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writingoddess1125 · 7 months

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The Buggy Twins as Adults pt. 2 🤡 🤡

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• When the guys get their incredibly high bounty they realize quickly- They actually need a crew and ship.

• It was only the blessings of some sick God that was keeping them alive and pure stupid luck. But they needed a ship-

• Which for them was easier said then done.

• In truth Buggy had gifted them a ship when they first set sail- However it burned down after Bee was trying to make a new bomb and it quite literally exploded it his face-

• Which was what lead them to the Marine Base, which was also accidently exploded by you guest it- Bee

• So a ship was needed Pronto

Dee looked over the maps to the nearest village, their small dingy bobbing him side to side as he looked over his compass.

"This is so fucking stupid-" He groaned, looking to his brother who was snoring barely a foot from him. Dee kicking his brother hard on the shin making his twin shoot up in surprise.

"Hey watch it!-" Bee grumbled as he glared at his brother, fixing the hat on his head as he saw Dee glare at him.

"Watch it my ass- We need a real fucking ship yesterday. How come you manage to blow up a damn navel base but can't find a proper ship!?" He screamed as his brother shrugged it off in a lazy matter.

"Lucky!? We have a 500,000,000 berry on our head and no God damn ship! We are fucked"

"Lucky I guess?-" Bee said which made Dee damn near blow a fuse.

"Well maybe we don't have to be-"

Bee said with a smirk as he pointed ahead, Seeing a growing mass right in the distance. Dee's eyes widened at this, looking at the map in confusion.

"Wait- There are no islands for at least another day or two what is that?-"

Bee smirked at this as he winked at his twin.

"It's a floating military base dear brother. Aka our ticket to supplies and a ship-"

• The twins despite better judgment rowed their little dingy to the side of the massive tanker and climbed up- Thanks to Dee's devil fruit abilties.

• Bee whistled at the sight of her, She was hot to say the least- Long red hair and face that was soft and delicate paired with the guns at her hip he wondered if she was good with her han-

• In truth it was far easier then they expected-

• The twins slinked through the ship, Fortunate that they were able to disguise themselves far better as it just required removing their makeup and stashing the fake red nose in their pockets. Deciding shirtless was better since they looked like lazy cadets who had rolled out of bed-

• Snagging a few hats and rushing with other groups they separated. Bee to make a distraction and Dee to find some supplies and hopefully take over the ship.

• Bee walked through the corridors of the ship, hiding in random spots to hopefully get to the helm.

• She turned the corner and he realized she was sneaking around too... deciding that it was best to leave her be.

• He had other things to do anyway-

• Dee went down below and saw that the ship was towing another- clearly a captured pirate ship of sorts. Which ment there was a crew on board.

Going down to the brig he snuck through, his head lowered like some cadet who was terrified. Glancing about he noted the lazed security, sneaking in he didn't see a whole crew but instead a lone guy chained up- each arm chained seperate and he had clearly been well beaten.

"If you're here to try again you aren't getting squat- You hit like a girl" He stranger grumbled-

"No im not a Marine- I'm not going to do whatever they've done to you" Dee said calmly, glancing around to look for keys.

"Is that your ship they are towing?" Dee questioned, the man glancing up and he saw yellow for a split second.

"Yes?.."

"If I get you out of here, can we all use your ship to go? Me and my brother need one" Dee admitted, feeling like honesty was the best option.

"Whats you and your brothers name?" He questioned.

"Dee and Bee... the Buggy Twins" He heard the man snort a laugh at this and nodded in agreement to the terms.

Dee stared at the man, Hesitant for only a moment before pulling out two pins from his hair and cracking the cage open. Starting on each arm of the chain to get him out, till pausing when he felt cold metal touch his head.

"Woah Woah-" Here helping Dee said calmly, glancing to see some red head girl pointing the gun at his face.

"Hold it Vi- He's with us.." The black haired man said quickly.

"Besides I'm Bullet Proof so let's lower the gun. We can all board the ship and get out of here before we get executed? Sound like a Deal?" Dee said quickly.

She lowered the gun quickly and sighed- "And here I thought you were anti-social Alu.." She said with a roll of his eyes. "This is Vivian, my gunner and hopefully first mate" The prisoner introduced as Dee finished taking off his final restraints.

The red head rolled her eyes "In your dreams... and Let's go-"

• The trio ran through the corridors. Hiding whenever solider passed them by and keeping low-

• However it seemed they were having better luck then the other twin. While had found himself at the haul of the ship all right- along with the Vice-Admiral of the ship.

"H-Hey There Cap just passing throu-" She cut him a look and held a hand up up.

"That is by far the worse get up of a pirate sneaking on my ship... are you stupid?" She questioned.

Bee stared at the Vice-Admiral watching as she pulled a sword and glared at him, noting he didnt even have a chance to lie.

"Fucking Pirates.. getting lazier by the day" She hissed at his idiocy, blade raised already to cut him down but he held up his hands with a dazzling smile.

"Woah Woah- before you off me Wanna see a magic trick?" Bee said with a wink making the women look at him comfused- Before in less then a second he pulled put 3 balls suddently and tossed them her way, her immediate reaction to swipe them away with her sword that was till mid air she saw the skulls painted on them.

"Shit-!"

BOOM!-

• The trio jumping from the massive ship to the lower towed away ship- As they Fell Vivian shooting at the rope connecting them to seperate.

• As the exposition hit the trio heard it and the alarms that rang out. Dee grabbing the two of them quickly already knowing it was his twin

• "MOVE Move!" He yelled as they went to the back of the ship were the smaller pirate vessel was being towed.

"GO GO! NOW!" Vi screamed as the three started to set sail to get as far away as possible.

The Marines seeing this as the sounds of Marines yelling 'THE PRISONER IS ESCAPING' Sounded and gunfire rang out from the Marines trying to shoot at them.

"DONT FORGET ME YOU ASSHOLES!" Bee screamed as the Marines shot behind him- soot covering his face as he clearly was caught in the explosion. Swan diving onto the smaller ship face first into solid wood. But it was better then being shot at!

• The prisoner helping the other blue haired teen to his feet-

• "Did you cause that fucking explosion?" He questioned as the twin of the man who saved him groaned and nodded.

• "Not spooky dude.. Alucare.. Dracule Alucare" He dark haired man grumbled, pushing back his dark locks as he looked at the twins. Both seeing the undeniable yellow eyes of the famed pirate lord son.

• "Damn right spooky dude.." Bee groaned out, The prisoner sighing as he helped him up.

• Canon fire rocking the ship as they all yelled and tried to stay put. As the ship groaned and creaked from the attack- Vivian jumping up quickly to help set the sails to get the ship moving faster.

• "Dracule? Like Mihawk? Holy shit dude your dad is like super famous!" Bee said in shock, Alucare shrugging at this. "Same goes with you.. The Buggy Twins, sons of a Yonko and having 500,000,000 Berry for the both of you. Not bad" The two men nodding in agreement of fluffing egos.

• Vivian rolling her eyes at both of them.

• "Wait how were you even arrested? You and your family are kind bad asses?" Bee questioned amused, The dark haired man sighing heavily.

• "Better term would be hunted down-" Alucare grumbled, rolling his shoulder with a heavy sigh.

• "Hunted? By who man!?" Bee yelled, Alucare glancing back at the massive ship thay they were sailing away from- Clearly the explosive damage from the Buggy Twins forcing the Marine Boat to stop for repairs completely and forcing the pirates to sail on woth minimum damage.

• "By her-" Alucare explained as he pointed out to the massive ship and the person who was clearly fuming standing at the front of the ship, Dressed in ger vice admiral uniform she glared hard down at the group of small time pirates- Fist clenched over her sword as she knew it was foolish to chase them.

• "The youngest and probably most brutal Vice-Admiral in history.. Lyra Beckman-" Alucare said with a hearty sigh- Bee jaw dropping.

• "WE FINALLY HAVE A CREW!" Bee yelled as the rest stared at the Clown, even Dee rolling his eyes.

• "Fuck dude-"

• "Fuck indeed... Now let's get some distance before she decides killing me is more important then ship repairs"

• They all agreed and began to haul ass away- until they were sure they were safe enough from the ship and it was a dot in the horizon. Vi glaring at Alucare before tossing a wrapped bundle at him, Opening it to glance and see some clothes and his sword.

• "Don't expect me to rescue you again-" She said shortly. Alucare brushing her off as he went to get changed.

• Bee took note of this- A swordsman... a Gunner.. his brother as a Navigator-

• "We are not a crew!" They all yelled at him.

#x reader #one peice x reader #one piece #one peice live action #buggy one piece #buggy the clown x reader #buggy x reader #dad buggy #buggy twins #Buggy!children

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jewishvitya · 5 months

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I just wanted to thank you so much for all of your insight and generosity with your perspective as an anti-zionist israeli, something you absolutely don't owe us but I feel immense amounts of respect and admiration for. from an American jew, it's been so valuable to know there are people like you out there, it's made everything feel much less hopeless despite all the hopelessness. I've felt very alone recently, surrounded by all the Jewish people in my life who are pro-israel and don't seem to grasp the gravity of the situation and my pro-palestine gentile friends, and I've felt very alone in my grief as I've only really started to unpack and dismantle my own biases very recently. reading your posts and your perspective on everything has just made me feel very seen as a jew in this situation, especially as I try to reconcile my feelings about everything going on with my own feelings about my faith and my identity.

you've probably seen that I've gone through a lot of your posts and that I've followed you. i just want you to know that I'm not necessarily following you just for that, I know you're just a fandom blog, it's just that after looking through your posts I feel like you're just a really nice person and seeing yoi on my dash from you would be endearing coming from you even though im not into it myself.

just. thank you again for sharing your story and continuing to share. you have no idea how much it's helped me.

I'm in tears. I've been crying way more than usual over the past couple of months, but it's nice for a change to have those tears to come from being touched instead of grief. I apologize if I'm going to ramble.

You say I didn't owe you all this, but I do feel responsible. I'm watching so much destruction and seeing how comfortable people around me are with the loss of life. This is why I've been talking about what we do and not as much about the impact of October 7 on me or people I know. I did a bit of that in the beginning, but pretending it was the start of everything to keep going back to that one day, after two months of horror, as if I can't count past 7... I didn't choose to be born where I am, I didn't choose to grow up in the most extremist community this place has to offer. But since I'm here, since I'm comfortable at the expense of Palestinians and violence is being done in my name and I have the tools to highlight issues within my society, I think it's a moral obligation.

I know how I talk about things here, and that's genuinely because I don't want to minimize the severity of the racism and the nationalism in Israel. And someone perceived my words as showing hatred for Israelis. But... I love my people. I don't expect those who see or experience our violence to feel the same or even understand me, but I do. It's my neighbors and my childhood friends and my family. It's children I see playing outside and getting excited when they see I have a cat, and the random people who stop me in the street and give me directions if they think I look lost.

Even growing up in the West Bank settlements, the people were very good to me. I needed years to internalize the fact that this kindness doesn't get extended to you if you're not part of the in-group. It broke my heart. It still does. Seeing people who I know are capable of kindness and compassion, hardening themselves against the pain of other human beings. Closing their eyes and telling themselves it isn't real. It's all an act.

I told a friend I feel like I'm betraying my mom, who was deeply bigoted, but also a wonderful mother. She taught me a lot of the principles that are guiding me now - I just took down the walls she put around who deserves to be considered. She'd be horrified with seeing the things I'm saying if she was still alive. But she taught me to care about people, I just decided it means all people.

Everyone should be prioritizing Palestinian liberation, and at the same time, I care about this too. I care about the morality of my people. I need us to be better than this. I want to dismantle the nationalism that teaches us hate and violence so we can start to heal and come to terms with what we did (and still do) here. I want us to fix what we can and hold ourselves accountable. I want us to reimagine safety in a way that doesn't cause harm, and build good relationships with the rest of humanity. Every marginalized community is experiencing bigotry in interactions with every other community, that's just how these things work. But I believe healing the world, and healing my society, is possible.

And it's hard, because so much of what we learn is rooted in truth. Antisemitism is real. Millennia of persecution are real. The trauma we carry is real. If the idea of an ethnostate makes us feel safe, and the idea of losing it makes us scared, how do we differentiate between fear as a natural reaction to antisemitic violence and fear that was taught to us for the sake of nationalism? Especially those of us living in Israel, immersed in the propaganda. It doesn't matter in practice, our feelings of safety or fear don't justify an ethnostate, especially not one built on top of another nation, but it matters for the conversations I have with people.

And I said that the violence I'm seeing feels like an attack on my identity. Seeing a giant hannukiyah in Gaza, when Hannukah tells the story of occupied people fighting off their oppressors. Seeing images that echo so much of the horrors that were done to us. The Magen David being used with hate and spite. It's all so painful. And I love this land, it's the only home I've known, so seeing us destroying nature and soaking it with blood and calling that connection?

Judaism does guide me here. The concept of tikkun olam. The idea of לא עליך המלאכה לגמור ולא אתה בין חורין לבטל ממנה - doing what I can, even if what I'm able to do isn't some decisive blow that entirely turns the tide. The idea that every human being is a whole entire world, to me it means that every single person alive is worth fighting for. So no matter how much death I see, there's still worlds more to save.

And Jewitches had this post that felt just healing to read. Nationalism hijacked our culture, and it will always leave a mark for centuries into the future. But I'm not letting go, and I'm not letting that create a rift between me and thousands of years full of history I can be proud of.

I feel your grief. And I'm grateful for the anti-zionist Jews I met by talking about this, because honestly, I need you people in my life. The pain and the anger are both easier to hold together.

So, thank you for following. I might follow back, just to see you around on my feed. And thank you for sending this. Feel free to message me anytime for any reason (I promise it won't result in a lecture every time).

Also, your url gave me pjo nostalgia

#riki babbles

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hie-iss · 4 months

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No one like him

Jimin is one of a kind it has to be said.

This boy will go places beyond the BTS group and fame. His humility, amazing work ethic, respect, love, and compassion for other beings will carry him to great heights.

To army and some Jikookers who always want to portray him as the weak damsel in distress, if what he has achieved over the past 10 years of his carrier with all the set backs on the roads was not enough to open your eyes, I hope this military service ordeal will finally let you see the light.

Take the time and learn to know Jimin, put aside the fanfics depictions of him, the assigned roles bighit gave each member and your own fantasies and simply learn to know Park Jimin the man.

Remove your glass tainted with bias and then it would not come as a surprise to you that

He had only 6 months of training, was not given vocal lessons by the agency, yet landed two of the most important roles in the group

The fandom always believed that out of all the members he would be the one to suffer the most through chapter 2 yet he ended up being the 1st to have a historical #1 BB100 with no major push from the compagny and the only one to bag 2 of the biggest luxury houses on the planet.

A lot of people assumed that JK and him opted for the military buddy system because Jimin needed JK support more than the other way around and were worried of how Jimin would manage in the military. Yet he is the one who came 1st after training.

Learn to know Park Jimin so that events like those mentioned above will no longer come as a surprise to you.

The world we live in tends to hype and give credit to those who talk too much even if deep down they don't pull through. If that is what you expect of Jimin then it is clear that you will always misundertand him.

He rather let his actions speak for him and even when he ends up coming out at the top guess what he does? He uplifts others who did not make it instead of having the focus be on his success.

If you were to read the letter he wrote out of ms in the void you would think that JK and other members had performed better than him. But knowing JM the moment I saw the letter he wrote to us I knew the letter was also meant for JK. To me it was a way to console him. To tell him you did well even if you did not come first. So I knew that the story about JK being first and JM second had to be false. And not even a day later I was proven right.

This time Jimin dad pulled through with the "receipt" but it is not everytime that we will be able to have the backstories of what really happened ( specially when bighit and their twisted agenda is involved). So take the time and learn to understand Jimin when he speaks to us.

While the boys are in the MS take the time to go through old content and open your mind to get to know each one of them for who they really are to the extent that it is possible of course.

Anyway I am mostly neutral to the military enlistment ordeal but of course as a Jimin fan I am happy that he is doing well so far.

#jikook #jimin #LearntoKnowHim #ItsNoFanfic

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zvtara-was-never-canon · 1 month

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So did season 3 Zuko genuinely believe Ozai loved Azula? Is that why he was okay with ratting her out to him with no fear of what he might do to her?

Zuko is a 16-year-old boy that was a victim of abuse pretty much his entire life. It took him THREE WHOLE YEARS to realize that their father disfiguring and banishing him for speaking out of turn/against a cruel plan, and refusing to fight him, was, in fact, a deeply horrible thing for Ozai to do and it was all Ozai's fault.

Is it fair or realistic to expect him to understand that, even though Azula managed to live up to Ozai's insane expectations for his children, it was still unfair of him to put so much pressure on her and that it was only a matter of time before she cracked under it? Can we really blame him for not realizing Azula is being psychologically abused when she's in denial about it herself and actively trying to convince everyone around her that everything she does is effortless? And when the adults he actually trusts, aka his mother and uncle, are ALSO not aware of what's going on right in front of their faces?

Can we blame a child who is desperate to get even the slightest bit of approval and affection from his parent, and never achieving it, for thinking their sibling has an easier, enviable life because they ocasionally get some conditional love?

Can we expect someone who just heard their parent say the words "Your sister was born lucky, you were lucky to be born" to just casually ignore that very clear "I wish you were dead, you don't deserve to exist" and focus only on the implications of "Wait, is he dismissing my sibling's life-long attempts, and success, of living up to his expectations as sheer dumb luck, not hard work and genuine talent?"

I've said once, I'll say it again: Zuko's attempts to survive all the trauma he endured are basically the same as someone who is panicking while drowning and trying to pull under the person that is trying to rescue them because they cannot think clearly in such a dire situation.

It's no coincidence that the two main moments in which we see him having compassion for Azula (in The Southern Raiders and then in the finale post Agni Kai) take place AFTER he has turned his back on Ozai and found a group of people who love and support him. He is now watching the situation from the outside, from a safe distance, not while in the middle of all the chaos, unsure if he's gonna make it.

And for the first time, Zuko can actually see his sister. A prodigy, but still someone that is trying to meet impossible standards. A brave, fierce, DANGEROUS warrior, but also a deeply traumatized child.

There's a reason Aaron Ehasz, the head-writter and executive producer of the show, has repeatedly said that, if Avatar had gotten a fourth season, he would have liked Zuko to essentially be Azula's Iroh and help her heal and redeem herself. He is literally the only other person in the world that knows what being Ozai's child is like, even if he was the scapegoat while she was the golden child.

#fire siblings #zuko meta #azula meta

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embracing-the-ineffable · 3 months

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Good Omens, staying skeptical, and the mystery and the lie at the heart of Gravity Falls

-Neil Gaiman, 29 June 2023

I recently came across this post by @apathetic-revenant, which goes into extensive detail about a whole secret meta lie generated by Alex Hirsch, creator and head writer of Gravity Falls, midway through the show.

It went like this: the show was very focused on mysteries, codes, ciphers, etc, and early on a character discovered a mysterious journal with an unknown author, and this drove the plot. There were clues placed in the show so that people could solve the journal author's identity, or more probably so that it would all make sense in hindsight after the big reveal. However, the show ended up with a larger-than-expected fandom who started organizing online in a way the creators hadn't expected or planned for, and they were worried everyone would collectively solve the mystery too easily, too soon, and the suspense and appeal of the story gradually unfolding would be lost.

So they took a fake BTS photo that appeared to reveal the journal's author and "leaked" it online. To give it credibility, the show's creator posted "Fuming right now" and then deleted the post soon after, once they were certain it had been seen and screenshots taken. The Gravity Falls fandom then stopped trying to solve the mystery, as they believed the answer had already been revealed. It was a solution "targeted toward delaying that group problem-solving, without actually affecting the experience of any individual person watching the show."

Ok, Good Omens fandom. Are we Gravity Falls all over again? Are we also experiencing meta lies?

Is it possible that Amazon's marketing department has just released a new promotional video about Aziraphale & Crowley's "timeline of interconnectedness" (discussions here and here ) where they honestly:

got several of those timeline dates wrong, including labeling the entirety of seasons 1 and 2 as belonging to the same year?

mixed all the season 1 and 2 clips together so they're completely interconnected and out of the order they were presented to us so far?

didn't consult with Neil Gaiman for even a moment to be sure they had their facts straight? (Or literally anyone else who's spent years working on it? Or even someone who has just watched it once while paying attention?)

didn't understand the way most series tell a story by moving through time in a realistic linear fashion?

When Neil said today that "time is fine" in response to questions about the timeline of interconnectedness video, was he trying to misdirect the fandom away from the mystery that's clearly hidden throughout both seasons (and especially season 2)?

The Good Place seems suddenly more relevant than I'd imagined:

Neil has told us that his Tumblr posts aren't canon. He's also said:

"Never trust the storyteller. Only trust the story."

"Writers are liars, my dear, surely you know that by now? And yet, things need not have happened to be true. Tales and dreams are the shadow-truths that will endure when mere facts are dust and ashes, and forgot." -Both quotes are from The Sandman [link]

So here's my plea to whichever part of the fandom might read this: Stay Skeptical. It's wonderful to talk to Neil about his characters, the worlds he's created, his writing process, his views on world events, his sense of humor, his kindness, his compassion and empathy, and his good advice & encouragement for the entire range of the human experience. I respect him very much, and I'm thrilled he's here on social media talking to all of us. (Except he doesn't have social media, obviously. He's like Schrödinger's Social Media Neil-cat.)

I'm looking forward to all the surprises I'm certain are in store for us (and Aziraphale and Crowley) in Good Omens season 3. I trust Neil (and Terry!) to deliver our beloved characters to a very satisfying ending. But I don't trust Neil to honestly answer all of our questions on social media - and neither should you.

Especially not when he's already blamed obvious season 2 changes to the Bentley on the "lighting" (as just one example).

With lots of thanks to the members of the @ineffable-detective-agency - including @bbbitchvibbbez, @kimberleyjean, @maufungi, @noneorother, @theastrophysicistnextdoor, and @thebluestgreen for all their excellent fact-checking, ideas, and discussions!

Interested in diving further into all the Good Omens mysteries? I have more posts plus Clues and metas from all over the fandom, here.

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roobylavender · 7 months

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something tangential to the enforced motherhood post i reblogged but while dc's contention with this concept is pretty horrid and distasteful in general what i find worse is the fan reaction in batman circles, specifically with regards to talia and selina. on one hand, you have the very obvious projection of a racist and xenophobic trope onto talia where she is stripped of any and all personal agency and to the point her character can never be severed of motherhood or even worse only viewed as an abusive party within the concept. fans not only project their own experiences of abuse onto her despite these projections being contrary to her own ambitions and writing prior to her character assassination; they also, in the event they don't want her to be an abusive mother, decide to relegate her to a static concept of motherhood where she has no existence outside of raising damian and where there isn't even a possibility of toying with the idea that she may not have actually acquiesced to the concept of motherhood to begin with. i'm always so surprised by how little people seem to contextualize the life talia led as lex corp ceo with her potential role as a mother. how would she be able to live that kind of isolated, purpose-driven life where she could set every personal desire aside for the sake of her duty to the world if she was expected to parent a child first? this is a rare viewpoint i've never really seen expressed but one reason i find morrison's portrayal of bruce and talia as parents to be really ironic is bc i think the roles are nearly reversed. at that point in her life and with the slew of burdens and responsibilities on her shoulders i honestly think talia (regardless of what immense affection i'm sure she would have for her own child) would be the one who had trouble acclimatizing to her role as a parent, versus bruce who made it his intent for several years to parent various children and when he found out talia was pregnant impliedly committed to shielding that child (and her) from violence and a vigilante life at all costs. it's a narrative thread i really would have loved to see explored but on a practical level would likely be impossible to do not only bc of dc's handling of asian mothers and their racist degradation due to their juxtaposition against white fathers, but also bc of dc and dc fans' constricted view of motherhood to begin with. either you're a good mother or you're a bad mother. there's no room for the in-between nuance of possibly loving your child but not knowing how to balance that responsibility bc of what you view as important responsibilities you have to others

on the other hand, you have dc fans' engagement with selina's relationships with younger orphans and sex workers in her community. this is a really interesting one to dissect in light of ship wars specifically bc while i agree that there isn't any sense in having selina act as a mother-figure to bruce's children i also don't really agree with people's justification that she's not a "motherly" character. it's once again a very striking example of the restricted perception people have of motherhood or of behaviors commonly associated with that role, bc i don't think people who say this are really criticizing her ability to be a mother at all. what they're actually criticizing is her capacity to care. there's oddly all too many people who believe selina's anarchy or more self-serving nature is antithetical to any expression of compassion. so what you end up having is a phenomenon where one group of fans is eager to see her co-parent with bruce and another group of fans is eager to see her severed of any significant connections at all bc it somehow fits her "villainous" nature. and all-in-all, from both sides, her relationships with kids like holly and arizona are completely obscured. there's no room made to discuss how selina can possess deep empathy for young people whose experiences she identifies with and that she can care for them and even take them under her wing without necessarily wanting to adopt them, but that if she wanted, maybe she would adopt them. i honestly feel like that was the direction alan grant and doug moench were going in with arizona in the early 90s had mary jo duffy not abruptly excised arizona bc, like a lot of fans, she thought having significant emotional attachments was antithetical to the catwoman persona albeit there was no actual canon to back that notion on a behavioral level. i don't think selina has to be a mother, but i also don't think it's an infliction of stereotypical gender roles on her to imagine a scenario where she might adopt a stray, esp if that scenario occurs within a context where she is still independent and forging her own way of life and liberty. if anything, taking care of holly and arizona were some of the highest points of her narrative, bc they were a looking glass through which to explore selina's capacity for love and mercy, in spite of all of the trauma and abuse that she had to suffer at the hands of others

to me, the problem with dc's contention with motherhood is not so much that it's attached to these women at all, but that the definition of motherhood used is entirely framed with a heteronormative understanding of the family unit, despite the reams of potential to explore characters like talia and selina as independent figures acting outside of that traditional hierarchy

#to be deleted #does this make sense. no. but i think about it a lot and wanted to put it down somewhere. so

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annab-nana · 1 year

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JJ maybank x Fem! Reader , Platonic! Pouges x Fem! Reader.

where reader is VERY claustrophobic and she’s the only on small enough to fit into the hole at the graveyard so kie suggests that reader should climb thought , they argue for a bit then she faces her fears, climbs through the hole and gets the envelope for John B, and JJ comforts her after telling her she did a good job and stuff

really fluffy ending

you got it babe!!

warnings: claustrophobia, mentions of gunshots, snakes, difficulty breathing, not proofread

❀ masterlist ❀

it had already been quite the day. jj and john b went to mrs. lana's this morning and heard some men demanding the compass from her that she didn't have. come to find out, those men were the ones who chased you guys yesterday in the marsh and shot at you guys until you and kie threw out the net to slow them down.

then, after jj and john b told you the story of what occurred that morning—all while you held jj's hand since the boy was frazzled from seeing mrs. lana in such a state—john b unlocked his dad's office, a room none of you had seen the inside of, to look for anything that could help. while you were all realizing john b had a death compass, it seemed death was around the corner when those same two guys showed up at the chateau. it ended up being okay even though you had nothing to protect yourselves with. you never expected to be hiding out in john b's chicken coop, but it was your saving grace.

you were put on babysitting duty of jj and pope while john b and kie went up into the lighthouse. but, when the cops showed up and those two weren't back yet, you had to keep yourselves safe. so, you peeled with the boys and hoped john b and kiara were cool with a little more running.

after john b got arrested, then got out, made kiara angry at some point, but got her to come along, you now stood in a cemetery with "redfield" written across the top of the stone. the boys tried to push the door—it wouldn't budge obviously—and a water moccasin slipped out of the hole in the door. jj, ever the genius, started loudly barking at it when this little mission of yours was supposed to be a little covert.

while the boys argued about the snake whether it be how to scare them off or if there were more in there, it was clear that hope was being lost on the goal here. you stood by kie who lifted her flashlight up to the hole the snake came from and then looked to you.

"what if you went through it?" she asked, her head nodding toward the hole in the stone.

"wha-why me? you can fit through just as much as me." the boys stopped their bickering to listen to you two.

"i hate snakes and you don't mind them. you literally have had pet snakes all your life and anytime we see one, you want to touch it. if anyone is best equipped with the knowledge and confidence to be around snakes out of any of us, it's you," kiara explained and it was hard to fight her logic.

"but i'm claustrophobic. you guys know that."

"but," pope interjected, "it should only be tight going in or out. inside, i imagine it wouldn’t be that bad."

you took in a deep breath and met everyone's eye, each of them encouraging you to go through with only their gaze. john b's was the worst because you knew how bad he wanted this. you knew just how desperate he was to find the truth about his father and you'd be lying if you said you weren't intrigued by what could be inside as well.

"fine," you huffed, "but anything else that we have to do that isn't fun, someone else has to do it."

"deal," the group agreed before moving to remove the mess of sticks and vines that were covering the hole.

"hey," jj pulled you aside, "you sure you're okay with this?"

"honestly, no, but if it can help john b and it doesn't last too long, then i think i can manage it." you could see in his face, he was hesitant, but you leaned forward to wipe that look of his face with a kiss. "i've got this, okay? and if i don't, i know you and those three will do whatever you have to to get me out."

"y/n, you ready?" kie called from where she and pope held the vines to the side. jj rushed over to john b's side so that they could both help you up.

"as i'll ever be." you walked over to the two boys and faced john b. "what am i looking for exactly?"

"you'll know when you see it," the brunet responded which didn't at all help your nerves.

"alright, cryptic as hell, but i can work with it." you stepped up into jj's joined hands after your hands gripped onto the stone opening. the blond counted to three and then boosted you up. kiara had her flashlight shining in so you could see but your body obstructed the view when you entered through. your feet landed on the ground below and you reached out for the flashlight that kiara gladly handed over.

you shined the light on everything inside. the space was bigger than you'd thought, but the fact that your exit was so small and that you'd have to work to get through without jj's help wasn't sitting right with you.

the running, the scary men, the gunshots, and the snakes were enough to scare someone, but none of it scared you more than this. maybe it was a tad irrational to be afraid of small spaces. what harm could actually come from it? but for you, it was the end of the world. you felt yourself freaking out over it, so you tried to quicken your trip.

"you alive?" john b asked from outside, "you got like a heartbeat and everything?"

"so far," you called back. talking to someone was helping.

"that's good. that's good," he commented while you looked around.

"yep." it was too dark to really look around. "i need some more light."

"gotcha," jj answered as he grabbed john b's lantern and raised it in and through the hole for you. your eyes landed on an even smaller hole in the stone to your left and you hated that you'd have to stick your hand in there. "did you find something? is there gold?"

"oh shit," you mumbled when your flashlight caught a white corner sticking from the opening. there really was something here.

"what is it?" you could tell jj was getting antsy outside, so you quickly and carefully grabbed the corner to pull it out, revealing it to be an envelope. you walked over to the opening you came in through and passed the envelope through. jj pulled out the lantern to provide light for the rescued item, but that absence of extra light made a difference in the room size for you. it felt smaller than it did a second ago.

not only did the room feel smaller but so did your lungs. breathing became harder as you leaned against the stone door for support. you heard their voices outside but couldn't make out what they were saying. all you heard was "gold" and "dad" but it sounded like you were underwater.

jj thought it was weird that you hadn't come out yet, so he called your name. only when it was silent for a moment did he hear your struggling breaths. he could reach his hand in but he couldn't climb through to get to you. "y/n, baby, take my hand, please."

the feeling of his fingertips grazing the top of your head was what pulled you out of your tunnel vision and you reached up to touch his skin.

"can you get out?"

"yeah, i-" you cut yourself off when you grunted on the incline when you jumped up to get out. jj's hands slipped under your arms to help you out before moving to your waist to help you stand. once stable, you wrapped your arms around him and breathed in his scent, calming down with his smell.

"you okay?"

"yeah," you mumbled into his neck.

"i'm so proud of you, you know? i didn't think you'd go in there and then you braved it and didn't get scared until the very end. you did so good, so so so good," he told you as he held you tightly.

no matter how small the space felt when you were in his arms, it never felt scary because you were with him.

remember to support writers & reblog :)

turn on notifications for @annab-library to be notified when i post something new!

#blurbs #jj maybank #jj maybank x reader #jj maybank blurbs #anon #❀ nonnie ❀

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surplus-of-sarcasm · 7 months

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I am largely very unpolitical on here, and this is my writing blog, but it is also the one with the most followers, and this needs to be said.

TW: A lot of talk about war and war crimes

What Israel is doing to Palestine is nothing short of several war crimes, and the US's "stance" on it is a pathetic excuse for these attrocities.

Tell me, how do you justify the slaughter of innocents, of women, children, elderly and people who have no business in this, who don't deserve all this torture? I mean, it is ignorant to say crap like they've been caught in the crossfire because this is clearly deliberate. How can anyone justify cutting off electricity, water, medical care and basic needs of life and the overall subhuman treatment of Palestinians? They're not even letting other governments help.

And about Hamas? I don't support what they did in the slightest. If anything, all they did was give Israel an "excuse" to do this to innocent civilians, no scratch that, not an excuse, a supposed reason that the ignorant choose to believe. Since when has punishing innocent people for the actions of an extremist group that doesn't give two damns about civilians and their country been seen as fair? As something to defend?

"Israel is the only military to warn civilians before bombing them." Oh my God. How admirable. So if I were to call someone and tell them I'd murder them and I do just that, I somehow don't end up in prison? I get a goddamn medal of honour? The hypocrisy is unbelievable.

And somehow, they want to pawn all this on Egypt. Give us access to your borders to house the civilians so we can destroy Hamas. Like Egypt is somehow the villain here. Like Israel doesn't have any bad blood with Egypt. And like Israel doesn't know who it's hurting. Like they actually care about those civilians. You see anyone from Hamas suffering? Hell no. Here's their cock and bull argument blown out of the water.

Don't expect me to believe that a military as powerful as theirs, however scummy it is, doesn't know who it's hurting. Like compassion is a trait of theirs. They just need a stupid argument to make it look like somehow any of this is okay. Like cutting off people's access to electricity, food, water, and bloody medical supplies is "defending themselves."

And listen. Hamas are a bunch of terrorist bastards. What they did is disgusting, and I'm not supportive of anti-semitism at all. But stop treating Israel like the bloody tooth fairy and look at what they've been doing for years to the Palestinians. It wasn't heaven before this attack, but now it's full-blown hell.

And before anyone gives me spiel about collateral damage, look up the West Bank. A Hamas-free area still being targeted.

I stand with Palestine. 🇵🇸 If you stand with Israel, please just dni. Block me if you want to. I'm not in the habit of having fights with people online, and please don't try changing my mind. I'm usually quite open to discussion, but not on this. Never on this.

Also, I've referenced things from this brilliant interview. I highly recommend watching it.

#not writing #i stand with palestine #tw: war #tw: politics #tw: war crimes #Israel is committing war crimes #free palestine

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viviennelamb · 2 months

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People depend on their social relationships to do anything. Most people cannot function alone and will destroy their entire lives just because one social relationship didn't pan out the way they wanted. Having zero resiliency isn't something to give into, you need to continue your purpose despite what your current circumstances show you. That's the only way you will grow, growth doesn't come from emotionally retarded people who waste your time. If you live for the opinions of your friends and family, can you call that living? I really don't think people understand what codependency is... if somebody's attention or lackthereof stops you from doing what you want, you're codependent.

Fornicators will always turn against each other. They don't have loyalty, respect and they are incredibly jealous. Conflict and arguing is their way of "deepening" relationships as well and think harboring thinly veiled contempt is normal. They will push you to open up to them, but when you do they'll say there's something wrong with what feel. You can't ever be your true self around them, otherwise they will judge and ridicule you because that's what they do to themselves. All lustful people despise their inner-child and want to kill her, prioritizing the body as well as objectifying other people. They are totally incapable of seeing God in others which is why they can't love. They're all bullies who thrive on being mean pieces of shit and can't handle 5% of receiving what they dish out.

Everybody should always forgive them for their transgressions, but they will get on somebody else for the exact thing they wanted forgiveness for. That's why they can't get along for shit, but they can't stay away from each other because they need somebody to validate their existence, even if that person decreases the quality of their life. They're inherent liars who say they "only care about x group" because that's who they want to fuck. you're stupid if you think it's out of nobility.

Wanna know how I know? Because their tune changes once you're a real person whose resolutely pure and has higher expectations. What masturbators should say is that they only care about their fellow solo-fuckers. The way they regulate their emotions is fucking you until you become as mentally ill as them. To them, "kindness and solidarity" is fucking you to death like they've done to themselves. Expecting actual compassion from them is an impossibility because they don't know what that is and everything they think is warped. Once they stop using self-harm as a coping mechanism to dealing with the world, they will see the true nature of humanity, but until then, there's nothing on this page for them. But they can keep looking to entertain themselves, it's better for their health.

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max1461 · 4 months

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Are you also looking for charitable interpretations of Mein kampf, Audrey Hale’s screed, SCUM manifesto, Stalin etc. Or do you feel more naturally inclined towards compassion and interest for those who identify women as the source of their issues and the “just” group to oppress, than those who land on say Jews, republicans, men, or the bourgeoisie? I wonder what attitudes would give rise to such a bias, if it is present for you.

So I think this is in reference to my post about BAP. To be clear, I don't have any sympathy for people who want to oppress women, which you would know not only if you had read that post more carefully, but also if you've read this blog much at all. As for people who cite the bourgeoisie as a major source of society's problems... I'm pretty sure I'd agree with them! I don't want to "oppress" the bourgeoisie, but I want the social conditions that allow them to exist as such to be changed!

It would not be acceptable to oppress men, republicans, or Jews either, but I don't really know what you're getting at with this list of examples.

But yeah, as a general rule, I am looking to understand everything I read and every perspective I encounter. This doesn't mean interpreting them "charitably". In the context of that post about BAP, it means: if someone tells you they're unhappy, believe them! BAP is a misogynist and racist, and as I was pretty clear about, I have no sympathy for his misogyny or racism. But I do have empathy for his unhappiness, I am unsatisfied with cheap explanations like "well he must just be entitled" or whatever, and I want to understand it better. For the record I have been pretty open about applying the same logic to e.g. TERFs, to radfems that identify as misandrist or so on, to racists, to incels. I understand why some people would shy away from this kind of thing, but someone's gotta do it.

I think I've gotten a lot of new followers lately, and many of them may not have realized, like, what I'm about. Universal compassion and non-judgement are two values that I try to practice in all serious matters in life; sometimes they run afoul of the kind of the ways that the discourse expects you to talk about things. It is what it is.

#anon #society

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thecameronchronicles · 1 year

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Friends

TW: Hints of a sexual relationship. Teasing. Vulgarities. Language.

SUMMARY: The details of your relationship with JJ come to light.

WORD COUNT: 1200

REQUESTED:

JJ x Reader, your friends but he likes to pull you into your lap. Your use to it at this point, loving the way JJ warms you up. You eventually secretly date, the pogues keep teasing you and JJ about dating each other. You and JJ keep telling them your just friends. One of the pogues being sus about you and JJ.. however not sure.. until the whole group catchs you kissing. Thank you, love your writing!! Your so sweet x

*THANK YOU DO MUCH! MAKING THIS A BIT OF A FLUFFIER PIECE SINCE YOU DIDN'T REQUEST SMUT SPECIFICALLY. HOPE YOU ENJOY!*

Friends

It was simply the way your dynamic worked. Often confusing those who met you in recent conversations that you were spoken for, all in the way you and JJ behaved around each other. Finding every excuse you could in order to touch one another in some sort of comfort, you were able to fight like siblings but fight for each other like soldiers. Loyalty always at the forefront for whenever compassion became opaque from any strong opinions that may find a cross of cruel word or glance. And yet, even if it would take a moment to find common ground due to stubbornness, you would always find your way back to each other. But recently that had been in a way that everyone had whispered about since such a friendship could fall to the fathoms of a relationship. All because of one night when JJ watched a touron get a bit too handsy and made it a point to claim you as his own. A series of defensive words would find an interruption in an unintentional confession that finally broke you beyond the mould of friends. And yet, you would allow the others to believe that you remained this way, all for the simple fact that you didn't want to have to explain yourselves for breaking the singular rule.

No pogue on pogue macking.

And this was because you had more than broken that rule. You obliterated it. You and JJ were unable to keep your hands off of one another at any given point, leaving everyone around you to become even more skeptical than they were originally. All because those sexual tensions were finding an outlet in the dark, which caused for the usual butting of heads you two had on a constant basis to now exist on a simmer. It was also brought into question due to the fact that neither one of you had even attempted to flirt with anyone else at any given event, a telltale sign for Kiara in regards to JJ as she had to be the one to play his wingman of sorts, to only now watch him act rather blase to any girl smiling in his direction.

And yet, it wasn't until tonight that the truth would be uncovered.

"Whatcha doing?" You asked while flipping his lighter between your fingers, the clang of metal joined to a close interrupting the afternoon quietude as you wrapped your arms over his shoulders and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. As with each passing day, you had become more brazen in your affections as you were indifferent to hide your relationship, doing so as more of a means of existing without interrogation than the desire to withhold such a detail from your friends.

"Hey princess..."

"Someting wrong,JJ?" You asked as his eyes fell to the remnants of a former fire before he shrugged.

"You were gone."

"What, JJ?"

"You used me for my body last night and were gone this morning..." He was dramatic with intention, puppy dog eyes rising from this poor executed thespian act as you cocked your head.

"I don't think Kie or John B or Pope would have liked to open your door expecting you, only to find my naked ass-"

"I would have fucking loved it. And you deprived me of that...I mean...damn...never knew my girl was so selfish..."

"Selfish?" You walked to him until standing between his legs.

"Was I selfish when I cried choking on you last night JJ? Or when I let you treat me like your own personal sex toy?"

"Keep talking like that and I'll be the one who's selfish."

"You wouldn't dare. Someone could see..." You teased as he pulled you over his lap.

"I don't give a shit. Come here." He ordered, hand on the back of your neck as you felt an immediate and angry erection rubbing against you. Tormenting him for a moment, you would rock against him, warranting a moan as the vibrations made you smirk. He was shamelessly reserved in this instance, keeping a modest touch over your clothes, even if his words were just as dirty as the passion behind each kiss.

"You're so lucky that they are right in that Chateau or you'd be hoarse by now with my-"

"Jesus, JJ!" Kiara groaned as you were quick to shoot a glance towards the remaining pogues having finally learned of this interaction. For months, you were able to explain it away as it was always how you were, pulled into his lap similar to this way, usually for warmth or comfort. But now, with your lips still swollen from his fervent kiss that left you heaving in breathlessness, it wasn't exactly easy to explain this one away.

"I knew it..." Pope confessed.

"Can you two NOT do it on MY chair?" John B asked as JJ was quick to rebut.

"Kinda hard to find a place we haven't."

"Please tell me you're joking."

"Nope." JJ spoke proudly, popping the 'p' of his response as Kiara shuddered.

"There's gotta be someplace that isn't tainted..." Pope added. "It isn't physically possible..."

"My Twinkie?" John B asked with almost a whine as you recalled the week prior when you snuck away during a party of fellow pogues littering the yard of The Chateau as you'd stolen a moment with him wrapped in passion and lust once again.

"The hot tub-" Kiara added.

"Come on. That was one of the first-" You hit JJ but blushed as the memory of just how he used the jets in accordance to himself had brought you to that mind bending orgasm within the first week of crossing that line from friends to lovers.

"The HMS Pogue-"

You bit your lips closed as the crimson of your cheeks worsened.

"At least tell me you didn't do it in the captain's chair-" John B quickly corrected himself, "Actually, Don't answer that."

"What can I say, my girl just can't get enough of me."

"Yeah, because I'm the one begging..."

"You were last night." He smacked your ass as you pushed his head away in a playful shove before feeling him pull you into his lap.

"As long as I don't have to see it-"

"Or hear it," Kiara added to John B’s condition as you were too immersed in JJ to care about what it was they spoke of. All the memories of how he'd made you tremble in nearly every corner of The Chateau have now left you eager for a repeat.

"Seriously? You two need chastity belts or something..." Pope added.

"Doesn't matter. I'd still find a way..." JJ winked, holding you tighter as this tender kiss validated to your shared pogues that you were no longer just friends.

Taglist: @hopebaker @iovdrew @penny4yourthoughts @magnificantmermaid @pickingviolets @lovedetlost @trikigirl271 @maybankslover @slut4starkey @slvtherinseeker @obxiskewl @obxxrxfes @bluesongbird @slut-era @ailee-celeste @rafesbae @camilynn @sweetestdesire @pankhoeforlife @pankowperfection

#jjmaybank #jj maybank x reader #jjsmut #jj maybank smut #jj maybank #outerbanks #obx #outer banks smut #obxsmut #obx fanfiction #outer banks

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itsbansheebitch · 3 months

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Gen Zer's (2005) Predictions for Gen Alpha (They aren't Doomed)

I have some cousins that are Gen Alpha and they're turning out well. I really think all the "they're so doomed" messaging is from a loud minority, mostly on tiktok. I disagree, so I plan to make predictions for the vague & soupy (time) generation of Gen Alpha.

This list will focus on American Gen Alpha since there WILL be a stark contrast, especially regarding school shootings.

Average to EXTREME skill with tech depending on the kids (hope STEM is ready to welcome a new wave of newcomers)

Difficulties with history knowledge due to rewritten history books, (Please be kind while they learn, they don't know the full scope of what's going on yet)

Desensitized to violence (Due to usual kid stuff, school shootings being treated as normal, and an increase in hate crimes)

A new passion for social justice (I don't mean to be a "but I have black friends" kind of person, but believe it or not, having friends in minority groups and realizing they're in danger makes you want to fist fight whoever is at fault)

TONS of memes about the "Alpha" phrasing, which trust me, will get old QUICKLY. (A bigger stretch is saying the term for a shitty Gen Alpha kid will be Omega/Beta instead of Boomer)

Unusually violent jokes & memes

Extremely dark humor

A long list of child neglect lawsuits

An increase in accents homogeneity due to watching YouTubers at a young age (I'm not joking, this has happened to me and I only started watching YT in 2nd Grade. I have the weirdest Irish, British, and midwestern, but not the state I currently live in, accents on only CERTAIN words and phrases. There definitely will be studies on this.)

A new wave of kids fighting gerymandering

Brand New Shiny Raw LinesTM from the KiddosTM that they'll probably use to roast lawmakers until they start decomosing on the spot

Kids who are NOT afraid to fight you

New unseen levels of compassion

This is a stretch, but somehow they'll manage to bring back the avocado toast jokes, either as a banter thing or as a new "Boomer" type thing.

KiddosTM will probably joke about how Millennials ruined every industry from fabric softener to identity theft to robberies. This will be (hopefully) fully joking manner and used in a [Post kiddosTM disagree with] [Reply: Well, you ruined the fabric softener industry, so you don't have a leg to stand on] type format.

Will either share you their Social Security Number or will be a brick wall online. No in between.

A increase in reading (specifically fanfiction & audio books, but will NOT be void of physical copies) but a decrease in literacy & media literacy. We are already seeing this happening.

A "you didn't fix this/you fucked it up" attitude towards older people. This isn't necessarily negative since it means they won't take ANY shit from lawmakers and will probably not have as many hangups regarding rioting.

An absolute HATRED for family channels. I waiting for these kids to break the van life kids out in a bizarre scheme of epic proportions lmao

The most indecipherable controversies you've ever seen in your life. I'm thinking at least 5 levels of knowledge and joining a subreddit will be needed to even have an idea of what's happening.

(Hopefully) a new level of understanding when it comes to accountability, people changing, and knowing what you should expect from a person when they get cancelled.

Brand new political cartoons (now made for the internet)

A new passion for the environment and recognizing one's place in it.

A new level of hatred for colonialism and mass killings

Probably at least one assassination lmao (they'll be the barista from the tiktok about the barista killing CEOs with metal straws as darts)

A polarizing divide between anti-capitalism and ancap ideas that we haven't seen since 2008 (and not as publicly in 2008, so get ready for your shit to get rocked).

Some of the best and worst takes that humanity has ever bore witness to.

New acceptance (even better than now) regarding hair (dyes and styles), tattoos, piercings, etc.

A major crackdown on systematic issues (criticism when they're young, major law & education changes when they're older)

That's all for now. REMEMBER! Do NOT treat these kids like you were treated (LOOKING AT YOU, Ms. AVOCADO TOAST and Ms. DOWNFALL OF HUMANITY GAY-MER).

Side Note: People are always surprised when I tell them I was born in 2005 and have already graduated high school (no, I did not skip grades, I was actually very young for my grade) so I'm going to apologize ahead of time for turning all the Millennials reading this into dust. Sorry, ya'll.

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xelasrecords · 1 year

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The Love We Live For

Kim Jihyun x MC x Han Jumin

Jihyun comes home injured so MC and Jumin fuss over him. MC's love for them is romantic and reciprocated, while Jihyun and Jumin's love is platonic. The idea for this came when I replayed Jihyun's route and realised I couldn't choose between them. I want to feel loved and admire their love. Everything else comes after. I hope this story will make you feel loved too.

Words: 4.3k

Masterlist Read on AO3 Moodboard

The evening saw her and Jumin lounging on Jihyun's couch, her bare feet on Jumin's lap, Jumin's head tipped back against the plush cushion. Her heart was thrumming with anticipation of Jihyun coming home today. It was the kind of yearning that one didn't realise one could have until the object of affection was gone. She welcomed the feeling without objection, for there had always been fondness between the three of them. And if hers developed into something more—equally yet differently—for the two men she always searched for in empty rooms and bustling crowds, it was not something she could control.

"Jumin, this is not the time to be sleeping." She nudged Jumin's side with her toes when his eyelids were drooping.

A few weeks had passed since Jihyun's departure for work, and instead of growing accustomed to his absence, they had grown to miss his presence. So when she asked Jumin to join her in welcoming their beloved friend at his home, Jumin accepted her offer in earnest. No one wanted to miss the opportunity; the right place at the right time couldn't come often enough for three people who lived vastly different lives.

Jumin closed his hand around her ankle, not bothering to open his eyes. It was a wonder that a touch so familiar could still send sparks up her veins. "Allow me to take a quick nap."

She was glad when he didn't move his hand away. "I don't think your best friend would like it when his surprise gift is a sleeping log."

"He doesn't have any expectations from me. He likes me always," Jumin said. "And I would make a sustainable log."

She sunk into the sea of throw pillows and made herself comfortable. "I'd process you into paper immediately."

Jumin peeked at her. "To write a heartfelt love letter proclaiming your feelings for me?"

"To revise your sleeping habits and make a better you." She cracked a grin. She liked how Jumin could flirt with her in a playful manner. He never revealed this side of him when there were others around. Of course, Jihyun was excluded from the grouping. He was not other people to them.

"You only need to turn to Jihyun for that," Jumin said after a moment. "He is the better part of me. His kindness is what makes me who I am. I wouldn't be sitting with you here if he never influenced this acceptance into me."

"Then who are you to him?" The first button of Jumin's white shirt was undone, revealing the slope of his throat that ran down to the base of his collarbones, but she fought to train her eyes on his face.

"His conscience. I think he looks to me as some kind of moral compass. He's always apologetic for the things he hasn't done enough. He doesn't think about what he has done, only what he hasn't. I'd like to believe that I lessen his burden by having faith in him."

"Do you ever wonder if that faith is misplaced?" There was no judgement in her voice, just curiosity. She could never tire of listening to how much Jihyun meant to Jumin. Jumin was at his tenderest when he spoke about his friend, the one soul that he could recognise from afar and would not let go no matter the circumstance.

"It wouldn't be faith if I doubted my belief in him," Jumin stated like it was a fact known to all. "It's how I believe in you too."

"I don't think I look at you like you're my guiding star."

He lifted his head to face her. "Quite the opposite. I believe in you because you possess a good sense independent of anyone's opinion, a sense that sometimes I lose, and you care for Jihyun like no other. That's enough to tell how trustworthy you are."

"I care for Jihyun like I care for you," she said softly. "There's no one I'd rather be here with than you. Your company means more to me than you can imagine."

Jumin smiled at her. "I know."

She was about to reply when they were interrupted by a click at the door. Immediately, she and Jumin rose from the couch, him gently putting her legs away and her shoving the pillows aside to get to her feet.

It was Jihyun. It was Jihyun who trudged in with a camera slung around his neck. It was Jihyun with a face peppered with scratches and bruises and ragged clothes stained with dirt.

She stopped short before him, her initial joy upon seeing him twisted into horror. One glance at Jumin's stricken face confirmed that his feelings mirrored hers, his clamped fists turning white at his sides.

Jihyun was just as astounded to see them. He turned his head away as if to hide the scars on his cheek, but she slowly tilted his jaw back to her, the other hand hovering over a blooming bruise. "What happened?" she breathed out.

Jihyun gave them a rueful smile, eyes darting from her concerned expression to Jumin's terse form. "I didn't know that you two would be here."

"We need to get you to the hospital right away," Jumin said, his tone urgent.

"It's only a light injury, Jumin. No need to call the doctors. I didn't hit my head and there are no open wounds, see?" Jihyun widened his arms. After a quick scan and her experience of tending to his worse wounds, she could tell that he was telling the truth. It relaxed her a bit.

But his comment seemed to shake Jumin out of his shock and shifted his mood into annoyance. "Oh, I have seen light, and this is not light."

"It's deep purple—the bruise, I mean," she commented helpfully.

"Thank you for your observation," Jumin deadpanned. "He should paint his next artwork with that colour."

"Dark violet would be a nice shade to paint with," Jihyun mulled.

Jumin shot him a reprimanding look and helped him shrug off his coat. Slowly, Jumin got Jihyun's arms out of the sleeves, cautious not to let the fabric scrape against the cuts on the skin. No matter how angry Jumin was at him, he would never use aggression to handle him. It was another thing that she liked about Jumin.

Jihyun, however, wasn't exactly likeable at the moment. She was relieved that he didn't need urgent care, but she shared Jumin's displeasure. A nagging suspicion crept up when she noticed the guilt darkening Jihyun's expression.

"Did you do something stupid?" she asked.

"It's in poor fashion to assume he's the perpetrator when he could've been the victim," commented Jumin.

"It wasn't something stupid." Jihyun seemed as innocent as he could be, but she could see through his distractingly angelic face, the battered face that sent a fresh sharp pang to her heart whenever she examined it. "I was trying to take a photograph of a flower growing on a high wall when I slipped."

Jumin dropped the dirty coat that he'd folded and stared at Jihyun. "I take it back. You are an idiot. Did you not check for your safety before you put yourself in a precarious position?"

"He wouldn't be in this state if he did," she muttered.

Jumin bent down to pick up the coat. "You have been very helpful tonight."

"Sarcasm from a handsome brooding man, just how I like it." She winked, trying to make light of the situation. Jihyun had been through worse, so this was fine. This was manageable. There were no serious injuries, so self-treatment would be enough. They could head to the hospital the next day if they really had to. "Now I'm about to be even more helpful. Pretend to be surprised, Jumin."

But it appeared that Jihyun could sense her underlying anxiety. He touched her forearm and offered a reassuring smile while nodding his head once, silently encouraging her to do what she had planned. She pressed her lips into a tight smile and placed a hand on his back, guiding him to the couch. She could feel Jumin's gaze burning the back of her head, but she ignored it. Better for him to be irked than incapacitated with terror.

Jumin sighed and stalked off to another room, presumably in search of the first aid kit. In this house, nothing ever stayed at its original place. Jumin often brought it up as a complaint and had attempted to stage an intervention for it, but she didn't mind if Jihyun did not. She found Jumin fussing about and Jihyun watching him in resignation rather endearing.

Once she cleared the throw pillows from the couch, Jihyun took her hand and brought her down to sit beside him. "I didn't want you and Jumin to know," he said.

"I know."

"I didn't want you to be worried about me."

"I know that too." She took his camera off his neck and placed it on the table. "But we'll worry nonetheless. Partly because you're always up to questionable things but mostly because you're our friend. You can't expect us to be happy all the time when that isn't humanly possible."

Jihyun pushed aside the strands of mint hair that fell over his matching-coloured eyes. "I'm afraid that I'm a burden to you and Jumin."

"Do you think it's a burden to love?" She briefly wondered how it would feel to thread through his hair but quickly banished the thought. This was not the time.

"To love me?"

"For you to love someone," she clarified. "Me. Jumin."

A small, disbelieving laugh slipped past Jihyun. "How could I, when I've known how warm it feels? I feel it when I see you and Jumin, and I feel it from the two of you. It's like the three of us are running on the same wavelength." He met her unwavering gaze. "I would do anything for a chance of your happiness even if it's the most laborious and harmful task, and I wouldn't think of it as a task. It'd be the easiest thing to do in the world because it's not something I'd have to choose. I would just do it."

The edges of her mouth curled into a small smile. "Helping you isn't something we have to choose either. When you love someone, sometimes you've got to let them do a little more work when you can't. Love is not about giving until you break yourself. You need to refill your vessel by receiving love too. We're here with you, so stop driving us away." She arranged a pillow on the couch before sliding to the floor. "Come, lie down. I bet you're tired. You drove on your own, didn't you?"

Jihyun gave her another apologetic smile but obeyed her request without protest. Jumin's footsteps echoed behind her—footsteps that she had become familiar with from the many times they slept over at each other's houses, how he always took long, steady strides like he had a place to be. Jumin swerved his body away from her as he passed by, carrying a large bowl filled with water in one hand and a first aid kit in the other while she shifted to give him space.

He set down the bowl on the table, water swishing inside. "Jihyun, you need to let me call someone to organise your home. Did you know where I found this?" Jumin rattled the first aid kit. "In the cereal cabinet. What on earth was it doing there?"

She craned her neck to look at Jumin. Though his shoulders were slumped from exhaustion, there was still an air of authority about him. "I heard you could use iodine as a replacement for milk. It'd look like blood and tempt the modern vampires from the book you read," she paused, thinking. "But you have to consider its texture. It's not thick enough to be confused with blood."

Jumin looked at her with newfound fascination, his irritation temporarily forgotten. "That's an interesting observation. Iodine smells like iron, so there's a chance that they could be fooled. I must tell Assistant Kang to retrieve some samples and test them out later."

Beside her, Jihyun leaned across to her ear and whispered, "Should we stop him?"

She snorted. "Maybe I could be your test subject, Jumin. Who knows? I might be a vampire, or it might turn me into one."

"Not now, then," Jihyun said under his breath and reclined to his previous position.

Jumin brandished the bottle of iodine from the kit and examined it with utmost curiosity. "According to the book, you'd have to be bitten to be one."

"Please," Jihyun cut in. "I merely wanted to take out the cereal but I forgot and shelved the kit instead."

Jumin deflated with disappointment. "So you were hungry and bleeding?"

"I understand." She raised her hand empathically. "I get that once a month."

"If it helps, I'm still bleeding now," Jihyun offered.

"Right." She arranged herself into a kneel and squeezed out water from the floating cloth in the water bowl.

The water was warm as it dripped down her elbow. She gently rubbed the cloth over Jihyun's face, cleaning it of the dirt that smeared across his jaw. He smelled like it too, she thought as she plucked a twig out of his mint-coloured hair. It might have been a small accident, but how many more small accidents should occur until they amounted to fatal destruction?

When she reached his split lip, she hesitated. Dry blood had crusted around the cut, but fresh blood was pooling again; it must have cracked when he talked. She was regretting how she couldn't be there for him when he lowered her wrist just enough to see her without the cloth obstructing his view. "It's all right, take your time. It doesn't hurt as much as it looks," he encouraged.

It was as if he could read her mind.

She nodded in what she hoped was a reassuring manner. "This may sting a bit," she warned before wiping the blood away. She was conscious of her movement and his breath fanning the back of her hand, the softness of his lips despite the injury. It was the closest she had ever got to it.

She was also aware of Jumin's presence beside her, who had sat on the floor with her to clean the cuts on Jihyun's arms, her shoulder occasionally brushing Jumin's. She could feel his eyes flitting from Jihyun to her when he thought she didn't notice, but was there any chance that she would not? It was almost impossible not to bristle under his intense stare studying her actions and reactions. She bit her lip and tried to concentrate on her duty at hand.

Jihyun cleared his throat. "I know I said that I felt bad for making you two help me earlier, but if I'm being honest, I'm also relieved that I don't have to do this alone." He smiled apologetically at both of them. "Thank you."

Jumin halted his ministration and looked up at Jihyun. "How many times do we have to tell you that you're not alone? Even when we're not here, you can always call us and we'll come in a heartbeat. Or I can call in a house doctor for you if you prefer. You simply need to ask." Jumin stared at the bandage that he just patched on Jihyun's arm. "Or don't ask, but I would do it regardless."

"Asking for help is harder than believing I would receive one," admitted Jihyun. "I know that you would come to my aid. You always have, but letting myself be weak has never been my strong suit."

"If it is reassurance that you need, then I will give it to you: being weak is not wrong," Jumin said, a hard edge in his voice. "What's wrong is putting yourself in dangerous situations for the sake of art. I worry that your pursuit of it is making you self-destructive. Is there no other healthier way to do it?" The gauze in his hand was trembling—from frustration and desperation, she guessed.

Alarmed, Jihyun pushed himself up and leaned towards his friend. "I'm surprised you're in this much distress, Jumin."

She felt compelled to comfort them, but she knew soothing words would not fix anything. The two men, the only men she could love this much, had to come to an agreement themselves. Jihyun always put every other thing before his health and Jumin was always worried about him. No one meant harm, but it did not mean no harm came to them.

Jumin shook his head in disbelief. "How can I not be? She and you are all I have. What if someday you do something so foolishly dangerous that you—"

"No!" Jihyun exclaimed, shocking both of them. "That won't happen." He grasped at Jumin's hand, the gauze falling to the floor. She had never seen such an intense display of emotions between them. "You forget that I love you. You're my best friend and I won't leave you for a temporary thrill. Art may provide me respite, but hurting you would scar me forever. It's not a line that I dare to cross."

"You're famous for blurring the line of death."

"Not this time. I know I'm selfish for this, but when I imagine toeing the line over and over until I've done irreversible damage to you, I shatter inside. I don't think I could live with myself if that happens. It is difficult enough to live with myself as I am."

"Then I would live for you." Jumin's eyes blazed with righteous rage. "What is it that you think I have been doing this whole time? I forgive you so you can find it in you to forgive yourself. I stand by you through everything because I believe you are good when you fail to see why, which is always, but I can't stand it when you promise one thing for my sake and do another behind my back."

"I won't—"

"Don't," Jumin warned, "make another empty promise."

"Jumin, no." Jihyun's tone was pleading. "That was before."

At once, she and Jumin understood what Jihyun meant. For Jumin and Jihyun, there was only before she came into their lives, and after, when everything fell into clear focus. Jihyun turned to her, reaching out to touch her face, and she drew closer instinctively. "The sight of you heartbroken isn't something that I ever want to see." His voice was barely a whisper.

Everyone held still. They never saw her as an intruder to their friendship; she was the missing key that locked their bond together. It felt right to be three, or they would spend their time constantly wondering how the missing one was doing. Jihyun's honesty was a surprise to her though—she didn't think he could have faith in how deep her feelings ran for him, and in turn, did not want to betray her heart because he cared about her just as much. She had thought that treatment was reserved for Jumin.

"It's fine to do the things you're passionate about," she finally said, dimly aware that her fingers had pruned under the wet cloth she was clutching. "You'll fall sometimes. That happens when you hit the ground running. Only don't disregard your safety completely, and rely on us when you need to. That's how you can keep my heart."

A small smile played on Jihyun's lips. "I will try."

She smiled back and turned to Jumin, only to have him already regarding her with such tenderness that made her feel like folding into herself. She knew what he was trying to convey—thank you for looking after my friend, thank you for telling him he's fine the way he is, thank you for loving him. And the most palpable of all, thank you for being here with me.

But she hadn't done anything grand. It was simply a love she couldn't hold back from spilling at the brim. Both Jumin and Jihyun came with their own set of irritabilities, but they were easy to love. Where else could she find a love that stayed up with her because they loved the person she loved, a love that was willing to kneel on the floor with her until their legs went numb because someone she loved was in more pain? It was the kind of love where she didn't have to explain herself because there was nothing to explain, because they would understand her or strive to do so without judgement.

She would not give it up for anything.

Jumin, gentle eyes still on her, switched out the cloth from her hand with an ointment. "How much scrubbing are you trying to do to him? You're flooding the floor." He bent down and used the cloth to wipe the water pooling before her knees, his knuckle skimming her skin, a contact that sent a pleasant shiver through her body.

She gave his hand a gentle squeeze, silent gratitude for what he had said to Jihyun. There was love in Jumin's words. She could hear it as she could read it in her own actions, as Jihyun could feel it through their care. They loved each other so, so much, and she knew that if they were offered a chance to find a better friend, none of them would have taken it. No one was like the two men, and no one was like her.

Jumin tilted his head up to her and nodded with a smile. With Jumin, it was always the words unsaid that spoke the most volume.

"She could polish me until I'm shiny," suggested Jihyun.

Jumin straightened his back. "That's impossible. You're not a statue."

She shrugged. "He looks like one."

"Oh no, that can't be." Jihyun waved it away. "Jumin is more handsome than me."

She took a swab of the ointment and applied it generously to Jihyun's bruising cheek. "All right, if you're going to be humble, then I'll proudly announce myself as the most beautiful one here."

"While that is true, I didn't say I was going to be modest," Jumin jumped in.

She opened the iodine's cap, the strong biting smell stinging her nose, and dabbed it on the cuts on Jihyun's forehead and chin before covering them with bandages. "But you did agree that I'm the best, so no point in making a point of your handsomeness now."

"She's right, you know," Jihyun said.

Jumin grunted and stood up, apparently done with his help. "Why do you always pick her side over mine?"

Jihyun grinned. "Just following my heart."

She patted his shoulder after she finished applying salve to his split lip. "You're all patched up. Just be careful for the next few days."

"Forever," Jumin corrected.

"You two are incorrigible." Jihyun laughed and shook his head. It was a lilting, melodious sound that she never wanted to lose from memory. "I will be more careful in the future. Please believe me this time."

She and Jumin shared a look. His steady belief in Jihyun did seem to strengthen Jihyun's resolve in himself. She knew the change would not be instantaneous, but the fact that he listened already spoke a lot about his usually obstinate character. How could one affect another so greatly? She saw her wonder reflected in Jumin's expression.

"I'll believe you," she said.

"So will I," said Jumin. "Since we have toiled into the night for you, it would be appropriate to commemorate this moment. May I use your camera?"

Jihyun gestured at him good-naturedly while sitting up. "Go ahead. Just turn the setting to automatic."

She and Jihyun shared knowing looks and suppressed their giggles as they waited for Jumin who was busy tackling the buttons and adjusting the lens. Jumin's eyebrows were furrowed in concentration, occasionally looking through the viewfinder only to alter the settings again. Why he didn't ask Jihyun for help she couldn't fathom. Perhaps he wanted the satisfaction of succeeding in figuring it out alone.

Finally, he looked up with a smirk. "I'm all set. Do get into position now."

"You don't want to be in the picture?" she asked.

"I shall try to be Jihyun tonight. I'm eager to find out why he's willing to put his life on the line for this." Jumin gave Jihyun a pointed stare, which Jihyun returned with a wince.

She chuckled to herself, mesmerised by how easily Jumin could get annoyed by Jihyun's antics, and yet it was impossible to find another love as pure as theirs, and how they welcomed her with open arms. Now that she knew with whom she belonged, everywhere else felt foreign. In this friendship they had, she was not a trespasser and did not have to cross any line; there was never a line to begin with. They accepted her and loved her, as simple as that.

She settled into a relaxed pose, folding her legs into a cross while still sitting on the floor. She placed an elbow on top of Jihyun's knees and looked up at him, her chin in her palm. With a smile, he caressed her hair and placed his hand on her shoulder, angling his body close enough that her head could lay against his chest if she dared to.

Jumin watched them with patience and fondness. They were all happy at this moment—yes, yes, they were. It was almost more important that they could capture this present joy than the scene itself; if only feelings could be frozen and preserved. Was this the reason Jihyun took pictures? At the count of three, they both smiled into the camera and the flash went off.

The result?

It was not even a question worth asking.

Of course it was blurred.

Footnotes:

The theme of this story is becoming better because of the people you love. I know Jihyun is the type who can hurt himself even though it hurts his loved ones, but that's when he's at his worst with Rika. I'd like to think that surrounded by the right people, he could be influenced to be better. When I was younger, I thought it was impossible to be deeply changed by anyone and that it'd be a bad thing if we were, but I've learned that it isn't always. We can bring a good impact on others' lives too.

Hardest one to write yet because I'd never written about love this honest and fond before, but I had fun doing it although I wanted to scream whenever I got stuck articulating the feeling. The platonic side was easy, however, since it was my love for my best friend that I poured into Jumin and Jihyun. Sometimes I really do believe that our souls are intertwined—no one can see through me the way she can and vice versa, and I admire her for everything that she is. This is my love letter for her of sorts. I wouldn't be who I am without her.

Now I NEED to talk about the header. I thought it fitting to use paintings that feel intimate and vulnerable, and purposely didn't give MC any physical attributes to be more inclusive (fought the urge to project my characteristics to feel like the main character). MC has a painting of a red rose that stands out among 2 white roses because she brings colour to the twin soul best friends. Jumin has 2 silhouettes watching a lonely shadow go. Jihyun has a close-up of a man with bright brushstrokes looking out forlornly. The background is crimson red to match the intensity of their love. I literally cannot be chill I will think about everything this is how I have fun.

Buy me a glass of something that's definitely not coffee because I can't stand it but it is the website's name if my story touches you in some way? No worries if you don't. I'm still grateful you've read all the way through here.

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