#but maybe i'm just complicating it in my head

[violue]

Normally I'd probably just have scrolled past this, as I saw it while looking for new Mel fanart, but seeing that it had 200 notes made me so sad.

I just can't agree with this at all. I've been black for nearly 41 years and I would have killed to have media like this when I was a young anime loving nerd. Not just because every frame is art, or because the music was so on point and impactful, or because every character was so damn interesting, or because I was a League of Legends player.

Because it was special.

Mel was incredible. Just because Jayce and Mel parted ways (ish)? Doesn't mean she was treated as disposable. She was a straight up Deus Ex Chosen One Perfect Goddess Wolf, and the narrative gave her plenty of growth, character, and plot. She had a deep and interesting dynamic with her mother, with Jayce, with the Black Rose, with her own self. The show also made it clear by the end that her story was just getting started.

The same goes for Ekko. Him being the single most important part of the final act is huge. Him getting to experience that happier world was part of his story, the romance was an aside. It wasn't his main purpose. If anything, Jinx is a side character in his story in many of the scenes they share. He is a genius inventor, he had a life changing impact on a 300+ year old Heimerdinger, he was a revolutionary part of a crucial resistance against Piltover, Jinx, and any other threat that came by. Maybe you just didn't care about his story aside from how it developed with Jinx?

Sevika had an incredible arc that started with her as a snarky henchman to Silco and the chem barons, to an aimless "henchman without a boss", to a momma bear, to the sole voice of Zaun on the Piltover council. And she did a lot of that with one damn arm. As for the ogre thing; she's tall and muscular. If she was the only character with brown skin on the entire show and that ogre line came out, I'd be side eyeing it too, but she wasn't.

Sky existing only to further Viktor's storyline to ME feels a lot more like lazy misogyny than purposeful misogynoir. She got fridged, but she was still an intelligent woman of color, not the most common thing even in these 2020s.

You didn't mention Ambessa, but what a character. Aggressively flawed, powerful, shrewd. A type that's usually designed for white male characters, but instead she's a powerful Black leader commanding an entire army.

Now I'm not Jewish, so there's always been a lot of antisemitism in media that went completely over my head, but when in the world did we decide Silco was supposed to be Jewish? I even tried googling it while typing this post, and I can't find anyone suggesting this. Is it possible you're projecting Jewish stereotypes onto him???

I also definitely disagree with the idea that they went for a "both sides are bad" cop-out. They went out of their way to show why both sides are extremely complicated, and how different those factions can be depending on their leader. Piltover was always the city on a shining hill, and Zaun was always the unfairly maligned undercity rebelling against their unfair circumstances.

I'm frustrated, because to me, it feels a little like you're creating problems out of thin air so that people can congratulate you on being the one person smart enough to acknowledge them.

Look. If I come off over the top, it's because this bit of media meant a lot to me. The show's central (canon) romance was two women. There were multiple, smart, clever, powerful, black and brown female characters that were written to have multiple dimensions, purposes, and fates. They had a surplus of powerful, intelligent female characters in general. They had disabled, neurodivergent, queer characters. They left the Bechdel test in the dust.

They explored the way the wealthy can exist in comfort and ignorance at the expense of the poor, and how law enforcement is used as a tool to further that agenda. It explored corruption in law enforcement, government, and even criminal enterprises.

For me it was mindful and inclusive, which really impressed me considering the writing staff is mostly a bunch of white people.

... the pacing in season 2 was a mess though.

Now that arcane is over im seriously starting to doubt its “inclusion”

Mel being the disposable black girlfriend

Sky existing solely for the development of a white man (viktor)

Ekko and sevika both dedicating their lives to the betterment of zaun and getting absolutely 0 recognition and instead being favored for the white girl that didn’t even want the position (jinx)

Ekko having no personal development outside of jinx (white girl) and his only real purpose in arcane being to save the day and never being mentioned again

Silco being an antisemitic stereotype

Sevika being called an ogre by a white girl?????

Now that I’m actually looking at this shit, it kinda sucks. And when you consider the fact that the whole p/z conflict was thrown out the fucking window with the “both sides are bad” p.o.v + the fact that the whole reason the p/z conflict exists in the first place is because of ship angst, it feels like they never cared about any of it. The inclusion, the commentary, the mindfulness, it was all fake. Like damn. They really dont give a shit and never did. Its all just racism in pretty packaging :/

[knight-a3]

Heavenbound AU

Masterpost

Angel Dust "Angie"

So I can avoid confusion between Angel and angels, his stage name is Angel Dust but he goes by Angie casually.

Side note: I'm too ace for this guy, yikes. Don't mind me clutching my pearls.

Spider family:

More notes under the cut to reduce clutter. There's info about the whole Spider family and some info about the Mafia as well.

Angie's redesign took me a while to nail down. I looked at other people's designs for inspiration, but nothing felt right. I wanted to give his head shape more structure, but it's too iconic to significantly change. Many people added spider fangs but I think they always look too cluttered and ugly. I also wanted the right balance of masculine and feminine for his outfit.

I am not a fan of heterochromia in character design, unless there is a reason or it's used sparingly. Angie's design is complicated enough with the gold tooth, extra eyes and arms, and body patterns that the heterochromia would just be too much.

Instead of giving him fangs that jut out like a real spider, I chose to just give him a main pair of fang-like teeth, while the rest are smaller.

It didn't make sense to me why he's able to retract his tertiary set of arms, beyond simplifying for animation, but I also do not want to manage all of them all the time, so I'm keeping that little ability. I'm justifying it with the idea that he was only ever somewhat interested in the family business, so he had less of a hand in it than his Pop or Arackniss(both of which cannot retract their extra limbs at all). I also wanted the sets of arms to have a hierarchy in how he uses them. Also didn't like the shoulders canon gives his secondary arms. They look weird to me.

The main set has 5 fingers on each hand and are relatively normal, because they're the equivalent of his human arms. The secondary set is a little smaller and a little more bug-like, with 4 fingers. The tertiary/retractable set are smaller and have 3 fingers.

I tried giving him a spider butt, but I couldn't wrap my head around how he would wear any type of pants. Not that he would be opposed to going around nude, but I just wasn't interested in that.

Casual:

I remember reading somewhere that Angel likes to dress more comfy rather than provocatively outside of work. So I decided his work outfits are the skimpy, sexy stuff. His main outfit is his typicall out-in-the-town fashionable stuff, which tends to cover him up more(gotta pay for those goods). And lounging clothes are just purely for comfort.

Main outfit-

I really wanted something that alluded to his mobster background. He may not really be involved of all that now, but it's still a part of him and that would linger. For as much as he modernizes, he's still a product of his time. Anyway, that's why I gave him pinstripe pants and a blazer.

I didn't want to lean too far into either masculine or feminine styles. He is undoubtedly feminine, but he was raised in an environment where suits and violence was the fashion. I actually searched for 40s gangster costumes for women, counting on the fact I'd find the silly sexy costumes so I could get ideas for a more feminine spin of the classic mobster.

I tried a boob window shirt for awhile, but it didn't let me show enough chest fluff. So I traded it for a V neck, which can work for both masculine and feminine styles.

Eventually I settled on a crop top blazer, since it gives a sort of suit jacket vibe while being feminine. I preferred the short gloves from the pilot, at least on his main arms, and used the longer style from the show for his secondary arms.

In canon, his "skin" color and the white of his clothes just don't have enough contrast. So I used more pink, and had the color of his fluff be a different hue than his shirt. I liked the stripes on his jacket before, but I didn't want to add any more complexity, especially when I already committed to the pinstriped pants.

Overall, I like this outfit for him. Maybe that has something to do with my personal tastes, but I think it suits him.

Body markings:

He wasn't a star until Val came around in the 70s, so he wouldn't have been quite so glam before that. He still had more mobster habits. I used his older, pre-pilot, Zoophobia design as inspiration, which used a low saturated purplish color. I thought it struck a nice balance between his mobster roots, and his later glam style.

I wanted to make the pattern something easy for me to remember. The heart design got pushed lower down because I needed more room for his chest fluff. His hands don't have anything because I didn't like how it looked with his lounge clothes. The stripes on his arms reference the stripes on his canon, pilot, and pre-pilot jackets. The stripes on his legs represent garters(suspenders that hold up socks or stockings).

Human- Anthony "Tony"

Many human versions of him that I've seen make him look too modern. I think they would absolutely work for a modern human au, but not for the 1940s. So this is my take on what he would have looked like while he was alive. Hair coloring in the 40s was always done professionally, and primarily used by women, and they usually didn't want it to be obvious. Bleached hair on a man(especially with naturally dark hair) would be far too much to maintain discreetly. He hadn't publicly embraced his feminine side while he was alive. His family was Catholic, and being gay was a no-no. But murder was okay for some reason. Don't question the mobster logic.

His brother and sister knew he was gay, parents did not. Arackniss was too tired to care, and Molly was supportive. She would take him to be her "bodyguard" when she would go out and do fun things, but it was partly an excuse she provided for him to do gay things.

Angie had mixed feelings about his participation in the mob. Sometimes it was fun, other times he'd really rather be partying. But he was a made man and swore an oath of loyalty. He can't just back out.

He spent his free time with drugs, guns, and hot guys. Then died of drug overdose in his early-mid 30s in 1947.

He wasn't publicly out as gay until Hell. His parents hated it and basically disowned him when they found out. But why should Angie care at this point? He's already in Hell. So he just parted ways with them(technically the oath of loyalty ends at death. It's not like the Mafia can really kill him for leaving now, since they all just regenerate anyway) and has kept in sporadic contact with his siblings. They aren't close anymore.

Spider Family:

Ma and Pops were mostly because I wanted to play with character design. And since they have no official designs, I had more room to play with it.

The whole family became spiders because they were involved with the "web of crime" that is The Mafia. Family relation does not automatically mean sinners will look similar. They usually don't.

Pops (real name Enrico, the Italian version of Henry. Nickname "Big Cig". Almost every mobster listed on wikipedia had a nickname) inherited the position of mob boss from a relative. I'm not thinking hard about historically accurate crime families, so this is a fictional family that we will pretend had a significant presence. He died not long after Anthony, in the early 1950s in his mid 60s via gang violence. He never managed to get to the same level of power after his death. He's a minor Overlord at best, but does hold some influence.

In Zoophobia, Angel and Arackniss had a dad named Henroin. A play on "heroin". So when considering a real name for him, I searched for a variant of Henry that sounded more Italian. I designed him before I knew he had a design, but I wasn't exactly impressed by Henroin's design, so I totally ignored it anyway.

Design-wise, I wanted to go for a stereotypical mob boss vibe, and it lends itself well to the more bulky, crustacean look. The resemblance to Mr. Waternoose was unintentional. He cannot retract any extra limbs.

Spider traits- I wanted to give everyone varying degrees of spider traits, partially determined by their level of Mob involvement and how dangerous they are. Pa is venomous(through his clawed hands), has super strength(because spiders are proportionally strong compared to their size), can super jump(cuz jumping spiders is the theme), and can summon a couple of guns. He's too large to crawl on walls and can't spin webs.

Ma was always at Pop's side, helping with the less violent aspects like finances. She did her share of poison murders as well. Ma died alongside Pop and is still at his side. She's arguably the more dangerous of the two at this point. She looks easy to take advantage of, but it turns out she has potent venom.

I didn't have anything canon to go off of, so she's technically an OC. I haven't put a ton of thought into her name, but I think I'll just go with Maria. Molly is named after her, I guess.

Design- Had to go with a femme fetale mob wife. The hourglass motif is because of her venomous nature, and not for any husband-killing. She can retract her extra limbs, because she is more dangerous than she initially seems.

Spider traits- she's more venomous than Pa(through her extra limbs), can wall crawl and super jump with her extra limbs, and spin webs(to ensnare prey. I think it might come from her hair bun and/or mouth, but I don't want to think too hard about it.). She's actually the more dangerous of the two, partially because she appears less threatening, and partially because the way her extra limbs are set up gives her more reach and agility. She cannot summon guns, and she doesn't have super strength.

Arackniss (real name is Giovanni, Italian version of John. Goes by Jon. Nicknamed "Little Cig", "Don Jon") worked as the underboss until Pa died, then took over as mob boss, making sure Molly was taken care of. He died in a shootout with police in the 1960s. He was around 50ish. He is on speaking terms with their parents, and sometimes works with them. He's tired and very addicted to coffee and cigarettes.

Apparently an old QnA revealed his real name to be Jonathan. Not sure if it's still true, but I didn't find anything more reliable. I found no examples of any historical mobster named Jonathan, despite there being many many Johns/Giovannis.)

Design- I wanted him to be unable to retract limbs, unlike Angie, but also wanted to avoid drawing all of them. So I used his overcoat to cover them, and he habitually keeps his hands in his pockets. Again, he can't retract any limbs because he was heavily involved with the mob. I changed his eyes from red to yellow, because I felt the yellow suited him better and reduces the overuse of red in general.

Spider traits- He can wall crawl, has super strength(which most don't expect because he's pretty scrawny), has super jump, and can summon guns. He cannot spin webs, and his venom is non-lethal and inflicted via bite(which isn't super useful to him).

Anthony/Tony "Wild Tony" was a soldier in the Mafia. He could have been a Capo(caporegime) if he was more committed. But he had a tendency to party and goof off. Technically, membership of the mob ends through death. Being the first to die, he was separated from the mob and didn't care to recommit. Angie partied hard and enjoyed gun violence, until Valentino came along. Valentino swept him off his feet with promises of fame, fortune, and love, convincing Angie to sell his soul.

Design- already covered most notes, but for organization: he can retract one set of extra limbs because he was involved with the mafia, but he was lower level.

Spider traits- He has less than the previous three. So he can super jump, spin webs(via mouth...he can make it kinky), and summon guns. He technically can wall crawl, but not for very long, and he usually uses it for things like pole dancing. He is not venomous at all, and does not have super strength.

In canon, Molly is in heaven, but I don't find it likely because of how the Mafia works, so she's in Hell now. (Real name is Marietta, which is an Italian version of Mary, and Molly is a nickname)She was the spoiled daughter and knew about the family's criminal activity. She knew, profited, and didn't care. She's guilty by association. Anyway, I'm gonna say she died about 10 years after Anthony, approx 1957, around the age of 40. Haven't thought too hard about how she died. Then she probably went and found some powerful, hot guy to sell her soul to. Not sure.

Design- I was going to give her an extra set of legs, but I couldn't wrap my head around the anatomy of it and just decided to stick with extra arms. She can retract all her limbs because she was "hands off" with the mafia.

Spider traits- she has the fewest because she was the least involved with the mafia. Aside from the obvious physical traits, she can only spin webs(because it is symbolically more domestic. Also via ponytail and/or mouth, but I don't want to think hard about it). She cannot wall crawl, or super jump, has no venom or super strength.

The Mob:

The Mafia is very patriarchal, so all members are men, as women were never formally initiated. But women were still significantly involved in a variety of ways. Most often by instilling mafia culture to the kids, drug trafficking, finances, or economics. Some helped as launderers, couriers, shills(con artist), drug traffickers, informants, and other typically non-violent roles. Some acted as proxies for their husbands in prison(which is becoming increasingly common in modern times).

Quick chart for Mafia organization, via the FBI.

Simple rundown of terminology because I didn't know the difference between Mob and Mafia, and I've now done too much research to not write it down in a relevant place:

mob- a group of people, usually disorderly

gang- crime group, ranging from loosely organized street gangs to structured syndicates.

syndicate- group of individuals or organizations that unite for a common goal. Can be legal or illegal.

cartel- (type of syndicate) a group of individuals or organizations that collude to control a business market via supply and demand. Can be legal or illegal.

The Mafia- originated in Sicily. Ethnically Italian gangs, referred to as "families" that may or may not have actual familial relationships. Characterized by a distinct hierarchal structure.

The Mob- the American extension of The Mafia. (ie. it's the same thing)

The Commission- the alliance of the various Mafia/Mob families. Older generation members, called "Mustache Petes", only worked with fellow Italians, sometimes even only Sicilians.

The National Crime Syndicate- multi-ethnic alliance of various criminal organizations. Most prominent being The Mafia/The Commission and Jewish syndicates.

All somewhat organized crime groups are gangs. Crime syndicates have a higher level of organization, and cartels deal in specific businesses. Eventually the terms mafia and mob were applied to other ethnic gangs that operated similarly. Such as the "Jewish Mob" and "Russian Mafia". But THE Mafia and THE Mob refers to Italian gangs.

(Jan 28, 2025- fixed the tags)

[lazysoulwriter]

Bad Habits, Good Chemistry - Paul Mescal.

smut! MDI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was the perfect, crisp afternoon, the kind that made running a little more bearable. You’d both just finished a light jog around the park and now, you were seated at a corner bar with a cold drink in hand, your legs still a bit sore from the run.

Paul, ever the contradiction, pulled a cigarette from his pack, tapping it lightly before lighting it up. You raised an eyebrow, a smirk tugging at your lips.

"You know, it's funny," you started, watching him take a long drag. "You just ran for almost an hour, and now you're smoking?"

He glanced over at you with a grin, the cigarette dangling from his lips. "Balance," he said, exhaling slowly. "I run to stay healthy, and I smoke to remind myself I’m human."

You laughed, shaking your head. "I think the running part is just to make it seem like you’re trying."

He tilted his head, pretending to be offended. "Excuse me, I’m a fitness enthusiast."

"You just like the idea of being one," you teased, nudging him playfully with your elbow. "You’re such a contradiction, Paul."

With a sly smile, he took another drag and raised an eyebrow. "And you, my dear, you’re just as bad. I’ve seen you sneak a cigarette or two. You think I don’t notice?"

You froze for a second, but then a grin appeared on your face. "I have no idea what you’re talking about."

"Please," he chuckled, leaning back in his seat, "we both know you’re just as guilty as me. But you know what? It’s kind of funny—running your ass off and then lighting up a cigarette. It's like a rebellious little routine you’ve got going."

You rolled your eyes, but you couldn't help but laugh at his accurate observation. "Yeah, yeah. What can I say? I'm a walking contradiction too."

He took another drag, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "I think we make a great pair."

You nudged him again, your smile widening. "And what makes you think that?"

Paul looked at you, the air between you charged in that way that felt both comfortable and a little electric. "I don’t know," he said, voice low. "Maybe because you’re just as complicated as I am. Or maybe because I like the way you look when you’re being a bad influence."

"Don't be like that..." You laugh, standing up and asking for one of his cigarettes. He laughs back, giving it to you.

When you take your first drag, you feel his gave on you. You look at him, curious. "What?"

He smiles at you and shrugs. You could feel the atmosphere grow heavier as he approaches you, placing a hand on your waist. "You're ridiculously hot..." He gives you a short kiss, wet and full of intentions. "Can we go?"

"Not everything has to end in sex, you know?" You say with a innocent smirk, knowing that would turn him on.

"Sure, sure... You're absolutely right. You don't need my cock in your wet pussy, huh? You don't need to be fucked hard by your boyfriend... Sorry." He says softly, so that only you can hear him.

"Oh... No way. I definitely don't want to feel your thick cock in my pussy. I don't want you to fuck me from behind while pulling my hair."

You see his eyes darken and a goofy smile appear on his lips. "You're exactly what I wanted my whole life. I love you. And yes, I'm fucking you. Let's go."

He pays the bill and quickly comes back, pulling you by the hand and you can see his growing erection through the fabric of the shorts he was wearing. What a day!

[obsessivestar]

please for the love of god I crave a Ted x reader fluff of him teaching u how to edit smth and it’s just him being patient and it’s just sweet and happy live u Star u a pos

Patience is Key-framing

A Ted Nivison x Reader fluff fic

Just a small lil' one shot because you asked so nicely ♡ (literally made me laugh when I woke up)

//Warnings: Mentions of/implied anxiety, cursing, other than that this is pure fluff \\

Enjoy!

You had decided to try out this whole "content creation" thing after Ted's best friend Tucker had been telling you about the GameCube video he had been working on. It seemed like a fun little side hobby to help keep the creative juices flowing and you had quite an easy time with the script writing and filming of it all. Now, you figured you'd have an easy time editing it. Ted was nice enough to allow you to use his computer to edit and you've made little edits on your phone before. How complicated can it be?

You open up the editing software Ted had recommended, start a new project and you're hit with...way too much. Way, waaaaay too much. Why is there more than one bar at the bottom? Why are there two screens? What the fuck does 'Farlight' mean? No clips in media pool? THAT'S where the clip goes? What the fuck is the other square for then? What the hell are these icons? Wait why is the player over there if the clips go here? This isn't like my phone at all, how the hell does Ted use this? 'Export Metadata???'

You're hit with so much at once, it's difficult to focus on one thing. You end up in this sort of stunned state where everything in front of you seems a whole lot bigger than it probably is. Suddenly your fingers are sort of shakingly hovering over the mouse and keyboard, confused little 'Ah's and 'What's cutting out of your nervous voice. There's nothing here that makes sense to you. Absolutely nothing. It's way more overwhelming than you thought it'd be. Maybe you should use what's familiar...

"Your hand's supposed to be on the mouse, babe." Ted comes into his room with two bottles, yours and his, topped off with some fresh water from downstairs. He comes and stands next to you, giving you a gentle smile.

"How the fuck do you use this?" you ask with a shaky chuckle, placing your hand on the mouse to begin curiously clicking around. You're trying not to look as freaked out about this software as you are, but jesus fuck, what does ANY of this mean? "I'm not makin' any sense of ANY of this.."

"I did tell you to wait.." Ted tilts his head at you with a knowing smirk, his brow perking up in a sort of 'I told you so' way.

"Okay--I didn't think you meant 'don't open the software', asshole. I.." You narrow your eyes at him, giving him a shaky huff. How were you supposed to know this software was going to look like...this?

"Okay okay, that's on me, it's alright.." Ted knows you don't mean to snap at him. You can see it in his eyes, he knows you're overwhelmed. He reaches up to lightly pet the top of your head in an attempt to calm you down. "I'll help you through it, alright? I'll talk y--not like that--but I'll talk you through it."

A soft smirk spreads along your lips, slightly leaning your head away from his hand. "Don't pet me, it's patronizing.." you comment in a sort of snarky tone, crinkling your nose at him.

"No it's not." Ted let's out a snort. "You're just still thinkin' about me talking you through it."

"Your words, not mine."

"Oh come on. You spend too much time on Tumblr."

"They've got some interesting shit to say about you!"

"I'm sure they do, now let's focus. M'kay? Phone down now. Tumblr thoughts go away."

"Stop talking to me like I'm 5."

"It's calmed you down, hasn't it?"

"....Alright--"

Getting rid of all other distractions, you fully focus on the screen in front of you, listening to Ted as he teaches you the basics of how this software works. He helps take your attention away from anything you won't be using and keeps you focused on what you already know from using your phone. You hate to say it, but the friendly little teaching tone he uses with you is...kinda helpful. You hate it, but it's helpful.

"So let's drop a video from a clip I made the other day. You're gonna go up to File, hover over Import...yep, and click Media."

"What's Pre-conformed EDL?" You cut in, tilting your head. "What's that supposed to--"

"Ah ah ah, doesn't matter. I don't even use it. Click Import. That's where we get the videos."

So that's what you do. You click Import, find the video clip and double click. It brings the clip into the box on the left, way up in the corner. Oh!

"Oh, so this is like...where you keep all the clips?" You ask, feeling like a light has clicked on in your head.

"Yeah, like if you had more than one." Ted replies with a gentle smile, giving you a nod. "Keeps everything organized.."

That actually makes sense.

"Now, if you want to edit a clip, you just draw it down here, where all these white dial lookin' things are..."

When you follow Ted's instructions, the clip that you had selected now shows up in the right box as well as showing the timeline at the bottom, just like how it would look in the editing app on your phone. It's starting to look exactly like you're used to! Even some of the buttons on the bottom are starting to look familiar. Cut, Edit, Color..

"Oh shit, wait, so...if I wanted to cut this..." You slide the timeliness over a few seconds ahead and right click, but you don't see an option to cut that part of the clip. You furrow your eyebrows and glance at Ted, quietly signaling him for help.

"What, are you trying to cut the clip? Like to turn it into two?" Ted asks, standing at bit closer to you to get a clearer look at the screen. "OK, so to do that, you click the scizzor icon over here, and then you'd right click what you want to delete.."

You follow his instructions once more, and it all happens just like he said it would. There's a little green line in the timeline showing exactly where you cut the clip, then you right click, delete the right clip, and boom. That easy. You let out an excited little gasp and wiggle your hands in joy. You're understanding now! You're getting it!

"There ya go! That's good!" Ted praises you with a single clap, shooting you a proud smile.

"Ok! Ok ok ok, I'm getting it.." you let out a thrilled little laugh, placing your hands back on the keyboard and mouse. "It's a few extra buttons, but I'm getting it.."

"Oh yeah, you get used to it, honestly." Ted admits with a little nod, fluffing up the front of his dark hair. "Eventually you can learn to use the keyboard's controls once you know how everything works; everything that you need, at least."

"Keyboard controls?" You turn to Ted, tilting your head a little.

"Like how you can use Alt F4 to close a page, or Control F to search for a word."

"Ohh! Oh that's cool!"

"I know! It is cool!"

Suddenly, something that was easily overwhelming you on your own has become fun with Ted's help. He guides you through every step of turning this one minute of gameplay into a proper clip. He teaches you how to separate game audio and microphone audio so you can hear his commentary clearer, he teaches you how you zoom in and out smoothly, how to add text and how to key frame in other photos and shots to emphasize a moment in the gameplay. Once he got you to focus on re-learning what you knew from your phone editing apps, you were able to ignore everything else in this software that confused you before and focus on what you've learned! You eventually get good enough to go ahead of Ted's instructions, clicking down on the timeline to cut a few seconds of silence from the game audio with relative ease.

"There ya go! And the clip is done!" Ted takes a step back and holds his arms out triumphantly, giving you a proud grin. "That's it! Now you just do that with all the clips you've got from your video! You did good!"

"That's crazy.." You smile back at Ted before looking at the monitor again, looking over the editing software that had overwhelmed you so much before. You still had a lot to learn, but you knew enough to be able to do most of the editing on your own without having to ask any new questions. You kinda hate to admit it, but Ted is a good teacher. He did goto film school, after all.

"Thank you." You turn your chair to face Ted, giving him a cute little bashful smile. You can tell he's proud of you. You're proud of yourself, too.

"Not a problem at all, babe.." Ted slips his hands into his loose pockets, giving a little shrug and a warm smile. "It was overwhelmin' for me too, everything new takes a little time to learn. I'm glad you were okay with me helping you. Makes me happy too."

God, he's just so...

You can't help yourself. You move up off of his chair so you can wrap your arms around him in a big hug, almost trapping his hands in his pockets with your tight grip. He let's out a gentle little chuckle, slipping his hands out of his pockets so he can return the hug, his long arms able to wrap around my whole body. He smells nice...

"...Ted?"

"Mhmm?..."

"...Can you pet my head again?.."

"Yes I can.."

[plumeria1]

More than friendship

Masterlist

Note : Vi and Reader are 17 and 16 years old, respectively, and this takes place before the first season.

Pairing : Teen Vi x Teen Fem Reader

Warning : None

Content : Fluff

Summary : A talk with Vander open Vi's eyes about her feelings for you

Vi had never really been interested in love. Her family was more than enough for her, and taking care of her sister was the most important thing in her eyes.

At least, that's what she thought.

Until you.

When your parents died, Benzo, who was their closest friend, took you under his wing. That's how you met Ekko, who immediately introduced you to his friends.

Vi didn't know what had drawn her to you; maybe it was the way you frowned when Mylo told you a joke that only he found funny, your smile when Powder joyfully showed you what she had just made, or the way you always tucked that strand of hair behind your ear when you turned your head and it fell in front of your eyes.

You had noticed Vi too. It was her pink hair and powder-blue eyes that caught your attention. And then, you had seen her hands. There was some dried blood on the bandages covering her hand; she had surely fought recently.

You got along well, but from time to time, you could see Vi's gaze change when you were alone. Her expression softened. At first, you thought it was your imagination, but it happened far too often to be just a coincidence. There was something else in the way she looked at you, but you couldn't figure out what it was.

You thought she looked at you the way she looked at Powder. Vi was a head taller than you, and even though you were only a year younger than her, people often said you looked younger than you actually were.

On her part, Vi didn’t understand what was happening to her; the more time she spent with you, the more she wanted to be close to you. Sometimes, she wished time would stop just to be with you for as long as she wanted.

It was to better understand what was happening to her that she went to see Vander; she had often talked to him about you and the time you spent together, and now more than ever, she needed his advice.

-I don't know what's happening to me. When she's around, I don't want her to leave, and I can't stop thinking about her.

Vander laughed, which was rare, then smiled at her before asking a single question.

-Do you love her?

-Of course, she's my friend. If I didn't like her, I wouldn't spend all my time with her.

-I'm not asking you if you like her, but if you love her?

-What?

Vander set down the glass he was drying and went to sit next to Vi.

-Aren't you in love, by any chance?

She widened her eyes in surprise. What was he talking about? She couldn't be in love with you, you were her best friend, but that was it. Right?

-I'm not in love with her, Vander.

Vander knew very well that she was lying to herself, but he also knew that pushing her was the last thing to do.

-Look, I know it's complicated to understand feelings, especially at your age, but I can recognize love when it's so obvious.

-What should I do then?

-Go see her and tell her everything you feel.

-And what if she rejects me, sees me just as a friend, and I mess everything up?

-If you want my opinion, she wouldn't be so close to you if she didn't feel something for you.

She looked at her feet for a moment before making up her mind; she was going to come see you and tell you everything she felt. She stood up, thanked Vander, then left the bar, determined. She knew where to find you; you were always at Benzo's at this hour, so she hurried to go to his place. Along the way, she asked herself so many questions that she felt like her head was going to explode. Was Vander right? Was she really in love with you?

-Hi Benzo, is—

-She’s in her room.

Vi didn’t think and went straight upstairs, climbing the stairs while thinking about everything she was going to say to you; everything was clear in her mind. It was until you opened the door.

-Vi, what are you doing here?

You were face to face with her, and she found herself speechless, her mind suddenly blank. She could only focus on you.

-I... I...

-Don’t stay here, come in.

You stepped aside to let her in, and she went to sit on your bed. Looking at her, you could see that she seemed really disturbed; you wondered what could have happened to her. Her cheeks were slightly pink, and she didn’t look you in the eyes like she usually did.

-What’s wrong with you? You look weird.

-I need to tell you something.

You frowned when she finally looked at you.

-I like you a lot. Really a lot. I mean, I think about you all the time, and I don’t like it when you leave because I miss you. I talked to Vander, he says that if I feel this way, it’s because I love you and... and I said it wasn’t true, but actually, it is.

-Vi...

-I tried to tell myself that you were just my friend, but Vander is right, and I had to tell you.

When she finished speaking, you noticed that she was on the verge of tears.

-It wasn’t a good idea to come here... pretend I didn’t say anything.

When she started to get up, you grabbed her wrist, making her stop, but she didn’t turn around.

-Can I speak now?

Vi expected you to push her away, to tell her that you didn’t want to see her anymore, but instead, you surprised her. She agreed to listen to you and sat back down on your bed.

The silence was suffocating; it felt like it had lasted for hours. You were staring into space, searching for the right words.

-I tried, you know. That’s why I didn’t come back to see you this week. I thought that if I didn’t see you for a few days, it would pass, and everything would go back to normal.

You let out a little laugh.

-I thought it had worked, but when I saw you, I realized it was all for nothing. What I’m trying to say is that I like you a lot too. I didn’t say anything because... I was afraid that if I tried something, you’d push me away.

You turned to Vi, waiting for her to say something, but she remained silent. What could she possibly say to you? At a loss for words, she simply took your face gently in her hands, her eyes moving from yours to your lips. She slowly brought her face closer to yours, giving you enough time to push her away if you wanted.

You were the one who closed the gap between you, placing your lips on hers. It was an awkward but sweet first kiss. You had wanted it for a long time; it just took you a while to realize it.

Vi moved away first and rested her forehead against yours, smiling.

-It was...

-Weird?

-A little, but not unpleasant.

You both laughed, and you rested your head on her shoulder.

-And now, what do we do?

-We can do it again. I mean, it's by practicing that we improve.

You laughed because you knew she was avoiding your question, but it didn't bother you; you could wait, and her idea was much more interesting.

This time, it was Vi who initiated the kiss. It was less awkward but just as sweet as the first. You spent the rest of the day talking and kissing until Vi noticed it was getting late and she had to go home. She knew Vander didn’t like his kids staying out on the streets at night.

You walked her to the door and said goodbye with one last kiss before returning to your room.

Later, Vi arrived at the Last Drop and didn’t notice Benzo chatting with Vander over a drink. If she had listened to their conversation, she would have had a funny reaction.

-They took their time.

-Yes, and I won my bet. I had bet that Vi would confess her feelings first, and I was right.

-You cheated. If you hadn't talked to her, she wouldn't have come.

The two men laughed, and eventually, Vander agreed to give up the bet. They talked for a good part of the night before parting ways to rest.

That night, Vi and you fell asleep happy and eager for the next day to see each other again.

[holocene-sims]

next // previous

september 25, 2021 6:50 p.m. myshuno restaurant

why are you surprised?

grant fixates his gaze far away from his father’s fiancee, suddenly shrinking into himself when he realizes what her appearance means. she intends to talk. she’d walked him right over to the nearest bench–why else would she do that? and grant wishes he hadn’t agreed. he wishes he weren’t so brave now. he wishes he’d left faster, pretended he was in a rush, something of the sort.

you should have avoided this. all of this. this was a terrible–

the gentlest of prods at his shoulder stirs him from his racing thoughts.

“sorry. i'm still space-casing it.” grant shudders; she must have already asked him something.

if she’s bothered by his inattention, varpu doesn’t show it. instead, she smiles. not joyfully, though–it’s a thin-lipped smile that he can only describe as one of abject pity.

“i wanted to know if you were okay,” she repeats, “and no, i think i owe you an apology instead.”

“oh, i'm fine. and really, you don't.”

you are not fine.

fine doesn’t match the nagging ache in the core of his chest.

why are you upset anyway? why the fuck are you surprised? you knew all of this was coming. you knew he’d always–you didn’t. no, you bought it. you believed it somehow, in some way when he preached about being a better father.

“you are not a very good liar,” comes varpu’s retort. the pitying smile is still plastered on her face, though it slips more and more by the second, slowly replaced by an unreadable albeit piercing expression.

“it’s genetic.”

and you knew he was never going to stay. you even gave him your express permission.

and yet…

somewhere in the back of grant’s mind, a much younger version of himself–the child who experienced the worst abandonment life has to offer–is crawling out of the woodwork and screaming for attention, screaming so loud that he can think of nothing but that child’s agony. bad memory after bad memory floods grant’s remaining bandwidth. he’d barely shut them out at the table, only for them to resurface in a tidal wave the very moment he let his guard down.

“yeah, actually, you know, i don’t think i'd probably use the word fine right now, no.”

varpu knew that, of course. not an ounce of bewilderment dwells in her response. “i'm not sure i understood what happened in there, but nonetheless, i do owe you an apology. i'm sorry. it was my idea to invite you, and that doesn’t seem to have been good for you.”

“it’s not your fault.”

“i fear that it is,” she replies, and at last, it’s her turn to avert her gaze–she turns to face the alleyway on their right “it was also at my insistence that he reached out to you last year. i don’t think that was good for you either.”

“maybe, maybe not. i wouldn’t hold my dad being my dad against you, though. i appreciate that you’ve tried to do the right thing. you’ve been much kinder to the estranged son of your college sweetheart than i'd really have ever expected, and it doesn’t go unnoticed.”

varpu, underdressed for the weather without her coat, shivers as a cold autumn breeze whips by them. she turns back towards him, wrapping her arms close to her chest, and just shakes her head. “why wouldn’t you expect that i'd be kind to you? i'm a mother. it’s my responsibility to treat you like i treated my own children.”

“you can probably guess why i don’t expect that.”

“i didn’t want you to feel left out,” varpu muses, now nervously picking at her dress sleeves, “that’s why i invited you tonight. you have a complicated relationship with your father, and him remarrying and having another family must be uncomfortable for you, but i wanted you to know you would be a part of our lives, that you do have a place with us.”

“no, i very much get that from you. i can tell you care about including me.” grant winces. “my dad, your kids...not so much.”

“i only found out he hadn’t invited you to help with wedding plans or told you about the move this morning–he said he had, and i believed him, which was, as i see now, very silly of me. and my children,” varpu says, letting out a deep sigh, “i should have made you aware that they’re apprehensive about you. it’s not you, it’s…”

“no, it’s definitely me.”

varpu shuts him down. “it isn’t you. they have a good relationship with your father, and they’re very attached to him. they spent most of their lives without a father in their lives, my first husband passed away a long time ago, and having someone to be in that role now is…”

“a big deal. of course. if i were in their shoes, i might feel the same way about him. also, my condolences. i didn’t know that about, um, you know, you, but yeah, i'm sorry you had to go through that. that's terrible. and that makes sense. i mean, as in why your kids would probably not trust me. they don’t, right? you can be honest. it has to be a little bit about me. they don’t trust someone who doesn’t like my dad the way they do.”

“yes. i should have told you that, and i think i should have been much clearer about your relationship with your father to them. it was also very silly for me to think they'd change their minds before you noticed there was any distrust.”

“how much do you know about our relationship?”

she shrugs. “that it's complicated, that he let your mother abuse you. he didn’t lie to me about that. no, in fact, he was very forthcoming about his life since we last spoke years ago. at least i thought he was. i'm a little skeptical now, looking back and having realized he wasn’t being honest with you. if he lies to you, he very well may lie to me.”

“it makes me a little mad to know he’s just, like, chill with someone else’s kids.” the ache in grant’s chest flares with the heat of a billion suns. anger–the ache is anger, the purest he’s felt in years. “sorry. dick thing for me to say. and think. it’s horrible that a part of me wants him to be a piece of shit like he was to me with everyone else, right? no, i don’t really want that. you and your kids don’t deserve that, it’s just–”

“it stings.”

he almost laughs. “it’s so fucked. he can move on, have a new family, like a family he cares about, a family he does stuff with, a family he talks to about important topics, a family he’ll move for, a family he’ll fight for, a family he respects, and–” and again, too, the anger flares. “and he can just abandon me with no qualms. i was always nothing to him. jesus christ, none of my siblings were either. one’s dead, one’s still estranged, and he doesn’t even think about them.”

“the unfortunate thing is i think he doesn’t want to abandon you.”

“now that i have to argue with you on. he's done it before, so he's very likely doing it right now, too.”

the pitying smile returns to varpu’s face. “as far i know, as of this morning, he doesn’t believe you’ll ever forgive him or trust him. he feels rejected by you, and he's reacting to that feeling. i think. i can no longer prove he was telling me the truth about this, but..."

“oh, he feels rejected? fantastic, maybe he finally gets how i feel then. rejection fucking blows, doesn't it? also, that’s just ridiculous. i don't know how he can claim that. i came to meet him last year, i met him earlier this year, i let him meet my ex-fiancee, i took his phone calls, and i showed up tonight. he’s even admitted before i'm putting effort in. where the fuck is this rejection claim coming from? is it because i'm not falling over myself to kiss the ground he walks on?"

“i've truly disrupted your life by encouraging him to talk to you. i'm sorry.”

grant shrugs. “it’s okay. you were very positive in assuming things were salvageable, but he’s always going to be the same piece of shit to me at the end of the day, and i'm always going to be bitter and refuse to forgive him. i think we’d only be on the same page if i just rolled over like i used to."

“why did you try to reconnect, though? why agree?”

“fuck, i have no idea. it’s ultimately my fault for saying yes.”

why did you?

nothing comes to mind. nothing in particular. only the vaguest list of shitty excuses, the same ones he’s thrown at family members time and time again trying to justify his perennial need to prove the people who hurt him love him, actually.

he no longer wants to roll over like a coward, but–

“simple enough, i guess i want to hope he loves me.”

“what does that look like to you?”

his first response, once more, is to shrug helplessly. “i don’t know. i can’t say he didn’t try at all. he tried to apologize, tried to talk things out, tried to include me. even if he was lying about it or faking to win me over...well, i still bought that he was trying, but it never pleased me. it never felt like enough. god, this all, like, sounds insane, doesn’t it? i'm having this whole meltdown over one night.”

“but it’s not about one night, is it?”

grant’s breach catches in his throat. it’s not, not at all. the unruly child screaming in his head is showing him a pile of evidence, thirty years worth.

“no.”

“and it’s not salvageable, is it?” varpu asks next.

if his father ran outside right now and proclaimed with his soul his love, would it satisfy him? would it cure the ache in his chest, soothe the raging child in his head, turn his bitterness into saccharine peace?

he dwells on it for only a moment before an earth-rending realization dawns on him, and for once in his life, the answer is clear as day.

“no. there’s…” grant stops himself, peering up at the sky. “there is nothing he could do to fix this. i don’t think i want him to love me. i want for what happened to me to have never happened, but time traveling to the past inherently violates the second law of thermodynamics, so that’s unfortunately impossible.”

“i suspect you don’t need my advice, but you shouldn’t be afraid to act on that. your father is a grown man. he can continue to live with the consequences of his actions. you live with them, so can he.”

“that’s very true. uh, and yeah, i think i have to. again, that is. i have to tell him to fuck off again. i'll give it a few days, but yeah.”

varpu stays quiet, acknowledging him with an encouraging nod.

“so, i'll be completely honest with you..." grant trails off.

"please do."

"i doubt i will ever see you again after tonight, but it’s not personal. i just want to make that clear, in case it matters. i do mean it when i say your kindness is appreciated. i care that you care, and you’ve been nicer than my own parents did somehow. thank you."

"you're welcome seems a terribly inadequate response, but..."

"you're welcome is fine. best of luck with the wedding and the house search. regardless of how i feel about my father or the fact he has a new family, i don’t wish any harm your way. if you want to build a life with him, have at it. i know what i said earlier is not in line with what i'm saying now, but i hope the future is good to you specifically, and i hope it’s not disappointing i don’t want to be a part of it.”

[tvrningout-a]

i'm creating a whole frikkin fantasy world with a conflict and everything, lord help me

[red-moon-at-night]

Thinking about the people going in and out of Helen's life, and who she could reasonably have a bond/connection with that 1) is not romantic in nature, and 2) has been by her side both before the trojan war in Sparta and during it in Troy, and there IS someone.

It's Aethra. Aethra, daughter of King Pittheus, mother of Theseus.

Aethra who first met Helen when she was a child (at oldest, not of marriageable age, and at youngest, 7) after Theseus drops her off on his mother's doorstep to look after until she's old enough (ick). Aethra who ends up being taken back to Sparta as a hostage once Helen's brothers raze the city (either Aphidna or Athens). Aethra who becomes Helen's slave at some point after this (whether immediately or once she's an adult). Aethra who goes with Helen and Paris on the ship to Troy. Aethra who is still by her side after 10 years of war, still alive, who is found by her grandsons Demophon and Acamas. Aethra who is released from the possession of Helen after she gives her consent and accepts the arrangement. Aethra who leaves Troy with her grandsons and finally gets to go home.

Giving it a very rough estimate, they end up being stuck in each other's lives for somewhere between 25 - 40 years... which is quite a long time. Accounting for the fact that Aethra is still very much a) the mother of Helen's kidnapper, and b) Helen's slave, she's still most likely the closest thing Helen has had to a long-term maternal figure in her life.

And she lets her go. After everything, after such a destructive and devastating war and the aftermath of it, Aethra may very well be the only person to whom Helen can grant some happiness in the ashes of Troy.

(I'm not even going to begin to pretend that I have the pre-requisite knowledge to unpack Aethra's position as royalty-to-hostage-to-slave or how she would've been treated. Also the considerations of historical knowledge of slavery in ancient Greece vs. Aethra being a mythological character from thousands of years ago. If anyone does please be my guest and inform me!)

[nostalgia-tblr]

loki/william rufus fic, where bill explains that as the second son he has inherited england while big brother bob only got the duchy of normandy, ha ha ha.

[novelconcepts]

more and more it's feeling like we just...don't have room for people trying anymore. it's all or nothing; get it right the first time, or be crucified by a jury you can never fully see or convince. and this isn't new, isn't born of current events. it's become more and more prevalent over the last ten years thanks to social media putting every little thought on blast, but i'd put money on the idea that it's actually been brewing much longer than that. and, for me, it goes beyond being tiring or upsetting. it feels bleak. it feels downright fucking broken that we're all so busy trying not to condone anything remotely problematic that we don't leave room for good faith learning. watching people trying to suss out their own identity--something literally ONLY they can fully understand or explain--be vilified for trying to fit words around their own experience sucks. watching people misunderstand something and try to apologize for it later, only to be told they should have known all along, sucks. seeing people who once held truly toxic beliefs actually grow and learn and apologize and still be told to fuck themselves as if they're a lost cause--it sucks. just. does that not fill you with despair for the state of things? does that not break something in you, to think that if you one day don't understand something, or misuse a word, or grapple with complicated feelings, it will forever stain you in the eyes of perfect strangers?

dude the world is fucked, and we all see it, but like. it doesn't feel like it helps to be so goddamn reactive. it doesn't feel like it helps anyone to demand perfection out the gate. it's exhausting. there are enough people out there who don't want to learn, who aren't trying, who actively revel in cruelty. looking for malice in every little fuck-up from people who seem to be genuinely striving to live their lives with kindness strikes me as lending strength to an army that already glories in suffering. and makes the world look more fucked than ever. and i really don't know that that energy is what we need when there's already so much to set right.

maybe it's just me. maybe this last decade just shattered something in me. but i really, really hate the idea--reject the idea, frankly--that people can't learn and change and grow. that people can't be better than a bad day or a failure of understanding. i reject the idea that people are something to be thrown out because they fucked up. it just seems...yeah. bleak. really fuckin' bleak.

[notmoreflippingelves]

If any of the krisnix fans following me are already DCU fans, I would be very, very curious to pick some of your brains and mine your existing comics knowledge (as my own is very new and somewhat lacking) about a krisnix-centric, Batman-inspired AU.

[a--bottled-star]

WHYYY did my mother have kids with my father if she can barely stand his ass (i can't stand him much either) and whenever she's insulting and berating us she finds a way to compare us to him in a negative way. I mean I get that at first he was nice and whatever but MAYBE she should have thought about it more before having me considering she had only known my father for a few months (like. not even a year and she's like "i wanna have a baby!!!")

[lucalicatteart]

Poll adventure (paventure? lol) Day 3: read the small story tidbit below the poll for more details, OR just vote based on initial impression

(✦ see past poll results + further information HERE (link) ✦)

The winning option of yesterday's poll was that the adventurer should throw a coin into the mysterious well ….

"After nearly ten minutes rummaging through the disorganization at the bottom of his backpack, he finally approaches the well once again, meager coin pouch in hand. He meticulously balances a little golden coin on the tip of his thumb, positioning it just so for an elegant coin flip… With a flick of his hand, the coin wobbles off, anticlimactically dropping into the darkness.. He pouts, leaning in to listen for a plonk as the coin hits the water but… nothing…. silence.. A few minutes pass and he shrugs, moving to pick up his bag and just continue his journey elsewhere, when suddenly a faint noise echoes from the well.. an almost cartoonish plopping sound, like wet feet slapping against stone..? The pitter patter grows closer and closer…then stops abruptly. The adventurer cautiously slinks over to the well, only to find.. a creature of some sort, clinging to the walls, staring up at him blankly. - What should he do next?"

[whiterunguard]

Things are in store. Things are going to happen.

[skyloftian-nutcase]

I'm in an Ocarina of Time angst/bittersweetness/learning to live with the pain mood, so have one of my more obscure fics

[icewindandboringhorror]

Very generic “”gothy” character in a children’s cartoon” type look just out of curiosity, seeing if I had enough stuff to put together a full outfit from a box of old clothes lol. I didn’t have an actual main shirt though, so it’s just a plain tank top with cat shape cut out of paper and safety pinned onto the front