#do you even know where the countries you're talking about are on a map?

[cytser]

so tired of white saviours and historical (not even historical in some cases) revisionism on this website. don't just reblog something because it sounds snappy and crossed your dashboard. actually RESEARCH the political topics you're posting about to make sure you're not supporting, say, genocide and ethnic cleansing.

i'm sick to death of you all making everything about america. can you decenter yourselves for five minutes? just long enough to listen to people who live in the countries impacted by world events?

do you even care about other countries or do you just want to make yourself feel better about doing nothing? you shout and scream for things to change but can't even take the time to educate yourselves from reliable sources outside of tumblr/tiktok/whatever.

[icewindandboringhorror]

Lineup of all of the characters that appear long enough to need a visual representation of them in the game lol

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

Yandere Hitman // Accident

Imagine you wake up tied to a chair ducktape over your mouth and the weight of gravity weighing on your chest. Finally gaining your bearings you realize you are haphazardly hanging from a rickety-looking bridge above a raging river by a man in a black compression shirt a bored look on his face and a phone to his ear. You don’t try to struggle only watching wide-eyed as you hope this Hitman doesn’t drop you 

“Really…the wrong one? Fine, I’ll figure it out.”

Breathing is so much easier when he pulls you from the edge with one hand by the way. He doesn’t untie you sighing exasperatedly while running a hand through his hair. Finally, he takes the ducktape off your mouth waving off your barrage of questions. 

“Look things happened and I was supposed to kill someone who looks a lot like you but not.”

“So you're a hitman and you made a mistake?”

“Yup.”

“Are you going to kill me for knowing you then?”

“I don’t have to.”

“Then can I go home?”

“Er no.”

“Because I��m going to talk?”

“No more like you wouldn’t be able to get into the country anyway.”

Turns out the hitman who happened to target you was incredibly too thorough and ended up burning your ID, crafting up a reasonable missing persons case for you, and making it hard for you to do anything in the country that you can’t properly even find on a map. So to combat the absolute mess of having to go through all the legalese and interrogation you’d go through to get back to your life he comes up with his solution.

“How about you just stay with me? I’ve got more than enough room.”

And he does. It's a place that’s like a small castle, he reasons it’s best that you just help clean the place and maybe make a meal or two. You accept not that you had any other choice at this point so he’ll untie you and take you there. Wherever this backwater country is he’s got a home filled with villagers who are happy to care for it. And in a language you don’t recognize they celebrate it when he brings you home, cheering and excitedly holding your hands. He can’t help but laugh at you while you try to figure things out.

“Hey! What was she saying before?”

“You really shouldn’t just blindly nod to what people are saying. That’s what gets you in trouble.”

“What else am I supposed to do?! She was smiling so wide it must’ve been something nice, right?”

“Hahaha, you're hopelessly adorable.”

When this Hitman is not sitting around laughing at you or mistranslating your requests, he’s not so bad. As the only one who understands what you’re saying and can actually respond to you in a rewarding way. Dismissing that he ruined your everyday life, he’s decent company usually smirking to himself while he makes fun of whatever you're doing. 

“That hat is way too big for you and so are your clothes. It’s kinda cute.”

“It’s not cute! For whatever reason nobody will give me anything other than your clothes it’s really inconvenient.”

“How do you know they're mine?”

“Because they smell like–”

“Awwww are you smelling me in your free time (Y/n)?”

“NO! Wait it’s just an observation—”

“Ewww so perverted (Y/n)~”

When he’s not around to mess with you, he’s off to work. Wearing those same tight-fitted pants he did when you first woke up. It’s…a little sad sometimes. He is the only one you can easily communicate with but you manage to enjoy the thousands of books he has in his home, hang out with the kittens of the farm, and slowly but surely get a grasp on the language all the villagers speak. Maybe one day you can surprise him by being able to call him out the next time he tries to humiliate you to the villagers. It certainly keeps you occupied from thinking about going home anytime soon.

“That’s another body in the ground. Where’s my money?”

The hitman once again casually dismembers another target for his client, taking a quick picture before hurrying to the store. You did say you were a fan of a certain gaming system, he’s got more than enough to spend now that he’s completed another job. Not that he really needed to that amount he had could very well pay for the entire lives of generations to come. That is if he hasn’t budgeted for a luxurious life with you.

“Mmm, which one should I get? Hmm?”

“Oh, are you interested in some of our AAA titles?”

“Not for me but for my partner….I’m just worried they’ll leave me and our kids out while playing.”

“Well if you like we have some lighthearted multiplayer games.”

“That’s perfect!”

He does plan as though you already have kids. He doesn’t need to know if you two will conceive with him or adopt but it doesn’t matter it’s happening. Because to him, you two are already bound to be happily married—all according to his plan. He’s just glad it’s going off so far without a hitch.

“Hi I’m back!”

“Welcome welcome hope everything went well for you chief!”

“How are their studies coming?”

“Decent but they’ll never fully be able to grasp the codes, just as you planned.”

“Perfect. (Y/n) they’re saying you should be the one to massage me this time.”

“What?! There is no way they said that.”

Your hitman’s greatest power is his nonchalant attitude. It’s what allows you to accept that it was his carelessness that led to you being targeted in the first place. It’s what have you not looking twice when ‘the villager’ demands you both feed each other. It might take a while before you fully become the you–he envisioned in his plans but he can wait.

After all your hitman’s waited this long. He doesn’t mind waiting a little more.

“Don’t think too much and let’s just let fate that I’ve chosen decide.”

[ckret2]

Chapter 56 of human Bill Cipher probably not about to be the Mystery Shack's prisoner much longer:

Bill and Mabel wrap up their impromptu lesson on the second dimension, while Ford and Dipper wrap up their final preparations for Bill's execution.

Dipper peeked in through the door to the gift shop. When no one acknowledged him, he cautiously meandered across the living room toward Ford, straight between Bill and Mabel without either of them glancing at him; they were too caught up in Bill answering Mabel's question about how to see through walls with the fourth dimension.

When Dipper was nearly out of the room, Bill suddenly focused on him. "Hey stinky, what have you been up to?"

Dipper jumped. "What?"

Mabel laughed. "Yeah! You smell like burning hair."

"You smell like nightmares," Bill corrected.

Ford muttered a curse under his breath. Ford hadn't noticed a smell, but Dipper's soul had fallen into the Nightmare Realm—did its distinctive scent still cling to him? Would Bill realize what it meant? If he did—

Dipper swallowed hard. "I... was... having a nightmare?"

Bill considered that. "Ask a stupid question..." He shrugged and turned back to the grid he'd been adding notes to.

Dipper sighed in relief. He joined Ford in the entryway to watch the lesson in bafflement. Under his breath, he murmured, "Has this been going on a while?"

"At least the last fifteen minutes." That was how long Ford had been watching. He'd learned a couple things about higher dimensional physics even he hadn't known.

"Wait," Mabel said, "Bill, I get it! You don't look through walls, you look over them!"

Bill's face split into a wide grin. "Explain it!"

"It's like, if I was floating above the second dimension, I could just see over all the walls! But Flatworlders don't even know what 'above' is, so they'd think I was looking through the walls somehow! So there's got to be some kind of fourth dimensional place 'above' the third dimension, right?!"

"On the money, star girl! Give yourself another sticker!"

"YES!" She'd run out of facial real estate for stickers, so she slapped it on her headband.

Bill beamed proudly at her. "How come your brother's the one with the straight A's, huh? You could blow him out of the water if you wanted."

Mabel's smile immediately disappeared.

Dipper hissed between his teeth. "Oooh." Under his breath, he said, "Mabel hates people saying things like that. I should go rescue her." He crept back into the room. "Hey! Bill!"

Mabel turned toward Dipper. Bill only glanced askance at him. Flatly, he asked, "What."

"Uh..." Dipper skimmed the papers coating the room for anything that he could talk about, and focused on the ringed planet behind the TV. He pointed at it. "Is... that Flatworld?"

Bill shrugged apathetically. "Sure, you can call it that."

"Why are all the countries off the planet?"

"Do you think we lived underground?"

Mabel perked up. "Dipper! The shapes live in outer space! In between their home planet and the planet's rings! They only use the planet for vacations and underground science buildings and stuff."

Dipper asked, "Underground science buildings?"

Bill sighed and turned away from the grid, giving Dipper a look that said I'll give you my attention, but I won't like it. "Research facilities. Like wave pools, particle accelerators, and solar farms. Gigantic equipment like that is more stable anchored in bedrock."

(Ford remembered, suddenly, over thirty years ago, Bill telling him that he ought to dig out a subterranean cavern for the interdimensional portal. "A big machine like this," he'd said, "you want that anchored on all sides by solid rock. It'll be a lot more stable that way." Ford had never dreamed that was a trillion-year-old cultural artifact from a dead civilization.)

Still studying the map, Dipper asked, "How do you tell where your country's borders are if you're just floating in empty space?"

"How do you?"

"We use... rivers, and..."

"And sometimes you just make them up. It's not that complicated."

"Were they all as oppressive as the country in Flatworld?"

Bill gave Dipper a withering look. "This isn't a politics class, kid."

(Ford cast a dubious look at the blood-red letters reading "ANTI-MONARCHIST ANARCHISM".)

Dipper scowled, crossed his arms, and looked over the map again. "But, wait—if you were floating in outer space, and you could just... float up and down between your planet's surface and the ring, then why isn't there anything further out than that? What was stopping you from floating all the way to that moon?" He gave Bill a challenging look, as though he'd uncovered a logical fallacy that undermined the whole map.

Bill rolled his open eye. "This is what you get for coming late to class." He pointed his crayon at his star student. "Shooting Star?"

"They did float all the way to the moon!"

Dipper's shoulders dropped. "Oh."

"It was a big extreme sports bragging rights thing," Mabel said. "Like climbing Mount Everest! Except first you have to get through the rings without dying! And it'd take like thirty years to fly there and thirty years to get back!"

"Approximating the human years," Bill said.

"So they couldn't go until they invented cars, because they're fast enough to get through the rings without getting hit and it only takes a year to drive to the moon, but that means you still have to carry enough supplies for two years, and—"

"Hold on," Dipper said. "Cars?"

"Yeah!"

"But there's no ground! They're flying around in the air! They don't have wheels, do they? What makes a car different from a rocket ship?"

"Um..." Mabel looked to Bill for help.

Bill said, "Firepower." He drew a rocket sailing up toward the moon at an angle, its fiery trail cutting through the planet's rings. After a thoughtful pause, Bill added, "I know a guy that used to work at an observatory on the far side of the moon."

Dipper said, "So what happened to your world?"

And there was that hesitance, that guarded look Ford had remembered seeing whenever Bill got too close to teaching Ford enough for him to recognize the danger to his dimension. He turned away from the kids, busying himself with refining the shape of the moon. "Do the math. I'm over a trillion years old! Stars burn out, universes go cold. Your planet will barely last twelve billion years. That's the way planets go."

"Well, if you're so powerful, why didn't you just—I dunno—keep it alive?"

The crayon snapped in Bill's hand.

Mabel gave her brother an irritated look—"Dipper, don't be mean,"—but it turned to a worried look when Bill rounded sharply on them both.

Bill snapped, "Who says I didn't, smart aleck?"

"Wh—I—"

"It is alive, thanks for asking. I made sure of that."

"Then where is it—?"

"Do you think I let you sit in here so you could ask stupid questions?" Bill planted a fist on his hip and pointed toward the door. "All you've done is derail the lesson and bring up stuff we covered three hours ago. Scram, kid."

"What—? But..." Dipper looked to Mabel for help.

Mabel shrugged. Dipper sighed, got up, and trudged out of the living room to join Ford in the entryway, giving him a forlorn look as he did.

Ford muttered, "I used to get kicked out of classes for challenging the teacher, too."

Dipper snorted. "Did he ever kick you out of class?"

Ford thought. "No—but why would he? He needed me to think I was his star student."

Although one time Bill had woken Ford up at two in the morning in the middle of a dream during the portal's construction, because Ford had forgotten some measurements he'd taken in the basement and he hadn't left his notes somewhere one of Bill's eyes could see them. And then, once Ford had retrieved his notes, the irritation of being woken had prevented him from falling back asleep and returning to his Muse.

They'd laughed about it the next night.

"Do you think his world does still exist?" Dipper asked.

Ford shook his head. "The Oracle said he destroyed his dimension himself in his pursuit of power. I trust her more than him."

They stood outside watching as Mabel asked Bill if there was any way for a normal human to see into the fourth dimension without busting their eyeballs. Bill started illustrating a way to grind glass to refract light from several minutes in the future, before abandoning it halfway completed to start explaining to Mabel how regular three-dimensional refraction worked. Ford recognized the unfinished illustration. Bill had included it in his miniature grimoire, too.

Voice low, Ford murmured, "You can't tell your sister we're ready."

Dipper nodded. "She'll be heartbroken."

Ford remembered having the exact same thought that morning. He squeezed Dipper's shoulder. "I suppose I won't be going with her to that concert in Portland tomorrow."

####

"... and that," Bill concluded, "is why the Time Giants banned sixth-dimensional tourism. But by then the damage was done—which is why there's only one survivor left."

Laying on the floor, staring at the ceiling, Mabel said, "I'll never see balloons the same way again."

"Nobody ever does." Bill clicked shut his marker and dropped it on Mabel's chest. "So that covers the last fifty billion years of local politics! Did that answer your question?"

Mabel paused. "I don't remember my question."

"Good. I don't either." Bill sat on the floor beside Mabel and crossed his legs. "Anyway, you owe me fifty grand. All the info I gave you today is worth at least a year of college classes on this planet."

"Pssh, yeah right!" She paused. She sat up. "Wait. Really?"

"I might've skipped a few names and dates and formulas—but sure! We covered all the important stuff!" Smugly, he said, "So, still think I think you're dumb?"

Mabel stared at him, and then around the room at all the papers coating the walls, covered in Bill's handwriting. "You did all this just to prove I'm smart?"

"You proved you're smart. I got a captive audience for the afternoon. Quid pro quo!" Bill grinned. "I wasn't kidding earlier! You've got twice the brains of any of the other morons you'll share a classroom with. I'm surprised it's your brother on the honor roll instead of you."

Mabel's smile faded. Oh. "Yeah," she grumbled, pulling her knees to her chest. "You and everyone else." This wasn't much better than Bill thinking she was stupid: now he had expectations for her.

She'd heard it a million times, any time she did anything intelligent. You're so smart too, why aren't your grades better? Why don't you make grades like your brother?

Because Mabel liked art, music, motion, and stories (and usually not even the stories they read in English class); and Dipper liked—or at least was good at—math, science, and history. Because Mabel's brain fuzzed over with TV static when she tried to read a textbook, and the static got louder the more she was forced to reread it to "study"; whereas Dipper could read a chapter once, retain everything that mattered, and then skim it a second time right before a test to remind himself of the important names and dates. Because Mabel's bulb was just as bright as Dipper's, but hers had faulty wiring, making it flicker on and off outside her control; and she could only get it to glow steadily for things her brain was interested in; and she couldn't choose what her brain was interested in; and school wasn't on that list.

But how did she explain that when her parents were disappointed in her C+ test because Dipper came home with an A? When they told her she just needed to apply herself, how did she explain she was already applying herself five times harder than Dipper and still trailing behind him when the whole family knew she had just as much brains as him? It might have been easier if she actually was stupid. At least then they'd know she was doing her best. But she wasn't doing her best.

She got it from everyone. From her parents, day in and day out; from aunts, uncles, and grandparents; from teachers she'd taken by surprise with a particularly passionate essay; sometimes even from friends. Why aren't you making A's like your brother? So why shouldn't she hear it even from Bill Cipher.

Bill leaned back in surprise when Mabel curled in on herself. "What? I'm calling you smart, kid. Most humans like that."

Mabel shook her head, pouting at the floor. "Forget it. It just—it doesn't matter what my stupid grades are, all right?"

He stared at her in bafflement for a moment; and then said, with a tone of growing horror, "Oh. Ohhh. I sound like your dad."

She hated how much he knew about their home lives. She never knew when he was going to reveal he'd combed through one of her most shameful memories. "Just forget it," she repeated. "I just don't make grades like Dipper, okay?"

"Kid, I didn't mean it like that. I..." Bill floundered for a moment. It was weird to see him struggling for words. He leaned forward, cheek in hand, putting himself eye level with Mabel. "You know—I don't think I'm fond of your brother."

That dragged a small laugh out of Mabel. "Really? You hide it so well."

"I know! I'm a real gentleman," he said. "So when I say 'hey, why aren't you getting A's,' I'm not saying you should be more like him, ugh. I just want to watch the alpha twin trounce that little nerd."

She laughed louder. "Bill! Be nice, that's my brother!"

"And you have my eternal sympathy."

"Bill!" She punched his arm. "I don't want to compete with him, though. Even if I try a zillion times harder, I'll never get grades as good as his." She sighed loudly. But Bill was watching her, full attention on her face, expectant, so she continued: "I don't want to be a slightly worse Dipper, I just... want to be a really good Mabel! And—and maybe a really good Mabel is just okay at school. It's fine if I just... graduate with C's and go to some boring local college to get a boring degree for a boring job... while Dipper goes to some... big, fancy stupid technical college... or..." She trailed off, chin in her hands, staring at the carpet.

"Or while he gets private tutoring from some genius with too many PhDs?" Bill said wryly.

Mabel didn't answer, trying to swallow around the lump in her throat. "I know he wouldn't have actually left me behind."

Bill grimaced, sucking in a breath between his teeth. "Yeeeah, no, he would have," he said. "Sorry, kid. If it weren't for Weirdmageddon, he'd have taken the apprenticeship."

Mabel's stomach flipped. "Oh."

"So, you're welcome," Bill said.

Mabel socked him again, more seriously.

Bill just laughed. "Hey—if it helps, he woulda been worse off for it! He made the right choice sticking with you."

"Really?"

"Would I lie to you?" He paused. "Poor choice of words. I'm not lying to you. He'll be better off suffering through a middle-upper-class Californian high school beside you than he ever woulda been hiding in the woods catching gnomes in butterfly nets."

She nodded. That was some comfort. Even if, in another life, apparently Dipper would've ditched her.

Bill gave her one of those long, piercing looks he sometimes did; and then he nudged her. "Hey. Don't worry about school—that's your parents talking, not you. And don't worry about what your brother does. Let him bust his butt at a big stupid technical college! Flunk every class and draw flowers on the SAT bubble sheet! You'll have plenty of your own things going on, and your dumb grades won't matter for any of them—"

Mabel flung her arms around Bill. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Hey. You're gonna be fine, kid." He leaned his head on Mabel's, one shut eye pressed to the crown of her head. "I—know it's hard. But you'll be fine."

She didn't know how he could know it was hard. He already knew everything, it wasn't like he ever had to worry about grades. But—the fact that he cared (that he cared) meant a lot. "Thank you."

"Buuut, if you ever decide you do want to be an honor roll kid, call me up! I can give you some advice."

Warily, Mabel asked, "Study tips?"

"No way! What a waste of time!" Bill rolled his eyes. "But I can teach you how to cheat."

####

After Ford told Stan and Soos the news about the Dontium, he headed downstairs to fuel up his Quantum Destabilizer. It had been waiting on a worktable in his study for weeks, the corded power adaptor Fiddleford had made plugged in where it usually took fuel, its empty fuel tank laying nearby.

Fiddleford had said the adaptor he'd invented only gave the destabilizer enough power to act like a common laser—not enough to completely destroy matter and energy. It was insufficient for the job at hand. Ford unplugged the power adaptor, carefully coiled it up, and slid it into a storage pocket in the destabilizer's carrying case.

He picked up the fuel tank, retrieved the milk jug of NowUSeeitNowUDontium, and poured it into the tank, eyes never wavering from the jug until every drop had been poured inside and the tank re-sealed. He triple checked the destabilizer's safety before he plugged in the fuel tank. Then he put the destabilizer in the carrying case as well, and shut and latched it.

As he headed toward the door, Ford spied Flatworld laying on his desk—Dipper must have left it downstairs. He picked it up... and then sat down, studying the cover. It showed a square with arms and legs peering through a telescope.

How much did the book really matter? The kids must have cracked open something in Bill's psyche by reading this book, with how talkative he'd been today—Ford suspected he'd learned more about Bill's world in less than thirty seconds of staring at the crayon drawings in the living room than he had in all the years he'd known him. He itched again to start recording revelations in his journal.

Would Bill have been this forthright years ago, if Ford had remembered more about the book then and asked about it? Or was Bill only willing to share so much because the Pines already knew the truth about his cruel intentions and he had nothing more to hide? No, that couldn't be it—just a year ago, long after he'd revealed his plans, Bill had been willing to guardedly confess to Ford that he'd "liberated" his dimension, but nothing more. The only descriptor he'd given of it was "flat." He hadn't even shown Ford an accurate illustration of his home world.

Then was it because he'd died since then—a ghost desperate to share his life story before he dissipated completely? Or was it just because Mabel had asked?

If Bill had been honest when he'd said he wanted to be Ford's friend... then, Ford supposed, it was possible Bill was also sincere in caring for Mabel. No, Ford was sure that was sincere. How many times had he seen Bill lost in thought, staring at the friendship bracelet she'd given him?

Ford idly flipped through Flatworld, choosing a passage at random to read, wondering how much he'd remember.

SQUARE. Most illustrious Sir, I can observe plainly that you are a Circle, though I know not by what magical means you have found an ingress into my dreams. Would your Lordship deign to satisfy the curiosity of one who wishes to know the identity of his esteemed Visitor?

SPHERE. Your question is more difficult than you may realize. To begin with, I am not a Circle, but rather a Sphere, the definition of which I shall explain to you in due time; and you, my humble pupil, if you exercise the full extent of your intellectual and rhetorical capacity, I hope shall be the Square who changes Flatworld. 

SQUARE. Your Lordship both honors and confuses me. I shall strive to be worthy of your high estimation, but I am naught but a mere Quadrilateral and know not how I could contain the potential to achieve such a feat.

SPHERE. I see I have gotten ahead of myself. I shall explain the purpose of my visit. I hope to find in you—as being a man of sense and an accomplished mathematician—a fit prophet to receive the Gospel of Higher and Lower Dimensions, which I am allowed to preach to only one brilliant mind in a century. 

SQUARE. Pardon me, my Lord, if I am speaking blasphemously in my ignorance; but would not a messenger from beyond this Plain who delivers Gospels to Prophets be better described as an Angel?

SPHERE. You may refer to me as an "Angel" if you so wish, as my nature is not so different from the creature you call such. However, I have come not to offer a revelation of the truth of the Higher Dimensions, but to bless you with the inspiration to discover the truth for yourself. In this manner, I am less like unto an Angel than I am to a Muse—

Ford threw the book on the floor.

####

When Ford headed back upstairs, he resolved to tear down all Bill's crayon drawings and throw them away, lest he give into the temptation to waste the rest of Journal 5's pages meticulously cataloguing them.

But when he reached the living room, the walls were bare, with no sign the papers had ever been there aside from some stray crayon marks and a little extra damage to the wallpaper where the tape had peeled up, and a faint smell of smoke.

Ford followed the smell into the kitchen. There was a cast iron skillet on the dark stove, embers and the last few strands of smoke trailing up from it. Bill was sitting at the kitchen table in the dark, staring out into the night, nursing what looked like the second cider can of the night.

"What's all this?" Ford asked.

Without turning around, Bill said smugly, "I knew you'd be back to try to get those papers."

"Wh—? I was coming to throw them away."

"In the middle of the night?" Bill scoffed. "Please."

Ford frowned at the skillet. Well. Temptation removed, just like he'd wanted. Although a petty part of him was miffed that now Bill thought he'd been coming to rummage through his detritus for secrets about his home world, rather than seeing Ford confidently throw it in the trash. "How did you get the stove on?"

"Oh, is it on?" Bill asked innocently.

Ford double checked. It was not, and the knobs to operate it were still removed. But it radiated heat as though it had been; Bill hadn't just dropped the papers in the skillet and ignited them there. (Which would have been an entirely new concern.) Ford checked the cabinet where they kept the stove knobs—all still there. If he asked Bill how he'd achieved that, he'd probably just profess ignorance.

Fine, Ford had plenty of other questions he wanted to ask. "How long have you been able to levitate objects?"

"You mean like this?" Bill lifted his empty cider can, tapped it twice with his index finger, and left it suspended in midair.

"Yes, like that."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I can't do that," Bill said.

Ford sighed in frustration. "Was it the eclipse? You said you were—what was it, 'better at floating' than us? Did it... unlock something? Or have you always been able to do this?"

"This is what I used to like about you, Stanford. You're so curious. You come up with the most interesting connections between things. Sometimes connections I'd never thought of! And you keep—asking—questions. Even when nobody answers you." He finished his second can, used both hands to crush it, and left it floating in the air next to the first. "You used to be such a good student."

You used to be such a good teacher, he wanted to shoot back—but that was a lie. Bill had never been a good teacher, he'd just pretended to be one.

He'd been a good teacher to Mabel today.

Why isn't he always a good teacher? Why had he chosen to be a poor facsimile when he could have chosen to be the real deal? Why hadn't he been better? Why hadn't he been better? Why did they always seem to have these conversations in the middle of the night?

"Why are you..." Ford spread his hands helplessly, gesturing at all of Bill, everything he'd ever done—golden god of infinite wisdom, poisoned by lies and cruelty, trapped in a slowly rotting body. "Why are you like this."

Ford wasn't expecting Bill to get out of his seat and round on him so fast. He didn't even see the blow coming before Bill punched him.

Ford seized Bill's wrist and only barely caught himself before he broke it.

Bill didn't even acknowledge Ford's grip. "I'm so sick of you." His voice was hard as iron. "If you ever ask me that again, I'll burn down this shack with all of us inside."

Ford stared at Bill. He let go of his wrist.

Bill silently swept around Ford and out of the kitchen.

"I'm sorry."

Bill's footsteps fell silent. After a moment, he muttered, "Might've overreacted."

Something about the grudging not-apology hit Ford harder than a proper apology ever would have. He remained standing in the kitchen until long after Bill had gone upstairs.

The cans had fallen at some point during Bill's departure. Ford knelt to pick them up. Experimentally, he tapped one twice, and let it go.

It fell to the floor again.

It occurred to him that, depending on what happened tomorrow, those might have been the last words he'd ever say to Bill.

####

Bill shuffled to his sleep spot under the attic window, flopped unsteadily onto the cushions, pulled Journal 4 from its hiding spot, and carefully stuck the gold star Mabel had given him earlier that day to one of its pages.

And then he filled half a page with all the things he should have screamed at Ford.

####

Mabel came into the bedroom, shut the door—it had been patched earlier that day by Soos—and flopped face up on her bed. Staring at the ceiling, she said, "Dipper I know everything now."

Dipper was already under the covers, eyes shut. "About what?"

"Bill."

"What shape was his dad?"

Mabel paused. "I know almost everything about Bill."

"Pfff."

"But I do know his mom was some kind of supermodel or something! He says that's where he got his good looks. I don't know if he's actually good-looking by Flatworld standards, or if he just has really high self-esteem, but if his mom was a model I guess he could have inherited whatever Flatworlders think is good-looking—"

"How do you know he's not lying?"

"Why would he lie about that? I'll never meet his mom."

"To make his family sound cool?"

Uncertainly, Mabel said, "I guess." After a pause, she loud-whispered, "Did you read Flatworld?"

Dipper figured he wasn't getting to sleep any time soon. He pushed his covers down and sat up. "Yeah."

"It was really messed up, huh?"

Dipper thought about it. "I... guess it was, yeah." He hadn't thought about it much earlier—he'd been trying to wrap his head around the math and visualize the fourth dimension, and then his quick tour of the Nightmare Realm had pushed it from his mind completely; but... "The author's really obsessed with dead baby shapes, huh."

"You remember those old 70s cartoons with singing numbers we watched in class to try to teach us multiplication?" Mabel asked. "I was expecting it to be like that but for old timey people. Not about shapes getting executed for having short sides."

"Or squares getting locked in insane asylums for heresy if they tried to say the third dimension existed."

"Or major sexism against lines."

"Yeah, what was that about? Did they really think lines went around stabbing everyone to death just because they're pointy and they could?"

"I don't know, maybe lines really did do that. If I kept being told to shut up because my head was too skinny to hold a brain, I'd stab my husband too."

"I guess that makes sense." Light through the attic's triangular window illuminated the room a deep gray-blue; but as Dipper watched, the room darkened as a cloud covered the moon. It was probably going to rain tomorrow. "And... this is where Bill grew up?"

"Yeah," Mabel said quietly. "Some details are different from the book, he said so. Like he told me colors weren't illegal and peace-cries were just a dumb etiquette thing. But..."

"What about the executions? Or—or triangles being treated like servants by everyone else?"

"I don't know. He didn't want to answer questions like that. He talked about stuff like dance clubs and gardening in space, but he got super mad when I tried to ask about the serious stuff."

"Maybe he got his power as part of some... triangle uprising? And then he went crazy and decided to destroy everything?" Dipper was thinking, again, about the Axolotl's half-remembered prophecy. That maybe Bill was here to help them against some threat even worse than him.

"I can see why he destroyed his dimension," Mabel said.

Dipper winced, "Okay, but—sure, it was bad, but that doesn't mean his entire dimension deserved to die."

"No, of course not," Mabel said quickly. "But like I get it. If all that was going on."

"If it was. Just... how much is different from the book, and how much is true?"

"I don't know."

The room fell silent again.

"Welp," Mabel said brightly, "I've got the rest of summer to get the whole story out of him! Goodnight, Dipper!"

Dipper's stomach flipped with guilt. "Yeah." The rest of summer. Mabel left for Portland in the morning. "Goodnight."

He lay down, pulled his sheet back up, and stared at the ceiling.

Friday, 11:00 p.m.

####

(Next week's chapter is exactly what you think it is. But before we get there, I'm looking forward to hearing what y'all think about this week!)

[skyfallscotland]

Ok so Rebecca did a one hour panel today in Sydney with Lynette Noni hosting, where she asked questions and then they opened it to fans. I've kind of summarised the things I haven't seen mentioned over and over, but I don't frequent the subreddit anymore or use TikTok, so there might be overlap. In any case, it's long. Settle in. I've sectioned it into plot/character relevant first, then themes and interesting facts about her and her writing. Basically, you all came with me. 💗

• In book three (and every book thereafter) we'll be going to more and more new places. She specifically worded it as "watching the map expand" whether that's significant or not, I don't know. (I was thinking Isle Kingdoms for OS, but maybe that's just my wishful thinking).

• She implied Jack will have a reason (explained) for uh...being a power-hungry prick? lol

• She's hella defensive of Dain, which I love. #DainApologistsClub 😌 Some highlights include:

"You guys give Dain so much shit for the same thing Xaden does. You really do and you're so fast to forgive Xaden and not Dain. Why? Is it because he's hot?"

And, "when push comes to shove, all Dain did—yes he violated her boundaries, as does Xaden—but all he did was trust his dad when his best friend no longer spoke to him. That's it."

"When Dain looks at her (in the interrogation chamber) and says 'if you had just told me, none of this would have happened', he's not just talking about the interrogation, he's talking about Liam, he's talking about if she had just trusted him (in Fourth Wing) it never would have happened." 😢

• She was asked about Liam's appearance in the interrogation chamber and definitively put to rest any signet theories involving that. "She's so alone in that moment and...I don't read fan theories but sometimes they reach my ears; she's completely disconnected from her magic in that moment, she can't even reach out for Tairn or Andarna, which are the bonds that are actually most important to her. She can't reach out for Xaden. And that's the one person who would have prevented that from happening the last year, so it's natural that's who her mind would summon."

• She's thought about a spin-off series, but she's just trying to survive this series.

• Someone asked her if there'd be any redemption and romance for Jack Barlowe and honestly, thanks guys, I don't think she's ever coming back to this country 💀 ("Are you getting enough sleep? Uh...I mean, from his prison cell maybe? No.")

• Someone asked "what is Garrick's signet and why hasn't it been shown yet?" (shoutout to this girl, she's the real MVP) to which Rebecca said "it's very much in book three, I love it."

• Someone asked about the orange dragons and unpredictability re: Amber, Jack, Varrish and then Imogen and Brennan. Rebecca said some dragons might look for traits like their own and some look for balance because it's a partnership; and that Brennan as a strategist needed that little bit of unpredictability in his life (lol, I think he got it).

• She didn't always plan for Violet to have two dragons. Originally it was going to be one (Tairn) and the editor had hoped that she would sway towards a weaker, smaller dragon and she thought that was a little too close to Abraxos in ToG, and so they compromised and gave her both. She also went on to say she doesn't like overpowered heroines and since Tairn is extremely powerful, Andarna balanced that out. (I'm not...I'm not sure how that works out? But that's what was said.)

• We are definitely going to find out more about the original six (and Lynette asked if that was a spin-off possibility and was shushed, so she's thought about it at least, but I get the idea she's thought about a lot of possibilities 😂)

• There's no timeframe for the release of the final two books.

• Someone asked if Violet's dad was Malek to which she was kind of shocked. He's not a god, guys. And low-key I JUST WANT TO KNOW HIS NAME. 😤

• On Sgaeyl: "You do (get more of her) but holy crap is she pissed. So—I'll tell you that about Onyx Storm—she is really, really mad at Xaden and she's not exactly speaking to him at the moment. So it's hard for her to speak into that bond when she's not speaking to him." 💔

• She was asked about the Violet dated Halden theory (which was fucking hilarious because the poor girl misspoke and asked if Xaden dated the prince and we were all really confused about which TikToks the poor thing had seen (note to self: consider cam/xaden), anyway after we got to the bottom of that, Rebecca replied, "I think you should read the third book." Which I'm taking to mean, the man is making a damn appearance and we're gonna find out for ourselves 👀 Hey, if I'm lucky maybe we'll even find out his surname

• Finally she said she has EP on the Amazon series, they've all been exceptionally protective of it and that she's happy with how it's going (they're not near casting yet and she doesn't want to really comment on that ever, to leave each role open to as diverse a cast as possible). She said the production team has come to the signings in LA to meet readers and see what they love and are passionate about when it comes to the series to make sure that's honoured.

"Like I mean, I've seen certain...like what can I say without getting tackled to the ground? Let's just say they've already taken steps to make sure that what you guys love about the story is envisioned and that it's not run amok. And I'm very happy with it, they're super protective of it." Which could just be me reading into it, but the first place my brain went was the dragons 👀🐉 and the CGI or whatever.

• She was asked about where the inspiration for the universe came from and she said that when her Entangled decided they were going to do romantasy they asked her for five pitches and Fourth Wing was one of them (she won't say what the others were because she might still write them someday). She said she likes the fated mates trope but she wondered what that would look like if the dragons were the ones mated, not the humans and the humans who couldn't stand each other were forced to be around each other because of this. 

• Her first ever book was romantasy but it didn't sell

• She's never really written enemies to lovers before.

• She likes found family themes because she was raised in a military family and moved around a lot, so that makes it hard to keep in touch with your extended family, and after she married her husband and became a military wife, it was their found family that was there for her—it was her found family who helped her move her house, who sat with her when her husband was injured in Iraq, etc, so she thinks it's very important to show that your family is also the people you choose and that can be just as strong as any blood tie.

• She was asked (by Lynette) why she wanted to show death and the reality of war and she said, "I've been surrounded by it. My husband's been at war since 2003, he spent 22 years in the army, first as a 19 Delta cavalry scout and then ten years as an apache pilot and we buried our friends. And I saw what it did to him, and I saw what it did to our friends, I saw what it did to our children, to us, and I love being able to examine it from a fantasy perspective just because I think fantasy gives us a unique environment from which to critique our own world by viewing it through the lens of another. And I've always delved into those themes as to why we do this to each other and where is there hope to stop it?"

• As an author her favourite scenes in Fourth Wing were the dagger stealing scene (very important to their chemistry and romantic development—"she's the only person he's taught ever, how to actually kill him") and the first kiss scene.

In Iron Flame it was the interrogation scene and how that ends with Dain and Xaden and everything coming together.

When asked about a similar scene from Onyx Storm that elicited the same strong emotion from her she said "you're not gonna like it" and that's it 💀

• She would consider writing fantasy again after she's done with the Empyrean world, maybe one of her other pitches, but she won't truly think about it until she's survived this one.

• She spoke about the "kill your darlings" writing advice and how if you love a scene but it doesn't move the plot, you've gotta cut it, and how she did that with the final scene in Fourth Wing, which was originally 7k words of Violet POV pulling information out of Xaden.

• When asked about fan theories she actually said something I found a little sad. "I don't listen to fan theories. One, I'm not on TikTok—it's a little bit more important for me to be alive than to listen to what other people think they know about me, and two, I don't ever want fan theories to bleed into my writing."

〰️ And that's it! If anyone's going tomorrow, please voice record the whole thing and report back lmao 🙏 🫶🏼

ETA: part two is here, x

[kingjasnah]

idk if this has been discussed but i do wonder if there was a way jasnah could have won over fen. jasnah calls her very emotionally intelligent and she only started responding positively to dalinar in ob once he got truthfully frustrated with her and did some yelling and idk i wonder if jasnah had set aside all her philosophical talk and made a passionate and emotional plea if fen would have been more receptive. but of course jasnah wouldn't do that

short answer: agreed. long answer: ive been wanting to talk about this for weeks. so you're getting kinda a long one.

jasnah is obviously one of my favorite characters and that's almost why i was clapping and cheering during the taravangian takedown--like all of her flaws and everything that makes her compelling was completely cracked open. if jasnah cares about anything at all, it's how she is perceived. we dont know what happened to her when she was a child and we dont know why it seems that she was institutionalized or at least in confinement for a period of her youth but we do know that every single thing she does is a measure to keep her from never going back to the kind of powerlessness she felt back then. i remember shallan commented on her perfect her hair and makeup and clothing was waaay back in book 1/2 and thought how interesting it was for a self professed heretic to still take care to make sure the darkeyed sailors on their ship to the shattered plains never saw her out of makeup. jasnah has been vulnerable in this series, sure, but only to her family. or maybe shallan. or maybe hoid? persumably. every single page she has appeared on in this entire series has reinforced that to her a huge part of the way she does her job (and im considering hiring a spy to follow her sister in law her job too, not just being queen. i mean what she considers her role to be in her family) of statecraft is in the perception that she is perfect. and yeah, that's why it was never going to work with fen

dalinar did have a hard time cracking fen because i think that in the beginning of their interactions they both made fundamental misinterpretations of each other based on where they came from. fen only thought of dalinar as a warmonger who would walk all over her country in the name of conquest, and dalinar straight up did not understand that fen's perspective was so heavily influenced by the thaylen mercantile culture. they still found common ground and yeah it was a frank conversation and an abandoment of diplomat speak that did it. jasnah's made emotional pleas before but i think the crux of her error with fen is that she DID know how important the mercantile culture was but she interpreted it as "fen is going to leave the alliance if she gets a better deal for her country so i need to prove that im her best option" instead of "fen values exchange of commerce but she really values relationships. fen's culture involves building relationships with other merchants so that they can trade with each other and understand each other" (please see the original two rysn interludes). fen didn't need a perfect argument from jasnah but she also didn't need dalinar's approach either. all she needed was for jasnah to TRUST her enough to treat her like an equal partner in their alliance instead of a marker to be moved around a war map.

cause let's be honest. fen is an extremely capable ruler. she's smart and she's been in power for a long time. i do not think for a second that she was genuinely aghast that jasnah sent spies after aesudan or well, the kharbrath murders were pretty bad but im certain that a middle aged to senior member of ruling nobility has seen worse. it's not a bad thing for jasnah to put her people first. i am convinced that fen felt betrayed because jasnah had already set the parameters of their relationship by even engaging in this debate with taravangian. fen saw her logic backfire on herself and went "oh. okay. you are putting YOUR people first because you do not see the thaylen people as having the kind of relationship to you as, for example, vstim had with the shin or with the reshi king. you see us as an argument to be won over, as numbers on a map, as a thought excersize. not onyl withh you walk all over my country in the name of conquest (like dalinar might have) but you'd do it for the sake of what, rhetoric??" in that way, at least taravodium was honest.

but yes. jasnah would never do that. jasnah put on a full face of makeup every morning in her cabin just in case a handful of sailors that she never learned the names of would see her. of course she would never let a queen that she respected see her worry for her kingdom on purpose but it's over now. the mask has cracked, she lost, and she knows that the trap she fell into only closed around her because of her own hubris/the kind of love you have for winning that you'd have to have in order to spend your pre-apocalypse time actively arguing about heresy with every scholar and ardent out there. taravangian's arguments would not have worked on fen if jasnah had never put her in the position to be won over in the first place. i cannot stress enough that jasnah was my first love in this series and watching her finally crack and expose what i have always considered to be the most interesting thing about her was easily one of my favorite moments in the book. insane shit. i can't wait to see how she builds herself back up.

[pomefioredove]

Can I have a sugar cookie, #5, with whipped cream and chocolate drizzle please? 🥺

I really like this format! It's like getting a secret Santa gift 💕

smirks eveilly. what a specific combination of tropes with this character... I wonder if I can force a certain au here

order #5, sugar with whipped cream and chocolate drizzle

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ a whole new world

tropes: exes to lovers, royalty AU characters: kalim additional info: romantic, reader is gender neutral, reader is yuu, aladdin!yuu, jasmine!kalim, grim is the monkey, a little ooc, this is an au after all, obviously inspired by aladdin and the songs from it which are not mine, etc, word count: 1.5k

Poor, poor you

No, really.

Literally, poor you. As in, broke you. As in, Prince Kalim al-Asim royally dumped your ass, and now you're back to stealing bread off the streets.

And things were going so well...

You really liked him, after all- and that was before you knew he was the son of the richest man in the world.

He's just... something else. He's fun, and pretty- no beautiful. He's got these eyes, and that hair, and then his smile... but when you met, you had no idea who he was.

Now that you know he's a prince... yeah, not a chance. 

You can't just make him fall in love with you. You can't even talk to him.

That is... unless you were also royalty.

And now, here you are.

"Who are you, again?" Kalim's advisor- what was his name?- asks you, eyes narrowed, arms crossed.

You adjust your clothing for the millionth time- expensive silk is an unfamiliar feeling on your skin- and you come up with some nonsensical name and title on the spot.

A noble from a foreign land, come to win the heart of the prince.

And, with that magic lamp of yours, it's almost believable, right?

"Right," he says, drumming his fingers across his forearm. It's obvious that he doesn't quite believe you, but he's in no place to say so.

Not when Papa al-Asim is so excited to have a new guest.

He's got an arm around your shoulder, talking to you like you're an old friend, showing you all of his jewels and gold trinkets.

"And Kalim has been ever so glum, lately, I can't imagine why! Teenagers," the man sighs.

You nod along, though you're not exactly sure what you're agreeing with.

"Pardon my curiosity, but where is this country you're from? I can't seem to recall it on any map," the advisor asks.

Papa al-Asim waves him off. "You're too worried, Jamil. Go oversee the kitchen staff, would you? We need to host a proper welcome banquet for our esteemed guest!"

Jamil sneers and mutters "esteemed, indeed" but leaves without being told twice.

There's something strangely familiar about him, but you put that thought aside for now... still, you feel the urge to double-check that your magic lamp is still safely tucked away.

"S-so... where is this prince of yours?"

"Oh, you'll meet him in good time. He's in one of his moods," Papa al-Asim shakes his head. "He's been rather sad lately. It's so unlike him..."

That is unlike him. You suppose you'll get to that, later.

...But you don't. Kalim isn't at dinner. He's not at dessert, either. He's not at the music performance that was arranged for you, and he's not in any of the rooms you tour with Papa al-Asim.

It's nerve-wracking.

Long after dark, you decide to take your chances.

"Prince Kalim?" you call out from the balcony attached to his room.

No answer. You don't dare venture any further, and you turn to your magic carpet (it came with the lamp) to shush it.

"Prince Kalim? It's... it's me, your... suitor...?" that word tastes sour on your tongue.

After a longer moment of silence, the silk curtains part, and Kalim pokes his head out. He seems to glow in the moonlight, and you can't take your eyes off him.

You also can't quite tell what he's thinking. His eyes narrow, then widen, then narrow again, and he comes outside.

"Do I... know you?"

"Kn-know me?" you stammer, leaning against the banister, trying to put some distance between you so he can't get a good look at your face. "I-I don't think so."

"You just..." he takes a step closer. "...Remind me of someone I met at the market."

Has he always been this perceptive?? "The market? Uh, no... I... have servants who go to the market for me, I even have servants that go to the market for my servants! Y-you must be thinking of someone else,"

Kalim sighs, his face falling. "...I must be. Sorry. I get confused sometimes,"

Enough about you. Say something about him! Anything! You clear your throat.

"Prince Kalim, you're very..." fun, interesting, sweet, thoughtful, punctual- "Punctual!"

"Punctual?"

"I-I mean beautiful!"

He raises an eyebrow at your save, but doesn't question it. You're all over the place.

"Well... I'm rich, too, you know," he says, leaning against the wall. "The son of the wealthiest man in the world."

"Uh... you are,"

"A fine prize for any suitor,"

Something about this is setting off alarm bells in your head. "Yes, you... very rich,"

Kalim almost pouts for a second. "That's what I'm told. You must see me as nothing but someone to get things out of, just like the other suitors. I-I have to go,"

Those alarm bells get louder as you watch him turn and disappear behind the silk again.

Way to go. "You're right!" you blurt out.

"What?" he reappears, an eyebrow raised. Great. Now what?

"I-I said you're right," you say. "You're not some prize to be won, or a wallet to use. You should... be able to marry someone who likes you for who you are. I'll go now,"

You make a swift exit before you can embarrass yourself further, stepping backwards off the balcony and onto the floating carpet below.

"Wait!" Kalim gasps, and you pop back up.

"What? What's wrong?"

He blinks his big eyes at you, a look of wonder coming over him as you float upwards on the carpet. "How... are you doing that?"

"...It's a magic carpet,"

Kalim steps closer, admiring the intricate weaving and the golden tassels. "It's beautiful. My father has one, but I'm not allowed to use it. They're all afraid I'll get hurt..."

You frown. "No one seems to trust you with anything important, huh?"

He doesn't answer, but he's smiling as he walks around the carpet in circles. The space between you is silent, but warm now.

You return his smile. "You wouldn't wanna... take it for a ride, would you?"

Kalim's eyes light up, but then he shakes his head. He swallows, with some difficulty, whatever he was about to say.

"I... shouldn't. I'd worry Jamil,"

You reach out a hand. "No one has to know. Do you trust me?"

Something in Kalim's eyes change. That familiar glow of excitement almost has something... a little untamed in it. His hand is suddenly in yours, and in a breath more you're high above the palace.

Soon the golden lights of the city are all you can make of it, a sea of stars beneath you as Kalim clings to you. The wind carries his laughter with it.

You smile back at him. "Tell me, Prince, when's the last time you let go like this?"

"This is... unbelievable! Indescribable!" he shouts, the wind whipping around you both.

You chuckle. His hair is the same color as the clouds beneath your feet as you breach the endless diamond sky. He fits in well with the heavens, you think.

He clings closer to you, his arms around your waist as you dip back down, soaring, tumbling, weaving across the sky, taking him wonder by wonder on the carpet.

Kalim marvels at the moon, the inky water of the sea, gardens and statues, a hundred thousand things. He points out everything to you, the same smile on his face.

"How does it feel, no one to tell you no, or where to go?"

"Like I'm a shooting star!" he exclaims, reaching towards the heavens and pulling wisps of cloud from the sky. "I almost don't want to go back to where I used to be!"

Your carpet eventually comes to a gentle stop on the roof of a palace, far from his own.

"Hm..." Kalim hums, resting his head against your shoulder. His hair is messy, thrown around by the wind. "It's sad that Grim had to miss this."

You sigh, feeling content. "Nah. He doesn't really like flying," Maybe a little too content. "Uh- I-I mean-"

Kalim sits up suddenly, pointing at you. "You are the person from the market! I knew I wasn't making things up!"

"It's- uh, um- it's not-"

"Why did you lie to me?" he pouts. "Did you think that I wouldn't like you if I knew the truth?"

He seems genuinely upset. You cough, choking on your own words. "No! I just- I-I thought-"

"And Jamil told me you had been executed!" Kalim exclaims, running a hand through his messy hair.

You blink. "He what...? O-okay, um, we're gonna come back to that, but I- I just thought that you- um, you know. I was told you never wanted to see me again, and-"

"Who told you that?"

You bite your lip. "...The guards,"

Kalim crosses his arms. He narrows his eyes. He stares. You let him make an attempt to read you, staying perfectly still, as much as you want to squirm under his stare.

"Who are you? Really?"

Your teeth sink further into your lip. He's still staring, expectant of an answer.

Those alarm bells start ringing again. Tell him the truth, you think. Tell him the TRUTH!

"You want the truth...?" you start, unsure of where you're going with this. "The truth is..."

[aebeism]

it's time to go — bada lee

synopsis : stress takes over your brain, to the point where you wander through a world you can’t remember much about. while your memories are gone, bada, love and sadness are the only things you carry with you for a while — as well as your limitations in having and offering each.

wc : 2.1k

warnings : angst, ex!bada, reader suffers from temporary memory loss, homophobia, clichés, mention of reader as y/n, lowercase intended. inspired by paris, texas by lana del rey.

'how long would it take for you to forget me?' you would ask. 'a lifetime wouldn't be enough' bada would always say, without fail. it's been months since you last saw your ex. or smiled. and you're back in the country, nervous to see her again, when she insists on taking you for a walk, which seems to be going smoothly . . until she gets weirded out by all your questions and the fact you seem genuinely lost at everything.

but, even though you're not together anymore, she cares a lot for you, enough that she doesn't mind retelling bibles and bibles of the endless moments you spent together. that is, until your eyes light up at the map you come across on her phone case.

"we've been to france before, haven't we?" your voice echoes through the place you're in, the moonlight shining through bada's blonde strands as she seems to glow softly, as a whole.

she only seems to be able to whisper, as if that’d keep her feelings suppressed well enough. "we have. paris, with barely anything but a suitcase" she slightly smiles at the memory. "i'd take you there again, if i could."

silence floods the air around you.

"why can't you?" you stare at her face, intensely, waiting for her answer as you clench your hand into a fist.

"you know why" she says, and your heart aches at the familiarity of her look. "because i loved you, so i can't anymore. and you remember i hardly ever change my mind, don't you?"

“i do” you nod, even more confused, eyes stuck on the map that she had let you take from her hand. the tiny map tucked inside her phone case is covered in doodles — lines and hearts mark so many places. "why does spain have a heart?"

"that's where we performed together for the first time" she sounds happy until you question further.

"you still love me, right?" your voice is soft, you don't raise your tone, nor did you try to force the sentence into her head. yet, bada seems like she was struck by a thunder right next to her ears.

it's no surprise that bada was caught off guard, her head tilted from an angle that would make her eyes stare at yours directly. "why ask that?" she says, her voice a bit shaky.

"hm . . you said that in the past. and you still keep this thing, with hearts on both countries."

"ah. yeah" bada shifts her attention back to the paper, her eyes slowly direct themselves to your shaky hands and your shivering body, and it makes her question why you're shaking so much even though what surrounds you is a warm summer breeze. she gives you a look, her eyes taking a peek at your face as she slowly says the next sentence. "for the memories. i don’t know about now. people never really understood our love, y/n. all of my friends could show off their lovers, and some were more loved by people than others, but you always had to be my secret just because we're both women. . and i hated that."

you don't seem to recall that, you can't seem to remember what she's talking about. yet, for some reason, as painful as a heart-wrenching breakup could be . . it still burns all over your chest; the pain seems to spin, and twist your insides, in flames. perhaps, the pain was made from acid and was turned into acid as it burns your whole body. your eyes water for a second, and you frown. your expression shows that you're a bit too lost by your own emotions.

"the more they knew, the worse it got. we've been over this, y/n, don't cry" bada's words seems to pierce your heart, they make your stomach churn as you stare intensely down to the ground beneath you.

the new sentence only adds to your confusion, and although you understand every single word, you don't even know why you're here anymore, or why it hurts so much, why a woman so pretty remains by your side. it feels like your brain is trying to reconnect to reality in the middle of the night but can't catch up on anything.

“this isn’t funny” you mumble, your hands shaking, and your jaw closes up as you furrows your brows. your brain tries to work to its max as you try as hard as you can to figure out what's going on.

"it really isn’t. i proposed to you here, in venice, not long after you joined our team. and we broke up in california, remember?" she shows you the circle around italy and a small dot in the united states. "it was sweet while it lasted, though, wasn't it? our friends would get drunk on any shit they could get their hands on and pass out, and you'd just be talking and dancing with me. my memories of you are really pure, y/n."

her tone is warm, her words are just as lovely, her eyes still sparkle whenever they glance at you. but there's something so heavy behind all of that, that knowing her, you can feel it even though you can't tell what it is.

"but it really was time to let you go" bada says, a deep sigh leaves her mouth as she shifts her gaze up to look at the sky, and you think you can see the corner of her eyes starting to turn red as her eyes sparkle so brightly.

while your mind remains empty, malfunctioning even, you stare and stare as it starts to get a bit too hazy. bada's mind, in another case . . is running through all the flashbacks of the flight you two took together back home, the time when you had to leave as you two were breaking up, the many times she agonized as she wanted to call you but knew she shouldn't, she let herself sink into her own loneliness . . everything burns behind her eyes. and staring at the pain she possessed hurts you just as badly.

if you could remember all the good things she did to you right now, at this moment, you think you wouldn't be able to live with yourself anymore.

. . but, in reality, you really can't live with yourself. because you do remember.

that's why life's been so stressful. that's why suddenly your memory has a gap.

"i hope you can forgive me for that" bada says, her tone ever so softly as she still looks up at the sky. her face lights up a smile, so, so bitterly.

your brain unwires slowly as she speaks and you're met again with that look on her face, one that could make your heart ache and your stomach churn from the pain it feels. bada's watered eyes make your cheeks wet unintentionally as you dodn't realize how a cheeky tear softly rolls down the surface of your skin.

"and i'd rather you didn't ask me about love anymore, if you could" bada speaks up again. this time, she turns her head to look into your eyes, and you feel like she's begging you with how intense her gaze is.

"but our love is so sweet, why wouldn't i?" you say, your hand raises up to wipe the tears that are waiting to sneakily roll down your cheeks once again before you clench your hands into a fist, as an attempt to hold your tears back. "people don't understand it, but does that really even matter if we understand each other?" your voice is yet again so soft, unlike how determined bada sounds like when she asks you to stop asking about your relationship. you don't know why you clenched your hands, or why you cried, you don't even know why you asked bada that question, but you eagerly wait for her answer, like a puppy waiting for a treat.

the bitterness in bada's stomach feels like it's climbing up her throat and staying stuck in the middle of its way, her eyes are burning as they bore into yours, and perhaps the pain she's feeling has taken its toll on you as you can feel your heart drop for a split second. you never really want to know why you're feeling her pain, you just always do.

. . but you're content with feeling that pain, because that's the closest you can get to her heart now.

"didn't you just hear me?" bada says, her voice cracking as her eyes water once again. it's as if she's taking all her will power to hold back the tears in her eyes. it's as if she could breakdown at any moment if she let her guard down.

yet, it seems like everything suddenly goes away; you can't recall why bada is crying, and a confuse look displays on your face.

"not sure i did" you blink, your head tilted as you see the map in your hands once again, a glimpse of a memory brings you back as you quickly say . .

"oh, that's cute. we've been to france before, haven't we?"

“i just told you, y/n” bada's voice is shaking as she stares at you, her brows furrow as she starts to think that this is some kind of joke; a sick joke that you thought of to make her feel embarrassed, to remind her of how sweet you two were, and how she can never achieve what she had always wanted with you.

bada stares intensely into your eyes, she tries to get pass your facade. she wants to rip off that mask, that unfunny joke that you're trying to make. she wants to scream to your face that this isn't funny. yet ,your innocent look and your sweet smile catch her off-guard as you still wait for her answer. you even have a confuse look on your face, as if you don't understand a single word she's saying.

. . as if . . she's the mad one.

"you really don't . . know?" bada asks, worried. "do you even remember what we are?"

you nod, a weak smile on your lips as you sound way happier than you should, even though tears stream down your face just because they're streaming down on bada's face. "girlfriends."

even when bada's panicking slightly, her pretty presence still glows, and it's distracting enough. she rushes to get you in her car and you don't understand a thing, yet you let her do whatever she wants. and that's how your first hanging out in months ends.

while you're in the passenger seat, your eyes scan her whole being. and your chest does flips as you stare at her form.

"why are you so worried?" you ask. "where are we going?"

"we need to get you checked out, y/n."

you go quiet for a moment, not enjoying the concerned look on bada's face, not enjoying something despite not being able to tell what it is. you feel uncomfortable, your head's light as a feather, and the pain is spreading and slowly taking over your whole body on its own will. "ah, maybe. maybe . . everything feels . . fuzzy" you mumble. her hands grip the steering wheel harder as she speeds up. "don't worry, though. it's fine. i'm fine" you reassure bada, a weak smile shows up on your face as you hold your head.

that reminds her of how she died a little inside every time you'd say that, whenever she'd see your suffering. it doesn't help how you'd say that so many times whenever you'd both be upset about how others seemed to hate seeing you together, and the way you're saying it now only reminds her once again that her heart still aches for your words.

it reminds her that she can't put you through anything as heartbreaking again, it doesn't matter if she still cares enough to keep you alive in her memory.

letting you go was the right thing to do, and when she's right, she's right. even when she's wrong.

and she feels at home when she's alone, anyway.

© aebeism 2024

[powerfultenderness]

Oh, really? You wanna hear about the idea that's been floating around in my head?

Cool! But, mdni/18+!

(König x Reader (f) (hinted König x Reader x Horangi)

(Cw: cnc, in porn and acted on after discussions on safety and boundaries/limitations. When König speaks German, it'll be in italics.)

Here's the scenario:

Horny ideas are bad ideas, but usually the post nut clarity would save you from acting on those ideas. Except you were extra horny because you were ovulating and kept getting interrupted while masturbating, leaving you unintentionally edged.

You know horny ideas are bad ideas, did that going to stop you from making a new porn blog and ranting and crying about how much and how hard you want to be fucked? Nope. Did it stop you from reblogging the rape fantasy/cnc posts with a little "fuck I need that too" comment? Nope.

And did that knowledge stop you from posing nude in front of an open window and posting it online for the enjoyment of every horny stranger that stumbled across your blog? Big ol' Nope.

Horny ideas are bad ideas and now you've got an online dom who wants you to call him "König". (Actually, it's kind of refreshing after all the men who want you to call them "daddy").

For someone who's suddenly controlling a part of your life (your edge), he's actually quite nice. He let you come twice the first week you started talking to him! And when you answered him unenthusiastically one night (because you had a rough day), he showed genuine concern and his only orders were for you to get some food and water and sleep. He made sure you were in a good place mentally and emotionally before playing with you again.

"My Princess needs to feel good, she needs to come." And boy did you.

Look, horny ideas are bad ideas but somehow you're now in a more stable relationship than you have been in years.

-

König was acting strangely. Well, stranger than usual. He was glued to his phone these days, the little device always in hand and drawing his attention every other minute. He wouldn't even tell anyone what was so interesting. He'd just glare and hold the screen close to his chest or stuff it in one of his pockets (only to take it out less than a minute later).

And Horangi, well, he didn't mean to spy on König, one of his friends. It just so happened that König was on his phone as Horangi was walking up behind him. And he caught sight of the map that König was looking intently at.

That was strange because that was König's personal phone, there was no territory to memorize for a mission. And maybe Horangi took another second to study the map too before alerting König of his presence. It looked residential. Not a business center where shops or restaurants were. König, ever the military man, lived on base. If he had a house in his home country, he didn't use it much. Even if König was planning on buying a house closer to base, why so secretive about it?

König leaving base looking like he was about to go on a stealth mission? Also strange. So Horangi followed him.

There's only so much he could write off as reasonable. Staking out a civilian house? Maybe a target lived there. Looking into a woman's room? Questionable. Climbing in through her window? Not acceptable!

Horangi cursed under his breath as he raced to follow König in hopes of stopping him from doing anything reprehensible.

"König!" He shouted as he dove through the same entrance König used, side arm already drawn and aimed at his teammate.

He was too late. König already had you pinned to the bed, a hand clasped over your mouth as he forced himself between your legs.

"Horangi?" König blinked at him, though remained where he was. "What? How? What are you-?"

"Let her go and back away."

König quickly raised his hands as he turned towards Horangi. “It’s not what it looks like!” He motioned towards you with one hand, “she wants it! She asked for it!” 

“König,” Horangi gave a disappointed growl while you let out a scoffed laugh. 

You sat up, holding your blanket close to your nude body. König extended his arm in front of you, obscuring you from Horangi’s view even more. 

“Uhm, I actually did.” You spoke up, drawing Horangi’s eyes towards you. 

“...What?” He finally started to lower his gun.

You nodded with a sheepish smile, “we planned the whole thing. We have a safe word and gesture and everything. You know, role play.” 

…

Horangi sighed and glared at König. “You fucking freak.” 

“Hey!” 

As Horangi turned and left the room, he could find his own way out, you rapidly tapped König’s arm. “Go stop him before he leaves!”

“What? Why?” 

“Just go!” 

“Fine, fine.” He muttered as he adjusted his pants and chased after Horangi.

“You know, I’m offended you thought I’d really be doing that.” He started when he found Horangi nearing the front door.

“Don’t act so suspicious next time.” Horangi coughed awkwardly and averted his gaze, “look, I’ll forget what I saw, and you never bring this up.” 

König nodded, “good, but that’s not why I stopped you.” 

“Huh? Then why-”

“Oh, good! You haven’t left yet!” You said as you rushed out of the room. The clothes you scrambled to put on were hardly any better than a blanket, just a thin cropped shirt and short shorts. “I wanted to talk to you real quick.”

Horangi, face flushing, cleared his throat. “I apologize, ma’m-” 

“No, no. You don’t need to apologize for anything.” You waved off his apology as you stopped in front of him. “I just wanted to thank you.” 

“Thank me?” His question was echoed by König’s confused, “what?” behind you.

You nodded and glanced at König then back at Horangi. “You guys are friends, right?”

Horangi nodded slowly, unsure of what you were thinking.

“Well, you saw your friend doing something horrible and tried to stop him. You tried to save me.”

“I wasn’t actually-” König tried to protest behind you, still a little offended by the implication that he would do something like that, but you shushed him and turned back to Horangi.

“So many men would just look the other way instead of confronting their friends. But you didn't hesitate at all to help me.” 

Horangi blushed, glad that he had his mask pulled up but unaware that you could see the rest of his face and the tips of his ears flush. 

He cleared his throat, averting his gaze again, “you don’t have to do that.” 

“Still, I appreciate it.” You coyly looked up at him through your lashes, subtly biting your lip and held your hands clasped together, pushing your breasts up. Yea you were playing it up, but he was hot and you were still horny from the interrupted role play with König, it didn’t make what you said any less true. “Can I hug you?” 

“Wh-uh,” his eyes flicked up to König, who just gave an amused shrug.

He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, imitating König’s shrug, “if you want to.” 

Still feeling a little raunchy, as you wrapped your arms around his neck, you pressed your body close. Horangi was hesitant at first, but settled his hands on your hips as he leaned down into you. He could see why König was obsessed with you, he would be too if you were his.

You softly murmured a final “thank you,” as you pulled away slightly, still wrapped in each other's arms, in what felt like a trance. A trance that wasn’t broken until König loudly cleared his throat, and then Horangi was letting go of you and stepping back instantly. 

He coughed once, mumbled something about seeing König back on base and then quickly left. 

You didn’t even have time to turn around before König was behind you, pushing the door shut on locking it. “Now, no more distractions, Princess.”

As König was fucking your brains out, with the drapes in your bedroom still open, he mutters about how Horangi is watching. And maybe that made you come even harder.

-

“Where did you find her?” 

König laughed, setting his coffee down. After he realized that Horangi was watching the two of you, he knew Horangi would ask. 

“By the way,” König started as Horangi was already looking up your blog. “She wants me to ask if you’d be interested in a three-”

“Yes.”  

End Notes: Yep, that's just an idea. If I were to turn this into a real fic I would go into more detail on the evolution of the online sexting relationship between König and Reader to a real relationship. And I would also write out the smut. But that might turn this into at least 15k words, and I don't have the energy to do that, so I'm just sharing my pseudo outline.

[viktheviking1]

The scariest people are never the ones who immediately creep you out. They are the ones who are expert at seeming trustworthy. You may already know someone like this, and not realize it yet.

Be it on the Internet or in real life, it is important to be cautious around anyone who starts suggesting things you aren't comfortable with or asking for information that is none of their business.

Things no one taught you about the Internet!

Starting with minors (17 and under in the US)

DON'T POST YOUR AGE! Or age rage. Or birth year. Do not write 'minor' in your bio. This is probably the most common and most dangerous mistake! You will be actively targeted.

Don't pretend you're an adult!!! If a creep sees that you wrote 18 or older but act like a minor, they will do all the same tricks to become your friend, and know they have a legal loophole because they can always claim they didn't know! This is almost more dangerous than just saying "I'm a kid, come hurt me"

Instead just don't say anything! Don't post it anywhere, and don't add it to your bio. If someone asks you for your age, just block them.

Don't share your name or nickname! Even if you don't share your last name, they can pick up enough details about you over time that even a first name is enough to find you.

Instead, use a totally different name! Something like Eli_Bloodsucker is way more fun, just don't use it if your real name or even a real life nickname is Eli, Eliza, Ellie, or anything else even remotely similar!

Don't talk to anyone directly! Be it in comments or asks or in direct messages, they're all dangerous. It doesn't matter if they say they are a minor or an adult. If you can't see their face, don't talk to them. If you find a real life friend you didn't know had an account, don't talk to them. That might not be your friend. You can text your friend directly or talk to them in real life about it later.

Instead, just spread positivity purely form likes and reblogs. Pretend the comment and chat buttons are lava or acid or something. Don't touch them.

Don't share ANYTHING about where you live. Not even country. Don't tell someone about how it's always humid where you live or that there's a storm where you are.

Instead, you can share about weather vaguely later. For example, "a few months ago it snowed and I slipped on ice."

Don't, talk about an activity that would even hint that you are a minor. Don't talk about school, don't talk about piano lessons, don't talk about martial arts class, or football practice. Don't mention growing out of your clothes. Don't mention how your mom grounded you. Don't talk about your little brother barging into your room.

Instead, before posting any stories from your real life, ask yourself if this could also easily apply to someone in their 20s living with roommates instead of family members and working a full-time job. If the answer is yes, then post it, if not, don't. (Good example: I burnt my eggs but I didn't want to waste it so I still ate it. Bad example: My dad made me eggs this morning even though I hate them, and made me eat them.)

Don't post or share pictures or videos of yourself online. Someone can either use it to find you or steal them to lure your friends or other people your age into trusting them.

Instead, find a picture of a duck with a mustache online, and make that you're profile picture. Find a map of Australia and post that as your "outfit check". Way more fun.

Do not trust the person who reblogged this. Do not trust the original poster. Creeps will sometimes post about Internet safety as part of their plan to make you trust them.

So how can you tell who to trust, and who not to? You can't! That's the Internet. Better to play it safe than to risk your actual life over a post or a trend

Adult Internet safety:

Idk, it's your life. You know the consequences you might face. Make your own damn decisions. If your dad can't tell you what to do, then I sure can't.

Oh, and don't interact with people you know, or think, are kids. There is help available for those who are tempted to do this. Don't go down that path. There are resources, there are other ways. Having thoughts isn't a crime, acting on them is. PLEASE talk to a licensed professional.

[ibuprofinator]

alright I beat veilguard, here are my thoughts. light spoilers but I'm avoiding anything explicit.

TLDR: worth it if you can get it on sale and can make peace with some cringe writing, lore changes, and lack of meaningful reactivity based on the race you choose. A major thing going for it is that it feels 100% complete and fully realized before release, which is more than what I can say for a lot of games. I had a lot of fun with it at the end of the day even if I doubt I'll replay it all the way through again any time soon.

Gameplay

The combat is very fun, and it's kind of incredible how different your experience of the game can be depending on your class (on a mechanical level). I've tried both mage and warrior, and their base mechanics are VASTLY different to the point where it feels like I might as well be playing a different game with some similar mechanics. I've talked to my friend who beat the game as a rogue, and even their mechanics seem very different from what I experienced from the other two classes.

The bad side of that is that they reuse the mechanics of a lot of enemies. It's not noticeable right away, but once you fight a few mages or two of the seven or so dragons you can fight in the game it gets very repetitive. The dragon mechanics barely changing depending on the type of dragon was especially annoying. Also, if you reach the max level (50) just know that enemies stop scaling after level 45 and things won't feel like a challenge anymore once you reach that threshold. For context I beat the game on the second hardest difficulty.

I still would've rather they changed around a few things so we could bring 3 companions with us like in previous games. I also wish they had more automatic skill use from our companions since I always forget to get them to use any of their skills. I heavily relied on some of the skill upgrades that had them use it automatically.

Exploration/Level Design

The world exploration is fine. I find that it's a bit too hand-holdy at times, and seems to rely heavily on giving you a shiny thing (chests) in order to keep you engaged which makes it feel cheap (in addition to all the chests/collectables being marked on the mini-map. again, a bit too hand-holdy for me).

That being said, I like how relatively limited the world is. Especially in comparison to Inquisition where there was just WAY too much. The areas aren't absurdly huge, but I felt like I was getting a good baseline for the vibe of whatever country I was in. In some ways, it felt like a more streamlined and higher quality version of the areas in Origins/DA2.

The areas are obviously very well thought out and designed, and I really enjoy the stark difference between areas you see both before and after your first major choice. I've seen people critique that choice being too early in the game, and I kind of disagree. My gripes with it are how it was handled after the change, but I'm not going to go into a tangent about that here.

The one thing that irks me to no end is the teleport beacon system. You always have a designated "respawn point" when you die. What this means in practice is that every single time you load a save that isn't in the middle of a cutscene, you'll spawn at whatever teleport beacon is set as your spawn point instead of where you physically were when you saved.

I hate this. To me it contributes to the cheap feeling of the game and also throws me off because every single time I loaded a save I didn't know what the fuck I was doing since often times I was far away from the actual thing I was in the middle of before I quit the game for the day. It's okay-ish if you're just tracking a quest, but there's actual world exploration in this game without markers.

Alright, now the actual writing of the game.

It's cringe too much of the time. It assumes you're not paying attention to anything most of the time. I hate the "next time on..." narration after the quests that sometimes outright spoil you for the next thing that's going to happen. I hate that you get the resolution to mysteries that have existed since Origins before you're even fully out of the intro to the game without giving any of it time to breathe.

Meanwhile, it seems unwilling to engage in anything that might potentially be vaguely "problematic". The companions don't argue, or if they do it's resolved almost immediately. Any tension between the companions is caused by one person having concerns about another person, and then the other person is like "yeah I get why you're concerned we're cool" (both in banter and in scenes at your base).

The world feels devoid of basic elements of previous games, like elven oppression, beyond a few non-specific references about "elves having it hard. In addition, they seem to be adding NPCs of different races to the background of the world seemingly at random. No, I don't think that there'd be this many vashoth or tal-vashoth shop-keepers in this part of Antiva, or this many elves casually intermingling with humans in Minrathous or all these veil jumpers that aren't elven much less Dalish.

It seems almost random, and more in line with modern dnd played for fun with friends or the atmosphere in the lower city in BG3 than a dragon age game. The fact that you can choose any origin regardless of your starting race is kind of insane considering the reality of some of those origins. There doesn't seem to be much, if any, intention behind it. Which makes it even more frustrating that I can count on half of one hand the amount of times it came up in any real way that I was playing as a dwarf, and lost track of the amount of times it should have considering a big part of the main plot has to do with dwarven history.

To be specific, and without giving too many spoilers, there's one scene where you find out something about the origin of modern dwarves. The "angry" dialogue option for that is for Rook to start yelling and making very good points, only for it to end with them saying that they can't dream with the same weight as everything else and it comes across as goofy as hell considering we don't know dick or all about the downsides to not dreaming in-universe. It's just something they can't do. But no, not dreaming is the same thing as your entire civilization crumbling right?

The companions themselves are written to be hard to dislike. Aside from Taash, all their hard edges have been smoothed down into something that barely manages to stay engaging. To be completely fair, I might be especially sensitive to this. I had just beaten BG3 and then DA2 before playing this game, and they're both games with a bunch of shitty people who slowly get better over time. VG, in contrast, doesn't have any tangible character arc for a lot of the characters outside of maybe one choice at the end of their quest line. Even then, it's minimal.

The game clearly has a few themes it was going for, but it either hits you over the head with them or doesn't earn them. There was one point where Rook (with no prompting from me!) said that their group had become a family. Which, yes they all get along and are working well together towards the goal of saving the world, but that didn't really feel earned at the point they said it.

Another theme I think they wanted were "a real leader takes responsibility for their actions" but we don't have any real options to either take responsibility or deny responsibility. This ties back to the issue I mentioned earlier where interpersonal problems get almost immediately resolved, and most were never even that serious in the first place.

There's a lot of explicitly telling you what the narrative themes are without following though. I've critiqued BG3 for hitting you over the head with themes, but it's NOTHING like what I've seen in VG.

They also have a very bad attempt at calling back to earlier parts of their arc/things Rook said. Forgive me for bringing up Astarion, but an example of that is Astarion saying "this is a gift, I won't forget it" both when he bites you for the first time and when he stays a spawn after killing Cazador. In Veilguard it's just people saying the same line almost verbatim about 100 times. Like I said earlier, the game assumes you're not paying attention.

And finally, I like the overarching story as a concept. Rook being forced to take responsibility for this team, in part because they feel guilty and in part because everyone else is too bogged down in their shit to do it so they HAVE to. And then working hard to build that team and the factions supporting them up in preparation to face something completely unprecedented? Then the individual plot points without having to slog through how they're written to get to the end? Love all that! Great bones to work off of!

I also really liked a lot of the arcs of the NPCs, and the one I think about constantly is Jacobus (SPOILERS IN THE REST OF THIS PARAGRAPH) specifically where Treviso is blighted. I'm not sure if it's different if Treviso isn't blighted, but I was so heartbroken by everything that happened to him culminating in him giving in to the taint to lead a group of darkspawn against the mayor to stop them from releasing gaatlok.

SPOILERS OVER

And that's the thing, there's so many little moments like that in the game that felt so incredibly real that it made me more and more frustrated at a noticeable amount of the game that seemed to be written by someone who read a few bullshit pop psychology articles and wanted to gloat about it by inserting a bunch of surface level mental health understanding into the game.

All that being said, and despite the fact that I don't think the game earned a lot of the character moments that came in the finale...it has, by far, the BEST end game sequence of ANY game - RPG or otherwise - that I've ever played.

I've never been hit so hard emotionally by characters I otherwise didn't give a shit about. I made one choice knowing it would result in someone specific dying (and I didn't really care because I didn't like them), but the way that person died and the way that death is talked about afterwards broke me in ways I didn't expect.

And the ending is LONG, too. It really feels like you're fighting a final battle alongside an army and the army is supporting the small group you're in so you can make it to where you need to go and kill the gods. And it feels realistic. There's no way everyone gets out unscathed, it's physically impossible in the game itself.

For a game that made me feel incredibly safe in the sense that all the companions had plot armor up until that point, it felt like a shock in a really good way. You spend all this time with your companions, learning about them and watching them interact with each other in the lighthouse and see their relationships with each other and then at the end of it there's nothing you can do to save some of them. Some don't die, but face something almost worse than death. And it's all for your benefit so you can have a small shot at pulling this off.

It's like the suicide mission in ME2 on crack in the best way possible. You learn things over the course of that long ass finale that made me look at the entire game differently and understand a lot of characters so much more.

To dial it back a bit, I think the romance in this game is pretty well done. I've only done Neve's, but it feels more realistic than other similar RPGs in the sense that y'all aren't falling over yourselves to commit to each other and there's no expectation on staying together after this. It feels like a new relationship, and she even still flirts with Lucanis which I honestly didn't mind! It, perhaps unintentionally, made it all seem that much more realistic plus it would've built up nicely to them getting together had I not romanced either of them.

It almost marketed itself as a dating sim, but really it's such a small part of your interaction with your romantic interest. I'm assuming other romances are slightly different, but I kissed Neve a grand total of one time before the finale and then there were a bunch of longing glances. I played with the idea of romancing Taash before reloading, and it feels like y'all are just incredibly casual about it even after going to have dinner with their mom. Both felt VERY realistic for the stakes of the game and the level of commitment both of y'all would be able to offer.

Do I think this is GOTY worthy? No, but I do think it's overall more fun to play than Inquisition which DID win GOTY. I think it's worth the $40 I paid for it, and I had a very good time playing it despite how much I just wish it wasn't a Dragon Age game. Unlike with Inquisition, I don't dread the idea of playing this game again. Leading up to me playing DAV, I was going to replay all the DA games, but I ended up skipping Inquisition because I did NOT want to have to slog through all of that again (I was doing completionist playthroughs).

The game is really good at cinematics and the big moments in the world, and I just wish that same love and care translated to. I don't know. The actual writing all throughout the game.

I really hope the series ends here, and they don't do something with the vague hints that have been in this game and Inquisition about some bullshit going on across the sea (the secret post-credits scene pissed me off but I'm not going to get into that).

It has a sense of finality to it, and I'm happy with this wrapping up everything I've seen this series build towards since I got Origins for Christmas when I was 13.

[tia-amorosa]

Sunset Died - Lisa & VJ

Anticipations (Longer Part)

While everyone was now waiting to be evacuated, people still went about their normal everyday lives. School also continued to take place. But today was a day off for them. Time to have another look around. “It's amazing that the old thing made it all the way here.”

There have been many topics of conversation in the last few days. Not just about the rescue team, but also about the possibility of starting somewhere completely new. “I would love to go to Anne Arbor. My parents are still debating where to go. But I really want to go to this university…"/ ‘Why?’.

“Why? To study veterinary medicine, of course"/ ”You still want to do that? I thought you would have put that out of your mind long ago"/ ”No, never. I still really want that. Have you ever thought about a job again?"/ ”hm, yes…, something that my hands can do a lot of work with. They can't lie still…"/ ‘hm…’.

“With your hands, you say? Well, maybe… engineers… They're needed everywhere…"/ ”or mechanics, like that Diego. Man, he's really cool and so is the other one”. Lisa had to smile a little. “You only like them because they have just as loose a mouth as you and like to talk about women."/ ‘hehe… Maybe’.

In some places you find one or two people who seem to be a little off track. “Hi, Mr. Koffi, are you okay?"/ ”oh, hello, you two. Yes, yes, I just still can't believe we're being… rescued. I'd actually already resigned myself to the idea of having to stay here forever.”

For the younger people, the upcoming rescue operation was like an adventure. Not much longer and they'll be adults. So you have to be a bit silly beforehand and make a few memories. Who knows if they'll see each other again later in the same place. “Hey, Lisa, look over here!”. But Lisa found the photo thing less appealing, preferring to have a little chat with the always somewhat excited Gobias. And before the big departure, you make a few more contacts with people you haven't had much to do with before.

Over the long period since the disaster, everyone has settled into a certain routine. But they soon had to get used to a new daily routine again. And what some of them particularly missed was work, while others had become accustomed to spending more time at home and with the others. “Don't you want pizza, VJ?"/ ‘No, I have to watch my figure’/ ‘hahaha, you're a weirdo’. Even in the last few days in the old country, you still get surprises. “Hey, since when can you do that? I didn't even manage that"/ ‘I've just got talent, ihihi…’. …

And you're happy about the little and big things in life. “Oh man, look, VJ, didn't it turn out great?”. Lisa was quite proud of having prepare this pizza without burning it. “Maybe I'll have a piece after all"/ ‘I knew it, hn.’. After all, the way to the heart is through the stomach.

When the smell of freshly baked pizza fills the air, you won't be alone at the table for long. “It's really good"/ ”Thanks, Zelda. Have you decided where you want to go yet?"/ ”hm, the suggestions were a bit meagre. I first have to find out where I can best get on with my music."/ ‘hm, I hope you find the right place where you can realize your dreams’.

After filling their stomachs, Lisa and VJ wanted to go for a walk. That's when they bumped into the rescue team. And of course VJ was immediately drawn back to Diego. “Hey, what are you doing here?"/ ‘Well, I haven't been here yet and wanted to get a rough idea of what it used to look like.’/ ‘If you want an exact picture, we have a map on the wall at the school of the town when it was still intact’.

“Oh man, I'm still surprised about your hair, Erin. You had such nice long hair before…"/ ”And I always had to straighten it, hnhn. In the military, you should wear your hair as short as possible or tied up. I went for the first option"/ ‘looks good’.

The conversations were quite relaxed and the adults took some time to talk to the younger ones. VJ couldn't hold back his curiosity. “Isn't it a bit lonely out there sometimes, without a girlfriend?"/ ”Oh… Actually… It's quite bearable.” Diego said, glancing at Erin… VJ looked over at her too. Then he had to smile because he seemed to recognize something. “are we going, Lis?”.

After they had moved a few meters away again, Lisa briefly held him by the arm. “Hey, why did you really want to leave there with me now? I thought the conversation with Erin was really nice. She and my dad didn't get on well before, but now…"/ ‘I think she gets on pretty well with her pilots too…’ VJ grinned. “Huh? Oh come on, that's nonsense, they're colleagues“/”hnhn. Shall we go home? It's really cold…"/ ‘mhm’.

Once they were back home, Lisa headed straight for the bedroom and went to bed. Later. “Oh man, I'm so full"/ ‘No wonder, you had three more slices of the pizza’/ ‘But it was so delicious, mmh…’. VJ grinned as he looked at his girlfriend, who was holding her stomach. “What did your father say, when will they get here?"/ ”The day after tomorrow. Why?"/ ‘I'm thinking of going hunting one last time…’/ ‘what?’. Her shocked face amused him a little. “Hn, just kidding, okay? I really enjoyed it… but what do I do with all the stuff in the cold store? I wasn't expecting help so quickly and there's still a lot in there"/ ‘you can hand it out for the foxes, they'll be happy…’/ ‘hm… O.k., or I'll pack us a bit for later’/ ‘hmhm’….

VJ looked at his girlfriend. She was exhausted and her eyes had been closed since she lay down on the bed. Being out in the fresh air every day makes you pretty tired at some point…Soon the big adventure playground will be over. Then you'll meet new people and see new surroundings. “I hope there's a beach… Good night, babe”

It wasn't quite dark outside yet, but it felt like the day had gone on forever. And when you're particularly tired, you often sleep better. Who knows, you might even dream a little about the future.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

@greenplumbboblover ⭐

[ninigummysmile]

𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐲 - 𝐉𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐨

Summary: Your girlfriend needs to stop the car to relieve some of the desire she’s feeling for you

Jisoo x Fem!Reader

Category: Smut

Warning: This story contains +18 content. It is not the responsibility of the author if minors read it.

Important: English is not my first language so, please, forgive me if there are any mistakes

Words: 1.257

Early in the morning the sun shines brightly, giving you the certainty that your family's country house will be great for hiking and entering the lake, which normally has very cold water.

You've taken this road trip many times before, but it's your first time with your girlfriend. Since you were a little girl, you memorized some parts of the landscape and every time you do the route, you check to see if everything is still the same despite the several years that have passed.

When you and Jisoo go on car trips to nearby cities, you already have a road map that you like to follow. You go from the drive-thru to breakfast in the car as you watch the sun get higher and higher as the hours pass, put on your travel playlist (something that when you first went traveling, Jisoo insisted that you make a special playlist to cheer yourself up in the car until you reach your destination), you make small talk and many times you take a nap, even though you say you're going to keep your girlfriend company.

At the moment you just enjoy the traffic-free road, you hum along with the background music as you wait for the next question she's going to ask you.

“Okay, what about that dice game?” you have the intimacy to talk about anything and even if in the beginning you were shy of some subjects, nowadays it is something very natural.

“What dice game?” you have an idea what she's talking about, but you need to make sure it's what you’re thinking.

“The one where you have two dice. One for a body part and one for an action”

“Like, kiss on the boobs?”

“Yeah, like that” she laughs at your example.

“You want to buy? I’ve heard of it, I think it would be cool if we tried it”

“Do you think you would be able to come just from that?”

“I don't know” you shrug. “But I'm sure it must be pretty exciting. Better than the last card game we bought”

“Hey, don't talk like it's my fault” she defends herself. “You were the one who insisted we buy and didn’t have the patience to follow the rules”

“It's because it was too complex! An erotic card game shouldn't have so many rules, the only objective is to feel pleasure and the only thing I wanted to do was lie down and sleep” you laugh.

“Alright” the subject seems closed all of a sudden, until her words escape her mouth without a second thought. “Now I need to buy these damn dice because the image of us playing while you're in that red lingerie won't get out of my head”

“The red one, your favorite… I even think it's the one I'm wearing right now” you smirk.

“Don't do that, baby” she swallows a moan. “I need to focus on the road”

“I didn't do anything, you're the one who gets wet with your own dirty thoughts”

“Because you are the one who induces these thoughts” she replies, taking one of her hands off the steering wheel and placing it on your thigh.

“No way, both hands on the wheel, Jisoo”

“I'm multitasking, I can drive and touch you at the same time” her eyes don't leave the road.

“What kind of touch do you mean?”

“And I'm the one with dirty thoughts, huh?”

“Always with the answer on the tip of the tongue” you mutter and roll your eyes.

“Unbutton your shorts for me, love”

“Are you serious?”

“I will stop at the next exit, but until then I need to prepare you”

“Fuck” your curse is camouflaged by the buttons and the material sliding down your legs.

“Don't take your panties off,” she warns. “Like I said, the red one is my favorite”

She moves her hands up as she massages your thigh and tucks the lacy fabric to the side.

“Hmm” the sound comes from the back of her throat as she feels your wetness.

She collects your discharge to lubricate your clit and makes small circles on it. You sigh and spread your legs to give her more space.

Her finger teases your entrance and enters you at once, she groans low in surprise at the ease with which you swallowed her.

She likes to take her time appreciating every detail of you, whereas you're impatient and like to feel overwhelmed with pleasure and this leads you to move your hips in search of more friction. The second finger is added and your loud moans begin to mix with the music that plays low on the radio.

One of your hands grips the seat belt as if your life depended on it and an avalanche of intense pleasure rushes through you. When you open your eyes, the car pulls to a stop on a small dirt road and is parked near a thicket.

“Back seat, my love” she instructs as she wipes her fingers with her mouth.

With wobbly legs, you take off your seat belt and sit in the back seat, while she sits next to you, you remove your blouse and panties, wanting to give her the satisfaction of your breasts covered by the red material.

She takes off all her clothes and pulls out a double dildo from a backpack that's on the floor in the backseat.

She lays down with her back on one of the doors and you do the same on the other. Lubricating one end in her wetness, she inserts it and is momentarily gasped for breath.

“Come here, angel. Let me help you” she calls you with her voice full of desire and slowly inserts the other end inside you.

You stand still to enjoy the feeling of the dildo tearing you apart from the inside. She moves her hips and moans escape your mouths.

With her head thrown back, she grabs her breasts and says “Baby, I need you to move too. Your pussy is so tight that the fucking fake dick barely moves inside you”

You whimper aloud as much from the pleasure as from Jisoo's uttered words, you know it won't last long and you'll come again quickly.

Your girlfriend pulls you closer and you practically scream when you feel the material seem to touch your stomach. You're lost, dizzy in the oncoming climax, but you can hear her ask between moans “Are you going to come with me?” you nod fervently. “Yeah?” you nod again “So rub that pretty clit of yours for me” she begs doing the same to her own sex.

You are a mess. Sweat pouring from your foreheads, moans being screamed inside the hot car and liquid oozing from both sides of the dildo as you come together, moaning each other's name incessantly.

Your heartbeat finally slows and you hiss as she takes the dildo out of you.

“We better go because we have at least an hour to get there”

“I don't know if I'm able to drive with my legs now, they feel like Jello” she notes with a smile.

“Take your time, love” you kiss her temple. “In the meantime, I'm going to get ready for my nap, enjoy that you made me tired” you laugh in her face and put your clothes back on.

“You're lucky that I love you” she says even though she knew before leaving home that you were going to sleep whether you were tired or not, breaking the promise to keep her company.

[eyitzme]

ᵗᵒʳⁿ ᵖᵃᵍᵉˢ ;; ᵈʳᵈᵗ

Summary: You can tear a page out of a book for countless reasons. The book can have things you don't want to read about, things you don't want others to know, or you simply felt like ripping it out. Whatever the case is, it's impossible to act like the pages were never there. No matter what, there will always be something to prove to you that there are pages missing, and the chances are that you'll know exactly why they're missing. Or, Ace Markey thinks about moments in his life relating to his childhood best friend, Min Jeung. Word Count: 427 A/N: My laptop can only work when it's being plugged in because the battery is dead. I have to use my mom's old one for now, but the fan gets turned on the moment you open it and it bothers me. Anyway, on a note that actually relates to this, this is the first chapter of a short multi-chaptered fic I started working on after Chapter 2's final episode because I started liking imagining Min and Ace as best friends, and them being childhood best friends made it even better. They literally are that in my heart, and you can't convince me otherwise. You can just take this as an advertisement to read this on other sites because Tumblr isn't the best place to post multi-chaptered works. If you're interested in reading more, the links to where you can read it in places where it will eventually have the other chapters will be provided at the end. And don't forget your daily clicks!

the future marks a path unknown to us. pebbles poke at my feet, while thorns poke into yours. we will still walk side by side. do you remember?

The first time Ace Markey met Min Jeung was on the first day of first grade.

Ace didn't want to go to school. He had no friends there. In his first grade class, he already knew were going to be some people from kindergarten, but he didn't like any of them, and none of them liked him. Everyone else there were strangers. With so many people telling him not to trust strangers, it made it hard for him to understand why he was being put in a place with so many of them for so long.

Ace's first grade classroom had desks arranged in rows where there were two desks were pushed next to each other. They were placed randomly to help give the children an opportunity to talk to someone they might never have seen before. His desk was next to a stranger. The first thing he noticed about her was that she had really long hair, and some of it was falling over her eyes. He had immediately wondered if she had ever gone to a barbershop before and if he could introduce her to his. She always smiled when he told her his first opinions about her.

His first words to her were a simple, "Hi." He had decided that the new girl couldn't be that bad and was trying to get someone to play with at recess. He had no one else, so he might as well take advantage of what the teacher had tried to do.

The girl looked at him with really bright purple eyes. They looked so unnatural that, back then, he thought they looked weird, and it was good her hair was starting to cover them up. "Hi," she said.

"My name is Ace," he said. "What is your name?"

"Min," she said.

"Where do you come from?"

"My country?"

"No, school."

"Another town."

"You moved here? From where?" Ace had never moved before, but he saw it a lot on TV shows. His past self could never see himself leaving his home to move into another one down the street, let alone leaving the United States of America to live somewhere else entirely.

"I can show you on a map."

"What is a map?"

Min gave him a look he never saw anyone have before. She was suddenly interested in her school supplies. Now, Ace knew Min had thought he was stupid, but back then, he didn't know what he did. All he did know was that he wasn't going to be playing with anyone at recess today.

Short chapter, but that's really how they all are. Anyway, if you want to read more, you can read it on Wattpad or AO3! Please note that the rest of this work will have spoilers for Chapter 1 and Chapter 2. It's just this chapter that didn't have it. If you would rather read more on Tumblr, just ask me for the next part. I won't constantly be updating this on Tumblr though, especially with my laptop deciding it lived a long enough life, so it's up to you to keep asking for new parts. Still, if you got this far, thank you for reading!

[butterflywithsass]

Things I Wish I knew living on my own

This is gonna be pretty short at the moment (I'll add more later) because I haven't been living on my own for very long and I think there's still plenty that I still have to figure out. I'm also drunk as I write this so this might be rambling.

This is gonna be chock full of really obvious stuff for most people but stuff that really confused or stressed me out when I did it. It's also gonna have that obvious stuff that's not so obvious because no one really talks about it until you are on your own and you haven't the first idea how to start.

First things first. Money. You're gonna need it, so look up a bank that is in your area and look into the process of setting up an account. Some banks have this online, sometimes you need to walk into the bank and do it in person. In both cases, make sure you have a passport, birth certificate, or other ID on you, as literally everything you know about your financial state prior to this. Ask your parents if you need to, or someone who knows this, because they are gonna ask a lot of questions. Once you've got the account set up make sure to confirm your ID. I set up an account online, and since I forgot to do this step, I have now had my account deactivated and I need to start all over again. Don't be like me.

If you're in a foreign country like me, make sure you understand how the currency works, and set up a method to transfer funds without having to pay the tax every time. Set up an app like Wise or something similar so people can transfer you money and you can move it to your bank account. Make sure you have a rough idea of how much something is worth in each currency. I'm still adjusting to using pounds, and things would look really cheap until I realized that a pound is worth slightly more than a dollar.

Services. I mean stuff like wifi and tv and stuff. If you're a student, than your wifi is fine, just make sure you set it up right. Euroroam is a bitch, so make sure you google how to do it right and just follow it step by step. Ask for help. Just ask someone. I'm so serious. Another thing I'm struggling with is TV. In the UK you have to have a license for BBC iplayer. Don't listen to your British friends when they say you don't need it. You do. If you don't have it you will get prosecuted. I don't wanna get prosecuted. It's super easy, even if it's kinda expensive, and hey, you get access to everything BBC. Just google tvl.co.uk and something will turn up. You can use that super handy bank card you got when you signed up for the bank account.

Transport. buses, trains and shit. First of all, make sure you download all the apps and inform yourself on how they work. It's gonna be confusing especially if your an American country hick like me so nows the time to learn. Get the maps. Get the bus schedules and routes. Pin them on your wall. Also, There's often some super cool discounts you can get if you sign up. Where I am in Scotland at the moment there's such a thing as a YoungScot Card, where you can get bus fair free if you're under 22. If you're not in Scotland, chances are there is something like that if you look. Transport can add up. Don't get Uber or a Taxi unless it's your only option, in which case, GET THE UBER. It's better to pay a butload of money for transport than be stranded somewhere alone. Your safety is more important than money.

Printers. You will need them. Often, there will be documents that you need to sign on paper, and so a printer will be needed. Google places where you can get things printed. If you are a student, make figuring out how to print things at your campus library a priority. I'm about to invest in my own printer just so I can skip this process because it's exhausting.

Voting. Just because you're not in your own country, doesn't mean you shouldn't vote. I'm from America, and care very much about the results of the next presidential election. If you're already registered to vote, try and get an absentee ballot.

Which brings me to mail. Get some stamps, and make sure they are the right ones. There will be postcard stamps, and mail stamps, and international stamps. Get the international letter stamps for your ballot and put them on because mailing is not paid for outside of the US. Then fucking mail it! (I'm swearing at myself so I remember to do this part when I'm sober)

Phone number. You will need a new one. Get an Esim card (should be in your settings if you have an iPhone) Make sure your friends have your new number and test it out to make sure it works when you're in a new country. One thing about Europe, is that the old buildings really suck for phone reception. Also, if you want to make this simpler and can't remember numbers very well, use Whatsapp or Instagram to message people.

Mess. You may go into this with certain ideas of granduer when it comes to personal organization. Be real. You won't be any more organized or tidy on your own than you were with other people. Just make sure that the essentials are accounted for and forgive yourself for the rest. Keep a drawer or a basket for all that important shit like bank statements or that letter that says they're opening an investigation because you haven't bought a tv license so it's all in one place and you don't lose anything. If it's urgent, pin it on your wall (get a bulletin board for this). Do your laundry. If you have your own washing machine and dryer, good for you. I don't, so figure out how the system works with the communal washers and get on that. Once again ask for help. Wash your sheets. Wash your pillowcases. WASH YOURSELF.

Hygiene. I hate it too, but it will make you feel better about yourself if you are clean and your teeth are brushed. This is the first thing to go when you feel in a slump. I know. I hate showers. I hate brushing my teeth, but not doing it makes my self-esteem go down the drain and my depression goes on a victory lap. Just do it. If you can't do anything else on this list, or you feel like everything is too overwhelming, do this. It will make a lot of other things feel doable.

Food. Okay, scratch that. This might be the most important thing. I am currently making a late night dinner of dried mangos and wine because I didn't have the motivation do get dinner tonight which is a prime example of what not to do. Because now I'm drunk and hungry. Get a fucking fridge! Get a microwave! Go to the grocery store and buy food. Even if it's ramen or mac and cheese. At least it's food. At this point, don't worry about eating healthy, just eat. Since I'm not allowed a mini fridge or a microwave, I have to time my meals so I get into the dining hall on time which results in this... So if you're in a similar case, set alarms for meal times, and GO TO THEM! If you miss it. Find a place that has cheap takeout that you will eat as a fall back option.

Groceries. Find a grocery store that has the things you need, and see what kind of membership or regular discounts you can get. You will need it. Don't worry about buying too much food, or buying too much junk food. If you're gonna overspend on something, better it be this and not something else. Eventually, you will get a sense of what you actually like to eat and what you don't. But for now, don't be afraid to buy something just to try it because it might become your new favorite food. Make a running list on your phone of what you need to buy and don't worry about overbuying. If you buy something you don't eat or don't want, give it away! Your neighbors or classmates or friends might want it and food is always a good way to meet people and form connections. At my old school, I became known as the one who would always have a bag of storebought cookies on me in class if anyone was hungry and didn't have any other options. I was proud of that reputation.

Don't restrict your space. It can get easy to walk the same path every day, and never venture outside of the area you know well. But every so often, try and use that bus pass you got, and go a little further afield. Just wander. You don't have to have a goal. Just explore. Living in a new place is the perfect time to do this. I recently ended up in a random church just because the gate was unlocked and the door was open. I ended up accidentally eavesdropping on a late night discussion of eleventh-century catholic manuscripts or something I can't remember and came home with a pamphlet for the catholic church I'm never going to join but it was an experience. Make awkward conversations with the people you haven't met before because maybe you'll end up crushing really hard for her even though she's straight and has a boyfriend and you'll spend the next week hopelessly pining but at least it will be something to mark the passing of time, creeping at this petty pace from day to day. Maybe the way she describes how she's learning to dissect cadavers and the way her eyebrows tilt will inspire you.

It's okay to be lonely. It's hard to adjust to living in a new place. Especially if you're a student at a new school. It may feel like everyone is making friends but you. That may be true. You may find that your neighbor has already met a guy and they are really cute together, and they no longer really want to hang out with you. You may find that the person you connected with really well now longer remembers your name but that's okay. It is a superpower, knowing how to be comfortable on your own. It's something you must learn before you can make a lasting connection with anyone. Those people who are making friends so fast are doing it because they are afraid to be alone. You aren't afraid.

Don't overcomit. Sometimes, you might feel so guilty about not donating to a freind's program to help survivers of domestic abuse in africa that you offer to design a website for them. But yuu're swamped. You have three essays due next week and you need to have an opinion about Homer's portrayal of Ithaka and you're terrified every second you spend not working on your essays, so that yiu ccan't relax even during breaks because you're constantly thinking you're behind but now you have to design a website. Don't fucking do that, What were yoy thinking you fuckin idiot. Just give your freind the money and tell her you can't do it.

Keep in touch with people. Don't fall off the map. There are people you love who are still out there. Your gramma wants to know how you're doing so give them a call, but not when you're drunk that will just make her anxious. Call your freinds from your old school. Ask them how they're doing. When tey tell you they're going on a date be happy for them and don't think bout how single you are. Fuck.

Invest in your projects. Don't forget what you love. Join that Good Omens fanfiction group even though it's one of the few things that you're not obligated to do. Don;t forget your hobbies. Watch the thing that David Tennent was in even though you don't have any prior interest in true crime and watch yourself fall into another spiral of hyperfixation.

Read Shakespeare. Relate so hard. Spend an inordinate amount of time memorizing the Yoric soliquiy from Hamlet. Spend a fortune on tickets to see David Tennent play Macbeth in the west end. Let it be your light. The only thing you are looking forward too at the moment.

You'e on your forth glass of wine. You havent neber been this drunk before becuse you are a syupid American who has just moved to the Uk unserpivused. and you're stressing about exams. You were supposed to be working.

Goodbye!

[intellectual6666]

Some really shit happened today.

So it was economics period. A new teacher came to take our class. I got to know he took the class yesterday too (I was absent). But instead of economics, he was actually teaching geography, and with a bit of history. At first he gave pet names to every state and taught how to plot them on the map very easily. And then he talked about how our Bharat used to have such a big territory and Pakistan and Bangladesh was a part of our country.

He opted for UPSC and got 735 out of 800, but because he is in general caste, he didn't get selected.

A student, name her R, first told him, "Konsi reel dekh ke aaye hai aap ?" in the rudest way possible. Then she got up and said "I think this discussion is baseless, jo bhi hona tha, the partition and everything, it's all past". So the teacher said that the what is the point of studying history then ? Jo ho gaya ho gaya ? Agar koi kuch bolega humare desh ke baare mein, toh hum chor denge? Itna easy hai kya ? After a lot of argument between them, by when she was losing her temper (she has horrible anger issues), sir asked, "What do you think, as a citizen of India, who probably loves her country, that there are better countries than ours ?" She said maybe yes, there are many, but I cannot recall their names right now. She said that partition occurred totally because of Indians. Behen British kya mujra karne aaye the yaha ? If that bloody Viceroy didn't gave such an option for a separate country, maybe this wouldn't have happened. I tried to say that in the most decent way possible. Bro the way she barked. Then three other students told her to lower her voice as an elder was standing infront of us and she freaking shouted. All the teachers present in the corridor ran to our class and asked her why the hell she screamed. "I was trying to put my point but everyone interrupted me", bro you argues with the teacher continuously on some useless shit and no body told you anything, at last last we just told you lower your voice.

And then the savage replies by the teacher left her speechless and pale.

I, along with the rest, understand that she is short tempered and have anger issues, but who is gonna work on it ? Us ? Ofc not. She herself knows about this but she ain't helping herself. And nobody cannot blame the rest of the students, to a limit, everyonecan control, but if you keep barking, at some point people are going shout back at you. And you also need to understand where you're going wrong. You cannot say partition was baseless. You cannot say discussing about Indian history is baseless. We NEED to have this knowledge. And even if you think it's wrong, atleast you should have a proper reason behind it.

And foremost of all, you need to learn decency. You should know how to talk to a teacher. But yeah, nobody really talked about this to her today, as after this shit, no body really wanted to confront her.