#but i think it will be worth it for the kind of story i want to tell anyway

[classyrbf]

STILL IN LOVE! #12 — TOJI FUSHIGURO

SYNOPSIS...after still messing around with your ex husband, you began to wonder if you’re still in love with him after finding out about his new girlfriend…only to realize it’s much more complicated than you led on

INFO...ex husband!toji x fem!reader, reader & toji have two kids, megumi is readers bio son, jealousy, smut, angst, arguments, alcohol, drinking problem, family problems, arguing in front of kids, toxic behaviors, crying, mentions of divorce, mentions of jail, blood, not proofread

OTHER...likes and reblogs are appreciated

series masterlist

As soon as you stepped back inside the house you immediately made your way over to the bedroom to grab your phone. Your head was still spinning from what just happened. Your heart was pounding so fast you could hear it in your ears. The thought of Toji going to jail made you anxious, scared. You two finally started off on the right foot, making little progress each day and you didn’t want to tell the kids that their father was in jail. Hell, you didn’t even know how long he’d be in jail for this kind of shit. You didn’t have the money to bail him out, whatever the cost may be. But you had an idea of who might.

Quickly, you called Gojo. The phone rang while you chewed on your bottom lip, leg bouncing up and down nervously while you waited. “Hello?” It was like a weight lifted off of your shoulders upon hearing his voice.

“Gojo, thank god you fucking answered,” you sighed.

“Y/n? Oh no…what’d he do this time? Better be worth you waking me up for,” he yawned.

You let out a soft chuckle before explaining, “he’s in jail, or is gonna end up in jail—”

“Hold up, what?” Gojo jumped up, brows furrowing at your words.

“To make a long story short, my ex boyfriend came over this morning while toji was here, he said some shit toji didn’t like and toji beat the shit outta him. Cops were called and they dragged both of them away and said toji will most likely go to jail,” you explained, biting the inside of your cheek.

“And I’m guessing you need me to bail him out? Yeah?”

“Yes…Gojo, please. Me and Toji…we were doing good and the kids and it’s just—”

“Listen, call Shoko to pick the kids up after school and I’ll be over in a little bit,” he said.

“Thank you.”

Toji sat in the chair, hands laying flat on the desk as he waited in the dingy questioning room. He felt like some big time criminal, considering what happened. He was annoyed, having to go through this whole process over a simple fight. “People are pussies,” he muttered to himself. Nanami should’ve kept his mouth shut, especially about the kids. He should’ve left when you asked him to and instead he kept on going.

All Toji could think about was you, wondering if you were disappointed in him, upset or even at your breaking point with him. He promised he wouldn’t mess up his chance, and yet here is sitting in a police station with the high probability of being put behind bars. He impatiently tapped his foot on the ground, the buzzing sound of the overhead fluorescent lights making his head pound. The slight cut on lip still stung everytime he licked his lips, a faint taste of blood on his tongue.

A knock at the door snapped him from his thoughts, a police officer walking in and flashing a quick, fake smile at Toji. “Alright, Mr…Fushiguro.” The man took a seat across from Toji and it couldn’t help but make his eye twitch.

“When can I leave?” Were the first words that came out of his mouth. “I need to see my wife and kids.”

The officer chuckled, shaking his head. “Not until we get your side of the story. We already questioned Mr. Nanami, and we got your wife’s—ex wife’s side as well, so you’re next. Mind telling me what happened from beginning to end?” The officer clicked the blue pen his had in his hand, flipping the next page in his notepad.

“I woke up, made breakfast for my wife and shortly after she woke up as well. We talked for a little, didn’t even get to sit down and eat before the doorbell rang. She answered it and I looked over to see it was her ex boyfriend at the door,” he mumbles, not once shifting his gaze.

“You say she’s your wife and you say Mr. Nanami is he ex boyfriend. But he says that you two are divorced,” the officer adds.

“We are but we plan on working things out, so she’s my wife.” The officer nods are Toji’s words, scribbling it down on the white paper. “I walk over to the door and stand behind her, and they’re having a conversation about their relationship. She told they broke up—he broke up with her because of me and our relationship. Fair enough. She respected it and realized that maybe me and her should work stuff out because of our kids—”

“So why exactly did he show up?” The officer cocks his head to the side.

“To apologize and get her back. Why else would he be there? She didn’t want to and that’s when shit hit the fan.” Toji shrugged.

“By ‘shit hit the fan’ you mean when started saying nasty comments? Your wife said he began belittling her, talking about your kids and your relationship? Am I correct?” His brows raise, the tip of the pen to his paper.

“She asked him to leave, and he wouldn’t. He was saying stuff about how are relationship wouldn’t last and how I only wanted to keep her around for…sex. Then he brought up my kids, and that’s when I knocked his ass to floor. Sound bout right?” Toji blinked, completely uninterested.

“You say she asked him to leave and he wouldn’t?” The officer glances up at him for a quick second.

“Yeah,” toji responds.

“Just one more question, you don’t live there right?” The officer folded his hands in front of him.

Toji hesitated to answer. He knew if he said no, they’d probably charge him, but he said yeah, he’d be lying but he probably won’t get charged due to fact Nanami was most likely trespassing. “I do. Been living there for about a month.”

“Alright, that’s all I needed to know. Be back in few.” The chair screeched against the floor as the officer stood and walked out the room.

With a roll of Toji’s eyes he let out a scoff. “Fucking pigs.”

You paced back and forth in the living room, nervously biting at your nails, anticipating the moment Gojo knocked on the door. You couldn’t believe this was happening. It was like the universe had placed some kind of curse on you. Was it so hard to have one good day? Apparently so. The sound of knocking pulled you from your thoughts, wasting no time to unlock the door where you were met with Gojo himself, in sweatpants, a hoodie, and his hair disheveled. It was weird not seeing him dress up for once.

“Gojo.” You quickly hugged him.

“Hey, hey.” He hugged back, stepping into your house. “So, what the fuck happened? Did he seriously get arrested?” He shook his head in confusion.

You let out a deep sigh, just the thought of talking about it made you feel tired, annoyed, upset. You weren’t sure what you were. “Yes? I mean, they dragged both of them away, but Toji hit first.” You plopped down on the couch, holding your head in your hands. “He’s most likely going to jail.”

“He is going to jail,” Gojo corrected. “If they find out he doesn’t live here, and that he swung first…jail time!” Gojo sat beside you. “Depends on how much your ex boyfriend is willing to tell.” He glanced at you.

You groaned in annoyance, falling back onto the plush cushions. “Okay, but he was talking about our kids and saying all shit to me and—”

“You think cops give a shit? All they care about is sending whoever to jail. Toji or whatever his name is. And knowing Toji’s record with the police, he’s not making it out of this one.” Gojo reached into his pocket pulling out a piece of candy. “Want some?”

You glared at him, blinking. Was he serious? “Did you seriously bring candy?” You asked, looking at the piece of taffy he held between his fingers.

“Yeah, I had a whole bag of ‘em. Anyway, you want it?” He held it out to you.

“Gojo, can we please focus right now? What if he gets let off without a warning? That’s good right?” Someway somehow you’re hoping that’s the best possible outcome in this situation.

“Well, then excellent. Wait, did he like bash his face in? Or how bad are we talking?” Gojo narrowed his eyes.

“Gojo, I don’t know! For fucks sake!” You rose to your feet, stress levels rising higher. “How do we even know he’s in jail? He’s probably locked up as we speak!” You were panicking and you weren’t exactly why. Gojo said he’d bail him out for you, so coming up with money wasn’t a problem. It’s the fact that you felt like this was entirely your fault. Your relationship with Kento and your relationship with Toji, everything came crashing down. As a grown woman with two kids, you’d think you’d know better and know how to confront your own feelings without getting others involved but apparently that was impossible for you.

Though, it’s not like you expect Kento to show up on your doorstep this morning wanting to take you back. You felt horrible. He was a good man, sweet and kind, and you, you were still stuck on your ex husband and clearly that hurt him. You were sorry for that, you take responsibility that. But that gave him no excuse to bring your kids into this. Everything about this was so fucked up. Even more than before.

“Listen, relax. They’ll allow him some phone calls if they do lock him up. He will most likely call you, and you’ll spill the great news to him! No problem!” Gojo shrugged it off, reaching into his pocket to pull out another piece of taffy.

“It’s been like three hours already.” You huff.

“Then he’s probably locked up,” he casually said, popping the candy into his mouth.

“Can you take this seriously for one second?” You you take a deep breath, finding the inner strength not to yell and cuss Gojo out just because you were extremely overwhelmed.

“I am! Listen, you know he’s been in jail before! He’s fine!” Gojo swatted his hand, brushing off the situation like it was so casual.

“Yeah, with you! When you two got into that stupid ass bar fight and Shoko and Geto called me at three in the fucking morning!” Your nostrils flared, rolling your eyes at the man in front of you.

“No need to dwell on the past—wait, is that—”

“What?” You looked at Gojo, eyes wide.

“Is that your phone?” He stands up.

You run towards your bedroom, nearly tripping over your own feet as the sound of your phone ringing grew louder. “Fuck where is it?” Your eyes scanned over your dresser and nightstand before you standing tearing your blankets off of the bed. Your phone flew to the floor and you quickly grabbed it, seeing it was an unsaved number. Fuck.

“Hello? Toji?” Your voice shook as you spoke. You could hear slight breathing on the other end.

“Baby…”

tag list (closed):

@sweetpo1son @lovebittenbyevans @ryumurin @he4rts444mi @cherrypieyourface @lemonintrovert01 @ladysi0 @avanly @chilichopsticks @tananaxx @akusrider @irlbungee @my-anime-garden @hnm-mika @antiholdinghandsclub @yharnam-prophet @crankyarchives @nnnancyr @kenqki @ebiharachan @dollcest @whoreforjjkmen @yoyio90 @jaegergirl @r0seandth0rns @blankwashed @ittomain1 @3rdmonday @5seos @weird0o0 @1-800-choke-that-ho @s-j320 @viisgrave @mayajadewrites @jhiyoon @fisherman-boat @mochimoee @cheridrwyy @olanii1019 @vi-ola666 @emmaperdoswife @sucrose-fqn @rhyies-pieces @tojislittleprincesss @sashadonat @ruixrei @zara-zara11 @paper--angel @khyok @ilyanadelarosa @zxnxy @esmedelacroix

[voidingintotheshout]

As an adult who reads a lot of classic literature, I realize I’m kind of in the minority here, but I’m kind of confused that most people don’t really get reading classic literature. It’s like any other hobby, like drawing, or making music or knitting/crocheting. Not every one (Book or drawing or knitting/crochet project or short story written)  is going to end up being a winner, but it’s a nice diversion, and there are a wide variety of ways to appreciate a book other than just entertainment value. The nice part about reading a classic book, as opposed to just some random books you found at a thrift store for a dollar is that the classic work is at least verified by critics or readers from the past that it was found to be worth a wide variety of readers‘ time. Like Kafka’s the metamorphosis has like tens of thousands of five star reviews (going back almost a century if you know what I mean) and so if you don’t like it, it might not be your thing, but nobody needs you to weigh in on a book like that. I’m not good at social cues, and so it took me a long time to figure out why everyone insisted on starting, when reading Herman Melville, with Moby Dick. A book that famously almost nobody enjoys. Like he has other books that are really enjoyable, that aren’t as serious so nobody reads them. It took me a long time to realize that they don’t really give a shit about enjoying their time reading Moby Dick. They’re just reading the book to check it off of a list of important books. They don’t care if it’s good or that they enjoy it. They just need to get it over with. It took me so long to figure out why no one was ever interested in my recommendations of genuinely entertaining Herman Melville books, because the point wasn’t for them to enjoy their time reading Melville, it was to check off the one book of Melville‘s that they are expected to read, and then they are going to never think about him again. Like there are probably more engaging works by friends Franz Kafka, but nobody really cares about actually finding a way to appreciate the author, they just want to check off the one book that anybody cares about and then they’ll never think about him again. It took me so long to figure out that that was the mindset of the average person. I hope this didn’t derail the post. I just felt like it was meaningful nuance. Oh, and it’s one long paragraph because I am on mobile and if I try to split a paragraph into smaller paragraphs, it can sometimes delete the entire post and I don’t want to risk that. 

goodreads reviewers aren't human

[metanarrates]

Hello. Sorry if this a stupid question u can ignore if u want.

How can someone get better at media analysis? Besides obviously reading a lot.

Im asking this bc im in a point where im aware of my own lack of tools to analyze stories, but i don't know where to get them or how to get better in general. How did you learn to analyze media? There's any specific book, essay, author, etc that you recommend? Somewhere to start?

I'm asking you because you are genuinely the person who has the best takes on this site. Thank you for you work!

it sounds like a cop-out answer but it's always felt like a skill I acquired mostly thru reading a ton, and by paying a lot of attention in high school literature classes. because of that I can't promise that I'm necessarily equipped to be a good teacher or that i know good resources. HOWEVER! let me run some potential advice to you based on the shit i get a lot of mileage out of

first off, a lot of literary analysis is about pattern recognition! not just pattern recognition in-text, but out-of-text as well. how does this work relate to its genre? real-world history? does it have parallels between real-life situations? that kind of thing.

which is a big concept to just describe off the bat, so let me break it down further!

in literature, there is the concept of something called literary devices - they are some of the basic building blocks in how a story is delivered mechanically and via subtext. have you ever heard of a motif? that is a literary device. it's a pattern established in the text in order to further the storytelling! and here is a list of a ton of common literary devices - I'd recommend reading the article. it breaks down a lot of commonly used ones in prose and poetry and explains their usage.

personally, I don't find all the literary devices I've learned about in school to be the most useful to my analytical hobbies online. motifs, themes, and metaphors are useful and dissecting them can bring a lot to the table, but a lot of other devices are mostly like fun bonus trivia for me to notice when reading. however, memorizing those terms and trying to notice them in the things you read does have a distinct benefit - it encourages you to start noticing patterns, and to start thinking of the mechanical way a story is built. sure, thinking about how the prose is constructed might not help you understand the story much more, but it does make you start thinking about how things like prose contribute to the greater feeling of a piece, or how the formatting of a piece contributes to its overall narrative. you'll start developing this habit of picking out little things about a text, which is useful.

other forms of in-text pattern recognition can be about things like characterization! how does a character react to a certain situation? is it consistent with how they usually behave? what might that tell you about how they think? do they have tells that show when they're not being trustworthy? does their viewpoint always match what is happening on screen? what ideas do they have about how the world works? how are they influenced by other people in their lives? by social contexts that might exist? by situations that have affected them? (on that note, how do situations affect other situations?)

another one is just straight-up noticing themes in a work. is there a certain idea that keeps getting brought up? what is the work trying to say about that idea? if it's being brought up often, it's probably worth paying attention to!

that goes for any pattern, actually. if you notice something, it's worth thinking about why it might be there. try considering things like potential subtext, or what a technique might be trying to convey to a reader. even if you can't explain why every element of a text is there, you'll often gain something by trying to think about why something exists in a story.

^ sometimes the answer to that question is not always "because it's intentional" or even "because it was a good choice for the storytelling." authors frequently make choices that suck shit (I am a known complainer about choices that suck shit.) that's also worth thinking about. english classes won't encourage this line of thinking, because they're trying to get you to approach texts with intentional thought instead of writing them off. I appreciate that goal, genuinely, but I do think it hampers people's enthusiasm for analysis if they're not also being encouraged to analyze why they think something doesn't work well in a story. sometimes something sucks and it makes new students mad if they're not allowed to talk about it sucking! I'll get into that later - knowing how and why something doesn't work is also a valuable skill. being an informed and analytical hater will get you far in life.

so that's in-work literary analysis. id also recommend annotating your pages/pdfs or keeping a notebook if you want to close-read a work. keeping track of your thoughts while reading even if they're not "clever" or whatever encourages you to pay attention to a text and to draw patterns. it's very useful!

now, for out-of-work literary analysis! it's worth synthesizing something within its context. what social settings did this work come from? was it commenting on something in real life? is it responding to some aspects of history or current events? how does it relate to its genre? does it deviate from genre trends, commentate on them, or overall conform to its genre? where did the literary techniques it's using come from - does it have any big stylistic influences? is it referencing any other texts?

and if you don't know the answer to a bunch of these questions and want to know, RESEARCH IS YOUR FRIEND! look up historical events and social movements if you're reading a work from a place or time you're not familiar with. if you don't know much about a genre, look into what are considered common genre elements! see if you can find anyone talking about artistic movements, or read the texts that a work might be referencing! all of these things will give you a far more holistic view of a work.

as for your own personal reaction to & understanding of a work... so I've given the advice before that it's good to think about your own personal reactions to a story, and what you enjoy or dislike about it. while this is true that a lot of this is a baseline jumping-off point on how I personally conduct analysis, it's incomplete advice. you should not just be thinking about what you enjoy or dislike - you should also be thinking about why it works or doesn't work for you. if you've gotten a better grasp on story mechanics by practicing the types of pattern recognition i recognized above, you can start digging into how those storytelling techniques have affected you. did you enjoy this part of a story? what made it work well? what techniques built tension, or delivered well on conflict? what about if you thought it sucked? what aspects of storytelling might have failed?

sometimes the answer to this is highly subjective and personal. I'm slightly romance-averse because I am aromantic, so a lot of romance plots will simply bore me or actively annoy me. I try not to let that personal taste factor too much into serious critiques, though of course I will talk about why I find something boring and lament it wasn't done better lol. we're only human. just be aware of those personal taste quirks and factor them into analysis because it will help you be a bit more objective lol

but if it's not fully influenced by personal taste, you should get in the habit of building little theses about why a story affected you in a certain way. for example, "I felt bored and tired at this point in a plot, which may be due to poor pacing & handling of conflict." or "I felt excited at this point in the plot, because established tensions continued to get more complex and captured my interest." or "I liked this plot point because it iterated on an established theme in a way that brought interesting angles to how the story handled the theme." again, it's just a good way to think about how and why storytelling functions.

uh let's see what else. analysis is a collaborative activity! you can learn a lot from seeing how other people analyze! if you enjoy something a lot, try looking into scholarly articles on it, or youtube videos, or essays online! develop opinions also about how THOSE articles and essays etc conduct analysis, and why you might think those analyses are correct or incorrect! sometimes analyses suck shit and developing a counterargument will help you think harder about the topic in question! think about audience reactions and how those are created by the text! talk to friends! send asks to meta blogs you really like maybe sometimes

find angles of analysis that interest and excite you! if you're interested in feminist lenses on a work, or racial lenses, or philosophical lenses, look into how people conduct those sort of analyses on other works. (eg. search feminist analysis of hamlet, or something similar so you can learn how that style of analysis generally functions) and then try applying those lenses to the story you're looking at. a lot of analysts have a toolkit of lenses they tend to cycle through when approaching a new text - it might not be a bad idea to acquire a few favored lenses of your own.

also, most of my advice is literary advice, since you can broadly apply many skills you learn in literary analysis to any other form of storytelling, but if you're looking at another medium, like a game or cartoon, maybe look up some stuff about things like ludonarrative storytelling or visual storytelling! familiarizing yourself with the specific techniques common to a certain medium will only help you get better at understanding what you're seeing.

above all else, approach everything with intellectual curiosity and sincerity. even if you're sincerely curious about why something sucks, letting yourself gain information and potentially learning something new or being humbled in the process will help you grow. it's okay to not have all the answers, or to just be flat-out wrong sometimes. continuing to practice is a valuable intellectual pursuit even if it can mean feeling a tad stupid sometimes. don't be scared to ask questions. get comfortable sometimes with the fact that the answer you'll arrive at after a lot of thought and effort will be "I don't fully know." sometimes you don't know and that can be valuable in its own right!

thank you for the ask, and I hope you find this helpful!

[burr-ell]

Given your thoughts on the so called “status quo” of late Campaign 3 (huge agree), curious what you think about the claim that C3 is showcasing a story critiquing colonialism and imperialism through the gods? I personally don’t think that the narrative around the gods that we’ve been given lends well to that reading, at least not as a strong criticism of colonization because the gods are shown to be more akin to refugees in the opening of Downfall and cannot conceivably be called colonizers of mortals since they are the ones who created mortals in the first place.

Also if the argument for releasing Predathos is “the gods are colonizers because they aren’t from Exandria and took it over from the Titans and Primordials” letting another, “bigger fish” colonizer loose to chase them off doesn’t seem like the best solution to that tbh.

I’ll also be honest that I don’t think CR as an entirely white American main cast are set up to best carefully/thoughtfully deal with the concept of colonialism in their games (case in point: the first C3 intro, which would ring even weirder if C3 was meant to critique that from the beginning since Matt has supposedly been planning this plot for years).

- @exandrian-moonlight

So I think it's worth noting that because this is a longform improvisational medium, the themes aren't necessarily set out from the beginning and can grow organically over time. We see that in Vox Machina's relationship with power and grief and legacy, and the Mighty Nein's relationship with family and duty; neither Matt nor the cast necessarily intended those to be explored from the beginning, but they found a lot to work with in those spaces. So it's not outside the realm of possibility that Matt and the players will see a theme there that wasn't intended at the beginning. And because these are people, who are perfectly capable of having views I disagree with, it's also not outside of the realm of possibility that the cast will view Campaign 3 as some kind of critique of colonialism after all is said and done, and if so, I have no intention to change my view that it's a bad one.

Other people can and have talked about why the story of the gods as colonizers doesn't really work even out the gate, so I'm not going to get into it myself, but I will maintain the argument I've made in the past: if this is meant to be something about colonialism, what are the actionable steps? Like, in the real world, there are initiatives taken by indigenous peoples and advocacy groups (Land Back, IWGIA, to name only two of thousands) with clear, expressed goals and policy proposals. What, exactly, is the plan once we get rid of the gods? What do we do for the Primordials? The reason the gods destroyed or sealed the Primordials and the Ashari guard the elemental planes is that the Primordials kill all the mortals, so...do we just stop guarding the elemental planes? Let the elementals run amok and kill everyone?

Also, and this gets at your last point: have we maybe considered that it's at least a little bit weird to compare real-world colonized peoples to violent embodiments of elemental chaos who want to kill all mortals?

[w0menaresuperi0r]

Yours to Protect

Draco Malfoy x reader

Words: 1,309

Warnings: bullying. Slight angst but it goes fluffy don’t worry.

This is kind of short, I need to prioritize a longer story for you guys to read, but I fear I am lazy and get writers block very often. BUT I will make time to make longer stories.

Draco Malfoy had never been fond of Hufflepuffs. He considered them overly sentimental, soft, and, frankly, beneath his notice. Yet there he was, sneering at a particular Hufflepuff girl who had the audacity to sit quietly in the library when he'd decided the corner was his for brooding.

"Are you deaf? I said you're in my spot," Draco snapped, crossing his arms as he loomed over her.

The girl looked up from her book, her calm demeanor throwing him off. Her warm brown eyes studied him briefly before she blinked and simply… shifted her gaze back to her page. She didn’t argue, didn’t retort, didn’t even acknowledge his rudeness.

It grated on him.

“Did you not hear me?” he pressed, leaning closer. “I don’t think you belong here.”

This time, she glanced at him again. Quietly, she closed her book, her hands trembling slightly as she stood up. Without a word, she gathered her things and walked away, her head slightly bowed.

Something in Draco’s chest tightened uncomfortably as he watched her retreating figure. That hadn’t felt satisfying. Not in the way it normally did.

Over the next few weeks, Draco found himself noticing her more and more. She was quiet in class, always keeping her head down, but her eyes shone with a certain brightness when she listened. She rarely spoke at meals, and when she did, it was in whispers with other Hufflepuffs.

He didn’t know why it bugged him.

When he caught her humming softly to herself in the greenhouse, something inside him shifted. It wasn’t just the melody—it was the way she relaxed when she thought no one was watching, the way her voice seemed to belong to a brighter, more colorful world.

She wasn’t shy, he realized. She just didn’t trust Hogwarts to be kind to her.

And for the first time, he wanted to be kind.

Draco’s first attempt at apologizing was clumsy. He approached her after Potions, clearing his throat as she packed up her bag.

“Uh, listen…” He trailed off when she blinked up at him, her brow slightly furrowed. “I was a prat in the library.”

Her lips parted in surprise. “You… were.”

He bristled but quickly caught himself. “Right. Well. Sorry about that.”

She tilted her head slightly, studying him. For a moment, Draco thought she might just ignore him again, but then she smiled—a small, soft smile that made his heart trip over itself.

“Thank you,” she said simply, and then she walked away.

And Merlin, he was doomed.

The more time he spent trying to make amends, the more he realized how much he liked being around her. She wasn’t quiet when she was comfortable—far from it. Once he earned her trust, she talked to him about everything: the books she was reading, the places she wanted to travel, her favorite sweets from Honeydukes.

Draco found himself hanging onto every word.

When she mentioned liking certain flowers, he made sure they mysteriously appeared on her desk in Herbology. When she admired a particular quill in Diagon Alley, it found its way into her bag. He held doors open, waited for her outside her classes, and, once, he even hexed a Gryffindor who laughed at her shoes.

He didn’t just want to protect her; he wanted to show her she was worth protecting.

The first time Draco saw her cry was after a group of Ravenclaws cornered her in the corridor.

“Pathetic,” one sneered. “You think Malfoy actually cares about you? You’re just a game to him. A phase.”

“Bet he drops her the second something better comes along,” another added with a cruel laugh.

Draco arrived just in time to see them walk away. He hurried to her side, his heart sinking when he saw the tears streaming down her face.

“Ignore them,” he said quickly, but she shook her head, covering her face with her hands.

“It’s not that easy,” she whispered. “What if they’re right?”

Draco didn’t know what to say at first. So, he did the only thing he could think of—he gently pulled her into his arms.

“They’re bloody wrong,” he said fiercely. “They don’t know anything. They don’t know the way I feel about you. And they never will because they’ll never be us.”

She sobbed against his chest, and he held her tighter, pressing his lips to the top of her head.

“I love you,” he whispered. “And nothing they say will ever change that.”

The trip to Hogsmeade the next weekend was his way of making it up to her. He took her to every store, insisting on buying her whatever caught her eye. She protested, of course, but Draco simply smirked and handed over the Galleons.

When they returned to Hogwarts, he offered to walk her to her common room, but to his surprise, she hesitated.

“Could I… stay with you for a while?”

Draco blinked but quickly nodded. “Of course.”

In his dorm, she curled up beside him, her head resting on his chest as she traced patterns on his shirt.

“You make me feel safe,” she murmured. “Like I’m worth something. I love you, Draco.”

His heart swelled as he tilted her chin up and kissed her, soft and slow.

“You’re everything to me,” he said, his lips brushing her jaw, her neck. “And no one—no one—can take you away from me.”

For the first time in his life, Draco Malfoy felt whole.

[butlervibesonly]

𝑊𝐸𝐿𝐶𝑂𝑀𝐸 𝑇𝑂 𝐺𝑅𝐴𝐶𝐸𝐿𝐴𝑁𝐷 PART 1 || 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐭 || Austin! Elvis story

PART ONE <- -> PART TWO OF THIS PART coming soon…

• Summary: After few weeks Elvis finally reaches out to Y/n, and with a wish to visit him at Graceland. That of course isn’t easiest due to Y/n’s strict father. Will she talk him out?

• Pairing: Austin! Elvis x female reader

• Warnings: maybe like strict parents or none, probably just typos

• NOTE!! My acknowledge of Elvis is not so big, all things I know are from movie, documents, webs etc! So I deeply apologize for any mistakes/typos/misunderstanding that have nothing to do with reality. All of this is fic and has nothing to do with no one or anything. Based just on Austin's role of Elvis! Thank you for understanding! 🫶🏻

“Y/n!!” you hear you mama coming upstairs to your room. “Y/n, how in the world does Elvis Presley know ya!?” she asks as he comes to your room. You are laying on your stomach in your bed, reading a book. “Mama, watcha talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb, Y/n, you know exactly what I am talkin’ bout!” Your mama raises her voice. “He just called and asked if he could take you to Graceland!”

The corners of your lips softly forms into a smile. Elvis wants you to visit his house. His Graceland. “Y/n, how in the world you know him! He- He’s a singer and… and…” mama stutters as she has no words to find. She is definitely in shock and surprised.

“And what did you tell him?” you ask as you get up from your bed. “That we will discuss it. Now, go talk to your father.” Your father knows. As much as you love your papa he is a really strict man with really strict rules when it comes to your life.

You nod shyly and make your way downstairs. When you come to the kitchen, your father is sitting by the table, staring into his hands. As you sit down beside your father, you can see the concern in his eyes. “How do you know this… Elvis Presley?” he begins.

“Papa, I met him on his concert. He really is nice and kind and… We’ve been discussing music.” you lie a little. “He’s... he’s interested in me, I think,”you add, your voice barely above a whisper. Your mama gasps. “Absolutely not!”

Your father stands up, towering over you. “Y/n, this is completely inappropriate. A man like that, with his lifestyle… He’s not someone you should be associatin’ with! You have your studies to think about, your future. Not gallivanting with some singer!”

“Papa, please listen,” you beg, “It’s not like that. He’s really kind I swear. And I’d never let anything distract me from my studies. You know that, don’t ya?” Your father crosses his arms. “And what exactly do ya think people will say when they see you going to his house? What if someone recognizes you, Y/n? Your reputation matters, I always taught you that!.”

“Papa,” you say, coming closer. “All my life, I’ve done everything you’ve asked. I’ve worked hard, I’ve stayed out of trouble. I never did nothin’ bad! Can’t you trust me!? He’s not just some singer. He’s kind. He sees me.”

Your father looks at you, the strictness speaking for itself from his eyes. “Please, papa,” your voice breaks. “I promise if anything goes wrong, I’ll leave.”

Your mama looks over at your father, her brows furrowed. “Maybe we are overreactin’. She’s been responsible. Maybe we should give her a little freedom.” Father sighs, rubbing his hands. “Y/n, he says finally, “I don’t like this. I don’t like it a bit.” You start to feel hopeless, your visions slowly fading away. “I’ll allow it, but only on one condition!”

Your heart starts beating fast, listening to your father. “I want to meet him first,” he says firmly. “If he wants to see my daughter, he can look me in the eye and prove he’s worth her time.”

You hesitate for a moment, knowing off how can your father be like, but then you nod. “All right. I’ll tell him!” you jump happily, almost on your way to call Elvis. But before you can leave your father catches your hands. “Just remember, Y/n. You’re playing with fire.” You swallow, but a small smirk creeps onto your lips. For now, you have won .

Later that day you called Elvis, over your heels to hear his voice again. Elvis agreed to pick you up and meet your father before taking you to his house. With the best hope of yours you washed your hair, prepared your beautiful pastel pink dress and went to sleep with such an excitement that night.

THE NEXT DAY

The next morning Elvis’ pink Cadillac pulls into the driveway of your house. You peak through the curtains, your heartbeat quickening. Even your father stands at the window, arms crossed, watching Elvis in his car.

“He’s here,” you whisper. “I see,” your father replies, his tone deep. Moment later, Elvis gets out of his car and knocks on the door. You rush to open it, smiling widely at Elvis. “Y/n,” he breathes out. Your name slips from his lips so heavenly. “Elvis!” you chuckle, letting him in.

You guide him to the living room where your father already stands, checking Elvis up and down. Elvis is dressed in all white - his shirt white and pants too.

“Good afternoon, sir.” Elvis says steadily, his tone mature. Your father eyes him critically before shaking his hand. “My name is Elvis. Elvis Presley,” he adds.

“Nice to meet you, Elvis,” your father lets go of his hand and your mother comes to the living room as well. “Oh, Elvis, this is my mama. Mommy, this is Elvis.” you introduce him. Elvis shakes her hand. “Ma’am,” he says. “I got you some flowers, hope ya gonna like ‘em.” Elvis hands her a bouquet of flowers.

“Oh,” mother gasps in surprise. “How thoughtful of you, thank you.” You smile, knowing Elvis just made your mother speechless. “Have a seat,” your father says suddenly, gesturing to the armchair across from the couch. Elvis nods and sits down.

“So,” he begins, lowering himself into the chair opposite Elvis. “You’re the boy who’s been callin’ my daughter.”

“Yes, sir,” Elvis replies, his tone calm and respectful. “And I want to thank ya for lettin’ me come by. I understand ya have concerns.” Your father raises an eyebrow. “So you understand, do you?”

Elvis nods. “Yes, sir. Y/n is really wonderful girl, and I would never want to do anything to disrespect her—or your family.” Your cheeks burns, and you look at the floor, heart swelling at his words.

Your father straighten himself, his elbows on his knees. “Mr. Presley, my daughter has a successful a future ahead. College, a career… It’s not time for distractions.”

Elvis nods again, his sight landing on you. “I understand that, sir. And I would never stand in Y/n’s dreams.“ You look over at your father who studies Elvis for a long moment. “Tell me, Mr. Presley, what exactly do you want to do with my daughter if I let her go?”

“I just want to get to know her better, sir. Show her a little of my world.” Your father thinks for a while and finally decides. He looks at you, pointing bus finger. “I let you go, young lady, but you’ll be home by dinner. And if I find out that something inappropriate happened, this is the last time you see this young man.”

Your heart skips a beat when he says this. “Yes, Papa. I promise.” Father turns back to Elvis. “Do we understand each other, Mr. Presley?” Elvis stands up excitingly. “Yes, sir. And I appreciate the trust. I won’t let ya down.” Your dad hesitates, then shake his hand firmly. “We’ll see about that.”

As soon as you left home with Elvis and got into the pink Cadillac, Elvis turns to reach into the backseat. From there, he pulls out a bouquet for you too. “I haven't forgotten about you as well,” he say and hands it to you.

“Elvis,” you breathe out, looking at the beautiful bunch of flowers. “I still can't believe you convinced him.” you say and Elvis starts the car. “Neither do I. When you first told me about your parents, I didn't think your father would be this grumpy.” he laughs and you laugh too. Is it even possible? You're in his car again and now you're even heading to his house. To Graceland.

When you arrive, you see a large gate that hides Elvis' palace. That house is probably the biggest house you've ever seen. “Oh my God,” you gasp as you look at it. “Like whacha ya see?” Elvis glances at you. You nod and breathlessly admire the beauty of his Graceland.

Elvis pulls up in front of his house and gets out first so he can open the door for you. He offers you his hand so you don't trip over your heels and you get onto the property. “I want ya to meet my family, they're excited to meet ya.” he says, going to the front door happily.

“Elvis, they know about me?” you ask, confused. He, before even opening the door, steps in front of you. He takes your hands in his, his blue eye that are partly hidden with those thick black lashes stare into your eyes. “Y/n, since the moment that I met ya, I couldn't stop thinkin' about ya, not even stop talking about ya.”

“Elvis what if they-“

“No, Satnin. They love you already I swear.” Elvis takes your hand in his and guides you in. When you both walk in, you see the stairs leading to the second floor, a crystal chandelier shining at the ceiling and everything looks so… luxurious. “Gladys, they're here!” a voice calls from your right. You turn your gaze and see a man walking out from fancy living room. Must be Elvis' dad. “Daddy, this is Y/n.”

“Good afternoon, Mr. Presley-“ you begin, offering him his hand. But you are stopped before saying anything else. “Call me Vernon. I heard a lot about you!” he smiles warmly, shaking your hand. “Only the good, I hope.” you smile back. You met Elvis once, what could he possibly tell him about you?

“Oh, bewbie!” you glance behind you and so does Elvis, to see his mom rushing from the dining room. “You're here!” His mom looks at Elvis and then turns her sight at you. “Oh, you must be Y/m, the girl my baby boy met!” Baby boy, you think for yourself. Your mother would never call you like this.

“Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Presley-“

“Oh, just Gladys, sweetheart!” Gladys says excitedly. Everyone here treat you a lot better than your own parents. “Uh, Y/n, this is my granny,” Elvis places a hand gently on your back to look his direction. “Hello.” you smile at the old lady sitting in the armchair. She nods and you turn to face Elvis.

“We are so happy we finally meet ya! Elvis, my boy, couldn’t stop talkin’ about ya!” Gladys adds as she is on her way to the kitchen again. “Well, pleasure is on my side!”

“How about I show ya the house?” Elvis says with smirk on his face. You smile, already looking around. “That would be awesome, Mr. Presley,”

[accio-victuuri]

xiao zhan - kai xiao zao’s director (Xi Lou) Weibo update : letter to xz to celebrate 6 years of cooperation

"Six Years" To the late-maturing of "Us”

One year, two years, three years, four years, five cold and hot seasons, six springs and autumns; how beautiful is Chinese, there are so many interesting quantifiers to describe 365 days, time is like sand between fingers, no matter how tightly you hold it, it still slips silently from the gaps, piling up into the tall or low sand dunes full of stories on the long river of life, and the wind blows, and the past is flying.

2024 is a year of precipitation. "WM", which has been prepared for a long time, finally meets everyone. We met "WM", and the old friend showed his versatility as a singer. I still remember the first day the album was launched, a friend of mine on QQ com said to me: I haven't seen such a lineup for a long time. Looking at his appearance that had never seen the "world", I calmly said: "Nothing else, just use your heart", turned around and left, hiding my merits and fame. Thinking of the Excel spreadsheet five years ago, we were also new to the world. Actually, I want to say that I know what "WM" has experienced. Its success is not accidental, but the result of the gentleness of spring breeze and rain, and it is inevitable that it has accumulated over the years.

The birthday in 2024 was spent in the crew, which is not unusual. After all, most of the year, greetings were basically in the crew every time, but no matter how busy you are, you have to have a sense of ceremony. Xiao Zao specially customized a birthday cake and sent it to the crew. Then a friend in the studio sent me a picture of many cakes and picked Xiao Zao. Sure enough, the one who understands XZ's heart the most is XZ. After receiving the picture, I praised Xiao Zao because I know that it is easy to work hard for one year on the same thing, but it is difficult to work hard for six years.

I just got back from a business trip. It is now 22:42 on January 4th. I am sitting in my study table. As I write this, the phonograph album happened to play "Confessions of a Night Person". There is a sentence in Mo Yan's "Late Bloomers": "People with good natures mature late, and are forced to mature by bad people. Although they become wise later, they are still kind and sincere." I sometimes wonder why we can walk hand in hand for six years. Are we all a group of late bloomers? "When others are smart, we are stupid and dull; when others weigh the pros and cons, we are sincere; when others have exhausted their scheming and gradually fallen into a state of decline, we just happen to be wise." We are all a group of simple people, which may be the ultimate reason why fate can continue. If there is a chance, I will sing "Confessions of a Night Person" for everyone. This is my favorite.

Some friends told me in private that the 2024 Xiao Zao is a bit dull. In fact, I want to say that compared with the short-term and vigorous forgetfulness, I prefer the long-term mutual support. Companionship is the longest confession. This affection beyond commercial endorsement is worth cherishing forever.

Do you still remember the "Legend of the Condor Heroes" mentioned in "Five Years"? This one-year agreement will finally be fulfilled in 23 days. Xiao Zao invites everyone to watch the movie together in 9 major cities across the country, feel the swordsmanship, and regain childhood dreams together. Oh, by the way, the hero Guo Jing should also be a late bloomer.

We still need to give the "old couple" some sense of ceremony. Today, let's roll up our sleeves, tie up our hair, open our hearts, learn from the hero, and cook with him as wine.

As usual, toast a bowl:

Cheers to simplicity

Cheers to peace and safety

Cheers to health

Cheers to eating well

May the flowers be the same year after year, and the people be the same year after year!

Sixth year, please give me more advice.

[katerinaaqu]

What do you think of Menelaus?

Oh that is a good one! For starters I think he is one of the characters that have been massively misunderstood by the modern day narratives. Menelaus in most cases is depicted like a brute who forced Helen or something of that kind to explain as to "why would Helen cheat on him" (whenever they do not support the idea that Helen was kidnapped of course) and they miss the point of his character completely. Also they tend to forget that Menelaus was Helen's choice for her husband. He also did everything to get her back. In the Iliad Helen was truly showing where her heart was set upon when she tells to Paris that he should have died out there

Menelaus is a very complicated and important character extremely emotional and loyal to the people he cares about. In the Odyssey he shows how deeply he cares by showing how terrible his psychological condition was by being extremely depressed thinking on how Odysseus was gone. He also was feeling deeply for his brother Agamemnon, for whom he was also capable of doing anything for and with whom they have been through so much together including their exile or all the trials and tribulations they had been through and I think their relationship is not talked enough either!

All in all I think Menelaus deserves much more attention and much more love as a character apart from the usual "aww the violent husband that Helen wanted to get away from" or even just the "wife guy that wanted to get his wife back". I would love to see more on his friendship with Odysseus, his emotional turmoil with the family of Clytemnestra's side, his love for his wife, his relationship with the rest of the kings and last but not least more content with his brother Agamemnon and how their cursed life affected them!

I admit that even I haven't written much featuring him although I want to! My first mention of his I believe was in the third part of my fic "Guilt"

Also protagonist to my Helen one-shot "The Why never asked and the Because that never mattered"

As well as deuteragonist to my Iliad inspired fic "I Take that Back"

I plan on including him in more works in the future because honestly he is worth of more attention

[aishangotome]

Azel Radwan: Romantic Ending Ch. 21 His Side Story

Chapter 21

Thank you @shatcey for providing the video for this chapter!

♡———♡

Azel: Your debt keeps increasing instead of decreasing…

Azel: At this rate, you might have to be my slave forever, you know?

The topic I brought up while we were eating the various dishes lined up on the table was a "deal" I had in mind for the future.

The woman showed her blatant displeasure while sipping her chickpea soup.

Emma: Just to be sure, what debt are you referring to?

Azel: The tuition fee for the Tanzanite cooking course.

Emma: I'm improving my cooking skills for your benefit too, you know.

Azel: That's irrelevant. No matter what your circumstances are, my goodwill doesn't come free.

(Only God gives selfless service)

Emma: Ah, I understand. You want to keep me here, don't you, Prince Azel?

(...... Huh?)

My thoughts stopped for a few seconds after receiving such an unexpected counterattack.

Azel: That's a leap in logic.

Emma: It's not. You keep increasing my debt with contrived reasons, so I thought you didn't want to let me go.

Azel: That's absurd.

(I didn't increase your debt to keep you from leaving)

(It would be pointless to do such a thing when we're destined to part ways anyway)

(That's not true... but why do I feel so guilty?)

When I awkwardly averted my gaze, the woman also cleared her throat with an uncomfortable look on her face.

Emma: But at this rate, I don't think I'll be able to repay it even if I spend my whole life doing so.

Emma: I'd be happy if you could provide some kind of relief measure.

(Yes, that's what I wanted to talk about)

(... You said something unnecessary)

Azel: I'd like to tell you to diligently pay it off in cash or labor, but...

Azel: If it's going to become a bad debt anyway, it might be an option to show you another path.

As if I had just thought of it, I spit out the words I had been pondering for several days.

Azel: For example, if you give me something worth a fortune, I might consider it.

Emma: ...Something worth a fortune...

Azel: A treasure that I would want even if I had to pay a large sum of money for it.

Emma: Do you have any desires besides money, food, books, and materials, Prince Azel?

Azel: Let me see...

When she asked about "things I want," I casually looked at her.

(...No...)

(I don't need anything.)

(That's not what I meant by something worth a fortune.)

(Considering what's to come, it's impossible for you to repay your debt, so I'm just saying I'll forgive you in exchange for a treasure you deem worthy.)

(It's a God's mercy, so to speak, and there's nothing in this world that holds that kind of value for me.)

(Well, there isn't, but...)

Emma: .....Prince Azel?

Azel: ......

(...Well, I can admit that this mealtime wasn't bad.)

(The back-and-forth before bed, the liveliness when we wake up...)

(You've given me so much time, just like an ordinary person.)

(Precious time that I thought I would never have...)

Emma: Why are you pinching my cheeks?

Azel: Because I felt irritated for some reason.

(No.)

(I don't even know what I'm denying anymore, but no.)

Emma: It hurts!

Azel: I thought about it, but as of now, there's nothing that's worth a fortune to me.

I let go of her soft cheeks and set my sights on the skewers.

Emma: It's troubling that there's nothing, for my debt's sake.

Azel: You just have to become a great merchant like Prince Silvio.

Emma: I don't think I can.

Azel: Then give up and keep diligently earning money.

Azel: Ah, don't worry. I also accept debt repayments by letter.

Azel: Use a carrier or whatever to deliver it to me.

(Then you can just insist that some random junk is worth a fortune.)

(You're a kind person, so you'll worry about the debt no matter what.)

(I might as well give you some relief measures now--)

Emma: ...If it gets to be too much, I think I'll consult with the owner.

Azel: Please don't do that. It's not something a kind-hearted Belle should do. It's too cruel.

(What will you do if I'm killed before the end...? Well, it's my own fault, though.)

The woman laughed playfully.

I felt flustered and looked away again.

Azel: ...More importantly, you haven't eaten anything since a while ago.

Emma: Ah, I was so engrossed in talking that I...

Emma: Shouldn't you be reading a book, Prince Azel?

(Book?)

(...Ah, I forgot to bring one.)

I always bring a book with me to meals, but I don't have one now.

Come to think of it, I haven't brought a book to meals lately.

It's because the woman is always so lively that I don't even have time to read.

(I should just ignore her...)

(...I should...)

The woman was in an infuriatingly good mood, smiling happily.

Azel: ...There's no book I want to read today.

Emma: I feel like something similar happened recently...

Azel: That doesn't matter. If you're not going to eat, I'll eat it all.

Emma: No way, don't take my share too!

When I tried to take her share of the skewers as well, she stubbornly snatched them back.

Azel: You're quite the glutton, huh?

Emma: I don't want to be told that by the greedy Prince Azel!

Seeing her hurriedly bite into the meat made me smile.

(...We're able to spend our time like this now, but if you knew about the prophecy of the end...)

(...)

(No matter what kind of debt relief measures I offer, a future where I hurt you terribly is guaranteed.)

(To think that the first and last sin committed by a God would be something so trivial.)

(If I weren't a God...)

-

When I opened my eyes, the fleeting illusion vanished.

In the distance, I saw the woman confronting that detestable old man—...

(...What ifs are ridiculous.)

(A God who is about to die has no need for such things.)

.

.

.

Romantic Ending Ch. 22

If you’d like to support my translations, feel free to buy me a coffee here! :)

[3hks]

How to Write a Truly Terrifying Villain

Have you ever wanted to create a villain that's actually evil? One that can scare your readers yet also leave them with an everlasting impression? An antagonist is so much more than just a "bad guy", and in this guide, we'll explore how to write an evil character effectively!

*GOALS/MOTIVATIONS*

No matter what kind of character someone is, their objectives alone speak volumes about who they are as a person. Therefore, with this villain, I suggest forming a goal that stems from their selfishness.

Although, what does that really look like? Selfishness is actually quite subjective. From what I have seen, a self-serving goal tends to be quite specific since it's a personalized aim. Don't give them a target that's too broad or too generic because chances are, it won't really benefit them. (Ex: World domination)

Am I saying that you absolutely need a greedy antagonist to highlight their malice? No, but it truly is a great place to begin at.

*EMPATHY*

Next, let's talk about empathy. How well do they understand those around them? Do they care?

Many villains we see lack empathy; they aren't concerned about their victims, and sometimes, even their own followers.

However, there's also the opposite case, where the antagonist does have empathy and fully understands what others may feel, but still doesn't care. This dark empathy is truly a testament of their malevolence because they're aware of the physical and mental consequences of their actions, yet they do it anyway. That, in itself, is rather terrifying.

*NEUTRALITY*

If your villain isn't the main antagonist, this might be something you want to consider.

As I mentioned before, this type of character prioritizes themselves over anything and everything. If helping the hero will benefit them, then why not? If assisting another antagonist will be rewarding, then it's worth it. While your character is a villain, their alignment itself might be a bit blurred.

Although it could seem counterproductive to have an "evil character" who occasionally aids the protagonist, the switching of sides actually maintains a sense of unpredictability for your character.

*INTELLIGENCE*

If anything, I highly suggest not making your villain stupid. While I'm sure there are intimidating dim-witted antagonists out there, the truth is, if your character understands themselves, their limits, their abilities, and the events taking place, your readers will automatically see them as competent and intelligent, which is critical to their credibility.

Have them think things through, plan carefully, and act responsibly. They know what they're doing, you just have to prove it.

*ISOLATION*

Another thing that helps is to keep your villain isolated. You don't need to physically keep them away from everyone, but they might be figuratively, emotionally distanced from others. Sometimes this is on purpose, and sometimes it's not.

*LASTING IMPACT*

This may seem obvious to some people, but there's got to be some key event regarding your villain that has lasting impact on the plot, characters, setting, and/or protagonist. It doesn't need to occur during your story, it could have occurred beforehand, but it still must affect the current time period.

Show why they're the villain.

*REASON, DON'T JUSTIFY*

A lot of people (primarily readers) nowadays are obsessed with the idea of justifying a character's poor actions. But the truth is, you can't justify everything, not to mention that it's just unnecessary. It's unrealistic. Instead, provide a reason as to why they chose to do something. What instigated their actions? What goes through their heads? Did their past influence their current motives and character?

Don't try to balance everything out! In the end, a wrong is still a wrong, and it's okay to let it remain as such.

*CONCLUSION*

With all of these ideas taken into consideration, you have to remember that an evil character doesn't exactly correlate to a hateable character. Are there hated villains? Yes! But don't go out of your way to make them loathsome in order to establish their "evil-ness".

At the end of the day, they're still people too, so give them dimension, complexities, and weaknesses to prove it.

Happy writing (and New Year)~

3hks <3

[jennjamindraws]

following the Disney post, what are the brothers favorite horror movie and/or musical?

ok I’m not as familiar with horror as I am with disney, but here are my thoughts:

John Dory - likes a classic slasher, lots of practical effects, iconic monsters/murderers (Chucky, Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th)

Bruce - if he doesn’t have to pick anything family friendly, will side with JD. Also likes low-budget/indy horror

Clay - prefers murder mysteries to watching murders, but if he wants to be scared will go for a suspense/phycological horror, the kind where you don’t ever see a monster but are still on the edge of your seat (The Silence of the Lambs, Blair Witch Project)

Floyd - prefers not-scary scary movies, specifically doesn’t like too many jumpscares or gore, likes ghost stories and sometimes sides with Clay (Monster House, Corpse Bride, A Haunting in Connecticut (the documentary not the film))

Branch - isn’t bothered by any particular type of horror movie, will pretty much watch whatever, also likes documentaries about anything horror-related

worth noting that JD and Clay often butt heads when deciding what to watch bc Clay thinks bloody slashers are tacky but JD doesn’t see the point in watching a “scary movie with no monsters”

[luke-shywalker]

@blackberry-command-cap

So I haven’t really thought about how to make Kylo and Hux be friends in canon, but I love imagining them as unlikely bros in an AU. Like either Earth AUs, or my particular brand of Unserious Star Wars AU where it is Star Wars, but also they have Twi’ktok and Spacebucks lol.

I like imagining them not as Kylo and Hux, but as Ben and Armitage. Since Armitage is older than Ben, I think the concept of Armie being in his 20s while Ben is a snotty teenager is hilarious…and so is the concept of Armitage being a depressed 30yo while Ben is living it up in his 20s.

I actually had an arc planned for my Ask Ben Solo AU, where Ben and Armitage become roommates. I ended up not doing it but maybe some of it will still be salvageable:

Armitage goes by Armitage Arkanis. He is in hiding from the First Order. Ben introduces himself as Ben Quadinaros because he can tell Armitage is politically weird and he doesn’t really want to get into the fact that his mother is Leia Organa. This results in neither of them knowing the other’s last name or who their parents are. They both kind of suspect the other is hiding something, but because they are both hiding something, neither one presses the other further.

Armitage works at Spacebucks. Ben mentions something about his first order of coffee and Armitage reacts very normally to the words “First Order” (actually I did use this idea)

They hate each other. Obviously. Armitage is super uptight and keeps the apartment super clean; Ben is a little more messy. (It’s funny because since I ended up having Poe be Ben’s roommate, Ben became the clean one and Poe became the messy one—actually now in my universe Poe and Armitage are roommates so we can only speculate the chaos…LOL)

Ben calls Armitage “you bastard,” Armitage reacts very normally to this by threatening to kill him with a kitchen knife. (Armitage is an illegitimate child and his father had never let him forget that)

Armitage keeps flipping out about like the silverware not being put in the drawer correctly, things like that, etc. Ben sees him having a panic attack about the silverware or some equivalent and that makes Ben be like “ah frick now I have sympathy for him I hate this” (Ben also has anxiety)

Ben is watching the live coverage of the election for First Senator of the New Republic, where Leia’s parentage is publicly revealed to be Darth Vader. Ben is freaking out about this. That’s when Armitage, in a rare display of sympathy, reveals his last name is Hux, and who his own father is. And he reveals to Ben about the existence of the First Order, which at the time is widely considered a rumor. Armitage reveals that he fled the First Order after attempting and failing to murder his father Brendol Hux. He changed his name and went into hiding…only to find out that no one was looking for him. Even after attempting to murder Brendol, even that wasn’t enough to make Brendol think Armitage was worth his time.

Armitage rants to Ben about hating his dad (this would have fit in with Ben’s other friend ranting about hating her dad and also Ben’s mom ranting about hating her dad—it’s like poetry—it rhymes)

Ben, who is working for a newspaper at this time and kind of hates his entry-level position, takes his newfound information on the First Order to the newspaper in hopes of getting his big break. They end up firing him without even reading his story—claiming it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Darth Vader was revealed to be his grandfather on live holocoverage. Ben has to move back home since he’s unemployed, which means he also has to say bye to Armitage…but he encourages him to talk to Leia and share the information he has with her. Armitage declines. He no longer wants any part in any of this. He wants to try to lead a simple life and figure out who he is.

But, years later, when the First Order declares war and blows up Hosnian Prime…guess who shows up to join the Resistance: Armitage Arkanis

(also…sorry @margindoodles2407 for derailing your post)

Okay people I've got to know. Do any of you have, like. A rarepair friendship or is it just me

like. here are two characters. they should be besties. no one else can see the vision and they have a grand total of five fics written about their friendship but they are best friends. to me

[heymacy]

IAN GALLAGHER + his journey with bipolar disorder

╰┈➤ “At times, being bipolar can be an all-consuming challenge, requiring a lot of stamina and even more courage, so if you’re living with this illness and functioning at all, it’s something to be proud of, not ashamed of." - Carrie Fisher

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

I have all of these extended thoughts on my head about the amazing way themes and character relationships are handled in Iruma-kun and the inclusion of queerness and the handling of the coming of age narrative in this shonen manga/anime

And every time all that comes out when I'm reccing it is "You should watch/read it"

Do it. Go watch/read Mairimashita! Iruma-kun/Welcome to Demon School Iruma-kun

Please.

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

I just saw the excellent post about Chuuya's loyalty and 1) how he hasn't questioned his philosophy and 2) "In a world where a "path" typically involves challenging the characters' philosophies and forcing them to reevaluate, what the hell is going to have to happen to get Chuuya to do the same?" (quoting you)

Chuuya is always used by others. He's not the only BSD character whose been taken advantage of, but it does seem to be reoccurring with him? First by the government who intended to use him as a super weapon, then by the Sheep who used him for his ability, then by mafia/Mori (getting him to join in exchange for sparing the sheep, keeping his past from him and giving him incentive to become an executive and stay in the organization). He's constantly used for his power.

Please tell me if I'm misinterpreting what you all said, but it seems (to me) that Chuuya ignores the mafia's/Mori's manipulation because they have helped him and given him a home+family, so he's instead loyal to them.

Because even though Mori has not and is using him for his power, he still allows it/goes along with it because they've helped him in the past and earned his loyalty.

So Chuuya tolerates being used.

He's now being used again, obviously, in part, because of his power. We have Fyodor referring to him as just his ability and bragging about how he can "use" him better than Dazai ("doesn't that mean you're unfit to USE a gravity manipulator")

Do you think it's possible that just being vamped and used again will cause him to reflect on his mentality? He's once again being used (but be it in far more blatant way: literal mind control. Also reminds me of Verlaine+his creator). Reflecting on how he's been used in the past and no longer accepting being used by others anymore?

Or do you think it might have the opposite affect and push him deeper into the mafia somehow

Also it's interesting that Fyodor is using him but hasn't earned his loyalty (like the sheep+mafia) and how that'll affect Chuuya

I'll get to the second ask in a bit but I'm combining these because they're related.

About the first ask: I mean, yeah, you're right about this. I don't know that I'd consider it so much "ignoring" though as "the benefits outweigh the costs so whatever", and I do want to state that I'm pretty sure Mori is genuinely at least a little fond of Chuuya (see: their conversation about leadership at the end of Fifteen), and his Mafia colleagues do respect him.

But yeah, you are absolutely right to say that there is a pattern of people who want Chuuya for his ability and his loyalty, and/or reduced him down to these traits. Playing hot potato with the escaped military lab experiment and the Mafia won (<-simplification for the funnies but still).

But here's the thing: if this was the end of it, we might expect to see some resentment mixed in there from Chuuya. He was blackmailed with the Sheep's lives. His past was intentionally locked away from him until he worked his way up to executive. That's... not great.

But instead we find pretty much only gratitude from him. Why?

Well, see, there's a reason I put the return of Chuuya's screwed up self-concept in the tags on that post, because it's kind of at the heart of his impressive loyalty. Chuuya believes that since he is the one with the strongest power, that makes him responsible for protecting everyone else, which means that he rationalizes any concern or protection directed at him as something "above and beyond", and worthy of recognition and repayment. Remember that he genuinely felt like just a vessel for power and nothing else for apparently quite a bit of his childhood, and the Sheep emphasizing that he owed them for taking him in probably did not help.

When it comes to having his back, the Mafia did this for him in a way no one else did. They protect their own, a value that aligns closely with Chuuya's own personal philosophy. The Mafia is also relatively safe from external threat, if we recall Dazai's pitch to Odasaku in Day I Picked Up Dazai - Odasaku is being targeted, but no one in their right mind would challenge the Mafia just to get to him. So, the Mafia has provided Chuuya with protection, comradery, and relative safety, which in my mind all condenses into a central need that takes precedence over everything else to him.

Chuuya's core need is actually stability.

And this makes quite a bit of sense. He started off as a kid with no memories and a whole lot of trauma he couldn't remember the roots of. One's past is a source of stability, but that had been taken from him. His position as leader of the Sheep was shaky. Even his identity as a human being was called into question. Chuuya as a kid and teen was largely untethered, separate from everyone else with no way to ground himself. Under those circumstances, something that originated as a chain could easily become a safety rope.

And once Chuuya found this stability, there was really no need for him to change anything. So he didn't. He settled into his new role and became really, really good at it, and didn't bother to re-evaluate beyond that. Why would he? That minimal core need has been met, despite the rocky beginning.

Which brings me to this second ask because it's actually incredibly relevant. Yes, Chuuya and Sigma are alike. You are not losing it anon.

Let's run a list, shall we? They both awoke with no memories and a missing history, and had their humanity called into question. They were used and blackmailed repeatedly, which they were, fortunately and unfortunately, consciously aware of. When they find something that matters to them, they become violently defensive of it. They both operate on principles of reciprocity and transaction because that is what they believe to be normal in relationships (Sigma's ability even is quite literally a transaction!). They both have pretty low standards for their assistance (Sigma hearing one (1) single person (Atsushi) be kind to him in what he thought were his last moments, Chuuya "You have helped Chuuya! Chuuya will now kill and die for you!" Nakahara).

Above all else, they are looking for stability. They are looking for a home.

As of yet, Sigma hasn't found a true home, but it seems we may be building up to him joining the ADA. The key part is Sigma's realization that the Agency doesn't rely solely on transaction. Dazai is not using the Agency, the Agency is not using Dazai. The Agency members are all helping each other. They care about each other.

Meanwhile, Chuuya has already found a place that provides his core need, but there's one caveat about the Mafia that should be clarified here - as Odasaku says in Dark Era, people within its ranks don't talk about personal matters and feelings with each other, and everyone instead keeps to themselves. If you don't talk about your issues or air them out, relations tend to stay personally shallow and dictated almost entirely by the demands and positions of the organization. This is not a conducive environment for reappraisal or self-exploration.

Unfortunately, this is ideal for Mr. Chuuya "I'll keep all my emotions right here and then one day I'll die" Nakahara.

Chuuya has found some measure of stability - solace in his own self-defined identity in spite of the initial ambiguity as to his humanity. "This is who I am", "Till those flames die down, I can't just do whatever I want", "I'm gonna do what I need to do", etc. But importantly, this identity is entangled in whichever group he happens to be a part of, which in this case is the Mafia. This kind of self-identity cannot exist without the structure of an organization. It relies on the reciprocity of a group.

Moreover, it relies on Chuuya showing very little vulnerability. Compartmentalize, and move on. He expects that of himself.

So, we've established that Chuuya has his core need for stability met by the Mafia - a relatively secure place that runs on transaction, which is familiar to him - yet it also doesn't push him out of his comfort zone with respect to emotional vulnerability and openness. What this means is that, in the Mafia, Chuuya is practically invincible, both physically (his ability, his martial arts prowess) and emotionally (personal life kept hidden and guarded as a Mafia expectation).

Unfortunately, this means Chuuya also remains stagnant as a character, which finally, finally brings me back to your original question anon.

No, I don't think the vampirism is enough to trigger change in Chuuya's character. Chuuya has some standards, and treating him like a tool (and Dazai's tool, no less) is going to seriously piss him off, but that's anger at Fyodor, and it doesn't impact his stability with the Mafia any which way. If Chuuya had've been forced to activate Corruption to escape the drowning then maybe he would've been angry with Dazai enough for something to shift (activation being his own choice is a huge theme with them), but since he didn't, I expect Chuuya will unfortunately just shrug it off and roll with it. Probably yell at him for a bit, but nothing that would have far-reaching consequences for his character unless there is something about his current situation we don't yet know.

I think for Chuuya to grow and change as a character, he needs something major to shift in his life - the threat has to come from within his place of security. He needs to be destabilized. Something needs to happen that specifically targets his tethers and his self-concept.

Personally, my money's on the destabilization of his bond with Mori, who he has the most respect for, because that might trigger development related to leadership and goals, but I guess we'll see. I think it'll probably be incredibly heart wrenching and hurt us all severely, whatever it is.

Huh. I wrote a lot. Congrats for making it to the end! I'm going to sleep now. :D

—

Edited by removing the entire middle section because it was absolute garbage and probably should’ve been its own post. I hope the rest of this holds up. That’s what I get for writing things at 2 in the morning I guess.

[crescentfool]

does anyone else want to stick these two in the same room together or is that just me... i simply think they are adjacent in vibes... (+a bonus thing???)

get u a fictional guy that makes you feel like this... seeing these guys just evoke a Similar Kind of Brain Chemical and Response. Help Me.

also have bonus yosuke doodle featuring the same brushes used here...! from january 23rd, lol.