#usually don't have to have these kinds of convos with people

[jinxed-games]

Only RO I was interested is now F only yay...

I'm pretty sure you've put another ask like this in my inbox that I decided to ignore. But I won't ignore this one.

Maeve is a lesbian. That will not be changing. I made the change because I realized I could only imagine her with a woman in the context of future romance scenes.

And there are many, many well-written fantasy/political IFs that have Maeve's personality archetype that you can read instead. So yeah. Go enjoy those if this is a dealbreaker.

#Jinxspeaks #RoE #Maeve #asks #usually don't have to have these kinds of convos with people #which is why i ignored the first ask #but i'm gonna nip this one in the bud #maeve's sexuality isn't being unchanged #friendly reminder just like a regular novel isn't your story #IFs are not as well #it's the authors

[queerponcho]

Transfixed | part 1

collage made by me with pictures from pinterest

moonknight!system x female!reader

a/n: been writing this fic for about a year now so it's nerve-wrecking to finally post the first chapter. I hope you'll like it!! (pls be gentle...)

thanks to the lovely @nexusnyx for motivating me a few weeks ago, would've never considered posting without having our convo the other day!! Thank you so much<33

Warnings: no use of Y/N, fluff, NOT beta read, gushing about the moonboys, flustered awkward dorks, plot-twists, (eventual smut, the chapters will be marked individually), inaccurate depictions of DID, egyptian mythology and religion (although I did extensive research I took liberty in changing some things to adhere to my plot...), if I missed anything or made any spelling mistakes pls don't hesitate to tell me!

Summary: You're a woman who as been visiting the same library for all your life. One day a handsome new face comes walking in. That's the moment when the ball starts rolling and your entire life changes. Will you accept the new challanges coming your way...?

2,200 words

You have been visiting the same library all your life. While you were in school you  would go there to have a quiet place to study. Since at home you always had a lot of family and busy energy around, you needed the library as sort of an...escape from all the noise. Later when you got into university, the library had become kind of a safe space for you. So you would rather sit in the bus for half an hour to and back to study there instead of the grimy and packed library on campus.

Even now that you work and have enough books at home to basically open your own library, you still can't part from your little paradise. Everyone knows you here and a few months ago the owners of the library even adopted a cat that seemed to really like you. So chances of moving on from here had definitely been ruined.

You loved reading all kinds of story based books, but spending so much time here made you curious, so you also picked up a few skill based ones. you had read a few gardening and science books but the ones you would actually start applying were the books that had to-do with art. Autobiographies of different artists and painters, different studies and research on colour and brushes. You became almost a bit obsessed at some point. So you started sketching and drawing things around you based on the knowledge you'd gathered from your extensive research. you would draw people around the library after work or before meeting friends in the nearby café. You'd never claim to be an artist but you were proud of your drawings nonetheless. for the past few weeks you had started to draw one very specific person. You saw them for the first time a bit over a month ago…

It was a rainy day and you'd just finished lunch with a friend. You said goodbye and you decided to head to the library to continue on with your sketches of the cute ginger kitten. After saying hello to the owners and giving the kitten a treat, you made your way to your usual corner in the back. Since the library wasn't very big you had a good view of the entrance and a few tables. you'd been sitting and drawing for about ten minutes when you noticed the kitten smelling your coat pocket in search of more treats. You smiled down at her 'hiiii kitty!' you picked her up and placed her on your little round table. 'you want another treat huh?' She looked back with big shiny eyes 'alright alright...there you go'. She happily chewed on the fish-shaped cookie while you continued drawing her. 

The familiar noise of the door opening caught your attention....a man came in, he was wearing a brown flat-cap which was obscuring your vision of his face. He reached to take it off with a gloved hand and pushed his black curls back to reveal the face, of what you could only describe, a Greek god. He had strong and angular features, a sharp jawline and a beautiful slightly crooked nose which you felt the need to trace over with your finger. He had crows feet decorating his eyes, you'd assume he had them from laughing but seeing his resting facial expression, smiling almost seemed to be a foreign task to him. He brushed the remaining rain off his shoulders and made his way to the history section. When he disappeared behind a shelf you were brought back from your trance and took the first breath in what seemed like minutes. 

You wondered what he would be looking for in the history section of this old library. You were in London, a place with alot of people, then again this library was old and in a secluded part of town so it was usually the same people walking in and out. You would definitely remember his face if you had seen it before. Whatever it was that he was looking for he had apparently found since he was making his way to the register with a thick leather bound book in his glove covered hand. You had a bit of a thing for hands and you knew you'd be sketching hands for the next few hours because of this stranger. He hastily left the library and was gone as fast and suddenly as he appeared. After that day you couldn't stop drawing that pretty stranger, you'd given him multiple names during this time. His name had been Jack, Edward, Steve, Malcom and many more. you'd started just drawing his gloved hands and his forearms but quickly you would switch to drawing his intense gaze and soft curls. The amount of times you fantasised about running your fingers through them and tugging slightly had you embarrassed. It had been weeks since you'd seen him and you wouldn't stop imagining him in your apartment just sitting next to you, sometimes you would also imagine him a bit closer and wearing a little less clothing…

A month had passed since you'd seen him and you finally managed to stop drawing him and went back to drawing people around the library. Though you still looked up when the door opened and a new customer came in hoping for your handsome stranger to come in and maybe stay a little this time so you could find out more about him and his movements, for drawing references of course...nothing else. It seemed the universe wanted to help you out, because the next time the bell chimed and a customer walked in, the familiar brown flat-cap wearing stranger entered. This time it was warm and sunny outside so he wasn't wearing any gloves and wore a white fitted polo. His muscles were visibly moving underneath the fabric of his sleeves when he reached up to take off his hat and ruffle through his hair with the same intention as last time. He was also holding the same thick leather bound book from his last visit to the library.

 According to the owners he couldn't buy that one since it was rare literature, so he got to borrow it for a month...you knew this because you may have asked about him and his purchase after he left. This was also when you found out that the book he borrowed was about an Egyptian god. During your time in this library you have read books on Egyptian history and it did peak your interest. All this time you’d never even noticed that book before? Recently, you’d been spending a lot more time studying in that part of the library, so overseeing such a unique looking book was very strange of you.

You see him talking to the owners, it was quiet enough to make out parts of the conversation. It was 10am on a Tuesday so you were pretty much the only customer here. He had a pretty strong Latin accent and you were pretty sure he was from mexico. part of your family is from south America so you grew up learning Spanish and you remember hearing them speak English with that exact same accent. 

He was thanking them for the book and asking if he could take a look around the library again. The owners kindly told him to go ahead and that he didn't even need to ask. He briefly nodded his head mumbling a quick 'gracias' and went over to the history section. You watched intently and spontaneously decided to head in the same direction. You felt a bit creepy lurking on this man but you were sure you wouldn't get caught since you were rarely a very visible person. it's not that you didn't have a strong presence but you know how to blend in really well and when to use that to your advantage. You hid behind the shelf of the history section facing his profile. He really was a pretty man, his eyes were squinting and his bold eyebrows furrowed. There was a stray curl hanging over them and you badly wanted to brush it back and feel his thick hair between your fingers...you couldn't of course, since you were too preoccupied drawing him at the moment. The window was creating beautiful shadows beneath his hooded eyes and high cheekbones. His jaw looked sharper than ever and his neck extremely kissable. His lips needed an honourable mention, they were like two squishy pillows that were begging to be bitten. You've been paying special interest to them and trying to get the details just right, so you didn't notice that he had moved from his previous spot. 

You couldn't see him anywhere and were actually kind of disappointed to think he probably left. you were about to turn around and go back to your discarded belongings when you accidentally bumped into someone while moving backwards. 'ohssshit! i- i am so so sorry um- i didn't mean to wal-'

you had managed to pick up your pencil, sketchbook, and hopefully all of the scattered pages- when you finally looked up just to be faced with the god-like looking man you had been fawning over for a month now. he was practically towering over you and… was that a smirk? If you weren't already kneeling on the floor right now you would've probably lost your balance. 'hola~ I don't mind this view but do you need help standing up, muñeca?' This is when you realised that you were on your knees in front of the most attractive man you have ever seen and you quickly scrambled to your feet 'nono um thank you-' 

'Jake, my name's Jake' he stuck out his hand and you introduced yourself after thanking him again. So his name was jake...huh pretty basic for a man like him. You were kind of joking when you temporarily gave him very basic names but you guess his parents weren't much more creative than you are. 

You realised you were staring when he raised his left eyebrow and started grinning.

 'So...why were you spying on me?' He asked cockily and it had you word-vomiting all over the place 'what? i wasn't-? I-I was just…drawing-?' pretty hard to sound convincing when finishing every statement with a question mark... 'yeah I know-' he looked you up and down and coming a bit closer 'I saw you get lost in your notebook and I just had to come see what you are drawing that garnered all of your precious attention, hermosa' 

The nicknames were really starting to get to you, making you feel all sweaty and nervous. you were clenching the book to your chest accidentally pushing up your breasts and making your cleavage much more noticeable. you saw him glancing down, taking his time in bringing his eyes back up your neck and finally to your face. This entire time you were basically pressed into his chest, you were leaning on the shelf and he didn't seem like he wanted to move anytime soon 'h-how long were you looking over my shoulder exactly?'

 'Long enough to see what had you so...como se dice...transfixed' Your breath hitched and he answered with a toothy grin. 

'I am flattered, preciosa. I really am, didn't think someone as pretty as you would follow me around the library just to draw my hands and ass' 

You push him back- 'I did NOT draw your ass! I-' You were interrupted by his chuckle and him moving closer again and grabbing your chin between his fingers and caging you in with his other arm. 'I know muñeca , I just like seeing you flustered...toda nerviosilla...it's cute.' At this point you’ve decided it's best if you just don't speak. '...maybe next time you can draw me shirtless? I would love to see you solely focused on my abs for half an hour.' He flashes you a toothy grin. Oh he’s getting too cocky…somehow you manage to move away from the bookshelf, momentarily getting even closer to him. After seeing his eyes flicker with surprise you move to the side, backing away from him. Turn around finally being able to take a breath of normal air that wasn't deliciously tinted with his aftershave. 

'Sure, next time you can waltz into the library without a shirt on and we will see how far you get before being kicked out' you say while looking over your shoulder. 

 'Seeing your reaction would be worth it, nena' he called after you, not even registering your feet carrying you back to your corner. you took a deep breath replaying what just happened. He should not have this effect on you, it's almost embarrassing how easily he got so close to you. You are a grown woman, damnit! How did you not shove him away and get mad at his advances? You should be creeped out but you notice how you’re wishing to bump into him again soon...you hear the doorbell ring and see him walk out. He takes one look back and holds up a piece of paper. ‘Oh fuck me’ you feel your feet glued to the floor when you see what it is…its a drawing you made of him. It was a closeup of his torso upwards. You had drawn him from above and he was laying in your bed with heavy lidded eyes and parted lips. you were absolutely mortified- he was grinning like an idiot and winked at you before storing the drawing in his back pocket, crossing the street and vanishing from your eye-line. leaving you in the library, plagued by his stupid masculine scent and his dumb pretty face.

a/n: I really hope you enjoyed the first chapter, I've got a few already locked and loaded sooo the next one should be posted soon. Pls like and reblog if you liked it<3 it would mean the world!

part two

#ponchosworks<3 #moon knight #steven grant #steven grant x reader #marc spector #jake lockley #jake lockley x reader #marc spector x reader #transfixedseries

[ao3commentoftheday]

Hello there! This question isn’t so much about popularity as it is about feeling lonely in fandom spaces. I’m in a relatively small fandom where it’s easy to “run into” the same users who write fanfic and draw fanart a lot. Over the years I’ve tried doing all the usual things to make fandom friends, like commenting a LOT on fanfic when new works are posted, being friendly in my author’s notes, being friendly on tumblr, complimenting artists works and reblogging and just generally trying to share the love so to speak.

People will reblog my art on here, but on AO3 I tend to get crickets on most of my stuff. Especially on fics for my OTP. My OTP is notttt popular in the fandom. It’s actually a lot of people’s NOTP because it “takes away” from the canon couple. I’ve accepted a long time ago that I’m going to get less readers because of the shipping stuff alone. But even on my works that aren’t shipping focused at all, it’s just crickets.

It just kinda sucks to try so hard to make fandom buddies and see them all having fun together and constantly feel like the kid sitting alone in the corner. I keep wondering if people in the fandom don’t like my fics just because of the shipping thing because I know I’m not a bad writer. But like I said, I’ve tried reaching out to people, be encouraging and show joy at what they create, but I just keep wondering what I’m doing wrong to make fellow fans not want to be friends with me. I’ve been focusing on just doing my own thing but yeah, it sucks not having anybody to fangirl with.

First of all anon, *hugs*. Being lonely sucks, and I'm sorry to hear you're in that situation.

When it comes to the other folks in your fandom, I don't think it's necessarily that they don't want to be friends with you. I think you might just need to do a little extra legwork to get in the friendship door.

It's not really fair, but it is kind of human nature, that if there is a perceived difference with someone else, we tend to keep them at a bit of a distance. It doesn't mean we dislike them! It just means that it takes more effort for us to get past that difference and see them as a friend. The more we do it, of course, the easier it gets and you might not even notice the hiccup anymore - in person.

You're probably in the "acquaintance zone," if you'll allow me to use the phrase. People probably have a generally positive impression of you because you're nice and you're friendly and you're encouraging. But if most of their conversations are happening in a ship-centric venue, for example, then you're not going to have access to the full spectrum of community with them.

You mention that other folks see your OTP as a NOTP. Do you feel the same way in reverse? They might assume that you do, and that's what's keeping you out of those convos. If you actually don't mind their ship and simply prefer your own, you could always attempt to make a foray in that direction? Let them know you don't mind being exposed to their shipping talk?

Another thing you could try would be to identify the multishippers. In my experience, those are the folks who are most open to befriending folks who don't ship the main pairing. They can see possibilities all over the place, and they're happy to be exposed to new ideas.

Small fandoms can be rough when you're into a niche part of it ❤️ Let's see how others handle your situation.

You can also find this question and answer on Dreamwidth.

#asks and answers

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for making a typo?

💬🍃

(to help find later)

This has been really frustrating me, but I don't know if my emotions are clouding my judgement and if I really was the one in the wrong. For context everyone mentioned is an adult.

The other day I (19) was talking with a friend in server about a character from a book series we both really enjoy. Two other people who never read the book were popping into the convo occasionally so me and my friend were trying to explain some context. One of those two people are who the situation revolves around, let's call them Leaf (20), fake name.

I have ADHD and I tend to get really excited when ranting abt my hyperfix, I tend to have a lot to say and a need to get it out as fast as possible, so I tend to make a LOT of typos. I make a lot of typos even when texting normally, it's a very well known fact about me. Because I make so many I don't tend to correct or change them in normal casual conversation because it's simply too much work and takes up too much time when people understand what I'm trying to say anyways.

When trying to explain a character's backstory I accidentally misspelled like and used a k instead of an l, since the letters are very close together on my keyboard. I had NO idea that it was an actual word at all, let alone that it was a slur. There was no malicious intention behind it at all. Leaf let me know that it was a slur, and I immediately apologized and explained I didn't know and I tend to make a lot of typos. Leaf was weirdly condescending about it though, we are NOT very close but they passive aggressively called me their "beloved darling" and to "use my eyes ❤️". They responded to my message with the apology in it by saying "well now you know" basically, and I thought that was it. The conversation moved on.

We sent a lot of messages in between that and when Leaf brought it up again. The original message was typo was completely buried. Admittedly I did not edit the original message right away to correct it, since I don't edit messages on discord often and I was distracted so it slipped my mind. But I did go back immediately when Leaf brought it up again. They said that they felt that being excited about a book isn't an excuse to say a slur and they shouldn't feel scared to speak up about it. We were all very confused by this, because we thought it was resolved and my friend even thought that they had said something wrong this time. I apologized AGAIN and had to do so profusely, with Lead responding to my messages with "ok" multiple times. They finally said that its okay now bc before I hadn't apologized or changed anything. Which is VERY CONFUSING TO ME because I DID APOLOGIZE, AND THEY RESPONDED TO THE MESSAGE WHERE I DID.

I will also admit that I did not like Leaf prior to this incident. They have a tendency to get condescending and harp on others for accidents or mistakes, but when they perceive the slightest bit of criticism they have a break down, regardless of if the actual message meant to be negative. They also do not communicate clearly and it's usually a guessing game in regard to what they're actually trying to say or what the problem is. I know they have some other mental health issues so even though I disliked them I never let it show in my behavior. I tried my hardest to be as polite and kind as possible, because I didn't want Leaf to feel unwelcome in the server. Sometimes people don't vibe and that's alright, their needs just clashed with my own (I have a need to over explain and completely understand a situation, so Leaf being vague and passive aggressive is especially frustrating for me) and I didn't want to isolate them from their friends just because I didn't vibe.

Additionally, in a previous conversation where I was talking about a fandom appropriating my culture and why that made it hard for me to enjoy the source material, Leaf said some questionable things. They were also a fan of what I was talking about, and they didn't seem to understand what I was talking about or why it was upsetting for me. This obliviousness made me extra baffled when it came to the typo incident.

I guess I've just been frustrated at the immaturity of how the situation was handled. I make such an effort to be polite and mature when it comes to them, and some of my other friends have said I've been much more patient with Leaf than they would have been, but maybe my judgment is clouded and I should have done something different. The server that we're in is very small (~20 ppl but usually only 5 or so are regularly active) and I don't want to stir up any kind of drama or trouble when I can just handle my own emotions personally. However what happened baffled me so much I feel like I need an outside opinion.

#aita #am i the asshole

[ftmtftm]

the whole "trans men male privilege" thing basically reveals to me that at the end of the day people's perception of a trans man is "(usually) white guy who has access to hrt, has been on it for 5+ years, has had bottom and top surgery, and won the genetic lottery". like.

what are the chances of someone being this lucky, lets be serious. and don't get me wrong, i'm sure there are transmascs who can not only pass, but are completely stealth. but for the vast majority of us?

not an option. testosterone is a restricted substance, gender clinics where i live have a 5+ year waiting list, and doing it privately is expensive (my brother is currently transitioning completely privately). top surgery costs at minimum £5k. bottom surgery? 2-3x that.

not to mention there will always be those of us who don't want to opt for one of them, or choose not to — and bc of this, it's kinda insane to me to be like, "well, if ur gonna cling to ur agab, why even transition" esp when those specific conversations are not actually "clinging" to it, so much as discussing how our body, and the body we inhabit, is the subject of legislature.

like at the end of the day the assumption is not only "well all trans men pass and are stealth (two diff things!)", but that trans men necessarily always /want/ to pass or conform to a very rigid and narrow image of masculinity. (and some people expect us too as well!)

some of us, we're never gonna pass. partially bc it holds no interest for us to present ourselves differently for said 'privilege', and partially bc we're unfortunately not gonna by virtue of our genetics. and some of us, well, we don't even have access to hrt, or puberty blockers, by virtue of where we live.

legal documents? in my country, your birth name is considered as belonging to the state. any attempt to change your name is already a hefty legal process, and it's actually immediately rejected if you are switching to a name of a different sex, requiring you to change your sex/gender marker first. and to do that? you have to take your parents to court.

yeah. hire a whole lawyer to represent you, file a complaint, have an entire gender certificate, and actually submit your case to a court which can ask you invasive and transphobic questions. it's literally easier for me to get a passport in a different country than it is to change my name with my current one.

Yep!!

You also kind of highlighted it without directly saying it but "[ the hypothetical straw trans man in question ] is USAmerican" is another identity to add to that list of assumptions often being made as well honestly.

Viewing an entire community through the lense of its most hypothetically privileged members will always fuck your perception of that community up. It happens to trans men a lot in conversations like these - and also it happens to trans women a lot in conversations on transitioning and passing and accessibility too honestly, just based on convos I've had with my ex as she's been coming out and building more trans fem community around herself.

Like, in reality, most people aren't able to transition in the ways they want/need to for so many different reasons - though usually because of systemic legal reasons and systemic economic reasons like you've described. Especially in the case of testosterone HRT - which does not have a gray market like estrogen and can plant you in serious legal trouble due to its controlled status.

Ultimately we're all fighting for security within systems that were explicitly not made for us and ultimately we're stronger combatting them together. Hopefully people realize that sooner rather than later.

#asks #anon #transandrophobia

[yourmomsgranddad]

— SEE YOU AGAIN

— PAIRING: Chad Meeks-Martin x fem!reader

— SUMMARY: You like Chad but you can't tell him. You feel like you might never get the chance when Ghostface strikes again.

— WORD COUNT: 3.3k (might be the longest one :/)

— WARNINGS: reader plays piano, reader sings a song (i'm sorry), canon violence, traumatic events?

You never were an awkward person.

Not really.

You were always outgoing.

You loved going to parties and hanging out with people. You loved hearing people's stories. And you loved talking to them.

But when it came to crushes, you were as silent as mouse. You could figure a word, a thought, all that was there was sound. And it wasn't cohearent.

You didn't know where it came from.

You were usually normal around Chad. But one day, after he spent a few hours at the gym, something shifted.

Now every time you two were around each other, you couldn't think normal thoughts. He just flooded your entire brain. And it was unhealthy.

You couldn't tell anybody. You were kind of embarrassed, falling all over a boy like this. But someone did catch you.

Tara.

Chad had just walked away and you might had slipped up by looking at him like this was a dream you were enjoying a little too much.

"Why are you looking at him like that?" She wondered with a half smirk on her face. "Hmm?" You looked like a deer in headlights, you had been caught. And she was loving seeing you this way.

"Don't 'hmm' me. I know you heard what I said. Why are you looking at Chad like you're in love with him? Oh my gosh, are you in love with him?!" She gasped, mocking you.

You put your hands on your face, you wanted to hide.

"It's fine. I won't tell. It'll be our little secret."

And so it was.

Anytime Chad was near you in any type of way, Tara would take the chance to tease you. Mention how good you looked to him. Talk about how pretty your eyes were so he would look at them closer.

It was torture.

"Why does she keep talking about you?" He asked one day after Tara had walked away. You wanted to say something cool. 'She just likes messing with me, that's all.' And that would have been the end of it.

But your tongue was stuck. He was sitting awfully close to you and staring directly at you, you didn't trust your mouth at this moment.

So you basically let his mind wander.

"Oh my gosh, wait! Do you think Tara likes you?" His eyes went wide with glee. Your heart dropped. Why was he so happy about it?

That definitely brought your words back.

"That is definitely false. If anyone were to like me, it would not be Tara. She disgusts me." You joked, causing him to laugh and you were back to not speaking.

"Why are you always so silent nowadays? I miss your voice. I miss you talking to me." You wanted to crawl inside your body.

It's not like you didn't like him talking to you, it was one of your favorite things. It's just the talking back that's hard. So you didn't. But you felt bad for not talking to him.

So you decided to not to put the option of talking into his hands.

You admired him from afar. When you hung out as a group, you made sure not to be close to start up a tiny convo.

That would have to do for now. Until you could get your words together.

You never understood why you kept a piano in your room.

You hadn't played since you were ten.

You escaped to your room while everyone was in the living room, watching tv. You sat at your little keyboard. It was covered in all types of stickers of your interests in high school.

You just slammed your hands on the keys, it didn't sound like anything. You missed feeling the keys underneath your fingers. You wanted to play something.

You played the first song that came to your mind.

"Heart beats fast, colors and promises. How to be brave? How can I love when I'm afraid, to fall? But watching you stand alone. All of my doubt, suddenly goes away somehow." You began playing along with your faint singing.

You didn't want to bother anyone while they were trying to watch their movie. You just wanted to sing to yourself.

"One step closer."

You removed your hands from the keys. Just sitting in your silence. You forgot how fun it was to play your piano. A smile began to dance across your cheeks. You were so enraptured in your activity, you didn't notice someone in your doorway.

"Were you singing Twilight?"

You looked up and there was Chad, looking down at you where you were sitting with his arm crossed.

"Which answer would sound less weird?" You wondered, joking with him for the first time in weeks. You forgot how much you missed talking to him. And you could tell from the look on his face that he did as well.

"None of them. You were singing Twilight, that gives me an obligation to make fun of you." He teased, walking into your room and sitting on your bed behind you.

You swiveled around on your stool, looking at him hopefully.

"Bring it." You waved, egging him on.

He looked up for a second, as if he was thinking of an insult until finally, he sucked in a bunch of air, making a makeshift smile toward you.

"I can't."

"Why not? Scared of hurting my feelings?" You pouted. You stood up from your seat, going to sit next to him on the edge of your bed.

"It's okay. I can take it."

He smiled at you, for some reason he didn't believe you. "Come on!" You playfully pushed him, trying to get him to do something.

"No! I have nothing bad to say. I really liked your singing."

Your playful exterior dropped and all that was left was appreciation. "No one's ever complimented my singing before. Mostly because I think you might be the only person I've ever sung in front of."

"Well they should. People don't notice how good things are until they're gone. I know if you stopped singing, I would definitely miss it."

"Well I guess I just shouldn't stop then."

"Oh I advise against it."

You hadn't noticed but the entire time, you were staring into his eyes, not looking away once. They were trapping you and you felt as though if you looked away, this moment would cease to be.

It wouldn't be real.

But he touched your cheek, assuring you that this moment was very much real. And he was staring at you with the same exact look you had.

You just knew the moment wasn't real when he started leaning in.

You wanted nothing more than for his lips to touch yours but you broke apart when you heard the sounds of screams coming from the living room. You wanted to have wishful thinking and believe it was the tv but you just couldn't be that lucky.

You knew what happened back in Woodsboro before Tara, Mindy, Sam, and Chad got to New York. Your heart jumped.

You didn't waste any time before bolting out of your room and finding everyone in the living room on edge. Everything seemed off as Sam was shaking and everyone else was looking behind you.

You slowly turned around to see something from your worse nightmares, Ghostface, in the flesh.

You had only heard stories about the heinous beast but seeing him here just made your heart beat out of your chest. You didn't dare move. You felt as soon as you moved, it would feel like you were pressing play on whatever was going to happen.

And surely enough, standing still does not help when you standing in front of a literal murderer.

He lifted his hand up, the one with the knife. Sam screamed for you to move but you were paralyzed by fear. That fear didn't do you any favors as he stuck his knife right into your abdomen.

You didn't know what being stabbed felt like, I mean you did constantly accidentally slice your fingers while making food but you never actually got a knife stuck in you.

It didn't feel nice.

It felt like your body was going to fall apart like Play-Doh, or sand. Now you definitely couldn't move.

Luckily he didn't go down to finish the job but instead decided to follow after Sam, wherever she ran to. You couldn't see anything, everything was super blurry and shaking.

You had been drunk before but it was nothing compared to this feeling.

You did definitely still feel everything that was going on. All the rushed footsteps going around your fading in and out body. The screams echoing off the walls.

When someone picked you up like a baby and sprinted down the stairs with you in their arms.

"No. What about Chad?" You slurred out.

"I'm right here. I got you."

You might not be able to see anything since your loss of blood but you knew what Chad's voice sounded like. That sound put you to sleep most nights.

He sat you down on the stairs, leaning you against the wall. Your vision started to blur back into reality and you could see Chad, leant in front of you. And you definitely noticed the big splotch of blood in the center of his hoodie.

"I'm sorry about the blood."

He looked down and chuckled, you were bleeding out and felt bad about it. "It's okay. It's not your fault. Just stay awake, okay?"

You nodded. You could see but now all the adrenaline was gone and you were hyper aware of the bloody gash beginning on your side.

There was no amount of alcohol to take away this pain.

The sun had come up and ambulances had been called.

Turns out, after Chad ran you down the stairs, Ghostface got to Anika, Mindy's girlfriend. You didn't know her well but you did know Mindy and you felt bad. You held onto her as you just sat in the back of the emergency vehicle.

You hadn't noticed but Chad walked up to the two of you, leaning next to you. "Are you okay?" He wondered, looking down at you.

You were covered in the blanket that the EMT had given you. They had stitched up your side and stopped the bleeding. And your vision was back to normal. You weren't okay but you were doing a little bit better.

"No. But I knew going to college with you guys would be like a movie. I didn't think the movie would be Saw, but I'll manage."

He let out a little chuckle.

"At least it's not Nightmare on Elm Street, you love to sleep." Mindy added, making you giggle. This is what you needed, a joke with a friend to get your mind off the fact that less than 24 hours ago, you had been stabbed.

You looked up at Chad to see if he was laughing too but his eyes were somewhere else, on someone else. You had noticed, going under the yellow tape, was Ethan, Chad's roommate.

You knew Ethan, you were in Chad's dorm a lot for studying and just hanging in general.

You didn't feel any way about his appearance but from the look on Chad's face, you knew something was wrong. He stomped up to the boy and slammed him into a parked vehicle.

You rarely seen Chad get violent but when you did, you never really liked it. I mean who would?

"Where were you, man?! My sister and Y/n got stabbed and you were just gone!" You didn't like the violence but you did like Chad worrying about you. You had completely forgotten about your crush.

It kind of leaked out of you with your blood.

"I was at ECON!"

You wanted to believe him but something in you just didn't feel right about the situation.

You wanted to go back to normal after the incident but knowing who you're friends were, this was only just the beginning.

You found a Ghostface lair and any confidence you had before, it left as soon as that knife left your body. You felt your breath become haggard, you didn't know what to do and you felt like you wanted to burst into tears.

But you had to stay composed. Deep breaths. Nope, you couldn't. You had to get out of there. You put your hands in the air and stomped out. Knowing the situation, you probably should have said where you were going.

But you honestly didn't know, you just needed air.

You were lucky that New York was constantly windy so you didn't have to worry about not getting any.

Your life was exciting. I mean you lived in New York, what could be more exciting than rats and the stinky pee smell constantly? But that level of excitement? Have to constantly be running and worry about who you can trust?

No one wanted that.

You knew for damn sure Tara didn't want it. She always told you how she wished her life was different. "I love my sister but I don't like that Ghostface comes with her." She told you once.

You knew the dangers of being friends with them. But you didn't know it would be that bad.

There are a lot of scary things in life. But the number one thing was mankind.

You were pulled out of your thoughts when you heard someone exit the building you just walked out of. And it's like the universe wanted to punch the remaining air out of your lungs because who else would it be except for Chad.

"I saw you run out so I wanted to make sure you were okay."

You found a fire escape and sat down on it, looking up at the New York sky in this dark and sad alleyway. "I'm not Ghostface, if that's what you're thinking."

He noticed the way you couldn't look at him. Your eyes were trained on the sky. You being Ghostface was the last thing on his mind.

You kept thinking to yourself, why are you so distraught about a little knife? You got stabbed a little and you didn't die. But you kept thinking about how the knife twisted in your gut, about how the person who stabbed probably didn't think twice about doing that to you.

What if it happened again?

He sat down next to you on the very small step and you just sat in silence for a while. You kind of needed it.

"I can't believe this is your second time going through this and you're so chill about it." You tried to chuckle but for some reason, it came out quietly. It was barely even a chuckle, more of a sound.

"I have to be. If I break down, they get you. But you're allowed to be human. You got stabbed, it's not fun." He tried to make you feel better about being mad and sad at the same time but you just wanted to scream.

"Y'know when you pop a balloon and it flies around the room until it loses all its air? And you hear that gross sound of it deflating?"

He nodded shortly, he didn't want to cut you off. You needed to get this out.

"That's how my body felt. Like a big ball of air floating through the air and losing all of its insides."

You hadn't noticed but you subconsciously put your head on his shoulder. And he definitely was not pushing you away, instead vying to put his head on top of yours.

In any normal circumstance, you would've been doing backflips in your mind. But this wasn't a normal circumstance. And your stomach was already making noises for another reason, nothing good.

Breaking the tension, Chad let out a little giggle.

You jolted up, looking at him confused. You weren't expecting the sound but you happily welcomed it.

"What?" You chuckled along with as if you were already a part of the joke. "Are you hungry?" He wondered with a bright smile on his face. And there was the good feeling he gave you when he looked at you, just flooding right back in.

"Kinda. Why?"

Before anything else could be said, he grabbed your hand and begun leading you out of the alleyway.

You hadn't known it yet. But you two were about to go on a date.

It wasn't much a date as much as it was just him making sure you got something in your stomach.

But it felt like it.

You laughed, you talked, and you ate. All date activities.

By the time, you made it back to the hideout, it was nighttime. And it seemed like Sam and Tara were just getting there too, like they weren't in there when you left.

"Where have you guys been?!" Sam shouted, looking like a peeved mother toward the two of you. "We went to get food."

She barely let you get a statement out before wrapping you in her arms in a warm embrace. You'd expect this type of interaction from Tara but never from Sam. This definitely was new.

"Damn, Sam. Flirting in front of your boyfriend? Shameful." You joked, hopefully setting a lighter tone on the situation. It helped a little, it caused everyone to let out a little chuckle.

"Tara, tell your sister to stop flirting with me."

You hopped out of Sam's arms, falling into Tara's who returned it almost immediately. She smiled at your antics, this was the first time in weeks you were being yourself.

"Sam, stop flirting with Y/n. She does not like you that way."

She rolled her eyes playfully as you continued to walk in their current direction, still entangled in Tara's arms.

The group let you two know that they had a plan to trap Ghostface and kill him inside the weird lair.

As soon as you got inside, you all went your separate ways, going off and doing your own things. You instinctively went to the little candy counter. You didn't really want the candy, you just liked how it looked.

It didn't take long for Chad to pop up in front of you.

Things were silent between the two of you and for once in the past few weeks, you enjoyed the silence.

"Was that a date?" You blurted out.

"Before, when we went out to eat, was it a date? I'm okay if it wasn't. Like I wasn't wishing it was a date. I just didn't want to take it wrong way and say in the future that it was a date. Especially if it wasn't. Oh my gosh that would so embarra-"

Without any type of warning, he jolted forward, slamming his lips onto yours. You were momentarily paused, you almost didn't know what was going on. But as soon as you understood, you couldn't stop yourself from smiling.

After just sitting there, idle, he pulled away and looked around, almost pretending that didn't happen. He didn't want to be the first person to mention how awkward that was.

He just knew you were going to say something.

"Really, C? You did all that to just give me a church kiss? That's crazy. If you're going to do it, you better do it like you mean it."

So he tried again. Leaning forward slower this time and placing his lips on you lightly. This kiss more gentle as he slipped his tongue in through the gap your teeth made from smiling.

"Now that's a kiss."

You both pulled away satisfied, you smiling a little too big. You were excited, you had been waiting for that for weeks.

"It was a date. For your information." He said, clearing the air as he leaned over the counter. "I really like you, you know that?" Again, unexpected. You thought you were going to have to confess. But he did it for you.

But before you could return the sentiment, you felt a familiar sharp pain in your side. It was exactly the same as you remembered.

Balloon.

Your body froze from the pain, you basically lost feeling in your feet. You fell forward, into Chad's arms. He wanted to check and see if you were okay. But you fell behind him, causing him to fall into Ghostface.

He ducked, leaning over to grab you.

"Come on! We have to run."

He clutched your hand as you started sprinting toward the door. You wanted so much to hunch over and give into your injury. But you knew the moment you slowed, it was over. So you pressed your free hand into the wound as hard as you could and bolted.

You went to burst through the door but it was instead opened by Tara and Sam who seemed to be untouched.

They quickly rushed out of the way, allowing you to run through. Sam slammed the door in his face and then it was back to running.

The pain was unbearable but so was death.

You made your way back around to the spot you were originally. You got in front of Chad who threw a popcorn machine down, trying to trip Ghostface.

He jumped over it, speeding right past you, Tara, and Sam, going right for Chad. You want to help him but you were hunched over, on the ground, holding onto your wound for dear life. You were lucky Tara and Sam sprung to action and pulled him off of Chad.

He kicked Ghostface to the ground and suddenly, it seemed like you won.

Tara pulled you to the door, just in case you need to make a quick escape. Chad went to grab a gumball machine and make sure he was dead. But out of nowhere, another Ghostface appeared, stabbing Chad in the same exact side you got stabbed in.

"Chad!" You and Tara yelled out.

The two Ghostfaces took turns, alternating stabbing Chad in every part of his body. "No!" You shouted, you wanted to use the rest of your strength to go and help him but you could barely stand.

"Go. Run." He managed to get out of his blood soaked mouth. He forced out a nod even though he couldn't even move, he had blood coming out of everywhere in his body.

Tara hooked her arm around your middle and began pulling you out of the room.

You couldn't go rather far since you were also bleeding.

"Drop me right here." You whispered, reached down to the floor, taking a nice seat behind a wall. You could barely be seen. "Are you going to be okay right here?" Sam wondered, grabbing on your free hand.

"No. But if I move one more inch, my body's going to fall apart. Come back for me when it's safe."

The girls nodded. They hesitated leaving you in this state. Blood was gushing out of you like a faucet and you could barely move. You were defensiveless.

Tara's eyes darted around the room, seemingly looking for something. She walked away for a second, only coming back with a rusty old knife. She shoved it into your free hand. "Anyone comes near you, give em' a matching wound." You only reacted with a nod.

"That's my girl."

She stomped away, fading from your view.

You wanted so much to burst out of this injury and help Sam and Tara with whatever was causing them pain out there. You couldn't see since your back was to them.

You tried to get up but your legs immediately turned to jelly and back down you went.

But surely enough, they ended it, stabbing their roommate's dad in both of his arms. That part you saw since they were right in front of you.

As soon as he was confirmed down, Tara went right to you.

"Are you good?"

"Not in slightest."

She wrapped your free arm around her shoulder and helped you out of the building. She was bleeding from her side as well but she was walking as if it didn't bother her. She was trying to help you first.

She got you to the ambulance where they patched you up once again and you were once again, sitting in the back of an emergency vehicle.

"I'm growing tired of ambulances." Tara mentioned, standing in front of you, breaking the long built of silence. "You and me both, sister." Sam replied, rolling her shoulder in pain. She had gotten stabbed too.

Tara looked back at you and you were just sitting there, silently crying.

"What's the matter?" She worried, grabbing onto your hand in concern. You rarely cried in front of your friends so she was a little confused by the sudden feeling.

"It's just Chad."

You heard the rustling of wheels in the slight distance. You immediately recognized it. It was a gurney from the ambulance. But who else was in the building who needed saving?

You looked up and looking half dead, was Chad.

You got out of your seat almost instantly and ran to his side. "I thought you were dead." He couldn't talk, he had an oxygen mask on but he lifted his hand up to your cheek.

He didn't even have to say anything.

You understood.

#help lol #scream #scream 2022 #scream 6 #scream vi #chad meeks martin #chad meeks #chad meeks x reader #chad meeks martin x reader #tara carpenter #mindy meeks martin

[ghostherlig]

even more random hcs!!

bc i probably wont be home until after christmas :')

anyway, take more johnrailaoshi bc ive been thinking about them all day-

(if you saw this early no you didnt- im stupid and pressed the wrong button-)

raiden really loves valentine's day bc it gives him extra reason to show his appreciation for the people he loves in his life- he always hand makes cards and folds origami pieces for his bfs to find around the house- he went all out one year and made each of them a jar full of paper stars

johnny and kung lao's favorite holiday is halloween!! they go all out for costumes and always decorate the house to match- johnny even hires smaller actors to dress up and play characters outside with him and lao to have fun with the kids- they have a scare actor section and a section for cartoon characters

kenshi's favorite holiday is christmas!! he doesnt have a lot of fond memories from childhood, but after johnny first asked kenshi to celebrate christmas with him, oh that man was hooked- johnny was happy to see kenshi beam all throughout december, holding warm mugs and wrapped in blankets since the cold always got to him

jax and johnny still have this kind of strange rivalry, esp when kenshi is around- kenshi thinks it's funny bc most of the time it's them trying to out do each other with history facts, but both just end up having a nice convo.... it's the only time kenshi can get paperwork done without headaches

lao and raiden still have mini bets they place with each other all the time- half the time kenshi and johnny find out abt them bc lao brags abt winning- raiden bets poorly on purpose sometimes bc he knows lao likes to win and it only costs him a little..... sometimes he humbles lao, though (the superbowl is the biggest bet of the year for them)

raiden isnt known to swear, but his favorite song is "I Don't Fuck With You" by Big Sean (thanks kung lao) and he can be heard singing the lyrics, uncensored and all, randomly

kenshi can very easily peel or cut any kind of fruit- apples, oranges, pomegranates, persimmons, pineapple, watermelon, anything- if he is handed a fruit and asked to cut it he will and it will be fast and done beautifully

raiden has johnny do his hair!! braids is usually the most common style outside of his bun, but johnny always insists on doing his hair if they're going out-

kenshi has lao help him cut his hair!! lao does his own undercut and knows his way around a buzzer/clippers- the first time lao asked to cut kenshi's hair the swordsman was unsure, but he decided it wouldnt hurt and lao did it perfectly and has done it since

johnny has a cameo on a sooby doo episode!! he somehow convinced them to put him in an episode with the hex girls and it actually was so awesome-

johnny is super good with puzzles- like insanely good- kenshi, lao, and raiden just started getting him those really fancy puzzle boxes for christmas/his bday and he's cracked every single one without fail-

they have board game nights!! monopoly and uno have been banned- but when everyone is over their favorite game to play is 'one night ultimate werewolf'

for several years johnny has done a Santa Livestream on his insta and has donated a lot of money to charities that buy gifts for kids in need as well as done fundraisers to get others to chip in too- he got tomas, syzoth, kuai liang, lao, and raiden to help him keep people entertained on the live- kenshi even agreed to do a "face reveal" if they hit ten million in a day- they hit the goal in six hours

raiden and tomas are actually pretty close as friends- both bond over their combat abilities and their lives in general, and both have dragged the other into different media- now they watch episodes of different series' weekly and talk over the phone about it- their bf's know better than to interrupt them on the phone with each other

lao is the only Only Child in their polycule- raiden has his sister, johnny his brother, and i hc kenshi as having an older sister and a younger brother-

johnny will randomly start dancing, sometimes bc he just has a song stuck in his head, other times bc he just needs to move- his bf's always smile when they catch him- the most extreme move any of them have seen him do is drop into a split

none of them are fond of using their powers for silly or stupid reasons... however, each of them have definitely used their powers in a way they werent supposed to- kenshi has for sure used his telekenesis inappropriately, raiden has used his lightning to cook smth, kung lao has used his force/air manipulation to throw things at ppl, and johnny uses his weird shadow powers (give him his green back ]:) to scare his bfs-

johnny owns the house, bc it's a five bedroom, six and a half bath, super expensive house- it gives each of them their own room and then a shared room with a big asf bed, a nnice kiving room, incredible kitchen, big dining room for guests, a wine cellar, in home gym, etc- literally a second mansion-

as soon as anyone gets sick, raiden makes chicken congee- he got the recipe from madam bo after he told her him and lao were moving to stay with johnny for a while- she was happy to give him the recipe and even showed him how to de-bone a whole chicken for it

johnny is actually so interested in tarantulas- he thinks they look super cool and that some of the colors and patterns are really pretty- if kenshi and lao werent as insect averse he would definitely get one

lao's favorite reptile (after syzoth) is the arabian sand boa (pls google these guys, they're adorable-)

kenshi really loves reptiles and has always wanted a leopord gecko or a hognose snake- but he fears not having enough time for one with work and his bf's

johnny very lovingly refers to raiden as his wife after kenshi made a joke abt johnny "wife-ing" him by making him his favorite meal- raiden always gets flustered bc johnny is very open abt opening an LLC with them all as a kind of "poly marriage loophole"-

they all have jewelry that they wear as sort of "promise" jewelry that they almost never take off- johnny has his silver bracelet/band, kenshi has a steel ring, raiden has an anklet, and lao has a necklace

johnny, to his personal assistant and manager, refers to his bf's as "The Council" and always answers scheduling questions with "i'll have to consult with The Council"- it's rubbed off on the other three which has to led to raiden telling liu kang he cant give him a firm answer bc he has yet to "speak with The Council" (liu got flashbacks to "I Must Consult With the Elder Gods-")

johnny makes the worst jokes abt US tragedies- the jfk assassination is his personal fave bc he knows he can mess with kenshi with it- "it blows my mind that you can be so childish, cage-" "yknow who else got his mind blown-" "JOHNATHAN CARLTON-"

lao still has his first chakram hat and it's hung up in the mansion living room- all of them will stare at it or remember it's there and think back to lao telling the story of his Inspiration (thanks bi han)

raiden really loves smoothies, especially mango- he will down a mango smoothie if you hang him one-

johnny has all kinds of videos on his phone of all of them doing stupid shit- his favorites are one of kenshi drunkenly eating takoyaki out of the fridge, turning to face the camera with his cheeks full- one of raiden mumbling "i dont fuck with you" under his breath, panning to lao and kenshi who look at raiden like he just vacuumed their hamster- and one of lao dancing for a good minute, really, really well, just to trip at the very end and scream-

johnny has a lot of those videos and goes through them whenever he misses his bf's

raiden will send videos of cats playing or napping together and caption them "us" and send them to whoever or to the gc- all of his bf's always melt and go to find him and give him a kiss if they're in the house together or they'll send back a little emoji if they're apart

you'd think johnny is the worst but kenshi is the most overdramatic abt not getting attention- like "my husband is off to war" levels of dramatic- lao had to get up to use the bathroom and kenshi sighed like a sickly victorian, put his hand over his forehead and monologued until lao came back- he does the same to raiden and johnny, always "why has my love left me?? i am always abandoned by my dearest... beloved, where have you gone? why have you forsaken me??" "i need to pee, ken-" "am i so unimportant?? so easily forgotten???? so unloved??????" "🙄✋️ okay-"

johnny isnt as dramatic but he does pout and sigh and sometimes follow his bf's around until they love on him a little- johnny needs the little pick-me-up's but kenshi normally waits until he needs a full battery recharge

the four of them talk shit like there's no tomorrow- you do not want to be on the recieving end of their judgemental staring- each of their side eyes alone could kill someone, all of them together??? good fuckin luck-

johnny is mesmerized by the snow- kenshi, raiden, and lao all grew up with it, but johnny isnt used to it since he was born and raised in CA and enjoys the sunny weather- so when kenshi or lao and raiden take him to japan or china during the snowy season he's always so excited- the other three love it bc his cheeks get so pink in the cold

raiden gets super flustered when one of them gives him affection and attention, but all three are evil and will pile affection and attention on him to watch him squirm and act all shy- raiden loves it but also knows to tell them when he's overwhelmed

lao knows all of his bf's humor and how to make them laugh- johnny and kenshi laugh at lao's darker jokes- johnny especially likes anti-jokes- raiden likes puns and "a ____ walked into a bar-" type jokes- kenshi also cant help but laugh at people doing stupid things and kenshi and raiden laugh together at children falling- (older sibling moment)

raiden gets super lovey sometimes and will write out in letters how he feels about his bf's and slide them under their doors- all of them have a drawer or folder or smth that stores all of the letters

lao is the only one with a real sleep schedule- he's a morning person and goes to bed by 10 almost every night- raiden tends to get distravted watching tv, and kenshi and johnny tend to overwork themselves and work into the night and wee hours

sleep is usually tough for all of them anyway (lao takes melatonin to be asleep early) bc of all that they've seen and experienced- they all like congregating in their shared room to sleep together but sometimes they go off to their own rooms when they need/want the privacy or peace

that's all for now- wishing everyone a happy holidays!! <333 hopefully im back home soon :') also pls excuse any typos, it is 2 am-

#ghosts hcs #johnny cage #kenshi takahashi #raiden #kung lao #johnrailaoshi #johnshi #railao #mk1 2023

[hajihiko]

I interpret Kaz's relationship with his dad a little differently from that one convo. He says something like 'he knew better than anyone that we didn't have the money' and I took that as his dad wanted him to go and have fun like a normal kid and not worry about the money. Of course, I don't justify physical discipline and it is abuse, even if the parent is well intentioned. I think that Kaz does love his dad and they're relationship might be more complicated. But you know that's just one of the many things he needs to work out in therapy.

(Again this is just my interpretation and I'm not saying yours is wrong. I do love the art.)

Just gonna use this as a little jumping point to talk about this bc why not, warnings for obviously sensitive topics

I dont think you're wrong, I actually probably agree, but one thing;

It's not uncommon for public perception to weigh more than actual actions or intent. In the example given, I see it like so; yeah, Souda sr. wanted his son to go on a field trip that they couldn't really afford. Yeah, Kaz wanted to help the household by not going on the trip and saving the money. Both have good intent here. It's not about that, though, because in Souda sr.'s eyes, refusing to go on the trip is like admitting that they're poor, which is like saying the father can't provide for his family, which is like public humiliation- in his eyes. In a fit of rage (and insecurity, if it's something that's already weighing on his mind, as these things often go) the assumption isnt that his son was trying to help, just that he did something that makes the father look bad. Which is a bigger trigger than most things, often, for patriarchal authority figures.

And it not an excuse for physical harm, no, nothing is. Probably, Souda sr. knows that, and didn't mean to snap- doesnt think he committed an act of child abuse- but he's been under a lot of stress, and his son was talking back, and, well.

I think they do usually get along alright, and Souda sr. does his best to provide for himself and his son and keep their relationship good, and Kazuichi is genuinely grateful for everything his dad's done for him? But in the end, it's another person Kazuichi trusted teaching him the lesson that people will let him down and hurt him, in some way at some point. If your parent whom you trust has made you genuinely afraid of them, it's hard to come back from it, and someone as anxious and emotionally sensitive as Kazuichi will hold onto that forever, probably, even as he might internalized some of it as his own fault.

It's a lot more complicated than just "bad father, sad son" (but again, not excusable, you don't hit your kids period). It's father and son who love each other and might be the only family they both have, but they clash horribly on occasion, make up (or don't talk about it at all), things die down, stay good for a while, then there's another clash- so it goes, even if the bad times are only occasional. The biggest Thing about these kind of relationships, to me, is that it's so easy to fall into a routine and let things stagnate, and before you know it, it's just How Things Are and it's easier to just deal than start rocking the boat.

#Not an art #Talky talky #Dysfunctional relationships and toxic family is always something I have Thoughts on #cw child abuse #This is also just me blabbing with little evidence so dont come for my throat ok I'm just pondering #I could talk about the kuzuryu family too I think there's a lot more context stuff there #But that's a diff post #I also hc that Kaz started thinking about the death machines before Junko #Not in a serious manner but as a malcontent kid who felt bitter and insecure and wanted to let it out somehow #Who hasnt fantasised about pushing someone down the stairs or sth right? That's where it started for him #Blah blah the 'anyone is capable of evil' theme #But also the 'that entire class was full of kids at risk and no one noticed or helped them and that sure didnt stop them from seeking- #-release and control and company from bad people who in turn affected them'

[utilitycaster]

speaking of jasmine bhullar, she and brennan had a great convo about min-maxers and i was wondering what your own thoughts on min-maxing were? i'm new-ish to actually playing dnd and i still worry about making myself a problem to the dm as opposed to an asset.

First off as someone who enjoys Adventuring Academy but never has the time to watch the full episodes, thank you for bringing this up - I watched just the debate, and it was incredible and hilarious.

This is a good question. I am 100% in agreement with Jasmine here and she said it better than I could: min-maxing simply means that you read the rules to D&D and decided to use them to your advantage. Reading the rules to D&D is great and everyone should do it (in fact, this a reliable way to be an asset to the DM: know how your character's abilities work). There are a few cases where it sucks but most of those aren't actually due to min-maxing so much as shitty player behaviors that can occur in min-maxers.

I think one reason people dislike min-maxers is that the stereotypical min-maxer builds a character who truly can't do anything except for massive damage, and that does kind of suck, but I also think that that is really hard to build in 5e. You're going to have some other abilities. I think it was much easier to truly min-max in 3.5e, and perhaps in older editions you could really break things (in fact, having listened to some pathfinder 1e actual plays, I know you could).

There is also, as Jasmine points out, a false assumption that min-maxers aren't interested in RP or won't do it. This is very clearly untrue and a few examples off the top of my head from Actual Play that are debatably min-maxed are: Deadeye Cybin (played by Brennan, natch) in NADDPod (damage dealer); Laerryn Coramar-Seelie of EXU Calamity (optimized for survival, especially against non-magical foes); Caduceus Clay and Deanna Leimert of Critical Role (both optimized to be healers, incidentally); Orym and Vex, also of Critical Role (optimized to have a stupidly high perception score), Theo Gumbar of A Crown of Candy (optimized to tank and have a stupidly high AC). These are all fantastic characters with profound RP scenes who happen to also be really, really good at a narrow band of things, but they're also not just good at that. Many of them also can serve as the brains or the face of their party; many have utility spells far beyond their area of specialization.

Another reason people dislike min-maxers is they have a reputation for being ungenerous - for swooping in and stealing the spotlight. The above characters, played by some of the most generous people in actual play, show that's clearly not the case. Also, to be honest, a spotlight hog doesn't have to be min-maxed. It's just a shitty "hey, hey look at me" player. I think attention hogs might be a bit more inclined to try to build a character who is really really good at something (again, usually damage more than say, healing) but that doesn't mean that everyone who builds a gunslinger is here to steal all the glory.

Specialization also isn't bad! The reason D&D is a game where people are in a party is because not everyone can do everything! There are a small handful of characters who are a utility knife who can basically do a little bit of almost everything (Keyleth, Fjord, Moonshine) but they are the exception rather than the rule. Barbarians, for example, are a class that usually is structured around tanking and doing damage. This is fine! You probably don't want a party that's all barbarians because it is useful to have healers and ranged attackers and people who can sink all their high stat rolls into the mental side of things because they don't live and die quite so much by their physical stats, but it sure is nice to have a barbarian in the mix to balance out the glass cannon wizard, isn't it?

If you show up to a table where there is a clear gap in party composition (eg: healing) or there's a clear story the GM wants to tell (eg: very social, requires a lot of diplomacy) and you decide not to fill it because you are too busy building Guy With Stealth Bonus of +20, then that's a problem, but that's ultimately a failure to collaborate. Min-maxing for something that doesn't really help the party is simply the way in which you happened to fail that compromise.

I'm sure there are edge-case, dark corners of D&D Reddit builds that do suck, but honestly most of them suck in that they are actually not good (eg: coffeelock). Your typical case of dumping one stat to max out on another? totally normal, totally cool.

Anyway to get to the part of your question regarding not being a problem: you probably aren't! You're thinking about how to not be a problem to your DM, which people who are problems tend not to do. However, the big takeaways of the above are 1. read the rules of your character and 2. build a character who fits into the world. In the session zero, build a character who has a reason to be doing the things the DM outlines in broad strokes, and who complements the other PCs. If you do that, then it doesn't matter if you min-max or not.

#answered #Anonymous #*cool hand luke voice* what we have here is a failure to collaborate #(i have not seen cool hand luke i should) #d&d mechanics #long post

[deepmochi]

Hii🐣

Mercury in synastry in 1st house what does meaning ? 🐣Thanks

Hii

Mercury in the 1st house synatry

☆° Depending on the aspects, this synastry can be enemies to lovers (harsh aspects) or besties at first talk (easy aspects).

☆° The Mercury person likes to see the 1st house person express themselves and share their knowledge with them.

☆° The house person sees the Mercurian as an intelligent individual who teaches a lot of things.

☆° The Mercury native could be older than the 1st house. There is an age difference, but the partnership still works out.

☆°They are Sapiosexual individuals. Sapiosexual means a person who is sexually or romantically attracted to intelligent people

☆°At first, the house native feels like they don't grasp the planet native.

☆° A lot of times, the house person sees the Mercurian as a cute rambling creature.

☆°Their first encounter is an unexpected one, and the one who initiated the moment was the Mercurian.

☆° The 1st house person thinks the Mercurian is social due to their encounter.

☆° The Mercurian may feel judged at first, but then they try to continue the conversation.

☆° In a romantic connection, the mercurian will try to pursue the 1st house the right way. They have a convo, and it's an instant click.

☆° The house individual values how the planet person listens to them, even in discussions.

☆° They don't fight; they debate, so you will see them talking heatedly about something.

☆° They usually can read each other body language.

☆° They can have communication problems, especially from the Mercurian side. Since they read the house person so well, they may feel pressured or scared to share their ideas.

☆° This synastry involves some kind of physical interaction. Either they bumped into each other, or they touch the other for whatever reason. Maybe they tap the 1st person on the shoulder because they drop something. It's a possibility.

☆° They are good team, but the 1st house would take the lead. They are bolder, and the mercurian will mediate things.

☆° Usually, one is more grumpy looking (sometimes 1st house person) than the other.

Take care, loves

Fuente: deepmochi

#mercury synastry #mercury in the 1st #astrology #astro notes #mercury in the 1st house synastry #astrologynotes #zodiac #synastry

[frostbite-the-bat]

talked w/ a friend about this and wanted to post something similar yesterday after a convo i saw also

about people criticizing ttcc / ttcc fans for just... being cog fans? being cog centric? usually coming from people who only like the toons.

and everyone likes what they like! it's okay! but saying that people who like the cogs are horrible and support the bad things they do, is just blatantly wrong. i thought we knew that enjoying villainous and morally Bad / grey characters is... okay? it doesn't mean you support what they do. it's interesting to explore these topics.

i've seen many people just... paint anyone who likes the cogs as horrible because they're "apologists of x and y" and... i dunno. rubs me the wrong way! you do have a point and recognize the cogs do bad things, but liking them as characters means nothing about who you are as a person.

and this is not to say that people who are in toontown for the toons are bad. hell! they are right this IS toontown. i may be on the cog liker side but i like the toons! maybe ocs more than the npcs - mostly because i like my friends and the sheer creativity the toons can bring out!!

SO what i wanna say... i dunno. let's not point fingers...? let's have fun in a goofy cartoon game together??? also complaining about people liking VILLAIN ROBOTS on TUMBLR is kind of funny to me. do you realize where you are. but then again a lot of this i see on discord and in-game as well since i avoid things on tumblr... i am a sensitive little fella i avoid misty fight bc of One Really mean "Critic" guy i saw there and i have been shivering in my bootsies since. so you get me

but like yes ttcc is more cog centric but... that's okay? things could be written better and i still wanna speak on it, and i do thing the toons deserve attention and better writing... but the fact it focuses on the cogs isn't... bad? if you don't like how con centric it is you can go play ttr...? god forbid people have fun and explore the villain's side of things...? i'm not saying either toontown server is better or worse than the other... and everyone can like their own things!!

but like... people will just like the cogs and that's okay and it doesn't make you bad. let's all be friends okay? both sides may be going at each other's necks in-game and the cogs in fact do horrible things - but it's what makes them fun, and it gives the toons things to do in the game!! but we don't gotta !!!!!!!! i may be really sarcastic and sometimes mean in private but like that's me just privately sassing, deep down i think people should just... y'know..? enjoy things.

so yea that's the guzma / cathal thought of today. toon people cog people both people are all awesome as fuck and you keep doing what you're doing i love you toontown isn't toontown without you

#anyways omg god forbid ppl are cog kissers on the robot kissing website /silly #but like!! tt/r may not be for everyone and tt/cc may not be for everyone and THATS OK!! ur not gonna like everything!! #like i accepted tt/r isnt for me but its mostly bc they dont show cog health specifically and i struggle with these things but !! i #heard they are updating that so i might be able to play without getting bored / frustrated again ^^ i havent played properly in yeaaaars #i will still prefer clash bc fixation and?? i LIKE ROBOBTS....! #but tewtow is tewtow its all swag. the least toony thing u can do is bully someone for Liking Robobt. be niceys #like ya i admit im not perfect i also dont like people andhave so much one sided beef and i am sensitive to so many things and i complain #in private but at the end of the day its to make myself feel better and i KNOW to not engage and look away and work on feeling better #bc this stuff does Heehoo upset me bc Mental Health Probulem. but i know everyone should and can do their own thing and have fun #i may complain about (redacted ship) all the time and i dont get it at all but...? bro... just have fun... be free. im not here to stop you #im just not gonna interact as i should. good for both of us! joyous world! happy that ur happy!!!! #why complain abt ppl just Enjoying Cogs like that though................................................ do you not like fun #this is not at anyone specific #my friend did show me tags of a post anonymously #and i vague a person whos name i dont know ingame like A YEAR AGO #and a convo what happened in a server a while back. but its not anyone specific i just wanted to like. speak my thoughts #lets be frense... and if not thats okay lets not argue either then we all stay in our lanes

[chairkind]

hey... i know we just saved the world and stuff, but don't you think we should celebrate your birthday too?

basically it's like a "good ending" AU to whatever the hell the story of coa iii was (they got margie out of the abyss, norton doesnt die from abyss disease etc etc) and now they're in that slice of life aftermath where they can celebrate birthdays and eat cake together!

that bit at the end- i wasnt really sure what i was going for, but you know how in big groups people usually have their own convos with each other? it's kind of like "oh shit we didnt plan this out properly we just kinda bought aesop a cake" so they're just being silly and sing him happy birthday really badly. but aesop appreciates it anyway (they are free from worrying about the abyss, after all!)

slice of life stuff i guess. i also forgot to post this on tumblr when i finished it ww

#identity v #aesop carl #kevin ayuso #eli clark #margaretha zelle #tracy reznik #coa 3 #also norton and fiona are in the back if you can see #and kevin + margie are dating in my head #elisop pining maybe ehe

[allthelittlecreepycrawlies]

Do y'all want spoilers for the time travel fic I haven't updated in two years?

Of course you do!

So here's how the entire thing will go if I can ever hammer it into chapters.

(Cut to spare people's dashes. Also, thanks again to @micchikureshima for letting me use our discord convo to rant this out.)

Meng Yao manages to get a meeting with Yu-furen (with Jinzu and Yinzu on duty, of course). It's the first time he's ever seen her from within the same room (he only saw her once in the original timeline and it was from all the way across the marketplace during a festival) and he is desperately hiding how nervous he is.

She gives him a suspicious once-over, which has him sweating bullets that he might be recognized as a Jin Guangshan bastard, so he is infinitely glad when she instead identifies him as "that shadow chasing behind Nie-gongzi at the last conference in Qinghe."

Yes. Absolutely. He will definitely take that over being identified as anything else.

He tells her that he does pretty much whatever his sect leader needs him to do, which includes going out into the field as a scout because Nie-zongzhu doesn't trust the Wen in the slightest.

Considering word is already out about the attack on the Cloud Recesses, she agrees, then asks why, exactly, he has come to Lotus Pier instead of reporting back to the Unclean Realms.

He's already made up a lie about his mother having spent time as a maid in the Palace of the Scorching Sun before taking him and fleeing for their lives when one of Wen Ruohan's bad temper spells resulted in her being the only survivor of her servant cohort. He was young, true, but old enough to have seen the kind of man Wen Ruohan was turning into.

Then he tells her his observations and theory that since the attack on the Cloud Recesses failed to produce the kind of bloodshed the Wen Sect wanted for their threat, it's very likely that, as their closest neighbors, either Lotus Pier or the Unclean Realms will be next. And he has already seen (and killed) some scouts from the Wen sect sniffing around the outer edges of Yunmeng Jiang's territory on the way to the Pier.

Yu-furen, absolutely stone-faced, thanks him for the information and orders him to leave.

He goes far enough that no one will notice him, then pulls out some cloaking talismans that don't exist in the cultivation world yet because they were cribbed from the Yiling Laozu's notes back in his previous run of this life. Unlike the usual silence or stealth talismans, which can only bubble a staid location, these can be pressed to clothing to make a moving bubble. It's how he was able to kill the scouts.

He uses one to spy on the Jiang and find out whether or not Yu-furen will take his words to heart.

(He doesn't go spy on her directly because he knows she'll have to talk about it with her husband because he's the sect leader, and he got more than his fill of warring couples when he had to put up with both his father and Jin-furen.)

The security patrols are stepped up within the next week, more frequent, with two or three guards apiece instead of just one. Not enough that it would look suspicious to the Wen, but enough that he can tell his information got through.

He's especially relieved when he watches Yu-furen personally send her daughter and son off to visit relatives in Meishan Yu, ostensibly because she wants them to know more about that side of their heritage.

As head disciple, Wei Wuxian has to stay behind this time, which doesn't help his nerves.

For the umpteenth time, he can't help but wonder what in the world Jiang Fengmian was thinking almost two years ago, cheerfully putting a fourteen-year-old in charge of all their combat necessities, especially one who even now still seems to be goofing off. The Nie sect had been backed into an unfortunate position when it came to Nie Mingjue, a problem the Jiang sect didn't have, and even his own promotion from assistant to military aide had come after the war had started, when he was an adult.

Whatever, he's not going to think about it any more.

He's got work to do.

Meng Yao spends his time focusing on laying traps in the most likely spots for the Wen to infiltrate, taking out more scouts, and other such sabotage, while quietly sending reports to Mingjue.

For almost a month, it looks like his plan is going to work and the Jiang will be prepared if the Wen try anything.

-----

Then he's woken up in the middle of the night by screaming, and sees the orange glow over the trees from his window.

Fuck.

He quickly dresses, grabs his hidden weapons and talismans and sword, and makes a beeline for Lotus Pier. He slaps on a cloaking talisman as he breaks the treeline, and is stuck just staring for a moment at how many buildings are on fire.

How did this happen?!

No time to wonder about it. He shakes himself out of the stupor and immediately starts looking for survivors, waiting until the soldiers and cultivators aren't paying attention to grab them into his stealth bubble and drag them to a safe spot.

He's not a hero. He doesn't want to be doing this. But he can't imagine having to go back and look his sect leader and young master in the eyes and admit that he watched the Pier burn and did nothing.

It's not lost on him at all that most of the ones he's finding still alive are children and very young teenagers, left to die on their own while the adults were more thoroughly finished off.

He finds Jinzu (dead) and Yinzu (barely breathing) and drags the latter out, having to soothe her protests by promising to look for their lady.

He drags out an injured and half delirious Wei Wuxian, who somehow finds the energy to mumble a thousand questions about the talisman on his clothing.

Then he goes back in to look for Yu-furen.

Of course, she's in the middle of the mess, Wen Chao and his annoying girlfriend gloating over the bodies of her and Jiang Fengmian-

-then Meng Yao sees her hand twitch and oh, hold up.

Yu-furen, stunningly, is alive, though she's not gonna be for much longer if he can't get her out, which is looking increasingly difficult with more and more guards joining the -gag- lovebirds and Wen Zhuliu.

Then a charred flag waving in the wind gives him an idea. He sticks a stealth talisman to it and charges the hell out of it to act as a distraction for what he's about to do, then turns around and uses another burst of qi a knife directly at Wen Chao's throat.

The asshole has the unbearably frustrating timing to move right then, but he still hits a target, the knife zinging right past his face to bury into Wang Lingjiao's, killing her before she even hits the ground.

Wen Chao, naturally, completely loses his shit and starts screaming orders as he drops to his knees to cradle her body, and Meng Yao runs like hell towards Yu-furen, leaving behind the cloaked lure flag to make people think the assassin's in the spot he's already abandoned.

He barely manages to get his stealth bubble over Yu-furen before anyone can notice, but they realize she's gone as he's dragging her into the forest.

Ha, let 'em search all they want, he thinks triumphantly, but the adrenaline euphoria wears off as he reaches the rest of the sect members he managed to rescue.

Roughly two dozen kids and teenagers, a badly injured Yinzu and Wei Wuxian, who are trying to tend their injuries as best as they can, and now a nearly-dead Yu-furen.

His time-melded body is somewhere in his twenties, and he's the most capable adult standing here. Damn, he really didn't think this through.

But that's usually how it goes when he gives into impulse, isn't it? Like with-

No, he is absolutely fucking not going to think about the Jin captain from his last life. He is going to think of a way to get himself and this sorry little squad of Jiangs somewhere safe.

Of course, Meishan Yu comes to mind. Getting around the Wen now patrolling the forest won't be easy, but he still has plenty of stealth talismans. The real problem will be managing to get there with any speed, considering all the injured.

"How conscious are you?" he asks Wei Wuxian and Yinzu. Their answers aren't exactly encouraging, but will have to be good enough.

Some of the kids are starting to look at him warily, so he introduces himself as a member of the Nie sect, who'd been sent to warn the grown-ups this attack was coming and had… partially succeeded.

He gives Wei Wuxian some of the stealth talismans and they split the group to make it harder for the Wen to catch them, Wei Wuxian leading one and he and Yinzu leading the other, carrying Yu-furen on a makeshift stretcher between them.

When they reach the front gates of the Yu Sect compound, the guards on the walls recognize Yu-furen and guards come to hustle the Jiang group in.

He, on the other hand, is made to stay outside the gate,

It's not like he really expected any different, being from an unallied sect, but the blunt snub still stings a bit.

He sits down to wait for Wei Wuxian's group to show up, exhaustion creeping up on him as the hours pass. He's almost asleep when someone clears their throat from the wall above.

It's Jiang Yanli, who carefully lowers down a basket on a rope laden with food. For rescuing her mother and the kids, she says before disappearing from the wall.

Grateful and hungry, he tries to keep himself from just wolfing it all down in seconds, with the wistful thought that he should have tried to get to know her better in that life before.

Night falls, he sleeps at the gate, and morning arrives with Wei Wuxian's group still not having shown up.

This can't possibly be good.

-----

Almost on reflex, he makes his way towards Yiling, stopping only to take an extremely quick bath and get -most of- the blood off his clothing in a river.

As he gets closer and closer to the town, the rumor mill gets more and more animated. Most of it is expressly about the sacking of Lotus Pier, but there's one that makes his stomach churn.

A bunch of little Jiang sect kids were tortured, possibly killed, just the day before, and the Wen are forcing some local laborers to haul all the sect corpses from the Pier to the Burial Mounds.

He hears nothing about Wei Wuxian himself, which is… well, he knows better than to hope he just got away clean. The man destroyed his reputation and got himself killed once to shield former enemies, there's no way he would have up and abandoned his shidis and shimeis to save his own skin.

Which means Wei Wuxian must be on the way to the Burial Mounds as well, alive or dead.

And Meng Yao now has a very, very difficult decision to make.

So, pros and cons here.

On one hand, they have a lot more of the Lan sect available to fight this time, and because this whole mess has started two years early and without the Indoctrination Camp (yet… he really hopes it doesn't get to the point that happens again), many of the sects the Wen had absorbed are still independent and could be lured to the Sunshot side.

On the other hand, that's a lot of people available to potentially get killed, and corpses would do a lot more damage with a lot less… casualties, he'll say, even though that's not the right word for whatever goes on with a corpse army.

And then, there's also the possibility that Wei Wuxian is simply dead, or that he can't master the resentful energy necessary to form the corpse army while still having a core.

Though if he could, there would be an entire army already waiting for him because Wen Chao had been stupid enough to dump so many semi-fresh bodies there as an act of spite.

It's not his business.

It is his business, because he'd been impulsive and gotten involved at the Pier.

Fuck, he has the worst headache forming.

Looking down, he realizes he has wandered close to the "border" that the Yiling Laozu had once made by positioning hundreds of corpses around the Burial Mounds. There aren't any bodies about right at the moment, but he can feel the resentful energy trying to find fissures in his qi flow, recognizing him as a potential tasty snack.

He takes a deep breath and focuses on keeping it out, and the pain in his head lessens enough to let him think clearly.

He decides he'll send word to Jiang Cheng -because Yu-furen is in no condition to lead and probably won't be any time soon- about the body dump and the possibility that there might still be survivors, and let him decide what to do with that.

They might end up getting a corpse army anyway.

He still knows how to make the butterfly messengers. It will invite some questioning if too many people see it, since that's a technique he shouldn't know, but he has to make sure the message arrives.

And after one more night of restless, uncomfortable sleep driven by nightmares of the war as it had unfolded last time he'd gone through it, he turns towards the Heijan front.

Towards home.

After days of travel on foot to keep from being noticed and a few unfortunate fights when he failed at that, he barely makes it three steps into the military camp before almost being knocked off his feet by a fierce hug.

"You're back, you're back- you look like hell."

He snorts. "Hello to you, too," he says to Huaisang dryly. But inside, his heart is suddenly full to bursting at the knowledge that his young master must have been keeping a very sharp eye on things to have already known he was coming.

Had been keeping an eye out for him specifically.

Meng Yao knows he should go report to his sect leader first and foremost, but Huaisang drags him off towards the hospital and kitchen tents, dead set on getting him stuffed with food and checked over.

"I'm surprised your brother let you out here," Meng Yao admits as the medic tuts over the condition of his qi from all the stunts he'd had to pull at Lotus Pier.

After all, Nie Mingjue had been adamant about keeping Huaisang as far from the battlefield as possible in their past life, burying him in paperwork in either the Unclean Realms or the Cloud Recesses.

"I'm really only allowed these places," Huaisang says, giving him a conspiratorial grin. "After all, in a kitchen or infirmary, I'm never really disarmed, right?"

Very true. Huaisang had taken to hidden weapons training much more readily than he'd ever taken to the idea of a saber,

and even Mingjue had eventually been forced to admit he was quite good at improvising. Their sect leader still tried to drag him out with a practice saber occasionally, but wasn't nearly as vehement about it as he'd been in Meng Yao's memories.

After he's finally released from the infirmary, he makes his report, and then… he's tired. Too little sleep, too much stress, and even if his core was much stronger than it had been in his past life, he'd pushed it past most of its limits.

"You're staying with me," Huaisang announces. "Until they can get you set up somewhere else. Maybe even then."

He's too fried to argue, but once he's collapsed on a cot, Huaisang clinging to him like a barnacle, he finds he wouldn't have wanted to argue anyway. This feels right, similar to how the Unclean Realms had started to feel like home.

He would like- he could see himself getting very comfortable with this.

But there's still a war going on, and he can't rely on the mere hope that Wei Wuxian is alive and able to figure out resentful energy channeling.

So, with great misgivings, he slips out early in the morning, before Huaisang's awake, to go present his plan about installing a spy in the Wen sect to Mingjue.

He doesn't want to leave again, not so soon after arriving. Mingjue looks downcast about it, and he knows Huaisang is going to be upset.

But there's no one better suited to the task. He already survived Wen Ruohan once when the man had been at the peak of his volatile madness, he's the only one who knows how to predict the unpredictable. It has to be him.

Changing out of his sect clothing back into the dull travel robes, he slips out of the camp like a ghost and begins making his way toward Qishan.

-----

The next time he sees Nie Mingjue, it's in the throne room of the Palace of the Scorching Sun. Wen Chao is dead, Wen Xu is in the pits of the palace, essentially being kept on life support after he barely survived a fight with Mingjue, and the corpse army is tearing its way across the jianghu, bolstered by the rest of the Sunshot forces including an undecimated Lan sect and all the rogues who've rallied to Jiang Cheng.

Unlike the first time this happened, Nie Mingjue is in on the plan, the both of them having agreed to Lan Xichen being their go-between (maybe they could end up friends after all... he could at least hope).

Unlike the first time this happened, the 'killings' of the Nie cultivators are carefully staged.

Unlike the first time this happened, Wen Ruohan catches his movement out of the corner of his eye.

The force of hitting the wall shocks him to the point he doesn't even feel the pain that should have come with so many bones fracturing at once.

But even if he didn't deal the killing blow this time, it's fine. He made a good enough distraction for Nie Mingjue to get his chains around the tyrant's throat.

The last thing he remembers before he loses consciousness is his sect leader desperately calling his name as he drops Wen Ruohan's corpse like a discarded rag and rushes towards him.

-----

He wakes up to the victory banquet having come and gone without him ever meeting his father, and he is relieved

He wakes to the realization that he has already changed an entire war so much that manipulating the political aftermath to an ending that benefits everyone but his father should be easy, and the spiteful little ember he has always carried in his chest finally quiets into smoke.

He wakes to Nie Huaisang clutching his hand, having fallen asleep in a chair beside his bed -"The brat only ever left you if I personally dragged him out,"- Nie Mingjue tells him with an annoyed eyeroll that is immediately disregarded for a fond, proud smile as he ruffles his brother's hair.

And Meng Yao thinks, for the first time in two lifetimes, that he is completely satisfied with the results of all his hard work. (THE FUCKIN END)

#mdzs #nie huaisang #jin guangyao #nie mingjue #sangyao #wei wuxian #yu-furen #jiang yanli #wen ruohan #ideas #extended concept #AAAAAAAAAAAAA

[nothorses]

hi! this is a question about pansexuality that i fear asking. tbh i don't really care what anyone identifies as. everyone's part of my community to me. i am trying to wrap my head around bi v pan stuff as someone who is neither. i know bisexuals who are critical of the pan label because to them it distinguishes bisexuality as starkly Not being pansexuality. when definitions of bisexuality have included "attraction regardless of gender, or to all genders (and including trans and nb people)" for many bisexuals since like the 70s which is how i see pansexuality defined a lot of the time

i know that bi and pan have always been concurrent labels and they have a lot of overlap and that some ppl use them interchangeably. and i truly don't care that ppl id as pan. but i do feel weird seeing it juxtaposed to definitions of bisexuality that aren't inclusive of all bisexuals? (ie that bisexuals aren't attracted to ALL genders, just two or more.. when many bisexuals Are attracted to all genders! part of bisexual history is that people have been fighting to let others know Bisexuality is more inclusive than the literal like latin meaning of bi = two). i don't know where to stand on this divide. i love pansexuals and the pan label and the right to self determination in identity but i do understand the argument that it feels hurtful in a biphobic way to say it is inherently a distinct sexuality from being bisexual when it's. like. many bi and pan ppl would define their sexuality in the exact same way other than a difference in specific label. i feel like people hate this opinion lmao!!! please help! even if you hate my opinion too i literally feel like i need guidance KDBDBS

Tbh I think there's a lot of historical context to this whole convo, and I don't think you're alone in being confused. And honestly given the amount of info you have, I think you're in a pretty respectable spot about it. (And I say "historical" here in the sense that I am. 25. and I'm mostly talking about the things I have either seen firsthand, or read about/heard about from others.)

So like- when I was a Young Queer, it was very common for people to define "bi" as meaning "men and women" (or even "cis men and cis women"), and thus "pan" rose to popularity as an alternative to essentially mean "everyone, including trans and nonbinary people".

This was like, early 2010's? And I'm talking about other Young Queer spaces and interactions. And you kind of have to remember that in that time, it was kind of radical to tell people not to call things "gay" if they didn't like them. Joking that people were trans (usually in terms like "lol Justin Beiber is a lesbian") was common even in progressive spaces. I was stunned when a friend of mine asserted that they were just gonna stop using the r-slur, like, at all.

So I can kind of understand why "pan" might have felt like a needed thing at the time. I think it felt like a kind of shorthand for "I'm cool with trans people", and at least from my perspective, that was something you very much needed to state back then.

I think there are a lot of people my age who, if they don't still understand "bi" and "pan" that way, at least kind of "get" where that definition is coming from. And yeah, it's ahistorical as hell! "Bi" has always been inclusive of trans people. Not to mention people have been defining it all sorts of ways for a long time now; there are a ton of definitions out there, and how the word is defined often depends on who you ask.

But then you ask: if we know "bi" is and has always been trans-inclusive, why does anyone still need the word "pan"? And I think the answer is... complicated. And extremely personal, tbh.

This happens with queer language all the time; as terms are cycled out in favor of new ones, people who've been using them hang on regardless. Sometimes they don't know the language has been updated, but usually it's more than that. Usually they have more of a personal relationship with the word, and the community, that they can't just give up in favor of a new word.

Maybe some people who do understand that "bi" is not actually a transphobic term also still view "pan" as shorthand for "I'm cool with trans people", and that's important to them. Maybe they grew up with that word, formed relationships under it, and came out with it. Maybe the pan community impacted them in some profound way, and rejecting it over shifting definitions just doesn't feel right. There could be any number of reasons.

The other part of this is that much as people have come to understand the original definition of "bi" more widely now, the definition of "pan" and "bi" both have taken on multiple definitions as well. I've seen a lot of definitions that seem to exist just to differentiate the two. For example:

Bi: attracted to multiple (but not necessarily all) genders Pan: attracted to all genders

Bi: attracted to all genders, but in different ways, or with preferences Pan: attracted to all genders essentially the same

Bi: attracted to multiple (or all) genders Pan: attraction regardless of gender

I've also seen people use "bi" as the umbrella term, and "pan" as a more specific label beneath it (often with one of those pairs of definitions).

And you mention that "bi" has a lot of different definitions and understandings- so does pan! How a person understands those words, particularly when they identify with them, is going to be deeply personal and very likely very different from the next person. I think a good rule of thumb is to assume that whoever you're talking to may just have a different definition and understanding of the word they're using than you do, and try to ask them about it if it concerns you.

[burrythebusy]

Why Hirano and Kagiura are made for each other

Copied from a convo I had about how hrkg are so made for each other. I had so much to say about them oh my god. Buckle in its long

Cw// for swearing

Hirano likes to take care of people, he has this just innate urge to make sure people are taking care of themselves and eating and sleeping and content, he provides people comfort even if he doesn't know how to handle it because thats what he DOES, he doesnt go OUT of his way but he will go as far as he's willing to go (and he is usually willing to go quite far) for others.

And of course he's this way towards his friends like Sasaki and Miyano and even Ogasawara. He tutors Sasaki and helps him study, he listens to Miyano’s BL rants even though he doesn't care nor understand, he comforts Ogasawara with his BL-fangirl-girlfriend problem and empathizes, but God, there is absolutely no way he would've known with them that Hirano cherishes being seen that way. Being acknowledged for his constant acts of genuine care and love and support makes him happy. But that's not Sasaki's personality, that's not Miyano’s personality, that's not Ogasawara's personality, even if they appreciate him for things or give sincere thanks for any of it, it is not nearly as open and honest and brazen as Kagiura Akira's gratitude towards Hirano.

He's already a kouhai and his roommate, which in a way. Guarantees that he will in some way shape or form rely on Hirano, and Hirano doesn't know how to treat a kouhai but he does know (maybe a little subconsciously at first) that he takes care of people. So he is willing to learn how to take care of a kouhai, he wants to know (maybe for other reasons too, e.g. I don't want him to think im scary, but point still stands) and he's going to make sure he does it right. But Kagiura Akira, he is so so so so outspoken and genuine about his gratitude because that's how he was raised. Always showing his love, showing it to his parents specifically, they taught him to be upright and thankful about what people do for him. And he's always smiling. He's always smiling and thanking Hirano and Hirano just FALLS. HE HITS THE GROUND

Kagiura is probably the first person to ever be so open about everything Hirano does for him and how thankful he is, and Hirano is just so so so filled with joy because of that, that he keeps doing it. He's like, God, he's so happy, he's smiling and thanking me he's SO HAPPY that I'm kind and that I do things for him so I wanna keep doing it. No one else could do that. That is a Kagiura Akira thing to do. That IS Kagiura Akira and it means that no one else could be Hirano’s roommate and have him feel this way.

And Kagiura, again, is someone who has been taught to show gratitude, to be genuine, to be honest, and there's more to it than that as well. Kagiura values family, and he values closeness, and he values his parents and he wants to model himself after his parents. I genuinely think he looks up to them in other ways than just romance, but he definitely models LOVE after his parents in general. Love that is being best friends as well as lovers. Love that is being close and sharing things and laughing together and joking around and just being FRIENDS as well. He is full of love to give. And he's a middle child with annoying as hell siblings that never give him room or privacy but he loves them anyway.

Everything is just close close close he wants to be so close to the people he loves. He wants to love, he wants to have a lover that is his best friend, so that he loves every single part of them without fail. He will be so sincere about that love too.

And this part of his personality to me is why I think his relationship in middle school didnt work, and was him doing it because he felt he had to rather than because he truly, truly liked her because of the description of their relationship in the light novel just doesnt add up to me. He immediately confessed to Hirano in chapter nine after getting a glimmer of hope. He immediately shows Hirano how much he loves him even as just a friend from the get-go. He even confesses to him in like chapter 4, to his first boy crush, and we don't see nerves as much as we see hesitation, but Kagiura is so confident and he's popular too (and had been in middle school presumably) so he's used to receiving love but he's not as used to giving it but he has so much love to give and the moment he can HE WILL. HE WILL SHOW THAT LOVE IF ITS THE LAST THING HE DOES

Kagiura wants to love through and through, to give it and to receive it fully, he wants to be close to someone, and to be close to someone means to be open to them, to show them love and gratitude and everything, and Hirano Taiga is right there. He's introduced to a scary looking roommate but is immediately smacked in the face with the fact that he's so kind. This sempai, my roommate, he's so kind, and he's my roommate and my sempai meaning I can rely on him, and he relies on him and Hirano just OPENS HIS GATES (the best metaphor i could come up with at the time shh). He literally opens his arms and is relied on. He eats his peppers because kagiura doesn't like them when he could just simply not eat them. Nope. Sempai eats my peppers for me. He's so kind. Hirano wakes him up because Kagiura is not a morning person and loves his sleep. Wow, he could just tell me to suck it up, or could just tell me some better habits, but no, he wakes me up. Sempai is so good to me. Hirano goes out of his way to help him study and give him tips and old tests because I suck at studying and my grades aren't the best, but he could just do one or the other and leave it at that. He could've just left me alone. But no, he does all this for me. One on top of the other. Sempai is so thoughtful.

And Kagiura receives all of this, he absorbs these acts of kindness and these gestures because he's relying on someone, and you know what? Eventually, he's receiving this real, genuine love he craves so much. Hirano becomes his best freaking friend and it becomes a cycle of Hirano showing his love to Kagiura because Kagiura shows his love and gratitude to Hirano for showing his love to Kagiura and it just goes again and again and again. Kagiura wants to be loved and he is loved, and he's loved like a best friend and that's enough for him that he loves Hirano like a best friend, and he wants to have a lover like a best friend, one like his parents, one he can rely on, one he can do anything with and tell anything to, to open up to one another, to be like family, and they are like family, not brotherly but just that CLOSE.

Hirano's "motherly tendencies" translate differently with Kagiura. It's family but it's not motherly, but it's LOVE. It's familial, it's platonic, it may be romantic too. And Kagiura feels that and he takes that and his heart is like THIS IS IT. It doesn't matter that he's a guy (though I am an avid "I only like guys" kagi believer so it could only BE a guy but i digress), it doesn't matter that there's a year gap or that he's only known hirano for less than a year, it's that Hirano shows him this love that he's been wanting since he was a kid, that he's been seeing, and yeah it's a little of a naive view or rather, not fully thought out but it's his ideal relationship and HIRANO IS HIS IDEAL RELATIONSHIP and that love he receives from Hirano makes him love Hirano back, familial, platonic, and romantic, just like his parents.

It couldn't be anyone else because most others would not show that much love towards Kagiura from the get-go. Most people wouldn't go that far. But it's a feedback loop. Hirano wants to do things for people automatically, and he does it for Kagiura because he wants to, and then Kagiura completely DECIMATES HIRANO’S OLD SELF when he shows such unfiltered, sincere gratitude and appreciation towards Hirano for it, and he does it so happily and easily with not one qualm because that's him, and so Hirano does it again because he wants to see that again, and Kagiura smiles brightly he freaking GLOWS he SPARKLES again and tells Hirano he's so grateful for him. Hirano does it again. Kagiura shows him again. And eventually, pretty soon, Hirano is loving him, and Kagiura is feeling and receiving that love without realizing it and loving him back, and he loves so strongly that the love changes and shifts and becomes every love because receiving such love from Hirano makes him love too, but it could only happen because it's Hirano, and it could only happen because it's Kagiura, and it could only happen because Kagiura lives too far away from the dorms and only goes to said school bc he was scouted for basketball, and because Hirano happens to live in the dorms too as a second year that has hidden reasons and ambitions and wants to study his heart out, and its when the scary bad-boy that's not really a bad boy opens that door for a tall freshly enrolled high school freshman and scares the shit out of him, that it all starts, that's how they found each other. They are literally soulmates

#hirano to kagiura #hirakagi #hirano taiga #kagiura akira #hirano and kagiura #kagihira #oh my god #i love them too much #its insane

[hugmetightlyx]

brought you up in therapy

Anon asked that I replace Nat with Wanda after learning I don't write for Natasha!

Wanda Maximoff x fem!reader

Posted June 6th, 2022 (sry for the wait)

Anonymous asked:

For requests could u do 35 with Natasha and Fem!reader who goes to therapy and it’s like a slow burn and readers like “My therapist warned me about people like you.” And Natasha’s like “?” And readers like “People who are easy to fall in love with” cause readers been talking about her crush (Natasha) but as like her best friend and her therapist jokingly says like “careful there you might fall in love” and they have a whole convo. If you do this fluffy ending would be appreciated…. :)

35

“My therapist warned me about people like you.”

By write it, motherfuckers

note from xe: slow burns aren't usually my specialty but I tried for you, my love! I hope you enjoy <3

mândră is Romanian for (beauty, sweetheart)

masterlist

word count: 1k

“Wanda? You mention Wanda a lot, tell me about her.”

“Well, she’s my best friend,”

“How’d you two meet?” 

“We met during Strucker’s experiments back in 2014, but we weren’t properly introduced until Ultron,” 

“Tell me about that time,”

“With Wanda? Or with Ultron?”

“With Wanda, but if you feel ready to talk about the time with Ultron then-”

“No! No, I’ll talk about Wanda.”

The woman in the seat across from Y/n nodded in response, a few strands of her gray hair falling from behind her ear as she wrote something down in her notebook before giving her attention back to Y/n.

“So, what was meeting her like?”

“It was a little scary at first, Wanda and I have very similar abilities, it almost felt like Ultron wanted to pin us against each other but after the three of us teamed up with the avengers-”

“I’m sorry, did you say the three of you?”

“Yes, me, Wanda, and her twin brother Pietro, when we teamed up with the avengers it was an easy team-up. We were able to bond over it.”

“And the feelings you explained to me from that time? All that loneliness?”

“Wanda helped with that. When I was with her I wasn’t alone anymore because she understood it, In every way everyone else couldn’t”

“How is your relationship with Wanda now?”

“Well, after her brother- after Pietro died she kind of shut everyone out. Including me, it wasn’t until the Avengers broke up that we got closer. I didn’t want to be alone in a foreign country and Wanda was the only one I truly felt comfortable with at the time, so I asked her to come with me.”

“And this was in?”

“2016 Through 2018, we lived together for 2 years until Thanos tried to snap half the world away”

“What was it like living together for those two years?”

“Well, nothing incredibly traumatic happened,” Y/n laughed at her own words before continuing.

“It was fine, it was normal, we spent the first couple months in London while Steve Rogers found us a safer, more stable location. Then we spent the remaining time in Scotland. It was awkward, but Wanda gave in first; she opened up to me one night, and I opened up to her. After that we kinda became inseparable”

Y/n spent the remaining 24 minutes of that session with Dr. Quinn talking about Wanda and their time in hiding. Nearing the end Dr. Quinn made a comment that had been stuck in Y/n’s head since she made it back to her shared apartment.

“Careful there, you might fall in love”

The statement was a harmless joke really, one that they both laughed at as Dr. Quinn walked Y/n out of her office.

But as the hours passed, the comment hadn’t left Y/n’s mind. Even now as she sat at her kitchen table with her roommate, Yelena Belova, and their two close friends Wanda Maximoff and Kate Bishop, eating dinner from their favorite restaurant.

“Did you guys know about Clint’s acid arrows? I mean seriously, Acid???” Kate questioned as she looked around the table. 

“Saw him use it once,” Wanda responded, causing Yelena to laugh at the mixed look of horror and amazement that Kate had.

“Acid?”

Y/n let out a short laugh, listening to Kate’s bewilderment and Yelena’s amusement.

“Hey, what’s up with you? You’ve picked at your food all night, mândră” Wanda looked at Y/n as she spoke, giving the girl her full attention.

“I’m okay, I had therapy today, you guys know how I get,” Y/n explained, smiling at the redhead.

“Oh, did something happen today? Do you need to find a new therapist? It’s only been what like 4 sessions? We have time to find a new one” Kate rambled, her hand eagerly grabbing Y/n’s in support.

“No! No, I like my therapist, Dr. Quinn is great! Really! Don’t worry about me, Kate, I’m ok. I just always end up leaving with a lot more questions,” Y/n laughed softly, reassuring the three girls who all smiled in response.

As the four girls began to clean up the not-so-big coffee table Y/n wasted no time in taking as many boxes as possible to the kitchen.

Wanda followed closely behind, setting some leftovers on the counter as Y/n threw away any trash that remained in the small kitchen.

“Hey, you’re sure you’re okay?” Wanda asked, turning to look at Y/n.

“I am! I just had a few… uh, realizations? I guess? I’m not completely sure that would be the right phrase,” Y/n responded, mindlessly putting dishes in the sink.

“Mândră?” 

“Yes, Wanda?”

“Those are clean dishes, Dear,”

“Oh,”

“Come sit down, tell me, what’s on your mind, Y/n?” Wanda asked, leading Y/n to the kitchen table.

“Just a discussion between Dr. Quinn and I had today. About you.”

“About me?” 

“Yeah, I brought you today and we talked about you and how we met and some other things. My therapist warned me about people like you,” Y/n said, smiling at Wanda.

“People like me, huh?” Wanda smiled back, leaning on her own hand.

“People that are easy to fall in love with,” Y/n’s voice was a lot quieter than she had initially intended when she began speaking to Wanda but Wanda could still hear her. She always could, even if her voice is just barely above a whisper.

It’s one of the things that Y/n liked about her, the fact that Y/n didn’t have to alter the sound of her voice for Wanda to understand the words she so carefully spoke.

“You’re in love with me?”

“Yeah, I think I am,”

“I’m in love with you,” Wanda responded, sitting up and putting her hand on top of Y/n’s.

The special moment between the two was interrupted by an excited squeal from no other than the darling Kate Bishop.

“Ah! You ruined the moment!” Yelena said, angrily hitting Kate’s arm.

“Ow!”

“Have you two been listening to us the whole time?” Y/n’s question was answered by two eager nods.

“We’ve only been waiting half a year for this moment,” Yelena stated, making it Kate’s turn to hit Yelena in the arm.

“Ow!!! Copycat,”

“Anyway!! We’ll leave you to it then, go on, have your moment!” Kate enthusiastically said, grabbing Yelena by the shoulders and leading her out of the kitchen.

“Half a year?” Y/n looked at Wanda.

“It’s most definitely been longer than that.”

#wanda maximoff x reader #wanda x reader #wanda maximoff #scarlet witch #scarlet witch x reader #wanda maximoff x you