#art being ''bad'' doesn't make it not art but just the insult of making thousands of times more copying your work *worse*

[oliveroctavius]

In Plagiarism and You(Tube), Hbomb says "If you consider something so obscure you can get away with stealing it, you do not respect it." Save that line for the next time someone tries to tell you that Roy Lichtenstein brought respect to comics as art.

It's since been pointed out that while Lichtenstein did copy one of Russ Heath's drawings of an airplane getting hit, the painting depicted above was actually copied off Irv Norvick, because Lichtenstein did this so many times to so many comic artists.

In Lichtenstein's defense, he was doing this in a time when comic artists frequently weren't even credited in the issues themselves. In his condemnation, he never even tried to check, nor has he made any move to pay or credit any of the comic artists who recognized their own work later on. Rather than elevating the "low art" of comics, he was widening the gap of financial success and respect even further.

The Hbomberguy of this story is art historian David Barsalou, who has now spent decades tracking down the original art and the names of the original artists used in Lichtenstein's most famous output. Here's the flickr gallery for the Deconstructing Roy Lichtenstein project. Frequently copied were Tony Abruzzo, Ted Galindo, Mike Sekowsky, Joe Kubert, Jerry Grandenetti, and dozens more Golden Age artists who aren't very well known in comics circles, let alone art history books. Many of them died in poverty. That's something that the Hero Initiative, mentioned in Russ Heath's comic above, aims to prevent.

Also, Lichtenstein didn't even paint Ben-Day dots. That's a specific thing.

#roy lichtenstein #plagiarism #olivertxt #once you've seen them side by side. the original art is virtually ALWAYS more technically solid #art being ''bad'' doesn't make it not art but just the insult of making thousands of times more copying your work *worse* #lichtenstein did a lot of original (or harder to attribute) work later on but the peak of his fame was majority this stuff #comics history

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

Am I the asshole in this situation??

First of all I'm so sorry for bringing t/b discourse here but this has been so gd annoying I need help. And all this is is on twitter-retro etc.

I'm 100% here for switch please keep in mind. Idc what anyone else likes it's food I'll eat all of it. But this fandom. Oh this fandom. So here's the context, it's a anime show with a really popular almost canon mlm ship, one of them is crazy beautiful and the other one is a big muscular man. Naturally the fandom like the pretty man as bottom and the muscular man as top. Let's call this DC. Not all people tho and it's the problem.

See, there are some creators who hate the above dynamics so much they make the muscular man a woman, sometimes trans which is fine but they always babygirl him, call him wifey, use she/her pronouns, go all out to make the pretty man over the top masculine so he can be top while making the canon masculine man demure little wife. Note that they're both really tall but D has long hair so they always make him wear accessories to feminize him. I made friends with some authors who used to like switch, they wrote DC back then and they were so good. They were all into switch too. Over the years they became really hateful of DC dynamics and started to exclusively write CD, talk about CD only, rt CD art exclusively.

This is still fine, they're like 10 people out of thousands who don't care, and most people don't care. Until one day recently when I said it was better to ship switch. Those people started clowning me, saying it's their right to exclusively like whatever, write whatever, started ignoring how the show portrays them. They wrote literal threads detailing how to how use tags as if no one knows, shaded people who said they didn't care and would use whatever tags they liked. It got to a point I had to ask them to stop, they started saying I was harassing them and accused the fandom of harassing them on anon and ao3. When I said it Doesn't Matter they said it was racist to suggest that, telling me to block if I didn't like their posts. I could not make them understand how fetishistic it was, just because Japanese fans do this doesn't mean it's good or we have to follow? They somehow figured out who I was and blocked me, kicked me out of a server we were in together, so I lost mutuals and some followers too.

Then they started answering my asks unseriously like "I write CD to piss YOU off" "can't project on the twink like yall" and started insulting switch fans calling us hypocrits. There isn't much CD content to begin with how can I share more of those? Whatever is available they make it heteronormative like that. One of them deadass called me an asshole for "harassing" them just because I said it's rude to block people over t/b dynamics when no one is bothering anyone, because these people are always blocking anyone posting DC and making a bubble of CD only fans. This is bound to make them lose track of canon but who cares anymore. They keep complaining about being harassed for liking CD and yes some fans probably send anon hate but that doesn't mean any critic of CD is harassment?

Tell me how I'm the asshole here for suggesting they stop obsessing over t/b this much? How am I the asshole when I'm the one they all blocked and apparently I'm a bad guy because I followed some popular accounts who post DC and said some weird things about D which I didn't even know about.

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole #ship discourse

[volturissideslut]

How would the guards be with a very ditsy human mate, kinda like Luna Lovegood.

𝖁𝖔𝖑𝖙𝖚𝖗𝖎 𝖌𝖚𝖆𝖗𝖉

So I wrote for more of a ditzy/wonder-y (???) reader then Luna-esque (but not really??), which Luna kind of is so I hope that's okay??? I'm not entirely sure in this is what you asked or not but here you go

Alec

WOULD YOU PLEASE STOP WANDERING OFF?!?! ITS STRESSING HIM THE FUCK OUTTT

would be the type to wrap you in bubble wrap, place you in a padded room and coddle you day and night

look, he loves you so much

but you keep going to the woods

at night

and he has around a thousand years worth of enimies trying to get to him and those he loves because of his role in the volturi

and whilst you're bright... you're not the most sharp

and he can't have you being taken

please! feel free to wander the castle and it's garden, study ancient books and history, endeavour into art, converse with the guards, but please for the love of God stop wandering into the forest at the dead of night

Jane

Look, you'll probably both try your best but I genuinely don't think this would work with her

yes, she has an eternity

but she just doesn't have the patience

it'll cute at first, the strong, knowledgeable and mature vampire with the ditzy, slow-paced, heartwarming human

but with the type of person she is I don't see this lasting without one of you changing your entire personality- and that's not fair

BUT

for plots sake, let's say it happened and its lasting:

she is SO protective of you it's not even funny

you're her adorable little human and she'll try her best to seem interested in what you have to say

And if anyone, and I mean anyone (aside from the kings) insults you or gives you a funny look or something?????

they're gonna face a world full of pain

Demetri

he

absolutely

adores

you

1) is sat with heart eyes whenever you ramble about something you're interested in

2) random dances in the middle of the hallway disturbing everyone and causing traffic

3) indulges in the wanderings: you want to stand on the roof at exactly 5:32 am in the middle of winter to look at the stars at that precise moment because you read in a book 14 years ago about something that might have to do with it? sure!

Felix

Is SO supportive and absolutely interested in anything and everything you have to say

"oh? you saw something strange in the woods? do tell, my darling, I'd love to hear all about it" loves listening to you ramble and finds it adorable when you get this concentrating and confused look on your face when literally nothing is happening

please please please please please play chess with him!! he wants to teach you soooo bad beacsue firstly it's cool, secondly it'll make you a little sharper and thirdly he wants to spend time with youuuuuuuuuu

incase you haven't noticed I'm not that good at writing for felix but I'm trying

#twilight #twilight renascence #twilight saga #volturissideslut #volturi Guard #alec volturi #jane volturi #demetri volturi #felix volturi #x reader #headcannons #hc

[disabledunitypunk]

Okay, we're going to be posting essentially an image ID minus the images of a post, because our phone is being wonky about images.

Tl;dr since it is very long: Having hobbies doesn't make you a morally better person and not having hobbies doesn't make you a morally worse person. Some disabled people are disabled enough by their disabilities that they can't have hobbies and this kind of thing hurts them the most. Erasing them and saying all disabled people are abled enough to have hobbies is ableist. The idea that hobbies - productive or consumptive - determine whether a person is going to be a decent upstanding person or a complete asshole is literally based in christian protestant ideals about work ethic that have suffused our culture.

Take your moral superiority complex about being better than people who don't have hobbies and your crybullying about the existence of severely disabled people being ableist elsewhere.

The original post:

"get a job" as an insult: piddlin. implies one's value is determined by employment. feeds into capitalistic ideals

"get a hobby”: strong. cutting. implies that instead of feeding your soul and potentially creating something beautiful, you are here bothering me.

OP's reblog:

i can't believe i have to say this but for the people getting angry in the notes or sending me harassing asks: if this post makes you feel attacked, it's because you're an asshole.

if "you should find something rewarding to do instead of being mean to people" reads as "problematic" or "antagonistic,” it's probably because you've been told something similar after being unkind to others, maybe often.

and no, sorry, "get a hobby” isn't ableist. i'm disabled. disabled people almost always have hobbies. we are as capable of creating something beautiful, be it a knit scarf or a cake or a nice memory, as anyone else.

telling someone it's within their power to find something that makes them even a little happier isn't ableist, y'all have just become obsessed with this weird tumblr narrative that you aren't responsible for ANY of your own wellbeing and that pushing or enriching yourself in any way is EVIL.

stop being in love with your fucking misery, treat people better, and get a fucking hobby.

Our response:

It's still fucking ableist. I'm also a disabled person. It affects people more disabled than you in ways it doesn't affect you. Congrats, you're just a privileged asshole.

Conflating morality with productivity is ableist bullshit and also just based in culturally christian bullshit. People don't mistreat people because they don't have fun little activities to do. I've encountered literally THOUSANDS of the nastiest people you'll ever meet who are fanartists and fanfic writers, knitters and crocheters, who play instruments and write music, who make indie games in their spare time or create mods for existing games. I've also met incredibly good people who don't do anything "rewarding", often because they can't, and are the most compassionate, patient, understanding people you will ever meet.

You seem to think the only reason someone might find this antagonistic or problematic is because they are secretly guilty of not having any hobbies and spending their time attacking people. Is this projection on your part? Do you have to occupy yourself with distractions to avoid being an asshole on the internet? Are you even aware that the axiom that people who don't have hobbies are assholes still isn't true, and you've just once again said "the reason you're mad about productivity and hobbies being moralized is because you are a Bad Person and unkind because of your lack of hobbies"? Circular logic, anyone?

Like, I'm not a perfect person. You can scroll down my personal blog (@xxlovelynovaxx) and find times I said shitty things, and apologized and attempted to take responsibility for them. I also have LOTS of hobbies, including writing, reading, gaming, drawing, painting, digital art, papercrafting, playing flute and ocarina and recently kalimba, photography, doll collecting, music composition, singing, sewing, and learning languages.

I am also profoundly disabled and becoming more so. I am not becoming a worse person because of my lack of ability to continue doing many of these things. In fact, there is zero correlation between the times I have been an asshole and the times I have been unable to engage with my hobbies for prolonged periods of time. Meaning, not that I am only ever an asshole when doing hobbies, but that when I've made mistakes and hurt people, it's equally likely that I was or wasn't able to have hobbies at the time.

You know what's also ableist? "We are as capable of creating something beautiful, be it a knit scarf or a cake or a nice memory, as anyone else."

We are "as capable", as disabled people, as "anyone else". As cap-able.

No. Not all of us are. Disabled people who are incapable of doing these things exist. Disabled people who are so profoundly disabled that they can't even participate minimally in social situations to create "nice memories" - which, by the way, hanging out with others and "making memories" isn't a hobby. Disabled people who literally are unABLE because of their DIS-ABILITY of doing any of these things exist.

No, "most disabled people" don't have hobbies. But thank you for "defending" disabled people with literal inspiration porn about how actually, we all CAN have hobbies just like any other person, and how disabilities can never disable us to the point of being unable to participate in hobbies. Telling someone to find something that makes them happy isn't ableist. Deciding that there is a direct causative relationship between "not pushing or enriching yourself" and "being a massive asshole to strangers", or that the reason they are being dicks is because they "aren't taking responsibility for their well-being", IS.

Even setting aside that yes, pushing yourself can be unhealthy in some cases, that hobbies aren't enriching to everyone, that hobbies are necessary for a person's well-being (arguably true, because people who are disabled to the point they can't have hobbies often find their quality of life suffers) - people aren't "refusing to take responsibility for their own well-being" by acknowledging the reality of their disability.

They aren't thinking that it's "evil" to pursue something they enjoy or being in love with their misery or sitting there cackling about refusing to "recover" or whatever it is you think disabled people are doing when you've decided they're "choosing" not to have hobbies. For my part, I spend much of my time when I can't participate in my hobbies desperately wanting to, or planning how I can when I feel better, or as I've made peace with my reality, looking forward to the good days while I appreciate even the long and difficult rest periods forced on me by my body.

(Although also, if you think it's not okay for disabled people to be sad or angry or yes, miserable, when factors outside of their control make them unable to do the things they love, you're also an ableist for that.)

"Get a hobby" still implies people don't have inherent worth. It just takes capitalist ideals and does the "can I copy your notes? yeah but change your answer slightly" and makes it about an arbitrary abstract standard of "fulfillment" (usually still determined by creation of a product, as 'non-productive' hobbies like watching shows/ movies, listening to music, or other 'media consumption' are often vilified in the same way as lack of hobbies).

It's still moralization of productivity. It still bases both worth and "goodness" around what a person can DO. It's still based in exactly the same protestant labor ethic that contributed to the formation of capitalism, only now instead of "idle hands are the devil's work and cause sin" it's "idle hands cause an unenriched soul which causes sin I mean assholery". Seriously, what WAS that weird pseudoreligious bit about "feeding your soul" in the OP? The pretense is SO thin.

For all your fake concern trolling about it really being about "people finding stuff that makes them happy and taking responsibility for their recovery", the truth is, you don't actually think it's about people being healthier and therefore less of an asshole (also, being an asshole is a choice, not a mental health condition. Congrats on contributing to the exact stigma we continuously have to fight. Lack of health does not make you a worse person or more likely to hurt others).

To you, it's that if people can't, in your words, "create something beautiful" and "feed their soul", they are fundamentally less good of a person and more likely to hurt others.

Finally, even were all that true - that lack of hobbies directly causes people to be assholes - is it really worth making the most marginalized disabled people feel ashamed and worry that they're really fundamentally lesser? Is it really worth taking the people you believe to be outliers and essentially sacrificing them and their already much worse mental health outcomes, just to make a quip on the internet?

Or do you not actually give a fuck about other disabled people, have you bought into lies and stigma that productivity makes you a more "pure" person who is less capable of harm, and that having poor mental health makes you a morally lesser person that has to fight harder and fails more at not being an asshole, and that the only reason people might disagree with you is that they're bad people who choose not to recover and wallow in their misery, because a disability making someone unable to do things you can do isn't possible?

You literally said that people who have hobbies are better than those that don't. You think that hobbies determine morality. That's ableist no matter how you shake it.

Maybe you should get over your obsession with hobbies equaling worth and making someone a "better" more moral person, stop making other miserable, and maybe even with it being untrue, focus more on your own hobbies, because if nothing else they make you happier, right? And you don't seem too happy right now.

Repost because this originally caused a wave of ableist harassment when attached to OPs post.

[beevean]

Hey it’s so called this morning’s anon back with more things to say I suppose…

I supposed I wanted to elaborate on some things, I know you said you didn’t wanna start discourse but I really wanted to elaborate on what I meant by that proshipping comment. The term proship, from what I heard, has gone from let people ship what they want and if you don’t like don’t look to… This person is a disgustingly vile subhuman and their death should be celebrated.

Funnily enough I openly ship problematic stuff, but I constantly over complicate things to prove that I’m still better than ‘those guys’, to say that I have morality and ‘they’ don’t… But it’s so fucking exhausted. My life wasn’t good and moral and pure so why does my art have to be?

I’m sick of fearing I’ll have someone genuinely threaten my life because I cope differently than them. Ironically I used to get mad when people say it was their coping mechanism, calling it a shitty excuse to be a whatever [You can insert all kinds of fun and degrading terms there] and yet… I was doing the same thing.

So yeah… I don’t like everything but I’m realizing that everything has its place and if that makes me a proshipper then fuck it I guess I’m a proshipper

[After reading all those kind messages I wanted some way to reveal myself because surprise you actually know who I am! But I wasn’t sure how to do that without outing myself so openly… I read your Hevor fic and told you about it on Discord, it’s the only thing we ever discussed. So yeah if you manage to figure me out based on that alone then congratulations! Purity culture is ruining my life so bad I can’t even say my own name! ;3]

fdjskfksdngksjdhk talk about efficient secret codes lmao. Yes I understand now 😄

That's pretty much what happened. "Proship" started as a countermovement to the "anti" culture budding around 2016 who were all like "Sheith is actually incest because they're like brothers and that's gross guys!!!!", and at first it meant simply "ship and let ship", but then it got twisted into meaning "someone who enjoys problematic ships/ships with incest, pedophilia and/or abuse", which inevitably leads to "this person has Something Wrong with them and they're a Bad Person who Hurts people like me with their Degenerate Art! Pedo alert pedo alert! PUNISHMENT FOR A THOUSAND YEARS".

The problem is that "enjoys" means a lot of things :^) there is a difference between "aww they're so cute <3", "welp this is a kink now", and "wow this would be incredibly fucked up but I am intrigued to explore this story". But nuance is not allowed, apparently.

(fun fact: I don't really go through proship blogs because I swear they all ship sibling incest. I hate sibling ships lmao, especially when they're wholesome. But of course they're all in the "will accept anything" community, after being pretty much shunned and painted as horrible abusers who deserve to be hurt and worse - and just because I don't want to see those ships, that doesn't mean I think they're bad people who condone real-life abuse. So yeah, proship is not about having all the grossest ships in the world, you can be exclusively into the most vanilla M/F ships ever and still think "yo do what you want I'll respect you from a distance")

I also hear similar stories like yours, of people who twist themselves into pretending to be antis and be morally "purer" than others when in private they were doing the same things they were insulting others for, just with tons of shame and denial. Not judging you and I'm happy when people realize that this behavior is harmful, definitely more than being into the Problematic lol... I'm just disappointed and frustrated that the internet culture has come to this. I reiterate my points about surrounding yourself with friends who don't make you feel like you have to walk on eggshells.

Also real talk: you don't really have to psychoanalyze yourself. Maybe your tastes are tied to an easily identifiable reason, or maybe they aren't or the reason goes too deep to explore without outside help. In any case, it doesn't matter. You don't have to justify yourself in any way, let alone showing to everyone the "I'm Coping With Trauma" badge in the hopes they will forgive you - because it doesn't work. It's never about the mental health of victims, it's about "i feel icky and i don't want to :("

Disgust is not harm. You (general) have every right to be disgusted by something - I myself am not above it :P But it's not a personal attack against you, and it's your responsibility to walk away and coping with your feelings in private.

#important #proship #again the discourse can get way too complicated and nuanced #and these may feel like milquetoast stances lol #but... guess they're not and some people really have to be told 'please don't suicide bait someone because they ship a 17 yo and a 19 yo' #something something funny how antis will scream about the normalization of abuse and incest #when they have normalized threatening real people with real harm in a quirky way

[citrusreadstoa]

Reading The Dark Prophecy: Chapter 11 (SPOILERS)

Sorry for the pause in updates. (I feel like I'm jinxing myself because every other time I say that or see someone else say that, a much longer pause in updates or an indefinite hiatus immediately follows.)

So far, Leo and Calypso feel like Disney Princesses in crossover merchandise. You know that thing where Disney Princesses aren't allowed to look each other in the eye or speak to or acknowledge each other whenever they are featured together in merchandise or media? Leo and Calypso have hardly talked to each other in the ten chapters so far. I hope it's tied into the fights they've been having so there's a canonical reason rather than just author neglect. I'm here for Caleo content! Eleven-year-old me wants to see her OTP!

Admittedly, I don't remember reading too many rocky relationships in the previous series once the couples got together, so this is getting interesting to watch. Preteen me might have to cry in the corner while I break out the popcorn, 'cause if any relationship's gonna be rocky, it's going to be the one that started as a whirlwind romance that jumped into a six-month-long action adventure starring The Guy Who Was On The Run His Whole Life and The Girl Who Hasn't Left Home In Four Thousand Years.

"Four beheaded dudes" I thought we just had the one?

"flecks of feldspar glittering like stars." FELDSPAR (n.): an abundant rock-forming mineral typically occurring as colorless or pale-colored crystals and consisting of aluminosiliactes of potassium, sodium, and calcium

"It was Trophonius. My son." Fuck. Okay, that makes sense why he'd have the gift of prophecy, probably having inherited it from Apollo. Is Brieanna his half-brother or whole brother? Imagine if you were a ghost and your dad doesn't even know you or recognize you (admittedly a difficult task without a face or a head present). Speaking of the cheese ghost, someone needs to get Nico or Hazel here to exorcise him and lay him to rest. What's he been doing hanging out in the living world all this time? Do his deeds as a ghost count when being judged in the Underworld? So many questions.

"Agamethus--Trophonius's half brother. He was no son of mine." He said that so maliciously! I'm sure it wasn't meant to come out that way, but at least we have an answer now. "The poor boy had the misfortune of being the actual offspring of King Erginus" No need to insult him like that, holy moly!

"We built the temple at Delphi." Y'all're princes and famous architects. You're doubly rich. WHY DO YOU NEED TO STEAL.

"Make sure my body can't be identified." Awwww so Trophonius didn't behead him to kill him or have any malicious intent. This is heartbreaking. "You brought this upon yourself." Tbf he did, but that's no reason to let someone else die. They both brought it upon themselves. After all, Trophonius says "we" when talking about architecture and the temple and they both are princes. Still, thievery and wasted potential are not good reasons for the death penalty.

"video clips of a bearded man with curly brown hair, perfect teeth, and brilliant blue eyes . . . Not many emperors can look imperial wearing only lion-skin swim trunks, but Commodus managed." My friend showed me Commodus's character art and lemme tell you he is HOT. No, like, seriously. I'd simp. He might be hotter than Britomartis is pretty.

"very close to threatening his nearest advisor's anatomy." threatening ___'s anatomy is a good phrase. Might borrow it in the future.

"I still found Commodus attractive after so many centuries" And you'd be right. "we had a, er, complicated history" *sigh* Add another lover to Apollo's Bad Decisions Box. Apollo's "complicated histories" seem to always involve some sort of betrayal and at least one death.

"a portly man in a crimson business suit" I wanna know who this advisor is. It would make sense for it to be Trophonius, especially with his gift of prophecy, but that doesn't sound like him. The way he's described is similar to Nero, but it's obviously not him, though we can't discount relatives. "capable servants of the Triumvirate lost a little girl." Meg or Georgina? Probably Georgina 'cause Meg wouldn't run away again so soon.

"Lord Cleander" Nvm, never heard of this guy and his name doesn't sound Greek or Roman at first glance.

"any sort of plant" Wait, it could be Meg! I wonder if she had a plan all along. It doesn't seem like it. "You let a daughter of Demeter near a plant?" Jeez, they're literally, like, everywhere. What did you expect him to do, blowtorch every inch of the sidewalk before they stepped on it? Even in the city, plants are everywhere.

"Which is all she needed to teleport away!" ...Can Meg teleport? Like Nico? Honestly still not as OP as Percy, so we're all good.

"Gods only know where she is now!" "Actually . . . I'm a god. And I have no idea." I love this guy. He has my heart and soul and he has spoken nine (9) words so far.

"If she reaches Indianapolis" Are they not in Indianapolis? Are they maybe on the outskirts around where the caves are, then?

"And you're boring me . . . which is punishable by death." Okay, maybe Trophonius and Brieanna's thievery was a more severe crime by ancient standards. If this is what Cleander and Commodus are like, I truly wonder how Cleander has stayed alive so long. He isn't the most entertaining fella. "Do it, then." Oh, I guess we have our answer. He isn't lasting long at all.

"That was very entertaining, Lityerses!" LITYERSES! Midas's kid! I saw character art of him after reading The Lost Hero and I was like, Why does he have character art? He was there for less than a chapter??? So I figured he must be in TOA somehow and HERE HE IS MY BOYYYY.

"Manage all that for me, and I won't kill you. Fair?" Some pay would be nice.

"Unless you want to wait around here for morning chores." Now that's a threat that will get him moving.

I just realized the four beheaded dudes are the combo of Brieanna, Lord Cleander (Does that mean Lityerses has been promoted to Lord Lityerses?), Marcus, and Vortigern. An uncanny amount of beheaded people in one chapter. New record.

#reading trials of apollo #reading the dark prophecy #reading toa #reading tdp #toa spoilers #trials of apollo spoilers #trials of apollo #the dark prophecy #percy jackon and the olympians #apollo pjo #apollo #lester papadopoulos #caleo #team caleo #brieanna the cheese ghost #agamethus pjo #agamethus #trophonius pjo #trophonius #commodus pjo #commodus #emperor commodus #meg mccaffrey #lityerses pjo #lityerses #pjo #toa #pjo hoo toa #rrverse #riordanverse

[headspace-hotel]

I've been reading a lot of poetry in the library and on Poetry Daily. Poetry books. Poetry magazines. This (the presence of large numbers of poems in my life) has been going on for a while (a couple years).

These are "literary" poems. Many, probably most, are written by people with MFAs or PhDs in poetry.

How many literary poems? Certainly hundreds, probably thousands.

I've reached the point where "literary" poetry, however technically sophisticated and skilled, almost all seems like bath water. The level of skill and sophistication itself, the attention given to every word and line with tiny tweezers, the noticeable consciousness of thousands and thousands of other poems a "literary" poem must prove itself different from, takes away all the power.

There's no messiness. There's no uncleanliness. There's no urgent, desperate feeling. Literary poems are hard to remember and hard to read. They aren't the kind of thing a person would yell, sing, cry, or scratch onto a surface in a public place. They are not the kind of thing that would come to mind unprompted—that "lives in your head rent free," as people sometimes say.

Reading these poems, honestly, requires you to have studied poetry. The average person doesn't know how to get meaning out of them. They have many opaque layers of poetic devices that you have to carefully take apart. You have to know how to methodically try to see meaning in sentence structures and word choices that look like gobbledeygook when you read them in the way you would an email or a news article.

I'm tired of them. Even the most ferocious and raw experiences feel distant and thin in these most perfect and skillful poems. The warmest and most powerful and glowing love is cold. No matter how many words the poets use that are gutsy and fleshy and gross, it is just clinical. I feel this way more and more.

Reading poems has often made me feel...bad. Kind of icky. Uncomfortable. It always seemed weird.

But I understand why now—the inaccessibility and carefully preened words of literary poems make them feel cold and distant, nearly all of them. When human beings hate something, love something, or are about to die, or something similarly desperate and intense, their words are shaky and unfinished.

The things we would say to each other if the world was ending in thirty seconds would be more common and cliche than the words we said at any other time. 

When I read poets in magazines combining obscure words in clashing ways in an endless specialness contest, I feel the radiation of apathy. It feels like the writers have nothing but lukewarm and detached feelings for the world. I've noticed that my imaginations of what these poets must be like as people is mostly very, very negative—which is not fair, but when I read most of their writings, I get the sense of someone that doesn't love anything deeply.

I think there's some kind of connection between real passion and being—unfinished. Rough.

I think the purpose of art is to save your life, even if it's only a little bit at once. Art is about survival. We make it to survive, and we partake in it to survive.

(Before you say that, hey, people do those things for joy and pleasure—Yes. That's exactly what I'm saying.)

It can be really beautiful to take apart a complex and skillfully crafted poem like it's a tiny clockwork automaton. But—suppose I'm dying. Suppose I'm starving. It's a little insulting if the person who can give me food is painstakingly arranging my plate like a chef in a fancy expensive restaurant.

I need bread that is good to tear apart with your hands. I need to know that you care.

#random #poetry #poems #literary poetry #art

[ystrike1]

Leylin of Turin - By Na Yoo Hye (6/10)

I can't do it. The art is pretty. The yandere pretends to be submissive but he's black and rotten on the inside. I guess that's good. That's a a decent yandere concept. Uh. The...that's it. Everything else is bland and none of the characters are charming at all. Even the yandere is kind of a snorefest.

Leylin of Turin is perfect. She is destined to become the one and only Grand Duchess. She was born with a silver spoon in her mouth and a thousand servants. She has it all, but nobody likes her because she's cripplingly insecure and paranoid.

Just kidding.

That would actually be a fairly unique and engaging premise.

Sorry.

That version of Leylin died.

This is a reincarnation novel isekai because of course it is, and that makes it even more unbearably boring. The original Leylin was more interesting than her reincarnated version. The original Leylin was a neglected wife that went crazy from lonliness and abused her son. She didn't get any respect or love from anyone, including her husband Damien. So, she turned into a bitter woman that eventually commited suicide. I would love this webtoon if it was about the original Leylin. If the original Leylin turned back time before her death that would be interesting. Then we would get to watch a woman with nothing try again. Her death also drove her husband crazy, even though he never paid attention to her or his son. Why? Did he secretly adore his pathetic, unpopular, political marriage partner? We'll never know. That's a decent plot, but sadly the author just throws it out.

The tragic Lady Leylin dies and a Korean highschooler takes her place. The new Leylin is literally nothing like the original. She's smart and kind and resourceful. She's also an adorable child that everyone hails as a genius. She works extra hard because she doesn't want to die like the original Leylin. Every character sings her praises constantly.

It's aggravating.

Bring back the original bitchy Leylin!

Please! Reincarnate me into that story instead!

Ok so new Leylin gets the perfect childhood. Her only two flaws are being too skinny and her "serious" illness. Magic exists in this world, but Leylin got unlucky for once. Magic leaks out of her at random. She can't control it. When it drains out she loses some of her life force. When she finally runs out of mana she'll die. Her brother has been giving her his mana to help her survive.

That's potentially interesting. Yay!

(Don't get your hopes up.)

Leylin's brother Cedric used to hate old Leylin for... pretty much no reason. They were half siblings not full siblings. Some manipulative maids tricked them into fighting each other, and then Cedric sold old Leylin into a loveless marriage.

Wow.

What an asshole.

New Leylin kisses Cedric's arse, so naturally he falls for her. He tells the maids to stop looking down on his cute, obedient sister. Then he buys new tutors that acknowledge what a genius she is. Those royal tutors heap gifts onto her until the other children in high society get jealous. When Leylin faints because of her illness a girl named Marianne gets blamed. Marianne's entire family gets ruined because she "offended" Leylin. It's a misunderstanding but Leylin doesn't fix it. Her overprotective tutors pounce on Marianne and kick her out of high society. Her family falls into ruin too.

All because Leylin fainted. Marianne did insult her, but Marianne was also like... twelve. The point is I feel bad for Marianne. All of these reincarnation story authors don't seem to understand how creepy the age gap is. New Leylin's soul is at least fifteen years older than her young girl friends. She has every unfair advantage. No I'm not impressed by an ADULT "beating" a TWELVE YEAR OLD. These kinds of scenes bother me. They're yucky.

Um...am I supposed to be cheering for new Leylin? She's an opportunistic, cowardly person that acts cute on purpose. Everybody loves her because she knows how to kiss ass. All of her relationships and friendships feel super janky. We are definitely supposed to love new Leylin. Everybody does unconditionally, but she sucks and she's boring. The only good thing about her character is her pipe. She smokes medical herbs because her body is weak. After she gets older she needs them to mitigate her pain. That's actually cool, but Leylin herself is bleh. The scene were she meets Damien is ok too, but it feels so forced. Leylin just meets him randomly in the woods.

Leylin's magic disease allows her to cure the mad prince Damien with a single touch. She starts eating his magic instead of her brother's, and that mutually benefits both of them. Damien was born with too much magic. He can't sleep. He hallucinates sometimes. He always gets migraines. He used to accidentally kill people with bursts of magic as a child. Leylin's mere touch cures him. He was old Leylin's husband too, so new Leylin doesn't trust him. Is that the conflict? No. She's willing to marry him for the sake of Turin anyway.

Sidenote: The original Leylin did not have this disease, and it is the only reason why Damien falls in love with new Leylin. Did the author forget to include the romance part of this romance? It feels like they skipped a few steps. Most of them. Maybe all of them.

Sigh...

Damien kneels before her and vows to be her loyal slave husband after less than an hour. Her brother hovers around her protectively the whole time and they fight about who loves Leylin more. The "who loves Leylin the most" fight repeats ten times. Cedric doesn't have a personality outside of loving Leylin. Damien is worse, because he's clearly just in love with her because of her healing touch.

No, seriously.

The author completely bungles the romance. There isn't much chemistry between the main couple. Damien just kisses her holy hands all the time and dreams about locking her away.

He is a yandere. I don't doubt that. He will never love anybody but Leylin, and he will always worship her. All of the flashbacks with old Leylin are painful. He always just dismisses her because...well...his infinite mana was always making him suffer. He couldn't love old Leylin properly. He had an eternal migraine. Damien would not have fallen for new Leylin if she didn't have this bullshit disease that wasn't in the original story setting.

Damn you author!

Why would you constantly taunt me with a better story and make me read this? Why? Are you scared of writing a retribution arc for an abusive mother? I bet that was it. Why write an actual dark yandere story when you could chuck another high schooler into a castle? I'm sure people aren't bored of that yet!!!! hahaha!!!

Damien has a dark past, but it doesn't matter. Nothing matters except Leylin. We have to watch every character praise Leylin every day. Praise Leylin! She said one nice thing once and then she fainted. She is clearly the greatest woman in this empire.

STOP writing mediocre protagonists! Nobody wants wish fulfilment reincarnation junk like this. It's boring! It's stale! It's nothing! It's a waste of good art!

#yandere #male yandere #yandere male #yandere boy #recommendations #recs #rec #recommended #webtoon #aaaaaaaaa #Leylin of Turin

[hatterstan-shameblog]

For the headcanon thing

I think Hatter likes to watch bad movies. Like the really bad ones. The ones that make you roll your eyes/laugh/cry at every single thing about it, doesn't matter if it's plot or acting. But you know what he loves more than watching those awful movies alone?

Watching them with someone else.

"hey, Mori, wanna watch a movie?"

"...no."

"c'mon, you'll like this one."

"no, I won't."

"...no, you won't. But I will enjoy your presence. C'mon bro, do it for the sake of bonding time."

"*sigh* fine..."

(inspired by real life events)

💕 Sleepover 💕

Rating: PG13 for language and alcohol consumption

Relationship: Takeru (Hatter)/Aguni

Tags: banter, friendly insults, Just Guys Being Dudes, drinking, swearing, love confessions (sort of), They Talk A Big Game But The Love Is There

Bangbangbangbangbang!

“Mori!”

Bangbangbangbangbang!

“Moooooori, let me iiiiiiiiiin!”

Clunk!

Click!

Creeeeeeaaaaaak!

Aguni opens his apartment door, wincing at the slap of summer heat that greets him as he does.

“C’mon man,” an overheated and impatient Takeru implores, “it’s miserable out here!”

“You bring me samosas,” Aguni asks, crossing his arms across his chest, “Because I’m not letting you in without my samosas.”

Takeru’s face twists into a look of shocked indignation.

“Would you really leave me—your best friend on this beautiful green Earth—to swelter and die on your doorstep in this blazing summer heat…all because I forgot the samosas?”

Aguni considers.

“No. I’d ask you to swelter and die in the parking lot. Neighbors’ll kick up a fuss if you block the stairwell.”

“Well it’s a good thing I got two orders this time,” Takeru shakes the bag enticingly, “so we don’t even have to share.”

“Someone’s splashing out,” Aguni murmurs, taking the bag from Takeru’s outstretched hand and standing aside so the man can enter his home, “Don’t suppose there’s a reason for all this…”

“Maybe I just wanted to be nice,” Takeru says flippantly, toeing off his shoes, “a little ‘thank you’ for welcoming me into your home.”

Aguni carries the bag of food over to his coffee table and sets it down, being careful not to disturb the place settings he had so thoughtfully arranged. Two plates, two spoons, two glasses of water—all neatly placed in the center of his new, sage-green placemats.

Hopefully nobody spills curry on them.

“You brought one of your weird movies again, didn’t you?”

Takeru rolls his eyes. Shoving his arm into his messenger bag, he rummages around its contents for a moment before yanking a dark, thin rectangle and holding it up for Aguni to examine.

“The 1977 horror classic, House,” he explains with an edge of exasperation, “is a critically-acclaimed work of art that has been inspiring both film fanatics and the average man for nearly half a century.”

“Straight from the back of the box,” Aguni mumbles, opening the stapled-shut paper bag and peeking at the containers inside, “Anyways, I thought you didn’t like scary movies.”

Takeru scoffs.

“Not sure what gave you that idea,” Takeru says, shoving his feet into his slippers—yes, his slippers, black velvet with red-and-gold dragons embroidered on the front because ‘I’m here enough to warrant my own damn slippers’ and ‘these are fucking awesome,’ “We saw Hereditary in the theater!”

“And you were scared the whole time,” Aguni points out, gingerly lifting their food out of the bag and arranging the containers on their respective plates, “You had to sleep with the lights on for a week. Screwed up your cat’s sleep schedule and everything.”

Takeru swans his way over to Aguni’s refrigerator and opens it, more or less sticking his whole head inside to examine its (admittedly meager) offerings.

“It’s not my fault that Ziggy is such a smart, beautiful boy who knows what ‘lights out’ means. And besides,” Takeru says while examining the bottle of white wine Aguni had put in to chill, “I’ll be staying here tonight, so it won’t be an issue.”

“So the cat gets to sleep, but I don’t?”

“You, my dear, get a evening of my company, complete with scintillating conversation, cultural enrichment, and—as we have already established—your very own order of samosas,” Takeru calls out from the kitchen, rummaging for a suitable pair of wine glasses, “And besides, I plan on sleeping deeply and comfortably knowing that any and all monsters would no doubt eat you first, giving me ample opportunity to flee the scene…”

Aguni lifts the lid off his curry, admiring the rich yellow hue and inhaling its bold spices. There are even a few extra chilis lying on top, which is a lovely surprise.

Takeru arrives at the table, glasses in one hand and wine in the other. He gives the spread a discerning once-over and then a nod of apparent approval.

“Anyways,” Takeru says, twisting off the top of the wine bottle (not without giving Aguni a look of distaste as he does it), “I’m a bit disappointed in you, Mori-chan. I thought you’d fight me more on this one…”

“It’s a losing battle,” Aguni concedes, sitting himself down in his usual spot and turning on the television, “I have too many brain cells and not enough patience to go through the usual theatrics.”

Takeru hands him a generously-full wine glass—not as full as his own, of course, but still more than what the average person might pour.

“This’ll help the brain cell problem,” he says with an over-enthusiastic smile, “probably the patience, too. Wine makes you sentimental.”

“Hmph.”

“See? It’s already working.”

“Yeah, well,” Aguni grumbles, taking a small sip of his beverage, “better get the movie started before I change my mind.”

Takeru begins his usual indignant grumbling as he fumbles with the DVD player. Aguni could help him, but, frankly, it’s entertaining to watch his friend struggle with the simple electronic setup.

When Takeru manages to get the tray open, he gives a small cheer of victory. Aguni stifles a smirk.

Hopefully the movie is this much fun.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

“Mori. Hey, Mori-chan.”

Aguni rolls his eyes, and then himself onto his side to face Takeru.

“What,” he grumbles, squinting in the dark as he tries to make out the other mans’ shape, “piano thing still got you upset?”

“It ate her fingers, Mori,” Takeru whisper-shouts, “and then it got the rest of her too! That’s enough to upset anyone!”

“It wasn’t even that scary,” Aguni mentions, shimmying his shoulders in order to find a more comfortable spot on his futon, “besides, you don’t even play piano, so you don’t have to worry.”

Takeru is silent for a moment—a blessed, beautiful moment.

“I guess you’re right,” he says after his brief contemplation, “but that’s not the only thing on my mind.”

“I’m guessing ‘sleep’ isn’t one of ‘em?”

Takeru scoffs. There’s a shuffling and fluttering sound from his neighboring futon as he turns to face his disgruntled companion.

“In due time,” Takeru says, “what plagues me now is more of a philosophical question.”

Aguni sighs.

“Remember the part where that guy got turned into a pile of bananas?”

“Yeah,” Aguni responds, “that was weird.”

“What if that happened to me,” Takeru asks, sounding genuinely concerned, “would I turn into a pile of bananas, or would I be a different kind of fruit?”

Oh, you’re different alright, Aguni thinks to himself, but he knows better than to say that out loud. Takeru’s using his ‘this is going to keep me up all night unless you give me a good answer’ voice, so Aguni starts thinking about how best to answer.

“I think you’d be melons,” Takeru concludes, “yeah…definitely melons.”

“Because of my round head and lack of hair?”

“No,” Takeru snaps, “well, that wasn’t my original thinking.”

Aguni subtly checks his phone—half-past one o’clock in the morning, too late to send Takeru home on a train to ask his cat these burning questions instead of him.

“Why,” Aguni asks, “do you think I’d be melons?”

“Well, like you, melons are strong and tough on the outside. Make a nice thud sound when you smack ‘em.”

“So do I,” Aguni mentions, “if you get the right spot. But I also hit back, so that’s not very melon-y, is it?”

“Hm. I suppose not. But,” Takeru says, “where you really start to resemble the melon is on the inside.”

“Inside, huh?”

“Yeah,” Takeru considers for a moment, “underneath all that tough rind, melons are soft. Sweet, too. Nothing fancy, they’re not trying to prove anything, they’re just…good. Like you.”

Aguni hadn’t been expecting something so…sentimental. It’s a touching departure from their usual quips and playful jabs, and it makes something warm and kind of familiar bubble up in Aguni’s heart.

“And also,” Takeru tacks on, “they’re green. And green is your favorite color! So it’s perfect.”

“I think you’d be a strawberry,” Aguni says after a beat.

“A strawberry? You mean only one?”

“Only one,” Aguni confirms, “but one of those fancy designer ones, the kind they grow in those hydroponic farms and sell in department stores for thousands of yen.”

“I heard about a guy who got murdered at one of those places,” Takeru says, “some yakuza guy who was selling weed on the side, someone put a hit out on him and used the body for fertilizer.”

“That’s…disturbing,” Aguni replies, “but that’s beside the point. Don’t you want to know why I think you’d be a single strawberry?”

“Is it because they’re red?”

“Sort of,” Aguni says, “Got a lot of seeds, too. Get stuck in your teeth pretty easily, if you’re not careful.”

“I am rather tenacious.”

“You are.”

Aguni considers his next words carefully. His relationship with Takeru is…complicated, and uncertain, and if anyone ever asked him what they ‘are’ he wouldn’t know how to answer.

“Strawberries are sweet. They’re sour, too. You’d know the flavor anywhere. And you…”

He pauses. Takeru, for once, doesn’t try to fill the silence with his own voice.

“…Well, those designer strawberries are all one-of-a-kind, just like you. So that’s why there’s one one,” he says slowly, “and I like strawberries. Might even, uh…love ‘em.”

“Oh, Mori…”

Something flops onto Aguni’s blanket—once, twice, and ah, it’s Takeru’s hand, and he’s looking for something. Aguni slips his arm from under the covers and covers Takeru’s hand with his own. This is apparently what Takeru had been searching for, because he pulls Aguni’s hand closer to himself.

“You know,” Takeru says, “now that you mention it, I think I might love melon, too.”

Aguni feels lips against the back of his hand—a soft kiss, gentle, a reassurance as much as an act of affection—and he’s glad for the dark of night that hides the blush of his cheeks.

“I feel better now,” Takeru announces, giving Aguni’s hand a light squeeze, “In fact, I think I’m falling asleep as we speak…”

“Hmm,” Aguni hums in agreement.

He’s still holding Takeru’s hand, and Takeru, his—neither seem too keen on letting go, at least, not for now.

#alice in borderland #hatter #danma takeru #alice in borderland netflix #imawa no kuni no alice #imawa no kuni no arisu #writings and such #aguni morizono #hatter/aguni #I didn’t go with ‘bad’ movie per se but like…..if you’ve seen it you know #‘house’ is a FUN movie and I like it very much #I tried not to spoil too much in case you wanna watch it yourself!!! #we need more of them being cute together

[celestialmango]

(word of warning, first trying to make a joke about vore fics, then got confused, tried saying what I found confusing, got mad about it then went on a rant about how I don't understand racism and think it's dumb, small ramble about why I think I'm unable to understand it, then started talking about skin tone and complementary colors, before finally cooling down and started using the complementary colors/skin tone thing to compare people to art and I'm too lazy spend the time deleting that all that stuff off this post because I want to get back to writing the vore fic and it's too much work)

*Looks up if I can call a skin texture creamy*

*sees an article that says it's racist to compare skin color to food*(´⊙ω⊙`)?

*confusion as I don't understand how that works as a lot of colors including skin tones have food names including mine and wonders how it's racist when it's just a name of a color on the color wheel that people started to apply to shades of skin and I don't mind that my skin color is a food*(ㆁωㆁ)?

*side eyes the heavy detailed vore fic I'm writing* (←_←)

*laughs as this idea is hard to apply to a vore fic because it's usually the pred describing prey..........prey who's going to end up being ingested.....like fucking food*(≧▽≦)

Still tho, can someone please explain this to me? I seriously don't understand this as some people of a certain skin tone are offended by to mind it while others of the same skin tone don't care? Why are people getting mad? Writers try to be poetic so people stay the words in the story flow better, for example describe snow white with only simple colors and not comparison to anything. snow white "her lips are very red, hair that's very black and very pale skin" just doesn't flow as well as "her lips are red as roses, hair black as ebony and skin is as white as snow"

Or do this, think of all the skin tones, then try to think of a color comparison to said tones and inanimate thing that's not a food, not all of them are good, because there are some shades of skin that would end up being compared to things that would be completely insulting and I despise the thought of it. Please think about it then tell please explain to me if and how the food thing still sounds bad to you. Because I honestly don't understand the logic here, what's the thought process, I actually don't understand at all, maybe it's just my learning disability, maybe it's because my family is multiple ethnicities so we don't really think about skin color other then how to shade it in art mediums like paint n stuff. Maybe it's because I don't care about racist,think it's dumb and if you're going to hate someone, you do it because they're an asshole, not because of some friggin DNA based shit that happened because of the sun thousands of years ago.

Racism is stupid. I don't understand it. why do people care if someone's a different color? Why? I have seen beautiful people who are all different skin tones, does their skin tone matter for that, that's the only time I would say yes because the art and fashion concept of complimentary colors, instead of mis matching a whole bunch of colors that don't compliment each into something that hurts to look at.

You use colors that compliment ones skin tone to make a breathtaking melody in human form, a living painting that's so beautiful it makes your heart skip a beat and feel like that paint can't be real, like a fantastical dream that's found a way into reality. I feel like that's the only time it would matter, for fashion, art and makeup.

#i dunno how to tag this because it just goes everywhere

[ty-talks-comics]

Best of Marvel: Week of August 21st, 2019

Best of this Week: Tony Stark: Iron Man #15 (Legacy #615) - Dan Slott, Jim Zub, Juanan Ramirez, Francesco Manna, Edgar Delgado and Joe Caramagna

Tony Stark may not be the man he says he is anymore.

Since the landmark 600th issue of Iron Man, Tony Stark hasn’t been entirely sure that he is actually himself and not just a strange collection of nanobots and machines strung together in the form of the billionaire tech wizard. After the horrible incident surrounding eScape, Tony Stark’s virtual reality world, leads to the deaths of a few people and millions or more in property damage, Tony has to take the stand and address what exactly happened. 

He’s grilled pretty thoroughly on what an AI is and how much was his responsibility vs. how much can be blamed on Controller, the supervillain who hacked into the supposedly secure network and caused all of this damage. Overseeing the hearing is a surprising character from another mechanical superheroes past. Senator Miles Brickman, a character that originally appeared as something of an anti-machine/anti-AI character in the pages of Machine Man’s original series, it livid and irate at Tony Stark. Showing a bit of prejudice in his questioning, he asks has Tony Stark ever made any changes to his body using technology, then follows by asking “Can you prove that you’re not some form of artificial intelligence?”

Tony initially tries to dance around the question, but upon being reminded that he’s under oath, reveals that it is actually quite possible as his body was put back together cell by cell while he was in his coma. This shocks everyone, from Rhodey to Bethany Cabe, his head of security at Stark Unlimited, and even his brother Arno Stark who is watching the hearing from his office at Baintronics, the rival technology company.

AI Tony calls for a recess after a few snarky lines as we cut to Vision and Wonder Man arriving at Avengers mansion, thinking they’ve been called to assist in Tony’s hearing. Immediately some red flags might want to be set off with the characters involved, especially when Jarvis lets them in and soon after betrays them with a large piece of metal embedded in the back of his head with a familiar design. 

Things start to heat up as Brickman produces the Tony Stark AI that was used by Riri Williams while Tony was in a coma and asks does this fully functioning, autonomous copy have legal rights and responsibilities. What makes me so uncomfortable about this scene is that it plays on the fear of the unknown.

Brickman has tried to have Machine Man destroyed in the past and even knowing that Tony Stark has saved the world in the past, he’s not willing to consider that he still has right once it’s admitted that he may not be fully human anymore. In a way it mirrors some of our own discussions as it pertains to AI and whether or not we’ll allow them autonomy once they become advanced enough for it. There’s a whole discussion for sex robots that no one is qute ready for just yet.

The Wasp, Janet van Dyne, flies through a robot protest on her way to meet Tony for lunch and catches him talking to Tony AI. Tony AI agrees to be loaded into the Iron Man suit and they all fly off when suddenly they’re met with a gross amalgamation of Vision and Wonder Man fused together. Ramirez’s art makes him look so horrifying with only half of Wonder Man’s luxurious hair and cracking skin that’s as red as Vision’s. He rushes at Tony in a rage and promises to rip the human and AI halves of him apart, displaying an anger that neither character has ever presented. 

In the middle of their fight, Jarvis appears and zaps Janet, who was knocked out of the fight during the initial rush. He places her in his pocket and leaves thereafter. Tony and WonderVision continue their fight, destroying the robot protestors in the process. Tony realizes that they only way to stop them is to use a localized EMP which will also kill Tony AI. The technological Tony isn’t fazed and just tells Tony to kiss Jan a bunch and feel vaguely bad about it later.

Unfortunately, this leaves Tony in the middle of the carnage. He’s surrounded by broken robots, likely to take the blame for all of it and realizes that Jocasta was right, he only sees everything as data. He breathes a small sigh that he’s still alive and that WonderVision didn’t take Janet… until he can’t find her. We then cut to the surprising return of The Avengers greatest enemy as his new gambit to destroy Tony Stark and spark a new machine age is in full effect.

What I liked most about this issue is that Tony’s mistakes really catch up to him in a bad way. He’s always managed to skate by the skin of his teeth when his machines have gone haywire. While Brickman was being an asshole for the trial, he made a good point in that we don’t quite know if we can trust this Tony. Given what we as the audience know thus far, he’s falling hard. Almost going back to the drink, questioning his own existence, not even having the trust of the brother that’s been by his side since his appearance in the mid 2000s (in this universe).

And that ending, finally seeing the seeds of what’s been sewn for months now starting to take form, is always fun. I had wondered what happened to this character since Infinity Wars (2018) and I can’t wait to see where exactly this story is going to go and what the repercussions of that event will be. I also can’t wait to see how exactly he’ll scar Tony and his extended family now that he’s returned. High recommend!

---------------------------------------------------

Things were looking up for Otto Octavius. He had found a nice woman and was slowly falling in love, he had mended fences with Anna-Maria in a way. After the events of War of the Realms, he was a respected and loved hero in San Francisco and then it all came crashing down.

Runner Up: The Superior Spider-Man #10 (Legacy #43) - Christos Gage, Mike Hawthorne, Wade von Grawbadger, Jordie Bellaire and Clayton Cowles

After taking the lovely Emma on a swing through the city, The Spider-Man of San Francisco goes on to visit the child he saved all the way back in issue #4 and help his new adoptive parents get custody of him. These small moments of warmness are a far cry from the maniacal nature that we were once accustomed to from Octavius. Bellaire colors most these scenes in a nice, warm orange. Giving us this feeling of joy and some happiness for Otto… at least until he’s discussing having a child with Emma and she alerts him to the news report that asks if the SF Spider-Man is really Otto Octavius. 

Things start to spiral even further as Spider-Man is interviewed and dances around the question and the Brothers Grimm acknowledge that he hired them for some temp work if they went straight, alluding to the first arc of the book. Otto is furious, Anna-Maria gives him snark and Emma tells him that he needs to face things head on, getting in front of it all. He can prove that he’s changed. Unfortunately, Anna-Maria brings up the kid as an example of someone who he’s helped and he swings to the apartment to find the foster parents angry and the child sad that he lied. Normally Otto wouldn't think twice about lying to someone or omitting information, but looking into that child's eyes as he began to cry, Otto reveals that he lied because he wanted the kid to like him and they hug. 

Soon after, Otto is called back to Horizon University where he is known as Professor Tolliver. Max Modell is waiting for him as he's received an email telling him that Tolliver is actually Otto Octavius. Surprisingly to Otto, Max already knew. Max Modell may act like a goof, but he's not considered one of the brightest minds in Marvel for no reason. He ran a DNA test to confirm soon after his emergence and gave "Tolliver" a chance to prove himself a changed man and given that he has, he's been trying to help clear his name. 

With Max's security footage and his own enhanced suit, Otto is able to determine that it was actually Spiders-Man that sent all of the incriminating data to everyone. Once Spiders-Man realizes he's caught, the thousands of spiders that make up his form reconstitute until Ock defeats him and compresses the former Peter Parker's consciousness into one Spider-Body. After some pushing, Spiders-Man reveals that it was Norman Osborn's idea. This Norman Osborn, however, is from another dimension where he's the Spider Totem and his main enemy was a Green Goblin Peter Parker, if I remember right. 

Spiders-Man also tells Otto that Norman is in his own dimension, safe from harm. During the events of Spider-Geddon, the Web of Fate was destroyed, making dimensional travel much harder for Spider people. Octavius hits a wall until Anna-Maria comes out that she's saved a bit of Terrax's energy from the first arc in the Living Brain robot, in case Otto ever reverted. This makes him sink even lower, but ultimately he understands and tries to use the power to make a portal...only Norman planned for this and over loads the machine, causing it to destroy the building almost killing everyone inside if not for Otto. 

Otto manages to save Max and Anna-Maria, but is swiftly defeated and left for dead by Norman who was there the entire time. When Otto asks why Norman is doing this, he responds in the most Norman Osborn way possible by saying, "You insulted me."

Just when Otto Octavius was finding his place in the world as a hero, forces mostly belong his control have made their move in an effort to derail him. Otto finally seems happy, even helping out a young child that he absolutely has no obligation to and starting a budding new relationship with an older woman that's just as smart as he. Things were going well, he even got a key to the city for crying out loud!

But, as fate befalls all Spiders, his terrible actions in the past are coming back to haunt him. Who's to say that Mephisto doesn't have a little bit of a hand in this as well? We can only hope things turn out well for Otto in the end, but not before Norman makes things much, much worse.

#comics #marvel #marvel comics #iron man #tony stark #janet van dyne #machine man #dan slott #jim zub #juanan ramirez #francesco manna #superior spider man #otto octavius #norman osborn #spiders man #christos gage #mike hawthorne

[orionsangel86]

Can we talk about the endgame human-cas vs angel-cas argument? I find it unsettling that a lot of folks think Cas needs to become human; for his good, or Dean's, or narrative. I understand that Cas needs and wants to get away from the other angels, their jobs, their world - but why have to be human? And people who say "I hope he doesn't become an archangel, how awful for him!" Well I think Cas enjoys being an angel - but he's his own sort of angel. He seems to want his powers and identity. Hmph.

It has taken me ages to answer this ask as I’ve been hesitant about it for ages since it will most likely blow up in my face somehow. So look, I’ve answered it here but I also have a disclaimer on my blog that I want you to read because after all the Cas related drama against meta writers last year I need some sort of protection okay:

http://bluestar86.tumblr.com/CasDisclaimer

Please read the link if you expect to be offended by my answer (and if you’re just curious of course).

A lot of other great meta writers have already tackled this, but seeing as you have come for my thoughts specifically I won’t link other posts on the risk of upsetting you. You are clearly already aware of the various discussions that turned into arguments that turned into a huge wank fest so I’m not going to feed into that. 

The problem with the human Cas vs Angel Cas endgame debate,is that it is all just speculation, none of us know what way the writers of the show will choose to take Cas’sstory line. We can only interpret the canon story we have been provided with atthis point. Anything I speculate about future event, could turn out to be totally wrong. But its still fun to speculate anyway. I just want to stress that I am not saying that by disagreeing with me anyone is WRONG. We all have our own opinions after all. 

There are a lot of reasons why people might feel like beinghuman is the best fit and most satisfying endgame for Castiel. There is also alot of evidence in the show that suggests that this is the way Cas’s story isgoing. I don’t particularly think this has anything to do with Dean or destieleither, though there will always be people who do think this.

For starters, the whole concept is a well known TV trope.The immortal character who seeks to be human? Yeah it’s been done before, and whilst this isn’t necessarily a good thing, it is a commonthing that we have been conditioned for years to expect in basic storytelling.The fact that this often comes attached to the love trope that said immortalgives up immortality so they can be with a human is just an added bonus forDestiel shippers.  

So even without exploring the evidence within the show, thevery idea itself is already a favourable one for most people because it fits astandard storytelling trope that resonates with people. It is a comment on thepower of humanity, and also makes us all feel a bit better to think about theidea that an immortal being would prefer to be human than continue to havetheir godlike power and eternal life (because humanity itself is supposedly agreat gift).

(I should clarify here that I don’t believe that Cas’s fallfrom grace should be connected to Destiel and that Dean would love and be withhim regardless of whether he were angel or human.)

There is every possibility that Supernatural may go againstthe grain here, but the evidence in the show suggests otherwise. Castiel’sstory since his origins in season 4 has been that he is the angel that fallsfor humanity. His love for humanity and continued choice of humanity over hisangelic brethren makes the idea that he would eventually join humanity as oneof them poetic. I think that is why this is the most popular endgame theorywithin fandom over everything else: itis poetic.

Humans generally enjoy poetic stories, as well as ironicones. They are far more satisfying. It feels like the natural conclusion for acharacter such as Castiel, whose journey of self-discovery and acceptance hasoften had him questioning his own place in the world and exactly what kind ofcreature he is meant to be. This is his continued theme throughout his entirerun on the show. The idea that the show would end with him remaining in hiscurrent state, or even elevated to something such as an archangel just feelswrong for his development. I can understand why people would consider that “awful”for Castiel. You say that he “seems to want his powers and identity” but youmiss the point the show is trying to explain to us, that his identity is not tied to his powers. In fact, in the later seasons, it can be argued that hispowers have held him back from really understanding who he really is:

I know that there is a big split here in fandom, but I dofeel that those fans who desperately want Cas to stay an angel have anemotional attachment to the idea because it resonates with them on a personal levelthat he is currently “different” so for him to become “normal” feels like aninsult to those fans. It is the same way those fans who view him as asexualfeel I believe. These are delicate issues. When you want a character to be likeyou and you identify with them so greatly, for the show to then fundamentallychange that character in any way feels like a big hit to you personally. But Ithink this is why there needs to be some detachment between what we personallyfeel attached to, and Castiel’s own story that the show itself (via subtext,narrative structure, and text in certain places) is telling us.

(I should also disclaim here that I am in no way against asexual readings of Castiel and don’t want this to come across this way, as there is certainly room for that interpretation in the text - my own personal view on Cas’s sexuality is “undefinable” )

Aside from the narrative poetry of Cas’s eventual fall fromgrace to humanity, I think the reason a lot of us believe it is the naturalconclusion to his story arc is just the sheer amount of evidence and textualunanswered questions that seem to be leading this way.

There are the parallels to Anna early on, and how it isimplied heavily that he also desires those things that she does.

The constant questions that Cas is never able to answer:

“As what Castiel? As anangel? Or a man?” (no answer) -  9x06Heaven Can’t Wait

“I am an angel.” “andyou’re okay with that?” “If we’re going to war, I need to be ready” (hardlya yes) -  9x09 Holy Terror

“Who are you?” (noanswer) “What are you now? A penitent?” “I’mnothing” (not exactly positive) – 9x14 Captives

“No! If I’m gonna die,I want answers. Like, who are you now? Like, you’re obviously not an angel ofthe Lord. And what about all of this walking the earth like Caine from “KungFu” crap? Cleaning up Heaven’s messes. How many more rogue angels are there outthere? And, what are you gonna do once you’re done with all that? Go back toHeaven? Please. The angel formerly known as Hannah has restored order up top.Smoothest it’s run since God cut the ribbon on the pearly gates. So tell me,Castiel, truly, what is your mission now?” (Cas told Metatron to shut up –but Metatron had a point) – 10x18 Book of the Damned

“Brother? Ha! What areyou?” “W-what? I’m an angel of the Lord.” “That so? ‘Cause, near as I can tell,when you have to choose between heaven and the Winchesters …” “You choosethem.” 11x02 Form and Void

Then to go along with these questions, Castiel himself hadsome very interesting conversations. In 9x11 the talk with Sam about peanutbutter and how Castiel used it to describe the things he missed about beinghuman was particularly enlightening for those of us who now believe that this is his endgame. He basically called his angel-hood “disgusting”.

When he spoke to Daniel at the start of season 10, Danieljust wanted to stay on earth and experience humanity. The conversation he hadwith Hannah was most interesting. Remember that Daniel was a Cas mirror here. Aglaringly obvious Cas mirror:

Hannah: “You are anangel, once and forever.”

Daniel: “Droppedunwillingly…Unknowingly…Into a strange land, a land that, as it turns out,celebrates the free, the individual. For the first time in thousands of years,I have choices. And with each choice… I begin to discover who I really am.”

Hannah: “This isnonsense.”

Daniel: “Because theydon’t teach you this in heaven? Perhaps they should. Then you would understandwhy it’s worth fighting for… What I’ll never understand is why angels won’tacknowledge the wisdom to be found down here.”

Hannah: “What wisdomis to be gained from humans?”  

Daniel: “I’m notspeaking to you.”

Hannah (To Castiel): “Doyou understand what he’s…” (Cas never answered, but it was obvious hedid)

This whole conversation imo is foreshadowing Cas choosing tostay on earth with the humans, and when this is then followed up with this:

Castiel: “Well,perhaps I’ve been down here with them for too long. There’s seemingly nothingbut chaos. But not all bad comes from it. Art. Hope. Love. Dreams.”

Hannah: “But t-thoseare human things.”

Castiel: “Yes.”

It implies that Castiel is longing for the humanexperience.

Later on in 10x03 Cas textually states his reasoning forwanting to stay an angel however:

“You know, only humanscan feel real joy, but … also such profound pain. This is easier.”

He said it in relation to Dean’s choosing to stay a demon,but he understood exactly. Cas longs for the human experience, but he can’thandle the pain of it, hence his choice currently to remain an angel (eventhough it isn’t what he really desires).

This sentence by Cas was a direct response to what he saidearlier in 9x23:

“I just want to be an angel”

Because when Cas said that, he was mourning the death ofDean. It was the easy choice for him. It was less painful to remain an angelthan to go back to being human. It’s not good enough evidence imo that Cas shouldremain an angel for his endgame because he said it when he was deeply mourningthe loss of Dean and it was framed extremely negatively by the show and thenwas countered continuously in early season 10 in the subtext of every conversation he had with Hannah.

Most of these examples came out of seasons 9 and 10 however, but as I always say, the endgame arcs for all the three main characters were laid out in seasons 8 - 10 and Dabb is expanding on those concepts. One of the interesting things from the later seasons and Dabb era that I have noticed is just how little Castiel uses his powers now. Most of the time we either see him fighting normally, or trying out his new hunter knowledge to solve a case. What I truly believe Dabb’s goal with Cas’s endgame is to show Cas that he is wanted and needed and loved and useful without his powers. Because it has been tied heavily to his depression arc in seasons 11 and 12 that Cas doesn’t feel useful or powerful enough. The whole point is for Sam and Dean to show Cas that they want him with them regardless of how powerful he may or may not be. For Cas to become empowered, without literal powers. 

The main issue that we have with Cas being powered up, is that for character development purposes, it makes no sense. How is Cas supposed to learn his lessons that way? If he becomes this super powerful being? How is that gonna help him get over his issue with only being ‘useful’ or a ‘hammer’ or to stop him obsessing about his ‘missions’? What meta writers tend to scream about is that Cas doesn’t yet seem to realise that it’s not his powers that make him important to the boys, but just HIM. We have not had this clearly resolved in the show, and it won’t be, until the damage that was done in season 9 is finally healed. Cas has gone through a fundamental change since the end of season 8 and this arc is not yet resolved. Powering him up even further will only hinder this character development arc, not assist it. 

Remember how in 12x19 Cas made so many terrible decisions because he was so desperate “for a win” for both Dean and himself? Remember how in 13x05 we were screaming because Dean just wanted a win and then Cas showed up? Remember how in 13x06 Dean told Sam explicitly that Cas was his win?

Cas doesn’t need to be powerful for him to be needed and wanted by Dean (and Sam), but HE STILL DOESN’T KNOW THIS. NONE OF THIS HAS BEEN MADE CLEAR TO CAS. We still haven’t had a resolution to Cas’s own issues that were made so very clear in 12x09. That he doesn’t feel competent enough on his own.

This is why to power Cas up even further, or to keep him with his grace in tact, doesn’t really seem to fit the story structure. Cas needs to learn that its not his powers that make him special, its fundamentally HIM. It’s what he used to face the empty entity, its what brings a smile to Dean’s face whenever he’s around, it’s what made Jack choose him as his father (though not made explicitly clear, it is heavily implied that it was Castiel’s goodness that made Jack choose him - because Jack hardly needs protecting - more just the right kind of guidance).

It’s my opinion that Cas will choose to become human at endgame (or before who knows) because his grace is holding him back. Its not even about his obligations to heaven or the Winchesters, I personally don’t think he should lose all ties with all the angels, because I think there is still a lesson that the remaining angels need to learn here and that Cas will be the one to teach them (along with Jack). Its about Cas’s inner struggles and his personal growth, rather than the relationships he has with others. Its about Castiel finally asking himself “Who am I?” “What do I want?” “Where do I belong?” and answering those bloody questions. Perhaps he can answer those questions and keep his grace, its possible sure, but then all of that talk about human things in season 10 wouldn’t have made much sense, and Cas will always be missing something fundamental. The human things that he never got to really enjoy last time. The human pleasures that Dean revels in so much. I think it would be damn tragic to reach the end of his story and not have him indulging in the things we KNOW canonically he longs for. 

Because as the Empty Entity said in 13x04

I have tiptoed through all your little tulips, your memories, your little feelings yes, I know what you hate, I know who you love, I know what you fear...

But remember that feelings, that love and fear, along with hope and dreams are human things and Castiel shouldn’t have to be always torn in two. Right now, that’s what he is. Half an angel, half a man, lost and conflicted. As far as I am concerned, Castiel becoming human answers all the questions the story has been asking him, and provides him with a level of happiness and satisfaction that he could never have whilst still an angel. For his own personal growth arc, imo its the only logical outcome.

I’m sorry if this isn’t what you wanted to hear nonny, but I am just trying to interpret this show logically with the information I have been given, and that all points to a human Cas endgame. As I said at the start of this post. I could be wrong. I could be interpreting all the wrong signals here, but the thing is, we meta writers are not a hive mind, and we sure as hell disagree on a LOT of things about this show, as we all have our own ways of interpreting things, but the majority of meta writers I follow also believe that Cas’s endgame is to be human and we all came to that conclusion individually based on information the show presented. Yes we could all still be wrong, and no I am not saying that any other opinions are incorrect because, and I stress this, all interpretations are valid. But please don’t get upset that I don’t agree with you over this. We just see things differently. You did ask for my opinion after all, so I gave it.

#Castiel #supernatural #spn meta #destiel #spn speculation #cas analysis #endgame speculation #endgame human!cas #angel!cas vs human!cas debate #my beautiful angel #my poor angel #dabb era #carver era #interpreting the text #asks #Anonymous

[spideywars]

prompt- a highschool AU where people judge harry as a bad boy even though he isn't but he doesn't correct people, he has only 2 bffs (liam and zayn) and cue niall and louis and their pranks they pull and running in the hallway laughing really hard, until one day while running, niall bumps into harry and bang their heads together and please don't make them shy or a stuttering mess. THANK YOU X

Don’t know if I like this, and it might be longer than I want but I wanted to give you guys something today. 

~~~

Harry didn’t have piercings, they looked painful just staring at them, like when Zayn first got his nose pierced he had cringed and almost squealed when Zayn gave it a careless tug saying it didn’t hurt. But he did have a collection of tattoos, all pretty patterns along his arms, chest, and even some he managed to get on his legs.

That was all though, the tattoos. But apparently everyone thought he was a bad boy. Liam and Zayn both had more tattoos than he did, both going on their skateboards and smoking in front of the school before class. It wasn’t fair really, that girls swooned over them but looked at Harry as if he’d bite their heads off.

“It’s probably your resting bitch face.” Liam had suggested when Harry had asked them if they thought the rumours were true that he was the school ‘bad boy’ and ’rule breaker.’

“Resting bitch what?” He had asked, almost choking on the soda he was drinking as they sat in the skate park. Zayn was puffing out his smoke while slowly rolling along the sidewalks with his board, looking uninterested with their conversation.

“You just look angry all the time, you walk around with no expression most of the time, and you don’t usually talk to anyone else but me and Zi.” Liam sounded like he was trying to be cautious talking with Harry, as if he was walking around egg shells. This wasn’t that sensitive of a topic, and Harry couldn’t help but scoff.

“Zayn doesn’t talk to anyone else but us too! This lad has a girlfriend and still gets girls begging on their knees for him to take them out.” Harry pointed an accusing finger at Zayn, who stopped his lazy rolling on his skateboard to give him a raised brow.

“It’s probably cause I am in the art program, girls dig artsy guys mate.” Zayn was back to pushing at his board, slowly moving past them with the cigarette back in his mouth. Harry gave him a glare, making Zayn abruptly stop to stare at him in annoyance.

“Sorry, and guys…you like girls and guys, forgot.” Harry never wants to be annoying or pushy, but he’s told Liam and Zayn a thousand times since their second year of high school that he was bisexual, they still weren’t so sure about it, tip-toeing around him and worrying they’d insult him every time they talked.

They’re getting better though, asking him who he likes and dislikes, listening carefully to his rants on the homophobes in the school. Zayn was usually the forgetful one, and it wasn’t a horrible thing, they have known each other since grade five and it’s only been recent that Harry has openly talked about his sexuality. 

“Doesn’t matter who I like, probably won’t get a boyfriend or girlfriend with the way everyone hates me.” He shoved his head into his hands, staring down at his dirty converse with a pout on his lips.

He felt a slap on his shoulder, Liam’s hand giving him an encouraging squeeze before letting go. “You’ll find someone, it’s our last year of high school so after that you won’t have to see anyone again.”

-

There is so many more students in this god damn school that are worse than he is. Harry is anti-social and apparently has something called the ‘resting bitch face’ and all of a sudden that means he’s the baddest boy in the building,

There’s guys like Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan who tear up the school with graffiti at night, then go around shoving toilet paper in the toilets so they overflow, pulling kids pants down as they walk by, stealing the boys gym classes clothes so when they come back to the change rooms they have nothing. They are ruthless with their pranks, Louis being the mastermind of it all and that’s pretty obvious by the way he’d have that snake-like smile come across his face whenever the people who caught them would tell them off.

But they were just seen as silly hooligans who made the school years a little more eventful and fun. It boiled Harry’s blood.

“Lou, fuck Lou slow down!” It was Niall’s voice, speak of the devil. Harry could hear them from where he was standing at his locker, grabbing for his binders and ready to leave since he had a spare for his last period. He felt something whiz past him, the squeak of sneakers hitting the polished flooring was loud and fast, quickly fading till whoever it was turned the corner.

Harry had just closed the locker door, ready to get the hell out before he’d have to witness one of their unfunny pranks again when he felt something collide with him so hard his body spun, back hitting the lockers harshly with his binder flying across the hallway.

That wasn’t as bad as whoever hit him, the person was like a blur in front of Harry as they hit the ground hard, slapping against the floor and a cracking sound echoing down the empty halls.

“Oh fuck, sorry!” It was Niall, now that Harry refocused after the shock of it all. The boy was still sprawled out on the floor but slowly was picking himself up, looking out of breath.

“Watch where you’re going ya?” Harry growled out, but forced his anger deep back down into him when he saw Niall staring down at his broken glasses, the lens was popped out and the arms of them were snapped off and laying a few feet away.

“Shit, can you see without those?” Harry knew Niall needed glasses, the smaller brunet would wear them around more frequently this year, and it soon became a daily thing. Not that Harry paid that much attention to Niall he just…was a good observer.

“Uh…yeah I’ll uh, I’ll be fine.” Once Niall got a good look at Harry, he all of a sudden looked nervous and scared. It made Harry’s heart sink, knowing that he was probably worried he’d punch him out. With rumours going around that Harry was the bad boy of the school, stories came with them on how he was in a gang, beat people up for money, had been to jail for six months…all stupid shit that ruined his reputation more and more.

“Look are you sure you’re okay, you hit the ground pretty hard.” When Niall had straightened himself out, now holding the shrapnel of his glasses, Harry felt like he needed to prove he wasn’t a bad person to at least one guy at this school. Niall would probably make up some story that he pushed him down, people around here would eat that right up.

“I’m sure, thank you though Harry.” Niall gave him a genuine smile, and it made Harry’s stomach do backflips.

-

Ever since that day, Niall’s face became more familiar to Harry. He didn’t know why, but they’d see each other in the hallway and give each other matching smiles, almost like the encounter they had was a secret between them.

Harry used to hate him, thought Niall was just as obnoxious as Louis was, but look at him now, falling in love.

It was probably because of how Niall acted around Harry, he wasn’t scared as soon as he asked if he was okay, almost like a switch turning on in his head and a little voice telling him 'hey, this Harry guy isn’t as bad as they say he is.’

But was Niall even gay? Did he even want to be friends with him or just a person he smiled at from time to time in the hallways as they passed each other? It was the root to Harry’s thoughts these past couple weeks, and it was starting to show by the way he’d notice Liam and Zayn exchanging glances whenever he’d stare off into space or look at Niall for too long during lunch with a frown across his face.

Today was apparently going to answer all Harry’s questions, because as he sat alone waiting for Liam and Zayn to show up, Niall came walking up the bleachers steps with that same sparkling smile across his face.

He didn’t say anything, and neither did Harry, it was a weird silence as they just stared at each other. Harry had to break the eye contact a few seconds later, occupying himself by squinting down towards the football field as the schools team did their warmups.

“I think I’ve come to a conclusion,” Niall finally spoke, pausing slightly to make sure Harry was paying attention. “It’s that you aren’t the bad boy people say you are.”

He hit the nail right on the head, just like that. Harry couldn’t help but chuckle, surprised at Niall’s answer and now an amused smile appeared across his face.

“What makes you think that?” He played it cool, leaning back against the bleachers, not ready to give Niall the satisfaction that he was more than right.

“Cause when I shoved into you, you definitely didn’t show off your bad behaviour that people say you had.” Niall shrugged as if it was nothing, now shuffling a little closer to Harry. “Everyone has told me some crazy stories about you, but I’d rather have the real Harry tell me about himself then some rumours.”

It felt like Harry’s heart had stopped and his mind had just shut down for a second because he’s never felt this much love for a human being before. This boy barely knew him and after one encounter he was now standing here striving to become his friend.

“Well I wasn’t planning on doing anything right now so if you wanna chill for a bit…” Harry trailed off, his confidence not really at it’s full level yet. But Niall looked to be happy with his offer, eagerly plopping himself down onto the seat beside him and shuffling so they were hip to hip.

And after that, they had talked for a good hour, the sound of the football team packing up their stuff and getting ready to go home was the only thing that snapped them out of their conversation. Harry could see Louis on the field rushing off after he pulled his jersey over his head and then disappearing into the change rooms.

“Lou probably wants me to come down and meet him by the car, but the team is having a game tomorrow and you should come. I’d love to have some company.” Niall stood and Harry did too, them both grabbing at their bags and heading down the bleacher steps. It was just them now, the field empty except for a lone ball that someone forgot to pick up.

Harry was ready to say his last goodbyes and plan his day tomorrow even before it would start when he was suddenly tugged into a smothering kiss, making his gasp get muffled by their clashing lips

Niall made them part a second later, but kept himself close and lips near Harry’s ear as he whispered into it. “Liam and Zayn kinda ratted you out and said you liked me so, I hope you didn’t mind that.”

He walked away right after saying that, giving Harry a wink over his shoulder before he turned into the change rooms. That was probably why Liam and Zayn didn’t show up to meet with him, and he felt absolutely no anger towards his friends as he made his way to his car.

He’d probably thank them, actually.

#id like to know if you guys liked this or not #narry #narry fluff #narry fanfiction #narry storan #niall horan #harry styles #fics