#the fucking entitlement of people 40+ is ridiculous

[waterlilyvioletfog]

Rating Scum Villain Characters By How Much I Cheer When I See Them Depicted With Grey Hair

It goes without saying that this list is highly subjective. But it makes me happy! I have not actually seen all these characters with grey hair, i don’t think. Listed ages reflect end of book except where stated otherwise.

Mobei-jun: 2/10. Age: fuck if I know. We’ll say he’s like 39. I understand the whole ice prince aesthetic makes silver/white haired Mobei-jun attractive to some people but I personally think it’s really funny if he just looks absurdly young forever. Assigned youngest child.

Shang Qinghua: 6/10. Age: like 40 or 80 if you count his first life. Shang Qinghua’s perpetual state of total stress is one of his most defining characteristics so grey hair for this character makes sense. Also jives well with his whole sleazy uncle kind of vibe. When paired with above, it can make MBJ look like SQH’s inappropriately younger boyfriend, which is deeply funny to me. Unfortunately, the twinkification of this character in fandom limits my opportunities to experience this kind of joy.

Luo Binghe: 0/10. Age: like 25. It just feels wrong.

Shen Jiu: 8/10. Age: depends, we’ll say 40. If Shen Jiu had grey hair he would dye that shit so fucking fast. Yue Qingyuan would try to re-assure him that oh, shidi, grey hair is nothing to be ashamed about!! And Shen Jiu would be like you stupid fuck it’s clearly caused by my terrible shitty cultivation GET OFF MY FUCKING MOUNTAIN!!!!!!!! But fun fact! It is actually caused by his constant hyper-vigilance, PTSD, and meteoric stress levels. 🙏💚

Ning Yingying: 1/10. Age: also like 25. Gets 1 point for the hilarity of a character named baby ending up prematurely grey.

Ming Fan: 5/10. Age: 27-ish. This kid is so fucking stressed. Obviously this more applies post-jump, not to volume 1!Ming Fan. There is excellent potential here though for every time something happens to Shen Qingqiu, Ming Fan shows up looking greyer and more haggard.

Liu Mingyan: 0/10. Age: like 25. Idk it just doesn’t inspire me.

Sha Hualing: 1/10. Age: also like 25. I was gonna say 0/10 and then i thought about Luo Binghe-wrangling giving her grey hair and her furiously dyeing it black again and I thought it was funny. Sue me.

Gongyi Xiao: 2/10 Age: ??? Dead anyways. See, if the depiction of GYX gives him grey hair, that means he lived long enough to have grey hair 🥺

Yang Yixuan: -10/10 Age: Baby. Reason: Baby.

Tianlang-jun: 10/10. Age: I don’t fucking know, man. Lots of great reasons to give TLJ some greys. # 1, it helps distinguish him visually from Binghe. # 2, appropriate since he is an evil DILF. # 3: my guy got crushed under a mountain for like twenty years I think that entitles him to some grey hair. # 4: I think he’d be completely ridiculous about it. I am imagining him frantically denying he looks his age and demanding Zhuzhi-lang tell him he still looks pretty.

Zhuzhi-lang: 3/10. Age: ?????? On the one hand, ZZL is probably old enough and stressed enough to have grey hair. On the other other hand, his hair is typically depicted as mostly green, partially snakes, so, like, ymmv.

Su Xiyan: 6/10. Age: dead, would probably be in her 40s/50s if she were alive. Look, I cannot deny the appeal of giving some grey hair to the dead dilf mother of all time. Tianlang-jun would also, unfortunately, be staggeringly horny about it.

Mu Qingfang: 7/10. Age: 40s-ish. *Nods approvingly*

Liu Qingge: 4/10. Age: 30-45. Liu Qingge is the assigned baby of the peak lords, so giving him grey hair always feels weird to me. He would look pretty with like a cool silver streak tho. I do also see some appeal to him acquiring grey hair during the five year time skip due to the *hand waves*.

Qi Qingqi: 7/10. Age: 40s-ish. MILF.

Yue Qingyuan: 16/10. Age: 40s-ish. Makes absolutely perfect sense. This is one of the most stressed men alive. He’s very literally the assigned da-ge by the narrative. His cultivation is a total mess because of Xuan Su! Frankly, I’m surprised his hair isn’t totally white by the end of this book! because it would make sense!! within its literary and cultural context from what I know!! Also, it would work with his wardrobe.

Shen Qingqiu: 10/10. Age: 27-ish, technically, except also in his 40s, except also immortal so who really knows. Similar to YQY and TLJ, this makes sense. Shen Qingqiu’s abysmal physical health and terrible mental health are persistent throughout the text, and things like Without A Cure and the widow arc are perfect excuses for SQQ to have grey hair. It makes him look older, which is fun in SQQ’s context for a variety of reasons, including the fact that LBH would find it hot. Elegant, Beautiful, Graceful, Scholarly Qing Jing Peak Lord Shen having grey hair is a beautiful thing indeed 💚

[santae-salt]

To the people complaining in Discord about the event being too time-consuming, grindy, or hard: please just shut up.

It took me 40 minutes to accumulate 1,000 ND and that was with taking breaks and watching TV at the same time, so I was half-assing it. Even if you can ONLY play an hour every few days, you'll still earn enough for at least one shimmer dust.

Staff also gave out a free shimmer dust, so everyone got one regardless.

Why should this game cater to casual players? The goal is to build engagement and have people actively participating in site events - they do this by creating activities and community challenges. There are plenty of items you can get for free, by doing virtually nothing. This just doesn't happen to be one of them (though again, you were given a free dust).

The level of entitlement from people is outrageous. If you can only spend 5 minutes a day on the site, why should you be rewarded the same as players who spend hours? Again, there are many things you can do for 5 min; the site isn't being gate-kept behind long and grindy mechs that mean you only enjoy it if you don't have a life. Staff is consistently generous and gives away freebies of new dusts and pet species so that EVERYONE can still enjoy them. But if you only spend 5 min a day and 3 quests to get ND, why would you expect to have the same experience and rewards as someone who puts more time and effort in???

It's fine if you don't have time to get invested in every event; nobody is forcing you, and any FOMO you may feel is of your own creation and your own responsibility to resolve. Things happen at all times, all around you, that you're not participating in. Just chill the fuck out. It's not on staff to manage your feelings.

It's ridiculously easy to earn SP in this game, so you can always buy whatever prizes you can't earn. And again, if you don't play the game enough to do quests or restock or whatever else to earn $$, then that's your choice. The means to make sp is there, readily obtainable and accessible. Do people just expect there to be a magic button they can press every day to get unlimited $ and items? Like, what is even the point if you're just handed everything?

Pet sites are not video games or apps. They're not sophisticated enough to program dynamic, novel content. Every pet site has grindy quests and events. The Neopets plot is just battling everyday or clicking on buttons to get a prize. It's repetitive and boring as fuck. Even Subeta's slightly more complex events like the masquerade become a grind after a day. Please let's manage our expectations, people. They can only do so much, and the site is still in its infancy. Yea, most of the activities are going to be "go here, click this, go there, click that". But we do it for the rewards, not because the actual activity is so thrilling.

Lastly, you are not entitled to all prizes! As long as it's physically do-able to obtain them all, it's fair. And with the timeline given, and especially the increase in ND payouts, it's very do-able to get all 5 of the bonus rewards. Again, if you don't have time, that's on you - sorry, but this is why handing out participation trophies in kindergarten was a mistake.

Oh, one more thing - the game needs to have some level of aspiration. Items that are expensive or hard to get, rare pet species, pet colours you have to earn...otherwise there's nothing to work for or look forward to. Most pet site players enjoy the goal setting aspect. We grind knowing we're one step closer to that elusive battle item or wearable or gallery item. If you remove the challenge element from the game, then you remove incentive. Nobody WANTS to do quests every day, but you do it so you can buy another adoption paper, and the satisfaction of then creating your new pet is SO MUCH HIGHER than if you were simply given the paper without any effort.

I understand things like adjusting frequency or volume after an event launches because staff realizes it was too low or whatever - it's a test after all. But i really hope they don't dumb this game down to the point there's nothing to strive for or earn just because a bunch of weirdos whined about it.

☁️

[molluskzone]

i wish the people making whiny posts demanding reblogs from people just admitted to themselves that no, its not about "reach," its about Big Number Feels Good. because if you allowed yourself to confront the fact that you ARE a number chaser then youd have a much better chance at fixing it. and you HAVE to fix it if you want your art output to remain sustainable. numbers will NOT make you satisfied never ever especially not on modern social media. and no its not "just big accounts who dont get it" who know this: the MOST followers ive had on ANY art account of mine since 2014 is 600. and i got maybe 40 likes per post and a handful of comments. thats the best i did in 10 years online and i reached that point in like 2016. haven't gotten near that level of "popularity" since that year because the game changed and i was unwilling to change what *I* wanted to do to please an algorithm.

i understand WANTING people to care about your art. i think itd be weird if someone DIDNT want people to care (at least, out of the people posting their art publicly). but lashing out at the audience not only will NOT get you what you want but it also reflects REALLY badly on you and just makes you sound annoying, mean, and bitter. i honestly hate this and this is the main reason i block people, i have unfollowed people for even just reblogging particularly nasty posts because it rubs me the wrong way SO bad

"people dont reblog because theyre all new users who are too stupid to use the site! you NEED to reblog its just how the site works if you dont like it dont come here" its not up to you to decide what people do on their OWN blogs. people have been complaining about this since at least 2015, and honestly likely before that too (thats just the first time i remember seeing it firsthand). its NOT the "fault" of new users. if people arent reblogging your work... ITS BECAUSE THEY DO NOT WANT IT ON THEIR BLOG. this is not a crime. some people just dont reblog everything they see: and if people DID truly reblog every post they saw (which by these posters logic they SHOULD be doing if they Really care about creators), their accounts would be so cluttered the "reach" wouldn't matter anyways. if they have a blog centered around their OWN work, their followers might bail if all they do is reblog random peoples work they didn't agree to see. THIS IS A VALID AND NORMAL WAY TO USE THIS SITE. i've also seen people suggest making a "reblog dumping blog" so you can give number-crazed artists their precious internet points without reblogging something to your main that you don't want to. this is a genuinely stupid suggestion. again, if the point of reblogs is "for reach," then WHAT purpose would a dumping blog have. nobody is going to follow the dumping blog of the average tumblr user. it wouldn't "reach" ANYbody but the op. not only is this pointless but its also STILL trying to control the actions of random internet users who are causing no harm and just trying to use the website as they please: this is ridiculous and entitled behavior.

"its an INSULT to like a post and not reblog it. youre basically telling the artist their work is shit to their face!" / "likes are useless!" honestly i do not have any sympathy for people who say shit like this because it's just so fucking number-greedy i dont even know what to say. like i said before, there are many reasons a person might not reblog something. its entitled as HELL to demand people do with their blogs what YOU want them to. but to say that likes are useless, or worse than useless? absolutely ridiculous. god forbid people want to express appreciation of a piece even if they dont want to reblog it. i would personally MUCH rather get 20 likes and 0 reblogs on a piece than 0 likes and 0 reblogs. again, targeting and being rude to people trying to express appreciation for your work in simple ways because YOU have a problem with being focused on numbers and because YOU are *choosing* to take it personally is inexcusable

"if you like but dont reblog i will block you! you dont care about artists" perhaps the reason you dont get "enough" attention on your posts is because you are alienating any potential audience by trying to control their use of SITE-WIDE functions. the like button is part of tumblr, it is so weird to me to block people who use it. if you want to block people that is your business but i genuinely dont understand why youre blocking potential followers and people who enjoy your art enough to WANT to click the like button if your goal is to grow your account. you don't have a right to complain about lack of attention if you do this is all i'm saying

"im leaving the site because YOU didnt reblog my work enough! im QUITTING ART FOREVER because nobody reblogged it so if youre reading this its YOUR fault! if artists leave the site its YOUR fault. if you dont reblog work THINK about what youve done. artists are quitting and its ALL YOUR FAULT" this is immature guilt tripping and it boggles my mind that grown adults will make posts like these. i have seen many! if you quit art because you didnt get enough reblogs, that's your own problem. it's probably for the best because focusing on numbers so much that your entire motivation for creating is based around numbers is unhealthy and unsustainable anyways. ill give you a fun fact: the numbers will NEVER be enough if that's all youre focusing on. and even if you get to your "goal", it will NOT be forever. the internet isn't even forever and your social media site could be shut down at any time. you need to find other motivations. and again, this is ANOTHER example of alienating your potential audience: if you care about growth, stop trying to manipulate your audience! stop blaming your audience for your personal problems! if you want to quit, just quit. it's not your audience's fault.

basically: no it's not "reach" or "mutual artist support" you just want numbers. numbers feel good so you want them! admit this. there is no other reason you would feel THIS agitated and aggressive over reblogs. and i have seen some REALLY nasty posts before. it's an unhealthy mindset that it would do you good to unlearn. and honestly: im going to call you a hypocrite if you make ANY posts like this. because there is NO WAY that you as an artist are reblogging every piece of art you see. there is just no way. youre reblogging art that you like enough to share with others. and that is simply not every art piece you see. if you understand this for yourself, then you NEED to accept that this is the case for others: people are not reblogging your work because they do not want to. we all know what the reblog button does. we can all figure out that clicking reblog shares the post with all of your followers and gives the post more chances to be seen and reblogged again and again. WE KNOW. if people arent reblogging your work then they just don't want to. accept it! you need to deal with the fact that not everybody likes your art! work on yourself instead of demanding that others cater to your ego.

there is no problem with asking for reblogs. there is no problem with wanting to grow your account. there is no problem in letting people know why reblogs help artists. there is no problem in encouraging people to comment on or like your work. there IS a problem with being rude and entitled about it though

and for artists whos jobs rely on internet attention: you still don't have a pass to behave this way sorryyy... i understand being numbers-focused if you rely on commission work or ad work. but lashing out at others is STILL never okay even if your income relies on it. if you cannot game the algorithm, that is NOT your audience's fault. you have to learn to play the system if you want to make posting online your job, and if you CANT do this (like so many cant), it is not fair to blame it on the people supporting you for "not doing enough". it is nobody's obligation to make your living for you! if you cant convince people to reblog your work and spread your work based off of the content of your posts, that's a YOU problem. people share what they want to see: if your income relies on shares. make what people want to see. and even then it might not work because of how social media algorithms work. this is the risk you take being an online artists and its NEVER your followers fault for not doing enough.

anyways if u like my work i <3 you if you reblog my work i <3 you i never expect notes on my art so any attention i get is much appreciated and i treasure every compliment i get SO much that i screenshot them all and put them in a google folder so i can look at them forever and ever <3

[invodka-veritas]

As a former homeless person, I get extremely irritated when someone claims to be homeless but refuses temporary housing because it isn't permanent.

[pale-silver-comb]

So I know absolutely nothing about Leverage except what I've been seeing you post lately and I have to admit you're making it look tempting to watch! Can I ask what are some of your favorite things about the show/reasons you would suggest people watch it? And is there really a poly relationship that is canon?

Okay. Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. I am going to do my best not to just “asdfghkjl” at you and answer coherently.

In a nutshell, Leverage is about 5 people. 4 are criminals (Parker, Hardison, Eliot and Sophie) with different and unique skill-sets and 1 is an ex-insurance investigator (Nate) who, at one point or another in his career, has tracked down (or at least attempted to) the other 4. The whole show is essentially: man reluctantly reforms 4 criminals to use their criminal powers for good and 4 criminals move into man’s life and stubbornly refuse to leave because, goddammit, now they have morals. 

I’ve got a lot of favourite things about the show but the main ones are as follows:

1. Found family. And I’m not talking about loners who come together to fight crime and happen to co-exist to the point where they realise they happen to have found themselves a family. I mean, Nate and Sophie are the Drunk Uncle and Wine Aunt who somehow become Mom and Dad to 3 beautiful criminal children. Mom and Dad love their criminal babies and the kids love them (as well as each other, but we’ll come to that in a moment). You get amazing family moments such as: Mom and Dad packing the kids lunch before sending them out to kick corporate greed’s ass; Mom and Dad giving the kids ridiculously expensive and personal Christmas presents causing their most Grumpy Kid to go very very quiet and soft as he runs off to gleefully play with his new murder toy; the kids interrupting Mom and Dad’s big Movie Style Kiss to ask if they can please keep their new underground layer and huffing and puffing when Dad tells them no.

2. Found family: the OT3 edition. To answer your question, the OT3 is indeed canon, confirmed by the creator. Now, usually, “confirmed by the creator” infuriates me because most of the time it’s a way for a creator to be seen as “progressive” without doing anything to actually be progressive. That isn’t the case here. The OT3 are built up carefully and while it is obvious the creators didn’t originally intend for all 3 of them to become a relationship in the romantic sense, by mid-season 5 we are given a very clear picture of where Parker, Hardison and Eliot are heading in their relationship. There aren’t any kisses at the end to signal this but there are solid marriage vows in not only one but two episodes. (And by marriage vows I mean literal equivalents of marriage vows: “for better or worse” and “’til death do us part”. I’m not even exaggerating). The OT3 also doesn’t need explicit romantic narratives to convey how much they love each other. Their love is laced through the whole show, from the way they teach each other things to the way they respond to each other and work as a unit. The way they fiercely protect and admire each other. Like someone once said, if you need characters to kiss or say I love you to let the audience know they love each other, you are writing them wrong. 

Aside from that, each of the parings in the OT3 are just. Gah. They are so well done, with friendship being the solid basis for them all. The creators never expect the audience to assume anything about them or fill in the gaps. They give us their relationships on screen and reference many things off-screen to show us how these relationships continue to build in between episodes.

Hardison and Parker are a canon couple and date in the show: it’s approached slowly and they are so goddamned sweet. They are basically every fluffy slow-burn trope with a healthy dash of mutual pining in the mix. They are basically that quote “love is patient, love is kind”. (I would like to add their romance never becomes the focus of the show or overrides the importance of any other relationship they have with the other characters, especially Eliot.)

Hardison and Eliot are the Old Married Couple and from day one are already bickering and looking at each other/making comments that are found in every UST fic ever (not to mention Hardison has a very good knack for making Eliot grin like a little kid, when usually he’s basically an Angry Little Chef Man). They argue, they play, and love each other plain as day. 

Parker and Eliot are more subtle but every bit as wonderful. They have an unspoken connection and understand each other on a level no-one else can. Parker and Eliot are not good with giving themselves over to affection for different reasons (and Hardison plays a central role in helping them realise it’s okay to want it and have it- that boy has endless patience) but there is something so beautiful in the way the two of them come together on their own and develop their own special bond that works for them. Parker and Eliot are that trope where the characters don’t need to speak to understand each other perfectly. They just do. Their love language is a lot of the time non-verbal but speaks volumes. (Parker also likes to annoy the hell out of Eliot and Eliot....just.....lets...her. Because he’s soft. The softest, grumpiest boy.) 

I could go into so much depth for each pairing and their dynamics as a 3 but that's for another post.

3. Subverting stereotypes. There is the occasional hiccup in the show regarding stereotypes but ultimately, Leverage gets an A+ when it comes to writing characters and making them 3 dimensional people who are not defined by certain characteristics or events. Nate could so easily fall into the White Man Pain trope where he uses the trauma of losing his kid as a reason as to why he is entitled to act like a dick. Nate is a dick but he doesn’t use his pain to excuse it and I appreciate that. Hardison is a black man who is soft and nurturing. Easily the most empathetic and patient of the group. He’s nerdy, an actual genius, and has the biggest heart of all the characters. Nate is maybe the glue but Hardison is definitely the heart. Media’s usual aggressive, amongst other, racist stereotypes can fuck right off. Parker is canonically autistic (I am sure this was confirmed by one of the creators) and she is not defined by it. It’s not written as some kind of singular personality trait. It’s part of what makes up Parker but it’s only one facet of who she is and not once is her actions, thoughts or feelings treated like a joke. Sometimes people don’t understand why she does and says the things she does but it’s met with patience and fondness over the course of the show. Equally, it’s not met with over-caution. Parker is just Parker. No-one tries to change her. The other nice thing is Hardison, who always makes sure Parker knows she’s amazing because of who she is and not in spite of it. Finally, Sophie is in her 40s. She’s not treated like she’s past her prime. Ever. She’s sexy, smart and never is she pitted against or compared to Parker (who is younger) for anything. Sophie is amazing and there’s never even a conversation of “I may be older but I am still *insert adjective typically associated with younger women here*”. Sophie is possibly the first female character I’ve ever seen who isn’t just unapologetic about her age but has never had to apologise for her age. It’s a non-issue and that’s that. The women on the show are written so well, right down to secondary characters and it’s beyond refreshing.  

4.) It’s just fun. The show has a “monster of the week” type format. Except instead of a ghoul or a ghost, the monster is some corrupt wealthy and powerful individual or organisation. The show draws on real-life individuals to do this and therefore closely parallels real-life people and events. It addresses important political, economical, social and environmental issues while at the same time remaining fun and light-hearted. The characters constantly get the chance to play dress up and by GOD do they have fun with it. You get to watch Eliot beat up bad guys in the most delightful of ways, usually after a witty non-sequitur and with a weapon you’d never think could be a weapon. The dialogue and back and forth between the characters is everything. And finally - my favourite thing- the team can never resist striking a dramatic pose after they’ve taken down the bad guy, making sure the bad guy sees them. I mean, they COULD just walk away, satisfied they’ve taken the person down, but nope. They gotta be dramatic bitches 24/7 and pose like they are models for every single month of this year’s Criminal Calendar.  

5.) Competence Porn. So. Much. Competence Porn.  

Honestly, I could list a thousand reasons for why Leverage is amazing but to list them would to be spoiling so many amazing moments you’d get to discover for the first time on your own if you do choose to watch it. It’s the kind of show you can watch with an eagle-eye and sink your teeth into. But it’s also the kind of show if, you would prefer, put on in the background for something entertaining while you do something else. Each episode is about the job at hand but it’s made up of so many moments between the characters that show how much the creators and writers care about them. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll do whatever it is you do when something Soft and Wonderful happens that makes your heart melt. I am so beyond grateful for Leverage. It’s everything I always wanted in a show. Nearly every show I’ve watched in the past 10 years has disappointed me in some way, usually either because the writers run out of steam or characters who I love are treated poorly or given some kind of unnecessary “shock value” arc. Leverage doesn’t do that. Leverage is what it says on the bottle. Fandom isn’t something I joined because I needed canon fix-its. Fandom only enhances and celebrates an already excellent canon. 

[thanx-idonttry]

Bakugou x Black Model!Reader

TW: Bakugou being the Reader’s Superman at the end! Protective and Caring Bakugou.

@fanlovedlt because you’ve been my biggest supporter and all my love goes out to you. I love you and thank you!!! ❤️❤️❤️🥰🥰🥰

“I feel ridiculous.”

Those were the three words out your mouth once you saw yourself in a Mirror. They told you that you would’ve been modeling for an Urban Catalog, which made you curious enough to agree. But when you arrived and saw that the entire staff was snooty, rich, white people... You knew it was all downhill from there. All these 40-50 years old white women with cornrows using words like “Hip” and shit, you wanted to sigh so hard and slap your Forehead, hoping to knock you out. The Head designer that was running this whole thing, was the age of Dolly Parton, and you can bet all your money that this Bitch had a MAGA hat in her possession somewhere. (Bitch let the Hat go! He not even President anymore!)

“Ridiculous?! Darling you look fabulous! You’re catalog is going to end racism over night! I mean, all you guys are wearing clothes like this all the time! Once they see {Full Name or Stage Name}In my new “Urban isn’t Just Black” line.. It will HUGE!” You stared at this Bitch in BLACK DISBELIEF!!! Urban isn’t just Black?! REALLY?! BITCH ARE YOU DYING OF DEMENTIA?!?This Catalog would strip you of your dignity, get you jumped in the hood, ruin your profession as one of the Biggest Models in the industry. “You gotta joking. I can’t.” You said to her. She gave you a look with a raised eyebrow, she scoffed. “What do you mean you can’t? You will! Now go to the set, and I don’t want to hear otherwise.” The lady said, about to walk away, her walking away from you flipped that switch inside you.

“Well That’s Too Damn Bad! You can’t force me to this! Who do you think you are?!” You snapped at her, she turned and smirked at you. “The one in charge of your pay. Now you better do what I say or no money, got it?” You looked at her, She had some nerve! You have more pride and dignity than this, even though she’s right about the money, you’re better than this. You’re not gonna sell out like this. “I Quit.” You said, you didn’t sound confident, but you knew you were sure as hell, not doing this Shoot. “You what?” She asked with a very displeased face. “I Quit! Doing this shoot will only please you, not me. And I’m not sorry when I say I’m not a people pleaser.” You said walking off.

“Consider yourself Done in this industry! I’ll see to it that you will never get another opportunity! And get blacklisted, no one will ever see your face in magazines and billboards ever again!”

Your heart broke. Your whole career gone just like that. Refusing to let her see that she got to you, you had rolled your eyes and said that you didn’t care. But you did care, a whole bunch. You gathered your things, and left out that building as quickly as possible. That’s when the tears really fell, the warm wind from the city blew away your tears as you try not to panic about your career. Your mind started to spin, so you wasn’t watching where you going. You bumped into a strong chest, knocking you back a bit. You looked up with tears heavily in your eyes, you sniffed and apologized.

The strong chest you bumped into you was about to aggressively tell you to ‘Watch it!’ But then he saw the tears in your eyes, your face was stunning, even with the tears in your eyes. Bakugou softened, before you got far, he grabbed your arm. “Hey, are you okay?” You turned around to realize that the guy that you were about to punch for grabbing your arm was none other than, Katsuki Bakugou Hero Name Dynamite. You relaxed a bit, he was a hero, you were safe. “I asked are you alright?” He repeated. He don’t know what possessed him on his day off to becoming heroic for you. But something in your beautiful golden face, and your (e/c) eyes. You seemed to glow even when you’re looking like this.

You broke down, you don’t know why, but you let it all out to him. He cradled you in his arms, shocked and upset. “Hey, hey, calm down.... What’s your name?” He asked in his most gentle voice. You sniffed and looked up at him, “{Name.}” you answered. “You’re career is not over. Take me to the agency that did this to you.” He said, you were shocked. “W-What?” You said confused. “No one should suffer because they stood up for themselves. That line you described sounds awful, and they should be punished for threatening your career like that. You’re gonna be fine, I’ll make sure of it.” He looked down at you with a reassuring smile.

You looked at him with shocked at appreciation in your eyes. “You’ll do that for me? I mean, you don’t even know me.” You said, Bakugou stiffened, you were right, you didn’t know his and same vice versa. But something about you, your foreign features to him, amazed him. He could tell you were someone worth protecting, Plus, he had a little time to spare, might as well yell at some racist woman. “Let’s go.” Bakugou simply said. You smiled, grabbed his hand, and started leading him to the studio. When you entered, you had a confident walk, you were excited, it was time to settle this and save your career.

“Hey Bitch!” You called out to the lady, she turned away from her assistant and dropped her jaw, clipboard, and coffee. She was shocked to see Bakugou standing there, you smirked. “You think you can ruin my career?! Well We! Don’t think so! Dynamite, let her have it.” You said giving him his cue. Bakugou glared at the woman, he could tell that she was a rich, selfish, entitled, racist bitch. “Did you threaten her pay and career?” He asked in a seriously low voice. “Sir- Mr. Dynamite! Please understand that she was rude to me! All I did was ask her to wear our product for this shoot!” The lady tried to explain, Bakugou shook his head. “So when she said ‘No.’ You choose to ruin her career?!” Bakugou added with a lil more volume in his voice.

“She had no right! This is my shoot, and what I say goes! And why are you fighting for her?! Don’t you’re people Hate her kind?” The lady asked. Both you Bakugou went wide eyed and inhaled deeply. You were the first to snap, “Why you prejudice, wrinkly ass Rick Sanchez looking-” Bakugou stopped you by grabbing your hand, catching you off guard. Once he collected his words, he let go and started walking up towards the woman with a disgusted look on his face. “Lady, I’m going to need you to check your privilege, and your ignorance. To answer your question, I don’t hate her kind unlike someone I’m looking at right now. {Name}’s kind is fucking great! Everything from their Hair, to their skin, body type, and Creativity. And I know a lot of other Heroes that loves the same thing, and dating them.

To be honest, I hate your kind. Running around thinking you own the fucking world as you step on people’s dreams and freedom just to get on top. Well let me bring you back to reality. The moment I say something about this incident, it’s gonna spread fast. Not only will you go to court, you’ll lose your money, business, and all that Material shit you like. If anyone’s career is ruined, it’s going to be yours.” The lady was silent, completely stuck and realizing how fucked she was. “So, do you want this incident to get out? Or do you wanna forget this ever happened and you can keep all of your money, and Not mess with {Name}’s career. Dealers choice.

“Fine! Fine! I won’t ruin {Name}’s Career.” The lady said, “Now you’re gonna give {Name} the pay she was supposed to receive today, and Give her an apology as well. And it better be genuine.” Bakugou added. The woman was nervous when she started looking at you, you stood there with your arms folded. “{Name}... I shouldn’t have tried to ruin your just because you said no. I apologize for thinking I was above you.” The lady said. You smiled, “Thank you, now my check?” You asked with your hand sticking out like the Littlest Gross Sister off Proud Family. The Lady demanded her sister to fill out the check quickly. Once the check came into your hands, you felt so good and relieved. You turned to the hero.

“Thank you so much, I know you hear this a lot, but you’re my hero.” You smiled brightly, it was so beautiful to Bakugou, he saw the twinkle in your eyes, the glow you possessed because you’re skin was so skin was so radiant. You grabbed his hand again and you both walked out the studio. Once you two were outside, Bakugou stopped and stared at you. “You okay?” You asked, Bakugou smirked. “Yeah.” He simply responded. “I seriously can’t thank you enough for what you said and did for me.” “Hey, it’s what heroes do.” He said. “I guess this is where we part ways... I’m really glad I bumped into you.” You said as you tried to pull away, but Bakugou’s grip got tighter.

“It doesn’t have to be this way... We can, Go to a restaurant and arcade? If you like?” Bakugou offered. You were shocked by the date offer, you smiled because one of the Top Pro Heroes want to go out with you, who would turn down this opportunity?! You jumped with joy and skipped up to him, “Can we go somewhere with Laser Tag?” You asked him, He smiled “Hell yeah, I bet I can kick your ass!” He declared, that caused you to give a cocky smile as you stared at him, “Oh yeah? Then game on Mr. Dynamite.” Bakugou shook his head, “I’m off duty, please call me Bakugou” He said, you raised one eyebrow. “Is that a first or last name?” You asked. “Last.”

“Okay, before this night ends, I’ll know you by first name.”

[all-things-de-niro]

TO ANYONE WHO HAS WATCHED 'DIRTY GRANDPA'

Anyone who thinks or believes that elderly people don't behave that way. You are wrong.

I have more than 15 years experience as a care worker and elderly people never cease to shock me in the things they think about, talk about and actually do. I have walked into the bedrooms of elderly residents in care homes and caught them masturbating, men and women and dementia or no dementia.

Don't be so fucking prude and don't be ridiculous. I get why you all expect that Robert De Niro has done way better movies (I thought Dirty Grandpa was hilarious but I'm very broad minded and always have been and I also have a positively filthy sense of humour), and your far used to him playing more complex characters that do things that are beyond the comprehension of normal people. Don't forget he is human, he wants to keep working (that seems to be his raison d'être despite his age and fair play to him) the man is entitled to have some fun no matter how bawdy it is. He's not exactly at an age now where he could play Travis Bickle 0r Jimmy Conway etc, etc. I get so angry because even though I found it funny despite it not being one of his best films, we forget that human beings, in general behave that way.

I've worked in nursing homes and once walked in on an elderly woman with her hand up her vagina, and she didn't stop when I walked in either. I was only going to find out if she was joining the other residents for dinner and there she getting herself off. I've known male care home residents (again not always with dementia) to go into the bedrooms of female residents when all the care staff are busy, and they got into bed with the female residents and only they know what they were doing before the men got caught walking out of the women's bedrooms.

Seriously folks he's not going to be getting the same hard hitting roles he was getting 20,30, or 40 years ago. Get over it. He's getting old, Hollywood is getting lame and the whole world is fucked!!

He can do whatever the fuck he wants to do no matter what anyone thinks of that. Let the old bugger have some fun.

[normal-thoughts-official]

A few accidents

[Alaric/Luke, crack and fluff, oneshot

Read it on Ao3]

And you see, that’s exactly his problem, because everything about his relationship with Alaric is so easy. It feels natural, like air. They know each other’s coffee orders. They are always on each other’s corner. He wakes up. Alaric can tell he’s on a rush. He makes him coffee. Luke kisses him. It’s normal.

Wait.

He kissed Alaric.

Luke crashes his car.

Luke wakes up without a headache (courtesy of Magnus’ little anti-hangover spell), but with the same feeling of tiredness weighing deep behind his eyes. He supposes there was no helping that. He had a very emotionally loaded night.

He can’t believe that Magnus thought that him and Alaric were already together.

That they were married.

Was Luke the last one to find out?

He groans, rolling around in frustration. He knew Magnus wouldn’t have the solution to all his problems, nor would he forego the inevitable “talk to him” speech. But a guy can hope. Especially when said guy had no idea he was bisexual before his unfortunate feelings for his best friend made themselves known.

It also didn’t help that Magnus didn’t exactly understand. Bisexuality was not a big deal where he was born. He never had a "realization panic" moment. He didn’t know what it was like to have the weight of this knowledge suddenly crash on you.

But he did know what it was like to fear your feelings. Intimately.

And that was why Luke came to him, wasn’t it?

He rolls around again, deciding to avoid these thoughts for now by taking his phone. It’s his and Alaric’s day off, and Alaric will be visiting his mom today, so Luke hopes he can wrap up his panic before the time he’ll have alone at the Jade Wolf today is up.

So, naturally, the first thing he sees is a message from his boss.

There’s been a problem with some of his evidence. She needs him at the station. Urgently, he figures, although she doesn’t say that part. Then again, Commander Kaur never does.

Luke leaps out of bed and gets dressed, swearing the whole time.

*

“Why are you up and wearing your jacket?” Alaric asks, mug of coffee in hand. He’s leaning against the counter, as he usually does, contemplating the mess that is their pack’s home. Alaric’s a big fan of mornings, and Luke can’t say the same. But Alaric enjoys using them for some introspective time, so it still works between them.

God, when did it become important that him and Alaric were morning-compatible?

Instead of thinking about that, Luke answers, “Message from the boss. Nothing major, I can handle it, you go see Inez." He'd like to get this sorted out as soon as possible, of course, and maybe also get a distraction, but he knows Alaric barely gets to see Inez recently, and how important it is to her. It is rare that downworlders can afford to stay close to their families. Luke isn't going to get in the way of that.

“Nothing major and you’re running around the place like a madman in the morning?” Alaric asks, turning back to the coffee machine, but Luke can still see his eyebrow raise.

Luke stops, staring at him. “Just want to get it over with,” he says, a little defensive.

“Fair enough,” Alaric replies easily, in the tone of someone who isn't fooled and just that knowledge is enough for them. It's infuriating, but Luke doesn't have the time to argue that, so he makes it to the door; but before he can go, Alaric stops him and places a cup in his hand. “Here. Have some coffee at least. I already put your cream and sugar.”

Luke smiles, touched. “Thanks,” he says, giving him a little peck on the lips before he takes the mug and moves to get his car keys. Alaric is already back to his leaning place on the counter by the time he closes the door. “See you later,” he calls out, and Alaric gives him a little wave, seemingly distracted.

*

Alaric had the foresight to put Luke’s coffee in a lidded cup, and it tastes perfect. Luke likes his coffee with just cream and two spoons of sugar - not a hard order to remember, but the fact that Alaric got it all ready for him so easily really says a lot. Alaric really - knows him. It was a no-brainer for the both of them.

And that’s exactly his problem, isn't it? Everything about his relationship with Alaric is so easy. And now it suddenly isn’t easy, because he’s overthinking these displays of affection that were always normal to the both of them. And he doesn’t want to be overthinking his relationship with Alaric; he wants it to be the same casual comfort that it’s always been. He loves Alaric because their relationship flows freely. It feels natural, like air. They know each other’s coffee orders. They are always on each other’s corner. They are a part of each other's routine, in the smallest, simplest ways. He wakes up. Alaric can tell he’s on a rush. He makes him coffee. Luke kisses him. It’s normal.

Wait.

He kissed Alaric.

Luke crashes his car.

*

That’s a bit dramatic. He bumped his car into the one in front of him. He lives in New York. There’s traffic. He wasn’t at high speeds.

The girl is understandably pissed, but the damage was basically superficial and also on Luke’s car, so Luke just sighs and gives her a 50 and that’s that. He already has enough drama going on for today, and besides, well. It was his fault. Technically. Or not just technically. More like factually.

He’s thankful it wasn’t a guy, at least. Or a white person. He really wasn’t feeling like getting into a fistfight or something because of traffic. Or like dealing with teary entitlement. He’s having a bi panic and he’s also in love with his best friend. Whom he kissed. And didn’t notice.

Shit.

*

It turns out that Commander Kaur only needed his help with finding a particular evidence box that Luke had moved, which he might have realized if he had paid attention to her message instead of instantly going on a craze. All in all, he’s out of the station pretty quickly, and he gets to the Jade Wolf way before Alaric will. Or most people, for that matter. Which gives him plenty of time to give another deep sigh, and think about what he’s going to do. Exhaustingly.

Alaric barely reacted to the kiss. Maybe he also didn’t register it. Maybe he didn’t want to mention it and open this particular can of worms. Luke could probably get away with pretending that it didn’t happen, and continuing to have his I’m-in-love-with-my-best-friend-slash-partner-slash-roommate-and-also-I’m-not-as-straight-as-I-thought crisis at peace.

But does he want to?

Not only is he obviously off his game, but he is more unhappy with the idea that him and Alaric are acting weird than he is with- well, the rest of it. Him and Alaric are each other’s rocks. They’ve never been anything if not honest with each other, even when it meant that they would get into long, heated arguments.

But they never lasted, did they? They always figured it out. That was the point. Neither of them were able to let things go easily, so it worked a lot better to say what they thought as soon as they did, and go from there. They always respected each other’s feelings. They always found a way. It was the best strategy.

It wouldn’t be different this time.

Would it?

*

Was Luke really going to be the guy who took over 40 years to realize he was queer, and barely even a day to come out and tell everyone and start some relationship drama?

*

He shouldn’t be worrying about that. Alaric is more important than not fulfilling some stereotype.

Luke is more important.

*

Would it be appropriate to call Magnus and have this conversation again? He could take him to lunch or something. The guy probably needed to get out of his loft more.

*

Oh God, Luke has spent the last almost two-decades without dating anyone.

Does he even know how to do it anymore?

*

How did he not realize that at some point he stopped being interested in people because he already had the relationship of his dreams with Alaric?

Fuck. What if he lost that? Fuck.

*

What if work was weird?

*

There’s no going back, is there? It’s already weird.

Luke can’t undo his revelation by not talking about it.

And he won’t be able to let it go. That’s exactly why him and Alaric were always honest with each other. Why he should keep being honest to him.

*

Alaric would probably notice that he was being weird anyway. How could he not? They were always together.

*

What if Alaric thought Luke was just panicking because he figured out he was bi and wanted to experiment?

How could he explain to him that he only figured out he was bi because he was in love with Alaric?

Should he do that?

*

He wishes Maia was there. She could probably distract him. Or tell him that he had always told her to be open about how she felt and she wouldn’t watch him be a hypocrite. Or just smile and make him feel like everything would be okay. Or let him pet that soft, pretty hair of hers.

But it’s not like he is supposed to go to her for his drama.

Especially not with Alaric.

*

If they managed to raise a teenage werewolf together pretty well, dealing with a crush would be a no-brainer, wouldn’t it?

*

He feels like a teenager. He’s being ridiculous. It’s not that complicated.

It’s Alaric.

*

“You’re overthinking something,” Alaric says after being inside their room for approximately five seconds. There isn’t exactly worry in his eyes, just attention. Undivided. Alaric has always had that way of reaching out to him like it’s nothing, of talking about emotions with the same focus and fierceness as he did a case. It’s not a don’t-bullshit-me look, because he knows he doesn’t need it, but it’s still not something Luke feels like he can lie to.

But well, he did decide that he wouldn't. Mostly.

“I am,” he says, sighing. Then he sits up to talk to him properly. “I kissed you this morning,” he says, surprised at the steady matter-of-factness of his own tone. It doesn’t even feel out of place. It’s like he’s not even freaking out anymore.

Alaric frowns. “You-? Oh,” he pauses, almost musingly. “I didn’t even notice. If that’s what you were worried about.”

“That’s the problem,” Luke points out. “You didn’t notice. I didn’t, either, until I was already in my car. It just happened.”

Alaric sits down on his own bed, sighing deeply. “And what do you make of that?” he’s looking at his hands now, rubbing his fingers together in the way he does when he’s preparing to apologize. Luke isn’t sure what to make of that, and that scares him, a little.

“I don’t know.”

Alaric clenches his jaw. “Was it a fuckup? A mistake? Are you worried that I-”

Luke’s voice has never sounded so soft. “No, Alaric,” he says, “I think that I-”

“You?”

Alaric looks so incredulous, Luke is taken aback for a second.

“I just-” he runs his hand through his head, frustrated, “Yeah. Me. I have feelings for you. And I realized that recently, and it’s like everything is different, and I don’t know what we are anymore,” he sighs. “Or, well, I guess I do know. But I don’t know how to deal with it. Everything changed suddenly, but it's also the same. So…”

“Luke,” Alaric half-interrupts, half-continues, as he knew that Luke had every plan on letting that sentence hang unfinished. “We can be whatever you want to be.”

He looks up, and Alaric looks earnest, sincere. “What?”

“I said, if you want… to try, I’d be happy to.”

Luke remembers his previous musings. “This isn’t some experimenting thing,” he says.

Alaric grimaces. “I know, Luke. It isn’t for me, either,” he crosses his arms.

“Oh. So you-?”

“Yes. But I didn’t think you would ever reciprocate, so…” then he looks at Luke’s guilty face and adds, “it’s not like that," he chuckles. "I wasn’t going around crying my woes or anything. I love what we have. Our relationship matters way more to me than what label we put on it, or whether we call it romance or friendship, you know?”

“I do know,” Luke says, tasting the lightest bit of shock that came laced with his voice, because he realizes- he feels the same way.

And it doesn’t make his love for Alaric any less grand. It makes it greater, bigger than any labels or drama could ever make it. He feels shocked, struck by lightening, at this realization.

Alaric smiles. “But I mean, if you’re also in love with me, that’s great.”

“I am,” Luke says.

“Good,” Alaric answers.

They look at each other. There are smiles on their faces. Neither of them move.

Then Luke bursts out laughing.

“What?” Alaric asks, as Luke tries to contain his little snorts, looking offended. “What??”

“Nothing, I just,” he hides his smile behind his hand, trying to suppress the chuckles, “this felt very anticlimactic, is all.”

Alaric huffs. “Well, excuse me if I didn’t have a whole speech at the ready for when you suddenly decided-”

“Oh, come on, it’s not that!” Luke says, resisting the urge to throw his pillow on him or do something equally inappropriate. He just smiles up at him instead, “It’s just, I finally figured this out after over 40 years, possibly got my first boyfriend on the same week, and it was all solved in a 20 minute conversation.”

“Possibly?” Alaric raises his eyebrows, “I thought I was pretty clear that I-”

“See?" Luke counters. "We’re bantering. I just had the realization of my life, and it’s like nothing happened. Even our first kiss was an accident,” then, as the weight of his words downs on him, “our first kiss was an accident.”

He flops down on his bed again, groaning. There's silence for a second. Then some shuffling, and a weight next to him. It comes with the familiar warmth of Alaric, and sure enough, he is now sitting beside him, leaning slightly over Luke, looking down at him. His hair is curly and falling slightly over his eyes, and there’s a smile on his face that couldn’t be described as anything but affectionate.

He’s beautiful, and a similar smile blooms in Luke’s face, like the warmth spreading through his chest.

“It’s not that bad,” Alaric says, voice soft, eyes shining.

“It’s not,” Luke answers, suddenly serious, sitting back up so he can be on eye level with him. He rubs his face with his hands, trying to adjust his thoughts, and Alaric’s hand is immediately around his shoulders. He can’t help another smile, even as it’s hidden behind his hands. He turns so that he’s facing him, and Alaric’s hands fall from his shoulders directly to Luke's own. Like is the one to squeeze them first. “Of course it’s not bad. Just not exactly romantic. I’m very off my game,” he teases. “I promise I can be way more suave than that. Take you out to dinner, proper date, you know.”

Alaric chuckles. “I don’t know,” he says, squeezing Luke’s hand back. “I think that our first kiss coming so naturally that we didn’t even notice is pretty romantic. Doesn’t that mean that it’s always felt right? Easy?” he raises his eyebrows, the little smile on his face an almost-challenge, and Luke almost has it in him to argue with him just for the sake of it, but he can only smile back. Alaric puts his hand on Luke’s face, lightly caressing his cheek, and Luke closes his eyes for a second, savoring it.

When he reopens then, Alaric’s grinning. “I think that says we’re meant to be. Don’t you?”

“Yeah,” Luke breathes out, suddenly aware of how close Alaric is. This is not news for them; he’s had Alaric pretty close to him plenty of times. He thinks of himself, drunk at the Alpha appointment party, shoulders permanently draped around Alaric's, their heads bumping affectionately from time to time, Luke brushing his nose against his when he got too excited. This shouldn't even draw his attention. And yet. “Yeah,” he repeats, breathless.

It’s Alaric who asks. “Can I-”

“Yes.”

His eyes flicker over Luke’s face as he leans in, slowly, not moving his hand from where they rest against Luke's cheek. Their lips touch slowly, but not hesitantly. With purpose. It’s chaste, but still the opposite of that little peck; it’s self-aware and slow and allows them to savor each other, to choose every moment, make it theirs. Luke can feel Alaric’s hands on his face, his own on Alaric’s waist, their slightly entangled legs in the awkward angle, the softness of Alaric’s lips, the way he feels like everything falls into place and his heart sings free. It ends, and he wants to come for seconds, but instead he brings their foreheads together, eyes closed, enjoying how they have all the time in the world.

There's silence. Then, “I still want to take you to dinner,” he says.

Alaric laughs. “Oh, I’m not opposed to that.”

Then they kiss again.

[theunderdogwrites]

2020: The Year I Lost My Ass

Well, we reached the end of that toilet roll only to start another one, because that is what we do for as long as we are allowed to continue revolutions around the sun – we keep going.

2020 was a terrible year for so many. My brain is incapable of processing the number of losses suffered on a global scale. Be it jobs, security, rights, sanity, relationships or life. My brain is not just incapable of these calculations, it has plain refused to entertain those thoughts on behalf of my heart. My heart, that sensitive little blood pumping work horse who not once allows itself to stop. Thank goodness.

I don’t believe the majority of people are willing and able to bring themselves to fully comprehend what was lost in 2020.

Here is a list of a few more losses suffered last year:

- People lost their shit. And over the most ridiculous things like toilet paper, having to wear a mask to secure toilet paper and being held to the consequences resulting from not wearing a mask when asked to while attempting to purchase toilet paper. Pause for a moment and let that last sentence hang around in your mind. 2020 made that happen. I didn’t make it up! Recently I saw a news piece showing a man (40’s) lying down on the floor in a Costco to protest being asked to wear a mask. He spoke loudly, he beat his hands at his sides and wildly kicked his legs when an employee asked him to get up. Now, I am not judging for I too have participated in such behaviour MANY times. Granted I was three, but hey… some of us mature faster than others.

 - People lost their damn minds. 2020 should be dubbed “The Year of The Karen”. For those of you not in the know about the Karen phenomenon, here is a description courtesy of Urban Dictionary:

 “Karen is a pejorative term used in the United States and other English-speaking countries for a woman perceived as entitled or demanding beyond the scope of what is appropriate or necessary. A common stereotype is that of a white woman who uses her privilege to demand her own way at the expense of others.’

 Basically, a Karen is a I WANT TO SPEAK TO YOUR MANAGER type person (There is a male equivalent, but it seems no one can agree on the name… Chad, Terry, Kyle, Kevin, Steve). You can often find a Karen on her cellphone calling the police to report a black man who lives in her neighborhood, simply living his life in her neighbourhood. I didn’t make that up either.

 More recently a Karen was videoed in a UPS store claiming that she didn’t have to wear a mask because that space was government property and not a private business. Would it be safe to say that most Karen types suffer from a lack of oxygen to their brain? Possibly. But that would involve science and Karen types DO NOT enjoy hard facts.

 As always when I download my thoughts into reality, I must go within and search myself. Am I a Karen? My immediate answer is: no fucking way. I can honestly say I’ve never once asked to see a manager or called the police to report someone eating their lunch on a park bench. I do not enjoy confrontation. Unless there is a bully involved. Then I will drag that person to hell with me. I much prefer discussion over going straight to the ‘I triple dog dare you!’ approach to the world. (If you got that reference, you are my new favourite) Because that is who a Karen really is… someone who jumps right to the most extreme action in order to satisfy their need to be superior. Truly, we should feel sorry for these people because instead of engaging they’re raging. And how awful must their insides feel… always full of anger, fear and self doubt. I say instead of judging these Karen types or putting them on blast on social media, we should hug the shit out of them. Just grab them and squeeze as hard as you fucking can until they stop talking. Peaceful solutions my friends, peaceful solutions.

 - Pets lost their faith in us. Children a close second. If you are a proud owner of a pet or a child, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

I’ve always operated under the notion that my cat loves it when I’m home and hates it when I leave. 2020 has taught me it might be the other way around. Because our animals are, well, animals we just believe our presence is the greatest gift in their lives. Remember when you were old enough to be left alone by your parents and once you had the taste of that kind of freedom, you just wanted more of it and couldn’t wait for them to go out? I feel it’s like that with our pets now. We might not think animals have a routine or preferences or enjoy some alone time, but we’d be wrong.

I think at first our pets were thrilled. If we are home more it means more time for prolonged petting, walks and the opportunity to ritualistically train us to respond to their caterwauls for more food and treats than normal. But then as the weeks of lockdown and working from home increased, so did our pets desire to kill us in our sleep.

 I’m pretty sure my cat has asked me several times using her feline glare: “why the fuck won’t you just leave?”. It would be naïve of us to assume we don’t disrupt their day with our constant noise making and snacking and scotch drinking that leads to a good buzz that leads to showing too much affection to our pets. To the point where they run and hide when they see us coming. Please tell me I didn’t describe just my own experience.

 There is such a thing as everything in moderation, we know this, so I think it can be applied here. People, get away from your pets. Give them the space you often desire from human beings. Because if you don’t, that random turd in your shoe could be pointing to a much larger, more alarming problem you’re about to encounter.

 I had the absolute blessing of being able to assist in caring for and raising of my three nephews (12,9,6) for the last 11 years. So, when I say: ‘children are always watching us’, I feel I know what I’m talking about. I’ve been mimicked so often by these young boys that I’ve had to pause due to mortification. Children will hold you accountable without even knowing it. I’ve had some behaviours of mine corrected by a 5-year-old and let me tell you, it stings like hell.

 As adults, when our world was thrown into turmoil because of Covid-19, we looked to our medical health professionals and our politicians for guidance. Basically, we searched for those who would lead us. The children – looked to us. And while many adults handled this responsibility the best they possibly could, many more failed miserably and displayed attitudes I can only describe as juvenile, damaging and pathetic. I suppose it doesn’t help if the people the adults are looking to for help are themselves - juvenile, damaging and pathetic.

 When I say we still have not grasped just how much has been lost over the past year, I’m hinting at integrity, compassion and creditability. Three vital qualities you’d hope people want to instill into their children. But if they themselves are unable to display such valuable traits, what does this say for the children who are looking up to them as an example on how to act when life gets challenging?

 For myself in 2020, I gained by losing.

When they locked our gyms down for four months last spring, I came close to being one of those people who lost their shit. While people were moaning about wearing a mask for 20 minutes in the grocery store, I was contemplating if murdering those people could be considered a cardio exercise and would that hold up in a court of law.

To reflect on that time period now (especially since our gyms are closed AGAIN at the moment) the loss of the gyms brought me the knowledge of how important the routine of going to and being in the gym is to my mental health. I won’t launch into how I feel about shopping malls being open and gyms being closed despite their proven benefit to one’s overall health because then I really will lose my shit.

People always say getting to the gym is the hardest part and once they’re there it’s easy to workout. And for many that is the truth, but for me it’s all a part of the workout. Getting to the gym is the psychological effort. Putting in the work at the gym is the physical. You can’t have one without the other. I became so pathetic that I’d often walk to the closed gym from my house, stare at the closed doors and then walk home. 1.5 hour round trip. True story.

Remember a few years back everyone became obsessed with that Netflix show ‘Tidying Up with Marie Kondo’? It is the show where that lovely woman from Japan showed us all how to declutter our homes by getting rid of anything that didn’t bring us joy. Those acid wash jeans from 1989… sit with them… hold them close to your chest… if they don’t make you happy, remove them from your space. Well, the same idea can be applied to people and ideas and even feelings. And 2020 was a great year for simplifying our lives. I’ve heard so many people talk about how they can’t wait to get back to ‘normal’… not me. I’ve already started my ‘new normal’.

The loss of drama has gained me peace and a better understanding of the importance of remaining true to who I am instead of trying to please others in hopes it wins me points. Because it doesn’t. Because its inauthentic and only brings you more loss and more drama. And anxiety. And sleepless nights. And an overall sense of hatred for everyone. 2020 gave me the option to no longer care about the things that don’t make me happy and to embrace the process of letting all that stupid bullshit fade away.

It was a year of gained focus.

It was a year of gained appreciation.

It was a year of gained gratitude.

It was a year of gained love for myself.

 I’m going to leave you now, but not before I share one of my favorite songs by the Tragically Hip:

In A World Possessed by The Human Mind

Just give me the news

It can all be lies

Exciting over fair or the right thing at the right time

Everything is clear

Just how you described

The way it appears, "A world possessed by the human mind"

 Then I think I smiled

Then I think you said, "it's fine"

And quietly I dressed, in a world completely possessed by the human mind

 We're in awe of no one

We've none of their fear

Fighting's goin' nowhere and we stay right here

Where everything is quiet

A little super dangerous

"In the shadow of the law and with colours of justice"

 Then I hope I smiled

Then I'm sure you said, "It's fine"

They got no interest in a world completely possessed by the human mind

 Everything is quiet

A little super dangerous

Quiet enough to hear God rustlin' around in the bushes

Oh, but it was you

Girl, I was so afraid

You said, "You shoulda seen the look on your face"

 Then I hope I laughed

Then I hope I said, "it's fine"

And quietly undressed in a world completely possessed by the human mind

 Oh it was you

Girl, I was so afraid

You said, "You shoulda seen the look on your face"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgXphurrsE0

[onlyonewoman]

Watching “World’s Strictest Parents” when you’re a Scandinavian, a summary:

1. “There’s no cursing in this house.”  Meanwhile in Scandinavia: My mom: Your room is a fucking mess! My dad: You fucked up. My sister: Fuck you. Me: Fuck you too! Our teachers: You little fuckers! Us students from 11 and up to our teachers: This fucking sucks! 2. “Girls can’t have short shorts, boys can’t have low slung jeans ‘cause that’s filthy and disrespectful.” Meanwhile in Scandinavia: Literally everyone except extremely religious people or psychos: Our summers are short and so will our shorts, tops and skirts be. You control your own goddamn boner. 3. “We all pray together and we expect you to participate.” Meanwhile in Scandinavia: What, pray tell, the fuck are you doing? Your faith is private, keep it fucking private and pray alone and DO NOT make other people’s kids to participate. Jesus FUCK, this is creepy... You wanna come and make a sacrifice to Odin out of “respect”? No? Didn’t think so. 4. “We’ve chosen to homeschool our kids.” Meanwhile in Scandinavia: You mean brainwash and keep them from getting basic education due to your personal, religious beliefs despite you’re not even qualified to teach 1st graders grammatic in your own language? Yeah, that’s... not what the right to a good education means.  5. “We belive sex is between a man and a wife, bound together in marriage. We want to keep our children pure.” Meanwhile in Scandinavia: *laughs in sex ed and free birth control while crying at the teen mom statistics in, for example, the US* 6. “My husband is in the military, and we’re a team.” Meanwhile in Scandinavia: So, basically you believe that a husband being all dressed up in camo and  shouting orders and looking completely ridiculous, while you’re a housewife who simply acts as his little helper, instead of having an identity of your own, is something to be proud of...? 7. “We believe in corporal punishment.” Meanwhile in Scandinavia: So did we - 40 years ago. Not a single serious research in psychology has shown hitting kids is a good way of discipline and no, you don’t get to say spankings are different than hitting to feel justified. And sorry, but your kids being afraid of getting punished, only make them better liars. 8. “We control what our kids read, which music they listen to, which movies to watch and what tv games to play to make sure they have good influences.” Meanwhile in Scandinavia:  My aunt introduces heavy metal to me as a 9 year old. I read gay smut at the local library at the age of 14. Me and my little brother play violent video games when he’s 7. My big sister and I watch scary movies when I’m 13 and then I watch Disney because nightmares. Literally no lasting harm done. We’re all functional adults and my sex debute was late as hell - because it wasn’t that big of a deal or “something forbidden”. 9. “When you address us, you will say “yes m’am and yes sir”. Meanwhile in Scandinavia: Whoa, whoa... We got rid of the use of sir and ma’m because we don’t believe in that kind of entitlement to more respect than others due to age or rank. Your age or your rank doesn’t give you the right to be addressed like you’re some fucking noble, got it? “You’re my boss, Peter? Well, hello Peter.”  Making your FAMILY call you sir and ma’m? Congratulation, you’re officially an uptight asshole who clearly has no interest in forming a close relationship with your kid, but want to keep them a little astranged to you.

Seriously, these strict parents and their kids wouldn’t survive two days up here in our freezing cold atheistic, cursing, smutty and well-educated corner of the world without loosing their shits. I will admit that we HAVE things to learn from others when it comes to teamwork, consequences and - to some extent - your attitude towards school because admittedly, we tend to take education for granted and we’re too self-absorbed in a way that can become isolating, but other than that, watching WSP only makes me proud of living in a part of the world where we don’t make teenagers feel ashamed for having sex and simply be teens.

[celticheartedfangirl]

My OUAT Rewatch -- S5E6 -- The Bear and the Bow

Link to Rewatch Review and Ranking archive

It’s been too fucking long since we’ve had a Rumbelle centric that didn’t shit all over us in the end.  Actually, I don’t think we ever HAVE had one.  So ignoring things to come . . . . . this episode . . . I absolutely LOVE!  

Not that I don’t have complaints.  I DO have complaints.  But they mostly amount to “fuck you A&E” and “why is that shit character there go away.”  Otherwise . . . . lots of good stuff in this one!  

Also before we move on, scrolling though my blog from the time when this aired, I was reminded of two things:

1.  There was some nutjob around this time that was sending a bunch of Rumbellers an anon about Emilie de Ravin’s breasts.  It was ridiculous and stupid and yet hilarious, and I didn’t understand it then and still don’t understand it now.  But this is the point in the timeline where that happened.

2.  The CS fans were whiny, entitled little bitches who were upset that this was a Rumbelle centric and they had to to a whole week without seeing their schmoopy CS shit, and complained that the Rumbellers were using the general OUAT tags (!!!!!!) like they own it or something, and just being all around little pieces of shit.

Also around this time they had their panties all up in a bunch about something to do with Colin’s wife, which was not the first NOR the last time for that to happen.  So fuck them.  

So first of all, I want to acknowledge that this episode garnered some FANTASTIC fan art, which you can see and enjoy in these links:

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/132010786572/cocoadrops-finally-inspiration

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/132332673902/bookwormappreciationlife-happy-rumbelle-day

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/132610950577/stratosmacca-i-have-the-power-couldnt

Also there’s this lovely and amazing fan video to the tune of Zero to Hero that I revist often and you should too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnHACzgQB00

There is also a gif set floating around there somewhere that has the bear deleted out of the scenes with Rumple on the ground that looks like him um . . . . yeah.  I got tired of searching for it, but if you have the link handy, do share!

Lastly, just to do a tiny bit of self-promotion, here’s a post-episode one shot I wrote:  

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/132446552392/pillow-talk-a-rumbelle-one-shot

So there’s all that.  Plus, before the episode, someone did THIS:

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/132350683487/waiting-for-tonights-rumbelle-episode

So there was a lot of goodness surrounding this episode.  However -- me always being the cynic -- in addition to my little one shot, I also posted THIS:

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/133660822987/as-much-as-i-loved-this-episode-and-i-did

My mistake.  I predicted it would the the Rumbelle/A&E relationship for the rest of 5A.  It ended up being the REST OF THE DAMN SERIES.  

So my two favorite moments:

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/132056525467/midstorm-love-how-belle-doesnt-blush-and-say

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/132409412752/rufeepeach-woodelf68-thestraggletag-i

Oh excuse me, THREE:

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/132372618052/i-just-love-how-belle-pointed-out-that-no-one

Fuck these heroes, I swear.  

So what is there to complain about then?

Well . . . . 

1.  Zelena and her fucking onion rings.  Or just Zelena period.

2.  Belle claiming that the heroes were people they should go back for or whatever.

Lily Sparks always knew what was up.

3.  The fucking RETCON of why Rumple injured himself in the ogre wars and the beginning of the many, MANY ISSUES that so many of us begin to have with Belle . . . . . started HERE:

https://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/132490121877/the-bear-and-the-bow-rumbelle-meta

Because as much as I love Belle, it wasn’t down the road that I wanted to smack her upside the head.  It was THIS EPISODE.  Who knew it would get WORSE?  

By the way, I mentioned that deleted scene in the first episode.  Well now is where I want to discuss that.

See, in this episode Rumple mention Belle talking to him while he was in the coma.  And I was like, when was this?  Was this a scene that got deleted?

And of COURSE IT WAS, because over the following summer, Emilie talks in interviews and at cons about how they were filming the coma scenes and Bobby FELL ASLEEP while she was talking.  So there’s literally no other explanation than DELETED SCENE.  Which we never saw and never WILL see.  But this shit:

That we get.  

I think we have only one episode left before everything goes to hell in a handbasket?  No pun intended.

Points tally:

40 points to start

25 points for Rumbelle centric

Counting the kiss of the cup as half a kiss so 5 points for that

10 points for Rumbelle hug

5 points for Rumple in character

2 points for Belle in character when she was

2 points deducted for OOC Belle when she was

5 points deducted for Hook

5 points deducted for Zelena

full 25 points bonus for this one

deducting 6 points for the Manhattan retcon bullshit

Total points:  94

Follow #celtichearted OUAT ranking tag for more to come!

[thassabadtake]

correction from a professional artist who paid attention in business 101:

don’t do this.

opinions on what art is “worth” are super varied and skewed by stuff that has nothing to do with your art’s actual value. if you’re talking to other artists, they might try to keep you from being competition, or give you bad advice based on their own insecurities - if you’re talking to customers, they might try to scam you.

the only reliable way to see how high you can keep your paycheck while still getting customers is to go from the top and work backward. like any other business ever. a general rule of thumb for ballpark pricing is this:

time yourself. see how long it takes you to do each thing you’ll offer - sketches, lineart, paintings, etc. then multiply that by at least minimum wage (preferably $15 if you’re a US citizen).

so the formula is:

[hours worked] x [at least minimum wage] = base price. this doesn’t even account for the cost of materials/production, so it’s already a discount.

how much time you take is affected by if you have disabilities, what medium you use, what techniques or style you have, etc. a lot of beginning artists whose art is actually worth anything close to $20-40 will probably spend less time because their art is simpler. but if you take more time, charge more money.

put out a commission post and advertise, advertise, advertise. Word of Mouth and reputation will land you more commissions than anything to do with style or skill. the more people see your post, the higher the chance you’ll get customers.

if it’s been a while of advertising and no one bites (”a while” being a few days, weeks - however long you can afford), lower your prices a fraction. don’t skip from $50 straight down to $10 - knock five bucks off and circulate the post again. keep doing that until you get people buying. most people will tell you to never go below $10 for anything - and never below $20 for anything fully lined + colored with a background. this lets you determine how high you can keep your prices while still getting commissions. you can lower it more if you’re desperate, but you generally won’t have to - most customers won’t be bothered by a $5 difference, where that can really add up on your end.

learning to value yourself properly is important for everyone.

not only does this benefit you by letting you make more money than you would’ve if you made up a random low number from probably-biased feedback, but it helps everyone else be able to also.

your prices affect how people view the value of other peoples’ art.

a lot of people undersell themselves, which is why the digital art market is so ridiculously cheap compared to traditional art markets. if everyone of higher skill levels would raise their prices, people wouldn’t feel entitled to fully rendered custom paintings for $30.

as is, entry level artists are competing with professionals who refuse to value themselves properly. what your art sells for won’t actually reflect what it’s worth in that kind of market, because underselling artists have created a fucked up perception of how much art is worth, period.

whatever your art sells at, don’t take it personally - do your part to raise the market value for everyone by pricing yourself to demand.

not to a handful of random peoples’ opinions.

[ginalinettiofficial]

so i did a vengeance today because i’m normally p patient but as anyone who knows me can attest, i have ZERO tolerance for people who park like dumbasses in cities. and this dude did just that.

i get home from work, and this dude has a uhaul parked in the middle of our street, blocking off but not actually using a prime parking spot. by prime, i mean this was a FULL size spot, with enough room between the two cars that i could have INCHES of space between BOTH bumpers, in an area of the city and during a time of day when typically you gotta circle around for a minimum of 30-40 minutes before finding any spot - i’ve spent two hours circling on some occasions. parking in a crowded urban area is like the hunger games, okay??? you circle until you’re ready to key someone’s car and then you finally find a spot that you have to maneuver into VERY carefully because you’ve got about three centimeters of leeway between you and these other cars and you have to creep in j u s t right so that your car can fit whilst not bumping either of the other cars. when you get out, your bumpers are gently hugging the bumpers of the car in front and back of you, and you get to congratulate yourself on finessing into a tight spot and reaffirm your status as a True City Driver™.

so anyways. this dude is moving into my building, apparently. and he rented a mini uhaul for his stuff, but he parked it directly parallel to this perfect spot, and left it in the middle of the street. i put my blinkers on and waited to see who would come out, so that i could help them find a better place to temporarily park so that they weren’t blocking traffic AND i could get the spot. i’m not an animal - we help each other out here, and the way to win the parking death battles is always to be kind and respectful to your fellow warriors. there were multiple places on the block where you can’t /park/, as in, leave your car unattended for hours, but where you can absolutely stand for extended periods of time. these spots - some parking lots, some alleys, some hydrants, some loading zones - are perfect for people like this dude, who is obviously moving and therefore will be at the car at least every fifteen minutes, which is all you need to park temporarily - you can park anywhere for fifteen minutes. so after about twenty minutes, this dude comes out, and, having noticed me waiting, comes to my window to talk to me.

“i’m not moving any time soon, sorry.” he says.

“you’re parked illegally,” i say.

“yea, but i tried to reserve this spot by blocking it off and making signs, but people took them down,” he replies. fun fact - that’s also illegal; you can’t “reserve” street parking unless it’s a blizzard and ur using a chair to claim a spot you painstakingly shoveled out. chair dibbing is also /technically/ illegal, but, like, we’re not animals. we all respect snowstorm chair dibs. we do not, however, respect attempts at “reserving” a spot on a busy street in the middle of summer for a full weekday. you didnt have to shovel shit for that.

so whatever. i go “you can park in the lot across the street while you move.”

he goes “yeah i called the number and they don’t have any spots available.” now, some more backstory - directly across from us is a perfectly huge parking lot where the dudes who own the corner store rent out spots for $300 a month. insanely expensive, which is why i choose to participate in the parking hunger games every day, but there is a lot right there. for temporary parking, such as running in to the store or moving your stuff into/out of one of the many buildings on the block, it’s a golden place. you can either use one of the many empty reserved spots, and move if the renter comes back, or just park in the ample room in between the spots, and move if the people from the corner store decide to come yell at you (which they never do). so i’m being friendly, trying to tell this guy he can park there, and he says he called and he can’t. (obviously you’re not gonna rent an entire spot in a lot for one day of moving, why he would even call is beyond me.)

so i begin to tell him how it works re:temporary parking, to be a nice courteous neighbor. i go “oh no but you can - ” but that’s as far as i get before he cuts me off with a sneer (an actual sneer, like he’s draco fucking malfoy or something???) on his face and says “whatever, i’m not moving, you can just find another spot.” and walks away. he then proceeds to grab a suitcase from the truck and head into the building. as he opens the door, he turns around, makes direct eye contact, raises his eyebrow, and gives me a smug, gloating look, as if he’s a suburban mom whose son just made the honor roll.

and maybe on another day i would’ve given up and rejoined the stream of cars circling around us searching for the elusive rush hour spot. but, you see, it’s 90 degrees outside today, and my car has no AC. i’ve already been waiting behind this car for nearly half an hour, and everyone of those minutes that i spent waiting for that spot was another minute closer to the time of the day when circling turns from a 30 minute long activity to a 2 hour long activity. i’m a stubborn person, especially when it comes to people parking like dicks - this dude was obviously not a city driver, judging by the rented uhaul and the fact that he seemingly couldn’t imagine the idea of actually parallel parking said uhaul into the prime spot he chose to block, which, for the record, could definitely have fit the uhaul with at least one inch of wiggle room on either side. in the game of city parking, there’s no mercy. you learn to drive and park with limited space, or your shit gets fucked up. that’s just how it is.

now, again, maybe i could’ve given up - but the other fact was, this dude and his uhaul were actually blocking most of the lane on the street; this is a major street, very busy, and it’s rush hour on a week day in ninety degree weather, and this dumbass has decided to not only park his car directly in the middle of the street, but also to openly share that he intends to leave it there for a good long while. and i’m not one to show mercy to suburbanites who decide they want to drive in the city but not follow common courtesy when doing so. so i circle and find another spot a few blocks from my place. i can see that he is STILL parked there. at this point, it’s been an hour.

so i do the petty thing and call 311 and report his ass, then i head to the grocery store to buy my cat some food. as i’m coming back into my building, a cop car is pulling up behind his truck, and a cop begins to write him a ticket.

i’m not typically one to get satisfaction from seeing people get fined - city tickets are ridiculous and most of the time they’re just looking to fill a quota. but i gotta say, it was VERY satisfying to look out the window just now and see that the truck has moved, and some other brave parking warrior has claimed the golden spot. a $75 ticket for blocking traffic is definitely what that entitled prick deserves.

to conclude, the moral of the story is: if ur trying to drive and park in an urban area, and ur not from an urban area, use common courtesy and stop acting like you’re the only person on the road, or city drivers WILL come for you, whether by leaving you a very rude note, keying your car, or setting the ticketers on you. if you’re gonna act like an entitled PTA mom, i WILL best you in that endeavor by asking to speak to the manager.

[imjustlo]

So I thirst!watched the first 15 eps of Granting You a Dreamlike Life for Zhu Yilong, then blew through the rest of the episodes until episode 31, just skipping every scene that didn’t have Luo Fusheng or Tianying in it, because at that point I was invested in seeing the two of them fall in love, and in episode 31 they finally kissed and get together, and I didn’t bother with episodes 32 through 40 because I know Fusheng dies and there’s generally just a lot of suffering that happens to both of them leading up to that, and I’d rather just headcanon that they lived happily ever after somehow (for my friend, this means headcanoning that Fusheng is the laboratory son of Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan from Guardian and that he got thrown back in time, and around when he and Tianying get together, they’re both somehow time warped back to about 3 years after he went missing at 6 years old, and now Tianying can be a famous actress and Fusheng can take over the SID when Yunlan gets promoted, and all is well).

But all that being said, some thoughts for what I did see:

1) No one in this show has any fucking sense besides Tianying, Fusheng, for a brief time Xincheng, and eventually that actor guy who ends up giving Tianying the out to allow herself to become an actress without the help of anyone involved with any of the Hongs, Lins, or Xus.

2) It was clear (at least to me) that they were hinting at a maybe polyamorous situation between Fusheng, Tianying, and Xincheng, but that could have just been queer baiting. Everything leading up to becoming more clear Xincheng was more obsessed than in love with Tianying hinted at maybe the solution being them not forcing her to choose but instead all three of them coming together. There was a lot of potential there, though I knew they wouldn’t take that route. In particular, Fusheng’s first death scene where both Xincheng and Tianying are complete wrecks over Fusheng’s body was reminiscent of two lovers losing their third

2a) In fact, the scene where Xincheng closes down Mei Gao Mei after Tianying’s debute as a dancer there and Fusheng’s and Tianying’s reactions to Xincheng’s actions are reminiscent of two lovers losing their third, only to madness instead of death this time

3) Both Tianying and Fusheng have scenes where they’re confessed to by their adoptive siblings, and both of them have the appropriate “What the fuck what the fuck” reactions to it, but I just want to mention how fucking weird it is that it happened to both of them. For Tianying it makes sense cuz her family is supposed to be batshit insane but Fusheng’s family is supposed to be the one that isn’t crazy. It’s gross and weird in both regards

4) On that note, all of these families are extremely abusive for no fucking reason. The only one that isn’t is the mafia family. I’ve taken to calling this drama the Trauma Drama cuz everyone in it is traumatized to some degree

5) Everyone is also really cruel for absolutely no reason. Tianying gets blamed for e v e r y t h i n g and it’s exhausting. She gets blamed for Xincheng’s disgusting actions just because he does them cuz he’s obsessed with her. She gets blamed for the fact that Fusheng and Xincheng no longer get along just because they decided they’d have a cute little competition to see who can win her heart, and while Fusheng 100% honored that choice and never blamed Tianying for it, literally everyone else did??? As if she had any say in Xincheng being a humongous sack of shit despite starting out as a feminist?? Even the kid from the Lin family (I know him as Glasses) blames her for it, and he’s supposed to be the level-headed one. It’s only clear that this isn’t supposed to come off as fair when one of the other actors working on the movie they’re shooting steps in to be like “yo what the fuck this is ridiculous”. Even Tianying blames herself and it’s terrible cuz the show just continues to punish her by killing off Fusheng eventually like. You’re really gonna do my girl like that? Really?

6) Cuz Tianying and Fusheng are fucking awesome characters, I’ll tell you that. They have amazing character development and great actors and have great character moments and you really start to fall in love with them and want them to be happy. If you’re at all interested in seeing this drama, do it for their story, but you might want to do what I did and just. Stop after they get together

7) Xincheng’s character took a really weird turn. I get that he became obsessed with Tianying and there were signs he was never really in love with her (he would get her gifts that were dresses, shoes, and jewelry that she wouldn’t usually wear or know how to walk in, he started taking her to church even though she’s Buddhist, etc, basically indicating he wasn’t in love with her, just in love with what he could make her into), but it’s a bit unbelievable for me to think the same guy who broke into pieces over Fusheng’s body in the mountains would then make his life a living hell just because the woman he supposedly loves is more interested in being Fusheng’s friend than Xincheng’s girlfriend. Great acting though. Actor did good, just the character didn’t have enough motivation to turn evil in my opinion.

8) In fact no one in this show has enough motivation to be as evil as they are especially Hong Lan but boy was she a fucking piece of work. I kept hoping she’d have a moment where she saw the error of her ways and became Tianying’s friend but nah Tianying can only have two people who don’t think they’re entitled to her and we’re gonna kill one off cuz we hate her I guess

9) We’re supposed to see what happened to Tianying and Fusheng and hope their grandchildren can make it work and fall in love and live happily ever after, but their grandchildren weren’t the ones we were just rooting for for 31 episodes. Fusheng and Tianying are enemies to best friends to lovers and it’s brilliant but why must he die

That’s all off the top of my head but. So that’s what I’ve been up to

[wordsofapanda]

I love my sister tons but having kids made her super entitled. She moved across country and she still expects everyone back in her home state to act like nothing has changed. Most of the time when people move across the country, their loved ones stop sending as much gifts because postage and it’s just out of sight/out of mind. It’s just the norm. My nephews birthday is coming up so I reached out because I wanted to get him a present. She tells me that she’s bummed mom and dad forgot her kids birthday. I know it’s not intentional but she ends up reaching out to my mom with the intention of getting stuff for her kid which doesn’t sit right with me. My mom, of course, sends her money immediately. Here’s the thing. My sister is struggling financially so I get she needs the extra help but it’s insane the level of help she consistently asks from others while she makes these huge decisions. In her own way, she’s been trying to keep up with the joneses. She chose to move across country so she could own a house for her kids which is valid but her partner has always been very unlucky with jobs and now they have a house at the expense of him having no job. Any time she wants to go somewhere, she whines to my parents and they buy her tickets. Tickets to the Philippines and tickets back here. I learned later on that she’s always been asking my mom for a lot: fridge, money, more. My mom of course never counts it and wants to provide. But my moms trying to retire. And that’s why I have such a huge problem with it. Everything is so expensive now. My sister refused to make any compromises so she could have kids, the house, the electronics, and you name it. But now she can’t keep up with it and mom won’t be able to save her forever. I used to think my sister was so independent growing up but it’s the opposite. Even when she was getting by way and made way more in her home state, she asked my mom to provide constantly. She assumes that because she has kids, everyone will continually bend over backwards for them but they moved to another state. She can’t have everything. Now I can’t talk much shit because I took time off because I went through a mental health crisis, but when I struggle and I need bills paid I never ask my parents or depend on their money like that. I’m fortunate to live under their roof and they want to take care of certain things but it’s a give and take and my sister only takes and takes. She moved out as soon as she turned 18 so I’ve been the one driving my parents if they’re tired, making sure my mom has lunch/dinner, picking up some groceries for them, running errands, making floral arrangements for them, cleaning the house and more. I put in my work and I help my parents where I can because living under their roof and not paying rent is a blessing in this economy. Im just worried my mom will be spread a bit thinner. She’s on the cusp of retiring and everyone in the family is SO used to her spoiling them that they expect it now and I can see my moms just tired. It just bothers me so much about how independent my sister acts but constantly complains when she doesn’t get presents, gets left behind because she moved, and gets upset when people don’t visit her. I love her but she has a level of entitlement and spoiled mentality that is ridiculous. Like girl you’re in your 40s and you wanted THE American dream and like all millennials right now, you can’t afford it. Ive come around to realize I may never be able to live on my own because I don’t make enough but it’s why I’m content with my situation instead of trying to reach for a fucking house. Everything is unattainable nowadays but I feel like I’m the one sibling who has accepted it.

[beinglibertarian]

The Entitled Breeder Part 4: Tricked Into More Government

In part one of this series, I vented my anger at the death of a precious creature due to the negligence of an inattentive parent. By part two, my consciousness of the problem grew to the point that I had to acknowledge the privileged status many parents feel they have regarding the costs of educating a child. In part three, the obvious nature of those with children to use emotional ploys as a form of social manipulation to benefit their children was fleshed out.

But was there ever a point, a reason to enrage so many who have brought new life into this world? Was I just some douchebag, malcontent writer that wished to fan the flames of a mother or father who simply have love for their progeny? The truth is, no… there was always a plan. A plan to point out how societal acceptance of a supposed shared responsibility to care for the young of others has allowed many parts of our already bloated government (and the governments of other nations) to expand unchecked in the name of progress for the next generation.

This is part four of the entitled breeder series, the story of how the emotional bonds to our children have been used to manipulate us into allowing huge growth in government. (Often to the detriment of the very children people wrongly believe are being helped.)

If you don’t believe me, just look at gun control in the last year. Using the visage of devastated teenagers from Parkland, Florida, ambitious leftist legislators (many of whom identify as conservatives) have enacted more gun control during the Trump administration (often with the Presidents approval) than was ever enacted during President Barack Obama’s presidency.

But it goes far beyond that. Vice businesses (strip clubs, liquor stores, bars, and pornographic movie shops) are often barred from being within a predetermined amount of space from places like schools and other places where children are known to congregate in mass. And while I would certainly not place one of these establishments near such a place (I can’t imagine many of the patrons would be in that area of town), the fact that our already ridiculous zoning laws are being tightened to protect children from the sight of things they will see as soon as they hit high school seems like a wasted effort to this writer.

But back to the emotionalism used to justify this nonsense; I’d like to discuss an article that came across one of my social media accounts recently. I am not going to specifically cite this article because it was complete and utter bullshit, but the comments section from the post was rife with parents that suddenly felt justified in harming those that were not accepting of their child’s bad behavior in a public place. The fake article was about a “newly proposed law” that would allow people to trip a child that was running around a store or restaurant and being a nuisance. While I agreed with them that using such an action would constitute violence against a child, when I suggested that the parents should have to pay for the meal of the couple celebrating their 40 year wedding anniversary (just one of many possible examples), these people became very upset.

I think the most popular line from that entire thread was “look shithead, sometimes kids just act the fuck up. What do you want me to do, pay every time my kid acts up?”

My response of “if it cost someone money or ruined a service that was already paid for… yes!” didn’t earn me any friends.

Back to education, there is a deeper precedent being set under our current model. Most libertarians have heard the line did you go to public school in reference to our stance that taxation is theft. Skipping past the fact that few (if any) kids have any kind of say in where they are sent to receive their education, the bigger problem comes from much earlier in the commenters life… to when they were in school. As school was provided for them, the seeds got planted of an obligatory duty to sharpen the minds of societies most weak and vulnerable. This is also the time when many children from low-income families receive other benefits, courtesy of the taxpayer. We have placed the idea in this child’s head that consent and voluntary interaction are not worthwhile values, favoring the ‘it takes a village’ (shout out to Hillary Clinton) mentality.

And there, in turn, is yet another problem. Those who favor the village model seem to forget one thing. The owner of the aforementioned porn shop… he is part of the village. The owner of the gun store is too. From the richest guy in town to the vagabond tossing off closeted white collar dads for meth money, you incorporate not just the cream of local society with this approach… but also the most twisted and nefarious. (And newsflash people, this writer is also a part of that village… and I doubt any of you want a guy like me raising your children.)

Which brings us back to what I said at the beginning of this article: we now have to regulate other individuals (who are creating no victims) in some overly righteous effort to protect children from bad decisions and hedonism. The man with the startup money to buy the lot two blocks from a school and start a potentially successful gin mill, might have to look at less desirable lots simply because we can’t allow kids to see a glistening bottle of Grey Goose in a store window.

So there it is folks! The horrifying reality that the entitled breeder has helped breed big government, with only a handful of examples of the many that speak to my overall point. From fast-tracked gun control to feeling owed for the security of one’s child to feeling emboldened towards violence simply because a fellow patron tells someone else’s child to shut the fuck up – we have allowed an idea to go unchallenged: that a child’s vulnerability gives their forbearers license to use force (either directly or via the state) in service of protecting said vulnerability.

It has bred the entitled citizen, who will gladly vote away freedom in favor of security for their little one. (I wonder what Ben Franklin would say about that?) It has bred the entitled teenager, who uses crocodile tears and well-written eulogies to sway supposed defenders of liberty to throw away our most basic rights like ashes in the wind. It has bred the entitled politician, who can look at you and promise a defense of things like America’s glorious Second Amendment only to turn around and write and sign legislation that butchers it with a rusty machete. It has bred the entitled parent, who has allowed (and even voted towards) overreaching government such as Child Protective Services, a reactionary investigative wing of government, that can often take a child from those same parents on little to no evidence.

Ladies and gentlemen… this is how the entitled breeder, bred big government. Thanks for reading.

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