#wrestling my brain because it feels ridiculous

[thornheartless]

Actually I am getting bored of being the "haha, funny, pathetic, short twink." If anyone needs me I'll be listening to Shinedown and Three Days Grace while working out.

[toomuchracket]

when i found you, much younger than you are now (flatmate/dad!matty x reader)

ten years of self-titled!! can u believe!! anyway, a little fluffy drabble about the day the album was released, and also about the day it turned ten, as voted for by you guys. enjoy!

2013

when you enter the kitchen, the linoleum floor cold even through your fluffy socks, matty is staring at the fridge. namely, at the thing pinned between two shitty manchester fridge magnets - a futile attempt by you to reduce your shared homesickness when you moved down south.

he's staring at the calendar, which under today's date reads "75 album release day!!!!" in your handwriting, adorned with as many lovehearts and stars and smiley faces as you could fit in the tiny box.

not that either of you were at any risk of forgetting the date, mind, but you thought it would be cute to commemorate it anyway. "you can keep it as a memento in the future," you had said, as you wrestled with the paper and the bumblebee magnet and the laws of physics while putting the calendar up. "when you're living in a malibu beach house in a decade, married to a supermodel, you can look at that calendar and think of the day your first album came out. and maybe also of me, back in london, or manchester, or maybe edinburgh... i don't know where exactly, but most likely on the other side of the world from you and your gorgeous wife. it'll be cute!"

(neither of you thought it was cute whatsoever, though.)

matty turns when he hears your half-shuffling footsteps, face twisting into a sleepy smile that splinters your heart. he opens his arms as you near him, pulling you into a washing powder-scented hug and resting his lips on your hair. "hi, darlin'."

"hi," you murmur into his sweatshirt. "happy album day."

"thanks," you feel matty's cheeks twitch into a smile against your head. "feels quite surreal, honestly. we have an album out. mad."

you caress the space between his shoulder blades. "i can imagine - it's insane for me to even think that my best friend in the world has an album out. m'so proud of you though, babe."

"couldn't have done it without you, sweetheart. oh, that reminds me..."

matty breaks the hug - and, in the process, your heart - to reach for one of the CDs piled haphazardly between the radio and the kettle. he hands you one with an all too familiar cover art, accompanying his "here" with a grin.

"matty, i said i would buy it!" you protest. "i want to be a part of getting you a number one."

"that's cute, babe, but nah," matty folds his arms and smirks. "there wouldn't be an album without you, because there wouldn't be EPs without you and your room at uni. so, the boys and i figured that you were the perfect person to get the first album CD actually made."

your eyes fill with tears at the ridiculously sweet, ridiculously too generous gesture. "wait, really?"

"i mean, it was my idea, of course," matty winks, which earns him a shove on the arm. "but yeah, that's the very first 1975 album disc. open it, darlin', look at the lyric booklet."

sniffling, you do as requested; your sniffles turn to full-blown sobs as you take in the "to our favourite girl. thanks for the love (and the pints) xx" dedication written on the first page, sobs which only increase in volume as you take in the lyrics, handwritten by matty rather than typed.

you gently place the CD and booklet back on the counter, and pull your sweetly-smiling best friend into a teary hug. "thank you, sweetheart. i feel very special."

"you are," matty replies, tenderly stroking the back of your head. "you're the most special, to me."

your heart jolts at that, and you squeeze matty even tighter, pull him even closer to you. but it's not close enough to satisfy you, it never is - nothing short of his skin cells grafting to yours and consuming them would stop your heart and brain and nervous system aching for him.

well, a kiss would probably do it, but that's far less likely to happen.

the painfully tender moment is interrupted by matty's back pocket buzzing, which provides a blissful relief from the thoughts about kissing your best friend that were beginning to awake from their dormancy. alas, the relief is short-lived - matty sighs in your ear, and murmurs "will you get that for me, sweetheart? don't wanna let go of you."

with a hopefully-unnoticeable gulp, you slide your hand down matty's back and into his pocket to pull out his phone. you squint at the caller ID. "s'george."

"should probably speak to him, i s'pose," matty says, planting a final (and devastating) kiss to your head before letting go of you and taking his phone. "are you gonna go and listen to the album while you get ready for the party later?"

you grin sheepishly. "already bought and listened to it on itunes."

"you're incorrigible. but i love you."

"ooh, big word! i love you too," you smile. "and tell george i love him too, and i can't wait to celebrate with you all later."

matty winks. "will do, darlin'."

you wink back and grab your CD, turning on your heel and wandering to your bedroom to begin the arduous process of getting ready for the album release dinner and subsequent party. it goes by quicker than usual, though, soundtracked by the boys, punctuated by congratulatory texts to and from ross and george and a half-hour congratulatory phone call with adam, and powered by the excitement of knowing you can be extra affectionate with matty today and it won't be weird.

it goes by so quickly, in fact, that you're almost completely finished your makeup when matty peers round your slightly-open door. "hey babe, would you mind- oh, wow, you look gorgeous!"

it's almost embarrassing how warm your cheeks get at that simple statement. you swivel to face your flatmate, smiling bashfully. "thanks, sweetheart. i was a bit worried the eye makeup was too much for dinner, but i've committed to it now, i s'pose."

"no, it's perfect," matty says softly, coming into the room and perching on the end of your bed. you're perfect, he wishes he could add - it's cliché, but god, is it true. "i love it."

your cheeks burn, and lift of their own accord. "i'm glad."

matty smiles back just as widely as you. there's a pleasant silence for a moment, reluctantly broken by you before matty forgets his train of thought. "did you want to ask me something, babe?"

"oh, shit, yeah," matty nods. "would you mind - if you have the time, that is - drying my hair for me? can never get it to sit right. but like it's cool if not, i can do it myself, i just like it more when it's you doing it and-"

"matty," you interject, before he talks himself unconscious. "of course i will. just let me do my lipstick first, yeah? then i'm all yours."

all his. christ, what he wouldn't give. "take your time, darlin'. thanks a lot."

"s'no problem," you say, turning back to your dressing table and rifling through a pile of lipsticks. matty smiles as you open a few in turn, furrowing your brow as you wordlessly narrow down your colour options; the smile is wiped clean off his face when you drop your jaw and swipe a dark pink over your lips, forming them into an O as you make sure the lipstick is applied perfectly. fuck. your mouth.

(the lyric from talk! is most definitely about you, but he'll never tell.)

after the most agonising minute of matty's life, you turn around to face him. "ok, i'm finished making myself pretty. your turn, babe."

"you're always pretty," matty says, kissing the top of your head as you stand up to let him sit in the chair; he finger guns towards his reflection as he does. "and so am i."

you roll your eyes. "maybe it's best if the album doesn't go to number one, actually. your head might explode, healy."

"best make sure my hair looks good then, babe."

"when has it not, when i've styled it? it's me you're talking to, not george."

"fair point."

with a wink to him through the mirror, you rake one hand through matty's hair and aim the hairdryer at it with the other. he closes his eyes, sinking back into the plush seat, enjoying the soothing combination of warm air and your gentle touch - your nails lightly scratch his scalp the way you know he loves, and he hums contentedly. fuck the dinner, fuck the party, fuck celebrating the album; matty would be happy just to stay like this forever with you.

you'd be happy with that too, to be honest.

matty slowly opens his eyes as you put down the hairdryer and finish shaping his hair with your hands. you crouch to get the back looking just so, then rest your chin on his shoulder and smile at him through the mirror. "beautiful boy."

tilting his head so it rests on yours, matty beams at you through the mirror. "thanks, sweetheart. we do look quite hot, don't we? we should memorialise it, i think."

"now? we're not even dressed for tonight yet," you say, as matty pulls his phone from his pocket and opens the camera.

"trust me, babe, this is just the first of many pictures i intend to take to document this very important day. and the first of many pictures i intend to take of you, looking all hot and glamorous."

"charmer. alright, take the pic."

"alright, darlin'."

*

2023

when you enter the kitchen, the déja vu of a moment from a decade ago practically smacks you in the face. never mind that it's a different house, with a different kitchen and a different floor (tiled, not lino, but still cold under socked feet).

just as he was exactly ten years ago to the day, albeit with different hair, matty is staring at something pinned between two shitty manchester magnets on the fridge (also different - a smeg you were embarrassingly excited about buying when you and matty moved here). rather than the calendar from before, though, it's the picture the two of you took while you were getting ready to celebrate the album release.

again, matty turns to smile at you as you near him - well, as best he can with a toddler clinging to his leg and a 7 month-old baby in his arms. you can see in his eyes that the déja vu is getting to him as well. that, and the way his smile widens as he says "hi, sweetheart".

"hi. happy ten years of your first album," you grin, moving closer to kiss him quickly. dylan lets go of her dad's leg and raises her arms towards you; when you pick her up and kiss her cheek, she giggles and hides her face in your neck. smiling, you do the same to elena, who beams mostly toothlessly at you in response. "and hello to you too, my babies! were you good for daddy while mummy was at work?"

soft curls tickling your neck tells you that dylan is nodding, an action matty copies enthusiastically. "they were perfect," he says, booping elena on her tiny nose and making her giggle - your favourite sound on the planet. "they take after their mum, of course."

you roll your eyes. "ever the charmer, healy."

"you know it, healy," matty grins, relishing the chance for acknowledgement of your shared last name, the same way he's done at any opportunity since you took it as your own four years ago. "we were just talking about mummy, weren't we, dyl? how in that photo she thought i was going to be married to somebody else by now, but daddy always knew he wouldn't marry anybody but her."

your heart glows with overwhelming love for matty and his words; it quickly begins to burn with embarrassment at your past utter cluelessness, though. "well, i genuinely didn't think you liked me in that way, the way i liked - like - you."

"silly mummy," dylan giggles, playing with the pendant on your necklace that bears her first initial, as well as those of her father and sister.

you tickle her little tummy, and the giggles increase tenfold. "silly mummy indeed!"

your toddler's giggles fade into little hums, and her tiny face turns placidly serious as she looks at the picture of her parents. "but pretty mummy."

"the prettiest," matty agrees, trying his best to extrapolate elena's tiny fist from one of his curls.

"well, maybe in a few hours, once i'm ready for the party," you say, stepping forward to save your husband's hair from his mini-me's grip. it takes you both a minute, considering you're both operating with only one daughter-less limb, but matty's curls escape mostly unscathed from your baby's possessive grasp. elena might be a matty clone, but she really is your daughter, no doubt about it. "which i really should start working on, considering everyone will be here in... three hours. will you all sit with me while i do my makeup?"

"of course we will," matty nods, holding out his free hand for you to take with your own. "lead the way, wifey."

for the second time that day, although you're sure there will be many more instances of it, there's an overwhelming familiarity to the scene in your bedroom. with the exception of dylan sitting on the vanity, copying you and pretending to put her own makeup on with one of your clean blush brushes, and elena doing tummy time on your bed and babbling away happily, the process is much the same as it was exactly a decade ago - enjoyable, quick, interspersed with excitement and texts and calls from your equally-excited friends.

the soundtrack is also different, although it's still matty singing; instead of the songs about, well, drugs and blowjobs that had scored your pampering in the past, he's doing a medley of disney songs, nursery rhymes, and... "babe, is that britney spears?"

mirroring his youngest daughter and lying on his stomach on the bed, matty glances up, eyes gleeful. "yeah! lena loves it. look - oops, i did it again, i played with your heart, got lost in the game, ooh baby baby."

true enough, elena shrieks with laughter and taps her hands against the duvet in accompaniment to her dad's singing. you laugh too, picking dylan up and moving to sit beside the other half of your family. once you're settled, you scoop elena into your arms and sit her against your knees. "you have such good taste, my girl!"

"mmm, so do i," your husband hums, looking at you with barely-concealed attraction in his dark eyes. "you look gorgeous, darling."

over ten years of matty compliments, and they still shoot straight to your knees and turn them wobbly. you lift your burning cheeks in response. "thanks, sweetheart. you're not too bad yourself."

"you think so? because i was going to ask you about fixing my hair again-"

"i honestly don't think it needs it, babe."

"really? well, in that case," matty reaches back to grab his phone from his back pocket, before rolling to a sitting position and tugging dylan into him. "scootch in, then."

dylan watches her dad open the camera app. "photo now?"

"yes, munchkin."

"but my dress!"

"oh, you're your mother's daughter right enough," matty smiles. "we'll take one picture first, dyl, and then you can go and put your dress on in time for your aunties and uncles and cousins arriving, yeah?"

"ok."

"that's the spirit," matty ruffles his toddler's head, before putting his arm around you. "say cheese!"

after his girls oblige, dylan moves round to talk to her baby sister, while matty opens the picture to see how it turned out; you lean in and rest your chin on his shoulder again so that you can look too. "oh, matty, look how cute we all are!"

"definitely fridge-worthy," matty laughs, kissing your temple. he leans back slightly to look at you, bringing a hand up to lightly caress your hair. "i can't believe it's been ten years. for both the album and the two of us. although they always went hand in hand for me, to be honest. constantly thought about you while i wrote it. and i still constantly think about you now."

you press a quick kiss to matty's lips, wiping away your lipstick stain with your thumb - matty tries to kiss it as you do, which earns him a laugh and a "matthew" from you. "i love you, baby."

"i love you too, sweetheart. here's to the next ten years."

[doberbutts]

I also think- having recently seen a post that said Blue Eye Samurai isn't a queer story, it just has queer elements- that sometimes it feels like fans cannot make up their minds.

Do we or do we not want stories that treat being gay as a perfectly normal, perfectly common experience the same way straight people are depicted in every story to ever exist?

In BES, no one is outright stated to be queer. That's partially because in Japan, until Japan felt the need to sanitize itself to appeal to foreigners, it wasn't unheard of at all for men to be gay. Multiple famous samurai and swordsmen and nobles were either outspokenly gay or are commonly theorized to have been gay in modern historical readings. Abijah making multiple references to swinging both ways, Kaji's offer of a male prostitute, the various scenes we have of men being together in sexual positions, they're not met with surprise because homosexuality was an acknowledged thing that happened.

Taigen's erection while he's wrestling Mizu, even though he doesn't yet know her secret, is treated awkwardly because they're supposed to dislike each other and also he's supposed to be in love with Akemi, not because "whoa bro no homo".

(This is also why I keep saying that it's difficult for me to put into English words what I think Mizu's gender is, because gender and sexuality quite frankly did not work the way my 2020s American brain wants to contextualize it, and I think it's important to consider the cultural aspects here esp in a show so heavily leaning on a racial story)

However, compared to many other shows out there even regarding the same area and country, BES is significantly more queer than the majority of them produced in the last 30 years. Is Mizu herself queer? Well... maybe, depending how you define it. Back in the day, otherwise cisgender crossdressers and male-impersonators were still grouped in with those we'd call transgender nowadays. She seems to be exclusively interested in men, but also seems to be equally receptive to considering herself sexually as both a man and a woman pairing with men, than as a man or woman pairing with women which she has adamantly refused with zero interest on multiple occasions.

Is Taigen bi? I mean, maybe! He seemed more mortified that he had an unwanted erection in front of someone he wanted to impress and play with, than that he had it over someone he considers a man, using the excuse that he misses his would-be fiance.

Abijah certainly seems to be bisexual, considering we see him having sex with both women and men, and his various sexual references talk about both men and women as well. This is ignoring whatever weird sexual tension thing he's got going with Heiji, who seems both receptive and repulsed by it.

And, not to be remiss, but there is a reason I specified that homosexuality among men was pretty known. Due to the more rigid policing of women's sexuality in this era, homosexuality among women was less commonly reported (though I have heard stories of noble women and their handmaids, or the working poor women, or among prostitutes living together in the brothels, so also not unheard of but perhaps less accepted as women were largely bought and sold in marriage and sex trafficking) - but even with all of that, Kaji and Kinuyo have something together. Whether that is a mother-daughter thing, or if they were lovers, is up to interpretation. The implication that out of everyone at the brothel that Kaji genuinely cares for, Kinuyo was special, and that wasn't a particularly uncommon arrangement historically if I'm hearing about it 400 years later in a completely different country.

So this "well it's not a queer show" and "if I was told this was a queer story I'd be disappointed" is honestly just ridiculous hooey to me. Do you want characters who are able to explore their sexualities without looking over their shoulder out of fear of homophobia, or not?

[terresdebrume]

More fic covers | More fic recs

I mentioned I made fic cover in a recent post and it reminded me that I'd meant to make one for SJTrinity's Band of Brothers fic: Under Thunder and Rain which is THE Webgott fic, as far as I'm concerned. I've reread it something like five time in the past three months, it's ridiculous. You should read it to.

More about my thought process under the cut, with some spoilers.

So, the entire fic is amazing, of course, but the scene that keeps standing up in my mind is the one in chapter 4, where David is about to sail away on the Tusitala and Joe tries to convince him not to. I love this scene, the vulnerability in both of them, the fact that they find each other, the fact that Joe doesn't realize that it's him David was looking for in the sea. (I know David compares himself to the Shark from the Frisco chapter, but to me his fight to catch said shark is also an excellent parallel of the way he constantly has to reel Joe in and then give him some slack before he breaks the line in his struggle.)

All this to say: I had to have the Tusitala on the cover, if only because if this boat could talk it would be able to tell the tale of how Joe and David finally stop struggling and come together for good. The rain, of course, is a reference to the title and the poem David writes Joe in chapter 5, but I still wanted a bright blue sky as the background because I feel like the vivid and peaceful color are a good contrast to the way they struggle to find their way to one another (and also it reminds me of Episode 10 of BOB, where the color is back in the world and it feels like everything should be alright, but Easy is still losing men and none of them is free of the weight of the war.

The title and author name being on pieces of paper is, of course, a nod to Joe's box full of David's letters and notes, which is also featured against the title card. I wanted watercolor of a bag of groceries for the upper left corner, to further reference that first note and the fact that we don't know how significant it is until the end of the story, because Joe keeps all his cards fucking close to the chest, even if he also betrays himself in his struggle.

(Full disclosure, on my latest rereads the bits that caught my brain were

the time David asks Joe if his future wife does have a smile to die for and Joe says "yeah, it's a great smile. Drives me nuts." While running a finger over David's lips

"He wouldn't add or take away a single thing, and the people who read that book would know how fucking lucky he had been, how he had fought against it and gotten it anyways, this symphony of a life.")

Unfortunately, I couldn't find any graphic on Canva that fit the style of the rest of the cover, so I got a pastry instead. I picked the croissant because, while not extremely sweet for a delicatessen, it's very buttery, and, well: "Copious amounts of sugar and butter clearly loosened him in a way even sex couldn't achieve, because when David came and stood beside him by the stove, Joe threw an arm around his shoulder and bumped their heads together, then playfully tried to wrestle him off his feet." which I feel is also a delightfully deep insight into Joe in general.

And last but not least: the transparent text is the last note David writes Joe in the fic, standing in as the last page of Joe's unwritten book of them.

[the-nysh]

Yes hello, I would deary love to hear your thoughts on Vash grappling E. G. the Mine, please? 👀 I loved your thoughts on his shooting skills and other grappling skills.

Also, any thoughts on Wolfwood? That big cross is so ridiculously big and heavy, but the way he just swings it around is impressive. (Also hnnng, that scene where he uses the laser beam to cut the Grand Worm in half was so cool.)

Omg, mkay lemme try to hunt for a gif of that choke hold real quick...

Because what gets my attention is the way Vash repositions and flexes his arm even tighter, from securely holding him there in a warning, to oh O.O;;; that looks real and he means business. 👀

Because there are 2 basic ways to choke someone out--in a fight!! Or err, a grappling/wrestling situation. The obvious way most people think of is the air tract--the trachea, which is a little awkward and takes longer, so the much faster and efficient (but less obvious) way is a blood choke--where you restrict the neck's artery circulation to the brain, and the person can easily/cleanly lose coordination and black out within moments, regardless of how well they can still breathe.

To do that, you get someone's head in the crook of your arm like Vash here, and flex your bicep and forearm tight around the inner sides of their neck--pressing in where both their pulse points would be (not the air!) at the same time and...yeah. Struggling around makes it harder to get into position (compared to practicing on a consenting still partner, which you can safely try! just remember to either tap out the moment you start feeling light-headed with a headache and/or see black spots in your vision, or better yet, sit while holding both hands raised up and the choker partner should release you the moment your hands start to drop), but once you get it, it happens pretty quick, and beefier guys can easily achieve this type of choke by simply flexing their muscles around a neck--heck they can probably crush the trachea too while they're at it for both chokes at once!

In Vash's case though, he doesn't want to render the guy unconscious just yet cause he still needs information from him, but I'm just saying...from this choke hold position he's in, he can easily do all that (and more) by flexing his real arm strength if he wanted to! 👀👀

----

Now for Wolfwood, ahaha gosh--in contrast to Vash, his ginormous Punisher Cross is so ridiculous (I think it's like 200-300lbs of mercy or something, also the skull design for the grip area is pretty rad, once I recognized what the shape was in the manga I was like oh neat!) that it's basically full on fantasy territory over much realism. :'D In before Vash shows us his over the top fantasy 'guns' too. No like actual person could lug that thing around, let alone effortlessly spin it around with the flair he does. That it's also really funny when he just -bonk- swings it like a heavy battering ram too. He also doesn't really need to dodge or utilize many defensive techs/maneuvers (that I've seen from him yet), beyond using the whole weapon as a body shield sometimes, since he can heal himself.

What his character and fighting style actually remind me of is the Desperado movie (with Antonio Banderas) in fact, one of the manga chapters was named after that too. Where the gunslinging mc comes waltzing out with his buddies who all carry around large guitar cases...that are actually hidden machine guns and fucking rocket launchers. x'D It's as hilarious as it is awesome to see them all just go ham in a wild west shootout with literal guitar-guns. So when Stampede Wolfwood brings out his updated cross-gun to flex a fucking laser beam canon out of it, now that's just lmaoooooooo, going stupid crazy on the 'rule of cool' factor, ohoho. x3

[campgender]

been following you for a while and i want to express how much your blog gives me solace and safety and courage. in college i had a few sexual encounters that were just… vaguely disappointing, and i’ve been pretty much celibate in the years since, and i’ve been realizing that when i think about the future and potential partners that i’ve been kind of preemptively compromising? like i thought that in order for anyone to deign to have sex with me i would have to just ignore whatever i want sexually and just do whatever someone else wants which if i had been applying to any other aspect of a relationship but sex i would think is ridiculous!! (ok so the self worth is also an ongoing process but i’m working on it). anyway when i found your blog it lit a fire in my brain and i’ve been on a journey of actively exploring my own sexuality and thinking about the kind of sex i want to have, both by myself and with other people in the future. so anyway. thank you.

god i’ve been holding this message so close to my heart since you sent it, thank you so much for sharing this with me 💖💖 i know i say this a lot but as a homebound person any time one of y’all tells me i’ve had an impact in your life it makes me feel so real, reminds me that my connections with the world are two-way & not just me looking out at life / community, & i’m so profoundly grateful for that.

i really respect + admire + learn from a lot of fems who chose/choose sex writing & talking about sex as a major component of their lives-work, & i’ve been wrestling with that call myself a lot over the past two years — it is so fucking hard not to be ashamed of my past self for being willing to publicize their desires — & this message makes me feel of a lineage with my chosen ancestors, everyone who lit a fire in my brain. i was about to say i don’t know how to thank you for that gift when i realized that i do: by continuing to write & read & ramble & cobble together a sexual ethic in the open. so i will.

i am sending you so much of my pride & joy & love, holy shit, you are so right in articulating the questions you’re asking of yourself & the scripts we’ve been given as courageous because it absolutely is. this shit is so often fucking labor-intensive + lonely + boring & terrifying by turns; it is in many senses deeply inadvisable to choose to go against the norms of not only mainstream society but one’s own subculture! to do so anyway — to want better for yourself & others — is courageous, & i’m so honored to in some way journey alongside you 💖💖

[littleplantfreak]

i already mentioned to you in discord how umemiya has learned to notice all of your little gestures of affection because he knows you’re still growing accustomed to it. but something he notices is that you haven’t yet called him any sort of petname. him calling you cheesy, romantic, and sometimes ridiculous terms of endearment are second nature to him, so it took him a little bit to notice that you didn’t really reciprocate. and he accepted it, believing that this just isn’t your cup of tea. but sometimes, he still craved that little verbal confirmation that he’s yours.

and he gets it one night when you’re straddling his lap, soft lips pressing ticklish kisses along his jaw and clothed cunt nestled right up against the bulge in his pants that seems to twitch every time he feels you shift your weight. in the process of becoming more in-tune with you and adapting to notice all of the small things, it seems as though everything you do elicits a heightened response from him. suddenly, he’s glaringly aware of everything you do—the warm puff of air you expel that ghosts over his collarbones when you chuckle at his whines, the careful dance of your fingers as you work him up JUST enough, the way you look down at him as if you’ll eat him alive. and he’d let you. he’d let you do whatever you wanted.

he is letting you do what you want. that’s why he’s under you, his will to please you wrestling with the primal need to take you and plunge himself so deeply inside you that you swear you can feel him in your throat. it’s why his hands are curled into fists at his sides and he’s fighting to stay completely still while you handle him as you please. if he weren’t so enamored with you, it’d be almost embarrassing how you’ve reduced him to the state he’s in—flushed cheeks, pupils blown into the prettiest hearts you’ve ever seen, kiss-swollen lips ajar and chasing yours whenever you teasingly pull away. and you haven’t even taken his cock out of his pants yet.

it catches him off guard when you tilt your head, a small smile set in place, and murmur “look at you. my perfect boy.” he’s so lost in your gaze that he almost misses it. but it jolts his brain, and his eyes widen. it’s exactly what he’s been waiting for. he’s yours. and when his body abruptly locks up, hips twitching against yours, a new wetness seeping through his pants, you didn’t realize that this is what you’d been waiting for. he didn’t mean to, but you don’t care, instead marveling at the sheer amount of cum staining the rough fabric under you. his orgasm was sudden and dizzying, the reason behind it even more so, but you’re quick to steady him with a searing kiss.

just hyperaware umemiya who cums prematurely when you call him a term of endearment for the first time :)

i really can never top you when it comes to smut you heathen

[outrunningthedark]

Quick shoutout to you cos it’s been so fun talking to you about wrestling lately (SamiJey fan here 👋) while 911 is on hiatus. Because this hiatus has never been more ridiculous.

But I’ve been rewatching Bloodline videos this weekend and have you noticed how good Jimmy is at that scowl/angry face. He’s SO good at it! I miss him ☹️

Ever since Paul took over it’s been so fun to watch. The storytelling sometimes is just pure fucking poetry

Hey, nonnie! 💛 The good thing about wrestling (for us, not the wrestlers, lol) is that there are so few days off, right? So if you find yourself checking out of 9-1-1 fandom even when the show is back because attitudes haven't changed...feel free to change the topic in my inbox and we can focus on something we actually LIKE. 😎 SAMIJEY TAG TEAM CHAMPS HAS NEVER BEEN MORE REAL ! ! ! We know Sami will lose his rematch for the IC title because that's just how these things go, but I'm hoping we get a little SamiJey out of it, like Jey hyping him up beforehand or being there after Sami loses (Jey coming in the ring to make sure he's okay??? Is that too much to ask???) And then. GOING UP AGAINST THE GREAT VALUE JUDGEMENT DAY. (Can't call 'em Temu anything when that belongs to Friday nights 😝) TAKING THE TAG TEAM BELTS. CAUSING FURTHER DIVISION WITHIN THE "FAMILY". (Idk about every single person in the group, but this current story line looks to be setting up Dom to make a real name for himself - as a champ? - with Liv's help) I just hope it lasts longer than Cody and Jey's "run" - I want the whole band back together, but Jey deserves to shine as a champion away from his (blood) family, and if being tag team partners with Sami on Raw for a little while longer is how he gets it done...that's what I'm rooting for. As for Jimmy... First of all, you are literally me. I feel like all I do now is watch Bloodline videos and feel sadness for what once was 😞 But YES!!! Jimmy is known as the goofy one, and yet he can flip the switch and turn on his own family like that if he has to. It's that "older brother" mentality in him, I think. Spent his life looking out for the others because that's what his parents told him to do; so now, even as an adult, he feels he should be granted that same responsibility/authority. Even when dealing with Roman. ("I am my brother's keeper! Not you!" plays on a continuous loop in the back of my brain I s2g.) SD is in Florida next week so if he's not back for a show in the place he actually lives...I understand nothing. But I'm choosing to believe he WILL be back and we WILL see more of his "dark side". Unlike Jey, Jimmy never wanted to be on his own, and yet Roman, after not giving Jimmy the respect he felt he deserved, left him alone to deal with Solo. Who then removed him from the equation just because he could. There's no logical reason for Jimmy to just jump right in and be anybody's friend, at least not on Smackdown. I hope whatever happens allows Jimmy to finally establish himself as his own man who won't be taking orders before The Bloodline takes serious steps towards rebuilding what was broken.

(Sorry for the extra long answer - you found one of my hidden passions 😉)

[deadendghoststory]

currently thinking about Vik’s reaction to V’s late game newfound wealth. They end up shitfaced at some bar near V’s the glen apartment and V offers to let Vik crash at hers. Between Vik’s fairly upstanding citizen job and V’s chaotic merc schedule they see each other for drinks, when V needs patching up or when she comes by to just sit and watch Vik, let the steady beeping of the clinic equipment drown out night city noise. Most times V’s pumped full of adrenaline telling Vik about her most recent stunt, leaving out the big gun fights and opting for the smaller stories about the characters of night city, other times they’re quiet, talking about surface level stuff that’s safe not to turn into anything heavy at most. So sometimes V forgets to mention stuff, better she’s unsure how Vik will react, sometimes there’s worry he’ll start resenting her for buying into the glitz and glamour of night city after what it’s cost her. He’s removed himself, claims he’s better off leaving it all behind but damn does his reaction to V’s wealth give him away. “Holy shit kid, knew you were making money now but this is next level”, meanwhile V all nonchalant getting undressed to sleep, back turned towards Vik while changing her shirt “You wanna hear the worst thing about it? I barely get to use it most times I just pass out in the nearest bed and I don’t spend enough time in heywood anymore. Have this awful place up in northside, maelstrom daemon on the pc when I got it and previous tennant just up and disappeared.” “You telling me you been hanging out at my clinic voluntarily when you got more than one place like this?” “What can I say the japantown apartment is more of a mix of Misty’s spirituality and Johnny’s nicotine addiction, it’s nice just not enough recluse ripperdoc for my taste. Besides once you’ve stepped a foot in the corpo plaza place you’ll know why I prefer your clinic, doesn’t feel right if places are too nice.” Vik spends the next minutes trying to process V’s apparent possession of a minimum of five apartments when he’s always had this tendency to just pick one place and then spend too much of his time there, be it the clinic or training ring in younger days. V still drunkenly trying to wrestle out of her shirt isn’t helping Vik’s poor brain catch up either. They keep drinking while playing pool because “it’d be a damn waste not to take advantage of this beauty” until they eventually crash. You wouldn’t catch Vik dead admitting this but he loves V’s fancy coffee maker, spending the next morning figuring the stupid thing out. He sips his coffee in front of the ridiculously high loft windows and thinks he gets it, night city does look prettier from up there.

[westofessos]

For the amount that I talk about wrestling on here I don’t think I’ve ever actually said how I got so obsessed with it in the first place. So here’s that story:

So, it’s mid to late spring. For the first time in years, my dad has been watching wrestling. He quit watching WWE years ago, and never really liked that as much as he liked WCW before it went out of business anyway. He was sad about it, though, because he’s loved wrestling since he was a kid, and now there was no alternative. But now, in 2023, he was watching AEW, a company I had never heard of. And he was loving it.

At the same time, I was rewatching (and finishing for the first time) a show I started watching while it was coming out, but quit when it got a little too ridiculous for me: Once Upon A Time. But I was determined to finish it this time, because no matter how absolutely bonkers and ridiculous it was, I loved it. Still do.

So, there we both were, spending the spring and summer watching stuff nobody else would watch. And we had no one to talk about it with.

The first time we brought up each watching the other’s thing, we both thought it was a joke. I never in a million years thought he would watch OUAT, and he never thought I would watch wrestling. I had watched it with him when I was a kid, and played some of the wrestling games on the Wii, and watched the various Scooby-Doo crossovers, and listened to him talk about it for years, but he never thought it would happen. Both of us, however, were completely serious.

Cut to 55 days ago (yes, it has only been 55 days. It honestly feels like a lifetime though, because when I get truly obsessed with something, I go all in, learning everything about it and watching everything about it I can get my hands on, so it feels like I’ve been watching for years), I sit down with my dad to watch my first AEW show. It was a Collision. I know this because the first face I saw was Juice Robinson, cutting one of his pre-show promos, and that isn’t something you forget. I also watched a Dynamite that day, and my dad watched the pilot of OUAT.

In those first episodes, I saw some familiar faces, and heard about some other ones being there. I liked not starting from scratch. I knew who some of them were! I knew Chris Jericho (my dad’s all-time favourite wrestler), I knew Sting, I knew Dustin Rhodes (though only as Goldust), I knew Saraya (though only as Paige), etc. (there are many more but those are just off the top of my head).On that first episode of Collision (I don’t remember the exact moment or reason why), I saw another wrestler I knew, but one I never quite got acquainted with when I was a kid. I saw CM Punk for the first time.

And something in my brain in that moment just went ‘yep. Him. That’s the one. That’s your guy. If you’re going to have a guy, it’s going to be him.’ Yes, it was partially because I saw him and was extremely attracted to him. He’s a gorgeous man, what can I say? But then I heard him on the mic, and watched him in the ring, and I was hooked.

(Side tangent: this was on a Friday. The next day, Saturday, Collision was in my city and my mom had won four tickets on the radio [nothing ever comes to my city so this was exciting for everyone]. My dad was going with my brother because at this point, I didn’t care. I had plans on Saturday night. The same plans I have every single Saturday night, and very well could have skipped one time. But I didn’t, because even though at this point, after only one Collision and one Dynamite, I was on the verge of being hooked, I didn’t want to let my dad know it. I never would’ve heard the end of it [my parents are real dicks whenever I get emotionally attached to anything, and since they’ve found out about the wrestling obsession it’s been no different, as I knew it would be]. Well, that Saturday, in my city, CM Punk wrestled Samoa Joe for the third time and won. I will never, ever, forgive myself for missing it. Especially after I learned about their history.)

So I had a favourite. I loved (and still love) CM Punk. And after I learned of his support for the LGBTQ+ community and abortion rights, his love for comic books, and other stuff, I only loved him more (whether or not he’s a dick behind the scenes remains to be seen. From the stories I’ve heard, I’m inclined to say no, but who knows. We don’t know these people. He very well might be). But, it was only when the MJF/Adam Cole storyline kicked off that I truly got emotionally invested in the whole thing. Now, I have a whole list of favourite wrestlers and storylines, and very hard opinions on things. And, I’ve gone back to the beginning of AEW in 2019 and am watching every episode up until the one I started on (I just hit 2022 tonight!). Plus, I just watched my first PPV on Sunday, where I got to see both my favourite wrestler and the two that got me emotionally invested in wrestling (my 2nd and 5th favourite wrestlers, respectively) wrestle in front of over 80,000 people and make history.

And, no, my dad does not like OUAT. In fact, I think he kind of hates it. But we are having a good time watching it. And, when we finished season 1, he went back to my mom and the first thing he said was “magic’s back!!”, which is pretty fun (though I do kind of resent the fact that while I now have a new lifelong obsession, he just has a show he kind of hates to watch and then forget about).

But honestly, I don’t care. It brought me here, and I wouldn’t change it for anything. I’m so glad I found wrestling, and AEW specifically. It may have only been 55 days, but it already means so much to me.

Also, thank you to all of the people that have followed me because of this! I’ve never gained so many mutuals than when I started talking about wrestling. I appreciate all of you, and I’ve loved talking about wrestling with you, and I look forward to having further deep discussions and complete meltdowns every week.

[liesmyth]

OOOH for the WiP meme!! 🤔📄👻

🤔 Do you have any WIPs where you wish you had chosen a different fandom/character? — Not really! Because what draws me to writing fic is usually the characters and the situations I can put them in, and the fic is built around that.

👻Is there a scene that you find intimidating that you have yet to write? — THE ENDING OF MY TLT BANG. I'm putting it on hold for a while and go back to other stuff in the fandom while my brain cooks :D

📝Share a snippet of an unposted WIP, with or without context.

The HtN Dios Apate-centric AU that has been haunting me for 6 months

The long and the short of it is that Joy decides that Harrowhark should not die. She was always a sucker for a nun, she and John both, and together they bundle up the girl to keep her deficient body safe while her soul fights where they truly need her. Augustine doesn’t know how they’ve strongarmed the girl into agreeing, but he doesn’t mind it—as pitiful as the girl is, it’s far too soon for her to die. Gideon’s dull stone face doesn’t give anything away, but little Ianthe looks all too thrilled even as she’s going to her possible death. Oh, to be young and infatuated.

They leave their bodies behind. They fight for hours, from the banks of the River to the depths of the Barathron, and it’s Augustine who finally wrestles the Beast into hell. Good fucking riddance, he thinks, tired and drained, too fraught with nerves to feel victorious. He’s shaking. That’s one ancient enemy they’ve gotten rid of—one of six in a long myriad, and it cost them three of their number.

In the Mithraeum, John welcomes them eagerly. “Well done,” he says, shifting on his feet, looking restless. His voice is charged in a way Augustine has rarely heard before, but he’s too tired to linger on that thought. They won, nobody died; he needs to sleep. Ianthe, the chit, is bouncing with restless energy, finally feeling like a real Lyctor, and so is Gideon, who has never been happy in his life unless he’s killing something. He catches sight of John reassuring Harrowhark as he leaves. It’s ridiculous how diligently God has been cultivating their little almost-Anastasia, with her broken brain and painted face.

“Oh, it’s fine,” he’s saying, as Augustine stumbles away. “Don’t worry about it.”

He sleeps for two days. On the third day, they all eat together; John has assembled plates of flatbread and meats and steamed vegetables, and Augustine picks at the food half-heartedly. The air is not precisely merry—they are all recovering from the onslaught of the Heralds as well as the fight—but it is comfortable and easygoing; Augustine lets Ianthe pester him for stories of the early days on Korionthos, and even Joy appears relaxed. John, oddly enough, barely talks, but he seems very content to listen, a pensive expression on his face.

The next day, Gideon is gone. This is beyond unusual. John would never—he has never—sent them away on missions so soon after a Beast fight. But when asked about it, John only shrugs. “Oh, nothing too taxing, I promise. He didn’t mind.” That, Augustine believes; Gideon is often in haste to leave and find something else to stick his sword into. “He’ll be back soon.”

“If you say so, Lord.” Joy’s voice conveys perfectly her distaste at Gideon’s eagerness to depart his brother and sisters, as though she didn’t feel the exact same way about all of them.

On the sixth day, John invites them to dinner. Just Augustine and Mercy; he says that the girls are doing their thing, with a gesture that hints at the mystery of young people, and suggest they do dinner and drinks on their own.

“I want to try Cassy’s roast recipe, the one with the cranberries,” he says. “The last time I prepared a whole proper meal… well, must have been before I left for the Erebos. Will you humour me?”

He says it so earnestly. His eyes are terrible. Augustine should not wish to look into them as much as he does.

[doublearmbars]

fic: i got the handshake (under my tongue)

Hey the max has a crush fic is finally here! read either under the cut or here

Maxwell couldn’t help but smile when fate threw him Wheeler Yuta as soon as he got back.

The slap shook him, but it wasn’t a problem. He has 7 years experience fighting him off and on. He responded in kind and the roar of the crowd made his bones rattle. It’s good to be back. He channeled that energy into his attack, dealing out body blows with a kind of glee that he hadn’t felt in a long time. 

He could handle Wheelsie, Wheeler who would roll over for the bigger dog, who used to enter tiny gymnasiums in what could be charitably described as a cheap cybergoth fetish mask. Maxwell could handle that. Nevermind that he hadn’t scouted and he hadn’t wrestled in months. He could talk circles around him without trying.

It was going to be easy. 

Then Philly happened.

It’s not like Maxwell was unaware of Wheeler’s vicious streak, or the fact that it’s been nurtured by sadomasochistic freaks, but he didn’t think it would make that much of a difference. Wheeler would do his little speech, try and fail to win over a hometown crowd, and then Maxwell would swoop in and do what he does best: get cheap boos.

“I don’t care about your money. I don’t care about your clothes. If you won’t fight me in this ring right now, I will leave you in a pool of blood on Broad Street!”

Wheeler’s voice cracked, not like a rookie trying to sound big, but like his voice couldn’t contain his anger. Maxwell felt his eyes widen. That’s… new. Usually an angry Wheeler is an annoyance and not an actual threat. To him at least.

Then he got thrown over a couch and they had to be separated by security. 

And all that brought him here. 

It isn’t until 20 minutes before the fight that he realizes, to his horror, he’s got a crush. 

He kicks his locker hard enough to hurt. The metal dents under the blow. He kicks it again, and again, until it’s crumpled and the door’s barely functional. It does not make him feel better, just emphasizes the hurtling sensation in his gut, like he’s about to fall over. 

This doesn’t happen to him. This can’t happen to him. Not now. Not with him.

Max presses the heels of his palms to his eyes as if he can squeeze this feeling out of his brain. He knows this is futile, that it's already got roots in his skull, that it’s wrapped around his spine and is a part of him now. Has been. 

And it’s Yuta. He’s always been low level attracted to Yuta, the kind he could pass off as recognizing him as a fellow attractive individual. He was square in the jaw and the shoulders, long limbs and warm brown eyes. Athletic, but in a different way to Max. There was a brief period when he bleached his hair, which most people thought was a bad decision but he had the guts to make it. Yuta barged into his hotel room more than once to show him something bloody or ridiculous, often both. 

It’s not the first time he’s fought someone that he has stupid, uncontrollable feelings for. He hopes (in vain) that it will be the last.

He’s shaken out of his head when someone knocks on his dressing room door. Fuck. Put your face back on Maxwell. Shove all the feelings under the rug. Maybe stomp on them for good measure. Just focus on the walk. 

It’s his cue. He walks down the tunnel as his music hits and soaks in mostly boos, but an isolated cheer or two. The walk to the ring is the easy part. He settles in the corner after soaking in anger. 

Yuta’s stalk to the ring is familiar, even if his music isn’t quite. He starts yelling when he gets to the ropes, but Max can’t hear him over the crowd, and won’t let himself look at Yuta’s lips long enough to read them. Max gestures into the ring, inviting him in. 

The crowd starts chanting for Yuta. Of course they do. Max whips his head around anyway, prey-animal eyes as he stays back in his corner. He opens with a taunt, because of course he does, he can’t let the fear overstay its welcome. 

The whole match Max has to try and compartmentalize. Stop thinking and wrestle. Play the crowd. It’s easier when he can find moments to scramble away, to taunt and invoke ire instead of fighting Yuta. Or when he does fight, pretend it’s not Yuta. 

That compartmentalizing carries him through the first half of the match. He relies on the muscle he’s picked up since the last time he fought Yuta, throwing him around, mentally erasing his face, trying to make him nobody. 

The first crack is when Yuta reverses an Irish whip, using Max’s muscle against him. Then when he goes for the pin, Yuta shifts and the count goes in his favor. The second crack is when Yuta traps him in a waistlock, like he’s going to go for a suplex. Max gets to the ropes and he clings to them while trying not to think about the clasp of Yuta’s hands at his waist. 

Four suplexes later he is dizzy and flat on the canvas. Yuta roars in triumph somewhere above him. Max rolls out of reach for the splash and tries to get some air back in him. It shouldn’t be this hard. What is he doing wrong?

The backbreaker over his knee is a desperate move. When Yuta pauses in the air for a moment before impact, Max almost blurts out an apology. There’s a bit of his brain that is shouting itself hoarse telling him to get mean. 

He listens to his brain. It’s a huge mistake. 

Yuta’s reaction to the slap is immediate. Him, there on his knees, radiating fire, makes Max feel so small, like he’s the one kneeling. When Yuta rises, striking fast, Max panics. 

The sunset flip transforms into a sequence that feels like it goes on forever. The whole sequence it’s as if Yuta is in his head, as they go counter for counter, curling into each other infinitely, like turning and turning until they both go for clotheslines and hit them. 

Max’s concentration shatters. He’s laying there with an ache in his throat from the lariat. He wheezes. His head’s pounding and the count is going. And he staggers to his feet like he’s dying. 

The rest of the match passes in a blur. His muscles are screaming at him, and Yuta is so close and so warm and he knows Max. The fingers digging at his eye sockets, the teeth in his scalp, the nails scraping over his back, Max knows them. Distantly wishes he could know them better. The body beneath his back breathes heavily, squirming and fighting against the wrenching stretch. The loud resonance of canvas being slapped. 

He won. He can breathe now. 

_____________

Hands on his shoulders, wrenching him off the ropes. Yuta points to the crowd cheering for both of them, out of breath, and stretches out his hand. 

“You hear that?” 

Yuta’s breathing hard, his stomach fluttering, sweaty. There’ve been glimpses of this before. But he hasn’t been hit by the full brightness of it. Especially not after a match. The stupid, infatuated part of Max’s brain thinks he looks radiant. 

For a moment the crowd noise falls away and all he hears is Yuta. Like all the other things have emptied from his head. There is no title match awaiting him. There is nothing but him and Yuta and the space between their hands.

“You won, be a man and shake my hand now, okay?” 

Max has to step away, the flip-flop of his stomach, the sudden spin-up of his brain running all the angles, thinking about all the possibilities. 

They’ve been here before. 

Before. Max reaches out his hand to shake before a match, mouth full of a lie about sportsmanship. His intent to gain the upper hand is obvious, whether through a slap or a low blow, but sometimes it’s not even because he wants an advantage; it’s simple disrespect. Yuta doesn’t fall for it again. He catches Max’s foot when he goes for the low blow, or pushes him away by the shoulder. 

Yuta is offering him a hand. A genuine handshake, after he’s won. He wants to. He really does. Tries to smother the urge but it is undeniable. This could be the start of something. Briefly he imagines what it would be like to shake Yuta’s hand. To share that with him. In the back of his mind he wonders how Yuta kisses. If he’d cradle the back of Max’s head the way he likes on the first try.

Then Lee comes barreling across the ring. The noise is deafening again. Everything happens so fast Max can’t even think. His instinctual reaction pushes through, shoving Lee away, yelling orders. He turns and there’s Stokely, offering him a weapon. 

He considers. He replays the match and every match they’ve had before. 

Better to ruin it than to let himself hope. Max has always been great at ruining things. 

He takes the ring.

[indyhypnosis]

What Shockingly Unlocks Productivity and Business Growth

I sat in my small office, staring at the blank piece of paper before me. Starting a business had always been my dream, but now that I was knee-deep in the process, I found myself grappling with countless challenges and self-doubt.

The lack of a marketing plan and a clear path for scaling my business left me feeling lost and overwhelmed. I had so many ideas swirling in my head, but I had no idea where to start or how to prioritize them.

One of my biggest frustrations was not having a timeline for launching my programs. I had poured my heart into several incredible online programs that would benefit so many people, but I couldn’t decide which one to launch first.

The fear of making the wrong choice paralyzed me, hindering any progress I could make.

Driving traffic to my business and improving conversion were constant concerns as well. I knew that without customers, my business wouldn’t survive. But how could I convince the right audience that my services were worth investing in?

Doubts plagued my mind, making it difficult to take the necessary steps to increase visibility and attract potential clients.

And then there was the issue of confidence. Making social media videos was an effective way to connect with my audience, but the thought of putting myself out there and being judged terrified me.

Would people even want to hear what I had to say? The fear of rejection and ridicule held me back from fully embracing this powerful marketing tool.

As I wrestled with these challenges, another question plagued me: should I hire a marketing team or do it all myself? I knew I needed expertise, but I also had limited funds and wasn’t sure if I could trust someone with such an0 integral part of my business. It was a constant battle between wanting to delegate and feeling the need to control every aspect of my business.

Perhaps the most frustrating challenge of all was my perpetual struggle with procrastination. Despite my dreams and aspirations, I found myself constantly putting off important tasks. The fear of failure and the overwhelming weight of responsibility held me back from taking consistent action.

After reaching out to numerous entrepreneurs, I found that they were struggling with the same issues as me. Thus, I made it my mission to develop techniques specifically designed to uncover and eliminate the blocks that keep entrepreneurs and small business owners from experiencing the progress and financial success they deserve because it’s an awful feeling when you feel stuck.

After many years of feast or famine, triumph and defeat, hope and heartbreak, I finally found what I’d been searching for, and it became known as the  One Belief Away  ™ Method.

Through this method, you can quickly (within 20 minutes) uncover the unconscious blind spots and limiting beliefs that formed in childhood and sabotage your business growth as an adult.

I discovered that my fear of not being good enough and worries about running out of money originated from early experiences that had imprinted deeply within me after going through several traumatic experiences around the age of twelve.

With this newfound awareness, I upgraded those fear-based paradigms (beliefs) using the mental “brain-retraining” One Belief Away™ Experiences.

Then I repositioned how I showed up in the world and online. My true passion lay not just in being a coach who wanted to save the world but in being an educator on a mission to end needless emotional suffering for entrepreneurs who had experienced past trauma like me.

This shift in perspective allowed me to clarify my purpose and connect with a specific audience who would resonate deeply with my message.

With this clarity, I began crafting a marketing plan aligned with my purpose.

I started by launching a program that would significantly impact and improve the lives of those going through the same struggles of growing a business and positively impacting the lives of their ideal customers while making their personal dreams come true.

By focusing on a specific target audience, I could tailor my messaging and outreach efforts, driving more meaningful traffic to my business.

Embracing social media’s power, I also mustered the courage to make videos, sharing my knowledge and insights in a more targeted and meaningful way. I realized that my vulnerability and authenticity would be the key to connecting with others who had similar experiences.

People resonated with my message, and I saw an immediate increase in engagement and conversion rates (which was awesome!)

To address the question of hiring a marketing team or doing it myself, I decided to start small and outsource specific tasks that I didn’t have the expertise or time to handle. Then, I carefully selected individuals who shared my values and vision, creating a team that worked harmoniously with my business goals.

Finally, I confronted my lifelong struggle with procrastination. Equipped with my upgraded beliefs and a renewed sense of purpose, I realized that time was a precious resource I could no longer afford to waste.

I used the One Belief Away Hypnosis tools to ignite my focus and motivation and the  Practice Amplifier strategies I’d learned from the dozens of coaches I’d hired over the years to implement productivity techniques, set clear goals, and hold myself accountable to deadlines.

Each day, I took consistent steps, and as I implemented these changes, I began to witness a mind-blowing 🤯 transformation in my business. The combination of a targeted marketing plan, an engaging social media presence, and a clear mission resonated with my audience.

Traffic to my website increased, and conversion rates soared. Clients started pouring in, eager to work with me and experience the emotional healing I offered.

Not only did my business flourish, but I also found a profound sense of fulfillment in my work. By focusing on a specific niche and addressing my ideal avatar’s unique needs, I was able to make a tangible difference in people’s lives.

Plus, witnessing their transformation and hearing their healing stories fueled my passion for continuing to push the boundaries for what’s possible.

The challenges I once faced became stepping stones for growth and self-discovery. I overcame my fears and self-doubt by uncovering and upgrading my unconscious beliefs. As a result, I learned to trust in my abilities and confidently embrace the entrepreneurship journey.

Although I’m often still shocked that most of my bucket list dreams have happened, what became more gratifying is watching how my OBA Students and Practice Amplifier graduates are transforming the lives of so many people.

Knowing that numerous coaches, consultants, and therapists globally use the One Belief Away™ Method to help countless individuals find solace, healing, and a renewed sense of hope fills my heart with JOY!

If YOU are ready to push past fear, upgrade your paradigms and perspectives, and embrace your true potential so you can embrace the journey of entrepreneurship with newfound confidence, join me this Tuesday and let’s unleash your potential together!

I believe in you! ❤️

🙂 Tim Shurr Founder, OBA Method  Certified OBA Instructor 

[midnightskydancer]

ok SO coming back to this post almost a year later to say THIS HAPPENED TO ME🙈 Went on a date in September and thought she wasn’t interested in me, and we never talked about the date, but and then she transferred to my work location much sooner than I expected and she was so pretty and sweet and encouraging and would beam when she saw me…meanwhile I’m panicking wrestling with my feelings thinking she’s just being a really affectionate friend and I’m the weird one who needs to stop overthinking. “Of course she would never be interested in me, she probably thinks I’m ridiculous and only went on the date because she’s so nice”

We would work together occasionally and I wanted to go hide (and did a lot) because I couldn’t handle trying to act normal around her. Her nickname for me is even Sunshine and she kept using it and my favorite color heart emoji via text even after our date and I’m just going…is this a friend thing? SHE SENT ME A VALENTINE ON VALENTINES DAY AND WAS FLIRTING ALL OF FEBRUARY BUT MY OBLIVIOUS BRAIN WAS JUST AWW WHAT A NICE FRIEND.

So almost exactly six months after our date we finally talk and turns out we’re both idiots who misunderstood and thought the other wasn’t interested. We laughed so hard hearing the other’s side of things wondering how we were so blind. I definitely had that moment of going “oh” realizing another sign that she liked me about every five minutes for a week straight. I get so flustered around her now that I can’t even talk because I’m overwhelmed after realizing all her sweet gestures and feeling so seen and cared for. Btw we’re officially dating now and my self esteem has skyrocketed🏳️‍🌈😊

I don’t know how, but this post predicted my life and I’m completely tickled by it all🤭

We joke about how oblivious reader is now (and how relatable that is) but now I’m thinking about when reader DOES finally realize that Sun and Moon love them romantically and then reader finally noticing all the little ways the boys show their love through the day. Like a continuous thought process of “oh😲🫢🤭” every five minutes. And they can’t even talk about it because they’re so overwhelmed by feeling so very much loved and cared for. 😭 I would SOB

LISTEN.,, listen,,,,,,,, the epiphany they are gonna have when they realize their own feelings and sun and moons feelings???? its a moment they will remember for the rest of their life. theyre gonna be unable to move for like ten minutes as they go thru every sweet gesture and touching moment theyve had with sun and moon like their life is flashing before their eyes. maybe at that point theyll start to have some self esteem????? who knows but im rlly looking forward to this moment sjdfhsdjfsjkd

[evoilvx]

If the RE8 ladies were properly introduced to modern society I think they would have a field day.

(An extensive list of things they might enjoy)

I might even make something about the things they would hate

There might be some mild inaccuracies but it’s all just some fun little hcs of mine :>

Will be updated sometimes!

Alcina:

Alcina using the speech to text and voice message feature everyday to sent angry, irritated messages to Karl whenever she wants

Lazy rivers at water parks

Aquariums and fish tanks

Bidets

Roombas

TV shows like TVD and The Originals (ironic I know).

Miniature toys, like tiny french fries, tiny sodas, tiny furniture, she would have an entire box of them

But also those ridiculously large pencils

Massage chairs

Expensive cars

Amazon. Don't ask, just know she would LOVE it

Rolling chairs

Foster care systems, you can’t tell me she wouldn’t love taking care of children until they’ve found a suitable home, her maternal instincts will never grow cobwebs as long as I have a working brain and fingers to write

Those head scratchers/massager

Detachable shower heads (take that however you want to)

Standing desks

Hot tubs with jets

Credit/debit cards, for obvious reasons (sexy, rich lady)

Bela:

Unhinged access to books and video games on the internet, she would never leave her room. She can now live in complete solitude with nothing but her little pixels and endless letters on a screen

Fostering animals

Self warming beds

Motorcycles

Wattpad and Tumblr

Hot wheels, but only because she loves finding exact/close replicas to Alcina's car collection and putting them on display

Museums

Skateboards and rollerblades

Airpods

Air conditioners and humidifiers

Invisible ink and diaries

The RGB cloud lights that you can put on your ceiling

Facetime

Digital art

Chapstick

Faceless Twitch streaming

Mini fridges

Hoodies

Reddit

Cereal

Rubiks cubes. She's collected all the variants she could find, solving them, then unsolving them, then repeating the process. She has them all lined up on a shelf

Cassandra:

Cassandra finding boxing classes and learning she can beat the shit out of people, call it a lesson AND get paid. (We’re going to obviously ignore the fact that if she seriously maimed someone she would get fired.)

Amazon, she would have a field day ordering all sorts of things

Haunted houses

She would LOOOVE the Jigsaw movies and just scary movies in general

She likes Twitter just to start discourse and argue with people (and win)

Call of Duty, she would be a beast at it

Activities that use 3D glasses

VR games

Paintball tournaments

Workout equipment

Florida (pls don't ask on this one, just take my word for it)

Convertibles

Word searches

Unofficial, definitely illegal, might get arrested boxing tournaments

Swing sets

Football

Wrestling

Gogo squeez

Extremely-really should not be doing-dangerous outdoor activities. She drags Daniela along with her while Bela watches in concern before shrugging and going back to reading

Fidget cubes (I love these things) She would have a blast going through the different fidgets. The idle clicking noise will never stop when you're around Cassandra

Super glue. She breaks something? Super glue. Mother will never have to know (she'll know)

Daniela:

Daniela and gay bars. Nuff said.

I think she would like working at endangered species centers, where she can be around and care for extremely dangerous apex predators

Onesies

Tumblr

I feel like she would be really good at those claw machine games

She would also love amusement parks and dangerous outdoor activities like sky diving, running of the bulls, volcano boarding, would probably give Alcina multiple heart attacks at once (she also thinks Cassandra is so cool for doing all these dangerous stunts and wants to join)

Tattoos

She would definitely become a tattoo artist

Trampolines

Touch screen fridges

She would go to paintball tournaments with Cassandra

Goldren Retrievers

Glitter sticky hands

Gogo squeez

Megaphones

Fire extinguishers

Whipped cream

Just Dance

Lunchables

Stress balls, preferably ones that are designed like an animal so she can watch the eyes comically pop out. She has approximately 23 stress balls, her favorite is an orange fish

Donna:

Unlimited cartoons and animations on a flatscreen TV

Modern kitchen appliances

Jobs that teach wood work, design and of course: doll-making

AMAZON and online grocery shopping. Donna, especially, would love Amazon. She can buy everything she needs without any other interaction? Just a push of a button? She’d go wild with it

LED RGB lights

Sticker books

I’m feeling my neurodivergent nerves tingling and pointing towards Donna so I’m going to say she loves those smooth hardcover books with gloss papers, especially if they’re about gardening or cartoons (I say this because I love the same type of books, makes my brain tingle nicely)

Sprinklers

Emails

Tea play sets

Humidifiers

Youtube and Netflix

Slime, she would make her own slime all the time

Golden Retrievers, just loyal, working dog breeds in general

Zip ties

All natural body products

Mother Miranda:

Mother Miranda would go insane, simply put.

New science equipment? Donors? New scientific breakthroughs?

She can now pay people off to leave her alone and get her own modern lab? She can work in peace with lots of new opportunities?

A NEWS CHANNEL? Don’t even get me started, for some reason I have a feeling Miranda would absolutely love the news channel

Aquariums and fish tanks like Alcina, she would have them everywhere in her house

Goldfish (the snack that smiles back)

Grey’s Anatomy but only to criticize the methods (she won’t admit she likes it)

Automatic pet feeders, even if she doesn’t have a pet

An iPhone, I feel like she would make her widget theme something really unique, and she can bother the other Lords whenever she wants for whatever she thinks about

Rolling chairs

Mint chocolate chip ice cream

Face masks

Romantic, drama shows (she won't admit she's cried to a few of them or that some of them ruined her day)

Skin care products

Coupons

Antibacterial wipes

The Dimitrescu daughters introduced a fidget spinner to her and since then she has not gone a single day without mindlessly spinning the toy as she works/relaxes

[rosyjuly]

saw these gifs https://rosyjuly.tumblr.com/post/69882566823498547 and blacked out imagining: prince au, a few months after they've broken up, charles convinces alex to go to a rugby game with him and pierre (big strong men wrestling in the mud! what's not to like! it will be good for you to see some sexy men so you stop moping all the time) and they have some beers and it is quite fun actually, and alex can't think of the last time he did something like this, and then they get on the dance cam during half time and alex does a sheepish little boogie and charles starts grinding on pierre and the camera quickly cuts away-

MEANWHILE george is up in idk the royal box having a miserable time, but in the kind of placid way that he’s always having a miserable time these days so it’s not exactly standing out, but then he gets a glimpse of alex on the big screen, first time he’s seen him in months and he looks so happy, laughing and smiling… and the friends he’s with are so obviously gay. It makes a shamefully jealous self-hatred curdle inside him, that he was forcing alex to hide away with him, could never have him so joyful in public like this, how selfish was he to want to shackle alex to him forever ETC!!

when george ends up on the screen during a stoppage towards the end of the game, alex is completely unprepared for it, only looks up in time to see him smiling (which looks just like his normal smile except for all the ways it’s completely wrong) and then the smile falling off his face to this awful, hollow look. barely even notices the beautiful girl under his arm, heart is in his throat because george looks so unhappy and he shouldn’t care, it’s not his responsibility to care anymore, george made sure of that, but he can’t just turn it off.

so then they’re both just sitting in a stadium, together but so far away, feeling heartsick and miserable and missing each other. probably go home and have the world’s most despondent wanks.

UM as you can see this au has completely taken over my brain!! thank you (and the coauthors!) so much for sharing it with the world.. truly love to see those pretty boys suffer

anon the pure JOY you and this scholarly, brilliant ask brought to me and @prettydangrotten ... obviously i was at work when i received it and had to share your genius and how PERFECTLY it fits into prince au with gabby immediately and gaby was like "ROSY DID WE WRITE THIS????" meanwhile i had to carry on with work conversations as if my whole world hadn't shifted...

this is the gifset in question and your analysis... scarily accurate. gabby and i talked about football (european football) being a passion george somewhat shares with his posh 'mates' and the princes have gone to some games (in full suits lol). kiss and dance cams look so fun but unfortunately we don't have them here in europe :( to anglicize the scenario a lil bit so it can fit into the not-so-fun british context...

pierre gets a three tickets to a premier league game from the other department's manager (otmar? rossi?) who's trying to fuck him. it's an arsenal - manchester united game (don't think i have forgotten or forgiven pierre for being a man u fan) and although charles isn't much into football, he still comes because PL tickets are ridiculously expensive so. they take alex who already wants to die in advance because the sexual tension between pierre and charles has been even worse than usual.

and oh my god-- gabby said george'd arrive late due to a prior engagement and then they show him on the screens while waiting for a VAR decision or Xhaka arguing with the ref (ooohh he would never) and alex has that exact reaction you described... and it gets me SO BADLY every time i think of post-breakup alex because he can't get rid of george! he's there on the telly, he's trending on twitter, he'll be on the bbc radio in fifteen years giving his new years speech... and alex hates himself how he still cares for him, even though it was GEORGE who eradicated that possibility! feels pathetic for it, for how george clearly didn’t care enough for their relationship to even break up with him when he started dating his future wife!

meanwhile george barely catches a glimpse of someone who looks like alex and then when he's at home he keeps rewatching the clip over and over again. as gabby said: "Alex sips his drink, rolls his eyes at something his friend says, and then just as the three of them work out they’re on camera (one of his mates starts grinding on the other; George’s stomach flips), just as Alex’s face changes to like happy shock —-It cuts away." and i'm FERAL over how while alex can't ignore george, george's issue is that he doesn't know shit about alex anymore. he asks jenson every six months to check on alex, but only tell him if he's 1) alive 2) healthy 3) not in need of anything. he can't bear the thought of not helping out alex if he'd need it but he won't take advantage of the secret service or MI6 or whatever.

thank YOU so much for sending this ask, we feel so so so honored for the interest for this au... it makes us so happy that you're sharing your ideas and interpretations with us and i'm in absolute awe about how perfectly it fits into the universe? anon i will be personally delivering your invitation to the prince au picnic with a wax stamp and violins!!!!