#haven't done much image description before

[hypermoyashi]

[Image Description: A guest ao3 user with a redacted name over a comment reading, "Nobody is going to lose their shit over someone being a demisexual. Lmao nobody gives a shit about it. Some people really wanna be oppressed huh"

A reply from the fic writer below reads, "You know, I’d be less disappointed in you and this comment if I didn’t have a giant beginning author’s note explaining that this whole fic was based on my real-life experiences as a non-binary demi person. So I hate to break it to you, but I have had people freak out on me when I tried to come out as demi to them.

There’s a term my girlfriend used—the “oppression olympics.” It’s where some queer people make oppression and who faces the worst of it some sort of competition, and ace people have been perpetually excluded from and minimized from the community because we’re “not oppressed enough.” This is something I had to unlearn when I was going through my journey, because I always saw myself as a less legitimate member of it growing up because my friends suffered more. I had friends whose mothers would cry at the sight of them in a skirt. I had friends who were made to sleep on their porches. And me? Well, I looked straight. I looked cis. I didn’t date. I didn’t know who I was. So if someone who’s faced more hardship because of their identity tells me that my identity is harmful to them, was I going to believe them? As a young, questioning queer person, I did. This was ten years ago. The community from back then isn’t the same community it is today.

The thing of it is, is that your identity shouldn’t be defined by how oppressed you are. Being oppressed doesn’t somehow make you more or less legitimate. Being queer isn’t about that. We’re more than our oppression.

Sharing this wasn’t about going “oh I’m so oppressed, give me attention.” It was just about sharing my experiences online through my writing. There are ace people who have experienced far worse than me, and while my heart goes out to them, it doesn’t make my experience any less valid. We all go through different journeys, and we experience different things. Being able to share these journeys with one another is a part of what makes creating so rewarding.

So yes, Mx. Redacted Username, I am disappointed in you. I think it’s sad that, as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community judging on your username, you would come on here to actively discourage ace people from sharing their experiences. I wonder if you would do the same to a trans, non-binary, lesbian, or gay person talking about experiences related to those identities. I’m afraid you might be doing an acephobia here, Mx. Redacted Username, by actively discouraging ace people from sharing their experiences.

So I hope you take a moment to sit down and re-examine your internal bias and why you would bother to come online and tell ace people to shut up. But at the end of that day? We’re all members of the LGBTQIA+ community. I think we should make efforts to make it a more welcoming and inclusive community, and when people share their experiences? Well, I think we should listen and not dismiss people."]

So. My point in sharing this on Tumblr is that it's important to recognize that acephobic attitudes are still alive and well, even in fandom communities, and it's important to stop and examine your internal bias every now and then.

And most importantly? If you're about to leave a comment on a fic where a writer has shared their own personal experience, and you're going to tell them in any way, shape, or form that they should shut up? Maybe don't leave that comment and take a step back.

[peridots-pixiwolf]

sketches from @mipexch 's whiteboard a couple days ago!!

also feat. a very small reference to @onlineviolence :]

[moon-ttokki-x]

Hi!! Could I please make a request? I was thinking of maybe a ot8 skz x 9th member reader, where the reader has anxiety and ends up having a panic attack and the members comforted the reader?

hihi anon >< i liked this request. i was actually thinking of writing another 9th member fic when this ask came in, so perfect timing ! here you go <3

dissonance - skz x 9th member with anxiety

pairing: ot8!skz x reader with anxiety

summary: you have a panic attack while performing on stage with skz.

genre: angsty, idol!au, mentions of eating, graphic descriptions of a panic attack, slight implication of sh, fluffy ending, mentions of eating, skz are sweethearts

a/n: go check out my 'skz valentines' day event special' if you haven't already >< !

You love what you do. Really. Being on stage, wearing cool outfits, doing what you love, and of course, singing and dancing and performing with eight of your best friends is the total dream.

You couldn't have asked for more.

But now that you're standing backstage, surrounded by staff members, stylists, maintenance techs, and a countless amount of other people you don't even know, you're beginning to feel a little bit overwhelmed.

You look across to where Chan is discussing something with a stylist; it's like you can barely see him because of the overloading environment, and as you watch, his image slowly splits into two. Like a hallucination.

The performance is in a few minutes, and the noise around you becomes even louder as you begin to make your way to the wings of the stage. It's darker here, at least, but the hustle and bustle doesn't end, and neither does the constant ringing in your ears.

You feel a warm hand press lightly into the small of your back and you look up to see Hyunjin gazing down at you.

"You okay?" He says, adjusting his mic. "I know it's noisy here."

You can't do anything but nod in response, not trusting yourself to speak, save you burst into tears, or rudely snap at him. You've been backstage to events like this countless times, but the overwhelm and nausea that seems to come with it never ends. It always starts to happen the moment you sit down in the dressing room to have your makeup done.

The other members gather in a group behind Chan, who's waiting at the curtain before the stage, and you, who's gripping into the velvety material with white-knuckled fingers.

It all feels too much; the coloured lights, the brightness of the stage, the jumbled, discordant noises around you, and even your own members being near you makes you want to scream. Looking at Hyunjin's face again is too much to even bear, the diamantes under his eyes shining far too bright, and the badges on his jacket feeling far too odd and icky to be fashionable.

Chan, who's turned back to count his members before going on stage, glances at you; he knows how you get with these sorts of events, and you can't bear the sight of his face either. You just want him to go away, even if he's not talking to you. A pang of irritation shoots through you as he begins to talk.

"Y/n," he says quietly, though you can barely hear him through the blood rushing through your ears. "Take a deep breath, yeah?"

He moves a little closer, a hand out to stop anyone rushing by from bumping into you. There's a heart-shaped diamante on his cheek, and suddenly you want nothing more to reach up and rip it off his face. The urge to do it is almost overwhelming.

But even if you wanted to, you can't, because suddenly Chan is shouting something and you all run out onto stage, the cheer of the crowd so deafening you can't hear anything at all, your ears buzzing. You start to move purely out of muscle memory, your subconscious forcing your to dance only due to hours of late-night practices where you repetitively drilled the routine into your bones. But it feels stiff and clunky, almost unnatural to be moving the way that you are.

You barely register singing your part; it must have been incredibly subpar, you're sure of that at least, because Minho turns to look at you a little strangely before moving to jump back into position. But you're so visibly out of breath that he seems to realise what's happening, and he takes over singing your part while you keep dancing. The white lights above you are so hot, almost searing against your skin, beating down on you relentlessly. None of the other members seem to be affected, however.

You wince and scrunch the left side of your face as you almost roll your ankle, and you swear you can feel the makeup crinkling against your skin, the unpleasant caked layer of it seeping into your pores, clogging them with impurity. You desperately reach up a hand to scratch it off, provide some relief, but all the members put their hands up as per the routine, and you do the same, so your current situation isn't immediately noticeable to anyone who's watching. You doubt you're performing at even an average level, but you can't find it in you to care, you're so out of breath.

I can't keep going-

Your clothes feel scratchy and irritating against your skin, the top just a little bit too uncomfortable, your shoes just a little too tight, and the fingerless gloves on your hands are almost too much to bear, your hands going numb. Your hair is done too strangely, the styling making your scalp feel all tight and pressured, and suddenly you can't do anything but drop to your knees in the middle of the rush and gasp, your head pounding so hard it hurts-

Too much too much too much-

Before you know it, the stage suddenly goes dark and you realise that the performance has ended. Hopefully no one saw what happened-

That hope is dashed to pieces as you're immediately swarmed by staff members, all crowding in concern. You hear Jeongin yelp as he's pushed to the side and someone else, Chan, you think, is shouting, trying to create order and get to you at the same time. The crowd is murmuring, whispering, but you can't hear them, your whole being numb and grey with searing anxiety.

The members seem to understand what's happening, though, and you look up through dark, blurry vision to see Danceracha making a barrier between you and the rest of the backstage crew with their bodies, Felix looking over his shoulder in concern. They've finally managed to get through the swarm and you collapse onto your back, simply too exhausted to do anything else despite the din of noise surrounding you like a cloud of wasps.

You feel someone's hands- Seungmin's, maybe, press themselves into your shoulders, and a spicy, warm scent fills your nostrils as you suddenly leave the earth, a prominent weight settling over your being. Chan is lifting you.

The rest of the members begin to make their way through the crowd to their designated group dressing room, you clinging to Chan's shoulders so hard you think you might leave crescent-shaped scars in the skin. But he doesn't flinch, not that you notice, since you're unable to do anything but gasp and hyperventilate. You think you might scream, but nothing leaves your lungs, and by now you've lost complete control of your breathing.

Chan sets you down in his lap once the dressing room door is shut, sitting on the couch, and Minho immediately turns the light off. Dimness floods the room and Changbin kneels in front of you, carefully slipping off your shoes and gloves while Jeongin runs his fingers through your hair, flaking out the harsh gel and returning your slightly sweaty hair to its usual state.

You gasp and keel over just as Jisung takes a hold of your hands, completely calm and in control.

"It's okay, Y/nnie," you hear him say, his voice sounding faint and faraway. "You did so well for us, just try and tune into the silence, it'll help..."

You almost forget that this is what Jisung does when he feels overwhelmed with a panic attack too; he told you once that sitting somewhere quiet helps your head to clear things up a little. He must be right, because your breathing is beginning to slow down.

You look down at your hands; you can't feel them, and they look almost alien through your buzzing panic, like they don't really belong to you. Jisung's firm yet gentle grip has left little white patches on the skin in the shape of his fingertips, the blood not flowing through your hands properly due to the hyperventilating.

Foundation gathers on the underside of your nails as you reach up and desperately try to remove all the makeup, your tears not even penetrating the thick, oily layer of cosmetic product. Diamantes come raining down and gather on your thighs just as someone gently swipes a damp, cool cloth across your cheeks, the fabric coming away the colour of your skin.

By the time all of the makeup is cleaned off, and you're sitting in nothing but the complete base layer of your outfit, your breathing has slowed down completely. You look up with red, teary eyes, your heart still pounding, and meet eyes with Chan, who's still sitting with you in his lap, one hand stroking your waist.

"I can't go back out there," you choke out.

Chan nods. "That's okay, Y/nnie. You did really well performing, okay? I think we should all just stay here a little longer until you feel somewhat better, then we'll figure out what to do, hm?"

You sniff. "I m-messed up the performance, though.."

"It's okay, Y/n," Changbin says softly from where he's sitting, his legs swung over a chair.

"Yeah," Hyunjin adds. "Don't worry."

The room is completely silent, until Seungmin pointedly gets up and moves to a stylist mirror, opening the cabinet and pulling out a packet of makeup wipes. He sits down and cleans his face, matter-of-factly, then tosses the wipes into a nearby bin. Minho moves to do the same, and undoes the clasp of his necklace, tossing all his jewelry into a shiny, clunky pile on the table without a word.

Chan nods in approval. "I think we're done here for today. Let's dress down and clean up, then go back home. I think all of us could do with some rest."

You lie down on the couch while the rest of the members change clothes and wash off their makeup in the adjoined bathroom. Everyone keeps their voices low, and the dimness of the room compared to the flashiness outside almost makes you fall asleep. That is, until Felix appears at your side, holding out a juice box and a couple of wrapped chocolates.

"Here," he says quietly. "It should help keep your sugar up until we get back to the dorms."

You sit up a little bit and accept them from him, sipping tiny little sips from the juice as Felix pats your head and leaves to clean off his makeup.

Jeongin moves to lie down next to you after a while, and Hyunjin makes little origami birds out of the chocolate wrappers while Chan finalises the group's departure from the event.

"Alright," Chan says with conviction as Jisung helps you up from the couch. The members assemble near the door, raring to go. "Let's get out of here. I've had enough of this place."

You fight a weak smile as he shoots you a wink.

I couldn't agree more.

a/n: i should really try and find images that actually match for my headers. sigh

[mimpinightmare]

💥EL ARIETE💥

(I love this Insane Pirate Ruffian~)

ALSO, Fun Fact: I literally just found out his name (or at least what people and himself calls him), 'El Ariete' , literally means 'The Battering Ram' in Spanish- (You know, the nickname people associate with him back in the days 'til now when playing football??) AND I FOUND THIS OUT LIKE 2 WEEKS AGO. AND NONE OF YOU GUYS TOLD ME?!?!? I'M- 😭😭

(If I have a Nickel every time a Spanish character in Supa Strikas named themselves with 'THE' in Spanish, I have two nickels. Which isn't alot, but is weird it happened twice, right??)

ANYWAYS- I drew and finished this awhile ago. I've wanted to draw El Ariete for awhile until 2 weeks ago I had time. I'm very happy with the results of how it turned out!! :D (I almost give up half way because of the background- 💀 But I keep on going since I was almost finished with this. ✨Always trust the process~✨) (Also I hope the words are readable in the artwork- To make sure people can see it, I'll put description for the artwork Image on "ALT". :D )

Also, all of the coloring is done with color pencils (so is the lineart). That Inyo Fan Artwork I did awhile ago REALLY made an impression on me to experiment with my color pencils that I feel more comfortable to do lineart with it. I'm not sure it will be my go to for now on but it is more satisfying to do then do it with black pen-

ALSO!! I decided to draw him more rough around the edges and messy with his mustache and and pants. Because HE'S A RAPSCALLION PIRATE, GOSH DARN IT!!! IF HE EVER COMES BACK, START MAKING EL ARIETE MORE MESSY LOOKING, MOONBUG!!!! >:((((

(SKECTH OF THE ARTWORK)

(Thank you Younger me for taking this picture before I've colored it!! 🙏✨✨✨ Because I remember how I was so proud of it- 😭)

Hope this guy comes back in S8 or future Supa Strikas seasons if they get made. Really love that his strict, yet how INSANE those teaching methods are in the show- That pretty much what I'm sold of El Ariete as a character because how incredibly unpredictable his is. I would love him teach the other strikers, Klaus and El Matador for a change, or probably the mid-fielders, or teach Supa Strikas as a group for the next game. That would be chaotically fun for an episode-

(I found out there's a comic panel where El Ariete where's a beret and seems like shooting a film(????). I don't know if I'm missing some context and this is probably from the comic of "Return to the Pirate Tower S4E13" and it's just not in the show- [Also since I haven't finished reading the found comics- I SHOULD start reading and finishing them soon-] that being said, they should TOTALLY make an episode surrounding that premise and see how El Ariete handles in a movie set and just go BUCK WILD as a director- LMAO)

[mrschwartz]

Alex Turner for Rumore Magazine (September 2013)

Seventies Heads and Modern Loves or I Don't Know What I Want But I Surely Want You

by Elia Alovisi

Until he opens his mouth, Alex Turner looks like he stepped out of the Nevada desert. Leather loafers, a belt, slicked-back hair, sunglasses. But as soon as he starts talking, between “summat” instead of “something” and “me” instead of “my,” he transforms back into a boy from Sheffield who grew up on cocktails and DJ sets. The discrepancy between the way he looks and the way he speaks is strange: you would expect a cocky and arrogant rock star, but instead you have before you a relaxed and thoughtful boy who carefully measures his words, but does so with a smile and not a frown. The lyrics of AM, the fifth album of his band, mainly revolve around difficult and elusive women. There are many questions. “Do I want to know?” “Are you mine?” he says; “Why do you always call me when you’re high?” she says. There is no shortage of desires: “I want it all,” “I want to be yours.” Absent, however, are the answers. We tried to get a few out of him.

How was it to be back at Glastonbury as a headliner five years after the first time?

Fantastic. Absolutely wonderful, this time it was very natural. Everything was harder in 2007, we had done a lot less shows and had a lot less songs. Now we have learned to move better.

After the experience of Humbug, you collaborated again with Josh Homme.

Yes, Josh is on Knee Socks, towards the end of the piece. We gave him carte blanche and he decided to sing a sort of counter-melody that reminds me a lot of Bowie.

Are knee socks your favorite piece of underwear on a woman?

[Laughs] What do you think?

If she has the right legs.

Exactly, yes. The best is the garter. But then they would not be Parisian anymore, right? And then they are thicker than women's stockings. However they are not my favorite underwear, I go with the push-up.

In the lyrics of Arabella you talk a lot about the universe.

I wanted to use that linguistic palette to try to describe a woman. There are many songs that use those sorts of words… galaxy, interstellar, constellation, things like that, but usually they are used just for the sake of being used. Instead I wanted to make them an active part of a description, they are images that I find very interesting. In England, on the BBC, there is this program called Wonders of the Universe, with Professor Brian Cox. And it is one of my favorite programs [smiles, pleased].

Barbarella also pops up in the text.

Yes, although I haven't read practically any of her comics and I've only seen a small piece of the movie. I don't really like B movies. To know her, you just need to have seen a poster, that's all you need. I just used her to make a comparison with the costume she wears.

How does the suite you sing about in Fireside relate to room 505 in Favourite Worst Nightmare?

Yes, I’m talking about a suite in my heart… or in her heart? Well, in someone’s heart. Room 505, in my mind, is something very concrete. I wrote that song on a train between Philadelphia and New York, my girlfriend was in a hotel waiting for me and I just wrote about that [Turner’s voice becomes increasingly whispered as the sentence progresses]. In Fireside, however, it’s all figurative.

So how much of your real self is in your lyrics and how much is just imagination?

There's no rule, sometimes there's a lot of me in the lyrics when you least expect it. I put little secrets in them. What I try to avoid is that people who listen to one of my songs say, 'oh, he's talking about that girl'. You know when you read a novel and, somehow, in your mind you see its characters with the faces of some of your friends, or your favorite actors? That's where I want to get to with my music, I want it to be like being in front of a story, not the evidence of two people with a name and a surname who are kissing. It's up to the listener to give them both a face. When I write I pretty much always have someone or something in mind, but it doesn't really matter.

How did you come up with the idea of ​​using John Cooper Clarke's words for I Wanna Be Yours?

We wrote most of the songs on this record on a four-track that I got for my birthday. I spent a while recording ideas on it, sometimes we'd loop a bass and drum melody for five minutes and the fact that it was on tape gave it an incredible color. Then I'd sit there with headphones and a microphone humming melodies, or making up silly lyrics to start coming up with ideas. One day, while I was jamming, the words I wanna be yours came out and I remembered that they were the title of one of his poems. I thought it would be cool to use someone else's words – and especially his, I'm a big fan of his. It's one of my favorite songs on the record, the lyrics alone make it different from anything we've done before. And then I love the juxtaposition of the slow, sexy, flirtatious music and his words.

The party you talk about in No. 1 Party Anthem seems a lot more laid back than the ones you’ve talked about in the past, like the house in This House Is A Circus.

That’s true, but the parties we go to are still pretty messy. They’re just twice as long.

Am I supposed to be imagining some sort of indie celebrity party?

Indie celebrity party? [Laughs.] No, no, no. The slow tempo of that song gives it a bit of a Los Angeles feel. It’s a city that I’m told is very similar to what we’re portraying on the new record, and I’m starting to think that might be true. Not that it sounds like the Eagles, you know.

It's like your sound is becoming more and more American.

Yeah, maybe. There's something special about that part of the world. Everything that came out of California owes something to '70s rock, the spontaneity of those rhythms also comes back in West Coast hip-hop. But then came the fucking '80s and… a lot of fucking bands that don't fit into that theory. I think there will always be something English in our sound, it's something we can never detach ourselves from.

How much does Sheffield still mean to what you do?

Well, you know… [he taps two fingers on a tattoo on the inside of his arm: the Yorkshire rose and underneath it the word “SHEFFIELD”].

There are three songs on AM whose titles are questions.

You don't notice things like that until you sit there and write the titles of the songs one after the other. I hadn't noticed until then, there are also a lot of wanna.

The protagonist of R U Mine? is wrapped up in a certain western imagery, you portray her as “a lone cowboy riding in an open space.” And in All My Own Stunts you talked about “watching cowboy movies on gloomy afternoons.”

I love the western style. The leather ties, the belts… Hey, look at this one I’m wearing! [He stands up and shows me his leather belt, turning his back: it has “TURNER” engraved on it, on either side of the horseshoes.] A friend gave it to me for my birthday, this year was really nice, between this and the four-track. I also love western movies, especially the ones about Butch Cassidy. I also love Ennio Morricone’s soundtracks, obviously.

How do you usually celebrate your birthdays?

They’re nothing too devastating. I have a birthday in early January, everyone is still recovering from Christmas and New Year’s, so the average response I get is usually “forget it.”

Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High? brings back the drunken text messages you mentioned in The View From the Afternoon.

We've all done that at least once, come on. Those lyrics might have come off the first record, but the music is fully invested in what we're doing now. I just wanted to write something simple.

While we're on the subject: when was the last time you got bounced at the entrance of a nightclub? It's not like From The Ritz To The Rubble anymore, is it?

Shit, that was like four weeks ago! [Laughs.] We were in Stockholm, we were trying to get into an area of ​​the nightclub and there was no way we could get in.

What are those Mad Sounds you're talking about?

That song is about those moments when you put on a song and it's like it's talking about exactly how you feel. It's a song about those songs, and I hope it can become one of them. I get that feeling from some songs by Lou Reed, John Cale, or Harry Nilsson. It's like sometimes they really understand how I feel, and you're like, "What the fuck..." and you almost tell them to go fuck themselves.

The point where the song explodes is when you start singing a series of ooh-la-la-la. What is the la-la-la moment that sticks with you the most from the music you listen to?

Definitely the do-dodo-dodo-do-do-do-do from Walk on the Wild Side by Lou Reed.

By the way, who came up with the idea of ​​calling a song The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala? What does that mean?

It came up one day when we were making up names for guitar pedals – sometimes they have crazy names. The Blond-o-Sonic Shimmer Trap  would be perfect for a fuzz, for example. The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala, however, comes from a bar we hung out in a lot while we were writing the previous record. The room was full of glitter and there were a lot of weird chicks all winking, like cougars.

The lyrics to Snap Out of It revolve around hypnosis. Do you think there's any real power behind it or is it just persuasion?

I've never been hypnotised, but it all seems pretty real when you watch hypnotists on telly. There's this show in the UK where this guy, Derren Brown, gets people to do all sorts of things. Crazy stuff like, "rob someone!" Nothing I'd want to be involved with.

In I Want It All you say, “Leave me listening to the Stones 2000 light years from home.”

I’m actually a Beatles guy, no doubt. But I like them both, I saw the Stones at Glastonbury and it was great.

Don't you think it's better for a band to go at the top of their game than to keep going and going and risk having nothing left to say?

What the Stones have managed to do is really extraordinary. I mean, they're seventy years old and they're still on stage. It's very difficult to have an opinion on something like this because I don't think I've reached that level yet. I'm very excited about the new album, we've reached the point of being a good live band and, speaking as an artist, I think I've reached a certain excellence this time. I want to build on that, explore new things. We still have a lot of places to go.

I think the main difference between AM and your previous albums is the small amount of guitars.

This time we didn't want to sound like four guys playing in the same room, while that's exactly what we wanted to sound like in Suck It And See. We immersed ourselves in a more minimalist idea. The guitars are perfect, sometimes they don't even sound like guitars from the way they're played, or from the effects we put on them. They sound a bit "spacey," they would be good for the stereo of a flying saucer. Then we came out with some bass and drum parts perfect to be played at full volume through the speakers of a car. We also worked much more with the vocal lines, especially with the choirs.

There are actually a lot of songs where you put backing vocals and backing vocals, especially One For The Road.

Matt, Nick and I do them. Jamie is the only one who doesn't want to have anything to do with them. It all started with R U Mine? , the part where we all start going: [hums the backing vocals]. As soon as we tried that part we realized how good it sounded, we especially liked the fact that it was something we hadn't done before. So we just went for it.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Tell me, how do you feel about Werepapas, especially the flashbacks in that episode?

I'm not watching season six, but I have perused the Werepapas script, seen the backlash, and seen clips so I feel reasonably comfortable talking about it. I've got a werepapas salt tag if you want to know my thoughts about various things in the episode, but I haven't touched on the flashbacks so let's do that!

This episode has two flashbacks. It opens on the first one which shows Emilie and a much younger Adrien discussing the fact that Emilie no longer talks to her parents:

Adrien: So this mean you have a daddy and a mommy too? Émilie: Yes and they're your grandpa and grandma. Adrien: Where are they? Émilie: Far away. Adrien: Where is far away? Can we go there? Émilie: You know, Adrien, being a daddy or a mommy means loving your children more than anything in the world, and there are things that my daddy and my mommy… love more than me. (Adrien looks sad.) Things that sometimes make them… (Wipes tears.) not so good. That's why we never see them.

I find it kind of funny that this is the FIRST TIME we get to see a memory of Adrien interacting with his mother. It's basically the first time we get to see her interacting with anyone! Evolution doesn't count since she only says one word and the videos don't count because she's just a pre-recorded talking head giving rather impersonal dialogue. None of that gives you a sense of who she was as a person.

This kind of character-establishing content should have been in the earlier seasons for one very important reason: we now know that Emilie is never coming back and she is no longer anyone's driving motivation, so who she was no longer matters to the story. There is no reason to elevate her from a woman in a refrigerator to the role of an actual character.

It would be different if Emilie's memory was still influencing Adrien's character in major ways, but Adrien has canonically moved on so she's not haunting him. The fine details of their relationship don't change our understanding of his character. This episode isn't even about Emilie or her relationship with Adrien. It's about... we'll it's not really about anything - a problem we'll get to in a second - but the Emilie scenes seem to be there to let the audience know Emilie was okay with Nathalie replacing her.

That reveal doesn't come until the second flashback, though. This first flashback is just about establishing some random backstory elements for Adrien's childhood and establishing that Emilie didn't talk to her parents. In other words, this flashback was a bit of a waste of time. The grandparent thing could - and should - have been done in a throwaway line.

Why?

Because this episode is bloated and unfocused as hell! All of the following happens

We're introduced to four new characters (Adrien's grandparents)

Adrien's grandmother gets akumatized because she's sick of her husband controlling her (not other people, her)

The grandparents decide who gets custody over Adrien

Nathalie worries about replacing Emilie which is never really addressed

The writers "redeem" yet another rich asshole dad without any substance to that redemption

The writers try to do something dramatic with Adrien's amok rings even though the rings get nothing close to the attention they need for that sub plot to work

In other words, this is not the time to finally introduce us to Emilie and discuss how she felt about her parents! We don't have time for that!

[Image description: Fear from Pixar's Inside Out yelling "Boo! Pick a plotline!"]

It's not even like this flashback saved us from exposition later in the episode:

Adrien: I'm meeting my grandparents. Marinette: Woah, that's amazing! (Adrien doesn't answer. He looks sad.) What? Adrien: I'm not sure. I don't know them. I never even met them before. Marinette: Seriously? Adrien: My mom's parents… she didn't want us to see them. Marinette: Huh? But… why not? Adrien: She said they were mean. As for my father, he never even told me about his parents.

Not only does this dialogue rehash the opening scene, this is a better version of the opening scene! It's quicker, only involves established characters, lets us know Adrien's current feelings on the matter, and addresses both sets of grandparents. All of that is way more important than showing us Emilie crying over her parents at some point in the distant past. Her feelings on the matter don't matter because she's dead! Meanwhile Adrien's feelings do matter because this will actually effect the rest of his life. Focus on him, not her.

The only reason I'd include the opening scene is if Emilie's definition of a good parent came back:

Émilie: You know, Adrien, being a daddy or a mommy means loving your children more than anything in the world, and there are things that my daddy and my mommy… love more than me. (Adrien looks sad.) Things that sometimes make them… (Wipes tears.) not so good. That's why we never see them.

But it doesn't. Nathalie does not act like a loving parent in this episode. She doesn't make some meaningful sacrifice for Adrien or perform some major act of love to show that she's the best choice. Ladybug fights the akumas solo and Nathalie stays out of the way when as the four Grandparents fight over Adrien even though Adrien is obviously distressed. In other words, nothing about this episode made me think Nathalie was the best choice for Adrien in terms of quality. I actually like his paternal grandparents way more! They seem great! Give him to them!

No one even quotes Emilie's dialogue or references Emilie when picking Nathalie. This is the dialogue when Nathalie is chosen:

Nathalie: Adrien is not my son. I have no rights. Gabrielle: Like Jagged once said, "You is the one who loves him, so you is mom". Johnny: Did he really say that? Gabrielle: If he didn't, then he should. Nathalie: Is this really what you want? Adrien: (Hugs Nathalie) My life is here in Paris, with Marinette, my friends and you.

Based on this dialogue, the opening flashback should have featured Jagged Stone since his opinions on the matter are given infinitely more weight than Emilie's!

It's also worth noting that the grandparents most involved in this choice are not the grandparents who were causing all the problems. Emilie's father - Emil - was the main antagonist in the Adrien fight and he's silent throughout the whole exchange over Nathalie. He only enters the conversation after the Nathalie issue is decided and it's not to give his blessing. The blessing comes from his wife who was always fine with Nathalie being Adrien's new mom as you can see from this earlier dialogue:

Adrien: If I may, Lord Graham, I live with Nathalie. Emil: She's an employee, not family. She has no legal right to care for you, unlike us, (Nathalie hears the comment from outside the room and becomes sad) your mother's parents. Milly: Emil, dearest, Nathalie has known Adrien for so long that she's practically part of the family now. Emil: Milly, I'm talking! Keep your useless remarks to yourself!

Emil only becomes involved in the post-Nathalie-choice conversation so that his wife can reveal that he loves freaking French fries because for some reason that makes him a good person now? I'm serious, this is the extent of his redemption:

Johnny: There will even be fries – the Grassettes' specialty! Milly: Then we gladly accept your invitation. Emil: Honestly, Milly… Milly: Emil, stop it! Just admit it already, you love french fries! Gabrielle: Do you? Really? (Emil, embarrassed, gestures to say "sort of")

He apologizes for nothing save for a few comedic apologies during the akuma fight because the akuma's powers force him to physically fight. His awful words and treatment of others are never addressed.

What even was this episode??? It's a mess!!! I read the script multiple times to try to find a clear message or lesson, but there really isn't one. The fact that Gabriel's parents own a fast food empire gets more attention than the Graham de Vanilys' relationship with their deceased daughter even though she opens the freaking episode! Why do that if you're not going to give us a Graham de Vanilys family throughline where Emil shows a meaningful change of heart!

That ending scene really should have been Emil quoting his daughter to show that her cutting him off changed him or something along those lines, but nope! Emilie isn't even referenced outside of the flashbacks save for that one line from Adrien explaining why he doesn't know his maternal grandparents and Nathalie's claim that she can't replace "Adrien's mother". Both things that did not require Emilie to suddenly be an actual character to work.

Final verdict: a flashback like the opening one could be an unnecessary-but-nice addition to an episode that has time for it, but Werepapas did NOT have time for baby Adrien learning about his grandparents! Werepapas needed to be a much more focused 45-minute-long special so that it had time to make at least one of its main ideas work! Even then I'd still cut this flashback unless you made the Graham de Vanilys' family issues the main focus AND had Emilie be an important part of why her father gave up on controlling Adrien.

This is running long, so we're going to end here and save flashback two for tomorrow. You'll even get a third post on how this episode massively retconned the timeline for Emilie's illness.

[chaos-interwoven]

aftg floor plans pt.2

i know i said i would be making the homes in california next however that was actually just me pulling a neil josten so instead here are some more places from the first three books because i had their images in my head and moving chronologically called to me

perhaps most importantly is the monster's home in columbia. i am not sure if the books actually say this is a split level home but it makes sense to me and i have picked up on nora liking split level homes from multiple descriptions so that's what it is. we know nicky's room is on the first floor and so is the bathroom which means aaron and andrew are upstairs. andrew's room being second seemed right because its farther from the front door and because of the vague way my brain played out that scene of him coming downstairs before going to easthaven. not sure if i love that there's only one bathroom but we don't learn of a second one and i honestly don't think nicky could have afforded the jump in price a second bathroom would bring

okay. this one is painful. and for the record, i am sorry. but its mentioned so here it is. as you can tell i didn't want to or feel the need to fully fill in this house. i just added enough so that you can vaguely get the point and put labels for the rest. mainly i just did the kitchen, the back screened in porch where they ate, and that cursed bedroom. again, i am sorry. we're moving on to something more fun though don't worry

spring break cabin!!! this was so much fun, i cannot even begin to tell you. and okay, i know they were there for only a week so like what does it matter but it matters to me. this space is so cozy and caved out in my head that i just had to do it. the tan is the inside and the grey is the porch which we know to be in the back and on one of the sides. ignore how i didn't really put anything on the porch... i was kinda stuck beyond the hot tub. but this place is hugeeeee like oh my god. we have the large living room around the fireplace, the ginormous kitchen, the cute back room that is mentioned to have pool and foosball, and of course, our favorite, the bedroom neil and andrew stay in. ngl i struggled a bit with that bedroom's layout but this is what we ended up with

okay, second floor. according to neil, the four upstairs bedrooms are placed in each of the corners which made it a bit difficult and definitely interesting to do. because of this, i gave two of them a jack and jill style bathroom. in my mind, it makes sense for the two bedrooms sharing a bathroom to be given to nicky, kevin, and aaron. i think kevin being the drama queen he is would get his own and nicky and aaron would share but honestly aaron could be with either. and of course matt and dan are together and allison and renee are in the last one. each room has a door to the wrap around porch but it made sense to me for the open areas to have access too. and speaking of the open areas i made one a mini lounge because apparently there are multiple fire places and i had to put the second one somewhere and the other has desks because i didn't put them in any of the rooms. i mean it is a vacation home, why would they need desks in their rooms?

i swear i will actually do the cali homes next. i have sketches of them in my notebooks but haven't fully fleshed them out online like the rest. but they exist and i have already scoured the books to piece them together so hopefully it won't take ten years but then again, it is finals season and i have so so many essays to do so we will see.

oh and, i have about half of wymack's apartment done in the sims and while it's a struggle to be era accurate, it's very cute and fun

pt. 1 pt. 3 (cali)

[thetravelingmaster]

Reasons Why you Should Check Out ROM

(readonlymind.com)

I've done a similar posts before for this site when I first joined up ROM as an author, but I feel like it deserves a little boost and some visibility out here as one of the many sites where one can enjoy erotic mind control literature. And also, because I'm a little selfish! I figure that if more people know about it, there's going to be more erotic stories to read.

Back when I joined, thanks to @arihi 's post on the matter during the 2018 tumblrapocalypse, I believe that there were barely 150 authors that published on the site, but as of today, that number has risen to 446. The list keeps growing and so does the variety of stories available.

Much like mcstories.com, the site is very easy to navigate and search through, even if you aren't 'logged in' as an author or reader. It offers us simple ways to search out and find the stories or authors we most want to read about. They've done an awesome job with the tag system so that regardless of which story you are reading, you can click on a tag to see what other stories that have the same theme.

It's a lot like a porn site actually, but for mind control themes.

And speaking of the tags...

The search function is rather advanced. Not only can you click a specific tag to see which stories have them, but you can also use the 'advanced search' to combine them and refine your search. You can add as many as you want to really find out if a specific theme is available. In fact you can also exclude tags to make sure you only get the stories you truly want.

Of course, when you do find a story you like, the author name will be a link to their page, which will list their stories as well as an introduction about themselves if they chose to add one. Since the site is all about open discussion, they accept self promotion so you can expect to find contact information on authors you like or even a link to other sites they post on.

Another very useful thing you'll find on their page, which I haven't seen on any other MC site before, is the 'story suggestion' link. There, you'll find all the stories the author recommends.

I've found that it's a great way to discover other authors because if you enjoy someone's writing, there's also a good chance you'll enjoy reading the stories they've enjoyed and recommended. Plus, if the author is so inclined, they can do more than just list off a bunch of stories, but also add a comment as to why they enjoyed it. I personally try to always add a little something to entice those that end up on my list.

Another feature I truly enjoy as an author is the fact that you can always go back an edit your stories because you always have full control of what is posted. Honestly, if I had discovered this before I opened up my own website, there would have been no need for me to do it. Although, I might have been a little disappointed about the fact I couldn't add the lovely images that inspire me so much... hehehe

But regardless, as an author that has many stories with many chapters, I've quickly discovered how easy it is to organize my stories because I can add a new chapter to an existing story, which is great because the reader doesn't have to look for previous chapters. Plus, you can add titles and even small descriptions to each, which will show up in the story index. In addition, you always get a word count for each chapter (or full story in the story list) so you know how long it should take you to get through it.

Speaking of readers, the site offers a little more than just a well organized and searchable site.

Well... If you register that is!

You don't have to post anything though, so registering is simply like creating an account. What you get for registering are a few fun bonuses like the ability to 'snap' a story you liked. Which is basically the equivalent of a 'like' here on tumblr. As an author, it's always a great inspiration to add chapters when I notice that one of my stories becomes popular and I know readers want more. It's also a great indicator for readers, as you well know!

Another bonus you get by registering is being able to comment on each chapter. I love the comments section because it not only gives me the ability to get feedback, but it also allows registered people to tag each other and reply to comments. As an added bonus, once you register, you get access to a notification page and if someone's replied or tagged you, you'll be notified there.

Speaking of notifications...

As an author, I get a bunch of notifications every time a user 'snaps' one of my stories, leaves a comment or recommends it to others. But as a reader, I can also 'follow' specific authors and be notified when ever they publish a new story or add a chapter to an existing one. But hey, that could be bothersome too so you ALSO have the option of just following ONE specific story so you are sure to know when the latest chapter drops. I'll admit, I use this option a lot!

Another option you may notice in the above image is the 'Read Later' option. I've used that as both a place to list off stories I like to read multiple times, as well as the obvious happenstance where I find a good one I want to read, but don't have the time.

As you ALSO may have notice, there are well known authors publishing their stories there too. @scifiscribbler, @jukeboxemcsa, @darthkyra, @ellaenchanting, @hypnoticharlequin and @skaetlett, to name a few you might know from tumblr.

If you can't get enough of reading MC stories, then this site will definitely help to feed your cravings. It's still relatively new and small when compared to others, but so far, it's proven its potential for growth.

The more the merrier

TM

[illusivewritings]

♡ fallen (into you) - genji x fem!talon!reader

chapter 1: familiar, but different

series masterlist coming soon

synopsis: genji runs into an unexpected old friend while on a mission. however, it seems fate never likes to play within the shimada’s cards.

warnings: canon-like violence, angst?, mentions of kidnapping/disappearance, reader is badass bcs i said so, genji is a d1 yearner

a/n: hiii my loves!! i originally wrote this with an oc of mine in place of ‘y/n’— but i’m being self indulgent rn, lolol. i also have this written in my more… serious? descriptive? writing style so i hope u guys still like it <3

##fic below the cut! ##

"You look..." He pauses, sizing up her new self. An entirely different person from the glamorous paradise called childhood. One he hasn't yet become acquainted with yet, a stranger from the past; "Different."

A forced laugh left her throat, still circling around him like a vulture. The short heels of her boots were heavy with every step. Loud thumps with every stride echoing through the room, done on purpose. To scare him, perhaps? Assert dominance over the situation? He wasn't sure. Nor was he faltering.

"And you think you don't?"

Her voice. God, her voice. Sweet like honeydew, dripping off every word she said. Velvety and collected, confident, dangerous. Attractive. He knew better though, one taste of such a forbidden fruit- especially right now- would make him a corpse. Now wasn't the time to mend old wounds or reopen old scars that long healed. She was filled with poison, and her intentions were clear.

To kill him using it.

She was right though, Genji had no place to talk regarding looks. Behind the cold visor that shielded his face, his scarred skin served as a permanent reminder of just how different he'd look from decades ago. (Tilting his head slightly, a fleeting thought wondered if he should take it off, as the woman encircling him did with her own; his rational side decided against it.) Yes, her looks were slightly contradictory compared to memories of the past, but by heavens, was she still beautiful. If it were any other situation, the cyborg knows he would have turned to stone under such a siren's gaze.

Unfortunately it felt like someone was using a mask, puppeteering the image of an old friend. To toy with him, perhaps? Was this the universe's way of punishing him once more, as if the stars haven't already pushed him to the point of no return once? As a sick joke, was it going to happen once more? Genji didn't want to know. He wish he never had to know. He always did.

The man stayed silent, hand gripping the base of his katana like a lifeline. The crushing wave of emotions was enough, he needed to get what she had. The USB. I have to stick to the mission.

"Hm?" She tilted her head, halting her circulation to look up at the metal man in front of her. "Oh, were you looking for this?" Dangling the USB in front of him, she giggled. It sounded so foreign coming from her. The sound was not filled with warmth or joy this time, but rather malice and mockery.

Unsurprisingly it was still his favorite sound, despite the bitter taste it left atop his tongue.

Among the still room, with no reaction from the still as a statue ninja, she groaned. "You've gotten so boring, my love. What happened to you?"

Within seconds Genji drew his blade out and charged at her, shurikens already flying within microseconds.

Although this just seemed to entice her, as she was much faster. Scarily quicker than he. Dodging every one of the metal weapons he threw, catching one between her fingers and throwing it right back at him.

What the fuck? He didn't even have time to think that before it scratched his visor. Ok, whatever, just a scratch. Maybe Angela could fix it later. He once again swung his sword at the agile woman, getting her a few times, a swift exchange of his blade and her metal claws clashing and clinging within the room; a few computers breaking and falling to the ground with her pouncing and dodging almost every swing. It was like trying to pick up a very unruly cat, fighting her. Genji was growing more irritated by the second, he saw no other option left, he was going to unleash his blade; use the aid of his dragon.

He had to act fast; throwing his shurikens at her but purposefully missing, she takes a moment to look at them and mock him– maybe– and– there.

He hooked his ankle under hers and made her fall to the ground in one swift move. Which undoubtedly caught her by surprised judging by the "wah!" that escaped her lips. It would have been funny, if this wasn't a fight for crucial information stored in the USB she had. He couldn't mess up. He shouldn't.

Bringing down his sword to go for the shoulder connected to the arm that held the small drive, victory was at the tip of his fingers, then-

Cling!

Her claws met his blade.

She stopped his attack. His sword was in her hands, her claws bared.

"Aww, Genji," She cooed, a fake feign of embarrassment coating her words. "If you wanted to get on top of me so bad, all you had to do was ask."

Guard completely down by his plan backfiring, the woman then kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying backwards into the wall that was close by. The wind was knocked out of his lungs, causing him to struggle to breathe as he slid slowly to the floor. Fuck.

"Although, I do prefer to be taken out to dinner first." She crossed her arms and cupped her face in her USB-free hand, as if she was thinking. "I thought you already knew that, no?"

Walking towards Genji slowly, a giggle that bubbled within her throat was released; doubling over into a fit of hysterical laughter.

It sent a chill down the injured man's spine.

"Y'know what, Genji?" She crouched down to his level when she reached him, gently taking off his visor for him. If not for the shock and war going on in his chest- heart and lungs- he would have stopped her. If it was anyone else that had done this to him, he would have acted differently. This would have gone any other way. "Let me see you, it's been so long, old friend."

With the green light faded and his visor fully off of his face, she stared at him as she quietly set it down next to her. Aura around her completely different now. Facade of cockiness and mischief gone in an instant. The laughter had long subsided. Face now painted with nothing on it, a blank canvas. What she was thinking, he couldn't tell. With the faint twitch of her eyebrows wanting to come together, the slight widening and softening of her eyes, how her lips inched upwards for just a second... it was hard to decipher. If he was able to guess, a picture of bittersweetness would be brushed upon her face. She looked away for a moment.

The sound of a zip and slight clank was heard, the hand that took off his visor was bare; free from the glove she had on.

(E/c) eyes back to focusing on him, her hand went up to brush through his soft hair, then move down to his face. Genji's breathing was stable by now, a hitch within his rapid breaths as she lightly traced the scars on his face. Her touch was gentle, caring in a way; and for a moment Genji forgot the situation they were both in. Oh, how he wanted to lean into the touch. Her hand was so soft. He missed this feeling. He missed her.

But... this wasn't her. It wasn't his childhood best friend, his partner in crime, his first love.

This wasn't (Y/n), he has to remind himself.

After a few minutes passed, she finally spoke up.

"Fate was cruel to both of us, it seems." Her voice was barely above a whisper, hurt laced within her words. But Genji heard. And he agreed, nodding his head.

"It still shows to have a disliking for us." He managed to voice.

A full, dishearteningly bittersweet smile bloomed onto her face. His heart ached at the sight.

Genji was at peace with a lot of things in his life.

With the help of his dear master Zenyatta, and the supportively helpful people around him even all those years ago before Overwatch first fell; Genji was able to come to terms and accept everything of his past. He wanted to always strive to improve; to be something he wasn't when he was younger.

He was at peace with what had happened between him and his older brother; forgiving his sibling for what had happened. He has healed and come to love and accept himself within the form he was lucky to be in now. Genji also came to accept that he would never to have known what happened to (Y/n), so many moons ago. Before everything, before his father had even died. Before Hanzo was instructed to murder him. Before he was saved and rebuilt. Before everything.

(Y/N) (L/n) had gone missing.

No one knew, not even her parents. No amount of press coverage, media outlets covering her- the only daughter of a disgustingly rich family- disappearance managed to bring out her captors. If she even was kidnapped, that was. It was a mystery, an enigma to how someone as protected and looked after as her was just... gone. Some theorized it was a planned murder by the family. Some simply thought it was a kidnapping, the captors too stubborn to let her go; or even had some unclear motive to do so yet.

(Y/n) and Genji were just 18 when that happened.

But now, here she was. The missing teenage daughter, now grown into a woman, rivaling Genji as his enemy. In the worst case scenario possible. And that... that stirred Genji's soul. It hurt, in such a great amount.

"I'll be keeping these," Her soft voice snapping him back to the present as she moved from her current position. Getting up, she slipped the USB in a pocket  of her jumpsuit and attached Genji's visor on her belt, replacing her own she took off earlier. Slipping it back over her face, she started to walk towards an open window, stilling her movement for a moment to look back at the black haired man; his own face bare.

Genji himself stood up, not making any effort to actually stop her. He'd lost this fight, he knew that. He knew that as soon as she'd taken off her coverage and showed her face.

"Until we meet again." He pursed his lips slightly, brows knitting together with blended emotions. "(Y/n)."

He could hear her laugh, completely lifeless this time. "Of course, my dear friend."

With that, she jumped out of the window. Presumably with skill because when he went to look out, he saw her frame illuminated by the moonlight, running swiftly across rooftops of the buildings.

Looking back to where he was, Genji saw something glint in the dark room. Walking over to where (Y/n) stole his beloved visor (Angela's definitely going to kill him for that, he thinks), he saw her glove laying on the floor. Bending down to pick it up, Genji examined it carefully as he stood. It was smaller than his own hand, obviously, but who knew she could even wield a weapon? Especially as well as she did fighting him... and... claws? Really?

The ones on this glove were retracted. It was such an intricate design, knowing Talon they always suited their agents with the best. Unfortunately. It made his job harder, yeah, but Genji wasn't someone who backed down from a challenge.

Usually.

With tonight's mission bust being an exception.

He hated that there was a very small part of him that was calmed; at ease because yes, (Y/n) was indeed alive. After so long, she was confirmed to actually be breathing. Not only that, but she was capable to fight for herself. However, it was greatly disheartening to know that (Y/n) would be fighting against his own. Against Overwatch. Against him.

"Genji? It's been over 3 hours– how do you copy?"

The familiar sound of Winston's voice rang through Genji's earpiece.

Genji clutched the glove in his hand. Raising his hand to the piece, he replied; "I'm alright. Few scratches here and there, and... I may need a new visor."

"What!?" Angela's disbelief was heard in the background, causing the ninja to laugh a bit.

"And the USB?" Winston pressed.

He didn't know bow to respond. Walking out of the abandoned building, he said his words between breaths as he ran up buildings and rooftops. "Stolen. A new Talon agent took it from me before I was able to retrieve it." He then quickly added, "My apologies." After hearing Winston's sigh.

"Are you able to give us intel about this new agent and what happened when you get back?" he asked.

"Of course.”

***

"Ay, chiquita, you did it!" Sombra wrapped her arms around (Y/n) as she gracefully accepted the USB from her friend. "I know Reyes won't say it but I'm very proud of you. Your first mission by yourself too, girl!"

"Thank you," (Y/n) smiled, accepting the hug and sighing. "Also, stop calling me that! You're shorter than everyone here, y'know."

Letting go, Sombra simply stuck her tongue out at (Y/n). "Yeah, and?" The two shared a laugh, the purple haired woman patting the other's back before continuing, "Oh, Moira said she needed to see you for something. Piernas didn't specify why though." She shrugged.

"Ah," An uneasy feeling formed in the pits of (Y/n)'s stomach. Of course Moira needed to see her. What lovely timing the doctor had, she just wanted to report to Reyes and recover from tonight. Physically, emotionally, and mentally. "Thanks for telling me, I'll be heading to her lab then."

Sombra caught the look that flashed across her dear friend's face. She knew it all to well, and felt bad for her really. "Good luck and let me know if you need anything, yeah?"

The (h/c) haired woman murmured a silent thanks and bid goodbye with a wave as she headed over to the dreadful geneticist's lab.

She can only wonder what Moira wanted.

She'd rather wonder that than let her mind trail off to a certain Shimada.

————

a/n: hii!!! i hope u enjoyed this story!! i’ve had it sitting in my drafts for almost one? two? years… again, this was originally all my ow oc x genji BUUT… i wanted to turn it into a genji x reader bcs i thought it would be more fun (i have genji and lifeweaver brainrot sooo bad rn…)

anyway! tysm for taking the time to read <3 i hope to see you in the next chapter! ♪(๑ᴖ◡ᴖ๑)♪

[homelanderbutbig]

A Big Little Baby In Your Lap (G/T Homelander x Reader)

1575 words. Pure fluff. Homelander is 8 feet tall. Reader is non-descriptive. Established relationship.

Homelander is sulking because he wants head scratches but your couch is too small for him.

You and Homelander have been dating for a few months, relishing in the moments you are able to spend together following him around as his 'personal assistant'. But this meager quality time wasn't enough for him, and next thing you knew you were getting your own private office. Not so much because you needed one, but so the two of you could spend more time alone, away from the spying eyes at Vought.

Your office is nothing special, but it's spacious enough for a desk to work from, and for a couch that Homelander was adamant on you having. Although one would assume that it's for meetings with your 'boss', it's really just so he can cuddle with you whenever he wants. But currently you only have a regular human-sized couch; Ashley had to order a custom one built for his size, which is taking time to complete.

One day while you are typing away on your laptop, your door flies open as Homelander storms into your office. He makes sure to lock the door behind him before he starts pacing angrily in front of your desk.

"I work with the most incompetent bunch of fuckwits imaginable," he snarls, gesturing wildly at nobody in particular. He has been working himself up into a state, and he needs to tell someone about it. "It's like they don't even think of how their fuck-ups effect me. My ratings. MY image."

Realizing you aren't going to be getting any more work done at the moment, you sigh and close your laptop. You keep your eyes on him as you stand up out of your chair, walking over to lean on the front of your desk. It's not really worth interrupting him when he's in the middle of a rant, even if you have no idea who he's talking about. You'd rather let him get it all out of his system.

During his tirade he happens to look over at your couch. Homelander finally stops his pacing as he lets out an aggravated breath, nearly sounding like a growl. He came into your office so you could snuggle with him and soothe his worries, expecting that Ashley would've gotten off her ass to ensure the new couch would have been built by now. Instead, he is again let down by everyone he puts an ounce of faith in.

"A-and they still haven't finished the fucking couch?!" he scoffs, all of this disappointment is starting to be too much for him to handle. His eyes twitch uncontrollably even when he squeezes them shut, while his breathing becoming more ragged. "I-I'm going to kill Ashley. I-I-I'm going to f-fucking KILL her."

"Hey, hey, hey," you say, coming closer to him to press your hands onto his thighs. His stuttering is a dead giveaway that he is overwhelmed, and it's your cue to step in. "It's okay honey," you console him, putting more pressure on his legs to redirect his focus back onto you. "Give me your hands."

Not wanting to lose control of himself in front of you, Homelander does his best to rein in his temper like you taught him with deep breaths through his nose. He brings his hands down for you to hold, feeling himself relax slightly once your precious fingers entwine with his own.

"Why don't you come lie down with me?" you ask, guiding him to walk over to the couch with you. Although he very easily could, he does nothing to fight against your gentle directions. "It looks like you need a break right now."

"I won't… I won't fit," he grumbles, staring down but avoiding eye contact with you.

"We'll make it work. Trust me," you reassure him, letting go of his hands to take your place at the end of the couch. He watches uneasily as you pat the cushion next to you, encouraging him to lie down.

Tensing his jaw, Homelander swallows hard from his building anxiety. Hesitantly, he steps over to the couch and tries to position himself so he can rest his head on your lap. However, he can't get comfortable on this tiny piece of furniture. His shoulders are scrunched up because they are too wide for the cushion, leaving him awkwardly holding his arms up to his chest. His legs are too long so his knees are bent overtop of the armrest, letting his feet touch the floor.

"Th-this isn't working!" he grumbles frustratedly, stumbling through his words. He can feel himself getting riled up again; nothing ever works out right for him. "I-I…I-I'm too big."

"Shhhh, shhhhh," you hush as you start petting Homelander's hair, which is surprisingly soft despite the product he uses. "Everything's alright sweetheart."

He calms almost instantly from your delicate contact, but you can sense he is still holding onto some stress, like there is something else that he is after. Something he's trying to be discreet about, but unfortunately for him, you can read him like a book.

"I think a certain supe is hoping for something," you sing playfully, using your index finger to follow along the contour of his ear. Chills run down his spine from your tantalizing touch; even though he hates how easily you can figure him out, he wouldn't trade this unspoken connection with you for anything in the world.

You chuckle when Homelander fixes his gaze on you, failing to hide the anticipation bleeding through his body language. His eyes are glued wide open, his lips are trembling… he is wringing his hands together and bouncing one of his legs off the ground.

"I don't knooow…" you tease, using your index finger to lightly scratch behind his ear. He whines at your bewitching tactility, quickly losing what little composure he was holding onto.

"Ple… p-please," he begs, looking like he is about to cry as he rubs his head pathetically into your chest. You know you shouldn't be so cruel to him when he's this vulnerable with you, but sometimes you can't help yourself. He's just so cute when he's like this, a big little baby in your lap.

Gracefully, you use your nails to glide along Homelander's undercut, redirecting ever so often to scratch the sweet spots on his scalp that you know he loves. He quickly unravels from your touch, whimpering and moaning at your god-given expertise. He closes his eyes while your intimate caresses take over all of his senses, becoming his sole reason for existing.

"Mmmmm…" he purrs, leaning his head further into your upper body. You can feel yourself vibrating from the low rumblings coming from him. Every little noise he makes resonates straight through to your core, enhanced even moreso by him burying his face as close into you as possible.

Homelander finally repositions his arms from his chest, letting one drop audibly to the ground while the other lifts up to grip the back of the couch. At first he tries to keep his strength in check, but you seem keen on making him fall apart at the seams with each drag of your fingers. Slowly but surely, you hear the all too familiar sound of the couch's wooden frame splitting under his hand as he becomes consumed by your affection. He's lucky that you're getting a new couch anyways, otherwise he'd be getting quite a scolding for wrecking your office furniture.

As much as you'd like to do this for him longer, you notice on your wall clock how much time has passed since he first barged into your office. He has an interview scheduled in a half an hour, and as his personal assistant, you need him to be ready and on-time.

Gingerly, you stop your scratches to give Homelander a light tap on his temples. He slowly opens his eyes to look up at you, entirely glazed over from how docile you've made him.

"See? I told you we'd make it work," you remark, planting a kiss on his forehead.

With a faint hum of acknowledgement, he gives you a soft smile in thanks before nuzzling his head back into you. All he really wants now is to rest, listening to your heart rhythmically beating a steadfast melody just for his ears.

"But we both have to get going soon, sweetie," you comment, rolling your eyes. You tap his head again to indicate you haven't quite made your point yet. "We have to be on the set of the Cameron Coleman Hour in thirty minutes."

That jolts Homelander out of his contentment pretty fast. You can see how upset he is to hear that your cuddle session has come to an end, but he isn't one to neglect his schedule. Instead, he decides to conclude your 'meeting' by returning the love you've given him.

Before you can react, he envelops you in his arms and stands back up to his full height. You laugh as he peppers your face with kisses; your nose, cheeks, ears, forehead… he makes sure no part is left unloved. He concludes his appreciation with a heartfelt kiss on your lips, taking in your warmth just as you melt into his. You always make him feel so loved, and he can never put into words how happy it makes him to see you have the same reaction… like you really understand him.

After his interview with Cameron Coleman, Homelander makes sure Ashley gets that new couch in your office the next day.

[wickedviago]

NICE LITTLE THINGS

I was tagged by @fenrelmercar @josiesruffles @amellderiva @casa-dei-corvei (and I hope I didn't forget anyone else) THANK YOU GUYS I LOVE YOU!!!🤍🤍🤍

Rules: Choose 10 objects that you will place in the room of your Rooks on the places intended for customization. These should be small objects that can be placed in the following places: 2 on the tables by the doors, 2 on the tables by the aquarium, 4 on the bookcases and 2 on the walls. Attach a photo of these objects and give a short description of why your Rooks chose them.

Aurora de Riva

Thank you for this picture of Rory @fenrelmercar!

This is her room prior to the eclipse.

Tables by the door (x2)

A wolf statuette

Okay, yes, she stole one of the wolf statuettes after they'd found each and every one of them. Why? She thought it looked nice in her room. And definitely not because she needed to imagine it was there to serve as a reminder of all her own regrets.

Brona's Bloom

These flowers brought so much joy and hope to the Wardens, and Rory took a bouquet so that maybe she could have a little bit of hope in her room too.

Tables by the aquarium (x2)

A dagger

Viago gave this dagger to her when she turned 15. He'd said: "Even if you turn out to be the best mage in Thedas, you should always have another means of protection with you." Safe to say Rory always carries her favourite mageknife and this dagger with her just in case.

A Crow mask

Even if the road as a Crow has been filled with ups and downs, she wouldn't change a thing about who she's become. And lets be honest, she kind of owes her life to the Crows (mostly to Viago).

Bookshelves (x4)

Swords & Shields

Rory has the newest book of the series that she has re-read countless times. She usually hides this somewhere between the other books, but whenever she's carrying it with her a small glamour spell makes it look like a plain history book. Varric may or may not have signed ''the suspicious history book'' soon after they'd started their mission together.

The letter from Viago

Rory hadn't heard from Viago in months until a letter reached her. The familiar seal and handwriting made her step away from her new friends for a moment to calm her racing thoughts before she finally read through the letter.

A bottle of wine

Lucanis gifted her a bottle of red wine after Caterina had named him First Talon. Aurora's first reaction was to refuse since the bottle looked expensive and old—probably from the Dellamorte wine cellar—but Lucanis would not take 'no' as an answer, since she'd done so much to help him. Rory has yet to open it as she's still waiting for the right moment.

Candles

A warm light for reading. And answering all those letters that are piling up everywhere around her room.

Walls (x2)

A mirror with a tiny crack

Not that she spends a lot of time looking into a mirror, but there are moments when she studies herself, as if she's forgotten who she is or rather doesn't recognise who she's become.

A tiny sketch of her and Viago

The latest addition in her room, given to her by Bellara who'd been with her when she last went to Treviso to talk things over with Viago. There had been a moment—hidden behind rows of bookcases and prying eyes—which Bellara somehow stumbled upon. Aurora had blushed, Viago had modestly (and hurriedly) excused himself, and Bellara had donned the biggest smile. The sketch had been placed on her chaise a day later.

I didn't add the sketch of her and Viago since 1) I can't draw & 2) I didn't want to take anything from pinterest. All the other images I used were from pexels, pinterest + a few of my own screenshtos.

Since I'm so late to do this, I'm sorry if I'm tagging someone who has already done it (it's been a long week & I haven't had the time to lurk on tumblr as much as I usually do): @lostiel @miraabellee @rook-de-rivas @trash-nerd @starlightchaser @junebug-the-blind (& everyone else who wants to do this)🤍

[marinsawakening]

alright before I forget again. This may or may not be anything but it's certainly vaguely interesting to me (these are not necessarily in order)

general thoughts about zelda and paya, as well? I really don't think they'd ever interact in an interesting way as they are, but I dearly wish they would

[Images: Screenshots of Zelda and Paya from Breath of the Wild. Zelda says, bitterly: "I've spent every day of my life dedicated to praying! I've pleaded to the spirits tied to ancient gods..." Paya says: "I spend my days praying so that no disaster befalls the people or the village," and "I was just polishing the guardian deities. I... I'm afraid doing stuff like this is the only thing I can do to help you." End description.]

Ooooh good catch! Definitely interesting, has some neat potential... Parallels.......

I agree Paya and Zelda are unlikely to interact in any particularly interesting way as they are, BUT I do think about them a good bit bc. Imagine meeting your grandma's dearest friend, the primary subject of her lifelong loyalty, the old princess of a ruined kingdom who has been locked in battle with evil itself for a century, and it's a girl your age who seems to be hanging by a thread mentally. She spends an entire evening furiously writing notes on the fireflies outside before moving on to the koi in your pond. She has in-jokes with your grandma referencing people and things she's never told you about.

And also POV your best friend and loyal subject (combo that makes ur relationship Weird) is old now and she has a granddaughter your age. This granddaughter has clearly built you up as a mythic hero in her head and you really wonder what Impa told her about you, how that happened. She is like 60% anxiety by volume, spends her time caring for the statues of deities around the village, and is stressed about not being good enough to be the future leader. You're trying not to project but you REALLY want to know how that happened. Your best friend fixes her granddaughter's hair the way you've seen her own grandparents do, while the granddaughter goes beet red the way your friend used to.

I just think it'd be a bit stressful and very surreal for the both of them. Their shared connection of Impa, a woman they both have very different relationships with, is very interesting to me. How much has Impa changed in the last century? What mistakes has she made that now haunt her and her family? What triumphs Zelda missed have defined her life? How have her priorities shifted since she was a teenager loyal to the princess, and how haven't they? How has she remembered Zelda and Hyrule?

Zelda and Paya's relationship is going to depend a lot on the answers to these questions, and I think it's very easy to come up with something interesting. With these screenshots, for example, you could conclude Paya has had an upbringing not dissimilar to Zelda, that Impa has followed in the footsteps of Rhoam, something Zelda would have to deal with. Likewise, you can say that though their upbringings were similar, Paya was shown more support and more freedom, that Impa deliberately avoided Rhoam's flaws bc she's seen what they'd done.

Zelda is a dead friend and mythological hero reappearing, and Paya is evidence of time passed and a life lived while she was away. I think they could have some very fun things to work out.

[writingquestionsanswered]

Hello! Small question, how would one go on to portray panicked rambles? I have a character who is afraid of the dark who has to escape with his friend through a dark cave, but as I was trying to write his panicked pleadings, they came across as flat and rational due to how the dialoge is written. I tried to make it feel rushed by conjoing some of the words together, but it looked a bit odd to me. Do you have any tips?

Writing a Panicked Ramble

Some things to keep in mind:

1 - Make sure there's context for the panic. Whether you lay the foundation for that panic ahead of time, or have to build to it in the moment, it's important that the reader has context for why this character is panicked. Otherwise, something like, "This is fine, I'm okay, there's nothing lurking in the shadows..." just falls flat. Why is this person panicking about being in the dark cave? Are they afraid of what may be in the cave? Are they afraid due to a past bad experience in a cave--or maybe just in darkness? Do they have some underlying fears that are being triggered? Again, you can lay these out ahead of time or use dialogue and thought to explore them in the moment.

2 - Use thought, emotion, and physical cues to add dimension. Dialogue on its own, even with context, doesn't go as far as dialogue that is bolstered by the character's thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations and body language. "This is fine, I'm okay, there's nothing lurking in the shadows..." he chanted to himself as images of hungry cave bears and rabid bats played through his mind. Every shifting shadow or far off noise sent cold fear slithering down his spine. His teeth chattered when he finally managed, "Are we almost out?" See how much more expressive that was?

3 - Make sure the environment/situation fits the reaction. Sometimes a character's reaction falls flat because we don't do a good enough job illustrating the things they're supposed to be reacting to. For example, if you haven't done a good job describing this dark cave and the things that are triggering the character's fears, their panic isn't going to feel warranted. You can do the work of describing the environment or situation as they get into it, or if necessary, as it's being experienced. And, if the character's reaction is supposed to feel unwarranted... for example, maybe they're panicking as though they're in a dark, scary cave, but they're not, then you can use other characters, dialogue, and description to offset what the character thinks they're experiencing versus what they're actually experiencing.

Happy writing!

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[voidcat]

Do u think they’ll permanently kill off the heirs + anaxa? :(

HI ANON!!!! to put it shortly i think it's a yes and no: not the best example but similar to the case of Misha/Mikhail Char Legwork (and maybe tingyun;/fugue in the case of some others)

considering the aeons that look over amphoreus (remembrance with its lightcones and memories, destruction with its pathsiders who have a tricky relationship with "death" and erudition with the simulated universe and its inorganic origins) & the similarities the world and its various elements seems to be having to genshin's tevyat, i am suspecting the world to be stuck in a cycle--

like how tevyat is stuck in a cycle of samsara and relives events over and over again (the abyss twin telling us to reach the end of our journey, our various encounters proving/showing us that we are following in the steps of the abyssal twin: ie: aranaras talking about this "golden nara")

my suspicions come from dreams tribbie and mydeimos had of their own mothers-- how the mother figures' voices were not mere memories but lead them forward- and how we accompanied tribbie's past self before she was divided into three- a space time anomaly. the place tribbie says that they reach at the end of their journey / or in the afterlife- a field of flowers, how she crafts a ship that carries them all over etc... from tribbie side of descriptions and visuals, simulanka from 2024's summer event in genshin (the ship, how its used to go to and from another world, the train tracks etc) resembles the ship she crafts to travel across amphoreus to spread the prophecy and see who else will join the cause.

considering summer events are always a big foreshadowing before the new nation in genshin (and i didnt say it here but one thing i'll always hand it over to genshin impact is how their foreshadowing is always a hit), simulanka coming before natlan, the reveal of the broken moon and broken simulation like sky that gives visual proof to the fake sky-- while all hoyo games are going forward with the "hoyoversing" as of late; i do find the coincidences/similarities between tevyat (esp simulanka visuals as of most recent) and amphoreus to be more than just a mere coincidence.

sure, they've been getting lazy and reusing same models for new characters but when it comes to the storytelling part of things esp with visuals, it's never just a mere coincidence. (i couldnt find the images i had in mind as of now but if youve played both games i hope you somewhat think of what i had in mind^^)

these as well as that field we see trinnon and tribbie's mother to stand over looking a bit too much like that field of intevyat flowers (native to khaenriah) that was the destination goal of the twins (the sea of flowers at the end)-- and how tribbie describes that afterlife-like place to be "the end of a journey", i do think, while for the sake of the story the characters will die- but in essence they wont.

sadly i didn't play enough hi3 to support my case with the flame chasers and elysian realm but, i believe amphoreus to be in a simulation-like state of sorts- not fully artificial like tevyat, but both equally isolated from the rest of the universe. so deaths there are not true deaths so long as their "simcards" / "souls" / whatever energy source they each have at their cores with their written "data" remains. to summarize hi3's elysian realm and flame chasers, the members of MANTIS' memories and feelings were all stored there, technically as simulations for a better lack of a word and it the end their data chips were erased/destroyed. (ig su can be an exception bc iirc he has entered a void/space that hasn't been found by anyone in aeons-- to quote the wiki:

as of now, though he can observe the entire galaxy he has lost his material body and only exists spiritually. hence, me calling him an exception.

enough of genshin and hi3 side of things but another hsr thing. spoiler alert in case you haven't done that world quest in the grove where you're basically asked to retrace the footsteps of flame reaver but when you do and finish it, this is the name of the achievement you get. the whole point of the quest is that it implies flame reaver knows the layout of the grove- that he was possibly there before. it also knows about mydei's weak spot (something he told only to phainon)

spoiler alert in terms of leaks ahead: but it is said that flame reaver is phainon. with these so far, it is most likely that the flame reaver is a past/different version of phainon and the one as we know is the current one of the timeline/cycle.

i know i did ramble a lot but considering fuli/remembrance being one of the residing paths/aeons over amphoreus, it does remind me of misha/mikhail char legwork (how misha is basically a memetic entity of his memories/dreams. a reflection of his youth and his ambitions to explore/to sail. in some ways, black swan's actions wouldn't fully fit into penacony quest but with amphoreus coming right after and it being accessible through the garden of recollection's mirror, i think part of her role was to serve as a preview for amphoreus as a whole) and that's why i think they are in a simulation-like state / trapped in a memory/mirror that rewinds/replays over and over--

(there are some say the reason TB hadn't died when castorice toucher them was because while arriving amphoreus, they also entered a memory chyrsalis like state by fuli's hands too / in a between life and death state of stagnance) we have more quests to go with but perhaps one phainon/kevin broke free or gained sentinence and is trying to destroy/break free of the cycle right now. the ongoing cycle state of the world might be a stellaron too- or maybe the world has entered a state of repetition as to protect it from the destruction/harm of stellaron's instability. i believe it's still too early to speculate further or reach a certain conclusion but what remains are the parallels between the "multiverse" and the undeniable connection of flame reaver and kevin which i think hints at an ongoing cycle / a stimulated world.

so yes, they will die, but not in the literal sense. and not unless their cores/souls are destroyed / their flames are put out in the process (as was the case with mikhail).

[maniculum]

Bestiaryposting Results: Gerzlaem

I'm currently out of state visiting family, so this post might be a bit brief. Anyway, we've got us a new critter. If you don't know what that's about, you can find out at https://maniculum.tumblr.com/bestiaryposting.

You can find the description of the critter in question here:

The one we're doing next is here if you want to join in:

And this week's art is below the cut.

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) gives us these Definitely Mammals that are rather difficult to classify. I always enjoy this effect of "it doesn't really look like anything, but it looks like it would fit in as a reasonable animal design." There's substantial additional information about these critters in the linked post.

@coolest-capybara (link to post here) has drawn something delightfully bizarre, and I really enjoy both the design and style here. Again you may find additional information in the linked post.

@citrvsdrake (link to post here) was inspired by the description of the Gerzlaem pulling food back out of its stomach -- apparently this is a frog behavior, so we have the very frog-like feline you see before you. That is an unsettling face to have staring at you, but it is a clever decision I think.

@cheapsweets (link to post here) has decided to draw all three types of Gerzlaem even though the entry only actually describes two of them -- they propose that the third type is just intermediate between the other two. I also need to acknowledge the "scorpion" in the back there; excellent. For a detailed explanation of this image, please see the linked post.

@pomrania (link to post here) has doodled various elements of the entry for us here, and seems to have settled on a canine interpretation. I'm... fascinated by what's going on with that ape there. Some of these are very expressive too. More about all of these in the linked post.

@wendievergreen (link to post here) posits that the three different types of Gerzlaem are the same animal in different seasons, and has drawn this goat/cougar creature in various stages of wooliness. I think this is a good idea, and the art style is pleasant. You can get more information from the linked post, though an explanation for the song lyrics is not included.

@strixcattus (link to post here) has drawn us some dog-like critters which I can't type too much about because I saw their post right after I posted this one and now I'm hurriedly editing. As usual, there's a naturalist-style description in the linked post that I recommend checking out. Good dog-things here all around.

Now, to the Aberdeen Bestiary...

...actually we don't have a picture for this one. And it's not a missing or damaged page this time -- there isn't an illustration for this one in the Ashmole Bestiary either. It's the first entry in the bestiary, and I guess the fancy initials used up too much of the illumination budget:

Of course, this is a long entry, so they could have put the illustration on the next page, but I don't want to backseat-scribe here. Here's the one from MS Bodley 764, though, so we can see what it looks like:

Yep, that's a lion all right.

The lion is typically the first entry because it has that "king of beasts" reputation -- bestiary authors and others in the intellectual tradition of the time took the idea of some sort of animal hierarchy seriously and made sure the lion got pride of place. I think it's a Great Chain of Being thing, but honestly I just haven't done enough research on that whole concept to speak on it in an informed manner.

A lot of the rest of the entry is allegory, but some of it seems to just be nonsense of its own tradition. I suppose the lion's tail does look something like a brush, so I can see the steps there, but most of it I could not explain. This includes what exactly this thing is supposed to be:

We learn of small beasts called leontophones, lion-killers.

No idea. If you know, tell me please.