#and yes not existing always sounds like the better option

[felassan]

Some snippets from DA dev Luke Barrett on the unofficial BioWare forum, cut for length:

DA:I -

User: "I am still convinced that Bioware cut the healing spells and went with barriers instead because of the Multiplayer." Luke Barrett: I can't speak to any other games directly but I can give a bit of historic context for DAI. The game was initially a more dungeon/linear delving - see how far you can get - experience and there was no barrier of any kind. As a side note: healing has always been a hot topic in design because as soon as you include it there are many other conceits you now need take into consideration for the gameplay - one of which I will call 'the Anders problem'. Anyway, as DAI got the date moved and shifted more into the pseudo-openworld the concept of attrition (see how far you can get before having to return to camp) became less relevant and we needed to help the Players have more moment-to-moment agency around their survival. Unfortunately for various reasons (one of which is the sad reality of designing a game with a shifting timeline) the healing couldn't be re-added so we ended up with more of a mitigation strategy in the barrier system. It went through a lot of iterations but eventually landed on what it shipped with which I would call... acceptable (but just barely). Now, I will concede that a part of the reason it didn't return after that shift was an aversion to holy trinity gameplay specifically for MP but it wasn't the core reason. As a side story, trying to balance the game (as that was my job on DAI - and yes, it could be much better haha) we had to all but force Players to take barrier. It is intentionally the first skill in the first tree for the Mage and all the autolevel (I also handled that) is designed to get it right away." [source]

User: "Merry Christmas Luke! Sooo what was the hardest class you had to balance? [DA:I]" Luke Barrett: "I feel like anyone who was around for the post-launch content will already know the answer to this as it was the bane of my existence when I got put exclusively on MP after launch but the Knight-Enchanter barrier absorbing was a pain. Stuff like that is very challenging to feel good without being broken as they are relative to damage so scaling is fairly open-ended. Too little and the casual players won't get use out of it, too much and the character builders will be wildly OP. We actually had a 'no nerfing' guideline for the SP side so it was a hard battle to fix that silly thing 🙃." [source]

"As a fun fact, I did all the logic for autolevel on DAI and the guideline I was given was literally "make functional builds, but don't make something optimal that you'd play"." [source]

DA:TV -

User: "If you can, say thanks to the people making the no die option possible." Luke Barrett: "Done! My team handles this stuff so I let them know 😊" [source]

"Comically, I designed the majority of the items and skills and I am still finding it fun making awesome builds (been almost entirely doing playthroughs lately" [source]

"Was really important to the team that everyone could play the way that felt best to them." [source]

"Each specialization has a focus around a few specific mechanics, some of which are the weapons or damage types but you can go off script and make it work for sure (this was intentional in the designs)." [source]

"I designed all the skills and so they're each enjoyable to me to some extent. I have been playing through the game over and over the last couple months for balance purposes so I've played them all fairly extensively." [source]

User: "Necrotic sounds like it could be either Spirit or Nature." User: "For Rogue, it replace "poison". For Mage, it replace spirit (Spirit bomb). For Warrior, it's more spirit (especially Reaper), but some skills could work as poison too. So basically they merged spirit and nature." Luke Barrett: "Thats pretty close to spot on. They were actually heavily iterated on throughout development - I can't (at least currently) go into specifics as to why though." [source]

"the target for the progression vision is that you can make a viable build out of almost** any aspect of the gameplay." [source]

"As for timelines, We started DA4 in October of 2015 roughly. The entire team was moved to MEA for about 3-4 months to help it ship and I also spent all of 3 weeks helping out on Anthem. But otherwise I've been on some incarnation of DA4 for about 9 years now - pretty ready for it to release 😅." [source]

"yes, years of working on the same thing can cause some burnout but I've played through the full game probably about 8 times in the last few months and it's still fun (though some of the specific levels that haven't changed in a long time I've done 50+ times easily and I could do without ever seeing them again 😂)." [source]

User: "I do kind of feel that at this point the DA team has put so much work into creating and improving their tools and learning the ins and outs of Frostbite [...] But who knows what the devs in the trenches really feel" Luke Barrett: "I will say it does some things very well and some things poorly, relative to other engines. Personally I really enjoy Frostbite but I've been using it since 2012. In an ideal world, many engines would be viable and developers would make games suited to the strengths of a specific engine." [source]

User: "Since this game is much more stat heavy than prior titles, specifically when it comes to skills and gear, there's likely a need for some balance changes to be made post-launch. Does the game being playable completely offline hinder the data capture side for your team (in terms of analytics), or is this a non-factor?" Luke Barrett: "Generally speaking, most people leave data analytics on so we get more than enough data coming in. Additionally, I'll personally be watching several channels for things that are underperforming (relatively speaking) and not have to nerf anything. The rpg side is vast though and I'm sure people will find OP combinations/synergies that might need 'adjustments' but as long as it's fun and not an "I win" button that trivializes combat I'm pretty cool with it." [source]

Luke Barrett: "I can safely say there are many builds for each class that will feel very powerful if you're not on the highest difficulty 😉. What I'm really excited for is when the guides comes out that show people the fastest way to get some of the uniques that unlock 'special' gameplay 😊. Let's just say I love the feeling of rushing to Patches in DS1 and kicking him off the bridge for the Crescent Axe (iykyk)." [source] User: "Speaking of guides. Will there be a guidebook like there was for DAI? " Luke Barrett: "Not that I'm aware of but I'm happy to help feed info to somewhere like fextralife or the dragon age wiki after a week or so to help with those pursuits. Have to leave some time for exploration and discovery before the optimizers streamline the experience 😉" [source]

"Effectively, at least until the game launches (and likely a week or so after), you won't get anything interesting out of any of the devs save Mike Gamble or John Epler. Longer term I hope to be very active, at least for build mechanics and all the combat/rpg nuts and bolts conversations." [source]

"I started "da4" in October 2015 and so after 9 years of effort (minus 3 months on Andromeda) I'm quite excited for tomorrow and the launch week. I don't know if I'd say nervous, I feel pretty confident in the product, but definitely that eager kid before Christmas feeling 😊" [source]

"As the person who did all the balance, I will say that if you are comprehending how to make a cohesive build and understand the combat mechanics, you should play on Underdog. One of the downsides to having a lot of power growth vectors is the difference between people who engage vs those that don't becomes a chasm quite quickly. If you start blowing enemies up rapidly, turn up the difficulty (or play on nightmare where that will not be the case) - basically if it ever feels super easy or like enemies are health sponges you're probably on the wrong setting for your skill level. The custom difficulty settings are there to make the gameplay enjoyable (for whatever that means to you)." [source]

"As a tip from me, the balance is subtly tipped in the players favor until the last fight of the 3rd combat mission. Be warned if it's feeling too easy you may want to wait until after that to decide." [source]

[on DA MP] Luke Barrett: "It was actually pretty fun but very much not what most people wanted us to make (including internally). Also we had, let's say, limited staff who had a passion and background in MP so it was definitely the right call to go SP only. Now, it would have been nice had we just started that way but so it goes sometimes." [source] User: "You still play it yourself from time to time (DA MP), or have you left it be?" Luke Barrett: "After playing variations of DA4 for so many years (9!!!) it's hard to go back to anything with DAI controls/gameplay speed. Even the initial Joplin prototypes I was doing were much more snappy/twitchy - for everything good about DAI the combat was definitely in the middle of two different styles." [source]

[on aiming bows] "we actually used to have separate buttons for ADS and ranged attack but it was wildly overloading the controller. These RPG games need controllers with at least 2 more buttons (fingers crossed for the next gen)" [source]

User: "After the last few games, I'm really surprised by the current skill... tree?" Luke Barrett: "I call it a skill graph - aside from the beginning where you have 3 choices the entirety of it is 2 choice splits and it'll essentially make a build for you. Just go a little at a time and aim for whatever specialization seems most fun to you 😄" [source]

"Loot is not random so theoretically guides with drop locations should appear pretty soon." [source]

"Yep, Spellblade is the only spec that directly impacts fire damage but you can get benefits from most of them and still go fire. As for the specs, yes it would have been nice to support all of them but just wasn't in scope unfortunately. Mage has Mourn-Watch, Shadow Dragons, and Antivan Crows specializations - only the Rogue has a Veiljumper one. Deathcaller left side you can go beam based and use a Fire weapon. Evoker you'd likely need to do a hybrid ice/fire build." [source]

User: "Bit of a side question, but for those who intend to make more characters, is BioWare considering upping the amount of playable character slots you can have (currently at 3)? Or is there a hardware restriction here given the game is offline playable?" Luke Barrett: "Don't quote me as I don't handle the technical side of this but my understanding is we have to allocate a specific amount of HD space on the consoles so we basically have to pick a limit, relative to our save file sizes, and then divide that by number of careers. I'll inquire if this is something we can increase with an optional download or something but I suspect consoles are stuck that way, unfortunately." [source]

[on Patch 1] "It's been awhile since I actually did the content for this patch so I'd have to check but I have a pretty anti-nerf policy for SP games. I know I fixed up a couple enemies that weren't as hard as they were supposed to be and definitely boosted a bunch of synergistic things though. I'll take a look tomorrow but for those that don't know, the turnaround time on these things is about a month of it's not an emergency due to certification process with consoles. Longer term my goal is to keep an eye in telemetry of any underused abilities and items (or enemies with too many kills under their belt) and audit them just to double check if they need a boost or if people just haven't figured them out yet 😉." [source]

"The equippable items are all predetermined with a minor exception*. Some items are class specific (all the weapons, a small amount of armors and accessories, 2 runes) so when you play a different class you'll see your classes 'version' of that item. Things that are random (from a table/pool) are valuables. Exception: Near the very end of the game we do a few checks on what equipment you haven't acquired. A bunch of those final drops, and inventory on the final merchant, simply find stuff you don't have and give it to you. That's basically the only major RNG we have with loot. If you notice even 99% of the skills and item mods employ an effect after a condition is met X times rather than a more traditional 'proc chance'." [source]

[on modding] "Once this starts to pick up, feel free to PM me if anyone needs help 'finding' assets or has questions about how one might mod something. We don't officially support mods buuuuut we don't have any kind of anti-modding stance either" [source]

"To give the high level gist of the resource economy: - each class starts off with minimal ability usage, this is intentional to force people to learn the other combat mechanics as they're a necessary skill and it's easy to lean on a crutch like ability spam and kiting - abilities are designed to feel powerful on use, thus they all have a decent cost and can't be spammed* - weapon attacks generate your resource - in the bottom right of the center skills area is a node to make each class's resource easier to manage - halfway down all starting segments (N, SW, SE) there is always a node that boosts generation - there are +max nodes on all sides of the skill graph for each class, this is particularly important for the Mage as they start each fight at max - each class can build into being ability focused but starts intentionally rounded - loastly, the first ability is always a resource spender and 1 or 2 of the next available ones will be cooldown gated. It is recommended to have at least one cooldown based ability slotted" [source]

"So loosely the rogue momentum works like this: - each ability costs 50 momentum - hitting enemies generates ~2 momentum per hit (base), you get extra for bow weakpoints - when you are directly hit, you lose 15% of your current momentum, this means the more you hold the more you will lose (this loss has a small cooldown so you don't lose a whole bar when you get hit rapidly) - momentum carries forward between combats (compared to warrior rage which decays when out of combat) If youre having issues, make sure you get that skill in the middle section that reduces momentum loss when hit. As a helpful tip, the Quicken buff generates small amounts of momentum each second so it's a good way to get more if you're having issues." [source]

"I highly recommend using the belt that grants Quicken early game until you can generate momentum faster yourself. And yes, the time dilation affects everything in the world except the Player so all your buffs and things still tick at normal speed" [source]

User: "If I knock an enemy off an edge, if they were supposed to drop something will it appear on the edge, or is it lost for good?" Luke Barrett: "It should appear on the ledge. I will say the 'real' loot from enemy drops are all hand placed. The actual random stuff is just valuables and materials." [source]

" The way it actually works is very complicated with a lot of necessary exceptions but loosely - each ability has a base damage and ones that hit multiple times have an offset multiplier. - That value is multiplied by the sum of all your stat bonuses, conditional bonuses, resist and layer modifiers. - We then subtract enemy defense and multiply by 1-resist (with penetration being calculated here). - this new damage then gets multiplied by 1+crit+weakpointpoint (so those bonuses always feel meaty) and then multiplied by a random number between .95 and 1.05 just to give a little range to the floaties (basically just a presentation thing) - we then multiply again for buffs and debuffs so they, again, always feel meaningful - lastly, we take all added damage and add it flat on top" [source]

"Specific enhancements make enemies immune to the matching affliction. For example, Fire Enchanted enemies are immune to burning. Juggernaut enemies are immune to being staggered but otherwise it should work in everything." [source]

[soshinysochrome]

Pre-cut fruit/veggies as an accommodation

I'm going to go on a rant that's been building up for a long time but needs to be said.

I just watched a video from How To ADHD where they finally articulated what I've been trying to explain to people for a long time; that buying pre-cut fruit and veggies is an accommodation.

Because holy shit, do people get angry at people who buy things pre-cut, like it's some kind of moral failing deserving of the vitriol and abuse that it gets. And it always comes complete with people smugly declaring that they take the time to cut their fruit and veg themselves, like somehow that makes them better than people who don't.

Lets get something absolutely clear.

Yes, we know it would be cheaper to buy produce and cut it up ourselves. Yes, we know that the added packaging is more wasteful. And we know that other people are judging us for it.

But here's the thing, starting with the fact that "taking the easy way" is not a moral failing:

Pre-cut produce is an accommodation.

I have ADHD, depression and seasonal affective disorder (seasonal depression). One of these by themselves makes taking care of myself difficult enough, but very rarely am I battling just one of these conditions at a time. And when it comes to cooking or preparing food, my options are very often either to spend a bit more to buy pre-cut fruit or veg, or not eat fruit/veg at all. Because if I buy produce I have to prep myself, at least one of three things will happen: 1) I'm going to forget it exists until it starts to make the fridge stink and it has to be thrown away. 2) I'm going to see it every time I open the fridge, feel bad that I can't bring myself to prepare it, worsening my executive dysfunction and depression, and making it even less likely I ever will prepare it. 3) I'm going to buy it, put it in my fridge, remember that it's there and beat myself up until it expires for being unable to bring myself to prepare it.

When people rail against those who buy pre-cut, what those of us who rely on it hear is that you don't think we deserve to eat healthily because we can't do it ourselves. Which sounds about as absurd as telling someone with glasses that they don't deserve to wear those glasses because they can't see without them.

Rant over. Leave people who buy pre-cut alone.

[mellowwillowy]

𝐋𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲

Yan! Lawyer Husband x GN Spouse Reader

—𝒀𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒐𝒃𝒆𝒓 - 𝑳𝑰𝒇𝑬 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕

CW: mafia related stuffs (ALL FOR READER...), disturbing ideations. NSFW

You were the subject of envy for everyone, the spouse of the infamous lawyer, Yulian de Alpheus, who possessed wealth, reputation, intelligence, and undying loyalty to you. To people, you were the beautiful dove living in the gilded cage he had given you, luxuries that fulfilled anyone's needs and wishes.

𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒈𝒆?

To him, the one who was truly locked in the cage was him. He was and would forever be locked in the gilded cage, forever drowned in his adoration toward you. If he had to live in a world where you did not exist, he would not hesitate to shoot himself to death and find you again.

--

"Dear, how about we go on a vacation this month?"

His words had you choked on your food. He immediately stood up and pat your back, a handkerchief that you embroidered for him handed to you as he handed you a glass of water, "Apology, did my question catch you off guard dear?"

You shook your head while you regained your composure, "It's just that I was surprised, you had been busy these days so how could you spare me your time for a silly vacation?"

Yulian chuckled as he patted your head, "True, and I plan to work even harder to finish all the mess they had shoved me to work on, I'm sure I could finish it right in time before our estimated vacation."

You frowned to yourself, your husband had always been a hard-working man. It was no surprise judging by the amount of assets he could own at such a fairly young age. While some of it was thanked to his father, you knew those would not remain had he not worked hard to keep and grow.

"Dear, I don't want you to over-exert yourself with this case just for a vacation. If you were worried about me then please pay no mind, I am content with everything but you stressing yourself."

Yulian sat back and started slicing the meat on his plate, "Dear, I did not marry you just to have you live in this house as a prisoner," the way he sliced things was of good etiquette but you knew. You knew how he always looks at the things he sliced as a subject of... low-life. "I want my beloved to live in happiness, a life where you get to have and own anything you want without a single worry," It's almost as though he wished he could use more force with the knife, "A life where you do not wish to end," Yulian used his fork to pick the sliced meat up to your lip, "A life where you wish you could live in for eternity."

You thought to yourself for a moment, drowning in thought before smiling at him, "Yes, a vacation this month sounds nice." You opened your mouth and ate the piece.

--

"What were you even thinking about to the point you tangle yourself into this mess?" Yulian furrowed his eyebrow, in his office was the leader of a renowned mafia group in the underground world and Yulian sat on the leathered chair with his hand wiping his white gun.

The ringleader's subordinates were clearly displeased with the way Yulian easily belittled the case and him but they knew better than to cause a mess.

"So? What do you need this time?"

Yulian stored the gun back in its respective place, locking the shelf with the key before handing the ringleader's subordinate a folder of files.

"I'll need you to fabricate everything I handed you. I've given you options of people for you to use as a scapegoat as well."

The ringleader took the folder and started reading the files in it, scanning the words that were typed on it.

"And I expect you to finish it all by this week. I'll be taking a vacation for myself by the end of the month so I'll finish the case in a few trials. I'd like you to find a way around the judge and jury as well. The more the better, understood?"

Yulian was an infamous lawyer. A lawyer who would validate any way to make his client proclaimed 'Not Guilty'. As much as he hated having to drag his name around the underground world, he had no choice but to work together with them. Why?

"Fine, I'll inform you everything this weekend." The ringleader left the room with his subordinates following behind him meekly. The moment they had walked out of his building and entered the car, one of them posed a question.

"Why did you let that shrimp belittle you, boss? It's not like he is the only lawyer we could have our hand with."

The ringleader did not look at his subordinate as he was still analyzing the content of the files. Even so, he was still attentive enough to answer them back, "Well, if you know exactly how strong my influence is, why do you think I allow him to boss over my men?"

The man gulped as his hand held the steering wheel tightly. Why would a measly bug be able to hold power over his boss?

"... He somehow got his hands into our mud. In simpler terms, he blackmailed me."

His right-hand man sighed, "Yulian is nothing but a coward, Kaspar. A coward."

What difference did it make to him? The fact that the two of them blackmailed people to survive while the ideations were biased to each side was nothing but hypocrisy.

"And yet he is the coward that dared to step into the underground world just to protect his spouse..." Kaspar winced at the word 'spouse', "he did all of that just for the love of his life. Is that supposed to be considered foolish or not...?"

The men fell silent until one of them proposed a question, "Then why not use his spouse against him?"

--

The basement that you did not know even existed. You knew there was a bunker down your house but you were never aware of the existence of the basement.

You were asleep so technically you couldn't have heard anything. No, the room was made to be soundproof, no one could hear what was going on in the room.

But you heard it anyway. You heard it faintly, the sounds of people screaming. It wasn't clear, almost below a whisper but it kept you awake. You looked to your side and found your husband absent from the bed again.

"Is he working again?"

You stood up and slipped your feet into the slippers before walking out of your shared bedroom. The hall was lit up by the warm white lights, the light that always comforts you no matter what. You walked toward his office which was located on the first floor, giving the grand door a knock before entering it.

"Dear?"

No one was inside the room. The room was laced with the smell of coffee, the only thing that he probably could love aside from you. You walked to his desk and read some of the files on it. The words on the paper were beyond your comprehension so you stopped reading it, glancing at the cup of coffee, you feel the cup with your hand. It's cold and full. Weird.

You took a look around his office, bookshelves on the side while a framed portrait of you and him hung on the other side.

He must have really loved this portrait, refusing to change it with a new one.

"Dear?"

You jumped at his voice, where did he come out from?

"Dear, where did you come from?"

"Ah, I was in the washroom. What brings you here? Did something wake you up?" Yulian asked you as he approached you while drying his hand with his handkerchief.

You took a closer look at it, it's not the same handkerchief you gave him. Weird. He had always been insistent on only using the handkerchief you embroidered for him.

"Dear?"

"Ah," you snapped out of your thought, "it's just that... I felt lonely. How long are you going to stay up again tonight dear?"

Yulian thought to himself as his eye shot toward the corner of the room, "Please, don't wait for me. I won't be finishing my work in any time so I hope you would use those time to retreat yourself to bed." Yulian pat your cheek before giving your cheek a peck, his emerald eyes had always drowned you in a ripple of the lovesick sea.

His hand snaked its way to your waist as he led you back to your shared bedroom, opening the door for you and urging you to lay on the comfortable white bed. He placed the blanket on top of you before sitting next to you, humming a lullaby while easing you down.

"My little Lily of the Valley is a curious soul hm? Your husband told you to sleep and you naughtily sneaked out of your room..." He playfully reprimanded you while you tried to drift yourself back to sleep. Hearing him teasing you like this was weird, but at least in a good way. What boosted his confidence?

"Someone like you should not wander around in the mercy of nighttime, even if it was in our own house," his hand caressed your hair while his eyes stared into your half-lidded ones, "my lily-of-the-valley should not wander around in the darkness anymore..."

Did you hear him right? Come to think of it, what woke you up earlier?

"Good night, my love."

--

"Good night, bastard."

A thud and the man who was tied to the chair plopped down, lifeless. The other men could only tremble in horror as they waited for their turn. Perhaps death would be the only slightest bit of virtue that he could offer, a mercy at his hands that was covered in bloodstains.

Just as he approached the other men, the alarm rang. Someone had entered his office. Yulian turned on the screen to the camera and saw you walking toward his desk, observing everything that was scattered on it.

He was glad that he didn't put anything 'suspicious' on it even if you wouldn't understand it. He didn't want to risk it.

Yulian went to the sink and washed his hands before motioning for someone to come out from the darkness. The members of the mafia walked out and waited for his order.

"Ah right, relay this message to your boss. Not only do these bastards will have to face the consequences of trying to touch my beloved, you guys too, will have to face it."

The men shuddered in fear as they thought of what he could do to them. The greatest mercy they could have would be that their boss would be the one who punished them and not the lawyer himself.

"Remember," Yulian walked toward them, hand taking out the handkerchief you embroidered for him, "I work for Kaspar so that this kind of thing won't happen. If this happens again, I'd personally make you guys crawl through the tunnels of prison for eternity."

His emerald orbs almost lit up into a burning fire as his jaw tightened in anger. He made his way toward the door before taking a look at the handkerchief.

He shouldn't use it for something so filthy.

He slid it back into his pocket and used another plain handkerchief instead.

--

"In short, he is the man who would not hesitate to kill his own children, his own blood and flesh, or his family just to save and love his beloved Lily of the Valley."

Kaspar sighed as he read the report. The scapegoats that he offered were his men who were on duty to protect his spouse.

"He is the man who had lived for eternity just to find and love his beloved again and again."

-- log end

Afternotes:

I didn't expect the fic to be this short (says the one who got lazy mid-way and cut half of the story...) anyway, I thought to myself, rather than let this rot in the draft, wouldn't it be better to post it even if it was only half completed without any proofread yet?

I'm really happy my first LIfE Project event features my favorite son, Yulian first! The next one might be Eleanor!

Complete Posts

[lotusunique]

Nights Like This

Armando Aretas x Fem! Reader

Mkay so while yall wait on this pt.3 of The engagement, ima give yall this lil story I been working on! Im ngl I did cut it in half this was long as HELL! So enjoy ❤️

“We should go out tomorrow night. We never do that anymore.", Kelly says grabbing her purse. "Yeah because you and your man are always boo'd up somewhere. Marcus isn't allowed out too many times in a row or Theresa will kick his ass. Mike is happily married now. And I refuse to be a third wheel on you two’s date" I explain.

“So why don't you invite Armando out.", She looks over to Armando who's looking through a case file. Since he helped take down McGrath and saved Callie, Mike tried to sort out a deal for him. He'll work out his sentence, here at AMMO, being apart of the tactical weapons team.

"Um absolutely not. He literally doesn’t know I exist in that way", I groan. "That’s not true. You just gotta make yourself known. Plus he’s kinda a dick. I don't know why you like him anyway.?”,she says damn

near screaming my secret. "Um firstly, shut up. What you wanna tell the whole world my secret?", I shush her. That’s all I fucking need. For Armando to find out I like him or WORSE. Mike and Marcus could find out. I’d never live it down.

"Invite him out or l'm gonna shout it from the rooftops.", Kelly gives an evil smirk.

"Shout what from the rooftops?", Mike looks over to us. "Oh nothing just that Y/n li-", you elbow her in the side. "That Y/n is going out with Kelly and Dorn tomorrow night", you give a tight lipped smile. "I'm so excited I could scream", Kelly smiles.

"Y'all weird as hell man", Mike says just giving the two of you a glance. Kelly lets out a laugh before nodding towards Armando's seat. "No.",you give a stern look.

"Yes!", kelly says seriously. "Fine. I'll do it before I leave later.", you give in, not wanting to discuss it any further.

- Later-

"I'm out, don't stay too long okay", Kelly says patting your shoulder before heading out, quickly shooting a glance over at Armando, signaling you to talk to him.

She heads out, the door closing, being a deafening reminder of how quiet it is since you and Armando are the only ones in the office. The dim lights giving an Erie feel. "Breathe Y/n. Now's the time to go talk to him", You think to yourself.

"Hey."you walk over to him. He looks up at you with a stare that says "what do you want". "Well I just thought that since it's just me and you tonight, we could at least conversate so it won't be absolutely boring", You sit on his desk.

"What do we have to talk about?", He says with that accent that just drives you crazy.

"Well I do technically have something to ask you", You say looking down at him. "There it is", he flashes a smile. "Stop", You roll your eyes.

"Mkay shoot.", He crosses his arms with a smirk.

"Please come with me tomorrow night. Kelly wants me to go out with her and Dorn. And I really don't wanna third wheel.", you plead.

“What’s in it for me?”, he looks up at you, placing the pen in between his plump lips. “What do you want?”,you ask, staring right down at his lips.

“What’re you offering?”, he asks, moving his rolling chair to where he’s sitting in between your legs,staring up at you with this smirk on his face like he just knows what he’s doing to you.

“I..I..uh”,your breath starts to hitch. “Use your words hermosa.”, he glances up at you through low eyes.

He has to know what he’s doing to you right? The only option is to match his energy, even though it’s all a front.

“Mister Aretas, if I didn’t know any better I’d think you were flirting with me.”,you snap out of whatever shy shit you just had going on.

“And if I was?”,He traces his finger up your exposed leg. Today was the perfect day to wear a pencil skirt.

The sound of the glass doors creaking open surprises you, causing you to move off the desk swiftly as possible.

“Sorry, I left my house keys”,Marcus walks in, not looking at the two of you.

“Hollup…it’s real dark in here. What yall in here-“,he looks between the two of you. “Nothing we were just talking”,you say quickly. Marcus looks over at Armando who has a condescending smirk upon his face. “Oh okay”,Marcus laughs. “It’s not like that Marcus”,You bury your head in your hands with a laugh.

“Look that ain’t nun of my business. Just make sure you use that latex. Cause you don’t wanna get that I’m late Text!”,he says before dapping Armando up. “What is HAPPENING”, you internally scream to yourself.

Marcus quickly makes his exit, leaving you and Armando to discuss what just happened. “That was embarrassing”,you groan. “It was hilarious”,he laughs. “No it wasn’t”, you lean against the door. “I’ll go with you. I’ve got something to handle before hand though,so I’ll meet you there”,he smiles over at you.

“Okay great. I’m gonna go home. Be safe. I’ll see you tomorrow”,you nervously grab your things before heading out to your car.

[genderqueerdykes]

the election results have me feeling really bummed out as a closeted/pre-everything transmasc person. i feel like im grieving a version of myself that will never get to exist because im too scared

hey it's okay to feel this way, i'm sorry you're so scared right now

something i'd like everyone to keep in mind is that it's literally impossible for trump to change everything overnight. i hate our government but it has to fight with itself in order to function. individual states in the country are proposing some very questionable and unsafe bills, but it's not a reason to give up hope. there will always be states in our country like California who have and maintain strong enough trans protection laws that people will still have somewhere to go

change when it comes to government is gradual. it doesn't happen over night. that's how transphobes and republicans want you to feeel. they want you to give up, to become defeated and to never, ever try to transition. youre not wrong for feeling bummed, but do not give up on your transition because of them. that's what they want. fight like hell for your future. fight like hell for your comfort and identity

if anything now is the best time to get started. trump literally cannot do anything until January. and even then that's the motion of attempting to put bills and laws into action. attempting. there's no guarantee anything will be passed. reminder that we lived thru 4 years of trump before and barely anything happened. republicans are not as scary as we think they are. trump is a fascist yes but he can only do so much when it comes to bickering with the rest of the government

government moves slowly. change happens gradually. if you need help relocating to a safer place, feel free to ask. pursue transition now if you have the ability to. don't let some fascists get into your head and make you think it will literally be impossible. i promise it won't. they want you to get scared and feel like they're so powerful you can't do anything. fortunately the're not. you don't have to give up on your future. you don't have to give up on transition

take care of yourself, okay? it's okay to feel bummed but don't let them get too deep into your head. thats exactly what they want. they want all the trannies to detransition, go back into the closet, or never transition. and it's okay if people do this. but this is what they want. im going to continue being shamelessly trans. im going to continue being a tranny who looks acts and sounds queer. i know not every queer can do this. i know not every trans preson has that luxury

if you genuinely can't medically or socially transition it's alright. a lot of people just can't. it genuinely is very unsafe for many people. but i just want to stress that things will not become 1000x worse over night. you still have a chance. and there are people fighting for your right to transition right now. we will continue to fight harder. defeat is not an option- we will not let it be.

good luck, i hope you're able to feel better soon. take care of youreslf, no matter what you choose it's okay. but remember that change happens gradually. we will adapt

[breached-containment-script]

Some arguments KA shippers make are valid and true. But that they don't necessarily do anything nearly enough to be valid anti-zutara arguments!

Stuff like, that quick burns probably wouldn't scar (Katara's hands) or that if she had gotten scarred, that Toph's feet should have gotten scarred too. This is valid.

That it's true that when Aang's negative aspects get developed to their final extreme forms in theories and fanfiction, it can feel weird and offputting to people who naturally gravitate towards staying approximately around canon vibes; that some descriptions of behaviour sound too strong to some people which results in pushing them away from zutara as a negative reaction to associated criticisms of Aang. But that also personal headcanon developments (even those with strong foundation in canon) are individual preferences and people are able to choose which headcanons to like, without using disliked ones to paint an entire show interpretation negative.

It'a true that most of Aang's bad behaviour in the show can be attributed to him being just a kid and not being self-aware enough yet. He's not intentionally malicious in most cases. His negative reaction towards Water Tribe culture and food is a depiction of a kid not knowing how to respect something that makes him uncomfortable, even if this kinda clashes with him having already had friends from all over the world. Unfortunatey, canon progression doesn't depict him learning as many lessons as he should nor does it show him outgrowing negative traits even though it should have. THIS is the source of headcanons which appreciate intentionally exploring main character developing in a negative light. His negative traits constantly repeat and have a common stay in his canon character. This is a fact, especially with his claim that he'd be in the Avatar state had it not been blocked, out of frustration that actors on a stage implied Katara doesn't feel the same way about him. This is a very bad thing, we've seen both him and others being afraid of it, it causing massive destruction and Katara having the burden of calming him down. How would she theoretically calm him down in the case he did enter the Avatar state because of this reason? Assuming she didn't have romantic feelings for him (which should always exist as a valid option for any character, to test if they have a healthy interaction) - she could pray he'd accept it and calm down on his own, or be under extreme pressure to lie that she likes him back. Even if she did like him back, having to admit under the threat of a destructive force being unleashed, IS NOT GOOD. Especially as the characters never addressed this later.

Yes, Zuko did a lot of bad things but not only are they overblown by KA-fans and Zuko-antis, they constantly purposefully ignore that he got punished repeatedly, suffered in canon for his actions and kept doing very risky and selfless things to make up for his past, they also forget that time flows FORWARD and that WHEN events happened on a timeline MATTERS. It's not an argument that Zuko burned Suki's village in book 1 when he helped rescue her and others by risking his life in book 3 and she forgave him. One thing is collateral damage in a cartoon filled with cartoon violence, and another when for example Long Feng kills Jet. Viewers should be able to discern the tone difference, because shows (or any creative work) especially with multiple writers, aren't homogenous, and aren't tonally or message-wise completely unified. Don't start your deduction argument from the idea that a show is fully consistent and is absolutely sending a singular message, start an inductive analysis from ideas about what a show's context is, what its goals are, what the tone feels like in each section, did it accomplish what it was aiming for, etc. Likewise Zuko could have been written even better in some areas and with more context!

However him hunting down heroes, knocking out Katara etc. isn't a gotcha argument some people think it is, because Katara knocked him out as well, twice even so badly he didn't wake up for quite some time; and he was struck, rejected, ignored, mocked and criticised by both Iroh, the gaang and Katara especially after he sided with Azula under Ba Sing Se, but then they forgave him as he actively worked to atone, and Katara herself forgave him for what he did. She then risked her life to save him back. The writing is very logical and consistent in this.

[zukkacore]

"Why do you like Starbreaker?"

me, internally: The themes introduced by Porter's godhood and Jace's servitude toward him are genuinely interesting. So much of Junior Year concerns itself w/ fairness n personal autonomy n devotion n worship n making your own meaning. The idea that Jace and Porter "have always been a duo" n the fact that Brennan has been holding onto this reveal since SY means that Jace was retooled to exist FOR porter. Porter's quest for godhood eclipses anything else that could have mattered about jace, his purpose becomes serving Porter on both a textual n meta level. On both levels he is contorted into someone alien to himself. Even though he is a character with few lines, Jace's voice in freshman year compared to Junior year feels distinct, he sounds younger, he sounds like he's looking for connection, he honestly sounds like a pretty recent hire, and in that context is it not pitiable what happened to him? Does that not make him similar to Sandra Lynn, a young person who was exploited by someone older than her and who uses religion as a tool for control? And yet the tone over and over again treats him with ambivalence in a world that is obsessed with fair. The text over and over again wants to reiterate this idea of characters getting to make their own meaning, but what does it mean to be a sequel to someone else? To be a footnote in their vision? Jace's life is a decision a GM made, he is Porter's sequel on a textual and meta level. He is continually denied interiority within the text (perfect example is sophmore year where teachers are not allowed to be hirelings when Jace is proposed than an immediate workaround is made for Gilear to come with the Bad kids). He never had a choice but to be a follower to the god of war because the other option was deathly silence, a prop or a martyr like Lucy or Yolanda. Is being remembered fondly and uncomplicatedly despite your flaws but being deathly silent better than being corrupted? The question of Jace's motivation is continually left unanswered n in that, part of the Starbreaker thought experiment is wondering how exactly Jace slots into this Plan, into Porter's life. He could simply be a lackey, sure, but is being forced to be a lackey for a god not in a way its own form of worship? To imagine Jace's subservience to Porter as a kind of love, a kind of toxic old man yaoi if you will, is maybe a way to play at a world where he gets a sense of purpose, or some kind of love in return, even if that life is fucked n compromised n broken, because he was asked "do you want this life" n he said yes. What does it mean to be a person who is contorted into villainy without a choice when the very undercurrent of your world is telling everyone else "there's always a choice!"? When the text condemns you for evil if you only ever can exist as a tool? Before Porter became Jace's world, he was practically egoless, no matter what tone his dialogue takes on. Every scene he's in, he's w/e the situation demanded of him, taking up no oxygen in the room w/out even a memorable gimmick to make him distinct n funny. Pure function. It wasn't a big life but it was his. Was wanting to live, being content to be a footnote to the Bad Kids the sin that condemned Jace stardiamond? Or was wanting to live even if he no longer was recognizable to himself the sin that condemned him? Or is it the fact that he enables cruelty, and is that fair when characters who are horrible in their own ways get a pass as long as they are fun and funny and memorable? Is his life better now that he is more of a presence in his cruel and twisted but albeit slightly more memorable state, if his life now condemns him to be hated forever? Does Jace get power from his deal with Porter? Is getting a time in the spotlight of the narrative its own form of power? Is Jace happy serving Porter? Would Jace be happy loving Porter? Did Porter give jace new life by destroying the old jace, by making sure all paths lead straight back to him? Is Starbreaker just our way of trying to say imagine Jace Stardiamond happy?

what I say: haha idk toxic co workers fucking is hot

[multidimensionalguidance]

Natal and Transit Observations #1

Please apply these to both your natal chart, and also transit, whichever one applies.

Venus in your 2H will attract resources, be it in money, clothes, face products, food, land, and an improved sense of self worth. It can also make your face stand out or stand out in some way. You're likely to receive compliments, specially in a spoken manner. Your voice might sound more soothing or appealing to others. Very likely to receive financial rewards from hobbies or creative pursuits as well. Relationships and lovers could also feel keen to spoiling or taking care of you. Be wary of overspending or eating too many sweets!

Eg. As soon as I had this transit during this year I immediately got a side gig, which was more work, but at the end of the day a welcomed and unexpected financial opportunity.

Moon-Saturn conjunctions are so emotionally rough. You feel mentally drained, limited, or burned in some way. For natives, its a difficult yet long term rewarding relationship with their mothers, along with feeling emotionally numbed out very often. Their minds are their biggest limitation in life, as they find it hard to not feel down or pessimist. Life is simply not a piece of cake for them initially, but overtime it gets better and they become more carefree.

Eg. The collective energy during this transit always feels sooo heavy and difficult to manage. Often what I call a "Mental Block" day.

Sun transiting the 12th house will make any other placement going through your 1st house, be it Venus or even Jupiter feel a bit more damped. You won't feel like being out too much, showing off, or being overly confident. The general mood is staying at home, doing a fun hobby, and self reflecting. This energy always feel very inviting to spend time in isolation and away from the noise. It makes disconnecting very easy, but if you're not comfortable with any of this, then it will feel like you're being pushed aside, ignored, or overlooked. You'll feel lonelier than usual.

Uranus in the 7th house is the real "I can't keep up with my date life". The sudden and unexpected energy makes it difficult for them to stick for very long with the same partner if there's no sense of independence between them. Relationships and those with who we interact often are very unconventional, open minded, and rebel like when compared to the norm. They are futuristic and comfortable with trying new things all the time. It can make it exhausting and draining if you're pushing yourself to stick with something traditional or rigid. It will lead you to desire stability, but teach you that it can be achieved through relationships that give plenty of free room for both to exist in their most genuine version.

Jupiter in the 7th house is not as positive as a lot of people make it sound. Yes, there are plenty of options, luck, and good fortune, but with expansion can come gluttony or distortion. These are individuals who can feel as if the opportunities are so bountiful that its too difficult to choose, and they might lose on really good chances on love or business opportunities simply for "wanting more". It can also make you overly confident with decisions in regards to this house (contracts and relationships of all type). In general, this planet tends to test our soul and character by giving us a lot to the point where we lose gratitude or act greedy towards our blessings.

If you'd like to support me through tips or ordering any of my services, please check out multiguidance.com!

[chaotic-archaeologist]

Sex-related question, on anon due to embarassment.

I am naturally very quiet during sex, almost silent. Early on, it was a good thing so as not to disturb neighbors/roommates. Now, however, I hear a lot about how moaning and other sounds are sexy and desired. I also know that open communication is very important, and moaning and such helps share how you're doing.

Is there a way to introduce this quiet instinct that is less clinical/more appealing? Should I work on consciously making more noise?

Even if you don't answer, thank you for your time!

I would like to gently ask a few questions.

First, are you naturally very quiet, or have most of your previous/formative sexual experiences happened in places where there was pressure to be quiet? I totally get it, nobody wants their parents/room mates/other dorm residents to hear them getting it on, and sometimes that desire not to be heard becomes so instinctual that it feels normal or natural.

Take a little while and think about it. If you are truly just someone who doesn't make a lot of noise, that's totally fine. But if a little reflection reveals that maybe you just feel like you haven't ever felt able to make noise, experiment with letting some of those inhibitions go when you're in a safe environment with a trusted partner. Remember that sex is not like porn, and sometimes it sounds silly or awkward. That's just part of the human experience.

Second, if you are just quiet, why do you feel the need to be louder? You do not need to make yourself into the perfect object of desire—that does not exist and you will tie yourself up in knots trying. You are enough, exactly as you are, and he wonderful thing about human sexuality is that different people find a variety of things attractive. Somewhere out there is a person (probably actually multiple people) who are totally sexually compatible with you, sans soundtrack.

If you're looking to be louder because you want to communicate, consider that communication can mean many different things. There are many ways for you to communicate that aren't pornographic levels of moaning. Single words like "yes" or "good" or "more" are also totally valid options, as are gestures like tapping on your partner's shoulder/head/etc. Your partner can also listen to your breathing and be aware of your body language. Experiment with what works for you.

As for making discussion about sex "less clinical/more appealing", I'm of the belief that talking about sex—in whatever way you choose—can sexy because you are talking with someone about having sex with them. It just may not always sound elegant. The kink community is great at talking about sex before having it, they don't let worrying about how it sounds get in the way of things, and I think they're better off for it.

Keep being you. Embrace your noisy side if you have one. If you don't, quiet can be sexy.

-Reid

[o-hora-o]

What are your thoughts on Tesla and Joey's "mother-son" relationship? Do you think Tesla truly sees and treats Joey as her own son? Or would it be hella awkward because Joey is one of Joyce’s clones? Would Tesla be a strict, overprotective, considerate or pampering ? Joey seems to be a polite and understanding boy, so ig his parents are doing a good job.

In APHO, we can see that both Joey and Tesla care for each other a lot. Also when you choose the “Drunk” option, idk, it’s just kinda depressing… Sound like Tesla control her drinking problems and be happier for Joey.

Joachim and Eins, too, what do you think their relationship with Joey will be like? Maybe the two sometimes just quietly stare at Joey because he reminds them of Joyce?

Now that Joachim has gone to HSR, do you think Tesla will ever “hate” Joachim for leaving her and Joey? I mean she was already really busy before, so busy that Joey could rarely see her, but at least Joachim was there to look after him. Now that he's gone, Tesla will have to raise Joey all by herself, and yk, raising a child is never easy. With Tesla's personality, I don't think she could really handle this.

(Sorry if i was asking too much, i just really love reading your post about them, pls never stop😭💞)

Aw, thank you very much for all these questions and dialogue screenshots! ❤️ 

Oh, Joey, Joey... We have so many questions for this precious boy yet know so little about him. He’s so polite, kind, and remarkably brave for his young age, just like a certain someone. “I’m more Joyce than Joffrey” he once said and, in every sense of these words, he was absolutely right. He's the most Joyce-like clone with the most Joyce-like mind that, in my opinion, doomed him to think, to act and to perceive the world around him and people in it the very same way Joyce did (He even developed the same passion for cosmos, pls).    Yes, as Joachim said, “he’ll never become Joyce.” But the resemblance is still there and it's too painful. This is why I was confident that Joey’s existence would be too much for AE to bear. They would have to constantly remind themselves that this is not Joyce nor he will ever be, they can't heal their wounds using this boy and force him to become like Joyce.    And the worst part is that Joey knows it? I thought that perhaps he doesn’t understand fully the reason why everyone looks at him that way, why some things he unconsciously says or does make his mother or father or auntie Ein look at him with a poorly hidden sorrow in their eyes, but it’s the elephant in the room and one day he'll might as well want to become this hero everyone sees in him. 

But... I was wrong? Thanks to that hasty chapter that gave no explanation on who this boy was and where he came from, it seemed as everyone were relatively fine with Joey around. Even Ein appeared to be okay which was...odd to me but never mind. 

On the other hand, it was cute and heartwarming to see Tesla being so mature and caring with Joey. She always could get along with kids and teens pretty easily but with Joey she became surprisingly extra self-restrained and showed this lovely mother-ish side of hers. True, Tesla can be both strict and overprotective, and considerate AND pampering. But that’s how she shows her love and she’ll do everything for those she loves (after grumbling for a while, of course). And! Tesla controlling her swearing and alcoholic habits is just whoa. That's some character development right there. 

On top of everything, Tesla is very good in quickly adapting for even the most fucked up situations. So even though we don’t know the exact story of how they came to this whole situation with Joey and even if it was awkward at first, I think at this point she just treats him as her son. Not as a clone, not as some Joyce’s copy, but as her precious little Joey. And I think Joey’s appearance in her life is actually for the better. She needed someone who’d care for her as immensely as she’s willing to care for others. 

With Joey, Tesla has become more mature, calm, and soft, with a hint of tiredness that comes from the old age. But omg not only she started to drink less and tries to tame her temper but that part where she told Joey that glasses are not cool even though she wore glasses to look cool-    As for Joachim and Ein… *sighs*. As I’ve said long time ago, these two are in the same depression boat when it comes to Joyce topic. And no matter how the story currently unfolds and will unfold in the future, I think these two have it hard with Joey. Let me be a sucker for angst here, please. But even in APHO it really felt like it wasn’t easy for Joachim to talk about Joey. He’s trying his best to see the boy as an independent individual but he can’t help but be reminded of Joyce. 

Joachim’s life, personality, his everything was heavily affected and shaped by Joyce’s legacy, then he went through traumatic era of killing Joyce’s clones and now he takes care of another clone. He can’t be free from Joyce’s shadow looming over his life even after everything he went through. It’s just so ironic that parenting Joey not only reminds him of Joyce but perhaps makes him miss his own father too. Still, Joachim tries his best to be a good father.

(But in my opinion, in his case Joey doesn’t really brightens his life, unlike Tesla’s situation).  And then there’s Ein… *pat pat* your sanity will be missed, doctor (And here I thought her life can’t be even more miserable). Before the ex chapter was released, I believed that Joey’s presence would turn her life into a living nightmare. It’s been hard for her to stop treating Joachim as a shadow of Welt and now the story wants me to believe that she’s not bothered by a boy with Joyce’s hair, eyes, smile and character. Uh-huh...I know that the story loves to make her be controversial from time to time but not to this extent? (Or she’s so fed up with life and reached a point of exhaustion where even something like this can’t disturb her).

How could she accept him so easily? I can’t believe it wouldn’t be overwhelming for her to see this boy every day. Surely it would be too much, the story did a very dirty move. And while she may care for Joey, she can’t draw the line between Joey and Welt the very same way she never drew the line between Joachim and Welt. Perhaps she would feel guilty and terrible for being like this and for her inability to love him properly. That's why Ein keeping her distance from Joey was the most obvious thing for me to expect. Yes, avoiding the boy or giving him the cold shoulder would confuse him, "why does auntie Ein hate me?”, he did nothing wrong after all, but Ein just wouldn’t know how to treat him normally. However, the story says she’s ✨fine✨ with it all.    Will Tesla ever “hate” Joachim for leaving her and Joey...well yes, she can’t bring herself to truly hate him nor she can stay indifferent. Most likely she’ll go through a cycle of denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance once again. At least she can take comfort in the fact that Joey is not a problematic child. Perhaps she will have break downs from the constant stress and make mistakes along the way, but I want to believe that she’ll manage just fine as long as no one around her offs themselves for the sake of heroic deeds after all, she’s a strong lady and I hope she’ll become a great mother figure to Joey.

Unfortunately, we still have very little content on this topic and I hope to come back to this ramble one day. Thank you once again for these questions tho

[queeenpersephone]

Prompt: ironwidow reconnecting after the five year gap in endgame. Pepperony optional.

this is short, but i just wanted to rewrite that one scene and this is the perfect prompt for it <3 also heads up: Steve is a hella unreliable narrator. opinions expressed by him are not necessarily the opinions of this author ;)

-

The first thing Steve notices is the nod.

It's subtle, of course, but Steve hasn't gotten as far as he has as a fighter and a leader without a general awareness of the relationships of his teammates. And Tony and Natasha have always had a certain acerbic, yet mutual, respect, but never has Tony looked to Natasha for how to make a play. At least, not more than that period of internal strife that Steve doesn't like to think about.

Tony, holding his young daughter - Morgan, Steve thinks - nods back, and Natasha turns back to Scott and him. "Let's go," she says evenly, meeting Steve's curious gaze head on. She's never been scared of him.

The child turns at the sound of Natasha's voice. "Nat!" She calls, high-pitched and excited, squirming out of her father's arms. Tony lets her down with a grumble, but he can't hide the soft smile at the corner of his mouth. The dark-haired child sprints toward Natasha, who swings the girl up on her hip.

"Hi, Morgan," Natasha says lowly, bumping her nose against the girl's, smiling which she lets out a stream of giggles. "What are your daddy and you up to this week, hm?"

Morgan catches her up as they walk down to the porch to meet Tony. "We caught fishies, and drew pictures, and I built a robot to do my chores at Mommy's!" Morgan pauses, small white teeth grinning at her father. "Daddy helped."

Tony shrugs. "I just handed her the tools."

This is all becoming a little too strange for Steve, who clears his throat. All heads swing in his direction. "Tony," he begins, eyes still on the sight of Natasha holding Tony's child. When? How? Why? "We need to talk," he finishes after an uncomfortable pause.

Natasha sets the girl on her feet despite her whining protests. "Go play with FRIDAY," she encourages. The girl leaves reluctantly, and Tony finally steps up to greet them. "Lang. Rogers." His eyes fall on Natasha, and they noticeably soften. "Miss me, Romanoff?"

Steve swallows, unfamiliar with the growing pit in his stomach.

-

"That's not how quantum physics works," Tony says, raising an eyebrow at Scott, and Steve has never wished more for the return of the man who accidentally created Ultron. Sure, Tony has grown, matured, and settled into a quiet, anti-mayhem existence, but they need a little mayhem now.

"Tony," Natasha says, and Steve jumps a little. She's remained pretty quiet through, but Tony's eyes fall on her with an unexpected intensity at her soft interjection. "We have to take a stand."

He stands, stepping by Scott to get to her, and Steve feels like he has disappeared from the porch. "We did stand, and yet here we are," he entreats her. "Natasha, you know the risks. Is it really worth what w-" He stops, abrupt, at the look on Natasha's face. Steve inhales sharply.

"I know you've got a lot on the line," Scott says, oblivious to the tension now between three of the founding members of the Avengers. "Your daughter - her mother. I heard about your divorce, by the way, and I'm sorry-"

"It's been three years," Tony interrupts, eyes still intent on Natasha. "Pepper and I co-parent just fine."

" - but I lost someone very important to me," Scott continues. "A lot of people did. And now we have the chance to bring her - to bring everybody back, and you're telling me you won't even-"

"Enough, Scott," Natasha cuts him off with an icy tone. "We came here to ask for help, not to guilt Tony into helping against his better judgment." As Scott blusters behind them, Tony's arm rises toward Natasha ever-so-slightly, then falls.

Steve has had enough. "Are you going to make me ask?" He says finally.

Scott turns to him. "What-"

"Yes," Tony interrupts. "Please. Ask, instead of making those all those judgments I see in your eyes."

"Boys," Natasha warns.

"No, Nat," Tony snaps. "What do you want me to say? Oh, thank you for coming out here, now that you need something? Thank you for asking me to rip up my life, to risk my daughter, to risk you? I'm not saying no just for me, you know. If Cap is putting these ideas of 'better' into your head, maybe you should spend some time up here for a while."

Scott, as if on a delayed clock, starts with surprise, wide eyes darting between Tony and Natasha. "Oh, shit," he announces. "Wait, when - how?"

But no one is paying attention to him. "You can't say no for me, Tony," Natasha says with narrowed eyes. "I'm not saying this idea is viable, but if there's a chance, we could at least try."

Tony gives up the illusion, reaching for Natasha's hands. "You were here a few weeks ago," he argues. "Everything was fine. What could've possibly-"

"You were here a few weeks ago?" Steve almost-shouts. "Didn't you think I'd want to know that two of my friends-"

"Oh, stop with the sanctimonious bullshit, Rogers, Natasha's the only one of you who gets an opinion on my life because she's the only one who has visited me without an agenda-"

" - Oh, are you so sure?"

"I found Clint," Natasha says, and everything stops at the waver in her voice. "I found Clint, and he needs me. Us. This chance."

"Natasha," Steve begins quietly.

"Nat, he made his choices just like the rest of us," Tony says at the same time.

"He lost everything except me," she interrupts. "And we all know I'm not enough to tether him. And neither of you seem to care. You" - she looks at Tony - "seem to think everything's perfect as long as you have your bubble. And I'm happy for you, I'm so happy to be a part of that bubble, but it's bad out there, Tony. You can't ignore it." She turns to Steve. "And you, you want this to work so badly, but you're not acting much like a leader. When was the last time you reached out to Thor, Clint, or Bruce? Because I know you haven't seen Tony. Is it all for Bucky, then?"

"That's not fair, Romanoff," Steve replies, hurt.

"None of this has ever been fair," Natasha retorts, "and-"

But she doesn't get the chance to finish, because Morgan runs out and grabs her by the legs. "FRIDAY said your heart was working too hard," she says, "are you okay?"

Natasha mumbles something under her breath about meddling AI systems, but scoops Morgan into her arms anyways. "I'm just fine, kotyonok," she murmurs to the little girl. "Let's go inside, hm?"

She pauses, then reaches up to brush a soft kiss over Tony's mouth. Steve shuts his eyes, blocking it out. If Natasha is with Tony, everything changes.

Suddenly, he feels a squeeze to his shoulder and opens his eyes to an expressionless Natasha's, Tony's child nestled in the curve of her shoulder. "Part of you is still in that bunker, in Siberia," she whispers. "Unless you come out, you'll never get your chance to save the universe." Then, she leans back. "Or you'll... lose one of us in the process," raising her eyebrow to indicate that she's being careful with her terminology due to the child.

"No one should get lost!" Morgan replies from her shoulder.

"Out of the mouth of babes," Tony quips as his eyes follow Natasha and Morgan inside. Then, he turns to Steve. "It's actually good to see you," he says finally, almost easily. "If you don't talk shop, you can stay for lunch." Then, his expression closes, and he continues, tone tight with anger. "However, if you ever insinuate anything negative about our relationship again, I will never see you again. And there's nothing that Natasha will be able to do to convince me to give you yet another chance." Then, he disappears inside.

Scotts looks at Steve. "I don't know what I was expecting from this, but it's definitely not that."

Steve ignores him, turning to walk back to the car. Now, he can identify the pit in his stomach. Betrayal, shock... guilt. "We need to talk to Banner. Maybe he'll have some answers."

Scott hurries to his side. "What about Romanoff?"

Steve shakes his head. "She'll come around. She knows that we have to do whatever it takes to save the world."

At least, that's what Steve has to believe.

[pillarsalt]

its weird being in feminist spaces online bc on the one hand, we all understand that women have womens shelters because they actually worked towards gathering resources and opening these physical spaces. like they did actual work and didnt just wax poetic about the necessity. but then you have discourse about womens clothes and its like. you guys know there ARE brands out there creating functional clothing for the female form, right? and they end up shutting down due to lack of support? because we arent putting any action behind our words? and are just wishing good womens clothing into existence? like there are no mens shleters bc men didnt make shelters. there are no good female clothing brands because we 1) dont make them and if we do, 2) they dont get enough patronage to stay afloat. so yea guys, keep making tumblr posts about the lack of functional female clothing instead of seeking out and supporting those businesses. ill keep wearing my dads hand-me-downs because im economically and ecologically based.

Ooh anon we're playing with fire here... Alright everybody, feelings caps off and critical thinking caps on. This is in reference to a post I made a few nights ago about how I don't quite believe how many women claim they are incapable of wearing men's section clothes, a post which was itself in reference to another post that made the rounds on tumblr earlier this year. I wrote it after having had six beers and I'll be the first to admit, it was pretty inflammatory and worded in a way that lead a few people to reply defensively and angrily, so I turned off RBs and deleted it when I woke up the next day as damage control. The general gist of my post was that there are shitloads of options in the men's section that are far comfier with better quality materials than women's section clothes, that oversized clothes are easily adjusted for functionality ie. rolling up cuffs and wearing a belt, and that I think a lot of the women claiming they couldn't possibly wear men's section clothing are maybe just unwilling to "look bad," but again I wrote it in a way that obviously would not inspire good faith interaction with those whose choices I criticized. I'd like to take the opportunity to try again with this ask.

First of all, I also had a couple people say that they've had to wear the men's uniform at their job and it was ill-fitting and sucked. Of course I'm not arguing that women should not be accounted for in creating work equipment and PPE omfg, that's not what I'm talking about at all! That's a matter of safety and equality in employment, completely not what I'm saying. And I'm also not saying that women SHOULDN'T have clothes that are comfortable, functional, and properly fitting that are made with them in mind. We should be demanding this! What I am saying is that... we don't have that right now. Anon points out that there are businesses that have tried to do this and couldn't find enough patronage to stay afloat. Of course I want these clothing manufacturers to succeed, it would be the best case scenario, but in the mean time, we have two options: uncomfortable, flimsy, revealing, shit-ass-material that won't keep you warm women's clothes; and men's clothes that are possibly ill-fitting.

From the replies I did get, sounds like the biggest problem is with the hips to waist ratio, in men's pants the waist is too big when the hips fit. Yes, I get it! But I was also surprised to learn how many women are completely opposed to wearing belts?? I always thought belts were a wardrobe staple for most everyone, my Mom always wears one, I've been wearing one when necessary since middle school age. But happily for the non-belt-wearers, I've discovered that many men's pants actually have drawstrings, sometimes they're inside behind the buttons and zipper, so you can make them as tight or loose as you like. I have four pairs of pants like this, I wear them to work where I walk around and bring heavy things up and down stairs all day, they are sooo comfyyy.

The other thing is all my pants are from the men's now, and I have to tell you: sizing discrepancy is popularly framed solely as a women's clothing issue, but it's not really. Last week I bought two pairs of men's jeans from the thrift store, both size 34, without trying them on. One pair fits quite tightly around my thighs to the point that I will probably only wear them to events and not all day at work, while the other is the perfect size and so comfy I could sleep in them (don't worry, I won't.) It's trial and error all around when it comes to finding clothes that fit properly. There's not One Shape of men's pants. The changing room is your friend! Hang out in thrift stores long enough and you will absolutely find items that fit you wonderfully and feel comfortable.

So then we come to my main point: There are a lot of women who claim that men's clothes are just too big for them to wear and therefore they must resort to women's section clothes which supposedly fit them so much better... *FROM MY POINT OF VIEW* it seems a sort of convenient excuse to look the way a patriarchal society wants you to, in the same way that "sensory issues around body hair" is now a common stated reason to continue shaving and participating in sexist beauty culture without having to examine why you feel compelled to do so. I think when some women say they're unable to wear men's clothes, it's because they can't wear men's clothes and look as conventionally "good" as they do in women's clothes. And it's true, men's clothes are gonna be a bit looser and a bit more formless, but men aren't expected to be shrink-wrapped into their outfit like women are anyway. I understand the pressure to "look good," often women are treated poorly when they don't, but it's in your best interest and in the best interest of other women to resist that sexist pressure, or at least question it honestly.

Do I think you're a bad person for choosing to wear exclusively women's section clothes, absolutely not. I don't think women who shave or wear makeup or heels are bad people either. But I do think it's worth examining why you really feel like you couldn't branch out from the women's section.

Men's pants have a baggier crotch and ass area, but women's pants are often so tightly compact in the crotch that they can cause gynaecological problems. Men's shirt sleeves are quite roomy and may need rolling up, but many women's t-shirts have tiny sleeves that pinch your arms and draw your attention to the fact that your arm fat is being compressed. Men's pants can be quite long for a short woman, but cuffing them is simple: like anon said you can easily hem them, and if you don't sew like me, you can literally just cut them shorter and roll up the cuffs twice and KABOOM they become as short as you like. I want to reiterate that I do think women deserve to have clothes that are made with their comfort in mind, and I hope we do someday soon. But with the options we do have, there is a clear winner in terms of functionality, dignity, and quality. Men's clothes are made to be worn, women's clothes are made to adorn, decorate, be looked at.

Last point, when I hear someone say they're just too short or fat for men's section clothes... I can't believe them because I have seen A LOT of short and fat women wearing men's section clothes and doing just fine. You all have never met a short and/or fat butch lesbian? Ever? They look damn good in men's section clothing. I have a coworker who is 4'11" and shops 50/50 mens and womens clothes including pants. Like... I'm seeing short women wear mens clothes with slight alterations and zero problems. I really believe you can do it too. I believe!!!

In the end, I'm just a random tumblr blogger typing on my random tumblr blog, and you the reader have no obligation to take anything I say with more than a grain of salt. Try not to take this post personally, I'm not out to attack you. If your reasoning is simply "I don't want to," I can respect that and we don't have to agree. I think we can all agree the clothing situation for women generally sucks. If anyone including this Anon has recommendations for companies who make clothing that is legitimately created for women with women's bodies in mind, please let me know and I'll boost! Perhaps we can make a difference with our wallets.

[luimagines]

It is I! The Wizard!

This is written this with a Female reader in mind, so I do hope you do not mind 😅

TW: Myoginistic jerks, My awful spelling of the word Myoginistic, some aggressive stuff, swearing, men being jerks (They didn't drink their respect women juice), you can tell is started to vent a bit.

You don't have to post this if you don't want! I understand btw!

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When the chain realised that they were near a village, they decided that some of them would go out and get some much needed supplies. Wild had gone out to look for fruit and veggies and hunt for meat, and Warriors, Four, Legend and [Reader] had all gone out to go restock on some supplies in the village.

[Reader] walked through the market, looking around for needed items for their crafts. [Reader] was an expert bomb maker, and needed to buy some more materials to make more. She wanted to create a new type of bomb for Hyrule, per request and was always one to put 100% effort when it came to close friends.

Well, they weren't only friends. They were related by spirit, however that worked. The spirit of the hero, to be more specific. All of them had gone on their own adventures, faced their own demons and hardships. It made [Reader] feel like she wasn't alone, that she wasn't a massive misfit like she originally thought.

She looked and saw the stall she was looking for and approched it, and a middle aged man took a glance at her before going back to speaking to another man who was browsing. [Reader] stopped and started to look at the different kinds of gunpowder.

"Too thick. . ." She mumbled, examining the several options. "too potent. . . I need something fine. . ."

The man behind the counter sighed, looking annoyed and turned. "May I help you?" he asked, sounding very upset with her just existing.

[Reader] looked up. "Uh, do you happen to have any fine powder Gun powder-"

The man interrupted her "Where's your husband? Why did he send you to buy my wares?"

"I'm not married." [Reader] said calmly. "I need some fine powder-"

"I don't believe that." the man interrupted once more. "No way I will believe that some woman like yourself is unmarried. You've got some nerve." he looked her up and down "dressing as some traveler. You're trying to squeeze money out of us hard working men here, who do you think you are?"

"Excuse me?" [Reader] asked, getting fed up by his altitude. "I am a paying customer. My status wether or not I'm married or not is none of your business! Will you answer my question or not?"

The man glared before talking. "Yes, I have fine powdered. How much do you need?"

"Abount a pound or two." She said. The man nodded and went to a barrel, starting to scoop up a random amount of gunpowder into a bag before haphazardly tying the bag and placing it down in front of her. "40 rupees." he grumbled.

"Excuse me?!" [Reader] exclaimed. "That isn't the amount I asked for! And it says on the sign 10 rupees for a pound! you're making me pay 4 times as much for a pound!"

The man sneered, "Stupid woman wouldn't understand. I run a respectable business here! I can't have wh*re like you ruining my good business here." He watched as [Reader] turned red with rage. He grinned, and leaned close "I am willing to make you pay less. . .if you come with me for some alone-"

[Reader] slapped him across the face, turning on her heel and storming off in a rage as the man yelled at her "You b*tch!"

This happened all too often. man would either deny her service or make her pay far too much because of her being a woman. It infuriated her, from the inappropriate comments, to the asking of 'where's your husband? he'd understand better.' it was always heard. It infuriated her. And it's these things that made her jealous of the others.

She was given the name Link, her parents wanted a boy so badly, and neglected her even before her brother was born. Despite her struggles, despite sacrificing everything to save her home, her hyrule, she was still treat less than a horse. She was jealous. The others were born men, born and given immediate respect because of what they were born as. Many occasions she'd stay up late, wishing to wake up a man. But then she'd tell herself that she was just as powerful as the others, now matter what she was. It still hurt, though.

She had to pay extra at a few more stalls, buying arrows and some healing potions with offhand comments about if she was buying for a husband or if she was a traveler and if she was with family.

It wasn't until she was looking at some horse treats (For Epona, that precious horse needed to be spoiled after everything so far) that Legend appeared. "Are you done yet?" He asked in a tone showing he was annoyed. The man at the stall perked up.

"Ah, this must be your husband. Is there something you are looking for?" he asked, making Legend furrow his browser.

"Husband?" he asked "No. I'm not married to her."

"Ah, well then." he said, standing up. "What are you looking for? Something for your horse's saddle?"

[Reader] looked annoyed at this. and Legend noticed. "Hey! She's the one shopping here. Don't ignore her!" he snapped at the man, who looked taken aback.

It took a bit, the man finally tending to [Reader], and after Legend gave him a few words after hearing the man overcharge [Reader], they started off. Legend looked at [Reader] upset.

"What was wrong with him?" he asked "Can't he count? Do basic math?"

"It's nothing new." [Reader] sighed, shrugging. "Honestly, it's nothing worry about." Legend gave her a frown.

"What? Nothing new? have people been denying you as a buyer?" He asked, sounding irritated.

[Reader] nodded, sighing again. "Yea. Its normal though. Happenes to me plenty of times, I'm used to it. It's worse at home-"

"Excuse me?!" he yelled, catching some passersby attention. [Reader] Turned and saw his angry face. "People don't let you buy things?! Why?! You're a hero! You're like us! Why are you treated different?!"

"Well, isn't it obvious?" She asked, stopping. "A lot of people back home don't think a woman should be unwed let alone carry a sword. At home, most can't buy stuff except maybe food without being denied service or being overcharged. Why do you think I hand make bombs." [Reader] huffed, suddenly, Legend looking more p*ssed by the second. "Speaking of which I'm gonna have to wait on my bombs. The gunpowder guy was a real jerk, and I won't pay extra for gunpowder from a guy who asked to-" she paused. "Forget it. I'll just rashion. Let's go-"

[Reader] had tryed to continue walking when Legend grabbed her wrist, looking more livid than she'd ever seen. "What. Did. he. ask. for."

[Reader] hesitantly told him. If looks could kill, there'd be a massacre. "Take me to him."

[Reader] panicked a bit. "it's fine-"

Legend glared "Take me to this scumbag."

After some walking, people actively avoiding Legend, they made it to the gunpowder man. He looked over, and grinned. going to speak only to be grabbed by the coller by Legend, and pulled down, and punched hard in the jaw, making the man fall over, knocking gun powder barrels over. People yelled around them as Legend pulled the man out and started slattacking him, yelling about how much of an arse he was, a bunch of swear and such. [Reader] panicked as she saw red flying.

"LINK STOP!" she cryed, trying to pull him off, hearing two others run to them as he pushed her off and continued his assault. She stumbled back but was caught by Warriors, who looked alarmed at Legend's behavior. Four started to try and pull Legend off, nearly getting socked in his blind rage until Warriors pulled him off the now broken nosed, bleeding man.

"CALM DOWN!" Warriors exclaimed, trying to wrangle to struggling Legend, who was yelling "LET ME AT THAT DISRESPECTFUL PIG!"

"We need to go. Gardening will be here any second now." Four said urgently, snapping [Reader] out of their trance, making her nod. The two ran off, not wanting to get arrested. Time would be mad upset with them . . .

. . .

It was silent at camp, the other feeling the tension in the air as they heard Warriors and Legend returning, [Reader] pale seeing the blood on Legend's fists. He stormed over to [Reader]. "Why do you let them talk to you like that?! Why do you people disrespect you?!"

Time stood "What happened. Tell me." he demanded, making the others tense up seeing his face. Legend turned, going to speak when Warriors spoke up. "Legend assaulted a man in town. Broke his nose and jaw."

Time looked at Legend as he blew up once more "That man made inappropriate comments about [Reader]! And I watched a man ignore her after I appeared! He was disrespecting [Reader]! And not to mention how [Reader] said that those misogynistic arseholes constantly refuse her service before she's a woman! I-"

"That is not an excuse to attack someone." Time said, giving that horrific look of disappointment at Legend. making him shut up and pale. Time turned to [Reader] "Is this true?"

Hesitantly, [Reader] nodded. "But I'm used to it by now. I don't understand why Legend got so angry, it's common for me to get those kinds of things said about me."

Time frowned. "Why didn't you tell us?" he asked, sounding upset, making [Reader] looked down at her feet and held her arms.

"It's. . . not something you all need to worry about." She said "You guys don't need to worry about that kind of thing. It's not your concern. . . "

Time suddenly put a hand on [Reader]'s shoulder. "Just because you face these things, doesn't mean you should. Let alone face this alone." he said "You are a hero, just like us. You've wielded the Master Sword just like us. If you need help, you shouldn't hide this stuff from us. We are a team. We are here to help one another."

[Reader] nodded. Time turned to Legend. "You and I are gonna have a chat." he said, making Legend pale again as he followed Time.

Twilight stood as they left and approched [Reader]. "You should have told us. We would have helped you." he said. "I don't understand why people are against you, but I know that you shouldn't face these people alone."

Wind spoke. "I had no idea girls went through this stuff. . . " he said sadly "To think Arel might have experienced this. . ."

"I'm sorry you have to go through this." Hyrule said, suddenly hugging [Reader] "You shouldn't have to."

Without warning, tears started to fall from [Reader]'s eyes, as a few sobs fell down her face, hugging Hyrule back as she started to cry. She'd never gotten this comfort from anyone before. It felt nice. Hyrule stiffened a bit but hugged her still, Wind standing up and hugging her side as well. Warriors looked panicked but patted her back awkwardly. Four stood nearby, looking guilty that he didn't do more. Sky looked worried. He'd never even heard of such treatment in Skyloft.

As time passed, Wild returned and looked angry at thr news of what happened, deciding to make some extra food for [Reader] to eat to feel better. and Legend sat near her, slient. Wolfe came by too after twilight went on patrol, laying near [Reader], his head on her leg. It felt nice, to have a bunch of friends willing to comfort her, and some even jumping to ger defense. It was nice.

As she went to sleep later on. she smiled, knowing she wasn't alone. That she had a group of friends that would defend her, just like she would defend them. She slept with a smile on her face, not expecting to wake up to a big bag of gunpowder near her sleeping bag, and to hear Time scolding Wild, Wind, and Legend about stealing.

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Yea, I got a bit carried away here. I hope I don't offend or upset anyone if they read this 😅. I kind started to vent in here, cause I have been disrespected in a few store before because I am a girl. Upsetting but I have some good friends who have stood up for me. I hope no one else is or has gone through this before, but if you have, I just wanna say that you're amazing as you are and there are people who will support you. and I am included in that group. Have a Good day/night!

Oh no, poor Reader.

And don't worry too much about making Reader female. It's just for my own Reader's that I make reader neutral. Most (all) anon Readers tend to lean with she/pronouns unless they're deliberately an oc.

I'm more surprised that Time didn't find out about Legend's attack on the guy sooner. It sounds like he made quite a scene. Enough so that the other boys had to step in and get him too stop- although, given the amount of girls on Warrior's team back home, I'm surprised he didn't immediately join in once he heard why Legend had all but lost his mind.

I not surprised, however, that Legend managed to rope Wild and Wind into getting Reader's fair share of gunpowder.

Someone oughta put Operation Fluffer Nutter into action and make it go kaboom.

[fixyourwritinghabits]

Hi! I’m interested in writing a realistic teen fiction novel set in high school, focusing on multiple students and their everyday lives both within and outside of school. I want the story to feel like you're reading someone's diary, similar to shows like Freaks and Geeks, Skam, and My Mad Fat Diary. Sooo, any prompts or ideas to help me get started? Or advice? Anything will do! Thank you so much!

The challenge or writing realistic teen fiction when you're not a teenager is quite high. You always run the risk of outdated references, incorrect slang, and overall awkward writing.

DO go for universal experiences. Teenagers throughout the ages deal with the challenges of dating, parental conflict, pressures to get the highest scores or hang out with the right crowd. Kids are going to go through the same experiences no matter how much the world changes. Tap into those emotions and think about what you went through as a teen. How do you project those experiences and emotions onto your character? Could you give them similar challenges? Put them through situations you managed to avoid? Lean on what you know.

DO treat your characters with respect. Yes, even the guy who smokes too much weed has a much richer inner life than you may put to paper. You don't have to give every character a ten-page backstory and a showcasing scene, but do be sure to give depth to both your main characters and antagonists. Don't brush off their concerns or values - even if you think fighting over a prom date is silly in hindsight - as unimportant.

DO focus on setting and specifics. Where your story is based and what's going on in the environment is going to vastly impact what issues your teen characters will face. Some teens may face issues with drugs and environmental violence. Others will have more experience with dealing with online bullying. A lot of teens are far more used to LGBTQ peers and more accepting environments, but that doesn't mean issues of racism, transphobia, and homophobia have gone away. Where you set your story and what's going on in the environment around it are going to be really important when it comes to coming off as genuine.

And a few don'ts...

DON'T chase the latest trends. There are a lot of things that will date your work within the year, if not months. Twitter is nearly as dead as MySpace, no one says 'on fleek' anymore, and the latest iPhone is not going to sound impressive if someone reads your story two years from now. That isn't to say you should social media or cell phones entirely - that would be silly - or that you should try to disguise them by using some made-up name. Neither would really work. If TikTok is going to be in your characters' lives, talking about it even with a casual line is a better option than pretending it doesn't exist. But if you hinge your plot entirely on TikTok drama, and by the time your book or story comes out no one uses TikTok anymore, you'll be shooting yourself in the foot. Play it safe and lean into generics if your story heavily involves online behavior ('some stranger is sending me DMs' versus 'I'm being bullied via my Discord server's soundboard').

DON'T appropriate experiences that aren't yours. It's really tempting to project what you feel about current events into teen characters, and it's not wrong to write really passionately about something that affects both you and your teenage characters, but think it through. Does your white character single-handedly resolve racism in their school? That's just not going to happen. Is your character's heroic moment tackling the school shooter before he kills someone? Take a long step back and think about what these moments mean for the teens that go through them. You run the real risk of making their lives seem trite and meaningless by presenting an easy solution to a complex problem. A teenage hero with a sword may save a kingdom in a fantasy novel, but in the modern world, dealing with bigotry and violence are complicated issues that require solidarity, collective action, and allyship, not savorism.

DON'T cut corners by making your characters 'really into 80s music' or similar anachronistic interests. Listen, I know this is painful, but as popular as Stranger Things is, your teens characters are probably not listening the Best of the 80s on a regular basis when not in the car with their parents (or, uh, grandparents). They're likely not really into TLC, I doubt they can name all the Spice Girls. You may think you're giving them a funny quirk by having them be really into something you know a lot about, but you risk alienating your audience. I've put down more than one YA book because the author couldn't explain why her teen character loved U2, but couldn't name Taylor Swift if she tried. This... doesn't work. You may not listen to Doja Cat or Charli XCX, but you're doing yourself and your characters a disfavor in not considering who the artist or actor they care about is, and why. Figuring out what your characters are into can be really worth the insight it brings. You can, of course, skip pop culture for the most part if your plot doesn't touch it - but don't believe for a second your characters don't know who Ariana Grande is, c'mon.

Angie Thomas's THE HATE THAT U GIVE is a classic for a lot of reasons, but a big part of it is that she's able to juggle all of the above without coming off as insincere or contrite. Her main character knows that dealing with police violence is complicated. Tupac Shakur's music plays an important part of the book because it's relevant to the character and her experiences, not just because it's something the author knew well. And Starr Carter didn't save the world from the problems plaguing her, but she did take a stand against them. Angie Thomas's work is a masterclass in understanding how teenagers think even if you aren't one, and I'd recommend reading them to get a feel for how to handle a teenage voice.

[fullofgutsndopamine]

I’ve Got The Patience (My Form Is Reckless)

or: the coffee shop au where you both are baristas and the bathroom is your enemy. also this definitely isn’t based off the tik tok ✨ anon sent me ha ha why do you ask?

TW/cursing

“Hasan,” You hum, leaning against the counter, your fist in your cheek, “We have a question the crowd is just dying to know.”

He snorts, takes the rag off from his apron band and uses to it clean the coffee that sloshed over the edge of a cup.

“Does this question have anything to do with my coffee order?”

“It does!” you all but squeal, “Man, nothing gets past you.”

He huffs, “we’re in the middle of our biggest rush of the day and you think this is the time to interview me?”

“Yes.” you pause for a second, “Besides, since you’ve been kicked out of doing drive through it’s been so boring here. Anyways.”

You clear your throat and shape your hand to a microphone, holding the imaginary microphone up to his lips: “The fans have been dying to ask: as a barista, why is your order such dog water and shouldn’t you, as a barista-know better? What’re your thoughts on that.”

He throws the towel over his shoulder as he uses his knuckles to push his glasses up his nose: “Tall venti white flat for Abigail?”

He gives a weak smile as he slides the cup over to a woman speaking on speakerphone in a power suit who grabs the cup with an eye roll and stalks off.

He walks by and gives you a shove but it’s gentle, his other hand on the side of you to catch you and make sure you don’t hip catch the edge of the counter.

“You’re gonna be on mocha duty if you keep that up.”

He’s teasing, holds no weight here, but your hands go to your belly: “I have to go to the bathroom. Like, right now.”

He laughs. Throws his head back and claps, his eyes crinkle together:

“How fucking convienant,” he throws the dish towel at you as you duck out, a large smile plastered on his face, “Don’t get fuckin’ locked in there.”

it’s a joke, mostly. the bathroom itself is older than you are, a failing lock constantly-the amount of times customers have gotten stuck in there is nearing twenty, a tally list you keep behind the desk and hasan and you strike every time.

You’ll say you spoke it into existence.

Hasan will notice you are gone first. It’s his third matcha of the day and he goes to yell over this shoulder at you that this is somehow your fault-when the space where you usually would be is empty.

“Anyone seen my favorite co worker?”

It’s teasing, because it’s what you two have always said to one another, nudging each other while sticking your tongues out.

“Bathroom.”

Anthony calls i’ve this shoulder, looking stressed as he pulls shots for a venti order.

Hasan checks the watch on his wrist- he isn’t one to police your time but he’s not use to the space you left being so empty for-twenty minutes-when he takes his apron off, throws it on the counter and stalks towards the bathroom.

There’s a small line waiting, tapping their feet and huffing already annoyed by the time he apologizes and makes it to the front of the line.

“Hey—“

He knocks three times with his knuckles and your voice comes back, borders on frantic.

“Hasan?” You call and he knows without seeing you that your biting your fingernails down to stubs, the same way he’ll pass you at work and nudge your elbow, making your hand fall out of your mouth, “Oh my god. The fucking door-“

He shakes his head even though you can’t see him.

“That’s fine,” he says quickly, “You’re okay. Look, uh-“

his eyes scan the door in front of him. he knows from before the only option is a locksmith, or fire department or some other dramatic thing and that’s at least an hour wait and you already sound close to panicking.

he’ll say later it’s because they couldn’t possibly be down another person during the busiest hour, how you needed the attention as he nudges your elbow with a smirk.

Instead-

“Okay,” He nods, licks his lips, “You’re okay. Step back from the door.”

“Hasan?”

He rolls his eyes, “Are you away from the door or not?”

Your voice comes back a little further away, a meek: “Yes” and he wastes no time looking at the doorframe before cursing and seeing the only option.

Look, it’s logical. he’ll insist. Saves the company so money, or some shit-

as his shoulder comes in contact with the doorframe all he can think is how bad this is going to hurt tomorrow morning.

He’s a second away from giving up, from lifting his foot up and trying to give way to the door handle when the door finally groans, gives in on itself and he’s able to open it.

Your further back by the sink, eyes wide as he comes in:

“Are you okay?”

He uses his finger to lift your chin up, turning your head around as if he’s looking for any evidence of any wrong doings and not just the lock giving away in your hand again.

“Hasan,” Your hand rests over his as it rests on the side of your face, feeling like you can finally breathe again. “I’m fine.”

And there’s more too it, this touching that you both have lingered on doing in passing, knocking hands as you two work or nudging elbows has always been calculated, thought out-lost sleep over.

“You scared me, you ass”.

You laugh finally, rips through the air as the line is rolling their eyes, ignoring how they’re clearing their throats to hurry you along.

“Couldn’t lose my favorite co worker during rush hour.”

He speaks softly, like he doesn’t fully want you to see this part of him that is softer around the edges.

“I’ll do anything to get out of work, right?”

he laughs, shakes his head as you put the broken lock in his hand, insist it’s a souvenir.

“You owe me at least four Frappuccino’s after this.”

but he seems relieved finally, dropping his hand from his hair as he moves it like he does when he’s nervous.

“Deal,” you follow him out, “and i’ll call the manager over the door you fucked up.”

He groans, not answering as he follows behind you.

“Kinda an overkill, don’t you think?”

you’re teasing as you walk backwards to the counter again, “like, a normal person would get a key? or-“

“I should’ve fucking left you in that bathroom.”

He’s teasing back as he holds the latch to the counter for you, takes the apron you threw off and waits for it to go around your neck, turns you around as his fingers work slowly but expertly at tying the tie in the back. Waits until you turn around to face him as you do the same for him.

“Oh please,” you’re finally laughing, “You’d miss me too much.”

He rolls his eyes: “Hardly. Do those frappes.”

“Yes, captain.” you salute him as you turn around, trying to act like you don’t see the way he looks at you out to the corner of his eye, carefully watching to make sure you’re okay.

[pokegyns]

As a trans radfem, here's some things that trans people and radfems can do to make a better space for both groups to coexist, even if they disagree on various points:

RADFEMS

-Not associating with conservatives, transvestigators, or people who genuinely HATE trans people, rather than being critical of the movement. Those people are cruel parasites off our movement and they make us all look bad.

-Don't harass random trans people. Disagree politely, or block and move on. Especially don't harass minors. Don't wish physical harm on them, don't make weird comments about their bodies, etc. (This is something I have seen actual, confirmed TERFs do, off anon)

-Don't lump all trans people into a group. Not all trans women are evil rapists. Not all trans men are uwu fujoshi confused little girls. There are bad faith actors and immature, easily-radicalized people, yes, but those are the minority.

-Criticize the movement, not the individual. Unless a specific trans person has actually done something bad, and this is confirmed and not just internet hearsay, take your frustrations out on the movement, or keep it to yourself. There's no reason to harass random people who are just trying to exist.

-Listen to trans and dysphoric people's perspectives.

-Be open to discussion. Be open to the idea that you might have some things wrong. Listen to people's lived experiences, even if they don't necessarily make sense to you. Be open to explaining your ideas in simple language, since they're not always familiar with our terminology and acronyms.

TRANSGENDER PEOPLE

-Expel the bad-faith actors from your community. If someone's been confirmed (like, actually confirmed, not just internet hearsay) to have done something terrible, don't defend them or continue associating with them.

-Don't shut down conversations about feminism just because they 'sound TERF-y'. AFAB people/Bio females do face specific oppression for their sex, and this is something that needs to be discussed.

-Be open to the idea that transition isn't always for everyone. Sometimes there are other options. Don't force detransitioners out, or treat them as traitors.

-Some things shouldn't be joked about- specifically rape, or other acts of sexual violence that are often perpetuated against women. If you want to make an edgy joke, go tell a punchline about 9/11 or something.

-Be open to discussion. Be open to the idea that you might have some things wrong. Listen to people's lived experiences, even if they don't necessarily make sense to you. Be open to explaining your ideas in simple language, since they're not always familiar with our terminology and acronyms.

In the end, I think both groups mostly want the same thing, just in different ways. The radfems want the abolition of gender and the patriarchy with it, and the trans movement agrees that gender is meaningless, but rather than abolishing gender altogether, they want to just fuck around with it until it no longer has a true meaning.

-Snorlax Anon

^