#but a message this ridiculous deserves an equally ridiculous answer

[harry-sussex]

If you’re going to engage with people mocking the Harry’s trauma and what Meghan, him & Doria went through, can you move and finally give up the url? It should to be used for people that actually, care not only about Harry but his wife, kids and MIL.

Oh get a grip, this isn’t about the Sussexes and you know it. I saved harry-sussex years before Harry even met Meghan - you should’ve gotten here sooner if you wanted a good one. It sucks having to put 12345 at the end of your URL because all the good ones are taken, doesn’t it? My sincerest condolences.

Not for nothing, this URL got me thousands of followers over many years lmao - you can’t have it just because you want to reap the benefits of people recognizing my blog name and following you instead 🤣 sorry kiddo, you’re gonna have to do a better job on your own blog if you want to get a following like mine (instead of trying to poach my URL). Try to be a little less transparent next time - saying what you mean and meaning what you say is a sure-fire way to get more engagement and a larger audience (especially one like mine, they’re the best). I would know, it’s worked for me for years (and it’s worked for my friends too). Best of luck xoxo

[dear-tortured-adam]

❝ 𝐘𝐎𝐔'𝐑𝐄 𝐉𝐎𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆. . . ❞

╰┈➤ THEY'RE MY EVERYTHING... | HEADCANON POST

question : "Can a demon possess loyalty?" AKA demon brothers vs people trying to pry their way into their relationships.

pairing.s : Lucifer x MC, Mammon x MC, Leviathan x MC, Satan x MC, Asmodeus x MC, Beelzebub x MC, Belphegor x MC [all separately]

note : my first try on headcanons! or, honestly, posting my headcanons. These are just little sillies I thought of while listening to the first part of "There Are Other Ways" and I want to explore more on it. Sure we get snippets of the brothers rejecting people in the game, but I wanted to look more into it. So, here we are!!

In our story, let's put the brothers in a simple experiment.

It's a common belief that unfaithfulness is linked to a demon's trickery. So much so that many partners caught in the act would blame the devil's work. "A Temptress" they'd speak, ridiculing both parties. As much as the act of sin contributes to their power, would they so much as indulge in such?

HOWEVER. . .

It's also a common principle to fuel your own power. As people of status, you'd care for your the fuel of your strength, wouldn't you? In the end, it's all trickery. It's all just a tempting vice. It was only temporary. Although, even then, there seem to be exceptions to the rule. No matter the amount of mock temptation, they remain the one thing contradicting the premise of their power: loyalty.

LUCIFER ; "It's disgusting how you even thought of trying."

Excuse you? He's offended by that question.

Let's ignore his position of giving Diavolo his absolute loyalty — these are two completely separate cases.

Although yes it falls into grey areas that overlap with one another, though what's the change?

Demon Prince aside, Lucifer is utmost loyal to his beloved lamb. It was simply equal in priority.

In fact, he takes pride in his love for you no matter what others suggest. He's a private man, he doesn't need his relationships to take center stage.

Oh sure he's not as affectionate as he is behind closed doors, but does it equate to anything else? He belongs to you as much as you belong to him. His.

Anything less was pitiful, a stung at his pride. Settling for someone who doesn't meet the standard of his beloved is such a sad, sad thought...

You'd be delusional to think he'd do that.

So when he went on as an escort for an all-powerful witch, watching them all doe-eyed and fawning over him, Lucifer couldn't catch a break.

Convincing him to drop everything with his lamb and start anew is on the same plane as Solomon trying to make a pact with the avatar.

You'd be correct to say that the answer was impossible.

The audacity of this vixen is palpable. Perhaps even admirable.

Lucifer would immediately dismiss their actions. He doesn't have the time to engage with others — much less someone testing his patience.

He'd go and talk them out of it, making his feelings clear.

The quicker he's out of this ordeal, the better. What a bother... he wished he could ask for a more tolerable person.

Those pet names and whistles mean nothing to him, as he continues to walk away. If they follow him then he'd give them a well-deserved scolding. If he's feeling particularly stressed that day, then whoever witnesses the cardinal display ought to keep their mouth shut.

We wouldn't want any issue now, do we?

As soon as that's dealt with, Lucifer grabs his DDD. After all, don't ignore the message that orders you to come to his study later that night.

It's a stress relief; more or less.

MAMMON ; "What's ya deal? Yer getting on my nerves.."

Was that even a question? Are you challenging him, babe?

Ya better put more trust in yourself if you think the GREAT Mammon's going to be replacing you; hell he doesn't care if it's for a one-night stand.

His type consists of you. YOU.

And he's a greedy demon. Very much so. As soon as his sky-blue eyes lock their gaze on any precious item he wants, it's over. Much like the inherent nature, being greedy for a particular item allows someone to disregard everything else.

Yes yes it's bad for a mortal but does it even matter? You're his only for as much as he is yours. Your first.

When out at the Fall, Mammon would get the occasional flirts and staring. Honestly, it's an ego booster, plus, he's a model so can ya really blame them?

But when one particular candidate steps too far and tries to get passed his comfort zone... well...

This wasn't entertaining at ALL.

Though he really swears to his father. This bitch...

It was annoying. Very fucking damn annoying.

Hello? Are they deaf? He said he's not interested. They'd think they're better than his dear treasure? Pft-- a turd among diamonds. No more than a lowly piece of shit that will never do garbage justice.

If it's just the talking stage, then Mammon would just scoff and walk it off. He's impolite? Stop wasting the Great Mammon's plans, will ya?

The words that escape that bitch's lips were really ticking Mammon's desire to punch them in the face as a warning.

Instead, what he does is strain their ego. While pushing them away he goes on and about how you were just as GREAT as himself. He sees himself as having no partner other than you.

E..er- of course you don't find out! You'll never do... [You eventually did]

If things ever do get physical, then... Sorry darling. The Devildom was the last place you'll ever be shown mercy.

And don't mind if he goes clinging onto you as soon as he's back at HoL. His hugs are tighter than usual? No it isn't. Stop, you're hallucinating.

It's merely a reminder of how in a world of foolery he's struck gold. You're his jackpot and losing you to someone of lower value is...

Alright, quick, calm him down. Reward him, won't you? You don't have to, but he'll be happier.

LEVIATHAN ; "It's stupid, OK!? Can't even fucking aim .."

Him? Are you serious?

He can't even properly make eye contact with someone for the life of him and you expect him to even think of flirting back at others?

You give him too much credit that it makes him blush. Like- It's- well... actually is like (un)holy jeez you're adorable for that.

"But what if they want to be his duo partner?"

It's not very poggers of you to say that.

You're his only friend on Nekopets that he sends gifts to, if anything HE should be the one worrying about others flirting with you.

Levi swears that you're too good for this world.

But you know better. The otaku rarely sees how his classmates are probably crushing on him since he's only been focused on his syntax error self-esteem. Gamer boys are all the rage, especially a cute one that just so happens to be one of the lords of anime hell so...

Yes, he has experienced them. He was less than amused, wanting to just shy away locked up in his room --- preferably with you so that he can game all night, watch anime, and board games are up, yeah? Away from all the normies? That's the life.

The ones that do get annoying are those who flirt with him online. Like, oh, that's a new level of ew.

Like, excuse you? Are you really flirting with him on VC while he [and the other league members] are actually trying to defeat the enemy team?

It gets worse when the person acts like they no nothing about the game, or have a purpose sloppy gameplay in hopes that "dEaR lEv1aChAn WoUlD cArRy ThEm"

Ya know what's sexier? Actually playing the game you—

—well, that trash-talking aside, clearly he's off-limits. He'll even go as far as ranting about it in whatever group chat comes first. It goes especially worse when it causes him to lose focus/his MVP streak.

He has then never played online for a week after that encounter.

It is less likely to happen face-to-face out in the open, and he'll very much express discomfort.

But if the beloved snake boy texts you to come to his room all lowercase with a period? Be there and don't forget to bring snacks.

And a charger, because you'll stay there for a long time.

SATAN ; "Mercy? Oh, I'll make you beg for mercy..."

You got to be fucking kidding him.

The mere thought of someone even thinking of taking him away from his dear sends his blood boiling.

What's that? Do they think a mere act of seduction is enough? Pathetic.

He already knows what he's gonna do, would you ever prefer an option ranging from "immobilized" to "dead beyond repair".

It's all a sum of deathly solutions, but can you blame him? He sees no one but you who is capable of showing him the light in this darkness.

And so whenever he gets reminded of the thought, be sure to be there at his side.

Hold him, talk to him, in your room or anywhere where you're both away from the peering eyes of the world. Your presence alone is enough to satiate whatever wrath urges to burst out of his system.

You're the only one who makes him truly satisfied, and there's no one else. You should be grateful that he even lets you near his vicinity without being reduced to blood and ashes.

The threats aren't as serious when it comes to you.

So in this case where he was enjoying his leisure time alone, he was then approached by someone.

When they started talking it did irk him. 'Don't you have someone else to annoy?' would be his first thought.

Yet things do get worse when things escalate.

This person has some audacity to flirt with him while he is taken.

Asking him out in the library was one thing, but peering over him? Practically pinning him to the shelves?

How improper of them.

While it looks like he doesn't care at all for the other's actions, even so far as to seemingly reciprocate their feelings [which, honestly, really? dream harder], Satan had felt something fuming inside of him.

It was taking him a lot of willpower to not just outright lunge at the person's throat and make them regret every single word that escaped their mouth.

To maintain decency, Satan had also ratted them off for their actions. While sounding oddly polite, one could hear the anger in his tone. All flat and sounding like a mockery.

When it starts getting physical, that's where the Avatar of Wrath draws the line. The already paper-thin line was shattered to pieces as the surroundings get just a bit darker.

How foul their words were, and as how Satan would phrase it: disgusting.

Any nearby demon would go and lock the library as silently as they could. No one would dare become the fourthborn's next victim.

Some can say how the harsh threats turn into incoherent growls, as the screams draw quieter...

They'd hope they'd be lucky enough to just crawl out of this room permanently mute after the next few hours.

ASMODEUS ; "Sorry darling but this doll isn't for playtime."

[GASP] How rude~!

Real talk, he is MOSTLY the reason why we're having this discussion in the first place.

An oh, darling, if only the answer was just as simple.

You see, Asmo here has found a sweet grey area on all of this. Of course, his sin partially drives the force of desire towards himself.

As much as the Avatar of Lust adored the attention he gets from fans. they're nothing more than that. All the #asmobabies out there are nothing but his fans.

He likes to put on a show, he likes to play pretend; flirting back to get a cute reaction or blowing a kiss to hear the masses squeal.

Though, play close attention --- it's all an act. Half of these sweet compliments are empty calories.

Asmodeus is a showman, yearning for the world to have all eyes on him, and he loves it that way. He himself knows it's an act because at the end of it all was his heart tied to his one and only biggest fan.

Of course it's you!! Aren't you just the cutest? It's too cruel to disagree!!!

Though let's push him in the experiment anyway. Just because you embody all of lust doesn't suddenly mean you're a master of "no feelings necessary".

What a lucky day! One of his fans fiercely goes up at him as they're both isolated at the back of the RAD building.

Aww... how adorable...~

Indulging and using his sin against him? Someone's rather naughty.

Like the other occurrences, he'll tag along. That's right, boo, all doe-eyed for his captivating presence. Chant him praises --- he's heard half of those over a lifetime, honey~!

Oh? We're feeling a bit creative now, are we? Whoops! Distances, baby!

Hand on his waist? Peering over his shoulder? Whispering to him in a low tone? Asking him out for a drink?

Ah if this wasn't any least bit entertaining then Asmo would roll his eyes at them. This was practically the classic Asmo fan bingo [homewrecker edition].

To all that, Asmodeus looks at them with a mischievous smirk. Taunting them to move closer, maybe even grabbing their chin in the process... and what does he do...?

His gaze darkened amidst his sweet tone. All remnants of seduction in his voice were replaced with a playfully dangerous tone. It was a mystery on whatever did the Avatar of Lust said, but a few witnesses have commented on how it was one of the hottest scariest moments they have ever heard.

Anyhow~! That's just the final trick! Most of them back off as soon as Asmo starts singing sweet praises for his dearest!

Seriously, it just made him want to be even more affectionate with you.

BEELZEBUB ; "I appreciate your feelings, but it's a no."

At first, he probably hadn't heard the question, too busy munching down some food in your company.

He looks down at you with a confused glint in his eyes.

Okay? He acknowledges their feelings, but his heart already belongs to someone.

He has dealt with a lot of admirers in his many years. Look at him, tall, kind, one of the powerful lords of the realm, and also athletic? He practically hits the jackpot.

Most of the time they were equally as nice, understanding how the glutton won't ever return their feelings.

Though seriously, he gives the aura of a heartbreaker.

Beel has never realized how many hearts he's broken. The kindest rejections oftentimes are the ones that hurt most.

As far as the others go, he's more respectful when dismissing others' advances. A simple word, no questions asked, and you're good to go.

An example of it was when someone, probably a person he talked to once at RAD, approached him after one of his Fangol practices.

He vividly recalls them clutching onto a reddish-orange envelope, their face was very red.

Okay so the person offered to be his new partner -?? That was weird. They went on this weird tangent on how they'd cook him meals for eternity, offer water on all his games, and just overall blurted their heart out.

Beel was surprised. It's not every day that you get confessed to, and there was more in the letter? Should he be... glad? Would that be wrong?

Though as soon as they got too touchy for comfort that's where the orange-haired golden retriever jolted out a "No!"

He explained to them how he was not interested in this relationship, and that he was more than content with his current status. And with his precious pumpkin pie.

Though that person never stopped, leaning over desperately chattering out how they were better than that coltish human and it was..?

Let's just say that when he heard your voice calling his name from afar, he pushed the person away.

He was mad, but even then he apologized before running off to his sweetest. Hell's Kitchen? Beel was practically salivating at the mouth.

It was an odd story.

BELPHEGOR ; "I've already told you. Now scram."

Simple: Are ya the human? No? Fuck off.

That's a wrap, we can now end it here.

No one dies.

He barely even interacts with anyone so what gives? Do you pity him? He doesn't think so.

Alright, ugh, I'll give you a proper answer... You owe him at least a night's worth of cuddles for this.

You're one of the only exceptions. Be glad.

It doesn't get simpler than "Is this his cuddle bug or some asshole?" and it works 100% of the time.

Belphie doesn't get as much amount of these "harassments" as his brothers. He cares for very few people to even notice anyone gawking eyes at him.

But once he does notice, he sighs.

He knows it's his fault.

Therefore he initiates one of the few actions he's a master at while not requiring as much energy: ignoring people.

What? If ya aren't talking back then they'll just give up.

That was how most of those times went.

Like that pitiful moment when someone just kept going on while Belphie works on something else [sleep] without a care in the world.

Seriously, how long was this?

Belphie interfered when things were getting physical. And EVEN THEN he still looked up at him, infuriatingly annoyed, while flatly saying "Can you shut up? I'm trying to concentrate. Now, scram."

After that no one ever dared to confess to the avatar of Sloth while he was asleep.

Maybe if he is awake? Good luck with that.

If there's even a millisecond where he isn't in your close proximity.

ADDITIONAL A/N: I apologize [not] for how unserious half of these were :sob: But woo! First official post on this account! Can't wait to see what comes in the future. Oh, and, lemme know what you think! Do you agree? Do you have different scenarios? Are they a bit OOC or do they fit perfectly with the character? Let me know!! <33

divider/s by @/cafekitsune | artwork by NTT Solmare

[pikahlua]

OK as a Bakugo fan, are you perfectly fine with how Hori treats him? I mean the more Bakugo grows up as a person the more he gets sidelined and ridiculed. The more he grows, his life gets harder and Horikoshi has failed to give Bakugo one single moment of actual glory to make Bakugo feel truly happy. I don't know what Horikoshi's intentions are but Bakugo deserves happiness in the form of success more than anyone right now. Do you think he'll surpass AM and become NO.1 the way he wants?

Anon, I'm about to go off, but I want to first stress that this rant isn't really directed at you. You're just the unfortunate final straw hitting my back, because I have received so many asks to this effect, and I've answered some of them and ignored others, and now I am at my breaking point. I’m going to try to be nice about this, but again, a lot of my pent-up feelings are about to come out, and they’re the result of comments I’ve seen like this from many people, not just you anon.

Katsuki Bakugou fans, it's about time you (or at least some of you) learned a thing or two from Izuku Midoriya fans.

A true hero is not someone who does the right thing just to receive the fame, praise, and glory. Sometimes, being a hero means doing the right thing, saving someone, defeating evil, even when it will destroy you, even when there is nothing to be gained, even when no one will notice.

This is the crux of Izuku Midoriya’s character. This is why he is so lovable by the audience, especially in the beginning. Because everything he does is a heroic action with no clear reward. These actions aren’t motivated by anything material. They are just a manifestation of who he is. He can’t help but be a hero. His legs move on their own, and he more often than not gets punished for his heroism. When he tries to save Katsuki from the sludge villain, the heroes scold him, the media ignores him, and Katsuki berates him. When he punches the 0-pointer robot to save Ochako, most of his peers are bewildered by him and criticize him. Notice how only those with truly heroic hearts take note of Izuku’s actual heroism in these instances (even Katsuki, though he tries to put Izuku down for it). When Izuku tries to save Shouto in the sports festival, he’s punished with a loss in the tournament and no hero agency internship offers. When Izuku disobeys Gran Torino to search for Iida and save him from Hero Killer Stain, Izuku is scolded (but also praised) by Gran Torino and the police chief, and he’s not allowed to take any credit for his heroic deeds. When Izuku saves Kouta from Muscular, he’s punished by irreparably injuring his arms and not having the strength to save Katsuki. When Izuku goes to Kamino to save Katsuki, he’s punished by not getting to take Katsuki’s hand, and then he’s scolded by All Might and Aizawa. When Izuku fights it out with Katsuki at Ground Beta, he’s punished with three days of house arrest and cleaning duty. When Izuku tries to save Eri the first time he meets her, he’s scolded by Sir Nighteye for his arrogance.

There are even more examples, but you may now have realized that in some of these instances, Izuku was also rewarded somehow. But Izuku never did anything for the sake of a reward; he merely received a reward because someone there recognized Izuku’s heroism for what it truly was: heroism. And yet, Izuku was never allowed to know those potential rewards were on the horizon when he acted heroically. The message from the start has been very clear: what a hero deserves--what anyone deserves--is irrelevant.

Life is not fair. You don’t get things from the world just because you may deserve them.

"All men are not created equal. This was the reality I learned about society at the young age of four."

You get what you get, and there’s no rhyme or reason to it. You can only do anything with what you’ve already got. And you can’t be a hero if you’re doing it to get a prize. It’s not a job to be compensated. It’s an idealized, inspired-and-inspiring state of being.

I don’t know what it is you’re thinking of when you write things like Katsuki “gets sidelined and ridiculed,” because I’ve never seen evidence that Horikoshi has done such things to Katsuki. But if you’re seeing what looks like these things happening to Katsuki within the context of the story, it’s very possible that that’s the whole point. The more Katsuki grows, the more “his life gets harder” precisely because that’s what it means to grow up. When you’re true to yourself and stand up for what you believe and do the right thing, when you are heroic at heart, the world will spit in your face, just like it always trampled on Izuku Midoriya. If you ask me, Izuku has never been allowed any glory like what you think Katsuki deserves. I don’t even believe glory would make Katsuki happy. Despite what he may have said in chapter 1, the growth he’s displayed reveals what truly fulfills him, what drives him: excellence and striving for it; atonement for the sake of righteousness and not for the sake of forgiveness; unity; and understanding.

Katsuki, at his core, is a creature of love. He is a selfless, caring, considerate individual, perhaps more so than any other character in MHA, or perhaps just in a different way than the other characters. It may be difficult to stand, but for Katsuki to demonstrate his heroism, for him to “catch up to Izuku,” he must do so in the worst of circumstances. That is how the story must go. He will have to crawl through the dirt and the muck for the sake of crawling through it, for the sake of others, and with no reward waiting--because the real reward will be his integrity prevailing and saving what--or who--matters to him.

So yes, I am perfectly fine with how I perceive Horikoshi treats Katsuki, because I am perceiving this from the perspective of a writer. To tell the story properly, Horikoshi is doing what must be done to let Katsuki shine brightest: he’s making Katsuki suffer. This is all in service of highlighting the sort of hero Katsuki is (the best one, in my opinion). Does he deserve to suffer? No. Do I wish him all the happiness and glory and recognition? Yes, as a person. But as a writer, I wish him all the opportunity to show what he’s made of, and this is how you do it. And for what it’s worth, I do believe there will be a just reward waiting for Katsuki at the end of this, even if that reward is merely the admiration of a select few people, but Katsuki himself is absolutely not allowed to know that it’s coming.

Do you think he'll surpass AM and become NO.1 the way he wants?

If you ask me, he already has. A long time ago.

[vivacissimx]

o resident viserra scholar 🙇‍♀️what kind of relationship do you think saera and viserra had? do you think either of them thought of each other with affection or envied each other after saera's exxxplosive exit? feel free to not answer if you don't want to!

RESIDENT VISERRA SCHOLAR *explodes*

I like this question, I've thought a lot about this specific dynamic because it's impossible not to when considering Viserra. Saera is the favorite of her father, thought of affectionately by her brothers, and the bane of her mother & sisters. Viserra's relationships inside of her family pale in comparison so you start to see through that contrast that attention from Jaehaerys & Alysanne has become a very limited resource at this point. Saera ('fierce and stubborn') has as much as she has because she demands it, something Viserra (equally willful but 'she never screamed and she certainly never cried') does not. The first thing that jumps out at me is competition between the siblings.

I enjoy that personally, because if Aemon & Baelon's relationship is described as competitive but deeply loving, rich off the plentiful familial love they grew up on — Vaegon & Daella's lacking love yet their individual 'happiness' nonetheless secured by their attentive parents — it makes sense to show the dark underbelly of that family structure through siblings like Saera & Viserra. What happens when the river runs dry? The survivors scrap over the leftovers.

Each of them had plenty of non-familial attention, particularly sexual attention from men and boys starting from their youth. Both of them were willful, a bit arrogant, sly, and rebellious, and both of them had a certain disdain for the men who desired them. It makes sense considering the ridiculousness of the fact that even at 2 and 6, the prime concern regarding them was their possible marriage (to Vaegon). Born & raised to be brides.

Did they have any common ground due to that?

Honestly, I don't really see it - Saera being four years older and having a superiority complex doesn't endear me to thinking she would be the type to care much about Viserra. Spending time around each other, sure — having some inside jokes & sibling scuffles, that seems realistic.

Post-Saera's flight... look, Saera was put under guard in the Red Keep. Publicly disowned. Her lovers humiliated. Then afterwards, packed off to Oldtown where she faced beatings and deprivations that someone of her nature never experienced before. Saera lost all faith in her parents and was forced to exchange sex for money to create a life away from everything she'd ever known. (Oh but Jaehaerys would have ended her punishment eventu—according to who? And why would Saera believe that after a year and a half? I know we're meant to think her spoiled and impatient but she was a scared teenage girl who didn't trust her parents to care for her, parents who ruled over the entire continent. Have sympathy for this, or don't, but she has the right to a perspective.)

Did Viserra envy her that? No. There was a pretty clear message in Saera's punishment for Viserra: this could happen to you.

While I'm tempted to think Viserra probably heard of Saera's fate and thought 'well that won't happen to me because I'm smarter/know better' that doesn't change the fact that, when betrothed, Viserra tried to get out of it by seducing Baelon. A son who Jae & Aly loved, a man known for being a loving partner, and a husband who could protect her from anyone. Such a specific choice!

Did Saera think of Viserra? This I can guess even less but my hunch is that she was just like nah fuck 'em about all members of her family, didn't necessarily blame them all but would've had a 'they should have helped me' chip on her shoulder (fair). The most I can imagine is her hearing of Viserra's death and thinking her parents deserved that, perhaps even feeling vindicated in her choice to escape Westeros by any means.

[likeadevils]

Brittany didn’t dismiss the SA as him trying to find his way. It’s not really clear what she’s talking about. I do think it was ridiculously stupid of her to answer anything like that on instagram of all places but it is what it is. But I do find it interesting that apparently Jackson reflects incredibly badly on Brittany and even Taylor but not at all on Patrick himself (who is the only reason why he is at games)

do you have proof for the first part of the message? any sort of timestamp? i’m not trying to dismiss you, but i also don’t want to weigh in on whether or not it’s real without any proof. but that’s a good point on the second part, patrick is equally responsible for platforming him. still not deserving of as much public shame as jackson, but as worthy as brittany (in my opinion)

[undiscovered-horizon]

Author's note: The shirtless scene in Shang-Chi is one of the most self-aware things Marvel has done.

Imagine reuniting with your high school sweetheart, Shaun, in a very unexpected way: fighting each other in an underground ring in Macau.

"Now for the most anticipated fight of the night! Get ready for the two most famous names to appear in this ring! On my left, the Bus Boy!" Jon Jon's excitement was beyond explosive. It was fairly easy to guess that depending on the outcome of the spar, he will either become a millionaire or chew cardboard for dinner.

Shang-Chi entered the ring shirtless which earned a confused question from Katy about its whereabouts but he was just as in the dark as she was. Apparently, an unspoken "rule" this place had. The crowd around him cheered, their expectations for him higher than he was aware of. After all, he did become worldwide famous after barely a day.

"On my right, the famed champion, The Beheader!"

The crowd became louder as the door across the ring opened. The name made Shang-Chi slightly uncomfortable as it implied a quite unpleasant experience should he lose the fight. What he could not expect even in his wildest dreams was the reality that hid behind the imposing name; a reality he remembered fondly despite the time that had passed.

When the door opened and you stepped out, Shang-Chi first couldn't believe his eyes. Was it really...you? The last time the two of you spoke you were on your way to Europe with your parents. How come you ended up in a fight ring in Macau? Did you ever get hurt?

Then his mind as if went back several years, maybe Shang-Chi himself became younger - became the boy you used to date. He certainly felt that way like all the years spent separated from each other never happened and just the previous day you were bowling at a run-down parlor in San Francisco.

"(Y/N)?" he said quietly, still in disbelieve. Maybe it was his bias but he was sure you looked even more impressive than the day you left. Time was certainly merciful to you.

On the other hand, you felt dread from the very moment Bus Boy hit your ears. Part of you was certainly amused - you're going to fistfight your high school boyfriend in an illegal fight club in Macau, which itself sounds at least ridiculous. The other part of you started to reminisce about the days you spent in San Francisco. Was Shaun the same person you knew when you left? No, couldn't be, both of you have changed since high school. Would he still recognize you? Maybe years had gone by but can you really forget a face you used to stare at every day? Slowly, you could feel the old affection resurfacing. You were always honest with yourself: you tried forgetting Shaun instead of peacefully getting over him because of the immense guilt you felt over your departure. It was simply easier to forget it happened instead of accepting you did something not quite right.

Should you tell him the truth, would he believe? Moreover, would he forgive you?

You were aware he deserved to hear the whole story but the real question was: was Shaun willing to listen? It was difficult for you to come to terms with the fact that he might be upset enough to actually fight you, something you did not plan on doing, and won't want to have anything to do with you. You sighed quietly - after all, he was a grown independent man and was fully entitled to not want to hear your story and simply walk away. And you would have to accept that.

The doors in front of you opened, the exceptionally loud cheering nearly deafening you. Right across the ring, there he stood. More grown and handsome than you remembered. And for some reason...shirtless?

Although you couldn't hear him, simply by seeing the way he moved his lips, you knew he said your name: something he probably hasn't done in quite a while.

"Hey, Shaun," you answered equally quietly but you knew well you did get the message across.

The bell rang signalizing the beginning of the fight. Still unsure what ground you were standing on, you walked forward slowly, approaching Shaun cautiously. If he just threw punches at you, you wouldn't be too mad about it: you did, after all, lie to him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked as he pretended to land a punch. "Macau is not Europe."

You ducked from his another pseudo-swing and grabbed his arm in a very mild joint lock. How long till the audience realizes?

"Neither is it America. I could ask you the same thing," you whispered.

Shaun got out of your poor excuse of a lock and, still presenting his best acting skills, he kicked your stomach. It was a good thing you made a good pair back in the day because in any other scenario the trickery you were committing right now would never work. Before Shaun's foot touched your body, you threw yourself backward, landing on your back. The crowd cheered - a good sign, they were still in the dark.

You didn't get up - did not have time to. Shaun sat on top of you and hit the floor right next to your head: he never targeted you.

"Let's get this over with and I'll tell you everything," you said.

"I missed you," he breathed out, completely confusing you. Not that you did not expect that, more like that wasn't a good moment to get all melancholic

"I missed you too, Shaun. But now's not the time for that."

Using his moment of distraction, you pushed him off and got up. He tried scoring a few dishonest hits until you ducked one of them, got behind him, and pulled him down with you so that Shaun was lying on his back on you. Your hands were around his neck and head in a loose choking hold, only looking like you were choking him out.

"Count to 15 and pretend to pass out. I'll meet you in the locker room," you whispered in his ear as secretively as you could. As honest as he could be with himself when Shaun thought of you whispering into his ear again it was a part of a completely different scenario than the one he was a part of now.

Shang-Chi pretended to lose consciousness while thinking just one question: Why did he always let you win?

[forever-rogue]

OH I HAVE AN IDEA like an angsty fic where bucky and reader have a miscommunication and it causes a fight between them and they are both like ???? “we’ve never yelled at each other ??? what is this” AND IDK I JUST WANT ANGST

So, head empty, very little thoughts, but I hope this works and you like it 🥺

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

You sang along to the music that was playing softly in the background as you showered and got ready for your day. You’d had a late start, easily giving into Bucky and staying in bed for just five more minutes, which had really turned out to be almost another hour. The good thing about being the boss was that you could afford to be late every once in a while. Bucky was in the kitchen, whipping up a quick breakfast before he too needed to leave and go about his day.

“Sugar,” he called out to you as you washed your hair. You could faintly make out his voice as you carried on, but figured you’d be able to make out what he was saying well enough, “I’ve got everything made and prepared just how you like it!”

You thought nothing of it for a moment and continued to wash your hair; but about halfway through the motions, you stopped in surprise. What had he actually said?

“Bucky? Bub, what did you say?” you quickly rinsed out our hair before pulling back the shower curtain as you tried to listen in. Had he really said he was mad?

“It’s all done! I’m done,” he called back as he covered your plate for you to find once you got out of the shower. He grabbed his travel mug of coffee and headed towards the door, giving Alpine a quick pet before leaving, “bye honey. Running late and gotta go - I’m leaving!”

“Bucky!” you almost slipped and fell as you tore back the shower curtain and almost jumped out of the shower. It was still running as you haphazardly grabbed a towel and darted down the hall and into the kitchen. But he was already gone; the only thing that was left behind was the faint smell of his cologne. Swallowing the nervous lump in your throat, you trudged back down the hall to finish your shower. You were already running late and whatever this was - whatever had just happened - would need to wait until later.

Had Bucky really just broken up with you in the midst of a shower? It sure seemed like it right now.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

A heavy sigh escaped your lips as you sat down and stared at your computer screen. You’d had the same spreadsheets and charts pulled up for the last two hours and made almost no progress. You swore that almost every single interaction you’d had with Bucky over the last week was playing on loop in your mind. You were desperately trying to figure out where you’d gone wrong, what had caused him to snap.

In an effort to alleviate your own fears, you’d texted Bucky to get a response from him and see what was going on. But you hadn’t heard back from him. You’d sent three messages before deciding not to bombard him. But still...if he was just up and leaving you after almost three years together, he owed you at least a small explanation.

You opened google and quickly pulled up an apartment search, already resigned yourself to the idea that you’d need to find a new place fast. Being around for too long would be too hard and you didn’t want to subject to more torture than necessary. And Alpine! You’d need to decide what to do with your beloved cat - Alpine loved you equally, how were you to choose who would get the fluffy little thing? And all the friends in common you shared...who would they side with?

“Fuck,” you groaned at nothing in particular and decided to focus on your work. At least that would keep you distracted and your brain focused on something other than Bucky. You would figure out everything else tonight. It would all be fine. This was no big deal; maybe your world was falling apart...but you would handle it. You always did.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

When you finally allowed yourself to go home that evening, you were shocked to find the lights on and Bucky in the kitchen. He was on the phone with someone, his new girlfriend or someone like that you immediately presumed, moving about the kitchen as he finished dinner. You choked up as you watched the domestic scene that was so normal to you by now. But this time, it felt so wrong.

You stormed in and for whatever reason, you decided that grabbing a pillow and throwing it at Bucky was a good idea. You picked the soft thing up in your arms and hurled at him, who suddenly realized you were home and yelped in surprise as he dodged the offending object. He raised his eyebrows in surprise as he pointed to the earbuds in ears as he turned back to the stove.

You were seeing red by now as you stormed in the kitchen and ripped his earbuds out. He was so stunned by your sudden actions, he jumped back and offered up a shocked look.

“What the fuck are you doing here!?” you shouted at him as you threw the buds on the floor, half tempted to stomp them, “how fucking dare you!”

“Sugar, what on earth are you talking about?” he grabbed his phone off the counter and ended the call without hesitation. Your chest heaved as you waited for some sort of explanation, “what’s going on? Are you alright?”

“No, I’m not alright! How on earth could I be alright?” you threw your hands up in exasperation as you tried to unsuccessfully hold back your tears. He was so calm and nonchalant about everything it was almost more frustrating than anything else.

“Okay...something is going on. Care to enlighten me?” he tried to reach up and wipe your tears away but you flinched out of his touch, “sugar?”

“Y-you! It’s you!” you cried softly as he motioned for you to explain just what it was about him that was the problem.

“What about me…?”

“You just break up with me this morning and tell me you’re leaving me and then you just come back like nothing has happened?” as soon as the words left your mouth, Bucky’s mouth dropped open. It was news to him that he’d broken up with you, “and you didn’t answer my texts all day! I deserve some sort of explanation!”

“I didn’t...I didn’t break up with you, Sugar,” he stated simply as you tilted to your head in confusion, trying to decide if he was pulling your leg or being honest, “why would I leave you? That makes no sense. I love you - I’m in love with you!”

“This morning,” you whispered softly, “you said you were done and you were leaving. When I was in the shower.”

His brows furrowed as he tried to figure out what exactly you were talking about. But then it hit him and he struggled not to burst out laughing. He gnawed on his lip as he fervently shook his head, “my sweet girl, you...well you heard me correctly, but incorrectly at the same time.”

“What? I-I swear…”

“What I said was breakfast was done and that I was leaving for work because I was running late too,” he explained as you tried to replay all that you had heard. Maybe...maybe you hadn’t heard him correctly at all - and in turn jumped to the worst possible conclusion, “I had to run...I’m sorry I didn’t come into the bathroom and say goodbye. Maybe that would have solved this whole thing.”

“You’re not..leaving me?” you asked as he just shook his head and took the opportunity to wrap his arms around you, “you still love me?”

“I find it both hilarious and concerning that you so easily thought I would just leave,” he kissed the top of your head as you held onto him as tightly as possible, “of course I’m not leaving. You never have to worry about that, sugar. I love you so much, silly girl. You sweet, silly girl.”

“I’m an absolute idiot,” you mumbled as you buried your face in his shoulder. You couldn’t believe that you jumped from A to Z so quickly and without a moment of hesitation, “I’m sorry, Bub. I feel like I wouldn’t blame you if you did want to leave me now.”

“Never,” he promised softly, “even if you do have moments of being ridiculous. Just like I do.”

“If I ever do something so dumb again,” you huffed as you pulled back and looked at those ocean eyes, “just smack some sense into me. But I...you didn’t answer my texts.”

“Texts?” he seemed genuinely confused as he reached for his phone and correctly scrolled through his messages. You could see that there were none from you, “what are you…I was in bad reception today. Blame Sam, that I was just on the phone with, for that one. They probably never came through. I’m sorry, honey. If they’d come in, maybe we could have avoided this whole situation, huh?"

“Some bad luck on top of it,” you hid your face behind your hands and sighed heavily, “James. I..I’m so sorry for everything. I just downright acted like a fool today. I don’t even know where to begin to apologize. I love you, Bub. I hope you can forgive me, but if not...I would-”

“Hey,” he put his hand under chin and turned your face up to meet his own. His smile was lilting and gentle and his eyes soft, “I love you. It’s alright done and forgotten. Are you hungry? Dinner’s just about finished.”

“I love you more than anything,” you whispered as he pressed a gentle kiss to your lips, “I just...my emotions were so all over the place today. Like out of control, A to Z. I don’t know what happened.”

“Shit happens,” he dismissed it with a slight scoff as he reached for some dishes, “I’m yours, sugar. Always.”

“Me too,” you agreed as you leaned against the counter, watching him with nothing but adoration. It was then that another realization - and possibly an explanation - hit you. It felt like a punch in the gut, “shit.”

“What?” Bucky asked as he started to plate dinner, “everything okay?”

“Yeah,” you smiled nervously, “just remembered something I forgot to do today.”

“As long as you’re alright…”

“I am,” you promised. You could worry about this later, “hey - I love you so much, Bucky. You know that right?”

“I love you too. Always.”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

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[dangermousie]

Jtbc, the studio which made Jisoo’s drama, also has some other issues. I don’t understand why it’s wrong for knetz to speak out against it? Distorting history of the Korean pro-democracy movements and NSA should be reason enough, so strange that a few uncaring hypocrites still want it to air, when in Korea it’s so sensitive. Are some democracies just “more equal” than others?

I will pretend it's not a wonderfully passive-aggressive ask and answer it properly since I appreciate people who send things non-anon.

1. Netizens (and anyone else) should, of course, be allowed to speak out about anything they want. That does not mean everyone else, Korean or otherwise, should automatically fall in line with what they say but are allowed to make their own judgment, since we are discussing democracies. I watched the first four episodes of this spectacularly pedestrian, boring drama and found both the government and the police and everyone associated with them portrayed as unmitigated evil, the former cartoonishly so. I have read specific incidents that raised netizens' ire and do not see what they see (the complaint female cop just left; I am sorry, even worse police forces do not 100% beat and torture everyone EVERY encounter, come on!)

2. I would like to point out that jTBC is also run and owned by Koreans, who are just as Korean as the netizen protesters against the show. So by saying the protesters have greater truth than the makers, you are picking which group in a deeply internal Korean dispute you want to side with and assigning a value authority to one group over another. That's totally fine but goes against all the non-Korean posters whose main ground for this seems to be "Korean people know better." Fine - but WHICH Korean people? The protesters? The makers? All the rest who don't seem to care one way or another?

3. "Are some democracies just “more equal” than others?" I am not sure how this relates to Snowdrop. Also, a pedantic person in me would like to point that a democracy is a purely political term and you can have a democratic society with a censorship office and censor group voted in and censorship laws supported by the public.

But I will use it in colloquial sense as intended and point out getting something yanked off air by the government for content is a quintessential non-democratic thing, take it from someone who grew up in a dictatorship with a literal censorship office. Getting something yanked off air because of public pressure is routine enough though; I do not like that on principle because I believe things, however problematic, should be allowed to exist and be accessible to people who want to consume them. (There is also the fact that I personally don't find Snowdrop problematic but this applies even if I did.)

4. I would have more faith in the netizens if they didn't also rise up against Joseon Exorcist and Mr. Queen, two purely fantasy shows, for ridiculous things (anyone complaining a show about a modern man transmigrating into a body of Joseon queen not being historically accurate has a whole toolkit's worth of screws loose, for example) or Snowdrop before a second of it aired. When you cry wolf often enough, people tune it out.

5. I am not sure how anyone wanting to continue this drama to air is an uncaring hypocrite. Wikipedia definition: "Hypocrisy is the practice of engaging in the same behavior or activity for which one criticizes another or the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform." I am sure a lot of people enjoying it never called for any other media to be canceled or even if they did, genuinely believe this does not deserve the same fate. Unless the argument anyone supporting democracy is a hypocrite if he doesn't want this canceled which is a giant stretch to connect.

In conclusion, just FYI for anyone still reading this, this is the last Snowdrop controversy ask I am going to answer (and anyone sending unpleasant messages re same will get banned, off anon or on.) It's too much energy for me to spend related to a drama I genuinely find blah, where I am no particular fan of anyone in it and where I find the brouhaha around it the most interesting thing about it for that matter, just because I do not automatically fall in line with knetz opinion that it's satan and must be canceled asap. I barely post on this snorefest and haven't in a week, so anyone inclined to argue in my inbox, go pick a fight on twitter with someone who I am sure will oblige, block me if the thought of my sheer existence enrages you, and move on.

[hongjoongtrasher]

ATEEZ FINAL PART : when they said something to hurt you.

I'm glad you've liked the previous part (part 1 and 2 here if you haven't read it yet), so here is a final to all this angsty reactions (if it is a reaction). Sorry if there are a lot of grammar errors, English not being my mother tongue -

Gosh this is going to be LONG please, bear with me ugh.

Hongjoong:

After this stormy episode of him totally lashing his stress out on you, he spent some time alone to think and reflect upon his trashy behaviour. He was genuinely aware of the massive efforts you were doing for his ass. Literally be patient and taking everything on you so he didn't have to feel more stressed. But today was different. He obviously went too far, saying those words horribly. Furthermore, he knew how hurt you've been because of him and now he didn't really know how to be forgiven. He always have been busy, always considering his work first and thought you were in an equal part of this, but seems he considered you taken for granted. The leader sighed heavily, rubbing his eyes not seeing any solutions at the moment. It's at this moment that Seonghwa entered the place. "Erm...Joong ?" he didn't answer, only Seonghwa could see how much his leader was in distress. "I heard from Y/N, mh I mean she told San who told me but anyway-" began the oldest before Hongjoong asked simply: "Have you come to scold me ?" A silence then. "No, I came to check on you." Seonghwa was always worried about his leader, since he knew the best how hardworking and diligent Hongjoong was, but today he felt like he was wrong. "You've acted like a real idiot this time" Hongjoong let a sarcastic laugh be heard as he slowly turned to face his friend. "Yeah, I know. Do you think she will forgive me ?" "Probably not easily." he answered honestly before continuing. "She told San she was tired of this, always being a shadow to you, erm...and nowadays she's been really stressed at work" A shadow ? Is this how you were seeing yourself as ? And on top of that, he was completely unaware of your work, how life has been going for you. This made the leader felt more guilty as he bite his lips. "So...What should I do ? Kneeling and beg her for forgiveness ?" Seonghwa sighed and put a comforting hand on the leader shoulder. "Sometimes actions are better than words".

And he left the studio, putting Hongjoong in a more difficult situation than he was already. What did he mean ? He thought about it again and again, watching without really watching his screen before it tilted inside his head. "THE SONG !!" he yelled at himself, feeling now very dumb. He had almost forgotten this track, a very secret one he composed for a long time. This song was special for him, it was a song which were written for you, and was conveying all of his feelings. He had to make you listen to this. A glance at his phone indicated it was already 3am in the morning, but sleep could wait. He spent the rest of the night finishing this track, or actually checking it before he saved a copy and directly sent it to you, praying you'd see it in the morning.

You'd spent the most horrible night of your life. Crying and turning under your blanket as you felt useless, no one. San proposed to come with Yunho, but you insisted to be alone, so they let you be, though they were worried. You only found sleep around two in the morning, tired for having crying most of the night. You woke up at six, your eyes hurting, puffy and red as fuck. Anyone could tell you've cried your eyeballs out. First you went to the bathroom to clean your face with cold water, your stuffy nose not helping in the process. After a while you returned to your bedroom and took your phone, not expecting to see a message from your boyfriend, or was he still yours ? At first you hesitated to open it, but finally did. No text, just an audio file. What was this ? Taking your headphone, you put them into your ear before clicking on the file, closing your eyes. At first, you were confused. You've never heard any melody like this one, so...calm, bubbly and soft. Soon Hongjoong's voice appeared with lyrics he surely had written and...you broke in tears again. This time not from sadness, but ...it was like a dream. You could heard his feelings, how much he loved you. You were ready to forgive him, but...it wasn't easy. Reconciliations were always difficult for both of you. Brushing this instantly aside, you rushed out from your apartment for going directly to Hongjoong's studio, in home wear, messy hair and "after crying faced" only to find him asleep on the couch. Panting, you rushed to jump on your boyfriend, sobbing again . This caused Hongjoong to wake up in surprise, confused. "Y-Y/N ?" why ? Why were you crying again ? After a while of you crying heavily on his shirt, he realised you probably came after hearing his song. His arms softly hooked around your tiny waist as one hand rubbed your back. "Shh...don't cry" he said, heartbroken to see you like this. "You dummy !" you yelled between two sobs. "I know." "I - I love you" "Me too, I'm sorry for being a huge dummy" he said with a gentle smile, holding your face to wipe your tears.

Seonghwa:

How rude he's been with you. It's only after hearing your answer that he realised you didn't deserve this. He wanted to chase after you, saying he was sorry, but too late, you slammed the door. Hongjoong came to their shared room before leaning at the door's frame, arching a brow at the oldest. "Can you explain to me what did just happen ?" he asked calmly before Seonghwa bite his lower tier. "I've been a jerk with her" he mumbled, not proud of himself this time. "Yeah, we saw this. You know, she only wanted to cheer you up. We all know you're having bad times because of vocal things, but you didn't have to lash out on her." His leader wasn't wrong, only himself was. "Hwa, go after her. It's not too late" said Hongjoong. "Now ?" Hongjoong sighed. "Yes now, not tomorrow or later" Seonghwa blinked, overthinking before his own body stood up and carried him outside the dorm, chasing after you desperately. He shouldn't have had been this way, he should have been thankful to have you by his side, always being cheerful and bright although sometimes you were hiding your own demons. But being a couple meant for the good and the worst right ? After running for a while, he stopped, panting his lungs on fire. He started to think. Where could you be now ? He remembered when you were sad or stressed, you used to go to Starbucks and get a drink full of sugar and whipped cream, that's how he thought you'd at the nearest one. Not minding people watching him when he opened the door, he eyed the room quickly before seeing you at the table across the entrance. He stepped inside and directly went to your seat as you were still sniffing with tears, your drink between your hands. Not expecting to see your boyfriend, you gasped when you finally realised he was standing here without saying anything. "Y/N.." You tried to gain composure, not wanting to appear fragile in front of him. "What are you doing here ? I thought you didn't want to see me" you croaked, looking away coldly. You heard him sitting before you and took your cold hands. "Y/N I'm sorry. I've been a jerk, you didn't deserve this- I know my work isn't an excuse for acting this way, I understand if you don't want to talk to me or-" "Shut up..." you mumbled, suddenly feeling embarrassed as more people were staring at you two. "I will do everything for you to forgive me, really." he said seriously, not quitting your face from his gaze. Some people were whispering and gossiping, and the more they did, the more you felt ridiculous. You stood up quickly and went straight to the exit with your double cold latte with whipped cream, your boyfriend following you closely. "Are you crazy Park Seonghwa ??? Did you forget you're an idole ? Huh ?? What are you going to do if they recognise you ?" You began to yell but Seonghwa stopped you by taking your free hand and said clearly. "Then I will just say you're my girlfriend and that I don't care, cause you deserve way more than this. Beside being an idole I'm a man, and I love you, there's nothing wrong with this, and if they don't like it, screw them !" you were shocked by his fearless answer, and you felt your heart melt again. You were definitely madly in love with him.

Yeosang:

He was aware of his jerk attitude, and as much as he felt guilty, he didn't know how to ask for your forgiveness. The members already scolded him for what he had said earlier but he knew better than anyone that you weren't ready to talk with. You were the type to be angry for a while, not letting space for any peaceful conversation until you'd calm down. He overthought for a while, thinking you'd probably dump him now and he wouldn't see you ever again, or you'd be so mad at him you'd just beat his ass. Tormented, Yunho looked at his friend before saying, not really sure to mingle in his friend's love problems: "Yeosang, I'm not sure about her being mad, I think she's ...sad ?" he said cautiously, nervous about Yeosang's answer. Sad ? He was really dumb. Of course you'd not be mad, or at least not as much as sad. After all he saw you crying when you left, and his motto was all ruined at this moment. "You're right...I should go see her." he said flatly, feeling really bad. "Huh, yeah I don't even understand why you're still here to be honest" said Yunho with a smile. Thanks to him, Yeosang found the courage to go to your apartment, with your favorite pastry from the bakery you both liked to go, and...flowers. Yeosang wasn't the type to make such lovey dovey stuffs, but this time it was important. Inhaling deeply in front of your door, he knocked once, shyly, not sure if you'd hear it. Then he knocked more frankly before hearing footsteps from behind the door and before he knew it, you were standing in front of him as much surprised as he was. "...What are you doing here ?" you asked, rather coldly. He cleared his throat before handling you shyly the flowers. "I...I came to apologise. I've been a real jerk to you earlier...I even promised myself I'd never make you cry, but I failed miserably" he said in a go, probably too embarrassed to say it confidently. There is a silence, as you fix your eyes on your shy boyfriend. Suddenly you wanted to laugh. How laughable it was to see Yeosang acts like he never did before. You can't bear it anymore and just burst out of laugh, laughing so much that you have to hold your hurting belly. Visibly confused, Yeosang frowned a bit. Why were you laughing ? "Oh my god...You're really something else" you said, calming down slowly before taking the flowers. He suddenly lifted his head in hope. "Does it mean you're forgiving me ?" You faked you're still thinking about it, humming in an exaggerate way. "Well, only if you let me eat this" you nudged your chin to the box he was carrying and which you spotted immediately before he gave you the flower. He smiled and shook his head. "Alright, it's all for you then"

San:

He had definitely crossed a line he shouldn't had. After you slammed the door at his nose, he tried to make you open it for a while, but you never opened it again. So he left, defeated. It was supposed to be a romantic moment for both of you since a while, and yet he ruined everything with his mouth. Sometimes he wished he just could rewind and change every thing. Even if he didn't like the dress, he could have accepted it since you were happy, but his selfishness and jealousy got over it and now he was alone, in his car without you. He took his phone, sending you texts. "Babe, I'm sorry, please, you know I didn't really mean it right ?" or "Please answer me, I'm really sorry." etc, but you didn't even open them since they were still on sent. Instead of going back to his dorm, he tried to call you this time. On the fifth time, he let a voice mail, taking a long breath before the beep. "Y/N, I'm really sorry, I didn't want to ruin our date like this, or just ruin it at all. The truth is...you were so pretty in this dress, so sexy that I don't want other men to see you in this, I wanted to be the only one to see you with. You're not a whore, you're not any of this. I'm selfish I know, but please, it's been so long since we went on a date...If you still want to see me...I'll be waiting in front of your building." And he locked his phone, leaning his head on the top of the steering wheel. He didn't know how long he waiting again but he suddenly heard the door of the passenger side opening, making him look at the person who opened it. It was you. With the same dress. He felt his heart stopped as you sat next to him, putting your seatbelt without a word. "Y/N ?" You looked straightforward you, and said simply. "Let's go, I guess the restaurant is still open" you muffled. He couldn't help but smiled happily as he turned the engine on, taking your hand in his before driving and said. "Thank you Y/N, thank you" and kissed the back of your delicate hand.

Yunho:

Since the incident at the practice room, Yunho didn't hear from you for a while. Hongjoong particularly scolded him about how rude he's been on you while you just wanted to wish them good luck for their performance. He knew it right, but at the moment he couldn't have helped but get angry at you. He knew as well it wasn't so like him to get carried away for nothing, so that's why he didn't really know what to do to make amend for you. He made his mind he would apologise right after their stage for Kingdom even if they boys thought it would be better to do it before. He knew you'd definitely watch them, root for them so he put all of his mind and body in this performance, hoping it would bring him luck. And it did since they snitched 1st place although they started low in the classement. When the MC asked Yunho how he felt about their win, the giant boy just shyly smiled before saying with a trembling voice. "I...It meant a lot for us, and to be able to be first is huge honour. We always want to show our best to our fans, Atiny. But today I...wanted to surpass myself for a certain person." Others groups were chatting among themselves, surprised by Yunho's declaration. Changmin, though he was as surprised as the others still asked professionally. "Oh, who would it be ?" Yunho smiled brightly and said confidently. "Y/N, my girlfriend." Some screams and gasps from shock could be heard in the giant room after Yunho pursued: "She's always been by my side and supports me with the best way she can, but lately...I've not been a good boyfriend to her, that's why I wanted to win, for her, and saying that I love her."

Right after the diffusion of this week episode which you've been watching with your friends, you sobbed like a little girl. How proud you were for your boyfriend, and the only thing you wanted now was to take him in your arms, feeling his arms around you. With shaking hands you took your phone to try to call Yunho, but he wasn't answering your call. That's at this very moment you heard the bell of your door and went for it, not expecting to see your boyfriend at your door. "H-hi" he said shyly. You dropped your phone and jumped directly in his arms, crying again. "You're an idiot Jung Yunho...But I love you". He nuzzled the top of your head as he hugged you back tightly. "I love you too, little one."

Wooyoung:

wede Wooyoung always said honestly what he was thinking, and everyone's used to it, so he thought his remarks about your skill about cooking would pass easily, but he was wrong. At first he didn't understand your reaction, why you left like this as he was only joking, or he thought so. Seonghwa nagged at him after you left, saying how rude he's been and at least he could shut his mouth. He felt really guilty. He was the one who made you loose confidence about you, when he knew you're always trying your best. And this time, he really screwed things up. Worst than this, when he ate the cake you'd made, he realised it was really good, and his unfounded claims were really mean. Gathering his courage, he showed up at your workplace, waiting for you at the exit. At first, you didn't want to see him, you haven't digested yet what he'd said to you. But with an expressionless face, you finally appeared in front of him. "Y/N- listen, I'm really sorry, I shouldn't have said those horrible jokes. No, I mean, I didn't mean what I said, the cake was really good." he tried to say quickly, afraid you'd just brush him away. After listening to his words, you just sighed and said "You're really a jerk sometimes you know that ? Maybe I'm not good at some things, but it doesn't give you the right to bash me out like this in front of everyone. Do you understand Wooyoung ?" he looked down at his feet and nodded, muttering "I'm sorry". "Fine, if you're really sorry, you better cook something too" you smirked, a sign from you that you're half forgiving him. "What ? Wait-" he looked at you astonished. "I don't know what to cook" "Huh, well not my problem" you sticked your tongue out to him and caught his arm in yours.

Mingi:

Mingi's been aware that his words probably upset you. But he needed to find himself again, to get right on tracks by himself even if he was thankful towards you, taking care of him for so long and everything. But he felt like it was his duty to make his comeback to the team his, from A to Z. He hoped you would understand, but after you left him alone, he felt guilty to suddenly reject you. The first day of his comeback into the team, Mingi felt really nervous. He wished he could call you and talk to you as he used to, but since that day he didn't dare to contact you. Instead he sent you a long message, saying how much he missed you and felt really nervous. That he was sorry for what he's said and how much you counted for him. He knew deep inside his mind that you had understood his reasons to act this way, and he was right. After reading his text, you couldn't help but fall in love all over again for Mingi. He was so sweet and pure that you couldn't hold grudges against him. You texted back saying "Everything's gonna be alright. Fighting ! I love you" which reassured the rapper.

Jongho:

Although Jongho was the youngest from the team, he was really mature and hated childish behaviour when it comes for his relationship. The fact you got jealous and as a result, acted this way got him angry. For him, the fact he was dating you was a proof of his choice, and love. Things weren't bad with his ex, so he didn't see why he would cut the rope from her, and he expected you to understand his point of view. After calming down on his own, he also realised his reaction must not have been mature as well. He took more time to think about how he was going to reconcile with you, but things shouldn't stay this way. He expected you to be at your place, and directly knocked at the door, feeling nervous. "Y/N ?" he called out for you. It took a moment before you opened the door, clearly still furious about what happened earlier. "What ? Aren't you with Mina yet ?" you spatted out, maybe too agressive than you wished. Jongho took on himself not to react to this again, instead sighing softly. "Baby, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have reacted this way." he began, trying to be the most sincere he was. "You're the only one for me, you know it right ? But you see, Mina is indeed my ex, but it doesn't mean I'm on bad terms with her, and it also means that nothing will happen with her anymore. Because I love you so much and no one else"

[graymatters]

Leave your dignity at the tone

For @drarrymicrofic 's prompt, first time. I told myself I had other things to work on besides another microfic, but I’ve spent all afternoon listening to Miscast 2021′s What You Own. And it was so amazing. And then I was daydreaming about RENT, and then one thing led to another and... I wrote a microfic. Here’s Draco’s first voicemail, and then a few more.

This is Harry. I can’t come to the phone right now. Leave a message.

“Leave a message? How in Merlin’s name am I supposed to do that? Potter? You took my quill home from the office, and it’s really important that I get it back. Potter, I’m calling you, and I don’t hear you. I need my quill back. Are you there? I think your phone is broken. Fuck it; I’m sending an owl.”

Hey, it’s Harry. Sorry I missed you. Leave a message, and I’ll call you back.

“Do you ever answer this thing? Why do you own a telephone if you’re not going to answer it when I call? Listen, I need help with the report on the potions confiscation last week. I may have… lost track of a few vials. I need you to come over. My floo’s open, just let yourself in. I have pizza and that disgusting IPA you like so much, if that helps.”

It’s Harry. Leave a message, and I’ll do my best to get back with you as soon as I can.

“Potter? I’m at the restaurant, but I don’t see you yet. I’m at a table in the back. I’ve ordered you a drink, but I don’t know if it’s the right one, and the waiter was just staring at me, and I’m sitting here all alone… I’ve never even been to a muggle restaurant before, and you’re late. Oh, Salazar, are you standing me up? Potter? I knew this was a terrible idea. I shouldn’t have even—Oh, there you are at the door. Please disregard. Delete. Delete message. Harry, you’re here—”

Hear the rest of Draco’s messages below the cut.

Hey, it’s Harry. Please leave a message. Unless it’s Draco. No more messages; you’re forbidden from leaving any more voicemails, babe. I will see that you called and call you back. I promise.

“Harry, I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve a passive aggressive call-out in your voicemail recording. The way I think about it, you can hear my beautiful voice whenever you want with the press of a button. Anyway, I’m making spaghetti for dinner and forgot the wine. You remember the cabernet we both liked last week? If you could be a dear and pick one up on your way home? I promise your reward will be in equal value to your efforts. I’m wearing an apron right now. Just an apron. See you soon, Harry.” 

Speak.

“Listen, Harry, I need to—No, Pansy, I’m not drunk. Stop it, let me have it. Harry. This is Draco. As I was saying before I was interrupted by this unbearable wench, I need to talk to you about the other night. I didn’t mean what I said. I didn’t mean it at all, and I was stupid. So stupid. So, so stupid. Harry, I lo—Pansy, you bitch.”

I’m sorry, this voicemail box is currently full.

Please leave a message for H. Potter at the tone.

“Harry. It’s Draco. Please call me back. I—I miss you.” 

Hey, it’s Harry. Leave a message. 

“Harry, it’s Draco. It’s Thursday, and I’ve just—”

“Hello?”

“...Harry?”

“Yes.”

“Oh. Hello.”

“What do you want, Draco?”

“Oh, this is awkward… because, you see, I um, I actually wrote a message, but it’s a bit one-sided seeing as how you never answer my calls... I wasn’t expecting to have a conversation.”

“Er, well, I guess you can pretend it’s a voicemail?”

“That’s ridiculous, Potter.”

“Fine, if you don’t want to—”

“Wait, wait. Harry, wait. Okay.”

“Okay. It’s Harry, leave a message… Er—Beeeeep.”

“Um, I guess I’ll just… Hi. Harry... It’s me, Draco. It’s Thursday. I went to that coffee shop today, and I saw a man at the counter that I thought was you. The more I looked at him, though, I realized he didn’t have your lovely curls or your beautiful skin. His smile was much too straight; it did not compare to your adorable crooked grin that I still see in my dreams. He was also much too short, and, Harry, when he turned around, he didn’t take my breath away like you do… And it... It hurt, Harry. I miss you so much. I was a proper arse before, and I’m so sorry. I—I know we weren’t perfect. But we were something good, I think. Don’t you think so, Harry? I do. So, I’m calling, and I’m leaving you a message for the millionth time to tell you that I miss you. And I… I love you. And I’m sorry, Harry, for messing this up.”

“Draco?”

“Yes, Harry?”

“You were definitely a proper arse.”

“Um, yes. And I’m truly, immeasurably, sorry. But if you’ll let me through the wards, I can make it up to you. I promise; I can make it up to you, if you give me a chance.”

“Draco?”

“Please, Harry. I’m a mess without you.”

“Draco, I never even changed the wards.”

[dizzydancingdreamer]

The Art of Losing at Mario Kart | Tony Stark

Hi my lovelies I hope everyone is having a wonderful Friday!! Please enjoy some fluffy Tony and do take care of yourselves!!

Appetizers (Tags): Fluff

Entres (Pairing): Tony Stark x F!Reader, slight Platonic!Peter Parker x F!Reader (Third Person)

Sides (Prompts): 5: “You’re small, but you’re talking loud.”

Notes: Tony says line, Requested by Anon

Word Count: 1.5k

Dinner at Dizzy’s Master List

Her hands clutch the controller so tight her fingers hurt, her eyes locked on the TV screen like her life depends on it. It kind of does. The peppy music has long stopped being fun— now it sounds like a threat. Don’t lose, y/n. She grits her teeth, leaning forward until her elbows hit her knees, eyebrows creasing together as she completes another lap.

“That’s not going to help you win, baby.” Tony snickers, posture relaxed and a sly grin on his lips.

She scrunches her eyes as she narrowly avoids a shell he launches at her. “Shut up won’t you?”

He only laughs, continuing to hold the controller like this is the most boring thing he’s ever done. It makes her vision haze with red, her skin flaming from the inside out. How is he so effortlessly good at Mario Kart? She taps down on the a button relentlessly, head cocking, veins thrumming as she approaches the red car on the screen. Maybe she spoke too soon.

“Ooh—” she taunts, tapping the button to launch the banana peel she’s been saving— “what were you saying again? Who’s not going to win?”

As she says it her smile widens, teeth flashing at the man who’s smirk has significantly dropped. Now he’s leaning forward too, elbows on his knees and lip between his teeth.

“Oh it’s on now.”

For a moment all she can hear is the rapid tap, tap, tapping of buttons. The race becomes neck and neck, the pressure building— there’s no way she’s letting him plan a whole day together by himself; she doesn’t have a death wish. She has to win—

“Hey, Tones?” She mumbles quietly, a stark contrast to her previously snarky tone.

His eyes shift in her peripheral, eyes softening slightly. “Yeah, baby?”

She bites down on her lip, swallowing lightly. “I, erm, I think I know what I want to do after this.”

His hands falter, his head turning fully to look at her. “Go on.”

—She has to win even if it means playing dirty. God he’s so easy.

“I want to celebrate my win.”

“Wait, what?”

By the time he catches on it’s too late. With his head turned she pushes the toggle forward harder, smashing the a button to accelerate past the finish line. As soon as the First Place banner flashes across the flatscreen she’s out of her seat, arms thrown high in the air, jumping up and down like a child. She doesn’t care— the fact that she won— that she beat Tony Stark, the man who plays too much Mario Kart with Peter— is too exciting. Only the spider-kid can beat this man and now she has as well!

“Did you see that! Did you? That was amazing! I can’t believe that actually worked!” She lowers her voice, deepening it to match his “Go on, baby. You actually fell for that!”

She can’t stop the giggles as they come, hunching over to steady herself on her legs.

Tony groans, falling back on the cushions behind him, the controller landing with a defeated thud beside him. “You know, you’re small, but you’re talking loud.”

She giggles harder, scampering over to the man who looks like he wants to roll his eyes at her but is too busy staring at her like a love struck puppy. Despite losing— something which everyone in the compound— no, the world— knows he hates— he still watches her with a lazy smile, holding his arms out for her. She happily accepts the invitation, climbing onto his lap warm, hands falling to his face.

“Oh you love it, you’re just a sore loser.” She scratches her fingers through the stubble on his jaw, chest bubbling with warmth when he leans deeper into her touch.

“Only because I don’t lose.” He mumbles back, eyes closing with a content sigh.

She rolls her eyes at the man, letting the easy smile creep over her features. How did she end up with the most arrogant man in New York?

“You just lost, honey.” She points out, slipping her hands up and into his hair.

Scratching at his scalp she sinks deeper into his arms. He doesn’t open his eyes, only tilts his head back to follow her hands, fully absorbed in her touch. She follows suit, leaning her head on his shoulder. She could get used to this.

“Did I, though?”

She springs back up. “Of course you did.”

Tony cracks an eye open, the arrogant smirk back on his mouth. “Maybe I let you win.”

Her heart stutter, her gut twisting— he didn’t!

She narrows her eyes, pulling her hands from his hair. “You wouldn’t dare.”

Did he?

Leaning back towards her, ducking his head to nudge against her fingers, Tony laughs. She swats his head gently, grumbling at the man. Did he let her win? He better not have— she wants bragging rights. Well, bragging rights and to not die when he decides that the planned day he won means going skydiving or something else equally ridiculous. He may enjoy heights but she certainly does not.

When she doesn’t sink her fingers back against his scalp he takes her hands in his, wrapping them around his neck and passing her a smile that appears to be more like a laugh that’s been frozen on his lips. She has to bite back her own grin when she sees it. Instead she stares at the wall behind his head, glaring at the painting to keep from looking at him and cracking— she’s too soft for him, it makes being mad impossible.

“Baby c’mon, I’m just joking.” He pleads, massaging his fingers over hers. “You won just come back.”

She flicks her eyes to his half delighted, half worried gaze, letting the smile creep into place once more. Damnit. Maybe she’s the one who’s too easy.

“You swear?”

His warm hands find her cheeks, pulling her face down to his and pressing a quick but firm kiss to her lips before mumbling. “I swear— now let me properly congratulate you for your win.”

* * * * * * * * * *

Later that day she stumbles into the kitchen, a sheen of sweat coating her heavy limbs and a dopey smile on her face. As she rounds the corner to the fridge, feet slipping on the linoleum, she bumps into a similarly happy face.

“Oh, Peter, hey kid! Haven’t seen you around these past few days.”

She holds her fist out, waiting for his knuckles to bump against hers before turning back to her original task— water. So much water.

He laughs, grabbing a cup from the cupboard and passing it to her. “Yeah, been busy with SAT’s. They’re coming up soon. I’m kinda’ worried.”

She hums and passes him a grateful look, filling her cup from the jug in the fridge. “Ah, yes— the good old days. I remember taking those. I did terribly. Aren’t you, like, boy wonder or something, though? Kid genius? I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

Eyes wide, cheeks pink, he stammers. “Oh well, no, I wouldn’t say gen—”

Rolling her eyes, she interrupts him with a laugh. “Don’t downplay yourself— you’re a genius. You’re good at everything! It’s almost annoying.”

Honestly it is annoying but he deserves— she’s seen how hard he works.

Peter laughs, awkwardly shrugging his shoulders. “Maybe.”

At least he’s humble.

She scrunches her nose, hopping up onto the counter as he opens the fridge next, pulling out a loaf of bread and the strawberry jam that Natasha has bought a few days ago. For a smart kid he really has a death wish. She nods at the jar and he holds a finger to his lips, the message clear— don’t tell. She giggles back, holding a hand over her heart— scout’s honor, boy wonder.

She kicks her feet, curling her toes to bring some of the feeling back, continuing with the conversation at hand. “Name one thing you can’t do.”

He pauses, butter knife clutched in his fist as he tilts his head, thinking. Of course he has to think about it. He’s like a mini Tony— too smart for his own good.

Finally his eyes fill with light, his brows raising as he comes to an answer— “Got it— I can’t win at Mario Kart against Mr. Stark.”

For a moment she giggles. He still calls Tony Mr. Star—

Wait.

Did he just say he can’t win against Tony at Mario Kart? No, that’s not possible—

“But I’ve seen you win.” She points out, setting her cup down a little too harshly, the glass thudding off the counter.

Peter, not noticing, laughs, shaking his head. “No, he only lets me win to impress you.” He flicks his eyes up from his sandwich, his face shifting when he sees her furrowed brows— “You didn’t know that?”

The glare on her face is enough of an answer. “Shit.”

He starts to shake his head but it’s too late; she’s already hopped off the counter, bare feet pounding on the floor as she starts storming out of the kitchen.

“Tony you have some explaining to do!”

Not long after she hears a groan followed by a—

“Not cool Parker!”

[anti-catradora-receipts]

Catra abused Adora.

I want to start off by explaining my own experience with watching She-Ra for the first time. I started to watch the show and continued to watch it for various reasons. But I want to make it clear that I wasn’t watching the show to see who ended up with who. I enjoyed the show mostly because it had such wonderful messages surrounding healthy families, friendships, and relationships. And so, one of the main themes of the show ended up being: abuse. 

The show demonstrated that abuse can take a variety of forms. The show demonstrated that people can suffer from abuse in different ways. The show presented that people can break the cycle of abuse and people can continue the cycle of abuse. The show demonstrated that in some cases people can try and help an abusive person, but the abusive person may abuse the person trying to help. The show also highlighted that people are allowed to leave abusive relationships.

Before we begin, I want to note that I won’t be answering the question “Did Catra’s own experiences of abuse influence her actions?” Because the answer to this question is obviously Yes. And I sympathize with Catra and the fact that she was abused while she was growing up. In addition, there’s a lot of complexity and depth surrounding the abuse Catra received. But Catra also continued the cycle of abuse. And in real life, people who have been abused can also end up abusing other people. 

Now, since we’ll be focusing on Catradora in this commentary, we must look strictly at the interactions between Catra and Adora. The reason behind this is we are evaluating only whether the relationship between Catra and Adora is healthy. In addition, if your friend told you they were being abused, would you ask the question, “I understand, but what about your abuser? Was your abuser abused?”. No, I don’t think you would. You’d ask your friend, “Is there any way I can help?” And so, in this case, Adora is your friend and Catra is the abuser.

Thus, the main question remains: Did Catra abuse Adora? And the answer is Yes.

(Please note that the underlined statements are hyperlinked to websites providing information on abuse.)

Signs of Emotional Abuse

Catra has unrealistic expectations of Adora:

Catra makes unreasonable demands of Adora.

Catra expects Adora to put everything aside and meet her needs.

Catra is constantly dissatisfied no matter how much Adora gives.

Catra invalidates Adora:

Catra undermines, dismisses, and distorts Adora’s perceptions of reality.

Catra accuses Adora of being "crazy”.

Catra refuses to acknowledge or accept Adora’s opinions or ideas as valid.

Catra dismisses Adora’s requests, wants, and needs as ridiculous or unmerited.

Catra suggests that Adora’s perceptions are wrong or that Adora cannot be trusted by saying things like “you’re not making sense”.

Catra uses emotional blackmail:

Catra manipulates and controls Adora by making Adora feel guilty.

Catra uses Adora’s fears, values, compassion, or other hot buttons to control Adora or the situation.

Catra exaggerates Adora’s flaws or points Adora’s flaws out in order to deflect attention or to avoid taking responsibility for her poor choices or mistakes.

Catra denies that an event took place/lies about it.

Catra acts superior:

Catra treats Adora like Catra’s inferior.

Catra blames Adora for her mistakes.

Catra doubts everything Adora says and attempts to prove Adora wrong.

Catra talks down to Adora.

Catra uses sarcasm when interacting with Adora.

Catra acts like she’s always right, knows what’s best, and is smarter than Adora.

Catra controls and isolates Adora:

Catra treats Adora like a possession or property.

Signs of Physical Abuse

Catra kidnaps Adora.

Catra scratches Adora.

Catra shoves Adora.

Catra kicks Adora.

Catra slaps Adora.

Catra uses weapons on Adora.

Catra physically restrains Adora.

Catra attempts to murder Adora multiple times.

Adora suffered from Catra’s abuse and Adora displayed the effects of this abuse:

Short Term Effects

confusion

fear

hopelessness

shame

Long-term effects

guilt

anxiety

Adora also tried tactics that are not effective ways of dealing with abuse:

Adora arguing with Catra.

Adora trying to understand or make excuses for Catra.

Adora attempting to appease Catra.

Adora also figures out how to properly deal with Catra’s abuse:

Adora makes herself a priority.

Adora establishes boundaries.

Adora stops blaming herself.

Adora realizes she can’t fix Catra.

Adora avoids engaging with Catra.

Adora builds a support network.

Adora deserves to be in a healthy relationship, which consists of:

Trust

Adora should be confident her partner won’t do anything to hurt her or ruin the relationship.

In a healthy relationship, trust comes easily and Adora shouldn’t have to question her partner’s intentions or whether her partner has her back.

Honesty

Adora should be able to be truthful and candid without fearing how her partner will respond. 

Adora’s partner may not like what Adora has to say, but should respond to disappointing news in a considerate way.

Respect

Adora’s partner should value Adora’s beliefs and opinions.

Adora’s partner should love Adora for who she is.

Adora should feel comfortable setting boundaries and should feel confident that her partner will respect those boundaries. 

Adora’s partner should cheer for Adora when Adora achieves something. 

Adora’s partner should support Adora’s hard work and dreams, and appreciate Adora.

Equality

Adora’s relationship should feel balanced.

Both Adora and her partner should put the same effort into the success of the relationship. 

Neither Adora’s nor her partner’s opinions should dominate. Instead, they both should hear each other out and make compromises when they don’t want the same thing. 

Adora should feel like her needs, wishes and interests are just as important as her partner’s. 

Kindness

Adora’s partner should be caring and empathetic to Adora, and should provide comfort and support.

In a healthy relationship, Adora’s partner will do things that they know will make Adora happy. 

Kindness should be a two-way street in Adora’s relationship: it’s given and returned. 

Adora’s partner should show compassion for Adora and the things Adora cares about.

Taking Responsibility

Adora’s partner should own up to their actions and words. 

Adora’s partner should not place blame and should be able to admit when they make a mistake. 

Adora’s partner should genuinely apologize when they’ve done something wrong and continually try to make positive changes to better the relationship. 

Adora’s partner should be able take ownership for the impact of their words or behaviour had, even if it wasn’t their intention.

Healthy Conflict

Adora and her partner should be able to openly and respectfully discuss issues and confront disagreements non-judgmentally. 

Adora’s partner should not belittle or yell during an argument.

Adora’s relationship should have healthy conflict by recognizing the root issue and addressing it respectfully before it escalates into something bigger. 

Fun

Adora should enjoy spending time with her partner.

Adora and her partner should bring out the best in each other.  

A healthy relationship should feel easy and make Adora happy. 

Adora should be able to let loose, laugh, and be themselves.

Adora’s relationship should not bring Adora’s mood down but should cheer Adora up. 

Adora’s relationship doesn’t have to be fun 100% of the time, but the good times should definitely outweigh the bad.

In conclusion:

Whatever Catra says, Catra’s violence towards Adora is unacceptable. 

Catra’s violent behavior is always Catra’s responsibility, not Adora’s.

Catra’s abuse is not okay or justifiable.

There are so many scenes throughout the series where Catra emotionally and physically abused Adora, and these scenes are captured on this blog. 

I just want to add that even when Catra emotionally and physically abused Adora, Adora continuously tried to reach out and help Catra. Adora gave Catra so many chances for her to apologize and rectify her mistakes. But Catra didn’t. Not only that, when Adora left, Catra continued to abuse people. Catra emotionally abused Scorpia. Then, when Scorpia left, Catra began abusing Lonnie. Catra’s abuse didn’t stop when Adora left, Catra just found a new victim.

In addition, there were so many significant moments of growth for Adora. Adora found people who supported her and did not abuse her. Adora began to heal from Catra’s abuse. Adora no longer made excuses for Catra. Adora realized that she is not responsible for Catra’s atrocious actions. 

Adora was strong and brave for moving forward in her life without her abuser. 

Moreover, Adora is a victim of abuse. Catra abused Adora emotionally and physically. Catra repeatedly admits to manipulating Adora in order to meet her own selfish goals. Catra did not show any remorse for her abuse against Adora throughout seasons 1 to 4. Catra continuously blamed Adora for her own atrocious actions. And finally, Catra attempted to murder Adora on several occasions. 

And here’s the most important thing. I don’t care who Adora would have ended up with. I just care about the fact that Adora ended up with Catra. What I mean is: I would rather have Adora end up without a partner, than end up with Catra.

Irrespective of whether you agree or disagree with my points on Catradora, these will be final points:

Abuse can happen anywhere at any time.

Abuse can happen in any relationship, including lesbian relationships.

Abuse is unacceptable.

Make sure YOU can recognize signs of emotional and physical abuse. 

Make sure YOU know that it’s okay to leave an abusive relationship.

Make sure YOU can trust and depend on your PARTNER/FRIEND. 

Make sure YOUR PARTNER/FRIEND knows they can trust and depend on YOU. 

Make sure YOU are being treated with kindness and support in your relationships. 

Make sure YOU are treating YOUR PARTNER/FRIEND with kindness and support. 

Make sure YOU are in healthy relationships and friendships.

In conclusion, EVERYONE deserves to be treated with love and respect.

Thank you.

[vivithefolle]

What are your favourite fanfic tropes/aus for romione?

(I’m gonna try to make my way through old asks I received AGES ago and never answered because I’m a procrastinating lump. Here’s betting I’m going to give up and play videogames all day instead.)

Oh my god, so many.

Okay so as a rule of thumb as long as it’s nice to Ron I’ll read it. I’ll read anything. I have been known to read Ron/Draco and even sacrificed my dignity and everything I stand for as a human being by reading some Ron/Snape stuff. Yes. I was THAT desperate. This is how low I’m willing to go because of sheer love for Ron.

Which means that when a fic will go “oh poor Hermione, poor Hermione who is waiting for Ron to grow up because She can see one day he could be worth it but for now he’s all dumb-dumb and inferior and doesn’t deserve Her perfection :(”, I will be judging. Judging very hard. I may not leave a comment but rest assured, my thoughts are loud enough for me. This is 2010s mentality. This is “haha I’m so like Hermione, not like other girls who throw themselves at boys, I’m so special and girl powery :)” Horribly Bad Feminism. Fuck that. We’re doing better now.

Speaking of doing better. Recently I read something about how Ron is, paraphrased, “the brute of the Trio”, spun in a positive way since he uses his strength to protect them but, but, still... please no? Just no! Just eff no with these takes about how Ron is a hypermasculine dudebro M For Manly™! No, no, fucking no! Just because he’s the Sulfur to Hermione’s Mercury and Sulfur represents the masculine component to Mercury’s feminine one, DOESN’T MEAN Ron is “the brute”! (”the” brute... seriously... who’s the more brutish one, the one who punches a racist in the face or the one who uses a torture curse as retribution for spitting on his fave teacher?)

The way I see him, Ron is a balance, a blend of feminine and masculine qualities intertwined close together. I LOVE that he can swear like a sailor but can only say “scarlet woman” or “cow” when it comes to insulting a woman. Some will probably see it as “hurr durr he sexist he doesnt think women can take it!!!!!!! >8C” but given that those are probably also the peeps who say “HE CALLE D HERMOANI A NIGHTMURRR!!!!!!! DDDDD8″ I’m gonna venture the idea that we don’t care about those folks’ biased, sexist opinions.

Where was I going with this... oh yes! Ok, so Ron can swear like a sailor yet couldn’t insult a girl to save his life. He’s strong physically but most of all he’s strong mentally (to put up with the way his friends treat him for years speaks a lot of his mental fortitude... and to top it off he comes back for more to boot! I’m not sure if that’s more mental fortitude or straight-up masochism though.) When he succeeds at things he gets a bit attention-whoreish but at the same time, you can see that when he’s being complimented he’s all unsure of himself and blushy and shy and you just, dude you can’t handle positive attention because you don’t know how to react to it I don’t know whether that’s adorable or the saddest thing I’ve seen in my life? He’s insecure but he’s always the first to cheer on Harry and Hermione when they’re doing something great, which speaks VOLUMES of Ron’s selflessness and of his actual character: to quote @peetamaellark​, Ron doesn’t think “Harry is great, therefore he sucks and I hate him”, he thinks “Harry is great, therefore I suck and I hate me”. THIS is Ron. THIS is why Ron will lash out, not because he hates Harry, but because internally he hates himself and you can’t keep that sort of feeling bottled up for too long before... you got it, you explode.

I. Want. More. Fics where Hermione isn’t this ~oh dear~ Victorian damsel in distress who cries and Ron is the Big Strong Man who holds her with one arm and is stony-faced and goes “I’ll protect you”, please no that was old before it existed, let us have nice, realistic depictions of Ron and Hermione please.

Like, Hermione is more than capable of kicking butt herself. She IS absolutely nervous and scared and cries easily and that’s a vulnerability we NEED, but the fact that she can be super scared and crying but still hex her opponent into oblivion? THAT’s good, THAT’s excellent. It’s a very important message for girls, I think. “You can cry, you can be sensitive, you can be emotional, AND you can still kick butt”. And as important as that message is for girls, it’s also a very important message to give boys, because boys are socialized to “never cry” and that’s super unhealthy. I love Ron’s admiration of Hermione. I love the way Ron hesitates, the way he can be cautious when he needs to as much as he can be reckless and impulsive. I love how he shows himself to be a big softie and a sweet soul. I don’t think that makes him an “emasculated doormat” (to quote a guest I once saw on FFN), on the contrary it makes him an even better man in my eyes. You know why I love the locket scene so much? Because Ron’s tears aren’t ridiculed. Ron gets to cry about the terrible ordeal he’s been put through, and while Harry “pretends he can’t see Ron cry” because it’s more comfortable for him personally, he doesn’t try to tell Ron to “man up” or anything. His reassurance is pretty lousy but he lets Ron cry, he lets his friend be upset, and he doesn’t try to invalidate Ron’s pain. (ok, the “I thought you knew” is kiiiiinda on the way there, but it stops at that and I’m grateful for it).

I like. Seeing Ron distressed. I like seeing Ron upset and be allowed to be upset. I like to see Ron’s pain treated with respect. So when Ron is having a shit day I like to see him get a cuddle. I like seeing Ron go through horrible ordeals and break down and for his breakdown to be properly acknowledged and not turned into insensitive comic relief (ISN’T THAT RIGHT, LATTER HALF OF THE SILVER DOE????). I mean seriously, just imagine GOF, Harry sitting in the hospital wing after Cedric’s death, Molly Weasley gives him a hug and it’s all very sad and angsty. And now picture Ginny running into the room screaming “HARRY JAMES POTTER” and punching him over and over and saying “PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER MAN, PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER” then after two pages of Harry “explaining” himself to Ginny she goes away saying “aight but if you do that shit again you’ll have to answer to me” then Harry’s friends are like “damn she’s spunky huh?” and Harry laughs and everyone laughs and this is how the book ends? How would it be funny? How would it be appropriate? How would it feel like “romance”? When Ron returns in The Silver Doe, he’s been psychologically tortured (”tortured” is the actual word JKR uses, please), we don’t need him to be hurting outside as well.

I want more accountability for Hermione. More “uh hey Hermione maybe don’t do that”. More “hey Hermione you know you think of yourself as a good person buuuut yeah actually if all good persons were like you I’d be very afraid”. More “Hermione please for the love of God educate yourself”. More “Hermione sweetie I love you, but you can’t actually learn everything from books”. CHARACTER. DEVELOPMENT. PLEASE. Don’t be afraid to punch Hermione down and tear her apart the way the best Ron fics maim and torture our poor boy. Just because Rowling treated Hermione with kiddy princess gloves doesn’t mean you have to mimic her.

So when Hermione does a genuinely shitty thing let her own up to it. When Ron is a victim let him be upset and angry, even if Hermione is the one treating him badly. Just because he loves her doesn’t mean he’s not allowed to be disappointed in her or that she’s entitled to his immediate forgiveness. Give Ron and Hermione equal consideration. If you’re brushing off Hermione’s actions but condemning Ron for the slightest mistake, I am sure to hate it.

Okay, uh, so, those aren’t really tropes. Those are more just, guidelines I presume.

Oh, yeah, a trope that annoys me! Ron saying “you’re mine”, “my Hermione” and stuff, and Hermione just swoons and says “yours” and shiz. Ok, once in a while, why not. Once in a while. BUTT. I WANT HERMIONE TO SAY IT TOO. “Mine”, “my Ron!” and Ron swoons and says “yours, absolutely yours”. DO IT YOU COWARDS. FUCKING TAKE THOSE GENDER ROLES AND PUNCH’EM IN THE FACE.

Oh, right, while we’re on the subject of gender roles! Dad!Ron is everything. SingleParent!Ron is mwaaah. Stay-at-home-Dad!Ron is ALKZLDSJDLQSKLFJ <3. AnimalLover!Ron is HHHHNNNGG. Remember, the small gestures, the tiniest, softest acts Ron does (helping Harry get dressed when his arm is deboned, giving Dobby his brand-new sweater, praising Ginny, Luna and Neville when they escaped Umbridge), those are often those unremarkable, unmistakeably kind and sweet actions that tell us who Ron really is at his core: not a guy who’d want power at all costs, not a guy who’d give it all for ambition, not a guy who sees people as possessions, but someone kind who wants to make others happy.

Ok, I was also asked for AUs, so, uh, pretty much every AU is game as long as Ron gets treated with respect? I mean I don’t really care for Mafia!AUs or such but if you can find a way to fit good Romione then go for it I guess. Royalty AU, yeah why not but I often see Ron being made a prince while Hermione is a poor wee servant girl and like. Uuum, we’re talking about the same characters here? Hermione the highly educated girl who keeps on walking over everyone’s toes and loudly talking about how things should be done and is definitely Nouveau Riche, Ron who is a country boy who lives on a farm and is lost in the constant shuffle of his brothers, you think she should be the peasant and he should be the royal? Whaddafack? Oh, and all the “Hermione is a Muggle, Ron is a wizard” AUs that start this way BUTT! Suddenly... Hermione... turns out... to be (wait for it!)... A WITCH! And a super powerful super talented very good one too!!!... yeah ok, yawn. It’s quite scary, actually, how often I’ve seen that plotline, but in the rare cases when it’s Muggle!Ron and Witch!Hermione, Ron never ever EVER (I mean, seriously, NEVER EVER) turns out to have been a wizard, not even a mediocre one, all along. No, when Ron is made a Muggle for the sake of AU he stays a Muggle. But when Hermione is made a Muggle she has to turn out TO HAVE BEEN A WITCH ALL ALONG OMYGAH. I can count on one hand the number of Mugglemione/Wizardron fics that actually stick to their Mugglemione premise till the end - and usually they’re one-shots. (Also I don’t mean “Ron mistakes Hermione for a Muggle because he meets her in the Muggle world and assumes he must hide his magic from her, oh wait she was actually a witch!” fics, I mean genuinely “Hermione has been raised a Muggle her whole life, never had weird things happen to her her whole life ever, then Ron comes in and is a wizard and he does magic and Hermione wonders what it’d be like to be a witch and oh surprise! Don’t worry Hermione, you won’t have to feel not-special or mundane for long, here comes the plot contrivance to tell you you really were in fact the specialest of them all!!” fics.) Fairytale!AU is cool. Very good. But honestly I like to see them swapped around. Ron cursed by a nasty fae to be a Beast and Hermione stumbling upon him? Neat, especially if you don’t go the boring route of “oh let’s just rehash the Disney/the original book with different names and call it a day”. But Hermione cursed by an asshole fae for, let’s say, not sharing books, turning into a Beast, and Ron stumbling upon her as she’s trying to survive in the woods (and not doing a very good job of it)? Yes, brava, chief’s kiss. Rapunzel AU where Hermione’s bushy hair turns into the most impractical, most suffocating improvised ladder ever for Ron? Hilarious. Rapunzel AU where Ron has A GIANT EFFING PONYTAIL OF THE GODS and is screaming “ow ow ow” as Hermione makes her way up to his window cringing and saying “sorry! sorry! sorry! (damn his hair smells good)” on every step? Equally hilarious. Go! Be creative! Please I beg of you

Creature!fics! Oh my god there’s not enough of those, at least that aren’t focused on a bullshit pairing! Soulmate AUs! Give me everything! I’ll even take A/B/O if you insist on making it Romione! That’s how far I’ve fallen from human decency I’ll take anything just give me some good Ron content please I beg of you (Ah and to those that are going to say “Alpha Ron Omega Hermione :)))” well yes, but actually no. “Beta Ron Beta Hermione”? “Beta Ron Alpha Hermione”? “Omega Ron Alpha Hermione”??? HELL YEAH NOW WE’RE TALKIN)

Oh dear god I’m still not finished and I haven’t gone through everything someone stop me.

AND NOW BE CAREFUL CHILDREN, BELOW WILL BE SMUT.

Okay I don’t know if it qualifies as a trope, but. But. A more realistic depiction of Ron is usually what I’m after. All those fanfics that have Ron be “the sexy experienced one ;)))” ravishing “naive virginal Hermione ;))” is just UGH. We spent all the 2000-2010 period having fics like this, mind adding a bit of EQUALITY to the mix???

It’s just... I hate it okay? So many fics read like they’re just projection, writers who are essentially making Ron their big strong sex toy stud who's so attentive and sweet and cherishing, and so it does indirectly ends up as "servant Ron is so devoted to his goddess Hermione, providing pleasure to her while she doesn’t have to lift a finger”. The Dom!SexGod!Ron thing honestly depresses me... Since it's Ron taking care of Hermione, AGAIN. Like, he spends his WHOLE LIFE doing that already. Can we give him a break for once?

In the endI feel that it's less "Romione smut" and more "self-inserting into Hermione smut". In "real" Romione smut I think Ron and Hermione would switch roles according to what they feel like. And honestly I ALWAYS picture Ron being super nervous during Dom stuff, like he spanks her once then immediately he goes "oh my god are you okay?? did that hurt, do you want to stop?", things like that. I cannot imagine it happening any other way. XD Ron is just... too caring, too sensitive to do stuff like hard BDSM and that kind of thing in my opinion. He’s too much of a caretaker. I understand if it’s your kink and you’re perfectly free to project and write the fic you want, I’m not the fun police, but it’s just... I don’t think that’s really what Ron would be like. I just want MORE realistic Ron.

Also I’m trying really really hard to not point fingers here but WHY is it that it’s always “Ron growled” while it’s always “Hermione whimpered” or “Hermione moaned”? Like... you know it’s okay for a man to moan or whimper in pleasure too, right?  You know Ron isn’t 110% muscles and testosterone? You know Hermione is allowed to be fierce too? Hermione can 100% “growl” and be dominant and pin Ron to the wall and reduce him to a puddle of goo if you’re brave enough?

(Honestly how sexy would Ron think that is? The woman he loves is half his size yet can pin him down and ravish him. DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG RON HAS WANTED TO BE RAVISHED AND CHERISHED DO YOU KNOW HE’S BEEN WANTING THIS ALL HIS LIFE)

Oooo-kay, so that’s... mostly it, I reckon. Oh also Ron has a gigantic penisraise kink (and a great penis too, but mostly a praise kink). That’s canon and that’s all.

[norcumii]

The Alpha 17 Supplemental

We all deserve something a little nice. So here’s a rough draft preview of the Star to Steer By Alpha 17 supplemental. (Please note, this is unbetaed, subject to change, etc.)

I hope y’all have a good day. <3

~~~~

Alpha 17 was a good soldier. He knew from a very early age that he was good at combat, loved it, and he pushed himself to be the best that the GAR could produce.

He knew some of his brothers thought that made him a bit simple, limited, unambitious.

He didn’t care.

The trainers worried, concerned that he didn’t seem to pick up outside hobbies or interests. He could practically hear ‘there’s more to life than fighting!’ every time he got that look, the doubt screaming in their eyes. He knew that meant another psych eval was in his near future, and it was frustrating because they didn’t get it.

He liked fighting. He liked the simple math, how goal plus obstacle equaled a straightforward picture. He could break that down, take it apart and rearrange the bits for more carnage, less causalities, different outcomes depending on the goal. Some brothers liked painting, or reading, or whatever. Alpha 17 liked taking a battlefield to pieces, and the addition of life’s chaos and unpredictability just made it exciting.

It got worse as he got older, signing up for the ARC program the literal minute he was able to. His batchmates only rolled their eyes a little – they at least didn’t poke at him about it – but everyone else? The whispers just got more annoying.

ARC training was serious business, was he sure he wanted to? ARC training meant learning the ropes for hosting - like that would ever matter - and that didn’t seem to be the kind of thing he’d like. ARC training had a ridiculous wash-out rate, required a steady temperament, often led to a much shorter lifespan, blah blah blah.

ARCs got into the middle of the most interesting shit, were given command and solo missions in equal measure. They didn’t stick to any one thing, historically they were the ones getting shit done, and if there was trouble, they were liable to be at ground zero.

Of course Alpha 17 wanted in on that. So he did something else he was very good at: he kept his head down and worked his shebs off.

Didn’t stop the occasional complaints. He brushed off the ones that he could, went through all the usual psych evals (and the bonus ones too), and kept learning what he could. He trained, he excelled, he fought.

The attitude didn’t stop coming either, but that was no surprise. He might be stubborn, but so was the rest of the GAR. Came with the job description. Not that he took more than he had to, of course. After one instructor complained about excessive casualties, the next exercise he took an absurdly round-about approach which resulted in record low casualties for the sim exercise.

The next day he handed in a complaint against himself about incompetence, excessive caution, and an evaluation about how taking that fucking long would have resulted in a campaign that was far too high in cost, time, and resources.

The instructor quit bitching after that.

Alpha 17 started his ARC training as the youngest in his class. ARC trooper Alpha 17 went into his cryo stint as top graduate of his class, having already had a successful and noteworthy acclimation stint all around the mid- to outer-rim.

*****

Three years after his thaw, Alpha 17 returned from a mission totally-not-exploding some wildly unpleasant slavers’ headquarters to find the usual stack of correspondence waiting for him. He kept his holo-mail down to a screaming minimum as much as possible, because everyone and their classified dog preferred to send secured intel via datapads or datasticks or whatever data-things they could secure to biometrics and ident scans. He grabbed the box for incoming shit and hauled it off to his quarters, because it’d been almost four months away and even he would admit to needing a real godsdamned shower in his own fucking apartment.

He might’ve ignored the pile long enough for a decent meal from the commissary and a few hours of rack time out of sheer spite. When 17 finally sat down to sort it, he wasn’t too surprised that almost a quarter of the pads had the glossy red endcaps indicating highest priority. It took a second glance to register that one of those had further detailing, the Jedi Order’s symbol embossed on the center of the red caps.

That was different. 17 set down the two pads he’d grabbed at random to pick it up instead. The metal shell wasn’t new, but it held few of the dings and scratches any correspondence gained traveling through the courier system. Recently made or rarely used.

“The hell?” he muttered, powering it up. Official Order business of some sort, but what kind of mission could –

17’s brain stalled out as he finally read the simple, clear message.

Simple, clear, and about as unlikely as him sprouting wings and flying to Corellia without a ship. “Potential host.” Nope, sounded even crazier out loud. “Like hell.” He tossed the pad down and slumped back in his chair, staring at the datapad in confusion. How the fuck was he a potential host? What kind of Jedi could he possibly have a match with?

In some kind of vain hope that the message would change to something that made sense given enough time, 17 mechanically went through the rest of his mail. Several innocuous messages regarding hazard pay; five potential missions, two of which had a time window long past; one message rescinding one of the other potential missions; one airworthiness directive and recall about a jetpack model he hated anyways; somehow even more questions about his deposition for the fucking Cato Neimoidia cluster because lawyers were never truly done.

All the usual bullshit, really.

Didn’t change the potential host message, though.

*****

Alpha 17 answered the call, of course. He sent a reply message off, confirmed the trip to Coruscant via the usual GAR channels, and then he tried to lose himself in post-mission paperwork.

It didn’t help that if anything was less likely to occupy his attention, it was paperwork. Even the usual joys of finding new and ridiculous euphemisms for ‘killed a bunch of assholes’ and ‘blew up a lot of shit’ were empty and useless.

The question of what kind of Jedi could possibly consider him a match dogged him all the way to Coruscant, and only got worse when he walked into the changing room with the other two candidates. One was a quiet, well-dressed Zeltron who was the most unassuming being 17 had ever laid eyes on. Short red hair, heading towards middle-age, and 100% unremarkable – he wouldn’t call them “bland,” but he wouldn’t argue the point if someone else did. The other one was an older Wookiee who sauntered in with all the trappings of an AgriCorp member, cheerfully growling observations about everything with an air of nervous excitement.

Sure, he knew the matching was probably on different quadrants, but what the hells could he have in common with these two?

The Jedi deposited on the fourth side of the table was a bit on the small side – maybe fully grown, maybe just younger but with their mature coloring. It was hard to tell with Jedi, even for someone who was good at that kind of thing.

That was not in 17’s skillset.

It was no help whatsoever that the Jedi turned towards 17 first. He felt ridiculous, stretching out his hand like he was inviting someone’s pet to take a whiff, but somehow this was worse than in training. Training meant everyone had to be there, and was going through the motions, but this –

This was the real deal. What the fuck was 17 doing, really applying to be a host?

The Jedi curled around his wrist, warmer than expected. He could feel the faint buzz in his mind of the Jedi’s mental probe – nothing that could be strong enough to read actual thoughts, but enough to give them a decent impression of 17. He had to stifle down a snicker, imagining what it might be like to feel his mind. I like fighting, blowing shit up, and doing my job. Sorry to waste your time, Jedi.

The pulse of amusement – real, and not his – was a bucket of ice down his spine. Shit. Shiiiit, he hoped that hadn’t been somehow broadcast. It probably hadn’t, but that was awkward. Meanwhile, the Jedi let out a quiet hiss, sharing some kind of emotional nudge to pass them along.

It was hard not rubbing at his wrist where the Jedi had been as the other two host-potentials went through the ritual. 17 was sure that some of the discomfort was due to being out of armor, but a quiet part of him wondered about the strange reaction anyways.

Hosting wasn’t a thing. He’d never given the faintest shit about hosting, he just wanted to be an ARC.

He was paying enough attention to do all the bowing and whatever that was called for, but it took the amused chuffing of a Wookiee to pull 17 all the way back to the matter at hand.

Literally at hand; the Jedi was back near his wrist, looking up at him with those four bright eyes and a body posture that might indicate concern.

Wait, WHAT? 17’s head jerked up, and he looked at the other two in the room. The Wookiee was grinning, while the Zeltron was hiding their amusement almost well enough that they just looked a little bored. He couldn’t help but feel that it was intentional that he could read the body language at all. 17 looked back down at the Jedi, who weh-ed at him.

“What are you doing?” 17 asked right back, because there was no way this could be happening. The Jedi scooted a little closer to him, making another hissing noise. With the continued sensation that this could not really be happening, 17 held his hand out to the Jedi.

They sauntered right onto his palm, still giving him that look. Another glance at the other host-potentials confirmed the impossible, but 17 was still slow enough lifting the Jedi that there was plenty of time for someone to declare that this was some ridiculous mistake, or prank, or something.

Nobody said anything as 17 opened his mouth and let the Jedi in. There was that feeling of movement that wasn’t (except it really was), then there was a new voice in 17’s mind.

#Hello there,# the Jedi declared. They sounded male, young, good natured. Not at all like what 17 would have expected. #I’m Obi-Wan Kenobi.#

#Well that’s a mouthful,# 17 couldn’t help but think, bemused and not quite sure what the hell was going on.

There was a sound of muffled laughter, accompanied by something not-really-a-flash to how that was a pun given how the Jedi – Kenobi – had just entered. #From a certain perspective, yes.#

17 smirked, enjoying the feel of a fellow sapient in spite of himself. #Alpha 17. ARC-17017.#

*****

It was always easy to tell the difference between Qui-Gon and Tahl. She moved with thoughtful purpose, feet planted solid on the ground and shoulders aggressively square. Jinn flowed more, confident and feline, certain of himself in a sometimes arrogant way that could piss off even the most serene being, let alone Alpha 17.

He liked and respected them both, more than he or Obi-Wan figured most people understood. He hadn’t expected that, when he’d first met the Jedi and host that were to be Obi-Wan’s – and his, in a sense – primary trainers. He’d resented that at first, not that he’d admit it. He was no youngling, for all that Obi-Wan was a shiny. Obi-Wan also had inherited memories, and since 17 was a well-trained and skilled soldier, they should be good to go in short order.

Then they had their first training session with Obi-Wan’s brand new lightsaber.

The less said about that fiasco, the better.

It took time to learn how everything fit together; 17’s blaster and fighting skills, Obi-Wan’s genuine talent for the lightsaber and acrobatics that thanks to the Force were well outside the normal bounds for a clone, and how the Force integrated with it all.

The first time 17 dodged away from a sparring partner only to reach and yank their legs out from under them, dumping them to the floor several meters away, he’d been stunned. It was one thing to know Jedi – and thus their hosts – could use the Force, it was totally another to see it in action, and it was a far different beast to do that impossibility himself.

He liked it, though. It was interesting to find there was a whole new area and styles of fighting he could apply himself to, and as always he did so with excessive diligence.

With the comforting glee inside his head of a Jedi just as eager to learn, and to fight, he no longer questioned why the hell he’d been the one to host Obi-Wan.

~end section

[astridthevalkyrie]

Do you think AOT is better than FMAB?

sorry not sorry for the blunt answer but no, never, not in a million years, not even close, not for a number of reasons.

few reasons under the cut, because apparently I’m doing this instead of focusing in class. obviously there will be spoilers for both shows, and obviously some of this will be based on personal preference.

1. Genocide/Oppression

so both shows have some vivid imagery of nazi germany. bradley is addressed as the fuhrer in fmab, and the eldians wear stars on their sleeves in aot. and even if the aot writer wasn’t pretty much confirmed to be a nationalist and raging anti-semite, it’s rather painfully obvious which show handles it better.

in aot, the eldians are oppressed because they can turn into titans and were originally trying to take over the world or something, which is so blatantly anti-semitic that it’s terrible. shows are allowed to tackle these kinds of topics, but they should handle them well, not be a stand in for nazi propaganda. this is something so many fucking shows do wrong whenever they make an oppressed group of people - there’s always somehow a reason for having them be oppressed. take bbc merlin. wizards are oppressed because they can do magic and so they’re dangerous, just like how eldians can turn into titans and so they’re dangerous, and that’s a bad thing to imply, because it implies that jewish people somehow deserved what happened to them and that’s a fucking dangerous idea to put into an already anti-semitic world.

and that’s exactly why i was so relieved and appreciative of how fmab did the battle of ishval. it is clear who the bad guys are in that scenario, and it’s clear that it was never deserved and that the soldiers who carried it out are war criminals and deserve to be put into jail. riza says as much herself. while i think scar shouldn’t have been as guilted as he was (sure, he shouldn’t go after innocent people, but him killing winry’s parents is not comparable to what happened to him and doesn’t put all of them on equal footing), i was pleasantly surprised that he lived and wasn’t killed off in some stupid form of “redemption.” if roy deserved to live, so did scar, a hundred times over.

2. Characters

characters in fmab are done ridiculously better than in aot. let’s compare similar characters!

edward and eren - the protagonists

up until the third season onwards, eren is very one dimensional and uninteresting. he’s entertaining, but his one and only goal is killing the titans and it’s super frustrating because they lay down the groundwork for more, but it’s never really addressed. show more how he cares about his friends, show him dealing with his trauma through anger and how it’s unhealthy. (actually, a lot of problems could be fixed if they showed more of the cadets’ training days. i feel like i wasn’t feeling as betrayed by annie and reiner and bertholdt because i never really felt they were that close to eren.)

ed is a delightful main character. he too is angry and doesn’t mind talking with his fists, but at the same time, he’s starchly against killing anyone and has multiple goals. ofc his primary one is getting their bodies back, but when he finds himself in the conspiracy about amestris, he doesn’t hesitate before making that his problem as well. every relationship he has is wonderful. i could get bored with eren on the screen, i wasn’t bored with ed.

armin and alphonse - the deuteragonists

i’m sorry but armin is literally just “the smart one.” that’s it. he’s also the dreamer but it only comes up when they’re about to do something dangerous.

i feel like i don’t even need to go into how good of a character al is? he’s very obviously multifaceted and the epitome of sweet and badass at the same time.

winry and mikasa - the love intests-ish

i don’t like referring to either of them like that, but while mikasa is the tritagonist (or deuteragonist, her and armin can interchange there), winry is not. 

and surprise, surprise, this is actually where i’m not so sure winry comes out on top. mikasa is, in my opinion, the most interesting out of the trio. she also has a very single-minded goal, but seeing her interact with other characters (armin, jean, levi) who either fall in line or disagree with that goal is fun to watch. she’s also obviously super competent and i have a thing for competent characters.

winry is a good character and i love her, but it’s always bothered me how out of place her scenes feel in relation to the entire show. and as much as i know it doesn’t deter her agency, there’s just something off about ed telling her to have an apple pie waiting for them. it actually brings in one of my few problems with fmab. while its female are pretty good, they’re far from perfect, and that’s because nearly all of them exist because of their relation to the more important male character. winry is ed’s mechanic and the elrics’ family friend. riza is roy’s lieutenant. lan fan is ling’s bodyguard. izumi is the elrics’ teacher. i’m not saying that’s all they are, but this is a major part of their role in the story (olivier and mei stand out as female characters with goals relating to themselves and not a guy around them.)

so who’s the better character? mikasa is more fierce and winry has better lines that aren’t just calling out the protag’s name. i’m gonna give it to winry, but by a short shot.

roy and levi - the op fan favorites

this one’s much easier. roy is not just a badass who’s also the hero’s direct superior like levi is, he’s a person with clearcut goals and weaknesses and he has to make sacrifices and work for what he wants. levi has all the makings for a great character, a tragic backstory and a chill personality, but he doesn’t have a reason to stay in the scouts, he just...does. out of loyalty to erwin, i guess? it’s not clear and it’s even worse if you don’t watch the ova. roy’s reasons are clear and relatable. he also has a dorky and endearing side, plus the political side of things he brings to fmab is interesting and an equally important part of the story. his fight with envy is satisfying and thrilling. levi’s fight with the beast titan, while it is super well animated and cool, kiiiinda falls flat because there was no set-up for him being the one to take the beast titan down (should have been connie). it also ends a bit too fast, honestly.

but hey, you say, aren’t you the one writing 15k worth of fanfiction for levi within two weeks? didn’t see you writing that much for roy. yeah, well, unfortunately, my attraction doesn’t determine the better character and i never said i was proud of this, please leave me alone.

there’s more comparisons i could make - carla and trisha, hohenheim and grisha (ha, trisha and grisha rhyme), roy can also be compared to erwin, there’s multple side characters, but fmab wins, you guys get it.

3. The Story, Plot, Deaths

listen, i get it. aot is a bloody, brutal show and you’re not supposed to get attached to characters. i’m not gonna complain about pointless deaths, because that in itself is the point. it’s like twd or got, it’s gonna have lots of death. but the deaths don’t have to be so stupid. i’m specifically thnking of levi’s squad, because the way they die is so dumb. gunther should not be taken down by a cadet, petra shouldn’t be flying so close to the ground, oluo should know not to engage the female titan alone. these were elite titan killers, they knew not to be stupid. there were ways to kill them off without making them look so stupid. and if there’s not, consider not killing them off just for shock value.

fmab’s deaths mean something, especially since one of its central messages is that life is precious, no matter whose it is. everyone’s life means something and no one dies in vain.

.

there’s more i could go into, but i just spent my entire classtime doing this and now my second one for the day is about to start, sooo i think i’ll stop here. thanks for the ask!

[melodypond-thewomanwhomarriedme]

"Please believe me" for 11/river with lots of angst but a happy ending pleaseeeee :( I miss them so much :(

someone reminded me of the fact that 11 didn't tell cl*ra that river was his wife, or that he was married at all and it made me angry

The first thing she did when she regained consciousness was slap him.

It was instantaneous; one sharp slap as her expression contorted with rage and heartache as their eyes met. Her breathing grew heavy as she struck him, and though he expected it he still cried out in pain and stumbled a few paces back.

"How dare you," she hissed, and when he looked back up at her again, his hand covering his reddening cheek, he saw that she was quivering and her eyes were filled with tears. "How dare you, Doctor."

"River," he gasped, as she advanced on him dangerously again, getting out of the bed and striding calmly towards him. "River, I-"

"How could you trap me in that hell," she started, her voice quiet with fury, "and never return? No visits, no messages - I was in that computer for over a thousand years and you couldn't take a second away from your joyrides to even check if I was still there."

He gulped as she glared at him through her tears, still wearing that ridiculous garb she wore in Trenzalore, her hair like a majestic lion's mane against the bright lights of the medbay.

"I thought you would come back," she said, shutting her eyes. She seemed angry - but not at him this time. At herself. "I thought you would have the decency to just erase me if you couldn't find a way to save me. But you just went off gallivanting with your women. Did you even spare a thought for me at all? Or was I really just Professor Song to you?"

"Don't be - I - River - of course -" the Doctor stammered, but as she watched him, his cheek bright red from the force of her slap, she seemed to lose all the fight in her.

She turned back to the bed and leant on it, her shoulders hunched as she cried.

"I thought you would come back," she repeated, but instead of the fury with which she spat the words out before, now it was with a choked sob as tears poured out of her. "I waited for you. Every day I waited for you, until I realised that you wouldn't come. I was on my own. And then, after Trenzalore, it dawned on me - I was always on my own."

She turned and perched on the edge of the bed, looking at her husband with gaunt eyes and a wry smile.

"You never intended to save me, did you, my love?" she asked softly. "You trapped me there when we met but by the time we married you must have realised just how much I would have hated being in that data core - and yet you never had the decency to even see me there."

The Doctor shut his eyes and looked down. He didn't know what to say - she was right, about all of it. She didn't deserve him; she deserved a husband who loved her selflessly and he - he was the most selfish man in the universe.

"I'm sorry," he whispered brokenly, but it didn't sound enough.

"Did you even grieve for me?" she asked him, but she wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer. "Or did you find some other young, pretty thing to impress? What was her name - Clara, was it? I hope you treated her well, my love." she laughed harshly. " Better than you treated me, anyway."

"Of course I grieved for you," the Doctor answered softly, his eyes still shut tight. He couldn't look at her. "I never stopped grieving for you."

But she shook her head. "You didn't even tell anyone about me. Like I never existed at all." she pointed out to him. "Clara didn't even know you were married - what did you tell her I was?"

He didn't answer for a moment. And then he mumbled, "An ex."

She nodded once. "Is that what you want me to be? An ex? Was that what it took for her to fuck you?"

The Doctor's eyes widened. "No, River -"

"I'm leaving," she interrupted. "If you want me to be an ex, then I'll be one. I've spent too much of my life trying to be someone you can love, Doctor. I'm not about to squander my second chance at living on someone who never wanted me in their life."

"Stop," he whispered.

"Why?" she challenged, eyes blazing. "You know it's true. I gave everything up for you. I gave my lives to you - every single time, I was there for you. And you couldn't even-" she closed her eyes and swallowed as more tears escaped. "You couldn't even get over yourself to visit me. Just admit that it's over, Doctor. Because I am so tired of hurting over this - over you."

"It's not over," he said softly, staggering towards her. His eyes were blinded with tears as he dropped to his knees and held her hands. "It's not over, River. You're right - you deserve better than me. You've given me so much that I don't deserve - and I couldn't - I'm not -" more tears escaped and he took in a shaky breath as he continued. "You asked if I grieved for you. I couldn't - after our last night, I didn't leave the Tardis for over a century. I held your pillow to sleep because it smelled like you. I drove myself crazy because I missed you so much it felt like my hearts were being ripped apart."

He looked up at her and kissed the back of her hands. She was watching him and crying silently, red rimmed eyes cautious but hopeful. But he could still see how betrayed and heartbroken she felt, and he wished that he was a better man.

"I'm sorry." he repeated again. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. You deserve a billion apologies after what I've done to you and it still wouldn't be enough." He pressed another shaky kiss to her skin and she felt his lips quivering against her. "When I found out you escaped, I - I couldn't get there fast enough. I was so - so unbearably happy, River. Happier than I'd ever been. It was like my hearts stopped ripping themselves apart."

He sighed, heavy and remorseful, as he looked down and shook his head. "But I don't deserve you. You're right, River. I didn't tell anyone about you. But only because - because every time I thought about you, all the pain would come flooding back. It reminded me that I could never be with you again. So I didn't tell anyone - it wasn't because - I didn't do it so I could -"

"Are you sure?" she asked, her voice gentler than it had been since she woke up. "She liked you, you know. I could see it. And my love, you are not as innocent as you like to pretend. If she's who you're with now and I've showed up and complicated things, just tell me."

His head shot up and he held tightly onto her hands as he answered with a firm, "No. It's not like that, River. I - not since - I couldn't. Please believe me. Please, River."

"But she-" River frowned. "So you didn't fuck her?"

The Doctor flinched at her curse, but shook his head. "There was never any chance of it."

River looked doubtful but didn't say anything. The Doctor sighed and stood, sitting next to her. She didn't move away but she didn't turn towards him either.

"I didn't forget you. You were everywhere, River. I could hear your voice in my head, telling me that I left the brakes on or scolding me for being so slow." he said. She remained motionless, looking down at her lap. "I know I haven't given you any reason to believe me, but I do love you, River. You're my wife. And I - I'm so happy to see you. I'm so happy that you're alive and breathing and - and free. And if you want to remain free, I won't stop you."

At that, she turned to look at him, her eyes slightly widened in shock. He continued, smiling reassuringly at her.

"You choose what you want, dear. I won't stop you. I can be in your life as your husband, or a friend, or," he paused, as though even thinking the words were hard. "Or I can not be in your life at all. I won't blame you if you choose that. But I wouldn't be a selfish old man if I didn't at least try to convince you to stay."

"Doctor," she whispered, but she didn't seem to know what to say.

"I will be better," he whispered, fresh tears springing into his eyes as he gazed at her. His expression was one of hopeful desperation - she recognised it from when they fought together and were on the brink of losing. She never realised she was something he wanted to fight for. "If it's for you, I know I can be better. Please let me try. You don't owe me anything - God knows I don't deserve this at all - but I swear, River, I'll do everything I can for you."

He reached out to touch her cheek lightly, wiping her tears away. "I've missed you so much. I love you so, so much, River."

He leaned towards her but before he could blink she threw herself into him, sobbing into his chest as she clutched tightly at him. His arms wound themselves around her automatically and he found himself holding her, stroking her hair and shushing her.

"Whatever you choose, dear," he whispered soothingly to her, rubbing her back as she shook in his embrace. "Just remember that I love you. Please, don't forget that."

She cried and cried and cried until she couldn't anymore, until tears refused to fill her eyes again. She felt so conflicted but she knew herself - she knew that there was never any choice to begin with. It was only ever him, the Doctor. Her stupid husband.

'You don't have to choose now," he told her softly, as she stopped shaking and simply rested her head against the wet spot on his chest where she cried. "Think about it for a while."

"I don't have to. I know what to choose," she mumbled against his chest. She pushed herself up and looked into his eyes, her hand reaching up to brush his hair out of his eyes. "Just please, don't make me regret it."

His eyes burned with more tears at the realisation that she was choosing him. He sniffed and dropped his forehead onto hers, hugging her tightly to him.

"I don't deserve you," he whispered again. "River, my wife, my partner - my equal. How could I ever fall in love with anyone after spending centuries loving you?"

She smiled against him. "Don't be an idiot, sweetie."

Their lips met for the first time in centuries.