#how are we going to make it better so that we don't have to deal with thsi stuff Tumblr posts

[sematarygirls]

can you do rafe and reader matching Halloween costumes?

🎃 ⊹ᡣ𐭩₊⋆ ─── you make rafe do a couple's costume !

   "This is the stupidest fuckin' idea you've ever had," Rafe grumbled begrudgingly as he stood in the bathroom, looking at his reflection in the mirror to aid him in tying his tie.

"We look so cute!" you beamed, ignoring your grumpy boyfriend's dramatics. You had the bright idea that since it was your first Halloween together, it would be so cute to do a couple's costume. Of course, Rafe vehemently protested this idea because he thought he was too cool for Halloween and that dressing up was stupid and childish. The only part he liked of the season was the copious parties with scantily clad women in their sexy-fied costumes and free booze.

It took a great deal of begging and pleading (and a promise of lots of sex to make up for his trouble and lost street cred) for him to finally agree to dress up with you, but when he did, you were over the moon.

You had tons of different ideas. Rafe insisted on the whole cop and prisoner costume, but you shut him down, knowing he had ulterior motives. He just wanted an excuse to put you in handcuffs and have you at his side the entire night. You also considered Ghostface and Sidney Prescott, but you pocketed that idea for another time when finally, you thought of Morticia and Gomez Addams.

You knew Rafe would be more inclined since the costume mainly just consisted of a suit, which meant he wouldn't be dressing up as much as the other costumes demanded. Plus, you knew he'd never pass up the chance to see you in a black dress that hugged you in all the right places—he was a man after all.

His gaze flickered over to your reflection in the mirror, roaming your figure appreciatively. That dress was working for you, and the makeup you'd done to complete the look just made you look all the more sexy. "Why don't we just stay home, yeah?" He proposed. As good as the costume looked on you, he knew it would look better on his bedroom floor.

You rolled your eyes at his entirely predictable suggestion. "I did not get all dressed up just to stay inside all night," you told him, pulling at his arm to turn him toward you, so you could fix his tie. "Besides," you glanced up at him, a smile tugging at your lipstick coated lips. "I want to show all your friends how whipped I've got you."

"I'll take this shit off right now," he threatened, but you knew he wouldn't dare, not when he was betting on you putting out tonight.

"Oh, cmon, don't be like that," you grinned, leaning up to give him a quick kiss on the lips. He tried to pull you closer and deepen the kiss, but you pulled away. "Ah ah ah," you scolded, using your thumb to swipe away some lipstick that had transferred onto his lips. "You're gonna mess up my makeup."

"You just wait till tonight. I'm gonna mess up your makeup alright," he smirked, his eyes glinting with promise as his hands went to your hips, tugging you closer.

"Mhm," you giggled, planting your hand on his chest and pushing him away. "Keep it in your pants, pretty boy," you told him, turning back to the mirror to fix your smudged lipstick. He crossed his arms watching you intently, thinking of all the things he was going to do to you when you two got back from the Halloween party.

[amazinglyashy]

hi! First of all - i love the way u write omg😭 i basically went through all your posts last evening and today hahah (procrastinating at it’s finest😌) Second - i wanna request a prompt, but i dunno if it’s too close to the one where ‘reader tells the lads boys that she’s too heavy for them’? if so, just ignore this!🫡💗

If not - could you write something about the boys finding out that reader/mc used to have bulimia(/or unspecified ed) and that she’s quietly struggling again, but not telling them? Maybe something angsty/comforting?

Trigger warning - This involves talk about eating disorders. Please use discretion when reading! Oh my gosh, thank you so much!! That means so much, because I used to write a lot years ago but stopped for a long time. I only got back into it recently, so the love I've been receiving has really done a positive number to my confidence. Thank you, lovely <3 I don't think it's possible for me to NOT write this request, because I'm a long time ED sufferer, and I am currently experiencing a harsh relapse unfortunately... You read me like a book, because 'Too Heavy' was a direct reference to that. It's hard, because it's such an invisible problem that oftentimes you suffer alone. Thank you for the request, hopefully I did it some justice, and for you or anyone who may relate to this post. (Also wrote this while listening to Lullaby - Jhameel on repeat. Give it a listen!)

Love and Deepspace Li's find out about your ED (and your current struggle)

Zayne -

The moment he finds out you live with an ED, he's down at the library finding any books he can, and researching as much as possible throughout the hospital and his old college's database.

He's also finding patient testimonials that have been released, so he can find the most compassionate approach that would help you without causing you any more harm than you already are experiencing at the hands of your own mind.

"I found a new restaurant I want to try. Apparently, they make a certain dish really well, I think we should try it together while we go over the latest mission you wished to tell me about."

He knows what you like, so it makes it easy for him to order things to share together places and ensure you're eating.

He will go out to eat every single day if he needs to, that's not any issue to him. Neither is sharing foods or cooking meals that he knows you love, even if they're not particularly his favorite.

He tries not to talk to you much about it, but does his best to be encouraging and nothing more whenever the subject of professional help comes up.

When you start opening up even more to him, he's all ears, and he's exceedingly careful about his choices of words, like he always is, but even more so now. The last thing he wants is to speak a trigger, especially when he's so focused on helping you get better.

He knows it never truly goes away, your disorder. But that's not an issue. It's more... a fact of being with you. And just like you take his problems and disabilities, he will take every single one of yours as well.

In stride, and with love.

Xavier -

He caught on, mostly because he found it strange that one moment you had eaten every single snack in the cupboard, and the next he heard, you hadn't eaten anything all day. He was wondering if it was something he was just unaware of, but-

Quickly finds out what exactly is going on after a few times of this happening. He was worried it was some strange habit, and now he's even more worried finding out it's been something you've been dealing with for quite a while.

He's upset, to say the least. But he'll keep that to himself.

He just wants to help you now.

He'll ask if there's anything that you feel like sharing with him on how to best help you, and there's definitely a note somewhere on his phone with a list of things you told him. If he can do any of them daily, he will. Anything else is always on his mind.

He doesn't let it get in the way of your day to day, though. You still play games together like normal, read together, and go the arcade whenever you both have the opportunity to win some more plushies for your hoards. He's always conscious about his own comments and behavior, but he doesn't ever let it seem like he's keeping an eye on you or trying to supervise you.

The tightrope of trusting you and helping you deal with your disorder is a thin one, and Xavier dances along it with grace.

No matter what, being around him is a comfort. Whether you're having a good day, or a bad day.

Sylus -

He's pretty internally frustrated when he first find out about it, but he doesn't let it show.

It has nothing to do with you or anything you did. He's just used to... having everything under control. For every problem to have a solution solved easily with money, force, or some compassion.

This is something he can't control.

And he hates it.

Aside from that, Sylus is like a light in the dark.

He had a list of trusted professionals to help you, should you want, and multiple of them at that- just in case you don't feel comfortable with the first one or three.

Any food you genuinely like to eat is available at all times, it does not matter if it is three in the morning. Are you wanting it? Nice, it's right there on your plate.

The frequency of which you see him increases, including the twins, despite both situations being... vastly different.

Where he takes you out for dinners at new and gorgeous restaurants, including ones feature in your favorite media or having special events for a game you like- the twins are throwing bags of snacks at you and yelling at you to throw pieces into their mouths and so they can do the same to you.

You will learn Sylus did not ask them to do this, in fact he explicitly told them not to do that.

It's pretty obvious though, they were worried about Sylus. And not just him, but you too.

Probably because of how much Sylus has been concerned about you, even if just in secret.

He doesn't want his feelings to make you feel anything but loved, so prepare for a speech the second you feel any kind of guilty. You're not getting out of this one.

Not until you know how much he cares about you, no matter what.

Rafayel -

The way he treats it is extremely encompassing. The way he sees it, is if you're sad or not doing too hot mentally, it's going to affect every part of your brain, including the parts that make you feel the way you do with your ED.

Driving you somewhere? He's playing upbeat music pounding out of the speakers of his sports car, singing along goofily or making up new words. You haven't eaten in a long time? Too bad, suddenly he's hungry and wants a snack. In fact, he wants a snack every couple of hours. If you binged and feel like dying, he'll be offering you water and any distraction he can to get your mind off of your appearance or the guilt of your binge.

He will spend more of his own free time at the gym if he needs to to work off any extra weight he gains just to help you eat, if eating with him is what helps you and he doesn't want you to see him change and feel guilty over it. He doesn't care.

Constant, constant praise with him. It is not about your appearance, unless it's something you can change. Clothing you picked out, the way your makeup looks today, a hairstyle you did to yourself, etc. So many compliments on your achievements or work, all with a sweet smile across his face.

If it's really bad, he'll paint you gorgeous works in different sizes, that are conveniently perfectly sized to display directly over any mirrors in your apartment.

Whatever you need, he's on it.

He'll be there for you no matter your highs or your lows.

[lych33dragoncookie]

Alright. Chapter 6. Boy do I have some choice words about this one.

Let's start small, though. With Spice being a fucking freak.

Look, I'm a Dragon Ball fan. I'm easy to please with this kind of thing. You give me a character who is really weird about fighting and I'll hoot and holler about it all day long. This isn't a generic "Villain plays with their food, this ends up being a terrible mistake later" situation; Spice could have killed her right there and then, much like Flour intended to do with Dark Cacao when his soul jam was stolen, but here? Nah. He wants to coke this woman up for a chance at a good fight with her and her in specific. Weirdo. I like him.

Smoked Cheese continues to be really really good this update, by the way. I couldn't be any more glad to have him here.

He's blunt. He knows how to strike a nerve, how to push someone's buttons; just because he's undeniably on the side of good, that doesn't mean these inherent traits of his' are gone. They're being repurposed, the same methods going towards a better end, he's still undeniably him, no one else would speak up to the queen like this, he knows what makes her tick, and he's using that to drag her off of the ground and bring her back up. I'm absolutely loving every bit of it.

This chapter also does a really good job of accentuating the sheer contrast Golden Cheese and Burning Spice have as rulers, with the former having outright raised her closest subjects, keeping them on an equal level, and providing for them with no hesitation or restraint, while the latter keeps his subjects in line through fear and nothing more.

Specially because, later on, it's shown that it's not at all empty threats...

He fucking killed her.

This is entirely unprecedented. I don't think we've ever seen anyone kill another character, NPC or not, onscreen. Elder Faerie didn't so much die from being murdered or anything, as much as he gave away his own life force and all that stuff to White Lily so she could deal with Shadow Milk This isn't that. This is a character being unceremoniously, ruthlessly killed, even if it wasn't a playable one. A cookie, no less; not any of the little animals, who despite their sapience wouldn't have had the same sort of impact, no, he instantly reduced this one cookie to nothing without any hesitation or remorse, and threatened to do the same to her grieving followers immediately after.

Golden Cheese keeps her followers by giving without any restraint, while Burning Spice keeps his followers by letting the threat of destruction loom over their heads constantly, willing to take from them the moment he gets an excuse to, or just because he feels like it.

And, speaking of him; while this update didn't give us a glimpse on how he started, that "first kingdom" that he ruled and presumably saw wither to dust, we did get to see something else.

His breaking point.

Admittedly, I feel like if one were to observe just these 2 story chapters, cutscenes alone, they'd get the wrong impression. If we look outside them, we're well aware that Burning Spice was once a benevolent figure, and that even now he avoids thinking about the first kingdom he ruled. With that context, these lines make a lot of sense.

Despite being the herald of change; time, change itself, was not kind to him. Burning Spice shows us the inherent pain of the idea of immortality. Of how futile it would feel to get attached to absolutely anything, knowing it'll all just wither away sooner or later, and you'll outlast those very things. After an innumerable amount of time, seeing entire civilizations rise and fall, over and over again, becoming more and more desensitized and numb to it all after the great pain of that first loss, it's no wonder it would all end up feeling utterly pointless. Why get attached if it'll all become nothing eventually? If by getting attached, you're just leaving yourself vulnerable to the pain of loss again? Why have any interest in this newly sprouting life if it'll all just wither away like all the ones before? Life, unfortunately, is limited. Fleeting. And while that already causes great pain to those possessing mortal life, at least they too know that it won't be forever. That we're all on the same ground, and that we can make the best of the time we have. But if all you have is time, time that nothing else around you has, then...

Eventually, without a strong will and the right philosophy, it will drive you mad. And that's exactly what happened here. Life may be fleeting, something irreplicable yet completely limited; but just as there will always be life, there will always be a way for that life to be extinguished. Life is unrepeatable and unique, but destruction? If you find pleasure in destruction, you always have something to look forward to. The feeling caused by razing everything to the ground is perfectly replicable, something that can't be taken away from you. It's immediate, final, and requires no pain or attachment. Empty and unfulfilling, yes; but painless and addictive.

There is no greater pretense. There is no long term. There is no end goal.

It's just all about getting addicted to the thrill of senseless, heart-pumping violence. If there's always something to destroy, there's always something to look forward to, after all; something no one can take away from you.

... Of course, this isn't to say any of this is correct. Obviously not. The complete improbability of a scenario where one cannot die of old age aside, this is the complete opposite of how you should approach this. You can keep reminders of said fleeting life, find attachment to things that will last just as long as you, make sure to never forget all the experiences that immortality has allowed you to form, and value what you have in the moment, making sure to let its memory and purpose live on through you. Something a certain someone else will, most likely, embody as her long, long lifespan continues.

Ok, this was all meant to be one post, but I have too many images to put here, and Tumblr really doesn't like that. So...

1/2

See you in like, another 30 minutes or so. Idk.

[meteoramp3]

Angel of Music - Jacaerys Velaryon

Summary: Your boyfriend's cousin, Baela is planning a Halloween party at her house, so you try to convince your boyfriend to match costumes with you.

Words: 1k

Warnings: Musical nerd alert, fluff.

  Your phone was connected to the boombox that was placed on the countertop of the kitchen. “Heathers: The Musical” was playing obnoxiously loud and your throat was rather sore after spending the past two hours screaming the lyrics like your life depended on it.

  Jace was nowhere to be found, and Vermax was hiding under the bed of your room because he did not want to know who Heather Chandler is.

  But before Kindergarten boyfriend started playing, you decided it was enough Heathers for a day and picked another album from your Spotify library, Hamilton.

  You had managed to get to the 5th song, The Schuyler Sisters, before the sound of footsteps outside the main door warned you that Jace was finally coming back from his walk, which made you turn the music down.

  The door opened and Jace walked in, locking the door and dropping a shopping bag from... Yenny? Ah, he bought a book. He looked at you and waved before making his way towards you and giving you a hug.

  - “Hi” Jace simply said while resting his chin on your shoulder, nuzzling your neck softly.

  - “Hello, you abandoned me”. You were looking at him over your shoulder with furrowed brows, he shook his head. “I needed a little break from doing nothing and Vermax jumping on my back. I'm going to end like my aunt before I even turn 25… But anyway, what were you doing while I was gone?”

  - “I got the cookie dough out of the freezer and put it in the oven”. You felt him nod, you simply patted his shoulder. “They're over there”, You pointed at the table across the room and the man basically ran over said table, making you chuckle. “Do you like them?” He nodded violently before making a thumbs up.

  - “Y'know, maybe we should send you...” chomp “to Master Chef” chomp “or one of those things,” chomp “they are amazing”.

  You looked at the man incredulously and pinched your fingers (🤌) at him, “One, swallow that before you keep talking, I don't want you to drown, and two, you're exaggerating, but thanks still”.

  You walked towards the table before grabbing a chair and sitting on it, looking at him expectantly.

  -“What?”. Jace was hitting his chest softly after choking with the cookies. “Don't you have something to tell me?” He shook his head. “No?” He shook his head again.

  You looked at him with a raised eyebrow while resting your fist against your cheek. “What about a Halloween party? At Baela’s house?”

  -“Ah! That, right…” He cleared his throat, “Do you want to go?” You nodded, “Obviously, I need to get out of this house every once in a while, y'know?”.

  He saw the look on your eyes and knew what was coming, “Let me guess, you want to match?” He saw you nod yet again “What are your suggestions this year?”

  -“Christine and the Phantom or Veronica Sawyer and JD” He left out a sigh before rubbing his temple, “Not this again…”

  -“Excuse me, but you asked for it.” Your fingers started to trace the veins on his arm, trying to seduce him into the idea. “Or do you have a better suggestion?” He shook his head.

  -“I mean, the costume is not bad… But I find it corny, if I'm honest” He cringed because, how dare he? “Jacaerys Velaryon, you're going to give me a headache. Explain yourself, traitor”.

  -“The mask. It's corny and the cloak, if it wasn't for it and the mask, anyone would think I am a waiter”.

  -“A handsome one”.

  He stared pacing around while munching on your precious cookies, running his hand through his hair dramatically and looking at the landscape outside the window.

  -“I will do it, but…” He thought for a bit, “You’re making pizza that night and your costume is on you. Deal?” He extended his hand, waiting for a handshake. “Deal”. You shook his hand.

  -“Alrig-”

  -“The tuxedo is in your closet, by the way”.

  -“You bought it already?” You nodded, “Like I said, who do you think I am? I know how to sew for a reason”.

  -“So, you made the dress yourself?”

  -“Yes sir, though I bought the small clothes and socks, obviously…”

  Jace looked at you with a proud smile on his face before cupping your cheeks with his hands and kissing you. When he pulled away, his fingers squeezed your soft cheeks. His pretty brown eyes looking at you dreamily. “My girlfriend,” He said. “My pretty, amazing and talented girlfriend. I love you”. You pulled away from him awkwardly, overwhelmed by the sudden display of affection, “Jace, where the fuck did that come from?” He shrugged.

   -“Jacaerys!” The door swung open, startling you. “My dear,” Jacaerys dramatically said. “What burdens you?” You turned around pointing at the laces in the back of the corset, his hands took hold of them before pulling on them, tightening the hard material against your back. “Like this?” He took a step back to look at you properly. “Yes, Jace. Thank you”. He lifted his finger, signing you to turn around for him. The skirt twirled delicately, the slit on it letting the lace stoking be seen.

  He fixed the sleeves a bit before stopping you, “All done?” Jace questioned while running his hand through his hair. “Yes…” You stared at him before something clicked, “Where’s your mask?”

  -“On my desk, silly. You think I'm going out like this? Nuh-uh!”

  Jacaerys walked out of the room to go search for said mask, you turned to the vanity behind you, before grabbing the mascara on it. By the time he came back, you were applying glitter on your eyelids. Jace tapped your shoulder, showing the mask before offering you his arm, you happily wrapped your arm around his and closed the door of your room.

  When you made your way to the main door, Vermax suddenly appeared with your Mary Janes in his mouth. You looked at him with a raised eyebrow before patting his head softly.

  Jace was waiting outside, he was already in the car listening to Evanescence. You locked the main door, pulling on it to make sure it was in fact locked. Jace saw you over the car and opened the door of the passenger side.

  When you sat and noticed that he was playing Fallen, your right eyebrow raised in confusion.

  He looked at you and shook his head, “No, you're not playing the song by Nightwish”.

  -“Jace!”

For those who don't know what the hell Yenny is, it's an important library here in Argentina c: (And no, I'm not from here, I'm venezuelan)

[luxaofhesperides]

(I know it's not one word but...)

Harvest Moon!

The moment Duke heard about Smallville's Harvest Moon Festival, he knew he wanted to go with Danny. They've both been stuck in Gotham for a while and never get to leave as civilians. He's tired of most of their dates being crashed by crime and corruption, having to ditch meals out together to evacuate civilians and fight rogues who don't respect the sanctity of a day off.

Not this time, though!

Duke has the day off and a favor from Tim has him flying the Batplane out to Kansas with Danny in the co-pilot seat, humming along to the upbeat playlist they decided would accompany them on the flight. It does feel strange for the both of them to be in the Batplane as civilians instead of Signal and Phantom, but it's a nice change. 

He's sure that Bruce will scold him about using the Batplane for non-mission purposes, but Duke knows how to deal with him. All he has to do is accuse Bruce of not supporting his relationship and being homophobic, to which Bruce will reply that he's also bi, so how can he be homophobic? And then Duke and anyone else who's around will yell that Bruce is dodging the question and the man will get so tired he'll give up and leave. It's worked before, it'll work again.

"Why'd you wanna go to the festival, anyways?" Danny asks, breaking the comfortable silence that's settled between them.

Duke shrugs. "It sounded fun. And it's far from Gotham, so we won't have to worry about a rogue crashing our date again."

"Don't jinx us," Danny warns with a teasing grin, "Watch an alien warship come down just to prove you wrong."

"Don't put that out into the world! Today's our day off. If an alien warship does come down, the Supers can deal with it. I am going to have a fun night out with you and I'm not letting anything get in our way."

"How romantic," Danny say wryly, "Protecting our date. The fact that it's even gotten this bad is honestly ridiculous."

"I'm starting to think Gotham doesn't want us to date."

"Gotham can think whatever it wants. It's not going to keep me away from you."

"Sap."

"Says you!" Danny reaches over to lightly smack his arm and Duke grins, grabbing his hand to press a kiss against his palm just to watch Danny's face flush red.

They land a few minutes later in a field just behind the Kent's property. Duke makes sure the plane is cloaked, hidden from sight, before he descends with Danny. Kon waits for them, giving them a cheerful wave once they're on the ground.

"Good to see you," he greets, leading them to the Kent house. "We've got quite the spread prepared today!"

Duke blinks. "Oh, we were just going to chill until the festival started. You didn't need to include us in your dinner plans."

"If you think you can stop Ma from feeding you, you got another thing coming. Especially since she likes Danny so much." Kon winks at Danny. "Also, I made a banging sweet potato casserole and I need you two to compliment me on it, so you have to join us."

"Fair enough," Danny says. "Good thing we didn't eat before heading out, huh?"

Duke reaches out and takes Danny's hand in his. This is already looking to be better than all their other dates in Gotham. "Lucky us," he agrees, then tells Kon, "Thanks, man, for setting us up for this."

"No prob! I'm always happy to help out in the name of love. Also the festival is super fun and I need you to convince Tim to come by one of these days. If he's stuck in Gotham working on cases any longer, he's gonna start growing mushrooms outta his head."

"We'll make sure he stops by soon," Duke promises.

They emerge from the corn field to the picnic table behind the Kent house covered in a checkered table cloth and covered in a variety of dishes. The other members of the Kent family and members of Superman's side of the hero business are gathered around as well, chatting with relaxed smiles. Kon leaves them with a friendly slap on their backs and walks over to pick Jon up and toss him over his shoulder.

Sibling bickering fills the air. Danny leans against Duke with a soft smile.

"Thanks," he says quietly, the words just for the two of them. "For everything."

"I should be saying that to you," Duke returns, leaning in to kiss Danny's cheek. "C'mon, let's go enjoy our date night."

Yeah, they're definitely coming back next year. He'll even remember to bring one of his mom's favorite dishes to the Havrest Moon Dinner the Kent's host.

(send me a Halloween/autumn themed word and I'll write you a ghostlights drabble!)

[blueskyscribe]

Here is how easy it would have been to fix the "Breakdown rejects Bumblebee's friendship / relationship" episode:

Show Frenzy refusing to follow Soundwave's orders (which would pick up the Season 1 plot thread of Frenzy saying "We don't have to follow him anymore") and running wild. Soundwave is so overworked by Shockwave that he can't do much about it.

Breakdown makes the deal with Bumblebee to sneak out to freedom, but on the way to the meeting point he keeps having to go on sidequests to save Frenzy from herself. Like he sees her about to zoom down a steep slope on a cyber-skateboard and narrowly whisks her out of mid-air before she slams into a solid cliff face. Then he sees her about to dive into a "swimming hole" because she ignored that there's industrial strength acid dripping into it that would dissolve her. And so on.

And by the time he reaches Bumblebee he's like "I have to stay with the Decepticons so this dumb kid doesn't get herself killed." And Bumblebee is upset, but understands.

(I would cut out all the crap about racing with the comic book held hostage, sorry but that was so stupid. Maybe there's a 'race' of sorts to save Frenzy from her latest stupid stunt and Bee helps and outspeeds Breakdown . . . I think the only narrative point of the race was to introduce bots getting super-charged by Chaos Lightning.)

Hell, maybe you could even work in something about Breakdown feeling sad that the Chaos Terrans are dead, like he feels like he could have prevented it if he was more involved with them.

It could end with Breakdown returning to Soundwave and telling him that he can come to Breakdown if he needs to share his workload so that he can keep a better eye on Frenzy, and there could be a line like "After all, we Decepticons have to watch out for each other. 'Cause who else will?"

[will80sbyers]

I feel like what Mike feels toward El is some sort of an admiration. He mixed up his feelings for being romantic because El was the first girl he actually talked to, her being a hero also made Mike be attracted to her. I also feel like this pretty much applies to El. Mike was the first person to show her genuine care for the first time. I think she confuses her feelings with romantic love too.

Yeah, that's pretty much what I think too, he had a crush on her when they were little but it's mostly based on idealizing her as a hero and this means he doesn't understand her truly, he likes that she's a hero and thinks she's great, but she doesn't really want to be seen as a hero because she can't be constantly good to the extent that a hero is required to be, because she's human and has so much trauma to deal with!!!

Basically Mike likes heroes and she was a cute girl that liked him back and they liked each other as kids but then growing up things changed, to have a serious relationship with someone you need more than what they have... and El is exactly in the same situation, she is not in love with Mike... She relied on him for a sense of safety and familiarity

they both are confused because they are just so little, it's normal!! They are still kids!

I think Mike was really convinced he could love her romantically too and he has this strong need to protect her how he can, and especially after Will's speech he convinced himself that he could make it work between them again, I don't think he lied about anything, he thinks all that but he doesn't know what true romantic love is and that what he's feeling isn't it

It's literally the Laurie - Jo situation from little women... Laurie did have love for Jo but the love he has for Amy is "different" because the love for her is mature love not puppy/childhood love

Mike has childhood love for El and he's scared of letting go of the relationship because they didn't exactly start from friendship before dating, so he's not sure if they can get there without them dating... Obviously he's wrong but he's still scared of losing her completely and that blocks him from understanding what would be better for both of them

And he's scared of El not needing him anymore also because he's scared that she will leave his life completely if she doesn't need him anymore... he does love her even if it's not romantic and they don't work in a relationship outside of the physical side of it, there is love there but they are just not compatible as people in a romantic way

For how I see things, the writers wouldn't have made them like that if it was only that he can't love her because he's not attracted to her, in my opinion that seems unnecessary, they showed us that they don't have that type of understanding that comes with being in a relationship that works emotionally for a reason

They lack the deep understanding of the other person and they don't feel safe to be open and communicate their fears without thinking that if they do the other person is gonna find them "not cool enough" to date etc and they are locked in the roles of "boyfriend & girlfriend" instead of being just Mike and El

Mike and El just have too many problems as a couple and I really think things have changed between season 3 and 4 and they don't even have the physical romantic chemistry anymore... because that was tied to the emotional connection, and they don't have the emotional connection needed as we understood from season 4 in particular!

And guess what... Mike has all of the things that will make their relationship work... with Will!

But you know, it must be just a coincidence... 😂

[sissylittlefeather]

Kinktober Day 31: Biting

Happy Halloween! 🎃

Bonded Pt 2: Can't Help Falling In Love

A/N: SURPRISE!!! The last Kinktober fic is a sequel to my Halloween vampire fic from last year! AND I'm turning it into a series called Bonded! I hope you all enjoy it!

Quick reminders: you are a vampire at the Moulin Rouge in 1959 when Elvis Presley walks in. Things transpire and afterwards he asks you to turn him into a vampire... Will you?

Need to read the first part? Find it HERE.

Warnings: 18+ MInors DNI, kissing, oral sex, penetrative sex, unprotected sex, creampie, also mentions of blood (duh)

Word Count: ~2.5k

Kinktober Masterlist

"Elvis, I said no."

"Listen, honey, I told you. If you won't do it, I'll find someone who will." He's pacing back and forth across the floor of your small apartment. You brought him back here when you both woke up in the middle of the night still on that small couch. Now it's morning and he's insisting he wants you to make him like you. 

"Good luck. There aren't many of us. I only know of a couple others." He stops and turns to you. 

"I'm Elvis Presley. I can find anyone I want." You purse your lips and shake your head. 

"You sound like a petulant child." 

"Don't do that. Don't act like you're so much older than me."

"Elvis, I was born in 1832." He stops pacing and drops down on the bed next to you. 

"Oh." It comes out breathlessly and he turns towards you, brushing your hair out of your face. "You don't look a day over 25. I want that." 

"Why? Why do you want this so bad?" He sighs deeply and takes your hand in his, kissing your palm. 

"My mother died." 

"Yeah, Elvis if-"

"If I'm a vampire, I can make the important people in my life vampires and then I never have to lose anyone ever again." 

"That's really not how it works."

"Why not?" You're sure there must be a reason but you can't think of it. 

"Elvis, I'm not doing this if that's your reason. I'm not even sure I know how to do it." He drops your hand and looks at you hard. 

"Fine. I want to be immortal. I want to never be forgotten. I want to exist forever. Is that better?"

"Elvis..." He puts his hand on the side of your face and makes you look at him. 

"I trust you. Please. Help me." His blue eyes are so round and pleading that it's impossible for you to say no. If you didn't know any better you'd think he was already a vampire compelling you. 

"I'm not sure I know how." He scoffs. 

"Yes you do. Come on." You shrug. 

"I think you have to drink my blood or something." He laughs. 

"Thats it?! We could do that right now!" You shake your head and stand up out of the bed. 

"No. No Elvis. What if that's not how you do it?" 

"Then I stay human and drink a little of your blood. It's weird, but I'll survive." You look at him on the bed, a puppy, so young and eager. You're not even sure he knows what he's asking for: the long and lonely life of immortality when everyone around you ages and dies. 

"You don't want this." 

"Look. Here's the deal. I'm doing this with or without you. So you can decide if you want to help me or leave me at the mercy of some other vampire. And he may not be as-"

"She." 

"What?" 

"I've never met a male vampire. They're very rare." He raises his eyebrows. Even better. You pinch the bridge of your nose and then look at him. There's a determined look on his face and you know that if you say no, someone out there will say yes. 

"If I do this, you have to listen to me about what you need to do." He nods excitedly. 

"Yes. I'll do anything you say." 

"Okay. God, I don't even really know what I'm doing." You wring your hands and whimper. 

"I think I read in a book once that we have to have sex first."

"Wait, really?" He shakes his head with a mischievous glint in his eye. 

"Nah, but I figured if I might die I should try to fuck you one last time." 

"Elvis! You're not going to die. Just... I think I need to bite you again. And then I'll bite myself and let you drink from me." He nods seriously, all hints of mischief gone. Your stomach flip flops as he leans his head over to give you access to his neck. You crawl into his lap straddling him and he hands go to your hips to hold you in place. It's hard to ignore the fact that he does have a massive erection, but you try to and lean forward, licking the spot on his neck where you bit him last night. He whimpers a little and you feel your fangs descend. If nothing else, you are hungry and he's here and willing. 

He yelps a little as your fangs sink into his neck and he squeezes your hips a little harder. You revel in the sweet taste of his blood on your tongue. He tastes abnormally good and if you were a younger vampire you might completely drain him by accident, but after a bit you know you've had enough. You pull back and he looks at you in a daze. Good, the venom in your fangs is working. You lean down and bite your own arm, jumping a bit at how bad it hurts. 

"Here, drink." You hold your arm up for him and he presses his lips, his perfectly heart-shaped pillow lips, to the place where your blood is flowing. He moans a little, trying to get used to the taste. eventually he backs off of you and waves his hand. 

"I can't do any more. That has to be enough, right?" You're genuinely not sure, so you shrug and nod. "Fuck, I'm... I think... woah..." 

You catch him as he seems to fall backwards on the bed in slow motion and help him lay down. 

"Elvis? Elvis!" You pat his cheek and try to shake him but he's out cold. He's still breathing, though, so you tell yourself that's a good sign. You rearrange him so that he's laying correctly in the bed and lie down next to you, snuggling into his arm. 

"God, I really hope I haven't killed Elvis Presley." You mumble quietly as you let sleep take you as well. 

******

He wakes up first, so when you finally stir and open your eyes, he's staring at you. 

"Hi baby. I'm glad you're awake. Are you hungry? Do you eat food or do you want... me?" 

"Woah, Elvis, slow down. Aren't you hungry? Oh God, you didn't feed already did you?" You look around the apartment, afraid you'll see a dead girl in there somewhere, but there's nothing. He kisses your cheek and then mumbles into your neck sheepishly. 

"I'm hungry, but I still want regular food. And you. I want you." You raise one eyebrow. He should be consumed with bloodlust right now. The only thing you remember about being turned is waking up so hungry for blood that you felt like you might die. But the way his hands are all over your body right now and you feel him rubbing himself on your thigh, it seems the only thing he's consumed with is actual lust. 

"Elvis, you don't want blood?" He shakes his head, climbing on top of you and kissing down into the valley between your breasts. 

"No. But God, I need to fuck you. Please." He keeps kissing down your abdomen to the place just below your bellybutton and above your panty line. You whimper as he starts to press soft kitten licks there and slips his thumbs under the lace. "I need it. I need you so bad." 

"O-okay..." You moan softly as he pulls your panties down, his fingers immediately going to your center as he kisses up your legs. 

"So pretty... I love you..." He mumbles just before his mouth settles on your clit. 

"What? OH...." You know you need to question him about what he just said, but it feels so good you can't. "Fuck, Elvis."

You moan loudly and grab the front of his hair as he fucks you with his tongue, licking and sucking you with a fervor you've never experienced. He looks up at you with those blue eyes, face buried in your pussy, and it's a look of pure adoration. Something has gone terribly wrong. But you can't work it out right now while his tongue slides over and around your clit. 

The pleasure builds to a fever pitch in your hips and then snaps, washing over you like a tidal wave as you shudder and pulse in his mouth. He sits up on his knees eagerly as soon as you're finished and pushes his underwear down, one hand on his hard cock. 

"Was that good? Baby can I please?" You look up at him and try to figure out what's happened, but the way he begs you to let him have you makes it impossible to say no. You nod your head and he smiles, putting your ankles on his shoulders and pushing into you. Your eyes almost cross at the sensation. He's big in just the right way and, more than that, he knows how to use his size. 

"Feels... so good..." He groans as he slides in and out of you with increasing speed. You whimper as he really starts to pound you. "Not gonna last long."

"That's okay, baby." You try to reassure him, but he looks like he might cry. He bites his bottom lip and grunts. 

"Fuck... hafta.. oh!" He moans and leans over on top of you as his hips stutter into you, cock throbbing as he fills you with his cum. You try to figure out what's going on as he peppers you with kisses, but when you hear what he's whispering as he kisses you, you freeze. “I love you… I love you… I love you…” 

“Elvis, stop.” You grab his face and push him back to look him in the eyes. He's not a vampire, but something dramatic has happened. Now he's in love with you? This can't be right. 

“What? I just… I can't get enough of you. Please don't ever leave me. I'll do anything.” You shake your head. 

“It didn't work. You're not a vampire.”

“No, but that's okay. I need to be human so you can feed from me.” Your eyebrows shoot straight up. Is he volunteering to be your consistent source of food? 

“Okay. Get up. We need to find another vampire and figure out what went wrong.”

“Wrong? Honey, I-I-I love you. That's not wrong?” You look up at him and his puppy dog eyes almost break you. But this is Elvis Presley. There's no way he just fell in love with you in a matter of hours. 

“Come on.” You get out of bed and get dressed and he follows suit, eager to do anything you ask of him. 

******

You stand on the porch of the big, old house nervously, with Elvis wrapped around you from behind. He hasn't let go of you since you left the apartment, always having to have at least one hand on you. It's sweet, but it's getting a little old. 

“Just knock, honey.”

“I'm scared.” 

“Why?” He kisses your cheek. Okay, maybe it is nice to have him so devoted to you. 

“What if I really messed you up? I'm scared of what she's going to say.” 

“I don't feel messed up. I feel happier than I've been in a long time.” He nuzzles your hair and you have to remind yourself: this isn't real. You sigh and then knock on the door loudly. It slowly creaks open and you stand there frozen on the doorstep. 

“Come on, let's go in.” He whispers in your ear. 

“I can't. I have to be invited.” You whisper back. 

“Come in! Please!” You hear a woman yell from the back of the house. He moves to hold your hand as you cross the threshold. 

As you stand in the foyer, a beautiful woman of about 60 enters the room. She's unimaginably gorgeous with her white hair and green eyes and you're both a little in awe of her. 

“I am Mary. Who told you about me?” She stares intensely and you're not sure if you should be afraid or not. 

“My friend Anya.”

“Ah, yes, I know Anya. How long have you been one of us dear?” You do the math in your head quickly. 

“Just shy of a hundred years.” Elvis looks at you, amazed. 

“A young one.” 

“She's young?!” Elvis speaks for the first time and her eyes dart over to him coldly. She seems to get taller as she speaks to him. 

“I am over a thousand years old. She is a child. We won't even begin to discuss what you are.” You feel Elvis bristle and move him behind you. He doesn't object, but instead obeys you happily, reminding you of why you're there. 

“Mary, we need your help.”

“I assumed as much. What have you done?” You have a sneaking suspicion that she knows, but you say it out loud anyway. You explain to her how you tried to turn him, how he passed out and then woke up like this. She erupts in laughter. 

“Oh, you sweet young thing, you.” You're a little annoyed by her tone and her laughter. This doesn't seem like a time to be laughing. She senses your irritation and stops. “You've created a blood bond with him.” 

“A what?!” Your knees go weak and Elvis holds you up. 

“A blood bond. You didn't go far enough to turn him, just far enough to make him your familiar. He is blood bonded to you for life.”

“Oh, God.” You sink onto a bench and he sits next to you. 

“No, honey, that's bullshit. I love you. There's no blood bond or whatever.” He pats you reassuringly, but it has the opposite effect. 

“Tell me, child. How long have you known her?” He looks up at the older woman. 

“W-we met last night.” She raises her eyebrows and doesn't have to say anything else. Elvis looks back at you and shakes his head. “No. No, I feel it. It's real. No…” 

His eyes get glossy and wet like he's about to cry and you feel a lump form in your throat. Before either of you can get too emotional, though, Mary cuts in. 

“Would you like to know how to break it?” 

“Yes.” You answer without hesitation and Elvis looks like you've slapped him in the face. His mouth hangs open a bit and he blinks to get rid of the tears. The thought of going back to being without you is devastating. You take his face in your hands. “I need you to remember who you are. This will not work. You cannot give up your life and your career to follow me around like a puppy. I won't let you.”

You turn back to Mary. 

“How do we break it?” She gives you a wicked smile. 

“It's easy. You kill him.” 

******

To Be Continued

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Taglist:

@ccab @atleastpleasetelephone @deltafalax @msamarican @angschrof @lustnhim @jhoneybees @polksaladava @searchingforgravity @librababe99 @hooked-on-elvis @theelvisprincess @makethemorning @your-nanas-house @peaceloveelvis @mrspresley69

[becauseimanicequeen]

My Semi-Coherent Thoughts About Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo So Far (ep. 1-6)

This is a response to some asks I got after this week's ep. 5 and 6, and some additional thoughts from me. I'll mostly throw some random points out there because I've been living in right-brain-land for most of this week (or weeks? What's time anyway, eh?), so being coherent seems like too much of a challenge right now, lol. But this post needs to be written so I can stop thinking about it and focus on something else.

Let's start with two Anons who dropped into my inbox with comments of the same context: that Dohoi was an asshole and that I wouldn't be able to defend him anymore...

Clearly, Anons, you seemed to have completely missed the point of my previous posts where I said I was neutral (I still am) and refused to go into a discussion about taking sides because that's not where the interesting bits are (not for me, anyway).

I'm on both their sides and on no one's side.

Juyeong and Dohoi have both made mistakes:

Juyeong lied about Dohoi's dad abusing him

Dohoi pretended to not know about it

Juyeong chose to stand up to Dohoi's dad even though he knew that man was a violent piece of shit

Dohoi called the police, afraid he wouldn't be able to focus on his exam, but he couldn't focus anyway

None of them communicated any of this to the other in the past

Etc.

To say that Dohoi is the asshole while Juyeong is an angel is completely ignoring an important point: nothing is ever black or white. (Yes, this is just fiction, but it's a realistic piece of fiction that shows this very point.)

Also, to think that only one of them has/does suffer is a very one-sided way of looking at it. To be fair, it's easy to fall into that trap since we're getting a lot of Juyeong's pov at the moment while Dohoi's story is still kept in the dark.

But imagine how much of a self-sabotager you are for choosing to push away people who love you because you inherently believe that you will never be good enough or will never be worthy of love. Dohoi has been in so much pain for such a long time it's familiar to him. It takes years, decades, maybe even a whole lifetime to climb out of a hole like that. And he might've been able to do that on his own if Juyeong hadn't shown up at the funeral and reminded him of all the things from the past once again.

One of the Anons then proceeded to list all the ways Juyeong was abandoned and that Dohoi did the exact same thing to him, which made Dohoi even more of an asshole...

I can't help but wonder if we've seen the same show.

Because Dohoi was abandoned too.

They’re both dealing with abandonment issues.

None of them had present parent growing up

Juyeong was adopted, which will always be a wound for him (and being adopted by those kinds of parents didn’t make it any better)

I can’t quite remember if they mentioned that Dohoi’s mom died or left but, either way, both can lead to abandonment issues (especially when a child is forced to go through it)

Then we have Hyeonho who turned from Dohoi's friend to his bully (again, Dohoi was abandoned)

When shit went down in the past, Juyeong left with his parents, and while that was a valid reason, it was yet another person who left Dohoi (which, to be fair, made Dohoi indirectly responsible since he called the police)

And then Juyeong was abandoned by Dohoi who went radio silent for years

They are both dealing with abandonment issues. Just because the show, at this point, is mostly focusing on the effects of Dohoi abandoning Juyeong doesn’t mean Dohoi wasn’t abandoned as well. Because he was. It’s mentioned and shown in subtle ways throughout the show.

Being abandoned can be a huge trauma for a person (especially for kids who don't have the tools to deal with important people leaving or dying). And we all have different trauma responses, which I think is another interesting point of this show:

Juyeong’s trauma response is to fight (he did so when he stood up for Dohoi against the bullies in the past, when he chose to stand up against Dohoi’s dad, but also when he physically punched a teacher)

Dohoi’s trauma response is flight (he tried to ignore that Juyeong was abused by his dad, he never put up a fight even when he was beaten by the bullies, he left after he threatened his dad with a knife, etc.)

None of those is a "better"/"worse" response

These characters are both traumatized for fuck's sake

And, the thing is, we've seen time and time again that the last thing Dohoi wants is to fight. He reacts even to the mere mention of it.

Juyeong fighting (even though it's never physical with Dohoi) won’t give him the results he wants from Dohoi.

And Juyeong, who was abandoned by his birth parents, adopted by a couple who didn't seem to want him anyway, and might think that no one ever fought for him, will always be hurt by Dohoi avoiding things.

They are each other's opposites even though they're dealing with a similar type of trauma.

And they won’t be able to be happy with each other (or with themselves, which is, honestly, more important) until they deal with their own trauma.

(Also, I don’t know about you, but Hwang Daseul choosing to use these contrasting trauma responses for these boys is fucking genius to me because there's so much potential for angst, which we've gotten a whole 3-course meal of. I'm well fed at this table and I won't be leaving any time soon, lol.)

One of the Anons also briefly mentioned Dohoi's old home and how he should just sell it to Juyeong because it was the only place where Juyeong was happy, and I...

*Sigh*

I'll have to admit that this was the first time in the show that my neutrality was tested because... If you can watch the following scene without feeling empathy for Dohoi, you're (no judgment) colder than me (a certified ice queen):

Imagine going back to the place where you were abused all those years. Dohoi took one look at the place, and his past traumas and emotions about what happened came pouring back. I'm not surprised he wants to sell it. Hell, if I was him, I'd want to decimate the place. But, instead, he has to deal with Juyeong wanting to buy it even though Juyeong knows what went down in that house.

If Juyeong wants to keep it "as is" to make sure Dohoi doesn't regret selling the place, Juyeong is delulu. If he wants to buy it and build something new, that's different. But we don't know what he wants yet. We don't really know why he's so intent on buying the place (other than not wanting Dohoi to regret it).

Either way, that whole situation made me feel a bit weird about Juyeong. Buying the place where the person you loved experienced trauma? What the actual fuck? And I'm not surprised that Dohoi is feeling some kind of way about it (and if he still thinks it's because Juyeong feels some kind of loyalty or guilt towards his dad, that's so fucking sad).

I do think the place is important to the rest of the story, though. It's the place where theirs began. It's the place where they loved and lost and were abused. It's the place that contains the events they both need to reconcile and deal with before moving on.

Which leads me to my speculations of where this might be going in the last two episodes. Because I think Juyeong will take Dohoi to his old home. Especially since the search history on the GPS in the car he rented included it.

That place will always be an open wound for them until they deal with the past, so Dohoi can stop running from it and Juyeong can stop living in it.

It was also the place where Dohoi's walls crumbled for the first time since the time jump, so Juyeong might think that's the best place to deal with the shit once and for all.

Walden Law Firm was also in the GPS search history, which is where Hyeonho works. My guess is that Juyeong has already gone to see Hyeonho when he meets up with Dohoi at the end of the 6th episode. Whatever might've gone down in that meeting (Juyeong saying Dohoi broke it off again, Juyeong demanding to know what happened with Dohoi during the past 12 years, Hyeonho spilling the beans, or whatever), it might be the reason why Hyeonho called Dohoi to say they needed to talk.

Then there's the biggest question of all the questions I have, which is about what happened to Dohoi during those 12 years. If Dohoi didn't graduate (at least not as an architect), how did he gain everything he now has?

In regards to college, I don't think it was anything more dramatic than him not managing to have the right results on the entrance exam. Math is an essential part of architecture, and we've already seen that math wasn't Dohoi's forte.

About his apparent wealth, though. As I mentioned before, I can't remember if they mentioned whether Dohoi's mom died or left. But, if she left, there might've been some inheritance if she eventually died, which could also be how he and Hyeonho met (since these things, more often than not, require lawyers).

If that's true, feeling that his wealth was "unearned" might be a reason he lied about the floorplans to that house. (Btw, I can't believe Juyeong didn't call Dohoi's bluff because I would've called him out on his bullshit so fucking fast, lol.)

I think it's also a part of his facade to pretend that he was okay all those years even though he was suffering (which I'm sure we'll see more of in the coming episodes).

But I also feel like there's something more. More to the reason he didn't study architecture and more to how he gained his wealth. And definitely more to what was going on between Dohoi and Hyeonho and how involved Hyeonho has been the past 12 years.

There's still so much of Dohoi's story to be revealed, and I can't wait to see it all unfold.

[hollowed-theory-hall]

I think what’s frustrating for me in ootp (which is still 100% my favorite book despite this) is how everyone treats Harry like his anger is childish/unreasonable. Like guys he watched a classmate get murdered last year (among other traumatic things). And then he was isolated a from everyone he cares about and forced to live with people who treat him worse than dirt. The fact Hermione is kind of scared of him when he thinks Sirius is being tortured in the DOM? Idk, it just never sat right with me. Ppl treat Harry like a loose canon or an angsty kid and it minimizes the real trauma he endured

I get what you're saying, but I think the way people treat him and his anger is very much in line with what we see from the Wizarding World. The Wizarding World doesn't really understand trauma or mental health as a whole. They have no concept of therapy of psychiatric care of any kind. The only mind treatment they have is to do with healing spell damage (like Obliviations or Legilemancy). So, it's a society that doesn't really know what to do with someone like Harry, they don't have the tools to help him and people around him just don't really understand.

Ron and Hermione care about Harry, but due to their own life experiences, they have no real ability to relate to him over his trauma and understand him. That's kinda the point in this conversation:

“Don’t sit there grinning like you know better than I do, I was there, wasn’t I?” he said heatedly. “I know what went on, all right? And I didn’t get through any of that because I was brilliant at Defense Against the Dark Arts, I got through it all because — because help came at the right time, or because I guessed right — but I just blundered through it all, I didn’t have a clue what I was doing — STOP LAUGHING!” The bowl of murtlap essence fell to the floor and smashed. He became aware that he was on his feet, though he couldn’t remember standing up. Crookshanks streaked away under a sofa; Ron and Hermione’s smiles had vanished. “You don’t know what it’s like! You — neither of you — you’ve never had to face him, have you? You think it’s just memorizing a bunch of spells and throwing them at him, like you’re in class or something? The whole time you know there’s nothing between you and dying except your own — your own brain or guts or whatever — like you can think straight when you know you’re about a second from being murdered, or tortured, or watching your friends die — they’ve never taught us that in their classes, what it’s like to deal with things like that — and you two sit there acting like I’m a clever little boy to be standing here, alive, like Diggory was stupid, like he messed up — you just don’t get it, that could just as easily have been me, it would have been if Voldemort hadn’t needed me —”

(OotP, 327)

They try, but they don't really get it. And after this conversation, they try more, and they make more of an effort to understand what Harry is talking about.

We see Sirius, who has his fair share of issues, understands and relates to Harry better from the get-go:

“Since when did someone have to be in the Order of the Phoenix to ask questions?” asked Sirius. “Harry’s been trapped in that Muggle house for a month. He’s got the right to know what’s been happen —”

(OotP, 87)

He understands Harry would want to know what's going on after being trapped for a month — he's in exactly the same boat, he knows.

“But if they do expel me,” said Harry, quietly, “can I come back here and live with you?” Sirius smiled sadly. “We’ll see.” “I’d feel a lot better about the hearing if I knew I didn’t have to go back to the Dursleys,” Harry pressed him. “They must be bad if you prefer this place,” said Sirius gloomily.

(OotP, 115)

He understands the situation with the Dursleys and wants to help, but has no way to do so. He can't make promises Dumbledore would override him on. He cares about Harry and has the life experience to relate to him.

As does Luna, who experienced her mother's death:

Harry nodded curtly, but found that for some reason he did not mind Luna talking about Sirius. He had just remembered that she too could see thestrals.

(OotP, 863)

The problem isn't that people around him don't care (I mean, some don't) but in the case of Ron and Hermione, they just don't get it. They're teenagers in a culture that just doesn't conceive mental health as a thing. Wizards happily let inmates in Azkaban go mad and drive themselves to suicide, it's even expected according to Fudge. It's not our world and culture, so I'm not surprised by it. This scene with Hermione also showcases it well:

“Well, it’s like Hagrid said, they can look after themselves,” said Hermione impatiently, “and I suppose a teacher like Grubbly Plank wouldn’t usually show them to us before N.E.W.T. level, but, well, they are very interesting, aren’t they? The way some people can see them and some can’t! I wish I could.” “Do you?” Harry asked her quietly. She looked horrorstruck. “Oh Harry — I’m sorry — no, of course I don’t — that was a really stupid thing to say —”

(OotP, 450)

It's not that she meant to say anything to upset Harry, she just didn't think it through. Didn't think about what her words actually meant until Harry brought it up. And that's really what it is. They don't understand, not really. At least not at this point in the books.

The ones I don't really have an excuse for are some of the adults in the Order. I mean Lupin, Arthur, and Molly should know better. I mean, Lupin is allergic to responsibility, so, I understand why he doesn't try to help in any way. But Molly doesn't seem to understand either, Molly, who lost both her older brothers to Death Eaters. I think in Molly's case, is that she mastered the art of pushing any emotion she doesn't want to feel down and she doesn't understand why Harry is feeling things and not doing the same because she's sure everyone is like her in that regard. She is wrong.

Her reaction to the boggart in OotP is the result of how she doesn't seem to really process her negative emotions which, again, results in her having no clue what Harry's going through. Molly is a result of a culture that's very unaware of mental health and who never really dealt with her own issues and fears from the first war.

So, yeah, I think the responses we see to Harry's trauma from other characters are just very in line with wizards' understanding of mental health. Which is close to none.

[starberry-cupcake]

HAPPY HALLOWEEN: CHAPTER 33 PEOPLE, WE'VE MADE IT!!!

previously, on harrowcita del 9:

this was the last recap update

this was my recap of where I left off

this is the post about camilla's reappearance which I can't reproduce in its entirety in this post but I suggest you look at

CHAPTER 33:

harrowcita is hanging out in a nice planet that sounds very pleasant

we've been so long in the emperor's bolthole and canaan house that this feels like heaven, actually

let's build a cottage and live here forever maybe

even better, as previously established, camilla is here

there's nature, there's little bugs, there's camilla, what else do we need???

maybe gideon would be nice

camilla shows up like "hey, loser, I need you to do me a solid" and pulls out palmolive's reconstructed skull

harrow is like ???????????????????????????

and here's where things get complicated for that 3D model I was building

harrow remembers camilla and palmolive dying the way they died in the gideon-less au

like, shot in the face repeatedly

her memory of them is the memory of the gideon-less au: not knowing them much, not remembering their faces much, seeing them shot to death by a slasher villain

and I'm like...huh????????????????????

because, as previously established (5 months ago), in the gideon-less au, dulcinea isn't not!dulcinea

she's real!dulcinea and protozoa is alive

he's reciting poetry and ortus doesn't like him coming for his gig

however, harrow does remember not!dulcinea being a threat and yandere twin has repeatedly talked about how she took off her arm and all that

so...which is it????

camilla is like "look, I don't care about your lack of memory or the fact that you're currently bleeding out of every perceivable orifice in your head, I got a job for you"

harrow is, as usual, skeptical of everything, especially of camilla being real, because 1) they're like in the orbit of the emperor's supposedly top secret bolthole, 2) camilla was supposed to be dead and 3) she's too perfect to exist

well, that last one was mine, but still

and harrowcita is dealing with this thing in which she can't trust her mind because, for all intents and purposes, she has an emotional support apparition trailing her

so harrow starts attacking camilla to try to figure out if she's real and camilla is slaying all her constructs because she's that bitch

so harrow accepts to listen and then camilla gives her palmolive's skull that's all glued back together with a lot of care, love and patience

camilla says they planned stuff in case he died (Sixth house winning points with me every single day, they came PREPARED, not like you SECOND HOUSE, YOU JUDGMENTAL ASSHATS)

in case palmolive kicked the bucket, he'd tether his soul or energy or whatever incorporeal thing that makes him himself to his remains

his remains blew to bits though

sometimes it doesn't matter how much you plan, things just blow up and explode in a million pieces

like my plans of reading this book in less time

so camilla found some palmolive scraps and put them together but if whatever bit of him he's tethered to isn't there, she has to go back and look for more bits

basically, camilla needs harrow to tell her if palmolive's force ghost is in the collected bits

harrow is both bleeding from every orifice and also very confused with everything that is happening

those are the two things she's been consistently experiencing all book long

but she's harrowcita nonagesimus and she's no quitter so in she goes to the river to see if indeed palmolive sextus has managed to cheat death, so to speak

she's expecting to have to do this

but she finds herself here

there's a nice little room with a cushion-y bed, some books, a window, a chair, etc

and there's also my reluctant bestie palmolive (I'm growing attached to him against my initial intentions)

palmolive hugs harrow and harrow is even more confused than before because affection????? care???? in this economy?????

so my reluctant bestie palmolive was able to create a sort of bubble in the shores of the metaphorical ghostly river

he created a space in the nothing, so to speak, a space in which he can remain without being pulled away from the same spot

he tethered himself in a cellular level in a spiderweb-like form to his pieces and was able to craft an unmoving reproduction of the place where he died, with what he could see at that time

that includes one romance book he's in the midst of writing fanfiction of

as one would

palmolive is also very upset at harrow taking approximately 8 months to get to him

harrow is like ?????????

palmolive goes "how did you get separated from cam?"

harrow is like ???????????????????????????

and when harrow starts with the lyctor spiel...

(is anyone impressed by that? ever? the emperor is a clown)

...palmolive says "tell me you did it correctly"

harrow tells him she slurped her cav

which we all know might not be entirely true because 1) harrow thinks ortus was his cav (brother in being blown to bits to palmolive) and 2) she's lyctor lite

but palmolive doesn't know this

he's very disappointed in god, and aren't we all

palm, my reluctant bestie, if you knew the guy you'd be even more disappointed

BUT THERE'S NO TIME FOR ANY OF THAT BECAUSE THERE'S SOMEONE AT THE WINDOW JUST IN TIME FOR HALLOWEEN

IT'S THE SLEEPER/WAKER/SLASHER

palmolive thinks harrow brought him there but he doesn't know who tf it is because he's the real palmolive and not the gideon-less au palmolive

the slasher villain is trying to get at them

if harrow leaves palm's apartment, the waker/sleeper/slasher will leave too, according to him

he kisses harrow's brow and drops a funny one-liner, as he does, because he's a nerd

harrow reluctantly leaves and shows up in a dark corridor

but it's not a corridor and it isn't dark

and most shocking of all

THERE'S A "ME"

THERE'S A NARRATOR

"you never could have guessed that he had seen me"

WHO'S ME?????? WHO IS NARRATING????

and that's it for chapter 33, I'm glad I stopped halfway 5 months ago because idk if I would have been able to do what I did if I had read until the end

happy halloween fam! I'll post my costume later but it isn't locked tomb related although maybe next year???

[basedkikuenjoyer]

Skip & Loafer 65: Night Moves

Ooooh, I was not expecting this bomb of a chapter while we seemed to be in the midst of dealing with Cherie the heartbreaker. Speaking of...wow that was a big response to that last chapter post. So like, thanks for that. But this time we're back to the real heart of Skip & Loafer, the budding love between Mitsu and Shima. And we're hitting it hard, getting right to their first hurried attempt at a relationship and Shima's vulnerability.

I adore this scene at night. The panels are absolutely beautiful and Shima's so open and honest. He doesn't feel he's good enough for someone who shines as bright as Mitsu. Who of course doesn't really seem to get what's going on. I love how she ends it though. "Come to me if you need me to praise you more."

Get a load of the cover! It's as cute as the main couple are. Surely Nao-chan had a hand in picking out that outfit...and we better see her lovely self soon. Sadly there's gonna be a month off. But these two are the core of the series and I love their dynamic. Shima's so down on himself he can't believe someone as cool as Mitsu would ever just like him for him. No matter how many times he sees Mitsu is exactly the type who would. She just sees a guy who reached out when she was alone and new and helped her find such a new home in the big city.

Don't get me wrong, at times I feel a little down the series hasn't done as much as I'd like with Mitsu's main motivation. The angle of the rural girl doing all this to ultimately help small towns like her home is really cool and something that speaks to my own experience. But the dynamic with her and Shima is just pure gold. Especially following up the realization they're all about to hit the end of these carefree teenage days is creeping in. There's a great consistency there between the friends realizing that and Shima maybe realizing he needs to move fast on getting his own shit together.

I wonder if this is the climax of the school trip? I feel like the sunset in Kyoto could have been that but this feels like it could be too. Cherie needs to tie back in as well, I could see her making a move on Shima to really get Mitsu worked up knowing how she treats boys. And hopefully that's a great chance for a little life lesson from Auntie Nao. But for now, this was a beautiful chapter for both plot and art.

[meggannn]

if you are a famous pizza joint and over the years you cook me several pizzas I fall in love with, and then over time your suddenly rebrand to only make hamburgers, I like hamburgers on occasion, but it’s weird if you still call it a pizza

I didn’t get used to coming to your store for hamburgers. in fact your previous owners established a really good reputation for making pizza and I don’t necessarily believe you can make good hamburgers cause you don’t have the best track record with rebranding to other things. you tried to make conveyor belt sushi that one time and it sent some people to the hospital so I get very nervous when you start experimenting.

then your chefs take to social media and start saying “those old critically acclaimed pizzas of ours that you loved so much always had some bad flavors, so in our new hamburgers, we actually tried hard to make the tomatoes taste good. these hamburgers are the Best We’ve Ever Done, You Should Preorder Our Hamburgers”

you are now boasting about how delicious your patties are. now I tried your sliders one time a few years ago out of boredom and they were fine, it wasn’t really for me, but whatever. and now I notice how the first people in line for your hamburgers today are talking about how they can’t wait to rip off the buns and all the other toppings and lick their patty’s bald head till it says “oooh I never should've left you, vhenan, oooh.” i’m mostly a vegetarian these days anyway. please stop talking about patties. I don’t fucking care you brought over the same plates and wallpaper and fishtank when you redesigned your restaurant. for $60 I want to eat a good pizza. even a pizza-flavored hamburger. is there anything on this menu that will suit me?

then I go online to see if anyone else feels the same nervousness. and I meet several other people who say yeah, this is not pizza, the only good pizza they’ve ever made was back when they made only margherita; some others who say yeah it’s weird, but I like hamburgers so it’s whatever; several other critics are just bigots who stand outside the store lobbing feces at the windows because this store also serves rainbow-colored pizza-hamburgers; and several others who say removing the cheese from the pizza-hamburger isn’t actually that big a deal, and neither is removing the tomatoes, or the bread, or the sauce, because enjoying pizza is about the Experience and the Ambiance, so they’re going to love this hamburger anyway because come on, it’s the pizza joint! the classic pizza joint! don’t you miss eating their classic pizzas?? now I have never straight-up told anyone to not buy the hamburgers, and yet when I or anyone else mentions missing when this place served pizza, I get alluded to as a pizza tourist with intentions on par with the aforementioned poo-slingers.

if I then see reviews have come out with video footage they even the tomatoes, which are a commonly agreed element in both pizza and hamburgers, are no longer is up to the quality of any acceptable hamburger joint much less this pizzeria in its heyday, it’s gonna ruin my appetite for your hamburgers entirely, much less anything else that comes out of that kitchen. that was the ONE connective tissue between pizza and hamburgers that I cared about; the one thing that everyone looks forward to from you, specifically, even. and if some folks say “hey, even if this is a hamburger joint, it’s a bad sign that these tomatoes look like they’ve been dug out of the garbage and cut by a nine-year-old, and I worry because I don’t want to see you on the internet later complaining about food poisoning, god forbid, or worse, telling people that mild food poisoning is part of the experience,” I think it’s baffling that people shoot back with “why don’t you buy the hamburger before judging if it has food poisoning for yourself?” as if you and I don't deserve better for sixty goddamn dollars than to have to guess whether a hamburger with a dead fly in it is going to ruin our weekend.

look, even if I weren’t very bitter about my favorite pizza joint changing, I think that people who like hamburgers also deserve a better foodie experience for their time and money, no matter what it is, and we are lying to ourselves if we say all the basic ingredients of pizza never really mattered and everything was just window dressing for like, all those decorative background plates and wallpaper that one guy designed 20 years ago. that one guy is still arguing with fans of his old pizzeria on twitter ten years after he even left the place, so I don’t really care what he thinks.

this restaurant’s menu items, whether pizza or hamburger, costs $60 and take several dozens of hours to sit at your restaurant and enjoy. now I have signed up for your dinner experience in the past despite my wariness and been proven wrong, because enjoying your enormous, delicious pizza for hours has been a highlight of my food experiences since I even started calling myself an #eater. even if I dislike how you’ve used some anchovies or chicken bbq toppings in the past, I actually enjoyed when you changed my other favorite menu item into tacos earlier, even if the taco’s faces looked kinda funny.

and I’m sure your staff worked very hard on these hamburgers under extreme conditions; maybe you had Jeremy Allen White screaming HANDS HAIRSTYLES in your ear back there for 10+ years, and that sucks. while I have not forgotten that you axed several of your line cooks (who designed the recipes you’re now serving) just before the finish line, I am sympathetic that this is a make-or-break moment for your restaurant. you’ve borrowed too much money from Uncle Jimmy and if this doesn’t work, we might not see you stay open for long. I do not want that to happen.

but i do not owe this place my patronage just because they still call themselves a pizza joint. they changed too many menu items. I am no longer their ideal clientele. I don’t have all the time and money in the world to waste on hamburgers I know will make me unhappy and I’m tired of being alluded to as a “tourist” for sharing my concerns about the future of one of my favorite restaurants.

so with a very heavy heart, I realized that I’ve kind of... outgrown this pizza-hamburger joint. I don’t care if the hamburger patty gets redeemed anymore. just across the street, supergiant’s gyro truck is putting out ten times the quality that I see from your hamburgers while also providing excellent weekly menu changes based on customer feedback, and metaphor refantazio’s pizzeria is just standing there as a quiet restaurant of the year contender, and oh hey, is lego horizon adventures opening next month? and literally any of those are looking like a wonderful palate cleanser to all of... this.

[trans-axolotl]

saw a post the other day that said that psych survivors were overexaggerating and fearmongering for saying that people should be aware that having diagnoses on your record can be a danger + impede your life. and the more i think about it the more annoyed i am. because i think people need to know that there are exceptions to health privacy laws that can make having psych diagnoses and psych hospitalization history on your record risky depending on your circumstances. diagnoses follow you through your health interactions-you do not have to consent to have your information shared between providers. judicial proceedings are also an exception to the HIPAA privacy rule, so for things like custody battles, guardianship, getting orders of protection--the court can petition for medical records. there's so many other situations where even if they can't legally access your information without your authorization, people will require you to disclose diagnoses, records, previous hospitalizations and refuse to give you services/hire you/whatever unless you share that information with them. for example in many states anyone (a provider, a cop, friends and family) can disclose that you have certain psych diagnoses like bipolar to the DMV which then might require that you undergo drivers license review as frequently as every 3 months. my university is actively trying to kick me out right now because i had to disclose my medical record, psych diagnoses, and hospitalization history to them as a requirement to stay enrolled.

and i don't want to scare people or make people think that having a diagnosis on their records is automatically going to mean that it is weaponized against us. because i do know plenty of people who have never faced issues with their records. but i do expect that the community supports the people speaking out about the ways that we have been harmed by diagnoses creating barriers to accessing necessary parts of our life. instead of attacking us or saying that we're lying about things we are currently experiencing.

[stagefoureddiediaz]

Thinking thoughts about Abuela being back and with this backstory about her being taken in by charlatans and Eddies whole catholic guilt thing and how the two things kind of play into one another as an exploration of faith and being taken in by something.

Abuela giving all her money to the tarot card readers etc because she was searching for something - for connection (with Abuelo) - trying to recapture what she had lost, and How Eddie has spoken about trying to re-find the magic he had with Shannon - how Eddie hasn't actually fully reconciled the Shannon of it all when it comes to relationships and how his Catholic guilt connects into that.

How Marisol as a physical representation of Catholicism is part of that narrative - how Eddie is entering a place where he has to chose his path - in order to move on from Shannon he needs to fully square the hole - catholic or non catholic. And how that needs to happen first - before he can begin his queer journey!

[novella-november]

Is this fanfic friendly? I feel like an outlier.

I guess this is my sign it's time to throw together a FAQ post to link to lol.

Yes, every event for this blog is fanfic friendly :D

Though as I mentioned on my Ominous October post, for events that include multiple short stories, I encourage everyone to flex their creativity and take one of their planned short story fanfics, and at least *attempt* to turn one of them into something entirely original; rebuilding a character and story from the ground up to stand on its own two legs is no easy feat, and that is what makes it so fun!

It really gets your creative gears turning, to make an "au of an existing material" to be something entirely original, and you can be pleasantly surprised about the things you come up with!

As a few people say, its not just a matter of "filing the serial numbers off" -- you have to add in just as much *or more* as what you take out when you are turning a fanfiction into something that is original and completely divorced from its original source material / inspiration, and that is a hard, but very rewarding challenge!

Obviously, this is not a requirement (there's no hard requirements for any of the challenges, other than no cheating, including no using AI),

but if you would like an extra challenge for the short story events and you're planning on doing entirely fan-fiction, I highly recommend trying it out at least once, and seeing where it leads you--

you may find yourself pleasantly surprised by what you find down that rabbit hole!