#whereas literally every time before and after that moment

[luna-the-cretar]

The “inability to lie” feycurse is interesting to me, especially for Kremy, because I wonder if it also applies to internal lies. Lies you tell yourself to the point where you start to believe them.

I say this because…well, let’s look at Kremy’s love for unicorns. Sure, if we go meta, obviously this stemmed from the feycurse. Doubt Richie gave it any thought beforehand. But going in-universe, there’s a good chance that maybe Kremy already liked unicorns from beforehand. Maybe since he was a child. But probably had to hide that fact about himself, telling himself that “oh, you can’t be into that, only children like unicorns, and you’re not a child anymore”, until he started to believe it. Well, until the Witchlight Carnival changed that, of course.

Now, about Kremy and his affections for Gideon. Kremy IMMEDIATELY started getting all fidgety once he realized he couldn’t lie anymore, and of course it’s partly because…well…it’s Kremy we’re talking about here. But also what if Kremy was lying to himself about his feelings for Gideon (“oh, it’s totally normal to want to sleep with your best friend. Who you totally feel completely platonic feelings for. Yep.”)—lies which immediately started unraveling once Kremy couldn’t lie anymore, despite trying to still try and lie to himself about them. And, of course, everything reared its head during the wedding, but I’m sure we all know about that by now.

[dduane]

Dear DD, I'm wondering if you could show examples (from your own work or otherwise) of what really, *really* rough drafts of fiction writing look like. I'm talking the earliest stages of the process that normally most people don't show to the public; whenever I look around online, what folks seem to post as "WIP" samples are usually more like 80-90% polished excerpts.

While my brain logically knows these are the late-stage stuff, it has an ill-advised habit of trying to draft to that 80-90 level of quality from the get-go--I think it might help to see what the equivalent of "thumbnails" or "sketches/doodles" look like in writing, especially from someone who's been At The Work for a long time. Hopefully it's an alright request! I understand if for various reasons you can't.

I'm more than willing to show people my stuff in process, every now and then. ...But in my case, your initial query poses an unusual challenge. And it's this:

After pushing fifty years of doing this work (or indeed, you had it right, this Work) for money, everything comes out looking fairly polished.

And this can't be helped. Once you've been doing this work for long enough—once doing it well starts being the thing responsible for keeping you and your family fed—you will inevitably (eventually) evolve the ability to exude smooth-looking prose at minutes' notice. Over the years your internal prose filters will get trained into being increasingly fine-meshed... and the longer this goes on, the more flatly they'll refuse to let clunky stuff out onto the page any more. You don't really even think about it. You just keep refining a given phrase/sentence/paragraph in your head until it feels acceptable.

After a couple/few decades, this ability becomes an ever more finely-honed survival characteristic. You can no sooner emit actively coarse prose (without trying purposefully to do so, which is another story...) than you can stop breathing for minutes at a time without suffering the consequences. (shrug) It's just the way your life experience has taught your Drafting Brain to conduct itself, going forward.

Now... this doesn't mean at all that the drafted material, be it ever so polished-looking, is necessarily what you intended (or needed!) to write. Oh no. I could this very day show you some prose that by my standards is still really rough, because I wrote it five minutes ago... and you'd look at it and be very unlikely to be able to see what my problem was with it.* Whereas I'm sitting staring at it and muttering "Dammit, something's missing here. No idea what. I'll come back to it tomorrow."

And indeed I wrote something about three hours ago that (as I got it onto the page in its earliest form) left me literally gasping about how obtuse I'd been about the situation and emotions described in it, as recently as early this afternoon before I had lunch. It was a scene that had been missing from something I'm completing at the moment—indeed not merely missing but completely uncontemplated—and as it spooled itself out on the page all I could do was shake my head at my own idiocy at having missed the opportunity earlier, while I was nailing down the plot.

And I would love to show you that piece of prose right this minute, so that you could see what minutes-old prose from me looks like. Except it's seriously spoilery, and I refuse to sabotage a larger work by allowing out any material that's so loaded... and which viewed out of context would deprive it of most of its power. So, as we say around here, 'Sorry not sorry.'" Though I promise I'll come back to this and talk about it "in the clear" later, when that work's published.

...Anyway. The best advice I have for you just now is that trying to make your filters-in-training less effective is—to put it as gently as Captain Amelia might—a mistake.

That urge to have the first draft—or the "zero draft" as some are calling it these days: I use this myself—be as good as possible is frankly a lifesaver. Indulging it, sentence by sentence and paragraph by paragraph, will only leave you with less frustration, less editing and re-editing, and way less Flat Forehead Syndrome over time. You are going in the right direction, even if it makes you feel like you're losing valuable time.

Your brain's attempts to draft to the highest possible level are not ill-advised. Indulge the urge to get your drafting more right, even if it makes you suffer a bit. No one ever said this writing lark was going to be all fun. (And if they did, they lied to you.) Also: hunting through other people's WIP excerpts, be they rougher than yours or more polished, in a search for something that your excerpts or drafting style should or could theoretically look like, will do you no good in the long term... and may do you harm. All you're likely to be left with, after you haven't found anything useful in the wake of the shoulder-peering, is a sense—almost certainly an inaccurate one—that you're somehow doing it wrong.**

You're not. You're finding your own way, at your own speed. This is the Writer's Journey. (As opposed to the Hero's, which I have characters shouting at me about at the moment.) (eyeroll) As you continue going your own way, your drafting will gradually pick up speed without losing quality. ...And don't neglect your outside reading. You need to be reading outside your own genre and your own century to pick up, as it were, new (or old) plugins for your filters.

Anyway. If (as it seems) you're in this for the long term: get right down here with the rest of us and suffer your way (briefly) through it. We all agonize unnecessarily over the effectiveness of our process from time to time. The only cure is to say "fuck that noise" to the back of your Writer's Mind, and get back to the actual writing, where these problems are worked out in the only way that counts.

So: go do your thing, and let the chips fall where they may. And I hope this has helped! Let me know, over time, how things go.

*This situation is also, BTW, a bit of a problem for a writer in a career stage like mine. In an inversion of the usual rule—where "the Perfect becomes the enemy of the (Merely) Good"—the "Really Not Bad At All" becomes the enemy of the "Could Have Been Way Better If You'd Given It A 'Should I Maybe Sweat Over This A Little More?' Pass". Because the Not Bad At All genuinely isn't... but if you're not careful, you stop seeing where to kick it into the next stage when you're distracted by all the other junk going on in life.

**...But this is one of the downsides of the community, and communality, of the writing life online. We wind up endlessly looking over each others' shoulders to try to find answers that—in many cases—were already sitting between us and the screen, on the keyboard.

(And now a suggestion for those who find these occasional excursions into the Advice Barrel useful: at various folks' request, I have a Ko-Fi now. If you find the advice useful and you feel so inclined, send me a sign.) :)

[forestdeath1]

Sirius’s attitude towards Peter

This is going to be a bit controversial because in the fandom, it's commonly believed that Sirius loved Peter. People backs this up with two points:

Sirius suggested Peter as the Secret Keeper.

Sirius said he'd die for Peter.

In my view, their relationship was a bit more complicated than just "he loved him." Emotions aren't just about love and hate, there's a lot of grey area in between. But personally, I don't see any evidence that Sirius truly loved or respected Peter.

From what we know in the books, teachers saw Peter like this:

Pettigrew... that fat little boy who was always tagging around after them at Hogwarts?’ said Madam Rosmerta. ‘Hero-worshipped Black and Potter,’ said Professor McGonagall.

For an observant and clever person like McGonagall, the group dynamics aren't a secret. It's exactly what people saw from the outside.

We know for sure that Peter visited the Potters, and Lily worried about him being sad, whereas there's no mention of Remus. In the Order of the Phoenix photo, Peter stands next to James, Lily and Sirius, while Remus is on the other end. So at least during the war, Peter was closer to the Potters than Remus.

Here's what JKR says about their relationship with Peter:

"Pettigrew, who they, in a slightly patronizing way, James and Sirius at least, who they allowed to hang round with them, it turned out that he was a better wizard than they knew. Turned out he was better at hiding secrets than they knew."

And it makes sense. Patronizing. They didn't intend to be friends with Peter at all, it was Remus who felt sorry for him and persuaded James and Sirius to include him.

Remus, always the underdog’s friend, was kind to short and rather slow Peter Pettigrew, a fellow Gryffindor, whom James and Sirius might not have thought worthy of their attention without Remus’s persuasion. Soon, these four became inseparable. (Pottermore)

And what we see in their relationship in reality:

Every time James made a particularly difficult catch, Wormtail gasped and applauded. 

‘Put that away, will you,’ said Sirius finally, as James made a fine catch and Wormtail let out a cheer, ‘before Wormtail wets himself with excitement.’ 

Wormtail turned slightly pink, but James grinned. 

Peter's behaviour:

Lupin and Wormtail remained sitting: Lupin was still staring down at his book, though his eyes were not moving and a faint frown line had appeared between his eyebrows; Wormtail was looking from Sirius and James to Snape with a look of avid anticipation on his face. 

How can someone like Sirius, who literally hates groveling ("I, a spy for Voldemort? When did I ever sneak around people who were stronger and more powerful than myself?"), respect and love someone who constantly grovels? Was Sirius blind not to see that? Everyone saw it. Remus simply pitied and was kind to Peter ("always the underdog’s friend"), and James loved Peter's adoration. James is the kind of person who really loves attention, and at the same time, he has a pretty black-and-white view of the world, and probably considered Peter a good guy, albeit one he could sometimes make fun of ('How thick are you, Wormtail?' said James impatiently. 'You run round with a werewolf once a month –')

But Sirius didn't need attention, he wasn't an attention-seeker. He could see pretty well who and what everyone was.

Many say that what Sirius says in PoA,he says it after many years of reflection in Azkaban and on emotions. I don’t think so:

‘Lily and James only made you Secret Keeper because I suggest- ed it,’ Black hissed, so venomously that Pettigrew took a step backwards. ‘I thought it was the perfect plan ... a bluff ... Voldemort would be sure to come after me, would never dream they’d use a weak, talentless thing like you ... it must have been the finest moment of your miserable life, telling Voldemort you could hand him the Potters.’ 

Sirius came up with a bluff. A plan where Voldemort was supposed to come after him, Sirius, not Peter. It wasn't just that Sirius trusted Peter. The point was that Voldemort would NOT come after Peter. Why was he so sure Voldemort wouldn't come after Peter?

Because first of all, I think Sirius really, as he said, believed that Voldemort would never pay attention to Peter. And secondly, Sirius was sure that Peter admired James too much and loved him too much to betray. The one who was always attached to them, the one who always looked up to James in admiration.

Sirius underestimated Peter's "bravery" and cunning.

‘I, a spy for Voldemort? When did I ever sneak around people who were stronger and more powerful than myself? But you, Peter – I’ll never understand why I didn’t see you were the spy from the start. You always liked big friends who’d look after you, didn’t you? It used to be us ... me and Remus ... and James ...’

He always saw that Peter was attached to them as "big friends," but Sirius, being arrogant, underestimated that besides them, Peter could have other "big friends." He was too convinced that Peter idolized James.

At the same time, it's pretty obvious why Sirius didn't trust Remus. He always respected Remus more, considered him smarter and more capable. He couldn't not trust James, James was everything to him, but Remus, who also often disappeared on missions, he could. This distrust shows not so much that they had bad relations, but rather that Sirius considered Remus a more capable and independent person, not just an appendage to James, like Peter.

So why were they considered inseparable and why did Sirius say he would die for Peter?

‘He – he was taking over everywhere!’ gasped Pettigrew. ‘Wh-what was there to be gained by refusing him?’ 

‘What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wizard who has ever existed?’ said Black, with a terrible fury in his face. ‘Only innocent lives, Peter!’ 

‘You don’t understand!’ whined Pettigrew. ‘He would have killed me, Sirius!’ 

‘THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!’ roared Black. ‘DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!’ 

Sirius has a very strong sense of honor. For him, dying for those he considers «ours» is a matter of honor. This is a nuance in his character — he may not particularly like or respect someone, but if they're "ours" he'll defend them (even someone like Mundungus).

He considered Peter their friend, he was with them from the first year, James loved Peter, Remus loved Peter, Peter helped in their mischiefs, and Sirius treated Peter okay, as a friend, but without much respect or some unearthly love that fandom usually portrays. He could see what Peter was like, and surely there were tense situations between them, but Sirius wasn't a bad person, and Peter knew how to play the helpless and miserable guy. It's like a patronizing friendship, where you're friends not because you really respect and love the person, but because they're in your group, and you're used to them. It was a childhood friendship. There was no sacred friendship. Children often start friendships simply because they end up in the same bedroom.

And Sirius isn't afraid of death. His death – it's not the worst thing for him. He tells Peter the same thing. Better to die than betray friends. That's his honor—he doesn't understand betrayal. The concept of honor isn't linked to love. For some reason, many think that a person can only decide to die for those they love. But some might choose death because their honor demands it. And if Sirius considered someone a friend, and he did consider Peter a friend, then dying for him is a normal reaction.

JKR on this: "Sirius would have done it. With all his faults and flaws, he has this profound sense of honor, ultimately, and he would rather have died honorably, as he would see it, than live with the dishonor and shame."

And Sirius would die not just for Peter. He told the twins about their father, who was on a mission: "You don't understand - there are things worth dying for!"

So, I don't see any evidence that Sirius truly loved and respected Peter. Did he consider him a friend? Yes, he did. Not personally his own, but their friend. James's friend first and foremost and an integral part of the Marauders. Would he die for him? Yes, of course. It's a matter of honor. But he always saw him as lesser than themselves, not as worthy, not as strong, not as smart, too cowardly, and sly. And it's precisely because of his arrogant attitude that he thought Voldemort would never pay attention to Peter, making Peter the perfect Secret Keeper. Also, in his opinion, Peter would never betray James precisely because Peter supposedly idolized James too much and loved him too much. But "it turned out that he was a better wizard than they knew. Turned out he was better at hiding secrets than they knew."

[badgalsasuke]

Hi,I have one question, many fans say that Sasuke liked Sakura since childhood, and give examples that he blushed in childhood,he blushed in front of her only twice, during the acquaintance and the bell exam when she bugged him, but he literally called her annoying on the same day,it turns out she annoyed him and did you like it at the same time? I realized these moments that he was still an innocent boy and all this confused him,because he blushed later in front of Kakashi and Naruto , but after the land of Waves he became more collected and rarely blushed

Hey anon!

Your ask is a bit over the place but I'll try to answer the best of what I could understand lol

The first instance you mention of Sasuke blushing is while Sakura introduces herself to the team.

Another SNS blog has already pointed this out but I don't remember which one exactly otherwise I'd just link their post so I'll explain it again. What Kishimoto did here is very interesting; when Sakura is talking about her big crush on Sasuke we don't see Sasuke at all, it's only after Sakura says she doesn't like Naruto and Naruto makes one of his stupid faces we get to see Sasuke blushing.

You gotta remember every manga panel exists in context and you have to take into account what comes before and after. So let's jump to ch. 27 on Naruto & Sasuke's battle against Haku.

These are Sasuke's most precious memories that make his body move on its own to protect Naruto, pretty romantic stuff. I've circled three specific moments here.

The one in the middle is from ch. 3, if you recall Naruto had transformed into Sasuke so he could ask Sakura what she thought of him whereas the real Sasuke was tied in a room. But then Naruto got diarrhea, ran to the bathroom and in the meantime Sasuke managed to liberate himself, tell Sakura she's annoying after she made fun of Naruto and then went on to look for Naruto.

When Sasuke eventually found him, Naruto once again made one of his stupid faces. Sasuke is fond of this moment.

The circle on the right is from ch. 10 after Sasuke saves Naruto from those evil ninja twins and decides to tease Naruto calling him scaredy cat (this translation says big chicken but same thing). How does Naruto respond? by making yet again another of his stupid faces.

The final circle is from ch. 19 when Naruto and Sasuke are trying to learn how to manage their chakras. Naruto is trying to focus but Sasuke calls his name, distracting him and making him fall resoundingly lmao

How does Naruto react? you guessed, with another one of his stupid faces. This moment is another precious memory for Sasuke.

So, the first time we see Sasuke blushing is not because of Sakura talking about her feelings for him, it's because of Naruto's stupid faces that he's very fond of. Sasuke is consistently endeared by Naruto's clumsy behaviour throughout the manga, ofc he blushed when Naruto reacted so exaggeratedly after Sakura said she did not like him. Awww.

The second time you mention is Sasuke blushing after Sakura hugs him when he wakes her up after she fainted. SS shippers tend to omit manga panels that come before or after a "SS moment" to make their point, but here's how the whole interaction went

Sasuke tried to steal the bells from Kakashi but Kakashi instead buries him underground and then Sakura finds him. I've seen some people say that when Sakura finds sasuke, he's blushing out of embarrasment for being found in such humilliating position or that those are just scratches on his face. But anyway, once Sakura wakes up, she tackles Sasuke and hugs him tight, Sasuke tells her to back off, notice he never returns the hug or touches her. So it could be that those are the same scratches that Sasuke had when he was underground (they appear and dissappear across panels, Kishimoto isn't consistent) or it could be he was indeed blushing.

However, if Sasuke is indeed blushing, I do not consider this to be an indication that Sasuke has a hidden crush on Sakura. As we see right away, Sasuke goes back to being hostile towards Sakura when she's giving him the chance to do the mission of retrieving the bells together. If he was secretly in love with her, don't you think he would try to spend time with her to get close to her??? and she gives him the chance multiple times and every time he rejects her...

Let's take for example when they're training their chakras to climb some trees. Sakura is the first to achieve the goal, but Sasuke ignores her and she acknowledges this herself

Instead, Sasuke asks Naruto for tips on how to channel his chakra properly after he saw Naruto ask Sakura. Mind you, Sasuke could've asked Sakura himself, he's aware how much she loves him and how she's always dying to train with him, but instead he went straight to Naruto

SS shippers think this is another proof of Sasuke being secretly in love with Sakura because "he's blushing while asking about Sakura" LMFAO

Baby, Sasuke wants to train with Naruto and he's dumbfounded when Naruto *rejects him*. Also Naruto stupid faces after Sasuke asked him for tips on how to climb trees lmao (mind you, Naruto could not yet climb trees).

But the point here is that Sasuke wants to spend time with Naruto and we're constantly shown that.

Like when Naruto spent all night training by himself that Sasuke asks about him and then goes looking for him to check up on him.

That same day he spent the entire night training with Naruto and even let Naruto put his arms around him in the way he didn't let Sakura.

This moment from ch. 22 is also part of Sasuke's precious memories. AND THIS is how you behave when you have a crush on someone but want to act nonchalant about it. Ask in the most casual innocent way possible if you can hang out with them. Go check on them without telling people where you're going. Spend all night training together. Let them put their arms around you and act casually about it. Tease them to make them act clumsily because you're endeared by that.

Sasuke doesn’t act like this with Sakura because he doesn’t have a secret crush on her, he’s just being mean and rude to her.

What's even funnier is that in ch. 11 we see Sasuke blush for no reason other than he's walking right next to Naruto, this moment would too, become a precious memory for Sasuke. Right after this Naruto would go on to almost kill a rabbit and make even more stupid faces when he realizes his mistake.

Remember how in ch. 698 Sasuke says he's been looking at Naruto since they were little kids and the more he looked at him, the more Naruto would weigh on his mind and how Sasuke would feel warm and fuzzy? Connect that to ch. 1 and Sasuke's first appearance in the manga: him looking at Naruto during class.

Sasuke has always had a crush on Naruto and Kishimoto wrote it that way from the very beginning because that's what he always intended. This is also for the sns shippers that wonder "when did Kishimoto decided to make Sasuke and Naruto's bond romantic/gay?"

So, yeah, Sasuke blushes kinda often when he's a genin but for different reasons. Make no mistake, Sasuke did care for Sakura for a time, he considered Sakura a comrade and he did care for her and Kakashi because they were his teammates. It's only after he wakes up from his coma caused by Itachi when he returns and beats up Sasuke, that Sasuke no longer cares about Sakura or the team 7 thing because he has to focus in his vengeance, he only keeps on caring about Naruto (against his will) because Naruto had already permeated into his heart, as Orochimaru would state

The whole "Sasuke was secretly in love with Sakura and the couple times he blushed in front of her proves it" is just grasping at straws and cherry picking panels. You know, ignoring the forest because you're focused on a couple trees.

As another blog stated once: Naruto isn't a story of Narusasu vs. Sasusaku. It's the love story between Naruto and Sasuke and Sakura also happens to be there.

EDIT: I just want to add that some SS shippers might mention that during the war arc Kakashi remembers the moment Team 7 members were introducing themselves and he remembers Sasuke blushing exactly when Sakura was talking about her feelings for him (basically the moment we don't see Sasuke because he's covered by dialogue circles). I discuss that argument here on why Kakashi is an unreliable source/narrator and you should not feel cornered by that SS argument.

[ermdotorg]

Please do forgive me for this but:

something about newt & thomas in tdc movie-verse both being wounded near their hearts once again,,

crank side of newt leaving a scar not deep but like a scratch almost as deep (i suck at describing this) on thomas’ and thomas just calling out newts name to stop him which he *does* as he snaps out of his crank side and thomas throws that knife

*but* newt and his crank side are in slight agreement of each other,, they try get that knife back and fight thomas against it to get it into himself (ouch) but newt himself would rather *not* after throughout the fight his mind changes but the crank side doesn’t— so he isn’t just fighting thomas but the new part of himself due to the flare virus

his death (movie-verse) was accidental because of the way the fight ended

thomas has a scar matching newts wound on the same placement and they’d both have it for a long time (plus newts dead soo),, left a scar on each other physically

but mentally? newt remembers at the exact moment (both verses) of his sister and all other memories of *everything* whereas thomas has to live with *later* getting these memories if he ever does and if not,, well he knows the current (now past) newt that was and they were all once friends *before*

the way they’ve been left a scar on each other on both ways.

i fear you COOKED with this one and i want you dead!

just kidding, but seriously why is it that you hate me? i'm a decent person, i swear.

whether they wanted to be or not, those two literally intertwined themselves with one another in every single way possible it was beautifully disgusting.

i genuinely cannot imagine thomas' chip wearing down in the safe haven and him gaining even more memories of newt to mourn over– the thought in of itself is enough to injure me.

NOT TO MENTION HIM GETTING THE MEMORY OF WATCHING NEWT JUMP, AND HAVING TO COME TO TERMS WITH THE FACT THAT HE WENT INTO THE MAZE FOR NEWT ALL FOR NEWT TO DIE IN THE END.

i hate them.

[sinful-lanterns]

it's worth mentioning that snake's mating literally starts with an orgy when a horrible amount of males wrap around a single female trying to get her and they all end up fucking each other sometimes even without the female in the first place

now let's just imagine that all the snake ladies in the monsters au act more like male snakes whereas the reader is seen as that one desired female.....

NOT THE SNAKE ORGY— 😨

Imagine having three snake women curl up around you in the middle of mating season and try to fuck you all at the same time. Everything is such a blur and you have no idea who’s fucking you at the moment, but it just feels so good so you just lie there in ecstasy while Serpent, Bianca and Chelsea all try to breed you silly with their eggs…

Wow, that’s definitely a grouping I wouldn’t expect to have a foursome with, but the Researcher definitely doesn’t mind! It’s such an interesting phenomenon, that you grab onto your notebook and try to jot this down mid-orgy, even if it’s extremely difficult with three giant snake women brutally bulldozing you.

The Researcher’s Notes after getting wrapped up in a snake orgy with Serpent, Bianca and Chelsea:

- No matter the species of snake monster, when they see a mate they like, many of them will attempt to fight for them before deciding it would be best to just initiate a mating orgy.

- These orgies often consist of the “prized mate” at the center, and multiple other snake monsters pining for their attention around them. The number of snake monsters in the orgy depend on how many there are around.

- Each snake monster won’t stop until they’ve successfully deposited their seed into their desired mate. The orgy won’t stop until every snake monster is satisfied with their breeding, so orgies like this can last for a pretty long time.

- For this peculiar case of a snake monster orgy, after every snake monster has successfully bred me, Serpent, Bianca and Chelsea went off to find a piece of food to give to me, almost as if repaying me for the breeding. It is unknown if all snake orgies are like this, or if this is just a unique case.

- Being cuddled after sex by three snake women feels amazing.

[theheirofthesharingan]

I don’t know if you’ve talked about this here but what do you think was Itachi’s motivation for torturing Sasuke?

I did. I wrote about it here and some relevant words here too. The first post will answer most of your questions, but I'm going to answer this one anyway.

Itachi did not torture Sasuke because he thought he was doing something right. He knew he was very, very wrong, but it was necessary because he'd been threatened by Danzo that if his brother learned the truth, Sasuke would go against the village, and get killed.

Danzo, even when Itachi was alive, sent Sai to kill Sasuke, on the name of protecting the village, whereas he wouldn't do anything about Orochimaru, knowing full well Team 7 was actually chasing Orochimaru as well.

Think from Itachi's POV who was leaving his brother in Konoha.

Konoha was a place Itachi had killed his parents. The same place and the people in power to whom he lost Shisui. Sasuke, a defenceless child, could be in a much worse state. Itachi hoped if he were cruel, Sasuke would have a reason to want to live and get strong. Uchiha are driven by emotions and that's what helps them get stronger. Sasuke with Sharingan or MS would have a better chance at survival than a Sasuke who had no access to those powers.

One more thing is that he wanted Sasuke to kill him. So, Sasuke hating the monster that Itachi had become was important. And after killing him, he wouldn't want Sasuke to live in a regret that he'd killed a brother who loved him. Therefore, he wanted Sasuke to remember him as a monster, so that if anyone ever told him 'Hey, your brother loved you', Sasuke would only remember all the pain Itachi had caused him, not all the love he had in his heart. Because Itachi knew what that would do to Sasuke.

In his whole life Itachi had never known a life that was not traumatizing. That was like a default mode for him. To him, a life like that was still better than being dead. He still cried leaving Sasuke, because causing him pain was the last thing he wanted to do.

And when he returns the second time, Itachi didn't want to come across Sasuke at all. He sees Sasuke from afar and learns he's alive and he leaves before Sasuke can even spot he was there. He then leaves the village to capture Naruto. Itachi's purpose of coming to the village was to check on Sasuke. He does that when he sees him. The next was to show Danzo and the elders that he was still alive and he does that with confronting the Konoha Jonin. And then he follows Jiraiya and Naruto out of the village. If it was only to leave the message that the Akatsuki were after Naruto, he could have done it easily without having to follow Naruto out of the village.

He did it because he didn't want to come across Sasuke. Sasuke isn't a sensory-type ninja, so how would he know where Itachi was, even if he were to learn that he was back in Konoha? He wanted to see Sasuke only when Sasuke was ready to kill him. But things didn't turn out that way.

It's not Sasuke's fault that he was there and Itachi was 10000000% wrong in going to the extreme to torture him, but I despise the narrative that 'Itachi was a cruel and manipulative bastard' when literally every single moment leading up to this moment tells us he was trying to avoid Sasuke, let alone hurt him.

Itachi 'manipulated' Sasuke - the word manipulation works only with your textbook definition of the term because a lot of lies and deceit was involved in how Itachi treated the whole thing, but manipulation always is done with the purpose of using someone for their own good and with a self-serving goal in mind.

Danzo manipulated Itachi to exterminate the Uchiha clan. Orochimaru manipulated Sasuke because he wanted his body. Obito manipulated Sasuke so he could use Sasuke against Konoha. Kabuto tried to manipulate Sasuke to fulfill how own goal of attacking Konoha.

What personal, selfish goal did Itachi have in mind that he wanted to achieve by making Sasuke live? His safety? His life?

The foundation of Itachi's morals was rather fragile because of the way he'd lived, killing people, preferring one kind of lives over the others, and having to make the decisions where lives were always at stake and he had to save them. To him, either it was a strong, powerful, and traumatized Sasuke or a dead Sasuke. And he loved Sasuke too much to kill him. And if he had some better options (in which he was certain that Sasuke would be happier too) he would not have taken the extreme measures. He saw the world was cruel to the Uchiha and once he was gone Sasuke would be all by himself. He only understood Sasuke had a better chance because he had Naruto. But it happened after he had already hurt Sasuke enough.

As outsiders, yes, we understand he choices he made were messed up and thoroughly wrong, but they were made in wake of the life and experiences he'd lived through, and violence and hopelessness he'd experienced firsthand.

[thedepressedjuggalette]

Arcane is a GOTHIC Show.

No, not Goth like Goth music, I mean GOTHIC as in Gothic Literature like Mary Shelly's Frankenstein, Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, or literally anything written by Edgar Allen Poe.

I am dead ass serious. Or maybe I'm just insane.(Spoilers ahead!!!)

Now it is okay if you didn't pick up on this, I am just one of those extremely weird kids that grew up reading Gothic Literature so much that it was almost an unhealthy obsession so I kind of spotted this within the first 6 episodes of the first season.

Now if you don't believe me when I say that Arcane is Gothic in nature I need to ask you this:

Did Arcane ask these simple questions:

What does it mean to be human?

What defines humanity?

When is a person too far gone?

Can grief ruin a person?

Can trying to help others turn to destroying others?

And can obsession turn to madness?

These specific questions are the very questions I've noticed pop up a LOT in OLD SCHOOL Gothic literature.

For instance Viktor is a lot like Viktor Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll (more so Dr. Jekyll) in the sense that he slowly loses his humanity the further he pushes his research before finally falling to a destructive path. He quite literally loses himself to his own research and by his own research subject.

Singed (Dr. Ravick) is more Viktor Frankenstein than anything else. So obsessed with bringing the dead back to life. But whereas Frankenstein was obsessed with the idea of it that he never thought if he should. Singed found it merely to be nothing more than an illness needing to be cured because he couldn't stand the idea of losing his daughter.

Gothic Literature came out after the Romantic Literature Era, however in the Romantic Literature Era a lot of writers were protesting workplace mistreatment such as forcing children into working in coal mines and cleaning chimneys, along with the obsession of nature, Gothic Literature focused on the morality of Humanity, what it meant to be human and what defines us and how quickly a person can fall into insanity (aka mental health issues).

The first to start this was Mary Shelley over a small bet with her husband and several other authors. Her work was mortifying in comparison to the others because of what it forced the reader to think about.

Her work took place during the Enlightened Era where scientists were obsessed with Progress (Riot I fucking saw this shit coming, fuck you guys), and how if as a species can we become like god and make something from our own deaths and if we even should?

Shelley doesn't directly answer this but we actively see through her writing the death of a god -- Viktor Frankenstein -- because Adam (the monster) views his creator with contempt and disgust and thus demands his Eve despite Frankenstein's reluctance.

Can you imagine what Vander would've thought of Singed?

Can we really say that Vander would not view Singed as both his Savior and Destroyer. Can we even call Vander human? Or is he something else entirely? We can't call him a werewolf in the traditional sense, so what truly is he? He is the Adam of a species not meant to exist. Is he even Vander anymore or is he truly Warwick?

A lot of Poe's writing is very much about madness and grief. Well... To me anyways, it could just be my obsession with his poem The Raven (it reminds me of my great grandmother).

And I've personally in my own life seen how grief can destroy a person physically -- their despair destroying their physical health because that person feels their life died with that person. And I fear every day for my grandma to head down the same path that her sisters are when they pass.

But it's the mentality that the more subtle and at the same time the most extravagant thing to be destroyed through grief.

We see this repeatedly with Jinx and Vi.

They lost their stability the moment that their brothers and Vander died, and when Jinx thought Vi was dead.

They had already lost their bio parents, so this was another nail in their coffins. However Vi had no idea if Jinx was alive or dead and thus had that to hold onto despite being beaten bloody in an unstable environment that is prison.

Jinx however had her grief and trauma constantly lectured into her and had to form her personality around it. She even comments on it in episode 9 of season 1. Silco didn't know how to be a dad, but he was trying his best but he was a grown ass man when he had his personality reformation unlike Jinx who was like 10.

Her grief was haunting her and ruining her mental health.

I had recently learned that psychotic depression is a thing.

With her guilt and grief and PTSD eating her alive she was bound to go the road she went down. But what truly killed Jinx was the death of Isha.

I want to make it clear that I don't view Jinx and Isha's relationship as sisterly. I view it as maternal due to the comparisons between her and Silco and Isha to Powder.

However the point still stands.

She, like Silco, could not stand the mere idea of their child being in any sort of life threatening situation -- especially dealing with enforcers -- and thus would jump to protect them. But they both fail at the end in many ways.

Vi literally stopping Jinx from getting Isha out of there, and Silco being unable to stop Vi from triggering Jinx's PTSD.

And there's one more thing about Jinx we need to address...

If there is one thing I know about bullying and brainwashing is that if you keep telling someone they're worthless etc. one day they're going to believe you, and you cannot be surprised they do and when they act accordingly. Especially when the victim is a child. This is why suicide in children and teens is so devastating and cannot be fixed with religion or weird as hell wrestlers or stupid manosphere podcasts.

We don't know how long Powder had to put up with Mylo's bullying of her, but telling by her reaction to and how the loudest and most negative voice she hears from her hallucinations is his voice... I'd have to say that it started from the moment they met up to his death and it was sealed when Vi hit her and called her a Jinx.

"Who truly made Jinx?" is a question that has been brought up by everyone and their mother by this point. Some agree with the character herself when she said that it was Vi. Others agree with Silco when Jinx stated that Silco thinks he made Jinx.

Some reading this might say "Oh my god was it Mylo???"

I disagree on all fronts.

There is one video essay I keep coming back to because anyone with any sense of media literacy will outright point this same shit out but not as... Artfully as the essay itself.

It is called "Arcane, a Monster Factory" and it starts out with a single statement:

"Piltover breaks people."

And ends with a terrifying statement:

"Sometimes when I can't sleep at night, I start to think that maybe Piltover is more realistic than I'd like to think..."

It wasn't a single person that made Jinx. It was the entire city.

I want to point to Episode 7 to show you what I mean.

Without the death of Grayson but instead the death of Vi and without the creation of Hextech and Silco choosing to forgive Vander, Powder herself changed for the better and never needed to become Jinx. Rather she focused her energy on helping everyone around her -- and not taking time for herself in the process but we've always seen this even in Jinx. She focused on helping Silco then jumped to just trying to destroy for the sake of destroying only to end up helping the under city without meaning to, only to help Isha, and never really helping herself.

No matter what she'd have liked to think, she could've done wonders. Viktor even said so himself. She could do a lot to help his commune with her talents.

Even said it when he was looking at her bomb for the first time, calling her work "inspired".

She is talented but her talents never got the chance to truly shine.

Imagine what she and Ekko could've done if they were able to attend Piltover's academy.

But as stated before, Piltover breaks people.

Piltover made Jinx.

And in a cruel twist of fate it made the two people who cared about her the most hold the blame for the city's actions.

The ending of Arcane was fumbled when it came to Jayce's speech to Viktor and I'll stand by that because it was the fault of Piltover for Viktor having a preventable disease and thus leading to his obsession with avoiding death and avoiding needless suffering.

But in this ending these two science husbands did ask the one question that truly defines Gothic Literature.

What does it mean to be human?

And it's answer is one that I am unsure about because no one can truly define the human experience. The experience of life. The grief. The pain. The love. The joy. All of it.

In my own fanfic for a completely different fandom I had two characters talk about emotions. One couldn't truly feel emotions while another could. It took me a long while to try to figure out how to answer the question of "What is it like to feel emotions?"

It's hard to answer, isn't it?

I did figure it out though, having to take a page out of Kindred's playbook. But it was one I was very satisfied with.

It is questions like these be them asked through subtle writing cues, or blatantly asked by the characters themselves, they define Gothic Literature to me.

Arcane is the beautiful marriage of Greek Tragedy and Gothic Literature.

[letsgetrowdy43]

I want to hear more about Hayden’s birth

Okay, purr, so the second Quinn got on the flight to head to Edmonton for his third last game of the season Honey had her two best friends come over and help her take care of Warren because she knew she would be going into labour soon and wanted to make sure someone was there just in case for not only herself but also Warren.

It was kind of expected, but also she was really shocked and scared when she went into labour, mainly because Quinn wasn’t even in the same province and it was all happening so fast. One moment she was organizing the nursery with her one of best friends as the kids played in the playroom, and all of a sudden she just started getting contractions and then everything got really busy really fast. She called Quinn but he didn’t answer, cause he was on the ice, instead she left a short breathy voicemail and two short messages, and then she headed to the hospital.

She was actually pretty fine health-wise, but she was scared and felt really alone while waiting for Quinn. Even though one of her best friends was in the room she just needed her husband and a promise that he was gonna make it on time. Honey called his brothers and her family a few times to tell them that the baby was on the way and they chatted for a bit but then Quinn finally called her back and disrupted their peaceful phone call.

Quinn on the other hand was in a frenzy trying to get home. The second he read his text after doing his post-game interviews he was panicking trying to figure out the fastest route to get home.

He read the short "I'm in labour. Please come home" and immediately started to freak out that he was going to miss one of the singlehandedly important moments of his life. The second she picks up the phone he's like "Please tell me I didn't miss it" Honey just laughs at his slight panic, "Quinn I've been in labour all of an hour and a half, you have time," she laughs but then the laughs turn into tears, "I do need you to hurry up though, I really need you here," she sniffles into the phone which sends Quinn into an even deeper frenzy.

All the other dads in the locker room get it, but also are like "Act like you've been here before my god??" cause he is so all over the place and he has plenty of time to get home in time. He thankfully made it in time, and Hayden was born just a few short hours later.

Quinn definitely cried when he had his first kid, but there was something about having a little girl that had him really emotional, cause she was the most precious thing he had ever laid his eyes on. Honey had stayed pretty strong on the crying, but watching him interact with his daughter definitely had her emotional, he just kept whispering short "thank you's" and "she's perfect, you're perfect's" to his wife which had her on the brink of tears.

Honey was literally a god, she had the perfect birth and the nursing staff were literal gems and helped her through all of it.

Hayden kind of looks like a blonde carbon copy of Quinn and it's the cutest thing ever, whereas Warren carries a few of Honey's traits, Hayden is just all Quinn.

Warren got dropped off in the afternoon after everyone had had some time to sleep and the doctors and nurses had finished all of the post-birth routines. He was very excited to see Quinn again, squeals leaving his lips as Quinn retrieved him from Honey's best friend, the two of them hugging at the entrance of the hospital before Quinn told him all about his baby sister.

The little boy was a little skeptical because she was crying when he first walked in the room, but the second she was gently placed in his lap it all changed, he kept saying how much he loved his baby Hayd and how pretty she was as she rested in his arms. This had almost every adult in the room in tears as his little hands traced patterns on his sister's head, her eyes closing as she fell asleep in his lap.

it was definitely hectic, but also so cute, and everyone is just super happy to have a healthy baby and mama!!

[erika111111]

The Quarry and queer-baiting, part 2, AKA things I forgot to mention the first time and it was so much I might as well just make another part

See the first part here (it makes more sense to read this first if you haven't already)

On the topic of there being some underlying feelings between Abi and Emma, after they return from their little ride and Nick asks where they've been, Emma mischievously answers, "Wouldn't you like to know," which causes an annoyed Abi to inject "Ignore her, please!" Maybe it's just me, but I swore that was Emma alluding/joking about her and Abi having some kind of romantic getaway in the woods. And maybe Abi got annoyed because she said this in front of Nick, who she's crushing on, and didn't want him to think there was something going on between her and Emma already; little did she know her repressed feelings for Emma would come out in full later on in the game. Maybe I'm reaching as far as the eye can see with this one, but that was just my interpretation from the scene.

Back to the Laura/Max/Ryan/Dylan/Kaitlyn chain, I can actually make a bit of a comparison between how they treat the straight couple of Abi and Nick and how they treat the gay couple of Ryan and Dylan. A lot of people say that Ryan seems uninterested in Dylan (and everybody else), but people always point out the "Ryan seems interested" pop-up when Dylan is teasing about asking him out on a date. I mean, that should be game, set, and match for Rylan, but apparently not... I'd like to point out that when Abi and Nick kiss, the pop-up very directly says "Nick is falling for you." Not "he seems to be falling for" or anything like that, he very matter of factly IS falling for you. Whereas Ryan only "seems" interested. Again, it gives me queer-baiting vibes, as the game is very straightforward with explaining the state of the straight couple to you, but then it only gives you all these mixed signals and unclear crumbs for the gay couple. Not to mention, from my playthroughs and watchthroughs, it's much harder to get the "Ryan seems interested" pop-up than the "Nick is falling for you" pop-up as well. It's like they shove these things in your face on purpose yet make it extremely difficult to actually get at the same time.

Some people do like to argue that the "Ryan seems interested" pop-up is just from Dylan's perspective and probably not true, but that seems like a bit of a reach to me. I really don't think the pop-ups are supposed to be from the characters' perspectives, I think they're just supposed to give the player some insight and foreshadowing. For instance, "Travis will kill you." There's literally zero reason for Laura to assume and know that Travis will indeed kill her later, so it really doesn't make sense for that pop-up to be from her perspective. So I think that's a pretty weak defense for the Rylan antis. However, even if you get the "Ryan seems interested," pop-up, the firepit kiss, and every other positive thing about Ryan and Dylan's relationship, when talking to Laura later, Ryan can still always say his "maybe neither" line. So... you got me.

And yes, he doesn't always say the "maybe neither" line, but I also think that's a weak defense for the Lyan antis. I kind of doubt that Ryan only developed feelings for Laura during that very conversation itself. Even if he doesn't say that line/have that conversation, it doesn't mean he doesn't have feelings for her. Again, I don't think that conversation itself is what made him fall for her. Although, to be completely fair, it's not like they have very many positive experiences with each other prior to that moment, but Dylan and Kaitlyn insist on the sexy sparks, so... I don't know. I think the whole thing is rushed and Ryan really needed more time/positive moments with Laura before he started crushing, but I digress. The game's pacing can be extremely wonky at the times and I guess they worked with what they had...

Another defense people have for Ryan seeming uninterested in Dylan at times is that he's autistic. And while I 100% believe this and headcanon it myself, I don't believe this is ever stated directly in the game, so again, it's a bit of a weak defense. Please correct me if I'm wrong, though. Either way, it's obvious that Ryan is socially awkward and has a hard time communicating his thoughts and feelings with everyone. But people saying he's autistic and that's the reason he's unclear with Dylan as a fact is a bit weird to me because, as far as I know, it's not true/confirmed. But again, correct me if I'm wrong. Although, either way, it's not just his relationship with Dylan that's affected by this, it's his relationship with literally everyone. Dylan, Kaitlyn, Laura, Chris, Jacob, Emma, literally everyone he communicates with, and that is pretty clear. So it's not something that can just be applied to Dylan either way. This is more of a fanbase thing than an actual game thing, but I felt it worth pointing out because I see it a lot.

I believe I mentioned in my previous post about this that I feel the biggest Rylan scene, even more than their kiss because it was partially forced by Emma, is their conversation on their way to the radio hut, because for once Ryan seems 100% interested in Dylan and what he has to say. However, I believe this conversation wasn't included in the original version of the game, you could only get it from the pausing glitch. I could be mistaken, but I remember all those pause glitch videos from back when the game first came out and that they were considered these secret or removed dialogues and that Miles Robbins even alluded to it himself. So... there goes the biggest Rylan moment. The developers deliberately cut this moment out. It's literally like they fear actually pleasing the LGBTQ+ with the content they themselves created. I imagine they decided to add this scene back in the DLC due to the popularity of the ship, but still.

Another thing that's brought up constantly is the camera angles between the Ryan and Dylan kiss and the Ryan and Kaitlyn kiss. The straight couple, Ryka, gets a close-up zoom-in of their kiss. But the gay couple, Rylan, only gets the faraway shot. Seriously, what is the reason for this besides to annoy/disappoint the LGBTQ+ audience? Again, it's like they do this stuff on purpose. On a similar note, if you kiss Kaitlyn, you'll get the pop-up "Dylan seems a little disappointed." But if you kiss Dylan, it won't say anything about Kaitlyn. So this would seem to emphasize that Dylan might actually like Ryan a little more than Kaitlyn does. Or maybe he just takes rejection harder, who knows. But I thought it was something worth pointing out.

I'd also like to bring up the huge missed opportunity during Dylan and Kaitlyn's conversation on their way to the scrapyard. They joke that they finally found out Ryan's type, and that it's "pirates," because Laura is heroic and has an eyepatch. But literally two seconds ago, Kaitlyn is making a joke that they'll attach a hook to Dylan's hand and call him "Hooky McHook Face." You know... like a pirate?? I get that you wouldn't always get this opportunity given you can choose not to cut Dylan's hand off, but come on now. They make such a huge point out of it if you do, including in this very same conversation about the pirates, so why did they not add something here? Kaitlyn could literally just have one little line like, "Well then, maybe you do still have a chance after all," and Dylan could let out a small laugh or something. I mean, maybe they just didn't think of the idea. Maybe they thought it'd be insensitive for Kaitlyn to keep joking about it. I don't know. I just think it's a missed opportunity.

Another thing I theorized about is if the writers intended to pull the trope of "the rejected love interests wind up together" and pair Dylan and Kaitlyn up together; Ryan goes off with Laura and then Dylan and Kaitlyn are the duo now opposed to Dylan and Ryan. But, correct me if I'm wrong, the developers confirmed that Dylan is gay so... can't be that either. Regardless, I do know some people still ship them together. What is there ship name? Do they even have one? I'm calling it LynLan until further notice.

Lastly, as I said before, this post isn't intended to insult any ships, characters, or shippers mentioned. I just wanted to give the facts and also explain some of my personal opinions. At the end of the day, there's actually no endgame ships in The Quarry, which I guess is a good thing? Every shipper can enjoy whatever they want since we get no aftermath and they left it open anyway. It's totally okay to ship non-canon/non-confirmed ships, trust me, I've been there.

[aboutcustardcreams]

Help me hold onto you

Summary: The Doctor takes you and Yaz to Nectoxia, a peculiar planet that serves as burial ground, with the purpose of giving you a harmless fright. However, things don’t go as planned. They never do. And this time, it could cost you dearly.

part two

part three

part four

When the Doctor mentioned she was going to take you somewhere that would give you the creeps, your mind hardly imagined something quite like this. You couldn’t help the shivers running through your spine, the air was humid and heavy that stuck to the skin, underneath your clothes. A thick fog clung to the ground, making it difficult for you to see where you were going. 

“Where are we?”

She turned to face you, a wide grin plastered on her lips, as if she had been expecting that, “Thought you never asked. This is Nectoxia, a planet that serves as a vast, endless, graveyard. There’s literally nothing else. No living forms– well, except for us. Eerily quiet. Dark. A tad creepy. It is creepy, isn’t it?” 

You couldn’t help the little grin that played out on your face, as she studied you with childlike curiosity. She indeed looked like one sometimes, a child, a bundle of energy you couldn’t help but feel drawn to. Her purpose was that of giving you a little fright, that’s why you landed there. She had been trying so hard and for days, to sneak up on you on the TARDIS, but unsuccessfully. So she thought of a change of scenery, nothing harmless per se, and who were you to deny her the opportunity to… fail again? You developed some sort of sixth sense when it came to the Doctor, meaning that you could always feel her presence. 

“It’s certainly a nice start, I’ll give you that,” you admitted, with a nod of your head. “Not scared yet, though.”  

She rubbed her hands together, “Right. Yet,” she echoed, “I can go with ‘yet’. Still plenty of time to scare you. Watch yourself,” she grinned, a playful glimmer lit up in her eyes.  

You let out a soft giggle and the Doctor felt a wave of warmth right in that moment, as she savored the sound of your voice, so genuine and melodious. 

On the other hand, Yaz was a bit unsure about all this. Unlike you, she did get scared, and quite easily. The Doctor never failed to tease her about it. Sometimes the two of you would team up against her, coming out of nowhere, crying out loud a ‘Booo!’, that funnily enough worked every single time. Yaz would squeal, bounce up and then drop miserably on her knees, struggling to catch her breath for a bunch of seconds. She would throw daggers at the two of you for that, flap at your arms, yet her smile would betray her not much after that, because despite the initial annoyance, Yaz enjoyed those moments. Deep down. Very deep down. At first she had been thrilled to have you back, considering how hard it was to scare you, but that place didn’t feel right. That thick fog for starters was making her feel uneasy. 

She picked up her pace, when noticing she was falling behind. You turned towards her, watching her carefully, as she catched up by your side, lightly brushing your arm, “Hey,” you muttered, playfully flapping at her, “Are you all right?” 

Your friend scrunched up her nose, “I guess. Nothing’s tried to kill me yet.”

You gave her an apologetic smile, then draped an arm across her shoulders to pull her closer. “There’s nobody here, except for us. The Doc said that, didn’t she?”

She scoffed, but leaned in your touch, “How many times does she say something like that that ultimately turns out to be untrue?” 

She indeed had a point. “Too many to count,” you chuckled softly, the sound of your voice catching the attention of the Doctor. She turned and frowned in her unique, adorable way,  before asking if everything was alright with you two. You gave a quick nod of your head, whereas Yaz flashed a thumb up, despite her lips pressed into a thin, forced smile. 

“Why don’t you pretend to be scared, so we can leave?” She leaned against you, hope in her tone. You swept your tongue over your lips, as you listened, quite amused, “I’ll give you ten bucks, no wait, twenty,” her tone so serious you hardly could hold back a laugh. 

“Yasmin Khan!” The Doctor spun around, a crease between her brows. “Are you seriously bribing her right now? You’re supposed to be a police officer!”

She groaned and rolled her eyes, “Former police officer,” she pointed out, considering she stopped showing up at work for ages now, meaning that she wasn’t sure she still had the job. 

You giggled softly,  and reached up to her to place a hand on her forearm, “Relax you, I’m not yielding to such frilly temptations. The temptation to watch you fail again has no price,” your eyes gleamed with mischievousness. 

“We will see about that, stardust,” she kept your gaze, a grin stretching from ear to ear. Her demeanor showed you she was so sure to succeed this time, you almost believed she would. But only for a brief second. It was the Doctor you were talking about. “Ten points for you, by the way, for your impeccable integrity. Yaz, you’re falling behind.” 

She frowned, “I almost don’t want to ask but… fall behind what?” 

The Doctor continued on walking, closer to the two of you, the hems of her sweeping coat disappearing into the thick fog at your feet. “I’m keeping a mental ranking of the points you’ve collected.” 

Yaz could hardly stifle an annoyed groan. “You give her random points all the time! How can I top that?”

The Doctor feigned a look of horror, “I do not! I’m impartial!”, she met your gaze then, as to be met with your support, “Am I?” 

You hesitated and rubbed the back of your head. “Well– most of the time.” 

It wasn’t a secret you and the Doctor had a peculiar bond. A unique relationship, you’d describe it. She was your friend, your best friend, and probably even  more than that. In your heart, she was the Universe, in every sense of the word. 

Yaz crossed her arms over her chest, and the Doctor dismissed the topic with a light flip of her hand. “Come on now– we should carry on. There’s loads to see.”

“You mean loads of vaults and tombstones?” echoed Yaz, with a grimace. 

“I know you’re scared, but don’t make it so obvious,” you teased, still grinning. The former police officer shot you an indignant look, before playfully shoving you, making you stumble a couple of feet away from her. “Oi! Rude!” 

It was her turn to grin. 

The Doctor scolded lightly, “you two remember our number one rule, alright?  Stay close to each other and don’t wander off.” 

“I thought you said it wasn’t dangerous,” came from a very alarmed Yaz. 

“And I still think that,” she repeated. “But I doubt you’d enjoy getting lost in a cemetery as wide as this.”

You chuckled when Yaz swallowed thickly in response, “I’m not fond of the idea, no.” 

“Come on, little chickens,” you teased playfully, sprunting forward just enough to pass both Yaz and the Doctor. 

The Time Lady slightly shook her head at your antics. It was going to be harder than she initially predicted to have you admit you were even remotely spooked. Even so often you’d glance over your shoulder, your eyes meeting her hazel ones, and you’d smile. Every time you did that, the Time Lady couldn’t help but feel her stomach twist and turn funnily. It was ridiculous, the intensity of it. Of this… pull she felt towards you. She thought to tell you more than once, take your hand and confess all the crazy things she felt for you. 

And maybe someday, she’d have. 

As you three continued walking through the tombs, you brushed off some dust and dirt covering the inscriptions here and there. Why was there no flower to embellish the gravestones? Not even dried ones, to let you believe someone had been there before you. 

“All these people and nobody honoring their memory,” you mumbled, feeling sorry for them. “How did they even end up here?” 

The Doctor was pulled from her thoughts. She blinked, “there’s a Soulspire somewhere around here. It’s a gateway that links Nectoxia to Vitareon, a planet full of life, totally opposite to this one.” 

“So people spend their lives on Vitareon and when they die, they move here through some sort of portal?”, asked Yaz. 

“It sums it up, yeah.”

You still weren’t convinced. “It doesn’t explain why there’s nobody alive to visit their loved ones. It seems nobody has set foot in here for years. Is it supposed to be this way?”

“Hmm, now that you point it out, no, not really. There must be something impeding those from Vitareon to pass through,” she reasoned, frowning slightly, as she always does when there’s a new mystery that needs to be solved. “Maybe the portal needs maintenance. I’m good at maintenance, me. Once I built a sonic screwdriver out of a bunch of dry leaves, an old phone charger, chicken poop and a biscuit.” 

“A biscuit?”

“Chicken poop?” 

Both you and Yaz questioned at the same time. 

“Double yes,” the Doctor nodded, with a cheeky grin. “Why so surprised? It’s no secret I love biscuits,” she shrugged nonchalantly. “Needed some sugar while working. And as for the chicken poop, you’d be surprised how many things it activates.” 

You and Yaz exchanged a look. 

“Oh, don’t you love a good mystery?” The Time Lady sighed, scanning a couple of random tombs, in search of who knows what. “Cause, I do. So much. Especially if it’s a creepy one. Two birds with one stone.”

You hummed amusedly, finding it funny how she still thought she could scare you in such a desolate place. 

“Doc, can’t you just admit your defeat?” Yaz complained, lolling her head backwards. “She isn’t scared, at all. If anything, I’d say she is enjoying it way too much.”

You chuckled, slightly shaking your head, “Now Yaz, that would be insensitive of me, all things considered. But I’m definitely enjoying how scared you are. Not that it’s a surprise.”

“I hate you,” she hissed.

You reached up and clung to her arm, “I love you too.”

After, you pointed a finger at the Doctor, so engrossed in examining every inch of the planet, and to talk to herself– Maybe not to herself, you did miss a couple of her sentences along the way. When the Doctor was excited she rambled, and when she rambled, she could go on and on, passing from one thing to another. 

“Look how eager she is to solve this. How can you deny her a single thing?” 

Yaz sighed in defeat, humming, “I know that. It’s just–”, a pause and you turned towards her, her face dimmed a bit, “I really have a bad feeling about this place. And I’m not saying that just because it’s full of gravestones and it smells like, well, death…”

Before you could say anything else to try and reassure your friend, the Doctor stepped in rather excitedly. “I think I detected the Soulspire, well the sonic did. Should be right up that hill! A small walk. Probably medium-length actually,” she said in one breath. 

“Define medium-length…” Yaz muttered, squinting her eyes. 

You chuckled when the Doctor simply shrugged at that. You spotted an amused grin plastered on her face, as proof that she was clearly enjoying this. 

Yaz whined. “Doctor!” 

“Less talking, more footing. Come on, come on, come one-!” 

[samsalami66]

Hullo!! Here's one from the I Will prompts for Dreamling please!!

"I will fall in love (with you)"

Easy as Breathing

Hey love! Thank you so much for the prompt (and I apologise that this took so long). Have a short but sweet addition to the soccer au, I hope you like it <33

Read here or on AO3!

Weekends have always been Morpheus’ favourite part of the week, although the reasons for it have changed drastically since he joined the Fiddlers. Whereas a bit more than a year ago he loved weekends for the fact that he would not have to deal with Roderick or Alex or any of his other teammates for two whole days, he now loves weekends for the time he can spend with his friends outside of training. Truth be told, almost all of his time is spent at Hob’s apartment on those days. While he loves all of his other team members, they are not Hob. 

Hob, his best friend, who is currently stirring a pot of Morpheus’ favourite soup while singing along to the musical they discovered together last month. The unsteadiness in his lyrics is made up with the enthusiasm in his voice. He sings like he does most things in his life: with emotion, heart, and dedication. His hips are swinging, wooden spoons are being misused as microphones, and Morpheus is pulled into spins and sways every moment Hob does not spend with a knife in his hands. 

Whenever he puts his head on Hob’s shoulder and lets him lead, he prays for it to never stop. He wishes to feel Hob’s powerful voice and laugh vibrating in his chest forever, to wake up to that bright smile and those caring eyes. Morpheus can't remember a single time he has felt so safe before finding the Fiddlers and Hob. Completely and utterly safe. If he were to fall, Hob would catch him, again and again, literally and metaphorically.

Every one of Morpheus’ bad days Hob meets with sympathy, a helping hand, a shoulder to rest on. He does not mind the tears and snot and cries of rage and frustration because Morpheus couldn't stand his racing heart and sleepless nights anymore. But no nightmare or panic attack or act of anger can scare Robert Gadling away. He's there, whenever Morpheus needs him. 

And Morpheus is learning to do the same. He pulls Hob's head into his lap when he notices his friend growing restless and frustrated, cards through the long strands of his hair and massages his scalp until all the tension bleeds out of him at once. When the tears come, so often for others, for the destinies of people who were not his to save, he lets Hob hide his face in his neck and cry until he is shaking with missed breaths. 

But Morpheus notices that over the past few months, it has become less. The crying, the nightmares. Roderick’s voice is a more distant presence now, undoubtedly there, but less overpowering than it had once been. Quieter. Never less angry. 

Hob, too, seems to get overpowered by his emotions less and less. These days he notices the tension in his shoulders and chest as much as Morpheus does, and does his best to breathe through it, to decompress by going for a run or talking the emotions out with Morpheus. 

“Bad with boundaries,” Hob had once told him, and Morpheus had frowned. In his eyes, Hob seems to be rather good at setting boundaries with assholes, but that hasn't felt like the right thing to say. “When I see people hurting, I want to help. But not everyone can be helped. Doesn't mean I stop trying.” 

Morpheus wondered for a while after that, if he could be one of those people who simply couldn't be helped. Every time he woke up screaming from a nightmare, he would apologise to Hob. Over and over, until Hob would take his face in hand and remind him of his progress. The fact that he is going to therapy, changing habits, getting better. 

Morpheus hadn't seen his progress, until that moment. The fact that Roderick’s voice and the nightmares and the panic attacks were still there was proof of the opposite in his eyes. But Hob pointed out they were getting less. Only twice that month did he wake up screaming. He was more focused, and didn't get lost so easily in the dead man's voice. Only one panic attack in six months. 

He smiled more, Hob said. 

Morpheus thought that wasn't entirely his own doing.

After all, Hob taught him how to smile again, with his awful puns and endless patience and ridiculously thoughtful gifts. Gerhard the Great sits between their pillows on Hob's double bed, which is slowly becoming their bed with how much time Morpheus spends sleeping in it. There's also his spot on the couch now, his mug in the cupboard, his part of the bookshelf and closet. At this point, Morpheus wonders if moving in with Hob wouldn't be easier. 

“Hob?” He asks, face pressed into his best friend's neck, his eyes closed. Hob hums in response, easy as breathing, and Morpheus feels no fear speaking his next words. “I think I'd like to live here. With you. If that's something you'd like too.” 

The arm around him tightens, and then the other hand Hob has been using to stir the soup comes to rest at the nape of his neck. 

“I'd love to have you here, Dream,” Hob murmurs, close to his ear, and Morpheus smiles. 

Easy as breathing. 

“I think,” he whispers, quietly enough that it only rings between their chests, between their hearts that are pressed together in their embrace. “I will fall in love with you, kollitós. One day.”

One day. When he will have healed enough to think of words as big as love.

“Can't wait for that day, lovey.” 

The words are quiet, soft, and they warm Morpheus down to his very core. 

He thinks he looks forward to that day as well. 

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

reposting one i read on reddit that got removed but i just need to know what tumblr thinks:

AITA for finishing in my girlfriend during the full moon, thinking it was not possible for her to be fertile?

I know the title sounds weird, but I promise this isn't a shitpost, metaphor, or a joke. I (20M) was raised by a single dad, never knew my mom who left me as a baby, and growing up I didn't really have many female (or male, tbh) friends.

The reason I say this is that I don't know all that much about female anatomy; yes, I had sex ed in school, but seriously don't remember anything except "wear a condom", basically.

I met my girlfriend "Beth" (21F) in college and she's the best. It's my first relationship, her second. We've been together for a little more than a year now, and had sex for the first time about half a year ago. After the first couple times, Beth told me that she has a really regular and average period that she's been keeping track of with an app since she was literally 14, plus in the last few years she also started taking her temperature to get even more accurate results; I didn't understand exactly how this works, but she was so reassuring and confident I didn't question it.

Ok, now this is where I might start sounding like an idiot... So she told me her period is an extremely regular 28 days, and she has literally only strayed from this pattern once since she was 14. I also am aware that moon cycles are 28 days. (Correction here: since this incident, I Googled and it's actually about 29 days... but that's besides the point I guess.)

Women tend to be associated with the moon, like Artemis; I truly, deeply believed that the moon phases and all women's menstrual cycles were inherently connected, but just like, different women had their more fertile days with full moons whereas for some it corresponds to a different moon phase, like the new moon, and this is why women differed.

So the reason Beth told me about her period being super regular is that she was confident she knew when she was or was not fertile, and told me she wanted me to finish in her on safe days. We've been having sex like this for the last four months where she tells me the window of time she's safe, she's happy, I'm happy, it's working fine.

I started noticing that the moon tends to be really full and bright every time we have unprotected sex, maybe not necessarily always on a "true" full moon, but definitely around that time. I made a mental note that my girlfriend is a "fertile during a new moon (when you can't see the moon)" sort of girl. If you're wondering why I never just outright asked her about this, it just seemed really obvious to me and I didn't see the point in talking to her about something potentially a little embarrassing for no reason.

June 3rd was the most recent true full moon, and I decided to sort of surprise her by inviting her to my apartment and just pouncing on her wordlessly as soon as she came in. She was into it, we had sex, I finished inside her, she didn't complain or stop me at all.

While cooling off, she remarked that she didn't remember telling me about her safe days in a while, so I must be tracking her period, which she actually thought was sweet lol. I said, "well of course it's a safe day, the moon is so bright". She asked me what I meant, and I said something like "I know you can't possibly get pregnant during a full moon".

She seemed really confused and started getting a bit tense, questioning me more, and I, also confused, started explaining to her about the moon cycle thing I fully believed up until that moment.

This is where she freaked out completely, jumped up and asked me if I was a complete moron. She started yelling at me and freaking out about how insane and irresponsible I was for finishing in her. I was truly shocked I had no idea what to say, especially because it WAS still truly a safe day, but she actually just grabbed her stuff and stormed off before I could do anything.

Well, after she left I googled a bunch of stuff and yep, turns out I'm completely incorrect. That being said, it WAS still a safe day for Beth and she wasn't actually upset about me finishing in her or anything, just the reason I did, I guess. So, AITA?

So generally I don't want to rerun posts from reddit unless it's your own story, but we'll make an exception just this once

What are these acronyms?

[stardustjmk]

hello! I saw that your requests for Greta are open, and I was wondering if I could request something for Jake? I am hard-of-hearing, and I suppose I would love to read something about how that has an impact on Jake and Reader's relationship. If you have any specific questions or anything, just let me know! I can totally help out. I hate to say it but I'd love for it to be a little angsty, like, obviously hearing loss is not a choice and maybe Jake is just like... still upset that Reader can't fully hear things and asks to wear headphones at concerts. I would assume IRL Jake isn't an ignorant jerk like that but maybe for this he's just hurt that he isn't able to fully be heard literally and takes offense that like the headphones make it seem like he is being ignored. Thanks in advance!❤️

Loud and Clear | J.T.K

Summary: In which Jake does his best to be understanding and mindful of his hard of hearing partner, but a particular request upsets him.

Pairing: Jake Kiszka x gn!reader | Genre: angst, hurt/comfort Warnings: angst, jake being unintentionally ignorant. | Word count: 2.6k

Note: I am not the best at writing angst, since I crave fluff, but I do hope there’s enough of it to fulfill your expectations 🥹🫶🏻 Thank you for requesting!!

DISCLAIMER: I myself am not hard of hearing, nor do I personally know anyone who is. The last thing I want to do is offend anyone, or anything along those lines. So, in the case that something in this story comes off as offensive, please understand that is not at all my intent. Also please let me know if that is the case, so I do not repeat any mistakes.

There was a point in time where you couldn’t see yourself being anything more than a friend to Jake Kiszka.

When he first showed romantic interest in you, you’d be lying if you said it didn’t scare you. After all, you’d been met with numerous challenged relationship, and it was rarely your fault, to put it simply.

That being said, Jake was persistent, unlike any other guy you’d ever had interest in. He showed you, time and time again, that he would take every challenge, and erase it the best he could. Not once did he make you feel bad, or guilty for being hard of hearing, and he certainly didn’t let anyone else make you feel that way either. So, between his persistence, patience, and love, you let yourself fall for him, getting wrapped around his finger.

Jake does his best to learn sign language, along with other means of communicating, but being so busy with making music, doing shows, and all the other tedious tasks of his job, it’s hard find the time to attend classes or do lessons online. Especially given that in order to make that happen, he usually has to sacrifice time with you, or friends, or family.

You know he does his best though, and it shows in the way he speaks to you, which in turn is enough in your book. Not to mention, guys you’d seen before had much more free time on their hands, but never put in the effort to learn, whereas Jake manages to find time no matter how busy he is, all while keeping up his relationship with you.

That’s not to say you don’t have your struggles with him, though.

You can recall a few moments where he’d gotten impatient, trying to explain something to you. One time, he’d waved it off, and even though he explained that it wasn’t because of you, but more so the point he was getting at just stopped being that important to him, it still hurt to be dismissed, when you were trying your hardest to understand. From that moment on, it was very rare for him to be frustrated, but you could sometimes see his shoulders slump or lip twitch. You did your best not to take it personally, and most of the time, he would make up for it whether it be outright apologizing to you for it, or cleaning up his act as soon as it starts - nevertheless, his patience and understanding always outweighs the few occasions where it isn’t so.

All things considered, this might be the worst situation you’ve been in with him.

You hug Jake’s arm as he talks to the boys backstage, the four of them preparing for the show they’ll be playing in a few hours. Jake wears a small, proud smile, evidently excited to finally have you come to a show. The four of them talk to one another, and between looking at their lips, along with the occasional signed words they’d picked up on, you could follow along fairly easily.

Each one of them had learned at least some basic sign language, but Jake had learned the most by far. In fact, when you met his parents for the first time, you were almost shocked by just how much of their words he was able to sign to you. Now, he does the same, and you find yourself with a smile that mirrors his, heart swelling with nothing but love for him.

Your eyes scan the room, and when your gaze lands on a cluster of neatly placed noise-cancelling headphones, you realize that you’d left the ones you brought in Jake’s dressing room. It would likely be easy to go retrieve them, but you’d be lying if you said the “Greta Van Fleet” stickers on the ear muffs didn’t appeal to you.

So, you wander back to the conversation, and wait until a good time to grab Jake’s attention. When it comes, you tap his shoulder gently. He immediately gives you his attention, and you take a moment to admire the smudged liner that beautifully enhances his brown eyes, making your head spin with how good it looks on him.

“Would it be okay if I take a pair of those headphones?” you ask, gesturing to the table, and Jake is quick to nod his head, but it seems he didn’t exactly process it, because as you grab a pair, his brows furrow. “Wait, why do you need them?” He asks. You told him once that your ears are sensitive to loud sounds, but it was months ago, and honestly very brief, so you aren’t upset that he doesn’t remember.

“My ears are sensitive, remember?” you try to jog his memory, and he nods slowly. He does remember, and also recalls reading something about it, possibly back in school, but it still makes his shoulders slump and mood falter. He tries to mentally reason with himself, knowing that you can’t help it, and that he wouldn’t want you to be uncomfortable, but Jake is known to be stubborn. Anyone who’s close to him knows that and has likely experienced it at least once.

You try to shake off the guilt that bubbles in your stomach - it’s not your fault.

However, as time passes, instead of getting over it, Jake only seems to grown more frustrated with you. It makes your heart ache, to think back on when you first met him. Even though he’s just as sweet now as he was then, a part of you thinks that he wouldn’t react like this if you went back in time and found yourself in this situation.

By the time you gather the courage to confront him, it’s not exactly a convenient time. The opening band is set to be going on in just a few minutes, and you should be making your way to your seat, but you decide it can wait. “Why are you mad at me?” You ask suddenly. You’d been watching Jake make his last adjustments to his makeup, outfit, and guitar (at least, the ones he could do backstage), and it was silent the whole time. You could feel how upset he was, and in a way, it made you mad, which is what made you ask.

“I’m not mad at you,” Jake says, not even bothering to look at you, when normally he’d be fully focused on you, knowing it makes it easier for the both of you. It’s a clear sign that he doesn’t want to talk, and your stomach turns. You’d never experienced this with Jake - shit, you could barely imagine experiencing this with him, given how he’s acted thus far.

A part of you starts to freak out, as this has happened before, in other relationships. Things go well, then something happens, you get blamed - even though it isn’t your fault - and then they break things off. Is Jake going to break up with me? you think to yourself, suddenly dreading the trip to your seat, and the hours following where you’re going to be expected to be happy.

“You are mad,” you say, a little more stern this time. He still refuses to look at you, and you feel a lump forming in your throat. “Jake,” you say, almost certain that your voice is shaky. He finally looks at you. “I just…” he sighs, “The music means so much to me, and the thought of you not hearing it is upsetting,” he explains. You watch his lips as he talks, eyes flickering between them and his hands as he tries to sign it. It’s slightly relieving, knowing that he’s not so mad as to completely give up communication, but there’s still a weight on your shoulders.

Before you can say anything, the boys are being rounded up, and Jake gives you a quick kiss on the cheek. “My mom will help you to your seat,” is the last thing he says before heading off with the other boys, making your heart sink. Your lip trembles, and tears well in your eyes, but you force them away. With shaky hands, you grab your headphones and soon meet with Karen, finding your way to your seat.

Despite the lingering sadness in regards to your predicament with Jake, you do your best to enjoy the show.

The lights turn back on, the boys disappear, and the once screaming crowd now evolves into chatter throughout the arena. Karen has been nothing but sweet to you, and as you both head back stage, she links her arm with yours. You’re coming up on a year of being with Jake, and at this point, you’re close enough with his mom that resting your head on her shoulder as you walk isn’t a big deal to either of you. In fact, she presses a kiss to your head, making a small smile form on your lips.

You aren’t sure what to do when you see Jake, so you hesitantly walk towards him, standing awkwardly to the side as he talks to one of the tech guys. As their conversation comes to an end, Jake turns to you. It’s clear that he also isn’t sure what to do, but he chooses to take your hand in his, gently guiding you back to his dressing room.

He seems gentler now, which is relieving, but you’re still worked up about the whole situation, and you’re sure it’s still on his mind as well. You take a seat on the small leather couch that’s in his dressing room, occasionally glancing at him as he changed out of his sweaty suit, and into a pair of old jeans, and one of his beloved button ups. Since it’s a Nashville show, you assume he’ll worry about a shower when he gets home.

He turns to you and walks towards you, eyes locking with yours. You’re not sure what to expect. He lifts a hand and brushes his knuckles against your cheek before cupping it. It’s a silent apology, that, and the way the look in his eyes begs for forgiveness. “We can talk about it later, okay? I don’t want to brush anything off, but I also have to-“ “I know, Jakey,” you stop him, turning your head to peck his palm, before standing up. “Do what you have to do,” you tell him, grabbing your headphones off the couch arm where you’d rested them, as well as making sure to grab the ones you’d brought. You kiss his cheek then walk to the door, opening it as to press your previous statement.

You aren’t sure exactly how long it is before Jake is done, but you do your best to wait patiently. You talk to the other boys, to his mom again, and eventually just linger around Jake himself, trying not to get in the way as he does what he can to help get things packed up.

After some time, everyone finishes up, and you’re back to where you were earlier, with your arm wrapped around Jake’s as you leave the arena. You say goodbye to the boys, along with Jake’s mom, then head your separate ways. The walk to his car is quiet, and you can only assume he’s also thinking about what to say, and what’s going to be said when you talk. He opens the passenger door for you, shutting it gently once you’re settled, then heads to the drivers side.

He waits to start the car, and instead looks at you. You figure he wants to go ahead and talk, and you ultimately decide sooner is better than later. “You said that I can’t hear you, and that upsets you,” you remind him of his words, giving him a chance to correct you, or add onto it, but he just nods. You look at him, and the look on his face reads that of guilt, but also a hint of his own frustration is mixed in with it. His silence gives you the floor to speak, but you can tell he’s worried.

You reach over the console and take one of his hands in yours, then use the other to gently direct his face towards you. His eyes meet yours, and you offer a half smile. “I do hear you, Jake,” you start. “Maybe I can’t listen to it the way you do, or the way your fans do, but I hear it, Jake. I see it, too…I feel it. I feel the drums, I feel the vibrations your amps, I see the way you react, the way the crowd reacts- Jake, I hear you loud and clear,” you conclude, and you can tell that it hit him particularly hard, with the way he sighs shakily and squeezes your hand.

He nods, processing your words, then waits for you to continue. When you stay quiet, he takes over, “Talk to me, please. I know you’re hurt and I just- I want to fix it, so please talk to me,” he says, taking over the role of assurance and comfort. “I just need you to hear me too, Jake,” you say, sighing softly. “I love you so much, and the idea of you being frustrated with me over this…it just hurts, you know? I didn’t ask for it,” you explain. You aren’t attacking him, or even trying to make him feel bad, and he knows it, so he lets you vent, without interrupting. “I know, and,” he pauses, pressing a kiss to the back of your hand before laying it on his lap. He uses his hands to sign as he talks. “I’m sorry. You don’t deserve that,” he says, and the way you can see the wheels in his head spinning extra fast, trying to make sure he doesn’t mess up, makes you crack the faintest smile.

“I love you too, and I promise that this won’t happen again, okay?” he says, and you nod, leaning in to kiss his lips softly. He kisses you back, lifting a hand to cup your cheek. You practically melt into him, the way he’s so delicate and passionate all at once making you crumble. When you pull away, he’s wearing a grin. “Now, you’re more than allowed to decline…but I think maybe we need a do-over, if you want to come to one of the next shows,” he suggests, and much to his excitement, you do agree.

When the next show rolls around, Jake gifts you a pair of noise-canceling headphones. You open the mix to find a pair of bedazzled ones, black rhinestones making up the majority of them, with “Greta Van Fleet” spelled out in carefully placed silver rhinestones. “The rhinestones were Josh’s idea, weren’t they?” you ask, making him let out a genuine laugh. “You bet it was Josh’s idea.”

This time around, things go a lot smoother, and Jake makes sure to look extra hard for you in the crowd. The smile on your face, the bedazzled headphones - which you eventually found had your initials embroidered on the underside of the headband part, along with “all my love” in jake’s handwriting - which he comes to absolutely adore, the way you’d dressed up for the show, all of it makes him fall even more in love with you. Not to mention, he watches you for longer than he might should, but it’s worth it to see you enjoying yourself, and that’s when he realizes that you do hear him, loud and clear.

[sharksandjays]

You know that scene in Skybound when they are heading to Tiger Widow Island and the storm comes??? Yeah this is pretty much a rewrite.

I just love the thought of them being able to sense their elements. I had to implement it.

---

Their voyage was going pretty well, the waters were calm and the skies were clear. Cole stayed towards the middle of the deck, nervously looking at the water that splashed aboard every once in a while. Nya was below deck with Lloyd checking the rations for the long trip. It was quiet. Cole was almost tempted to ask Zane to play something--the man was a literal walking spotify for first master's sake! But he left the nindroid alone, sitting alongside Cole quietly (probably talking to his girlfriend in his head the lucky bastard) knowing he was about just as comfortable as he was with the surrounding of water. Hell, even Jay seemed irked by their waterlocked situation--Cole noticed him glancing to the sky longingly every so often as if thinking about making this ship fly as well. Speaking of Jay, Cole was a bit worried about him. He was sitting quietly at the stern, mindlessly flipping through a book published by Cliff Gordon--his newfound birth father. Every time Cole went over to talk to him, Jay just gave him a vague response, not looking up from his book. He had seemed so excited to flaunt Cliff's money and boat and house to them before, but his previous excitement was gone. Cole felt for him, he really did. The situation must have just dawned on him. He knew the feeling of having a deadbeat dad, but he was sure having a dead deadbeat dad must've been a whole new pill to swallow. So he gave him some space. Lloyd finally emerged with Nya from belowdeck, both of them carrying large coolers and baskets. Nya had her hair tied up in a tight bun, whereas Lloyd didn't seem to get the memo and yelped when his hair whipped around his face. After laughing at him for a moment, Cole approached him and stared at the baskets. Food? Lloyd read his expression, and gave a delighted laugh. "Yes, Cole. There's plenty of food. Whoever owned this ship must've had whole parties down here!" Cole sideyed Jay behind him, who just kept flipping through his book, and shook his head, laughing nervously. "Yeah they must've."

He eargely waited for Lloyd to sit down and open one of the baskets, almost immediatley becoming religious the second he saw the sea of sandwiches and baked goods waiting for them.

Soon enough they were all munching on a sandwich, sitting contentedly on the deck while sharing vague plans to get the Tiger Widow venom. Jay was the only exception, of course, being the only one who hadn't accepted food and still sitting at the stern silently.

Without his usual...animated exclamations, the silence was certainly felt. Eventually the group fell into a comfortable silence, Lloyd and Nya cuddled together on the floor of the deck, and Cole and Zane sitting staring at the sky, all stuffed up with more food that they had in days.

It was also more peace than we've had in days. Cole thought happily, arms tucked beneath his head as he cloudwatched. Until suddenly, as if the universe itself wanted to prove Cole wrong, Jay's head snapped up. He stuffed his book under his arm and stood, instantly gaining all of their attention. Cole saw lightning flash in his best friend's eyes and his heart sunk. Ah, he knew that look. It was the same one he got when he sensed an earthquake…when Zane sensed a blizzard…when Nya sensed rain… Jay's expression was firm, and sparks crackled along his arms, seeming to pull towards the direction he was staring at. "Storm's coming."

[cruisersensei]

The Manjoume Post, At Last

let's talk about manjoume a bit because i definitely feel like talking about him.

he's just so well-crafted as an antagonist. being _the_ friend supporter, his number one crony, and a man in power, he lacks the ability to actually do something. there's literally a single meaningful action taken by manjoume specifically and personally, and it doesn't have anything to do with his position. he's such a big man, and he even gets full political power all for himself for a period of time, but he's, like, fundamentally incapable of any kind of political agency.

hell, he doesn't even WANT the political agency. he's horrified when he is placed before the fact that he's in charge now, and he is desperate to push it onto somebody. for the short period of time when he actually has to exercise his power in a meaningful way (as opposed to exercising his power to snort coke), he looks half-dead. it's pitiful.

it's the man who spent half of his life entertaining the thought that he found some little kid on the roadside and turned him into the beloved world leader. yeah, he's the kingmaker! he's the one who's really in control! but it's not true — he never defined fukubei's life but fukubei defined his — and he likes it that way. it's somewhat comforting for him to know that fukubei has a plan for him to follow. when fukubei dies, he's a ruin, but it's even more fun to watch his reaction to fukubei seemingly coming back to life. to him having a plan for the world once more, a plan that majoume knows nothing about.

there's fanatical excitement in his eyes, but he also looks... devastated? like he's come to some horrifying realization about his whole life.

he's so important, but he's been dancing to a tune of this one man for decades and he didn't even mind it as long as he could avert his eyes and pretend that he himself is the one pulling the strings. he is the man who makes the rules, but he finds himself helpless the moment he has to make the rules that matter. he doesn't know what to do with all of this. there's this persona he's been cultivating for ages, and he doesn't know what to do with it.

and his little plot to kill friend — to use well-known terrorists to assassinate the head of the state — has nothing to do with politics whatsoever. he's not planning a coup, even though friend's assassination would make him the leader. he doesn't want to replace friend, as yukiji and otcho presume. he's simply terrified of the fact some strange unknown man has taken the place of a man he's known for decades. fukubei is unbearable, yeah, but manjoume knows him. he can predict what he will and what he won't do.

but this unknown, unknowable new person is a blank slate. he fills him with near religious horror. it's not a question of politics — he doesn't deserve to live.

and even in that manjoume fails. killed by takasu, a much more politically inclined character (gonna need another post dedicated purely to her) and his lover. he's been blindly pursuing his personal goals through political means, whereas she's been doing the exact opposite. the irony!

it's a common theme in 20th century boys — people confusing their real needs and desires with means of satisfying them. manjoume doesn't really want political power. he's not cut out for it. every single one of his Cool Ideas ended up crashing and burning. what he want to achieve through political power is relevance. attention. some presence in other people's lives. love. he just wants to be somebody. his entire life is spent grasping at straws seeking relevance, and fukubei's cult, for him, is no different from roller derby, or kid talent shows, or space curry. politics never meant anything, not really.

and the only way he escapes from this oblivion is by doing something actually good and kind and selfless for another person. that's the thing that makes his life matter. not being a grand celebrity. not being a political agent. but a little act of kindness after his physical death. he could never achieve anything worthwhile through his political standing, because it just doesn't matter in the values system of the story. and only through this act of connection he was actually able to do a thing that matters. he was able to contribute to saving the world _and_ was remembered.

because to urasawa that's the only way people can live. the world is built upon small kindnesses, and adding even a little bit to this number of kindnesses means becoming eternal.

what a fun character. i'm not surprised at all that urasawa just couldn't put him away in his toy box and reused some of his aspects for the fake chuck culkin in billy bat (another character who, while having all the influence, money and power, lacks everything that has meaning in the story itself — like the ability to create art — and thus lacks agency, no matter how hard he tries to make everyone miserable). if i created such a guy, i'd pick him apart and use him literally everywhere as well.