#and i just love exploring it and learning how to use them effectively

[aa-archer42]

sorry for not posting anything i was playing boyfriend dungeon for way too long

this is my bestie and my fav character Jonah

lil sketch of his head bc i’m still learning how to draw him

[consultingfujoshi]

some thoughts wrt the two established "romances" in severance so far (burt/irving and helly/mark) inspired by @figmentof who pointed out how irving had to find out mark and helly kissed from the corporate video in s2 e1 and how he must have felt seeing his co-workers' love affair like portrayed like that, and how it ties into the queer narrative at play here which uses workplace dynamics and policies as very clear analogues for real-life prejudice against queer couples. I mean, just look at this:

it's not just documented, but celebrated. used as propaganda for how the conditions on the severance floor have improved. proof that the severed workers are happy. and how even though he is unaware of the sociopolitical meaning of all this, lumon is very not-subtly telling him that what he had with burt is inherently lower and less valuable than this.

irving doesn't even know homophobia exists and yet he is still affected by it, it still seeps into every corner of the way his and burt's romance progresses. burt is positioned as an unacceptable love interest from the jump. irv is actively discouraged at every turn from pursuing it. their friendship is viewed with disgust and apprehension from their coworkers. burt working in a different department that's hated by MDR. dylan himself not being homophobic in the sense he opposes their relationship because they're both men but his attempts to keep them apart still has a parallel sort of prejudice behind it and still ultimately has the same effect as if it WERE driven by homophobia. irving is made to feel perverse for wanting contact with burt. he's told this is for his own good.

and then, just as they manage to overcome that immediate resistance from their peers and escape to a place where they can explore this blossoming romance on their own terms, burt retires. for all it matters to irv, he's dead. and then irving is given the option to live the rest of his life with grief that will never heal, or kill himself too, because there is no reality where they get to be together. that's just the way things are. of course they wouldn't get to be together. he was unreasonable and childish for ever hoping that could happen. this is just the way it goes for innies. he's told to get ahold of himself and not make a scene.

but the thing is, the standards are not the same for all. a heterosexual romance gets upheld as the shining example of success and fulfilment for the severed employees, whilst a homosexual romance is ridiculed and invalidated, and written off as something that was simply never meant to be. and even more importantly to irving, a heterosexual romance is APPROVED OF by lumon, and by extension, by kier. irv held back from allowing himself to even call his and burt's relationship a romance, because his god had told him it was wrong, he followed the handbook, thinking this was what kier wanted, and then finding out after suffering the worst heartbreak imaginable because of it, that this WASN'T EVEN TRUE. it's simply just that someone like HIM doesn't get to have something like this. his love is not the kind of love god wants. he does not approve of irv's love. cynical and manipulative though that approval may be (even within the context of the corporate video, the helly/mark romance is only being celebrated to further the narrative that lumon care for their workers, but the point still remains that it was THEIR romance specifically used to suit this end), when your entire life has been in pursuit of that approval, it must be devastating to learn it was never on the cards for you.

he and burt even used the fact kier met and fell in love with his wife in the same circumstances as them to justify this to each other - and they were RIGHT, god does approve of falling in love with your coworkers - this simply just doesn't apply to them specifically. and if irving needed any more proof that he no longer has a place at lumon, that he's better off not existing at all than existing with this pain that cannot be remedied, pain that won't even be acknowledged for what it is, a symptom of a sickness which plagues the entire severance system, pain that he is simply expected to choke down and get over - this is that proof.

and that's the POINT. they're TELLING us that this is unjust, and there's a double standard. they're using the ways the innies experience romance and the difference in lumon's reaction (lumon being the collective of all the management we've seen, lumon as a singular entity) to burt/irving vs helly/mark to comment on how queer people are not afforded the same level of respect or validation IN REAL LIFE, for their attachments, their love, their pain, their suffering. it is NOT just incidental that irving's romance is with a man. it would not WORK if his love interest was a woman. the POINT is that they are both men and how that puts them at a disadvantage, even if they aren't aware of the prejudices of the outside world, even if they don't TECHNICALLY apply on the severance floor, there are very clear analogues which still end up oppressing them in equivalent ways that they would be suffering if this were a normal workplace in the outside world.

it genuinely sickens me to my stomach that even in a world so divorced from reality and the sensibilities of regular society, a queer couple is still made to suffer and feel inferior in a way that perfectly mirrors their real-life counterparts. how they will never, EVER be allowed to exist in a world where their love could thrive freely and uninhibited - they never get to taste the joy our world has to offer people like them, but they are still somehow subjected to all the pain it has to offer them regardless. it's such horrifically devastating writing. it makes my skin crawl. I can't stop thinking about it

[joeloverture]

walk with me: pegging joel miller…

cw (18+ mdni) pegging duh, fingering m!receiving, joel sucks strap, domesticity, dirty talk, couple spanks, degradation, gnc reader i think but they have a cunt, subby joel

- begging him for it. you know this’ll be an uphill battle. after all — he was raised in texas. his ideas of masculinity are as machismo as anyone else’s with his background. ‘can i fuck you?’ ‘what? like, ride me?’ ‘no, baby, fuck you.’ seeing the blush on his face as he puts two and two together and coughs out, ‘jesus, girl. uh. i dunno. not really my thing.’ ‘but-‘ ‘but nothin’.’ ‘jooooellll!’ ‘not gonna happen, sweetheart.’

- you keep trying. of course you do.

- eventually he relents. ‘i wanna see how you take cock, please, baby’ ‘fine, but it ain’t gonna have the effect thatcha want.’

- you prep for it. bathing him beforehand, scrubbing his curls. ‘you’re so pretty,’ you say as you kiss along his shoulder blades, his clavicle, his chest. nipping gently at his happy trail.

- when he’s all dried off and has somehow let you lather him with the moisturizer you use, you spit on your fingers and squirt a generous amount of lube over your knuckles. you roll him on his stomach as he often does to you. sink a tentative finger in, waiting for any signs of pain-

- but you only get a faint grunt indicative of a feeling you know to be pleasure. you explore him, fingertips combing through his hole, watching him take your finger. ‘another, baby,’ he rasps as you curl and twist your pointer.

- you give him another. and then another. he clenches around you, cock red and angry and leaking on the sheets. you throw him a bone. a pillow under his waist, which his hips rock into. wanting. it has him fucking himself back on three of your fingers, stretching himself out just the way he will come to love

- you shimmy up the bed to lodge your plastic cock at his lips. he looks wrecked already, eyes dark, brows lined with ecstasy. you tap it on his lips. ‘baby,’ he says faintly. almost a protest. you raise a brow at him. ‘c’mon, joely. i know you’d be such a good fucking cocksucker. you need a cock in your mouth to learn your place, honey.’

- so he takes you in his mouth. starts out slow. he doesn’t have to worry about nicking it with his teeth. for better or for worse, you can’t feel it. his tongue swivels around the bottom. you clasp a hand in his still damp hair and urge him to take you deeper, deeper, until he gags. his eyes brim, watering. he sputters around your cock as you gently fuck up into his throat. with each thrust, you can feel how soaked you are.

- ‘attaboy,’ you coax. ‘knew there was a cockslut in ya.’ he whines in response, eyes rolling back as you tug his hair. you lure him off of you eventually. he’s panting, saliva strung between the tip of the dildo and his pouty lower lip.

- ‘i do alright?’ he asks, a shy smile lifting his lips when you nod at him, pat his cheek. ‘the best.’

- once you’ve adjusted behind him, on your knees, you slide through his tan cheeks. you grope at them, squeezing the skin, smacking at it. it leaves a bright red handprint in your wake. he whines at the unfamiliar sensation, and then whines again when your cock notches at his entrance. ‘please, honey, please-‘ he whines, back arching to try to get you to slip in. you’re both soaked in lube to the point where it nearly works.

- you spank him again. that shuts him up, his forehead melting into the mattress. he takes shallow rocks into the pillow, cock hard between it and his abdomen.

- eventually you give him what he wants. ‘theeeere you go. fuck me. look so pretty taking my dick, baby. got such a fuckable ass, goddamn, should’ve asked for this sooner. sucking me right in.’ he’s so hungry for it in spite of his reservations. he whines, backing up onto you as you thrust into him. there’s that relieved sigh that breaks into a moan as you push in to the base. he shudders, thighs trembling. you grip one of them to stabilize him and plant your other hand in his hair, using it to tug him up against you.

- you lean over to whisper in his ear, ‘such a little bitch for some cock up the ass. bet you’re about to bust a fucking nut.’

- he is. but he doesn’t admit it. he’s too prideful. you shove his face into the mattress below. it makes him startle, a yelp leaving him. he keens when you spread him with your free hand so you can see how you fuck into him. you rock your hips upward, curving your thrusts just so they meet his prostate. it’s so easy to tell what makes him tick, because every time you brush it, he almost screams. the muscles in his back tighten as you pound into him. ‘go ahead. admit you were wrong. tell me you like it.’

- ‘fuck-‘ his voice is muffled by the mattress. you tug his head up again. he clenches around you, slowing your thrust. ‘oh god, baby, i— shit, yeah, i like it— ohh-“

- ‘mhm? you like. this. cock.’ you rail into him on each word. he yells with each thrust.

- ‘hngggh, baby, i’m-‘

- ‘i know, joel. ‘s okay. shoot your load all over that pillow. just know you’ll be cleaning up after.’

- the thought is enough for him to come undone. he comes with a ragged, screamed moan, shuddering and bucking into the pillow and you. you smack his ass again for good measure as his cock pumps out thick ropes of cum. he’s whining and twitching on the comedown, toes curled.

- ‘jesus, mary, ‘n joseph,’ he pants.

- ‘don’t think they had anything to do with that, sweet boy,’ you say. you grope his ass a little more, admiring how the lube drips down his taint. once he’s settled, you pull out of him, kissing up his back. ‘sit up.’

- he does, and you tug the pillow out from beneath his softening cock. you put it to his lips, and automatically, his tongue swipes out to taste his saltiness. he whimpers again, one hand groping along your chest as he laps himself up. once the pillow his more damp from his saliva than his release, you lean over to kiss him, tasting him on his lips

- you squeal when he rolls you over, already fumbling with your strap’s buckles. ‘fuck, what did they make this out of? titanium?’ he asks. you laugh and unlatch it for him, feel it slide down your hips. ‘mmm, that’s more like it,’ he says as he cups your dripping mound. your clit twitches against his palm. ‘your turn, baby,’ he says, a shit eating grin on his face.

[f1byjessie]

HE LIKES MY AMERICAN SMILE ━━ OP81. [REWRITE]

he may not be a london boy, but you love him all the same, and you’re about to learn the hard way that loving someone can be a wild ride.

( oscar piastri x sargeant!reader )

━━ part one.

INSTAGRAM.

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yourusername me and london boy have made so many memories here together and i’ll cherish them forever ❤️. i love this sport and i love the people i've met in this sport. i'll always love it and them, but sometimes you have to take a step back and set your sights on new horizons. that said, neither of us will be competing in any events this year— endurance or otherwise. london boy will stay in richmond and continue to receive the best care possible from people who have grown to love him as much as i do, and in the meantime, i'll start looking to those other horizons.

view all 1,761 comments

user wishing you the best of luck!! we’ll miss seeing you and london boy, but we know this decision wasn’t made lightly and we hope whatever you do will make you just as happy as riding does!!

user london boy lives a more luxurious life than i could ever hope 

↳ user real like why am i jealous of a horse 😭😭

↳ user knowing how well these horses are treated? we should all be jealous

↳ user some of these horses have rain coats that cost more than my entire wardrobe combined… the day i learned that was not a fun day… 😔

user honestly only ever tuned in to watch you both

user the events won’t be the same without you!!!

user I’LL MISS YOU LONDON BOY

user take all the time you need to explore other options! you can love something and still get burnt out on it. sometimes taking that step away can be the decision that allows us to continue loving something instead of growing resentful towards it. do what you need to do to be happy! 🫶

↳ user this is such a good way to put it!!

↳ user THIS. i did competitive jumping for ten years and towards the end of that time i started seeing it more as a chore than the sport i used to be so passionate about. you absolutely CAN love something and still get burnt out on it. taking breaks is so important.

user i’m sure london boy will miss you but you do you girliepop! take a trip or go on an adventure!

user oh to be a girl riding her horse across the beach at sunrise 🥲

↳ user IKR?!? talk about dream life, she’s literally living out scenes that i’ve only ever seen in movies

↳ user it’s london boy’s world and we’re all just living in it

user wait does this mean no more horse content???

↳ user i mean she’s not getting rid of her horse or even outright retiring, she just won’t be riding competitively for 2023

user is she leaving the uk or smth?? bc she said other ppl will be looking after london boy?? i know nothing about horses guys i’m sorry

↳ user london boy will be staying at the stables as per her caption! he will be looked after by many trained professionals who will ensure he is properly fed, watered, exercised, and groomed each day! it’s actually very common for people to board their horses at a stable since horses often need large fields to graze and exercise in, and not a lot of people have big enough backyards or own property to be able to provide that themselves. whether she’s leaving the uk or not, we don’t know, but it definitely sounds like her training with london boy will be put on hold for the time being!

user miss girl we’ll always remember you and london boy as the greatest duo in endurance racing history

↳ user REAL REAL REAL

user does this have to do with her falling off a few months back??

↳ user it could, she did mention the encounter leaving her pretty shaken

↳ user yeah but the possibility of something like this happening is so high that a lot of riders have accepted it as an inevitable occurrence in their career

↳ user even still, that doesn’t change the fact that she could very well be traumatized or experiencing lingering side effects

↳ user guys!! speculation will do us no good!! if she wants to tell us, she will!!

user YOU KNOW I LOVE A LONDON BOY 🗣🗣🗣

logansargeant wanna trade one paddock for another?

There’s a sort of terrifying uncertainty that comes with breaking a long-standing routine.

It’s like a fucked-up sort of package deal— you stop following the methodized schedule you’ve meticulously upheld for years, and in exchange, you receive more time than you know what to do with and an overwhelming responsibility to fill it.

The only question is: with what?

The muscle memory lingers, and you suspect that it’ll take some time for your body to un-familiarize itself with a sleep schedule that you’ve religiously held on to for years, but there’s no demands to maintain any of it and that makes any sort of attempt at continuing to run through the motions feel entirely obsolete. You may instinctively wake up at the ass crack of dawn, but without the necessity of a horse relying on your punctuality to get him fed, watered, and turned out to the paddock, there’s nothing you can do beyond filling the morning with something until your internal clock catches the memo and decides to let you sleep in for once.

“You know, when I invited you to tag along with me,” Logan begins in lieu of a greeting when he opens the front door and sees you standing on the stoep of his apartment, clad in athletic wear and a pair of well-worn running shoes, “I was under the impression that we both understood that to mean the traveling to races part and not necessarily the pre-season training.”

“‘My dearest sister,’” you sarcastically quip back in a mockingly deep voice, feigning heartfelt sincerity and pressing your hand melodramatically to your chest. “‘How good it is to see you after so long! I would be absolutely delighted if you joined me on my morning run today.’”

Your twin brother shakes his head in exasperation, but through the facade of annoyance, you can recognize the hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

“Honestly, Logie,” You pretend to wipe a tear from the corner of your eye and add in a sniffle for extra flair, “you're too sweet. What would I ever do without you?”

“We saw each other a week ago at brunch,” he grumbles, reluctantly taking a step back from the door and allowing you to pass over the threshold into the warmth of the apartment and out of the winter’s frigid morning air.

“When?”

“Last Wednesday—”

“—did I ask? Oh! Boom! Gotcha!” You whoop out an exclamation of victory as you continue down the hall. “Gosh, I am four for four now. You gotta step up your game, Logie-bear, or this is gonna end in a miserable shut out for you.”

He heaves out a heavy sigh that carries with it twenty-two years of suppressed brotherly rage and the exhaustion that can only come from being reminded at every chance that he is, and always will be, a minute younger than you. “You're the bane of my existence, and I do sincerely hope you know this.”

“Aw, I love you too!”

You step into the small kitchen at the end of the hall. With the exception of a little potted cactus sitting on the windowsill— a housewarming gift from you— it looks nearly identical to how it was the last time you visited.

A month ago.

When he moved in.

There's a woven mat on the floor in front of the sink, an ashy green that contrasts nicely with the off-white cream color of the cabinets and laminate countertops. You can't really tell if Logan actually bought the mat, or if it came with the place, but it's cute nonetheless and serves as one of the few pops of color in the otherwise monochromatically beige apartment.

“I see that my cactus continues to reign supreme as the only individuality in this place,” you comment, glancing over your shoulder in time to see him appear in the doorway.

He shrugs at your words. “Yeah, well, you'd be surprised how busy you can get when you're preparing for everything you've ever dreamed about. No biggie.”

“Logan,” you turn to face him, “you'll do great. There are two other rookies on the grid—”

“And I'll be in the worst car out of all of them.”

“You don't know that,” you chide gently.

This side of Logan isn't unfamiliar to you— the anxiety and fear of failure. It's always existed, and you've known about it since the morning of his first kart race when he confided in you that he was so nervous he felt like he was going to be sick.

The insecurities surrounding his own skills have persisted and thrived with every new track, every new team, and every new series, and as you've grown alongside him you've found ways to challenge his self-doubt, but you've also learned to accept that there's only so much you alone can do.

You can debate it and challenge the self-deprecating thoughts all you want, but the voice in his head will always be there, no matter how quiet it occasionally becomes.

So you choose to drop the topic for now.

It's too early in the morning for an impromptu therapy session anyway.

You turn back around and scan the countertops until your eyes latch onto the container of pre-workout tucked away in the corner, nearly hidden amidst the mountain of vitamin and nutrient supplements.

“I thought it was part of Benny’s job to make sure you didn't have to use all this shit,” you comment, picking through the jars and eyeing them each with unapologetic distaste.

Logan reaches over your shoulder and plucks a packet of vitamin C tablets from your hand, “Sometimes these just work better.”

“Yeah, maybe if you don’t have a nutritionist being paid to quite literally curate a diet specifically to ensure that you don’t need to use these,” you gesture widely to the assembled mass of supplements. “But, last I checked, dear brother of mine, you do have a nutritionist— and a very good one at that— who would be horrified to learn you’re substituting real fruit for…” you squint down at the nutritional label of another one of the jars, but there’s very little that you recognize amidst the scientific jargon and long, five-syllable words, “little gummies that taste like fruit.”

He huffs, “Get your pre-workout or I'm leaving without you.”

“You wouldn't dare leave without me,” you grumble.

“I've done it before and I'll do it again,” he snipes, giving a brief yank on your ponytail and cackling when you swat behind yourself in futility.

There’s more he isn’t saying— there always is, nowadays— but you recognize the deflection for what it is. You want to claw him apart with questions and demand answers that bare every inch of his soul so you understand what he isn’t telling you and why he feels the need to keep it locked away even from you, but you know better than to keep pushing at something Logan clearly doesn’t want to talk about.

It makes you nostalgic for a time in your life when he’d sneak down from the top of the bunk bed after your parents had tucked you away for the night and slip under the covers with you, a well-loved stuffed bear hugged to his chest. He’d curl up beside you and you’d pull the blankets up to your chin and watch him with big, curious eyes until he’d whisper out into the darkness of your shared bedroom what he was worrying about.

More often than not it was a byproduct of a hyperactive imagination still plagued by the fears of childhood. Something about the space beneath your bed and— “What if there’s something down there? And the only way you can see it is by its glowing eyes? But what if it knows when someone is gonna look under the bed, so it closes its eyes so you can’t see the glow?” Or the curtains and— “You have to make sure they cover the whole window because what if you don’t and then something looks inside and it knows I’m not asleep and then it comes inside? I always hold really still and pretend to be asleep even when I’m not if the curtains aren’t closed.”

But sometimes it was about anything and everything else like the fox sitting in the bushes by the bus stop on the way home from school and whether or not it had water to keep it cool in the Florida heat, or the purple glitter pen Mrs. Moore used to grade his spelling test and how the girl sitting next to him had gotten her test graded with the green glitter pen, or— “I forgot my coat in Mr. Garrison’s class yesterday, and you went and got it for me and brought it to the car with you, and I didn’t say thank you, but I always feel bad when I leave my coat behind because what if it has feelings and felt really bad because it thought I was abandoning it, so thank you for getting my coat so it didn’t feel abandoned.”

But that was then and this is now.

You’re both adults, and you live in different apartments on different ends of the city, and you work different jobs that separate you by half the globe at times. There’s no more talk of foxes by bus stops or glitter pens, and certainly no more sentient coats with fears of abandonment.

When you look at Logan now, he isn’t wasting away, and really you owe it to him after you announced out of the blue a week ago that you weren’t just taking a break from competitive riding, but rather taking a break from riding as a whole. He didn’t press you on it then— still hasn’t pressed you on it despite having every right to do so. The least you can do now in return is respect the boundary he’s trying to set.

You mutter a few curses beneath your breath— words your mother would throw a fit over if she could hear you— and feign a scowl, but some of the tension in Logan’s shoulders has released and that's all you can ask for.

“If you leave me behind, I’ll leak a picture of your pathetic kitchen to the tabloids and let everyone tear apart your design choices,” you threaten, digging your knuckles into the tender spot of his arm where bicep meets shoulder and taking pride when he squirms away and beyond reach.

He flips you off. “You’re just jealous I have a cool cactus and you don’t.”

“Hey!” You give a lazy kick in his direction, but he sidesteps it easily with a laugh. “I gave you that cactus!”

“Tomato, tom-ah-to.” He flippantly waves his hand in your direction, laughing again at the indignant squawk you make. “Just hurry up and make your damn drink.”

As he makes his way out of the kitchen, presumably to grab his shoes, you unscrew the lid from the container and reach for the scoop.

Only to find it entirely empty.

“You asshole! There's nothing in here!”

Logan’s cackle echoes from another room.

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yourusername day 14 without london boy and i have officially succumbed to the boredom and willingly subjected myself to the presence of my arch nemesis (love you logie 🫶)

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logansargeant in my defense, you just showed up

user you could not PAY me to go out in this weather

user as a florida girlie myself, this is my nightmare

↳ user REAL

↳ user genuinely seeing this makes me so glad i live in a place where there’s no snow cuz yea, the view is pretty and all, but not even a gorgeous sunrise would make up for me freezing my ass off and having to wear seven layers just to keep the feeling in my fingers and toes

user i wish the most stressful part of my day was going for a morning run 😔

user calling logan her nemesis is so real i just know that man is a menace

↳ user the f2 clips of him and liam are proof enough

↳ user logan sargeant was a menace back in f3 💀 have you SEEN the prema videos with oscar and fred? bro is diabolical when he wants to be

↳ user i'm so excited for the chaos he'll bring to the grid this year

user the snow man is so cute!!

user “14 days without london boy” OH I AM ILL 😭😭😭

user ok but that view is gorgeousness

↳ user ikr?! winter sunrises are genuinely so pretty

user i’m still so confused as to why she isn’t riding anymore?? can someone pls explain

↳ user to be entirely honest, i’m not sure really what there is to explain. first and foremost, we aren’t owed any sort of explanation as to why she’s decided to take a step back from riding. it could be a personal decision, a career decision, or something else, but whatever it is we aren’t automatically entitled to it just because y/n has previously been very open and vocal about her and london boy’s training. second, she never actually said that she isn’t riding anymore. she said she’s taking a step back from competitive riding to focus on other things, and the “without london boy” part of her caption implies that she hasn’t seen him, but she could just be taking a prolonged break, or she could be focusing on something else that has prevented her from going to see him. but again, none of it is our business and she doesn’t owe us any further explanation to what she meant.

↳ user THIS THIS THIS!! as sad as i am to not have london boy on my feed, y/n is a grown adult with her own private life and we have to respect her decisions!! if or when she chooses to come forward about the specifics of her future plans and goals, then that’s great and i’ll continue to support her endeavors, but for the time being we all just have to be patient

user the selfie logan posted with you on his story was so cute!! 🥰

user she’s a runner she’s a track star

user i’ve missed the twin content!

↳ user me too!! i really hope that her taking a break from competitions (as much as i love london boy) will mean we get to see her actually going to more of logan’s races, especially now that he’ll be in formula 1!!

oscarpiastri if the rumours are to be believed, i look forward to getting to catch up at the races this year

━━ tags: @urfavnoirette @casperlikej @awritingtree @f1-is-lovely-33 @chasing-liberosis @405rry @aquangxl @bellezaycafe @peqch-pie @formulaal @chonkybonky @mess-is-my-aesthetic @flippingmyshit @peachiicherries @spacegirlstuff @myxticmoon @landosgirlxoxo @k-pevensie28 @moonypixel @lewisvinga @81vas @maih23 @thatoneembarrasingmoment @elz-xo @the-navistar-carol

━━ a/n: surprise! i've been working on this for a little while now (i got my wisdom teeth removed yesterday, so the time i've spent recovering has been spent polishing up the last few details for this first part) but here she is! as promised, the newly rewritten and revamped 'he likes my american smile'! i feel like i always say it, but the original genuinely holds such a special place in my heart because it was the first work i ever posted here on tumblr, so i'm really happy to take all that i've learned since then and apply it where i can in this new version. i really hope the changes and development is as loved by you all as it is by me, and that you all enjoy!

[bengiyo]

Ben’s Big BL Blurb 5: Let’s Talk About Sex

I was mostly planning to check in again after the current Japanese shows ended, but after three out of four sex scenes left me wanting this week, I want to write down my ideas. I maintain that bed scenes, like action scenes, need to tell us more about the characters. Many sex scenes serve as a release of tension or confirmation of existing feelings. As usual, MAME seems to understand this, and others should probably take notes. 

Call Me By No Name is Doing Nothing For Me (5/8)

I have just about given up on this show. I don’t get Megumi’s whole deal, why she’s so in love with Kohata, or Kohata’s reticence. I was really hoping that an intimate scene would open up some space for vulnerability and truth with them to give us some answers about why these two weirdos are drawn to each other, but that’s not what we got. I was hoping that when we saw these two go at it we’d learn how much Megumi has felt for women before, or how she responded to Kohata’s experience. Instead, I’m left feeling cold by the whole affair, and generally baffled by the conflicting themes around going somewhere she did cutesy girl nights before, and ordering the cute food. This one is a chop.

Impression of Youth is Wasting My Time (5/9)

I have my own squicks as a former teacher with stories where a teacher messes around with their student. However, I don’t see the point of doing a teacher-student story if we’re not going to explore any of the lines being crossed here. We also didn’t get a good arc about the student helping the teacher properly reconnect with a feeling, or discover something, that helped him get back to his art. We simply had him start painting on the beach again, the kid confessed, and then they fucked with awkward kissing. I was a bit let down by the brother’s fast encouragement of the whole thing. It felt like they were reaching for the same energy we had in Call Me By Your Name (2017) with Oliver and Elio, but it’s missing the component where Oliver knew what he was doing the whole time for me. The overall alignment feels off, and I’m getting so little emotion from this show as a result. On top of all that, they showed us the kid’s boxers before implying he was nude in the shower! Ridiculous! 

When It Rains It Pours is Being Shy About Sex in a Show About Cheating (5/7)

This is the biggest offender of the week for me. This show is all about how the leads cannot have sex from the people they love, and find someone they can commiserate with in each other. When the dam finally breaks and they both need the release in each other, I was so dismayed that the show tried to gloss over as much of the sex as possible. It’s so fucking annoying for me when the shows about sex get precious about it and won’t show it. I was thankful that they tried to capture all the emotions happening around the weekend they spent together, but I think we lost a lot in not having Hagiwara blow Sei, because you just know that man has a people pleasing streak that would require him to give pleasure back. The lack of sex also means that there is no gap time between the infidelity and the discovery. We don’t give enough time for the shift in their relationship to breathe before the crisis (@respectthepetty). I’ve lamented before about Japanese shows only showing toxic or breakup sex, and so it’s damned annoying that they’re doing that in the cheating show because they probably want these guys to be together by the end. I was really hoping Mood Indigo would have some company finally (especially after Love in the Air Koi), but I clearly need to stay patient. Cannot overstate how lame it is for the show about two guys cheating because their partners won’t fuck them being shy about the sex effectively sides with the partners who won’t fuck them. Finally, I am not over them getting the insertion angle wrong while making points about it!!

Your Sky Could Have Been A Good Follow-Up on 2gether

I’ve been sitting on this one for a bit because I don’t know what I want to say about this one. I was really into it in the beginning, but it felt like this show didn’t really know what it wanted to do after resolving the issues with Oh. I personally liked the dad being confronted by his wife and father about the way his homophobia was hurting his son, but I didn’t really enjoy it as a Very Special Episode. I would have also liked to see Teerak’s newfound assertiveness in this period beyond is refusal to cave. I think this show also deeply underutilized its own supporting characters, especially the side couples. Still, I thought Thomas was probably the most beautiful newest BL boy we’ve gotten, and I liked the way he and Kong worked together. I also really enjoyed Teerak being allowed to want sex, ask for it, and take charge of it. That’s so important for a cute character. Letting us know that Teerak has also become protective of the private moments he has with Fah, and is growing into his desire for Fah really is a great way to finish a show.

Final Verdict: 7, Recommended With Reservations. I find it hard to give this a stronger recommendation. I just think the show ends up being overall inessential from how much of it ends up being fluff that doesn’t connect much to each other. The biggest things I liked were Fah and Teerak, especially in the early episodes, and I liked the family dynamics. Still, I feel like this show didn’t know what to do without Tine’s internalized homophobia, and what to do with Fah’s ex that was mentioned. There’s just too much hanging off this to recommend it as a strong drama. Everyone is very pretty, and the performances are earnest. It’s a show that means well, even if it’s a bit indulgent. 

The Boy Next World Understands that Phu Has a Dick (5/10)

MAME, as usual, understands the assignment. There’s no way that their first encounter is going to be Cir showing up to stick is dick in Phu’s ass. He’s been obsessed with this boy for years in a way that prioritizes Phu’s wellbeing. It was absolutely correct to payoff that Cir keeps making Phu hard by having Cir take care of him, let us see that Phu enjoyed it. Like @babyangelsky I think it’s important that we let go of the notion that cute characters cannot want and enjoy sex. We got so much from this. We know that Cir likes to give pleasure, and that he’s not going to ask for it from Phu. We also know that Phu cares about Cir, too, because he asked about his time in the bathroom (Cir clearly jerked off and rinsed his mouth, y’all). What’s so excellent about putting a sex scene at this point is it means we’ll see their sex change after Phu learns that Cir has been stalking him for years. MAME is consistently the best storyteller at using the kisses and sex to help inform the arc of the relationship. Most importantly, she gets what the angles are supposed to be.

Ossan’s Love Thailand Is…Fine (5/12)

I’m not really into this one much right now, despite what I think is a pretty solid performance from Krit Shahkrit. I understand the choice to go back to making Kongdech a widower, but I don’t think giving him a daughter who initially opposed the romance added much to this for me. I’m hoping activating Thor’s character next week will add some energy to this for me, because I’m feeling a bit flat with it at this point. I’m glad they’re letting Earth and Mix continue to play adult characters, but it doesn’t feel like they knew what they wanted to do with office romance dynamics here.

Gelboys is a Welcome Return from Boss Kuno (1/7)

Started this today and I am seated. I really love how much it feels like we get to actually be inside of Bangkok. I love that we opened with an ad for the Bangkok rail system as a mechanism for freedom. I love how filming on iphones has enhanced the naturalistic feeling of the production. I also love how we completed the major arc of the het angst of Make It Right in the first like five minutes. Incredible stuff. I’m so excited to see the mess Fou4Mod is going to make of everything, and I’m excited to see Chian dickmatize that boy. Curious to see how much this feels like a bubble show. Shout out to Boss for showing us a naked teen at the start of this show to scare off the pearl clutchers.

RED BLUE is EVERYTHING (6/8)

This is not BL, but it’s got enough BL boys rolling on the floor and sweating on top of each other that I’m saying here loudly that I LOVE IT. Kimura Keito is fantastic in this, and I loved his fight with Okura Takato in episode 6. I almost didn’t recognize my boy from his role as Amane in If It’s With You with the change in his hair. I did not know I needed a wrestling show with BL boys…who am I kidding? We’ve been asking for this every year. This is hitting all the notes I want from a sports shonen show. It’s fantastic.

Please Use the Sex Well in Romance

I think there’s a real place for clean romance in the BL genre. Some of our favorites don’t involve sex being a major component of their romance narrative, but that often requires significantly more drama and better storytelling and plots. What I cannot abide is when I find myself bargaining about how a show that wants to talk about sex every episode seemingly doesn’t want to deal with sex. Romances about sex that don’t use the sex well in their stories are as bad as comedies with terrible jokes, or action flicks with no suspense and satisfying fight sequences.

Other than that, I dropped I'll Turn Back This Time. It’s just too stupid and incoherent for me to put up with it’s nonsense. Seeya next time. 

[evilminji]

I just Literally Galaxy Brained :D???

Oh? My? God?

So here I am, on a Star Wars kick, when I Ponder my beloved Danny Phantom. As ya do! Who? I wonder? Could I mix into the star wars universe?

WHEN IT HITS ME.

You know who LOVES kids? Just... will Burn Down Planets for this kid they literally JUST met? Mandolorians. Know where you can find a SHIT ton of those, genetically? The GAR!

Those are CLONES, baby! WE got a Clone! She's feisty and adorable! Smol! Bites! Got them big ol tooka eyes and itty bitty hands! Likes to fly, explore, and fight! She's BASICALLY born for this!

Tell me they would collectively look at this tiny feral child, with her poofy lil hair and chubby cheeks, fangy lil grin and biting tendcy, and go "is BABY!" Come on, tell me. I'll call you a liar.

And you KNOW the Force and Ectoplasm are probably messy EXs. Dani could TOTALLY use they "why should you allow me in? .....because they're not the boss of you" argument to GREAT effect.

Here, Skywalker. Kenobi. Watch this mysterious child... foooooor.... uh, Reasons! Yes. I, the Force, definitely have valid reasons for doing this! I am NOT just being a petty bitch! #SoundsLegit

But? Gasp! The child is a Cadet?! A BABY Clone! Of WHO? A legendary warrior king, from what context they can gather. Made by his enemy. Sent to kill him. Forgiven then adopted. Ooooh, lots of life lessons there. Clone rights and forgiveness and such.

But more IMPORTANTLY, to the GAR?

BABY CLONE! Is BABY!!!

We are ALL Buir now! All of us. Biggest family in the galaxy. Dani is cool with it, congrats New Fenton's! On the Be-Fenton-ing! Tremble in FEAR, scrubs! It's OUR HOUSE NOW!! Mwahahahaha! *cackles from her perch on top of a table*

But... wait... what is that glowing stuff that you're getting low on?

Oh? This? New beloved Highly Unhinged Jedi Friends and Clone Dads? Oh it's just my LIFE SAVING MEDICINE that I NEED TO LIVE that I never told you about! :D

*horrified silence*

*PANIC*

It's okay. It's OKAY! Everybody STOP SCREAMING! W-well just reverse engineer... *machine makes the equivalent of a Dunno noise* FUCK! Okay! New plan! Dani, sweetie, lil warrior, what do you remember about your medicine? What does it DO, exactly?

Unstable clone.

Okay! Okay, that's a start! THEY are stable clones. Right? Right!

.........r-right? Are... are they SURE? Cause, I mean, it's ONE thing when it's just THEIR health on the line... but when it's their YOUNGLING? Their lil tooka Dani? Their ade? Are they SURE? How sure. Bet HER life on it sure?

....no. No they are not. They don't trust the long necks NEARLY that much. Time do do a DEEP deep scan. Best they can find. They got to make SURE. Boba might be the only STABLE clone... assuming the sleemo even told the truth about that.

And? They LEARN some stuff.

Like about the chip in their head's. Supposedly an "inhibitor chip". Sends Skywalker into a karking rage, cause that looks a whole lot like a slave chip to HIM. Dani says they can CHECK. Then doesn't wait for an answer as she sticks her HAND into someone's head to just... pluck it out. Hand it over to be sliced.

Dani, sweetie, c-can you do that for the rest of us? Sure!

But! The race is ON. To either figure out how to contact the original, stabilize Dani, or synthesize Ectoplasm in a universe that DOES NOT HAVE IT. All while unknowingly? Absolutely Fenton CURB STOMPING Ancient Sith Plans into oblivion.

As is the Fenton Way.

This IS The Way~☆

@hdgnj @babbling-babull @the-witchhunter @hypewinter @mutable-manifestation @legitimatesatanspawn @lolottes @spidori

[tigerpearlsworld]

Pick a card

( How to move forward? )

Before you choose a pile, take a moment to breathe deeply and connect with your intuition. This is a general pick-a-card reading, where the universe's infinite energies align with your path to bring you the guidance you need. Know that you can only choose one pile. The message you receive is not just for you to resonate with, but for you to realize in time as the truth unfolds in your journey. To truly receive your message, you must follow your heart’s instinct, not your expectations. Look beyond the surface and see what your soul is trying to reveal to you.

How to Choose Your Card: Breathe in deeply. Breathe out slowly. Light a candle or incense, and clear your mind. Meditate on the beating of your heart, allowing your thoughts to flow naturally. Let go of doubts, and trust what your heart is guiding you towards. Close your eyes, visualize a light forming in your heart, and feel its pull. When you open your eyes, choose the image that your heart calls to the most.

For some of you maybe number, colour, or image will help.

A Final Message for You: Your heart is your guide, not your mind. Surrender to the wisdom that lies within you.

And for those who are seeking answers about love, fate, and destiny, I send my prayers to the stars to bless you with clarity, strength, and the energy to embrace your path.

May you receive what you are meant to know.

( Choose the pile: )

Pile 1:

Pile 2:

Pile 3:

Pile 4:

The reading starts. . .

Pile 1:

Words: tears, rage, resentment, sorrow, loud, betrayal, identity, name.

Element: Water

Animal: Fox and Fish

Vibes: A storm brewing inside ready to burst

Key to move forward: Acknowledge and process emotions

Cards: ( king of wands in reverse, three of wands, two of pentacles, the magician, four of cups, knight of pentacles)

What's blocking you?

You might be feeling like you're stuck in an endless loop, unsure of how to proceed....there seems to be a conflict between your desires and your ability to take action.

You may have a strong passion but are unable to channel it effectively. Either you are doubting your abilities, or external circumstances are making you feel powerless. You may be feeling dissatisfied with your options...rejecting what’s in front of you while longing for something else. There is also this lack of direction, confidence, or vision. I also see for some there is this mismatch or difficulty in balancing your priorities in life. Like perhaps you are overwhelmed with responsibilities, struggling to manage work, relationships, or personal goals. You may feel like you're juggling too many things without real progress.

How to move forward ?

I see that your current struggles are actually paving the way for you for something big....Allow the chaos to guide you towards clarity. And like stop resisting change-your true growth lies in embracing the discomfort and pushing forward.

I also see you just need to believe in yourself more. Instead of waiting for the perfect moment, use your current skills and start making things happen. Because I see opportunities are there but you just don't want to see them because you wanted something else. Try to make work of what you have right now so you can get what you actually wanted. Yk. Also if you’re feeling stagnant, consider learning something new, networking with people outside your usual circles, or exploring different opportunities. Your future is bigger than your present reality - you just have to start moving towards it. And like You don’t have to figure everything out at once. Just start with small actions that build towards your larger goal.

Messages from the animal which came for you

(I have a special delivery for you as I sense this both animal coming means you have the talent and the traits of both this animal in some way or shape)

::Fox & Fish::

The fox is cunning the fish is lost.

The fox is earthly the fish is not.

The fox moves smart it finds its way,

The fish just drifts caught in the sway.

The fox stays sharp it sees the game,

The fish feels deep yet lacks a name.

The fox adapts, it bends, it weaves,

The fish must choose where it believes.

The fox seeks paths not just the tide,

The fish must swim not run and hide.

So take the wisdom, take the flow,

Be like the fox—yet let waters go.

So, Instead of drifting aimlessly you must make intentional choices. Instead of overthinking and being overly cunning you must trust the journey. Moving forward requires balancing both the fish and the fox inside you. Knowing when to act cunning and when to act with intuition not abandoning one for another.

As the fish says: don't just drift swim with intention

And the fox says: stay connected to those who support you-don’t isolate yourself.

Final words for you:

Right now you are in this important transitional phase in life. It might feel chaotic....but this discomfort is necessary for your growth. Instead of letting fear, indecision, or dissatisfaction hold you back...trust in your ability to rebuild. Start small plan strategically, and embrace the transformation that is already happening within you. You have the power to create the life you want-it’s time to take the first step.

A song for you (this one's my fav btw)

Pile 2:

Words: boundless, innocence, light, unlimited, persistence

Element: Ether

Animal: Octopus and Phoenix

Vibes: Cycle of renewal

Key to move forward: Forgive yourself and others

Cards: ( Three of cups, six of swords, ten of wands, the hermit, five of cups, six of swords )

What's blocking you?

you’re carrying a heavy emotional or mental burden that is making it difficult to move forward. you will face many setbacks which may feel like failures but are actually opportunities to begin again tbh...

Responsibilities may be overwhelming you making it feel more difficult to see a clear path forward. I also see you're in deep worries, overthinking, or even have sleepless nights. My question to you is are you holding onto guilt, regret, or anxieties about the future? *it's okay to feel anxious about the future but dont punish yourself for it*

*It's okay*

I see lingering sadness and disappointment clouding your aura you might be dwelling on some past disappointments, heartbreaks, or missed opportunities. I feel that you are focusing way too much on what went wrong rather than what can still be built. I see you are also withdrawing from people or avoiding seeking help. You might feel like you have to go through this alone but that is not the case.

*it may feel like you're stuck in a situation and that it's the end and there is no escape that this it. But i see you'll get another chance. Trust me... I see a light returning in your life. You need to give yourself a chance. Forgive yourself. And try again. I know it's difficult but I also know you have the strength to move pass it. Don't lose faith. *

How to move forward?

You need to understand one thing and that is setbacks are not failures but opportunities to try again with more wisdom. Instead of seeing closed doors, look for the new paths opening up. Yk. You have ability to recover and move pass this obstacles but only if you allow it. You need to allow yourself to let go of old disappointments and shift your mindset. You need to move on from painful situations.*i know it's difficult but I know you can do it* Whether it’s past relationships, old failures, or toxic patterns now is the time to leave behind what no longer serves you. Release it!!! Release the wounds, the emotional weight!!!! Release the mental weight!!!! Release!!!!

[ YOU CANNOT DO EVERYTHING ALONE! DROP WHAT ISN'T YOURS TO CARRY!!!!!! ]

You don’t have to go through this alone.

Joy, laughter, and companionship will help break the cycle of sadness and isolation. Even if it’s just opening up to one person, reach out.

Messages from the animal which came for you

(Hope my special delivery message coming from both your animals cheer you up and make you see your light which finally helps you move forward)

:::Octopus & Phoenix:::

The Octopus clings and it stretches thin,

Lost in the weight of where it’s been.

It reaches far and holds too tight,

Dimming its own for another’s light.

The Phoenix rises its flames ignite,

Burning the past and embracing flight.

You are not chains and nor scars,

As you are the fire that births the stars.

Release the weight let go, be free,

To rise from the ash to be who you're meant to be.

»»————>»»————>»»————>

*( ╥﹏╥ ) that last line didn't rhyme but you get the gist*

So... Your animals ask you "Have you been too emotionally invested in other people’s problems? Do you take on too much responsibility for others?" To regain balance, learn to say no and create space for yourself. Allow yourself to prioritize your own well-being.

Also burn away the past and step into your true power as its time. You are not defined by your mistakes, your heartbreaks, or your struggles. This is the time to consciously release what has been keeping you stuck. It may take effort, but once you commit to healing, you will lighter, braver, free and more strong and most importantly more you.

As the octopus says: don't give too much to others at the cost of your own well being.

And the Phoenix says: Release the past, step into transformation and embrace your true power.

Final words for you:

You have been through emotional exhaustion, disappointments, and self-doubt, but now is the time to rise. Stop carrying the past.....stop isolating yourself, and start reconnecting with your inner fire.

You are stronger than you realize, and the future is waiting for you to step into your power.

A song which came for you

Pile 3:

Words: Solitary, analytical, secretive, truth, healing, sharp, visions, rebellious, detach

Element: Air

Animal: Tarantula and Moth

Vibes: Acknowledge your hidden wounds

Key to move forward: Acceptance

Cards: ( seven of swords, judgement, ten of swords, ace of wands, eight of cups and death )

What's blocking you?

you are in a phase of healing and deep self-examination i see you may be facing difficult realizations about your past, your choices, or your relationships.

I see that someone may have hurt you deeply, or you might have been involved in a situation where trust was broken. If this was a relationship, you may have been lied to, used, or manipulated. If this is about career or life choices, you might feel like you've been misled or that your own self-doubt kept you from making the right decisions. I see you're running away from facing the truth which I feel like deep inside you already know...if that makes sense? you don't want to face it. I also see the fear of the unknown, fear of opening your wounds, fear of letting anyone in again....You like to feel sure, confident you know life is full of unpredictability but you don't like that....that part where you aren't in control. you want to be sure of yourself.

I also see there is a resistance on your part ....Are you resisting walking away from something (or someone) that no longer serves you? You might be avoiding a hard truth either about yourself or someone else.....Are you refusing to see something that is obvious? Are you repeating the same mistakes? Are you drawn to things that burn you, even though you know better? These are the questions which keep popping in my head for you. You may feel like you’ve hit rock bottom but this is actually a turning point and like If something is draining you...whether it’s a relationship, a job, or a mindset - it’s time to let it go.

How to move forward?

Whatever has ended in your life....whether it's a relationship, a job, an old version of yourself - accept that it had to ended for your highest good. The old version of you can't carry on for long....the old version of you.....the one that tolerated deception, settled for less, or lived in fear it's is dying. Instead of clinging to what no longer serves you, embrace the change. Let the past burn away so something new can take its place. I also see you have been hesitating, but you already know what must be done. you need to listen more to your Intuition and avoid self-sabotage. You need to move on from situations that no longer serve your soul. Whether it’s emotional baggage, toxic relationships, or an outdated mindset, it’s time to let go.

Don't jump from one situation to another just because you don't want to feel or see the truth inside you.... You keep jumping from one thing to another without committing. You try to act tough...not wanting to see the truth that you're in pain. The pain still controls you and deep inside you know it's the truth.that is why for some of you....you may like to serve, be there for others, help, fix others....its like a unconscious thing you do where fixing others make you feel like you're doing something for yourself. But are you? You can't fix people. You have a love and a heart too...which has so much love to give but you need to first tend and take care of your own hurt before you try to fix/tend others. A question comes for you asking have you been distracted by illusions instead of focusing on real growth? If you want to break free from this....choose one path and commit to it fully. Whether it’s career, healing, or self-discovery, see it through to completion.

I see a new something will start in your life soon.... You need to act quick. Whether it’s a new passion, a new vision, or a new way of living, act on it NOW!

Messages from the animal which came for you

The tarantula says: Slowdown, reflect and follow your true purpose.... You know your TRUTH... Stay true to your path.

The moth says: STOP!!!!! Stop jumping impulsively into new things just because they seem easier or more exciting.

Basically this combination for you is a easy way of basically stop chasing distraction and stay true to your path. What it means is moving forward requires committing to a path, avoiding unnecessary distractions, and not letting indecision or overthinking lead to inaction.*i literally felt like a mom scolding a child during this reading lol but ayyyy.... That's how it's coming. Don't shoot the messenger I'm just saying what I'm seeing*

Final words for you:

You are being pushed to evolve whether you like it or not but you will be pushed until you acknowledge....and that's on period* This is your moment of truth. Let go of the past pain, the deception, and the illusions don't be delulu and face the hard decision you have been avoiding.

*for some I see maybe it's a death of someone close to you which you haven't processed yet you need to feel and not bottle it inside.... Let go of them tears.....Feel what you must feel*

Stop chasing temporary distractions and focus on what truly matters.

Lastly, You already know what must be done and now my question to you is.....will you take the step forward?

A song which for you

Pile 4:

Words: Speed, energy, instinct, selfish, vitality, healing, action, rejuvenation

Element: Earth

Animal: Buffalo and Golden Egg

Vibes: Taking the step

Key to move forward: Shift on perspective

Cards: ( The world, The moon, The chariot, Six of wands, Ten of pentacles, Six of swords )

What's blocking you ?

I clearly see you're in a verge of Major breakthrough.... a major transition is happening moving from one phase of life to another, but doubts, fears, or unfinished emotional business is kinda making you slow.

I see there may be some sort of subconscious fear or emotional confusion keeping you from fully embracing the next step. There is desire in you for success which is good but I see it kinda effecting in a way where you are trying too hard to control the outcome instead of trusting the process. I even see for you that the success you're running for is within reach too.....but you might be too focused on external validation- which makes me ponder like are you moving forward for yourself, or to prove something to others?

You are heading towards something better which is great but are you emotionally prepared to leave the past behind? because I clearly see and I am seeing it very much that there is or may be some unresolved lessons that need to be integrated before moving forward.

*Tbh usually i get reading where the cards forces to leave the past behind for people but in this case ig it's different ...which I find hilarious.personally.(⁠⁠´⁠ω⁠｀⁠⁠)*

Random ik but I also see...hmmm.... It's random but anyway I see.... some long-term stability is at stake now idk what it is you'll know better but whether financially, emotionally, or in relationships I'm being asked to ask you this that "Are you hesitating because you’re afraid of losing security?"

How to move forward?

"TRUST YOUR PATH" Ikr.... In the entire reading from the start this was literally getting repeated over and over and over and over..... Istg... It was buzzing in my ear.

Listen you came here to know how to move forward right?

So it's this simple.... You do not need to have all the answers right now. Yep. You don't. But... trust that you are on the right path, even if the road ahead is unclear even if it doesnt match the big picture right now which you had in your head for a while but for now just move with faith, not fear okayyyy?? Because I see you need clarity on big time! And I see you'll get your clarity when you begin to forward.

I also see you guys are the kind of people who just rush forward without thinking what is ahead of you and that you may seek external validation alot...even if not consciously you guys do it subconsciously and that's on PERIOD!!!! Don't lie to me....i can clearly see that through and through. But listen here I don't judge but I feel what you need is not the external validation but the intenal truth....and I see your deepest truth is already within you, but you must create space to hear it. Engage in meditation, solitude, or introspection. Instead of seeking answers externally, listen..LISTEN to what your inner self is telling you.

Also practice with writing down what you are ready to leave behind, then consciously let it go. This will create space for your new chapter to begin. Because i see success for you. BIG TIME SUCCESS!!!! but make sure you are moving towards what truly fulfills you, not what looks good to others. Also focus on long-term stability whether in career, love, or personal goals rather than short-term recognition.

Messages from the animal which came for you

As you got both the Buffalo and golden egg contrasting energy yet not Yk? But this animals basically will help you understand your energies better and how you could use it.

(Special delivery poem from the animals for you)

::::Buffalo & Golden egg::::

The Buffalo walks strong and wise,

Through storm and dust ...beneath vast skies.

It trusts the path it does not fear,

Each step is steady, bold, sincere.

The Golden Egg so still, so bright,

Holds whispers deep a heart’s true light.

No rush, no chase, just space to be,

To hear the sound of destiny.

One moves ahead, one waits within,

A dance of earth, a song of wind.

To move ahead...embrace them both,

The strength to walk & the soul to growth.

▥▥▥▥▥▥▥▥▥▥▥▥▥▥▥▥▧▧▧▧▧▥▥▧▥▧▥▧

So your animals say that you need the company of both of them to move forward you can't rely and depend on one abandoning the other. To move forward you will need to integrate both energies....If you focus only on pushing forward (Buffalo) you will lose touch with your inner truth. And If you focus only on introspection (Golden Egg), you might struggle to take action. So you need to create a balance you understand?

Final words for you:

You are on the edge of something amazing. The only thing left to do is trust yourself, release the past, and step forward with faith.

No song came for you when channeling...I'm sorry :((

[renthony]

On Cosplay, Fast Fashion, & Waste

Fast fashion and disposable outfits in cosplay community spaces give me anxiety. Seeing people openly talk about throwing their "trashed" cosplay away after a single con makes me sad. Some costumes are crafted with such low durability that they fall apart beyond repair if you look at them the wrong way. I've met a ton of other cosplayers whose idea of "cosplay repair" ends with a stapler and some hot glue.

I never ever ever ever want to shame people for not knowing something. Crafting is hard. Making a low-quality costume isn't a sin or a crime. If you're new and still learning and don't really know what you're doing yet, that's fine! No harm, no foul, no bruise.

The cosplayers who do make me grouchy, however, are the ones who are unwilling to try. The ones who are flippant about throwing away a cosplay without trying to mend it, repurpose it, reuse it, or pass it along. The ones who intentionally make a costume just durable enough to last a single day, then toss it in the trash with zero thought.

My sewing and costuming experience started when I joined the ren faire, and I had to make my costumes sturdy enough to survive multiple weeks of heavy use, with the durability and freedom of movement to allow sword fighting on the living chessboard. I was taught how to shop for inexpensive fabrics and materials, but use high-quality, long-lasting techniques so that my costumes didn't disintegrate after a single day of performing. I have made extremely durable, cost-effective costumes out of bedsheets and thrift store fabric, as have many of my friends.

That experience has carried over into my cosplay. I am not happy with a costume unless it can go through three consecutive days of stage combat and high-intensity walking around outside in the heat, go through the washer and dryer, and come out completely unscathed.

Again, I never want to needlessly shit on other people's cosplay. Cosplay gatekeeping sucks and is no fun for anyone. At the same time, fast fashion is just as rampant in cosplay as it is everywhere else, and it sucks to see how wasteful it is.

You can make things durable even with cheap materials. Stop making flimsy costumes that you're just going to toss. Stop making piles and piles of waste. Please stop buying fabric just to slap a costume together with glue and throw it in the trash. If you are going to invest time and money into making something by hand, make it durable and comfy and worth the effort.

Even if you only want to personally wear it once, you can sell it, give it away, trade it, do something other than toss it in the trash. Show some love to your costumes, show some love to the planet, pick one action you can take to make your cosplay a little less wasteful. Being obsessed with the myth of a "personal carbon footprint" isn't helpful, but we as cosplayers should try to at least make things that'll last longer than 24 hours.

I understand that sewing can be incredibly intimidating, but basic stitching really isn't that complicated if you have a guide and the right tools. I personally need assistive devices for sewing thanks to my hand tremors and tendonitis, but those tools do exist, and can make things easier for both disabled and newbie sewists. I use rotary cutters instead of scissors, I keep a supply of needle threaders on hand, I have multiple little gadgets that help me sew in a straight line so my shaking hands don't screw everything up. There are tons of tools available, tons of tutorials online, and if you're interested in learning, there's a whole world out there to explore.

If you don't want to do all the crafting yourself, that's totally fine, but if you are going to hand-make your costume, you should try and make it durable. It's better for the planet and it's way less stressful to go to an event when you know your costume won't fall apart on the con floor.

If you have zero idea where to start, here are some books with crafting techniques I've found very useful, both in cosplay and regular household sewing I do for my family:

Make, Sew and Mend: Traditional Techniques to Sustainably Maintain and Refashion Your Clothes, by Bernadette Banner (who also has an incredible YouTube channel)

Cosplay Fabric FX: Painting, Dyeing & Weathering Costumes Like a Pro, by Julianna Franchini

Creative Cosplay: Selecting & Sewing Costumes Way Beyond Basic, by Amanda Haas

Level Up! Creative Cosplay: Costume Design & Creation, SFX Makeup, LED Basics & More, by Amanda Haas

[professional-rat-eater]

I love Anakin as a character but I think Star Wars as a whole needs to be less forgiving of him and his actions and I think Rex is the perfect character to explore this idea.

Rex wants to save his brothers more than anything and we know that he fails and never recovers from the trauma. It was an impossible task but he fought so hard for it. The clones don’t become a thriving community after the Empire falls. Few live to remember their sacrifice or that they were even there to begin with. They’re wiped off the map and that’s it and Rex just has the live with it.

Imagine realistically how you would feel if you were him and you learned that a huge reason why the Empire was even allowed to rise in the first place is because of the man who you trusted, who was one of your closest friends for three years, who convinced you that he thought of you as a person unlike the rest of the galaxy. I wouldn’t ever be able to look past it, and I don’t think Rex would or should either.

Obi Wan considers Anakin metaphorically dead because it’s the only way to cope with the grief.

Ahsoka has a more complicated view of him because of the distance leaving the Jedi order put between them.

Luke is able to forgive him in the only way that is narratively compelling, because he sees him as his father and not as the monster everyone else does.

Leia never forgives him (nor should she) but grows to understand him more over time.

Padme uses her dying breath to vouch for him even if he doesn’t deserve it.

If Rex didn’t forgive Anakin, it would offer yet another perspective. He is someone who loved Anakin, but Anakin is a huge reason why his brothers are dead. Anakin is the one who used his brothers as the tools they had always been told they were to march on the Jedi temple and murder the Jedi, the only allies the Clones ever truly had. Everything that happens during the reign of the Empire, including whatever goes down in the Bad Batch finale, is part of a huge domino effect because of Anakin’s choices. It would be tragic to see their friendship end this way, but Rex’s entire life is rife with tragedy. Ahsoka is the only positive result of his friendship with Anakin left. They only have each other.

I want Rex to be angry at him. Anakin’s actions are abhorrent and to downplay them only does Anakin a disservice as a character and denies his agency. Yes, he’s a victim of Palpatine’s grooming. He is also the perpetrator of a literal reign of terror and there are few groups of people who are bigger victims of the Empire he helped create than the clones.

[hayatheauthor]

can you write some tips on writing amnesia for a character? <3

Note: thank you for your ask! I'm sorry for replying so late I took a break from Tumblr for a bit.

In this guide, I'll be covering a balance of information on amnesia and how to write it. Some topics I mention are the types of amnesia, how they impact characterization, and how to write a believable portrayal of memory loss. I hope this blog is to your liking anon.

Understanding Amnesia: Types & Realism

Amnesia is not a one-size-fits-all condition. There are many different types of amnesia and each has unique effects on a person’s ability to recall past events or form new memories. You should research the type of amnesia you're going to use in-depth before incorporating it into your writing, but here's a quick breakdown of the types: 

Retrograde Amnesia – The inability to remember past events while still being able to form new memories. This is common after traumatic brain injuries.

Anterograde Amnesia – The inability to create new memories while retaining past ones. A well-known example is the film Memento, where the protagonist loses the ability to form new long-term memories.

Dissociative Amnesia – Memory loss resulting from psychological trauma rather than physical injury. In extreme cases, this can lead to fugue states, where a person travels or assumes a new identity with no memory of their past.

Selective Amnesia – The loss of specific memories, often linked to a traumatic event.

Transient Global Amnesia (TGA) – A rare, temporary condition where a person suddenly loses memory for a few hours or days before recovering.

Many fictional portrayals of amnesia tend to exaggerate its effects or resolve it in unrealistic ways. In real life, memory loss is rarely total, and individuals often retain habits, motor skills, and emotional reactions even if they don’t recall specific events.

Choosing the Right Type for Your Story

Amnesia can be used in various genres, from psychological thrillers to fantasy epics. It's often a plot device or opportunity for character development, so it's important you pick the right type of amnesia.

A thriller or mystery might use amnesia as a tool to conceal crucial information, allowing the protagonist to uncover the truth alongside the reader, in which case Selective Amnesia might be a good fit. A romance could explore the emotional toll of memory loss on relationships, where one partner remembers everything while the other has Retrograde Amnesia and forgets them.

If your story revolves around identity and self-discovery, dissociative amnesia or retrograde amnesia may serve the plot best. If you want to create suspense by limiting what the character can learn over time, anterograde amnesia can add significant tension.

Take some time to consider why your character needs to have amneisa, what you plan on achieving with it, and whether or not you want them to recall what they've forgotten. 

Characterization & Emotional Impact

Amnesia isn’t just about forgetting—it fundamentally changes how a character interacts with the world. A character suffering from memory loss might experience:

Fear and paranoia – Who can they trust if they don’t even trust their own mind?

Grief and loss – The realization that they’ve forgotten people or parts of themselves can be devastating.

Frustration and helplessness – Simple tasks may feel overwhelming, and social interactions may be fraught with confusion.

A shift in personality – Without their past experiences shaping them, they might react to situations in unfamiliar ways.

Relationships also play a crucial role. Loved ones may struggle to reconnect, while old enemies may take advantage of gaps in memory. This emotional complexity adds depth to an amnesia storyline, making it more than just a convenient plot device.

Medical Insights on Amnesia

To write a realistic portrayal of amnesia, it’s essential to understand its medical and neurological foundations. Memory formation involves various brain structures, particularly the hippocampus, which plays a key role in storing long-term memories.

Causes of Amnesia

Head trauma (e.g., concussions, strokes, aneurysms)

Psychological trauma (dissociation due to extreme stress or PTSD)

Infections affecting the brain (e.g., encephalitis, meningitis)

Substance abuse (alcohol-induced blackouts, drug-related memory loss)

Neurological disorders (e.g., Alzheimer’s, epilepsy, brain tumors)

Memory Recovery & Treatment

While some cases of amnesia are reversible, others can cause permanent memory loss. Treatments often include:

Cognitive therapy to help the brain form new associations.

Medication for cases linked to neurological disorders.

Hypnosis or psychotherapy for trauma-induced memory loss.

Fiction often portrays amnesia as something that can be instantly cured by another head injury or a dramatic emotional revelation, but in reality, recovery is often slow and uncertain.

Writing Realistic Amnesia Symptoms

When crafting an amnesiac character, it’s crucial to depict their symptoms accurately. Some of the most common effects include:

Confusion and disorientation, particularly in familiar settings.

Difficulty recognizing close friends and family members.

Emotional reactions to people or places they don’t consciously remember.

Trouble forming new memories (in cases of anterograde amnesia).

Physical symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, or fatigue.

By integrating these symptoms into your character’s behavior, you create a more immersive and believable narrative.

Unraveling Memories

Memory recovery should feel natural rather than forced. Instead of a sudden, convenient realization, consider gradual memory restoration through:

Sensory triggers (smells, sounds, touch that evoke forgotten memories)

Therapeutic methods (therapy sessions, hypnosis, journaling)

Unreliable memories (false memories, altered recollections)

Emotional breakthroughs (re-experiencing an intense emotion tied to a memory)

It’s also worth deciding whether your character will ever fully regain their memories. Some narratives work better when the character must move forward without ever reclaiming their past self.

Common Pitfalls & How to Avoid Them

While amnesia can be a powerful narrative tool, it’s easy to fall into unrealistic portrayals. Here’s what to avoid:

Instant cures – Memory loss doesn’t resolve itself with a single emotional moment or another head injury.

Overly selective memory gaps – Forgetting only plot-relevant details makes amnesia feel contrived.

Ignoring emotional consequences – Memory loss isn’t just about lost facts; it’s about lost identity and relationships.

Lack of research – A poorly researched amnesia storyline can feel lazy and inauthentic.

By steering clear of these clichés, you can create a well-rounded and compelling narrative.

[maxdibert]

Would Snape even be capable of being a good boyfriend?

That depends a bit on what you think makes a "good boyfriend."

There are very basic things in romantic relationships that people often view as a plus but that should really be the foundation of any kind of connection. For example, respecting the other person's boundaries, honoring the agreements established, showing emotional responsibility, and generally treating your partner or the person you're involved with well. Many people believe that doing these things makes someone a good boyfriend because men are held to very low standards when it comes to being good partners, but those things are just the basics. They're the simplest things, really—just having a certain level of emotional maturity and behaving like a decent human being.

Relationships are more complicated than that, certainly, because it's not just about being a good or bad partner but about the compatibility between two people. This compatibility is based on two fundamental things: goals and character. It’s not about having identical goals and personalities, or even similar ones, nor about being completely different or opposites. It’s about finding a balance between those two concepts. You can meet someone who checks all the boxes for what an ideal partner might be and still not work out because your personality and theirs don’t mesh, or because your life goals are very different. You might even experience this with someone at one point in your life, meet them again years later, and have it work out because both of you are at a point where a healthy relationship is possible. There are a lot of factors at play.

Severus is a very complicated character with a terrible personality. And that’s just how it is. I love him precisely because he’s a prick with a bad temper, capable of being the most efficient, effective, and functional person in certain aspects but then getting triggered by something and suddenly behaving like a tantrum-throwing child incapable of managing his emotions—especially his bouts of anger. This makes for a fascinating and fun character to explore, but having a partner like that requires a certain kind of person. Severus wouldn’t be an easy boyfriend because he hasn’t had an easy life. He’s never addressed or worked through all the traumas he carries, he’s never learned how to manage his emotions, and he doesn’t have tools to handle them apart from using Occlumency—which is essentially an avoidance mechanism, and we know avoidance mechanisms are the absolute worst when it comes to emotional management.

You’d be dealing with a guy who, first of all, isn’t pleasant. He can have pleasant moments, but it’s not his default. He doesn’t know how to be pleasant and doesn’t like being pleasant. Being unpleasant is a type of protection he’s imposed on himself because he’s spent so many years performing that role to build a wall between himself and the rest of the world, especially to avoid forming personal connections or overly intimate relationships. He doesn’t know how to deal with positivity. I imagine him as someone who’s been through so much that he can’t quite believe he can have something good, and if someone were to ask him out, he’d probably think it was a joke or experience anticipatory anxiety, thinking they’re going to leave him any moment. He’d likely leave first or subconsciously sabotage the relationship to create a self-fulfilling prophecy and maintain the stigma he’s placed on himself—that he can’t be happy and everything goes wrong, blah blah blah.

He’s a deeply depressed person with terrible anger management, someone who would likely lash out over the slightest perceived attack, saying things that are incredibly, deeply hurtful. Then he’d feel terrible about it and, instead of apologizing, would fall into an avoidance spiral out of sheer embarrassment. He’s someone who’s very used to being alone, which makes people quite particular and fussy, often complicating cohabitation.

But on top of all that, he’s someone who wouldn’t chase after you, wouldn’t make the first move, or wouldn’t ask you out again. He’d be too terrified of feeling and losing because his emotional intelligence in that sense is quite stunted. So he’s a complicated guy, a guy with a lot of baggage, and someone who’s like catnip for people with a "rescuer syndrome"—those who want to save broken puppies from the street, “fix him,” or prove to him that life is worth living. That kind of partner would be terrible for Severus because he doesn’t need someone to change him. Lily already tried that, and it went terribly wrong because he has a specific personality, and you can’t put conditions on loving someone. You either love them with all their flaws, or you don’t—period. And that’s okay; it’s not a bad thing—it’s just incompatibility. You’re not going to change Severus, and you don’t have the right to change him. What he needs isn’t a mother or a caretaker; he needs someone who’s his equal, who stands up to him, and who, if he yells, will yell louder.

He needs someone who can understand his messed-up head, maybe even share some of that, someone with the same shitty character but greater emotional maturity at the same time to be the more rational one in the relationship. Someone who doesn’t judge him for what he’s done, who doesn’t even give it much importance. That’s to say, someone who can hold their own with him. I’ve always believed that, for someone deeply traumatized but unworked, the best match is another deeply traumatized person—but one who���s done the work. In other words, someone who has the same issues but has developed the tools to manage them because that creates the perfect balance: you understand the other person, you can handle them, and they understand you and can handle you, but when things go south, the person who’s done the work knows how to manage the situation and de-escalate.

I think that if Severus found someone who could keep up with him, then yes, he could be a good partner. Why not? He’s a very loyal and dedicated guy with almost obsessive devotion to those who earn his respect, trust, or affection. He’d do anything for someone he loves. He’s extremely devoted in his attachments because he’s so intense in that regard. The thing is, that’s not everything. He also needs to be with someone who can provide balance so he doesn’t act like a jerk. If he were with someone who gets scared at the first sarcastic comment or when he blows up over some nonsense, then no, he’d be a terrible partner. I mean, with complex personalities like his, everything depends entirely on the person he’s with and their character. Severus is a very difficult person. I think he could only show that he’s capable of having healthy and functional relationships with someone equally difficult but who has a clearer sense of things than he does.

[clockwayswrites]

Hi!! First I wanted to say you are my favorite writer and thank you so much for sharing your work with all of us!! Please take it easy.

I love A Hill To Die On, and SysTim. I know that Joker Junior isn't in this universe but I was wondering how SysTim would interact with Joker Junior? Or even how they might feel about JJ?

Aw thank you!! I had to mull this around in my head a bit.

First, you need to know I debated a good bit if (Red)Robin was a aspect of the group. I decided in this story, no, because I like that being a lot of Tim with Caroline and Alvin heavy on his shoulders with advice. I also did not want (for this fic) deal with the implications of what that meant for the aspect (and system) when Damian took Robin. I think that could be a whole fic to explore in itself. That said, I see a few ways for JJ to go... (disclaimer, there's going to likely be some things that aren't right for real DID/OSSD, just that comic effect of it all)

(Red)Robin becomes JJ. In an effort to protect the rest of them, Robin takes the front and basically locks the other out. They don't see anything, they don't hear anything, they don't know anything other then that something is wrong. Robin is twisted and distorted into Joker Junior and it's only when they're back with the Bats that JJ starts to feel safe and release his block on the others. It's hard for them. Robin has completely changed while they were away. He takes control like he didn't before. He's like this cracked, oozing part of their being. But at the same time, he's been them for so long and he did this--became this--to protect them. Them love him. But it takes a lot more than love to heal. So it's this sort of weird dance of JJ pushing limits to see when they'll hurt him for it because that's what he does and the rest leaning how this new him fits with them.

JJ forms to cope with the trauma of it all. And, as a way to protect them/himself, he forms to be what the Joker wants. Caroline is there to handle galas and be Good Enough, Alvin to handle the streets and keep them safe out there, JJ to handle the Joker. I think in this case, being taken from the Joker would actively be traumatizing for JJ even if it's what he craves. Even if he killed the Joker himself. He struggles to be anything else because he's what the Joker wants. It's all he was ever meant to be. Now this could go either A) There's a rogue in the system, basically. There's constant fighting for control and JJ running off playing evil. Or B) JJ struggle to become more than JJ and find where he fits in the system when he's bad evil wrong not like the others. Or a mix of the two!

I think either way, if he's given the change and time to heal (more so with 2B/C than 2A), JJ would be able to mostly get along. There are bad days for sure and relapses. He's more violent and more ready to kill. But also he plays mostly harmless pranks on the rest of the family and system. He's loving learning how to be an acrobat, like in a real circus from Dick. Once Harley leaves the Joker and gets (mostly) better, he gets to spend time with mother her.

Alvin and him would clash the most--Alvin swings between wanting to punch him and treating him like a little brother. Caroline I think would struggle to connect with him at first. But maybe over clothing and helping him express himself more. She 100% sees him as a 'little brother'. He puts up with it from her much better than from Alvin. Tim and JJ would get along best. Because Tim knows what it's like to feel that cold, burning need for violence, and JJ knows what it's like to be so scared that no one wants you.

[so-i-did-this-thing]

Hi! I found you from your tdov post, and your transition is just amazing. I'm sorry if this has been asked before, but do you have any advice for someone scared of transitioning? Scared of the change... In all aspects. I've wanted to take T for so long (10+ years) and now I finally have the chance, but for some reason I'm scared now. Thank you so much in advance!

It is OK to be scared at the thought of transition, even if you're sure you want to go through it.

You may find it helpful to journal some thoughts -- are you afraid of the negative physical side effects (and what is "negative" to you, anyway)? Could transition make you feel disconnected from your body? Like you are losing something? Are there physical aspects of masculinity that make you feel uncomfortable? Are you worried about impact on your mood/libido/how you process emotions?

A lot of testosterone effects revert back after usage stops. Some effects are permanent. Learn what your likely changes are, and what steps you could take to revert them, should this not be the path you wish to take. Trans femmes and ally detransitioners are people to look to here.

Are you more afraid of what would happen in your work and personal life? Are there deal breakers? What's the worst that could happen?

But as you do all of this, also ask yourself, "what is the best that could happen?" What are the big and small joys transition can bring?

A friend of mine once literally made an HRT pros/cons spreadsheet, it was a thing of beauty.

Only you can decide if HRT is right for you. But if you start, you can also decide to stop and it isn't the end of the world if you do -- it just means you explored a part of yourself pretty well and came to a conclusion HRT wasn't a good fit at this time in your life. Could be a good fit later. Might never be a good fit.

I evaluate my own transition constantly: For example, I have a wonky post-surgery chest -- is that stopping me from being shirtless around my partner, who loves me for who I am? ("Yes," I found out. And I am trying to be more casually shirtless so that doesn't get in the way when we want to be intimate. I am just not used to that physical sense of vulnerability + having my transition imperfections so visible.) But am I happier overall, despite some challenges? HELL YES, I AM.

We never stop growing as people, and you should think of transition as not having a set path -- you can engage with it and redefine it whenever you want.

[trulyradicalactivist]

Now that many of you are on the same page with me about the fight for radqueer liberation and freedom from oppression, it’s time for us to channel our strengths into meaningful action. To make a difference, we must educate, invigorate, and advocate. These three pillars, I've found, are the foundation of effective activism. In my time of being an activist, these are the things I use the most to gather community. For all of you, I'm gonna take this time to break them down and explore how all of us can contribute. If everyone really is with me on this, we can turn the tide faster than ever before.

Everything is under the cut. I tried to change my writing style a little from last time (a lot of people thought it was AI generated, so I studied some other speeches to try and write more "human", I hope it worked.)

Educate.

Are you good at making posters? Writing essays, articles, or conducting research? Do you enjoy learning and sharing what you discover? Maybe you’re great at debates. If so, education can be where you shine. Education is essential for dismantling stereotypes and misinformation about our community.

There are many ways to educate, some small, and some more direct. Firstly, start conversations with fellow community members. Run polls, collect data, and organize your findings. Then you can store that information, maybe in a folder, a Google Doc, or even in your notes app. Use it to write essays explaining specific topics or write articles debunking misinformation. Share your work with the world, not just our community, but to those who believe the stereotypes you are writing against.

Now, if education isn’t your strength, make sure you amplify the work of others. Share accurate information, send educational resources to those who might be misinformed, and help shift perceptions. Knowledge is one of the most powerful tools we have, let’s all wield it wisely and responsibly.

Invigorate.

Do you love drawing, writing fanfiction, or making memes? Maybe you enjoy putting together jewelry, like Kandi bracelets, making people laugh, or inspiring people through any form of creativity? If so, you can invigorate the community.

Let’s bring life and joy to the radqueer community. Yes, we face a lot of challenges, and that is exhausting, but we can and should create spaces full of excitement and connection. You could start a cooking blog and help your community learn a skill they might need, open an Etsy store to sell stickers or patches, you could design stim toys if you really know how to! Do anything that fosters creativity and belonging. Build spaces for us, by us, and let's make our movement one with vibrancy and culture!

Advocate.

Advocacy is something everyone can do. It’s about amplifying voices, yours and ours as a community. Share your experiences, whether it’s through writing, social media, or art. Speak openly about how your identity shapes your life.

Advocacy is also about challenging stigma. If you have dysphoria, talk about it. If you don’t, explain your identity and what it means to you. Are you a paraphile? Share your journey with pride, if you feel comfortable, and help others understand how your identity connects to your identity as a whole. Advocacy is about being unapologetically visible. Make them see you. You exist and they have no say in that.

These three actions (educating, invigorating, and advocating) are the building blocks of rebellion. And that’s exactly what we’re doing: rebelling against oppression and ignorance.

Let’s take charge together. Let’s fight for the acceptance and freedom we deserve. We are strong, we are resilient, and we are capable of creating change. I believe in all of you, and I love you all. Let’s do this, together, here and now.

[that-hazbin]

Media Demon AU

Imagine Charlie gets that tour in heaven and.. Isn't really all that impressed.

Somehow she convinces Emily to take a tour of hell, Sera and Adam agree because they want to see/spy on why their exterminations aren't as effective as before. So as Charlie and Emily have a week of exploring and partying in hell, the Heavenly Council is scrying their activities the whole time.

It isn't what they expected, between Angel Dust explaining the Safety & Consent Contracts, Alastor dragging the duo out on a multicultural day of musical hyperfixation, Vox explaining his failed attempts to make it big in entertainment, Velvette animatedly talking up the individual sectors separate cultural fashions and foods. Alastor definitely heard about Charlie's first adventure in heaven in the previous timeline and he can't resist a little oneupsmanship so Hell definitely has a petting zoo dedicated to tamed Hellscape animals. They meet Sir Pentious The Architect overseeing the reconstruction of a few devastated areas that 'that one uncouth uncultured golden pigeon Exorcist who wouldn't know good architecture from a mud hut keeps levelling' and who is undecided between rebuilding using a Russian Theme or South African theme because he's done too much Roman architecture lately and if he has to carve one more marble pillar he is going to cry.

Maybe they run into one of the other Overlord's like Camilla who offers a tour to the visiting ambassador of her own district's musical instrument repair and medical facilities dedicated to removing angelic steel contamination from demons, amongst them, child sinners still in recovery from angelic steel wounds caused on extermination day.

There is uproar in Heaven upon seeing actual children in Hell, even more so when they look up their files and learn they're in hell on a technicality.

And then they learn that Charlie Morningstar's redemption project isn't facing problems about recruiting sinners because they don't believe redemption is possible, but because the Exorcists actions have soured any belief that Heaven is any better than Hell.

Really, if the Exorcists stayed out of Hell and never returned, Hell would happily just go about it's business as if Heaven didn't exist at all.

Alastor probably isn't the only demon with Pocket Dimensions like his Bayou in terms of providing space for overpopulation issues.

While I don't think Heaven would do a tour of Hell specifically because they can just spy on them whenever they want without having to go in person, I absolutely LOVE the idea of Alastor purposely showing off how great Hell is. Alastor worked so damn hard to make Hell beautiful and worth loving, that Charlie probably WOULDN'T be as impressed with Heaven as she was in the previous timeline.

In fact, she might find Heaven a bit... ugly, actually. Heaven's all whites and pastels, everything looking entirely modern, clean to a clinical degree, kind of quiet, and it's just not very appealing to her. In fact, it's both blinding and sort of boring. Meanwhile, Charlie's used to a Hell full of jewel colors, fairy lights, street performers, murals on the side of buildings, and a whole TON of cultural diversity at every corner. Sure, Heaven has petting zoos and rainbow sprinkles, but uh... So does Hell. Does Heaven have paintball parks? Escape rooms? Laser tag? What about rage rooms, those are super popular in Hell, and they're pretty fun! Sometimes you just gotta break things to let off stress. How do people burn stress up here?

Heaven kind of leans towards anti-chaos, while the Hell that Alastor built embraces the chaos. I imagine the Heavenly Counsel or whatever they're called would be taken aback by this new version of Hell, as well as the sinner behind the change. Sinners are not just modeling the same behavior most have on Earth, they're living exponentially better lives than before.

Hell is meant to be a place of suffering, and yet it's basically become a place of rehabilitation itself, and the evidence of its effectiveness is everywhere. The fact that sinners are willingly selling their souls, expecting safety and human respect, and then getting that safety and human respect, is absolutely insane. People are actually kind to one another, work exploitation is basically non-existent in the entertainment industry, everything is bathed in artistry, from the streets, the buildings, and even the people themselves.

I think Charlie presenting her case in this timeline is going to go very differently from the previous one, because for one, she's not going to struggle with her talking points at all. Alastor had an impact on her upbringing and she knows exactly how to present her case in a way that forces her audience to listen, whether they'd like it or not.

For another, the sinner she'll choose to represent the possibility of redemption probably isn't going to be Angel Dust. It's going to be Alastor, despite the fact that he doesn't want to be in Heaven. Because in her eyes, he is by far the prime example of a redeemed sinner.

And Alastor, knowing from the previous timeline that the Heavenly Council is going to be spying on hell during Charlie's trip, is going to put on a Performance. He brings Angel along with him to the hospital, having a casual and Totally Not Planned conversation about how they can improve the soul contracts to make everybody feel safer. They pass through beautiful city streets, a park, a petting zoo, briefly stop by to talk with Pentious about his new project, the whole works. Take the scenic route to the hospital, making sure to show off just how beautiful the Pride Ring has become.

He visits the children's ward, because he's going to make this Hurt, and he and Angel distribute donated toys, blankets, and books. Makes sure to mention how "the angels killed this one's parents" to Angel, just to make DAMN SURE the exterminations are revealed. He knows he's changed things so he has to take extra measures just to be sure.

Sera is left floundering as the room devolves into Chaos, and Charlie, upon realizing the exterminations weren't public knowledge, smells blood in the water so she sinks her teeth in like a shark. Yeah, why do you think she's here? You've been killing children, and as you can SEE, Hell's doing FANTASTIC without Heaven's interference so she wouldn't even BE HERE if it weren't for the YEARLY GENOCIDE. You know, the crime that sends mortal souls down to Hell to begin with? And now you're trying to tell her redemption isn't possible BECAUSE you want to continue committing yearly genocide, is that what she's hearing?

Charlie's still a bleeding heart, but she's much more inclined to manipulation in this timeline because Alastor made sure to teach her that manipulation in itself isn't mean or evil, especially when you wield it as a weapon or shield to protect others. And she's going to manipulate the rising emotions of this room to her advantage and make them SEE her point. She's going to win this trial by a landslide.

[novlr]

How do you introduce side characters naturally? I have a lot of important secondary characters in my story, but every time I try to bring them in, it feels like I’m just dumping information about them. Help!

We’ve all been there. You have this amazing cast of secondary characters in your head, each with their own rich backstories and interesting personalities. But when it comes to actually introducing them on the page, you find yourself wrestling with clunky paragraphs of exposition or, worse, those dreaded character introduction scenes where the story grinds to a halt while you explain who everyone is.

The good news is that there are ways to weave your side characters into your story naturally, making them feel like organic parts of your narrative rather than additions that need explanation. So, let’s explore how to make your secondary characters shine without overwhelming your readers with too much information at once.

Why side characters matter

Before we dive into techniques, let’s understand why it’s important to include side characters in your stories. They’re not just there to fill space or give your protagonist someone to talk to. Well-written side characters can:

Add depth and complexity to your story world.

Provide different perspectives on your story’s central conflict.

Create additional tension and conflict.

Offer opportunities for subplots and parallel storylines.

Help develop your main character through their interactions.

Make your fictional world feel lived-in and authentic.

Provide comic relief or emotional weight when needed.

Introduce them gradually

One of the most effective ways to introduce side characters is to treat them like real people your readers are getting to know. Think about how you meet people in real life. You don’t immediately learn their entire life story, family history, and deepest fears. Instead, you discover things about them gradually through:

Initial impressions.

Casual conversations.

Shared experiences.

Others’ reactions to them.

Their behaviour in different situations.

This same principle applies to your writing. Instead of frontloading all the information about a character, reveal details organically as they become relevant to the story.

Example of gradual introduction:

Too much at once: “Sarah was John’s sister-in-law, a brilliant neurosurgeon who had graduated top of her class at Harvard. She’d lost her husband two years ago in a car accident and now lived alone with her golden retriever, Charlie. She loved Thai food, hated mornings, and had a secret passion for reality TV shows.”

Gradual reveal: “Sarah arrived late to dinner, still wearing her surgical scrubs. She gave John a quick, one-armed hug before collapsing into the chair beside him. ‘If I never see another brain aneurysm again, it’ll be too soon.'”

The second version gives us just enough information to be intriguing, while leaving room for natural discovery of other details later.

Show, don’t tell (but tell when you need to)

While “show, don’t tell” is solid advice, the reality is that you’ll need both techniques. The key is knowing when to use each:

Show when:

Revealing personality traits.

Demonstrating relationships.

Illustrating emotional states.

Establishing dynamics between characters.

Tell when:

Providing necessary background information quickly.

Clarifying relationships that would be confusing to figure out.

Establishing basic facts that don’t need dramatic revelation.

Use dialogue effectively

Dialogue is one of your most powerful tools for introducing side characters naturally. Through conversations, you can reveal:

Character relationships:

“Hey, boss,” Maria said, dropping a stack of files on Derek’s desk. “The Thomson case came back from legal.”

This simple exchange establishes their professional relationship without explicitly stating it.

Personality:

“Well, if it isn’t Little Miss Perfect,” Jake drawled, not bothering to look up from his phone. “Come to tell me I’m doing everything wrong again?”

We immediately get a sense of Jake’s attitude and the dynamic between these characters.

Background:

“Remember that summer we spent at Gran’s beach house? Before everything went wrong?”

This kind of dialogue hints at shared history and potential conflict without dumping information.

Connect to the main plot

Side characters should serve a purpose in your story. When introducing them, consider:

How they affect your protagonist’s journey.

What role they play in the main conflict.

How they complicate or assist the plot.

What unique perspective they bring to the story.

Create meaningful subplots

Subplots are excellent vehicles for developing side characters without overshadowing your main story. A good subplot should:

Connect to the main plot in some way.

Have its own arc and resolution.

Reveal something about the side character.

Add depth to your story’s themes.

Create additional tension or complications.

Common pitfalls to avoid

The introduction lineup: Avoid scenes where characters are introduced one after another in quick succession.

The info dump dialogue: “As you know, Bob…” conversations where characters tell each other things they already know.

The character sheet: Listing physical descriptions and personality traits without context.

The irrelevant backstory: Including details about a character that never become relevant to the plot.

The forgotten character: Introducing someone as important and then having them disappear for long stretches.

Questions to ask yourself

When introducing a side character, ask yourself:

What does this character bring to the story?

What’s the most natural way for them to enter the scene?

What’s the minimum information readers need right now?

How can this character’s introduction move the plot forward?

What makes this character memorable or distinct?

Remember, your side characters are essential elements of your story’s ecosystem. By introducing them thoughtfully and developing them naturally, you create a richer, more engaging narrative that keeps readers invested in your entire cast of characters, not just your protagonist.

Trust your readers to piece things together gradually, and focus on making each character’s introduction serve your story’s larger purpose. With practice, you’ll find that introducing side characters becomes less about managing information and more about creating meaningful connections within your narrative.