#it doesn't seem like any of my followers are online right now

[lovely-showtimes]

i think i finished remaking everything... i even made all new dividers for everyone! which took longer than i'd have liked it to but it's okay, it's done now <3 i really like them because i chose kinda zoomed out cards for everyone except minori and tsukasa, so they're just really close... and i love them for it

[trainsinanime]

Is there a specific scientific term for what I'll call "harm construction", meaning "thinking of ways that something harms someone in order to condemn it"? There must be, right? I see it all the time and it's not new. Let me give some examples in random order.

One of the first cases where I really remember it was at least a decade ago, an online article by a British newspaper, about how an online store had put a pole dancing pole in their toys section. A bit of an embarrassing mistake but nothing more.

However, that article provided several quotes from a British couple who said they were very worried, because their kid could have seen that. It seems pretty clear that their kid did not, in fact, actually see it, but the newspaper treated their concern as if it was a genuine thing to worry about. It was utterly ridiculous.

A more recent example is a call-out ask I received a few months ago and, of course, immediately deleted, but it's still been living rent-free in my head since then, because it was so horribly bad. I'll not repeat the exact wording, but they were annoyed that their victim blog (which I don't follow and haven't for years, if ever, and they don't follow me) was annoying and sometimes said mean things. They very ineptly tried to explain that this might have been part of the reasons why someone else, completely unrelated, sent out hate messages to yet another person. That was the harm that was so big that it supposedly justified a targeted harassment campaign. (If you're the person who wrote that call-out ask, please rethink your life. You were only increasing the hate in the world, not making anything better. I suspect the sender wasn't anyone who actually follows me, but just in case).

The biggest and most prominent example of harm construction right now is of course all about trans people, bathrooms and school sports. Conservatives and TERFs alike need a reason to oppose the existence of trans people beyond "I personally find them weird", because saying that out loud gets them correctly branded as bigots. How do you turn "let's be really mean to a marginalised group" into a progressive cause? By saying that the existence of this group causes harm. The problem with that is that trans people existing does not actually cause any harm, it's literally fine.

So in an effort to construct harm after all, they have searched far and wide for something that trans people could even theoretically damage, and the only things they managed to come up with are "there might be someone with unexpected genitals behind that bathroom stall door" and "the sanctity of gender-segregated sports". If it weren't for their cultural and political power then it would almost be funny how little potential harm they managed to find and how much they have to amplify it. They're just another couple in the newspaper worried that their kid might potentially see a website.

If you look for it, harm construction is everywhere, because we all sort of agree on a surface level that dividing people into "normal, acceptable" and "weird, must be punished" isn't nice, but the instinct to punish people for being "weird" is still alive and well and many people refuse to question it.

At a completely different end, anytime someone uses the word "normalisation" about a fanfic on Ao3, that's another example. We all know making blorbos do weird things doesn't actually hurt anybody (assuming proper tagging and so on), but we still want to punish people who do it wrong. So we construct harm, by arguing that seeing something on Ao3 might "normalise" the thing and make it more likely that someone will do it in real life.

These examples are very different, at very different ends of almost all scales of power and cultural influence and meaning, but the core idea is always the same. So, yeah. There must be a better term for this.

[ohbo-ohno]

Opposites attract, that’s what they always say, right?

Johnny guesses that’s the reason why he has you, sweet, shy you.

You can’t stand the affection he tries to give you outside the comfort of your apartment. “It’s just a little kiss, bonnie!” He’d always whine, and you’d give him the briefest peck on the lips before turning away with a heated face.

It always made you get embarrassed and deny him your nudes, leaving him with the blurry pictures he’s taken in haste while your back was turned to use during deployments, but he ached to have your face in the pictures.

Of course Ghost knew. Johnny can’t keep his mouth shut, being the whiny mutt he is. He had seen the pictures, saw just how much you shy from attention of any kind.

“Bring ‘em over.” It wasn’t an offer, it was an order.

When you were told you’d be meeting Johnny’s Lieutenant, one he can’t stop mentioning, how he’s a good man, you never expected this.

Kneeling at the feet of a man you’ve just met today, stripped bare with a thick collar preventing you from looking down or away from his heated gaze.

Johnny’s still in the room, you can feel it. Ghost had told him to “sit.” a while ago, and he hadn’t moved since. The thought of Johnny seeing you naked in front of a different man made you start to turn away, only to be met with a sharp tug to the leash sitting in Ghost’s hand.

“Eyes here, pup. Johnny’s not gonna help you through this lesson.” Ghost ordered, admittedly much gentler than he’d use with Johnny. He didn’t want to scare you off after your first lesson after all.

The second your eyes flicker up to meet Ghost’s for the briefest moment, his boot shifts to press between your legs, a low rumble of approval echoing through his chest. “That’s it, pup, eyes here.”

—

Also known as Simon fucking the social anxiety away AND gaining a new puppy! I am sorry for leaving something so long- I hope it’s okay!

oh my god i cant fucking breathe. the upside to being awkwardly open about my kinks online is getting fucking GIFTS like this in my inbox occasionally. you will never understand the things this ask makes me feel. oh my god. never apologize again for sending me this.

always thinking about johnny and his fwb. he's so so so excited, but he's also a fucking lot so his new girl isn't super willing to enter something Permanent, y'know? he's just maybe a bit much for her

but he's like. sick over this girl. his every thought is Her, he's literally hard nearly every moment they're together, like he is salivating over this girl. he made her his phone lockscreen and gets hard every time he checks the time now but he refuses to change it because she's just so perfect

and poor simon has to listen to have favorite (don't tell johnny) sergeant talk about this new girl constantly. i mean johnny just does not shut up about this girl. she's the most beautiful woman alive, perfect tits with a fat ass, thick thighs and a waist just so fucking grabbable. kissable - fuckable - lips and a cunt made of fucking gold, johnny just never shuts up

and it doesn't seem fair that the mutt gets to have all the fun, does it? ghost keeps johnny in line, drains him of all that restless energy so he's not feral when he's sent home. seems only fair that he gets to meet the pretty bird he hears johnny jack off to in the barracks and the shower

johnny's more than eager to agree. ghost says smth like "i wanna meet her" one of the dozens of times she's brought up and johnny practically falls all over himself to set up a date and time

and he definitely doesn't tell her. he invites her over to his flat (maybe even simon's, claims he moved), and his his tongue down her throat the moment she steps through the door. she's topless before simon even makes himself known

it's not so hard to convince her to have a threesome, it's far harder to convince her to put on a posture collar and kneel pretty. johnny' a good puppy (for once) and leads by example though, strips himself completely naked and follows ghost's orders better than he ever has (he'll get plenty of treats later, as long as he can keep himself in check)

you think this is just lead up to some kinky sex, ghost and soap see this as the first night of the rest of your life. ghost is fucking strict, and harsh, but he knows the importance of good training with unruly dogs, and if anything johnny's told him is accurate, he already knows you'll be a handful. he's got to be harsh and strict with johnny this first night too, so you can see that he's not going to soften up (even though he probably will)

anyways, there's no way you're leaving this night without ghost painting your ass red. you'll also probably wake up the next morning with your leash tied to the bedpost, right below johnny's. only one of you is going to be happy about this

[quinton-reviews]

What advice would you give to someone considering making video essays?

Don't be weighed down by the expectations of others. It seems these days there are now too many people assuming that if you want to make something labeled a "video essay," you have to match a certain style or tone. In many ways, it's overbearing - if you make something that has too many skits, too many jokes, that doesn't have a strong thesis outside of "this thing is bad", people say you're "failing to find a point." But if you put weeks of work into the filmmaking process and you want to call it a documentary, it feels limiting to have people insist that it's just a rant video instead of something more.

In truth, I recommend just trying to make *videos* first and trying to find your voice. No one starts off on YouTube being totally original, but as you learn the craft you will find your own brand and style. I think it is important for smaller creators to experiment, in spite of keyboard warriors being obsessed with the idea of everything under the sun needing to be new.

Starting off, your biggest struggle will be finding contentment in the experience of making videos - finding your closure. If you don't have an audience watching your stuff right away, spending weeks working on a video with 0 views can feel pointless and frustrating. Without finding a resolution for each project, you'll start to wonder why you're doing it.

So instead, find a friend in your personal life who will watch the videos with you. Make content for you and the people you know, and find contentment in that experience. And when you start to grow and gain real followers, pivot your style to match that new status quo.

Creating content for YouTube is a process of throwing things at a wall until something sticks. The big secret is the moment something sticks, you drop everything you're working on and do *that thing* five more times. This helps build trust in the algorithm and helps build your brand to new viewers finding your content. But don't write yourself into a corner - allow yourself to experiment and evolve even as you're finding success. If I didn't do that, I'd still be making drama videos about LeafyisHere. I'd be burnt out, miserable, and bitter. But because I allowed my style to evolve with my own tastes, I now am at the highest point in my career (to the loud annoyance of many people online).

But the biggest advice I can give is that if you think being a YouTuber will solve any issues in your private life, it won't. That's the biggest mistake I made starting out, I thought having this parasocial connection with other creators would fix my loneliness and anxiety. It didn't, in fact, it made things worse; and I am the only person to blame for that. I quickly learned that the most important people in my life still were (and still are) my real-life friends - people I go to bars with IRL and people I chat with on Discord - and not other creators. Sure, having this mindset has made me more isolated in many ways, but honestly I think that's the way it has to be for someone like me.

Final piece of advice - create your YouTube channel with a secret email you never post about online. It makes it much harder to dox and hack you. Peace out!

[decaffedthoughts]

Kinktober Fic 8

Kinks: mirror sex and breeding kink

Other content: dom minho, sub reader, reader calls minho master, afab reader with no other explicitly gendered language, minho calls reader kitty and kitten

Word count: 1960

a/n: wowie, it's here. Thanks for your patience everyone, as a lil treat you can see I broke my 1k rule. Edit: I didn't post this last week???? My bad y'all, that's wild

It's hard when Minho goes on tour, but you also love watching all the videos of him as people post them online. It's a little less hard and a little more funny when people put captions like "my husband" or "wow my boyfriend did so good tonight" underneath when you know he calls you almost every night. Well, he does when it's night for him after the show. Sometimes it's before or after work, and the occasional lunch break, for you.

Now, it's almost over, just one more day before he'll come walking in your front door and be laying in this bed with you again. It's hard falling asleep without him, but you sleep alright when you do, and even better on weekends like this when you can sleep in and not worry about any alarm or responsibilities. Apparently, you slept so well this time that you missed someone climbing into bed with you. You assume the warmth is one of the cats, you swear they can open doors even if Minho promises they can't, but you proceed to hear a very human noise.

It takes a moment to process, and then when you do your eyes fly open to see Minho already awake and looking at you. Why he's awake when he definitely fell asleep later than you is a question for another time. For now you throw yourself towards him, and he giggles before holding you close.

"Oh my god, I missed you so much. You should have-" You start, muffled in his shoulder.

"I should not have woken you up, I bet you've already been having trouble sleeping as it is."

Caught and called out, you just huff and wiggle closer to him.

"Fuck you, meanie."

"Meanies don't usually fuck you, darling. I have lots of other options."

You blush a little and smack his other shoulder with one hand, secretly delighting in the cackles Minho lets out in response. You can't deny that you haven't missed him like that though, and Minho often gets too hot under the blankets so he wears some light and small clothes, easy access for you.

"Mm, but you're gonna be nice and fuck me today right? Waited so long for you."

Minho sighs and shakes his head at you.

"Wasn't I on the phone helping you two days ago?"

You hum, fake forgetting about that particular moment, like it hasn't played on repeat in your mind since it happened. Minho leans in close to kiss you anyways, and it feels more like home than you've felt the whole time you've been here alone.

One hand holds you by the back of your neck, and the other goes down your body and past your underwear, making you gasp at the forwardness. No time to waste this morning. You retaliate by pulling down his flimsy underwear, slowly stroking and feeling his dick harden in your grasp. You separate your mouths with a little wet noise and giggle as Minho tries to follow.

"Please, Minnie. Just wanna be yours."

Minho tongue licks his lower lip, staring at you, like he's confirming in his mind what you want.

"Gonna let me fill up and mark that pretty pussy?" He asks, like he doesn't already know.

You nod, and Minho seems to have an idea at the same time. You watch, a little confused as he gets up, but see quickly what he's doing when he pushes your floor length mirror to the side of the bed. Sitting up, you direct him so you can both get a good angle when you look. It's close enough and perfectly set so you'll both get good angles of yourself and each other, which makes you wonder just a little if Minho practiced this or if he's just naturally good at it, as he is many other things.

"Out of your clothes, kitty. Lemme see you." Minho orders, still softly.

You don't hesitate to obey, not having the patience for any playing around today, even if it sounds a little fun. Minho stares at you the whole time, standing slightly behind the mirror, waiting. It's fun, knowing that Minho is watching you undress. It may not be the most sexy or appealing action you've ever taken, but you know he's watching and waiting to pounce anyways. It's when you've bent over to take off your sweatpants, his that you actually stole, that Minho does something unexpected and lets you know of his own impatience.

You don't hear him, but he steps forward and presses his cock between your legs, letting you feel how hard he is already. You gasp, but let him do it. After a little while, you test the limits and grind your hips back a little into his. When he says nothing and only groans a little in pleasure, you continue.

This isn't what you were expecting, but damn is it hot anyways. What is for sure, is that you have ruined both of your pairs of underwear with how soaked you are. Tragically, Minho seems to have the mental clarity to pull away eventually, and only then do you realize how close you were and how much your legs have begun to shake. You still whine, not wanting the pleasure to stop, even if it was not the most comfortable position by far.

"No. Come sit in front of the mirror kitty, I need to see your face when you cum." Minho says, sitting and spreading his legs to create the perfect space for you.

You don't wait to go to him, though you stumble a little because your legs aren't ready to support movement. It doesn't matter in the end, because you probably won't need them for the rest of the night.

You sit and sigh in relief when you can feel Minho's cock pressing against you again, just wanting him so damn bad. Minho frowns and wiggles a little under you, not satisfied with something yet.

"Actually, hands and knees, face the mirror."

It's another bit that betrays his restlessness. Normally, he would have made you cum another way first, but if it's like this then he's almost guaranteed to be fucking you, and good. He takes off your underwear first, humming when he sees how wet you are. It seems he can't resist either way, and takes two fingers, rubbing up and down and coating his fingers with it. You try not to move, to let him have his way as you know he likes to do but it's fucking difficult.

Minho knows this, and doesn't spend long there. Instead, you soon get a replica of your earlier moment, but better. His cock rubbing between your legs, but so much more sensitive and wet with no layers between you.

Once again, Minho gets the awareness to stop and continue, while you sit there still whining for it, even if you know what comes next will be better. You turn to pout at him, but Minho just clicks his tongue and you settle down a little, not wanting to truly test his patience tonight.

You let out a satisfied hum as you feel his cock sink into you. Despite craving this the whole time Minho has been away, you forgot how good it really felt for him to fill you up like this.

"Fuck, such a perfect pussy for me kitten." Minho groans.

Your heart flutters at the praise, as dirty as it is. You like pleasing him.

"Please, master. Please fuck me, I need it." You beg, unprompted and trying to pretend blatantly showing how needy you are doesn't affect you.

"You need it?" Minho prompts, and chuckles when you simply agree. "Watch yourself take it in the mirror then."

You gasp quietly, having forgotten the mirror was there. Both of you look half a mess in the mirror already, which is a little embarrassing in just how frantic you were. Still, you watch your mouth fall open in the mirror and your eyes half-lid as Minho finally starts pounding into you, just like you asked for.

It's wet and it's loud and it's hot, and you vaguely wonder if anyone around can hear you considering this apartment isn't exactly soundproof. Quickly, that becomes much less of a concern as your brain becomes less able to hold onto thoughts other than those related to your pleasure.

"Ooooh yes, yes, yes." You chant, letting your support off one arm to use two fingers to rub your clit. "Mmph!"

You squeal and you can see Minho's grin as he hits just the right spot. Slowly, slowly, you both get just a little louder and you listen as close as you can to hear every sound Minho lets out.

"You feel so good baby. Such a slut, you must have kept this hole ready for when I came back."

He's not technically wrong, over the last few months you spent many a night laid out on this bed fucking yourself and desperately wishing and imagining it was him. Clearly nothing can compare if he's already made you feel this good, but damn you tried anyways. It helped when he had time and you could listen to him talk you through it.

"I know you did, you called me so many times. Begging me to come back and fill you up. Now I'm here, now I can breed this pussy the way you wanted so badly."

"Oh yes, master please. Want you to breed me, fill me up." You whine, beginning to throw your hips back to meet him, not able to stop yourself any longer.

Minho lets it stand, knowing you're half out of your mind by now, a skill he takes great pride in.

"Good kitty, gonna stuff this pretty cunt."

You're being much louder than you really should be at this time of day on a weekend, but there is nothing in your mind beyond the feeling of Minho's dick and wanting both of you to cum. Thankfully, you both seem to be building very quickly to that point. Minho's grip on you is getting tighter and the slap against your ass has gotten much harder, not that you'll be complaining.

"Please master, cum inside. Want it so bad." You plead, feeling how close you are, and wanting to feel him close after this long.

"Good baby, gonna make you so full."

The last words he gets out before he cums and, the dutiful man he is, keeps fucking you through it even as you know he gets more and more oversensitive. It works, because with just a few more high moans you cum. You keep frantically rubbing your clit, and basely trying to fuck yourself on his cock, like you're trying to take it deeper. Your remaining arm collapses under you, and you find your face pressed into the sheets. When you open your eyes, you look so debauched and borderline scandalous.

You're mildly sweating and flushed down to your chest. Your chest is heaving as you desperately try to get more air in, yet your mouth hangs open as all you can is moan as you cum. Minho shudders as your orgasm ends, yet you squeeze around him a few more times.

He pulls out slowly, making both of you hiss with the overstimulation, slight as it is.

With a short "can I?" Minho pulls out his phone and watches as you clench down and his white, sticky cum starts coming out, filling you as it is.

He puts his phone away and looks at the mess between your legs that he made, grinning.

"Oh no, it all came out. Guess I'll have to try again." He says, not even trying to sound like he feels bad about it.

[brucewaynehater101]

I have an au that I thought you might enjoy. It's inspired by Magernia from Pokemon if you've ever seen it's movie. If not, it's OK the plot isn't the important part. What is important is that Tim is not exactly fully flesh.

When Tim first becomes Robin, he knows that he won't be able to hide his partly robotic nature from Bruce for very long so he tells him immediately that he was in an "accident" when he was younger so both of his arms are highly advanced prosthetics. He doesn't elaborate on what the "accident" was and gets uncomfortable when it's brought up. Shockingly, Bruce does respect this and allows Tim to not tell him. He puts the information in Tim's medical file and calla it a day.

Alfred also knows about Tim's arms due to him being the one to normally patch Tim up, if anyone does. Dick however was not told because both Bruce and Tim thought the other told Dick. He gets to find out when one of Tim's hands gets crushed on patrol one night and Tim looks at the mess of wires and metal and just huffs, "this is gunna be a nightmare to fix up, but at least it was only my hand. Could have been a lot worse, right?" Nightwing's freakout is how Tim realized he had no idea Dick didn't know. It was a mess and a half to clean up.

However, Tim did lie to them about his "accident". They find out when Tim gets shot with something two years into being Robin and there is a hole nearly 2 inches across right where his intestines should be. Only there's no blood or gore, only wires, gears, and broken metal. Tim has no flesh insides, simply complex mechanics which are now causing his whole body to glitch out quite a bit. This has the added effect of making Bruce and Dick go absolutely *feral* on the Rouge who just fucked up Tim so badly so they can get him home.

On the way back to the cave, Tim pipes up with glitches and static lacing his voice, "ne-ed-ed-ed to goooo to Dra-Dra-Drake manor-or-or for relac-ace-acement partssss." And well. Bruce and Dick have absolutely no idea how Tim's body works or how to fix him so they don't really have any choice. Bruce has to carry him through the house, through a hidden door into the basement, through two more locked secret doors, and into what looks like a storage room. The walls are lined with wooden boxes and Tim points a shaking finger at one. Inside of it is another Tim??? Only this one's chest panels are open showing a small, empty space about the size of a baseball and cube shapped.

Tim opens his own chest to show that he's fully robotic and his cube space is filled with a silver box with a heart drawn on the front. Tim takes it out carefully and manages to transfer it to the new body before his goes completely limp in Bruce's arms, seeming dead. The New Tim's chest closes as his eyes light up and he says, "Systems Intilizing. Connection complete. Consciousness Transfer Successful. Rebooting... Rebooting... Rebooting. System check... system check passed. Now coming online." The New Tim sits up and says, "OK, everything's good now. Can you put it in the corner so I can fix that old one up later?"

The following interrogating leads to Tim admitting that the "accident" was his whole body and soul getting sealed in an artifact and instead of his parents dealing with the fall out of their heir dying under mysterious circumstances, they contacted a wizard who was able to make the box the artifact of stored in and they had robotic replacement bodies made for Tim so that he could continue to be a "normal kid". Tim insists this is a good thing because while the bodies can and do break, the artifact is indestructible so Bruce doesn't need to worry about him Actually Dying! This is Not Helpful.

Over the following years, Bruce works with any advanced robotics people that he can trust to make better and better bodies for Tim. He wants to let Tim be able to Feel again, rather than just be told the numbers and data. He wants his son to be able to remember what cold feels like instead of just knowing that the metal he touched is 17.6 degrees, or to be able to taste and digest food again instead of just drinking oil or plugging into the wall socet to recharge his batteries.

Also, it's always an Experience, a Rite Of Passage at this point for each new family member to be traumatized the first time Tim blocks a lethal shot for them with his own body and takes Massive damage only to be revealed that he's got a robotic body.

Also, the artifact Tim is locked in? He will never let anyone see it because it's a necklace. It's not big, or flashy, but a simple braided gold chain with an obsidian pendant that has a single ruby at the center. Tim knows at least one of these fuckers would try to wear him.

One of them absolutely would try to wear him. He is so right for that and should protect the necklace at all costs.

I absolutely loved this AU so much. The buildup was fantastic as well. Also, good dad Bruce here with him wanting Tim to be able to experience the world again. It would be so cute if the family had little celebration parties for each milestone (Steph for sure decorated the cake with a "You can taste sour foods again!" or whatever milestone they reached). They just have a really nice family dinner and spend the night playing games, watching movies, pulling pranks, etc.

I'm curious if Tim's robot body can send data to the batcomputer. Like, can he just send recordings of stuff he's seen?

This could tie into the AU where he goes around taking pictures of the Bats after or before he figures out their identities. Instead of lugging around a camera, he takes the data for that night, encrypts it, and then edits the photos for his own perusal.

Overall, super cool concept I'd love to see more of

[atlafan]

Wow that other prompt/blurb you did was so good and quick! What about a holiday blurb with softrry and friends to lovers theme during the holiday season mixed with a snow storm somehow haha

a/n: this was a cute prompt, thanks for sending it in!

Warning: fluff, smut-ish

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

This can't be happening. Why right now? This is unbelievable! Of course Y/N's power went out right when she was about to pop brisket in the oven. It takes eight hours to bake because it needs to cook slowly. She's fucked, absolutely fucked. She just had to volunteer to make the main dish for her family's holiday celebration. On top of that, she volunteered to make two kugels, latkes, and bark. She's fucked.

She hates asking people for help, but when she sees her neighbor's lights are still on, she slips her boots onto her feet and heads outside. She nearly slips and falls since there's a sheet of ice underneath the snow that's coming down. Some of it blows back in her face because of the wind. By the time she gets down her own stoop and walks up her neighbor's, she just knows she's going to look like an icicle. She rings the bell a couple of times, and smiles softly when Harry's face appears in the small window the door has.

"Y/N, hi." He knuckles at his eye and yawns.

"I'm so sorry to bother you so early on a Saturday, but my power went out and I was just about to put my brisket in the oven, and now I'm fucked. And I don't feel safe driving to my mom's in this weather. I was wondering if it would be a terrible imposition if I cooked here. I can pay for any of the extra electric or gas or whatever I use."

Harry blinks at her and closes the door in her face. Rude. Harry's never rude to her. He's a very soft and sweet guy. He's a great neighbor. She wouldn't call them close friends, but they're friendly enough that they've hung out and shared a bottle of wine here and there. Just as she's about to start crying, the door opens back up and Harry's got his jacket and boots on.

"Let's go get your stuff." He smiles softly.

"Oh, thank you so much!" She throws her arms around him and gives him a squeeze. He just barely gets his arms around her waist by the time she's pulling away.

He follows her out and into her house. It takes several trips to get all of her things over to Harry's and into his kitchen. She keeps apologizing for needing to take over his kitchen, and she apologizes for the various smells of meat and oil that's about to consume his entire house. He assures her it's fine and offers to help cook.

Harry has a huge crush on Y/N. Ever since she moved in next door six months ago, she's made his heart race. She makes his palms sweat and his knees buckle and his dick hard.

Y/N has a crush on Harry too, but she's much less nervous around him. She figured if he liked her back he would have made a move at this point, so she doesn't let the crush consume her the way it consumes Harry.

"I really appreciate this, Har." She says as she gets the over preheated. How come your power isn't out? You'd think the whole neighborhood would have been affected."

"I have a generator in the basement as a backup since I work from home. I need to be able to stay online to do my job."

"I should really invest in one of those. Do you know how long this snow storm is supposed to last? The street cleaners barely cleaned up the sidewalks from the last one."

"I think it's supposed to snow all day and into the night."

"Fuck. That means the plows will barely be out."

"When do you need to bring all this food to your family?"

"Not until tomorrow night. We're doing a combined Hanukkah and Christmas thing with all our in-laws and stuff. So, I'm not the only one making a fuck ton of food, but still."

"Well, I have snow tires on my car, so I can always give you a lift if you want."

"I couldn't ask you to do that."

"You're not asking." He takes a step towards her. "I'm offering. You can pay me in potato pancakes."

"That seems like a fair compensation to me." She smiles. "I strongly recommend closing your bedroom door."

"Why?"

"Because this brisket has to bake for eight hours, which means your entire house is going to smell like meat. Not to mention, once I get the oil going for the latkes...the place will smell like meat and fried potatoes. It can be kind of a lot."

"Right, I'll go close some doors. What else do you need to make?"

"Kugel, latkes, and bark. The brisket is already dressed and ready to go into the oven."

"Can I help make anything? I'm pretty good at peeling potatoes."

"You're already doing so much. I'm ruining your weekend."

"Y/N," he places his hands on her shoulders, "you aren't ruining my weekend, I promise. I like when we get to hang out. It's not like we haven't cooked together before. It'll be like when we made those homemade pizzas."

"Okay." She sighs with relief. "Then I'd love your help peeling potatoes."

Harry goes upstairs to close the bathroom and bedroom doors, then comes down and makes sure to close his office door as well. He comes back to the kitchen and smiles at Y/N fondly. She's got her apron on and she's mixing ingredient together into a mixing bowl. He washes his hands in the sink before putting his own apron on and grabbing his peeler.

"Wanna listen to some music?" He asks her.

"That would be great. Can we listen to holiday music?"

"Alexa, play my holiday mix on Spotify." Harry tells the Echo.

"Playing Harry's Holiday Mix on Spotify." The device responds.

"That's so cute, you have your own playlist." She teases him, bumping her hip to his.

"Laugh all you want, but some holiday songs are really fucking annoying. I prefer the old classics."

"I completely agree. I hate new songs by artists who are clearly just trying to make some extra money. I think Baby, It's Cold Outside is one of my favorites."

"It's one of my favorites too."

The two work in a comfortable silence, humming and whistling along to the songs that come in through the speaker. Having help is proving to take a lot of stress away from Y/N. Thanks to Harry, she's able to make the latkes in half the time it usually takes her. They clean all of the dishes up before Y/N takes out everything she wants to use for the bark.

"Okay, I've got dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate. Those will be the bases. I have marshmallows, graham crackers, candy canes, almonds, and mint extract."

"I'd also like to be paid in bark. I have a horrible sweet tooth."

"Done and done."

Making bark is like a dirty job. It's messy and sticky, and your hands always get covered in chocolate. Y/N explained it's easier to swirl the fixings in with her fingers.

"Do you have enough room in your freezer for all of this? We need to lay it flat."

"Yup, plenty of room." Harry opens the freezer door and helps Y/N had the bark, that's spread out on wax paper, inside.

"Ugh, my hands are a mess." She looks down at them, then takes a finger into her mouth to suck on. "God, I love chocolate."

"Yeah." Harry blushes, wishing he could suck on Y/N's fingers.

"Thank you so much for all your help. You're like my hero today."

"Oh, I was happy to help. It was fun cooking with you. Um...now that we're done and the kugels are still in the over with the meat, would you want to hang out and watch holiday movies?"

"That sounds great. I'd love to."

"Cool." He smiles.

Y/N gets cozy on Harry's sectional and snuggles up under one of his blankets as he queues up a movie. They decide on Home Alone. Harry sits by Y/N, but not too close. He doesn't want to make her uncomfortable.

"Come closer so we can share the blanket." She suggests. "You know, if you want. I mean, I'm sure you have other blankets, but-"

Harry's already moving and spreading the blanket over his legs. He puts an arm around Y/N's shoulders pulls her in closer to his side.

"Shh, the movie's starting." He smirks down at her.

The two stay cozy and giggle as they watch the movie.

"You're good at cuddling." She tells him randomly. "You're like a furnace, it's nice."

"Glad you think so." He swallows thickly. "Can I confess something to you?"

"Sure." She looks up at him.

"I've wanted to do this with you for a while..."

"What, watch Home Alone?"

"No, be this close to you, like, cuddle."

"Oh." Her cheeks flush. "Really?"

"Yeah. I...I don't want to make things weird between us because I like being your friend, but...I sort of like you more than that."

"You do?" She sits up a little more.

"It's totally fine if you don't like me as more-"

"Harry, shut up for a second." She smiles big at him. "I like you as more than a friend too."

Y/N wraps her arms around Harry's neck and tackles him down on the couch before kissing him. He kisses her back, smiling as he does so, making it a little hard to kiss. They both giggle and Y/N pulls back just a hair.

"Was that okay? I probably should have asked to kiss you first." She says.

"It was more than okay." His hands slide down to her hips. "You helped take the edge off. You make me so nervous."

"Aww." She pouts. "You're so cute." She leans in to kiss him again, giving his bottom lip a small suck. "Would you like to come with me tomorrow night? Like, come inside and enjoy the festivities?"

"I'd love to."

Y/N slots her mouth back over Harry's, and licks inside. Their tongues mold together, and they moan against one another. Y/N rolls her hips down, grinding against Harry's crotch.

"I should've known you liked me. You were so devious for wearing grey sweatpants around me."

"I didn't do anything on purpose." His hands slide down to her ass, giving her cheeks a squeeze.

"Mhm." She rolls her eyes playfully. She kisses on his neck and rubs herself against Harry again, this time getting a better feel of his erection. They move their hips in circles against one another.

"Y/N?"

"Yeah?"

"This is really fun, but we shouldn't move too fast...physically."

"Did you think I was going to let you take my pants off?" She laughs. "Baby, our clothes are staying on today. But...I wouldn't be mad if you made me come in my pants."

"I wouldn't be mad if you made me come in mine either."

[qqueenofhades]

Maybe this is a controversial opinion, but its one that I've been reminded of in the few weeks since things have escalated so severely in Israel and Palestine-- I feel like the pressure for random, average individuals online to be vocally political is not only entitled and uncomfortable, but also just an example of misplaced priority.

Like, I have people on twitter right now that are flat out saying if you don't talk extensively about I/P you're truly, irredeemably evil. I've had mutuals say that silence means you're complacent in genocide, that you have blood on your hands (exact words). But it just doesn't make sense? Most of the people who I've seen being flat out harassed for being silent are teenagers who don't have money to donate, working class folks who don't have time to spare, and normal people who just don't have enough of a following online to even spread any word effectively. Of course, the ones doing the harassing are also poor/busy/not-popular, but they don't see the irony. (I've also seen them say that talking about war constantly is taking a toll on their mental health, saying they've cried, had nightmares, panic attacks, etc...but they also say that taking a mental health break from social media is "selfish" and genocidal, so.)

The whole interaction leaves me with so many questions. If stepping away from social media because politics are stressing you out (which they are known to do), are you obligated to use social media? Do you have to use twitter to be a good person? What does that say about people who can't afford a phone, or live in a country where it isn't quite possible? (Are homeless folks inherently genocidal, or is that an "obvious" exception that was never clarified because no one uses nuance anymore?) If you have to talk about world events, lest you side with the oppressor, at what point is something so catastrophic you *must* talk about it? Is there a number of lives lost that is low enough you can get away with being quiet, and a certain amount too high that you're obligated to talk about it? Is it your duty to have the news on 24/7 to make sure you don't miss anything and catch all the global disasters as they happen? How much do you have to talk about something for it to be considered "enough"? Is there a quota??

It just feels like a lot of people are acting as if people who aren't chronically online aren't 1. doing any activism, because the only important activism is social media networking (sarcasm), or 2. are inherently bad people for *not* spending 6 hours a day on their phones. Like, I had someone I thought was a friend say I was a bad person because I was trying to cut down my social media usage, because the timing was "too convenient"... as if that's a normal thing to say to someone, ever. Sorry if I went on a little bit of a rant, it wasn't my intention. I dunno, maybe it's just me; I've seen a lot of people saying this sort of stuff so maybe they are the majority. It just feels really weird to let people that are addicted to social media take charge of who online is "good" or "bad" based off their internet usage. As if we were all catholics or something. If I were to say that current takes on morality were very catholic-seeming, would you know what I mean?

As recently noted, I am myself on an embargo from answering asks related to this topic. I will make one exception because this is important. Please note that any wank in replies or reblogs will be instantly blocked (and I won't hesitate to disable reblogs if necessary). I will not be answering follow-up asks or getting drawn into Discourse. I do not want to do it and it will not be happening.

I have said it before, but it bears saying again: thinking that the only way to Do Activism is to be constantly on social media and immersing yourself in terrible things nonstop and then posting the Most Correct Opinions (and then viciously attacking anyone who is even slightly Not As Correct as you) is absolutely bullshit. If you're engaging with this content so much that it's giving you a mental breakdown or otherwise plunging you into a spiral of anxiety that you take out on other people who are just as far removed from actually doing anything about it as you: why? Do you really think that you and you alone, one random person on the Internet, are the only way anyone else is going to find out about these things? Or do you think you have to perform the Most Correct Opinions nonstop, viciously harass anyone who isn't responding in exactly the same way, and this is the sum total of what your response should be? Especially in a situation as bloody and complicated as this, dealing with reams of religious, social, cultural, and political history where the average commentator on this conflict knows only what's been fed to them by propaganda on TikTok? How the fuck is that useful or constructive for anyone, aside from perpetuating the idea that you have to be angry all the time on social media about things you essentially know nothing about? I can't see that it does.

What's happening to the Gazans right now is no qualification or equivocation, a genocide. It should rightfully be opposed and called what it is. But unfortunately, I have spent too much time around Western Online Leftists to believe they actually care a whit about stopping genocide as a fundamental principle, and only want to be seen to loudly care about what their Ideology has told them to care about. If it means hand-waving aside genocide and atrocities when committed by their preferred polities, so be it. Why haven't these same people been wall-to-wall up in arms about what Russia has been doing in Ukraine, or for God's sake Syria for the past ten years, if they're really concerned about the rights of innocent Muslim civilians attacked by a far-right imperialist power? Why not the Uighurs in China? Why not [insert the blank] of all the terrible things happening in the world as a result of far-right fascist genocidal imperialism? Why only this conflict? Why now? Why does it involve so much excusing of terrorism as long as it's committed for the Right Ideology? Why are some of the most loudly pro-Palestinian accounts on here also the most rabidly pro-Russian? How does that make sense? To put it bluntly, those genocides are being committed by nation-states that Online Leftists like for being "anti-Western," and therefore their activities are actually fine and should even need to be defended.

My point is not to say that what's happening to the Palestinians is not bad. It is. It is awful and inexcusable. However, I seriously doubt the motives and morality of those who are being the loudest about screaming on social media and attacking everyone else for not instantly repeating their views. I seriously doubt that the Online Left actually opposes genocide and accelerationism as fundamental principles, because they proudly demonstrate every day that they don't. Until those vast factors can be dismantled and shown for what they are, and this can be placed into its larger context, I don't buy it and I don't believe this wall-to-wall social media outrage factory is actually aimed at helping the Gazans or anyone else suffering the most as a result of this. It is just to show that they can be counted on to Perform Outrage and harass anyone else who doesn't do the same, and that does nothing for anyone whatsoever.

[stargazer-sims]

Moving In

Clancy: How’s it going, kid?

Forest: Okay, I guess.

Clancy: Got all your stuff unpacked and set up?

Forest: Yeah, mostly. I still have to organize all my art stuff. I need to decide where I want to put my easel.

Clancy: You’ll figure it out. Do you like the apartment?

Forest: It’s great.

Clancy: But…?

Forest: Just thinking about Dad.

Clancy: Oh?

Forest: He didn't seem too bothered about me moving out. Even the day when he caught me packing, he didn't try to stop me.

Clancy: Why do you think that is?

Forest: Probably 'cause he wants to get rid of me.

Clancy: Or because he thinks it's what you need right now.

Forest: It kinda is. I mean, living there was getting pretty bad. Nobody over there understands me. At least when I'm by myself, I won't have people looking down on me all the time and rubbing it in my face that they're all so much better than me.

Clancy: Well, this will give you the chance to figure out who you are and become your own person.

Forest: Exactly.

Clancy: Anyway, now that you're all set up, we should go over the apartment rules.

Forest: Come on! There are rules? I thought i was supposed to be independent now.

Clancy: Sorry to shatter your fantasy about adulthood, but everybody has rules to follow. We have rules at work, and we have regulations and laws in everyday life. You have rules at your job, don't you?

Forest: Yeah.

Clancy: And there are rules at school?

Forest: Okay, point taken. What are the apartment rules?

Clancy: The first rule is that rent is due on the first of the month. If you think you can't pay it or you're going to be late, you need to let me know in advance, and I'll give you five extra days to get it paid. No coming to me on the first and being like, 'Aunt Clancy, I don't have rent money'. Got it?

Forest: Got it. As long as my boss pays me, you'll get the rent.

Clancy: Good. The next rule is no parties, and no overnight guests that you're not related to. If your brothers and sisters want to stay over, that's fine. You can have a few friends at a time over if you want, and I don't care what you do together in there, but try to keep the noise down and let them know they they need to be out by midnight.

Forest: Okay.

Clancy: Next one is laundry. You can go to the laundromat or you can use my washer and dryer. If you want to use mine, we'll work out a schedule.

Forest: Is that it?

Clancy: That's it. Basically, you're on your own. I'm not going to be telling you what to do from day to day and I'm not going to be making any decisions for you. If you need help or advice you can ask me and I'll help you, but when all's said an done, every choice is going to be yours.

Forest: You know what? I can respect all that.

Clancy: Good, because I'm not above evicting you if you don't.

Forest: Seriously?

Clancy: Seriously. That's what happens in real life, and if you do manage to get yourself evicted, I'm not explaining it to your parents. That'll be up to you, too.

Forest: Don't worry, Aunt Clancy. You won't have to evict me.

Clancy: That's what I want to hear.

Forest: Oh, somebody's texting me. Sorry... not trying to be rude.

Clancy: It's fine. Is it your parents?

Forest: No, it's somebody from school. It's a girl.

Clancy: Ooh, interesting.

Forest: Her name is Nora. She's in my class. Her parents kicked her out too, during the first week of school if you can imagine that. She's living with somebody in an apartment downtown. Apparently her mom is way worse than my parents, but she likes living on her own and she makes a lot of money with her online job.

Clancy: What kind of job does she do?

Forest: No idea, actually. She doesn't really like to talk about it.

Clancy: I see.

Forest: She wants to know if she can come over. Is that okay?

Clancy: It's your apartment. That's up to you.

Forest: Cool. I'll tell her she can come.

Clancy: Okay, I'll leave you to it. Have a good night

Forest: Thanks, Aunt Clancy. It's gonna be all good, you know. You won't regret letting me move in.

Clancy: Remember you said that.

Forest: It'll be great, I promise.

[doe-eyed-fool]

Fallen {Chapter Eight}

Alastor x (fem)Reader

"I was also thinking we could add some gaming consoles. Just if you get some younger sinners coming through. Doesn't have to be all new, some people like older systems too." I say to Charlie. She was writing some of the ideas I had down as she listened.

So far, I had suggested a television with some movies to go along with it. As well as a Bluetooth speaker for playing music, and some board games. And it wouldn't hurt to add video games as well. "I think I can get my hands on some of those." Charlie says with a smile.

 "Any other ideas?" She asks. "Well, I did have an idea for advertisement. But first I have to ask, why haven't you created a build board yet?" I guess it would make sense for the city like aesthetics of hell would have build boards too. And I've seen tons. Advertising all sorts of things, even admittedly some pretty silly and downright stupid things.

"Well, it's not like I haven't tried." Charlie laughs weakly. "As you can imagine, no one is really taking my idea seriously. So, there's that. Also, there's a ton of people ahead of me trying to get one."

"But aren't you the princess of hell? Can't you just...you know? Make them bump you up to the front?" I ask. "Nah, I don't want to have to do that." Charlie shrugs. "I wanna try and do this my own way, without abusing my power. I've only had to do it once, and that was when Alastor showed up to the hotel. I had to convince him to not pull any stunts behind my back and to basically play nice with the people checking in." She explains.

"I guess even he��has to listen to you." I say with a slight smile. "Eh, yeah. But it's like pulling teeth." Charlie sighs. "I believe you." I sigh as well. Charlie eyes me for a second before speaking again.

 "You said Alastor helped you find your way here from a bad spot. But how exactly did that happen? He isn't the most...friendly(?) of people." I felt a twinge of panic surge through me at that question. Though, I had a feeling the question would come up eventually. But I had hoped I'd never have to be the one to answer it.

"Um yeah...I was in bad shape when I landed in hell." I began, trying to make this as convincing as possible. "I was really injured and he helped me. Then he mentioned this place and brought me here. I uh...really want to go to heaven. And when he said there was a place to help me get there, I jumped at the chance."

"I see." Charlie nods. "I guess I'm still just a little shocked that he of all people offered to help someone out. He didn't try and trick you or anything...right?" She leans a little closer to me as she whispered. I smile as best as I could and shook my head. "Nope. I came here of my own will." Charlie leans back. "Huh. Ok. Maybe this place is rubbing off on him after all." She says, her smile returning. 

"Though, I have a feeling he'd deny it if I told him that." She chuckled. "Well, if you can't get a build board right now. Maybe stick to posting the hotel online? Maybe make an account just for the hotel and it's amenities?" Charlie takes out her phone.

"I've tried that. But there's not many followers, and the attention the hotel does get is mostly from troll accounts and overall dickheads." She says as she shows me the phone. She opened up an app called Sinstagram...uh, clever? And scrolled down to the comments under the photos.

And just as she said, it was filled with crude, hateful, and downright inappropriate comments. Very little people were taking it seriously.

"Oh, I see." I mutter. "I know you said you didn't want to use your status to get your way. But, I was thinking maybe use that kind of power in a good light." Charlie gave me a confused look, she stayed quiet, letting me explain further.

"Why not throw a ball and invite some persuasive people? Maybe the overlords? They seem pretty important. You could pitch the hotel to them personally, and if you can catch their interest, they're bound to talk about it." Charlie leaned back and hummed. 

"I do like the idea of a ball but...I don't know, the overlords never expressed any interest in the hotel. Besides, most if not all of them gain from people's sins. Especially in the entertainment industry, like Val and Vox. Those two are unstoppable when it comes to providing for the sinners in hell. Of course, they don't topple over the deadly sins themselves but uh..." Charlie trailed off when she noticed how lost I was.

She cleared her throat. "But, it wouldn't hurt to try...right?" She smiles weakly. I could only nod, matching the grin.

I did feel for her. Starting a project that you're very passionate about, only to be met with hate and dismissive comments has to sting. It seemed like even her own father didn't care about her dream. I wish there was something more I could do to help her.

"Hey, how about those new curtains huh?" I say, trying to brighten the mood. Charlie and I looked towards the large windows, the fancy velvet red curtains that accompanied them. For the past few days, the hotel has gotten a bit of a fixer upper. 

New furniture, wallpaper, and lighting had been installed into the hotel. We even gave the outside a good polishing, thanks to Alastor's help that is. Otherwise it would have taken much longer. And now with a new common room with various forms of entertainment on the way, the hotel was looking better with every passing day.

If it's one thing people could say about the hotel, that wasn't completely bashing or berating it, was that it looked aesthetically pleasing.

"If you did throw a ball, the look of the hotel will surely impress them!" I try to cheer her up. Charlie looked around before turning her attention back to me. "Ah, what the hell? Let's throw a ball." She says with a shrug. "I can't let the what if's get in my way. I won't! I will throw a ball, I will invite those uptight asshole overlords, and my parents! And I'm gonna show them just how effective this hotel can and will be!" I smile at her determination.

After getting to know Charlie, I've learned that she was all but willing to give up. Especially when it came to something she really cared about. And she certainly did care about this hotel. "I hope all goes well." I tell her. "You have a good heart Charlie. I want you to succeed." Charlie smiled warmly before hugging me. "Thanks Y/n."

I hug her back, and shortly after we parted. "Alright." Charlie nods. "I have a lot of planning to do. I'll catch you later, ok?" I nod my head and waved before she hurried off. Suddenly, a pang of anxiety hit me. And it was then I realized, I had never been to a ball before. Of course I hadn't. I mean, I haven't even been to a large party before. "Uh oh." I mutter.

"Something the matter?"

Ah yes. That's something I've gotten use to. Alastor's sudden voice in my ears have became somewhat normal to me over the past few days. I sigh before speaking. "Yes."

What followed was Alastor's breathy laughter that only stopped when he suddenly appeared beside of me. "Let me guess, it's about the ball that the princess is planning? Never had much experience mingling with important figures, I take it?" He asks smugly.

 "How did you guess?" I roll my eyes. "I'm kind of regretting giving her the idea now. Gosh...the overlords scare me enough. But Lucifer and Lilith being there...I think my heart's going to explode."

"Oh, try not let it. The heart is the best part, wouldn't want it to go to waste." I sent him a glare. "Very funny. Im serious."

"So am I."

I groan in annoyance before turning to face him. "I mean it. Im gonna make a fool of myself. Maybe I'll just fake being sick that day." I say with a sigh. "Nonsense! You'll do just fine." Alastor waved his hand dismissively. "Everyone at the hotel will be there, so you'll be around some familiar faces at least." He tells me. And admittedly, that did bring me some comfort.

I hadn't known these people well, but it was better than not knowing them at all. I got along pretty well with Charlie, but I am certain she'll be busy with the overlords and her parents at the ball. But surprisingly, me and Angel Dust had gotten along as well. 

Despite his rather...perverted and lewd behavior, he was actually pretty decent to talk to. And, I also felt a little sorry for him. From context, his boss seemed like a rather cruel and unforgiving guy. Abusive even. Angel's line of work was already tough and dangerous enough. To have a boss like that on top of it all...It must be exhausting.

But even with the somewhat comfort of knowing they would be there wasn't quite enough to convince me. "I don't even have a dress. I can't go to such a fancy event like this." I say, gesturing to my outfit. It wasn't terrible, but it most certainly wasn't ball wear. Causal, is the best way I could describe it.

"Then perhaps you should buy one." Alastor suggests. "With what money?" I counter. "Also I don't know any shops around here to even get a dress. I really think I should just skip out on the ball. Those types of things aren't for me anyway."

"Im sure Charlie would want you there. You're the newest guest in the hotel after all. It'd be strange if you didn't show up." Alastor says with a smirk, knowing he was right. I frowned deeply. I hate that he was right. "Fine I'll go." I say, defeated. "Wonderful! Now, come along." Alastor walks ahead of me.

"Where?" I hesitate before following after. "We're getting you a dress. Not to any shops around here of course. No no, we're going to proper shop for your dress. And I know just the place!" I stop in my tracks. "I already said I didn't have any money." I try to argue.

"Consider it a gift, from me to you." Says Alastor, a hint of false kindness in his tone. I narrow my eyes. No way. He'll want something in return for sure. I cross my arms, still not moving an inch. "What's the catch?" I ask.

"No catch." Alastor says simply. "I don't believe you." I mutter. Alastor only chuckled before snapping his fingers. Before I knew it, we were in front of a store. A big, fancy, expensive looking store. "Alastor!" I snap my head up at him. "After you." Alastor says, opening the door for me. Realizing there was nothing I could do to change his mind, I sigh and walk inside.

The clothes inside of the store looked just as fancy as the store. Soft music played in the background, it being the only noise in the otherwise quiet store. "Feel free to look around." Alastor tell me. I repressed the urge to shoot him a glare before walking further into the store. I didn't even know where to begin. Well, other than finding the women's section that is. "I guess...I just find the best looking one?"

"Or. You could look for one you like?" Says Alastor. "I mean yeah but. Shouldn't it be really fancy and elegant?" I ask him. "The king of hell is going to be there." Alastor looked at the dresses in front of me, he bummed before shuffling through a few. Then he pulled out a red and black dress.

It wasn't what I was use to, but I had to admit, it was a very beautiful dress. And conveniently was backless, perfect for my wings to fit through. "What do you think of this one? Elegant enough for you?" Alastor asks. I had to tear my eyes away from the dress to look at him. "Um, yes. I think that one is fine." I tell him.

He then hands the dress to me before leading me to the fitting rooms. "Go ahead and try it on then. See if we need to make any adjustments." I nod before walking inside one of the stalls and shutting the door behind me. After changing, I turn to the full length mirror behind me. 

To my surprise, I was left in awe at the sight of myself. My new form seemed to have complimented the dress wonderfully. I was actually taken back by how nice I looked. "Almost done?" I could hear Alastor call from the other side of the door.

"I am." I say before opening the door and stepping out. If I blinked, I would have missed how Alastor's brows shot up for a brief moment, before returning to normal. "My, how lovely!" He compliments. "I say it suits you quite well. But what about you? Too tight or loose in any areas?" He asks. I shake my head and look down at myself. "No, it fits pretty well. It's shocking comfortable too."

"Well then, let's check out." Alastor guides me to the register. The cashier politely greeted us, but quick to cower in fear as they noticed Alastor. They rang up the dress, eyes darting from the register to Alastor, as if waiting for him to lunge.

When I heard how much the dress was worth, my jaw nearly dropped to the floor. "Al-" I didn't get a word out before Alastor bought the dress and escorted me out of the shop. As we left, I could hear the cashier sigh in relief.

What just happened?

(I published chapter eight too cause I got hit with a wave of motivation! Chapter nine and ten are in the works!)

[austinslounge]

Hey! I'm relatively new to the Austin fandom, and first of all, I just wanted to say you really opened my eyes about the Kaia situation, so thanks! Second of all, I wanted to know your opinion on something: judging by his sister's follows on instagram, and his grandmother (I think it's his grandmother)'s posts on Facebook, Austin seems to have been raised in a conservative family. I know it's none of my business and that "stalking" his family like this can come off as disrespectful, but the thing is: as a leftist, I try to be very mindful of the people I dedicate my time and attention to. Austin never discussed his political views publicly, right? Do you think this is maybe because he is afraid of a certain backlash he might receive if he "came out" as a conservative/republican? I really avoid putting famous people on pedestals and idealizing them too much, and I know some people think it's stupid to care about artists' political views, but I'd still be kinda disappointed if I found out his values are so different from mine. Anyways, thanks for reading, and have a nice day!

Hey girlie! 👋

Welcome to my blog! 🥰❤️ Also, welcome to the Austin Butler fandom. 💕 It's good to see some new fans on here.

I'll be honest, I don't usually like getting into political topics or views here on my blog. But since your ask seemed genuine, I'll try to give you my honest opinion.

Take a seat 💺

Honestly? I think you should just take Austin for face value and not worry about what political party he might (or might not) belong to. As far as I'm aware, he's never really mentioned any real political views, and hasn't even identified himself with any specific political party. (Someone can correct me if I'm wrong)

I think one of the reasons why our country is so divided right now is because people have stopped seeing people as individuals, and they just see people as from one party vs from another party. 🥴 Personally? I don't think that's really fair.

I prefer to base my opinions about someone on a case by case individual basis. I have met some wonderful people from all various walks of life and different political views. I think it's also good to keep in mind that even people inside of a political party may not always agree with everything the party believes or represents.

Going back to Austin --

I choose to look at who Austin the man is, and everything that I've seen of him so far over all these years have been nothing but positive. I see how he treats both men and women. I watch how he treats people from various diverse backgrounds. I saw how he boldly spoke out about racism and "White Privilege" during the murder of African-American George Floyd back in 2020. I have also paid close attention to how he talks to others, how respectful he is of everyone, and how he doesn't treat anyone differently (not even his fans) no matter their position in life.

I have seen how he gave a homeless man food in the streets, how gentlemanly he is with women (i.e. opening up car doors, helping older women up on stage, etc.), and how kindly he speaks of everyone (don't think I've heard him speak badly about anyone tbh). I've also seen how gracious and loving he is to his fans. Friends of mine who have met him in person have echoed the same thoughts that he really is a sweetheart to everyone and how wonderful it was to meet him. I've also heard how everyone in Hollywood who meets and works with him describes him as being very "kind".

I've even looked at his old tweets and Tumblr posts! You can even find his old tweets and Tumblr posts online from when he was a teenager to a young adult, and all of them are so wholesome and adorable. 🥰 While some celebrities are out here getting canceled for their old scandalous Tweets from years ago, with Austin, even as a young guy, you never found him saying anything misogynistic, racist, fat-phobic, mean, or just plain rude online. He's usually always been very positive.

All of these things combined go on to paint the picture of a man who really truly is just genuine, kind, down to earth, and good-hearted. 💕 🥹

I know some people might not feel the same way that I do, and I know that Austin isn't perfect, but based on what I've seen of Austin, he really does seem like just a good guy.

I don't really follow closely what celebrity family members post or who they follow, but I think it's very important to realize that just because your family member has a particular view, it doesn't necessarily mean that you have that same exact view also.

Just something to think about! 😊

[genericpuff]

I WANNA TALK ABOUT THE FUCKING EISNERS-

i've been finding lately that there are so many topics i still wanna talk about concerning LO and its development and they just don't happen because i get distracted or busy and my brain is like "ok we're just gonna pretend we've already talked about it even though we haven't" JFKDLSAJFDASKLFJSLKA

Let's talk about the Eisners and LO's recent 'win'.

I've already briefly mentioned in previous posts that LO has had a lot of its awards and accolades bought for it. This is especially true for both the NYT Bestseller label (seriously, none of those labels are ever earned, it's not some top 100 list that you compete on, it goes to whoever is willing to pay for it or whoever an editorial column wants to highlight) and, of course, the Eisner Award, which is not exactly an award judged by the industry's finest (the judges this year were made up of largely comic book shop owners and librarians).

But we're not here to talk about that. I wanna talk about what happened after LO won its second Eisner.

First off, the fact that it can be nominated at all when it doesn't even really fit the criteria for their submissions is sketchy at best:

see: "new, professionally produced long-form original comics work posted online in 2022." LO is not 'new'. Sure, it has new episodes, but I don't think that really follows the spirit of what they meant by 'new'. The Eisner doesn't seem like an award that should be granted to the same series twice, is my point, and that's one of the many complaints brought up in the absolute dressing down that LO got in its announcement post on the Webtoons Official IG page.

Of course, you can see for yourself right here.

But for the sake of fun, let's share some of the excerpts here.

(and yes I'm sharing a LOT of these because frankly I don't trust WT to not delete them in an attempt to hide all the shit that's being thrown at their precious "baby")

While names have been censored to protect the users involve, I will say one thing - this isn't some attempt from antiLO/ULO members to brigade the series' win, there are other comic creators in this discussion as well from the Canvas section who aren't pleased with seeing LO win another Eisner when there are multiple new series from this past year alone which deserve more attention than they're getting. Again, see for yourself if you click on the link above, the vast majority of comments on this post are expressing their disappointment and you can tell from how they've been sitting at the top while all the positive comments are being 'pushed' to the bottom - the like counts say it all.

All of this, paired with the fact that LO didn't win a SINGLE user-voted award during the Webtoonies, goes to show that the Webtoons audience is over LO. They're done with it. It's not relevant anymore, the only ones who still keep up with it are the stans and those holding on in the hopes that the story gets around to resolving the SA plotline and gets its TV show (which I've also mentioned has a real possibility of not happening, at least not now when it would count the most LMAO)

It still gets more likes than any other series on the platform (for now) but you can tell during its current hiatus that when LO is out of sight, it's out of people's minds - despite many of these episodes now being weeks old, their like counts aren't going up, no new readers are being pulled in. And the fact that a series with over 6 million subscribers can barely scratch 100k likes nowadays is... really something.

And that's on its free to read episodes, it's FP episodes - where views count the most because it's where LO makes its money and initial views - aren't even a fraction of what the free episodes often take well over a week to gain at this point.

Episode 252:

And the midseason finale, 253:

Compare it to Down to Earth which gets 70k likes on average on its free episodes (though its current new FP is sitting at the 1k mark), is LO still bringing in higher numbers than other series? Yes. But it's clearly falling to a point where it's going to be on par with every other comic on the platform in no time. I can't even imagine what it's going to be like after it comes back from this poorly-timed hiatus, when all of its official fan groups have also been shuttered preventing people from staying in touch within their own fandom.

Awards like the Webtoonies are, while largely just for street cred, still audience-based, and I really hope the fact that the people have spoken not once, but twice through their engagement with the platform - both through the comment section on LO's Eisner win and the votes in favor of other series in the Webtoonies - will be a major wake-up call to WT that they can't keep trying the same things over and over again expecting different results. They can't keep stuffing money into LO as if advertising or awards are the reason LO isn't pulling in the numbers it used to. They can't keep pretending that LO still has the merit and credibility that it once had 5 years ago.

It's like that comparison from Super Eyepatch Wolf talking about why you shouldn't take advice on how to be "successful" from Youtubers who got famous 5+ years ago:

"Say you decide you want to become a carpenter, and particularly, how to build a nice chair. Think about the kind of person you'd want to learn that skill from. Would it be from someone who has built nice chairs every day for 20 years? Or would it be the guy who built one nice chair five years ago out of a special kind of wood that doesn't exist anymore, who has no experience with the kind of wood available to you now?"

LO is a byproduct of a version of Webtoons that no longer exists. It was fortunate enough to join the Canvas section when the Canvas section was still only lightly populated, before WT started trying to sell the idea that anyone could become "rich" on their platform (an idea largely perpetuated by creators LIKE RACHEL who only became big because WT threw all of their money at them), before Greek myth comics became commonplace (again, something that's a consequence of Rachel/Lore Olympus) and before the romance genre became largely filled with problematic "dark" romances (again, see Lore Olympus).

Do you see the pattern of what I'm talking about here? A lot of what Webtoons became known for was a byproduct of Lore Olympus and series like it, because those series did phenomenally well, due to being in the right place at the right time, so WT went "hey, cool, this makes us lots of money! Let's do more of that!" Obviously this isn't to say that Lore Olympus is the root of all evil here OR that it didn't have its own merit back in the day, but if you make a series that blows every other series out of the water in stats, it's only natural for a company to want to pursue more series and story tropes like it in the hopes that it'll replicate exactly what comics like LO did, completely misunderstanding why LO did well in the first place. At the time, LO's art was unique for the platform, and it was tackling a story that was extremely popular on platforms like Tumblr so it naturally gained a crowd.

But that was five years ago. Since then, the WT audience climate has changed dramatically, as it always does every few years; and LO and WT haven't kept up. We went through a phase of BL, isekai, and now WT seems to be in an odd limbo because it's still clinging to a series from three whole lifetimes ago, especially now with so many of its other signature series either finally ending (True Beauty) or walking away from the platform entirely (Let's Play).

At this point, Lore Olympus is a chair that was nice five years ago, but has since started to fall apart - its paint is chipping, and its legs don't stand up so well anymore - and WT is still trying to sell it you as the exact same chair - with cheap new paint and a few bits and bobs attached to try and convince you that the chair is new - but it's long past its prime. This isn't to say that the chair itself doesn't deserve to exist, just that it shouldn't be given so much proprietary advertising and attention when there are so many other works on the platform that deserve to be uplifted and seen.

LO was good for its era, it was successful for a reason, but we're halfway through 2023 and it's painfully obvious that the comic and the platform's audience is ready to move on to new territories. Webtoons just needs to learn to let go.

[iam93percentstardust]

On Plagiarism and Academia

Welp, I watched hbomberguy's new video (just like everyone else). And... I loved it! (Go figure) It's a great video, he's genuinely funny and presents the information in an engaging way (I barely even noticed it had been four hours), and we need the information he presented very badly to remind us to independently verify the things we're listening to. But something that he said really struck me because it's something that I'm dealing with in my offline life right now. Disclaimer: this is a hypothesis generated from my own personal observations and experiences and isn't meant to be a sweeping statement of every single academic institution across the entire world.

He seemed really surprised that no one (or very few people) noticed that the Youtubers he was calling out were plagiarizing other people. Like. Really surprised. And at one point, he made the argument that maybe that was because plagiarism was viewed only as a problem in academia, so people assumed it wasn't a problem online and weren't looking for it.

And that hit a chord because the thing is, at least in my small corner of the world, I don't think that plagiarism is a problem in academia. Or, rather, I don't think academia views plagiarism as a problem anymore.

So, if you've been following me for a while, you know I have a whole tag about my struggles in grad school. I've been a grad student for the last six years at [insert major university here], and because my lab doesn't have any funding to pay me, I've been employed as a TA all six years to pay my salary. At this school, in my department, TAs are expected to proctor exams--every single exam for the course and frequently one additional exam from another class.

If we see cheating, we're not supposed to call it out in the middle of the exam. Instead, at the end of the exam, we're supposed to take the student's scantron and hand it over to the professor and give them an estimate on how certain we are the student was cheating so they can pass it on to the university, which, in every syllabus of every class, states they take a hardline stance on cheating and plagiarism. (Yes, I know I'm talking about cheating on exams, which isn't the same thing as plagiarism, but I swear I'll loop back around to it in a minute.)

During the first exam I ever proctored during my first semester of my first year in 2018 (this was three weeks into the semester), I caught a student cheating. Like. Blatantly cheating. Cheating so badly that over a dozen separate people came up to me at the end of the exam to tell me that she was cheating, just in case I hadn't seen it myself. I did exactly what I was supposed to.

I took the student's scantron.

I turned it into the professor and told her that I was 100% certain and had witnesses to back me up.

She gave it to the university.

...And the university came back and said that they weren't going to do an investigation and were just going to let the student take the exam again, this time with a different proctor because they felt I was biased against this student because of the "very serious accusations [she] had leveled against [me] of singling her out for her race." (Newsflash: the student cheated again with that different proctor and got away with it again)

During that first year that I spent as a TA, I reported eight different instances of cheating across six separate exams. Every single one, I was 100% positive that the student had been cheating, and on five of the occasions, I had student witnesses to support my accusation. The university tossed every single accusation out without even a cursory investigation or even filing a report. Oh yeah, really hardline stance there, university.

For the most part (and partially because of distance learning), I stopped reporting cheating, but I tried one more time this past spring to report two cheaters and got back the same result that I did my first year: not even an investigation to see if there was any merit into my claim because they're "busy."

I don't report cheating to the university anymore. They've more than shown me that they don't actually take cheating seriously even when I have more than a dozen people supporting me. Even when I have students half out of their chairs to see what the person in front of them is writing. Even when I have students with their phones out on the desks, looking things up. The university doesn't care, so why should the students?

So how do I loop this back into the discussion on plagiarism? Well, yesterday, while grading my students' final papers, I ran one of them through a plagiarism checker, and it pinged the radar. Two sentences were a direct quote and hadn't been listed in quotations or been cited in the body of the text. If I scrolled through the (long) list of citations at the bottom of the paper, I could find the source, but if it hadn't pinged the checker, I would never have known that those two sentences weren't their own.

The lack of the quotations and the source after the quote is what kicks this over the line into plagiarism, regardless of the source in the later bibliography (the same thing that got Illuminaughtii in trouble on hbomberguy's video). But I was willing to assume it was an honest mistake, and so I emailed the student to ask them to please add the proper citation and resubmit the paper.

This should have taken the student maybe--at most--five minutes to fix. Literally, all it needed was a set of quotation marks and a parenthetical aside with the author's name and year.

Instead, I got a response from the student telling me that they were very busy, it was finals week, and they weren't sure when they could get to it. Oh, and by the way, what grade would they get on the assignment if they didn't fix the source?

It was a stunning lack of regard for the error they'd made on their original submission, and now, because I'd brought it to their attention, if it wasn't fixed, it was willful plagiarism--and we both knew that! They can't claim ignorance or an accidental mistake anymore. We both know that they're passing off someone else's words as their own!

I emailed them back and told them if it wasn't fixed, it would be a 0, and then I messaged the instructor and asked her what happens now? Her response was as disheartening as my previous experience with the university's response to cheating: they'll dismiss it, regardless of their supposed hardline stance, and nothing will happen. Don't even bother reporting it; the most we can do is give the student the 0 I'd already threatened.

So there you have it. This particular university doesn't care if you cheat or plagiarize. Academic dishonesty doesn't mean anything to them--and the students know it. Every year the topic of cheating comes up with my students during my office hours, and every time, the students complain about how their sorority sisters and football team members and fellow classmates get away with cheating over and over and over again because they know the university won't do anything about it, so why should they bother maintaining any kind of integrity? I even asked them if they reported it to their proctors and instructors, and while I got back a few yeses, I got even more why bothers. What's the point of reporting it if nothing is going to happen?

To loop this back into hbomberguy's video, I don't think as few people noticed the plagiarism as he thinks. I think quite a few people noticed (and looking through the comments on the various videos of the James Somerton scandal, not just hbomberguy's, I do see more than a couple comments along those lines). The thing is, I think they kept that to themselves. And though I do think that part of that has to do with the mob mentality of fandoms on the internet and the fear of getting attacked for pointing out something shitty that someone else is doing, I think a lot of it also comes down to this: plagiarism is thought to be an academia problem, therefore the way the academics respond to plagiarism should be what we look to to deal with the same problem elsewhere. But if the way the academics respond to plagiarism is to ignore it and sweep the reports under the rug, then why would we ever think that Youtube, of all places, would deal with it any better?

[nuikasa]

dunno i feel like i can talk more freely here bc i dont have too many people here following me and because certain things you say on other spaces can be taken in a very different way lmao, that's one of the reasons why i don't like twitter at all.

and I dunno if it's just me but this fandom it's super competitive and childish (well the childish part it's pretty obvious) and i that's the main reason why I'm picky with who i interact and with I don't ... artists seem to care only if you give them attention, if you don't interact with them in any form, they ignore you and just vibe around people who gives them that which is valid, if you like that, as long it doesn't harm anyone in some way, i don't think is bad.

but I personally don't like to get involved with that kind of people, i don't feel i can nutrite myself with their energy which is mostly centered to themselves than others, of course I can't even expect people to personally care about me for real, we are strangers online after all and it's getting harder to make a genuine bond with people you meet on here.

so i'm just stuck here thinking, i should be grateful with what I get and I truly am, I feel I've improved a lot this year in the artistic side and there's other sides of my life I also want to improve but i'm struggling a lot.

I'm starting to feel a bit frustrated, there's a lot of things I want to do but ...it's like I still haven't started moving to that direction, that there's something I'm lacking. I want to focus on my comics more for example but it's been like almost two weeks and I've progressed from one or two pages per au lmao and it's annoying to me.

I know I shouldn't be that hard with myself and sometimes inspiration comes in and out in a blink of a eye but still, it's frustrating.

I wanted to write down how I felt, maybe that would help a bit how I'm feeling right now with the things that surround me, this is just a personal rambling with myself lmao.

[goodluckclove]

How Clove Gardener Writes (an Overview)

I definitely told myself when I started this blog a billion years ago, at the dawn of human civilization, that I wouldn't make any attempt to tell you how to write. You know - other than saying just do it do the thing write it close the blog open the document type type three sentences bam look you did it good job i love you now go get yourself a treat.

But I've spoken to a few writers who seem to benefit from the insight of me just explaining how I write. So I thought I'd give a little peek into my own mindset. I cannot stress enough that this is what works for me. It's a methodology that I've built up over the course of like fifteen years of trying different things, keeping what works, and throwing the rest right out the goddamned window.

If any of this seems new and appealing give it a try. If it doesn't help I'm wrong and bad as a person (no I'm kidding but seriously if it doesn't work that's fine and we're both fine). If it helps you owe me a picture of a frog drawn from memory.

Let's see how long I ramble. Follow me under the read more!

Okay, so let's get this out of the way. I've never taken a writing class. No, that's not true. I took one when I was thirteen and another one in high school and I don't remember anything either of them taught me. Oh and I took an online creative writing class in college, but I also didn't retain anything and the next year I dropped out of college. So I also don't have a degree in jack shit.

What else? I don't outline. I've written upwards of 15 novels (13-15, I honestly can't remember) and I did not outline any of them. This includes character sheets and worldbuilding lore. My first published novel Blind Trust was born from the concept of the Lover's Knot, which is just like some witchy magic lore. I thought it would be cool so I was like "who could maybe be some guys" and then I introduced some guys and then bam 180k later it was Scott and Edgar.

I do virtually no preparation to write a novel other than the vaguest premise and maybe like one cool scene. I did not have a cool scene for Blind Trust, but I do have one for Migration Patterns. What I don't have is an ending. I don't think I've ever written a novel knowing how it ends.

Literally here's what I do. This is all I do. I sit down and I write until I don't know what's going to happen next, at which point I step away and I listen to some music or I go to the museum or I take a nap until I decide how to continue. That's it.

For me it's going to the zoo every day and seeing the monkeys. And every day they're doing something different. Sometimes they're sleeping, or they're pawing at each other, or they're gathering sticks. I can call out to them and offer to show them a card trick or share my Bugles with them, and they might come up to the wall of the enclosure to see what I'm doing. Or they might not. I do not really have control of the situation, but it doesn't matter because they aren't fully aware of me.

At some point either I have to leave the zoo for some reason. Maybe I'm tired, or maybe the monkeys have been pulled in to be fed their lunch (it's bananas and peanuts). Either way I add that day's behavior to the pile and then come back tomorrow.

Once I find an ending I go back and I read through the book again and trim any fat that's in the wrong places while adding flesh to some naked bones. Then I wait a week or more (usually I can only wait a week) and go back and do it again. By that point it's ready to hopefully have someone read it, after which I make small edits and tweaks.

That's how I do it. Or at least, that's how I do it for longform prose projects that I plan to publish. I've written plenty of novels that just stayed first drafts because I didn't feel like revising them and then I moved on to the next one. I don't regret that. I don't consider it a waste of time.

I would never consider a trip to the zoo a waste of time.

Anyways, that's what works for me. I don't know if all of this will apply to other brains. I don't know if any of it will. I figure it might just be useful to get an in-depth look at what I personally vibe with.

I'm so down to talk writing at any time, by the way. I love to do it. Tell me why you aren't writing and I would be happy to listen and try to help. Or just brainstorm. Seriously, my DMs and inbox are perpetually open. Talking about writing is one of my favorite things to do.

Let's go look at some monkeys together.

[crimsonboggarden]

Fuck it drunk rant-

I fucking hate how everyone os reacting to Megumi saying he wants to "try for once, living for someone else" (rough translation aside) for Ssssoooo many reasons

1) The sanctimonious - the ppl mad because characters should come the currently most acceptable and "fully realized" understanding of self-actualization understood from a Western, therapy awakened standard possible or else it sends the the wrong moral message because that's what storytelling is

Fuck the fuck right off. I hope people don't bring this attitude to real life folks in their actually offline, or fuck that even online, encounters struggling with mental health issues or other such things. I say that as most of these folks are taking the interpretation that Megumi is essentially fighting depression.

You know what's not helpful for a person fighting inner demons? The sanctimonious coming in and saying "actually, the progress you've made is fucking not enough because it's not self actualized enough, let me tell you what you should be aiming for".

Everytime I read one of those comments it remind me of Margaret Cho doing a charity run for the unhoused as a way to keep the memory of Robin Williams alive and posting the things most requested by the unhoused, which included tampons and being inundated with comments from ppl bitching about how "tampons are actuality really bad for the vagina" and her response of "you more what's really bad for vaginas? Fucking homelessness"

That, that's what y'all sound like to me

2) But my satisfaction!!!!!#@$$ - the ppl who claim the amount of change is the marker of good storytelling. This is the same bs as ppl who erroneously define the protagonist as the one with most action/change etc, or "the good guy" (these are not mutually inclusive or exclusive). This idea that a story's job if to take a character from point A to point B and if B if not where I as consumer has wanted it that is the author's failure.

Guillermo Del Toro said that there's only really two types interesting characters. I can't quote I'm drunk right now. Essentially there's the character that's interesting because of why they change, and the one that's interesting because why they won't. Is that reductive? Maybe, but it's a hell of a lot less than saying "with of fiction is bad because in middle school I was told good right follows this character arc, and this story didn't fit the mold so bad"

3) the fucking lawyers - I don't know why everyone thinks works of fiction need to go on trial to be tested agaisnt an imaginary metric of did it do X, Y, or Z. A person tries their damndest to give an idea within the medium they work in, within the constraints it comes with, whether that's time, money, space, language, oversight, tech, etc, etc, etc... and as a creator you use the means you have to attempt to guide towards an idea.

And just personally, I think it's a more interesting endeavor to ask what or why that choice was made as opposed to it is "right" or "wrong" because - I hate a great many works of fiction after thinking about what an author means, or why after reading their work - mostly more so after confirmation from themselves that's exactly what they meant.

But I really hate this thing where ppl want to day something is bad because it clearly says ____ without any consideration of why an author might have gone that route.

People have gone into great lengths digging up the mudras used by various characters and what that might mean, no matter how obscure of a reference, but immediately drop any more digging when it doesn't seem to serve their purpose.

I think this particularly pisses me off because that line made me reevaluate everything I thought I knew about the character of Megumi Fushiguro.

All this time I thought of him as someone defined by living for others, namely his sister. But he was someone I thought shackled too his function as sorcerer to Gojo, savior, no matter how temporary to Yuuji, and caregiver to Tzumiki. And yet he what gives him the edge to break from Sukuna is the idea he has never actually lived for another yet.

And I realized, he's right, and maybe he's always known. In the very first... or 2nd i forger, episode when Gojo asks why Megumi wants him to find a way to spare Yuuji's life and Gojo asks pointedly "for personal feelings" - yeah. It's about himself. Megumi may lead a live defined by his devotion to others, but he still doesn't actually let anyone in. It's one-sided. To the point he's an asshole to Tzumiki when she's finally awake.

And it mashed perfect sense for his character, it's a flaw, it's a place of growth, blah, blah, blah- but as a viewer it was easy to feel his actions meant he was living for others. Maybe most of the time he also believed he was. But the lack of genuine connection meant it wasn't real. And I don't think I've seen any piece of media or literature of moder times talk about that distinction, the only ones I can think of are actually Buddhist folktales/folklore/later literature. And in keeping with the themes I can't imagine that wasn't intended or didn't have influence.

All this being said. I don't think JJK is an absolute perfect piece of media. But I'm not interested in perfection, I'm interested in thought out choices, and interesting perspectives. There's a lot I would have wanted to see come from Megumi that Charly will not happen.

But holy fuck, did the process of thinking about "what do you mean love for someone else?! That's all you've been doing, Megumi! Is this a translation error?! Okay, noo.... that's a close enough translation, that's what that pretty much means.... fuck.... man, that means..." make me really reevaluate my entire perspective.

Ultimately satisfied, unsatisfied, that's flimsy. But that single line reminded me of so many Buddhist stories that reminds me why human connection is so important to the spirit - and the responses defined why I feel so very much alone.

I got into this series for it's blend of action acton and horror, stayed for the rampant queerness that must stay just an angel's breath away from spoken text, to find "oh shit... this person reminded me of what monks had been chanting for millenia". I don't need people to like or dislike that. I just hate that people think for whatever paradise they're stuck in they think someone's hard work is wrong. And damn... if that's not an ironic fucking response to surrounded by when for the first time in maybe a decade you find something that makes you think "that's right... connection is worth the pain of life"