#which a lot of people hear so i probably shouldn't be dramatic about it or anything

[silverdori]

a little vent post

and then tagged me specifically under it

not to be a bitch but someone shared a post about world suicide prevention day in a group chat

which usually i'd laugh at but i was having a really bad day so i kinda just.

sat there? i don't know, the person that shared the post didn't even know me that well so it hurt a little bit

[steddieas-shegoes]

Request: Hellfire night is happening post spring break from hell, it's at the apartment of Steve & Eddie. Steve has an intense migraine & chronic pain flare ups. He can barely make it through the door. Eddie has to bring Steve but Steve is in pain and wants to stay close to Eddie. So they play dnd with Steve essentially curled up on the couch near Eddie.

MY DARLING!!!! STEVE SUFFERING TIME!!! I know I shouldn't make him suffer so much, but it's just that he's so easy to make suffer. But this one is so so soft, and so comforting. Steve is loved so much, it makes the hurt not so hurt-y. As a migraine sufferer myself, there are times when I genuinely consider just laying on the floor and hoping I pass out so I don't have to feel it anymore. I do base a lot of Steve's experiences off of my own (though mine is less head trauma and more genetics), but I hope other people can see themselves in it and get some comfort, too. I also used a new little cute term of endearment inspired by one of my favorite regular customers at my last job who called his wife of 64 years sweet love from the day they met, even when he was talking to other people about her. - Mickala ❤️

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

If he’d gotten his shift covered at work today, he probably wouldn’t be in so much fucking pain.

But he needed the money, and when he first woke up, the pain wasn’t that bad. He’d had worse.

After hours of customers asking him to reach the top shelf, screaming babies and children not getting the ice cream or candy they wanted, and a few too many old men complaining about the prices of bread, Steve’s headache escalated from minor pain to unbearable, and had spread throughout his body.

He’d gotten somewhat used to the aches he sometimes woke up with, the throbbing pains in his joints when he spent too long on his feet or tried to do too much exercising. Some days were less tolerable than others, but today was the worst he’d had in a while.

Every breath stung, his lungs pushing against his ribs, his ribs pushing against his skin, his skin on fire.

And when he arrived at his apartment, he knew it was about to get worse.

He could hear Eddie, his booming voice painting a picture for all of Hellfire. He didn’t need to see him to know he was probably standing on his chair or, more dramatically, the table.

Any other time, Steve would be endeared, would walk in and say hi to everyone, give Eddie a kiss on the cheek before he made his way to the shower and then make snacks for the group.

Tonight, though, Steve didn’t even know if he could make it past the couch.

Or to it, for that matter.

Maybe he could just use the rug at the door as a pillow for the night. Everyone could step over him as they left, or maybe they could all just stay the night so he wouldn’t get woken up.

He was shaking with the effort to make it through the door, the key missing the lock the first couple of tries because his hands kept wobbling.

Eventually, he got inside.

He leaned back against the door, his body screaming at him to be horizontal instead of vertical. He let out a groan, which hurt more than he planned.

The dining room area got quiet.

“Stevie? That you?” Eddie’s voice sounded concerned, even without seeing his face to confirm.

He couldn’t answer. It hurt to even think about answering.

He let his eyes close, the pain in his head dulling for just a moment with the light from the living area being extinguished. It wasn’t even that bright, just one lamp in the corner and one on the table by the couch, but it still felt blinding when he opened his eyes again.

Eddie was standing in front of him now, hands reaching towards him but hesitating to actually touch.

“What’s hurting, sweet love?”

All Steve could do was let out a small whimper, and even that was more pain than it was worth.

“Everything?” Eddie whispered, getting closer, but still not touching. Steve could almost feel the heat coming off of Eddie’s constantly too-hot skin.

“Mm.”

“Alright, you wanna go to the couch?”

Yeah, he did, but he didn’t think he could make it. But as always, Eddie read his mind.

“I’ll carry you if it’s okay to lift you,” he suggested quietly.

“Mm.”

“Okay, assuming that’s a yes,” Eddie responded at the same volume as before, though Steve knew he was smirking, could hear the way his mouth was curled up at the corner, amused.

Before Steve could even try to form a response, Eddie’s arms were under his legs and back, lifting him up and cradling him against his front.

Pain shot through his entire body, but he bit his lip so he wouldn’t make a noise. He didn’t want Eddie to feel bad about something outside of their control.

“‘S okay, angel. Let it out.”

He let out another whimper, louder than the last. He heard footsteps coming into the room and assumed everyone here for Hellfire had decided to check in.

He opened one eye, but immediately regretted it, inhaling sharply as he squeezed his eyes shut again.

“Can someone shut off the lamps?” Eddie asked as he managed to set Steve down slowly, gently on the couch.

Eddie’s fingers were barely brushing along his forehead, moving his hair away from his face with the lightest possible touch.

Steve felt a tiny bit of relief from laying down, though his head decided to start pulsing as it lay flat against the cushion.

“Lap?” Steve asked, forgetting for a moment what he’d walked home to: the weekly D&D campaign.

Eddie needed to be a DM for them, he couldn’t sit out here with Steve.

“Alright, everyone grab the stuff, we’re using the coffee table. I don’t need my notes or screen so leave it, and so help me, if I suspect any of you looked at them, I will kill you all in a trap,” Eddie said from the floor next to Steve.

Steve could hear light footsteps moving out of the room and then Eddie’s whispers in his ear.

“Gonna lift your head for just a minute while I sit. Want you to turn so your face is looking at me, it’ll block out the light when we turn them back on. I can rub your shoulders and back that way too.”

Steve couldn’t really nod, but he tilted his head up just a bit to show he was okay with it, though they both knew it would be painful.

Eddie was fast though, didn’t want him to suffer a single second longer than he absolutely had to.

Before Steve could process the zing of pain through his head and neck, he was already situated as comfortably as possible on Eddie’s lap, face turned into his stomach.

One of Eddie’s hands gently cupped the back of his head, holding him steady so he could completely relax.

He did, or as much as he really could with the level of pain he was at.

“You take anything?” Eddie asked as his other hand started slowly rubbing his shoulder, just a light pressure to ease him into more touch.

“Mhm.”

He’d taken something at lunch, and then again when he got off of work and didn’t think he’d be able to drive home without something in his system.

It seemed like it was actually kicking in now, though that could also be Eddie’s practiced attention to all the worst areas of pain.

The kids were slowly coming into the room, Steve could hear them setting things on the coffee table as quietly as possible, whispering amongst themselves.

It was suddenly extremely hot in the room, and Steve knew that was just part of the crash as the medicine kicked in further. Normally, he was alone or only with Eddie, and could strip and lay on cool sheets with a fan blowing on him, but he couldn’t with the kids here.

He knew if he asked, they would go. They were good kids, and they’d understand, and Eddie could reschedule for the next day since he was off.

But he didn’t want them to have to rearrange everything because of him, not when Eddie was so excited about a new character introduction for tonight.

“Alright guys, gonna have to keep it to a whisper,” Eddie said, the rise and fall of his stomach as he breathed lulling Steve into a calm state, though not quite sleeping.

Eddie continued to run the campaign, everyone being as quiet as possible, only Dustin having to be reminded once to keep his voice down when he got a bit overexcited about getting past the guards surrounding the water they had to dive in to get to some kind of map.

It was all very complicated to Steve, and he couldn’t keep on a good day.

Eddie’s hands rested on his body the entire time, slowly rubbing circles into any part they could reach, fingers running slowly through his hair.

Steve drifted at some point, and when he woke up, the room was pitch black and Eddie’s hands had stilled, resting on his arm and head.

Steve blinked up at him, moving his head only enough to squint up at Eddie’s face.

He was passed out, mouth wide open, head leaned back along the back of the couch.

He had no idea what time it was, or how long they’d been like this, but he wasn’t going to wake him up.

He noticed the pain in his head had dulled to just the occasional sharp pinch in his forehead and most of his joints seemed like he could move them without wanting to crumble to the ground.

He slowly rolled onto his back, but Eddie let out a loud snore and immediately opened his eyes when he felt the movement.

“You okay?” He rasped.

���Better,” Steve smiled up at him, reaching a hand up to cup his cheek. “Thanks for taking care of me, baby.”

“Anytime, sweet love. You wanna move to the bed?”

“Can we take a bath first?”

Eddie looked over at the clock.

“It’s past midnight, are you sure?”

“Yeah. Just wanna relax in a bath with you for a bit.”

Eddie leaned down to kiss him.

Sometimes he did that; Just kissed him instead of using words to reply, showing him instead of telling him in the best way.

These kisses were different from his other kisses. They were softer, less hungry, loving in a way that Steve didn’t think words could even say.

“Let’s go relax in the bath, then.”

“Did the game go okay?” Steve asked as he slowly sat up.

“Yeah. Kids were worried about you.”

“I’m okay. You told them I’m okay, right?”

“I told them you’d be okay. They just love you,” Eddie said, standing up and stretching his arms above his head.

“I love them, too.”

“You’re kind of our north star, Stevie.”

“Oh?”

“Mhm. We’re a bit lost without you. That’s why it’s hard to see you hurting like that. Not just for me, but for all of us.”

“I’m fine now.”

Eddie didn’t respond, left a kiss on his forehead, and started walking towards their bathroom.

“Come be fine in the bath with me!” He said over his shoulder.

Steve obliged. He’d be fine anywhere as long as Eddie was there to take care of him.

[transmutationisms]

I would love to hear more of your thoughts on House & its relation to the detective genre ! I think that house (completely accidentally and very badly) stumbles into a good critique of how doctors & medical structures view addicts & disabled people, with house being a horrible hegemonic mr malpractice to his patients frequently yet half is series is unironically just about all the injustice/mistreatment he faces because his doctor colleagues can’t see him as a person but only as a problem to be solved/rehabbed/therapized/institutionalized/treated like a child with stolen candy/treated like a criminal. and then it also randomly takes an incredibly pro MAID stance. which isn’t really part of this but I just remembered how batshit insane that show was. and then chase killed a dictator and I feel like the show was squarely on his side for that one. Anyway. Do you have thoughts? I really like house.

ok here's my house md take. like a lot of medical dramas, the show essentially relies for its dramatic appeal on the construal of patients as gross, weird, and stupid—rubes who are too uneducated and self-serving in their petty lies to solve their own bodies, and thus need the intervention of house to fix them. this is standard for the genre, although slightly meaner on house than on some other examples (cf. grey's or even the older and soapier generation of these shows). i don't even think house committing malpractice is all that new; it's relatively common as a plot point that positions the noble rule-breaking doctor as someone who 'does what needs to be done' and skirts the bureaucratic red tape to follow their own superior judgment. what makes house more interesting is that from the get-go, house himself is both a doctor and an unwilling patient. in itself this isn't a tension that's new to the medical soap (injuring a major character is pretty par for the course) but house's particular interactions with the ruling biomedical epistemology are, as you point out, characterised by hostility and resistance, and the show frequently either sides with house, or at least leaves it somewhat up to the viewer to decide whether house is right to resist the pathologisation that cuddy and wilson try to impose on him.

this is kind of a tricky line to walk for 7 seasons or however long the show is. my recollection is there are episodes, for example, where it's very clear that house's pain is physical, and the writers use this to morally justify his vicodin use. this is obviously not a full-throated defence of opioid users, but it is at least pointing to a position on chronic pain that allows for the possibility that for some people, long-term use of drugs with a high addiction potential and side effects is legitimately the best thing. but, this messaging is also undercut by the fact that it's primetime television, they need to make drama, and there are definitely also episodes where house is framed as potentially lying about his pain, or at least mistaking a somatic problem for a physical one, which the writers often (not always, but often) present as evidence that actually, house shouldn't be trusted to make his own decisions about drug use, and ideally should be 'de-toxed' and probably sent to cbt or whatever. of course all of these considerations are also contextualised by the fact that house is, again, not just a patient but a doctor: his right and ability to make these types of calls for himself is, it's suggested, a result of his having attained medical education and credentials. the patients who come to be treated by him are seldom, if ever, given this same level of consideration or presumed to have sufficient self-awareness to make their own medical decisions. this isn't to say they're portrayed entirely unsympathetically, but ultimately the narrative engine of the show relies on house being the smartest guy in the room (though ofc, sometimes tragically 'held back by his addiction').

so, although there are moments on the show that genuinely transgress some of the norms of the med-drama genre, i have never agreed with people who thought that the show as a whole was presenting any sustained critique of the medical system, the treatment of chronic pain/disability, or the power-imbalanced doctor-patient relationship. ultimately all authority on house md is supposed to emanate from the physician, or the physician's superiors (cuddy as a 'check' on house, though sometimes a failed one! again because of the need to generate drama for like 140 episodes), and at its most radical the show is really only capable of presenting house himself as an out-of-control aberration whose existence strains the existing system rather than being produced by it.

this is where i think the comparison to the cop show genre becomes more clarifying. house md never made a secret of being an interpolation of the detective genre, specifically sherlock holmes. however, i'm not sure i've ever really seen writing on the show that analyses what effect this actually has on house. like police, doctors are tasked with maintaining certain social norms; the dichotomy between policing and medicine isn't even a solid line, as criminality is frequently rhetorically construed as a pathology in itself and medical authorities can and do have recourse to carceral systems in order to discipline and confine recalcitrant patients, the 'criminally insane', addicts, and so forth. (policing has historically also been understood in a more expansive sense than how we use the word today; our understanding of the medical/public health system as separate from police authority is arguably more to do with university credentialling than the actual exercise of social and political power).

so, if we want to be serious about the portrayal of medicine in popular culture (i am always serious about this) then we're necessarily talking about broader systems of power, social control, and discipline, and doubly so on a show like house that is explicitly inspired by detective fiction. this is where house md is most ideologically objectionable to me: as with the trope of the cop who breaks all the rules, house is basically positioned in one of two ways throughout the show. either he's a lone genius who alone is willing to achieve noble ends (cure) through distasteful means (breaking into patients' homes, berating them, performing risky interventions on them, &c), or—and this is rarer on house but does happen—he's portrayed as genuinely crossing an ethical line, in which case he's a kind of monstrous aberration from the normal, ethical functioning of the medical system, often represented metonymously by the objections that cuddy, wilson, or house's underlings raise. in both of these cases, as with copaganda, the function is ultimately to reinforce the idea that doctors, though occasionally capable of human error, are prima facie wiser than their patients, looking out for their patients' best interests, and performing noble social roles as healers. house, ofc, is very rarely willing to admit that he has any underlying ethical motivations, though much of the show is driven by the flashes where he is revealed to 'secretly' care about another person (often wilson) and anyway, the construction of an ethical society in which all individual actors are motivated solely by selfish interests is a very established rhetorical move for those interested in defending liberal capitalist societies (cf. charles darwin, thomas malthus, adam smith, &c).

because of television's need to generate profit via audience engagement, house md always relied on a certain level of shock or at least provocation in order to sustain itself. so, there are certain aberrations from the more overtly doctor-valorising medical dramas, like the suggestion (sometimes tongue-in-cheek) that house was better at his job when he was mildly high on opioids. this was, for the reasons outlined above, never a serious entry into political critique, but it was at least refreshing in a certain way as a departure from, eg, the portrayal of addiction and drug use that we see on grey's, which is completely limited to the medicalised AA narrative of 'recovery' as a battle against the malevolent intervention of an external chemical agent. which is to say that although house md is ultimately reactionary in the way we should expect from an american tv show, it did at least dabble in a certain level of caustic iconoclasm that allowed limited departures from the genre conventions. even with what was ultimately a pretty solid vindication of the anti-opioid narrative, the show does stand out in my mind as one of the few very popular presentations of any kind of alternative stance on chronic drug use. that it's usually put in house's own mouth means it is occasionally legitimated by his epistemological authority as a physician, though ofc ultimately this authority is challenged not through a critique of the medical system, but by presenting house as individually and aberrantly licentious, undisciplined, and insane—and his chronic pain/disability are both a justification for this, and a shorthand for conveying it.

[l0stfoster]

Can we hear more about Har-bit childhood? I remember you mentioned his dad being abusive and his mom ignoring it.

Does the gang know about his childhood?

How was he towards his sister during those time and if it effected their relationship later on?

Is there lasting effects?

I love people asking about the backstory/childhood stuff it's so fun. Alright, let's get to it! Everything is below the cut, sorry if some shit isn't worded right, I'm a little out of it today so I'll likely come back to edit this as needed.

General information

- As I've said, Two’s mom is a harpy and his dad is human. Neither Two-Bit nor Molly took after Mr. Mathews, and he wasn’t too happy about that. He left when Molly was around 3 and Two was 13. - I've always imagined Mrs. Mathews being a nurse, so she was constantly out of the house for long shifts and so on, and so forth. She trusted Mr. Mathews since he'd kept whatever malice he felt on the down low.. for the first few years. - I've already said it but I'll bring it back up; Two-Bit constantly had his needs and habits as a harpy repressed by his father. Feathers clipped, he wasn't allowed to preen, etc. Human social norms were super-enforced, and Two or his sister were disciplined harshly for behaving in any way a harpy would. - Harpies crave social bonds or a flock mentality; , something that Mr. Mathews was so thoroughly against agreeing to. He'd also treat them as if they should be human, then get all pissy if they didn't meet that expectation. - His dad was an alcoholic, and unfortunately, that's a trait Two picked up as well. - Mr. Mathews wasn't usually physical, but there were moments. It was mostly emotional and psychological abuse that the kids had to deal with; he'd make tons of derogatory comments about Two and his mom, call them monsters, etc. Neglect was pretty evident too, Two had to learn to fend for himself from a pretty young age and had to learn to care for Molly when she was born. - Speaking of which, Two constantly took the brunt of the responses his father held when it came to Molly's behavior as a literal baby. This is probably where the physical aspects of abuse got the most rampant since Two-Bit defending Molly was seen as having an attitude. - Two-Bit was forced to lie regarding how he was being treated as well, he was told for a long time that he wouldn't be believed, that he was being dramatic, or that Mrs. Mathews would leave. - Ms. Mathews was going to file for divorce once she could afford the financial issues that would follow it, but one day just came home to a quiet house, save for Two-Bit trying to ease a fussy Molly. They haven't seen him since.

Does the gang know about his childhood?

- The levels of knowing about it vary, but Dally and Ace definitely have the best gauge on Two's childhood. Dally had witnessed it a ton firsthand, and Ace got to hear it from Two himself. Darry's also pretty aware of it, as not only did he get glimpses of it while they grew up, but he vividly remembers the nights when Two-Bit would show up drunk and just,, talk. - Steve and Johnny are also pretty aware, they don't know the details, but they know that the guy fucked up enough for Two of all people to shit talk. Hell, Two doesn't hold the same malice that his dad faces towards Paul or even Bev. You need to fuck up bad for Two-Bit to despise you. - Everyone else doesn't know the full details, but it's not hard to make assumptions.

How was he towards his sister during those times and did it affect their relationship later on?

- Their relationship wasn't impacted, if anything their bond was strengthened as Two did everything in his damn power to keep her on the opposite end of their father's wrath. - He would've killed the man with his bare hands if he dared to lay a hand on her. Hence why he continued to defend her, even if he shouldn't have had to; babies are going to be noisy and need a lot of attention, and god forbid a father has to care for their own child.

Are there lasting effects?

- There's a good bit of remaining trauma from Mr. Mathews, yeah. Two covers a lot of his personal angst with his humor and loudness, but things shine through. His sister didn't experience it enough to have a grasp on how bad things were. - There was a lot of deep-rooted shame in Two due to his harpy nature and how his father responded to it. For a good long while, he hated being one. He still longs for his father's approval despite his abandonment but resents the neglect and abuse. The only reason it hasn't prevented him from forming bonds and relationships is because his mother did her damn best to turn it around. - Two-Bit absolutely hates that he drinks. He knows he shouldn't be doing it, and he knows it reminds people (and himself) of his father; but just because you know you're colorblind doesn't mean you can see the colors. Addiction isn't easy to deal with. - Two also gets really aggressive if anyone directs anger toward him or his sister; it's a reflex. His brain associates that loud and violent behavior with his father.

[schizopositivity]

Hello! I just had a quick scroll through your blog and it helped me to understand a bit more! I was wondering if you could answer a question of mine? I have a friend with Schizophrenia and just in you personal experience, does confirming things that are real bad? Like if they think they hear dogs barking and aren't sure if it is real or not it's good to confirm something like that right?

Well I can't speak for everyone with schizophrenia. We are all different and have unique needs and preferences. I think you should ask your friend, they know themselves best.

As an example of how it could go: for me I'll ask my partner if they hear/see/smell something. And they will casually and calmly tell me yes or no. If they say no, they don't ask more questions. We both know I hallucinate and at this point in my life it's not a big deal. But I do like to check and see if it is a hallucination or not just for my own curiosity. They are the only person I feel comfortable doing this with because they know me best, and they don't treat it like a huge deal, which I appreciate.

You should also be aware of some of the reasons a schizophrenic person might not want to reality check with someone in this way. A lot of people will treat any hallucination someone they know has as a big dramatic thing that needs an immediate solution. People might react by getting really concerned and treating their loved one completely differently for having active hallucinations. Maybe they just raise their eyebrows and keep a close eye on you. Maybe they try to see the hallucination themselves. Maybe they suddenly act like the hallucinating person is in danger. They might even rush into trying to get the person into a hospital. The hallucinating person also may simply be embarrassed to tell people. And while all of this can come from a genuine place of concern, it can be really upsetting for the hallucinating person. It might just be their everyday symptoms, and someone being very dramatic about it makes them feel like they aren't seen as autonomous and conscious of themselves, or as someone that can't simply exist as themselves.

These are things you should say to a schizophrenic person while they are not hallucinating: if you want you can check with me and ask me if things are real. Would you like me to verify if things are real or not? If you are hallucinating while we are together, what would you like me to do? How can I tell when you need immediate help? And also just assure them that you won't judge them for hallucinating, you won't treat them differently, and you won't turn it into a big deal if it's not.

And if you ask them and they respond with "no I don't want to reality check with you, I don't want to tell you when I'm hallucinating" then that's their answer and you shouldn't try to push them into wanting anything else. It's not about you not being a good enough friend, it is just their personal boundaries. And if they respond with "yeah you can reality check with me, but only when I specifically ask for it" then you should accept that answer too. It takes an incredible amount of trust to reality check with someone, and that trust shouldn't be broken.

Once again, every schizophrenic person is different. I can't know what your friend would want, so please reach out to them directly about this. And if you can't openly have these types of conversations then you probably shouldn't be the one to reality check.

[blakeswritingimagines]

They overhear you saying you like them

Wednesday: It sounded alot better in your head when you said you needed to speak with Bianca about something, and granted you should've thought through the whole finally telling someone your crush on the goth girl out in the open but you weren't really thinking especially since the dark haired girl had occupied your thoughts more than you'd own up too. Leaning against a wall as you spoke about everything and asked how you should go about it looking any kind of advice you could realistically use all while not noticing the short girl was around the corner listening intently and knew she'd have to act cruel towards you so you could move on.

Enid: Knowing you shouldn't have been but you wanted an unbiased opinion, As you spoke with Wednesday about the feelings you held in high regard for Enid no matter how often the smaller girl stated she didn't care or that you should leave her alone she continued to be around when you opened your mouth to talk. Granted you should've known Wednesday wouldn't lie for you or get Enid to look the opposite way but you never thought Wednesday would make you talk as she planned out the time so Enid would come up around you two and listen to what you had said.

Xaiver: Extremely flattered and flustered, then would probably think about it for weeks on end to be honest. It would be really nice to know that you had such an interest in him to the point that you would crush on an idea of him in your head (if that makes sense) and even vent the end to get it out even if not to him at first. If he was attracted to you too, then he would try to pursue it to some extent. It would make him feel really good that he was appreciated in that way.

Rowan: You spoke to your best friend Ajax about your crush on Rowan and wondered how you should go about it telling him at least maybe you would, letting out a sigh as you listened to Ajax try to help you out but didn’t want to hear from one more person “Just tell him” since that was the last option you wanted to hear then looked up at your friend as he spoke but soon grinned seeing Rowan walk up behind you and made a quick motion for him to stay quiet as you kept talking.

Tyler: If he did overhear you saying you like him, his immediate reaction would probably be of surprise and confusion. Then, he would probably feel a combination of feelings, including excitement, pleasure, and embarrassment. He might also feel a little anxious, not wanting to disappoint you or feel pressured to reciprocate your feelings right away. But ultimately, he would be happy that you liked him and flattered by the fact that you were brave enough to say it out loud even if not to him when he first heard you liking him.

Ajax: Wouldn't be able to contain his excitement and would probably smile broadly and blush a lot from all that positive attention he just got to hear from your own mouth. His not afraid to show people that he likes you and would feel very flattered and excited that you felt the same way. He believes life is all about the good moments and positive connections so to know that someone felt the same way would be so encouraging for him.

Bianca: Walking towards the dorms with your friend Yoko who only sighed dramatically as she listened to you whine about your crush on the lady siren you've had your eye on since you've started Nevermore, rambling on and on as you got into your own head as Yoko only nodded along before smirking to herself as she saw Bianca then asked you what you thought of her only to listen to you say "She's magical not just because of her gift as a siren but every move she makes, How gorgeous she looks in any lighting dressed up or down on whatever she chooses to wear, How lost I can get in her eyes or do anything to see her bright smile" Yoko placed her hand down on your shoulder as you kept talking which made you look over at the grinning vamp only to see her motion her head to the side as you finally saw Bianca who had been listening to you practically spit out a love confession.

[violettaxsoyluna]

Soy Luna- Season 2

This season was a...mess. Everything happened after each other; it was definitely more dramatic and eventful than the first season. Did I like it better than the previous one? Probably not when it comes to Lutteo, but it was a great season, and I really enjoyed it.  Let's talk about the characters:

Luna: I liked her in this season, but probably a bit less than in the first one. I still love her energies; I loved how she stood up for herself in this season more and had more clear boundaries. However, I have to admit that some of those mighty speeches of hers annoyed me a bit. 

I felt really sorry for her about the whole Matteo thing. She really tried to talk to him and figure out what his problems were. I think she did what she could've done and probably even more. And I also really liked that she stopped trying after a while, and I fully understood her not wanting to hear Matteo out or not being able to believe him after everything that happened. I also felt really sorry for her after the whole Vidia thing. It was so wrong of Matteo that he denied her, and the whole fake girlfriend thing was also really hurtful to watch. However, I understood when Matteo got mad at her for not telling him anything about the search they were doing for Luna's biological parents. I think he really cared about her and would have helped her if she had told him everything. I get that they weren't together when they started the search, but she could've confided in him later. I also didn't like the "I didn't have the time excuse," because she had more than enough time to tell him, but she didn't even try it once. I also didn't like how she handled the situation when they were talking about Matteo's deleted record. The whole positive thing wasn't really helpful, and I also didn't like how she immediately said that he shouldn't think about that now because the Roller needs him. I think that was a bit selfish of her, considering Matteo gave up a lot of things for that, and rather than hearing him out and trying to comfort him, the only thing she can think about is the roller. I think it's okay if people just want to mourn their losses. You can't expect them to just move on and forget about it, especially if it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them. But I don't think she deserved Matteo's words. Those were really harsh. She also was mad at Matteo for being jealous of Simon and Seb, when in reality both of those people liked her or were even in love with her. And I know, I know, that Luna and Simon have been friends since childhood, but I understood why he was a bit angry that Luna tells him everything and so little to him. He was her boyfriend, and he just wanted to know what's going on with her. I also think it wasn't appropriate how she acted during the whole Vidia contest. Again, she shouldn't have picked sides, and it kind of felt like she did, which I, again, understand why it was hurtful for Matteo. 

I also didn't like how she kept saying this deal is just as important for Simon as for Matteo, because it wasn't true. Matteo went against his father, who only paid for his school and nothing else. Yeah, it was important for Simon, but Matteo kind of sacrificed everything so he could do what he actually loves.  Again, it still doesn't mean Matteo's behavior was okay, but it kind of bothered me a bit when she said something like that.

I was also so happy for her that she finally found out who she was. I know it's not going to be easy for her to process everything, but she deserves to know the truth. 

All in all, I still like her; she is still a lovely girl, and I love how passionate she is. She went through some hard shit in the second season. And even though she was a bit annoying and too much sometimes, I really enjoyed her character. 

Simon: I probably liked him better in this season. I really enjoyed his character, and he was still the nice and kind guy we got to know in the first season. 

I felt really bad for him because of the way Matteo treated him during the whole Vidia thing; that was really not right of him. 

I really loved how sweet he was with Ambar. I really felt sorry for him, because she was using him in the very beginning. Their love was definitely unexpected, but I really enjoyed them together, but again, I really felt for him when he found out that she caused the fire. Or when he got into the middle of the fight of his bandmates. 

It definitely wasn't his best season, poor soul, but he stayed his old self, which I really loved.

Matteo: He didn't become a less complicated and complex character in this season, that's for sure. 

I didn't really agree with the way she treated Luna in this season. I really hate this "I did that to protect you" thing. It is so garbage, especially when in reality it didn't make anything easier or better; on the contrary. I think it was also not right for him to keep searching for Luna's company, though, and to get jealous. Having said that, I liked how he tried to fix it by telling Luna the truth and that he didn't stop and performed that really good song. They got together, but they obviously needed to create more drama to separate them. I didn't like how Matteo handled the whole Vidia thing. I don't think it was the right choice to say he doesn't have a girlfriend, get into a PR relationship (for like 5 minutes), and then try to embarrass Simon. He also knew that since after all of these decisions he almost immediately regretted it, but that doesn't make them right. I get that he really wanted to have his own record, but still. He was selfish a lot of the time, and he was sometimes really mean to people. 

However, at the same time, I felt really bad for him. I can imagine how difficult it was for him to deal with the situation his father got him into. It was really hard to see how much he didn't care about what he wanted, and when he finally listened, he basically abandoned him. I understand why Matteo wanted that deal so badly and that he has so much to prove. This obviously doesn't justify his behavior, but I understand why he was under so much pressure and why he was so easy to manipulate. It seemed like he was really confused and didn't know what to do, what's right and what's wrong. He just wanted that deal so badly to prove himself to his father and to stand on his own feet. I also agreed that it was a bit annoying how Luna told everything to Simon but nothing to him. And how he is portrayed as this perfect someone, or rather how Luna portrays him, such as when in reality we all have faults, and Simon does have some as well. 

And this might be a hot take, but I kind of agreed with him when he said that nobody gives a shit about his problems. People like Gastón and Luna knew how much this deal meant for him, that he sacrificed so he can follow his dream. And I know he didn't act and behave the best way during those days, but nobody really sat down with him and heard him out. Nobody really was just there for him. Everybody told him to just forget about it, that they can't do anything to solve it, or that he should just think about something else. I get it; I truly do. The world doesn't revolve around him, but again, he sacrificed a lot, and he was clearly scared his father would be mad at him, that he might have to go to another school he doesn't want to. And rather than helping him and being there for him, people kind of just swept it under the carpet and wanted him to move on immediately from something that meant the world to him. 

All in all, he wasn't his best self in this season, and he did and said really stupid things, but at the same time, I felt really sorry for him. 

Ambar: I have so many conflicting thoughts when it comes to her. I know she is a complex character and a lot of bad things happened to her, but I don't like that people try to excuse her behavior using those. 

She did some really horrible things in this season, like trying to make it look like Luna destroyed the camera and using Simon (while knowing Jazmin had feelings for him), but when she burned down the rink, that was one of the worst things she's ever done. I know it's only the second season, but I really wish this whole rink and Simon thing would've been the thing that made her change and be different, but rather she joined another group and didn't really understand why people were mad at her and why she needed to suffer those consequences. I also didn't like how she blackmailed Matteo; however, he shouldn't have fallen for her schemes, and he should've just told Luna the truth. 

However, I really felt sorry for her because of the whole Sharon and Sol thing. Poor soul, when finally she knew who she was, she realized she was lied to. It was so disgusting what she did to her, and she didn't deserve that. 

She always makes the seasons more interesting, that's for sure, but she can be a bit too much sometimes. I really liked her more soft side, and I can't wait to see more of the real Ambar. 

Gaston and Nina were really cute in this season. I understood why Gaston got mad at her, but I think he overreacted a bit. Like, yeah, she shouldn't have done that, but I understood her reasons, and he just wanted Gaston to have a choice, so it wasn't like he needed to go to Oxford. Then he proceeded to do the very same thing with her. But I still adore them together, and I will miss them so much. Sharon is still the worst, and while I don't think Alfredo was the best father, I really loved how sweet he was with both Luna and Ambar. And he was funny as well. I didn't really like Juliana at first, even though she was right in some things, but by the end I started really liking her. 

It was a really good season; I really enjoyed it. I wasn't the biggest fan of the end, though, with Luna and Simon at the beach. It was a bit confusing as well, because when Luna hugged Simon, it kind of looked like she'd already started developing feelings for him (one of the most annoying and unrealistic plotlines in the next season, I might add), but then she looked at the ring, which was given to her by Matteo, and he said it lights up when he thinks about her, so was she thinking about him and about him thinking about her when she looked at it, or what? 

But after everything, it was a really good season, and I really loved it. 8/10.

[supernovaa-remnant]

so, fireworks. I've been thinking about fireworks specifically in terms of the post canon utah au. new year's. fourth of july. beyond just sitting inside and hearing them, c!dream and c!wilbur eventually get invited to go watch fireworks with people and even get invited to set them off.

c!dream, maybe surprisingly, does pretty good with fireworks. loud noises aren't really a big trigger for him, but fireworks do make him feel a bit floaty, for lack of a better word. it's a bit of an out of body experience, but it's not caused by trauma. I don't know how to describe it, but I get the same way with fireworks sometimes. like you're half lost in a memory but you don't know what memory or if the memory even exists.

it reminds him a bit of doomsday. a bit of that day in the prison. but, mostly, it's just a vague feeling that leaves him feeling floaty. it's really the mix of the sounds, the visuals of the fireworks themselves, and the sky flashing with colors as the fireworks go off.

c!wilbur, though, does not have a good time. which is weird, because obviously he loves explosions, so he really shouldn't have this incessant weight in his chest. It reminds him of the 16th. it reminds him of hearing the fireworks going off before he pressed the button, and then the sound of the explosions, the ringing in his ears, the lead up to thirteen and a half years in that goddamned train station. it reminds him a bit of c!ranboo and the burger van. he always thought he liked explosions, liked how alive they made him feel, but for some reason he feels a bit more like he's dying.

at some point, he starts to have a full blown panic attack. he tries to use the various methods of calming down that his therapist has taught him, but it's so hard to even remember anything when it feels like his lungs are incapable of drawing in air.

c!dream helps.

which. let it be known that c!dream doesn't really know how to calm down another person. he just kinda grabs c!wilbur's hands and then moves to cradle c!wilbur's face. forces eye contact. breathes really dramatically before realizing he should probably have c!wilbur's hand on his chest while doing that.

you'd think that c!wilbur would hate the physical touch—there are a lot of times when physical touch makes c!dream's panic worse—but it surprisingly works. something about the physical contact helps ground c!wilbur in the present. something about c!dream's eyes helps remind c!wilbur of where he is, and it also gives him a nice distraction. he finds himself trying to pick apart c!dream's expression, and he tries to figure out why c!dream is doing this. it gives him something else to focus on, at least.

it helps c!dream a bit, too. it's not that the floaty feeling was unpleasant, per se, but this feels better. it feels nice to repay c!wilbur for the times he's helped c!dream through his panic attacks. it feels nice to make c!wilbur feel better. it feels nice to have physical contact with another person that's on his terms and that doesn't hurt.

much, much later, when they're at a fairly small gathering/party together (probably a fourth of july or new year's party), the fireworks get to c!wilbur again. c!dream holds his hand the entire time, but the host of the get together—someone who works at the animal shelter c!dream volunteers at—notices. they get c!wilbur a pair of noise canceling headphones, and it's kinda at that moment that both c!dream and c!wilbur realize that these new people they've met in this town—these new friends of theirs—are ready to support them even without knowing anything about their past.

[what-if-nct]

hiiii today's reminder is i absolutely do read your paragraphs like it's the morning paper,i love knowing what's going on with you and what you're thinking about. also i know these conversations are technically public but i definitely say a lot more than i would normally because it feels so comfortable. love you 💓

Hiii! I love you too!!! And yes it feels like a public private conversation. Like it's just us in a cafe together like there's people who walk by but like we're just talking. I consider all asks kind of like a huge slumber party and were just chatting and everything is pink and mean girls and Taylor Swift are playing in the background and it's chaotic but fun. But speaking of sleepover talk so the guy I'm talking to one well talk on the phone for like 2 -3 hours so often that last time that happened was in the summer and we were going to wait till later that week but he came and picked me up at 2am and we watched puss in boots and "cuddled" I remember him fondly actually. Like right in the middle of "cuddling" he called me cute. Which that is so adorable like that isn't the activity id think being cute would be possible. So that was the last time that happened. But with the current guy it's just the best vibe and fun and we laughed about raccoons for so long.

And okay I overshare obviously so in passing I brought up a few things that happened to me cause I told him earlier that day some guy was trying to hit on me and I just froze and didn't speak I was scared cause he was a lot older than me and he said is wrong for me to be talking to you which told me he probably thought i was way younger than i am. Cause I swear when I present younger it's always old men who be weird and creepy to me which is gross within itself. But I brought that up to him and told other instances that happened in the grocery store and i said im just probably being dramatic and he told me I wasn't being dramatic and only one other person has told me that she was actually the one who told what happened was really bad and she told me a few other things that happened to me were sa. But when I talk about it with therapists or other friends they're either dismissive, blame me, tell me to stop wearing short skirts, tell me I shouldn't have put myself in that situation and I just was never really allowed to process it so I feel like it's still unhealed and I still have a lot of anxiety about being alone in public unless it's somewhere that's mainly women. But hearing someone say I wasn't being dramatic I don't know it meant more than it probably should.

Oh also he said he was surprised I was so tall, so many people say that. So many people expect me to be shorter and I have no idea why. Also I'm not that tall I'm 5'8 so is my best friend and sister. But most importantly he has kept everything 110% innocent and sweet and I've never experienced a guy not immediately being interested in that. I started to feel like that was my only purpose but I think he actually likes me as a person, and my eyes started to water just as I said that. Okay I will stop here before I write a whole essay again. Oh I think I can show you what he looks like without actually posting a picture and I started watching this YouTuber just before I met the guy I'm talking about which is so weird that I just realized they look a lot alike like so much alike I had to bounce back and forth between their pictures.

The only difference is the guy I'm talking to, his face is a little softer. But the resemblance is uncanny even the hair and he dresses exactly like him. Also the YouTubers name is Seth Borden he's related to Lizzie Borden and he's a paranormal investigator.

[allthemusic]

Week ending: 1st December

Things are getting chilly, Christmas is approaching, and with it, three fresh new tracks, at least one of which I suspect I already know? It's well known enough that I've seen jokes and titles for other things that riff on it - a good sign? Certainly a sign that it has sticking power, for better or for worse.

Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing - The Four Aces (peaked at Number 2)

Well, the first version of this I found was very low quality, but even with a better quality version, I can tell early on that this isn't the version that I know. I did indeed know the song, but the vibe here is completely different to what I expected, a bit faster and more full of instruments and other voices. Whereas I think I know a version which just has a solo man singing?

I was also surprised, as the tune got going, to be hearing an electric bass? It's a groovier, more insistent vibe than I expected - I fully thought this would be on the soupy side.

The lyrics kind of make up for it, I guess, except they get off with the cheese by dint of their sheer audacity and scope, as they describe love as the April rose that only grows in the early spring and the golden crown that makes a man a kind. It's the sort of song where you hear about lovers kissing on lonely hills, enshrouded in mist, and how your fingers touched my silent heart and taught it how to sing. It walks the line between being delightfully over-the-top but also avoiding any overly cliché or lame images. It's all just fresh enough and earnest enough to work.

It's also got a soaring, swelling quality to it that carries the lyrics. In some ways, it makes me think of Secret Love, by Doris Day. Both songs have a really dramatic emotional heft, and both are pitched and arranged so as to make you want to join in, with these long, drawn out high notes, not quite so high as to be unattainable. It's good, I can see why lots of people covered this one.

This was apparently the best-selling version of the song, though it was originally written not for the Four Aces, but as an instrumental and then chorus theme for a similarly-titled romantic drama film, all about an American reporter who falls in love with a Eurasian doctor who was originally from Hong Kong. The film actually sounds pretty daring for 1955, though the main female role was apparently played by a white actress in yellowface, which... yeah, not great.

Overall, I like the song a lot, and I can see how it fits with the film's story, which you can't always say about these film tie-in songs.

Ain't That a Shame - Pat Boone (7)

This was originally a Fats Domino song, and I can tell you already, I will probably enjoy Fats' version better. There's just something about these rock and roll originals that have such a good energy, but the UK charts sadly seem to get the watered down white-person version of them, at least at this point in the 1950s.

Not that Pat's not giving it a good go, and apparently Fats himself enjoyed the cover - and the royalties money that it earned him! So maybe we shouldn't be too harsh on this, especially because it is, despite everything, some pretty textbook rock and roll, perhaps the clearest example we've heard so far? A lot of this can be credited to Fats' songwriting chops, to be fair, but still - this is good fun!

We start with two words, then two gunshot-like sax (horn?) blasts, almost reminiscent of the opening to Rock Around the Clock or Jailhouse Rock, as Pat sings about how You made // Me cry // When you said // Goodbye. It grabs your attention very effectively early on - a strong start!

Pat then goes on to sarcastically belt lines about how Ain't that a shame / You're the one to blame. He seems to be on fine, sarcastic form throughout, actually, with a gleeful sort of insincerity on lines like Oh well, goodbye / Although I'll cry / Ain't that a shame? You really get the sense that he isn't that broken up about it all - or that he is, but that he's writing this song as a sort of angry kiss-off to the love who dumped him.

Fittingly for this, the whole track has a sort of party vibe, completely with properly rollicking sax and piano solos, a fun arpeggiated chord pattern and some supremely hammy "bop-a-doo-wah" backing singers. It's good fun, in ways that can probably mostly be credited to good song-writing and an ear for instrumentation, and it all makes this song probably the most fully-formed rock and roll song we've had so far.

Twenty Tiny Fingers - The Stargazers (4)

Normally I'd assume from the title that this was a mawkishly sentimental song about having a baby and looking at their tiny hands, or something. However, since it's the Stargazers, who recently gave us the nightmarish but at least fun Close The Door, I'm willing to extend a bit of goodwill here. The Stargazers have been many things when they have appeared in this project, but boring has rarely been one of them.

And yeah, it turns out I was right on both counts. This is a song about babies, but it's got a bit of that Stargazers silliness, too. Much like its spiritual predecessor, Where Will the Dimple Be, this song was also covered at some point by Alma Cogan. This is all honestly making me wonder why people were so obsessed with songs about babies in 1955?! I know it was the baby boom, but still - did people really want multiple songs about having a baby?

Thankfully, the Stargazers keep the pace up, with a sort of oom-pah bass, trombone versions of the "shave and a haircut" riff, and some rather daft lyrics. Sure, we get some sentimental stuff about how the babies have Twenty tiny fingers, twenty tiny toes / Two angel faces, each with a turned up nose. One looks like mum, while the other other has a bald patch exactly like his pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pop. Fine. But we also get some genuinely funny lines, including the description of the mum's waters breaking and the couple rushing to the hospital, and the dad waiting on pins only to be told with a handshake from the doctor that it's twins. Keeping it light, you know?

I also quite like more realistic lyrics later on about the difficulties of having twins, such as how We've got cribs and bottles and bibs / All round our three roomed flat / No time to see what's on TV / No room to hang your hat, or about how It's twice the laundry, twice the milk / It's twice the baby clothes / It's double this and double thatn /Oh how the money goes. All of this seems pretty accurate, based on everything I've heard from people with twins. So that's something.

And more than that, the song just doesn't outstay its welcome. As novelty songs go, that's pretty good. I'm not gonna be clamouring to put this back on, but it's fine, and keeps moving nicely. Which leaves me with just one question - if there are two babies, shouldn't there be 40 fingers and toes? What has happened to these babies' hands and feet? Should I be worried?

Well, that was a good, fun set of songs. I was kind of expecting at least one duff song, but really, I'd listen to all three of these again. We are in the rock and roll era proper, now, and it's so good! I have some misgivings categorising Pat Boone as a rock and roller. But here? Yeah, he's rocking and rolling with te best of them, and honestly, it's making me want to listen properly to Fats Dominos, so that's a win for both artists.

Favourite song of the bunch: Ain't That a Shame

[thedickgraysonrp]

What do you look for in a rp partner?

AND/OR

How do you overcome writer’s block?

�� Munday Meme ♡

What do you look for in a rp partner?

Oh boy. This is going to be a bit long, so buckle up.

I think what most of what I look for in a RP partner can be divided into three main categories, both in Discord and Tumblr RP: Interest, Communication and Initiative. Now for a bit of an explanation below the line if interested:

Interest: If you don't show interest in what we roleplay, why roleplay at all? That is not to say you constantly need to come up with new ideas or plot devices, or fantasize about our muses doing whatever together 24/7—not at all. It links to one of the rules I state in my rules page, honestly: Quality over Quantity (or both, if possible). Quality in writing, for me, comes when you are actually interested in what happens in a roleplay when you write it. You want it to develop and grow, you want to continue writing a story together, or reach a satisfying conclusion to it. For shorter threads, you want to capture a moment—may it be funny, sad, dramatic or silly, it doesn't matter. It doesn't have to be an endless text wall, too. Sometimes a lot more can be said in a juicy paragraph than an empty text wall of nothing. When you're not interested in what you write, it SHOWS. RPing is a major hobby of mine, has been for years, and even if my interest fluctuates and is a subject of my whims it is clear as daylight when I lack interest and trust me, it probably shows in your writing too. Which brings us right to the next point—

Communication: I 👏 CANNOT 👏 STRESS 👏 THIS 👏 POINT 👏 ENOUGH. One of the things I find majorly lacking in Tumblr RPC is communication between partners. Maybe it's because RPs here are based on threads and not an instant messaging system, or maybe other reasons, but it shouldn't matter! From OOC conversations to deep dives into muses, communication with a RP partner is a MUST, no matter what platform you use. You want to wrap up a thread or not make one out of an ask/meme? You can either discuss it with your partner, note it in your tags, or like the post to let your partner know not to expect a reply (which is a thing here on Tumblr, I learned?). Not interested in that blog/partner? Though it's up for debate on this platform if to do so or not, I suggest just sending a small polite message to that blog/partner indicating that. I can only speak from personal experience, but most of the partners I did so were very civil about it and we parted on good or neutral terms. Sometimes it's not forever, and it means they are not interested at the moment. Of course, if civil communication doesn't happen, there's always a block option. Haven't gotten a reply to your thread for a long time? Don't jump to conclusions, message your partner. Tumblr is a glitchy goose and notifications are shotty at best, it might have just not popped up for them. Or, perhaps, initiating a conversation will trigger them to talk about why they haven't replied since they were scared or worried to talk about it. Want to RP with this new/old blog but don't know how? Talk to them. Who knows? They might have been waiting on the other end to hear just from you. There are a lot of other examples out there. Most of the roleplayers I encountered on Tumblr are really nice and eager to write, and even if things don't work out between you two, you know you've tried. Now, I'm no saint—I myself find it hard to message people sometimes and ask/discuss things because I think I may be annoying/a drag/unwanted/etc. (anxiety yaaay), and one of the things that reassure me it's comfortable and safe to talk to other people is them initiating or talking back. You never know who is on the other side of the screen. I would love to make friends here and share my interests beyond RPing and writing if I feel safe to do so, too. People automatically assume communication means constantly talking to your partner every minute of the day, which is NOT even close, and that's where the third category comes in for me—

Initiative: I intentionally put this here and not with communication to make a point. No, you don't need to talk to your partner every hour of the day and be all over them to show your interest, BUT you do have to show initiative. So what does that mean? To me, initiative links both interest and communication together. Yes, we're all people with things to do outside Tumblr and the RPC, some of us more busy than others and so on. And yes, while roleplaying is a hobby and not a job and you have no obligation to it whatsoever and it's for your enjoyment and pass time alone, you are still writing with someone. Naturally, like every communication, there are expectations on both ends. It is recommended to set those expectations beforehand, of course—may it be stated in your rules (as it always should) or discussed over if anything is unclear. Initiative means showing to your RP partner that you're still present and there's a potential of interest. It doesn't necessarily mean sending asks/memes or answering starter calls (though these are always usually highly welcome if your partner posts those), because we're not always in the mood to write with that specific muse or answer that specific thread. Or, sometimes, we're just busy. Initiative means engaging with their blog, show them you are still interested in it even if it's not necessarily in writing with them atm. Liking that visual they posted or headcanon they wrote for their muse, leaving a comment on something, tagging them in stuff and so on. And if you are interested in writing with them? Don't wait around—ask them if they want to write or send them something. You may not always get an equal level of interest as yours, if at all, but they will know you are there. And that's what counts. You don't need to do this every minute, every hour or every day. But you need to do it. If you'll sit there expecting people to engage with you out of the blue and you do nothing at all, it's most likely not going to happen if you don't initiate. People would most likely assume you are not interested in their muses, writing or blog and just leave you alone. I know how hard it is to take initiative sometimes, it can feel like a big step— it feels that way a lot of times for me too. But it takes two to tango. The sheer amount of times I thought my RP partners don't want to write or be partners anymore because they the engagement was one sided is ridiculous.

So, yeah. Be mindful of yourself and others when roleplaying or engaging with RP blogs.

[the-single-element]

Good morning.

Today we hear another famous story from Matthew's Good News, where Simon expresses his trust in Jesus as the messiah, and Jesus responds by expressing the trust he's placing in Simon, and by giving him a new nickname (as we've often seen God do with those in whom He's particularly close). It's not a famous story because it's particularly flashy or dramatic... but because it's often quoted, particularly in Catholic circles, for rhetorical reasons. Go to a mass today, and there's a good chance the sermon will be about the Roman Catholic interpretation of Jesus's endorsement, which Popes have used as the basis of their claim to the last word on matters of religious truth.

Perhaps there's an interesting post to be made about that topic, someday. I've certainly expressed, before, my reservations about how Popes (if they really did inherit Peter's endorsement) tend to use those privileges. But today, I want to talk about the guy who received this endorsement, this nickname. Today, I want to talk about Simon bar-Jonah, called "Cephas". About Simon Peter. About, if you'll excuse the linguistic joke, Simon "The Rock" Johnson.

In some ways, I have to express a debt of gratitude to the evangelists here, because unlike a lot of people in Jesus's inner circle, whose personalities aren't always clear in the surviving Good News, Simon has a fair number of anecdotes attached to his name, and they paint a pretty amazing picture of who this guy was.

Because here is a guy who is incredibly eager but perpetually overcompensating. He'll make a mistake, and then take the correction so seriously that he veers off into another mistake in the opposite. direction instead. He'll overcommit and then panic when he realizes he's in over his head, swerving between "tell me to walk on water and I'll do it!" and "Aah, I'm drowning!", between an outraged "I'd rather die than deny you" and a terrified "I swear I've never heard of this Jesus guy in my life!"

And sometimes, like today, he'll get things miraculously right, only to then double down on it and stumble into being tragically wrong.

And this is the guy Jesus hands the keys.

Why?

Because as fallible, as human, as Simon Peter's approach is, he's actually listening. He's actually trying to understand Jesus's message, and understands its value even when he gets it wrong, or stumbles too far ahead of it, or when (for example in Jesus's "literally eat me" sermon or when he offers to build those sukkot at the Transfiguration) its meaning is too bewildering to grasp. Because - as we learned in Lent - the Kingdom is in part a matter of a willingness to reconsider, a willingness to change your way.

And Jesus probably knows, somehow, that in the future Simon Peter will be called on to make a tough call, and that Peter's confused, human, but fundamentally well-meaning overcompensation will be exactly what's needed to keep the Way pointed in the right direction.

Luke the Evangelist reports on that situation in his "Acts of the Apostles". Aside from a few Spirit-fueled sermons, it's the main thing Peter is mentioned as accomplishing after the Ascension. To sum it up: Peter will have a confusing dream about treyf food, where the voice of God will repeat over and over, "what God has cleansed, you must not call unclean". Then he'll awaken, and be asked to visit the home of a Roman centurion - which would normally also be forbidden by the Rabbinical advice of the time. In doing so, he'll manage to win over the whole house, and thereby set a precedent that those who are not Jews are still allowed to be Christians.

In fact, he'll go even further. He'll go another mile past what he was explicitly asked to do - he'll go on to argue that these new Christians shouldn't even need to be bound by the Sinai Covenant, because if it's so hard even for Jews to live up to that standard, wouldn't it be far too a heavy burden to ask from people who'd never before had to bear it?

That's the moment, I think, that this whole story leads up to. It's a moment that Jesus must have foreseen when he said "what you bind will be bound; what you loose will be loosed". Peter's own words in that moment are the evidence, because those are the terms he frames it in: that it is better to loose this burden than to bind it. The result is that he binds those who walk the Way only to the Law of Noah - the Jewish doctrine on what counts as "righteous" among non-Jewish peoples.

That radical inclusion of all ethnicities and cultures in the Way is the foundation of the Church - the only way it could have been built. It was Simon Peter - his particular nature, his particular tendency to take correction by swerving far in the opposite direction - that made it possible to bind what ought be bound and loose what ought be loosed.

And that's what God asks of us, too. Not perfection - of course not perfection, because people are imperfect. On the contrary, God calls us with all our quirks and foibles, and even relies on us to be ourselves, so that the communion of saints might have the right person for every circumstance. All he asks is what he asked of Peter: that we try our best, and listen when we get it wrong. That we set foot to the path, and change direction to get back on it when we find ourselves in the rough - even if it leaves us swerving back and forth for a while.

If Simon Peter - poor, fallible, too-hot-or-too-cold Simon Peter - achieved such things by being that kind of person, then we should take heart, too. That perhaps many things we think of as "character flaws" are, in fact, gifts given to us that we just haven't learned how to use yet. That, yes, we have to change our direction, but that this change won't be self-destructive.

That if you can learn how to live in the Kingdom, then you'll be living there not as some stranger who was once you, but as yourself, and working wonders that only you can do.

[luesmainblog]

As someone who faces this pretty strongly and is constantly terrified of people being attracted to her: read OP's post over a few times. there is nothing impure, disrespectful, dehumanizing, betraying, anything bad Inherent to attraction. and I'd like to voice some of what i've examined about my own experience with it in hopes that it might help others who feel the same way. with sexual attraction, it automatically feels like a threat. I am VERY sex-repulsed irl, to the point where i haven't even seen an OBGYN yet because the idea of a pap smear makes me want to curl up in a little ball and cry. so hearing that somebody sees me and feels some sort of sexual attraction, to me, is akin to them admitting they want to beat the shit out of me. and the sad thing is, it still feels that way even after i've been reassured a million times that they'd never actually try anything with me. a part of it is probably the knowledge that i would never agree to anything like that, so the only possible way for that to happen would be if it were forced on me. even though i know, logically, that they aren't actually saying they want to SA me, it's still effectively what i hear. and part of that, i think, is the same reasoning for why romantic attraction can make me uncomfortable: ultimately, it means they're thinking of me in a way that blatantly contradicts what i am actually like, and may be viewing our relationship very differently than i do. when you have a crush on someone, everything you do with them feels like buildup to that eventual relationship; that hope exists in your mind as an Expectation, and you look for any possible sign that they may feel the same. which can mean YEARS of viewing your friendship very, VERY differently than the other person does. to be suddenly told that your friendship the entire time has been viewed through this window of hoping for more... it feels like they lied to you when they said they thought of you as a friend, and enjoyed your company just for its own sake. in a way, both cases communicate the same thing: they have a fantasy in their head, and they've plastered your face onto it, without actually considering how you actually are in real life. I don't think i can think of a better example than those scenes early on in ouran host club(2000s romcom anime) where we can see Tamaki's little fantasies, and the 'haruhi' in those is NOTHING like the actual Haruhi existing next to him.

and that's the betrayal, i think. the realization that they've had this image in their head, something that is nothing like you, and expected you to actually be like that, or become that. that they don't actually know you the way you thought they did. because surely, if they did know you properly, they'd know you would NEVER want to engage in these things they want, and the idea would be as disturbing to them as it is to you.

but of course, that's not how humans work. it takes a lot of work to accept that nobody is going to feel as strongly about it as you do, except perhaps people who feel the same way for Themselves or people/characters they've projected a form of ownership onto. and the sad truth is, most people's theory of mind is not very strong. even when they've been explicitly told otherwise, it's all too easy to assume that everybody feels the same way about things as you; that things that are nice for you are nice for everybody, and things that disgust you will disgust others as well.

realistically, it's not that different from you hating broccoli when your friend loves it. but there are much bigger feelings involved here, and so the consequences can be much more dramatic. it might hurt your feelings, and you're allowed to feel that way, but it shouldn't make you lose respect for them in an instant.

of course, if you let them down gently and they blow up about it and claim you lead them on, then yeah, by all means, call them an incel and move on.

I don't know who needs to hear this, but: Yes, it can be awkward and uncomfortable when someone is romantically and/or sexually attracted to you, and you don't feel the same way. Especially if you like them as a friend, and you don't want to hurt their feelings or disrupt the friendship. Yep. That sure can be an awkward, uncomfortable situation.

However.

Someone's attraction to you is not betrayal. It is not hurting you. It is not immoral.

If someone being attracted to you makes you lose respect for them, I guess that's up to you, but why? If it makes you feel betrayed... why? Because you thought they respected you? What makes you think they don't?

I've seen this framing argued as both "It's wrong to be attracted to your friend without telling them, because that's basically lying!" and "If you must (shamefully) be attracted to your friend, it's wrong to tell them about it, because they didn't give you permission to impose that knowledge on them!" So there's not even any consensus on what someone who finds themself attracted to their friend should do about it, other than "Don't be."

There's this whole weird sex-shaming, attraction-shaming, romance-shaming undercurrent to this whole narrative that it's normal and understandable to feel betrayed by being the recipient of non-reciprocated attraction. It seems to be rooted in this unquestioned idea that attraction is in and of itself impure, disrespectful, and dehumanizing. In practice, it seems to involve a lot of (sometimes internalized) queerphobia, since it seems to largely be in the context of same-gender attraction.

If you find out that your friend is sexually and/or romantically attracted to you, and you don't feel the same way, it's understandable that you would feel uncomfortable and awkward about that person and the situation. But if you feel like they've betrayed you, maybe examine your assumptions about attraction?

[filthforfriends]

who: Ethan + platonic rest of band what: fluff when: day time where: apartment why: Reader has hair like Ethan but straightens it, and one time they find her at home with rlly curly hair (think Brian May) and it's fluffy

"I'm sure she won't mind!"

"Impromptu dinners are fun, it'll be great!" You hear the voices of Damiano and Victoria outside your door, apparently accompanying your boyfriend home. This happened every so often: one of them would buy some nice wine and Damiano would find something of exceptional quality at the farmers market, so he'd want to cook. They'd think hey, let's just make it a party. Why Ethan was designated as the host however was a total mystery.

He was an introvert with a calming presence. The band usually knew better than to trample over his peace and quiet, but this was an exception. Unfortunately, this surprise was also on your day off. You'd given your hair and skin a break from product, which drastically changed your appearance. Ethan could be heard attempting to reason with them in hushed tones, Thomas' voice boisterous and oblivious.

You searched for a hair tie or something in your near vicinity, but nothing less than 40 minutes of skilled work could tame your mane. It was pointless to try so you braced for impact. When the lock clicked, you turned away to be spared of the immediate reaction. Of course dramatic Damiano audibly gasped. Thomas realized why Ethan had been discouraging him, and fell dead silent, probably with a bit of guilt. You turned to see his face and found Victoria grinning wide. She skipped right up to you and started touching your curls. You wanted to tell her off, but more so you wanted to throw something at Dami, who stood there with his jaw on the floor.

"Yeah, I know, it's ridiculous. I'm aware." You don't hide the irritation, and decide locating a hair tie would make the situation better.

"Oh, I wasn't going to say ridiculous!" Victoria gushed. She followed you into the bathroom, playing with your hair like a cat. When you smacked her hand away she laughed good-naturdly, unoffended.

"Right, sorry! Is this how you became an amazing stylist? Like dealing with your own hair?" Feeling like a zoo animal was very unpleasant, but this was a line of questioning you are comfortable with.

"It takes a lot to get it silky and straight, like someone's is naturally. Y'know all it takes for Ethan's is -"

"Aha! Brian May! Thats who I was thinking off," Thomas exclaims.

"Brian May?" Damiano murmurs, not recognizing the name. "Oh, psh, from Queen, obviously! Yeah, I see it." Damiano, at least has the good sense to wince as soon as he speaks. Thomas seems oblivious to the notion that being compared to a man born in the 40s wasn't a compliment.

"And, y'know, what people don't get about him as a guitarist..." You let Thomas drone on about music facts down the hall from you, at least distracting Damiano. Victoria watches your face as you wrestle with your hair, braking the only elastic in sight. You let out a growl of frustration and hear Ethan knocking on the door frame.

"Cara mia, I'm sorry about them. I would've warned you we were coming. I tried to talk them out of it, but -"

"Wait, wait. Y/n shouldn't have to spend an hour on her hair every time she comes in contact with another person. Thats exhausting!" You let out a snort, laughing at the painful accuracy of Vic's statement. "I think it's beautiful and Thomas doesn't know how to talk to other human beings, but comparing you to one of his favorite guitarists is a huge compliment because he's an idiot. Damiano likes the sound of his own voice and Ethan knows you're too good for him, so let me get you a goddamn glass of wine!"

She leaves the room, on a mission. You hear both Damiano and Thomas make noises of dissent and know its Victoria causing them some kind of inconvenience as retribution on your behalf. Ethan steps into the bathroom behind you, tucking the tag into your shirt, sweeping your hair off of one shoulder, and kissing the skin.

"Your beautiful, beautiful hair," he declares, softly. You smile, because theres no arguing with him on this. Ethan loves your hair, even when it gets in his mouth while you're cuddling.

"They're more annoying than I remember." As if on cue, you hear something shatter on the kitchen floor, probably a wine glass.

"Every day they are my burden and you are my reprieve," he jokes, kissing all the way up your neck. He strokes you head, coaxing the hair back. When it's manageable enough, Ethan uses the hair tie on his wrist to secure it back. You sigh, letting the tension go and allowing yourself to smile.

"So, how was the studio today?" Ethan opens his mouth the answer, but is interrupted by Victoria's husky voice.

"I got your wine y/n! Is it safe to come back? You're not fucking in there right?" Ethan dissolves into disbelieving laughter from the mortification. He props is forearm against the wall and hangs his head, eyes scrunched closed.

"Make them leave," you request.

"If only I could."

[artemismoorea03]

Jason found the whole situation incredibly entertaining, especially when he learned that Danny had said those things to Tim of all people. The little brother who Jason took a lot of joy in embarrassing, and man was he embarrassed now.

Tim: If I never hear somebody thirst over one of my brothers again, it'll be too soon. 🤢

Cass: 🤣

Steph: Its funny that this is the same Janitor. He's practically already family 😋

As the group chat continued to blow up about Jason's fictional 'love life', Jason was on his way to meet up with Danny. In all honesty he had no idea if he had real interest in him oytside of a friendship, but it was a great one so far. Though he knew both him and Bruce were both very suspicious about how Danny had handled himself in that fight and the way he reacted without any hesitation.

Cass hadn't even seen the full fight thanks to that smoke (which as it turned out didn't come from their team) but what she did see brought up a lot of questions. She said he was experienced and not afraid of getting hurt but had also been afraid of hurting the people he was fighting.

Stephanie also mentioned that Sam and Tucker acted weird during the event too. Sam had warned them to stay out and that things would be okay before the smoke filled the area. Sam then started to count at no set pace while Tucker gave directions. "1, 4, 2, 9, ect".

The three of them were experienced in ways that hadn't shown up on any of their background checks. So, Jason might have also been using this little 'date' to find out more about Danny and his friends.

Jason arrived only a few minutes before Danny did, and after ordering their food they sat down and started talking.

"So, Danny, do you have any siblings?"

"Mhm." Danny said, putting down his drink. "I have an older sister named Jazz who lives in Metropolis."

"Really? What's she like?"

"She’s great." Danny smiled, "There was a little while where I was convinced she was just a pain in my ass who was determained to make my life miserable. Once I got my head out of my ass though I realized just how great she was. I mean, she practically raised me, covered for me with my parents and saved me more than once. I owe her so much. What about you, what are your siblings like?"

"Well, you met Dick. He's clingy and dramatic and tends to put everybody above himself to the point where we have a bet on when he'll inevitability pass out as a result of being stupid. Tim was adopted a couple years after me and drinks enough coffee to kill an entire herd of horses but is loyal as hell. Cass is great and while she doesn't talk a lot she is always there to listen. Steph is a ball of energy and is always looking for a challenge. Duke is the newest member of the family and is still adjusting but he's pretty great too. Then Damian is the youngest and is a demon unless there are animals involved."

"Wow." Danny chuckled, "Thats... 7 of you all together?"

"Yeah. It's crazy but its family."

Danny thought for a moment as he looked at the fries in front of him. "What was growing up with Bruce like?"

"Hm... well I was adopted when I was 12 so I was mostly raised by my mom who... probably shouldn't have been raising anybody. Bruce was still learning how to be a dad and I was learning to be a kid so we butted heads a lot. But Alfred was a big help and I spent a lot of time with him."

"Alfred?"

"Yeah, the family butler. He raised Bruce and is practically our grandfather. What about your parents? What are they like?" He asked as Danny tensed and looked away. "Oh... sorry, are they-"

"They're alive... they're just not something I like to talk about. Sam and Tucker either. Tucker will talk all about his parents and how they're his heroes and Sam will say how her parents are a pain in her side and that she only misses her grandmother but... they dont like to talk about it too much. When we left we ran and never looked back."

Jason frowned, red flags popping up instantly. "I see... then where is your sister? Is she okay?"

"She’s fine. She stayed back for a few months to figure stuff out and make sure things were okay enough for her to leave too then went to Metropolis and is studying Psychology there. She and Tucker are the only ones in contact with any of our parents but we get plenty of updates from our friend who is still back home."

That was a lot to unpack but before Jason could wrap his mind around it, Danny smiled and asked.

"So, what do you do for fun?"

"Read mostly. But I also like to play basketball sometimes."

"I'm not the best at sports so you'll absolutely destroy me but after this you wanna go play a round?"

Jason chuckled, "Sure."

Ok, but for your amusement, might I suggest:

Tucker decides Danny needs a break and a shot at a love life. Tucker blackmails Danny into ATTENDING (though he makes the mistake of not specifying for how long) and Danny runs into a bored Wayne kid. Neither want to be there. Both were blackmailed with the kindest intentions. Both decide to team up to make their well-meaning but obnoxious meddlers pay.

I MIGHT HAVE GONE A LITTLE CRAZY WITH A REPLY HOLY FUCK, I'M SO SORRY. WARNINGS FOR THE END: MENTIONS OF GUNS, THREATS OF VIOLENCE, VIOLENCE. Happy ending <3

"Danny, you need a break." Tucker said, and Danny sighed.

"This again? Guys, I'm fine."

"You're not fine, Danny." Sam insisted, standing next to Tucker. She had originally struck up this conversation when they were still in Amity Park. "You're going through a lot right now and you need a distraction that isn't work or ghost related. Gardening didn't work-" Because he froze every plant he touched, "Meditation didn't work-" because when he closed his eyes and tried to relax he would have flashbacks about the countless things he'd seen since the accident. "So the next step is dating."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Hard pass."

"Come on dude, Sam is right. If nothing else you can at least do some people watching and get to know the city better!"

Danny simply continued to scroll on Tiktok, wondering how hard it would be to do one of those dancing videos he saw everywhere. Then again he'd actually need to know how to dance for that to work. He was so busy looking at the video he didn't notice the glance his friends passed between each other before they sighed.

"You've given us no choice, Danny." Sam said, "Tucker."

Tucker held a phone out to Danny to make him see the screen as Danny's face burned red at the picture. It was a picture of him in his Phantom form after a fight with Skulker where a good chunk of his suit had been destroyed, showing off more than Danny was comfortable with.

"DUDE! I told you to delete that!" Danny said, jumping off the couch towards Tucker who was pulled out of the way by Sam who then armed herself with a frying pan. "Delete it, guys!"

"No way! And if you don't at least get out of this house and at least make a friend I'm going to make a Phantom Dating Profile using this picture!"

"You wouldn't dare." Danny glared.

"Try us." Sam said, "We'll even send it through the Ghost Zone now that the Phantom Phones are working we're bound to get some replies from interested ladies."

Danny faultered, then groaned. "Fine."

"Hell yeah, we even made it easy for you." Sam said, handing Danny a piece of laminated plastic. "One ticket to the Wayne Gala this weekend. Tucker got permission for two people to go with him. Which means the three of us are going to a party!"

"A party. A Wayne run party? You guys are just begging for trouble." Danny sighed, "Besides, I don't own a tux, remember?"

"Leave that to me."

Two days later the party arrived and the three of them walked up the drive towards the building where the event was being held.

Sam was wearing a beautiful A-Line dress that was jet black in color with a rose shaped black bracelet that was wrapped around her wrist over the back of her hand and connected to her middle finger.

Tucker was wearing a black suit with a white button up shirt with slight rose shaped patterns on it, a black tie and a thin gold chain connected to his left vest pocket. he looked very sofisticated.

Danny felt like a fool though. Silently wishing he had never let Sam pick out his clothes. He was wearing a white button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, exposing the black compression sleeve on his left hand, a gray vest, black suit pants, black shoes and a black tie. He was wearing a silver watch on his right hand which served as a ghost portal maker in emergencies.

He also knew that the 'pocket watch' in Tucker's Pocket was the same kind of device, and the rose Sam was wearing would release harmless smoke out of it if they needed a distraction.

Danny still felt like this was a bad idea. No, actually, this was a terrible idea. Not only because he looked out of place compared to his friends but compared to the rest of the party he hardly seemed like he fit in. He was going to draw so much attention to himself.

They walked to the front doors, showing their invitations and id's to the guards before walking inside. It wasn't as loud as some other parties they'd seen since coming to Gotham but it also was more crowded. There were people everywhere in expensive outfits, talking about... something that sounded like rich person gossip, it was boring.

"Have fun you two, don't make fools out of yourselves." Sam said, waving as she walked over to mingle with a young woman with blonde hair and another girl with short black hair, both seemed to recognize her.

"Oh, hey those guys are from my team, I'll catch you later, Danny. I wanna talk shop." Tucker said, rushing off just as quickly as Sam did as Danny sighed.

'I wanna go home.' He thought as he began to wade through the sea of people, trying to find his way to a wall where he could make himself look as small as possible. Not that it would be hard, his body was so busy developing new powers all the time it had decided that he didn't need to grow anymore after he turned 16 and stuck him at a solid 5'6".

He finally found his way to a corner, letting out a sigh as he sat down on a chair and looked out at the party happening all around him. He started to subconsciously count the people in the room, even going so far as to closed his eyes and sensed the very souls in the room. 56 people in his room, 17 in the room Sam was in, 10 upstairs. Danny then opened his eyes and got a sense for the room in another way. 45 windows lined the entire South side of the building if he was going his math right, with two sets of double doors near the front of the building. The building was mostly open floorplan which helped keep an eye on everybody but in an emergency it would be a stampede.

A man walked over, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall with a growl. He was wearing clothes similar to Danny's but with a red shirt, but what caught Danny's attention was how he felt. He was luminal but not like Sam who felt like a walk through the garden or Tucker who felt like gritty sand, no the feeling that came from this man was like fire. A burning pain that also felt like grease stuck to the back of Danny's throat.

He was luminal but the ectoplasm that made him luminal was so fucking tainted that it made Danny want to gag.

Seeming to notice Danny's glance the man looked back at him.

"What?" He growled.

"Nothing, just thought your hair was cool." Danny said, noting the white streak at the front of his bangs.

The man blinked, touching his hair. He was about Danny's age if he had to guess, maybe a bit older.

"Thanks. It's a birthmark." He grumbled, but Danny could tell that it was probably a sore subject. If death turned his hair white he could only assume it did the same to this guy too. "What's your name kid? Never seen you at one of these boring as parties."

"Danny. Danny Fenton. And I'm not a kid, I'm 19."

"Same age as me, neat. The name's Jason." Jason introduced, himself. "You work at Wayne Enterprises?"

"Kinda, I'm just the janitor, my friend was the one who was invited. I'm just one of his plus ones."

"Yikes, what'd you do to deserve a punishment like that?" Jason asked as Danny laughed.

"My friends decided that going to work then living as some kind of godless cryptid that sleeps the rest of the day 'isn't healthy' so they dragged me out here in hopes that I'll make friends. Though they may have heavily implied that they expected me to either find a date or hook up with somebody while I was here. When I said no, they blackmailed me here. I'm just hoping that if I stay small and don't complain then they'll just let me exist without getting in my face for a while. What about you, what are you in for?"

Jason hummed and nodded, "Similar story. My dad and siblings are all here and said that if I didn't at least make an appearance this time that they would hide some of my books. Among other things. Plus my older brother used the whole 'you never spend time with us' whimper while my two sisters gave me puppy dog eyes."

Danny and Jason sighed before Danny looked at him. "Wanna hang out so they think we're playing nice and leave us alone?"

"Sure." Jason chuckled, "So which ones are your friends?"

"That one there." Danny said pointing to Tucker, "Tucker Foley, he works as a Programmer at WE. Then over there is Sam Mason, she works as a Gardener."

Jason's eyes widened, "Doesn't your friend Sam work at the Wayne Manor?"

"Yeah? How do you know that?"

"My dad is Bruce Wayne." He said, his eyes going to Tucker before they landed back on Danny and he laughed. "Wait. You're that Janitor?"

Danny swallowed a lump in his throat. "I don't understand?"

"My dad came home one day and said that somebody told him that there was information happening at Wayne Enterprises that was above his paygrade an we've been teasing him about it for weeks. Now every time he asks anything we reply with 'that's above your paygrade, Bruce'."

Danny groaned, his cheeks burning red. "Oh my god, I can't believe this. I didn't even mean to say that, I just panicked when he suddenly showed up in storage for no reason and caught me... uh... testing stuff."

"Testing stuff?" Jason asked as Danny nodded.

"Y-yeah. See, I work as a janitor because I didn't graduate high school and unlike Tucker I can't just breeze through school and show off my hacking skills to get a job. So I've been using some of the tech that gets thrown away to make something that would help me temporarily lift some of the fragile heavy objects around the building and place them harmlessly down so I can clean under them. But then Bruce caught me, I panicked and that was my reply." Danny was quick to explain, which wasn't a lie he was working on something like that but it was for the Ghost Zone to help him move some heavy things around his Lair and hold down things that often floated off for no damn reason.

"You know, that does explain a couple of things. I can't imagine your boss seeing you mess with tech would be a fun thing to explain. But... if you're so smart why didn't you graduate?"

Danny shook his head, "I'm not smart, I mean not like Tucker or Sam or my family. My sister is in Metropolis studying Psychology and is already a good way through her degree because she graduated a year early. Tucker and Sam graduated and are both working on getting degrees in something but nah, school just wasn't something I could do. Sitting behind a desk learning from a book isn't my thing. I'm better at using my hands, figuring stuff out on the fly, and trial and error shit."

Jason thought about this for a moment before he smiled. "I don't blame you, school is bullshit. Just like stupid galas."

"Mhm..."

Jason suddenly smiled, "Dude, I have the best idea to get back at all of them."

Danny smiled back, "Oh, you have all of my attention."

That one choice was how Danny ended up leaning against a wall closer to the crowd while Jason loomed with one hand near his head, talking to him about absolutely nothing important just to play the position while Danny occasionally chuckled. To anybody outside of the conversation it was supposed to look like they were flirting, which in a way they were but they also weren't.

"Do you like raisins? How about a date?"

Danny chuckled, at the horrible pickup line. "Excuse me, sir, do you have the time? I would like to know the exact time when I got a crush on you."

Jason snorted, "Are you a magnet? Because you sure are attracting to me."

Noticing Tucker and Sam looking his way Danny reached up and gently touched Jason's black tie to sell it more, but he was careful not to touch Jason otherwise. "Let's flip a coin." He told the taller man, "Heads I'm yours, tails you're mine."

Jason's cheek got ever so slightly red as he cleared his throat. "Are you a parking ticket, because you've got fine written all over you." He said as Danny chuckled again, watching Sam and Tucker quickly walk away to give Danny privacy.

"If you were a vegetable you'd be a cute-cumber."

Jason relaxed again at the cheesy flirt as Danny touched the silk tie in his hands. Not because he was actively trying to flirt with Jason but because it felt really nice and expensive. Jason snapped him out of his thoughts with another flirt. "Do you believe in love at first sight, or shall I walk by again?"

Before Danny could think of another flirt another man walked over, this one about 24 or so in age. He had wavy black hair and blue eyes with tan skin.

"Little Wing! Who's your friend?"

"Ugh." Jason groaned, moving slightly as Danny let go of his tie. "Take a hint, Dickie-Bird." He groaned.

The new person simply ignored Jason though and held out his hand.

"Hi! I'm Dick, Jason's older brother."

Danny shook his hand, "Danny. Danny Fenton, it's nice to meet you."

"You too, Danny! You look a little young to be working at WE, are you here with somebody?"

"A bit of both, I'm a janitor at WE but I'm here with my friend Tucker."

"Really? That's awesome! How old are you, Danny?"

"I'm 19."

This seemed to relieve Dick in a way that confirmed any suspicion that Danny had about him checking to make sure Jason wasn't doing anything illegal though he found himself ever so slightly annoyed. Did he look that young? No, people were just blind.

"Neat! Well, I just wanted to make sure Little Wing here didn't ditch the party, so I'll let you guys go back to what you were doing. Have fun~" He said, then walked away as Danny chuckled and looked at Jason.

"'Little Wing'?"

"Dick gives everybody nicknames, it's stupid. Now, where were we?" He asked, suddenly slamming his hand back by Danny's head as his cheeks grew warm. "Oh, that's right, I was going to out cheese you with these stupid fuckin' flirts."

Danny snorted, "Do you play soccer? Because you look like a keeper."

"I'm studying to be a historian. I'm really interested in finding a date."

This continued for a long time until they ran out of flirts and by that point Bruce Wayne was about to do a speech. At least that was the plan until suddenly the doors slammed open as party was crashed by a large group of people all wearing matching masks. Masks that looked like Ghostface from Scream.

There were at least twenty of them, all heavily armed with guns that they fired into the air. Jason cursed and Danny quickly grabbed him by the arm.

"Don't." He said, looking for Sam and Tucker who were trapped on the other side of the room. They were separated, they were in a large room but with so many people they might have been trapped in a hallway. "Where's your family?"

Jason looked around, "I see my dad and youngest brother. My two sisters are with your friend Sam. I don't see the other three though."

Danny shook off the question of 'just many of you are there' and instead nodded. "Okay, my friends are together too. So we should stick together, everybody else is in groups. Rushing anywhere now might start a stampede."

Jason frowned then glared at the criminals who were pointing their guns at everybody.

"Okay~ I think it's time we get this party started. Now, let's make this easy. If you don't actively work at Wayne Enterprises or aren't related to Wayne Family via blood or adoption get on your stomachs on the ground, the rest of you stay on your feet."

"They're looking for somebody..." Jason mumbled as Danny nodded.

The majority of the crowd laid down while only about a third of the crowd remained standing allowing them to see each individual person.

"Very good!" The criminal in charge praised and looked around. "Now, anybody who makes the wrong move will get one of the people laying on the ground killed. I know a lot of you are stupid enough to try to play heroes so instead of you getting shot we'll shoot whoever is closest to us."

"Shit." Danny and Jason both said together before passing a glance at one another.

The one in charge looked around again until he looked at Danny and pointed at him. "You. Step up."

"No way." Jason said as the man pointed a gun at a young woman who sobbed in fear.

"No no, it's okay. I'm coming." Danny said, patting Jason's arm as he walked carefully through the crowd towards the gunmen.

"Nice to see you again, brat." Hissed the man as Danny raised a brow. Before he could question it though the man pointed to Bruce Wayne. "You. Step up."

"Father." The young kid standing next to Bruce Wayne said going to argue but Bruce just told him to stay put then walked towards them. Bruce kept his hands up, looking at Danny with a clear look of recognition.

"Why don't you let the kids go, there's not a lot of them but those who are here don't need to be involved in whatever demands you have." Bruce said.

"Hah, no way, Bruice-Boy." Hissed the man as two of his men grabbed Bruce by his wrists, yanking his arms behind his back and knocking him back down to his knees. "We came here today for you, but damn we're lucky that this one is here. See, if it weren't for the kid here-" The man grabbed Danny by the front of his suit, shoving the barrel against his chin. "We wouldn't need to do this. This is what happens when you meddle, brat."

Danny's heart sank before he glared. "It's you. You're that bastard who boke in a few weeks ago!"

"Yeah! And if you had just minded your damn business this wouldn't be happening now. If you had just let us do what we were going to do then it wouldn't be a problem."

"You were trying to burn down part of the building with people still inside, I wasn't going to let you."

"And how is that turning out for you now, brat? Hm?" He moved the gun from Danny's chin as shoved Danny back into the arms of two more men who grabbed Danny's arms and shoved them behind his back but let him stay on his feet. "Now, Mr. Wayne, let me explain. See, you and your company were trying to find a cure for something found in the water supply that was making some kids sick, but see were were making a lot of money selling the cure at the highest price. We were going to destroy your progress but unfortunately we were stopped by another kid who thought he was a hero. So, this is what we're going to do. You're good at fundraising so you're going to help us fundraise ransoms for each and every one of these people from their own pockets. The more a person pays the more limbs they get to keep. We'll start at 20,000 per limb." He pointed his gun at Jason. "We'll start with the young man closest to doing something stupid."

Danny growled, glancing at Sam and Tucker. Their eyes met and Danny flashed them green. Sam nodded then with a swift motion told her friends something before smashing her bracelet on the ground.

In an instant their area filled with smoke that rushed out covering the men with smoke and protecting the majority of the crowd laying on the ground in a layer of smoke while only those standing could be seen. Danny reacted as well, knowing that more people would be able to see him . Dropping his full weight down he yanked the two men holding him together as they smashed their heads together and let him go. Danny then elbowed the one to his right in the crotch before standing up, grabbing the barrel of his gun and yanking it upwards, squeezing the metal so the gun would be unusable before he pulled it from the mans hand. Flipping on the safety of the gun he spun it and smacked the man in the temple with the butt.

Danny spun the gun, moving it to his left hand before disarming the man of his gun and kicking it into the smoke in the direction of the stairs in hopes of keeping it away from people. Snapping out of their dazes Bruce and Jason also seemed to react as Bruce slammed his head back, breaking the nose of one of the men before elbowing one in the center of the chest knocking the breath out of him while Jason grabbed the barrel of the gun the main guy was using and shoved it up, causing the gun to go up and break some of the ceiling plaster but preventing people from getting hit. Deciding to leave those men to those two Danny go to work again, but this time in a slightly different way.

He hated fighting humans.

They were too fleshy and not durable like ghosts so he chose not to fight and the smoke provided the perfect cover as he froze the feet of the enemies who were still posing threats while mysterious snake like shapes wriggled under the smoke and yanked the men under to where they would later be found wrapped up in plants or ice. One by one the men were taken down until there was a pained cry that made Danny turn when he heard Bruce shout.

"Jason!"

Danny turned, seeing Jason rubbing at his face. There as a cut above his brows from a knife. He had managed to get the gun from the man but he had pulled out a knife.

Protect.

Danny snarled, taking a step forward as the man went to stab Jason. Danny and Bruce moved at the same time with Bruce covering his son. But Danny made it to them before the man could make contact and he got in the way of the attack. Danny held the wrists of the man as he barred his teeth.

Danny shoved the mans hands upwards, knocking him back slightly before he spun and did a roundhouse kick. An attack that he might have put just a bit too much power into as the man was thrown a good ten feet backwards towards the stairs and the doors that he had broken down. Danny could hear the man wheezing and coughing, seeing him flailing desperately under the smoke but not getting up.

No sooner did Danny relax and turn back to the Bruce and Jason then did Batman (who seemed shorter today for some reason), Red Robin and Signal showed up with the police and a verity of confused looks.

"You sure you're okay?" Danny asked Jason who nodded, his forehead bandaged.

"Just a scratch, headwounds bleed a lot. I'm more confused what the hell just happened. Normally the bats react more quickly than that when they send in a smoke screen."

Danny chuckled, "You have a lot of experiences with the bats?"

"I'm a Wayne, it comes with the territory. Are your friends okay?" He asked as Danny looked towards Sam and Tucker who were mostly just waiting for Danny to finish but Tucker was also hacking on his phone to erase whatever data he could from the security cameras as he possibly could.

"They're fine. I'm going to get an earful for being reckless though."

"I don't think you were reckless. But... how did you learn to fight like that?"

"Uh... long story. Where we come from though the saying 'fight or die' was serious and there were daily reminders of it. But again... long story."

Jason nodded, looking drained. "Well... I know that this whole thing was just a way to get our groups off of our backs but how would you like to get dinner together some day? Just as friends, I mean I'm not against maybe trying some day but right now I kinda wanna get to know you. Besides, I'd like to thank you for protecting me and my dad."

Danny thought for a moment before he smiled. "Sure." He reached into his pocket and handed Jason his phone. Jason typed in his number then handed the phone back. "Get home safe, Jason."

"You too, Danny."

Danny started walking away when Bruce suddenly called out.

"Danny." Danny stopped and turned towards his boss, shrinking down slightly before Bruce smiled and put his hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"All good."

"Are you sure? You did really well out there but if you're hurt you should get looked out."

"I'm not hurt, Mr. Wayne, I promise. Just really tired."

"Alright, if you're sure." Bruce moved his hand and smiled, "Thanks for saving us, Danny."

"Any time, Mr. Wayne, but let's not make a habit out of it, okay? I moved to Gotham to get away from craziness like that." He said, waving his hand as he walked to his friends as he wrapped his arms over both of their shoulders and they made their way home.

"So, you guys have fun?" Sam asked as Danny looked at her.

"You know what... kinda, yeah. At least until the end."

"Did you get his number?" Wondered Tucker.

"Of course I did."

[vispero]

So, about previous Genshin and Luckae or Kaeluc ship.

I need to clarify some things. (Also don't mind mistakes, English isn't my first language.)

To me fictional content isn't some "example" you should follow irl. It's more about experiencing something you actually -can't- do irl. And as far as you not doing something bad/illegal, you free to like, create and enjoy any character and ships. There is actual laws about content which is allowed or now, and if someone just don't like something but it's allowed by site rules, then by no means anyone should blame, troll or hate people who create -allowed- content. Block button is a thing and it's better to use it than make "fandom" "hatedom".

All my life I was playing games, mostly Jrpg (final fantasy, tales of etc.). And in my childhood translations usually was bad or awful :') Years later I finally was able to check original scripts and yep, there was a lot of "new" facts. So even now, while I playing with Japanese audio and English or other subtitles, I often compare what I hear and what I see, and there sadly a ton of differences, some major, some minor (same goes about just text without audio, and it's more difficult to compare sadly). Should localisation team change facts to make it more appealing for their audience? Idk, honestly. To me original script and ideas always come first and translations and adaptations second, it shows what authors meant initially and I'm here for that. But even if someone prefer translations/localisations, then they shouldn't be arrogant and going so far as telling that only their opinion valid while ignoring Original (in Genshin case - Chinese) version and it's enjoyers.

Now about Kaeya and Diluc. I didn't know anything about them when I started playing. And after some of first quests I actually catched myself thinking "Damn, there is so nice chemistry there, I'm all here for that!" Muuuch later piece by piece I learned about their story. I also found post about Chinese version about their relationship, it was really educational. (I need to clarify that incest isn't my cup of tea, I'm not judging or anything, just not my thing. Idk if I'm bad person because of that but honestly I don't think I should tell anyone what they should like/ship. Also see 1th paragraph.) But in Kaeya and Diluc case I don't see them as actual brothers, adoptive or not. There is more interesting and complicated situation and I'm here for that, I like difficult relationships in media. And if Chinese players explained about "sworn brothers" trope, then it's clear why Genshin creators went with it. Western fandom can accept it or not because of English translation, but they honestly shouldn't force their opinion on those who don't see them as actual brothers. I don't think it's that hard?

I'm not really caring about what some people think about me online. I'm not drawing anything shocking (I hope xD), so people can like or don't like my opinion/artworks, but it's more about preferences than anything else. Most of my works very SFW or with some R rating (because of blood/dark theme), but I strongly support all artists and writers, sfw of nsfw.

And yep, I ship Diluc and Kaeya. In more Chinese trope style (perspective), so if someone don't like it just ignore me. I'm really glad I found this ship, they have complicated and dramatic story and I'm here for that. So "Hi" to all fellow shippers <3

P.S. I'm more Luckae person but you probably won't notice it in my artworks, they mostly G-PG13 anyway.