#my two cents I'm rambling this is incredible

[beware-thecrow]

I fucking hate BNHA The last panel about "granma is here" in fact further proves my point on another post of how empty and nonsensical BNHA became in the last arc because AfO wanting Tomura from the very beginning made impossible for him to be saved anyway, which means all his beef with the heroes became unjustified and his speech about violence and heroes and villains held no importance in the end. Why?

Because you cannot have a character built over the premise that society was so corrupt and selfish that put a little boy in the bad bad villain's reach for 5 arcs, to then say "oh, wait. He was fucked anyway because the bad bad guy was behind everything all along"

A bad bad guy not even all might in his prime could defeat, so it doesn't matter if people would or wouldn't help others. "It's all bad bad guy's fault anyway and he's practically immortal." Perfect, now we know granma didn't stand a chance against AfO, he planned this.

The whole idea of a society that relies on heroes too much instead of everyone doing their part from kindness falls like a house of cards if you have an evil so corrupt that none of said kindness will mean a thing. The moment Horikoshi went from "Tomura was found by AfO" to "Tomura was planned by AfO" the core theme of his series crumbled down. The league as a device lost its meaning, the characters that composed it became unjustified because whatever motivation they had was in fact a manipulation from the greater evil. And this applies to everyone.

What's the point in Toga and Twice calling out the lack of help for people with mental illness and problematic quirks if the message still is "If you do bad things out of despair no one will help you and you'll get killed." And yes, Toga died loved, Toga wanted to be loved, but she didn't wanted to die?? She was literally an abandoned child who found a family and ended up dying giving blood to the same girl she stabbed. And yeah, it's kinda poetic she died giving blood instead of taking it, but what was the point if she doesn't get to know she's loved? Further more, are we really to believe Ochako loved Toga? A girl she literally didn't know. Sorry, but once I got lost in a mall and a police officer helped me find my mom, that doesn't mean the officer loved me. And yeah, Ochako tried her best to be a good hero, but it's not about what the characters do, it's what the story tells you it happens with what they do. The story just told you the ill and abandoned die in the end before anyone helps them. And they die hunted by the police. What's the point of Touya as a whole? oh, wait. I know, it must be very awful for Endeavor to be such a bad person, his child ended up incapacitated. Very hard on Endeavor. Fuck Dabi being turned into a piece of charcoal, IT'S HARD ON HIS DAD.

What's the point in Spinner pointing out discrimination and people following him if in the end we got that he should have stayed in his lane, in his room, friendless because he only went out to be seen by someone who accepted him, just to have that person tortured in front of him before he was killed. And for what? For a teen to tell him "Yo, bro. I punched your bestie to death, make a comic about it. Btw you'll be staying in jail forever. So so sorry for you guys." Proving once again, murder is okay if you are on the right side of the story. No matter how much compassion, Tomura showed Spinner, or how much he suffered through life. Heroes had the right to kill him, and there was nothing Spinner (who legit loved his friend) could do about it because AfO had taken over. Again, another good character turned pointless, with a pointless point of view, with a pointless conclusion because he can tell the story of Tomura Shigaraki all he wants FROM JAIL, but under the public eye Tomura will go down as an insane mass murderer either way since looking at him in any other light would inevitably make a target of Izuku for killing him and that won't happen. You cannot have "the best hero ever" and "he killed this dude that was kinda right" in the same sentence. It doesn't make sense. Not to mention his case against discrimination went nowhere since everyone who followed him became a villain and the only person who actually makes a point about discrimination ends up being Deku on another, totally different chapter that had nothing to do with Spinner. And...he's a hero so he can say whatever he wants, we go back to "questioning bad, unless a hero says it" and "people are really that horrible in BNHA universe".

Tomura's case it's even more fucked because even when he said he didn't want a future, every single wish he had fell flat. His hatred for not being saved as a child proved to be out of anyone's control, his desire to destroy society didn't land because nothing really changed. There are still schools for child soldiers, and people are still not questioning the violence heroes use to keep the status quo, and certainly no one is wondering how is that a couple of heroes were able to kill a couple of villains (because so far Hawks still has a job). His friends ended up dead or locked away, and the child in him that begged to be saved ended up...being not. In the end, we got a suffering festival for Tomura, from his granma being pushed to drop her kid, his dad being tricked, his parents getting killed in front of him, Mon-chan and Hana's memory squeezed dry and young Tenko asking for help while Tomura was assaulted by his creepy guardian for 200 chapters straight just to tell us that Deku at sixteen was a great hero for putting a twenty one-year-old dissociated guy out of his misery like a euthanized dog. And for what? To finish a guy who was infatuated with his dead brother AND THAT COULD HAVE BEEN EXECUTED IN JAIL LIKE...300 CHAPTERS AGO, since the manga already made the point that villains can be executed with little repercussion, and it can be justified if said villain it's a threat. Then...why was AfO alive to begin with? Oh, I guess this is something we can trust to a 16 year old instead of... the government or whatever. And yeah, these are tragic figures, they certainly are, but you can hardly claim that they achieved anything in the end because the first premise of the league, why it was formed and why they joined was

To live as we want/are. And now they are dead, or locked away, or bedridden crispy for something that was planted by someone else from the very beginning. And what they believed didn't change anything in the end because it's not like the public saw them do something meaningful but, again, they are being told what to believe, by whom? BY THE HEROES. Are we really arguing that Iguchi's comic will change society? ARE WE FOR REAL????? Have you ever read the story of Jesus Christ? he died for our sins by Marvel. And on top of that as the last nail in the coffin to prove that NOTHING changed, Hawks really said rebranding + target audience =📈🤙🏼 StOnKS✨ I wish I was joking.

[pantherxrogers]

poolside service - jun x fem!reader (smut 18+ only)

🌊 pairing: pool guy!jun x housewife!reader (both are in their late 20s)

🌊 warnings: smut (18t only), infidelity (reader's husband cheats on her. then the reader cheats on him but he totally deserves it 🤭), explicit language, dry humping, fluff (jun is down baaaad. so is the reader low key)

🌊 summary: you and jun have known each other for a while. you're a lonely housewife, and he's the friendly pool guy. you've created a unique, sweet friendship. but, maybe you both want something more?

🌊 a/n: divider by @jilval /i'm still incredibly pissed off about the svt US tour dates. but junhui's inherent sexiness has nothing to do with that. and i love him. so enjoy! :D

my masterlist

This is a work of fiction and is not meant to represent real events or the actual personalities of any K-pop idols mentioned. All characters and situations are purely imaginary. This story is created for entertainment purposes only, and no harm or disrespect is intended toward the idols or their fans. Enjoy!

jun came here to do a job.

he’s well aware of that. but he can’t bring himself to do it. instead, all he can focus on is you.he thinks you’re the sweetest thing he’s ever laid his eyes on.

you look like a queen, elegantly lounging on your pool chair. your skin glitters in the sunlight. the skimpy, cherry red bikini makes his swim trunks feel even tighter than before. the strings rest nicely in the slender curve of your waist, teasing him to no end.

feeling like a perv, he forces himself to tear his eyes away from your body. even if it’s the last thing that he wants to do right now. but the huge diamond on your left hand is enough to knock some sense back into him.

you’re married. he knows that. but, if he’s being honest with himself, he doesn’t really give a fuck.

he’s wanted you for a while now. jun knows your husband doesn't deserve you. the man is never unkind to you, but jun would treat you so much better. maybe he can’t afford this mansion or any of the other luxuries your husband provides. but he would be wholly devoted to you and only you. something that he suspects your husband can’t say for himself.

“jun, i made some lemonade. i’m going to run inside and grab us a couple glasses. 'kay?” your sweet voice pulls him away from his thoughts. all he can do is smile and nod, infatuated by your kind nature and the way you always take care of him.

and maybe he’s also infatuated with the way your perky little ass sways as you skip back into the house.

not much time passes before you come back and stand in front of jun. he nods his thanks, gently taking the glass away from you.

you sip your drink slowly, eyeing jun the whole time. he's a tall guy, and the height difference makes you feel tingly all over. he closes his eyes as he sips. his little moan of appreciation makes your tummy stir.

“it’s really good, thank you,” jun praises, loving the bashful look on your face. he always makes sure to compliment you. it comes naturally to him, especially since he means every word. he knows your husband is too much of a tool to do it, and he’d never let you go about your day feeling unappreciated.

just like every week, the two of you chat for a while. it’s a comfortable routine. jun listens to you ramble about the other housewives in the neighborhood, while he cleans the pool and offers his two cents. everything is fine. until it's not.

“i think my husband is cheating on me with her.”

“he’s a fucking dumbass.” jun’s response is quick and surprises both of you. thick silence hangs in the air, and jun feels like his heart is going to beat out of his chest. he’s never spoken ill of your husband in front of you. 

the sound of your soft sniffles breaks his heart into two. "oh honey, i'm sorry." his arms wrap around you in a second. this is the closest he's ever been to you, and it takes everything in his power to ignore the feeling of your soft body against his own.

"it's okay, i think i've known for a while. but lately, they've been making it more obvious," you sniffle, snuggling further into jun's warmth. as you lay your head against his firm chest, you hear his heart beating rapidly. it's kind of sweet, actually.

it's impossible to ignore the chemistry in the air. when your lazy husband hired a pool guy, you were pleasantly surprised when jun showed up on your doorstep. you've been with your husband since high school, so you don't have much experience with other men. but jun has always made you curious.

"i really did mean what i said. he's an idiot. he's got the perfect woman at home, and he can't even recognize it." the honesty in his voice heals something inside of you. jun's soft, brown eyes gaze into your own, full of admiration. you feel warmth rise to your cheeks, suddenly feeling shy beneath the intensity of his stare.

“thank you, jun.” your voice is no louder than a whisper. but jun hears you anyway. he always does.

there’s another beat of silence. the tension is thick, and you’re suddenly aware of how close he is. the summer sun has done wonders for his skin, gifting him with a beautiful honey color. his body is toned and strong, yet he still manages to look lean.

jun glides a hand up your smooth neck, cradling your cheek. “you’re so beautiful,” he murmurs, eyes dropping down to your full pout. he watches the way you nibble on your bottom lip, the sight making him dizzy. the sound of your quiet thanks makes him smirk. you’re such a good girl. he’s done housework for plenty of the rich assholes in the neighborhood, but you’ve always made him feel good about his work.

“you're beautiful, too.” the truth in your tone surprises him. it also makes his heart skip a beat. he can’t wrap his head around the possibility that you may feel even a fraction of what he feels for you. but he could get used to the idea.

when he sees your eyelids flutter, jun’s heart quivers. before he can overthink it, he presses his lips against your own.

the kiss is sweet, spreading butterflies throughout your tummy. you kiss him back with enthusiasm, gliding your hand up his firm chest to wrap your arms around his neck. his strong arms wrap around your waist causing a stir in your tummy.

the kiss continues for a while, the pair of you exploring the other. jun can’t believe this is happening to him and fears that he’s going to wake up any second. he slips his hands down below your waist, cupping your thighs.

you take the hint quickly, lifting up to wrap your legs around his waist. you gasp, suddenly aware of the growing tent pressing right up against your center.

“shit, i’m sorry.” he sounds embarrassed, a deep blush tinting his cheeks. the sight makes you swoon. you’ve always loved jun’s soft, shy nature.

“it’s okay, sweetie. i really don’t mind.” your tone is so soft and reassuring. jun hopes you don’t notice the way it makes him harden even more.

he carries you over to your chaise, sitting down with you straddling his lap. before he continues, there’s something he needs to get out of the way first.

“so, i’ve been dreaming about this-and you-every night for the past year. but i also don’t want to put you in a position where you do something you might regret later. i should’ve asked before kissing you. and i’m really sorry that i didn’t.” his tone is firm, yet gentle. it only makes you want him more.

“you’ve been dreaming about me?” you stare back at him with doe eyes, and he swears he might cum in his pants any second. he lets out a groan, the last of his resolve slowly slipping away. “honey, did you hear anything else i said after that?”

you giggle in response, nodding your head to answer him. “i did. and i really appreciate your concern. but i’ve been wanting this for a looong time.” jun’s hands squeeze your waist, grounding himself in the feel of you. he still can’t believe you’re saying all of this to him.

he’s looking at you like you’ve hung the moon and stars. you’ve never been more certain about anything in your life. you need jun. and if his hard on is any indicator, you’re pretty sure he feels the same.

“so...” you trail a manicured finger down his chest, “do you want to keep going?”

he’s nodding before you can finish your question. his hands grip your waist, pulling you flush against him. he’s on you in an instant, meeting your lips with fervor. your lips are sweet and soft against his own, the subtle hint of lemonade makes his head dizzy. he swears he’s never felt this good in his life.

you grind your hips down against him, involuntarily clenching when he lets out a deep groan. “fuck, baby. you’re gonna make me cum in my pants,” jun huffs out, head lulling back against the chair.

challenge accepted.

you lean forward, pressing soft kisses against the sensitive curve of his neck. jun lets out a quiet moan, bucking his hips into your warmth. your bikini offers no barrier. he can feel the heat of your arousal through his shorts. the sensation drives him mad. he grabs your hips again, suddenly grinding with more purpose.

“oh, jun,” you moan out. he can hear your warm little huffs of pleasure, your mouth near his ear. the way you cling to his body does wonders for his confidence, finally settling into a steady rhythm. “does that feel good, baby? hmm?” he coos, pressing a kiss to your jaw.

“mmm, yes. feels so good,” you hum, matching the rhythm of his hips. you’re grateful for the lush landscaping you insisted on having. the palm trees offer protection from the prying eyes of your neighbors and allow you to fully succumb to the pleasure that jun offers.a thin layer of sweat covers his golden skin. it stems from both the heat of the sun and the intensity between the pair of you.

with every grind of your hips, jun swears he’s going to burst in his shorts. but he finds the strength to control himself. he brings his hands up to your chest, anxiously hovering for a moment. “y-you can touch me, junnie.” the nickname and the feel of your full breasts is almost too much for him. they’re soft and warm in his hands, he can’t help but grope you shamelessly.

the feel of his strong hands makes your clit throb. he rolls your hard nipples between his fingers, causing a warm shiver to run down your spine. you grind down harder against him, needing more and more. you feel yourself nearing the edge, but you never want this to end.

“you’re so beautiful, fuck. everything about you is perfect.”

jun’s praise makes your head dizzy. you know you’ll be coming in seconds, but you need more. “c-can, you untie my bottoms please?” your cheeks burn, but you can’t find it in yourself to regret asking him.

he quickly fumbles with the string, peeling your bottoms away from your wet cunt. the sound he lets out is animalistic, overwhelmed by your pretty pussy. he stares at it for too long, unable to look away. he wills himself not to cum, wanting you to experience as much pleasure as possible. wetting his thumb between his lips, he draws a slow circle on your clit.

"ah, jun. shit!” you mewl, bucking your hips. he's creating the perfect pressure against your clit, sending you tumbling over the edge in no time.

jun studies your face while you orgasm. he swears he’s never seen anything this beautiful in his life. he grips your hips gently, slowly dragging your hips to prolong the pleasure. the euphoria on your face triggers his own orgasm, making a mess of his trunks. he's seeing white behind his eyelids, lost in a haze of pleasure.

both of you ride out your highs, soft puffs of air filling the space between you. you crash into his chest, basking in the glow of an unexpected orgasm. “wow.”

“yeah. i swear i’m dreaming right now, but that was the best orgasm i’ve ever had in my life. i came in my pants like a fucking teenager, though,” he giggles, triggering your own laugh. you cuddle you further into his frame, finding solace in his body.

jun knows he needs to get up eventually and clean both of you up, but he can’t find it in himself to move. the way your body lays against his own feels like everything he’s ever wanted. he likes taking care of you and bringing whatever comfort he has to offer.

you press soft kisses against his chest, breathing in his scent. he smells fresh and clean, with a faint scent of sunscreen underneath. you could get used to this feeling.

lucky for you, jun wants nothing more than just that.

[saintjimmeh]

Might as well put my two cents in. It's early & I have a lot of thoughts rattling around so I apologize if this is kinda rambly.

With everything that's happened, I cannot support Nijisanji/Anycolor as a company anymore. Not after the bullshit they pulled last night. THAT BEING SAID...

I still support the livers, and I still support my oshis even though they were both part of that video. I might get hate for that from both inside and outside of the niji circle and I'm prepared for that. Hell, I made the mistake of going on twitter and seen what Ike and Vox are getting, and I'm sure Elira is getting as well. I'm with everyone else thinking that their statement was scripted and Vox, Ike, and Elira were basically forced into doing it or risk losing their jobs. This just seems... incredibly out of character for them, and it was painfully obvious in their voices that they were very uncomfortable the whole time. Something doesn't add up and I'm positive it's Anycolor hiding behind their talent like the cowards they are.

I really hope people understand that the three of them are in a losing situation right now. They could decide enough is enough and graduate. But like leaving any other job, that's not a decision they can make lightly. Leaving Nijisanji means losing their source of income, leaving behind the hard work they've already put in (and quite possibly LOSING it forever, because I wouldn't put it behind niji to private their channels if they graduated right now) as well as projects they're currently working on, losing a good chunk of the communities they've built up (which unfortunately is going to happen no matter what decision they make)... it can't be an easy decision to make, and while I'm disappointed that they did go along with this I don't entirely blame any of them either. I'm hoping that someday they're in a safe position to leave nijisanji behind and work on their own projects without some shady company throwing them under the bus. As much as it would hurt lose the *characters* of Ike, Vox and Elira... they are, at the end of the day, kind of just that. I'd rather support the actual people behind them in whatever they do.

Anyways that's kind of all, again sorry it was kind of stream of consciousness. Everything hurts rn & I'm just kind of hoping for the best for everyone who has been hurt. And I'm begging all of you to please not harass anyone, fans or livers, Selen/Doki, or anyone who has left the fandom completely, over this situation. Direct your anger at the company where it belongs.

[aquareegia]

I just wanted to add my two cents in regards to Will's Sleep Token essay. As I'm not the best in articulating myself adequately, this is very rambly but alas.

I think Will and I have a very similar view on metal. Back when I first started listening to metal, I started with mostly death metal and melodic death metal and while I still like some of those bands, it lost the spark for me over time. I had the feeling that there isn't a lot of variation and that a lot of bands follow the same specific formula, which bored me personally.

That only changed once I started branching out into the realms of j-rock and especially metalcore. I know a lot of elitists shit on metalcore specifically because it doesn't follow this specific outdated formula of metal and therefore is deemed as "not heavy enough" and simply "not metal". I've always thought that's utter bullshit.

I love that bands, especially nowadays, are not afraid to experiment with sounds and vocals. I love that they have the ability to reach people outside the metal scene too. I love the fact that metal is becoming more popular amongst the newer generations of music fans. And I love that other metal subgenres have been slowly branching out as well. Metalcore made me realise that there is much more to metal and it made me appreciate the genre more as a whole. I think this is also why I get so passionate when people try to diminish metalcore's influence and deny it's validity in the scene.

But to get on the topic of Sleep Token... I get a very similar feeling from this band too. For several years I haven't really been an active music listener and didn't keep up with a lot of bands, because I was just so depressed, that I didn't find much joy in anything. I was about to hit rock bottom once again but then I heard Sleep Token. Their music has felt like a warm embrace of a dear friend. Like a helping hand dragging you out of the ocean when you're about to get swallowed by the waves. I've never gotten this sense of belonging and being undestood from any other musical artist before. At least not to this extent. Not only have they helped me personally more than I could ever put into words, they have reignited my love for metal and music as a whole once again.

Sleep Token are a collective of incredibly talented musicians and no matter how much some want to deny it, they are a band that is one of a kind. That is because Vessel is a hugely unique artist. I have praised him multiple times already so I'll keep it short this time (I'll try at least). Similar to Will, what really drives me towards Sleep Token are Vessel's vocals. His way with words and his delivery to me is absolutely unique in the way how unapologetically emotional he is. Despite obviously being a skilled and polished singer, he still has a certain rawness and imperfection that oddly enough makes the songs as a whole perfect. And as I said multiple times before, I think a huge part of why he can be so vulnerable is because he is anonymous. Instead of putting his face out he's putting out his heart and soul and you can truly feel the rawness of emotions in everything that man puts out. Which, again, is why the anonymity is much more than an interesting gimmick to distinguish them from other bands.

A lot of modern bands are currently changing and expanding the sound of metal and Sleep Token is definitely one of those bands too. They are a breath of fresh air that is definitely needed to demolish those outdated views of how metal should look and sound like.

[pastself]

The marriage proposal what-if lives in my head and has no plans to move out, I cannot escape it!

Do you have any thoughts or vibes or headcanons how and if Tony will understand why he fucked up?

He understood that he fucked up when Peter used the safeword and also with all the consequences afterwards, but does he understand why it hurt Peter the way it did? Does he understand that Peter tried so hard for the relationship and for him, and put in the effort to really understand Tony as a person with his greatness and his anxiety and his flaws?

Like, Tony is afraid that Peter will leave him, he wants Peter to stay with him, and is ready to do almost everything so that Peter stays. But do everything possible so that my partner does not leave me is not the same as I understand what my partner needs as a person and what he needs in a relationship .

I'm sorry for rambling, I just love your story very much and all the what ifs are rotating in my head like a rotisserie chicken.

Thank you so much for writing and publishing this great story!

Glad to hear that AU is out there ~bothering people as much as it did me! Your ask made me really stop and think it through further. Now, excuse me while I take a massive deep dive. (FYI - this ask refers to the deleted proposal scene for Want for Nothing, which would have veered the fic into a whole other direction)

Thinking about this ask, I had to break it down into a few parts. One, did Tony know he would hurt Peter? (The safewording confirmed to him that he did, but did he anticipate it?) Two, was he okay with hurting Peter? And, to your original question, three, does he understand why it would hurt Peter?

Quickly—the answers to those are: he was 90% sure, yes he was, and no he doesn't.

Then comes the issue of their dynamic. Does Tony understand that he's been forced into the role of caretaker? Does he understand that that role is creating a power dynamic ultimately not healthy for their partnership? Moreover, does Peter understand that? Does Peter understand that his silences contributed to Tony's spiral?

Again, quickly—the answers to all those are "not yet." The way Want for Nothing actually went, Peter came to those realizations by Chapter 9, and Tony feels them too, but is still trying to make them compute. (If you're reading this in the far future, this was written as the fic is one chapter away from the epilogue.)

With that established, let me go through the whys of it all.

In this proposal-AU, things would have spiraled even further before this proposal and Tony would have been even more swamped by guilt over how Peter is being treated. He sees Peter closing himself off — not just from the press, but the world. Making his life completely insulated with Tony at the core of it. (Yes, that's also happening to him — you, dear reader, understand that, he does not.) Tony also sees that Peter is incredibly stubborn and will never leave him. While Peter thinks he's staying out of love, Tony doesn't quite buy that. Peter may believe he loves Tony, sure, but he wouldn't if he were in his right mind. He wouldn't if the press hadn't changed their relationship into a YA melodrama us-against-the-world. Instead, Peter should have realised that all Tony has done is make Peter's life worse. Tony also believes (somewhat correctly) that Peter is motivated by sheer righteous principle. Peter would rather suffer in silence out of principle than do the right thing of dumping Tony.

Thus, Tony has, in his mind, trapped Peter in a gilded cage.

And he never wanted that.

But Tony also can't hurt Peter by breaking up with him, because that would just prove all the press right about Peter and would make Peter's life worse. He also just really, really loves Peter too much, too selfishly, to let him go.

Until, that is, he turns 49, his eyes blurry with alcohol, and he's standing in a room filled with a crowd treating Peter Parker like a ten-cent whore.

(Again, even if Peter were literally a prostitute, this would still not be okay—you know what I mean.)

When Tony goes to get that ring, he is mainly thinking, "fuck all these people, I'll show them." But he's also thinking that this might, finally, be enough to show Peter what he's signing up for for the rest of his life.

(Tony also fundamentally can't acknowledge how much he is hurt by his friends' behavior. That's way in the background.)

But the permission he gives himself — drunk — for hurting Peter is that this will fix things for Peter. Peter will either be Tony's husband and entitled to respect, even if he doesn't get it; or Peter will be free to dump Tony, with the entire world understanding exactly how much cash he'd given up and gaining the high ground in the process.

(For the record, Tony made that ring for Peter about two weeks after giving him the apartment. He made it with no immediate plans to use it, but ready nonetheless and already desperately sure he wanted Peter around as long as he could have him. But the hazy, crazy future Tony'd envisioned grew dim after Chapter 3.)

But, while the drunk decision to risk it all had seemed fine, the sobering realization he might have succeeded?

That was a very different thing. That was something he really didn't want, after all.

So, his reaction swings back right to "I'll do anything to keep you." And, yes, that aspect is a problem. He doesn't yet understand that, rather than "anything," what Peter needs is trust and a partnership. Moreover, Peter doesn't understand that yet. Worse, after the end of the little reconcile they had, Peter turns "fixing Tony's friends" into a problem Tony has to solve, which will NOT help long term.

Peter isn't at the stage where he can be a reliable partner. He is letting Tony take on everything alone, and while he's supporting Tony emotionally, he isn't helping him address his real issues. Tony had been wallowing, in his own way, for weeks. All the signs had been there. These kinds of dramatic, destructive outbursts don't come out of nowhere, after all. But Peter just didn't know how to handle Tony's problems when he had had so many of his own issues paralyzing him.

They were both hurting in different ways and both trying to spare the other, thus making it worse. Of course Peter doesn't want to be like this. In the main fic, obviously, he gets to this realization first— and he would have gotten there in this AU too, with time. But this proposal sets him way back, mentally, and he just can't.

The only thing keeping them together is the much worse thought of being apart. Without alcohol numbing his senses and without wallowing in self-pity, Tony's initial "let me fix this to keep you" will evolve into his more natural "let me fix these things you didn't even know needed fixing, because I understand you." Specifically, it would be Tony who would realize that Peter has to have a voice in the public sphere and agency to shape his image. That Peter would only be happy and truly free once he had that power.

So, almost a mirror to the main fic, Tony would encourage media interaction for Peter's benefit and Peter would go along with it for Tony (and out of desperation to do anything to fix things). And, just as in the main fic, it would empower Peter which, in turn, would alleviate Tony's concerns.

It would only be then, seeing Tony being ~better, that Peter would finally understand how much his own silences had impacted their relationship.

This success would also help reestablish their earlier dynamic: giving Tony that confidence that he can give Peter what he needs, and Peter the confidence that he can just ask without worrying about Tony's reactions. That's kind of the foundation of their relationship, after all.

Oh, and therapy. I think they'd at least go to a few couple sessions to get this far, because they really really need the external encouragement to reach this kind of clarity. Jessica alone wouldn't have managed.

Thanks for the lovely ask, anon! I loved writing this out fully (and hope you had your cut-for-length mode on <3 )

[shimshamshimsham]

Wanted to classpect the amphibia characters ! I know I'm hardly the first person to do this , but I thought I'd weigh in my two cents :

Anne - Witch (or heir) of Breath . Breath is one of the two leader aspects , and is heavily themed around freedom . Guess what character is a leader and heavily themed around freedom ? This one feels obvious for me . As for the class, it's def either witch or heir , but id overall say witch makes more sense as she doesn't naturally inherit her freedom , and instead has to learn it .

Sasha - Knight of Heart . This one was a bit harder for me . Not in terms of aspect , as self reflection is basically her whole thing , but in terms of class . Sasha is easily the most variable character , changing a lot as the series progresses . This can make it difficult to pin down one specific way she uses her aspect , but I overall decided on knight . It's more all encompassing , letting her use her aspect to defend herself in season 1 , her pride in season 2 , and her friends in season 3 .

Marcy - Rogue of Mind . This one is so incredibly easy . Marcys the smart one , so no shit mind applies . On a deeper level , though , she's also hiding a lot : not being her true self all the time in lieu of doing what she thinks is better . Great planner, horrible improviser (?) Rogue also applies easily because of a couple things . 1 . She literally says she was going for a rogue type character in the show and 2 . If rogue is supposed to take their aspect and distribute it to others , then Marcy absolutely does that : constantly doing research and telling everyone everything they need to know

If this seems rambling and nonsensical that's because it's 12 am for me and this was mostly just copy pasted from a discord dm with my poor friend who had to deal with my insane bullshit . Thanks for sitting through this , here's an Anne :

[starlightandetherealshadows]

Hello! Feel free to ignore this, but I wanted to give my two cents about the MC's initial personality while playing. Now, this may be blunt, but at first, I was incredibly disappointed. Usually, I tend to play stoic/quiet MCs who don't lash or speak out, and it seemed to be quite the opposite to the distrusting and stoic mc in the game. However, I was thinking extremely hard about this, and I actually get why the MC was so outspoken, especially when V literally pointed a gun at them. Stoic and stubborn MC, from what I saw in the prologue, could easily be more nonchalant *before* the alien invasion, but that, obviously, changed. When C found them and brought them to the hideout, I didn't take into account that MC was in a vulnerable position, and I only focused on the part that MC hadn't interacted with another person in years. So, yeah, of course, MC may be overwhelmed, but their not gonna let people (V *cough*) walk all over them. I guess the thing was that I was so used to stoic MCs in IFs just standing on the sidelines and observing, but that is obviously not that kind of IF. The thing that had gotten to me the most, however, was the second-hand embarrassment of MC actually talking back to V after he blatantly insults them because I could never���� I guess what I am trying to say is that even though I was seriously taken aback, none of the characters (including MC) are not gonna be 2-dimensional (as you have stated multiple times), and it has definitely grown on me, even if the MC was a little more of a fire-cracker than I expected. I am really looking forward to seeing where you take this story, and I will absolutely be eating it up because even if I might have to be tossing my phone across the room occasionally (bc my second-hand embarrassment is so easily triggered😭😭), I cannot get enough of your writing and characters!! I hope this made sense because I was just rambling about my take on if you are willing to make the MC a little more stoic or have some mute choices, which I am not against, but at the end of the day, I will still be reading the fuck out of Memento Mori! Have a good day/night!!! MWAH💋

Hi sunshine!

I appreciate your super-thorough analysis of both MC's personality and also your initial/developing reaction to it!

Just wanna offer some perspective on why I'm writing MC the way I am (you've already nailed a lot of the points but this is gonna be a succinct explanation from my head hehe)

MC is ultimately a fully fledged character in Memento Mori. While writing, I have about six different MC's in my head, each with distinct personalities, motives, and reactions to events. As I'm writing Ch. 2 in particular, I'm using these characters to influence the choices available and the stat checks necessary for certain actions. MC was never going to be a self insert. I love a good self insert sometimes, but it doesn't work with this if!

What makes characters feel realistic and multi-dimensional to me is their ability to break out of their different archetypes. We all know the ones like The Mean Girl or the Shy Kid or the Comic Relief. We can use your Stoic!MC example. Do we as humans act the same exact way every single day with every single event and interaction? No, we don't. Because we are complex, muli-faceted individuals that can have conflicting thought and actions, or opinions. What makes a character feel flat is when they are only given like 3 personality traits and stick to those regardless of what happens around them in the story.

So in Memento Mori, your Stoic!MC will have moments where they're outspoken and opinionated. The Charming!MC will lose their cool and lash out rather than smooth talk. The Friendly!MC will snap at someone without thinking. We aren't perfect, neither is MC, and I think that adds dimension to what can easily be a very blank slate kind of character. This isn't exclusive to MC, either! Veronica/Vincent will be nice to you sometimes for seemingly no reason. Zero will have moments where he is not okay and rejects your comfort when he reads it as pity. Cecelia/Chase will not always be the bouncy comic relief that uses humor to make everyone smile.

To add insult to MC's injury, like you mentioned in your ask, they are suffering from extreme amounts of PTSD and trauma. They have lost everyone and everything, they're a young adult living in complete isolation for two years. They're starving, they're injured, they hate themselves and being alive. It's going to take them a while to feel like themselves. In the span of one day, they've been nearly killed by a monster, then they're covered in blood guts and sweat when they meet C, then C brings them to meet 6 other people (including two aliens) and now they're going on this extensive journey with complete strangers, while that very morning they were contemplating ending it all. it's a lot.

By the time MC meets V, they are already at their limit of dealing with bullshit so V pointing a gun at them was never going to fly. V insulting them was a no-go either. Now, in the future, MC can ignore V more often because they'll be less on edge than when they were all first introduced. Once they have time to process, then they can react what is most familiar and comfortable for them. It will take time.

I laughed when you called MC a firecracker! I'd say they're more...unpredictable as a character when they're under high stress. As time goes on, they'll adjust and mellow out in some ways, but right now? MC has had ENOUGH with feeling like shit all the time.

I'm really glad you were a bit embarrassed by MC talking back to V because that was my goal AHDSEWLKMFRLK it's supposed to feel a bit uncomfortable. It's MC trying to clap back on someone when they have lost most of their social skills. It made ME cringe while writing it. Like oof MC, just ignore them???!!!

I'll definitely be adding some more options to be a bit more stoic or selectively mute in chapter 2, and as for chapter 1, I think more options to stay silent while talking to Cecelia/Chase or when they're speaking with Delphine/V could be good too. I'll see how it flows!

You'll see at the beginning of Ch.2 that MC already feels a tiny bit better. Nothing much but at least they aren't alone anymore, and they have a hot shower and some real food. So small wins for MC!

I think that's all I wanted to say for now!!! Thank you again for your message, my friend!!! I'm glad you're liking my writing and my characters, it does mean a lot to have your support!! <3

[kohakhearts]

tonight's anipoke rabbit hole (actually something i've been largely contemplating since i started rewatching the os, but i've been contemplating it Even More tonight LMAO) is the does gary oak is ash's childhood best friend (established) discussion, which...maybe it's because i already knew the direction of their arc when i went back to episode one, but i think i actually disagree with the notion that episode one presents a continuity error, i.e. that it suggests gary doesn't know ash. to save you all from my ramblings i put them under a cut but tl;dr this is a hashed out conversation i'm putting my two cents into for no reason other than that i can and i want to.

i will say that like...takeshi shudo's novelization does kind of contest my reading here, but it doesn't explicitly say ash and gary don't know each other, either. (iirc, what it actually says is that ash knows gary sort of peripherally and has the impression of him being A Bit Of A Jerk, because he comes from a family of local celebrities and it's inflated his ego - which also debunks the childhood friends thing, just in a different way. all things considered, this does make it pretty clear to me that ash and gary were not originally intended to be childhood friends however the head writers of the silver league arc were part of the team from the beginning or at least fairly early on in the os, so. take that as you will.)

i say this in reference to both the original and the dub, but there are some interesting language nuances that get cut out of the dub because they...obviously don't make a lot of sense. but i was doing my rewatch with the dub, so let me talk about that first. 'cause i actually watched the scene a couple times trying to decide if it really did feel like it challenged the childhood friends thing. and...i don't think it does?

the first line gary says that makes everyone say he doesn't seem to know ash is "well, you must be ash," which. yeah. okay, that'd be a pretty weird thing to say to a guy you already know, but i have one (1) strong thesis here and it's this: that's just how ten year olds are, lmao. the second thing he says (regarding how late ash is) is "at least you get to meet me." that one...okay, fair enough. now i'm starting to sound like the crazy one for saying This Proves Nothing. but you can't tell me ash's response to this isn't straight-up weird, ok, because he just kinda c: and goes "gary?"

this is...a poor translation, for the most part, but i'll get to that in a second. even watching this with no knowledge of the original, that call and response kinda feels like someone playing along with a bit. there's no way that he knows this guy's name just from the cheerleaders he literally bowled over to get to the lab. it's clear he already knows it from somewhere else (and following with the novelization, it's definitely the family of local celebrities thing, although that same novelization stipulates that gary doesn't even attend school in pallet town, so this is all around just a really Absurd series of events - that's why i love it so much, but still).

anyway, then gary says "that's mr gary to you" and ash's c: turns into a o: he's like. flabbergasted lmao. and he only reacts again to be like whaaat you got your first pokemon???

the rest of their interaction is just "can i see your pokemon" and "sucks to suck, sucker," so not incredibly noteworthy other than that ash goes from, like, weirdly polite with his little "um, excuse me" to when gary fucks off and he's suddenly pissed.

so in my efforts to like, dig into this more, i found that fan subs don't...completely translate the intention here, either. mostly i only got to thinking about this tonight because i was making a Joke and i pulled up a scene from this episode and it happened to be this one. for whatever bizarre reason, my choice to download Every Episode Of The Pokemon Anime led me to downloading japanese raws, not the dub. but that's beside the point. i actually sat down and listened to this scene with no english subtitles, and i was like. wait. i think this fits my thesis. let me explain.

(it all started when i noticed that when gary goes from addressing ash to addressing the crowd around them, he switches from using the pronoun "boku" to using "watashi," which probably is meant to show that he's trying to come across as Serious and Mature. i have not watched all of gary's episodes in japanese, but i've watched enough to know this is pretty irregular. i thought it was really silly, especially when...put in context.)

SO, in the japanese version, that whole "at least you get to meet me" bit isn't there - that was the translators' attempt at working around something untranslatable, because the actual progression after ash bumps into him here is something like:

>you're satoshi, aren't you? >yeah, it's satoshi-san >or should i say satoshi-kun?

which is...where the nickname comes from, obviously. and it's why he gets that Look on his face...you know the one

(this whole scene is very expressive and i love it, lmao)

even in subs, this is a weird thing to translate, so most people seem to emphasize the reference to ash's tardiness, like in the dub. but it misses some of the character beats laid out here, unfortunately. the satoshi-kun to ashy-boy pipeline is very complex. the shortcomings of the english language and all that.

anyway, gary's next line being "that's mr gary to you" does imply something about honorifics, but when ash just calls him "shigeru," he actually says "hey that's shigeru-kun to you," which doesn't suggest that he's telling ash off for being too chummy with him, as a stranger, so much as he's trying to say hey, we aren't friends, make some distance. because the next thing he says is something to the point of "you're supposed to be my rival, but you're already falling behind."

then the polite little "excuse me" of the english dub is actually ash saying "shigeru-kun?" which does seem awfully polite of him, but then he immediately drops it in his next line and just refers to him as "shigeru" again, so i maintain that it literally feels like he's just humouring gary here a bit lmao.

also worth noting, when gary drives off, ash in the dub says "i'll show you," but in the original just repeats the word "rival," looking very Worked Up.

also, just in general, i do think some of gary's lines here are like...pure exposition. he tells ash he's professor oak's grandson because the audience needs to know it. that doesn't really mean that we as the audience need to - or even should - assume it means he thinks ash doesn't know it, because he clearly does. i mean, he knew his name. that probably speaks for something, lol.

anyway, back to my thesis: this literally just reads like classic "first day of middle school" fuckery. gary oak is literally displaying symptoms of 12-year-old girl syndrome and ash is playing along because that's what pals do, right. like all i'm saying is that these two entered sixth grade and gary suddenly was like hey you can't sit beside me anymore and ash just kinda shrugged and was like haha ok, you're so quirky, and then only later when he heard gary shit-talking him realized hey wait a second, you're a bitch, we aren't friends anymore (and if this feels like an exaggeration, i work with children in this age bracket and believe me when i say i wish it were shdfhjdk).

in conclusion? yeah, the childhood best friends thing makes perfect sense. did they have a fight before this scene? has it been Years? no. gary just woke up and decided to start shit one day. most compelling relationship of the century, if i'm being honest.

ADDENDUM: when professor oak sees ash, he says something about "thats right, there were four people scheduled to see me today," but gary already seemed to know ash was going to be there, which leads me to believe they have at least enough of an established relationship for gary to know becoming a pokemon trainer was a goal of ash's and he had in fact gotten his license. because clearly professor oak didn't give him that info!

[id0what1want]

I just wanna throw in my two cents rq

I don't post here often, so I apologize for literally all of my inexperience. SO DIPPLINSHIPPING, AMIRITE? I love all the creativity under the tag, though I really hate to say it; Juliana is either cloyingly sweet or kind of bland IN MY OPINION. I'm not gonna throw shade at anyone cuz everyone is just having an awesome time and people need a blank slate to project on, I get that. Me personally, I have a lot of thoughts and no void to scream them in- UNTIL NOW!! I'm going to introduce my take on Juliana, whose name is Cereza, and I'm going to just dump out my thoughts about her whenever I feel like it. To quote my awesome amazing encouraging friends: "Do whatever you want forever" SO HERE GOES NOTHING!! Cereza's name is a latin name meaning cherry, in my canon Cereza has family from Paldea, explaining her latin name. I also wanted to uphold the trend of food names in paldea (ex. Arven meaning peppermint and Kieran's name in every other language meaning blackcurrant, etc.) She moved to Paldea from Galar with her Rookidee, Charon, and has never really made friends. Part of this is due to her being seen as somewhat creepy, due to factors such as

a general lack of fear considering literally anything

her social ineptitude, but less in the sense that she is antisocial, more in the sense that she's incredibly social just bad at it (a social moth so to speak)

her appearance, specifically her smile is known to be off-putting, especially when she smiles with teeth. Her canines snaggle forward a bit and she smiles very wide, a lot like Acerola but a bit creepier

A bunch of other stuff that becomes clear as the story goes on

She really hopes that Paldea will be better, but she's not really counting on it. Cereza would rather focus on battling alongside her Pokemon and she really hyperfixates on it, and I mean the true definition of hyperfixate. She has a very deep love for all her Pokemon I will one day ramble about, but that's not today. Anyway I feel like I'm screaming into the void with this one, do I even put this under Dipplinshipping?? People normally hate ocxcanon but the mc is literally whoever you want them to be so idk. ✨Do whatever you want forever✨

~ Cytoplasm

[sizzlingpatrolfox]

I'm not sure if you even want to hear it but I thought I would just add my 5 cents to the whole Jimin and Jungkook discourse. Of course you don't have to post it, I'm just rambling here. Disclaimer: I'm an ex-Jikooker. I'm not anymore and haven't been since mid 2022, for many reasons. Jimin is my bias, I stopped caring about most other members a while ago and with some members I absolutely don't vibe anymore.

So, I do think Jimin and Jungkook once had something non-platonic going on. I'm not saying they ever were a couple but in my opinion they were at least exclusion hooking up with each other. Maybe on and off but they were intimate with each other before. Sometimes they did give couple vibes, like in Jimin's birthday vlive in 2021, and sometimes they didn't, so I'm honestly not sure if they were a couple or not. But as of right now they're nothing but two band members of the same band with relationship history.

Like you said too many things point to Jimin and Jungkook not being in contact much anymore. And I think it was both of their choice. I think somewhere in early 2022, maybe April/May 2022, I think they agreed to end whatever was going on between them. It was also the last time we saw them sharing a car after coming back from overseas. Things changed after that. Not just because Jimin's private mail was leaked around that time, it also seemed like suddenly Jimin and Jungkook became quite awkward with each other. The natural chemistry they had before and the natural pull towards each other was gone.

The break was announced and there was literally nothing about Jimin and Jungkook anymore until the Busan concert in October. They seemed fine there but in my opinion you noticed the emotional distance that was and is between them already back then. And after that there were only a few interactions online and when they saw each other during OT7 schedules. Other than that? Nothing points to them seeing each other off work.

Now I'm not saying they're on bad terms. They're not. They still care about each other, Jimin is still incredibly fond of Jungkook and Jungkook has his moments of missing Jimin. But that's it. Despite them clearly still caring, you can't erase feelings, they don't put effort into their relationship anymore. And that's ok. Relationships change all the time. And Jimin and Jungkook know the best what's good for them. So if they don't see the need to meet up why should they? To please the fans? Nah.

But besides that I personally don't believe Jungkook is putting effort in his relationship with Taehyung either. I think Taehyung is putting a lot of effort into it while Jungkook just let's him do it. I don't think any of the hangouts were initiated by Jungkook. Because all of them were with Taehyung's friends. Even when Hobi and Tae both came over to Jungkook's place, Jungkook asked everyone in the group chat if they had time, he didn't specifically ask Taehyung.

I think Taekook have a subunit coming and even more. They most likely will do the exact same thing Yoonmin are doing right now and I bet they will also enlist together. So I guess Taehyung just puts the most effort into the relationship that will benefit him the most. And Jungkook likes just going along with the flow, the same thing he also did with Jimin back in the days.

Hii. It's okay, it doesn't bother me that you sent this. I'm fine with reading people's opinions.

Everything you said about jikook, yes, that's pretty much what I think too. Relationships (of any kind) usually are not black or white; there's layers to them and complicated feelings that don't necessarily have to turn into complicated interactions. We can keep interactions and relationship dynamics simple even if the situation is complicated. Taekook have done it before.

The only part I don't agree with is this "I think Taehyung is putting a lot of effort into it while Jungkook just let's him do it." I don't understand why people have always had this idea that Jungkook is a pasive subject when they don't like something he does. Taekookers would say that it was the company forcing him to spend time or interact with Jimin; now jikookers are finding subtle (but still conspirational) ways of saying that Jungkook doesn't actually want to hang out with Taehyung that much and he just gets dragged along. Taehyung can't actually make him go anywhere or do anything that Jungkook doesn't want to do. We know he can say no to people; in fact, he says no to Jimin a lot.

I know Jimin will eventually be releasing more music; I just really hope and pray he doesn't release around the same time as taekook because it's going to be so messy for no reason. If hybe so badly wants their releases overlapping, they should overlap Jimin's with Namjoon's next or something. I might actually kms if it's vminkook.

[singsweetmelodies]

hihi I would just like to share my two cents because that anon's ask made me ???

I think the anon should realise it's called real person FICTION for a reason. things in RPF are made up, and by that extent, characters are too. That means even though authors borrow real people's names and sometimes make references to real events, at the end of the day, the character in RPF works are not the actual people themselves. Which is why I'm completely ok with reading fics involving drivers that are not top of my favourites/I don't know that much about if the summary of the work interests me a lot, like I personally do not really care much for Esteban outside of the fact that he, Pierre and Charles did spend quite a lot of time together in karting as they are French/French-adjacent, but I'm okay with trying reading say, Pierresteban fics from time to time. Or perhaps the fics come from a writer whose other works I enjoyed reading and I think, ok this fic's ideas, characterisation etc will most likely be good. Because these drivers in the fics aren't 100% representative of the actual drivers.

That being said, I'd understand if a driver's certain IRL actions disgust you so much that you can't bring yourself to read fics that involve that driver, like for me, I really can't bring myself to read anything involving Mazep*n. BUT that doesn't mean I can, or should, impose my belief onto others. Everyone being free to enjoy and curate their experience both here and on Tumblr is what makes fandom experience healthy.

Anyways, rant over, I hope you have a great weekend ahead (p.s. I always love to read your tags. They are always plentiful and detailed <3)

AMEN!! this, exactly - i agree completely with every word you've said here, omg. real person fiction: exactly! we borrow their names and aspects of their characters and backstories, but it's just that: borrowing. none of it is real.

and YES, i'm exactly in agreement with you again about reading fics for drivers who aren't usually my favourites. if it's by an author i like, or if the summary is intriguing... my thoughts exactly! we are here to have fun in fandom, so why shouldn't we read whatever strikes our fancy?

as for that last paragraph of yours about not imposing one's beliefs onto others, and curating your own experience: i know i've said it a lot in this reply, but EXACTLY. fandom should be about fun, and the second one tries to force things onto other people, it stops being fun. i feel like a lot of this fandom's nastier anons lately are hiding behind the anon button purely to ruin other people's experience, which i find both a completely baffling thing to want to do, firstly, but also incredibly cowardly. it's like they know they're in the wrong, so they're relying on anonymity just to try and ruin someone's day.

and not to bring taylor swift into everything, but like... "this is why we can't have nice things // because you break them // i had to take them away." i can't understand why anyone in their right mind would hate on any content creator!! all you are going to do, eventually, is drive them away. and if all the content creators are driven away, then soon there won't be any fandom!! i don't CARE how wild someone's ship is. even if someone ships something which to me is completely absurd - like... fernando/charles, to choose a wild one - i wouldn't send them hate about it. fernando/charles makes no sense to me personally, but as long as it makes them happy, that's all that matters, and nobody should ever tell them anything different. ship fernando/charles and have a great time if that's what floats your boat!

anyways yes 🙈 a very long, rambly answer all just to say thank you so so much for sending this, and i agree completely ❤️ i do wish i could print this out and have it sent physically to that anon (🤦🏼‍♀️) but yes, i appreciate you so so much for taking the time to come and share this! you are a star <333

[liesandbrokenhearts]

I'll play the part of the cracked potter and jump into this discussion with my views. I understand both parts of the argument. and I think a part of what anon might be missing is that. it's not just the male haze it's a game of probability. it's the oldest form of algorithm there is.

and that's public opinion. the boil down a consensus and then keep boiling that down. Men speak in terms of preference but don't realize how much of that preference is shaped by the people around them. but women have to deal with a running litany of criticism because they're seen as being on a timer. because of the age range, it's deemed healthy or prime for babymaking. it's a strange form of mortality fear-mongering. unasked for advice is warped into a form of just showing care or some weird form of closeness. as in we're this close so I feel comfortable speaking about you objectively. and it's a strange form of opinionated rubbish.

Western culture has evolved into more of a mixing pot in terms of who's seen as beautiful in terms of ethnicity or ethnic features. but even then they're held to the idea of what are the most idolized forms of those features. Look at Korea for example. there's this level of social pruning in terms of plastic surgery. to the point, that graduating high school is reworded by family members pooling money together as a gift for plastic surgery.

And it's crazy that you can tell someone that and the reaction is either that's crazy or I wish we had that here. and that blows my mind. yea the male gaze is being fed to us in terms of marketability or sex appeal. but that's literally because testosterone fuels sex drive and performance. but the idea of what a woman should look like is often criticized by other women. and mainly family members at that. especially by way of comparison.

Everything I've ever heard about a woman's body that came from a man's mouth was either in terms of sexual promiscuity, desirability, or the exact opposite, and it's always been in terms of preference. even when they praise aspects of a lover. because the main dislikes they speak about are in terms of personality or points of contention.

But everything I've heard about a woman's body is out of the mouth of women. Has either been in terms of envy, their lack of similarity, kind platitudes, or in terms of criticism or condemning them for their comportment either for not sitting like a lady or acting like one in some physical sense in how one walks, talks, etc.

that's just my two cents. I don't know how intelligible this all is. I tend to ramble. forgive me? at the end of the day, I'm not a woman so I'll never know what it fully feels like.

Very fair and I agree completely, algorithm is incredibly harmful in this offense. It’s also the downfall of not only individuality, diversity and actual talent in terms of photo and graphic media, but bc its #s and revenue it makes it doesn’t matter at the end of the day. It promotes media that fits their financial goals and highest engagement analytics so that’s what they push at the end of the day.

And while I’m not usually around for these talks between men of course, or what their individual preferences may be- there is a certain stereotypical “locker room talk” that does happen on public platforms like Twitter and Facebook where men rag on a woman for a certain feature they find lacking or their weight when they actively find these women attractive or lust after them in private spaces… but they continue on with these passes of judgement against these women bc it’s the popular thing to do. And that is just as harmful as not loving us at all. But It really is like that and I really do wish it wasn’t so much molded around others, because everyone deserves love. And I definitely don’t tolerate when any women talk down about men and their “flaws”. It just creates life long insecurities. And yeah our fertility is made so important over ever other aspect over ourselves, and called into conversation by both men and women alike, it’s always up for discussion if someone who can produce human life should be doing it or already have done it by now, I agree as well that it is seem that way. And it also feels like you are a being made solely for the purpose of creating life and not a being with objectivity on what their path in life should be.

And yeah it is very true that ethic ambiguity has truly been deemed the peak of beauty in western beauty as long as it fits within their guidelines and prime features-and while I’m glad it has gone passed solely white European features as “beautiful” it still lends ties to white supremacy in terms of colorism and anti-Black hate. And I’m not as up on Korean standards of beauty besides of brow lifts and such but that is interesting as it is very sad.

But mens obsessive sex fueled drive in marketing is what makes little girls and even grown women hate their bodies and their weight. And that is not to say I’m anti-porn, that’s a complicated subject with many intricate layers to it, but the everyday can be very harmful when it passes on to every tv ad and magazine cover you see. And I get what you mean, family members can pull us down, but mostly by women to try to get them to “better their form” “get highlights” “try waxing”- all to cater to what men might feel lacking from them, essentially male gaze once again. It’s a never ending voice in the back of our head. But of the women I know- at least in terms of friendship, acquaintance and otherwise, there are very few instances I’ve ever seen negative talk and instead are intense moments of hyping each other up and calling each other goddesses and such. That’s what I more so see than ever and that “mean girl” narrative doesn’t really exist in most of womens lives (though I understand that is a generalization) because at least the women I’m around don’t fuck with that shit.

But as for the women who say they’re “not like other girls” that I think you’re describing, that stuff mostly fizzles out around high school when girls realize men and our own internal critics don’t need to push us against each other and there’s nothing wrong with being like other women. Women are one of the most beautiful things on earth and the sooner we learn to let external forces pit us against each other the sooner we all heal, but I genuinely haven’t encountered a woman like that for ages.

And that’s okay, I ramble too. I was also drunk when I started this and tipsy while ending it so hopefully this makes some semblance of sense lol. But I appreciate your opinion of course

[sakharinedragon]

Let me give you my two cents to this.

I know someone who is like her. And I mean so much exactly literally like her, that I told them "you're in this game".

They're neurodivergent (adhd among other things) and in their case, oversharing and having no filter is part of that. As well as quirky ramblings and sudden drops into self-reflective "oh god, I'm too weird and now nobody likes me" pits.

So, what you criticize as over the top writing, I saw as incredibly accurate representation of neurodivergency.

And given how well this game does representation, I think this is deliberate.

there are some things a character should not be able to tell us about themselves EVEN with a gun to their head. depending on the character that could even expand to include "most" things

[gavisuntiedboot]

girl. i just finished jp (so late i know), i was savoring the last chap, reading a few paragraphs a day for the past week because i can't believe the stories over already 😭 you are literally a genius!!!! not exaggerating at all. your writing is everything to me, seriously!! i remember always checking your blog to see if a new part was out lit every day 🙈 no fics compares to this series i swear. the way you write is so unique, you have such a way with words !!! this series was incredible and i just wanted to give my two cents 😽 definitely looking forward to reading whats to come 💋💋

I'm twirling my hair and kicking my feet I'm so giddy hehehe. Thank you so much lovely! I really appreciate this little community more than anything. I love that I have been able to connect with so many people with my little ideas and ramblings. <333

[compo67]

hold onto your butts, here's a lobster verse ramble

part of the problem i encountered with the lobster verse sequel was jensen himself. i couldn't figure out what to do with him after lobster season was over. he's still a practicing lawyer in the state of maine, but i didn't want him working for The Family because that's not who he is

jensen hates what The Family under Georgina has become. he dislikes their superficial world, always has, always will. he's his daddy's son and knows the meaning of hard work--not because he went to Harvard or worked for an oil company in Dallas--but because he spends 40 hours every week hauling lobsters from june to january. and he's done it for YEARS.

so no way in HELL would i have jensen work as a lawyer for The Family. nuh uh. it wouldn't be him if he did. he wouldn't be able to tolerate working with The Family's money. and to say he could oh, "work from the inside and slip secret donations to liberal orgs," is just ridiculous. rich white people like Georgina and her ilk know exactly where every cent goes.

no, i wanted jensen to be a lawyer for The People. i wanted him working for free for his fellow lobstermen who don't come from wealth and oodles of privilege. i wanted him helping people on the ground with their legal issues--name changes, divorces, whatever. see, i'm the child of immigrants. i know that if you know the law, you have Power. and what is important for my versions of j2 to do? share their Power. these are two incredibly privileged people who do not need to work for other incredibly privileged people.

why did we fall in love with jared in this verse? because even though he's got a trust fund, he's shared it. even though he comes from money, he renounced The Family and did his own thing. he works for tips. he buys things second/third hand. his family thinks he's a Hot Mess and while that may be true, goddammit, at least it's honest work being a Hot (sexy) Mess.

so it wouldn't work at all for jensen to be a lawyer for Those With Oodles of Privilege.

and the plot line can't follow that or revolve around it either, otherwise there's no challenge. there's no fight or grit or something worth all the effort.

the plot line has got to be something that comes for jensen and makes him work. something that keeps him up at night. something jared can help him with--directly or indirectly. a big challenge that affects the rest of the lobstering community.

lobster folks are not rich folks. they're folks who've done this for generations because they've done it for generations. they scrape and pull together. it's an entire culture what they've got there in New England, but especially Maine.

so the sequel should explore that community, not The Family.

maybe in the next season there's not as many lobsters. maybe a storm occurs. maybe more lobstermen leave because they just can't make a living out of it anymore. maybe all of that happens all at once. jensen has money, he can bail out Paul and a few guys short-term, but these are long-term issues with long-term consequences. the lobstermen will need a fund to get them through until they can recoup from the storm. jensen will have to work his ass off to put this whole thing together in a legal sense, but also in a community sense. he's gonna have people say why bother, but he knows why he bothers. he knows that this community not only needs, but deserves a working, long-lasting safety net.

and you know who's excellent at putting together fundraisers? drag queens.

and you know who jensen knows?

that's right.

that's what the sequel needs to be. fingers crossed i can revisit this in october to have it done by december. fingers crossed i still feel up to working in this verse when it comes time. shout out to the movie "It Happened to Jane" for the inspiration.

[midwrites]

I know it's like -checks calendar- March!?!? But I think it's time, at last for

✨MID'S GOALS AND PROJECTS FOR THE BEGINNING OF 2022✨ which I've postponed posting earlier due to my Master's thesis

First and foremost, hey!! hi!! How's everyone been? Sorry for the radio silence but doing my thesis' presentation did leave me in a near catatonic state, so this past month has been heavily about recovery and trying to not to fry my few working braincells in doing everything all the time.

✨I finally decided to open a Ko-fi!✨ And while I have no current goals set there, every cent donated to me will currently go to paying my PhD this September, which will happen regardless but having a small supporting mattress would greatly help and ease my worries regarding work/study/life (this last bit is where I get time to write and unwind) balance.

Regarding current projects I am still very much writing stuff for Arcane and have, at the moment, four WIPs on the works and on different stages some of which should see the light along this month. This includes:

A medium length fic (24k), Academy era, pure smut. Currently going through the editing process.

A short(-ish) fic. Modern AU. Revolving more heavily around a certain platonic relationship that I wish had been explored more thoroughly in the show (place your bets in the comments below, jk jk, unless?)

A medium length fic, Divorce era, which serves as a more moody and character study-ish counterpart to item one on this list.

A long fic, certain indie videogame AU

I don't want to go into more detail unless asked because I am not immune to that one internet phenomenon which basically consists of telling everyone about something you are really excited to do and then losing motivation and nor carrying through, and also have a lot of anxiety.

Finally, regarding more personal goals, last year one of them was to learn to enjoy the editing process, and SURPRISINGLY IT'S GOING INCREDIBLY WELL. Another big goal was to get the courage to finally open a Ko-fi page, and while it's been accomplished this past week I am going to count it as a win.

For this year the two big ones are to try and write more if current historical events and my mental health allow me to and to finally take the step and open a writing Twitter, as I'm already very active over there but my account is no place to post any writing (if we are mutuals be not afraid to ask me for it if you are ready to tolerate a lot of rambling in Spanish and navigating my new hyperfixations along with me over there).

And that's it!! As always, thanks a lot for the following, support and just general love you've all shown towards me and my works. To ease those of you who followed for Dragon Age's worries, I am still going to be posting for DA in the future, I don't easily leave a fandom, but I am also a person who has like five fandoms on rotation on their brain every single day, so I gotta ride the wave of the one which is making me create.

Thanks a lot for reading!! Take lots of care and as always, drop by my inbox to chat or ask stuff if you feel like it!!

Mid🧡