#but i feel like this gets the important stuff

[alchemistc]

Based on my own post from earlier this evening because I can't stop thinking about it.

vanilla

He doesn't mean to see it. He swears. It's just - Tommy's laptop is right there and Buck's is all the way in the office and if he doesn't look up the lifespan of a Cecropia moth right now he's going to forget about it for a month only to remember in the middle of something vitally more important than watching Planet Earth reruns.

So he twists the thing around from its spot on the side table, boots it back up, types in Tommy's password (pA$$word3, because no one would ever guess that he'd be both so lazy and so creative in his laziness), and watches Firefox boot itself up. It's an older laptop, and Tommy doesn't take great care of it - case and point, he didn't even close out of his tabs, they're all still there, and - well. Shit.

That's the most ridiculous dildo he's ever seen.

Biggest, too.

Jesus.

Buck immediately forgets 100% of what he was doing.

And - and looking up Tommy's history is absolutely a line crossed - there's no reason for him to fucking spiral just because there's a bright purple dragon something on the screen with a base as wide as Buck's thigh. There's no reason why he should -

He clicks the search history and regrets it pretty immediately.

That kills two hours.

He has three more until Tommy's off shift, and now everything is worse. Because.

Okay so.

Like.

They have a pretty healthy sex life, Buck thinks. A year into Tommy and Buck Part Two and they still can't keep their hands off each other. And - so, like, sue him for preferring all the boring stuff he never really got to enjoy long term - the way he knows Tommy goes a little crazy when they're lying on their sides and Buck can just slip right in and press his lips to Tommy's shoulder, tuck his hand under Tommy's where he's got it on his chest, curl their fingers together and just breath into each thrust. Sue him for liking it when they're face to face and Tommy's looking up at him with the pads of his fingers tracing the shell of Buck's ear and he can see the love love love in his eyes, see the way his tongue curls out Buck's name like a prayer. Sue him for his fantasies always drifting to that sunny afternoon in their bed, Buck on his belly and Tommy everywhere around him, over him, inside of him, humming useless nothings into Buck's ear while the sweat from their skin eased the chafe of being pressed together from pelvis to collarbone.

Buck picks up his phone. Watches the familiar name ring out one, two, three - answered on the fourth ring.

"Am I not kinky enough, do you think?" Buck asks, and gets a drawn out moment of silence.

"Nope," Ravi says, and the call drops.

And who else is he gonna call, really? Hen and Chim? (Hard no, they nipped that in the bud back when Buck and Tommy were still in Part One) Maddie? Another line too far, but this one he doesn't feel like crossing today. Eddie? If he'd even pick up?

Buck dials out again.

Ravi picks up on the second ring. "Buck, I love you man, but I get a front row seat to your little love fest at least once a week, four hours a night. I am not equipped or willing to help you with your sex life."

Fair. That's fair. Boundaries are important. Ravi does an excellent job of setting his up and announcing where they are.

"It's just I found something in Tommy's browser that -."

"Absolutely not. I'll block your number for twenty-four hours."

"Right. Cool. Sure thing." Buck breathes.

"Talk to Tommy, if you're freaking out about it." Ravi caves, just a bit. "Every time. I say this every time, and it always works, doesn't it?"

True. On both accounts. When did Ravi become his go to guy?

(When he started picking up the phone whenever Buck called. When he came to Buck with his own shit and didn't apologize for it.)

"Yeah. You're right. I'm gonna talk to him."

"We're still on for Friday, right?"

Buck has to search his memory to figure out what he's referencing. Tommy's taking Ravi to the farmers market over in Venice Beach that Buck refuses to go to on principle because Sherri's Treats aren't even homemade. She gets the baked goods from Costco and decorates them with store brand icing.

"Talk to Tommy," Buck throws back, just to be a brat, and Ravi sighs.

"Touche."

He's still freaking out when the call ends three minutes later, and he doesn't want to have to pull this trigger.

Except. Like. It's still there. Right on Tommy's screen. Watching him.

The phone rings six times.

He's contemplating how ridiculous it is to leave a voicemail when Lucy answers with a groggy "'lo?"

"Am I not kinky enough?" Buck asks, and gets the start of a cackle and then a long, slow pause.

She's gonna hang up on him. She's absolutely going to -

"It's ten-thirty in the morning on a Wednesday, Buckley."

And it sure is.

God, this would never have happened if he hadn't started an update on his phone mid-episode.

"Walk me through it," she continues, all business, all of a sudden, and so Buck tells her, grateful for her hums and uhuh's as she starts her day. Buck talks over the sound of her brushing her teeth, and pouring her coffee, and absolutely doesn't mention that he thinks she should probably have better sleeping patterns while he spirals about Tommy being unsatisfied with the sex they have.

"Gonna break bro code here a little to tell you you have literally nothing to worry about there. Seriously. You're getting gold stars every night, I promise you."

"He's been looking up gimp suits and gags, Lucy!"

She's quiet on the other end, for a moment.

Then she starts laughing.

Again.

Which is a great feeling for Buck. He loves it when Lucy laughs at him.

"Oh, Jesus, I'm sorry. Honey those aren't for you."

Well, now he's kinda mad at the implication that Tommy would -

"Not for Tommy, either," she interrupts, like she knows where that spiral leads. "I forgot what time of year it was. This is new for you."

"What's new for me?"

He can picture the sly grin on her face as she pours something into a bowl - milk maybe. Then cereal.

God, what a psycho.

"Tommy and an army buddy of his have had this escalating prank war going on for like...seven, eight years? I don't know, I wasn't here at the start of it, but I guess it started as the most heterosexual man you've ever met trying to be a good ally to his newly out buddy and sending a set of butt plugs to the only address of Tommy's he had available."

Weird. But not the weirdest thing he's ever heard. "Which was?"

"Oh, Harbor. Yeah. Got it his first week there. So now every year on the anniversary they try to send each other shit at work that should technically be grounds for a sexual harassment claim from their coworkers. Last year Tommy got a fully custom furry suit. Dude probably dropped thirty grand on that thing."

He shouldn't ask. He definitely shouldn't -

"It was a horse. Because of his big fat -."

"I get the picture, thanks."

"So yeah. It's coming up on time for them to push a boundary a little too far and actually have someone complain about it, this time. They won't stop until one of them gets a write up."

It's kinda funny. Kinda sweet, too, in that really weird way military men are with each other. Irrationally, Buck kinda wants to slew foot the guy for being an unintentionally massive flirt.

Straight dudes are the literal worst at allyship, in the weirdest ways possible.

"He's out of state, so don't go getting territorial, Buckley."

Never gonna live that down.

"But seriously though? Back to the original point. Which is you freaking out that Tommy is unsatisfied in your sex life. Number one: talk to him. You guys are the actual worst. Always gotta have a second opinion before you bite the bullet and do the normal thing. Number two: I know too much. And I know you have nothing to worry about. Number three: when he gets home I want you to record his reaction when you turn the laptop screen on him like a spurned wife and send it to me. I'm having a bad day. I could use the entertainment."

"You just woke up."

"And had to talk an old coworker down from a ledge about how satisfying his sex life is with a current coworker. Bareback, no lube, just wake up and go."

"I think this also counts as sexual harassment."

"You started this conversation with 'am I kinky enough' so I'm not super concerned."

By the time he gets off the phone with Lucy he's very firmly on solid ground. And also wondering exactly how much Tommy actually talks about their sex life when he's not around. Tommy keeps things pretty close to the vest. He can't imagine he's going around bragging about that time he started crying when Buck hit his prostate right as he licked into his mouth and slid a hand up his arm to link their fingers together.

Maybe in less detail.

Something about seeing God, maybe. That seems more like his style.

---

Tommy has a routine, when he gets home from work. Keys hung up, jacket on the coat rack, duffle tucked into one of the cubbies of his makeshift mud room. Shoes under the bench, two minutes of head scritches for Goose as she meows her way down the hall to greet the only man she'll ever love.

(Buck's super cool about the fact that Tommy's breakup cat hates him. Totally chill.)

When Goose has had her fill and darted off to go bounce off the walls of the office, Tommy likes to amble in to whatever room Buck is in and drape himself across Buck's back for a moment, mouth pressed to the knob of Buck's spine, hands roaming for a moment before he manages a greeting.

He's making risotto for dinner when he hears the lock click in the front door.

He's ignoring Lucy's text reminding him to get a reaction shot.

He listens to Tommy talk back to Goose like he understands every "mrow" listens for the shuffle of socked feet down the hall, listens to him pad across the kitchen tiles, braces himself for the dead weight of Tommy against his back.

Tommy's got a hand halfway up his shirt when he mumbles into Buck's ear. "So I hear we have something to talk about."

"Ravi snitched."

"Ravi still thinks I'm the sensible one, of the two of us."

Buck snorts. Tips his head back against Tommy's shoulder and basks in the moment while Tommy buries his nose behind Buck's ear.

"Before I say anything else, I know you said I can use your laptop whenever I want but you should know I definitely snooped where I shouldn't and jumped to some wild conclusions. Which Lucy has already cleared up on your behalf, because apparently we're both too chicken shit to have a conversation without using a lifeline."

Tommy stills. "I didn't close out my browser session last time, did I?"

"You did not."

"And Lucy told you about the horse costume Dom sent me last year."

"She sure did. She very specifically called it a furry suit, though."

Tommy blows out an exasperated breath against his neck. "And you were freaking out because...?"

"I thought maybe you were bored with the sex we have."

That gets Tommy going. He pulls free just to get enough leverage to spin Buck to face him, hands on his hips and eyes catching Buck's like if he doesn't see Buck's eyes in the next five seconds he'll do something crazy, and Buck doesn't really know how he got so lucky but he's not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth. Even if it's a furry.

"Evan. Please understand when I say this I'm not exaggerating. Our sex is life altering. I want to have slow, quiet, vanilla sex with you until the day I die."

"Which won't be for like another fifty years."

Tommy hums. "I'm gonna be popping Blue Chew when I'm ninety-five and have two bum hips."

"Oh, so I have to do all the work?"

"Why do you think I dated younger?"

Buck has to kiss him about it. And then he has to pull back and duck his head to remind Tommy of the part he blazed right past. "Full disclosure, when I said I snooped I meant I went into your search history."

Tommy's chuckle shakes them both. "I figured. You go back far enough to find the single porn link in amidst all the shitty plastic used actuators for sale on eBay?"

"I'm not a masochist, Tommy." Figures he'd get so frustrated looking for a part to fix the rattling in the Jeeps dash he'd want to rub one out. Usually takes him more than a single video, though. Probably he'd decided he'd feel too guilty to actually get off until he had the part ordered.

Tommy shifts his weight a bit. Wedges a knee in between Buck's legs. His eyes get that sparkle to them that means he finds Buck to be an adorable menace. "How married to the risotto are you?" he asks, hands shifting from Buck's hips to behind his thighs.

"Not - not terribly." It had been a distraction from thinking about Tommy's army buddy, mostly. The recipe still isn't perfected and even though Tommy's complimented it every time, Buck can tell it's missing something and Tommy is just letting him figure it out on his own.

"Maybe we could order in and I can show you how satisfied I am with your service."

"We - that's definitely an option. On the table."

"How about this very sturdy counter, instead?"

They haven't done it somewhere not-the-bed in months.

Their knees aren't gonna thank them for it.

Buck has to attempt to ignore Tommy mouthing at his neck to remember if there are enough ice packs in the freezer for the both of them, right now.

"Yeah - yep, let's do that instead."

Tommy gets both hands under his ass and lifts.

He doesn't quite swoon over the move, anymore, but it still makes him more than a little giddy.

"Wait, did you decide on the dildo over the gimp suit, because if you're escalating at the same rate as your friend I think -."

"Can we talk about Dom after I get my satisfaction scores in, please?"

"Shutting up now."

"I don't believe that for a second," Tommy says, and then shuts him up with his mouth anyway, just for good measure.

[robobarbie]

I turned 30 today!!! Happy birthday to ME!!!! Here's a picture of me with the guy I've been dating. He's kinda like a mix of Toasty and Quest -- a glorious combo.

It's been a while since I posted here, so I figured a 30th birthday is the perfect time for a short little reflective post. Can't believe I'm older than all the BP LIs now -- crazy stuff!!!!

Anyway. Here's some things I recommend from experiences in my 20s.

1. Try therapy

As y'all know, I've pulled back from a lot of stuff online. I've been going through a bit of a life reset since 2022, but it started really getting better when I finally ripped the bandaid off and started therapy in 2023. It wasn't an easy start, but it's helped me actually address bad habits within myself that I thought (incorrectly) I was dealing with well on my own. It's freeing. It's humbling. It's made me excited for what's ahead.

2. Exercise

I started working out seriously in my mid-20s and went through waves of how active I was. But when I was active, I saw a noticeable difference in my mood and energy, especially when it came to managing my misophonia. It's not a cure-all, but it is a great boost that helps me through each week. I focus on weight training and love it for the challenge 💪 do whatever feels best to you!

3. Accept not being "the best"

Like many of you, I grew up pretty smart and that led to a lot of feelings of personal failure if I fucked up in even the smallest ways that made me look "lesser" (non-perfect scores on tests, failing to understand concepts my coworkers got easily, etc). This even used to bleed into game dev, where suddenly a lot of people looked up to me after BP. Learning to let go of that pressure was freeing. I am not a figure on a mountain top -- I am just me.

4. Keep your hobbies fun

I hated game dev for a while because of things like in #3. It became something I had to do to maintain some arbitrary status instead of something I did for fun. It was hard to recognize that in myself and correct it, but I'm glad I did. So, sorry Adonia AI is taking longer than I thought, but I am simply loving life too much rn!!!! And I love game dev again too, which is the best realization of all.

5. Spend time with people

It gets harder to make close friends as you get older. People get busy. Life gets hectic. You get tired. But making the effort to spend time with people is important. Study after study shows that the healthiest and happiest people as they age are those who have good bonds with other people. And I can definitely feel that.

-----------

Love y'all. Stay healthy and stay safe 💚

[socpens]

I noticed you dont do as much music & concert filming (under the name Midnite Factory) as you did 2019-2022, why dont you do as much of that anymore?

the landscape for media has changed. from 2018 to 2021 posting concert recaps & visuals on social media was an important thing to do, and having them stand out visually was important. so i did a lot of visual media for musicians for album releases, concerts, etc. however post-covid social media changed a lot. my work changed from being referred to as 'visuals' to being called 'content'. the requests became much lower effort (dont use your old cameras, no effects, just use your phone vertically to record). essentially the music industry caught on that posting ANYTHING is more important than posting SOMETHING. the quality of music promo doesn't matter anymore because of how much gets posted & shared online every day. i got told many times by many different artist managers that they loved my stuff but it wasn't being 'appreciated', which really just means people weren't clicking. so i stopped working in music. i will still come back for the odd request if it's a musician i know and i really like what they're trying to do and it feels different. but, and i hate to be a doomer, the state of social media has ruined promotional work for music. at least, the type of work i enjoyed doing in that space.

[moonstruckme]

Heyy this is my first time I'm requesting from you so I hope I'm doing this properly. I love your fics so much I literally always go to your profile since it's a comfort space for me. I had a flight today that I had to reschedule because I forgot to make an important document. Thankfully it only came to me having to reschedule the flight but I feel so bad cause I feel like I'm constantly forgetting important stuff and making mistakes and have people scramble around me to help fix it even if they tell me it's ok i feel so so bad. Can you write me a comfort fic around smthn like that? Marauders, anyone of them is fine or poly. Sorry if my request is too specific and thx!! 💜

Thanks for requesting angel <3

poly!marauders x fem!reader ♡ 1k words

“Walk faster,” you call over your shoulder, laughing.

“Relax.” Sirius’ tone is scoffing. He refuses to quicken his pace down the sidewalk. “They’re not going to kick us out for being ten minutes late, you pest.” 

“They might! It’ll be fifteen by the time we get there at this rate.” 

“And if they do,” James says, catching up to you and throwing an arm around your shoulders, “you can tell them it was all Sirius’ fault.” 

Sirius scoffs again, but it’s an amused sound. James can practically feel Remus’ fond look directed at your slow-moving boyfriend. You’re all in a good, sunshiney mood after spending a long afternoon at the park, teasing without bite and taking pauses for kisses in between quips. Your idea to make reservations at everyone’s favorite dinner spot, always too busy to walk into on a weekend night, was inspired; James’ heart feels as full as his stomach does empty. Nothing sounds better than tucking into a good meal and then spending the rest of the evening near comatose with all of you on the couch. 

You’re twelve minutes late by the time you make it into the restaurant. (James wouldn’t have guessed, but you make a point to let Sirius know.) You give the hostess your name, and she begins searching for your reservation on her list. 

“I apologize, it doesn’t seem we have you down here,” she says after a few moments. 

You smile, sheepish (and adorable). “Yeah, we’re a bit late, sorry. The reservation was actually for seven.” 

“Right.” The hostess glances over the list again, hesitating. “I don’t see your name here at all, I’m afraid.” 

“Oh. Um.” You begin chewing your lip. James exchanges a look with Remus. “I’m sorry, can you check one more time? Just to be sure.” 

The hostess is accommodating. She has you spell out your name, running through the list again before telling you again, remorsefully, that it’s not there. 

“Is it possible you booked with our other location?” she asks you.

Any remnants of a smile drain from your face. Your eyes round out. “There’s another location?” 

“Yes.” She gives you a thin smile. “We have one south of the river as well.” 

“I had no idea,” you say, voice quieter than it had been. 

“Me neither,” James chimes in in solidarity. You’re getting this look like you think you’re an island. Waiting to be attacked from all sides. 

“Alright, that’s okay.” Sirius reaches over to squeeze your shoulder, sensing with the rest of them your rising embarrassment. “We’ll just go there, then. Thank you.” He shoots the hostess a winning smile and leads you back towards the door. 

“I’m sorry,” you say as you go outside. “I had no—I didn’t think to check if there was more than one.” 

“It’s fine.” James shoots you a smile. Remus is already on his phone finding the other location. “I wouldn’t have guessed there was another one either, lovely. But maybe it’ll be even better, yeah? We might end up crossing the river every time if we really love it.” 

You look slightly comforted, but then Remus says, almost under his breath, “Oh.” 

You slow your pace warily. “What?” 

“Um.” He looks up from his phone, wincing like he doesn’t want to say. “It looks like the other location closes a bit earlier than this one. Even if they let us keep our reservation, I’m not very sure we’d make it, and with traffic…” 

“Oh my god.” You bring a hand to your face, rubbing harshly above your brow. “I’m so sorry.” 

“We can find somewhere else to eat around here,” Remus tries to placate you. “It’s not a problem. I think we’re all hungry enough that any food would be good, yeah?” 

“Yes,” James agrees heartily. 

You, however, remain put out. Your walk back to the car becomes a trudge, guilt thickening the air around you. 

“Hey.” Sirius bumps your hip with his. “It’s fine, baby. Everything’s fine. We aren’t going to go hungry.” 

“I know, I just…” You shake your head, gnawing cruelly on your lower lip. “I’m always messing this stuff up. I’m really sorry.” 

James watches as Sirius’ brow creases defensively. Remus ducks to try and catch your eye. “What makes you say that, lovely? This could have happened to anyone.” 

“It always happens to me, though,” you confess lowly. A moment later, you seem to change your mind, waving it away with forced lightness. “It’s fine. I’m just sorry.”

“It only happened to you because you were the one with the idea to make a reservation,” James points out. “We still wouldn’t have ended up with a table if you hadn’t done anything. It was just a little mistake.” 

“Okay,” you say, but your voice is quiet. Your smile wan. “Where should we go?” 

“Hey.” Sirius grabs your hand before you can get into the car. He pulls you into a hug. “Get over yourself, yeah?” he says, squeezing your middle. “Nobody’s upset with you. The same thing could have happened with literally any one of us. If you’d asked me to make the reservation, I would’ve known fuck all about there being more than one and done the exact same. So you’re off the hook, okay?”

“Okay,” you murmur again. 

“That’s right,” says James, taking the opportunity of Sirius’ distraction to position himself closest to the passenger door. Remus sends him a knowing look from across the car. “If Sirius could have done it, it can’t be anything bad.” 

“Precisely.” Sirius grins. He lets go of you but keeps you trapped with his hands on your shoulders, his eyes narrowing playfully. “Stop punishing yourself. No one is asking you to.” 

You shrink a bit, shying in a way that’s difficult to avoid when Sirius makes his gaze all intense like that. Remus looks to be hiding a smile. “Okay,” you say for a third time, sounding like you mean it. “Thanks.” 

“Don’t mention it.” Sirius lets you go, signaling for you to get in the car with a pat to your bum. “James, don’t think I don’t see you edging in on my seat there. Turn it around.” 

[mintyys-blog]

Hi I love your writing and invincible stuff so much if it’s not too much, could you make the mark variants with reader who is still trying to recover from a bad relationship and she’s healed from it but she’s just afraid to date anyone because she’s afraid that she’ll have to deal with it again .

Please and thank you 🍰

HEADCANONS | variants with s/o who came from a toxic relationship

INVINCIBLE MASTERLIST | WARNINGS: mention of toxic relationships, murder, toxic behaviour (Sinsiter Mark)

Kindly respect my work. No reposts, translations, or rewrites — AI-generated or not — without my consent. © @mintyys-blog

MAIN MARK

Mark doesn’t rush her. He knows what it’s like to be hurt, to question everything, to feel like love might never be safe again. So he’s patient — endlessly so. When she hesitates, when she pulls back even after they’ve laughed all night, he doesn’t get upset. He just smiles, soft and steady, and says, “It’s okay. Take your time.”

He makes sure she knows she can talk to him, always. “Communication’s important,” he tells her one night while they’re watching the stars. “Even if it’s hard. Even if it’s messy. You don’t have to keep anything inside when you’re with me.”

And he means it. He never pushes her to share, but when she does — even in fragments — he listens. No judgment. No pressure. Just a boy who cares, who wants to be the safe place someone else couldn’t be.

He shows love in small, quiet ways: warming up her favorite food after a long day, sending her random messages just to check in, holding her hand just long enough for her to squeeze back. Every time she opens up, he treats it like a gift. Because to him, it is.

“You don’t have to be perfect,” he whispers into her hair once, holding her close. “You just have to be you. I can handle the rest.”

MOHAWK MARK

The second he finds out what her ex put her through ��� the control, the emotional bruises, the way she still flinches when people raise their voices — his entire mood shifts. The air stills around him. His fists curl at his sides, jaw tight. He doesn’t say anything at first, just seethes.

“He’s still walking around like nothing happened?” he mutters, voice low and dangerous. She panics a little, tugging at his sleeve, already telling him not to do anything reckless.

“I’m not gonna kill him,” he says, but it sounds more like a promise to himself than to her. And yet with her, it’s different.

Mark isn’t soft by nature, but he’s steady. Protective. When she admits that she’s scared of dating again — scared that maybe this is just how love goes — he doesn’t laugh or dismiss her. He doesn’t rush her either. He just nods, quiet, and says, “Then we take it slow. No pressure.”

He doesn’t know how to say I’m proud of you without sounding gruff, so he shows it in little things — letting her vent without judgment, brushing her hand when she gets nervous, standing behind her like a wall when things feel overwhelming.

“If you ever feel like things are too much,” he says one night, “you can lean on me. I’m not going anywhere.”

And she believes him — not because he says the perfect words, but because he means them. Because no matter how messy things get, he’s not afraid of what comes with her healing. He’s not here for the version of her that smiles all the time — he’s here for all of it.“You’ve been through hell,” he says, brushing her cheek with his thumb, “but you’re still standing. That matters.”

SINISTER MARK

He’s not interested in healing her — not really. He’s interested in owning her. And the moment he learns about her past relationship, something cold and calculating flickers behind his eyes. “Oh, so that’s why you flinch when people raise their voice,” he mutters once, with a faint smirk. “Cute.”

He tracks down her ex — doesn’t say a word about it, doesn’t even seem angry — but the man disappears shortly after. And when she asks if he had anything to do with it, Mark only shrugs, indifferent. “Doesn’t matter. He won’t hurt you again.”

That should be comforting. But there’s something in his tone that makes it feel more like a threat. He starts slow. Subtle. He doesn’t berate her — not outright — but he plants seeds.

“You’re lucky I’m not like him, right?”

“You always get so emotional. Maybe that’s why he treated you like that.”

“You’d fall apart without me.”

And the twisted part is: he makes her feel loved. In his own warped way. He touches her gently after every cold word. He praises her just enough to make the insults feel like truth. He keeps her just high enough that she doubts the fall.

He never tells her she’s worthless — but he lets her believe she’s only safe in his orbit. That he is the upgrade, the savior, the one who knows her better than anyone else.

And when she finally catches on — when she’s staring in the mirror, trying to remember when she stopped recognizing herself — she’s already in love. Already tangled in him. Already his.

And that’s exactly how he likes it.

OMNI MARK

Mark wouldn’t make a grand show of it.

He wouldn’t shout, wouldn’t threaten — he’d just disappear for a few hours after finding out about the ex who hurt her. No costume. No fanfare. Just him, moving like a silent weapon across continents. When he returns, there’s blood on his knuckles, a shallow cut on his lip, and a calmness in his expression that makes her stomach twist. He doesn’t even bring it up unless she asks.

“He won’t be a problem anymore,” he says simply, wiping his hands on a towel, like he just finished fixing a car instead of ending someone’s life.

It’s terrifying. But also strangely… comforting. Because Mark is not a gentle man. He doesn’t pretend to be. But if he’s with her, it means she’s someone he’s chosen — someone he protects with the same ruthless force he uses to crush enemies.

He’s not soft about it. Not emotional. But sometimes, when she’s quiet or distant — still flinching from ghosts that aren’t there — he’ll wrap an arm around her and press a kiss to the top of her head.

“You don’t need to be afraid anymore,” he murmurs. And he means it. Because in his eyes, love isn’t just affection — it’s annihilation of anything that dares to harm what’s his.

VILTRUMITE MARK

Mark doesn’t need to raise his voice. His presence alone speaks louder than any threat ever could.

The first time someone dared mention her ex in a dismissive tone — just a joke, they said — Mark didn’t even blink. He just stepped forward, calm and composed, and stared them down with the kind of quiet that made the air hard to breathe. “No one disrespects her,” he said, tone even, almost cold. “Not in front of me. Not ever.”

He doesn’t give speeches. He doesn’t need to. The look in his eyes — the weight of centuries of Viltrumite power behind his silence — says everything.

And that reputation follows. People learn quickly that she’s off-limits. Not because she’s fragile. But because she’s his, and Viltrumite Mark doesn’t tolerate disrespect to what he considers sacred.

At home, though, he’s different. He listens. He learns how much the past hurt her, how much she’s trying to rebuild. He might not fully understand human fears — heartbreak, betrayal — but he wants to. For her.

“I can’t erase the past,” he tells her once, fingers brushing her cheek. “But I can make damn sure nothing like that touches you again.” And he means it — with all the terrifying, unwavering certainty that comes with being born a weapon, and choosing to love instead.

PRISONER MARK

Mark isn’t perfect—he’s rough around the edges, scarred inside and out, and built more for survival than softness. But with her, he tries. God, he tries so hard.

He knows what she’s been through. He sees it in the way she flinches at sudden changes in tone, the way she hesitates when she speaks her mind, like she’s bracing to be shut down. And it pisses him off—not at her, but at whoever made her feel that way.

He doesn’t always know what to say, but his actions scream louder than words ever could.

He’s patient, in his own way. He holds her tighter on bad nights. Doesn’t push when she pulls away. Lets her set the pace. And when she questions why he even stays—why he bothers—his voice goes low, serious.

“Because you deserve someone who doesn’t make you afraid to love again.”

He never calls what they have perfect, but it’s real. He brings her little things—stupid trinkets he finds, pieces of the outside world he knows she’ll like. Cooks for her when he can. Rests his scarred head in her lap, looking up at her like she’s the only soft thing left in his world.

He might’ve come from a place built on cruelty, but with her, he’s learning something else—what it really means to protect. To love. To be more than what he was made for.

TAG LIST ; @onlybatsyy

[lover-of-mine]

i know everything sucks rn but something's been bugging me, wondering if you have any thoughts on buck's outfit when he's looking at apartments. it reminds me of the tsunami outfit?? (i know the shirt is redder but it's a similar color to what it looks like wet, i think)

Boy do I have thoughts. Red is a signature color for Buck, wearing this bright reds is a thing he does a lot. But he does not have a fully red outfit in 8 before that scene. He has red plaid, but not a fully true red outfit. And even in season s7, the reds we see him in are more muted tones. And they stop showing up in 704.

I have been WAITING for Buck to get a true red outfit all season. It is still a bit too orange, but I'll take it

Yes, it is similar to the wet version of the tsunami outfit.

But I think the important callbacks here are Buck, Actually and the is that really love speech in the s5 finale.

It's about Buck needing the change and feeling ready for more but not being able to reach it, to figure out how to get there. Buck has a lot of breakthroughs about love in red. The jacket over there is also in the scene about madney.

When he moves out from Abby's place because he needs to figure out what's next, when he actually talks to Abby about it all. It's about Buck being ready to do something about it. And with Oliver saying he wants Buck's next relationship to come from a well thought out place? I'm looking.

But the orange tone of that red actually got me thinking about this jacket.

Because Buck wants a house that feels like Eddie's. And the thing about the house is not the house, is that it is Eddie's. Home is not a place is a person yada yada. But I was thinking about this because Eddie's breakdown is the first time we see Buck using his key to the house. Like, he's been in it without Eddie before, but he's always already there. Opening the door while Eddie is breaking his room has a different connotation than just the camera panning to Buck somewhere in the house.

Anyway, I think they left the house thing vague on purpose, Eddie is moving back and Buck wants to move out, but he didn't pick somewhere yet, that opens a lot of possibilities. Not that I trust the show to pick the most interesting one, but there are a few nice ways this could play out. And putting Buck back in red at that particular moment could be about Buck being ready to truly look, since he kept ignoring the house being Eddie's and the whole metaphor for unpacking stuff they did with Buck's feelings and the house. Letting Buck think about what he wants and how he can get it and truly do this for him.

[bella-rose29]

there is literally no reason to use ai

none at all

I'm going on a rant I'm sorry but it pains me so much to see people using it because where are your critical thinking skills??? this is the point of being human, is thinking and creating for ourselves so that we can also create joy. not just joy for us, but joy for others, because whatever work you put out someone out there will enjoy it.

as a writer and someone who dabbles in art it makes me so sad when I see ai based work, because these things are what make us human!!!!

we've been telling stories since the beginning of humanity!!! we've been creating art since then too!!! it's how we communicate and interact and express ourselves, and best of all it doesn't cost the planet.

there's one specific post that always comes to mind when ai is mentioned now, and it's someone saying "I will never understand how high schoolers managed before chat. your telling me you sat here and wrote a 600 word essay by yourself..."

yes, the wrong your was used. yes, the caption said "yet I'm still failing".

600 words is nothing. I can sit and write 600 words in about half an hour. yes okay I'm a fast writer and even faster typer, but 600 words is nothing, and the reason I can write it so fast is because I developed the skills for it. if people use ai for schoolwork then people will get dumber, because they won't develop the things they need to be able to write properly. and I don't just mean essays and stories (because yeah I'm predominantly a fic writer), but basic things like problem solving and writing a simple email.

my uni degree is classics so I have to write super long essays (6000 words is the longest I've done, the rest are between 2k and 3k words), and I have to use my brain for it. I can't just plug the question into chat gpt and hand that in, not just because we have ai checkers but because I need an opinion and I need to analyse and debate and think. 600 words of essay is nothing, but it sets you up for doing longer pieces like 2500 words of essay. I'm aware that not everyone will study a subject that needs essays, and not everyone will go to uni, but this stuff is important.

as an artist (ish) it upsets me because I know how much work and time and effort goes into creating a piece. my mum does a lot of painting and she spends hours and hours and hours on one piece, and feels so great about herself after because she can look at it and say wow, *I* did that. art has done wonders for all my family, and it does wonders for me. it doesn't have to be perfect but that's the whole point, because it shows that a human created it. by using ai it diminishes the artists who work so hard to get their pieces out there for people to see and enjoy

so yeah, there's no reason to use ai. not ever, not even a little bit. I have no idea how coherent any of this is, but oh well

[antlerqueensab]

tell me more about travis when you first get back from the wilderness🙏

like post rescue but still young

oh, how i love post-rescue trav ☹️ he's literally my baby idc

i feel like for sure he'd be so focused on constant reassurance, like after everything you two went through in the wilderness, he'd NEED to be absolutely sure everything was okay and that you wouldn't leave. you both do a lot of things together after a month or so of being used to being back in civilization again, so occasional dates, going for drives, going to get food in diners/restaurants, etc. aka, you both can finally be a real high school couple!!

sleepovers are a very common thing. not as much at his house for obvious reasons, but since you still have a full family, maybe even a sibling or two, he likes the loudness. sleeps like a baby the first month or so since you both got used to that cramped hammock and the floor of the attic (since the girls let you two have privacy since you were the only actual couple straight away). so now that you both have comforters and the comfiest bed ever, he's instantly asleep and clinging to you

with school - since you and travis were both juniors when the plane crashed, it would definitely take a while for you both, and the other girls, to get used to it again. the counselors/whoever's in charge in the office would be surprisingly accommodating and let you both take all your important classes together, which actually helps travis a lot. again, he's scared that he'll lose you, even though he knows that you both are okay now

you both would be sooo comfortable around each other with all the shit that you've been through. like, if one of you gets sick, no big deal! you both have seen each other/taken care of each other plenty of times before! if one of you gets a bad wound - where usually either of you would get squeamish - again, no biggie! you both have so many memories/scars from small accidents like tripping over the smallest things, hurting yourselves during a hunt, absolutely tripping out on drugs, all of that stuff. so you guys can be completely yourselves with no problem!

i also feel like showering/bathing together would be a common thing too. not even for sex or anything like that, more of a comfort thing. the lake during spring and summer was a common place to clean up in the wilderness, and both of you would help each other there anyway. so now that you can actually have running hot water and literal endless choices of good soaps and whatever else you'd want to use, it was basically like heaven.

that, and i feel like especially post-rescue, travis would be very big on taking care of you/you taking care of each other. so it's something that he asks for and that he craved. it's something so insanely intimate on different levels, and he has so much love in his heart for you that he just needs to be gentle and reassuring with you in any way he can

༄˖°.🍂.ೃ࿔*:･ please send more asks omg 😭 nsfw or just small thoughts like this, it doesn't matter, i'll write it!!

[stagkingswife]

A Spirit Doctor's Top 5 Tips Before Swearing an Oath

It's been a while since I actively solicited for clients, so some of you may not know that I work as a spirit doctor. My specialty is oaths and agreements, and the making, breaking, and negotiating thereof.

Basically I'm a spiritual contract and divorce lawyer. You made an oath to an entity and now you regret it and you want to get out of it, you call me. I'll get you out of the oath with minimal damage - You might still have to make an offering once a year on a particular holy day, maybe you have to arrange for a new follower or two to balance out the loss of your worship (or maybe I'll take this one for you, depending on the situation, I have also been known to arrange matches), you get the point. But I also consult on oaths before they're sworn, so that you don't need my help to break it down the line. A friend of mine was recently preparing to swear an oath to an entity in their life and asked for my tips for Oath constructions, here's my Top 5*:

1) Write out your oath in some way, preferably before you swear it, so you have a document that you can amend: Being oath bound to an entity is kind of like like being married to someone, the relationship changes over time, so the rules of the relationship needs to change with it. But these relationship rules can be a little stricter than others, and it can be to keep track of these rules in our heads all of the time - do you give offerings on Wednesdays or Sundays? Was it wine or whiskey? If you've sworn to multiple entities this can get even harder. So I recommend keeping a written version of your oath that you can add and remove clauses from as your relationship grows and changes. I also think it's also kind of nice to have a record to look back on. It charts the growth and changes of your relationship over time - I think that's sweet.

2) Include specific rules for amending your oath: We covered that the rules of our relationships can change above, but because we're dealing with spirits it can be helpful to lay down some rules about how to change the rules of the relationship. How do you propose an amendment to the oath? Can you do it at any time or only on certain important days? Can either of you propose amendments? Is there veto power? stuff like that. The answers to those sorts of questions will vary with each relationship, but I always feel like it's better to know the answers and not need them than it is to need them and not know.

3) Have a One Year Trial Clause - especially if it's your first oath, or if you haven't been in some sort of close relationship with the entity for several years before swearing your oath. I always feel like it's a good idea to write your oath in such a way that the first year is basically a trial period, with a re-dedication at the end of the first year to make the oath fully binding. Think of it like dating before you get married, or a 3 month trial period at a new job. It just give you a some time to adapt to the new situation, to any new taboos or expectations there might be, and then a comfortable "no hard feelings" out if you don't like it.

4) Include a "break glass in case of emergency" way out of your oath. The One Year Trial covers adjusting to being in the oath, but this is for later. In case you're ten years down the line and you realize for whatever reason that you don't want to be bound to this entity anymore, or you're life has totally changed and you're done with this. It will prevent you from needing to find and employ someone like me to break the oath for you. Some examples include: - You will always wear a piece of devotional jewelry and will not willingly take it off. Intentionally and willingly taking it off constitutes the end of the oath - You could make a spirit house or vessel. Intentionally and willingly dismantling or destroying it would constitute the end of the oath. - If you want to go hard you could get a tattoo. Getting it removed or covered up wold constitute the end of the oath.

5) Finally detail your roles, responsibility, and boundaries: This is the "contract" part of the oath and would make up the bulk of any written document you keep. Think of this like a job contract with the entity. Lay out exactly what you will do for them as part of your oath, what you will abstain from doing, etc. And then what you expect in return, are they helping you raise power, learn magic, etc. I recommend being clear, concise, and specific, but you can be mystical, or worshipful, as long as you know where the boundaries are and what the expectations are. You don't want to write a blank check and then be expected to cash it and not know how. Some suggestions for what you could include here: - Establish now how other entities effect your relationship: Is there a hierarchy/priority? Are there any taboos or limits? Can you make oaths to other entities? etc. - Establish clear tasks that the entity expects from you: Are you expected to make offerings on a specific schedule? Are expected to learn a specific magical skill (ex. I was expected to learn how to guide spirits from our world to the Otherworld and then across it as part of my oath to Brona.) Are there specific tasks you're supposed to do with said magical skills (distinguishing my work as A Psychopomp from my learning how to be a guide above.) - Establish what you're getting from the Entity: Are personally they teaching you the skill they want you to learn? Are they introducing you to a different entity that teach you said skill? Are they providing the means and knowledge to grow your reservoir of power? Are they providing a familiar? If your expected to do something, what do you get in return - Establish things the entity can't do: They can't interfere with your relationship with another entity. They can't interrupt your sleep, or damage your mental health. Any sphere of your life that you want to try and limit the entity's influence on - spell it out. This is never 100%, you feel the effects of this bond like this in all aspects of your life in some way, but you can try to minimize the effects by drawing boundaries. - Establish anything you won't do for the entity: Refuse to do blood magic or sacrifices lay that out. Refuse to fast, lay it out. Get as specific and detailed as you can, but also include a general "Right to refuse" phrasing as well. The specifics are to protect you from being asked. Note*: You guys might this this advice is all very cynical, and I wholeheartedly agree. I admit that I'm jaded. Asking me for advice before you take an oath is like asking a divorce lawyer for advice before you get married… buuuuuuuut I'm a divorce lawyer who's been happily married for 14 years. So I do think there's some method to my madness. I hope my advice help my buddy out, and I hope it helps you fine folks too. My inbox is always open if you have questions, and I'm happy to consult on oaths and oath break over at @stagkingswife-services. The doctor is always in.

[medicinemane]

From my own experience trying to be supportive of someone in a situation like that, one of the best things to do is basically the opposite of gaslighting. Tell them you trust them, that you think they're making a lot of sense, reinforce that you actually do think they know what they're doing and that they deserve respect

Don't directly complain about the abuser other than phrasing it along the lines of "I don't know... I just don't think that behavior you're describing is exactly ok, that's not how I'd want to treat people", but keep it very loose

When they brought up feelings like being gaslit I didn't say, "yeah, you 100% are", I said "why don't we look into it together?" and then found them information on things like DARVO phrasing it more like "huh, this seems like it's kind of interesting" and not "this is exactly how that scumbag treats you"

I was also lucky enough to be able to connect them to someone I know on here that has a good relationship kinda phrasing it like "this person's married and seems to know stuff about relationships, why don't you talk to them about some of the stuff you're feeling?", and then that person was kind enough to have their friend group take in the person I was trying to help

In a lot of ways I think that was one of the most important things was getting them into a supportive group of people, not letting them be isolated like their abuser wanted so they had a lot of people gently pushing back against what was happening

I'm very glad to say they got away from that person, they're a lot happier now and seem in a lot healthier company. So I have some experience with this which more or less agrees with everything above

Don't push, don't tell them what's going on, ask leading questions that will let them say what's happening (very very causally, again like saying "why don't we look up gaslighting together?"). Try to get them connected to anything that will make them less isolated

Most of all though just make it clear that actually you think they make a lot of sense. Someone's trying to tear them down, you need to be working just as hard to build them up

Validate feelings, tell them how you see why they're upset, things like that

Finally... much as you just want to solve it, this isn't instant. It took months, maybe even close to a year after they first said stuff that made me realize how bad it was and since I started trying to get them out of that before they finally ended it

At no point did I say "I think you should break up", at no point did I try and put any timelimit or things or rush stuff. I was just in their corner for as long as it took

In the end, that's all you can really do. Be in their corner, make sure they know you're being them 100%

It sucks, but everything else has to be on their time

Aro culture is seeing the signs that your friend is in a toxic relationship but they refuse to acknowledge it when you tell them and say "we're in love, you wouldn't get it"

hey, something I've noticed is that people... don't know how to bring up signs of toxicity. and the thing is, the major "do not" is to directly call the relationship abusive/toxic, or the other(s) in it such, which is also the thing almost everyone I talk to says they did in your position.

quoting from a New York state gov site about domestic violence:

Here are some examples of how you can Start the Conversation: - “I noticed that sometimes [insert partner’s name] does this [insert concerning tactic that you’ve seen]. Does that happen a lot? How does that make you feel?” - “I’m concerned about your safety. Is it okay if we talk about it?” - “I’m so glad you told me about [insert disclosure of abuse]. How can I help or support you? What do you need?” - “I noticed lately that you’ve been [insert survivor’s behavior like “getting hurt a lot lately” or “not going out as much”]. Is everything okay? If you ever want to talk about it, I’m here for you.” - “I know this can be really hard to talk about. I promise I believe you and won’t judge any of your choices or experiences. I care about you and just want you to be safe.” - “I recently read/watched/heard [insert book, article, movie, podcast about domestic violence]. Have you read/seen/heard it? What do you think?”

These are all adaptable to toxic relationships, high control groups like cults, and generally, someone experiencing distress. For example,

"I've noticed that sometimes [person/group/work] does [concerning tactic, addressed as factually as possible. ie, talking over you, making jokes you don't seem to enjoy, grabbing you, etc, NOT 'being a bitch']. Does that happen a lot? How do you feel about it?

Then, DO NOT say how you feel about it without letting them speak! Don't launch into "I saw them do it 8 times today, and I think you're ignoring it because you think you love them, and that's bad!" Let them tell you what they notice, do not blame them for staying, and do not call the situation bad until they do!

If they say, "oh, I don't think it's that bad/that frequent.", you don't have to agree, but you could say, "I thought it happened a few times today, but if you aren't worried, I'll try not to push. Just know you can always talk to me if it does change."

If you DO push too far, and that happens, be careful. The main problems from that are 1) they feel like you're judging them, so they stop engaging with you. 2) they tell the abusive group, who WILL try to stop them from contact with you, 3) this actually pushes them FURTHER into the toxic situation, because now someone who cares is inaccessible. Dial it back.

"I'm sorry I came across so strong. I shouldn't have been so accusatory, I was worried and got carried away. You can always talk to me if things change, but I shouldn't have gone about it like that even if it were that bad."

Good luck.

[quill-vy]

MARGIN OF ERROR — two

warnings: angst, swearing, fluff (lmk if there’s any more!)

it’s also kind of short 💔 but hope you guys enjoy! working on a new one already 🤫

here’s part one: MARGIN OF ERROR — one

part two – the tension

singapore – the morning after

the first thing you noticed was the weight of lando’s arm draped over your waist, his fingers curled loosely into the fabric of your shirt. the second thing was the warmth of his breath against the back of your neck, slow and steady in sleep.

you didn’t move.

this wasn’t new—crashing in each other’s rooms after races, tangled limbs and shared hangovers, the familiarity of a friendship that had lasted two decades. but this time, something was different. this time, when you shifted slightly, lando’s grip tightened, pulling you back against him with a quiet, sleep-rough murmur of stay.

your breath hitched.

his alarm went off ten minutes later, some terrible pop song he’d set as a joke, and he groaned, burying his face between your shoulder blades. "turn it off," he grumbled, voice thick.

"your phone, your problem," you shot back, but you were smiling.

he huffed a laugh, his chest vibrating against your back as he reached blindly for his phone. the movement made his arm brush lower over your hip, his thumb slipping under the hem of your shirt to graze bare skin.

you froze.

so did he.

for a heartbeat, neither of you breathed. then, carefully, lando pulled his hand away, clearing his throat. "uh. sorry."

"s’fine," you lied, sitting up too quickly.

the air between you was charged, awkward in a way it had never been before. lando raked a hand through his disastrous bedhead, avoiding your eyes. "debrief’s in an hour. you, uh—you wanna grab breakfast after?"

"yeah," you said. "yeah, sounds good."

neither of you moved.

breakfast – the unspoken thing

the café was quiet, tucked away from the usual race weekend chaos. you picked at your pancakes, hyper-aware of the way lando’s knee kept brushing yours under the table.

"you good?" he asked, nudging your foot with his.

"mhm." you took a sip of coffee. "just tired."

"liar." he smirked, stealing a bite of your food. "you’re thinking too loud."

"am not."

"are too." he leaned in, voice dropping. "c’mon. tell me."

you hesitated. the words sat heavy on your tongue—i think i’m in love with you, and it’s terrifying—but before you could speak, his phone buzzed. again.

lando glanced at it, jaw tightening.

"who keeps texting you?" you asked, forcing lightness into your tone.

"no one." he flipped it facedown. "just—paddock stuff."

"paddock stuff," you repeated flatly.

"yeah." he wouldn’t meet your eyes.

the silence stretched, suffocating.

the airport – a near miss

you were quiet on the way to the airport, lost in thought. lando kept stealing glances at you, like he wanted to say something, but every time he opened his mouth, his phone buzzed.

by the third time, you snapped. "jesus, just answer it."

he stiffened. "it’s not important."

"could’ve fooled me."

"y/n—"

but the crowd at security swallowed you whole, and the moment slipped away.

london

two weeks later, you were at his flat, half-watching a movie. lando’s arm was around you, but his mind was elsewhere—his phone buzzing every five minutes.

"you gonna get that?" you finally asked, voice sharp.

he sighed. "it’s nothing."

"doesn’t seem like nothing." you sat up, putting distance between you.

lando ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "she’s just a friend. it’s not— i’m not—"

"then why won’t you look at me?"

his head whipped up, eyes blazing. "because every time i do, i want to kiss you, and i don’t know if you’d let me!"

the world stopped.

the confession

"you don’t mean that," you whispered.

"i never say shit i don’t mean." he stepped closer, voice raw. "tell me i’m wrong. tell me you don’t feel it too."

your resolve crumbled.

"i’m scared," you admitted.

"of what?" his hands cradled your face, thumbs brushing your cheeks.

"of losing you."

lando exhaled like he’d been punched. "you won’t." his forehead dropped to yours. "i’m yours. always have been."

and then—finally—your best friend’s lips were on yours.

THE END

a/n: heyyyy guys. sooooo, that way my first ever ever fic. i am super proud of how i’ve written it, and i hope you guys like it. requests are open, because i think i’m gonna have writers block after this….

[frownyalfred]

thank you so much for sharing your work with us! I love the ninth wave and the whole verse ❤️

I have a question... what's the role of Clark as the pack alpha when it comes to Lex pregnancy? like Lex has his own alpha, so I'm guessing for all things that he could need an alpha, he'll have Dan. So is that how it works? or are certain things for which Lex (or Dan) will need Clark specifically? and like how does it affect to have two omegas pregnant at the same time, if it affects at all?

I love Clark/Lex's dynamic and would love to see them more involved, but I don't know how it works in the universe...

That's a really interesting question! Because yeah, you're talking about Lex's Alpha (full stop, upper case) versus Lex's alpha. How does a Pack Alpha trump a mating bond or courting alpha? Plus, how does that work when Lex and Clark already have a strange and sometimes strained (but sometimes also very intense, in a good way) relationship?

The way I view it, Clark is responsible for Lex, he feels Lex's pack bond a little more intensely than a fellow pack member would. But he's not the knot-headed alpha patriarch who Lex bows down to in all circumstances. He has a certain sway over Lex, but Lex is absolutely able to pluck that pack bond and send reverberations right back at Clark if desired. We saw this in ASOH the first time he deferred to Clark. This reluctant kind of acceptance that they do care about the other and your typical alpha patriarchy stuff doesn't hold power here. But Pack bonds and old-fashioned pack hierarchy -- there's a much more compelling argument to be had there. Lex views himself as an extension of his Pack Alpha and Omega in times of distress; their belief in him is so so important. He can take Clark's anger if it means he still has the Pack bond, if that makes any sense at all.

Where does another alpha wade into that? Well, he does it very carefully. Daniel is a good egg, we've already seen him deferring a LOT to Clark. He's not Pack (yet) but if he was, alphas can coexist in the same pack. I see a lot of folks commenting that they'd butt heads no matter what, but I think that's a very traditional a/b/o trope and not one I want to entrench here. They might have to get used to being around other alphas because they've both been solitary for a while, but they're not fighting just because they're in the same pack. And Daniel absolutely can court and mate Lex, as long as he knows that he's doing it under Bruce and Clark's watchful eye(s). It's kind of like meeting an in-law? Except then you ask that in-law to also formally adopt you. And it's not a parent-child relationship at all.

I think there are definitely things Lex will need from Daniel (proximity, sex, etc support during pregnancy) but there's also things he just can't get from a mate that he needs from his Pack. And Clark plays a large role in that, obviously. Lex might flip out and need to go stubbornly cuddle Bruce in the nest for a night and Clark and Daniel might both get kicked out for a bit. Lex might need Clark to tell him he's doing the right thing and it's okay to be vulnerable with Daniel, etc.

TL;DR: (sorry for rambling) Dan is Lex's alpha, but Clark is his Alpha and therefore one half of his gateway/connection the Pack itself. So Dan needs to be careful wading into this dynamic, but it isn't hostile just because it's two alphas. Not necessarily, in a perfect world.

[rgbprose]

I agree it must be very frustrating to be Eliezer Yudkowsky, and I feel you're touching on a pretty important problem in practical epistemology here, that I've never seen a good solution to.

Basically, there are a lot of facially absurd positions for which people have presented sophisticated arguments. Every major religion and political faction has whole books specifically addressing, at length, the most obvious objections to their ideology.

(As a concrete example, I remember a post going around recently about how no Abrahamic religion has yet solved the Problem of Evil, and why exactly this represents a devastating flaw. Naturally, Catholic Tumblr started passing this around with an addition giving the apparently-well-known Catholic solution to the problem, which--based on the Tumblr summary--did not seem satisfactory to me.)

There aren't enough hours in the day to engage properly with all of these. So people do an unconscious VOI calculation: based on some combination of intuition, social consensus, presentation, the prestige of the proponents, etc., they get a rough sense of how likely the position is to be correct. If it seems very very unlikely, then it's not worth the time to read the sophisticated-looking arguments and unpick exactly why they're wrong.

This is obviously a terrible system! None of the factors that go into this unconscious calculation are remotely objective or reliable. But I don't know a better one.

Now you might reasonably say--as a matter of etiquette rather than epistemology--that if you've never read someone's arguments because you've dismissed them as absurd, then you should have the decency not to walk into their Replies section and present your totally uninformed arguments that they've already addressed a hundred times. And while I agree that's very rude, it also seems better than the alternative in a certain way? If someone is trying to advocate for a position and everyone is dismissing them as facially absurd and not reading their stuff, then they need to know that or they can't fix the problem.

one thing that makes me sympathize with yudkowsky is that in every public appearence he's had where he is trying to make his case for why AGI or ASI would be dangerous, noone ever seems to engage with his arguments at all. all he gets are bad counter argumens to the tune of "well, what if the AI is just nice" or "what is intelligence anyway?" or "why would the AI want anything?", "chat gpt seems pretty stupid today so im not worried" or the worst of all "seems like a wacky sci fi idea to me, people are just pushing this to hype up the technology"

i could understand why the man is seen as a crazy guy if he got actual substantial pushback but most people*seem to treat his arguments as if they were a lot more trivial and facile than they really are.

*there are a lot of good coherent objections to what he says but they are usually buried in some obscure comment section in less wrong or in some niche tumblr blog. the mainstream response he gets is more to the tune of "heh, that sounds silly"

[willlic]

I've spent the last 45 minutes crying because relationship emotional labor imbalance struggles, but that's not what is important here. What's important is it made me realize EXACTLY WHY I GET SO UPSET EVERYTIME I THINK OF THE WATER SEVEN USOPP STUFF. THE DUDE WAS DOING THE MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL LABOR OF THE CREW, AND 'HOUSE UPKEEP/MAINTENANCE' AND HE THOUGHT EVERYONE WAS FINALLY ON THE SAME PAGE ABOUT THE SHIP, AND THEN HE TRIES TO EXPRESS EMOTIONAL AND PHYSICAL SAFETY NEEDS ABOUT THE MONEY, GETS DISMISSED, GETS BEAT UP, VEIWS IT AS HIS FAULT AND RESPONSIBILITY BECAUSE HE WAS BASICALLY TOLD AND SHOWN THAT THROUGH LACK OF SUPPORT AND SAFETY, TRIES TO DEAL WITH IT, GETS BEAT HALF TO DEATH AGAIN, AND THEN WAKES UP WITH PPL WHO HAVE ALREADY HAD TIME TO PROCESS AND BE UPSET, GET MAD AT HIM FOR NEEDING TO PROCESS AND BEING UPSET. HE LOOKS FOR SUPPORT AND INFO, IS REJECTED, AND EXPECTED TO ACCEPT THAT THE HOME HE TRIED TO MAINTAIN FOR HIS FAMILY IS JUST GOING TO BE REPLACED WITH A NEW ONE. HE PUT IN THE MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL LABOR FOR THEIR HOME AND ORGANIZATIONAL/EMOTIONAL NEEDS, DIDNT HAVE HIS MET BECAUSE THEY WERE SHRUGGED OFF AND NOT UNDERSTOOD, FINALLY FELT HOPE, AND THEN HAD THE RUG PULLED OUT. THEY DIDNT EVEN PRIORITIZE HIS WELLBEING WHEN HE WAS HALF DEAD. THEY PRIORITIZED THEIR EMOTIONS AND PRIDE WHEN THEY WENT 'he's still breathing' AND THEN RVEN THE DOCTOR??! WENT TO BEAT THE PPL UP BEFORE TAKING CARE OF HIM?AND JUST COMPLETELY DIDNT EVEN NOTICE OR ACKNOWLEDGE THE WORK HE DID/DOES. HE WAS UPSET THINKING THE REASON THEY WERE GETTING A NEW ONE WAS HIS FAULT AND HE WAS TOLD 'i don't care that you lost the money' AS IF HE DIDNT JUST PUT HIS LIFE ON THE LINE. AND HES JUST EXPECTED TO BE COOL WITH IT IMMEDIATELY?? PEOPLE IMMEDIATELY REDIRECT TO THEIR OWN EMOTIONS AND GET DEFENSIVE INSTEAD OF ADDRESING HIS? THAT IS LIKE TEXTBOOK MENTAL/EMOTIONAL LABOUR IMBALANCE SOCIAL PATTERNS. LIKE WHAT?? THE ONLY ONE THAT SEEMS TO GET IT IS SANJI (thank God that he did). Am I just fully projecting?? Am I crazy here?? I feel like that's part of what happened and definitely part of what had/still has me redlining mad about it. Like he fixed that ship for months, advocated for it and tried to remind and keep mental track of finance priorities regarding the ship, and other people's emotions. Anticipated their needs, mediated arguments, comforted them, tried to keep them mentally aware of consequences and safety, he was doing the invisible work. And I genuinely don't think a lot of them saw and understood the full extent. Ugh I always feel so mad on usopps behalf.

[bugofmanynames]

update on the skinsuit guy lore 🔥🔥

uhhhh so i should probably confirm their names so i came up with the names a while ago but i didn't really know which one to give who so i just used the names for them interchangeably and in an earlier post i called this dude here simon

but i decided recently to swap their names around and keep it that way so just to clear up anything that dude's name is now jett and the spooky looking dude (aka young skinsuit guy) is simon

so AS FOR THE LORE simon and jett are coworkers and presumably friends. i genuinly don't know what the hell their relationship is, whether they're best friends, simon is framing his feelings for this dude as unimaginable hatred because he can't even fathom the concept of love, they're some kind of metaphor, or if they just genuinely hate each other, so i guess it's entirely up to interpretation.

basically jett's everything simon isn't, even though simon worked almost twice as hard to get where he was and jett just had it all handed to him on a silver platter, he has a stable, well paying job, a spouse and a daughter, and eventually simon reaches a breaking point and starts gathering as much intel as possible to plot his murder.

one day jett's just going about his day and simon pops out of nowhere and straight up jumps him and drags him into some kind of backroom where he proceeded to skin this dude alive as soon as he regains consciousness and dumps him out in the middle of nowhere, leaving him there to die a slow painful death. Meanwhile simon immediately gets into action, destroying any records or evidence of his own existence and poses as jett, even going under his name and everything.

simon's able to pull himself off as him pretty well, at least for a good bit until his facade slowly but surely begins to slip (quite literally too) and everybody's starting to realize that's there's something wrong, and eventually they begin to figure out that he isn't jett at alll and in the end, he loses everything because he tried to pursue something that was just always out of his reach.

anyway so where redacted comes in, simon/"jett" is miserable as hell but then this sad naive orphan comes into the picture and he sees them as the perfect opportunity to start from a fresh slate (identity theft again) and pretends to take them in, and at first he acts nice to lure them into thinking that he's safe, until they began doubting him as he slowly began to reveal his intentions, but he started emotionally manipulating them into thinking that he was the only one who cared and kept them safe and basically just made them an unhealthy amount of dependent on him. As part of "redacting" them, he basically did the same thing he did to himself and erased any previous information of their existence including their memories, making them literally nobody.

anyways so that's the backstory update and have some other random stuff about the characters

jett's daughter is named Shermy!!!!!!! she's like probably in her 30s in the current time of the story but i thought it'd be kinda funny if when she was a kid when simon took over jett's life he realized that he has a kid. And he just doesn't know how to be a father so he probably just let her do whatever she wanted and she thought that he was the coolest parent ever even though it wasn't even her actual father. doppledad

also i think it's probably important to mention that when simon was a kid he killed his parents by setting their house on fire. He was the only one who made it out alive, so he still has a bunch of scars from the burns he got. He was already kind of a disturbed child, so honestly that whole thing only messed him up more and made him into a deranged adult.

anyway yap over sorry if you read all of this

[rigelmejo]

A Study Plan for Chinese to HSK 4, then Chinese Content

A study plan to get you to the point you can do something in Chinese, like read novels or watch shows, in 1-2 years.

For Chinese, it is very possible to study HSK 1-3 in a year, then HSK 4 the next year, and then be reading and watching whatever you want by the end of year 2. This could be achieved with a pace of studying around 1 hour a day. As long as you're willing to look up key unknown words to understand the main idea, when reading and watching whatever you want.

In fact, it's possible to study up to HSK 4 in 8 months, this person did it. If you really wanted to study everything up to HSK 4 in that amount of time.

I studied roughly the amount in HSK 4: I read through 800 hanzi entries from an HSK 1-3 Tuttle book (available in many libraries and elibraries for free, alternatively there's a free app Hanly to learn hanzi with mnemonics), all the grammar points on hskcourse.com, cram studied 2000 common chinese words in Ben Whatley memrise decks (anyone looking to do something similar: I suggest doing the first 2000 sentences in Chinese Spoonfed Anki deck, or finding another 2000 common words collection with audio and hanzi), then read a few Mandarin Companion Graded Readers in Pleco app (where I could click unknown words for a translation and pronunciation). I did all of that in roughly 10 months, at ~2 hours of study a day, so not a huge time commitment.

After I could read around ~1000 hanzi, I could move onto reading manhua, whatever webnovels I wanted in Pleco and Readibu apps (I'd recommend Heavenly Path's Comprehensive Reading Guide for more information on how to start reading, and their general site for recommendations at various reading levels), and any cdramas I wanted (using Google Translate and Pleco to look up any unknown words that seemed important to understanding the main idea of a scene, alternatively there's dual subtitle extensions like LanguageReactor that make looking up words easier).

Why aim for HSK 4? HSK 4 has a lot of overlap with the most common words lists, and includes a lot of basic grammar, so either focusing on learning what's in HSK 4 OR a common word list and basic grammar guide, would get you a baseline of knowledge you can then use to start reading/watching whatever you want (if you look up key unknown words).

HSK 4 will get you around A2/B1 level, upper beginner/lower intermediate, and from there you can start just reading and watching things you want. This is the level you want to reach, to be able to start doing things in the language. Once you can do things in the language, it's easier to stay motivated for years, because you can start DOING your goals, and improving at your goals in the language.

You can either look up key unknown words (which unlocks virtually all stuff made in Chinese), or you can continue with Graded Readers (Mandarin Companion, Rainbow Bridge Readers, Sinolingua, Imagin8 Press, etc.), Comprehensible Input Lessons (Lazy Chinese, Blabla Chinese, Xiaogua, list of more), podcasts for learners (Maomi Chinese, Teatime Chinese, Chinese with Shenglan, Chinese with Da Peng, Dashu Mandarin, Mandarin Corner, etc.), and keep using these materials you find understandable until you feel up to reading/watching novels and shows.

If you want to start speaking, HSK 4/2000 common words will give you a good foundation to start chatting with a tutor (iTalki or wherever you can find one), or start doing language exchanges (like on Hellotalk etc.) where you message people and chat with people. You can look up words you don't know, that others say/message to you, and look up words you want to say to others to prepare to talk to/message them, and get lots of practice interacting with people.

Rambling below:

This was my study plan, and it worked great, I could start reading and watching things I wanted by 6 months and then reading/watching some stuff extensively (not needing word lookups all the time) by around 2 years. I've seen many people on reddit r/ChineseLanguage do the Heavenly Path Comprehensive Reading Guide study plan, and successfully start reading webnovels within 3 months to within 2 years. If you're willing to look up unknown words, the timeline for starting novels and shows can be as short as you feel comfortable. My suggestion above to study to HSK 4/2000 common words is just because that foundation will then make reading/watching things significantly easier to start doing, since you'll have some familiarity with a lot of the most common words you'll run into.

After studying to HSK 4/2000 words, expect the first few months of actually 'using' Chinese to feel rough, mentally draining, and you'll be 'reviewing' all the stuff you learned mostly. Especially if you cram studied - the first few months you encounter all those words and grammar you studied in real novels and shows (or in Graded Reading, Comprehensible Input Lesson type materials) you'll just be learning to recognize/understand those words and grammar quicker. So give yourself some slack, do not expect perfection, it will take a while to align 'what you studied' with 'what you can understand and use quickly.' When I started watching cdramas 6 months into studying, it felt immensely mentally draining and I could only handle 5 minutes at a time, it took a few months for me to feel able to watch a full 40 minute episode, and then another year for it to feel easier (and now that I'm focusing on listening instead of Chinese captions, it's again feeling mentally 'draining' to watch with only the audio to rely on). When I started reading Chinese webnovels, it took 2 hours to get through a 4000 character chapter. Then 1 year in, it took 30-50 minutes. Then 2 years in, it finally took 20 minutes to read 4000 characters.

Just because you studied something (or learned it from extensive listening - Comprehensible Input Lessons, or extensive reading - Graded Readers) does not mean it will be easily quickly understandable immediately when you encounter what you studied in other contexts. So give yourself a lot of hours to adjust. Reading itself is a skill, listening itself is a skill, and you'll need a lot of practice to develop those skills and the stamina to do them for long periods of time.