#that could have been something but as it stands i think its so unnecessary and...yeah flat

[sodrippy]

the thing about shiv and the baby and motherhood is i really dont think she'd care. i dont think she's ever had any interest in those things, in fact she's made it a point to be as far from those things as possible to show her father she's a serious person and as close to one of the boys as she can get. i still think people making digs about her ability to be a mother would be insulting to her insofar as they are meant to insult her, an incredibly prideful person who tries very hard to always be seen as hypercompetent no matter the task.

if anything, i think it might make sense that she found out about the pregnancy before logan died but i truly don't think she'd keep it once he was dead. he's about the only person she would keep the baby for, like she might feel it would give her leverage or sympathy, but once logan is gone the baby honestly is nothing but liability to her. it makes her perceived as less serious about the business it takes her out of the running for ceo or any real power.

i know theres obviously threads of inescapability as with every character in the show, and the ways in which shiv has tread on other women to get where she is yet cannot help being entrapped by the same things as those women, but i also feel like there's just something. i dont want to say misogynistic but the way shows sort of inevitably use motherhood as an intrinsic humanity-finder, like see she's a decent person she's keeping the baby she's not heartless, or whatever, is so flat and reductive, to me.

also of course, they might have done it with more nuance if it was yknow. actually planned and written in from the start of the season.

#i think there are ways in which it could have been interesting #like if we actually got to see her grapple with it and figure out if she was keeping the baby or not #that could have been something but as it stands i think its so unnecessary and...yeah flat #but at the end of the day i really dont think she gives a fuck and i am really sick of seeing any Woman character fall into this motherhood #-thing esp when its characters who you know would be unaffected by it #again i think theres def room for shiv to have a struggle with it of like #dreams she used to have for herself and expectations her family enforced vs what shes already given up to come this far etc right #but the way shes all gutpunched about people saying she'd be a bad mother i think is like. idk the way its been done is left wanting yk? #succession #actually i think an interesting true to character way might even have been her changing her mind and keeping the baby out of spite- #-in direct response to what tom says in the tailgate fight #i would feel thats more realistic for her to have decided not to keep the baby but then bc tom goes out of his way to make that comment #and to make her hurt she keeps the baby to show him what a great mother she will be. all without him! #and then of course. the cycles. #that would have been more honest i think than whatever theyve done instead

[rvjaa]

You know I love you, right?

Simon Riley x fem!reader

Summary; You lost him. But what if you two are destined to meet again? And your paths lead you straight back to each other?

Warnings; angst?, mentions of death, slight fluff i guess?, / soft!simon, happy ending.

A/n; I hope you enjoy this fic! I really liked writing this and if you like it maybe i could do a second part? :)

Word count; 2,4k

You had known Simon since childhood. He and you met in a park when you were little, you had hurt your knee and he noticed, walked up to you and helped you back to your mother. Your mother adored Simon, she took him in like her own and it was the same with Simons mum. She had loved you so dearly and after she was killed, you were destroyed from the inside. They blamed Simon for his mother death, and the second you found out about it you knew it couldn’t be true.

Simon adored his mother and you knew he wouldn’t do anything like that. So after the incident you made it your mission to find him again. They all said he was dead, they said he wasn’t going to come back. You didn’t believe that.

You had enlisted for the army not long after Simons mothers passing. You couldn’t stay home and wallow in Manchester forever so you decided to join the military to help people and maybe with a lot of good luck, find Simon Riley again.

Its been many years since that and you’re still here but now you’re higher rank, one of the most respected women in the bases and if you can say so yourself, a hell of a sniper.

You like working alone, no distractions or awkward conversations and no unnecessary attachments. But now you’re being transferred to Task Force 141, a special operations unit. You have heard about them yes and even though you tried to resist— Kate Laswell said the Captain desperately wanted you on his team.

You gave in and said yes to the offer, so now you’re on your way to their base. You feel nervous, you haven’t worked with a full team for ages and you’re pretty sure your people skills aren’t very good. But you knew that the 141 is a big deal so why not? New opportunities you think.

You’re getting out of the heli and you see a man with a bucket hat jogging towards you and waving. You guess this is the infamous Captain Price and move towards him.

“Sergeant! Happy to have you here. Captain Price” He welcomes you and offers you a hand to shake. You shake his hand and answer “Captain, thank you for having me.” You smile to him and he nods.

“You must want to meet the team yeah? Walk with me.” He says and you start walking towards the base. You walk beside him and listen when he asks something, “so sergeant I hear they call you Dove, is that right?” He asks your callsign and you nod.

“Yeah Dove is good” you answer and he nods at you. You’re having a conversation with the Captain while walking and now you’re here, standing in front of the door conference room.

“Ready Dove?” Price asks you and you exhale. “Yes, lets get this over with.” You answer and he goes first and keeps the door open for you and you nod as a thank you.

“Alright men, this is our new sergeant. Play nice and introduce yourselves please” the Captain says and you look at the first man standing in front of you. “They call me Soap, nice to meet you lass” the mohawk haired man says in a very Scottish accent.

You nod “nice to meet you Soap, they call me Dove” you say repeating his words and he flashes a grin. “Dove eh? What for?” He asks and you smile slightly. “You’ll find out” you raise your eyebrows playfully and he chuckles and moves so the other men can introduce themselves.

The next man is— You don’t know how to describe him. He has a slight boyish charm to him “hey love, I’m Gaz nice to have you on board” he says and smiles at you.

You like him already, he has a good vibe attached to him. “Pleased to meet you Gaz, I’m Dove” you tell him and flash him a small smile.

Then at last but definitely not least a skull masked man comes to your view. Man he is BIG, you think. All you can see from his face is his eyes and they slightly look familiar but you can’t place why they do.

“Ghost” is all he says and you nod at him, not everyone is social and you can respect that. “Dove” you say and you see a weird emotion flicker in his eyes, he only nods and thankfully Price interrupts your weird eye contact.

“So now that we all are introduced you’re dismissed. Dove lets go to my office yeah?” Price says and you finally peer your eyes away from the skull faced man. You nod and step around Ghost to follow Price. Maybe he’ll show you their files finally you think. You had been refused when you had asked for the team’s files before and you’ve been itching to find out who your new teammates are.

“Here we are” the Captain says and you step inside of his office behind him. “So I’ve heard you had been asking the files of our team yes?” He asks you while setting himself down on his chair and you walk to the chair opposite of him.

“Yeah I just wanted to know who I was going to be working with you know.” You say to him while sitting down on the chair and he nods at you and he smiles.

“Well this is your lucky day sergeant. Of course they have seen your file too except the Lieutenant because he hasn’t had any time yet but he will eventually” Price explains and then he opens a drawer on his desk and pulls out a stack of files.

“Here you are, take your time and read through them. I will do some paper work in the mean time.” He hands you the stack and you open the first one and its Gaz— Or Kyle Garrick.

You read through his file and move on to the next one. Its the Captain’s file, John Price huh? It makes sense, his name fits him you think. The next file is Johnny ‘Soap’ MacTavishes file and you furrow your brows, John and Johnny? Huh. You smile at the coincidence and go through his file quickly, because you know who’s file the last one is and you’re curious about him.

You place the last file on top and the first thing you notice is that there’s no picture? You brush it off and open the file.

You freeze.

Lieutenant Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley.

It can’t be him. No no— You can’t believe this. Yes one of the reasons you joined the military was Simon and his sudden disappearance but you had lost hope many years ago— You had shed tears for him and for what? Him to be alive?—

You look to his birthday and you know its him. Bury the feelings, bury the feelings, shove them as down as possible! Whatever— maybe he doesn’t recognize you. Its been years since you last saw each other, you were young then and now you’re older, and definitely not the same person you were 10 years ago and you bet he isn’t either.

“Sergeant? Are you okay?” You hear the Captain ask and you lift your head to look at him and nod. “Yeah I’m almost finished” you answer and he just nods and goes back to his work.

You keep reading Ghosts— Simon’s? File and your eyes widen. He went through hell and you almost can’t believe what you’re reading. Buried alive? Family murdered and staged to look like it was him? Oh god.

You close his file and hand the files back to the Captain “here sir, thank you for letting me read through them.” You say and force a smile.

He nods and stands up “shall we finally take you to your room?” He asks and you nod eagerly. “Yes please” you say and he chuckles.

You’re walking with Price through the halls when you hear a voice calling for him. You instantly recognize it and you tense up “Captain!" Simon jogs up to you— more to the Captain but whatever—

“Can we talk?” Simon asks and you avoid eye contact with him. “Sure just a minute, go to my office I’ll be there in 5” the captain says and you hear a gruffy ‘copy.’

The Captain showed you your new room and then dismissed himself to go meet the Lieutenant. Now you’re sitting on the floor, leaning to your bed— which is surprisingly big.

What are you going to do?

Avoiding him all together would be the best plan but you work together so you don’t want to make it more difficult. Acting clueless? No. He will see through it, you know he would. Maybe just avoid the subject? Yeah. That seems the most reasonable idea.

You sigh and press your face to your hands. You don’t know Simon anymore, so you don’t know how he would— will react.

Your thoughts are interrupted by a loud knock. You think to ignore it but then the person on the other side of the door knocks again— but this time softer.

Then you hear your name being called and you freeze at the voice. It’s him— it’s Simon. You slowly start getting up from your sitting position and start creeping towards the door.

Your hands are shaking while you slowly reach to the door handle. You open the door and see him. He looks as anxious— if not more than you. You swallow “Simon.” You exhale and suddenly you’re being pushed back inside of your room, he steps in and slams the door shut.

You don’t know what to expect. Him to yell at you? Maybe.

But no. You’re being pulled in to an embrace.

“I couldn’t find you—“ Simon rasps out while he’s gripping you for dear life. You sneak your arms around his torso. “I thought you were dead” you say

“I thought you were GONE, Simon.” You choke up and suddenly your legs are giving out and he grumbles to the floor with you. He presses his hand on your head and you sob to his chest “I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!” You yell at him and hit his chest over and over again.

He grabs you hand and brings it on his heart. “I’m sorry.” Is the only thing he says to you. You can’t say anything to him, you’re just leaning on him. You shake your head in disbelief, you still can’t believe he is alive.

You need to get away from him, you can’t— You can’t do this again. You have already lost him once you can’t risk to go through the pain again. You are both in the military, the job doesn’t promise you coming back from the missions. You’re soldiers, its not allowed to love another soldier. Especially when he’s your lieutenant. But you do love him, oh how you love this man.

The first night you heard he was dead you couldn’t sleep, you threw up all night. The heartbreak was suffocating, you can’t do that again.

You push yourself away from him and get up. You turn your back to him and try to take deep breaths. You hear a small thump on the floor which you assume is something he dropped but still don’t turn back to look.

He calls your name. You shake your head “I can’t do this Simon. I can’t lose you again, i can’t go through that pain again— I just—“ You try to explain but you can’t think straight.

He says your name again but softer. It makes you look at him and you freeze. He’s still on his knees but he took his mask off. You haven’t seen his face in years, oh how he has grown in to his features. Scarred face but still so so handsome, your fingers twitch to touch his face.

A tear slips down your face, you’ve missed him so much. You take your gaze from his face to the wall and close your eyes. You exhale and furrow your brows.

You open your eyes again and turn around. You cant resist the temptation to go to him. You walk towards him and he just stares at you. “Si” you whisper, mostly to yourself but emotion in his eyes flicker when you say his nickname you called him through out the years.

He’s looking up at you, not much because he’s so damn large hes almost to up to your chest even though you’re standing up and he’s kneeling on the floor. You are standing in front of him, smiling slightly you reach your hands towards his face to touch him. You brush over his features and all his scars. He leans in to your touch and closes his eyes.

“I missed you, Simon” you say to him and his eyes open again. The emotion is plastered in his eyes “I know” he says and you frown in confusion, how could he know how much you’ve missed him?

“I missed you too, Dove” he says and smiles to you. You freeze, the nickname he had used for you is now your callsign and you know he knows why.

You sit back down next to him. He raises his arm to loop around your shoulders and you lean back to his touch. Pressing your face on his chest you breathe him in.

“You know I was going to propose you.” He says and you flinch up to look at his eyes in shock.

“I mean not right away, I had this plan. I was going to ask you to a date with me, with good luck you would have said yes, we would’ve dated for a few years, maybe move in together some place nice like you deserved. Then I would’ve taken you out on to the beach you loved so much, have a picnic and ask you to marry me.” He tells you and you feel tears building up.

“I would have said yes you know.” You tell him and he looks surprised. “I’m sorry I gave up on you Simon.” You apologize and look down to avoid eye contact.

“No. I should’ve had worked harder to find you.” Simon shuts you down and tilts your head back from your chin to look at him. “I saw your mother.” He tells you— oh.

“How was she?” You ask and he smiles. “She was shocked to see me, cried a bit. She told me that she hadn’t seen you in years.” He says and you frown.

“I just— I couldn’t go back. There was too many memories it was too painful.” I explained looking to the wall frowning.

He exhales “sweet girl” he says to get your attention back to him. You look back to his eyes, he holds a comforting look in them.

“I can’t lose you again Simon.” You tell him trying to swallow your tears. His hand goes to your cheek “You won’t. I promise you” he says sternly.

“You know I love you, right?”

#simon riley x you #simon riley x reader #simon riley #simon ghost riley x reader #simon ghost riley #simon riley imagine #ghost x you #simon ‘ghost’ riley #simon ‘ghost’ riley x reader #simon ghost riley imagine #ghost call of duty #call of duty fanfic #call of duty imagine #simon riley x female reader #simon riley x fem!reader

[shares-a-vest]

Missed You

Eddie has been on a small tour with Corroded Coffin for the past month, leaving not long after New Year and travelling around a few states, but not straying too far. The tour had gone well and they'd managed to book a few more gigs later in the year, as well as make a few decent contacts that might (probably not) lead to something. But the others wanted to kick on and do some site-seeing in Chicago.

"Alright, boys, I'm going home to the wife," he had said to his bandmates, trying to sound casual through a laugh even though he was counting down the minutes before he could leave.

Eddie missed Steve so much it's kinda pathetic.

He had told Steve he'd be home later in the night but he decided to leave early, forgoing a night's sleep. Who needs it anyway? And he might have skipped telling the guys about the part where he needed to get home in time for Valentine’s Day.

What Eddie doesn't know is that Steve is heading off to work way too early, thinking that the sooner he starts the day, the quicker it will end and they'll be reunited. Equally sappy and pathetic. Actually Steve has missed Eddie a lot. Like, a lot, a lot.

Steve gathers up his bag, and tucks his folder under his arm, his car keys dangling from the keychain in his mouth so he can maneuver around and open the apartment door.

"Oh god!" he shrieks, dropping his folder and spilling its contents everywhere on the threshold as his keys fall to the ground.

"Easy there, Big Boy!" Eddie laughs, patting him on the chest and crouching down to gather up the fallen papers and keys.

He quickly gathers up everything, shoving it back into the blue folder that's covered with stickers. He stands and flicks it into Steve's chest, knocking a huff out of him.

"Holy shit!" he says, finally looking his boyfriend over.

Steve of course, is wearing the signature polo he reserves for Valentine’s Day. Pastel pink that is impossibly cute with his little heart-shaped pin on the shirt collar. And yeah, yeah, Steve’s wearing his glasses that still make Eddie fawn even though he’s been wearing them for years now which makes him look like the world's cutest nerd. But Eddie stops when he finally focuses in on the two little furry brown caterpillars above Steve's top lip.

Maybe it’s just because he hasn't seen Steve in a month, but Eddie swears this is the hottest his boyfriend has ever looked.

"Holy shit," he repeats, leaning in close enough that Steve starts backing into the apartment. "You have a moustache."

"Oh yeah," Steve stutters before chuckling. "Just wanted a change."

Eddie places his hands on Steve's hips and guides him to the blank patch of wall between the coat rack and hall stand. Steve backs against it with a thump as his shoes hit the skirting board and he honest-to-god whimpers as he rakes an eye over Eddie. He huffs, sets his bag down and lets his folder fall to the floor again.

"And you have a new earring," Eddie smiles, flicking his right ear.

"Gotta do something to distract away from my hearing aid," Steve argues, even though he's all breathy and flustered, ghosting his hands over Eddie's tummy.

He pouts. "Don’t say that. Anyway, why were you going off to school so early, muffin?"

He can't help it. He doesn't wait for an answer. Instead, he starts nibbling just under Steve's right ear, earning a sigh that sounds both frustrated and relieved.

"Oh just..." Steve trails off, shrugging. "Filling... in... time - "

He cuts himself off with a very unnecessary groan.

"Speaking of time," Eddie sings, moving to his neck. "What time do you absolutely, one thousand percent need to be at school?"

He feels Steve lift his arm, presumably to look at his watch.

"I mean, I could just get there at 9?"

Eddie smiles and wills himself away from Steve's neck. He's left a soft mark, but it's nowhere near dark enough yet. He cups his cheeks and Steve smiles. He doesn't even let Eddie kiss him. Instead, Steve leans forward and hugs him tight, burying his face in the crook of his neck.

"Missed you," he mumbles.

"Missed you too, Steve," Eddie gets out through a gasp. Shit, Steve is strong.

They stay like this for a few moments, clinging onto each other tight in the tiny hallway of their apartment. They only separate when Eddie feels a creature circling his legs and looks down to find their grey cat, Gandalf.

"Hello, darling," he coos.

Steve reluctantly detaches himself from him to look down too and shakes his head.

"Don't coddle him," Steve whines. "He's been a total nightmare."

"That's my boy."

"Precisely. He's your cat."

As a bargaining chip, Eddie reaches up and runs his hands through Steve's perfectly quaffed hair, eliciting a very different whine.

"How's your back, baby?" he barely gets out for giggling.

"Fine," Steve laughs, leaning his head against the wall and looking him over with lust-filled eyes.

"Good, carry me to the bedroom."

"Yes, sir!"

Steve barely manages a faint salute before he attempts to scoop Eddie up. It's a little awkward and they almost fall over because it appears Eddie was thinking more of a bridal-style carry but Steve starts hooking a leg around his hips. The tussling causes Gandalf to (thankfully) scamper away, off the wreak havoc and likely knock over things because the cretin thrives on negative attention.

"Dude, what are you doing!"

"Carrying you!" Steve giggles, manhandling him so both his legs are firmly wrapped around his waist.

Steve cups his butt and raises a suggestive eyebrow. As he quite unfairly flexes those arms, Eddie spots a tattoo on his inner left forearm.

"And what is this?" he quizzes as Steve starts down the hall.

"Got a new tattoo."

Eddie squirms around, trying to get a better look at the ink peaking out from under the tight polo sleeves but Steve’s arms just won’t budge.

"You went to a tattoo parlour without me?" Eddie laments, pouting dramatically. "What is it?"

"I missed you," is all Steve says as he lays him down on the bed and crawls on top of him.

Having raced to school just in time for the first bell, Steve forgets his lunch, office keys, and meds. He had to ask the receptionist, old Miss Crandal to let him into his office as he stuttered out an excuse, looking very flustered and lacking the calm and poise of a guidance councillor. Maybe he should have listened to his devil boyfriend and called in sick because he's practically falling asleep at his desk as the last student before lunch heads out.

On autopilot, he reaches down for his lunch bag and wants to sob because of course he forgot that too.

He slumps forward on the desk. As soon as his forehead squishes onto the paperwork set out in front of him, he startles at the knock on the door frame.

And of course, it's Eddie. Looking calm and put together and like he hadn't been whispering the most filthy things in his ear mere hours ago.

"Hi!" he says too innocently as he steps into the office and holds out his precious forgotten lunch bag.

Steve looks at Eddie's ring-adroned fingers gripping the bag and feels a blush rush up his neck.

"What are you doing here!" he dry-sobs, screwing his eyes shut and leaning back in his wheely chair.

Eddie rustles the bag. "You forgot your lunch, sweetheart."

"And I bought you chocolates," he continues, dimples dotting his cheeks as he produces a heart-shaped box from behind his back.

He too-delicately sets them on the desk and sits opposite Steve before he can give a (pleading) "get out". Nevertheless, he goes for the box first. Maybe it will give him a much-needed sugar boost to get through the rest of the day.

"Nah-uh," Eddie tuts, shaking his head. "Sandwich and meds first."

Steve grumbles and pointedly sets aside the red box, snatching up his lunch bag instead. At that Eddie hops up, rounds the desk and sits squarely on his lap.

"What are you doing!" he whines, even though he wraps an arm around Eddie to steady them.

"Having lunch with you," he coos, brushing a hand through Steve's hair as he takes a big bite of his sandwich.

"You are so annoying!" he complains through a mouthful of food.

"That's not what you said this morning."

"Please don't remind me," Steve shoots back, shifting in his seat.

Eddie barks a laugh. "You carried me to the bedroom!"

"You told me too!" Steve rebuffs and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.

Despite his supposed annoyance, Steve squeezes him tighter and momentarily abandons his beloved sandwich to settle Eddie's legs across his lap, causing the chair to give a warning squeak.

"Make you dinner?" Eddie offers, running his index finger along Steve's new earring, a small silver cuff halfway up his ear.

Steve nods as he continues downing his sandwich in record time.

"Starving," he mumbles and reaches for his meds.

Eddie places his wandering hand back up in his hair, attempting to smooth it out. It got completely messed up this morning but now it looks like Steve's been running his hands through it in tired frustration all morning.

"I'm home now to take care of you, sweets," he croons, looking Steve over as he swallows his meds with a grimace.

"Missed you," Steve sighs as rests his head against Eddie's, holding him tighter still.

#this was inspired by a photoset of joe keery's with a moustache that i somehow didn't reblog and now i can't find gahhhh #also apologies if i post too many valentine's things in the next 48hrs i wrote/drafted too many now i'm swimming in them #steddie #steddie ficlet #steddie: valentine's day edition #steve harrington #eddie munson

[charliespringverse]

iwbft – ghosted: a Bonus brief summary of my annotations

all highlighted quotes: 91

· ouch/ow/owie: 5

· real/felt/relatable/so true: 4

· ☹/☹☹/☹☹☹: 4

She said Shrek and Fiona, and then told me she never wanted to be famous. — the double life thing babeyy

“Jimmy,” he heaves out, and I feel a stab of panic in my chest. — just hearing ur friend's name shouldn't be enough to trigger panic unless u already know something is Very Wrong . at which point i feel they should've pushed for further help instead of finishing out the tour

“We can’t leave Jimmy out.” Lister stands shirtless in the middle of the room and spins around on the spot. — fuck yeah trio tingz :')

It almost makes me laugh how polite and casual Rowan manages to sound, despite the fact that our best friend is missing. — IT'S A DEFENCE MECHANISM!!!!!

I only wonder how much of it is my fault. — none of it bb dw :( he is Not With It enough to be thinking abt anyone but himself rn

“But I can’t drive.” Rowan stares at me. “I thought you had lessons.” “I only had three lessons.” And then I got bored, or tired, or busy, or all three. — ... adhd lister btw

Why would he do this to us? To me? — i think jimmy's dependence on rowan is more reciprocated than he realises

If we weren’t in a famous band together, I’m not sure whether we’d still be friends now. — this rly hurts my feelings and it hurts more bc he isn't necessarily Wrong i don't think

“You do know I can play eight instruments, right?” “But not the drums, huh.” Rowan folds his arms. “You will never let me live that down.” — LISTERROWAN BESTIEISM BANTER BABEY

“But you think I’m an idiot who has nothing intelligent to say.” “I don’t think that.” “Yeah, you do. You’d much rather I was the one who was missing right now.” Rowan doesn’t respond. We both know I’m right. — WELL MAYBE BUT U DON'T HAVE TO TELL ME THAT. I DON'T WANNA THINK ABOUT IT.

“I wish you wouldn’t—” he begins but is cut off when his phone buzzes. — i hate that the phone gave him a get out from being open n sincere w lister :^(

“That’s a Southeastern Railway train,” says Lister instantly. “You can tell by the seat patterns.” — [freddie mercury voice] auuuuutism auuuuutism i want to ride my autism (note: this is summat @to-grill-a-mockingbird says and now i can never get it out of my head)

“He needs a night off.” "A night off from … what? His entire life?” Piero chuckles. “Yes.” — i mean ouch but also Yeah

“That was good news. He hasn’t been kidnapped. He just needed a nap.” “Can you not make a joke about this situation for like one fucking minute, Allister?” — could be the tism on my end but i didn't take this as a joke . jimmy needs a break, piero told them that, lister has seen enough to agree . (also: lister has Also contemplated running away so it makes sense he's less eager to bring jimmy back to ldn bc he doesn't see it as fixing the problem the same way rowan does)

Why do I always have to be the serious one? The worrier? Why can’t someone else do the worrying sometimes? — other ppl Do worry . but not so much that it becomes its own problem worthy of therapy

We save the deep chats for Jimmy. Jimmy doesn’t open up very often, but you know Jimmy will listen if you have something serious to say. — vs jimmy's wednesday narration 'we don't ever talk about deep stuff, me and lister bird' :((((

This whole bedroom is something out of twelve-year-old Lister’s wildest fantasies—it’s spacious and modern, with one floor-to-ceiling window, dark walls, LED lights behind the headboard, and a fifty-inch TV. — what u lack as a child you seek as an adult etc etc (space, material possessions, money)

Rowan’s room is always tidy. He puts away his clothes at the end of the day and makes his bed in the mornings. — always craving order & control :(

Rowan loves to criticize me about buying unnecessary things, but all I need to do is remind him of the velvet chaise longue in his bedroom that I’m pretty sure nobody has ever sat on. — comedy gold amidst the agony

He blinks at me. “You remembered my weird order?” — remembering ppl's orders is a love language

“Can I … ?” I shuffle on my feet. “Can we eat it in here?” — i hate that he's so uncertain n lacking in confidence while asking one of his best friends

I’ve always been deeply annoyed by what a high metabolism he has. I work out three times a week with a personal trainer just to stay toned. — rowan's fixation on body image makes me ✨nervous✨

“You were reading?” I ask, eyebrow raised. Lister narrows his eyes at me. “Wow, hilarious." — i stand by my 'lister loves to read but nobody ever assumes that or believes him bc their perception is skewed by him not gelling with academia' hc

“But don’t you see how that’s, like, still very fucked-up behavior, Rowan?” — GET HER JADE

And it’s scary that he thinks he’s completely fine. That this level of stress is normal. That he’s a functioning, well-adjusted human who is able to cope with being one of the most famous musicians in the world with absolutely no help or support whatsoever. — yeah :((

“You kissed him,” Rowan says. “So he decided to climb out of a window and run away.” “I mean, yeah, in summary.” — but no, realistically

Rowan wipes a tear from his eye. “Oh my God. So funny.” He’s properly pissing me off now. — give him a break roseph he's already mentally ill u don't have to embarrass him as well (/lh)

It’s a question I’ve asked myself every day for years. A question I’ve answered in daydreams, in nightmares, in conversations with myself in the shower. A question I still don’t know the answer to, and maybe never will. A question that doesn’t need an answer, now that I know for sure that Jimmy doesn’t like me back. — aaaaaagonyyyyy beyond power of speeeeeeech when the thing that u want is the only thing out of ur reach

“But … the circumstances of our relationship are so challenging. We live in very, very different worlds, and our lives are on very different trajectories. And sometimes I think relationships just can’t survive that.” — JUSTICE FOR LAIMONDI :(

Jimmy fell asleep almost immediately, a feat that would become less and less common as we all got older, but Lister and I couldn’t sleep because we were too busy watching funny YouTube videos on my phone, muffling laughs into our hands, trying not to wake anyone up. — BABY ARK MY CHILDREN

#i annotated this on friday but i've been too busy to write it up #so heyyyy guess who isn't ready to let this week go #anyway. i truly feel ghosted may be one of the best things to ever happen to this fandom #in the absence of iana at least #iwbftreread

[foolish-sparrow]

hi there! i wanted to say that i really enjoy your works, but dont feel pressured to write just cuz i told you that! can you write a sua x fem!reader fic? where dc goes on tour in europe and sua sees reader in a grocery store and says smthg like "god shes beautiful" out loud but she doesn't know that reader actually speaks korean, so they exchange phone numbers and promise to meet again, but reader surprises sua by going to their concert cuz shes actually a dc fan all along? (fluffy pls)

Hello Pretty Lady

A/N: Hello friend! Naw, thank you so much for saying that ;-; I'm happy that you enjoy my fics. However I am afraid to admit that my writing took me on a different path than what you requested exactly, so I apologize for that.

Warnings: fem!reader

You remember it clearly, how her awed voice filtered into your ears and instantly made a smile curve against your lips. Your heart was pounding away with excitement while your face tried to mask away its ferocity.

You hadn't even meant to go shopping that day, as you had already made the stop a couple of days prior. Curses fell from your lips when you reached into your cupboard only to find the snack you were currently craving was nowhere to be seen.

"Of course," you sigh, staring into space as you debated whether you had enough desire or motivation to actually leave your home, go all the way back to the shop, and get a single item.

But I do really want it, you think, making your way over to your shoe rack and putting them on before your indecisive mind continues to ping-pong back and forth. Reaching out to fetch your keys before you are locking your front door and cursing your memory for forgetting in the first place.

If there was any consolation, the weather was nice and the store was only a 5-minute walk away, and so you stuff your hands into your pockets and trudge on.

You don’t even hesitate when you’ve entered, legs on autopilot as you skip all the unnecessary isles and head straight to the one that holds your delicious gold. The muscles in your face try to fight back a smile when your eyes lock on to the packaging, the pace speeding up its rhythm now that your target was in sight.

And when you stand before your prize, you reach out ready to take it, fingers brushing the glorious surface when a distinct voice calls out from somewhere behind you.

“Wow! So pretty!”

The words, having been spoken in Korean, take a second or two to register in your mind and translate into something you understand. The muscles in your back straightened once you realized what has just been saying.

You can only make out bits and pieces after that, another voice joining in and saying something along the lines of, “unnie, you’re so loud.”

Curiosity has you turning, eyes sweeping the area until 2 people you recognize filter into your view. Their beauty almost blinding as they stood out amongst the many people passing by.  

You attempt to keep your surprise in check, wise eyes blinking as the Kim Bora begins making her way towards you, eyes bright even as they held a twinkle of shyness. “E-excuse me,” she stutters out, your body stock still as she tries to ask you the whereabouts of something she was looking for.

Normal bodily functions seem to evade you for a few moments more, still not quite believing that Sua was actually here, right in front of you, asking you a question.

“Oh!” You finally manage to get out, almost instinctive when you switched to Korean in order to help explain better. “Yeah, it’s that way.”

You could tell by the concentrated look on her face that she was putting her focus on whatever your answer was to be, the change in her features almost comical with how quick they switched.

Questions come and go faster than you are able to decipher, her well-known energy seeming to skyrocket with enthusiasm.

Bemusement clouds your expression as you make quick eye contact with an exasperated Gahyeon, her hand reaching out to take hold of the older woman’s sleeve. “Come on before we’re scolded for being gone too long.” She says before turning to you and giving you a little head bow, her thanks expressed in your language. “Thank you.”  

You nod back with a bright smile, very delighted with how your forgetful brain actually had an upside for once. 

And it is only once they have disappeared from your sight do the words finally filter into your mind! 

“I’ll see you at the concert tonight!” 

- - - - - - - - - - ☆ - - - - - - - - - -    

Evening fast approaches, but your excitement hasn’t decreased with its intensity. 

You don’t think you managed to sit still for even a minute, too worked up on having met Sua and Gahyeon earlier -- being called pretty -- and now getting to see all of the members of Dreamcatcher perform live. 

Life seemed pretty damn good. 

And it only got better when you reached the venue they would be performing, the hum of excited chatter as the queue begins forming making this seem all the more real. 

You are quick to find your seat upon entering, smile widening when a woman to your right squeals with the knowledge that you will all be watching Dreamcatcher live in a very short while. 

The extra hours of work had, quite literally, paid off, and you enjoyed the luxury of getting a front row view. 

And then the lights dimmed, blue lasers highlighting the stage and causing a unanimous chorus of cheers to erupt from the crown before it dimmed in anticipation.

They were in their element as they danced and sang; waving to anyone and everyone with the brightest of grins. 

You knew towards the end that this day would be one for the memory books, and you were happy with the results before a little present wrapped in black leather caught your eyes from her position on the stage. 

“Wah!” Sua screeches, the loud noise causing her members to look at her in confusion before she realizes her mistake. Sending you a smile before raising the mic back to her lips and talking in a quieter tone. 

“Everyone, I just saw the most beautiful face in the world.” 

A few screams erupt, doubly so once the translator repeats the words. 

Color erupts against your skin, shyness creeping in, and yet you’re unable to tear your eyes away. 

“Let me guess,” you hear Handong’s voice chime in, “you saw your reflection in someone’s phone?” 

While the crowd laughs around you, Sua once again catches your eye and winks, and in your heart you treasure it forever. 

#dreamcatcher reactions #dreamcatcher imagines #dreamcatcher scenarios #sua scenarios #sua imagines

[hermanunworthy]

!DNDADS S2 EP37 SPOILERS!

im a bit late bc i was at work all day but time for ep37 reactions!! i cant believe its already here

- now ive heard everyone talking about the intro i bet its gonna be a rickroll or some shit

- ITS FUCKINF ALL STAR. I KNEW THEY WOULD PULL SOMETHING LIKE THIS

- A TEENAGE GIRLS PARENT JUST GOT SHOT AND KILLED AND UR PLAYING ALL STAR.

- hermie mention in the intro im so calm and cool and chill about this /j

- "ur enough as u are" AINT NO WAY UR ABOUT TO MAKE ME START CRYING OVER A PARODY OF SMASH MOUTHS ALL STAR. WHY DID U HAVE TO PULL OUT THE BIG GUNS

- I DONT WANT THE TAYLOR VOICE CHANGE GOD NO

- MATT IM SCREAMING

- WILL CAMPOS U ABSOLUTE MADMAN. i already knew he was gonna find a way around using revivify but THAT WAS WILD

- are people gonna start drawing normal w that piece of jewelry now. bc i wanna. i already like drawing him w bracelets

- oh god what is beths fact gonna be.

- "i just keep meeting all the right people at all the wrong times" BETH MAY U ARE EVIL. THE PLOT OF THIS EPISODE HASNT EVEN STARTED AND IM ALREADY EMO

- ITS STARTING. OH NO

- NICKY BETTER FUCKING SHOW UP im curious to see what they actually decided on for the reason for him not being there last episode

- HERMIE WAS REMEMBERED giggles and kicks my feet

- TAYLOR AND LINCOLN ARENT AWARE THAT TERRY IS DEAD RN.

- were getting terris reaction rn i cant believe this is happening

- IM starting to feel sick godddd

- i bet im gonna see art of the lincoln and taylor piggyback ride hehe

- OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD TERRIS ASLEEP THIS MEANS WERE GONNA GET SCARY BACK. ALSO IS SHE GONNA SEE WILLY OH NOOOO

- NO NO NO NO NONONO

- "theres my girl" STFUUUUUU

- DOES SCARY REMEMBER ANYTHING??? DOES SHE KNOW WHATS GOING ON????

- "just wake him up" I. HATE. THIS EPSIODE

- SCARY GETTING CHOKED UP I CANT DO THIS

- TERRY DIDNT EVEN NEED TO DIE FUCK THIS

- "whoooa shit thats fucked up!" anthony burch i know u are just so incredibly pleased w urself.

- SCARYS STILL PRETENDING LIKE SHE DOESNT CARE ABOUT TERRY. JUST FEEL UR FEELINGS GIRL GOOD GOD

- "EMBARRASSING"??? FOR A KID TO BE UPSET THAT ONE OF THEIR PARENTS GOT MURDERED???? WILLY STAMPLER WTF IS WRONG W U

- there was never a more obvious lie than willy saying hell revive terry

- 19 INSIGHT LETS GOOO

- THATS RIGHT SCARY. STAND THE FUCK UP TO HIM

- NORMAL DESPERATELY TRYING TO HELP AWWWW MAN :[[ I HATE THIS

- PUTS MY HEAD IN MY HANDS. THIS IS SO DEEPLY UPSETTING

- WHEN WE SAID WE WANTED MORE SCARY AND NORMAL INTERACTIONS WE DIDNT THINK ITD BE LIKE THIS!!!

- THE TWINS ARE HERE NOW OMG

- beth is out for fucking blood this episode. god she is so good at making the audience feel for her characters

- SHES TELEPORTING TO GRANT?? IM NOT READY YET

- "hes dangerous! get away from him!" THE FACT THAT THIS IS LINCOLN SAYING THIS ABOUT GRANT BREAKS MY HEART

- SCARY HAS A GUN FUCK YEAH!!!

- FIRST HERMIE SPEAKING LINE OF THE EPISODE YIPPEEEE

- halfway through the episode now. cant wait to see what could possibly go wrong next!!

- i love whenever anthony allows a fun rulebreaking idea to work

- IDK WHY THE IDEA OF THE KIDDADS HAVING A GC IS SO FUNNY TO ME

- rons status remains a mystery....

- "we could do a whole scene w just hermie and all the other ones" u joke matt but i enjoy every scene w hermie no matter how unnecessary and drawn out

- as always linc and taylor are such a funny iconic duo

- WERE FINALLY GETTING ANGRY NORMAL??? FINALLY????

- WILL WITHDRAWING HIS COOL MOVE LMAO

- i just realized WE STILL HAVENT SEEN NICKY!!! GODDAMN!!!

- "the gayest fucking mecha of all time" swiftli fans do u like the new ship name /j

- ig i cannot deny it anymore swiftli is practically canon atp

- NICKY!!!! NICKY!!!!! I SHOT STRAIGHT UP IN MY SEAT

- NICKY AND HERMIE ARE FINALLY INTERACTING. PRAISE THE LORD

- i thought nicky got all his limbs back?? did anthony just forget

- btw ive probably been waking up my whole house w how hard im laughing over swiftli this episode

- LINCOLNS GONNA PUNCH GRANT WHOA. WHOA

- "so what are u gonna do, ur gonna kill me?" as i said before. i hate this episode.

- SCARY OBLITERATED PAPA JOHN SO FAST WHOA.

- THE DUNGEON SETUP VS THE TONE OF THE EPISODE HELPPP

- i just had such a weird thought/prediction. but i will hold my tongue. bc the last time i said something like this it came true and i do not want this to come true

- IS SCARY GONNA BREAK IT W LOVE FOR TERRY. I CANT DO THIS

- "i love u and i hate that u made me love u when u are who u are and u knew it." I WISH U COULD SEE MY FUCKING FACE RN. HOLYYY SHIT THATS DEVASTATING

- oh. my. good. lord.

- GUYS????? I DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT TO DO NOW. HOLY FUCK. THAT WAS HEAVY AS SHIT

#dndads #dndads spoilers #dndads s2 spoilers #siren says

[sunoodilocks]

BRIDGERTON S2 opinions

(everyday I wake up and find inconsistencies about the 2nd season of bridgerton as a kathony stan)

THE KATE BLAMING AGENDA

This time it's about the most controversial ep in the season.

I want to bring attention to this line ->

S2, ep6, 23:41 s

(the short confrontation between Kate and Edwina after she runs away from the alter)

Edwina to Kate: you have feelings for him!

This particular sentence just made no sense to me? And this is coming from someone who has repeated the entire scene (from the wedding to the confrontation) a number of times solely to understand how she came to the particular conclusion (and being unsuccessful at every attempt btw)

Yes, while the conclusion itself is correct - the way she came to it had basically no substance at all ( it very honestly made me remember those math questions in exams where you get the correct answer but with the absolute random steps)

Why i think so?

Bcoz all throughout the scene it was Anthony who did all the shit that eventually made Edwina figure out what was going on

1) Staring at Kate who was behind Edwina at the alter instead of focusing on her who was his bride

the archbishop asks anthony to repeat after him but anthony doesn't cause he's busy imagining Kate wearing the wedding dress and marrying him - Edwina notices when she turns to look where Anthony's attention was

2) Not knowing what to do after Edwina break his trance during the wedding

after Anthony had broken the daydream he was in after being caught in 4k by edwina, he basically looks around trying to get an idea what he missed - he fumbles because guess what? this guy who was going to be her husband any minute doesn't know shit about what was going on in his OWN WEDDING

Edwina has to sharply (you can easily see how tense she was here) remind him what he was supposed to do

"Yes ofcourse" he says but doesn't stop looking at Kate

3) PICKING UP THE DAMN BANGLEEEEE

Does it even need an explanation at this point?

Anthony, the same guy who was so listless when his own wedding is going on - but now a bangle falls, Kate's bangle - and his response is prompt

I feel like in this scene he subconsiously just told Edwina, "I don't care how unnecessary this is but I'm gonna do it I'm gonna pick up this damn bangle and no one can stop me"

Like please, Kate is perfectly able to pick up the bangle herself but does he care? No

4) "ALLOW ME"

When both Kate and Anthony are crouched down and Anthony picks up the bangle...

"Allow me" he says as he hands Kate the bangle

This whole ordeal could have been done in 3-4 secs max but it instead takes about 10s max and WHY??? bcoz Anthony is busy staring at Kate again - mans was literally caressing her hand in slowmo 😭 while returning the bangle and didn't let go of it till they were halfway standing up

Now then? What did we find out?

Basically that it was ALL ANTHONY'S ACTIONS

So yes, when I say ep6 was a fever dream that I wished didn't actually happen - its bcoz of these scenes.

But hold on!

It however would have made perfect sense if the sentence was phased like this

"I saw what was going on! He has feelings for you!"

the unspoken words here would have been "I saw those looks! I saw those actions! You have something going on between you both!"

Here I could have actually sympathized with her bcoz she after all felt betrayed - she was about to get married but she finds out her soon to be husband has feelings for her sister? Here she blames Kate, yes - but definitely blames Anthony too (which is again, very different for the og line and the feeling conveyed through it)

But when she says "you have feelings for him!" to Kate, I'm just like

Cause deadass what did Kate even do??? 😭 she was literally just standing there like🧍‍♀️baby that was all Anthony Hornypants and you know it 🤌

So yeah, when people complain about how we kathony stans are so protective of Kate - do you ever see the senerio from our side? Well I don't think so

Half of this show was basically

BRIDGER -how can we make kate feel bad- TON

And this scene was a prime example of this. Edwina could have gone off on Anthony about his conduct or shown him atleast a fraction of her anger but no 😂 let's blame it all on Kate! Let's let Anthony fuck around and blame it all on Kate.

After all...

It's always easier...

(Phew! that's all - thanks for coming to my rant)

#bridgerton #kathony #bridgerton s2 #anthony bridgerton #edwina sharma #kate sharma

[compassionatereminders]

(Vent) Ahaha hey Kat, so I messaged sometime back about a whole disaster of a situation regarding being in (or maybe I was about to be in?) an on-again-off-again messy FWB thing with my older flatmate who can't communicate, he said he loved me and I wasn't sure how he meant it and he wouldn't acknowledge it, and you told me to step away from the whole mess and I kind of don't think I was in the headspace to listen smh, which is my fault. An update on that: it turns out that he talks in his sleep, it seems, and I shouldn't have spiralled so hard about it that I questioned my own feelings and convinced myself I might feel romantically towards him. It turns out I'm just lonely and my possible BPD was acting up, rip. So we talked it out and kept it going.

Unfortunately I'm still lonely and craving some sort of intimacy, platonic or sexual or otherwise, and his mental state only continues to get worse. Last weekend his ex gf showed up at our flat while I was VERY luckily out, and apparently whatever happened there was bad enough that it made him completely "reconsider" things all over again. Now his walls are up again in full force and it feels like he doesn't spend more time with me than he has to as a flatmate. PLUS he got discharged from therapy this week because they "can't help him" and has nowhere else to go. So I can't blame him for distancing himself, I just wish my own brain would stop craving something that I can't ask for from him. And I wish I could hide it better that I miss his company and that I'm craving physical affection of literally any sort, but I also wish I didn't have to? Just now today I hinted, because it came up, that I would like a hug, and he took it as a great deal more pressure than I meant to put on him. And said he wished he could just escape on his own to somewhere "he could be free from people asking things of him". Oof. Been there, but also oof.

I feel guilty, because I don't want my own bad brain and its frequent neediness to be making his worse, but at the same time, I feel selfish for feeling like I deserve more than to be made to feel like I can't express a single casual request. He said that, although I don't even usually ask for comfort like that in words for fear of making him uncomfortable, he can still tell from my body language and energy and expressions. So essentially now I'm hesitant to be around him at all, because maybe my mere presence feels like pressure to him, in a way I can't control. It's kind of draining, and I wish I felt strong enough to step away from it all of my own volition rather than being forced out of his life. But I still care about him and like him and uhhh want to have sex with him, and also still fucking live with him anyway so. Yeah. Complicated.

Sorry this was just a long vent to process the humiliation just now of having asked for a hug from someone my brain is not normal about, and been essentially flatly rejected and guilt-tripped about it. I normally have higher standards than this. He's never going to care about me even as a friend, but the thought of just 'moving on and finding someone else' seems impossible when I'm still hung up on him. But also I'm definitely spiralling, and BPD makes it very very hard to trust my brain about anything that ever happens to me. So. Spiritually and emotionally I have a headache. This was largely just a vent, but if you have any advice on HOW exactly to stand up and move on from this, that would be much appreciated. 💜

Honestly? Step away from this mess of a situation. For real. Cut contact if needed. Focus on managing your own emotions and symptoms instead of trying to placate his. Because this situationship obviously isn't making either of you happy, and it sounds like that's unlikely to change. And letting him drag you down with him is unnecessary. You deserve better and you CAN have it someday. Just not with this guy

#chat with kat #sex tw #guilt tripping tw

[indestructibleheart]

I am slowly getting my groove back, friends. This week, I was able to write some of the Tarlos punk band/bodyguard AU that I shared with ya’ll a while back. So, for WIP Wednesday, I’m sharing the opening scene:

It’s the seconds after the encore that TK loves most.

When hundreds — sometimes thousands — of people in the arena are cheering in unison and the lights are still low, TK will just stand in the wings and let it all wash over him. In a strange way, he finds it peaceful, even in all its volume. And it’s the unity of it, he thinks; they’re all still riding the high of the music, just drifting together in this perfect little bubble removed from the reality of the world. In those seconds before the lights come up and the stadium begins to empty, they’re all connected. They become one.

Yeah, yeah… Said like a lyricist. He knows.

That’s what Nancy had said, the one time he’d tried explaining it to her.

She’d known exactly what he’d meant, though. TK knows that because he knows her. In a way, they’ve become partners: the bassist and the lead vocal, putting their heads together and writing the words they’ll sing. Nancy, Marjan, Mateo, Paul, and TK are a team — have been since they’d first picked up their instruments and started to play together — but TK and Nancy? They’re kinda the group’s dynamic duo.

And that’s saying something, since Nancy and Marjan have been considered a “power couple” since J-14 dubbed them ‘Narjan’ in the early aughts.

Nancy understands him better than anyone else, which is probably why she's the only one willing to interrupt his moment as the lights start to rise. Her tug on his sleeve startles him from his revere.

“C’mon, dude,” she says. “Security wants to take us out the back, just to be safe.”

He rolls his eyes. “We’re still doing this?”

Ever since he got a couple overly enthusiastic fan letters, Judd, their manager, has been supremely cautious. TK, for his part, doesn’t really see the big deal. Have you really made it as a band if you’re not getting weird stalker threats? Okay, and maybe one of them hinted at a car bomb that was actually found underneath his Mustang… but, like, it was defective anyway, so they clearly aren’t a credible threat.

Nancy links her arm through his. “We’re doing this,” she insists. “Actually, Judd has a present for you out back.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I don’t want it.” TK scowls.

Nancy smiles as she tugs him along. “It’s a bodyguard.”

“You’re shitting me.”

“Nope!” She looks entirely too pleased. “You’ve officially made it, kid.”

TK huffs as they round the corner and start towards the exit behind the stage. Judd is just being paranoid, and the last thing TK wants is a new babysitter. This is worse than when he’d first started getting sober four years ago and Judd had his sponsor on speed dial; Cooper was (and still is, actually) basically one of the gang. This, though, has crossed the line from enthusiastic support to just… unnecessary paranoia.

“I don’t need a babysitter,” he tells her.

Nancy rolls her eyes. “Don’t tell me, dude,” she says. “I just work here. You need to take it up with Judd.”

“Oh,” TK says. “I will.”

They push through the double doors into the fresh night air. The roadies and the rest of the band are in the lot, packing the equipment into the bus, but Judd stands nearby with who TK can only assume is his bodyguard. The guy definitely looks the part; he’ll give him that much. He’s tall with broad shoulders and a jaw that could be a weapon all on its own. He’s handsome, TK notices, but that doesn’t make him any more fond of this idea.

Well… Not much more.

It helps a little.

“TK,” Judd calls, waving him over. “Get over here, kiddo.”

Nancy drops his arm and gives him a little nudge. “Good luck,” she says, far too taunting to be genuine, before trotting off to meet with her girlfriend by the bus.

“Traitor,” he calls after her.

She turns just to give him an exaggerated wink.

Ugh. It’s with resignation that he trudges over to meet Judd and whatever-his-name-is. They’re leaning against a pretty sweet Camaro, and The Bodyguard has his arms folded over his chest. (So, as far as first impressions go, he’s looking a little cliche.) Regardless, Judd pushes himself off the car to get his hand on TK’s arm as he approaches — as if his big brother routine is gonna smooth this over.

“TK, this is Carlos,” he says. “He’s gonna be —”

“—My babysitter.” TK raises a brow.

Judd sighs. “Your bodyguard.”

“Not interested in babysitting,” Carlos says. “I’m just here to make sure no one blows you up.”

Obviously, he’s heard about the car incident. TK gives him a look, but Judd holds up a hand.

“I ain’t hearin it, TK,” his manager says, voice turning stern. “Until we know the fella sending these letters ain’t a threat no more, Carlos here is gonna be your shadow. And that’s that.”

The thought of having a shadow makes him squirm, but he also knows there’s no talking to Judd when he gets like this. He’s officially in Manager Mode, which means he’s technically TK’s boss. So, he just huffs.

“Does he have to follow me to the bathroom?” he asks. “It was a long show.”

Carlos snorts. “I think you can manage that yourself,” he says.

“Great,” TK snaps.

And if he uses it as an opportunity to skip around the side exit and escape… Well, they should’ve known better.

#m:wip #wip:graveyard

[aeoki]

School Festival ☆ Tamayori’s Haunted Dollhouse - Chapter 1

Location: Yumenosaki Handicrafts Club Room Characters: Mika, Shuu & Natsume

Mika: ~......♪

Shuu: Stop with that dissonant singing. It’s unpleasant to listen to.

Mika: Ngh, sorry, Oshi-san. I had such a fun time sewin’, I couldn’t help but hum.

Shuu: Hmph, you call that sewing? From what I can see, I wouldn’t call it that at all. If you have the time to be idling away here, I suggest you do something more meaningful.

Mika: Ahaha… It might seem that way to you, but it’s very meaningful to me.

Look, look at this, Oshi-san! I tried makin’ a drawstring pouch using some fabric scraps…♪

Shuu: What a distorted design. It turns out that way because you don’t think about how the pieces fit together.

Mika: Ngh~ Is it really distorted? I like this sorta design so I don’t mind it lookin’ like this.

Shuu: You’re distorted yourself so your heart must be attracted to similar things.

Anyway, Kagehira, I thought you said you had a “school part-time job” after school today – which, I didn’t hear about – but shouldn’t you be worrying about the time?

Mika: Ah, yer right! I should put my stuff away and start headin’ over soon.

Oshi-san. If it doesn’t get in the way of yer sewin’, could I put away my stuff and clean the area while I’m at it?

It bothers you when there are lint and fabric scraps on the floor, right?

Shuu: I’m still working so that will be unnecessary.

Mika: Got it~ Guess I’ve got no choice but to leave them be, then.

By the way, what’re you makin’, Oshi-san? It’s such a gorgeous outfit. Is it somethin’ new for “Valkyrie”?

Shuu: Kagehira! Don’t touch it!

Mika: S-Sorry! You got angry ‘cause I’m scatterbrained and I might’ve accidentally torn it, right? But you don’t have to worry! I didn’t tear it as you can see!

Shuu: I’m not worried about something like that. I’m in the middle of making an outfit right now, so there are pins still inside. You would have hurt yourself if you stabbed your finger on one.

Mika: Huh? Oshi-san, were you worried about me? Ehehe, that makes me happy~♪

Shuu: Hmph, those weren’t exactly my intentions. If you hurt yourself, the outfit would be bloodied.

Just as you yourself are aware, you’re scatterbrained. You’ve been oddly enthusiastic as of late and your actions have been rather dangerous, so that irritates me.

Once you have some free time on your hands, you do nothing but “school part-time jobs”, so it makes me wonder if your fatigue has piled up.

Mika: Hmm~ Really? But I’ve gotta make money for “Valkyrie’s” activities.

Maybe it’s ‘cause everyone’s busy preparin’ for the “School Festival”, but there are a lot of “school part-time jobs” that no one has taken.

There are good-payin’ jobs that usually close really quickly too… It’s a good time to be doin’ “school part-time jobs”, so I shouldn’t miss this chance.

I’ll do lots of jobs, earn a lot of money and then someday, “Valkyrie” will stand on the stage Oshi-san has always dreamed of!

I’ve gotta work super hard for that. Oshi-san, I hope you’ll look forward to that day~♪

Shuu: …I’ve never had any expectations of you.

Mika: Yeah. Even if you don’t, it’s still somethin’ I wanna do. As long as you don’t tell me to “stop”, then I’ll continue doin’ them.

Shuu: You’ll stop if I say so? You’re a doll with no sense of self.

No matter. Don’t ask me to do maintenance on you now that my health isn’t at its best.

I’m busy with this outfit. I have no time to be hanging about with you each and every minute.

Mika: Okay. I do want you to do maintenance on me, though… I don’t want to cause you any trouble, so I’ll be good and listen.

Alright, I’ve finished puttin’ my stuff away so I’ll get goin’. I actually wanted to talk to you more, though, Oshi-san.

Ah, don’t push yourself too much! Eat your meals properly, okay? When you’re too absorbed in yer work, you stay up the whole night and skip yer meals, so I’m worried.

Shuu: You should worry about yourself before worrying about others.

Mika: Heheh, I’m more worried about you rather than myself ♪

Ngh, I ended up chattin’ again… I don’t wanna leave but I’m really leavin’ this time. See ya later, Oshi-san ♪

Mika: …………

(Ugh, the work is so tough~! I kinda feel “light-headed”. Maybe I’m just tired?)

(Ahaha… I said all those presumptuous things to Oshi-san, but I think I’m pretty beat…)

(But I just need to hang in there a bit longer and we’ll have enough money for “Valkryie’s” ideal stage.)

(That’s more important than my body. It’s okay, it’s okay. I can still do it!)

(If it’s for “Valkyrie’s” comeback, I’d be happy to give up my life for it…♪)

Natsume: ………?

(That’s Mika-kun from Shuu Nii-san’s unit, isn’t iT? What is he doing over theRE?)

(I wonder if he’s doiNG a “school part-time job”. He’s probably earning funds for “Valkryie’s” activitiES.)

(He’s staggering a littLE and it looks rather bAD… Maybe he’s pushing himself too fAR…)

(WeLL, Shuu Nii-san is a monomaniAC, so I’m sure he requires a lot of money for the quality he’s seekiNG.)

(...Oh, Mika-kun might notice me if I stand here and watch hiM.)

(Besides, I don’t want to get in his way. I’ll take my leaVE.)

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#tamayori

[liathejedi]

I'm gonna say it: I think they should never have had to put in all of that set-up and rehashing of what happened in Boba Fett ep 5 .

Like, they really just said "cool we're gonna get Mando and Grogu to the *throne room* and in there is a disillusioned *Bo Katan* and then that's when we stop" as if that's meant to be a really satisfying start to the season. I know that recently there was that weird Jon Favrou lore drop about how the first 2 seasons took place over a couple of years, and they might be wanting to try and convey *time passing* in going to nevaro and going to the armorer and what have you, but this feels really off-kilter in a strange way.

From where I'm standing, they should have started the episode with Din already heading to Mandalore and Bo-Katan and gone from there. There's plenty of time to establish time skips, maybe even sprinkle it in to off-handed dialogue, maybe Din is in a call with Karga as he's approaching the planet and karga expresses how much he wants Din to see the refurbished town or whatever.

It annoys me as well that as much as streaming services have ruined the modern media consumption, larger properties have the space to utilize streaming culture. They treated this episode like we needed to be coddled and we needed to be retold all of the things that Din is aiming for this season, when they just completely ignored the incredible marketing opportunity to tell everyone to start their re-watch of the previous seasons, maybe even restructure some of the things on disney+ to put those Boba Fett episodes under the Mandalorian banner proper, and ignored how they could really lean into that aspect of how streaming as a whole works at its fundamentals. We didn't need to be re-told everything.

They could have generated so much more hype, but most importantly, could have given the writers and the rest of the creative team so much more time to really explore and have fun with the show if they just let them start from a point that actually matters to the story. Think about how it's going to be in future re-watches of the series as well, we as the audience right now know why this sort of thing makes a little bit of sense, there was a pandemic and nothing could be worked on for 2~ years, but going back later will make this episode look even worse.

Look, I know that there's probably a lot of intricate things do with contracts and episode orders and the like, especially with the disney overlords being as restrictive as they are, but they really did not need to have that entire episode be low-energy set-up, especially with how the previous seasons have ended. If anything, they should be ramping up the tension for the start of every season.

Something, something, artistic intent and the flow of a story, you get the gist of what I wanted to say.

(Let's try and ignore how those Boba Fett episodes should have been put-up as a mid-season-break bonus episode for The Mandalorian. We all know why this episode was messed up, and idk who was in charge of Boba Fett but they really put Mando's team through the ringer and it shows.)

((still love the show though, those moments with Grogu and Dad I mean Din are goddamn Delightful))

oh I 100% agree! the pacing of this ep was just weird and it felt very much like half of it was a recap of what we already knew. like if you're gonna sideline boba fett in his own damn show to set up this season, then why are we needing the same information fed to us again? like yeah, the armorer wants din to atone in the waters of mandalore. we knew that. mandalore is considered by most to be an uninhabitable wasteland. we knew that too. and yeah, the trip to nevarro felt unnecessary and pretty much like the writers were like 'hey, here's something to show that time has passed!' which is even further confusing the timeline. plus the stuff with IG-11? also felt unnecessary, and kind of led me to believe that the episode was going to centre around din attempting to fix him until we showed up on that planet with bo-katan. and then it just. ended there? it felt like everything and yet also nothing happened in that episode.

but no, I agree that the moments with din and grogu were adorable, especially with din teaching grogu about the ship and really cementing grogu's choice to be a mandalorian like his dad. I like that they kept that consistency around that choice and didn't backtrack it with din contemplating sending him back to a jedi again or anything like that to create another point of conflict (although I do find it funny that of all the things they needlessly recapped from those bobf eps, they didn't explain why grogu is back with din - like yeah, if you didn't watch bobf, we'll explain everything else to you again BUT why din went from tearfully bidding his son goodbye to once again carting him around the galaxy).

I'm hoping that things will pick up and get into the groove again with the next couple episodes, and I don't think that this episode was all bad, but I think it was definitely a drop in quality from the opening episodes of the first two seasons.

#thank u for your thoughts #i hand you back more like we are exchanging cool rocks on the playground #but yeah fingers crossed things get better from here #the mandalorian #the mandalorian spoilers #the mandalorian s3

[psychewritesbs]

even though I do not mind the weekly or bi weekly chapter releases and enjoy them, I kind of wish I would wake up one day and the final chapter of jjk would be here lol

I mean this as like the time left with the series is fast forwarded. I don't like rushing in any context, but I feel like I want to know the ending before I fall out of love with the series. I've enjoyed what gege has given in the story so far, but there is plenty of choices I would say I do not agree with imo. He seems like he has a vision of how things need to go, but getting there seems to have some issues. I also kind of hate it when authors say they want to end the story especially when it feels like it will be rushed, and is JJK's case it's sometimes hard to enjoy the story after its been said bc I'm just wondering if we're spending too much time on one thing before we need to move to the next point, but I'll still try to see the story's good and the bad and enjoy what I can. I'm going to reread the culling game arc soon, but I feel like those first fights were about gaining allies, but I can say I wasn't expecting it to go like that if that was the intention. I don't mind kenjaku having secret plans bc it's obvious when it comes to them, but I feel as though that plan overshadowed the point of the cg?? I thought there would be more focus of to kill or not, etc and I see that the most for megumi and yuji (they had my fav colony battles), and I get it somewhat with yuta, but I dont see it too importantly with hakari or maki. I'm going to reread the arc regardless because I can always be confused or a bit slower in catching on so forgive me if my insight is lackluster. I liked the running themes during yuki vs kenjaku, but her "death" felt very unnecessary because she seemed really important in achieving a curse free world and idk about you but that seems like an important goal imo and yeah someone else could lead that charge but what was wrong with yuki doing that? I don't know, but I can only hope the remaining part of the story alongside its ending is something not only we can gain some satisfaction with, but the author too can look back and say, "hey it was pretty good at least"

Gege doesn't seem to drop the ball too much with Yuji or at least megumi too, and I'm not too worried since they're my characters of interest currently, but I want to reread this story and actually believe it when I say I thought all the cast was good and I believe the writing can be better or can get worse (idk) but time will tell it all. I'm a recurring anon, so I'm sorry if the apologies are constant and sound like emails at the end 😅

Dear Recurring Anon,

HOLA! Thanks for being my recurring anon and reaching out again!

Ok but listen... I’ve been sitting on your ask for a while thinking of what I wanted to say and how to say it. I’ve probably started 3 different drafts for my response. So thanks for your patience!

Truth of the matter is that when I read your words, what it comes down to is that, even though you don’t like the recent direction the manga has taken, Jujutsu Kaisen still holds an important place in your heart. 

So I think the most important question to keep in mind is that, in a story like JJK where the strongest sorcerers have the most overwhelming sense of self... where does your sense of self stand in all of this?

What do you want to take with you from JJK? 

The stuff you didn’t like because it didn’t live up to your expectations? 

Or the stuff you loved even though JJK was incredibly flawed?

Of course there’s more word vomit under the cut lol... you know how I roll.

I’ll start by asking you to forgive me if I’m wrong and you just really needed a container where your thoughts on the current state of JJK would be honored and acknowledged. The truth is that I totally get where you’re coming from. 

I do. 

I hear you.

It’s just that it’s in my perhaps annoying nature to be stupidly optimistic even when I am being a realist. There’s always a silver lining to everything if you are willing to make the effort to find it. 

So, yes, I agree, and I’m also going to challenge you to find a way to continue loving JJK if that’s what you want for yourself.

That said... lets get on with the bitching lol.

Problems with JJK, problems everywhere!

Your concern regarding the pacing in the story is something that I share with you. Most especially the concern that, moving forward, Gege is going to cut corners. I’d also say that at this point this “concern” is factually canon lol. 

I also agree so much with the sentiment of “is he taking too much time on this when he should be addressing this other plot point?” And I think nothing captures that dilemma quite like the Culling Game arc does--ESPECIALLY with the way he handled the chosoyuki ordeal.

Like we got pages upon pages of all of these characters and exposition and dialogue and like... wait, what was the point of the Culling Game again? 

Why has no one died yet?! 

Why is Yuta kissing a cockroach and why are Kashi-chan and Kin-chan trying to see who has the biggest ego (pun intended)? 

Like I swear for weeks I've been like “ok it’s going down!!!! yeah here comes the angst and the deaths aaaaaaand ok never mind then.... maybe next chapter? ok.... next chapter? ok next chapter for sure. no? next chapter?”

FOR WEEKS! It’s all recorded in my chapter liveblogs lol.

Truth is, to me, the Culling Game is a weird arc because I am still trying to understand its significance within the larger Jujutsu scheme of things.

Perhaps he bit more than he could chew with the Culling Game? And as a writer myself I find this kind of relatable. I’m actually seeing what is happening with JJK and taking note of how having too many themes and plot lines can ultimately be detrimental to a story if you can’t, or are unable to execute them all to a satisfying conclusion.

So to your point about re-reading the Culling Game arc... let’s hope that Gege manages to bring it all full circle. But as things stand right now, we’re in the middle of whatever Gege has in mind so it’s hard to see the forest for the trees.

What I’ll say is that I have enjoyed parts of it with reckless abandon...

Literal picture of me reading through the absolutely ridiculous battle between Kashi-chan and Kin-chan:

I also think that, at best, we have gotten in-depth character studies (because Gege is harping on the idea about the sense of self being at the core of power in JJK) and needed exposition. 

For example, even though Naoya coming back was soooooo cringe to me, I can still see the purpose it served in the narrative. Did I enjoy the journey? Not really. Same for Maki’s development.

The thing is that even if I agree with you on everything I just mentioned... I can’t unsee the story written between the lines even if the execution of the panels falls short, because I am always reading at a meta level.

I am passionate about story telling and how stories move humans, so to me, now that I’ve seen and acknowledge these flaws in the work, reading JJK is less about what’s on the panels, and more about the story he is trying to tell on a meta level through the panels.

My chosoyuki meta is a great example of me recognizing the story being told between the lines. And once I went down all of the rabbit holes I went down, even though I agree wholeheartedly that the execution fell short, the story told in the symbols was amazing to me. It honestly made me wish that Gege would have had the patience, time, energy, and space to birth that side story into the world the way it deserved to be told.

To me, I want Gege to be able to ground his vision onto the page, but if he is not able to, I’m still there for the “story” told between the lines because there’s so few mangaka whose imagination has captivated me.

In the end, as you say, it does feel like Gege is struggling to ground his vision into the page. And it kind of does suck because we, as an audience, have to work that much harder to understand the story he is trying to tell.

But the story being told is still there... so now it’s up to you to decide what you want to focus on: the flop, the bad execution, the failed attempt, JJK not living up to your expectations, or Gege, the flawed human behind the manga, trying and showing up.

What is good enough for you? That’s something for you to decide. 

I’m not saying to ignore the execution. 

I’m saying to remember that this is Gege’s first manga and that JJK is not what it started as--but not because it’s gotten worse, but rather because JJK is now more like Gege than it has ever been... because in a story like JJK where the strongest sorcerers have the strongest sense of self... yadda yadda yadda.

Trust the process: life is a journey, not a destination

I think your concern that you want to experience the ending makes a lot of sense and feels very relatable even at this point in my life. 

But the truth is... 

Foregoing the journey in favor of the destination is a recipe for perpetual dissatisfaction. Look at what happened to Denji after he finally got to touch boobs!

Ok yeah, there’s a lot more to it than that in this particular case but the concept still applies.

It also applies to JJK. Again, right now we can’t see the forest for the trees because Gege is executing a complex arc.

The timeline is confusing af, and I think it’s because he may be trying to pull a similar literary trick to what happened in Westworld’s season 1 and 2 where the timeline is scrambled out of order to purposely confuse and mislead the audience. 

Perhaps the timeline is out of order for another grand purpose. Perhaps he just thought it would be fun and wanted to try to execute a fun literary trick.

But we won’t know until he delivers--and delivering is a process, not a destination.

And you know what... if you still get to the end and realize that you didn’t like JJK and the latter part of the story ruined your love for JJK, well...

It’s personal

Dude like... I respect that people LOVE Chainsaw Man, and I also think Chainsaw Man is ridiculously overhyped. I’ve seen countless of videos with people hyping it as the all end be all of manga and that Fujimoto is a genius and...

I. 

just. 

don’t. 

get. 

it.

I am just not a fan of Fujimoto’s brand of navel-gazing existentialism. It feels so anti-climatic to me.

Does that mean that CSM objectively sucks and is bad?! No. It’s personal.

Similarly, I overhype the hell out of CLAMP manga, and I am also aware that people might read CLAMP manga and not like it. 

Even so, to me, the four women behind CLAMP are genius story-tellers.

Shameless Subaru and CLAMP plug because this is one of my favorite Tokyo Babylon panels.

It comes back to personal taste, right?

For me, I love JJK despite the flaws because I still love the story being told between the lines, I find Gege’s brand of ironic humor funny, and I like how the story has progressed. 

Say goodbye to mainstream, Gege’s work might become a cult classic moving forward

Now... I bring up Fujimoto and CLAMP to illustrate the idea that there are people who are going to be dedicated fans of a mangaka and their work, people who enjoy and appreciate their work but don’t necessarily love it,  people who are in it for the hype, and people who don’t like their work.

CLAMP’s Cardcaptor Sakura is mainstream hype. Tokyo Babylon and Clover are what you read when you’re a hardcore fan.

Fujimoto’s CSM is mainstream hype. Fire dude punch something something and Goodbye Eri is what you read when you’re a hardcore fan. 

Watanabe’s Cowboy Bebop is mainstream hype. Zankyou no Terror and Carole and Tuesday are what you watch when you’re a hardcore fan.

Akutami’s Jujutsu Kaisen is mainstream hype. 

Gege followed the Battle Shonen recipe, added his own twists, and created an accidental mega hit. In fact, oddly enough, JJK has always been known as a story that defies expectations and uses tropes in new and unexpected ways.

So what happened? Why are people not liking Gege’s current execution?

To me, there’s something about how JJK is written that has changed, and it has nothing to do with Gege’s ability to write, and everything to do with his sense of self, who he has become in the process of writing JJK, and what he wants to express through his work.

In other words, JJK is more like Gege than it has ever been. Some people are going to like that, and some are not. 

Truth is that Gege is one of the VERY few mangaka who can write beautiful, multidimensional, engaging and extremely human characters who are true to their nature and aspirations.

He also writes on a very meta level and you don’t see that very often... like at all. 

All this to say that I think this is why you see such vastly different reactions in fandom right now. 

Some people still think he’s a fantastic writer and that he’s writing a unique work that has transcended generic Shonen tropes (like yours truly), and some people think that the way JJK is right now is generic Shonen. I don’t understand this last take but...

Who is right?

Who holds THE ultimate truth?

It doesn’t really matter because it’s personal.

All I know is that I am going to keep up with anything Gege publishes moving forward because I like the story he is telling through JJK.

Above all, I’m curious to see what other stories want to be born through him into this world.

Now, I HIGHLY recommend you listen to this 20 minute Ted talk by Elizabeth Gilbert to understand what I mean when I say that Gege is giving birth to stories. Her talk is a mind-opening take on what happens to your sense of self when you accidentally write a mega hit, and how that in turn affects your creative process.

I don’t know that this is how Gege sees his work as a mangaka, but I have to wonder about the possibility that Gege, someone who has very clearly studied the psychology of Carl Jung, sees JJK as an exercise in creative imagination, and/or as a story he’s been handed from the collective unconscious.

His job as a mangaka is to show up and write, to play, to express himself creatively.

That means that sometimes what he writes is going to be magnificent in the eyes of others, and sometimes it’s going to fall short of everybody’s expectations.

And that’s what it comes down to... 

Expectations

I see a lot of people complain about JJK failing to live up to their expectations without acknowledging that their expectations are simply that, expectations.

There’s nothing wrong with having expectations per se, and it is also important to realize when expectations are defining what we think is and isn’t good enough. 

And let’s not forget that you too probably don’t live up to other’s expectations. Does that mean that your effort too isn’t good enough? Gosh now I sound like Lacus.

Again... who holds the ultimate truth?

In the end, Gege is the one telling the Jujutsu Kaisen story. 

I also cannot emphasize enough that Gege is also a mangaka in the very early stages of his writing career. 

I don’t buy that his writing was better in the beginning of JJK. 

Quite the opposite, I see his writing AND art in the beginning of JJK as having followed a recipe: the three man team, found family, the strong mentor figure, etc... all the tropes are there executed in fresh and unexpected ways. 

But that was 5 years ago. Again... in a story like JJK where the strongest sorcerers have the strongest sense of self... what does that mean for Gege?

That said, Gege isn’t following the same recipe anymore, he’s coming up with his own recipe and he’s learning how to write his own recipe.

This is not to make excuses for him, it’s just something to think about because most people aren’t born naturally talented at anything that requires mastery, and writing is a craft that requires mastery through execution. 

As a quick side note, if you read Tokyo Babylon and Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle by CLAMP, the 10+ year gap between both manga shows a marked improvement in the writing. AND EVEN THEN CLAMP MANAGED TO FUCK UP THE TSUBASA PLOT!

In other words, Gege has to fail to get better. 

Now add to that the pressure of a weekly publishing schedule that dampens the creative process with tight deadlines, and then on top of that having to draw the whole thing. I’m exhausted just thinking about it.

Gosh, if I had to guess, I would have to say Gege is ready for an extended vacation. 

But, as you say, I also just want for him to be satisfied with his story. 

As for us being satisfied with his story... well, it depends on what we choose to focus on.

Will you focus on how he failed at executing his vision?

Will you focus on the beautiful story he told between the lines?

Or will you focus on how how he managed to tell a beautiful story despite failing at the execution?

Can you hold the tension of opposites?

Ok SO SORRY this took me so long to get back to you my dear recurring anon. I just had so many thoughts because, like I said before, I agree with you, and I also wanted to challenge you to see things a little differently without being patronizing.

In the end, you want to continue to love JJK, right? 

So love JJK! 

Acknowledge its flaws and be at peace with them for the sake of that love. Nothing is perfect.

Anyways, I love that we can be in conversation about this and that you have come to me to share your thoughts on jjk. 

Merci beaucoup. 

#for anyone who thinks the writing in jjk sucks right now #and is worried about it #god I love jujutsu kaisen #ask the mental gymnastics anime girl

[shizukateal]

The new Precure designs - I gotta know what you think. They have some unecessary details, a lot of which definitely fit in the category of "you'd probably dislike them," but personally I'm something of a fan! The big bows are unnecessary but endearing

Cure Precious

Anon, once again, I'm going to clear this up properly in a separate post but I do not have a categorical hatred of tails. Not only does my magical girlsona have one, but also my favorite magical girl of all times is Sakura Kinomoto, and my favorite dress from here is the princess dress that has a gigantic tail.

Even this girl here, yeah, I wouldn't say her tail or rather the general overskirt is good, but it's not all that bad either. However, it probably wouldn't have been needed at all if the skirt puffed up a bit better instead of having this clunky awkward movement to it, although that could just be the artist. The problem is that between its sharp, stiff edges, general weird shape, the unnatural way it transitions from the sash and overstuffed apron. Moving to the top, I'm not sure I understand the flaps on top of the sash, but more importantly it was pointless to make it so that the top "zips" to the side with the trimming of the neckline following through. One can barely notice it at all because the front ribbon distracts from it and beyond that it interrupts the aesthetic the outfit is going on in the first place and it makes one question how it carries through to the overskirt. Her hove-sock-boots are odd but not necessarily ugly, so they can stay as far as I'm concerned. All in all she could be slightly more polished, but she's far above acceptable! Congrats to her.

Cure Spicy

The blue one is called spicy???? Um, ok I guess? She does look like she has an attitude I do like how her stance compliments her outfit. The short boots with the stockings and this kind of slitted/ asymmetrical overskirt plus the long gloves, it all gives a mature edge to the look. Sadly, the transition from top to skirt is awkward due to the apron -and even without it it's a bit hard to imagine how to make it work properly- and the back ribbon takes away too much attention. Still, she retains points because this approach is rare to see and it makes her stand out.

Cure Yum-yum

There's the skeleton of a very interesting idea here, once again suffering under the weight of excessive ornaments. The bowler hat/ hairpin? doesn't even have anything to do with the chinese hairbuns, the chest ribbon looks clunky because of how big and distracting it is, and the top line of frills on the skirt adds nothing needed. The shoes are also... impractical? clumsy? Like, those aren't actually shoes, those are short socks with frills with two ribbons shoddily tied around the ankles to give the impression of shoes the same way a white sheet with wholes gives the impression of a ghost. The sash upholding the apron being striped like that is also tiring to the eyes in between all of the other pattern and color combinations it competes with.

As for the back ribbon... Hm :/ See, I don't hate it and I think on itself it is pretty, but it's positioned too low on her back to fully sell itself as butterfly wings and it is too big to properly highlight her waist. I'd call hell Diet Tsuruno, but let's be real: next to eachother Tsuruno is a properly balanced meal and this girl is a sundae overstuffed with every candy in spite of any sense of flavor and texture balance.

Cure Finale

It's a bit hard to put into words how she fails, because the ideas behind her choices make sense on paper, but they simply do not get together.

First of all, here's a good opportunity to compare why I might like a tail and not another. While certainly not perfect, Cure Precious' tail gets a pass over this one because hers is more aerodynamic, for lack of a better word. It's cut in such a way that the weight is not unanimously placed on the lower back, even if the shape of it is not all that attractive. Meanwhile Finale is hard to imagine moving with much free-range, because there's so much weight behind her between the tail -which also starts at a lower point that Precious' and is longer-, her hair and the big ribbon. The drapes attached to the orbs are also jarring and they bring out this sorta uncanny-valley effect of how stiff and 2-dimensional the skirt looks. Once again the apron is cute, and it kinda helps the hipline transition because it starts too low, but at the same time it doesn't fully match the skirt either. Not because of the colors of course, but because, again, the skirt looks like a paper cut-out, and that makes the apron look taped on top of it.

I also get why they cut her sleeves, but it doesn't really help. This looks to me like a case of someone trying to make the square peg fit into the round whole by literally cutting it. It would've been better to just give her shorter puff sleeves, ones that look like they actually belong to the jacket and overskirt. In summary she is pretty, but not consistent enough for me to find her admirable.

My overall assessment is that they are below the A La Mode and Healing Precures, but above the Huggto Precures.

#delicious party precure #magical girl fashion #cure precious #cure spicy #cure yum yum #cure finale

[allhailbrokeloose]

so youve watched another bl and you need the world to learn about it

so yeah i watched ifylita and i need to talk about it so.. hello again tumblr? youve changed.. not for the best as always.. the cut is for SPOILERS. so the series is..

okay ig? its watchable which is already an achievement for a bl. but boy is it unnecessary long, it feels like they forcefully tried to make it longer, the perfect episode length would be 30-40 min, definitely Not an hour+.

the plot is interesting, the actors are ok, even tho i had to get used to the one assigned bottom and his acting choices, but he grown on me towards the end of the series lol (and research has shown he has killer abs btw). assigned top is imo super attractive, so zero questions to lead actors, they both are smart cookies and sunk the ship even before it had the chance to sail, everyone else in the industry should just watch and learn.

ive read somewhere (it was tw*tter ofc where else duh) that its hotter than kp. i mean.. as much as im ready to jump kp every given chance, the comparison here is improper. clearly they wasnt trying to make anything even remotely like kp, i actually think they tried to make an anti-kp, which i think is good as people shouldn't be given those nasty plots bc apparently they can't be normal about it. in short no, its not hotter than kp and imo its more in the cute/warm/comfortable department than anything else.

other things i liked about it:

head of the family whose 1) daughter is a lesbian who is going to a*ort his fav evil son-in-law's child and runaway with a super cute female servant to have a career in politics 2) son is gay and going to France without asking him 3) wife Suddenly remembered she's a human being and can talk with her mouth. everything is in 1928 mind. you cant help but feel some sympathy for the devil lol

two beautiful wives of a scum character ganging up on him we cheered

bad guys getting their karma, yes please we lack it irl

a character who you'd expect to try and ruin main cp's happiness actually helping them

characters' relationships in different timelines

plumeria. btw thanks for letting me know its poisonous, i always wanted to munch on it

the last episode i cried like a bitch which came as a surprise to me bc i felt almost nothing towards the main characters throughout the series, idk could be bc i was drunk watching it lol

things that could have been improved: episode length111, ost, opening credits design ofc or it wouldn't be a bl, the way assigned top character was more than willing to abandon the Love of His Life bc yk 🌟Studying🌟

my verdict: totally worth watching, But only if you are patient enough to stand artificially extended screen time bc sometimes its unbearable, i was gonna drop it about three times and its only 12 episodes, but im glad that i didnt, it has something.. lingering.. yk

#idk who needs to read it mainly i just needed to write it #ifylita saving lives #watchable bl alert #not tagging it

[nightshadereaper66]

In The Fume Hood

Word Count: 1553

“Sorry, I can’t make it to Club tonight, I’ve got chem lab and piles of homework. I have so many midterms coming up.”

“Yeah, I know, again! It feels like I was doing this last week. I was doing this last week! Aghh, the curse of being a STEM major!” I hang up, sighing. 

I look in the mirror, seeing the bags under my eyes. I think I got three hours of sleep last night. I haphazardly run a brush through my unruly hair, getting it out of the way just enough to put a hair tie around it. 

“Gotta love zero-credit labs.”

“Werk,” says my roommate, a chemistry major who can empathize with my suffering. She was up as late as I was, both of us crying in solidarity over our assignments. By this point, we’re both caffeine zombies, trying to get everything done in the desperate hope that we can get a break. Or at the very least, a good night’s sleep.

I scarf down a granola bar and head to the science building for my chem lab, stopping at the campus coffee shop to get a cold brew.

I throw the empty plastic cup into the trash as I walk into the science building. The caffeine is kicking in, I think I’m alive right now. Then again, with the amount of sleep I’ve been getting, I could be hallucinating. Or the caffeine stopped my heart and this is just what hell looks like. If I am dead and in hell, I’ll leave a review on Yelp: “Zero stars, Dante was wrong. Too many exams, not enough fire and brimstone.”

I continue to walk on autopilot, trudging through hallways lined with research posters and the game of Pin the Element on the Periodic Table. I make it to the bulletin board covered in club and study abroad posters, the one with the orange sign held on the top with an unnecessary amount of staples, at least fifteen of them. It reads, “No staples on bulletin boards. Only push pins.” I take a left, ducking into the chemistry lab two doors down, feeling the rush of cold air on my face. They always keep it freezing in here. Perhaps this is a Dante-accurate version of hell after all. 

That’s odd. The door is unlocked, but the lab’s empty. They don’t usually trust us in here without a professor, or worse, a TA. I make for the door, but it’s locked. There’s no way to unlock it from inside, either. Something’s up, it was clearly open when I walked in. I set my backpack in one of the side cubbies.

Whirrrrrrrrrrr…

The fume hoods seem oddly loud today. Maybe someone cranked them up, or something? We’re not supposed to be working with anything overly dangerous today. It should just be another round of titrations, standing at a lab table slowly dripping hydroxide into acid, hoping that the phenolphthalein will be in my favor and not turn violently pink after one drop. 

Man, I hate phenolphthalein. 

WHIRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR…

Okay, that’s gotten louder. I’m going to assume the caffeine and lack of sleep are messing with my brain because there is no way a fume hood can be that loud. I really need to get my midterms over with so that I can sleep. 

Curiosity gets the better of me. I walk over to the large fume hood. It’s empty. Why would anyone turn it on for this? I notice that its sliding glass door is slightly open. I move to close it.

WHIRRRRRR… WHOOOSHHHH…

Yup. That’s it. The caffeine stopped my heart and I’m in hell, grappling with a possessed fume hood. Who knew demons liked chemistry labs? This door refuses to close. I try to slide it open. It moves easily, opening completely. 

WHOOOOOOSHHH… WHIRRRRR!

Barnacles. The door’s not closing again. My ponytail gets sucked into the hood. I try to brace myself against the wall, but this thing, this goddamn possessed hoover vacuum of a fume hood refuses to allow its sleep-deprived, overcaffeinated sacrifice to escape. And then I feel my feet leave the ground. The last thing I see before everything goes black is the hood’s door closing. Then there is just the roar of the wind. 

WHOOOOOOSHHHHHHSHSHSHHSHHHH…

And now I’m falling. 

Falling. 

Falling.

Still falling.

Darwin’s loathing of barnacles, how did I even get this high up?

“Oof!” I land hard on the ground, but not hard enough to get seriously injured. I lay here for a moment, winded.

It’s soft. My cheek is pressed up against the earth and I smell its warm scent. It smells alive. Slowly, I open my eyes. From my perspective, lying on the ground, the prairie grasses form a thick forest of stalks. I’m in a clump of goldenrod, many square feet dominated by its deep green stems and leaves, topped with golden-yellow groupings of flowers.

It’s probably a clonal organism. One root system sending up more and more shoots. Every plant genetically identical.

I feel a hard lump underneath me. I roll over to see a crushed goldenrod stalk with a thick gall halfway up its stem. There’s probably a gall fly larva inside. The fly lays an egg in the stem and stimulates the plant cells to rapidly divide, creating a ball of tissue to feed the larva. A tiny ant trundles over my hand as I lay here. Perhaps a nanitic, hatched from a new queen’s first brood and bravely venturing out into the world to find food for its starving mother. 

I roll onto my back. Purple asters grow amongst the yellow goldenrod in greater abundance. The two colors are complementary, the contrast must look orgasmic to the pollinators that live here. Speaking of pollinators, there’s a bumblebee, its fuzzy, adorably chunky body maneuvering around the asters. It has a big black abdomen, which makes it a common eastern bumble bee. 

I slowly start to sit up. I’m in a grassland so vast that it seems to go on forever. As I pull myself to my feet, I watch a dragonfly zoom by at high speed, making course corrections blindingly quickly. I watch in fascination as it chases a smaller insect, effectively predicting where its prey will go to plot its course. This skill is a sign of the dragonfly’s vast intelligence, its ability to handle such a complex cognitive task instinctively. 

I hear the constant sound of the cicadas as I watch the grasshoppers launch themselves to hundreds of times their height. In the distance, a herd of bison grazes. Their saliva stimulates the plants that they graze on to grow more vigorously, the same way picking sweet grass helps it to thrive, so long as you only take half. Soon the huge mammals will move on to other pastures, allowing the grass to grow again. 

I brush past the purplish spikes atop a big bluestem plant. I can hear the cicadas and the grass as it ebbs and flows, rustling in the wind. I see the dragonflies skimming across the grass. I see a falcon overhead, making its minute adjustments as it rides the wind. I feel the grass moving around me, brushing against me. I hear a few toads croaking; there’s likely a marshy spot nearby. I hear a rustle near my foot and I look down to see a garter snake slither past. Quickly but gently, I wrap my hands around it, picking the snake up. I admire the yellow stripe that runs down its back. All of this, alive under the blue sky, windswept clouds rolling across it.

And I hear it. I can hear the music. The great song of everything around me. It’s alive. Everything is alive. I gently let the snake go, falling to my knees. This whole time, I’ve been going through the motions, struggling as I sit at my desk, laughing at my pain to avoid confronting it. I cannot hear the music in a classroom. I cannot read the music from a piece of compressed dead tree in a book. In trying to find the music, I gave up the thing inside of me that allowed me to hear it. 

So I allow myself to sit on the ground and cry as I come to the epiphany that I lost the thing that gave me life. I feel the tears running down my face as I hear the music weave through my soul again. I welcome it in its familiarity and its novelty; in its ever-changing symphony that sings the song of existence.

I realize that I finally have an answer to the simple question that has haunted me for so long, “So, why do you want to be a botanist?”

I want to be a botanist because I hear the songs of things that are alive, and I want to understand them. I want to be a botanist because their music brings me to life. I can take the pictures in my thoughts and expand them, inking in new details with every discovery. 

By Chuck Darwin’s most hated barnacle, I feel alive again.

Perhaps the fume hood isn’t a demon. Perhaps it reminds us of what we lose when we stop listening to the music. 

I suppose we all find ourselves in the fume hood.

#writing #creative writing #nanowrimo #nano 2023 #mental health #finding yourself #life #botany #science #short story

[asoulofatlantis]

I think Randy shows very much how difficult it is to switch from a life as a Jaeger, to a life as a good human with a conscience and a strong moral compass. Its been years for Randy at this point and yet, he still struggles with how his strength, the strength that gave him the name "red reaper", is sometimes seemingly useless or at least not enough when he tries to protect the people he loves and cares about. The difficulty to understand how he was once strong enough to kill people and destroy villages without any problem and yet, when he want to do good, and protect people and places instead of destroying them, this strength isn't enough. We have seen through the Trails-Saga that former Jaegers or even former Gang-Members have unlike skills to them that can benefit them in battle when they use them for good, but not being on the bad side anymore comes with the prize of not being ruthless anymore. If the only way to protect your friend is to throw someone else into the line of fire or kill someone with your very own hands - which is something most Jaegers would do - then your moral compass will stop you and you will find that strength alone isn't enough, not when you are on the good side. And I believe it is very hard to deal with that when you once have been unbeatable and no one could stand in your way. I think Randy is especially prone to feeling this... helpless and frustrated about this helplessness, because his journey as a jager ended when his own stupidity was partly to blame for losing a friend...

I have to say it again, how proud I am of how far Lloyd has become since the Crossbell-Saga and how much more I like him these days. All he has been through has changed him truly for the better and makes it so that he finally truly feels like the best leader the SSS could have. Seeing through Randys state and giving him this amazing and honest pep-talk was a wonderful example of just how much Lloyd has grown as a person, a leader and also a friend. And it was wonderful to be able to watch this growth happen over time.

They are amazing! Why do they not have an S-Rank yet? They surely have the skill, the power and the experience to freaking deserve it!

Seems like Estelle has turned the tables on Randys favorite joke XD

And since we are both idiots why don't we promote you from "former Colleague" to "my wife"? Sounds about right, right? XD (DAMN RIGHT!)

How the freaking heck did I fuck up the order so badly? I planned to finish Rufus route first, because that one sucks in this chapter but somehow I ended up finishing Reans and then Lloyds first and I do not know why at all ^^'

Uh... okay? Not sure why we lose access to the corridor, but whatever...

Yeah, thank you for looking after my only child, man that killed my best friend with a shot in the head from behind like a cold blooded murderer... *achem*

Are they cute or what?

I did not get much off all that unnecessary bullshit when I played this game with the spreadsheet and it seems like I am still lost here. So... I hope this conversation end a little bit quicker here, seeing how many lines from the whole game a quite different from the ones from the Spreadsheet...

The kind heart of a murderer.... geez Falcom. I get you want to show us that EVERYONE deserves a second chance and that not everyone who does bad things is bad or stays bad forever and blah, blah, blah... but this is just ridiculous. Guy was an innocent man, a good police officer, the only family member Lloyd had in Crossbell and he was about to get married to the love of his life too. And Ian killed him. And not even in a fair fight. He shot him in the head from behind, without warning. That is even worse than what Rufus did with Lianne. How can you straight out let anyone say that he is a kind hearted men?

But he totally pretended not to be XD It was all "They are fine" and "They are capable" and "I know they are alright" but this was merely him trying to convince himself at the end of the day. Our Rean Bean is still a worrywart, he just hides it way better than in the past XD

Yes, lets do that before your pretty little Girlfriend here gets a panic attack...

#tir mona version