#always very very baffled @ new people following me

[randomreasonstolive]

Hello there all you lovely shining stars.

N here, with some pretty bad news...

(I'll put it behind a cut to avoid triggering anyone)

C is the person who actually runs this blog. He works tirelessly to make sure this blog always, ALWAYS has reasons in the queue in advance, just in case. There's currently over a month prepared, because he loves y'all, loves this blog, and loves to put in the time to help people.

C is a full-time care giver. At work, he care gives for three wonderful elderly ladies. When he gets home, he care gives for me, N, as I am disabled. And then, in his spare time, he care gives for y'all by working hard on this blog.

C is the most wonderful, amazing person I know, and it really baffles me that something like this could happen to someone like him.

Recently, C was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.

We unfortunately live in America, where getting diagnosed with Cancer means a massive financial burden. Up until this point we've been doing very good financially, which has been a wonderful switch up from years ago, when we had to ask our community for help just to pay rent.

Now, I worry about our ability to afford things like food, basic needs, and rides to and from the hospital (we don't drive). His insurance company is refusing to pay for his treatment (yes, they're refusing to pay for CANCER treatments), and the minimal paid leave he is eligible for has had it's processing delayed.

Basically, we're financially struggling all over again, because C has cancer, and we live in America.

So what does this mean for y'all?

Well, as I mentioned, C always has the blog filled out ahead of time. He will absolutely make sure that the queue doesn't run out, so y'all don't have to worry about that.

I unfortunately do feel the need to reach out and ask for your help. It pains me to be put in this position again after years of not having to ask for help, but the current circumstances have really hit us hard.

So, what can you do to help?

Well,

Here is our Amazon wish list, if you'd like to help that way. We currently have some food and necessities on there;

Amazon Wishlist

Or, our paypal account is teamcibby@gmail.com

Currently, our biggest need is a new mattress, which is where any funds that go to our paypal will be headed.

C's cancer is the worst in his hips and our current mattress is such poor quality that I have to sleep on the floor. His doctors have insisted that good rest is important for him to heal, and he hasn't been getting very good rest on our current mattress. He wakes up every morning in more pain than he would if we had a good mattress, so getting one is our main goal.

I am so, so sorry to tell you all this bad news. C really didn't want to burden any of you with this, which is why I'm the one making this post.

We both love you all so, so much. Thank you to every single one of you for existing, you matter so much to us and to everyone who follows this blog.

~N

[thedensworld]

Sweet Macaroons | C.Sc

Pairing: Gangster!Seungcheol x Baker!Reader

Genre: fluff, established relationship

Words Count: ±600

Summary: Seungcheol was far from pleased when a food critic posted a negative review that started to impact your sales. He couldn't stand to see you upset.

In the midst of a picturesque five months, Seungcheol, with an air of exclusivity, tenderly asked you to be his girlfriend. Everything seemed to move in slow motion around you, as if the universe itself was savoring the moment. His crew, astounded, couldn't fathom that a humble bakery owner just down the block from their bar had captured their boss's heart. He had transformed into something they never imagined: a unabashedly cheesy boy. Even Jeonghan, Seungcheol's right-hand man, remained baffled by the depth of his friend's infatuation with you. He couldn't quite grasp what had caused Seungcheol to fall so hard until he witnessed how Seungcheol would gladly stop the world at your command.

As an example of Seungcheol's devotion, he had gone as far as hiring a bodyguard to watch over you and ensure your safety. Seungcheol, ever mysterious about his business, would simply say, "I do business in Seoul and Busan," which, in its own way, was true. He owned nearly a hundred bars and nightclubs, not to mention his own association—a realm of details you didn't need to delve into.

Your bodyguard, Jun, who currently disguised as a barista in your bakery, would dutifully relay every detail to Seungcheol. This included mundane activities like your trips to the grocery store, visits from friends at the bakery, or even encounters with rude customers. Despite being in the know about your daily affairs through Jun, Seungcheol cherished hearing you recount your day, especially when it involved a customer that cussed on you. He'd teasingly inquire, "Should I track him down and make him pay?" A promise he would have swiftly fulfilled if you had not said, "No, you don't have to. I'll give him a piece mind when I'm a billionaire."

At times, Seungcheol really wants to say, "Marry me, and you can cuss him back in an instant." He was acutely aware of the influence he held.

However, he received an extremely irritating message from Jun, stating that a popular food critic had left a scathing review on their social media, claiming to have found a fly and cockroach legs in your sweets. This review had a detrimental impact on your sales and the overall image of the bakery, as people began leaving unpleasant comments on your social media platforms.

"Jeonghan, do you know this person?" Seungcheol inquired, displaying a video of the food critic.

Jeonghan confirmed, "Yeah, they're a very influential food critic."

Seungcheol nodded thoughtfully and hummed, "Do you know how to contact them?" he pressed further.

"I think we just need to get in touch with their management. They'll provide you with the pricing for their content," Jeonghan explained, prompting another question from Seungcheol.

"Then we can have them review our food however we want?" Jeonghan nodded, "Why? Are you thinking about having them promote our new foodbar?" he inquired.

Seungcheol shook his head, simultaneously signaling to Jeonghan that he wanted to be dropped off at your bakery.

Jun had informed Seungcheol that you had closed the bakery early today due to the lack of customers following the internet sensation. When Seungcheol arrived, only Jun was present in the bakery. He mentioned that you had gone to the convenience store for a few minutes. As Seungcheol patiently waited at one of the tables, you returned with a plastic bag in hand. Lost in your thoughts, you didn't immediately notice him. Instead, you went straight to Jun, telling him he could go home. Jun subtly gestured towards Seungcheol, indicating that he was waiting for you.

"Hi..." Your voice, though soft as always, carries a subtle shade of sadness. Seungcheol swears he can hear it, a touch of blue in your tone.

He smiles, approaching you and subtly signaling for Jun to leave the shop.

"Are you okay? I saw it online," Seungcheol asks gently once Jun has vanished from view.

You smile back at him, but tears well up in your eyes, trickling down your cheeks. You turn away, hiding your face from him as you wipe away the tears. Seungcheol's heart aches at the sight, a feeling he's never experienced before, like someone's squeezing his heart, causing a deep ache.

"Hey, it's okay," he murmurs softly, turning you to face him and pulling you into an embrace. He can feel the tightness in his chest intensify when he hears you sob.

This is the first time he's seen you cry in the five months you've been dating. He swears he'd never want to be the cause of your tears, let alone someone else.

"It's okay, baby. Bad things happen sometimes. It's not your fault," he reassures you as you try to explain how diligently you maintain your bakery's hygiene and ensure the freshness of ingredients. There's no way the accusations the food critic made could be true.

Seungcheol noticed the contents of the plastic bag you had been holding earlier: cleaning soap and equipment. His heart breaks once again, this time tinged with anger.

"Let's go home and rest, okay? I'll hire someone to clean the shop. I don't want to see you laboring with a heavy heart like this," he insists.

Seungcheol calls Jeonghan and swiftly arranges for his people to clean your shop. He drives you home, ensuring you have a proper dinner before settling down for some much-needed rest. Once you're peacefully asleep, he quietly slips away, reaching out to Jun and Jeonghan.

"Get them for me before midnight. Alive," he instructs.

Seungcheol doesn't concern himself with the specifics of how they carried out his request. But when his people successfully bring them to his office, he finally confronts the face that caused his girl to cry.

"What's your name?" Seungcheol asks, rising from his seat and approaching them.

"Who put you up to this?" Seungcheol presents their damning post about your bakery to their face. Poor soul, Seungcheol thinks. This food critic probably never imagined they'd be dragged in by a gangster and subjected to an interrogation like this.

Once Seungcheol acquires the name, he signals his people to reveal the extent of their capabilities. Images of their family and significant other are displayed, and they immediately plead for an apology, expressing regret for their actions.

"You should've thought about that before you posted that garbage," Seungcheol states, fixing them with a steely gaze.

"Upload a clarification video about your previous review. Go to that bakery tomorrow and apologize to the owner. Post both of those things before lunch if you want to spare them," Seungcheol directs, referring to the individuals in the photos as he delivers his unwavering ultimatum.

*

"It was a very wrong act of me to accept the offer to give a bad review to another bakery. I deeply apologize to the owner and my followers for doing such a wrong thing."

Seungcheol smiled at you as you showed him the video from the same account that had claimed they found a cockroach leg on your macaroon.

"See! I knew that my bakery and kitchen have passed the hygiene standards," you said, placing your phone down. There was a visible pout on your face, prompting Seungcheol to let out a chuckle.

"You're too cute," Seungcheol teased, pinching your cheek. He was relieved to see no trace of tears like the previous night.

You gently pulled his hand from your cheek as you stood up to restock the macaroon stall, which was nearly empty. Seungcheol couldn't help but smile as he watched you, his girl, his love, engrossed in the work you adored.

"Before you go, want a macaroon and your favorite latte?" you offered. He swore he would nod to anything you said.

"Here! I've packed some for your staff as well," you added, handing him boxes filled with sweets and a bundle of coffees for Seungcheol and Jeonghan.

He wouldn't let anyone steal your smile, even if he had to stop the world.

[artyphex]

Mate the issue isn't that Stolitz got together the issue is that Stolitz is now 90% of the show

And why is that an issue?

I'm not trying to be dense, I'm not trying to gotcha. I'm asking: why is that an issue?

Because the relationship between Stolas and Blitz has been there since the show started, literally the first episode it's established as a thing, the second episode has Stolas flirting with Blitz the entire time, episode 5 has Blitz save Stolas from an assassin.

Their relationship was literally always a center of the show. It is not NEW. This is why I'm so baffled that people are acting like it is. As the show continued, and both Stolas and Blitz got more development... of course their relationship was gonna play a big part? As the show leaned more into themes of classism and unjust systems... naturally the already sexual relationship between the dude from the lower class and the dude from the higher class was gonna be fleshed out? One way or another?

And sure, if you wanted an episode show about demons killing, it certainly stopped being that and I get being disappointed about that. But saying "It's all about STOLITZ" is just so weird to me. It's always been about Stolas and Blitz, they're just more focused this arc

And that's another thing. This arc. This is season 2 of (I think) 4. The midpoint. Time for big change. If they want Blitz and Stolas to get together before the end of the show, now's the time to do it. It will involve heavy character development on both sides, the only way to do that is to center them and their relationship. But it doesn't mean they'll be the center of every single arc going forward.

They've established they want to be together, but they've still got things to sort out separately. I'm fully expecting Blitz and Stolas' relationship to take a back seat to their individual growth. It'll still be there, and some episodes will be about it, but the next season won't be so much about their romance as it about them and their relationships in general.

And before people say "Well, I don't trust Helluva Boss to do that" I do! Genuinely! Why do I? Because every single thing I've said I think will happen that will make for a competently told story in season 2 has happened

I've literally been saying since Full Moon that I expect season 2 to end with Blitz and Stolas together, but Stolas estranged from Octavia and Blitz still estranged from his sister, so season 3 can have mending those relationships as its emotional core. And... that's what happened. That's exactly what happened. I have no reason to believe they won't follow through with what they've set up because they already DID

I don't know man, the longer I'm in this fandom, the more forced a lot of the "criticisms" seem. Sure, there's critique to be had, I still think I could file a whiplash claim from the tone of this show, but "The writing is bad!" "The storytelling is bad!" Just... isn't that true. Not when I sit down and look at it from an objective standpoint. It's not perfect, obviously, but it's competent. This is a show that knows what it's doing.

You can not like what it's doing, that's fine, but it doesn't make what it's doing BAD. "Bad writing" has been so skewed lately to mean "any writing choice I don't like." They don't equate. They never have

Anyway. Stolitz makes perfect sense to me, yes my main engagement through fandom has always been shipping, but if you know me you know you can't force me to care about a main ship without reason. I have reason. Stolitz is a well-done relationship in my book, and I was very satisfied with the end of season 2 for it

[moonstruckme]

hiii i would love a tasm! peter where reader has just moved out of home for the first time and is feeling a bit lonely! peter comes over and keeps them company, maybe they make dinner or have a movie night :)

Thanks for requesting lovely!

cw: reader deals with loneliness

tasm!Peter Parker x fem!reader ♡ 753 words

You open your door to the smell of smoke. Instantly you beeline towards the kitchen, worried you’d left the stove on or your new apartment came with some faulty wiring, but you find yourself blocked at the threshold. A tall figure steps into your way. 

“Please don’t—” 

You gasp and jump at the same time, up and back, and Peter has to grab your arms to keep you from tripping over the couch. 

“Freak out,” he finishes. He grins as he rights you, eyes light with amusement. “Sorry, there were probably better ways to do that.” 

“Fuck,” you sigh, bending and setting your hands on your knees. “Peter, what the hell? How did you get in here?” 

“You left your window unlocked.” Peter lets you go, holding his hands aloft for a second to make sure you don’t topple before stepping back. “Super not safe, by the way. I’m not the only person in New York who knows how to climb a fire escape.” 

You shake your head, baffled, before remembering your original concern. “Are you burning something?” 

He winces. “Not intentionally.” 

You raise your eyebrows and move past him, into your kitchen. Peter follows behind. 

“It’s out,” he assures you. You spot a smoldering dish in the sink, the charred remains of what you suppose was once food submerged in cold water. At least the smoke seems to be thin, clinging to the ceiling and drifting slowly out your open kitchen window. “I thought I could be fancy and make something, but, uh, reinforcements have been called.” 

You turn. “Reinforcements?” 

Peter grins sheepishly. “Pizza.” 

A little laugh sputters out of you, and his grin softens around the edges. 

“Can I get a hug?” he asks. 

You step forward willingly, the remainders of the day’s exhaustion seeping out of you as Peter wraps his arms tightly around your shoulders. You squeeze his middle in return, resting your cheek on his chest and wishing stupidly that you could fall asleep just like this. 

“What’re you doing here?” you ask. 

“What do you mean?” Peter’s tone is teasing, but it’s still a bit gentler than usual, mushy fond. “Where else would I be? You thought you could move to Staten Island and get away from me?” 

“It’s kind of far,” you admit. 

“You’re delusional. You don’t get to have an apartment all by yourself, you’re stuck with me and my mooching forever. This is our new apartment.” 

“Really?” you ask, though the words have happiness and affection sprouting to life in your chest. When you’d moved here on your own, you’d figured it would seem empty without your family but you hadn’t known how much you would feel it. You like the freedom, having control of your own schedule and how you decorate and which things go in the dishwasher, but you miss having people around. It’s been so easy to fall into a routine characterized by solitude, with nothing but work to make you leave the apartment and no one to keep you company when you’re home. “You gonna pay rent?” 

Peter squishes his cheek into the top of your head. Unbeknownst to you, he’s picked up on all of this. You’ve been calling him more since you’d moved in here, late at night and in the middle of the day. He’s gotten the sense you just want to talk to someone. He’s always happy to be that someone, but sometimes the phone doesn’t cut it. The trip from Queens to Staten Island isn’t a short one, but he’s going to be making it more often. He’s missed seeing you, your sweet face and the way your eyes crackle when you look at him. 

He pulls back, and they’re doing it now. You’re smiling at Peter like he’s the best thing you’ve seen all week, which is very flattering, but it seems like a low bar. 

“I’m thinking I’ll pay thirty percent of utilities,” he says. “Sound fair?” 

“Totally fair,” you agree, rolling your eyes. 

He grins. “Perfect. You’re getting a great deal, here, sweetheart. I’m already providing pizza and a movie.” 

Your eyebrows raise. “A movie?” 

Peter goes to your couch, whipping up the DVD case. “Yup. Blu-ray.” 

You’re smiling so big he can see all your teeth, but you shake your head. “Oh, Peter.” 

“What?” 

“I just moved in here. Why would you think I had a DVD player?” 

Peter’s head rolls back, an odd breath leaving him that’s half sigh, half laugh. “I guess that’s another thing I’m getting you, huh?”

[cleolinda]

I’ve read a few of the umpteen thousand upset comments about the paid Watcher service, and I’ve read comments angry about the upset comments. There’s one thing I want to point out, and it’s that this isn’t, or shouldn’t be, “You’re saying people don’t deserve to earn money for their work.”

The Watcher guys do deserve to earn money. I already give them money. I give them $5 a month on Patreon, not because I think they do or don’t give me $5 worth of media, but because I want to support them. I canceled Netflix for pissing me off with its price hike/ad tier, but I give Watcher Entertainment money.

They’re saying now that the Patreon will be solely about the podcasts, and they understand if people leave. I’m perfectly happy to switch the support I can afford to the streaming service. With the early adopter 30% discount, I’d actually save money. In fact, I tried to subscribe, but the site didn’t work.

Watcher wanting to profit from their shows isn’t the problem. It’s that they’re now discovering that their fanbase is young and broke in a terrible economy, judging by tens of thousands of comments on multiple platforms. I can throw them $5/month, so I do. But the Patreon only has (checks notes) 5874 paying followers, and there’s a reason for that. $60/year upfront would not be “accessible.” Patreon is literally patronage from the people who can afford it.

If the guys had said up front, “ONLY new shows and episodes will be exclusive to the service,” I think we’d be having a different conversation right now. But at first they did say, “We’re pulling all our content from YouTube,” to the point where Variety had to issue an update. Like, that’s in print and I’m pretty sure it was on video. Now they’ve backtracked to ONLY new etc.—but most people haven’t heard, and they feel crushed. And the trust is probably gone regardless.

So now four years of back catalogue will stay public. And now, you’re paying $6.99 a month for one episode, maybe two, of something a week, and now, not an exclusive back catalogue. I would pay for Watcher shows before I’d pay for anyone else, but I just don’t think the company is big enough yet for a SVOD at that price. They’re not Dropout size. They needed to build more programming and get a higher follower count first, or at the very least, charge less.

The international price/exchange rate situation is a nightmare and I don’t know what it is they’re not doing to make it… not… be like that.

I don’t know what they should have done instead of a full streaming service, but surely there were alternatives? I’ve seen comments from people suggesting they GET a Patreon. Lean on that more! Do the shows exclusive for a month and then let them roll onto YouTube! I don’t know! Anything but One More Fucking Streaming Service, which enraged me, and I was willing to move my support to it!

And I shouldn’t say this, but I will. In the “Goodbye YouTube” video the guys posted, they say that setting up the streaming service has allowed Steven to do a remake of Worth It where he and his cohosts travel the world and eat expensive food. This is the first new show they announce. Not “We have always been committed to diversity and we’re now able to bring on new creator(s) to expand our programming.” No, a redo of an old show that by definition has got to be expensive. Commenters are saying they can’t pay for the streaming service because they can’t make ends meet in this economy. The optics are terrible. I genuinely question what the thought process even was here.

I love the guys and I still watch their shows. I want to see Watcher succeed. I started watching Buzzfeed Unsolved in 2018 while recovering from surgery—as with a lot of people, their shows got me through a tough time. I’m as attached as anyone. If I can continue to afford monthly support—this is not a certainty—I’ll give it to them. I’m not a ~hater who doesn’t want Watcher to make money. But I am absolutely BAFFLED by every single decision here. I want them to figure out how to turn this around and go in a better direction, because right now, this ain’t it.

[comicaurora]

I've started making my way through the playlist hbomberguy made of actually good video essays by queer creators and spotted a comment of yours on the one about the relationship between Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, which was fun xD red in the wild!

Anyways, just wanted to appreciate how both you and Blue and you are very good at showing your sources! It's always nice to know that the people you've watched for years have good habits after an event like this, and I hope you guys are among the people that get some new fans after this whole debacle, because your channel definitely qualifies for "good educational videos made by queer people"

I'm glad! Blue's much better about listing his sources and follow-up reading than I am.

To be honest, I loved the video, but my imposter syndrome always flares like crazy when I watch an essay like that. It might be the ADHD or it might just be who I am as a person, but I feel like I've lived my whole life striving to make everything I do the best it can be, and still managing to fuck up and get criticised for things I could've done better if only I never missed anything. It's an actual gut-drop when it turns out a source I used wasn't trustworthy, or when in older videos I only went wiki-deep for some claims and didn't check every source to be 100% sure I wasn't being goat-fish'd. And this being the internet, I can get criticized at any time for things I've gotten wrong years ago, since it's evergreen online and to the new-viewing critic it's as fresh as yesterday. It makes it hard for me to stay proud of my work past the first moment of "oh I would've done that different now". There's a cocktail of complicated, scary feelings around this space, no matter how little I actually have in common with the bad guys of this scenario - it's less about the reality and more about who my imposter syndrome tells me I am. I saw several people saying that the video actually made them feel much better about their own work because it made it clear that accidental plagiarism on that scale is impossible, but if my anxieties listened to reason I would've successfully machete'd them out of my skull years ago. I just hope I never fuck up badly enough to deserve an hbombing of my own.

But my own stress aside, the hbomb essay exposed a level of laxness, laziness and entitlement on the part of these plagiarists that I think is almost incomprehensible to people who actually create for a living or even just the joy of it. How hollow do you have to be to take in someone else's writing and not consider it, digest it, let it reshape your views and then formulate your own interpretation on it, but instead to file off the serial numbers and pretend it's yours, trusting that the person whose thoughts and words you valued enough to steal will never be powerful enough to call you out on it? I go down research rabbit holes because I love the frustration and thrill of putting something together! How joyless it must be to skim the surface and borrow someone else's conclusions!

I've sometimes had people email asking for sources on parts of my interpretation of various myths, possibly in the interest of source-citing for school papers (a nightmare concept in and of itself) and with very few exceptions I usually have to tell them "the only sources were the english translations I used of the primary source where the myth was originally written, like I said in the video, and the part where I said I was conspiracy-boarding has no source other than my own analysis of the given source, which is why I called it conspiracy-boarding" and I was always a little baffled by those emails - half the videos are introduced like "this is The Prose Edda" or "this is in Ovid's Metamorphoses" or "this bit is Hesiod" so what else could they want - but seeing the hbomb of the week made me realize that truly original analysis might not be what most people are expecting from a "thing summarized." They might be expecting a compilation of other people's summaries instead.

[kyeomszone]

good graces ○ lee dokyeom

tags. jealousy. avoiding ppl as a coping mechanism. stupidity. some semblance of a plot. jealous sex. dom/sub undertones. name calling. handjob. penetrative sex (vaginal). orgasm denial.

synopsis. after sleeping with your ex (?), the last thing you wish to do is come across him. But fate has other plans, and you find yourself watching him with another woman, green tinting your vision as he smiles at her.

masterlist. series masterlist.

You are not jealous.

You do not get jealous.

And yet, you remained frozen in your spot, jaw clenched as you stared at the scene playing out in front of you with narrowed eyes  It was as if you were being compelled to watch, unable to tear your eyes away from the soft warmth in Seokmin’s eyes or the pretty flush on the woman’s cheeks.

You can feel your pulse racing the longer you look, a sick thing curling in your chest the longer you keep looking. And you hate it, hate feeling this way again, hate the tightness in your chest, hate the crawl under your skin, hate the tint of green in your mind, hate the way he’s starting to have an effect on you again. You hate it.

You swallow around the lump in your throat, taking a small sip of your champagne, hoping the bubbly will help with the turmoil inside you and despite how much you wish, you can not look away from him.

You had been doing so well since that night, after having taken your statement back at the court, you had made sure to not come across him. You had avoided any mention of him anywhere and this gala had been one of the events you were sure he would not attend. 

After all, what would Lee Seokmin be doing in the midst of Fortune 500 CEOs? A group of people he’s stood against since the very start of his career?

And yet, he’s here, flirting with one of the CEOs of a company, the same type of person he’s had a trial against just a week ago.

“That’s DA Lee, isn’t it?” You hear an amused voice pipe up next to you. With a frown on your lips, you turn your head to note who it is and he’s familiar enough for you to know his face but not enough for a name. “Always knew he wasn’t an angel.” He ends with a laugh.

“What do you mean?” You bite out at what his tone implied, nearly bristling at his words. There’s intrigue in your tone but the sharpness that slips in is lost on you, not that you notice, eyes too busy with the scene in front of you to see the curious glance the man gives you.

“You don’t know?” The man asked, confusion written in his words. At your ticked eyebrow, he elaborates, “There is a reason that DA Lee keeps being invited to these events despite his reputation. It’s an open secret, the fact that he protects certain companies.”

You stare at him, baffled. You very well remember the early days of Seokmin’s career, following along to the countless news articles written about him despite wanting to stray as far away from him as you could. You remembered every one of his interviews, what he had stated, you could recite them verbatim and everything contradicted what the man was telling you.

“The woman he’s flirting with right?” You nod and the man continues “She owns B Pharmacitucals and it’s rumoured she’s to be charged with━ ”

“Excuse me,” You grit out when you spot the way Seokmin tucks a strand of hair behind the woman’s ears and trailing down her face, his touch delicate and you can also feel it, can feel the phantom touch of his. The long fingers, soft and slightly calloused from guitar strings on tracing the contours of your face each night back then.

Your steps are deliberate, heels clicking loudly against the marble floor as you walk towards Seokmin who seems to have spotted you, looking at you with a small smirk on his face━  his attention solely on you as if the woman he had just been talking to didn’t exist.

“Did you drink?” You ask, your words forced polite and at the shake of his head, your fingers wrap around his wrist, pulling him away, completely uncaring of the indigent gasp the woman lets out or Seokmin’s own protests━  not that he says anything, just stares at you with something indecipherable in his eyes as he follows along.

You finally stop once you are out of the hotel, waiting for your car to arrive. Your fingers are still wrapped around his wrist━  and neither of you speak on it. It feels almost natural to leave it there.

“Put the partition up,” you order your driver as soon as you and Seokmin get in and you’re on Seokmin the moment the window is up━  thighs bracketing his hips, lips on his, tongue slipping in his mouth and nails digging into the nape of his neck as you hold his face. His own hands find themselves on your waist, a moan falling from his lips at the sting of your nails.

“Wh━ ” Seokmin starts when you pull away, the burn in your lungs too incessant to ignore but you interrupt him, tugging at his bottom lips with your teeth, thumb pressing against the hollow of his neck.

“Shut up,” You pant out, resting your forehead against his as you take in large gulps of air. “Shut up,” you sneer, leaning in for another kiss━ this time all teeth and tongue, nails digging in deeper, his moans getting louder when you press against the growing bulge, his hands moving from your waist to your bare thighs. 

Mentally, you send a thank you to your stylist for dressing you in a dress with a slit high enough for Seokmin’s hands to slip in and curl around the bare skin of your waist, the heat of his palm burning against yours but all you can think of when you feel the slight callouses against you is his touch on that woman.

It sends a jolt of anger through your veins, and what can only be described as possessiveness curls in your chest━  despite how misplaced it might be. You had no claim on him, no right to feel any of what you are feeling, but you can’t help yourself as an ugly mix of anger and jealousy makes itself home in you.

One of your hands moves from his neck to the tent in his pants, pressing against the bulge making him hiss in pain that turns into a groan.

“Fucking whore,” You mumble against his lips, pressing harder and making him throw his head back against the seat, mouth falling open. You let out a sharp huff of laughter tinged with mockery, “telling me I lost my morals while you were about to fuck that bitch.”

“I━ ”

“Shut up,” you snarl, kissing him again as you press your body flush against his, your heart drumming in your ears. Your hands work at his tie, tugging it loose and popping one of the buttons open to give you access to the rich tan of his skin. Your mouth leaves his to latch onto the junction of where his neck meets his shoulder, sucking at the hard muscle.

You stay there for a while, biting and sucking on his neck until the green tint of jealousy starts to lessen into just an inkling on the back of your head━  the idea that anyone that would look at him would know that he belonged to someone soothing the ugly thing rearing it’s head in you.

A knock at the window has you pulling away from him and it takes you a minute to realise the car has stopped moving, likely meaning it has arrived at your place. You pull away, taking in the sight of Seokmin━ his kiss-bitten lips, the mess of your red lipstick on his mouth and neck, the scratches and splotches that would bloom into bruises, the hazy look in his eyes and the flush on his cheeks.

You slide off his lap, fixing your dress before knocking back on the window, letting the driver know to open the door. You step out, Seokmin following behind and you can’t help but notice the way his ears burn when your driver pointedly avoids looking at the two of you.

You’re on him as soon as the door closes behind you, lips on his, stumbling back towards the staircase as your hands tug at the blazer, pulling it off of him, followed by his shirt. Your hands trail down from his shoulders, nails catching on the brown buds making him moan, fingers caressing the dips of his body, palming at the hard muscles of his chest and stomach. His hands pull at the strap of your dress, tugging them from your shoulders and down to your arms.

You only pull away when you’re at the stairs, climbing up the steps until you’re at your bedroom door. 

“Hands to yourself,” you snap when he frees you of your dress, the fabric pooling at your feet leaving you in your underwear and heels. Seokmin stares at you for a second, his eyes dazed as he takes in the sight of you and you can feel a lump form in your throat when you properly notice whats written on his face. 

He hasn’t looked at you in this way since.. since━ 

“Seokmin,” you snap, your tone coming out harsher as you glare at him, ignoring the heaviness starting to take root in you.

He blinks at your tone, takes a beat to process what you stated and before he swallows, adam’s apple bobbing at the action. “Why….?”

The two of you remember very well that the only time you took control was when you were angry, really truly angry. And it’s humiliating to admit to yourself that even though it has been years since the two of you parted ways, he still has the same hold on you. It’s even more humiliating to admit that to him, to admit that you were jealous when he was interacting with that woman.

“I don’t want your hands on me,” you start, carefully picking your words to make it seem as if you weren’t seething, that at one point in the evening, all you could see was green, that at some point you weren’t contemplating marching to him and kissing him until he was putty in your hands in front of the whole room. 

“I don’t want the hands that touched a psychopath, that launders with blood money.” You sneer, recalling what the man told you. What you don’t realise is the gravity of your words or the way he flinches.

Seokmin swallows again but nods, his hands settling at his sides.

You take a breath before pushing him back until his legs hit the frame of the bed. Your hands move to unbuckle his belt, one hand pulling the trousers down alongside his boxers while the other wraps around the thick head of his cock, stroking the slit and spreading the precum. He moans at the action, his face flushing a prettier shade of red as you run your hand along the length of him, nails scratching along the veins.

You keep stroking his length until you can see the shake in his thighs, until his cock is rod straight, flushed a violent red and leaking.

“Lay down,” you tell him, taking your underwear and heels off as you climb onto the bed after him, settling on his lap. His hands settle beside him digging onto the bedspread to stop from reaching out to you, knuckles turning white from the effort. Not that you notice, too busy with taking his cock and running the head along your folds, gathering the wetness.

“Tell me when you’re about to cum,” You order and at his nod, you line him to your hole and sink down. A soft moan leaves your lips at the stretch, the sound mixing with the groan from Seokmin whose whole body arches, head pushing into the mattress and fingers tightening on the bedspread as you continue to take him in you completely.

You pant softly when you finally bottom out, a glance at Seokmin shows his clenched eyes, bottom lip in between his teeth as he holds back his noises. You roll your hips when you finally adjust to having him in you, Seokmin immediately moaning out your name at the action, the noises getting louder as when you start to move, lifting yourself up before sinking back down.

You keep your pace slow, deliberately so despite knowing your thighs will start to burn soon, the noises he’s making are like music to your ears, helping settle the jealousy that had settled into your bones.

You keep moving, rolling your hips, positioning until he opens his mouth, breathes out that he’s close and suddenly, all movements are put to a pause. You hold back a noise at the empty feeling in you instead focusing on the way Seokmin whines when you take his cock out, denying him his orgasm.

A beat passes and then two, Seokmin’s chest rises and falls rapidly, fingers digging further into the fabric and you can feel his stomach muscles twitch. When all the signs of his impending orgasm start to lessen, you take his cock in you again, moaning at the way it hits your cervix, pushing to the deepest parts of you.

“Fuck,” you moan out, throwing your head back as you start to move again, your pants mixing with his breathy moans that slowly turn into broken little noises the longer you keep moving, pushing him closer and closer to the edge. 

This time, you stop before he says anything, noting the way his thighs twitch, the way his hips jerk up to fuck into you, the way his stomach starts to cave in, his moans more air than noise. Another whine falls from his lips at the lack of movements from you as you deny him his release, the sound more pitiful this time but unlike before, you don’t take his cock out.

You stare at the way water gathers in his lashes, his eyes wide and hazy and simmering like something out of a painting and you have to bite your lips to stop yourself from leaning down and kissing him softly.

The two of you don’t do this, not anymore, not after━

You start to move again, one of your hands moving from his stomach to your core, pressing against your cilt, rubbing at the nub until you can feel the coil in your stomach tighten and tighten and━

A moan falls from your lips as you clench down around Seokmin’s thick length, the man moaning in return due to it as your orgasm washes over you. Your eyes flutter close as you fuck yourself through your orgasm, the tightness of your walls pushing Seokmin closer and closer to the edge and━

His lips shape your name as he lets go, emptying out inside of you as his orgasm hits. His eyes clench shut, hips jerking up and stomach caving in as you keep moving until he’s telling you to stop. 

An exhausted breath falls from you as you roll off of him, almost collapsing next to him. Your thighs are burning and your cunt is leaking his cum but exhaustion had settled too deep in your bones for you to do anything more than curl into the heat of Seokmin’s body as your eyes flutter shut.

In the morning, you wake up to an empty bed. Seokmin taking the warmth of your skin with him.

A heaviness sits in your chest and you settle on a decision.

[zarla-s]

Please don't take this as me being angry or trying to be rude or anything, but this ask is... baffling to me?? For a variety of reasons, haha.

Like, I don't set out to create a "fandom" around my stuff when I do things, I just do them cause I feel like it and sometimes I get lucky enough that people enjoy it and feel inspired to create or talk about it! I'm not really trying to fill a void left by one of these "fandoms" by making a new "fandom" around things I make, I'm just doing stuff.

The idea of a stockpile of interests getting too big is also bizarre to me? Like... for an example of both things, you can watch Stamp on the Ground, it's chock full of all kinds of weird obscure interests of mine I just put in there because I liked them, and I since have many many more. There isn't really a limit to how many interests you can have!

Mentioning abandoning TF2 is also very funny to me because I kind of already did that once?? When I started drawing it again in 2023 I was coming back to it, the last time I drew anything for it was 2009. Twelve years where I didn't even touch it! Starting up again was the last thing I expected and yet here I am!

Which relates to the greater point I guess which is that my interests and inspiration don't just die and disappear, they just go dormant. They're always waiting there for the right cue to wake them up, and I can never predict when it happens. TF2 is the most recent example! But Vargas is a long-running one, I take huge hiatuses from it where I don't write or draw or think about it for a long time, but it's always there in the back of my mind. I went absolutely nuts for it around 2020 and then it went back to sleep for the most part, but I still get ideas every now and then. It's not gone. It's just taking a break.

All the things I like and make stuff for are like that. There are a few I don't see myself coming back to any time soon, but then again I thought that about TF2 and now I've made the most elaborate site I've ever made for it. I can't predict these things. What'll be next? I have no idea. MGS again? StarCon2? Ace Attorney? Or maybe it'll be something new? Who knows!

And I think describing one of those "fandoms" as crumbling and dying is a bit unfair... I don't think of it like that. I mean, I started Vargas in 2003 and I last updated it in 2021 and I'm still hearing from new people that just got into it! All the stuff I've made is still "alive" in that way. I do feel guilty in that transition period between one interest and another because I feel like I'm disappointing people who followed me for that one thing though, haha. But what can you do? Gotta do my thing! Follow where my heart leads me! Not everyone's going to be along for the ride, and that's fine.

(Those of you have stuck around through all my different interests, I appreciate you deeply <3)

[fieldofheathers-stuff]

The Silco Saga. A Retrospective After Season 2

Part 1.5: A brief intermission on The Flashback Issue™, (un)reliable narrators and Silco committing infanticide

Why the timeline isn’t fucked, actually

A common issue I see people have with Season 2 is that some of Vander’s backstory messes with the timeline established in Season 1. While it is true that Vander in the S1 flashback on the bridge appears to be significantly older than the Vander in Silco’s drowning flashback - implying that the two events took place years apart and not, as Vander’s letter says, one right after the other - I would like to offer an alternative reading on the S1 Day of Ashes scene, which in my opinion can be explained in a way that doesn’t necessarily mess with canon too much.*

Arcane S1 has a very interesting way of using flashback scenes, and POV shots in general: they are always firmly rooted in someone’s POV, but despite being subjective, we the audience are led to believe they are fairly reliable narrators. There’s only one person who’s shown as being consistently unreliable in their POV: Jinx (a choice which narratively makes sense, as she suffers from psychosis). Jinx is also, coincidentally, the person who’s POV we see in the Day of Ashes flashback. Now, this might veer into headcanon territory (which I’m OK with), but nonetheless, hear me out: is it really that far fetched to think that Jinx, being very young and in obvious distress, would misremember this event, and superimpose the face of the father she knows as an older child on that of his younger self? While I don’t mind people coming up with their own HCs on this event, I think that there’s a much simpler way to interpret this “incongruence”, which fits both the general canon narrative as well as a specific trait of Jinx’s POV.

*There’s obviously one reading of this incongruence between the designs of Day-of-Ashes-Vander and Drowning-Vander where this continuity mistake can be attributed to external reasons, such as the writers not having a clear idea of the backstory in S1 and later retconning in S2, which I don’t have a huge problem with either. It happens all the time. However, I find a possible in-story reason for this incongruence much more elegant and appealing.

Silco says ‘Fuck them kids’ (except Jinx)

Another complaint I have heard, which I personally find pretty funny all things considered, is that having Vander and Silco know Vi and Jinx’s mother (and, consequently, Vi and Jinx) before the betrayal “cheapens” their story in S1, and makes Silco’s intent to kill them in Arc 1 seem more unrealistic due to his previous connection with her mom. I find this logic quite baffling.

As I have already pointed out in my previous post on Silco’s relationship with Jinx, the main point of his self-asserted narrative is that he was essentially reborn as a new man after his own attempted murder by Vander, unburdened by the sentiment and affection his older self held for others. This belief Silco holds about himself is perfectly in line with his treatment of Vi and Jinx in the first arc of S1: he doesn’t care about them, and he’s perfectly willing to get rid of them if it serves his end, just as much as he’s perfectly OK with killing Vander, because those are connections that only his older self cared about, not the new, “updated and improved” Silco.

The only reason Jinx is saved from an unfortunate fate is that Silco, in a moment of weakness following an extremely stressful series of events, instinctively identifies with her; thus, he creates an unsolvable conflict between his need to uphold his own rebirth narrative (which is really nothing more than a dysfunctional coping mechanism) and this newly found but extremely powerful self-identification with this child. His adoption of Jinx is his own way of trying to have his cake and eat it too: he can still hold on to his ideology, while also offering some sort of comfort to this suffering child, which is actually himself, thus also reinforcing the idea that he is right.

There’s obviously no such ethical conundrum when it comes to his relationship with Vi in Arc 1. Silco quite clearly sees her only as a projection of Vander, an incarnation of his ideals, a continuation of his legacy best exemplified in her physical prowess as a fighter. And since his goal during Act 1 is to either convince Vander to work with him again, or get rid of him altogether, I don’t see how he shouldn’t apply the same logic to Vi. It doesn’t matter she’s an innocent bystander in his conflict with Vander, or the daughter of a former close friend. Silco, after his “rebirth”, is a man who is willing to see the world only within the black-and-white paradigm of his own narrative. Therefore, killing her is no big deal for him.

This indifference towards Vi then turns to visceral hatred in the following two arcs, as she becomes a double threat: a symbol of Vander and a wedge between him and Jinx, the only relationship he can't stand to lose. So yeah. Fuck them kids.

Flashbacks pt. 2: Kids don’t know shit

I think the general logic of “very young kids in Arcane don’t have reliable memories” can be used to explain why Jinx and Vi don’t seem to remember Silco pre-betrayal. First of all, while I keep harping on the fact that Silco’s narrative of dual identities is total bullshit, it doesn’t mean that pre-betrayal and post-betrayal Silco aren’t two very different people to an outsider’s perspective. The pre-betrayal Silco we see in Vander’s memories is humorous, gentle, soft, thoughtful. We do see some hints of an underlying grittier nature (his very serious tone before he subverts our expectations with the “Bozo 1” joke is a perfect example of him already knowing he can be very intimidating if he wants to), but he appears, to all intents and purposes, as a completely different man than his post-betrayal persona. There’s also the factor of physical disfigurement and change of look between pre- and post-drowning Silco which would seriously impact any ability of the girls to recognize him.

Another important factor to keep in mind is also that It’s made pretty clear in both S1 and S2 that the kids don’t know about Vander’s betrayal of Silco, and therefore probably have no idea why Uncle Sil didn’t show up at the Last Drop after the Day of Ashes. Even if Vi and Jinx were close to him pre-drowning (which we aren’t even sure of, since he doesn’t appear in any flashbacks with them as young children), they probably think he’s dead. It’s pretty obvious throughout S1 that both Vander and Silco have kept the whole drowning affair a secret, the first out of guilt and shame for his actions (which he spends the rest of his life trying, unsuccessfully, to repent from), the second because it would make him appear weak against his rival. Vander, when admonishing Vi about her willningess to use violence when fighting Piltover’s oppression, only vaguely hints at the reason why he thinks this approach is dangerous, mentioning how much Powder means to her and asking her what she would do if she lost her (a clear mirror to his own failure towards Silco, but Vi doesn’t know that). On a lighter note, when Ekko hilariously asks Best Timeline Silco, in S2ep7, “Didn’t you try to kill him?”, he’s clearly referring to Silco killing Vander, while both Silco and Vander interpret it as Vander killing Silco, making it for a very awkward interaction between the two.

(On a side note, I love Silco’s sappy “power to forgive” answer. Oh Best Timeline Silco, you softie. This is what having the Nation of Zaun and being gay married to your best friend does to a MF. )

It also kinda makes sense that Jinx, who eventually has a clearer picture of what happened between Silco and Vander, still doesn’t remember him as a part of her childhood. We are told several times that she has very few childhood memories of her family before the Day of Ash. It also makes sense that Silco wouldn’t mention Felicia or Connol to her. The Silco that knew them, after all, drowned in the Pilt the same day they died.

I think this also hints at the fact that Silco probably wasn’t very involved with the girls as kids, which, again, goes very well with his characterization as someone who cares more about The Revolution™ than about the individual people of Zaun. The flashback with Felicia gives us a hint that this was one of Silco’s characteristics even before the drowning: while Vander toasts about “raising an ankle-biter or two”, Silco only raises his glass “to the Nation of Zaun”. I don’t think these are just meant to be throwaway lines: they perfectly encapsulate their future priorities, with Vander dedicating himself to his mission of nurturing Zaun’s people to the point of giving up the fight, and Silco becoming such a radical that he completely looses sight of the people he’s fighting for. (They are both cringe boyfailures and I love them for that.)

[writer-ace]

Honestly it kind of baffles me how many people seem to think that small talk is an inherently NT form of communication.

If I am the most senior person on a work call, I almost always start the call with the following script:

I say hi / "happy [day of the week]"

If Monday, I ask how their weekend was. If later in the week, I ask how their week is going

If asked back, I share something minor about my week/weekend (e.g., it was busy, I tried a new restaurant, I just stayed inside, I've had relatively few meetings this week)

I start the work part of the call

And thus, small talk.

By doing this, I have established that we are going to have an inherently friendly interaction as our starting point, which is particularly important if junior staff will be showing me something for my review, which can feel less inherently friendly by its nature. I have also broken the ice and not forced junior staff members to be the first to speak.

And I have one simple formulaic and standardized script that I rarely need to vary beyond my pre-established boundaries. I don't need to figure out a new way to start every time.

Events with small talk and the way some people approach it can feel very NT, but as a type of verbal communication it is not any more NT than having a brainstorming session or talking about a topic or having a debate or talking about your life on a deeper level.

This is not to say that it's going to be easy for ND people, or that some NT people won't be a jerk to you during small talk, but just that imho there's nothing about small talk in particular that is specifically more NT.

[clfixationstation]

tell me why I encountered a tiktok comments section full of people who could not accept that Eren used to be jealous of Mikasa's strength?

Eren himself admitted it in Season 3, Episode 12 while speaking with Mikasa and Armin on the stairs. Eren wanted to be able to fight like Mikasa and Levi could to be able to achieve his goals and protect her. It was part of Eren's frustration with Mikasa in Season 1. How maddening would it be if the person who has the strength to enact the change you desire, has little interest in that goal? He also wanted to prove his competence and stand by himself, similar to Armin's struggle to feel useful to their cause.

people denying it is so baffling because it's not even subtext, it's literal text spelled out for them; just plain reading comprehension:

actually, I find it so interesting that Eren was always able to see such value in Armin, despite his lack of physical prowess, but still beat himself up so much for the same failing. Eren may not be as smart as Armin or Mikasa, but he has always displayed such a knack for adaptation and picking up new skills, and his determination can't be counted out either. the tricks self-loathing play on one's mind :(

The tiktok post itself was about the scene in early season 1 in which Mikasa and Eren are assigned to different units and Mikasa was upset she couldn't protect him and tried to stay, but Eren headbutted her and made her follow orders. I always interpreted this scene as Eren being annoyed that Mikasa wasn't as dedicated to protecting humanity as he was, as Mikasa wanted to ignore orders and protect Eren instead of the many. But I had a nice exchange with someone in the comments, who added this perspective: "Eren wanted to protect her by making sure she went with the elite unit she was assigned to, instead of his inexperienced team on the front lines." So, it was all of the above frustrations and concerns that culminated in that headbutt. I personally saw both Eren and Mikasa as very single-minded in that moment, focused on their individual goals, but it's nice to think Eren was trying to look out for her, as she was for him :)

[rei-ismyname]

Exceptional X-Men #8 review

This book has had some bizarre external pressures put on it since last issue. In all the discussion about the cancelled books - X-Force, X-Factor, and NYX - Tom Brevoort stated that this would run until issue #12 at least. That, and the subsequent spoiling of the next three solicits gave it the same whiff of confused desperation the rest of the X-books have. Fortunately Exceptional X-Men fucking slaps - Ewing and Carnero are cooking with gas and each issue is better than the last. It's Sinister time and it looks so good!

Last time, Axo's idealism was harshly punished as the seemingly understanding Sheldon Xenos revealed himself as Mister Sinister and captured him. Xenos' identity was not a well kept secret for the reader, with extratextual material all but shouting it. I feel bad for Ewing and Carnero working to setup the smartest X-book being published and having their plot points spilled, similar to the All-New Venom MJ debacle. There were enough complaints about the book's pacing for Brevoort to publicly comment on it as intentional. Turning around and giving up half the arc undercuts that, and I feel like it's worth acknowledging that writers only have control over the script. It hasn't affected my enjoyment of the book, but I've got question marks coming out of my head.

The issue opens where the last left off, with a gorgeous creepy splash of Sinister from Axo's POV, with a harsh light shining in his eyes creating a warped halo around Sinister. Splash pages are reserved for significant moments and this qualifies, but again I can't help but feel like the clumsy spoilers take something away from it. Enough of that - it's Mister fucking Sinister and he's explaining his diabolical plan. This camp monster revelling in how clever he is feels like the guy who fucked up Krakoa, lost everything, learnt nothing, and found a new angle involving treating mutants disposably. Of course he repelled Axo's powers because he's just so clever.

Ever since Kieron Gillen revamped him during his Uncanny run, Sinister has been camp as fuck and ambitious to the point of hubris. He's always loved cloning and weaponising mutants, but his obsession with mastering everything, including the future, has driven him and usually blown up in his face. Whether it's his pure determinism via Celestial tech or the Moira engine, he is wild science completely stripped of ethics.

His scheme involves using Alex's gift to map the genome down to the metaphysical level and predict/control everything. It's delightfully mad science with just the right amount of technobabble and of course, cruelty. Poor Alex is strapped into some heinous machine while a Sinister clone lives his life. It's his decades old MO, but just how well can he duplicate a Generation Alpha mutant with unique powers and a complex social life? Marauders just kill people - this is 1:1 replacing a teenager whose culture he knows nothing about. Sinister is supremely confident that nobody will notice, because he's oh so smart.

Yeah, his family is like 'what the actual fuck?' immediately. Clone Axo pours orange juice and coffee on his dinner because 'tastes good' while answering monosyllabically. It's going hard squirting sauce straight from the bottle into his mouth. This is fucking hilarious. His dad's face is baffled and his little sister asks if he's on drugs. Sinister is VERY smart, but he's not as smart as he thinks he is.

The clone is just following its teenage hormones and gorging on whatever is nearby. It's also ghosting Sophie, which is heartbreaking, but so teenage. It's been a while for me but when someone starts acting differently you notice. A clone can't handle how many apps and devices I use, let alone a teenager with a robust social life. Poor Sophie thinks he's ghosting her, but is actually worried he might be dead or something. It's cute that they've built that kind of bond and awful that this might fuck it up. When he's out of this, Sophie Cuckoo will fortunately understand if he says 'I was kidnapped and cloned by Sinister.'

It's not just her though - his other close circle are wondering what the deal is. They did fight recently, but he said he'd go thrifting with Thao and Trista. The clone does show up but it's not very talkative and it's licking socks. Poor Axo but this is great! An electrical fault causes the fire alarm to go off, but the clone barely cares. I love Thao's radical honesty, the voice here is so on point.

As the store evacuates, Bronze and Melee fucking handle it when a dude wigs out and people panic. As a way to show their growth in use and acceptance of their powers, plus their confidence and teamwork, it's incredibly deft. Clone Axo does fuck all, which contrasts with them perfectly to clue them in.

The clone enjoying Dazzler unironically convinces Trista and she manoeuvres Thao into a private space. What a fucking choice, haha! So many implications, like Dazzler being uncool, the girls knowing Axo well enough that this of all things is the red flag - it works so well especially juxtaposed against Kitty a few panels later. They put it together really quickly, because Sinister isn't as clever as he thinks he is and they're sharp kids. They decide to call Kitty.

Aaaand smash cut to her singing Dazzler in the shower, unable to get to her phone. There's only context clues to tell us it's the same song, but even if it's not it's nice to see Kitty singing and enjoying herself. It would highlight the social and generational gap between them but if it's just the reason she can't be reached that's cool too. I choose to believe!

This issue is legit funny. I haven't laughed out loud multiple times in a new comic since I don't know when. There's a serious problem, but the kids are pretty new to the buckwild insanity that's X-Men shit so they function as audience surrogates poking loving fun at it. Emma not having a phone and not establishing a psychic system means they just think really hard while holding hands. Nothing happens and Trista openly says how stupid it is.

Ewing did such a good job introducing these characters and building the team that she has the latitude to fit more humour into this one issue than the entirety of X-Factor. I'm not talking standalone gags or cheap shots, it's embracing the awfulness and ridiculousness of the situation and squeezing bathos out of the characters responding naturally.

That humour is contrasted with tension on all sides. The kids want independence, but need to walk a fine line of support. Everyone does. They're quite capable, if inexperienced, and as they plan breaking into Verate - thinking they're on their own - Kitty finally sees her phone. Of course Nina calls, diverting her attention again and forcing a choice.

Woof! I'd been thinking that Nina felt a little underdeveloped and boring, possibly as a result of Marvel being cowards with queer relationships, but I think I was wrong. Kitty's intentionally kept her separate from the adventures we see because it's her 'normal' refuge. That she sees nothing wrong with calling her girlfriend normal as a compliment tells us a LOT about where she's at. She's been retreating to her idea of normalcy and asking Emma if it's even possible for people like them - doubting it. Kitty's childhood and connection to mainstream society ended the day she met the X-Men. From that point onwards she had to grow up, wanted to even. Is it just the X-Men that did that or did she have a choice to just be? Do these kids have a choice?

As members of a persecuted minority with superpowers, maybe not. What about as a former soldier? A killer? As Sinister raises that question by coming after Axo, Nina does the same by asking about normalcy and why it's so important to Kitty. It suggests that Nina probably doesn't know a lot about Kitty - formative things that a partner deserves to know. Like it or not it affects them too, as any super's partner could tell you. Nina is being very understanding but she directly asking if Kate is willing to let her in. On cue, her internal conflict is externalised when that conversation is interrupted by Thao's 'SOS!!!!'

Kate has several choices ahead of her but there's no way she ignores this distress call. It's awful for her, but she made this choice long ago. Or did she? Is normalcy possible for her, or even just dating someone who hasn't been a superhero ninja assassin genius pirate? Does she truly have a choice here or is she just repeating the cycle for the next generation? She had to deal with a lot without help, and she's not doing that to these kids who trust her. What does that mean for her relationship? If she can't open up to someone let alone put them first, normalcy might not be an option. That doesn't have to be a bad thing, but she doesn't want to confront it.

With perfect timing, Sinister happily working away on atrocities goes wrong for him. 'Flawless,' he thinks, as he gets a demonstration that it's not true. Sinister doesn't care about normal, he can't even pretend to be a real person - and he's so isolated from humanity that he works alone as he breaks the laws of nature trying to exploit it.

Sinister's reaction runs the danger of undermining him as a threat, but it's deftly sidestepped by it being an established character flaw. I appreciate that the façade didn't last very long, the clone does a day in the life as a passenger then melts into an abomination after the kids figure it out. It's a self contained three act adventure while settling up bringing all the protagonists together for a confrontation.

Thao and Trista storm into the coffee shop the clone was being weird in to accuse it - and it does a horrific post-modern Wicked Witch of the West impersonation. As Kitty and Nina are 'calling it official' with a pressing problem, the kids do the same and their friend melts in front of them.

Clone Axo doing bizarre shit tells a story of a character that's established enough for everyone to pick up on behaviour changes. The horror of a teenager melting into goo isn't downplayed - these kids are terrified and don't know what to do - it's played straight and achieves the dramatic effect while brushing up against hilarity though context and timing. The rising action leaves all the characters on a cliffhanger, but they're going to have to come together to confront this. Axo has been abducted and cloned by Verate, and that will lead them to Sinister. The adults warnings come true horribly quickly and Kate's questions of normal is something she has to answer for herself. Radical honesty or will she retreat again?

Sinister fatigue is avoided because he was around so recently and the adults especially have been avoiding thinking about it. Kate has been fighting him half her life and was on the Quiet Council with him. Emma was too, and she hates him. Worse, she's still heavily grieving Krakoa - the last thing either wants to do is fight the personification of their loss, failure, and trauma. The snake in the grass who escaped unpunished and is still the worst. A loose end from the best and worst time of life, while they both struggle to ensure that trauma isn't passed down to the younger generation.

Can they protect them? Should they? Is empowering them enough against this monster? I'm sure they'll figure it out quickly, but will find no joy there. Feelings of guilt and being proven awfully right, plus the circumstances that led Axo into this choice haven't gone away. He's still a prisoner, but if nothing else his friends and mentors care about him and will come for him. I can't fucking wait to see it play out.

This issue is so good with not a single panel wasted, and it looks fantastic. It's the end of act 2 in the Sinister plot with climax and conflict ahead, but it's also a continuation of the ongoing serial that's executed masterfully - reaping the benefits of establishing the premise and characters as they're put through hell. Teen mutant voices have never felt so authentic and the humour is masterfully done. Don't miss it.

[pokemonshelterstories]

Hi, Charlie! How you doing? I have a little of a predicament here, see I have a Cyndaquil (Pepper) and a kanto, senior Persian (Roberta), she's a retired contest pokémon that belonged to one of my friend's parents.

Roberta spends most of her time sleeping these days, but she's fairly friendly and social with Pepper and other pokemon she meets! Problem arose when a coworker gifted me a Skiploom during a santa's secret party, apparently just because I said I liked that pokemon and they just... got it...from some random market????? I was baffled, but the little Skiploom is usually a sweetheart and doesn't seem to have behavorial problems besides getting into petty fights with passing drifloom and other flying pokemon when she's out of the house (is that normal? i thought skipbloom were gentle and timid)

My biggest fear was Cyndaquil, being a fire type, but they got along nicely, but Roberta just...apparently hates this Skiploom! And started to do very strange things she didnt' do before, she does as much as smell the skiploom floral scent and will go wild and use fury swipes on the walls and floor. She sneaks into the room were I keep the Skiploom to bite her toys and toss her water bowl. And if the Skiploom is on the same room by accident (since i try to keep them separate), Roberta will straight up use power gen (her sight it's bad at her age, so it always misses, but it's concerning) And if Roberta gets agressive, Pepper seems to follow her lead and will run around and growl.

It's there a way to handle this? I don't want to release the Skiploom since I fear they could be a born-into captivity one, but all this agression and activity is very bad for an old pokemon like Roberta. Should I give away Skiploom or take them to a shelter?

yeah...i wish people wouldnt get pokemon as gifts unless someone has specifically requested that pokemon. it tends to lead to situations like this.

unfortunately, this sounds like a bad situation all around. persian are territorial and fairly aggressive pokemon, and raising them as single pokemon is hard enough before you add other pokemon into the equation. they don't adjust easily to new pokemon in the household, and at her age roberta may be beyond the point where she's willing to tolerate a new addition.

my concern is that this is clearly stressful for all three pokemon. roberta is obviously stressed to the point that she's actively trying to hunt out the skiploom. pepper's aggression in response to roberta's aggression is likely to be a stress response. and obviously getting attacked out of what seems like nowhere is going to be stressful for the skiploom! a stressed skiploom is going to release a lot of sweet scent to try and diffuse the conflict, which will just perpetuate the issue.

while this could potentially be managed through very strict pokeball rotation scheduling, i think in this case that's probably not the best idea. roberta is still going to smell the skiploom around the house. i'm worried that all this stress isn't healthy for her, and it might cause her relationship to pepper to turn sour. it sounds like the best choice to make here is to rehome the skiploom. you can take it to a shelter, though you'll likely have to pay a surrender fee. alternatively, you can try to rehome it yourself using the global trading network.

thank you for doing your best for this little guy- that was a tough situation for you to be put in

[kruxton]

ok so ive gone through with the touchstarved demo (i forgot what backstory i chose 💔 not sure if this matters to what i'll be yapping about) and leander's route was the last one i did - went crazy about the other 4 too but i need to talk about HIM

this guy is FASCINATING. objectively fascinating. out of all the 5 characters this guy baffles me the most. token nice guy that is a bit... TOO nice, right? and so as ive done with the rest i take notes about interesting dialogues or scenes cause i like fleshing out the characters in my head completely, and this guy???? i wrote about him 10x more than the others. and i dont even like him as a romance option yet. he truly is just such a compelling character

warning for spoilers (?) of the demo

im just going to preface this with the fact that i have maybe only played a visual novel like once before this and that was YEARS ago. i dont know if im reading too much into it all and that everything's just a 'that's how it works in these games' thing or not so!!! there's that. AND i only just discovered this game a few days ago (on the same day they updated actually) so the fandom discussions r very new to me

so by the end of the demo you're given the option to follow one of the characters after the drink at the bar, and no matter who you choose you're going to end up talking about the other 4 as well. something different I noticed for leander's dialogue was that for every person you'd ask about, he would always ask what you thought about them first. every single one. none of the others did this, they would just speak their mind, but leander ALWAYS ASKED FIRST. and the two options you had were to say something positive or something negative about them

and depending on how you answered those questions, leander's response was STAGGERINGLY different. whenever you would choose a positive answer (eg: saying Ais was 'honest' instead of 'a jerk'), leander would go "yadda yadda sure but that guy's dangerous and not to be trusted" - essentially. im generalising to make my point but this was the vibes he let off. and his character would be all pissed and frowning, worried for the MC's safety, acting all protective and shit.

but then u turn around and redo the dialogue option, choosing the negative one instead, and without fail leander's reply would be 'haha yeah but he's not all that bad.' (again, generalising). even so far as to say he's seen mhin's 'soft spot' before, and saying the senobium was cruel for imprisoning vere (which, by the way is completely contradictory to what he would say if we chose 'I feel bad for him.' (positive option) - he literally says VERBATIM that vere 'should be caged'). and i can't help but feel like this must be on purpose. the devs HAD to have done this on purpose its too good of a character trait to just be some sort of writing flaw

and by character trait i mean his whole nice guy shtick. i think its all an act and he's a lying two faced bitch. yup.

a line i remember distinctly was him lightheartedly saying he was jealous and wanted to keep the MC all to himself, which im going back to now after playing through all the options in this scene and like. oh i GET him now.

this man gets jealous whenever the MC shows affection for literally any other character and bites back with something to incriminate said character in MC's eyes. but if the MC says something bad about anyone, he has to keep up his shtick and be the mediator again. the nice guy that gets along with everyone.

now that ive written this i realise that this might literally just be a Very Common Archetype that i just rarely indulge in, but I wanna finish this off with the fact that I still think his story and personality is easily my favourite, and being able to sort of decipher this part of his story through the mechanics of a visual novel with multiple routes is SO Fun. its like damn i wish i could do this in real life to see if people are lying to me or not

anyways the touchstarved demo is peak i cant wait for when the game releases YAYYYYY

[ogcalesgf]

windbreaker | suonire, vampire au!

a silly little au with the idea that vampires can’t enter human’s homes unless they’re verbally invited.

but it’s human! nirei who often forgets that he has to always ALWAYS invite vampire! suo in his house to get him to come in.

it was the xx century, and nobody really is scared of non-humans anymore, so they now happily coexist with everyone without having to hide their races.

co-workers turned lovers suo and nirei has been dating for a while now, with their friends rooting for them after painstakingly witnessing the unbearable years of pining.

but there’s just one thing that nirei couldn’t get the hang of.

he always ALWAYS forgets to invite his boyfriend in his house.

other races, and not just vampires, have their own certain rules they abide by. being non-humans, the laws of nature decided that they have to have some sort of restrictions on them unlike people who only has the law and justice system to follow through.

now, to the matter at hand; nirei, not really being used at the thought of suo being a vampire, often forgets to invite him in his house. they’ve not been dating for long, while friends for almost five years— it’s only been six months since they started dating.

the thing is, in those six months, heck— in those six years, they’ve never really went to each other’s house until suo proposed that they live together at nirei’s convenience.

nirei, elated at the idea of seeing suo in his normal days and not just at work, agreed to live together. but, it was suo’s idea for them to live in nirei’s apartment, since the blonde would be a lot more comfortable in his own space.

for whatever reason, the rules that a vampire must be invited in someone else’s house for them to be able to enter is only invalid once they’ve both have ownership of the house. and since they’ve only started dating, nirei doesn’t have the heart to share the ownership with suo, since his grandmother has strictly given it to him as some sort of emergency home.

“aki-kun, i want you to keep this place as your home. the one where you rest in, when you’re tired of it all, or if you wanted space and a room to breathe after a very stressful phase in your life. don’t sell, nor share the ownership with just anyone.”

it was understandable for suo, so he didn’t ask for anything like that. if anything, the topic only came up when sakura asked him about it, then suo and nirei had a conversation about it.

“akihiko, i asked to live with you, because i wanted to. and i did say it was on your own convenience, so i don’t want you to feel that you need to be forced to do something, okay? we can just postpone the plan if you want to.” suo said with a rare genuine smile as he pats nirei’s head.

well, needless to say they still went along with it. so now, nirei has this problem of—

scenario 1:

“— and then, sakura-san jumped like a cat! kiryu-san was filming the whole thing and tsugeura-san was so confused—“ nirei stopped halfway in the living room as he turned to see a chuckling suo right outside the doorway.

“aH! come in, suo-san! i’m so sorry!!!”

scenario 2:

while nirei’s tiredly sitting in front of his dressing table, doing his night-time skin care routine, his phone pings.

his eyes widened at the message.

leo 🧛🏻💝

aki-kun, i hope you haven’t forgotten about me. though, i did say i was going to take a while parking the car.

he scrambled on his feet to back to the apartment’s entrance.

“please come in, hayato! waaah, i’m so so sorry!!” nirei whined, hugging him tightly.

“no harm done, my aki. let’s go?” suo laughed as he entered the apartment while holding nirei.

.𖥔 ݁ ˖๋ ࣭ ⭑

a lot of similar cases has happened, and if anything, their friends have now anticipated the stories that suo tells them at lunch. of how nirei often forgets to tell suo to come in, and how it happened.

it baffles them how each week, there’s a new way that nirei forgets to let suo in on their shared apartment. and they started betting on it after a month, courtesy of kiryu, of course.

“are they really betting on how i would forget, instead of being good friends to remind me of letting you in?!” nirei groaned as he pouted, while suo laughs at him, ruffling his hair. then he grumpily turned to his boyfriend.

“and you always enable them, hayato-kun! why don’t you remind me before i go in, anyways!?” he said, frustrated.

suo just chuckles before brushing it off. “we should get our lunch before it’s time to clock in, aki.”

it frankly doesn’t bother suo. he’s of course, initially shocked. he first thought, maybe nirei was just testing him or something along those lines, but then, he realized that his lover has nothing but trust on him.

it was the first time that a creature, much less, a human, has trusted him to be able to follow them into their home. after all, one of the prideful traits showed by humanity after co-existing, was to remind the non-humans of their restrictions. and so, it was a first for suo to encounter a human who doesn’t “let him in”.

his aki is really something.

and it was quite cute, really. nirei was always so apologetic about it, in a way where suo always feels pampered with his aki’s affections. he always is pampered by nirei in his own way, but nothing beats the attention that nirei gives when he’s fussing over suo because of his worries. nirei can be quite shy on a daily basis after all, and in these moments, suo could see that he can be quite bold.

his friends also doesn’t take those moments badly, as they see how nirei loves and trusts them all. because similarly to suo, kiryu who is a fae, also gets forgotten by nirei every time they have to work together in his apartment.

or how sakura, an oni, is always invited to a sleepover way before the suo and nirei started dating (which may or may not have caused a snappy suo). or how nire trusts tsugeura, and sugishita with his life— one time that the company trip they had was a literal disaster and they were in charge of saving nirei.

and nirei himself, admitted it that he kind of just expects everyone, especially his dear friends, and lover, to just share his space with him.

and so, everyone in the office, really adores the tiny little human nirei who just trusts his non-human friends so much!

it actually started as a short prompt of nirei just forgetting vampire! suo by the door whenever he yaps on their way home, and everyone gets a good laugh about it. but now we have this 🥹

[22ayla21]

Hello! Can I make a request to Kartein? The man has very few fics, something like he and the reader had a relationship in the past but she had to leave for her home country (Korea), she is part of Jiwoo and Kayden's circle, so when Kartein comes to take care of Jiwoo they meet and start living together again at Jiwoo's house, where Kartein realizes that she and Kayden have become close friends, so he confronts her about it and about her not coming back to him, thank you in advance and sorry for the inconvenience.

The sun was slowly sinking towards the horizon, painting the city in soft shades of sunset. The warm light reflected in the windows of the high-rises, creating an illusion of golden glow. He hadn't come here of his own will – Kayden had started his game again.

"You can't do it, Kartein. It's beyond your capabilities," Kayden had said mockingly that morning, teasing him.

Kartein just snorted in response, not about to give him the satisfaction of open irritation. Of course, he could. Of course, he would do it. Just because he was Kartein, the greatest healer among the awakened. And now he stood at the door of the ward where Kayden and Jiwoo were.

When he entered, the first thing he smelled was a familiar scent. Light, unobtrusive, but he remembered it too well to mistake it for anything else. His heart clenched, but his expression remained unchanged – cold and confident, as always.

Her.

Kartein hadn't seen her for years. Since she left for Korea, without even giving him a chance to say a last word. Back then, he hadn't looked for her, hadn't tried to find out the reasons. Pride had kept him from doing foolish things. He wasn't used to rejections, and so he preferred to pretend that her departure meant nothing to him.

And now she was sitting here, next to Jiwoo, talking to him as if it were perfectly natural. Her voice sounded soft, familiar, but now there was something new in it – something alien to him.

Kartein entered the room as calmly as ever, but his gaze was sharp, attentive. He saw how she had changed – in the small things, in how she carried herself, in how easily and freely she laughed with Jiwoo. But what particularly irritated him was how she exchanged glances with Kayden.

He couldn't explain why it annoyed him, but the fact remained – seeing her in the circle of these people, in this house, and not with him, was unbearable.

When evening came, they left the ward, and she was left alone with Kartein. The silence between them wasn't awkward – rather tense, as if both understood that sooner or later one of them would speak.

"You're back," he finally said, without changing his posture. She didn't answer immediately, but Kartein noticed how nervous she was.

"Yes," she simply said. He waited. Waited for explanations, excuses, but nothing followed. Didn't she think it was necessary to talk about it? Or did she think he didn't care?

"Why didn't you come back to me?" his voice was even, but there was a barely noticeable note of bitterness in it. She looked at him, her eyes shimmering in the dim light of the room.

"I couldn't," she said.

"Couldn't?" he repeated with a hint of sarcasm. "But you could come back here. You could spend time with Jiwoo, with Kayden."

He pronounced Kayden's name with a slight contempt that he didn't even try to hide. She sighed.

"Kartein…"

"Don't," he interrupted her. "You left without saying a word. And now you're sitting here as if nothing happened."

He felt like a fool. Shouldn't he not care? He had long learned not to get attached to people. He wasn't one to suffer over lost relationships. And yet…

She didn't answer, just looked at him with that expression that always baffled him – soft, understanding, but with a hint of determination.

Kartein clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"If you think I'm still angry, you're wrong," he said. She smirked.

"You're angry."

He snorted and turned away.

This woman… She always knew how to see through him, no matter how impenetrable he tried to seem.

A minute passed, then another. Kartein didn't move, but he felt her nearby. He couldn't admit it, but her return had disrupted his usual order of things. He didn't want this. He didn't want to let her back into his life. But did he have a choice? She was here again. And he knew it would change everything.