#or when i have an excuse ie my friend is about to do work and i wanna sweeten the deal

[slavhew]

Giggling like a freak

[thetarttfuldickhead]

There was this post a little while back suggesting that Beard gets kicked out by Jane and moves in with Higgins and that’s very narratively satisfying and right, given that Leslie’s the one person daring to tell Beard that his relationship with Jane isn’t, you know, great. However, I’m a Roy & Jamie girl at heart, so I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if Beard instead moved in with his fellow fan of few words, ie one Roy Kent.

Say, for instance, that Roy and Jamie are fucking/dating/what have you and Jamie gets it into his pretty, silly head that they can somehow hide the fact from Beard. Roy tells him stop being an idiot, of course he’s going to know if he’s staying here, only way to keep it from him if you keep away until he finds another place to live, and fuck no, I’m not moving in with you, how the fuck would I explain that, and anyway your fucking headboard would give me a migraine.

Well, Jamie says mulishly, I’m not staying away.

Fine, Roy says, secretly a little relieved. So he’ll know. Big fucking deal.

And in this version of events Roy really is cool with it, because it has to come out sooner or later and he’s not ashamed and it’s not like Beard’s gonna say anything (Roy may or may not be mistaken in this assumption), and anyway, he’s Roy Kent, he does whatever the hell he wants, okay. Only Jamie doesn’t accept that, because he has this strong and somewhat misguided notion that he needs to defend Roy’s honour by not letting anyone suspect he’s fucking his player. So Jamie starts making up increasingly absurd excuses as to why he should show up at Roy’s place like having some work done at my house and Roy was concerned I’d be breathing in poisonous fumes, yeah, so he said I had to come over here and um, Coach, I think I strained my calf today, could you maybe take a look here in the bedroom ‘cause my back hurts too and I need to lay down and yeah, Beard’s eyebrows are not as psychotic as Roy’s but they certainly climb and climb and climb. Later in the evening he just glances at Roy, so, you and Jamie, huh? And Roy shrugs, unconcerned, yeah, and pours himself another cup of tea. He doesn’t tell Jamie that they’ve been made, though; it’s still kind of fun watching the muppet make a fool of himself. Besides, the idea of their encounters being particularly illicit seems to really get Jamie going, so.

Alternatively, Jamie agrees to stay away, and then proceeds to do everything in his power to set Beard up with someone else so that Beard can be happy and move in with his new friend and Jamie can go back to shagging his grumpy old boyfriend all over the house. The attempts are predictably absurd, but also oddly sweet (‘cause Jamie wants the relationship to last, right, so that Beard doesn’t come knocking on Roy’s door again anytime soon, so obviously he needs to find someone properly nice, but it’s hard for him to figure what nice means to someone as odd as Beard).

(These two scenarios work if Keeley’s part of the mix, too, btw. She can either join in Jamie’s antics because she’s a weird girl at heart, or she can be the voice of reason if a voice of reason is what gets you going.)

Or say that Roy and Jamie really are just friends (for the moment, at least) and it’s Roy that gets a little nervous about Beard realizing just how close they are. Like, he’s reluctantly cool with everyone knowing that Jaime is his favourite player (though of course he’d deny it if someone dared say it to his face) or them knowing that Roy spends stupid amounts of time torturing training Jamie, but he’s not quite comfortable having people know that they also just… hang out. That Roy cooks Jamie dinner. Leaves Phoebe with him when Roy’s busy with a coaching crisis. That they watch stupid shit on the telly together, and that Roy doesn’t complain (much) when Jamie curls up to him like a cat. That stuff’s private, all right? So he stops having Jamie over, starts brushing him off, and at first Jamie’s undeterred because if he let Roy’s grumpiness get to him he’d never not be gotten to, but Roy persists and Jamie starts to wilt, hurt and confused. In the end, Beard – wise, all-seeing Beard – fixes Roy with one long stare and notes that there’s nothing wrong with having a friend, Coach. Plenty wrong with being shit to the ones you’ve got, though, and Roy doesn’t even yell fuck he just stands there, stony like, until he jerks a short nod and stalks off to make things up to Jamie.

Anyway, the idea of Beard bearing witness to Roy and/or Jamie being particularly ridiculous about each other is very funny, to me.

(I tried to hunt down that original post because even though I didn’t want to add to it and derail OP’s poignant take with my Roy & Jamie obsession, I still want to credit them for the original idea. Couldn’t find it, however, but please give me a shout if you have a link. Aha! @coachbeards is the original galaxy brain!)

[little-pup-pip]

Do you have any tips for buying/hiding littlegear or petre gear?

I have a few!! Good luck with this, friend!

Buying:

I was able to start collecting gear when I was pretty young, because my parents got me my own bank account at 13 and became uninterested in my purchases not long after. That's probably not the case for you, so my buying advice won't all necessarily be based on experience! If you can order things online though, Amazon has pacifiers and stuff for really cheap, and Etsy is usually pretty good, too!

Assuming you're able to go to in person stores alone, most of them have sippy cups, teethers and bottles for pretty cheap (especially dollar stores)!! I don't recommend pacifiers for babies because those aren't comfortable and can hurt your teeth! This is also a good way to get pet or kid toys!!

If you struggle with opportunities to be in stores, make up excuses like needing craft supplies for school or pet treats/toys if you have pets! If your people like to accompany you into stores, maybe saying something about how you want to try being more independent will work.

If your people are nosey about what you purchase, buying something else along with your gear, putting the gear in your backpack or something similar, throwing away your receipt, and only showing them the other item(s) can be a good cover! This also works for online purchases, as long as they arrive at the same time/in the same box!!

Hiding:

My favorite place to hide things was definitely behind the books on my bookshelves!! You can also store things in a container that implies something else is in there (ie boardgame box, jewelry box etc)! Another popular location is inside of a closet depending on how much space is in there! Closets are especially helpful for hiding bigger toys (again, depending on the size) if your people don't approve of you having stuff like that!

If your people are s u p e r nosey, inside of a vent is not somewhere people usually think to check, if your vent covers come off (mine did). If any of your pillows have zippers, that's a good place to hide fabric things like pet collars! Generally beds can obscure or hold things better than you'd think! Under pillows is an easy location if you and your people don't typically move them, but I'd consider that as a temporary location more than anything else.

That's all I got! I hope at least some of this stuff can help you out!! Good luck!

[autistichalsin]

I love my mom but the lying and guilt tripping gets to be so much sometimes.

IE she overheard me talking about getting my brother a ticket to fly to comic con with us. She got pissed about money (fair enough I guess since he still lives with her and my dad) but then I brought up we were helping, and she got mad at me saying she missed my college graduation because of money so why didn't we help?

I just about lost it. I BEGGED her to come. I offered to pay for all the hotels or plane tickets. She's scared of flying so wouldn't do that, and won't let my dad go anywhere without her, so that was a no. And she said the drive was way too long, she'd be really uncomfortable, and my dad couldn't take that long off work.

She didn't come because she didn't think it was important. Bottom line.

In fact, I even mentioned at one point before the graduation I was grateful, as much as the pandemic sucked, that the graduation would be getting livestreamed because it meant she and my dad would see it no matter what. And she (granted, drinking at the time, but still) said it was horrible for me to celebrate people dying just so I could have a graduation.

EVERY TIME I brought up my graduation, she never showed the slightest interest, nor the slightest bit of sympathy that she was missing it. She went out of her way to blame me, act like I was the one being unreasonable. She continued showing absolutely no interest for my Masters graduation, so that I ended up not even bothering to travel (online program) because I knew no one would be there for me anyway, so why bother.

I didn't even get to go to my high school graduation, because it was an online program on the other side of the state. I had to be held back a year when depression hampered my academic performance, and my older siblings had already dropped out; in desperation, trying to motivate me not to do the same, my dad promised me that if I made it, they would too. So I worked through, got the credits I needed... and nope. My mom screamed that my dad spent too much on getting the car up to pass inspection standards (how does that even make sense) and that we therefore couldn't afford to go. So I didn't get to attend that either.

And you know what? Honestly, I made my peace with it- with the fact that my mom will never care about me the way she cares about my sister, that she just doesn't think my successes are worth celebrating (unless she can brag to someone online to seem like a good parent, I guess) and lacks the empathy to understand why me having my parents with me at major life events is a big deal. I worked through that and made my peace with it and have quietly decided I am not even going to bother inviting them to any future events I have, unless maybe I get married one day, I guess, though I feel she'd still try to find excuses not to go to that if it was more than a four hour drive from her.

I could deal with all that. But she fucking LIED about it to guilt trip me. She lied that she WANTED to come and it was money preventing her. That I never tried to help her get to me. And that's the part that hurts the most. That she wasn't there to celebrate when it mattered, but now has the nerve to lie about it and play victim, as though I'm the reason she wasn't there.

She always does this shit! When I was a senior in undergrad, there was an undergraduate research symposium everyone in my major was required to present at. It was ALSO on Zoom, so no excuse not to make it. I asked her and my dad multiple times if they'd like to see my present my research paper on a Japanese death cult and the effects it had on Japanese culture. They BOTH declined. So I invited my grandma, who was happy to be invited, and my best friend even walked her through setting up Zoom for the first time. AFTER the event, when I was telling my mom and dad on the phone about my grandma loving my presentation, THEN my mom got livid and said she had NEVER been invited, and of COURSE she would have come if she had the chance, why did I invite my grandma and not her?

She doesn't want to share in important things with me but then she gets pissed if I then share them with others instead. I guess she wants to feel so important that her declining would make me refuse entirely instead (as with my Masters degree ceremony?) I don't know.

I'm just tired of this man.

[marabarl-and-marlbara]

Hi Mara, do you think it’s at all possible to force oneself to enjoy things one usually doesn’t, or do you think it is like chirality and one’s “natural” interests and proclivities are not subject to change? I can’t help but feel stupid and like a liar to myself when trying to live healthier, or be productive and work on myself. It’s just fake, I don’t really care, and so the good habits never stick, but accepting myself for who I am, an empty lazy slob with no real interests, doesn’t feel too good either.

Hi anonymous, thank you for the opportunity for me to yap -- I haven't gotten a good opportunity in awhile :-))

'Naturalness' is weighty and ought not have much to do with the self outside of chirality (if you are approaching it from a Maraist standpoint): all that is, is not much more than confusing shadows that are manipulated by outside actors to stimulate you and draw you in-to the performance, to keep you engaged and connected--I wouldn't believe another person if they told me they a) believe this, and b) live in accordance to the belief of this, as the best way to depart from the actors and their game is to self-depart and un-live, and the dead do not weigh in on much cept soil and dirt.

WITHIN CONFUSION, when I'd been thinking about answering this initially I'd been thinking that I can barely relate to you, anonymous, as most of the 'need' to fake interests seems to be related wholly to connectiveness and those whom we find ourselves connected to, ie: faking acceptance of political issues that match the odorous vibe of the friend group when deep-down the thought needles and smarts, or: someone you care about showing you something that immediately makes you think this is the dumbest thing I have ever seen but I want this person in my life so I'll say something warm, or etcetera; connection itself is a long smear of the self (small and insignificant like a little mustard seed amongst grain) to bury it in a greater body such that the color and timbre is lost amongst the neighbors, as the self is made to become a neighbor, and the self itself is but an echo of the word trapt in fat and mud (or, on the other hand: an echo of the mud trapt in shrill songs and migraine colors); you are, by design, made to be subject to a Gravity and pressurized down away from heaven, and away from self--that is the natural-way;

WITHIN CONFUSION, and less unnecessarily esoteric and verbose and stupid: I don't really believe in 'fixing' yourself one way or the other; I eat the same yogurt concoctions every morning because I struggle thinking of a better temperature/texture combination, but I am getting tired of it--and if I were to extrapolate this out, I think of etiquette-breaks like 'psychiatric profiles' an attempt at suggesting that "Mara will, and forever will, be a breakfast yogurt-lover" though all my life I'd been held over a candle and slowly melted into a yogurt-lover-shaped mold and been made to set that way. The issue I had with struggling to relate is, because I'm fairly lonely and private lately, I do not really have much other than myself to compare my 'likes' and 'dislikes' to. It is very easy for me to not bother forcing myself on-to a dislike, because there aren't many Gravities to pressure me lately. But that isn't completely true; taking cold showers, for instance: hated this but kept up with it; waking up at 4am and cleaning the house and exercising for at-least an hour: hated this, but now it is just an excuse for me to listen to more Stephen King audiobooks before breakfast; morning prayer, same as the morning routine. For some things it really has just been truth to me that if you are forced to adjust, you will adjust--a person can not be passionate forever in their dislikes or hates, same way a honeymoon fades; what you love will become a tired routine (me and yogurt), what you hate will become a tired routine (me and waking up at 4am and jogging), but if you give yourself breaks eventually you allow those feelings to melt and recollect and be subject to passions and not-set as routine.

My failings, anonymous: me and drawing and writing--never been able to force myself to do these; I struggle with forcing myself to abide the word and forbid myself from listening to music completely; even though I have no problem with the vegan diet itself and had a pretty solid run with it: couldn't stop obsessing over "every-thing I hadn't yet tried" and death looming over my head (as it seemed) made the dietary sacrifices seem even more painful and pathetic and done wholly out of some forced desire to be Pure and Saintly (yet on the inside begging sin and dirt no better than a lunatic rat clawing at a cupboard). On food and diet, though: I used to be obese from middle-school to high-school and basically forced myself to exercise/diet pretty strictly out of (as you said) not liking myself as a slob--and I still am driven more-so out of a desire (fear) to not be fat, not be unhealthy, not be a slob, not be ugly--because I am scared of all of those things; it was easy enough to convince myself that eating more than 4 pieces of cereal for breakfast was a gluttonous amount of food and then slowly watch my hair fall out and lose the ability to stand from fatigue--somehow that was less scary than being fat. As well, there's just a mechanical motivation from being intensely sick from diet; if I eat the wrong thing or eat too much I end up bedridden for several days from migraines (the fear imposed from this makes it hard to seek-out trigger foods).

This part isn't even slightly helpful (likely the latter parts, too) but I think regarding diet and food specifically, it helps a lot being open to liking a lot of foods and shaking out what you think you dislike. I might be super privileged there because (although I have some preferences that I stick to ala yogurt for breakfast and wraps) I mostly do not dislike any food, and can only really think of disliking artichokes/brusselsprouts (I hear they're good if you fry them in oil but that is most things..) and badly prepared liver; I love veggies and fruits.

IN CONCLUSION, anonymous, I don't think any of this is particularly good advice and I think a better thing to analyze (than what I wrote) is what you wrote to me, how you refer to yourself, and how you're laying pitfalls for yourself. This world is made to bury you in gravity and lose you in soil, smeared under layer-after-layer of connection until you're convinced you are wax over a candle dripping down into some strange form, and those confusing shadows keep on whispering and whispering and then your mind is looking up out of a mold. Are you unable to force your likes to change? Are you someone who is unable to care about improving yourself? Do you really dislike being a slob? Who are you, anonymous?

To me: you are anonymous; take care, anonymous.

[paingoes]

cute delta things i didn’t get to focus on as much as i wanted

ie my underrated facts and as of yet unused whump ideas :)

-he literally faints all the time when using his powers and needs to be carried back out. mostly by simon. sometimes by paris :)

-martino has med students!!! they pop in sometimes i never really acknowledged them directly tho. theyre older than delta but not by that much. he is basically a case study to them but some of them do try ti get close and immediately get demoted/reassigned because of “inappropriate attachment”

-i had this idea for martino taking delta to a medical conference. delta having to be on display/used for tests w really green and overexcited students. extremely awkward stay at the conference hotel. delta is probably high for a lot of it tbh.

-also. delta is on a ton of medications to keep his powers elevated. he is only vaguely aware of this. its actually kinda considered doping in universe so most people are NOT aware of this!!!!

-simon and martino fighting more. i like the idea of simon being gentle w delta and martino going out of his way to try and counteract it and dehumanize him again to preserve his conditioning

-simon and paris talks. simon is way too much of a pussy to confront paris head on and i think they generally get along fine? becuz simon is a bystander. also paris pretends not to remember either of the handlers names even though he definitely knows them.

-delta is totally starved for affection but he would not accept it from just anyone i think hes actually kinda picky about it bizarrely enough. hes v distrusting and when his internet friends tried to be nice to him his response was invariably “just fuck off”…. and he actually likes them he just gets mad anyway cause he cant handle it 😭

-delta and paris kinda just hang out sometimes LOL…. paris always (correctly!) feels like hes in an adversarial environment whenever he has to go anywhere for work and delta is usually the only person there he trusts so if theyre not doing anything else its just gossip time.

-incidentally ^ delta was really deliberately not taught anything about history or politics or ethics at the institute because they didnt want him getting ideas but paris is heavy into that stuff and complains about it so much that delta just picks up on it. he absorbs info like a sponge its why he was such a good whistleblower.

-to me this is obvious but paris’s chillness-over-time graph is a bellcurve. like he is AWFUL at the beginning and awful at the end but in the middle he got very close to actually chilling the fuck out. he barely knew delta in the beginning and i think he did v much warm to him overtime and loosen the parameters of their relationship a lot. this is peak chill time. the assassination ruined everything but paris still… liked delta afterwards he was just insane and dangerous and delta was at ground zero of that. 

         (sidenote: some of the early paris chapters are so bad in terms of what he did and how he was written i actually feel the need to retcon some of it? it took a while for me to hit my stride w him, take the early stuff w a grain of salt)

-anyway. people LIKE delta. even though he doesnt talk hes v cute and unflappable in a way that’s very endearing to people even in empire. people do definitely go out of their way to fuck w him and its dehumanizing and they shouldnt do it but its not necessarily mean-spirited a lot of the time they just think hes interesting.

-sometimes it is meanspirited though. wanted to write something w misc soldiers trying to bully him. cause delta is obviously v submissive and incapable of defending himself but he’s also not trained to obey just anyone. in fact he would have some v large objections to that! (also an excuse to write protective paris at the end lol u know theyre dead)

-more simon carewhumper status. i wrote destroyer before i knew almost anything about whump like i didnt even know what a “carewhumper” was when i wrote it so i was surprised to see someone tag it w that. i guess it’s technically true! anyway i feel bad i let simon fall so much to the wayside. i think delta deserved more comfort over the events of destroyer and his relationship w simon really was very important to him so its on my list.

-thorn era sickfic. maybe the same psychic fever that makes him loopy? might be good for a non-canon bonus i cant tell if it would be more hurt or comfort yet

-this is a lot to get into but if i had to explain the way delta’s powers “worked” i would say that his only true ability is being a conduit. he is not really producing anything he is just tapping into something that is already there. it is not a meaningful difference to an outside party but in terms of what it feels like to use them….. its very psychedelic and psychospiritual and trippy. wouldnt recommend. also i really liked the tag that called delta a mage. its cute bcuz he actually loves pulp fantasy. he would like that :)

[sapphicdib]

"i could gush about my sig headcanons all day but auuughvjgghh". You know what, do it. I dare you. After that sleepy iterators post I'm itching for more headcanons to ponder.

SORRY THIS IS RLLY LATE, IVE BEEN WORKING A LOT

THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME HAVE AN EXCUSE TO HAVE A CATEGORY 10 AUTISM MOMENT ON THE DASH. this is legit about to be a better essay than anything ive ever turned in for university so strap in, obv everything is gonna be under the cut bc this is prolly gonna be long as fuck

Okay! My main headcanons for Sig are:

He uses he/she/it pronouns, but mainly he/she!

He's a bioengineering dork.

She's a specialized medical facility!

She doesn't really care much about the great problem, and thus has a lot of hobbies. He knitted her own scarf!

She has a lot of friends, even outside of the local group. He's incredibly close with Chasing Wind.

He's a mid-gen iterator, (Ages being: LTTM, SRS, SOS, CW, NSH, UI, FP), so his emotional AI is a lot more advanced than Suns' (there's quite a gap between the two, Suns is closer to Moon in terms of age).

She considers Hunter to be her daughter, Hunter calls him her dadmom and Moon her mom.

He tends to bury these emotions down for the sake of others, which leads to...bad situations.

She's terrified of being alone :)

Sig just gives me gender fucky-wucky vibes. Her pronouns are the/bit and he's committed to it. There's not really a basis for this in canon but it just fits his personality of being pretty laid back and goofy when not in um. emotional distress. Also the accessorizing to his puppet (ie the scarf) makes me think he likes to experiment with her appearance and presentation. To add on to this in the streamer au she goes by any pronouns and is pretty androgynous, so none of his followers can tell his AGAB, and its funny to him to watch the chat argue about it. (He's AFAB, tbh I can't see her as anything else). No one can guess his sexuality either, the only "confirmed" thing seems to be polyamourous, but other than that it's "whatever makes it gay", or "whatever pisses you off most".

Sig obviously has a knack for bioengineering, as he was the one who started investigating the idea of using purposed messengers to stay in contact with others once the comms degraded, not to mention the creation of the slag reset keys. Yes this is my incoming rant of "Sig is not bad at making slugcats", since sometimes people tend to act like "Sig didn't follow Suns' instructions" or something like that, and that's why Hunter is sick. There are MULTIPLE points in their conversations where it's outright stated that Sig was the one who did it first:

Sig was the one who showed Suns the process:

SRS: I purposed a messenger, and sent the information by land via a data pearl. NSH: How original of you. SRS: I learned from the best.

Sig clearly has experiences with messengers, and Spearmaster happens before Sig begins working on Hunter:

NSH: I feel like I need to be simplifying my speech patterns. Is that something you do when conversing with your messenger?

SUNS SAYS "ANOTHER" MESSENGER, AND THEN LATER SIG SAYS "ANOTHER MESSENGER" AS WELL. SIG HAS MADE MESSENGERS BEFORE:

SRS: Do you suppose you'll ever raise another messenger?

NSH: I'm tempted to start work on raising another messenger as a last ditch effort, but to be honest I don't think there is any point.

And then, in her reply, she says, "*I* started investigating the method".

NSH: If the need arises, I certainly would. After all, I started investigating the method out of the inevitability of our situation.

And just to nail it down that Sig was the one who purposed them first, the gossip between Wandering Omen and Pleading Intellect:

PI: You haven't heard about what No Significant Harassment did? WO: All I heard was the complaining. Didn't he send an iterator something distasteful? PI: Well, yes, but more importantly, he trained a purposed organism to deliver it!

WO: How do you even get a dull creature such as that to follow orders? I may consider asking him to teach me his ways.

So yes, Sig was the one to purpose the messengers first. She had already made at least one in the past, to send the "distasteful message" to someone. I'd honestly say he probably made more between that/before, to test the efficacy and also just to mess around with the process.

This leads into my next headcanon: Sig was a specialized medical facility! Five Pebbles mentions to Hunter that "I was not a medical facility even when the equipment was functioning," so I believe that there were some more specialized iterators built. Sig's knowledge of bioengineering could be an indication of this specialization, not to mention it fits with him not really caring about the great problem to the same degree as everyone else. Purely headcanon after this point, but when Sig was first built, Moon was very nervous about getting a new model of "specialized" iterator that she wouldn't be able to help train as well! Moon was a more generalized iterator as she was older, so she does have knowledge about medicine and bioengineering, as all iterators did for the health and growth of her city, but nothing to the degree Sig would need. Thankfully, iterators are fucking supercomputers, so its not like Sig needed much "training" in the way of that, but still. Moon wanted to be a good mentor to her! And she very much was, considering how Sig turned out. That's why they ended up so close.

After the mass ascension, he became the resident "doctor" of the local group. Pointing back to the slag reset keys, Sig seems to have shoved as many as he could into that thing, since Pebbles reacts to the amount of them with surprise, so he knows his way around iterator biology. In pure headcanon mode now, when they develop my tangible projections thing (which Sig and Moon were heavily involved in), it meant that she could actually help others by preforming repairs on their puppets, and even their structures by sending her overseer into them. Moon's inspectors enjoy head pats from her whenever he's passing by.

Her being a medical facility also means she doesn't give as much thought to finding the Triple Affirmative as others. His processing power was delegated more towards finding cures, aiding the sick, and engineering better production techniques for medical equipment and such. His city is also highly accessible and optimized for the disabled and elderly. When you're a medical facility, your goal is more to keep people alive than perma-kill them! I mostly get this headcanon from the fact that when Suns is faced with "what to do" other than solve the great problem, they respond with "What else CAN we do? You're stuck in your can, and at any moment you have no more than two alternatives: Do nothing, or work like you're supposed to.". Meanwhile, Sig responds to Suns' question about purposing another messenger with "There's nothing better for me to do with my time, though.". Not to mention, he was already purposing messengers before this, so she certainly wasn't dedicating all of her time to iterating the great problem! Of course, he probably did iterate on it, just not to the degree his peers did. He also jokes about it in that broadcast where Wind is telling everyone about erratic pulse, saying "Haha with the slimers, lizards and etceteras? Surely the answer was in a lizard skull all along!" so it really seems like he doesn't take it very seriously.

Her disinterest in solving the problem led to her developing a wide range of hobbies. He's an iterator after all, they probably get horrifically bored if they're not doing something! She taught herself to knit (telling his citizens it helped her focus so they would provide her with needles and yarn), and eventually learns to make garments as well. I headcanon he plays video games too, especially with Chasing Wind, mostly just because she probably wanted to see if an iterator could run Doom for the lolz. Probably also trolls in the group chats sometimes, considering the "distasteful pearl", and I think her being being NGI ("No Great Ideas") would be funny as hell. This also makes it pretty obvious why I made the streamer au, Sig's a top level player for multiple FPS games and has won some pretty prestigious awards in esports tournaments. And then she goes home and plays Hollow Knight randomizers with Pebbles in a maid outfit.

Sig's personality also lent itself to having a lot of friends. Her and Chasing Wind were built less than 50 cycles apart (Wind is older), so they're practically attached at the hip. Wind isn't in her local group (He's in Sliver's), but they're still very close. It's not really explored much in canon since we really only see her interact with Suns for the most part, but given her personality, I don't think it'd be a far off assumption for him to have lots of friends. Because she's younger, she also has a more sophisticated emotional AI...which can be detrimental at times, but is helpful when it comes to maintaining friendships!

AHAH So here comes the um. SAD portion of the rant lol. I feel like Sig buries her emotions down a lot, for the sake of others. In her conversations with Suns, we do see him get snappy with him, but for the most part he remains either calm or sympathetic, at the most a bit pessimistic towards the end. When she finally does call Suns out for their bullshit, he (presumably) stops replying to Suns for a short time before apologizing and continuing to talk to them.

SRS: I'm in noticing you are becoming more defensive. This obviously wasn't the end result I was aiming for, you know. SRS: Please respond to my messages. I don't want to leave it like this. I need someone to talk to. NSH: I don't mean to be cold, I'm just very worried.

After this interaction, Sig seems to either just reply with facts/possibly explanations for Moon/Pebbles' actions, or completely changing the subject to Suns' messenger, which then leads to the broadcast where Suns is telling her all the ways they modified their messenger to sneak past Sig's overseers, by not giving them the mark and hiding the pearl, we see Sig's replies become very short, single sentence answers.

This to me reads as slightly passive aggressive, but Suns doesn't seem to pick up on it. To be honest I in my head I hear this as Sig hissing this shit through clenched teeth if he could, but it's just text so I suppose we'll never know.

Additionally, he still does let his emotions overwhelm her at points, (such as during the "Your plan was a complete failure" broadcast), but the most blatant is probably in the messages she sends to Moon and Pebbles.

Starting with the Pebbles one:

NSH: Five Pebbles, I will say once again. You need to stop. Immediately. NSH: I know you are going to trash this message like the rest, but... NSH: I hope eventually when you are out of this state of mind you will look back at these. NSH: Look back and reflect on all the regrets you've set yourself up to have.

Sig is angry. Like he shows no sympathy for him, and just hopes he wallows in regret for the rest of his life. She does express his dislike of Pebbles while talking to Suns as well, but manages to still be nice by saying "I think a lot of us were like that in the beginning.", and such, and then drops the subject by the next broadcast by talking about Suns' messenger. He only ever talks about Moon's condition, likely to keep himself from being a dick about Pebbles in front of Suns because talking directly about him is obviously pretty touchy. But this broadcast is straight up mean. She doesn't manage to hold back her emotions but to be honest? I don't think he actually cares, if he burns that bridge with Pebbles then fine, because Pebbles burned it first.

Pebbles took away one of the few friends he still had in this dying world.

I really and truly believe that Sig's biggest fear is being alone. She makes the slugcats as a way to keep in contact with others after the comms arrays degrade. After being snappy with Suns, she immediately backtracks, apologizes, and keeps talking to them, even if it hurts. His messages to Moon also emphasize this:

NSH: Moon? Moon, are you able to communicate?

NSH: Moon? It's me again.

NSH: I need to talk to you. I need to know you're okay.

The fact that we are provided two of these broadcasts and not just one seems to point to the idea that these are not the only two Sig sent. "It's me again." There is more desperation in her tone compared to the messages he shares with Suns, possibly because he's more comfortable expressing his profound distress with Moon because they're closer. A part of me headcanons she...never stopped sending messages. He needs to know she's okay. You can even find a green overseer in outer expanse and subterranean, locked out of the facility but still searching, still looking for any sign of Moon...or Hunter.

When Sig sends Hunter to Moon, the pearl he sends is goofy and lighthearted. He doesn't want to bring her down when she's already suffering enough. It's short, and sweet, because anything longer would probably devolve into something unpleasant. She's holding the words on that pearl together with tape and glue. Once again, hiding the pure grief he feels for the sake of others.

I also think that's why Hunter is sick. Once again, pure headcanon, but Sig mentions this on the pearl:

Excuse the unorthodox delivery method, equipment eroding etc etc.

I kinda interpret this as Sig pushing herself too hard to make Hunter in time to save Moon, and in turn, irreversibly damaging himself in the process. An emergency shutdown occurred after he ignores the 50th pressure warning his systems desperately tried to get her to pay attention to, causing Hunter to become sick thanks to the sudden disruption in his concentration, much like Pebbles and the rot. This is also why no other messengers were sent after this, Sig simply couldn't make any more that were healthy. She loved Hunter, and I fully believe that, as Hunter's last vision in the void sea was to return to his arms. Continuing the pure headcanons now, but he treats Hunter like a daughter and knits her a scarf for her journey. She tells Hunter that Moon is her mom. She gives Hunter a name, which were held in very high regard in ancient culture, a gift so she can at least be remembered for her sacrifice: "Hunting the Stars, Moon's Savior."

All and all, Sig is desperately trying to delay the inevitable, watching the walls of loneliness close in as she loses contact with friends, slowly encroaching on her until he's locked up in a box. Alone.

HOWEVER!

I for one, absolutely adore the goofy, flirty personality the fandom gives Sig. I really do believe when he isn't in extreme emotional distress, she is like that. The motherfucker uses tildes in his texts and teases Suns and makes jokes about slimers and lizards. I just like peeling apart the little snippets we see of him, which are mostly at pretty low moments unfortunately, and just seeing what I can extrapolate from that. Even if some of my headcanons are far-fetched and shit, I do at least try to keep most of them at least slightly in character with some explanation.

I hope you enjoyed my unhinged rant about my favorite guy!!!! I put this in google docs and its literally like, 2.4k words, I could genuinely have turned this in to one of my fucking college courses LMFAO. It's probably better than some of the garbage I DID turn in tbh. If you want more I am totally happy to provide, cuz I could make a whole OTHER ramble about Hunter that's just as long LMAOOOO

(Oh also none of this applies to rot au Sig. that freak deserves her own post bc at this point he's 50% oc and 50% No Significant Harassment Rain World LOL)

[topazadine]

Good Motivations for Continuing to Write

I think it's so important that we be realistic about what we are aiming to achieve when we write. This motivation is what makes it possible to continue when things get hard and we're feeling stuck, and it needs to be something that deeply, instinctively drives you or it won't stick.

But I need to put a huge, important red flag warning here.

Fame and fortune cannot be your primary motivator.

Yes, it's possible to make six figures a year with writing, even if you self-publish.

You really shouldn't listen to someone who says this never happens and that all writers are broke pathetic losers. Rather than being "brutally honest," it's more likely that said advice-giver has not been able to achieve any success and is bitter about their lack of sales, so they project and insist no one can succeed. Crab in bucket mentality.

However, making a steady income from creative writing takes a certain kind of person.

Rich authors have skills that are completely outside of writing. This includes marketing and promotion, networking, and consumer research; ie, a lot of business skills.

Yes, even tradpub authors need to do a lot of their own marketing; getting with a publishing house isn't an excuse to coast. From speaking to tradpub authors, I have learned that marketing teams don't do anywhere near as much as you think they do to help you.

It is of course possible to learn all of these skills. There are tons of excellent free resources out there, as well as books and manuals by successful writers. You can also take courses at your local community college in marketing or business. This is both way more affordable than a four-year university, and they are often more accommodating. Plus, you're supporting your community with your tuition!

But you have to have the desire to learn that, which takes a lot of work. You have to be the special kind of author who enjoys both the business side and the writing side.

In some cases, you have to be willing to shell out a ton of money to contract ghostwriters. (Which I think is lazy tbh.) Quantity is the name of the game in writing, so you have to keep pushing yourself to produce more. Most of us do not have ghostwriting money. And you'd still need all the other skills or you're just throwing money away.

So, if you are not willing to do some or all of these ...

Develop and pay a marketing team

Teach yourself those skills

Take business classes

Network with everyone

Get a degree in publishing

... then yes, you are likely not going to make a lot of money from your writing. You need to decide if you are okay with that.

Personally, I look at it this way: it's wonderful if I do make a ton of money from my writing or get famous or whatever. Of course I'd never turn down cash.

BUT if those things did not happen, and I was a nobody forever, I'd still be happy with my work, because I am proud of it and enjoyed the process. I am motivated by a few different things, which I will explain after I share a list of motivators.

Now that we understand that, here are some of the most positive reasons to motivate you to keep going when you feel trapped by the narrative.

Hold them close and don't let them go!

Improving your skills

Building community

Meeting like-minded people

Expressing your innermost thoughts

Satisfying the human urge to create

Learning and growing as a person

Trying out new things (for the research!)

Working through your own problems

Escaping from the real world for a while

Examining real-world issues through art

Looking at yourself and others in a new way

Understanding complex problems

Teaching others what you've learned

Creating imaginary friends

Making others happy

Many writers are motivated by multiple of these, or even all of them to different degrees. Sometimes, it's not clear what your primary motivator, and that's okay; as long as something is pushing you to keep going, it's not always necessary to psychoanalyze it.

For me, I'm motivated primarily by these factors:

Improving my skills

Satisfying my urge to create

Examining real-world issues through art

Working through my own problems

Applying my education by teaching others

Making others happy

Honestly, even one person enjoying my work makes it worthwhile. I was especially proud that my mom liked my book because she's my favorite person, and getting her approval is very important to me.

Knowing that I gave someone a few hours of relief from their problems is incredibly gratifying. I have spent a large portion of my life escaping into other worlds through books; they've gotten me through difficult times and given me comfort. Being able to pay it forward by doing that for someone else makes me feel like I've made the world a better place, if only in the most miniscule way.

It's nice to get royalties, and one day, I hope to break even on the money I've spent on self-publishing (yes, you do have to invest funds in self-pub if you want to do it right). But ultimately, selling just one or two books is great, as long as the consumer enjoyed it and felt they got their money's worth.

Also, as I've mentioned in previous posts, writing has helped to break me out of my shell because I'm one of those writers who craves verisimilitude. Wrong details can really break immersion, and I don't want that.

In a fantasy world, I get to bullshit a lot, but any time there is anything analogous to reality, I need it to pass the sniff test. That has led me to take up new hobbies and research things I'd never cared about otherwise. Like, did you know that there are 128 grasshopper species in Mongolia?! Holy shit! There are over 10,000 different grasshopper species worldwide! That's insane!

Anyway, maybe you don't really know why you write, just that you do.

These questions might help you find your motivator.

What kinds of reactions give you the most pleasure? Someone liking the plot, or the characters, or the worldbuilding? What are the best compliments you've received about your work? If you died and people were talking about your writing, what would you want them to say? When you're really struggling with writer's block, what gets you out of it? What is your favorite part of writing? Is it the research, the wordplay, the character building? Would you be okay if no one ever read your writing? Why or why not? What's your worst-case scenario for writing (other than never selling anything)? Is it someone saying that your writing is unrealistic, or that it's melodramatic, or that the characters feel undeveloped and flat? Why did you begin writing in the first place? Was it to express yourself, share stories for other people, work through personal issues, get attention? What would be the greatest award you could achieve for your writing? Don't just think about literary awards but anything. What if your book won the Nobel Peace Prize? Or got you an honorary degree from a university you like? Or recognition from an organization you admire, like NASA? If you think about it carefully, that can give you an understanding of what you really care about deep down. If you were interviewed about your work, what would you want the interviewer to ask?

It's so important to have something to drive you, and I hope you find it.

If you enjoyed this, consider picking up a copy of my debut book, 9 Years Yearning.

9 Years Yearning is a gay coming-of-age story set in a realistic fantasy world with poetry magic, featuring fistfights, horses, and a battle scene at the end!

It'd be the greatest honor to me if you were able to pass a few happy hours reading about dumb oblivious gay men.

[yourgentlegirlfriend]

Hi! I hope you’re doing okay!

This is a very self indulgent request (you do not need to humor it!) but… Leon x a reader who has very bad heart problems.. constant palpitations, heart monitors, constant hospital and doctor visits, and just pure pain and discomfort at the most random times (even worst times.. ie. sex.. out on dates.. ) Obviously reader tries to laugh it off and tells him she’s fine but he’s always worried sick.

Sweetest Anon,

ALL my readers get to be included in any desire they would like!! I will totally do this for you! Just so you know i have very little knowledge on heart problems but tried my hardest for you! I hope you’re doing good and your health stays good angel <3

Warnings: Mentions of heart problems obviously. Slight mentions of smut!!

Who knew Leon Kennedy, the man who has fought for his life and for others far to many times was an actual saint. The best boyfriend anybody could ever ask for.

He always gave you his attention, showering you in affection even in times when you didn’t really deserve it. You felt guilty putting him through so much, or that’s how you phrased it. Leon just saw it as being your lifeline.

Leon cared more about your body than you did, when you first got diagnosed with heart problems after Raccoon City, he sat through every appointment with you, writing stuff down on his notepad as the doctor rambled on about risks and what to do and not. He loves you so much and you’ve always have and always will be his number one priority.

———

When Chris invited you and Leon to his big house party, celebrating his promotion, you couldn’t say no. Especially seeing the excitement Leon held for his best friend.

Pushing up the chapstick lid, rubbing it on your lips before Leon slid behind you, your hand coming to your chest to signal he scared the actual fuck out of you. His face instantly washing with concern as he gripped your shoulders.

“What’s wrong? Are you hurting? What happened?”

A laugh left your lips as you leaned back, your lips pressing against his cheek as you pushed passed him and out the bathroom.

“You’re ready, yes?”

You asked as you slid your shoes on, looking back at him.

“Yes, but you’re not. Here, take your medicine.”

So that’s what he came into the bathroom for. You sighed shaking your head as you looked up at your boyfriend. He kissed your forehead softly, grabbing the keys off the hook by the kitchen.

“I’ll be in the car!”

He yelled as you stood staring at the medication in your hand.

——-

When you guys finally arrived, Leon ran to your side of the door, pulling it out for you with the widest smile on your face.

Chris saw you guys pull up, the door already opening. Chris was a great friend to you both, and you were so proud of his progress, he has worked TO hard.

“Congrats, Redfield I’m so proud”

You giggled as you gave him a quick side hug and a kiss on the cheek before skipping your way to Claire and Rebecca.

—-

The night went on, to many hours passed. You rested your face in your hands as you closed your eyes. Remembering your doctors words, just focus on your breathing. But your heart was pounding, so hard you felt it in your ears. You cleared your throat, excusing yourself from the couch as you slowly walked to the kitchen where Leon sat with all his friends, your hand slipping over his shoulder. His hand reached up, grabbing at yours, him immediately turning to you as he felt how sweaty you were.

Though he loved Chris, he waved goodbye to everyone in an instant. And the moment you guys got home, he helped you out of your clothes and ran you a bath, his hands running through your hair, his lips gently kissing at your shoulder.

———-

“Leon it’s just a heart monitor.”

You whined, half awake as Leon checked on you once again.

“I know, I know but you know I get so worried.. Let me worry”

Leon mumbled as he turned over from his position on the bed, kissing your lips softly. His arm lifted allowing you to snuggly press back into him.

“Worry all you want, I’m going to bed.”

You mumbled quietly as you rested your head on his chest, instantly soothed by the sound of his beating heart.

——

“Fuck, Leon..”

The squeal left your lips as Leon’s hips snapped into yours, your hands scrapping down his back. He was so toned and your hands slid so perfectly over every muscle on his back.

Your eyes squeezed shut, your breath hitching as you shook your head and grabbed at Leon’s shoulder.

“Le..”

Your nickname for him, his hips instantly stopping at the sound of your discomfort.

“What’s wrong sweetheart? Did I hurt you?”

Leon spoke, his worried tone very prominent as he pulled himself out of you, pushing hair from your face.

You shook your head as you sat up, your shaky hand pressing against your chest. Leon’s eyes went sad as he scooted next you, watching as the tears built in your eyes.

“Shhh, It’s okay, here let me get you water..”

———

Leon insisted that you guys go to the spot you guys met, but the restaurant was always so crowded and it made you so moody listening to all the chattering around you when all you want to do is focus on your boyfriend.

But he begged and pushed so much that you finally caved, wearing your nicest outfit. At first you thought he was breaking up with you, by the way the two of you sat in silence in the car, his hand resting on the gear instead of your thigh.

Your stomach started to ache as you twirled your fingers around. The car stopped, Leon reached into the backseat smiling as he handed you a single rose. Just like he did on your first date. You pouted at him before leaning over the center console kissing him softly.

——

Your dinner went fine, and it was actually quiet, the noise of the soft piano music being heard as you watched Leon finish his wine.

He stared at you so admirably. He sighed shaking his head as he reached into his pocket, digging for awhile before he pulled out a tiny box that looked even more tiny in his big hand. Your eyes went wide as Leon cleared his throat, pulling his chair out.

“I love you, and I think I’m pretty confident I’m going to love you forever, hopefully you’ll love me too.”

Leon laughed as he touched your knee softly.

“I’m not a big attention guy, but, for you I am. Marry me.”

Leon whispered as he stared up at you, your jaw slacked open, no words could describe how you felt. You just nodded your head rapidly, Leon’s twisted face turning into the most beautiful smile as he slipped the ring on your finger, pulling you to his chest, the two of you standing.

He pulled away from you, his hand pressing to your chest as he eagerly sat you down.

“Your heart is racing, do you need more water? Here do you want your medication?”

Leon went reaching for your purse as you laughed grabbing his arm.

“Leon, you just asked me to marry you, of course my heart is going to be jumping out of my chest.. I’m fine..”

[marley-manson]

One of the show’s biggest flaws is excusing the army volunteers and its general ‘some army good’ messaging, and as a consequence Hawkeye’s biggest flaw, accidentally, is caring about his friends too much.

Like, totally reading against the text here, this is presumably not meant to be a problem, but it’s one of those once you see it you can’t unsee it things. And to be fair it’s backed up by Bless You Hawkeye lol, it just wasn’t intended to be applied this way. It’s also totally in line with the rest of Hawkeye’s character, and it’s my favourite type of flaw, ie the negative flipside of a virtue, so yk I’m biased towards seeing it.

Hawkeye making friends with Margaret and never calling her out on her politics again (again, not intended, reflective of the narrative, but incidentally fitting for Hawkeye), Hawkeye making friends with career man Potter and softening his anti-army stance, affirming he does respect Potter and reigning in his protests (eg the end of A Night at Rosie’s) and conceding to him philosophically (eg the end of Your Retention Please), Hawkeye supporting Mulcahy’s promotion endeavours and saluting him, Hawkeye warming up to Charles not when Charles’ politics shift (which doesn’t happen) but when Charles supports him emotionally...

Even early on you can make a case for Hawkeye having blindspots where people he likes are concerned - mainly because the politics of the show are wishy washy and vary from era to era and episode to episode and joke to joke, but yk, the point of this is to incorporate the flaws of the show organically into Hawkeye’s character. So you can point to indications of hypocrisy like, say, Hawkeye condemning western cultural influence in Korea in various jokes and statements on one hand and supporting Catholic orphanages on the other hand.

But like I said, this is perfectly in character for Hawkeye, which is why I think it works as a reading for me. I don’t like to take flaws of a show and and use them to interpret a character in a way that feels unintended or contradicts other characterization. But Hawkeye likes people, and he always tries to see the good in them as much as possible, and he has a textual history of downplaying the harm people do in favour of the good things, specifically because he loves them. 

And I think that “love” is the operative word here. It’s not because Hawkeye is weak-willed or has low self esteem or thinks anyone else knows better than he does or thinks he doesn’t have the right to challenge others’ opinions or anything like that. Love is the core of Hawkeye’s character.

Hawkeye forgets Billy pushing him into the water and only remembers him saving him because he loves him. Hawkeye forgives BJ for punching him the instant he apologizes and then lets him cry on his shoulder because he loves him, and empathizes. And if love is sometimes too strong a word, well, Hawkeye also just likes people. He views people optimistically, and always tries to see the good - the cavalier bomber in Dear Sigmund who he disillusions surprisingly gently imo because Hawkeye says he seems like a good guy; the general he has a drink with in Say No More before realizing he hasn’t changed his attitude despite his son’s death; the way that even early on he supports Margaret at times, and sometimes even tries to make nice with Frank...

And it just makes sense to me to take that same logic and follow through with other characters and similar situations. Colonel Potter is a career army man who essentially acts as the warden of a prison as far as Hawkeye’s draftee status ought to be concerned but he’s loveable and therefore Hawkeye loves him. By drafting him the army essentially drove him insane, and Hawkeye’s last gesture to Potter is to salute him.

Margaret is racist, isn’t challenged for it and never has an episode where she realizes she’s wrong in her us vs them worldview, is also career army, and has tried to have Hawkeye and his friends court martialed multiple times (and would’ve gotten Henry executed incidentally if her plan had succeeded in The Trial of Henry Blake) and it’s all forgotten about - yes, mainly by the narrative, but also consequently by Hawkeye, watsonianly.

It creates a very interesting tension when you take these things watsonianly instead of dismissing them like the narrative does, and I’m really into it lol.

[yomawiththeboma]

Wish You Were Never Mine

◈ NAMJOON X FEMALE READER

◈ SOULMATES AU

◈ CHAPTER 1: Mysterious Hatred (1.2k words)

◈ Find the story's masterlist HERE

She did it again, she shouldn’t though even if it brought her a little bit of vanish enjoyment. She looked at her ticking clock, placed on the plain gray wall of the old apartment she managed to rent, her eyes went wide looking at the arrow move and settle to three, it’s an hour since her sister finished school and she was supposed to go pick her up. To her surprise she heard the door bell ring, she quickly hid the blunt in her pocket and got up marching to the door to open it.

“Y/N!! Open the door, I have forgotten my keys again!” a faint muffled voice was heard from the other side of the door. If it was anyone else other than her sister, she would have been in big trouble.

“I am coming! Calm down!” Y/N yelled back, stopping in front of the door and opening it welcoming the twelve years old who was whining about how heavy her bag was.

“Thank you for picking me up from school. I was really happy to see you on parent’s day today” she muttered, stepping inside the house with a small frown on her face as she threw her bag on the armchair. Y/N looked at her with pitiful eyes seeing her younger self in her sister.

“Look Minjin, I am sorry, okay? I didn’t have enough time and got indulged in work.” she said trying to find an excuse for forgetting to pick her up.

“So I wasn’t worthy of half an hour from your precious time, right? At least you would have got me from school, but no! All you did was smoke your stupid weed without paying attention to me. Not even considering your soulmate’s health!” she fired back feeling devastated about how her sister was ruining herself and the other stranger holding on to their link.

“Didn’t I say don’t bring my soulmate into this?! Not because you are my sister mean that you can bring my soulmate into this! Behave yourself before you see something you wouldn’t like at all!” she glared at the younger girl who wouldn’t shut her mouth.

“You won’t be doing anything, I don’t think that you want to lose me again, do you?” The silence that followed was deafening. “That’s what I thought.” with her last attack Minjin got up taking her bag with her leaving her sister standing in the middle of the living room remembering the painful memories.

The lady got up taking her keys, phone and her wallet. She will need it greatly today.

Standing inside the greenhouse, a tall man with a pair of reading glasses and a book in his hand, he looked ethreal in the white shirt and a light green apron. The bell rang yet the male was too engrossed in the book to care about the door.

“Gosh Namjoon, won’t you leave that book for a moment? You have been reading it since yesterday!” the shortest spoke furiously making the other one chuckle at the way he spoke.

“Yoongi hyung is just worried about you Namjo—”

“Fuck no I am not! I want him to give his friends some time and search for that foolish soulmate who is not doing anything except for hurting him!” Yoongi cut his friend off to spit some hurtful truth.

Namjoon sighed feeling his hyung’s words pierce his shattered heart. He closed the book putting on the side. Taking off his glasses he looked at his friends and sighed for the millionth time this week. “You were saying something, Hoseok-ie hyung?” he spoke putting the book down as he glanced at his older friends.

“Uhhh… do you want to hang out with us?” he asked hesitantly as he took a quick glance at the notification he got making a mental note to reply later.

“Where are you going?” he questioned, taking off his apron and hanging it on the counter.

“We will meet Jungkook and Jimin at the cafe that Jin hyung is working at, they said that we are doing something new.” he answered nervously not really sure if his friend would like to come.

“Something new? You are going on a road trip?” he frowned, taking his jacket in his hand and the other things in his black backpack.

“We will know when we arrive, now let’s go.” Yoongi’s stern voice was heard as he had little to zero patience.

The younger of the two nodded and quickly left the flower shop as they didn’t want to annoy the older hyung. Namjoon didn’t have to worry about closing the shop, someone else was responsible for such a job.

Hoseok was talking on the phone listening to his soulmate tell him to bring a few things for her on his way back home, while Yoongi was staring at the road in front of him with one hand on the wheel and the other resting on the window. In the backseat, there was the silent man who wasn’t that happy with the thought of the reckless soulmate that the universe set him up with. She always hurt him and never cared about his or her health. He didn’t know whether she was going through a hard time or she just simply didn’t like him to the point that she was hurting herself so he would feel the pain.

“Namjoon!” he flinched the loud voice interrupting his thoughts.

“We have arrived, where is your mind?!” the eldest huffed in annoyance before the door car was being opened making the poor man flinch again.

“HYUNG!! We missed you!” a big buffed up body fell on him making both fall on the seat as the man’s giggles were heard.

“I missed you too, Jungkook. Get off of me please, I can’t breath.” the silver haired man wheezed out.

“Sorry~” the youngest answered, getting up.

The eldest of the three got out of the car while Namjoon was still in a daze, still talking and greeting his friends. The five got inside the cosy cafe, they finally met their oldest hyung, who was wearing a black apron with a light rose shirt underneath it and white trousers. He was serving a customer when he noticed his friends coming inside the cafe.

“Oh! Jin Hyung!” Jimin waved his hand as the eldest smiled and motioned for them to take a seat till he finishes his orders.

They sat down on a table near the big glass windows with small smiles on their faces. After a few moments, Jin came and sat on the empty chair beside Namjoon and placed his hand on his friend’s thigh.

“So my dear friend, did you find your soulmate?” he asked, making the man slump down in his seat. A small ‘no’ left Namjoon’s lips with a small sigh followed.

“I wonder why you didn’t find her or why she didn’t search for you? It’s been eight- almost nine years hyung.” Jungkook spoke with a frown marrying his features.

“Maybe she doesn’t want me.” he muttered sadly before taking a deep breath to collect himself, “It’s okay.”

A tall man entered the shop with a teenager who looked like she was complaining about something. Hoseok noticed the age gap but shrugged it off as he tried to eavesdrop on their conversation.

“You didn’t tell us where are we going.” Yoongi said, trying to change the subject, making Jungkook smirk.

“Street fighting!” Jimin yelled, making their eyes widen.

NEXT

[littledead-ridinghood]

Yes sorry Ollie is a cop. He is a cop in the way nearly every DC hero is a cop and part of copaganda. We have multiple articles on how all super heroes are cops but that you can enjoy them and find catharsis anyway. Ollie gives people justice who are ignored by the system and Ollie is a cop are both true that's ok. You can look up super heroes and copaganda on youtube and find multiple nuanced videos.

okay, I wasn't going to respond to this at first, but this is my opinion on cops in the dc universe. It's not fully fleshed out yet, I feel, but I've been mulling it over in my head for months, and is something I've wanted to talk about for a while now.

Plainly speaking, I think cops who work with vigilantes are inherently bad cops. Vigilantism is illegal and when cops team up with vigilantes, they are adhering to their moral code rather than the law ie copaganda.

It's a play on dramatic irony where we as the audience know more than the characters in the story. We can see Detective Jim Gordan, for example, working with Batman (who were told is a good guy) because he knows the GCPD is corrupted and he can't trust his fellow officers. Therefore, because Batman is headlined as "the good guy" in these storylines that reflects on Jim Gordan making him, in turn, "a good guy." We're told to view him as such because Jim's morals are "clean," "see he also wants to clean up Gotham City, so he's partnering with the people who are actually trying to do that."

The problem is that in these instances, Gordan is adhering to his morals over the law where his morals are to protect the people where the law says to protect property. We can say that it's for the greater good, but that doesn't change the fact that it's illegal, argo, making him "dirty". And that is copaganda! Upholding Gordan for breaking the law because "he knows better than the institute" is literally some of the most common copaganda in media. It's right next to writing cops as if they're your friends so that people will instill trust in the institution (think B99).

Cops and vigilantes should inherently not get along because vigilantes would not exist if the system--if cops--worked. But the system doesn't work, so these individuals take justice into their own hands via criminal action. Now, we look at these heroes and say "yes, they're criminals on a legal basis, but we understand that morally speaking, they're doing good work." Jim Gordan doesn't have the luxury of that grayness. He can try to clean up Gotham, but once he starts doing so outside the law, he, himself, is also a criminal and an accomplice.

Personally, I don't think your moral compass should start and stop with the law because the law isn't always morally correct. Many laws throughout history have been created by those in power to stay in power. And if you can't recognize how the law can be used to impede on others' natural rights then you have an unholy amount of privilege. Having said that, most fiction where cops are allowed to uphold their morals over the law is written as them protecting the people (as stated with Jim) rather than the real-world equivalent where upholding "morals" is usually off-the-rail abuse of power. This is where cops use the excuse "I thought they had a gun!" and jump straight to brutality rather than assessing the situation and attempting to talk a person down. Because it's not actually about morals like portrayed on t.v. but, again, that idea that laws exist to keep the top on top.

I disagree with your statement: "[Ollie] is a cop in the way nearly every DC hero is a cop and part of copaganda." Maybe I'm splitting hairs here, but this is a very "a square is a rectangle, so a rectangle should also be a square" kind of argument.

I think characters can have instances of copaganda (any story that has cops in it is inherently copaganda, even if portrayed in the worst light possible, for the simple fact that cops are present) but, that doesn't make them a cop.

By saying Oliver is a cop, I presume you mean because he goes after criminals, which completely undermines what a cop is. That's like saying an attorney of law is a cop because they work in the legal system to prosecute the accused i.e. going after criminals. Cops exist to protect property, uphold the law (but they have no legal obligation to protect the public a la DeShaney vs. Winnebago(1989), Town of Castle Rock vs. Gonzales(2005) and re-enforced after Uvalde in spring '22), and was created to control weaker groups of people.

That's just not how Ollie's portrayed. Oliver is portrayed as an anti-fascist, social justice, cop-hating, criminal. He's literally juxtaposed with cops. Holding himself accountable in law is not an endorsement of the legal system but rather a stance in his morals that no one is above accountability which is how the law should work. You can say all of his writing, just by including cops, makes his comics copaganda, but that doesn't reflect on Ollie as a character endorsing the police nor does it "make him a cop". Copaganda reflects on cops as an institution and how writers want us to view them. Oliver is literally one of the characters whose stories actively revolve around him sticking up for those who are victimized by the police. You said it yourself, anon, "Nearly every DC hero is a cop." You just happened to pick one of the ones who falls into the small minority of non-cop abiding.

Furthermore, though I assume you mean Oliver metaphorically embodies what role cops fill, in the literal sense as well, your claim is fundamentally wrong because Oliver Queen has never been an actual cop before either. Someone who would fit your sentiment would be Dick Grayson who has been written in the role of an officer before (literal) as well as upholds the system as best he can (metaphorical).

The difference between Bruce, Oliver, and Dick in their inherent "all stories that have cops are" copaganda is that Dick and Bruce both constantly get aligned with cops by others including the police whereas the Police actively hunt Ollie down because they see him as a threat to their power. Ollie actively hates cops. Bruce and Dick (usually) actively don't. Ollie works against the Police whereas the other two work with the police so much so that, again, citizens relate their brutality to that of cops.

I was reading Hal and Ollie's road trip arc a good handful of months ago (of which is about the dichotomized relationship between Ollie "loud and proud leftist" Queen and Hal "before his rebellious phase" Jordan), and one of the issues was made up of two stories. The second one is of Hal and Ollie at odds over the best way to solve something via the authorities or good ol' fashion revolution, but I want to focus on the first half of the issue. It takes place in Gotham where Officer Bullocks literally commits an act of heavy Police Brutality against a gang of older teens and young adults who wronged him(they trashed his entire apartment) and he gets away with it because he "felt bad." It was horrifying to read; there was no accountability.

So I agree with you, there is a wild amount of copaganda in comic books both because of writers' political beliefs and views on the world (bullocks getting away with it because the writer thought it was fine) but also in the context of the stories. An example of in-story writing would be the first thing Jason ever said to Bruce in rebirth: "You want to beat up on a kid, go enlist in the G.C.P.D. like every other bully in this city." So in the context of the batman universe, Jason and people like Jason (i.e. the weak and vulnerable) do relate vigilantes to cops because they constantly see them working with each other. Dick Grayson was a cop for a period of time joining the Blud. police department because "those were the morals his father instilled in him." And I could go on and on about the faith comic characters constantly put in law and order.

Oliver holding himself accountable under the law, though, is not endorsing the system like Bruce and Dick do, he does not place his faith in law and order. That is him actively taking a stance saying he is not above the law. Where on most cases, Bruce does view himself as being above. And even when Bruce admits to going too far, he will never fess up to the public that he, Bruce Wayne, did it, whereas Ollie doesn't allow himself to hide behind his persona. A big difference between the two men is that Oliver being Green Arrow is very public knowledge and Bruce tries to hide his life as batman as best as he can. It all comes down to accountability.

Now, you sent this about Ollie, so why am I talking so much about him in relation to Bruce. That's because Ollie and Bruce are constantly being related to as the same, usually in the vein of "well, they're both hella rich with no powers who play dress up, right?" But this is a complete misunderstanding of Ollie's character (for one, he's not rich, or at least he's not supposed to be).

I think this constant water-downed view of Ollie is what allows people to project Bruce's less-than-iron beliefs onto Ollie.

There are decades worth of canon where a core of Ollie's is the fact that he can't stand cops and doesn't believe the system that's used now can be saved, only mitigated as something better replaces it. He holds himself accountable for his actions as Green Arrow because he knows that just complaining isn't enough. He needs to step up as a leader and not just help overthrow a discriminatory institution but actually actively help rebuild it. Whereas Bruce actively believes the system can be saved. Most notable that comes to mind right now is the new Batman movie where Bruce, in his final monologue, just saw how the cops failed to protect Gotham from the riddler, but states how, just like the bat symbol is now established with hope, he now has hope that the police can do the right thing. He doesn't learn that the current system will never truly work and instead now believes that it could work (when we know it can't).

If you want to focus on copaganda in DC comics, Arrows just aren't going to be your strongest contestants. Because Copaganda does exist, but your best bet is going to lie within most bat-adjacent characters who literally try to uphold that system. Or you can look at lanterns whose stories not only are about literal space cops but have also deviated from Hal Jordan rebuilding his moral compass and calling out the guardians for their fascist tendencies to turning Guy Gardener, a man previously written as to be a notorious cop hater, into working in the Baltimore P.D. as an actual cop. Those groups have the basis for talking how police are glorified. Arrows just don't have that historical canon for a strong argument.

[gmwsuperfan5467890]

Other Opinions on American Housewife

I just posted an opinion on Triplor and why I am not a huge fan of the ship. Here are my other opinions.

-Katie>>>> Greg. Katie is more aware of her flaws, which makes her really likeable (to me), while Greg sometimes acts like he is a saint for putting up with Katie, which rubs me the wrong way. Though most of the time, he loves and accepts his wife for who she is, so I’ll forgive him for that.

- The cliffhanger of Katie being pregnant at the end? Horrible. She clearly does not want any more kids. She is always talking about how tired they make her and how she can’t wait until they all leave for college. Now you’re telling me that she is going to do it all over again for another 18 years?! Let this woman relax and enjoy the empty-nester life, she doesn’t need anymore kids!

-I just remembered another reason why Greg makes me mad. There was an episode where he kept on badgering Katie about having another kid and she kept on telling him no and then he got pissed and acted like she was the villain???? Excuse me sir, you’re not the one who has to be pregnant for 9 months, then push that baby out of your hooha and then take care of that baby for most of the time, so shut up. And then the episode’s ‘happy ending’ is Katie considering having another baby to make Greg happy. Oh fuck off.

-One thing I have not seen addressed. Katie and Greg are in crisis mode when they hear about Taylor hooking with Trip but them hearing about Oliver and Cooper preparing to touch their girlfriends’ boobs is okay to them?? Keep in mind that Oliver and Cooper were like 15 max at the time while Taylor was older than them for all the instances this type of thing happened.

-I am neutral on Anna-Kat and Franklin’s relationship. I usually don’t like the trope of little kids dating because I find it weird, let kids be kids. But in this case, it’s more realistic. When they start ‘dating’ their relationship does not really change, they still act like how they used to and when they have big moments like the ‘proposal’, it’s not played seriously, which I appreciate.

- One thing I love about the show is that the characters and their dynamic with each other are so complex. For example, Anna-Kat is her mother’s favourite, which would theoretically mean that she wouldn’t lack any love or attention yet she craves the love and attention of her siblings yet there are times where she is excluded or isolated by them because of Katie’s favouritism and because she is much younger than them.

- I also loved how creative some of the episodes are: for example, the episode where the hoodie Katie picks determines how the rest of her day goes was so engaging to watch and definitely one of the best episodes of the show.

- I also liked that every season had a big event that the characters had to work towards ie the gala, prom and election.

- Doris and Angela deserved better, they needed more plots and more backstory. I think it would have been interesting to have an episode in Angela’s or Doris’s perspective. Or they could have done an episode every season where it was in the perspective of a different housewife.

-This show has a diversity problem in general, to be honest.

-This show has a lot of disney/Nickelodeon actors. Two examples I want to point out because I haven’t seen people talking about them: the guy that played Lonnie is from True Jackson VP and Audra was in that Girl Meets World episode (I think it was called Girl meets She don’t like me).

-The actress that plays Katie’s mum voices Beatrice Horseman! And she is in Shrinking (10/10) show

-The general consensus here is that Oliver and Cooper are in love (which I 100% agree) but have we talked how Brie and Charlotte are paralleled to them which in my mind means they are also in love. Brie and Oliver are both bi and had feelings for each other but those feelings were not as strong as the feelings they had for their respective best friends, while Cooper and Charlotte are both gay and suffering from comp-het. Like I’m sorry, the whole, ‘Whatever my best friend does with their SO, I have to do exactly the same’ thing is really gay.

[sauriansolutions]

Me: my kink blog needs more kink content... I'm going to write burpcanons for my favorite characters!

Also me: oops I accidentally just wrote an entire character analysis essay about Jade ;;

Yeah uhh... idk why I'm like this? I'll try again another time... but if anyone wants to read my way too intense whoopsie attempt, imma throw it here~!

my main jade headcanon is that jade's excessive politeness is just a mask to hide his more twisted core (see what i did?) 

But i can also imagine a jade who genuinely values social etiquette. Maybe it's an anxious/ASD insistency on "rules"--he learns an effective rule, (ie, burping in public is *always* rude), and unless he has legitimate cause to update (say, he learns burping is considered a compliment in the Scalding Sands), he'll continue to follow this rule rigidly forever. 

This would generally work well for jade. But it might make him seem unapproachable in a different way (*too* polite! Suspicious! Is he a robot? What's his deal?)

The other problem is, such a system could easily lead to jade holding himself to an unrealistic standard. If he ever did slip up, (letting out a loud burp in public by accident,) i could see this leading to excessive embarrassment and self-recrimination.

I can imagine a child version of jade coming to the realization that his predatory nature scares others away, realizing that he needs to find *some* way of appearing more approachable, if he ever wants to "fit in" and make any friends besides floyd and azul. Even among the trio members, i think jade is legitimately the scariest--he's as smart as azul, as strong as floyd, and he also lacks their innate social skills (potentially toeing the ASD/psychopath line).

A really cute, kinda sad idea: what if little jade asked his grandma tried to teach him "proper etiquette?" And she does... but, because she's from a totally different generation of merfolk, it's rather antiquated? 

Jade's parents and teachers make things worse by encouraging this... because, c'mon, a ten year old politely bowing and saying things like, "my goodness, please excuse me!"... is actually really adorable. 

This leads to jade developing a persona that's very respectable and charming. 

Yet he'd still come off pretty eccentric, and he'd have an especially hard time relating to other kids his age. While mer kids would just find his behavior and speech patterns stuffy and outdated, on land he'd definitely come off as the most "foreign" of the octotrio, as the high-class manners he learned are specific to an older generation, *of the northern coral sea.*

Unfortunately, i think azul would also strongly encourage jade's overly-polite personality change... but this is because azul sees how uncanny and frankly terrifying *this* jade would be as a business associate. 

This isn't to say i think azul would intentionally sabotage his friend! Rather, i think azul a.) Respects jade to the extent i doubt he'd believe himself capable of manipulating him, and b.) Wants to be like that himself--outwardly perfectly polite and respectable, secretly capable of being as cold and ruthless as necessary. 

I think this whole, "being envious of a character trait the other believes is a serious flaw" component of jade and azul's relationship has tons of angst/introspection potential, whether used as a kink thing or not. 

Kink example: jade accidentally burps during some meeting or social event. He excessively over-apologizes, and smoothly directs the conversation on. Everyone, especially azul, comes away with a higher opinion of jade--"oh jade is so courteous~ wow, even when he makes a (totally reasonable) mistake, he goes so far out of his way to apologize, what a gentleman~~"

What they don't see, is jade secretly reprimanding and hating himself. Endlessly agonizing, recommitting to a standard of absolute, inhuman perfection that is 1000% fear and shame driven. Believing that anything less will make others hate him, (even more than they probably already do!)

Meanwhile azul is like, "i wish i could commit to *that* level of self-destruction! I'll just have to try harder~"

One last thing re: jade/azul's messed-up dynamics, then I'll move onto jade/floyd. I think, tragically, that jade and azul secretly idealize each other--hyperfixating on their strengths and successes, and minimizing/completely overlooking their flaws and failures. But, because they're snarky bitches to each other to hide their vulnerabilities, they both believe the other holds them in disdain and contempt, when in fact, the opposite is true. 

And because they're both intelligent, driven, hardworking, and self-sacrificing, jade and azul have not only accidentally grown to become each other's perfect enablers--they've tricked themselves into believing that they like this arrangement. 

Floyd time!

Regardless of whether they had to eat their siblings to survive or not, i hc that jade always took on the role of the "parentified" twin. Now, floyd is a prodigy in many ways: strong, stubborn, and dangerously creative... but i think he's only able to be this way because jade was there to be the anchor twin. Unlike floyd, jade can be relied upon to be unflinchingly stoic. Jade's always (needed to be) the one who can make the hard decisions. To do what needs to be done, without crying or complaining. And, no matter the toll on his body or soul, move on to the next thing, seemingly unaffected. 

The Leech twins are, especially in life-or-death situations, actually highly complimentary and really effective together, in these roles. That said, the twins' dynamic, especially in "normal" situations like making friends and going to school--could easily veer into toxic codependency. 

And since jade is the anchor, i think floyd was probably really, really upset when jade first started developing his polite personality. 

Initially, jade's attempts at becoming this "new" jade probably led to a lot of pushback from floyd. And I'm talking fighting, pleading, complaining, full-on tantrums, tearful threats of abandonment, and basically anything and everything floyd could think of (and he is Dangerously Creative), to get jade to go back to behaving like he did before.

But a combination of jade's stoicism, stubbornness, and refusal to back down from his decision in any way eventually led to floyd more or less accepting that jade is going to do what jade is going to do. 

There was also comfort in the realization that, no matter the outward facade, jade was still jade

[birdiedoesdc]

do you have any little dolly tidbits? what was her past like as an east sider? (is she actually a drug smuggler 👀)

OHOHOHO. i do in fact have a handful of tidbits, presented here at random.

(for those not in the know, dolly is jason’s old lady friend found in these fics!!)

she never married or had biological children, because she thinks marriage is a hassle and a waste of time. she has, however, had countless lovers across the spectrum and numerous unofficially adopted children. (ie jason)

i also can imagine her doing foster care for a little while when she was younger!!

re: the drug thing: listen. LISTEN. i think she probably was a middling but but hardworking mafia henchman in her younger days, before she got bored and retired to work a perfectly boring and respectable office job as a secretary or something. did she maybe cause trouble for a string of shitty bosses? sure. but that’s her right.

nobody bothers her because they respect the work she did in the past, they respect the work she does now for the community, and they also know that she’s a damn good shot with a pistol and will not fucking hesitate

i think that dolly’s place has become a sort of halfway house for kids caught up in shady shit. a sort of neutral spot. if they need to stay in the shady shit, she helps them navigate it. if they want to get out, she helps them with that too. there’s no judgement. just understanding.

(this is why the panicked kid bruce was interrogating blurted out her name, because in that moment he very much wanted to get out, and bruce was so eager to jump on the excuse to Bond With Jason that he did not bother to doublecheck. worlds greatest detective my ass)

i also like to think that she and alfred are actually some kind of acquaintances. once jason gets over being so totally mortified by this, his next thought is that they must have met through dolly’s brief shady escapades and alfred’s shady…everything. nope!! they met at some entirely mundane and unrelated senior event. they spent the whole event in the corner bitching to each other. this is pretty much the extent of their interactions, although it now includes amicable custody exchanges involving jason.

dolly: so you get him for thanksgiving—

alfred: and then you have him christmas morning, yes. you’ll have to take him friday, as i have an appointment.

dolly: understood. is it too far to work out easter

jason: WOULD YOU PLEASE STOP TALKING ABOUT ME LIKE IM NOT HERE

anyway. dollys experience in her mafia career and helping kids in bad situations means that very, very few things can phase her. at some point she’s going to find out jason is red hood and her reaction is just going to be. sigh. you silly boy. are you wearing layers when you go out?

also, because he’s a fucking dork i do believe jason considers dolly to be his best friend <3<3 but he would only admit under EXTREME duress

[jnnul]

ready for love

a/n: decided to take a page of out of zo’s book and post a teaser myself lol. this one is a real rollercoaster, i’m ngl guys so lemme know what you think!

word count: 588 words (teaser only)

tags: slice of life, friends to lovers but also...it’s complicated?, everything is just complicated for no reason in this fic they’re just dramatic af, jaemin and y/n are platonic besties

"y/n loves dogs!" jimin exclaims, and you can feel your heart's walls crack a little further. there were many things you could handle - a cute boy with a dog? that was a little out of the realm of control.

"really? oh you'd love ray then - he's a big dog but he's got a lot of love. sort of a gentle giant," juyeon says, his eyes twinkling as he pulls out his phone to show you his wallpaper. it's a picture of him and ray curled up next to each other, sleeping in bed, both of them in the same exact position as they snored away.

"i swear, him and ray are the same soul in two different bodies. i've seen this guy have full on conversations with his dog. which would be weird but it kinda just works for them somehow. i kinda think that ray genuinely does understand juyeon," jaehyun snorts, nodding at juyeon's wallpaper. "that was when ray was still a puppy and he would copy every single thing that juyeon did."

juyeon shrugs, smiling as he tucks his phone back into his pocket. "not much has changed there, if i'm being honest."

you're about to say something about meeting ray when your phone rings abruptly, rudely interrupting the conversation. you frown as you flip your phone open, looking at the contact profile on the screen. jeno?

"hello?" you say as you answer the phone, pointing to the restroom as you excuse yourself from the table. from the corner of your eye, you can see the waiter coming with the bill for your table and you vaguely register the fact that only two cards are being put on the table (jaehyun's and juyeon's) as you make your way somewhere a little more private.

"hellooo? y/nnnn-ie? you stilllll at your, huh, date?" jeno slurs into your phone and you hear someone in the background, presumably jaemin, trying to convince jeno to stop himself from saying or doing something stupid.

"yes, jeno, i'm still at my date. that you interrupted, by the way," you say with a frustrated sigh. you check your watch and realize that it's only 9:30 PM and jeno does not sound like he's been taking it easy on the alcohol. "why are you drinking jen?"

"whattttt, so now i'm a shitty lover and i can't, heh, drink?" jeno grumbles into the phone and it's clear from the sudden silence in the background that jaemin has completely giving up on wrestling jeno's phone out of his hand. you had firsthand experience with drunk jeno - he turned into the hulk.

"jen, if you called me in the middle of my date to go off the rails about how you're a lonely fucker, i'm going to kill you," you hiss, smiling at the lady who comes into the restroom as you weren't threatening your best friend with murder.

"I'M NOT A LONELY FUCKER!"

oh, so this part jeno could say without hiccuping or slurring his words. fantastic. you sigh, switching your phone to the other ear as you wash your hands, getting ready to leave the restroom. there's a pregnant pause where no one says anything but you can hear the top gun theme song in the background so you know jeno's on the line.

"if - if i change, will you not go out with juyeon?" jeno mutters finally, just as you're leaving the restroom. "if i finally start getting serious about relationships, will you not go out with him? will you come home?"