#Jo gives terrible advice

[undercoverpena]

I have to ask (only if you're willing to talk about it), how do you cope with hate...? I got the feeling from your last answer and tags that this was not the first time. Do you have any tips on how to self-regulate? How do you stay so kind-hearted & compassionate?

The reason why i'm asking is that I'm relatively new here and dread the day I receive hate mail.

Much love to you, I adore the way you write and lift others❣️

- Fellow cancerian who doesn't want to grow too hard a shell

hello fellow 🦀 thank you for the compliment on my writing and lifting others (honestly, I just feel too much and I have to thrust it on people haha)

and honestly I don’t mind answering, I don’t really have like a hard and fast answer so I apologise for the ramble under the cut:

it depends on what is said. which I know is wildly unhelpful, but it’s the truth. the one today was like…. silly? to me anyway. it wasn’t necessary, it was just—oh let’s kick someone. and like, I’m not just saying this, but I laughed and I honestly was like, jesus you feeling okay anon, like damn.

but, I’m nothing but honest (where I can be) and there have been some that have fucking hurt. like I’ve cried my eyes out—which is a lot for saying this is fun, and a hobby.

in my corner though, I have great people. one of my friends is like my rock, and she allows me to send her the more crazy ones. and we sorta have this process of talking about it first before I make a decision about deleting/responding. for me, it helps drafting my feelings or talking them out, just so I can get rid of that ‘initial’ reaction. because sometimes I just wanna shout and tear someone a new one, but that means letting them get a rise outta me? y’know.

so once I’ve done that, we normally fall on the deleting side, because it’s important to me to create a space that I feel safe in, that I’m proud of, and that others know they can come into and also feel okay. you having a bad day and seeing that I’ve been kicked down isn’t going to do anything except us both feel poopy. so unless I can be sassy, let it roll off my back, I try now not to respond.

to return back to chirpy, annoyingly nice Jo 😏 I spend time with people i love: fandom, irl and who I live with. I may go on a walk with my dog. I may put my headphones on and blast music (celine dion power ballads hit different), and lastly, I’ll churn it into something writing wise.

writing is what helps me regulate all of my emotions. I feel so much, always have done, always will. but writing helps.

unfortunately, there’s always a chance I’ll get hate. because like irl, we don’t gel with everyone. which is why I wish people would just unfollow, block and move on, but i can't control that nor can i guarantee the former will happen. so I just try to create a space I’m happy to be in, like this overtly pink blog with all you lovely lot who follow me as I throw you in fandom after fandom.

lastly, my friend said this earlier and I’m going to quote her (she’s going to love this) “you literally get what you see with you” and she’s right. it’s not me staying so kind and compassionate, that’s just who I am (which sounds big headed, like omg I’m amazing) but I just care. and on the days where being “me” feels hard, that’s when I stay off here. because it means I need some me time to get back to a good place.

I am not sure if this was helpful, 🦀 anon (this is what I’m calling you, hope that’s okay). but my dm is always open, and so is my inbox.

pls try not to let fear stop you from sharing with the world, don’t give the prospective haters any chance to steal your shine 🩷

#asked and answered #🦀 anon #Jo gives terrible advice #resource: anons

[whenthegoldrays]

So I’m not sure if it was Greta Gerwig herself or a movie reviewer but I once read a criticism of the men in Little Women, saying that the March women’s husbands are all varying degrees of useless or disrespectful. Saying that John belittles Meg and her housework and that Friedrich has no respect for Jo’s work. And I have to say… what??

Meg and John are a great example of a healthy couple. Yes, he laughs when her jelly doesn’t turn out, but is he belittling her? No! He just finds it amusing because it is, at least to an observer. And he gets miffed that the house isn’t in order, but in fairness, she did say he could bring a friend whenever and dinner would be ready. They go through rough patches, but they always talk it out and keep on pulling as a team.

And the big one that everyone is mad about, Friedrich criticizing Jo’s writing. I think these people didn’t read the book because Fritz never reads Jo’s sensational stories. He finds a story in a newspaper — specifically stated to not be one of hers — and broadly criticizes that kind of story. This isn’t directed at Jo, it’s directed at writers of these stories in general (again, Friedrich doesn’t know Jo is one of them). But Jo takes his words to heart because he’s spoken to her conscience, and then she makes the decision to burn them all up and quit writing that genre of story. She listens to him because she knows him to have a strong moral compass, which is a big part of why she likes him so much. He helps her grow and become a better person and writer without having to give her direct advice!! And that’s beautiful!! And I’m sick of people who wanted Jo to stay single taking their disappointment and turning it into “all the husbands in Little Women were bad husbands and the second half is a commentary on how terrible it is to be married.” No. Stop it. Read the book. Cut it out with the cynicism.

#little women #little women 2019 #louisa may alcott #jo march #meg march #john brooke #friedrich bhaer #jo x friedrich #meg x john #elly's posts

[mojjisxng]

super shy

&team jo x reader / y/n

high school au, in which basketball player jo and ‘nobody’ y/n both have huge crushes on each other, yet are totally oblivious. well, that is until they are forced to confront their feelings in the aftermath of the final basketball game of the year.

requested (sorry it took a while, i’ve been quite busy)

pronouns- she/her (as requested)

warnings- super cheesy, shit writing because i haven’t written properly in ages (i’m so so sorry 🫶🫶)

word count- 1,035

lowercase intended

y/n hurriedly scuttled between the rows of students inside the crowded gymnasium, eventually situating herself in the middle of her two best friends. any minute now the final basketball game of the season was about to begin, and y/n was trying not to pass out from the nerves. so much so, that the aforementioned friends had to physically drag y/n to the game. if you’re thinking that the actual result of the game was significant to y/n, you’re terribly mistaken. the poor girl merely had an earth-shattering crush on the school’s star player, jo. she didn’t even think she could look at him right now, never mind watch him do what he does best; the crush had escalated that far.

she didn’t even know where the crush came from, it just manifested after observing him in their classes and during the small interactions they had at school. however, she was adamant that jo could never like her back.

‘i’m meek, nerdy and don’t stand out at all; i’m completely unremarkable,’ the girl pondered to herself whilst counting down the minutes until the game began. ‘he’s perfect and popular, and wouldn’t even know of my existence if we weren’t in class together. like yeah, we do make eye contact a lot in the corridors, but i’d be delusional to think he actually could like me. he doesn’t seem as intimidating as his other team mates though; he seems so gentle with everyone including me. and his stoic face sometimes quirks up into the most adorable smile when we greet each other. oh. my. god. I CANNOT STAND ITTTTT!!!!’

obviously, y/n’s internal monologue was presenting itself on the outside as well, as her leg was shaking erratically, she was gripping her jumper so hard it looked like her fingernails were going to pop through the other side, as well as her facial expressions going through all five stages of grief. her friends looked concerned, yet simply shared a slightly worried look and laughed with a roll of their eyes; they were used to this.

on the other hand, y/n could not have been more wrong about jo’s feelings towards her, seeing as though he too had a monumental crush on her. that’s why he was almost having a panic attack outside of the locker room, with yuma trying to hand him a paper bag to hyperventilate into. jo then started to pace towards the door of the gymnasium, peeking through the window to look for y/n. as soon as he spotted her, he sprinted back to his previous spot, doubling over with nausea.

“just take the bag dude, it might help you to not die,” yuma exclaimed with slight amusement in his voice.

the team captain, nicholas sauntered over, “you’re just nervous because you want to help us win the whole season, and it’s not because of that girl you like right…RIGHT?!?!” jo’s side eye did not look promising to nicholas, who just patted jo on the shoulder, shook his head and walked away in defeat, not ready to give relationship advice.

there was no time for anyone to comfort jo anyways, because the team was directed to line up ready to file into the packed gym.

the boys ran out, one by one, jo being the last due to the anticipation he brought with being the most important player of the season. as he scanned the audience while waving to everyone, he made direct eye contact with y/n. the pair immediately looked away from each other, blushing profusely.

throughout the game, y/n was internally being pulled between being unable to spare a glance at jo because ‘his magnificence was just to great’, as she put it to her friends, and being unable to look away from him. he effortlessly moved across the court with the ball, gracefully jumping to score (which he did many many (*italics*) times). the lovesick girl was mesmerised by jo, watching his tall frame join the crowd of other boys to celebrate a basket that he made, with a huge grin on his face. she wished he would smile like that because of her.

it was no surprise that jo’s team won the game. despite this, the oblivious pair were in for a shock, when they were forced into facing each other.

as soon as the final whistle was blown, y/n’s friends pushed her down towards the court, whilst jo’s teammates basically held him hostage in the centre of the court.

“jo has something he needs to get off his chest…don’t you jo?” yuma probed.

“funnily enough, y/n does too,” stated one of y/n’s friends, very matter-of-fact, despite having to push down a smirk.

y/n decided to just let it all out, maybe it would be a weight of her shoulders no matter the result, she thought to herself. as if they were psychically linked, jo figured that confessing couldn’t feel as bad as he had been lately because of his crush on y/n.

“OK SO BASICALLY I LIKE YOU, LIKE A LOT,” y/n and jo, practically screamed at the same time.

“huh, you like me back?! you, jo, the star of the basketball team, the most popular boy in school at the moment?!”

“well…yeah i do, i like you so so much, i could burst. i may be all those things that you said, but i feel like a shy loser around you. you’re so sweet and smart and beautiful, that i can’t handle it. i could barely look at you lately.” a smile bloomed across y/n’s extremely rosy face, at hearing jo’s confession.

“well, i guess we can be shy losers together now,” she giggles, laying her soft lips on jo’s plushy cheek.

their friends whooped and hollered, as the couple hid in each other’s arms, sending a glare at their mildly irritating supporters. yuma had to clutch onto his evil eye bracelet for protection from the double side eye.

“i guess we were the only ones that were clueless about each other’s feelings,” jo whispered into y/n’s ear, as they basked in the first of many tender moments they shared together.

#&team #&team jo #asakura jo #&team scenarios #&team imagines #&team fluff #&team reactions #&team ej #&team euijoo #&team fuma #&team k #&team nicholas #&team yuma #&team harua #&team taki #&team maki #&team x reader

[totaldramacruisecontrol]

Last time on Total Drama Cruise Control: The teams were revealed! It’s the Bawling Beavers VS the Terrible Tapirs!

THE BAWLING BEAVERS Millie Ripper MK Harold Sammy Heather Amy Julia Chase Alejandro THE TERRIBLE TAPIRS Scott Wayne Raj Lightning Brick Sam Trent Jo Sadie Topher Courtney CHALLENGE 1: VANCOUVER, CA "The challenge is simple: before you there are 2 sleighs. Large enough to carry your luggage, and you. Pack it tightly and jump on! Because 2 teams will be sleighing down the mountain, whoever is first wins not only access to the luxury resort inside the Christine, but they are also safe from elimination!"

Though the Terrible Tapirs had a huge lead in the challenge, The Bawling Beavers stole the win. It is later discovered that Wayne smuggled Raj onto the ship, which leaves the teams uneven! ELIMINATION: Chris invited every to the stern, only to reveal it was a non-elimination challenge! Meanwhile, Brick finds himself crushing on multiple members of his team! Maybe it wasn't the best idea to ask Ripper for advice, especially when he doesn't know the advice he's giving is about relationships! With the Tapirs squabbling with each other over a web of misunderstandings, will they be able to secure the next win? Find out next time on TOTAL! DRAMA! CRUUUIISE CONTROL!

#td:cc #recap #mod ripper

[filmswithrem]

a character analysis on amy march

and how greta gerwig changed the perception of one of the most disliked literary characters

when i first watched little women (2019), i wasn’t expecting a lot. i didn’t realize how much i’d fall in love with the story, or the characters. out of all the characters, i especially felt a connection with amy march. i felt so seen by her. as a 14 year old girl who would watch films as an escape, i had never felt so understood by a movie or character as much as i did then. it felt sort of uncomfortable how similar she was to me, as if i was watching another version of myself. i immediately started watching all kinds of videos about her as a character and little women as a whole, and quickly saw how much of a disliked character amy is. 

    it’s not uncommon for a young, female character to be hated on. but i’ve noticed that so much of the amy hate is so deeply rooted, and so personal. i understand it to an extent, people who see themselves in jo, or just anyone in general, probably felt an unbearable amount of anger when amy burned jo’s manuscripts. maybe this makes me a terrible person, but i understood amy’s perspective and almost rooted for her. i felt so much pain for jo but also sympathized with amy. especially when seeing the incident happen in gerwig’s adaptation, the whole situation feels more complex. there was obviously a more deeply rooted anger that amy had towards jo, her going to the play without amy just pushed her into finally reacting. 

    that’s one of the many reasons i love greta gerwig’s version of the story. while 

the characters were already fleshed out and well written, she added some more complexity to them, especially compared to the other film adaptations. i could go on for hours talking about all the characters, but for this i’m specifically focusing on amy. when looking at the 1994 adaptation, with kirsten dunst as amy, there’s so many scenes that make her thr villain of the story. she never really grows as a person since all the situations from her childhood. i do also need to point out that in that film, the story mainly focuses on jo (played by winona ryder) and the three other march sisters are side characters. for the 2017 miniseries, i haven’t even finished watching it because i hated amy’s portrayal so much. kathryn newton is a great actress, i really liked her in other films, i just don’t think she was the right choice for amy march. the show also portrayed her as a villain, making her seem like such a terrible person. overall i didn’t like the show. i see a lot of positive reviews so i may need to give it another chance. gerwig’s version shows amy as an ambitious young girl who is looking to be loved, and wants to be noticed by people. whether that’s in society, for her talent, or in her family.

    in little women (2019), amy, as well as all the march sisters, finally get the recognition they deserve. all the other adaptations focus mainly on jo and don’t really show much of the other sisters, or their relationships with each other. it’s such a big part of the story and is so overlooked in the other adaptations. jo and amy’s dynamic is one of my favorites. it’s so interesting to see how their relationship progresses throughout the years and how they learn from their mistakes. it’s so realistic and so painfully relatable. a quote that really stuck with me is towards the end of the film where amy gives jo advice. jo asks her “when did you become so wise”, and amy proceeeds to say “i always have been, you were just to busy noticing my faults.” i felt it so deeply, it showed how overlooked and amy was. being only seen as a bratty child rather than noticing all the good parts of her personality. there’s so many small scenes that make such a big impact in their dynamic. jo crying to amy after she cuts her hair was a big scene showing that they still love each other dearly even when having some sort of resentment towards each other. amy’s line when laurie tries to propose to her add so much depth to her character. “i have been second to jo my whole life in everything. and i will not be the person you settle for just because you cannot have her.” she’s constantly felt like she’s underneath jo’s shadow, even if jo isn’t intentionally trying to be above her. she’s constantly comparing herself to jo, but also looks up to her a lot. jo sees it as the opposite. when amy can’t make it to visit beth, jo makes a bitter remark on how “amy always got out of the hard parts in life”. she constantly felt as if amy had some special treatment compared to her. 

    amy constantly compares herself to other people throughout the story. when she’s first introduced in the film, it shows her painting a picture and looking over at the people painting around her. she tries to mimic the style they’re painting in. she’s desperately trying to fit in with the girls in her school and later with the upper class in Europe. in her iconic “i want to be great or nothing” scene, she talks about how she’s not good enough, and will never be good enough to be a “real” artist. the monologue that gerwig added in afterwards adds more perspective to her character and how women were treated at the time. she genuinely believes that she will never be as good or talented as the people around her. she thinks that no matter if she’s a woman or if she were a man, her artistic abilities are mediocre at best. from an outside perspective, as seen from laurie, it’s so frustrating that she can’t see how talented she is. 

    i think a lot of people tend to forget how young she is. in the book-burning sequence, she was only 12. hating on her character purely off that situation makes no sense, she was a child and has grown from her mistakes. it’s so evident in later scenes that she feels sorry for how she acted, and is trying to do better. watching other adaptations made me realize how greta gerwig’s film really does amy justice. she’s seen as a girl who’s grown from her mistakes as a kid rather than a girl who is always plotting against her sister. obviously everyone has different opinions, it’s ok to hate on whichever character you want. i decided to write this because she’s such a special character to me, especially in this adaptation. i always go back to this film, i love it more than anything.

#film #character analysis #greta gerwig #little women #little women 2019 #amy march #florence pugh

[oddeyevibes]

Where For Art Thou, Ichiban?

Summary: You step into the new millennium with terrible news concerning your best friend.

Words: 3131

A/N: I did most of this on mobile so if there are grammatical errors plz forgive that thanks, my eyes are in not shape to sit in front of a computer atm.

Then

The matter was urgent. 

You didn’t care about the looks from other people. 

You needed to find Ichiban. 

The day started normally enough until you found Ichiban’s wallet on the ground. No money, but his ID in there, bold as day. 

On any other day, this might have instantly caused some concern, you chalked it up to him simply enjoying himself. It was also his birthday after all. You figured he and Mitsuo got shitfaced. 

So you had set off to find and return his wallet to him. That’s when you heard a terrible rumor. At least…you hoped it was a rumor. Bad gossip always makes the rounds just as much as good gossip. 

Ichiban killed someone last night. 

When one of your mother’s coworkers told you that, you felt your heart drop. Ichiban? A murderer? 

‘That can’t be.’ You remembered thinking. 

Ichiban’s the type that’s always caught off guard when betrayals happen in crime dramas and now you’re supposed to believe he took someone’s life. 

When you stopped by the cigarette shop, the old lady told you the same thing. Of course, she made a slight harsh comment about it when she saw your worried expression. 

“It was only a matter of time, Y/N-Chan. He’s Yakuza, after all.” 

Then you ran to Michiyo. Unsurprisingly, she wasn’t much help. Almost as wasted as her customers and in her inebriated state, she gave the worst advice someone could give a teen going through emotional turmoil looking for their friend: check the Arakawa family office. 

So you went. Barreling through the streets of Kamurocho, ignoring the dirty looks and profanity people shouted at you for rubbing into them. Only one of them actually stopped you, Mitsuo. 

“Hey, hey! Slow down, Y/N. What’s wrong?” He looked behind you, worried you were being chased. 

You struggled to catch your breath before speaking. “Tell me everyone’s lying.” 

He shrugged, clearly lost on what you’re on about. “Lying? About what?” 

“Everyone’s saying Ichiban was arrested. That he killed somebody last night.” 

The look on Mitsuo’s face said a lot. He was just as in the dark as you were, if not more. He was deep in thought before a look of dreaded realization washed over him. 

“Oh shit!” He hissed. “I called him earlier and he started spouting some nonsense about how old we’ll be in the future. I thought he was just being sentimental cause of his birthday but…” Then he focused back on you, noticing the tears forming in your eyes. “Listen, Y/N, there has to be a misunderstanding. Ichi wouldn’t do that.” 

“I know! Why is he going to jail?”

“I don’t know, Y/N…maybe they got the wrong guy. Listen, I’ll talk to Arakawa-san. You just get back home—HEY!”

You bolted off into the direction of the Arakawa family offices, Mitsuo chasing after you. 

Standing in front of the office was none other than the captain that Ichiban and Mitsuo reported to: Jo Sawashiro, smoking a cigarette. 

“Y/N, slow down!” Mitsuo shouted, drawing the attention of Sawashiro. 

The older man turned in your direction, instantly recognizing you. The kid that Ichiban kept hanging around. Another example of Ichiban’s negligence as a Yakuza in his eyes. 

You stopped in front of the man, breathing heavily as he eyed you with an unreadable expression. He then looked past you to Mitsuo. 

“Mitsuo…what the hell is this?” He asked. He spoke with his usual stern tone. “Get this kid out of here.” 

“Yes sir!” 

“No! Where’s Ichiban?” 

He didn’t reply. Merely staring you down in an attempt to scare you but despite the mixture of fear and confusion, you stood your ground…and he respected that. Instead, he looked back at Mitsuo, gesturing his head in your direction, silently urging his subordinate to carry out his orders. Mitsuo went to gently grab your arm but you instantly snatched it out of his grip. 

“You don’t get to send me away!” You yelled. “Tell me where Ichiban is!” 

‘The audacity.’ Sawashiro thought. As much as he wanted to tell you off, he smirked. “You’re running through the street making a scene. You obviously know. Why don’t you tell me…boss?” 

“Everyone’s saying that Ichiban…killed someone last night. But I know it’s not true. Ichiban would never do something like that so then why is he going to jail?!” There was so much firmness in your yell as the tears let loose and began sliding down your face. To be honest, you looked like you could pass out any second but in your mind, you needed to be awake to help Ichiban if you could. 

“If that’s the word on the street then I guess it’s true then…Ichiban’s a cold-blooded killer.” 

He was teasing you. You knew it. Mitsuo knew it. 

“He’s nothing like that. He can’t even do a collection run like a normal Yakuza.” You reasoned.

“Maybe he’s an idiot savant.” He suggested, earning more of your ire. “Bad at collections…good at killing.” 

“SHUT UP! You’re lying! Ichiban would never take someone’s life!” 

Sawashiro finally got fed up. “Listen, you little brat, how well do you know Ichiban? How can you say he would never do something like that? You only know what he shows you.” 

“Captain…” Mitsuo interjects before you can shoot something back. “What…did happen last night?” 

Sawashiro scoffed. “Yasumura…why is she still standing in front of me?” 

“But what about--” 

Sawashiro said nothing but gave him a stern and threatening look. One that said, pry anymore and you’ll be losing part of your finger and Mitsuo knew Sawashiro was just petty enough to do it, especially with Mitsuo’s close proximity to Ichiban. Guilty by association and all that. 

He was too focused on intimidating Mitsuo that he wasn’t ready for the hard shove he received from you. He had almost toppled over before catching himself, nearly dropping his cigarette as it happened. He felt his rage quickly build as he stared down at you ready to tell you off but the tears in your eyes were just flowing and he didn’t have the heart to do that all of a sudden. 

You were some teenage idiot trailing behind another bigger idiot. You knew nothing true about this world and you probably had some black-and-white view of how things worked. He knew that if kept trying to poke fun at you, he’d eventually tell the truth, and while he could probably get away with just letting you in on it knowing no one would ever even try to believe you, he couldn’t with Mitsuo there.

He had to play it cool and collected to keep up the story. The story of him being the one that murdered someone last night and that Ichiban was covering for him by orders of Captain Arakawa. Maybe one day you’ll know but until then…

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” He shouted. 

“YOU KNOW HE DIDN’T DO IT!” You were screaming now. 

“Keep your voice down.” He hissed. 

“You know he’s innocent and you’re letting him go to jail because you hate him. You’re nothing but a jerk! A petty jerk! You’d let an innocent man rot in jail knowing he doesn’t deserve it.” 

“He got himself in there by himself. He thought he was a big man so he killed a member of someone else’s family. Now Arakawa can’t bail him out of this one.” 

“HE DIDN’T DO IT!” 

“What’s going on out here?” A calm voice came and tore through the rising tension. All three of you looked to see Masumi Arakawa standing there in his normal get-up with his signature fedora. Arakawa’s voice always made him sound calm and collected in a way that made other people nervous because they could never guess what was going on in his head. It was unnerving that way.

The Arakawa family head surveyed the current scene in front of him. Maybe in normal circumstances, he could laugh this off as simply Sawashiro letting a kid push his buttons. But under these circumstances, when he knew who you were and who you were here for…this talk was not going to have a happy ending. 

“Jo…what’s going on?” He asked. 

Sawashiro straightened himself up to give off the physical impression that he was not about to get into a verbal confrontation with someone that needed a hall pass to use the bathroom. 

“Nothing sir, she was just--” 

You pushed passed him to be face-to-face with Arakawa. The way Jo wanted to swing so bad but he knew better than that.

“Arakawa -san! Say it’s not true! About Ichiban! Everyone’s saying he killed someone but you know he could never do something like that.” You pleaded with the man. 

Sawashiro’s teasing had nothing on the way Arakawa suddenly avoided your pleading gaze, tilting his hat down. That told you clearly. Even he’s in on it. 

“Arakawa-san…?” 

“Y/N…have you eaten yet?” 

/////

You didn’t make much of a fuss about his request. You didn’t have any reason to not trust him but the energy of the whole walk was somber as the two of you just sat in initial silence as the sounds of small talk filled the cafe. 

He opted to just let the two of you sit in silence while you waited for your meals. He wanted to let you have a moment to breathe. It was only when the server delivered your food and left that he started to talk with you. 

“You know…Ichiban and I were supposed to get some Peking Duck last night…we had to settle for ramen since the place was closed. He was so excited, he almost made a scene shouting at the closed sign.” Arakawa chuckled. 

You couldn’t help but crack a smile but that didn’t answer the questions you needed. Your lack of an audible laugh told Arakawa that. It broke his heart that he couldn’t tell you the truth. From what Ichiban told him about you, he babysat you and was practically a friend of you and your mother’s small family. And now…he would have to take that away. That hurt him deeply. 

“You must be very close with Ichiban.” 

You looked up at him with a somber doe-eyed expression but there was a break before you responded. 

“Yeah…I guess so…he’s not really my babysitter anymore but my mom still tries to get him to come to the house. It’s her…really bad attempt at trying to get him out of crime…” you laughed. “She says he’s too good for that type of life.”  

Arakawa smiled. “I would agree. The life of a Yakuza is a life of…taking advantage of the community around you.” 

You shrugged. “Well, that’s not true. A lot of gangs start with the intent on protecting the communities they form in. It’s just…they all lose their way at some point.” 

“That is true. You’re lucky to have such a caring mother.” 

There was another beat of silence. 

“How have you been doing in school? Ichiban told me you’re graduating this year. That’s good. It’s nice to see young people living up to their full potential. So many are lost in the cracks that oftentimes they have no choice but to find shelter in unsavory places. Do you know what you’ll do once you graduate?”

“Well…my mom wants me to go to college. I’ll have better opportunities to fall back on if something doesn’t work out. But I don’t really know what I wanna do after that. Seems like I’m always asked that but I never have an actual answer.” You let out a nervous chuckle. You hated that question so much. 

“I’m hoping Masato changes his mind and does go to college. He’s a smart kid and he deserves a chance at showing that to the world.” 

You didn’t say anything to that. You had no real opinion on Masato in general and what few times you did meet him when Ichiban was tending to him, he was kind of an asshole. You probably shouldn’t say that to his father right now though.

“Maybe he just needs time to think is all…or maybe some motivation. I mean, he probably thinks he doesn’t need or…deserve to do something with his life since he’s the son of a Yakuza boss maybe?” 

“Ah…maybe so…” He seemed sad when you suggested that and you instantly felt guilty. 

“I’m not trying to say that it’s your fault, Arakawa-san. It’s just that…the few times I have met him with Ichi, he always seems so…sad, you know?” 

The man nodded. “I understand completely. Though I never know what I can ever do to reassure him that he has value in this world. I always try to tell him that he can make his own space without bending others’ notions of what he should be. I want him to live for himself but…it’s hard not to think that I’m holding him back sometimes.” Even with him pouring his heart out, the tone of his voice felt like a father’s reminiscing about fond memories with their kid.

You let out light laughter in an attempt to alleviate the tension. “Now I feel bad…the worst my mother and I fight about is how I’m trying to grow too fast. She wants me to go to college back in America so I can experience a chaotic youth like she did.” 

Arakawa sat back with a laugh. 

“Well, she didn’t say it like that but…she might as well have. I told her I’d feel out of place there. I mean…I’ve been here since I was practically a baby. But even then…it feels like I don’t have roots here either. I’m not even a foreigner but I get treated like one.” 

Arakawa casually leaned upright. “Maybe… you’re scared of leaving because you think it’ll hold more weight to the notion that you don’t belong here.” 

You nodded like a child caught red-handed. “I guess so.” You mumbling.

“Maybe you shouldn’t be living for these people. Maybe you should be living for yourself? Maybe that’s what your mother wants you to realize. I know it can sometimes sound like we parents are just…lecturing without understanding but often we do but…it’s been so long since we were young that we’ve forgotten how to say in a way that our children would understand. There’s a chance your mother can feel guilty because of how you feel and she wants you to find somewhere to place…your roots.” 

“Maybe so…but…I think I just need time.” 

“Of course. Life’s too short to force yourself onto one route. I think a lot of people forget that.” 

You shrugged. “Well, it’s hard for people to remember when everything around them is constantly telling them to be this way like it’s…life and death. People’s hands are being forced every day. It’s a rat race out here.” Your eyes lingered outside the cafe’s window, watching busy bodies move past, not even taking the time to stop for anyone busking on the sidewalks. 

You didn’t see the smile that Arakawa had on his face. Like a proud dad. You were a smart kid, clearly. You were gonna be alright with or without Ichiban. 

“Arakawa-san…” you only spoke his name but the delivery told him what was going to come out of your mouth next. “What happened to Ichiban?” You didn’t bother to look back at him. 

Arakawa was silent for a moment, mentally prepping himself for the question. Would he tell you the complete truth or half the truth? Would he even tell you at all?

“What happened to Ichiban?” 

Still not looking at him. So he took a moment before replying. “He’s going to jail. He killed someone without orders…someone in another Tojo family—”

“You have to be lying.” You finally turned back to face him. “You and I both know Ichi couldn’t have something like that. There has to be more to the story. Maybe he defended himself and…it was an accident. He’s probably losing it right now. Murder is…intentional. It’s premeditated. He’s not a murderer, Arakawa-san, you know that.” 

“…….I know. Maybe you’re right. It was an argument that got out of hand and maybe…Ichi took it too far.” 

He was willing to indulge this idea if it meant that you would simply go home after all is said and done. He could see how desperate you were to rationalize the idea of Ichiban being….going to prison for murder. 

“It’s not enough isn’t it. Nobody meant anything by it, right? I mean…your both Tojo clan…maybe they were just hanging out and got a little too drunk…were you there?” You asked him. 

He shook his head. “No, after the Peking duck idea fell through, we went our separate ways for the night. I had hoped to see the ball drop with Masato but…” 

“He’s not made for prison.” 

……….

Arakawa looked down at his food. 

“He’s hard headed but he’s got a soft heart.” You went on. “Can’t you do something, Arakawa-san?” 

There was a tense pause before he replied to you. “I’m sorry. There’s nothing I can do. He’s no longer a part of the family.” 

Hearing that broke you. Ichiban really was on his own. You didn’t even know what you could do to help him. You doubt any court or lawyer would actually help in the way he needed. Not to mention, this was Yakuza stuff and they would damn sure work to keep Ichiban in jail as retribution. 

“If it is any consolation…Ichiban accepted his expulsion from the family. He knew the risks if he stayed. This punishment is his and his alone but so long as he keeps his head down, he’ll be fine. The years will go by in a flash.” 

You let out a heavy sigh. There was no relief. Only sadness.

“I have a feeling you’ll be fine. So long as you focus on yourself much like your mother wants, you’ll lead a good life.” 

“My best friend is going to jail, Arakawa-san.” 

“If Ichi were to know you were panicking, that’s all he'd do during his time.” That clearly didn’t satisfy you. He folded his hands and placed them on the table.  “Right now, Ichiban will need you to be strong. Do you think you can do that?” 

There was a moment of contemplation before you nodded. 

“I promise, I will do everything in my power to make sure Ichiban is safe inside. That is my part. Do you know what yours is?” 

You nodded again. 

“Good.” He then extended a hand, signaling for yours. 

Your hand gripped his in a lackluster manner that was only shooed away when you realized how firm his was compared to your own. 

“Your mother has no doubt probably heard this. We should probably get you home. Alright?” 

“….ok.”

#ichiban kasuga x reader #yakuza x reader #like a dragon x reader #yakuza fics

[hjellacott]

Happy birthday Jo! (And Harry!)

Today my role-model turns 58, and The Boy Who Lived, 43.

You don't always get lucky that the people you love for subjective reasons become even better for objective reasons, but we did. I admire other authors, characters, actors, but sometimes they do things I frown upon, things I can't defend, and yet, it isn't the case with Jo. With her, I can breathe in peace knowing what she does will always be for the benefit of those who need a hero the most.

Harry was a hero for any of us who have known terrible loss, and taught us to make the best out of shit situations, to look at the bright side of things — consider your friends, choose your own family, fight for things you believe in — and to be brave and persistent, to stay true to yourself, to be selfless and kind, to be heroes of our own stories. To me, he's one of the most humane and extraordinary characters I've known, with tremendous depth, someone that is heroic not because he wants to be, not out of a deep desire of protagonism or power, or because he likes the limelight, but because he makes the best our of every difficult choice, and he tries to do the right thing. He's so deeply flawed, but always within logic (i.e. when he isolates himself from his friends because for 11 years he never had any and it's still hard to know what to do with them), and then he raises above his challenges, even the self-imposed ones.

In the Harry Potter books I found solace through a sometimes miserable childhood, again through more and more loss, and again in times of Covid. I found advice, I found the friendly words I needed, I found courage and inspiration, I found good old friends — and realised Hogwarts would, indeed, always be there when I needed it, even twenty plus years on.

Harry's story almost seems to mirror Joanne Rowling's. She knew incredible adversity and overcame it, and like Harry, she found true love, she made a family of her own, she found a place she could call home and true friends to stand beside her. And after all the success she's known, she's always giving back to us. This is a summary of some of her charitable work:

About 16% of her wealth in 2011 went to organisations fighting worldwide poverty, something that she's continued doing year after year.

Various work with Amnesty International.

The Ickabog royalties went to supporting charities that supported vulnerable groups affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

J.K. Rowling is Founder and President of Lumos, an international children’s charity fighting for every child’s right to a family by transforming care systems around the world. Lumos sheds light on the root causes of family separation and demonstrates that children can safely be united with loving families that help them thrive.

The Anne Rowling Clinic was founded by a donation from J.K. Rowling in 2010 in memory of her mother Anne.  The Clinic delivers clinical care and research to improve the lives of people with degenerative conditions affecting the brain, as well as hosting specialist NHS clinics for these conditions.  Jo continues to fund MS research exclusively through the Anne Rowling Clinic.

J.K. Rowling's charitable trust, Volant, which she set up in 2000 to administer grants to charities, to alleviate social deprivation particularly affecting women and children.

She's also created Beira's Place, a service for victims of sexual violence, focused on women (including trans men with female sexual organs).

Additionally, substantial donations to charity in the form of book royalties.  Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages are sold in aid of Comic Relief and Lumos, and The Tales of Beedle the Bard is sold in aid of Lumos. Royalties from The Ickabog go to Volant, to help support vulnerable groups who’ve been particularly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, in the UK and internationally.

And then J.K. Rowling is a decorated social warrior, standing up for children, for homeless, for people who've suffered major disaster in life, and for women, doing anything and everything for us even when she meets opposition. She never gives up.

Thank you, Jo. You're my hero. Thank you for your hard work, and for the stories that will keep your memory and your activism alive, long after you're gone. Thank you for making my days so much brighter. Wishing you and Harry a wholesome day of much-deserved joy and laughter. HAPPY BIRTHDAE!!!

#j.k. rowling #j. k. rowling #joanne rowling #jo rowling #harry potter #feminism #Queen Rowling

[nerdyrevelries]

The March Sisters at Christmas (2012)

This movie feels like one fourth a good understanding of these characters and good ideas on how to modernize this, one fourth absolutely terrible ideas and baffling decisions, and half Lifetime Movie. 

Among the good ideas, we have the house itself. It’s very hard to know what to do with the March family being a poor family living in a very big house in a modern day setting where we have property tax. This movie answers that question by having their very old house be falling apart around their ears and Marmee on the verge of selling it because the family can’t afford to keep sinking money into the house, especially now that their father (a war correspondent, which is another great modernization) has been injured in Afghanistan and can no longer do the repairs himself. This leads to the girls deciding to renovate the house themselves while Marmee is bringing their father home in hopes of convincing their parents not to sell, which is a charming premise for the movie.

Other good ideas include changing Jo’s job as gothic, sensationalist short story writer to ghost Tweeter, which feels like a perfect modernization of a type of writing that pays the bills but that Jo isn’t particularly proud of. It also allows her to meet the Professor Bhaer stand-in, Marcus, who is a publisher in this version (who better to rightly comment on her writing?) and becomes interested in her writing when she accidentally sends her personal manuscript along with her Tweet history when giving a writing sample for the autobiography of one of the stars she ghost Tweets for. 

There also seems to be a pretty good understanding of Meg and Beth by the writer, which is shocking for a low budget Lifetime movie because Meg and Beth tend to be the sisters that get misunderstood the most often. If you really do a deep dive into the novel and analyze all of the Meg-centric chapters, it becomes clear that Meg’s struggles are not just with being poor but also with perfectionism and a certain tendency to give too much credence to society’s ideas of what makes for a good woman, a good family, and a good life. This movie translates this into Meg being an aspiring lawyer who loves vision boards and organization and very excitedly makes an aspiration board for Beth where she has filled in what she thinks all the steps for Beth’s life should be and Beth just needs to color in each square where she completes each task. 

This is my favorite plot line in the movie because that’s Meg to a T, and it leads us through a little character arc where Meg realizes how much pressure she is putting onto Beth and that her idea of what Beth’s life should be isn’t the same as what Beth wants. At the end of this arc, Meg gets Beth a new aspiration board that she’s left completely blank for Beth to fill with whatever she wants, provided Beth does find things to fill it with. And Beth does find her first aspiration! She gets a job at the local community center teaching piano to children, which feels like the exact sort of thing a modern day Beth who lives (as she does in this film) would do with her life. No complaints on this front. The entire thing is lovely.

Unfortunately, everything is very much downhill from here with a mix of awful and baffling characterization choices and all the worst parts of romantic comedies. First, Mr. Laurence gives a speech about how John and Teddy need to prove they are real men like men in his day did by being “respectfully relentless” in going after girls who have already turned them down. Just absolutely awful and toxic advice. But the boys lap it up, especially Teddy who gets all gross and jealous around Jo, not just giving the jealous boyfriend routine when he isn’t the boyfriend but coming very close to messing up her career prospects. I wanted to fire him out of a cannon and into the sun. But perhaps worse is what they did to Amy. 

In addition to giving Amy the “slut” (movie’s phrasing, not mine) treatment and making her look like a cat in heat ready to pounce most of the time around Teddy, this movie has the worst take on the book burning scene that I have ever seen. Reader, in this version Amy posts a nude on one of the accounts that Jo ghost Tweets for. Even beyond that being a much worse thing to do to someone’s career than burning a 15-year-old’s writing in a fit of anger as a 12-year-old, that’s not an okay thing to do. Ever. It doesn’t matter the circumstances. There’s no circumstances or context in which that’s not a terrible, morally-reprehensible thing to do. 

The whole thing is an absolute shame because there are some really good ideas mixed in with all the bad ones, and I don’t know how you manage to get both into the same package when this is a script that supposedly only has one writer. I just wish the good ideas had been given a better package in which they could shine instead of throwing them like a bunch of pearls into a cesspit. 

#Little Women #The March Sisters at Christmas #Louisa May Alcott #Alcott Adaptation Assessment #Alcott Adaptation August #No cats in this one. You will only find my shattered dreams here.

[asianhappinesss]

All of Us Are Dead (2022)

Summary

A high school becomes ground zero for a zombie virus outbreak. Trapped students must fight their way out — or turn into one of the rabid infected.

Review

An unconventional zombie series that skilfully pairs two classic genres: apocalyptic devastation with high-school shenanigans

What would happen if your school was attacked by zombies? Netflix’s latest hit K-drama, All of Us Are Dead, attempts to give us a solid answer to this question, as Hyosan High School turns into a fast-sinking ship when a science experiment gone terribly wrong results in a virus-induced zombie outbreak.

For a few years now, South Korean entertainment has been pushing the narrative boundaries of the zombie genre. They have deftly used it as a vehicle to explore not just present-day political and social issues (#Alive, 2020), but have also inserted the undead in their period dramas (Kingdom, 2019).

However, what makes All of Us Are Dead stand out amidst this growing list of K-Zombie content are the central protagonists in the series. The motley crew of survivors are not your gun-slinging, machete-wielding, adept zombie-killing protagonists, these are teenagers who quite literally have to grab the object nearest to them and hastily fashion a weapon out of it.

This is also where the show finds its sparingly lighter moments. Friends dole out advice on dealing with high school crushes as bloody zombies snarl in the background (!) But beyond these interactions, the series takes a massive departure from the traditional route of keeping a zombie apocalypse setting somewhat comically chaotic. Instead, directors Lee JQ and Kim Nam-su choose not to shy away from tackling the emotional weight of death and mayhem.

The best example of this is seen when the show deals with the zombification or “turning” of humans. A shot usually reserved to fulfil the horror quota is turned on its head to play out poignantly heartbreaking scenes. In place of a hastened transformation, we get a drawn-out process, in which the horror stems from the now-undead zombie reconciling with the loss of their humanity, often right in front of their classmates.

The directors do not whiplash the audience back into zombie-infested reality; instead we sit with the students in numbing grief as they lose their friends, classmates and teachers, over and over again. The heavy storyline doesn’t feel misplaced, as writer Chun Sung-il richly fleshes out these teen characters to carry forward the complex tale.

Nam On-jo (Park Ji-hu) serves as a narrative protagonist who bands together with her childhood friend Lee Cheong-san (Yoon Chan-young), her crush Lee Su-hyeok (Park Solomon), and the aloof overachieving class President Choi Nam-ra (Cho Yi-hyun) among other classmates to fight zombies and school bullies alike.

Director Lee JQ’s choice to cast actors “unfamiliar to the audience” pays off masterfully.

The makers also ensure that the layered storytelling does not come at the cost of high-adrenaline action scenes, jump scares and well-executed VFX gore. Mirroring the title sequence, the directors slowly descend the audience into a zombie-filled reality, and the series conveys the same visually. What starts off as a brightly-lit, vividly colourful school, eventually transforms into a nauseatingly dull place with the colour saturation dialed back, as the virus spreads.

When required, the filmmakers also immerse us into the zombie experience. The cinematography during the zombie-human confrontation scenes moves fast, never quite fixating on a single character, which makes for quite unsettling viewing. It is havoc heightened for the students, as well as the audience watching, as we learn along with them, who survived and who didn’t.

Another unconventional directorial choice comes in the form of how the show is paced out. With 12 episodes, each almost an hour long, the story stretches out the events of each day over multiple episodes. The material to fill this time comes from the pockets of survivors it creates throughout the city.

Though the storyline follows a core group of students trapped in high school, we are also given glimpses of a politician scrambling to escape her office; a social media influencer trying to farm the crisis for viral content; and two police officers, mismatched in their levels of courage, racing to retrieve the antidote.

These different dynamics are crafted for the series to also address multiple systemic issues. With the origin of the zombie virus itself rooted in a history of bullying, the school becomes ground zero for the show to explore social class hierarchies.

Additionally, for the senior students of Hyosan High, the zombie apocalypse does not even figure as a priority stressor. With the university entrance exams looming over, Park Mi-jin, a student, laments, “It’s impossible for me to get into college even if I live,” while practicing her zombie killing techniques.

The dynamic between how the State handles this crisis and its effect on students also serves as a microcosm for how authorities react to apocalyptic situations. Unfortunately, this is also where the plot wavers a bit. The series often attempts to pack in too much, as it stretches two separate storylines involving teenage pregnancy and sexual assault across multiple episodes. Not enough time is spent on either narrative to create meaningful conclusions or provide these characters with a kinder, more humane ending.

Ultimately, in a genre teeming with Hollywood’s undying need to provide the perfect post-apocalyptic male-hero zombie killer tale, South Korea has bravely put forth a story of survival. Oscillating between the alive and the undead, the show makes an impact by centering the fact that endurance doesn’t always mean strength, sometimes it is born out of repeated acts of kindness.

#kdrama

[dhampirslays]

Your prompt: Em: Date someone who will drag you outside at 3am to look at the stars. Jo: If anyone, and I mean anyone, wakes me up at 3am to go look at the damn sky they will be removed indefinitely from my life.

@faenapped / @sorrowwaited gets an incorrect quote cause they exist

#[ LOLS & INCORRECT QUOTES ] #( ❛ Suffering is a terrible fire; it either purifies or destroys ❜ ― edits ) #sorrowwaited #faenapped #i went with that cause that's their entire dynamic #em giving her healthy relationship advice and jo being 'noh'

[joandfriedrich]

What negative affects promoting the Little 2019 has

When you share images, promote, buy or stream Little Women 2019 it has the following indirect effects.

-

You participate in supporting racist comments on Germans and Italians. Greta Gerwig spend the entire promotion tour of the 2019 film commenting on "how professor Bhaer was a terrible German who spoke with a terrible German accent". Louisa May Alcott loved Germany and German literature. Bhaer is partially based on her favourite German writer Goethe. What would she think of Gerwig's racist comments?

Laurie in the book is written to be a brown-skinned Italian and there are some indications in the book that he has faced discrimination (same with Friedrich) movie does not acknowledge this.

You agree to spread the fake notion that Greta Gerwig has been spreading that all relationships and marriages in Little Women are meaningless and queerbating that Alcott was gay/asexual and hated marriage and Jo should have ended up with Laurie. Laurie is based on Alcott's ex and Friedrich Bhaer on her first love, philosopher Henry David Thoreau. In her journal, Alcott writes how she envies her sister's marriage and in her "next life"/ life after death, she is going to reunite with her loved one and receive her "award" meaning husband and a family. In Little Women (chapter "all alone") narrator (Alcott) mentions how she has sacrificed wishes for love and family for her career and she is not at all happy about it.

You participate in supporting Laurie's romanticisation when in the novel he is harassing Jo and even threatens to kill himself if she won't marry him.

You support the notion that Jo is gay, even when the book doesn't have indications of that, and Gerwig has said that "Jo must be gay because Jo doesn't think that Laurie is attractive....????? I have never met a gay person who would give this kind of reason for being gay.

You support the notion that Jo thinks Laurie is attractive but in the book, Jo calls him "weak, girly and feminine" and the narrator often mentions how Jo likes "masculine men".

You support Greta Gerwig's hate speech against age gap marriages and age gap relationships because she doesn't like that Jo and Friedrich have an age difference. Greta Gerwig is married to a man 14 years older.

You support the notion that Louisa May Alcott didn't want children or didn't like them. Jo, in the 2019 movie, doesn't seem to like children. In the book, Jo loves children and so does Louisa May Alcott.

You support the notion that Gerwig's version is the best version of Litte Women because that is what she kept saying and Meryl Streep said it is a movie made by women for women. The film has several elements taken from previous films, like Laurie's hairstyle (199¤) and Bhaer playing the piano (1949). Saying that their movie is the best when taking elements from previous movies is stepping on the work of other women, Little Women 1994, Little Women 2017 and Little Women 2018 adaptations were all directed and written by women.

You support the notion that Jo is an immature brat who didn't want to grow. Gerwig said that we admire Jo for being immature and that "Laurie wants Jo to step into adulthood". Louisa May Alcott was over 10 years younger than the real-life Laurie, Ladislas Wisniewski and that relationship didn't work because he was too immature and didn't have the emotional or intellectual capacity to support her writing career.

Jo, in the book actively seeks Friedrich's advice on her writing and never shouts or screams at him.

When Laurie proposes to Jo he says that he wants Jo to be his caretaker so that he doesn't need to grow. Where is the part of the book Jo is immature and Laurie mature?

You support the notion that Jo didn't have any kind of development as a writer, since Gerwig insisted on erasing Friedrich

s positive influence, turning him into a bully and making Jo's editor a hero when in reality Louisa May Alcott hated the magazine editor and Jo in the book despises him as well.

You participate spreading the notion that Jo and Laurie should have ended up together because both Greta Gerwig and Timothee Chalamet said so. Despite the fact that Laurie is based on Alcott's ex. You are participating to the notion that Laurie's and Amy's marriage doesn't have any meaning because Gerwig doesn't give Laurie his character arc, and this further increases "the villanization of Amy's character" as the person "who stole Laurie".

You participate in spreading fake news on a very beloved story.

#little women 2019 #greta gerwig #meryl streep #saoirse ronan #timothee chalamet #louis garrel #florence pugh #little women #louisa may alcott

[undercoverpena]

hi jo! firstly, thank you for being such a positive kind influence in the community, you deserve all the love!

secondly, pls don’t feel pressured to answer if you wouldn’t like to, genuinely!

but i was wondering if you have any advice for writers on here that severely lack getting feedback from readers. i can’t help but feel extremely discouraged receiving virtually no comments (no matter how small) about my works when i post them. it’s a bit disheartening and it’s starting to affect my confidence in my writing, especially when numbers/notes don’t mean anything to me. i know that creativity and skill is not reflected by any parameters on social media whatsoever, but i just can’t help but self-doubt when i feel really proud about a work yet receive no feedback.

thank you for taking the time to read and i genuinely appreciate you < 3

hiii, that’s so sweet. I’m not sure what I’ve done, but I thoroughly appreciate it! thank you so much! 🩷

I shall be completely honest, I am not entirely sure how to answer or what answer I can provide. but as always, I shall give it my best go:

getting people to engage is a tricky thing, and something unfortunately you can’t make happen. on some occasions, it’s instant and with others it takes time. I know stories that have had so much interaction in the comments but then on others there’s been none—and they’re written by the same person. equally, even some of my pieces get very few comments and then others get a lot. so it’s difficult.

my first advice on what you can do to help is consider making sure your piece indicates what you’d like someone to do. sometimes people are scared/nervous, because they don’t want to do it wrong. so if you haven’t, adding a simple “If you can let me know your thoughts in the comments, be much appreciated” shows an indication that you warrant that kind of feedback.

if you’re already doing that and still struggling, I recommend seeing if you can reach out to some friends or writers you admire and create a ‘buddy’ group. this way you can share amongst one another your works, give each other feedback (and also then scream at one another about plots and characters). by creating a circle for yourself, it can make it feel less like you’re shouting into a void, and at least then if interaction is slow, you know there’s someone more than you who is invested in your story. if that’s something you feel would benefit you.

I had a group like this for a different thing and it was ahhhmazing. we bounced off one another, but we were also one another’s cheerleaders (and that’s such a nice feeling).

lastly, you love your story, right? remind yourself of that. something I’ve told a friend to do is before they upload and share it, copy and paste quotes or passages that they love from their work. put it in a fresh document somewhere just for you. and, when you begin to feel disheartened, remember the beauty in which you created. put it in a cool font, add it into a graphic (if you make them) or just have it in a format that tells your brain it isn’t on tumblr or where else you post.

I know it’s cliche, but the person who has to love your work first, is you. and while I know it’s disheartening (like honestly, you’re not alone in it), and unfortunately there isn’t a spell I can cast or a bit of helpful advice that I can offer to let you know what makes people interact.

and while I know I said this on the “be kind” post, but I like the phrasing. you just haven’t found your people, and that takes time. and by that I mean, the people who love your work, the words, the places, the descriptions you create—not just the character or fandom.

again, I am not entirely sure if this has been helpful. I feel i give such poopy advice and I’m so sorry if it is. but just know it’s okay to feel whatever you feel, just don’t let it smush out your flame (if you can help it) 🩷✨

equally, if anyone has any advice, please drop it below. I am very aware I am not that good at the advice hahaha!

#Jo gives terrible advice #asked and answered #anon #advice: writing

[skycounts]

One thing Carina has learned while being with Maya is that Maya is good at shutting down. She could turn off her emotions in the blink of an eye and it took awhile for Carina to understand how she could do that.

Maya doesn’t talk about it, but Carina knows it’s because of her dad. Maya never got the luxury of hanging out with friends and seeing movies or staying up late on a school night. She had a set schedule her entire life and had to learn how to turn off her emotions quickly.

“Hey, I’m home,” Maya says, tired.

Carina’s body fills with excitement. She never gets tired of her wife walking through the door of their house. “Hi, bambina,” she offers lightly, a smile on her face.

Maya gives her a tight-lipped smile. “Hi, baby,” she says.

Carina reaches for Maya, entangling herself in the woman’s arms. “I missed you,” she tells Maya.

Maya tenses a bit and it doesn’t go unnoticed by Carina. “You, too,” she says softly. “Where’s our daughter?”

Carina leans in for a quick kiss before untangling herself from Maya. “She’s still sleeping,” she says.

“Still? It’s nearly eight o’clock. She’s usually up at six thirty on the dot,” Maya says.

Carina shrugs. “She was fussy all night. She’s teething, remember?”

“Oh, yeah,” Maya says. “I’m gonna sleep for a couple of hours. I’m exhausted.”

Carina leans in for a kiss. “Are you okay?” She asks.

Something flashes across Maya’s face. “M’fine,” she murmurs. She kisses Carina back. “Wanna lay in bed with me for a bit until Frankie wakes up?”

It’s then that Carina realizes Maya isn’t okay. “Of course, amore,” she says, taking Maya’s hand and leading her to their bedroom.

When they get into their bedroom, Carina undresses Maya slowly, taking the time to kiss what bare skin she finds. It isn’t sexual; it’s intimate and the gesture is so full of love that it almost makes Maya cry.

They get into bed and Maya clings onto Carina, wrapping herself completely around her. Carina plays with Maya’s hair and whispers words of love to her until she falls asleep.

It’s not too long after Maya falls asleep that Carina hears Frankie on the baby monitor saying, “Mamma, mamma, mamma.”

Carina slowly untangles herself from Maya and places a gentle kiss on her forehead before going to the nursery and greeting her baby girl.

“Buongiorno, la mia bambina,” Carina says, smiling.

“Mamma,” Frankie says, bouncing up and down in her crib.

“I’m here, baby,” Carina says, picking up Frankie and kissing her forehead. “You’re warm,” she says, reaching for the baby thermometer and taking Frankie’s temperature. “Oh, piccola, hai la febbre.”

She quickly changes Frankie’s diaper and gives her some teething medicine along with baby Tylenol. She dresses her for the day and then heads into the kitchen to put her in her high chair.

“What do you want for breakfast?” Carina asks Frankie. “Some fruit and mashed oats? Oatmeal and sliced avocado?”

Frankie nods, laughing.

Carina laughs softly. “Yeah, I was thinking the same thing,” she says.

She feeds Frankie breakfast and cleans her up before putting her in the living room so she can play with her toys.

Carina is cleaning up the kitchen when Maya walks in, freshly showered and dressed for the day.

“Where’s my goober?” Maya asks and she hears Frankie scream in excitement from the living room.

“Mommy,” Frankie says.

Maya laughs and leans in for a quick kiss from Carina.

“She has a fever,” Carina tells Maya. “It’s not high. I gave her medicine.”

Maya nods. “Okay, good,” she says. “I’m gonna go play with her for a bit, then, if her fever is better, I’ll take her with me to go and get lunch with Pru and Miller.”

“I didn’t know you had lunch plans today,” Carina says.

“We made them this morning after shift,” Maya tells her. “He just needs some advice and the girls haven’t seen each other in a few weeks.”

Carina nods. “Okay, while you do that, I’m gonna go shopping with Jo. They’ve got a new shop downtown and both of us wanna check it out. I was gonna take Frankie, but if you’re gonna take her, I’m fine with that.”

Maya smiles. “Do they have lingerie at this new shop?” She asks.

Carina laughs. “You are absurd,” she says.

Maya beams and kisses Carina’s smile. “You love me,” she says.

“I do,” Carina agrees. “I really, really do.”

—

It’s not until they’re having dinner that Maya seems really off.

“It’s bedtime for a certain little girl,” Carina says softly, pointing to Frankie who’s falling asleep in her high chair.

Maya stares off into space.

“Bambina?” Carina questions. “Maya.”

Maya snaps out of it and blinks slowly at Carina. “Mhm?”

Carina brushes it off. “Our daughter is falling asleep sitting up,” she tells Maya.

Maya smiles. “She’s adorable,” she says before standing up and going to pick up Francesca. “C’mon, goober, time for bed.”

After Maya puts Frankie to bed, she meets Carina in their bedroom.

“What’s going on?” Carina asks Maya.

“What do you mean?” Maya asks.

“You’ve been off all day,” Carina says. “Did something happen at work?”

Maya winces and tries to play it off. “Just a long shift,” she says.

Carina sighs. “I wish you’d talk to me.”

“I am. We’re talking right now,” Maya jokes.

“Bambina,” she says softly.

“There was a bad fire,” Maya tells Carina. “Probably one of the worst I’ve seen.”

“What happened?” Carina asks.

Maya takes off her shirt and looks for a sleeping one. “When we got there, almost the entire house was up in flames,” she says. “I mean, anyone who wasn’t already out of there, wasn’t getting out. And there was this woman screaming for her daughter. It, like, echos in my head, you know?” She pauses for a moment, trying to keep herself together. “I couldn’t send anyone on my team in there. It was sudden death. We had to fight it from the outside and when we got the whole thing out, we went inside.” She blows out a breath. “The entire time, the woman was screaming for her daughter. She had just given birth and her new grand baby was in there as well. We found them, burnt to a crisp. The woman’s daughter was holding her baby, and, my God, Carina, if you would’ve seen it.”

Carina walks over to Maya and holds her.

“I just kept thinking about you and Frankie,” Maya admits. “And how that the woman outside screaming could’ve been me screaming for you guys.”

“We’re right here, bambina. We’re safe,” Carina says.

Maya nods. “It was terrible,” she says.

“I’m sorry,” Carina says.

Maya leans against Carina. “I love you.”

Carina kisses Maya’s temple. “I love you.”

#marina #maya and carina #maya x carina #carina and maya #carina x maya #station 19 #station19

[one-more-offbeat-anthem]

“And how’s Cas?”

“How’s--” Dean stumbled as Dr. Moseley fixed him with a smile. “He’s great. Hasn’t been able to make it to the last few meetings because of Classics Society.”

“Mmm.” Dr. Moseley’s smile grew. “You know, Dean, if I’m not mistaken that boy was coming to book club just for you.”

Dean let out a nervous laugh and then glanced at his phone. “Dr. Moseley, I gotta go, traffic’s gonna get real bad soon.”

“Alright. Drive safe. And remember what I said about Cas.” She winked at him and Dean turned and sped out of her office as fast as he could. 

Dean and Cas had been randomly assigned as roommates freshman year, and they were now halfway through their senior year of college and still living together. Dean couldn’t imagine it any other way--and he couldn’t imagine Cas thinking that way about him, the way Dr. Moseley (his English professor and the faculty sponsor of KSU’s book club) was implying. 

Because Cas was just like that. If someone needed something, Cas was the first person to offer to help. He loved to tag along on adventures and offered great advice and was never upset to end up the designated driver when their friend group went to parties. 

Sure, Dean had been nursing a pretty intense crush on his best friend for about three years now, but he had already accepted that how Cas felt and how he himself felt were two different things. 

Or were they?

All afternoon, as Dean worked on his homework in the living room of their cramped apartment, Dr. Moseley’s insinuations crept through his mind, knocking him off his focus. Dean didn’t have time to be distracted--balancing a mechanical engineering major, English minor, and his job at the auto shop was enough work as it was. 

Cas came home at his normal time, when he got off work at the campus bookstore, and he greeted Dean with his usual “Hello!” before heading to the kitchen and making a fuck-ton of noise.

Dean sighed and set down his textbook, hauling himself off the couch and into the kitchen. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Cooking.”

“Cas, you don’t cook.”

“Maybe I do.”

“Uh-huh.” Dean raised an eyebrow. “Get out of my way.” 

Dinner prep went the same as always, except Dean was hyper-aware of every time Cas brushed against him or Cas’ gaze lingered on him. He managed to keep it together until after they ate, cleaned up, and watched an episode of Jersey Shore while making fun of all the people on it, but as soon as he could Dean escaped to his room and pulled out his phone to text their friend Charlie.

Dean, 7:45pm: hey charles i got a question Charlie, 7:47pm: shoot Dean, 7:50pm: does cas like me?

Dean’s phone rang about three seconds after he sent the message, and he answered it to Charlie practically guffawing in his ear.

“Shut up,” Dean said emphatically. “Are you saying--”

“Yes, Dean, yes.” Charlie was still laughing. “Literally since you two met. You could text Jo or Benny or Ash right now and they would all tell you the same thing. Hell, you could ask Sam, and he doesn’t even go to KSU.”

“I hate you,” Dean said.

“Don’t. Look, now you can shoot your shot. Cas definitely likes you. You should hear him rhapsodize about your eyes--”

Dean hung up on her.

He didn’t sleep well, tossing and turning with the knowledge that Cas might like him. Even with confirmation from Charlie, it still felt way too good to be true.

But maybe she was right. Maybe he should give it a go.

Dean sighed and dragged himself out of bed thirty minutes earlier than usual the next morning and set about making breakfast. Cas typically had a bowl of cereal, but he appreciated it when Dean made breakfast, and, well, what was it that his mom always said? The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach? 

Cas shuffled blearily into the kitchen at their normal wake-up time and poured himself a cup of the coffee Dean had made, draining it before finally saying, “Good morning, Dean.” 

“Mornin’. I made breakfast.” Dean gestured at the table and hoped Cas’ hadn’t gotten cold. 

“Thanks.” Cas took his seat at their minuscule kitchen table, took a sip of his orange juice, and then took a look at his plate before promptly spitting it out.

Dean raised an eyebrow, anxiety swirling in his gut. 

“S-sorry,” Cas said, swallowing before looking up at Dean, eyes wide. “Did you mean for the--”

“Toast to be shaped like a heart? Yeah.” It sounded worse, and so goddamn cheesy, out loud. Dean would have spit out his orange juice, too.

“Charlie told me something might happen but I thought she was messing with me,” Cas said, his voice full of awe. He was still staring at Dean and it was almost too much.

“Charlie told you--I’m gonna kill her,” Dean vowed.

“Please don’t.” Cas was smiling now, and it was too much, so Dean did the only logical thing and crossed to the table before hauling Cas out of his chair. With Cas’ face mere inches from his and Cas’ pajama shirt balled up in his fist, Dean froze. Cas’ gaze was patient but searching. “I’m glad she told me,” Cas whispered, and that was that--Cas was closing the gap and they were kissing. 

Dean had daydreamed about this moment for a long time, but never quite like this. Objectively, it should have been an awful kiss--Cas had terrible morning breath that also tasted vaguely like orange juice, and it was a little off-center at first, and Dean was pushing Cas into the table in a way that couldn’t possibly be comfortable, but it was also perfect.

Dean eventually forced himself to come up for air. Cas was grinning at him, wide and gummy, his lips spit-slick from the kiss, and Dean couldn’t help but smile back.

“That was nice,” Cas said.

“Eat your damn breakfast,” Dean replied, but he could tell that he sounded too happy to be serious. 

(Cas’ breakfast did end up getting cold, but Cas said it was more than fine.)

#destiel #and now some mutual tags (if it every gets annoying that I tag u pls tell me I get so stressed about being annoying) #usersheya #userstarry #cillabee

[high-supernatural]

Reasons Kai Parker Wasn’t Technically Evil

#1 - 1,000: Nobody ever gave him a chance, he became a product of his environment. Let me explain, 

His family rejected him from the moment they found out he was a siphoner. It’s basic developmental psychology that toxic households lead to toxic traits as an adult whether they’re super evident or not. Kai said in (idk which episode, the one where he calls Caroline ‘Clarice’), that growing up was hard since he was basically disowned for what he was born as, he wasn’t allowed to touch anybody, he watched his siblings being applauded while he wasn’t allowed to go near anyone, and it was difficult because he felt like an addict fiening for a hit of magic all the time, he wanted to change but nobody would help him or give him a chance. 

Putting developmental psychology to that -- he was disowned for who he was (he was raised and taught to hate himself for something he couldn’t change), he couldn’t touch anyone (kids need physical touch and interaction to develop in a healthy way lol), he was never praised or allowed to participate in much and had to watch everyone else be involved (that’s just evidently shitty), & he struggled and was refused help, so the idea was put in his mind that he couldn’t be saved or get help anywhere. AND THEN, since he was ignored his whole life basically, he got their attention in an extreme way and then spent 18 years in 100% isolation. 

SO THEN AS AN ADULT, he has poor boundaries, doesn’t know how to interact with others well, forces his way into other people’s lives because he doesn’t want to be left out again, feels like he’ll be refused help so he either forces people to help or he deals by accepting that nobody will help and decides to revel in all that he is. He knows/thinks that extravagant displays of violence gets peoples attention, so that’s how he get’s attention on top of becoming more invincible so they can’t put him in isolation for it. 

Imagine this: your family completely disowns you for being born a certain way, you have to watch them be a happy family while you’re forced to sit on the sidelines all your life, you struggle with the way you were born and it makes you feel terrible, when you reach out for help you’re rejected, so you lash out and are forced to spend 18 years in a world identical to yours but there’s nobody in it -- 18 years in silence, loneliness, desolation, basically you’re the last person on Earth but you can’t escape and you can’t die. Because of this you have unhealthy communication methods, tons of trauma, all that stuff. So when you’re rescued and display your unhealthy behavior, your rescuers also disown you and treat you terribly. 

Idk about anyone else but I’d lose my marbles too. 

He literally asked Bonnie to be a positive influence on him & to help him adjust before they left the prison world. He said, and I quote, “the thing I’m most scared of is trying to figure out how to live in the world again, I was sort of hoping you’d be a positive influence on me. You’re a good person, Bonnie, you’re brave, loyal, patient... I wanna be more like you.” And Bonnie didn’t really care. I mean, in her defense I wouldn’t trust someone who killed me a few times either, but from Kai’s perspective I’d be a lil hurt. 

He genuinely apologized to people he’s hurt. 

A truly evil person doesn’t have a conscious, Kai does, specifically in these lines -- “I know you think I’m a monster, I mean I did murder or heavily maim most of my immediate family... but after a long period of self reflection, I came to the conclusion that I could’ve handled my anger better,” and, “how do you feel?” psychopaths don’t care how people feel and wouldn’t admit they did any wrong unless they were trying to get their way with something... which I guess could have been the case. BUT, psychopaths also don’t ask others for help or advice, and Kai does a few times. 

In the deleted 6x15 scene he tries to reasonably talk to Jo and Jo throws him against the wall. Kai says, “as much as my suffering might bring you pleasure, or whatever, this is not the way to handle this situation,” LIKE, he was TRYING to have an actual conversation. Also, this statement basically just says all of what he feels; “my family just enjoys to watch me suffer.” Then he says, “I’m the defective twin that nobody wanted,” “I spent 18 years in isolation as the family reject, and every inch of me wants to kill you for that, but I can’t,” “I’d like to live because I didn’t get to do a whole lot of that before everybody decided that I wasn’t worth it,” UGHHHH

ALSO in that scene, Kai says he’s trying to keep the coven alive. Like, ok, hypothetically if my whole life panned out like Kai’s did, I wouldn’t really want to be alive, no matter how much power I could potentially achieve in the future. Assuming Kai was feeling the same, he still wanted to keep his family alive. 

He tried opening up to multiple people including Jo, Elena/Damon, Bonnie..... and they all ignored him or kept telling him he’s evil. THAT’S SO ANNOYING. He even acknowledged that he didn’t expect them to believe him, proving that he knows he’s done wrong, psychopaths don’t know they’ve done wrong.

Boi needed friends, support, and therapy, but was locked in another prison world again....

#kai parker #kai parker imagine #malachai parker #tvd au #tvd #tvd fanfiction #kai parker wasnt evil

[princesscas]

hey again mandy!! i was wondering if you could rec some fluffy destiel fics? just your favorite ones if you’ve got some, either fluffy or angsty! i’d love to add some diversity to my bookmark list ☺️💕

Ooohh yeah! You sent this right as an anon sent the same request :3

Anon: I have seen your answer to an anon and now I want you to do a list of your favorite destiel fics please!! I just need to read fluffy fics but I also want some that have very good plot and also good portray of the characters but with a happy ending i can’t stomach more sadness. Thanks!! By the way for these who haven’t read it I want to recommend a very good fic call I don’t care where you been.

So I’m not too big on angst, like yes I do love angst, it can be good for the plot/character development/etc, but sometimes too much angst is well, too much for me to handle lol. Fluff is my bread and butter when it comes to not only writing, but reading. It can do me no harm, besides making my cheeks hurt from smiling so dang much! 

So here is my list of fluffy, plotty, longfics! These are pretty old, because I haven’t been in the market for any destiel longfic in the recent years, besides oneshots and a few WIPs here and there. (i’m still neck deep into the stucky dumpster lol) 6 canon fics and 6 AU’s :D 

CANON

Professional Couple Only by saltyfeathers (Fake/Pretend Relationship) - There's a haunted apartment building in Vermont, and the ad says "Professional couple only". Dean and Cas rise to the occasion.

The Silence Between Heartbeats by yesmsmoran (elliedew) (2x20 AU) -  "Fic that replaces Carmen with Cas. And then, when Dean wakes up and he meets Cas for the first time he freaks out because it's the only man he's ever loved and he's so confused as to how he can be real when he obviously had to be something the djinn created."

i wanna see your animal side by microcomets (Animal Transformation) - Dean gets attached to a dark-haired, blue-eyed kitten. He hates cats, so he can't really say why.

Just To Make You See by youaresunlight (Mutual Pining) - “I’ve been reading,” Cas explains, lifting his coat to reach for something inside. It’s another magazine but not one about nature or economics. It’s a GQ with a suave male celebrity gracing the cover. “There’s an article in here that gives advice to those who are ‘seeking to escape the friend zone.’”

And I Will Walk On Water by tracy_loo_who (Post-S4) - This fic is set after season 4 and totals ~122,600 words. It's a story about friendship and love, recovery and trust, free will, and Dean and Castiel's journey through it all. It's also about chocolate and hugs. If you read it, I really hope you enjoy it. ♥

Broadway Musical by Griftings (HILLARIOUS GO READ IT) - This is the day that marked the Holy and Blessed Union of Dean Winchester and Jo Harvelle.The merging of prominent bloodlines is always a grand occurrence, but breeding pedigree hunter families like Winchester and Harvelle is something to be rejoiced. It is also something to be meticulously planned, which thankfully the Host is very good at.Or, the romantic comedy where Dean Winchester and Jo Harvelle are destined to get married, Castiel is given the task of playing matchmaker and fails terribly, the entire Heavenly Host becomes a sitcom audience, God warns against male pregnancy, and Jimmy Novak is incredibly unimpressed with angels in general.

AU

a world above water by museaway (Fairy Tale AU) - Castiel’s hope for freedom is threatened by a chance encounter with the Crowned Prince of Lawrence, who is trying to avoid an arranged marriage

To Find a Family by linasane (Kid Fic, Domestic) - When Dean's little brother gets taken away, he's expecting the fight that ensues. He's expecting the stress that comes from separation, expecting to do all he can to get Sammy back from whatever awful foster family he's been placed with. He's not expecting Castiel Novak. (Castiel, in turn, isn't expecting his first foster child - five years old and angry - to be the one that leads him to the family he's always wanted, but life has a funny way of working itself out).

Shorten the Distance by GhostGarrison (Online/Long Distance Relationship) - "Nerdytr3nchcoat" and "Impala67" weren't looking for romance on the dating website called 'dateangels.com'. Castiel was looking for friends and Dean was just looking to get his nagging brother off his back. What they didn't expect to find was each other. [a long distance, online relationship fic]

Cooking with Gas by WinJennster (Food Network/Chef!Cas) - Castiel Novak has it all. He's rich, famous, has a top rated cooking show and restaurant, drives an expensive car and wears Armani. His producer throws a contest to spend a day with Chef Novak, cooking and learning techniques. Castiel wants no part of it, but Balthazar insists and Castiel will do as expected. What Castiel wasn't expecting was to fall head over heels for the winner. Dean Winchester hasn't had a successful relationship in his 34 years on Earth. He's got a past he'd like to keep hidden, and his life rotates around his family and his business. Winning a contest to spend a day with his favorite TV chef is a shock, but a welcome diversion from his day to day life...until he meets the guy, and he turns out to be a big jerk. Dean figures he should have expected that. What he wasn't expecting was that same gorgeous blue-eyed man to sweep in and shake up his entire world.

Life In Pink by youaresunlight (Kid Fic - SO FLUFF) - At just 33 years old, Dean Winchester is one of the most sought-after wedding planners in the city. He’s chased his dream ever since he was a kid and is now on the brink of making partner at his firm. But the wedding that’ll make or break his promotion? Is his best friend Dr. Castiel Novak’s. It’s going to be the event of the season - unlimited budget, no expense spared - and it’s the kind of task that Dean has been waiting for… except he’s hopelessly in love with Cas.

Kiss the Baker by Ltleflrt (Bakery AU) - Jo is pregnant and craving something a little bit unusual. When she sends Dean on a mission to find her some chocolate cake donuts with bacon sprinkles, he's sure that he'll fail. Luckily his partner Benny comes to his rescue and introduces him to a quirky little bakery that sells all kinds of weird (and delicious!) baked goods. And they do special orders!Dean finds excuses to keep going back, and Castiel finds excuses to keep giving him special treats.

And I believe this is the fic Anon was referring to: don't care where you've been by thanks_tacos (A/B/O) Dean's life is finally changing. After years of enduring Alastair's abuse, the alpha dies and Dean's married off to the next alpha the system pairs him with - Castiel. The man is strange and distant, but not exactly bad, and Dean's determined to be on his best behavior and not mess up the chance he was given. Soon enough, though, he fucks up anyway and has to call the alpha for help.Castiel's lived his entire life without an omega by his side, and he was fine with that. He doesn't know how to proceed once he's suddenly married to a beautiful man who's obviously been through a lot. Omegas were always a confusing subject to him, so he tries not to interfere much - neither of them is there by their choice. But when Dean calls for help, he understands he's going to have to set some things straight and engage more.

#destiel #destiel fanfic #destiel fic rec #my ficrec #mandy answers stuffs #hbalbat