#and the students simply would not know what to do

[lukolathoughts]

Dearest gentle readers,

As a GCSE English teacher in the UK, I have taught Of Mice and Men until I am blue in the face. I know the text like the back of my hand. There is a scene/extract where Carlson takes Candy’s dog outside to be shot (spoiler) and the men in the bunkhouse listen and wait anxiously for the eventual gunshot. The tension builds and builds and builds and the characters become more uncomfortable as they wait. To demonstrate how this tension might feel, I would often show my students a video of a balloon getting bigger and bigger and bigger. You get the idea. Until it becomes so uncomfortable you can’t stand to watch it. You know the explosion is coming but there is nothing you can do to stop it. The eventual BANG brings both fear and relief. This my friends, is how I perceive the Lukola fandom at this current moment. Like a kettle whistling away on a stove that no one knows how to turn off. All waiting for the eventual BOOM of the gunshot that feels inevitable. It is in tarot, the Tower.

Of Mice and Men is also a great one for division. White against black. Men against women. Social class. Feels familiar doesn’t it in this day and age? Ironically, next year it is being taken off UK GCSE English exam papers for being too ‘controversial’.  A damn shame in my opinion, as it’s just as relevant now as it was in the 1930’s. Probably even more so. Anyway, in this fandom we have mainly the Lukola’s against the Jakola’s or the Jakeholes as I call them. This narrative was perpetuated by a certain creator after the festival photos of Jake and Nic emerged in August. Until this point it was widely accepted that Nic had been socialising with her ‘gay’ friend Jake and no one batted an eyelid about it. Until those pap photos dropped of a seemingly ‘tipsy’ Nicola staring adoringly up at her ‘friend’ Jake and scratching his arm. Hmm, weird I thought. Didn’t we just have chaos week? Wasn’t the fandom floating on air at this point examining Nic’s ‘drink your milk’ t -shirt and obsessing over Nicola’s insta posts? We knew damn well Luke was home from Italy and we knew he had left two days early alone without his homeboys and most importantly Antonia. What is the meaning of these paparazzi shots taken from the VIP area of the festival. Didn’t Nic just sign with CAA talent agency a few weeks ago? The gears in my over stimulated brain dismissed the photos as Nic simply being over friendly with Jake, as she is prone to be, despite him looking bored and uninterested in her, and I simply went about my day.

Well, we know the rest of the story. The New York stalking incident where a fan practically chased Nicola and Jake down the street. Again, sent to find them reportedly by the ‘creator’. The photos and videos emerged and showed that Nic and Jake were holding hands. It’s okay, he was just leading her away as she has little Irish legs. Now the narrative was well under way and the gleeful Jakeholes had started to creep out from their swamp. The Jakehole ship was rising like an infested remnant of an 18th century passenger ship, spluttering its way across the Atlantic. This is no splendid brand new Titanic, my friends. This is a leaky, wooden, rickety old boat that I’m amazed gained it’s sea legs in the first place.

This was then followed up by the real kicker. The Lukola fandom had been floating on air in joined union and rejoicing over ‘October chaos week 2.0’ as I like to call it. It started with Luke’s cheeky October 3rd post of Polin and ended with the sheer euphoria of BOTH Luke and Nic seemingly on route somewhere. Perhaps, together, perhaps not. But he posts his luggage at an airport! When has Luke Newton ever done this? Nicola then posts herself smiling on a plane and I swear everyone just about fainted in excitement. Oh, the euphoria. Only then spoiled by the stalking incident, which I am convinced spooked Nic and Luke back into the shadows. Then the second lot of Jake and Nic pap pics hit, and this is the one that really hurt. I remember my discord going wild and then me and my bestie wife (she knows who she is) trying to justify the weather for about three weeks in the UK. Not that it really mattered. Distraction or no, the stage was set for the most bizarre few months of my life and undoubtedly Nicola, Luke and Jake as well. What a mess. The Jakehole ship gains some traction and starts chugging away like Popeye the sailor man after too much spinach.

But we’re a stubborn bunch the Lukola fandom. Things behind the scenes were not adding up and anyone with a set of eyes and a smart phone could deduce the real story from Jake’s Instagram. And then like some magic glitter bomb in comes Antonia. Can you hear the song Wrecking Ball by Miley Cyrus screeching in your ear? Because I can. I had done a tarot read that morning and got repeated Antonia cards and most specifically the girl with the snake. My breath caught in my lungs, and I knew she was coming like some willowy Darth Vader with an axe to grind, eating a lettuce sandwich. I quickly jumped on You Tube and gave my warnings. I know it was inevitable. I know a lot of other readers got the same message that day too and I give some of them credit for that. Prepare the ship! incoming attack port side. Boom. I’ve really started to fear seeing bowls of pasta which is ridiculous. I think I have PTSD from pasta gate 1 and 2.

And here my friends is where another division happens. I can pinpoint it exactly for you. Antonia’s pasta video from a Rome restaurant that Luke had been tagged at an hour before. All hell breaks loose, and I mean it. I got a sick feeling in my stomach, not because I believe a word that girl says, but because I KNEW others would. People started jumping off the USS Lukola quicker than I could say, wait a minute, please just wait! There were me and others running around the deck shoving the band out of the way as the death throes of Nearer my God to Thee sound in a haunting melody. I could see the captain of the ship, followed by his foolish crew, letting the water suck them down whole. It was no use, they had jumped all the way down to Davey Jones locker while I still stood on deck, with many others, watching their faces disappear into the murky depths of the black sea.

I do not wish to give Antonia anymore power, but girl I would have been impressed if it wasn’t such a mean thing to do. There is speculation, Luke may have given her the video to distract from some things, that might even be a bit too delulu for even me to comprehend. She also had friends in Italy at the time who could have given her the video, including a dancer friend of hers. She could have simply saw Luke’s location and downloaded a video off the internet. Or she simply was there. I must come to terms with that critically in my own mind as a possible option. However, I do think if she really was there, she would have posted more than some woman making pasta. Admittedly, I am one of those people who like to take pictures of my food, and I bet my arse, Antonia is too. Where is your plate of pasta Antonia? Where are the pictures of Luke’s studio, his hotel room, his shoes? Any bit of evidence you are with him like she used to post incessantly during the world tour to prove her proximity.

We found out later that Luke was not at the restaurant that day. The man pictured was not the owner and just a fan who had a picture with Luke some days or weeks before. The next day after pasta gate 1.0, Luke pushes a bunch of PR explaining he is in Rome to film his first movie White Mars. I felt a lot of energy behind this from him, even if he didn’t organise the Deadline article directly. Antonia was punished accordingly and was in my imagination told by Luke, I will not like your pathetic grid posts on Insta for the whole month of November, so don’t bother. She didn’t post to her grid.

The damage had been done, almost like a tornado hitting and spinning USS Lukola on it’s head. But we were still standing with a new faction of die hard Lukola’s forming. Nothing short of a kissing photo or a word coming from either Nic or Luke was moving us off this ship and that is where we are today. The Lukola’s who jumped, what happened to them? Well, like ghosts of their former selves they spend their time walking along the seabed aimlessly between still wanting to be on the ship but having a new perspective of ‘realism’. We must be realistic, me hearties!! Luke is still most likely with Antonia (eye roll) and Nicola is with Jake (major eye roll, they have left my sockets). I talked a lot about critical thinking in my last blog and I don’t want to rehash it all here, but there is no evidence that Luke has been within the same breathing space as Antonia since last July. I do not count the dodgy Facebook post by Luke’s mother as any kind of believable evidence. No, I also do not believe that Luke’s mother has a beef with Nicola either. Anyone who ever meets Nicola seems to be sucked into her light like a moth to a Dyson hoover. I do not believe Michelle would to it to either Luke or Nic, as I have explained previously.

So, the last week has been a bit exciting for the Lukola diehard’s. Again, here comes another split. Crack, like lightening hitting a road. Nicola appears looking fabulous at the Big Boys premiere in London last Wednesday 22nd January. She was again dressed in black. I should have put bets on it, but I’d win pennies at this point in my predictions that Nicola would be wearing black. Now why is she wearing black again you ask, well dearest gentle reader that is the question, isn’t it? Why does she have a bottle of non-acholic beer at her feet? Why is her dress at the event raising eyebrows? I will tell you why: the Empress, the High Priestess and the Moon repeatedly. It’s as simple as that for me. That is all I will say, because the hate is real guys. I woke up Thursday morning to a barrage of insults. I had not said anything publicly on Twitter about Nicola.

Here now comes the death knell of my one remaining Lukola discord. I woke up to the announcement the server was being shut down. I took my Twitter private to stop the trolls and I thought it was a bright idea to make my own discord server, to hell with the haters. Welcome everyone else. Anyone who disparages Nicola in any way, shape or form in discussions of personal body issues I find disgusting. Talking about a person’s weight is vile to me, it is not acceptable and calling someone ‘just fat’ to explain away other things is abhorrent. We should not be saying things publicly. So now there the Lukola’s who believe one thing and the ones who still support Luke and Nic, but do not believe what they are seeing. That’s okay and we will not force those opinions on others. We will listen and we will wait. We will not comment on Nicola’s body.

There is one last split I want to touch on briefly. The division of the tarot readers. It is unfortunately the case now, much to my inner anguish. I started in this fandom listening to them and loving the readings. I had previously been reading privately on Harry and Meghan Markle (don’t even ask) and I was scared to read on Nicola and Luke because I didn’t want to know that weren’t together, because June 13th broke my heart just like everyone else’s. But these tarot readers were amazing, they gave me hope, and I truly admired and learned a lot from the OG’s. I listen and believe my spirit team implicitly and I will not turn on my intuition. I will not turn my back on Nicola and Luke. There is too much evidence to support they are together. Christmas and NYE confirmed this for me significantly and the fact that Jake got a job in Sheffield yesterday. Good for you Jakey boy, off you go and let the grown-ups carry on now. There are tarot readers who sadly stopped believing, they jumped off with the rest of the frantic Lukola’s and they keep trying to swim back to the surface, before being dragged back down by yet another social media post of the adjacents or paparazzi picture, despite evidence to the contrary.

You know who doesn’t have social media and her readings never change, and she stays true to her heart? The lovely Meghan on YouTube. She doesn’t know about adjacent drama, so they are simply not in her remit and her spirit guides do not address them either. My advice is to follow her lead and listen to what Nicola and Luke tell us, no one else.

It is okay as well for other tarot readers to have different opinions and I respect that, but as public facing roles with large platforms, it is our responsibility to be excellent role models to our followers. We should be supporting each other as women and not disparaging those we read on with our biases. Foul mouthed rants and calling Nicola names is not helpful.

In conclusion, the fandom is a powder keg. We are all sitting in the bunkhouse divided but ultimately waiting for the same gunshot that will snap us back. This might put us all back on the same page, all back to shipping Lukola where we started last year, or this gunshot could divide us further as all factions refuse to see or believe the truth. I truly believe we are coming to the end of this now and one way or another, the truth is on it’s way. We the fandom are the Tower, not Nic and Luke. One way or another, the tower will fall. One gunshot and bam.

[please-read-the-manga]

I know this is an older post (and I agree with all of it), but I wanted to share something I read a while back that really changed my perception on this topic/the way I personally go about rationalizing/understanding why so much of what occurs with the Uchiha feels unsatisfying.

Here's a link to the thread (lots of cool opinions/thoughts are expressed on it), but I'll try to crudely summarize what resonated the most with me. "Kishimoto's Writing On the Uchiha is Unironically A Good Example of Real Life Pro-Genocide Propaganda" by u/LivingwithStupidity.

To save space, thoughts under the cut:

Outside of our major characters (who all, to some degree, largely play antagonistic roles ie. Madara, Obito, Itachi, Sasuke, even Fugaku), the Uchiha rarely exist outside of the context of the massacre and even then, they are largely voiceless and nameless. This dehumanizes them in the narrative and robs them of individuality, especially as time progresses within the series. We naturally forget, for example, about the sweet old Uchiha aunty that runs a clan store in Sasuke's memories because she's never shown or brought up again. Outside of some hints in Sasuke's initial memories of the event that do not get repeated, we're not shown different generations of characters remembering their fallen Uchiha comrades/school friends, during later flashbacks to past wars we're not shown different Uchiha clan members fighting in the background (even though they were major participants who gave their lives in battle/on behalf of the village and operated as a founding clan - the only exception to this is Kagami and he is notably used as an exception to 'typical' Uchiha), we're not shown academy teachers having to redo their class rosters because all of their young Uchiha students were murdered, we're not shown any characters looking at empty shop stalls that used to be manned by noncombatant Uchiha characters and commenting on that loss of life/what it means to the village, etc. The rest of the in-universe world moves on and none of our major characters really call back into focus the humanity that was indiscriminately annihilated through the massacre - it laps at the surface through Sasuke's character/actions, but outside of its first introduction, it's never (imo) that explicit again. The closest we get to a proper callback to callous loss of life is Sasuke's reaction to Danzo's arm where it's revealed he violated and mutilated Uchiha bodies... but even this, I fear, is a bit too subtle for some people and it gets overlooked. Later, when Sasuke goes on to rightfully call out Konoha's crimes he specifically mentions his mother, father, and brother - and, again, I don't think this is enough to remind some readers of the sheer gravity of the tragedy at play here. Maybe even just one more line here, that reminded the reader innocent children, the infirmed, and noncombatants were murdered in their beds too, would have gone a long way... but the narrative (pointedly, in my opinion) doesn't take that necessary step. The loss of life isn't felt as vividly as it should be and I think it gives many readers license to dismiss Sasuke's grief and mission as 'unwarranted' (and it inspires the braindead 'well so-and-so suffered too/lost xyz and they didn't react like that' arguments when this tragedy, if you're capable of deeper analysis, is on a completely different scale/underscores an extremely unique injustice that is personal to Sasuke). There is a weight applied to Itachi's crimes when they're being discussed, but the critical human piece seems to be missing (imo) - hundreds of families massacred in one night is replaced all too simply with 'the clan' and I think the impact of the former gets handwaved by the phrasing of the latter.

The faulty eugenics arguments also serve as a simplistic 'see-I-told-you-so' that satisfies far too many and seems to justify, in their eyes, the complete destruction of the Uchiha bloodline and culture. Personally, if I can get a little 'real-world' here, I wonder if this is partially a symptom of poor education on genocide/the history of genocide. To me, Tobirama's unproven, disingenuous presentation on 'Uchiha genes' just reeks of 'Der Untermensch' propaganda and I think some people are far too generous in granting allowances for his very obviously pointed hatred and bias against this clan of people, especially when his direct actions as a person in power helped give rise to the eventual elimination of the Uchiha. For many people, this is all they need to know to now wipe their hands of this 'debate', call Sasuke 'crazy' and an 'edgy emo worked up over nothing' and point to this hateful, whacko eugenicist character that claims the sharingan makes 'these people' crazy so, of course, they 'self-destructed' (even if that was not the truth), of course, they're 'all bad and not worthy of Sasuke's efforts to preserve their memory/bring them justice', etc. Again, this works hand-in-hand with the previous point where we are pointedly not reminded that babies, children and everyday people without the sharingan, the elderly/infirmed, anyone who maybe had a dissenting opinion on this alleged coup - all of them - were lumped together on the basis of their 'genetic disposition and biological deficiencies' and thereby slaughtered without remorse. Now certain people can comfortably read pages upon pages of Itachi wank and be content with the knowledge that what Itachi did was justified/for the best because, well, the Uchiha are all nut-jobs. Yep, every single one. It's in their blood... just round 'em up and kill 'em. Right? These takes are so disgusting and continue to persistent in this fandom.

Finally, as mentioned in this thread already, Itachi never comes full circle to acknowledge his own victimhood at the hands of the village nor does he express any direct regret of his actions against his kin. He does regret, partially, how he handled Sasuke (and imo even that gets less focus than I frankly feel it deserves within these discussions - not only did Itachi repeatedly torture and try to force his brother onto a path that suited Itachi/Itachi's whims he was also prepared to BRAINWASH his younger brother and, again, force him to serve the state regardless of Sasuke's own freewill/agency), but Itachi never outright states that he regrets the massacre specifically (just that things could have been different) nor does he draw his own conclusions about the village's failures and how he was absolutely groomed and victimized by Konoha's violent rhetoric + the greater shinobi system (particularly when Sasuke is trying to wrap his own head around this mess of contradictions). I mean, the weight of that is enormous and I think it's a disservice to both Sasuke and Itachi to not explore the implications of that. Editing to add (I had it in the tags, but I should probably put it here): I do think Itachi felt guilt, even if it wasn't completely articulated, and that is why he manipulated Sasuke into killing him, but the major problem (for myself and many) remains that to the very end he died proudly 'Itachi of Konoha' even though Konoha inexcusably harmed him, his beloved younger brother, and his entire family. Itachi acknowledging, in some way, that the village is harmful but there should be some way of fixing that (ie. inspiring Sasuke to contemplate how that could be/what that looks like) would have added some needed complexity to discourse centering on the harm of the shinobi world/what happens going forward. I'm aware there are different interpretations on Itachi's regret, I go back and forth on these interpretations.

All this to say, I would have loved to see more flashbacks with Sasuke exploring his relationship to his mother/father/other Uchiha clan members. I would have loved to see more Uchiha merchants/laborers (or general noncombatants), cousins that Sasuke played with and met up with after his classes, elders that would sneak him treats, etc.

Their clan-specific jutsu and symbols have meaning, there is cultural significance to them that Sasuke may or may not be familiar with and, in either case, that matters. When Sasuke realizes he'll never be able to ask his father or elders what 'xyz' means in relation to their clan and his heritage, that such knowledge is gone forever, that matters. When Sasuke starts to forget certain faces, or can't bring himself to recall those times without being reminded of their bloody slaughter (as Itachi designed), that matters. Anyone who thinks about what Sasuke has endured for more than 5 minutes likely understands that these conflicting feelings/questions constantly loom around his character - how does someone who has been through something so awful, who has completely lost everything, how do they continue to endure? But the issue, I think, is that the narrative fails to adequately highlight these ideas in a way that would not only be 1.) satisfying to those of us who resonate with/appreciate the character but 2.) be capable of inspiring empathy in readers who maybe don't have the background/knowledge/experience to grapple with the weight of Sasuke's reality (again, without more explicit focus from the narrative itself).

Naruto gets to see his father and mother in two extremely meaningful moments - they're story highlights for a reason. Naruto's experience with neglect, isolation, and lack of identity have been hallmarks informing his character since the beginning. That he is given the opportunity to directly reconcile with these feelings, is great, it's satisfying - we see how this character has hurt and how they've grown and we're happy to see them receive some semblance of closure after the difficult journey they've undergone. So, I'll always lament that the same was never extended to Sasuke. To have an alternative viewpoint to Itachi's, could have greatly influenced Sasuke's calculus as he tried to parse his thoughts/feelings regarding insurmountable grief, isolation, and loss. I mean, imagine if Fugaku and Mikoto were edo tensei'd... What would they have said to their youngest son who had been tasked with this impossible mission of bringing justice to their clan in the face of the pure evil injustice that the Leaf did to them? Would he have been given peace? Would they have relieved him of his quest so that he no longer needed to suffer? Would he listen? Idk, man, we were able to waste so many chapters on random fodder characters during the war arc, we couldn't be bothered to interact with any other Uchiha?

But... if we did present other Uchiha for the purpose of exploring what closure looks like for Sasuke (even outside of Fugaku and Mikoto, though I think they could have worked too), then we would be humanizing them in a way that conflicts with what the narrative seems to want us to take away from the village's (and Itachi's) actions. We can't humanize the Uchiha without calling out this horrifying wrong the Leaf has exercised... especially if there will not be any retribution (and that could be a fascinating story to explore, a really realistic one too lol - but I don't personally think that was the narrative's intention).

It really does just feel like a missed opportunity/mishandling of 'what could have been' at the end of the day. We have hints to this greater, underexplored Uchiha lore that are fascinating - like the Uchiha relationship to the Nekobaa, the Nakano shrine the Uchiha faithfully tended for generations, and Sasuke and Itachi having their fight in what was notably an impressive clan structure far from the village.

This was a group of people connected through a deep, rich culture. They weren't 'nobodies', they weren't 'crazy and irredeemable' - they were people and the narrative would love for you to forget that.

On one level I feel like Sasuke’s idealization of Itachi towards the end is mostly a product of Kishimoto’s desire to have all the characters glorify Itachi and treat him like a saint so he can have his tragic plot twist hero character and no one questions how fucked up it is and so he can erase the rest of Sasuke’s clan and connections to his family but on the other I do think elements of it are realistic given how Obito kept telling Sasuke how much Itachi sacrificed for him and how his own sense of purpose and ideals and sense of self had already been tied to Itachi (antagonistically) for so long through trying to kill him, and how desperate he was to be loved in a way that connected him to his family. And he didn’t actually really believe that what Itachi did was right—if he had he wouldn’t have yelled at him for answers when he came back and he wouldn’t have chosen to oppose Konoha and the kages and essentially gone directly against everything Itachi stood for. I think the fact that on a very fundamental level he opposes the ideology that Itachi upheld but still feels a certain empathy for him and responsibility to him and contextualizes his worldview in reference to him does sort of make sense in a very sad way even if he would be completely justified in feeling nothing but hatred for him forever. I don’t think it was a good choice to have him refer to him in such heroic/valorizing terms though, and if that was going to be the case I wish we had seen a progression that didn’t result in concession to Konoha wherein he could accept that seeing Itachi in any kind of heroic light was deeply inaccurate and unhealthy

[avoicebehindthestars]

Okay, but hear me out.

Aziraphale and the Metatron leave the lift, the Metatron leads them to an office, wordlessly and with a tight expression. Only once they are inside, door closed, the Voice of god deflates onto a chair, somewhat relieved. Aziraphale is pointed to another chair, sits at the edge, like a naughty student sent to the headteacher's office. 'Right, now listen carefully,' the Metatron says in a conspiratory voice. 'This room is fully warded, absolutely no one can listen in on our conversations here. Well, apart from the Almighty, of course, but I prefer to believe she's on our side. So! You don't want the world to end,' (Aziraphale stiffens at that), 'I don't want it to end either,' (wait, what?) 'Satan himself doesn't want it to end, what with his own kid still out there.' 'Satan?!' Aziraphale gasps, but his mind is sharp enough to process the implications immediately. 'You're in cahoots with Satan?!' 'Of course I'm in cahoots with Satan!' the Metatron puffs. 'The Supreme Archangel elopes with the Grand Duke of Hell, the chief guardian angel of humanity does what ever it is you've been doing with hell's plenipotentiary since the dawn of creation, the Archangel Michael has Dagon and Ligur on bloody speed-dial… What sort of situation did you think this was?' Aziraphale doesn't know which part of that to address first. 'I, uh…' 'Right,' the Metatron doesn't bother giving him room to speak. 'So! As far as I can tell, it isn't humanity being tested, it's us. Just like you said during Armageddon, it's all about the ineffable plan. The armies and the administrations want this war to happen so badly, they would impeach both me and Satan if we were to simply stop them, convinced that we're rebelling against god's word. But now that you're back in heaven, that miracle aptitude of yours will be just what we need!' 'What miracle aptitude?!' Aziraphale gasps. He's been feeling dizzy for a while now. 'Don't play coy with me,' the Voice rolls his eyes. 'Twenty five lazarii? If I were to perform a miracle of this magnitude, it would put me out of commission for half a millennium at least! And you, there you were prancing about your little street the very same day like it was nothing!' 'But it wasn't my miracle!' Aziraphale protests and his subconscious is already working out just how terribly things have gone wrong. 'It was mine and Crowley's! It was joint!' The Metatron freezes. Blinks several times while facts slot themselves into place and conclusions formulate. Finally, he groans and slams his forehead into his desk.

And the rest of the story is the Metatron playing the most awkward Cupid for Aziraphale to win Crowley back while they both try their best to delay Heaven and Hell's endevours to launch the Second Coming.

[skibasyndrome]

"please, speak to me" for the prompt thingy?🫶

Tinaaaa!!! Thank you so much for sending me this prompt! I'm extremely sorry for taking forever to write this, but here it iiiis.

Because I simply couldn't leave them in their messy little fwb situation, this is a follow-up to this drabble here.

Hope you'll enjoy! 💜💜💜

For the first couple of days, Wille is so caught up in replaying his last night with Simon that he doesn’t fully notice to which extent he’s being avoided. When he does, the realization hits him square in the chest.

Wille doesn’t think that, during the admittedly relatively short time they’ve known each other, he’s ever gone this long without speaking to Simon. They just clicked, right away, became friendly very quickly, became… more than friendly equally quickly. And up till now they’ve never gone this long without speaking, at least a little bit. Wille misses his friend’s presence next to him during the one lecture on postmodernism they normally attend together. And he misses the stupid jokes they tell each other in the cafeteria during lunch breaks. Wille texts Simon twice during the week following the incident. Both times, Simon answers quickly, but the conversations die down just as quickly. Wille knows he’s busy with exams, but this is different. Simon won’t admit that anything’s wrong, continues to throw Wille a quick smile every time they cross paths on campus. But before Wille has the chance to approach him, he’s gone again. It feels like something ended between them. And Wille doesn’t know what to do about it, let alone what to say. He can’t suggest they have sex again. Well. He would like to, but he won’t. Every time he thinks back to Simon storming off, he feels like an idiot. But any other suggestion feels almost more ridiculous. He can almost hear Simon scoff at him whenever he thinks of something new to say. They’ve never done anything else, they’ve been friendly at uni, then spent their time back in the dorms fucking. Anything beyond that feels like an imposition. In front of his mind’s eye, Simon is rolling his eyes and shaking his head at Wille’s suggestion for brunch on Sunday or a couple drinks Thursday night. And so he keeps them to himself, his silly suggestions. But by week two, Wille feels like he’s going to burst if he lets the scenario play out inside of his head another fucking time. He needs to figure this out, needs to fix whatever there is to fix. Right whatever wrong it was that Wille did. Even if this arrangement, whatever it was, is over for Simon, Wille wants them to part on good terms. And not have Simon think badly of him. He feels more than a little silly as he finds himself walking through the halls of the music lecture building. And even while he’s waiting outside of the room he knows Simon’s choir is practicing in, he almost gets up and leaves again two times. Scrolling on his phone is barely enough of a distraction. Especially when, from time to time, a few beautiful notes hit his ear, coming through the large door. This would be a lot easier if he didn’t immediately recognize the beautiful voice. or Or if he didn’t remember what other beautiful sounds that voice is capable of producing, under the right conditions. 

He clears his throat and rolls his neck, trying to banish those tempting images from his mind. He’s about to give up and leave again, go for a walk or go find something else to distract him from his own misery, when the door opens and a couple of students start streaming out. Wille immediately gets up from the random chair he’s found sitting in the hallway, straightens up, feeling weirdly caught and weirdly out of place. Before he can wonder if Simon will even notice him standing in the hallway like a lost little puppy, the door closes again. It leaves Wille standing face to face with the man he hasn’t gotten a proper look at in a very long two weeks. Wille raises his hand for an awkward wave and notices too late that he clearly must’ve interrupted a conversation between Simon and his choir teacher, who now looks between the two of them, visibly confused. Even she must notice that this amount of silence isn’t very normal. Giving Wille another once-over, she retrieves her key from where she was about to lock the door and hands it over to Simon. She tells him to leave it on her desk later before walking off. For a gratingly long moment it looks like Simon is about to run after her. When he turns back around to Wille he looks a little less panicked, albeit no less confused. His bag is casually slung over his shoulder, and something inside of Wille’s chest aches at the familiar picture. Instead of dwelling on it, though, he shakes his head slightly, takes a step towards Simon. “Hey,” he starts and tries to smile, but it must be coming off exactly as weird and forced as it feels, because Simon only nods at him. “Hey.” Simon’s own smile is late, seems a little out of place. Maybe there’s still time to run away. But when Simon opens his mouth to speak, a different sense of panic washes over Wille, so he simply has to blurt it out. “I wanted to see you.” The silence that follows Wille’s confession is clearly taunting him. Simon just looks at him with his brows furrowed. “And I wanted to talk to you,” Wille continues, and maybe it’s the way Simon’s gaze darts back and forth between Wille’s lips and his eyes that makes Wille go on.  “Because I missed you,” he says. And because he’s not made enough of a fool of himself.  “Miss you, I mean.” Simon only nods quickly and, for a second, Wille gets caught up in his eyes. It's been entirely too long since he’s gotten a proper look at them. If Wille didn’t know any better, the idea that he’s spent hours looking at them before would sound ridiculous.

Simon is the first to break contact. He clears his throat. “So…?” he starts, then trails off, lifting himself up and down on his tiptoes. “Can we talk?” Wille is practically pleading and, as if on cue, a student pushes his way past, apparently seeing no better path than going between him and Simon. “I mean, maybe…” Wille gestures towards the room and Simon catches his hint. He gives a curt nod, one that Wille can’t read. But he does turn around, and not to leave. He slips in through the door, Wille at his heels. And before Wille has any chance to take in the interior of the room, or think about what the fuck he’s supposed to do now, now that he’s gotten to this point, Simon is on him. Wille's back hits the door with a loud thud, his chest immediately colliding with Simon's. He lets out a strangles sound of surprise when he suddenly has an arm full of Simon. But even his moment of shock is cut short when Simon’s lips are on his. Finally again. Wille quickly melts into the touch, relishes in the way Simon licks into his mouth, almost like he's been plagued by the same desperate need that has rendered Wille sleepless for these past two weeks. Wille's arms close around Simon's middle, backpack and all, and Wille lets out a sigh of… something. Relief, probably, but also pleasure. This is what they're good at, this is a way in which they've always understood each other. This is what makes sense for them. So much sense that Simon has Wille heavily panting against his lips in no time, so much sense that Wille’s hands easily find their way into the back pockets of Simon’s jeans, like they’re two puzzle pieces. So much sense that it takes Wille a long time, many seconds, minutes maybe, to realize that this isn’t what he came for. Not really, not initially. He tries to pull back, not going far with the wood of the door right behind him. But Simon understands, moves back, then takes a big step away from Wille that causes Wille’s hands to slip out of his pockets. He weakly holds them at his side, suddenly feeling really awkward about just standing here. He clears his throat. “I…” It’s like Simon didn’t only take away his breath, but also his speech. Wille tears his eyes from Simon’s face, from the soft reddish hue on his cheeks, from his wet lips. “I wanted to talk about last time, what you said. I-” Simon interrupts him with a groan. “Can’t we just forget about this already?” He sounds frustrated, angry almost, but there’s a trace of desperation. Wille swallows hard, very unhelpfully notices Simon’s taste on his tongue. While every bone in Wille’s body is yearning to just get back to what they were doing, to get back to what’s always felt good, he knows he shouldn’t. Not like this. Not until he’s tried, not until-

Simon groans loudly again and moves towards the handle, trying to get past Wille. His rib cage contracts painfully at the sight, and his last resolve crumbles. “Wait, please, wait, Simon,” he tries, quietly, too quietly, but, fuck, how else is he supposed to say this. Without thinking about it, he goes in for Simon’s wrist, grabs it, squeezes once, then lets go again, suddenly terrified he’s making it worse. He back away from the door, stops blocking it. “I’m sorry, Simon, I don’t-” “Don’t say it,” Simon rushes out. As quickly as he reached for the door, he’s taking a few steps back again. Wille opens and closes his mouth again, entirely helpless. He’s not fucking following. He shakes his head, trying to make sense of it all. “But what you said then, and when you left-” “It doesn’t matter, okay?” Simon is pacing, and there’s too much distance between them for Wille’s liking, way too much. But he doesn’t want to reach out, doesn’t want to overstep, but, fuck he needs to fix this, he needs to understand, he needs Simon to tell him. He can’t keep wondering if maybe, just maybe…. When Simon stops pacing only to go for the door again, it bursts out of Wille. “Please, just speak to me!” He startles himself with his raised voice, and Simon stops dead in his tracks, head whipping around towards Wille. It’s Simon’s turn to gape at him, speechless.

He juts out his chin in defiance and crosses his arms. Wille’s heartbeat quickens when Simon turns towards him again. There’s a fire in his eyes that makes Wille feel like Simon is the one towering over him. For another few seconds, they just stare at each other, neither willing to be the first to break contact. It’s scary, tense, like any wrong move could shatter everything. Wille decides then and there that he’ll keep this up for hours if he has to, if it means that Simon isn’t going to run away again. But it seems like Simon has different plans. With a long, exasperated sigh, he turns away again. Wille watched his shoulders sag, watches him throw his head back in frustration. When he runs a hand up and through his curls, a silly part of Wille’s conscience wishes he could be the one doing that. “Look,” Simon starts, and Wille steels himself for whatever revelation might be coming his way. His eyes never leave Simon’s face, still. “I’m sorry, okay?” Wille feels his face fall. “I’m sorry that this isn’t what we wanted, I’m sorry that I said what I said, I just-” Simon tugs on his hair again and lets out a frustrated noise. “It’s okay,” he says, and suddenly all the fierceness drains out of his voice. When he twists his head to look back towards Wille, Wille’s pulse yet again picks up speed.

“It’s okay that you don’t want the same thing, it is!” Wille has trouble listening with his heartbeat hammering away at his temples. “We can keep doing this,” Simon gestures between the two of them ”I’ll be fine, I swear, can we just not talk about-” Suddenly, it clicks. Oh. “Stop,” Wille says, quietly, carefully, and it must be such a stark difference in tone that it’s unsettling. Simon immediately quiets down, enough for Wille to take a step towards him. To finally close the distance between them. Wille doesn’t think his pulse has ever been this quick without him nearing a panic attack. Once again, he swallows. “You’re saying that you… like me?” Simon presses his eyes shut, lets his head fall back in a movement of aggravation. “Wille…,” he groans, but there’s no edge to his voice, no hostility. He rolls his head back, looks pained, but he doesn’t withdraw, stays where he is. “Yes, I like you. That’s the whole point, that’s why-” Oh. Wille doesn’t waste another second, doesn’t give Simon any more time to misunderstand him. With a fervor that’s entirely new in its intensity, he rushes forward. One hand on Simon’s neck, the other reaching for Simon’s arm, linking their fingers together loosely, Wille kisses him. He kisses him and kisses him and lets out a pathetic little noise when Simon presses back after a moment, returns the kiss with equal force. Fuck. Wille can’t keep it in any longer. A wave of relief washes over him, strong, intense, warm, just like Simon. Wille giggles into their kiss, breaks away from Simon’s lips. When he does, he doesn’t pull away, rests his forehead against Simon’s. And he simply can’t hold back his stupid grin. “I like you too,” he says and fuck, that feels a lot like butterflies. “A lot.”

Send me one of these prompts for a short lil story 💜

[maxdibert]

speaking of Snape's teaching style — I love our bitchy abusive boi, but also I kinda do have a cognitive dissonance here, because while saying he was mean to the students just in honor of his espionage cover is unrealistic, thinking that neither Snape nor Dumbledore considered this crucially important aspect reduces them to dunderheads with planning horizon of a goldfish

perhaps Sev's natural tendencies simply coincided with the needs of the order, but at least Snape had a good reason to encourage the worst parts of himself, with Albus' silent (or perhaps not so silent in Albus' way) approval. overall I don't like it when Snape is portrayed as a lupin-like cutie patootie teacher who would coddle kiddos if only he didn't have to show off in front of Lucius, buuuut when the war aspect is completely excluded from the discourse, it also feels off. for me especially the very first lesson, specifically that "taking points for not looking after Neville" part, seems rather artificial and random, unlike most further interactions, where Snape looks way more refined in his malice

(talking only about him being a meanie, not about his breakdowns or anything)

thoughts on the matter?

Alright, let’s break this down.

First of all, if Severus showed favoritism toward Draco, I don’t think it had anything to do with maintaining some kind of cover. I think he genuinely had a soft spot for the kid. Just like Severus hated Harry because he saw James in him, it’s not far-fetched to think he was partial to Draco because he saw Lucius in him—someone who always treated him well and spoke highly of him.

Severus isn’t a jerk to all of his students; he’s specifically a jerk to Gryffindors, and even more so to Harry and his friends. Because the story is told from their perspective, we think of him as this huge asshole, but honestly, we have no idea what people like Cho or Cedric (as Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs) thought of him, or even Luna. We know nothing about how he’s perceived by houses other than Gryffindor and Slytherin, which conveniently have a rivalry and also conveniently represent Severus’ unresolved traumas from his own school years.

Then there’s the fact that Severus isn’t a pleasant person, nor does he pretend to be. Being nice just isn’t part of his personality. He’s sarcastic, sassy, and sharp, and he loves making cutting remarks, either to hit someone where it hurts or simply to use his words like poisoned darts. He doesn’t need people to like him, and honestly, he doesn’t want people to like him—he makes zero effort to be agreeable. Clearly, he hates his job and is completely fed up, so no, it’s not an act. He’s just an asshole. And we love him for it because, honestly, the more of an asshole he is, the funnier he gets. He’s someone who knows how to use his words like blades in a way that’s clever and even entertaining—especially if you have a dark sense of humor. That whole “he’s keeping up appearances” thing? Maybe he did certain things to maintain his cover, but his attitude wasn’t part of that. His shitty personality is just who he is, and we love him for it, lol.

But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t care about the kids. The guy makes sure they don’t die or end up impaled somewhere, working overtime and risking his neck for them. And that’s one of the dualities I love about him: he clearly doesn’t want to do it, but he has a strong sense of responsibility. He hates those kids; they drive him up the wall, and he’d probably strangle them if he could—but not only does he not do that, he goes out of his way to make sure they survive the school year. To me, that matters more than being a lovable person like Lupin, who doesn’t take his damn potion and puts everyone in danger.

Severus is a bastard, but he’s a responsible bastard when it counts. And I think, as an adult, you gain perspective and realize, yeah, he was an absolute dick, but I’d leave my kids with him over Lupin any day. With Severus, sure, they’d leave his class crying, but at least they wouldn’t end up dead. He’s the lesser evil, lol.

[brokebonewritings]

Dinnertime Confessions

Matt Murdock x Reader

Tags: 18+, Slice of Life, Fluff, Domestic Bliss

Summary: You invite your cousin Peter over for dinner. Peter and Matt become aware of each other's after hour hobbies. Song: Young Tonight by Plain White T's

Word Count: 1.2K

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Peter shifts in his seat uncomfortably as the silence around the table becomes deafening. It felt like the air was just hanging. You had invited your cousin over to have dinner with Matt and yourself since they seemed to hit it off well on their first encounter. Maybe it was some weird teenager thing.

You clear your throat and turn to Peter, “How’s school going? You’re at that fancy tech school right?”

“Oh!” He jumps in his seat a bit, “Yeah, Midtown High. Yeah! It’s great, I love it there.”

You nod happily and turn my head to look at Matt. He also looks very uncomfortable but in his own grumpy pout. You tap his leg under the table and see a soft smile replace his frown.

��A-are you guys planning any wedding stuff yet?” Peter asks quietly, and you smile.

“Not yet, but I will call Aunt May when we do!” you reply, “I know you both want to be apart of the process.”

“Of course! You’re our family.” He says simply.

Matt then clears his throat, “So, Peter, Do any sports or extracurriculars?”

Silence falls over the table at his sudden question. You look to my cousin who looks extremely uncomfortable.

“Pete, you alright?” You ask

“Huh?” He says coming out of his small daze, “Oh! Yeah! I’m fine… Uh I do Academic Decathlon, and I intern…”

“You intern?” You ask, “Where at?”

“Stark Industries.”

“Huh.” Matt lets out.

“Okay, what is going on with the both of you?” You finally ask, looking between your cousin and Matt.

Earlier that evening

“You’re on the wrong side of New York, Spiderman.”

Daredevil stood on the rooftop near your apartment. The unwelcome visitor sat on the light fixture nearby. It wasn’t every day the web slinger was around Hell’s Kitchen

“Sorry, Mr. Devil. Was just in the area!” He replied.

“Don’t stay too long, it’s not safe for a kid like you.”

“What? Hey man, I’m not a kid!”

Yes he was. Matt knew exactly who Spiderman was. Thanks to his “super devil hearing” as you liked to call it. 

It took one Spiderman visit after meeting your cousin for Matt to figure out who it was. Was he surprised? Yes, very. Did he trust Spiderman? Not in the slightest. Did he trust Peter Parker? The boy had his charm.

“Get back to Queens, Kid.”

“I’ll have you know that I’m looking out for someone.” Spiderman said sternly. “So I'm just gonna hang out for 15 more minutes then I'll leave, promise!”

Matt sighed loudly before nodding. “You have 15 minutes. Then get out of my part of town.” With that, he disappeared into the smoke.

Weird dude. Peter thought. He didn’t normally don his webslinger outfit in Hell’s Kitchen, but he figured he would patrol before having dinner with his favorite cousin. 

He still couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched though. Deciding it was time to head to your place, he swung to the top of your building and changed into his streetwear.

Peter rushes down the stairs to your floor and enters your hallway. Stopping dead in his tracks, he sees a familiar figure standing next to your door. It was Matt, dressed in what seemed to be his work attire.

“Hey Matt!” Peter called out and ran down the hall. He saw the older man turn to him with a frown on his face.

“We need to talk.” He said simply, causing Peter to stumble a bit.

“Yeah, sure. Everything okay?”

“I know who you are, Peter Parker.” The gruff voice replies. “I know you’re Spider-Man.”

“Huh?”

Peter felt his heart stop at Matt's words. He had always been cautious about revealing his identity to anyone outside of his close circle, and the fact that Matt, his cousin’s fiancé, knew his secret was unsettling.

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Peter tried to play it cool. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Matt. I'm just a regular high school student."

Matt's expression remained impassive, his blind eyes seemingly staring right through Peter. "Don't insult my intelligence, kid. I can hear the timber of your voice clear as day.”

The teen realized that there was no point in denying it any longer. He nodded slowly,

"Okay, fine. You caught me. I'm Spider-Man."

Matt nodded in acknowledgment before speaking again. "You need to tell your cousin.”

“What? No way!”

“You never know, they might be more accepting of it than most people.”

“I can’t! I can’t, not now, not ever.”

Matt sighs, “Do it, or I will.”

“No! Wait, please!” Peter grabs Matt’s wrist. “Does she know about you?”

“Of course.”

Peter stands back for a moment, thinking, Matt’s words echoing. He’s brought back to reality as you nudge his arm.

“Peter, what’s going on?” You push gently. “Are you alright?”

He stands quickly. “I think I have to go!”

“What?”

“Yeah, Like tons of homework and band practice.”

“It's Saturday at 8pm.”

Matt stands suddenly, “Wait.”

You and Peter turn to look at Matt as he gets up.

“He’s upset because of me.” He confesses, “I may have run into him earlier while coming back home from…work.”

Peter shifts uncomfortably as you turn to look at him.

“You know about…”

“Yes.” He starts, “but…I…”

He trails off and you place a hand on his shoulder.

“I have a secret too.” He continues. “I did see Matt…but only because I was also ‘working’”

He lowers his head and you nod in understanding. “So you too?…”

The younger man nods and looks up at you, “I’m Spider-Man.”

You stand there gawking at Peter for a moment before turning to Matt. He stood quietly as you and Peter had this interaction.

“Matt…did you?…”

“No.” he says roughly before you turn back to Peter.

“Does Aunt May know?”

“No! At least, not yet…”

As you stood there, trying to wrap your head around the situation, Peter glanced nervously between you and Matt. Your fiance’s presence beside you was a grounding force as you processed this new reality. You glance at Peter and you can see the fear in his eyes. The uncertainty of how you would respond to his truth was evident. Taking a deep breath, you stepped forward and enveloped Peter in a tight hug.

"I'm proud of you, Peter," you whispered, your voice filled with emotion. "I can't imagine the weight you've been carrying on your shoulders all this time."

Peter was taken aback by your response, his eyes widening in surprise. Slowly, he returned the hug, feeling a wave of relief wash over him at your acceptance.

“I just… I was scared how you would react, and I don’t want to put you in danger.” Peter mumbled, his voice muffled by the embrace.

You pulled back slightly to look into Peter's eyes, a reassuring smile on your face. "You're family, Peter. And family supports each other no matter what.”

Matt stepped forward, placing a hand on Peter's shoulder. “I told you she would be understanding.”

Peter let out a nervous chuckle, feeling lighter than he had in a long time.

After dinner, you all washed the kitchen and sent Peter home with leftovers. When you and Matt were finally alone and settled in bed you finally said, “I knew this whole time.”

You see Matt’s lips form into a smile, “Heard us through the door?”

A small laugh escapes your lips.

“Yeah, you both are really loud for stealth heroes.”

join my taglist! || Taglist: @alexxavicry @moncherriis @vioplay19 @skulliecadaver-blog @emma23

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hi there! I know we have practically no knowledge on RSA, but what do you think the chances are of RSA being connected to the Silver Owls or at the very least the original kingdom Silver’s family came from? We know that Henrik, Leah, and the Dawn Knight all came from a kingdom in the Land of Dawning which is right next to Sage’s Island where RSA is (also I think I read somewhere that the island is considered part of the Land of Dawning but I can’t remember if that’s true are not). There’s also the sword imagery that RSA has on the coat of arms that’s associated with the Dawn Knight and Silver himself (and the white horse but that may just be because RSA students are supposed to be more “prince like”). Then again, it could just be simply a call back to the Sword in the Stone.

The only issue I have though is the timing. If we believe that RSA was established after NRC and the events we see in Lilia’s dream, that means Silver’s family would either be in Briar Valley already (Bladesvalle or whatever they called it) or after their kingdom had fallen and Silver was asleep, so them establishing a school all the way back in the Land of Dawning would be weird. Though, I guess it would make sense if RSA was established in memory of the royal family. Maybe by the guardian fairies that Dawn had? Idk, but I hope after book 7 we get more info.

The Silver Owls are described to be a collective composed of people from various nations who view fae in Briarland as a threat and/or want to seize their resources. They have a common enemy and goal, but don’t appear to have loyalty to the same country.

I do believe that Sage's Island counts as part of the Land of Dawning, which also seems to be where Silver's blood family hails from. It's also true that Royal Sword Academy has motifs which are commonly associated with Silver or the Dawn Knight (swords, white horses, etc.). However, I don't think there's anything that explicitly links them to RSA, its founding, or its history. It's an interesting idea though... to think that this shining school full of pure-hearted "let's work together!" types might have been founded as the result of such a bloody and tragic era of conflict 😔 Monuments and establishments made in honor of a perceived fallen hero can honestly be made anywhere, be it the home country or some other place of relevancy. It may not be an important detail that nothing was made in Briarland's conquered territory (especially when the land itself seemed to be not that hospitable for human lives + maybe humans didn't feel comfortable being there for prolonged periods of time for construction, given tensions with fae). It might also be interesting if the guardian fairies that the Dawn Knight is always praying to for strength had some hand in establishing RSA. We don't know much about those fae in particular; maybe they'll meet Silver later in the main story??? I would personally like to know why these three guardian fairies sided with and got along with humans as opposed to the fae the Silver Owls ended up combating. Is it simply a case of diurnal vs nocturnal fae...? But then that doesn't make total sense because diurnal fae (pixies) also exist in Briarland, and it was clear they were also being hurt in the conflict. Again, there's a lot we have yet to discover about this sordid history.

[ravenwriter16]

I really like the idea of Platonic/Familial Yandere DCA. It just makes sense in a way. (Even if I do also really like the Romantic Yandere DCA.)

I have a question for all three of them, if it has already been asked I apologize, what are some of the things they like to do most when spending time with Y/N?

Sun: OOOOO!!! where do I even begin?!

Moon: Heh, would you like one of us to go first--,

Sun: NO! No! I want to go first!

Eclipse: *Chuckles* Easy, love~.

Sun: Okay okay okay! Sooooo one of my favorite things to do with Sunspot is arts and crafts! Before she...*Ahem* left...we would spend all day indoors up to our necks in art supplies! I taught her how to get creative! With her drawings, clay statues, windchimes, and paintings!

Eclipse: I still have some of her little clay cats~.

Sun: *Waves his hands up and down in excitement* And we also would play adventurer around the palace! We would sneak around and follow any suspicious looking characters~.

Moon: And that led to one of the maids having a heart attack--,

Sun: HEY! She shouldn't have been carrying a large basket--,

Moon: She was doing the laundry--,

Sun: ANYWAYS! oh oh oh! We also sparred, a LOT. Sunshine is really talented with a sword! Every training dummy she went up against would be shattered into splinters! And she almost bested ME on multiple occasions! Of course, I WAS going easy on her but still!

Eclipse: I remember watching you both from my study. She held such fire in her eyes...

Moon: Yes...As for me, Starlight and I would often be in the library. We would grab a new book and lay on the carpet to read it. Well, I would read it, she would simply lay in my lap. Every time she would talk out loud to the character like they were in the room with us. Even going as far as to heavily scold the antagonist.

Sun: Oh...is that why she would glare at the wall whenever I would read to her "Little Red Riding Hood"?

Eclipse: *Snorts* oh that is simply precious~.

Moon: *Chuckles* She was such a sweetheart~...Oh. We would also take a stroll around the gardens whenever I would have a small break from teaching those baby mages. I will admit that I didn't even show up for some of my classes.

Eclipse: *Rolls eyes* Yes, and it's thanks to you that I received MANY letters from families complaining about their child's education.

Moon: *Shrugs and inspects his talons* They're a bunch of lousy, bratty children pretending to be adults anyways...

[All three chuckle]

Eclipse: *gestures to himself* My turn? Well, I did many things with my little comet, due to the fact that I wasn't held up as much as my two husbands--,

Sun: Hey!

Moon: Rude~.

Eclipse: It is the truth, loves, you know it is. Now! When I wasn't teaching her how to play the piano, ballroom dancing, how to read and write...I'd take her out to the market that way she wouldn't feel cooped up in the palace walls. We never left without getting her something, whether that would be a new dress or toy.

Sun: Her favorite was that knitted drider doll

Moon: Ah yes, Empress Webby Von Nettings the Third. Ruler of the Bed Kingdom and Conquer of the Closet Monsters.

Eclipse: That's the one. We would also have daddy daughter tea times. I would always have a tent sent up near the training grounds where Sun and Moon would take their students. That way she could be near all three of us during a busy day. She would sit out and watch her fathers or play with her toys while I worked on paperwork. It was very...peaceful...

Moon: Eclipse...she'll come around, just keep give her time.

Sun: Moon's right! We're already wearing her down some. Soon everything will be back to the way it was.

Eclipse: Yes, you're both right. Thank you my loves~.

[geddyqueer]

i would love some tunnel fic AND (/or) ⛏️💕⛏️

ok i'm holding off on posting more about tunnel fic until i actually write more words. but because you asked so nicely, you're getting some background of geology fic AND a snippet.

this fic came about because annie sent me some bts shot of lou where he's wearing a fishing vest and i was like this is geology professor core. and then i simply couldn't stop thinking about it. back in my wayward youth i was a geology major and i've always thought that a field study would make for a great character study template, so the fic is laid out like a report:

the OTHER major player in this fic is that concept a few people were kicking around several months ago when that interview dropped about buck and tommy learning more about each other as their relationship developed (LOL LMAO!) that maybe tommy had a past partner who had died. and annie and i were sitting there in the sandbox, and we were like: what if his partner who died was older than him. what if his partner who died had been in a position of authority over him. what if his partner who died had been not only his professor and academic mentor, but also his gay mentor. and now, what if buck, a young spritely 20-something, recently self-actualized, with the hots for his older professor, was pushing up against all of that history of tommy's. all set against the background of my second-favorite thing to think about: rocks!

anyway, here's a snippet:

The room is dark, but the door's unlocked. Buck takes a chance and pushes it open. It doesn't look like there's anyone else in there, but there is a weird lump in the front corner behind the desk, and he can't quite make out what it is until he flips the light switch on and the lump startles and jumps and–it's a guy. 

Not just a guy, but the guy.

Even with the memory of the jacket he was sleeping on imprinted deep into his face, Buck can tell he’s good looking. He has eyes, after all. And speaking of eyes, this guy—and it has to be the same one whose papers Buck has been reading all week—well, his eyes are piercingly dark blue. He blinks rapidly, sits up, and stares Buck down with those eyes.

"Uh, hi," Buck says, as the guy shoves his jacket off the desk and slaps his own face a couple of times and gets to his feet. "Are you Dr. Kinard?"

"Shit," the guy says, his voice cracking a little with sleep. He clears his throat. "Was I supposed to have a TA this semester? Sorry–"

"Oh, no, no, I'm, uh. I'm just a student," Buck says with a chuckle. He doesn't mean to, but he bobs his head like he's shy. He's not shy! He's just clearly in the right place at the wrong time. Maybe he should let the guy snooze, come back in half an hour.

The guy–Dr. Kinard–frowns, and wow, the picture of him on the UC-Pasadena Geology Department website does not do him justice. He's really earned that spicy pepper, Buck thinks, and then mentally kicks himself for it. "Huh," Dr. Kinard says, then: "Christ. Did I sleep through class?"

"No! No, you're good, I'm just–I'm super early, first day on campus, all my classes were remote last year, and because I'm, you know, 'non-traditional', not fresh out of high school, I didn't go through the, uh, standard orientation." 

Real smooth, he thinks. He's rambling. He needs to stop rambling. At least the hot professor standing in front of him is starting to grin instead of rolling his eyes. 

"Anyway, I'm a Bio major but I picked this class because, well–"

"Easy credit?" 

Buck stares in shock, but Dr. Kinard isn't even looking at him; instead he's shuffling back toward his desk, hand reaching for the stack of papers that he was just using as a pillow. 

"What? No way," Buck says, and it comes out a little more forceful than he intends. "No, I read your dissertation. It was really interesting. The, uh, the section about the volcanism in the Quaternary era? Am I saying that right? At first I was just like, woah, this is cool, I didn't know about any of this but then I was looking at the timelines and realizing that the earliest humans were literally walking around getting all, you know, homo-erectus-y while that volcano was spewing! And now people walk around Yellowstone and we just have no idea!"

Dr. Kinard's hand hasn't moved since Buck started talking. He's just… still, leaning over his desk. "You. Hold on. You read my dissertation?"

"Yeah," Buck says. "It was good!"

[fatedstrands]

Viktor looked to the file, trailing through a thousand thoughts, his mind a whirling mess.

"From what I can discern, he isn't too far off his invention, just... Missing something. As for being used for 'bullshit'?" Sad pained eyes look to the other man. They both knew the world, both knew the dangers it held.

"If only the two of us understand anything about it? I'd wager, no. But, we cannot predict the future, only try to shape it." He tucks the folder close now, eyes amused almost. "And if we manage this, and we create great things? We can just as easily dismantle it. What are they going to do? Kill the only people who know how to shape it?" It was perhaps wishful thinking, but also held an air of challenge, defiance.

No weapons.

"I will see you at the cafe down from the residence tomorrow at noon." With a soft bow, he left, making his way slowly back towards Piltover, careful not to accept any aid from anyone he didn't trust.

---

Come the next morning, however, chaos.

The lab had been raided, things stolen and an explosion set off. With an earful from Heimendinger, Viktor was late to the meetup, simply sweeping past, tapping Badou and flicking his head to had towards the police warding zone.

It was a small snap at them, showing his credentials, his direct order from the Professor and a stern stare when they questioned Badou.

"You expect a cripple to get all this done on his own? He's my assistant, you idiots. Now do you want to waste more of Heimendinger's time?" They rushed to let them through, offering Badou an honourary badge to let him come and go without issue. "Idiots. The lot of them."

Antsy. How much of the work was destroyed by the thieves, how much was taken, ruined.

Entering the space, however, was a tragedy, yet a relief. Only minor damage, one wall with a hole through it, but things were fine. Fine enough that he could snatch up a book and read.

When something was dropped, light sparking, Jayce jolted.

"Careful with that! It's delicate!" He snapped, panic clear in his chest, gaining at least some of Viktor's attention.

"You should have said that earlier." He motions to the hole, turning his head to the man curiously. "What would you claim happened here?" It's a simple question, prying to see if the man was in here or was just returning as initial reports say.

"Ugh... Science, I guess?" The student looks defeated, all that broad shape, all that raw power reduced to making himself small and unimposing. He knows his height is intimidating, knows the build was unnerving.

Viktor looks to Badou, seeking his input on the situation. It was a shit shot for sure, he could practically hear the comment leeching from the man. Nothing would make any sense from the broker's perspective on the science, but...

"Any ideas on entry? Any signs of who could have done this and why?"

Once again, he's pleased his idea was taken seriously. Badou isn't usually asked for his opinion from clients, either. He gives a tiny, sloppy little salute-- he's got some things to think on, a few preparations, but he isn't worried, per se.

Though he does wonder:

"You really think this is possible? His idea? And that it won't be used for some bullshit if it does take off?"

Viktor genuinely wants to help, and while it seems as though Jayce is going for that too, it could change.

[erwinsarmrest]

i think that the sole reason that gojo wasn’t at the school during the final fight in jjk0 is because after yuuta kissed the big ass curse monster on the mouth in front of everyone gojo and geto would have looked at eachother the way best friends do and would have immediately burst out laughing so hard that the fight wouldn’t be able to go on

[inkskinned]

oh you know it's all latestage capitalism but the thing is. how are you supposed to be a person inside of this. a person trying to be a better version of yourself.

oh, you started working young, which was kind of hard, but it's just the way stuff works sometimes. and it was 2008 and your family couldn't afford heat. but it's fine, you grow a spine and get used to the professional world and besides it was the suburbs we're talking about here, like, your life could have been actually hard, so what if your father lost his job and you can't afford to move or turn the lights back on. and once you start making money, it's good. you keep doing that. because now they're relying on you. so you have to do that.

oh you were in thousands of dollars of debt at 17 years old so that you could go to school, because you have to go to school if you want to get a "real" job. you even did it "right", you worked parttime and attended community college before you transferred to a public school. you were under so many merit scholarships.

which is fine. you pick yourself up and you say like, okay. i graduated college. i'm holding down a job. i'm doing the Adult Thing, which looks and acts like this, according to all the books i've read. you start with the shitty job and then you climb that corporate ladder.

but the shitty job doesn't cover rent and you stretch yourself too-thin so you get sick. good luck with that. the shitty job no longer pays for your meals. everyone asks why you don't just move, but there's nowhere to move to. and with what money are you going to be moving? and then the loans come back, because they were never going to forgive them, because you were 17 and trying to do the right thing, which was stupid. people are now saying you shouldn't have even gone to school.

which is fine. but because you have no other option, so you do the shitty job, and you apply every day for like 5 new ones, and despite the fact everyone says "there's no one who wants to work!" it's actually just that nobody is fucking hiring so you can either work for 13 dollars an hour in the shitty place you know (where at least you have a passingly friendly relationship with the manager) or you can start from scratch again with a different 13 dollars an hour without knowing how much abuse from the new job you'll be taking.

and if you quit you lose your insurance. if you quit you lose your housing. if you quit, you'll be another burnout kid. the lazy ones. these assholes, look at them!

and you come home to a family dinner and you hear from your father the same old thing. how he worked hard at his job and yes it sucked for a while but he was able to provide for the family and then the house and the dog and the rest of barbie's dream vacation. how the insurance did cover some of it. how you just really need to start speaking up more in manager conversations so they know you're a go-getter. you want to tell him - did you know we're actually doing more now hourly than any previous generation? - but you can't remember where you heard that statistic, and you're far too tired for the fucking argument. and then he starts in on his usual bit. where's the house? where's your kids? where's your ambition.

the same job the same money the same hours doesn't do it anymore. the same nose-to-the-grindstone now just shreds your face off. there's no such thing as upwards mobility, not really. and as far as you're aware, the money certainly is not trickling. you do the soulless stupid shit you signed up for because you fucking have to or else you literally risk your life (food, the apartment, the insurance), but it's not getting you anything. you download the stupid "save more" app and you budget and you do every right thing and then the price of eggs is 7 dollars and you say - oh great! another thing i have to fucking worry about now!

and you go to your stupid job and everyone in your father's generation just tells you to be better about being an adult. they have their homes and their savings account and their bailout and they say. well have you tried not drinking starbucks. well your generation just spends too much on clothing. well you might just be too addicted to travelling. and you - because you need the job - you bite your tongue and don't say i am being held prisoner and you're suggesting i stop pacing my cell if i don't like the scenery and you don't say what the fuck do you think i've been doing with my money and you don't say i haven't spent a cent on something nice in literally forever much less coffee you arrogant asshole. you open and close your bank app and check your loans and check your credit score and check fucking zillow and ziprecruiter and apartments.com just one time more. and still they give you that demeaning little grin and say - see, what you need is -

what you need is for your meds to stop being so fucking expensive. what you need is for the housing bubble to explode into dust. what you need is for billionaires to choke on their wealth. what you need is actual help. what you will get is more economic advice from people who are older-and-wiser.

and above you, almost in a glimmer, you can see the wedged smile of your debt getting toothier, wider.

[dailykugisaki]

Day 355 | id in alt

I was out here just "Wow I should color this so they know I'm gonna put air Jordans on Kugisaki Nobara fortnite tomorrow" then I didn't and just slapped some random shit on. She looks nice though.

[b0amagination]

fucking obsessed with a chair in the bathroom in a whump scene. the kind that belongs in a dining room or a kitchen.

this chair Does Not Belong Here. something Wrong is happening here. why is so much time being spent in this room that a chair is suddenly so necessary that one would drag it from The Other Room

sitting on the toilet simply would not suffice, no no no. it's CHAIR TIME

[the-busy-ghost]

"Oh it would have been more satisfying if the humans had invented a technology which defeated the Martians rather than have them killed off by accident just when humanity's impotence in the face of disaster seems to be confirmed". I

To me that's just a fancy way of saying "Yeah but humans could totally handle the Martians and the writer has a duty to reassure the audience of that!"

Sir we cannot even handle climate change and I'm sorry to tell you that it's not entirely due to a lack of technological expertise

[wingsofhcpe]

how do you politely tell your uni classmates that you're not gonna sit the exam for them