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#and limitations meaning your brain has to fill in a lot of detail which can make things more unsettling
vimbry · 24 days
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video game realism for me peaked with the early 2000s attempts with photo textures stretched over still kind of primitive blocky models, that one's really fun.
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homosociallyyours · 10 months
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This is a post for one of my best friends who's been going through a lot for the past few years. I'll go into more details below, but here's the heart of the matter: My friend has a serious auto-immune condition resulting from the long term after effects of cancer treatments (worsened now by the addition of long COVID to her long list of diagnoses). Over the past few years, she's gotten sicker and sicker and has been forced to change her diet from a vegetarian anti-cancer diet (she's a breast cancer survivor, and fought HARD for her health) to one that's become more and more limited as her body becomes allergic to every food one by one. She's now reached a point where one of the last 2 foods that she was able to eat safely, chicken, is causing an allergic reaction; she has to eat it anyway to survive, so is now very sick all the time.
What can you do?
One of the last hopes that she has to turn things around is something called a fecal microbiome transplant, which has worked miracles for other people with similar issues, but cannot currently be accessed through medical channels in the US for any but one (unrelated) condition. It's really easy to do as a DIY treatment though, it's just hard to find a donor: so we are putting it out there to see if one of you might be able and willing to be that person, or know someone who could do it.
Here is what she has to say about the ask:
Finding the right person to do this is difficult, but actually doing the helping is extremely easy and quick if someone was that person! If you live in the continental US and are fortunate enough to have both physical and mental good health (or know someone or have a child who fit the criteria) and are willing, you might be able to change my life! Please consider clicking through to read more and maybe even come aboard...  (For clarity: this isn't a medical procedure or anything, it is literally just donating poop, there are a few specifics but it is very much from the comfort of your home on your own time.)
You can click here to fill out a google form to see if you might be able to be a donor. The questionaire is detailed: fecal transplant is a bizarre and magical thing in which the patient sometimes can even end up acquiring personal preferences from the donor- the gut microbiome (sometimes called the second brain) is incredible! But this means that any illness, chronic issues, or risk factors you carry may also be transferred to the recipient so while it may feel invasive, getting detailed info in very necessary; I am just too sick already to take on any more problems.
A note- yes, it is possible to buy screened and processed treatments even in the US: unfortunately the cost (~$2k per round of treatment) is way outside my reach, particularly given that it isn't really any better than just getting poop directly from a good candidate (proven via studies), and that often it takes trying a couple donors/ rounds to find a match that gets results. If anyone wants to just buy me that stuff, I sure wouldn't say no to that, but given the severity of my situation (medical and financial; I cannot work due to disability) it is likely I will need to do medical fundraising at some point and I am trying to save that for an even worse point. Also if you have that kind of money to help out honestly it would be better spent on specialists or my astronomical food costs. I will cover all costs associated with this process if I find someone though, of course!
Thank you for reading/boosting/etc, please consider sending the link to possible healthy friends or family who might be a fit, or consider whether you have a child fitting the bill you might be willing to enlist- young microbiomes are the best ones, as children's systems have had less time to be ravaged by the effects of the modern world or the simple deterioration of age.
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bleachbleachbleach · 2 years
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The logistics of Aizen having to pretend to be Central 46. Did he pretend to their families also? Did they radio silence to their families, before the lock-down, did he go evry night home to everyone of the 46 house holds and pretend to be the dead family member? Did he embraced every child, kiss every wife? How long was he supposed to be dead? How long until the 4 noble clans demanded to see their family members/Central 46?
Speaking of which, the 4 noble houses seem to have a great amount of reiatsu, and at least some of them have skill, did they wanted Sosuke as king? Why did they do nothing. Imagine the Tsunayashiro zanpakuto in the hands of someone with more reiatsu like Yamamoto, or in Yachiru's hands, or it could give Ichigo his own KS.
What about the quincies? Why didn't the nobles really help? Why if they had so much potential, didn't Iuha Baha attached them to?
I feel like there's so many different ways to interpret Kyouka Suigetsu--because what even--and I love hearing about people's different theories on how it works! 
Kyouka Suigetsu and the power of "Yes And"
Personally, I feel like Kyouka Suigetsu shares some functionality with hypnosis in our world, in the sense that Kyouka Suigetsu isn't acting alone. In general, brains are primed to make connections, seek patterns, make sense of the world as presented. I feel like using Kyouka Suigetsu successfully isn't about dumping a fully-formed scenario on its targets, but in inviting the target's brain to fill in the gaps. What is a more illusion than one developed in collaboration with you, yourself? Aizen doesn't need to provide every detail or orchestrate things to the letter. He sets his targets' senses on a path and their brains "yes and" it. 
It's a powerful technique, but also by nature a collaborative one. I can imagine that part of Aizen's dissatisfaction would lie in being tied to the imaginative power of others. Even more so if he found his co-workers' imaginations limiting. Which lol, that's fair enough. But imagine feeling so far beyond those around you you could never be understood--but also having them so intrinsic to your abilities you cannot be without them, not really. You cannot be among them and you cannot exceed them. And then there's the Hougyoku, whose only posted limit is you.
Having Reiryoku vs. Training as a Shinigami
As far as the noble families and their non-involvement in Aizen's betrayal, and in the Wandenreich invasion--even if their bloodline offers them a degree of reiryoku, they're not soldiers (or imagine themselves to be). I think there's probably a big difference between someone who's born with a degree of reiryoku and its latent potential and someone who has specifically trained themselves to be able to activate and execute these powers--to say nothing of further developing that baseline level of power that can be accessed.
It's kind of like, if someone is born with genetic athletic ability, then they're starting in a "better" place than someone who isn't. But you don't become an Olympic athlete just because you have athletic potential. And if you have no innate athletic giftedness, you can still practice and become a talented athlete--usually, a better athlete than someone innately gifted but untrained. But all the training in the world doesn't necessarily mean you'll ever be an Olympian. 
Coming from a family living in the Seireitei probably heightens the odds of you having potential as a shinigami, and being noble even more so. But just like there are powerhouses beating the odds in Rukongai, I feel like having real potential to be a successful shinigami (much less a Captain- or VC-class one) remains few and far between. Even within the Kuchiki, who have at least billed *themselves* as the most legit remaining noble family, Captain-class shinigami potential only comes once in a generation, or even less often. So the nobles who aren't in the Gotei probably can't do a lot against either Aizen or the Wandenreich, except die.
Did they even notice...?
Setting aside power and focusing on awareness, I kind of feel like noble families know as little about day to day of the Gotei and Aizen's whole deal as we do about what they do all day, haha.
The Wandenreich invasion is obviously a little harder to ignore, lol. But if I have learned anything about the world during my time on this planet, I wouldn't overestimate how much awareness and information people have even in situations in which they appear to be immediately embedded... 🥴
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starlight-write · 1 year
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🔥🧠Welcome to Braindump Central™🧠🔥
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❤️ Welcome to my own personal Hell! ❤️ Here is where I store all my weird thoughts and writing projects that would have my neurodivergent ass shunned by my friends and family if revealed to the real world.
Originally, this blog was meant solely for writing tk fics (tw btw!). And while that is still our primary focus here, you can also find some regular-ass fanfics on my AO3 account, (which will be revealed soon enough) as well as sleep deprived ramblings, a shit ton of reblogs, and all sorts of other nonsensical shit.
The current annual hyperfixation that haunts my every waking moment is Hazbin Hotel, if that wasn't already obvious enough. So most of what I write will revolve around that.
Other fandoms I will write for are My Hero Academia, The Amazing Digital Circus, and The Owl House. (I live under a rock and don't know much else.)
Requests are Open and here are The Rules™!!!!
1.) Story Prompts, Character Headcannons, Character Pairings and similar ideas are all free game. (Also if you just want to talk, please I'm so lonely.)
1.5.) Requests aren't limited to fandom or tk fics! I love a good challenge so if you got a good prompt you wanna hit me with, I'm all ears!
2.) Obviously, I reserve the right to deny any requests if I can't vibe with it but don't think that means I appreciate your inputs any less!
3.) I will not write anything NSFW. (Dude, there are children here!)
4.) Requests will NOT be answered in a timely manner as I have the time management skills of a narcoleptic seahorse and run off of hyperfixation and spite alone.
5.) I'm not comfortable writing anyone's OCs for fandom fics, sorry.
6.) Keep it silly. Keep it fun. Don't be an asshole.
About the Author: (over sharing)
Here's some personal details about me that I feel like have a significant affect on my perception of reality and therefore my writing as a whole.
First things first, my irl pronouns are she/her. But let's be real, we're on Tumblr so call me whatever you want. Get creative with it.
I'm a 21y/o software engineering student diagnosed ADHD. (I keep praying to God but he's not answering) But y'know, that double homicide clearly wasn't enough and I got nerfed with a chaotic and relatively unstable living situation so if I go ghost for a hot minute that's probably why.
I identify myself as a sapphic-oriented AroAce abomination who ironically, is in a happy relationship with a man... (It was an accident I swear!) I'm just as confused as you are don't worry. So needless to say the pairings I write are going to be affected by that aroace lens but hey, if you're like me and enjoy exploring platonic dynamics a lot more then you've come to the right place!
Your girl also has a condition known as Maladaptive Daydreaming Disorder (MaDD), as if my pea-brain wasn't screwed enough already. Pretty self explanatory, basically means I have this dumbass condition where I have to disassociate into my fantasy worlds for hours and hours on end instead of actually contributing to society. Fun, right? I mention this not only to spread a little awareness but also to *cite my sources* in a way. Pretty sure it's forced me to become a better writer in a way, too. So it's not all bad ig.
If you want any more personal information out of me you either gotta hunt down my FBI agent or fill out my friendship criteria form on Github.
Now scroll and enjoy yourself.
Also if I get one more dm blasting me for the badges I probably won't do anything but IT WAS FOR THE BIT!!!!
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syneilesis · 1 year
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Things I've learned and realized writing the fics for Inky's one-week challenge:
I'm a very slow writer; I genuinely struggle writing at least 500 words in one sitting. On good days, I can do 200 words. Inspired, maybe more. Ficlets like ekphrasis and others take me an entire day to finish. It's probably because I start writing with only a vague idea of how to go about it, or I only know the mood but not the details. I'm self-aware enough to be cognizant of my strengths and weaknesses, and I tend to stick to what works for me.
I've always wanted to write lengthy fics! But I never was the kind of writer who could hit more than 10k-word one-shots. My style doesn't lend to that kind of length. When I saw Inky's challenge and read that the max word count per entry is 500 words, I thought to myself, Ooh, I think I can do that. Regardless of the prompts -- though they help too; dialogue and AUs lend to a broadness that appeal to my rigid brain. A 500-word fic means in most cases a one-scene fic. Which frees my mind of context necessary to establish a setting. I don't have to come up with an elaborate backstory and/or explanation why this detail is like this, that detail is like that -- AUs as a trope can fill in the missing pieces to make your fic coherent.
My first fic entry was something that I plan on writing in the future, so it's easy to write it, but it still took me longer (but still within the range of my speed). My second, third, and fourth, I tried something a bit different: I used StimuWrite, an app that helps you focus on writing -- it's also known as a writing tool useful for people with ADHD.
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It has a simple UI, with a word count goal and emojis that appear whenever you type words. I chose these settings: darker background (it doesn't hurt the eyes) and typewriter sfx for that legit typing feel. I may put in a bgm from youtube or something, but sometimes I just want to listen only to the sounds of typewriter keys.
I tried StimuWrite before, but it didn't work for me. I gave it another chance this time, and oh lord it's very effective???!???!!!!! I finished 3 fics in under a day. So last Sunday I wrote give or take 2,000 words, which truly blew my mind. As an aside, I recommend you try StimuWrite; it might be effective for you too.
Because of that surprising writing streak, I continued using the app for the rest of the fics. And that writing streak persists! I feel relieved, I feel elated, I feel like I can do this. It's as if my brain loosened up enough to let me do what I want. I'll definitely use StimuWrite in my other fics too --
-- with some conditions, of course. All I know right now is that it works for me if I have a target word count in mind (under 600) and that it's only concentrated on a single scene. So I could focus on one scene whenever I open up the app. But that means that I have an outline of my fic, which isn't a problem for me because I like the mental exercise of outlining. I hope that this would help me come November, as I'll participate in Nanowrimo with my original story project.
Another point I've realized is that limiting yourself with a word count improves your editing skills. I do edit and revise my fics -- but they're mostly in the sort of 'i'll delete this passage because it no longer fits' and 'i'll rephrase this because it sounds awkward'. But in the cases of my sixth and seventh event fics, I had to pare them down because I exceeded the word count requirement. Initially I was reluctant to remove passages but I had to. So I did. I removed some bits and details of the story but rephrased others to still fit them in. I have to shorten some scenes -- and this is revelatory to me somewhat -- which is actually effective for fast-paced action scenes that needed fewer words but with the largest possible impact. Sometimes, shorter is better. It made me productive, for one.
Anyway, this got long wtf? I don't even know if I was coherent about it. There are still a lot of things I'd like to improve on -- such as relying less on my crutch words and metaphors. I haven't the opportunity to read a lot lately, so I need to try at least one page a day. The book I'm currently reading has been sitting on my desk for months. Back then, when I said I wouldn't make a list of read books per year to stop pressuring myself, I didn't mean not to read books at all lmao.
I don't know how to end this post so here's a gif of a puppy on a bowl:
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transplants-india · 2 years
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How to Apply as an Organ Donor in India?
Organ donation is an act of generosity that can save or significantly improve someone's life. Since organ transplantation requires a lot of money, it becomes difficult for the poor to go through this process due to insufficient funds. But, crowdfunding for organ transplants has emerged as a boon for the underprivileged section of society.
Who Can Donate Organs?
Almost anyone can be a potential organ donor. However, there are some criteria that must be met for someone to be eligible to donate their organs. The most important criterion is that the donor must be brain-dead. This means they must have suffered irreparable brain damage and have no hope of recovery.
Other measures include: Being 18 years or older. Being in good health overall. Signing a consent form before death.
Who Can Become a Donor in India?
In India, anyone who is over the age of 18 and has a valid photo ID can become a donor. There is no upper age limit for donors in India. Potential donors must be healthy and have no history of major medical conditions. Donors must also not have any active infectious diseases.
How to Apply as an Organ Donor?
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Organ donation takes place in two ways. One is when you are alive, and another is after death. Your family's consent will be required for donating the organ after death. Processes may differ from organization to organization.
Fill Up a Donor Form
The first step is to visit either the online portal of the Government of India's website or one of the many hospitals that the government has authorized to offer this registration facility. You will have to fill up a donor form to donate any organ. You will have to mention which organ you want to donate. You will have to say all the necessary personal details.
Relation with Donee
If you want to donate to a particular donee, you must mention the donee's name and your relationship with that one. You need not mention the donee's name if there is no specific donee and you wish to donate your organ after your death.
How to apply as an Organ Recipient?
There are many ways to become an organ recipient. One way is to go through the transplant waiting list. Every year, thousands of people die while waiting for an organ transplant. You can increase your chances of getting a transplant by being on the waiting list. Another way to become an organ recipient is to have a living donor. A living donor donates an organ while they are still alive. This can be a family member or friend. Only some people can have a living donor, but it is worth asking if you know anyone who might be willing to donate.
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thelesbiancitizen · 3 years
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do you have any tips for dealing with dysphoria without transition? pls have a good day!!
Hey there! I do have some tips! Hold on, this may be a long post. I’ll summarize at the end. First off, I’m gonna give you a quick outline of my personal theory about dysphoria, just so we’re on the same page, then I’ll go into detail on how I personally have dealt with dysphoria during and after my transition:
What actually is dysphoria?
I see dysphoria as a collection of negative feelings about one’s sex and gender, the cause of which — for one reason or another — has been attributed to the self. That is, you feel bad about yourself, and you blame yourself for feeling bad: with gender dysphoria, you blame your body and sex-specific body parts for the bad feelings. And thus the reason transition seems so appealing; you feel like if you got rid of those parts, then the bad feelings would go away.
  The thing is, dysphoria isn’t caused by some innate brain problem, and the problem isn’t really located in your body/body parts. That’s a really seductive idea because technically the solution would be simple; just get rid of those parts, or change them, and boom, dysphoria = gone! But unfortunately, it’s not that simple. There can be a lot of reasons why you end up fixating on your body parts as the cause of your bad feelings. One huge reason I started to feel a lot of physical dysphoria was just because of the emphasis on hating your body that is widely spoken about in the trans community. I had dysphoria prior to getting involved in the trans community, but it wasn’t until I was really immersed in it that I started to feel discomfort with my (sex-specific) body parts specifically. Being surrounded by people encouraging self-hatred and dissociation from your body isn’t good for you. They may mean well, but it’s not healthy to fixate on what you perceive to be wrong with yourself — whether you ID as trans or not.
Dysphoria can involve feelings of unreality and feeling dissociated from your body; like your body is not yours. When you’re feeling really dysphoric, you’re really “in your head”, worrying and ruminating and feeling frozen. You can get trapped in these thought patterns especially when you are surrounded by other people who are echoing the same dysfunctional thought patterns.
So, how do you deal with these distressing thoughts?
It’s going to take a lot of time and patience to retrain your brain away from these patterns into more healthy ones. So first off, you need to recognize this is an ongoing process of learning to notice when you are having unhealthy thoughts about your body and yourself, and patiently & gently correcting those thoughts with healthier ones. And you are going to need to get back into your body and start to feel comfortable in it again.
So, my first suggestion would be to get off of all social media. Get off of /r/ftm or /r/mtf, get off of trans youtube, get off of trans twitter, get off of instagram, just get off of social media. If you are young, I know that may sound like an impossible prospect. Give yourself a time limit then if that’s too intimidating; commit to at least one month off of social media, or three months, or longer if you can stand it. I think six months is ideal, personally. During that time, get a journal, and every time you feel the impulse to get online, start writing in your journal instead. Don’t censor yourself, just let the pen flow and write down whatever you’re feeling. Even if your thoughts scare you or disgust you or make you really sad, write it all down. Don’t share it with anyone; it’s just for you to get to know yourself without an audience. Notice how you feel about not being on social media. Do you feel better/worse? Do you feel more or less self-conscious? Do you feel more or less relaxed? Write it down in the journal. Fill it up and get a new one. Draw in it if you like. Make your journal your new confidante. After your time limit is up, reflect on your experience being off of social media, how it made you feel, if you're nervous about going back, if you want to go back at all, how you might change your habits to make you feel safer/more comfortable online, etc. (Note that you don't need to be on social media at all! You still exist even if you are not online.)
Talk to older trusted adults in your life about their experiences being young, growing up, and feeling insecure. Be brave! There’s nothing you can say that will spook them. Adults have more wisdom to offer than you think and have been through A LOT of shit. You’ll find that most of the adults you talk to can relate to your feelings of dysphoria. It helped me to talk to the older women in my life about my experiences with being sexually harassed, for example. It was something I felt a lot of shame about. It turned out every woman I talked to had similar stories and felt similar feelings (unfortunately). It made me feel less alone. I realized that my feelings of dysphoria weren’t so different from what those women had been through, and they survived. Also, try to notice real women in real life — look around at women in the grocery store, for example, and notice how different they look. They don't all look like celebrities and instagram models. Notice that some wear makeup, some don’t. Some have short hair, some have long hair. Some are more ‘feminine’ and some are more ‘masculine’. Their bodies are all different shapes. They are all still women. Real women come in all shapes and sizes.
If you are female, consume media that was made by women. Read literature by women, watch movies made by women. Reading autobiographies and memoirs by women helped me a lot to see different perspectives and to realize that there are many, many different ways of being a woman that I hadn’t really thought about before, because I had inadvertently been limiting myself to media created by men. It’s easy to fall into only consuming media by men because that is what is considered default in our society, and the female characters are often very poorly written or completely absent. That gave me a really distorted view of the possibilities of what women can be. I had a really narrow idea of what futures were possible for me as woman because of the media I consumed. I didn’t think that this was so, but subconsciously, my idea of what women can be/look like/behave was very limited. I mentioned earlier about retraining your brain into healthier thought patterns. All of the above suggestions are about training your brain into noticing positive things, instead of fixating on negative ones. You are hurting and in pain, so give yourself some grace. If you cannot do it for your current self, imagine you are doing it for your Child Self. If your 7-year-old self showed up at your door and you had to take care of her, how would you do it? What things would you say to her? What movies and books would you show her? How would you speak to her? What do you think she needs to hear from you? Write in your journal everything you would say to your Child Self — and write back from her perspective.
I also mentioned dissociating and feeling like your body isn’t real. This one is tough because it can be quite painful to get back in touch with your body and your feelings if you’ve learned to stifle them for a long time. Physical activity is extremely important to reconnect with your body and is really effective in banishing dysphoric feelings. I don’t just mean exercise, although exercise is awesome — even just taking daily walks can help loads. But physical activity also includes hobbies like baking, cooking, playing an instrument, drawing, painting, juggling, doing silly dances in your bathroom, singing, doing origami. Anything that gets you moving and using your body, especially your hands, is a dysphoria slayer! Try to be mindful when you move and notice how your body helps you do really cool things. Wear whatever clothing feels comfortable and whenever you start to notice your mind wandering and worrying about how you look, gently bring your focus back to the sensations in your body instead. It’s even better to do these activities with a friend. Notice how good it feels to laugh and talk and be together with a friend. Get outside and go to the beach or sit under a tree and feel the sun and wind on your skin. Try to get outside a little bit every day; even for 15 minutes. Anything that makes you appreciate being alive and having a body that lets your experience these beautiful things.
To summarize (in no particular order):
Start a journal and start noticing and keeping track of all your thoughts, positive and negative.
Become a friend to your Inner Child.
Take advantage of the wisdom of your elders.
Find positive role models of your sex — fiction is OK but preferably real.
If you’re female, get acquainted with feminism and women’s history.
Get off of social media and ground yourself in reality, away from echo chambers and predatory advertising.
Get your body moving and spend time outdoors.
Talk to friends and family and other people you trust ‘in real life’ about your feelings — have face-to-face conversations and don’t be afraid to ‘get real’. Cry! Get angry! Just don’t hold it in and let it eat you up inside.
Over time, when you learn to notice more of the good, the bad becomes less of a big deal. It’s not easy dealing with dysphoria and you never quite ‘get over’ it, but you can learn to live with it. You can learn to take your feelings of self-hatred and transform them outward into righteous anger at all the people and institutions that made you feel inadequate, worthless, and like your body is wrong. Dysphoria is not your fault; you are not wrong, your body is not wrong. What’s wrong is the way that society has taught you to see your natural self as incorrect! I can say with certainty, without knowing you, that you are completely fine and normal, exactly the way you are. You are tough! You are brave! You are worthy of love and worthy of a good life. Be patient and gentle and kind with yourself, and forgive yourself when you can't. Reach out to someone when you feel you need help and support. I wish you all the best. You will be okay. <3
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recurring-polynya · 3 years
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Do I mind if I ask how you approach writing longer fic? I've always struggled to write anything more than maybe two chapters long and I'm curious if you have a particular method to how you approach such stories.
Thank you so much for this ask! I absolutely love it when people ask me for writing advice because it makes me feel like a Smart Person Who Knows Things.
Before we start, here is one grain of salt to take all of this with: I have a naturally long-form brain. It is very hard for me to write something less than 1k. Short fiction is great, and there is nothing wrong with sticking to short things if that's what your brain likes to do.
So. You have decided to write a story. This is going to focus on "stories". Some people write fic that's more freeform or whatever, I am not going to cover that. What I mean by a story is this:
It starts
Some stuff happens
It ends
It is highly probable that your story contains a change of state, which could be that a villain is defeated, or a goal is reached, but it could also be that character falls in love with another, or someone learns to like broccoli.
I like to start out by completing the sentence, "This is a story where _______". This is basically like coming up with a summary for an ao3 post, except that it doesn't need to be catchy. Lots of different kinds of things could go in that blank! It could literally be what happens: This is a story where Ichigo goes back in time and punches young Aizen in the nose. It could be about what you want to explore: This is a story where Hitsugaya gets a better understanding of his zanpakutou. It could be about the vibe you want to achieve: This is an AU where everyone is in a punk rock band and has cool hair and outfits. The idea of this is to clearly define what you, the author, is interested in writing. Make sure it feels right! Maybe you pick the first one, but when you say it out loud, you say, "You know, I really just want Ichigo to go back in time so he can horse around with young Renji and Rukia and punching Aizen in the nose is just an excuse for that." That may sound dumb, but it's fine, actually! Most people don't read stories strictly for the plot, they read stories for the implications of those plots! Will my favorite two characters kiss? Will there be funny interactions between these two groups of characters? Will there be sick fights? Stories are excuses to have scenes. Sometimes, you will have a story where the interesting sequence of events is the draw, but the point is to know what you're about.
Once you feel happy with your "mission statement", you need to decide the bounds of your story: where it starts and where it ends. It may be easier to start with the end. In some cases, it may be obvious from your mission statement: everyone gets home, a villain is defeated, Kenpachi realizes the meaning of friendship. On the other hand, let's look at that punk rock AU. You've picked a vibe, but you don't really have a natural story arc. It has to have a destination, though, otherwise, it's not really a story, it's a recipe for 3 chapters of an abandoned fanfic. So brainstorm a little: Maybe they get a record deal? Maybe they win a Battle of the Bands? Maybe Byakuya accepts that the band is actually good and tells Rukia he is proud of her. Do not settle for a plot just because it works. Pick something that makes you excited! You're the one who is gonna have to write it!
I said that we needed to pick a beginning point, too, but I'm actually going to skip that for now. The next thing I do is think of all the Big Scenes I want to write, the ones you are hype to write, the ones that pop in your head as you think about the premise. Make a bullet list. They don't need to be in order. The descriptions don't need to be super detailed, but write down anything about it that is important to you. If there's a mood or a snippet of dialogue or a joke you want to make, go ahead and jot that down so you don't forget it later. What you're doing now is putting broad blotches of color on a canvas, filling in space and leaving the detail for later.
Once you are pretty happy with what you have down, try to arrange it in chronological order. Put your end at the end (if it wasn't one of your big scenes, add it now). The next task is figuring out how to traverse your scenes. You've already picked out where you want to spend the majority of your energy. The rest, I regret to tell you, is your slog writing. Now, it often happens that you will find joy in some of these scenes and your best writing may occur there, but that's serendipity. These are the scenes that you are gonna have to make yourself sit down and write, so you honestly want to limit them to just the ones you need.
So how do we do this? Look at the first thing on the list. Can you start there? If so, congrats, that's your beginning. If you can't, what needs to happen to get to there? Where can you start so that you can get to your first fun scene as soon as possible? There. That’s it. You’ve picked your beginning, good job! Now, go through the rest of your list, and add in things that must happen, even if you don’t particularly look forward to writing them. The characters need to travel from geographic point A to point B. Shuuhei needs to say something that Izuru hears and misinterprets. The Central 46 makes a new law. If you have a good idea of how these things happen, go ahead and write them down, but it’s okay if you don’t know yet. Fill in all the blanks so that if you think of each bullet list as a scene, you could read it as a story, start to end. Once you get writing, you might add more scenes, or move things around or whatever, but you should have a thing that functions as a story.
If you struggle with this, an alternative is a story with a very strong structure that is going to guide you though what you have to write.Here are two examples from my own stories Hold On, Hold On (which is only one chapter, but the principle is the same) is structured around the 5 stages of grief. Not Broken, Just Bent takes place over roughly a week, and I just decided what happened every day of the week. See You on the Other Side takes place in the middle of a bunch of canon events, which worked at mile markers.
Congratulations. You’ve just made a rough outline!
Special note for avoiding burnout!: I am a slogger. I will drag myself through the broken glass of an interminable plot to get to a single thirsty scene. That's why, at this stage, I try to look at the ratio of what I want to write to what I must write. It's gonna vary for everyone, but this is a hobby, and if looking at this proto-outline makes you feel deeply tired, maybe this isn't a good story to be devoting your time to! Can you carve it down? Can you chuck two scenes you really want to write and get rid of 80% of the slog? Or maybe you can't! In that case, just write that thirsty scene as a standalone drabble! Or just go work on something else! Maybe in the future, this one will come back to you and you’ll have a fresh idea or a renewed enthusiasm for it.
Another thing I sometimes like to do at this point is to write out some notes about my characters and their motivations and moods. Character A is homesick. Character B is so determined to defeat the enemy that they are having a hard time being sympathetic to Character A. Character C cares for both A and B and is trying to support them both. This is sort of background info that you want to keep in your head as you are writing. Depending on the type of story you are writing, this might actually be the main plot, or it might be happening subtly, but adding to the emotional impact of the story. It’s very easy for me to write these sorts of emotional arcs, but if you struggle with that, you may wish to go ahead and made a more detailed outline for that, too.
Now, it’s time to start writing! I am great at beginnings-- it is very often the case for me that the opening scene was one of my Big Tentpole Scenes. (Before you hate me too much, I make up for this by being double horrible at endings; just let me have this) Usually, I will start at the beginning and write linearly for as long as I can until I get stuck. Then, I will look forward on my outline and do the next chronological scene that I feel like writing. In general, if I sit down to write and there is something I have an urge to write, that trumps everything else. Inspiration is a precious commodity, and you should embrace it when it hits! You can slog any day. I will occasionally hold off writing a scene that I really want to, because I am saving it, like a prize for myself for getting that far. This is a very personal process of figuring out what motivates your brain and then giving your brain what it needs to be its most productive.
Eventually, you will run out of things you are excited to write, but the good news is, you’ve got a bunch of story now! Odds are that what’s left is going to be a lot of those connective tissue scenes, and you’re just going to have to do them, except that now, because you’re connecting two concrete points instead of two abstract points, it will be a lot easier. You can continue running jokes you’ve started. Maybe you invented a cafe in an earlier scene where your characters hang out and you can have them return there. Try to think of ways to make these scenes more fun, both for yourself to write and for your reader to read. 
Around this time, I like to start refining that rough strokes outline into what I will call an “as-built” outline. (This is an engineering term where you update your plans or models for something to reflect any changes that had to be made along the way). This is a great activity to do at times when you feel like you have writers block. I write down every scene I have written as a 2-3 word blurb, in order. I break the scenes into what I think makes logical chapters, and I will do a word count on those prospective chapters and write it down. As you do this, you will realize that maybe you can move a scene from here to there, which will make it 1000% easier to write. Things may be happening too much, or you’ve got the characters eating three times in the same chapter. If you have subplots and dangling threads, this is where you make sure they get closure. I know this sounds very headache-y, but you are so far along in the story at this point that it’s really not-- it’s a way to look at the problems you have left. Use some sort of formatting (I like to bold things I haven’t done and sometimes I put them in red) and it gives you a very visual to-do list.
You specifically mentioned multi-chapter fanfics and I admit that I don’t tend to think in chapters, I tend to think of the story as a whole and just break it up where it feels natural. The as-built outlining I described is very helpful in making sure that my chapters feel balanced. They don’t necessarily need to be the same length, but I like them to have the same amount of stuff in them. One chapter may basically contain one long scene, and other may contain many short ones. I don’t tend to, but you can certainly have a fanfic that varies between short and long chapters, that can actually be an interesting effect. But like I said, I always like to know what I am doing, and so having it mapped out, you can say “welp, this is what I’ve done, how do I feel about that?”
Polynya, you may be saying at this point, do you write the whole fanfic before you post any of it? and I regret to inform you, the answer is yes. A lot of people write as they go, and I have made one attempt at this and I didn’t like it. I don’t like locking myself in, I just need to be able write out of order and go back and change things. Here is the story of a little in love: someone gave me an AU prompt and I got mildly obsessed with it, and wrote 5 snapshots drabbles in that universe, ending with a slight cliffhanger ending. I probably should have stopped there, but I decided to keep going. I wrote out an outline of 5 acts where the first act was detailed to the degree of each chapter being specified. The chapters here were much smaller than I usually make chapters: 1-2k. I wrote act i and ii and it was actually great, and then I hit act iii which required a lot of set up for misunderstandings and a mini romance arc. I couldn’t wing it, but nor could I figure it all out with outlining. I write dialogue in almost sort of an improv “Yes, and...?” style, so until I do it, I don’t know what’s going to happen. So, what I did was treat the second half of act iii as a complete story in the process I describe above, wrote the entire rest of it, and then posted it. One might notice that the chapter lengths grew to 3-5k each. I have two more acts to go, and I haven’t decided how I am going to do them yet, but I suspect I will treat each of them as their own mini-stories.
(I will admit that in Heart is a Muscle, I tend toward chapters that are about 10k long, and this is honestly too long, someone should smack me. If you like punchy chapters, 1-2k is good. I think 3-6k is probably an ideal chapter length. Is this how long the chapters are in my latest fanfic? Absolutely not.)
Okay, so there’s one more step, which is quality control. I am habitual re-reader-- I read my fanfics-in-progress over and over and over while I am working on them. I understand that not everyone does this, but I am usually the primary audience for my own writing, and this is the actual fun part for me. Nevertheless, you should re-read your work at least once, to make sure it hangs together.
This is purely optional, but I recommend it: get a writing friend (if you don’t like re-reading your work, I recommend this even more strongly). If you can get a full-service beta reader, that’s great, but if you can’t find someone, or if receiving that level of critique stresses you out, it’s perfectly valid to just find a friend who will read your stuff and a) shower you with compliments, b) reassure you about parts you aren’t sure about (or suggest ways to help) and c) point out any huge problems you missed. When I am writing a long fanfic, it is a huge motivational factor for me to be able to send my beta chapters as I finish them. If you are already an established writer, and you have people who consistently comment on your fic, they might be overjoyed to get a sneak peak at your work.
And that’s it! That’s the way I do it, anyway! Some people are able to sit down and write a very detailed outline and the write it start-to-finish. Good for them, I say! I have tried this and it doesn’t work great for me. I will admit that some of my fics (especially my early ones) I just sat down and banged out whole-cloth like an insane person and they are generally better than the ones I actually plan out, but that’s not a reproducible process.
As one final mechanical note, I usually write in Google Docs, which I can access on multiple devices (I used to write a lot on my phone), has convenient sharing functionality, and I use the ao3 html formatting script add-in. I generally have two documents for a single story-- one is the outline, and any other notes I want to have handy. I’ll usually put a trashcan space at the bottom for scenes that got cut but I don’t want to lose. The other is the fanfic itself.
I hope this is helpful! Please feel free to follow up with other questions and good luck with your writing!
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High Sex HCs
Bakugou
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God help you if this man smokes sativa before y'all fuck
"Stop fucking running and take this fucking dick" is a common theme
Any self respecting pussy having person would try to take a break after the fourth round!
And the fifth, and the sixth
You started on your hands and knees
Then it was just your knees while he fucked you hard enough to make his hips slap against your ass while he pummeled your cervix like the bully many accused him of being
Then you couldn't keep yourself up anymore and he started getting creative in finding ways to make sure you took his deep as possible
"Where do you think you're going? This pussy is mine to fuck full. Again. And Again. Until you're round with my babies, baby. Understood?"
Even when the weed wears off
just seeing you crying and leaking his cum and begging him to let you rest cause it's too much
will have him rolling up another blunt while y'all "rest"
Shinsou
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He grows his own strains of indica because most strains for sale in town aren't enough to help him sleep
So when you go over to smoke with him you're knocked out by the first blunt, even though you'd been so sure you could handle his weed
Since he won the bet, he was happy to collect on his prize. The one you two agreed on while you blushed and flirted your heart out; letting him fuck you in you sleep
You're already soaked by the time you fall asleep against his chest, both of you having been cuddling while soft music played and exchanging secrets about your darkest fantasies (because it was the good indica, the kind that made you horribly horny even as you struggled to keep your eyes open)
He fingered you with ease and even though you were probably going to sleep well into the night you were still so responsive, moaning softly and making cute little whining sounds every time he added another finger to stretch you out
Fucking you while you slept and sighed and moaned for him was turning him on a lot more than expected
The weed and the sight of you stuffed full of cock while you dreamed completely unaware combined into a dark pleasure that grabbed him by the balls until he was make a cummy mess of your pussy
Tamaki
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You bought the weed from Shinsou, and now Tamaki was relaxed and horny enough to fuck you stupid
"This is what you wanted isn't it?" He pinched your nipples as he fucked you harder and deeper than he usually let himself, finding it was cute the way the weed and his dick had a similar effect on you:
heavy lidded eyes, heavier breathing, and you stopped being able to speak coherently
"Big Tama, so fucking big I'm going to break-"
"That's not what I asked silly," he taunted and from the way you clenched around him you could focus enough to realize how fucked out you sounded and be embarrassed by it, which was good because if he couldn't make your pussy milk him tighter by being mean to you what was the point of degradation?
You could feel him rearranging your guts and you were selfishly pleased no one snapped him up before you two got together, it meant your shy lover and his long girthy cock were all yours- even when he stopped being so shy
Denki
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It was ironically perfect, that he could charge every dab pen y'all had (which was quite a few because both of y'all were dedicated stoners) right before a night of cross faded party hopping
By the last party he's too hot from the way you've been dancing on him all night to wait, so you're gasping and trying to keep quiet while he fucked you against the wall of the upstairs hallway
The music downstairs is spilling up the stairs and giving you guys a bit of cover but the way he just pushed you against the wall and pulled your panties aside already has you being too loud
"I don't need to be prepped just fuck me fuck me fuck me-"
"Shut up!" He stuffed his fingers in your mouth and stuffed his cock in your pussy hard and deep and fast, making you moan- once again, too loud even with him muffling you
"If you're this loud when I'm just fucking your pussy then maybe I shouldn't take your ass.."
You whined like he would be robbing you if he didn't take your ass against a wall where anyone could catch you, and that's what made him forgive you for screaming when he blew his load in your tightness while circling your clit with his thumb
Tokoyami
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Sativa made Tokoyami hungrier to fuck you again and again until you were twitching and leaking his cum and so overstimmed you could barely speak
"F-fumi--" You were certain you'd passed out at some point, but once again you woke to feeling him fucking you
The combined mess of bodily fluids between your thighs made the most embarrassing squelching sounds as he ground his cock into you, deeper- always deeper
It was after that particularly memorable night of discovering his breeding kink that you had a serious talk with him about why you were on birth control in the first place and that you had to limit the amount of times he came inside you
But every time y'all got high together you ended up getting filled
Indica made Dark Shadow strong enough to convince Tokoyami to double penetrate you with him
You weren't sure how it was possible (Tokoyami refused to go into detail and got incredibly flustered when you tried to question him) but Dark Shadow was able to cum inside you
So it didn't matter who took which hole, you were leaking cum from both your ass and your pussy by the time they were done fucking you senseless
Hybrid strains makes them both in the mood to stuff your pussy together and fill your womb, regardless of the fact that you're not on birth control for once (one of the small windows where you were talking the placebo pills)
You were sure you wouldn't have even considered this if you hadn't smoked just as much as your partner
You were seriously reconsidering as you felt Dark Shadow manifest a shaft just large enough to be painful when pushed inside you alongside Tokoyami's shaft
They were going to just feed off each other as they got more excited and you knew they already hated your reasoning for why you couldn't get pregnant
"G-guys you can't.. cum inside okay?"
They both groaned and pushed into you deeper at your words
"Seriously.. guys!"
Deku
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High Deku is a fuckboy don't at me
All of a sudden it's "say less, ma" and his hands are wandering shamelessly
Because not only does weed make him horny, but it makes it easier to hold back so basically-
marathon sex
you're not walking after fam, just accept this
He's just as caring and thoughtful about your pleasure as always, making you fall apart on his fingers and cock again and again, he's just a little more cocky like his Kacchan usually is about it when he's high
"Now just three more on my tongue and then we'll see if I'm ready to cum.. but if you look too cute while I'm eating you out I might need to just keep fucking you after that"
He cums twice in your pussy and when you beg him to let you rest and he keeps trying to fuck one more load into you, you throw out mindlessly "Just fuck my ass instead please! I'm so sore, 'Zuku, please.."
He runs with it
Now you're begging him to cum because your ass can't take as much as your pussy, and even though he's masterfully touching your clit and helping you cum- he feels so much thicker in your ass when you're shivering and shaking from his mouth on your throat and his thumb grinding into your sensitive clit
When he finally fills your ass he gets a little too excited and all you remember is green lightning filling your room before he fucked you unconscious
Shoto
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Likes to use his quirk on you when he's high, spanking you with painfully hot palms and fucking you with ice fingers at the same time
His tongue and dick are always addictingly hot though
Cold fingers pinch your nipples once he's inside you, and his hot hand on your hip while he's fucking you makes you feel branded- owned
You weren't sure if you hated it or loved it but weed also got your usually clammed up boyfriend to finally start talking
"I always wonder, are you always a slut like this during sex or is it just with me? Either way I don't think I can let anyone else ever see you like this. You're mine forever now darling."
Your pussy clenched around him in agreement and he groaned, his voice turning accusatory as he fucked you harder making the wet squelching more evident "Your pussy is more honest than you are. She know's who her master is doesn't she?"
"Shoto!"
"Quiet now. I'm trying to ask if she wants me to give her a baby."
You screamed when you came then, and when you could finally focus again Shoto was pressing your thighs to your chest and fucking you in a deep mating press telling you heatedly
"You fucking -hng, squirted all over me baby. That means you want it too right? You want me to fuck a baby into your womb?"
You knew you were on birth control even if his high ass forgot but you couldn't even get that out, arousal took over your brain and all you could do was beg him "Yes, please Sho, give me a baby-"
You were high as fuck too, and it felt too good to pretend he could get you pregnant like you asked
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duckprintspress · 3 years
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How can I write quickly?
I (hi, I’m @unforth) have been asked frequently over the years how I write a lot quickly. I’m a pretty fast writer - for example, I wrote the 5600 words of my May Trope Mayhem fill from yesterday in under 2.5 hours. 
First, a little of my personal history for context. I’ve always written, starting from when I was able to string letters into (very poorly spelled) words and (horrible un-grammatical) sentences. When I started trying my hand at serious, professional-level fiction writing, I joined a community called novel_in_90, which was founded by the author Elizabeth Bear. The purpose of novel_in_90 was “to be NaNoWriMo but more realistic.” Instead of 50,000 words in 31 days, it was 67,500 words in 90 days, or 750 words a day. I participated in multiple rounds of novel_in_90 starting in mid-2005, and in 2007 I completed my first (godawful) novel. When I started, even writing a couple hundred words of day took me forever, but it got easier with time. 
During those same years, I also got a job that required I do professional writing on a deadline: I was a grant writer, and I only got paid when the grants won. That often meant working fast under high pressure, culminating in the weekend I wrote and edited an entire 40 pages grant that was due on Monday. I think, if I hadn’t had a solid foundation of “regular daily plodding writing,” I’d not have been able to marathon when the moment came...and it came because I had to, not because I wanted to. However, I learned a valuable lesson: I could. Subsequently, I found that, when I had the time and space and was rested enough to use my brain, I could bust out a huge amount. Like, I wrote an entire 150,000 word novel in 17 days.
My personal record is about 200,000 words in one month (it was the month I wrote that novel; I wasn’t tracking when I did that so I don’t know exactly), 25,000 words in a day, and I’ve topped out around 3,000 words an hour. I do know people who can do more...but not many.
Not everyone will be able to do this. Flat out, I MUST preface the rest of this post by saying that. Some people will find that writing fast fits their brain, and for others, it just won’t, and that’s okay. Fast doesn’t equal better, and it isn’t inherently “good” to write fast. Furthermore, even for those who can write fast, not everyone will find the same strategies helpful. I can share what works for me. Try out one item, some items, or all of these - if writing faster is something you want to be able to do, which it certainly never has to be. Use what works for you, and discard the rest.
Sit in your chair, put your fingers on your keyboard or touch screen, and write. You can’t write 1,000 words in half an hour until you write one word, however long that one word takes. I know saying this is obvious, but I’ve been asked “how can I write fast” by people who struggle to write at all...fast can’t be your priority until you’ve got a foundation of just writing. (Honestly...fast should never be your priority, but it might be helpful to you regardless, which can make it worth learning.)
Start small. Set an achievable goal, and make yourself meet that goal (daily, weekly, whatever) come hell or high water, no matter how long it takes you. Keep the goal small at first; you’re not trying to torture yourself, you’re trying to build a skill. If you set the goal high enough that you consistently fail, you’re not teaching yourself anything. And, if you find the goal IS too high...lower it. There’s no shame in working within your limits. Think of it like starting a new work out regimen: you wouldn’t try to run a 10k at a record time if you can’t run a mile slow. Treat your fingers and your brain the same way you’d treat your legs and joints. Give them time to grow, learn, and improve before you try to push yourself.
Trying to write daily is worthwhile if you want to work on your writing speed, because you’ll be forced to try to fit it in as you’re able - that might be ten minutes in your morning, or an hour in your evening, and it might vary from day to day, but making it daily means you have to fit it in somewhere.
Building skills takes time and isn’t easy. For some people, it will come easier than for others, and even when you’re fast, going from “I can write words fast” to “I can write damn good words fast” takes practice and dedication and accepting constructive criticism - speed alone will never be worth more than writing well.
Having a community can help. Ya’ll will check in on each other, cheer each other on, remind each other that missing a day or a goal isn’t the end of the world, and keep each other’s spirits up. If you don’t know other writerly folks online, I recommend Weekend Writing Marathon ( @weekendwritingmarathon ) as a good place to start (I used to be a mod there). Once you’re trying to work up to larger word counts in a day, remember that even writing fast will take minutes or hours. You can’t write 2,500 words in an hour if you don’t set an hour aside. Make sure you’re giving yourself the room and time you need to succeed.
You will probably never be able to do high, rapid word counts every day, every week, every month. The best runners in the world don’t run marathons every day. Set realistic long term goals.
Work on projects where you have a clear idea of where you’re going. I’m not saying “pantsers” can’t write fast, because of course they can, but if you want to write fast, and well, and coherently, to create a first draft that’s in pretty good shape, you’ll do better if you have a good sense of what you’re trying to accomplish with your story. That doesn’t mean you need to do all your world building up front, or have a complete outline (I never have either). All you really need is what happens next. I tend to plan projects - and write them - one full scene at a time, with only a vague idea what’s going to come after. (I’m personally a “plantser,” and the strategies in this post will likely be most effective to other plantsers.)
Visualize ahead of time what you’d like to write...but don’t get too attached to what you visualize. When I go to bed, I plan the next scene I’m going to compose, often to the least detail. I then forget all of it overnight, at least all the specifics, and I’m left with a general sense and shape of what’s to come. You’ll never be able to replicate the “perfect” dialog you pre-conceive, so give up on trying to. Instead, play through the scene and think about the emotional beats you want to hit and plot points you want to forward. If you keep that in mind, you’ll be able to get the words out faster than if you’re agonizing over every word or regretting the “oh-so-great” idea that you’ve since forgotten. 
Practice different work styles. If writing every day doesn’t work for you, try instead saying, “this is my writing day each week,” and aim for a lot that specific day, and write little or nothing other days. Try writing at different times of day and on different days, fitting it into your schedule. If you’re beating yourself up for not writing when you “should,” it’ll be that much harder to succeed, so instead, as I said for point 2 - set a reasonable goal that fits your life and working style, fitting it around your other responsibilities, and push yourself within that framework, instead of trying to shoehorn into a style that you “think you should” use to succeed. 
Track your word counts, and take notes on how much you did and what project you were working on. If you’re also experimenting with different times of day and different days, make sure you note that too. I personally use a simple Excel sheet (well, Google Sheets, now) - column one is the date, column 2 is “starting word count,” column 3 is “ending word count,” column 4 is “=column 3 - column 2”, column 5 is notes. Pay attention to when you succeed at writing faster, and when you don’t, and consider what factors might have played into your success...and then try to replicate those factors next time you’re doing a sprint. Control as many variables as you can while you’re “training.”
If you find social media distracting, trying getting a web browser extension that prevents you from connecting to websites for a set period of time.
If you find you tend to dither before starting, I find it helpful to run through everything that I might do to procrastinate (check my social media! grab a snack! make some tea! set up my playlist! check my social media again! finish making the tea! check my social media for what I swear will be the last time!), and when I’m done, it’s like, well, I’ve done all those things, I’ve got no choice left, time to write, no excuses left.
If you find you struggle with picking up a WIP, try leaving off in the middle of a sentence at the end of a session, one where you know exactly how it ends - or, leave off mid-paragraph, or when you are positive you know what happens next (and I mean literally next, as in the very next sentence.) It’s much easier to “pick back up” when your first words are super clear. (Do not do this if you think there’s any chance you’ll forget or end up in a situation where you won’t return to your WIP for months!) 
If you find you struggle to maintain continuity across multiple writing sessions, try rereading what you wrote the previous day before you proceed. Resist the urge to edit it!
Avoid stopping when you get stuck, even to do research. Don’t know a fact? Add a comment to your manuscript flagging the relevant text, “LOOK THIS UP LATER.” Can’t think of a word? Put in something you can use the “find” function on easily (I personally use “XX” since there are no words that have a double x in them) and so you can come back later, search for your chosen placeholder, and fill in the blanks. Not sure how a scene ends but know the next scene? Jump ahead.
That said, if you really don’t know what happens next, you don’t do yourself any favors by pressing on. As I’ve said previously, speed alone should never be your writing object. It’s better to slow down, consider your plot, figure out where you’re going, and then write, than to just plow ahead - or at least, that’s better if you want a manuscript you’ll actually be able to use for something at a later point. If you’re truly just practicing, you can also say “screw it, who needs coherence?” and keep going. I’d personally never have finished my first novel if I’d spent a lot of time worrying about making the pieces fit together and yeah, it’s a mess, but it’s a mess I wrote instead of a mess I got stuck on and never completed.
Don’t move the finish line. If you’ve set the goal of 500 words a day, don’t beat yourself up if you get 550 because you think you think you could have done more. If you say you’ll write five days a week, don’t get mad because you DID have time the sixth day but chose to use it on something else. If you make yourself feel like shit when you succeed, what’ll happen when you fail? And when you’re comfortable and really think you’re ready, change the goal - reassess every month, say, and up your goals. While working for speed, trying upping your word count goal without changing the amount of time you allot for working.
Your need to adhere to the above suggestions will change over time. Once, I always had an outline; now I often don’t need one. Once, I wouldn’t let myself stop even to use a thesaurus; now, I find I can look up words without breaking my flow or significantly slowing myself down. This is not an “all or nothing” prospect, nor is it a “do things the same way forever once you’ve found one (1) thing that works” prospect - you’ll experiment, and find strategies that work for you, and then at some point, your needs will change, and you’ll experiment more, and find new strategies that work for you, on and on, as your skills grow. 
To reiterate: writing fast should never be your objective in and of itself! Greater writing speed will come with practice and as a general side effect of improving your craft. Simply being able to write fast is useless; being able to write fast and well will enable you to get more of your ideas out there, so if that’s something you’d like to accomplish, focus on building your general skills and training yourself to be able to use those skills rapidly and in tandem with each other to produce decent writing, in a first draft, at a decent speed.
Once you try, you may find none of this works for you! That’s okay. That’s good! You tried, which means you learned something about yourself and your own writing style, and that too will help you to improve. Keep experimenting, keep learning, and find what does work for you - and accept that no two writers will ever be the same, and one of those differences will be writing speed. Some writers will never write fast, and that’s doesn’t make them any less awesome or valid. And some writers will always write fast, and that doesn’t make them inherently awesome or valid. Only with a suite of skills that suit your individual life, personality, work style, writing capabilities, goals, etc., will you succeed as a writer (for various, personalized definitions of the word “success”); speed is only one of those potential skills, and not one that’s particularly important in my opinion...yet I still get asked about it fairly often, so here we are, these are my suggestions
Go forth, and write some words! <3
318 notes · View notes
denkineptune · 4 years
Text
mha date headcanons- boys and girls :))
♡ request: “i love ur blog already, ur writing is so good!!! im so excited to see the content u’ll be posting !! :D since ur taking requests, how abt some date headcanons for the mha boys (or girls if u want!) ?” - @dianangels​ 
♡ thank you for letting me write girls aaa i chose to do some as first date hc. it was kinda hard to keep jirou’s gn because i wanted to reference wlw stereotypes but i succeeded in gender-neutral because i want everyone to be able to enjoy
♡ dedicating part of this to @anxious-botanist​ because she’s the one who inspired the momo cuddles hehe sorry it took so long
♡ fic details: headcanons, fluff, gender-neutral reader, 2nd pov
characters: kaminari, amajiki, jirou, ashido, yaoyorozu
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kaminari- arcade
↠AR C ADE   DA T  E
↠you hear me??? arcade!! date!! ideal man, right here, someone claim him immediately or else i will be forced to take ownership
↠he’s super laid back and chill, pretty childish at heart. he only means the best, though, so i think an arcade is exactly what he would go for when taking you on a date! he doesn’t have a lot of money but still wants you to go home with something to remember the date by
↠he buys like $50 worth of tokens and splits it between the two of you, making sure that he tells you which games give the most tickets, because he’s definitely been here enough times to remember
↠his favorite game is either crossy roads or the big bass wheel- he loves crossy roads because of how cute the style is, but also there is impending stress and levels of  d o o m  as you progress further. big bass wheel is basically just gambling, and i think he’s yumeko jabami.
↠he hacks games to make you win sometimes,, his quirk is bascially designed to do this. it’s like he was born just to take you out on this arcade date. he uses his quirk to short circuit the game and trick the computer into giving you hundreds of tickets
↠he just wants to make you happy and see you smile!! there’s not a feeling quite like succeeding at something as silly as an arcade game, but there’s a certain pride to it that he loves seeing on your face. 
↠kaminari only does it a few times, since he knows that you should be earning your prizes ((not that you know when he does it, he’s really cheeky about it))
↠playyyy multiplayers with him! he loves DDR (dance dance revolution)- you do multiple rounds and are equally exhausted by the end of it akdflad you may not be good, and tbh neither is denki, but you still have fun, which is what matters
↠he also loves taking photobooth pictures, he puts on the most horrendous filters and does the dumbest poses, but it’s so adorable. he does the typical one smile, one “serious”, one silly face, one kith > <
↠kami gets cocky,,, it’s just how he is,, he gets overly confident whether or not he’s been on a winstreak
“heyy, y/n! look at my speedrun on this, i’m getting so many tickets, i’ll be able to get a house by the end of it!”
↠and then he CAN’T because he doesn’t get the jackpot eghgdhgeh
↠by the end of the day, you’ve spent hours at the arcade, laughing and screaming with denki as you terrorize the small children. yes, he’s that kind of guy
↠by “terrorize”, i don’t mean like a bully, but he’s unintentionally intimidating kids with his pockets overflowing with ticket chains, a crazed look on his face as he goes absolutely ham on the shooting games
↠there’s electricity coming off of him, kids sometimes have to dodge it when passing by
↠so anyways, by the end of the date, you’re basically being kicked out of the arcade, because, as kami puts it,
“we were here when it opened and i’ll be damned if we’re not here when it closes,”
↠between the two of you, you’ve aquired tens of thousands of tickets??? the employees probably hate y’all, they had to count those beasts of ticket rolls you’ve accumulated during the 10 hours the arcade was open
↠exactly 62,069 tickets (69 go brrr- kaminari’s brain), and you can basically buy the arcade with that currency
↠but here’s the thing: he lets you spend all of it. you heard me, all. of. it. he just wants to see you happy, and the best way he can think of to get a final glorious memory of your smile is to let you spend the tickets as you see fit, this generosity just to see you glowing as you walk out of the building, arms chock full of amazing junk
↠but of course, you’d feel bad if you spent all of it, especially since he was the one who took you out, so you offered him the half of the tickets that were won
“denki, you won most of these with your amAzINg gaming skills, it’s only fair you get to have something too,”
“my prize will be seeing you- your- your-- aw fuck, i forgot the line, it’ll come back to me, just give me a minute.”
↠he tried to be smooth and it failed, but you chuckled at the attempt, so all around, he considered it a success
↠denki gets a lot of dumb things that will probably end up being thrown away soon, but he also gets you a very soft bat stuffed animal that you should treasure and keep forever 
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amajiki- a walk and picnic in a japanese garden
↠tamaki is very shy, very socially anxious. he’s the kind to wait for people to leave a section of a store before he goes there, purposely do his errands in the early morning to limit social interaction, and find any excuse to leave a situation. which, tbh, isn’t that all of us?
↠let’s be honest here, if it wasn’t y’alls first date, he’d probably not go anywhere. as long as he’s with you, he doesn’t really care for anything too fancy
↠but he’s convinced himself that he needs to do something reasonably big for your first date to make sure you don’t regret your decision to go out with him. so instead of deciding to stay in, he goes somewhere that’s only slightly anxious for him, but where he still feels comfortable
↠so he’s decided on a japanese tsukiyama garden! these places are beautiful by design, not cheap but not too expensive, and people are obligated by rules to be quiet and keep their hands to themselves
↠nobody goes to a garden to socialize, in fact, i’d argue most people go just to look around, rest, and clear their heads. there’s usually not any screaming children, no quirk usage, no villains, it’s a little safe haven. 
↠bonus: there’s butterflies :))
↠it’s so peaceful, and he gets to focus on you instead of whatever loud noise is making him anxious
↠he brings a picnic basket filled with all your favorite foods, and his! he makes a show out of displaying what he can manifest with different snacks, making a point to eat edible seeds so he can produce flowers for you 🥺🥺🥺
↠you walk around the garden for a few hours, marveling at the decor and how well-maintained everything is. there’s a koi pond, hanging wisteria trees, and multiple gazebos that create a really comfortable and calm environment
↠speaking of koi ponds, amajiki offers to buy you food so you can feed the fish! you stand on a bridge above the pond, sharing the container with him. the sMILE on his face when he watches you throw the food is so pure i’m-
↠he’s the walking embodiment of “uwu”- his face is so calm and his eyes are shining and he can feel his heart swelling with love i am GOING to cry my eyes out 
↠but honestly, he wishes he could stay in this moment forever- you’re happy, he’s happy, and it feels like you two are the only people in the universe. right now, he doesn’t have to worry about school, villain attacks, his future, or anything that makes him anxious; all that he can see right now is how beautiful and at peace you look. he took you out today, and you’re enjoying yourself. this is one of the few things that makes him confident: knowing that he’s able to make you happy
↠tamaki is silently celebrating; you’ve had a good time and he didn’t freak out, so it’s the best possible scenario!
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ashido- rollerskating! ((look at her she’s adorable the smile n the eyes aaa))
↠mina is a very energetic and bubbly person, its quite obvious if you’ve spent any amount of time around her
↠for your first date with her, she’d already have a location in mind!!
↠the atmosphere of rollerskating rinks is so electric, she can’t help but feel happy there, and she wants to experience that lovely feeling with you, too :))
↠you enter the rink, and mina is already borderline bouncing off the walls alskdfj
↠whether or not you’ve ever skated before, ashido is super cautious with you- multiple times she’s fallen on her butt while learning how to skate, so unless you’re a pro, she’s watching your every move to make sure you don’t get hurt
“y/n! please be careful- you’re not getting hurt on my watch!”
↠she jabs a thumb in her direction proudly, with the cutest bigass grin on her face awh 🥺🥺🥺she’s really enthusiastic about sharing one of her passions with you
“try to balance, alright? don’t put too much weight on your heel or toes, because then you’ll fall on your butt. here, take my hand and i’ll help you! hey, there you go, you’re doing great!”
↠she pays for everything and will WRESTLE you if you try to disagree aldkfa if you’re the type of person to pay for everything as well, y’all are going to have to fight; mina will not give up
↠ashido comes here a lot, so she’s friendly with all the employees, she has the uncanny ability to make friends wherever she goes ((i mean she’s friends with bakugou,, if she can do that,, she can do anything))
↠she takes one of your hands and backs onto the rink, watching for anyone behind her. once you’re balanced properly, she shows you how to move your feet so that the two of you are in sync
↠skating isn’t super hard to figure out, it’s mostly intuitive, so you’ll get the hang of it quite quickly!! maybe you’re not too fast, but it’s still fun, so it doesn’t matter
↠while you’re moving with care, making sure to focus on your footwork, mina will definitely take the chance to show off her skating skills! she’s moving like crazy, weaving around other people and nearly toppling them over but shh she’s trying to impress you and if i’m being honest??? she’s really fucking good aldkdf 
↠it’s obvious that she loves this hobby, and the fact that she likes you enough to share it with you on your first date is so adorable aaaa
↠mina’s really agile- you don’t know if that’s all the hero training or just something that comes naturally, but the way she moves makes skating look like the easiest goddamn thing in the world-
↠she’s such a romantic, she’s definitely put in a request for the dj to play your favorite song, no matter if it fits the mood or not
↠heavy rock? sure!! as long as you’re having fun, who cares about what other people think? super vulgar rap?? w h y  n o t ? !
↠she just has that extroverted, positive, charming energy that’s infectious
↠you can’t help but feel at ease around her, she’s a genuinely a great person, and what you think the epitome of a hero is
↠all ashido really wants here is to have fun with you- i mean she really likes you, and hopes that she’ll get to go on another date w/ you, so she’s doing everything in her power to woo u
↠and you’d be lying if you said it wasn’t working 🥺👉👈
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jirou- hanging out in her room
↠kyouka jirou, being the more introverted person she is, wouldn’t really want to go somewhere super public, like mina would
↠i also believe that she’d want to be friends (or at least acquaintances) with you before asking you on a date- she’s easily annoyed by people, so i think that she’d need to be comfortable around you if she was to be romantically interested 
↠and you’ve ticked all these boxes! you understand her sarcastic, blunt personality, and find it pretty amusing. beyond all that, she’s kind and caring, and deep down, she aspires to be a hero for all the right reasons. who wouldn’t love her for that?
↠so for your first date with kyouka, i think she’d want to be somewhere quiet and intimate with you. she wouldn’t want any interruptions ((specifically from jammingyay, who enjoys butting his head in other peoples’ business))
↠the most comfortable place for her would be her room, since it’s really just an extension of her personality, and since you’re quite close, she’d be okay with letting you in her private space. she trusts you.
↠just two guys bein dudes 🤠 ((if you’re a girl, it’s just sappho and her friend--))
↠music is one of the biggest things in jirou’s life, and i think she’d want to share it with you. that is, if you’d let her :)) she has dozens of different instruments, so if you want to attempt to learn something, she’d be totally down!! 
↠please show her what kind of music you’re into! no matter what it is, she’ll listen to it. she wants to get to know what kind of person you are when you’re not around other people, and music is a great way to do that. even if you don’t have the same taste as her, she wouldn’t mind, since a) she’ll listen to pretty much anything, she’s not picky; and b) it’s something that you’re showing her, and that’s enough to make her happy
↠she’s not a very formal person, so i think she’d just want to talk to you and hang out. i’d think kyouka would be more of a fan of a gradual relationship, one that starts from friends and slowly evolves into more. and yes, as you can probably tell, i am a sucker for mutual pining and friends-to-lovers tropes-- im a simple hoe 😌
↠she’s super fun to hang out with!! her sense of humor is really snarky, she also enjoys talking shit about people she doesn’t like. if you’re not into that, she’s able to carry on conversation really well. there’s not a moment of awkward silence between you
↠jirou actually really likes talking shit about people hsahsh- as long as it’s someone that’s been mean in some way. she won’t say anything bad about someone who hasn’t done anything to deserve it. but if you’ve wronged her in some way, boy, do you have it COMING
↠by the end of it, i just know your cheeks hurt from laughing 
↠she’s just a really fun person to be around, she may not be the most bubbly person ever, but she’s super easy-going and cool ((jirou bias incoming ekejke))
↠i do think she’d try to sneak some kind of affection if she thinks you’d reciprocate- if you’re really getting along well, she might snake her hand into yours when you’re sitting on the bed, laughing
↠honestly you might not even notice until she stops, because your hand feels empty and cold without her like your heart aa
↠if she’s really into you?? might get a smol peck on the cheek 👉👈 please try to get a smol peck on the cheek, it’s very cute and she gets so flustered
↠she goes up to you as you’re about to leave her room, grabs your shoulder, turns you around, and gives you an adorable if not slightly aggressive smooch
↠then she reFUSES to acknowledge what she just did akdfld- she turns away, beet red, and is completely silent
↠meanwhile you’re probably laughing your ass off because wow she’s so cute
↠kudos if you give one back to her, baby is on the verge of exploding ejkdjf 
↠her heart just can’t handle what you’re doing to her
↠and despite what her appearance is, her heart is doing backflips- she’s whipped <33
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momo: tea and c u d d l e s
↠she’s a very fancy person, obviously. yaoyorozu wants only the best for everyone she loves, and that, of course, includes you! she loves showing affection through giving things to others. her family status only magnifies this aspect of her personality, as being born into wealth gives her the means to spoil you rotten
↠and even though she’s bougie as all hell, she also somehow maintains an elegant and simple air about her. it’s impressive, really. it’s not like she tries to flex her money, it’s just a part of her life, and she enjoys using her privilege well
↠that being said, what’s more elegant and mature than going for tea? it’s a lovely pastime that momo would love to include you in! 
↠lowkey,, she’s a whole sugar momma dfkdjla im not even joking- she doesn’t try to be, but virtually everything she does shows how rich she is
↠you arrive at the tea room, and by god is it fancy. there’s multiple chandeliers suspended from the ceiling, which is decorated with classic renaissance-style paintings. all the tables are set with white cloth, plates made of pure fine china, flowers and woven baskets set everywhere to create a cottagecore-like setting. the air about it is so sophisticated, from the patrons (wait is that a celebrity-) to the decorations
↠your face is kinda just,,, 😮,, because what in the world did momo get you into??
“momo, you’re so sweet, and this place is lovely, but don’t you think this is a bit much? not that i don’t absolutely appreciate it, it’s just that this seems really expensive, and i don’t want you to have to spend that much for just one date.”
↠she just chuckles, saying that it was “really nothing” (???? MISS GIRL???)
“don’t worry, y/n, this isn’t too much! i want to have fun today, and this place is so nice! let’s just find a table, alright?”
↠like, hunney, you’re so kind, but this is a LOT
↠but if you say so....
↠she looks at you with the most enthusiastic, wholesome eyes, and soon you’re following her like a puppy towards your table. the waiter sits you down, and leaves, giving you a moment to glaze over the menu to find a drink
↠and there’s so many types of teas, at least 30 on this page alone. you hadn’t even heard of half of these drinks, how would you know if you’d like them?
↠yaomomo seemed to notice your puzzlement, and said that you could get a pot of something simple, like jasmine green or earl grey, and she would get something fancier that you could try. why not?
↠a few minutes later, you’ve already adjusted to the sophisticated and intimidating environment, focusing only on the girl across from you, and how her eyes glittered with happiness
↠she orders a few normal tea foods, like scones with jam, lemon curd, and devonshire cream, and finger sandwiches. the fanciest thing she buys, though, is a blooming tea that arrives in a clear pot. it has an open flower inside of it, which is what the tea is infused with. it’s nearly 16,100 yen for one pot, though, and while you protest its expense, momo reassures you that it’s no problem (you just learned not to say anything about money, as it wouldn’t stop yaoyorozu from spoiling you)
↠ngl, it’s so fun to pretend to be fancy for a few hours at a tea room !! you acted as if you were a member of high society, using stereotypes to exaggerate your actions. it made some people only slightly irritated, but hey, it got a laugh out of a pretty girl, so who’s the real winner? 
↠yaomomo taught you some classy etiquette that you should definitely use, it makes her so happy to think that you’re learning about new things while still enjoying your time with her
↠she makes really good conversation!! her intellect seeps through everything she says, anyone who talks to her would be able to tell that she’s extremely well-spoken and mature. momo is modest, and deflects a lot of the compliments you try to give her, so if you try to display your admiration for her, you’d probably need to be very specific about it. she doesn’t have the best self-image when it comes to her heroism and field work. spoken affection sometimes doesn’t get through to her, but you know what does? physical affection!
↠she loves cuddles, and will regularly take you back to her house after a date to cuddle in her bed. her mattress is legendary, and it’s comfortable as hell. there’s an abundance of pillows and the bed isn’t too soft or too firm, and it’s always somehow an amazing temperature???? mattresses are investments, and this was definitely a good one
↠momo loves the intimacy and trust of holding you, it allows her to escape from overthinking and only focus on you, her beautiful partner. she doesn’t care if she’s the big or little spoon, but her favorite kind of cuddling is when you’re on your back and she’s curled into your side, head tucked under your chin and hand on your chest
↠she can do this for hours, please let her. she feels safe with you, confident, because you’re choosing to spend time with her in this quiet moment instead of being off somewhere else.
↠in conclusion,,, 💕women 💕
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-denkineptune
446 notes · View notes
allmightluver · 5 years
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All Might’s Mental Health is  Declining
Toshinori Yagi wanted to be a hero, wanted to help people ever since he was a boy
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and with Nana’s help, the quirkless kid got his wish.
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But being a hero isn’t for the weak of heart. You’re going to fail. People are going to be hurt. And ultimately, you’ll be alone. Toshinori had to learn this quickly in his life as Nana, his mother figure, died for him at an early age.
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The other person in his life, Gran Torino, trained him to the best of his abilities, but was a no nonsense, brutal teacher.
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His methods were effective, but scarring, as Toshinori has been terrified of him ever sense. 
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He was sent to America on his own to develop his quirk, where he eventually learned to become a hero. But again, that meant work was his life, and he had no social life. Sure he was popular with the media, but as far as developing a lot of personal relationships, he wouldn’t have time for them. Plus, as typical of a hero, in order to keep everyone safe, All Might couldn’t be seen with people he was close to. He most likely kept himself busy the majority of the time to keep from being lost in his own thoughts. People need companions, it’s part of our make up. Toshinori’s surely had to have been a very lonely life. 
And then All for One happened. And defeating him almost killed Toshinori, in fact, there’s no good reason he’s still alive, other than to pass on One For All, he should be dead. *Warning graphic details following*
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All for One said himself (English Translation), “A wounded hero is a most frightening animal. Do you know that even now, I sometimes dream of you charging at me with your entrails strewn across the ground.” His entrails. His internal organs. All Might was gravely wounded, yet he still forced himself to fight All For One, even while the hole in his side freely leaked his own body’s contents. In the picture above, All Might kneels above All For One’s lifeless body in a pool of blood, a mixture of both their blood. AFO’s head crushed.
I cannot stress enough the mental impact of this singular event. All Might stood for absolutely NO killing. He would resolve conflict while being careful NOT to kill or even critically hurt anyone. But in this instance, Toshinori killed a man. And the way he did, crushing a man’s head with his bare hands until the skull gave way and his brains were scattered on the pavement below. For someone who believes in no killing, this was a brutal execution. One that, unfortunately, had to happen for the safety of the world, and only All Might was capable of doing it. 
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This alone must have severely messed with his head. While he lay in hospital, only capable of healing, AFO haunted his dreams and thoughts. He took another life, blood permanently staining his hands. And now he has to mentally pretend this never happened and act as if everything is fine to the public who hadn’t heard of this fight.
Despite the mental trauma from this, the physical trauma was worse. While he could fake the emotional lasting effects, he couldn’t hide the physical. 
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This injury took a lot more of him than just his mental stability. It took his stomach, a lung, most likely his spleen, and perhaps more internal organs. Living like this now means lots of medications. Supplements to make up for the lack of stomach, drugs to protect against infection, and pain medication to list a few. Something that big has to hurt like crazy. And all that scar tissue pulling while you try to fight? Torture. He’s most likely had countless corrective surgeries from the scar tissue alone, which only reopens the wound and leaves less and less skin to work with. You can see how caved in the scar is, indicating just how much of his body is missing. His destroyed respiratory system forces blood to fill the remaining lung he has left when he overexerts himself, which is all the time. He probably has to have blood tranfusions regularly to make up for the loss, as well as other injections to assist his body in running properly. There’s probably an oxygen tank by his bedside to help when he’s choking on his own blood in the middle of the night. His body wasting away until his very skin stretches like plastic wrap over nothing but bones. Muscles being eaten away in replacement of food.
But what sucks the most? The time he can be All Might is decreasing more every day. The one thing he’s wanted his whole life, to help people, is starting to become difficult to do. He has to hide his true form from the public, he doesn’t want them to fear for their lives if he can’t help anymore. Now he spends more and more time in his own mind because he can’t distract himself anymore. And what’s worse than the mental pain is the physical accompanying it.
Now BESIDES all this happening, we also have Nighteye’s betrayal. Sir, the man who was his sidekick for years, the guy he’s probably been able to grow the closest to, betrays All Might’s trust and looks into his future. And what does he see?
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In six to seven years, Toshinori will meet a villain, and meet a gruesome demise. The betrayal makes him and Nighteye go separate ways, losing a friend.
Now with his declining health and the death sentence hanging over his head, Toshinori has to think about what he hoped he wouldn’t for years yet. He needs a successor. Someone to give this power to before it’s too late. 
Insert Izuku.
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A young, quirkless boy who just wants to help people. Sounds familiar. Izuku is an obvious choice despite everyone telling Toshinori he’s not the right fit. (Like Nighteye whom Toshinori tried to tell, but was only shot down.) So once he hands over One for All to Izuku, the problem, despite the boy destroying himself as he tries to use it and Toshinori being unsure how to help him, is that his power is decreasing even faster now. Which, of course, is to be expected, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to deal with. His time limit is drawn shorter and shorter until All for One starts to make a reappearance.
So not only did Toshinori not kill him, all the trauma he went through was for nothing, but now the world is in danger, again. And he doesn’t know if he can help them. Which means he has to involve his young ward in this mess that killed his mentor, almost killed him, and could potentially kill the boy as well.
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So he tells Izuku of the origin of One for All and All for One. But he doesn’t tell the boy that by the time Izuku fights this guy, Toshinori won’t be around anymore. 
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He doesn’t let on how much the power is draining out of his body, and doesn’t enlighten the boy on his own upcoming death. Which unfortunately means he has to lie and give Izuku a false sense of security. 
And then, All for One shows up.
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And this time, All Might’s true form is exposed to the public. His weakness. Now the world knows that All Might isn’t invincible. Despite this, he’s still able to force his broken and exhausted body to beat All for One again, while using up the last of One for All, and leaving it up to Izuku.
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Now he’s that quirkless boy who wants to help people again, only this time, he can’t.
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Now he can’t be a hero, the one thing that’s kept him going all these years. And people on the street who don’t recognize him right away, criticize how he looks, which again, is out of his control. So he continues to hide himself in shame.
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Gran Torino has told him he’s not being a proper mentor to Izuku, but the boy is already surpassing him with his schooling from other teachers. So, without heroing and mentoring, all Toshinori has left is being a teacher. 
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And unfortunately, Eraserhead has told him he’s also mediocre at that as well.
Then Izuku meets Sir Nighteye, and questions Toshinori about their relationship, while also questioning his own successor-ship. 
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Which leads to a very emotional scene of Toshinori telling Izuku exactly what happened all those years ago, as well as his death sentence that, oh by the way, is coming either this year or the next.
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Toshinori is fairly emotionless while explaining this to the boy, I imagine he’s fairly disconnected with his own emotions by this point.
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But seeing how upset Izuku was is enough to make him try and console the other that he won’t simply roll over and die, that he’ll go down fighting.
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And THEN, he gets word that Sir Nighteye is in grave condition and most likely won’t make it through the night. Even after their falling out, Toshinori goes to his friend’s side, and the resemblance is scary.
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Now he can see why Nighteye looked into his future, to see if Toshi had any chance on living. Being put in this position, he can understand. You can even hear Toshinori’s voice break (Japanese version) when he tells Sir that he needs to stay alive to allow Toshi to repent for his sins. But Nighteye can’t stay. And when facing the man who’s always been known for his smile, who can’t do it anymore, Sir says to him: “Smile. Live on, Toshinori.”
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But for what?
The most recent episodes have a relatively emotionless Toshinori.
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Like in today’s episode, the best he can give Izuku is a small smile, barely anything. He doesn’t even emote when he catches Hatsume’s stray baby.
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He clearly still has the reflexes of a hero, but he can’t physically be one anymore. His health is too fragile. *Manga spoilers ahead*
Then there’s this scene with Aizawa.
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He had long since accepted his own death, maybe even longed for it. But Izuku made him decide to try and live, even though he’s not sure how to anymore.
This poor man has been through Hell. And now he feels useless and helpless. Thank God he finally said something to Aizawa, but he needs more than just this, he needs to have a purpose again. I hope Aizawa and the others can help him find it again.
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wirsindkrieg · 3 years
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The Lens of Human Perception
There’s a topic I’ve realized I haven’t discussed here, so I figure it’s time to write something about it. As usual, due to the length of this essay, the bulk of it is under the cut.
I’ve seen a lot of posts going around by people exploring nonhuman past lives, especially those which aren’t possible here/now (i.e., angels, dragons, etc.), and describing any memories they have in very human terms. Things like walking down streets, gathering in gardens or libraries, standing before a judge in court during a trial. I think this is the result of a lack of awareness of a phenomenon we all deal with, but which is rarely (if ever) discussed directly.
Every memory you have, from the broadest strokes to the finest detail, is filtered through the perception and understanding we have here/now. We’re experiencing three-dimensional space, with a (relatively) constant and linear flow of time, seeing the world by way of reflected light and hearing things by way of vibrations in the air around us. Unfortunately, because those things are the only way we’ve experienced reality in this lifetime, we are literally incapable of properly modeling other forms of reality in our minds. It’s a limitation of being here/now, and having the kinds of experiences we do.
A (slightly extended) example: It’s pretty common to be taught about nets of polyhedra in school these days. As a refresher for those who haven’t dealt with the concept in a while: Polyhedra (singular “polyhedron”) is a three-dimensional figure made up of flat planes joined at some angle. One of the most common polyhedra is the cube. Six flat faces, joined at right angles. A net of a polyhedron is a way of “unfolding” the faces of a polyhedron into a two-dimensional shape. That two-dimensional shape can then be folded through the third dimension to recreate the original polyhedron.
Nets aren’t limited to unfolding three-dimensional objects, however. Theoretically, you can create a one dimensional net of a two dimensional polygon (it’ll just be a line, but it counts). More significantly for this discussion, though, you can create three-dimensional nets of four-dimensional shapes. Some of you may be familiar with the concept of a hypercube (sometimes called a tesseract). In the same way that a cube can be thought of as being made of squares arranged in three dimensions, a hypercube can be thought of as being made of three-dimensional cubes arranged in four dimensions. (There are multiple ways of representing a hypercube in three dimensions, but all of them are by necessity inaccurate.) Now, I’d like you to take a moment, and try to imagine a proper four-dimensional hypercube, and how it unfolds into a three-dimensional net. Then try to imagine that three-dimensional net folding back into a four-dimensional hypercube.
It is, quite simply, impossible to do accurately. Our brains are simply incapable of truly visualizing four-dimensional space, and the way objects behave in four dimensions, because we’re limited to experiencing only three of them. Similarly, it is impossible to truly comprehend how reality functions outside of here/now, because we’re limited to experiencing only here/now. Brains are amazing things, however, and will try their hardest to fill in the gaps with something, even if that something is inaccurate.
When it comes to remembering nonhuman incarnations, this means that our brains will grab whatever feels closest to what you’re unable to understand, and use that to fill in the gap, regardless of if it actually fits or not. As a result, those kinds of memories are inherently unreliable, since they’re (in many ways) just our brain’s best guess about what actually happened.
I’ve taken to referring to this problem as “the lens of human perception”, since it occurs due to filtering things through the understanding we can have by perceiving the world the way humans do. Like any imperfect lens, it leads to our view of things being distorted, and because of the way brains work, we generally aren’t even aware that the distortion has occurred. And so we redefine things in terms of here/now without even realizing we’re redefining our own experiences.
Being aware of the lens of human perception can be helpful, however. It lets you consider the context of your memories, and figure out where the gaps in your understanding are getting filled in. You can then make an effort to explore those gaps, and refine your understanding to get a clearer picture of how things actually were. It’s difficult sometimes, and takes some work to do effectively, but it can be worlds better than getting caught up in misunderstandings about your own experiences.
So if you’re exploring memories and notice that things are very similar to the world around you, take some time and question things. Think about what it is that you might not be able to understand within those memories. Reflect on what unconscious associations you might have with the here/now things your brain is using to fill in the gap. Use those associations as a starting point to explore further, and refine your understanding into something more accurate to what you really experienced. You may not be able to remove the distortion from the lens completely, but you can at least compensate for it. With time and effort, it’ll help you be more certain about your experiences, and know that you have a clearer view of yourself. And believe me, it’s a great feeling when you get there.
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percabeth4life · 4 years
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Sorry to just jump in here and drop this on you, but i saw a blog once call percabeth an abusive relationship???? and i was like ?????? but none of my friends read pjo so i cant ask them for thoughts, how about you?
Oh boy anon so this is a thing.
Percabeth is abusive is a common thing those that hate percabeth or ship something else and want to validate it say, and why I have the “anti-percabeth” tag blocked.
I’ve seen people say Annabeth just giving him a dirty look was abuse, people will reach for anything done between them that isn’t perfect, usually to justify why their ship is better.
Honestly, I’m open to most ships. Percabeth is my main but if you ship things that’s totally fine, even if I don’t like it I won’t say you shouldn’t ship it. I read non-Percabeth ships, but a lot of people feel a strong need to insist a ship is abusive if they don’t like it.
It’s fine to just not like a ship.
First off lets preface all of this with a warning that I’ll be discussing abuse here so if that’s upsetting skip it.
It got long, like very long (word count is nearly 3k), so it’s all under the Read More, there’s a TLDR at the very bottom.
Now then, what is abuse?
There are two definitions that pop up with a quick google search
Use (something) to bad effect or for a bad purpose; misuse. 
Treat (a person or an animal) with cruelty or violence, especially regularly or repeatedly.
If you look up the legal definition (law.cornell) used to define abuse there are more options, but I’m leaving out 2, 3, and 4 cause 3 and 4 def have nothing to do with this and definition 2 is in regards to child abuse.
Abuse, generally: physically, sexually, or mentally injuring a person.
Now if we want to go deeper in lets define physical and mental abuse. I’ll be leaving out sexual as that has no bearing on this particular situation.
Physical abuse is defined by healthyplace.com as
Non-accidental use of force that results in bodily injury, pain, or impairment. This includes, but is not limited to, being slapped, burned, cut, bruised or improperly physically restrained.
Now lets expand on this.
Something that is pointed to specifically is the mentioned intent. “Non-accidental”. It must be purposeful harm.
Now, I will also point out that Physical abuse doesn’t necessarily say the intent needs to be abuse, but as my lawyer parents state it simply needs to be “intent to harm” and it gets labeled abuse. The legal definition (given above) agrees, it is simply that it needs to be purposeful harm. But then we need to define this harm, especially the bodily injury, pain, or impairment.
Bodily injury is defined by Merriam Webster as
any damage to a person's physical condition including pain or illness
Now what is damage?
loss or harm resulting from injury to person, property, or reputation
So then harm is defined as... damage, so the definition I prescribe to (and I asked my lawyer parents to confirm, unfortunately I have no link for that).
Causes pain (pain defined as suffering)
Pain is defined by Merriam Webster as
a localized or generalized unpleasant bodily sensation or complex of sensations that causes mild to severe physical discomfort and emotional distress and typically results from bodily disorder (such as injury or disease)
a basic bodily sensation that is induced by a noxious stimulus, is received by naked nerve endings, is associated with actual or potential tissue damage, is characterized by physical discomfort (such as pricking, throbbing, or aching), and typically leads to evasive action
mental or emotional distress or suffering
Finally impairment is
diminishment or loss of function or ability
(all of the above definitions except harm are pulled from Merriam Webster linked with Bodily Injury)
Okay, so now lets consider it, physical abuse needs to cause damage to someone, it must be purposeful damage though the intent to abuse does not necessarily need to be the intent. So if your actions do not intend physical harm then it is not physical abuse.
So then, do Percy and Annabeth have a physically abusive relationship?
Lets start with the classic one that everyone likes to bring up, the Judo Flip.
First off, do Judo Flips hurt? [sourcing (1) (2) (3)]
They CAN hurt if done with that intent, but if your intent is to not harm and you are trained properly, No Judo should not hurt. Anyone properly trained in Judo should know how to prevent harm. (1, 2)
On top of that, the first thing anyone learning Judo is taught is how to fall.
All judoka learn to fall safely, by rolling and breaking their fall with Ukemi. This breakfall absorbs the impact of the throw. (3)
Percy should have the basics of this down seeing how he was already in matches (mentioned in book one prior him being claimed) in his first summer at camp, after four years he’s definitely got the basics down.
Therefore, the Judo flip did not intend to cause harm, nor did it appear to. Despite that it was on stone, and Annabeth had him pinned, Percy didn’t even show discomfort. He laughed.
On top of that, when Annabeth last saw Percy he had the Curse of Achilles. As far as she was aware, he still had it. A requirement of Physical Abuse is the intent to cause harm, every factor here shows that there was no intent to cause harm.
This scene was not physical abuse, it was just bad writing.
I can think of other scenes, only a few, before they were actually in a relationship. In book three Annabeth punched Percy in the stomach when he didn’t catch her hint that he should ask her to dance
She punched me in the gut. ‘Me, Seaweed Brain.’
‘Oh. Oh, right.’ (TTC, chapter 1, page 8 of book on my copy)
There doesn’t seem to have been any harm done as he doesn’t even mention it hurting, not even a pause, just went “oh yeah her”. So it was likely a light punch, the kind friends do that don’t hurt just catch attention. Annabeth has been trained since she was 7, she should know how to throw a punch without actually causing harm.
If anyone wants to bring up other examples, feel free, I’m not combing the books right now for examples but I will reply to them (preferably in asks so this post doesn’t get super long...)
I cannot think of any examples of Percy hitting/punching Annabeth nor any other kind of physical interaction, if someone wishes to bring one of those up feel free.
Does this mean that I think they should be hitting each other despite the fact that it’s clear there is no intent to harm?
No, I don’t really think they should be hitting each other.
But! An important thing there is their own boundaries, not mine. I would not be up for being hit but I do share friendly punches with my friends, which is similar in intent. It’s simply that they’ve been trained to fight and have to a lot to survive so their boundaries for what is “harmful” are different.
But that’s a whole different issue and a different academic essay :)
I don’t believe there is any physical abuse in Percabeth.
Moving on, Emotional abuse (which Psychological and Verbal added as they all connect).
Emotional abuse is defined by helathyplace.com as
Any act including confinement, isolation, verbal assault, humiliation, intimidation, infantilization, or any other treatment which may diminish the sense of identity, dignity, and self-worth.
It also covers Psychological abuse and verbal abuse. Psychological abuse does not have a definition available on the site I’m using but it does have a description. If you’d like to read the description go (here). I will add a detail of how it works though
Psychological abuse signs and symptoms may start small at first as the abuser "tests the waters" to see what the other person will accept, but before long the psychological abuse builds into something that can be frightening and threatening.
Verbal abuse definition defined by healthyplace.com is
Any language or behavior that seeks to coerce its victim to doubt their perceptions or their abilities and subjugate themselves to the abuser.
So considering that, we note another important factor here, they also have intent involved. “Test the waters” and “seek to coerce” for Psychological and Verbal abuse.
Emotional abuse is different in that it does not specify intent, except every item mentioned is purposeful. If you’re confining someone then you’re doing that on purpose, you cannot easily accidentally do most of that. Those actions carry intent, even if the intent is not abuse.
Now then, is percabeth emotionally abusive?
Once again I’ll start with the big thing people point out, the Judo Flip.
I’ve seen it point out that it could be seen as humiliation.
Annabeth grabbed his wrist and flipped him over her shoulder. He slammed into the stone pavement. Romans cried out. Some surged forward, but Reyna shouted, “Hold! Stand down!”
Annabeth put her knee on Percy’s chest. She pushed her forearm against his throat. She didn’t care what the Romans thought. A white-hot lump of anger expanded in her chest—a tumor of worry and bitterness that she’d been carrying around since last autumn.
“If you ever leave me again,” she said, her eyes stinging, “I swear to all the gods—”
Percy had the nerve to laugh. Suddenly the lump of heated emotions melted inside Annabeth.
“Consider me warned,” Percy said. “I missed you, too.” (MOA, chapter 2, page 19 of my copy)
If you look at the scene itself you’ll see that Annabeth is very emotional right then, she just got her boyfriend back, she’s exhausted from months of worrying, she’s emotionally very strained, and she judo flips him as all her pain just fills her.
A lot of people with anxiety or high stress or similar issues have times when the anxiety doesn’t affect them during the time they’re stressed, but right after the stressors are gone.
It’s clear that’s what happened here, all her feelings that she’d been burying to work just filled her.
And Percy smiles up at her and says he missed her.
It’s clear from her own comment that she didn’t care what the Romans thought (said right after they almost attacked her) that her thoughts were not on how this looked for Percy, but for her. She knew it looked bad for her to attack him.
She wasn’t trying to embarrass or humiliate Percy, she was trying to get all that pain and stress and anger out. I don’t like how it was done, but it did not physically harm him (nor did she expect it to) and it clearly did not humiliate him.
He smiled and said he missed her.
He understood what she was going through, and made it clear he loved her.
I still think it was bad writing, but it’s not humiliation, nor is it emotional abuse.
Another thing I’ve seen pointed out is Annabeth’s nickname for Percy.
Seaweed Brain.
I will start this with a reminder that both of their nicknames for each other were originally meant as insults.
Wise Girl was first used by Clarisse and it clearly upset Annabeth, it is used twice by Clarisse actually.
Once in TLT, when she and Percy first meet, and once in SOM when they’re attacking Charybdis.
Percy in comparison uses Wise Girl twice as well, both in TLT, once when he was mocking her at her coming along on the quest and once when they were saying goodbye. It’s also used once in HOO, in BOO.
Honestly it’s not much a nickname... only used by Percy 3 times in all the (main) books. There are like 3 other cases in all the side stories and MCGA combined.
Annabeth uses seaweed brain a total of 41 times in all the books combined, in PJO it’s used 25 times, 22 by Annabeth, and HOO it’s used outloud 9 times, all by Annabeth. On top of this, while the PJO cases were all outloud, the HOO cases were not, with 2 (making the total 11) used only in Annabeth’s thoughts.
Seaweed brain is used in TLT 6 times, 5 times by Annabeth.
The first time is when Annabeth is joining the quest, then when he says things are going fine so far when they start the quest, then when at the Ride of Love, then when Annabeth calls him her friend, then when they’re saying goodbye.
If you watch the progression of it it’s the same as with Wise Girl, though used more often. It starts as an insult, and then becomes fond and a term for her friend by the end of it.
I don’t particularly want to label every single instance, but a quick overview of all the PJO books is that it’s used by Annabeth in annoyance a total of 4 times, in fondness/exasperation/worry 18 times. Those times of annoyance were all in books 1 and 2, the time of exasperation (1 of the 18) was in book 2.
The vast majority were done out of worry, and the rest when she was being soft.
It’s not meant to diminish his intelligence, nor is intended as an insult beyond book 1 and 1 instance of book 2. It is rarely used because he’s being ignorant either. You can make an argument for the first case in book 3 being done because he wasn’t catching her hint to dance and thus was mocking his inability to catch a hint, but it was mixed with fondness from my read.
Overall the nickname is not intended as an insult anymore, it has become a friendly name for Percy that shows how fond Annabeth is of him. She does not have nicknames for anyone else.
In HOO all the cases were relatively fond, with one that she didn’t say outloud being used when she was cheering Hazel up by telling stories about Percy (ah the benefits of long time friendships, you get to tell all the good stories).
In the end I think that it’s cute that they have a nickname for each other, and though there could be more flattering ones, the intent that Percy understands from it and the intent Annabeth uses it with clearly show that it is meant in fondness and was a gradual change from a name that was meant to poke at him. It’s meaning is is fond and loving and it was only used 3 times prior with any other (negative) intent.
Also friends give each other nicknames, and commonly they are meant to be teasing.
There is one other thing I’ve seen brought up, being Annabeth thinking that she needs to keep Percy on his toes (specifically about Rachel in this case) when they’re in Tartarus.
‘Rachel?’ Percy asked. ‘You mean our Rachel? Oracle of Delphi Rachel?’
‘That’s the one.’ Annabeth suppressed a smile.
Whenever she brought up Rachel’s name, Percy got nervous. At one point, Rachel had been interested in dating Percy. That was ancient history. Rachel and Annabeth were good friends now. But Annabeth didn’t mind making Percy a little uneasy. You had to keep your boyfriend on his toes. (HOH, didn’t bother to check chapter number, page 109 of my copy)
So here we see that Annabeth is “keeping him on his toes” but in context, they’re sending a note to Rachel through the Hermes temple in Tartarus. It was not Annabeth bringing it up to mess with him, it was her smiling at the little moment where he was thrown off about Rachel.
Frankly, in general Annabeth doesn’t do anything like that. She occasionally teases Percy but he always teases back. After the Rachel stuff in book 5 things were chill with all of them. We’ve seen no evidence of Percy being uncomfortable with Rachel being brought up, nor Annabeth thinking that it should be brought up for that purpose.
If anything Annabeth has shown some serious abandonment issues in fearing that Percy would leave her over other girls (she needs some therapy after that mess of a childhood but Khiron apparenlty doesn’t think so).
I see this as a case of bad writing with nothing else supporting it, including the scene it happens in.
Even had it actually been something supported by other instances, in the context she says it in it seems more like teasing over an ex where the break was amicable and everyone is still friends, which isn’t abusive or manipulative.
It’s just that Rick is tasteless.
So is Percabeth emotionally/psychologically/verbally abusive? No.
If someone wishes to bring up other instances shoot me an ask.
So in conclusion,
I do not see how it is abusive. There are elements I do not like, and some parts that in my own relationship I wouldn’t be okay with. But in Percy and Annabeth’s relationship they have clear boundaries, they are both more than capable of stopping the other if they do something that upsets them. They have both shown fondness towards the others actions even if it is something that we don’t approve of in our relationships.
If Percy showed upset at her actions that would be different. But we literally see into his mind and he shows no upset at her words or actions. He is fond, he is understanding, and he responds to each instance of teasing with teasing of his own.
Notably I never see people saying Percy is abusive, only Annabeth.
I get a feel that people ask for flawed characters then crucify them if they’re not flawed in easily likeable ways. Annabeth is not a perfect character, I don’t like everything she does, but she is a realistic character and should not be demonized.
TDLR: Annabeth has never purposefully harmed Percy, and Percy has never purposefully harmed her. Neither have verbally/emotionally/psychological taken actions with the intent of harming the other when in their relationship or since becoming friends. There have been instances of upsetting the other but they talked and it clearly was not meant to hurt the other but because they themselves were hurting
Percabeth is not abusive
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bluenet13 · 3 years
Text
It’s two sugars, right.
Part 2 of my Tarlos collection of short stories: Carlos and Owen share a moment while they wait for TK to wake up from his coma.
Carlos knows he should have cut his losses long ago. Any smart man would see that TK's been fighting any progress between them since the moment they met, so he should just try to let the man go and stop his treacherous heart from falling in love. It might hurt now, but it will hurt less in the end.
But Carlos Reyes has never been one to follow rationality over emotion, and instead he usually goes all in, with his heart leading the way. So today, Carlos again steps into the hospital's waiting room and sighs, not because of the location itself, but because he hates how it's already starting to feel like home. After all, in the last week he's spent more time here than at his own apartment. Taking in the people sitting in the uncomfortable chairs, Carlos waves sadly before bypassing the room, and all conversation and questions -he knows the 126 crew means well, but the only voice from the firehouse he wants to hear right now belongs to the man still unconscious on the bed, so he goes directly to his room.
Like every morning in the past six days, Carlos closes his eyes just before he enters the room. He's never been a religious man, not like his deeply devout family, but he still remembers many Sundays in church and how he always used to accompany his mama without complaint, and he hopes that has to mean and count for something. So, again, he gives a silent prayer to the heavens, even if it really sounds more like a request, because right now he feels at his limit and he doesn't think he has a lot to offer. But still he asks, God or anyone willing to listen, to please spare TK's life, and not take him away before they have the chance to really figure out what they mean to each other, and what they could be. He thinks it would be something very special, and he needs TK to live so they can at least try.
But as every morning before, his plea is not answered and Carlos steps into the room to an unconscious TK, his father like always sitting on the chair next to the bed. "Morning," Owen says, without even turning back, this moment nothing special and just a repeat of every day that came after TK got shot.
"Good morning, any change?" Carlos asks hopefully, even if he should know better. In their jobs, hoping gets you nowhere, usually it only gives you a broken heart and more things to talk about with your APD-mandated therapist. But hope is everything that Carlos has left, so he clings to it for dear life.
"Nothing," Owen answers sadly, a hand clutching TK's as the other runs through his son's hair.
"Nothing is better than bad news," Carlos tries, a small, sad smile gracing his lips when Owen finally turns back to look at him, but it falls instantly as soon as he takes in the other man's disheveled and tired look. "Have you slept at all, Captain Strand? If you want I can stay with TK tonight and you can go home. Maybe take a shower, eat a warm meal and sleep for a few hours?" Even as the words leave his lips, Carlos can't help but feel that he's overstepping. Not only because Owen is his superior, even if they don't work for the same agency, but even more because he's the father of his… something? Not boyfriend, but also not nothing. Just something in between that still hasn't been given a label. Which only means that he still deeply cares for the man lying on the bed, and as consequence, also for the older man in front of him, and he knows TK wouldn't want his dad's health to suffer because of what happened to him.
Owen shakes his head and brushes off the concern, turning back to look at his son without muttering a single word.
"I'll go get us some coffee, then," Carlos says instead of further pressing the issue, knowing that being proactive is a better approach than arguing with the fire captain, "it's two sugars, right?"
That finally gets Owen's complete attention, and for the first time the man loses all physical contact with his son as he turns to look at Carlos fully, both eyebrows raised in a silent question.
Thinking back to his words, Carlos blushes and his eyes go wide, before his cop brain takes over and he schools his features and tries to calmly say, "TK once told me. And I just happened to remember. Cops, you know, we need to have a good memory to recall faces and case details." His attempt at normalcy would have been good if he wasn't rambling, and Carlos finds himself taking a step backward as Owen's face breaks into a grin. The man hasn't smiled at all in the last week, but this one seems genuine, and even if Carlos fears the words that will come out of the captain's lips, he still feels proud at being the one that put it there.
"Have you been spending nights at my house, Officer Reyes?" Owen asks, and his nose scrunches as he seems to ponder something. "That would explain the good coffee lately. My son is good at many things, and excellent at being a firefighter, but we all know he can't cut it in the kitchen. Not even for coffee."
"I-uh-I-" Carlos' brain is short circuiting and words evaporate as quickly as they come to his overloaded mind, not only because he just outed himself in front of his something's father, but because as soon as the man in question wakes up he's going to be the one ending up dead because TK will surely murder him for the slip up.
"Relax, Carlos. I already knew there was a new important someone in my son's life," at Carlos' questioning look, Owen chuckles before continuing, "not only because of the amazing coffee I now often find in the pot when I wake up, but TK, he's just been smiling more than before, and there's a new bounce to his step, you know? He looks happier than ever in the last year, and probably, just happier than ever, period. I'm just glad it i-" Owen stops abruptly and shakes his head, then turns back to the bed and retakes TK's hand, a few minutes, apparently, the longest the man can go without a physical connection to his boy. "I'm just happy he is happy. That's all."
Carlos has the feeling Owen was about to say something else, something more akin to approving of him as the man making his son happy. And his heart almost bursts at that possibility. If only TK could catch up to his father and also see what's right in front of their eyes. TK already makes him the happiest man on earth -just his smile fills him with warmth, and every look they share starts butterflies in his stomach- and he's not even his to call boyfriend yet. If given the chance Carlos knows he would gladly spend every day and night making sure TK feels as happy in return, and just loving and caring for him as he deserves, even if TK himself doesn't think he's earned it yet.
Lost in his thoughts, the silence stretches for too long and Carlos knows he should say something, reassure the man in some way, or at least thank him. But for now, he feels like he's already revealed enough. So not wanting to embarrass himself any further, or put a bigger target on his back when (not if, but when) TK wakes up, he just nods and turns to the door, but before he can exit the room, he's stopped by Owen's voice.
"And Carlos, yes, it's two sugars. Thank you." This time Owen doesn't turn back around, but Carlos can still sense the smile on his lips, so he smiles too. Both hoping their presence, joined hearts and shared wishes are enough reasons for TK to fight to wake up and breathe and smile again. But for now, both fire captain and police officer take comfort in this moment and the love they feel for the man lying on the bed. Because Carlos would be a fool not to see that he's fallen for TK already.
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ghostgothgeek · 3 years
Text
Chaos.
Another for the Phic Phight! This one kinda combines two prompts and I had so much fun writing it! In this, Danny and Tucker don’t know Sam plays video games yet. 5,063 words.
"What do you mean you don’t feel the same way? We´ve had a mutual crush on each other for years." Sam says angrily after finally confessing her love to him. But Danny´s heart was beating hard for someone else entirely. Prompt by phantomfana. 
Danny wants to ask his crush to the upcoming school dance. Prompt by Rikaleeta.
-----
It was another long night of ghost hunting for Danny. Technus took up the first part of the night, trying to take over the park’s new security system. Tucker was fortunately still awake to help him out with that. Then Johnny and Kitty rolled in, but they weren’t looking for trouble, they just wanted a date night and swore they wouldn’t be a problem. Apparently Fridays were their days off for “everything but each other”. Danny was a romantic, but he didn’t know if this was sweet or nauseating. Ember had put up a good fight, though. He was proud he only had one injury to tend to. He had dodged most of her attacks, but she was still a pretty advanced ghost. And, of course, Danny had caught the Box Ghost six, count them, SIX times. How did he always manage to get out?! He wasn’t difficult to take down, he was just a pest. 
Danny sighed as he sat down at his computer chair. It was only 12:30 am, and it was a Friday. He could sleep in tomorrow and he deserved at least a couple hours of fun. He logged into his online gaming account and saw Tucker was online. Figures. He pulled up the chat anyway. 
Astrohaunt: Hey Tuck. Still up?
Technopedia: You know it. Chaos signed on about a half hour ago and I’m not passing up the opportunity.
Astrohaunt: Dude is so good it’s unreal!
Technopedia: He goes to our school, I tracked one of his IP addresses and he logged in at school a few times.
Astrohaunt: Tucker wtf. That’s creepy!
Technopedia: I just want to make sure Chaos is actually a kid and not Lancer again!
Astrohaunt: I still can’t wrap my mind around Lancer playing Doomed…
Technopedia: Same. But Chaos IP is different from Lancer, so we good. Unless more teachers play Doomed.
Astrohaunt: I hate you for putting that image into my brain.
Technopedia: Sorry dude. But quick come join before someone else gets Chaos.
Danny, Tucker, and Chaos had made a great team. Whenever Chaos was around, they were actually able to progress through the game. They played several rounds until Tucker was caught by his mom and was forced to sign off, but Danny and Chaos kept playing. 
TeamChaos: Hey, what’s up?
Astrohaunt: Omg dude you’re so awesome. 
TeamChaos: Ha, thanks. Gotta blow off steam somehow. 
Astrohaunt: Tell me about it! Between Lancer’s three projects and midterms and...other stuff...this is my only time to actually chill. I’ve been so stressed!
TeamChaos: Same. I did finish one of the projects though. I’m always here if you need to talk, you know. 
Astrohaunt: Wow, I may just take you up on that offer. I’ve had a rough night.
TeamChaos: Lay it on me.
And so Danny, sparing the ghost hunting details, stayed up chatting with Chaos until 5 am. He got along really well with the guy, they had a lot of similar interests. This was just the first of many up-all-night conversations they shared. After a few months, Danny felt a special connection with Chaos, and yet, he didn’t even know his name! 
Astrohaunt: We’ve been talking all these months and I still don’t know your name. I’m Danny. 
TeamChaos: Oh, thought you knew. It’s Sam!
Astrohaunt: Hey! One of my best friends is named Sam! 
TeamChaos: You don’t say!!!
The next day at school, Danny pulled Tucker over to him, whispering, “Dude, help. I think I might be gay....” 
“What?!” Tucker shouted.
“Quiet, Tuck!” 
“Okay, well uh...why?” Tucker sent him a weird look and took a step back. 
“No, not you. Chaos. I think I have a crush on Chaos.” Danny ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know what to do! I never thought I’d be...you know. Chaos and I just have good conversations and he’s always there to listen to me when I need to vent. I thought maybe I found another best friend but...this is different. Chaos is so cool and I’m crushing and I don’t even know who he is or what he looks like! Or if he feels the same way! Maybe I’m just stupid and-”
“Dude, chill. You’re jumping too far ahead of yourself. Whichever way you, you know, swing...I’m still your best friend.” Tucker pulled out his PDA. “Let me see what I can find out. I know Chaos goes to our school.”
“Thanks, Tuck. As if being half ghost wasn’t hard enough! Oh, and he’s in our class, because he’s talked me through assignments and knows what they are and stuff. He’s almost as good as explaining things as Sam. Crap...Sam. Don’t tell her about this!” Danny started fidgeting. 
“Well,” Tucker raised his eyebrows in surprise, “I can tell you with absolute certainty that Chaos is definitely a girl.” 
“You found out who Chaos is?!” 
“What, like it’s hard?” Tucker chuckled. “I traced the IP addresses she uses. I know who she is. So do you,” Tucker smirked, “It shocked me at first, but it makes total sense! And I can totally see why you like her.” 
“Really?” Danny let out a breath in relief. “Okay that makes me feel a lot better...hey, maybe I can ask Chaos to the dance next Saturday!” 
Tucker rested a hand on Danny’s shoulder. “Go for it. Ask Sam. I’m almost positive she’ll say yes.”
“Okay, I will...wait, not Sam! Chaos!” Danny clarified. “Well, actually, I think Chaos told me her name was Sam. Ha, small world. I can’t wait to introduce Sam to Sam. I think they would really get along.” 
Tucker busted out laughing, “Oh, dude. You go ahead and do that.” He left Danny standing there in the hallway, still laughing all the way to his next class.
Danny, a bit confused by Tucker’s laughter, shook his head and smiled to himself. Okay, good. He’d had enough identity crises to fill a lifetime. Chaos was definitely a girl. Now if he just knew Chaos returned his feelings, things might actually work out for him this time and he could actually have a girlfriend.
Meanwhile, Sam was having an internal debate of her own. Sitting in a class where the teacher couldn’t give two shits about what the students were doing, she had always used this class as her thinking time. Usually her thinking-about-Danny time. She nervously clicked her pen as she thought about recent events. 
She and Danny spent so much time chatting online when they weren’t hanging out in person. Danny was a little bit more bold online, probably because he didn’t have to interact face-to-face or risk his pants falling down in public again. Online, they talked about everything. No topic was off limits. Plus, Sam felt like their friendship had only grown even stronger when they could chat online and not have to worry about blushing or getting teased by Tucker. Chatting online took away all the pressure and made it much easier to connect with Danny. 
Danny hadn’t said anything yet, of course. He was probably scared. Hell, she was scared. She was already so in love with him, and getting closer online only further solidified that fact. She had never been in love before, and even though she hunts ghosts, this was more terrifying! She was fairly certain he returned her feelings, but both were too chicken to actually make that final step. They’ve been best friends forever. She didn’t want to mess up their already great dynamic or force Tucker to be the third wheel, though he did insist he was more than okay with that and encouraged them to finally get together. 
Sam stopped clicking her pen as she suddenly remembered it was senior year. They hadn’t picked colleges yet, but whether they ended up going to the same school or not, things were going to change. Danny was very attractive, and going off to college meant girls may actually approach him when they didn’t know his parents were ghost fighters. The fact had never bothered Sam, but she did kind of like how it kept most girls at school from asking him out or giving him attention. Valerie had been a challenge, especially because she was a ghost hunter herself and probably wanted to get tips from his parents. Sam was glad that relationship ended relatively early. It was too hard on her. Joyous or not, though, she was still mad at Valerie for how she broke his heart. 
But that was 2 years ago. They had all moved on and friendships were more or less mended across the board. This made Sam glance at her favorite picture of her and Danny. Tucker had taken the candid picture and it was now her phone’s background. In it, Danny was giving Sam a piggyback ride. Her arms were lightly strung around his neck, legs looped around his waist. Danny had kept going in the opposite direction Sam told him to go, which frustrated her but also made her laugh. She had rested her chin on his shoulder, her face pressed right up against his. Danny was looking at her and Tucker had captured that rare moment when Sam had a huge grin on her face, still laughing. She smiled at the picture. They would be okay no matter what. Their friendship would survive.
Anyway, Sam also realized she had already come close to losing Danny, in more ways than one. Whether it was to other girls or a ghost, there was always that anxiety stirring in her head that she could lose him entirely some day. Life was too short. She needed to take the plunge for both of them and just get them both over this hurdle, and they could finally, finally, actually get together. 
Sam made her decision. It was now or never. She was going to tell him. Today. The trio was meeting up at Danny’s house later anyway, and if she got there early enough, she could talk to him before Tucker showed up and teased them about it. Sam firmly nodded her head to herself, a confirmation of her decision. It was finally time.
After school, Danny was pacing in his room, trying to figure out how he wanted to do this. Asking a girl to the dance wasn’t a huge deal, and yet at the same time, it was. He would rather ask in person, but he still didn’t know what Chaos looked like, so asking in person seemed to be off the table. He could look in the yearbook for all the girls named Sam at their school. He could already omit one Sam Manson from that list. How many Sams could possibly attend their school? It would be easier to ask Tucker, though. Tucker already knew who she was. Sam and Tucker were on their way over right now. When Sam wasn’t paying attention, he could ask Tucker for Sam’s full name. 
Chaos Sam, not best friend Sam. God, this was so confusing. Why were girls so hard for him? Freshman year, Paulina only liked his ghost half and wouldn’t give his human half the time of day. Sophomore year, Valerie hated his ghost half and that hatred was more important to her than her feelings for his human half. Junior year, he had been denying that he was in love with his best friend. And now that he had finally accepted that he did like his best friend as much more than a friend, a new girl entered the picture and he now found himself trying to choose between two Sams. Because it apparently wasn’t hard enough for him already to make the biggest and most important change he could possibly make in a friendship, let’s add another crush to the mix and give them the same name.
Sam. Best friend Sam - that’s who he was planning on asking originally, even if he chickened out and had to ask her as a friend instead. Plus, he and Sam had somehow gotten closer recently, and he was pretty sure she liked him. Sure, it was only because Tucker told him so, but it was a possibility. The thing was, he didn’t want to ruin things. Especially because he truly didn’t know how Sam, best friend Sam, felt about him. She was a tough and courageous girl, surely she would have said something by now if it were true. So Tucker must be pulling his leg.
But he did have another option - Chaos Sam, who may actually return his feelings. Sure, the feelings weren’t nearly as strong as what he felt for his best friend, but the feelings were still there. Plus, if he got rejected by Chaos, it would be less heartbreaking than being rejected by Sam, someone he had known for years rather than months. He could deal with losing a newer friend, but not one of his best friends. Sam was too important and he knew he needed her in his life.
Danny sighed. This was really hard, but he made a decision. It was easier to go with Chaos than risk ruining things with Sam. Danny had enough drama going on in his life already, he needed an easy win. 
He broke from his thoughts when the doorbell rang. He ran downstairs and opened it, only slightly surprised to see Sam there. She was usually early for things. He and Tuck were more prone to being late. 
“Hey, Sam. Come on in!” Danny moved so Sam could enter his house. He shut the door and followed her upstairs and back to his room as she returned his greeting. She was pacing the same path he just had, muttering quietly to herself. She looked nervous. “Something on your mind?” 
Sam was startled out of her thoughts. “Huh? Oh yeah.” She noticed his disheveled appearance, also noting he was fidgety. Was he going to do what she was about to do? “What about you, you look like you’ve been thinking a little too hard about something.” She smiled softly. 
Danny chuckled, “Yeah, but it’ll resolve itself soon. I’ll worry about it after the movies. Tuck should be here any second. Oh, but I’m glad you’re early. Can you help me with something quick?” 
“Of course.” Sam followed him to his desk, smiling and rolling her eyes when he pointed to a homework problem. “I should have known.” 
Danny gave her a lopsided smile and watched as she showed him how to do the problem in her perfect handwriting. It took no more than a couple of minutes. Now, they were just waiting for Tucker to arrive. 
Sam looked at the time. He would be here soon. She needed to do this now. She needed to tell Danny. She couldn’t wait until after the movies for him to tell her. She had already waited long enough and couldn’t bear another second.
“Danny, can I talk to you for a second?” She sat down on his bed and gestured for him to do the same. 
Danny could sense the seriousness in her voice, and nodded anxiously. He was scared when Sam was serious about things. It was usually something bad.
“Danny…” She decided to get straight to the point. “I like you. As in like-like you. More than like, and more than a friend. And we’ve been doing this dancing around for at least 4 years now and I’m sick of it. I just want to be with you already. What do you say?” Sam held her breath as she waited for Danny to answer. 
He stared at her with wide eyes before nervously rubbing the back of his neck and turning his attention to his shoes, avoiding eye contact with the goth. God, why him?! He had stupidly thought, for once, things would be easier for him this time. He had already sent an offline message to Chaos that he wanted to ask her something, and then Sam had to come along and tell him what he had wanted to hear for some time now. But he couldn’t blow Chaos off when he had already somewhat asked. Of course, his life just had to be complicated every step of the way. He really liked both girls and didn’t want to hurt his best friend. Regardless, he had to be honest. He owed Sam that much. “Well, I mean, yeah, but…” 
“But what?” Sam whispered, clearly already upset. Fuck. Fuck fuck FUCK. This was exactly what he didn’t want to happen. He decided to try going with Chaos so he could avoid heartbreak from his best friend. The very thing he had been so afraid of, he was doing to her right now. 
Danny sighed again. “But I can’t. I’m so sorry, Sam.” It was hard to choke out, but he said it, and he felt terrible. He pressed his lips together and kept staring at his shoes until Sam lifted his chin up, forcing him to look at her. 
“What do you mean you don’t feel the same way? We’ve had mutual crushes on each other for years!” Sam said angrily, feeling her heart break as her best friend and love of her life rejected her confession of love. She was so sure he returned her feelings! Especially after all the great conversations they had shared online these last few months. “Or, at least, I thought we did.” Tears swelled in her eyes. Did he lead her on? “I-I need an explanation, Danny,” she quietly stated after he didn’t continue. 
Danny frowned and his heart ached. He didn’t want to hurt his best friend like this. Hell, he really liked her! Of course their crushes were mutual! And if this had happened 6 months ago instead of now, he would have jumped at the chance. But now...now he had Chaos and already forced himself to stick with his decision. It was easy with Chaos; there was no friendship to risk, no denying of being lovebirds or brushing off kisses as fakeout makeouts. Plus, he couldn’t lie to his best friend. She would know if he was lying. And he already told himself she deserved the truth. “There’s...someone else…” 
“What?” Sam whispered before turning angry again, “Paulina? Valerie? Star?” she spat out. 
Danny shook his head, “Ew, no...it’s someone I met online...I’m so sorry, Sam. I like you a lot, I really do, but I think I’ve already come to the conclusion that I like this girl I met online, Chaos, and I have to try to see that through.” 
Many emotions crossed Sam’s face as she pieced together what he just said. At first she was upset, but as he explained himself, she felt disbelief, confusion, anger, and finally, hope. He couldn’t really be that clueless, right? “Show me.” 
“Huh? I mean, I don’t actually know what she looks like, but we message every night and she really understands me! I know it sounds ridiculous, but-” 
“Show me,” Sam repeated. “Show me her profile.” 
“You’re not going to hurt her, are you?” Danny questioned cautiously.
“No, of course not. Just shut up and show me the profile.” Sam was more calm now, and that was kind of scary. Even though Sam said she wouldn’t hurt Chaos, he didn’t want to give her the chance. But he knew how stubborn his friend was, and eventually in whatever way, she would force the information out of him. 
Danny sighed and pulled up the profile to show Sam. “I’m sorry, Sam. I’m still your best frien-” 
“Shut up.” Sam scrolled through what Danny pulled up for her and pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. Closing her eyes slowly, she took a deep breath. “Didn’t Chaos tell you her name?” 
“Uh,” Danny thought, “oh yeah! She said her name was Sam, because I thought she was a boy at first and I had an existential crisis, but then Tucker told me-” 
“Danny. I’m Sam.” 
“No I know, and sure it’ll be a little weird cause you’re Sam and she’s Sam, it’s confusing, but I-” 
Sam interrupted him once again. She could hear Tucker’s footsteps approaching. She was running out of time to not make this a spectacle. “No, Danny. Chaos. Sam. Me. I’m Sam. I am Sam,” 
Tucker only heard the tail end of the conversation as he entered the room. Never able to pass up a comedic opportunity, he smirked and added “I am Sam. Sam I am. I do not like green eggs and ham!” 
It was suddenly silent in the room as his friends seized conversation and glared at him. Oops. 
“Oh, am I interrupting something?” Tucker could see the fire in Sam’s eyes. “Uh, oh wait I forgot my...sock. I’ll be downstairs!” He raced out of the room.
Sam turned her attention back to Danny. “No, you stupid fucking MORON. I am Chaos. You’ve been talking to me the whole time. I thought you knew that!” Danny stared at her blankly until she pulled out her phone and he watched her log into her account, proving it to him. Sure enough, it was Chaos’s profile. He could see all the direct messages between them, including his offline message about wanting to ask her something.
“Wait, you? You’re Sam? I mean, Chaos? I mean Sam?” Danny looked back and forth between the profile and his best friend. 
“UGH!” Sam shouted as she threw her hands in the air. “Yes, Danny. That’s me! Did you really not notice that Chaos was the same age as me and a girl who goes to our school? We have the same name and interests! Didn’t you wonder why it was so easy to talk right off the bat? I thought you put that all together and us just pretending to not know each other was a little bit you were trying to do or something!” 
Danny stared at her as he continued to piece it all together. He was definitely embarrassed. He felt so stupid. How could he not tell that Chaos was Sam, his best friend since 7th grade? Talk about being totally clueless. 
Wait. Clueless? Well, fuck! He got the nickname now! 
His eyes flickered back and forth as he thought everything through. Eventually, he started to crack a smile. “Wait, so I’ve had a crush on you and also you? You’re the same person! This is great! Do you know what this means?!” 
Sam slapped her forehead and began walking downstairs. “I don’t even know if this is worth it anymore…” 
“Wait, how come Tuck and I never knew you played video games! We can enter team tournaments! You’re so good!” Danny chased after her. 
Tucker watched as Sam grumbled about Danny caring more about video games than her. An excited Danny was right on her tail. 
“Tucker! Sam is Chaos! I’ve been in love with Sam this whole time!” Danny explained. 
“Tucker, I need you to refrain me from slapping his stupid clueless face,” Sam started. 
“Wait, you didn’t know Sam was Chaos? Dude! I thought I was obvious about that!” Tucker began laughing at Danny. 
“I know, so did I.” Sam crossed her arms over her chest. 
“Danny, you can calculate levels of rocket fuel and figure out how to get us to Mercury or something,” Tucker started. 
“Mars, actually,” Danny corrected. 
“But you can’t figure out that your best friend and your crush are the same person? You’re more than Captain Clueless, you’re like….Lieutenant Clueless? That’s like, bigger right?” Tucker continued. 
“I don’t think that’s how it works, Tuck,” Sam chimed in. 
“Shut up Sam, this isn’t about you,” Tucker immediately stopped his train of thought when he felt Sam glaring daggers at him. “Heh, uh. Except it does. It actually has nothing to do with me. I’m sorry I told you to shut up, please don’t hurt me!” He threw his hands up in front of himself in defense. 
“Relax, Tucker. I’m more angry with this fucking dingus,” she pointed her thumb in Danny’s direction. 
The halfa was about to protest, then closed his mouth. “That’s fair, I deserve that.” 
“I can’t even look at you right now. You scared me! I poured out my emotions to you. I thought you were rejecting me and that I would have to change my name and move to a different country! Wait, are you still rejecting me?” Sam stopped her pacing to look at him. 
“Of course not, Sammy!” 
“Oh don’t you ‘Sammy’ me! I told you I love you, you stupid fucking idiot!” Sam began throwing pillows at Danny, who expertly dodged them (though as a result, Tucker got hit in the face by one). 
“Technically, you didn’t say ‘love’ you said ‘like’”, Danny offered as Tucker shook his head and slashed finger across his neck, signaling Danny to stop talking. 
“Oh, I’m sorry! This is all my fault! I’m going to go jump off a cliff now!” Sam growled and Danny let out a small “oomph” as one of the pillows finally got him. 
“I’m out. Good luck, bro!” Tucker quickly slipped out the door, leaving Danny and Sam alone. 
Sam was about to follow Tucker out when Danny stopped her, “please don’t leave!” She still had angry tears in her eyes. He frowned. This was not how he expected things to go. She watched him for a few seconds before sitting down on the couch, refusing to look at him. “Sam I’m so sorry, this is just a huge misunderstanding.”
“No, Danny. It’s not. You were going to turn me down to go out with someone else.”
“But that someone was still you!”
“Yeah, but you didn’t know that! We’ve been friends for years, and you were more interested in someone you just met a few months ago! I don’t want to be anyone’s second choice, Danny! I’ve been standing by for years as you continuously chose other girls over me. I thought we were done with that, and that you were finally choosing me first, but you won’t and you never will and I’m so stupid.” Sam put her head in her hands as she tried her hardest not to let tears fall. 
And that was when he finally figured it out. It wasn’t just the moment of rejection, it was years of rejection, and at her biggest confession, she still thought he was choosing someone over her. Not to mention, Tucker witnessed most of the conversation. Sam rarely showed her emotions. She always had her heart guarded, and he knew this. Tucker knew this. Hell, she didn’t even tell them she was rich until after a few years of friendship. It took them a while to get her to open up to them. She was a pretty private person. She was probably already hurt like this before. And now, she was probably embarrassed.
“You’re definitely not stupid. I’m stupid. I should have known it was you. That was actually what I really liked about Chaos, she reminded me of you.” 
Sam forced a small sarcastic laugh, “Yeah, right.” 
“No really,” Danny sat on the couch next to her and grabbed her hand, placing it in both of his. “Sam, you’re absolutely incredible. How dumb would I have to be to not notice?” Sam gave him a pointed look. “Okay yeah but it’s not the way you think it is. I liked Chaos because she was a lot like you. She reminded me of you. And it just seemed easier to go with her because she was basically you, but she and I didn’t have a really great friendship that could have gotten ruined if we broke up or something. I could live without her, but I can’t live without you. You’re always my number one. Always have been, always will be. Even if I did just fuck everything up. I’m so sorry, Sam. I’m ready to be with you, if you’ll still have me.” 
Sam stayed silent and stared at her lap, processing this new information. Of course she would forgive him; she always did. She just needed a little time. 
Danny was getting nervous that he really did fuck this up for good. This was so fucking important! He couldn’t risk fucking this up! Sensing her hesitation, Danny tried one more thing to get her back. One thing he hasn’t done before. One thing he just learned how to perfect.  
“Sammy, I’m sorry,” a duplicate popped up next to her on the other side of the couch, startling her. 
“Please forgive me?” Another duplicate was floating in front of her, hanging upside down, hair flopping all over the place. 
“I know I’m a dummy but,” Sam snapped her head towards a third duplicate. 
“I’m only a dummy because I’m in love. With you,” the real Danny finished. Sam looked back and forth between all the Dannys.  
“We’re sorry, Sammy,” all the duplicates said at once. 
Sam was trying really hard to hold back a smile. “You learned how to duplicate,” she stated simply. 
Original Danny grabbed her hands. “Sam. I will make this up to you. I promise.” 
She could hear the determination in his voice and sighed. “You better.” 
Danny smiled and hugged her. “Thankyouthankyouthankyou!!! I love you so much!”
Sam pushed him off of her. “I love you too, you fucking idiot.” 
“But I get to be your idiot!” Sam couldn’t hold her laughter back anymore. “Oh!” Danny shouted, “Will you go to the dance with me? Please?” 
Sam pretended to ponder the answer before saying “alright”. 
“Yay!” All 4 Dannys cheered. The duplicates on either side of her kissed her cheeks as the real Danny kissed her forehead tenderly. The final duplicate, feeling left out, squeezed his way in to give her a hug. 
Sam was now roaring with laughter before kissing the real Danny sweetly. “You know, duplicates won’t always get you out of trouble,” she warned. 
“Yeah, but they could come in handy for other things,” he wagged his eyebrows up and down suggestively before passionately kissing her, the duplicates kissing her neck and touching her in near-dangerous places. 
Sam bit back a moan, eyes lustful before smirking, “I think you just found a way to make it up to me.” She began dragging the real Danny and one of his duplicates back to his room. Fuck the movies.
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