#pandora's box has been opened and you can't put your feelings back

[thebongcloudopening]

not to be serious on main but if there's one thing I learned that I want to pass along to other trans people it's that closeting yourself to appease others doesn't work. I girlmode all the time and yet it's still not, and will never be, enough for people. You wear girly clothes, they wonder why you don't wear makeup. You wear makeup, they wonder why you don't shave your legs. You shave your legs they ask why you haven't just done laser hair removal. No matter how much you pretend for them there will always be something else they deem different.

[yamst3rdamctrl]

When Sexual Desires Clash YN Story

Chapter 4

Omniscient

As Michael kissed Y/N all she could do was melt and let him overtake her. She has not been touched by a man in so long she did not know how to react. Michael broke the kiss by looking at her. Michael then asked while looking her in her eyes, “I need to know this answer now. Do you give me permission to do whatever I want to you? That includes me being rough and doing whatever I feel the need to.” Y/N looked at him and she thought to herself that she has always been the one to take control and she would love to finally have a break.

“Yes, as long as you make me cum.” Y/N said boldly knowing she was scared out of her damn mind. Michael then said, “I’m going to make you nutt so many times you’re going to cry and be soo sore you can’t walk. Do you understand me, if so lets go to my room?”

Y/N followed Michael like a little lost puppy with a towel wrapped around her, not even knowing what she was getting herself into. Michael opened his room door and let himself come in and opened the door for Y/N. Michael closed and locked the door and then pushed Y/N to the door and kissed her like his life depended on it.. Both of them fought for the dominant place while kissing, but Y/N backed down due to their talk they had just a few moments ago. Michael then started to kiss down Y/N while she was on the door.

Once he got closer to her sweet, sweet nectar, he lifted her leg and kissed her outter lips. Y/N moaned at the kiss, and once he then parted her lips and started to lick on her clit. Michael then spit on her clit and went to work. All she could do was moan while trying to hold her composure. Michael began to get sloppy and add two fingers. "I hear you trying to suppress your moans. Keep doing that, and I'm going to make you scream since you wanna play." Michael then got up and grabbed Y/N by her neck and dragged her to the dresser with a mirror. He then walked up behind her and looked at her in the mirror and made her bend over. "So you wanna play like you don't wanna moan?" Michael questioned with dark, black lustful eyes. Y/N started to speak, "It's nothing lik... FUCK!" Before Y/N could even speak, Michael had shoved his dick inside her pussy and started off at a hard, fast pace.

Michael wanted to wreck her and leave her wanting more. Michael wrapped his hand around her neck and kept pounding into her. Michael did this for the next 10 minutes and before Y/N knew it she had a knot in her stomach. "I feel that Nutt coming back, cum all over my dick." Michael gritted through his teeth. "I'm going to uhhh.." Y/N couldn't finish getting her sentence out when she came due to Michael fucking her into submission and through her orgasm. Michael then moved her to the bed and crawled on top of her while sliding his dick in her slit without any friction.

Michael put his left hand on Y/N hip and his right hand on her throat. When he started, she felt as if he had awaken something in her. Y/N saw the look in his eyes and said, "I need you to cum for me daddy." Michael never had this type of feeling with Lori and when she said that he started fucking her harder. He then said, "I'm going to cum all over your stomach.. omg...". He then nutted all over her. They both laid there out of breath. Michael got up and gave Y/N a warm rag to wipe off her stomach, but to her surprise he did it for her.

They exchanged no words because they were left with no words. Y/N broke the silence and said, " I can't lie that you fucked me up." Michael said, "Good, i enjoyed you and this not the first and last time I hope you know." Y/N laughed and said okay before going to her room. Little did she know she opened a door that she would have never thought it would be.

Y/N opened Pandoras box and would never close it! Her life would forever change after that encounter.

And boom.... I got more smut to come for yal!

Next Chapter I need 15 likes since yal showing me love

[thepointofme]

fake dating is definitely one of my favorite tropes eveeeeeeer and ive been thinking for a while about a cherik fake dating au with a twist where raven and the kids become really invested in charles' romantic life and his capacity (or lack of) to get someone into his bed, to a point where sometimes raven will try to be charles' wingwoman (even tho he definitely didn't ask for this). charles used to indulge her a little in the beginning but then he started to be very adamant in his refusing, and angel is the one to nonchalantly let out a comment about how she bets the reason charles isn't dating anyone else is bc he's dating erik in secret "who goes to a strip club and keeps ogling your friend instead of naked women?" and its like opening a pandora box. now the kids can't help by analyzing every move charles and erik do around each other, they fully believe they're dating in secret "there's only so much chess one can play" "the way erik looks at the professor like he wants to take a bite" "i knew there was something off about them, like there's a tension there i could never put my finger on" and they think charles is keeping it a secret bc he's worried the kids might not support them (not bc erik is a man but bc erik is... well, erik) so they keep making ominous comments about how they want charles to be happy and etc until one day charles can't take it anymore and read sean's mind. he's half amused half horrified and tells erik who's only amused (and secretly smug) about it. it finally makes sense why the arranged dates have stopped, and after a conversation with erik about it over whiskey and chess (and bc charles really wants his students and his sister out of his business, thank you very much) he just. let them think they're right. they even act their part. instead of acting like a couple to convince the kids they're together they do the opposite and try to act like they're NOT together to keep up with the act. rather than an explicit pda, they're performing with those longing glances and feather touches, always trying to act like they're hiding something when someone walks into the room (sean looks at them with wide eyes before trying to compose himself, or raven with that dangerous and delighted glint in her eyes, hank always looks a little constipated) but it definitely comes back to bite them in the ass bc now charles has to acknowledge the tension he also knows its there, and it gets harder and harder to pretend he doesn't feel anything when now it seems that erik has a even stronger magnetic pull (ha ha) and he cant keep his eyes off of him or cant keep himself out of erik's space. not that erik is any different, every time he's in the room charles feels the back of his neck burning with the weight of those eyes on him (plus the kids' eyes looking at them). it goes like that until erik loses his patience and kisses charles (in a very non-friendly-non-pg13 way) against the library's wall, holding him with firm hands around the waist. charles can't help the tiny wet moans that keep leaving his mouth without permission, and they're so lost in each other that they fail to notice alex opening the door until its too late.

[satureja13]

New Chapter!

Home cr happy home! As soon as they jumped out of the TukTuk, the Boys ran down to their Underground Police Station to look after Tiny Can. How had he been able to repair himself after being blown up? And where did he get all that money from to pay for their school fees? ö.Ö'

But Tiny Can wasn't at the place they left him. This little brat! Of course he was hiding somewhere, fearing Saiwa's wrath. Saiwa: "Spread out and find him! Dead or alive - I don't care. As long as his memory is still intact so we can track where that money came from and give it back. Gods, we are going to jail if this comes out!" Jack tried to defend his (t)rusty friend: "Sai, we don't know what happened to him. I'm sure it isn't as bad as it seems and ..." But Sai didn't listen and kept spitting: "Damn - I knew he was trouble!We should have left him at the temple to rot for the next thousand years! It's all your fault, Jack! You took him with us!" It hurt Kioyshi that his mate got scolded, but he knew that it was useless argueing with Sai when he was in his rage state. And so he hushed the others up and out to search for the lawless tin can... Kiyoshi sighed, he knows that Jack doesn't care much to be Sai's punching bag. More than that, it's a labor of love for his oldest friend.

Jeb and Ji Ho started to search their home lot. Since Tiny Can can even fly short distances, he could be anywhere! Jeb winced internally. Again, Sai is so, so furious. Jeb really needs to find ways how to deal with Sai when he's like that. Or better, ways to take this self-destructive anger off of Sai. And the blame he mortifies himself with. They are all to blame. Not only Sai. This has to stop.

Even though Ji Ho was travelsick and drained again from teleporting, he kept on searching. He even tried to suppress his feelings to not upset Vlad and keep him from their task. Vlad would come back to him immediately if he knew how exhausted he really is and how much he craves Vlad's healing and comforting touch. But this has to wait. Finding Tiny Can is more important than their 'indispositions'... Who knows what has happened to him? Ji Ho doesn't believe Tiny Can broke the law. Tiny Can helped him get his feelings back so Vlad and him can finally be together. Only - Tiny Can also put the influence his grandfather had over him with that spell into the Therapy Game. Ji Ho thought it was to make him so angry to finally open the Pandora's Box with his hidden feelings - to protect his friends. But what if the Council was behind all that? And they called Tiny Can back to extract the evidence he gathered - to use it against them? Ji Ho ran faster - despite his body's hammering ache and desperate pleads for some rest - and Vlad.

Kiyoshi, Vlad and Jack called the horses to search the surroundings. Vlad was torn. Of course he knows how negatively teleporting affects Ji Ho's (and his own) well being and it must be even worse now that he has his feelings back. Vlad would skip the search in an instant to care for Ji Ho but he also knows that Ji Ho would never accept his ministrations at the moment. In fact, rather the opposite. Ji Ho would be embarrassed to cause a fuss and make it even harder for his friends in need. So he kept on raking Tomarang. Ji Ho would send him away anyway.

Not many creatures are able to reach the Otherworld. And no one can stay for longer, so it was pretty pointless to ask the few people who are currently lingering here if they'd seen Tiny Can. But hope is the last to die. As Ji Ho, Jack can't believe either his tinny friend did something illegal to get them into trouble. Tiny Can's actions weren't always clear to them - but Jack is sure he always had good intentions. When Tiny Can let Jack getting killed or set Lou up with Caleb in the Therapy Game, Jack was upset and felt betrayed - of course he was. But in the end, all that Tiny Can did was to help him. He helped all of them. And they owe him. Without Tiny Can, he never would have been able to be mates, just mates with Kiyoshi and he never would have found ways to deal with his (many) disorders.

Kiyoshi rode over to the temples to talk to Arturo, but he also had no luck. One would think that Tiny Can would have ran for shelter to Arturo, who offered the Boys the circuit board with Tiny Can's AI 'to help them through this'. But Arturo didn't see him. Nor had he heard any gossip about a stray Astromech in the Otherworld from the visitor's of the temples he cares for. Surely someone would have noticed him.

And while the others turned every stone in Otherworld's Tomarang, Sai tried to catch a signal from Tiny Can to track him down. But it was as if he was wiped from the planet. They have no internet or phone reception here in the Otherworld, so Sai even connected his computer with their 'Post Office Device' to find a trace of him in the Muggle World - to no avail. And how could Tiny Can even reach the Muggle World without them teleporting him there? No, he must still be here in Tomarang. This little piece of junk must have supressed his signals! Ach, Sai distrusted this rusty tin can from the beginning! And he knew there was something foul about him. Even months ago, he already suspected the Council behind! But they all had been too excited about the Therapy Game and finally getting some help... And Sai had been too confident in his abilities to make it secure for them. But he utterly failed. The blame is on him and him alone. He never should have allowed Jack to bring Tiny Can among them. And he should never have installed that circuit board with the AI into Tiny Can. He created a monster that was bound to destroy them in the end. If the Council now has evidence they stole that much money, no one would be able help them anymore. They would get sentenced and sent to jail and that would incite even more hatred against creatures! All the creatures, in all the worlds... The creatures they are supposed to help. They are a shame and a threat for their community.

... to be continued

'Boom boom, ready to use my body Using the entire city of Seoul as my stage Nod, nod, your head I don’t want to be locked up Gather the crowds, let’s break the taboo We need to spread out Or else we might become scarecrows We can make empty lots into royal spaces This is the peak, don’t exit out now To the left, to the right, rock all night'

Block B - Shall we dance (Real Ji Ho's (and my favourite) group)

From the Beginning 🔱 Underwater Love 🔱 Latest

Current Chapter: starts here with this post :3 Last Chapter: 'Here comes the Sun' from the beginning ▶️ here

📚 Previous Chapters: Chapters: 1-6 ~ 7-12 ~ 13-16 ~ 23-28

[419jhat]

Getting Old With You

🎄 Steddie Christmas 🎄

Steve deals with getting older by realizing he wants to be a Santa and Eddie is just along for the ride

It starts when Steve blows out his back with a sneeze.

“Babe, you're fine. This is life, we get older and we stop working like we used to,” Eddie says.

“I’m dying,” Steve says dramatically. Eddie rolls his eyes as he rubs his back. “I'm one step closer to death. Buy me a coffin, I'm basically useless.”

“You're thirty-three,” Eddie deadpans.

Steve spends the rest of his week having a mid-midlife crisis, calling Robin for support because nobody else seems to understand. Well, Robin doesn't either but she makes him feel a little better about it.

“Why don't you start working out again? You used to be really fit in high school,” she suggests.

Steve looks down at himself, wondering when he let himself get so out of shape.

“Oh God,” Robin says, “I can hear you thinking. This is going to become a thing. Just forget what I said, you look fine-”

Steve gets a gym membership.

First, he runs. Then, he makes some friends and starts lifting. Next thing he knew, he was in a Pilates class working on his flexibility, which Eddie appreciates very much.

He feels pretty great about himself and attributes his aches and pains to the price of sticking to the gym. Max makes fun of him when she catches him flexing but he doesn't even care, because he's a little proud of his progress. Eddie thinks it's stupid when he starts tracking his food, but comes up with wacky recipes to get in that extra protein.

Then, on one horrible day, Dustin walks downstairs and says, “is that a gray hair?”

The room goes silent. Robin sends him a dirty look.

“No fucking way, Henderson. It's got to be a trick of the light,” he says, as he rushes to the bathroom. He makes Eddie angle a hand mirror into the wall mirror so he can see the back of his own head and gasps with horror when he sees that not only is Dustin correct, but his hair is also thinning.

The horror.

Dustin tries to backpedal, but it's too late. Pandora's Box has been opened. Steve has begun to lose his personal war against aging.

“Oh my god. Oh my fucking God, Ed, is that a bald spot!?”

Eddie looks closely, and says carefully, “I think it's always looked like that.”

“WHAT!?”

“I mean, no! I think. I don't know!”

“You look at me every day and you don't know if I'm balding!?”

“You look as hot as ever!” Eddie says.

HairGate leads to all sorts of products piling up on the bathroom counter. Steve stops wearing hats, because he's heard that they can mess with your hairline. Eddie puts his foot down when he wants those prenatal vitamins that are supposed to help promote hair growth because, “Steve, you're not pregnant.”

This is a dumb reason in Steve's eyes but he agrees because he doesn't want Robin to find them and tease him about it. He keeps working out, adding to his routine. Lathers himself in lotion and sunscreen, because he thinks the crows feet in the corners of his eyes are a little too prominent.

When he's forty-five, his parents die. He gets the call about his dad on an already shitty weekend and the next about his mother three months later. Their funeral is difficult. Eddie holds his hand the whole way through, and Steve takes in his husband's gray hairs and how they won't be able to stick together forever, like they'd promised. The stress of it all makes him drop the gym. He tries to start up again but it's shockingly difficult after such a short break that he leaves, embarrassed with an ache in his left knee. Robin stays with them for a bit, and he wonders what he would do without her. How the pain of losing either of them would probably take him like it took his mother.

He decides to grow out his beard. Maybe change can be good.

On his fiftieth birthday, the party walks around him on eggshells, like he's about to lose it. Logically, he knows he's being ridiculous. He can't *not* age. He has to deal with his own sense of mortality eventually. But he just doesn't want to. He, maybe ridiculously, finds it unfair that he's stuck in a body that doesn't work like it used to. That he looks in the mirror and feels like time flew by without a warning. That the fragility of life feels more prominent than ever.

He's cutting the cake when Lucas and Max’s youngest, a baby with lovely dark curls, points at Steve and says, “Santa?”

The room goes quiet.

“Laura, that's Uncle Steve!” Lucas says with the kind of embarrassed laugh a parent gives when their kid does something stupid. Steve looks down at himself. He's wearing a red sweater. His stomach is a little pudgy since giving up the gym. He knows his hair has turned into whatever the equivalent of salt and pepper is for brunettes, but his beard was always prone to more grays than the rest of him. He looks at little Laura’s smile, and how excited she seems.

“Isn't that her first word?” he asks.

“Uh,” Lucas says.

“Oh my God, Laura! Your first word! Santa Steve!” Max cackles.

Steve reaches his arms out to hold Laura and smiles wickedly, a tinge of pride in his chest when she giggles and grabs at his face.

“HA!” he says, “she likes me more!”

“Of course she does, you're the guy who lets her do whatever she wants,” Lucas grumbles. But he's smiling and so is everyone else.

The idea sticks in Steve's head. He and Eddie go to the mall that Christmas to browse presents and they always do, and Steve watches the Mall Santa for a moment longer than necessary. Eddie ducks into a store and he's walking over to the guy dressed as an elf before he can even think about it.

“Uh, you have to wait in line,” the guy says.

“Oh, no. I just wanted to ask, how much does being a Santa pay?”

The guy looks a little surprised.

“I'm not sure, but it's definitely above minimum wage. It's a seasonal thing and kind of hard to do, so they definitely get paid more than the elves,” he said with a little laugh.

“Really? It's hard? Don't you just have to talk to kids all day?”

Steve's a teacher and he volunteers at the community center. He's very accustomed to talking to children. Kind of an expert in it, really.

“Oh, no way dude. Chris speaks three languages and knows sign language,” he says, gesturing to the Santa with a thumb, “you have to have the laugh, the beard, and you have to go to Santa school-”

“Santa school?” Steve interrupts.

“Yeah, it's actually pretty competitive.”

Steve wonders for a moment if he's being pranked. Then, he spots Eddie waiting for him behind the massive line of children, looking confused.

“Isn't that cool?” Steve asks, a little excited.

“Standing in line to take pictures?” Eddie asks.

“No, babe, look how happy the kids are. It's so sweet! And the guy who plays Santa is super qualified. I had no idea that they had to go to school for it. Did you know that?”

“Wow, that's pretty intense,” Eddie says.

Steve watches Chris the Santa bring a smile to the face of everyone he looks at, and wonders.

“Steve? Are you ok?” Eddie asks.

“I want to do that,” Steve says. “I want to be that.”

“Wait, what?”

Eddie looks completely bewildered. But Steve feels like he’s had an epiphany.

“I want to be a Santa when I get old! I could be the kind of Santa that visits kids in the hospital or the kids at the community center, since they don't get to go to the mall that much. I could be the kind of Santa that makes people happy anywhere!”

“Wait so let me get this straight. You want to have white hair and stuff?” Eddie asks.

“I mean, it is inevitable,” Steve says with a shrug, like he hasn't been fighting exactly that for the last two decades.

“That's great! I love it! I could get out my old drag stuff and be your Ms. Clause,” Eddie says, but he looks like he's hesitating over something. After a moment, he turns back to the store he'd just been at.

“Where are you going?” Steve asks.

“Returning your Christmas present, since you've completely flipped your priorities about ageing,” Eddie says. Steve grabs his hand and pulls him to stop.

“Listen, I said it was inevitable. Not that it had to happen right away,” Steve mutters, and Eddie laughs. Maybe there's something to look forward to when he gets old after all.

[drdemonprince]

I bought your book Laziness Does Not Exist a while ago, read it and put it back onto my book shelf. Recently after some major life trauma I gave it to my husband to read - he's mid way through and he's constantly talking about his much it's resonating with him while he has tears streaming down his face. He's a cis-het white man who and works in construction development.

Two things, this book saved my marriage and probably my husbands life. Secondly your books and essays ( Empathy is overrated in particular) have been life changing for me. It like opening Pandora's box, I can't ever go back to what I used to think. Thank you.

The way you write speaks the truth into whomever reads it. The perspective you articulate is what so many of us feel but can't find the language to describe. In your books and essays. It's also a perspective for anyone who doesn't experience burnout to understand.

This isn't a question its a comment of gratitude. Your work has changed my life in so many ways. I will keep buying your work, and ill be giving it as gifts to many people.

I hope to see your work as a required read for anyone who works with the public. And I hope to see you thrive and enjoy your life in the most fulfilling and peaceful way possible. We all deserve that. Thank you again for sharing your mind with us all!!

omg wow its so crazy that what i experience as just frenetic hamster wheel running inside my own mind has an impact on people in the world!!! thanks for the kind message, and for reading.

[maguro13-2]

STREET FIGHTER X TEKKEN EXPLAINED!

Ryu : (Sighs) Another day, another fighting tournament go off the scales. Oh well, can't be too hard on that, might as well make a geniues effort about giving ourselves to that kind of experience of the Blanka makes pound cake thing. Glad that didn't happened. I might as well spend the day with this crap sandwich.

*Hears something landing*

Ryu : Huh? What's this? Looks like something has left from a galactic civilization. I wonder what's this doing here?

Ken : Dude. I think that's called the Pandora's Box, it was probably left it from the Sky and nobody would noticed that someone left it hear from unknown reasons. It could be Alien power.

Ryu : Aliens, Ken? Look I'm not into a sci-fi person, but whatever this is doing on earth, I wonder how are supposed to deal with this machinery? If it's ancient like my ancestors then so am I.

Ken : Who knows dude? Maybe it's a just a worthless artifact or something.

Kazuya : That box is not worthless, it's highly rare.

Ryu : Kazuya.

Kazuya : Long time no see, Street Fighter. What a shocking coincidence on finding this contraption. You found Pandora's box and I found out it first.

Ken : Actually, we're the ones who founded first, we've been like this since the 80s and 90s, we've been like this for over a decade or a year two. Since we are the only guys of the FGC, we're doing something respectively, for anyone in Fighting Game don't know what the heck are we fighting over for?

Ryu : It's an amazing discovery that we found the name of Pandora's Box, which is a some kind of alien device thingy from outer space and it contains deadly, evil, power.

Ken : Worse, it could be anything that might be deadly, evil, power thingy.

Ryu : We've already know that. Look, Kazuya. This is what you've been digging on earth and I do believe that Pandora's Box is simply a misfit to science we're taking this guile to for some experimental research.

Kazuya : But we found first, so it's ours for research.

*the two fights over Pandora's box*

Ryu : it's mine, back off!

Kazuya : No it's mine! I found it first!

*Ryu and Kazuya straining angrily+scene cuts*

Ryu : Good job, doofus. You got our two companies involved of fighting over a stupid box. What kind of plot device was that?

Kazuya : Consider it yourself, an idiot.

Ryu : Yeah, we felt like this over a day since your son met at a crossover strategy game by the guys who made Xenoblade Chronicles which Shulk was never in, do you believe that, Monolith Soft never put Shulk in one crossover game by that video game/toy company and this is our respect for a new demonstration, all the games in Japan were popular in the day since 1980.

Kazuya : Well, at least, that the powers of Pandora did not opened.

Ryu : Wait what?

Xiaoyu : *Straining* Uhh, guys? Why did I feel so evil in my system...?

*DBZ SFX : Powering up*

[Sacred Dark by Keiichi Okabe plays]

Xiaoyu : WAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!

Ryu : Wait a second, this wasn't part of our deal of fighting over the box! We don't remember everyone doing that!?

Jin : *straining* My heart, my soul, my everything...

*DBZ SFX : Powering up*

Jin : RRRAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHH!!!

Blanka : Blanka don't fee so good.

*DBZ SFX : Powering UP*

Blank : *screams furiously*

Kazuya : Aw Crap! We opened the powers of Pandora Box!

Ken : I knew that device was from space people! We should've destroyed that thing in any minute! I told you having crossovers with you guys, is all your faults!

Kazuya : What? We told you that we wanted to take Pandora's Box for research, but these idiots involved we're supposed to be possessed by it's power that turns everyone evil!

Ryu : At least you were supposed to have yourself scheduled in this crossover for a fight in the packet!

*The fighters are in Pandora Mode and going beserk*

Ryu : Oh man! What have we done!? I knew crossovering with you guys was stupid, but the entire world is in chaos of because of our responbility, fighting over evil in a can is such a stupid idea, thanks a lot to our irresponsible selves all thanks to your stupid shenanigans.

Kazuya : Well, at least you don't have a proper material to bring that to science in order to save world, Mr. Snoopy pants!

Ken : Should we even save everyone or we're just gonna stand here and watch the super deadly, evil, alien power take control of our mind, heart, and soul?! Is that a yes?!

Chun-Li : You idiots! What have you done!?

Cammy : Do you have any idea what's going on?! We're you idiots trying to doom the entire world!?

Anna : It was all his idea to find that stupid box and has super deadly, evil, powers that turns everyone evil which is known as Pandora Mode.

Nina : What!? I-[stutters] Kazuya! You son of a gun! Look what you did to everyone! Now the whole world's doomed because of your stupid shenanigans!

Kazuya : Nina! I can explain! I can fix this! No problems needed to be done!

Heihachi : Kazuya! Look what you've done to me!

Kazuya : Oh boy. I guess he's involved with this too.

*Heihachi is in Pandora Mode*

Heihachi : You did this to me! You did this from your foolishness! YOU ARE A MENACE, YOU HEAR ME!?! YOU ARE A MENACE!!!!

Ryu : But we didn't meant to...why did we even...Oh no, no no...!

*Ryu falls down on his knees+looks up into the sky*

Ryu : WHY DID WE EVEN CROSSOVER WITH THEM!?! WHY!?!

*Why is echoed*

*Imaginary Scenario ends*

Kazuya : And that is why I told you before, I did not even want to impress shenanigans over evil devices that could doom us all and I meant you that, I don't deal with anyone in my plans having responsibilities for any occasions, no idea of how I got into a situation between those guys.

Ryu : Look, I promise that this time we'll get it right and not do any of the super bad stuff. Promise me that you'll do it right when the time is right.

Kazuya : Oh yes, that reminded one thing about it...Do you happened to know if this is gonna work between us, I mean my sister is coming from town and I have a meeting with her.

Ryu : That tomboyish sister of yours...Who was her name again?

Kazuya : Reina...Reina Mishima. That's my sister's name.

Ryu : Wait, nobody in the fighting game community that you have a sister. How is that even a plot twist...

Kazuya : Around 30 years?

Ryu : Unbelievable. Also, they just found out that this showing Juri's toes thing is not my cup of tea, I need that to get memory wiped out and never do it again, but I promise that it would be a great deal for us to handle our situations with the perverted stuff happening in our minds. Blank memory space. All good in with the program.

Kazuya : Same to you, that really happened when Nina once wore her classic outfit without weary any shoes like me, I don't wear shoes but mostly I do during battles.

Ryu : What?

Nina : *blushes* H-Hey! Don't get that idea on me! You said wanted a player character without wearing shoes, so that's my idea of not wearing shoes before I wore shoes in my suit! Same goes to Lili who doesn't like wearing shoes.

Lili : Hey, that only only happens from modders or even in customization. I don't know why I got that mixed up.

Ryu : So we all agree that we can finally show how much appreciation from all the players that we've shown in the FGC, do we make ourselves clear?

Kazuya : Clear as ever...

Mai : Hey, guys! Guess what!? I decided to ditch my appealing costume that I wored for years and decided to wear black, I got a fresh new suit for my new kicks!

Ryu : Now I understand why I was upgraded into this.

Mai : Probably like a next day, Tuesday next day. You know what it is, I'm feelling glad that I don't even wear red anymore, I wear black now and that appealing costume made look appealing since SNK decided to drop the red.

Ryu : That is the reason you were banned from Smash because of that appeal.

Mai : ....It's true, I thought showing a little skin would be too much to deal with. Why didn't anyone think about it before I started wear black.

Goku Black Hmmm...I like your appreciation.

Mai : See? This is exactly the reason that I promise it won't be a bad thing and cannot be affective anymore. Everyone likes this get up.

Terry : Good thing that everyone wore a belt on their crotch, no offense, but...I think we're good since we joined the roster by Nintendo.

Heihachi : Hello, boys and girls. I'm back!

M Bison : I just got back from today's travel to the mall!

Kazuya : Yep. There is never going to change that. This never gets old.

Ryu : Here we go again.

*iris out*

[vltra-mayhem]

VLTRA MAYHEM DEVLOG MARCH-APRIL-MAY...

*Hello there! Apologies for the wait, I have been trying to figure out how to open my drafts since I usually write them down separately across days, but I see now that I should not do that to avoid leaving you all in the dark for too long. On top of that, the game's progress had been put on a TINY break due to the main developer going on a vacation. But now that she is back, we can continue on!

*Anywho! Vltra Mayhem has been going pretty well! I have been given a lot more information to share with you all today, so I hope you are all ready!

*To start off simple, let's start with the battle system.

*There's a lot to say about it, but I'm allowed to talk about some stuff that is already fully implemented! Such as the Bullet Hell Battle System which has been seen in games such as "Undertale" and "Deltarune".

*The plugin used to emulate that kind of battle system is called "Synrecs Understriker Plugin" since the game is made in "RPG Maker MV".

*The devs are very happy with these things! It's a struggle trying to get everything you want exactly how you want it with the limits RPG maker brings and the non-exsistant ability to code.

*On top of that the battle UI has been changed ALOT, The screenshots above do not display it, but it currently looks like this:

*It's pretty neat looking, if I do say so myself. The Pulse Meter also known as the "HP Bar" and The Sanity Meter also known as the "MP Bar" both displayed neatly in the boxes at the bottom. *As you can see the bar on the side that's The Spirit Bar but more widely known as the "Team TP Bar"

*Moving away from the Battle System, let's talk a bit about the overworld a little! *Something that Pandora (The lead developer) tries her best to do is make the overworld as fun and interesting to go through as possible by adding a lot of NPCs and such, all with unique and silly dialog! Here are a few:

*That's all :), It's not, but we can't show ALL of it! Where would be the fun in THAT. *Anyway, Aside from NPCs there's being put a lot of work in the tile sets and the environment of each map, for example the… The demo area's map is supposed to feel very sweet, calm and homey, and they seem to do their best to success in that! *So far the demo is just about 60/50% done it seems, and they can't wait to share it with you all! *Another thing, so I, was informed to inform you all about is the fact that Vltra Mayhem is looking for PIXEL ARTISTS to help create stunning imagery for the game such as tile sets and more! A couple more applications are open, so please feel free to check the application link below! * Application link! *That's about all I've got to show! I hope you enjoyed, and we hope to see you at the end of June to share more! Enjoy your month of Pride, by the way!

[nosuchthingasagruffalo]

S2 Chapter 3

Charlotte kicked off her boots and flopped onto her bed. She was finding this assignment made her feel more weary as the weeks went on. The more she thought of her brother the harder she worked, she took extra shifts and brought her work to her quarters, but now she was starting to feel her brain fog, every day rolled into the next and she stayed away from crew drinks and group holo parties. She heard a beep at her door and pulled on her boots, expecting her managing Lieutenant she stood to attention. As the door open she froze.

"Instinct is driven by subconscious micro calculations. The brain making sense of fragmented observations. Instinct tells me I should leave you here, not involve you. To take you from here will compromise the safety of us both, there are other parties who are involved who will be displeased by this action."

"So why are you here" Lottie responded.

"Because I need someone whom I trust. Because I need someone who is willing to open the Pandora's box and face the consequences with me. Because there's no other officer who has your tenacity, strength of character or quest for justness" An eyebrow lifted "Well there is, but when she finds out what I'm doing, who I'm watching, she will have me scrubbing the nacelles for the next three decades"

Lottie smiled "well seeing as I'm her daughter she will up my sentence to four decades, just so you know. Seriously though, if you're doing this for us, for Amal, you really don't need to become entangled in this messy shit that is our family's cause and curse,"

Seven frowned "your family, sorry, I hadn't thought, I , oh"

Lottie didn't often see the ex-Borg stutter or lost for words, she took a step closer "Seven, Commander, I'm sorry, I didn't mean you aren't our family, of course you are, you're a big sister to me, you know you're an integral part. It's just, I don't want to drag you down, we and especially mom have had such a big impact on your life that hasn't always been for the best, I'd feel guilty if you threw away the chance of a happy life to be part of our spiral into darkness"

Seven put her arm around Lottie "if there's one thing I have learned about human relationships and families. It's that they are dysfunctional, chaotic and perfection, in their own way. Messy shit as you so eloquently put it. If you want to leave with me you can. You'll re-join Abioye's ship, you will be in engineering, I don't want you too visible, you will quietly observe, we will meet off duty and off the record".

"You know I'm not going to say no, I need to message Niamh though as she's due to visit me in two weeks"

"No need, I spoke to her before I left in anticipation of your acceptance"

Lottie's mouth hung open as she watched the woman before her turn away to hide her smirk "One day you'll be wrong about me, but not today I suppose".

*********

The Janeway apartment - San Francisco

Kathryn opened the box, inside was Amal's baby booties, a mother's day card, a badly painted Flotter picture. She heard a noise and looked up.

"Hello dear wife, fancy seeing you here"

"Chakotay, I'm sorry I've been away so long, I've got so much to tell you. I wanted to see the kids too, I didn't realise Lottie was going to be gone so long. I wanted to see them all before I set back off again. Chakotay, I don't know what I should and should not tell you.."

"I don't want to hear anything Kathryn, it's over don't you understand. You can't bring him back, you can't chase his ghost. You need to focus on those of us still here"

"Chakotay, I can't do that, just listen if we can make his death mean something we co..."

"No Kathryn, this ends here. Nothing good will come of this. For your family you need to let it go, stay here, do you even care what I, what we all think?"

"It's not that" Kathryn could feel her voice raising "to ask me to let it go, do you understand me at all? Did you ever understand me?"

"Did you ever care? Really? As in see anything from my perspective? Not even work, just what I might think, I know you love me but I don't think you respect me as someone equal to you. I can't just wait around wondering what you'll do next. If you can't stay here, if your need to be the hero outweighs all else, well it's best for you to stay at our Indiana place for a while, on the off chance you're on Earth anytime soon."

Kathryn expected to feel white hot rage, to wish she had an airlock to throw her husband out of, but instead she felt ice coldness towards him, he was letting her down, he was holding her back. "Well, I guess it ends here. I'll call the kids" she tucked the box under her arm and walked to the door before the tears that had unexpectedly started to sting the back of her eyes threatened to fall.

*** USS Voyager

Captain Tuvok raised an eyebrow as he lifted the cup of tea to his lips. "Admiral, I see you have updated your emergency contact to one Phoebe Janeway"

"I knew you would have done your due diligence Captain, I trust you have updated on all the systems"

"Indeed Admiral, is this something you would like to discuss with me? As a friend, off record"

"No Tuvok, I don't even know what to think myself anymore. There will be a time, but for now I've got bigger things to worry about. I've had further reports of Amal being in some sort of assignment, I don't know who for. But it seems someone recruited him out of the Academy nearly a year ago. Who they were working for I don't yet know. I need to investigate further but I need a mission to cover my investigations, so I thought I'd rejoin you. Seems like you have an assignment I can tag along on that will seem like I'm nicely out of the way?"

"Very well. However knowing the former Commander and yourself as I do, being separated from T'Pel, unsure of the status of my marriage may I offer.."

"Tuvok"

The Vulcan composed himself "Apologies, yes the planet, it's home to microscopic life. First contact will likely never meet the regulations of the Prime Directive but Command has identified a strong intelligence. Our mission is to determine of there is any threat posed by these life forms and to take action if so"

"I think that's just the sort of challenge to distract me" smiled the Admiral.

****

Lottie sat with the junior officers at the mess of the Essex. Seven had explained the suspicions she had about her Captain and Lottie suggested the best way to get more information was to target anyone in the know when their inhibitions were lowered. "So Commander Never Chat On Duty is your godmother then? Gee I'd hate my private life being in the tabloids from the day I was born". Lottie grimaced, these days the press left her family alone but when Voyager returned from the Delta Quadrant, the Captain pregnant with the father being eventually revealed as her second in Command, the rumours and headlines had taken a few years to abate.

"Yes but I haven't really spent much time with her over the years, she was MIA with the Rangers for a bit, I suppose didn't want to slot into our family the way my mother had hoped. I'm not here to spend time with her. I wanted to serve under Abioye, he has a distinguished record in active service. I've heard of some of the battles he served in, he's a hero."

The Lieutenant laughed "yeah I suppose. A great soldier, a leader? I don't know, he's a yes man. He follows orders to a tee, he's ok I guess. What you'd call a company man, he'll give you chances to try new things though. You like trying new things? I can show you a thing or two"

Lottie swallowed her grimace and tried her best coy smile "maybe another time".

****

Back in Seven's quarters Seven was pacing "What a pig, thinking you're an Ensign who wants to please the seniors, I'm going to put him on the Gamma shift back to back for a month" fury burning her face.

"Auntie, really it's fine, I learned how to deal with those losers my first day in the Academy. Besides if they actually got me back to his it would be me teaching them a thing or ... sorry sorry, that's a joke. It was useful "data" to gather. Plus watch this. Some friends and I on DS5 were working on undetectable espionage, an unofficial assignment from our Chief Engineer. You know we couldn't crack the secondary code before? Well, it turns out the first step is based on musical arpeggios, the rest followed from there and of course I was in and out before I could be detected." Lottie looked out of the window "what side are you on Captain"

"I knew you'd make a fine officer. Send me the files and I'll look over them. We need to know if we can trust him or not" Seven said

"The decoded information didn't make much sense to me, do you think you can make sense of it?"

"Twenty years ago it would be simpler than beating Harry Kim at Kal Toh, but as you know the longer I've been away from the Borg the more my humanity has developed, I've lost some of the advantages my Borg upbringing afforded me."

"So now you can tell when Mom's hustling on the pool table but aren't good enough to be her team mate?"

"Oh Lottie" Seven smiled "If there's one thing Kathryn's taught me, it's how to be s shark at the pool table".

****

Kathryn and Tuvok stood on the planet's surface. At first look it seemed green and peaceful, flowers bobbed in the wind and leafy trees with boughs weighted down with summer fruit. Kathryn detected the microscopic life forms on her tricorders, they felt short electric shocks. "Are they trying to communicate?" Kathryn wondered.

"It would seem so" Tuvok responded, "They are making these shocks at will, the larger numbers they congregate in the stronger the shock. Maybe if we lay our weapons on the floor it will show we mean no harm".

Kathryn nodded and placed her phaser on the floor and was stunned to see a force field appear around it. Suddenly the shocks were increasing and she fell to the floor, she felt Tuvok help her up and they stumbled towards the shuttle. A shock to Tuvok's head and he was disorientated, Kathryn pulling his weight over her back as she opened the door and pulled them inside. At the controls Kathryn found every time she touched them they short circuited. She could only get the shuttle a few feet off the floor before it fell down again. She leaned under the console and pushed two of the buttons at the same time, the shuttle shot up and they sped towards Voyager. As the shuttle entered the larger ship, energy beams from the surface knocking Voyager's shields to less than 50%. Kathryn raced onto the bridge "Ensign Hussein what are you waiting for, get us out of here" she roared.

[kookiecrumb]

JJK || Someway

Chapter Three

previous • next

summary: You go on a non-refundable cruise with your LA realtor ex-boyfriend. Things get interesting.

tags: one bed trope, exes to lovers, mutual pining, stubborn!y/n, vacation, smut, angst, fluff

warnings: jealousyyyyy, explicit language

wc: 1.7K

Jungkook's decision to work out was independent of what happened between the two of you last night. Not that he was completely ignoring your conversation, but it was irrelevant toward his routine. 

That being said, it did affect his performance. A third of the way through, he put the equipment in a resting position and just laid there, his headphones still on and everything, breathing hard. 

He double tapped the drum of his headphones to turn the music off. The sound of clanking weights and grunts could be heard. The scent of sweat and adrenaline was potent in the air. It was overstimulatimg.

He needed to leave. 

Jungkook cleans off the equipment, gets his things from the locker rooms and is about to head out when he spots you talking to the receptionist. 

It totally looks like he's flirting with you. 

It…really looks like he's flirting with you. 

Jungkook's face turns bright red. He can't pull his eyes away from you, laughing and smiling at this mid-at-best guy who thinks he's goddamn Eddy Murphy or some shit. 

But this is what you wanted! This is what you both wanted. Good for you.

You smile and turn your head in his direction. He looks absolutely terrified. He is terrified.

Your face drops and you move away from the desk, stepping towards him, but Jungkook has already scattered. 

So much for that. 

It might be worth talking to him later about it. But then again, what is there to talk about? If you assume that he was upset or jealous of seeing you simply talking to another guy, then that would be opening up Pandora's Box. Confrontation is your worst enemy. 

And what if he confronts you about it? You'd have to defend yourself.

You'd have to defend yourself and he'd quickly realize there was nothing to defend in the first place. Then you'd be seen as weak.

It would be revealed that you're not this strong, confident, put-together woman, even though it's been months. You still want him. Who wouldn't?

You clench the wallet in your hand and drag it off the table, briefly thanking the receptionist before walking toward the yoga studio just beyond the sauna. 

The morning went by quickly, otherwise. The yoga class was supposed to be two hours long, but it had only felt like thirty minutes to you.

It had a wonderful view of the Pacific Ocean as well, with the crescening waves below playing with the sunlight. You felt refreshed after all that stretching and holding, but you were starving. 

It was just about time for brunch. You were feeling some strawberry yogurt and granola with some banana. Back in LA, we call those parfaits, like the French word for perfect. 

Valley girls love French, for aesthetic purposes. You're not surprised the trend has resurged nowadays. In this restaurant, right now, you could point out at least seven girls wearing a jacket matched with a miniskirt. 

Just so fetch, as Karen would say. 

Fashion is meant to be fun. What's the point of being stupid rich if not to spend it, stupidly? Perhaps a shopping trip is in order. You're almost certain that the luxury shops on-board are open for business. 

You imagine it now, another diamond tennis bracelet to match your skirts, or a sapphire necklace to compliment your evening dress. 

Perhaps you'll find another pair of those limited edition shoes from Dior. You've been hunting them down like a hound ever since their release.

You spoon another layer of yogurt into your mouth. Looks like your afternoon plans are in place, some retail therapy, if you will.

"My ex-girlfriend says I'm a good liar. I want to test the theory," Jungkook says as he slides over a Benjamin toward the attendant in exchange for twenty five-dollar chips. 

"Sir," the poor guy smiles. "That's hilarious." 

Jungkook can tell he doesn't actually think the joke is funny. With an awkward grimace, he shovels the chips from the slot between the two of them, pockets them, and walks away. 

It wasn't long before Jungkook sat down for his first game of blackjack with a pint of beer set down on a comically small coaster next to him. 

He didn't budge from his seat until he broke even. It was a good thirty minutes before he was winning money. It took another four for him to consider opting out. 

He was three hundred dollars over his break-even point. He had spectators gathered around him to witness him correctly predict and strategize around the cards he'd drawn. It was a sight to behold.

The stakes weren't high. He was still betting twenty dollars per round, but he was on a winning streak. He could have kept going, easily. 

He pulls out of his chair. He takes his chips. He thanks the dealer, and he cashes in. 

"She was right," he says, folding two extra hundred dollar bills into his wallet. "Now I gotta prove her wrong." 

"Prove who wrong?" A voice that isn't yours says from behind him. Jungkook turns to greet its owner. 

She's a young woman with long, braided hair. Her glasses sit upon her nose quaintly and her eyes are radiant. 

"My ex-girlfriend," Jungkook replies, quickly. 

"Ohh…You're still hung up over your ex?" She makes a judgemental face. 

Now who is she to judge someone's healing process? It takes time to get over an ex, especially if that ex was smart…pretty…rich…

Fuck. Why did he break up with you again?

"Well, yeah. It's normal," he defends. 

"That's a shame," she sighs with a fake pout on her lips. 

"Yeah," Jungkook looks away awkwardly. "Thanks for checking in," he concludes and continues on his way. 

"Waaait!" She exclaims. "I can help you get over her if you really want to…" 

There it is. The perfect opportunity. It's staring him right in the face again and all he has to say is, 'Yes, I do,' at most. Jungkook cannot fuck this up. 

"...nooo…" he says, in a small voice. "No…" he frowned.

The young woman rolls her eyes. "Pf, okay. You aren't even all that cute anyways, and…" Her voice grew quiet in Jungkook's mind as he looked beyond her. 

There you are, carrying fifty million luxury shopping bags, trudging along the hallway with your good pair of sunglasses. It looks like you're on your way toward the casino. 

The girl had stormed off by now. 

That's fine by him.

He's got a bigger problem on his hands, at least, according to him. 

A concierge greets you at the door or the casino lobby. He happily takes all of your bags up to your suite, safely with the exemption of your clutch bag containing all you'll be needing for today. 

You're about to hand over your card so they can register your room, but it seems as if they've already made an account under that number and there's a limit on how many times you can visit a day. 

"Well that's a little ridiculous, don't you think?" you laugh. "You'd be losing money!" 

"We are already losing money, miss. Your boyfriend–" 

"Ex-boyfriend!" 

"Ex-boyfriend has robbed us of two hundred dollars in blackjack just a few minutes ago," he says firmly.  

You're delighted by news of his big win. A feeling adjacent to pride taints your otherwise stern heart towards him. 

"Well, if that's the case…what do you suggest I do meanwhile?" You say, sweetly. "I planned on spending my entire evening here. You don't supposed I could make a last minute reservation for that restaurant upstairs?" 

"No, ma'am…unfortunately, they are booked through and through," he replies with a regretful tone. 

"Like…booked?" 

"Booked," he reassures. "Absolutely." 

After a while of clicking around the reservations on his computer, the attendant goes, "But it looks like you have a reservation here, already, for tonight…" 

You shake your head. "It's him again." 

"Well, it is on there. If you decide to go, you'll be admitted," he says. 

Actually, It wouldn't be the end of the world to have dinner with him. 

The natural solution would be to double date, but the idea is repulsing you right now. You would only be sharing a table. There wouldn't be an obligation to actually talk to one another or hold hands…or listen to each other's stories…or stare into each other's eyes over candlelight…or anything. 

Jungkook appears behind you, hands in his pockets with a smug look on his face. "Haha, you can't gamble," he teases. 

"Shut up. I need to ask you something," You pull him to the side, back out into the hallway. He begrudgingly complies. 

He flashes a smile, bright and charming. "Huh?" 

The sunlight plays with his hair as it sets over the open sea, a gentle glow resting on his face as you speak. "Uhm," 

"Yeaaahhh~" he laughs. 

"Are you drunk or something?" You comment, shaking him a little. "Stop that." 

Jungkook clears his throat and nods. He straightens up. "Okay." 

You're instantly intimidated. You brought him out here to say something, but it seems it has escaped your train of thought. "Like I was trying to say," you pause. 

Jungkook gestures for you to continue. 

"I was wondering if I could use your reservation for tonight. They're completely booked and…you can't book more than one table for a room…" 

He stares at you questioningly, a smirk pulling at his lips. "Huh? A date, then?" 

"No! Not like a date. The opposite of that. I want to eat the food there and you're gonna take me," 

"Y/N, that sounds like a fucking date to me," he nods his head insistently. 

"Well it's not."

In that moment, his stare felt heavier on you than usual. His careful hands wanted to reach for yours and, without a word, hold them close to his heart. He wanted to keep them there. Your breath stuttered. 

"Yeah, it is," he says, softly. 

You turn away. "And I'm the stubborn one?" you mutter. 

Jungkook's eyes wander around you before settling on your shoes. "Anyways, we could meet back at the hotel room and just…go after seven." 

"Yeah!" you reply, a bit too enthusiastically. Jungkook purses his lips to keep a smile from escaping. 

" …Yeah. Okay," you say, slowly. 

-

a/n: I I updating April 15th. No more begging. I have to actually write the next chapter 🤭

[macchiatosdumptruck]

So I was looking at deleted scenes from

CK and came across one where Terry and John are talking on Terry’s balcony after meeting for the first time in years. Then this line from Terry comes up:

“Danny-boy? I thought he was busy chopping prices.” 

In this deleted scene from season 4, Terry’s talking to John who casually mentions Daniel...and clearly, with that response, Terry knows what (Daniel’s) been up to, and has seen him on TV as well. Probably driven past a billboard or two- maybe even his car dealership!

So why then, didn’t Terry...do something all this time? What was it that John did or said that made Terry go off the rails so badly after spending 30+ years living peacefully, and not being bothered seeing “Danny-boy” on TV? What triggered him to just throw away three decades of a peaceful, wealthy, and successful life for a karate dojo?

Honestly, I feel somewhat bad for Terry here. John really opened up Pandora’s Box by being a selfish, scheming, and evil prick. 

I’m new to CK and would like your thoughts on this, if you don’t mind! :)

Also, on a lighter note, Terry’s tone of voice and expression when he says the line cracks me up. Just like a little boy in a candy store. He’s like, soooo pleased to hear about his Danny-boy. The shipper in me giggles! 

And lastly: Terry looked damn good in this scene. Sugar Daddy vibes! Was it the glasses, the sports coat, or the unbuttoned shirt? 😝

Interesting! I've never seen that one.

So, Tig has said some interesting things about the way Terry's mind works.

1. His legacy. Cobra Kai's legacy. It's something unfinished.

2. Daniel not accepting his apology.

(and this is interesting because to an outsiders perspective it doesn't seem like Terry is being sincere. I headcanon that Terry did want to apologize, but less in that way of "I'm going to make amends" and more in the way of "I want this to stop being a problem.")

He says he's taking responsibility for his actions. That they were wrong. He knows this. He's aware. However once Daniel rebukes his apology his attitude does a 180.

"that stuck up little prick."

I don't think Terry is used to not getting what he wants. He was hoping he could apologize without putting much real work into otherwise.

Have you ever met the type of person who was like "I'm sorry I hurt your feelings " but what they really mean is "I'm sorry me hurting your feelings hurt your feelings but it's kind of your fault that your feelings got hurt and it's kind of rude to blame it on me?"

Anyway. At the possibility of sounding like a deranged shipper I do think Terry actually enjoyed spending time with Daniel. Beyond just manipulating him for Kreese. And I do think he would've liked to have been able to have Daniel back in his life. He maybe just never thought it was possible before.

Is Terry genuinely not aware of just how much damage he did? Did he genuinely expect his apology to be taken at fave value? I can't help but think he's smarter than that.

It makes no sense to me honestly, and this is one of the reasons why I desperately need to know what happened between the CK flashbacks and the tkk timeline.

I would have to say though, that what pushed him off the slippery slope was the combination of Daniel rejecting his apology (as was his right) and Kreese (his ride or die hoe so to speak) getting squirly and pulling rank on him the second Terry tries to have an actual emotional and equal relationship with the guy.

He gave up a peaceful life (with some annoying friends, but a hot beard tbh) for this silly little karate war. And he's getting nothing back. He's alone again.

But that's not exactly the question. I think what triggered Terry into giving up his calm life for a silly karate war was that he was bored.

He seemed to have genuinely made a lot of progress in therapy and rehab, and yet it seemed clear that his new persona was just that. A persona. Like a costume he was trying on.

I think Terry's personality naturally lends itself to obsession and addiction.

I think he has issues with his sense of self. Of what he wants and where he's going on life.

There's also the possibility that there was a terminal illness plot that got cut for Terry. Which at first I didn't see, but then upon rewatching the 5th season made sense to me. (But that's another topic)

But why then specifically? Maybe he was able to control his Daniel LaRusso Derangement Syndrome before because he wasn't spending any time with anyone who knew him like he did. And then when Kreese came back into his life he shifted back to how he was in the 80's and he was never fully over any of it. But he could pretend.

(note the dojo scene. )

"you just couldn't let sleeping dogs lie"

Also an interesting note is that obsession can affect the brain in a similar way as addiction, which we know terry has traits of both in canon.

I feel like Terry was living his life but was still craving that rush he gets from the high. Daniel gives him that high. He somehow fought it off until Kreese came and enabled him.

The more I look at it the more it really seems like a case of an addict brain relapsing.

I also believe he has a way of all or nothing, black and white behavior that speaks to BPD, and other mental instabilities.

[bullet-prooflove]

Donna’s Wednesday Radio Show Prompt List #12

Hey guys! As some of may know I do a weekly radioshow on Wednesdays and I thought why not put together a prompt list from some of the songs I’ve been playing. I thought it would bring some fresh prompts into our world!

Feel free to pop any of these prompts with a charcter I write for (You can find these on the pinned post on my blog) into my ASK box!

Also don't forget to put the entire prompt in and not just the number!

One has diamonds in his pockets

Remember the words you told me, love me 'til the day I die

But I can never escape The war inside my skull

But I wonder, where were you? When I was at my worst down on my knees

Broken down in agony

Is she alive?

I'm dancin' on my own 

Sometimes there's bullshit that don't work now

Did you get out I'm wondering where you are?

I see you layin' there with me Like my missing puzzle piece

 all of the lines we've crossed

Trying to save what's left before everything is gone

All tied up

You opened up Pandora's box, You don't know what you just unlocked

Maybe all the secrets that she knows won’t save her

The quiet scares me 'cause it screams the truth

Too many years of battle scars

Let go of my darkest thoughts

Rewrite your history

Did you follow your, follow your fire

I always saw you reaching and catching stars

The weird and the novelties

Just wanna touch you for a minute

And my heart's turned cold since you left my life

 don't give up, it's a little complicated

And now I want it bad

Light up your wildest dreams

We promised that we'd never part On a tree, under the stars

what doesn’t kill you makes you that bit stranger

It's such a shame we fucked it up, you and me

You almost turned me psycho, I almost lost my mind

Hung on your sleeve, you wore your heart on it

You left with no warning 

Sweet love, my oldest friend

Drinking, kissing in the street We couldn't get enough

And I pray that hope's not lost

I'm following the map that leads to you

The story of us, it always starts the same

I've escaped many vices Like drugs and alcohol

I can't accept it's over now

And I'm just a dead man walking tonight

I never miss a beat I'm lightnin' on my feet

You damaged what we had

Come on and talk to me

No make-up, no pretend

I don't know what I'm doing wrong

Lately our conversations end like it's the last goodbye

You beat me at my own damn game

You're gonna keep your head up through it all

Have we come to the bitter end?

I see you staring out the corner of my eye

I got some pictures on my phone

I miss the conversation

I was there for you in your darkest night

You marry me, your father will disown you

you're losing faith while I've been holding on

 one of us gets too drunk and calls about a hundred times

And you said you had my back So I wonder, where were you?

fire always makes it better

 I tried to find shelter here in the arms of someone new

Now, I can't get over you

This has gotta be the good life

I like to think that we had it all

We all got our stories but please, tell me

I'm the one that loved you baby can't you see?

Prozac can make it better

But how do I feel this good sober?

I say oh, got this feeling that you can't fight

And if you like to talk for hours Just go ahead now

 They don't know Where I've been for the past few years or so

[inviberu]

music box

Confessing was no easy thing, especially for someone like Heath who could barely take a compliment without his cheeks burning red. When someone suggested he should give a gift instead, the gears inside his head started to turn. The most beautiful gift of all is one that comes from the bottom of one's heart—the question is: what was it?

Heath didn't know how to express his feelings without getting too many butterflies in his stomach to the point that he has to bend over to calm himself down or without tripping over his words and forgetting everything he planned to say. His cheeks would flare up and he would tear his gaze away from your figure as he told himself inside his head: "Not today, maybe not tomorrow either…."

Faust could barely stand the way Heath kept on backing out at the last minute during his decisions to finally confess his feelings. Faust pushed up his glasses and crossed his arms with a stern look on his face as he sighed. Heath sat up straighter, hoping that Faust wasn't about to scold him about something related to missions, unaware that Faust called him to his room to talk about more… personal matters instead of their line of work.

"I know there's a lot of stuff going on inside your head, but you shouldn't let it affect you when you're doing missions." Every word that came from Faust's lips was a lie to disguise his genuine concern for his student—roundabout, as a lot of Eastern folk are. Upon seeing Heath's face contort into one of slight panic, Faust immediately followed up with a question: "What is it that's bothering you anyway?"

Another lie. Faust already knew well what the source of Heath's worries is but he'd rather have Heath be unaware of the fact that he's been paying attention to him. Heath glanced down, a light hue of pink dusting his cheeks and Faust could already tell what this was about even if he hadn't known about Heath's countless attempts to confess to you before.

"Faust-sensei… do you know how to confess to someone?" Heath's unexpected question caught Faust off guard, his eyes widening in surprise before letting out a small cough after regaining his composure.

"C-Confess?" Faust tried his best to play dumb. "Like those love confessions?"

Heath nodded slowly, "I've been trying to confess to someone for a while now but… I keep on getting scared at the last minute. It's like the fear of being rejected suddenly walking up behind me and grabbing my shoulder."

"... You're a wonderful young man, Heath. I doubt there's anyone out there that would reject you" Faust closed his eyes as he tipped his hat slightly, trying his best to reassure him.

"Plus, you'll never know the answer unless you go for it." Faust chuckled, a smile forming on his face. Heath's eyes twinkled all of a sudden and felt his enthusiasm bounce back up as he grabbed Faust's hands into his own—Faust's expression slowly turning to one of discomfort.

"Then… Can you help me?" Heath asked hopefully.

"Me…?" Faust exclaimed, his glasses almost dropping down.

"W-Well only if you want to! I wouldn't dare force you to help me against your wishes..."

"I suppose I can try… I can't guarantee anything, of course." Faust agreed reluctantly and Heath beamed, his smile widening in happiness as he said his thanks to the Eastern teacher. "Well, first of all, if you find yourself unable to speak in front of them… don't you think there's a better alternative rather than confessing in person?"

After all this time, Heath had always tried to confess to you upfront and had never bothered to consider any other options until Faust brought it up. Heath wanted to curl up and bury himself six feet under at the sudden realization, feeling as if all this time spent was just used for needless worrying.

"Like a letter of sorts?" Heath asked carefully. Faust shook his head and merely answered his question vaguely.

"Something that comes from the heart." He pointed towards Heath's heart. "You're good at craftsmanship, aren't you? Why not make good use of that?"

A few days had already passed since Faust made that remark—living inside Heath's brain with no signs of leaving soon. A letter would've been easier but after taking it into more consideration, as well as Faust’s words, he decided to give it more thought. What was another alternative? A gift instead of a letter, perhaps? Heath ruffled his hair, deep in thought as he sat on one of the cushioned seats inside the lounge.

“Heathcliff?” A voice called out, snapping Heath out of his daze and adjusted his vision to the person in front of him—the northern wizard, White. Curiously, he asked, “is there something troubling you? Won’t you allow this old man to help if so?”

“Sir White… it’s nothing important, I appreciate the offer though.” Heath shook his head, trying to brush off White’s offer as politely as he could. White merely crossed his arms, nodding his head before a smug and knowing smile took over his face—as if he already knew what was troubling Heath without having him say anything.

“Ohoho… it’s about the matters of the heart, is it not?” Bullseye. Heath felt as if his heart was about to jump out of his chest, unable to hide the surprise evident in his expression. White didn’t wait for an answer, for he already knew he struck gold—he let out a laugh. “It’s written all over your face! A young man falling victim to love… is what your expression is saying.”

Heath covered his face by instinct, horrified at the newfound information that it was written all over his face. He wished he could keep a poker face like Lennox, perhaps that way he wouldn't be so easy to read—unaware that was precisely one of his charming points.

“Haha… is it that obvious?” Heath muttered weakly, burying his face into his palms and White only chuckled at the cute display. “Sir White, do you know of any good gifts fit for a confession?”

White rubbed his chin, deep in thought. A fitting gift for a love confession—one would normally think of something like flowers or sweets as if it was valentine's day, that was the textbook answer, though when White glanced at Heath and remembered his knack for machinery and the likes, he suddenly remembered of that one era that had a specific trend.

“It's a bit old fashioned but back in the day, music boxes were the trend. Why not make one with music that reminds you of your beloved? Wouldn't that be perfect for someone like you?” White beamed, smiling as if he gave a groundbreaking piece of advice. Heath’s eyes widened ever so slightly with his mouth agape as he thought about his words; music boxes were indeed old fashioned as you wouldn't see it normally these days.

“Me…? Make a music box?” He has never tried it before, especially not for a special someone, though he was confident he's able to make one if he tried.

“Ohoho, you’re good with machinery, are you not? Why not put those skills to use to make a heartfelt gift?” White nodded enthusiastically. Heath couldn't help but get lost in his thoughts, already trying to figure out how he was going to construct one—it seems like the young master has already figured out which gift he should give.

Heath spent his days holed up inside his room by his desk, materials sprawled all over with chunks of wood littered around after he had carved the finest wood he could get his hands on after returning to the East for a short while. A focused look adorning his face as he drowned out the noises surrounding him, immersed in his craft.

Countless music sheets were crumpled and thrown to the bin at the side which was overflowing with scrapped pieces—music pieces. Heath was no expert like Rustica when it came to music composition, he had left his seat several times to consult the Western Wizard in order to make sure the music wasn't disappointing and was able to convey his feelings, somehow.

He planned to leave the box and a note anonymously, though he already suspected it wasn't going to be very discreet as he started carving the box with the same carving he engraved into Shino’s magic tool. One look at it and you would be able to guess who did the carving, for it was named Blanchett for a reason.

He added the finishing touches, blowing the small particles of dust away that remained in the corners before opening the box as a sweet, soft melody started to play—its gears turning as it played music flawlessly. Heath smiled at the music box he created, proud. He put all of his feelings of adoration for you inside one box, only revealing itself if you decide to open it, akin to Pandora's box.

As if reciting his last prayer, he clutched it tightly as he muttered his spell under his breath before standing up and deciding to leave it by your doorstep—this time, he'll let you know of his feelings.

As he arrived at your doorstep, he quietly wished that you weren't inside your room because that would make things complicated as Heath already felt like he was doing something scandalous. His cheeks burned red as he quickly dropped the music box as well as a small note before knocking once and scurrying off back to his room where he could finally put his mind to rest.

You opened the door, greeted by no one but a mysterious box and a small note that didn't indicate whoever sent it to you for there was no name. Without much hesitation, you picked it and inspected it—the intricate design catching you off guard as you recognized it as the same one present in Shino’s magical tool. And the one who made it was none other than Heath himself, that only meant one thing—Heath was behind this mysterious set-up. You felt your chest bubble up in excitement, an uncontrollable smile forming in your face as you felt giddy.

You opened the note, it read: For you have captured my heart, I offer this gift to you.

You felt your heart leap at the words you read, scanning it once again to make sure your eyes weren't playing tricks on you, cheeks heating up as you realized what this meant. You quickly opened the box, not expecting a few blue butterflies to come out and fly around you as a soft melody played from it—a music box Heath made just for you. You could feel his magic from the box, did he imbue his magic? You suspected as much.

The longer you listened to the music, the more you felt like running to his room to tell him you felt the same way. There wasn't a single thing stopping you from doing so. With a determined look on your face, you started heading towards his room. Fortunately, you saw him walking in the hall, it seems like he hasn't arrived in his room yet.

You took the opportunity to jump at him, his arms instinctively wrapping themselves around you, panic was written all over his face when he realized it was you who threw themselves at him. With the proximity between the two of you, you placed a chaste kiss on the tip of his nose. His heart felt like it was about to explode.

“W-What are you doing!?” He grabbed you by the shoulders and tried to push you away in an attempt to calm his racing heart. You smirked as you felt like teasing him more, though the huge smile on your face was unfitting as you told him:

“You could've told me in person… but, I like you too, silly!”

[clood]

Secret Valentine here!

What are some of your favorite hxh headcanons you wished people talked about more?

hello there friend!! you have opened the lid to pandora's box, my apologies for the word-vomit that is about to ensue!!

gosh, lately the headcanon i've been thinking about nonstop is more of a theory, now that i think about it, but still ^^;;

it's the one where people think that kurapika will end up marrying neon and becoming the true head of the nostrade family??? and if you think about it, it makes such heartbreaking sense, right? kurapika needs a way into the true underbelly of the rich people's world and he can't very well do this as a simple bodyguard. nostrade dies, leaving neon as his only heir, and kurapika swoops in and takes his position... this is his ticket to getting the last few pairs of eyes that elude him!! and it has such potential for heartbreak not only on his side (sterile, non-kurtan wedding, no feelings, going through the motions and essentially selling himself for his quest for revenge) but ALSO for leorio, who would probably only read about it in the papers and finally have to give up on kurapika ever coming back to him or ever being attainable for him... he finally gives up on calling and just... moves on. he's still kurapika's no. 1 supporter, but he does his worrying and praying in the confines of his own heart now.

the bit about leorio, obviously, would be just felt by us leopika fans rather than actually witnessed in canon BUT STILL. the thing that has people thinking about this as an actual possibility is that many people in canon have referred to kurapika as the "head" of the nostrade family.

i also have recently written about how i hc that killua lives with chronic pain from all of the abuse and training his family put him through. and i think it was subdee who mentioned this, but illumi definitely lives with something similar. killua was just taught from watching illumi at a young age that it's nothing and it's weak to show that you feel pain, so he doesn't tell anyone about it. and so he's living with these awful reminders of his past every day and doesn't seek help until gon or leorio finally notice and tell him it's normal(ish) to deal with stuff like this and there may be resources available to help mitigate some of the discomfort.

also unsure if this last one is a headcanon or not but i'd like to believe that gon never gets his nen back. not as any sort of punishment or failure on his end to regain control of it, but more so as a thoughtful conclusion to his growth that, hey, maybe he doesn't need it back to be happy and successful. kind of like the ending to fullmetal alchemist (spoiler, sorry), but i'd like for him to realize his worth outside of raw power and being this ridiculous nen machine—he doesn't have to prove to himself or anyone else that he is strong enough. also i hc that he grows his hair out as a reminder to never give up on his life again and that it's okay for him to be vulnerable and ask for help. he'd probably cut it again when he's older and realizes that those reminders need only be felt in his heart, but i want him to have his angsty 20s and then become a fully realized version of himself in his 30s.

jesus. that was a lot. thank you for asking, though!! i love talking about this shit!!!

[lambourngb]

1 Hi! I saw the Michael wants a family w/ Alex thread & saw you're maybe planning a fic. First off I am such a fan and feel free to delete this if it in anyway offends bec i I swear it's never my intent. It's your fic and you can 1000% write w/ever you want. I can't figure out how to reply to the thread but I saw someone putting in a request not to shade M for not wanting kids. So I thought maybe it'd be okay to reach out too w/ a concern (i hope I'm not overstepping, if so ignore me please).

2 I get that the idea of including her in the 1st place was from a comment who wanted a fun petty moment (no judgement) but it grew to addressing Michael's passiveness. I just wanted to put it out there that I hope incl. her doesn't come off as if she's the 1st option for this. Given the OG text post, it'd be great if Alex is the 1st person Michael thinks of when thinking about a child. The idea of it being a last resort or that he went to someone else 1st just makes me so anxious and sad.

3 I feel like Alex deserves better & that Michael chooses him because he wants to not bec he has no options so I hope it isn't written like that. The show forcing things is tiring me out and it's making me anxious about things I'm usually pretty chill about. I don't even know if you will write it and I don't mean any harm. I hope you're not mad and I didn't offend & this isn't coming off as whiny or demanding, I was just rly hoping to reach out to voice a concern. Thanks for reading.

Hi Nonnie- first of all, thank you. I’m glad you enjoy my writing! That’s always nice to hear. And second of all, I’m not offended and I completely understand your anxiety about Alex being a second choice here with Michael. I’ve always believed that Maria has been Michael’s second choice in canon. He’s convinced himself that things are too hard with Alex and it’s best to give up. I hate that for Michael because it says a lot of things about his non-existent self esteem and his abandonment issues. Anyway, my “Michael wants a family” story is just a nebulous idea at the moment and is obviously something I won’t dive into until I finish off Last Year’s Wishes. I basically smack my brain with a rolled up newspaper and say “No! focus on the thing you started before you start another!”.

When I am ready to dive in- here’s what I’m thinking and hopefully this helps gauge your future interest in this story- like Last Year’s Wishes, I like to write from one limited point of view. I have only tried briefly to write from Michael’s POV, but I feel like this story has to be told from his and that’s intimidating as hell, haha, especially because I feel a deep connection to Alex.

What we know from canon regarding kids and a family is- Michael wants a family. Other than Isobel leaving the door open for herself in the future, he’s the only one who has definitively said he wants kids. I don’t know how Maria or Alex feels about kids, Maria I think I can guess on (more on that below), but Alex, other than saying that Roswell felt like home for the first time because of Michael (triggering Maria’s iconic line “Home can be a person”) hasn’t said much in the way of marriage and family. The fact he bought or rented a house in Roswell, instead of the cabin - maybe that signals he wants to set down roots? Maybe he just hated the commute from the cabin?

Maria is a little easier for me to make a guess over, and I could be wrong, but she’s been working extremely hard to support herself and her mother for many years. Did she dream about being a singer? Did she ever want to leave Roswell? We don’t know, but she is savvy with money and is constantly looking for opportunities to better her position in life financially. And that financial security is still shakey with her 24/7 hustle. Nursing home care in the US is so costly it could be considered a crime, and with Mimi not being old enough to qualify for social security or medicare, that cost is on Maria’s shoulders. From a young age- Maria’s entire focus on the future was based around the knowledge that she was going to have to take care of her mother. I don’t know if that leaves energy for the idea of taking care of a child. Maria also knew she too would face this neurological disorder at some point and become a burden herself. Now does the bracelet stop her decline? How long does the pollen’s keep things in check? And if she does keep her mind healthy and intact, what sort of thing would she be passing on to a more-than-50 percent alien child?

Again I could be projecting my own feelings here, but I just get the vibe that Maria has a lot of caretaker burnout still and is reaching for things that make her feel good in the moment but is in no hurry to take on another big future responsibility outside of making enough money to survive.

And what does that mean for Michael’s relationship with her? If he wants to have a long-term relationship with Maria, he would have to let go of the idea of kids. Here’s the thing, that Michael himself said, he’s good at giving up. He gave up college, he gave up on hope/people, he gave up on the idea he could have a happy ending with Alex- everywhere you look in canon, you see him holding up empty hands when it comes to things he wants and basically saying “I tried for a bit, it was hard, so I’m done trying” (and personally I think he tried for 10 years with Alex, the longest and most stubborn grab for happiness).

Other people get him to keep pushing past that impulse to give up - Liz when it came to curing Isobel, Liz again when it came to saving Max, and Alex- when it came to looking for some hope in a dark story (Nora and Tripp). So I want Michael to be the one who pushes himself past that impulse. I want him to come face to face with his oldest, most wanted desire (A family) and draw a line in the sand, and so no, “I want this, I want this for me” and not back away when it causes conflict with someone else.

But here’s the thing, Michael’s so used to “going where you want me” that I think even in the face of Maria saying “you know, kids aren’t in the future here” he would still try to make it work. I have long joked that I ship everyone on RNM with a therapist (except for Kyle, who is perfect) but I really want Michael to seek out help. I think he would go, but for entirely the wrong purpose- in my story, he would go see a therapist and say to them, “I can fix a busted transmission, but I can’t fix this. Can you help me with this? She doesn’t want a family but I do. How can I change myself”

And oh boy is that a pandora’s box for a therapist. Digging into the meat of you don’t think people will stay so you push them away- Alex, then when they do express they want you, you don’t believe it will last so why bother trying again. In the process of Michael trying to fix himself so he can preserve his relationship with Maria, he discovers though guidance - that he can’t be a good partner if he’s not good to himself, and letting someone else’s desires supersede his own isn’t healthy. Then finding the balance after you figure out you can say no- because compromise is also important.

Somewhere in this mess is Sanders, who after hearing that Michael’s ready to ditch the idea of being someone’s dad, shakes him by the shirt collar. Explaining to Michael that just maybe he should have tried harder all those years ago to be someone who could adopt him, that shame never leaves him. Trying twice was good but not good enough, who’s to say the third time wouldn’t have been successful? But somewhere along the line Sanders decided it was easier to be the old gin-soaked junkyard dog than be someone who was willing to do the work of sobriety. Does Michael want to follow in his footsteps? Leave some kid in a place they don’t belong if he has the ability and desire to provide a home? And Michael decides he is done telling himself it won’t work out, that he wants this with an impulse stronger than his self-defeatist instincts.

And that is the death knell on his relationship with Maria- incompatible.

Then, because I’m a Malex shipper through and through, there’s Alex. He’s shown up for Michael all through season 2. And in my eyes, they’ve worked on their friendship (drown in those 2x04 feels) and Michael calls him for advice, lays out what’s going on with him and Alex supports him on that path to being happy. Alex gently probing him about how long he’s had this dream of being a parent, hearing how it predated senior year, but after senior year Michael inserted Alex into the dream. Michael sharing even after everything, he still thinks of Alex of being there, maybe an uncle? And Alex, overwhelmed by how serious Michael was and maybe still is? Takes it slow, this can’t be a rebound, just urges him to take the small steps, like mentoring with Big Brothers/Big Sisters or through the YMCA.

Those logical steps get escalated when Michael discovers a hitchhiker stowed away in flatbed of his tow trunk after a stop at a rest area. He sees himself in this angry, but desperate kid. He doesn’t want to give the kid up and so he calls on Alex yet again, to do a background check to make sure the story is true and then pleads for him to help. Make Michael foster-parent worthy in the eyes of the law. I don’t know if this skirts the fear you have that Alex is the last resort? In my mind, his two oldest desires are having a kid AND having Alex, and once he works out he can have the first, he realizes that all is not lost with Alex as well.

Anyway my very long thoughts on this story I AM NOT WRITING RIGHT NOW: a take on ‘fake engagement because of CPS’ where Alex installs Michael into his house all so they could give a home to this stray kid. 

[captaindibbzy]

I was thinking about the art world as a whole. AI doesn't exist in a vacuum and Art has experienced upheavals before. So when discussing the merit of AI as art it has precedent. Making collages out of print goes back over 100 years, and you never needed permission from the prints you cut up. And the invention of photography created huge waves in the art world. AI art it's self goes back to the 70's, though the first AI art machine made abstract physical work. Can't remember it's name right now. When it comes to taking other people's work and running with it The Fountain and other ready made sculptures come to mind, things that are made and designed by some unknown individual elevated to art because of the pedestal it lands on and attributed to the man who put it there.

So in that regard AI art is art because we already set the way for it. Theft is ok when it's got the institute behind it, apparantly, cause we already decided that. Everything and anything can be art from the experience of life to spray painting an iceberg red cause you feel like it.

So the values of art must come from somewhere else. While money is certainly a value, it's not an important one really. The joy of creation is much more telling. The experience of the art is much more valuable.

Take an NFT for example. An NFT, if all art is inherent in value, is identical to the Monalisa. But that is a hard argument to have, so the value of one over the other must come from elsewhere. A digital copy of the Monalisa is identical to the real thing then? I would say no also. Experiencing that art in person is a different thing and a grander experience. Being liked is more of a tell of the values of art than the status of being art in of its self. In that regard enjoying your own work and wanting others to find joy in it offers more value to art than it being art.

I mentioned the spray painting of an iceberg. This is a real thing.

2004, artist Marco Evaristti. "We all have a need to decorate Mother Nature because it belongs to all us," it was called the ice cube project.

This is what I think of when I think of worthless art. Is this art? Yes. Does anyone remember this? No. Did it add anything to the world? No. If anything it detracted from the world, causing environmental damage, upsetting locals and confusing wildlife. What became of it? Not a clue. He just left it floating off the coast of Greenland nearly 20 years ago and nothing much has been written since.

I guess what I'm trying to say is whether or not AI art is art is the wrong question to ask. It exists, that Pandoras box has been opened and it's not going back. The wider question is with art it's self: does the status of art give something the right to exist? And personally I think no.

AI art does more damage than most bad art. Like NFT's it's value may be commercially high but culturally trying to dig a hole deep enough to hide in.

This isn't about how to solve the problem though. It's just a deconstruction of why "it's art" is not a defence of anything. And I'm not sure I'm explaining myself well cause I'm coming down with a cold 😅

As part of a long thought process of art vs AI I have come to the conclusion that the inherent value of art is actually pretty low. As in the value something gains from being art is such a tiny amount it's barely quantifiable and other contributing factors are much more important in the value of the piece: is it trying to say something? How important is that statement? Is it damaging? Is it joyful? Is it hurting people for the sake of hurting people? Is it irreplaceable? Does it matter if it is? Does the availability to the masses add or lose value in comparison to the potential for exclusivity?

When you say something in the art world isn't good the first defence is always "it's art! It doesn't need to be!" And that is true. But also just because it is art doesn't mean it automatically has a right to exist, and doesn't mean I have to respect it.

I remember reading somewhere that when you are trying to push the boundaries of art and ask the question of what is art you must always be prepared for someone to say "not this". Art is so indefinable there are cases where art has been destroyed and the vandalism is declared art.

But when everything can be art and nothing is art I have simply decided that the status of art doesn't give enough weight to the value of an object. In which case the value of a piece of art must come from elsewhere.

Personally I find that to be the experience of being part of it: witnessing, participation, etc. Through that a positive experience outweighs a negative generally but not exclusively, a well spent emotional experience always outweighs a mediocre one.

Enrichment to my enclosure holds more value than the status of a piece as art can add.

Tldr: if everything is art then art isn't special so art must be judged by other criteria.