#whoa this is long

[survivalove]

Thinking about why I like Kataang so much

so a lot of my posts/asks lately have been about things I dislike so I decided to balance it out by talking about something I actually do like! ofc I immediately thought of kataang and started thing about why i like them so much compared to other couples in media I watched growing up.

first thing is, I don’t actually like romance in visual media. I much prefer it in books but having to actually watch it gives me the ick idk why. also when i first watched atla I was like 5, so the romance really had no appeal to me and I was super focused on katara and the other girls on the show because they were girls! i would completely block out the boys and all the ship scenes for years after that because my attitude to romance never really changed.

right up until I was about 11/12 and became aware of romance from hearing people my age start to talk about crushes, boyfriends/girlfriends, kissing etc. suddenly I had entered this phase in real life where romance was suddenly relevant among my peers and this made me start paying attention when it played out in the shows I was watching like Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place, etc. this also included ATLA as my dad and I would rewatch it together on DVD throughout the year.

as I watched with my katara blinders, like I always do, for the first time I started to notice the boys in the show, particularly aang, (yes I finally started focusing on the main character after 6 years 😭) and certain interactions katara had with him that I never noticed before.

*dramatic pause*

and the way I consumed media would never be the same.

jk, but really tho.

fast forward to now, and I’ve recently started watching anime after consuming a bunch of western media my whole life from cartoons and disney shows to contemporary literature and Y/A movies/TV shows. and one thing that stands out to me with kataang compared to most of the romance i see in shonen animes (one of atla’s biggest inspiration as a TV show) is the way katara and aang develop in a way that is realistic, yet too good to be true.

let me elaborate:

starting from the very first episode, katara and aang have that classic meet-cute interaction. the music is playing, their eyes are widening, aang’s acting like he’s never seen a girl before and katara is impressed by literally every single thing he does. this is pretty much how every ship is set up, anime or otherwise, and kanna basically spells out their imminent connection when she sends katara and sokka off and sokka even explicitly says the word boyfriend seconds before that. obviously, these two characters are gonna get together at some point and it’s just a matter of when.

this is where it gets more than that:

the more katara and aang spend time together, the more they start to get on each other’s nerves.

I’m sure everyone’s had a crush at some point, where you see someone for the first time and go “oh they’re so cute” and you feel the butterflies blah blah. you either fantasize about them for a while and move on, or you pursue the crush and start to actively make moves to get to know them better.

and as you get to know them, you notice some things about them that kinda piss you off. the way they pick their nose, the way they bounce their knee, the way they chew. it’s always something. it can even affect friendships because that’s life. we are humans, not concepts. no one is perfect, there is nobody on this planet that you will 100% agree with or like about them. it just doesn’t work like that. and for some relationships, there is that one irritating thing about them that breaks the camel’s back and it doesn’t work out. you learn what annoys you and move on to the next relationship. or you have the lucky ones who actually stay together and the relationship continues to blossom as you get to know each other better.

similarly, kataang in the beginning are completely enamored with the other. until they’re not. throughout season 1, we see katara becoming more and more disillusioned with aang going from “aang’s so brave. he’s the avatar!” to realizing he’s just a boy with insecurities and flaws just like her. some of which get on her nerves BAD. similarly, aang goes from trying to impress katara and going along with every single plan she has, to disagreeing with her and even getting annoyed by her as the seasons go on.

despite this, it doesn’t stop that thing they have for each other from growing and flourishing. that is the magic part. watching two characters fall in love as they continue to annoy and irritate each other more and more. the more katara and aang butt heads throughout the seasons, the more and more unambiguous their romantic interactions become.

aang bluntly telling katara she’s not funny like he didn’t just ask her to dance with him in a candlelit cave in front of dozens of people a few days ago? katara constantly getting annoyed at aang’s antics to turn around and ask him for his opinion on the way she looks or kiss him on the cheek? right.

this is what makes them stand out from other fictional couples I’ve seen, where the girl and guy’s opinion on the other never changes significantly from that first interaction they have. one person, usually the girl because of course, worships the ground our main character walks on, meanwhile he seems to barely notice her apart from that first scene where she looked pretty and his jaw dropped or something. and even if they do interact a lot, their dynamic hardly evolves from that initial setup. they never get upset with each other or at the least, visibly annoyed. their dynamic is static, stagnant, mostly affected by major events in the plot rather than personal characteristics and minor misgivings the characters may have.

there’s no juice. it’s stale. and for me, very unrealistic.

I was watching this video about writing couples in media and one comment stood out to me in particular:

What you said about charm is so true. Entertaining chemistry to watch ≠ chemistry that pairs people together. A lot of sitcoms try to pair opposites romantically or as best friends, because opposites are good for comedy and conflict, but I find myself not understanding why they’re so into each other.

instantly i was reminded of the way people call kataang vanilla/boring, in favor of pairings that are far less similar. and while katara and aang do fight a lot, fundamentally they are very similar which is why they are so believable and realistic. I love watching them slowly become disillusioned with the idealized version of each other they had in the first episode to seeing all the ways they manage to piss each other off, and still being drawn by that initial mutual attraction.

katara learns the hard way that aang isn’t the infallible savior from her grandma’s stories, but she never stops believing in him. aang comes to discover katara’s flaws and conflicting opinions, but he still encourages her belief in hope, affirms her as a waterbender/healer and yes still calls her beautiful every chance he gets.

and what I love about this, is, it gives them reasons to fall in love that go beyond the superficial reasons that drew them towards each other in the first place.

they don’t fall in love with each other in spite of those little minor flaws, but because of them.

katara doesn’t love aang because he’s the avatar. she loves him because he is the goofy fun boy that allowed her to be a kid while taking up this heavy responsibility. aang doesn’t love katara because she’s beautiful. he falls in love witnessing those moments of her being determined, speak up for herself and others, and even going to great lengths to inspire hope in everyone she meets.

[muzzlemouths]

Totally normal question (apologies if it has been asked before) do the DMD au boys have different love languages?

What would an act of love look like to them or from them if I may be so bold 👀

Moon’s love language is Quality Time. 

This may sound uncharacteristic of the Moon we’ve seen in Dead Mall Dare thus far, but I assure you he wants nothing more than to be in someone’s company.

He spent more time than necessary with the customers and was familiar, or made it his goal to become familiar, with each and every one of them — until The Event, that is, where all of that changed practically overnight.

Sure, Sun misses the customers, too, but he can still pretend. He’s good at pretending they’re still around, good at pretending that each sale is between himself and a stranger rather than a shuffle between his own hands, good at pretending to be alright with all of this. Moon isn’t so self-convincing, and he can’t bring himself to do what feels like slow torture to him. He needs the contact, the real companionship of it all. Someone to laugh at his jokes, to tell him about their day, to be there in the moment with him not just as a customer but as someone he can consider a friend. Trapped in a mall he can never hope to step foot outside of, how else is he meant to achieve that? Similar to Sun, there was a point where he attempted to fool himself into thinking that anyone breaking into the mall after its closing was just another customer. But they’re not. They are taggers, looters, thieves, only there to destroy what remained of their home, and it makes him terribly bitter. He denies needing companionship if only in the bleak hope that it will make him stop wanting it.

He's touch starved, conversation starved, companionship starved. He wants your time. He has to believe someone still wants his.

You may think Sun’s love language is Physical Touch or Words of Affirmation. After all, he’s handsy to a fault with Y/N right off the bat, and has already used no less than four different pet names by the end of the chapter. He’s very generous with his compliments and lays his affections on thick. That being said, his love language is actually Acts of Service.

Always considered the prettier of the two mascots by the average customer, Sun is used to his sense of worth being attached to his appearance. No matter how hard he tries, he will always be looked at for his charm first and everything else, second. He values compliments about his strength, his smarts, his ability to tackle almost any goal, but what he loves most is the chance to prove it.

So when it comes to his love language, he is all about doing anything and everything in his power to bear the weight, to an almost obsessive degree. He'll patch up that broken window by the afternoon, will cook up a four course dinner even if it means an evening of keeping his nose buried in an unfamiliar cookbook, will run from one department and back before you have the time to sneeze if you left something behind, and will spend all day attempting to repair Moon's projector despite knowing nothing about its mechanics just for the slim chance of seeing him smile.

If you allow him the chance to do just about anything for you he will be giddy for the rest of the day. Your stomach growls? Now you’re suddenly being ushered into a booth while he brings you every fruit he can hold with two hands. Need to change but your wardrobe is dirty? Now the laundry is done and he’s already picked out that week’s outfits in advance, so you don’t have to! Tell him your feet are sore? Now you’re in his arms, and he’s not taking no for an answer.

He can get…a little overbearing, admittedly. What starts as a way to show affection soon becomes overwhelming, and you might start to feel infantized or belittled, but he means well. He wants to be helpful, he wants to feel useful, and he’ll do anything to accomplish that.

[starheavenly]

Something familiar!

[cryptid-moose]

Pineapple Pen 🍍🖊️ (Apple got ate😔)

[andatsea]

The frame.

--

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[dailymanners]

I was talking with a friend the other day about bullying, specifically the more subtle and insidious forms of bullying that are more common among adults, like mobbing, character assassination, and ostracization. These forms are especially common in the workplace, but also pretty common in activist circles.

One thing we talked about was how some people can have a hard time distinguishing someone bringing forward a legitimate criticism of someone's behavior to their friends, colleagues, or fellow activists vs. trying to start a character assassination with the end goal of isolating and ostracizing someone (aka bullying or mobbing).

People will often just go along with mobbing for a number of reasons, maybe they're afraid if they speak up and defend the target they'll become the target themselves. Maybe they already had some pre-existing animosity towards the target so they're happy to go along with the mobbing campaign.

But often, I think people just either fall victim to the bystander effect, or they trust their work colleague/friend/fellow activist. Maybe they've only had good experiences themselves with the perpetrator leading the mobbing campaign, so they have no reason to question what the perpetrator is saying or doing. Or maybe they themselves have never been on the receiving end of this kind of bullying (character assassination campaign leading to isolation and ostracization) so they don't even recognize it for what it is.

What they also probably don't realize is usually the only thing that separates them from the victim is how useful and/or non-threatening they are to the perpetrator.

My friend brought up a really good point on how to distinguish between legitimate criticisms and concerns about someone's behavior vs. mobbing/bullying/character assassination. Listen to what they're saying, are they focusing on what they say this person is, or what this person does?

Are they saying things along the lines of "This person thinks they're so much better than everyone else!" or "This person is such a weirdo!" or "this person is so crazy!", or are they giving specific examples like "One time this person said or did this specific thing that I found troubling/disturbing/offensive."?

If they only have vague things to say about someone's character like "they think they're better than everyone else" "they're crazy" "they're a weirdo", how do they respond if you try to defend them and say something like "Well I don't think they think they're better than everyone else, I think they're just really focused on their work." or "I personally don't think that person is crazy, they just seem like they're really stressed out right now and maybe not managing it well." How does the other person respond if you try to give another perspective, do they get angry or offended that you would dare offer a different perspective, or do they even make you feel afraid or intimidated that you might not just agree with them on what they have to say about someone else?

If they only have vague statements about someone's character (they're crazy / they're so lazy / they're a snake / they're snobby and think they're better than everyone else) but can't give specific examples of the other person's actions, and especially if they get angry and offended that you disagree with their claims about the other person's character (when not being able to provide examples), consider that you may be witnessing character assassination with the end goal of isolating and ostracizing the target as a form of mobbing/bullying.

Of course, this isn't a steadfast rule, and there is a lot of nuance here. You really need to consider the context. If you have a personal relationship with someone outside of a professional/activist, such as a friend, romantic partner, or family member, it is more normal to vent and use more vague terms without having to provide specific examples while venting to your loved ones. And hopefully, if you are someone's friend/romantic partner/family member, and know them on a personal level, you hopefully know them well enough to know whether or not they're the type of person to character assassinate as a means of trying to isolate and ostracize someone. Not always, but I hope you do.

In professional settings, or settings that can/should call for a certain level of professional behavior such as activism circles, not only is it not professional to call your colleague a snake or crazy or a stuck up snob to your other colleagues, also consider that these are settings and circles where people are more likely to have ulterior motives if they have something to say about someone else's character. Your bestie or partner or mom might not actually have much to gain if they tell you their co-worker is a lying backstabbing snake or a stuck up snob, but your colleague who is competing with the person they're trash talking for a raise or a leadership position does have something to gain from a character assassination.

So when someone is trash talking to you, I advise you to always consider if they might have something to gain from assassinating the other person's character. What, if anything, could they gain from you thinking less of the other person they're talking about?

Another reason this isn't necessarily a steadfast rule is because of course when someone character assassinates (with the end goal of isolating/ostracizing the target as a form of mobbing/bullying) it's not uncommon for them to tell half truths or even just plain lie about something their target said or did. Also not uncommon, saying something their target said or did but taking it out of context (think of that one scene with Fred saying "I hate Coolsville" from the live action Scooby Doo).

So my best advice if you don't want to accidentally find yourself complicit in a group mobbing/bullying of someone (via isolation and ostracization) is to always make an effort to form your own opinions of someone instead of just taking someone else's word for it.

Of course, as with anything, there is nuance. You have your safety, and I'm not just talking about physical safety, but your emotional/mental well being to consider. If someone, especially someone you know well and trust, warns you about someone else, of course it's normal and healthy to exhibit an appropriate level of caution around the person you were warned about (which you can do while still being civil and professional towards whoever you were warned about in most cases).

Generally though, if you hear something unpleasant about a co-worker or fellow club member or fellow activist's character, and you don't have any hard proof of it for yourself, consider that this may be a(n) (attempted) character assassination, and consider forming your own opinions rather than taking their word for it.

This isn't usually a topic I'd write about on this blog, but character assassination leading to mobbing/group bullying/isolation/ostracization of the target really is more common in the adult / professional world than apparently a lot of people are aware of, and too many people just go along with it because they blindly trust the perpetrator and don't realize what's happening.

And of course it is more common in some settings than others. When I worked food service and retail I can't say I ever really witnessed or experienced this. Maybe it's because I almost exclusively worked for small businesses, so there really wasn't much of a social or financial ladder to climb that might motivate someone to character assassination and mobbing. Maybe shift work also lessens the likelihood of this behavior. Of course this type of behavior happens in the service industry on shift work, but in my experience it doesn't seem to be nearly as common as it is in office settings.

Once I moved on to office work, where there were more social and financial hierarchies to climb, I was disturbed at how common this kind of behavior is, and again, how many people just unthinkingly go along with it because they blindly trust what their colleagues tell them without considering the possibility of an ulterior motive, like being a bully.

I also advise you to show a good heap of caution towards anyone who is eager to trash talk and/or gossip, especially with people they're not all that close with yet, and especially in settings or situations where they could have something to gain from a character assassination.

TL;DR: always take trash talking with a grain of salt, and give people who are the target of the trash talk a chance if you don't want to be complicit in group bullying.

[starsofang]

“No.”

“Oh, c’mon, Johnny. Please? Halloween only comes once a year.”

Johnny eyed you suspiciously, taking in the request you’d laid out on him, which in retrospect, was something he wouldn’t normally deny—he was a kinky guy. But wearing a mask to fuck you, when you could just look at him the whole time instead? Nuh-uh.

“Is this one of yer book things?” he asked, cocking an eyebrow.

You frowned at him, darting your eyes away. “No.”

“It totally is.”

“Okay, yes, it is, but I think it’d be hot! You don’t?” you tried once more, pleading.

Johnny snorted, shaking his head. “What’s not to enjoy about my face?”

“Your face is wonderful, Johnny.”

“…But?”

“You in a mask is sexy.”

Johnny groaned, throwing his head back and blinking up at the ceiling.

Really, the idea was growing on him. A mask, yeah, he could do that for you—might even find it hotter than he thought—but the deep rooted thought of a familiar mask popped up in the midst of it, tainting his mind.

He rolled his head lazily to look at you, narrowing in on the pout on your lips. It was always hard for him to deny you, especially anything sex-related you wanted to try. Hell, he was practically like a dog being thrown a bone at the opportunity.

“I’ve got a better idea,” he murmured, a sadistic grin curling on his face.

It was your turn to stare suspiciously, slowly deflating from your previous excitement and dying down to a curious hesitation. “That’s never good,” you muttered.

“Mm. I think ye might like it,” he replied cheekily, taking a step closer to you. His arm slipped easily around your waist to rest on your back, tugging you into his warmth. “Ye remember Ghost, don’t ye?”

“Ghost?” you breathed, shivering when you felt his lips tickle your ear and drift down to your neck. He hummed against your skin.

He wasn’t serious, right?

He was incredibly serious, unfortunately.

“Happy Halloween, love.”

You could barely peel your eyes open to look at Ghost, only humming a noise of acknowledgment as he got up to leave, Johnny walking him out.

As for you, you were suffering the severe consequences of their bound agreement, body limp and sedated in the comfort of your blankets that Johnny gifted you to boost the ‘Halloween spirit.’

Johnny gave you what you asked for with little struggle, granting you the sweet taste of fucking with a mask on. Ghost was there for encouragement, pulling out his old, trusty mask and sliding it on just for you.

Fucking into you until you were a weeping, blabbering mess to a masked Johnny wasn’t what you pictured when you initially asked the Scot about your fantasy, but all hesitation was quickly snipped from your mind the moment you got a sample of both of them, their eyes peering down at you like you were prey from the narrow slits of the holes cut out for their vision leaving you begging for more.

“Maybe for Christmas, we could be Santa and ye could be our li’l elf,” Johnny teased when he returned, sliding into bed. “‘Tis the gift of givin’ soon, aye?”

He only snickered loudly when that earned a sharp kick from you, hunkering down into bed on Hallow’s night, murmuring about how he wasn’t kiddin’. They definitely could, if ye want.

[knifearo]

ultimately when it comes to shipping and fandom space treatment of aspec characters i just don't accept "aro/ace people can still date/have sex" as an answer from nonaspecs. like yeah. mhm. okay. now i think we both know that you're not saying that out of real interest in the diversity of aspec experiences. so you can turn in your seventeen-page essay on why and how you plan to examine this character's aspec identity within the context of a romantic or sexual relationship complete with evidence from canon and peer reviews from multiple aspec people within the next week or i'm putting you in the pit from the edgar allen poe story

[mysteriousmissme]

this is what winning in life feels like

[fear0phobia]

Bobby Nash and Athena Grant - Help Is Not Coming (2x03)

bonus: the outfit

[ssentimentals]

make a move {choi seungcheol}

pairing: seungcheol x fem!reader

prompt: 'i've never done this before' + 'i just want to please you' ((this work is part of my 1k event, go check out other works of mine here)

warnings: nsfw (minors, i'm looking at all of you, skip this work!), cheollie is whipped (duh, when have i ever written anything different), i'm striking again with a confident and forthcoming reader in here, fingering, handjob

seungcheol takes it slow. it's a miracle that you even agreed to be his girlfriend in the first place and he is not about to fuck it all up by rushing and making mistakes. he's a perfect gentleman, he prides himself in having a great selfcontrol and he's also absolutely terrified of messing up this chance of being with you, so. he takes it slow. his kisses never stray away from your lips and his hands are yet to map out every curve of your body cause he keeps them positioned strategically at your waist at all times. in those two months of dating he never stayed over at your place and never indicated that he wants to move things further, never pushed. all in all seungcheol is a perfect picture of someone who takes. it. slow. he's also a perfect picture of someone who's on the brink of losing his goddamn mind.

cause you don't exactly make it easy for him. part of seungcheol thinks that you're doing this on purpose, but another part doesn't want to believe in it. you can't be testing him on purpose, right? all those breathy sighs into the kiss, your fingers that caress his torso and then drop too low right next to his belt, you sitting on his lap and wiggling to get comfortable - you can't be that cruel, right? on any day he'd never think of you as anything less of an angel, but right now he is not sure. your simple 'help me pick an outfit for tonight's party' request sounded very innocent, but you closing the door and starting to undress right in front of him? sinful. devilish. seungcheol is losing his mind.

'i just need to freshen up,' you gesture towards the bathroom, taking off your hoodie. 'you can sit wherever, i'll take a quick shower and then we can choose, yeah? i want us to match!'

soft smile graces his features as he stares at your excited face. your desire to wear matching clothes is too cute and he is always ready to indulge you. 'sure babe, whatever you want.'

you smile, sending him a kiss before disappearing into the bathroom. seungcheol decidedly doesn't think of your state of nakedness right behind that door and turns around, getting himself comfortable on your bed. in truth, he doesn't really know how to...move forward. and the worst part is not like you asked him to take it slow. no, he decided so himself but lately seungcheol had a hard time remembering the reasons behind this decision. he'd wait for you as long as needed if you asked so, but when you didn't he is a bit at loss. his hands itch to explore your body, his lips long to kiss you all over and he doesn't know how to breach this subject. the last thing he wants to do is make you uncomfortable but the more he thinks about it, the more thought of talking it out with you seems to be logical.

'babe, where's my phone?'

'right over he- oh!' seungcheol turns his head so quickly, he hears a loud crack of his neck. image of you wrapped only in a towel will not leave his mind anytime soon. 'sorry! sorry. um, i didn't mean to look, honestly. your phone is-' he reaches out and hands it to you, still turned around, '-here, yeah it's here.'

there's a silence and then he hears soft chuckle. 'cheollie, if i didn't want you to look, i would have wore clothes before going out.'

'right-right,' seungcheol lets out automatically before meaning behind your words fully sinks in. when it does, he whips his head back, staring at you dumbfounded. 'what?'

you smile at his confused face, stepping closer. 'you heard me, seungcheol. or i can repeat the whole walking out thing again if you want.'

silence. seungcheol is not sure how he is supposed to react. his brain shuts down for few seconds, taking few more seconds to restart but this time when he's silent is enough to make you feel insecure. he sees how smile slips up from your face, getting replaced with downward quirk of your lips and frown. he hates that but before his tongue can remember how words work, you mutter: 'hey, i didn't want to pressure, i was just kidding, sorry-'

'no-no!' seungcheol rushes out to say, fumbling with his words as he shots up from the bed to stand close to you. you look so fragile with your shoulders hunched and looking like he might reject you, which honestly is never an option and he needs to make it clear as a day to you. 'please don't apologise, i just blanked out on you in a moment.'

you look up to check whether thats true or not and then smile, raising your eyebrow in a flirtatious way. 'should i take it for a compliment that you blanked out seeing me half naked?'

seungcheol huffs, stepping a bit closer. his hands fall automatically on your hips and he smiles as you instantly sway closer. 'i didn't want to impose,' he explains, carefully choosing his words. 'you and i, we...we are taking it slow, so. i'm kind of-' seungcheol shakes his head, tightening his grip on your hips. it's hard to find words when you're smelling so good and your skin is still moist and- 'at loss, i guess.'

you chew on your bottom lip, thinking. 'why exactly are we taking it slow, cheollie? is this what you want? if that's what you want then of course i will respect. but if it's for my sake then i don't really care, to be honest. but if you don't want me-'

seungcheol roughly pulls you close, inhales floral scent of your shampoo and breathes out, trying to put words into sentences. he doesn't want to hear the end of your sentence, can't bear the thought of you feeling like this; he wants to be romantic, wants to sweep you off your feet, but only raw honesty is on his tongue when he whispers: 'i want you. so much. always, all the time.' when he opens his eyes, he makes eye contact with you, wanting you to know that he is not joking around. 'never doubt that, never.'

your eyes glaze over and you lick your lips nervously; this little action makes him swallow loudly. 'then...' you place your hands on his belt, looking up. 'make a move, cheol.'

a permission. a verbal one, when you're fully in your right mind - once seungcheol registers that, he has to take a deep breath. in a second he's overwhelmed with all of the options: where he can touch, kiss, seeing you naked, the positions - his fingers start to shake a little from realization that he is free to do it all. he doesn't know what to choose first simply because he wants to everything at once, immediately, god he waited so patiently-

'i've never done this before,' he hears you whisper. 'i mean-never been this forward.'

he hums, drawing soothing circles on your hips. your towel is really getting in the way and he gets bold enough to tug on it, letting the fabric fall down. it gets a hitch in breath from you and growing smirk from him in return. 'you being this forward,' he whispers, closing in so he's practically whispering in your mouth, 'is very, very sexy.'

in truth it does thing to him that are hard to explain, because whole blood rushes away from his brain and moves lower, making it hard to keep his composure. you're finally in his arms in the way that he wanted and to have you fully naked and him fully clothes is really too much for him to handle. you glance at him with a small smirk of your own, wrapping your arms around his shoulders. your chest presses to his and seungcheol locks his arms around you, fighting off his growing desire to throw you on the bed and have his way with you.

'you find me sexy?' you ask and he is so far gone, you really don't even have to try and be seductive, every move of yours captures his heart in a deadlock. 'what else?'

oh, this is a fantastic question, one that seungcheol is ready to answer even if you wake him up in the middle of the night. he leans in, starting to press kisses at each part of your face as he speaks: 'i find you sexy, yes. and absolutely irressistible, and stunning. so, so stunning. you're unreal.'

your giggle when he kisses up your neck makes him smile and he lets you go just to shrug off his jacket. 'i am real,' you assure him, not so subtly tugging at the hem of his t-shirt. then you suddenly look up, serious. 'what do you want to do?'

another brilliant question. seungcheol gathers you back in his arms once he took off his t-shirt. 'i just want to please you.'

and that's really it. in the bottom of it all is just his immense desire to please you, make you feel good. seungcheol is ready to make this his lifelong purpose, he hopes you are ready for it. at his reply your eyes twinkle and you lean in, brushing your lips over his ear: 'green light on everything, cheol.'

it's a mess from then on. one minute you two are standing in a hug and then he's between your legs, leaving kisses all over inside of your thighs while his fingers gently pry you open. if seungcheol could choose, he'd gladly die right here and now. in between your legs, getting to touch your body, hearing those sinful sounds leave your mouth - that's a good way to go. his own arousal pushes at his jeans in an uncomfortable manner, but it doesn't matter for him now. he is completely lost in your world, can spend hours right in this position, massaging supple and soft flesh of your thighs, pushing his fingers again and again in your velvety heat, leaving his little marks all over you. everything about you is addictive: your body, your taste, your sounds. he wants to memorize everything now, but realization that this is not his last time has him reeling this desire back; god, just the knowledge of him having so much time with you in the future has his knees buckling.

'seungcheol,' you keen at the of the third finger and he smiles, when you try to close your legs together.

he wants to see your face and he moves higher, trailing kisses wherever he can reach, stopping at your collarbones. you're breathing heavily and he slips down to give all of his attention to your chest, smirking at you groaning. he speeds up his fingers and his jaw slackens in awe when you start moving along, chasing your high with a loud whine, grabbing his bicep for support. 'fuck- yes, c'mon, use me, use my fingers, take what you want, love,' he lets out, eyes fixed on the way your hips move.

'oh my god,' your nails dig painfully into his skin. 'i'm- seungcheol, i need-'

seungcheol moves down swiftly, knowing exactly what you need. his lips close around the nub and he sucks in time with his fingers, making you cry out. your legs shake when you climax and whole body grows taut for few seconds before relaxing, sagging back into the bed. cheol works you through it, his lips and fingers serve a constant pressure in the right places, stopping only when you tug weakly at his hair. he grins, leaning down to lap up at your juices. your skin is glowing with light sheen of sweat and he wonders will you be disgusted or not if he licks it off.

'feeling okay?' he asks quietly, moving up until he's facing you.

your eyes focus on him after few moments and you smile, nodding. your hand reaches out to his belt and he catches it, bringing it to his lips for a kiss. 'what about you?' you ask, frowning.

'i'll take care of it,' he says. 'you are tired and don't even argue about it.'

you pout but don't argue - you are tired. this day has been dreadful and after an orgasm all you wanna do is just roll over and fall asleep. however, leaving him high and dry is not what you want, so you stubbornly reach out for his jeans, ignoring his groan of protest. 'handjob?' you ask, looking up at your boyfriend. 'blowjob?'

seungcheol curses under his breath; how can someone look so cute when these kind of words leave their mouth? he sighs, pulling you in and whispering into your hair: 'handjob.'

honestly, he's so pent up that even few strokes from you will do it but he tries to hold on, not wanting to leave a bad impression. so he grits his teeth and tries to think unsexy thoughts when you caress his shaft slowly before picking up your speed. he's trying to be quiet but you lean on and start kissing him and oh, he is a weak, weak man. seungcheol moans loudly into your mouth when you apply more pressure and pants openly as his stomach tightens from all the feelings. 'let go,' you whisper - command? - into his ear and he follows your order easily like it's the most natural thing in the world. you swallow up all his sounds with a kiss and his midn blissfully drifts in and out until he comes back to reality, when you reach out behind him for a tissue.

'shower?' you ask, looking at him with a warm smile.

'and a nap,' seungcheol nods. 'want me to go first and fix the temperature?'

seungcheol wants nothing more than to lay here and fall asleep with you, but he knows how you hate sweat and how you hate cold water and having to wait for it to warm up, so his want will hav to wait. you nod gratefully, smiling at how well he knows you. 'yes please.'

'how polite,' cheol snickers but stands up, tucking his jeans away and rushing to the bathroom. he stands there for a while, waiting for water to warm up and then grabs two new towels before calling you in. 'all is ready, your highness, please do come in.'

your laugh makes his heart beat louder in his chest and he sighs in satisfaction when you drop a kiss at his forehead before going in. this evening turned out to be something else and he's never been more glad of it.

a/n: so.many.feelings in this smut, this got out of control when i started writing it. let me know what you think - nini

tagging @prpldahy

[scho1ar]

kim dokja is selfish. among other things. his self sacrificing is a selfish action, one driven by denial and an unresolved desire to die. it’s meant to save the company, but what he fails to think about is that in his self imposed heroic actions, he’s just getting rid of one grievance and replacing it with another that he chooses to not pay attention to.

when you’ve been in the mindset that he has for so long, at some point you forget how to live any other way. he is not a character, he is a reader. while he says it like it’s something absolute, it really isn’t. it’s something that he imposed upon himself. changing a mindset like that’s difficult, and so he doesn’t. despite all of the desperate words, actions, and tears that are shed, he doesn’t acknowledge them, not really.

acknowledging them would make him acknowledge that the way that he’s been thinking is flawed, and he can’t do that. it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that he wants things to be like that, or he did for a while. kim dokja is like this because he chooses to be, selfishly.

[phoenixkaptain]

Tim proving himself through facing Scarecrow is so good. You don't understand: it's the setup, it's the layout, it's everything.

Of course Tim has to go against Bruce to prove he's ready to be Robin, that's a staple, every Robin doe sthat, but Tim specifically facing Scarecrow is the nail in the coffin, the significance is magnificent, it's Tim overcoming the fear because he isn't like Bruce

That's the whole thing, that's the detraction of Tim's character, you hear it all the time, "Tim's just like Bruce" and you aren't wrong but you're missing the fundamental part, the little piece that keeps Tim separate so dramatically and that makes him and Bruce a dynamic duo:

Bruce was crushed by his parents' deaths. In a way, he never overcomes the fear that gripped him. Scarecrow is his biggest threat in this and just about every other issue precisely because Bruce knows what he's most scared of and he can't just walk it off. He's so emotionally entangled that it's almost impossible for him to walk it off. It's almost impossible for anyone to walk it off.

Except for Tim.

Because Tim's greatest fear isn't his parents dying. Even at his mother's funeral, he's mostly apathetic. I doubt he came to terms with it was he said he did, but he was more upset by the lack of trust Bruce was putting in him by assuming that Tim would be so emotionally unbalanced he wouldn't be able to handle being Robin. Tim's greatest fear isn't his parents' death or his own death or anything else along those lines; his biggest fear is disappointing Robin. As in, he fears misusing the name, misrepresenting the colours, misunderstanding the role.

Tim walks off his fear because he isn't as emotionally attached to his mother as Bruce was his parents. He seems almost apathetic because he is apathetic. Does that mean it doesn't affect him? Of course not! Of course it affects him! They were his parents after all.

But Tim's only connection to his parents is that blood connection. While Bruce has blood, he also has memories of his parents genuinely loving and caring for him. He has fond memories of his parents. He never doubts that his parents loved him. He had an emotional connection, and when they died, it crushed him emotionally, physically, mentally...

Tim just doesn't have that same connection. His mom dying hurts him, but it's just that. It doesn't crush him. It can't crush him, because there was no real weight behind their relationship.

Where Bruce and Tim are similar, they are very similar. But in this, in the face of fear, Tim can overcome it when Bruce finds it difficult. Tim isn't afraid of loss. He never had it to begin with.

But he fears losing Bruce. He fears losing the connection he's built with Bruce. Bruce told him that coming out meant he would never be Robin and Tim wants so desperately to be Robin that he tries to convince himself that Bruce'll be fine, Batman is always fine, but he can't convince himself because he's too scared of losing Bruce.

Tim is scared of letting down Robin's legacy because Tim views Robin's legacy as protecting Batman. In his mind, it's Robin's main role: keep Batman safe. That's why he's so adamant that Batman needs a Robin in the first place - he wants Bruce to be safe, even from Bruce himself.

Tim doesn't go in the Robin suit. And this too is how scared he is of losing Bruce. As if even if he is wrong and Bruce is fine or if he's right and Bruce isn't fine, Bruce only told him not to go out as Robin, and he didn't go out as Robin, so even though Bruce will lose trust in him, surely he'll be able to see that Tim made an attempt to follow the rule, that Tim tried not to upset him?

And Bruce obviously is like "??? Why aren't you dressed as Robin?" Because bro knows his ass was so totally grass before Tim got there like-

I've said it time and again that Tim and Bruce are so similar yet so different and this proves it, this is all the proof, this is so good the way they are because-!

Bruce plays with the rules. Vigilante justice is a crime? Okay. See if he can't pay bail. See if he can't afford a fancy mob lawyer. If you even catch him in the first place.

Tim sidles along right next to the rules. "You said not to go out tonight, but I'm inside a car, so it can't really count."

And while the comic proves their differences, it still goes out of its way to prove their likeness because Tim uses fear to lure guards into traps and Tim ultimately smashes Scarecrow into Scarecrow's own fear gases, implying that Tim really just scared Scarecrow out of his own game. Scarecrow's gonna have nightmares about short people in red ski masks for weeks after this.

Tim uses fear as part of his strategy like Bruce and he disappears from the scene before the cops can catch him like Bruce.

And even as Tim assumes he blew his whole chance to ever even think about being Robin, he still went through with it because his biggest fear is always going to be losing Bruce over anything else. Whether that be losing Bruce's trust or Bruce losing his life.

I guess it can be summarized thusly.

Bruce became Batman because his parents died in front of him and he knew he would probably never catch the actual murderer, so he tries to make up for that by catching every other criminal in the city. And he knows that it will never really make up for it, but he has to do something because he felt powerless then, and he doesn't want to feel powerless ever again. Which is also why he takes in both Dick and Jason, two boys who are powerless but still try to fight back despite their situations. He teaches them power to keep them from feeling powerless again.

Tim became Robin because he saw a boy's parents die, he had nightmares about it for months, nightmares that he never shared with his parents, and the part that stuck out was that when the boy was at his lowest, his saddest, Batman saved him. And watching Batman became caring about Batman became wanting to be there when Batman was at his lowest, his saddest, to provide the same comfort to Batman that Batman provides to everyone else.

TLDR: Batman #455-457 are pretty good issues and I would recommend them to any Timmer fans. Personally a fan of how Tim thanks Dick for being at his mother's funeral, and while Dick and Bruce are thinking about how depressed and torn apart Tim must be, Tim is casually talking to a random guy in the background. I don't think I can ever emphasize enough how much Tim just. Feels nothing. It is both amazingly depressing and funny only to me. 10/10. Coulda used more Dick.

[whoatherebigguy]

very silly late night a.w.e. comic, featuring lil Toto and life lessons!

based on a back and forth in the comments with @welcome-to-hotel-california [let me know if you want your @ removed!] because I found it too funny not to draw. and i am always looking for excuses to doodle the awe designs[mostly bc they are so much easier to draw].

[haylessa]

how are these three only one year old apart

[basu-shokikita]

Obsessed with this 2009 interview that @kittywhiskersmonday showed me where Brendon says Toki is the sister and Pickles is maternal. 14 years ago he already had this vision