#but i can't help it i love this thread!

[sandzephyr]

Tayuya was right and deep down Temari knew that. Back then she had gotten lucky with her as her opponent. Something she would never admit to anyone, not even herself. The few seconds Temari spent looking for Tayuya felt like hours. She dodged my three-star attack? The sand nin ground her teeth once more. Tayuya was a good opponent. Even better than before. But Temari was sure that, no matter how hard she had trained in the last five years, a back injury and being in prison would definitely slow down her training. Which meant that Temari must be as strong as her, maybe even stronger? She didn't get another moment. The redhead came from above. Thinking that Tayuya was trying to hit her Temari blocked with her fan. But it became obvious to her that Tayuya was trying to hit her fan. Clever girl. Without her fan Temari would be at least thirty percent weaker. And to say Tayuya knew that would be an understatement. She probably counted on it.

As the redhead swung her blade, a screeching sound reached Temaris ears. It sounded like everything she hated: nails on chalk, fighting cats, giant crickets! But despite the relentless ringing in her ears she only tried focusing on Tayuya. Her eyes. So she would have something visually to focus on. I can't count on my ears anymore. Temari resisted every cell in her body that wanted to crouch down and cover her ears. As Tayuyas spear-like weapon rushed between the segments of her fan, Temari reacted quickly, closing the fan in one movement and clenching her hands around it, in an effort to trap Tayuyas weapon in hers. From the warm feeling sneaking down the sides of her neck Temari deduced that her ears were bleeding. A high pitched note now only rang through her head. For a second the two were just standing there. She barely changed in the last five years, at least from the first glance. Still focused on the others eyes Temari slowly started rotating her fan. For her preferred fighting style Tayuya was way too close. Better get some distance. Looking into her eyes made Temari feel uneasy, her heart beat faster. Another Illusion? Listening Tayuya threaten her friends life made her grip her fan even tighter, giving Tayuya almost no chance of removing her spear. "At least this time you'll get beaten by a jonin!" she said with a snarl, biting the insides of her cheeks as a distraction from the pain her head and ears were in. As her next move she wanted to throw Tayuya back into the trees. But why was she hesitating? Shaking her head and squinting her eyes for a second, Temari gathered consciousness. New plan "You've made a mistake. You told me about your weak spot. Your back." and with that she lifted her fan to thump Tayuya onto the ground, back first. A feeling rushed through her as if she felt part of Tayuyas pain. Temari still didn't understand the inhibition in her own movements. I'm probably just still under her spell. Ignore it!

Should have figured she'd break through the illusion, if the whiny bitch from Konoha had been able to break it, no doubt Temari would figure out how to eventually. Although given how long it took her to figure out the illusion, Tayuya wondered if maybe it would be possible to trap her again. Unlikely, but that didn't mean she wouldn't try again later. Having slashed her hand like that, the pain would likely be enough to break any illusion Tayuya threw at her.

The other Tayuyas had vanished, and were nowhere to be seen in the clearing, along with the real one. "You won through a cheap shot and you KNOW IT." Tayuya's voice echoed before it went silent at Temari's sweeping attack, immediately giving the Sound Four survivor flashbacks.

That fan had cut down an entire forest with her in it, left her a cripple, a prisoner of the anbu and her own broken body!

Never again. Never again! NEVER AGAIN!

Tayuya may be more impulsive now than she had been all those years ago, but she knew one thing, that fan was dangerous. The only way she was going to have an edge here was to either break it, or find some way to separate it from Temari.

She narrowly avoids the gusts, and comes at Temari... from above! Pocketing her flute, she swings a naginata, a long spear with a long curved blade. Each swing and thrust gives off a sharp whistle or warble, of course she's found new ways to incorporate sound into her fighting style.

"You broke my flute last time, so you don't get the Doki... but that's just fine by me, because I wanna grind the life out of you myself!" She thrust the spear forward, attempting to jam the blade between the segments of the folding fan, either make it useless or break it.

The thrust lets loose another whistle, imbued with her chakra, those sound warbles cause even more distortions, not to cast illusions but they would still affect the senses, make sounds unbearable or make it harder to see. "After I've killed you, I'm going for that whiny bitch with the ponytail!"

[unproduciblesmackdown]

revisited some parts of deh i hadn't in a while via obc boots, mostly kicked off by audio of an aus tour show, & it's like now hang on lol reevaluating the whole of heidi's material / that arc like i have been too generous what in the....kind of worked backwards from good for you b/c for that song i've Been like sympathetic re: alana & jared's sections while like Shrug at heidi like i'm on evan's side there really. but the whole thing is like, sympathy for heidi's feelings aside, i'm on evan's side b/c like yeah heidi has feelings & insecurities too but it's not the same peer to peer like fellow unpopular couple of students as parent to child & i'm looking at it all like The Whole Thread is heidi's insecurities as A Mother & the demand is on evan all the time to not just Not cause her insecurity but also assuage ones that have nothing to do with him, e.g. what's he supposed to say about digs at his dad's wife

& like really going over that First Scene i.e. opening scene post evan's soliloquy i.e. anybody have a map it's like. sure only increasingly like Oh Boy when evan not being able to order pizza despite the online option is met with the "you Need to be able to order dinner for yourself" ft. that he should be "too old for this" (disability....grow up) (not a direct quote but rather yknow the "you're a senior in high school, evan" intro) & nothing about like, support or alternatives, certainly nothing about it being Okay that he couldn't. just that he Has to do this thing this way (why. or else what.) & also just the simple fact that evan has been honest about "something wrong with him" / something he did that he figures she wouldn't like & gotten this wholly negative response about that just being Unacceptable to hear, regardless of the "positive" pivot like you can do it re: school, just must not be Trying enough, just must be evan's own attitude or something else about him, the letters had better help....& all this revisiting inspired by beau woodbridge evan's delivery after heidi says the line about Her Not Wanting To Hear (framed about Her Feelings if evan were to Tell her about this) about evan having no friends, & like the delivery of "neither do i??" like a sort of nonplussed indignation that is a kind of "how do you think *i* feel about it??" like no yeah what about evan's feelings about him dealing with his problems here, the one not having dinner, not having friends, not Not having anxiety, etc. like obviously heidi like every person ever has feelings & problems too but it's that the parent's problems are supposed to be Made Up For by the child somehow, while evan's problems are framed as Being A Problem for his mom, how she feels about Knowing about it, try harder please okay evan....but cue, yknow, how she resents evan feeling any responsibility for Her Problems in gfy yknow not insofar as she's been embarrassed to tell him like "yeah money is a problem" when it's been about pushing him to get scholarships but rather when the murphys know (maybe just via evan implying they're Not Rich to zoe after zoe is like ah, to be poor....) that heidi will need Financial Support for college for evan & then heidi like i'm not That poor & to take money would be wrong (always the reminder heidi does not know everything re: evan & connor isn't true either)

which, that last part of her dinner at the murphys pre gfy was really this time hitting like ://// whew okay. all of it always grating lmao but like, "i don't want evan to get the idea etc" like ma'am he's sitting right here? he's seventeen? can't just Declare the ideas evan will or won't absorb even though like yeah also clearly it's about her pride as A Good Mom being wounded & just putting it on evan by expressing it that way like no i have to be A Good Mom via my example, is why i must decline....& like i'm sure it can all be softened depending on how heidi is played but still like, this is about her Full Story / Material, & just what is written lol like even if she was more [pensive emoji single tear] in delivery or something, vs watching the obc like full anger & contempt by this point & i'm like yeah this Shouldn't be familiar if the excuse of like "well heidi is messing up in this Special Occasion, an outlier" really went that far. or was actually out of line w/how she acts other times. or how this all resolves. but heidi storming out While lashing out at evan / blaming him like my god lmfaooo & like. speaking of "do you think the murphy parents did read between the lines & think evan & connor are secret gay high school lovers" like gee evan having no problem moving in to the murphy household, keeping secrets from his mom like his ostensible epic friendship w/connor, not talking aobut her or really trying on his own to involve her, being fairly alarmed when Surprise Dinner With Your Mom, heidi acting like That??? like "do you think the murphy parents read between the lines to think evan is abused by his parent" i mean like lol lmfaooo on both points like heternormativity? the normativity of abuse & parents Owning their child as well? in the murphy household? but you know. of course no deh is not supposed to be about that but i'm like, uh oh, whole time i was like "well my own perspective based on what i learned from personal experience & then learned About such experiences isn't that relevant at least to heidi b/c it's supposed to be that she's Not Like That at the end of the day" but i'm like is it in effect though lol, is it really that different In Essence if not also like "yep the way heidi acts is just directly familiar sometimes. maybe often. or always" difference in degree like. plus just that how often is whatever particular lens/perspective like Useless to apply

anyway & that fight in the leadup to gfy is wild & just like further illuminating re: how the whole time, from the first scene, it's like okay to heidi what's most important in her motivations is Her Insecurity about how anything about evan supposedly reflects on her being a mom, like. again that heidi has no idea everything about evan & connor isn't true & she's just going sicko mode at evan b/c the murphys Aren't His Family, yknow, She is, & that entitlement that's supposed to come with it, evan can't have these other adults acting Parently towards him re: money & housing & dinners & feeling fond of him or anything, all circumventing her status as His Mother....the whole "sorry i can't give you more than that, shit" "well it's not my fault other people can" like yeah sorry about your feelings heidi, yeah it's not "nice" of evan to say that but i'm not like yes evan must never even think things that aren't nice(tm) much less say them, that again like even if we sympathize w/heidi there b/c obviously yeah she'd be hurt & feel insecure. even if we suppose that was mean of evan. i'm like well yeah he's right. just setting aside the apparent universal desire for a life as closely approximating the brady bunch as possible, it's like hey yeah look evan's been getting dinners this way, re: him not ordering a pizza at the start of a show. turning out to be less important like "well at least you've been eating, good" than evan not doing so through the Proper efforts to Become Normal(tm) & of course that like. coming from another mom staying home making him food is unacceptable b/c she imagines this is supplanting her / making her the Bad Mom vs this Good Mom & then taking it out on evan to make her feel Good Enough(tm) like truly just the usual fallback refrain of "ohh sorry i'm not perfect / have feelings / have problems" which is true for everyone ever but yknow evan is the one having to Defend his feelings & problems & imperfections against the fallout of "failing" to be "responsible" for mitigating or fulfilling heidi's & she's the one who can break out "i'm your mother" whereas evan's less overtly declared "i'm your son" about her potentially failing Him is what gets met with more contempt & "ohh sorry i'm not perfect & have feelings & problems" & her starting off Good For You. great

& like the way All That illustrates, like the way evan getting dinner now through a different now available avenue is, to heidi, more about her own feelings than about [evan gets dinner now], like just that expanded to how it's not Okay that evan's problems seem to be getting better / he's getting more support / he's doing better or anything as soon as heidi becomes insecure about her not having the role she wants in it. the entire thread about her being bothered about evan not telling her things, lying about things, hiding things, like yeah evident that she Is worried about him but same as she's evidently worried about him in the first scene, when, again, we Did see him share something honestly with her & she was like "UGH evan jeez i Hate that you told me this" & then her input is to tell him to Get Good, yknow, must be his own failures, get on that. gosh why would he keep anything from her. & then yknow we have that line later on, evan like you don't know me & heidi like "i thought i did" (contempt again) & like the main issue of this not being like "oh no if i Don't know him or about his problems then i'm not supporting him like i thought i was / he's not getting the support Overall i thought he was" but rather like i can't believe evan is doing this to me / her insecurities & evan's "responsibility" for them, again, rather than yknow. evan's wellbeing regardless of her personal feelings? & we're ready for resolution after heidi inadvertently reads his diary to realize he was that sad & it's like. even if he wasn't That Sad like none of that response was okay. at any point lol like it's still the issue of her dynamic with him where evan is In Charge Of how heidi feels & that obviously she can act on this in the ways she can & what can evan do about anything but avoid her / not share things / idk indeed move in with this other family lol, sorry about the pretenses (also obviously like. murphy parents not doing that much better. certainly larry like, are you kidding? never changes his mind that all connor's problems were connor's fault & Failings & now his reaction to it is about facing any insecurity & Rejecting It as no i'm always right & just have to hold out forever. vs that zoe is also bearing the brunt of being Trapped In The Family(tm) but cynthia dares to be like "no, i feel like i failed my dead son" & "no, i don't feel someone 'has to be the bad guy' who tramples boundaries")

like speaking of boundaries. ppl having always pointed out "uh oh, heidi's not good with those" or the point like "in gfy heidi's also mad about the rejection by her ex-husband & just putting that over her fight w/evan" like not beating the [parent making their child the one in charge of them & their feelings & actions] allegations.......

& you know, the resolution like "ohh you were sadder than i knew" like okay Now that matters instead of heidi Just being insecure that he wasn't sharing this with her already, thus the important part being how that makes her feel like a bad mom vs like, how evan is actually doing & her actual role in this beyond what makes her feel best, personally? or that like oh i'm Not going to not be here, physically, in this house....like okay. but what about the actual dynamic you have while around him & you will always be around him, b/c like, has that changed from the start. how is heidi going to offer support re: evan Feeling Like This that's different from "you Need to order pizza and Need to get your cast signed, Just Do It" or that b/c she doesn't want to hear otherwise like well then of course evan won't tell her, or maybe a therapist if that's not confidential, or other people if it'll get back to his mom, or the internet if that'll get back to his mom which i guess it will. is evan gonna be not in charge of her feelings anymore. i'm just like yeah evan find yourself in college sure get outta there idk if you're even rude along the way. & obv shoot larry into the sun

[bookshelf-in-progress]

I've had an odd nostalgia for the Once Upon a Time series of mediocre short-novel-length fairy tale retellings. I've been wanting to read the retelling of "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" from that line.

The trouble is that there is no such book.

Which makes me want to write it.

Unfortunately, the only straightforward traditional retelling of that fairy tale I want to write doesn't fit with that style.

But thinking about it got me excited about that old idea all over again.

[pastafossa]

Hi honey! How are you? How’s your mom doing? I hope she’s better now🥺💚

I’ve recently decided to learn how to book bind bc it’s a must to have my fav fanfics as actual books. I’m still learning and it’s probably gonna take a while before I get the results I want but I wanted to ask you if it was okay with you to book bind The Red Thread? Obviously it would be just for me, I would not sell it or make any profits. (And if it turns out how I want to, I would love to gift you one👀)

It’s one of my favourite fanfics of all time, like it’s a masterpiece and I would love to have a physical copy of it<3

And I know it’s not finished yet but it’d probably have to be a few volumes anyways bc it’s a lot so😅

She's doing ok! Progress is slow but it's definitely happening! She's graduated from at-home physical therapy to outpatient, which is a HUGE thing. We've gotten the house pretty well set up too now (chair lift for a section of stairs not covered before, new railing on the front steps), and between me, dad, and sis's various sleep schedules, we're all able to make sure she has someone nearby when she needs help getting around or opening things. I'm still in caretaker mode and trying to balance everything, but she's getting there, so I hold onto that! As for me, I'm doing... ok I think, considering how exhausting and brutal the past few months have been. I'm taking @shouldbestudying41 's advice and just trying to be kind to myself, and I'll admit my brain seriously needed the break. I continue to miss Cato something awful, but I've felt a little more settled since his ashes came home, and I think I'm starting to adjust to sleeping without him next to my pillow. I also got my follow-up today with my cardiologist on my heart issues and their answer was basically a shrug and a, 'we have no idea why your heart's doing this, but it's getting better every time we test you, so keep doing what you're doing!' Which could be worse. So... I'm getting there. Slow and steady!

And oh my gosh, you absolutely, ABSOLUTELY can bookbind TRT, thank you! 😭The idea anyone would love it enough to bookbind makes me SO FUCKING HAPPY! Hell, if I could sell copies at cost I would, but sadly that's a huge no no and all I can do legally is tell people, YES you can bookbind TRT for your shelf! I'm 100% supportive basically (also I would D I E if I got one, like no pressure at all cause D A Y U M it's a long thing to bind, and also just knowing it's out there on someone's shelf is more than I ever expected would happen so I'm delighted even if you just bind for you!).

TRT volumes one to ten maybe??? LOL. I know I had it planned as a series originally before I decided to just kinda keep it in one thing since we were all already there LOL.

[ichthyorelationships]

only just processed that luca added the flames to the colander helmet...implicitly b/c of alberto’s “also i added flames” dream vespa design alteration...

[melodyplucked]

@depictedblue | did not ask for this but i was ✨inspired✨

    ❝    it’s a special occasion. you have to celebrate cass-    ❞    and with the news of cassie’s album charting, it’s definitely something to celebrate. they’re both performing at the festival this weekend, so they find themselves hanging out while they see the sights outside of their respective rehearsal spaces. especially with nini so often out and about with mimi who just has to show her something new and exciting whenever his girlfriend makes it to europe.    ❝    plus- this gelato place has great reviews.    ❞    so as he walks with her, he extends his hand to lead her to the door. they’ve just been walking around, or so he’s tried to lead her to think. maybe he’s just distracting her from some later surprise, but he won’t say that. but he’s pretty sure gelato and italian ice is a must when you’re in italy… even if she wasn’t celebrating something.

[fictionadventurer]

One of the best parts of the Lincoln book is the bromance between Lincoln and Grant.

When Grant comes into Washington, he shows up at a White House reception day. Lincoln sees him come in and just lights up with a grin, announcing, "Here is General Grant!" as he strides across the room to shake his hand.

Lincoln is 6'4". Grant is 5'8". Please envision what that handshake must have looked like.

Grant, the rugged Western general, is super uncomfortable being the center of attention. Lincoln hands him off to Seward, the resident extrovert, knowing that he can use his decades of experience to help Grant navigate Washington society.

Seward convinces Grant to stand on a couch so everyone can see him.

When Grant takes over command of the army, he starts going after the enemy instead of lollygagging the way previous commanders did. When he sends a message to Lincoln saying that he plans to continue pursuing a battle at all costs, Lincoln hugs and kisses the messenger. He later tells an anecdote celebrating the fact that at last the army is being led by a man.

Near the end of the war, Grant's wife is like, "We should invite Lincoln to come stay with us at camp. He looks really stressed and could use a break." Grant's like, "We can't just invite the president over. It'll look weird, because he's technically allowed to come whenever he wants." Julia's like, "But he looks really stressed." Grant sends the invitation. Lincoln accepts, and gets his longest vacation from Washington since before the war started.

After Lincoln dies, Grant is like, "That is a huge loss for the South. Lincoln would have been kind and magnanimous, and now they'll have to deal with less noble politicians."

[ethanhuntfemmefatale]

thinking again about my beloved tracy thephiladelphiastory. what it means for a girl disillusioned by her father to say 'the right time to decide on someone is never.'

[byanyan]

the amount I've been hoarding away some of the memes I've seen on the dash over the last week or so is so not okay for someone with as many drafts as me ashfjdh

[celestialheal-arch]

damn her and her stupid ability to empathise with whatever creature that crosses her path. she shouldn't be worrying by kar'niss, of all creatures. it will come the time when they will storm moonrise towers to deal with ketheric fucking thorm and she has no doubts the drider will be the first to protect the absolute's goals with everything he has, but there is something... something broken within them and she has never been able to resist the urge to fix what might be mended.

❝ you do this often, then? venture into the dark and guide the lost souls here? ❞

@drydier didn't liked for a starter, but it's getting one anyways.

[unproduciblesmackdown]

another day another "applying the concept 'disposability' to 'someone withdraws from a personal relationship, & that wasn't signed off on by the other'" kill me

[redhead-reporter]

º ✧ 。 ok but what if i paused my queue today and wrote people SHORT (probably shippy) STARTERS?

[pastafossa]

Pasta, I'm finally getting around to watching Daredevil and I'm so reluctant to because of the impending heartache. I really really really wish your fic was canon so Matt has someone who supports him from the beginning. Omg my heart

Honestly, this was one of the reasons I picked Daredevil when a friend said I should try writing a 2nd POV fic. Matt just... from the very beginning, you're just watching Matt physically and emotionally get the shit beat out of him. He's got almost zero support, and it just makes me so goddamn sad because he's a good person, he's traumatized, and still he's trying. He's trying so hard to do the right thing, to save people, to help everyone he can even at the cost of himself, and it just keeps leaving him bloody. I love, I love the series, it's my favorite of all time, I don't want to count how many times I've watched it, but damn is it heartbreaking to watch sometimes.

On the upside, watching Matt go through all that will 9 times of 10 fill you with a burning fire to protect this sad, pathetic, tragic meow meow man, and that's always fun, and also means TRT ends up being very cathartic when I'm not finding other ways to rip your heart out!

There's a reason TRT has the tag: Matt Murdock Gets Some Goddamned Support

[unusualshrimp]

hey sorry i can't come to work today im thinking about the various implications of zombie horror and the way it affects people

[mishkakagehishka]

no fr i worry abt globalization too. like i 100% actually admire and respect the cultures who value taking it easy and relaxing a little more. the US is basically my own personal hell ^^; i have a very low desire to work and just enjoy doing what i love and spending time with people i love, not slaving away to some corporate overlord that doesn't care about my life. i'd love to skip and get coffee with friends, or relax a little more rather than worrying about grades and constantly go-go-going all the time. but alas.

that's just my take, though ^^; (plus i just hate how everything gets made for americans... even being one i always feel kinda sad when cultures adapt to the us, rather than the us adapting to others... there's so much to be learned from other cultures! but you lose so much when everyone starts catering to the americans...)

Yeah, there's good things to take from America (like, okay okay, i shit on the US a lot, but like looking at the past and how it really was seen as a place of opportunity because you could start from zero and still make it - it's no longer a thing, but when it was it was inspiring, or i think we specifically mentioned "fighting for your rights" and "activism" as "good sides of westernisation" while studying it in high school), but the protestant work ethic.... is not it.

And maybe my own people take it too far in the other direction, i know we're stereotyped as excruciatingly lazy even in the north of the same country, but i just believe there's no reason to... put your entire soul into your career. Sure, if your work brings you joy you can allocate your hobby-time to your job-time, but... friends, family, entertainment, art are all things that need their own time. Imo "job" should be pretty low on your priorities (again, unless it brings you joy on par with a hobby. Like, if i manage to find work as a translator, i'll treat that job like my world, but that's bc it'd be on par with a hobby). I think we also use "work to live, don't live to work" to explain it. But we live in such a world :( it's hard, you need money to live, but you have to work so much now that you don't have the time to live anymore.

[melodyplucked]

@inspotlight

listen. if somebody gave me the choice right now of to never see you again or to marry you? i would marry you.

he knows it sounds crazy, the way they've connected this way... in less than 24 hours, she'd become so important to him. he knows no one else he's loved so intensely like this. and this quickly... he looks at nini, looks up at the morning sky, sun on the verge of rising, and turns to her more seriously finally.   ❝    i would marry you too- in a heartbeat. and if that's what it takes, to stay together... it wouldn't even be a question.   ❞    as they sit outside on the balcony of this little airport hotel, he can't help but wish he wasn't getting on that plane back to chicago in a few hours. back to his real life- his ex- his job... but nina- nini, as he'd taken to calling her... she has the same sort of dreams he does... maybe with her he'd follow them- maybe together they'd both be more willing to do that for themselves...   ❝    i really think i might love you- think i would fall in love with you anyway... and i don't really want to go back home-   ❞