#practicing asking myself if this is really what I want to be doing

[keets-writing-corner]

I saw a post recently talking about how the pro AI-art people don't actually want to learn how to do art, they just want free art without paying a commission, and honestly I don't know what's more frustrating

them trying to paint AI art like this whole-y good thing and that artists are the bad guys/grandpas stuck in the past or whatever, or if it's the fact that it's not about art at all and that they just want free art and no matter how much explaining or resource "how to learn how to make art" throwing at them is going to make them stop wanting free art that they don't want to make themselves

and on a side note, I could be wrong, BUT, I don't think I've actually heard of a disabled person actually making the argument that AI art makes art more accessible. And what if you stopped being able to make art because you became disabled, would AI really fill that void? Again, I could be wrong, but I don't think I've ever seen someone who's disabled make this argument, only the AI bros trying to make it "progressive woke" (for lack of a better terminology)

As someone who thinks that the point of art is making it, no, AI doesn't make art accessible because you're NOT EVEN THE ONE THAT'S MAKING IT. You're asking a machine to compile stolen art to form an image that that YOU don't want to pay another artist to do. The only thing it's made more accessible is the theft and somehow convinced you that it's okay/better

and onto my second point that I want to add that I just never see people talking about:

Maybe MAYBE there's a person out there who resorted to using AI art because they tried to learn art and it just didn't work out no matter how many mediums, programs, books or free tutorials they tried, here is my tip for you: THOSE RESOURCES MEAN NOTHING UNTIL YOU FIGURE OUT WHAT MAKES ART FUN FOR YOU

I love drawing animals. I draw animals for fun. I'm now learning how to draw people and other things (like landscapes). I learned drawing fundamentals AFTER I had started drawing animals for fun because I wanted to get better at drawing animals

I'm not saying the fundamentals aren't important and I'm not saying the art books and tutorials aren't helpful. But if you've tried to draw over and over and just never continued because it just felt like practicing/homework, then of course nothing stuck! You think artists only draw final products that they want to see?? No! It's FUN it's supposed to be FUN. There's a reason artists go into crisis or whatever when depression or mental health hits and suddenly art isn't fun anymore and we desperately wish it was and then all of a sudden we got art block because brain no want to do what is no fun.

If you want to get into drawing, FIGURE OUT WHAT IS FUN AND SATISFYING FOR YOU TO DRAW

I do not care if you want to learn how to draw characters, if that's not fun for you it's not going to stick. I gave this advice to my writer friend, and he discovered he loves drawing architecture. He draws that for fun, and now he's starting to branch out

I'm not saying it'll be easy. I myself do not know what the process of discovering what you like making art of is because all I remember is some sort of flip in my brain switched when I was like 6 and I just wanted to draw horses all the time and doing that was fun

But THAT IS THE SECRET okay? I know we artists jokingly complain about drawing all the time and that we hate it, but the truth is, it came from a place of love, of fun. That's why we doodle, that's why most of the things we sketch never become full pieces, it's because they were never meant to become full pieces. They were for fun. Pro AI people thinks it's only about the end product and creating what it's your head. Both of those things are important and motivators at times, but they are not what got us started and they are not what kept us going. They will not be what keeps you going if you decide to pick up art

Can't afford art school?

After seeing post like this 👇

And this gem 👇

As well as countless of others from the AI generator community. Just talking about how "inaccessible art" is, I decided why not show how wrong these guys are while also helping anyone who actually wants to learn.

Here is the first one ART TEACHERS! There are plenty online and in places like youtube.

📺Here is my list:

Proko (Free)

Marc Brunet (Free but he does have other classes for a cheap price. Use to work for Blizzard)

Aaron Rutten (free)

BoroCG (free)

Jesse J. Jones (free, talks about animating)

Jesus Conde (free)

Mohammed Agbadi (free, he gives some advice in some videos and talks about art)

Ross Draws (free, he does have other classes for a good price)

SamDoesArts (free, gives good advice and critiques)

Drawfee Show (free, they do give some good advice and great inspiration)

The Art of Aaron Blaise ( useful tips for digital art and animation. Was an animator for Disney)

Bobby Chiu ( useful tips and interviews with artist who are in the industry or making a living as artist)

Second part BOOKS, I have collected some books that have helped me and might help others.

📚Here is my list:

The "how to draw manga" series produced by Graphic-sha. These are for manga artist but they give great advice and information.

"Creating characters with personality" by Tom Bancroft. A great book that can help not just people who draw cartoons but also realistic ones. As it helps you with facial ques and how to make a character interesting.

"Albinus on anatomy" by Robert Beverly Hale and Terence Coyle. Great book to help someone learn basic anatomy.

"Artistic Anatomy" by Dr. Paul Richer and Robert Beverly Hale. A good book if you want to go further in-depth with anatomy.

"Directing the story" by Francis Glebas. A good book if you want to Story board or make comics.

"Animal Anatomy for Artists" by Eliot Goldfinger. A good book for if you want to draw animals or creatures.

"Constructive Anatomy: with almost 500 illustrations" by George B. Bridgman. A great book to help you block out shadows in your figures and see them in a more 3 diamantine way.

"Dynamic Anatomy: Revised and expand" by Burne Hogarth. A book that shows how to block out shapes and easily understand what you are looking out. When it comes to human subjects.

"An Atlas of animal anatomy for artist" by W. Ellenberger and H. Dittrich and H. Baum. This is another good one for people who want to draw animals or creatures.

Etherington Brothers, they make books and have a free blog with art tips.

As for Supplies, I recommend starting out cheap, buying Pencils and art paper at dollar tree or 5 below. For digital art, I recommend not starting with a screen art drawing tablet as they are more expensive.

For the Best art Tablet I recommend either Xp-pen, Bamboo or Huion. Some can range from about 40$ to the thousands.

💻As for art programs here is a list of Free to pay.

Clip Studio paint ( you can choose to pay once or sub and get updates)

Procreate ( pay once for $9.99)

Blender (for 3D modules/sculpting, ect Free)

PaintTool SAI (pay but has a 31 day free trail)

Krita (Free)

mypaint (free)

FireAlpaca (free)

Libresprite (free, for pixel art)

Those are the ones I can recall.

So do with this information as you will but as you can tell there are ways to learn how to become an artist, without breaking the bank. The only thing that might be stopping YOU from using any of these things, is YOU.

I have made time to learn to draw and many artist have too. Either in-between working two jobs or taking care of your family and a job or regular school and chores. YOU just have to take the time or use some time management, it really doesn't take long to practice for like an hour or less. YOU also don't have to do it every day, just once or three times a week is fine.

Hope this was helpful and have a great day.

[aringofsalt]

another hospital alternate meeting ficlet? it's more likely than you think!! have some buck pov because they're adorable and have me in a chokehold 💛

"Oh, yeah, you should've seen him. Had to practically peel him off when Tommy had to leave, it was adorable."

Buck blinked as his brain slowly came back online, trying to banish the sleepy feeling from his head. He pulled himself up to sitting, frowning at the empty chair between his and Chimney's beds.

"What time 's'it?" he asked through a yawn. Chimney looked over, grinning as he waggled his phone in Buck's direction.

"Oh, it's like eight in the morning now, you had a good little nap. Hen, say hi."

"Hi, Buckaroo," Hen's voice came over the speaker. "I hear you met Tommy."

Something in her tone made Buck pause, thinking back. He couldn't quite put a face to the name, but flashes of memory came through anyway: broad shoulders, strong hands, soft blue eyes that crinkled at the corners when he smiled at Buck. His fingers flexed, feeling like they were missing something between them.

"Oh. Tommy," he breathed. "He was so cool."

Chim and Hen erupted into laughter.

"Oh, you've got it bad, man," Chim said. "Hold on. Hen, I'll call you back in a minute."

He ended the call, then swiped through his phone for a moment before turning it to face Buck. There, on the screen, Buck saw himself, curled on his side in his hospital bed, both hands wrapped around one belonging to the man from his memories. Tommy. Chimney had caught them when they were looking at each other, and he was pleasantly surprised to see the soft look in Tommy's eyes wasn't just something his mind had made up. It was a memory.

And then he remembered something else.

"Oh my god," he groaned, burying his face in his hands. "I called him my boyfriend? He probably thought I was so weird."

"Eh, he's been around people on pain pills before," Chimney assured him, reaching over awkwardly to pat him on the elbow. "He wasn't even weirded out when you called him Hot Stuff."

"I'm going to throw myself back in that collapsing building now."

"Buck. Listen to me." Chimney waited patiently for him to look up. "That man held your hand and let you call him Tommy Hot Stuff for nearly two hours before he had to go to work, and he didn't even complain once. Trust me, that was Tommy's this is adorable face, not his this is weird face."

"You think he thinks I'm adorable?" Buck asked skeptically.

"Unfortunately for all onlookers held captive by a hospital bed—namely, me—I can confirm you're pretty much exactly his type." Chimney paused, meeting his gaze meaningfully. "Is he yours?"

Buck bit his lip as he thought. He'd never dated a man before, never really had the opportunity, but he'd done his fair share of checking them out in gyms and clubs, appreciating a hot guy's ass. He was pretty sure he remembered Tommy having a great one, but more than that, he was remembering how comfortable the other man had made him feel, how his smiles had lit him up from the inside out. He'd been in the hospital on pain meds plenty of times, and never felt like that about anyone else before; that was all Tommy.

"Yeah," he said firmly. "He is."

He leaned over, digging around on the bedside table until he laid a hand on his phone.

"Give me his number," he said, "I've got a boyfriend to woo."

Rolling his eyes, Chimney read off the phone number, and Buck got to work.

so, i hear i have a boyfriend now, and i want to treat him right. wanna get dinner later? my treat :)

Tommy Hot Stuff :) I can definitely do later. Let me know what time you get out of the hospital and I'll swing by to pick you up. Can't let my boyfriend uber home :)

[billspaid]

Been craving a melfrank college au where Mel gets dragged to a frat party by her roommate and she notoriously hates parties but she also wants a good college experience so she goes and she’s fine, she’s having an alright time watching her roommate dancing with some guy in the middle of the living room.

And then BANG - she sees and hears some guy drop from the top of the stairs straight onto the floor just a few meters from where she’s standing.

The other frat bros start freaking out, asking for a doctor and because the universe hates her, her roommate shouts out for Mel like “Mel! Mel! My roommate! She’s premed, practically a doctor!”

And Mel’s dragged in the middle where this stupid albeit cute feat guy is laying on the floor, blinking quickly as he looks side to side. Mel has done a few courses here and there and with her lifeguard training she thinks she could probably help but she instructs one of the other frat boys to call an ambulance anyway.

She checks his - Frank’s - pupils and asks him if he’s sore and or feeling any numbness. He manages to sit up, just holding the back of his head. Most likely a concussion and Mel says as much. Frank’s not really with it, or if he is he’s not really paying attention to Mel until she leans in forward to check his eyes again. And then he gives her a funny sort of smile.

The ambulance comes and Mel tells the paramedics what happened, watching as they wheel Frank onto the gurney. She distantly thinks how this is going to be the first and last frat party she ever goes to.

And she’s ready to leave, truly, but then Frank is calling out for her - well, he’s calling out for the ‘Cute blonde doctor! Cute blonde doctor, please you have to come with me! I’m scared, I don’t like hospital, please beautiful blonde doctor with the cute mole and glasses, I need you!”

And Mel rushes into the ambulance to shut him up because now everyone at the party is staring at her. He’s obviously a bit tipsy, mumbling something about how stupid he is. Mel watches with a grimace. He grabs her hand and squeezes tight whenever they go over a pothole.

Mel’s still not sure why she’s still with him or what help she is considering that she’s not even a doctor (yet) but the ER doctors take a look at him and confirm that he most likely has a concussion. They then say “we’ll do a head ct but there’s a wait so make sure you boyfriend doesn’t fall asleep.”

Mel sighs and nods because what the hell, no point in trying to explain to the random doctor that she just about barely knows his first name.

Frank slowly starts to sober up and then he’s looking at Mel with an expression she can’t understand.

“You never corrected the doctor.” He says like he’s biting back a smile.

Mel looks back, incredulously and decides to ignore him. “That was a very stupid thing to do.”

“It was an accident. I was trying to grab an empty beer bottle before it fell on someone but I ended up slipping myself.”

“Oh.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

Mel narrows her eyes. “You didn’t ask a question.”

Frank smiles and Mel has to stop herself from mirroring it. “So, what’s a doctor doing at a frat party?”

“I’m pre-med. I don’t think my roommate realises the difference.”

Frank stares at her and then clicks his fingers. “McKinley’s Thursday lecture! That’s where I know you!”

Mel cocks her head back. “You’re in pre-med?”

“Going to UPenn in the fall.”

She blinks and sort of shrinks in on herself. “Me too.”

Frank looks absolutely elated.

“Wait,” Mel shakes her head, “how can you be scared of hospitals if you’re going to med school?”

“I’m not, I just wanted you to come with me.”

Mel flushes. “Why?”

“Was me screaming ‘cute blonde doctor’ not enough of a clue?” He smirks and Mel does everything in her power not to cower under his gaze. “Besides, I���ve seen you in class.”

“I’ve never noticed you.” She says, quietly.

“I sit in the back mostly. You’re always asking questions, like really interesting ones. You’re gonna be a great doctor, Mel.”

Mel rolls her eyes, “yeah okay.”

Frank drops his head to the pillow and tilts his head to look her dreamily. “Are you free tomorrow night?”

“You have a concussion.”

“Okay so you’re great at asking questions, not great at answering them. Got it.” He says and then nods his head sharply like he’s actually noting it down in his mind.

“Frank, you should take it easy for the next few days.” She says instead of what she really wants to. His eyes are really blue. Why hasn’t she noticed him before? She really needs to look up from her laptop.

“Okay fine. But we’re going to get out of here eventually and I’m guessing that you’re a good person who will stay with me until they discharge me because you’re still here even though it’s 3am and you’re still holding my hand.”

Mel looks down, not realising and immediately tries to pull away. Frank pulls on her hand gently and interlocks their fingers anyway. Mel lets him.

“Do you want to get breakfast later? There’s a 24 hour diner not far from here.”

Mel chews on her lip. “Erm…”

“You can say no-“

“No it’s not…erm, it’s just, okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay.” She says with a little bit more conviction.

Frank holds his fist up and whispers “let’s go!” Which reminds Mel that he is still a frat buy but the thought amuses her more than anything.

Soon one of the nurses come back to take him up for a CT scan and Frank asks if the cute blonde med student can come with.

The nurse looks back to Mel and says “your girlfriend? Yeah, sure.”

They’re in the lift when he shifts closer and says “you didn’t correct her either.”

And Mel shrugs a little, “yeah well neither did you.”

[rkisbddzir]

──── KISS IT BETTER

──── WARNINGS ! 3 year age difference (but they are both in their 20’s), semi public sex , mention of blood , reader is flirtatious , mention of shooting , and riki is always pissed at reader for no reason at all.

──── he’s constantly thinking with his dick when it comes to his trainee

RIKI’S FOREHEAD WAS against the elevator wall, his expensive suit covered in blood. he had been through a lot these past few months, ever since he had taken one of the jobs to be an instructor.

“taking care of a trainee is easy” they said. “its an easy way to earn extra money” they all fucking said. at this point it didn’t even matter what stupid bullshit his coworkers spewed out their mouths, what mattered was the fact that he was dumb enough to listen to them.

maybe. just maybe. maybe it wasn’t their fault. of course every experience is different and he should’ve expected to end up with someone who he couldn’t stand to even have a simple conversation with. no, he couldn’t even do a single thing without hearing her seductive giggles or downright obnoxious comments and feeling her warm, soft, gentle and loving touch. he was basically watching some girl force herself onto him. riki practically dreaded her existence-

“you have blood all over you.” y/n comments, her voice lacking the normal sexual tone that it usually had which that snapped riki out his thoughts almost immediately.

he scoffs, sneering as he speaks, “yeah well, i wouldn’t have gotten blood all over me if someone didn’t have such shitty aim”

her eyes trail up and down him, and he can practically feel her eyes burning through him like a laser. “i was gonna say that its kinda sexy but okay, mr grumpy pants.”

“how is this even remotely sexy?” riki almost cries out incredulously. “i’m covered in some random humans blood! its gross, i want to take a shower or better yet just shoot myself so i don’t have to deal with you anymore.”

he knew his words were harsh, and somehow y/n finds a way to turn the conversation sexual.

“if your gonna take a shower can i… shower with you?” she asks in a seductive manner, her fingers running down his arm and her bottom lip being bitten between her teeth. “again…?”

this unfortunately wasn’t the first time that they had showered together, because somehow her advances worked on him from time to time. sometimes he ended up fucking her during a mission or just basically anywhere and anytime he felt like it.

riki felt guilty. not only because he felt like he was just plainly using her, but because it was completely unprofessional. he could get fired or better yet arrested for having sexual relations with someone he basically works with. he knows that, and he’s told her that. multiple times.

and he knew just as soon as she asked that, that he would give in. although, this time he decided to think without his dick for once and muttered out authoritatively, “no, that is completely unprofessional.”

to make sure she knew he was pissed off and not in the mood, he goes an extra mile and slaps her hand away.

ooh scary…

she wanted to punch his face sometimes, or preferably ride it. she wanted to ride him so slow he’d beg her to go fast. but she wouldn’t go fast infact she’d go slower on him. she wanted to hear him whine for her, whimpering, practically crying out for her.

except that would never happen because riki wasn’t exactly like that. if he wanted it, he’d make sure it happened and he wouldn’t stop until it did.

until it burns.

until she can’t walk.

until shes can’t speak anymore.

fuck, he could feel himself growing hard just thinking about it. riki was debating whether or not he should just take her right here in the elevator.

no, he needs to stop thinking with his dick and giving into her.

that didn’t really change the fact he was practically throbbing at the thought of being inside her. she was whining yet again, and riki didn’t want even to know what it was this time.

“it pisses me off that i cant even get dick from you all the time. every guy will give me that except the guy i want it from—” he didn’t even know what the hell she was saying but he wanted her to shut up so he just cut her off, his voice boiling with anger, “yeah well maybe that guy doesn’t want any of that from you. maybe he thinks you’re an annoying, stubborn, hormonal little bitch.”

“maybe he hates you.” he adds after a few seconds of silence.

oh god… this thing is opening its mouth again…he thinks to himself as y/n begins to find another way to spew nonsense through her venom filled mouth. just when she finally gets her words out the elevator doors finally open to his sweet escape.

he practically bolting out as soon as the elevator doors open, and he’s in relief, feeling as if he should win an award for putting up with her trashy behaviour.

that moment of joy is gone once he hears her little high heels tapping behind him. his face that just a second ago had a bright victorious smile, was now sporting a frown that only one could describe as disgust. he keeps moving ahead anyway, faster even.

he begins to start forcing himself to think about some unsexy things such as geopolitical issues, what shade of white the walls could be, or the obscene amount of paperwork he’d be pushing through later, maybe he might treat himself to some champagne after work — a gift he rewards himself with when he gets through yet another day with you.

he was almost there, almost to his office where hopefully he’ll have the luxury of being able to slam the door in y/n’s pretty little face which might even get her to shut her stupid mouth. the same one that does wonders for him under his desk during long boring calls.

shit. he stops in his tracks causing y/n to collide into his backside. which did even more amazing things for the problem in his pants. riki turns to her straightening his tie and clearing his throat, trying to keep up his little cold facade as if he doesn’t jerk off to her messages at night when he’s bored. “you’re real clumsy, y’know”

“yeah and i bet you’re real horny right now.” she sputters out in a mocking and accusing tone.

of course she’s gonna say something heavily perverse to riki. “i am absolutely not at all feeling anything like that.” which he himself knows is a lie he hissed straight through his teeth and right at her face.

files falling, desk shaking, and a few items on his desk have been knocked off. her moans choked back and her body shaking with need and pleasure. “hah mghh riki oh fuck dont stop” she cries out, his hips driving into her so hard that she’s being pushed farther up the desk.

riki’s jaw was clenched and he for one, was extremely self conscious of whoever could be right outside that door hearing him absolutely destroy y/n on his desk. “shit, oh you’re way too loud…”

his voice slightly wavers into a whine at the end as he shifts the posture of her body, bringing her lower back a bit higher, taking her leg up to his shoulder. riki can’t help but let out a groan as she’s even tighter now.

though he was trying his hardest to keep the rhythm steady, his hips seemed to disobey him and stutter against her hips mid thrust. “f-fuck!”

rikis face was twisted in pleasure but slightly also showing a hint of concern. concerned about how much paperwork he was going to have to do if anyone found out about this affair, about how many rules they’ve broken in a day alone and about how good she makes him feel.

y/ns body falls backwards onto the desk, her head hanging over the edge. “right there a-ah fuck, i can’t stop oh fuckk.”

all he could think was oh god, this angle and a strained groan makes its way past his lips, his hand going down to balance himself on the desk. “can you- fuck you’re so tight right there- can you calm the fuck down for like a minute?”

she shook her head desperately, “ngh fuck just shut up and fuck me harder!”

riki lets out a moan of annoyance, but instead of snapping at her, he shifts his hands to the side of her thighs and brings her legs to her chest before fucking into her at a brutal and harsh pace, hitting a spot that just so happens to make her even more louder.

“ah! shit! o-oh right there ri-riki!” y/n whimpers out and just like that he can feel himself practically throbbing into her.

he hisses in a mocking tone, “shit right-right there? fuck, what happened to that snappy attitude? did i fuck it out of you?” his body shifts slightly, hitting the exact spot that was making her stupid. “sh-shit, you’re tight” he groans out.

y/n didn’t even need to tell him. he just knew by the way her pussy clenched, the way her eyes looked fucked out, and the way she was arching into him. he knew she was close. riki’s annoyance got the best of him and he decided to overstimulate y/n, his fingers reaching down to rub her clit.

the sound she cried out just then made him even closer and he fucked her harder. so hard the desk was moving and creaking and made him let out some filthy noises that were completely unlike him.

that slick fucked out pussy of hers convulsed like it was begging for him to make more of those nasty almost submissive noises and holy shit she was really fucking tight, practically closing in on him.

her eyes rolled back as she was tripping over the edge of her release and he made the effort to cover her mouth, knowing how loud she gets at that point. he kept his pace as he muttered “shut the fuck up, you better not scream.”

his words were almost taunting as his fingers rubbed faster and spread her legs farther apart, moving up to get a better angle as he rolled into her at an animalistic pace.

it was too much for him that he couldn’t even let out anything but painful sounding grunts. he was absolutely humping into her aching swollen pussy.

moans and praises fell from her pretty little mouth and y/n couldn’t stop herself as her legs tightened around him, her white hot proof of pleasure exploding onto his lower body. it didn’t stop him from going even harder though which just brought more of her release out her and he could feel his dick covered in your fluids.

he rode out his orgasm just right after her practically using her body as his personal fuck toy and rearranging her insides.

and right after his thrusts get slower and slower until he gets tired, eyes dark and exhausted, his breathing heavy and his lips parted right onto her neck letting out hot puffs of air. “you do not say a word to anyone about whatever this is, you understand me?”

[borderlinereminders]

Communication Tips for BPD

Living with Borderline Personality Disorder can make communication feel impossible. It can feel scary. Intense emotions, fear of abandonment, and difficulty trusting others can turn even small conversations into emotional minefields. But learning to communicate more effectively is possible—and it can strengthen your relationships while also helping you feel more understood.

Here are some things I’ve learned for myself that may be helpful to you too.

Pause Before Reacting

When emotions flare, it’s easy to say things we later regret. Practicing the habit of pausing—even just taking a deep breath or counting to five—can help create space between feeling and reacting. That space is where you can choose how to respond, rather than reacting on impulse.

It’s okay to walk away if needed. While we’re often told this is manipulative, and it absolutely can be if someone does it with the intent to get their way or make someone feel bad, it isn’t manipulative by default. Saying something like “I’m not giving up on this, but I need some time to clear my head so I can communicate more effectively” can help in it not coming across as manipulative.

Use “I” Statements

Try to speak from your own experience instead of assigning blame. Saying things like, “I feel hurt when I don’t hear back from you,” is usually better received than, “You always ignore me.” It keeps the door open for connection, rather than putting the other person on the defensive. The “you” statements can also make assumptions. This leads into our next point

Check Your Assumptions

BPD can make us feel like someone is mad, abandoning us, or doesn’t care but feelings aren’t facts. Before reacting, ask: “Is there another explanation?” or even better, ask them directly: “Hey, I noticed you were quiet today, are you doing okay?”

If your friend cancels plans because she’s sick, it can be really easy to assume that she’s abandoning you, but just because you feel that way doesn’t mean it’s true.

Name What’s Going On

Being open about your BPD (when safe to do so) can build understanding. For example: “I have trouble with emotional intensity, and sometimes I react really strongly. I’m working on it, but if I seem overwhelmed, it’s not because I don’t care.”

Validate Others Too

Validation goes both ways. Just as we want to be heard and understood, so do the people we care about. Practicing validation like saying, “I can see that this is hard for you too,” can be helpful to deal with conflict and build trust. This can make the other person feel heard and they may be more open to solutions for handling the conflict.

Use Tools When You Need To

Sometimes writing things down feels safer than speaking out loud. A text, a journal entry, or even a shared note with a loved one can help express things that are difficult to say in the moment. DBT skills (like DEAR MAN or Wise Mind) are also great tools for tough conversations.

⸻

If you live with BPD, you’re not broken—you just feel things more deeply. That depth can be beautiful, but it also means communication may take more work. Be patient with yourself. Progress might feel slow, but every time you choose awareness over reactivity, you’re learning healthier ways to have relationships and that’s deserving of credit.

This is okay to utilize and/or reblog even if you don’t have BPD. While I wrote this from the perspective of someone with BPD, communication tips can be helpful for all sorts of reasons.

[m3mento-m0rii]

Hello! Can I request the Saja boys x ZhouZhou FEM! Reader? 🤣

ZhouZhou is the Chinese comedian girl on YouTube and tiktok HER VIDEOS ARE SO FUNNY LMAOOO

Any video references is fine btw

Channels (Choose any video lol):

https://youtube.com/@zhouzhou668?si=Ou2dnFXvy3poM0N_

https://youtube.com/@zhou-zhou_tv?si=FCtyg8Z14nfof81k

Clumsy Comedian—

0.8k words; Saja Boys x ZhouZhou! reader Masterlist | Requests Open!

Honestly? Straight shenannigans.

A/N: Listen, dude . . . THIS was a tough request. I admit my eye shot up when reading it, but . . . I'll never not try 😅 This is just pure crack. There's not even any real plot, and I'm not really proud of it because I didn't know what to do, but I hope you like it?? It was an honest attempt lmaoo

The camera slowly adjusted to the scene, shifting in and out of focus until it was juuust right. Finally revealing a short woman and five taller men. The woman grinned triumphantly, placing her hands on her hips.

“Hello, everyone, and welcome back to my channel!” You grinned, rocking back and forth on your feet. “Today we’re hanging out with theeeeee Saja Boys!”

Your hand flew out to present them, only to smack Jinu in the face. He flinched, and Baby only snickered. It was his idea to have you, anyway.

This was going to be one hell of a day.

»                                                      ⊱◈⊰

“Abby is going to teach me some choreo from Soda Pop!” You beamed, standing next to the man in question. He only smiled down at you.

Fear in his eyes.

“It’s not too complicated,” Abby promised, as if saying it would make it true for you. He’d seen the horror stories videos. He already looked stressed. “It goes drink,”

He slowly mimed, giving you time to follow him. Actually, this wasn’t too bad. You were able to get through the first bit of the song. “Okay.You know what? Good. Now shoulder, shoulder . . .”

Crrrrrriiick.

Before he knew it, he was already catching you. “What the he—did you just pop your back?? Why were you doing it so hard?!”

You sighed, going limp in his arms. Like butter. “It felt good, too . . . Felt that in my ribs.”

Abby’s face dropped.

»                                                      ⊱◈⊰

“Romance, Romance, come here,” you waved him closer. In typical Romance fashion, he slid up to you, peering down at you with a smile.

“Yeeeesss?”

“Can I see your nails?” You asked innocently. “They suit you so well from a distance! I want to see the patterns up close.”

Of course, flattered, he forgot your job was to torture make content with them, so he didn’t question it. “I know!” Romance placed his hand in yours, leaning back slightly as he rambled about his nails, “usually I do them myself, but there’s this really nice lady down the stre—”

You pulled pliers from your pocket and pushed his finger between the teeth, “—EEt NO WHAT?!”

You cackled as he pushed you away, the squeal he let out drawing the attention of the others.

»                                                      ⊱◈⊰

“We’re going to try this again . . .” Abby breathed deeply, losing hope in the situation already. “Romance, show her how to do the choreo for Baby’s part.”

Romance (scared to be in your general vicinity), swallowed thickly and moved a few steps away from you. “Okay, so it really starts with just a little slide—” he practiced;

You attempted, ragdolling and eating shit on the ground.

“How did you even fold that way—?!”

»                                                      ⊱◈⊰

You stared dead at the camera, expression blank as you showed off the contraption (it looked like a torture device) in your hands like a makeup tutorial. To be fair, it was used for cosmetic purposes.

Typically.

“We’re going wake Baby up,” you whispered, sneaking up on the man passed out on the couch. You pressed the thing over his lips, squeezing several times in quick succession to make his lips suck up into it. 

His eyes snapped open, and you pulled him up like a vampire from a coffin.

“Mmph-!”

»                                                      ⊱◈⊰

You stared at Mystery.

Mystery stared at you.

He seemed to be avoiding you. No more.

You walked up to him, seeming normal.

He knew better than that.

“Mystery? Will you teach me how to blend in?”

You could feel his gaze even below the hair covering his eyes. Still, he sighed, slipping into the shadows a few feet by the doorway. You copied him with an amused huff, only to get the door opened on you by Jinu.

“Oh-Oh my gosh I’m sorry,” he panicked, and you were only doing that silent, painful laughing thing, unable to decide between clutching your bleeding nose or your foot from it sliding under the door.

From the corner of your eye, you saw Mystery fold a little, too.

»                                                      ⊱◈⊰

“Maybe we should chill for a little while?” Jinu suggested, regret clear on his features as tried to decide between icing your nose or just leaving it. You only flipped him a thumbs up. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” you hummed, your voice already nasally. You looked through the footage, kicking your feet a little from your spot at the island. “I think that’s enough content, anyway.”

“You oughtta quit while you're ahead,” Abby massaged his temple. Baby laughed, and Romance only glared at him.

“We’re never letting you pick anything for press again.”

“We need a lawyer on standby for this,” Jinu groaned.

“This is payback for making you maknae, isn’t it?”

“I figured you guys needed a taste of ‘taking one for the team.’ It’s good content.”

Mystery pressed his face into the kitchen counter, and you only watched everyone amusedly.

You should do this again with them sometime.

»                                                      ⊱◈⊰

A/N: I tried 😭 The videos I researched with did make me laugh, ngl. Thanks for requesting, and I didn't forget about you other requests! <33

—Captain Morii 🌤️

Morii's Business Class: @abby-himbo-truther @kpopmultistans @momentomoribitch

[jonny-be-gewd]

@darklings-girlboss-era I can't speak for everyone but every gifset I post is captioned with the movie or show name, which episode, episode name. If I gif a YouTube video or another online video I always link to that video. So, I'm still crediting where the media comes from. That link I provide also gives the YouTube videos more views every time someone clicks it. And I'm not asking for credit for the original media, I'm asking for credit for my gifs.

There's a lot that goes into GOOD gifmaking. We aren't just cutting a portion of film and slapping it online. We have to make caps, pull those caps into photoshop. Then spend however long it takes us perfecting the color and sharpness and really dark gifs have to be lightened while not blowing the color out.

Not to mention the time it takes me to hunt and DL all the HD movies and shows. Many of which I get only because I pay for subscriptions to the streaming services they're on. Because no, I don't torrent all of mine. We also pay for a subscription to photoshop. So, we not only invest our time and talent into gifs, but our money as well.

And the really good gifs you see on Tumblr, they take lots and lots of practice to get that good at it. We don't make them with a phone app in two seconds and just flop 'em online. You honestly wouldn't believe how much time it takes to get really good at it. I've been doing it for YEARS and I'm still not the best, so what does that tell you? I consider myself fairly good but not REALLY good.

Below you will see two gifs. The top one is a gif made straight from the original media with no editing other than cropping and slowing it down. The bottom one is after I color edited it and sharpened it.

The reason I show these is because a lot of people don't realize how much we change the image from the original unless they see a side by side comparison. I see gifs other people make and don't even realize how much they edited it from the show or movie I saw because our brains just don't pull it up from memory that way. I made that shit pop. I made it look not washed out. I brought it to life. And don't get me started on the REALLY dark shows and movies that gifmakers bring to life and make it so you can actually see details. I've spent hours on one gifset before, like the dark ones. Trying to get the colors right, trying to lighten it and maintain it's definition. Saving several different versions until I'm semi-satisfied with the results.

As far as show and filmmakers, I've never once heard one of them complain about gifs. Why would they? Because usually people see gifs of a scene of something they haven't watched yet and go, "Oh damn, I need to watch this now." So if anything, our gifs bring them more viewers. I know for a fact I've seen gifs of things that made me go watch it. And I know I've made gifs of things and the reblogs say "I need to watch this now." I can't say for sure if they really mind or not, but again, I've never heard them complain.

Now, I'm not saying any of this angrily. I saw your question and felt it was an important one to answer because I know a lot of people think the way you think. So I wanted to explain why I think we deserve credit.

Knowing everything I just said, and seeing a side by side comparison of what I did to that gif, do you still think I don't deserve credit for what I put into it? I mean, especially since I'm not asking for credit for making the movie or the show or filming the interview. I'm just asking for credit for my gifs.

Saying we don't deserve credit for our gifs because we didn't create the movies and shows is similar to saying fan fic writers don't deserve credit for their writing because they didn't create the world and the characters. When you know that work still has talent that is exclusive to that person and no one else.

Or think about the people who work on shows and movies in the editing department, doing a different version of what gifmakers do. They didn't film the media, they don't own it, but they're still credited for what they brought to it. I took a washed out looking video and made it pop with life and color, and I don't deserve credit for that?

I would like to add that I personally would never post a gifset without writing or linking who the original media belongs to unless I just don't know. In which case, if someone does know they're free to tell me and I'll add to the set. I don't like it when people post gifs with no indication at all of where it comes from. Cuz damn, what if I wanna watch it?

GUIDE TO SPOTTING STOLEN GIFS

gifmakers on tumblr put a lot of effort into their gifs, and understandably get quite annoyed when someone steals them and reposts them without credit. it's especially frustrating when the stolen gifs get a ton of notes. we look at it and we go wtf how did this get so many notes when it's all stolen????

then i realised the average tumblr user, especially if they're new, or they've never created gifs or posted anything, or they don't understand how tumblr even works... well how are they gonna know?

this post will cover some of the most obvious signs that a gifset is stolen, including:

gif sizing + placement

gifset colouring, sharpening and style

the tags of the poster

if this post is helpful to you, please reblog to spread awareness!

1. gifset sizing

when a gifmaker is making a gifset, they Generally will make all of the gifs the same size. by "size" i mean dimensions in pixels. all the gifs will generally be uniform in size, and laid out intentionally to fit tumblr's recommended dimensions.

here is an example of one of my gifsets with uniform dimensions:

all of the gifs are the same size, laid out correctly for the recommended dimensions, and are fully visible with no cut-offs, blurriness, etc.

many times when a gifset is stolen, it'll be made up of a random assortment of gifs, stolen from multiple gifsets. the gifs might be all different sizes, and not laid out correctly, with parts cut off at the top or bottom. they might be blurry, compressed or just not "look" right.

here is an example of a gifset with inconsistent dimensions:

now, i used inspect element to see the dimensions, but how can you spot a incorrectly sized gif or inconsistently sized gifset at a glance if you're on mobile?

well, see that gif of sam? see how it's cut off mid-forehead, and just under his collar?

well, when you click on the gif and view it in its entirety, you can see that parts of the gif were cut off by the incorrect placement of a 540px gif in a 268px layout:

generally speaking, a gifmaker is not going to make a 540px gif and then put it side by side with another gif. gifset placement is not accidental. gifmakers know and use the recommended dimensions to ensure their gifsets are high quality and viewed on the dashboard the way they intended.

this is sign #1 that these gifs were not made by the person who posted them.

2. colouring and subtitles

gifmakers will generally try to make all of their gifs similar in colouring, sharpening and style. gifs will be (to the best of our abilities) similar in brightness, vibrance, tone and sharpness. basically, they will be visually consistent.

a stolen gifset will not. for example:

aside from the inconsistent sizing, these gifs are all sharpened and coloured in vastly different ways. this is admittedly something a gifmaker is more likely to notice, given our experience, but anyone can take a second to just look and see if the gifs look like they were all made by the same person. if they don't, it's likely a stolen gifset.

sidenote: subtitles are also another tell. i generally use the same font, font size, boldness, subtitle colour etc across all of my individual gifs and in all of my gifsets. if one gif has yellow subtitles in arial font, and the other has white subtitles in times new roman, chances are those are stolen gifs.

3. the tags of the poster

this is probably the FASTEST and EASIEST way to tell if a gifset is stolen, and requires some understanding of what tags are and why we use them on tumblr. here is a brief guide for tagging if you need one!

what you need to know is this:

gifmakers often use [media]edit tags to make it easier for people to find their gifsets in a sea of xreader fanfic and text posts, as well as user[tags] to increase reach

gifmakers will usually have a tag specifically for their gifsets (mine is #originals, some people use a #*, some people use their name like #[name]gifs or #mygifs). the purpose of that tag is to make it easy to find the gifsets we've made on our blogs

here is an example of a genuine gifmaker's tags:

people who steal gifs generally aren't aware of the tagging conventions gifmakers use to catalogue their gifs & increase reach, so they won't include them. they might even say outright that the gifs are stolen.

some examples of stolen gifset tags:

this one isn't an exact science. a lot of newer gifmakers aren't aware of the [media]edit tags, or other well-established tagging conventions, and sometimes gifmakers don't have a unique gifmaker tag. HOWEVER, most do and, when paired with looking at the sizing, colouring, sharpening and overall consistency of the gifs, this is usually a good way to sus out if a gifset you aren't sure about is stolen/reposted.

that's it! i hope this was helpful, and that you are better equipped now to figure out if a gifset was actually made by the person posting it!

if this was helpful to you in any way PLEASE reblog, so more people can learn how to pick a genuine gifset from a stolen one. plus i spent a lot of time on this and i would appreciate it okay thanks byeeee

[z0mbbiegvrl]

CAKE BY THE OCEAN - JULY 14TH

featuring: kwon jiyong x fem!reader

warnings: nsfw (unprotected sex, oral fem receiving, slight overstimulation, teasing, dirty talk, light praise kink, multiple orgasms) mentions of smoking and alcohol, possessiveness (nothing serious; in romantic context), honeymoon/married AU

word count: 1095

synopsis: first night as newlyweds, things get spicy (cannot write synopsis for the life of me, i'm sorry)

masterlist link: summer challenge 2025

Tags: @carrotheadedtoast @steponupbabe @breakmeoff (as always, dm me or leave a comment if you’d like to be tagged for the rest of this project)

an: welcome to the first day of my summer challenge!! starting out strong with GD!! random banner i found on Pinterest, did not make it myself. hope you enjoy!!!

The beach below pulsed with neon and the sounds of waves crashing onto the sand, but the suite high above it all was wrapped in a soft, golden glow. The curtains were open just enough for the world outside to glimpse the silhouettes of two newlyweds wrapped in lazy affection.

“You smoke too much,” you teased from the hotel bathroom that was practically the size of a bedroom.

 “You're just mad I looked better than you in the wedding photos.” Jiyong leaned against the balcony door, shirtless in his black Calvin Kleins, cigarette between his lips. His hair was messy from your fingers earlier, his lips still pink from the last kiss you'd stolen.

“Cocky.”

“You married me,” he said as he stepped toward you, the grin on his face softening as he reached you. 

You let him kiss you, his lips sweet and slow, tasting faintly of the red wine you’d both sipped earlier. He cupped your face in both hands like you were a treasure, and his touch made your chest ache in the best way. His hands slipped to your waist, holding you like you might disappear if he let go. The hotel suite was quiet, minus the hum of the air conditioning and the click of your lips parting again and again.

“You gonna show me what ‘madly obsessed’ really means?” you asked against his mouth, briefly mentioning a part of his vows that had warmed your heart, hearing it leave his lips. 

His gaze darkened, voice dropping low. “Come find out.”

You smirked and obeyed, backing onto the plush mattress with a slow sway of your hips, slipping off the silky robe to reveal nothing underneath. He groaned, half reverent, half wrecked — as his eyes traced the curve of your body.

“Fuck, jagiya…”

He joined you on the bed in a second, crawling over your body like a man possessed. “I’ve wanted this all day,” he whispered. “You in that damn sundress, teasing me during lunch…The way your thighs looked under the table? You were doing it on purpose.”

“Maybe I was,” you sighed, though your fingers were already in his hair, guiding him where you wanted him most. “You’re insatiable." Your voice caught in your throat as he licked a slow stripe up your folds, tongue firm and warm.

“Only for you.”

His tongue was sinfully good, slow at first, gentle like he had all the time in the world to savor you. He traced every part of you with worshipful precision, his hands holding your thighs open while his lips worked their way deeper. Then faster, sloppier, more desperate when you arched your back and whimpered his name like a prayer.

“God, Jiyong-fuck-don’t stop.”

He didn’t. If anything, he doubled down, moaning into you, the vibration making you cry out. He flicked your clit with the tip of his tongue before flattening it and sucking, and that was it. You were a trembling mess, thighs clenched around his head as you came with a sharp cry.

You barely had time to breathe before he was kissing his way up your body, lips wet with you, eyes shining with pride.

“You taste so fucking good,” he whispered, voice wrecked. “Can I do it again?”

“Later. Want you inside me.” He let you straddle him, settling against the pillows with wide, hungry eyes. You lined him up with your entrance, teasing him with your wet folds, dragging his cock slowly against your clit just to hear him whimper, just to feel him twitch.

“Fuck, Jagiya,” he hissed, voice strained.

You sank down in one smooth, aching motion, both of you groaning as he filled you. His head fell back, eyes rolling shut, nails digging into your hips.

 “You feel so good. S-so warm... fuck-”

You rode him slowly at first, grinding your hips in lazy circles that had him shaking beneath you. He was flushed, sweat beading on his forehead, and when you leaned down to kiss him, his lips were trembling. 

“You’re so pretty when you’re falling apart,” you whispered into his ear, nipping his lobe before rolling your hips again, faster now. The friction was perfect, the rhythm easy and filthy. He cursed under his breath, hips jerking upward to meet your movements.

The only thing to be heard was the headboard slamming, the bed creaking, and the sweet sounds of your moans echoing in the room. He wasn’t ready to stop, not yet, not when he still had so much more to give you; so even though his legs ached, his voice was hoarse from all of the moaning, and his hair was slick with sweat, his thrusts didn’t falter for a moment.

“Gonna cum f’me?” He asks, voice low and rough as his hips bucking up to meet your movements, his thrusts hard and deep, cockhead kissing your cervix each time, each kiss an intoxicating feeling. “C’mon, you can give me another one, right?” He grunts, his fingers rubbing your clit in time with his upward thrusts, smirking as he watches you writhe above him. 

Your body spasmed, back arching as you came hard again, walls fluttering around his cock. The sound that left his throat was raw, desperate–as he held your hips in place and thrusted deep, spilling into you with a broken moan.

He looked up at you, chest heaving in time with yours, lips parted, cheeks flushed. You collapsed onto him, both of you sticky with sweat and love and sex, wrapped in the kind of warmth that only came after giving someone your whole self. Jiyong’s hair was messy, chest rising and falling like he’d run a marathon.

“Married sex is dangerous,” he murmured, voice hoarse, his fingertips tracing up and down your spine. “We might never leave this room.”

“I think you broke the bed.” You teased, kissing the corner of his mouth. 

He chuckled, eyes soft and shining. “Can you blame me? You’re mine now. Forever.”

“And you’re mine,” you whispered back, brushing his damp hair from his forehead. “So you’d better keep up.”

He grinned, slow and crooked and so full of love it made your chest ache. “I’m topping next time.”

“If you say so,” you murmured into his skin, already drifting into blissed-out sleep, your body tangled in his, legs still trembling.

He kissed your temple, holding you tighter. “I’ll show you tomorrow.”

But even as he said it, he was already hardening against your thigh, his cock twitching in the space between your slick, exhausted bodies. And you both knew… round two wasn’t far away.

[leyla257098]

STRAY KIDS reaction you having narcolepsy (You are an idol) ̨ ! ୨୧ 一 스트레이 키즈 ՞

Anonymous asked: Haii!! Could you do SKZ with a reader with narcolepsy that's also an idol? I love your works!!

I've never written anything like this before and I felt like I didn't write it up to the required standard. Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading it and if you don't like it, let me know <3

PAIRING: stray kids x idol fem!reader

GENRE: Hurt/Comfort, Realistic Angst (light), Slice of Life

WORD COUNT: 1,680 words

WARNING: Narcolepsy mention, Fatigue/exhaustion, Mild emotional vulnerability, Mentions of idol schedules/stress, no explicit language or suggestive content

DISCLAIMER: This is entirely a work of fiction and by no means is meant to be a projection, judgment or representation of real-life people. Any scenarios or representations of the people and places mentioned in works are purely coincidental.Also this is my story so please don't steal! || Masterlist

Narcolepsy: a chronic sleep disorder that causes sudden sleep attacks, cataplexy, or extreme fatigue. If I am wrong, correct me please...

BANG CHAN

When you first opened up to Chan about your narcolepsy, it was during a quiet night after rehearsals. You were both sitting on the studio couch, shoes off, sweat cooling on your backs.

“I need to tell you something,” you said, voice soft. “It’s not a secret, but I don’t talk about it much… I have narcolepsy.”

He blinked slowly, tilting his head. “Like... you fall asleep suddenly?”

“Sometimes. Sometimes it’s just really overwhelming tiredness. I try to manage it, but… with schedules and practice, it’s hard.”

Chan’s brows furrowed in concern, not fear or judgment. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

You shrugged. “Didn’t want to be a burden.”

He reached over and gently laced his fingers through yours. “Hey. You’re never a burden, alright? If anything, I should be supporting you more.”

Since then, Chan became ultra-attentive. Not in a hovering way, but in small things—adjusting practice times when possible, making sure there was a soft hoodie or blanket nearby, keeping water and snacks around.

And when he saw you nodding off in the waiting room one afternoon, he simply shifted so your head could rest on his shoulder and let you sleep.

LEE KNOW

Minho found out by accident. You collapsed into a light nap while filming a behind-the-scenes clip. Everyone assumed you were just tired from practice—until it happened again during dance prep.

After pulling you aside privately, he asked, “Are you okay? It’s been happening more lately.”

You hesitated before answering, “I have narcolepsy. It’s not dangerous, just inconvenient.”

Minho stayed quiet for a moment, processing. Then, in typical Minho fashion, he said, “You should’ve told me. I wouldn’t have teased you about being lazy the other day.”

You both laughed. He never treated you differently after that—didn’t pity you, didn’t fuss over you. But you noticed him walking on your left side during stairs, offering to carry your bag when your body looked heavy with fatigue, nudging you awake subtly when he noticed you zoning out.

One day, you caught him scrolling on his phone. “What are you looking at?”

“Sleep management for narcolepsy,” he muttered, not even looking up. “Some of this stuff is crap though.”

It was small, but that moment told you everything you needed to know about how much he cared.

CHANGBIN

When you told Changbin, he panicked a little at first.

“What do you mean you just... fall asleep?” he asked, eyes wide.

“It’s not like, out of nowhere all the time. I usually feel it coming. It’s just—my brain doesn’t regulate sleep well.”

He scratched the back of his head. “But… you’re on stage! That sounds dangerous.”

You smiled gently. “I’ve trained myself to manage it. My team helps. I rest when I need to. I promise, I’m okay.”

It took him a week to fully understand and accept that you weren’t in constant danger. But once he did, he became your loudest advocate.

“Let her nap, she needs it!” he’d shout at stylists when they tried to wake you prematurely.

He started writing lyrics about being tired and misunderstood. At first, you thought it was unrelated, but then you caught him whispering one line under his breath: "Even when the world moves too fast, I’ll slow down and wait with you."

HYUNJIN

You passed out during vocal warmups one day, your body slumping forward slightly, and Hyunjin was the first to reach you.

When you stirred awake seconds later, he had already crouched in front of you, eyes full of worry. “Are you dizzy? Did you eat? What happened?”

“It’s fine. I have narcolepsy,” you mumbled. “Happens sometimes.”

His gaze was unreadable for a beat. Then he said, softly, “Why does that make me want to cry?”

Later that night, you found him pacing in his room. He looked up when you entered. “I just… you work so hard, and no one even knows what you’re dealing with.”

You hugged him from behind, cheek pressed against his back. “You know now.”

From that day on, Hyunjin began paying closer attention to your energy. He got used to your “off switches,” as he jokingly called them—but he never laughed in front of others. Only you. He'd take your hand and whisper, “Hey, we can rest together later, okay?”

HAN

Han’s reaction was surprisingly quiet.

When you told him, he didn’t say much right away—just nodded slowly and listened, asking one or two questions in his usual curious voice.

“You must be tired all the time,” he said after a long pause. “And still you perform like that?”

You shrugged. “It’s not easy. But I love it.”

After that, he started writing little notes for you—on your water bottle, in your phone case, scribbled onto napkins:

“You’re doing great.”

“Take a break if you need to.”

“Still proud of you even if you nap during my verse.”

He turned your condition into something normal, something not to be ashamed of. And when he saw you struggling to keep your eyes open during a long interview shoot, he pulled your chair a little closer and whispered, “Lean on me, I’ve got you.”

FELIX

Felix was incredibly gentle when you explained it.

He took your hands, his voice softer than usual. “Thank you for telling me. That must’ve been hard.”

You smiled. “I didn’t want to hide it from you.”

From that moment, he never stopped looking out for you. Not in an overprotective way—more like intuitive care.

He’d always keep track of how long you’d been standing. He brought extra snacks in his bag, especially if he saw you spacing out. And once, during a chaotic music show backstage, he gently guided you into a quiet corner, placed his hoodie over your shoulders, and said, “Close your eyes for a bit. I’ll be right here.”

He didn’t treat your narcolepsy like an obstacle. He treated it like part of who you were—and he loved all of you.

SEUNGMIN

Seungmin's reaction was practical.

“Okay. What are your triggers?”

You blinked. “That’s… your first question?”

“Well yeah. I need to know if I should stop dragging you on long walks.”

You laughed. “Lack of sleep, stress, sometimes sugar crashes.”

He nodded. “Cool. I’ll pack fruit instead of gummies next time.”

He never coddled you. In fact, he treated you the same as always—but made subtle adjustments in everything he did. He wouldn’t let anyone talk over you when you were zoning out. He’d keep you engaged in conversation just long enough to keep you awake, but never push when he noticed your energy dropping.

“You’re not fragile,” he told you once. “You’re just managing something invisible. That’s kind of badass.”

And every time you woke up from an unplanned nap, you’d find him waiting nearby—book in hand, earbuds in, quietly watching over you.

JEONGIN

Jeongin was visibly shaken the first time you fell asleep mid-sentence during dinner with the members. You blinked awake minutes later to find him staring at you, eyes wide with concern.

“I’m sorry,” you mumbled. “Narcolepsy. It’s not new.”

He tilted his head, trying to process. “Do you… feel it coming?”

“Sometimes.”

From then on, Jeongin asked a lot of questions—but not out of fear, out of a genuine desire to understand. He even watched documentaries about it on his own time.

The next time you had a sleep spell, he didn’t panic. He simply adjusted your position on the couch, draped his jacket over you, and went back to his game—checking on you every few minutes with a soft glance.

“You’re incredible, you know,” he whispered when you stirred. “You go through all this and still smile.”

You smiled back, half-asleep. “Only for you.”

[ladykailitha]

Murder in the Heartland Part 12

Shit! I almost forgot to post this today. I've just been so flighty lately. I even have reminders everywhere and I still manage to forget. Sorry.

Thankfully I had to be up early for my son's doctor's appointment so I could get scheduled to post before I left.

In this we have Eddie's friends concerned about his love life, and they find their Penny Lane.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11

~

Interviewer: This really is a beautiful island, just filled with such beautiful people. You must be just swimming in offers from the many women here.

Steve ducks his head and blushes: Yeah, no. I’m practically a hermit here and any attempts have been straight up disastrous.

Interviewer: Oh come now, a handsome man like you, they must be absolutely tumbling in and out of your bed.

Steve reddens further, but this time in anger: Homosexuality isn’t as wide spread on a small island as one would like.

~

Eddie walked back into the office, running his fingers through his hair as he tried to straighten it out.

“He’s certainly handsy,” Jeff said with a smirk, not looking up from his sheets of data. He was working on an embezzlement case and was scouring the accounts for discrepancies.

“He gets what he wants out of it and so do I,” Eddie said, scowling.

“I just assumed that you’d have better taste,” Jeff said, looking up at him. “Like he’s got to be the bottom of the barrel, dude.”

“Condoms are involved,” Eddie said shaking his head. “And that’s more than I can say for most guys I see at the gay bars. And so what if he’s not out, it’s not like I’m looking for a steady boyfriend.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it,” Jeff said, standing up and walking over to Eddie’s desk. “That scummy lawyer from that case you and Bri are doing. Surely there is someone out there better that?”

Eddie burst out laughing. “Once the case is over with we go our separate ways. He goes back to his white picket fence and I go back to cruising bars. It’s not complicated.”

“So you’re using him as much as he’s using you?” Jeff asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Look, I know I you’re just trying to protect me,” he said with a huff. “But I know what I’m getting myself into, okay?”

“You might,” Jeff said, slamming his hands on the desk. “But does he? What if he catches feelings, Ed? What will you do then?”

“That’s not my concern,” Eddie snapped back, pushing his chair away from his desk to stand up. “I told him it was strictly a hook up for me and considering we haven’t done anything but fuck in alleyways I really don’t know how that spells romance for anyone.”

Jeff straightened up. “Stranger things have happened, Ed. Just be careful, okay? Like his name is literally Chad, a pseudonym for hot and successful, you can’t tell me he doesn’t appeal to you on some level.”

“Yeah about here,” Eddie growled, putting hand level with his dick. “That’s all I’m here for. I know all of you guys are settling down, but that’s not in the cards for me. Gay men are dropping like flies and I would really like to make it to the next decade. Especially since we aren’t that far into this one.”

Jeff raised his hands in surrender. “Okay, I’ll back off.”

“Thank you!”

“Uh oh,” Gareth said from the doorway, “looks like Mom and Dad are fighting again.”

Brian snorted and shouldered past him to get into the office. “It’s probably about Chad. It’s always about Chad these days.”

Eddie raised an eyebrow at Jeff who had the decency to look chagrin about it as he scratched the back of his neck.

“Who the fuck cares,” Gareth huffed, throwing his backpack on his chair and started digging through it, “they’re consenting adults. They can do whatever they want. As long as they don’t do it in the office, I couldn’t care less.”

“Same,” Brian said shaking his head. “You can’t go through life afraid you’re going get hurt or that you’ll hurt someone else. Both things are going to happen, you just have try to minimize the damage when it’s done.”

“Here, here!” Eddie said holding up his coffee mug. He turned to Jeff. “What say you Sir Jeffy? You agree, too?”

Jeff huffed and rolled his eyes. “Yes, yes. Fine. You can get your freak on with Mr. Fancy-pants Lawyer and I will leave you alone about it.”

Eddie set his cup down and danced a little jig. “Yes!”

“Now that we’ve got that sorted,” Brian said with a smirk, “I think I found our little runaway!” He held up a folder.

Eddie leapt over his desk and was by Brian’s side in an instant. He made grabby hands for it. “Gimme, gimme!”

Brian handed it over willingly. “Thankfully Murray’s info came through and as far as the police are aware, they have all of Carver’s victims. All the people mentioned in the diaries have been found and accounted for. Dead or alive.”

Eddie opened the file and began to scan the papers within. He pumped his fist.

“Score!” he cried. “This is exactly the lead we’ve been looking for! I could kiss you!”

Brian reared his head back. “If your mouth has been anywhere near a dick in the last five minutes I would much rather you brush your teeth first.”

Eddie blinked at him for a moment. “Right. Fair point.” Then he started jumping up and down and cheering.

“You are such a dork,” Jeff said with an eye roll. “How are you so good at this detective racket again?”

Eddie cocked his head to the side as he thought about it, then shrugged. “Natural talent I guess.”

“Dis-gust-ing,” Gareth growled, shaking his head. “He can learn music by ear and play it back near perfect and then add this natural ability to solve cases and it’s not fair. Leave something for the rest of us, man!”

He grinned back at his friend. “Speaking of music, everyone gonna be in town this weekend for the festival, right?”

Indy was hosting a mini-metal festival over the weekend and Corroded Coffin had been invited. They still played on occasion even the agency kept their lights on. They still loved playing to enthusiastic crowds.

“Hell yeah!” Jeff said with a grin. “Miranda was so excited she asked for the whole weekend off at her work!”

“It’s going to be awesome!” Brian agreed. “My parents are even going to come up from Hawkins for it.”

“It’s times like this I wish we still had your van, man,” Gareth said shaking his head. “I didn’t have to worry about my kit when it was covered.”

Eddie snapped his fingers. “I knew there was something I was meaning to do! I was planning on getting a bed cover. I don’t like the idea of our amps getting rained on anymore than I do your kit getting caught.”

“Yeah,” Jeff said with a wince. “We’ll all pitch in a bit for it since it’s our stuff being hauled around.”

Gareth and Brian nodded.

“You guys don’t have to do that,” Eddie said sagging his shoulders. “You know I’ve got the money. I still have a good chuck of that government payout.”

“Nah, man,” Gareth said shaking his head. “Save that for something fun. The rest of us can pitch in for this.”

“Thanks, guys!” Eddie said wiping away an imaginary tear. “Come on Bri-guy! Let’s go tell Penny Lane she’s a multi-millionaire.”

Brian let out a pained sigh. “I can’t believe she used a Beatles song to cover her tracks. That’s such a come down, you know,” he said as he gathered up his jacket. “I was hoping for something cooler, you know?”

Eddie cackled, pulling his own jacket back on. “We can’t win them all. Just think about Brunhilde and how pretty she’ll look on your mantelpiece.”

“I already called the store and made a down payment on her so she can’t be sold from under me,” he said as they walked out together, their remaining friends shaking their heads at them.

~

Penny had moved out to Utah, knowing that it was the one place her father would not come to look for her. She had married a Mormon missionary from Salt Lake City, who had been proselyting in the Hawkins area and had two babies both under the age of two.

The real kicker was that while they were living in Utah near his family, they weren’t of the faith anymore. Getting a girl pregnant on your mission apparently was looked down on.

“Hello,” Eddie said when he knocked on her door. “I’m Eddie Munson and this Brian Martin, we’re from Munson, Hughes, Lawrence, and Martin Detective Agency. We were hired by Rowling, Lovecraft, and Card a law firm from Hawkins. Can I confirm I’m speaking to Penny Lane, neé Abernathy?”

Penny was a tall, soft woman with blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. She looked happy with laugh lines around her eyes and a smile on her face that had fallen when they introduced themselves. “Only if the old man is dead.”

Eddie and Brian shared a glance.

“Well then we come bearing good news,” Brian said with a dark chuckle. “Been stone cold for almost a year.”

Penny blinked at them for a moment. “Wait, you’re serious? He’s actually dead?”

“As serious as the heart attack that took him,” Eddie confirmed. “Could we come in to talk about it?”

Penny stared at him for a moment and then stepped back to let them in. She lead them to her living room and motioned for them to sit on the sofa. “We’ll have to keep it short. I just put my kids down for a nap and I have no idea how long they’ll stay that way.”

“We’ll try to keep it as brief as we can,” Brian assured her, sitting in the middle of the large, fluffy floral couch.

“Your father died about eight months ago,” Eddie said, handing her the obituary that ran in The Hawkins Post. “Everything he had was given to you in the will. Your father’s attorneys hired us to find you when they couldn’t.”

“If you don’t accept the money,” Brian said, “it’ll go to his third cousins, something he rather vehemently objected to.”

Penny let out a pained sigh. “Yeah. I’ve met them and as much as I hated my old man, I think hate them most. One of the reasons me and Ryan and came back to Utah was because we both had family out here. Family we hoped would help with the baby.”

“I’m guessing that neither family was pleased to learn golden boy had knocked up an heiress,” Brian said shaking his head with grimace.

“Right in one,” she said with a huff. “Right after Louis was born we got a letter and check. I think I still have it.” She got to her feet and went to an end table to start rifling through it. “The letter was unsigned but it said that even if my old man was an asshole, and cut me off, every family deserved to start off on the right foot.”

“Well that was nice of them,” Eddie said, a small inkling tickling at the back of his mind. Like there was this pattern that was starting to form.

“Ah ha!” Penny cried. “Found it!” She walked over to the sofa and handed it to Brian.

Eddie raised an eyebrow but kept his mouth shut as Brian read the letter and then passed it over to him. When he looked it over both eyebrows shot up.

“A thousand dollars,” he said with a low whistle. “That’s pretty good starting money all right.” He handed the letter back to her.

“It really helped us get settled without the help of our families,” she agreed. “I think it stung them a little how easy we thrived without them or the Church.” She folded the letter on her lap and looked down at it, smoothing it along the folded edges. “How much did the old bastard leave behind?”

“In hard cash before you get even into the properties and other assets,” Eddie said coolly, running his tongue over the top row of his teeth, “comes to just over two million dollars.”

“Um...” she squeaked. “Come again?”

Brian tilted his head to the side. “Yeah, we were a little surprised about the amount too, when a representative of the law firm your father employed told us when he hired Eddie to find you.”

“All total,” Eddie said, leaning on his knees with his elbows, his hands clasped in front of him, “the entire estate is worth ten million dollars.”

“Oh my god,” she whispered, pressing a hand to her mouth. “I thought I had been written off by Dad. He was so mad when I brought Ryan home. I thought he was going to have a stroke right there.”

Eddie and Brian shared a grimace.

“Dating a missionary, even if he was going to give it all up for you must have ground your dad’s gears more than a little,” Brian said clicking his tongue and shaking his head.

“All you’ve got to do is come to Hawkins and sign the papers,” Eddie said cocking his head, “and the money is all yours.”

Penny let out a little sigh. “Me and Ryan have been thinking about moving for a long time, getting away from this hell that is Utah, but this is where Ainsley is buried.”

“Who’s Ainsley?” Eddie asked, gently. There was no mention of Penny being connected to anyone by that name in any of their research.

She snorted and shook her head. “Only the whole reason Dad never met any of his grandkids. I was pregnant with her when I left Hawkins but because of all the trauma and stress I went through, I had a still birth. Louis is the oldest of the two who made it.”

“Oh,” he murmured. “I’m sorry.”

“You can have her re-interred,” Brian said. “It’s not cheap, but you’re now a multi-millionaire, so... But basically you can have her moved to Indiana with you. We had to do it for my grandmother when my grandfather’s second wife wanted to buried next to him instead of her.”

“Okay...” she said, eyes wide. “That’s a lot to take in there. First let express my sympathy about your grandma, that’s a really shitting thing to do to someone already dead...”

Brian snorted. “I don’t think grandma would have liked the man he became after her death anyway, so we figured it was win/win honestly. Grandma and Granddad were atheists and Granddad after he met and married a devout Catholic, he became a completely different person.”

“Religion can make you go mad,” she agreed nodding. “But back to the re-interment, you really think it’s possible?”

“Oh yeah,” Brian said brightly. “It might take some time, but you absolutely can take your daughter with you.”

She sagged with relief. “Thank you so much.”

Then a plaintive cry rang out into the air. Eddie and Brian shared another grimace.

“I think that’s our cue to leave,” Eddie said, getting to his feet. He paused for a moment. “Can I take a picture of the letter so we can have copy for our file?”

Penny jumped in surprise. “Oh right! Of course.” She handed it to him and Eddie pulled out a pocket camera. He took a couple of quick pictures to make sure he got one that came out. Then they said their goodbyes and exited her home so she could deal with her little ones.

“What did you want that letter for anyway?” Brian said as they walked out to their rental. “It adds nothing to the case.”

Eddie just shrugged. “I just have this niggling feeling I’ve seen the handwriting before. So I was going to check out against some of the other letters and shit we have on file.”

Brian snorted. “You just don’t like that some part of the mystery is unsolved.”

“Guilty as charged, Bri-guy,” Eddie said with a laugh. “Guilty as charged.”

~

Tag List: TWO SLOTS REMAINING

1- @niniel-karenine @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @sadisticaltarts @dolphincliffs

2- @gregre369 @gloomysoup @cryptid-system @kultiras @maya-custodios-dionach

3- @goodolefashionedloverboi @val-from-lawrence @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog @bookbinderbitch

4- @bookworm0690 @forgottenkanji @dreamercec @blondie1006 @yikes-a-bee

5- @awkwardgravity1 @oopsallgender @fearieshadow @stedestielfrattficlover @dragonmama76

6- @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt @useless-nb-bisexual @disrespectedgoatman @counting-dollars-counting-stars

7- @tinyplanet95 @ravenfrog @swimmingbirdrunningrock @gutterflower77 @wheneverfeasible

8- @just-a-tiny-void @w1ll0wtr33 @beelze-the-bubkiss @steddieislife @bridget-malfoy-stilinski-hale

9- @stripey82 @kroymu09 @chaotic-waffle @tartarusknight @hattsy-likes-pretty-stuff

10- @johannamry @themoonagainstmers @eternal-sunflowers

[suzukiblu]

WIP WEDNESDAY GAME

Slimmed-down post/rules, but originally taken from @/kedreeva.

It’s WIP Wednesday! The theme is [ REDACTED ], but a specifically Super-leaning flavor of it, so I think we can blame my weekend viewing of the new movie for this one. Basically Damian is in attendance to snark and the Justice League is here to annoy the fuck out of Black Zero, but pretty much everybody else of importance is either a Super or at least Super-adjacent, haha.

( no one cares that you're here, Waller, go away and stop boring ITS LUTHOR. )

Went with three WIPs that were voted for by Ko-fi from some follower-made suggestions, two dealer's choice WIPs I picked myself, and one mystery slot that I . . . also picked myself, admittedly, lol.

( LOOK THAT'S HOW THE MYSTERY SLOT GOES OKAY hahahaha )

Here’s how it works:

I will post the file names of a few WIPs and a ~✨mystery slot✨~ option, and will also post a snippet of new content from one of said WIPs to get the ball rolling.

Send me an ask with the name of one of the listed WIPs and I will write you a minimum of three sentences in that WIP in response!

Multiple requests are fine, but please send them in separate asks. Just a little easier for me to fill them that way, and also easier for people to read through the WIP tags smoothly later.

If you’re reading this, you’re invited!

WIP names:

Superboys Switch (( chrono || non-chrono ))

Clark panic-adopts his teenage clones (( chrono || non-chrono ))

hereditary behaviors (( chrono || non-chrono ))

den mom Black Zero (( chrono || non-chrono ))

mirror mirror (( chrono || non-chrono ))

and also:

an mystery slot!! (( that will, for the record, be tagged with "superman 2025 spoilers", so y'all know what not to ask for/what to blacklist if you don't want any of those, hah. ))

This week's mystery slot is very simple.

snippet from “Superboys Switch":

“Coooool,” the kid says, and Jon opens his eyes to find the kid floating in a little closer over Damian’s shoulder and grinning excitedly, their own eyes practically sparkling with delight. “Do those explode?” 

“Not enough for our current needs,” Damian says. “They will, however, serve respectably to initiate a proper detonation.” 

“Cooooooooool,” the kid repeats, looking gleeful. 

Jon really has no idea how he feels about the kid’s clear delight at things like rage-induced heat vision and explosions, but–whatever, that’s what therapy’s for, he figures. Not that he actually ever went himself ( because that would mean admitting he wasn’t the same, wasn’t still who he’d been before, wasn’t– ), but allegedly it’s supposed to help. 

. . . well, as long as you don’t do it in Gotham, anyway.

[wlwsoccerfics]

There must be a Way (MaryEarpsXDaughter)

A/N: reupload of this one.

Warning:Reader has CP, angst is very much present, Talks about bullying

Summary: you really feel down cause you want to Play soccer but you have CP.

You watched your mama practice at England Camp, sitting on a bench. Sighing softly to yourself. You wanted to play as well. But you wore leg braces cause of your CP. You were quite frustrated at the moment. The fact that you currently were 12 years old and a preteen didn't help at all with your mood. You didn't have to wear the braces all the time anymore like when you were Younger but you knew you could never be like your Mom or your aunties Tooney and Lessi.

Hannah is walking over to you, sitting down next to you. She had noticed you had been acting different from your usual self since you had arrived at Camp with your Mom yesterday.

"you okay, Kid?" Hannah asked. You shook your head no.

"not really, this sucks. I am never gonna be able to play football like you guys do. And that's all i really want." You admitted. Sniffling softly. Quickly wiping away a single tear.

"i am sorry that you got dealed those cards. It must be really hard." Hannah stated.

"i get bullied at school. People call me Forrest Gump!" You explained. Hannah was quite shocked to hear that.

"y/n...you know those people are stupid for saying stuff like that? You are amazing just the way you are!" Hannah told you.

"thanks, but that doesn't feel like it! I just want to play like you guys do and be normal for a bit!" You answered.

"normal is boring, you know?" Grace said and sat down next to you.

"i agree with Grace!" Hannah replied.

"what's going on here?" Your Mom Mary asked when she approached your little group.

"i want to Play football and be more like you. Not getting called names like 'Forrest Gump' or 'weird legs'. It's frustrating." You explained. This all was new information for your Mom. Which you just realized that you forgot to tell her this. Biting down on your bottom lip.

"y/n, why didn't you tell me about you getting bullied?" Your Mom asked. Kneeling down in front of you. Placing a Hand on your knee.

"...i didn't want to worry you!" You admitted.

"Love, you are my daughter. I am always gonna worry about you!" Your Mom said.

Later that day you were working on a Powerpoint you had to do for school. so you were upstairs in the room you shared with your Mom. While she was downstairs in the gaming room with Leah, Hannah , Millie B. and Chloe . Hannah and your Mom have explained to the others what's been going on.

"she does have great Hand eye coordination. So maybe we can try give her Goalkeeper practice. And she can work with the Physical therapist here. Some people with CP can actually Play Sports and maybe that the was for her." Hannah suggested.

"she has gotten so far with her walking and soon is getting her Leg braces off. We gonna try it without them. How long she can keep herself on her feet. So this might be worth a try!" Your Mom admitted.

"we just all have be there for her so she knows how loved she is. She has always been our little lionesses lucky Charm." Leah answered.

"maybe we should organize a Football Tournament for Kids and Teens with CP in the future." Millie B. said.

"that's actually a good Idea." Chloe told them.

Your Mom came to you after that talk and told you what they had planned. Leah had already talked to the Physio.

"so what do you think about it? Would you want to try and be a Goalkeeper? You don't have to Run so much but you have to be able to stand for a long period of time." Your Mom said.

"yes i want to push myself to my limits and see if i can be decent or at least i can say i got to try it out and feel normal." You explained. Smiling a bit.

"then we will start tomorrow. Today you have a Session with the physical therapist though." Mady said. You hugged your mom.

"thank you, Mom. This means alot to me!" You let her know. You also had a talk about possibly doing online classes all the time so you didn't have to Deal with the bullies!

You had physical therapy. Working on the basics. Physical therapy was always Part of your life. But this was making more fun then it did usually.

The next morning you started with Goalkeeping practice. You had your braces on. Getting the ball thrown into your arms to see how good you could stand when you would have to catch something. It was actually so much fun for you. It was hard but somehow you never got frustrated that day. the Others Girls and your Mom kept pushing you to continue with hyping you up. It was gonna be a long way but at least someone was giving you a Chance. Even If you would end up not being able to do it. And no one was making fun of you. Which was amazing.

[sizzlingcandyjellyfishhhhhh]

I don't want to send hate, but instead, adoration. I genuinely appreciate the strength that you have to wake up and take on each day. Yes, some days may be more challenging than others, yet you still find the time to do some sort of self care. Whether it be exercising, cleaning, or practicing art- you're choosing to take time for YOU, no matter what. Also, your unapologetic honesty is another key trait that most don't have. Which is, again, a value in your character. Lastly, your harm reduction posts have helped so much on the hardest days in life, and I just really respect you. Thanks for all that you do and continue to do in order to grow into the best possible human that you can, regardless of your circumstances. You're a real one

ooooh I love this so much thank you!! that’s so true I try to always prioritize taking care of myself despite my ed and I hope others can be inspired by that :)) and omg I’m so glad you like my “”brutal”” honesty and that my harm reduction posts have helped you!! that makes me so happy <3

thanks for the nice ask!!

[wrappedinpinklace]

Out Of Bounds, Chapter Sixteen.

(A/N!! i know this chapter is short but i want the next chapter to kinda jump into the next event. hope yall enjoy!! xoxo angel <3)

(taglist: @your-so-vain @aejabba @glennussy @eradication-is-enternal-bliss if u want to be added pls tell me!)

Morning light crept through the slats in the curtains, casting golden streaks across the bed and illuminating the tangle of limbs wrapped in soft sheets. Jason’s arm was draped over your waist, his face buried in the crook of your neck, warm breath tickling your skin as he slowly began to stir.

Neither of you had said much since waking, content to just lay there—bodies molded together like they were carved that way. You let your fingers play with the ends of his hair, your mind blissfully blank for the first time in weeks.

But of course, the quiet couldn’t last forever.

Jason shifted, just enough to glance up at you, eyes heavy with sleep and something else—something soft. “Hey.”

You hummed in response, eyes closed.

“So… my father wants you to come over for dinner next weekend,” he said casually, like he hadn’t just dropped a bomb.

Your eyes flew open.

“What?”

Jason grinned against your shoulder. “Dinner. At the manor. Nothing fancy—well, not too fancy. Just Bruce, Alfred, maybe Damian if he’s around. Dick’ll be there, obviously.”

You sat up slightly, the sheet slipping down your chest, eyes wide. “You want me to come to Wayne Manor for dinner?”

Jason propped himself up on his elbow, watching your expression with a mixture of amusement and tenderness. “Don’t look so horrified. You’ve met them before.”

“Barely,” you mumbled, pulling the covers up around you like some kind of armor. “I mean—I know Dick, obviously. And Alfred’s sweet. But your dad? Jason, he’s the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. He terrifies me. I think I’ve said, like, two whole words to him.”

Jason snorted. “Well, that’s two more than most people get. And he likes you.”

You gave him a skeptical look.

“No, really,” he insisted, brushing a strand of hair out of your face. “After everything that happened, he told me you were smart. Said it was my fault for screwing up something good.”

Your eyes widened. “He said that?”

Jason nodded. “Word for word.”

You stared at him, heartbeat skipping. You remembered that brief conversation in the infirmary, Bruce’s voice steady and firm, telling you not to throw away your future for heartbreak. He hadn’t seemed cruel then. Just honest.

Still, dinner with the Bruce Wayne was an entirely different beast.

“I’m going to embarrass myself,” you groaned, flopping back into the pillows.

Jason leaned over you, smirking. “I wouldn’t let that happen. Besides…” he paused, brushing a kiss to your cheek, “you already survived my wrath. Bruce is practically a kitten in comparison.”

You snorted. “Somehow I doubt that.”

“You’ll be fine,” he murmured, nuzzling into your neck again. “He’ll love you. They all will. You’re impossible not to love.”

Your chest tightened at his words. It was still new—this openness, this warmth between you—but it felt real. And for once, you were willing to trust that feeling.

“Okay,” you whispered, heart pounding. “I’ll come.”

Jason grinned into your skin, already planning how he’d tease you over dinner nerves the rest of the week.

————

“Okay, so let me get this straight,” Stephanie said, her spoon pausing midair as she raised an eyebrow. “Jason Todd—broody, brooding, broods-for-fun Jason Todd—asked you to dinner. With. His. Family.”

You sighed, cheeks already hot as you stirred your tea with unnecessary focus. “Yes. Merlin, Steph, don’t make it a thing—”

“It is a thing,” she grinned, setting her spoon down to fully turn toward you. “Do you know what this means? This isn’t just ‘sneaking around under the bleachers’ anymore. This is ‘come meet the people who raised me because I’m thinking about keeping you.’”

You groaned, covering your face with one hand. “Please stop talking.”

“I will not!” she declared dramatically. “Do you even know what you’re going to wear? You can’t just waltz into Wayne Manor in your school robes—this is Bruce Wayne. Capital B, Capital W.”

“I know,” you muttered into your cup, the weight of that name alone enough to twist your stomach. “I’ve barely spoken to him outside of class. And the time I fainted in front of him. Great first impression, right?”

Stephanie waved you off. “He’s basically a walking statue. If anyone can crack him, it’s you. Besides, he didn’t expel Jason after the Yule Ball fallout. That has to count for something.”

“I just… I want them to like me,” you admitted quietly. “I mean, I know Dick does. But Alfred? Bruce? Even Damian—”

“Oh please,” Steph said, grinning over the rim of her cup. “They’re going to love you. Especially if you don’t faint this time.”

You narrowed your eyes. “You’re enjoying this way too much.”

“Absolutely,” she beamed. “Now, do you want help picking an outfit or should I just pick something for you and pretend you asked?”

You sighed again, but the nerves were easier to carry with her beside you.

————

Jason waited until the last student shuffled out of the classroom, dragging their feet and muttering about homework. He was halfway out the door himself when he heard it—

“Jason.”

He froze.

Professor Wayne—Bruce—didn’t even glance up from the stack of papers on his desk. “Close the door.”

Jason complied, stepping back into the room and letting the heavy oak door shut behind him. He stood awkwardly near the front row of desks, hands stuffed in his pockets.

Bruce finally looked up. “Did she accept the invitation?” Jason blinked. “Uh—yeah. She did.”

Bruce nodded once, thoughtful. “Good.”

There was a pause—just long enough for Jason to feel uncomfortable.

“She’s a bright girl,” Bruce added, folding his hands in front of him. “Focused. Resilient.”

Jason shifted on his feet, his shoulders tensing. “She is.”

Another pause. “How are things going?”

Jason scratched the back of his neck. “They’re… fine. Better. We’re taking things slow. Mostly.”

Bruce’s brow twitched ever so slightly, but he said nothing.

“She’s… good for me,” Jason said after a beat, and that was the most honest thing he’d said in days. “I don’t want to mess it up again.”

Bruce studied him for a long moment, unreadable as ever. Then he simply nodded. “Then don’t.”

Jason opened his mouth to say something else, but thought better of it. He turned, heading for the door, but not before Bruce added quietly—

“She makes you better. I can see that. Make sure she knows it too.”

Jason left the room with his heart thudding hard in his chest.

————

Clothes were everywhere.

Your bed looked like a battleground. Blouses tossed across pillows, skirts flung over your trunk, a pile of rejected options slowly building on your bed. You stood in the middle of it all, holding up a black dress for the third time and frowning.

“Too fancy?” you asked.

Stephanie, who had made herself quite comfortable sitting crisscrossed in your desk chair while eating a chocolate frog, didn’t even look up. “You’re going to dinner with the Waynes, not applying for a Ministry job. Put it down.”

You sighed, throwing it onto the pile. “You’re not being helpful.”

“I am being helpful,” she argued, licking chocolate off her finger. “I told you not to wear that one.”

“That’s not—ugh. What am I supposed to wear?”

She finally stood, brushing off her skirt and walking over to inspect the damage. “Okay, so. Something nice, obviously. Polished. Respectable.”

You perked up.

“But also something that screams: Hi, yes, I’m the girl your son’s been sneaking around with for the last three weekends.”

“Stephanie!”

She grinned. “What? I’m just saying—subtle sexy is still sexy.”

Your face burned. “I am not dressing sexy for his dad.”

“Not for him! For Jason. And for your own confidence. I mean, c’mon, you’ve got to walk into that house looking like a goddess. Let that man see what he nearly lost and now has to work his ass off to keep.”

You paused, considering that.

“Also,” she added, already rummaging through your closet. “You are staying over the weekend, right?”

“I don’t know—he invited me for dinner—”

“Yeah, and when have you two ever managed to spend time together without it ending in complete clothing loss?” she said, pulling out a deep green sweater dress and holding it up like a trophy. “This. This is it.”

You took it, inspecting the soft fabric. It was modest… but not too modest. The kind of thing you could pair with boots and a coat and still feel like yourself in.

“You think his family will like me?” you asked quietly, half-laughing but not really joking.

Stephanie’s voice softened too. “I think they already do. Dick adores you, Bruce literally carried you to the infirmary and gave you a pep talk, and Alfred? Please. That man probably already has your favorite tea ready.”

You smiled, nerves loosening just a little.

“Now,” she said, clapping her hands, “tell me—will there be some… extracurriculars after this dinner, or is this strictly polite, above-the-belt business?”

You rolled your eyes. “Stephanie.”

“I’m just trying to prepare you emotionally,” she smirked. “Because if I were dating Jason Todd and he looked at me the way he looks at you, I wouldn’t even make it through dessert.”

You snorted and threw a pillow at her, which she caught effortlessly.

“I’m serious!” she said, laughing. “You better text me everything.”

You bit your lip, cheeks warm, and looked down at the dress in your hands. “We’ll see how dinner goes.”

————

The sky was soft and gray, dusk settling in over the castle as students slowly trickled off the field. Jason stayed behind, tossing his broom over his shoulder, still buzzing from the win earlier in the week. He didn’t notice Dick until his brother stepped out from the bleachers, arms crossed and a knowing grin already plastered across his face.

“So,” Dick said casually, falling into step beside him, “Dad tells me you’re bringing her to dinner.”

Jason side-eyed him. “You spying on my calendar now?”

“Nope. Bruce just looked marginally less grumpy than usual and mentioned a guest was coming.” He nudged Jason’s arm. “Didn’t take a genius to figure out who.”

Jason grunted. “You got a problem with it?”

“No,” Dick said, stretching the word like he was trying it out. “Just surprised, is all. I thought you’d be terrified of bringing someone you actually like around Bruce.”

Jason didn’t answer. Mostly because yes, he was terrified. But he wasn’t about to give Dick the satisfaction of hearing that out loud.

“She’s nervous,” Jason muttered instead.

“She should be,” Dick said immediately. “Bruce can be a bit—”

“Intense?”

“I was going to say ‘existentially terrifying,’ but yeah. Intense works too.”

They walked in silence for a beat.

“You really like her,” Dick said eventually, and this time, the teasing tone was gone. He looked over at his brother, a little more serious now. “I mean, I knew you did before, but… this? A Wayne family dinner? That’s like, next-level commitment for you.”

Jason exhaled, not quite a laugh. “Yeah. I do. I screwed up bad and I’m lucky she even wants to see me at all, let alone meet the whole family.”

Dick gave him a look. “Hey. You’re doing better. I’ve seen it. She’s seen it. That’s what matters.”

Jason didn’t reply right away. He just stared straight ahead, fingers tightening around the handle of his broom.

“She deserves everything good,” he said eventually. “And I don’t know if I’m ever gonna be good enough for her. But I’m trying.”

Dick clapped a hand on his shoulder, firm and warm. “That’s all any of us can do. Just—don’t screw this up. Because if you do? You’re not just gonna have Bruce on your ass. You’ll have me too.”

Jason smirked, shoving his arm off. “Yeah, yeah. Protective big brother mode activated. I get it.”

“Damn right.” They reached the castle doors, the last of the golden light slipping behind the mountains.

Jason paused. “Thanks. For not being a dick about it.”

Dick raised a brow. “I am a Dick.”

Jason groaned. “You know what? I take it back.”

[writtenbyshama]

Memory Theatre (Sylus x Reader)

Synopsis: Y/n is a protocore researcher who is looking for answers about how an aether core got lodged into her heart and why is it messing with her brain. In the midst of this elaborate maze of dead ends and false answers, she encounters a man who seems to be very interested in her and is willing to find ways of providing her with the answers she's seeking.

Author's note: Y/n is not a hunter; she is a Master's student (not based on myself at all) and a part time protocore researcher at the Association. No changes to Sylus, although there may be situations in the story where he might be a little out of character. Mentions of the other LADS men, but they are not the love interests here.

Part 2

Chapter 12: Sylus Becomes Skye

“So, how long have you known each other?” Tara asked, her eyes darting between me and Sylus. 

Sylus was languidly seated right next to me on the velvet sofa. He gave me a smug look and put his arm around my shoulders, which didn’t go unnoticed by my colleagues. “A few years now, I should say. We’re besties by now.”

I inwardly rolled my eyes, but I went along with whatever answer he came up with. All of my colleagues were eagerly hanging on to every word that escaped his mouth. 

“Y/n’s a very private person, you know,” Anderson laughed good-naturedly. “This is the first time she’s agreed to come along with us. And now we know why.”

There were chuckles all around. A waiter came over with a tray of fresh drinks for everyone. After ‘Skye’ had noticed me, he had insisted on moving our party to the VIP room. The wealthy man who owned a ‘family business’ had gained admiration and praise in a matter of minutes. 

Tara was seated the closest to our sofa. She leaned forward and picked up her drink covered with a paper umbrella. “So, what do you think about our Y/n, Skye?” She smiled coyly when I gave her a bemused look. 

“Y/n,” Sylus drawled, using the arm around me to pull me closer until I was practically sitting on his lap. He glanced at me once to make sure I wasn’t uncomfortable, and strangely enough, I liked his closeness and warmth. “She’s a really lovely, precious treasure. I’m just absolutely delighted to be included in her life.”

Our audience swooned at his answer, and I felt a blush creeping up neck. They all thought that we were in a relationship together, and Sylus wasn’t giving any indication that we weren’t (His usage of the word ���bestie’ had fallen on deaf ears). I didn’t protest either. Thankfully, the conversation steered to other subjects as the night wore on and the atmosphere was saturated with food and more alcohol. 

At the end of this charade, Sylus (or Skye), being the good-natured fruit vendor he was, settled everyone’s tabs. He was showered with drunken gratitude and I was complimented on how lucky I was to be in a relationship with such a generous man. Taxicabs arrived in a line and everyone climbed into one until eventually, I was left alone with Sylus.

The cold night air outside the bar was refreshing and I breathed it in deeply. Sylus was leaning against the brick wall, his elegant coat flapping in the breeze. 

“What was all that?” I asked finally. 

He smirked. “You tell me.”

I rolled my eyes. “I saw you with some guy. What happened to him? Why did you suddenly abandon him and come to me?”

He shrugged. “He was boring me to death and I realised that you had more potential for entertainment.”

“Someone had told me he’d leave me alone if we couldn’t resonate, then showed up to act as my lover in front of my colleagues.”

“When making a deal, sweetie, you should always read the fine print. I did say I’d leave you alone, but I didn’t mention for how long.”

Wow. He’d caught me there. I mirrored his stance, leaning against the wall and faced him. “So? Is this going to be a regular occurrence?”

“What? Me acting as your lover?”

I nodded. He straightened and took a step closer. “Do you want me to?”

I blinked, suddenly frozen at his proximity. His voice was already divine, but he’d asked that question with an additional layer of sultriness, and I found out that I couldn’t breathe. Instead of answering, I took a step back and avoided his eyes.

“No.” My voice was embarrassingly feeble. 

He didn’t relent and took another step, a hand grazing the side of my neck. “One thing you need to know before telling another lie, sweetie. I can read your body language as clear as day.”

I swatted at his palm and he let go with an annoying laugh. 

“How tall are you?” I asked in a bid to change the subject, and also because I was curious. 

A mischievous glint in his eye. “Six feet two inches.”

“How tall are you really? Six feet two is an actually an insult to your height.”

“Really?” He kept being coy and didn’t answer my question. “May I drop you home?”

🗡️🐦‍⬛🗡️

Well, then, the break was nice as it lasted.

Part 1:

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11

Part 2:

Chapter 12

[brinnanza]

sometimes i like to research the treatment protocols for my various Issues and Problems and it is always very gratifying to find psychiatrists recommend something I am already doing today's rabbit hole was alexithymia because it's very much a the top fell off of the sprinkles container and now my bowl is all sprinkles at the autism sundae bar and it turns out the thing they're doing for that is basically just thinking about how you feel about stuff and practicing untangling it so you can do it faster on the fly and lo and behold that is precisely what my weed fueled self therapy sessions have been about lately