#if you want to know more specifics of the story I will tell you

[fantasybuff3186]

So I did a thing because i was bored. What do you think?

“Hey Delilah.” Todd suddenly asked, breaking the peaceful silence he found himself in with his girlfriend. “Yes Todd?” she was quick to answer as she looked up smiling from the book she was reading as Todd sighed contentedly, he’d always liked how attentive she could be to him. It didnt matter what she was doing or where they were, she always responded whenever she was close by. He counted himself extremely lucky to have such a beautiful and kind girlfriend and he tried to remind her of this everyday with small gestures like gifting her pink chrysanthemums(her favourite flowers) from the garden he specifically grew for her or by making her favourite dishes which he had specifically learnt to make for her. All Todd really wanted was to make sure his princess, his everything lived the most comfortable and the happiest life she could.

“Um Todd, you wanted to say something.” his girlfriend interrupted his thoughts. “Oh yes sorry, I just wanted to ask what you’re reading.” he said on being brought back to reality. “Oh I’m reading Hamlet.”

She answers immediately causing him to frown. “All over again?” he enquired to which she nodded her head enthusiastically, making him smile, he always enjoyed her enthusiasm and even more when she spoke with the same enthusiasm like she was right now.

She said, “its just such an interesting story and I really like Hamlet’s character in the story! Hes the only character I find interesting….” Todd couldn't hear the rest as he got lost in listening to her voice, so sweet, so beautiful and so kind.It was only when she tapped on his shoulder that he was jolted from his thoughts.

Once she was sure she got his attention she asked hesitantly, “D- did I bore you?” the hesitation and fear on her face made his heart wrench as he immediately touched her cheek and reassured her, “Hey hey nothing like that, I just got distracted, I love to hear you talk and sometimes your voice is the only thing I can focus on.”

On hearing that she smiled, flattered by his compliments as she shyly returned the compliment, “I like listening to you speak too.” Now it was Todd’s turn to blush at the compliment.

“Oh um..” he trailed off as she continued to speak, “But you know what I like the most?”. He looked at her curiously and raised his eyebrows quizzically as she asked, “What is it?”

Delilah spoke sincerely, “I like it when you smile, that sweet, sincere smile because when you smile like that all my fears, my worries seem to drift away. I like it when you smile but I love it even more when you laugh, that rich, comforting laugh. The laugh that fills my entire being with pleasure, that laughter that feels like the warm sun, that which sounds sweeter than music, sweeter than the ripest mango. So tell me Todd, why aren't you laughing?”

She said as her skin became bone,her face frozen in an expression of pain as she leaned against a tree, his hand still touching what was her cheek.

Write a happy story without conflict. Then with the last sentence, turn it into a horror story.

[ezziedoodles]

Why Season 2 Of Arcane Felt A Little Off

Let me preface this by saying I adore this show, and I loved this season. I laughed, I cried, and I had a good time watching it. The art direction and animation is a masterpiece. This is probably my favorite show, but I think it's good to critique the things you love and this entire season I felt like I was waiting for something.

For a show titled Arcane, season one had remarkably little to do with the arcane. Yes, there was Hextech and magic, but the show was centered on this class divide between Piltover and Zaun and all the conflicts that stem from this. The very first scene of the show is enforcers killing citizens on the bridge, with Powder and Vi finding their dead parents' bodies. Zilco's reasoning for doing anything he did was because he believed he was helping Zaun, including raising Jinx the way he did. Vi was so passionate about her city and the injustice facing it. Caitlyn witnessing this injustice is what causes her to question the systems she is a part of. Viktor and Jayce (but especially Viktor) created technology with the intention of wanting to improve life for the undercity. Ekko is a revolutionary doing so much to give his people a community and a chance to live their lives. My point is literally every single character is connected by this conflict between the cities.

Now let's take a look at the second season. Where is this part of the story that was so essential to the first season? There's a brief revolutionary beat with Jinx and her followers but once they escape from prison, the show moves on from this and never touches it again. We see Caitlyn's descent into corrupt madness, becoming everything she and Vi wanted to stop. Eventually she realizes how wrong she was but do we see her make any reparations to Zaun specifically for the damage she caused? She gassed the city, poisoning the air even further (with gas that has been confirmed to make people sick in the long run), harming hundreds of innocent people. And Vi, a character so vehemently against enforcers in the first season, goes along with this for how long? Days? Weeks? And only stops when she can visually see the impact of Caitlyn's madness as she almost kills a child in front of her. These characters are flawed and I love that, but we see them get their happy ending without ever truly addressing or helping with what they did to Zaun.

Ekko sees an alternate universe of everything his city could be, everything they all wanted so badly in the first season. Equality, safety, education, food security, and more. He says he is thankful for the reminder and I fully believe he will go forth with this vision in mind, but do we ever see it? And that right there is the problem. We don't know what happens to Zaun in the end, we don't know if things get better. All we see is Sevika on the council but we don't know if that will fix anything since people have stood up for the undercity in council before and it did nothing.

I want to see Ekko rally his people and repair the damage caused by the war. I want to see Vi open up the last drop and make it what it was always meant to be, a place of community. I want to see schools open in the undercity in honor of Viktor and Jayce. I want to see the two cities heal from the damage done to each other. Fuck it, I just want literally any closure on this plotline! Just tack on a 2 minute montage of what happened to this city after the war and I'd feel a little better. But instead this part of the story was completely sidelined throughout the season and ignored entirely in the finale. I'm not someone that thinks every story needs to have a moral, but this show was trying to tell us something! The first season was screaming from the rooftops to beware of privilege, beware systemic oppression, to fight inequality, and I find it really sad that there was no conclusion for that.

I do wish there had been three seasons to give it a smoother transition form politics to magic but it is what it is. Nothing is perfect. This season gave me so much including the best depiction of soulmates I've ever seen in my life so you win some you lose some ig.

[latenighttalkinqwp]

kk arnold x dancer!reader, maybe some smut too

kk arnold x dancer!gf

as they finished calling your entry number and the applause quieted down, the walk onto the stage felt like forever. your eyes darted across the room, looking for a specific pair to meet yours. the first few beats of your song began to play, and your mind immediately went quiet. this was your last time competing on stage before college, and you knew you couldn’t risk it. you have put every bit of your soul into perfecting this solo for this exact moment, and everyone in the room was able to tell. weather it was your technique being near to perfect, or the story being told with your body, the judges were loving it.

as you knee-dropped to the floor, you slowly looked up and met her eyes across the room. her smile was wide, and her phone was recording this moment for you. the emotion on kk’s face was evident, and it gave you the motivation to continue performing to the best of your ability. she has been with you training all these months, and she’s one of the few people who know how hard you have wanted this. being on the stage at nationals your senior year has been your forever dream— and now you’re finally here. “bum roll up…hold this leg. dear god hold this leg baby.” kk whispered, having every moment of your choreography memorized.

the angle of your body shifted, and your leg slowly began to come up into a développé for five counts. your toes were pointed, and your back slowly began to arch as you fell into a back-walkover. the audience cheered, as you began to walk off stage. your eyes were watering, and your team ran to hug you as the audience was standing to applaud you. “that was so beautiful.” your teacher whispered in your ear, hugging you tightly. you muttered a quiet thank you, just trying to get out from backstage. as the next number was called, you were finally able to break away and start looking for your person. kk was doing the same thing, looking around the convention center looking for your navy blue costume.

“kk!” you waved, speeding up your walk as you noticed her in the distance. she smiled, pushing past a few other dancers to finally pull you into a tight embrace. “you did so amazing baby.” she immediately said, wrapping her arms around your waist. you could feel your cheeks heat up, her compliments still having that affect on you. “thank you.” you mumbled, pulling back from her embrace slowly. you began to look around for a more quiet place, the constant flow of people overwhelming you. “i found a place we could go when i was walking over here, cmon.” she said, knowing what you needed. her arm wrapped around your waist, as she led you to an empty meeting room that the convention center had left open. you immediately sat on one of the couches, pulling kk down with you. she laughed, handing you a bottle of water she had bought for you earlier.

“i’m so proud of you.” she leaned in, pressing a small kiss to your red lips. you pouted, “what kind of kiss was that?” you said. “i didn’t want to mess up your stage makeup.” you rolled your eyes, wrapping your arms around her neck and pulling her in for a deep kiss. kk’s hands wrapped around your waist, pulling you into her lap. your emotions were still going haywire, the adrenaline from performing still surging through you. “you looked so good up there.” kk mumbled, pulling away to start leaving kissed down your neck. you let out a quiet moan, throwing your head back. her hands ran up and down your open back, and your body covered in chills. “kamorea..” your eyes flutter shut, as your body begins to melt into hers. “what is it baby?” she pulls you back in for a kiss, her hands wrapping your waist firmly. “mm..need you.” you say against her lips, still kissing her intensely.

“are you sure? so many people could hear us..” she leans up to whisper in your ear, then kisses down to the nape of your neck. “fuck- yes kk. please” before you could even finish your sentence, she had begun pulling your costume off, and leaving kisses down your your bare chest. your breathing picked up, as you pulled her shirt off quickly. she began to pull the rest of your costume off, and pulling down your tights gently so they didn’t rip. “you looked so good up there baby-“ she rubbed her hand up to the inside of your thigh, feeling the heat coming from your core. your hands come out to hold the back of the couch, as kk slowly begins to take off your underwear. it all happens fast after that- her slim fingers sliding into your core, while her thumb rubs circles on your clit. “fuck- oh my god.” you moan, biting down on your bottom lip. “you feel so good baby- so wet f’me” she rasps out, her fingers pumping in and out of you at a fast pace.

you can feel the knot in your stomach forming, and your hips begin to grind against her hand. “i’m so close- kk. oh my god.” your hand comes up to your breast, as you throw your head back. “that’s it baby, come for me” her fingers slow down for a moment, as you slowly come down from the high. kk slides her fingers out slowly, pulling them up to her mouth. your slick had covered her pants and nearly her entire hand- but that clearly didn’t bother her as she licked off her fingers. “you did so good baby.” she kisses your cheek, trying to find something to help clean you off. your chest is still heaving as you are trying to catch your breath, and your mascara is definitely running. “i can’t believe we just fucked at a dance competition- kamorea!” you giggled, pulling her back down and pressing a kiss to her cheek. “what? don’t act like you didn’t enjoy it.” she laughs, helping you put your costume back on.

“you’re lucky i love you.” you both laugh, trying to make each other look presentable again.

- thank you so much for reading all the way through!

- guys this has been in the drafts for a hot minute… but lmk if this is good pls ( im not much of a smut writer so be kind 😣 )

[queenburd]

I write this post with the caveat that I was into TSP and TSPUD before discovering Cl0ck 0ut and I never joined any servers around it, so the impact to me is extremely minimal compared to many others who were heavily inspired by it. I recognize that while it's sickening to me, it's even harder for the people who joined the TSP fandom because of Cl0ck 0ut.

I'm also extremely on the fringes of the fandom in general, I've never gone out of my way to interact with people who are more well-known for their narrator designs. I don't know that this post is going to reach its intended audience that much.

With all that aside, I really want to tell the people who are extremely hurt and reeling and sick to their stomach something that I think is pretty important:

You may have been introduced to TSP from watching Cl0ck 0ut, and it may have inspired you, but it is not the thing that kept you here interested in the game. You're in this fandom because you found like-minded people, maybe through the animation sure, and continued to make connections beyond that surface-level one.

Look, I've been here before. I'm not old, but I'm in my late twenties now and I've been in fandom circles for nearly 2 decades. There were inevitably times where the fanbase learned bad things about the creator, or a specific "big time" fan whose works they liked. It does suck, it does hurt, you're more than allowed to feel betrayed and sick and stressed.

A lot of what got me through it was having other people to talk to, who understood because they were also going through it. They understood because they were in that same fandom with me, we had met through it. The thing that mattered was that I had friends I had made beyond a superficial initial connection.

You made bonds. You created things (headcanons, art, stories, theories) with other people, and you still enjoyed the initial thing, yeah, but you enjoy it more because of the extra layers of connection that it led you to! But remember, please remember, that while it was a jumping off point, and you might attach a lot of value to it for that, it didn't do the work. You and other people did that. And that's the real valuable thing. That doesn't have to be stained with the bad feelings, I promise. It can and has evolved past the initial connection.

It's gonna sting for a while. That's understandable. If you need to take a break from creating, no one can blame you. But keep your connections with other people. Keep your friends.

(And if you made things that were directly inspired by Cl0ck 0ut designs or initial story, I can understand if you're feeling extremely uncomfortable with making more of it. I have a couple fanfics I was reading that were based off it.

At the end of the day, do what makes you most comfortable, even if that includes putting it down and never picaking it up again; but know that people liked what you were making, again, not because it was Cl0ck 0ut based, but because you were doing interesting and unique things with the premise. That's what fandom does with any media, and the story you were crafting does not, I think, need to be wholly discarded despite its premise having...'issues'.)

[utilitycaster]

A thought in my head I’d like your take on about Liliana (and the whole campaign). You’ve talked a lot about how this campaign is more streamlined/like a module, like Matt wanted to tell The Moon Story this campaign, and for many reasons the Hells seem to have less agency than previous parties. I’m curious if Imogen ever could’ve convinced Liliana to join them, like if Matt would’ve let it happen or he always wanted to let this moment happen. Like Imogen didn’t often get to roll persuasion? It was just a lot of trying and failing to convince her mom, whereas like in campaign 2 Essek, someone the characters didn’t even know was bad, they managed to convince him to “switch sides” without even trying. Idk just all the circular arguments with Liliana, like “I can fix him, I can steer him in a different direction, I can’t leave the children, I can’t help you” it just feels like Matt was never going to let them bring Liliana over to their side

So this is a wild personal hunch but I honestly do not know if Matt realized initially that Imogen would try to persuade her mother. Like, I will admit to having a lot of D&D instincts that are very different than Laura's because I would have absolutely have gone for the assassination and Liliana would have possibly been out of the picture long before now, presumably (and to be clear, that would have had its own consequences! Ludinus probably would have gotten someone else to broadcast the Downfall information). I wouldn't be surprised if Matt was surprised that Imogen cared this much about someone who was consistently unhelpful and had abandoned her.

But more generally I think that Essek and Liliana are just different people. Essek did not believe in a specific cause and generally thought Ludinus sucked, but would at least provide some answers. I think by the time the Mighty Nein rolled around he was already having some regrets, even if they were largely self-interested at the time, and so being treated as just a normal guy was enough to start the process of shaking him out of it. He also was intended as an interesting recurring NPC, and the party adopted him for a number of reasons.

Liliana was already fully on Ludinus's side when the story started (though, again, aware enough to know Imogen should probably stay away) and was intended as an antagonist. It makes sense the party would cross paths fewer times with her than the Mighty Nein with Essek. There was no opportunity to hang out with her socially without the fact that she was fully in this cult hanging over everyone's head; we knew she was part of the Vanguard before we met her in person. I think it's more that like, the DC to pull her away was very high! She is either indoctrinated or genuinely of her own accord believes in the cause of the Vanguard. I think if Imogen had done a better job during the initial ritual things might have been different, but once she locked into the path I think it is reasonable DM-ing not to have her so easily swayed.

[cioud-berries]

Mutual Benefit || Chapter 4

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i know i said i wouldnt post for a while and then immediatly posted the next day but i just couldn't help myself. I did stya up till 6am working on this tho LMAO. 

as i mentioned last chapter If wanna know where I am at with the chapters, or even just my life, or just wanna talk, you should join my discord!! It'd be great to see you there! (Link in quotev and wattpad bio) or here: discord.gg/SPNmyV8qJR

Summery:

Posts season 2: Spoiler warning!! Being forced into an arranged marriage, [Name] tried her hardest with her unreceptive husband Salo. After his death, she was forced to replace his council position, trying to figure out who she was as a person. Sevika never expected to get anywhere close to the council, let alone join them. As the stigma around people from Zaun still stood, she struggled to gain the respect from her new fellow councillors. With so many differences how could the two really help one another?

Chapter Warnings:

Season 2 Spoilers

Word count: 2,005

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        Anyone who saw [Name] would assume she was on her afternoon jog with the way she was running through the streets of Piltover. With a regular shirt and pants on she was making her way to her office as quickly as possible. 

        Earlier that day, she received a letter from Sevika that she is willing to hear [Name] out on her plans. She immediately threw Sasha at her nanny and bolted out the door. Sevika wouldn’t arrive for another hour or so, but she now needed to prepare a presentation to try to convince Sevika to fully commit to helping her. 

        When she arrived at her late husband’s office, that had now been given to her, she pulled out the box with all of her files in it, laying them out on the floor in a specific order. Looking them over, she began to write the story in her head that she planned to tell Sevika.

        [Name] was so deeply in thought that she barely heard the loud knock on the door. Carefully jumping over the papers she opened the door to see Sevika waiting for her. “Hi.” She happily exhaled. “I am so glad that you agreed to meet with me.” [Name] turned around, leading Sevika into the room.

        “What’s all of this?” She asked judgmentally while looking down at the mess of papers.

        “Uh.” [Name] hesitated. “My plans.”

        Sevika gave [Name] a sour look while sitting down on the couch that these ‘plans’ were laid out in front of. She looked back up at [Name] waiting for her to continue. “Well, go on.” She leaned back in the chair as [Name] beamed back at her. 

        Bending over, [Name] picked up the first few papers handing them to Sevika. She began to explain the beginning of her plans, the safe deconstruction of the Hex Gate. Sevika handed the papers back after briefly looking over them. 

        [Name] took the papers, grabbing some more. Yet again, Sevika’s eyes were drawn to the behind that was being so beautifully shoved in her face. The second [Name] straightened up and turned back around to Sevika, she could tell. How could she not with the way Sevika’s lips upturned into a sly smile with her eyebrows raised, almost as if she was beckoning [Name] forward.

        Without a beat, [Name] scolded her. “Come on, keep up. If you wanted to just sit there and look at my ass all day, you should’ve just asked for that instead.” She shoved the papers into Sevika’s hands, continuing on with her explanations.

        Sevika couldn’t lie that the way [Name] yelled at her, did make her pay attention more. But maybe it was because she was paying attention to more than just her ass. 

        [Name] went on to explain every single material that would be extracted, and exactly how much of each material would be gained. It was very clear that she did a lot of research on everything, with the help of Caitlyn Kiramman’s database of course.

        Then began the explanation of what exactly she wanted to do with so much metal and machinery. “Of course I want to plug up that airway first.” She started “The one Jinx exploded.” [Name] added for clarification.

        “Jinx didn’t blow that thing up.” Sevika wanted to defend Jinx’s name now that she was dead. “I did.”

        [Name] was shocked at this revelation, not knowing how to respond other than. “Why would you do that?”

        “That Kiramman girl was going to shoot at Jinx with a child in the way.” Sevika explained in a harsh tone.

        [Name] was shocked. Having a child of her own, it hit her closer to home. She didn’t want to believe Sevika’s words but there was no reason to not believe her. Caitlyn was slowly becoming a good friend, but she did hear rumors about what she was like while [Name] was away.

        “Um… Well…” She looks down at her papers, trying to collect her thoughts again. “It still needs to be sealed up quickly. Which is why I would want these plans to be in effect immediately.” She got back on track gaining momentum. “Aside from that I was thinking of using some to reinforce the mines first. This would allow workers to be safer and travel quicker in the mines. Going back to the game, this also would benefit Piltover with the productivity increase of coal and gems. Which in turn, will make the other council members want to vote for it. I then wanted to put a majority of it into housing, once the mines were revamped...”

        Sevika shook her head in disagreement, throwing her papers back into the floor. “Housing needs to come first. If there are less deaths happening in the mines, then there would be more people out on the streets. Which would cause more dead people laying out beside buildings and violence.”

        [Name] thought for a moment, trying to reconfigure her plan. “How to make it sound like this would benefit the council.” She mumbled to herself while her eyes were locked to the papers below her feet.

        Sevika caught it though, throwing out an idea. “If there are more homes, then there will be more people able to work in the mines. Then if the mines are improved, less people would be dyin overall and they would be gettin more money that way.”

        [Name] looked up at Sevika with a smirk on her face “That could work.” She walked over to her desk, grabbing a notepad and pen. “I would just need to get the annual death toll caused by both homelessness and from mine collapses, to really drive the point.”

        “I can tell you now that those numbers you’re gettin are nowhere close to the reality of it.” Sevika watched [Name] from the couch.

        “I don’t doubt it.” [Name] huffed. “About what percentage of people do you think gets reported? So I know how much I should account for.”

        Sevika thought for a moment, thinking about all of the people she has had to bury in her life. “I would say about half.”

        “Half?” [Name] asked out of shock. “We need to create a better system of keeping track of that.” Sevika silently agreed. [Name] walked over with her pen and paper, ready to jot down any more notes that Sevika had.

        Thinking back to how everyone does things with the benefit of themselves in mind, Sevika finally began to question [Name]’s intentions, needing to know what the catch was. “Why are you doing all of this?” Sevika asked plainly.

        [Name] looked a bit confused at her question, not knowing why Sevika was worrying about her intentions. “To help improve the life of people in Zaun?” She said in a questioning tone, like she's asking if that is the wrong answer.

        “You told me that everyone does things to benefit themselves.” Sevika explained. “So how does all of this benefit you?”

        [Name] thought for a moment. While she originally did this with good intentions, she knew Sevika was right and that she did benefit in some way. “I guess I’m doing it because I understand how it feels to be forgotten about by your government. And I don’t want people feeling like that.” 

        Sevika was shocked, and almost disgusted. “You’re a princess, how could you ever begin to understand how we feel?” 

        “I wasn’t always a princess.” [Name] snapped back, not liking Sevika’s tone. “I will say that my country's issues weren’t as bad as Piltover’s and Zaun’s, but it was still enough for us to revolt and overthrow the government.”

        Sevika went quiet, trying to connect the dots of her story. But she still didn’t have enough information to fill in the whole picture.

        [Name] too was thinking, she could tell that there was another reason, and she was trying to figure it out. “I am also doing this because of my late husband.” She tested those words out to see how they felt.

        “Your dead husband?” Sevika questioned with a raise of her eyebrow.

        “Yes, my dead husband.” [Name] confirmed sorting through the reasoning. “He hated Zaun, and did everything in his power to knock you all down and make sure you never got up again. I never agreed with it so I am now trying to reverse his damage.”

        “So you’re doing all of this,” She motioned to all of the papers on the floor, “to make yourself feel better.”

        “In a way, yeah.” [Name] didn’t like the way Sevika worded it, but knew that she was right. Sevika looked at her in a way that screams ‘Are you serious?’ She could only defend herself. “What? Would you rather have me raise taxes in honor of him?”

        “No.” Sevika huffed out. It did make her feel better that [Name] was getting an emotional gain and it was not some sort of darker meaning behind her kindness.

        “That’s what I thought. So as I was saying…” She again continued her explanation. Sevika now was voicing her opinions more, correcting her on things that she had gotten wrong. As more time went on, the hungrier [Name] got. “I think this is a good spot to stop and have a lunch break.” 

        Before Sevika could even begin to think of protesting, [Name] was out the door, going to have someone get them food. On her return, things were silent, [Name] didn’t want to continue talking about the plans and Sevika didn’t care to talk either. 

        “Sasha, my daughter, is quite infatuated with you.” [Name] said into the quiet air, trying to start a conversation. Sevika merely raised an eyebrow at her. “She really likes your arm replacement. She keeps begging me to get her one just like yours.” [Name] chuckled at the absurdity that was her daughter.

        “I don’t think she wants to go through the process of losing an arm,” Sevika said.

        [Name] walked over to the couch, sitting down beside Sevika, on the side with her mechanical arm. Sevika still had her cloak on to hide it, but it had slipped off, revealing some of the metal.

        “I don’t think she understands that you lost your arm.” [Name] looked back up at Sevika. “She thinks that you just replaced your arm with this one because it makes you look cooler.”

        Sevika snickered at the ridiculousness of the comment. Things went quieter again, this time it was heavier, but not in a bad way. Their eyes were locked for a few seconds, but it felt like minutes to [Name].

        Looking back down at the arm, her fingers inched closer to it, wanting to touch it, wanting to touch her. “If you don’t mind me asking; How did you lose your arm?” 

        Sevika noticed her wandering fingers and moved her arm closer to her, not wanting it to be touched. “It got blown off.”

        [Name] realized she had been caught, pulling her hands back to herself. “I’m sorry.” She spoke sincerely.

        “This arm has helped me in many ways.” Sevika added, looking down at it, pushing aside the apology.

        Things yet again fell quiet between the two. They both stared at each other, almost like a staring contest, each of them wanted to see who would look away first. Sevika’s eyes traveled down, scanning over her body. She gave the same smirk she always did after appreciating good body. 

        [Name] was flustered, but didn’t want to show it. Pulling away first, she stood up, walking over the notes. “We should… uhm… continue with this until the food gets here.” 

        “If that is what you want.” Sevika replied in a cunning tone, leaning back into the couch and letting her legs spread wider. [Name] continued on. Sevika was still adding on, but her tone was different. 

        With the way she was speaking and presenting herself to [Name], it was making it very hard for her to focus on the task at hand. Which is exactly what Sevika wanted. [Name] could only hope for the food to come faster to break up the tension.

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Overall Masterlist

Discord link

[thatturtleleon]

TFP Panic Attack Help (x reader)

quick note: personally i experience both panic and anxiety attacks, theyre vry scary, but they always pass. i hope this offers some comfort to anyone reading!

Optimus:

i feel like he gets them too

imo he definitely has anxiety and with the stress of being the leader/a prime, its gotta be overwhelming

he notices your sudden change in demeanor

grows concerned seeing you become pale and shaky

and asks if you are alright and if he should get Ratchet

if you can't speak or refuse his offer to get the medic, he'll stay with you

he's concerned but has a good idea of whats going on

if you're experiencing derealization of some sort or have a hard time focusing, he's very patient

will definitely know at least a few grounding techniques

does them with you too

worried but overall very calm and will say with you until you're feeling better

Ratchet:

100% knows how to deal with panic attacks

that being said, you're human and he's not as confident with his medical skills with humans

he's not just gonna sit there and do nothing though

very concerned, scans you, makes sure you're sitting down in a safe spot

once he figures out whats going on he's focusing on calming you down and grounding you

reassures you're safe multiple times

once you've calmed down he'll ask questions on what triggered the attack, if you have a history of them, what he can do to help better, etc.

a bajillion questions but also makes sure not to cause you any more stress

makes sure you at least got some water afterwards

Arcee:

yupp she knows whats happening too

still a little panicked herself at first thinking you're sick or injured

once she realizes whats happening she helps you sit down

grounding exercises and reassures nothing is going to hurt you

if you're ok with it, she'll begin talking about stories, good memories, anything that might distract you from your current condition

i think she'd range from talking about funny moments with the team to giving a heartfelt story of her and Cliffjumper

once you've calmed, she tells you that you did a good job and she's always there for you

she'd wanna know if there was a specific trigger or if these tend to just happen

if its PTSD related, she understands and later researches some techniques and healthy ways to cope for humans

Bulkhead:

he lowkey thinks you're dying and freaks out, but keeps it as calm as possible on the outside

if Ratchet's there he goes to get him and still stays with you, but if not, he makes sure you sit down first

depends how severe it is, but if you're hyperventilating he's focusing on getting that taken care of first

stays with you the whole time and doesn't leave for a second

he'll hand you any comfort items, water, etc. literally ANYTHING that'll help you feel better (he may spill the water but its ok because he's trying)

talks about times with him and Wheeljack or Miko as a distraction

even after you're feeling better, he's staying with you and making sure you're ok, and if you're not, thats ok too, he's still there

Bumblebee:

he probably freaks out the most out of all of them, but he understands what's happening pretty fast

helps you sit down and stays

offers to drive you around (as long as you find it relaxing)

mainly sits there with you quietly offering his support, but if it's to the point where you genuinely need someone's help, he goes to get Ratchet or someone (he still stays with you tho)

if you need a distraction, he'll chat away about something or turn on the TV in the base

of course he lets you hug him if you want to, he'll never step away first, letting you be the one to let go first

[harkingspot]

Heyo it’s me, I’m here to ruin ya day

Thoughts on Mitzi and Mordecai’s parallels and how desperate they are to find answers about Altas’s death?

mordecai heller and mitzi may: a piece on grieving.

FIRST of all, i apologise that this response took a very long time to cook up. i wanted it to be as fleshed out as possible because i do have a lot to say in this regard. the train of thought initially departed because of the widespread misunderstanding around mitzi’s character. to which i thought to myself: well it’s strange that people can easily extend their empathy towards mordecai, who (to me) has undoubtedly done worse. but what’s even worse is that, if you really look closely— if we made a venn diagram for these two, there’s a large chunk of overlap between them.

(p.s. now that i am proofreading all of this i realise its a bit different from what you asked but nonetheless i hope it captures the complex nature of grief as a theme in lackadaisy, especially when discussing the parallels between mitzi and mordecai)

so let’s break it down.

if someone wanted to read lackadaisy and asked me if there were any main themes that circled around the story— i would say: grief. more specifically, the consequences of untapped grief. mean the story itself starts off with the mysterious and brutal death of atlas may, who was THE big cat behind the lackadaisy. atlas himself was an enigma, and i have mentioned this before in another post. his position within the story bears a lot of similarities to rose quartz as they play the ghastly spouse that haunts the narrative.

however, this is not about atlas, but instead the two people that served as his vessel after his passing:

his wife, mitzi, and his right-hand man, mordecai.

instead of dissecting this theme individually, finding the differences between the two, i thought it would do the analysis more justice to extract it directly from the source material itself. initially i wanted to talk about how this grieving bleeds out onto others around them (e.g. mitzi forging a check from wick, mordecai kneecapping viktor).

let’s take “hamstring” and “monomania” for example, as they both converse over asa’s claims at their lunch. but if you really think about it, it was never about that.

this scene embodies a power struggle between the two. for one, mitzi’s mentions of mordecai’s “obsession” as a deflection. she sees his rigid loyalty as both a flaw and a threat. by framing mordecai as overly fixated, she’s able to position herself as the more pragmatic party who is trying to keep afloat. which is true and mitzi, rightfully, views mordecai as a “relentless former associate.” his meticulous nature, his refusal to let go of the past, and his allegiance to ideals that no longer align with business’ survival paints him as the wildcard to her. then again, it’s hard to take empty words from someone that had abandoned the very concept he claims to protect.

that’s not to say mordecai doesn’t return the sentiment, because he very much does. to him, mitzi’s pragmatism looks more like opportunism, evident in her willingness to bend rules, and in his perspective, betray atlas’ vision to keep the business alive. while she plays the capable leader, that imagery clashes with his perception of her as someone who lacks discipline— possibly bred by the history that mordecai knows her to be atlas’ wife and nobody more. he sees mitzi as culpable in the lackadaisy’s downfall and he makes sure she knows this.

but at the end of the day, they are having this conversation inside the same car. while one might interpret this being the main divergence between the two, we can see a striking commonality in which they are failed actors starring in roles they never wanted.

what do i mean by this? while the dont outwardly acknowledge it, grief survives in this scenario as a subtext. you can tell by the use of dialogue. mitzi’s sarcastic tone and pointed remarks, almost shoving the spotlight towards mordecai, suggests a stage of denial and pain that comes with her grieving over atlas. remember what mordecai said to mitzi in response?

“losses are endemic to this business. you’ve brought them on yourself in your persistence… as though you could bring the remains of atlas’ estate to anything but further disgrace.”

his crticisim of mitzi isn’t just about the state of the lackadaisy, in fact, mordecai subconsciously targets himself for his own inability to move on. mordecai and mitzi are different people, that is no question. but this scene serves as a great analogy that this conversation could very much be happening in their heads. this is a conversation not between two people but between one and oneself.

here’s also another thing to note: their seating arrangement.

whether or not tracy meant for this to be intentional, there’s a lot you can take in this scene in regards to their character. mitzi sits in the passenger seat at the front, where the light is more prominent. it symbolises her active role as the current face of the lackadaisy and the one taking on visible responsibility for its perseverance. however, note that she is still in the passenger seat, not the driver’s— mitzi is losing control, she is struggling to move forward in the wake of atlas’ passing. but she’s still not fully in charge of its trajectory, think of how asa and mordecai looks down on her current position.

occasionally, she’d glance back at mordecai to speak, which definitely shows her discomfort and mistrust towards him, she’s unwilling to fully confront him. and in my opinion, not only does this reveal her vulnerability, this also shows her internal discontent.

mordecai, on the other hand, is sitting behind her (literally AND metaphorically) in the shadows. he sits in the back, detached from the lackadaisy but not completely. he observes mitzi from behind, his direct vision fixed on the back of her head, almost as if he’s reflecting on her choices and her struggles— perhaps… confronted with his own betrayal.

plus, if you’re thinking: what about the holes in the windows? GREAT question. despite how they want to present themselves, be it independent (mitzi) or calculated (mordecai), they’re both incredibly vulnerable individuals.

as they sit in this confined space together, they breathe in the air of their inescapable bond and mutual dependence. their dynamic equal parts antagonistic and deeply intertwined.

[sparrow-and-seed-scrawls]

Finding Real Life in Characters

something I’ve found compelling is the beauty of life in characters.

I recently finished a story about a deeply hurt character, one who’d been betrayed and shattered, one who very well could have been written as a dark, unkind, and brooding man.

The author could have brushed past his trauma, as so many artists and writers do, watering down the sharp gravity of pain into nothing but a ‘sad backstory, but he’s attractive so it doesn’t matter much’ beat. It’s certainly worked for sales in the past.

That sounds a bit harsh, I suppose, but I’d forgotten how it felt to see such understanding kindness displayed in media. I specifically remember a line that (paraphrased) said, “I want to tell you ‘I’m sorry’ again, but this isn’t about me. You don’t need to be reassuring me right now. This is about taking care of you. You’re allowed to cry. There is so much strength in allowing yourself to feel those things.”

And I can’t stop thinking about it. Despite everything this character had gone through—from being taken advantage of to losing everything he knew—he loved people. He found broken pieces of his own grief in others and helped them find their way to continue, showing that it’s okay to cry, it’s not weak to ask for help and healing, it’s necessary to feel.

He said, “I don’t know what you’re going through. These [circumstances] are felt and perceived differently by everyone. But I have been to dark places before, too, and you’re not going to heal by shutting yourself off.”

So often we write, draw, imagine characters as better versions of people. They’re more good, more attractive, more angsty—they let us forget the bad parts of ourselves. But characters are also meant to show us how to live through our mistakes and/or pain.

Yes, he had a tragic backstory, and it affected his choices, his words, his personality. Of course it did, it’s realistic. But the ‘tragic backstory’ gave him character motivation and realism, not something to make him appear attractive or mysterious to other characters.

He respected others’ boundaries because his had been ignored. He was scared of change and opening up because it had cost him. He was gentle when others were in emotional pain because he knew how it could damage. And we saw this in the everyday, not just the plot points and angsty scenes.

There is something so true and real about seeing how life affects everyone differently. Seeing how it’s possible to change and possible to live past hurt.

He was an absolutely incredible character. I wish I could explain this better, maybe one day I’ll be able to, but life in writing—life with a past of pain, life that changes to keep that pain from happening again, life that heals and helps, despite what happened, is absolutely unforgettable.

Realness in characters is what makes art and story so addicting.

[9trixieturner6]

Oh yeah no I get that enjis wasn’t a persona he was just a standoffish dick. I was saying if he had more knowledge in how to handle people or work a crowd he could have done that encounter wrong. And yeah in the future there may very well be a mistrust against rough and tumble heroes we don’t know, given how the biggest focus wasn’t even on what endeavor did to his family but more that he was related to a villain I can’t really say what the general audience reaction is gonna be in the future. Maybe they’ll just think bakugos rude.

Once again could be we don’t see what dropping is, does dropping mean wow he went from fourth to fifth or seventh to fifteenth or seventeen to twenty eight or to a hundred and ninth.

That one is a rough one since it is subjective, unless specifically told something like horikoshi saying yes X and Y were intentionally done and mean this you can take anything done in the story a lot of ways. And even if he does come out and says something like that nothing is stopping people from viewing it another way if they want to it’s one of the best things about art, it’s subjective so anyone can take it how they want.

As for not being brought up again that’s all how you wanna take it, author bias and just not showing what’s going on in the background or is the author showing it isn’t happening anymore. It’s in the tone of how it’s presented too, a lot of people call bakugo an angry Pomeranian lightheartedly cause horikoshi has been showing his personality more for comedic effect since the school festival arc. You can take that as just ignoring the problem or showing it’s not a problem anymore and just a gag. Nothing wrong with either view it’s just a matter of perspective.

Do you mean how he fails for his bad bedside manner? Cause yeah by that point that’s where his biggest weakness was, that’s why he failed it while kaminari and kirishima passed just by helping those two people.

Yeah that one is a mixed bag that falls into the shonen logic cycle. Since this is the main characters test it doesn’t fit the same mold as everyone else’s test. More than being a test against all might it was pretty much just an excuse to start building the bridge between them and honestly it could have been done at any time it didn’t need to be here.

Yeah all might even has that line of working together was a prerequisite not something special, but again that’s on the author giving the test special treatment cause it’s major characters. Just like with shotos and momos, it was more for their growth than to be a true test.

Oh for sure I one hundred percent get that, horikoshis writing falls into that weird space between show don’t tell and keeping the status quo. He likes to have these big moments that show growth or change and has characters point it out to say see this is a bullet point in their growth, instead of more slowly integrating it and letting it slow burn in the background. It’s like he does with deku and aoyama, we really don’t get any build up just all of a sudden they’re friends having this big bonding moment, then it’s completely gone and ignored till it needs to come up for some reason like the traitor plot.

What bothers me the most about Izuku's character is that it seems like he can't feel anything, like because he can't be angry with what happens to him, you know why he can't have negative feelings towards Bakugou? This admiration he has for the bomb boy is not normal and healthy, it reminds me of Stockholm Syndrome. Bakugou stans say that Izuku is boring, but when talking about this thing about him not being angry with Bakugou, they keep saying that we don't understand Izuku's character. What's your opinion? Am I exaggerating?

I don't think you're exaggerating. In fact, I think it's deliberate on Horikoshi's part.

I began to realize Izuku's character was regressing the minute I first came across this scene:

This is the only scene I can justify hating Izuku's character because it was such an out of pocket line coming from him. And it kind of stuck in my head for weeks because it felt so OOC. Like, Izuku of all characters pushing for Todoroki to forgive Endeavor? It made no sense to me.

But do you see how it pans to Bakugou?

To me, this is Horikoshi indirectly attempting to absolve Bakugou. Izuku's line here is trying to communicate that that's how he feels about Bakugou.

Similarly to All Might saying Izuku doesn't hold what Bakugou did against him, this is another piece of plot manipulation from Horikoshi. Bakugou's redemption is pushed through the words of others, not through his actions. Especially when it comes to how he treated Izuku.

If Izuku, at any point, was still upset or noticeably traumatized by Bakugou's actions, Bakugou couldn't have been reasonably redeemed. Because there would be no feasible reason to even have him around Izuku and the only reason Bakugou's even relevant is due to Horikoshi sticking him onto Izuku in every arc

[hella1975]

would you like to talk about how bad the mha ending was hella

as much as i would love to give like. a comprehensive response i genuinely dont think i can get my words together just yet without it being a constant unintelligble stream of 'AND ANOTHER THING-' and bc it's become quite torn in the fandom on if the chapter was good or bad i want like. an actual coherent response here. so i will reblog this if/when i can word it but know IM NOT FUCKING HAPPY

[bazpango]

“On the night of my death,

your despair was so loud

that I could hear it

clawing through the earth to find me.

All the men screaming, begging,

still could not drown out the

wailing of your hands.”

—Caitlyn Siehl

[tremsing82]

I still have so many questions about the reign of Amarantha. Like why was all the magic of Prythian affected by the High Lords having their powers stolen. Does the land of the high-lords depend on the high-lords magics? Do the citizens of the courts rely on the High-Lords magic.

Like there is an Anime called K project, where there are 7 kings and the 7 kings have solders/followers/friends who all obtain powers from their kings. When a king dies and a new king has not accepted their status yet then those soldiers magic/power is not as strong as it once was. They still have it but it’s missing its strength.

How was the land and the people affected by their High-Lords not performing Calanmai for 49yrs. Calanmai is supposedly performed by all the high-lords to restore the magic into the land. But for the past 49yrs Tamlin has been alone in this tradition. How secretive are some of the courts? Like Rhys has no clue what courts have what powers, HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW?!?!?? Like you should know the elemental powers of each court!!!! What are the branch powers in each court?!??!? Hell Feyre asked where her wind magic came from and Rhys said maybe Day?!?!? And then it seems to be it comes from Tamlin based on what he does in WaR to save Feyre. But also it seems some elemental powers overlap like Day and Dawn sharing Light/Glowing (or that’s what it seems right now, it’s not been confirmed if Feyre’s body glowing is from Day or Dawn).

I am so fucken annoyed we spent 4 books in friggen Night Court!!!!! And we have only spent those 4 books in Night Court with people who ONLY love Night Court. Rhys and Feyre couldn’t care less about the other courts traditions and powers and people and legends.

I have not read Throne of Glass yet so not sure how large the world is in that series. I am reading Book 2 of CC and currently we are only located in this one city so the world building doesn’t play a part in the story outside of the world outside the city is in war. And then here is Prythian, with 7 courts, human lands, and Hybern.

I am hoping that Lucien’s book expands the knowledge of Prythian further. He is our emissary, our ambassador of the courts, our traveler. We already saw that Eris knows history of Prythian pretty well when he was ready to tell Nesta about the importance on the 3 mountains which Cassian rudely interrupted. So I am hoping Elain gets this moment when she has questions about Prythian outside of the night court and the only one who can answer them is Lucien. I would hate if Seer Powers are once again a Night Court specific branch magic. I want them to go to Day or Autumn to learn more about her powers/magic.

One of my biggest problems with the Court of Thorns and Roses saga is that you can't be sure of absolutely anything because SJM's worldbuilding is horrible.

[batsplat]

casey also talks about sepang 2015 what do you think of that

oh in that podcast? uh... lemme listen again...

yeah idk it's not really anything new I'd say? he's said basically all the same stuff in more interesting and extensive ways elsewhere. I think casey inevitably has a very 'well feuding is bad and helps nobody' point of view, has expressed that before in the past, does it here again, and he's also drawn a parallel between himself and marc on several occasions. which... well, of course there's similarities in terms of public discourse or whatever, but the parallel really falls apart whenever casey argues the feuds cost valentino. like, I do think it's sometimes important to just. keep in mind. it's interesting that casey draws this comparison in his mind but that doesn't necessarily means he's right about this. I'm not sure how you'd argue that starting a feud with casey cost valentino anything competitively? you can argue it didn't help him I guess, and then we can have a debate about the ins and outs of the 2008 season. we can also have an argument that in a hypothetical world where casey isn't ill in 2009, valentino doesn't break his leg and casey isn't on a piece of junk in 2010, and valentino isn't on a piece of junk in 2011-12, then actually maybe valentino sparking open animosity with casey COULD have cost him. but we don't know that! didn't happen! I wish we could have found out, but we never got the chance! as it stands, the tally on this is pretty straightforward: casey won the title when things were reasonably civil between them in 2007, and valentino took control of the following season at the exact moment he worsened the relationship between the pair of them in 2008. obviously, it's all more complicated than that and casey would of course argue laguna didn't negatively affect his subsequent performances... but it certainly didn't help them. like, at the very worst valentino escalating tensions in 2008 is a complete net neutral. after 2009, them being bitchy to each other every other tuesday was completely competitively irrelevant beyond maybe affecting how they approached occasionally fighting for a podium position. hey, maybe casey used that feud to fire himself up through sheer spite throughout the later stages of his career, but that doesn't actually support his anti-feud stance - it's basically the exact same thing as what valentino does. they're both quite similar in that regard! always so hungry to prove a point, to show how someone else is wrong. kinda half the point with this feuding business is to get yourself going, get yourself motivated, yeah. he straight up openly admits to using yamaha's repeat rejection of him as a way of giving himself motivation, and at the end of the day that's really not all that different?

anyway, what else does casey say... oh yeah, that him and the other aliens were already kinda prepared for this and had learned vale's tricks. that valentino had only been able to get into the minds of the previous generation. welllllll *wiggles hand* sure, I mean, he did clearly have to change his approach... he couldn't just use the exact same playbook to get to them, either on-track or off-track. but that's why he did change up the playbook... again, whether you want to believe valentino won his final two titles 'in the head' rather than just through pure pace kinda depends on how you assess the evidence, but it is at the very least a debate. and, y'know, it's always worth remembering that valentino's most important mind games with casey didn't happen in a press conference... it was on the track. and the on-track stuff really is just embedded in how valentino approaches winning. speaking of aliens, this is what dani and jorge have said:

like, valentino's entire approach to his riding, even to the way he's setting his bike up, is deliberately about directly fucking with you... he's not actually always trying to be faster than you as much as he's trying to give himself the tools to make your life miserable, to pressure you into mistakes, etc etc... and again, especially with casey (if anything because he was so mentally sturdy), the off-track stuff was really just window dressing. (I know they bicker a lot after 2009 but it's just so fundamentally irrelevant to actual on-track competition.) so you can be aware of those tricks, but it also doesn't necessarily help you when someone's being nasty to you on-track in a way you just fully do not enjoy. which is what it was like for casey! for casey, a lot of this comes back to the truly unpleasant context of how he was perceived by the public, how he was treated as mentally weak or 'broken' or whatever partly because he had the misfortune of coming up against a bloke who had the reputation for breaking rivals. I think it's quite natural to end up with a bit of a hardliner 'actually I've never been mentally affected by a result in my life' stance - and of course casey is a lot tougher than a lot of people give him credit for. that being said. sometimes your rivals affect you, shit happens, it's part of the game. it's fundamentally a nice idea to think that valentino's tactics weren't just morally wrong but also ineffective, which is kind of the appeal of this narrative, right? you want to believe you're above that, you want to believe you were adequately prepared and wise to valentino's tactic. it's unsurprising and understandable that casey does tend to tell the story that way, but again it's *wiggles hand* also hard to describe it as completely factual

uh. what else. oh I'm thrilled casey does canonically know valentino and marc were friends, he has said he wasn't following motogp too much during that time period so you couldn't be sure of that. does this mean anything? does it tell you anything? well, no, but it's just a pleasing thought to me. I like that. oh also 'provoking particularly aggressive riders isn't a good idea' is kinda a funny take from casey? like, he of all people would hate the idea of being cowed by someone's reputation like that... casey's right that provoking fast riders can potentially be dangerous, but y'know I do think that's probably not news to anyone almost nine years later. um. that's all I've got I think

[sskk-manifesto]

Ep 5!!!

[skrunksthatwunk]

why the fuck did i write about birds this fucking sucks. i just found out birds only sleep for a few minutes at a time, hundreds of times a day. do you know what this is going to do to my structure? the logistics of their road trip? this is already like three days late and i've been fighting for my life to get A Plot Like Any Plot That Makes Sense out and now the birds fucking sleep for 5 minutes at a time.