#'problematic' is so completely in the eye of the beholder

[booksandwords]

Recovery by Angelique Jurd

Collects Recovery #1-3: Phoenix, Dove and Eagle

Read time: 2 Days Rating: 4/5 Stars

The Quote: “I wish this hadn’t happened to you, but it doesn’t change anything. You are the most beautiful man I’ve ever known.” — Connor

Warnings: alcoholism/ alcohol addiction, death of a child, ptsd (?). I know I'm missing something

This is lovely and I'm disappointed that it took me so long to read it. Recovery is made up of three previously published novellas Phoenix, Dove and Eagle. There is something truly appealing about authors who take short stories and tie them together to create a longer story. This one is effective. I would like to know where the additions were made and if some of the plot points were moved around. I'm not certain where the title Dove comes from, Eagle and Phoenix are obvious in context.

I like both Conner and Lucas. It's a grump sunshine dynamic that has a true bite to it. Connor is all heart. Wears his heart on his sleeve and is an almost stereotypical bartender. Happy most of the time, so perceptive and protective. Lucas is always in pain, to a degree it is that pain that creates the grump. Of the two he definitely has the most growth. He is the grump but with reason, with so much reason. Lucas is a survivor of the Kensington Complex fire (referred to as the KC fire), leaving him with severe scars on his left side and he lost his apartment, previous relationship and a piece of his soul. He starts as a functioning alcoholic and becomes a loving partner. His shell does break at times and that is a joy to behold.

The support cast is a mix of friends and family. Gayle is the kind of mother that aggravates mm readers, pushy and ignorant. Justin is problematic as is intended. My feelings about him went on a total rollercoaster ride. Connor and Mike will often act as mirrors for the reader on that front. There is an element to the relationship with Lucas that was unexpected. Some of the support cast was the ghosts of the KC fire. Everything about the Jayden story broke my heart I was sensing tears at one point. I think if it doesn't affect you on some level you aren't human.

Some quotes and comments: • As an aside I really like the cover of Recovery. It doesn't reflect Lucas's scaring but it does reflect his emotion and the tone of the book. I like the colour choices too. Full respect to May Dawney Designs for their work. • To all those who read Phoenix, Dove, and Eagles the first time around and have come back to get the full story. It means more than you know. — I really like this element of the dedication. Important to value your fans, those dedicated to the story and the characters to return to and pay more to complete the story. (Angelique Jurd, the dedication) • He's here again tonight. The guy with the sad eyes. Every night; same time. Same order. Drinks it. Leaves. Every movement appears painful, even the simple act of lifting his glass, but Connor knows better than to ask if he's okay. The one time he made that mistake, he was invited to fuck off. — This is the opening of the book. It is one of those that just sets the tone for both characters. (Connor) • Lucas sighs and directs his annoyance at the stupid fitted sheet he can't get on his mattress. Whoever invented these things needs to be made to fold the bastards for eternity. — his is such a Greecian response and yeah it feels fitting. (Lucas) • “I really want to kiss you right now, and I really, really don't want you to freak out about it.” He watches the movement of Lucas's throat as he swallows. Feels him take a deep, shaky breath. “I won't freak out.” The whisper is soft. Even straining, he barely hears it. — This is their first kiss. It's so soft and perfectly plays to Lucas's characterisation. (Connor) • “I know you cared about him, son, but if that man appeared in front of my car, I might be inclined to hit the gas.” “Dad!” — This about the ex who left Lucas after a disaster, Justin. Given the trauma Lucas carries I'm right there with his father. I'm not sure it should be funny but it is. I adore the relationship Lucas has with his father. Mike Clarke is fully supportive of his son and is apparently prepared to go to war against his own wife to make sure Lucas stays happy and isn't forced into any uncomfortable circumstances. When it comes to Mike Connor is the reader. (Mike and Lucas) • “On a scale of one being everything is good and ten being I need to call someone, and have you sedated, how bad are you freaking out right now?” — I adore this line. It is an absolute mood. And I was hoping it would become a recurring line. It suits the relationship that Lucas and Connor have, Connor respects Lucas's boundaries and Lucas is prone to freaking out, not that I blame him. (Connor) • We never find out Connor's surname. We only find out Lucus's as part of an in joke. "Lucas Clarke: Master of the Freak Out needs to be printed on his damned business cards." (Lucas). I like it as a creative choice. It creates a more natural feel, more slice of life than romantic fiction. • “I’m such a mess.” “Well yeah but I'm kind of a mess too, you just haven't figured that out yet. We can be each other's mess.” “Nonsense. He's one of the best in the country. He'll have you back to normal in no time.” Connor bites his lip, resisting the urge to snap at the woman. Even if Lane can help with the burn damage, there will always be scarring. Normal has a new definition for Lucas. — It's the last line for me, the comment on new normal. Connor is the right person for Lucas he understands the reality of the situation and is happy to do what is going to make Lucas happy. (Spoken Gayle Clarke, thoughts Connor) • God, he wishes he’d gone to the bar first. Seeing Connor and having a quick shot would have made this so much easier. “Really? Would it have?” an oily voice in the back of his mind asks. “Are you sure about that?” Seeing Connor would have helped. He’s sure of that. “Would it have helped as much as the vodka?” the oily voice asks sending a shiver through him. Yes, damn it, it would have. Both would have. Connor would have helped him feel better and the vodka would have helped settle his nerves. — I love this moment. I love the way the addiction speaks to Lucas, the voice it uses is perfect. I can hear that tone, feel it. (Lucas) “I’m sorry. I thought you knew I was going to be there.” “Well, I didn’t.” Justin chuckles.“I see she’s still just as determined as ever to have her way.” “If you mean she’s still a manipulative bitch, yes.” — Pretty good term for Gayle. Can't say I disagree right now. Why would you do this? Trust your son when he says no. (Lucas and Justin)

#book review #tw addiction #tw alchoholism #tw ptsd #angelique jurd #recovery #ktreviews #read 2022 #booklr #spoilers on goodreads #lgbtq

[thedigitalnavigator]

Easy Ways to Reduce Your Bounce Rate

When you accept that your site has a high bounce rate, you're accepting that your child may not be the most attractive kid in the schoolyard. While you think your precious little angel is adorable, your bounce rate tells a different story when you check it out in Google Analytics.

What is a Good Bounce Rate?

A "good" bounce rate is in the eye of the beholder, just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder. An 80% bounce rate might seem remarkable to some sites but catastrophic to others. Your site and business goals determine what you should do.

Regardless, webmasters and site managers pay close attention to bounce rates to indicate the site's "stickiness" and want to lower this troublesome number. RankBrain, Google's machine-learning algorithm, even affects search rankings based on bounce rate, according to some people.

Optimize Page Load Time

When bounce rates are high, many marketers assume that the problem lies with content - when serious problems arise before a visitor can read a page. One of the worst problems a web page can have is taking forever to load.

A page's content is meaningless if a user can't read it, and 47% of users expect a web page to load in two seconds or less, so on-page optimization is crucial to reducing bounce rates.

Smart Formatting Improves Accessibility

You can reduce your bounce rate by making your pages as welcoming and accessible as possible. The easier visitors find what they want, the more likely they will stay. Ensure you don't overwhelm your visitors with weighty paragraphs that stretch across entire pages. Use white space to make your content more approachable.

You can make content less visually intimidating with appropriate headers, frequent subheadings, suitable images and bulleted lists. 

These formatting options allow the reader to easily scan or skim your content to quickly identify the most relevant points. 

Use Sidebar Widgets and Promotions Sparingly

You can offer relevant content, offers, and other material to your audience on some web pages. A blog page is a prime example, and you'd be hard-pressed to find a decent blog without a sidebar. Your visitor will bounce if you overload their digital margins with ads, offers, award emblems, and other crap.

Make sure you highlight relevant content from your sidebar in a way that offers additional reader value. For example, related articles that expand on the topic covered in a blog post are a great way to enhance your site's "stickiness" while giving your readers valuable and useful content.

Similarly, make sure you include only reputable and renowned awards and trust signals in your sidebar to ensure they serve a purpose.

Cross-Reference Bounce Rate with Time on Site

You should consider your bounce rate in the context of your entire site. It allows you to determine whether the problem is with a specific page, page type, or the entire site. Your content may be problematic if your Time on Site metrics are decent, but your blog pages have a high bounce rate. Similarly, if your bounce rate is high and your time on site is low, you may not be providing visitors with what they need.

Ruthlessly Optimize for Relevance

Bounce rates can be influenced primarily by technical factors, like page load times or formatting best practices, as well as a website's relevance - or irrelevance. Despite targeting certain keywords effectively, some sites serve content that is only tangentially relevant to the query or completely irrelevant at worst.

You can almost guarantee that users will bounce if the page you're serving is not directly relevant to their query. Therefore, relevance should be your top priority.

#ruthlessly #Optimizerelevance #ReduceBounceRate

[blackkatmagic]

How do you feel about "problematic ships"? Should fanfiction authors be allowed to write what they want regardless of how "upsetting" the material is? You're one of the first fanfiction authors I've ever read and admired and I'd love to get your take on this

People write murder stories. That doesn’t mean they support murder in real life. People write “problematic” ships. That doesn’t mean they support problematic things in real life. As someone who’s a fan of horror movies, and as someone who likes terrible awful villain ships where everyone is a trashfire, but who absolutely does not condone either thing in real life, I am of the firm opinion that people ship the things they do for their own reasons and I have no right and no place to demand answers from them, even when it’s something I personally find distasteful. 

Maybe they’re working through trauma. Maybe they’ve had a bad day and need to vent. It is not my right to know that, because real people are not being harmed and they’ve tagged their stuff appropriately. 

Partially my mindset comes from actually working in the mental health field and knowing that everyone has ways of coping. And, additionally, it comes from a deep, deep distaste of the sort of “trauma olympics” that comes from people trying to police what other people can write. Where do you draw that line? What makes a trauma “valid enough” for someone to be able to write vent-fic about it? How can you tell someone who can’t afford a therapist that processing their emotions through fic is wrong and bad? And like. I don’t know an author from Adam. I don’t have any say. I definitely don’t have the right to make them relive their trauma in front of the whole internet, and expecting them to because I don’t like the ship they wrote is not right. 

It is also, frankly, because I’m someone who has been harassed and sent death threats over fic I’ve written. I was told that writing two consenting adults with an age difference, even in a time-travel lens, was pedophilia. That writing two characters in a ship after i’d written a cracky fic about one accidentally ending up the other’s parent was “basically incest”. So like, forgive me if I don’t think most purity watchdogs are the most logical.

Because that’s what it comes down to: if you’re not allowing authors to write certain content, who gets to decide? You? A council of those who think the same as you? What if you decide that just because in one universe I conceptualize X relationship as familial, I can’t write a completely different AU with it as romantic? Is that right? Who has the right to decide that? 

So like. I get the drama. I do. Things that I find gross or bad give me that reaction, too. My instinct is to say fuck you i hate that and bolt. But. I am a rational human being and I can recognize that my personal freedom ends where someone else’s begins, and i have the ability to control what content I see and the mental wherewithal to read the tags on a thing to make sure it won’t fuck me up. I also don’t have any sort of right to try and control what other people do when they’re not actively harming people, and the sense to know that it would be bad for all involved to try. 

Seriously. Read the fucking tags, mind your own mental health, and don’t concern yourself with what other people are doing unless it is actively immediately IRL harming you, like “has showed up at your door to murder you” kinds of harming. Problematic is a really, horrifically vague term that varies from person to person, and trying to police that for everyone else is not good. Not for you, not for them, not for anyone. 

#purity culture #this got long #but hopefully it's coherent #i totally get the kneejerk instinct to say 'stop that it makes me uncomfortable' #but sometimes you need to realize that your experiences are not everyone's #that what makes you uncomfortable is deeply personal #and the creator doesn't have that experience #'problematic' is so completely in the eye of the beholder #and i've seen more than enough ship wars to have 0 faith in fandom #and fandom's ability to police itself #no thank you #every ship is problematic to someone #leave them alone and mind your own business #Anonymous #kat answers

[rainbowsky]

Tbh one thing I didn’t like about web is the fact that he would encourage bouboo to win etc knowing bouboo wasn’t gonna win. I’m pretty sure these judges know that the show is being used as a propaganda show and I kept feeling annoyed when web would talk about bouboo this bouboo that knowing bouboo was not going to win, and basically putting pressure on bouboo

This is in reference to a previous post.

So just so I can be absolutely clear on this, Anon, you're responding to a post from Bouboo, where he thanks DD profusely for always supporting him and for encouraging him to go back on the show, and where he openly says that DD brought him back from the brink because he almost gave up dance entirely - you're responding to that with criticism about how DD behaved?

There is an old saying, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," and what that basically means is - "The perspective we bring to things determines what we see." Your question here is a prime example of that.

We have a choice about how we view things. We can look at things charitably, and give people the benefit of the doubt, believing that people in general are always doing their best - or we can look at things uncharitably, and assume malice or disregard on the part of the other person, and assume that people are always out to get each other or are only interested in personal gain.

Whichever of those perspectives we choose says more about us and what's going on inside of us, than it can ever say about the person being perceived by us.

I don't know how else to put this, but such negativity - to where you take something that's positive and twist it into something cruel - I hope you'll reflect on what that might do to your experience of life, and open yourself up to other possibilities and other perspectives. For your own good more than for anyone else, because I hate to think of you going through life looking at things through such dark glasses.

We don't know for certain that the show is rigged. It's an assumption we make based on common reality show practices around the world, on the situation with the entertainment industry in China, and on some of the 'creative' ways production gives the appearance of putting their thumb on the scales.

If it is rigged, we don't know how rigged it is. It could be entirely scripted from front to back, or it could be that only certain parts of it are rigged. It could be that the only thing that's rigged is that the winner must be Chinese, but who wins among those Chinese contestants is entirely up for grabs. It could be that who ends up in the final battle rounds is rigged, but the choice of winner from among them - regardless of nationality - is not. It could be that only certain production preferences are rigged, such as getting rid of problematic dancers (although if so, they failed that part miserably) or ensuring that regardless of what the judges do, at least some women make it to the end even if there aren't strong contenders (although this year with Ibuki that was a complete non-issue), or ensuring certain styles make it to the end.

If it is rigged, we can't be sure what the judges know about it, or assume how they feel about it. It's possible they aren't fully aware, or that they accept it as 'the nature of the beast'.

Even if it is rigged and the judges are aware, that doesn't in any way take away from the massive opportunity such exposure brings to these dancers, nor from the joy/excitement of engaging in and sharing one's art with other dancers. That doesn't in any way take away from the value of participating in such a program. The dancers repeatedly said, all season long, that it isn't about winning or losing - it's about sharing dance and being among friends.

They aren't exactly hiding the fact that some things aren't left up to chance. The show gave multiple opportunities for judges and captains to change their minds about dancers, or to give certain favorites, or certain top dancers, multiple chances to get to the final. I like to think that they are trying to be as up front and honest as possible with the audience.

As for the show 'being used as a propaganda show' - as with any show that is passing through a filter of government censorship, there's going to be a propaganda element to that process, and inevitably to the outcome.

However, that doesn't make SDOC 'a propaganda show' in the way you are implying. The purpose of the show is still - and will hopefully always be - to showcase dance, and to get people interested in dance, and to bring dancers together, and to share and promote the arts and appreciation of the arts. An appreciation for the arts is pretty much baked into Chinese culture, but new forms of dance - and especially fusions of different styles - can always use new audiences.

DD encouraged Bouboo again and again throughout the series. We saw it with our own two eyes. You yourself admit it. And what did Bouboo do again and again and again? He proved he was a top level dancer. He proved he is a champion. He won battles. He won our hearts. He gave us amazing, amazing performances over and over and over again.

It only follows from that process, that he would likely have proved to himself that dance is a valuable part of his life, and that he is valued for the work he does, and that he has a LOT of fans all over the world. And a truly great friend in DD. Someone who truly believes in him.

I think we should all be so lucky as to have a friend like that. Anon, I sincerely hope you have or find friends like that.

Note: I hope that people will be compassionate with their responses, and not hard on Anon. Life is hard, perspectives aren't always easy to come by and sometimes things just hit us in a certain way.

#sdoc4 #captain yibo #ggdd entertainment circle #fandom reflections #sdoc spoilers

[starshipsofstarlord]

Right Hand Woman | Part Two

Summary; your father is dead, just as you and Loki had planned. All that stands in the way of your reign over both the Cold Shores and Asgard, is your partner’s one eyed adopted parent.

Warnings; mentions of death, deception, brief smut (oral sex, fem receiving), attempts of murder

QUICK LINK TO MY MASTERLIST, IN CASE YOU’RE INTERESTED IN READING MORE OF MY CRAP 😬

Frigga frowned, suspecting something the moment that she caught Loki sneaking into her and Odin’s chambers. It was not wise to trust the boy so easily, whilst she felt tremendous love towards her found son, he was the god of mischief.

And so she watched him from the corner, cloaked by her own witted spell, and studied how he rummaged through the room. “Damn you father!” He whisper shouted to himself, and that was whence his witch of a mother made her presence known.

A soft yet malleable frown cast over Loki’s sly features, as he gulped inherently. “What is it that burdens you my boy?” If only she knew the full extension of the answer to that, but he would not curse her with the details.

“Odin.” That was how he labelled him as; the king. Not his father. “The man that you are wedded to has hidden the book of counsel once again from me. If I wish to be a husband, then I must read and study its contents, for it is not everyday that anyone from the nine realms marries a god.”

With relief indulging her airway, Frigga sighed. At least he was searching for something worthwhile, rather than an item or clue that could get him in attentive trouble.

“Loki.” His name surpassed the barrier of her bewitched lips, earning her child’s attention. “I shall find it for you, but be aware that there is no rush to become one with y/n so soon. It is certain that she is still experiencing the shock and mourning of her father.”

An inclination to smirk at the mention of the dead man arose in Loki’s chest, however he kept his face mute of amusement, and instead, looked up at his favourite parent. She knew, as he noticed his inclination to spill all, that he was holding a secret close to his chest. But he had never been one to be entirely truthful, and so instead of berating him about it, she left him alone.

“I suppose.” He didn’t. It was a white lie in his eyes, but a vast one in the eyes of his family, with the sorrow pent up in y/n. She was far from sad, rather, he was the only one that could see how truly joyous she was concerning the fall of her father.

The small spilt tears were a lie, all to deceive the Odinson tree. Thor was certainly the most gullible of all when witnessing it, he would order the guards to abandon their duties to go and fetch her something to dry her eyes on, and if they were not fast enough, he would do the job himself.

It was truly a sight to behold though as Odin would nurture her with caring phrases, and lay a comforting hand upon her slunk shoulder, praising her for having some sense.

Loki’s family knew that it had been difficult, protecting herself whilst in the meanwhile wearing her father’s blood upon her hands. It showed her loyalty to the youngest of Odin’s sons, and that was what they wanted in a dame.

“That poor girl.” Frigga reminisced all that she had heard regarding the death of the opposing king, that had once been an ally. “Killing her own father, it must have come with some difficulty.”

The man was assured that there had been none, y/n had wanted to do such amends in a great long time. However, she had to wait for the perfect moment, so that Odin could be blessed of the sight of her above her father’s carcass.

“Perhaps, but it has shown me how perfect she is for marriage material. We aren’t even combined into one yet, and she has already proven her loyalty, presenting that she has the same image for Asgard and the Cold Shores in her peripheral.”

His mother, whom was married into the line of the throne, sighed. She felt great pity for y/n, for she felt torn; but ultimately, chose herself over her father’s selfish wishes. And through his actions, y/f/n had broken the contract and his own blessing of allowing Loki to take her hand.

The same image. If there was one thing that Frigga had nervous thoughts about, it was Loki, and his problematic situation in wanting the throne. But to the dismay of the trickster god, it was promised to his brother Thor; the real heir of Odinson royalty. And though Frigga adored Loki as though he were her own son, because essentially he was, her trust in him regarding his hunger to rule Asgard was thin, like a silver platter.

Y/n sat, pondering her decisions. She liked Odin, despite him being like all kings, even if he had turned over a new leaf in the latest centuries. He had adorned the rivers of Valhalla with bloodshed, passing through the nine realms with his weapon unsheathed, pooling blood so that in return he could take the gold that the men and women harboured so slyly.

Her father had done the same thing, but he had been much more humble regarding his lifestyle. A grand and glorious display of buildings had not been considered necessary in y/f/n’s rich eyes. Instead, he opted to remain vigilant, living in hoisted tents, so that he had the freedom to move him and his people about as he pleased.

But he had wanted to depart from his only child, in order to gain another ally, but in doing so, he had lost that trust with Asgard. And now she was the heir of his ruins, but she had left with the man that had reckoned pain upon his people for his treachery.

The only thing that was left in their plan, was to kill Odin. It was rather simple thinking of it, however proceeding to do so would be a far different story. And first, so that their power was in conjunction, her and Loki needed to marry. She found no problem in doing so, especially since it was one of her greatest desires to do so already.

She was laid beneath the sheets of the guest room that was supplied to her, adorned in nothing but her underwear. One feature of her icy homelands that she was used to was the cold. Here, it felt so warm, she felt enclosed by the heat; trapped even.

As a child, she often wore a red nose, hardly feeling the end of it, as snow would balance upon it, and fall around every inch outside of her tent. But in Asgard, a place that she had visited many a time, she was sweltering. A part of her feared that it was a flaw granted by karma, for killing her father.

There was some truth to her lies; he had wanted her to wed another that was not Loki, but she didn’t tell him of whom, knowing that he would grown furious and insecure, and surely take everything that he was feeling out on her competing suitor.

However, she had deceived his father as well, made Odin believe that he was trying to pass y/n onto another kingdom. Instead, y/f/n had been talking of with his lower level colleagues, that he was considering Thor as a replacement for the sorcerer prince.

That was an idea that she was not fond of. Whilst she got along well enough with Thor, she loved Loki, it was simple as that. And she was against anyone, even if it be family, trying to rip apart the contract of her childhood dream; to wed the sneaky, yet charming prince.

Y/n was ripped from her thoughts as knuckles rapped on the display of double doors, that lead into the room that she was currently occupying. “You may enter.” She informed whomever was wishing to see her on the other side, the door groaning open as a sleek and fetching man entered.

Loki made sure to close the barricade behind him, walking closer to his future wife with purpose in each step that he instructed. “Beloved y/n...”

“Did you find it?” She asked, referring to the last piece to fill in their mystical puzzle. Her brow quirked, watching as her to be husband exasperatedly sighed, combing a talented hand through his long black locks.

“No, but my mother has taken upon herself to aid us in doing so.” His green and keen eyes looked down upon her, gently hoisting her to be on her feet by a carefully tugging on her arm.

“This needs to be sped up my love, otherwise they will catch onto our intentions before we can complete them.” Y/n tried to pace, however, Loki kept a grip on her, refraining her from doing so. And so she was kept right before him, in a face to face manner, frozen like the ropes of water by her original home and his birth place.

“Relax for a moment, there needn’t be a rush.” Loki cooed at her, brushing through her hair with an underlying content. “To distract you, I am here, and I will do anything to remove your mind from all that troubles you.”

He lightly pushed down one of her shoulders, making her fall elegantly back on the bed, her bare breasts bouncing as she fell. Loki licked his lips at the sight, raking his cold fingertips up her thighs, parting them to his will. “Did you know that it was me that had intention to pester you at this time, or were you prepared to allow any nimble soldier see you so- so open for their unworthy pupils to devour?”

“I knew it was you Loki.” She rolled her y/e/c eyes, resting on her forearms on the fresh fabric, that rubs tenderly against her skin. “Otherwise, I’d have not answered, making them search the grounds for me until they persisted you with having an inability to find me.”

“Little minx.” Loki smirked, rubbing softly on the insides of your thighs. He crept closer, collapsing between y/n’s spread legs, rutting his covered cock over the promise that came with marriage. “I cannot wait for us to bind together in an established union, that will be recognised by all, and we will never be mistake for a pair of lovesick fools ever again.”

“And when we reign, all will know that we are not to be reckoned with.” Y/n reached up, guiding his hands lower. “But until then, I want you to ruin me, until I am screaming loud enough for all the habitants in nearby rooms to hear.” Her eyes were glazed, Loki licked his lips as he swept down, casting his mouth passionately upon hers.

His raven tendrils swayed around them like a curtain, enclosing their faces in an intimate proximity. Whilst his mouth explored her own, content sighs renegading from his lover’s busy mouth, his hands slipped down, finding penance at her waist.

They traced the outline of her underwear, teasingly moving underneath the sides, making y/n flutter with anticipation. Her cheeks grew warm as she looked down at her partner in treachery, letting out a startled gasp whence he ripped the seams, discarding of the useless material.

He ran his slippery, cursing lips up her leg, tracing them sensually around the budding lips of her pussy. Y/n nestled her head into the comfort below, watching with Loki with dazed eyes, that were heavily plagued by the dreariness of her lids.

“By the gods!” In an instant, he had suctioned his mouth around her entirety, suckling with his cat like pupils boring up at his lover in ecstasy. He always got what he wanted, and he would marry this princess, and then, their journey throughout royalty would continue.

The occasion had finally arrived. Odin stood at the centre of the platform, between the two lovers. With gratitude to his mother Frigga, Loki sent her a pleased nod, before once more tuning his attention back onto his lovely fiancé.

All of Asgard watched dearly from below, holding onto their kings every word as he spoke the age old coronation into a pairing’s vows. His speech was slow, and it made y/n slightly antsy.

She wanted to marry Loki, and despite going through the prior orchestration of doing so, she wanted nothing more than for the process to speed itself up. But she remained silent, and apparently patient to all that stared with fawning smiles.

It wasn’t everyday that the royals were wed, and the citizens of the plain were in for a treat. It was something that was viewed sparingly, for their children that would be procreated in the distant future would hear tales of such a collision of two people, not actually baring witness to the ongoing.

Odin cleared his ancient throat, folding the scroll back into its exterior, and declared the emission and final act. “Y/n, of the cold shores, do you take my son, Loki, to be your partner for as long as you live?”

“I do, King Odin.” Her childhood dreams were being brought to light, after all this time. They had waited a thousand years for this exact moment, and every second that she had thought and not acted on it had been essentially worth it.

Loki stood across from her, their hands intertwined in the space between their bodies. There was a glimmer sparkling in his devious eyes, and y/n gulped at the sight of it. As happy as she felt, there was a brewing in the pit of her stomach, for she knew the god far too well.

“Loki, of Asgard, do you take the woman before you, y/n, to be your wife for your eternity?” The green eyed prince smiled across at her, giving her shaking fingers a comforting squeeze.

“I do, father.”

“Then, you may kiss your partner to seal the vow.” Y/n had an exhausting smile pinching her cheeks, and as Loki swiftly removed his hands from her own, she moved closer.

But that look had returned, and before she could stop him, he had slipped a blade out from his sleeve, and directed its spear tip towards Odin. This was not the time or the place for the violence, but the deed was done; they were exposed.

#loki layfeyson x reader #loki x reader #loki laufeyson imagine #loki oneshot #loki x y/n #loki imagine #loki smut #loki fanfic #loki x you #loki fic #imagines #imagine #xreader #marvel x y/n #marvel x you #marvel x reader #marvel x #tom hiddelston x reader #tom hiddelston imagine #loki x female reader #loki x original character #loki x reader series #mcu x you #mcu x y/n #mcu imagine #mcu smut #mcu x reader #mcu fic

[aeonghaseyo]

I just feel frustrated with how little they are developing the characters. Because on one hand I do want Chat to know more about the whole Guardian thing and proper communication with Ladybug. But on the other hand, he's so pushy with his feelings and fussy that I don't think he's mature enough. Like yeah I get being mad that Ladybug doesn't tell him big details, but needlessly attacking someone and almost unaliving them is just horrifying. I was about to say petty but no that is concerning. The writers do not make it easy to like either character tbh

In my Creative Writing class, I learned about a thing called Delayed Conceptualization where an outcome takes several episodes or chapters to come to fruition. The plot is prolonged before that outcome surfaces and usually the author thinks it's a good idea. But you know, not always. Case in point: Miraculous Ladybug.

Looking at Season 1, I expected the plotlines to revolve around prolonging Adrien and Marinette's progress as the endgame couple for this show and it did seem bearable for all those episodes. We also come to know about several people who get akumatized and through that we get to see things through their eyes even for a moment (specifically before the trademark Hawkmoth skylight opens). At first I found it bearable and the plot thickened such that it provided more juice to transition to the next season.

I still never questioned nor critiqued the show come Season 2, because the spicy things I liked most there were people being given Miraculouses and Chloe being redeemed bit by bit. It was also a very nice sight to see her fighting alongside Ladybug and the superhero team she formed, then the new villain showing up to level the playing field. It was still bearable.

Season 3 came and I start to have my doubts. Chloe's redemption was blown out the way because apparently she would never improve because Astruc said so. What about all that progress? What even about Lila Rossi? Why won't you let her take the spotlight as the Villain of the Season while Chloe becomes better little by little? And lo and behold, it worsened in Season 4.

Season 4 was literally the worst season and it opened my eyes to a lot that I see in the show being oh so wrong and frustrating. At first it seemed so adorable how Chat Noir would flirt a lot with Ladybug at the first season, but as the show progressed he became more toxic. His adoration for Ladybug became as unhealthy as Marinette's devotion to him as Adrien as it was prolonged, and we hear his lines become even more disturbing. Marinette's no different as apparently she has never gone past that bumbling fool stage in crushing on Adrien. In fact, I think it really has gone worse to the point where she overcomplicates stuff and completely failed to listen closely to Adrien in Glaciator 2 when he told her the pottery wheel was pretty. Why couldn't she have just seen what Kagami did as she flirted with Adrien her own way and got him to date her? It was really unhealthy that Marinette only knew being jealous of girls who interact with Adrien in a flirty way than actually learning from them how she can be confident enough to do so.

Imo the love square development was delayed by making Marinette and Adrien progressively unhealthy in the series, and it's so problematic because not only are we seeing that they have barely even improved at all from the first episode, but we also see more problematic and triggering shit that came with this couple dynamic. It's like everything in the plot is hinged on Adrien and Marinette automatically being a couple by the reveal without needing to improve their attitudes. They can't exactly be a healthy couple if they're both unhealthy in terms of personality. It would have been better if the show built up on improving their personality even more in relation to the other instead of shoving Marinette's comic relief in our faces and saying "She's tripping! Laugh! It's funny!" No sirs and ma'ams, not anymore. It's just sad. And portraying Adrien as oblivious and a sad sack for the rest of the show makes it even sadder. It's also comic relief for us fans but at this point I doubt it's even funny the way things are now in Season 4.

Also, don't even get me started on the perspectives of the show. Majority of it was Marinette's and Adrien's and the rest of the characters were just put to the side. Season 4 could've been a good place to start building on those other characters, and Season 3 better to build up Lila as a villain and improving Chloe, because God forbid Marinette might not stand it if she's facing two bitches in her class. Chloe would've been a great person to help her be more assertive with someone like Lila and someone who would also believe Marinette when told about Lila's lies. Chloe was indeed lied to by Lila at some point (y'know, the Ladybug call) so she would have reasons to side with Marinette. Instead, Chloe's become an even more pathetic bitch and Lila was sidelined, just like the other characters whom I think would be as equally interesting as Mari and Adrien.

The show turned into such a flop and it deserves to be on hiatus, because clearly the writers need to think further about how to redeem themselves through Season 5.

#do better #like really just be better than this #aeong replies to asks #ml salt #miraculous ladybug salt

[generallypo]

[   Constellation ’Director of the False Last Act’ is looking at you.   ]

------

dark academia!hsy, yeeee! the white coat is fantastic, but unlike kdj and yjh, she doesn’t really switch up the color scheme. no, her bum-aesthetic purple hoodie does not count. i think she’s super hot. i yell about how much i love her under the cut.

------

yo han sooyoung is actually amazing, incredible, powerful, witty, drop-dead sexy... what makes her so irresistible? let me explain

1) yeah, kdj takes the kdj company to end of the scenarios, but please. how many times does he have to kill himself to get there? not to mention his intentional (and unintentional) kill count? 

sure, he does the job, but damn is he kind of inefficient about it. say what you like about hsy’s methods or personality, but the 1863rd round far surpasses the 1864th in terms of the lives preserved while still managing to take the team to the end.

without the benefit of cheat-like knowledge, skills, and resurrections, hsy almost single-handedly orchestrates the events of the 1863rd round to a satisfying finale. kmw, problematic as he is, survives and becomes an admittedly better person, yjh finds a timeline where he can rest in peace, and the rest of the cast have their eyes set on the hopeful end of all scenarios. all this, while only being HALF of a person (hsy originally split off into two after misusing her avatar ability). do her actions lead to the happiest ending? no. but it’s the one that sacrifices the least and saves the most. for the greater good, in other words. 

hsy may be an intrinsically selfish person, but unlike kdj, she has the ability to grasp the entire picture and avoid tunnel-visioning into a crappier, more convoluted and self-sacrificial solution. ironically, it ends up saving more lives. perks of being a talented writer, i guess. 

and the 1864th hsy emerges as a leader in her own right as well. the epilogue arc shows her assuming roughly the same role as her 1863rd self in kdj’s absence: yjh breaks off from the main group (AND BECOMES A TERRORIST AKFDJDSLKSL HAHAHA) to assume a similarly antagonistic role to the remaining members of kdj company. as a result, she’s the most powerful lawful incarnation remaining, and once more the incarnations circle around her for direction.

2) independent, confident, competent (hot and kinda shameless about it). this woman has the most delightfully unrepentant attitude towards life -- how to defeat the man with the strongest defensive ability without dealing a single blow? summon a horde of your naked dancing clones to terrify his innocent sensibilities, and then cackle at his helplessness. the fact that her sponsor is literally the chuuni-est cringefest in the entire galaxy and she gives no fucks about him is just additional comedic gold. her undisguised disgust for what should otherwise be a highly respected/feared entity is a clear indicator of her supremely dominant position over everyone else, and i admire her consistent irreverence of everyone and everything.

hsy is the only character who can consistently bully kdj, brush off his deflections, and bully him again. 1863rd round hsy gives kdj about 50 migraines in the span of 5 minutes of conversation before confirming her superior wit. jhw comes close, but unfortunately, she actually respects the rat bastard. i wish i could mention yjh, but let’s be real: he -- and just about every existing version of him -- has been whipped for the guy for at least 250+ chapters now. 

hsy, on the other hand, has no regard for anything except herself... man, i respect that so much. what a queen. 

and i won’t lie! i didn’t like her in the first fifty or so chapters. plagiarism? homicide? kind-of-in-general-just-being-an-obstacle-to-kdj’s-plans? yeah, i almost fell into the trap of disliking her purely because she didn’t cave immediately in the grand scheme of kdj’s plotting -- thereby denying me the power rush that came with seeing kdj bulldoze his way through the puny attempts of small fry characters. she’s neither a friend nor a despicable foe, but rather someone who acts independently and in her own self-interest, WITH the ability to thwart major players if need be. aka, the one who frustrated kdj’s plans -- and me -- the most. 

going by my previous isekai/power-fantasy trope experience, i figured she’d get pegged into the sexy-but-sassy harem candidate, or get killed off if that didn’t work out. in hindsight, i’m just pretty fucking dumb, but honestly, i can accept that with gratitude -- 

-- because in fact. the whole ‘she-gets-in-my-way-so-she-either-goes-into-the-harem-or-dies’ trope in light novels/webnovels and the like, is, frankly, misogynistic and boring as hell. i had some admittedly low expectations for ORV, which consequently blasted my ass to the moon and left me there sobbing for 42 years as i mourned my stupidity and paid my respects to its incredible ending and character development. hsy is a particular delight, especially in her meta awareness of these tropes -- blatantly stating she isn’t obligated to kdj for saving her life and declaring the damsel-in-distress cliche as ridiculous, for example. 

and it really is, because suspension bridge effect aside, you’re not gonna want to bang a total shady stranger in the middle of the apocalypse. it’s the little statements of self-awareness, self-worth, and frankness that build up hsy’s charm. as ORV progresses, these little windows of her personality bloom as her presence takes stage center -- and then BAM! you really get to know how strong she is, how hugely capable of love she is, how subtly but wonderfully she expresses it, how she leads and protects those close to her, and how damn good she is at it. hsy is amazing. we stan an iconic queen -- no, black flameS EMPRESS. *kneeling*.

3) writes an entire EPIC, just to keep one lonely, broken fifteen-year-old alive. like. at that point in ORV, i knew. i knew. hsy is the fucking GOAT. seeing her spend the rest of her life on WOS, making sure it reaches completion because it’s the only thing that will sustain kdj until the advent of the scenarios... that hits too hard. inadvertently, it also damns the rest of the world to the terror and tragedy that the star stream brings.. but that’s the call she makes in order to save kdj’s life. 

obviously, there’s no precise beginning to the timelines -- ORV is so neatly crafted in its cycle of writer, protagonist, and reader -- but i’d have to argue that hsy holds the greatest power in the trinity. creating the existence known as ‘yoo joonghyuk’ and granting life-changing hope to an otherwise forgotten boy.. is pretty powerful. yjh, for the most part, is a slave to the scenarios (until he breaks free in the 1863rd and 1864th rounds, in particular), while kdj (unwittingly) admits it himself: he’s truly the most powerless god in existence. i forget exactly where he mentions it, but it’s in response to lgy’s reverent commentary that, with all his knowledge and presumed confidence, kdj seems like the protagonist of story or a god to him. kdj’s inner monologue, of course, is appropriately self-deprecating and scarily accurate.

in a lot of ways, WOS -- and ORV itself, really -- is a love letter to readers. it’s a two-way connection, writer and reader, between someone who creates with all their passions and someone who consumes and responds with equally sincere feelings. Ways Of Survival -- the story of a man who defied death and grief and great powers far beyond his being -- is a fictional guide to surviving in a ruined world. but to a battered, bullied, and ostracized boy, it’s not just escapism, or wish fulfilment anymore. WOS is the map to navigating the hell of his reality. there’s a certain power in the right words being spoken -- or in this case, written -- at the right time, even if it’s only for the temporary burst of endorphins upon reading an especially delightful chapter. even if it’s forgotten the next day, you’ve managed to connect. you’ve touched another person’s heart. you made them think about questions they’ve never considered before; maybe, you made them smile. 

what can i say but the honest truth? ORV, without a shadow of doubt, has most certainly reached me. i’m a goner for this story and its excellent characters -- long, long gone. something has changed, something that wasn’t there the previous day. 

the mark has been made on the reader -- small as it is, it’s irrevocable. behold, in all of its little magnificence: the power of a writer, and their story.

#omniscient reader's viewpoint #omniscient reader #orv #han sooyoung #dark acadamia aesthetic #fanart #long ass emotional screeching #wow these are the nights i wish i had someone to yell about orv with #otherwise i stay up at ass-o-clock uncontrollably writing and groaning and writing #anyways hsy is best girl and sexy as fuck

[five-rivers]

Long Night in the Valley Chapter 1

Behold, my attempt to rectify the appalling lack of into the mind fics in the BNHA fandom.  :P

AO3

FFN

.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

He stood on top of the stairs to the beach, looking down on them.  With the sun rising behind them, his pupils were pinpoints, his irises shockingly bright. He wore a thin windbreaker over a t-shirt that read ‘tracksuit’ and a pair of sweatpants with his signature red shoes.  His expression was strangely flat and blank.  He had never looked at them like that before.

“Deku?” said Ochako, uncertainly, taking a step forward, her hand half raised, as though she could reach him despite being so far away.

The commission instructor flung out an arm, stopping her.  He was staring up at the boy, too, his eyes blown wide, lips pulled back with something like worry, something like fear, and something like avarice.  “Whatever that is,” he said, “it isn’t Midoriya Izuku.”

.

Aizawa reviewed the program the commission had sent to him, ignoring the gentle bumping of the bus and the barely controlled chaos of the students around him.  It looked fairly straightforward, all things considered.  The requirement was new, and Aizawa felt it was illogical to test students like this, when they could simply have the material added to the course load, but, overall, he’d seen worse.  

So why did this bother him so much?

He scanned the paperwork again.  He was going to be getting the same certification as his students, had arranged to be part of the same general ‘cohort’ even, because he didn’t trust them on their own.  At all. Ever.  

But that shouldn’t be an issue.  Even when they did get split up, they’d be going in groups of five and—

Ah.  There it was. Groups of five, with any odd numbers being used to fill out other groups who were undergoing testing on the same day, most of whom were adult heroes, if he recalled correctly.  

With the addition of Aizawa, there were twenty-one of them.

Calling on years of experience, Aizawa didn’t groan.  The thing was, Aizawa knew, even before arriving and having numbers and groups assigned, who the odd one out would be. There was only one student who could be so problematic without trying or indeed having any control over the variables that went into causing the problem.  

Midoriya.  

Aizawa almost suspected that Midoriya had some secret trouble-attracting quirk on top of the lightning-spitting bone-breaking insanity and the randomly appearing eldritch abomination tentacle things.  It would fit right in.  

Sadly, Midoriya’s ability to find trouble didn’t seem to go away when Aizawa stared at him, so he had to acknowledge that the kid was just that unlucky.  

If Aizawa let Midoriya go off to complete the course on his own, he would probably discover that, oh, pro hero Wash was laundering money from an overseas smuggling operation disguised as an environmental clean up charity.  Or, somehow, locate a villain, despite being at a secure hero commission building. Like he had during the provisional license exam.  Or break a bone.  Again. Or discover a previously unknown aspect of his quirk.  Again. Or get into a fight with Bakugo. Again.

No way.  Not if Aizawa had anything to say about it.  

.

Izuku bounced in place, excited.  He was attending a professional development course given by the Hero Standards and Practices Commission.  It was like a dream come true!  Literally!  He dreamed about this!  Of course, he’d had the dream when he was seven, and he’d just learned about the HSPC and what it did, and All Might had been the course teacher, which he wasn’t going to be for this course, and which was also a little redundant, because All Might (Mr. Yagi, Toshinori, Eight) was already his teacher, and the reason behind this course, and making everyone with any kind of hero license take it, was a bit disturbing, and he’d had to opt out of some of the course features, because reasons, but, regardless—

“Midoriya,” said Jiro, tapping on his shoulder, “they’re calling for you.”

“Oh!  Thanks!” said Izuku, nodding vigorously, and, man, he really had to cut his hair soon. It was getting long enough to fall in his eyes when he did that, and that would be distracting in the field. Good thing it wouldn’t matter for today!

They weren’t going to be doing anything physical, after all.

He walked up to the table, showed the person with the clip board his provisional license (he could still hardly believe he had it!  It was so cool!) and received a card with a number on it.  

“Pin that to your shirt,” said the man, hardly looking at him.  

At least, the man was trying to look like he was hardly looking at him.  Maybe he recognized him from the sports festival and didn’t want to make things awkward?  But it had been a while since the sports festival.  They tended to drain from common memory pretty quickly, and—

Oh, no, he’d been holding up the line.

He sketched a quick bow and ran over to where the rest of his classmates and teacher were waiting.  

“So,” said Aizawa, looking as exhausted as ever. There was a spark of something in the man’s eye, though.  Vigilance. Had he noticed something amiss? Should Izuku be on alert as well? “We have consecutive numbers, so most of us should be together in the same groups.  Problem child.”

Izuku jumped to attention.  “Yes, sir?”

… It was kind of sad that he answered to the name ‘problem child,’ wasn’t it?

(Was it sadder that he almost liked the nickname? It was nicer than what some of his other teachers had called him.  It didn’t have the same bite.)

“Trade numbers with Yaoyorozu.”

Izuku blinked and looked at Yaoyorozu in surprise.  “Um,” he said.  “Okay?”  He unpinned his card and held it out to his classmate.  

Yaoyorozu took it carefully, frowning at the number.  “Why are we doing this, sensei?” she asked.  

“Because knowing his luck, Midoriya is going to be the odd one out, and you’re the only one I trust not to kill someone or get kidnapped if you’re left on your own.”

Okay.  Harsh. But fair.  

“What about Iida?” asked Kaminari.  

“I know what I said.”

Harsher—Wait.  Aizawa knew about that?  Since when?!

“Didn’t she go off that one time, though?  At Kamino?”

Aizawa turned to stare at Mina, who held her hands up. “Forget I said anything, sensei!”

“No, no, you’re right.  Hagakure, you take Midoriya’s number.”

“Eh, me?” asked the invisible girl.  

“Yes,” said Aizawa.  

“Er, are you sure?  I don’t know if I could survive a Midoriya-level calamity!”

Izuku felt his jaw drop a little.  Was that what they were calling it now?  Rude.  

“The calamity won’t happen if he isn’t there,” reasoned Aizawa.  

Which.  Okay.  True.  But also, rude.  

Izuku wasn’t that bad, was he?

Izuku took Hagakure’s card.  The number put him between Uraraka and Aizawa, so he’d probably be with at least one of them.  On reflection, Yaoyorozu’s number had put him on the other side of Aizawa.  Which probably wasn’t a coincidence.  

The rest of the class got through registration shortly thereafter, with several of his classmates trying to trade their own numbers, only for Iida to scold them.  Which was typical, really.  It was almost calming, and Izuku needed calm after… that.

Was his luck really that bad?

Now he was much more nervous than before.  Except, before he’d been excited, and, now, he was really—

Not.  

He fiddled with the sleeve of his uniform, trying not to pick at his scars or cross the line into overtly fidgeting and being distracting.  He wished he’d brought one of his grip strength training tools.  At least with those he could pretend their only purpose was working out, unlike his other fidget toys.  

Oh, gosh, was that pro hero Rosemary, the memory hero? And Strato!  The high altitude hero!

Wow, he’d been so worried he almost hadn’t noticed how many amazing heroes were here!  There were even some he didn’t know!

And then they were being called up, number by number.  

Hagakure, true to Aizawa’s prediction, was placed with a group of confused-looking strangers, including Rosemary.  Izuku was almost jealous.  He’d love to learn how her quirk worked.  

Actually…  All of the people in that group were heroes with mental quirks.  How interesting!  Izuku would have to ask Hagakure if they gave her any tips.  He was sure they’d have different insights than the other people in their class, especially considering the subject matter of the course.  

The subject matter being combating mental attacks.  

That’s why Izuku had to opt out of being a ‘subject’ for the course.  He didn’t entirely understand it, not yet, but One for All definitely had a mental aspect, and he didn’t know how or if that would show up in a simulated attack like the ones they’d be demonstrating.  It was better to play it safe.  His quirk was already weird enough as it was.  He still wasn’t sure how he’d manage to talk Aizawa and his classmates out of being suspicious after blackwhip came out.  Most of that day was a blur.  

Izuku suspected that things would not have been smoothed over nearly so easily if Nezu hadn’t known about One for All.  

He also wasn’t looking forward to the reaction when the other user’s quirks started coming out – Even if being able to use them was going to be really cool.  

Anyway, his own group had resolved itself to consist of Aizawa, Uraraka, Iida, and Todoroki.  He was relieved.  Todoroki looked relieved, too.  That made sense.  With what Todoroki had told Izuku about his history, he wouldn’t want to be doing this with people he didn’t know, either.  

But Todoroki would have opted out, anyway, right?  Or did Endeavor not let him?  Honestly, that would be par for the course for Endeavor. Todoroki said he was getting better, but…  Izuku had doubts.  He liked to think that people could always be saved, even from themselves, that most villains could be reformed, even if the government didn’t think so, that people like Endeavor and Kacchan could see the error of their ways. But.  

But even though Kacchan was better than he was before didn’t mean that he didn’t still do things that Izuku… didn’t like.  

And he couldn’t imagine that Endeavor was changing faster than Kacchan.  

“Who will they have us do first, do you think?” asked Uraraka. “I mean, I know they’re going to go through all of us, but all of this is making me so nervous.  I have a lot of embarrassing memories, I mean, I’m sure everyone does, but, ugh, that didn’t come out right…”

“Well!” said Iida, energetically.  “If they let us volunteer, I shall go first!”

“What?” said Izuku, surprised.  “You didn’t opt out?”

“Opt out?” asked Uraraka.  “That was an option?”

“I mean, yes?” said Izuku.  “I mean, I had to file a bunch of paperwork and get Mom, All Might, and Principal Nezu to sign off on it, but, I mean, it’s an option for people who know secrets that shouldn’t be exposed.”  Like Iida.  What was he thinking?

“I… did not know that was an option,” said Iida, who had evidently now realized he was in deep, deep trouble.  

Izuku resolved to protect his friend’s secrets as best as he was able, even if it meant he didn’t get a good score in the training.  

“I didn’t think there was an opt-out option, either,” said Todoroki, frowning.  He reached towards his face but tugged on his hair instead of touching his scar.

Okay.  So.  “Am I- Am I the only one that asked?  L-like, it wasn’t easy, I had to get a bunch of signatures, but it was doable, I…”  He shrugged, helplessly.  

“I wasn’t informed there was an opt-out,” said Aizawa, grumpily and a little… suspiciously?

Izuku cringed.  He did not need his teacher to be suspicious of him.  He did not need people looking into his life.  Into his past.  Into his quirk.  

Maybe, if they couldn’t keep Iida’s and Todoroki’s secrets quiet, he could play his reluctance off as pertaining to those.  Even if the idea made him feel incredibly guilty and unworthy of his friends.  

He would just have to do his best to help them.  

Before any more conversations could be had, their group was called into one of the rooms.  A set of six cheap futons laid on the floor.  Monitoring equipment lined one of the walls.  Two commission personnel, a man and a woman, were waiting for them.

When the woman saw Izuku, she frowned and pulled her phone out of her pocket.  What was that about.

“Hi,” said the man, who had a rather hooked nose and very bright, almost glowing, yellow eyes.  “I’m Ito Kenzo, and I’ll be your instructor for today.  You can call me Ito-san.  This is Saito Yume, we’ll be using her quirk for today’s demonstration.”

The woman smiled brightly, putting away her phone quickly. “The way my quirk works is that I can put up to five people into a shared dream state modeled after a sixth person’s mind.  All six people lose consciousness when I use my quirk, and the perception of time in the dream state is usually altered, although by how much varies depending on the group.  The dream state persists until either I release it, the people involved break free, or eight hours pass.  However, I’ll be making the rounds once an hour to pull everyone out and let you move on to the next person in the group.”

“I’ll be joining the dream state with you, to help point out tactics,” said Ito.  “Although the person the dreamscape is modeled on won’t be completely aware of what’s going on, the goal is to familiarize you with what it feels like to have your minds invaded in a safe, secure environment.  Saito-san’s quirk is similar enough to that of several known villains to be a good example of what to expect.”  Ito paused.  “Any questions?”

Uraraka raised her hand.  “Who’s going first?” she asked.  

“Ah, that would be—” He broke off as Saito tugged on his sleeve and showed him her phone.  The man did a double take, then paled, slightly.  He glanced at Izuku.  “Er,” he said, “you’re not supposed to be in this group.”

“Yes, I-I am,” said Izuku.  “This is- This is my number?  It matches?”

Ito glanced at Saito.  Then his phone rang.  “Oops,” he said, looking at his phone.  “It looks like I’m in the wrong group.  You kids are supposed to have Suzuki-san, I was, was requested by another group, so sorry! He’ll be here in a minute!”  Ito retreated through the back door at high speed.  

Izuku swallowed.  Something was going on behind the scenes.  This wasn’t about the suspected traitor thing again, was it?  Izuku had thought, after the training camp, that it was pretty obvious it had to be a teacher…  And it couldn’t be Aizawa-sensei.  He’d almost been killed by the noumu.  

(Also, he was the best teacher Izuku had ever had.)

A new, much taller man walked through the door.  “Hello,” he said.  “I am Suzuki Takami.  I am your instructor.  Apologies for the mix up.”

“No worries!” said Saito.  “Everyone, go ahead, lie down, get comfortable.  Midoriya-san, you’re first!”

“What?” said Izuku.  “But, I, um, I opted out?  I filled in the paperwork and everything.  I got a signature from Abe-san, and Kondo-san, and, and—” He fumbled to pull out his paperwork.  He’d kept copies, just in case.

Saito and Suzuki didn’t so much as look at it.  

“This course doesn’t have an ‘opt-out,’” said Suzuki.

“Excuse me,” said Aizawa.  “He clearly has paperwork for an opt-out.  Maybe you were misinformed.  Like you were about the room.”

Suzuki shook his head.  “I don’t know who you talked to,” he said, “but they were either mistaken about what course you were referring to, or you misunderstood them.”

“But,” said Izuku.  

“Midoriya,” said Aizawa, “if you want to sit this out, it’s fine.  I can go with you, so you won’t be alone.  No one’s going to make you subject yourself to a quirk you aren’t comfortable with.”

“He can do that,” said Suzuki, “but he’ll lose his provisional license.  He’d have to go through recertification entirely.  When’s the next licensing exam?”

“Hold up,” said Aizawa, “you’re doing this course two more times, aren’t you?  I know I was given multiple options for getting this certification.”

“Sure,” said Saito, “but it’s still going to be my quirk.” She wrapped a strand of her hair around her finger, stressed.  

Izuku’s mind was racing.  He couldn’t lose his license.  He couldn’t lose his ability to help people.  He—What would All Might think?  He couldn’t—

“It-It’s-It’s fine, sen-sensei, I’m um.  It’s fine!  I’ll- I’d have to do this anyway, right? Mi-might as well get it over with, huh?”  He walked over to one of the futons, and set down his backpack, trying to hide his trembling hands.  “So, is-is there anything special or specific I have to do for your quirk to work?”

“Nope,” said Saito, cheerfully, “just lie down and close your eyes.  Come on, everyone lay down.”

Aizawa moved slowly, which was nothing short of shocking considering how eager he usually was to crawl into his sleeping bag.  He put the bag down on one of the futons.  “You’re sure there’s no way for Midoriya to opt out?”

“Positive.  We’re really sorry,” said Saito.  

“Illogical,” grumbled Aizawa.  He got into his sleeping bag nonetheless.  “You sure about this, problem child?”

“I-I’m sure, sensei!  Plus ultra, right?”  He laid down, trying to get comfortable, but the panic rising in his veins really didn’t allow for that.  He could, distantly feel One for All (and all it contained) pressing up against the back of his mind with something like concern.  He swallowed.  Don’t think about it.  

His classmates were, hesitantly, picking out their own spots. Iida looked like he wanted to say something.  Uraraka’s brow was furrowed, her lips pursed.  Todoroki was difficult to read, as always.  

Suzuki was already lying down, staring at the ceiling.

Izuku closed his eyes.  

“Alright!” said Saito.  “Here we go!”

.

Yume left the room with Midoriya Izuku in it, feeling just slightly dazed.  She paused for a moment in the back hallway.  She had dozens of other groups to set off, and she was running late after that little snafu.  

Midoriya Izuku was supposed to be in a group with Suzuki-san and four other specially picked professional heroes.  Heroes who would get to the bottom of why and how he had multiple quirks, who would find out who he really was, who would figure out how he was in contact with the League of Villains and why they decided to pick some random quirkless nobody—

Assuming that’s what Midoriya Izuku really was.  The initial investigation had uncovered some discrepancies in his family records.  

In any case, he was not supposed to be in a group with his little friends and overprotective teacher.  

Oh, well.  Except for Midoriya, they were all clean.  If they were really heroes, they’d do what was right.  

Yume pushed off the wall (when had she started leaning on it?) and stumbled.  Something bright and red caught on the periphery of her vision and she looked down.

Her nose was bleeding.

She licked her lips, tasting copper.  It shouldn’t be bleeding.  That only happened when she overused her quirk, when she tried to put too many people into one dreamscape or tried to combine two dreamscapes into one. She’d been pacing herself.  This shouldn’t be happening.  It shouldn’t be bleeding like this, like she had just put more than a dozen people under.

Suzuki Yume promptly passed out.  

.

“Wow,” said Uraraka, looking around in delight.  She was still worried about Deku.  He’d looked really bad right before Saito-san activated her quirk, and she and Suzuki-san had been acting kind of shady, but—

But—

This place was beautiful, and she couldn’t help but be a little in awe.  She’d kind of expected dreamscapes to be more… Mushy, maybe?  Darker?  Her dreams usually weren’t very clear (except for the nightmares, and those didn’t count).

But Deku’s dreamscape was as bright as he was: a beautiful beach and a cerulean ocean at sunrise.  Or was it sunset?  Either way, the sun hovered above the ocean, its light gleaming off the waves.  

“Wow,” said Todoroki, approaching the breakers on the beach.  He crouched, looking at the sand.  “It’s really…”  he poked the sand, “detailed.”

“As expected of Midoriya!” exclaimed Iida, waving his hands. “His attention to detail is unparalleled!”  

“Hm,” said Aizawa.  “Too bright…” He put on his goggles.  

“Excuse me,” said Suzuki.  “If I can have your attention, please.  I apologize for the deception, however—”

“You shouldn’t be here.”

#bnha #fic #fanfic #my writing #boku no hero academia #gen #long night in the valley

[dumbitch20]

i need to follow more people from the mcyt (particularly dsmp) fandom so interact with this post if you believe:

twitter'a side of the fandom has a problem with their idea of activism

activism is not based on the trending page or number of tweets, likes and retweets a topic gets

people are free to talk about what they want even when bad things are happening (which is basically every second btw)

twitter's side of the fandom so called activism is completely america centered

audience cannot dictate who ccs interact with and audience should just stop watching who they don't like (in this account we like technoblade and have no feelings towards schlatt since i just don't watch him)

looking through old tweets, posts or videos for a reason to cancel them is more problematic than the tweets, posts or videos themselves

and so is looking for bad intentions in words when they weren't said with bad intentions (ex. nihachu and fundy saying something sounded like tik tok language). a say we have in italy goes "malice is in the eye of the beholder"

apologies shouldn't be forced and action speak louder than words. you can understand when someone made a mistake and when they are actually discriminating people

it's allowed for ccs to make mistakes

education on certain topics should be acquired, not expected and it is a privilege

ccs are people allowed to make mistakes, particularly since they are all very young. I know most of you are 13/17, but I promise you that when you turn 20 you don't magically gain the super power of being perfect and understanding life 100%.

ccs are just entertainment. we don't know them, we are basically nobody to them but some millions of people they can say thank you to because they can do their job, but nothing more. we cannot dictate their lives and we do not know them and what they talk about behind the scenes.

once the stream is done and the interaction on social media is gone, as wilbur says, they have to stop to exist for us.

(i think you get the idea of where I stand)

#mcyt #dsmp #mcyttwt #mcyt tumblr #dsmptwt #dsmp tumblr #i will analysw your account to make sure you are as described though

[tf2workbench]

What is a crutch?

Bonus post for today!

I actually discussed this a long time ago, probably circa 2017, but I don’t think I got it right then. I didn’t really go to the root of the issue, nor did I do a good job of explaining myself.

To start off with, you may have heard that a certain weapon is a “crutch.” It’s the kind of phrase tossed around in anger, usually by someone who’s just died. As with most things said in anger, we can pretty much ignore it. But is there a grain of truth?

Because it’s usually used to insult people, “crutch” has no real definition other than “I didn’t like the way you killed me.” But it does have a rough definition: a weapon or strategy that “props up” the player, letting them perform well even if they aren’t as “skilled” as their opponents.

(The name, by the way, is misleading. I’ve spent a lot of time on crutches, and if you practice, you can go very much faster than someone who’s not on crutches. Just don’t do it near a busy road. Actually, forget I ever said anything.)

I think that measuring skill is inherently flawed, simply because there’s so many different things that can mark skill. As a Pyro, is skill getting a lot of kills? Reflecting all projectiles? Spychecking? Flashy reflect jumps? Axtinguisher crits? Maybe all of the above, which makes it very hard to measure. There’s also factors like gamesense, which isn’t necessarily tied to mechanical skill.

My point is: for the most part, a “crutch” is in the eye of the beholder. But I do want to use this opportunity to talk about a bit of problematic design.

There is no such thing as a crutch, but there is such a thing as a weapon that’s designed specifically to make the game easier. Let’s look at some examples, in varying degrees of severity:

The Spy-cicle, which protects you from dangerous fire damage (albeit not all the time), allowing you to escape your most dangerous foe.

The Short Circuit, which you can use to destroy incoming projectiles that would otherwise hit your buildings.

The Razorback, a shield that gives you a great deal of protection from Spies, and only Spies.

These weapons are all useful, don’t get me wrong. They let you play a class and have fun in scenarios where you might otherwise be shut out and not having any fun at all. The problem is that they aren’t especially interesting - for the most part, they don’t really change your playstyle that much other than mitigating your weaknesses. They don’t add new dimensions of play.

Examples are best served by a counterexample, so let’s take a look at a weapon that is not a crutch. It’s Jarate, that infamous throwable weapon that lets you reveal Spies. By that definition, its use is to counter one of your counters. But it has a lot more. Jarate can:

Paint targets for your teammates to hit

Combine well with weapons like the Bushwacka and Sydney Sleeper

Extinguish burning teammates in the most disgusting way possible

The playstyle of a Sniper with Jarate is noticeably different than one wielding the SMG. The point is not just to remove Spies, and in fact, the loss of the SMG means that your fights against Spies will be changed quite a bit (whether for worse or for better is up to you).

“Crutch” weapons, by this definition, are not necessarily bad, and I want to move away from the pejorative connotation. Crutch weapons can serve you well, letting you enjoy your match without being completely denied. They can also give beginner players a simpler game, acting a little bit like training wheels to let them get the hang of other mechanics first.

But in the long term, these kinds of weapons aren’t particularly good for the game. They become situational - or overpowered - and don’t add interesting new dimensions of play. The goal of unlockable weapons is to make the game more interesting for all players, and while these kind of training wheel items can help players who would otherwise be at a disadvantage, they don’t provide that kind of interesting gameplay.

One note I want to leave you on is that these items aren’t necessarily a binary yes/no. They’re more like a spectrum; the logical extreme of a training wheel would be an item that plays the game for you. Similarly, it’s also very hard to say whether an item is good/bad in this way. I know that I prefer weapons that play differently from stock items, since they make for a more interesting game and can see usage in a variety of situations. But I also have a lot of experience with TF2, so I’m naturally unfamiliar with the feeling of needing a little leg up to beat a really frustrating player. Whether these weapons are good or not depends on who you ask, because despite their flaws, they do a solid job of helping shake up the hierarchy of players.

What do you think is best for the game? What weapons would you consider “training wheels”? Do you enjoy using them, and why?

#tf2workbench #tf2 #team fortress 2 #general

[littlesparklight]

What is it about Zeus/Ganymede that you like so much?

I like them because I enjoy the dynamic (problematic I know 😬) and the fact that Ganymede was the only one who was given immortality, he must’ve been adored 🥰 instead of simply being a toy (which is my most dislike interpretation because it’s disrespectful to both parties imo)

Do you read fic of them (besides your own)? I remember reading a fic on live journal that I loved everything about but it’s gone R.I.P 😔

Ahh, anon. (guess who lost the original version because of clumsy fingers and now has to rewrite this...) First of all, yes, I do read fic other than my own! I’ve searched high and low for more to read, but I’m picky since a lot of it is with a negative/”realistic” take and I’m not here for that, so I never get to read as much of it as I’d like. And fic disappearing always sucks. :c

Second! Yeah, I plain enjoy the dynamic when spun in a positive way. Zeus must be completely besotted, because Ganymede is the only one that was taken to Olympus, and the only one who was given immortality! Any other relationship aside from Hera (and previous wives) last maybe a year or so at most? Clearly not so for Ganymede. How can I not like that? Not that I don’t understand why people would go with a negative/more “realistic” take, but honestly I am shamelessly going to go with the positive one, both because that pleases me and because that’s clearly what was intended from the ancients’ POV.

I also like both a bit of drama and kidnapping as a plot point, so the fact that things start with kidnapping is a feature not a bug for me. On top of that I like power differences, especially magical ones (extremely powerful beings having a squishy lover is catnip for me ok), and the other ones that comes with Zeus/Ganymede are great too.

Which, as a side point, leads into that any deity/human pairing is going to be incomprehensibly unequal. Any age differences is honestly the smallest issue when it comes to Z/G in specific or deity/mortal in general (considering that say, any Apollo ship for example is going to have them as well, even if he looks eternally nineteen). Ganymede could have been a 40 year old king and still would have been as powerless against and compared to Zeus as he was when he was taken as a teenager. A couple decades extra life experience isn’t going to change that (and, anyway, at some point Ganymede is going to be hundreds to thousands of years old, even if he’s still technically a youth.) If you’re into deity/human ships, this is just how it is. The options (in Greek myth) for mortals are to go “I’m into this, let’s go!!” or reject the god, and with rejection comes 1. it happens anyway, 2. turning/being turned into something else, 3. death. 2 or 3 are as bad as 1 when the mortal is unwilling, but there’s no really functional difference between rejection and consent when we’re talking about a being that is so massively powerful compared to a human. There’s not really any “ethical” way for a fictional relationship like this, and so, whatever. I’m into it, lol.

And with Zeus’ tendency of playing favourites, and the possibility of Ganymede basically having Zeus wrapped around his little finger? Yeah, all that power in service of spoiling his lover. ;)

Also, like. This is basically a bride kidnapping without the father’s permission. Zeus even pays a bride price!

In the end, like I’ve said before, Ganymede is going to be on Olympus either way. The Iliad’s version has not a whiff of the kidnapping being done for sexual reasons (the sexual element is old, but not as old as the oldest sources we have); the gods, all of them, decided “yeah that one is way too pretty to waste on a human life, get him up here” and took Ganymede for themselves. Why not add some HEA with love too?

Have some quotes below:

Valerius Flaccus, Argonautica 2. 414 ff (trans. Mozley) (Roman epic C1st A.D.) : "[Depicted on a tapestry of Hypsipyle queen of Lemnos :] This part showed the rape on leafy Ida and the famed flight of the boy [Ganymede]; presently he was standing joyfully at the table in heaven, nay, even Jove's [Zeus'] armour-bearer himself [Ares] quaffs the beguiling draught from the Phrygian's ministering hand."

Quintus Smyrnaeus, Fall of Troy 8. 427 ff (trans. Way) (Greek epic C4th A.D.) :

‘O Father Zeus, if of thy seed I am, if at thine best I left far-famous Troy for immortality with deathless Gods, O hear me now, whose soul is anguish-thrilled! I cannot bear to see my fathers' town in flames, my kindred in disastrous strife perishing: bitterer sorrow is there none! Oh, if thine heart is fixed to do this thing, let me be far hence! Less shall be my grief if I behold it not with these mine eyes. That is the depth of horror and of shame to see one's country wrecked by hands of foes.’ With groans and tears so pleaded Ganymede. Then Zeus himself with one vast pall of cloud veiled all the city of Priamos (Priam) world-renowned; and all the murderous fight was drowned in mist, and like a vanished phantom was the wall in vapours heavy-hung no eye could pierce; and all around crashed thunders, lightnings flamed from heaven . . . Then left they [the Greeks] that far-famous town, and turned from war, in awe of Zeus' threatenings." 

Also, like, check out the opening scene of Christopher Marlowe’s Dido play, because it’s got some really funny exchanges between Zeus and Ganymede and Zeus basically promising Ganymede anything he might want for, uh... “hugs” /cough.

#greek mythology #zeus #ganymede

[miaxeu]

      though the mist might prevent some from seeing it, MIA STOEGER is actually a descendent of DIONYSUS. it’s still a question of whether or not the TWENTY-ONE year old MYTHOLOGICAL STUDIES MAJOR from LOS ANGELES, USA has taken after HER godly parent completely, but the demigod is still known to be quite CHARISMATIC & DUPLICITOUS. 

( y’all dont deserve this real messy intro but im workin w half a bwain cell at 4am so i beg thee 4 mercy. nywyy im the excited new girl who’s hella pumped to meet all ur charas : katya ! feel free to hop in my ims to plot or drop a like and i’ll hop in urs ! x  )

POWERS

natural acting abilities — her ma’s a hollywoo agent so she started actin real early & now shes a big shot actress. there r more deetz on her career below !

chlorokinesis — it wasnt as natural as acting n she only started working on it when she turned 13 n started going to camps. b4 she just noticed shes good w plants but it wasnt super crazy or nything. its p good now tho ! shes prioritizing vine binding and manipulation 4 the self defense bc awards r cool n all but they dont rlly protecc from monsters ykwim 

levitation — shes trying her best ur honor

alcokinesis  — she cant conjure it or anything, she’s just immune to it ffff

BIO POINTS — cw: drug use ( full biography here )

her mom raised her by herself bc dionysus the party god was out of the picture immediately. she never told mia she’s a demigod & it was always just “ wow ur so talented ” or “ aww u got a green thumb ! ” but when she saw him claim 13 y/o mia by placing a weird hologram over her head while she slept, she knew she had to spill da beanz & tell her kid

ofc mia thought her mom was jus playing sum weird acting exercise w her bc her powers r so lowkey she could highkey just be a Mortal but insert sad whistle, the realizashun & the claiming meant heightened monster threat !! so yea ,,, one ended up chasing her a couple days later rip 

aside from the trauma, mia was ok. mostly bc she ended up cryin for dionysus like any child would n lo & behold he came & helped !!! as he should. nywy she made sure to go to summer camps every year after that but mostly just for protection purposes

she lowkey rlly hates this whole god business esp now that shes grown lmfao deadass thinks she got a bad deal bc life threats arent sexy !!! went to eonia eventually bc its Too Much Man. she just wants to go back to work and her life w the mortals w/o worryin for her life. would deadass fade her father if she could. may or may not be majoring in greek mythology to figure out the logistics of it all out of spite, who knows !

PERSONALITY

not ! a Drama Queen  —  dont get me wrong, shes hella Extra in the way she moves n acts sorta like shes always bein captured on film. is quick-witted & playful & can be a huge tease/flirt if she feels like it, but miss her w Real Feelings ! totally not sentimental. srsly she will try to rationalize away everything and is just,.,., not good w it. so soz folks, we just keepin it breezy here

ugh, she’s an Actress — aka she can act like she cares tho ! shes very much into keeping ppl on her good side. shes friendly n palatable to everyone bc its how shes been trained & while it doesnt seem fake, its def diff when its genuine

The Mortifying Ordeal of Being Known —  lemme circle back to the first one, ok so shes good w emotions but only in theory. does intense character work with her roles so she thinks that counts as her having eq when rlly shes just emotionally stunted, projecting n repressing like an idiot

blonde, skinny, rich, & a lil bit of a Bitch — shes only a bitch inwardly or to ppl she trusts enuff to let in on the gossip. if anyone full on opposes her or becomes real emotional, then this lil diva will rear its superiority complex head n snap a lil. will most probably do it v underhandedly n w a smile but it will be Brutal

girls just wanna have FUN ! — shes the child of da party god, so ofc she a true party girl. officially off the rails when she parties. inhibitions ? we dk her. can be insensitive in that case bc smtms its truly no strings attached, tis all abt the fun. likes company a lot & it doesnt even have 2 be loud or particularly abt her, she just likes having people around n the escapism of it all. will make friends with everyone n make sure they have a jolly fun time guaranteed at dionysus parties 

Work Hard, Play Hard — real responsible when it comes to work and commitments and if she trusts/likes u enough, she’ll give it 2 u straight, no bs. def thinks Calling Out is an act of love but maybe does it a lil too harshly smtms. v much into efficiency, sentiments be damned. not the feely words type. will sit next to u or party w u or even pay 4 ur therapist if u need sum1 to talk to. she will Be There while u work thru it, so long as u dont expect her to change n be all emotional n stuff

if she seems a lil contradictory thats bc she kinda is. tis the good ol nurture vs nature. her ma’s a real no nonsense chick n her pops is a frat guy drama geek greek god whos rlly into cottagecore so u get this lil blonde bitch whos sorta teetering on the edges

OTHER INFO  — cw: drug use ( full headcanons here )

re her career, she achieved pegot status when she was 18 aka she truly b dat bitch. shes not super mainstream famous tho, more like indie sweetheart, film snobs/critics fave typa gal. if ya want a trajectory she started w baby commercials then a sitcom from 4-10 ( think modern fam’s lily ) then it was off to the big screen & the stage ! 

mia has a lil bit of a drug habit. its not abusive or dependent, but it is a staple whenever shes parties bc alcohol is useless 2 her. started a lil young too bc hollywoo. primarily uppers/hallucinogens. she smokes weed a lil more liberally but the rest is mostly just an on occasion thing ( which, ngl, is a still a lil problematic when u party a lot rip )

after she got claimed, mia ended up going to demigod camps in a lot of diff places n countries, depending on where production would take her. there was never an established place, more like wherever was nearest when they wrapped up shooting bc monsters afoot n wutnot  

she was always homeschooled but she still managed to go to a prom and homecoming bc party is life. that makes eonia uni p much her first chance at having a normal educational environment & experience and even then its anything but. still tho this is her moment !!! im lit rally begging her to get a personality that isnt her internally rolling her eyes going “ its not that deep ”

might put up a bio/stats page if im feelin sxc but i wud jus like the records to show that mia stoeger is a bi sxc babe bc me ? write a het ? no grassy ass.

POSSIBLE CONNECTIONS — cw: drug use ( full connections here )

omg danny devito i love ur work ! 

,,, p self explanatory sdkjfs sum1 who loves her work ! it can be lowkey/highkey fangirl to a civil admiration

OR alternatively, y/m can Not Be a fan of her work. they might think the storyline of the projects she takes on r too out of touch n highbrow yada yada yada, but yes, we love to see either of it ! 

summer camp sweetheart !  

someone she met when at camp when they were teens ? doesnt matter in what country/city, but mia was only visiting so it was truly a one summer romance typa thing. bc she was younger, im thinkin 13-17 or w/e she was probably sweeter n a lot more emotional then. was it either’s first puppy love ? first kiss ? first “ relationship ? ” idk, do yk ? truly, so many possibilities. nothin set in stone just hmu bub 

summer camp pals ! 

p much the same as above but make it Platonic

party buddies !

or druggie pals. either way works but she wud luv it if theyre both xoxo

friends w benefits !

most probably ( but not limited to ) sum1 she met at a party skdjhsjk is it exclusive ? is any1 starting to develop feelings ? im down 4 nthing n evrything

alexa play true friend by hannah montana !

give mia her college bestie ! her confidant who knows her feels and can call each other out viciously with no ounce of resentment. we stan the friendships !

omg i love ur skirt !

that is the ugliest effing skirt i've ever seen. lmao basically sum1 mia pretends to like or acts civil w but rlly ,,,, Cannot Stand for w/e rzn   

im p much braindead rn but those are just sum ideas !!! ofc the usual staples like the pals, enemies, wutnots are also v welcome we love to see it. if u also have a wc that u think mia would fit in, id luv to know more ! there are also a couple more detailed ones here, but pls feel free to shoot me a msg n we can get 2 plotting x 

( * wipes brow * how did i type so much n say so little rip. mia is also a completely new muse so pls b patient n if i fuq up from time to time, pretend u do not see >.< nywy thnx 4 readin, sweets ! feel free to hmu here or at discord if ya wanna <3333 )

FULL INFO  ||  EONIA TASKS 

[hoochy-coo]

Camille wasn’t actually that private though, she used to hint about Harry on her Instagram stories pretty regularly. I think a lot of peoples issue with her lies in the fact that she was found to have said and done some fairly ignorant things, so it didn’t make sense to people why someone like Harry who preaches stuff about kindness and acceptance would be attracted to and excuse that behaviour. Even though he himself does the bare minimum and seems performative at times.

Hmm...I respect your opinion on this even if I have a completely different take on it. Camille posted a total of maybe 3 IG stories (one was likely accidental, his voice just got caught in it) that hinted at their relationship within the first month of their relationship and that’s about it. Then she realized after the influx of his stan hate that she should just lay low to avoid all the fuss over it. The rest of it was her friends tagging her in posts that may hint of her having a bf (not specifically Harry) which made sense to me considering that a handful of her inner circles were good friends of his and are still now.

In terms of the ignorant things Camille did, stans exaggerated and twisted a lot of it into a much bigger deal. They were calling her a Manson worshipper just because she read some true crime books lol. They also scrolled through her IG timeline and found a pic of her bf at the time holding her face, slightly mushing it, with the caption: “beauty is in the eyes of the beholder” and called that racist when it was quite obviously a play on him looking at her while he’s pulled her face into a silly shape. The only two things I’d consider to be (maybe) problematic was when she said in an old ass interview that she admired Polanski as a director and his cinematic work as a child, and when she dressed up as Sharon Tate for Halloween (which seems to be up for debate according to some people since a lot of them are saying she went as Mia Farrow from Rosemary’s Baby, but again, I don’t think anyone can confirm that). 

I wasn’t overly impressed with the lack of action she took with BLM last year but I have to give her props for the good work she did in the past, especially locally in LA. Camille actually spends a fair chunk of her time attending protests (especially women rights and environmental protests) and doing actual charity work through collabs with local brands. I also wouldn’t be surprised if she volunteers in person at some of these local charities because she and her friends have been shown to do so way back then. 

#ask #answer #camille rowe

[basketballandtextbooks]

quickie ship hot take

so there are lots of ships in sp, canon and otherwise, and here’s a hot take: they’re all problematic.

the canon ships especially. insane as it might seem, i don’t give a fuck if my ship is problematic or not (I just want to acknowledge and be aware of the problematic aspects of it)

hell the act of shipping in and of itself can be considered prrreeettty sketchy if you think too hard

but why am i uppity about this if i dont care if a ship is problematic or not?

because there’s one ship that ALWAYS gets a pass on being problematic: creek

this aint a hate piece on creek but istg if i read one more message / post / hot take / meta that says “all the ships are problematic, except creek of course” or something to that degree (ESPECIALLY when its compared to stendy) I’m going to rip out my hair

creek is not un-problematic. I think it’s totally cool to ship it if you do, go nuts, ship it all day and all night, but holyshit, it is not “the only good couple” or whatever

LITERALLY A VAST MAJORITY OF THE CURRENT FANDOM got into it because they played one of the two recent games and a LOT of the currernt creek fandom came from TFBW. What’s the creek plot in tfbw again? oh, was it ‘they broke up over something petty and then got back together again’? BEACAUSE THATS THE CREEK PLOT OF TFBW

but no, every time stendy break up and get back together its proof that they’re a toxic relationship

i just fucking hate that people give creek a pass because their yaoi boner is so fucking big that they haven’t realized that they have a HUGE double standard for what is and what isn’t ‘proof’ of a toxic relationship.

sure, I can agree that stendy is plenty toxic and i can agree that fucking every canon ship in sp is plenty toxic, but dont fucking try to feed me that creek is somehow completely perfect. literally the entire REASON they got together to begin with is reason enough to be skeptical of how unproblematic their relationship is (how much of their feelings are sincere and how much of it is them caving under the pressure? how much of their relationship is hinged on literally being forced together? how much of their love is even real???? what if one of them actually loves the other and the other one is only doing it because they cant handle the insane pressure of an entire town shipping you?)

(NOT TO MENTION THAT THE ENTIRE EPISODE WAS A COMMENTARY ON STUPID SHIPPING FETISHIZATION OF GAY PEOPLE BUT HEY, LETS IGNORE ALL THE SOCIAL COMMENTARY THAT SP IS BASED ON BECAUSE SOUTH PARK ISNT A FUCKTON OF SOCIAL COMMENTARY SINCE LITERALLY EPSIODE ONE--side note but im very annoyed at the number of people who say that south park is only recently become obsessed with social commentary. guys, just because you didnt watch big gay al when he was relevant social commentary, doesn’t mean that it wasn’t social commentary)

ANYWAY im not going to list every toxic aspect of creek’s relationship because tbh i dont even hate creek and its not the worst ship in the show (that award currently goes to sharon and randy, with linda and stephen as a close second) but im just reallyyyyyyyyy tired of reading ‘stendy is horrible but creek is perfect’ or something like that

even spicier take: literally every ship, including creek, can be interpreted in a non-problematic way. (except for the parents, holyshit the parents are awful) Considering the characters ages, a lot of the shitty stuff they do can pretty easily be handwaved away as “I WAS NINE!” and not to mention, even some of the aspects that are deffiiinitely problematic can be considered positively in the eye of the beholder because shockingly different people are attracted to different things. but it really gets my goat when someone lampoons on ship for a specific reason and then COMPLETELY ignores that the ship they used as an example of a ‘good ship’ ALSO incorporated that specific reason into their relationship.

(ie: its just unhealthy how stan and wendy dont treat each other like real people and dont listen to each others problems. oh but craig ignoring tweek was totally kawaii uwu and the way they presumed the worst of the other and publically shamed one another is totally adorable!) <--both accusations are canon but fucking... dont pretend creek aint problematic. its no better or worse than any other super problematic ship in this fucking show

#literally they write creek how they write stendy #except craig and tweek are minor characters #so we dont get a lot of focus on the relationship #also its a recent development #anyone forget the budha box thing? #what about the entire mini-arc about how craig constantly tried to force solutions onto tweek without actually LISTENING to him #what about tweek shoving craig under the bus IMMEDIATELY when they were acting their breakup

[jalebi-weds-bluetooth]

ArShi Two Shot: See Red [1/2]

Warning: Mature, frequent use of expletives. 

Prompt by @ruminationsofaraven ​:

Smut: During the Diwali with Aarav, Arnav triggers a fight with Khushi about the money issue and a power struggle ensues - IN BED. #angrysex #blatantrequest

See Red

To fall into a state of extreme anger, excitement, or competitive arousal, such as might cloud one's judgement or senses.

The white kurta was her favorite. 

It was the most expressive display of indulgence from Arnav to his wife. And if they weren’t discussing his problematic parenting ideals, Khushi might have been ripping the kurta off his body, instead of his head.

“Arnav ji, don’t you realise you rewarded Aarav for his misbehavior? He needs to learn that money is not an infinite resource - one needs to work hard for it.” Khushi chided him.

“Khushi, hard work and behavior are two very separate things.” Arnav dismissed her, “And what are you trying to say? You’re confused and you’re confusing me.”

Khushi took a deep breath and collected her thoughts. It was difficult to argue with a man who’s beauty increased with his arrogance, and Arnav Singh Raizada always managed to look his handsome best in the most inappropriate situations.

Like in the hut. He stood by the window, bathed in moonlight. His sweaty, taut muscles visible in a thin vest that left little to imagination. But they were also surrounded by goons, hence he came up with a hairbrained scheme to save themselves.

Like now, in a deep v necked kurta that revealed just enough of his chiseled pectoral, his stubble a day old (the way she liked) and his voluminous hair gelled back to perfection - he was an arresting figure. But of course, it’s Diwali and nothing right ever happens to them on this festival. Example, Arnav’s idea of teaching ‘manners’ to Aarav by buying him every expensive gift on this planet.

That thought alone had the power to bring Khushi right out of her head and back into the argument.

“Arnav ji, I’m just saying that-” Arnav groaned at her tirade.

“Don’t. I can take care of any decision related to money.”

Khushi blinked twice at her husband. Arnav believed he had known that look very well. On any other day it would be the code name for undisguised wonder, apprehension, misunderstanding, or a very basic and his favorite -  let’s fuck now.

“What do you mean?” You think, because I don’t earn, that I cannot say anything about this?” She snapped.

Oh, he missed out on anger.

“Khushi-” Arnav drawled, “you know I didn’t say that.” Trust Khushi Kumari Gupta Singh Raizada to make a mountain of a molehill.

“You did! And you’re forgetting the fact that I can earn money and I have. I run a dabba service.” Khushi huffed.

“You ran a dabba service.” He pointed out. Khushi balked, her pride and ego taking the brunt.

“So, if I want I can earn more money than you today-” Arnav chuckled at her declaration. An angry Khushi was a sight to behold. Especially when she was focused and passionate in her ideas - as in now, how she listed out the small ways she helped his company. If he wasn’t a blind idiot back then, he would have offered his gratitude. Preferably alone and naked.

“And if you are the great who you think yourself to be, then you would have never needed my help.” All of Arnav’s musings came at a halt. Her help? AR Corporations was his pride and success.

In her rant, where her mouth ran faster than her intellect, she did not notice the fury seeping in his eyes. Nor the fact that her contribution to his company’s one hundred and five million dollars annual turnover was nothing.

His jaws clenched, finger fisted into a ball and nose flared at her off handed comment.

Khushi Kumari Gupta Singh Raizada missed all the signs of an angry Arnav Singh Raizada.

“So don’t even think I can’t live in this harsh world-”

“No you can’t!” Arnav snapped, taking two wide steps towards her, his body thrumming in rage. As predicted, Khushi took a step back, intimidated. And this woman just claimed to be able to live in the harsh world?

His fingers itched to grab her shoulders and yank her to reality but he stood firm, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“You can’t live in the real world because you need money to sustain. And you need intelligence to earn money. Courage and confidence to face the world. To fulfill your dreams. And you have none of these qualities.” In his rant, he missed out on her clenched fingers, parted lips, arched eyebrows.

Arnav Singh Raizada, too, missed all the warnings of an angry Khushi Kumari Gupta Singh Raizada.

“Frying jalebis and running a business are two separate things. Do you get it?” He moved past her.

“What the fuck did you say?” Arnav stopped short on his tracks. Khushi seethed, her body shaking with rage.

“What did you just say?” He growled.

“What the fuck did you say.” She enunciated each word, lingering on the expletive.

“Don’t cuss.” He warned her.

“Hypocrite.” She folded her arms across her stomach, her heart throbbing wildly against her chest. The gall her husband had to call out her cussing when he was rather fond of the word and the activity!

“Don’t use that tone with me.” He slowly prowled towards her. Khushi stood firm on her feet, her eyes locked with his.

“You don’t use that tone!” Khushi retorted.

“Stop repeating after me.” Arnav attempted to keep his anger in check.

“What else can I do? Unfortunately you are married to a penniless, brainless, indecisive woman who can only fry goddamn jalebis.” Khushi struggled to keep her voice down, her cheeks flushing in anger and humiliation.

“Shut the fuck up Khushi,” Arnav cussed.

“Aap shut the fuck-” Khushi didn’t get to complete her sentence as Arnav gripped her by shoulders and pinned her to the wall, his legs trapping hers. Incensed, Khushi glared right at him, barely afraid of the storm brewing in his eyes.

“What did I tell you about cursing?” His words were now a mere whisper, floating above her lips. Khushi was breathless with anger, her lips parted in irritation and astonishment.

“But you just cursed!” She protested.

“It’s different when I do-” Khushi gasped at his audacity. The nerve of that blasted-

“-you like it.” He finished. Khushi stiffened in his grip.

“A-aap…” She stammered.

“H-haan, main?” He mimicked her.

In a flash she wriggled her arms free and shoved against his chest. Fury coursed his veins, he did not like being pushed. Khushi heaved, her bangles chiming loud. Her hair came loose from its pins. Pushing her fringe back, Khushi noted his silent stare.

“What? What are you looking at? You’re getting angry? YOU are getting angry! Be upset, do whatever you want. Stop flaring your nose! You want to break things - go ahead, it’s your room - break anything-”

Arnav flipped the side table.  

“Yes I’ll break anything and everything until you stop behaving like a brat!” Arnav further kicked the offending table, it kept coming in his way ever since his pretend honeymoon with Khushi!

“You are raising a brat!” Khushi countered, “and one more thing Mr. Raizada,” Arnav raised an eyebrow “I can live in this world alone because I have. I can do anything on my own.”

“Anything?” He challenged.

“Anything. I can cuss, I can break things, I can leave this room and face the world-” Before Khushi could storm off, she was yanked right back to her spot - with Arnav holding the other end of her dupatta. She tried to tug it out of his hand but he did not budge, not even by half an inch. The more force she applied, the more firm his grip became.

Arnav carefully watched his wife, flushing as red as the lehenga she wore, trying to free her dupatta in futility. Her bosom heaved and bangles chimed with each attempt. And she refused to look at him!

“L-leave my dupatta.” She mustered, after a moment. The brooch holding her dupatta to her choli was in a dangerous state of being ripped off.  

“Why? You can do anything, right?” With one flick of his wrist Khushi crashed right against him and the sleeve of her choli slipped off her shoulder. “First try to take two steps, then open your mouth.”

Khushi looked - finally! - at him to teach him a lesson on opening his godforsaken mouth, but she was instantly met with the sight of his soft, full lips. Every retort died in her tongue. Her eyes swept over his face, noting the clenched jaw, his sharp nose and his dark eyes. A loose fleck of hair fell across his forehead.

Oh my sweet Devi Maiya.

She left her grip to push against his chest but he anticipated her move and grabbed her wrist with his free hand. A soft gasp left her lips as her fingertips brushed through the bare skin through the v of his kurta.

She could smell his cologne, it was her favourite one - heady, fresh and reminiscent of the ocean. Her fingers curled back, nails digging in her palms, before she could lose further sense of control and push his hair away from his forehead.

Or run her fingers through his hair to bring his face closer to hers, if it were further possible.

Oh it had been long since they had sex. The last time they did it was his birthday - another important day marred by impossible arguments and illogical reasoning.

But it ended well, very well. She had held onto the sheets and his hair, keeping him in place as he ate his desert. Once capable of thought, she had to wonder who’s birthday it was in the first place. Once capable of action, she enthusiastically returned the favor.

Her throat parched. The glass of water by their bed was tempting.

Arnav sensed her shift and left her wrist to snake his hand up her back, dragging his fingertips along her spine, to grip the base of her neck. Her pulse was rapid, breath warm and pupils dilated.

Unable to take his heady gaze, Khushi looked away.

“You’re misbehaving,” Her breath rasped. Arnav yanked her neck back up, forcing her to meet his eyes.

“I haven’t even started misbehaving Khushi Kumari Gupta.” He murmured, his nose brushing against hers.

“Singh Raizada.” She added, her fingers now clutching his kurta.

“Exactly, you’re a Raizada. Your status, position, has all changed. Because you are Arnav Singh Raizada’s wife. If not, you wouldn’t be wearing these jewellery worth millions of rupees. And you’re forgetting that Aarav is going to grow up as a Raizada, not a Gupta. His class is not going to be determined by jalebis and gotas.” Arnav said.

Anger coiled in Khushi’s stomach. She tugged on his collar, glad her nails scratched his neck, and brought him close, enough for his lips to barely brush against hers.

Enough for him to lose his grip on her dupatta and her neck.

Just when he was about to dive down for a kiss, she snuck out of his grip, grabbed the glass by the bed and threw the water on his face. Arnav staggered back in shock.

“Yet your class seems to be always determined by a certain Gupta holding a glass of water, or tea. And for your information, your ‘class’ is the only thing that I hated about you because it’s an idiotic, arrogant, ignorant and heartless idea.” Khushi snapped and slammed the glass on the table.

“And it gets frustrating because those compliments still suit you-” Arnav stood, soaking wet, as Khushi chose to speak to a wall instead of his face.

No one shows their back to Arnav Singh Raizada.

She never saw him approaching the bedside table.

“and your-” Khushi stiffened as Arnav emptied the water jug on her head. Her arms froze in mid air as the cold water seeped through her clothes. How dare he! Khushi turned and her wet hair lashed across his face. It stung, beautifully, and in a flash he pinned her against the wall, her wrists held in his hand.

“So I’m idiotic, arrogant, ignorant and heartless?” His voice was hoarse.

“You’re saying that.” Khushi countered, nibbling on her bottom lip. He brought her wrists down and held them behind her back in one hand. With the other, he freed her lip from her teeth.

“Don’t act smart.” His grip tightened against her wrist.

“Decide Mr. Raizada. I’m either brainless or smart. Not both, unlike you.” Khushi jut her chin out of his way.

“You seem to know me pretty well.” He stated.

“Of course.” Khushi smiled, for her it was her best quality that she knew this man - this infuriating beloved husband of hers - inside out. Which is exactly why they were having this argument!

“I didn’t know you still observed me-”

“-what’s there to observe about-”

“-so intimately.” He smiled.

“Oh.” Khushi gulped, it was not the soft lopsided smile that flutters to her heart. Nay, it was the crooked, barely there smile he would have when he’d unclip her hair - or take her against the dresser - the one that sent flutters right down to her abdomen.

Arnav freed her wrist and placed his palms on the wall, right next to her head. Khushi tested her wrists, slightly sore from his grip. Oh, she was so cross. Her lips were pressed tight, cheeks reddened and challenge swam in her eyes.

“What other things have you observed? Apart from the fact that I wear a lock around my heart, or that I should be married to my office - which I can’t because I happened to be married to you - or I’m an arrogant, ignorant prick-” The last words died as Khushi grabbed his face and captured his moving lips with her soft ones.

In a second his breath, control and heart knocked right off his body.

[Part 2]

#ipkknd #iss Pyaar ko kya naam doon #ipkknd ff #fanfic prompt #smut prompts #Arnav Singh Raizada #khushi kumari gupta #fanfiction #two shot #first time writing smut #please be kind #no idea what I wrote #one shot see red

[tickledpink31]

My tablet wasn’t working so behold a hand-drawing of my OCs

Let me introduce them to you:

Akane Hayashi from Ouran High School Host Club

Age: 16-17

Height: 157cm (5′2″)

Formerly known as Aisling by her birth parents

The adopted daughter of the Hayashi family

Deaf and speaks JSL

She came to life after I watched Amélie 

Affiliated closely with Kyoya

A talented engineer and botanist

Her parents are generous people and she’s no different

The Hayashi family are also a modest bunch and live in an apartment big enough for three people

Veronica Midford from Black Butler

Age: 19-20

Height: 156.5cm (5′2″)

I wanted to indulge in my love for reverse harems and time travel stories so Veronica was born

Prepare to be romanced by a demon, three reapers, and maybe I’ll throw in an angel

Descendant of the Phantomhives and Midfords (either from Lizzie or Edward, but not O!Ciel.)

Known as Lady Phantomhive by ominous people that she meets *cough* Undertaker *cough*

I kept changing her style before I settled with the short wavy look

A psychic like her ancestors as a side effect of the demon contract

Dresses in lolita, but her fashion choices look more mature these days

Her older sister, Beatrice, practices exorcism

I just realized I forgot to put the devil’s trap in her eye (Beatrice put it there for protection)

A charitable young woman who wants to help and will do it outside of the law if she has to

Much smarter than people realize

Fluent in 6 languages including ASL

Kaguya from Avatar the Last Airbender

Age: 16-18

Height: 165cm (5′5″)

Born in the era after Korra

I don’t really follow The Legend of Korra ever since the end of season 1 and I don’t really want to so I’ll decide what’s canon

Youngest of 10 siblings

Has been to the spirit world several times without aid

Travelled to Republic City from the Northern Water Tribe to attend the Bending Arts Academy and become a doctor

Invented a healing form of blood bending

Minerva “Minnie” Castillo from Obey Me

Age: 18-19

Height: 162.6cm (5′4″)

You probably know her from some of my posts so I’ll give you a brief rundown

She’s me but better

Why did I draw her eyes wonky?

I ship her mostly with Lucifer

Filipino-Canadian like me

A musical theatre kid

An identical twin, practically the Snow White to her sister’s Rose Red

Unwilling and chaotic mom friend

Planning never goes right for her so she’s in literally in hell

Lives in a van during her college life

Erika Matsumori from Harry Potter

Age: 11-16 (Golden Trio Era) 30s–40s (Post-Wizarding War II)

Height: 175cm (5′9″)

At the risk of getting attacked I am making not one but two Harry Potter OCs one of which will be paired with Draco

I am a recent fan and yes I’m aware how problematic Rowling is so don’t ruin this for me

This girl’s resting bitch face gives Blaise Zabini a run for his money

In the language of Hanakotoba, Erika means “solitude” explaining her solitary disposition

Her surname translates to “pine” and “forest”

Pine for the wood of her wand

Forest because back in Japan, Erika often ventured into the nearby forest to look for yokai

Erika has nerves of steel and an equally steely face

But she has a good heart underneath

Had a hard time making friends but Luna Lovegood was a good start

Ginny became her friend by extension of Luna but not without a few misunderstandings

A year younger than the Golden Trio

Dated Colin Creevey for a month before they decided to just stay friends

She’s a muggle-born Slytherin (I do what I want)

Although she’s a muggle-born, she grew up knowing about the wizarding world because her uncle is a muggle-born

Was once a student at Mahoutokoro (did you know students there start attending at age 7 but are not boarded until they are 11?) until she was expelled for associating with yokai

Moved to the UK with her uncle to attend Hogwarts at 11

Became part fox after helping a kitsune get back to their mother

Has narcolepsy and has plenty of vivid prophetic dreams because of it

Like a true Slytherin, she protects her kind, muggle-borns that is

She defended her fellow Slytherins before the Battle of Hogwarts

It annoys Draco that she just happened to catch his attention

Made love potions illegal as an adult

Like vixens, Erika goes to great lengths for her family especially her three children in the future

Kikyo Malfoy from Harry Potter

Age: 16–19 (mid to late teens depending on when the story takes place)

Height: 160cm (5′3″)

Erika and Draco’s eldest child and only daughter

She two brothers who are twins, Scorpius and Ryuji, they are both protective of their sister

In the language of Hanakotoba, Kikyo means unchanging love, honesty, and obedience

Not a Slytherin but a Ravenclaw, her parents knew that all along and they are proud of her regardless

Wrote a non-biased version of the Harry Potter series for the purpose of helping muggle-borns and half-bloods who are not aware of their magical heritage

Writes about Newt Scamander, her mother, and herself—a complete series in different points of views of all the houses

Has the ability to split into four different versions of herself (Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor) possibly even more

Wishes she has her mother’s nerves of steel

Has some kitsune abilities like summoning fire and enhanced sense

Marie Christen/Marjorie Calieus/Mar from The Arcana

Age: 21

Height: 151.8cm (5′0″)

I have mentioned my love for time travel stories and world hopping so prepare for another one

There aren’t a lot of world hopping fanfic for The Arcana so here’s mine…sort of

They are the offspring of two powerful magicians from far outside of Vesuvia

Their father travelled to our world and dropped Mar off at a married couple’s house in Zürich and was renamed Marie Christen

Mar is non-binary but goes by all pronouns and still responds to the names Marie and Marjorie

They have a birthmark on their cheek which The Fool symbol

Happily lives in adoption with her parents Eva and Liam and her kid sister Antoinette

Her familiar is a lamb named Edelweiss

Her biological aunt located Mar when they were 10. From then on, Mar made frequent visits to their aunt’s shop in Vesuvia to hone their magical abilities

At 12, they met Asra who was nearly 15 at the time

#my art #OC: Akane Hayashi #OC: Veronica Midford #OC: Kaguya #OC: Minerva Castillo #OC: Erika Matsumori #OC: Kikyo Malfoy #OC: Mar #ouran high school host club #ouran koukou host club #black butler #kuroshitsuji #avatar the last airbender #legend of korra #obey me #harry potter #the arcana