#not sure of my own motivations most of the time

[cybrasigilism]

NSFW alphabet with Player 230 (Thanos/Choi Su-bong)

warnings: smut and all things of the like, of course | not proofread! | lowercase intended | these are my head canons for this character, please be respectful even if my opinions for the character differ from your own

character: player 230 (thanos/choi su-bong)

A/N: these are way too much fun to do, any letters in the alphabet that i skip are just ones i either couldn’t think of for the character or i didn’t feel comfortable writing about! also, thank you so much for the love on my min-su alphabet! i am currently working on a requested se-mi x f!reader fanfic but consider this a writers warm up! p.s welcome to the thanos world 😈🤟

MDNI! 18+ content ahead, reader discretion is advised!

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A= Aftercare what are they like after sex?

↳ you know damn well that this man knows very little about aftercare. don’t get him wrong, he will do the bare minimum just to make sure you aren’t in any genuine pain, but aside from that, don’t expect much

B= Body part their favourite body part of theirs and of their partner’s

↳ due to the fact that thanos clearly loves himself so much, i would be surprised if there was a part of his body he didn’t like. however, when it comes down to it, he’ll most likely choose his dick as being his own “favourite” body part. as for his partner, he is an ass man and comes by it very honestly

C= Cum anything to do with cum, honestly

↳ he almost never cums inside, most of the time he will cum on your back/stomach (it all depends on what position you guys are in)

D= Dirty secret what dirty secrets do they have?

↳ he’s a switch. do with this what you will

E= Experience how experienced are they? do they know what their doing?

↳ i want you to look me in the eyes and tell me this man isn’t experienced. of course he knows what he’s doing. in fact, he may be a little too experienced. but fret not, he will get tested if you ask him to

F= Favourite position this one speaks for itself

↳ Doggy style, without a doubt. he loves that he can grab your hair and pull you back into it as he fucks you. (its also a great opportunity to bite your neck)

G= Goofy how serious are they in the moment? are they humorous etc.

↳ he takes sex very seriously, but he will probably crack a mocking joke at your expense in the heat of the moment

I= Intimacy how are they in the moment, the romantic aspect?

↳ he’s not exactly comfortable with intimacy, solely because of how vulnerable he feels. but, if you insist on taking things slower and softer, he won’t object

J= Jack off masturbation headcanons

↳ he likes to watch porn to get off, but he doesn’t need it. phone sex is also a big yes for him

K= Kink one or more of their kinks

↳ degradation, DACRYPHILIA, and bondage. need i say more?

L= Location favourite places to do the do

↳ thanos does not strike me as someone who would be opposed to public sex. anywhere that you two can be concealed is fair game for him

M= Motivation what turns them on, gets them going?

↳ no surprise, dirty talk totally gets him going. also if you match his energy and act like a little brat? you will be walking funny for a few days and that’s a guarantee

N= No something they won’t do

↳ anal, thats an exit only area (this includes pegging)

O= Oral preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.

↳ in the words of lil wayne, he’ll eat it ‘til you cry, call that whine and dine. he doesn’t have a preference in giving or receiving, but if he’s the one getting head, you best believe you’ll be deepthroating him

P= Pace are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.

↳ if it were up to him, rough sex would be the only sex you guys had. he’s willing to accommodate, but he might jokingly be begrudging to do so

Q= Quickie their opinions on quickies, are they game and how often?

↳ he’s always down for a quickie, he finds them super hot

R= Risk are they game to experiment? do they take risks?

↳ of course! he lives by the “try everything once” motto, and he really does mean everything. how else are you supposed to figure out what you like?

S= Stamina how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last? etc.

↳ whether it’s the drugs or not, his stamina is almost frightening. he could probably last for hours if you let him, especially if he pops an ecstasy pill beforehand. at most, he could go up to 12 minutes per round

T= Toys do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or on themselves?

↳ he’s definitely got a few toys of his own, mainly ones he can use on his partner. if he really wants to be mean he’ll tease you with a vibrator while he hits it from the back

U= Unfair how much they like to tease

↳ he loves to tease you, to see how far he can push your buttons. he secretly loves it when you tease him too

V= Volume how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.

↳ when he tops, he’s not much of a moaner. he’ll grunt and maybe moan a little if he’s getting close, but as for dirty talk in the thick of it he’ll call you his little whore or refer to you as a cock-drunk bitch. when he’s bottoming however? he whimpers and whines like a little bitch, especially if you tug his hair or choke him lightly.

W= Wildcard a random headcanon for the character

↳ it drives him wild if you LIGHTLY use teeth when you suck his cock

X= X-ray what’s going on underneath those clothes?

↳ he’s pretty lean, but that’s no surprise. as for size, he’s slightly above average hard, around 7” (he’s well aware of how big he is so he will allow you time to adjust during your guys’ first time. he isn’t a monster after all)

Y= Yearning how high is their sex drive?

↳ he’s got a relatively high sex drive. he’s always up for fucking

Z= Zzz how quickly they fall asleep afterwards

↳ circling back to the aftercare piece, this dude does not wait for you to sleep before he does, but it all depends on how tired he is afterwards, too

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As always, advice and constructive criticism for my writing are always appreciated! I hope you enjoy, and more to come of course :>

[syoddeye]

the gift that keeps on giving - part one, john

Every year, on each of their birthdays, you're delivered with a bottle of Scotch. Shared. Savored. Spoiled. cw: established relationship, everything is consensual, reader is shared between price+nik+kate, smut, rope bondage, gags, mild degradation, vibrators, alcohol, pet names a/n: AO3

"Is that–?"

"It is."

"And that–?

"Nikolai sends his regards."

John scrubs a hand over his warming cheeks and chuckles when he meets Kate's eyes. Her smile is sharp, wicked. The very same one she shares whenever a plan executes perfectly. She pats his back and lays a key card on the desk.

"Happy birthday, John. Don't do anything I wouldn't do." She laughs softly as she leaves the suite. The door clicks shut after easing closed, leaving him alone with his gifts.

He stares, good manners slipping now that company's gone. He doffs his cap and shucks off his jacket, taking his time to place both aside. His breathing deepens as he peels off his shirt, the cool air a balm to his warmed skin.

"Look at you. Sittin' pretty. Much better than last time." He tugs off his belt and lifts a single brow. "Did our chat motivate you? Or are you on your best behavior 'cause it's my birthday?"

His pet doesn't answer, of course, not with the gag held between her teeth. She weakly whines as he steps out of his trousers, folding them with the same lack of hurry as the rest of his clothes. His lip curls at the sheen on her lips, the string of drool dangling from the silicone, and how her eyes drill far lower than his face. He cups himself over the cotton, sneering when her gaze snaps up.

"No, you care about the rules or my birthday, do you? You just want somethin' to gag on." John clicks his tongue, ignoring her protests, releasing himself to pluck the half-full bottle resting between her legs. Fingers curling around the neck, he guides the heft of it deliberately into her seam as he lifts it. He zeroes in on the damp revealed by its removal and the pink silicone tail peeking out from behind the gusset. He exhales hard through his nose. 

"You better be a good girl for Kate next time you're with her. She's spoiled you."

John pulls the room's armchair closer to the bed and pours himself a small drink. The bottle is an old tradition that he and Nik started. Kate's the most recent addition to the rotation, despite her deeming it unpalatable. But, sure enough, her initials and last year's date are etched in ink on the bottle's label.

He looks over their pet and the rope securing her limbs, ensuring it's only as uncomfortable as she likes. Her arms double-cuffed at her back, legs held open like butterfly wings, tied ankle to thigh. She's stunning like this. Always is.

Swirling the amber on his tongue, savoring the taste, he swipes through his phone to the clever little app, and starts her off at the halfway point on the scale. He sips, content to watch her try and remain still as the egg whirrs to life, tail twitching from where it sticks out of her panties. He knows some of the frustrated noises trapped behind the gag stem from the fact he hasn't ripped that frilly piece of lingerie off yet, that he can't see her pussy soaking itself. He's in no rush. After all, following one near-immediate orgasm, from probably being teased to high heaven by Kate, the silk conforms to her sex. He sees every fucking detail from the chair.

John's achingly hard, purposely ignoring his own needs. He plays with the settings through another orgasm, curiously trying out the new tap mode, sending occasional pulses to keep her guessing. Only when the aftershocks peter out, leaving her trembling and contracting inward, does he shut it down to let her slump inward. He sets his glass aside.

"There we go." He minds as he removes the gag dripping with her spit. "Status?"

"Green, could use water, sir." She whispers through several deep breaths, voice shaky.

"Good girl, telling me what you need." The reinforcement is pointless, more for him than her. Regardless, he finds her water bottle in the minifridge and watches her lips pucker around the straw. "I'm gonna take that out when you're finished. Need anything else?"

She swallows, then shakes her head. "No, sir."

The hot pink vibrator's sticky, coated, and its removal releases a little rush. They both groan, and it's all he can do to not tip her back and take her there and then.

"Kate's improved." He observes, one finger hooking under the rope wrapped around her upper thigh. She squirms, lips pressing together in a frown. "You don't think so?"

"I had to tell her how to do my legs."

"Did you?" John grabs one of the smaller pillows and tosses it beside the bed. He toes it into position, then reaches for her. "Proud of yourself?" He huffs when, instead of answering, she arcs toward his hands, eyes trained on his face. She's still feeling a mite bold, then. That bravado doesn't last. It never does. The second he puts her level with the strained fabric of his pants, her eyes drop. That slip of attitude bleeds into an affectation of the docility he likes. A practiced and put-upon yielding. She'll play along, for now.

"Conceited and greedy." John chides, reaching for his glass. He widens his stance, nodding once to cue her. A chuckle rumbles out as she buries her face into the cotton pulled taut across his cock. Nosing it first, dragging in deep breaths, then mouthing at him, wetting it, laving her tongue over its curve, then down. He hisses, watching her clumsily take the elastic band in her mouth. "Mind those teeth."

When she manages to drag the cotton to his base, he pushes it down his thighs further with his free hand, then settles it on the crown of her head. His cock droops, twitching at her soft, warm breaths fanning over it. A teaser.

She kisses his tip once, stealing a kitten's lick, before opening and offering his cock its cradle. He glides it over her tongue, letting the threads of his control puppet him along until he's as far as she can take. Into the wet sleeve of her throat, breathing hard through her nose. His head tips back, and a prolonged sigh leaves him as he simply holds there, listening to the choked gags of her attitude adjustment.

He starts slow. Kate's probably kept their pet's pretty mouth occupied for the weeks she's had her, but he's seen the woman's collection, and nothing's as thick as him. He picks up the pace, rocking his hips with some vigor when her tongue starts acting more deliberately, less reactionary. She's old hand at this by now. Takes his cock like a champ anywhere he sticks it.

His head tilts back down until his chin taps his chest to admire the sight of his pet working. Her eyelashes flutter over her cheeks, nose scrunching as his hair repeatedly tickles it. 

"Eyes open." He withdraws until just the tip sits behind her lips, before giving it a few shallow thrusts to knock the tears off her waterline. He licks his lips at the uneven lines of her smearing makeup. No waterproof shit. Kate really thought of everything. He shuttles her mouth down again, swearing at the squeeze.

When he pulls out, her tongue chases after, and he slaps his length across it to hear her whine. She lets it slip over her cheek to nuzzle his sack, and he nearly bites a chunk of his cheek out when she pays them her attention, suckling gently at the textured skin. Her swollen lips plant kisses. It takes the last of his drink and the last of his self-restraint to stop her. 

He'd rather not paint her face—not on the first round. 

John weighs his options. How much freedom she ought to have in what comes next. She turns her head beneath his hand, pressing a kiss to his wrist before letting her teeth graze lightly over the ridges of its veins. Then, when he doesn't make a decision quick enough for her liking, she nips hard. His nostrils flare at the sting, and then he moves, his decision made. It's time, he thinks, to unwrap the present right in front of him.

He makes short work of the rope. First her legs, then her arms, hoisting her onto the bed rougher than planned. The hotel bed groans under the sudden drop, but the indignant huff she expels is louder. The seconds he allows her to stretch her limbs as he kicks off his pants is his mercy. 

The mattress dips as he follows her toward the headboard, knees knocking hers apart. Her hand slides down her belly quick as a cat, spreading herself with two digits, and his single-mindedness nearly misses the 'J' and 'P' painted neatly on her fingernails.

"What's this?"

She smiles coyly. "Another present."

"Did I pay for it?"

"Yes, sir. They look better wet. See?" To illustrate, she shines them with her own slick, and she's right. They do. His gaze shifts between them to the entrance they frame. She's dripping like a tap, clit swollen under its hood and almost goading. The glittery paint catches the light.

"Look at that." He throbs at the sight of her hole clenching reflexively, then slips a finger between her own, groaning at the give and the heat. Her breath hitches as he buries it deep and crooks it. He knows every part of her body as well as he knows his own. Takes nothing to find the spot that makes her sing.

The ebbing of his near-orgasm is a minor tragedy, his prick practically begging to cram itself into her, but watching her squirm satisfies the torment. He relishes her whimpers, the wet squelch of her pussy sucking him in. The sight of her gripping the sheets and stuffing her painted fingers into her mouth, the sound of a muffled oh fuck escaping around them—never been a better show.

John works her up to two and briefly considers a third when her eyes roll, but he's fit to burst. Plenty of time between now and breakfast. He might try for a fourth when she's good and loose.

While he cleans his fingers, her legs hitch around his waist and lock by the ankle at the small of his back, heels digging in and urging. A demand sneaks out, too, though when he meets her eye, she's biting her lip in denial. All apologetic, but only when she's caught.

Spoiled, pampered pet. He's supposed to be the firm hand of the trio. She's gone and softened him up.

He drapes over her, arms bracketing her head. No quarter, no turning her face away. Front row seat to her pupils swallowing their color, tears pooling heavily on their lines. Her anticipation and frustration are raw, too big for her to hide. Her sweetness exists at the knife's edge, and too often, he finds himself on the wrong side of it. She knows just where to slot it between his ribs, when to twist. How much to give to make him ache for it. Turn both of them greedy.

Her hips wiggle, heat-seeking cunt in search of a cock, and another gasp puffs out of her when it works. The blunt head catches and, with pressure, notches. "Deep breath." He warns. From there, it's one languid thrust into her cunt. Worth all the teasing and toying, no resistance at all. She's snug, soaking, and fits him like a glove.

The first outward stroke pulls a deep groan from somewhere deep within him. Her heels tamp down as he builds a rhythm. Bullying him into bullying her. They let up when he plummets deep enough to brush her cervix, the muscles melding to his sides briefly seizing like she's touched an electric fence. Kicking when he keeps at it.

Her hands meet behind his neck, fingers lacing together. Later, she'll dig them into his back upon request. Kiss the marks they leave, too. The thought already makes his chest ache. For all the trouble she gives him, she's a good girl.

He and Nik got lucky.

They weren't looking for anything like this when they met her. They had each other, thought it sorted, no need for more. No one else. But then, out of every shop in the city, they had to pick hers. And she, with her effortless smile and charm, had to go and upsell Nik that first bottle. She didn't push, exactly, but the way she leaned in, the lilt of her voice—it was impossible to resist. She was under their skin in a heartbeat.

After that, they couldn't help themselves. The way they showed up to collect her after work, practically glowing. The fucking springs in their steps. Nik's arm over her shoulders, and John's around her waist, as if there was nothing in the world but the three of them, as if they'd known each other forever.

It was meant to be a one-time thing. Now she's got her own room and an allowance.

And then Kate got involved, and everything changed again, simplifying and complicating it all at once. New rules laid down to keep everyone happy and well, but flexible enough that everyone knows her availability if someone needs to eat her cunt.

He slips out to roll to his side, grunting approvingly when she hastily follows suit, arse pressing insistently to his front. His hand curls under her knee, lifting and prying her open, and hers reaches down blindly to guide him back in. The sound she makes is pornographic, pitching up a note in her used throat when he punches back in the second her hole slots over him.

"Needy fuckin'–"

"Please, John, I want–"

Beneath her head, the bicep she uses as a pillow bulges. He bends his arm further, snatching up one wrist and netting himself the other when she tries to free it. 

Like this, he can let loose. Fuck her with abandon. Give her what she really wants and what he needs. Something to stave off the steady march of time, help him ignore the new crop of silvers and grays above his ears. Stretch out the pretty girl on his cock and listen to her cry about it, and cry for more. 

His nose and forehead press to her temple, and she turns her head enough to give him the chance for a kiss. He doesn't hesitate, leaning in to claim her mouth. It's sloppy and desperate, but it's the softest she's been all night since choking on him.

Her leg lifts from his hold, sweat beading along her forehead at the strain. His hand falls automatically toward her clit, thumbing where the skin stretches first, feeling how thin it spreads on the outstroke. It makes him rut like a bull, feeling bigger than ever with how taut it goes. He pants into her neck, grinning wolfishly at how her pussy clenches around him when he briefly teases the bud between her legs.

She shifts, rolling her hips back to meet him, and he answers by turning her, then pressing her down into the sheets. One hand firmly clamps at her waist, the other settling at the nape of her neck. His knees take the brunt of his weight, spreading to stabilize his stance, before rebuilding his pace. He fucks her like this for a while, spearing over and over again, staring rapt at the core of her body. Listening to the slick glide of himself into where she's swollen and crying. 

He moves his mitt from her waist to the underside of her knee, spreading her further, driving in deeper. "Touch yourself." he rasps, a chuckle rumbling out of him at the speed of her compliance. One of her arms snakes under her stomach, and he watches four cute fingers poke out from under his cock to rub herself stupid.

Sweat clings to his back, matting the pelt of coarse hair on his chest and stomach, dripping steadily onto her as he shifts his weight. He leans more of his heft onto her, letting gravity aid the swing of his hips. Hammers down on her fingers. In a distant corner of his mind, he recalls his last birthday and the noise complaints. The concierge's face the next morning, tomato-red and warped with embarrassment, unable to meet their eyes as he explained.

A sharp whine snaps his eyes to her face. Her bottom lip is held fast in her teeth, and he releases her neck to drag a knuckle down the side of her face. He collects a bead of sweat and licks it off, humming at another delightful squeeze.

"Gonna come, sweetheart? Gettin' close?"

She nods, eyelids shutting halfway. Tiny stars dance in her pupils as her eyes roll in their sockets. They snap to him when his palm returns to her neck. It draws a groan out of his throat, that expression. Looking to him for permission. To come, to speak.

"Tell me how it feels."

"Good, 's good, sir. Fffuck! " 

Her wrist must be aching. He knows the rest of her is. "You want to come?" He presses a finger against her carotid, enough to encourage focus. "C'mon, words."

"Yes, please, sir—"

It's his day, but he lets her have it. She comes hard, choking his cock, forcing him to a furious grind and short, pointed thrusts. He follows not long after, hand slipping from her neck in a frantic, jerking motion, the last shred of control he has left before it overtakes him. When it does, it scours his thoughts clean, spills most of what's left into her, and she milks the dregs out. 

It's some time before he can ease out of her, and his length pulses with interest at the obscene sound of his exit. A filthy chuckle rattles out of him at the sight of his cum dribbling out after, freed by the suction. She's a mess. He adjusts, gets comfortable, and then digs his fingertips into the muscles of her upper thighs and glutes. Humming when she comes back online, panting, face buried in the pillow.

"Tired already?"

She manages to shake her head.

They'll take a break, for both their sakes. If the extra suitcase at the foot of the bed is any indicator, she's brought her entire toy chest with her. Enough to keep his hands busy in the downtime. Until morning. 

She's not too tired that she can't help him move her. He props himself up against the tufted headboard, its cheap fabric sopping up his sweat, and she drapes herself over his chest. Momentarily sated, temporarily sweet. Her hand splays across his chest, nails glinting like stained-glass windows. He stares at his initials—protected under a clear varnish, pristine and perfect. As fleeting as the calm. Branding her as his for a day. This only happens once a year. But seeing that 'P' stirs that old possessive streak. 

She drifts, her breathing evening out as her body recuperates. Won't take more than twenty minutes, tops. He could time it to the second if he cared, but he doesn't. He lets her rest, sprawled warm and weighty against him.

"Happy birthday, John." she sighs, her voice soft as a whisper over his chest, her breath blowing through the whorls of his hair.

Happy birthday indeed, he thinks, tracing a line between her shoulder blades.

She's the only piece of heaven he'll ever know. She's his. Theirs. But tonight, just his.

[kookoomyboy]

your muse  ⸝⸝ ✩°｡<jjk titles,, kookoomyboy>

➜ nin's diary 𝜗𝜚 ; he pretends to be your wedding photographer to run away with you; boyfriend who was forced to break up with you.

fic file 💌 ⊂❀⊃ pairing : jungkook x oc ⊂❀⊃ genre : artists!jk x oc, fluff, light angst ⊂❀⊃ wc: 3.5k +

˳༄꠶ notes : aaaa :( this one is finally going out! loved writing it and prolly my first proper un-drabble (?) fic HAHAHA enjoyy

2. this would be the layout for all the fics other that drabbles hehe

⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩 .𖥔˚

The wind reads my mind. You thought, eyes fixed onto the horizon. The gentle floral dress you wore flew lightly towards the side, your gentle brown locks followed suit. The wind was quite fierce and dominating today, causing your hair to mess itself up, basically a chaos. Exactly like your thoughts. You know you will resent this day to your core, as long as you live. Everything was going just as you wished, life became a little nicer to you for a few years, before falling backwards again.

Being an art student, you got to travel a lot all around the world, even to your dream destinations. And just like that, the city of France was the place you decided to choose to work at, since it was your lifetime dream to be there at least once. Getting to live and work there was even more surreal to you. You, being the best at what you do, soon had your own shop where you sell different kinds of paintings, sculptures made with utmost care and soon enough you became one of the most revered artists in the city.

Then, like the subtle grace of the wind, a man came into your life. You never had time for love while chasing your dreams. But you definitely were, in secret, a hopeless romantic. Time was the main villain, but you believed in love and knew one day, someone will be the forever type of man, the one you’ll write love poems for, some day. And that man was Jeon Jungkook. The way you laid your eyes on him the first time, was when he replaced his brother who was a sculptor in your work station. 

— # in France; two years before the present time.

The weather was as usual a bliss. Every time you felt those little warm rays of the sun radiating through the beige hued curtains that hung down elegantly over the windows, a little new seed of happiness and motivation to paint down on the now, half filled canvas, grew and grew in you. Then, the light "ting" sound of the door being opened pulled you out of the fruitful trance and your gaze fell on a man, probably in his late 20's, who had a well-built body and intricately inked right arm entering your workstation and casually settling his belongings near yours and hung the bucket hat he wore on the coat hanger along with your coat and other things. "Oh, you must be Y/N?" His doe eyes settled on yours as you silently wiped your hands covered in paint and extended your hand in for a greeting but instantly felt a slight side hug from the man you just met. "Oh, I'm sorry if you felt uncomfortable, this is what people usually do here.." He scratched his nape before scuttling around the small studio. 

"And are you Junghoon's brother… uh, Jungkook?" Your query made him chuckle slightly as he nodded, eyes sparkling at each of the paintings that hung around the place.

"Wow, your paintings are something else, mademoiselle." He looked at you with a smile spread wide across his chiseled face. 

"Thank you, Jungkook." Your smile broke out of the hold you put it in, and Jungkook’s eyes drunk in that beaming face of yours, which made him feel some type of way.

And that's how your love poem started, but it hasn't ended yet. Both of your hearts are in chaos.

– # back to present; 

Your phone buzzed, the vibrations were felt vividly, and you uninterestedly picked up the call which was from an unknown number. But even before you could respond, the similar voice which was your safe place, reached your ears finally as a shaky sigh left your lips in pure ardor.

"Pretty love, it's me, Jungkook. I'm sure you would've grasped that. Listen to me without saying anything in return since your place might be crowded at the moment. I can feel your heart thumping right now, both of us are in chaos, I know, my heart says it all. But just remember, your crazy lover boy will come to get you, princess amidst any crisis. I will make sure you're in my arms by zero o'clock today. Wait for me." He hung up within a flash and you just let out a small smiley whimper of happiness at his concern and little poetic talk which he always does, after all he's the euphoria to your paradise.

You were back from the small seaside in the backyard of the wedding house, and now looked like a fairy in your wedding dress, when memories with Jungkook  flooded in your mind.

-

You and Jungkook were strolling outside on the streets in Paris after a very joyful day at work. The both of you being admirers of art, just stayed at all the little stalls nearby looking through different pieces of art and other creations for inspiration. You were stuck near one stall, admiring the different things that attended to your interests when that familiar touch brought you in its fragrant embrace. You looked at Jungkook's side profile, placing a chaste peck on his jawline before following his gaze. Your eyes widened as he now pushed you into a shop filled with white and floral wedding dresses in different shapes and sizes.

"I would like you to show us dresses of her size please." Jungkook spoke to the lady at the store as she smiled fondly and showed the pretty collections of dresses. 

"Oh, love, you'd look pretty in everything, we're in a real crisis aren't we?"

"I think I like this one." You pointed at a darling looking dress with different patterns and a floral vine running all the way down to the end. 

"That'll look extra lovely on you, ma cherie." (my dear)

"I'd like it if you change into it, I've prepared mine already."

You gasped at what he said. "Are we getting married?" 

Jungkook's raspy chuckle followed your question as he nodded in denial.

"Not yet, but this is going to be way more special than any marriage that would ever happen, even more than ours in the future." He smiled and nudged you towards the changing room as he went towards another stall where he was about to change into a tux, all manly and cleaned, which he had sneakily snuck into the store. 

People gave you both weird looks, some old men and women smiled at the sweet couple, probably reminiscing their old days, but you both, two humans, existing but heavily in love, couldn’t care less. Jungkook led you, hand-in-hand and finally after what seemed like ages into walking, reached the destination. The sun changes its crisp and vibrant yellow hues into gentle and lax orange hues, and the Eiffel Tower in front of your eyes.

“Do you like this?” Jungkook asks, smiling at the world famous tower, in the city of love, in front of you. 

You let out an amused, but definitely pleased chuckle at this man’s craziness that you’d never be tired of.

“Of course ! , but what’s with this wedding dress?”

“My pretty Y/N, I definitely do not want to rush you into things, which is why I’m trying my best to hold in my urge to propose just right here, but I’ll take it slow, I want to experience all the little crazy things, I know it might sound cliche but nothing makes me happier like you do. I am a believer in the fact that small things that carry all happiness in them are the harbingers of elation, more than any luxury could ever, on this planet and moreover, our lives are too small, so we have to enjoy it to the core, shouldn’t we?”

You couldn’t say anything else other than nod, with tears slowly emerging out of those eyes Jungkook found his whole world in.

“But recently I’m unsure of myself, so I want to seal us with a promise.-”

-

“Y/N?” You were snapped out of these memories, tears were decorating your face by then, you weren’t even allowed time to relax in those mere memories you had. You were getting married to another man. Not Jungkook. Nothing can be more unimaginable than this.

“Yes mom?” You turned to your mom standing at the door, and as soon as she saw your face, she frowned a bit, but seemed happy after a moment of contemplation.

“Is my girl crying because she’s happy?” You passed her a tight smile at that, not knowing what to say, as happiness is far from what you feel at this moment.

“Anyways, please go downstairs and do not cry, okay? You’re gonna have a little photo shoot all for yourself before you take some pictures with Junghoon, alright?” Yes. You were marrying that very guy who was your best-friend, a colleague of yours and your boyfriend’s brother, how bizarre. But that’s how life is. You were just tired, but decided to go and do the photo shoot, or whatever, just for the sake of your mother.

Making your way to the place set up and ready for the upcoming activities, you subtly addressed the person who was fixing the camera, only to find someone you were so familiar with.

“Jimin, is that you?” You were surprised to see Jungkook’s best buddy there at your wedding, but what’s he doing there uninvited?

“Sorry, but Y/N I go by the name Chris right now alright? But there’s another enticing surprise waiting for you, come with me, quick.” He pulled you towards the set for the photo shoot, near the exact sea you spent all morning at. 

“Hello, pretty love, I told you I’ll come.” A sly smile played on the very face you wanted to see for so long, and the familiar feeling of being allured by that voice electrified your senses.

Your mind reels back, into the promise you both made.

[Back in Paris]

“I want us to seal this with a promise, m’love.”

You spoke, not getting enough of the man right in front of you, even though he is all yours in the city of love. Hell if you told this to your younger self, who wrote love letters for her first ever fleeting crush, the little girl who would remove the light fibre feathers out of her ducky plushie so that it could see better, that she is standing in front of a man who respected her as much as she reciprocated it, life would have sounded like a lie.

But it was not, yet.

Your doubts resided in your family who wants the “best” for you, would love for you to settle with some nice guy they found for you. This was indeed the dream of each middle class family where you were from. Your artistic venture resulted in a successful venture in Paris, everyone’s dream city but your family supported you in full swing, oh how shocking.

However, you couldn’t expect the same support from them when it comes to love, afterall it makes a man stupid.

You and Jungkook were far from stupid. He was a stable career man, ready to be a partner. Anyone can be a lover, but it takes maturity to entwine yourself with someone for life, and give them your all.

And he is already giving you his everything.

Your eyes, the sunset beamed upon them as it cast the color of eternity in his eyes and he could see it, as you pulled out a ring from your purse. 

A promise ring.

[Back to present]

“Jungkook, you?”

"Yes, Y/N it's me. It took me such a long time to come up with this idea, you know?" There comes the same smile he pulls up every time he's up to something crazy.

"Jungkook, seriously? What are you doing with Jimin and these cameras?" 

"Chaos makes the muse, and for today, it’s you.. what kind of pictures would you like?"

You let out an audible gasp, now you connected all the dots.. he replaced the actual cameraman, to meet you.

"Jungkook, the set is ready, let's go. Y/N, listen very carefully, we are here with a plan and that is to get you away from here as soon as possible."

Jimin explained, but you weren't sure of all this. After all, there are a lot of people, especially your parents, waiting for your marriage for the longest period of time, and tearing apart their hopes and wishes was something really hard for a girl like you.

"Jimin, is this how you tell her? You sound as if we're kidnapping her. That should not be it. If Y/N doesn't want to come, she will not. Here, at the moment, she's someone else's, to be specific, my brother's fiance."

That is the man he is. He puts you first always, despite knowing how painful it is to let the relationship you both build afloat into a river of nothingness. You know Jungkook more than anyone.

You were about to state your idea, when that similar sly smile popped up on Jungkook’s visage.

"Shh, I'm not done yet.." He hushed, slightly leaning forward.

"Junghoon himself told me to do this." Jungkook moved back and giggled ever so cutely and said:

"He'll not be marrying you today, but his actual fiance." 

Your face displayed nothing but confusion as you stared back into those doe eyes which were sparkling.

"Okay fine, enough twists and turns. I'll explain everything to you. The thing is, we've got a few allies around here, one of them being your mom, Y/N. She's the only one from your family who visibly supported us. Meanwhile, my dear brother Junghoon had problems of his own, in his own married life and got divorced because of our parents but y'know I never cared about what they say. I know, I know you weren't aware of anything like this, but this is what's happening. For a little mischief, we're gonna dress Junghoon's actual fiance up like you, and we are going back to our wonderful home country, France." 

By now, you were sitting down in a car which was kept as a part of the set, letting everything sink in, while Jungkook and Jimin were standing in front of the open door, hands crossed.

"Good lord, this is why Junghoon was always busy on the phone looking like he was handling some sort of war and why mom was letting me cry my eyes off and still pretend to not have noticed."

Jungkook felt bad at what you said. He made you cry, and he hated that fact. He promised himself that once everything is at peace, he'll never let a tear escape your eye, and he was a man of his words. Jungkook gestured to Jimin to give you some time. And as Jimin left, Jungkook sat next to you, in the open vintage car. 

"Hey, I missed you. Truly." Jungkook never sounded so serious, but now here he is, you know he is scared he might lose the chance to execute all these if they don't move wisely.

"Me too, Jungkook. Life's never been the same here, I never felt at home, because my heart is with you. Home Is where the heart is, legends say.. Well, how.. are you?"

You looked into his eyes with pure adoration, but he broke eye contact and looked down.

"I have never been better." He joked, and you shook your head at his mischief, lightly taking his hand in yours, feeling good at the warmth radiating into your body, making you reminisce the first time you both met.

"Okay, but in all seriousness, we have to take a few pictures, don't we?" You asked him and he stood up and dusted his black tux, before extending his arms towards you.

"Please." He smiled at you, but you knew that every scar tells a story, but every smile hides one. And that's exactly what you find behind that smile of his, which was worth a million and beyond.

"Come on, we don't have time to stare." He said as you held his hand. 

Jungkook gently placed his hand on your chin, correcting the posture as he brushed you gentle brown hair, and spraying I with a little bit of setting spray he bought, definitely as a part of the act, but you were looking at his eyes only, and you could feel a million thoughts running through his mind, criss cross, hither thither, and it seemed to disturb him, resulting in the frown on his face.

"Jungkook, look at me. I'm fine, okay? I'm good. And I don't want this marriage with your brother and the heavens heard me, see now I have you with me, what else would I want? Nothing. Please, don't worry about this. We'll be fine."

"You read my mind again, didn't you? I'm sorry for not being able to-"

“Hey.”

That one call was all he needed to nod in acceptance. 

He clicked your pictures, adoring each and every one of them in the process. A couple of butterflies fluttered by, around the frame, and out of it.

Liberty. 

It enhanced the pictures, looking like it was part of an actual wedding photoshoot.

He could continue this for ages, but in his peripheral vision, he saw Jimin rushing towards the both of you, and he knew it was going to happen.

"Guys, hurry, Junghoon's fiance is here, it's time for the swap, quick."

Both Jungkook and you hurried through the lawn along with Jimin until you reached the dressing room where a girl in her 20s stood, completely tense.

"Sohee, this is Y/N." Jimin introduced her to you, and she shot a smile at you, before taking the wedding dress, looking like a carbon copy of what you wore.

"Can you please help me with these, Y/N?" She politely asked, as you nodded as Jungkook and Jimin left the dressing room.

After you helped Sohee with the dress, Jimin headed towards another green room which was supposed to be yours.

"Jimin !" You called out to him, 

"Thank you,  we owe you a lot." Jimin just smiled, before escorting the bride-to-be towards the altar, fingers crossed.

You heard Jungkook heave a sigh, filled with comfort and peace. You stepped forward, confidence riling up in your blood aiding you in consuming his relished sigh with a kiss. It was so unexpected, making Jungkook let out a small whimper of surprise and satisfaction, his eyebrows furrowed, like when he tastes something really good,

as he pulled you in further, hands finding home under your dress, reaching just in your upper thigh, caressing the supple flesh he yearned to touch for days. He pressed himself further into you, really not giving up and surrounding himself in his desires, hearing you call his name in desperation.

His other hand made its way to your clothed bosoms, as he longed to have just a taste, to have the feeling of hell heaven and everything in between surround him, letting you just take over.

But you had a mission.

He pulled out, with small disappointment lining the corners of his face. Later, he thought.

You smiled at him, as he helped you gather yourself and straighten your hiked up dress and hair, and said;

"Let's go, my bride." He pulled your hand and the both of you ran outside, but a few drops of rain started to hit the ground, and there followed a million more tiny clear drops of rain teeming down.

You both got drenched in the downpour, but couldn't care less about anything as he opened the door of his car for you. Just then, you saw your mom walk towards the both of you, and without a warning she embraced you in her arms.

"Y/N, please stay safe, I love you." That's all she could say, before she rushed back in again so that the guests don't suspect a thing nor notice your absence. 

"Get in, ma cherie." Jungkook smiled, the rain still pouring but you could see his eyes were also in grief, as his tears merged with the falling raindrops. 

In the car, he held onto the steering tightly and took another deep breath, before looking back at the wedding hall, hoping his brother would be able to reunite with Junghee just like he did with you.

"Don't worry. Junghoon will be fine. No one will find out." You held onto his right shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. 

"Y/N.."

"The world is a chaos, but I love you, among all." He smiled, his signature sly smile seemed to comfort you somehow, the car rushing through the road, into a whole new world, but this time, reunited. 

[thesleepyhollows]

Understanding Arkhamverse scarecrow.

I’ve been wanting to make this post for awhile. I think with the release of Arkham shadow we might finally have all the necessary pieces to understand the life of Jonathan crane, his motivations and his descent into obsession.

This scene gives us a lot to work with.

Let’s start with this. It seems like unlike some versions of crane who see fear as a tool. The true face of control and power. Arkhamverse Crane sees fear as everything. This has been observed all throughout the series. From him discussing how fear drives every human action in Arkham asylum to this line in Arkham knight just before he’s defeated.

Something else I noted in that clip was Jonathan immediately trying to rationalise and analyse his reaction to his toxin using fear.

Now we’re not quite sure what this original chemical of his does. Only that its intention is to trigger the shadow within people. We can assume through both his and Batman’s reactions that it aims to do this through a similar process to the future fear toxin. Bringing out and facing people with their deepest fears. Hoping they may become them.

Though that leaves the same question. Why jump to fear. He’s clearly talented in chemistry. Surly there would be more direct ways to bring out people’s demons rather than only focusing on a single part of the shadow. Well I believe that shows us even before this realisation Jonathan had some experience and issues with fear. It’s also why his greatest fear seemingly is just. Fear itself. The helpless fears given to us from evolutions and experiences long before our time. Inherent fears.

However we also shouldn’t disregard his fixation on the shadow itself. Why does he seemingly want to get people to become their worst selves. As seen in his tapes with Harvey. Why is Jonathan crane like this?

Well I think there may have been a time where he saw someone consumed by fear. Destoryed by it.

This could draw an interesting parallel to the story of Amadeus Arkham whose story started when he watched his own mother be consumed by her mental illness before ending up consumed by it himself. I think this parallel could make a lot of sense given that I’d argue although the joker plays a more personal threat scarecrow is the main villain of the Arkham series.

So allow me to tell you what I believe to be the story of Jonathan Crane in the Arkham series. Assuming that the brief backstory we got in his Arkham asylum character bio isn’t considered canon.

A parent or other caregiver suffered from great anxiety and paranoia that caused them to do great harm. Maybe overtime perhaps in one tragic incident. Jonathan internalised this and began to grow interested in the mind. Maybe it started with good intentions. After all he does claim to be helping people in Arkham shadow. Maybe that was a lie and he’s been twisted for a very long time. Who knows.

He began work at Gotham state university and we know how that ended up.

Though it’s worth noting he clearly was brilliant. So much so that this incident unlike most versions of the character did not get him fired because his classes brought the university so much revenue. Instead he left on his own accord to take over as head of rehabilitation at blackgate. An odd choice given the amount of institutions bidding over him. They were likely offering more, far more than the job he took. Though I think his motivations for this were split. Partly is of course the obvious motivation of easy access to test subjects that couldn’t easily speak out. We can see in the previous game that he was running controlled tests likely of the chemicals we see used in Arkham shadow and his subjects were willing participants.

Now either not enough people were choosing to participate or the effects were becoming so potent it risked drawing unwanted attention to his work.

The second reason connects to my proposed backstory. Maybe he was curious to explore how fear connects and causes crime and violence via the shadow. The chain reaction that begins WITH fear.

We then see the events that happen in Arkham shadow and we find out alongside Jonathan that he’s been inhaling his own chemicals during testing. Smart move there buddy. This sends him into a psychotic spiral and forces him to confront and become his greatest fear. His shadow. Fear itself. We can see that this truly set in given how messed up he looks the following day. Not to mention his actions becoming erratic. No longer thinking to hide his crimes until after he severely injures Harvey and huffing his own chemicals right in court.

Afterwards? We’re not sure. Of course he goes on to become the scarecrow then the events play out as we see throughout the rest of the Arkham games. He gets mauled by killer croc during the events of asylum and his previously smug and joyfully sadistic personality get destroyed alongside his face. The experience clearly changed him quite drastically as a person. Although clearly it didn’t shake his core ideals and beliefs about the all consuming nature of fear.

How pitifully ironic that this idea became true in the end. As he’s injected with his own toxins his mind collapsing and giving way to permanent insanity and terror. Fear really was everything Jonathan had left in the end.

[kryannoy]

Xiangli Yao NSFW Headcannons or ABCs?

genre: smut, nsfw alphabet

a/n: i've always wanted to do one of these nsfw alphabets but never got the chance. but now, i got a request i thought this is my time

AFTERCARE

The best at aftercare; makes sure you're clean, comfy and in warm clothes before snuggling with you, giving you massages and playing with your hair until you fell asleep.

BODY PART

Every part of your body is his favorite, but if he has to choose, he'll pick your hands; how soft they are, how small they are, how it fits perfectly with his, and how pretty they are.

CUM

He really doesn't care where. He does like it to be messy, yet at the same time, he just loves to cum inside you. He wants you to hold his child :(

DIRTY SECRET

He wants to tie you up but never asked you because he's afraid you won't like it. And he's afraid you might think he's a bad guy for wanting to tie you up. He's too nice.

EXPERIENCE

To be honest, he has never done it before because he's too busy and too focused on his researches, but he's not clueless! When it was his first time with you, it's really almost impossible to believe he was a virgin.

FAVOURITE POSITION

Any position that he gets to see your lewd, blushing face. Classic missionary will be his fave.

GOOFY

Sometimes. You both would laugh here and there when doing it. He quite likes it because he'll know they you're enjoying this moment with him and having fun.

HAIR

Keeps it neat, usually he shaves everything off, doesn't leave any happy trail.

INTIMACY

He makes love with you properly.

JERKING OFF

Sometimes. He's not that much of a pervert but he's really needy and horny and you weren't around, he'll jerk off. He admits to you afterwards because he trusts you. You asked him to send you his moans if he ever jerks off by himself again.

KINKS

Marking you. Gosh, he loves to see his work on your body, shows that you're owned by him.

LOCATION

Prefers somewhere secluded so, the bedroom, yeah. But at other times, he would bend you over his table full of his papers and just fucks you.

MOTIVATION

Teases. When you tease him, gosh, expect to be bent over the desk. However, when you're doing it, your moans and grabby hands are what gets him going.

NO

Hurting you, no way. Never even think about doing so.

ORAL

Prefers to give because he's in love with how you taste. But he still enjoys receiving. When he accidently grabbed your hair harshly and makes your head stay there as he cums inside your mouth, he apologizes a thousand times because he feels bad for hurting you.

PACE

He's more of a slow and sensual type of guy. Oh, he'll make sure you can feel every stroke he gives and makes you memorize the veins on his cock.

QUICKIES

Not much into quickies. He wants to make sure you feel good and satisfied and making sure you're loved.

RISK

He's kind of a risk taker at times. I mean, he is a researcher. A researcher has to take risks in order to obtain the perfect results. So, he would sometimes have sex in his office in Huaxu Academy.

STAMINA

Two to four rounds. He can go for more if you still want more.

TOYS

Yesssss. He loves to experiment different toys on you to get different reactions.

UNFAIR

He teases when he uses toys on you. He'll purposely use your favorite toy and let you indulge in it until you're close, he'll remove it from you and watch you whine and cry for how close you were.

VOLUME

Few grunts and moans here and there. Most of the time, he moans in your ears because he knows you love it. When you take over, he's not ashamed to whine and whimper.

WILD CARD

One time, he asked you to sit on his lap while he worked on his papers and messed with his gadgets. Your warmth was too comforting for him so he asked you to take your bottoms off and he took off his so you can cockwarm him. And every time you wriggle, he'll poke the tip of his screwdriver or pen—whatever he was holding that time—on your bare thigh, warning you to stay still.

X-RAY

Pretty big. Pretty cock. That's it. (Imma let y'all use your imagination for how big you want him to be)

YEARNING

He's not much of an addict but somehow, he makes you feel like you are his drug. And then the next day you wake up, he's all chill and sweet.

ZZZ

Doesn't fall asleep until he's sure you've fallen asleep first. He will not allow himself to doze off until you're clean and comfortable no matter how tired he is.

[foundnthestars]

For the things we lost au, has there ever been times where Stan tells stories to Dipper to calm him down after a traumatic experience or just before bed or just in general?

I know currently Dipper’s and Stan’s relationship hasn’t gotten to that point yet but I’m curious!

Also what other tricks besides teaching Dipper how to use a gun and stealing does Stan ingrain in Dipper? Does he teach him all the tricks he knew from his days of the street?

And since Dipper’s still growing does Stan teach Dipper how to conserve their money, how to shave, how to barter with people/ being okay with talking with crowds or how to do certain math problems (because Stan has worked on the portal for a long time you can’t tell me that he didn’t pick up some things even if begrudgingly)

Does Stan teach Dipper all of his best Uncle Jokes/funny stories, and despite saying he (Dipper) hates all of them does Dipper secretly appreciate them ever once in a while?

Does Dipper help Stan with stuff too? Like does Dipper learn to read different Alien languages just so he can help Stan read stuff or does he steal a little bit of extra food because he knows if Stan doesn’t get enough for the both of them, all that food will be put towards him sl Dipper gets more to help Stan?

I know that Dipper had helped Stan with his hearing aids but what other things does he do for Stan?

DO DIPPER AND STANLEY EVENTUALLY GET A PIRATE ADVENTURE?! Please say they get a space pirate adventure!!!

Also do both Stan and Dipper pick on some alien languages because with Stanley picking up Spanish and Dipper’s interest in learning new languages I don’t think it would be too much of a stretch for them to learn

wow, HELLO! :) you literally made my entire morning when i had to peel myself out of bed at 5am to make it to my shift, and i've been thinking about these asks like all day. thank you anon!!! thank you for giving me an opportunity to rant about this wonderful, beautiful, tragic au. i'm so glad you're enjoying it!!

first off, yes, 100%. there's actually quite a bit of that in the next chapter. as dipper's walls begin to come down and his anger toward stan slowly but surely ebbs away, so too will stan's walls. in canon, stan doesn't share really any of his childhood (at least from what we see) with the kids until atots. in ttwl, it's implied that stan tells dipper more or less the same story we got in that episode (just minus ford's perspective/part of the story), but he will be sharing a lot more of his backstory, life advice, and stories with dipper as the fic progresses. this will help dipper understand stan's motives and will help move the healing process along for them. a lot, if not most, of dipper's anger toward stan is just resentment for being left in the dark (dipper famously hates not knowing stuff). and stan wants so badly to regain dipper's trust. he also wants to protect him from the things he feels he's failed him on this summer already (read: bill). 100% we will see stan rambling about this or that or this to a traumatized and or terrified dipper just to keep him out of his own head and to reinforce in the kid's head that he has someone beside him that he can trust.

side note: stan (and ford's) struggle will be in trying to maintain the kids' childhood and trying not too force them to grow up too fast. but they aren't perfect people and the circumstances are obviously awful and not conducive to helping maintain the kids' innocence. they'll fail and fuck up and they'll get some things right, too. but i can definitely see stan trying to lighten the mood/share stories as i can see ford taking mabel on light-hearted, low stakes adventures when things with the portal become too intense and her mental health begins to fall by the wayside.

SECOND, there's so many things stan will teach dipper! but, i'm willing to bet that stan didn't exactly take the best care of himself during those years he spent on the road. so there will be a lot of things he will have to learn himself! like, where stan spent weeks and weeks skipping meals because he had to, he can't stand seeing dipper do the same. he won't allow it. he'll have to push himself even harder to make ends meet than he did during those years. he wants better for dipper.

as for the things he teaches dip, i'll just list some of them out. you'll definitely see these things play out in ttwl but this question is fun and it's a fun sneak-peak:

stealing (pickpocketing and petty theft both)

how to put on a half-way decent con (in journal 3, ford mentions having to talk his way into food and shelter, and stan and dipper will 100% have to do the same. i imagine he'll actually catch on pretty quick but he'll absolutely hate doing it.)

how to read a face (i.e. is this person full of shit. everyone knows a good con man can spot a con right back)

how to drive (later)

how to shave DEFINITELY. dipper will start growing a little stache or goatee and stan will practically shove a razor in his direction the second it starts coming in.

how to be a ladies man (they'd have their roadside attraction arc and dip would learn basically that confidence is in himself and not in stan's fake womanizing "skills")

things dipper should be learning in school. stan clearly wasn't at the top of his class but you're right in saying that he learned a lot of things when he was building the portal. and dipper's a curious kid, they'll both seek out ways to help him keep on his education in some shape or form.

life experience/advice/etc. stan has 58 some years of life under his belt and he'll share whatever wisdom he has. can't promise all of it will be good lol

there's definitely more that's slipping my mind at the moment, but yes to all of these. and yes to the horrible uncle jokes. none of that stops. and once dipper starts being able to bear him a bit more, he'll secretly love hearing them. he'll love them for the normalcy they help him feel and because if stan is able to laugh and make jokes then maybe everything will be okay. maybe it's okay for him to laugh too, even if everything is so shitty.

as for reading alien languages, there's actually some plot explanations regarding translators that will be explored next chapter. as a resident guardians of the galaxy fic writer, i know all about writing about sci-fi translators and the like. i'm keeping the same explanation for how translators work in this fic too. meaning, dipper and stan will be able to read most alien languages really soon. though, because i like the idea of stan and dipper being able to speak some of the languages they learned during their time across the portal when they get home, they'll probably still try learning some alien languages without the need for translators. i imagine they'll get home and just start speaking, i don't know, like Galactic Standard with each other and ford will pop in and chime into the conversation without missing a beat and mabel will just be standing there wide-eyed and entirely lost for words.

AND YEAH. dipper will do lots of things for stan! besides the unintentional things that dipper does that he doesn't know about — like giving stan a reason to get up in the morning and filling him with happiness and purpose — he'll do his best to reciprocate favors! like, 100% if dipper noticed stan was skipping meals so he could eat more he'd steal something on the side for stan or lie and say he isn't hungry. they'd also both do little things for each other like steal or buy little trinkets or items the other person might like. stan'll buy dipper a notebook to chronicle their adventures and dipper will steal these chocolates he knows stan likes or a funny little doodad or whatever. maybe a gun or a knife if he's feeling crazy.

dipper will also sacrifice his own sleep a lot in order to take watch. the kid's an insomniac already, and stan is older and needs more sleep to recover from brawls with giant alien creatures or running from the law, so dip will do a lot of selfless things like that for stan. both of these guys tend not to think of themselves much so they'll probably both try to sacrifice stuff equally as much. of course, stan wont really let dipper most of the time.

and, i'm not opposed to a space pirate adventure. inquiring minds want to know more.

[please-read-the-manga]

I don't mean to upset you, but I assumed you were referring to Itachi Shinden because a lot of the claims you're stating as fact are not directly supported in the OG manga, at least as far as I've seen, and I've been checking repeatedly as I go through this (because there's always new things to learn, for sure, and I'm open to coming across them).

EDIT: Placing most of the reply under the cut to save space.

I've been scouring to try and source a few of your thoughts, like Shisui being tasked to spy on Itachi, and that seems to either be tied to a random databook mention (I tried but could not find a link to validate) or it could be implied via the Itachi-Shisui anime filler that I believe is based off of Itachi Shinden. Otherwise, I went through and tried to reread each chapter that mentions Shisui and didn't come across this - it was a quick scan though, so I could have missed it. If you have it, please send it over and I'll save it to one of folders for future reference.

Again, I want to reiterate that I'm a manga reader first and foremost and have only bothered to watch the anime through twice, sans filler (there are a few arcs, however, I'm a bit more familiar with wrt to the anime depiction). I generally revisit the main manga canon once or twice a year whenever I'm fiending for some nostalgia. But as I said, there are always new perspectives to check out and things that can be missed, so no worries on offending me there if that's the case.

I'll start by saying that I'm glad we ultimately agree on the Uchiha being underserving of their fate. It was a gross injustice and it serves as a core, central motivation for Sasuke that I personally care deeply about.

Again, I've never said Itachi is entirely to blame and I'm confused where you're getting that from as I would never imply that Itachi was 'as bad' as Hiruzen or Danzo lol.

The 'true' perpetrators of the UCM are Danzo, the Elders, and largely Hiruzen for his inaction and failed responsibility to do more. If we really want to tally up 'mistakes' that built up the issues within and outside of the clan, we can also call out Tobirama but that's a whole other mega post I don't really have time for right now (maybe one day).

You're correct that Obito engaged in the physical act of the massacre alongside Itachi, I never debated that so I'm just agreeing with you lol. However, I still don't see your arguments for trying to shoulder Fugaku with the same degree of blame as those actually responsible for the genocide (Danzo, the Elders, we can toss Hiruzen in there too). We'll just have to disagree on that interpretation.

This post, again, is not and was never intended to be about Itachi or the 'hate' he receives in comparison to Fugaku - I never wrote about that until it was brought up. I really intended this to just discuss Fugaku and Hashirama lol. I promise to never tag Itachi again if he's not the central character in the post I'm writing haha (I jest).

I can only speak to my own experience and what I see/what partially inspired this are takes that involve Fugaku getting compared to someone like RASA lmao, which is insane to me. Fugaku often gets dropped into these 'Worst Dad' contests alongside characters like Butsama, a grown man that actually hit their child, and I find him being alongside those characters to be a really poor interpretation of who he is. Now I'm sure you may disagree with my take on that and it's all good, man, that's your vibe. I've also seen Fugaku called vulgar words and he's frequently portrayed as the cruel hard-ass boogey-man who refuses to love Sasuke under any circumstance in certain Sasuke fan works. In this, he mostly serves as a device to distance Sasuke from his family which is a wild take to have (to me) as we know that Sasuke loves his family more than anything.

Regarding your take on that scene with Mikoto and implying that she is lying, you're absolutely free to have your own interpretation of it but that's not what I see at all. We're going to fundamentally disagree on that one too, friend.

This, to me, is a knowing smile (Mikoto's) and it comes after Mikoto reaffirms to Sasuke that his father does love him but struggles to show it (re: the 'awkward' descriptor). I use that to interpret that she wasn't lying for Sasuke's sake, that it is true, and here is evidence of Fugaku trying (in his socially awkward way) to faithfully answer Sasuke's question. She is happy here that both Sasuke and Fugaku are trying to grant a little more grace/openness to one another. It's not surprise that Fugaku is actually taking Sasuke's question serious, it's very knowing and in that, I think telling of the truth.

It's implied in the manga that Fugaku's attention turns to Sasuke only when the rift between him and Itachi grows greater. When Sasuke asks his father about Itachi's cagey (from Sasuke's perspective) behavior, I personally see a stressed man who is saddened he cannot connect to his own son as he tries to answer the question. To me, he's at a loss of what to do in the midst of all his overwhelming responsibilities as a Leaf Shinobi, as a clan head, and, importantly, as a father. I'm not offering excuses to Fugaku - a father should, ideally, find a way to connect to their child... but this seems to be a major point of struggle for Fugaku at this stage in the manga. I'm sure we disagree, but that's my take. Nothing here (to me) says 'I'm giving up on my son and throwing him away'.

As for children being seen as adults and being given adult expectations, I already discussed that in the last reply. It's wrong and it's further proof of Konoha's inherent flaws and the greater flaws of the entire shinobi system.

Okay, I'll admit to laughing with friends and (sometimes drunkenly lol) arguing that 'Sasuke did nothing wrong' for fun, but I think most fans are pretty honest about the characters in Naruto and their flaws (at least, I hope so). I'm quite indulgent with Sasuke personally, as he's unashamedly my favorite, but I'd like to think I'm fairly open-minded when it comes to well meaning/intentioned critiques of his actions... unfortunately he often gets unfairly villainized for things he never did/said, which does sound similar to your Itachi experience, maybe. That being said, as someone who frequently engages on Naruto discussions on other forums, I can assure you that Itachi is quite popular to the extent (and this is not tied directly to Itachi as a character or how I view him) you have people writing entire essays trying to excuse genocide in favor of state hegemony that can have harmful implications for the real world when normalized/painted as heroic and 'good'. Oy, but this is not about Itachi OR Sasuke's supporters/haters or whatever lol... keep getting distracted.

I kind of hesitate to mention this because it really strays so far from what this post is actually about, but we agree that Itachi was offered very little choice and he was manipulated by the adults around him to carry out the massacre while being an unwell, child of war that should have never been a child of war in an ideal/better world. That being said, he did make a few choices that no one asked him to make - namely in the way he handled Sasuke. I am critical of those actions, though I always acknowledge what had led Itachi to those conclusions/actions and he does outright reflect that he was wrong to do so (in the end). It doesn't negate the harm caused, but it's important to see these elements in tandem of one another. Yadda, yadda, no character is infallible - I think we've been here on this point already haha.

Re: Coup. Oh, I understand the consequences of a coup, my reason for positing that to you was rather to ask why you seem to believe the Uchiha didn't also consider those factors? I would actually love manga panels here and to see how the clan addressed this in their meetings. None of them are new to war/conflict, especially not Fugaku's generation and older, I'd imagine there were very strong opinions made weighing the pros/cons of such action. It is never one taken lightly, particularly not by an oppressed class, and I think knowing that adds to the gravity of this being framed as (essentially) their last resort. If they are to be discarded by the village (which Danzo was keen to jump on), would they rather go out together, on their own terms, or stolen from their beds under the guise of betrayal from within? We don't know lol, we don't get those insights sadly but I would have loved to read them.

You're still losing me a bit on the argument that Itachi 'had' to torture Sasuke in the way he did. I've heard the argument many times before from Itachi stans/glazers on other forums (not calling you this, that's just how they self-identified) and I personally don't vibe with it. I don't hate the character or anything, but you're losing me when it comes to this. I do not think there is justification for the torture Itachi inflicted upon Sasuke. Was there character motivation? Yes. Was it justified? In my opinion, no... never. To be clear: I'm not saying Itachi's involvement in the massacre was avoidable. I'm not saying Itachi is an inherently bad and evil character. I am saying the torture is something Itachi did of his own free will and I dislike what his actions forced Sasuke to endure. I understand why he did it, no need to belabor this further, but I personally find it wrong much in the same way I believe you likely find Fugaku's actions wrong. It's another impasse, haha.

And finally, we're going to have to agree to disagree again on Hashirama. I really like Hashirama and find him fascinatingly flawed, just like Fugaku (again examining the two of them was the whole point of the post hahaha).

Sorry we couldn't come to more agreements, but we got a few in there. I appreciated looking into your point of view and that you voiced it. It seems like you may have had some bad experiences with poorly intentioned fans in the past, and I'm sorry for that. Just know that I am way too grown to strongly 'hate' a character or anything, I promise. I simply find the analysis relaxing (most of the time lol) and it gives me the chance to dip into an old childhood favorite for a bit. :)

Hm, been contemplating these panels lately and thinking about which character is constantly demonized within the fandom/fan works involving them and which is frequently viewed as the ultimate loving and moral person...

And:

One is a man bearing the supposed 'Curse of Hatred' who loves his children so much that he is continuing to parent and offer unconditional love to his son even after said son has already participated in the brutal state-sanctioned genocide of their people/culture and is about to end his (and his wife's - who, btw, is on the same page as him) life.

The other is a man from the supposed 'Clan of Love' who boldly holds the conviction that he would cease his compassion towards even his own child if they stood against him and his dream (the village), regardless of the fact his dream (the village) is a corruptible entity that does not maintain personhood.

Interestingly, I think there is something to be said for the fact both Fugaku and Hashirama are also shown struggling to understand Itachi and Madara (respectively).

Fugaku is actually quite honest regarding his issues in relating to Itachi and while we're not always privy to all the conversations they've had about the state of the clan/sentiment of the Leaf village towards their people, it's clear that those discussions have been had. While the panels where we do see more explicit conversations taking place show Fugaku reiterating to Itachi that his role in ANBU is to serve as a pipeline between the clan/village (which could be argued as an unfair burden foisted onto a child, in my opinion) there are also moments that indicate Fugaku is willing to defer to Itachi (at least on some topics) when his son offers a contradictory viewpoint (like attendance at Sasuke's entrance ceremony, for example).

Side note... this also reminds me of the very short (unfortunately) interactions we see between Madara and his father, Tajima. Tajima clearly respects his son as well and defers to him when Madara insists that they not fight Hashirama and his family on the river - Tajima accepts this from his son without pause.

Alternatively, we also see Madara trying to explain his perspective to a skeptical Hashirama before he commits to taking more drastic actions. Madara is trying to articulate his frustrations with what is happening in the village/how it is progressing with regards to his clan and (even though we never really get Madara's own unfiltered perspective on this time period) we are shown instances of Madara's grievances holding water (ie. Tobirama advocating for Madara not to be made Hokage, but instead pushing randomly for a democratic system that never seems to actually be cemented or made precedent within the village afterwards but absolutely benefits Hashirama/the Senju in the short-run, Madara 'overhearing' Tobirama's continued bias against the Uchiha in private conversations between the brothers, Hashirama continuing to scold his brother -someone who had ample power within the system of governance since its inception- for his bias against the clan even when they're brought back via the edo tensei, etc). Hashirama tries to (weakly, in my opinion) defend the village status quo/way it is progressing and seems to want to better understand Madara, but isn't willing or is unable to go that extra mile for his friend - and, perhaps in some ways, Madara too was unwilling/unable to articulate himself in a more digestible way once their divergence of opinion on their shared village came to this new crux.

Ultimately, I just find it interesting that Fugaku, this character who is often portrayed by fans as a demon of hatred and cruelty, would (in reality) stand by his son even in his darkest hour, even as he is unjustly slaughtering their family, and continue to reaffirm that he is proud of Itachi/loves him - and this is directly counter to Hashirama who asserts he would absolutely kill anyone (including a child) that stood between him protecting that which he loves the most (the village).

And, of course, we also have this to chew on lol...

Sasuke explaining to edo Hashirama that Itachi inherited his 'Will of Fire' jingoism.

Mandatory disclaimer that Fugaku is not infallible and all the characters here (but Fugaku and Hashirama in particular) are their own people/the circumstances do vary (especially as one relationship is framed in the context of father-son and the other as two friends/peers)... I should also note that I still enjoy Hashirama as a character, I just think his flaws are often under-examined and that the hypocrisy inherent to the 'Will of Fire' philosophy/the Leaf Village (and by extension the shinobi world) is equally neglected especially when it comes to this fandom's love of tearing down the Uchiha to their worst traits/moments. But, man, something about these two panels and character portrayals in particular have just been eating at me the past few days, so I figured I'd try to work out some thoughts on them.

[teawizard]

Okaaaay! 'Week 2' of @encanto-extended-edition event!

Relationships...... (warning: a lot of words, I feel like I am coming up with the stuff on the go, but some pictures too! So please at least have a look at them!)

I am slowly reimagining Daniela's whole narrative and I want to focus on her having the time of her life :)

So, I thought that making her a part of a small chaotic friend group would be fun!

Daniela (left) and Dioselina (middle) are close neighbours, really old childhood friends and are really passionate about art, acting out their favourite books, etc. Bruno joins the group later.

Dioselina

Dioselina is a really huge support for Daniela. She lives on a farm and is used to manual labour from when she was little. Due to an accident, she loses her right arm but is still insistent on helping her parents and siblings. She is kind of stoic and brave, sociable and very confident. Dioselina is like a 'straight one' of the group, the voice of reason. She is more inclined to music than other art, but because she lost her right arm, she is not capable of playing musical instruments and is left (😉) with singing which she does really well.

Her deal with Daniela is that Daniela is 'the creative and crazy one'. As they are close friends, Daniela is comfortable to be her curious and impulsive self around Selina. They really enjoy talking with each other, they have the same sense of humour. And Selina keeps Daniela out of trouble :)

Bruno

Bruno is introduced to Daniela by Dioselina. One day Selina went to him for a vision, than he almost had a breakdown because it was the third vision that had to do with the agriculture that day. Selina felt sorry for him and asked about the familiar book she'd seen on the shelf when she'd entered the room. They talked a bit and she left. She starts to visit him, they talk about the book and they get close really fast.

Bruno isn't really shy at this age. He is adventurous and gets really irritated that he has to do visions for everyone everyday (because they are good visions mostly). He has some friends at school, but most of them think he is weird, because he can infodump about books or future for hours and has no filter, so he sometimes says a lot of disturbing shit. His sisters love him and defend him against bullies, but they have too much responsibility. They skip school a lot and don't really share his interests.

So, when he meets the girls, he is over the moon. They share his interests, they listen to his rambles and come up with scenarios even crazier than he saw in the future 'movies' (whatever that means) and they don't 'censor' him. Of course, it takes time for Daniela to warm up to him, but she does eventually.

The group

As a group they are a menace really. Bruno is usually the one that initiates 'the troubles', Daniela supports him and makes it more unhinged and Dioselina is here to look at those idiots fail and then help them.

At first, they try to prevent Bruno's visions from coming true. As an experiment they try to not let old Señora Sevanna's favourite apple tree fall but they unknowingly trigger said vision and end up in trouble.

As Bruno is overly righteous, after some not good people asking for his vision, he asks the girls multiple times to help him take revenge. Daniela usually gets really agitated and they come up with a thousand plans to kill the guy, but Dioselina reasons with them and they instead steal his chicken or trick him into thinking his barn is haunted.

Also, I thought, one time, they try to make Bruno more popular. They fake some of his visions, Dioselina gossips around town that she had heard only good things from him, because his limit of good news is one vision a day, but it ends in the whole town standing in line and fighting to get Bruno's vision first.

With time they become less interested in the shenanigans. They gossip about their respective sisters and brothers, their friends from school, discuss their future. Daniela is the one that brings up 'adult stuff' on the group meetings. She hangs out with her brother and sister's friends sometimes and also found a dirty book in her siblings' room, though she doesn't know who it belongs to.

SO being high on the hormones and her mother disapproving her friendship with Bruno, they start a relationship, which ends fast. They aren't exactly ready for marriage (they are 16 and 18 come on), and Daniela doesn't want even to kiss Bruno. They decide to be friends, but after a year or two he falls in love with her and is low key miserable.

(a first version of their group 'photo' in their 20-ies)

(a second one, which is accidentally a Modern AU and look! they wear each other's colors!)

Okay, when they are 20-ish they still hang out. They love playing little pranks, but generally they have their own struggles and really miss hanging out every day.

Bruno gives more bad visions with time and becomes more of a recluse. He still goes to town, sometimes they meet with Dioselina, he visits Daniela's workplaces (sometimes accidentally, sometimes on purpose). The girls are worried about him and try to cheer him up. In public spaces he is shunned and Bruno is very uncomfortable, even more when Daniela is almost screaming at people for being jerks and Dioselina tries to shut her up. In private Dioselina and Daniela end up having conversations that Bruno can't contribute to and he gets frustrated and leaves. The girls try to make things better by making the town not that feared of Bruno again, but fail. Bruno is hurt that he is a-

Oh no, it is sad again. Soooo, let's end here, before it becomes worse :)

[wickjump]

im gonna start posting fanfic recs btw whenever i find good ones. both here and my (awfully barren) 18+ account. because there are so many good fics out there with so few hits and fewer kudos and sometimes no comments period and it SUCKS because i REALLY LIKE THEM A LOT.. and i hope that by linking them here and yelling at everyone to COMMENT DAMMIT they might actually do it

seriously though any comment means a lot. most people who read a fic don’t even give a kudos. even if the fic wasn’t top tier, if you didn’t dislike it, hand over some kudos!! and if you liked it, comment!!!! even if the comment is one singular heart emoji it will be appreciated. if the comment just says “great fic!” the author will be happy. your comment doesn’t have to be this long winded gushing or analysis.

so many authors quit writing or lose motivation because the comments are few and far in between or just sometimes nonexistent. trust me when i say authors don’t care about how long or cool or smart sounding your comment is i promise!!!

i hope that mmmaybe recommending fics and telling people to comment might help fics i really like get more support maybe. and i, points at you reading this, hope that you will listen!!!at least a little….at least sum kudos….

[elusiiev]

OMORITOBER DAY 14: LIBRARY

i like to imagine spirit mari tossing down her favorite memories for omori to read while peeking around to see omori's reaction :3

i was thinkin of drawing her too, but honestly i wasnt very sure what pose to do and i was a bit tired !!

thanks to @/ntrogensolar for the omoritober prompt list!

extra rant in the tags ab why this isnt a full piece!

[wonder-worker]

"It is too easy to dismiss [Leonor of Navarre] as an overambitious schemer who would do anything to obtain a crown, shedding the blood of her own siblings and her subjects in order to attain the throne. However, a deeper investigation of her long lieutenancy and ephemeral reign shows a woman who fought tenaciously to preserve her place but also worked tirelessly to administer a realm which was crippled by internal conflict and the center of the political schemes of France, Aragon, and Castile. She tried to broker peace, fight off those who opposed her, repair the wounds caused by conflict, protect the sovereignty of the realm, and keep the wheels of governance turning. Leonor was not always successful in achieving all of these aims but given the background of conflict and the lack of cooperation she received from all of her family members, bar her loyal husband, it is a huge achievement that she survived to wear the crown at all. Many writers have argued that Leonor deserved the troubled lieutenancy, personal tragedies, an ephemeral reign, and a blackened reputation, basing their assumption that she committed a crime that cannot be [conclusively] proven. However, a more fitting description of her would be that of a resolute ruler who successfully overcame a multitude of challenges in order to survive in a difficult political landscape and gain a hard-fought throne.”

-Elena Woodacre, "Leonor of Navarre: The Price of Ambition", Queenship, Gender and Reputation in the Medieval and Early Modern West, 1060-1600 (Edited by Zita Eva Rohr and Lisa Benz)

[rigelmejo]

Something that always annoys me is the idea only 1 language learning method works. Which is not true. While it may be possible that, for a particular individual, only a few out of many study methods may work well enough for That Individual to make progress and stay motivated... that doesn't mean all the other study methods won't work for anyone else out there, or that those few methods will work for every other given person.

Obviously if you've been studying a while, then you already figured out what kinds of things work for you and don't. If you're a beginner, just wading into studying?

I would suggest you simply look for study methods that: 1. Teach you new things regularly, 2. Review and practice things you've learned, 3. Include studying things you need for your particular goals (for example if your goal is to read X book then the study materials at some point should involve reading practice and some words the book contains, if your goal is to talk about Y then the study materials should include some information about pronunciation and words you'll need to be able to say).

As you can imagine, a TON of study materials will meet these requirements. And you can study a given skill in a LOT of ways.

(Reading is my focus lol so just for reading, a beginner might: do vocabulary study with lists or conversations with native speakers or watching shows and looking words up or listening to dialogues with a transcript like in a textbook or graded readers or a picture book with word labels in the target language or a video game with labelled objects in target language, all of those things as long as your vocabulary is improving or reading practice is happening would help you make progress). So to improve reading skill as a beginner: you could study with a textbook, a podcast with transcript, a classroom or tutor with words written down in target language (like TPRS), a video game, a TV show and a translate app on your phone, a friend you talk with (who either writes words down or you look up words you hear with a translate app), a friend you text with, srs flashcards like anki (provided there's text) etc. As long as there's new words, and/or you're practicing reading, the study method may work. If it works will come down to if you can stay motivated doing it regularly, and make sure you regularly learn some new things and review/practice things you've already studied.

So consider those things when you see people selling a study method as a product (especially when it's costing you money). Consider if it teaches you NEW things, and are those new things related to your goals, and how MUCH new stuff will it teach you before you finish it? Consider if it provides review or practice, or if you can use it's materials to review on your own making up your own method, or if you'll need to do separate review/practice.

So examples:

LingQ. Can it teach you many new words? Yes, thousands, since you can import any texts you want when you get done with their provided material (I have no idea how much their beginner material covers though in terms of words... I would hope 1000-3000 words but that can be researched). Is your goal reading? It's suited to reading, so you will practice and review often with it. Cost? I think it was $12 a month when I last had it, and the price may have increased. Is it worth it? Depends on a learner's needs. I found it was wasting my money, so I chose to use free tools like Pleco and Readibu apps - since those apps are suited for Chinese learners and have better translations, Pleco has better paid graded reader material if I was going to spend money, and both Pleco and Readibu let me import texts so I can learn thousands of new words just like LingQ but free. Now that I'm not a beginner, I often use Microsoft Edge to read chinese... since I can still click-translate words easily (all my web browsers have that tool free), and Edge's TTS voice is helpful for pronunciation and sounds quite good. I read webnovels online so Edge works well. But it's translations aren't as good as Pleco or Readibu, so if I still needed translations more I would use them. So... is LingQ a good study method? Its certainly a study method marketed to buy. Well... the method is suited to improving reading skill, at least. It costs money, which is a negative, but it does offer a lot. However: everything it does regarding reading can be done free with other apps or sites or web browsers on their own. So if paying money motivates you to read... sure. LingQ does have a few word tracking features a learner may find worth the money, keeping in mind the actual read-to-learn method can be done free without lingq. (Also... while LingQ is a valid option for improving reading, if the learners goal is speaking then it would be important to think of what study activities the learner will do OUTSIDE of LingQ to improve speaking... because I've seen how LingQ is marketed as "how to learn a language" but it's only focused on some skills. It has vocabulary and grammar in some sense, since you'll read a lot and encounter new words and structures. But it doesnt have speaking or writing practice at least last time I was on it. Those activities would need to be worked on, on your own).

You can do that kind of cost/benefit contemplating with any study method material you see being sold. Amother example: there's a beginner Mandarin course called Mandarin Blueprint. It teaches like 800 words. Thats all. It may be worthwhile for a beginner... who still needs to learn 800 common words. But if you already know a few hundred words, the benefit of the course is less, you'll need to find a new material to teach you more new stuff soon. And the price was like a few hundred for the course... which for me personally was too much to spend, when I had already learned 800 hanzi from a book that cost me 12 dollars and 2000 words from a free user made memrise deck. The course claimed to get a person speaking, competent, but anyone not a beginner would say speaking basically with 800 words is nowhere near the level of working in Chinese or just doing a lot of daily life stuff, or reading/listening to media. (Although for the motivated beginner if you're learning 800 words on your own like I was, its definitely close to the point of jumping to learn more words and start reading kids and teenager books, and watching easier shows if you're willing to look new words up). So to me... Mandarin Blueprint felt like overselling some basic beginner materials. (Again when I know several other things that teach beginner stuff either more in depth so HSK test prep classes, and college courses, or that teach beginner stuff to the same depth as Mandarin Blueprint but free).

Some study materials aren't going to act like they teach everything. I've seen chinese courses just for learning to speak tones better and general pronunciation - probably worthwhile if your goal is to improve speaking and a teacher could help improve the issues your having. But a learner needs to be aware for that course that they'll need to study vocabulary on their own, its JUST a pronunciation improvement course.

[sysig]

Special Counseling (Patreon)

[loumauve]

I snapped today at work, and by snapped I mean I politely commented on a help desk ticket by summing up an mess of an (type of) issue that's come up for at least the fourth time in the 2+ months I've been managing user accounts, and asked the person responsible to fix it (himself for once) because last time I fixed his mess-up it took me two whole days to work out the details with at least four other colleagues from different departments and I really don't want to do it again. there's other shit that needs doing, I've been working 10+ hour days for most of this week already, so I need to cut down not add on more.

(good thing tho - at least we managed to fix the issue where the dataset of a newer employee got mixed up with another one of the same name and therefore wasn't able to apply for any of the access/accounts she needed. technically not entirely my area but it does impact us not being allowed to create an account for her so I figured I might as well track that issue down. took three days and at least three other people, but hey - it should all work out now. yay for that)

[themyscirah]

This is technically a Diana's age poll but I framed it partially around Julia's rescue because that's the event I need to contextualize and whether or not Diana is a thing yet is p important for my purposes. I would keep the Pérez run and postcrisis continuity in mind when answering this bc that's when this is relevant but I'd keep in mind that even though Diana is very young there (like early 20s) we don't know I don't think if she ages differently as a child (esp as a themysciran AND being made from clay) and in some versions she is older than she looks and was made earlier

Edit: I accidentally logic-ed this out in the tags lol 🤦‍♀️but feel free to still vote however you want. Going to publish this anyway bc I think I made some good points later in my tags

[youaremysunshine-court]

Started following a dom on twitch and I am learning some truths about myself