#but i live by the motto of 'when people tell you who they are BELIEVE THEM'

[sakuraharukaaa]

just a short, fluffy fanfic about my baby son that I wrote in like an hour ♥♥ too lazy to publish on ao3 for now, but maybe later

word count: 1197 words

It’s the smallest things in life. The little things that slowly creep into his daily life until they become a part of his routine. 

People are so adaptable, Haruka can’t help but think. It’s somewhat of a motto, though the connotation used to be negative in the past. He used to think of himself as someone durable who can withstand whatever life throws on him. He always believed that staying firm would keep him safe in the troubling currents of life. He didn’t realize that he, too, can change so much. 

It starts with Nirei, who shows him a pack of tea he got the day earlier. 

“It’s my favorite!” He says ever so enthusiastically. He insists on Haruka drinking it. 

But I don’t like tea that much. It stands on the tip of his tongue, yet he doesn’t say it. The taste is just okay. Barely passable, if he’d be honest, but for some reason he cannot refuse when Nirei shoves the almost-full box into his hands. 

He writes it off as something to put in his cabinet, a single box in an empty shelf – what a laughable idea. He can’t really drink it though, since he doesn’t own a kettle.

Suou is always too perceptive. Haruka finds it mildly annoying, especially when he sticks too close to Nirei. Something about an instinct to tell him off, to tell him that Haruka knew him first, and he shouldn’t be so chummy with Nirei. 

Whatever. 

That weasel approaches a couple of days later, talking about Nirei’s favorite tea, because of course he’d know about it. 

“It is quite good, I was surprised.” His smile is odd and sometimes uncomfortable, but Haruka learned to live with it. The hostility wasn’t targeted towards him, it’s just a general warning. “You should drink good tea in a good cup.” 

So he gives Haruka a weird mug with some calligraphy on it. It’s not legible, in no way it is, and Haruka still doesn’t own a kettle. 

He mentions the kettle debacle – off handedly, really – to Kotoha, and she immediately breaks into laughter. It’s a strange noise and he’s about to comment about it, when she suddenly stops. 

“Hold on, do I have an old one?” She speaks quietly, more to herself rather than to him. “It has to be an electric one.” And she leaves for the back storage room without saying a thing. 

Trust her to be a problem solver, of course. She emerges from the storage room with an old, gray kettle. 

“You have to be careful with the cord.” She says with a shy smile that doesn’t suit her. “If you pull too strongly on it, it will expose the wires.” And only then Haruka notices the tape around the end of the cord, a shoddy fix he assumes. 

Honestly? It’s better than nothing. 

So he takes the kettle. 

(Haruka doesn’t even like tea, he’s more of a coffee guy. 

He could make coffee with the kettle in his home, if he so desires, but it takes a long time until he realizes that. By then, he finds an appropriate excuse – he cannot make coffee as good as Kotoha’s with this old thing. 

Better stick to the tea.)

The next one is Umemiya, who somehow heard about the kettle incident. Probably got the information from Kotoha by torture (read: annoying her). He thinks it’s okay to turn it into a charity case, or so Haruka assumes because he never truly understands him. 

So he stops Haruka after a long, long day where nothing worked out, and his big, dumb smile is too blinding right now. 

“I hear you’re furnishing your room!” He’s far too energetic and Haruka grits his teeth. 

APARTMENT, not room, he almost says, and he doesn’t believe that a single box of tea and an ugly mug and an old kettle warrant the use of the word furnishing. It’s literally three items. 

“I thought I’d give you this!” At first Haruka doesn’t realize what this is, until he notices that the hand holding a pot is extended towards him. 

“No way.” He flat out refuses. He can’t believe he was called to the rooftop for this shit. Behind Umemiya, Hiragi is giving him a resigned sympathetic look. 

Umemiya has plenty of reasons why he should take the plant – of course he does! – and at some point Hiragi exasperatedly signs him to give up. 

His pride takes somewhat of a hit when he comes home with that plant that evening. 

(Sugishita gave him a watering can. 

That bastard actually gave him a watering can. 

He doesn’t say anything but he leaves it on Haruka’s desk alongside fucking four pages of how to take care of plants. 

Jesus Christ.)

It’s after a training session when he goes around the neighborhood with Kaji on a semi-patrol (more like an excuse to get candies because Kaji was running low and Haruka didn’t want to test his patience). Haruka doesn’t eat that stuff so he buys a drink at the vending machine next to the store. When he puts the change straight into his pocket, he catches Kaji’s slanted eyes judging him. 

“Really? That’s barbaric.” And Haruka has to summon all of his self restraint to stop himself from saying that Kaji is the barbaric one for making the nasty lump on the back of Haruka’s head. He doesn’t need another one to match the first. 

The next day, he receives a coin purse. A bit worn out at the seams, but it looks it was taken good care of. He is silent when Kaji hands him that, already knowing not to put up a fight. 

Haruka, unfortunately, doesn’t like coin purses or wallets, so he leaves it on the window sill, next to the plant. It doesn’t feel like it belongs inside the kitchen’s cabinets, so the window sill it is. 

Over the next weeks, it becomes worse. He gets a phone case from Kiryuu – a pink one with cherry blossoms to match his name, and he gets a huge water bottle from Tsugeura that was supposed to have some motivational quote on it, but Suou points out the English doesn’t make sense. When the other guys catch wind of that, they start giving him small things too. It is mostly stationary, but some of his classmates went to town on it. Someone gave him a small radio, which was neat and actually useful, but on the other hand, he got a fucking fork with a handle that was painted like a train. He did use it though, because no one was there to judge him for that when he was eating, and it certainly was more useful than the hot girl calendar he got. 

It’s all so odd when he’s home during the weekend, and he’s drinking tea from his ugly mug and eating with his train fork and staring at the plant on his window sill. It did grow nicely, that he has to admit, and somewhere along the way, it grew on him. 

That doesn’t mean he’s going to take on that offer for a second plant though. 

[tinyozlion]

Heero Yuy: Does Not And Has Never Known What Is Going On

Pilot Spice Rating:  | 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶|

I need everyone here to understand one extremely important thing: Heero Yuy does not think.

Heero Yuy reacts. He reacts instantly to stimuli because he is not thinking. This leads a lot of people to believe he’s some kind of savant, but in fact he is purposefully, intentionally, not having thoughts. He does not calculate his actions based on any consequences beyond the necessary outcome. Sometimes, this gets him into trouble. But mostly, it keeps him alive. 

And let’s be clear: it's not because he can't think ahead. Not thinking about things is his primary self-defense mechanism; this is a deeply traumatized child soldier, who lives in perpetual hyper-awareness of his own expendability. He is never thinking about tomorrow, because he might be dead before then. 

So why does he know how to do so many things? He really doesn’t. If it looks like he knows what he’s doing, it’s because he’s failing so nonchalantly that it looks like confidence. People are constantly doing the work for him by assuming he’s ultra-competent at everything he does. Heero is a cipher that everyone projects their ideas and feelings onto.

He was trained at a young age to assimilate himself into new environments through observation and imitation– which he’s very good at, so he doesn’t HAVE to know things. If he needs to learn something new, he can pick it up fast on the fly, or just make whatever it is work by brute force. 

If you see a nail and you don’t have a hammer: get creative.

Okay, but how come he always seems to know exactly what’s going on? He has a smart guy in his ear telling him what to do. Later, he has an insidious AI program in his ear telling him what to do. And the rest of the time he is literally winging it (pun intended) and hoping things will turn out okay if he just keeps at it long enough. 

Really, Heero doesn’t need to know what’s going on, and he only needs to be good at ONE thing, which is his solution to everything: keep going.  

When he doesn’t have a clear mission objective, he is following his motto: “do what your heart tells you” / “act on your emotions”-- which is way, way less whimsical and than it sounds (see this entry in the Dictionary section). It’s an extension of the Unthinking: You encounter a problem, you find a solution. Does this feel right? If yes, proceed. If no, then don’t. Was it the wrong solution? Well, that’s a new problem.

If you’re Heero’s problem, you have a very limited window of opportunity to change his mind about it. If you’re Relena, you get another chance. If you’re Marshal Noventa, you don’t. If you’re a fellow Gundam pilot, you might be able to hold him off long enough for the problem to become a different problem. 

Heero was built from the ground up several times by the people who found him and turned him into what he is: a weapon that you aim and fire. That’s how he thinks of himself, as a machine with a single purpose that you input instructions into, and when he stops working at peak performance, he’ll die and be replaced. 

But the people who were there for his “training” know that there was a human boy underneath that they buried to make their perfect soldier. Sometimes, you can still see him through the cracks.

There are only a few times in canon when we see Heero laugh or smile; I found it a very interesting case study to track when and where he does so. In chronological order, the first time is in a flashback from Endless Waltz; it’s a very memorable scene, because it’s the most innocent and carefree we ever see him, but the thing he was doing directly before flopping onto the grass and laughing wholesomely was planting explosives in a military base. The outcome of this scene is a defining tragedy of his life, which we know was the cause of his needing to be ���retrained”.

The other few times he laughs are sometime after this incident, when he first arrives on Earth.

In episode one, we get to see him smile and laugh. The smile is one of simple relief, because he’s completed his objective– but what he actually considers that objective to be is a bit complicated. The simplest answer is that he’s successfully made it from the Colonies to Earth, so he can start his mission as a resistance fighter, but the more relevant answer is that arriving on Earth has the potential to be his FINAL mission as the person who stole the Gundam in order to interrupt Operation Meteor. The smile is either because he’s made it past the first difficult step of his journey, or because this is where his journey can finally end. 

In this same episode, he laughs after making his first kill; hapless OZ pilots who had no idea what they were up against. Later on, he laughs because he completes a mission after repairing his Wing Gundam with the cannibalized parts of Duo’s Gundam, Deathscythe. Another time, he smiles with an aloof assurance that he does not need to participate in the frivolities of civilian life, as if he’s confirming to himself that he is not like the people he is infiltrating. He’s a robot, disguised as one of them. He doesn’t need to worry about understanding them, or sympathizing with them, or trying to form emotional connections that he isn’t capable of making. He smiles when he cuts down what he thinks is an OZ carrier leaving New Edwards Base.

These are all times when Heero feels like he’s gotten away with something; when he’s pulled off something sneaky and gotten away scot free. It’s a cathartic release of excitement that's a touch mischievous; the surviving traces of his adolescence bubbling up and escaping containment.

Heero doesn’t laugh again after his first failed mission at New Edwards. Even when he cracks a joke, even when he's relaxed, his face remains frozen. There's only one more time when he smiles: when he’s sure he’s on his last mission, the one he won’t come back from, and he knows he has someone he wants to protect. 

It is such a simple, kind, naive thing that lets Heero unlock the capacity to feel; he’s never had someone be on his side before. Just… decide that they care about him, for no reason in particular– indeed, after he’d given them ample reason NOT to. It’s not perfect, not a clean process, not all at once. He gets feelings back one at a time, in broken pieces that are sharp and don’t make sense at first. A girl who he thought he would have to kill decided that she would trust him absolutely and have his back no matter what, and that made everything uncertain. 

It’s more complicated to live with danger when there’s something to live for, when someone insists that you’re worth saving. It means you have to think about the future sometimes, and that means dealing with consequences, and disappointment, and worry, and pain. It means having to develop a sense of compassion, without which it would be so easy to just turn off, and listen to the comforting absolutes of a machine that tells you how to win and who to kill. 

Having something, someone, to lose is frightening– but it gives you a fixed point in the sky to follow, so when you’re facing down ultimatums, and sacrifices, and uncertainty, “winning” becomes less important than keeping who you care about safe.

It makes your heart a much better compass to follow. 

[strawberryseeded]

thinking abt bllk (no surprise there) and how (at least until now) all (well, most of?) the characters backstories aka basically the reason for their most prominent issues are, instead of extremely tragic and complex events, simply children's logic applied to recurrent situations in their daily lives (and especially the sport they love):

bachira feels lonely: bachira was a weird and lonely kid who was also extremely passionate abt (and talented in) football, more than any other kid, making bachira feel isolated even when he was playing with others. this got even worse when the kids he played with started to resent him, calling him a "monster" and bullying him. while talking with his mom, she told him to keep believing in his inner voice and ignore those who dont understand him, resulting in bachira giving that voice the form of a "monster" that can play football with him to feel less lonely. which, obviously, made him even more lonely, even if it was an imaginary friend created to aliviate that feeling. because bachira still felt lonely, even after many years and even after playing with other people in school who werent any fun for him, he kept the monster by his side. believing no one could ever beat this monster (thank GODNESS he did 🎉!!! HE is the monster no one can beat!!!! his arc is one of my favs hes literally unstoppable now, i love him dude i love h)

isagi holds himself back too much: isagi (i read the light novel abt him hehe) was a timid and mild mannered kid until he discovered football, which he fell in love with. while playing the sport he could let go of his shyness and actually be selfish and go all out. uuuntil... he entered his high school's reputable football club, where the motto was to play as a team above everything else (a very anti-blue lock logic lol). isagi then, in an effort to accomodate to the social norms of the club (bc hes isagi, and off the field hes calmer and timider), had to simmer down in the field as well. supress himself. at times it seems like his on and off switch is kind of stuck.

barou has main character syndrome: barou was a very, on top of talented, meticulous kid and therefore the best in football out of every other kid he knew, who didnt take it as seriously and were more than happy to let him score all the goals. he didnt understand why they were satisfied with letting other people take all the glory, so he secluded himself, convinced that he was the only player that actually mattered on the field. the best. the Main Character. everyone else was completely worthless, their only use being to serve HIM. (until he got his ass kicked by isagi and became the villan instead of the main character, bc oh, shit, barou's not actually the main character???? then he'll hunt down & DESTROY the main character).

rin (god, rin) has a brother complex (i used to hate when ppl oversimplify whats wrong w him w this term but tbh it does boil down to this lol ToT): rin idolized his older brother like crazy and wanted to be just like him. bc he was also blessed with talent and also had a great relationship w sae, he had everything he needed to fulfill his dream of being the 2nd best striker, the 1st obviously being his older brother, who rin viewed as the best, most talented player in the world. when sae comes back from spain and tells him 'the world is big and im not actually the best, you go and be the best striker by yourself' (basically: our (your) dream is over), rin has a fucking breakdown. its not really a tragic, despair-inducing event, objectively speaking. but in the manga its framed as such bc for rin, in his childish logic, it is. bc his brother IS the BEST player, what the fuck do you mean hes not number 1 outside of japan?? ....then what about rin? if his brother cant be the best, rin cant be the 2nd best either, let alone the best. he feels like sae ruined everything, gave up, broke their (rin's) dream!!!! after sae humilliates him, rin directs all of his frustrations at him and bows to defeat him. as long as rin sees himself as sae's little brother, he's never gonna be able to surpass him, bc in rin's mind, sae is still the best, his talented big brother.

ness believes kaiser, not him, is the magician: ness's case is more serious bc his family was (is?) emotionally abusive towards him. basically, like every other kid, ness believed in magic. the concept of magic is exciting for children and gives them, in the form of play, the opportunity to express their creativity and exercise their imagination; work out a way to make the impossible come true. bc this is so important for their development, usually its the parents role to, at least to a certain degree, keep alive the belief that magic is real. ness's parents, on the contrary, shut down this belief bc it didnt match with their own views. they saw his interests as a waste of time, even letting his sibilings bully him and treat him badly to make him give up on them. ness, however, didnt, and instead found a more socially acceptable way to 'do magic' and express his creativity: football. he feared greatly, however, that football would be taken away from him, so in that faithful match in which he met kaiser he decided to put all of his trust and hard work on him, bc ness believed kaiser was the person who would be able to make the impossible, the magic that ness wanted to create, happen. i think the key to unlock his full potential is stop relying on kaiser so much and start believing in his own magic (kind of like what happened in hiori's arc). we have yet to know kaiser's backstory but i have a feeling those two enable each other's worst traits...

ETC !!!! sorry i got tired of writing lol

anyways these r just my interpretations of the characters feel free 2 b like "was is she ON about"

[quinnxey]

acolyte review (before season finale)

i was really interested in this show esp because its based in the high republic. this is the first time we've gotten a media recreation other than glimpses in jedi: survivor and I'm also pretty sure the kids show disney made was also based in the hr time period. but anyway - other than the books as well, this is the first live-action retelling of a hr story.

i feel like a lot of people didn't like it because of that, but it really hooked me in. I've always been pretty into the hr book series and have loved this idea of "before the chosen one" trope. in the acolyte, we're 100 years or so b4 anyone like obi-wan or anakin or luke have been born. its another really great setting up - plus, as an avid hr reader, it helped me visualize what was going on during that whole shebang

but so - during the start of the acolyte I was a little bit wary and a tad bored. i feel like they started with a fairly slow (if murder is slow) introduction to the story, but I really do understand why they did it like that. once shit hit the fan and we were getting jedi action (plus the dents of twins? alive?/whats going on? sort of thing) I was really starting to get interested. the characters in acolyte are SO well done - like honestly its kind of craz how good they're written. even the "good guys" have good writing, which can be hard to do for heroes when the villains usually have all the sweet ass storytelling.

i thought the force here was sooo well done. like this idea of osha not being able to use the force after some time - ESPECIALLY her using the excuse of "if you were a jedi" (or something along these lines) "you would know that the force gets weaker if you don't practice with it" like girl ok! and with qimir and him being like dude, no.

QIMIR! ok so i understand the whole reason people like him is because of his looks and the fact that he was naked (which I will get to) but I'm SOOO interested in his character arc. his manipulation tactics are honestly so believable that IM having a hard time trying to discern whether or not the jedi are good or bad. i think I've always been fairly pro-jedi esp with how the orig tri plays jedi out to be and how the hr books have all these really anti-jedi antigonists. I've always believed the jedi to be a good force of nature, and haven't really paid much mind to this idea of "what if". in the acolyte, it feels like. they're REAL people.

idk i feel like sometimes it gets hard to see the real people in jedi and not thin k they're just some servants of the light or whatever. for me, I feel like that also comes from the "no relationships" motto, which sort of defeats the whole "human/person" idea for me. i hate thinking jedi arent people and don't have faults, but with how a lot o the media portrays them, that's how I've felt for a really long time. in here, I felt like I was seeing real people in real situations. idk

with how sol was acting with osha ("do not confuse [her] emotions with your own") I was sooo in love with that. him not knowing whether or not its his emotions or the force pulling them together (because we all know the force puts padawan/master together when it knows they're a good fit) but still continuing. him choosing to SAVE OSHA INSTEAD OF MAE. and going on to say he "did his best" and "tried to save both of them" to osha and flicking the blame on mae by saying the fire was all her fault (which it was, but he deliberately didn't tell osha what "really" happened ((in the words of mae I suppose))) but this isn't me saying that sol is a bad person and should totally get stripped of his title or whatever - someone (not sure who) on here talked about how he was the only one out of all the jedi on the trip to actually go and do something about his guilt. he went and he trained osha to the best of his abilities, he trained younglings (telling them NOT to trust what they initially see, to keep searching for answers), and he went on trying to make good with mae even after he knew she was going to kill him.

but so on the dark side (plus I guess qimir being naked) I was really interested in this idea of jedi not being able to harm the unarmed. we see this happen with sol and aniseya, where she DOES technically look like shes about to go off and kill someone with her whole dust act, but she is STILL technically unarmed. sol goes and stabs her because he has no idea what is happening. cue 1st action. 2nd action is when we have the scene between sol and qimir where he almost attacks him while he's "unarmed" (pls I don't trust this man) but osha stops him. with OSHA, we see this happen when she sort of attacks qimir while he's unarmed - and not just unarmed, also litterllay butt naked. that's like the full ass definition of unarmed. it goes fully against jedi code - if she had killed him, she would have killed him unarmed and with no dignity, which no jedi would ever want to do. because she had the option to do it, he basically tested her - it was his way of seeing whether or not she was a "good" option for an apprentice. he prob would have taken her anyway, but with how it went with mae, he was defo being wary.

but him being a sith for me was pretty easy to see right off the bat, since he disappeared and then sith master just "appeared" I thought, oh yeah, that's qimir. but as the fighting went on and I went between the costume differences between him and feeble qimir, I thought, well...no?? it doesn't make sense. he doesn't look the same - and then it WAS HIM. but also I think this idea of osha becoming sith apprentence and mae becoming jedi apprentice would be so interesting. ying and yang but they switch lmao

but I'm supppeper excited for the season finale!!! my prediction is that osha accepts being qimirs apprentice, mae accepts being sol's apprentice (if that happens), and maybe/maybe not they find osha and qimir and qimir convinces osha to fight against her past master. idk. would love to see some kyber bleeding in s2. love!!

[ovwechoes]

Juno Headcanons!

Since Juno's a new hero, these are just some headcanons and things I'd like for her to have as apart of her lore! This was requested in my last post, just in a separate one c:

Juno's main inspiration for becoming a space ranger was Winston; she was very young when she heard about the monkeys on the moon that were developed to be able to talk, understand science, and was fascinated with these discoveries. The more she learned about the work on the moon and what happened, the more her love for space grew and she entered program after program to keep improving her knowledge, and keep growing her interest in space. She always reminds Winston that he should be proud of himself because without him, she wouldn't be able to work alongside them in the way she does now.

She's not directly related to Mei, but her family were extremely close and her mother was one of the experimental scientists who worked with her in Antarctica. This is sort of confirmed with the picture of Mei and another woman inside Juno's airship on the Dorado map, but it would be really cool if it was a situation where Juno had heard all about Mei from her mother, and that Mei helped her join Overwatch and learn the ropes.

Speaking of Juno and Mei, I think while working together, Mei would definitely be like a mother to Juno. She would always try and keep her safe, tell her off for getting herself in too much danger (in a very kind and soft way of course), and would make sure she was eating and taking care of herself between missions. She knows first hand how much stress gets put on them as Overwatch agents, so she wants to help Juno as much as she can.

Juno would probably be good friends with D.Va, Tracer and Kiriko. She'd relate to them a lot more and she'd be fascinated with their own stories and life experiences, especially Tracers and with her particle accelerator. Mei would have to remind her that it's rude to ask Tracer about how it happened so bluntly, but Tracer wouldn't mind if it satisfied Juno's curiosity. She would love to learn internet slang off D.Va and would be open to joining her on live streams (since D.Va's the type to vlog everyone and hold interview style streams just so she can beat them at video games they've never touched) and Kiriko would teach her about what's going on in the world and keep her in the loop with the news.

Juno's the type of woman that once she's invested in something, there's no stopping how far she'll go to learn everything about it and understand it completely. She would get involved with it as though it was her life long dream, when in reality she's just a curious cat who needs to know everything about something that's peaked her interest.

I can imagine Juno's the type to 'kill them with kindness' and she lives by that motto. She's been raised with the same mindset as Mei's where she believes that violence isn't the answer. But, she also understands why it's used sometimes and knows that if she needs to use it too, she won't hesitate if it's for the right reasons.

Everyone keeps Juno out of the loop with what happened to Overwatch initially. It was Winston's idea, even though Brigitte is against it. He doesn't want her image of Overwatch to be tainted with Blackwatch and vigilantes that have come out as a result of Overwatch being banned. Juno knows she's working with a secret organisation that's criminalised, but she doesn't know why and it seems like she'd be the type to turn to the wrong people for answers if she was backed into a corner.

Juno has a hard time with people pleasing in the sense that she doesn't know how to stop it. Tracer's teaching her how to be better with it and stand up for herself, because it's hard for her to see someone so naïve on the frontlines. It's easy for naivety to be used against you, so she knows that Juno needs to learn how to stand up for herself and say no before it's too late.

[startrekfangirl2233-writes]

Love Conquers All (Supposedly)

Chapter Five of Sweet Home Alabama

Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin x OC (Linley Mitchell/Floyd), Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw x OC (Linley Mitchell/Floyd)

Description: It's been challenging - to say the least - coming back to Pigeon Creek. How is it possible for everything to be so different and yet it all feels exactly the same? Linley's not sure. All she knows is that she misses New York City, the glitz, the glam, the fashion, and Bradley Bradshaw. God, does she miss Bradley Bradshaw. Like a night in shining armor, it's a phone call from Bradley that reminds her what she's fighting for. It's just her luck that she'll have to fight for Bradley by fighting Jake until he signs the divorce papers, right?

Themes: angst, love, smut, attraction

Warnings: None!

Word Count: 3757

A/N: Oh, here we go! This is the chapter where we finally get to see more of Linley's relationships with the other denizens of Pigeon Forge, not just Jake and Mav! I hope you all love it!

AO3: Cross-posted here!

Wattpad: Cross-posted here!

My Masterlist

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New York City - Mayor’s Residence

Bradley can’t believe that his mom is still going on and on about Linley and the wedding. Linley’s only been back in Alabama for a day; they’ve been engaged for just a little bit longer than that, and Carole Bradshaw is on the warpath.He never would have agreed to meet his mom for breakfast.

“Do you even know who she is, Brad? I mean, what her family is like, where she comes from? Don’t give me that shit about how she’s told you stories. Do you have any proof that Linley Floyd is who she says she is?” Even at home, his mom always looks like she’s ready to attend a board meeting or kiss babies for a few additional polling points. But more likely, she’s expecting photographers to pop up when she least expects it for an interview with the mayor of New York. If it’s happened once, it’ll happen again. That’s one of Carole Bradshaw’s favorite mottos and it’s one she lives by.

“I love her, Mom.” Bradley can’t help trying to reason with her.

“That’s nice, sweetheart. But you have to understand, we’re not better than the people we serve, or worse. We’re just different. We serve the people to the best of our abilities, and we have to be good examples.” She’s got a frown on her face as she puts the newspaper down.

“Do you have to be so controlling?” It’s a question Bradley’s been meaning to ask for a very long time, and even if he probably shouldn’t ask it, it still slips out.

“Is it controlling if I know what’s best for you?” She takes a sip of her coffee before continuing. God she’s impossible.

“In any case, you tell Linley that I’ve put a hold on the Plaza Hotel here in New York for June. It’ll give you both a nice, long engagement to look forward to.” 

Bradley waits until she’s mid-mouthful of her poached eggs and toast before he interjects, “We’re getting married in Ireland over Christmas, actually.”

She swallows hurriedly and that’s the most satisfaction Bradley’s had in a long time. That feeling doesn’t last however, because she spits out, “If you think I’m going to let some girl talk you into getting married in some foreign country…” 

This is about when Bradley starts seeing red. “She’s not some girl, mom. She’s my fiancée.”

“You are just like your father. One minute you’re brilliant, controlled, and steadfast, the next minute you’re throwing it all away on some girl. You know how hard it was for your father to claw his way back into politics once he married me. Why would you make the same mistake he did?!” Bradley’s left in shock as his mom races out of the dining room like something he said just burned her. Okay, so maybe reconciling Carole Bradshaw to the fact that Bradley’s marrying a fashion designer from Hicksville, Alabama is going to take a bit longer than initially expected.

Pigeon Creek, Alabama - Main Street

A couple of hours later finds you in your dad’s beat up old truck rattling back into town. The midmorning sun is hot already as it beams down on the road. You weren’t planning on being in Pigeon Creek for so long. This errand should have taken max half an hour. How could you forget how stubborn Jake could be when he wanted to be? With Jake being a complete idiot, it’s going to take much longer than you expected to get the divorce you’ve been trying to get for the past seven years. So you’re going into town to withdraw some cash and prepare for the day. You call your lawyer while you’re on the road. You need to know how long it will take to get this divorce signed, sealed and buried away.

“I understand Mr. Fitch. Tell me, how long does a contested divorce take?” You pull into a parking spot in town.

“Eighteen months?! I don’t even have eighteen days, Mr. Fitch!” You continue talking to Mr. Fitch as you walk down the street to the bank. Of course, just then, one of the hicks in town starts cat-calling you from his truck. But the more he says, the more his voice sounds familiar. “I have to call you back, Mr. Fitch. In the meantime can you please see if there is anything you can do?”

You hang up on your lawyer with every intention of giving this hick a piece of your mind. At least, that is, until you see who it is. The sight of an old friend is enough to have you veering across the side of the road towards the truck stopped right in the middle of the dusty street.

“Bobby?! Bobby Floyd, look at you!” You wrap your arms around him and it finally, finally feels like you’re home. If there was anyone you could call your best friend other than Jake, it would be Bob. 

“Look at you, Lin! You look fantastic! New York's been treating you well, huh?” You grin up at Bobby, nodding as he pushes his glasses up his nose.

“How’ve you been?” As he sets you down you see a couple of members of the town’s gossip circle looking at you and Bobby. The hug alone would be enough to have tongues a-waggin’.

“I'm good, Bobby. Though, I shouldn’t keep you too long. Wouldn’t want to make your girl back home angry.” Though you’re not sure he has a girl, looking at the slight blush on his face, and well, who are you if you don’t ask?

“You do have a girl, don’t you?” 

When you prod, gently, because this is Bobby, sweet, soft-spoken Bobby, all you get is, “I can barely afford to take care of myself, forget some high-maintenance babe.”

“Weren’t you dating Cindy in high school? I thought you guys were getting really close!” You’re smiling at him as he grins unrepentantly and a little sheepishly at you.

“Naw. She’s a women's softball coach up in Nashville.” You truly can't believe that he and Cindy didn’t stay together after high-school. They were so close.

"I'm sorry about that, Bobby." You really are. Bob's got a heart of gold. If she couldn't see what a catch he is, someone somewhere is sure to. As you look at one of your closest friends you’re not surprised at all to see mischief in his eyes.

“Don't be, Lin. People grow and change and keep secrets. I mean, you have your own fair share of secrets, huh? Of course, yours we can all read about on the internet. Guess we know all about the cock in your henhouse.” 

You gasp and smack his arm. “You sure do know how to make a girl blush!” You have less time than you thought if Bobby Ray already knows about Bradley, and his nickname the tabloids so lovingly bestowed after the first snaps they got of him on the beach in close-fitting swim trunks. Honestly the paparazzi need to get better at nicknames for people, because Rooster Bradshaw is far from tongue-in-cheek. Come on Joe Nobody, you really want everyone to know you think the New York Secretary of Housing has a big dick? Natasha had laughed until she cried and then immediately asked you if it was true. But you digress. You need Jake to sign those papers before all the paparazzi in the country descend on Greeneville and by extension Pigeon Creek. It’s only a matter of time and it’s your worst nightmare. You know how to talk to reporters about clothes, not scandals.

“I have to get back to the factory. Are you going to be in town for a while? I’d love to catch up.” Bobby seems none-the-wiser to your inner turmoil as he hugs you tight one more time before opening his truck door.

You smile at your friend, murmuring, “I hope not. I just need to hit the bank and talk to Jake about something and I should be out of town pretty soon.”

The minute you say the words, “hit the bank”, Bob is already recoiling in terror and you know why. You wave him away with a smile as he drives away. But that leaves you to look at the Pigeon Creek bank. It still looks the same as the last time you saw it. But you also remember why Bob recoiled in terror. Accidentally blow up a bank one time and everyone automatically assumes that you’re going to do it again. Eugene at the bank still looks terrified to see you, for one, when you walk through the doors.

“Good to see you, Miss Linley. Miss Dorothy, I’m taking my lunch.” Is all you get out of him before he’s running out of the bank like you’re going to blow it up again.

You walk up to the teller window, and are surprised to see someone you think you vaguely recognise standing there. 

“Dorothy?! Is that you? You look amazing!” You’re not lying. The last time you saw Dorothy Thompson she had on braces and looked completely different.

“Hey Linley. It’s good to see you. Thanks. The last time you saw me, I was about 110 pounds heavier.” She smacks her gum as she looks you up and down. "You look great too."

“I was looking for an ATM, but I didn't see one.” You point out the front like it’ll show Dorothy the lack of an ATM outside.

“Yup. Russ hates ‘em. He thinks it’ll detract from the customer experience in the bank. Call me Dot, Lin.” She leans through the window a bit closer. “We’ve known each other for years, after all!” 

You’re not sure what to say in the face of her overwhelmingly Southern Charm. Oh, Toto you’re not in New York anymore. When did backstabbing double-speak become more comfortable than well-meant small-town nosiness for you, anyways?

“So…” Her voice drops to a whisper as she murmurs, “I hear from Mickey that you and Jake had a pretty wild reunion. But then again, it’s just pillow talk, talkin’.”

“You and Mickey?” You can’t believe it. Dorothy hated Mickey when you were in school.

“Yeah, it’s been three years.” She shows you her ring, smirking, as she says, “It isn’t Tiffany’s or anything, but anyways, you can’t believe everything you hear on TV, now can you?”

Yeah, you’re definitely running out of time if the news of your engagement is already on TV.

“Um, I’d like to make a withdrawal out of my …” You fumble in your purse to pull out your wallet.

“Your joint account?” At Dorothy’s innocent suggestion, you get a wonderfully wicked idea. “You know, your joint account with Jake? From what I hear, y’all are still married.”

“Yes.” You grin at Dorothy as innocently as you possibly can. “Yes we are. From my joint account, please.”

With the frankly eye-watering amount of money you’d withdrawn from the joint account, you’re ready for war. You spend the rest of the morning going to all of the home decor stores in the greater Greenville area and buying things to make Jake’s house look like home. You finish up with a batch of groceries and let yourself into the house with as much aplomb as you can muster. Jake wanted a wife, he’s going to get a wife. It’s just icing on the cake that hopefully he’ll be so pissed off that he signs the papers and you can escape Pigeon Creek with nothing more than the accent.

When you see the old sea-plane land on the lake with a plume of water from the kitchen window, you're ready to play the part. What part? The part that will get you a divorce in a spectacular style and with spectacular speed. Jake looks exhausted as he walks through the front door - which you'd expected. But the exhaustion soon fades into pure rage when he sees you walking out of the kitchen wearing an apron and carrying a bottle of wine.

"Hi, Jake!" Your voice is all saccharine Southern sweetness. "Welcome home, honey! How was your day? How's your mama doing?"

He chucks his leather jacket through the open bedroom door, uncaring of how it thuds heavily to the ground moments later, before glaring at you.

"Cut the shit, Linley. Where's all my stuff?"

"I just picked up after you, sugar." You cup his cheek gently, rubbing at a bit of grease on his cheek. "It's what a wife ought to do, isn't it?"

"Not a wife who doesn't live here." You just shrug before walking back into the kitchen to continue chopping up veggies for the salad you're making as the final touch to dinner. The kitchen smells fantastic, if you do say so yourself. You’d gone to all the trouble to bake up a lasagne after all, his mom’s recipe, and you know he’ll be hungry the moment he smells it.

"Can you just tell me where the hide-a-key is, Linley?" He sounds like he's at the end of his rope as he takes in all of the things you've bought for the house. You just ignore him.

"I spoke to Mrs. Garcia about her tractor. You know, I'm so happy that we can let bygones be bygones. We’re all clear, though I will say that it isn’t nice that you called the police on your wife, Jakey." You add the final bit of cucumber to the salad before setting it on the dining room table.

"It's nice to hear your accent again." Jake's looking at the ceramic fruit on the mantel like it's an alien creature. "I wasn't aware you could find and lose it so easily, though."

"I found a lot of things today." You toss the salad a bit before walking back into the kitchen where Jake is looking at the magic you've wrought in his filthy old kitchen.

"What the hell happened in here?!" He sounds shocked and it makes a wicked glee spark in your chest. "My magnets are all gone,” His voice hushes as he opens the fridge door and sticks his head in. “And what the hell happened to my fridge?! It's all chick food!"

"That's not chick food, honey! It's light beer. Fewer calories, you know? You're getting a bit of a tummy, baby." You pet his stomach a couple of times before walking back over to chop some parsley on the cutting board. You’d found a singular bottle of ketchup and six-pack of beer when you looked in it earlier. The man’s been eating takeout every day, for every meal, and he’s still got rock-hard abs. It doesn’t escape you how his stomach growls at the smell of a home-cooked dinner in the oven.

"I tried to pick out a new bed at the Sit 'n Sleep but everything was disgusting. Have you been there lately?! I guess I should just order something in from New York." You keep your eyes on the cutting board, even as you hear Jake's boots clomp back out into the living room.

"Darlin' you can buy whatever you want. It's your money, after all." Your grin is vindictive as you hear those words.

"But I thought you told me I should think of it as our money when we got married, Jake?" He freezes in the doorway, beer can still held in his hand and you can't resist stepping just a little closer.

"Are the words 'joint checking' ringing a bell, Jakey?" 

His green eyes are flashing dangerously when he turns back to you.

"How much of that money did you take?" You can hear the rage in every word as you look innocently up at him.

"All of it." The words drip off of your lips like the poison off of the apple the Evil Queen gave to Snow White as a flush builds on his cheeks.

"Sunovabitch!" His roar is deeply satisfying, as is the way he crushes the empty can and chucks it away.

"Why do you have so much money anyway, Jakey? There's no way you made it all working at the tire factory. You're not doing anything illegal now, are you?" You're so close to victory you can nearly taste it. He doesn't answer your questions, his face stony as he glares at you.

"Just sign the divorce papers and I'll give it all back." You proffer the papers and pen to him.

"Fine." You're already grinning in victory when he grabs the pen. "On one condition, I don't ask you about your boyfriend and you don't ask me about my life. Deal?"

Your joy at your near victory slips away in an instant. Jake looks disappointed in you.

"Who?” You clear your throat and try again, “Who told you?" You're more than a little shocked that the news has spread so far around town already.

"Nobody told me, sweetheart. I may talk slow, but that doesn't mean I'm stupid." He snatches the pen from your hand and pulls the papers out of their envelope. “ I know how to use the internet just as well as the folks in New York. You know the cafe Mrs. Garcia runs? It has a computer in it now.”

There's an imperceptible shake to his long fingers as he glances over the papers.

"I guess it's true what they say, huh? Nobody finds their soulmate at ten years old." His words make you feel inexplicably sad. But just as soon as he says those words, a smirk is taking over his face. You should’ve known better than to fall for his bullshit.

“Actually, you know what, Linley?” Jake sets the papers and pen down before walking into the open bedroom. You pretend not to notice how the muscles in his back ripple as Jake tugs on a plaid shirt the color of his eyes. 

“I forgot that I have a date tonight. And you know what? I should probably have my lawyer look over those papers. I’m just a dumb corn-fed hick, weren’t those your words, sweetheart? I should probably make sure you’re not taking me to the cleaner’s or anything.” 

Your scream of frustration echoes in your ears as you follow Jake’s truck to The Hard Deck a couple of hours later. Dinner had been tense, incredibly so, considering how Jake couldn’t seem to stand looking at anything but his plate and you were busy trying to envision how easily you could wrap your hands around his throat and strangle the smug grin off of his face. It’s typical of Jake to take a date to his mama’s bar, the one place where he will never have to pay for drinks. The live band sounds just as tuneful (and loud) as always as you pull up to the gravel lot in front of the Hard Deck. Just before you get out, you pull out Bradley’s ring and put it on your finger. It makes you miss him just a little less, and fills you with enough confidence to face all the old friends you’ll no doubt find inside. Just hearing the country songs getting butchered has your blood pressure rising. What you wouldn’t give to be back in New York getting dinner and drinks with Bradley right now.

You can picture it, practically in front of your eyes. The bartenders who are always polite and know how to pour the perfect martini, the jazz band playing softly in the background, and Bradley, your Bradley, sitting in front of you in a perfectly tailored suit smiling at you. A place where all you can smell is his cologne and sweet perfumed air. It sounds like heaven and absolutely not like the Hard Deck, which stinks faintly of horses and cows and strongly of spilled beer and liquor, even from where you stand in the parking lot near your car, quite far away from the swinging doors. 

When your phone rings, you don’t even hesitate to pull it out, you’re that desperate for the reminders of the life you were leading just days ago. It’s a phone number you’ve had memorized since the first week you met the man who owns it, and as you pull open the phone, you’re chanting, “I love you” until the sound of Bradley’s laughter washes over you.

“Aww, honey. Miss me that badly?” You can picture his smile even thousands of miles away.

“More than you know, baby. More than you know.” You’re filled with a sense of homesickness even as you’re smiling into the phone.

“I miss you too, honey. But, I actually called because I saw something that might make you smile. I picked up a copy of New York Magazine, and I was reading the articles. I’m going to read this quote to you, and you tell me what you think.”

“Linley Floyd is a cool breath of fresh air blowing through Fashion Week. Her designs are fresh and exciting. We’re going to be keeping our eyes on her as her star in the fashion world is on the rise!”

You giggle and jump up and down a little in excitement at hearing his words.

“Bradley! I needed to hear that almost as much as I need you here with me, right now.” His groan makes you ache to have him in your bed and in your arms.

“I can fly down whenever you’d like, honey. Just say the word and I’ll be right there.” 

You blow a kiss down the phone before sighing out, “I know, baby. And while I’d love to have you here, I still haven’t had the chance to tell my dad about us. And it’s a small town. The minute you drive into town wearing one of your nice suits, everyone would know. Let me tell my dad first, alright, baby?” You can’t help your soft smile or how  missing Bradley feels like something is missing in your life. “I love you, baby. Goodnight!”

Thanks to Bradley, you finally have enough confidence to walk through the doors and enter the Hard Deck. You’re getting looks, from the boys and men you’ve known practically your whole life, and it makes you wonder, just once if you should’ve taken your Dad’s offer to borrow one of his old flannels. But you shake those thoughts off. This is who you are now. Pigeon Creek can deal with it if they don’t like it. You elbow your way to the bar. If you’re here, you might as well grab a drink, right?

I DO NOT CONSENT TO HAVE MY WORK POSTED, TRANSLATED, OR PUBLISHED ON ANY SITES OTHER THAN HERE, ON WATTPAD, OR ON AO3 BY ME. IF YOU SEE MY WORKS ANYWHERE OTHER THAN HERE, ON WATTPAD, OR AO3, THEN THEY HAVE BEEN POSTED WITHOUT MY PERMISSION AND I WILL BE WORKING TO TAKE THEM DOWN.

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[shions-stuff]

Headcannons: Grimmjow

here are a few questions that I found on the Internet a long time ago. I can't sleep right now, so I'm writing this. enjoy, I guess

(neither the character nor the art belong to me. thanks to the author of the art for such a wonderful work)

What does their bedroom look like?

Considering that he doesn't have his own corner, it's hard to judge. Despite the fact that he is called King Hueco Mundo, he does not have a permanent place of residence or he never stays there of his own free will. But if he had his own room, it would be as simple as possible. Everything you need, no small things and special decor

Favorite way to waste time and feelings associated with wasting time.

Categorically does not like to waste time. When he has nothing to do, he gets bored and usually does a lot of stupid things, which of course he never regrets later. He believes that everything he does cannot be regarded as a waste of time. You could say his motto is "Moving means living." His whole life is a movement.

Make-up and come to terms with it.

He doesn't care. He has these stripes under his eyes, but he will be very offended if you tell him that it is makeup. Don't get me wrong, he is very proud of His strength and himself, and the stripes under his eyes are part of that strength, part of himself, and he will be very unhappy with the devaluation of such things. As for the makeup of others, as I said, he doesn't care. He'll still want to kick your ass, no matter what's wrong with your face.

Neuroses? Does he admit it?

"What? Damn it, I don't understand what you're talking about." (the guy doesn't know what that means hahahaa) In any case, he will never admit that he has problems with anger and controlling his emotions. He will accuse everyone around him that they just annoy him. The problem is definitely with them! Grimmjow does not understand all this psychological nonsense, believes that such trivial things do not concern him and will never talk about it with anyone.

Sexual orientation? And, regardless of one's own orientation, thoughts about sexual orientation in general?

He has no sex drive. I'm sorry. The concept of love is alien to him and he does not know such feelings as lust, love passion. He always regards people as potential rivals, because he always likes to prove that he is the strongest. Regardless of gender, he'll want to kick your ass if you show any potential. And that's it. As for sexual orientation, he doesn't know anything about it either. For him, all these stupid formalities do not make sense, because he is a man who is used to taking what he wants and how he wants it. Therefore, he would most likely not understand these limits regarding sexual orientation.

Clothing preferences.

Grimm does not like tight clothes, which constrain his movements, preventing comfortable movement and performing techniques. He doesn't value clothes very much, because they are often destroyed during his transformation or a hard battle. He likes to have his arms completely bare, and is categorically against high-necked hoodies. He also often rolls up the sleeves on long sweatshirts. This way he feels a little more freedom. In terms of color, he likes light Tones. He likes the way blood looks on a white shirt.

Turn on/turn off.

As I said, he either doesn't feel like walking at all, or it's very blunted. There is nothing that turns him on sexually, he does not understand the concept of these things. As for the battles, you can go on indefinitely. The excitement in him lights up when he is challenged. He really likes to show off, so he gets excited without hesitation. But he is also able to quickly lose interest when his victim is very bad on the battlefield. He hates weaklings, but he likes it when they ask him for mercy.

How organized are they? How does this organization/disorganization manifest itself in their daily lives?

Surprisingly, Grimmjow is quite organized. Sometimes he makes lists, plans, mental notes about something. He likes order, likes when any task is backed up by a sequence of actions, but it is possible that he also likes to improvise if he sees fit. It helps him save face in front of anyone. He is capable of analysis and rational thinking, which helps him a lot in much more difficult Battles and in everyday communication. He's as good as the captain of his Fraction.

Reaction to a sudden intrapersonal disaster

After his defeat in the battle with Ichigo, his world was turned upside down. His thoughts were only occupied with how things went Wrong, how it could have been different if he had acted differently at some point. It was a kind of destruction of a part of his personality. the part that was successful and proud of him. It was a very serious change in his life, which also left its mark. Literally lol. He doesn't get depressed, no. Most likely, he will be angry at himself, at someone else. He will rethink, doubt his abilities for a minute, after which his wounded pride (or rather, what is left of it) will pull him back and drive these thoughts away.

What makes them feel guilty?

It would seem that almost nothing can make Grimmjow feel something like guilt. But he is not devoid of emotions, it is quite acceptable. He is an honest man and will most likely feel guilty if he treats someone dishonestly. The result of such an action will not bring him joy at all. But he is unlikely to do anything to fix it.he won't be consumed by these Thoughts for so long, but they will eat him up for a while, yes. He's too proud to admit His guilt or (oh my God!!) apologize. It's never going to happen, nope.

Can we say that they have a superiority complex? An inferiority complex? Not?

Not. He has neither. He has a fairly stable and adequate self-esteem. He values himself and his efforts and successes. He does not need to prove anything to anyone, more often than not he does things for his own entertainment than for some practical benefit or other meaning. He feels great in his own skin and doesn't hide it. He is who he is and always will be. Although sometimes he is prone to vanity. For example, he believes that he is a much more important and powerful member of Espada than everyone else.

Do they express their thoughts in words or deeds?

Deeds. He's not very good at words and he knows it. Words mean nothing to Grimmjoe, he demands action and does it himself Instead of speaking. He never liked the meetings that Aizen organized. He immediately understood what should be done when and how. And the rest of the formalities do not interest him. If you need anything from him, some kind of confirmation of his honesty or strength, wait for action. He won't talk about how great he is, wasting his time on useless chatter. He will make you see, feel and believe. Believe me, he can be convincing without words.

How do they express sympathy, affection?

If there are people to whom Grimmjow is not indifferent, then they immediately understand this. There is always a special attitude towards them. He will be rude, protective, loud, but it will never cross the boundaries. He gets angry when something doesn't work out for someone dear to him. Most likely, he will blame you for this, say what a weakling you are, "don't whine, rookie". But he worries deep down. If you occupy a place in his life, he will let you hang out with him. You can just relax together, wrestle, play games and the like. Grimmjow has a pretty funny sense of humor, so expect a lot of jokes and banter. He will be merciless!

Are they afraid of death?

Always was like " I'm already dead, aren't I?" He is not afraid of Death. He would have proudly welcomed it with open arms if he had lost in battle to a worthy opponent. It would be an honor for him to die as a warrior, because he has lived as a warrior for as long as he can remember.

[icemankazansky]

please talk more about neurodivergent mav bc it’s my reason to live n breathe fr

I'm so glad you sent me this ask, because I was asking myself, "Should I make a real post about this?" and then you came and answered the question for me.

Maverick Mitchell is Neurodivergent

Very briefly, for anyone who has questions: The term "neurodivergent" refers to someone whose brain works differently than the majority of people ("neurotypicals.") While neurodiversity is by definition diverse, there are hallmarks of neurodivergence that are common in the majority of neurodivergent people. I'm not here to make definitive statements about neurodiversity; I'm speaking about my read on one, particular character. This is an opinion post. I will also be referring to my own experience as neurodivergent, because this is not a scholarly article and it's my blog, so I'm kind of thinking of it as a 30-some-year longitudinal study.

mav·er·ick /ˈmav(ə)rik/ noun

The definition of "maverick" is, "an unorthodox or independent-minded person," which I fucking love when we're talking about Maverick Mitchell as neurodivergent, because that's literally how he got his name: By thinking differently. That is the definition of neurodivergence, and one of its hallmarks is thinking creatively.

"I'll hit the brakes; he'll fly right by."

Maverick approaches flying creatively. It serves him well, but he's censured for it more than once by authority figures who don't understand the way he thinks. "Aircraft one performs a split S? That's the last thing you should do.... What were you thinking at this point?"

Charlie doesn't understand Maverick's thought process, because it's dissimilar from her own. Neurotypicals often have difficulty understanding or anticipating the thoughts of neurodivergents, and vice versa. (Though both groups can read and predict the thought processes of members of their own group with the same level of accuracy.) Maverick has difficulty explaining his own thought process to her, which is a common neurodivergent experience, because it's loud and busy in there, and my brain just makes connections that I can't always express. A reminded me of B which reminded me of C which reminded me of D and now we're on X and it happened in a split second, and no, I'm not sure how we got here. But that's not what he tells her. What he says is: "There's no time to think up there. If you think, you're dead."

Which leads me to my next point: Neurodivergence can also account for Maverick's motto: "Don't think; just do." Many neurodivergents have strong intuitions, and they often believe their intuition first. Additionally, given the right circumstances, neurodivergents are capable of intense and sustained focus, to the point where the world outside the target just kind of fades away. Neurodivergent thinking is also characterized by being observant, detail-focused, and a good problem solver. If you're intensely focused, and that's how your brain works naturally, then you just take in all these details and the pieces of the problem, and your brain sorts it for you automatically, and you do whatever you're doing like muscle memory. Show the math. Well, I can't, but I got to the right answer, didn't I?

Impulse Control and Emotional Regulation

"Time to buzz the tower, Goose."

Neurodivergence is often characterized by poor impulse control and emotional regulation. We know Maverick has poor impulse control. There are multiple instances across the films where someone lists his many impulsive actions that felt good in the moment but resulted in negative consequences large and small. It's not that Maverick does not know that, for example, buzzing the tower will result in immediate negative consequences. This is not brand new information. He knows. It's just that the impulse to do it is stronger than the voice of logic telling him not to, and he has never learned to control his impulses. Honestly, I have no idea what this feels like for neurotypical people. I feel a difference between a want or a desire and an impulse. Like, "I want a vanilla coke right now. That sounds amazing." I feel desire, and maybe I'm disappointed if I cannot acquire the object of my desire, but it's a relatively small and manageable feeling. An impulse is not. An impulse is a huge feeling, and it's not just emotional; I feel it physically in my body, both this emotional and physical desperate discomfort that I cannot extinguish without Doing the Thing. In many instances, I know I should not Do the Thing. My brain provides all sorts of reasons why I should not Do the Thing. But that doesn't diminish the impulse at all. I cannot feel better until I Do the Thing. Often, once the high of Doing the Thing is over, I have regrets. Those regrets create kind of an impulse hangover, but this feeling (and even the knowledge that I will have this feeling in the immediate future) does not in any way dissuade me from Doing the Thing. You can learn impulse control. It is a skill you can acquire. Maverick has not acquired this skill. And neither have I.

Poor emotional regulation is another hallmark of neurodivergence. It is more difficult to begin with because neurodivergents tend to emotional extremes, so the emotions are much bigger than the ones felt day-to-day by neurotypicals.

"I will fire when I am goddamn good and ready, you got that?"

(Emotional regulation is not just about controlling your anger, but this is the example that I have at hand.) Some people have emotions. My emotions have me. They pilot this craft. I am years into actively working on emotional regulation, and a lot of the time I find myself completely controlled by my feelings, and not the other way around. Maverick has this problem, too. Was his reaction to Sundown above appropriate and proportional to the situation? Probably not. Was it necessary to jump in Ice's face in the locker room after a brief argument? Probably not. But if you don't run your emotions, they run you.

He also has the correlating problem, which is numbing yourself out. Your emotions are too big and you can't control them, so you swallow them, push them down so far that all you feel is numb. Empty. Hollow. It can be like a seesaw: Emotions get too big, cause you distress, so you suppress them; now you feel numb. The other long-term problem with poor emotional regulation is that if you don't deal with your emotions, you can't get rid of them. The treatment for PTSD is processing your trauma. Unpacking it, dealing with every detail, feeling every bit of emotion that's attached. (I just did this last year. It's called prolonged exposure therapy, and it is absolutely the hardest thing I have ever done on purpose.) In the first film, Maverick is still carrying the trauma of his parents' death; in the second, he's still carrying the trauma of Goose's death and losing Bradley. If you don't process your trauma, you have to keep it. That's what PTSD is.

Differences in Social Skills and Awareness

This is where I started the discussion of Mav being neurodivergent the other day. A lot of Maverick's problems with the establishment of the Navy can be attributed to neurotypicals not understanding his creative thinking, or to problems caused by his poor impulse control and emotional regulation, but I think most of it is probably attributable to this. Neurodivergents socialize differently than neurotypicals, and they often have difficulty reading the nuances and unspoken cues of neurotypical social situations. Cain asks Maverick why he hasn't been promoted above captain, and Maverick tells him that he's, "where he belongs" (meaning he doesn't want to stop flying full-time), but in truth ranks above captain require a lot of diplomacy, tact, and social sensitivity, and these are not skills Maverick has. (Which is not a bad thing, unless he's trying to do Ice's job. They have different skill sets; that's not where Maverick belongs.)

Navigating the social minefield of the Navy is more of a large picture issue, so I think that the best examples of Maverick's differences in social skills and awareness are small moments.

"I believe the admiral is asking a rhetorical question."

Maverick does not pick that up. He knows what a rhetorical question is, and he adjusts his behavior when Warlock clues him in, but Maverick cannot pick up the small, unspoken cues that Cyclone is giving to indicate it is a rhetorical question. Maverick takes Cyclone's speech in a very straight-forward manner: He asked a question, so I'm going to answer the question. Neurodivergents often take speech at face value, having difficulty with figures of speech such as metaphor and colloquialisms, because they expect people to say what they mean and mean what they say. There are other cues that neurodivergents pay attention to when communicating, but they're emotional and intuitive, not social or situational. Neurodivergents tend to express themselves honestly and so expect honesty in return. Euphemisms and pussyfooting for the sake of niceties or any other reason is not a natural instinct in neurodivergent communication. "Tact is just not saying true stuff. I'll pass." (That's Cordelia Chase, not Maverick Mitchell, but it's the vibe here.)

Neurodivergence is just your brain working differently than most people's. Like all things, it has its benefits and its drawbacks. But it affects every part of your life and how you live it, because it's how you see and make sense of the world. Maverick Mitchell's neurodivergence makes him who he is.

[sxslave4all]

This is/has took forever to type as I had to watch it was so mmmmm and knowing both would be having my mouth on them soon for this ho’s cum cleanup use. I almost came without touch. People say him and I are perfect looking couple….if they only knew couple would be stretching our title. I’m his toy, cum drinker, foot fucker, frustration absorber, anger post to use when in bad mood and can’t hurt the one that caused it so that’s what I’m for happy sad mad horny USE ME and I’m a rough sex / bdsm/bi/public humiliation type cum dumpster. Whip me and then let me suck your dick while you watch tv, eat, play on phones, watch porn just make my mouth and the rest be of use. These women messaging me with oh that’s terrible 🙄. Trust he wouldn’t remotely treat me anything but perfect until I told him what I like sexually and in general as a relationship-lovey, touchy, etc. my answer was beat me use me degraded makes me feel amazing. So why live a lie and play sweet vanilla when I want sizzling ghost pepper levels 🤷🏼‍♀️. I was trained young by my first boyfriend whom I was with for years. Once he was vanilla soon as done he said I can’t play a game-I want a whore who loves pain, fuck and suck on demand, will do women w me, someone who does everything I say and want no attitude whining or saying no. You disobey your punishment will be bad. You’d be taught that pain is also pleasure but also believe I’m the male your not so shut up and don’t open your mouth til I need it. You just look pretty and obey. You stay naked always at home and no matter whose there-naked. You fuck whoever and WHATever I tell you wherever however whenever I demand it. Cnc is a factor with some rough things I’ll set up to be done to you sometimes quietly or at a club or sometimes grabbed by a group while u walk to get my smokes half dressed also required. Nipples must always be hard and perfectly visible thru shirt. Skirt no panties and if you bend even a bit you’re on display and stilettosif out You’ll let them do what they want to you then come home get undressed…crawl to me and fkn apologize for them grabbing and having your body, yes you’ll apologize and beg me to give you punishment for a week, then you’ll straddle my leg ask nicely for my foot and rub yourself with it then you’d suck me for hours well I tell ya how awful that was of YOU to entice them. But one day it’ll happen and suddenly you’ll almost cum in excitement cause you love it. I’d whip you, restrain and tie you, I’d deny you then tie you down and put a vibe on your clit and leave for a bit while you cum 20+ times an hour. You’ll be used.By time he was done talking I was stunned. Suddenly he asked if I wanted a taste before deciding-seeing that secretly for some reason it was the biggest turn on. Dated broke upFound him married him divorced when he moved But he’s who finds my current owner. As it’s not easy to find men who want it 24/7 or rough and like my ex, for me it’s a 300 page contract. Do it all or none. So judge me cause I’m a slut I’m a toy. I enjoy punishment especially the worst ones. Judge me for getting off on it. I’m a tramp w holes for men why would I want it different? He’s the man. I’m his. Completely. And judge me for licking pussy and sucking dick—but i aint changing none of it. Having women involved is fkn hot sometimes I love watching his dick penetrating her and talking sweet blah the things I don’t want so he deserves to get those filled Shes more degrading She fills a need in me. And he provides everything for me and would buy me —what I want isn’t at a jewelry store it’s at a bdsm show. It’s who I am and it makes me hot and horny every day since my first. Thank goodness as my purpose starts with a collar, my knees and holes with a side of tits. So know I can’t wait to feel hit by the sting of a belt or inserting something in me and watching him get a kick from it. I’m here to make him happy so if he’s mad beat me til he’s not is my motto. Consent-means a huge difference it’s Shit we agreed on. Occasionally I get the smack across the face 😘

[burnwater13]

Concept art by Christian Alzmann from The Book of Boba Fett, Season 1, Episode 1, Stranger in a Strange Land. Image depicts Fett trying to climb out of the sand near the Sarlacc pit on Tatooine. Jabba's sail barge is shown crashed and burned to cinders in the background.

Din Djarin sighed. He knew better than to let Fennec have unsupervised time with Grogu. She was both too predictable and too unpredictable. She would tell Grogu a story that would keep him up all night because he couldn’t believe it and then the kid had to verify every detail with his dad. Did Stormtroopers really only drink their food? Had someone designed their helmets with the vision and siting systems impaired on purpose? Had Bo-Katan really betrayed her sister and caused all the problems on Mandalore?

Then Djarin would spend the rest of the night explaining the details as he knew them, help Grogu find accurate accounts of what had really happened if it was even possible, and then explain that there was never a time that Mandalore wasn’t a complicated society. Sometimes Grogu believed him and sometime his son waited until the next day to quiz Fennec on the details that still didn’t jibe. 

Often on those occasions the Daimyo’s chief administrator would act innocent and explain very gently to Grogu that history changed based on who related it to you. The best you could do was know what you had been doing at any time and not worry about everyone else. Then she would cackle and ask Grogu to help her move something around the palace that the Daimyo needed done sooner rather than later. 

Grogu always came back from those small tasks much happier and usually didn’t ask more questions about whatever the topic had been earlier that had gotten him so upset to begin with. It was frustrating that no matter what he said, Grogu considered Fennec Shand to be the arbiter of the truth. That was not the Way.

Now she was right back at it. Brining up the whole thing with Luke and his friend Solo. Din Djarin didn’t need Grogu to get caught up in that sort of wild tauntaun chase. He’d finished the task the Daimyo had asked him to address to their mutual benefit and now he wanted to get off Tatooine and away from the silliness that Fennec brought into their lives. 

“Hey, Mando, if you don’t want to collect the puck on Solo, do you mind if I borrow your apprentice? I hear he has a soft spot for kids and an easy credit. The way I figure it, the kid and I could have him stitched up in less than 12 parsecs.”

Then Fennec chuckled to herself as she waited for his answer.

“He’s my apprentice Fennec. How about this, I’ll take Grogu to Ossus and talk to Luke to see if he knows where Solo is, while you find out if any of those pucks are still active. It’s been a while since the Empire surrendered. The New Republic should have taken care of that by now.”

Fennec snorted.

“The same New Republic that managed to lose control of Gideon, Pershing, and a half dozen other ex-Imperials? Those guys? They don’t even know how to find the privies on Coruscant.”

“Fine. I’ll have Karga call in a favor with the Bounty Guild and see what they say.”

“You’d be better off going to Nal Hutta. Jabba’s family probably knows if anyone still cares about Solo.”

Fennec looked pleased with herself and that annoyed the Mandalorian.  She was always pleased with herself and usually at his or Grogu’s expense. 

“Okay. How about this…”

He was about to propose that they both go to Nal Hutta when Grogu chirped at them both. As they turned to look at him, Peli Motto came into the workroom with the Majordomo in tow. 

“Hey there! Kiddo! I was lookin’ all over for ya! Tall and handsome here told me you were down here making’ yer’self useful. I just got in a new consignment of flash frozen froglettes and I wanted yer’ dad to have first crack at them.”

“Do other people really need a crack at those?” Fennec asked Grogu’s diminutive curly haired friend.

“You’d be surprised. Takes all kinds as my dad used to say. Any who, ya want them or not?”

Djarin laughed softly. Trust Peli to be all business. 

“Sure. Have half them shipped here and the other half shipped to Nevarro. Grogu and I are heading out to Nal Hutta and I don’t have room for them.”

“Nal Hutta? Why in the name of the Force would you want to go to that worm hole?”

Peli walked over to Grogu and picked him up and began to ask him who had hit his dad on the head lately. 

“To check on the bounty pucks they put out on one of the Jedi’s friends. A guy named Han Solo.”

“Han who? Never heard of him.” Peli made a face at Grogu and the two of them laughed. Apparently she was describing Djarin to his own son. Uff.

“If you’ll permit me, Master Mandalorian, I may have information to share with you regarding that aspect of the Hutt’s activities and it may help you determine…”

“Just spit it out. He’s a friend, not the mayor of Mos Eisley.”

Fennec snapped as the Majordomo had begun one of his customary drones.

“Very good. Very good. The Hutts retracted all of the bounties they had on Captain Solo and his Wookiee companion Chewbacca in the hopes of avoiding trouble with the New Republic. So far it has worked, or so I’m told.”

The Mandalorian sighed again. Despite how happy Grogu was to be with Peli, he was suddenly deflated and looked like he was going to cry. Djarin hated when that happened. It would be several days before Grogu was just his happy, curious self, and during that time the Mandalorian would have to buy him all manner of sweets just to keep the kid from scuffing his feet everywhere they went. Maybe they should take a quick trip to Mandalore and see if the new sweets shop was open. 

“Thanks. I guess that’s it buddy. We’ll have to go to Corellia and pick up fire stacks at that noodle shop you like so much.”

Grogu launched himself out of Peli’s arms, clearly counting on the Mandalorian catching him. No one needed to worry about that working out. The Force was always with Grogu when it counted.

[godstaff]

How should both Superman and Wonder Woman be ideally written?

Ah! The old question.

The first answer is NOT THE WAY THEY ARE.

They are both trusting people, but they should not be gullible and naive. Not even in their secret identities, which I wish they ditch.

Let's see: Superman's main goal is not being noticed when in his Clark Kent persona, so it makes no sense at all he behaves like a bumbling and clumsy giant all the f...ing time. Don't you think it attracts too much undesired attaention to him? Not saying he must be a clever, suave devonair all the time, just a young professional comfortable in his job and his own skin, a normal person, bah.

Diana is a woman men look at. She's beautiful, extremely beautiful, so it makes no sense she acts like a nun, unaware of the amount of male lucious gazes she attracts. I know a lot of outstanding females who have normal jobs, using their looks like another tool of the trade. Her clothes don't need to be cocktail or party dresses all the time, but a normal business suit, every day casual clothes like a jean and shirt with sneakers, a jean jacket. To justify her physique, she can practice ballet, crossfit or some athletic activity, like a young urban professional woman.

In any case, I don't want the secret identity: it's a waste of 50% of their time. They probably spend more time protecting that useless secret than the innocent. Besides, they don't need to have a job to survive, they can dig for antiques, precious stones or valuable metals and sell them. They well could build their own company, but that also calls for too much attention.

They must be in touch with humans in order to know what we need and how to better protect us, but not to tell them what to do all the time, like Batso, Lane and Trevor. Humans always have a hidden agenda, and they need to be free to better perform their mission.

They are true Citizens of the World, they don't need afiliation with any country and/or human faction. If they want to assist those in need they can do it taking the help directly to those places themselves, without human intervention. Remember: humans always have a hidden agenda. Always.

They aren't above the laws, that's why they are part of groups like the Justice League and others to get feedback in what the other think they are doing wrong. They are in contact with the powerful and the meek and listen. The truth is always somewhere in the middle.

They prefer to provide a voice to those who can't speak for themselves, those deprived of an instrument in the Global symphony.

They won't pretend to be gods. They know they can't save everybody, still, they try it anyway, they strive to do what benefits the majority and respond personally to everyone they let down and publicly atone for their mishaps and limitations with humility.

Tey need our trust in them to do what they must. No, not faith: trust based on facts.

They try to build a new school or educational center every day. In the middle of the jungle, in the top of a mountain, in the desert. In the slums. In suburvia. They think a key component of truth is education. Without knowing all the options, is impossible to choose. Choice is the only thing that gets us closer to freedom.

Their motto is "Truth, Justice and Love. For all." That's what they live for.

That would be my corner stone to begin writing Superman and Wonder Woman. I believe it's a firm foundation. We, unfortunatelly, will never see it.

[lune-de-miel-au-paradis]

OC Nina Cerasus deep dive part 2.

Meet my OC from my Star-crossed story. (She is a young woman living in her early twenties on Naboo. The time period is before the Phantom Menace.) I already made a short list about her. This is a little more deeper and collected. I hope you enjoy knowing her and like her as much as I do. Sorry for any mistype or bad English this is not my first language. I made a mood board about how I imagine her, the pictures are from Pinterest.

have they / would they dye their hair? she is a natural dark chocolate brunette, maybe she would add some colorful highlights 

do they maintain eye contact when talking? definitely

what is their tell for lying? a small movement, she picks her right pinky finger.

do they have an accent? she speaks in Nabooan dialect, also, she has a raspy seductive voice. People often ask her if she has a sore throat. Sometimes she sounds out of breath because of her illness. 

what languages do they speak? basic, binari (droid), kenari, 

what kind of music do they listen to? alternative/ acoustic/classic piano, also I think she would like Lana del Rey, Hozier and Mitski

describe them in one word. What could happen to make them the opposite? Abandoned. / Stay by.

do they have any ghosts? yes, her mom died, her dad left, and Maul broke her heart 

what is their worst fear? left alone, die alone, being forgotten

what is a secret they do not tell anyone? she has a few:

That her relationship was with Maul (in my Star-crossed fic)  

She was there when her mom died. 

She was the one who unveiled her fathers frauds and thefts and sent him to jail. It's her revenge. 

what motto do they live by? Ad astra per aspera. - Through hardships to the stars.

if they were a famous figure, who would they be? she was inspired by many characters from movies or books, also from my own life, but if I have to say some concrete examples it would be Amal Clooney's and Dakota Johnson's dressing style, a lot of inpo comes from Ellie Saab and Zuhair Murad gowns. And Sofia Bush's voice.

Also she got her name from my highscool bff called Nina. (She passed away a few years ago sadly due to a car accident.) So it's like a memorial thing to name my oc of her. A few of her personality traits, her freckles and silly moments also given to my character that remind me of my friend. And the green eyes my oc has is coming from me.

personality: the constant fear of being abandoned, having trust issues and the feeling of never being good enough. And she is trying to be the best version of herself by working hard and passionately. She fears to show out her real emotions or build connections, especially romantic ones. 

what great moment shaped them to be who they are? Have they lived through the moment yet? 

discovering her heart disease

when her mom got sick her dad left them and made his own family

Maul choose revenge over her and left in the Phantom Menace, she thinks he just left and used her, she never knew he was the sith assassin till my Heavenbound fic

her grandma’s first accident, then her hospital rest time

Wolffe’s love changed her, healed her and made her trust him and believe in love

what is their fatal flaw? fear of abandonment and trust issues makes her make bad decisions

how do they feel about jewelry? painted nails? she likes celestial themed or rare, personalized dainty jewelry

she gets her nails done soft almond shapes, and always decorated with stars and moons and use sparkly nail polish

what kind of art are they? astrophile as a hobby, art deco as a style, romanticism as paintings and mythological in sculptures and a femme fatale archetype in movies/novels

do they play a sport? weekly pilates lessons and dancing in clubs

do they have a speech impairment? how would that translate across paper? she is well spoken, and intelligent. Also her voice is raspy but in a seductive way.

what could you do to betray their trust? lying 

what makes them smile? acts of kindness and gentleness, paying attention to her little things, also the starry sky, and her loved ones

if you had to choose something to make them go all john wick, who would it be? to protect her loved ones

do they swear? in what language? yes in basic mostly

how comfortable do they feel around strangers? she tries to seem calm and collected being in charge of the conversation, but she usually assesses and judges their gestures and researches their back intentions

are they extraverted or introverted? introverted 

do they stand straight? what is their posture like? straight and hard like a ballerina's posture

what is their sleep schedule like? when she has time after work on mini power naps on rare occasions, she’s more insomniac workaholic

would they consciously invade someone else's body space? even a stranger's? always holds a decent distance, except when she flirts

how do they feel about contact with other people? do they flinch? she doesn’t like touchy people and only hugs her loved ones

are they the first to hug? never (exception if when she hugs Maul)

what would make them kill / stop them from killing? her morals, she wouldn’t hurt anyone on purpose and she avoids physical harm

how do they smile? do they have dimples? yes she has smaller dimples, and in her apples and on her chin, and it makes her diastema visible

what about their teeth -- braces? sharp teeth? dentures? yellow teeth? what about spots? hers are white and straight but she has diastema (a big space between her two front teeth)

how do they get others' attention? clear their throat? punch them? clears her throat,

do they talk with their hands? sometimes

what is their final goal? building her home, having a family and feeling safe

how would they describe happiness? being with the people she can trust and love, under the bright starry night admiring the comets

what is their biggest conflict? it doesn't need to be big for everyone else, only for them. 

she needs to learn to let others in and be open for love

it’s hard for her to understand that Wolffe is loves her and doesn’t have the intention to leave her

also letting go Maul, she never knew who he truly was and her ideal about him got shattered in my Heavenbound fic, she had a hard time learning the truth letting her feelings go and having a closure, after she meets him on Mandalore

how do they react to death? seel super sad, and isolate herself 

do they cry? how do they cry ? in silent tears, or sobbing and screaming in pain, but she is not a crybaby. she suppresses it and have “episodes” of panic attacks she refers to as“inner storms”

how do they react when someone else is crying? can they comfort a stranger? she tries to give some sort of solution or comfort, she is empathetic

how are they around pets? are they allergic to any? she is allergic to tooka cats, she loves wolves 

following up, do they have allergies? to some pollens, and tooka cats

do they take off their shoes going into a stranger's house? would they offer to do the dishes? she offers to help cleaning up

do they call strangers by their first name or title? she is a professional lawyer so she calls people on their title/ titled name or accost

how do they show fear? trying to hide it? shaking? etc. she tries to hide it and acting calm and collected, try to show out her fearlessness, her voice is tremble and she shake's lightly

what is their impact on other characters? she usually gives the impression of a beautiful, clever, well spoken intelligent women who is very elusive and cunning

how could any of these change by the end of the story? we can see her softened up and warm hearted true self in the end of Heavenbound, she heals her traumas from Starcrossed, lets go of her past and builds her own family. She learns to trust and she dies while she is defending others. 

Taglist: @hellhound5925 @cloneloverrrrr @stardustbee @the-chains-are-the-easy-part @firstofficerwiggles

let me know if you would like to be added!

[tieria-erde]

i finished rewatching gwitch! here are some of my final thoughts, broadly and in no particular order

~7.5/10 show. i enjoyed it a lot and i would recommend it to others even if i feel that it fell flat thematically in a number of places

suletta is an unbelievably good protagonist. i do not have particularly charitable opinions on the portrayal of women in the gundam franchise, so when this show was first announced i deliberately kept my expectations very low. i'm glad i did, but i really didn't need to, because holy shit they knocked it out of the fucking park with suletta

similarly, i still can't believe that they made a yuri gundam and the yuri is FANTASTIC. they got lesbian married and everything. no notes. when the finale first aired i saw a baffling number of people complaining online that gwitch was queerbait, ostensibly for not having an outright confession or kiss scene. to those people i have to say: GOD YOU ARE STUPID

i started this rewatch because this show's stance on parents has bothered me since i first watched it, and it made it hard to properly recommend it to people. i will, eventually, make a very long post about this, but i think i've successfully made peace with my grievances about this specific topic, for the most part

...however i still find the trajectory of guel's character arc egregiously disappointing

this show did not spend enough time on earth

when gwitch was first airing i saw someone point out how norea expresses a really potent grief over the idea that "earthian lives are cheaper than spacians'", and that line hits really hard, but then... the show proves her right by having earthian characters be basically the only deaths in the cast by the end. that's always stuck with me. i mean, it's fucking true, jesus

i said something midway through season 2 along the lines of "the rest of this show is too heavy to have earned the ending it got" and i don't know if i still believe that. for one, i've said this before and i'll say it again: the lesbian gundam show ending with a literal rainbow light show is FUCKING FUNNYYY

for two, i do think it became kind of hard for this show to kill its characters off at a certain point because they REALLY wanted to drive the point home of "you can't run from your past mistakes, you have to move forward" and a character kind of has to be alive to move forward... oops!

i ALSO said something about "run and gain one, move forward and gain two" being a "flawed adage" or something, and that was kind of me misremembering certain aspects of the story... i thought they condemned prospera's little motto at some point, but it actually continued to in fact basically be the message of the whole show...

i found it kind of hard to connect whatever prospera was doing to the political goings-on of the plot... to be honest, throughout the whole quiet zero thing, i kept thinking to myself, "god, i wish we were looking at the political situation on earth instead right now"

I Should Read The Tempest BTW

this show's character writing is straight up fantastic. i feel like almost every single character was memorable and charming in some way

for some reason, though, ojelo's name is only said once in this entire show. i'm not kidding. they tell you his name when they introduce him and then never say it again. i know this because i heard his name in his first appearance, forgot it, and then spent the rest of the show waiting for them to say it again so i could remember it. it never happened. do you know who ojelo gabel is? no, you don't. because they ONLY SAY HIS NAME ONCE.

also, unpopular opinion, but i don't really care for prospera. i don't know if i'm insane for this, but after watching it multiple times i STILL don't understand that scene where all the ghosts from the prologue are talking to prospera and suletta's like "you chose eri's future over revenge, and i can't fault you for that!" like, holy shit, i genuinely don't get it. she didn't do that at all. she killed people? she actively declared that she wanted to get revenge on delling rembran and Kill Him? am i missing something. this scene doesn't make any sense. if this scene makes sense to you legit please explain it to me

i had fun yay ^_^ ok thanks for reading

[yuzukahibiscus]

ZUKA LIVE (MINAMI MAITO)

(Hey this is Hibiscus! This is a scheduled post but happy Shonichi for Minami Maito’s dinner show “ONE AND ONLY”! I’ve pre-translated this 2-page feature from Takarazuka GRAPH March Issue in 2021. Hope all is well for Maiti and other performers today!)

— Stars respond to readers’ questions and requests!

Q: Please tell us your routine before you go on stage! Usually when I want to focus, I’d eat my favourite lamb congee! (~From Summer is Lamb Congee)

A: I see~ What would I be doing…2 hours before the performance I’d have entered the dressing room, done some warm up and my makeup…it’s usually set with this rundown, but depending on my conditions and feelings on that day, the specific routine would change. If there was a way that would make my performance better, I won’t however decide it on that “this was it!”

Q: If you were an athlete competing in the Tokyo Olympics, what sports event would you join? (~From Maiti’s Eyelashes)

A: You’re my eyelash!? (LOL) Then I’d hope you’d be a longer and thicker eyelash type (LOL) What event would I do…if it’s gymanstics, maybe something closer back to the gymnastics that I’d do. I want people to be surprised [with the event that I participated] that it suits me, and finds it amazing I can achieve that kind of balance! I’d like to do those that involve the “mattress”, but my back is hard so I think if I were to do a back flip, I’d probably break my bones (LOL).

Q: I can always receive Minami-san’s cheerful energy. So my question is, have you eaten something that would make you feel good? Also is there something you’d see as a treat to yourself? I want to know what keeps Minami-san so hyped up. I will keep on supporting the cool and wonderful Maiti♡ (~ From Hikaru Mama 🐣)

A: Thank you! Hm, I just realised this but I don’t think I’d get hyped up from eating…But in rest days and before the long holidays, when I’m having grilled meat, Korean dish, pasta and could eat food with garlic without worrying about it, the feeling of “Oh, I’m taking a rest” really becomes so real to me and that would be a treat [for myself].

Q: Was there the funniest thing that happened recently? (~From Aachan)

A: During the Special Live “Aqua Bella!!”, I sang a song in “Senhor CRUZEIRO!”. During “Senhor” when I sang this song, I’d go down to the audience so there was no choreography for this song, this time I thought since it’s just myself so I was teaching everyone around me how to do the Samba step. When I tried dancing and singing this out during my self-rehearsals, I added unnecessarily excessive vibrato to my singing (LOL) and everyone was erupting in laughter.

Q: Could you do a pair of sexy pose and cute pose that fans would feel happy about, please? I’d like to see the gap! (~From Norino)

A: How should I do the cute pose…Tadaa~

Q: Do you have a quote or motto in your heart that you would encourage yourself to cheer up when you faced some setbacks? (~From Yuri)

A: This is really difficult because I have plentiful quotes (in mind). Rather than a motto, I’d say that I have to believe myself even more in this time. If I thought “I can’t do this”, then I really wouldn’t be able to do it, and I’d be overwhelmed by that absence of confidence. Frustrations are the next thing to conquer, but honestly if you’re feeling down for a long time, you really can’t finish one good thing out of it, so the next thing should be trusting in yourself, and thinking of how to make things work in the time to come.

Q: In the Senshuuraku (last day) performance of “Haikara-san ga Tooru” you said to Tamaki, “You’re in love with me, right” did you think over that line when you said it? Also, did you think of saying this line before Senshuuraku? (~From Girl S who couldn’t forget that line)

A: After the marriage scene where (Shoui saves Benio from the fire), the order of the cast members saying the lines are all ad-libs. We really didn’t think about it beforehand but I was thinking if there was anything I could say during the Senshuuraku, so I asked Kurisu (Oto) who played Tamaki if she thought of anything, but she didn’t and we were quickly entering into Act II (LOL). I wanted to allow the audience to enjoy the two’s relationship, how Tamaki is somehow trying to pursue (Onijima) but not in a “clingy” kind of way…I kept thinking about it, and then it clicked my mind when it was my turn to go out!

Q:  I’d like to know about your awareness when dancing with the musumeyaku, or the enjoyment you felt when dancing in pairs! (~ From Erina)

A: It’s really~ fun because when I dance in pairs (with my partner), I’m dancing while feeling their gaze and also their breathing and the nuance of the dance itself! And beyond anything else, musumeyaku-san are cute! We’d constantly have the awareness to dance well in order to let our partners look well, so when if it’s about the timing to lead the dance, I’d think about how to lead my partner well and practice many times with them, so when I can fully demonstrate it, the dance won’t feel too heavy and it feels great!

Q: In the Takarazuka 1st photobook, Seo [Yuria]-san praised you saying, “Before the summer she was still skinny, then after the summer she became a Muscle Man”. It’s around 1 month for the summer…? How did you gain muscles in this short time? I know this is done by accumulative effort, but could you please tell us? I’m looking forward to know! (~From Dry Eye)

A: I’m sooooooo embarrassed [about that comment], but I’m probably just chubby (LOL). In those strict Yokasei days, in order not to fall asleep I thought “I must eat”. Anyway, the outcome of all those calorie intake [from eating] is having firm muscles in May already that are “buff! buff! buff! buff!” and thus coming to the condition where I was having muscles all over my body. Seo was probably busy that she didn’t realise it before, so when she has free time and finally realised it, she said that [in my photobook] (LOL).

[tinyvoicejill]

Carson’s not disappointed. 

How could she be disappointed that the man she’d spent her life with was her soulmate? That’s wonderful news, surely, and she can tell Charlie is thrilled about it, so she tries her best to smile and nod along like her heart isn’t shriveling up in her chest. 

“Can you believe it?” Charlie says once they’ve finished their afterlife tour and finally settled into their new eternal home. “We get to spend eternity together!”

Carson hums in agreement and tries to ignore the ache in her chest. Tries to forget that moments before they’d died together in that car accident she’d been about to ask Charlie for a divorce. It doesn’t work, of course, and she lays awake every night thinking about it. For this to be a place of eternal joy, Carson sure is feeling stressed out. “How about we go to dinner tonight downtown?” Charlie asks like he does every day. 

He’s worried about her, she can tell, but it was a lot easier to fake happiness on Earth when she’d felt like there was a way out. There’s no way out of The Good Place. This is her forever. Everything feels a bit hopeless, knowing that. Her afterlife doesn’t feel any brighter, in fact, until she meets Greta. 

They make eye contact at the Fruits and Boots market downtime as they both reach for the same pair of leather cowboy boots at the same moment. Carson is so overwhelmed just looking into her eyes that she drops it and sprints away, not stopping until she’s safely hidden behind the banana display. She has no idea why she reacted like that and she spends the next minute berating herself for her odd reaction, only to look up in her self-flagellation to find the woman standing before her watching her with a curious look. The woman holds out the boots. “I’ve got a pair like these at home,” she says. “You can take them.” They’re inseparable after that.

Being friends with Greta becomes the highlight of Carson’s afterlife. She’s happy, and Charlie’s happy, too, seeing her light up so much. She spends every moment she can with Greta. At her house, in her garden, exploring their small town together - she enjoys almost every moment she spends with her. Every moment except for when Vernon is there.

Vernon, Greta’s soulmate. Her tall, handsome soulmate, who worked as a veterinarian in real life and now spends his days volunteering at the zoo of imaginary creatures. They make a good pairing, Vernon and Greta. They’re both so beautiful, and seeing them together makes sense to her, even if it makes her stomach ache. They probably would have clicked in their living lives had they met, though they didn’t know each other before like Carson and Charlie did. 

“It’s so special,” Vernon is saying over another dinner they share, “that you guys were soulmates in and after life.”

Carson wishes the seat would swallow her up. She can feel Greta’s eyes on her. “Yeah,” Charlie says, completely unaware of the way she’s melting into the ground. “You know, most people don’t get to spend their forever with the person they’ve always loved. We’re so lucky.”

Carson doesn’t say much else for the rest of dinner, too lost in her own thoughts. Greta doesn’t say anything either until they’re alone in the kitchen placing their dishes in the Dish Disintegrator (there’s no dish washing in the good place, after all). She tries to ignore the way Greta keeps hovering over her shoulder. Obviously Greta won’t allow that. “You okay chickadee?” Greta asks, and Carson tries to smile. “Oh yeah! It’s just… I don’t know. I’m fine.” Greta nudges her. “It’s okay to not be fine, too.” Carson laughs too loudly, with too much force. “What are you talking about? We’re in the good place. Everything is fine here, that’s literally the motto.” Greta’s studying her face like she’s trying to read something. Carson feels her resolve crumble fast. Vulnerability strikes her, makes her foolish.

“Do you ever feel like they got it wrong?” she asks. “Who?”

Carson gestures towards the living room where the men are having a charming conversation about the fishing they plan to do this weekend at the lake. Greta stares out at them, then looks back to Carson before looking at the men again. Carson can tell she understands.

“Do you ever think they got this wrong? Got us wrong?”

Greta doesn’t say anything after that, so neither does Carson.

The next morning, Carson finds a letter under her door from Greta inviting her over to help make table decor. She’s throwing a neighborhood party soon and needs to make sure everything is perfect.

Carson’s excitement at being with Greta slips away at the serious way she’s appraising her, at the way she pulls her into her home and locks the door, shuts the blinds, pushes her to the couch. Carson’s practically trembling by the time Greta sits beside her.

“I’m so sorry about last night,” Carson says, desperate fear clawing at her. “I just had too much giggle juice, you know? I just wasn’t thinking.”

Greta keeps looking at her that way that scares her even as she holds her arms open and asks,

“Can I have a hug?”

Relief washes over Carson as she pulls Greta in. She can feel how tight Greta is holding her, can feel her breath against her ear as Greta whispers,

“I think you’re right. They got us wrong.”

Carson jolts and Greta holds her tighter.

“Vernon is not my soulmate, and I don’t think Charlie is yours, either. Something’s wrong.”

“How do you know?” Carson whispers back, and she ignores the chills that breakout across her body at the feel of Greta chuckling against her ear.

“Because I’m a forking lesbian,” she whispers bitterly. “There’s something wrong with this place, and I’m gonna figure it out. Are you with me?”

Overloaded with sensations and thoughts, Carson takes so long to speak that Greta starts pulling away from the hug, but Carson pulls her more firmly into her, going so far as to press a hand to the back of Greta’s head to hold her tight against her.

“I’m with you,” she whispers back with a slight tremble in her voice. If she didn’t know better, she’d think she felt a quick brush of lips just beneath her ear.

[artbyace]

interview music game

thanks for the tag @lupinsmoons @murderoushagthesequel @deadgayfurrywizardsinthe70s and @ghostometrist !!

RULES: Put your playlist on shuffle. For each of the 10 interview questions, select a lyric from the random song that comes up. (Skip if there aren't any lyrics and make sure to drop the name of the song in your interview answer!) <3

1. First off, how would you describe yourself in one sentence?

High achiever, don't you see? Baby, nothing comes for free, They say I'm a control freak, Driven by a greed to succeed

Are You Satisfied? - MARINA

(that couldn’t be any more accurate omg qwq)

2. What kind of [virgo] are you?

Never thought I'd find you, But you're here, and so I love you

Glue Song - beabadoobee

(hopeless romantic virgo 100%)

3. You're visiting your favorite spot, what are you thinking about?

And I'll be in denial for at least a little while. What about the plans we made?

TV - Billie Eilish

my fav spots do always make me think of the people i’ve lost…

4. If your life was a movie, what do you think the first review would say about it?

If you bite my hand again, I will never feed you, you can call me evil

EVIL - Melanie Martinez

(i use this song to visualize getting back and healing from all of my trauma and troubles so i HOPE a movie about my life would have this vibe)

5. Say you get a book deal, what are you titling your memoir?

I don't miss you, I miss the thought of what we were

It’s All Futile! It’s All Pointless! - Lovejoy

6. What would you say about your best friends?

You ought to know that I think we're one and the same (<33)

the perfect pair - beabadoobee

7. Think back to when you had everything all figured out in high school, what was your life motto as a teenager?

Pipe down with the noise, I cannot bear my sorrow. I hate who I was before. I fear I won't live to see the day tomorrow, Someone tell me if this is Hell

VOID - Melanie Martinez

(i’m still a teenager so this is just my Now motto,,)

8. Describe your aesthetic now:

Cut you off, watch you die, Just a fairy with a knife

NYMPHOLOGY - Melanie Martinez

9. What's a lyric that they'll quote in your eulogy?

Now your name makes all the life inside me shake, But I guess God wants us apart for heaven's sake

So Alright, Cool, Whatever - The Happy Fits

(OW??)

10. And for our final question, say we believe in soulmates, what do you think their first impression of meeting you will be?

Well alrighty Aphrodite

Alrighty Aphrodite - Peach Pitt

(100% not the context in the song but it’s silly and if Someone did think of me as aphrodite i would marry them instantly)

im so late to do this and i don’t wanna retag ppl so imma just leav this open to any followers who wants to join ;>>