwinner, and chances are Ikki won't know what to do about it. His contribution will be to put a strong face about how he wishes he had a way to fix it, but what a shame, this will just be "another trauma to add to the pile, poor Ikki"

There are terms for these kinds of role models that teach you to dismiss emotional problems, that teach you to admire those who see their self-imposed solitude as a curse, or even strength.

They're called sigmas. You know, those assholes infesting male media who blame everyone else for their problems and think mysoginy is super cool? And look at that, people LOVE how Ikki told Pandora "he ain't feminist like Seiya and WOULD hit her if she stood in his way". What a badass! Ikki isn't gonna let this goth girl stand in the way of him... failing to save Shun anyway. Wow!

So cool, guys, right? Right?

This is where my point just devolves into a rant.

Ikki isn't just one of the worst Bronze Saint characters. He is, in fact, a terrible character just in general, who gets by on having a cool power suit and reinforcing his audience's pre-conceived notions about the world. Ikki teaches you from a young age that your problems are to be dug deep down, only to be brought up to shield yourself from criticism.

His staleness ends up rivaling Seiya's, and only fails to meet it cause Seiya's case is so comically bad. Ikki happens to make a good Bronze Saint action figure, so he remains popular.

But unfortunately his influence casts a long shadow. Saint Seiya isn't nearly as popular as it used to be, but there are tons of storytellers and story followers that have been influenced by him as a character. Bleach, by Tite Kubo, drew heavily from Saint Seiya in not just story telling, but story structure and characters.

Who do you think Byakuya, Rukia's stoic, overpowered older brother is modeled after, my lovelies? And look at that, he's just as overrated as Ikki is, to the point the author didn't have the courage to truly kill him off in his final story arc, even though his arc was done and done.

Rukia: Nissan, there's some weird guys in armor staring at us over there. Byakuya: Don't pay attention, Rukia, those are just the characters our author subconsciously based us off from. Just focus on your sand scuplture of how pretty I am.

And honestly, it's tiring to see people my own age still thinking and saying that the pinnacle of character design and development is characters like Ikki, and the long trail of 'stoic badasses' he has left behind.

I don't respect this kind of anti-social glorification any more. You might even say I think it's toxic. Obviously Ikki is just a character, a bunch of ink on paper, but when you take a step back and you look at the characters that have copied him, or the legions of people online making unhinged rants about 'strong masculinity' that would think Ikki IS inspiring (especially when he slaps the hell out of Pandora), and then you combine it with the 'hate' directed at the weak characters? Then he becomes more than that.

I just think that characters like Ikki make people miss the point of stories like Saint Seiya. And if you have a character that makes you miss the point of the story, who just stick around because their toys sell?

Then they're not good characters. Not in my opinion, anyways.

[kmp78]

What kind of questions people normally ask on Meet with J??

Well, going by my own experience... USELESS ONES! 🙄

These are some of the actual questions that were asked:

"Who is your fave old master painter?"

JL`s answer: Rembrandt and Caravaggio.

"What would you be if you were not musicians?"

JL: he joked he would be Walter White (PLEASE 😂) and said he´d probably be in prison, because creativity is what saved him from trouble, and ”Maybe I would have been Pablo fucking Escobar“.

TM: a cook. 

"What creative differences are there between Album 1 and Album 5?"

JL: "You can still hear the same band on both albums."

"What could a person do to if they want to become an artist so they don´t have to deal with what Mars had to deal with (lawsuit etc.)?"

JL: "Don´t sign a record deal unless you absolutely have to. Spread your music via social media and other platforms."

Also some eche in Getafe handed JL a picture at the M&G that she had drawn of him wearing a crown, and she asked if he liked it.

Apparently they let 5 year olds to these M&Gs. 🙄

And while we´re on that note, my absolute favorite (AND BY THAT I MEAN THE ABSOLUTE POLAR OPPOSITE OF FAVORITE) question of all time:

"If the echelon was an animal, which animal would it be?"

IMAGINE BEING LOCKED UP IN A ROOM WITH PEOPLE LIKE THIS. 🤦🏼‍♀️

PEOPLE THAT ARE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO DIRECTLY ASK HIM A QUESTION, AND THAT´S WHAT THEY COME UP WITH. 🤦🏼‍♀️

On the flip side, these people and their infantile brains are probably exactly the reason why JL seemed so surprised and taken aback by MY question, simply because it wasn´t the standard ass-kissy "YOUR BAND SAVED MY LIFE" and "LOOK AT MY DRAWING DADDY WILL YOU PUT IT ON THE FRIDGE DOOR?!" thing at all, but an actually valid and genuine and interesting and yes some might even say confrontational question. 🤷🏼‍♀️

I bet you he wasn´t expecting that at all - and that only shows how far removed from reality he is, and how deeply he has secluded himself into only surrounding himself with Hype Boys and Girls who don´t challenge him and his delusions of grandeur at all. 🤷🏼‍♀️

He completely unraveled at the mere mention of his precious #Muricah´ album being a god-awful flop.

WHICH IT WAS. 💯

But apparently in Letoverse the real world is a no-no concept. 🙄

[purplesurveys]

1889

Have you ever been on a laptop inside a vehicle? Plenty of times, but only just as long as my motion sickness would let me. I do it so I can get some work in, but not for very long.

While on the road, do you play any road games? We might have done so before but I don't remember what exactly we played. These days I like asking random, hypothetical questions – mostly directed to my dad so he doesn't feel sleepy on the road, but everyone's still invited to join in. Kind of like surveys lol so it's stuff like what would their last meal be, which actor they'd want to play them in a movie, etc.

Do you have a button up shirt? I have a couple.

Has there been a word you thought you were spelling correctly but then you find out that it isn’t? What was the word? So when I was very young and still learning English, all I had as practice was my dad's stack of cookbooks. The thing at the time was, I kept hearing "sorduh" "sordof" "sardof" in the American shows I'd watch and was desperate to find out what they were saying because I could make out everything else they were saying but.

Cut back to my dad's cookbooks; I was reading the opening essays and the recipes as I usually did...then I found it. Or at least I think I did. The word I came across was "sourdough" – and as a kid it made so much sense. It had the "sort" part, then I knew you say 'rough' with an f so I applied the same logic to dough, which became my "of." So for a while I thought sort of was spelled as sourdough, haha.

Do you have a garden in your backyard/front yard? It's not a garden but it's just a wide open space that we had paved. My dad uses it to play basketball; we'll also bring the dogs there to run around.

What color is your water tower in your city/town? It's either blue or white. I can't remember very well.

Have you ever picked apples before? Nope.

Are you scared of semi-trucks? Especially when you’re driving next to one? Tbh no not really. It's my mom who gets super tense lol.

Have you accidentally put lipgloss/lipstick on your teeth before? I don't think so. I don't wear much of either in the first place.

If you wear chapstick, do you have any special flavors or just the regular kind? I hate that I can't remember who but someone gifted me a green apple mint lip butter (is that the same thing?) for Christmas and I love it so much – the texture, the taste, the smell...it's lovely.

Do you think little babies look cute in overalls? Sure, they can.

Have you ever been to the site www.someecards.com? Doubt it.

Have you ever tried Crystal Lite? If so, what’s your favorite? I haven't the slightest clue what that is.

Have you ever had a dream that your teeth were falling out? I think at least once, then it never came again.

Have you ever went on www.dreammoods.com to interpret your dreams? Nope.

Do you own any pajama bottoms with a design on them? Explain what it is [or you can post a picture up if your heart desires to.] I mean, it has a purple plaid pattern but that's it.

Do you sometimes wonder how surveys were created in the first place? Was someone just so bored that they decided to ask someone random questions? Not how they came to be, but I'm constantly impressed at survey makers' creativity. Like how can there be thousands of these and yet the questions remain so random yet interesting? Thank you for all your work hehehe.

Do you like eating shrimp? It's not my favorite seafood and will 100% skip it if there are other options (not because I don't like how it tastes, but because it's the most ubiquitous seafood and at this point I'm a little tired of the taste haha), but yeah, sure. It's the best with butter and garlic.

Ever heard of Rochester, NY? Yes, but I wouldn't be able to tell you one thing about it.

Do you have a fence? We don't.

Do you have any signs on your bedroom door? I have a Do Not Enter sticker that my mom placed as a joke way way back when I was in my early teens.

If you have any pets, do you talk to them in a baby voice? I do.

Does your head hurt when you cry?: It does when the cry session gets really bad and when I have a lot going on in my head. But it's not an automatic thing.

Who was the last person to comfort you?: Trina.

Are you currently wearing any socks?: Nope.

What’s the closest thing to your right hand?: One of my sleeping bags.

When was the last time you made a wish?: My birthday.

Have you ever watched a foreign film with English subtitles?: I prefer to watch anything with subtitles.

When was the last time you wore athletic shorts?: High school, maybe? Playing table tennis.

Do you think that in the end, everything will fall into place?: It's hard to put all your trust in it because the fact of the matter is you need to work towards it. But as long as I know that I do, it becomes easier a reality to think about.

What’s the closest transparent object to you?: I have a clear phone case in here somewhere.

What was the last thing you swallowed?: Coffee.

Do you like mayonnaise?: Love it. I just had it this morning with my breakfast.

Anyways… When was the last time you went out in the rain?: Last weekend when we were walking to the nearby theme park in Tagaytay for dinner, and it started to pour while we were on our way.

Have you ever seen a Tim Burton movie, like Coraline, 9, etc.?: No, not my film style of choice.

Do you keep 3D glasses after you’ve left the movie theatre?: I've only seen a 3D movie once and I'm pretty sure I didn't keep the glasses.

When was the last time you heard a British accent in person?: No clue. Maybe talking to my mom's bosses years ago? I definitely don't encounter it a lot. The most recent foreign accent I heard was Portuguese.

Who was the last person to unsurprisingly disappoint you?: My brother.

Do you know what FTW stands for?: Yes.

When was the last time you went bowling?: Bowling...around six years ago? I think I had a bowling date with my ex. Haven't gone on one since.

Do you like cats?: Sure. We recently rescued a stray kitten that found its way to our garage. It's his 5th day with us and has been spoiled to hell and back so far.

Do you use aerosol hairspray? It’s bad for the environment, you know…: I don't use hairspray.

What was the last food you choked on?: I don't usually choke on food.

Who was the last person you disappointed?: Myself, maybe?

Do you really miss someone right now?: No.

Do you think anyone can really reach “Nirvana” at some point?: I don't believe in it, so I can't say for sure.

What’s the capital of the state you reside in?: We don't have states.

What is the last advice you gave someone?: I haven't had the chance to give advice lately. I listen more these days.

Do you ever dip your fingers in wet candle wax?: Once it warms up a little bit, yeah. Sometimes.

When was the last time you sweated really bad?: Two Saturdays ago in Da Nang. That heat was like no other...I found myself wishing I was back in the Philippines, and the weather as it is here is already terrible haha. There was barely anyone walking outside too, so I know it wasn't just us who felt how hot it was.

Do you write it, alot or a lot?: A lot, because that's how it's written.

Does it annoy you when people are always smiling and happy all the time?: Excessive cheeriness can be an off-putting kind of weird more than anything, but I don't mind it. It can be nice to see, especially if it's actually genuine.

What was the last rule you broke?: I can't remember tbh. I don't like doing that, haha.

Have you ever hazed someone or been hazed?: No and never to both.

Miley Cyrus rings your door bell, and asks for some shelter. You say..?: Sure, but why are you...here?

What would you say if someone called you at 3 am to have a casual convo?: Depends on who it is, aka I will ignore everyone except immediate family, Angela, Hans, or Reena.

Have you ever made a SERIOUS typo, and couldnt go back and change it?: Not that I can remember. One thing I'm proud of, at least, is that in my 4 years in PR I've never had any press release sent out to media that contained a typo.

Have you ever yelled at an authority figure?: Nope.

When was the last time you had to pee really badly?: Yesterday.

What was the last thing you regretted eating?: Dakgalbi kimbap. The restaurant it came from is my favorite for Korean food, but that kimbap has no reason to be as spicy as it was – and I can generally handle spice and love the Korean kind of spicy.

Have you ever met anyone famous?: Yes.

Do you like screamo music?: Nope.

Do you know anyone with some serious talent?: I know so many very talented people.

When was the last time you made fun of someone?: I can't really remember.

What was the last thing you yelled?: Probably my sister's name.

Whose bed did you wake up in this morning?: Mine.

Are you in a relationship?: No.

Have you ever skinny-dipped?: No thanks.

What’s the longest amount of time you’ve gone without sleeping?: Just a little over 24 hours.

Do you make a wish at 11:11?: Sometimes. Doing so has inner child healing properties for me, haha.

What’s the worst thing someone could ask you?: Something like if I could give up/trade my dogs for [X]. That, and any creepy and uninvited sexual advances.

What did your last text message say?: I can't recall and I can't be bothered to check because it might be related to work.

Who was it from?:

Do you like surprises?: Sure :) I don't get them a lot, so I do kind of feel special when someone organizes a surprise for me, no matter how simple it is.

What inspires you?: My goals to see BTS and make it to Wrestlemania, and the dogs. I also want to get my dad at least one of the cars on his life wishlist.

If you could go back in time, where would you go and why?: Any day with Kimi, so I can be with him again and hear his barks.

Are you proud of the person you’ve become?: I've definitely overcome a lot more than I ever expected to have to overcome in life, and I don't shy away from giving myself credit.

Have you ever tried weed?: Yes. In like vape format, whatever that's called. I mixed it with alcohol so it wasn't a very nice experience.

How important is music to you?: Not very much. It's great when I encounter lyrics that exactly match my current situation and emotions, but I mostly turn to music now for the production value/instrumentals or as background noise.

Do you need a boyfriend/girlfriend to be happy?: Not at all.

Do you care what other people think of you?: For like a second or two, then I try not to make it my problem.

What’s your biggest fear?: Death of loved ones.

When was the last time you received a compliment?: It's boringly about work, but I was just told how I deserve the role I'm currently in, and that if I ever feel insecure or think of the possibility of being resented by my teammates who've had the same longevity as I've had, I just need to remember that I was picked to be the one to move up for good reason and that it wasn't a decision taken lightly. It's more advice than anything else, really, but I'll also take it as a compliment.

What was that last thing you said out loud?: "LOVE YOU" I told my dogs as I went up the stairs after wishing them goodnight.

Do you have any regrets?: Of course. Nothing major that involves any life-ruining stuff, though.

Where were you at noon today?: I was at home, playing with the dogs.

Do you think someone’s thinking about you right now?: No.2

What’s on your mind right now?: The fact that it's Monday tomorrow...

How has your week been?: The last 7 days were a bit more tiring than usual since I was F2F for three consecutive days, and the commute for all those days were absolute pains in the ass. 2.5 hours from Rockwell to my village :(

My company did give us Friday to be our mental health break day, though, so I'm very grateful to get another 3-day weekend.

Have you ever thrown up becaue you were crying too much?: Once or twice, maybe?

How much effort did you put into your last relationship?: I could've taken it down a notch by like 300%, that's all I'll say.

Last thing to really piss you off?: That old lady who cut me off at the restroom yesterday.

Are you a patient person?: I am unless someone gives me a reason not to be.

Do you know anyone who’s taking drugs?: Nobody that I'm aware of, no.

Do you face your problems or run away from them?: I can do both.

What would you do if someone grabbed your ass?: Hopefully I'll be aware and alert enough to stab them in the face with my car keys.

I've been catcalled and whistled at and gawked at by men before, and the shittiest thing about these situations is that you think you'll always be brave and headstrong about it, then when they actually happen in real life you end up freezing up and only processing what just happened like 5 minutes later. And then regret the fact that you didn't fight back. And then get the lump in your throat from feeling violated or disrespected. So one of the top dream scenarios in my head is to actually get violent with the next man who does anything like this again to me.

Do you have impulse control?: Sure.

Do you have a reason to smile right now?: Many.

Are you gonna get married soon? Nope.

Would you ever get a significant other’s name tattooed on yourself? No. Initials would be cute, I guess, or maybe a cute inside reference like a plate of pizza or whatever; but not a full name.

Do you get shy around the guy/girl you like?: I don't like anyone.

What’s it like where you’re from?: I'll just describe Metro Manila since it's more known, I live next door to it anyway, and because my own city is mostly uneventful and residential.

Metro Manila can be great only if you're in the middle or upper class. Nightlife is alive and spread out in many different parts (BGC, Poblacion, Makati, Ortigas...list goes on), and if you're into culture and stuff there's a good mix of museums, musicals and concerts, and concept restaurants to visit any time, any day. We're fluent in English, so if you're a foreigner you will never have a problem communicating; our pronunciation is also quite clear compared to our Asian counterparts so comprehension won't be an issue for you.

On the contrary, life is brutal and unforgivingly so if you're from the working class. Many children still don't get to go to school, or, if they do, get subpar quality of education which can affect their chances of success because we place such a big and pressuring fucking deal on school; and half of Filipinos consider themselves food-insecure. If you've seen documentaries here and there you might be familiar with 'pagpag' and that's definitely a reality for the poorest of the poor.

Gap between rich and poor is glaring, and it's an all too common occurrence to have super exclusive villages with swanky houses that have swimming pools and their own massive golf course and country club to be situated quite literally next to informal settlers. A mutual problem we all share is the commute – trains can get crowded and aren't the most maintained; and even if you have your own car you need to mentally prepare yourself for a daily total commute time of anywhere between 2-5 hours. Salaries are also shit, which is why you'll find many Filipinos even from the middle class living with their families until well into their 20s and 30s.

Personality-wise, Filipinos especially those working in the business districts generally live a very fast-paced life, super workaholics and very serious – but across all classes and backgrounds, we still know how to have our fun :) The stereotype that we're hospitable is also very true. Social media plays a big role in our lives – to a fault. We know what's trending and stuff so we're very in-touch in that respect, but social media has also influenced national elections by giving birth to disinformation, troll farms, etc. We're known for our passionate fandoms, and a good, good portion of Filipinos are into at least one K – K-drama, K-pop, K-fashion, etc.

The Philippines in general remains, and I think will always remain, to have a tightly traditional culture. Fortunately if you're in any one of the more high-end spots like BGC the people are more modern-thinking so feel free to express yourself however you'd like.

What else...weather varies across hot, hotter, and hottest except from January-February when it can be much more forgiving. I think that's all I can think of right now. You've hit my culture-passionate bone with this q, so thanks!

Do you remember your dreams?: Only very occasionally.

Are you happier now, or 3 months ago?: Definitely happier now. I'd say 'at peace' is more apt, though.

Do you play video games?: Not at the moment but I am hooked to a phone game currently hah.

is there a song that when you hear it, it takes you back to a certain time?: Sure.

What’s your favorite movie?: Two for the Road.

is there someone of the opposite sex that you can tell everything to?: Most things, but not everything.

Would you do anything on a dare?: Only if it's a harmless, stupid one. I won't do anything that like, disturbs my peace or contrasts with my values or anything heavy lol.

[fantasyadore]

Nerd Out With Me: Interesting Essay Content.

Hello. I'm back. I have felt more inspired recently to be creative in whatever ways I can. This summer hasn't been the best I guess, but it's not over yet, and there is still time to do the things that I love.

Anyways, something that is really important to me is sharing different media that I love. So, I have decided to do that on here, particularly with interesting articles I read and video essays that I watch. Plus, I think it would be nice to have an archive of things that I love for myself later. I love it when others share these things, so please feel free to give more reccommendations. I don't have too much material for this round, so I went back in time a little bit and used some articles from this past year.

Video: The Twisted World of Leighton Meester: Deep Dive

Summary: I originally watched this because I didn't know much about Leighton. I had seen a few seasons of Gossip Girl, but I didn't know anything about the show or the cast really beyond the few seasons I watched. The video discusses Meester's childhood, rise to fame, music career, and current day life. Although I am not apart of her cult following, it was really interesting to watch.

Potential Sensitive Content: The video does talk about people who have been incarcerated and drug trafficking breifly at the beginning when discussing Leighton's childhood. If that's not something you want to hear about, I suggest not watching or skipping the childhood section of the video. Everything else should be smooth watching!

Video: why does music merch SUCK lately?

Summary: This is something that really makes me mad about the various fandoms that I am a part of. Merchandise for most people, especially more mainstream folks, is just awful. Sometimes there will be ONE good shirt or jacket, but whole collections of merch never blow my mind. This video really breaks it all down for you. The creator discusses the history of merchandise, why current merch is bad, examples of bad merch, and examples of good merch. The video mostly covers mainstream artists, so if you're hoping to hear about how your favorite underground artists' merch is really great, then you will be disappointed. It's a really interesting video all around that kept my attention throughout. Also, if you enjoy music and fandom conversations in general, I reccommend following this creator. They are awesome and really have a lot of knowledge about the industry and fandoms.

Potential Sensitive Content: None that I can think of!

Article: Invisible Women: On the Victorian Custom of Cutting Mothers Out of Portraits

Summary: This article is something that I read around this past Mother's Day. It was such an interesting read and I really do recommend it to others who are interested in history and women. The article has other articles linked, which really sends you down a rabbit hole. The article's title is pretty on point with what the article discusses. The author discusses these invisible women in the photographs, then connects it back to present day issues of being a mother.

Potential Sensitive Content: Some of the pictures in linked articles are kind of creepy. There are discussions about the idea that the children in these pictures may not be alive, so if you don't want to launch yourself into that idea or discussion, this article might not be for you.

Article: Ursula K. Le Guin on How to Become a Writer

Summary: As I have been on my journey to take myself and my writing seriously, I absolutely need articles like this one. This article has a message that seems simple, but can be difficult in practice: just write. This article also affirms the idea that writing (and being a writer) is lonely. The author also covers "the rules" of writing and how there are many exceptions to the rules in very acclaimed books. It's just a good read for writers who need someone in their ear telling them to stop thinking about writing and just do it.

Potential Sensitive Content: None!

So, that's the kind of stuff I have been thinking about this week. Honestly, each of these essays contains a topic that I would like to dive into more on an individual level. That will have to wait though. I really enjoy sharing these types of things with people, and no one in my offline life is really that interested in hearing me discuss these things, so all you magical beings in my computer get to listen instead! It's hard to find really good video essays, so if you have any that you really love, send them my way. Thanks for nerding out with me. You're the best.

[space-ship-earth-crew]

It’s been an interesting, inspiring and harrowing weekend! Started with my trip down to the 60th anniversary March on Washington. I had no idea how to use the Metro, but thanks to a new friend I made named David, going to the march too, he helped me avoid ending up Maryland rather than the Lincoln Memorial.

The beautiful thing about this rally, were the deep connections you make with complete strangers, like a woman who offered me a snack, even though I unwittingly walked into a region of the rally that required press passes. And another three students I met from Florida State University, who drove all the way up from Tallahassee for the march.

They were curious about my signs, so I was able to explain the idea behind them, which they resonated with and asked to take pictures of. (Last powwow videos described from Sunday event below)

My first sign was designed using Midjourney and Adobe Photoshop. I call it “Honorary Captain’s Chair of Spaceship Earth,” and it’s imagining a new Martin Luther King monument in San Francisco, the future birthplace of the Federation and capital of Earth in Star Trek.

There is a strong connection with MLK Jr and this science fiction juggernaut that some may not know about. King was actually a famous early fan of the show and helped persuade Nichelle Nichols to stay on, when she was considering leaving.

The most striking similarity between MLK and Star Trek; it imagines a future Earth where King’s Dream has been realized and humanity is United in peace and prosperity, while their differences are not a source of racism and hatred, but of delight, where infinite diversity in infinite combinations on Earth and in the universe are treasured and celebrated, or as expressed at the rally; is our greatest strength or “superpower,” not weakness.

The Enterprise in Star Trek can be seen a symbol for our spaceship Earth and King’s Dream Reborn, where diverse crew members across the globe have joined forces to explore, not wage world war. The bridge of this starship is a sacred meeting space for the crew, where we learn about our place in the universe while family bonds are created that transcend biology! Not only are humans from every race and corner of Earth represented here, (like a future Earth capital) but even diverse alien beings from other worlds, work side by side with their human brothers and sisters.

The 2nd poster I created with Midjourney and Photoshop, was inspired a couple months ago, (scroll to post below this one) after Jehovah’s Witnesses knocked on my door wanting to talk about the future. My response to them was, “You want to talk about Star Trek?” They weren’t amused and only wanted to talk about the Bible. Eventually they left when I tried to tell them more about one of my favorite sci-fi shows of all time. So this experience got me thinking, “I wish Star Trek people showed up at my house as alternative to Jehovah’s Witnesses, to talk about another kind of future I could get behind, where we work towards Martin Luther King’s Dream Reborn and the Star Trek vision of a United Earth. We may not be ready for first contact and a United Federation of Planets, but the people of the world are ready now to start building a United federation of nations.

So I wanted to imagine what that might look like, with a beloved community of diverse human beings embodying King’s Dream, showing up at your doorstep in Star Trek uniforms, to talk about this future. And to also see them as alternative to Jehovah Witnesses in every major city, with a more hopeful message, where we rewrite the Star Trek Timeline of nuclear annihilation in 2026, to instead build a future and a Starship without the World War. And in doing so, perhaps inspire Christians and Muslims to do the same, rewriting their End Times nightmare of Revelation and Armageddon requiring saved and damned, so we can get to heaven without first having to endure the hell.

This march was also a place I reflected on the nature of impermanence of this life. Having just lost one of my childhood friends; Constantin, I wanted to honor him and all my other friends and family who have crossed over to another realm, who we all eventually join in this journey of the unknown. While I’m still alive, I want to honor their memory, while seeking to embody the highest human aspiration to which we are all heirs; to make this world a better place for the next generation, waiting in the wings for their chance to experience a life closer to heaven than a living hell.

Martin Luther King Jr. Has played a big impact in the way I relate to this unknown, which is constantly hijacked by dogmatic religious extremists. I even saw them at this rally, trying to spread their message of fear salvation and damnation. In the works I’ve read from his life, King embraced possibilities that transcended dogma, by connecting with a higher power of love, offering up perfect freedom which is our only true salvation.

Ironically, on my way back on the Metro, A Christian fundamentalist was sitting across from me and started asking questions about my signs, and he was dismayed by my answers that challenged his Biblical dogma. I gave him an alternative perspective that I hope might lead to his opening up to the ideas of Martin Luther King Jr., and Star Trek. And that the Return of Christ is not something to be taken literally, but seen as metaphor for a greater universal truth of life, that we all eventually return to as the source at death, and Christian extremists mistakenly try to turn into an exclusive commercial for their faith.

And then on my way home, my life was saved by the power of my car, where I was able to speed up in time before a reckless driver smashed into me from behind on the highway.

The next day I attended the Pequot powwow with my dad, another place of beautiful human diversity as window into King’s Dream that I take delight in seeing every year, showing us a glimpse of the beloved diverse community, where our beautiful differences as a species are celebrated instead of being demonized. Taken together with Martin Luther King’s Dream Reborn, the Native American Beloved Community is a powerful antidote to the rise of Christian Nationalism, disease of white supremacy and religious extremism, threatening America and the world’s future. This antidote represents the best alternative we have in transforming a trail of tears into a road of redemption, that can save the soul of America, while propelling US towards our destiny of a United Earth, and a future like Star Trek! 🇺🇸✌🏽👁️🌎👁️🚀✨🌘✨🟠✨🪐✨🌟

#ExploreNotWorldWar

[atomic-thomas]

(Fake ASMR Commission) Browsing r/ScarySigns With Your Girlfriend

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"Hey babe. Can I show you something right now? It's something really interesting I found recently."

...

"Okay, so it's this subreddit called 'r/ScarySigns' & it's just... So fascinating to me for some reason. It's hard to describe. It's just pictures of signs around the world that strike me with this mixed feeling of fear & curiosity &... I like it a lot. Here, I'll just show you on my phone so you don't have to get up."

...

"Alright, I'll cherry-pick my favorite ones & talk about those."

"This one says 'WARNING: VERY DIFFICULT TRAIL! It is a minimum 7-hour hike to the next trailhead over difficult terrain with no phone service. If you are low on water, low on food, tired or otherwise unprepared for a very strenuous hike, please turn back now!'"

...

"Crazy, right? Seven hours? No phone service? What makes the terrain difficult? Are there bears in the area? I have so many questions."

...

"Doing that hike during the day already sounds scary enough, but just imagine if the sun started to set & it got dark before reaching the trailhead. Just thinking about the situation gives me chills. The best thing you can hope for at that point is having someone else with you. Preferably a group. I don't even want to think about being in that situation alone."

...

"It's not even like the area is off-limits either. Sure, you're allowed to hike the trail if you want, but... You know. Your discretion."

"Anyway, next sign. This one says 'DANGER: Never open this door after dark! Always look before you open this door! YOUR LIFE COULD DEPEND ON IT!'"

"*shocked laughter* What?! Ahahaha! Oh My God, there are so many possible implications with this sign. Do I even want to know? Why is this door so dangerous? Any ideas?"

...

"A wild animal. Hmmm... Good guess. Why would I need to avoid opening a door after dark? My only guess is like... Maybe this sign is at a Zoo & it's just warning employees that there's... I don't know... A tiger or something behind this door. There might be some windows out of shot that let you peek in. I'm not really sure. All I know is that I want to be miles away from this door if & when it ever gets opened."

"Alright, next sign. This one says 'This container transports a disease which has no cure.'"

...

"Yeah, I would feel uncomfortable merely driving behind it. I'd run my car through a wash just for being in the vicinity of it. Probably an overly cautious thing to do, but... What even is this disease? Is it deadly? I'm clearly being warned about it for a reason & I want none of it."

"This next one says 'ATTENTION: You cannot walk to safety from this point! You are in danger of dying if you do not summon help! If you need help, push red button! U.S. Border Patrol will arrive in one hour. Do not leave this location."

...

"Okay, so the first thing that stands out to me is the setting. It's a dry desert on a bright hot day. The image on the sign is a guy hunched over with his arms drooping down. So the clear danger here is dehydration or heat exhaustion."

"This sign is definitely pretty scary, but when you know that help will arrive an hour after pressing the button, it doesn't seem all that bad. Just sit down, relax & wait."

...

"I don't really know what kind of animals hang out in deserts. I guess snakes, but... Nothing else immediately comes to mind."

...

"Yeah, I suppose scorpions could also be a problem. But if you're out in the desert then you're definitely wearing shoes. You could easily just step on them."

"Anyway, next one. This one says 'WARNING: Evacuate the island if you hear 8 short blasts.'"

"*shocked laughter* Wow! These signs just keep getting better & better. So... First of all... The eight short blasts would already scare me to begin with since I don't know what they are or where they're coming from."

"But what exactly am I evacuating the island for? What could possibly happen that makes the island dangerous after those blasts go off? The setting looks pretty generic. Nothing really stands out that could give me any hints."

...

"Oh yeah. Thanks for pointing that out. There appears to be some kind of industrial facility in the background. And I see the waterfalls to. Maybe the island gets flooded after the blasts. It must have something to do with all that water."

...

"I don't really have any guesses besides that. Maybe you're able to see what happens after you evacuate. Not that I'll ever know."

"Alright, last one for now. This might be my favorite sign of all. It says 'STOP! Ski Area Boundary! Non-survivable extreme Winter terrain down this drainage! Hike back up is only return to ski area! You will die if you do not return to ski area!"

...

"I know, right? This one is so crazy. It deliberately uses the word 'Will'. You WILL die if you don't return to the ski area. As in... It's a 100% death rate. But that begs the question. What makes the terrain impossible to survive?"

...

"Well, behind the sign, there appears to be a steep slope with deep snow. It's foggy with a bunch of trees. I can deduce that there definitely isn't an easy way, If any way at all to get back up if you were dumb enough to go past the sign."

...

"It'd be nice if like... During a clear sunny day, a helicopter used a camera to record a panorama of the area so we can see everything in detail. I want to know exactly what makes that terrain so lethal."

...

"And again with the word 'Will'. That word implies that the ski resort has been documenting the deaths of people who were stupid enough to cross the threshold & they've supposedly never saved anyone. Only retrieved bodies. And even then, how would they survive the terrain to actually retrieve said bodies? How far can professionalism really carry them?"

"In any case, I'll take the hiking trail from earlier over this any day. At least you can soldier through that. This winter terrain is just impossible. But as for the sign itself & it's intriguing nature... It's way cooler. Pun not intended."

...

"Well, I'm done for now. I think I've showed you enough. You know what to do if you wanna see more. Just search up r/ScarySigns & you can browse for hours."

"But before I go, I'll give you my own scary sign."

"Danger~ The girl in your house may attack you with hugs & kisses if you get too close~"

"Ehehehe~"

------------------------------------------------------------

THE END

[donutloverxo]

NSFW alphabet | Chris Evans

Please note that my stories are not to be stolen or reposted on any other site. Reblogs are welcome. This blog and this story is 18+. Do not read, follow or interact if you are not 18+.

Note - This is written just for fun. I don't know Chris or what he likes lol. I also don't own the alphabet format.

Dividers by @whimsicalrogers

Warnings - rpf, smut, daddy kink, d/s relationship, dom Chris, anal stuff, semi public sex, spanking, sex toys, praise kink.

Word count - 2.5k

A=Aftercare (What they’re like after sex)

Chris is clingy as fuck after sex. He’ll hold you close to his heart (you being the lil spoon of course) and not let go the entire night. With soft kisses on your face, hair and on any bruises he might have left on you. With some pillow talk about how his love for you can overwhelm him sometimes, that he can’t imagine not having you not that he gets to have a taste of you almost every night. Sometimes he likes to listen to you talk about your day, or share a deep secret you hadn’t told anyone else.

His clinginess is something you adore. Something which you would usually be fine with, how he just could not keep his hands off of you, but when you’re somewhere tropical and hot it becomes a bit of a problem.

You were visiting him while he was filming for red Sea diving resort, after seeing him in the beard and the longer hair you couldn’t help yourself and you just jumped on him. After some hot and sweaty sex, you had moved away from him a little, with your back to him you wiped the sheen off of your forehead with the back of your hand, trying to fan yourself with your own hand, ‘Where do you think you’re going?’ he had growled. Not wanting even an inch of distance between the two of you. You tried to protest because you needed to cool off but eventually gave in.

B=Body Part (Their favorite body part)

Everyone knows the answer to this. He likes your ass the most. It doesn’t matter if it’s a flat ass or a thick one he’ll love it the same because it’s a part of you. He likes to smack it, he likes looking at it, he may even like to fuck it. Some stretch marks would just be the cherry on top.

His next favorite would have to be your hips. He loves to see their silhouette through your yoga pants or jeans, or even a dress. After a night of some rough fucking they usually bear his handprints which he loves obviously because it’s almost like he branded you as his own.

C=Cum (Anything to do with cum basically... I’m a disgusting person)

It’s always a battle with the two of you when it comes to cumming. Because Chris likes to see your body covered in his seed, particularly your face, ass and breasts, and you like to have him do it inside you, be it your pussy or your mouth.

Which he doesn’t mind obviously, he likes the idea of his spend being in your tummy, but he also likes taking pictures of your ass covered with his spunk. You just look so pretty when he comes on your face🥺

D=Dirty Secret (Pretty self explanatory)

Chris has fucked you in more bathrooms than you can remember. It’s become a thing or almost a ritual now. Whenever he takes you to an event or a party, or just a casual dinner at his family or friends house, you’ll end up on your knees in the bathroom with his dick in your mouth, or he’ll worship you and eat you out till you literally can’t even walk straight.

It started when you accompanied him to an important event, he was extremely anxious. And you felt helpless because you didn’t know how to make him feel better. But you did know one thing that always lifts his mood up. So you dragged him to the men’s room and sucked him off. He was much relaxed the rest for the evening thanks to you.

E= Experience (How experienced are they?)

VERY. He’s extremely experienced. He has a lot of knowledge and puts it to good use on you. Which can be a little daunting if you’re more on the inexperienced side but don’t ne afraid. He’ll train you really well, you just have to be a good girl and listen.

F= Favorite Position

His favorite position would be doggy style. Where he’s doing from behind, with you on your hands and knees, or with your head down and ass perched up to him because you never can stay up right when he’s doing you so well. He has full access to your ass, if you’re okay with it he would use his fingers on you, spank your ass. He loves to grab your hips or your ass and your breasts.

He’s also a huge fan of missionary. Because he can’t see your pretty face, or look into your eyes from behind. Most days he wants intimacy and to show you how much he loves you.

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc.)

Depends on his mood. Sometimes he’s a bit goofy, like talking in a comically exaggerated Boston accent when you told him you liked the sound of his voice and how his accent becomes more prominent when he is horny.

But most of the times, he’s in control. He has to maintain some composure so you wouldn’t question who’s really in charge or think that you could get away with anything. Because you know how to make him laugh, and if he let’s you do that he couldn’t keep a straight face while punishing you.

H = Hair (How well groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.)

Chris has dark Brown pubic hair, like that of his beard and the hair on his head.

Does anyone remember that term ‘manscaping'? Where dudes trim their pubic hair to make their dicks look bigger. Chris definitely does that. Although he doesn’t need to because like if he got any bigger he might split you in two.

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect)

Doesn’t matter if you’re making love, or fucking hard it will always be intimate and loving with Chris in one way or another.

If you feel needy, and like you want him to show you how much he loves you, you just have to sit on his lap, bat your lashes at him, show him your puppy eyes, and hump his leg a little. He’d get the sign and take you to bed, slowly dragging his cock in and out of you, drawing it out for the both of you, his fingers laced with yours, pinned above your head. He’d feast on your breasts and nipples the whole time just so you could feel his love and need for days.

If you’re feeling particularly frisky, or in a mood to piss him off just so he could be rough with you without you having to ask, you can just give him attitude or roll your eyes a lot. He’ll spank your ass raw, or edge you for hours, or make you climax till it literally hurts, depends on his mood really, to teach you some manners. But since you like the punishment you never learn.

Even while he’s got you over his knee, you not wearing anything but the diamond necklace he gave you, your cheeks wet from crying for the past fifteen minutes, your ass on fire but you still had to take more from him. He tsked, reprimanding you for ruining his expensive dress pants with your slick, playing with your intimate lips, he’d say while stroking your head, “It’s okay, baby, daddy still loves you. Even when you get on my nerves.”

Even while fucking you like he hated you, he made you felt loved and as if you were the most precious person in the world.

J = Jack Off (Masturbation headcanon)

When you started dating, Chris would often masturbate to the thought of you. But when you started sleeping together he never felt the need to, and you asked him not to do it anymore because you didn’t want him wasting his cummies.

Which might’ve been a huge mistake in hindsight because you revealed a weakness of yours. Now when he REALLY wants to punish you, he’d just tie you up jerk off his cock right before your eyes, “See this, sweetheart? I could be fucking your sweet pussy right now, and making you feel good too, but you had go and be a bad girl.” He’d come all over your face or breasts, and would of course make you come too if he feels you’ve learned your lesson.

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks)

Chris has a huge daddy kink. He doesn’t just like the title, he likes everything that comes along with it.

He likes that he has to take care of you, in and outside if the bedroom, being a daddy is a 24/7 job, he has to be considerate to you and grateful for all the trust and love you give him.

He also really likes pinning you down. Whether it be during play wrestling or during sex, it makes him feel strong, and it drives you crazy, absolutely feral for him.

L=Location (Favorite places to do the do)

Yeah you’ve had your share of sneaking off to do it during events but his favorite place to do it would be in the privacy of his own home, preferably his bed so that your dog won’t walk in on you.

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)

If you simply say, “Screw me.” That would probably be more than enough to turn him on and fulfil your request.

But what grinds his gears is seeing you in tight clothing, or the kind of clothes that would show off your assets. If you’re a good mom to dodger, if you show an interest in the things he likes or do anything that would make his heart flutter and make him fall more in love with you.

N= NO (Something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

He would never have proper public sex because that would probably interfere with his public image and work. Other than that he’s pretty open to most things.

He also wouldn’t like to invite anyone else to your bedroom or to share you. It is a nice fantasy for him but way too risky.

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

He likes both giving and receiving equally. He likes having you on your back where he can see your face while he explores your intimate walls with his tongue, but he also likes to have you ride his face. You were apprehensive to at first, but with some convincing you agreed.

Sixtynine is another one of his favorites. He never actually had to ask for it. You were sitting on his face, holding onto his stomach and screaming when you felt your orgasm approaching, he pushed your head just a little, you got the hint, and started working on his cock, which was painfully hard.

P = Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? Etc.)

It would usually depend on what kinda day it is and how you’re both feeling. But most of the time he is usually slow but at the same time rough. Where his thrusts are drawn out but also impactful.

Q= Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc.)

Chris loves quickies. Bending you over the kitchen counter, a quick session in the afternoon on the couch when things got a little too heated while cuddling, in his trailor while he’s on a break, in the shower where he can make you dirty before cleaning you up. You made it.

But he wouldn’t prefer them over proper sex ever. Usually he likes to take his time with you.

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc)

He’s game to experiment to a certain extent. Even if he’s skeptical about something he’d keep an open mind and give it a shot for you.

S= Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last)

He’s a fit and motivated man so he can last for a long time and go for many rounds. It’s more likely for you to be tired and tapped out than for him.

If it was a long day on set, and if he’s a little exhausted then he may not be able to go more than once. But will make up for it when he can.

T = Toy (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?)

You both own a variety of butt plugs and vibrators, silky ties, blindfolds, handcuffs that Chris likes to use on you. You even bought a ball gag asking him to put it on you, which was the only time you ever used it because Chris liked to hear your voice and for you to call him daddy or say his name. You couldn’t do it with your mouth full.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

Chris teases you a lot, but he would be a MASSIVE tease if he was a little more patient. He knows the effect he has on you. How you can’t take your eyes off him when he wears a t-shirt that’s a bit too tight and shows off his arms, how you can’t help but grab his butt sometimes and feel him up. When you bite your lip or look away when he catches you staring. If you get caught, be prepared because he will only do it more just to egg you on.

His touches a bit too light, he’d bring you to the edge and leave you just there. But fortunately it won’t last long because usually he’s the one who ends up getting riled up.

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make)

He’s loud alright. And he isn’t ashamed of it. He would never try to hide how good you make him feel, or miss an opportunity to call you a good girl and praise your gorgeous body. There will be lots of grunting and groaning and moaning and you revel in every second of it.

X = X-Ray (Let s see what’s going on in those pants, picture or words)

He’s pretty big. Much bigger than average. He looked pretty average when he wasn’t hard, you let that fool you into thinking you could take him pretty easily, he wasn’t that much bigger than anyone else you’d had sex with right?

Your eyes almost popped out of your head when you saw him hard, his dick hard and thick and a blush pink, two thick running on the sides of it.

He assured you that he would make it fit and that you had nothing to be worried about.

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

It’s pretty high. Higher than most people at least. You call him your horndog, but like in a nice way, because he always wants it. Even if you spent an entire night screaming his name and being used and stretched in ways that made your pussy as well as your body sore, he would still ask for more the very next morning. He’d respect you if you say no and back off immediately but he’s up for it whenever you want.

ZZZ (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

If he has things on his mind, and if you fall asleep sooner than usual then he’d be up a while. But most of the times he falls asleep quickly after.

[glowingbadger]

Hi it’s me, crawling through the window. Would it be possible to get a crumb of arranged marriage w/ Hubert? His line w/ Dorothea about being willing to get married for politics sake has fueled my brain rot for him.

Good God I need to secure my windows-

I mean HELLO FRIEND ANON YES IT WOULD BE MY PLEASURE

Lol actually though, I have been thinking about this for Hubie since we all started chatting about that arranged marriage stuff! I think it's a perfect concept for him~

This like... got weird while I was writing it though?? Idk man hahaha it ended up on the less-spicy side of what I usually write, and with some very weird dialogue in places... Idk, I hope y'all like it. Maybe if there's interest, I'll follow this up eventually with a more smut-focused piece?

I've been traveling and working so much lately that I just don't even know what writing is anymore or how it works hahaha

TW: A brief mention of non-con

Hubert (FE3H) x Reader ("wife," neutral pronouns)

Arranged Marriage - semi spicy i guess?

"Frankly, he's a pain," Linhardt must be able to see your surprise and confusion written across your face. He goes on, "He's reliable and capable, of course, but also the most persistent nag you'll ever meet. Actually, no-" he glances upward as though to cross reference his own thoughts, "No, her Majesty is worse. But Hubert is a close second to be sure. Always on and on about sleep schedules and proper nutrition and etiquette..." He sighs and closes the massive tome on his lap, as though to close the conversation with it, "frankly, he's an insufferable mother hen. Does that help?"

"Well, it's... Not what I expected," you admit with a shrug, "but thank you all the same."

~

It's been several weeks since the papers binding you in marriage to Hubert Von Vestra had been signed- and this alone had sufficed. No ceremony, no grand ball, just paperwork and a handshake with your father. A handshake that ensured that, even under the Empire's unification, he would maintain nominal control over his considerable portion of land, and in return, would swear absolute loyalty to her Majesty. It was a beneficial arrangement for all parties, and you were not ignorant to the part you played. You were hardly even a bargaining chip- moreso, a hostage.

Your new husband had made no secret of what manner of harm may befall you if your family were to renege on their deal. Fortunately, you know your father to be a reliable coward, so you have no reason to believe he would be bold enough to step out of line.

Hubert Von Vestra is a terrifying man. A zealously loyal man of storied cruelty and a frigid disposition. His frame looms over you whenever he's near, and though he's hardly placed a finger on you since you'd been given over to him, his mere presence is... arresting. There's a sort of charisma to him that's equal parts frightening and fascinating. Perhaps it's madness brought on by your circumstances, but you can't help wanting to glimpse just the slightest bit into that brilliant, ever churning mind.

Unsurprisingly, he has been resistant to your attempts to understand him. He hardly indulges you in small talk, and if you were the paranoid sort, you'd think he intentionally makes himself busy when you're around. Eventually, perhaps out of sheer stubbornness, you'd settled on a routine of bringing coffee to his study adjoined to your bedroom in the evenings. He'd been visibly surprised the first time. It wasn't until the fourth night that he'd given a curt "thank you." About two weeks in, he'd actually sat back in his chair and laid down his quill pen to receive the cup from your hands. After a month, he'd leveled his narrow gaze at you and said,

"I cannot begin to fathom what satisfaction you glean from playing 'maid' to me."

"Well, I, uhm," you hadn't expected him to address you so directly, but you managed to say, "You... work so hard, I wanted to do something for you, I suppose."

His expression is inscrutable as he replies,

"You are aware that my work was much the same before you arrived."

"I am," you say softly, "But- all the same..." you trail off, and Hubert seems content to let the matter rest. And so you leave him be amidst his reports and correspondence, coffee at his side on the desk. Yet for as unproductive as your exchange might have seemed, it does leave you with an idea. The thought to learn about the man from those who knew him long before your arrival at the capitol.

~

Your investigation into the true character of your husband does not stop with Linhardt. In fact, his testimony only leaves you with further questions. But perhaps the others would say otherwise; perhaps the United Empire's most up and coming crest scholar simply inspires maternal behavior. This has to be the case- you simply can't imagine that the notoriously ruthless heir of the even more notorious Vestra lineage would be so... Doting.

And yet the more you learn of him, the more contradictory he seems.

Caspar's take is much like Linhardt's- a picture of a man far closer to a school marm than any assassin or master of torture. Ferdinand seems both smitten and incensed by him, oscillating wildly between the two. Then eventually, to your shock, Bernadetta takes the initiative to speak to you about Hubert of her own accord.

"I'm, uh, really so-sorry to bother you!" she approaches with arms drawn close to her chest and eyes resolutely avoiding yours, "I- I just heard that you were... asking about Hubert, so, I, uh..."

It takes some time to prompt her further. You assure her again and again- no, this isn't intrusive at all- yes, you'd very much like to hear her perspective- no, you're not mad at her. In truth, you're endlessly intrigued about what a gentle soul like Bernadetta would have to say about a man feared across the continent. Finally, she manages,

"He's... actually really kind!" she blurts out, as though the words would abandon her if she gave them the window of opportunity. Your eyebrows raise slightly.

"You think so..?"

"Yes, completely-!" she stammers, "I know he's super, super scary, and powerful and spooky and cold and, uh, all of that. But still," her voice falters as she continues, "He only scolds people when they do something dangerous. And he only hurts people to protect others. I... I know he's done some te-terrible things. But... he's always been nice to Bernie," finally, she meets your eyes with an imploring look in hers, "So, uh, I'm really grateful to him. And I think it would be really nice for someone to reach out to him. If... if that's not too weird or anything. For you."

You smile warmly and nod,

"Thank you, Bernadetta. I know it can't be easy for you to come to me with all of this, but... I'd like to try, if I can."

The opportunity doesn't come in the way you expect.

At first, it seems the night will proceed like many others before. You bring a cup of coffee to your husband's desk, setting it down quietly so as to not disturb him. He's silent, but this is common enough, so you head back to the bedroom to undress for the evening. All nights prior, he would lay beside you long after you'd settled in, then rise to resume work in the morning before you woke up- all the while never allowing your bodies to interact in any way.

Tonight, just as you're about to close the door to Hubert's study behind you, long fingers catch around your wrist, visibly startling you.

It's the most physical contact you've had to-date, but he only says,

"One moment."

You whip around to face him, a touch of anxiety evident in your eyes. It's clear in his own that he notices, but if anything, he only seems amused. He steps forward, his taller frame menacing you as he speaks,

"I understand that you have been busying yourself with some manner of investigation as of late."

It takes a moment for his meaning to reach you. When it does, your face burns and you can't bring yourself to meet his scrutinizing gaze,

"Oh, uhm..."

"I assure you, my dearest wife," he says with barely concealed venom, "anything that I do not wish for you to know will be kept from you. Aside from which, your efforts thus far have proven amateurish at best."

Something seems off about his tone. You could understand if he felt uncomfortable or hesitant about your efforts to learn about him, but this seems far more grave, more... business-like. He steps towards you once more, and you step back in turn. Yet before long, you feel your legs bump the edge of the bed. A gloved hand trails a fingertip down your jawline to your chin, then urges you to look up at him.

"Whatever you are planning, my dear, I promise it will be fruitless. You had best rethink how you spend your days before your actions bring you to harm."

"No, I-" your brow creases deeply, your face burns, your body burns hotter and you don't want to consider why, "I've just been trying to learn about you as a person, nothing else. We're- we're married, after all, so..."

He gives an abrupt, dry laugh.

"Ah, so I am to believe that you've been interrogating my allies out of some misguided affection, is that it?"

"Hubert, just listen to me!" for a moment, you feel bolstered, defiant, and you straighten your posture, "You won't tell me the first thing about you- the only way to learn so much as your favorite color is to ask someone who's known you for a decade!"

Briefly, he does seem to consider your words. But his eventual reply is as aloof as any prior,

"If you're no spy or politician, then you're worse- a fool." he says, and before you can respond, he's seized both of your wrists and pushed you back onto the bed. For a moment, the room spins and your voice leaves you. A shrewd eye watches you with cruel condescension as he pins you against the sheets.

"I should think that you'd be well aware what I'm capable of," he nearly whispers, "I personally ensured that the rumors spread through your father's territory and further still. Do you think that anyone would even dare lift a finger to help you if I chose to seek retribution for this recent behavior?" He draws nearer, his grip tighter at your wrists, "Perhaps as punishment, I'll simply take my pleasure from you by force."

Your lips tighten, you take a breath. Then, meeting his gaze directly, you reply,

"You won't."

His visible eye narrows.

"And what evidence do you have to prompt such unfounded confidence? Perhaps you have crafted a flattering falsehood of me in your mind," a mocking smirk curls his lips, "Am I a misunderstood sentimental sort to you, then? A sad, lonely man for you to save?"

You scowl, though you suspect it looks more like a pout to him.

"I don't know what I think of you yet- not completely. But I don't pity you like that, and I don't think you're sad or lonely. I know you're not."

For the first time, it seems that you've caught him off guard. That frigid mask falters for just a moment, and you go on before he can replace it,

"You're surrounded by people who care about you. I've seen it for myself. Whatever you've had to do in the service of your ideals- it hasn't kept the people around you from wanting to know and understand you, even if it's despite you."

Hubert is silent for a moment. His gaze bores into you like he thinks he'll discover some hidden layer if he can just keep digging. Then, he sighs,

"How did I ever become bound to such a troublesome spouse..."

When you wrest your arms from his grasp, his hands fall away with little resistance, and you think that perhaps he had never truly intended to keep you in place by force to begin with. He moves to leave the bed, but your fists find the front of his clothing and tug him back down to you.

You press your lips to his without hesitation, and you can feel him inhale sharply, his entire body rigid above you. His lips are surprisingly soft, his scent like coffee and old parchment, and though your heart threatens to burst from your chest, you hold firmly to him by his clothes. Near imperceptibly, he leans down against you, and your fear, along with any remaining doubts, begin to dissolve. Knowing he won't pull away, you let your hands relax against him, running up his chest where you can feel his own pulse pounding. It's so human, so entirely reasonable and normal. Now, at last, Hubert Von Vestra is merely a man of flesh and bone.

Your tongue meets his naturally, your lips parting in time with his as your kiss deepens to a fevered pace. One hand reaches that sharp, handsome jawline, reveling in the erotic sensation of his mouth moving against yours. And yet, all the while, his hands remain staunchly on the bed beside you. He doesn't touch you- doesn't even let his body meet yours.

It's impossible to tell whether passion or madness drives you to bring your teeth to his lower lip, a single insistent bite communicating desire mounting faster than you can contain. And for a moment, you sense something new; a sound catches in Hubert's throat, a reaction he fights to stifle. Then, he pulls away. His pale skin is tinted a rare shade of pink, and his hair is ruffled out of place enough to reveal both narrowed eyes. His cloak has spilled around his frame to surround you both, and somewhere in your frazzled mind, you imagine that you're caught in some beautiful, velvet-lined trap.

"I- must... return to my work." Hubert says stiffly. He pushes up from you and turns away, leaving you still flustered on the bed behind him. You sit upright, holding your arms tight around your body as you watch him straighten his hair and clothes.

"You, uhm..." your face reddens still as you search for the right words, "you could... join me in bed, if you liked."

Hubert turns to the door of his study, speaking without daring to even glance your way,

"Anything that you offer to me now will be born from the impulse to survive. I have been bargained with before." His shoulders slack just slightly, his voice low and sober, "The proudest nobleman will even sell off his own child to a monster if he feels it will spare him its teeth."

You open your mouth to protest, then shut it without a word. You feel that you know your mind and heart, even in this moment, but you lack the words to convince a man like this. In a feeble attempt, you murmur,

"You don't frighten me, Hubert. Not anymore."

He half turns toward you, though his hand remains on the handle of his study door.

"You yourself said that you do not know what you think of me," he says, "As such, I will not lay a hand on you until the day that you do."

You stare down at your hands in your lap, barely registering the sound of the door clicking shut as he leaves you in the bedroom. No matter how you try to sort out your tangled thoughts, the memory of his lips on yours won't leave them. If anything, it eclipses any sense of reason, standing resolutely in the way of your path to clarity. Letting out a groaning sigh, you fall onto your back on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling as if it could offer you any advice.

What do I think about my own husband? You wonder, the thought nearly enough to make you laugh. Well for one, he's a pain.

[superhero--imagines]

Etsy Store Here l Ko-Fi l Commission Info

Part 2 Here!/ Part 3 Here! / Playlist Here!

* Sorry guys but this mans been living in my head rent free

* So the first time you see Satoru it’s with those black specs he likes to wear and you get a glance at those GORGEOUS eyes

* He meets your eyes for a second before looking away, it’s the briefest of interactions

* But your heart is racing and you can feel the familiar heat of attraction starting to lap at your face

* ‘He looks just like a prince’ you think

* You find out pretty fast the ‘prince’ similarities stop at appearance

* “Ah it’s not my fault you’re so weak~” You hear him say with the princely smile as he teases Utahime

* It looks like he’s held something so high she can’t reach it

* “Try your best, if you drink plenty of milk I’m sure you’ll be tall enough one day~” he says before laughing with that same princely face

* “You shouldn’t pick on those that are weaker than you” Geto intervenes, somehow making the entire situation worse

* You watch as Gojo laughs

* You’re starting to think he might be the real curse you need to exorcise

* You continue watching him as Utahime tries to kick him in the crotch

* “You silly girl, did you forget there’s an infinity between us?” Cue Gojo’s “A-hahahahaha” laugh

* Yeah, he’s definitely a demon

* You keep your distance, Gojo’s beautiful and all, but you’re not dumb, you’ve heard about the Satoru clan.

* “Hey Geto-Kun, who do you think would win in a fight me or a lion?”

* Besides that guy is way too reckless, you’d rather not get all mixed up in that if you can help it

* You watch as Satoru takes his shirt off, his well defined chest glistening

* Still, you’re grateful for the show

* Little do you know the famous Gojo Satoru has taken note of you as well

* Naturally given his ability he notices everyone, but he especially takes note of you

* It’s not because you stand out, quite the opposite

* You blend into the background easily, supporting others when needed

* But not to the degree where you unable to defend yourself, or you’re sacrificing your own life for someone else

* He grins

* Looks like he found something interesting

* You’re at the vending machine eyes racking over the drink selection

* But there’s another thirst quenching sight right next to you, their hand resting on the vending machine, that princely smile aimed right at you-

* “So what do you say?” Satoru asks, and you start to wonder if that princely smile seems just a bit wolfish “Do you want to be my lover?”

* You’re kind of annoyed

* What an impetuous question, you can count on one hand how many times you’ve spoken to each other, and you only need both hands to count the words said in each of those encounters

* “No”

* You turn your attention back to your drink choices, it’s pleasant weather so you don’t want anything hot.

* Anything carbonated is out of the-

* Gojo moves closer, peering into your face with that grin

* Ugh does he have to stand so close

* “Why ‘no’? I know you think I’m attractive”

* “I also think you’re a womanizer with a god complex”

* And really why shouldn’t he be?

* He’s probably the most beautiful man you’ve ever seen in your life, not to add the sheer power he contains in that body of his

* But just as he has the right to be a womanizer with a god complex, you have the right not to take part in that narrative

* He backs away, leaning back against the wall

* So he’s not going to deny it

* Well, at least he’s somewhat self aware

* Those clear blue eyes catch yours again, and you have to fight against every human instinct from showing any human reaction

* You turn back to the vending machine making your selection when a smile lilts onto his mouth

* “Friends then”

* “Just colleagues” you reply, grabbing your drink

* But as you walk by you push a canned beverage into his chest.

* It’s a can of green tea

* It’s his favorite drink

* He looks to you seeing a bottle glinting in your hand

* So you didn’t sacrifice your own thirst, but you also didn’t ignore his needs

* He feels that same wolffish grin curl onto his mouth

* “What an entertaining person”

* After that if you’re anywhere within a 50 feet radius of him he’ll go out of his way to get your attention

* “Oh wow, looking especially radiant this morning (Y/N/N)” he’ll say with a playful seductive wink

* When you don’t respond he tries annoying you instead

* “Ah you can’t reach that? Here let me-” and then he’ll proceed to hold it even further out of your reach

* He’s expecting you to jump up and down, or at least give some sort of response but you just walk away

* Well that wasn’t what he expected

* He feels that grin spread across his face again

* Very interesting

* His attraction to you is pretty shallow

* He’s interested you because you’re entertaining

* And you’re entertaining because you aren’t interested

* Which only makes him that much more interested in you

* Its a paradox

* You watch him flounder around, annoying Utahime for a giggle

* Well it doesn’t matter anyway, you know how he is, he’ll get bored soon enough and lose all interest in you

* He’s not the strongest {f*ckboy} for nothing

* You see him turn to meet your gaze, offering a boyish smile and a wink

* You make sure not to give any reaction, turning to listen to something Shoko is telling you

* You hope he can’t sense the twinge of heat you feel on your face

* You’d be lying if you said you didn’t find the attention a little flattering

* I think for the most part you’re right, Satoru is mostly playing around-

* At least at first.

* You’re just something new and fun no one knows about, and wildly entertaining since you never respond the way he thinks you will

* You’re kind, but not at the expense of yourself, and he likes that

* Besides you’ve got this quite sort of consideration for others-

* It’s not flashy, it’s so subtle most people hardly notice

* It’s in the way you bring an extra snack for Utahime when she’s running herself ragged training

* “They were having a two for one special”

* Or the way you’ll get your teacher a plushie you saw at a shop at the station because you know he needs more

* “I just thought it was cute, but I haven’t got any room for another one”

* You’re quiet, someone who hears things and she’s things, but never says anything about them

* A wallflower

* But you’re not weak

* There’s something about those two things put together in the same person that entertains him to no end. Like a paradox or a puzzle he can’t seem to solve no matter how hard he tries

* Satoru’s had at least a hundred lovers, and a great many of them had provided him with their own brand of kindness and consideration

* But he’s never felt something as warm as when he see’s a lunch box in his dorm after he hobbles back from a mission that lasted a little longer than expected

* He peers at the note attached, it’s not even signed but he knows it’s from you

* “I know you think you’re god or whatever, but even gods have to eat”

* He doesn’t know why, but he’s overcome with the urge to cry

* He gulps hard- it’s not like this a lunch you made by hand or anything, it’s just something from the convenience store

* And it’s not like this note is particularly affectionate or special either, he’s gotten entire love letters from his previous lovers

* So he’s not sure why he saves your note, placing it behind a picture frame where only he’ll know it is , or why he thinks that convenience store lunchbox is the most delicious thing he’s ever had

* Even though he knows he cares about you, and that he’s grown quite fond of you -

* I don’t think it clicks for him

* And part of that is because well, he’s Gojo Satoru

* He collects lovers like some people collect photographs or memories

* They serve their purpose, and he lets himself be entertained by pretending all the feelings are real, and then he moves on to the next one

* It’s just what he’s used to

* And this whole paradox you two have going on could go on for a few years until something finally shifts

* He went a little too far with one his half-flirting-half-tormenting pranks

* And for the first time you give him a reaction, it’s only for a second, but annoyance and anger mar you face

* And then just like that, it’s gone and you turn and walk off in the other direction

* Sh*t.

* He went too far didn’t he?

* It should be fine right? You’re not too mad at him right? You’ll get over it-

* Right?

* But for the next few days you don’t speak to him, and you don’t make eye contact

* It bothers him more than it should

* Normally he would be annoyed that his toy would have the gall to blatantly ignore him like this-

* But this is different than that.

* He’s-

* He’s feeling regret

* He shouldn’t have acted that way to you, maybe if he had just done something differently, or said something differently-

* It’s not like the way things were between you two was ideal or anything,

* But at least then you would at least speak to him

* ... and every once in while he would get to see you smile

* It’s never at him, it’s mostly when you’re with Shoko or Utahime

* Occasionally when you’re with Nanami or Geto, who you’ve been talking to more recently

* He’s pretty sure you three are talking about him, just one day away from forming a “down with Gojo Satoru” club

* Still that smile when you laugh-

* The way you look so carefree and young and so full of life is worth all the slander in the world to him

* He needs to see that smile, to know something that wholesome and kind exists somewhere in this cruel world

* Satoru’s thinking about how to go about apologizing to you

* He’s caught between buying you a Lamborghini or buying you a special grade tool when he ends up running into you

* “Ah, could you help me with something?”

* He would quite literally give you the clothes on his back right now if you asked

* You stand up on a a chair holding a glass of water

* “Apparently this is supposed to help with concentration or something” You say pressing the glass full of water to the ceiling

* “Can you hold this broom?” You ask and Satoru nods, holding the broom handle steady as you make sure it’s pushed against the glass holding it steady

* You nod approvingly down at him

* The rest happens pretty fast, you’re off the chair, carrying it away

* “The broom is actually a special grade tool, so cursed energy won’t work on it”

* You grin

* “Have fun figuring how to get out of that Baka Prince!” You say with a laugh

* And Satoru is dumbfounded

* But not because you just pranked him into a holding up a glass of water with a broom

* But because as you were rushing away, you showed him your teasing grin

* It’s the first time you smiled at him

* And as he looks up at the glass of water, a smile slowly spreads across his face

* It’s not the wolffish smile he usually has when he’s around you, or the princely smile he uses when he’s trying to get something

* It’s a genuine smile

* Ah, so that’s it

* He’s fallen in love with you

* If you’re not the one entertaining him, then he’s just not interested

* Ah geez

* He was so focused on trying to get you to fall in love with him that he really didn’t see this coming

* Well he’ll have to start being serious about pursuing you now-

* Though for you to pull off something like this on him tells him you’re his ideal match without a doubt

* A wallflower with a mischievous streak, he likes that.

* He scratches his head with his free hand

* “I wonder how I’m supposed to get out of this?” He muses looking up at the glass full of water

[moonsquaremars]

11th house thoughts

Hi everybody.

I have an 11th house stellium, and I love it. Probably because my venus is in there, der planet of luv, as well as mars, lust et aggression, and mercury, th’ intellect. 

My sun missed it shy of 1° ; had i been born just a few minutes earlier, I would have been an 11th house sun. But I’m a twelfer. Why, might you ask? My mother has an 11th house stellium afterall, so did my ex-boyfriend. Well, if you ask, my father is a twelfth house sun. 

And I’m learning to live with that. 

Just kidding. Anyways, I love my 11th house stellium. If you’re unfamiliar, the eleventh house is ruled by aquarius. Each of the twelve houses in astrology corelate to each of the twelve signs of the zodiac. The planet which governs both this house and sign is the planet of Uranus, which is my favorite one in our solar system :) I did a random generator a guy posted on reddit to find out which planet is dominant in your chart, and when I plugged everything in, I got Uranus. I was actually quite surprised by this, but overjoyed. I love everything uranus represents. Eccentricity, humanitarianism, chaos.

I am a cancer sun, though, and virgo moon. Cancer rules the moon, so wouldn’t that be my dominant planet? Or is it just my chart ruler? I don’t know. But the moon is so fleeting. Kind of chaotic, actually. Since the moon passes each sign every few days, that’s what makes us cancers so moody. We feel the energy of all the signs within a months time. Can you imagine how that feels? constantly knowing what other people are feeling and thinking? Or maybe I’m just imagining it. I am crazy, after all :p

I digress. The 11th house is fabulous. It rules the finer things in life. My ex-boyfriend was a dandy man, took me to fancy restaurants and hotels, the works. I need that sort of thing, I admire and crave it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very in tune with income inequality and the social issues that plague the world. But I still love dressing up in fancy clothes for a decadent night out. I suppose this is attributed to my stellium, but I’ll take it. A stellium by the way is when you have three or more planets in one house.

It’s kind of odd that my mom has an eleventh house stellium because we grew up quite poor. Nothing about her really screams fancy besides the fact that she adores drinking wine, is beautiful, and we live fancier only if you put us in to comparison with poorer people around us. We did grow up wearing nice clothes though. My mom would buy us second hand designer brand clothes like tommy hilfiger. Maybe that’s not designer, maybe that’s just brand name. I’m from Kentucky, give me a break. But we Kentucky fancy, baby.

Uranus being my dominant and favorite planet, is in my 7th house, the house of libra and relationships. Perhaps someone could pull up my chart {in the tags] and enlighten me on why it might be my dominant planet. I might also add that my draconic moon is in aquarius, which is supposely what your ‘soul’ truly is. I don’t quite believe that, because I think the soul is larger and smaller than the twelve signs of our universe. Or maybe just our solar system. At least of our conscience understanding of things at this time. Astrology is just a bunch of symbols made of our world to organize and communicate ieas n information. It’s not much more than that.

I recall being very internet savvy in middle and high school. My north node and chiron are in my third house, house of gemini and communication. All of my 11th house stellium planets are also in gemini. I see this being accurate because I am rather small in frame, standing at 5 foot 9 and weighing 125 pounds since I was thirteen years old. My mouth gets me in trouble, whether it’s from accidentally offending or just not being able to shut up! I would constantly be editing my myspace profile, using html codes, messing with the layout and how it interacted with my profile picture and song, and anything else I added to it. I loved it, and then that transitioned to my tumblr blog which I did in high school. Hopefully tumblr doesn’t die out, it’s definitely not what it used to be. Later when stumbleupon was something, I would look up things about futurism, humanism, design. I loved reading about the future. It made me so freaking excited. Like what will life be like in 2040? So cool! Or 2600? Then it made me sad once I accounted my age into the picture. I don’t wanna be 40! and that’s so far away! I hate waiting. 

I’ll end this post on something interesting I noticed. My boyfriend of a year had an eleventh house stellium. After we broke up, I had two guys I was interested in. I was actually quite torn, because they were both so amazing, but so different. One was elegant and familiar with astrology and addiction issues and had money. He was like this worldly man with fantastic package hehe helped cure this mundane “what’s the point?” feeling I had about learning languages and stuff. He made me feel like there was in fact a point to all of it. He’s a scorpio just like me mum and we just had great chemistry. But I was already seeing a nother guy, who was this gentle, down the earth, all around manly man’s man. I loved him, but in a different way. He was simple, but the first time I slept over at his house, he picked me up in this kinda old but kinda new like beat up stick shift hyudai sedan. He reminded me of Wario. But he had an amazing package as well. we mostly just slept though ,and when I slept with him, I felt like I was back in bed with my father when I was like five or seven years old. I already know how that sounds, and I know the childish bunch of you or dommage who lack a healthy relationship with your father if y’ar, are going to come for me and say that’s gross or messed up or perverted or weird. It’s not. I don’t want to fuck my father, I never have, and I never will. I really don’t want to open this can of worms because I could go on about people I’ve met who have been sexually assaulted by their fathers or who have an incest fetish and I’m not trying to shame any of those people. But, I felt like I was back in bed with my father like i was when i was a kid while I was laying with him, and that was a really, really, really good feeling. I never forgot it. He had an aries sun, which I used to hate aries. It was my least favorite sign, and probably still is tbh, along with aquarius LOL. Oh and his moon was in taurus which explained everything. My dad is a taurus sun, as are my two sisters, my grandpa, and one of my good friends, Chelsea. My moon is in virgo in the second house, which is the house of taurus.

Well, mr. fancy pants had an 11th house stellium, and my down to earth sweet S had a third house stellium. Finding these things out did nothing to absolve my confusion, only added to the ache of not knowing which to choose. Talk about love triangle though. It did make me realize why I was in this predicament though, and I suppose it worked out because I don’t really talk to either guy anymore. But The seventh and third houses are also air houses, just like the 11th. 

11th house - Aquarius/uranus, 

7th house - libra/venus, 

3rd house - gemini/mercury

That’s all for tonight. I’m ever behind on french homework, so I oughtta go take care of that. I want to write on the twelfth house, since my sun is in there as well as my father’s, and why I don’t appreciate its doom and gloom persona. If each house correlates to a sign, then the twelfth’s would be house of pisces. Pisces is the last sign with a bad stereotype. At least from my perception, it’s one of the best. So humanistic and kind. So why is its house the house of prison and addictions and psych wards and have all this hubbub, this &thatt?

Au revoir! -K  ý ll

[kaistarus]

The Only Exception

Pairing: NishinoyaXReader

Words: 2.2K

Summary: Nishinoya was genuinely happy with his life. He’d gotten used to being by himself and had accepted the fact that that was how it was supposed to be. Until you came along and threw everything he thought made sense out the window.

A/N: I really like this fic. It’s one of my favorites Nishinoya ones so far just because it’s his pov and timeskip and the amount of love feels makes me happy. i got a lot of serotonin while writing it :D

Masterlist

Nishinoya had never been someone’s first choice.

He knew that sounded dramatic, but it was just a fact of life. The sky was blue, Tanaka could chug three-fourths gallon of milk before vomiting, and Nishinoya was never anyone’s preferred option--which never bothered him so keep the pity to yourself.

He learned to accept this when he never got scouted for the All-Japan Youth Camp and after the only person Nishinoya ever even kind of loved ended up loving his best friend. It taught him to keep his expectations low and to focus on things he could control, which was what led him to solo-traveling Japan and then the world. He realized things might be better on his own, and with the constant itch that he was missing out on something bigger traveling alone just made sense.

But then you came and ruined everything.

Hold on. That came off way more aggressive than Nishinoya wanted. He meant there was a perfect vision for how his life would go-pyramids in Egypt, Hollywood sign in Los Angeles, deep sea fishing in Italy-until he toppled over you in the streets of Italy. He’d been sprinting toward the docks when you stepped out of a marketplace and he collided into you, knocking you flat on your butt and sending your groceries all over the sidewalk. Nishinoya fumbled through his best apology in broken Italian while shoving produce into your paper bag, but froze in surprise when you snorted rather than began an enraged lecture.

He swore his heart actually stopped when your eyes met. You were clearly amused by his flustered behavior and when his heart started back up it was abnormally fast. Not once had he understood what Tanaka meant when he explained the first time he’d seen Kiyoko, but the first time Nishinoya saw you everything Tanaka said clicked. If Nishinoya had been fifteen he probably would’ve proposed to you on the spot.

But he wasn’t, so instead he shakily handed you your groceries with furiously red cheeks.

“Come ti chiami?” You asked with a raised brow.

Nishinoya blinked several times. He racked his brain for what he’d been taught on his last fishing trip, but it was mostly curses and inappropriate sayings he should probably avoid using. He was pretty sure Duolingo mentioned ‘chiamo’ as name though.

“Nishinoya?” He answered like a question and felt relief wash over him when you nodded.

“What are you doing this weekend, Nishinoya?”

He stared blankly before pointing at you with wide eyes, “I understood that.”

“Well you obviously don’t know Italian,” you rolled your eyes and he pouted at the incredibly accurate jab, “so, are you free?”

He looked around the empty street before pointing to himself. “Are you still talking to me?”

“Is there another Nishinoya around here?”

“I mean, there could be.” He looked up thoughtfully. “The odds would be crazy though.”

You laughed lightly which made a warmth creep up his neck. “I’m talking to you. I’m trying to ask you on a date.”

He looked at you like you’d grown a second head. “Why?”

“You’re attractive and you seem nice,” you cocked your head to the side. “Is that not a good reason?”

He stared at the ground intensely. “I guess… It is?” Then his original reason for being there struck him and his eyes widened. “Oh shit. I have to go,” he started leaving before quickly coming back. “Wait, I, uh, yes. Yes to the date thing.”

You chuckled, pulling a cellphone from your pocket to let him hurriedly create his contact before continuing his sprint to the docks-with a teasing recommendation not to knock anyone else over. That literal run in was the moment his entire world view became out of whack.

It wasn’t that he thought he was immune to liking someone-high school Nishinoya fell for any breathing human that gave him attention-he just lost the ability to imagine someone liking him. Maybe he’d been by himself too long or maybe that was just another fact he’d grown used to. He didn’t know anymore.

He did know that when he showed up at the restaurant thirty minutes early-there’s only so much pacing someone can do before they go insane-he hadn’t expected to see you. Just sitting on a bench beside the main entrance, looking too perfect while bouncing a knee and nibbling on your thumb nail as if you were nervous to be there.

Except it was only him, so that wouldn’t make sense.

“Hey,” you said when you spotted him standing in the middle of the sidewalk like an idiot.

“You’re here,” he raised a brow. You took it as the time, but he meant it in a general sense. He truly hadn’t expected you to show up.

“Oh,” you chuckled awkwardly, twisting the material of your clothes. “Yeah, I was kind of nervous.”

He mulled that over for admittedly too long, but it just seemed like such a stupid thing to say. It wasn’t that you looked stupid, but that’s what made it so confusing.

“You’re also early.” You pointed out when the silence became awkwardly long.

“I was nervous.” He said like it should have been obvious.

“At least we’re starting on equal ground,” you said with a shaky breath.

Equal ground? He wasn’t sure his brain was cut out for this type of critical thinking. He’d even spent the past few days planning for every scenario-even you sneaking out the bathroom like in the movies-but he never pictured you being nervous.

“Uh, yeah,” he tapped against his leg while glancing through the window at the half-filled dining area, “we can probably go inside.”

“That’s probably a good idea,” you gave him a quick finger gun before whipping around with shoulders to your ears.

Nishinoya blinked several times before looking back down the street. A part of him thought about running, saving you both from the shitty date to come filled with awful conversation starters he’d pulled from an online article for high schoolers. However his fate was sealed the moment you sent a gentle smile over your shoulder and his feet began following you through the door without his permission.

Ever since that day he’d been waiting for the other shoe to drop. Ever since you giggled behind your hand instead of wincing at the terrible jokes he regretted the moment they left his mouth; ever since you weren’t burdened by the need to translate for him the whole night; and ever since you were amused rather than annoyed at his nervous rambling and awkward icebreakers.

It was just too good to be true.

Like the first time you came over and teased him for the cheesy dialogue in his favorite action movies. How his chest ached when your head rested in his lap and you gazed at him with overwhelming amounts of affection. He’d never dreamed he’d have this-couldn’t have if he tried. Sharing his favorite things with someone while they traced designs against his palm and occasionally sealing them with featherlight kisses. The fire it sent up his arm was too much and not enough and he hadn’t realized how much he’d wanted this.

It was a little scary how much Nishinoya didn’t want to lose it.

And that thought started keeping him up at night. Nishinoya was never really scared of anything-it was kind of what he was known for everywhere he traveled. If anyone needed something done they asked the foreigner with a death wish. So, the idea that you had that effect on him was, again, terrifying.

But what was Nishinoya supposed to do when you press your forehead against his in the middle of the night? Running your fingers through his hair and paying special attention to the blonde strands he’d always been secretly self-conscious of, whispering low how they were one of your favorite things in the world. How could he regret anything when you rubbed your nose lazily against his and kissed him softer than he ever deserved? He didn’t give a shit how scared he was if it meant he could stay like this, with you, for as long as you’d let him.

Because his heart raced a million miles a second when you mindlessly held his hand under a table or leaned against him just to be close. Because for some reason he was the first person you called when you were excited or when you needed comfort. Because when he rambled too long about spearfishing or an old friend’s volleyball game your eyes lit with genuine interest rather than annoyance. And because he was in love with you.

Which he both wasn’t prepared for and had known was inevitable. Falling for you had been like getting hit by a semi-truck he’d seen coming for miles.

It probably happened sooner than socially acceptable, but that didn’t surprise him given his all or nothing nature. This outcome was decided the moment Nishinoya knew he’d be fine with you breaking his heart a hundred times if it meant he could keep waking up next to you cascaded by the rising sun because he was still too lazy to invest in curtains. Just you cuddling closer to him for warmth in your sleep would make every ounce of pain worth it.

Once Nishinoya’d acknowledged his feelings it was nearly impossible keeping them down. With every breathtaking smile, or brush of your hand against his, or bubble of laughter that rang throughout his apartment it nearly spilled from his lips like a breath. It took all self-restraint he had to hold it back. And it wasn’t that he didn’t want you to know because you deserved this piece of him-every piece of him.

He just wasn’t sure you’d want it.

His resolve lasted nearly a month-a month longer than he thought he was capable-before the feeling was too intense for him to keep down. And it wasn’t anything drastic that made him break. No, it was something so absurdly casual that he was almost pissed at himself when the words flowed from his mouth.

It had been a completely average morning, nothing crazy, the weather was actually gross with rain pounding against the windows and the sky a depressing shade of grey. But then you stepped out of his bathroom while rubbing the sleep from your eyes, giving him a lopsided smile before slurring a soft request for breakfast. It was like time froze and he was in a stupid romcom except you were there so it was actually an oscar nominated masterpiece.

Your head lolled to the side, half-lidded eyes filling with concern at his silence. “We can cook together. I didn’t mean it like-”

“I love you.”

That seemed to wake you up. Your body straightened while your mouth hung open in stunned silence. Nishinoya had expected this kind of reaction, so he clenched his fists tight in preparation for the worst.

“Are you sure?” You asked, barely above a whisper. “That’s a pretty serious word, Noya.”

He knew that. Nishinoya had spent too many nights losing sleep over that.

“You scare me,” he confessed, deciding if he was going to dig his grave he might as well make it deep. “I’ve never really been the one someone chooses. More like deal or settle with.” He grimaced when his heart squeezed painfully in his chest, “but I love you more than I thought I could ever love anyone and that scares me. You make me feel wanted and I don’t know what to do with that.”

“Because I do want you.” You whispered and his stare locked on yours so quickly, meeting your loving gaze while his heart started racing. “And everyone you know must be really stupid because I feel lucky I got to choose you. I get to love you.”

He stared at you wide-eyed while his chest swelled with so much emotion he was surprised he hadn’t passed out.

“Sorry, that sounded really lame.” You placed a hand against your forehead and Nishinoya shook his head vigorously.

“I think that was the greatest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

You stepped closer and cradled his face, gently brushing your thumbs along his cheeks. If he wasn’t so manly and awesome he may have teared up, but he definitely didn’t. Which was why you obviously weren’t wiping any water off his cheeks before pulling his lips against yours.

Nishinoya set a languid pace that turned desperate when you tangled your fingers in his hair. He pulled you as close as he could, which was never enough, snaking an arm around your middle and sliding one to cradle the back of your head. 

When it got heated enough that he decided he’d very much like to move it to his bedroom Nishinoya’s stomach growled and you snorted against his lips. Nishinoya pouted, whining when you pulled away with a playful smirk.

“Later,” you said, pinching his cheeks and waving his head around. “Food first. We’re both hungry.”

He did love food.

He disrespectfully watched you leave him in favor of searching the fridge for food that could be thrown together for breakfast. A dopey smile covered his lips because he loved you. He was lucky enough to get to love you. And for some ridiculous fucking reason you were dumb enough to love him.

He would do whatever he could to keep it this way. For now, that was helping you cook breakfast. Tomorrow, who knows? But whatever it was you would be there, so it would be pretty god damn amazing.

[ego--x]

23-28

23. You’re stranded on a deserted island and there’s a box, what’s in it? ANOTHER BOX! Well, since I already wished for a partner in stranded crime, let's go with some utensils that might come in handy (and pray that the island provides food that's edible).

24. What’s the best gift you got? I don't really have THE best gift, but what I can say is that I never pay much attention to how expensive something is. I remember most fondly how friends went to a festival or concert I could not go to, and they sent me pictures of my favorite musician - one even went up to one of the bands, took a picture and got a CD signed for me which they gifted me for my birthday. No idea if they still remember, but I do because it's just such a sweet and thoughtful thing to do. (multiple people actually thought of sending me pictures from musicians so it's kind of a thing hahah)

25. Who do you buy random gifts for? Friends. I don't see my family often but we are also on a basis where we rather do things for each other instead of spending money on gifts - but when I see something that I know a friend might like, I will buy it. One of my friends was in a tight spot and they really wanted a tote bag from a band we both like, so I simply ordered one for them as well without saying anything :>

26. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal? I do possess a lot of stuffed animals but my bed is placed in such a way they always fell off (I toss and turn a lot in my sleep) - so it's mostly pillows now. I do have a pusheen pillow I cuddle with though.

27. Have you had a secret admirer? Wayyyy back in the olden tumblr days, yeah. When this place was a bit more buzzing and active in terms of communicating via DMs / anons. I never understood why though, I don't think I'm that interesting°^^

28. Are you a clean or messy person? Clean, but stuck in a body that tends to quickly exhaust, especially during depressive episodes. I always try to balance it out but there are days, sometimes weeks where my place is not as tidy as I would like. I did learn to live with it though and usually can always muster the energy to do a proper cleaning and tidying up when I know I will be having visitors (WE CANNOT LET THEM KNOW WE HAVE DEPRESSION)