#this is so scary... look at these guys i made...

[moku-youbi]

I think I commented on this before, IDK, but I'm not going to shut up about it, because no. NO. You didn't WANT to know. Gaiman showed this side of him self *ages* ago. How do I know? 'Cause it was at least 10+ years ago that he encouraged his fans to dox my friend, on twitter, because she had the audacity to speak up about his disgusting, misogynistic comments about an actress at a con. (Basically some gross dude made a comment to her face about how he jerked off to her, and she was trying to be polite but also clearly uncomfortable and Gaiman told her she should take it as a compliment and not get her panties in a bunch, look it's been a minute, I don't remember all the details anymore)

I screamed about this on many of his posts, told people directly when they praised him on here, and never got so much as a peep of a reply. And this was easily confirmable. At least at the time, the tweets were still there, of her (very non-confrontationally calling him out like "hey, this isn't okay." and him going rabid and siccing his fanbase on her). A rich, famous, influential man with an army of fans on twitter went after a random nobody for pointing out this problematic encounter, and NO ONE CARED. Everyone straight up ignored me.

And okay, fine, maybe you didn't see my reblogs or comments, maybe you weren't one of the people I messaged directly. I'm hardly a name on here. BUT, the thing is, he showed this same behaviour ON THIS FUCKING SITE, all the damn time. The way he belittled people who sent him asks was truly disgusting. Ya know, it's fine to not like the questions you're being asked, especially when they feel repetitive, or if they feel intrusive. But the problem is, Gaiman fostered this parasocial relationship with his fans here, and as long as they were appropriately worshipful, he treated them kindly. But the contempt he showed to the socially awkward, and the way he encouraged his huge fanbase on here to dogpile onto his rude, aggressive replies to their asks, is very telling of what sort of person he is. He could have answered those asks privately. He could have ignored and deleted them. He could have give a very simple "I've already answered this" or "I'm not going to answer these sorts of questions." Instead, he chose to regularly excoriate random nobodies who were FANS OF HIS WORK for not interacting with it in the way he wanted, or asking questions that annoyed him. He made himself accessible on this platform and then behaved very irresponsibly with his fame.

And you all don't get to pretend like this is somehow a revelation. Plenty of you reblogged those disgusting answers he gave to asks--that's how I saw them, because I sure as fuck didn't *follow* him, yet people I did follow would reblog them with a gleeful sort of schadenfreude, a "look at this idiot he's tearing apart," instead of "look at this powerful man using his platform to demean and belittle a fan."

You wanted your gay Angel and Demon (and don't EVEN get me started on Good Omens, dear fucking christ, and how that man RUINED my favourite book, and how everything that was good about it, and lovely about Aziraphale/Crowely came from Pratchett), you wanted your emo boy Dream, you wanted to preen at the famous guy who deigned to walk among us on tumblr, all "Notice me, Senpai!" so you chose to ignore all the ugly stuff and the voices quietly railing against him, until there were too many voices, on too large a platform for you to ignore anymore.

I'm not saying there aren't predators who fly below the radar, because sadly there definitely are, and it's scary. But I'm also not about to let the people who sat idly by while Gaiman bullied fans on the regular clutch their pearls and gasp "how could we have ever known?"

(and because I've legit got people come in my messages before about "why are you attacking me personally about this" the 'you' in this is the collective, not a specific individual, and if you're getting defensive, maybe examine why you feel that way...)

I want to step away from the art-vs-artist side of the Gaiman issue for a bit, and talk about, well, the rest of it. Because those emotions you're feeling would be the same without the art; the art just adds another layer.

Source: I worked with a guy who turned out to be heavily involved in an international, multi-state sex-slavery/trafficking ring.

He was really nice.

Yeah.

It hits like a dumptruck of shit. You don't feel stable in your world anymore. How could someone you interacted with, liked, also be a truly horrible person? How could your judgement be that bad? How can real people, not stylized cartoon bogeymen, be actually doing this shit?

You have to sit with the fact that you couldn't, or probably couldn't, have known. You should have no guilt as part of this horror — but guilt is almost certainly part of that mess you're feeling, because our brains do this associative thing, and somehow "I liked [the version of] the guy [that I knew]", or his creations, becomes "I made a horrible mistake and should feel guilty."

You didn't, loves, you didn't.

We're human, and we can only go by the information we have. And the information we have is only the smallest glimpse into someone else's life.

I didn't work closely with the guy I knew at work, but we chatted. He wasn't just nice; he was one of the only people outside my tiny department who seemed genuinely nice in a workplace that was rapidly becoming incredibly toxic. He loaned me a bike trainer. Occasionally he'd see me at the bus stop and give me a lift home.

Yup. I was a young woman in my twenties and rode in this guy's car. More than once.

When I tell this story that part usually makes people gasp. "You must feel so scared about what could have happened to you!" "You're so lucky nothing happened!"

No, that's not how it worked. I was never in danger. This guy targeted Korean women with little-to-no English who were coerced and powerless. A white, fluent, US citizen coworker wasn't a potential victim. I got to be a person, not prey.

Y'know that little warning bell that goes off, when you're around someone who might be a danger to you? That animal sense that says "Something is off here, watch out"?

Yeah, that doesn't ping if the preferred prey isn't around.

That's what rattled me the most about this. I liked to think of myself as willing to stand up for people with less power than me. I worked with Japanese exchange students in college and put myself bodily between them and creeps, and I sure as hell got that little alarm when some asian-schoolgirl fetishist schmoozed on them. But we were all there.

I had to learn that the alarm won't go off when the hunter isn't hunting. That it's not the solid indicator I might've thought it was. That sometimes this is what the privilege of not being prey does; it completely masks your ability to detect the horrors that are going on.

A lot of people point out that 'people like that' have amazing charisma and ability to lie and manipulate, and that's true. Anyone who's gotten away with this shit for decades is going to be way smoother than the pathetic little hangers-on I dealt with in university. But it's not just that. I seriously, deeply believe that he saw me as a person, and he did not extend personhood to his victims. We didn't have a fake coworker relationship. We had a real one. And just like I don't know the ins-and-outs of most of my coworkers lives, I had no idea that what he did on his down time was perpetrate horrors.

I know this is getting off the topic, but it's so very important. Especially as a message to cis guys: please understand that you won't recognize a creep the way you might think you will. If you're not the preferred prey, the hind-brain alarm won't go off. You have to listen to victims, not your gut feeling that the person seems perfectly nice and normal. It doesn't mean there's never a false accusation, but face the fact that it's usually real, and you don't have enough information to say otherwise.

So, yeah. It fucking sucks. Writing about this twists my insides into tense knots, and it was almost a decade ago. I was never in danger. No one I knew was hurt!

Just countless, powerless women, horrifically abused by someone who was nice to me.

You don't trust your own judgement quite the same way, after. And as utterly shitty as it is, as twisted up and unstead-in-the-world as I felt the day I found out — I don't actually think that's a bad thing.

I think we all need to question our own judgement. It makes us better people.

I don't see villains around every corner just because I knew one, once. But I do own the fact that I can't know, really know, about anyone except those closest to me. They have their own full lives. They'll go from the pinnacles of kindness to the depths of depravity — and I won't know.

It's not a failing. It's just being human. Something to remember before you slap labels on people, before you condemn them or idolize them. Think about how much you can't know, and how flawed our judgement always is.

Grieve for victims, and the feeling of betrayal. But maybe let yourself off the hook, and be a bit slower to skewer others on it.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Besotted 9

No tag lists. Do not send asks or DMs about updates. Review my pinned post for guidelines, masterlist, etc.

Warnings: this fic will include dark content such as noncon/dubcon, virginity loss, age gap, and possible untagged elements. My warnings are not exhaustive, enter at your own risk.

This is a dark!fic and explicit. 18+ only. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Summary: your new neighbour brings intrigue and a bit of danger.

Characters: ex-con!Bucky Barnes (silverfox)

As per usual, I humbly request your thoughts! Reblogs are always appreciated and welcomed, not only do I see them easier but it lets other people see my work. I will do my best to answer all I can. I’m trying to get better at keeping up so thanks everyone for staying with me.

Your feedback will help in this and future works (and WiPs, I haven’t forgotten those!) Please do not just put ‘more’. I will block you.

I love you all immensely. Take care. 💖

"You're fucking cheating dude," Sterling sweeps the plastic chips from the table.

Colin and Trent cackle and Ryan cradles his head, a few too many cans stacked around him. The other girls giggle as they set on the foldout sofa. You watch from your perch near the window, uneasy from your run-in. You're almost sober. 

"You're a sore loser," Trent hurls back and belches. "And drinking all my beer." 

"The fuck ever. You said help myself." 

"Not much help can save you," Colin chirps. 

"Would you all stop whining? God, little boys," Angelique cackles. 

"Little boys?" Trent scoffs. "Not what you said last time--" 

"Average at best," she retorts. 

"Compared to some," Colin smirks, catching your eye. You glower and look at the wall. He's such a slime, yet you have bigger things to worry about. 

You turn and peer out over the deck. You squint into the dim blue and the stirring waves beyond the coastline. Did Bucky really mean it? Is he really watching you? 

Well, he said it himself. He told you, he warned you, how many times, and you were so set on what you wanted. So much so that you just didn't care about what he wanted. You can't really blame him after all. 

You put your palms to your neck and shudder. He said he went to prison. What did he do? You should have worried about that sooner... you should have thought a lot more about all of this. 

"Missing the geezer?" Harley snarks as she struts up, another bottle of neon swill in hand. 

"No, I'm just... tired. The sun..." you shrug, unable to finish the lie. Half a lie; you are exhausted. 

"You didn't tell us everything," Hazel approaches. "How big was it?" 

"Jesus," you gasp. 

"Oh, your prude days are over," Tracy snorts. "So," she puts her hands up before her, "tell me when." She starts to move them apart and you scoff.  

You roll your eyes as heat creeps up your neck. You want to stop thinking about him. Desperately so. You want to believe that if you do, he'll just go away. Bucky was great but scary. You played with fire and now you don't want to get burned any more than you already have. 

"You guys are children," you push away from the window frame and march buy them. "I need some air." 

"Were his pubes grey? Like one of those scouring sponges?" Colin taunts. 

You ignore him with a shake of your head and stomp behind his chair. You feel the air stir as he reaches for you. You dodge him and storm out into the balmy evening. The door snaps shut behind you and you huff. 

You cross your arms and pace up and down the porch. The boards creak and have you spinning with paranoia. You stop and stare out into the trees. It's too dangerous for anyone to be out there. Even him. 

You sit on the top step and lean your elbows on your knees. You cradle your head. You think about all the red flags you raced past. That shady bar and his bruised knuckles. Did he hurt someone that day? 

Then there's that other chill. Not fear, but deeper. The way he made you feel. His patience, his calm intent as he devoured you bit by bit. It was amazing but you're young and it just doesn't make sense. What do you really know about Bucky? You don't even know why he went to prison. People don't go for stealing five cent candy... 

The door swings open and the hinges squeak. You don't look up. It's probably Angelique coming to tell you you're being a buzz killer. Not really. You separated yourself from the situation. Better then sticking around and moping. She only knows how to make her problems everyone else's. You could blame her for all of this. She dared you to do it. Still, you did it. 

Footsteps tramp heavily up next to you and hop down on the second step. Colin drops beside you on the step and slings his arm over your shoulder. You shrug him off as he snickers. 

"You know, the old man's not around..." 

"Stop," you mutter and cross your arms. 

"Come on. It's vacation. Have a little fun," he plants his hand behind you, leaning against you. "I've been hard all day." 

"You've been a creep forever," you sneer. "I want you to go away." 

"Why? I mean. You wear that suit all day, ready to pop out, and you expect me not to notice?" He slides closer, nearly crushing you against the railing. 

"I didn't wear it for you," you push your elbow into his side. "Take a hint, buddy." 

"I took all the hints," he caress the top of your ass. 

You growl and lift your hand. You reel back but before you can swing, he flies forward and lands at the bottom of the steps. You squeal and look up as a deep black shadow puffs above you. Bucky steps to the edge of the top stair as Colin wheezes on the ground. 

"What-- How--" You stand and he catches your upper arm. 

"You're leaving. Now." He snarls. 

"Bucky, I was dealing with him--" 

Colin coughs as he writhes in the dirt. 

"Sure you were. Barely," he growls. "I seen men like him in the pen. Animals. He wasn't gonna stop." 

"Let go--" 

To your surprise, he does, but only to barrel down the stairs. He grabs Colin as he tries to sit up, gripping his wrist as he pushes his middle finger back. The pop of his joint roils in your stomach. Colin hollers. 

"Bucky!" You hurtle down and latch onto him. 

"Fucker! Touching my woman," he grabs another finger. "Wanna see what happens to rats like you--" 

"Bucky! Stop. Please. Don't hurt him--" 

"What the fuck is this?" Angelique's whiny screech comes from behind a flash. You turn as she lights up the seen with her phone. "Oh my god! Are you serious?" She slams each foot down as she crosses the porch. "You invited this loser? Withou even asking?" 

"No, I--" You cling to Bucky as you tug on him. "I didn't--" 

"Don't fucking worry," he throws Colin's arm away and boots him in the side. "I don't wanna fucking be here." He turns to face the others as they follow the chaos outside. "I came here to take her away from you filth." 

"Filth?" Harley gasps. "Excuse you. You might be hot as fuck but you can't talk to us like that." 

Bucky walks up the steps calmly. "You gonna stop me?" 

Harley backs up and grabs onto Hazel. Both of them hide behind Sterling who just stares, a drunken droop in his eyelids. The others gape, sharing looks as aimless as your own. What do you do? 

You're jostled from behind and stumble. Colin staggers up the steps only for Bucky to spin and send him plummeting again. The crack of his fist carries up into the sky. He shakes out his fingers then points at you. 

"Go get your stuff. Now." 

The thunder of his voice, the violence he's wrought, it has your throat in a snare. You can't breathe, you can't think. Why is he doing this?

"What the fuck--" Kissie exclaims. 

"Bucky, please--" you put your hands up. "Don't hurt anyone else, okay? I'm going to.... I'm going to get my things. Alright? Just no more hitting." 

He glares at you then tilts his head. "Five minutes." 

You gulp and sidle past him. As you get to the top of the steps and Angelique postures, "yeah, get the fuck out of here, slut." 

You flinch. It was always a joke before. Whore, slut, bitch; not anymore. The venom in her voice makes your insides sour. 

"Ang?" 

"You ruined this whole fucking night," she shoves you. 

She squeals as suddenly her arm is wrenched back. Bucky spins her, pulling her wrist between her shoulder blades. Trent and Sterling step up but Bucky doesn't relent. 

"Trying it, you skinny fuckers," he barks. 

They stop. Trent clears his throat, "look, dude, let her go and get out of here." 

"I will," Bucky looks at you. "Go on, doll. Before anyone else does something stupid." 

You look at him. His face is cast in darkness but you feel the anger roiling off him. You turn and flit inside. The door is caught behind you. 

"Are you fucking serious? You brought that criminal here?!" Harley's on your heels. "He's hurting Angie." 

"I'm going, okay? I'll get rid of him." 

"Doesn't change that you led him here--" 

"Would you shut up?" You grab our phone and spin to face her. "And grow the fuck up. Stop whining. All of you are so immature and maybe I'm better off without you. Even if it's with him." 

Ryan falls out of his chair and belches. "Shhhhhh, sleep." You stare at him as he all but reaffirms your statement. You frown at Harley and throw your hands up. 

"Wow, you're a bitch," she sneers. 

"Sure. Yeah, whatever you say," you drop your shoulders and brush by her. 

You go down the hall and grab your bag out of the room. You turn back and ignore Harley and Hazel as they stand just inside the door.

You step out, your stomach plunging, the sudden drop of your heart nearly folding your legs. Kissie is down with Colin as he whimpers and holds his hand. Bucky release Angelique and she whines. She stops a few inches from you. 

"Get the fuck out of here!" She snivels and bats her lashes against a wall of tears. 

You don't say a word. You're too embarrassed, too afraid. You don't have much of a choice. Your so-called friends wouldn't let you stay even if you could stand up to Bucky. What friends? Shouldn't they protect you like they did Angelique? 

Bucky grabs onto your wrist as you near and drags you down the steps. You stumble but keep your feet moving. You don't look back. You can hear Angelique hurling insults under her breath as everyone else comforts her. Your eyes sting. They really don't care about you. 

"Come on, doll," Bucky lead you into the dark, not hesitating as the gloom surrounds you. "They ain't no good for you." 

You let him. You give in to your own bad decisions. How stupid! 

It’s jarring how only last week, you were so excited, thrilled about this man. You were intoxicated by him and now you are terrified. That liberation has turned into entrapment. 

He stops you as you trip over an unseen root. He pauses then a light blooms ahead of you. He uses his phone to light the way. His bike is just ahead, like a beast against the evening hue. 

He takes your bag and shoves it into the saddle bag. Your phone drops as he does and he quickly swipes it from the ground. He puts it in his pocket. He grabs a helmet and puts it on your head. You wince as he secures the strap. 

“Bucky,” you croak. “Bucky, please...” 

“It’s late.” 

“Yes, and dark. It’s not safe--” 

“Don’t tell me what’s safe,” he snaps. “Not after today.” 

He puts his own helmet on then grabs the jacket draped over the seat. He puts his leather coat on you. The summer night has a sliver of a chill on it. He zips it to your chin then taps the rear seat. The one he installed only days after you met. 

He straddles the bike and extends his arm out. He helps you on behind him and you squeeze his shoulders to steady yourself. He exhales and leans back into you. 

“You know, doll, I missed you. I didn’t come to punish you,” he sits up and straightens the bike. “I came to save you.”  

He twists the ignition and the bike roars to life. It rumbles beneath you and you wrap your arms around his middle. You rest your head against his back as he twists the throttle. As the bike tears forward and he steers along the narrow path, your tears spring forth. A tunnel of wind encases you, adding to that sense of suffocation. 

He told you who he is. He told you what he is. Why didn’t you listen to him? 

[purplecelestial-buddy]

Allow me to go insane about perhaps the entirety of chapter 28

First and foremost, we are in it since page 1.

The fact that we are watching this interaction develop from the pov of the guys (since we are watching Hirano from above, like Kagi would and we are watching Kagi from below, like Hirano would) is totally insane.

This exchange is kind of so funny because Kagi says Hanzawa is gone and Hirano, who I would argue is still kind of processing the... straightforwardness and "strengh" (that's the only word I have rn) of the hug request is standing there like "and what does that even have to do with us?" and to some degree this is very important to me because this is Hirano we are talking about. Marriage = civial law Hirano. The 10 secs rule cannot exclude hair because it's made from protein just like skin, Hirano.

I need you to understand that this man has one hell of a convoluted thought process and in other situations he has taken mere seconds to come up with some weird analysis just so he can win whatever debate him and Kagi are having. AND REGARDLESS here we head a head empty no thought Hirano, he's thinking of one thing and one thing only, that being the hug and how it will fit in the puzzle that is his relationship with Kagi. And the hand clenching. Gosh the hand clenching. If only I had a nickel for everytime Kagi closes his fist or grabs at stuff to physically stop himself from crossing the line I would be a millionare. The hand clenching even makes me wonder if he actually belives no one will see them. In fact this is such a funny scene in the sense that Hirano is completely focused in their interactions and Kagi is the one coming up with unexpected loopholes to validate his actions.

I always think back on the "that passion... is focused squarely on me" scene whenever I see this expression on Kagi.

In fact it's interest to see how his expression has changed along with his feelings, desires and expectations about Hirano.

Let's do a timeline:

This was the first instance in which Kagi ever thought about kissing Hirano:

This is the passion scene I was referencing:

And then there's Kagi now who always looks five seconds away from devouring Hirano.

So it's no suprise that Hirano looks uncomfortable. This is the same passion and drive he has always admired from Kagi but now it isnt a driving force used to put effort in basketball or to study so that they can remain roomies, it's being used to expose Hirano to as many romantic situations as posible in hopes that he can reach a conclusion, hopefully a romantic one. And that a very complex expectation because romance and dating are uncharted terriotory for Hirano so ofc he's even more cautious than he tends to be and gosh I'm projecting but I dont think people get how GODDAMN frsutrating and tbh scary it is to know people are expecting something from you when 1. you arent sure what that would even entail and 2. you arent sure if you could perfom even if you knew it.

So anyway, what happens next is very important: (but there's also the whole translation deal so... let's take it with a grain of salt(? (I'll put in italics all the comments/analysis that was biased by the mangadex translation)

Kagi makes his request, Hirano is squeamish and he begrudgingly agrees because that's isnt he kind of thing he "cant's say no to"

As in, he isnt allowed to stop each and every of Kagi's advanced even if they arent directed towards something he's comfortable with simply because theirs is a delicate situation and first and foremost he wants to keep Kagi close. And keeping Kagi close and remaining as roomies is heavily dependant on him not breaking Kagi's hard so he can't refuse all advances right? Because he's pretty much uncomfotable with all things romantic but he can't properly deny Kagi a relationship unless he knows how a relationship would work, right? (I think that fron here onwards the things would remain the same regardless of translation)

And I love that here Kagi inmediately panics and backtracks. Because many things can be said about Kagi, he's passionate, he's intense, he can come on to strong but he would never want to hurt Hirano. He would rather lose sleep and study than stop having his presence close, he would rather clench his fist and stand at the line than ever cross it. Because ven if he would get what he desired he would lose the person he loves the most.

And this whole thing was a kinda tense so when Hirano finally exhales so can we as an audience. And we proceed to get back to typical hrkg antincs of "but are you 100% sure that I'm not presurring you into doing this because I wouldnt want to do this is you arent on board" x "stop whining and going in circles, let's do this and get over with it"

And once again we get Kagi's pov of Hirano. And I dont know if it would be crazy to say that it feel different than the first one but for starters now we see more of Hirano, other than his face and you can see the uncertainty in his hands.

Then comes the hug which is honestly the one and only reason I started this whole ramble.

First, let's look at past hrkg hugs: We have the famous infirmary one. And I want to draw your attention at a few points; first Kagi grabs Hirano sort of by the shoulders, in the 2nd page at the 3rd panel of the sequence Kagi pulls Hirano into the hug, a futile attempt to make it feel more reciprocal I would say and then he squeezes Hirano.

Now, this chapter's hug has much more movement.

In fact it's six pages long

Its starts fairly similar, with Kagi sorta holding Hirano by the shoulders

and it goes down from there

This... this panel haunts me. This is not the face of someone that's comfortable. We can guess that the culprit might be Kagi's hand on Hirano's waist since it's much more lower than where he usually puts his hands.

And no one is comfortable with this so, Kagi soon realizes and again, he backtracks

We finish with the usual hearty squeeze, this time there's no need to get pulled for it to be reciprocal since Hirano relies/lays on Kagi.

And then of course we have the guilt and crisis of feeling uncomfortable ("repulsed" is one of the word choices being questioned)

I don't have much to say about the rest, Hirano gets thinking thoughts, realizes that maybe it can work out if he's the one doing the hugging and we all celebrate.

(also, I find it so funny that all of their "realization" moments have literally the same page composition. I wonder if it's a Harusono quirk of if there's deeper meaning. In fact, the line gets straighther each time so maybe it's all about how they are reaching an understanding of each other )

Then he have a much more comfortable hug and perhaps some of the most kira kira sparkly pages we've ever had

In summary this chapter is very important cuz:

1. We (Hirano included) see Kagi backtracking. This is important because Hirano has gone from not realizing the dept of Kagi's desires to being aware that Kagi will never push him to do anything he's not comfortable with.

2. Kagi says that he knows how much care, which surely lifted a heavy weight from Hirano's shoulders and will helps us in the future

3. Hirano basically learned how to say no and that he has a right to work things in his own way (can be debated based on the translation but I feel the point would still be something to worry over in general(?)

[dcdreamblog]

Okay, okay, so, question, I know Marvel Comics does fiction. But here's the thing, they have a whole series about The Amazing Spider-Man, and I swear I've read actual news reports about a guy by that name in that costume teaming up with Batman. Are they ripping off a real person?

No.

And also, inevitably, yes.

This is a simple question with no real answer and the more I explain it the less sense its going to make. So buckle in.

THIS is comic art from a special graphic novel published by Marvel Comics showing their flagship character the Amazing Spiderman teaming up with the real life flagship superhero Superman.

THIS is a photograph showing a real life Spiderman standing back to back with the real life Superman taken only a few years later, after an adventure that mirrored the events of the comic to a frankly scary degree. See, what some people fail to fully grasp intellectually about the multiverse is that it's a kind of...how do I explain this. My multiversal theory 101 professor called it an "Infinite Reality Superposition". He explained it as a function of the physics concept called Hypertime (which I refuse to explain in detail until someone has the nuts to force me to talk about it directly...because I would need time to go bother someone smarter than me) but my retained understanding of the concept is thus: Because the multiverse is an infinite variation of itself, spread out unto infinity by every event and every decision ever made by any series of conditions stretching back until the dawn of time by definition ALL things are true somewhere in the multiverse. Every idea you have ever had, every idea you have ever NOT had. Every possible version of every story ever imagined by any theoretical human on all possible Earths is, on another Earth just as real as the author's, provable, obvious reality. If you sketch a doodle creature on a piece of paper right now not only does that creature exist somewhere in the multiverse, INFINITE versions of that creature exist on infinite worlds within said multiverse. There are exactly as many worlds on which I am a figment of someone's imagination as there are where I am as real as I am sitting at my keyboard right now: infinity. There are worlds where Spiderman and Superman are equally as real as each other and always have been, there are worlds where both are equally fictional, there are worlds where the two beings are mixed together jumbles of both of their aspects and there are infinite versions of all three previous categories. Some worlds are so similar you could spend lifetimes looking up and down the timeline for a single blade of grass out of place in 1892 somewhere in Wales. Some worlds are so different that you would have to go back to the motion of the first hydrogen atoms after the big bang to find the common root between them and us. WE live on a world where Superman is a real being and Spiderman is a comic book character. But because we ALSO live on a world where extranormal events are a regular occurrence we ALSO saw a Spiderman from a different universe temporarily deposited into this one where he teamed up with Superman to save the day and then fucked off back to where he came from. Marvel characters have done this closer to a dozen times actually with character like the Hulk, the Fantastic Four and the Avengers all showing up for brief moments and then vanishing as quickly as they appeared. That does not change that one THIS world Spiderman is a comic book character. It's just that the OTHER universes in the multiverse could give less of a fuck about us and our airs.

[iamthatonefangirl]

time - jackson era joel miller

guys this is literally just me rambling after i saw this banger edit and wanted to write about joel holding me but i completely lost sight of the plot i had in mind

i am coping by pretending that everyone is lovey-dovey and happy ok. so plz just humor me here.

~~~

time was a funny concept.

you never knew when you were going to run out of it.

living in a world knowing nothing but tragedy, knowing so little about the world that came before it? it made you think about time often.

how different your life could have been if you had been born only ten years earlier. if you had just a little bit more time with your family before the world as you knew it came crashing down, causing you to be on your own years earlier than you anticipated.

somehow, you found your way.

you were lucky to find community in Jackson. you hadn't known what true loyalty had been before that; it was a do or die world, and you could never really trust anybody. you spent years getting burned by people you thought you could trust, and so once you made it to Jackson?

it took you time to re-learn the trust you had once given too freely. but you were grateful that you had the opportunity to now.

~~~

and then one day, suddenly a man and a young girl showed up seeking shelter.

although you were many, many years younger than the man they called Joel, you could see yourself in him. the way that he trusted few, but cared deeply about the people who were lucky to gain his trust.

his brother. his pseudo-daughter. and after a while, the people of Jackson, too.

there was something about him that you were drawn to. call it the way you resonated with his pain, the loss of your family, the inability to see where you stood in this new, scary, dangerous world.

for a while, you thought that maybe you just saw what you wanted to see.

~~~

he was off-putting for many of the first interactions you had with him, for reasons you understood.

you took it upon yourself to bring the new neighbors a casserole the first day. a lasagna a few days later, and eventually, you scouted enough of the ingredients you needed for a chocolate pie.

the man, Joel, was not keen on accepting the meals the first few days. the girl, Ellie, was happy to snatch the food from your hands with an exclamation of "thanks!" before running off back into the house, leaving Joel to apologize for her behavior. you'd flash him a bright smile, to which he would pause and just maybe smile back at you before thanking you and shutting the door.

the look in his eyes when you brought the chocolate pie over? can't beat that, the look of excitement and some small semblance of joy in a world severely lacking it.

so he accepted the pie, without the assistance of Ellie this time, and invited you in for a slice.

the smile on his tired face was too pretty for you to decline the offer.

~~~

if you began putting all your efforts into cooking meals for the new neighbors, you wouldn't admit it.

if you accepted that it meant you might go hungry sometimes for lack of enough groceries, then so be it. you wouldn't worry about it. you didn't need the sustenance the way these folk did, still adjusting to this new way of life in Jackson.

but you never did go hungry, because Joel would never let you return home without serving you up a plate of whatever it was you had made for them.

"I made this for you and Ellie, Mr. Miller. please don't worry about me," you would smile at him, waving off his concerns.

"wouldn't be right o'me to send you home, a pretty girl like you, without a belly full of food, don't ya think?" he told you one time. a pretty girl? like you?

"and please, call me Joel," he said, that southern drawl just melting your heart. "Mr. Miller makes me feel old," he confessed.

so maybe you accepted his offer to come in. and maybe, Ellie was gone that evening, so you gladly ate dinner with Joel, forcing yourself not to stare at his pretty face while you did.

"it's real good, darlin'," he would compliment you, to which you would blush once more.

"thank you, Mr. Miller," you would say, focusing your gaze on your plate, fighting back a smile. if you looked up at him, who knows what would come out of your mouth.

"would love another one of those chocolate pies you make, darlin'," he began, darling?, "almost as sweet as you."

you realized it then. he was... flirting with you.

you looked up to see him smirking at you, seeing the way your cheeks flushed pink and how you almost seemed embarrassed.

"what, has no man ever told you how pretty you are, sweetheart?" he asked, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest, all while his legs stayed rooted in their spot, spread so you could see...

"no," you pipe up, even more embarrassed then.

"why don't you let me show you, then?"

~~~

it wasn't much longer before you were moving in with Joel. Ellie was happy to live in the garage, having some much desired space as a teenager.

when he asked you, he played it off as though it was for efficiency, given that with all the new refugees, needing the space and whatnot...

you would never turn down such an offer. you'd found a comfortable spot in your relationship, and nothing could ever change that.

~~~

Joel was most certainly the first person you truly trusted in a long time. you trusted him with your secrets, your past, your life.

for the first time in a very long time, you felt safe. you felt wanted.

he held you close to his chest, wrapping his arms around your chest and stomach to keep you in place. anywhere else, anywhere away from him, and he couldn't protect you. so there you stayed, happily.

the luxuries you had now were ones neither of you had experienced for many years prior, including the cool, clean sheets under your skin now.

you held onto his arms as they kept you pressed against him, feeling the way his biceps were so naturally defined from the years of such physically demanding work, just to stay alive.

his body radiated warmth. you had a heater now, too, although you swore he would keep you both warm enough until the end of time.

time had always been a struggle for your entire life. there was never enough of it, but always too much. you never seemed to find the right timing until you met Joel.

right now, right here, when he held you?

time just melted away.

~~~

masterlist

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joel miller tag list:

@clavedelune @bananababygirl10 @daisydark @lowrisemiller

[holdinggrudges]

hi grudges!! how have u been <3 hope you're doing well. i have a scenario/question! how do you think sam being late bloomer reader's first kiss would play out? sending you love!

hii anon :D i am doing well, trying to drag myself kicking and screaming back into writing consistently (it's...slow going) bc i'm hoping to have something to put out for sam's birthday next week. anywayyss sorry it took me so long to get to this ask, but i actually really enjoyed it and wanted to do it justice bc i can absolutely 100% relate. late bloomers unite guys!! and i sort of never learned how to shut up (943 words under the cut by the way) so i'm gonna put a little keep reading cut here lol and this is also not proofread very well. so pls excuse any spelling mistakes thx :)

so first of all, the thing that i think is extremely important to understand about sam when it comes to this sort of thing: he's a romantic. maybe you're a hunter, too, maybe the two of you met in the middle of a case and decided to team up. or maybe, he met you on a hunt, the victim of whatever creepy crawly the brothers were taking care of this time. either way, the two of you have been flirting since the moment you met, just little hints and subtle comments, but obvious all the same. but you—you're just a little hesitant. nervous, like you're not quite sure how to go about it, like it's something you've only ever seen, never actually done. sam can tell; it's obvious in the sweetest way, and he's never been more endeared in such a short amount of time. it's almost exciting, reminds him of the grand, swooping romances he used to read, hidden so dean couldn't make fun of him for it. but it also means he really, really wants to do this right, to make it special for you.

he asks you out on a date. a real date, fancy dinner, fancy clothes (think provenance, the date with one sarah blake? yeah, he's going all out). he pulls out all the stops, gathers up all his spare cash, bullies dean into handing over the keys to the impala for the night. he shows up at your door—early, because on time is late—his arms laden with the prettiest bouquet of flowers you've ever seen. he carefully transfers them to your arms, smiling all the while until he finally says, "you look really beautiful."

you can feel your cheeks begin to heat, ducking your head on a soft, flustered little laugh. "these are really beautiful," you tell him, in maybe the most unsubtle deflection ever. and then you invite him inside, just for a second. just until you can find a vase to keep them in, because even if you'd said it just because you were flustered, the flowers really are gorgeous (although, you think you'd probably want to keep them even if they were the ugliest things you'd ever seen. sam had given them to you, after all). when you get to the car, sam opens your door for you.

the date goes very well, though you didn't expect any less. sam is, of course, overwhelmingly sweet and charming, but you already knew that. you know what he does, whether you're a hunter as well or not, so he tells a few stories (nothing heavy. just...the funny stuff. the mostly not scary, makes him seem really brave stuff. he really, really doesn't want to scare you off), and you tell a few of your own. he asks a lot of questions, and it's clear that he's really listening, obvious that he genuinely wants to get to know you. and he answers the questions you ask him, though he's maybe not quite as good at the answering as the asking. but he's trying. and when the two of you walk out of the restaurant together, you feel really good. more than good, you feel hopeful. you like him, a lot. and it seems to you, at least, that he really likes you too.

he walks you to your door, and it's so, so cheesy, but you hesitate at the top of the steps. it's just that you don't really want to say goodbye. maybe you've been on dates before, but certainly none as good as this one. none that made butterflies swarm your stomach, none that made your cheeks hurt from smiling so much. but when you open that door, the night's over. and you're not sure you're ready for that, not yet.

sam notices. of course he does; he's scarily perceptive. and he's not really ready for the night to be over either. so he takes a step forward, just barely crowding into your space, and he tucks a finger under your chin, tilts your face up just a touch. and then he leans down until his face is millimeters away from yours, until you can feel his breath on your lips when he mutters, "is this okay?"

you don't really trust your voice right now, sure that it will give away your nerves and your excitement and your longing. even the hummed little, "mmhmm," that you let out instead is high pitched and nervous. sam's hand is cool against your heated cheek when he cups your face in his hand.

"good," he breathes, before finally pressing his lips to yours. the kiss echoes through you in a cascade of sparks and fluttering butterflies, and your eyes shut almost instinctually, before you can even remember that's what you're supposed to do. his lips are soft against yours, his hand solid and grounding against your cheek, and it's perfect. it's everything you ever dreamed it would be.

the kiss isn't chaste, not really, but it's something close to it. like sam wants to take this slow, even as you lean forward to chase his touch as he pulls away. when you flutter your eyes open, you see him smiling at you. his thumb brushes your cheekbone. "i'll see you later?"

almost dazed, you nod, staring after him as he waves and makes his way back down the steps, towards the car. "yeah. see you...later."

your lips buzz with the memory all night, until you wake up to a message from sam the next morning. 'so how soon can i see you again?'

as your stomach flips and flutters, you get the feeling you're going to become well acquainted with those butterflies pretty soon.

[seafoamsol]

PREORDERS OPEN!

Immortalise Dead End and Astrotrain's non-hostile and positive work relationship with this charm of eternal torment!

Link to preorder [ HERE ]. Note that this will close on April 7th!

[dreamsy990]

drew some of my fav ody designs! wasnt originally meant to be also replicating the styles but thats sort of just how my brain works. except i didnt copy the lineart styles of anyone here so its DEFINITELY a bit uncanny for a couple of these (LOOKING AT YOU QINNY IM SO SORRY) but whatever

the designs featured here (from left to right) belong to: me, @gigizetz, @neal-illustrator, @irunaki, @bigidiotenergytm, @qinnyanimation, and @foopsie-daisy

[gifti3]

mc lmao...

[citruscore]

sleepover redux

[lunadreamscaper]

surprisingly i dont think i posted something like this yet, but talkingn to fellow taleblr fandomers made me think about this a lot/gen/pos

disclaimer i am a system, so no one freak out on me xD

to all the singlets in the VenturianTale fandom who worry about this sometimes (and to the singlets who think they know better than us/lh)

that its okay to like and/or headcanon Johnny Ghost/Jimmy Casket (and Gregory?) as a system/plural/DID.

like yes, how it was done in the original source WAS bad! Jordan demonized the hell out mental illness in general.

but that doesn't mean that we can't reclaim and make it better!!!!!!!!!

systems and system-friends alike!

and i know a lot of people get nervous about it, mainly singlets (people who are not plural/systems) and i understand so don't worry. this isnt a post saying you should headcanon it. it's a post saying that system/plural/did headcanon is OKAY and we need to loosen up on it a little bc we acting like we can't make a better or improved version of the source.

booing singlets who think they are god's fucking gift to the plural/system/did & osdd community by saying jimmy casket and johnny ghost is always gonna be bad representation and treat those who headcanon it weirdly lmao

we already change and separate the source to our liking to begin with.

I also know its common for singlets to be worried about misrepresenting systems when using that headcanon and would rather not touch it to be safe which is fair. because being a system isn't a quirky character trait, you can't just give to a character will nilly, not without handling it without genuine love and care for both the character(s) and the community they represent!

but also shout out from the depths of my soul to those, systems and singlets alike, who do take on the headcanon while doing proper research and talking to systems about it!!

also yes some systems do not like the original take of jimmy casket and johnny ghost as it is in fact bad system/did representation. We (my headmates and I) also dont like how it was done originally. but i personally see it as an opportunity to turn it into something better and meaningful.

also semi related but Jimmy should still be allowed to kill people.

he shouldn't obviously be the "evil murder alter." bc that's stereotyping obviously.

but in a world where a lot of the characters casually murder each other all the time, it would be unfair to leave Jimmy (or Ghost) out just because he's an alter/headmate. if that makes sense???

personally ive been giving him more depth behind the times he has killed, given a reason, something thats bigger than him and out of his control. also while steppign away from the stupid serial killer thing. lmao.

[idreamofneonsheep]

Can't stop thinking abt arcane s2, specifically the alternate timelines episode where jayce goes through it and ekko does science.

By the time we'd reached that episode, my sibling and I already disliked the season and were just watching it to see if it managed to get any better later on.

So we were chilling, making fun of this or that and wondering why the pacing was so strange when we started seeing the telltale signs of romance between ekko and powder/jinx. Now, my first thought was "really???" because I'm a hater of 99% of romantic pairings in media and don't find it enjoyable to watch/read. My second thought was "wait wait wait, hold up. explain how this timeline hopping works Right Now."

And thus the alarm bells starting going off as my mind worked overtime to try to figure out how this works. Is this timeline more like an illusion than a concrete world, where the people there will cease to exist when heimerdinger and ekko leave? Did the ekko and heimerdinger of this world get swapped with the ones we've been following? Are our guys in the bodies of their counterparts?

I would have had these thoughts regardless, because I quite enjoy overanalyzing media. The reason the alarm bells were ringing was because, depending on the answer to those questions, the romance between ekko and jinx/powder gets questionable.

As the episode continued it became clear that our ekko (ekko1) was very different from the ekko (ekko2) the people of this new timeline know and expect (which makes sense). To be clear, at this point, regardless of how the timeline hopping works, the romance is Very Uncomfortable. Ekko1 and ekko2 are clearly different people/characters. They could be likened to identical twins, really.

So. We're watching the episode. I'm crocheting a far too long single chain because it's all I know how to do. Sibling is judging me for my single chain of weird, sad brown yarn.

Dance scene comes up. We mock it, as we do with things we find strange, unnecessary, and annoying. The lingering sound of alarm bells is fostered by dread as we watch powder think she's hanging out with her pal ekko2 in a romantic way. The dread grows and the bells clang as we realize "they're going to kiss".

They kiss.

We sit for a moment, silence creeping in as the bells start dying. The episode plays on.

We look at each other.

The episode is finished in disappointed and disgusted silence.

Perhaps my horror was more visceral than my sibling's, as this episode has certainly not stuck with them as it did me, but I just. Whatever cute relationship stuff the creators were going for was ruined Immediately.

Powder kissed someone because she thought they were someone else, and there was nothing done to correct that assumption or apologize or anything. Ekko1 kissed powder while she thought he was ekko2 and that just feels gross and awful to me.

Now, was ekko1 thinking of it like that? I seriously doubt it. Were the creators thinking of it like that? I also doubt it.

But sometimes I just sit and think abt how powder didn't know that it wasn't ekko2 she kissed until ekko1 dipped out of ekko2's body to go back to his own timeline. What did she think about that? After the confusion, what feeling came next?

So yeah, this episode of arcane s2 is on my list of Horrifying Romances, right there with 50 first dates

[ode2rin]

hi... (runs away)

[black-and-yellow]

Day 2 of Buggy posting :/

[themintman]

Please share the Sims I would be so gracious 🙏

erm I wasn't sure if you meant post them to Tumblr or actually make the Sims public so imma do both.

They definitely aren't perfect but I tried my best!!

And, ofc, here is my account so you can find them. Sorry for the keyboard smash name this is my dad's account from like seven years ago I'm trying to change it 😭

the title is just "Jack and Nurm"

Uhh I used stuff from the packs below, idk if it'll let you download them without these but if it does just change the missing traits/clothes:

Island living

Cats & dogs

Realm of Magic

Holiday celebration

Erm so like yeah!! If anything is inaccurate or you think something would work better feel free to change it! I tried to make them accurate to how I see them, but tbf I do sometimes mix up headcannon and cannon, misinterpret stuff etc, plus it was tricky trying to decide on aspirations n such, there's no "legendary adventurer" or "cartography" themed traits to my knowledge lmao

[lizlemondyke]

seth meyers gave me this soup. hashtag blessed.