#its weird and complicated and no one but us really will understand any of it but

[abrthephantomq]

Text from the TikTok itself:

We were high earlier, made this TikTok, and honestly?

The point was that the US govt may not know what the drones are after all, and we all know they bring out the ALIENSSSS whenever we get too close to achieving class consciousness.

It's not gonna work this time but they're sure as shit gonna try, y'know?

(Xander is our Zim-introject, from when we were 14ish. Agent M is our Angelica Pickles introject from when we were like....5? Lawllll imitating our alter Mitchel when we were middle school age. We are a creative bunch and we are trying to write a million different things at the same time, apparently. Because every piece of art has a story behind it, even if it's "hey that looks neat")

[xoxojisu]

thinking abt unofficialbf!katsuki

unofficialbf!katsuki who's abrasive and rude and loud until you're near him. he almost instantly sizzles down

unofficialbf!katsuki who proudly declared you as "his" when you were 4 after you accepted his bouquet of dandelions and its kind of just stuck since then

unofficialbf!katsuki who, after that, began proudly holding your hand and marching around with you. at some point, it just became a habit for him to reach for your hand, continuing even as you got older

unofficialbf!katsuki who still apologizes to you the same way as when you two were kids. he holds your hand and looks away as he mutters "'m sorry.." with rosy cheeks. when he really messes up, he'll bury his nose into your neck and hold you close and whisper a genuine apology into your ear. he'll struggle for the right words and get super flustered, but you know hes trying!!

unofficialbf!katsuki who, for as long as izuku could remember, has been a package deal with you

unofficialbf!katsuki who is practically inseparable from you. like youre not hugging in class or anything but theres just this unnecessary proximity with you guys? you're always just unexplainably close for no reason

unofficialbf!katsuki who carries your bag everywhere. he complains that you "can't even carry your own damn bags!!" but would never let you carry them

unofficialbf!katsuki! who beats his friends up for being stupid when they don’t understand something he’s teaching them, but is so gentle when teaching you. he gets real close and talks in this low rumbly voice that’s just SO HOT

unofficialbf!katsuki whos an asshole to everyone but you

unofficialbf!katsuki who, despite being unnaturally nice to you and finds it hard to be/stay mad at you, gets really genuinely angry when you get reckless when fighting. the only times hes ever really yelled at you for real were when you put yourself in danger

unofficialbf!katsuki who doesnt care if mineta and kaminari ogle the other girls but would blow them up if they so much as laid an eye on you

unofficialbf!katsuki who tries to hide the way his eyes soften whenever you talk

unofficialbf!katsuki who, due to your childhood marriage/relationship/idk-its-complicated, is really comfortable with touching you. he would never let any of those other extras touch him, but he never hesitates to grasp your hand when you're scared, grab your waist to pull you in when he just wants you closer, or even pull you into his lap (in private) to cuddle. he has no problem manhandling you and throwing you over his shoulder or even carrying you bride-style when he's reaaally feeling confident. when you sit next to each other, his hands easily find your thigh almost subconsciously to rub his thumb over it soothingly

unofficialbf!katsuki who you've been having tickle fights with since you were little! he would never DARE hit you like he would those other losers, so he tickles you when he thinks you're being annoying. he knows all of your ticklish spots and still uses it against you when he thinks you're being bratty (or when he just wants to hear you laugh, but he'd die before he admits it)

unofficialbf!katsuki who LOVES cuddling with you! (would never admit it) you get all loud and fussy sometimes (no one is allowed to sass him other than you) so he just pulls you close to his chest and drags his fingertips up and down your back in the way he knows you like. he loves how it gets you all quiet and sleepy and clingy in a matter of minutes. he wonders if you notice the way that after just a couple minutes, your speech starts to slur and you bury your face into his chest or neck. (he does. he notices.)

unofficialbf!katsuki who you've been cuddling since you were kids so it just sort of continued as you two got older? you've known him for forever, so it never felt weird or anything. its just oddly natural? mitsuki has photos of you two cuddling from ages like 4-now.

speaking of mitsuki!! she absolutely ADORES you and unofficialbf!katsuki HATES it! he always mutters about how she likes you more than him whenever you come over, which is like everyday, which she always affirms happily. calls you "my sweet y/n-chan," "sweetheart," "dear," "lovely," and of course "my future daughter-in-law." (katsuki always tells her to "SHUT UP, OLD HAG" with bright red cheeks)

unofficialbf!katsuki whose grumpy moods and grumbles are easily halted by you running your hands through his blond spikes, which always turns him into putty in your hands

unofficialbf!katsuki who always has you in his dorm. he has this thing about nobody, not sero or denki or even kirishima being allowed in his bed when they hangout, but he lets you with no problem. in fact, he's the one who drags you into his bed with him.

unofficialbf!katsuki whose classmates have literally placed bets on when his balls will drop and he'll make you his official girlfriend (he cursed them out and blew stuff up when he found out)

masterlist bc i think abt unofficialbf!katsuki a lot inspo from @cashmoneyyysstuff ! <3 she's an amazing writer go check her out!

[wip]

A very very minor thing I have been curious about for a while, and I'm finally asking: why do you calculate queue posting times the way you do? For example, if I set my queue to post 3x a day, naively I would expect it to post every 8 hours. But in reality it posts every 6 hours with a 12 hour gap between days. Why complicate the math like that?

Answer: Hello @circumference-pie!

Buckle up y’all, it’s story time again!

First: nobody who works at Tumblr right now was a part of the work of planning the default queue implementation, which was more than ten years ago. So the full story behind “Why does it work that way?” has unfortunately been lost to the sands of time. All we can do is tell you how it works today and surmise some reasons why. The queue is actually a very clever system and part of how it works explains some of why it works the way it does. Also, there have been attempts to do what you ask—we still have “Queue 2.0” available in your Tumblr Labs settings, which tries to get closer to how you expect things to work.

Anyway! How the queue works today is not actually a queue in the traditional sense. There is no single list of posts that are in “your queue”. Instead, when you “Add to queue” after creating a post, we’re actually scheduling it to post at a future time, as if you had used the “Schedule post” option instead. We’re just calculating that time on your behalf when you use “Add to queue”, based on your settings, and how many other scheduled posts you have already. We use a secondary “index” model, called “ScheduledPost”, to keep track of posts you have scheduled on your blog. We do mark the ones that are a part of “your queue”, but the data model doesn’t keep one list of your “queue” per se.

You can see this in action on your blog, hiding in plain sight. If you add a bunch of posts to your queue, and then schedule a post for a specific future date, you’ll see both in your blog’s “queue” list, side by side. Because technically to us, they’re the same thing: queued posts are really just another kind of scheduled post, relying on the same always-running service to publish scheduled posts across all of Tumblr. Here’s a fun fact: we typically have about ~14.5 million future posts to publish from this list at any given time and are publishing hundreds of these scheduled posts every second.

So when you’re adding a new post to your queue, what we’re doing behind the scenes is starting at the beginning of your “day”, and creating time slots based on your queue settings. If a time slot is already filled, we move on to the next one. That’s why the default queue scheduler works how you describe—we’re trying to fill those “slots” based on the start of the day, rather than trying to divide the calendar day evenly. This just makes it much simpler for us to understand, scale, and predict when our “peaks” will be. At peak times, the publish-scheduled-posts service is publishing tens of thousands of posts in a manner of seconds. We did rewrite that post-publishing part of this architecture a few years ago to improve its efficiency and solve a lot of “lost post” bugs, but we didn’t change how “Add to queue” works.

However, the Queue 2.0 project available in Labs was an attempt to change the queue system to work as you expect—instead of starting at [beginning of day] and creating enough slots to fit [number of slots] every [number of hours], it tries to divide the calendar day into [number of slots] and fit the result back to the original algorithm’s mapping of the day. We never productionized this alternative approach, because it has a few bugs that some blogs hit in extreme cases, and we’ve never had time to fully fix them. It also can cause a bit of weirdness when time zones diverge, like with daylight savings time. Also, a lot of people prefer the default algorithm, and we haven’t thought of a nice way to transition everyone from one to the other. So for now, both options exist, and you can choose which algorithm for queue-slot-generating you want to use. We hope that makes sense! 

While complicated, it is a great example of a system built by engineers to make sense and be scalable and predictable. But sometimes these kinds of systems, while clever, aren’t very intuitive to understand without digging into how they work.

Thanks for your question, and keep ’em coming. 

[revelboo]

I got a new blokee for my birthday and he was a massive pain in the ass to build because he's got about 200 pieces and ✨none of them were attached to the levels✨

Also his butt flap lifts for some reason 👀✌️

Oh, yeah the bigger ones are complicated, but look so good! I still have to assemble Soundwave, Shockwave is lonely

Everything Is Alright Pt 153

Starscream x Reader, Soundwave x Reader, Megatron x Reader

• Servos flexing around you when your emotions spill into him, inundating him with your fear and pain until he’s shuddering and Megatron glances at him from where he’d been reaching to pick up the protoform base. And it’s size compared to you registers and he understands your misery. “I’m not going to be able to hold my own kids, am I?” You whisper and he brushes a servo against your cheek. Right as Shockwave chimes in with an unhelpful ‘It’s highly unlikely.’

• Lifting the protoform, Megatron toys with its tiny servos and stiffens at your question and Shockwave’s answer. Sees Starscream’s wings flare out, trembling in outrage as your expression crumples. Most likely about to start leaking again. Hurting and it bothers him. Gritting his denta, he cradles the protoform to his chassis, aware of that little spark nestled inside him, a spot of warmth and pureness that he almost feels obscene for having. That wasn’t meant for him, but means so much now. “I was thinking of naming my little sparkling Megatronus,” he says and it works. Your head coming up, distracted from your pain by annoyance at him.

• “Your sparkling?” Starscream hisses, choking on the words in his outrage and Soundwave rubs a servo between your shoulder blades as you wipe at your eyes. Names. None of you have even talked about that. About any of it really, but that’s at least a human thing, a normal thing in all of this abnormal, alien weirdness. And you need normal.

• “I thought maybe we could use a star name? Or a constellation?” You ask, voice uncertain and small, like you’re so sure your opinion won’t be taken into account and Starscream hates that they’ve made you feel that way. All the mistakes they’ve all made. That he’s made. “It’s going to be a Seeker, right?” And he’s reaching for you, hearing Soundwave’s disgruntled rumble even as he willingly hands you over and you’re so small and warm in his hands as he presses you against the mesh of his neck, ignoring the other two.

• Servos flexing, missing having you in his hands even as he watches you press your face into Starscream’s neck, knowing you both need this. And he reaches out to push Shockwave’s hand away when the scientist’s arm lifts with a scanner to try and scan you while you’re in reach. Your worry now his worry, because you’ll have two sparklings much bigger, much stronger than you are. That you’ll need to be protected from even as he knows it’s going to break you emotionally. Because it’s breaking him now.

Previous

Next

[luffyvace]

Undertaker wants to Court you! ~(Headcanons)~

Can’t wait for the public school arc who’s with me?!

this dude is so silly 🗿 enjoy some hcs of this ridiculous little man

Undertaker is funny. He uses that to his advantage when courting. Well, it actually depends on what type of humor you have- most of his are usually those jokes that are kinda funny but at the same time your like ‘That’s outta pocket! 🤦‍♀️😑😂’ yk?

he always wants to hear jokes. He asks you randomly and no matter what type he laughs at them. Rude humor? Hilarious! Dad jokes? That one really tickled his fancy! 😂 why did the chicken cross the road?? To get to the other side? 🤣🤣💥

now usually I feel he has a specific sense of humor but with you everything’s just kinda funny. It’s that moment when your with someone who you can laugh at the most unfunniest stuff ever and still be cackling at it anyway 😭💕

he’s always telling them as well. Might I say, at the worst times 😏 you just watched someone run over a stray animal? Oh he’s got a joke for that hear him out- LIKE BRO 😭⁉️

HES THE TYPE OF GUY WHO MAKE YOU LAUGH BEFORE EVEN TELLING YOU THE JOKE BECAUSE YOU KNOW ITS GONNA BE STUPID 👍

Let’s also talk about hiiiis…! weird side! (I’m saying ‘side’ like he’s isn’t always weird..) This is pretty much him just being a creep? Ish? Like that scene where he was in the barrel licking salt…🤨 or how he’s always in coffins (which tbh seems more normal for a grim reaper but still..) either way this dudes’ real weird and he doesn’t tone it down, even around you despite the fact that it may or may not (you decide) push you away

He’s a very mysterious dude, so how ever you met him I guarantee it was eerie and somewhat strange. Therefore you were likely intrigued by him, so when you went on your first date it was, well, very interesting! There’s so many layers to unravel with this guy! Ngl even now you’ve only semi unraveled this incomprehensible man but at the least you do learn more as you get to know him :P

his past is….complicated is an understatement- gimme a new word.

literally no one but him knows his full past all the way up to this very day. Looks like no one has stuck around long enough! Since you will I guess you’ll be the first to figure it out! ;)

now I’ll say this, he won’t sit down and just tell you everything, no. That won’t be any fun! 😄 you’ll have to have the intelligent to sit down and decode it piece by piece with the tidbits of information he gives you randomly. Yes! It’s going to be comical seeing you try and put this whole thing-a-ba-jig together! (^_−)−☆ 🤣

his nonjudgmental yet opinionated personality is scary if you don’t like folk who come off too strong. Or if your sensitive- 😄 he’s a ‘tell-it-like-it-is-and-I-don’t-give-a-ship’ type of guy. Buuuut! If your similar to him in that sense you’ll probably understand him a lot more. Him being nonjudgemental is perfect for peeps of all types so that’s a plus!! 💗

ranting about his fascination with humans during your dates comes with the package! ☝️He just does, it’s always one of his topics, and ngl it’s nothing boring either, he’s got quite a few stories to tell with even more jokes in between, which is sure to make for a lovely date <3 plus at some point all species in black butler experienced being a human, and idk about y’all but the study of human nature, psychology and how the brain works is a very interesting thing for me! I’d definitely be able to keep a conversation like that up for some time, me personally.

He puts up a front of a funny weird guy when there’s more to him if you read between the lines. Which, don’t get me wrong that certainly is a part of the real him, he just makes sure to highlight it so you don’t look at the rest 😃👌

he’s a real creepy fellow..even towards you 😭 (on purpose) and whether he’s trying to court you or not there’s no escaping it- if it starts to push you away he’ll find a way to incorporate laughter into it to make it more appealing, but no, he won’t change his ways 😭

WHY DOESN’T HE WASH HIS HAIRRRR

(yes it’s canon 😞)

you force him to wash his hair 😘💋 pls he needs it. or at least do it with him so it’s more fun. It’ll probably be easier to convince him that way

Time to talk about his work as a grim reaper!!! :3 (retired anyway) if you are reaper you get to follow each other around doing tasks! human? You both go your separate ways to work, whatever that may be. A demon? The same as a human really! Just this time you might have a contract with somebody. Buttttt!! A perk of all three is getting to work in the funeral parlor with him ;3 it’s a good disguise if your a demon/reaper and also some good quality time for you and your reaper 😘 (i mean, I hope you don’t mind morbid stuff cuz he’s a mortician after all 😅)

his little Russian roulette with the phantomhives 🕺 (LOL) no seriously I have no clue what type of relationship he has with them besides the fact that he serves them for the price of top notch laughter 🧑‍🍳💋 but you might! I’d say he’s more willing to let you in then anyone if he’s trying to court you! That obviously means he wants to trust you with his heart! So yeah! You likely know a thing or two—more about Ciel than Vincent but any info will do at this point 😭 it’s a start right? 🤷‍♀️

whenever Ciel comes over you get to witness him or Sebastian try to make undertaker laugh, it’s not like they can kick you out, you work there! Perks 😏 You can pretty much tell the one time Ciel made him laugh himself it was just a whole bunch of tomfoolery 😂 (why did it take so long⁉️😭) Sebastian is also able to make undertaker laugh really hard immediately so I wonder what he does 🤪 guess you’ll get to see! 😋

undertaker opening up to you is a process that requires patience. And don’t be pushy!! I mean this for your sake, by the way. You’ll drive yourself crazy since you’ll never get an answer that’s not riddles or straight up jokes. 🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️

yeah overall his way of courting is really strange but when it comes to making things official he’s poetically blunt. The type of blunt where you have to process for a second like ‘wait what does that mean- oh. OH-’

Anyway I’m gonna talk about the actual dates now cuz I’ve pretty much just been mentioning the madness that comes with it this entire time :3 and yes as I said that’s a way of courting to him. He’s weird and blunt but doesn’t wanna do things the traditional way. So getting you involved in his antics is his way of saying ‘hey i like ya and I want ya to stick around’. And jokes. HAHAHAH 😂

dates with undertaker normally consists of tea, jokes, human psychology and gossip 🗿 ever since I saw ciel in wonderland I couldn’t get over the fact that undertaker was at a tea party and now I headcanons him to like tea LOLOLOL! I mean I know that’s how the plot goes in the actual slice movie and he was just playing the role of the character but, think about it—don’t it kinda fit???? Like?? Okok Hear me out hear me out- imagine sipping on some tea with Undertaker and gossiping on the latest drama from the underworld, ‘I heard a rare case is happening where blah blah blah *giggle* *giggle* chatter chatter..’ ETC! like idk how to explain it but do you see the vision???

I can also see him doing that dramatic anime thing where they sip they’re drink majestically then say something intelligent sounding (☝️🤓) (about psychology, for him) as the wind blows 😂😂 YK? LOLL even worse if your in a outside background and his eyes shows (cuz the character who never shows they’re eyes always show them when they get serious 🤣)

i love how shameless this guy is

why don’t we know this guys’ real name⁉️ Can’t even give him a nickname because ‘undertaker’ isn’t nickname material!! What am I supposed to call him???? Taker’ ⁉️😭🗿

ENJOY @doudouma HERE’S YOUR SURPRISE~ 🤗

[sebmindbreak]

HIHI! forsaken requests , blog! (UPDATED!)

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

𐙚 ๋࣭ ⭑ WELCOME WELCOME!

its my first time doing things like , i apologies if its bad!

SO HELLO!

𐙚 ๋࣭ ⭑ info about me!

-My name Is Seb!

-i really like forsaken , so i decided to open up requests!

-My original language isn't english , so please don't use complicated words please!

𐙚 ๋࣭ ⭑ Here's what you can requests!

-Headcanons !

: like what if... two time x you

i hope you get what i am saying!

-Oneshots!

: give me a prompt and ill turn it into a lil oneshot for you!

-Imagines!

𐙚 ๋࣭ ⭑WHAT I CAN DO!

-smut

-fluff

-angst

-yandere

(and other genres)

-I AM COMFORTABLE WITH ANYSHIPS!

any of them are welcome! even rarepairs!

𐙚 ๋࣭ ⭑RULES!

-NO PROSHIP!

: that one is obvious...

-Do not pressure me , to do your request , the only thing that will get you , is blocked.

-NO P3DO0PHILIA, Z00PHILI4 , NO R4PE!

: again its obvious

-PLEASE DO PRECISE IF YOU WANT A HEADCANONS OR ONESHOT!

𐙚 ๋࣭ ⭑FANDOMS I DO!

-forsaken

-trud

-Blocktales

-popular myths

𐙚 ๋࣭ ⭑Special characters!

(aka character that are included and you can request!)

-itrapped

-Mafioso

-Mafioso's goons/henchmens (they'll be going on the hcs names I saw! , aka Gunther , borys , fazio , mael !)

-also that i only do characters x user/you/reader please!

-KINKS

-i do all kinds of things! , mostly everything is alright for me as long as it is NOT weird

and i mean like

-NO piss , scat , necrophilia , AGEPLAY kinks

nuh uh.

-if you have a kink that you arent surei am comfortable with having , please do ask in the comments of this post andi will answer you <33

-AGERE/PETRE

BEFORE YOU ARE LIKE

"oh but agere is basically ageplay"

NO. NO. NO.

DO. YOUR. RESEARCH.

AGERE AND AGEPLAY ARE TWO TOTALLY DIF THINGS ALL TOGETHER.

ANYWAYS , you can requests agere , absolutly for comfort

-THERE WILL BE NO SEXUAL CONTENT ON THIS WHATSOEVER!

ANYWAYS

ENJOY MY CONTENT!! <3

anyways thats all!!

ty for understanding , please do request if you can>u<

REQUETS ARE OPEN! , do check my page when they open or close!

[pressureplus]

I need that for my comfort!🥺✨ Trans boy reader who started to have dysphoria because his hair a getting to long for his comfort. So he ask to Sebastian to help him cut them shorter, which Sebastian hesitantly agreed. Might not be the best since it’s was cut with some scissors and also because Sebastian never cut hair before. But reader is still happy with the result lol.

This is so cute

Hair and Care 101

Pairings: Sebastian Solace X TransMasc!Reader

Au: Classic

Warnings: Mentions of Gender Dysphoria

◞꒷◟ ͜ ͜ ◞ྀི◟୨୧◞ྀི◟ ͜ ͜ ◞꒷◟◞꒷◟ ͜ ͜ ◞ྀི◟୨୧◞ྀི◟ ͜ ͜ ◞꒷◟

“And you're sure you want me to cut it? You won't do it yourself?”

“I can't exactly see the back of my head, so yes.” You sit on a stool, hands knitted together in anxiety. You'd asked Sebastian if he would be willing to cut your hair for you today. It had been, admittedly, a bit awkward to ask. He’d been flipping through files and restocking the supplies on his tail when you'd stepped into his shop. Your long hair getting in your eyes and somewhat fanning out nearly down to your hips. You hadn't had the opportunity to get it cut in so long it made your skin crawl. You felt…feminine. Way too feminine. You can't remember the last time you let your hair grow out this long and its made it really, really hard to focus on anything else. Its not just because it gets in your eyes and you can't for the life of you find a hairtie. Its deeper than that. You've started to almost flinch away from your reflections in the water and windows.

You've started to grab at your hips, at your face, poking and prodding and wondering if you can even pass with long hair. You haven't met another person besides Sebastian and the idea of being unable to see yourself the way you should. The way you know in your heart to be right. It makes you uncomfortable. You can only pinch and poke and prod for so long before your skin gets irritated. Right now, sat here, waiting for Sebastian to cut your hair? This was like your skin getting irritated. You had to debate if you were willing to even let another person cut your hair. What if they butchered it? What if it made you look worse than before? What if he fucked it up so bad you looked like one of those weird troll dolls but worse somehow? It had been your biggest worry for quite some time, until your hair got long enough that you couldn't stand it anymore.

“I feel like I should make you sign a waiver.”

“Sebastian, Im serious. Please, just cut it, I don't care if it's the worst thing ever. I can't keep walking around like this.”

“You understand my hands are too big to fit these scissors properly, right?”

“Doesnt matter, just get it done.” He sighs and grabs a collection of your long locks, specifically the one around your face. He straightens the hair to the best of his abilities using a hand so he can make the cleanest cuts he can.

“Why does this matter so much to you? Shouldn't you be, I don't know, focused on surviving? I mean paying me for a haircut seems a bit much.”

“Its…complicated.”

“How complicated can it really be?” He hums as he continues to make cuts, the sound of scissors through hair joining the sound of dripping water and Sebastian's voice. Would he even be cool about something like this? He doesn't particularly like anyone, and he's not really friendly with you either. Would he use it against you somehow? Would he get aggressive about it?

“I just feel kind of…feminine, and it makes me uncomfortable.” You mutter and this only gets a chuckle, sounding condescending.

“Oh, Expendable, long hair doesn't make you any less of a man. Don't be ridiculous.”

“I just don't like it.”

“Look, all I'm saying is, you could have bought a medkit instead of a haircut. If its this important than fine. Who am I to tell you how to spend your collected data?”

“Whether it makes me more of a man or not, is it wrong of me to not like feeling…” You trail off, and all at once, Sebastian tenses mid cut.

“Oh…thats what this is about.” His tone softens up a bit, the mild poking he had been doing immediately being cut out as he carries on cutting your hair.

“This isn't too stupid of a purchase, I guess.” He adds on.

“Yeah?” You ask as he finishes up, putting the scissors to the side and ruffling your hair to get any loose strands out.

“Yeah. Go take a look,” he motions towards the water so you can see yourself in the reflection. You peer down into it curiously and immediately your shoulders relax. You hadn't even realized you'd been tense. Your hairs a bit choppy, admittedly, but its not ugly or particularly butchered by any means. He was oddly thoughtful and careful about taking care of your hair for you. Even saying it was ridiculous to spend your data on, he didn't ruin it for you on purpose.

“Its good, you did a good job.”

“Yeah, well, I'm sure if you keep coming to me I'll get better every time.”

“Im sure you will, then.” You give him a smile and he kind of awkwardly smiles back for a moment. A bit of hesitation as you grab the keycard off his desk and put your swimming gear back on now that its dry.

“Wait.”

“Ah- Yes Sebastian?” You turn, concerned about what he might say. He's not stupid and you're certain he's figured you out by now. If he doesn't like it, there's nothing he can do about it sure but you always tense when people get all awkward around you. He hesitates a moment longer before giving you a little wave.

“You look better with short hair anyway.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah, I do…now go on and get out of here. I've got other Expendables to deal with and a mess of hair to clean.”

[tripleglitchwriting]

Kinesthesis 3

Jazz/Prowl/HumanReader first contact AU

Part 2

I am so sorry this took so long 😭 but I finally got something out! This was written over the course of multiple months so if it’s inconsistent that’s why. Over my impromptu hiatus I’ve grown as a writer and as a person so that will probably change the way this story goes, but not to worry! I still plan on carrying on with this fic.

Be aware that I may not remember things about that last two chapters before this because it’s been a while. If you find any mistakes, let me know!

Also, thank you to the anons that encouraged me to keep going! This one goes out to you.

So, now you have quite a few problems. Not only were the ‘robots’ alive, they were also obviously damaged and asking for your help. Your help. Of all people. You still didn’t know where they came from, if someone was piloting them, how they got here, what that blue liquid was, or why one of them only made weird metallic scratching sounds. That one in particular really freaked you out when it first started ‘speaking’. At the time, you immediately assumed there was a metal demon somewhere coming to eat you.

Instead of that, they were just giant robots asking for your help in the middle of asscrack nowhere. Very simple. Foolproof, even. Nothing wrong there.

“I’m… going to get to work.” You told the one apparently named ‘Prowl’. He didn’t make any sputtering noises at you this time, so you took that as your go-ahead.

He was huge. Well, you knew that, but it was still jarring. You had to literally climb him to get to his wounds. Delicately placing your rag to the injured spot on his neck, you could feel the pump of something akin to a heart under the metal. Now that was weird. Wait, maybe it was just a fuel pump of somesort. He couldn’t… it couldn't have an actual heartbeat, right? Robots don’t have heartbeats.

That isn’t possible.

After a bit of cleaning up blue liquid and trying not to cut yourself on shards of metal, a realization dawned on you. These guys were more complicated than you thought. Really, a robot shouldn’t have this much… everything. They shouldn’t have half of whatever parts are in them. What kind of coding was driving them anyway? What fuel did they even use? The blue stuff?

Oh, who are you kidding. They aren’t robots. They can’t be. They can’t just be robots. They fell from the sky, of course they can’t be robots! Your heart picked up its already erratic pace, yet even with shaky hands, your work took priority.

Soon after there wasn’t a hole in Prowl anymore. Not one on his neck, anyway. You counted that as a win. But seeing as there were way more lacerations, dents, and cuts all over both of them, you definitely had the rest of your work cut out for you.

Simple. Foolproof, even. Nothing wrong there.

—---------------------

Jazz, with his sight still mostly busted, anxiously awaited some sort of indicator that the person helping them was actually patching up Prowl. They seemed pretty stunned earlier. Scared. He had assumed they’d run away and get help. That would be a more reasonable reaction, right?

Obviously it was probably better that they didn’t, this was a completely new planet after all. They’d be scrap if it weren’t for this random person helping them out. This person that is native to this new planet. With… no knowledge of Cybertronian biology- oh scrap. This person had no idea what they were doing!

“W – it! Wa– a - i!” Staticy, barely understandable garble came out of his vocalizer. He heard a tiny peep out of the little guy and a kind of ‘hrmph’ from Prowl.

“What? What is it? Did I do something wrong?” They squeaked in a comically high-pitch tone. “I- I’m sorry, I- know mechanics but this is kind of different and I don’t want to hurt anybody I just-”

“Y- yo- u kno- me- c– nics?”

“Um, yeah, it’s what I do. For school.”

“S- – -ry f’r t--e frig–t, I’m j-st co– m– in’ to–my–sen s- s- ses, an’ rel-i’ed wher– we ar’... an’ I don’ kn- kn- kn- – -w… ca—n– ya- re- – -y fi- x us?”

“O- oh, n- now yo- -y questi- on it?” Prowl commented from the sidelines. Jazz deliberately ignored him.

“I mean, I can, I just need some time to figure everything out… i- it doesn’t hurt, does it?”

“W- Wha-t’s’t sayi- in- ing?”

“A- askin’ i- if it- it- it- hu- – -ts.”

“O- of co- rs’ it h-urts!”

“Wait, what’s he saying?”

Jazz cringed for a moment, realizing just how taxing it’s going to be on him to keep translating. Of course, he decided to use it to his advantage. Why not have some fun in the face of certain death?

“H- he s’ys h’s t—ckl’sh.”

“Oh, um, okay. Does that mean you guys can’t feel pain? Like, can I go harder with this? I have some power tools I can use back in—” Okay. Bad plan.

“N- N- N-O we C- – -N Fe’L It!”

“Oh, um, can or can’t?”

“C- C- C- C- CAAIIIEEEZZZZzzzt!” His vocalizer gave off a pointedly unpleasant sound just before shorting out.

“Is that… should I know what that means?” Jazz took a second to reset his vocalizer.

“N- n- n- o… b- b’t w– fe’l pa’n… i–t h- – -rts…”

“Can feel pain, got it. Um, is your voice okay? I can try fixing it… if that’s a thing I can fix…?” As much as he appreciated the gesture, Jazz wasn’t ready for that kind of operation.

“N- n - o thn’ks.”

“Alright… I’m gonna keep going here then.”

It was then, nearly offline, cut off from most forms of communication, on a completely alien planet, that Jazz realized this might be a little bit too much to handle.

“Y- y- you—re an ‘di—ot.”

“M- ay’e… bu— ‘least I c’n t- t- ta-k to ou- fr’nd ‘ere.”

“It’s Wh—lja’k, o- of c-cou’se I d- di—-nnooowoowOWW!” Jazz heard a loud crash followed by a tiny scream.

“Oh my god I’m so sorry, what did I do? I- I didn’t know, oh my god…”

“Wh—t? —at ‘appe— d?!”

“I- I’m sorry, I think I hit something, I’m so sorry!”

“Pr—ler? P—owl!?”

He got a groan in response. A groan and a new, distinct, clear sound.

“—bbzzzt —- bzzzt ——tobots! This is Optim— —ime. If yo- can hear thi-, heed my call. The Arc is inoperable. Most of you are scattered across an alien world. While I do not know where the Decepticons have landed, I can confirm they are on the planet with us. Do not lose hope here, my friends. For the fate of Cybertron and the remaining Autobots rests in your capable servos. Attached to this message are the coordinates to the Arc, I will be waiting for you there. Good luck—- bzzzt —— bzzzt—-!”

The three sat in silence. While he couldn’t see the hologram that was most likely coming from Prowl’s projector, he heard what the message contained. They were safe. Optimus was safe. And he once again had a goal to achieve.

“Wh- what the hell was that!?”

“Th’nk Pri—us…” Prowl whispered.

“It -as… a- a- f- fri—nd.”

“Oh, okay. What did your friend say?”

“Th— w- we ha— so—me-here t- be.” Jazz attempted to move his body, but was once again denied. “W- we n- n- ne—d to g—-!”

“Hey, woah woah woah! You are not well enough to get up yet! I haven’t even started patching you up!”

“Aau—augh! I- I- kn— Ratc— uh, I- I- I kno—“

“Settle down. I- I’ll be as fast as I can, alright?”

Jazz huffed in halfhearted agreement. Prowl, on the other hand…

—---------------------

He thought this was an incredible waste of their time. Oh, sure, he needed to be fixed, but he was doing just fine now and he did not need help from a mysterious stranger he couldn’t understand. How could he, Prowl of Petrex, need the help of a tiny little creature like this one? There was no such need. The only need he had was to get himself and Jazz functional again, report back to Optimus, and win the war.

He tried to get up. After about half a second of metal creaking, unconscious groaning, and a little squeak from his benefactor, his body gave out. His spark burned with a searing mixture of frustration and stress as he tried to clench a servo. But of course he couldn’t. Of course he was stuck. Injured, vulnerable, and useless. But still, Optimus needed him. Needed them. So he needed to get up!

“C- cal- m d- do— n Pr—‘er… ye’ sca- a- rin’ ‘em…” He could hear panicked chittering from somewhere on top of him. He had half a mind to shoo the thing away, but even if he could raise his servo, he knew this was his only hope. He would never admit that, obviously, but deep in his spark he knew.

He didn’t respond to Jazz. He didn’t need to. He just focused on the little twinge of pain somewhere atop his chassis and a wound being sealed. A familiar feeling. Not too familiar, not like this, but enough to be comforting.

He imagined the medbay in the Arc. That time when they defeated the enemy and no one had to die. They won, and everyone cheered and celebrated and did whatever people do to express joy during a war.

He was unconscious for cycles. Just because nobody died doesn’t mean nobody was hurt. And he was really, really hurt. But it didn’t matter, not even to him. Moments like that are rare, after all. When one could rejoice without mourning the loss of a friend. He’d only expected Ratchet or First Aid to stay with him during that time. Who wouldn’t want to celebrate the spoils of victory? No one is willing to give up a moment of solace like that. No one is stupid enough to pass up the opportunity for happiness. Except Jazz.

Jazz stayed with him the whole time. He stayed by his bedside, refusing to leave once the required surgery was over. He brought glasses of energon for both of them. To share.

Prowl didn’t wake up then. He missed the party and the congratulations and the relief. He missed Jazz telling him stories and about his day. He missed when the rest of the crew stopped by to check on him. When he did finally come out of stasis, Jazz wasn’t there. Not of his own volition, but because he passed out on the floor due to exhaustion. They both got a long lecture about taking care of themself from Ratchet when it was over.

And Jazz is there, now, still with him. Bleeding out and broken, but still there. And Prowl was powerless to help him. His HUD sang one final message in his head before it went suddenly silent, and he fell helplessly into the deep abyss of stasis.

[toskarin]

As someone knowledgeable about MMOs, and given the topic of SAO just came up. If you were to write a .Hack/SAO/Log Horizon style story, what kind of things would you focus on? I personally feel like there are a lot of different elements of MMO culture anyone writing about them could really delve into. So I'm curious what Tumblr user Toskarin would choose.

condensed

back when I played Perfect World, it had some empty spaces. this wasn't uncommon for mmos, and if you can name one older than 15 or so years, you can bet there were vast empty spaces on the world map that existed to pad it

but they were important! sure, they added nothing of obvious value and could cynically be read as existing just to pad travel time, but they also made the worlds feel bigger than you what you were doing in them. and more mysterious.

some friends in my guild and I got a message one day that one member was going to roll a new character and wanted help levelling. a complication: their starting zone was across the sea.

a few friends and I volunteered to swim across the sea to their zone. there were definitely easier ways to go about it, but setting out to do something just to see if it was possible seemed fun

now, they may have changed this since then, but the sea in Perfect World felt strange in a way I haven't seen any game really emulate since. the sky was a dull, and as was the fashion, everything was a bit muted. the sea itself was opaque, and when you swam under it, there was a significant amount of grey-blue terrain that seemed to stretch on forever into the fog

and of course, there was fuck all in it. nothing alive. no monsters until you got close to a shore. just vast empty sea that you swam through, only your friends' characters to break up the odd stillness of it. you probably turned the music off at this point, too, so there was only ambient sound and splashing

this is because you were supposed to fly over it, if you crossed it at all. and because there wasn't really a good centralised source of knowledge on these things, it wasn't really clear if it was entirely empty

the trip there was fine, if a bit boring and lonely. during the trip back, I accidentally clicked on something in the middle of the ocean

now, there weren't supposed to be things there. I had my friends, but I clicked on a monster, and when I swam down to look at it, I saw that it was actually an enormous sea monster

so I pinged one of the guildmates swimming with me and they thought I was lying, so I showed them, and then we repeated this several times until everyone in the group had seen this weird thing that felt like it came from a schoolyard rumour

Ancient Sea Dragon. 99,999,999 health points and none of us could find anything on it posted online. it was pretty common for players to run into it and be shocked, but we didn't know that

so we naturally let the rest of the guild know, got a hunting party together, and spent the better part of a day just whittling its health down

with the benefit of hindsight and documentation of this thing existing now, I can spoil this and tell you it didn't drop anything, but this long down the line, I still think about how deeply surreal it felt to stumble on an enormous sea monster in the middle of what my brain had come to understand as a liminal space. the sea was supposed to be mostly empty, and here was this thing

which is a very long way to introduce what I think is lacking here: we need more of those enormous empty spaces that leave characters with nothing to do but talk and feel completely isolated. sometimes you get to a sprawling castle city and it's completely empty because the players moved on. sometimes the devs threw an enormous monster in the middle of nowhere just to fuck with you, and that was kind of cool even if it sucked

[aroacesafeplaceforall]

I need some advice on probably the most complicated relationship I've ever had.

The guy who I am attracted to is AroAllo. I didn't know this until he told me later after we went on a date. I am still very confused on what this is. Then he told me that he is sexually attracted to me but not romantically attracted to me.

All in all, we are "friends" again. However anyone that doesn't know our situation assumes we're dating. It's really awkward when its brought up. We're in this weird lingo as of now between friends and something more which is all in all very strange. He acts as though he is attracted to me.

The thing is he is perfect. He's incredibly handsome, smart, funny, kind, understanding and is amazing at communication. When it comes to affection, he tends to avoid it quite a lot.

I have been trying to wrap my head around this idea of AroAllo. It doesn't make any sense to me but it is probably just my ignorance and I am AlloAllo. I understand casual sex. But like, how can you not have some romance before sex? You have to kiss, you have to flirt. Does that fall under romance or am I missing something?

Also how do I navigate this relationship? I don't know what to do. It's torture but he is such a good friend and he genuinely listens to me and values me. I am attracted to him still and I can't seem to shake it.

Please, if you can. Give me some advice on this. And I am deeply sorry for the ridiculous long ask.

-confused anon

First of all, I am proud of you for seeking advice in this. You're alloallo and therefore don't really get what's up here, so it's amazing that you came here!

I will refer to this guy as guy.

FOR UNDERSTANDING HIM: Separate sexual and romantic attraction, this is called SAM (split attraction model) and it means a person separates romantic and sexual attraction in their identity. Not everyone does this (including some aspec), it's hard to do, and not everyone can. But it's a good step forward in understanding Guy. If he identifies as Alloaro then he is using the split attraction model (SAM).

A good example is cereal and milk. You, as an alloallo, see cereal and milk as coming together, something that can't be separated. Guy, on the other hand, sees milk as gross and eats cereal straight from the box. An asexual hates cereal and just drinks milk, and I, an aroace, hate both and will die before I eat it.

Obviously this is an over simplification. Some asexuals may still eat some cereal but only because they want to support the brand (for their partner) some aromantics will still drink milk but only after long-standing connections and talks about drinking milk.

FOR UNDERSTANDING YOURSELF:

For how you have described Guy, though, it seems that he is not interested in a definitive romantic relationship. Meaning, while he might not mind being referred to as being in a romantic relationship, I don't think, from what you have written, he is at all romantically attracted to you. He says he likes you sexually, and probably platonically, and likes you as a person. From the sounds of it, he perhaps wants to date, but with no romantic attraction on his end.

Basically, the crux of it is, would you be okay with a relationship that is romantically purely one-sided?

On top of that, talk to him. Understand exactly what he wants from you, and tell him what you would want of him. Understand that asking him to “feel romantic attraction” is not going to work and will drive him away, same with any other attempt to undermine his identity.

Some questions that may help:

"What do you actually feel for me?" "Why did you ask me on a date if you knew you were aroallo?" "How do you feel about me being attracted to you romantically?" "What would you want from me in a relationship?" "Would this be casual sex, or would it be a relationship? Would this be committed?" "Would a queer platonic relationship (QPR for further research) work for you?" "How to you feel like appearing like we are dating?"

Hope this helps going to tag some aro blogs please spare me guys im aroace im trying here @aromantic-official @aro-culture-is @our-aro-experience @our-arospec-experience @aroallo-culture-is and every other aroallo

I WROTE THIS WHILE SLEEP DEPRIVED, I AM SORRY FOR ERRORS

[trainsinanime]

So much of the talk about fanfic comments is bound up in ideas of rules and exchange and trades and so on. Lots of talk about how nobody comments anymore, but also just as lots of talk about receiving the wrong types of comments. I can sort of see why someone, especially someone who speaks English as a second language, might be intimidated by it. But at the core of it, it's really quite simple: Do you like that a fanfic exists? Does it make you happy? You can make the creator happy by leaving a comment that tells them so!

Every other consideration is kind of secondary and arguably misses the point entirely. For example there's the talk about people setting up private discord servers to discuss fanfic, and is that a good thing or a bad thing and do fans deserve spaces to discuss things away from their creators and… look, that's all too complicated. You do whatever you want. But if you love a fanfic, telling its author that you do will make them happy. And as elementary-school as it sounds, we all want to be happy together here in this world.

Can you comment on old fics? Yes. A multitude of polls have proven that there is no fanfic author ever who had a problem with that, and most of them don't even understand the question. Is that a thing on Instagram or something where leaving comments on old works hurts the algorithm or something? No clue. I only use Instagram to get ads for model trains. Over here in the fanfic world, the rule stands: If you like a work, any work, no matter how old or weird or how much the author apologises for it in the notes, if you let them know you like it, you'll make them happy.

Does it intimidate you? Do you think that surely this author of this great fic that rewired your brain already knows how good they are, and your little comment will seem insulting next to it? No, don't worry. Telling them that you like it will still make them happy.

What to comment? Fashions and opinions have changed on this over the years I've been in fandom, and today the general rule is to not include anything negative at all, neither about the work nor "I hate this fandom/pairing/trope except this time" and so on. Telling people to please update soon is right out. But at the end of the day, it's actually quite simple: Tell people that you liked their fic. If you can think of anything specific you like, mention that, if not, that's okay too.

(An aside: I also think fanfic writers could stand with being a bit more tolerant at times. Someone telling you they like your fic in not quite perfect terms is still someone telling you they like your fic.)

There are also people talking about how lack of comments will drive authors out of fandoms or fanfic writing in general, and how more comments may motivate them to write more. To tell you the truth, it's not quite as easy as that, fanfic writers stop writing for all sorts of reasons and many new ones start writing every day. I am not the biggest fan of talking about this in economic terms at all. We're a community. We'd like to make each other happy (which may take different forms depending on what sort of fanfic it is). A happy fanfic writer is its own reward.

The key here is: Don't overthink it. Don't think of reasons why you have to comment, don't think of reasons why you shouldn't be required to. Think about whether the author of the fic that you enjoyed would like to hear that you did so. The answer is always yes.

[damned-punk]

A Laugh to Love (Killer x Reader)

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Content Warning: kissing, language, mention of self hatred

Content Description: Killer wrestles with his feelings for you amongst other things ♡

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It had been a hell of a day, one where Kidd’s hotheadedness caused a riot to break out on the island of which you’d docked for supplies. Never a dull moment, but never a second of peace. Every disembarked crew member haphazardly grabbed whatever supplies were within their reach and made a sprint back to the Victoria Punk. Among them was Killer who hauled an impossibly heavy load at an impressive pace. They’d typically let themselves loose in the midst of chaos but time wasn’t boundless for this excursion on account of the log pose attempting to reset its course.

You’d been assigned guard duty for the ship which ultimately turned into ushering on and aiding your crewmates with their respective loot. As Killer stepped up, you relieved crate after crate from his straining arms. It was hard to ignore the tone of his muscles beneath the newly formed layer of sweat that left his tanned his glistening beneath the light of day. Unbeknownst to you on account of his mask, he had caught your eyes staring into his flesh which flustered him greatly. An uncontrollable bout of laughter erupted from him as his emotions built, a painful memory of the smile fruit incident but also the depths at which he loathed himself.

You’d never understand why and despite every encouraging word you could muster, he removed himself from the deck and away from everyone else. It could’ve been a mixture of exhaustion on top of the responsibility of ensuring the crew’s safety, something about your exchange really got to him. There’s no way you’d know, he’d only ever discussed it with Kidd, but Killer had developed feelings for you that had only intensified over your time with them. Everything felt so normal with you, comfortable, familiar, yet damned after Wano. Everyone knew that there was pre and post Wano Killer, it was this unspoken understanding amongst the crew that he needed support but at his own pace and with no questions asked. That was reserved for he and Kidd alone.

You tried to free your thoughts of worry, even opting to offer your assistance with dinner, but the door to the kitchen was locked. You debated knocking, not sure what the etiquette would be in this instance. You had your own feelings for Killer which further complicated the matter, the line between affection and platonic concern was far too blurred. As you stood trying to make a decision, the door swung open rather violently by the Captain who munching on something.

“What the fuck are you doing out here?”, he asked nonchalantly, using his typical colorful vocabulary.

“What the fuck are you doing in there?”, you retorted, giving his banter right back.

He rolled his eyes and kept eating, far too occupied with quelling his hunger than engaging an argument with you. You glanced behind him and could see that Killer was busy at work inside, it was obvious that he and Kidd had been chatting. You wished you could’ve been a fly on the wall for that conversation. You wanted to be closer to him but it never felt like the right time or place.

“Quit being weird and go talk to him. He doesn’t bite.”, Kidd broke the silence, brushing past you and on to his workroom, “You two wear me the fuck out.”

Your face heated up at his words, desperately hoping Killer hadn’t heard them. The Captain had a way of being so blunt and while it could be a great quality at times, it was so nerve wracking in moments like these. You approached the first mate and reveled in the scent of fresh pasta on the cooktop. He was talented in so many ways, his tenacity in the kitchen being at the top of the list.

“Hey Kill, do you need any help?”, you asked after a moment.

“Not right this second.”, he replied without turning to face you, “You could grab the bread if you want.”

You made your way to the pantry, collecting three different types of bread as you weren’t sure which he’d prefer. You sat them on the counter and waited for him to turn and face you. His shoulders shook slightly and you could hear a bit of stifling laughter from beneath his mask.

“I grabbed one of each, I wasn’t sure which you’d prefer.”, you smiled up at him, catching the slightest glimpse of his blue eyes as a ray of sunlight reflected onto his face from the window.

He cackled incredibly loudly, the tenor and pitch of his voice causing you to flinch a bit. You forced yourself to make a quick recovery, knowing all too well that his reaction was painfully involuntary. He gripped the edge of the counter, white-knuckling the polished wood. He leant his head downward as his chest heaved, it was obvious that he was holding his breath as a way to stop the laughter. You reached across and placed a hand over his own, a silent way of letting him know that you were there for him.

“I’m sorry.”, he stated quickly, still slightly giggling, “I’m not laughing at you. I appreciate it.”

“Don’t apologize, I know… it’s alright.”, your words of affirmation struck something within him, another fit of laughter escaping his lips.

“I hate this shit, (Y/N).”, he said after several moments, “I don’t regret what I did, I just… I don’t know…”

Upon feeling him intertwine your fingers, you stepped closer and enveloped him in a hug. He squeezed you and settled his head against your shoulder. You rubbed mindless patterns into his back, soothing him in every way you could. It was unclear how long the two of you stood like this, the scent of something burning being the thing to end your little moment.

“You know, I love your laugh.”, you complimented him as he addressed the overheated oven, “It’s so unique and can’t be mistaken for anyone else. Every time I hear it, I feel better knowing that you’re around.”

“You don’t have to say that.”, he offered as a polite rebuttal, his heart melting at your words but still unwavering against the conviction of lacking self worth.

“I know I don’t, I’m not just saying it. I don’t think you realize how much you mean to all of us.”, you stood firm on your words.

He went through his routine of turning off every burner and transferring the pots and pans of food onto the counter to be served. He turned away from you once again, this time unclipping and removing his mask in the process. You froze in place, not yet having the privilege of seeing his entire bare face. He mustered his own courage and turned toward you after settling his resolve. Your eyes danced along his features, he was incredibly attractive and all the talk of his terrible self esteem somehow made even less sense than before. Killer was undeniably the entire package, a force to be reckoned with and graced with features like those witnessed on sculptures. To hide it all beneath a mask was devastating, you wanted to see him like this from every point moving forward. Your expression gave away the thoughts occurring in your head, Killer wordlessly gripping your chin and planting his painted lips onto your own.

“Thank you.”, Killer said quietly, resting his forehead against yours.

“No, thank you for trusting me with this.”, you replied, gripping his arms for support as the closeness had left you feeling a bit weightless.

“Oh, thank fuck. Can we eat now or what?”, Kidd bellowed from behind the tiny port window in the door.

“I’m gonna beat his ass.”, you stated as Killer pulled away to return the mask to his face, shaking his head knowingly at the bickering that would inevitably ensue.

“What was that?”, Kidd yelled while jiggling the still-locked door handle.

“Good luck with that.”, Killer chuckled a bit, this time letting himself enjoy the moment with no barriers.

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[theclaravoyant]

for bucktommy prompt: tommy's sibling/s

AN ~ ooh, I had fun with this one. and by fun i mean have some mild angst ft tommy past and protective buck. unfortunately no actual tommy in this one, but he's very present.

tw for implied (off screen & non graphic) fdv

Read on AO3

~1300wd, Rated T.

title is extremely loosely inspired by some of the press for upcoming eps, so one could consider this spec?, but def no spoilers

baggage

“Can I help you?” Bobby asks, and the visitor – who, like most visitors, is trying not to let on how awed she is by the enormous engines that stretch out before her – adjusts her grip on her handbag and smiles.

“Thank you, yes. I'm looking for my brother. I understand he used to work here – Thomas Kinard?”

“Tommy? Not for a long time, I'm sorry,” Bobby replies.

The woman's chest falls in obvious disappointment, but she battles through it. “Is there anyone here who could get a message to him? It's really important, but... he's been ignoring my calls.”

Something tells him, she means more than for just a day or two. Bobby presses his lips together in contemplation. He doesn't know Tommy all that well, but he does know estrangement. He knows Buck – and exactly how the man's hackles of protectiveness go up at any mention of Tommy's rather enigmatic family. But he knows remorse, too. And grief, and complicated love. Buck does too. So he prays for the Good Lord to bless the hotshot with some sense, and hollers for him.

It's not long before Buck clamours down the stairs, already protesting - “I swear, I didn't say it!” - but the words die on his lips. He'd recognise that jawline anywhere. Plus, Tommy's been tense lately; the missed calls, the weirdness about his mail... Pieces fall together, and his shoulders stiffen as the visitor holds out a hand for him to shake.

“Charlotte Kinard,” she offers. “Is there somewhere we could talk?”

-

Buck has heard of Charlotte once or twice – in the sense that, he's heard she exists, and that she and Tommy have hardly spoken since he moved out west a decade ago. He'd always kind of imagined her as a female Tommy; as if she'd walk in here in a tank top smeared with engine grease, going by 'Charlie', all deadpan humour and a cocky smile to be drawn out by the people that get her. The preppy soccer mum look she's got going on instead is something of a surprise, but weirdly, she still is kind of a female Tommy. They've got the same chin, the upright carriage, even the same colour hair, although hers has been straightened to within an inch of its life. Irony. Buck reminds himself they also share the same father, and so some of the same baggage, so he fights a scowl and tries to remind himself to be nice.

“So,” she asks once they're settled upstairs. “How do you know my brother? Did you work together?”

“...Something like that.”

Charlotte gives him a strange, scrutinising look – one that Buck is still getting used to – and he braces himself, unsure of where this conversation is going to go. In his head he rehearses so many other anwers. Biblically, he wishes he'd said, just to spite her,as springs to mind a particularly steamy moment from the morning's shower. Intimately. He knows how the man likes his eggs. That he has a soft spot for rom coms. That his ankles are more ticklish than his feet – and that exploiting that fact is liable to get one kicked with the strength of a horse. Better than you do, is what it comes down to.

“It's okay,” she promises uncertainly. “I know, about him.”

A bitter laugh escapes his attempt. “You don't know him.”

“He's my brother.”

“He's my boyfriend.”

For a moment, they reach an impasse. Buck readies himself for more pushback, but all he gets is another very Tommy moment where he watches an argument flicker over her face and she clenches her jaw ever so slightly and refuses to voice it.

“Regardless,” she says, even though it's very much the entire reason they're the ones having this conversation, “I wondered if you might pass on some news for me.”

Don't be an ass, Evan, Tommy's voice reminds him. He holds those gentle, quiet eyes in his mind. This is for Tommy, not for him.

“Sure.”

Charlotte puts a navy blue, modestly glossed flier down on the table and slides it across to him. The top line reads:

In Loving Memory of Colonel Thomas James Kinard

Buck feels his heart clench. He can still hear the way Tommy says his father's name, full of contempt. He's only ever heard it insincerely trotted out in a put-on voice or under a mock salute, Colonel Thomas James Kinard. For all the pain the man has caused Tommy, Buck has tried a time or two to prod something darker, more honest out of him. Catharsis and all that, right? He almost smiles down at the flier. Ding, dong, the witch is dead.

But he notices Charlotte is crying.

Not crying-crying. Kinard crying. The kind of crying where it's mostly an internal waterfall. Where you don't offer a tissue; the highest form of comfort is that you pretend you haven't noticed. Buck really wasn't built for stoicism, but he's getting the hang of speaking its language. He clears his throat of all the snarky shit, and his shoulders drop a little. It's hard to stay defensive, in the face of Kinard-crying.

“Yeah,” he manages. “I'll pass it on.”

“We're having a service next week.”

“I … don't think he'll come.”

“We'll pay to fly him out,” Charlotte promises. “He just has to answer the phone.”

“That's not the issue.”

You remember, right? Buck wants to prod her. You remember what that man did to you guys?

She seems, if anything, surprised that he knows. Not that he knows every deep dark moment of it all, but he's been let in on some things, and a bit of her own defensiveness seems to fall away as if assured that maybe he does know her brother after all. Still, she squirms a little, under the naked unexpected sympathy.

“Our father had his flaws,” Charlotte objects. “But he was only doing what he thought was right. Our father loved us.”

Buck shakes his head. “That's not love, Charlotte.”

His heart breaks for her a little, not unlike it did for Maddie remembering all the times she'd brushed off Doug's red flags; in denial, at least at first, of how he was eating her up inside and out. There's an echo in it too, of his own relationship with his parents. They've reached a sort of a truce these days, with time and communication and them trying to be in Jee's life and all, but he still remembers it all too well: that raw, scalding feeling like nothing he ever did was good enough. He's spent many a night contemplating how it must have gone for Tommy.

I'm terrible at football. Love me anyway.

I cried when Artax died. Love me anyway.

Dad, I'm gay. Love me anyway.

Love me anyway.

Love me anyway.

“Tell him anyway?” Charlotte insists. She takes something from her bag – a little blue butterfly keychain? - and leaves it on top of the memorial flier. “Tell him... Lottie says please.”

Then, brooking no further argument, nor pity, she gathers herself up, shakes her hair out smooth again over her shoulders, and heads downstairs. Questions swirl through Buck's brain; about the butterfly, and Lottie, and how she'd said it like Tommy will know what it means. He wonders, not for the first time, about Tommy's other lives and how much he has still to learn about the man.

Behind him, Eddie knocks on the bannister to break his concentration.

“Everything okay?”

Buck looks at the memorial flier; into the dark eyes and the trademark Kinard jawline of the man who had raised Tommy – who had scarred Tommy – and he wonders what he's just agreed to put his boyfriend through. He takes a deep breath.

“Yeah,” he says. “I've just got to make a call.”

[drdemonprince]

This is kind of late re: the culture conversation but I feel like I have a kind of weird perspective on this general idea of cultural appropriation re:embodiment. I’m Italian American, and indigenous South American but I was born in the US and when we immigrated to the US my South American ethnic group is so small and my parents were in Japan so long they culturally assimilated and I was raised in the Japanese immigrant community and literally went to Japanese day school.

This tension between who is “allowed” to participate in a culture or identity has always been deeply fraught for me in a way that has kind of bulldozed my understanding of cultural ownership. Not being “ethnically” Japanese has led to many people deciding for me what the appropriateness of my cultural participation is. And being indigenous South American complicates my relationship to standard cultural alignment with latinidad more broadly.

I have a lot of friends who are white USAmericans who are progressive but also deeply concerned about the boundaries between themselves and the cultures they studied in college and the countries they taught English in as migrant workers. I had a conversation with one of my friends who worked in China and he was talking about how he didn’t mind being legally disenfranchised because he was a white American migrant and didn’t feel it was necessary for him to have the same legal rights as Chinese citizens. And I had to point out that he was living in the same disenfranchised conditions as any other immigrant and there was no reason for him to downplay it. I don’t think it’s disingenuous or appropriative for him to have Chinese art in his house or cook Chinese food or participate in Chinese culture. Not because he lived there or had a complicated legal status in the country or somehow crossed some imaginary threshold of true and genuine cultural appreciation but just because culture is what you do its not a given fact of who you are. It’s a seamless part of his life and just because he sought it out doesn’t make it less genuine to me.

I think because of my complicated upbringing I have spent a lot of time with people between cultures, reconnecting, adopting new ones and feel very strongly that if there is no biological tie to culture people can incorporate whatever they want into their lives and it’s a VERY US American perspective to be so self critical and political about it.

And this isn’t to say cultural exploitation doesn’t exist but when it does happen it’s usually underpinned by a capital motivation to sell an idea of a culture and not a weird white guy who got really into Buddhism or a several generations totally removed Italian American incorporating Panettone into their Christmas celebrations. When people cross the line it’s cringe and inauthentic but it rarely goes beyond that.

When I was in college I had a professor who studied my indigenous ethnic group and I took a couple of his classes. Once I brought my grandmother and mom to campus to speak with him in our indigenous language, and my grandmother spoke to him for three hours straight. He was a white man from Michigan but also one of my only connections to my culture, a person to practice and share my language with, to connect with my family. And all because he thought South American indigenous groups were interesting and got a job with Amnesty International to investigate the dictatorship to get down there. He is the kind of man people wag their finger at and he was one of the most important cultural elders I had.

This is a long way to say basically I just really believe we are allowed to make our lives whatever we want and make ourselves whatever we want. The phenomenon of white Americans in search of culture exists for the reasons you listed below and outside of these political discussions about its appropriateness and its moral boundaries there are just people doing and embodying that cultural fluidity and exchange for a million different reasons that aren’t worth litigating. The small town gay kids who move to big cities and hang out in the leather scene, getting into punk or hardcore or goth scenes, even converting to a new religion function under the same mechanism of the kind of cultural immersion that gives you access to the community and membership in the culture that weebs who immigrate to Japan to teach English, or international students coming to America, or inter cultural or inter faith partnerships undergo.

Anyways thanks for listening to my treatise. So to whoever’s reading this take the dance class or the traditional craft class or learn a new language or learn to cook new kinds of food make all different types of friends and make new traditions out of old ones or old traditions out of new perspectives. Culture isn’t a sacred part of who we are it’s a sacred form of the things we do and embody and connect with others through :-) <3

this is an incredible, wise, compassionate message. Thank you so much for sending it. You've said so much here about the problems of tying cultural identity to a race, ethnicity, or blood, or to regard it as static or isolated. And how much the standard racist American conceptions of racial and ethnic identity make structural discussions about disenfranchisement worldwide hard to have. Said so so much far better than I could, thank you!!

[skyrages]

Hi.

So I took an online NPD test out of curiosity. I don't usually do this, but I caved recently. It was a clinical based assessment, not a Buzzfeed quiz or anything. I scored high on the regular NPD and extremely high on covert NPD. I know that's not a recognized diagnosis, but whatever.

I've been going to therapy for almost a year now for my OCD, so I brought that up to my therapist. She basically told me that because I thought I had NPD I didn't have it, and didn't believe me when I told her that I do not feel empathy. I told her about how I don't attach to people and how I subconsciously surround myself with human disasters so I can 'fix" them, and she told me that was normal. She also told me that people with personality disorders were just bad people. I really think she is great and I was really stunned when she said this. I would love some advice.

Thank you!

There are some valid tests online and some fake ones. In particular, idrlabs are very popular and have the style of a clinical test and claim to have experts but actually avoid using actual researched tests (tbf, they do seem to actually look at research) and mostly make their own knockoff versions and also they spread weird right wing propaganda. You can also just find the actual ones by looking at studies. However, an issue with narcissism is researchers have like 100 different ideas about it that they made up and the meaning of types depend on the author.

I have OCD as well, which actually made me doubt my ASPD when i first started questioning it, bc i kinda dismissed it as a stupid OCD idea lmao.

I don’t believe in bad people, i think people’s worth has nothing to do with how they happen to act. Also i have paid many therapists to help me and none of them had any idea about these disorders, honestly i think they’re overrated, the whole treatment-effectiveness therapy wise in psychology is actually controversial. I did read that adhd meds helped with aspd even though psychologists willingly ignore any treatment research for npd and aspd bc they already think it’s impossible despite never trying, and actually adhd meds helped me. But i only saw that related to aspd and npd is pretty different. Though some people have told me that narcissism is related to dopamine so worth a shot. Even with my depression honestly I had a better time fixing my own life and getting meds than anything they did. Actually, i have also seen a research thing about how people with traits of npd and aspd get less symptoms after basically practicing acting prosocially routinely, like if you commit to acting like it it can reduce symptoms in general. Some people have said therapy helps them so maybe it’s a matter of trying to find someone else or someone open to learning.

The misconception about narcissists not being self aware is debunked by actual research saying that narcissists understand how they are viewed and view themselves as narcissistic (also, not having more abusive behaviours if you have NPD on its own is also backed up by research, although its more complicated with some other disorders). Honestly i kind of hate the psychology trend of I’ll assume I know more about you than you do.

This is kinda directionless but whatever i wanted to ramble about this lol

[thegremlininyourcloset]

hello it’s time for completely unprompted fic recs

oh and @fictfrenzy @asagewitch05 I think y’all would appreciate some of these

Strange Bedfellows by snackbaskets

Little known fact about bats: they're AWFUL at sleeping alone. At least, the ones in the Manor seem to be, if the half-conscious kind-of-maybe siblings using Duke as a body pillow are any indication. When did he sign up for this?

Countdown’s Notes: it’s soft and funny and I love the cuddles and the Duke love

Steph + Peter = Stepheter by WHYISEVERYNAMETAKEN

Peter Parker has a secret.  And no–it’s not that one. Or that other one. Or the suspiciously spider-shaped one.  No: this secret has no shape at all.  Stop being dramatic.  Ah. There’s the secret.  Dude, seriously? The really annoying, shapeless secret that haunts Peter's night and day and dreams and— If you don't stop, I’m going to shave off your eyebrows and wash your stupid suit with May’s whites and then you’ll have to explain why all her sheets are pink again— —And anyway, point being, there's a teenage girl that lives in Peter's brain, and the whole thing is far less weird than whatever you are picturing.   OR: Peter and Steph share a soul. Across dimensions. It's really not as complicated as it seems. (Five times Stepheter freaked out the people around them, and one time something different happened.)

Countdown’s Notes: it’s unfinished, with 4 out of 6 chapters written, but I loved it all the same.

stephanie brown: robin by hadopelagion

Robin is gone. Batman is more violent than ever. Spoiler may want her dad in prison, but she doesn't want him dead. So there's only one thing to do - hit the Dark Knight with a brick.

OR: How the Spoiler found name, purpose, and family.

Third Robin Steph AU.

Countdown’s Notes: yes it only has one chapter written, but I am still reccing it because it’s incredibly promising and I love Steph and it’s gonna have t4t relationships

Take Two (We’ll Do Better This Time) by moomoo42

In a battle for the fate of the world, the Justice League loses. However, losing doesn’t mean that there’s nothing left to be done. Magic is a fickle thing, and destiny doesn’t like to be thwarted.

~

There are certain things that Dick and Bruce don’t talk about. Things like how Dick has always been able to understand what Bruce means when he grunts, or how he sometimes uses moves that Bruce hasn’t taught him yet, or how Bruce has red-yellow-green things everywhere and had installed a gymnastics room before even meeting Dick. It’s not like they can do anything about it, all the bits of knowing and feeling that appear like muscle memory and slip away like dreams. It’s just… how things are for them. It’s normal for the Manor to feel empty and quiet and lonely, filled with a pervasive sense of something missing. Dick sometimes finds himself wandering around, as if he could just find the right room then he could stick his head in and find—someone. Someones, plural.

(Or, the Bats don’t quite remember each other. They know no names, no faces, no details. But they remember enough, and once they find each other, it’ll take the world ending again before they let go.)

Countdown’s Notes: Its halfway done and 100% wonderful. How I long weird time travel AUs.

infans and its sequel fraterculus by windupclock

Black boots. Black clothes. Shadow too? Shrink back. Smaller. Smaller.

(Batman finds an eight-year-old shadow on the streets of Gotham. The shadow comes home.)

Countdown’s Notes: these might be my favorite Cass fics of all time. I adore how she is written and it’s just gorgeous

Honestly anything by windupclock is worth the read

No Body Nobody by snackbaskets

Now, worst case scenario: What’s so bad you call Jason?

Easy. You call him when you need someone beaten, killed, or otherwise met with incredible violence. You call him when you’re running away for a week because Bruce is being a dickhole. You call him when you want to eat food by someone who can cook Gothamite comfort, and to yell really really loud.

When she spoke again, it was with a whisper, strained as if it were creaking its way out of her body, wasting away all the air in her lungs and splintering on the last word in her mouth.

“Don’t tell Bruce.”

You call Jason when you need to hide a body.

This fic contains graphic depictions of violence/gore, mentions of sexual assault (NOT to Steph or Jason), and POV dissociation. Proceed with care

Countdown’s Notes: this one reads like a gut punch. Honestly, I think it permanently altered my brain chemistry

bonus update rec!

5 Times Dick Kissed Wally (kind of) + 1 Time Wally Kissed Him (and then some) by Evermoon2097

Wally finally felt his heart rate begin to slow, massaging the ice pack deeper into his throbbing shoulder. Robin, no–Dick, was sitting beside him, carefully wrapping his wrist, a popsicle stick serving to help set the sprain.

With one last gentle squeeze, Dick released his hand. “Okay, you should be fine in the morning. Try to stick to kicks on patrol, even with your healing factor you might still feel sore,” he instructed.

Wally felt his mouth quirk up. “Okay, worrywart. What, you not gonna kiss it better?"

Dick’s eyes glinted and before Wally knew it, Dick had grabbed his hand and dramatically popped a smooch on his wrapped wrist, before looking up and sticking his tongue out at him.

Wally stuck his own out in retaliation, blowing a raspberry.

A collection of fics that get progressively longer and more out of my own control where Wally gets a friend, abused, bludgeoned, and killed, and Dick gets a friend, worries, traumas, and grief. Yikes. They end up happy though!

Countdown’s Notes: this fic took me on a fucking rollercoaster ride