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#i'm sure lots of people do and would like it but
prickly-paprikash · 2 days
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Kendrick doesn't just hate Drake as a person. He hates the very idea of Drake.
Hip-Hop is rooted in revolution. In defiance. These are the songs of an oppressed group of people, and decades upon decades people have hated it. Accused of being meaningless and invalid. Media outlets took steps to belittle hip-hop and make sure it isn't recognized as an art form and as a means to fight back.
2Pac spoke of wealth disparity and inequality. Tupac was literally a member of a communist organization when he was younger and never stopped speaking against capitalism.
Lauryn Hill spoke of the struggles a woman faces. Not just women, but black women. Salt-N-Peppa. Queen Latifah. MISSY FUCKING ELLIOT.
N.W.A made sure people knew about police brutality and violence against the Black community.
And now, in this day and age, we're also experiencing an explosion of Queer Hip-Hop. Lil Nas X is at the forefront of this. Lil Uzi Vert came out as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, even when they knew that a lot of their fans would never use it or even respect them for it. Auntie Diaries, a song about a young man who grew up in a transphobic environment and bought into those beliefs, but could never fully do it because his Uncle loved him so much and taught him a lot of life lessons, and that wisdom translated to him accepting his cousin as a woman as well.
Drake is none of that.
He's the perfect representation of what people think hip-hop is. Flexing. Posturing. Objectifying women. A fucker so insecure he bought 2Pac's ring just to feel like he's part of the black community. Rejected by Rihanna publicly. Tried to groom Millie Bobby Brown. Kissed and inappropriately touched an underage girl during his concert. His songs have inspired so many young boys to treat girls like shit. His belief that the amount of rings and chains and cars he has is the true meaning of success.
Additional Edit: This is my fault. If this post gains more views, then it would be remiss of me not to add to this. It was my fault to begin with, not stating this beforehand because while I did know, I got lost in celebrating Hip-Hop in a place that doesn't usually do so, and rightfully so.
2Pac did fight for wealth equality and better social living for the black community. He also has a long, long history of battery, domestic abuse, and sexual harassment against women. Specifically against women of color. He made a song to celebrate his own mother, but outright refused to give the same show of respect to other women in his life. His hypocritical nature was brushed off in later decades, just the way I did now.
N.W.A is the same. Sexual assault charges, violence—they spoke of Police reform, but refuses to give the same treatment back towards the women in their lives.
50 cent refuses to backtrack on any of his misogynistic lyrics.
Modern rappers of today, such as the dead XXXtentacion. 6ix9ine. Kodak Black.
I do love Hip-Hop. I love rap. And the music itself has always been anti-authoritarian at its core, because those are its roots. And I was happy that circles that did not normally know of it or enjoy it were getting into it, even for one thing like this rap feud.
Lil Nas X, Little Simz, Childish Gambino, Missy Elliot, Queen Latifah, Lauryn Hill—rappers who have at the very least consistently tried to put their money where their mouth is. Who have tried to act in accordance to what they rap and write and sing for.
@shehungthemoon @ohsugarsims finnthehumanmp3 were the ones who rightfully clarified in the comments. I know an apology won't correct my hypocrisy or my stupidity. I should have added all of this before making this post, but I wanted so badly to celebrate a genre of music but failed to do my due diligence in showing a better, holistic view of it. If anyone felt triggered, offended, troubled, frustrated or any other intense negative emotions surrounding this, please do block me. I'm sorry.
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WIBTA for breaking up with my boyfriend because he likes my body?
TW for ED but please hear me out:
My bf (30m) and I (28f) have been together for a little over 5 years. When we got together I had an extremely stressful and physically demanding job. Shortly after our relationship started I relapsed with an eating disorder that had been a problem since prepubescence; I started restricting heavily at age 11 and had struggled with it on/off since then.
After quitting that terrible job and regaining some agency in my life, I spent a couple of years really focused on recovery. Without giving specific numbers (cause triggering) I'll say that I was extremely underweight to an unhealthy level for at least a year and experienced severe health complications because of it. I nearly died from heart problems and had a big wakeup call that caused me to change my whole life. I've done the work of recovery without medical help (history of omission with doctors) but have had support from my bf, and am currently at the highest weight of my life.
at a recent checkup my Dr talked a lot about "healthy lifestyle" and mentioned my weight gain over the past couple of years. I'm still within the "normal" range for my height and build, but the after visit summary/chart notes denoted risk of becoming overweight. Idk if my Dr would have brought it up if my history of ED was in my chart, (and I did switch primary care practices a few years ago, so they weren't treating me at my thinnest) but it still shook me a bit and I will admit to feeling very triggered.
The job I moved to is quite sedentary compared to the previous terrible one - I wfh, and very rarely have to be on my feet or do strenuous activity. In addition, I have chronic pain issues that make exercise difficult, and so historically have just restricted to maintain/lose weight because it's easier for me physically to just be hungry than to work out. I didn't want to go down that road again though because of how intense and scary it got last time.
My bf is a personal trainer and specializes in working with low ability clients and people recovering from long illness/injury. When I told him that I wanted to start exercising more often and get a good cardio routine going, he was really excited and started immediately putting together an "action plan" (what he calls it w his clients idk) for me. Then he mentioned how I'd need to add on a bunch of meal supplements and snacks to avoid losing weight and I got upset.
We're a plant-based (vegan) household and live with a roommate (bf's friend) so mostly eat/cook communal dinners and have various breakfast & lunch plans on hand, so we already eat pretty healthy and make sure to have a good balance of macro/micro in the meal plan. My intent was to eat the same but increase my activity level to get out of the danger zone without restricting. I don't generally snack and rarely eat dessert, just the 3 squares.
I told my bf that I needed to lose weight and be more active according to my doctor, and that I wasn't comfortable with having protein supplements, smoothies, and snacks in addition to regular meals because that would defeat the purpose. He got really sad and said that he likes the way my body is now, and while he supports being more active, he doesn't want the size of me to change. His exact words at some point were "you look so good now, I love the amount of you that there is and I like the way you jiggle." It kind of made me feel sick and wonder if he has like a secret size fetish or something?
So I've been thinking of breaking things off with him and moving in with a friend or back in with my parents, but idk if this is actually a red flag or just the disorder talking? He did help me a lot with recovery but if he's going to keep me from being healthy or wants me to gain even more weight then maybe it's better to leave - would this be an asshole move? I honestly don't know.
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gffa · 2 days
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TALES OF THE EMPIRE wound up being a mixed bag for me, there was a lot I enjoyed but there was a lot that just felt really unfulfilled. Morgan's episodes were very pretty to look at but I couldn't help thinking--the entire time I was watching, even--that Filoni's not great at creating new characters that can carry entire episodes like this, none of this felt particularly necessary or like it was fulfilling a void that I wanted to know more about. It doesn't help that I still think her arc in live action was badly handled, that if she was meant to be a Nightsister from the beginning, her first episode should have dealt with that, instead of springing it on us later, so when filling in the background of her on Dathomir in TOTE, it brings all that up for me again.
Morgan's first episode was so pretty and it was interesting to potentially get more Dathomir lore (even if it's incredibly thin and I felt it was too close to the "we see others suffering in the galaxy, but we don't want to get our own hands dirty by fighting for other people or getting involved in helping others, btw we're morally better for that :)" trope for me personally) but everything on Corvus just felt superfluous to me and I spent time trying to figure out why I felt that way. If they had done her story this way or that way, would I have enjoyed it more? If they had included this or that, would I have thought it more necessary?
And ultimately I just kept coming back to that I don't really care about Morgan Elsbeth enough that I wanted three animated shorts dedicated to her, when I could have had so many other characters get fleshed out better. I appreciated that they were showing two characters on opposite journeys, that Morgan was falling into the dark step by step, while Barriss was slowly clawing her way out of it, but that's about all that I appreciated of Morgan's story (other than the beautiful animation).
But I'm not sure I feel like Morgan's motivations were all that well planned out. It's clear that she's looking for revenge and trying to find a new family at the same time, but it's not really clear why she's working with the Empire or how she thinks this leads her to her goals. Grievous is the one who murdered her village, how does working with the Empire (as the Separatists were folded into the Empire, too) achieve that goal? Who or what is her revenge focused on? Is it that she just wants the whole galaxy to burn, because if her village burned, so should everyone else? I feel like that's probably what they were going for, but that it could have been more coherently written.
Barriss' episodes hit a lot harder, where I'm glad that she at least got an arc, but I feel like it just missed so many marks, like why even have Vader there, I'm all for gratuitous Anakin cameos, he's my trash can man and I'm always excited to see him, but absolutely nothing was done with him, despite that he was looking Barriss right in the face there. Not even a moment of showing the audience, "Oh, his soul is so far into the dark of fear, hate, and rage that he doesn't even care about her anymore." Just nothing there, like there was no connection at all. How do you go to the lengths of putting Vader in a scene with Barriss and then treat it like there's no history between her and Anakin??? So completely unsatisfying!
And then it's another series where other guest appearances would have made sense--Barriss has a whole unfinished story with Ahsoka and you don't include her here? I'm as tired of Filoni putting Ahsoka in everything as anyone else, but here it would have made sense and would have brought that relationship full circle on-screen, Barriss' betrayal of her and her clawing her way back to the light after all the trauma and hurt, there's so much she and Ahsoka would have between them. And then nothing.
Or Barriss' relationship with Luminara, TCW never really got into how that must have felt for Luminara, to have her student betray the Jedi so profoundly, for her to fall to the dark, there's such a well of potential there and it's just entirely ignored. She mentions Luminara once and it was a lovely mention, but there's no sense of resolution or completion to that arc.
I did enjoy her story with Lyn and I try not to compare what the show wanted to do with what I wanted the show to do, but I couldn't help it. During all those scenes, all I could think was that this could have been so much more powerful and complete if it had focus on Barriss' established relationships and characters I already care about, because a new random Inquisitor is just not going to hold the same weight for me as my pre-investment in Ahsoka and Luminara. (On the other hand, with the way they butchered Luminara in the last season of TCW, maybe I dodged a bullet!)
For all that negativity, though, I really loved that Barriss found herself in being a healer again, that she found the light again. That's all I've wanted for my girl!!!! (That and put a headdress on her, ffs.) I legitimately took in a hard breath when she said, "Then you have one more Jedi to deal with." because Barriss is still working through too much to fully come back to clarity re: the Jedi at that point , but when it really came down to it, when she really saw what the dark side really was, part of her still was a Jedi. And the way she spoke of her time as a Jedi, once she had a clearer, lighter head again, was sweet, I was so surprised that we got that much from her, but I'm so glad because, if nothing else, Barriss herself deserves to be in the light again.
The way she was settled into her own skin by the time she confronted Lyn on the icy planet, the way she genuinely wanted to help her, but wouldn't let her hurt innocent children, the way she could sidestep Lyn's predictable moves and could stop the blade with just a hand held out, she found her path and what she wanted to do, and oh it was so lovely to see Barriss finding herself again. I loved so much that her unshakable compassion did reach Lyn, it was such a satisfying arc for Barriss to reach that place after all the people she'd hurt. I loved so much that Barriss getting back to this place does a lot to remind us that her foundation is a compassionate one, even if she was lost to the dark for awhile.
I just wish that there had been acknowledgement of those she hurt, the people that died because of her, the betrayal she stabbed people in the back with, rather than just "sees the dark side is bad, walks away, finds the light again", which goes back to that this feels like a generic story that's mostly impactful because I'm filling in the gaps myself because I already know Barriss as a character, rather than that it continues the story that was previously told about her.
At the end of the day, I enjoyed it and I recognize that I'm being a little unfair in how I'm saying I wanted this, this, and this, rather than digesting what the show itself wanted to do, but when you're crafting two stories that are specifically about showing us the journey of two characters that originate elsewhere, you're drawing on the stories from those other origins--except TOTE decided to only halfway do that. There's a lot to love in these shorts, the animation was incredible, the voice work was incredible, Barriss' emotional journey was incredible and I'm so thankful that they even gave her any kind of compassionate resolution. But the specter of how much the shorts ignored hangs over it too heavily for me to say that they were anywhere near what they could have been imo.
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wosoamazing · 3 days
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Portugal Training Camp & Roommates
Part 4 - Fire on Fire Series
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It was your first day in Portugal, meaning you were now also officially part of the team, having joined the first team training session of the year in the morning, spending the afternoon on the beach with the girls, as this wasn't an official team trip for competitions you had roommates. Leah was yours, you didn't quite know what to think of it but it couldn't be a bad thing. Right?
After dinner the team spent some time outside before all heading to their respective rooms for sleep. However you weren't asleep, and from the amount of rustling coming from Leah's bed she wasn't either. However unlike her you were still, as you laid on your back, staring at the ceiling, you couldn't get the 2 missed calls from both your parents each out of your head, they hadn't called you in years, let alone messaged, so why now? You couldn't understand, until you spoke to your Moster before dinner. She had informed you that they wanted to talk to you, apologise for what they had done, now realising that they did the wrong thing when you were younger. But you couldn't fathom the sudden change in beliefs. They had to have an ulterior motive. Leah must've realised you were awake at some stage, as you noticed her move onto her side, resting on her elbow as she brought your attention to you.
"What's wrong?" She questioned, the sudden words slightly scaring you.
"Nothing," you tried brushing her off, as if she would care about your problems.
"I can tell something is bothering you, you can just talk and I can listen if you want"
"My parents want to talk to me," you spat out, "oh," you turned to face her, mirroring her position.
"I've haven't seen or heard from them for years, the last time they contacted me was before, well, um, no it doesn't matter, but every time the have contacted me since I moved out they have thrown things at me, they even offered to buy me a penthouse apartment in New York if I quit football and did a PHD. They don't believe someone can be successful unless they like have a PHD basically. I moved out when I was almost 11. My Aunt says they are reaching out to say sorry but I find that hard to believe after all these years,"
"Why don't you just message them, ask them to come to one of our games."
"Yeah I suppose, I mean if they aren't really determined with whatever they are planning on doing they won't come, it would be time much time, effort and money otherwise," the fell into a silence before you blurted out, "They were the reason I wasn't getting played, they were paying the club money as a support under essentially a fake company, they figured if I wasn;t getting played I would fall out of love with the sport, but it clearly didn't work." "I'm sorry, that's unfair, you're a really great player, and your aunts must be good people, as you've turned out to be an amazing human," Leah started to ramble as she got anxious. You were glad there wasn't much light in the room as you felt yourself blush.
"Thank you, good night," "night," you rolled over and eventually fell asleep.
_____
The training staff decided that they were going to do fitness testing, the beep test included, you had been going for quite some time you, Lotte and Emily were the only ones currently still going, the rest of the team had either stopped or been pulled out by the medics or trainers so they didn't over do themselves.
"How?" Lotted huffed out as she doubled over trying to catch her breath, having given up, you on the other hand looked like you were still just doing a light jog.
"Okay Y/N, we're stopping you there, sit down and make sure to have plenty of water, we're also going to get you an electrolyte drink," you huffed in annoyance but complied and walked over to were Leah was sitting on the sidelines, taking a seat next to her, she lent towards you with her arms open ready for a hug.
"I don't think you want to do that, I'm like seriously sweaty," You warned her, "That performance deserves a hug, no matter how sweaty," you laughed as you lent in briefly hugging her, before moving to lie down, your legs still bent up, "you weren't wrong about being sweaty," she joked causing you to laugh "I did warn you,". 
You and Leah were alone, as she watched the rest of the team do the other tests, you were recovering lying on the grass, with a towel over your eyes to protect them from the burning sun. "How did you do that though? Are you actually fine?" Leah asked, ever so slightly concerned, she didn't want you to be overworking yourself due to being new, "I could've kept going if it wasn't so hot, or the fact that I wasn't stopped," you said and she nodded, not that you could see though, you were informed you couldn't continue testing until you had cooled down the medics not wanting to risk you getting heat stroke, however there was no way that was going to happen anytime soon, due to the scorching sun, "Can we go inside for a bit? Speed up the cooling down process," you asked her as you pulled the towel off your eyes, lifting you head slightly to look at her, "Sure," you stood up quickly, and turned to Leah who had reached her hands out for you to grab and help her up, "you haven't done any testing today, you should be the one helping me up" you joked, and she pushed you playfully once she was standing, "that's no way to treat someone who just helped you up," "oh shut up," she said as she wrapped her arm around your shoulders pulling you into her side as you walked.
_____
"I don't even know why you like playing them, they're so boring," you said as you sat down next to Leah on one of the sun loungers, you had to admit they were really strange sun loungers, as they were double ones, for some reason meaning two people had to sit on one, but it didn't matter too much as the team was close.
"They use my brain, keep me smart," she teased "Don't want you falling behind the rest of us I suppose," you teased her back, "Oh shut up, just because you duxed," you stuck your tongue out at her before pulling out your phone to message some people, until Leah managed to rope you into helping her do sudokus, you both giggled away as you spoke, before you were interrupted by Beth, "Why wasn't I invited?" she whined "We're doing sudokus," you explained, "oh ew, what movie are we watching tonight?" she asked, not getting a response.
"Beth," you both whined as you looked over to her who just shrugged her shoulders, "what?" she knew what, she just sent a message to the team asking when everyone else would be out because she felt like a third wheel with you two. Before long the whole team was outside and the movie had started, they had decided on ABBA which you didn't really like and so you quickly found yourself succumbing to your exhaustion from the day. Your eyelids opened around half an hour later and you realised you had moved closer to Leah and snuggled into her side while you slept, she had her arm out around your shoulders, "Oh sorry," you groggily spoke as you lifted your head preparing to move, "Oh, it's fine don't worry, you don't have to move if you don't want to, it's more warm like this too," she said softly smiling as her eyes stayed on the screen, you let out a small hum before placing your head back on her shoulder and quickly drifting off again.
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lazer-t · 2 days
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I think your art is pretty cool ! Do you have any tips for beginners? :D
I'm not sure how useful this advice will be, but I guess my main tip for beginners (I'm assuming you're talking about 3D modelling based on my recent posts) would be to not feel intimidated by 3D as a medium just because you're unfamiliar with it!
I think a lot of people, especially 2D artists, look at a 3D model and have their first thought be "I couldn't do that, 3D is super complicated" and never even attempt it based on an assumption that, imo, isn't really true.
I strongly encourage anyone who hasn't tried it but is curious to just download blender and make a very simple extrusion model (look up extrusion modelling tutorials on youtube, there's millions of them) of something they like.
Here's one of the very first 3D models I made that wasn't something like a crate or a chair, using extrusion starting with a cube:
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You could make something like this in under an hour with 0 prior 3D experience, and it's honestly not even a bad basis for a more complex model.
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golden1u5t · 2 days
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honeymoon | s.r x fem!reader
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ꨄ requested: anonymous
ꨄ genre: angst + fluff + smut(more so the beginning)
ꨄ summary: sex has always been a bad subject growing up, it was shunned upon to give into your bodies desires without being married or wanting kids. the abuse that came with this topic has caused you to hide away from it, you've never told spencer but when you do, he makes sure to make you as comfortable as he can.
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spencer stopped in his tracks as he noticed you standing in the middle of the room with your head turned away from him, he let go of his shirt so that it dropped back down over his body. when he reached out and touched your arm you jumped, looking back at him with wide eyes.
"sweetheart? are you alright?" he asked, wrapping his hand around your wrist and guiding you to sit on the bed. you leaned onto his shoulder and sighed, intertwining your fingers with his.
"it's our honeymoon- people have sex on their honeymoon!" you sat up and looked down at the ring on your finger, not yet used to the feeling of it weighing on your finger yet but you knew that you would eventually get used to it just like you would get used to the new last name.
"sex isn't a requirement to have a honeymoon, its just something people do to feel good and connect with their partners. there are some people in the world that are completely uninterested in sex. don't feel obligated, honey."
spencer honestly wouldn't mind if you didn't ever want to have sex, he went majority of his life without it, he was just grateful you're in his life and he's able to call you his wife. he wants you for the rest of his life, with or without the sex.
"no, that's not it." you huffed, sitting up from his shoulder and averting your gaze to the big window in the hotel room you were both staying at. your room was a suite, a wedding gift from rossi, so you could see over the busy city below.
"do you remember when i told you that i grew up in a very toxic household?" spencer nodded his head, you let out a small laugh because he remembers everything, it was a question you didn't even have to ask. "well, sex was a very touchy subject. i was always told that women were just to have children, that we couldn't do it unless we were married and ready for kids. but i'm not- i don't want any children right now and i don't want you to think badly about me because of it."
you brought a hand up to try and stop the tears that were streaming down your cheeks. it was no use though, the second spencer reached up and cupped your face with gentle hands, the floodgates opened. he didn't try to force you to look at him, he knew that you would when you were ready, you were putting yourself in a vulnerable position.
"i would never think any less of you because of that. you know that, angel." spencer's voice was soft, as if he was talking to a scared child. he ran his thumb over the skin under your eye, wiping away those salty tears that escaped.
you leaned into him and buried your head into his chest, hands grasping at his shirt. spencer's hand fell onto your back and started to rub soothing circles while you caught your breathe and calmed down.
while he held you like that you started to imagine how he would hold you in bed, how his hands would gently caress your skin, how he would make you feel safe and comfortable with him. you knew he would do all those things for you, you knew he would do anything you wanted. all you had to do was ask him and he would move in a heartbeat to make sure you got it, no matter what it was.
though, you were still having a lot of doubts and you needed to gain more confidence in yourself before you were willing to shed layers of coverage from your body, bring your guard down and let him into the last blocked off part of you.
so, for now you laid there in his arms, listening to the busy streets of the city and feeling his heartbeat against your cheek. spencer dropped his head down and rested his head on top of yours, his hand moving up your back and running his fingers through your hair.
everything in that moment was perfect, it was like when he wrapped his arms around you he somehow made a bubble of security. that's when you decided you wanted him, you wanted to bring those walls down and share yourself with him because you knew he would take care of you, he would be gentle with you.
"i want to try it." you spoke, though your voice was muffled from the way you were pressed against his chest. spencer let out a hum of confusion, pulling back and looking down at you. so you sat up and repeated yourself.
"are you sure? this is something you need to make sure you really want." his eyes scanned your face for any sign that would contradict your words but he couldn't find any.
"i'm sure, spence." you place your hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze, leaning forward and placing your lips on his. spencer let go of your hand and placed them on your waist instead.
spencer pulled away from your lips and instructed you to get higher on the bed. as soon as you laid back on the bed, he was crawling on top of you. you quickly discarded your shirt and started to push your pants down but spencer caught your wrist in his hands.
"patience, angel. i'll get there."
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ghostiiess · 1 day
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“you’re my red string”
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synopsis: because ni-ki called you ‘bro’, you decided to tease him back with a silent treatment.
warnings: petnames (babe and baby), mention of kisses on the cheek and on your hand, i think that's all? let me know if there's more!
type: fluff (ni-ki’s imagines will always be sfw!!)
wc: around 1k
member: ni-ki from enhypen x gender neutral reader (no pronouns used to describe y/n)
reblogs and likes are really appreciated! not too sure about the end, but lmk if you liked it :D
english's not my main tongue. sorry if i made any mistakes!
permanent taglist: @nsb-rkive @firebenderwolf @yawnzzznnn @ghostyycat7
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It's been about three hours since your boyfriend jokingly called you “bro”. He knew you didn't really like the nickname, but he liked teasing you. For him, seeing your cute reaction and your smile was probably the highlights of his day. That's probably one of the many reasons why he deliberately teased you…
You weren't exactly the kind of person who would use the silent treatment to get what you wanted, but you were curious to see his reaction. After all, you also liked to see him smile.
- I'm home! he exclaimed.
You smiled a little, then waited. This was going to be fun.
Not hearing your voice, Ni-Ki repeated the sentence he had just spoken:
- Babe? Are you there?
Your boyfriend and you shared an apartment, and let's just say that the times he uttered the phrase "I'm home" were pretty rare... He always came home late because of his hard work, and he had a lot of practice. It wasn't part of your ritual not to greet him when you were both in the apartment. The rare moments you had together that weren't during the night when you were asleep, you usually played video games with him and listened to him talk about his upcoming concerts and projects with his music group.
Still not hearing you, you could hear a sigh from him. He knew you were there: your shoes were in the hall. You heard him walk from the front door to the living room, where he found you on your phone, no headphones, no videos playing in the background, your ears perfectly tuned to hear him greet you a few minutes earlier.
- Hi.
You didn't even look at him.
- Are you deaf? he laughed, running a hand through his dark hair. I was waiting for your hug...
Whenever he came home, you always put your arms around Ni-Ki's shoulders. You knew he didn't like that kind of attention from people he didn't know very well, but from you? He loved it. He loved the gentle attention you gave him, the loving names you called him, the cuddling time he spent with you... He loved it, but he would never dare to say it to your face.
- Are you okay? Do you sleep with your eyes open now?
You moved to let him know you weren't sleeping, to let him know what you were doing: a silent treatment.
- Oh, I see what you're doing, Y/N...
He gave you a faint smile.
- It's because I called you bro, isn't it?
You didn't answer, which confirmed that he was right.
- You know I said that just to tease you, right? I didn't mean it. And if it makes you feel any better, I'd say you're my best bro.
You obviously didn't answer.
- So you won't talk? All right, then I'll have to make you talk.
Without letting you react, Ni-Ki took your hand and gave it a simple kiss, hoping it would work.
- Do you want to talk now?
Seeing your resistance, your boyfriend approached you, then gave you a kiss on the cheek and a small smile:
- No reaction? That's strange, you always smile when I kiss your cheek...
Sighing, he rested on the back of the sofa.
- It's not easy to make you talk...
Then he had an idea.
- If I can't make you react physically, I'll make you react verbally.
You looked at him and immediately regretted it: he was way too cute.
- I'll tell you what I like about you, and I'll stop when you're tired of me.
He cleared his throat, then began:
- First of all, I love your eyes. I could get lost in them for years and never get tired of it.
Hoping you would answer, he sighed. He missed you, your words, your affection.
- Second, I love your hands. They're so soft…, he added, taking one of your hands and kissing the top of it.
He crossed his fingers with yours and gave you a small smile.
- I love your smile. You always light up the room with yours and every time you smile I think it couldn't be more beautiful, but I'm wrong every time.
You had to bite your lips to hide your smile. You knew you weren't subtle, but you couldn't control your desire to smile.
- Is that a smile I see? Does that mean I can live with a real person again and not a statue? he laughed.
Running a hand through his hair, he continued:
- Should I continue?
Still without an answer, Ni-Ki took the opportunity to continue.
- I like your personality. Actually, I don't think the word "like" is strong enough. I love your personality... You're probably one of the people who means the most to me. You always greet me with a smile on your face and you are always understanding about my schedule and my practices.
While playing with your fingers, he went on:
- You're always there for me, trying to make me smile and feel good, and I really appreciate that.
Your lips hurt. You couldn't stop smiling. You tried to hide it, but it was no use: Ni-Ki would always manage to make you smile.
He sighed:
- And I want you to know that even if you're giving me the silent treatment, I will always love you. Even if I don't show it sometimes, I appreciate you and you're one of the people I care about most.
Seeing your smile gradually spreading, he added:
- And if I may say so, I think you're my red string... I don't really believe in signs and myths or anything like that, but I think this is true. At least I think it is for us.
The Japanese myth of the red string: the one you were passionate about. Ni-Ki and you thought it was cute to know that everyone had a string around them that was attached to someone else.
You couldn't go on any longer. You smiled and put your hands in front of your face.
- I can't go on, you're too cute!
He chuckled slightly:
- You're just obsessed with me, admit it.
- Keep telling yourself that.
He smiled, then kissed you gently on the lip before letting you speak:
- Did you mean any of those things?
He rolled his eyes, then smiled.
- Of course, I did, you silly.
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heartless-tate · 1 day
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Hi! If I may be so self indulgent and request something... 👉🏻👈🏻
Reader being a (for lack of better words) boring person. They're good at blending in within social circles but never standing out or having a circle or friend of their own. Good laughing at jokes but can't come up with good ones or even if they did, they don't have the courage to tell them outright. They're very much a chicken when it comes to expressing themselves as an individual because they're never comfortable enough around anyone. They are a chicken in general, to be honest. This essentially (and sadly) leaves them as an NPC in their own life. And they've accepted it, trying to come to terms with a life of extreme mediocrity. They're actively trying to push down any need of wanting more from life 99% of days.
However, when you're good at listening, you observe things much better and you learn things faster. And subconsciously, reader has been observing a lot of things about Velaris (including the IC). I'm not sure where this would lead but this is probably the only real skill they have; being a good observer and learner.
I leave the rest to you. I was thinking pairing them with Azriel (since he would probably understand her better) but I'm open to any modifications.
Also, just an afterthought, I've always wondered what job I would love to have in a fantasy world (and I don't know if this counts as an actual job) but something like observing the sky/stars to look for any forthcoming events sounds really cool. So I guess reader could do that since major events happen don't happen once in a hundred years or something which ultimately makes their job very boring. However, they love it because who wouldn't love spending their whole night star-gazing (potential date idea?? YESS).
Sorry this became way longer than I intended. I wouldn't judge if you chose not to write on it. Thanks & have a great day :)
Am I boring? | Azriel X boring F reader
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A/N: Hiii! Tysm for your ask. I hope I captured what you were imagining right. 💖
summary: You’re a star mapper. And you’re boring with no hope of love. Or at least you believed that until Azriel came along.
1.2k words
warnings: no use of y/n, she/her pronouns, cussing??, romance?? That’s it?? I think?
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The stars shined brighter tonight. Since you were a little girl, you had always been fascinated by them. How they sparkled. They were interesting, and beautiful- unlike you. Maybe that’s why you clung onto them.
You pulled a piece of parchment from your bag, and started mapping the stars. Rhysand, the highlord of the night court, had invited you to his court to observe and map stars from this  part of the world. You accepted, wanting some change. Even if you knew it wouldn’t be much of a difference to you. The inner circle was more than nice to you, and you appreciated it.
Laughter bubbled from behind you. You currently sat with your telescope on the balcony of the House of Wind. This was your third week here. Rhysand had offered you a permanent place here in the night court, but you were yet to accept. You didn’t fit in. You were a background character. A random star mapper, a job would probably never be much of use to anyone. Except weird star fanatics. Aka you. You were sure he only offered you a place here because of pity.
The inner circle seemed to really like you, and whether that was because of your quiet and shy nature, or the fact you always listened and gave great advice, or the fact you always laughed to try and fit in even if you didn’t quite understand the joke, you didn’t know. The only one who seemed to see past your mask of people pleasing was the Shadowsinger.
Anytime you ‘laughed’ at Cassian’s jokes, he was always there, smirking with a known look at you. As if he knew you. As if he had known you your whole life. Azriel had seemed curious about you. It was uncomfortable. Nobody had ever been curious about you. Everyone always enjoyed someone that they could talk to about themselves for hours. But he was the one always interrupting the other members of the inner circle to question you, on you. And your own life. And sadly you didn’t have many answers other than, “oh I don’t know.”
It made you feel weird at how interested he seemed in you. It made you feel awkward. But you knew he would lose interest once he really discovered there wasn’t actually much to you. You were a bore.
“Those stars are named Arktos, Carynth, and Oristes. They shine above that mountain for a week once a year during the blood rite.” A voice said beside you. You flinched as you noticed Azriel sitting directly by you, his shadows swirling around you both. He was always appearing out of nowhere. He handed you a plate of cake.
“Courtesy of Elain. She baked dessert tonight.” Azriel said, lifting a bite of his cake to his mouth and chewing on it.
“Oh.” You responded, setting the plate down beside you. You quickly labeled the stars on your parchment. They were beautiful.
“Do you like cake?” He questioned.
You paused and stared blank at him.
“I’m not sure?” You responded, fiddling with your hands. “It’s okay, I guess.”
Azriel smiled at you knowingly. Loud laughter boomed from the room behind you two. He looked right at you with piercing amber eyes that seemed annoyed. As if he had noticed you flinching from the loud sounds.
“Come with me? Just trust me.” He whispered, grasping your hand gently with caution. It was sudden. And you weren’t sure. You didn’t know him much. How could you trust him? But something in your body and soul screamed yes. Why not? It was risky- but life was boring.
“Okay.” You responded, gasping as he pulled you close, his wings wrapping you close to him, and his shadows swarming around you both before all of a sudden you were now standing on a cliff. Oh gods. His hands were on your hips gently, his wings spread wide, letting you see the view.
You both stood on a cliff that overlooked a waterfall and river. The moon reflected in the water and the stars did too, creating a mirror effect. It was probably the most gorgeous sight you had ever seen.
“Its- it’s…” Your words fumbled, mouth open in shock. “Beautiful..” you whispered. His breath was hot against your ear.
“Very.” He whispered back. When you looked at him he wasn’t even looking at the view. His eyes were glued on you. And he was looking at you as if you were a goddess. Azriel’s eyes softened, with adoration. It scared you. Nobody had ever looked at you like that. With a blush you realized he was holding you like a lover. He smirked at you as if knowing you just realized it.
Azriel slowly let go and used his wing to guide you to turn around. Blankets and pillows were on the ground. Like a picnic but a nest. His shadows swirled excitedly around the set up. He guided you gently to the set up, helping you sit down before sitting beside you.
“Do you want your mapping materials? My shadows can retrieve them for you. I wasn’t sure if you’d want to just relax and enjoy this night or continue star mapping.” He murmured.
You thought for a second. This was odd. Was this a date? Or did he do this with all of his friends? Did you want to map or did you want to enjoy this night with him?
“No it’s okay.” You replied, eyes glued to the stars above. They were much clearer from this view then from the House of Wind. You guess the city lights blurred them out. But here? They were in their full glory.
“Why did you bring me here?” He seemed to pause before responding. 
“My shadows told me you might be leaving soon. This is my attempt at convincing you to stay here. In the night court. With your mate.” Azriel confessed.
He watched your eyebrows furrow.
“Mate? I don’t have a mate-“ you panicked.
His wings cocooned you and his arm enveloped you. It was like he could sense your panic. He rocked you back and forth like a child. And it was comforting.
“I’m your mate. I’ve known since I’ve met you. I thought I would have more time to get to know you and the bond would snap for you, but then my shadows informed me of your soon departure.”
You swallowed, throat bobbing. You blinked a few times. “There isn’t anything about me to get to know.” You replied harshly. Azriel’s eyebrows furrowed with concern. Shadows swirled around you both, some tendrils caressing you.
“Don’t say that. I know it isn’t true. Everyday I learn something new about you. I don’t care what you say, you are the most interesting person I’ve ever met.” He said, words much louder and firmer now. He thinks you’re interesting?
“Stay. Stay with me. Let me get to know you. I don’t expect you to accept the bond anytime soon. But give me- give us a chance.” Azriel said, wings tightening around you both. His eyes bore into you, with a fierce and loving look in them. You couldn’t help but soften in his hold.
You realized then, you deserved love. And for once a belonging feeling overwhelmed your senses.
“I’ll stay.”
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Hope you guys enjoyed 💗
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jordyn14 · 1 day
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Don’t Think, Just Do | Joe burrow
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Summary: Right after Joes season ending injury, he decided to have Thanksgiving dinner like always with his family. During the dinner, It seems like everything had to go wrong before it could go right.
Pairing: Joe burrow x first person fem reader
Words: 4343
Notes: this fic takes place after Joes season ending injury, so if you’re not interested, please just skip. I hope you enjoy!! <3
Taglist: @wickedfun9
It was finally Thanksgiving, which meant for the entire day, the smell of delicious food flooded the house. Like most of us already know, Joe hates turkey, so for every thanksgiving we have been together for, ham has been on the menu. There was currently a ham in the oven, along with mac and cheese that was in the fridge waiting for me to put it in the oven, stuffing, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, and cheesy potatoes, all of which Joe helped make. The entire day was spent making the foods for dinner tonight. On thanksgiving every year, there is always a semi big gathering. Among those people are Joe's parents, Joe's grandparents, and Joe's brothers and their wives and kids. Because of everything that's been going on and the stress of picking out a doctor for joes surgery, we were all a little unsure of how thanksgiving was going to be, but Joe insisted that it needed to be the same as every year, and this year, since we just moved into our new house, we were having it over our house.
Every single food on the menu was done and either in the oven or in the fridge that was going to be heated up prior to dinner, so right now Joe and I were making the dough for the pumpkin pie. Usually I would stick to the lazy and easy side of things and use a premade crust, but since it was thanksgiving and Joe deserves it, I was making a homemade crust. Because we made sure to start everything early, we were right on track to have the pumpkin pie in the oven just in time for the guests to start arriving since everyone came about an hour or two before we ate dinner. In the background, the song New Person, Same Old Mistakes, by Tame Impala started to play from Joes speaker. Joe has some songs on his playlist that I don't like since I don't like a lot of rap songs, but he has a few that I really love, and this is one of them. I never knew about tame impala until he introduced me to them a few years ago, and now I love them.
I started to bop my head to the song and move my body to the rhythm of the song while putting the dough into the pie container. I moved my shoulders and body to the beat, and soon Joe joined in and started to dance with me a little bit. I couldn't help it, I loved this song. I grabbed the rolling pin that I set down after rolling out the dough and held it up like it was a microphone. "I can just hear them now, 'how could you let us down?' But they don't know what I found, or see it from this way round." I started to sing into my 'microphone' while dancing some more and walking around the island. "Oh yeah, now it's gettin' lit." Joe laughed and grabbed onto a spoon so he could sing the next lyrics. "Feeling it overtake, all that I used to hate. One by one every trait I tried, but it's way too late. All the signs I don't read. Two sides of me can't agree. Will I be in too deep?" Joe sang and gestured to me to sing this next part.
While we sang, we were a laughing mess. The both of us sucked at singing, although we loved to sing. "Going with what I always longed for...feel like a brand new person." I sang. "But you'll make the same old mistakes." Joe sang the next part that was quieter. "I don't care, I'm in love." I sang while making a little heart sign with my hands at Joe. I spun in a little circle and reached Joe who grabbed ahold of my hand and raised it above my head so I could spin. "Stop before it's too late, I know there's too much at stake." I sang. "Making the same mistakes." Joe sang. After he sang this, I prepared myself for the next high note and sang, "and I still don't know why it's happening." The both of us laughed, knowing I totally butchered the high note.
When the song was over and we sang pretty much the whole song, give or take a few lines that we missed while we danced, we went back to making our pumpkin pie. Once we were all done with it, Joe stuck it in the oven and I sat myself down on the island counter and kicked my feet while waiting, my stomach growling a little bit. Joe looked at me sitting on the island and started to walk my way. I spread my legs apart so Joe could step between them, so when he did, I wrapped my legs around his waist instinctively and pulled him closer. I wrapped my arms around his neck and ran my fingers through his soft hair. Joe put his hands on my waist.
"I love Thanksgiving so much, mostly for the food" I laughed. Joe nodded with a sigh and kissed my lips. "I love any day I get to spend with my wife." Joe said. My cheeks flushed red and butterflies soared through my stomach. "Damn, you fluster so easily." Joe said with a little chuckle. "It's the Joe Sheisty effect, I swear." I laughed. "Ah, okay, we can go with that." Joe joked. The both of us looked into each others eyes for a second too long until our eyes shifted to each others lips and then back up to each others eyes. After a few seconds, Joe leaned forwards and captured my lips in his. I turned my head to the right for easier access as our lips moved in perfect harmony, like they were made for each other. As we kissed, Joe slipped one of his hands under my shirt. I let out the faintest moan when his cold hands hit my skin, not expecting the cold, and I arched my back slightly.
With his hand under my shirt, he began to run his cool fingers up and down my back as we kissed. With the other hand, he brought it up and cupped my cheek. I ran my fingers through his hair, over his shoulders, down to his biceps, then his back muscles. Our hands explored each other's body's as if we hadn't touched each other in years and forgot what we felt like. Joe released my lips and began to kiss my jaw which then turned into my neck. Joe began to suck and kiss at my neck, making sure not to stay in one place too long and leave magenta marks. I sucked in a small breath at the feeling of his lips on my neck and leaned my head back slightly as Joe moved my hair out of his way. I repeatedly let out soft moans. I felt his teeth graze my soft skin before he got to the spot that always felt amazing. He began to suck and kiss even more, knowing this was my spot. I let out a few more soft moans, loving the feeling and not wanting him to ever stop.
"You are the most gorgeous woman in this entire universe," Joe said, taking his hips off of my neck for a second, "in any universe." His lips attached to my neck once again as butterflies fluttered their tiny wings in my stomach at Joes words of affirmation. I started to lift up my skirt for easy access while Joe leaned back slightly. Just as Joe started to unbuttoned his pants and unzip them, I heard a car pull into the driveway. "Shit." Joe and I said at the same time. "Shit." We both said again once we realized what we were about to do. Joe zipped his pants back up quickly while I situated my panties and then jumped down from the counter. We both laughed at how in sync we were and then I looked down at Joes hard-on. "Do you think you can really be in front of your family like that?" I asked Joe with a small smirk, knowing he didn't fully realize yet. He probably felt it, but didn't realize how bad it was. "What do you mean? I thought you liked this shirt." Joe said. I couldn't help but laugh at Joe and how he was so unaware of what was going on. "Do you really want your family to know what we were doing before they got here?" I asked Joe.
Joe just raised an eyebrow out of confusion and said, "how would they know?" I slapped my forehead a little bit and then said, "you have a fucking boner Joe." I started to laugh when Joes eyes got all wide and looked down to see the tent in his pants that was gradually getting bigger. "Shit." Joe said quickly and covered himself with his hands. "Go upstairs and take care of...that," I said, gesturing to the tent in his pants, "and I'll go get the door for whoever is here and tell them that you spilled something on yourself and needed to change." I said. "This is your fault." Joe said with a little laugh as he started to run up the stairs. "What? You started it" I laughed. Just as I started following Joe to the stairs that were near the door, someone knocked at the door. "If you weren't so gorgeous, I wouldn't get horny." Joe said just before he turned and started to sprint up the stairs.
I shook my head with a laugh and then walked to the door. I unlocked it and then opened it up to greet whoever was standing outside of it. My face lit up when my eyes landed on Robin and Jimmy, who of course were the first ones here, like always. "Hello my favorite daughter in law! Oh, the house looks amazing!" Robin said and pulled me into a ginormous and tight hug. "Thank you!" I said and smiled at Jimmy who was looking at the place with a big smile on his face. After I hugged Robin, I hugged Jimmy and then I invited them inside. After I invited them in, Jimmy was holding in a laugh on the side of Robin who started laughing. "What? Come in!" I said, excited that they were going to be in this house for the first time since it's been decorated since we just moved in a week ago.
"I think you got a little something on your, uh-chest." Robin said, her face slightly red from laughing. I looked down at my chest to see Joes hand print he made with the flour that I was totally oblivious to. I brushed the flour off of my shirt as fast as I could while my face flushed red out of embarrassment. I moved to the side so Robin and Jimmy could walk in and then shut the door behind them with a little sigh and said to myself, "you're an idiot." When I turned back around, I gave a quick smile to Robin and Jimmy who were still calming their laughter after what they saw. "Where's my son? Don't tell me he's playing video games." Robin said. "He's upstairs changing, he spilled something on himself." I said. "Flour?" Jimmy said with a laugh.
With a little groan and then a laugh, I walked past them and they followed me to the living room. Because I knew more people would want to see The house in its entirety, I waited to give the tour of the house until everyone showed up. When Joe came down, he greeted his parents and then one by one, more people arrived. First, it was Jamie and his wife Stella, and their son Justin, and then Dan and his wife Jenna, and their daughters Penelope and Emily, then Joe's grandparents. Once everyone was here, I gave them a tour of the house while Joe got all of the food ready and brought it to the dining room table. Through most of the tour, there were ooh's and awe's, especially in the game and bar area downstairs and the movie theatre. When we were done with the tour, we made our way to the living room where we talked for a little bit and then we finally decided it was time for dinner.
We all sat down and started eating right away, all of us starving because we made sure to save lots of room for food. There were conversations all around the dinner table between multiple different people, but I was currently talking with Jenna and Robin about Jenna's new therapist job that she just got. She was working for a smaller company, but after a lot of consideration, she decided to move to a bigger company. "I was just unhappy at my old job and this new one offers a lot more than the other place...and the money isn't bad either." Jenna said with a little smirk and head tilt at the end. "Girl go get that bag. Plus, life's too short to be miserable in any aspect of it." I said with a little shrug, justifying her decision. "Amen to that." Robin said and pretended to cheers her wine and then took a hearty sip.
As the dinner went on, I noticed that Joe started clenching his jaw next to me, obviously agitated by something. I was initially worried that his hand was bothering him, but realized that for a lot of the dinner, Jamie has been constantly talking about Joe's injury. He wants to know more about it like where he's getting the surgery, if he knew he was done for the season when he felt it pop, how much it hurt, among other things. Also for a lot of the dinner, Joe's been trying to change the subject by giving short responses and then talking about something else, but it always came back to Jamie asking about the injury or football in general. "How is rehab going to work this time? You going to the same place in Cali like you did with your knee or staying here?" Jamie asked Joe. From the end of the table closest to me where Robin was, and the other end where Jimmy was, I could tell they knew Joe was agitated, but it seemed like Jamie couldn't tell.
The last thing I wanted was for Joe to blow up or say something that would make Jamie mad. Then that would lead to Jamie getting upset, and then the whole night would be either ruined or just awkward. "Yeah, I don't know. Still trying to figure that all out." Joe said, his voice sounding upset and annoyed. When Joe said this, he reached up and started rubbing the back of his neck, clenching and unclenching his jaw some more. Glancing down, I reached for his hand in his lap and then gave it a small squeeze when I got it in my hand. Joe glanced at me with a small and thankful smile before looking straight ahead so he could take another bite of his food. "Did you know right away how bad it was?" Jamie asked him from across the table. Instead of answering his question this time, Joe adverted his attention to his dad and asked him something that I couldn't quite make out.
Since Joe got away from the football talk, I turned my attention back over to Robin, Jenna, and Stella since we were all talking about the house. "Hey mommy?" Emily asked who was sitting next to Jenna. "Yes sweetheart?" She asked and tucked a piece of hair behind Emily's ear. "Can I have more stuffing?" She asked. "Of course you can." Jenna said and scooped some more stuffing on her plate. I smiled down at Emily who shoved a ton of stuffing into her mouth while looking at me. "How do you think the Bengals are going to do without you?" Jamie asked. Whipping my head over towards Jamie, I was about to say something but Joe smashed his left hand on the table, making everyone jump a little bit, shocked at his reaction. From the hard contact, all of the glasses on the table shook like crazy; I even grabbed onto mine just incase it decided to tip over.
"Can we talk about something other than football for one god damn second?" Joe raised his voice. We all looked at Joe as he stood up from the table abruptly and then stormed out of the dining room and towards the living room. I watched Joe walk away before he left my sight. The only thing I heard other than our forks dropping on our plates was the sliding back door open and then close with a lot of force. With a little sigh, I turned my attention back towards the table where everyone was trying to act like nothing happened and continue thanksgiving dinner. From everything that was going on, I felt tears prick my eyes. Trying to keep myself from crying, I lifted my hand up and put it under my nose, trying anything to calm myself down. Robin, seeing that I was a little emotional, reached over and grabbed my hand, giving it a little squeeze. Looking over at her, she gave me a reassuring smile.
"Geez, what did I do? I didn't think I said anything bad." Jamie said while he wiped his mouth off. From across from him, his grandparents and wife were about to say something to Jamie, obviously angry with him, but I intervened. "This is his second season ending injury in 4 years, he is frustrated right now, and talking about football doesn't help. The only reason he told me that he still wanted to have this dinner was because he thought it would be a good way to forget about his injury, but instead, that's all you're talking about. Put yourself in his shoes and cut him some fucking slack, Jamie." I said. I dropped Robins hand that was holding mine and left the table, storming off just like Joe did. "What the hell are you thinking, Jamie?" I heard Jimmy ask Jamie. "Please wait." Robin called after me as I walked out of the dining room.
After I walked out of the dining room, I headed towards the back door so I could go to Joe and see if he was okay. As soon as I looked outside, I saw Joe sitting down on the couch which was surrounded by the other patio furniture we needed to prepare for winter. Joe was staring straight ahead. Looking at his expression, I could tell he was upset but trying to hide it. Ever since his injury, he’s been closed off, which is typical for him during an injury. We haven’t even really talked about it yet because I always let him come to me instead of me pushing him to talk to me about it. As soon as I slid the door open a little bit, Joe immediately looked up to see who was walking outside. When he saw that it was me, he gave me a small smile and scooted over so he was on one side of the couch and then patted the side next to him, wanting me to sit next to him. "Why didn't you stay and eat? You didn't have to come out here." Joe said.
I walked over to him and then sat down right next to him. Once I did, Joe put his arm around me and pulled me closer to him. "Yes I did, plus, I kind of went off on your brother, so it would've been awkward if I stayed." We both laughed for a few seconds before I rested my head on Joes shoulder. There was a moment of silence before I spoke up, "are you okay?" I asked Joe. There was a definite sigh from above me as I pulled away slightly to look into his eyes, but we both kept our arms around one another. I could tell that he was carrying a lot of stress and anxiety. He was tensed up and doing his best to hold back, but I knew if I put a little bit of pressure, the flood gates would open up, and that’s what he needed right now. He needed to talk about it.
"Are you okay?" I repeated as a tear escaped my eye and rolled down my cheek only to get caught by my hand that quickly wiped it away. As I looked into Joes eyes, I noticed that he was trying his best not to cry, but I knew he wanted to. I knew he wanted to open up and talk about his pent up emotions but was struggling to. "I'll be fine. After my surgery I'll get back at it, just like with my knee." Joe said, but his bottom lip started to quiver slightly. His voice was shaky, his eyes were glistening with tears, and his breathing was heavy and uneven. He was trying so hard to hold back. "Joey, tell me how you really feel, it's okay." I said and ran my fingers through his hair slightly.
With a gentle shake of his head, Joe bit his bottom lip to hide the small quiver and said, "I can't feel sorry for myself, and I don't want you to feel sorry for me either." I brought my hands up and cupped the sides of his cheeks, making him look over at me. “Opening up and showing a little bit of emotion doesn’t mean you have to feel sorry for yourself. This is a big deal, Joe, and holding back your emotions is only going to make it worse. You have to let it out before you can move on." I said. Joe took a deep breath and sealed his eyes shut. His shoulders dropped low and he eventually let a few tears slip from his eyes which rolled down his rosy cheeks. Joe let out a shaky breath and bit the inside of his cheek. “I just came back from an injury...I just started to feel 100% again and was ready to prove that to everyone," Joe started to say, "Now I'm out for the season, and it feels terrible. I feel like I was just down on the field after fucking up my knee and missing the rest of the season, now I have to miss the rest of this season." Joe said.
"I get it, Joey." I said, encouraging him to keep going. "This past offseason and training camp I was supposed to be healthy, but I hurt my calf. So, I hoped that this next offseason and training camp I would be 100% healthy, but once again, I won't be. I will have to go back to rehab for yet again another injury...but this time I don't even know if I'll get 100% of my strength and grip back." Joe said, more tears escaping his eyes as he poured out all of his emotion that he had, until there was nothing left. Joe said everything that he was keeping bottled up inside of him. After staring at the ground for a few seconds, he finally looked up and into my eyes. We held eye contact for a few seconds. We both didn't move, we just looked at each other while we both cried and took deep breaths. "It's going to be okay." I said.
"How do you know?" Joe asked me. With a deep breath, I said what I truly felt. I let my heart instead of my head do the talking. "You are Joseph Lee Burrow. You came back from your hand surgery and being the backup to the backup. You came came back from your sprained knee. You came back for the first game of the season after appendix surgery just a few months prior and made it to the AFC championship. You played with a messed up calf and still managed to pull out some wins. You tore your ACL, MCL, and PCL your first ever year in the NFL, worked your ass off every single day to get better and made it to the Super Bowl. The fucking Super Bowl, Joe. You are incredible and there is nothing you can't do, I believe that and everyone else does too. You should to. No one is expecting you to be 100% right now, so you can sulk for a little bit, because this sucks. I know it does. I know how hard it is to be in this spot again after everything you've conquered. I also know that when you're done sulking, you're going to grind and work hard every single day until this is a thing of the past." I told him.
"You are so strong Joseph Lee Burrow, physically and mentally. I know you will work hard and never give up on rehab, no matter how hard it is for you. It's hard? Suck it up. You’re strong enough to do this. And I'll be here every step of the way just like always. All you have to do is believe in yourself." I said. "I just keep worrying and thinking that-" Joe started to say but I cut him off. I placed my forehead on his and said, "Just Stop thinking, Joe. Don't think, Just Do.” I started to stroke Joes cheek as he processed everything I said, and then he said, "You said that to me about colleges on our first date and when I was on the fence about LSU and when I hurt my knee and then after the Super Bowl." Joe smiled slightly. "Exactly, now look where you are. What's another setback?" I asked him. Joe took a deep breath and nodded a little bit while maintaining eye contact with me. "Alright." Joe said.
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copperbadge · 1 day
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I was making breakfast and listening to an episode of Just King Things this morning, which is a podcast I do recommend -- two very smart English teachers are reading the books of Stephen King in publication order and discussing them. This could go extremely awry except they're both highly conscious of his failings as well as his skill, so they do really well handling a lot of his less salutatory content.
They've hit the point in King's ouvre (this episode was about Hearts In Atlantis) that follows his recovery from the car accident that very nearly killed him, where he was struck by a van while out walking. One of them pointed out that it seems as though he came back from nearly dying determined to write the wildest shit imaginable and only write what he wanted, which struck a chord in me this time despite having listened to this episode before. Perhaps because I was thinking about my own writing and where it's going in the short term (there are a couple of short stories I want to do that I don't quite have a way into yet). I generally don't think about the drift of my creativity in the long term because when I do I usually draw the wrong conclusions.
I don't really classify my life, the way some people who've had high-impact injuries do, as before-TBI and after-TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury -- the fairly severe concussion I had in January of 2020). For one thing, given I had to cancel a trip to NYC because of it, it may have saved my life; I almost certainly would have caught COVID as someone with known lung issues in New York at the time. For another, the TBI was way scarier to almost everyone else; for me it was just one more dumb injury I gave myself and I didn't even remember most of it so it hardly registered. I used to open the story of it with a joke about waking up not remembering going to bed the night before, but nobody ever found it funny.
It's true that there are changes it wrought in my life, though. Even practical stuff like making sure my living space doesn't have tripping hazards and continuing to wear a fitbit even though I don't really need to (the fitbit told us, the morning after, exactly when the concussion happened, because it registered a heart-rate spike when I fell). For weeks after, I had to move slowly and put off making important decisions because I couldn't trust my physical or intellectual judgement; I didn't even jaywalk in my own neighborhood because I couldn't be sure I was judging the cars' speeds properly. For about a year after I had periodic post-concussion syndrome which basically just slammed me back into concussion space, which wasn't painful or upsetting but was definitely inconvenient.
And it's also undeniable that my writing shifted after the injury. It's not necessarily because of the injury, since my initial recovery from the TBI and the declaration of quarantine happened at roughly the same time, and anyone who tells you that a years-long global pandemic didn't impact their artistic expression is selling you a line. But the last thing I wrote before the TBI was the first draft of Six Harvests, and aside from the Six Harvests publication draft, which had fairly minimal changes, almost all that I've written has been blue-sky, light-hearted, PG-rated romance. It's been on my mind that I've been writing different subject matter from what I used to, but the timing of it didn't strike me until just recently.
I don't mind, really. I love fandom and I support fanfic in whatever expression it comes, but I'm also happy writing my own stories. While I'm aware it's been years since I've meaningfully written fanfic, it doesn't bother me per se, as long as I'm writing. It bothered me much more when I could write fanfic but not original fic, especially in those last few awful months at my last job. I'm proud of the literary and non-genre fiction I've written in the past, but it's also much more trying and frustrating to write at times, so I'm enjoying having a different sort of challenge that feels more fulfilling in the process. I'm sure at some point I'll go back to literary fiction -- there are ways in which it's hard to avoid turning the later Shivadh novels into literary fiction, being honest -- but for now I like what I'm writing, and I'm writing primarily to please myself and without regard to what's necessarily rational or linear.
Just struck me, is all, that it's by far the most noticeable major shift in my work. I do sort of wonder what will be next.
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pinkyqil · 8 hours
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Can you do Lucy bronze x reader
Lucy and r are competitive so when a game night with the team it’s gets very interesting. Both have trash talk but they keep it like sweet. Some fluff about this
You're not a competition // Lucy bronze x reader platonic
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Lucy was like an older sister with so with that you obviously became her little sister. which also meant siblings rivalry.
You loved riling Lucy up knowing how competitive she gets. It would be one of her greatest traits if you weren't always riling her up when ever or whatever.
The amount of times you both got silly competitive. one time would be at training when patri said no one would be able to carry the heavy training gear from were it was back too it original spot.
Where you made eye contact with lucy and immediately grabbed the gear before she could grab the other one. It wasn't that it was impossible you just had to take it one at a time
"She used us didn't she". You told lucy who seems to be out of breath just like you.
"Yeah kid I honestly don't know why we bother should've known it was one of her tracks".
"Yeah anyways last one back to the locker room is an immediate loser". You told everyone around you.
They were many more memories of you and Lucy getting competitive and your teammates using it to there advantage. A lot of people would think it silly which it was but you and Lucy never took your competition to far instead it was something that always helped you prove yourself.
Tonight was team bounding which meant it was your turn to host.
You had the choice to room with one of the girls but you got your own place instead. You'd already send the girls the deets on tonight activities.
One of then being those where you had to answer truth or dare and the punishment would be take a small cup of really hot sauce.
Everyone started arriving slowly before you knew it your place was filled with teammates every.
Some already in the living room a few if them scarted at you kitchen or dining table or just getting fresh air at your balcony.
The game was about to start but before that ona gave both you and Lucy a warning which you wouldn't listen to.
"Both of you this team bounding not team competition so please leave that aside and let's have fun together okay?".
"Fine but if she starts anything don't expect me to stay silent".
"whatever you say". You told her
Everything was going well until it was lucy trun to pick a card and you decided to trash talk to get into her head.
"Even a three year old could pick up a card faster than the pace your going grandma".
"Does the three year old happened to be you little one cause if it's your straight up delusional".
"As if I'm more of a young soul you can't relate".
"Didn't know young soul's had wrinkles but whatever fits your boats".
"Oh you did not".
"yes I definitely did".
"You're honestly not a competition bronze"
"Oh were going to that". she told you
"Yes yes we are". You told her
Before you knew it lucy grabbed a pillow from the couch and started hitting you which the other girls joined in on fun.
Everything was flying around, cards on the floor people falling and flying over the couch hits left and right no one was safe.
After the hectic pillow fight that you started Ingrid and ona had to stop anyone from getting hurt and mostly kicked the girls out as you guys still had training tomorrow.
The night was stil young so lucy and ona were they last as they hadn't left yet. All three of you crashing on the floor.
"Do I really have wrinkles". you asked lucy
"No kid it was only just to get into your tiny brain".
"Your not that old but for a old person you're really built". You told her
"I'm just going to take that as a compliment".she said while rolling her eyes at you.
"I honestly don't know how you to deal with each other".ona butted in
"it all sibling love". You told her before hugging lucy.
"All love ona no hate just love".
"You guys gonna stay the night". You asked the couple.
"Sure why not too lazy to get up now". Ona told you
"I'll get the blankets".Lucy said
"Uh huh not before I get them first". You both were now running.
"oh christ". ona mumbled before laughing at both of you, you guys were truly competitive siblings.
A/n: hope you enjoyed your request feel free to send in a player prompt and location and I'll the mini fic and as always feedbacks and comments are appreciated have a lovely day and enjoy reading 🫶🏾
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dotthings · 2 days
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Let me make this even clearer. Because Jensen and Misha both deserve better.
Given that we know they talk a lot about Destiel among themselves. They have told us, repeatedly. They've shared each other's perspectives with each other. They have an understanding.
Early misunderstandings and conflicts in pov aside (and do people want to keep circle jerking as if it's still 2014? Okay then. Have at it, but time moved on and you didn't): Jensen doesn't speak over Misha. Misha doesn't speak over Jensen.
Some things Misha has said about Dean or Destiel has resulted in Jensen stans attacking him. They always have some excuse--this past weekend it was because Misha acknowledged the idea of Dean and Cas having sex.
In the past, another example, backlash came at Misha for saying Cas saw love and acceptance in Dean's eyes.
(Which...sure does seem like the pearl-clutching about Misha's CR8 comments being too ribald is fake virtue signaling doesn't it, since even a statement from Misha wide open to platonic or romantic reading, that is 100% true about Dean, and how loving he is, how loving we know Dean is, how much we know Dean is going to accept and love Cas either way, got hatred aimed at Misha as if he had said something heinous. Tells me all I need to know about certain stans).
While Jensen's "Cas is an angel therefore his love is cosmic and unknowable impossible for humans to grasp let's not define it" and "open to interpretation" middleground to appease both sides and treading carefully for reasons, on a topic that's napalm in fandom (it shouldn't be, but that's the reality), might be construed as speaking over Misha.
But here's the thing!!! It's not!! From either of them!!
It seems very obvious by now that they decided Misha would be the loud one, with Jensen holding his cape, even if he doesn't join in , and Jensen walking a diplomatic middle line, also with Misha's understanding and support in turn.
When Misha goes off boldly about Destiel? People need to kick out that hate fantasy about Jensen being disrespected and Jensen must be wanting to punch Misha and Jensen must be so mad at Misha how dare Misha out of their heads, or get to the point where they can comprehend the difference between their own feelings vs Jensen's and quit projecting.
They didn't shut each other out. They talked about Destiel. They listened to each other. Highly likely, in fact, that they helped each develop or refine their talking points.
Neither of them has been shooting off their mouth about the other's character without having spoken to each other.
I don't have any hope for fans to stop the endless fighting and concern trolling and attacking either Jensen or Misha over it, needlessly, perpetually, but when it comes to Jensen and Misha...that's a hopeful space.
Misha's bluntness vs Jensen's carefully chosen middleground words complement each other are not in fact oppositional takes--they complement each other, there's room for both. They both know it's a mutually loving relationship.
Neither is trampling on the other's pov, and any views that don't perfectly align, they've already discussed and they respect each other.
These accusations at either of them are not true, they are not fair, and they both deserve better.
And now I'm staring right at a recent thing where Misha full on absolved Jensen of an accusation that various lanes kept throwing at him, and still weaponize, including Jensen stans who claim to be defending Jensen, because they want it to be true.
The response was manufactured drama where people called Misha a liar and doubling down.
They'd rather Jensen take the fall and they'd rather call Misha a liar than believe a soulless corporation that has been caught more than once exercising queer censorship could have committed queer censorship in a TV industry where it's common knowledge that queer censorship by broadcast TV networks happen???????
Wow gee can you feel the love in this Chili's. Great going. Excellent defense strategy. You're really such a big help. With fans like these, Jensen and Misha don't need antis.
A lot of it is agenda driven, and some anxiety driven, every lane's worried about other lanes react, because spn fandom is always a pain in the neck that way. Some people hate Destiel so much they need Jensen to be their antidestiel warrior they'll throw Jensen under a bus and stan for the corporation, or they're so anxious about how Destiel gets treated they blame Jensen and forever hold against him his past foot in mouth about the ship (which was a long time ago. Please stop punishing him endlessly when he's moved on and his perspectives are respectful, yet you're still stuck back there) rather than comprehending the actual systemic factors.
Jensen and Misha are both doing what they can to make it better.
They are trying to fix it!!!
People should show them more respect!!!!
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senseearly · 2 days
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One thing that I always think about post-dungeon recovery Mithrun who got home is that people were probably used to talking about him while he was still in the room.
Misiril's squad used to that when he was still in their care. Questions towards him were quickly redirected to others when he wouldn't (couldn't) answer their questions -- where was the rest of his squad? what happened to the demon? how did he even end up like this? Asking or talking to Mithrun is a pointless effort. So they stopped doing that.
And Mithrun, he's gotten used to this set-up, not like he could bring himself to care.
When his caretakers and visiting family started doing it, he continued to be apathetic to them (although, the numbness from this large, gaping hole in his chest makes him think that he used to care).
The caretakers would do their duties, but behind his back, they would probably gossip about Mithrun's chances of recovery. Others think there is still hope, a lot of them think this is going to be permanent. Which is good, at least to their business, because Mithrun's brother pays a lot to make sure he is alive. And Mithrun...is not in the state to do that himself. They at least try to whisper when they're around Mithrun, keep their voices low or mention him under an alias or a codename. But Mithrun knows they are talking about him. He is the elephant in the room.
His visiting family is less nice. They take one look at him and weep -- not out of worry, or pity, or sadness -- but of shame. There is no way they can show him to others anymore, they bemoan. There is no way he can represent himself as a member of the House of Kerensil, they cry. He's just like his brother! And, once upon a time, that comment would've hurt Mithrun, a stab right into his heart. But all he feels is a gaping numbness that cannot be filled (It used to be full, he can't help but think).
I wish he had died, someone from his family said while he was within earshot. And Mithrun, barely alive but still breathing, cannot bring himself to care.
The only person that I think would be delighted to see him alive, at least, is his brother. I can see him visiting Mithrun whenever he can (at least in elf time terms). Talking to him as if he can respond, asking him about things when Mithrun can't bring himself to answer. At some point, Mithrun's brother stopped talking to him when he visits; instead, he would just sit next to Mithrun and watch the birds and the flowers. He would drink tea and Mithrun would do nothing.
But once in a while, Mithrun's brother would tell him, I'm glad you came home, I'm glad you're still alive.
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c-nstantine · 2 days
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Hi! I know at the moment you aren't accepting requests, but I thought of something super cute and wanted to share! It came to me after I remembered something my dad told me when i was roughly 7 or 8 (I'm nearly 23 now)... My had asked my dad why he would do things with me (like let me put makeup on him and do his nails) that a lot of other dads don't do with their daughters. He picked me up and told me, "Because I want you to ALWAYS know your worth as a person, not just as a girl. You are worth more than any treasure in the world, and I NEVER want you to forget that. You can do anything, be anything you desire, and I will always be right there proudly cheering you on." Anyway... Imagine Bruce dancing with a child black batsis during a gala! Like she's standing on his shoes in a pretty dress and they are just having a cute father daughter dance and when the dance ends Bruce just takes a knee and kisses her hand like you see in movies and then gives her a thornless rose. And she just falls asleep in his arms on the car ride back to the manor. 🥰🥰🥰🥰
Wait, because that so cute. Bruce is definitely the reason Y/N doesn't settle. Ever since she was a little girl, he has been making sure that she knew her value and worth. I would also like to say Bruce didn't realize the amount of shit he would get for adopting a little black girl. People were always talking shit and he did what he could to end it expeditiously. Let someone try to talk about her in the magazines, Wayne Enterprises would buy them and shut them down. A little kid was mean to her, he's talking to the headmaster. Some blog talking shit, a cease and desist was sent.
A core memory for Black!batsis is her first daddy-daughter date. She remembers how Bruce let her pick out what ever dress she wanted to wear, had someone style her hair so she could feel like a princess. It was just her and Bruce for the whole day. The two of them did everything from shopping, going to the movies, to getting ice cream in the park. But what she remembers most about that day is how Bruce carried her into bed and tucked her in and told her how he would always love her.
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Hot take maybe but I think Bertie would be FAR more likely to survive the first two months of Dracula than Jeeves would be. Bertie has a healthy sense of self-preservation. Jeeves consistently underestimates how dangerous a situation might get (Steeple Bumpleigh, the club book) because he’s overconfident about his level of control over any given situation. He'd handle Dracula masterfully if they faced off in England, but on Dracula's home turf? Much more doubtful.
I realize this might be a tough sell, so I will explain further (or it's not a tough sell, and I'm going to explain further because I want to). (criteria taken from @canyourfavesurvivecastledracula) Without further ado.
Would Jeeves and Wooster survive Castle Dracula?
Jeeves
Jeeves' survival will depend on how long Dracula finds him more entertaining than irritating. On that basis, I don't think he's long for this world. On the one hand, he has a huge wealth of knowledge about English society and culture that he can recite perfectly from memory. That should buy him at least a little time with noted teaboo Dracula.
On the other hand, he would be absolutely no fun as a vampire plaything. Jeeves cannot be got. Sneaking up on him while he's shaving will yield zero reaction (though that's at least good for his short-term survival--given that, although he DID take the crucifix from the old woman out of politeness, he certainly isn't going to wear it. The rules of fashion don't go out the window just because you're in a spooky castle). Then, although managing the whims of rich jerks is not an insignificant part of a valet's job, Jeeves usually does this by bending his employers to his will. Dracula is not the sort of employer this will work on. It'll just add insult to injury when on top of being impossible to scare, NOW Jeeves is telling Dracula that his favorite cloak is several centuries out of fashion and he's not allowed to wear it anymore.
Jeeves will 100% go exploring in the areas he was told not to go-- though to be fair, he MIGHT actually get away with this, what with his superpower of appearing in rooms without being seen or heard. Said superpower might save him from the brides as well (though this is by no means guaranteed). Since I find it doubtful that Dracula would come to rescue his annoying ass, not being noticed is his best defense.
There are a couple other things working in Jeeves's favor; the question is just whether they'll be enough to save him.
He DOES know shorthand, and could try to send coded letters. He might even have the foresight to squirrel away some extra stationary where Dracula can't find it. But could he get them posted? Would it even do him any good?
He certainly has enough cultural literacy to figure out what his new boss is pretty quickly. If he didn't chuck the crucifix out the carriage window, he might start carrying it around in his pocket.
Psychology of the individual, sure, but the individual in question is a 400-year-old vampire who lives in an isolated castle in a foreign country and is regarded as a terrifying mythological figure in the surrounding villages. Jeeves has never come up against anything this alien before, he's cut off from his normal resources, and opportunities to play people against each other are limited.
He probably has enough upper body strength from all that shrimping and fishing to climb the wall, so he COULD escape if he wanted to, if he survived long enough. It's just, again, that overconfidence, and also Dracula has a vast library full of rare old books that are entirely at his disposal. He's keeping his eyes and ears alert for potential escape strategies, of course, but I don't see him being as desperate to get out as Jonathan was.
There are just a lot of "depends on"s here, and I'm not convinced that luck would shake out in Jeeves's favor, all things considered.
Bertie
Bertie is so perfect for the job of Castle Dracula Prisoner it's like it was made for him. Think about it. Being held against his will in big manor houses comes more naturally to him than breathing. He's afraid of things that are scary. A lifetime of dealing with Aunt Agatha has made him the world's preeminent expert in "curl[ing] up in a ball in the hope that a meek subservience [will] enable [him] to get off lightly." He will NEVER go exploring in places he's been warned away from if nobody is forcing him to (Rev. Aubrey Upjohn's office notwithstanding. There were biscuits in there). He's both fun to talk to and easy to toy with (and extremely English). A+ prisoner. Dracula adores him.
In my opinion, Bertie is at Castle Dracula either because Aunt Agatha got some wires seriously crossed and thinks he’s going to meet an eligible potential bride (I mean, there are certainly brides there), or because Dracula has something Aunt Dahlia wants him to steal (far less likely, given that one of Dracula’s THINGS is famously not owning anything silver). Either way, he's shown himself entirely willing and able to escape down drainpipes if a sitch gets too scaly.
He DOES take the crucifix, and DOES wear it (which is what will save him during the shaving scene, because you KNOW he's going to jump a foot and cut himself like the dickens). He's read enough supernatural goosefleshers to be genre savvy about terrified old women cryptically pushing crucifixes into one's hands. I also think his sunny disposish endeared him to the villagers, and they were particularly vehement about urging him not to go. He doesn't speak German or Romanian, but he's empathetic enough to recognize Pure Terror. So by the time he actually gets to the castle, his imagination is already running wild and he's plenty aware that he is in imminent danger.
I think the biggest risk to Bertie will be the brides; whether or not he's susceptible to trances, if he thinks they're trying to marry him, it's against the code of the Woosters to turn them down. But that only becomes an issue if he comes face to face with them, which, luckily, I think is unlikely on account of the aforementioned "won't go exploring" (and if he did, Dracula would definitely rescue him).
I'm inclined to say due to his drainpipe-escape habits that he WOULD be able to climb the wall and MAY attempt to sneak into Dracula's room to look for the keys if his desperation grows to outweigh his fear. Whether he does or not, though, he does NOT have the stomach to attempt shovel murder, and therefore won't get magic brain fever, and may very well simply walk out the front doors when the people come to take the boxes away. OR he climbs his way out like Jonathan did. Either way.
When Bertie tells this story at the Drones later, Tuppy will say that no doubt it's been greatly exaggerated and all that probably happened was that he spent a couple months in an oldish house entertaining a weird loner.
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thecrowsart · 3 days
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people: omg we finally get to see hyper! me: omg we finally get to see more angles of kusuriuri's clothes! observations and (A LOT OF) ranting under the cut:
1.)
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The inside sleeve design has been revealed! It's pretty similar to the outside design but instead of that four-petal design, it's a gold circle. Also, it looks like the large eye is shared by both sides, but based on how the sleeve looks in other images, it must be really really big..... I guess they can get away with it lol. Like, if you laid out the sleeve fabric, I think it would look like this:
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2.)
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THE BACK OF HIS OBI. What the hell kinda knot is this actually... like, does anyone here know about obimusubi because I'm not very good at knots but if it comes down to it I will learn how this works. I already thought this based on the promo art but it seems like his obi fabric is double-sided, with purple on one side and the check pattern on the other, with a red trim. That lighter salmon color in the knot seems to be a different fabric, maybe an obiage? It's not tucked into the front so I'm not sure if that's the right term, but in any case it's some kind of extra fabric. If the purple and check are really one piece of fabric, then the knot is like... a hitch? It's some kind of one-loop bow, and it's quite bulky so he might have an obimakura in there. Whatever it is, it's considerably more elaborate than OG Kusuriuri's obi, which was that red brocade just tied into a large crooked bow. Who is helping movie Kusuriuri get dressed in the morning? (I'm sure he can do it himself and I commend him for the dedication to the aesthetic lol).
3.)
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His mirror is now kept looped around this thick cord that kind of comes out of nowhere and disappears into his obi. First of all, how is the mirror staying up like that since the string is only looped once. Second, the thick white cord looks the same as the one that comes out of the left side of his obi and loops around his back, but I'm not sure how they would connect. Logically, they probably are the same cord and it goes through his obimusubi somehow. 4.)
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This one was actually noticeable in the very first trailer as you can tell, since the second screenshot is from that trailer, but I somehow never noticed it until now. Kusuriuri has neck markings now! In a different frame I caught a glimpse of the part that goes into his collar, it looks like a circle, though it's not visible in either of these screenshots. But from the first screenshot and some other frames I saw, it looks somewhat off-center. I wasn't sure if it was just a weird frame at first, but it looks consistent the few other times (time?) that part of his neck is visible. It looks like the strip of red that leads down to the circle curves off to the left rather than going straight down the center. I didn't realize this before but his neck is actually concealed in most of the promo images.
5.)
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A better look at the back of his socks, plus two things that were visible this whole time but I didn't notice: first, his black leggings have this folded layer you can probably see on top. I'm not sure how to describe it and I don't know exactly how it works. It seems weird to me that he would have three sock layers (outer black, inner black, white), so I think the two black layers are probably still part of the same sock. I'm just not sure exactly what's up with it. Secondly, his geta have metal corners on the teeth! I don't think I've seen that on real geta, so maybe it's just a random detail, but if it's a thing on some real geta, I wonder if it's to keep the wood from wearing away there. Also another think I'm just noticing, there's a reinforcing wedge of wood under the front part of his geta that overhand the front tooth. You can see it a little in the second image.
Overall, that's all the new design stuff I noticed. Since I just drew him twice and spent like all day thinking about this, I've realized his design is way more elaborate than the original one. He has a bunch of little doodads, like the ties around his ankle or that decorative tie that comes out of his ohashori:
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which still bothers me because I've never seen the back of it. Where are those strings going. And how is it secured in the first place? is it tied or pinned underneath his ohashori, like on the tie under the obi (not sure if there's a name for it)? What is it? Why does he have this here?
These details as well as things like the corners and wedge on his geta, the red trim on the obi and the check pattern, and his elaborate eye make up are all design elements that could never really have worked for a tv show. It's impressive to me even that OG Kusuriuri had that hand drawn brocade texture and the designs on his kimono that he did. It's the type of thing animators usually avoid, lol.
I like the movie design visually, but my god is it a pain in the ass to draw. Due to the aforementioned details of course and the wider variety of colors. Oh yeah, my last (for real) observation is that this Kusuriuri looks a lot less human than our OG friend. His skin is entirely whitish-grey, and he has that white/purple and red hair, and now he has markings on his neck instead of just on his face. (Unrelated but I feel like they made his lip tattoo less prominent and it makes me sad because it's one of my favorite things about Kusuriuri's design). But Hyper, from that very small glimpse we caught of him, looks more mundane than the original. I think it's the combination of his black hair and his markings being red instead of gold. I wonder what the rest of him will look like.... It was interesting to me that his face is drawn differently from Kusuriuri. In the TV anime, they have the same face shape and features, but their hair and coloring is different. And OG Hyper had a slightly different version of Kusuriuri's clothes. We can't see this new Hyper's clothes, but his face is more square looking. He looks like a different person... interesting lore implications.
Okay, I really must stop there.
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