#if i make a comic based on them????? thats it thats my peak

[hiiikiko]

IF THATS THE CASE … would u write ellie x hikikomori reader

𝕖𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕖 𝕩 𝕙𝕚𝕜𝕚𝕜𝕠𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕚!𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣

ellie w. x reader | tlou m.list

[a/n] AHHHH I LOVE THIS PROMPT SM !! (speakin as a former hikikomori <now forced to work a 9-5>) also im doin this heavily based off me bc my room is literally like the ones in the pics lolz n there’s not many other known moris that aren’t minors n i dont feel comfy roping them in 0__0 idk if this is good bc it was so hard to come up with anything lolz

₊˚ ‿︵‿︵‿︵୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧‿︵‿︵‿︵ ˚₊

⋆. 𐙚 ˚ as a hikikomori, you rarely ever left your apartment, too anxious to face the chaotic world outside but on this particular day, you were craving some strawberry shortcake from a nearby bakery; so you put on a brave face and stepped outside for the first time in awhile

⋆. 𐙚 ˚ on the way to the bakery, you passed a comic shop and decided to take a peak because it seemed to be empty, and the only worker looked too engrossed in their comic

⋆. 𐙚 ˚ the comic shop was very neat! they even had the exact comic you were looking for so you snatched it up and made your way to the register

⋆. 𐙚 ˚ as soon as you placed the comic on the counter, green eyes peaked over a spiderman comic which a very pretty auburnette was reading, your face was covered in a blush as she began to scan the book and make small talk, but unfortunately you were too shy to talk

⋆. 𐙚 ˚ for days after, she would pop into your mind, the way she looked at you over the comic made you smile

⋆. 𐙚 ˚ so, you made plans to come again the next day.. then the day after that.. then day after that.. then-

⋆. 𐙚 ˚ soon, you and ellie became aquatinted, she even knew your favourite series but you had yet to know anything about her

⋆. 𐙚 ˚ finally, one day you had the courage to ask her what her favourite series was, ellie leaned over the counter, a smirk on her face as she said “Ah, i’m a bit busy right now but.. why don’t i tell you later, hm?” your soul left your body when you saw she had written her number on a sticky note tucked into your comic (little did you know that she had written that weeks ago and finally worked up the courage to give it to the pretty girl with immaculate taste in comics)

⋆. 𐙚 ˚ soon, you and ellie were chatting everyday

⋆. 𐙚 ˚ you even got her into manga lol

⋆. 𐙚 ˚ even though you weren’t keen on sending photos, ellie would constantly send videos/photos of her at school, or work, out hiking, gym pics, and more (she also sends you haul videos of what she bought at the comic store and would tell you that she saved a comic for you)

⋆. 𐙚 ˚ BUT when you did work up the courage to send pics (usually leaving out full body pics or face pics) she would go completely crazy and bombard you with compliments, making you kick your feet and blush

⋆. 𐙚 ˚ you decide to invite ellie over to play a game, you clean up because now you finally have motivation, ellie looks almost out of place in your room that’s filled with pink things and little figurines, she doesn’t mind it, as a matter of fact she thinks it’s cute and she loves how many comfortable things you have, your whole room is like one big pillow

⋆. 𐙚 ˚the two of you have a great time, ellie ends up spending the night which you don’t mind, it’s been awhile since you’ve had company

⋆. 𐙚 ˚ the next morning, you wake up and can’t find ellie anywhere but when you walk into the kitchen you see a little box with a note on it that reads ‘had to go to work, picked up a cake for you <3’

⋆. 𐙚 ˚ there’s no official start to your relationship, instead ellie ends up staying over days at a time, buying you comics and games, taking you out on dates, so the two of you had somehow became a ‘thing’

⋆. 𐙚 ˚ ellie even has a highlight full of pics of you (only if you’re comfy with it) and of your dates

⋆. 𐙚 ˚ when you finally open up to her about how you struggle with going outside and being around other people, she’ll try her best to understand

⋆. 𐙚 ˚ after you tell her, she’ll still plan outside dates but will also make sure the two of you have at home dates, mainly playing video games and watching movies

⋆. 𐙚 ˚she’ll also listen to whatever you’re struggling with

⋆. 𐙚 ˚she’ll accommodate you but she will NOT coddle you because she wants you to get better and treating you like a child won’t help, somedays she’ll drag you outside to go on a little walk or take you over to her place instead

⋆. 𐙚 ˚ she does get frustrated at times because she wants to show you off and take you out but it’s so fuckin frustratin how often you say no, during these times she’ll sometimes lash out or go for a walk but then apologize as soon as she gets back and try her best to communicate what’s going on

⋆. 𐙚 ˚ this does prompt you to try harder so when ellie does take you out, she’ll check up on you every couple of minutes just to make sure she’s not making you feel bad

⋆. 𐙚 ˚ she’ll encourage you to get a better sleep schedule and a healthier diet, even going as far to come over and cook for you or bring leftovers from whatever joel made

⋆. 𐙚 ˚ she’s very nervous to touch you, her hands practically hovering over you because she’s not sure if this is okay (even if you’re practically throwing yourself at her, she’ll still be nervous and awkward about it)

⋆. 𐙚 ˚ when she does realize you’re not a porcelain doll, she can’t get enough of you, she’s been so nervous to touch you for so long that when she realizes that she can, she goes feral, her hands roaming all over your body

⋆. 𐙚 ˚ she punches your stuffed animals when you’re not in the room

⋆. 𐙚 ˚ if ellie’s in a band, she’ll invite you to gigs and at first you’re scared and frequently decline but when you finally do show up, ellie puts on the best show she ever has just to impress you ♡

⋆. 𐙚 ˚ overall, she loves that your geek matches hers and she wants you to get better, so she’d try her best to help in whatever way she can

[bredrawz]

Which oc of yours has the most character lore?

(Also hiii I'm so glad you liked my artfight drawing 😋)

vikki and glume have the most lore out of my ocs (for all my current ocs)

even ocs within their universe arent as fleshed out! all the ocs and some of their spoiler-free info are on my art fight page, but all of my current ocs are linked into one universe so heres a ranking of how much lore each character has:

1 - Vikki

this girl definitely has more lore considering her ghost seeing abilities adding onto her character

1 - Glume

being the main protagonist of the universe she almost ties with vikki with how much lore she has. but since vikki has supernatural powers i think shed be considered to have more but these two are at a. lose equal tbh

3 - rose and edric

will not give any info on their roles in the story but they definitely have their own story i have thought out

4 - nancy and eleanor

youve seen nancy on my art fight but she has a supporting story as she was the previous wife of edric, but she doesn’t have too much lore and is just simply mentioned in the comic (thats as much as ill say regarding her). as for eleanor, you’re all just hearing about her today but to prevent spoiling my own comic before its even published… ill just say she has a backstory lol

5- eli

i hate him but think hes so silly at the same time. hes not spoken too much about in the comic but does have a few appearances, i’ll definitely make minicomics with him but despite not much being said about him in the book he actually has a history with glume and an entire profile on their equivalent to twitter where he posts about being an “alpha male” unironically. no, he cannot name 5 soap brands.

6- mark

hes a dead sassy asshole who has a backstory of his life that isnt really explored in the comics besides a small summary since he isnt too important plotwise. but again, along with the other characters with little appearances i might make minicomics oitside the book for him.

7- summer

little is explained about her life besides her occupation and a reference to how she died

8- violet and kevin

more character new to the public but they have a bit of lore and these kids wont be featured in the book but if theres a book two i might add them in. honestly they were made after i finished writing out the full story, i just wanted to expand the universe for funsies yk

9- anne

i feel bad this queen is so low on the list since i love her but i havent thought of a proper backstory for her. all i have is shes glumes sister and is used to kinda bring out glumes character more and is a supporting character. her backstory wouldnt even be relevant in the story as shes a background/sligh side character, but she still deserves one (all the characters that remain vague on lore do)

10- the bathroom ghost

no this is not hanako, in fact, this dude is not even close to being as cool. i cant say much but theyre bland and you only hear about their death. theyre yet another character that is new to the public.

if you actually listened through my ramblings about my ocs congrats, heres a cookie 🍪

if you’re interested in the comic tumblr is the place to be since i’ll probably talk about it most here

for those curious about the current state of Paranormal (my comic), i’ve decided to do all the bases traditionally. i filled two sketchbooks with a rough draft, but now im working on the actual comic itself on a new sketchbook. its fairly small so once i finish it, ill transfer that book to digital, then get new ones of the same size, and work on the comic segment by segment. honestly itll make the process seem smaller than it is so ill get done faster (i think idk). but so far im moving fast and the style changed again. i might post a sneak peak on here.

feel free to ask questions regarding Paranormal, the characters, or even specifically one character youre interested in.

okie bye :p

[fanficfish]

characterization

so in the past i used to get aaked about how i portrayed characters so well in my fics. Mostly this was when i was in peak MCYt acotvity becauae i'd write a fic and people would ask about how i got them feeling like the actual characters, which i swear is the only reason people read those things like seriously-

anyways i thought i'd share tips for writing characters thr really feel like the actual characters :)

tldr this is for people who want to write canon complient fic and match characrers really well to the real deal. If you're doing AU or somwthing dont worry about this. I'll happily answer if you send an ask thpugh (i do write noncanon fics where people have mentioned how much like the actual character it feels like reading tho since the original work is a comic and not a novel....)

Speech pattern. Especially in RPF or in media whwre the characters are audibly talking. In a good one, you can hear small language nuances. I'll use hermitcraft as an example. In Hermitcraft, most of the creators have catchphrases or verbal tics- one guy goes "amaing!" (Or rather "ahmuayzhing!") at things and another like to pepper his vocab with fancy words while he rambles. I don't usually weite accents inless it's like Scottish where you kinda do need the accent but i try to slip their verbal tics in, because it makes the fic meoe immeesive if you can read a character's lines and it sounds like skmeting the character would say. It's harder in weiten media but something you can pick up on the vibe ans go off that.

adding on to this: i ehould add since i'm bisually impaired i listen for voice to identify people. You can usually hear a person based off their speech pattern and vocal range fairly accurately and i always imagine the character is saying what i'm writing so i can tell if it doesn't seem like something they would say. I will say i did once write fic in a fandom i barely knew but it worked becauae their meme qualities literally were rheir lersonalities....and there was very little dialogue.

movement. I haven't done this as much but in visual media you can definitely see in good animations or videos that someone is moving more while talking, another prefers to lean on something, etc.

logic. Is your character kinda dull, like. phineas and ferb'e bbuford? Then he will have dumb responses. Is he Sheldon Cooper? He will respond witth a meme statement or big vocab. Not everyone shares the same logic. and ofc if you want to follow canon, dont write that x charaacter drank soda when that character drinks tea. Ofc its fic tho so take whatveer liberties you need/want.

that's really it. a lot or it is just considering the charqcters' speech patterns (accents make a difference but you don't need to write them!) and their overall actions. My take is: if you can substitute a simillar character in, you haven't made rhe charactee distinct enough. A good character haa dimension and isn't just memes.

Thats all i can think of rn i might add more later

[wolvertooth]

ok so im reading wolverine volume 2 to try to get some context for whatever the fucks going on in uncanny. at somepoint, sabretooth starts hunting wolverine more frequently, saying hes his father(which turns out not to be true, dont worry lol). hes been given this belief and nobody can figure out why.

after being given hallucinogenic poison, sabretooth starts to break free from the need to kill and logan starts to remember something…

at first i thought he was trying to say ‘papa’ or something, but then its revealed he was trying to say ‘partner’(uglyyyyyy panel omg)

im not sure if logan remembers them being partners at this point, but he definitely does later. but the thorazine? not ever brought up again(as far as i saw, maybe it is. its hard to find what comics come next in canon since its not contained in a single series, theyre all over the place).

anyway, he then gets xavier and jean to look into his brain, and he finds some memories that dont make sense. (shout out to this bit where creed straight up wants to take him out for a bday date)

(also shout out to whoever put this speech bubble below them LMAO)

logan then goes to the facility in weapon x where the memories were fabricated. in the animated series sabretooth goes too, but i guess he wouldnt need to in the comics since its implied he already has. i think sabretooth found out about it somehow, got captured, and given the new memory of being logans father. this makes sense since after the hallucination thing sobering him up, he drops that belief.

my theory though is that sabretooth got a lot more fucked up by weapon x than logan. i mean, im pretty sure the false memories were all given after they worked together, and they dont seem to have any other reason(outside of using trauma to activate their need to kill) than to make them all want to suddenly turn against eachother. and i think sabretooth specifically was a failsave for if logan ever escaped, to go seek out and kill him.

both big memories(the one with them being partners in suits and the one where silverfox was killed) were based around logans birthday. so thats probably the reason behind sabretooth seeking him out on his birthday every year, being mixed with the ingrained need to kill him, just based on the little amounts of context he has. BUT the reason for him angering logan? for bringing out the animal? for constantly bringing up silverfox? hes trying to get logan to remember. hes trying to help break him from the memory blocks.

and hes trying to break free from his own programming. and its clear that at somepoint, he did. and he just wants logan to be free from it too.

the memory blocks are tied to logans animal side, but even later on when his animal side is finally released by sabretooth, it didnt really do anything for his memory. because at that point logan already remembers, while sabretooth is still under control of it. though, it is mentioned that something in sabretooths brain is unlocked from wolverine stabbing a claw through it? like he became more in control. that his need to kill is now his own choice. so maybe at that point he was just trying to get him to do that(also it kinda sucks that the canon gets passed around to different authors who will just ignore or get rid of established lore, so none of it really sticks for very long and the characters motives keep changing).

its weird though how logan remembers, yet still keeps trying to fight him. he knows its all fake, but still keeps the same opinion….basically sabretooths stuck with a partner whos forced by the narrative to never like him no matter what he does, while being equally doomed by the narrative to never be able to change. no matter how many times they break the spell, as long as the plot keeps going, theyll always be reset to their basic character traits. #peak romantic tragedy.

[catboybatman]

Finally read detective comics #1000.... shits disappointing tbh.

Maybe its bc it ended on Tom King's part idk (i had already read the arkham knight part so for me it ended there). Idk.

Its just okay i guess. (Clenches fists)

Also it reeks is sexist writing tbh like. Jason and Duke get this fun moment (yea. I kinda liked that part. Just like seeing Duke.) Dick and Damian had this conversation that,, sure happened. What do the girls get?

Steph just wants to make out with Tim (in front of the entire gang, mind you).

Selina says 2 whole things: a meow and a greeting, just calling Bruce "Bat", in typical Tom King fashion. (He has ruined those nicknames for them for me.) Literally could just have been Alfred the Cat. At least then the panel with the two of them would have been neat then.

And Cass and Helena have a conversation thats okay i guess? I just dont think Cass would fuck with Helena that much actually idk (might have missed stuff that proves otherwise) its not really saying much about them other than "hrm the boys are loud and dumb" (shorthand for funny girl writing) like ok. See me care.

And Kate and Babs have the most ridiculous, borderline stereotypical "men writing feminism but 'accidentaly' making it sexist" conversation in recent comic history. Im not sorry but Neo-batgirl Babs annoys the shit out of me and Tom Kings writing made it worse.

"Have you been to war?" (<- kate) "ive dated dick grayson" ma'am your spine got reconstructed by the joker, your brother is a serial killer, etc. You have had bigger issues. Also the whole thing about "why are you -woman and i -girl?"

A) BECAUSE BABS CHOSE IT WHEN SHE WAS A GIRL (and to yk, entice younger readers/viewers. In this case also bc it was a callback to Betty Kane, from when there was a Batwoman and a Batgirl, bc they differed in age. Its not that deep tbh. So many comic book discussions could be solved by realizing the context in which the characters were created/written in)

AND B) BC THE MANTLE SHOULDNT BE HERS ANYMORE. You're literally proving why she should not be wearing the cowl. (Simplifying it ofc but like. Cmon.) (Even tho she is acting like a child nowadays. God.)

Also maybe its bc im slowly making my way through the Batman Bronze Age (peak era) and bc im most familiar with Babs as Oracle through 90s comics and Batgirl (2000) but this neo-babs batgirl is so annoying!! She's so immature!

How to fix this? (Pspsp DC pspsps Its free psps)

Option A) Read: Oracle Code (or any other proper run but im assuming the writers dont wanna so im giving them a good and easy option) -> adapt into moderately mature arc for mainstream Babs where she grows and changes as a person -> breathe easy. Balance restored, etc.

Option B) keep her as Batgirl (bad choice) and just write her like a damn adult that doesnt create feelings of extreme violence in me (easy option) or

Option C) just reboot all of this (perfect choice) and create something based on pre-52. Entirety of DC tbh.

[gvnita]

jess presents... the sanfransquad. 

in a world where celia didn’t die and the group didn’t fall apart. 

fiona chu-pederson. the mom friend. stepdaughter of the mayor of san francisco. debate team president. currently working as a lobbyist in washington d.c. the squad likes her family’s gazebo to hang out in. ( seohyun )

winston go. has blown up a few labs, for fun. kicked out of stanford, currently attending SF city college. childhood friends with drew. ( choi woo shik )

andrew leung. the dad friend. football team in high school with thad. graduated from city college. security company employee, per uncle's suggestion. celia's baby daddy. childhood friends with winston. ( ross butler )

celia chen. baby bean. has a son with drew named teddy. computer science grad from city college. works entry level at silicon valley (remote work). cries during emotional commercials. childhood friends with eri. ( jelly lin )

erika sakuragi. computer engineering grad at m.i.t. going to grad school. in and out of san fran. childhood friends with celia. stress eats applesauce. ( satomi ishihara )

candace lacsamana. cheerleader from birth 'till usc. now a coach at pelton high in SF. ask her about 'bring it on: the musical’. her family attends the same church as thad’s. ( maja salvador )

thaddeus corvus. football team in high school (with drew) and college (not with drew). did not go pro. currently looking into culinary school and business. his family attends the same church as candy’s. ( mandy sekiguchi )

[midsvmmars]

i’ve finally stopped being lazy and made an actual wanted plots list so under the cut are some oc and fandom plots i’ve been dying for!! like if you’re interested in any and i’ll message u!!

first off my writing style, i only really do chemistry based discord mumus and like ships to develop naturally than pre plot them ahead of time!! only really will pre choose ships if its canon ones and even then not that often and love just having a shit ton of charas on a discord mumu!! will also spam u with hcs, pinterest boards, playlists, and fancams for all our plots so if thats ur vibe lets be besties and write!! onto the plots:

oc plots:

* honestly rlly in the mood for some mystery/supernatural stuff? 

* like either a small town that has some weird supernatural undertones like twin peaks/gravity falls/stranger things that no one fully understands but the characters start scooby dooing and get caught up in whatever weird shit is in their town??

* or a full on supernatural creatures vs hunters type of plot like?? gimme some buffy/supernatural/first kill vibes 

* or even just a regular murder mystery but a pretty little liars esque one thats just balls to the walls crazy, everyones involved and has secrets theyre desperately trying to hide from whoevers fucking with them all

* superhero, villain, and civilian drama?? pls

* u know that one slasher movie urban legend?? that but with ocs and better

* also just some plotless ones, small town, big city, college, celebrity, etc idc!!

canon:

* gimme some comic plots pls!! a marvel mumu, especially spider-man based cuz i will literally play any and every character in that (gimme comic petermj PLEASE) (also open to dc tho i know less about that!!)

* riverdales a hot mess but i love archie comics and those characters so something with that and we just make a better version of what riverdale could’ve been??

* stranger things cuz new season duhh 

* ANYTHING HORROR RELATED PLS i’ve always wanted to do a mumu of a bunch of horror characters from various things together and just pure horror chaos???

* animated/disney characters (all aged up and human tho ofc???) literally always been a guilty pleasure 

* honestly new gossip girl is a mess but i love the cast and characters sm so lets rewrite it and make it good??

* one tree hill...ALWAYS one tree hill

* aged up hsmtmts my guilty pleasure but ricky and gina 4 life IDK WHAT U WANT ME TO SAY???

* FEAR STREET ANYTHING FEAR STREET RELATED

anyway i’m sure theres more i’m blanking on but if u vibe w any of these lets do it and go crazy

[emiefaunwrites]

headcannon requests? ell, if you havent already, how did meeting their parents go? (either the leon or ishimaru family, your choice)

Hello! Thank you for your ask and also for the follow!!

SUPER LONG POST ALERT...

So I've already done meeting the Kuwata's as below:

I was also planning on saving meeting Takaaki until the Broken Arrow update (but thats miles away and will probably change from my original plan anyway). So I'll do it here for now and expand/change how it goes when I eventually get there in BA.

I'm basing the school years on the British format (since it's what I know). Sorry if that makes no sense...hopefully should though!

I hope you enjoy this! Thank you so much again!

********************

• Unlike Leon, who doesn't tell his parents about his relationship with Taka for a few months, Taka tells his dad almost immediately.

• The concept of negative opinions towards an openly gay relationship doesn't even cross Taka's mind so he has no concern that his father will react badly.

• Of course, Takaaki has no problem with it at all.

• He had a suspicion for a while that his son was attracted to men (what with how he would gush about his 'friend' Leon at every given opportunity with a look in his eye that he only ever saw when he looked at his wife) so it wasn't really a shock when it finally happened.

• But the object of Taka's affection was a surprise - he never imagined his son to fall for someone so...colourful.

• Nevertheless, he tried not to pass judgement based on appearances alone - he would need to meet the boy that stole his son's heart before he could form any true opinion.

• And that's how Leon got invited over to the Ishimaru household for dinner one weekend over the Autumn half term (three months after Takaaki finds out they're together).

• Taka is THRILLED and bursts into Leon's room as he's packing to go home to announce it.

• Leon, on the other hand, is TERRIFIED.

• Firstly, Taka's dad is a cop. That's the most frightening job EVER.

• Second, he's NEVER met anyone's parents before. Sure, he's been in relationships before but he's always bailed before things got too serious.

• Lastly, LOOK AT HIM! He doesn't exactly look like boyfriend material and he starts to panic that Mr Ishimaru will judge him on his appearance before he has a chance to prove himself.

• But he doesn't let that show - agreeing to coming over and receiving the biggest smile in return (which almost makes him forget how nervous he is).

• It's tonight that Leon has to tell his parents he's in a relationship.

• Not because he wants to. He'd rather have hidden his sexuality from them for as long as possible.

• But because he has to ask his dad for help and to borrow some of his clothes to make a good first impression.

• He showers (twice), puts on his dad's (too big) shirt, sweater vest and brown trousers, tries (and fails) with a bowtie so has to get his mum to help and finally tries (and succeeds to a certain degree) to tame his hair after automatically styling it straight out of the second shower without thinking it through.

• His mum offers to drive him but Leon refuses - needing time to collect his thoughts alone so decides to catch the train.

• It isn't a long walk from the station to Taka's house but Leon is so nervous that by the time he's arrived, he's sweating bullets - thank GOD he put on double the amount of deodorant and some of his dad's aftershave!

• He's so worried that Mr Ishimaru will be the one to open the door that he's totally rigid when it does swing open after he knocks. But to his relief, it's only Taka.

• Taka - who's wearing fairly casual clothes (for him at least) and the biggest smile - doesn't notices how nervous his boyfriend is as he pulls him into the house for a quick tour.

• Leon can barely think as they go because he keeps glancing around for Mr Ishimaru - practising his manners in his mind over and over.

• So when it turns out he isn't home from his shift yet, Leon isn't sure whether its good or bad news that he has to wait longer.

• They take a seat in the living room, Taka trying to make small talk while Leon keeps glancing nervously at the door whenever he hears a car pass or a door slam.

• 'Are you okay?'

• 'Y-yeah.'

• 'You look nervous.'

• 'I just...I really want your dad to like me.'

• It's not exactly a secret - Leon's reputation of being a 'ladies man'. Even in the article about his recruitment to Hope's Peak, there was a snide comment about it. He's sure Mr Ishimaru's dad has done research on him and if THAT'S the first impression his boyfriend's dad has of him...

• When the door finally opens, Leon isn't sure whether to jump to his feet or sink lower into the cushions - but he ends up standing when Taka grabs his hand to pull him up.

• 'Good evening, father! I hope you had a good day at work! This is Leon - my boyfriend!'

• Holy shit - Taka's dad is HUGE! He might even be taller than Oogami, and SHE'S huge!

• And he looks JUST LIKE TAKA! Except older and more tired and very much less cheerful and oh God he's scary...

• Oh shit oh shit oh shit he's looking at him and Leon's just stood there staring...

• 'H-hello, Mr Ishimaru, sir. I...I'm Leon Kuwata. I-it's a pleasure to meet you.'

• The poor guy's voice is shaking just as much as he is and to hide how pale his face is going with nerves, he drops into a bow (because subconsciously he remembers how Taka greets people and probably figures its what his dad expects).

• Takaaki has to fight the urge to laugh at the terrified boy in front of him that's clearly put in a lot of effort to smarten up - he needs to keep the 'scary father' act up as long as he can, after all!

• After a comically and deliberately tense greeting in response, the boys are excused until dinner - and Leon has to stop himself from running.

• Taka can see through his father's act (only because he was looking right at him as his lips quirked into a smile at Leon's bow) so tries to comfort his now doubly nervous boyfriend.

• 'You did great!'

• 'I BOWED! I've never bowed in my life!'

• 'It was cute!'

• 'I WASN'T TRYING TO BE CUTE!'

• During dinner, Leon is on his best behavoiur - so much so that he can barely eat without thinking about how his body is moving and hoping he isn't coming across as disrespectful.

• Taka dominates the conversation, much to both Takaaki and Leon's relief, talking about school (obviously) and bigging up Leon's achievements.

• Leon tries to keep his eyes down at all times because he can feel Mr Ishimaru's eyes on him and he might just cry if he looks up.

• That is until Taka heads out to clean the dishes, leaving him alone with Taka's dad with no option to interact.

• He tries small pleasantries, sweaty hands wringing nervously under the table while he tries to smile without looking frightened (and failing hard at that).

• Takaaki, who's thoroughly enjoying it, finally decides to put the poor boy out of his misery.

• 'Look, kid. I know about your past relationships with women. It's not exactly a secret, is it? And I know you're worried about what I think about that. But to be honest, the only thing I care about is whether or not you truly care about my son and that you won't hurt him. Can you look me in the eye and tell me that?'

• Leon is stunned into silence. But eventually he finds his voice and answers:

• 'I would never hurt him. He's the best thing to ever happen to me.'

• With that, Takaaki finally smiles.

• 'That's all that matters.'

• The rest of the evening goes by so much smoother - Leon's more relaxed, Takaaki's more talkative and Taka's just his normal self.

• And when Leon's heading home, Takaaki holds out his hand for a handshake.

• 'You're welcome anytime, Leon.'

• (Bonus scene - during their chat, Taka was listening from the kitchen and had to stop himself from crying with happiness.)

[meganshinsou-tm]

golden. (f)

☙ pairing: hawks x reader

☙ theme:  soulmate au

☙  cw/tw: profanity, comedy, fluff, soulmate mark, tickling

☙  a/n-request: Could I request a Hawks soulmate au? The s/o works at a convenient/grocery store and one night Hakws come in and s/o has had a terrible night and snaps at Hawks and thats when they find out their soulmates. Maybe like having a mark on their skin or the first words that their soulmate will say to them on their skin. Thanks!

“$8.50 is your total.”

The customer before you smirked and pulled out his wallet, handing you a $10 bill. As you bagged his drink and snacks then got his change, the man titled his head. Not looking at him you could feel his eyes watching you as if he expected you to look up and ask him something. Once you were done you, handed him his bag and change, your eyes finally meeting his face with a tired expression.

“You know I bet you’d be even prettier if you smiled more!”

You made an un-amused face at the customer, eyes rolling at his back-handed compliment. “You know I bet I’d smile more if you weren’t in my store!” 

You retorted with an over exaggerated fake smile.

The man scoffed and mumbled an incoherent response as he stormed out. Once he was gone you slumped over the counter, placing your face in your hands with a groan. So far the night had been terrible, nothing but annoying men came in and out, trying to flirt and failing miserably. Some tried to make genuine small talk but you just weren’t having it. Your college courses over the week had you drained and not to mention mother nature was in town and had you even more exhausted. All you wanted to do was go home and cuddle up on the couch for days with junk food and tv. But no, you had to work a shitty second job at a convenient store just to make ends meet for now.

It was nearing 11 o’clock at night, it was a weeknight so business was thankfully dying down. You stayed leaned over the counter, one arm outstretched and propping up on the other, watching life outside slowly going on. Sighing, you stood and hopped over the counter and walked the candy aisle, picking out one of the bigger bags of Sour Skittles before proceeding to the ICEE machine and making a huge blue raspberry treat.

As you slurped it down and walked back behind the counter the bell of the door rang, your eyes looked over to see a customer trotting inside with an obnoxious grin. He was a few inches taller than you, with wild ash blonde hair and extremely wacky eyebrows. But his odd eyebrows weren’t the only strange thing about him, no, it was the massive set of bright red wings that sprouted from his back. He was dressed in a dark jacket and light t-shirt with fitted jeans and sneakers. He had to be around the same age as you just from the looks of him.

He looked at you and waved with a smile then made his way around the store. You watched him closely, still slurping down the blue cold drink. Leaning back over the counter you opened the skittles. The guy looked familiar and you felt like you’ve seen him somewhere but couldn’t figure it out. He seemed way too happy and energetic for 11 at night, bouncing along the aisles and whistling. Rolling your eyes you sighed and popped a few skittles onto your tongue and stirred the ICEE around with its straw, stealing glances at the customer every now and then.

He was taking an unusually long time, browsing all the candy and chips, examining all the drinks in the coolers. His mannerisms started to become slightly humorous. As he strolled around he’d cup his chin and hum while quirking a brow as if he were in deep thought, his hands picking up snacks to inspect them closely. He grabbed a bag of chips and opened it, casually eating them. You huffed out a short laugh and quickly looked away when he turned to look at you, popping another skittle in your mouth. The stranger smirked and continued his tour.

Your eyes looked at him again, causing your lip to curl. He was kind of cute, like a little chicken clucking around a pen. A giggle escaped as you imagined him making chicken wings with his arms, bending at the knees and pecking at the items on the shelves. He didn’t look at you but he smiled overhearing your giggle. Suddenly the guy stopped dead in his tracks once he found the pre-made single meals. His caramel brown eyes gleaming at the different chicken options. He would reach for one before drawing back, shaking his head in shame as he mouthed “no, no, no.” He couldn’t decide on one and was having a legit crisis.

“He’s a cannibal,” you screamed internally, dying slowly from the giggles that were building up and covering your mouth to keep them from spewing.

It was no help though, he could hear your suffering. Smirking, his wings lifted and spread out, your eyes widening at the display. One of the feathers flew from them and towards you, you squealed and ducked down onto the floor, eyes screwing shut, this was the day you’d die. 

“I knew it, this shitty store will be the death of me. I’m getting taken out by a chicken feather!” 

As you sat there for a few seconds, nothing happened. Slowly you peaked open an eye and saw the red feather floating before you, you quirked an eyebrow at it and remained quiet as it floated closer. Swallowing harshly you leaned back against the counter shelves until there was nowhere left to go, stretching your neck to the side and looking away from the weird feather.

You grunted as the feather started to literally tickle your neck. A smile slipping and teeth biting on your lip, trying not to make a peep. Soon more feathers made their way over and behind the counter, floating before you. 

“Oh no,” you groaned.

All the feathers instantly went in for the attack and started to tickle all over your body, neck, chin, arms and sides. You squirmed under their soft torturous tips, giggles and full laughs slowly overflowing from your lips. It was so bad that tears were starting to prick at the corners of your eyes and you pleaded for it to stop. Suddenly, the winged man poked his head over the counter with a smile and chuckled at your distress.

“I could just tell you were dying to laugh over here, so I thought I’d help out,” he finally spoke with a prideful grin.

“C-curse you, you chicken nugget! Call them off, please,” you begged between laughs and snorts.

“You snort like a piglet,” the man snapped his fingers and pointed at you, “I’ll call you ‘Bacon’ since we’re going off of food-based names!”

You laughed even harder at his ridiculous comment, still squirming and digging your chin into your shoulder to try and shield the ticklish skin. “Oh my god I don’t care, just please make them stop!”

The man smiled and you pouted back, shutting your eyes again as one feather tickled your rib-cage. Suddenly it all stopped, your eyes opened and the feathers were gone as if they were never even there. You sighed and fell back against the counter again, panting and trying to catch your breath. The still grinning man reached out a hand to help you up, groaning, you took it. 

Once your skin connected with each other you felt a sudden searing burn around your wrist, he must’ve felt something too because you both let go at the same time and hissed.

You held your wrist up and looked at it in disbelief as a thin gold ring was now etched around it, quickly you turned to look at the man still leaning over the counter. He was inspecting his wrist as well, still smiling but his smile was even bigger and more obnoxious. His soft and excited eyes looked at you and he pointed at his wrist with the same golden ring, with a comical expression. As badly as you wanted to not laugh you couldn’t help it. He was so dorky but so … cute.

You let your head fall back against the hard shelves and dragged your hands down your face, “Oh my god why!”

“Aww, come on Bacon, from now on you’re stuck with the #2 hero, it can’t be that bad!”

Your eyes widened at his remark. 

“That’s who you are! Hawks!” 

Of all people, fate decided to pair you with Japan’s cockiest and most obnoxious hero. Of course it would, you were cocky and obnoxious yourself, what better combination than that! You started to remember all the news stories and social media posts of your now soulmate. From what you recall he is a legit good hero and has the second spot for a reason. Your eyes looked up at him, lips pursing. He was cute, and he did happen to make you laugh, even if it was by force.

There was no use in trying to stop the small on your face as his caramel brown eyes softened, it was a sign that he was going to be trouble with that face but you would be just as much trouble, if not more.

Hawks reached out his hand again, without hesitation this time you took it and he helped you stand to your feet. With a huff, you smirked and thanked him for the help. The hero reached out and brushed back a strand of your hair, you didn’t flinch or become bothered by it as he pinched your rosy cheek softly, already more than comfortable with invading your space. You weren’t exactly complainiing.

“So, do I get your name or shall I keep calling you Bacon?”

“Oh uh - it’s (Y/N).”

Hawks made a face and clicked his tongue, head shaking. 

“Nah, I’ll stick with Bacon. Now - ,” he continued and motioned his hands at the food he placed on the counter, “since we’re going to be lovers, I get this stuff for free right?”

You scoffed and smiled. “Sorry Chicken Nugget, you still have to pay just like everyone else!”

Hawks groaned and took out his wallet shaking his head, “First day together and you’re already taking my money!”

[greentrickster]

iunno how compatible it is w ace attorney but i got the tf2 brainrot rn so thats food for thought? (if you havent yet you should read the comics they're so good)

Sorry, TF2 is another fandom I know very little about, so I can’t do much of anything with it. Though from what little I know, the entire thing has some hardcore legal nightmare levels of nonsense in the paperwork, so maybe someone got roped into dealing with that?

Also, to show you just how little I know about this fandom, I saw ‘tf2′ and went ‘Transformers? Almost no knowledge, but I can probably do some Transformers stuff!’ Then I got a few sentences in and thought to see what google thought tf2 stood for... >///>

...

Here’s what I have of the Transformers thing anyway, since I already thought about it and can’t do the other one. My knowledge base is still tiny, but I can at least do this much!

I have every confidence that Phoenix would end up defending one of them in court in a world where both of them existed together. It would also be hilarious if Edgeworth’s car was a transformer and he didn’t know it, that would just be Peak Edgeworth Luck, his car is up on murder charges, what even is his life. In contrast, Klavier’s motorbike is also a transformer and he absolutely knows it and they’re friends, because Klavier would 100% befriend a giant robot, he is a good boy who wants to make all the friends.

Thanks for the ask!

[myhahnestopinion]

THE AARONS 2018 - Best TV Show

I stated last year that 2017 was the year Peak TV broke me, with too many shows spread across too many services, with many more on their way. 2018 was the year I learned to let go of the fact that I will never be able to watch every show, and to just be content with all the great shows I was able to catch. Here are the Aarons for Best TV Show:

#10. Barry (Season 1) – HBO

A simple premise that could initially be dismissed as prestige TV’s over-fascination with anti-heroes mixed with Hollywood’s over-fascination with itself, Bill Hader’s dark-comedy about a hitman who moves to LA to pursue an acting career quickly develops into a complex examination of post-war PTSD, a deconstruction of television tropes, and, simultaneously, just one of the funniest shows of the year. With veteran comedic talent like Henry Winkler and surprising break-outs like Anthony Carrigan to bolster a firing-on-all-cylinders Bill Hader as the titular character, Barry says “Yes, and…” to every opportunity to mix its hilarity with harrowing content to pitch-perfect results. While the premise, which feels dangerously close to slipping into Dexter territory by season’s end, may end up unsustainable at this level of quality, for now, Barry is a sure-fire hit, man.

#9. Dear White People (Season 2) – Netflix

More than weathering the backlash to its misnomer title, as well as the political climate that feeds into that backlash, Dear White People channels all that rage, frustration, misunderstanding, and fear into an oft-livid, oft-cathartic, and always witty season of television. Funny while never losing its firm focus, the most amusing aspect of Dear White People is perhaps the absolute joke it makes of the idea “diversity of thought” is mutually exclusive from “diversity of people” through the deft writing of its exceptional ensemble cast, who take turns shining in episodes that range from a groovy neo-noir mystery to an emotionally-eruptive bottle episode, culminating in an intriguing cliffhanger that suggests Dear White People has plenty left to address.

#8. Daredevil (Season 3) – Netflix

Just as Wilson Fisk clawed his way back up to being the King of Crime throughout the third season of the superhero drama, Daredevil clawed its way back up to the King of the Marvel-Netflix collaborations (and back onto this list following its nod all the way back in the 2015 Aarons) with a storyline based on the acclaimed “Born Again” comic-book run. While the show continues to have significant failings (including, most egregiously, the literal fridging of a female character in this latest batch of episodes), it’s easy for viewers to become blinded to them thanks to the chemistry of its main trio of friends, its renewed fixation on weighty thematic content, and, of course, its impressive fight sequences, including most notably the now-requisite one-take fight sequence that takes the form of an expansive prison riot this go-round. While the series has now been cancelled, solace can at least be found in the fact the show underwent such a creative rebirth before its untimely demise.

#7. American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace (Season 2) – FX

Ryan Murphy’s anthology series may have been working with less well-known true-crime material in its second outing, but the resulting exploration of the sinister systemic forces that influence such shocking stories is no less resonant. True-crime has several difficult hurdles to clear to not feel like cheap exploitation, and American Crime Story strikes the right balance to its appropriately disturbing portrayal of the heinous acts by framing them through the devastating impact they have, not only on the direct victims, but on the whole of a society more concerned with reinforcing homophobic power structures than with the pain and horror such structures produce. The season’s reverse-chronological structure not only makes for compelling storytelling, but seems perfectly suited for the way in which the series traces the sins of America’s modern day to the crimes of its past, creating impactful television.

#6. Supergirl (Season 3b-4a) – CW

Supergirl’s continually-increasing confidence and complexity has sent the series soaring to new heights with its pointed fourth season, which distills its obvious real-world political influences into an effectively universal rumination on the insidious nature of bigotry, the trials of public perceptions, and the necessity of hope. It remains to be seen whether Supergirl can stick the landing with its lofty ambitions, which deserve appreciation regardless, but grounding its dynamic superhero storytelling in the inspirational performance of lead Melissa Benoist, as well as a further push for inclusivity with the introduction of television’s first transgender superhero Dreamer, makes for television that is quite super, girl.

Hey, it’s my awards show. Let me pun.

#5. Better Call Saul (Season 4) – AMC

Better Call Saul’s fourth season appeared to reach a breaking point in regard to its overlap in cast, stories, and timeline with its parent show, it’s an aspect that could be read as a significant flaw or as the greatest strength of a great season. It’s easy to lament the loss of the quirky lawyer comedy the show was in its earlier episodes, but this mourning is perhaps reflective of the soul-wrenching moral descent of Jimmy McGill, spiraling harder and faster in wake of last season’s tragic ending. It’s painful in all the right ways watching the excellent cast lead their characters to fates both known and unknown, making for a momentous (and still endearingly offbeat) season of television that recalls the finest moments of Breaking Bad, but just might be arguably better.

#4. BoJack Horseman (Season 5) – Netflix

In a series renowned for its gut-punches, the underlying message of BoJack Horseman’s fifth season might be the most difficult to grapple with: No amount of regret, good intentions, or tragic backstories excuses BoJack or entitles him to a happy ending. But that’s no reason not to continue to seek healing. Netflix’s animated adventures of anthropomorphic animals continues to be one of the most important and affecting examinations of toxic relationships, mental illness, and the cycles of abuse in art. The fifth season’s added meta-narrative allows the show to deconstruct the uncomfortability of its own representations, and the toxicity in its own fanbase. At a time when questions of abuse and reconciliation not just in Hollywood, but everywhere, rage in our cultural consciousness, BoJack Horseman provides a powerful way to grapple with these issues… and make them digestible through its quick-witted wordplay, visual gags, and general horsing around, as always. 

#3. Legends of Tomorrow (Season 3b-4a) – CW

If you were to travel back in time to just a few years ago, it would feel unbelievable how big the CW’s interconnected superhero universe has become... and that DC’s Legends of Tomorrow would lead the pack in quality. However, the once middling show really went the extra mile in spicing things up. Sending a talking, telepathic gorilla back in time to kidnap a young Barrack Obama? Combining elemental energies to form an enlarged Tickle-Me-Elmo rip-off named Beebo to take down a Time Demon? Having your Time Demon played by classical actor John Noble, and then having an episode in which the characters travel back in time to the set of the Lord of the Rings movies to record the voice of John Noble, playing Denathor, playing himself in order to trick a character into believing that John Noble’s John Noble voice is in fact the voice of John Noble’s Time Demon character?? It’s hard to believe that these episodes exist in any show, let alone all of them (and so much more) in one. This zany energy, accentuated by a game cast and an embrace of its misfit nature, reflected in the character’s diversity in both backgrounds and powers, have allowed the show to finally rightfully claim the title of legendary. 

#2. Atlanta (Season 2) – FX

Much like the last entry on this list, it’s impossible to know what to expect when one sits down to watch the latest episode of Donald Glover’s uncanny comedy Atlanta, which, when it first appeared on this list two years ago, was aptly described as like a never-ending Christmas. Whether banding together its group of rising comedic talent (including Zazie Beetz, Brian Tyree Henry, and Lakeith Stanfield) or spinning them off into their own madcap adventures, Atlanta continued to surprise and stupefy in style in its sophomore outing. Once again weaving insightful socio-economic commentary into sitcom premises cranked up to ten and funneled through an idiosyncratic vision, Atlanta’s quality remained as lush and bold as evergreen lantana.

That one’s not really a pun, but, again, this is my awards show, so no one can stop me.

AND THE BEST TV SHOW OF 2018 IS...

#1. The Good Place (Season 3) – NBC

When The Good Place began, it was met with a caution concerning its long term sustainability, but in its now third season, the show’s penchant for blowing up its own premise at every opportunity can be clearly seen as the confident strokes of a long-gestating story. Even within its absurd afterlife of bizarre predilections and oddball characters, the show never loses sight of its stirring humanistic core, which found new resonance in an inspirational third season premise that provides hope and happiness in the seemingly most dire of circumstances. While, as of this writing, it remains to be seen in what ways the show might again radically alter its make-up heading into the confirmed fourth season, but, based on the bonzer quality of the entire show thus far, it might be time to start considering that we’ve all been in the Good Place this whole time.

NEXT UP: THE 2018 AARONS FOR BEST TV EPISODE!

[gghero]

🔥 pokemon and SU

OKAY THIS IS LONG. WAY LONGER THAN I EXPECTED. MORE THAN AN UNPOPULAR OPINION POST, IT TURNED INTO AN ALL-OUT OPINION POST

putting it under a cut; the pkm one is way longer and more detailed, SU is a plain ol unpopular opinion post and shorter so im putting it first.

SU:

honestly, i’ll be the first to say that the show is not perfect, that the characters cant stay on model (its still not enough to bother me or ruin everything because, cmon, im getting to watch the show for free) that the crew have made mistakes, that certain characters deserve better/worse, that certain lessons felt out of place, and all that jazz.

but hey, its not the worst thing to ever happen. i found SU while it was at its peak (late season 1 - early season 2, the best SU has ever been IMO) and even though im trying to not interact with the fandom anymore because of some toxic stuff that happened, i find myself enjoying the storyline, the worldbuilding is great and everything about the art style that is not proportions (backgrounds, palettes, character design) is arguably some of the best in current animation.

my beef with the fandom and most critical blogs is that the discourse sounds like the same stuff over and over and the general attitude is very snarky and condescending. my rule of thumb is that if youre going to critique something, you have to also give your ideas on what you would do in their place. i also felt talked down to everytime i interacted with them, and most people dont even know how to discuss things so any valid points they might bring up didnt phase me after rolling my eyes at their behavior. they also tend to treat their opinions as the objective truth - or only reblog from their fellow critic blog friends.

pokémon:

oh, pokémon. one of my most beloved video game franchises of all times. yet theyre not exempt from criticism. of course, none of what im about to say ruins the experience for me (otherwise, i wouldnt still play the games and making fanarts, DUH) 

the games. first of all i have to say that theyre incredibly engaging. i find myself caught up in the hype before a big reveal, preordering and picking up the new game as soon as it comes out, and then playing non-stop until im satisfied with it... and usually thats it. yeah. one of my biggest complaints about pokemon is how replayable the games COULD be, if only gamefreak did the simplest thing of just adding more save slots. of course, ive ended up deleting old save files in order to replay a game, and thanks to pokebank i can keep my babies, but cmon. all the items you collected, the complete pokedex, how far you went in the battle chateau/battle tree/etc... its all lost forever. the game would also be infinitely more replayable if the post game were more extensive (rather than being like “here, go to the battle building of this generation and battle”). i think implementing side quests or achievement unlocking that gives you in-game perks would add so much.

ALSO GAMEFREAK please stop adding and changing and removing features that we like every single generation!!!! i was not bothered by character customization being removed in ORAS because i understand its a remake and they wanted to keep something similar to the original designs of may/brendan but!!!!! The PSS was GREAT, but you replace it with festival plaza that was... not great!!! you take away pokemon amie, which allowed more experienced players to farm hearts very fast via the minigames!!! you took away the super training!!!!! it makes it look like they dont know what theyre doing, and i understand that they want to shake things up, but i stg if we dont get ride pokemon in gen 8 and instead we are back to HMs, im gonna scream.

my next complaint is how... small the games feel. im not asking for an open world yet (short answer; yes i believe its doable) but the amount of hand holding and tutorials in the last games bothers me, not to mention how limited the exploring feels when compared with older games? dont get me wrong, the gym/trials system is not bad per se - its mostly the map, its soo so so tiny and easy to navigate. i feel like they could look at earlier zelda and mario games and do something similar; an exploration mechanic like twilight princess’s would work so well. you have huge areas to explore while keeping it closed-world, and i never found myself getting tired of roaming around hyrule. in comparison, routes in pokemon feel very small, towns especially are SO tiny, and pokemon is a franchise that would REALLY benefit from the sense of adventure that non-linear larger maps offer.

next is the art direction. im definitely not a genwunner; i think some pokémon designs are good, others are not as good, but i dont have a huge bias towards, say, kanto (kanto’s good designs are good, but kanto’s bad designs are the worst, if it makes sense?) if i had to choose, i’d say gen 2, 3 and 4 are the ones that better represent what i want pokemon to look like in general, but that might be because i love monster-like pokemon like ampharos, swampert, garchomp - huge and bulky-looking pokemon - rather than pokemon that look too much like regular animals or inanimate objects. 

human character design is also good. they have been doing great in terms of racial diversity lately, but i do wish there were more “not-paper-thin skinny” characters (especially women) (and the ones that are fat/obese dont look suspiciously more cartoony/comic relief-y than the main characters); and older characters as well, specially women. 

i think my fave art direction is from black/white (1 and 2), the stylisation, clothes design and especially color palettes were gorgeous. i like a lot how the eyes and highlights/shading looked in black/white (1 and 2) - i think it was Take who did most of the art, instead of Sugimori and Ohmura.

(im sorry but im feeling the top image squad look much more)

my biggest complaint about pokemon’s art direction is that the 3D simply doesnt look its best as of now. im not a fan of the pixel-y black outline all models have, the colors of most pokemon in their 3D models look so washed down in general, and the backgrounds really suffer from this. i must say that changing the angle from a zenit POV to a third person camera in sun/moon was a step in the good direction, you get to see further in the distance and feel like the world is immersive. 

the color palettes for backgrounds could be better too, they have definitely taken a step in the wrong direction and went from this:

(pretty, muted but not extremely pastel or washed down; nice colors, those greens and browns are gorgeous - and yeah sorry about the bottom pic having a slight filter on, but cmon, its not like base game looks much different, remember?)

to this:

(aggressive colors, dont give me a sense of harmony, that extremely orange dirt and sky and almost neon green grass make my head hurt)

i have to say i preferred how the pixel-y, half 2d half 3d style of gen 4 and 5 looked, imo its the best pokemon has ever looked, but they clearly dont have the technology to make breathtaking, fully 3D games yet. i’d say its a necessary evil though so im hopeful for the future. and no, i dont want hyperrealistic textures or pokemon designs either (pokken style is so detailed it feels a little uncanny valley at times, specially with less realistic pokemon like gengar or gardevoir). ideally, pokemon will look like breath of the wild’s 3D character models, with that watercolor-ish style, the cell shading and the vibrant vivid colors. AND NO OUTLINES PLEASE.

finally the last point about the games is the storylines. I generally like pokémon storylines. they’re very good when you are caught up in the action, specially as of late, theyre adding cutscenes and dialogue-heavy scenes that dont feel out of place. but i cant bring myself to LOVE THEM as much as i love other videogame storylines. they still feel a little basic (this is not a problem because of the game’s formulaic nature, mind you) and while they havent shied away from more mature elements in the past, the overall tone is a little immature at times with a big huge plot heavy climax thrown in, and thats it. (and before you tell me pokemon is for kids: i know, but other shows and games for kids dont fall in the same plain secondary characters rut as pokemon does.) i would love for the Main character to have some sort of agency too because i feel like im following what other characters decide for me (at least give me dialogue options that, you know, DONT YIELD THE SAME DIALOGUE NO MATTER WHICH YOU CHOOSE).

thats about all i have to say about the games themselves. not gonna talk about anime or manga bc im not really into those

as for the fandom... its generally chill. its huge, but its divided in so many sub-groups that you never feel overwhelmed. the competitive community might be more toxic ive heard, but im more into the plot and characters anyways.

i do have to call out the huge p///edophilia problem there is. being a franchise most people grew up with, characters like idk, misty, may, dawn (its girls more often than not) were older or the same age as most of the older fans were back in the day. as a result, they have obsessed with their image since they were kids, and this obsession has continued now that theyre grown ass people, and they have no problem consuming and producing huuuge amounts of porn for these characters. as for the latest games, these disgusting people have even less excuse (not that they ever had) there’s tons of CP and adult x minor ships out there, and its allowed to thrive more often than not because of the sheer size of the fandom, too.

PHEW.

[mystupidoverwatchimagines]

Musical Muses and Character Insight (Non-Imagine Writing)

So I wanted to give you guys a list of music I listen to for each character I usually write for. Like a cool peak into my mind when I'm writing for specific characters, events you guys request. I also wanted to comprise this list for any writers in my list who have come to ask me questions and stuff of the like. I'm basically going to go through each character, give my little side of the mind set I put myself in to write for them. And I'm very lucky as a writer to have such an outrageous music eclicity because music is the most helpful tool I use to help me achieve the thought process I want for each prompt.

Sombra--

Sombra is always a fun one for me. I have loved her since she was introduced. I love her voice, I love the way she talks, I like she runs in any situation with the tools to make it turn out just the way she wants it too. I have a tendency to write her very similar to Gabe with speech patterns, because I see them like brother and sister, so they speak very similarly, only Sombra teases while Reaper demands. (Also I really like her saying Cariño/a more than Gabe. Just my personal preference) In my mind she listens to everything like I do. Like everything as long as it has a deep bass or fast paced vocals.

° "Icky Thump" by The White Stripes

° "American Idiot" by Green Day

° "Mi Gente" by J Balvin and Willy William

° "DVP" by PUP (as seen in Dream Daddy)

° "Stormtrooper" by Pepper

° "Lane Boy" by Twenty One Pilot

° "MEIN TEIL" by Rammstien

Angela Zeigler | Mercy--

Imagine if you will, suddenly becoming engulfed in a warm, comfortable light. The light can touch every part of you, even right down to your soul. Its cozy and the aura of the light feels like your favorite blanket, so familiar and safe. There is only one place that doesn't feel the light's warmth, and that is the base of your neck. The base of your neck is ice cold. Thats what I feel when I think about Mercy, I'm not sure why, but I imagine our beautiful angel has this healing aura all around her, but there is always something chasing her, and just brushing its icy deathly cold fingers at the base of her neck. A memory she wants to forget. People always depend on Mercy, but I like to imagine this pressure sometimes becomes too much (Which I tried to illustrate in "I'm So Happy You're Home" series) which may not seem canon, but in my mind, she is only human (despite not aging like one). When writing for Mercy, I tend to listen to instrumentals. I need to focus more when writing for her.

° "Humans Are Such Easy Prey" by Pertubator

° "Euphotic" by Carbon Based Lifeforms

Ooooor ABBA. Lots and LOTS of ABBA

° "Take a Chance on Me"

° "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)

° "Does Your Mother Know"

° "Money, Money, Money"

The Shimada Brothers--

Ah the sweet boys. Its interesting, I'd say these two are my most difficult requested boys. Hanzo being nothing like me and Genji only being relatable to me because I am YOUNG Genji. Not Present Genji. However for both I absolutely love writing for them when I can finally get into the mood for them. I imagine Hanzo much like I imagine what a wolf would feel in a modern world like theirs. Soliditary, cold to love, merely out to protect itself, but the lonliness pains him deeply. And for Genji, I see him much like a bird. Constantly flying and searching for somewhere to settle and call home, but be never lands. A little ridiculously poetic, I know. And I also never mention the dragon noodles, as I see them more like ghosts than noodles. But I love noodles, just for me, I see them almost as the power of the Shimada ancestors coming forward in the sons. For the Shimadas I listen strictly to Japanese folk music (I know but hear me out). These songs tell stories to me. I am not Japanese and do not know the actual stories behind these songs (I wish I did, they all sound so beautiful). But they also sound so tranquil, which I know the boys are both striving for, tranquility and peace. So I put a couple names down here you guys are more than welcome to look up.

° "Fishing Village" by Derek Fiechter

° "Geisha" by Anthony Davilio

° "Tancha Meh" by Hideo Osaka Ensemble

° "Utsukushiki Ten-Nen" by Ikuta Ryu

° "Horyo" by Tomoe-Ryu Yutakadaiko

Jesse McCree--

Oh my cowboy. So its actually funny, McCree is the easiest for me to write. By far. I relate to him on several levels. From the southern drawl (though mine has been watered down, its still strong enough that people ask me where I'm from cause I don't sound like I'm from Nevada), to the longing of a simple life of a cowboy. When I was young I dreamed of being a young gun slinger like Kissin' Kate from Holes. For some reason, with McCree, I'm just writing from my heart, and because of this I can listen to just about anything and still come up with the feeling I want to. But I do have a set of songs that belong only to McCree and no one else.

° "Johnny Guitar" by Peggy Lee

(This happens to be one of my favorite songs in the whole world. I highly suggest looking it up)

° "Bang Bang, My Baby Shot Me Down" by Nancy Sinatra

° "Que Sera Sera" by Doris Day

° "Short Change Hero" by The Heavy

° "Maneater" by Blue Eyed Blondes

° "Red Solo Cup" by Toby Keith (Teehee)

Mako Rutledge | Roadhog--

Ah, my big man. I love him so much, I truly do. I love the mystery of the mask. I love the mostly silent intimidation. I love the comics depecting such a rogue soul, a wonderer. I love everything about our perfect soul gone renegade. He is a favorite to write, but I will admit I give him a lot more gentleness then I probabky should. If I were put myself in any position, I would be this man's best friend (after Junkrat, of course). I would give him big hugs and tell him he's one of God's most beautiful creatures. So its been easy to write for him. I would probably write just about any situation with him, because I can easily put myself in this man's shoes and imagine the pain he has gone through, to see his home erupt in flames and losing everything. Yeah. I love writing for him. Its weird, but its almost humbling for me for even just a little while.

° "In Loving Memory" by Saba

° I wonder if we're dead" by eevee

° "Will He" by Joji

° "I am in Great Pain, Please Send Help" by Crywank

(^^^This shit is rough and super sad please be careful)

° "Crying" by Roy Orbison

Jamison Fawkes | Junkrat--

My trash can man, my Main in Overwatch. My tol boi. My fireball falling from the sky. So if anyone has seen or watched The Stand, he reminds me of Trash Man, a Pryomaniac seeking aimlessly to please the devil himself. And he was my FAVORITE CHARACTER OF THE BOOK OMG I LOVE HIM. Aaaaaaanyway, I think my love for Jamie roots in that. But also, I have found such love for him just for being the crazy unruly ball of fire he is. I love writing for him but like Roadhog I probably writw him a little sweeter than he should be. And I'll be damned, he is so hard for me to write. The fandom has swt such high standards I hopelessly strive to compete with. But, nonetheless, I do very much love the imagines I've written for him. I love him, I wish to protect him. I write him very snuggly when he needs to be, warm when he wants to be, and crazy all the time. Unfortunately for him, Every. Single. Song. For him is My Chemical Romance (sorry not too sorry)

° "House of Wolves"

° "Dead!"

° "Mama"

(This song you guys, for Junkrat, I don't know why but this IS Junkrat's song for me)

° "Na Na Na [Na Na Na Na Na Na Na]"

° "Part Poison"

And I'll do the rest tomorrow, you guys! That is if you guys like this and want to see more. If not thats totally okay!

[alpacalypseartb]

Hello lovely! Your secret santa again!!! Here to ask you what you like about bughead? What do you love about Jughead's character? Bettys? Veronica's? Archie's? Look, I am going to throw Reggie in there because I feel like he would be the master of a BBQ/want to play some Aussie rules. Tell me what you'd like to see in the character dynamics! x x x

oh dear thats a loaded question 😅 heres a little essay with some salt because im a bitter soul

to put it simply my love for bughead and what made me so into them was just this mutual understanding they have, obviously on the show that shall not be named they were on the same wave length the same morals and values even some of the same fears, two very different people that are so insync and comfortable around each other i find it so odd people on that show in that universe can think they can be as comfortable with themselves as they are with eachother with other partners no other person has that understanding they have between each other, veronica alice archie fp all have their views on betty and jughead as people and they all seem to have these altered views on them e super negitive or underestimating or limiting them to a version of them they feel comfortable with where as betty and jughead dont have false views on each other jughead does think betty has hung the moon and stars but he aknowledges and accepts the bad parts of her, and vice versa for betty with jug she equally adores him！ and as i explored outside the show into the comics i was pleased to find mostly this translates to those！ not the fears jug isnt exactly complaining about boy trouble but the mutual understanding of each other stays even platonically, their characters just have always overlapped somehow more so in the newer story based stuff but a lot of the time in oneshots too im finding and i think that is pretty cool, this obviously is my interpretation and i havent read every archie comic out there but what i see is two people who come together to be open and honest together in this safe bubble they create

what i loved about jughead is his drama and angst i love characters like that, he is annoying but thats why i love him non ironically one of my fav lines of his on the show from my fav ep was the im weird speech, it was honestly the most realistic shit that show has done he is an annoying broody kid ranting，i love that literally nearly every version out there of jughead adores betty its ingrained into his character to stick up for her usually from archie, i also love that he is a nerd and sometimes takes shit too far its just chaotic energy lol he is just so annoying but also right most of the time thats why he is so smug！, my favs jugs are the hungers rd specifically s3 and the archie 2015 series but he basically turned in rd jug with the recent add ons 😅

for betty i just love this bitch like she just tries her best ya know？she isnt perfect shes got many flaws but at her core she does everything for the people she loves sometimes without caring about her own wellbeing, girls way too hard on herself, she also has cute clothes and is generally adorable, for her with the other characters obviously in love with jug is key, i want in my b and v a good healthy friendship not an “archie comics friendship” centered around a guy 😑 and for that said guy mr andrews obviously its a very touchy place atm and literally for the past 80yrs lmao, i liked her having a childish crush forced on her by expectations set by everyone around her but her realising he aint shit and being bros instead（is it that hard canon？！）i like her confident and focused being the badass bitch she is, which naturally is why the hungers betty is my favourite 😉 anything thats not her moping around over a guy and being a person with feelings is pleasing to me really...and beheading werewolves...

miss lodge, love her shes the one i feel most like myself whoch i guess is why i dont like her a lot of the time, i see her as bisexual theres no way that woman does not love women（on that note i dont think any of the crew are straight if that helps lol） i love her fashion her pets names for people I LOVE jughead and veronica bromances even if they still mutually hate each other i want them to be lowkey friends, just any jug v interactions perfection best duo ever, i dont ship varchie im a veggie gal i pretty much ship veronica with everyone but archie i think （that also applies to betty）cheronica beronica veggie platonic jeronica vilton all good, my fav version of her is vampironica （i kinda hate her on rd and most digest stuff but thats bad writing she genuinely is a good character like betty but dome so poorly because she isnt written right）

archie...i dont think theres a single version of him i like he is such an empty character clearly a self insert for the sexist writers，just make him a himbo please all fo the archies suck so a likeable guy would be nice！that respects women not got washboard abs maybe a little bulk but i see him as a dork and not a sex symbol, actually you know what i like about archie his relationship with valarie in the comics and the show thats peak archie imo

im a big reggie fan. he is what archie wishes he was, i like beggie and veggie romantically but platonically as well tbh, and bffs with jughead too love their dynamic！i love his dog vader i love his look i love the charm i love the constant flirting with everyone, reggie is god tier, i like my archies and reggies as himbos for veronica， he also is definately not straight

basically if its canon take it out back and shoot it with some love and care for characterisation , unless its cute like hand kissing my fav scene in tv ever i guess i should mention that！...or the hunger because that comic is perfect

im sorry you had to read all that its late here and i get really into stuff after 10pm i find 😅

[asicmind]

All The World’s a KISS Stage (well, it should be...)

Im not alone in thinking that the greatest picture ever taken in rock and roll history is the picture that is the gatefold of the 1977 double album KISS “Alive 2″. This picture totally defines what it would be like to see KISS in concert. I have been to thousands of concerts and none will ever surpass my first KISS concert two years after this iconic photo was taken. I have a numbered and signed print of this photo (by the photographer), waiting for the right frame to put it in.

now, Im very aware that this photo is staged. it did NOT happen during a show, but I can tell you that ALL OF THAT PHOTO HAPPENED IN THEIR CONCERTS!! It happened when they started in 74, and if you go to a KISS concert today, this photo will come to life. Excitiement like this photo is what I look for in concerts I see today. Some bands do know how to put on a stage show...Rush, Pink Floyd, Flaming Lips . In fact, 5 months after my first KISS live experience, I saw Parliment/Funkadelic who learned from KISS on how to make a concert stage work with great music.

So, it got me thinking...what if KISS and their stage show were a part of every other artists’ concert. The WORST concert I have ever attended was Crosby, Stills and Nash. You know why?? here...

look at that!! How boring is THAT! Seriously, I know they are icons and all that but..what propells people to shell out a ton of money just to see 3 guys under three spotlights strumming on a guitar? Now, if they even had just one member of KISS on that stage, or a tiny explosion..WOW!! That would take it up another notch. So ASICMIND is proud to present to you some unearthed nuggets of music history...artists that have influenced KISS, or were influenced by KISS at some point in their career.

We all know James Brown was the godfather of soul, but did you know that he was also the godfather of Gene Simmons? Thats right. And on several occasions, back in the early years of KISS, you would see James Brown front and center at a KISS concert. And Gene would always give him his propers ( thats what is was called back then..propers...look it up). Gene would say, “I’d like to dedicate this one to the godfather of my soul, James Brown...this is Black Diamond”. It was at these shows that Gene got the idea for crazy dance moves for KISS.

Both Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley will tell you that when they started KISS, they wanted to be The Beatles. They wated to be BIGGER than The Beatles. Both bands were a quartet, made up of a bassist and a guitarist that seemed to be the leaders, and a second guitarist and a drummer who contributed their fair share (although Gene will argue that all the way to court about Peter and Ace). KISS had to make themselves different from The Beatles. The makeup, the outrageous costumes, the fire breathing, bloodspitting, and 2 hour pyrotechnic extravaganza of a show didnt set them apart enough from The Beatles. What did they do? They tried out a fifth member to join KISS that just so happened to be a big influence on The Beatles. Needless to say, Ravi Shankar didnt cut it because he just sat there.

In 1968, Tiny Tim peaked with his rendition of “Tip Toe Thru The Tulips”, his number one hit that only charted at number seventeen. It was his staple. He was only known for that song and playing the ukulele. He wasnt even tiny! He was over 6 feet tall! After years of touring for that one song, he finally decided to change it up a bit in 76 by hiring KISS and the whole stage show to back him on his “1776-1976 Ukulele States Of America” World Tour. He died of a heart attack 20 years later.

Everyone thinks that it was comic Sam Kinison that merged comedy and hard rock. There had always been comedians that blended music into their act. Henny Youngman, Jack Benny, The Smothers Brothers..all acts that incorprated wholesome music with their comedy to give their joke an added punchline, if the music itself wasnt the joke. Richard Pryor, on the other hand, had another idea. His “That Ni**ers Crazy” tour featured a hard rock backing band consisting of four guys in whiteface wearing S&M clothing...who were they? You guessed it...

 1979 brought change for KISS. They had just released the album “Dynasty” which saw KISS “progress” with the music industry by recording a disco song, “I Was Made For Lovin You”. While it did suprisingly well on the charts, it didnt fair well with most of their fans, and The KISS Army was dwindling down to cub scout status. They tried a number of things... Im not sure why they agreed to back Frank Sinatra on a tour, but they were fired after the second performance when Gene got blood on Sinatras tuxedo.

Nobody tours like Loretta Lynn. She has one tour bus just for herself, a second tour bus for her dresses and three pick-up trucks for her band. One tour, Loretta Lynn was traveling from a show in Fargo, North Dakota to the next evenings show in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Her bus and the bus full of her dresses arrive the next afternoon at the venue but the pick up trucks werent there. She figured they had stopped to eat (as it was a Wednesday, the day Loretta lets you eat), but as showtime was approaching a few hours later, the band still hadnt arrived. Well, as her opening act started to play, about twelve 18 wheelers pull up. It was the crew of KISS and they were playing the next night. She politely asked the crew if any of them could play country. None of them could, but they said Paul and Gene always blasted her music on the tour bus and they were coming to see the show. Maybe KISS could be your backup band. Sure enough, when the 5 stretch limos arrived to bring the four members of KISS to the show, they heard the news and agreed to not only perform, but let her use their stage. It was a magical night. The photo shows the exact moment she realized what happened to the band. “Oh my God, they ran out of gas because I forgot to give them their per diem!”.

“Cant Touch Kiss” was the working title for MC Hammer, as he was a huge KISS fan back in the day. One night, Hammer was watching a KISS show from side stage. They started playing “I Was Made For Lovin You”, and Hammer couldnt help himself. He came flying out on the stage, parachute pants and all, and started dancing. After the show, Gene pulled him aside and said “If you ever pull a stunt like that again, or try and use our name in a song, Ill sue your ass so fast, you’ll be broke before you reach triple platinum”...and, now you know what happened to MC Hammer.

Believe it or not, for all of their evil “devil music” and demonic stage shows, their biggest hit was a ballad by drummer Peter Criss, “Beth”, a song with vocals, piano, and a string section. When “Beth” was performed, Peter would come out and sit on a stool and throw roses out to the ladies in the crowd while he sang against a backing music track. One night the band wanted to mix it up a bit. They re-arranged “Beth” to be done by the four members, and Gene called his old buddy from Hebrew School, Barbara Streisand, to come sit in on the one song. She agreed, but only if she could make some changes. That night, and only that night, the song “Beth” became known as “Babs”.

If you have ever seen or heard an interview with Gene Simmons, he is all about the swagger..he is all about being cool. He is cool  when flying 50 feet in the air and blood flowing from his mouth. He thinks he invented cool, so much so that he tried to trademark the word “cool”. He was denied because another artist, Miles Davis, already had it. Gene invited Miles to a KISS show. Miles arrived with his trumpet and walked out on stage unannounced. Gene ran over to him and whispered, “Miles my man, I only invited you to watch, not play”. Miles looked at him and said, “dude, shut the fuck up start playin “Love Gun”. Thats my jam”.

Charlie Daniels wrote the song “Devil Went Down To Georgia” based on seeing a KISS concert in Dahlonega, Georgia. He truly thought that they were the band brought there by Satan himself. Years later, Charlie Daniels still tours with that song being the only one anyone ever recognizes. He makes more money from jukebox residuals than touring. Now with YouTube and all, who needs jukeboxes, so this past year he was invited by Paul Stanley to perform “Devil Went Down to Georgia” at that same venue in Dahlonega. No shocker hear, Paul played the part of the devil. Not sure how they got a stripper pole on that small stage.

A few years ago, KISS was finally inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. (RRHOF) One of the traditions at the award ceremony is to have someone who was very influenced by, or influential to the nominee introduce them at the award cerfemony and perform with them.. Well that list was too long to pick one person, so the committee pondered on it. Who or what means the most to KISS? The answer...money. At this point during the meeting, the secretary of the RRHOF had just left the room to take a call about her sons babysitter being sick so she had to leave and pick up the boy from the bus stop. Not asking what else was said in the meeting, she went ahead and booked Eddie Money to play with KISS at the ceremony. To this day, KISS doesnt even know why but they made the best of it... Eddie Money blew a blood vessel that night.

Today, KISS is still a major influence all over the performing arts. Even the cast of the broadway sensation “Hamilton” has special once a month matinee performance with KISS as the pit band.

..and even Paul Stanley is a huge “Hamilton” fan..

Today, THE hottest ticket is Adele. No band on stage, no pyro, just ...her...and that voice... people are paying thousands to see her/hear her. but..she knows... she gets it.. she needs to figure out something to boost that stage. Well, she is on the right track.. recently she got former KISS guitarist, Vinnie Vincent who has been a recluse and not been seen in years to come and play guitar for her. He asked if he could wear the makeup and outfit for old times sake. She said, “Sure, as long as you dont spill me coffee, mate”.

Get it?

[themoneybuff-blog]

Mastering the abundance mindset (and changing your money blueprint)

Shares 531 Old habits die hard. When you get to be a middle-aged man like me, you have forty-nine years of learned behavior to guide your actions and decisions even when you know your choices arent necessarily for the best. Our mental blueprints (including our money blueprints) are deeply ingrained and tough to change. Dont worry. I havent turned into a spendthrift or anything. But Ive been thinking a lot lately about how certain parts of my past continue to affect me, sometimes in huge and annoying ways. For instance, I fight an ongoing battle against a scarcity mindset. I havent been able to master the abundance mindset.

Scarcity and Abundance Ive been reluctant to talk about scarcity and abundance because the terms have been co-opted by Law of Attraction types who use them to encourage magical thinking. I hate the New Age-y approach to these concepts. I want to discuss them from a psychological perspective. With a scarcity mindset, you believe that everything is limited. Time is limited. Money is limited. Love is limited. This causes you to worry about the future. Youre consciously or unconsciously more concerned with what might go wrong than with what could go right. You make fear-based decisions. Youre afraid of missing out. Youre afraid of not having enough. You have trouble with moderation and often exhibit all or nothing behavior.With an abundance mindset, you believe theres plenty for everyone. Theres plenty of wealth, prestige, and happiness to go around. Youre optimistic about the future. You think things will work out even if there are bumps along the way. You make decisions based on the Big Picture rather than a single snapshot in time. Its easy for you to balance tomorrow and today. Ive written before about my trouble with impulse control. In the past, Ive had problems with overspending, overeating, video game addiction, alcohol consumption, and borderline hoarding behavior. (Im a compulsive collector of Stuff.) All of this the collecting, the addictive tendencies, the lack of self-control stems from a scarcity mentality. But I didnt realize it until a few years ago when my therapist helped me see the source. Because my family didnt have much when I was young, I find it difficult to defer gratification. My default mindset even when life is grand is that if I want something and its available, I should get it now. Somewhere deep inside, I feel as if there wont ever be another chance. My father had this mindset. My mother had it. My brothers have it too. (Like me, Jeff and Tony have both learned to fight the feeling of scarcity in their own fashion.) A Real-Life Example of the Scarcity Mindset Over the past year, my deeply-seated scarcity mindset has begun to manifest itself in another annoying way. Since moving into our new house last July 1st, weve had to make tens of thousands of dollars worth of repairs. About $56,000 of these costs came from the sale of our previous home, but that still leaves us on the hook for $30,000 or $40,000. We have one last project to do before we believe were finished: We want to replace the rotting back deck and install a hot tub. (This was the first project we had planned to tackle when we moved in, but we had to put it off for more pressing priorities.) Kim and I know without a doubt that well use the deck and hot tub nearly every single day of the year. (TMI: Currently, she and I both take several hot baths each week. If we had a hot tub, wed be able to soak together.) Its not a question of whether well get value from building an outdoor oasis. No, the problem is that Ive reached some sort of mental breaking point. Im reluctant to spend another penny on home improvement. Im over it. I hate the idea of cashing out yet another chunk of my index funds. Hate it, hate it, hate it. I feel like thats money Ill never get back. (I feel this way despite the intellectual understanding that wed recoup maybe 80% of our costs if we were to sell the home in the future.) I recognize that this is my scarcity mindset kicking in, yet I cannot shake these feelings. Theyre a part of my money blueprint. Heres the thing: In so many ways, financial freedom depends on casting aside this scarcity mentality and embracing an abundance mindset instead. Financial well-being is fundamentally tied to positive expectations of the future. Lets look at three ways the scarcity mindset can manifest itself and how to embrace abundance instead. Jealousy and Spite For some, the scarcity mindset manifests as jealousy and spite. These folks resent the success of others, financial and otherwise. They find it tough to be happy when something good happens to a friend or family member. Theyre territorial, reluctant to co-operate toward a greater common good. Heres how Stephen Covey describes this flavor of scarcity in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: People with a scarcity mentality tend to see everything in terms of win-lose. There is only so much; and if someone else has it, that means there will be less for me. This type of scarcity mindset is the source of the average Americans love-hate relationship with wealth. Most people want to be wealthy but are suspicious of those who already are. They typical person believes that when she makes money, its a result of hard work and skill. But others who get rich? Theyre lucky jerks who dont deserve it. People with this form of the scarcity mindset dont just hold back themselves but they keep down the people around them. This usually manifests as gossip and griping. Sometimes these people keep score. In extreme cases, they actively work to sabotage the success of others. People with this type of scarcity mindset are a drag on life, a net negative to the world at large. What if you suffer from this sort of scarcity mentality? Train yourself to be happy for others. Recognize that my success does not diminish you. Life is not a zero-sum game. To that end: Dont compare yourself to other people. Focus on yourself, on your own goals and accomplishments. If you must compete, compete with yourself. Strive for constant self-improvement.Practice a win-win approach to life. Look for ways to improve your own situation while also helping those around you. When faced with a conflict, dont try to be the victor; instead, work toward a solution beneficial to both parties.Teach yourself to share. Force yourself to give things time, money, resources to other people. When you have a surplus of something, spread the love. (More on this later.) Jealousy and spite can be overcome, but it takes work. Making the effort is a great way to change your outlook, creating a better life for yourself and the people around you. Never Enough

For others, the scarcity mindset manifests as fear of the future. These people think and act like children of the Great Depression. Theyre so worried about how bad things could get that theyre unable to recognize and enjoy what they already have even when they have a lot. Let me give you an example. I once met with a woman who had over $6 million in the bank. She was my age mid forties and lived a modest lifestyle. She wasnt overly frugal, but she didnt spend a lot either. Plus she had just landed a job that paid half a million per year. Nice position to be in, right? Not to her. She was scared to stop working because the didnt want to run out of money. Based on standard assumptions about inflation and stock market returns, this woman could probably spend $240,000 per year for the rest of her life and still die rich. (Thats without taking into account her new $500k per year position!) Her spending was closer to $50,000 per year, yet she fretted about not having enough. Other folks are more extreme. Ive known retirees who have millions in the bank but who are so frightened of the future inflation! peak oil! stock market collapse! that they wont spend on needed home repairs and health concerns. What good is all of that money if youre dead or your house falls down around you? These folks arent harming anyone else (at least not directly), but theyre doing severe damage to their own well-being. They sacrifice happiness today in order to have more tomorrow but they never enjoy tomorrow. People with this type of scarcity mentality never have enough. No amount of money will allow them to sleep soundly at night. What if you feel like youll never have enough? Unlike those who suffer from jealousy and spite, you should keep score. Do this in two ways: First, keep a journal a standard daily diary. It doesnt have to be detailed. Write down the most important events from your life. And every day note at least one thing for which you are grateful. At the end of each year, go back and re-read what youve written. (This exercise will increase in value the longer you keep at it.)Second, track your net worth and spending. Know how much you have and how much you need. Remember this rule of thumb: For every $25 youve saved, you can probably spend $1 each year without worry. (If youre really nervous, you might change that to $1 for every $30 or $40 saved.) If you have more than enough stashed away and still fret about the future, force yourself to spend. Im dead serious. Pick something youve always wanted to do or have, and go get it. Money is a tool to build a better life. If the tool sits unused, whats the point? Instant Gratification Finally, there are the folks like me, people who find it tough to wait for what they want. Were shopaholics and compulsive spenders. With our flavor of the scarcity mindset, were so skeptical about tomorrow that we enjoy too much today. We want it all and we want it now. A decade ago, when I still struggled with money, I had nothing saved. No retirement, no nothing. What I ought to have been doing was paying down my debt and building a foundation for the future. Instead, I was spending everything I earned on books, comics, and computer games. It never occurred to me to wait. I wanted things now, so I bought them. As I mentioned at the start of this article, my therapist helped me to understand that growing up poor had given me a loathing of uncertainty and an inability to delay gratification. My money blueprint was largely constructed around a fear of missing out. During my transition from spendthrift to money boss, I learned to put off potential spending. I learned to wait for the things I wanted. Like the last group, people with this sort of scarcity mentality never have enough. But the lack manifests in a different way. Instead of needing more money, we need more Stuff. We buy and buy and buy and are never satisfied. Theres no amount of possessions that will make us happy. What if a feeling of scarcity drives you to always want more? Practice the art of deferred gratification. I learned this skill by using the 30-day rule. Heres how it works: When you see something you want, make a note of what it is, where you saw it, and how much it costs. But dont buy it yet.Over the next 30 days, be on the lookout for free or cheap alternatives. Does the library have that book? Can you borrow that tool from a friend? Could the local thrift store have a similar shirt?At the end of 30 days, if you still want the item then consider buying it. In most cases, however, youll find the urge to purchase has passed. Also practice moderation. Recognize that most things in life dont require an all or nothing approach. You can have some, and thats okay. Finally, keep a gratitude journal. The fundamental problem with this type of scarcity mindset is not appreciating what you already have. Force yourself to catalog the good things in your life. From Scarcity to Abundance A scarcity mindset leads to self-defeating behavior. It sabotages your chances for future financial success. Even when a Depression-type scarcity mentality helps you accumulate piles of cash, youre unable to enjoy it. Youre afraid to. Fear is always at the heart of scarcity: fear of failure, fear of the future, fear of missing out. Those with a scarcity mindset cling to the notion that theres a limited amount of everything, and theyre afraid they wont get their share. Well talk more about fear (and overcoming it) next week. For now, you should recognize that in order to achieve financial freedom, you must adopt an abundance mentality. If youre worried about lack, you arent free.

Ive already suggested several ways to fight specific flavors of scarcity. To finish, lets look at a technique anyone can use to move from scarcity to abundance: To get what you want, give what you want. What do I mean? In an amazing article from the academic journal Psychological Science, researchers suggest that giving time gives you time. The authors found that spending time on others (instead of yourself) boosts how much time you think you have in both the present and the future. Many of us feel pressured by the modern world. We feel rushed, as if theres never enough time to do what we want. We feel a lack, a scarcity, of minutes and hours and days. To cope with this, we tend to turn inward. We watch TV. We play videogames. We get a massage. But studies show that wasting time like this truly is a waste. When we spend time on ourselves, we feel like the time is lost. On the other hand, when we give our time to others helping friends or volunteering in the community, for instance we experience feelings of time affluence. Plus our time seems fuller. We feel better about ourselves and what weve done. And as a bonus: Giving time to others not only increases the givers sense of subjective time but can also increase the recipients objective amount of time, such that giving time contributes to the well-being of both the self and others. That, my friends, is abundance in action. The bottom line? When individuals feel time constrained, they should become more generous with their time despite their inclination to be less so. The same idea applies to other areas of your life in which you experience feelings of lack. When I started giving away and selling my Stuff several years ago, for example, I came to realize just how much I had. Before, when I was constantly in acquisition mode, I felt like I had very little. I was wrong. I had mountains of things! If you feel a lack of respect from others, give respect to others. If you feel a lack of compassion from others, be compassionate to others. If you feel like people dont love you, love other people. If you feel broke, donate time and money to the poor. If you feel like youll never have enough wealth, systematically give away some of what you have. In The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey writes: The abundance mentalityis the paradigm that there is plenty out there and enough to spare for everybody. It results in sharing of prestige, of recognition, of profits, of decision making. It opens possibilities, options, alternatives, and creativity. The abundance mindset comes from understanding theres plenty in the world: plenty of money, plenty of love, plenty of time. Theres plenty for everyone both for you and for others. Theres plenty now and therell be plenty tomorrow. Enjoy it! A Real-Life Example of the Abundance Mindset While we were wintering in Savannah two years ago, Kim hustled to get her dental hygiene license for the state of Georgia so that she could earn some money. She spent a couple of days driving across the city, dropping off rsums and speaking with doctors. Soon she started getting calls asking her to do fill-in work while other hygienists were sick or on vacation. She also got an offer for a long-term position at a big office in town. Kim could have taken the long-term gig. In fact, she was tempted. What if I cant find any other positions? she asked as we talked through her options. This is a sure thing. Maybe I should take it in case nothing else comes along. After a few days of internal debate, Kim decided not to take the long-term offer. Im getting plenty of calls from other offices, she reasoned. Ill bet I can stay busy just with the short-term stuff, and thatll give me greater flexibility. Sure enough. Because she refused to make a fear-based decision, because she chose to believe shed have more opportunity rather than less, she was able to pick and choose when and where shed work. She had more offers than she had time. She constantly got new calls asking her to fill in. When we returned to Portland, she used the same experience to find permanent dental hygiene positions. She cast her net wide, then waited for the offers to come. And they came. By exercising patience and an abundance mindset, she landed two gigs that she loves. (Plus, she still gets fill-in offers all of the time.) Shares 531 https://www.getrichslowly.org/abundance-mindset/