#and i've been dreaming about getting to study them properly and work with them

[canirove]

My neighbour Rúben | Chapter 1

Summary: Have you ever watched this movie Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans did before Marvel called “The Nanny Diaries”? It's about a girl, Scarlett's character, who finds herself working as a nanny for a very rich family, and Chris happens to be her hot and very cute neighbour. And something very similar is what has happened to me, neighbour included. Though in my case, mine is very cute and very hot. And handsome. The most handsome man I have ever seen. And his name is Rúben.

Author's note: This story has been finished and waiting in my drafts since 2022. I wrote it as a new and different version of "The Nanny Diaries" (my story with Ben Chilwell) because I didn't like it, and then I ended not liking this one either 🙈 But time passed, I read it again recently, thought it was cute… And here we are, having now both of them posted when they weren't supposed to 😅 I hope you like it, and as always, thank you for reading! 💜

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Masterlist

Have you ever watched this movie Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans did before Marvel called “The Nanny Diaries”? It's about a girl, Scarlett's character, who finds herself working as a nanny for a very rich family with a spoiled kid and Chris is her hot and very cute neighbour. And something very similar is what has happened to me, but let's start from the beginning.

My entire life was designed to achieve one goal: become the best piano player in the country. Or in the continent if my father got too excited. And since I can remember, I've been glued to one.

While my friends were going out to the park, I was going to my teacher's house to practice. While my friends were meeting to go shopping or watch a movie at the cinema, I was practicing. While my friends were going out clubbing and meeting boys and girls, I was going early to bed because I had practice in the morning. And while my friends were choosing a career path they liked and enjoyed and moving to different cities all around the country, I only had one option: playing the piano and moving to Manchester, where the best teacher lived. 

The weather sucks, yes. But it isn't such an ugly city as they say, and all the people I met were lovely and very welcoming. Unless you are fighting with them for a spot on the next recital or to get the next scholarship. That's when things get nasty, and that's how you end up with broken fingers and the dreams your parents had for you shattered. Because becoming the best piano player of my generation wasn't my dream, it was theirs. Or my father’s to be precise.

So when Anastasia Hamilton pushed me down the stairs and I found myself with two broken fingers on my left hand, a sprained ankle and my body covered in bruises, I didn't complain. Well, that's a lie. I complained and cried because it hurt like hell. But I didn't complain when they told me I wouldn't be able to play the piano like I used to due to one of my fingers not healing properly despite being treated by the best doctors. I didn't complain because I was finally free. If I wanted to play, I would be doing it because I wanted to, not because it was my job, because I had to, because my future depended on it. Now I was free to finally follow my dreams and not my parents’. Or that's what I thought.

I told them I wanted to take a gap year to figure out what to do with my life, but they said no. They had decided that I should study to become a music teacher, to help others achieve what I hadn't been able to. We argued, they said that if I wanted to do anything different it would not be with their money, I said ok, and I found myself alone in Manchester with barely any money or a place to live.

And that's when I crossed paths with Julia. 

I had gone to the shopping centre to see if anyone was looking for a waitress or someone to fold t-shirts in a shop, when I saw her crying in the middle of one of the corridors, most people walking past her and ignoring her. 

"Hey, are you ok?" I said, kneeling in front of her. "Where are your parents?"

"Quiero a mi mamá" she sobbed. That was why people were ignoring her. She only spoke Spanish and they didn't understand her. But, lucky me, I used to go to the north of Spain for music summer camp and I can speak it fluently. 

"¿Dónde está tu mamá?" Where is your mum? 

"No lo sé. Estaba comprando una taza fea y..." Her mum was buying an ugly mug. I couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Ok, let’s go find her.” Where we were most shops only sold clothes, but I remembered I had just walked past a Zara Home. Maybe she was there? "Come" I said, grabbing her hand. She didn't say a word and just followed me, her sobs turning into hiccups. 

"Julia!" a woman screamed the moment we turned the corner. "Oh, Julia, I thought I had lost you!" 

"Mami!" the kid said, letting go of my hand and throwing herself at the woman. "Me perdí y esta chica me ayudó."

"Did you help her?" the woman asked me.

"I saw her crying and that people were ignoring her, and I decided to check on her. She was speaking Spanish and I think that's why most people were walking past her, because they weren't able to understand her."

"Oh, she always does that when she gets upset. Do you speak Spanish?"

"Yup."

"Oh, you are an angel" the woman said, hugging her daughter a bit tighter. "I don't know how I'm gonna be able to thank you."

"Knowing that she's alright is enough, don’t worry."

"No, no, no. You must allow me to do something for you. What do you say, Julia. Should we invite this wonderful angel to have lunch with us?"

"Yes!" Julia said, her English coming back. "We'll bake you a chocolate cake! Do you like chocolate cake?"

"I actually do, yes" I smiled.

"Then it's settled. Let me give you my card, it has my office phone number on it" Julia's mum said, opening her bag. "Call tomorrow morning and we'll schedule that lunch together."

"Ok. Thank you."

"Thank you" the woman said, giving me a hug. "My name us Lucía, by the way. But you can call me Lucy like everyone in this country does."

"Nice to meet you, Lucy."

Lucía, Lucy. A Spanish lawyer specialized in divorces, and the divorces of very wealthy people. Which meant that when I arrived at her house for that lunch date, I found myself before one of the most expensive apartment buildings in the city. 

"Are you coming in, miss?" the doorman asked.

"Yes, hi, sorry. Do I have to tell you where I'm going or..."

"You don't look like a thief" the man chuckled.

"I'm not, I promise. I'm meeting with Lucy and Julia."

"Oh, yes. Miss Julia said a friend was coming for lunch today. An angel."

"That must be me" I said, blushing a bit.

"Then welcome, miss" the man said, opening the building's door. "Do you know their floor number?"

"Yes, the 7th. Letter B."

"That’s the one. Call for the lift and push the number, their house will be the one to your right."

"Thank you very much, sir."

"My pleasure, miss" the man said with a smile. Roger. The loveliest man you'll ever meet.

"So glad you could make it" Lucy said after opening the door, giving me a hug. 

"Angel!" Julia screamed, coming to also hug me. "You came!"

"Of course I did."

"She’s decided to start calling you angel because of what I said at the shopping centre. I hope you don’t mind.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry" I smiled.

“Come, let me show you my room" Julia said, grabbing my hand and forcing me to follow her.

After a tour around the house and its many rooms, we were back in the living room, one where the small flat I was renting thanks to some money my grandparents had been sending me without my parents knowing, could perfectly fit.

"Is that a real piano?" I asked Julia.

"It's daddy's" she said. "We used to play together."

"That's lovely." My dad never played with me just for fun. It always was about practice, practice... And oh, yes, more practice.

"Do you play?" Lucy asked me.

"Since I was Julia's age."

"Oh, that's wonderful! Why don't you play something for us while we wait for our food?"

"Sure" I said, sitting in front of the huge black piano. It was a very expensive one like everything else on that building.

"Daddy used to play that!" Julia said when she recognized the song. "Hey Jude, don't make it bad... Mami, why are you crying?" she asked her when we finished.

"Because it was beautiful, sweetheart. And you play so well" Lucy told me. "Have you ever thought about giving lessons?"

"Not really..."

"Julia started to take them a few months ago, but her teacher... Had other things to do, so now she doesn't have one. Would you like to take her place?"

"Me?" 

"Yes, angel! Be my teacher!" Julia said, clapping her hands and jumping.

That was what my parents had wanted me to do. To become a teacher. I wasn't going to be doing it at the music school, but this still was teaching, right? And I liked Lucy and Julia a lot despite only knowing them for just a few hours. 

"I'll do it" I said. "I'll be Julia's teacher."

"Oh, perfect!" Lucy smiled. "When can you start?"

"Whenever you want. I have nothing else to do" I shrugged.

"Then tomorrow. I have to work, so maybe you could pick up Julia from school, bring her here and start your lessons? I'll pay you for that extra time."

"Ok" I nodded.

I had found a job, one that I liked, and one that was going to pay me handsomely judging by the numbers Lucy had mentioned while doing a draft of my contract. 

I was so busy thinking about all that, checking the details she had given me about Julia's school, that I hadn’t noticed the lift had made it to the lobby and the doors were open. 

“Are you going up again?” a male voice said.

“Uh?” I replied, lifting my eyes from my phone. And what did they see? The most handsome man you could ever imagine.

“Are you going up again?” he repeated.

“I…” I had forgotten how to speak. I may have not been wearing an ugly costume like Scarlett in one of the scenes where she met Chris Evans, but I had my jaw on the floor and definitely was making a fool of myself. “No” I finally managed to say.

“So… are you leaving, then?” he asked, trying to hide a smile.

“Yes” I said, still looking at him. Was he real? He was real. When he stopped the lift’s door from closing again, taking a step forward towards me, I saw that he was very real. “Thank you. Sorry. I’m leaving” I blurted out, my brain finally remembering how speaking worked. Kind of.

“It’s ok” he replied with a smile. No, not a smile. A smirk. One that made everything inside me turn upside down. “Bye” he said, walking inside the lift and letting go of the doors, disappearing behind them while I just stared. He must have thought I was stupid. A creep. Or both. But what else are you supposed to do when you find yourself face to face with the hottest man in planet earth?

“Miss, are you alright?” I heard Roger say from the door.

“Yes, yes. Just… Processing what just happened. That I got a job, I mean” I quickly added, noticing how he was arching an eyebrow, his eyes moving to the lift. 

“Oh, those are great news, miss. Congratulations.”

“Thank you. I guess you’ll be seeing more of me from now on.”

And hopefully, I would be seeing more of him too. Of the hot neighbour, my own Chris Evans. Though later on I would find out that his name wasn’t Chris, that would have been too much of a coincidence.

His name was Rúben. 

#ruben dias #ruben dias fanfic #ruben dias imagine #football fanfic #football imagine

[writtenbymisunderstoodnerds]

It's time they knew (Tobin Heath x Reader)

Based on this request. I'm sorry for how long this has taken me to finish, but I hope you like it!

I'm slowly working my way through my requests. Things might take a little while now that I'm studying for the next couple of months and it's getting closer to winter which is the busy season at work. Please bear with me!

Words: 1.6k

Tobin and I were kicking the ball around as I told her about my plans to reveal my identity. I was predominately a soccer player, but I was also a singer. No one knew who I was, no one knew I was the person behind anónima. We did songs ranging from pop to country, millions of people followed us, came to our concerts and bought our music, but no one knew who I was, who my band was. It had started as a way to put my music out there without drawing attention because I had massive stage fright. However, I was starting to entertain the idea of revealing who I was. 

"Are you sure about this baby? It's going to bring a lot of attention."

"I think so, I mean I already get attention and I'll get even more once I start with the team and when we go public. It feels like it's time, but I'll decide for sure tomorrow."

"Whatever you decide, I'll support you 100%. Can I bring the team? I know you're starting with us next week, but I would love for them to finally meet you as my girlfriend. If you decided to reveal yourself that it. Also they love you."

"Of course you can Toby. I would love to finally meet the team properly." Due to mostly playing internationally and only recently deciding to return to the US, I hadn't been called up until now. Not that I really minded too much, I was only 26, there would be the opportunity for plenty more camps in my career. It did mean I hadn't really met any of the national team. I guess it would be good to meet them before camp. 

My concerts had always worked on a trust sort of system. I didn't wear a mask or anything. The stage was dark, only just light enough that my band could see, but no one could see them. I stood at the back, away from the light. All it would take was a torch or light source to reveal our identities. Over the years I had gotten more comfortable on a stage and with my fans. Moving around and interacting with them more. I still hadn't decided if I was going to reveal myself, but the stage crew knew that if I moved to a certain point on the stage then they would turn the lights on. Of course I had also discussed it with my band since they weren't known either. They had left it up to me to decide which made it even harder. 

As I sung the first couple of songs, I watched the crowd dance and sing along. Seeing the happiness on peoples faces and knowing it was because of us was my favourite part of concerts. I found myself wishing I could join in dancing around and interacting with them more, instead of trying to stay in an area they wouldn't see me. 

Once the song ended, I spoke up, "Let's talk for a minute. I wanted to thank each and everyone of you for coming out and supporting us even though you have no idea who we are. None of this would have happened without you guys. So, as a way of thanking you, here's a new song I've been working on."

I always thought I'd be a rambling girl Living in the moment, never making plans Finding love was just a dream I was having Written in the movies, never thought it would happen

I try to fill my loneliness with whiskey And empty nights with different girls that never missed me Funny how when you least expect it Everything can change

Baby, it's you I've been looking for I knew right from the second you came walking through that door It feels so right when you're in my arms Darling, it's you I've been looking for

During the brief instrumental, I took a deep breath, moving forward on the stage. As I started singing the next line the stage lit up, cheers and screams louder than I had ever heard filled the stadium. 

You know I love it when your hair's a mess The way you shine when you wear that dress Girl, I don't think that you understand You make me a better person

Baby, it's you I've been looking for I knew right from the second you came walking through that door It feels so right when you're in my arms Darling, it's you I've been looking for

Just like blue on the sea Our love won't fade, it's evergreen Girl, the best part of me Is you

My attention was solely on Tobin as I sung the last verse. None of this would be happening if it wasn't for her. My first concert would never have happened without her encouragement and support. The many nights spent with her sitting quietly beside me as I wrote new songs because she knew it helped calm my mind enough to let my ideas flow. She had been by my side through it all, without hesitation or judgement. 

Baby, it's you I've been looking for I knew right from the second you came walking through that door It feels so right when you're in my arms Darling, it's you I've been looking for I sat down on the edge of the stage, taking a moment to compose myself as the cheering started to die down. "Surprise! That happened. Honestly, I was kind of torn about doing this. The secrecy behind it makes it fun, it keeps things interesting, but I also wanted to do something to thank you for the unwavering support I receive. Enough of my droning on though, I think it's time to introduce myself. I'm Y/n, behind me I have my amazing band. Guys, give a wave with your name so they know who you are. We've got Jason, Mason, yes they're twins, last but not least we have Abby. Thank you for coming to our show. Stick around because we're just getting started."

---

The show had ended a little while ago. The band and I had finished our post show debrief and showers. They had gone to pack up their gear while I waited for Tobin. She was going to wait for the crowd to calm down before making her way out the back with the team. I had played with or met a few of them through club matches in the limited time I played in the states, but a lot of my professional career was international. 

Before my nerves could grow any further, voices from down the hall caught my attention, "Tobin what's going on? I don't think we're allowed back here."

"Just wait and see."

I laughed to myself at the irritation lacing Tobin's voice before the nerves started rising again. I could sing in front of thousands of people without worrying, but I was terrified to meet them. They were important to her, they were going to be my team soon and I wanted to make a good impression. I took a deep breath, before putting on a smile as the numerous girls walked through the door, most of them freezing when they saw me. 

Tobin wrapped her arms around me, placing a kiss on my lower neck, "You did amazing, I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you my love."

"Wha-" One of the girls started but cut herself off. I chuckled quietly, pulling away from Tobin. 

Christen hugged me quickly. With her being Tobin's bestfriend, I had met her pretty early on in our relationship. We got along great, but she also didn't know about my singing career, "Well this is a surprise."

"Yeeah, sorry I didn't tell you soon-"

"You don't need to apologise Y/n. I get it."

I was reminded of the people behind me when the sound of slapping started. Many of the girls still looked stunned, while a few of them were hitting each other and pointing at me. It was actually quite entertaining, but I decided to speak up and put them out of their misery, "Hey, I'm Y/n."

"Don't just stand there, introduce yourselves." Tobin spoke up making some of the girls snap out of it and introduce themselves one at a time. Then they launched into multiple different questions, "Slow down, you'll be seeing Y/n often. You don't have to ask a million questions right now."

"Wait what? How? Why?'

"Y/n is my girlfriend and she's the newest addition to the team as of next week."

"She is?" Emily asked still looking like a deer in headlights, "You're a soccer player?"

"Yes."

"You've known who she is and you didn't tell us? We talk about her all the time."

Tobin shrugged, arm wrapping around my waist, "It wasn't my place to tell you who she was. I know you love her music, but just remember Y/n will be your teammate and friend, don't just treat her like the singer you love."

"We will, it's great to meet you Y/n. Although I think we've played against each other a couple of times."

"You too Ali. I'm pretty sure we have, quite a few years ago now."

We talked for a while. The girls getting all the questions they had about me as a singer before moving on to questions about Tobin and I, my soccer career and anything else they could think of. I was a bit surprised how fast they went from being amazed at meeting me to just treating me like someone on the team. Honestly, it was a relief. I had been worried about how they would react and treat me if they knew who I was. I guess that was another thing I should be thanking Tobin for. The band had come and talked with us for a while before we all parted ways. There was only so much social interaction I could handle. With the show and meeting the team, I was exhausted. 

I crawled into bed as soon as we got back to our apartment while Tobin went to shower. Arms wrapped around me from behind as I was on the verge of sleep. "I'd say that went pretty well."

All I could do was mumble out a 'it did' before pulling Tobin closer. I could feel Tobin laughing as she placed a kiss on my cheek, "I love you baby."

#uswnt imagines #uswnt imagine #uswnt x reader #tobin heath x reader #tobin heath imagine #tobin heath

[somuchbetterthanthat]

Now that I've read several theories about Celia, the tapes, Chester's voice, the email, etc. i'm trying to envision a sort of broader picture of what could be happening here. I really love @cirrus-grey's theory about where the voices could have been coming from and i'm wondering how this could be all link to the O.I.A.R, but also the Institute, and also Starkwall, the security society that was linked to the O.I.A.R (I THINK? if i remember properly?) before they were separated, closely after the Magnus Institute burnt.

So, what if. With the Web and the fears came the tapes, cause the tapes (Jon's voice) were the Tether allowing them to spread across universes. Those tapes ended up at the Magnus Institute or at Hill Top first perhaps then at the Magnus Institute somehow; the Magnus Institute was doing experiments on kids - that part could be non-related to the tapes, although if the tapes arrived at any point where Jonah could have found and study them first, he might have taken another field of study...Somehow, I dunno - BUT THE POINT IS, amidst that, you've got a governmental agency linked to a possible secret task force for the paranormal that's like "something's funky is happening here"

They get the Magnus Institute. They find the tapes. And they're like: "Oh hell no. We're going to try to figure this shit out (and maybe punch fears in the face and train agents to deal with those paranormal events. with fire and guns.)"

At the same time, of course, computers are BOOMING; someone, somewhere, has the brilliant idea to try to get more preventive info on how the fears might work/how they might strike by building a program using the voices from the tape (Why Augustus, then? Maybe they tried to pick Elias's voice, and for some reason the voice shifted to another one. with no explanation. hush. let me dream.)

But then something shift between Starkwall and the O.I.A.R; conflict of interest? some people on top are like "how could we USE this tho" instead of "how we can stop them"? So they become two very different entities, and maybe Starkwall keeps the tapes, but O.I.A.R has the voices. And they keep. feeding. the machines. Intel. Data. They keep making them grow, until a year ago, the Voices Wake Up.

(In this scenario, I'm thinking Celia might be alternate reality!Lynn, - maybe Lynn used that name coz in the apocalypse lines blurr, maybe her parents had hesitated until her birth and in one universe her mum picked Celia, in another her dad picked Lynn who knows - point is, Celia might be an infiltred agent from Starkwall, coming back to the O.I.A.R to see what is UP because they heard about the voices. Or there is ANOTHER governmental branch that's VASTLY interested in this).

#I'm going off on very little but i really enjoy the thought of Chester Norris and Augustus being you know. #Fictional A.I which is the cool kind of A.I not the one we have in reality #also i like the idea that in this universe we're going much bigger than just the Institute #this is a Matter of National Security etc. #the magnus protocol #tmagp spoilers #the magnus protocol spoilers

[femme-malewife]

Fantasia LOVE&KISS Special Short Story

I'm not a professional translator so take this all with a grain of salt!! If you spot any mistakes, feel free to DM me.

You can read it yourself here.

Thank you!!

Aizou and Yujiro, the two members of the high school idol unit LIPxLIP, have finally announced their first attempt at a musical, and tickets were now on sale.

It was a popular topic among fans, with the expectations rising. And while it was exciting, the pressure was also quite high. After all, it was the first time for both of them to play a role on stage.

Yujiro had been practicing since he was a child because of his family's past, and had studied acting since then, as back then, it had been his dream to stand on the stage. However, it is also the first time for Yujiro to perform on a theater stage, and a musical stage at that.

Aizou was no different, having only played the role of a prince in a certain MV but otherwise having no experience as an actor. He struggled to keep up with the rest of the cast and was clearing his assignments day by day.

Neither of them had been able to attend school very much during these days because they had been busy in the practice room from the early morning until late at night, practicing their acting, singing and dancing lessons. It was hard to find time for their studies.

However, they were still students and regardless of the fact that they had good grades and could easily catch up, they couldn't afford to miss so much school.

Aizou arrived at school for the first time in several days, and after the morning class, he left the classroom and headed for the staff room, where his homeroom teacher, Akechi, had asked him to meet him in.

Akechi, who was working on his computer, started talking to Aizou as soon as he arrived. As expected, it was about the lack of attendance.

"I've heard about the situation from the office, and I've told the other teachers about it. I know that both of you have good grades, so I'm sure you'll be fine, but make sure you only attend make-up classes." Was what he said.

When Aizou received a printout with the schedule, he noticed that most of the days off from work and practice were completely clashed with each other.

Akechi glanced over at him, turning his body to face him. "You...can't get time off, can you?" His words were concerned, even if he asked it in a casual manner, and his tone was unassuming.

He also explained the situation to the other subject teachers about this make-up class, and they bowed down to him to make time for a special make-up class.

"It's just until the end of the stage play. I honestly can't take a break," Aizou said. Even on his days off, he felt as though he was going to lose focus and still practiced reading his script and the songs and dances on his own.

It wasn't as though he didn't get tired, it was just similar to a live performance, so Aizou was already used to it.

He felt a knob poke his forehead and looked up, seeing Akechi holding out a lollipop to him.

"Make sure you're resting properly. Get a good night's sleep tonight."

(What are you, my mom?)

Aizou almost laughed out loud as he accepted the candy from him. "Yeah. Thanks." And then he remembered something. "Ah, sensei. Is Yujiro here too?"

"Hm? Wasn't he going to take up kyudo?"

"No? I haven't heard anything about that," Aizou almost rolled his eyes.

"Really? He was carrying an archery book around and asked me if the school had an kyudo club, so I assumed he was interested." Akechi turned his chair around and faced his computer.

His lunch seemed to be a sandwich placed next to his keyboard. It was a thick-sliced beef cutlet sandwich, a rare item that can only be found occasionally at the Sakuragaoka High School market. It was placed casually by his coffee.

"It's probably for his role in the play," Aizou commented. His character used a bow and arrow.

The musical they were performing in was set in a fantasy world, and was a story about two traveling heroes who slay a dragon. Aizou's weapon was a thin sword called a rapier, and Yujiro's was a bow called a longbow.

Since there are not many places to test them out, he wanted to try archery instead, no doubt for the role.

"Sensei, does our school have a Japanese archery club?" Since neither Aizou or Yujiro were in any clubs, they didn't have much knowledge on what clubs there were.

"I see...it's for the play," Akechi muttered to himself, before speaking out loud. "No. This school doesn't have an archery range. Are you two off this Saturday?"

"Yeah...I think so," Aizou recalled the schedule. It would seem they'd have to do make-up classes that day.

"Then after your lessons, you should clear your schedule. Tell Someya about it too."

"Huh? Why?"

"For a special extracurricular lesson," Akechi was smiling at him like he had something planned, while Aizou stared at him in confusion.

He left the staff room with his eyebrows furrowed, wondering what it all meant.

There were girls in the corridor, who spotted him. "Aahh! It's Aizou-kun! Kyaaaa!" They ran away quickly.

(What am I, a lion?)

Aizou sighed and peeled the wrapper off of the lollipop that Akechi gave him, pushing it into his mouth. Moments later, he gagged.

(Why the hell is it mustard flavored?!)

_

After make-up lessons on Saturday, Aizou and Yujiro headed for the parking lot behind the school, as instructed by Akechi. There weren't any students nearby, so they didn't stick out.

(And if Akechi gives me any candy, I absolutely won't eat it!!)

Aizou gripped his bag in determination. He would need to warn his partner if Akechi took any candy out.

Yujiro stared at him in confusion. "Why do you look constipated?"

"I'm taking a lot of precautions...because he's dangerous."

"Hm." Yujiro looked back at his phone with clear disinterest. Before long, a car stopped in front of both of them, with Akechi rolling his window down.

"Both of you, get in."

Aizou and Yujiro glanced at each other, but climbed into the back seat of his car, and saw another student sitting in the passenger seat of the car. It was Yamamoto Koudai, a student who was one year their senior.

"Hey. Nice to see you today." He said.

"Eh? Yamamoto-senpai? What are you doing here?"

Koudai held his camera up. "I was hoping to get your permission to do an interview for the school paper. I'm going to be including it in a special issue in the near future."

This also meant that the special lessons had been approved by the office.

"Are you guys hungry? I brought lunch," Akechi reached back, holding out a paper bag to them.

"Thank you very much." Both boys said. They peeked inside the bag and saw various buns and drinks from a nearby bakery, though they all looked sweet.

Koudai, up front, already secured a croquette bun.

"Let's get going then," Akechi began to drive.

Yujiro didn't hesitate to pick up a chocolate cornet and some cocoa. He saw Aizou glance at him, and held them closer to himself.

"What? I'm not sharing with you." He said while holding them tightly, as if he were protecting them.

(I don't want them...)

Aizou reached into the bag at random, pulling out a cream bun, he was about to open it, but then stopped himself.

(No, wait...Akechi-sensei bought this for me...)

It looked like a cream bun, but the filling might be made of mustard.

As Aizou cautiously checked, Yujiro sipped at his cocoa.

"Sensei, where are we going today?"

(Yeah, I'd like to know too!)

Neither of them were told where they were going. Akechi rested his elbow on the edge of the window, with his other hand on the steering wheel. He was driving slowly, as if he was practicing driving safely. That, or maybe Aizou was just used to being in Manager Uchida's car while she drove a bit recklessly.

"I know where an archery range is located. It's a little far though."

Yujiro looked at him in surprise. He had expressed his interest in it and likely hadn't expected that the teacher would take him there.

_

When they arrived at their destination, they got out of the car. He saw a martial arts building with black roof tiles and white exterior walls standing at the end of the parking lot. Akechi entered through the entrance and told the receptionist in the lobby what he wanted.

An elderly man in a brown cardigan soon emerged from the back office. He was wearing a black sleeveless vest, so Aizou guessed he was an office clerk. As he stared, Akechi bowed deeply to the man.

"Yatake-sensei. It's been a while."

"Akechi-kun, you're looking well," The man, Yatake, smiled and raised a hand. From his casual tone, Aizou supposed that the two knew each other well. "I'm looking forward to working with you two today."

Aizou quickly bowed his head as Akechi held firm. Yujiro also immediately bowed his head.

"We look forward to working with you!"

"Yes, now, who was it who wanted to learn kyudo?"

"It's me," Yujiro said, raising his hand.

"Then come on and go change your clothes."

Yatake looked into the office. "Tsujima-san, you have a kyudo uniform, right? Will you go get it for him?"

A woman's voice resonated from the office. "Yes sir!"

_

When Yujiro came out wearing his kyudo uniform, Yatake lead him down the hallway, with Aizou, Akechi and Koudai following.

After explaining how to handle the equipment and precautions, Yujiro began to start learning some basic movements. Aizou and Akechi watched from a distance while Koudai snapped some pictures. He'll probably take a lot and sort them out later.

Yatake then helps correct Yujiro's elbow height as he readies his bow. Afterwards, he walked towards Aizou and Akechi.

"How's he doing?" Akechi asked.

"His posture is very good. Has he done any other forms of martial arts before?" Yatake asked with a smile.

"No, but I've heard he's practiced dance."

"Ah, I see. That makes sense."

While listening to them, Aizou stared at Yujiro, who was practicing. He had the same serious look on his face that he always had when practicing.

(I mean, did I really have to come? Just Yujiro would have been fine...)

If all he was going to be doing was watching him, then there was no point in being there. Just as he thought so, the doors slammed open.

"Where are the people who want to learn kendo?!" A man in a kendo uniform asked loudly. Yujiro, who had been practicing, got startled and froze, his eyes widening.

"Ah, right here," Akechi grabbed Aizou's wrist and made him raise his hand.

(.......Eh?)

While Aizou stood in shock, Koudai aimed his camera at Aizou, and he heard the sound of him taking a photo.

(I didn't hear about this at all!!!)

Aizou was soon given a kendo uniform, protective gear, and shoved into a locker room. Though, unlike Yujiro, he had no idea how to put his uniform on.

As he struggled, the kendo instructor told him that he was "late", and hurried him along, before dragging him to the kendo hall.

"Now strike from anywhere!" The instructor shouted, holding out his shinai.

(That's what he says..!)

Aizou, with the spirit of a bear in the mountains, didn't dare take another step forward, knowing the shinai would swing and hit his head.

"What's wrong with you? You wouldn't even beat your weaker self!"

Aizou quickly blocked the instructor's shinai with his own, but was then easily pushed aside and landed on his back.

"Ouch!"

"Look at your slumped back! Is that all you got?!"

Aizou clenched his teeth, grabbing his shinai that was on the ground.

(I'm not going to let this get me down..!!)

Aizou slowly stood up with the strength in his knees and readied his shinai. "Ha!" But before he could do anything, the instructor's shinai smacked his head with a smash.

"Ouch!"

"You weren't ready!"

(This is why I don't want to get involved with Akechi-sensei! I'm sure to be in trouble!)

Aizou silently vowed never to take candy from Akechi or get in a car with him ever again.

"Come and get me, brat!"

"B-brat?!" While Aizou was startled, the shinai swung forward and smacked his face again. He was an amateur, but the instructor didn't seem willing to pull his punches. His relentless attacks were enough to bring tears to his eyes.

(How is this supposed to help my performance?!)

"You're getting pummeled! Come on, hit me, brat! Be bold!"

(I have no choice but to show him the true spirit of an idol..!)

Aizou readied his shinai, glaring harshly at the instructor. He did a side step, then quickly lunged forward...only to immediately get smacked in the torso with the shinai.

"Ouch!"

"What was that weird crab move? What kind of crab are you?!"

(I'm not a crab!)

After a long, torturous session, Aizou returned to the archery range. His entire body was sore.

Aizou thought Yujiro would be finished with his practice by now, but it seemed that his practice was still going on. Yujiro stood at the archery range, aiming straight at the target. He had been practicing for about two hours now, but he was looking good with the bow in his hands.

"You're doing good...you should hit the target," Yatake was muttering, looking satisfied.

Yujiro shot the arrow with a look of concentration. He kept his posture as the arrow flew through the air. Koudai continued to take pictures.

The arrow hit the target, just as Yatake said. The corners of Yujiro's lips lifted up into a small smile.

It was after five o clock when they both finished training, cleaned up and changed their clothes, and left the martial arts hall. Yatake came to see them off.

"Thank you for teaching them today."

Following Akechi's lead, Aizou, Yujiro, and Koudai all bowed their heads. "Thank you very much!"

Yatake smiled and patted Akechi on the shoulder. "Take care of yourself, Akechi-kun, and come see me again."

"Yes...you take care of yourself too, sensei."

After bowing once more, the four headed to the parking lot.

"...So how was it over there?" Yujiro asked, looking over at Aizou.

"Don't ask." Aizou said flatly as Koudai stood to the side, listening to their conversation.

"I got some pretty good pictures."

"Yamamoto-senpai, did you watch me too?"

"It's an interview for the both of you," Koudai replied happily...which meant he saw and photographed that unattractive mess.

Aizou slapped his hand over his face and sighed.

"Was it really so hard? Kendo practice, I mean."

"I mean, it wasn't really hard, but it was the first time I was called a brat," Aizou frowned as he recalled the training. Yujiro's eyes widened, and he covered his mouth with a laugh.

"A brat..?!"

"It was a mess there, unlike your practice."

"Normal people don't usually say that so quickly. What did you do?"

"I don't know."

"Pfft...ahahahahahaha!" Yujiro started laughing, unable to hold back anymore. His hands flew to his stomach as he doubled over.

"You don't have to laugh so hard!" Aizou's face turned red, only to hear the sound of a photo being taken.

Both Aizou and Yujiro turned towards Koudai at the same time, only to see Koudai smiling at them.

"This is a good shot."

"Th-th-that isn't a good shot, Yamamoto-senpai!"

"...You just caught me off guard."

"Okay, you three. Just get in the car so that we can all go home," Akechi said as he opened the driver's door.

The three of them glanced back at each other, then quickly got into the car.

_

Yujiro, apparently wiped out, fell asleep in the backseat of the car. Aizou, who was sitting next to him, glanced at Akechi.

"Hey, Akechi-sensei? Did Yatake-sensei teach you archery?"

"No. That was my high school literature teacher," Akechi answered. Koudai, who was in the passenger's seat, also looked at Akechi in interest. "I heard that he'd already retired and was teaching kyudo there, so I got in touch with him. If it wasn't for something like this, I wouldn't have gotten in touch with him."

"So he's the former teacher of our teacher, Akechi-sensei." Koudai said.

"Well, yeah," Akechi chuckled.

Outside, the sun had set and raindrops started to hit the window.

"If it wasn't for him, I probably wouldn't be a literature teacher as I am now...back then, I didn't understand the point of doing literature..." Akechi seemed to be mumbling to himself.

"So why did you decide to become a literature teacher?" Aizou leaned forward and asked. There was a slight pause before Akechi responded, staring at the raindrops with a nostalgic expression.

"...Yatake-sensei once told us in class that literature is the thoughts of people who were alive at that time and place, and that they are proof that they existed. Hearing that, I thought that leaving something behind and passing it on to the next person must be meaningful, and could be my role."

Both Aizou and Koudai listened to him, as if reliving his memory.

"...That's why," Akechi's tone returned to it's usual aloof tone, and said no more.

Yujiro, who should have been sleeping, was awake before Aizou knew it and stared ahead stoically.

(Proof of our existence...)

He was sure the stage play they were going to be on was going to be like that too.

They didn't want anyone to forget they were there.

They wanted to remain in peoples hearts deeply, forever.

They will put everything they have and do their best to engrave proof that they were alive and that they existed there.

That was the way of life that he and Yujiro chose.

#shibasaki aizou #someya yuujirou #akechi saku #yamamoto koudai #lipxlip #honeyworks #confession executive committee #heroine tarumono/heroines run the show #lisians translations

[albonoooo]

got tagged by @wanderingblindly, thank you my beloved <3

what colour are your eyes?: a mixture of blue, green and grey that looks puddle-coloured most of the time.

tell me about your pets/your dream pet: after 15 wonderful years, our family dog paul (i named him that when i was five lol) unfortunately passed away in august 2023, i loved that dog more than most people. (there were some pictures of him here, but i got nervous that someone i know might see this so i removed them lmao). i'd love to get a dog or a cat at some point later in my life, but not now or any time soon.

share some interesting fact about yourself: i'm genuinely incredibly boring, so much so that i had to ask for help to find an answer here. the council decided on the fact that i know how to ride and own a motorcycle and am also a member in an mf in my hometown.

what was the first fandom you were a part of?: i guess the first time i was properly involved with fandom in any capacity was during my teen wolf days.

do you have any phobias?: i don't know if it's bad enough to be considered a phobia, but i'm terrified of heights. there have been several instances of me breaking down crying despite trying to keep it together while being in very high places (usually while having to climb dodgy stairs in very high buildings, among other things).

are you a picky eater? if so, what food can't you stand?: YES! and i hate it because it's so so limiting and annoying. i am incredibly sensitive regarding taste and texture and i have to physically force myself to hold back visceral reactions to foods i don't like. it'd probably be easier to list the foods i can eat tbh.

do you eat the burger and fries at the same time or one after another?: first some fries, then burger, fries, burger, fries, finish the burger, finish the fries. anything else is weird (what the fuck do you mean you eat them completely separately, liquid???)

winter or summer: winter all the way. i sweat easily, my body generally doesn't cope well with heat and i prefer bundling up and being a little cold over feeling too warm.

favourite fanfiction tropes: i LOVE a good au, any au really, but especially the cute ones. i'll read almost anything at least once and so there's just too many things i have read and enjoyed to list here. also, anything with an enemies to lovers situation. i am a sucker for that.

are you studying or working? what do you study/is your job?: both! i'm a full-time student (english major, history minor) and i am one of the student assistants in the english department's student office. i've also had other, less fun part-time jobs in the past.

what is the last country you visited: the netherlands and belgium during a day trip (by motorcycle) in june or july last year, i think.

what country would you want to move to after retiring?: i've haven't ever even considered living that long. i've always had a fascination with ireland and scotland, so based on looks and vibes alone i'd go there. or somewhere with solid winters, like a scandinavian country or finland.

who was your first crush?: hannes (played by nick romeo reimann) in the vorstadtkrokodile movies. i was ready for marriage, dreaming up a life together and everything. it also lasted until i was like 12 years old, so about six years in total. he really had me in a chokehold.

how did you get into f1 fandom?: after my interest was peaked by f1 edits that randomly popped up all over my social media one day (thank you algorithms), i did what i always do when something like that happens and opened tumblr to see what's up. and then i got stuck lol.

i have no clue who has or hasn't been tagged already, so feel free to ignore this!! @hrhgeorgerussell @bright-and-burning @borntogayz @lil-italian-disappointment @liamlawsonlesbian @piastrisms

#would you look at that i'm oversharing on the internet again #tag games

[ma-lark-ey]

Lark Liveblogs Literature Part ???: All For The Game Series - Nora Sakavic

I'm doing something a little bit different with this one! In the business of full disclosure, I read TFC (and about a chapter of TRK) in April this year, decided "I can't mcfucking do this" and then gave up. And then didn't stop thinking about Neil Josten for the next eight months and now we're BACK. So, instead of properly 'liveblogging,' unlike most first-reads I do, I'm actually annotating this one because it's too good to NOT.

That means I have a customized (so totally legal mhm) word doc, highlight/unline privileges, and audacity.

Here's what I knew before I read back in April (stolen from my beta version of this post);

Andrew Minyard: Gay(?), funniest bitch alive if Tumblr brackets are to be trusted. Murderer? Has Boyfriend???

Sports. Maybe. Yes? sports.

Drugs are involved. Somehow.

Now, here's where I am going in now;

Ranking the Foxes goes; Neil, Aaron, Dan, Kevin, Andrew, Renee, Matt, Nicky

I have no idea how exy works, I do don't plan on figuring it out.

Do not remember if I read TRK but what I remember happening is far too much to be just the 230 page doc that is TFC so I MUST HAVE right?

Do know his real name's Nathaniel because I did read that scene reveal and get JUMPSCARED by my brother's name.

How this is going to work is that I'm going to put in my annotations for each chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 1:

"You can't be serious." "Very serious, and very out of time,"

"were a team of talented rejects and junkies because Wymack only recruited athletes from broken homes...nice in theory, but it meant his players were fractured isolationists who couldn't get along long enough to get through a game."

"God damn it, Minyard. This is why we can't have nice things."[1] "Oh, Coach," someone said over Neil's head. "If he was nice, he wouldn't be any use to us, would he?" "He's no use to us if you break him." "You'd rather I let him go? Put a band-aid on him and he'll be good as new."[2]

[1] This is why we can’t have nice things, darling. Because you break them. I have to take them away

[2] Andrew I’ll kiss you

"blond and five feet even"[1]

blond? wrong. five foot even? correct.

"They were champions, and Neil was a jumble of lies and dead-ends."[1]

[1] Neil your self-loathing is showing

"It's not a good idea." "Your opinion has been duly noted and dismissed,"

"It was proof he existed, same as this game they both played. Kevin was proof Neil was real."

"It's about second chances, Neil. Second, third, fourth, whatever, as long as you get at least one more than what anyone else wanted to give you." Neil had heard Wymack referred to as an idealistic idiot by more than one person, but it was hard to listen to him and not believe that he was sincere

"It sounded like a dream; it tasted like damnation"

notes:

nothing much to say on chapter one--- it's a standard introductory chapter to a contemporary(ish) novel.

Wymack sets up the series' key theme with his line, "It's about second chances, Neil. Second, third, fourth, whatever, as long as you get at least one more than what anyone else wanted to give you."

Kevin's demeanor in this chapter is very similar to the Kevin we see up until Raven's come into play--- He's very good at acting very standoffish and tough.

The shift in Kevin when Riko comes into play was actually so dramatic I didn't recognize him here, I was afeared

some of the quotes I've added here are obviously because I thought they were funny exchanges--- others are me English Majoring(tm), and others are just me marking plot, characterization, facts, etc.

admittedly what i've put here is about half of what is actually highlighted/underlined in my doc.

I want to study the dynamic between Neil & Wymack under a microscpe

#all for the game #aftg #the foxhole court #lark says #lark liveblogs #neil josten #kevin day #andrew minyard #coach wymack

[pittdpeaches]

Hi there! Sorry if you’ve already been asked something similar to this haha-

Do you have any writing tips? Anything you wish you’d known earlier? Things you would suggest avoiding?

I’m also curious how you plan your fics if you don’t mind sharing haha

aaaaa hello hello! Apologies for not getting to this sooner, I've been in the process of going to study abroad, but I have some time to sit down and answer this properly. I'm not sure if I have things I wish I'd known or advise you to avoid, but I can share writing tips and fic processes.

Way back in like, october 2022, I made a huge google doc with like 12 different fic ideas I had. I go back to it now and again and add some ideas, or work on others. If I'm particularly inspired by something, I may even make it into a bigger doc. Usually I have an idea of what story I'd want to write and a handful of scenes seared in my head, and it's just a matter of adding scenes in between to get to the Big Stuff. A lot of the time, the story I start with shifts from there in order to justify getting to the original scenes I've planned out.

For example: Genus Datura was supposed to be a sickfic/intoxication fic where Red Son got so fucked up he started genuinely believing MK was his husband, because there was No Way this was real, he had to be dreaming, while a very real, *not* married MK tried to take care of him. The main scenes in my head were the hair washing scene and Red Son throwing up all over MK, but it was a matter of stretching it out into a bigger plot. I wasn't sure *how* Red Son would get into that state, so I did some research and found out jimsonweed is a very poisonous plant that causes hallucination and even death.

This bit of research was great because I could use an element from the actual show in the fanfic, but it also changed the story's tone. It wasn't a silly fic about Red Son spilling his affections to a very real MK-Red Son gets genuinely poisoned, and believes MK is proof of that. It also changed the reason why Red Son was working with the crimson jimsonweed-Princess Iron Fan needed him to work on it, which meant this was to some degree, Princess Iron Fan's fault.

Sometimes, it's less a matter of research changing the fic and more stream of consciousness? I didn't plan for the car scene between Red Son and MK in Genus Datura, but it just sort of poured out the more I wrote, and I went along with it.

While I do sometimes play with the idea of writing the sillier genus datura, I'm really happy with how it turned out. I enjoyed the writing process for it immensely.

I have a pretty spastic writing schedule-I'll do huge 5-8k chunks of writing over the course of a couple hours or a single day, and then just *not* write for a couple days or even a week. I wouldn't say it's the *healthiest* schedule per say, but it works for me and I'm overall pretty content with it. That being said, if you can stretch your writing out over the course of several days rather than jamming it into one, I'd recommend that more to others lmao.

So, here's some advice:

Firstly, make an outline. I'm not a big outlining person myself, I usually just have the chapter number and like, a short blurb about what I want to happen, but that alone is good enough. There's nothing worse than having a scene in your head and then completely forgetting it when you sit down to write three days later.

Take your time writing! Schedules and deadlines you create for yourself are handy if you want consistency, but life isn't consistent, and sometimes you need to be lenient with yourself. Write what you can, and if you can't some days, don't.

If you're stuck on something, genuinely go outside. Or stay inside, doing something completely different. Work on something else. The brain is fascinating-it works on things even when we don't really think about them. Give yourself some time away from your story and eventually, it'll come to you.

Play around with your ideas, even if you don't expect them. You might change something you thought was an integral aspect of the story at some point, and you might switch it out for something you'd just came up with on the spot. And that's okay. If this is where the story wants to take you, then go along for the ride.

Most importantly I think is that no matter how silly or stupid you think your writing is, someone out there will love it. Even if you don't get as many views or likes or comments as you'd hope, someone out there keeps your work close to their heart. You've worked hard on something, and you should be proud of that :D

Hope this all helped!!! It's a VERY long response, sorry about that rgurithjn.

[brwnicons]

Alright here I am bothering you again. I love your works and I can't get enough of them. What about Asa being spooned by his mothman husband? Would he let him be the big spoon ( blanket)? Would he sneakily take a feather?

Your imagination can run rampant with the ask. Do what your hearts says. I trust you wholeheartedly

☆ Oh man how much I love this concept I can't- I've may got a bit carried away. Hope you like it, friend! ☆

Asa x Mothman!Male!Reader

-> Summary: Mothman!Male!Reader spoons Asa and some troubles occurred with his feathers

-> Tags: OOC COLLECTOR, male reader, fluff, mute!reader, monster!reader

I am aware that this characterization is OOC and not accurate. This work has been written to have fun experimenting with a concept!

Please tell me if you find any mistake!

▪︎Asa does not enjoy being little spoon under normal circumstances: he's big, he's strong and a fearsome killer, he doesn't like being viewed as small and "cute"

▪︎But as your intimacy grows he has to admit that your wings are... really comfy. It would be a pity to waste all that softness and more knowing how tired he usually is. He is already smiling by the thought of snuggling into your soft feathers

Also, being able to be so close to your feathers and with your consent is a privilege. It wouldn't hurt to make an exception and let his walls fall down a bit, right?

▪︎When the time comes and he agrees with your cuddling plan you're so excited that you immediately scoot to your shared bedroom after giving him a huge thrilled grin. He follows you short after only to see you already under the covers, both wings and arms spread as a sign of welcoming him into your embrace.

▪︎He hesitates again for a moment before finally deciding to head to your side.

He slowly climbs the bed and lays on the mattress so his back touches your chest.

At first he is rigid and uncomfortable, but he is soon calmed by your contented purrs and the softness of your fur so it's not long until he finally gives in and leans into your touch.

▪︎Asa will wait until your breathing slows to start any movement. He starts with gentle pets and caress to your wings, sometimes touching some special feathers that make his eyes brighter. When he sees that you don't wince, wake up or move away hell be less subtle.

▪︎The moment your wings twitch because of your dreams its his opportunity. Asa looks at your face once more, careful not to wake you up, and when your wings twitches again, he plucks the feather out with a quick movement.

You furrow your brow but don't wake up so it's a victory for him.

▪︎Maybe you end up knowing, either because you see the unallowed feather on his desk or because you feel the loss.

Whatever reason it is, once you know the truth Asa wont be having new about you for a couple of days. You are angry at him and unless he apologizes properly to you, his research is paused.

▪︎He ends up apologizing and offering you a whole cuddling day in exchange, completely empty of hidden intentions. You are reluctant about it but end up accepting and its so much better than you could imagine, he even buys you snacks!

▪︎ At the end, he couldn't bare seeing you upset, even less because of something he did. After all, you were both his husband and his favourite creature and, though you were mute, you didn't need to speak for him to know how much you loved him.

☆ Bonus relationship headcanons because why not hehe ☆

↳ He loves giving you toys with lights or little flashlights to study your reactions. Seeing you so mesmerized and entertained just by clicking a pen that lights up always manages to make him laugh softly.

↳ He respects you not speaking and enjoying silence and since he isn't noisy and doesn't need you talking to understand you either, the atmosphere is very calm on the daily.

↳ Asa is glad that you have nocturnal habit, since he can let you sleep peacefully in the morning while he's at the University and then you can join him on his night job at the hotel.

↳ Speaking of, you're welcomed in the hotel. Always supervised, of course.

Asa is afraid you'll hurt yourself with a trap and you're too precious to be damaged. However, he likes you having by his side when working on his creations, either dead or alive, and when he's hunting; your appearance and huge wings always help him intimidate his victims, and he enjoys having your opinion on his creations.

↳ Returning to the study topic, he is EAGER to get feathers from your wings. The size doesn't even matter, he is desperate for researching your rare, soft fur. Every time you give one to him, Asa gives you a low "thanks you" and a kiss on the forehead before treasuring the feather and treating it as fine porcelain.

↳ Asa is always curious about your habits, doesn't matter how much ago you two met. Everytime he discovers a new favourite food of yours, you'll wake up to it all over the kitchen. If you like to do pillow fortress or blankets nests and sleep there for hours he'll let you be as he silently takes notes from your side and if you happen to invite him to sleep with you, he'll be the happiest man! He may try to pluck out a feather sneakily but a quick slap on his hand an a hard glare will make it clear enough, not today.

#asa x you #asa x male reader #asa x reader #asa x y/n #the collector x y/n #the collector x male reader #the collector x you #the collector x reader #fanfic #mothman #x male oc #x male reader #x male y/n #y/n #male reader #fluff #long reads #The collector headcanons #headcanons #asa emory x male reader #asa emory x you #asa emory x reader #asa emory x y/n

[fantastic-nonsense]

I've been going through your writing tag and I know you said you don't want to share your Ao3 until you've actually published something for us to read, but I'm obssessed with your writing. is there anything in any one of your WIPs you're willing to share with us while we wait for you to finish them? Maybe one of your Batfam or Six of Crows WIPs?

Anon I've been sitting on this ask for awhile because I didn't know how to properly express my love for it. Thank you so much for your love and support. I know I'm taking a long time to get any of my (several) WIPs done, and I'm super thankful for your patience.

So yes, I will very happily share something from my WIPs. I'll actually even give you a couple, since you asked so nicely. I honestly haven't written much on any of my Batfam fics in the past couple of months (despite my Cass character study fic being mostly done and my Jason and his Many Mothers WIP haunting my dreams) and I don't really want to give too much away on those, so I'll share a couple of snippets from some of my Six of Crows WIPs.

Here's a bit from my Kanej love language WIP, 'to love him is freedom', from the "His Hands" section:

He hesitates, his hands hovering just over the jut of her collarbone. This time, Inej knows that the hesitation is not for his sake, but for hers. She’s oddly moved at even this small consideration. They’ve touched so many times now, and he still hesitates. He so often carries violence in his hands, the weight of it making him pause, but there is no pain to be found in this moment. There's nowhere she’d rather be than here, still and waiting beneath his steady hands. “I’ve survived far worse things than your hands on my body, Kaz,” she murmurs softly, reminding him as she always does that his hands are welcome where others aren’t. His bare hands, gentle but searing on her skin, are a novelty. He doesn’t push, doesn’t try to take more than she’s willing to give. His eyes are steady as he carefully cradles her face. She closes her eyes and leans in, tilting her head into the warmth of his palm. She feels held, cradled, protected. There is safety in his hands.

A tiny snippet from a fic I'm working on about how Inej acquired each of her knives called 'To Build a Legend', from a bit about her buying the knife that will become Sankta Anastasia after her first kill:

The knife was plain, unadorned. Simple wooden hilt, simple silver blade. Useful. Practical. Deadly. It will get the job done just as well as any other knife, Inej thought dully as she took it over to the shopkeeper to purchase. She was a killer now, and she needed a killer’s tools to survive. But that didn’t mean she had to take pride in her murder weapons. Murderers didn’t have the right to carry pretty things.

And finally, a bit from the Forced to Choose fic featuring Kaz, Jesper, and a pissed off mercher playing Russian Roulette:

“Any new information coming to mind, Mr. Brekker?” Kaz couldn’t bear to watch, but he wasn’t coward enough to turn away. Jesper had done nothing except volunteer for pain that never should have been his; Kaz owed it to him to stay with him. He watched the blood slowly drip down Jesper’s face and struggled to string together a coherent response. The heartrender, he thought dizzily. Remember the heartrender. He couldn’t lie; de Klerk would know. But he couldn’t tell the truth, either. It would be as good as signing Inej’s death warrant himself. “No,” he finally gasped out, keeping his voice as neutral and firm as he could manage with the shrieking pain radiating down his arm. De Klerk sighed. “A pity.” He looked at Jesper, almost casually tapping the gun against his bruised temple and smiling at his wince. “You’d think he would care more about the people who risked their lives trying to rescue him, wouldn’t you?” Kaz’s heart pounded in his chest as Jesper met de Klerk’s eyes with a determined glare, unwavering and unrepentant. Don’t do it, Jes. Don’t make it worse for yourself. Jesper spat in his face.

#I'm....99% sure that everyone on the SoC discord server who follows me has seen these #but I know everyone on tumblr hasn't. so I'm comfortable sharing them #six of crows #my writing #fic: to love him is freedom #fic: to build a legend #the forced to choose fic #kanej #kaz brekker #inej ghafa #jesper fahey #asks

[creedslove]

LOVE LOVE LOVE HOW UR BUILDING UP THE PLOT!!!!

Loved part 3 so much!!!!!! <333

I just hope you don’t rush with the story, you’re an amazing writer I am so impressed, I usually only see smut or the storyline doesn’t resonate or feels forced. The fact that for once you’re giving so much thought into this, you’re building the anticipation, you have gotten us rooting for the reader, even if you write 100 parts of the story I know it’ll all be amazing because you’re great at delivering !!

For a long time I was looking for a fic with Pedro x reader but writers only choose his characters from shows/movies. I wonder what made you think to start writing about him and not his characters?

Take care writer, you’re putting amazing work out here, we love uuuuu <3

🤍🩶🤍🩶🤍

thank you so much anon, your words are motivating and really sweet! ❤️💖

I don't think I'll rush any chapters I mean, all the chapters were absolutely not planned, I wrote Betrayed as an one shot but people got into it and asked for a part two, which brought a part three, then part four and five (that's being written right now) I have absolutely no idea how many chapters we still have ahead, I just hope I won't go into any writer's block because I'm really enjoying this story and the ideas come naturally and when they don't, I get lots of amazing anon suggestions to work on, so I feel really lucky, to see people are actually invested.

I'm happy you are enjoying it, when I write a story, I try to write something interesting it would catch my attention and I would read it if I someone else had written it, you know what I mean? And I've always loved angst with happy endings, but I like the build up more than the ending when it's done properly and I noticed there's a lot Pedro stories that are rushed to the happy ending, which I don't blame because honestly who wouldn't want to live happily ever after with that man lmao and he is all the time a ray of sunshine to reader which I also enjoy because it brings us comfort when we read it but I thought to myself: what if he is just a normal guy who screws up like everyone else and is too stubborn to admit it? And people enjoyed that portrait! And we all project ourselves into reader, just like I said in another ask, in my mind reader is me just like she is you when you reader and so on, so we honestly just root for ourselves to be strong enough to fend for ourselves no matter how hot Pedro is while breaking our heart 😂😂😂

And the main reason why I began writing about Pedro is because I got into him because of him and not his characters. I had never watched anything he was on and I always saw people gushing about him on Twitter but never got the fuss about it, until about a month or so when whenever I logged on Instagram random pictures or reels of him would show up in my suggestions. I would usually ignore them until I came across that one where he talks about how people usually pronounce 'Pedro' and then he tells the interviewer his full name, using his beautiful accent and as I study Spanish I just LOVED the sound of that. Then other videos of him would appear and I would send them to my friend who really loves him because it reminded me of her. So I went from this guy isn't that ugly to he's not ugly at all to holy shit he's very handsome.

But the cherry on top was about three weeks ago I was going through a rough time where my immune system wasn't great or whatever and I was constantly sick, I had been sick for over a month before that and each week I would have a different problem lol and that week i was again sick and it just drained me emotionally because i was feeling so weak and all the antibiotics I took made me feel physically bad as well and my work schedule was hectic as always, long story short I was a walking corpse that week until I began dreaming about him at night.

The first time I dreamed about Pedro, it was silly but also really sweet, I dreamed I was at the mall, running some errands and with my headphones on, then the song 'Otro día que va' by RBD began playing and I sang along to it and it caught his attention because it was in Spanish so he made small talk and we began chatting, then he invited me for lunch and it was adorable because it was kinda a lunch day. So when I woke up I felt so happy and comforted about the dream and the following nights I also dreamed about him, he was always so sweet in flirty in my dreams and we spoke a lot of Spanish that spiced up things a little bit lol and by the end of the week I already had a massive crush on him, lol

But I wrote for one of his characters: Javier Peña because he makes me feel things™ and I'll probably write more when inspiration comes, just like I'll probably write for Joel Miller in the future because he also makes me feel things™ but so far, my main focus is nuestro dulce pedrito porque lo amo 💖

Thanks a lot anon, your ask was amazing and don't forget the only reason I write it's because of you all and how amazing and support of my work you all are!

❤️❤️❤️

#ask #answered #pedro #pascal

[hunkydorkling]

Spotify's open and is playing some 70s-80s sap, overlaying my current bittersweet symphony of feelings that I thought would be kinder to me when I went to the co-working space for: a) at least one onsite bonding with the colleagues, b) to sell some stickers lol, and c) to send David off since it's his last official day with my company. I was already crying at 4PM while I was sketching some logo studies for our upcoming event's area design, and I was crying, right, then my boss comes up and talks to me about her 2019 Japan photos she happened to repost on Instagram, how a number of them were homages to The Garden of Words' beautiful framing and cinematography, how it was snowing in Spring sometime in April when it should've been cherry blossom season. Anyway, she leaves as soon as I stood up to throw out the sauce for my food.

I continued to cry-bawl-sniffle when I talked to David intimately about why he's leaving, actually, why so abrupt, how was I supposed to know he'd been feeling so desolate about being in esports for 11 years when I've only known him for about a year and some change and I feel like I've known him my whole life in such a short amount of time. He's a big guy but he wanted to cry as he tells me the lowest point wasn't because of the good people in our company, despite the setbacks and challenges, but because he needs to know all of this is worth it. And so the job offer comes to go multinational, and he's immediately validated and needed, and this goal of his, talking about it, came from the heart... but tears were still streaming down my cheeks as I dab a ball of tissue on either side.

Anyway, there's a whole segment of parting words in the smallest room we could be in out of the entire co-working space, I managed to be spoken to last, I got to hold his hand for what feels like solidarity, but I wanted him to feel? like I'm with him. Excited for him.

And then we wrapped up the workday with some soju and lemon soda, which I only managed to get about two small cups of before I started to float in tipsiness. I only got 3 hours of sleep, see. I was also beaten with so much emotion for David that I had to talk in seesaws. Now it's time for me to leave. I give everybody a hug and ended with giving him a really tight one, arms around this big bear, as he reassures me we can still talk. The way I raised my head up at him and away quickly was the only way I can say, yeah, sure. Live your life first then maybe I can consider if I should even come out to you and tell you I've had a crush on you ever since we stepped into the same bookstore after we've carried out an ocular with the team. Ever since you told me some stuff from the rule book during FG tournaments, at our actual event last September. Ever since you told me how much fun you had roleplaying as a way to amass virtual coin sometime ago, which made me laugh as we shared a drink at the tiki bar last Christmas party.

I just feel like I didn't get to properly get to know him, and how it's, I don't know, a little too late to be telling him that now that he wants to pursue his dream of changing the esports scene outside of this place. And he'll never know. He will never know I've liked a David this much the way I did/do with him.

#personal #text post #i've grown so tired of love that i don't know how to parse this #about why i've cried so hard over someone i can identify as a workplace crush and leaving #i'm going to squeeze what's left before i fall asleep

[stowaway-society]

I think I've found the single most positive work/school environment ever actually

So I started an apprenticeship four weeks ago, studying to become a specialist in gastronomics and hospitality because I want to work in that field, pubs and bars specifically, and in those four weeks I've gotten adopted by; one of our cooks, the loveliest person who now calls me her child, another cook who's now my big brother, the biggest trans ally I've ever met (as in within the first week he looked about ready to brawl with his teacher of two years because she misgendered me) is now my father and everyone else is so so so nice and lovely??? I was really scared to go into this field because I come from a gastronomics heavy family and was always warned about its harsh tone, but these people are so lovely?

I get greeted with hugs and shouts of "Mariiiius hiiiii :DD" every morning, one day I got the biggest big brother hug and a can of monster because I just. Looked so sad, people have voiced threats of violence to anyone who ever hurt me, I had my hair played with the other day??? Another apprentice, who asked wether I was trans or non-binary (which was really quite shocking considering I know for a fact he's not at all involved with anything LGBT and considering the German language doesnt even HAVE neutral pronouns) said he was sorry he couldn't refer to me properly when I explained that I was in fact non-binary and would refer neutral pronouns and that he's sad for me that we don't have any in our language?? We're also allowed smoke breaks when we get overwhelmed, we can clock in sensory time with our teacher and the dorms are just as great, one of the other apprentices that I adore lives in the same building and we literally text eachother for smokes in the middle of the night so neither of us has to smoke alone- Whenever I get introduced to anyone new its "Aaaand this is Marius, Marius is our boy, he's baby" and "if anyone hurts you you come running I WILL fight them <3" how did this happen??

This is the most positive and welcoming and supportive environment I've literally ever been in AND it's my dream apprenticeship and sometimes I still have a little cry about the fact that I GOT it- I've grown so much along with these people and the work part of it in these four weeks alone and I've never been this EXCITED for anything

Life is. Good????

#apprenticeship #lgbtq #non binary #stows rambles #apprentice #found family #Me when work fam <33 #shoutout to work fam gotta be my favourite way of healing

[worldbuildguild]

A quick intro to my approach

Ok so, I'm going to stop ranting about me very soon, I just want a few things out of the way first. Throughout my 6-7 years of art schooling, our professors would always start the classes up by introducing themselves, their body of work, and the industry they come from. This was not to showcase themselves, but to lend credence to their teachings, and to let us students know where they came from when giving critique. Which could sometimes help us as students to analyze and apply their feedback properly, knowing that they would've been reviewing our work from X, Y, and Z experiences.

I'm going to do the same here. Just like with introducing you guys to my CURLS model, I want to give you a fair chance at understanding the motivations behind my opinions, and decide whether or not you may agree with them or not. So that when you receive feedback, you can sort through my comments, take what you want, and leave the rest. I promise I'll try to make this worth your time by peppering some advice for designing (for characters this time) in here and there, that I personally use when working. I'll of course go more in-depth with this advice later, but consider it a sampler for what's to come (that you can always google for yourself should you be too impatient to wait for the full essay)

My background in art and design:

You guys know the classic: I've been drawing my whole life, so I'll skip that and jump to the slightly more interesting stuff right away. I graduated from STX ( college being the closest American analogue to this) with an equivalent of a minor (among many others) in Art and Media back in 2015. Upon graduating, I was offered what was supposed to be a temporary position at Gyldendal, a major publishing company in Denmark. Here, I was to work on a small project about Motion Graphics in storytelling for children. However, as my contract expired, I was moved to another department, and later then, to a third department. This one in Educational Online Content for Pre- and -Middle school children. Here I would assist authors and editors in illustrating and implementing content on their websites for 7 years before my contract was unable to be renewed due to budget cuts in the company.

While working for Gyldendal, I took a semester at The Animation Workshop's Drawing Academy, to study classic art. I had a great time as it was my first time living completely on my own. But I absolutely sucked at doing classic studies and often believed myself to be the worst in class. I completed the semester but had been humbled by the experience of meeting a plethora of other, much more skillful artists than I. I had been dreaming of applying to The Animation Workshop's Bachelor program since middle school, but after two failed attempts and now a rather lackluster performance at The Drawing Academy, I didn't quite know where to go. After applying for a few universities I felt no motivation to be a part of, I accidentally stumbled over The Royal Academy in Copenhagen's website, in particular, their Game- and -Interaction design faculty. The faculty has changed names since, but at the time, it encompassed some of the aspects of Art and Media that I had really wanted to do for a living at that point: Concept Art. I applied and after two very stressful tests and a nerve-wracking interview, I was accepted into the Academy.

At the academy I first graduated a Bachelor's in Game- and -Interaction design, where I focused my attention on concept art, storytelling and project management. I would later continue my studies with a Master's degree from the same faculty, now narrowing my studies down into Art Direction and its subsequent topics.

During my master's I also officiated my business publicly. I had been working with art as a freelancer since STX, but my earnings from this venue was growing substancial enough that I had to register properly.

Today I still work freelance. My efforts are going into building my client-portfolio and getting a stable economy going by networking and doing odd-jobs here and there, whenever I'm not illustrating or teaching sporadically at least. I am in talks with another, smaller publisher with whom I have ties from my own network, and as is now - my first book(s) on Worldbuilding for fictional stories is well underway :)

Inspirational sources

For something a little more fun;

My inspirational sources range pretty far and wide. Having grown up in the late 1990's and early 2000s, I am of course partial to the styles of Disney, Dreamworks and whatever cartoons were on the television on the weekends. I found a particular interest in the more semi-realistic styles of the time, such as that seen in Dreamworks' 2D animated films (The Prince of Egypt, Road to El Dorado, Spirit, etc) However, as I have grown older I've found myself falling in love with slightly more abstract styles from the era, such as Genndy Tartakovsky's amazing work on Samurai Jack, or the bold shapes of Johnny Bravo. Lately, you might recognize a wealth of details inspired by the designs of Bioware's flagship series: Dragonage and Mass Effect. Which has dominated my approach since I began my studies at The Royal Academy.

semi-realism with bold shapes

My art predominantly leans into semi-realism. Not very different from some of the typical stuff you'd see in the 2D oriented media of today.

I typically go for a lower line mileage than higher. That is because I like to use my designs over multiple illustrations or in larger projects, and therefore need to lower the total time spent on the individual piece. However, to make my designs stand out despite the typical low detail level I like to use bold shapes to bring a character to life and make their sihlouette unique. This is usually done by working these shapes into the clothes of the character. I'm leaning more and more towards incorporating them into the anatomy as well, but currently I'm just too comfortable drawing characters with realistic bodies to really push for it. You can see these bold shapes come in in most of my works. An oversized coat for a very square sihlouette or a properly singed corset to narrow in the sihlouette and create an interesting negative space.

intentional pallettes

Like any other designer in my field ( I believe at least ) I make sure to pick my colours with intention, which is also a common design principle. What I mean by that is I pay attention to the symbolism and psychology linked to the colours I'm using. Such as the purple's link to mysticism and wisdom on one of my character design's for a mighty mage character.

But moreover, I also make sure to place my colours ( and values ) in a pattern that intentionally leads the eye through the design, so that I can control what to put in focus. Such as in this otherworldly design of a deity, that mixes features from all matters of mythological creatures across the world. Where the pale skin and gold centers the creature's core and face, but also draw attention to the crown of horns and claws.

I will often try to bring a colour down through the whole design so that it leads the eye through it. You can also see this done in this design with the light gray skin-tone carrying from the curled horns, down the face, the torso and along the thighs.

Small, Medium, Big Small, Medium, Big is another very common design principle that is very widespread in the design industry. Making sure that your design holds a balanced amount of small shapes, medium shapes and large shapes helps make your design seem cohesive from top to bottom. My ratio is typically around Big: 1, Medium: 2 and Small: 3, since I am not very big on details in my own designs. But you could feasibly get away with reversing it as long as you make it consistent in your design. Remember that the big shapes are that which will dominate your design's sihlouette, so use it intentionally and put it a place where it can add to the sihlouette.

Historical and cultural referencesl

As I began telling stories and designing as my career, I discovered the absolute joy it is to be interested in both Art Direction, History and Culture! You may think that you've thought up the craziest, weirdest, most violent design. But if you take a look at human history, or really just the world we live in, you might find that your design could be even wilder. The world is not as novel as many think.

I always start my research by trying to find the closest real-life analog to the subject I'm trying to design. If I'm looking to come up with a certain disease, I will look to history to find pandemics or epidemics to take reference from. Following real-life examples can help make your design more feasible, as it will follow the logic your audience recognizes from the real world. This goes for everything from sickness to monarchies to holidays, economic figures, animals, and murder cases.

At this point my favorite thing to do when designing is to simply dig into some documentaries, books and podcasts on real life topics and pick and chose what I like and combine it into something unique. (If you do this, remember that certain subjects such as: religions, cultural symbols, ideologically charged historical events, etc, will demand a very respectful approach. You don't want to be appropriating something, merely take inspiration from. More on this at a later date )

Symmetry vs asymmetry I -love- using symmetry and asymmetry in my design. Symmetry not only lowers line mileage by streamlining the silhouette but can give a sense of stability to your design. It looks uniform and harmonious. Maybe even a little conservative. Not much different from how shape language can work with more square shapes. Asymmetry provides a dynamic change to the design. This can be used to make your design seem more vibrant, and fun even. It adds visual drama that the eye attaches to immediately and can be a good way to lead the eye.

I typically use symmetric designs, not just for low milage, but to indicate a sense of calm in the design. While I use asymmetry for designs that are a little more radical. Sometimes: I'll even use a base of symmetry for the bulk of the design, but then add an accent of dramatic asymmetry to it to break up the monotony. This keeps the line mileage low, but the recognizability and the drama of the design high.

One main idea, two secondary ideas One of the things I most often tell my students and clients, is that they're trying to squeeze to many good ideas into one design. In my very humble opinion, a design can harbour 1 good idea. A main idea we'll call it. And then two-maybe-three smaller ideas. Kind of in the vein of Big, Medium, Small. It balances the design and communicates its purpose clearly, rather than drown it in details. This also allows you create many more designs by saving you on your valuable ideas rather than squish them all together in one design where half of it will not be recognized by the viewer. An infinitely useful approach if you create designs for a living and want to not run into seeming too samey' for re-using ideas from other designs.

Contrast in designs Just like intentionally using symmetry and asymmetry, I love using contrasts. Contrasts in a design create visual interest and draws the eye. it can also add drama to the silhouette, and make it more dynamic and recognizable. But it can also be used to tell us something about the character. As a contrast can enhance both aspects of what it's trying to contrast.

This design for an example (Excuse the very pallette): A slender, slightly femininely dressed mage in a long skirt and ornate corset, does not read like a type that would use his body for a lot of hands-on action. But then we add the massive, clawed gauntlet, and suddenly the gauntlet prompts us to ask what it might be used for? A mage is not typically seen brandishing armoured gauntlets. High-fashion diva's don't usually carry clunky equipment like that. Had the character been a knight we'd assume it was simply part of the armour. Making your audience ask questions about the nature of the design, that corresponds to the story you want to tell can be a great point of intrigue. Though of course, this must be done consciously, and knowingly of what questions your contrast might elicit.

Storytelling in design In the vein of asking questions, storytelling in a design is used in a somewhat similar fashion. Your design should tell the audience what it is, what it is used for, how it is used ( by using a principle known as 'Affordance' more on that in a later essay ). and who uses it. For characters these questions could be framed something like: Who are they? What do they do for a living? Where do they come from?

How you decide to answer these questions can vary greatly from design to design. It dips its toes into everything from shape language, to colour pallettes to the details you add to the design. I'm personally always laser-focused that the details I add to, for example, a character design, tells me something about the character itself. If it doesn't tell me anything in particular, I alter it to something that will, or remove it together. This is a way to bring a bit of economic thinking into my designs. Making sure that all my audience can see on a design, is relevant information for them to know. That is also one of the reasons (beyond low line mileage) that you will not see much excessive detail in my designs. I like to keep things to the point.

These, among a host of other principles which I do not want to bore you with right now, are those which I use to design. You can pick and chose what parts you agree with and what you Don't agree with and apply it to my feedback and my essays that are to come. If you want to know more about what I do, perhaps see a few more designs: you can visit my portfolios. I'll also gladly share more demonstrations of my own work in case of any questions but I'll let you guys ask for it rather than frontload you with it now. Once this post is up, we will dive into the submissions and some of the essays that will be coming up. I hope you enjoyed this slightly too long elaboration on my process, and I look forward to talk to you guys about the individual principles a little more in-depth.

Mod Wackart ( Donate ) Portfolio

#mod wackart #character design #design principles #essay

[brightgnosis]

"GodPhones" Don’t Actually Exist

Certainly there are people on this Earth who have much easier times contacting "the Others" than other people do. But genuinely, I need people to understand that the concepts of “Headblind” and “Godphone” are not real ... Not in the particular way in which Spirit Communication typically gets spoken about, and the way the common rhetoric makes it out to seem like they exist. 

Even our Elders noted these facts very early on in our texts, for those who deigned to pay attention. More importantly, they noted the importance of keeping good checks on our Mental Health- and of understanding Psychology ourselves as part of the foundation of routine Shadow Work --- which itself was a spiritually, magically, and religiously integrated practice which was considered integral to the process of Discernment (between “our voice” and “other voice”), and the Verification and Validation of experience (not just to ensure we were having legitimate experiences, but to ensure we actually understood the experiences we were having, and the proper lessons behind them). 

This is at least 80% of the massive problem with the new pushback against Shadow Work and the complete lack of understanding of its actual function and format, which I've been watching develop over the last 3 years. And it's really not good.

In nearly every case I’ve read so far where it was spoken about, however, there was an explicit mention made of the Spiritual Metaphor, and the fact that the “other voice” rarely comes as literal voice- but instead most often comes as dreams, or as some other barely perceptible otherness that we must look for and interpret (or, in many cases, blatantly ask for). And it’s the mention of the Spiritual Metaphor in relation to Spirit Communication and how it’s often spoken about by older practitioner’s that’s incredibly important right now.

Now a days, what people don't seem to understand- or seem to blatantly ignore ... Is that most often when older practitioners say things like “hear” (as in “we ‘hear’ our Spirits in the Wind” or are “speaking to our Spirits”, or some such nonsense) ... We are being Spiritually Metaphorical; the reality is not that literal and we are not talking literally.

For me, for instance, when I say that I “speak” to my Spirits, I mostly just get ~vibes~; a feeling that, if I were being genuine in my speech instead of spiritually metaphorical*, I’d describe much closer to being a combination of the traditional descriptions of the Claircognizance and Clairsentience abilities: An innate and sudden emotional or extraperceptory awareness of metaphysical or other spiritual knowledge which is not gained through visual or auditory stimuli such as through other abilities. Some might call or equate this with a lesser form of the more traditional concept of Gnostic Revelation. But it is much more convoluted and difficult and requires much more words to say it in these words- and doing so may cause other issues with conflation of dissimilar concepts. And it slows the conversation; it' i's much easier to say "hear" --- and that didn't used to be a problem when everyone understood the concept of the Spiritual Metaphor .... But now hardly anyone even knows it's a thing because no one is studying properly anymore. And that is an issue that is causing additional problems for people.

Regardless of what it’s called or how it’s more appropriately described in genuine language, that’s still the thing: Traditionally, though they’re spoken of using literal terms like “hear” in relation to Spirit communication, we do not actually usually mean that we literally hear the Spirit and are having full blown conversations with them— like L0k! is legitimately looking over our shoulder every day making running commentary on the trashy tv show we’re watching… That’s just not what’s going on for the vast majority of us. It’s incredibly unusual (so rare it’s virtually unheard of, in fact, as the Elders themselves noted many times in our texts) for that kind of communication to happen.

This language is usually spiritually metaphorical, and among advanced or competent practitioners this is typically well understood and doesn’t need to be explained. The problem is that this understanding of the Spiritual Metaphor which used to be passed along inherently as a part of what used to be considered Spiritual, Religious, and Magical Mysteries at a point, simply isn’t being passed down properly to younger practitioners anymore as it should be; at some point the old intellectualism of people like Cunningham, even in NeoWicca, got scrubbed and sanitized, and people forgot their basics used to include the concept of the Mysteries and all that went with it (including the concept of the Spiritual Metaphor).

The result is that y’all’re being misled into thinking that people are having routine full on normal human-seeming conversations with their Divinities --- and that this is not only normal, but is the desired communicative state. Furthermore, that being so called “Headblind” (or not having access to that direct, conversational communion), is bad or abnormal or unusual, or what-have-you… Instead of what it actually is: The default state for most practitioners; the normal states.

And the saddest part is that this state- this default, so called “headblind” state? Is very often nowhere near as "uncommunicative" as you think it is ... You’ve just been lied to about what Spirit Communication is and what it actually looks like in the first place. And so you’re unable to recognize anything that doesn’t look like the Tumblr-dominant narrative of Spirit Communication. And that is severely stunting your practice and your Spirit Relationships as a result.

And I love you guys. I do. But genuinely, from the bottom of my heart: If you legitimately think that you are having full on hours long conversations with your Deities during your waking ours ... That they are doing things like literally making running commentaries on everything from what you’re cooking to the tv shows that you’re watching, etc … I need you to at least try to seek professional evaluation at least once. 

If you cannot afford professional evaluation then I’m begging you to, at bare minimum, at least do a much better job learning more about the process of Discernment, Verification, and Validation; to understand that skepticism is good- incredibly healthy even!- for a well rounded religious practice; that being critical of your own religious and spiritual experiences is not a bad thing and does not make you a bad person.

Everyone has an internal monologue, yes. And everyone can occasionally fall into the trap of projecting a pseudo-identity onto their internal monologue as a way of coping with trauma or loneliness or some other issue. Sometimes we can even mistake those identities as Divinities (I’ve definitely done it myself in the past) … But constant, active, communicative voices in your head like that, while not necessarily inherently bad by any means, are an easily identifiable early warning sign of several mental illnesses that can- if untreated and then subjected to a traumatic event you’re unprepared to deal with- become dangerous to your own health and safety. And if you are hearing these as actual, literal external voices, during your waking houses? That is an even more clear indicator that you may need to seek evaluation for such conditions.

That doesn’t mean there is something wrong with you, or that you are inferior as a practitioner, or anything of the sort --- and never let anyone tell you, or even imply, that such is the case ... But I would much rather see people be safe and healthy rather than sorry, in pain, and potentially even in danger; regardless of what anyone has or tries to lead you to believe, your safety is so much more important than your practice, or your relationship with your Spirits or your Gods will ever be.

This is an opinion piece based in 20+ years of experience. If you found this helpful or interesting, please consider Tipping or Leaving a Ko-Fi; even $1 helps

This account is run by a Dual Faith «(Converting) Masorti Jew + Traditional NeoWiccan» & «Ancestral Folk Magic Practitioner» with 20+ years of experience as a practicing Pagan and Witch. If that bothers you, don't interact.

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[luckyshotwrites]

💖 ✅️/🛒 those last two seemed kind of similar, so you can do both, or one, whichever you prefer :)

Hey hey! Got me some questions from this, eh?

✅ What's something that appears in your fics over and over and over again, even if you don't mean to?

MY AGGRAVATING HABIT OF USING BUT. Elaboration: While typing my rough drafts I put 'but' in constantly. I need to hook up a shock keyboard for that word, sheesh. (I could only think of this at the time).

💖 What made you start writing?

Oh? Is this backstory time for me? XD Well, a long time ago when I was 3 or 4, I had an amazing dream about a girl with cool powers. When I woke up from it I felt like I was born for the first time? I told my mom all about it, and from then on I started trying to draw my dreams, I have dreams kinda like episodes to a show, but once I got older, 4th grade or so, I started writing. I've always written for myself, ideas and such, plus a main story I adore with all my heart. Yet, I've never properly learned to write. I've been studying now, and reading some of the amazing works on here, yours for example, and IF YOU GUYS WANT A LIST OF THE OTHERS IM TALKING ABOUT, I’LL SLAP ONE DOWN. I think it's been helping me improve. I'll get to a bigger level of spice one day, promise!

(I also want to read so many others from people here but with my current work and workout schedule and how long it takes me to write chapters for widfali, I cannot. ;^;)

🛒 What are some common things you incorporate in your fics? Themes, feels, scenes, imagery, etc.

This is the question that took me a while to figure out how to answer, so sorry in advance if it wasn't what it meant!

Overall, at least from all the short stories I've written here, I'd say, I commonly write with emotions/feelings surrounding dread, fear, hopelessness, and or desire. I use different places/characters to demonstrate a variety of scewd differences between these lines.

On the surface of Widfali there's a soft, silliness at times given the games they play. However, there's also the underlying theme that Lynette is on the verge of drowning, because of the how little she knows about everything. There's too much unknown for her to be able to let go and trust the waters. (Unfortunately, as Widfali is a slow burn, I haven't got to any of the parts that'll carry a lot of impact, besides the latest chapter and the obsession chapters, so I cant explain more).

I hope that answers them! AND THANKS FOR THE QUESTIONS, COOL CAT! HAVE A BOMBA DAY!

[thebestpartofwakingup]

impossible and downright unethical dream study: the satisfaction, health, and executive function of neurotypical adults vs. properly medicated aneurotypical/mentally ill (of any one of several specific conditions that can be and are treated with medication) adults. Like not just "adult with ADHD on Adderall vs adult without ADHD on Adderall" because that's a different test --- and the whole thing adjusted for "i am so used to being depressed/unhappy that I appreciate feeling ok way more than someone who is used to it"

Again this is an IMPOSSIBLE study but i am fascinated by it in theoretic. Every psychiatric I've been on has been a direct QoL improvement, but a lot of these drugs only work because my base-line is already fucked/wonky. Anti-depressants don't make a non depressed person feel happier because they're a response to a chemical imbalance only a depressed person has --- but we typically judge the outcomes of those treatments both in comparison to the experiences of the patient, who has the bias of "I felt worse before the meds and now I feel better so that makes me feel like the meds do even more" and how close the now medicated person's behavior is in comparison to a "normal" person, that is we don't take into account/look for signs of a patient doing things better than a "normal" person now that they're medicated, and they're only going to be prescribed medication based on that goal, of getting them as close to that 'normal' as possible

But maybe this is the sort of thing that could be done with synthetic tissue and mice?

I LIKE how I am on meds but I don't know that this is approximate to a neurotypical experience --- one time in a college class a professor asked us something about what makes us happy or what we do when we feel stressed and I remember most students giving pretty short and similar responses along the lines of "watch Netflix" or "i don't know" or "naps" or "listening to music" and I went off with like 20 things and specifically remember one of them being sunshine and the professor and everyone else was a little taken aback in this sort of "wow Folgers really gets the most out of everyday huh" way and it was very like. I don't know that everyone else in that room was neurotypical, they probably weren't.

But if at 21 and ADHD with ADHD meds meant I was having a happier day-to-day experience to my peers who weren't on meds because they don't need them --- IDK to me that's like worth something and indicative of a post-human neurodiversity model of psychology. Not in like a neuro chip way but like. If we can safely offload and manage and improve the human experience through medication why shouldn't we? If life with minor accommodations for a disability results in higher quality of life in those individuals than those who are "abled" I feel like that means something in the way that it meant something when the first humans to eat cooked meat lived longer and had healthier children than humans who only ate raw foods before them