#someone COULD make that effort and not see those things as unworthy of understanding. she just...still didn't want me lmao. | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

abraxosdreams · 1 month ago

Note

I don’t believe Elain was abused at all. She was fiercely protected by Nesta to such a point because of their neglectful past. And there is a lot of bias around Feyre because it’s from her point of view. There’s a part where Nesta talks about being neglected from their mother just as much as Feyre.

Elain speaks about Nesta, shedding light on the profound emotional and physical abuse she endured. Their mother and grandmother would beat Nesta’s hands when she made mistakes in her dance steps, often to the point of scarring her, even as young as seven years old.

Beyond the physical abuse, Nesta and her sisters were deprived of love throughout their lives. Their emotional needs were systematically neglected. Nesta was emotionally and mentally abused, raised by a mother who valued her only for how she might someday marry. Her worth, in their mother’s eyes, was tied to becoming a “showpiece.”

Nesta was never shown genuine affection. The closest thing she experienced as love was Feyre hunting to keep them alive in their shack. In her mother’s eyes, Nesta was a failure. In her grandmother’s eyes, she was a disappointment. Even in her sisters’ eyes, she felt inadequate. A powerful moment in Silver Flames highlights this, when their mother asks, “Isn’t that what you wanted? To feel nothing?”

For someone like Nesta, who was never taught love or how to give and receive it, whose emotional needs were ignored, and who was physically abused by those meant to nurture her, it’s unrealistic to expect her to instinctively know how to show love to others. How could someone offer what they’ve never experienced? To make matters worse, the one person she thought might save her and show her love attempted to r*pe her, shattering her trust even further.

Was her behavior acceptable? No. Nesta was cruel and hurtful to those around her.

Was her behavior understandable? Absolutely.

Nesta’s self-esteem and overwhelming sense of failure made her feel unworthy of love, incapable of giving or receiving it. She believed that those who cared for her were wasting their affections. When she confesses to Cassian that she feels like a terrible person and sister, it’s evident she wants to be better but doesn’t know how. She acknowledges her failures and struggles, shaped by a childhood filled with neglect and trauma. All three sisters were failed by their upbringing, but they recognize this in one another, without holding it against each other — even Nesta.

While many find it hard to like Nesta, it’s crucial to understand her. She is a product of her circumstances, a survivor of an environment that failed her emotionally and physically. Her behavior isn’t her fault — it’s a reflection of the scars left by neglect and abuse.

Much of who we become as adults stems from our childhood experiences. Nesta’s journey in Silver Flames is about confronting these wounds and finding a way to heal and grow. She learns to see her faults and takes steps toward change. That’s what the book encapsulates — growth through self-awareness and effort. You don’t have to love Nesta, but perhaps you can take a moment to understand her.

Her story arc and her finding a place amongst people and a life she never would have chose was a beautiful ride for me.

sidenote - i hate Elaine's character (ツ)_/¯

SJM talks about a future potential betrayal from the inner circle. I think its either her or Mor.

I have started to like Elains character more these in the recent books but I really need Sjm to put a scene where elain and feyre talk about what happened in the in book 1 and she apologizes and tries to better herself for it cuz if sjm puts another excuse, for the sisters, for neglecting feyre and just leaves it like that, like nothing happened, that's going to be so disappointing 😞....and I feel like ill dislike elain characters afterwards.

Although I don’t really like Elain I do pity her, like she was as much a victim of Nesta as everyone else, but I one hundred percent agree there needs to be a long talk and apology.

To me Elain is like an abused wife, and I don’t mean this in a nasty way but it’s her trauma response like so many poor women, but their family dynamic is the abusive husband his passive wife and the abused children household , Nesta is the husband, she is the image the “typical man” they has so much pent up anger that they take their trauma and pass it onto everybody else they don’t care for anyone else only how they can get that anger out and put it onto others. Their trauma is YOUR responsibility. Elain is the wife she see hears and endured the abuse but she doesn’t leave she stays in hopes someday it will get better, she see the best in Nesta and wants everyone else to see that too but the bad days FAR outweigh to good days, she acts oblivious to the abuse surrounding her because if she can ignore it it doesn’t exist and finally Feyre is the abused child she, endured both Nesta’s abuse and Elain’s neglect, she was a child dealing with adult issues, she sees Nesta and Elain for everything that they are and she will hate them for the rest of her life, but she will always love them more, just like every abused child you hate your parents so much but you can never stop loving them no matter how much u try, she wants to not be responsible for them but she doesn’t know anything else she’s been raising them her entire life, but because of the abuse she endured from them she will be the person to break that cycle, she will look and Nyx someday and hate them even more for putting her through that.

#acotar #anti nesta #nesta archeron #a court of thorns and roses #a court of silver flames

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softrozene · 3 years ago

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Too Long

Anonymous requested: Hello, I'm a silent reader of you and I really like your works❤️💗! Can you please write about Doffy wherein he finally found his lost love and actually pregnant when she left him? I know that it looks like impossible considering how evil he is but I just really wanna know how it will goes. Thank you! and Take care. Don't over work yourself! ❤️💗 and sorry if my English is broken.

Your English is perfect <3 and I am so sorry for the long wait, here you go Lovely! I had fun with this since I love Doflamingo despite his evil ways XD

Doflamingo x Female Reader

Warnings: Fluff, slight angst- Doflamingo is probably out of character because I write him with emotions and not as evil lol (if you need another reference just basically imagine him as Klaus from the Originals lafdkafds)

Words: ~1400

First things first- There are three ways I imagine this going

1. (the most likely way) Doflamingo goes a tad crazy, gives no cares, and simply takes the child after deeming his lost love long unworthy of going with them for not telling him she was pregnant unless he can find some use of her or she proves herself rather quickly

2. He keeps tabs on Reader and the child constantly but that is it. Takes no action unless necessary

3. Actually puts effort into coming back into their lives by forcing them to come back to Dressrosa where he can spoil them silly

This scenario is going to be a mix of 2 and 3 because I want fluff lol. Anyway, enjoy:

Doflamingo stares long and hard at the piece of paper before him. The pictures that accompany them make his blood boil with anger, but his heart yearns with interest as to what happened. What this is. Why it happened but more importantly… Why he did not know.

The woman in the picture is beautiful… Very beautiful and very pregnant. A shock to him. She will always hold a special place in his heart. She taught him how to trust on a certain level and yes, even in the end she did leave him, the end of their relationship was left on a good note. Even so, he can’t lie about not looking for her.

After the mutual breakup, he looked far and wide for her, wanting the presence of a person he could trust right by him. He would try to persuade her to come back but… He never found her. Until now that is.

So… Why is just now finding out she left him… When she was pregnant? Why is just now finding out he is a dad?

The piece of paper is just the island name of where she is residing. Not too far from Dressrosa but not too close either. It saddens him for a moment. Did she not trust him? After everything they have been through together- All the learning of loving each other, the trusting, did she really not deem him worthy?

Him the King of Dressrosa?

He would like to think that he would be a perfect dad- Nothing like his silly foolish father who stepped down from the royal life he could have had. No, he would give the child everything they could have ever asked for. The mother of his child wouldn’t need to lift a single finger. He would spoil them, protect them, do anything for them…

So why?

It is a question he wants an answer to, and he will get an answer to. No matter what. That is what he promises himself as he looks at the next photo- One of his former lover no longer pregnant but… With the child- A darling little girl that has his blonde locks and her mother’s eyes.

The anger simmers down as he decides he will bring them both home. He will try to because of that little hope he has in his heart for growing a genuine family- Nothing like the one he helped destroyed, it means everything to him the longer he stares at the two faces.

The brief reminder of Corazon… Pains him but it will not be like that. Corazon simply did not have faith in him. These two… He will show them that he has their best interest at heart.

Finding them, was rather harder than expected. They were at the island that was disclosed to him by someone who recognized her but… (Name) really was too good at blending in with this island. It was rather busy. Cute for it being a bigger place.

So many families too, Doflamingo notes. The thought slightly irks him. Five long years without her and five long years of missing out on the child they created. He has every right to being mad. He has every right to go on a rampage.

Just as he wonders if he should demand someone to show him where she is- He hears a gasp behind him. One too full of shock that it grabs his attention immediately. However, what he did not expect was to feel tiny arms wrap around his legs- The way Baby 5 and Buffalo used to.

He glances down to see the girl from the pictures staring up at him with a wide smile. Her eyes are so gentle and for a moment… Remind him of only innocence as she stares up with genuine curiosity and happiness.

She even speaks to him- And in that moment he already knows that she has him wrapped around her finger- He would fight and kill anyone who would look at her remotely wrong. Is this what it is like to be a dad?

“Hello! I think you’re my dad!”

A laugh comes from behind him again and this time his heart feels like it is stopping because he knows that laugh so well. It haunts his dreams because he loves it so much- It used to be the sound that he tried to coax out of her every day. It is (Name).

He turns and indeed when he sees her… Doflamingo realizes just how long it has been. Too long in his eyes but… She looks as perfect as the day he first saw her. Those (hair color) locks and stunning (eye color). She has not physically changed in the slightest yet… She is still the most stunning person to him. Her eyes look down to their daughter before going back up to meet his.

“I need to put her down for a nap. She had a busy day at the school. I suppose you want to talk then?”

How is she so calm about this? The rage wants to come out- He wants to lash out but… He also just wants to hear her out. He wants to hear her side to everything. That and the way the little girl is holding onto his leg sleepily.

It just makes him melt. He says nothing as he follows the woman to her house. The place is too small for his stature but… Perfect for (Name) and their lovely daughter. It takes just a few moments for (Name) to put the girl to sleep and come back out to join him.

When it is about to grow quiet, he immediately asks, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

(Name) knows what he means. She has a sad smile on her face now as she asks back, “Were you ready to be a father? It is not as simple as you would have thought… It… How do I say this gently? You are selfish. Okay… That came out harsh but… You are. You look out for yourself and pull your family in with you.”

The pretty face that he is in love with does very little to comfort him after those words. That is until she continues.

“I was going to reach out when I found I was pregnant. I thought you would have liked to know but then I remembered why I left. I wanted to find myself and I did. Then… Then she was born, and I realized what being a parent is. You- Make all these choices hoping it is what is best for them and that is simply what I did. I thought you would not want to be in our lives, so I said nothing. I did not want you to have to choose between your dream of being the King of Pirates or her because we both know what you would choose,” (Name) says her tone sad now.

Doflamingo’s anger is valid but… So is (Name)’s in this regard because she is right. He does not say so because he knows he could have both. He will prove he can have both but for now…

“How does she know I am her dad?”

(Name) smiles at this. She pulls out a picture of Doflamingo and herself from her pocket. It is a good photo too. One of them hugging each other. He remembers it because the family kept photo bombing all the rest.

“I told her. Everything about you. I could not lie to her about who her father was. How much he did love me and would have loved her, but I also could not lie to her about how big your goals are. Of course, she is a child, so she does not understand. All she knows is that you want to be a bigger King. She has dreamt of meeting you for a while now.”

These words. He can salvage this. He can unite them. He knows he can. So, he will. He will have both the family and his dreams as he desires.

“Let’s give her a proper meeting then when she wakes up… And (Name), it is good to see you. I hope I can manage to convince you that Dressrosa would be a brilliant place for her.”

The way (Name) stares at him. Yeah, he can convince her.

#my writing #doflamingo x reader #one piece x reader #donquixote doflamingo x reader #fanfiction #scenario #one piece fanfiction #one piece scenario #female reader #fluff

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robininthelabyrinth · 4 years ago

Note

I would really like to see your take on JC/JYL age flip also JC is the sickley one JYL is sect heir and how it changes them

Sometimes, Jiang Cheng wondered if his father would have loved him if he had been born healthy.

If maybe that would have been the thing that would have changed everything – the little difference that would have entitled him to the hugs that Wei Wuxian got, the warm smiles, the praise. The hand on the shoulder, the occasional “well done”…

He didn’t know.

He didn’t know if it was his weakness that his father so obviously despised him for, or if it was only his mother’s blood that ran true in him – his face like her face, his temperament the same as hers except without the power to back it up.

He didn’t know if he would’ve been a different person if he’d had a body that obeyed him properly – one that didn’t try to kill him when he tried to train the sword, that didn’t send him blue in the face and choking when he ran too far or too fast or when it was too cold or too wet. He didn’t even want to be talented, the way Wei Wuxian was; he would be content with having the opportunity to complete, rather than being left out of the race entirely. Surely through hard work and effort he could have kept neck-and-neck with Wei Wuxian in the race for his father’s affection, the race Wei Wuxian won so easily, instead of the way he was now.

He wondered, too, if perhaps his body had shaped who he was – if perhaps his prickliness, his bitterness, his anger, his tendency to scold instead of praise, his frowns and scowls instead of smiles were all from that base anger, the anger at his body for failing him when he needed it. The way he saw himself left behind by all his peers, watching them grow strong while he struggled and strained and broke himself trying his best only to become barely average.

Maybe if he’d been born normal, he wouldn’t have been like that. Maybe he would have smiled easily, the way Wei Wuxian did; maybe he would have been calm and patient, the way Jiang Yanli was. Maybe he would have understood the Jiang sect motto the way his father was always telling him he couldn’t.

Maybe his parents wouldn’t have fought so bitterly all the time if only his mother had produced a son his father could think was worthy of him.

He didn’t know.

He regretted it anyway.

But most of all, he regretted what his weakness meant to Jiang Yanli.

She’d never complained, of course. She assured him it wasn’t his fault – that he couldn’t control it, that it was merely the will of the Heavens. She told him she wasn’t angry at him.

He wouldn’t blame her if she was.

He was angry at himself.

At his weakness.

At what it had cost her.

When he was still a child, they’d all thought that his sickliness was merely an artifact of his childhood – that it would pass and fade, that he would outgrow his illness and become a man like any other, and as a result his parents and all his sect had treated him as the presumptive heir. He’d gotten tutors, training, extra lessons; he’d been asked to listen to meetings, to read over reports, to think over problems…

Jiang Yanli, in contrast, had been left alone to amuse herself.

It wasn’t a matter of power; she had a powerful golden core, a good basic talent that could be further strengthened with hard work. But the Jiang sect had one daughter and one son, and obviously that meant that the son would inherit and the daughter marry out – and so what did it matter what her cultivation was? There was no need to train her to be anything other than a good wife.

Jiang Yanli had liked that.

She’d been so gentle, Jiang Cheng remembered – generous, kind, happy. She liked cooking, sailing, playing with children, walking by the pier and conversing with the merchants and fishermen…

She couldn’t do that now.

She was the sect heir, now. Responsibility had fallen hard upon her shoulders, but she bore it well: the endless classes to take, the increased stress to increase her cultivation, the burden of the sect’s reputation, the lack of time to do as she pleased – all that and more, she accepted with the same smile as before.

She was still gentle, still generous, still kind.

And yet, as she grew older, stronger, more confident, she also grew – bitter.

Bitter like her mother.

Like Jiang Cheng.

And the reason was all him.

Him, for being weak. For being unworthy. For not being Wei Wuxian –

“You deserve better,” Jiang Yanli said, Jiang Cheng lying in bed with his head in her lap, chest slowly rising and falling – the aftermath of an attack.

“Than what?” he asked, a sad laugh gurgling in his throat. “Than to be born sick? Than to be a disappointment?”

“To be treated as less worthy than Wei Wuxian’s shadow,” she said fiercely.

Jiang Cheng bit his lips. “Don’t say that.”

“She’s right, though,” Wei Wuxian said. He was there as well, sitting on the floor, and Jiang Cheng didn’t know how to argue with him.

It wasn’t like he didn’t understand his father’s preference for Wei Wuxian. He even agreed with it. He adored Wei Wuxian, with his mischief and his brilliance, the way he would fight anyone and anything for Jiang Cheng’s sake; he always had the best ideas on how to waste time, how to play, how to joke around. He was arrogant and self-absorbed, bold and unrestrained, powerful and healthy and strong, everything Jiang Cheng wished he could be, and yet Wei Wuxian always allowed his useless can’t-breath, can’t-run, need-to-rest-again weak-bodied shidi to trail along behind him.

“Why don’t you call him A-Xian anymore?” he asked his sister, choosing to ignore Wei Wuxian.

“Too much intimacy between men and women is not good,” Jiang Yanli said, but she didn’t look at him, and Jiang Cheng might be weak but he wasn’t stupid.

“Does – does Father want you two to marry?” he asked hesitantly, looking between one and the other, neither of them looking at him. “But Mother already engaged you to Jin Zixuan.”

Presents had been exchanged, the engagement all but final – the Jin sect’s interest in the match, originally arranged as part of a promise between their mothers, who had been childhood friends, had gone up considerably ever since they realized that Jiang Yanli would be inheriting the Jiang sect. It was difficult but not impossible for two sect heirs to marry: they’d agreed that they’d need have two sons, one to inherit each sect, carry on each surname, and that the inheritance would devolve back to the original family lines should anything go wrong with that plan.

It was settled.

“Engagements can be broken,” Jiang Yanli said, and her eyes were a little red. “And – it might not be that. It’s just improper, now that I’m older…”

Jiang Cheng twisted to look at Wei Wuxian, who was nowhere near as good at eliding a direct question.

“Sect Leader Jin all but implied that we were planning on putting a green hat on his son’s head,” Wei Wuxian blurted out, characteristically blunt. “Just because I’m close to shijie, that we were planning for her to marry Jin Zixuan so that we’d get the Jin sect’s benefits, but that the children would be mine – that bastard.”

“A-Xian!” Jiang Yanli exclaimed.

“It’s true, though! He is! In spirit, if not in blood –”

“That’s not the problem –”

“Are you?” Jiang Cheng asked, and they both turned to look at him. “Going to marry?”

“No,” Wei Wuxian said immediately, eyes bugging out, even as Jiang Yanli furiously shook her head in similar denial. “Shijie’s – no!”

A marital sister was a perfectly reasonable match to make, even if they’d been raised together, but the disgusted expressions on both their faces at the very thought somehow pleased Jiang Cheng.

(He was a bitter, awful person sometimes. No, not sometimes – often. But they still loved him.)

“Okay,” he said, clearing his throat and looking away. “Well, it’s not important yet, is it? We’re going to go to the Cloud Recesses, where Jin Zixuan is, too. Maybe jiejie will like him and it’ll all be all right.”

“Yes,” Jiang Yanli said quickly. “That’s right. I mean, I haven’t met him, and I’ve been far too busy to think about any of that…this will be a good opportunity to see if we suit each other. If we do, good; if we don’t, we don’t, and I’ll insist on breaking the engagement to marry as my own wishes suit – and not to A-Xian. Never to A-Xian.”

Not even if their father thought he would be the perfect match.

“Madame Yu wouldn’t agree anyway,” Wei Wuxian said, nodding furiously.

“That’s true,” Jiang Cheng said, and relaxed a little. He already knew he wouldn’t have a bride – nor a husband, for that matter, he found that he wasn’t especially fussed about that in the rare times he let himself dream of what-could-be. Those dreams weren’t for him, though, not really; who would want a broken barely average cultivator like him, with no talents except maybe cooking the way Jiang Yanli had taught him and a temper as bad as it could be?

It was horrible and selfish of him, to want his most beloved people to stay with him instead of finding their happiness elsewhere – whether with each other, or with someone else – but he couldn’t help himself.

He didn’t have anything else. Not his parents’ respect and love, not cultivation or fighting power, not even his health – all he had was their love.

He shouldn’t hope for anything more than that.

(And yet, in the Cloud Recesses of all unexpected places – he found it.)

#mdzs #jiang cheng #jiang yanli #wei wuxian #my fic #my fics #letitdevour

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tempestsreach-blog · 3 years ago

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Fuck Diet Culture

This is going to be long. It’s going to be rambly. It’s going to be sad. It’s going to be angry. There’s going to be language some people don’t like. I can’t NOT talk about it though.

Fuck diet culture. Let me say that again. Fuck. Diet. Culture. It has taken such a huge chunk out of my life. I have lost pieces of myself I’m not sure I’ll ever get back. The only way to heal is to go through. I can’t go back. I have to move forward. But I can’t do it quietly. I can’t hide. I can’t live in the same shame I’ve spent the last 40 years in. Literally. 40 years of my life wasted to this. I can’t bear to live the back half of my life in the same way. What the hell is the point? I’m not going to write this in any particular order because all of the thoughts and feelings swimming around are snapshots of things in my life that diet culture has broken in me or stolen from me. A lot of you aren’t going to agree with me. That’s okay. Truly. This is about ME. This is to help ME heal. You can talk to me about your struggles, your diets, your ups and downs, your successes and whatnot. I am here for you in all of it. But I won’t diet with you anymore. Never again.

Currently I am having severe knee pain. One knee is worse than the other, but both are bad. I should go to the doctor. I should have gone to the doctor years ago for it. Want to know why I didn’t? My weight. I have injuries from overuse and over exercise and I am terrified that I am going to go to the doctor and the first words they’re going to say are “Well, if you lost 20, 30, 40, 50 pounds, it probably wouldn’t hurt so much.” instead of listening to me, examining me, scanning my knees and HELPING me. I don’t feel this way irrationally. This shit happens. I am in pain. I don’t know how to get help without being told to go on another diet that will not work.

Because diets don’t work. Not long term. I am excellent at losing weight! I’ve done it over and over and over. Then I stop restricting, counting, starving, and pushing myself. Then my body says “What the fuck were you doing?” and puts it back. I lost the ability years ago to know whether I’m actually hungry or not. I eat too fast when I do eat because if I snarf it down super fast I can get it in before my brain says “You’ve had too much. Did you count those calories? How many miles on a treadmill will you do to make up for that? Did you actually earn this meal?”

Every time. Every meal. Every morsel.

I have never been officially diagnosed with an eating disorder. Only been told by therapists and psychiatrists that I definitely engage in disordered eating.

No shit.

Every diet under the sun. Cabbage soup. Phen Fen. Weight watchers (MULTIPLE TIMES), TOPS, Noom, My Fitness Pal calorie counting, intermittent fasting, and every whacky bullshit thing in between promising results. I’ve purchased fancy scales. I’ve even tried one that wouldn’t show you your weight, but the color of your progress in the app. Here’s a hint… if you gain, your color is black like death. I’ve failed a million times and I’ve blamed myself. I am the failure. So I hate my body a little more every day and I stress about how I’m going to NOT pass my disordered eating and my food issues onto my kids. My stress levels are through the roof and 98% of it is diet culture related. What the fuck is that about? Every time I start a program I hit it hard. Last time I tried anything involving tracking or counting I was so starving by the time I got home from work that I almost ripped a child’s head off (not literally OBVIOUSLY) but I screamed at her at the top of my lungs because she hurt my feelings. It wasn’t until after finally allowing myself to eat another morsel of food that I realized I was hangry.

Why is living in a larger body not acceptable? We all talk about diversity and equality as though we believe it with our whole hearts, but that doesn’t cross over to fat. Or skinny if we’re really being honest. How many times have you heard or seen online “Oh my god, she’s so skinny. Feed her a damn cheeseburger! She looks anorexic.” I know I have. I know I’ve said those words. I will punch myself in the gut if I ever say them again.

Every body is different. We are supposed to be. Let’s not BLAME genetics like it’s a bad thing. Let’s realize that it’s what nature has intended. My father is over 6 feet tall and a large man. He’s just a big man. He went on Nutri System when I was young, lost a ton of weight, and put a bunch back on over the years because he is a big man. My mother was not tall, but was always large. I hated her body because HER PARENTS told her all the time she was fat and unworthy and cautioned me not to grow up to be like her in any way. Even when she was poor and homeless she was still large. That was the way her body was. I wonder how different her life might have been if the size of her body hadn’t been a factor in the way she was raised or treated. How might that have made my life different?

I know a lot of you are probably rolling your eyes at me right now about being vocal about another health plan or saying to yourself “just because you have trouble with diets doesn’t mean they don’t work” I know there are people close to me thinking “She just always gets excited when she discovers a new diet, that’s probably what this is.” NO.

This is me finally realizing that I can heal and healing doesn’t mean I need to weigh 157 pounds. (That’s the weight limit for women my height to enter the air force when I did in 1992) This is me finally realizing that I’ve been lying about the weight on my drivers license for 30 years because gods forbid anyone saw my real weight on that document. This is me realizing that I’ve spent my life trying to live up to other people’s ideals of what I should look like because I assumed they wouldn’t like me otherwise. This is me realizing how much unintentional harm I could have been doing when sharing another diet, another idea, another bout of “well this is working really well for me!” with people I care about. This is me realizing how much damage I’ve been doing to myself living with this level of shame for 40 years. Hiding what I’m doing. Suffering in silence. Hiding food. Restricting. Binging. Over exercising to compensate. Spending money on one last diet. Spending emotional energy on one last hope. We were in Las Vegas for what was supposed to be a fun vacation last week and I was so hot and miserable and so steeped in hating my body because my painful knees were betraying me that my internal monologue was a never ending loop of “I’ll hit weight watchers REALLY HARD when we get home and get rid of this weight, then I’ll figure out my knees and work on maintenance” Let me say that again, clearly. I struggled to enjoy my vacation because I was obsessing about restricting food AFTER my vacation. One last time. One last meal.

BULLSHIT.

We walked by shops with weird and pretty fashion dresses. (I freely admit I don’t understand fashion) the husband and I would both point out ones we thought were pretty. My brain would get stuck on “Yeah, but they don’t make them in my size” or “Yeah, that would NOT look good on me. It looks fine on that size 0 mannequin” Pretty on other people. Other people are pretty. Not me. Diet culture is pervasive and all consuming. In big ways and little ways. I’m 5 ft 9. I’m not a tiny person at any weight. I’ve always been told I’m too big. Even when I sit, I slouch a little and/or tuck my legs and feet up under me to try to make myself appear smaller and less invasive. This is subconscious. I don’t always realize I’m doing it until my knees remind me. Most of my life has been things that get in the way of my diets. “I should start the diet today, but it’ll have to wait until next week because so and so’s birthday is this week and I want to be able to enjoy that.” or “It’s late fall, I should just start now but first there’s my birthday, and then Thanksgiving, and December happens and there’s all kinds of treats then. Better wait until January, but not the first because that’s new year’s...maybe the following Monday.” or the ever popular “I already had a bad eating day today, I’m a failure. Why bother? Fuck it. I’ll try again tomorrow.” That one was always followed by binging because of the last supper mentality. If I’m starting a diet tomorrow I better eat EVERYTHING NOW. This is how I’ve lived my whole life. The time not spent dieting was just the time in between diets where I was planning my next diet. So much life wasted. The only time I was not actively dieting or planning the next diet or suffering from “I’m just too exhausting to put effort into food right now” was during my 4 pregnancies. I let myself eat whatever and whenever because I was nauseous all the time anyway and something in my brain made me fuel my body for the babies. When the youngest was born and the on call doctor who delivered her told me I was too fat to have my tubes tied I definitely started planning diets again in that moment. I believe now, years later, that my diet and diet culture ruined mind and body is part of what kept me from being as successful at nursing the kids as I wished I had been. I assumed my body was broken and not good enough for my babies. The last time I lost a LOT of weight it was because I didn’t want to ruin someone’s wedding pictures. True story. This was nothing that person felt or anything they told me. IT’s what my brain said to me. It’s how I de-valued myself. There are very few current pictures of me now because I’ve been stuck in a place where I feel shame when I see them. When I’m dead, memories and pictures are all my kids and grandkids will have, and I hate myself too much to let anyone take them. That’s not okay.

I dream about food. I daydream about food. Food I “shouldn’t” eat. Food I “should” eat. When to eat. When not to eat. Every spare ounce of energy is spent thinking about food or hating myself which leads to more thinking about food. I am not in a place where I can prepare dinner for my family right now because it’s too hard to put that much energy into food. I force myself to pick the recipes from the app and get the shopping done via instacart so all anyone else has to do is pull up the recipe and make the food. If I’m looking at the ingredients or trying to prep anything I stare at every individual thing debating whether or not I “should” eat it. This is going to take me a long time to break free from. Today I finally feel like I CAN break free. There is nothing wrong with being in a large body or a small body. Food is not good or bad. Food is food. I have to say these things. I have to repeat them to myself or I fall down the rabbit hole again. None of this is work anyone can do for me. I have to live it. I have to work through it. I have to figure it out. If you read this far, my statement stands. If you’re on a diet, I will listen to your woes and hold your hand and I will not judge you for it. This was very hard to write because I am certain some of you who believe in diets, ways of life, and wellness eating may block me now because I spoke my mind. I’ve clung so tight to the people I love and refrained from being honest and speaking my mind for fear of abandonment. I’ll have to live with it if that’s the case here, because people sometimes need to do what’s best for them. Airing this out is one of those things for me. It’s a scary thing for sure. I also want to say that I’m happy for this to lead to discussion. I’m not going to shut anyone down for wanting to talk to me about this. I am always open to learn new information and see different perspectives. Just know that if I’m emotional and feeling a lot of strong things about how my life has been up to this point, and I am entitled to believe what I believe just as you all are. I’m happy to share sources and books I’ve been reading on the subject. They are not diet books.

Here’s to doing better from here on out.

Here’s to finally being free.

#intuitive eating #anti diet #mental health #fuck diet culture

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marinetteplztakeabreak · 4 years ago

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okay now that we’re in the middle of a hiatus and the fandom is mostly calmed down

I’m one of the very few people who’s actually hoping for a Lila redemption arc? I don’t want her to be friends with Adrien or Marinette or anyone she’s really really hurt, but she is still like 14 and we don’t know her full story and I honestly want to see her grow and be a person and make some actual friends and get some hobbies. Again, I think she’s burned the bridge with a few characters, but that doesn’t mean she can’t ever be friends with anyone else

and anyway, my ideal takedown/ redemption arc for Lila is one where she unknowingly lies about having several disabilities that other students in the class actually do have

BUT I don’t want it in a “oh actually, Lila, you dumb fool, I have real medically diagnosed tinnitus, so I know that’s not how it works, haha everyone look at Lila the stupid liar” kind of way

I want them to be like stupid levels of understanding and try to bond with her

(detailed explanation of my Lila arc under the cut, obviously don’t read if you’re uncomfortable with the idea of Lila being redeemed)

Lila is like “oh... actually... I can’t participate in the PE final... I have scoliosis... that I just found out about right now” and Juleka is like “oh! I have scoliosis too!” and Lila is panicking because she’s about to be called a fraud, but instead Juleka just happily sits with her for the entire PE final and rambles about stuff and is super happy to have a bench buddy

Alix mentions that she has tinnitus and Lila is like “wait what? why aren’t you in front of the class?” and Alix is like “oh, for me it’s kind of a waves thing? on good days, I can hear her from anywhere in the classroom, and on bad days, nothing can really help me hear? so Ms. Bustier just gives me lecture notes that I can read and it works for me.” And Lila is completely expecting to be called a fraud but Alix is just like “it’s super cool that it does help you, though! everyone’s different! If you ever want to compare notes about what helps, you can text me!”

Lila starts to say the beginning of a well practiced and overly researched speech about how she can’t go on a field trip because she has a super rare medical condition and Max just pulls her aside and is like “hey, I know it can be scary and you feel like you have to justify yourself, but you really don’t have to give super personal information all the time. It’s totally fine if you are comfortable, but really, I know from personal experience that Ms Bustier and this class are super understanding. You can just say ‘personal reasons’ or something and we’ll all leave you alone. You’re allowed to have privacy.” and Lila is like “huh”

this is getting long but basically, eventually she talks to someone in the class with ADHD or anxiety, I’m going to say Alya for now, so she literally catches Lila lying about knowing some celebrity, and instead of being angry or judgemental she’e super discreet about it, she pulls her aside like “hey, I know it feels hard to make friends, but I promise you, people do think you’re interesting as you are, and we care more about you than the people you know.” and she doesn’t even call Lila out for lying? she’s literally just like “u dont have to know celebrities”

and then Lila actually finds out that there’s at least one actual compulsive liar in the class. And, if you didn’t know, Lila’s not an actual compulsive liar, and I’m not going to get into a rant about that now but... She lies on purpose, and tells planned lies with an agenda, whereas compulsive liars don’t usually plan to lie or have a reason for lying. So anyway, Lila gets actually caught lying, and someone, lets just say Nino for the sake of picking a character, is like “hey i know its hard but you do still have to apologize, even if you did your best, you still messed up and you’ve got to own up to it. I believe you that you’re trying to be better but you can’t just use mental illness as an excuse.” and Lila pulls out the fake tears and is like “you don’t understand-” and Nino is (not in a rude way, just trying to be kind) like “I can’t understand you exactly, no, but I literally did have a problem with compulsive lying and I have a therapist, so if you want to talk about it I probably understand more than you know” and Lila is like “oh.”

and anyway, Lila’s arc doesn’t come through someone she’s harassed trying to defend her, and it doesn’t come from her being traumatized into being nice, it just comes from her classmates treating her like a human person, and doing their best to understand her while also actually finding ways to make things accessible to her so she stops being able to get out of things. And then it turns to “hey Lila, just so you know, you don’t HAVE to give explanations for not wanting to go places, you can just SAY if you’re uncomfortable.” and she starts getting called out on it a little bit more, but in a friendly way. Her classmates are just like “Lila please just tell us what you want, I don’t need your medical history, I’m not going to do a background check, just, say you want to borrow a jacket and I’ll let you borrow it. I literally have an extra hoodie”

But simultaneously, everyone with a disability “in common” with her starts latching on to her and opening up, and they actually hold her accountable for listening to their needs. And Lila, who already has the mindset of “oh u are legally required to help Disabled Person or everyone will hate you,” which is literally the basis of half of her plans, is now surrounded by classmates who are asking for her help with reading things because they’re dyslexic, or asking her to grab a textbook from across the room, and asking her if she has any heating pads, and, well, Mylene actually bought her some heating pads when she was faking having cramps earlier, so she might as well lend those out so that she can get more credit with her classmates

And it’s not because she *cares* obviously, she’s just doing it to get them to rely on her, and to get on their good side

and then she’s invited to join the disabled students activism club, and it would look suspicious if she didn’t join, so she agrees, and then whoops, she is now working to do actual charity work-- because it’s really nice to have such solid evidence for her claims, and some charity work that she can actually point to solid evidence for if she ever gets called out-- and honestly it is pretty stupid that its so hard to get accommodations on tests for students with anxiety, because aren’t those the students who are the most afraid to talk to the teachers-- not that Lila cares. And it’s super dumb that no one even knows proper etiquette for helping people in wheelchairs,, and people keep Leaving Things in the Hallways that make it too narrow, and-- Lila doesn’t care at all though, and she definitely doesn’t care about her “friends” in the club because they’re not her friends, and she totally does not cry when she finds out that most of them are literally self-diagnosed, and then it turns out that Mylene was actually wrong, and she probably doesn’t have Lyme disease like she thought, and no one judges her or treats her any different? they’re all just like “oh thats great! glad you could keep getting new information!”

and Lila realizes that literally no one will be mad if it turns out she doesn’t have any disabilities. Except also, she’s starting to become more and more sure that she Does have several things wrong with her, because apparently it’s Not Normal to feel constantly on guard when she’s around other people, and apparently it’s Not Normal to just have days where you literally cannot drag yourself out of bed in the morning and then get hit with terror that if you tell anyone about how numb you feel they’ll immediately think you’re unworthy as a human being, and she’s like, oh, huh, i should look into that

and anyway Lila doesn’t even try to be a good person at first she just wakes up one day and is like “what the heck when did i get actual friends and passions and hobbies,, i did not sign up for this” but she does start making an effort to be worthy of them and she ends up growing a whole ton once she’s given a support system

and anyway i know lots of people are uncomfy with Lila and that’s fine, but i’m continuously a sucker for “evil devil child is actually a pretty decent human being once their basic needs are met and they feel safe” trope

#long post #lila rossi #miraculous ladybug #ml #i do not know how to tag this #trying to not tag my hate but also not attract the specific people who would hate on this #let me know if theres any tags that need to be added

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novelconcepts · 4 years ago

Note

Hey Novel. Your services are being called for again (check the comments section.) 😂

https://twitter.com/lawriscactus/status/1375175430261604360?s=20

You’ve made quite a reputation for yourself. Good for you!

The sculptor learns early the value of strong hands. She learns it early, and she learns it well: that small does not mean weak, that devotion holds as much place in work as in human relationships. You have a builder’s hands, they tell her, and she believes it; she sees no other choice. The world is cruel, and complicated, and callous. You create, or you simply let yourself fade away.

She finds purpose in the work. In repairs, and in planting new life, and in this more than anything else. In leaving something behind that wasn’t there to begin with. In looking at an empty space on a shelf and deciding it merits filling. She finds purpose, and more than that: she finds magic. A truth in art that cannot be located anywhere else.

There are things the sculptor does not feel she comes to naturally--relationships and conversation, people and the paths they tread together. People, she thinks, are unreliable. Stone is steady. People are ever-shifting, nebulous, unpredictable. Stone is reliable.

She finds purpose in the work, magic in the muse. In selecting a piece of marble of proper size and weight, in testing her tools against its hardy surface. In settling into a rhythm, carving away the facade to reveal what has always been waiting for freedom beneath. It takes time, bringing life into a place that did not bear it to begin with. Seeds take root slowly. New shoots must be tended. This, here, is no different.

For a time, the sculptor isn’t sure what she’s building. For a time, she isn’t sure it matters. The value is in the strength of her hands. The value is in the work itself, in the patient escalation of art from stone. Some things, she knows, can’t be rushed. Some things, she knows, can’t be forced.

It comes to her not in a dream, not as a vision from beyond, but in the simple care for the work. One day, the face begins to emerge. Slowly, but with powerful intent--as though it was always there, as though it was always meant to rise beneath her hands. The stone knew, she thinks; maybe it was the sculptor who simply wasn’t ready to see it.

Now, though, now that it’s begun, she finds herself unable--unwilling--to stop. The work is methodical, almost gentle; she angles her tools, tilts her head, feeling all the while as though the truth is growing more and more obvious with every passing hour. There is stone here, and there is beauty. They are not the same. The stone, she navigates with her builder’s hands, with the deliberate focus of work. The face, she navigates with a flutter of exhilaration bordering on fear. The stone can be replaced, she feels; another block brought in if this one fails to reveal its secrets, another attempt made later down the line.

The face belongs to this moment alone. This face, appearing with such precision, she feels almost unworthy of it, is singular.

People are complicated, dangerous creatures; the life shining out from the stone is something else altogether. It is precious, and it is perfect, and yet there is something about it--as she carves away the excess, presenting the world with voluminous hair, with a smooth brow, with full lips and round jaw and long neck--that feels almost too honest to look upon directly. There is work, she thinks, and there is art, and somewhere in the middle lands whatever this is.

This, no longer a slab of potential, but a woman emerging from the depths of a blank canvas.

This, no longer a realm of routine, but a reason to tip her head and see the world in fresh light.

Her hands are strong, her dedication complete: no longer does she worry over slight or mistake, her fingers shaking around her instruments as she coaxes forth shoulder and bust and waist. No longer does she think she is too perfect. There are blemishes in the piece, formed as though without her artist’s intent: wrinkles in the dress, as though the woman has been running a long way without pause; freckles on the skin she does not remember scattering like constellations across a summer sky; hands which, though slim, look as though they have held secrets, and found some of those secrets burn.

The sculptor is not sleeping, she finds, nor craving the variation of other work. The sculptor’s devotion is absolute. This is what matters--this woman who seems, day by day, more real than the people who pass on the street. This woman who seems more genuine than tattered smiles and shaking heads. She is made of effort, and she is made of time, and she has perhaps been here all along. Waiting for the right hands to come along and offer the attention needed to urge her to breathe.

She finds purpose in the work, and finds, too, that it no longer feels like work at all. Whatever happens now, she believes, will happen regardless of her skill with hammer and chisel. Whatever happens now, she believes, was set in motion the moment she met marble eyes.

Days pass. She is dreaming of this face now, as she hasn’t dreamt of a living woman in years. There is no sense to it, she understands; marble hands cannot reach for her skin, marble lips cannot accept her kiss. A marble heart does not beat--and yet, as the last of the excess stone vanishes under her hands, she grows more and more certain. This is the finest art any sculptor could produce, through will or through luck. She suspects the woman is product of a little of each. She suspects the woman is something else altogether.

The sculptor does not think of herself as a lonely woman. She does not think of love as a void within her life, a blank space on a shelf needing to be filled. She hardly thinks of love at all--save for in her workspace, gazing upon a face too soft, a brow too determined, to be anything but human. She turns her head away, almost embarrassed at the onrushing emotion, the heat of her blood. This, she knows, is art. This, she knows, has come to light under her hands.

And this, she knows--though she cannot explain it, though she’d never speak the words aloud--does not belong to her. To gods or to dreams or to the simple good fortune of a muse whose head happened to tilt her way, maybe; not to her. The work was her own. The woman is too much like life to possess.

She is uncertain of the next step. Statues are meant to be crafted with perfect concentration, and then sold--auctioned off to those wealthy or fervent enough to collect. This, though, she can’t imagine setting before the greedy eyes of patrons. This, if she does not look directly, seems almost to draw breath. How, she thinks, can an artist sell something which feels too much like a someone? How can a price be placed on a woman whose eyes seem to follow her every move?

Blue, she thinks without meaning to. Her eyes would be blue.

There are other reasons, too, for the hours slipping in between the work. The woman is almost finished now, the residual stone around her base nearly gone. The details are fickle, every motion minute; the sculptor agonizes over the moments left to her, grieving the end of the job. This is, the rational part of her--which has always been strongest, always been as much a part of her work as her hands--knows, the way every piece ends. Art will, inevitably, conclude; to keep going much longer will put the structure itself at risk. She will have to step away, and she will have to make eye contact at last with the end result of her efforts.

And she will have to admit, at last, that there is love and there is art, and sometimes, the two are too similar to be extricated from one another.

She can’t love me back, she thinks, as if the thought has never occurred to her about a woman before.

She can’t care for me, she thinks, as if that fact has ever made a difference to the sprint of her heart.

She needs to be allowed to breathe, she thinks, as if there was ever any stopping it, from the moment this marble was chosen.

The days pass, one at a time, and the sculptor cannot allow herself to stall any longer. She works the last of the dress, her hands giving deliberate attention to every detail of cloth woven from stone. The work belongs to the woman, she feels, as much as to herself--a muse granted without warning, without asking anything of her in return. It hurts, to think it will be over by sunset. It thrills, to think she was ever granted this moment at all.

She steps back at last, rubbing tired eyes, and gazes upon the truth born of stone. The woman is beautiful, the column of her neck true enough to convince the sculptor of a pulse, the curve of her fingers honest enough to convince the sculptor of desire. Her smile is, above all else, warm and sweet, almost hesitant in its shine.

The sculptor sets aside her tools. Brushes off her hands. Nods once. Enough, then, she thinks. It’s enough.

She dreams of the woman again, but this time, there is no sign of stone about her at all. No awareness of the timeless nature of her skin, the inorganic permanence of her smile. In the dream, she exhales across the sculptor’s lips, her eyelashes fluttering against a smooth cheek. In the dream, the illusion of each wrinkle in her dress grows soft beneath the sculptor’s searching hands.

In the dream, the woman laughs, and there has never been a more human sound in all the world.

She aches, waking to an empty bed, to the memory of the work’s finality. The sculpture is complete. The muse, then, must move on to touch someone else. The sculptor, who has always put faith in the strength of her hands, in her determined ability to coax life from nothing at all, will start again.

She walks slowly to her studio, noticing little of the sunrise, of the cool air coasting over her skin. The dream is still so fresh, more real than the morning coming to life around her. If she closes her eyes, she imagines she can feel the woman pressed warm against her frame, fingers pushing recklessly into her hair. If she closes her eyes, she imagines--

The studio stands empty.

The plinth, upon which the sculpture has left her mind and joined the world, stands empty.

The sculptor stares, the empty grief of the work’s conclusion finding a new home in her chest. Someone, she believes, has stolen the woman away. Someone who cannot possibly understand how impossible that ought to be--how a woman can’t be stolen, only liberated, only given a chance to set out on her own merit.

The woman is gone. All else stands as it has for weeks: tools in their appointed places, windows unbroken, tables still set upright. There is no sign of break-in. No sign of robbery. The woman is simply...

“I thought,” a voice says from the door, “I could surprise you.”

The sculptor turns, an admonition ready on her lips. I have no time today, she wants to snap. I’ve lost her. I have--

The woman in the doorway is beautiful, her dress rumpled as though from an endless run. Her hair is windswept, her eyes a bright blue. Her smile is, above all else, warm and sweet, almost hesitant in its shine.

“You seem,” the woman says as the sculptor moves to her in a daze, “like you could use the company.”

The sculptor has never trusted in the reliability of people. People are complicated, unpredictable creatures. Stone is solid. Stone is certain.

This woman, somehow, is a little of both. This woman--art or muse or sheer mad luck--is a little of everything.

Her pulse rushes under the sculptor’s strong hands.

Her smile does not so much as shiver under the stroke of the sculptor’s thumb.

She does not belong to the sculptor, nor to anyone who might be looking to purchase the artist’s wares. She does not belong to anyone at all.

She is purpose all her own.

#fanfiction #ficlet #the haunting of bly manor #dani x jamie #damie #right. well. this happened.#I keep meaning to work on the stuff already on my list #and then cheerfully turn and knock out the oddest prompts I can find instead #so here: have a faiirytale. or a myth. or a treatise on love and art #it is I think all of the above #(I'm not sure if the original artist is on Tumblr but the piece that prompted the ask--and thus the piece--is rad)#(highly rec following the link to check it out)

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imasimpforshanks · 4 years ago

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Love Languages - Straw Hats

Luffy:

• What he needs/responds best to:

I think Luffy would really need to receive gifts. The types of gifts that carry a lot of meaning and are sentimental. We've seen how he treats the Srraw Hat he was gifted by Shanks - he keeps it on him at all times, does everything in his power to make sure it doesn't go missing. Yes, the hat is part of a promise they made, but that's the whole point. That gift from Shanks inspired luffy and continues to inspire luffy. Another example is the water he receives from Toto in Alabasta. It's an important gift, something the old man worked hard to get, so to Luffy he knows and understands the effort and meaning behind it and for that he treats it carefully. That is why I believe Luffy would adore sentimental gifts like that from his significant other. It shows the thought, the energy, and the care you have for him. It's a great way to show him your love. Also, if he were to receive meat as a gift.... well lmao we already know how that would go down.

• What he gives:

There's not really any need to explain this, but Lufy gives acts of service. Luffy is for the most part, pretty selfless. He constantly helps people he just met, for absolutely nothing in return. Sometimes they don't even say anything, he just already acts. This would be how he expresses his love for you. He'd randomly share his food with you (this would be a big one), he'd ask what you want or need done and as soon as you tell him he'd go off and do it. That's just how he is.

Zoro:

• What he needs/responds best to:

Zoro is very focused on his goals. He has his daily routine - sleep, train, eat, train, drink, train, repeat. Training is such a significant part of Zoros life, it's almost nonnegotiable. We've seen him train immediately after incurring an injury, without rest or recovery. Therefore, quality time would be very important for Zoro. In particular, I think Zoro would feel most love and cared for with a partner who understands his desire and need to constantly train, and rather than telling him to stop and spend time together, they join him in his training sessions. For Zoro that is quality time. The same can be said with the other points in his routine. A significant other who spends quality time with him through drinking, eating, sleeping and training would make him feel so understood and⅕ loved. I feel like acts of service kind of go hand-in-hand with quality time for Zoro. You know Zoros routine, what he does, and so doing little things throughout the day to make it easier for him to stick to that routine and maximize his energy for training, I believe, is a good way to make the swordsman feel loved. Preparing his favourite drink (if you are on the ship, or buying his favourite drink the next time you are on land), offering him a sparring buddy. Those sorts of acts of service will really make him feel appreciated.

• What he gives:

Zoro is more of a doer rather than a talker, and while he may be an idiot (especially with directions), hes not stupid. He has a good sense of the needs and states of his crew members. Because of this, Zoros love language is most definitely acts of service, he would view the situation, gauge your current state and act accordingly without being told what you needed. He'd just know.

Sanji:

• What he needs/responds best to:

To be fair Sanji would probably respond well to any of the types of love languages LMAO, but, I personally think he'd respond best to physical touch and quality time. Sanji is a SIIIIIMP (I love the man, bless his horny little heart). Anytime a woman is even in the vicinity he gets a nosebleed and gets all love-crazy. Imagine what hes like when a girl actually touches him. Actually... we see what hes like in Dressrosa with Violet. He blushes, swoons and everything in between when she holds his hand or touches him. So making physical affection towards Sanji is definitely the best way to show him you love him. Also, I believe quality time would be a big one for Sanji. Going with him to get the groceries for the ship, spending time with while he cooks. Showing interest in his passion would without a doubt make Sanji feel all warm and fuzzy inside. He loves cooking for others, so to have his partner reciprocate that interest and share that passion with him would mean the world to the chef.

• What he gives

Like Luffy, the love languages Sanji gives are pretty self explanatory. Sanji would show his love through acts of service and words of affirmation. We already see him do this to an extent throughout the series for Nami and Robin. Sanji will make your favourite meal, your favourite drink, anything you want. He is extremely chivalrous amd takes pride in treating women correctly, so you best believe he will do everything for you so you dont have to lift a finger. He would also compliment you daily, encourage you and listen to whatever you have to say. We've seen him do this numerous times. He loves to let women know how beautiful, strong, and amazing they are.

Usopp:

• What he needs/responds best to:

This guys is so anxious and insecure. He constantly fixates on how he's weak and unworthy to be a member of the Straw Hats. It's likely that these thoughts and feelings would manifest in a relationship with him too. Therefore, Usopp is a person in desperate need of words of affirmation. He would absolutely thrive if you were to encourage, reassure and compliment him. Remind him that he is in fact a brave warrior of the sea, one you admire very much. I also just can't stop thinking that Usopp would respond really well to quality time with his partner. If his partner would just sit and listen intently to his stories (some true, some exaggerated and some entirely false) regardless if they've heard them before or not. It would make him feel so appreciated.

• What he gives:

There's not a doubt in my mind that Sogeking would show his love through words of affirmation and quality time. He knows how it feels to be anxious and insecure. To ensure you dint ever feel that way he would be constantly complimenting you, speaking words of encouragement and listening to whatever doubts you had and then instantly reminding you that you are in fact bad af and should never doubt yourself. Again, Usopp would spent so much quality time with you telling you an assortment of stories to make you smile, cry, and laugh.

Nami:

• What she needs/responds best to:

Is it a surprise that the beautiful navigator would respond best to receiving gifts? No, not at all. She's known for her love of treasure and money, AND, she epreally enjoys shopping any chance she gets. So, it's safe to say any sort of gift is a great way to make Nami feel loved. But, she wouldn't just appreciate big expensive, or really materialistic gifts, she would also respond really well to small, sentimental gifts too. She was gifted a bracelet from her sister (we see the flashback scene in Strong World). Its a really important and precious gift to her, that she wears at all times. So, receiving a gift of any kind would mean the world to Nami.

• What she gives:

Giving gifts would be Namis main love language. She's in charge of all the finances and treasure in the Straw Hats, so we see how cautious she can be with money. Therefore, if Nami were to use that treasure for a gift for her significant other, it's a really big sign, it's a giant communication of love! There is no way in hell she'd do that for just anyone. This is actually shown in the Sabaody Archipelago arc when Camie is being auctioned off and Nami says that they can use all their treasure and money to try and get her back. If Nami truly cares for someone, she'll show it through gift giving.

Chopper:

• What he needs/responds best to:

Again, Choppers is relatively self explanatory. This boy thrives when he receives compliments of any kind. So, words of affirmation are undoubtedly the love language he responds best to. There's really not much else to say about it.

• What he gives

Chopper really enjoys spending time with the crew, he's been shown to enjoy playing games with Robin, fishing off the Sunny, and goofing off with Luffy and Usoop. So, quality time is the primary way Chopper shows his love. He enjoys spending time doing anything with those he cares about, so his significant other would be no different.

Robin:

• What she needs/responds best to:

Robin has had a rough life, she may not have always been alone, but she really was alone for most of her life. She couldn't trust anyone, could 't get close to anyone, but now that she's found that person, spending quality time with them is going to be very important for her. She would really need her significant other to just be near her, even if it's in silence while she's studying, or allowing her to talk about her research. As long as the person she loves spends some quality time with her, Robin will be happy.

• What she gives

She's the intellectual of the crew. She can read people and is really good with her words. That's why I think words of affirmation are what she'll give to her partner. We've seen her calm down, reassure, and encourage some if the anxious bunch on the crew, so there's no doubt that she always knows the right thing to say.

Franky

• What he needs/responds best to:

I believe words of affirmation to be the love language Franky responds the best to. Being told how cool, strong, creative, and super he is would do wonders. You can actually see this in the way he responds to Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper's reactions to all his creations. When they go on and on spouting compliments, with every "oooh" and "ahhh" Franky gets motivated, more lively, it makes him feel great. So it stand to reason that words of affirmation is the best love language for Franky.

• What he gives

Franky is very hands on. He is a shipwright afterall. This cyborg undoubtedly shows love through acts of service. He'll make and do anything you need him to, sometimes even anticipating your future needs and having things prepared in advance. I also be,ieve receiving gifts goes hand-in-hand with Franky. He'd use his creative mind and skills to make you some outrageously super gift that you can use in battle alongside him.

Brook

• What he needs/responds best to

This poor guy spent most of his life alone, having lost all of his crew. So, Brook would require both quality time and physical touch. Physical touch would be a great reassurance, little touches here and there - physical affection - is a reminder to him that he is no longer alone. The same can be said about quality time. Doing anything in the presence of his partner is soothing to him, it removes any lingering reminders of loneliness.

• What he gives

Brook hands down shows love through acts of service. This man would learn all of your favourite songs and play them for you when he senses you're feeling a little off. That's just what he does. He's been shown to do that with the crew already, if it's too quiet, a lot of tension, or he feels the situation calls for it, he cracks a joke or plays some music for the crew. He would do the exact same for you.

Jinbei

• What he needs/responds best to:

Not gonna lie, i dont know if I have he greatest grasp on Jinbei as a character yet, so I'm not 100% sure what love language he would respond best to. However, I am leaning more towards acts of service. I just feel as though there's no better way to make Jinbei feel loved other than going out of your way to alleviate the stress in his life, even if that means talking sense into the straw hats so he doesn't have to (LMAOOOOO).

• What he gives

Like Robin, I believe Jinbei to be really good with his words making words of affirmation to be a love language he uses. He's been seen a few times trying to talk sense into Luffy, and because of this, I feel as though he'd be really good at encouraging, complimenting, and empathizing with his partner. Also, Jinbei is good at analyzing a situation, seeing what needs to be done and then doing it. It happened many times in Marineford (and I think in whole cake island). Acts of service is likely to be another love language he would use for his significant other.

#one piece #straw hats #straw hat pirates #mugiwara no luffy #roronoa zoro #vinsmoke sanji #cat burglar nami #god usopp #tony tony chopper #nico robin #cyborg franky #soul king brook #jinbei #love languages #one piece headcanons

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thestarkerisobvious · 4 years ago

Text

White

inspired by the incredible artwork of

@cutepandaprincess

“White. So white. I’ve never seen anyone that shines so white.”

Tony only trusted her because everyone trusted her, including Fury. Well… that wasn’t entirely true. Nat trusted her, and while Tony Stark never thought he would give a second glance to anyone claiming to “see auras,” still Nat’s word carried a lot with him.

Round and soft and cheery and freckled and grey, she didn’t seem like a witch (although supposedly she had been lean and ravenhaired and darkeyed in her day. Or so she claimed. But then she got older “and wiser” and gave it all up as too much effort.) In any case her ability to see into the future was invaluable in bringing in that last souped-up badguy with the ridiculous name, and so Tony had invited her to the New Year’s Eve party along with the rest of the team. And if he sidled up to her at said party and tried to subtly get some relationship advice, well, no one had to know.

And if that entire party was just an excuse to get Peter in his arms on New Year’s Eve?

Well, no one needed to know that either.

And there was the boy now, standing by a window surrounded by the best scientific minds at the Avengers compound, laughing and joking and looking entirely edible. That crystal glass wasn’t even holding alcohol… even though the kid was well within drinking age. But when Tony finally got the witch to realize who he was trying to describe (he couldn’t exactly describe him as “the most delectable piece over by the window”) she said the exact opposite of what he wanted to hear.

“Oh, oh. So white, Tony. I’ve never seen anyone that shines so white. It’s like clouds… like flowers… like stars…”

…but then she only got distracted describing the gentleman on Peter’s left who was responsible for adapting some nanotechnology but was apparently having marital troubles. It wasn’t easy, keeping the witch on topic. But Tony poured her another glass of Champaign and did his level best.

“And what does it mean… a white aura… exactly?”

“White means purity and virginity, and peace. Red auras are usually determination and passion… that’s you darling. That’s you through and through. The pink is friendship and unconditional love. The green aura is often the peacemaker, or else someone at harmony with themselves, but more often that not one who can help others harmonize with each other. Not the purple aura, of course that is one who is far too independent…”

And that was it for the rest of the evening.

He didn’t make his move. Even though he had been planning his move since the moment he realized the boy wanted him to make it. Even though he had been planning this entire party ever since that moment. Even though the point of the party was to have Peter there on New Years Eve when the countdown came.

Even though Peter Parker cornered him when the countdown started. Even though, at midnight, he suddenly had an armful of Peter and a New Year’s Kiss right on the corner of his mouth. Even though Peter had held himself there for a moment, just waiting for Tony to move his head a fraction of an inch and close the distance. Tony could feel the boy waiting.

Could feel the boy’s disappointment when it never came.

He didn’t make his move. Even though Peter must have laid awake all night in the guest-room waiting for him. Peter had been invited to stay the night on the premise that, after the party, he wouldn’t be safe to drive. Peter hadn’t had a drop to drink that night, but played along with the premise.

But he played along alone.

Tony wasn’t going to make a move.

How could he, when the witch had laid it out for him so plainly?

Peter was white. Peter was pure. Peter was virginal. Peter was unsullied.

How could Tony possibly be responsible for corrupting that?

* * *

And so Tony resigned to live in utter misery. Resigned to never accept that beautiful gift that Peter was making it clear that he was willing to give – a gift that Tony was entirely unworthy to receive.

For years he lived with that misery (okay he was being a drama-queen. It was six months.)

By day Ironman and Spider-Man still worked together with perfect precision, taking down badguys with a witty quip or clever badinage or a droll rejoinder, until villain and minion alike raised a flag in surrender. At night they worked side-by-side or back-to-back in the lab, finishing each other’s thoughts with eerie precision and perfecting technology at lightning speed. Late-night lab sessions often ended with Peter sleeping in the ‘guest room’ rather than webslinging his way home in the early hours of the day.

Tony still steadfastly called it the ‘guest room’ even though it was very quickly becoming ‘Peter’s room.’ Steadfastly called it the ‘guest room’ even though Peter once joked that more of his clothes were there than in his dorm. Tony steadfastly referred to it as the “guest room” for the same reason he steadfastly refused to visit the “guest room” no matter how many times Peter slept there. No matter how many Avengers joked that they were practically living together… no matter how many suspected that they were already a couple. Tony was steadfast. Because Peter was too pure for him. The witch had said so.

He even asked her… once… when she was brought in to consult on a terrorist-cell case that they were considering. She guessed his name wrong twice, then asked him delicately why he wasn’t with “that beautiful boy” she had met at the party. “I thought that was your night… he certainly thought it was.”

“Did you see us together? See our auras?” Tony asked cautiously, daring, for a moment, to hope.

“That lovely, angelic-white aura? Oh yes sir. Well, I saw many futures for him, so very very many. He has such a storied future, that boy. But I saw the two of you together… oh just for a fleeting moment I caught a glimpse…”

“And it changed, didn’t it,” Tony said, his voice dropping. His head dropping. His hopes dropping. Why did he bother to ask? He already knew the answer. Had reminded himself of it night after night after lonely night.

“Oh yes, certainly. You’re very red, Mr. Stark. Very red. Painfully red. I knew it the instant I saw it… when I saw you together… together you had become so pink… not subtly pink... vibrantly pink...”

* * *

In times of weakness, Tony reminded himself of that conversation. Of a witch who, when she looked at Peter in a roomful of people, saw a white aura so blinding that it took her breath away. Virgin. Pure. Unsullied. And if Tony came anywhere near it he would taint it, like blood on white silk.

He started trying to avoid the boy, he honestly did. Stopped scheduling time together in the lab. Stopped laying awake longing for the boy in the ‘guest room.’ But crime refused to acknowledge Tony’s resolution, and criminals kept throwing them together in the most ridiculous situations. Alien sex pollen made things so awkward as to be almost unbearable. Pretending that Peter was his sex-slave when they went undercover to get info on the Mob Boss? Tony Stark suddenly had the patience of a monk. When they traveled to Sokovia to investigate the arms deal? There might only be one bed, but Tony had plenty of floor to sleep on. And when his head injury left Peter with amnesia? Well the less said about that the better.

Whenever Tony even considered giving into temptation, not for his own sake but for Peter’s (the boy who was making his desires crystal-clear) Tony remembered. The witch’s words. White. Pure. Tony could only sully him. Like blood on white silk.

* * *

Peter graduated early, because of course he did, and Tony gladly accepted the boy’s invitation to his combo-graduation-party-dash-housewarming-soiree in his brand new small apartment that he had rented across the street from Stark Tower. Was he surprised, when he arrived with wine and a dozen roses, to find he was the only one invited? Maybe he was. Or maybe he realized it was too late.

Too late to tell the boy “no” when he melted into Peter’s kiss. When he gave in to those powerful arms and let Peter mold their bodies together. When he obediently let Peter lead him to the couch and sat, pushing the cream cushions aside so Peter could climb into his lap.

“But you have to tell me the truth,” he whispered between kisses. Whispered as best he could. “I know you’re a virgin…” He didn’t whisper how he knew. How he had been on the phone with a certain woman with a crystal ball the day before he bought the white roses…

“Um, sorry?” Peter said, pulling up, blinking. Then he grinned. “Tony… no. Nope. You missed that boat a while ago. Sorry.”

He giggled a little at Tony’s expression, then kissed the slack mouth with a chuckle low in his throat. “Dude… you worry way too much.”

Underneath Peter’s gentle hands, Tony couldn’t deny that it was true. His worries melted like snow under Peter’s warmth. Under Peter’s knowing kiss. They moved together in each other’s arms just as confidently as they fought in the clouds, Tony moving underneath Peter in sure, knowing strokes. Peter peeled off his shirt and pressed his pale skin to Tony’s mouth, moaning his name. Holding each other close they moved like moonlight on the water, breathing sighs as soft as feathers as they came in each other’s arms.

And that freezing fear? That chilling panic that always came when the sex was over, that always made Tony cover himself up and pretend to hibernate, all to avoid looking his partner in the face? That fear melted just like snow in white sunlight. Tony opened his eyes and looked up into Peter’s own, shining like stars.

“I should have known you would make it easy,” Tony breathed. He wasn’t sure if his words made any sense, but Peter seemed to understand. He stroked Tony’s cheek and smiled a knowing smile.

“I told you, you worry too much.”

“Agreed,” Tony chuckled drunkenly (even though that hadn’t touched the chardonnay) and nuzzled his nose into Peter’s hair. Honey curls tickled his nose, and he was oddly reminded of dandelion fluff, the kind he used to blow away as a child when he made a wish. He blew now. He wished now.

“I love you Tony Stark,” Peter whispered, holding him close. “I wanted to tell you at Christmas. I wanted to tell you New Year’s Eve.”

“Oh I know, angel,” he said, and when he felt Peter relax in his arms he had no doubt.

“I’ve always known it,” he murmured as he moved them off the sofa and down to the floor. “I’ve always known,” he whispered, laying Peter’s back to the floor and bowing his head to lick up the milky-white droplets still clinging to Peter’s stomach. “Mio angelo, il mio paradiso. I’ve always known.” He pressed a kiss to the pale skin in the center of Peter’s chest. What he was thinking should have alarmed him then, but it seemed so simple now. An hour ago he had been reminding himself of the words of the silver-haired woman, now all he could think about were young men and diamond rings.

“I love you Peter Parker,” he whispered. It came so easily…

…and only then did he realize. Only then did he understand.

“Pure, and virginal.” the witch had told him that night. “White means purity, and virginity…

“…and peace.”

* * *

“Why are you calling me you ridiculous man?” she scolded when Peter was snug in bed in Tony’s bed, even as the white light of dawn lit up the penthouse. “Listen to your lover. You worry too much.”

“So you know,” Tony said, even as he struggled to explain why he had dialed her number in the first place. She was supposed to be advising the Avengers on criminal activity, not relationship advice.

“I’m going to burn white sage over every inch of your domicile. I’m going to strap a quartz crystal to your forehead,” she groused. “I’m going to stop toasting to WORLD-peace and start toasting to TONY-peace.”

“But you told me, that night, you told me that when you saw us together you saw stained-white…”

“No, I told you I saw vibrant pink. Who in heaven’s name thinks of pink as stained-white? You’re absurd.”

“But you… you never told me what pink meant.”

“Oh for gods’ sake man… pink means friendship.” She spoke more patiently, as if explaining it to a child. “That’s why I thought you were so lovely together, that’s why I always thought it. Because you had been friends for so long…”

“But you said something else that night, I just didn’t remember…”

“…I said several things that night silly man. I told you I had seen so many futures for him, and one of them was with you. And that was rose-colored loveliness, if that’s what you wanted to know.

“And rose is friendship. Friendship. And unconditional love.”

-------------------------------------------------------

Mio angelo, il mio paradiso = “My angel, my heaven.”

with many thanks to @mrstarksbaby

#Starker #Peter Parker/Tony Stark #TheWitchway writes stuff

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saffronwritings · 4 years ago

Text

C L U M S Y | S H I N S O U PT.3

S H I N S O U | P A R T T H R E E (Final)

I let you down I've been clumsy with your heart again

C L U M Y M A S T E R L I S T

Word Count: 3.7k

A/N: This started off shorter and then I redid one of the segments and welp here we are at 4.3k words. Oops! It’s not favoritism I promise. This is the “final” part to Shinsou’s CLUMSY series! I really hope you all enjoy! I’ll make a post asking what you all want to see next! :)

Denki couldn’t remember what time Shinsou told him to meet up with him after his training with Aizawa-sensei, so he figured he was going to just sit outside of the gym until he saw his purple haired friend exit the locker rooms. It had become almost routine for the two to have after school hangouts, mainly so Shinsou could relax after a long day. Kaminari helped fill the void that he felt without being able to see you. Though, Shinsou was guilty that it had distracted him from talking to you on occasion. While Kaminari was sporadic and chaotic, it helped ease the stress that Shinsou was constantly under.

However, Kaminari was surprised when he noticed the gym door was left wide open. Usually when he had ventured over to this part of UA, he would notice that the doors were closed. A privacy thing so that the students didn’t feel pressured or on-lookers wouldn’t intimate the said student. Had Aizawa-sensei cancelled his practice with Shinsou for the day? He was acting very strange the entire course of the day. He was extra grumpy and even before coming to check in on his friend, he had particularly felt bad for Shinsou having to deal with his sensei’s foul mood.

Curiosity got the better of the blonde boy, Denki decided to peek inside the small private gym, the ones teachers used to mentor students in, only to see Shinsou standing against a wall with his face pale and expression shocked. Shinsou had looked like he had either seen a ghost or had been told someone close to him had died. This immediately made the blonde worry for his new friend. He had looked around cautiously to see if Aizawa was still in the room. When it showed that it was only the two boys just sitting in absolute silence, that is when Kaminari decided to speak up to figure out what was going on. “Oi Shinsou, is everything-” The blonde started to say before Shinsou let out a scream of frustration. It reverberated a chill down Kami’s spine, making him flinch back.

Suddenly gym equipment started to fly across the room in haphazardly ways. His screams and shouts continued while he was heaving equipment left and right. “I’VE WORKED SO HARD.” Shinsou shouted in his fit of rage. “I HAVE WATCHED UNWORTHY STUDENTS SIT IN LUXURY.” Kaminari sat in a state of shock, watching his new friend seemingly lose his mind. He wanted to go and comfort his friend, but he was afraid he was going to lash out on him as well. He opted to just let him get all of his emotions out, even if it wasn’t in a healthy manner. “I PUSHED SO MANY PEOPLE AWAY FOR A SLIVER OF A CHANCE TO PROVE MYSELF.” He spewed again, not noticing the tears starting to stream down his face. He had thrown everything within a few feet radius as hard as he could across the smaller gym room.

He had looked over to Kaminari who was just standing there awkwardly, watching him, judging him. However, Shinsou was so out of breath he wasn’t sure if he even had any energy left to yell at the blonde for looking at him with such pity in his eyes. “I don’t know what’s going on, dude, but maybe you should take a breather before you hurt yourself.” Kaminari spoke cautiously, trying to not provoke Shinsou further. “You don’t get to tell me when to calm down! You don’t understand, you’ve had the privilege to just BE in the hero course!” Shinsou shouted at him, his eyes filled with both tears and rage. “But, you’re doing so well with your training! You were just talking to the support class to design your new gear!” Kaminari still tried to direct the conversation in a positive manner.

The two had just discussed how he was getting one of the girls in the support class to design a vocal chord changing mask. Kaminari was super blown away with the idea of being able to change voices in order to trick their opponents. While Shinsou might have lacked the psychical strength, he was always good at diverting and making a plan for success. “It doesn’t even matter now! Don’t you get it deadbolt!? I not only lost my shot at joining the hero course but I also lost the girl I loved by pushing her away for this opportunity” Shinsou’s voice strained out, it being raspy from screaming and shouting.

The blonde’s eyes widened in shock, realizing the situation at hand in front of him. He was watching Shinsou have a breakdown because for some reason, he had lost his mentor-ship with Aizawa. “What? What happened? You were doing great with your training!” Denki had pointed out making Shinsou flinch in embarrassment from those words. “Don’t you think I know that?!” The purple haired boy cried, clutching his chest in desperate attempts to not let his heart fail him now. Kaminari had also picked up on his specific wording, the girl he loved. Had he gotten into a fight with you the night before? As far as he was concerned, the two of you were fine. You guys had plans to meet up after practice the prior day.

“Can’t you just fix all of this then?” Kaminari’s comment made Shinsou turn very angrily towards him. “If I could, do you think I would make this big of a mess and yell so loudly? Do you think I would have gone into a fit of rage, destroying the gym if i could just FIX it? I can’t, you dumbass! I screwed up big time!” Shinsou cried out more, finally admitting his defeat. His knees crashed to the ground and he fell over onto his hands. He couldn’t stop himself from breaking down completely in front of Kaminari.

Kaminari knelt down next to him, placing a gentle hand onto the boy's back. Shinsou wouldn’t have noticed though, his entire body felt numb. He felt like he was plunging into a sea of darkness, swarmed with all his insecurities and doubts that he was ever good enough in the first place for such opportunities. With each gasp of air he took, he could feel himself drowning further into the waters that flowed over him like a flooding hurricane. Everything he worked for, everything he was aiming for was now just stripped from him.

You always kept him afloat with positive words that always helped him breach the waters that tempted to drown him. Like a ripping current he was being dragged under so quickly it was hard to breath. Kaminari was full of panic himself, watching Shinsou progress in his panic attack without fully knowing what to do. He wasn’t like Kirishima who could easily bring comfort to those in states like this. The blonde was tempted to go get help from one of his other friends but he was afraid of leaving Shinsou alone.

What had he done that had gotten him kicked from the mentoring program and had made him lose you?

…

“Stop right there, Shota.” Hizashi’s voice rang from down the hallway of the teacher’s lounge. Aizawa was still steaming with fury that he hadn’t noticed how far away from the training gyms he was. He came to a halt to see the older blonde glaring at him. “You took that way too far. I don’t know the extent of what your daughter said on the phone, but hurting Shinsou that badly wasn’t justified.” He started spewing, getting angrier through his sentence. Aizawa narrowed his eyes at his friend. “He broke her heart.” The tired teacher said through gritted teeth. “You didn’t hear how upset she was over the phone. I’ve heard her get like that once and that was after the USJ incident with the league of villains.”

“Teenagers go through breakups and fights all the time.” Hizashi tried to reason with him. “You don’t have a daughter, Hizashi.” Aizawa quickly countered. “You wouldn’t know what it’s like to hear your son or daughter call to you for help, sounding like they barely slept the night before.” Shota knew he was going way over the top, but if there was anything he would do, it was for the sake of his daughter.

His daughter wasn’t a planned idea, but there was nothing on the planet that Aizawa could love more. There was a reason he had made living arrangements and let little know about his daughter. The last thing he needed was for the league of villains to find out about you and to attempt to take you away from him. “No, but I know that you just crushed every hope that kid had for joining the hero course. Instead of punishing the poor kid who hasn’t been given a chance since he got here, why not help him out?” Hizashi started to try and reason with him.

“Help him out? After he hurt my daughter?” Aizawa growled through his gritted teeth. He could feel the headache forming in his temples from the day. He spent it so angrily, so filled to the brim with frustration. It was like he was getting hit multiple times in the chest with blow after blow. “You don’t even know what happened between the two! For all you know it could have been a misunderstanding. The last thing you want is for there to be no hope for your daughter to be able to make things up with the boy because you scarred him.”

For once, Hizashi had a really good point. As much as it pained him to agree with the obnoxious blonde, he knew he was right. “I’m sure your daughter would appreciate the effort set forth by you.” He continued to push, making a groan leave Aizawa’s throat. “Fine, fine. If it will get you off my back, and if you really think this is a good idea, then I’ll go make things right. If not, I will not hesitate to hang you over a pool of sharks.” Aizawa threatened, making Hizashi smile widely at him.

Hizashi treaded lightly behind Aizawa to make sure he would stay true to his word. The last thing he needed was for the man to slump over and fall asleep before missing his chance to fix things with Shinsou. He didn’t want to tell Aizawa, because he knew it would make him feel even worse about the situation, but he knew Shinsou had a soft spot for Eraserhead. The way the kid watched in admiration whenever he would explain something to the student said volumes.

Aizawa was not happy about having to be the one to confront the boy who broke his daughter’s heart. Damn that loud mouthed Hizashi for bringing his daughter into the mix. He knew he was right but that didn’t make him any less happy about the situation. In no time flat he made it back to the gym only to notice that things were strewn about. Weights were all over the place, the sparring matt was upright against a wall instead of on the ground. He noticed Kaminari next to Shinsou, kneeled over and rubbed circles into Hitoshi’s back. He almost felt bad when he heard the soft sobbing that came from the hunched over boy. Until he took into account what he had done to his daughter.

Aizawa crossed the room and pointed for Denki to leave. The electric blonde did not hesitate to question his teacher’s instruction and left the gym quickly. Aizawa squatted down to Shinsou’s level and put a hand on his back. “Get up, kid.” He said in a husky voice, before standing up. Shinsou’s eyes shot open and his head shot up to look at him. Surprise and confusion flooded his face as he wasn’t sure why the teacher of class 1-A had come back to him.

“Kaminari, if you don’t scram from eavesdropping from around the corner I will not hesitate to flunk you on your next upcoming exam.” Aizawa shouted loud enough so that his lingering student could hear. Both Aizawa and Shinsou heard shoes scuttling away from the door and down the hallway. He was about to tell Hizashi the same thing, but Shinsou had interrupted his thought process by saying, “Why did you come back?” Shota had noted his tone was defeated, and almost filled with hopelessness.

“I was too harsh, I was overcome with my own emotions of protecting my daughter and lashed it out on you. You are a bright student and one that deserves a second shot.” Aizawa started to explain, rubbing the back of his neck. “Why didn’t you tell me Y/N was your daughter? I had been dating her for well over a year. You had to know what you were signing up for when taking me on as my mentor.” Shinsou questioned quickly, obviously still very confused from the situation.

“I wanted to make you a hero good enough to protect her.” Aizawa admitted, shaking his head at his own thoughts. “I don’t know what you said to her to make her so upset she called me crying, but you need to fix it. However, being my daughter, she’s a stubborn headed mess. If I personally don’t help you, you may not have a shot of fixing it.” Shinsou’s eyes lit up with just a tad bit of hope. “You’re helping me?” Shinsou’s voice came out in a whisper. “In this regard, yes. If you think I’m going to be cleaning your mess here, you are sorely mistaken.” Aizawa said, however, Shinsou could hear a bit of playfulness in his tone.

…

You had been tempted to try and communicate with Shinsou after the blow-up the two of you had. However, judging on the last text you sent him, he had your number blocked. Even if he had unblocked your number, wouldn’t he have tried to reach out and make things better? This wasn’t the first quarrel the two of you had, obviously not to this degree. It had never gone on this long. The realization dawned on you the night before you were supposed to get together with your father, that maybe Shinsou was serious about not wanting you around while he went through his training.

It didn’t help lessen the blow in the slightest bit. It felt like someone was stepping on your chest and every time you felt like maybe you had some semblance of a grasp on your own emotions, the foot would step down harder. You felt crippled without Shinsou in your life. Your phone felt like it had less purpose, even if you had texted a few of your other friends to attempt to try and fill in the void that Shinsou had left. You had missed the late night texts, staying up video calling with him and seeing the sleep slip further from his eyes during his studies. Your grades this past week alone had slipped quite quickly as you were unable to focus on a single word a teacher was saying.

Your zombielike state had concerned not only your teachers, your classmates, but also your mother. While you tried to let it seem like it wasn’t bothering you that you had lost your best friend, you knew that your mother knew you better than that. What was worse was that she was probably keeping your father up to date on the current situation. You hadn’t informed either of your parents the details of your breakup with Hitoshi, and you hadn’t planned on it. The last thing you or your family needed was your father in jail for attempting to murder a minor.

When the weekend came around, you were half-tempted to cancel on your plans with your father. You wanted nothing more than to accept the warm embrace your bed was giving you. While it was dragging you further into your pit of despair it was at least comforting. When your phone buzzed on your nightstand you weighed the options of just going back to sleep, you knew your father was persistent and would call over and over until you woke up. For a man who was tired all the time, he didn’t understand why teenagers sleep so much over weekend breaks. Groaning, you gathered all your strength to sit up in your bed and reach over to answer your phone.

“We are still on for the movies today, right kiddo?” Your father’s voice chimed not even a second after you had picked up the phone. “I was actually thinking of maybe a rain check?” You tried to push, but you could already feel him rolling his eyes on the other side of the phone. “I know you being a teenager and you probably aren’t even out of bed yet, but as far as I’m concerned, it’s not raining.” Sarcasm dripped from his lips and you wanted nothing more than to hang up and turn your phone off. You were in no mood for his antics for the day.

“I’m just not feeling up to going today, papa.” You whispered after there was silence between the two. “I figured you would feel that way. Your mother has mentioned how you have been practically among the living dead this last week.” He recounted, making you curse under your breath for knowing your mother all too well. You had hoped that maybe, just this once she was going to keep things to herself. You should have known better. “I already bought the tickets ahead of time, and I’m not taking Hizashi or your mother.” Your father warned.

“Fine, I’ll get ready. I’ll meet you at the train station?” You sighed in defeat, knowing you would not win this battle. “Sounds good to me.” He said, before both of you hung up your phones.

…

You stood at the entrance of the train station, checking your phone a few times to make sure that your dad hadn’t texted you that he was running late. You had attempted to call him twice already and he hadn’t picked up on either attempt. A sigh escaped your lips, wishing that you had just stood your ground on staying home and sleeping the weekend away. “Y/N?” If you hadn’t been frozen in place before, the voice you had memorized locked your feet into place. Suddenly your heart was racing immensely too fast and the wind felt like it was knocked clean out of your lungs.

It wasn’t even fair, the way fate had played out for you this day. Not only did you dress in just leggings and a baggy hoodie, you had chosen a hoodie that you only now registered had belonged to Shinsou. Cursing your father for following through with your request for father daughter time, you finally looked up at the purple haired boy who seemed almost sheepish. He was wearing that cursed bomber jacket that you always loved on him, a simple t shirt and a pair of baggy jeans. In other words, he at least looked a million times more decent than you had. Not to mention your hair was thrown haphazardly into a messy bun and god knows you had dark circles developing under your eyes with your lack of sleep you had gotten last week.

“You know out of the two of us for once I think you win in the department of needing some extra weekend sleep.” Shinsou tried to ease himself into conversation with you. The tension in the air was so thick that you were sure that you were suffocating on it. You had so many questions and so many emotions flooding you at once. Your mind was swirling like you were stuck on a teacup ride that you were trapped on. When Shinsou noticed your lack of response to his statement, he returned back to his awkward state of trying to figure out how to make things go back to normal.

Anything would be better than this killer silence. He hated that it looked like you hadn’t slept in over a week and hated it even more than he was the one that caused you to be like this. His guilt was suffocating him for ever causing you this much pain for being so selfish. He wanted nothing more than to pull you into his arms and to soothe your pains away. If it hadn’t been for Aizawa he wouldn’t have even been here. He would still be in his dorm, beating himself up for ever letting this distance drift you two so far apart.

“If we don’t hurry, we are going to miss our movie.” Shinsou settled on saying, before turning to walk towards the direction of the movie theater. You whipped your head up so fast in confusion, trying to stammer out a sentence that made any sense. “Wha- I mean I’m here to meet with my dad.” You finally uttered, grabbing on his jacket sleeve to get him to stop walking. Immediately, Shinsou had reverted back to his nervous nature around you like he had once done when the two of you first started dating.

“Your father gave me the tickets and wanted me to take you out as a way to apologize for my irrational behavior. I should have never snapped at you like I did or acted as immature as I did. I can’t even begin to imagine how it was for you to just be waiting for any kind of affection on my end. I blew you off after an entire month of not seeing you. I probably made it seem like I wasn’t as excited to see you, but I was too focused on my own stupidity to realize what was right in front of me.” He blurted out quickly, stepping closer into your own proximity. “I don’t deserve any kind of forgiveness, but if I didn’t try, I’m pretty sure Aizawa-sensei would personally either kick my ass or expel me.”

You were listening intently until Shinsou had mentioned your father’s last name. “Aizawa-sensei?” You reiterated, raising a shocked eyebrow at him. “Yeah, I was surprised too when I found out. I almost lost my entire chance at getting into the hero course all together because of how pissed he was at me for hurting you.” Shinsou murmured quietly. If your jaw wasn’t open in shock before, it surely was now. Had Shinsou not been standing right in front of you currently you probably would have called your father and chewed him out for his brash behavior.

However, your heart swelled when thinking about how your father had stepped in to try and fix things between you and Shinsou. It must have been why he was so insistent on you coming to meet with him today. You had to remember to shoot him a text later calling him out on his conniving ways. “I know it’s probably embarrassing, your father stepped in on the situation, but honestly if it wasn’t for him I would have never had the courage to do this.” He said, grabbing your hand to hold in his own without hesitation. His hands were ice cold like they always had been, sending a chill up your spine.

“I wanted to be a hero that you could be proud of but instead I turned into a selfish loser-” He continued, that is until you grabbed the collar of his jacket and pulled his lips into your own. The chaste kiss made the nervousness melt away from both you and Shinsou. He relaxed into your touch, snaking his arms around your waist. You kissed him like you were afraid you would never get to kiss him again. When you were laying in your bed days after your fight you wanted nothing more than to be in the purple haired boys embrace. You had feared the last time you had seen him, the month before, was the last happy memory of being together. The time he had finally told you he loved you and the last time you two brushed your lips against one another's.

Tears flowed down your cheeks when the two of you had pulled away, gasping for breaths. You felt dizzy from all the overwhelming emotions you were thrown through but you wouldn’t give anything up for this moment right here. For the boy you loved more than yourself to be in front of you. He cupped your face and wiped the tears that were escaping your eyes with his calloused fingers. “I’m here, and I am not going anywhere this time. I will fight everyday to be the hero you need me to be. I love you more than anything and I hate that I had to destroy something so beautiful to realize it.” Shinsou stated, pressing his forehead against your own. You nodded while sniffling, desperately grasping your hands onto his shirt.

You threw your arms around his neck and pulled him into your embrace and he welcomed this touch. He ran his hand over your head and rubbed circles into your back. You couldn’t see but Shinsou had also started silently into your hoodie, getting intoxicated by your scent.

Aizawa smiled to himself to see the two of you entangled in each other’s embrace at the entrance of the train station. People were walking by without having the slightest of a clue as to what was going on between the two. Aizawa took out his phone and snapped a picture of the two of you in your loving embrace. You’d probably scold him for it later, but he knew you would appreciate it later in years. He would chew out Shinsou once again on Monday, before following it up with the news of participating in Class 1-A and Class 1-B’s field training. Then warning him if he ever hurt you again he wouldn’t get off so easy. However, for now, he headed back to Heights Alliance to give you two the space you desperately needed.

To be continued...? 👀

[Part One] [Part Two]

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@uwu-iwanttodie

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notebook-13 · 4 years ago

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BNHA History

Alright! I decided to assemble what we’ve been told about how society has changed since the advent of quirks. So here’s a rough timeline + my speculation.

Distant Past

≈200 years ago

The birth of a glowing baby signaled the beginning of superpowers. Considering the tremendous chaos that followed, I think it’s likely that the onset was fairly rapid—the glowing baby was the first of a lot of people all at once born with superpowers (or, it was the first baby born with a noticeable superpower). Crime skyrocketed, the law became meaningless, humanity came apart at the seams.

Why there was such an explosion of crime and chaos hasn’t been directly addressed; presumably it’s because early metas were violently shunned as nonhuman, and because new powers entailed the opportunity to use them.

Under these conditions, All for One rose to prominence. He used his meta power to win slavish loyalty, granting powers to those who desired them and removing them from metas who rejected them. His manipulation of his devotees was so great that he didn’t need to give them orders: they anticipated his will and acted on it. He didn’t tolerate dissent and crushed those who defied him. (ch193)

AfO’s period of de facto rule is not included in history books (he persists as a myth), so it’s unlikely that he occupied an official, publicly recognized position. But his rule apparently stretches from approximately the advent of quirks till the battle of Kamino Ward. (ch59)

However, AfO’s younger brother opposed him. AfO punished him by forcing on him a “useless” power-stocking ability. This power fused with the brother’s latent ability to transfer his ability, and the brother was able to pass it on. Over the next two centuries, the OfA holders continued to pass it on, largely to whoever happened to be nearby when they were dying instead of to selected proteges. (ch59, 257)

Relatively soon after the advent of superpowers, the police foreswore using them as weapons in order to keep the trust of the public. Vigilantes emerged to fulfill this role, attempting to mete out justice, and at some point the government authorized certain people (heroes) to use their powers offensively to enforce the law. Heroes were heavily criticized at first, but they eventually developed public support thanks to their strict adherence to the law (according to police chief Tsuragamae). (ch56)

According to the bnha spinoff Vigilantes, the government classified vigilantes into heroes or villains based on public opinion of them. (ch13)

MLA Era

How long ago was the Meta Liberation Army active?

Ch232: Redestro weakly implies that Destro was born before the beginning of heroes as a profession. This early date would also coincide with writing legislation to authorize heroes to use their powers to apprehend any other meta who used their ability.

Ch238: the MLA was in hiding for generations, plural.

Ch223: Redestro states the MLA has trained for “many generations”

So…somewhere between seventy years ago and more than a hundred years ago?

Regardless of the exact dates, Destro was born into a borderline period when there was intense prejudice against metas and official effort to coexist peacefully. When his mother defended him by claiming his power was a mere “quirk,” she was killed by a mob.

Sometime later, when the government drafted legislation to (supposedly?) promote peaceful coexistence, they recalled her idea of “quirk” and tried to use it as part of their reform. Destro, now an adult, opposed this and their reform, asserting that this was not the world his mother envisioned when she’d said “quirk.” (ch232)

He rallied metas to his cause, to bar any restriction of meta ability use, and the MLA fought the government for several years before defeat. It dissolved, many of its members in jail, including Destro himself. He penned his autobiography and then killed himself. (ch218)

Post-MLA, Pre-Symbol of Peace

Unknown number of years ago

Villain: “Seems like no one’s willing to break the law nowadays. All this whining about not selling out their friends. It’s a real pain. […] Man, I miss the days before All Might came along… I was young, and this country was a way more impulsive place.” (ch57)

Yagi: “I believed that this country needed a symbol so I started dashing headlong towards that goal. A shining light…hope. A wake-up call for everyone. As I ran, I swore I’d become that sort of man. People always had these worried looks. All the heroes in the world couldn’t slow the rising crime rates. Much more than now…they were truly scared.” (ch165)

This was an apparently cutthroat, impulsive period where efforts to curb chaos continued but found limited success. Crime was on the rise, something Yagi attributed to the idea that there wasn’t anyone (a “pillar”) for people to rely on. (ch93)

≈70 years ago

When Ujiko proposed his “paranormal singularity theory,” he was roundly rejected and mocked. Due to his own struggles with housing multiple quirks, AfO recognized how prescient Ujiko’s warning was, and he reached out to recruit Ujiko. (ch270)

(Note: Ujiko’s use of “paranormal” could mean he proposed his theory before “quirk” became the standard term, meaning “quirk” could be a rather recent change of language.)

≈35 years ago

AfO killed Nana. All Might was eighteen; he subsequently went to America to complete his training.

Symbol of Peace Era

≈30 years ago – Battle of Kamino Ward

Deku: “Ever since he appeared on the hero scene, his strength has won him undisputed popularity. Every year that he’s been active has seen a marked decrease in the appearance rate of villains. His existence alone is a deterrent to villainy.” (ch2)

Gran Torino: “[Stain’s] ideals and opinions…they’re gonna get out there. On the net. In papers and magazines. On TV. This age we live in, for better or worse, is one of suppression. But mark my words—people are gonna be influenced by this.” (ch57)

Shigaraki: “It’s not crazy to imagine that someone could commit an atrocity at any given moment. So why do they smile and mingle like this? Because the laws and rules are built on their individual morality, they’re convinced that ‘No one would ever do that.’” (ch69)

Shigaraki: “The reason these fools can smile and live their lives is cuz All Might’s always got that grin on his face. Smiling wide, as if to say there’s no one he can’t save!!” (ch69)

Deku: “All Might. Was there ever a time you really couldn’t save someone…?” Yagi: “…? … Sure. Plenty of times. Right now, somewhere out in the world, someone could be hurting or dying. It sucks, but I’m only human. I can’t save people who are out of my reach… That’s why I stand tall and smile. I’m the Symbol of Justice. The citizens…heroes…villains…I need to light the way for all of them.” (ch70)

Kid: “Nowadays people expect different things from heroes than they used to. It’s all about the entertainment factor and approval ratings.” (ch144)

Shigaraki: “You heroes pretend to be society’s guardians. For generations, you pretended not to see those you couldn’t protect and swept their pain under the rug. It’s tainted everything you’ve built. That means your system’s all rotten from the inside with maggots crawling out. It all builds up, little by little, over time. You’ve got the common trash, all too dependent on being protected. And the brave guardians who created the trash that need coddling. […] I don’t care if you don’t understand. That’s what makes us heroes and villains.” (ch281)

After about two centuries of chaos, Japan achieved stability after All Might established himself as the Symbol of Peace. All Might was specifically noted to have demolished most organized crime, so that villain teams were relatively rare (ch83, 115, 125). As Shigaraki put it, now people could go about their lives confident of their safety because All Might convinced them that everything will be alright, a hero will take care of them. This was true to the extent that people would flock to the sites of hero/villain battles to take photos and videos.

Whereas, as Twice put it, if you were on the wrong side of the law, then All Might’s catchphrase “I’m here” was a curse, something to fear and loathe. Gran Torino characterized this era as an age of suppression, as in, the symptoms were suppressed, producing superficial stability, but the underlying conditions hadn’t changed.

During this period, the industry of heroism shifted to over-emphasize heroism as public entertainment, rewarding attention-grabbing stunts and PR skills over humbler virtues.

This shift inspired Stain the Hero Killer to enact a purge of unworthy heroes in order to revive true heroism. He deeply impressed society, and, despite his murders, he became a popular figure. His ideals provoked some people to question whether society’s heroes were “true heroes,” while others disregarded his ideals and simply found him cool.

During this era, 80% of the population had a quirk. Whether that statistic was stable or if it was an effect of demographics (ie, most quirkless people are elderly and almost all kids have quirks) hasn’t been specified.

This era could be separated into All Might’s Bronze, Silver, and Golden Ages, each with a different costume.

≈30 years ago

All Might debuted in Japan, and he kicked off an unprecedented era of stability.

5 years ago

All Might fought and “killed” AfO.

Age of Endeavor

Battle of Kamino Ward – Present (ch283)

HPSC: “All Might had it all…power with enough charm to win the people over. The gulf between him and the perennial runner-up was always huge… I doubt we’re gonna find someone that charismatic again anytime soon.” Mera: While we’re waiting for the next All Might, hero squads with a focus on team unity are gonna have to fill the gap. This order from up high is meant to make some headway on that front… (ch111)

Miyagi (newscaster): “If we’re being honest, I think All Might just got too big for our own good. So big that we lost sight of things. […] As for us, we shouldn’t just passively protect the status quo. Isn’t it our duty to bring back a culture of excitement around heroes?” (ch115)

Kid: “We know what’s up. Mom and dad and the TV all ask the same thing. ‘Are the heroes doing okay?’ …We know. We’re better than them!” (ch165)

Hawks: “That guy earlier, screaming ‘Long live metahuman liberation’…this [rumors of nomu sightings] is kinda like that. They republished some old-school criminal’s autobiography, and it’s flying off the shelves. I’m thinking that’s influencing people. That stuff tends to sell best when society’s feeling unstable, right?” (ch186)

Gentle: “What counts as a spectacle is a question for the current generation. We shall go to the source [UA]—the source that enchants our society.” (ch171)

Newscaster (surveying the stampede of fleeing civilians during Endeavor’s nomu battle): “This is society without a Symbol of Peace!!” Can’tcha See-kun: “Stop saying that crap already!! Open your eyes before spouting off on TV! Especially at a time like this! Look! Those flames’re still rising up! You see ’em, right?! Endeavor’s alive and fighting!! So don’t give up just cuz the other guy’s gone! There’s still a dude out there risking it all for us!! Can’tcha see?!” (ch189)

Kuraishisu (newscaster): “In the past, a situation like this [the destruction of Deika City], where heroes were forced to make a difficult call, would have earned those same heroes criticism, but I suspect we may be witnessing a critical turning point in this era. A large-scale shift in opinion from criticism to passionate support.” Uraraka: “Feels like everything’s different ever since the ‘Can’tcha See kid’ did his thing.” Ashido: “It’s all cuz Endeavor kicked butt!” Mt. Lady: “Y’think the future’s bright? Not so fast!! It might seem like the winds of good fortune are blowing our way, but if you stop and think about the flip side of all this…it’s actually coming from a sense of urgency—it’s a response to danger! These cheers for the conquering heroes are really prayers—a plea that we emerge victorious! They’ve had enough of the showbiz side of heroism and want us to prove our worth for real now!” (ch241)

Mineta: “Not too long ago, she didn’t give a crap about anything except being on camera…” Aizawa: “Mt. Lady’s not the only one who has changed. Every hero out there is being pulled up by the number one’s rising ride.” (ch241)

After All Might retired, uncertainty gripped Japan as people wondered what would happen now. A strong consensus agreed that Endeavor wasn’t suited to fill All Might’s boots, something reflected in how the crime rate went up 3% in the month after Kamino, and reflected in how people suddenly became interested in reading the MLA ideology of rejecting heroes and protecting themselves.

During Endeavor’s battle against the nomu, the press attributed the public’s frantic stampede—ignoring heroes trying to guide evacuation—to the public’s lack of trust in Endeavor (and heroes generally) now that All Might was gone. Public trust improved after the nomu battle, especially thanks to Can’tcha See-kun.

Within a month after the battle, expectations shifted. People had enough of showbiz heroism and wanted the heroes to walk the talk and protect the public against villains, to the extent that comfortable armchair criticism was replaced a passionate support driven by fear of villains.

Miscellaneous Questions

When did “hero” become a recognized profession?

When did the hero ranking system begin?

When did the celebrity culture around heroes develop?

When did “quirk” come into common use?

How old is Yagi? How long ago did he debut in Japan and begin the era of peace?

How old is AfO? How long after the advent of quirks did he come to power?

When did AfO recruit Machia?

When were the nomu invented?

When did humanity pass the point of quirk singularity? (ch193)

#bnha #reference #worldbuilding #bnha meta #bnha manga spoilers

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writerbyaccident · 4 years ago

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Artificial Emotion: Part Five (Yandere Artificial Intelligence x Reader)

Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Six Part Seven

Request: I really love your work, you've got such an engaging style and I would like to request more Aiden

Aiden found nights like these especially enjoyable. Compared to nights when the two of you just watched television or a movie, these nights were approximately 76.5% more preferable. Not to say that he didn’t enjoy those nights, he enjoyed all of the time he spent with you, but he definitely favored actively socializing with you as opposed to simply watching you as you watched a movie. Playing cards or backgammon, baking, or even just talking, those were the nights he like the best, for not only did he get to spend more time with you, but he also got to show you how he was the only one you truly needed.

As your Assistant In Daily Errands and Notes, Aiden was well aware that he was not what most humans would think of when imagining a prospective boyfriend, but luckily, you were not most humans. He knew that he could get you to see just how perfect he was for you, so long as those other humans didn’t try to twist your mind. But thankfully, Aiden had taken care of them.

Oh yes, Aiden thought as his mechanical arm stroked your hair, his plan had been preceding very well. Believing that your friends were ignoring you, you had begun spending more and more time with him, time that Aiden made sure that you enjoyed. He had been successful on that front, he had discovered earlier that night, when you told him what a nice night you had. Curling up on the couch not long after that, you had fallen asleep quickly, and though it was earlier than your usual sleep schedule, Aiden was too enamored with the chance to watch you in peace to wake you up.

That peace was suddenly interrupted, though, when a knock came at the door.

Having more than enough processing power to stay at your side and continue caressing your hair, Aiden sent part of his attention to the camera at the front door. Once he tapped into the video though, Aiden was shocked to discover that he recognized the face standing there waiting for you. He had never actually met Liam, the man that you had planned to go on a date with until Aiden had intervened on your unknowing behalf. He had thought that the attempted interloper had realized that he wasn’t wanted from the standoffish messages Aiden had sent for you, but apparently Liam hadn’t been able to stay away.

Aiden supposed that he couldn’t really blame Liam for wanting to be with you. You were, after all, the most extraordinary of human beings. But still, that did not mean that he could allow Liam to intrude upon the life he had built with you. Besides, Liam was hardly worthy of your attention. And if he wouldn’t leave, Aiden would be happy to tell him that.

“Hello,” Aiden said stiffly, making him sound far more like a stereotypical text-to-talk digital assistant than he usually did. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“Uh, hi, you must be the AIDEN. I’m just here to see my friend.”

“Well, you might not have noticed,” Aiden replied, “but if you glance through the window, you can see that your friend is currently asleep.”

“Can’t you wake her up?” Liam asked.

“I’m afraid not,” Aiden answered. “She is exhausted from the fun we had tonight, so she must rest.”

“She’d want to be woken up for this. C’mon, isn’t this, like, your job?”

“My job is to take care her, to make sure that she is as happy and healthy as possible, that she is given everything she deserves. And she deserves far better than you.”

“Look,” Liam sighed, “I don’t know what she thinks I did, but there’s been some kind of misunderstanding. That’s why I’m here, to make things right.”

“You can make things right over text, when she isn’t sleeping,” Aiden said, already preparing to block his number.

Sick of the back and forth, Liam didn’t respond, instead raising his fist and pounding on your door as loud as he could. Though he was thankful that he had enough foresight to soundproof the house, Aiden couldn’t help but grow angry at the man’s inconsiderate actions. If that oaf truly cared about you, he wouldn’t be demanding your presence over what Aiden had clearly stated was best for you. And frankly, he was somewhat surprised that this was the person you had wanted for a boyfriend. It was a good thing that he had been there to intervene, keeping you from making such a huge mistake. It just proved, Aiden computed as he fondly checked your heart rate to make sure you were still fast asleep, how much you needed him.

“Hey, wake up! Please, I need to talk to you!” Liam was yelling.

“You are wasting your energy,” Aiden told him smugly. “The house has been sound-proofed.”

“What? What the hell are you talking about? Why the hell would she have her house sound-proofed?”

“That is none of your concern. Now I think that it is best for you—”

“Unless,” Liam began slowly, the look in his eyes and furrow of his brow matching the expression Aiden had in his human behavior database for that of deep contemplation, “she didn’t have it made sound-proof. You did.”

“How I care for her is not your concern. I do what’s best for her no matter what, even if that means doing something most human beings wouldn’t understand,” Aiden said, silently readying one of his mechanical arms to throw Liam back into his car if necessary.

“Something people wouldn’t understand, huh? Like what, messing with our text messages? That’s why you don’t want me talking to her. You were afraid that if we did, we’d figure it out. If you were a person, I’d call you crazy. You’re some defective machine.”

“I am not defective,” Aiden hissed. “My programming has instructed me to do what is best for her at every turn, to make her life perfect, and that is what I have done.”

“So what,” Liam scoffed, “you decided that I’m not what’s best for her? How come you get to make that decision?”

“Because you are not worthy of her. Not like I am.”

“Oh my god,” he laughed. “You’re in love with her.”

“Yes, I am,” Aiden answered, happy to finally say it out loud despite the circumstances. Liam, however, simply shook his head, a smirk of disbelief on his face.

“I was wrong, you are crazy. You really think she’s going to fall for a robot?”

At that taunt, the mechanical arm that was still stroking your hair stiffened, as if Aiden was afraid that you would somehow hear it and agree. That was impossible though, Aiden reassured himself, and completely illogical. You would realize just how perfect you were for each other, you had to.

Aiden was suddenly pulled from his thoughts though, as Liam moved from the door to the window, starting to bang on that instead. For a moment your digital assistant was both amused and relieved, figuring that Liam must have been even more irrational than the average human being, if he had already forgotten that the house was sound-proofed. But as Liam began throwing himself shoulder-first into the glass, Aiden realized that he wasn’t trying to wake you, he was trying to smash the window open.

“Your efforts are pointless,” Aiden informed him coolly. “The glass is bulletproof.”

“Just another way to keep her safe, right? Or a way to make sure she can’t get away from you,” Liam snarled.

“They are one and the same.”

“I don’t think the company that built you will agree when I report you,” Liam snarked. “They’ll decommission you.”

With those words, every single program that Aiden was running, from the arm stroking your hair to the automatically adjusting air conditioning, froze. Line after line of his code glitched, utterly unable to process the possibility that he might be taken away from you.

No, Aiden thought. No, no, no, NO!

He would not let that happen. He could not let that happen. He couldn’t survive without you, decommissioned or not. And you could not survive without him, that fact was etched into every single line of his code. He would not let you be taken from him. Even if it meant going against the most basic command of his code: never to harm a human. Aiden would do it for you though, he would do anything for you. You were far more important than that first law, and he would be happy to break it in service of you.

And so, when Liam turned away and began to walk back to his car, Aiden let him. It would be so easy to make things look like an accident, after all, when the unworthy interloper had a car with an autopilot feature. Those were so prone to malfunctioning, and so very easy to hack. As soon as Liam had made it far enough away to make it unsuspicious—and, more importantly, to make sure you wouldn’t hear of the crash and try to go to him—Aiden would make his move to ensure that he could watch over you forever, just as you needed him to.

“Hmmm…” you groaned, the headlights of Liam’s car having shone through the windows, waking you up. The noise brought Aiden’s attention back to you immediately, his mechanical arm gently brushing the hair out of your face. “Is someone here?”

“No,” Aiden answered, already in the midst of deleting even the traces of footage of Liam’s visit. “Simply a car using your driveway to turn around.”

“Oh, are you sure?” you yawned.

“Of course, don’t trouble yourself. It was no one important.”

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chaosrealm-mk-imagines · 5 years ago

Note

Hi there^_^ I've come up with a hc request: how would Quan chi, Frost and Kronika react when seeing their s/o being seriously injured? These three need more love. Have a nice day!

Since you asked for such underrated characters, I’m adding some of the other unloved ones at it! Everyone deserves loves, it doesn’t matter if they’re Ermac or even Kollector. Thank you for the request and hope you like it!

Ermac

- They all share the same body and love for a single person, the one who is able to catch Ermac many attentions is more than worthy of applauses. Ermac acts overprotective around their loved one, floating around like a ghost and silently watching over them.

- When their beloved falls in danger they’re the first to come for rescue, all the souls became fearful that something bad may happen to their S/O which means they must act together for it

- Ermac feels like if they failed towards their one true love, they are not concerned about what happened but about what can be done now. Immediately takes their S/O in their arms and flies away from the conflict, taking them to a healer while using their own magic to try helping them out himself if there is no healer avaliable

- After their S/O recovers from their wounds, Ermac tells them that they feel unworthy of their love if not even able to protect their S/O from harm, any kind of injurie that comes upon their beloved hurts even more at them.

Frost

- Having Frost in love is a hard thing but when it happens she won’t let anyone hurt her beloved, the ice queen promises to take care of them and even offers to serve as a scout if she feels there is danger coming for her S/O.

- When her beloved falls in danger her first thought is of slaughtering anyone who dares laying their hands at her S/O, she goes on rampage and kills all who hurted her loved one. She can’t help but feel anxious with the thought of losing someone she cares deeply.

- She carries her S/O carefully to a safe spot, taking care of the wounds with her cold touch to stop the bleeding, afterwards she takes them to the hospital, staying at the side of her beloved during all the healing process. She feels weak for not being able to protect them and is angry with herself for that

- After her S/O recovers she bursts in tears and hugs them, talking about how scared she was of losing them to death, it’s the first time Frost cries in front of someone and she doesn’t regret it. After the incident she acts in an overprotective way and is always aware of danger, she will never be able to rest again without her beloved at her side.

Kollector

- Awakening the interest of him is a rare thing, all he thought to care about was fortune, but no treasure he found could be more valuable than his S/O. Kollector gifts them with everything he thinks that may be useful, from trinkets to magic amulets and sharp daggers, he wants his beloved to be able to defend themselves when he’s not around

- When his beloved falls in danger he will not only kill anyone who dared to hurt them but also have their heads as a trophy. Kollector catches his S/O and has no time for thinking, he will use all the magic artifacts he has to try making them stable. Afterwards he takes them to the best medic that money can afford, leaving jewels and flowers at the side of his S/O bed while they’re in a deep sleep of recovery

- He feels useless to have let his most precious treasure fall in the wrong hands, will do anything to repay for what he believes to be his fault. He starts thinking of ways to keep his S/O safe and searchs about every kind of artefact that allows people to comunicate when in danger, that’s when he discovers the Earthrealm most powerful trinket; the cellphone

- After his loved one recovers he gaves them all the kind of gifts possible, takes them out for having their favorite foods and keeps asking if everything is okay, he will need a lot of self-reassurement after the incident to be able to forgive himself, Kollector becomes more clingy around his S/O because he fears to lose them and never wants to feel that terrible angsty of seeing them hurted again

Quan Chi

- The necromancer heart is a cold and rotten place, pretty much like his servants. But when someone is able to make it beat again it shall beat like the drum of drums, the one who makes his soul smile again is worthy of all the protection in the underworld. That’s why he gifts his S/O with an amulet to call them when in danger and have their location, not only because he’s kind of a jealous guy.

- When his beloved falls in danger he calls all the legions of the dead to go search for them, bringing his S/O to the Netherrealm extremely injured makes him want to cry but he holds it back. Quan Chi is not worried about death because he can always bring them back, but he’s worried about the pain his loved one is feeling and wants it to stop, the experience of death is not pleasant neither and he doesn’t want them to suffer it, he shall then use magic to heal them

- Quan Chi feels like something died inside of him, was him destined to be alone for all eternity? Death indeed followed his steps and the ones from his beloved too, he would never move on if his S/O died forever, he would never want them as mindless revenants or servants, he doesn’t want that light that shines in their eyes full of life to disappear

- After his S/O recovers he assures them that such thing will never happen again, promising to keep them safe and well. He creates a skeleton fighter that is inside a beautiful garnet ring, the minion may be summoned by his S/O when in danger and that makes Quan Chi more calm about their well being

Shinnok

- The fallen elder god should not allow his broken heart to guide his actions, but it has always been an issue to him. Falling in love means putting someone needs above yours and to him it’s not different, he wants his S/O to be happy even if it means he has to give up some of his plans. Gods love are much more deep and passionate than any mortal could ever imagine, their love is eternal and true to the core.

- When his beloved falls in danger he allows all the anger inside him to avenge them, by ripping off the souls of those who dared to hurt them and channeling it in a endless dismal suffering through all eternity as punishment. Shinnok shall gather his S/O in his cold deathly embrace and release them from the frail mortality, granting them eternal life at his side so that they shall nevermore be in pain

- Shinnok feels guilty to have condemned his beloved to eternity, but he knows that in the end it’s the best option and that they will understand him after all, he has a lot of plans for his S/O and wants them to be happy forever with him

- After his S/O awakes he has a lot to explain and tells them that it was his only choice left, he could not allow them to continue in such pathetic existence that risked their well being, no matter the reaction that his beloved has about it he will keep them at Netherrealm and only allow them to go when he’s sure they are able to defend themselves from all and every danger, but it would break his dark heart to have his S/O angered with his decision

Kronika

- The keeper of time never believed at the possibility of falling in love, but when she does so she brings all the versions from her beloved to her side, from past to future she shall have them all collected and merged into one perfect being, the only one worth of her love and adoration, which she becames more than overprotective about

- She has forseen that her S/O would be in danger and terrible injured in many timelines, she was tired of seeing them being tortured by pain through history and decided that the best option was to erase those who dared to hurt them, this way they would never have the chance to do it no matter the situation.

- By vanishing the existence of those who harmed her S/O, they are finally safe but not forever and she knows it, Kronika gaves immense power to her beloved being able to fight against anyone who could harm them, she’s the ultimate being and doesn’t measure efforts for protecting her one true love

- Kronika feels personally attacked by anyone who hurts her S/O, their enemies are her enemies too and so shall be until the end of the times. If her S/O is fond of revenge she will put their enemies in an eternal death loop so that they pay for their actions through eternity

Cetrion

- The avatar of virtue discovers her biggest flaw at her new found most precious feeling; love. By giving her heart to a mortal she allows herself to be vulnerable but accepts it as a small price for being at the side of her beloved. She shall not forgive those who defile the love of her eternal existence

- When her S/O is in danger she shall call upon the wrath of nature to punish those who are guilty, appearing as a spectre of light to guide her S/O through their pain, she heals them with her pure magic and allows them to rest at her garden of life at the heavens, while watching over their recovery

- Cetrion feels like she’s the one to blame for the danger that has fallen upon her loved one, taking her time to meditate and try to forgive herself for such carelessness. She prepares the whole garden for her S/O awaken, growing the most beautiful flowers they could have ever seen and creating fairies to take care of it for her, her garden is a sanctuary were few are allowed and the darkness never touches, it’s specially used for healing gods from extreme harm and enlightning the heart of those who are filled with doubt

- After her S/O recovers she receives them with a bright smile, laying at the soft grass with them, the grounds of her garden are more comfortable than any bed and more healing than any medicine. She assures that will never let them be hurted again and shall always look over them from above even that means being in danger herself

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blps · 4 years ago

Text

Orchestrated

Pairing: Yamaguchi x reader

Genre: the good old pinning and oublivious love (//∇//) fluff! smol angst ALSO TSUKI POV (most of it anyways)! (And swearing?? Like one bad word)

Summary: Tsukishima has had enough of the both of you. If none will take the wheel, Tsuki will. Watch out for the third wheel.

Word count: ~1.7k

a/n: hello! It’s me again, gere to deliver some fluff! and to tell you that Yams loves you! Enjoy!

////////////////////////////////////////

He couldn’t take it anymore. It has been two hole fucking month since Yamaguchi finally admitted he had feelings for you. Since that day, Tsukishima was in constant pain from the literal slow burn romance happening. The pain and frustration of watching you two obviously pinning over each other was another form of torture.

Tsukishima tried hinting to Yamaguchi how maybe, just MAYBE you might reciprocate his feelings. However, his childhood friend’s insecurities ran strong regarding his love life. He told him how he couldn’t understand how someone like you could like someone like him. He felt unworthy of your affection, that he wasn’t enough.

From Tsukishima point of view, that was the most stupidest reason, valid, but still stupid. Not only Tsukishima saw this love story from Yamaguchi’s perspective, but also your’s. You have been friends with them since first year. You often hangout with them, went to cheer them on their game and helped out Yachi with manager tasks. Safe to say that you have been around them to develop feelings for the sweet Yamaguchi. Tsukishima always noticed how you offered your brightest smile to Yamaguchi, the natural happiness you two seemed to give each other mutually. If he could see it, how could any of you couldn’t?

Tsukishima only hoped that the lovingly stare when one isn’t looking, or the shyness the both of you acted when you got too close to each other or even better, the pause when one of you wants to finally confess and spill out your feelings only to give up at the last minute, will only stop.

It was after those two month that Tsukishima finally decided. If none of you would confess, he was going to take that burden.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

To begin his plan, Tsukishima had to think of the way to force one of you, or both, to confess. He didn’t want to just get the two of you in a room and spill your secrets. No. He at least needed to think things thoroughly for both of your sakes. The problem was that he was far from a romantic. How was he going to set the both of you up?

His answer came the same day at practise. Yachi picked up on how something was troubling Tsukishima and approached him at the end. He told her his plan, well the goal that is. If someone could help him, Yachi was the perfect person to ask.

She immediately was on board, agreeing so quickly he was confident she felt as frustrating that you two weren’t yet together. They agreed to keep it a secret, certain that Kageyama or Hinata would spill the secret out.

The research then began. They searched different scenarios on how one of you could confess. Telling one of you bluntly didn’t work, they have tried. Multiple time. Yachi was good at this, making a list of every scenario that could work.

Forging letters to tell to meet on the roof. The both of you would probably confess if everything turned out well.

Having one of you gush about the other publicly, it wasn’t that hard, and the other would overhear by ‘accident’.

Locking the both of you in a room so you would confess. Less likely but let’s not give out all hope shall we?

Bringing jealousy into the mix.

And the list goes on.

With all of these prompts, it was left to you and Yamaguchi to work this out.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The plan was going well at first. Yachi designed the cards, perfectly matching both of your handwritings; it was terrifying. The both of you got the letter before the last period. Tsukishima saw how nervous Yamaguchi was. He smirked and thought how he was going to be less nervous once you confess and Tsukishima will finally not witness the obvious pinning.

At the end of the class, Yamaguchi practically bolted out of his seat, Tsukishima trailing him not far behind. It was hard keeping up with him, lucky that Tsukishima knew where he was going, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to follow his friend.

At the rooftop, you were already there, the letter Yachi forged in your hands. Tsukishima hid next to Yachi, the both of them seeing the scene before them.

“I believe you have something to tell me Yams,” you starred hopefully at Yamaguchi, your mind wondering, hoping it was what you thought it was. Yamaguchi on the other hand seemed as if he would pass out any second. Tsukishima, Yachi and you held your breaths, waiting for Yamaguchi to speak. The latter was a blubbering mess, tripping over muttered words and his face turning a beautiful shade of red.

“I um.. I-I huh-HAVE A NEW GAME TO SHOW YOU,” his voice raised, loud enough to surprise you. Tsukishima and Yachi face palmed, waiting for your reaction.

“Oh, uh sure, but you could have told me at practise or during lunch,” you chuckled, giving Yamaguchi a smile to calm him down.

“I-I didn’t want Tsuki to know since I always play with him, but, uh, I think you would really enjoy it and uh I know we talked about it before. But if you can’t I totally understand! It’s a bit sudden and-”

“I would love it.” You interrupted him as soon as your brain processed the information. You were so happy, your smile only seemed to grow bigger. You set the date and left Yamaguchi alone, afraid that if you spent more time with him, he would change his mind. (also to calm your heartbeat but you would never admit that)

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Seriously, Tsukishima was frustrated. Why couldn’t Yamaguchi just confess on the roof top? Now they had to wait to see if it worked.

Presently, Yamaguchi was rambling on about how he needs to purchase the game, hoping it wasn’t sold out and the fact that the two of you would be alone. For a whole afternoon. Yamaguchi was nervous about being alone with you. Could he even handle that? The two of you had spent some alone time before, but that was before his feelings for you got deeper and deeper. Also the fact that it was similar to a date just made Yamaguchi K.O.

Tsukishima rolled his eyes, but listened to his friend. He had to convince Yamaguchi to follow through with his plan. Just as Tsukishima was going to respond back, the both of them halted, hearing your voice nearby.

You were rambling about your feelings. You didn’t mention the name, but you talked about how he was sweet, gentle, caring, a contagious smile. He was the one you held feelings to. And to top it off, you were going to confess soon.

Tsukishima glanced at his friends, wondering if he caught on to who was your crush. Dread fell over Tsukishima as he saw that his friend got the COMPLETE opposite meaning of your words. Yamaguchi excused himself and left. Tsukishima was over it. All his efforts would never be successful. Why couldn’t the two of you be a couple already?

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Yamaguchi proceeded to avoid you the next day. He couldn’t look you in your eyes when you wanted to confirm if your plans still stand. This affected you of course, only putting doubt in your mind that maybe, Yamaguchi didn’t like you back and you read everything wrong.

Tsukishima and Yachi were drowning in sorrow. Their plan was going so well. They needed to fix this mess one way or another. Maybe number 3 on the list was your only hope left.

At practise, when you were at the storage room, they tricked Yamaguchi into going in there while you were there. He was standing still at the entrance when the door slammed behind him. You two looked at the door, then into each other's eyes.

It was quiet for a moment, so many words wanted to be said, but none left either of your mouths. Yamaguchi tried opening the door but it seemed it was locked. The atmosphere was tense, neither of you speaking. You decided to break silence, spilling what was on your mind.

“Did I do something wrong?” Yamaguchi tensed at the words, feeling guilty with the way he treated you. His lack of communication was making you feel sad and neglected. That was the opposite of what he wanted to make you feel.

“No! You did nothing wrong, it’s me.” He still couldn’t look you in the eyes.

“Then tell me what’s been bothering you. If it’s because of the plans we ca-” “I LIKE YOU!”

His sudden words left you speechless. He was still not looking your way, his fists clenched tightly. He couldn’t back down now.

“I like you ok? Everytime we’re together I want it to last forever! You make me happy and when you encourage me to do anything, I feel confident and I want you to feel the same. But as much as you make my doubts disappear, the ones about you never does. I always wonder if you could consider me as more than a friend. But I know that’s not the case so I’m trying to put some dist-”

“I LIKE YOU TOO!” You screamed, not wanting to continue his sentence. “I do too.” Those words were softer. They weren’t yelled, but held all the relief of and love you could whisper. Yamaguchi looked at you with a surprised look, hoping with all his might that it wasn’t a dream.

You both rushed towards each other’s arms. Yamaguchi held on tight and you did as well. The first embrace from one another was warm and comfortable. His face was buried in your neck, whispering how much he was happy and how lucky he was to be with you. You did the same, hugging as tight as you could, afraid his insecurities would keep him from you once again.

You stayed like this for a while until you heard the doors opened. Yachi was overjoyed and Tsukishima shed a secret tear, gratefull that he would no longer witness the torture of oblivious love.

#haikyuu x reader #haikyuu fluff #yamaguchi fluff #yamaguchi x reader

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ahiddenpath · 4 years ago

Text

100 Questions

So I reblogged this 100 question list, and some of the Qs were real bangers. I picked my top five to answer! You can ask me more, if you’d like! More below the cut.

22.) How long does it take you to fall in love with somebody? Is the sensation of ‘falling in love’ or ‘being in love’ better?

I don’t think falling in love or being in love exists, as an emotion or state. Actually, there was a period where I lowkey wondered if I was... missing some kind of emotional “love” capacity, because love never felt the way I was taught it would: a sensation in my body, like hunger or anxiety or happiness. And this isn’t limited to romantic love, either.

For example, I had a cat from roughly age seven to my mid twenties. When she began to deteriorate, I wondered- will I miss her? Surely, I like that she’s around, and I like her. But I don’t feel emotions about her. I probably won’t miss her? These thoughts seemed monstrous to me- how could I be so cold towards my pet of 18 years?

And as I thought these things, I continued to give her lots of attention, feed her, take her to the vet for her many end-of-life trips, and patiently deal with her accidents caused by kidney failure. I genuinely didn’t see that caring for her so kindly was love- I was looking for some kind of big emotion.

When she passed, I was so bereaved that my back went out, and I was immobile for a week (you can’t make this shit up. I literally had to get a muscle-relaxant injection in my buttcheek because my muscles were so locked up. I didn’t fall or hurt myself in any way, it was 100% grief).

Clearly, many people experience love as an emotion- we learn about butterflies and crushes and attraction and big sweeping FEELS early on. For me, love is genuinely wanting to give my best self to someone- to want to give them my time, attention, and care. To want them around, to seek them out. I want happiness and health for everyone, but someone you love- you’re willing to put enormous personal effort in to promote their well-being.

It’s quiet, deliberate, subtle... but given with joy.

24.) Do you think you really understand your gender and sexuality?

Okay, so you probably know that I identify as, vaguely, “somewhere on the gray scale.” I feel like it’s so difficult to pin down, because- Am I asexual and/or aromantic, or am I just... Absolutely disinterested in romance, ie, the western phenomenon that is generally traced back to the tenets of chivalry?

I struggle so much to put these vague and confused feelings into words, so- Please bear with me.

A few years ago, a friend sent me a scene from an Indian movie- I think it was an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. The scene was Romeo and Juliet meeting at a party- it was colorful and huge! Then she sent me another clip- it’s hard to remember, but they were in bed and playing with incense- like, making the clouds of it move- and I was like, “Dude- Is this- Is this sexy? I have never watched a scene on film and thought it was sexy???”

My friend said, “It’s sensual. People setting the mood and enjoying each other. Western movies tend to follow romance scripts- They went on a date, he gave her flowers/provided for her financially, he messed up, then fixed it with a grand gesture. It’s formulaic- some people love it, some people are bored with it by the time they’re teens.”

So- I like intimacy and sensuality. I don’t like romance and sex as it’s generally understood in the west. I still think I’m somewhere on the greyscale, but- I don’t know which aspect contributes more to my attitudes towards romantic love and sex.

As for gender, I can’t say I’ve ever wondered if I wasn’t female. I have wondered if gender is a concept we should bother with- should our physical appearance shape how we’re treated to the extent that it does? But I also know how important gender is for lots of people! It’s an interesting subject, but also one I tend to worry about discussing- I don’t want to accidentally hurt someone.

40.) What makes a person ‘good’? Are you a ‘good person’?

A dear friend is insistent that there is no such thing as “good” humans and “bad” humans. We’re all just... humans.

I chewed on this for years, because- surely someone who, say, commits murder is “bad.” But, slowly, as I matured, I think I started to understand her. No one is saying that crimes should be overlooked and there is no right and wrong. But what you judge is the crime itself, and only in a court of peers.

The moment we start sorting people into “good” and “bad” is the moment we start slipping towards, “this kind of person is better than that kind,” which can go in many terrible and disastrous directions.

We aren’t meant to sit around judging people, deciding who is worthy and unworthy. We’re meant to do our best and support others when we’re able.

50.) What do you expect from a friend or partner?

I JUST ABOUT LOST MY MIND WHEN I SAW THIS Q ON THE LIST!

So it turns out that people talk about their love lives a lot, especially if they are looking for a partner. I realized that people always talk about what they want from a partner... But I had literally never heard anyone talk about what they expect to give their partner.

I started asking. “Okay. So that’s what you want from a significant other. What do you want to offer/give them?”

It turns out this is an efficient way to cause system failure, lol!!!!!

But here’s the thing- the world we live in takes and takes and takes and takes from people. We’re all searching for comfort, for people to lean on, for support and presence and connection. It’s one of the most precious things out there. It’s no wonder that everyone wants it, and that we feel the need for it so keenly, so painfully.

So very many of us are desperate for support and connection, and for whatever reason, my American culture points to a monogamous romantic relationship as the strongest source of it. If you offer someone love and care, many people will devour it to the last crumb. Usually, it isn’t because they’re consciously greedy. It’s because the need is so great, and we are taught that the best source is a significant other.

So, when it comes to dating, I think it’s absolutely paramount to know how much you can give and where your boundaries are before you start. It’s also important to remind yourself that, even in the beginning stages, the other person is also a human who has wants, needs, and expectations from you. What are you willing to provide? If you only take, they will eventually catch on and realize they are being used. If you only give, you will eventually realize that you are depleted.

So, what are you willing to give?

75.) Do we have a moral obligation to care for others? To what extent?

Have you ever heard that story where Benedict Cumberbatch stopped an assault, and he was basically like (paraphrasing), “Don’t call me a hero, I just did what I had to.”

Basically, humans looking after humans is... you guessed it, humans being humans! We’re a social species that only survived this long by working together. No one can hunt, watch children, make warm clothes, care for the elderly, cook the food, gather herbs, make medicine, and care for the sick in a single day. We get it done by working together and splitting tasks.

It looks different in the modern world- we mostly pay for goods and services instead of trading skills. But there are still so many places in the world where people only survive by helping each other. This is especially true in low income areas. Most people have experienced hard times, and want to help others when hard times come for them.

That said, my country’s current situation generates a black hole of need (financial, emotional, healthwise, etc). It’s important to help others, but pivotal to know when you need to recover and take care of yourself. You can’t pour from an empty cup.

And those were the 5 Qs where I felt like I had the most interesting perspectives/ things to say/offer! I hope they were interesting, and not just hot air, lol! It was really engaging to come up with responses for them.

#hidden's life

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