#I see benefits to both approaches tbh

[todayisawthewhxlewxrld]

I KNOW THERE'S SOMETHING RIGHT IN BETWEEN US!

I'M MOVING CLOSER BABY, WHY DON'T YOU SEEM TO CARE?

synopsis// “you’re going on a date?” “well yeah..it’s not like we’re exclusive or anything right?” “yeah..yes ofc not” “yeah” (prompt from @jasminesfury)

➚ pairing// choso x gn!reader ➚ word count// 3.2k

contents// suggestive—friends with benefits but nothing explicit/no actual smut, no curses!au, unknown mutual pining, both of u r just idiots tbh

notes// MY MAN MY MAN MY MANNNNN i need to get him pregnant soooo bad. on that note here's a low quality one shot from a low quality man. anyway! besides the prompt this was inspired by better by clairo (shivers)

Choso plops down next to you with a sigh, bringing the sheets up to cover his chest, and instead of cuddling up next to him like you normally do, you sit up and look around the room for your clothes. Once spotted, you snatch the sheets away from Choso and cover yourself with them, leaving him exposed instead.

“Y/n cmon,” he whines as the cold air leaves goosebumps across his bare body.

You hum, ignoring him as you slip your clothes back on, which quickly catches his attention.

“What are you doing?” He asks as he sits up and stares at you with half-lidded eyes; you’d almost consider them fuck-me eyes if you hadn’t already just done that.

"I'm getting dressed, Choso. What does it look like?"

“You’re not staying?”

"No, sorry, I know I usually spend the night after we..." You clear your throat awkwardly as you put on the last of your clothes. “...After we check in the benefits to our friendship, but I have plans tomorrow.”

A lazy smirk plays on his face. “You know you can just say after we fuck, right?”

"I'd rather not—I don't have a dirty mouth like you.”

“…are you sure about that cause you were just-“

“Do not finish that sentence if you ever want to see me naked again, Choso.”

“Got it,” he says, nodding curtly. “So what plans do you have tomorrow that are oh so important to be taking you from me?”

“Oh.” You look away, scratching your cheek awkwardly. "Um, I'm going on a date.”

Whatever small smirk Choso had been previously sporting falls—falls isn't even the correct word. It vanishes in thin air, one second there and gone the next, as quick and fleeting as the clap of a butterfly’s wings. “…you're going on a date?”

"Yeah, I mean..." Your head dips down, your hands now awkwardly fumbling with themselves as you look up at him through your lashes and mutter, "It's not like we’re exclusive or anything, right?”

"Yeah," he nods hesitantly, like he's not even really sure he should be nodding at all. "Yeah, of course not.”

“Yeah… Well…” You quickly clear his throat and approach him, planting a soft kiss on his forehead. "Bye, Choso, I'm gonna get going! talk to you later?”

“Talk to you later, Y/n,” is all he says before you’re rushing out of his house.

The slam of his front door has him gasping, belatedly realizing he had started holding his breath sometime earlier to begin with. Choso feels like he might just vomit now that he's all too aware of everything that just happened and everything that’s currently happening within him. He practically jumps out of bed, stumbling a bit as he pulls on his boxers on his path toward the bathroom.

He comes to a halt in front of his sink, immediately turning it on and splashing his face with water, as if that would actually do something to stop the way his heart is beating at light speed. Choso stands there, borderline waterboarding himself, for god knows how long, and when it doesn’t feel like his legs are about to give out from underneath him like he’s a baby deer standing for the first time, he turns off the faucet and groans.

He should’ve stopped you.

He should’ve told you that he did, in fact, actually want to be exclusive. And if he couldn’t have done that, then at the very least he should’ve tried to get you in bed again—he should’ve done literally anything just to keep you in his grasp and not in the paws of whatever filthy person you’re off to have a date with tomorrow.

but he knows he was playing a losing game all along anyway. It was only a matter of time before you got tired of this and called it off—yet Choso can admit he wished he had just a little bit more time with you before you went off and found something you didn’t know he was more than willing to give you. Choso has loved you from the moment he laid his eyes on you, and never in his wildest dreams did he think he’d have you in any way—but one day, to his amazement, you suggested this arrangement, and Choso was not about to say no.

He was not about to deny himself the only way he might ever be able to have you.

And now it’s seeming like he’ll never be able to have you in anyway ever again, and there’s nothing he can do about it—nothing he can do to make you feel the same way. But at least this was a nice way to end things, with one last hoorah. Choso can at least be happy at the fact that you gave him one last chance to adore you.

☆。*。☆。☆。*。☆。☆。*。☆。☆。*。☆。☆。

Your elbow is on the table with your cheek resting against your fist as you stare at the person in front of you who's talking about something you can't hear. not because it’s loud. No, your date made certain that it wouldn't be by bringing you to a secluded booth in the corner of a romantically lit restaurant, so that's not the problem.

The problem is you.

You didn’t even want to come on this date in the first place; you didn’t think you were actually going to have to end up showing up. What you thought would happen was last night when you told Choso he’d get jealous or do something, anything, to show you that he’s just as head over heels for you as you are for him, and then you'd cancel this date.

But no.

All you got was confirmation that you two truly are just friends with benefits—nothing more, nothing less. And really, it shouldn’t hurt this badly. It shouldn’t feel like someone’s just ripped your heart out and served it on a silver platter for you to watch as it bleeds out. yet it does. And even still, you can't help but be here thinking about Choso. You’ll probably always be stuck thinking about him. You've thought about him so much that you're convinced he's the only thing on your mind. A head filled with nothing but Choso; it's been that way since before you two had what you have going on, and you're sure it'll stay that way long after.

“You know you could at least pretend to pay attention, right?"

They roll their eyes when you do nothing but stare at them in stunned silence. "If you don’t want to be here so bad, why did you even come?”

"I-uh-" you swallow harshly. "I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

“Who are they?”

You stare at them blankly. Is it really that obvious? If you didn’t know any better, you’d think you have "I'm in love with Choso!” written smack dab on your forehead.

“You look miserable, and I'd like to think I'm not at full fault for that.” They tilt their head slightly to the side, unamused. "So, who are they?”

“You’re not,” you say, an apologetic smile being the only thing you have to offer them. “You didn’t do anything, really. I just.” You stand up abruptly and quickly exit the booth. "I should go.”

“Yeah,” they agree. “That’s probably best.”

"I'm really sorry again-"

They interrupt your sentence with an impudent wave of their hand, and you frown. But obviously, since this date was doomed from the moment you arrived, you ignore it, pushing their bitterness (though you can’t fully blame them) out of your mind and walking away. As you rush out of the restaurant, you immediately pull out your phone and call Choso. You’re not sure what you would even say; all you know is that you need to hear his voice. Who knows, maybe hearing his voice after that cluster fuck of a “date” will be the very push off the cliff you need to confess. The phone seems to ring for an eternity.

"Cmon, pick up,” you mumble to no one other than yourself and the ghost of the wind.

The line falls, as does your face. Okay. Choso always answers you. So why not now? You shake your head and call him again; maybe he was just in the bathroom or something. This time, the phone only rings once or twice before dropping, and that's when it hits you: he’s ignoring you on purpose. You stop in the middle of the sidewalk, staring at your phone blankly.

What the fuck?

Choso ignoring you?

That's unheard of; Choso would never dare ignore you, yet he is. You rack your brain, searching every nook and cranny for an answer, trying to recall if maybe you did something wrong. You two were fine last night after you left—at least, you think? You can't totally remember if you’re being honest. You’re brain checked out the minute Choso gave you confirmation that he doesn't feel the same about you. You groan to yourself. You have to fix this. First, you just have to figure out what exactly you need to fix, and if you don't have that information, you have a strong suspicion about who might.

☆⋆。𖦹°‧★⋆。𖦹°‧☆⋆。𖦹°‧★⋆。𖦹°‧☆⋆。𖦹°‧★⋆。𖦹°‧☆

The pounding of your fists on the door falls in tune with the pounding of your heart. You're about to start knocking again when you finally hear the faint grumble of someone from beyond it.

“What the fuck do you-“ He comes to a halt when the door swings open enough to reveal you. "Oh, it's just you.”

You roll your eyes. “Great to see you too, Sukuna!”

He looks you up and down, unamused. “What do you want?”

“Are you gonna invite me in?”

Sukuna looks over his shoulder at something—or rather, someone—before looking back at you. “'m busy.”

“Like the kind of busy me and Choso got going on or...”

"Ew, what the fuck?" He reluctantly nods, though his grimace is still evident. "I mean, yeah, but gross.”

"Okay, fine, whatever, I'll make this quick. Have you talked to him?”

“Choso?”

You nod.

“Uh yeah, I talk to his dumbass all the time.”

You sigh. "I mean recently, like last night or today?…”

Sukuna quickly shrugs before leaning against his door frame, tilting his head to the side as he asks, “Why?”

“I’m like…” You look away and mumble disappointedly, “...pretty sure he’s ignoring me.”

“Bro what?” Sukuna looks at you like you’ve grown two heads. “Choso ignoring you?” He snickers. “You sound fucking crazy.”

"Dude, I'm serious!” You snap, returning your gaze to him. “Watch, call him.”

Sukuna, unmoving, quirks an eyebrow up at you skeptically.

“Just do it, Sukuna.”

“Fine.” He lazily pushes himself up right and pulls out his phone. He dials Choso, and within seconds, Choso answers. "Yo, uh, I just wanted to see if you were alive." Sukuna shakes his head at his own horrible improv skills. "And I can tell you are, so I'm gonna hang up now. Ok. Bye.” Sukuna pockets his phone and stares at you blankly. "Ok, now what?"

Your jaw is dropped, and Sukuna is tempted to reach out and shut it for you. “He fucking answered you?!”

“Is he not answering you?”

“No! Why do you think I'm here telling you he’s ignoring me?” You quickly pull out your phone and call Choso. “Watch.” 

The two of you watch how the line almost immediately goes dead, and Sukuna holds a fist to his mouth to stifle his laughter (though it doesn't do much). "Bro, what did you do?”

"I didn't do anything!” You trail off unsure, "I mean, I don't think I did anything?”

“When's the last time you saw him?”

“Last night.”

“Ew,” he says, a grimace on his face as he shakes his head. "Okay, uh, what was it like before you left?”

“Fine?” You pause for a moment. "I mean, usually I stay the night, but I had to leave because I had a date today.”

“You what.”

"I had a date today."

Sukuna stares at you with narrowed eyes, hesitant. “Did you tell Choso that?”

“Um... Yeah?”

"Y/n, are you a fucking idiot?” He asks earnestly, like he genuinely wonders if you’re actually this stupid and is slightly concerned for your wellbeing.

You stare at him blankly.

Truly not a thought behind your eyes, he thinks.

“Huh?”

“Oh my god.” He begins to explain slowly, enuanciating each and every syllable as if talking to a child. “You tell Choso you’re going on a date, and then suddenly he’s ignoring you, and you have no idea why?”

“Thanks for the recap, Sukuna." You roll your eyes and cross your arms defensively. "What's your fucking point?”

“My point?” Sukuna shuts his eyes closed and rubs his temples, already feeling a headache coming on. “You know he's in love with you, right?”

"That's not funny, Sukuna,” you say, your jaw clenched tight.

Sukuna’s hands fall to his sides, and he leans back against the door frame, rolling his eyes before glaring at you, his head tilted tauntingly to the side. "No, it's not, especially when you're such a fucking idiot.”

“Stop fucking around, Sukuna.”

Sukuna stands straight up again, only to lean forward, his face inches away from yours as he studies it. "Do you seriously think I'm lying?”

“Obviously you are!” You exclaim as you push him back into place.

"Y/n, that dumbass is head over heels for you.”

“You don't know that!”

“Anyone with eyes knows that!” he sighs. “And besides, he’s literally told you he loved you once.”

"Huh?" You blink a few times, trying to remember if he had. "No, he hasn't?"

"Yes, he has.”

"I'm pretty sure I'd remember that, Sukuna.”

"Unless you were—“ Sukuna grimaces as he finishes his sentence,”—too fucked out to remember or hear him.”

Your mouth falls in shock. “He said it during sex?!”

"Man, I don't fucking know,” Sukuna says, his grimace growing deeper. "I didn't ask for the details; I hung up on him. What the fuck?”

“Oh my god, I'm an idiot,” you mumble to yourself.

Sukuna knows you weren’t talking to him, but he still answers anyway. “I know.”

“Fuck.” You take a deep breath and seem to come to a conclusion almost immediately. "Okay, this was very insightful. Thank you. I'm gonna go to his house now.”

"Dude, don't go unless you like him back.” He frowns slightly, and you and him both aren’t sure if it’s actually for Choso or just for the sake of acting nice. “Just give him space.”

“Of course I like him back!” you stress. "I only went on that date to make him jealous in the first place."

In an instant, Sukunas' face falls flat. "I'm not even going to say anything. Fuck you, get off my porch.”

and the next thing you know, he’s slamming his door in your face.

☆⋆。𖦹°‧★⋆。𖦹°‧☆⋆。𖦹°‧★⋆。𖦹°‧☆⋆。𖦹°‧★⋆。𖦹°‧☆

It doesn’t take long until you’re at Choso’s front door. In all honesty, you ran here. It’s not like Choso’s is very far from Sukuna’s in the first place, but you’d rather not waste any more time; you’ve wasted enough as it is. You knock softly at first, but when that doesn't seem to work, you full-send it and start banging on his door.

“Choso, open the fucking door and come talk to me!”

He doesn’t.

but you do hear him grumble from inside, “Go away, Y/n.”

“Stop acting like a child!”

That seems to do the trick, considering he flings the door open so fast it gives you whiplash. He stands in the doorway, shirtless, looking as disheveled as ever. You can’t help but stare at the way he makes looking messy like art. like every detail, from his frizzy, sticking-up hair down to the bags under his eyes, is purposeful. You don’t know how long you stand there just ogling at him, but you know it’s long enough for him to notice and call you out on it.

"Did you come here just to eye-fuck me or..."

"Right, uhm," you say, clearing your throat. “You were ignoring me.”

“Dunno what you're talking about," he shrugs curtly, looking away.

“Choso.”

“What?” he asks, turning his attention back to you with narrowed eyes, like he’s challenging you.

You narrow your eyes right back, your voice even as you speak, “You answered Sukuna but ignored me."

“Don't recall.”

You genuinely have no idea how he can stand here and lie straight to your face while looking you dead in the eyes. Does the man have no shame? (The answer is no, but you already knew that.)

“Are you serious?” You gawk before shaking your head; this is not worth it. “You know what? I'm not here to argue with you.”

This catches his attention, and as he stands up straighter, you can make out the slightest of glints in his eyes. “Then what are you here to do?”

"I love you.” After a moment, you add, “Too.”

Choso stands there, star-struck, his eyes as wide as saucers, and although you can't hear him breathing over the hammering of your own heart, you can see just how his chest heaves. You shift uneasily in place, his gaze piercing, and under different circumstances, you usually adore having his eyes on you with the way they make you feel like you're the only thing in his universe, but right now? Right now, it only serves to make you alarmingly aware of how you just laid out your heart to him, and he hasn't said a word.

"Choso, did you hear me?”

"Am I asleep?”

Despite your better judgment and jelly-like legs, you take a step forward and wrap your arms around his neck, answering with a small, breathy laugh. "No, Choso, you're not.”

You watch mesmerized at how his adam's apple bobs as he swallows harshly and mutters, "I'm not..."

“Nope.”

“And you love me?”

“Always have.” You look down and notice how languid Choso is in your hold, his hands at his sides rather than on you, and that just won't do. Choso does not keep his hands to himself, especially not around you. You make quick work of untangling your arms from his neck and grabbing his hands, placing them on your hips before returning your arms to their original state as you speak lowly, "I went on that date to make you jealous. I thought it didn't work."

Bringing up the date was apparently all it took to break Choso out of his trance; all of a sudden, his hands are exploring up from your hips to your waist, softly squeezing and pulling at the flesh as if making sure you’re really there—that he really isn’t asleep and having the same dream that he’s had for forever now.

“It worked a little too well, Y/n,” he says, chuckling.

"Yeah, I guess it did, didn't it?"

"Wait, how do you even know that I love you?” His face scrunches up in confusion. “I didn't-“

You cut him off with an awkward laugh. “Sukuna gave you up and called me an idiot for not seeing it before…”

"Well..." he half-shrugs innocently. “He’s kinda right.”

You roll your eyes. "Haha, you're so funny.” You clear your throat before subtly glancing to the side and over your shoulder, mumbling,

"Can you let me in now, though? Cause I'm pretty sure there's people staring at us…” 

©TODAYISAWTHEWHXLEWXRLD

#jjk x reader #jjk #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jujutsu kaisen x gender neutral reader #jjk fluff #jujutsu kaisen fluff #bimbo's one shots #jjk drabbles #jujutsu kaisen drabbles #bimbo’s one shots; jjk #jjk oneshot #jujutsu kaisen one shot #jjk x gender neutral reader #jjk choso #choso x reader #jujutsu kaisen choso #choso kamo #choso #choso jjk #choso kamo x reader #kamo choso #choso x gn reader

[sargeant-bxrnes]

all yours, always was. [austin!elvis x reader.]

summary: where you and elvis are past the friendship point by plenty of nights together and kisses shared, but not quite in the lovers stage yet. one day, you decide to push too far, and elvis snaps. turns out, that’s was what you wanted all along.

warnings: friends with benefits, possessiveness, jealousy, elvis being a condescending jerk, tbh. | SMUT: dirty talk, oral (fem receiving), fingering, orgasm denial, unprotected & semi-rough sex. [this is nasty, and i’m not even sorry]

word count: 4.9K [went overboard w this, oops.]

my masterlist!

my requests are open!

What began as nothing but a one-night stand after a successful concert, turned into a friend with benefits situation over a few months.

Elvis couldn’t get enough of you, and he’d turned you into quite the insatiable little thing since the first time he had you.

It was all secret, though. To the public and his fans, Elvis was single and ready to give an opportunity to a lucky fan.

Safe to say, (because it always happens in situations like this one)… over time, things between Elvis and you had started to get messier and much more difficult to handle.

You had started to look away whenever Elvis got closer to the crowd to flirt with random fans, not enjoying the sight — and Elvis had begun to notice the way his fist tightened unconsciously whenever any man dared to approach you, even when he was around.

That’s when it all clicked, fans expected flattery and men flirted with you because of a simple reason… you two were a secret. No one had a clue of what happened behind closed doors.

And the worst part? Elvis and you were just friends, right? So why get mad whenever someone else attempted to make an advance? Didn’t make an ounce of sense, and you both knew it.

Elvis had been getting ready for that day’s concert when he saw you, he’d been humming a tune but immediately stopped when his eyes landed on you and the summer dress you wore, the material fitting your body in all the right places, making you look truly dashing, just as he imagined you’d look when he bought the dress for you. You were breathtaking.

On the other hand, you were distracted looking around the stage, the place was huge and you couldn’t help but feel proud of Elvis, the place had sold out entirely, not a single seat had been left available. People truly loved him and his crazy ass dance moves.

Feeling eyes on you, you turned around. It took you a couple of seconds to find him, but eventually you spotted Elvis’ face peaking next to the curtain, not wanting to be seen by anyone else but you, even if the fans weren’t there yet, he wanted to be discreet.

He smirked at you, his eyes shamelessly trailing over your body before returning his gaze to meet yours, his intentions clear behind those beautiful blue eyes of his as he bit his lip.

He liked the dress. He really liked it. But not as much as he liked the woman wearing it.

You licked your lips and sighed, he made a come hither motion with his fingers, and now that the intention had been set, you perceived the lust lacing his smile.

With half your mind on it, you began walking amongst the growing crowd towards the backstage door, his guards recognized you by now.

You only took a couple of steps before you felt someone touching your arm softly, to get your attention, though.

Turning around, you met a soft-looking man, warm brown eyes, curly hair, boyish smile. You didn’t know him, but something about his presence made you feel at ease, he seemed sweet.

“Sorry if I scared you,” he apologized, a nervous sigh escaping his lips. “I just saw that dress and… god, you’re really pretty, I had to talk to you.”

“Aw, thank you!” you said with a genuine smile, your hand falling to his arm. “It’s nice, isn’t it?”

You knew what you were doing, of course you did. But it was time to test the waters, to see how far and deep you could go before Elvis snapped and either dragged you back to shore, or let you drown in your stupid actions.

Truth is, you were done with being his fuck-buddy, you wanted so much more, and if he wasn’t willing to bring the matter up by himself, you’d give him a little push, then.

Knowing that you were within his range of view, you kept the conversation and managed to give it a flirty twist, knowing fully well that Elvis was watching closely, and oh, he was hating every single second of it.

Elvis felt a warm, burning feeling invading his insides, it began in his stomach and spread all over his chest, leaving an uncomfortable feeling, making him dig his fingernails into his palm and his jaw tick.

He didn’t like what he was seeing. He wasn’t happy with the way you were smiling up at the man, or how he was looking at you, and God, he hated to see your hand on the man’s arm, fingers slightly squeezing his bicep.

It was too much to take, so before doing something stupid that could ruin his career and push you away, Elvis walked away from where he was standing.

“Gotta get back before my sister realizes I sneaked in without her,” the man, whose name was Alex, chuckled. “I’ll call you later, though.”

“Sure!” you said with an amused smile, although you weren’t sure what amused you more, his timid attitude or the fact that you probably wouldn’t be available later. “See ya, Alex.”

The man walked away, looking back at you at least twice before he made it to the exit and back to the hundreds of fans lining up to enter the arena.

With a satisfied smile in your lips, you turned around and made your way to were Elvis had been standing, he wasn’t there anymore, though.

You had no issues making it to the backstage area, and soon enough, you found yourself in front of his dressing room door.

“Come in,” Elvis’ deep voice welcomed you as soon as you knocked the door three times, letting him know it was you.

When you walked in, you were greeted by the glorious sight of him wearing his full concert attire, his hair styled as always, some strands falling to his forehead as the sides remained slicked back.

He looked really handsome, you couldn’t lie. The color of his suit brought out his gorgeous blue eyes, and the cologne that invaded your senses made your knees weak.

You probably would’ve knelt for him if he asked you to.

“Who was that?” he asked nonchalantly, focusing his attention on combing his hair in front of the mirror.

“Who?” you asked, genuinely confused for a couple of seconds before you caught up. “Oh, Alex?”

“So he has a name, then.”

Oh.

“I just met him,” you hurried to attempt to explain yourself, even though you had no reason to. “He liked my dress and—“

“Bet he liked it,” Elvis scoffed, looking at you through the mirror reflection. “He’d have to be blind not to, baby.”

“Elvis…”

“You can’t go ‘round, talkin’ to strangers.”

“What?” you grimaced at him, not getting his argument. He was being senseless.

“We ain’t sure of his intentions,” he explained, though the way he clenched his jaw was a sign that he didn’t feel like explaining his reasons to you. “He could be dangerous.”

You scoffed at his words, and the gesture didn’t go unnoticed by him, for he turned around to face you, his jaw set and a single eyebrow raised, silently questioning you.

“He was nice, you know? And kind too,” you said with a simple shrug, acting innocent to his accusations. “He asked where I bought my dress, just that.”

“You told him I bought it for ya’?” he questioned, voice demanding an answer. “that I bought it for you jus’so I could rip it off your body whenever I wanted?”

“Of course not.”

“‘Course not,” he echoed your words, slowly wetting his lips as he looked down at his shoes before raising his head again, holding now a new composure.

“It would’ve ruined the conversation.”

“Why is that?” he ironically asked and didn’t even let you speak before he continued. “Oh right, ‘cause you were flirtin’ with him.”

Despite the soft tone and smile that decorated Elvis features, you could see past that and notice the annoyance he truly felt, he wasn’t happy with you, or what you’d done.

“So what if I was?” for the first time in all the time you’ve known the man, you talked back without a drop of hesitation.

Elvis was speechless, and it showed in the way both his eyebrows raised as he opened his mouth to say something, except that nothing came out. He thought he had the situation under control, that he had you right where he wanted— but then you went and said that.

“What do you mean ‘so what’?” he was about to go on a rant, but you interrupted him before he could even get started.

“I’m not yours, Elvis.”

Elvis stared at you silently, and that was more dangerous than anything he could’ve said. He was glaring at you, but within the waves of anger, you perceived swirls of lust deep in his blue eyes. He nodded his head slowly as he looked away, clicking his tongue as his eyes fell back on you, looking at you one last time before turning around.

You had poked the wrong tiger.

“Get out.”

“What?”

“You heard me,” he rasps, his back fully turned to you. “The show is ‘bout to start, I can’t think straight with ya’ in here.”

“I- okay.“ you knew better than to argue with him.

“But you better be here by the time I get back.”

You nodded your head and silently made your way out, planning on sneaking into the crowd as soon as possible.

Elvis, on the other hand, was set on showing you just how wrong you were.

Elvis tried to not let what happened get to him. He tried to act normal. — The fans carried no guilt, right? So why should he behave any differently with them?

That was his thought process during the first 15 minutes of the show, he acted as his usual self, smiling, singing, swaying his hips at the beat of the music and sending ocasional flirty looks at random women on the audience to make them scream and blush.

He was trying his hardest to avoid looking at you, which you noticed.

He was doing a great work at pretending you weren’t there, but it was a genuine struggle. Elvis was so used to seeing you in the crowd, to finding your eyes with his, that it felt wrong to pretend you didn’t exist.

So, he acted mature and looked at where you stood.

And, remember when he was being decent? All those thoughts of decency got thrown out the window when he saw that fucking guy, Alex, standing next to you and whispering something into your ear— right in the middle of HIS concert.

From there on, there was no way for him to deny his sour mood.

The rest of the concert he spent dancing almost aggressively, singing certain songs with spite, and joking around, though it’s worth to mention his jokes were condescending, sarcastic even.

Anyone who knew him well enough could tell he was mad. And of course, you were the first one to notice. — Hard not to, considering he glared your way several times along the show.

Once the show was half a song from being over, you sneaked away from Alex’s presence and made your way discreetly to the backstage, to where Elvis expected you to be.

You only had to wait for 10 minutes before he walked through the door, sweaty, with heavy breathing, reddened cheeks and messy hair.

He was truly a sight to behold.

His eyes fell on you once, and that was more than enough to coax a smile out of your lips. A satisfied smile, at that. And boy, didn’t that piss him off even further.

He clicked his tongue and silently walked to the door, placing his big hand around the handle to close it shut, to get the privacy you’d certainly need.

“We gotta leave in 5!” A voice called down the hallway, right when Elvis was about to close the door.

Elvis audibly groaned and rolled his head around, closing his eyes and lowering his head as he exhaled heavily. What he wanted to do would definitely take more than 5 minutes.

Right when you were about to ask if he was okay, Elvis spun around to face you, a determined look in his eyes as he took a step closer to where you sat, offering you his hand.

“Let’s go,” he said angrily, not even looking at you but keeping his hand extended to you.

He was being a walking contradiction, and it’s safe to say you were slightly thrown off due to how he was handling the situation, but you knew that the best thing would be to listen to him.

You accepted his hand by taking it, he pulled you up with enough strength to make your body bump against his. He let go of your hand seconds after, but made sure to place it on your lower back as he walked you both to the exit.

People rushed left and right to pick up the scenario utilities, some of them stopped to take a glance at Elvis, but kept to themselves when they took notice of the way the singer’s bad mood— the way he pushed you around being proof of it.

You wanted to at least say goodbye, but Elvis couldn’t have cared less, when he felt you stopping and noticed the group of people in front, he huffed and applied more pressure on your lower back, forcing you to move.

“Goodbye, Elvis!” someone called, it was hard to tell who.

“Yeah.” he grumbled, walking to a chauffeur standing by the exit of the arena. “Could ya’ give me my keys? The Cadillac ones.”

You’d be leaving in his personal car.

The man seemed confused by the change of plans, but handed him his keys with a nod. Elvis grabbed the keys and hurried you both to the parking space where his car was parked.

Once you were there, Elvis opened the passenger’s door for you, offering you his hand to help you get in, you accepted the gesture while looking at him, but Elvis didn’t spare a glance your way.

When you were inside, he shut the door and walked around the car, getting inside and immediately turning on the car, remaining speechless and not staring at you, acting as if you weren’t there.

That’s when you knew you’d screwed up for real. He was MAD, not even playful mad, just plain out mad.

The drive to the hotel would’ve been peaceful under any other circumstances. But at that moment? The tension could be felt in the air, it emanated from Elvis as intensely as his cologne did.

His grip on your thigh was almost a bit too harsh, and you wondered if the tight grip he kept around the steering wheel didn't hurt his fingers— as his knuckles were white from the strain.

Elvis had always been a very talkative person with you, he always had something to say, an anecdote to tell or an idea to share with you. For that very reason, he knew damn well how crazy his silence was driving you.

But you deserved it.

“Elvis.” you finally said, staring at him as he drove silently.

No answer came from him, and if it weren't for the way his jaw clenched, you would have thought he didn't hear you.

“You know I didn’t mean to upset you, right?” your voice was soft and delicate, small even, devoid of the playful nature you’d had earlier. “I was just messing around.”

“Hm.”

“I didn’t mean—“ you continued, or at least attempted to before he interrupted you curtly.

“Ya’ never mean a thing, do ya’ baby?” he rasped out, an ironic tone bleeding through his voice.

Oh, fuck.

“Your hand just happened to land on his arm,” he kept talking, his grip around the wheel getting impossibly tighter. “Must ‘ave been a gust of wind, that made it land there.”

“I—“

“And that little smirk appeared on your lips, heavens know how, ‘cause ya’ didn’t mean any of it, right?” He was being sarcastic, but his voice and tense frame exuded anger.

“I- I don’t,” suddenly you were feeling very nervous, unable to get a proper hold of your words. “I didn’t mean it.”

“Hm.”

You weren’t sure of what worried you more, his short ‘hm’ or just how angry he sounded whenever he spoke.

But even through his act, you could see the real emotion he felt. He was jealous. And despite the situation, it was a good sign. It meant that the cared about you, that he actually gave a damn whether other people were interested in you or not, that the idea of losing you wasn’t of his liking.

Once at his place, the path to his bedroom was familiar to you, so much so that there was no need to speak or even look at each other, this was destined to end in one place, and one place only.

In his bedroom, Elvis latched the door shut, and still with his back to you, pressed his forehead against the door, and sighed heavily, as if he was trying to relax.

The thought that he might feel sick crossed your mind, after all, the amounts of adrenaline he dealt with after concerts were immense.

And as if he had read your mind, Elvis straightened up and turned to you, looking at you as if you were the only thing in the universe. You felt small under his gaze, and rightfully so.

“I’m so done with this lil game of yours, mama,” he assured you, both hands on his hips to enhance his attitude. “I ain’t playin’ no more.”

“What?” you questioned, genuinely concerned. What if he decided that enough is enough and decided to break things up?

“Get on that bed, right now.” he barked the order at you, nodding his head to the king side bed behind you.

He didn’t have to tell you twice, with your eyes still on him, you took a couple of steps back and took a seat on the edge of the bed. “Now what?”

“Imma show you how I’ve owned ya’ since the first time I had ya’.”

He sounded completely sure of his words, the dark look in his eyes was all you needed to know he meant it. Without noticing, you pressed your thighs together, trying to ease the tension.

It only took a couple of long steps for Elvis to be in front of you. Without another word, he leaned in and pressed his lips against yours, it wasn't a caress or a sweet gesture, his lips moved against yours with desperation, both of his hands were placed at your sides, trapping you between the bed and his body.

With one arm around your torso, Elvis moved you higher on the bed, his body following yours immediately, his lips still against yours.

His hands balled up your dress, trying to get it out of the way without having to separate from you, eventually, he got fed up and ripped the fabric off your body, tearing apart the dress that had started it all.

He slid his tongue inside your mouth, as he opened the clasp of your bra (which was located between your breasts), and threw the clothing piece away.

You fell back to the bed, and he followed suit. Immediately, you felt him hard against your thigh and thought you’d have it your way, however, his lips began to move down to your neck, to your breasts where he sucked and licked till you begged him to do something else, and continued going down and down, sliding your underwear down your legs on his way down, until his head was between your thighs, his face inches away from your pussy.

"I wanna taste ya’." he said, his fingers teasing the sensitive area, brushing against your clit and caressing near your entrance.

"Fuck Elvis, please," you begged and he huffed. "Just fuck me already."

That was tempting enough, but now that he had the upper hand of the teasing game, Elvis found it hard to let go.

"I want to eat you out," he said, caressing your thighs softly to relax you. "you're not gonna turn down what I give you, are you? You’re smarter than that.”

Fuck, that got you.

You opened your legs even more so he'd have better access, and you felt his smirk against your skin, as he placed a little kiss in the inside of your thigh.

"That’s what I thought." he teased, always with his need to have the last word.

He wrapped both arms around your thighs to keep them open and lowered his head, doing his thing.

His lips concentrated on your clit, sucking and circling it with his tongue, making you let out a moan you were ashamed of, because of how ridiculously loud it had been.

He let go one of your legs and placed it over his shoulder, using his free hand to slide it in between your legs and all the way inside you, while keeping his relentless pace with his tongue.

His fingers buried inside you rhythmically, they curled against your sweet spot right when he sucked harshly on your clit, and his tongue would twirl around as his fingers reached deep.

The sounds you let out, the way you pulled on his hair and clenched around his fingers were clear signals that you were about to cum, so what if he just...

He pulled out his fingers and removed his head from between your thighs, having the perfect view of your face, realizing that he'd denied you an orgasm.

"Elvis!"

"What is it, doll?" he asked innocently, licking his fingers, making your eyes roll to the back of your head in both annoyance and need.

"Just take me..."

“Hm,” he pretended to think about it, before plunging two fingers back inside you, continuing with his ministrations as if he hadn’t stopped at all.

He was doing everything he knew drove you insane. He curled his fingers in the right spot, kept the perfect speed and went so deep that his knuckles would disappear, his fingers coated in your wetness easing the work for him.

“See how well I know ya’?” he questioned, an undeniable cocky tone in his voice, his eyes drinking up on the sight of you, moaning desperately, arching your back as you tried your best to ride his fingers, but to no avail.

You could barely understand what he was saying, so lost in the pleasure, the ecstasy being almost a little too much.

“I know that if I curl my fingers here,” he emphasized his words by curling his fingers inside your pussy, the tips of his fingers pressing on your spot. “and keep ‘em there, you’ll be cumming all over my hand.”

He wasn’t wrong. You felt your release getting closer with every second that passed, and his cocky attitude was only riling you up.

“Please.” you begged, voice raspy after moaning so much.

“Now you’re being nice,” he had a shit-eating smile plastered on his face, a shame you were to fucked out to see it. “ain’t that cute?”

“Please, Elvis,” you begged, saying his name in the perfect pitch to make his dick twitch inside his pants. “I’m gonna cum.”

“Nah, that ain’t gonna happen.” he shook his head, stilling his fingers inside you.

“What?” your eyes widened as you looked at him in disbelief.

“The only way you’re gettin’ off tonite is around my cock,” he assured, pulling his fingers out of your wet pussy with ease. “Do you deserve it, tho?”

“Elvis, I’m sorry… I—“ you didn’t know what else to say, the absence of his fingers inside you being almost painful. “Please.”

He couldn't help but smirk, he had you completely under his control, had you begging and pleading for him, and that made him harder than he already was.

He began to unbuckle his belt slowly, letting the buckle rattle as it opened, slowly pulling the belt out of the loops as he stared at you, devouring your naked body with his gaze.

“Ya’ should consider yourself lucky I won’t have it any other way,” Elvis sighed, pulling down his pants and freeing his dick, which slapped his lower abdomen right after. “It’s my cock or nothing.”

That was a way to ask for permission, he wanted to make sure you wanted this to happen, because despite of how turned on he was, he wanted to be certain you desired him.

You nodded your head repeatedly, spreading your legs open for him, an open invitation for him to delve in. So he did.

A relieved moan left your lips when Elvis buried himself inside you, slipping in easily but still managing to stretch you out deliciously, as if it were the first time.

“You wanna be a good girl for me?” he asked right into your ear, giving you some seconds to adjust to his size.

“Yes, yes, just for you.”

“Then you’re gonna cum when I tell ya’ to.”

For a solid two seconds, you thought you would be able to meet the challenge - however, Elvis started to thrust and all your composure went to shit.

His eyes found yours as he took on a fast, hard, deep pace, the eye contact made you shudder, and a satisfied grin formed on his lips as his hips moved against yours- he felt and looked so good… you tightened your walls around him, causing him to let out an almost feral sound.

His arms caged you against the bed, his lips pressed against the skin of your neck and his pace fastened, your legs were over his thighs, so all he had to do to get a new angle, was to wrap your legs around his waist and push up.

Despite the fact that it was supposed to be some sort of punishment for you, Elvis was doing every single thing he knew drove you insane, getting his own pleasure by bringing yours to your body with every thrust of his hips.

“Such pretty noises you're making for me… am I making ya’ feel good?” Elvis didn't know where he got the control to keep teasing you, since his cock was so deep inside you that its outline surely bulged in your stomach.

“Y-yes, fuck, Elvis, ah-“ you couldn’t even speak properly.

“That’s right, right there, isn’t it?” he said with a satisfied smirk, as his hips thrust at a certain angle that made the tip of his dick make contact with your g-spot. “I am, only I can make ya feel this way, baby.”

“Oh my- yeah, yeah.” you nodded clumsily, probably not listening to a single word he said. And while it was an ego-booster to know he was fucking you so damn good you could barely speak, Elvis wanted you, needed you, to listen.

“Oh, you're enjoying this, aren't ya’?” he slowed his thrusts down to almost nothing, he wanted you to answer properly. “You like when I’m jealous?”

“If you keep fucking me like this,” you mumble, voice raspy as Elvis slows down to a stop. “I’m gonna love it.”

He wanted to be mad. You were making him jealous on purpose, even though you knew how much he hated it— yet couldn't deny your brattiness made him so horny, he wanted to fuck it out of you.

So he did, picking up his pace again, making your eyes roll to the back of your head, his lips sucking on the skin below your ear, before kissing your jaw and finally your lips.

“You’re mine, all fuckin mine,” he mumbled over your lips, his cock fucking you like never before, going deeper than ever. “My Y/N.”

“All yours,” you manage to say, your eyes snapping shut as your walls begin to clench around his cock, tighter every time. “always was.”

That’s all he needed to hear.

His pace changed, now his hips moved with a sole purpose. Making you come.

Not too long after, Elvis felt you clenching around him again, your walls tightening around his dick repeatedly, your moans had gotten high-pitched, and he was pretty sure he could feel your nails scratching the hell out of his back.

Knowing you wouldn't be able to resist much longer, Elvis cupped your face in his hand, turning your face so he could look you directly in the eye as he said it.

“Cum for me angel, c’mon.”

And as if your body was trained to listen to his commands, your orgasm came instantly, the wave of pleasure being so intense that your eyes rolled, your back arched and your thighs pressed against his body, your heels pushing against his lower back to drive him deeper inside you, if possible.

Being so deep inside you while you climaxed did it for him, and he shortly followed, spilling inside you as his hips stuttered in between thrusts.

To say you were exhausted was to underestimate the situation, Elvis fell on top of you, as you both caught your breath. He wanted to stay there forever, but it wasn't hygienic.

You were still too lost in the after high to notice he had stood up and walked to the bathroom, and it wasn't until you felt the damp towel between your legs that you reacted with a little hiss, the material of the soft towel making contact with your sensitive pussy.

Neither of you said anything. You were falling asleep, while Elvis thought about how to structure his statement without causing another fight.

Once you were clean, Elvis discarded the towel and walked back to bed, lying down next to you, the sheets felt warm and slightly damp with sweat, but he ignored it, he had more important things to concentrate on.

Your breathing was slowing down, he knew that if he wanted to say something, he would have to say it fast, so he forced himself to speak before it was too late.

“You do know this is so much more than just sex for me, don’t ya?” his voice, unusually small, asked as his eyes focused on the dark ceiling.

“I hope so,” You yawned, rolling your body on the bed to get closer to him, your head pressed against his arm, finding a way to cuddle against it. “Because it sure is for me.”

You were so sleepy, it was hard to know if you were even aware of what you were saying— regardless, Elvis was happy, he couldn’t stop the smile that took over his lips.

“Good,” he grunted and wrapped his arm around you, pulling your body closer so you could rest your head on his chest. “‘Cause I ain’t letting you go.”

#austin butler #austin butler smut #elvis presley smut #elvis presley austin smut #baz luhrmann elvis #fic rec #sergeant bxrnes #austin butler fic #austin butler fluff #austin butler fanfiction #elvis presley imagine #elvis presley fanfiction

[sea-lanterns]

Heya so I saw that ask about Hu Tao becoming a courtesan, and being unsure of how exactly you'd bring her into the Harem, seeing as she isn't exactly a significant political figure like Ningguang, or Eula, or the motherfucking Raiden Shogun. And so, I come to you with a proposal of a possible solution to this dilemma.

Now, imagine, in decades past the Empress' parents enlisted the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor (then run but Hu Tao's grandpappy) to arrange funeral rites for the Empress' grandparents. Perhaps he does so well with the funeral, that the Empress' family approaches Hu's granpap and asks how they could return the favor. Perhaps they sign a contract that, when both the Empress and Hu are of age, Hu Tao will become one of her courtesans, so that she won't be lonely when grandpap eventually bites the dust. Maybe, to explain why it's only now that she's joining the harem, perhaps in the midst of a tumultuous time for the royal family, the contract signed between the Imperial family and the Wangsheng Director at the time got lost, and/or the Empress' parents may or may not have ended up... forgetting about it due to internal issues at the time, and have only recently rediscovered its existence?

Just a little food for thought, hope this helps!

Ooh! This is actually a super creative way to include Hu Tao in the harem! Tbh, I was thinking of just…killing off the Empress’ father and have Hu Tao arrange the royal funeral (thus leading to a blooming romance between the two through grief and bond over loss) but this works really well especially with the use of contracts!

Since the Empress is from Liyue and Liyue is the nation of contracts, I quite like this idea since majority of the Courtesans joined the harem through contracts and legal benefits. It’s a pattern I like to include with the girls, so thank you for the idea, anon! I might have to write this in somewhere :D

#🫧feeding the fishes #empress au

[exeggcute]

your blog is cool and youre the only person on tumblr i really follow on tech stuff. is the transition to manifest v3 really worth all the hubbub?

first of all thank you! and second of all, lol. to be honest I haven't had a major eye on the v2 > v3 transition but you may be unsurprised to learn that I'm not taking hard sides here and am both slightly suspicious of the changeover and also less than convinced by some of the "this is the worst shit ever" blowback. not to suck google's dick either (unless any recruiters are reading this...?) (jk my least favorite person on r/technicalwriting works at google so unless you can guarantee that I will not come into contact with that man, it's gonna be a hard no) but to some extent I think this is one of those things where google, as the de facto governing entity for how internet browsers are designed[1] is, for better or worse, in the seat to steer the ship right now and inevitably has to make design choices that will shape the future of (how people will access) the web.[2]

[1] insert comment about firefox here but considering firefox is almost singlehandedly bankrolled by google it works out the same in the end. hence my perpetual dislike of the way-oversimplified "maverick underdog mozilla singlehandedly holding the line again google" narrative... go tell me where the money is coming from!!!

[2] also I know the W3C is the actual governing entity for internet protocol design and has influenced browser design on a more abstract level but that's still a degree of separation away and tbh I'm not super familiar with W3C drama. although I can only assume there's drama lol.

and google being google has both real and imagined interests in shaping the web by virtue of their other business ventures (e.g. but not exclusively e.g., advertising) and so I think some amount of blowback is gonna be inevitable when they propose Big Fundamental Changes. which, like, I'm the last person who's gonna say "no we should definitely drop our defenses and approach this without an ounce of skepticism" lol so I think the knee-jerk Uh Oh impulse is totally fair and maybe even warranted. but after the initial jerk I also think it's worth hearing shit out and, you know, on the face of it I can see why the changes outlined in the v3 manifest bring positive changes to the table. security and performance and shit. but security and performance are relatively boring selling points, and when google has earned a poor public reputation thanks to the other shit they've pulled I think it's understandable that even well-meaning changes will be met with general suspicion.

buuuut I still get irritated by the verging-on-clickbait headlines where literally every change about v3 is framed as "google is finally killing ad blockers" and then you read the article and ad blockers aren't mentioned directly a single time. like it'll literally just be about v3 lol. arguably I'm just being naive/willfully ignorant because of course it's all really about ad blockers since google is an advertising business and the other benefits are a smokescreen and blah blah blah but I do kinda feel like that borders on conspiratorial thinking, especially since ad blockers will work in v3, albeit differently, and google is actively working with/taking feedback from extension developers (including ad block extension developers). a lot of it genuinely just seems like "major version change will require significant technical work to implement, more at 11".

who knows though, I could eat my words :shrug:

kind of related but I was always kind of surprised by the amount of pushback against the web integrity API thing because I read the proposal behind it and it seemed pretty well-intentioned to me. granted there were some fair/serious concerns that even the proposal pointed out and a lot unanswered implementation details (and tbf it was a proposal/WIP) but I got Why they were proposing it, invalid traffic being the bogeyman it is. and like I am not a cryptography guy in the slightest but as I understand it the WEI was basically just an SSL certificate in reverse?

a lot of it makes me think about the web3 article from a few years back where a guy talked about designing an NFT that looked cool on various storefronts but looked like a poop emoji in your actual wallet after you bought it, which, in the process of trying to google it to link here, led me to this substack post where someone summarized it as "NFTs are centralized and no one cares." which is pretty much exactly what I was getting at (and why I thought about it in this context) with how even ostensibly open protocols can devolve into walled gardens built around those protocols with bonus features tacked on, if the protocols themselves don't offer those features out the gates (and enough people want them). idk. food for thought I guess. I really am just rambling here though so let me humble myself by reminding us all that I have a B.A. in english and love to speculate lolol. not an expert!

[obsoleteozymandias]

ay! could i ask for a twisted wonderland matchup? and if you're willing to do a matchup exhange, plz send in!!

i'm a she/her, and i'd prefer a male character plz!

i'm often described as an eccentric, humorous

and an optimistic person (it's just that i don't use my brain cells that much)

i get along with almost anyone at first, and i think that i'm kind of approachable

i get provoked easily, and i'll get into bickerings (i'll forget it off after 5mins in total)

i also have a bad habit of procrastinating important matters and hanging around instead until there's no time left <3

i can be dense to oblivious things

a bee was inside my can of sprite once and i almost drank it so i couldn't fear bugs more after that

i try to pass my fear of them by reading about entomology tho, so there's some development

if someone gifts me food, i'll pledge my allegiance to them/srs

zoology is my fav topic!!! especially penguins, i could blabber about their facts forever

i'm told that i have a laugh that makes you laugh too even if you don't know tf is funny

even though that i'm rather extrovert, but i'd prefer chilling in my room over hanging out

but tbh, if there's a banquet, i'm switching to banquet'ing mode

especially that i'm from an arab family so these are so often lol

honestly i become happy when people say that they weren't in a good mood but because of me it has gotten better, like i didnt intend to? but that's the benefits from being a clown friend i see

i have a scar in my nose that i got from a cat lol, when asked about it, i say it's from a hard battle i survived

thank you!!

I’ll for sure do an exchange! I’ll send you mine soon lol. Thanks in advance ;)

== Twisted Wonderland ==>

I match you up with…

Jamil Viper 

I imagine Jamil and you have some similar tastes, first of all. What really sealed the deal for me was the fear of bugs, as I can imagine one coming into a room and you both jumping up on desks and hugging eachother out of fear lol. 

But I think most of all, you’re the positive and upstanding influence Jamil needs in his life. 

You make him question the world with your strange or unusual hobbies, but you also make him laugh, and feel as though he could let his walls down around you. 

He’s also in dire need of some optimism, as he tends to be a realist with pessimistic leanings. But even if you don’t say anything, your presence alone makes him feel reassured, like there’s good in the world, and good in him. 

Jamil is all about making you food. He’ll act like he did it for everyone in the dorm and just happened to make you some, but you’ll see the small smile on his face as he watches your reactions, and you know he’s mentally fistpumping. 

Jamil will have immsense respect for the scar on your nose, by the way. He doesn’t need to know what battle or why or how, because to him, life itself was a battle, and he’s just proud of you for surviving it. 

If only someone (wink wink) would tell him the same thing. 

#twst #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland matchup #twst matchup #jamil viper #Jamil viper x reader #oz’s requests

[circulars-reasoning]

In-Sys Relationships: Ideas

Hello all! Circular here! I want to do a much larger post about in-sys relationships and how they're beneficial, but I thought I could share today a comment I posted on Reddit recently.

Someone asked for sources on in-sys dating. I decided to dig into it (which I'm paying for now, RIP my free time) and find some really nice sources! Sadly, there really don't appear to be solid studies on the benefits - unless we count the sheer amount of systems who have expressed how beneficial dating in-system has been for them.

I ended up finding three good sources, however, that related to in-sys dating in my eyes. I wanted to go into them here!

Long post under the cut :) Most of this will simply be copy-pasted from the reddit post, tbh!

Disorganized Attachment, Development of Dissociated Self States, and a Relational Approach to Treatment

This one discusses the close connection between disorganized attachments in childhood and the development of dissociative disorders, and further posits that a therapy model involving a relationship approach might be the best method for helping dissociative disorders. "The therapist can serve as a relational bridge between dissociated self states*, allowing the patient to internalize a working model of the therapeutic relationship." (*Wherein "self states" stands for, in this case, alters). I really like this source, as it discusses the idea that "Attachment, trauma and dissociation are all related issues in the treatment of survivors of neglect, double-bind relationships, and abuse." It clearly explains how disorganized attachment leads to dissociation, and further, alter splits. Where this begins to apply to in-sys relationships is where it begins to discuss the integration of self-states. The goal in therapy is to integrate alters, which means a lowering of dissociative barriers. "Dissociated self states incorporate incompatible internal working models, which are based on desperate, opposing attempts to protect the self from attack or abandonment... the patient cannot focus on the discrepancy between internal working models, and a cognitive interpretation will likely fall on deaf ears." Essentially, if you push for the more logical cognitive integration with a patient, it can lead to more dissociative barriers raising due to the patient being pushed into a corner. In-sys relationships would, therefore, result form those dissociated self states having compatible internal working models. Alters, finding a balance, and in turn, becoming closer together. This would likely happen after dissociative barriers were lower, and as a way to integrate personality states. Finding love for ones self when clearing away those cognitive barriers.

Dissociation, shame, complex PTSD, child maltreatment and intimate relationship self-concept in dissociative disorder, chronic PTSD and mixed psychiatric groups

Not gonna quote this one as much, don't worry. It discusses guilt and shame in disorders, and remarks how guilt/shame complexes are MUCH more prominent in dissociative disorders than in trauma/stress disorders. It describes how "dissociation is both an intrapsychic (way of relating to self) and interpersonal (way of relating to others)." AKA, the self-states we see in DID are not only there to isolate parts to handle trauma, but a way to isolate parts of oneself to relate to yourself; with disorganized attachment, it becomes more likely for dissociation to fragment the self into pieces who need to learn how to relate to each other in order to heal. (And well. Learn to relate to each other, most people find love or at least found-family in those they live with forever and compromise with). Dissociation is correlated strongly with a fear of relationships, so this study sought to see just HOW strongly the symptoms affected those with relationship issues. Unsurprisingly, dissociative disorders showed the most shame/guilt activation, more severe relationship anxiety, and issues with relationship intimacy. While this doesn't discuss the benefits of in-system relationships, I think it really explains strongly WHY they happen. Those with dissociative disorders struggle more than even other traumatized peers with relationships and being with others. Therefore, I don't think it's too shocking that a group of traumatized individuals who experience multiple self-states (personified in their heads vividly, with distinct personalities and traits, and seemingly stuck with these alters forever) to turn inward in their search for acceptance.

Stories of Survivors With Dissociative Identity Disorder: A Qualitative Investigation of Symptoms, Traumatic Experiences, and Relationships

Last official research, though I will say that this "study" is closer to observations from systems and researchers alike. This study calls into question the fact that most research on DID comes from patients who are currently hospitalized and/or in crisis, which is not representative of the full population of pwDID. "The purpose of this study was to obtain descriptive perspectives of survivors with DID, who are not currently hospitalized, and examine their relational experiences through the lens of a DID diagnosis (i.e., relationship to self and others)." The study goes on to explain what the participants expressed via their data gathering, including some very valuable data on symptom onsets, awareness of the disorder, abuse histories - it's really interesting! It explains a lot about the symptoms I commonly see discussed online, like over-sexuality (common in CSA victims) and Identity Discrepancies (Hello, all those LGBT+ alters). I include this one because, as noted here, alters are all part of one traumatized self. We often look at DID as a debilitating disorder due to that trauma, but those interviewed here were just normal (yes, traumatized, but not debilitated) systems. They remark on experiences with society's expectations for them, how misinformation has hurt them. With the isolation systems face daily, both due to their trauma and due to the way society looks at DID already, it's no wonder systems turn inward for comfort and love.

I only had about 2 hours to really dig into these, so I'm certain that I missed parts or could've found better sources along the way. I really hope there is more research into this. I've heard countless systems discuss how healthy it is, how therapists encouraged it due to the "love of the traumatized self" - and that disorganized attachment article really hones into the idea of loving the traumatized self. I think all three articles in conjunction really shows how much of a need there is for self-love in DID.

#In-Sys Relationships #In-Sys Dating #did #osdd #dissociative identity disorder #other specified dissociative disorder #osddid #system #system positivity

[moontheoretist]

(Screenshots are from anime: Kyou kara Maou!)

If only modern anime had the same approach to pairings as the old ones, some of those anime would be so much better. I have no idea why isekai became synonymous with female harem, but sometimes those harems are so out of the blue there, just for the sake of being there, that you get the feeling that they serve no other purpose than to pander to young men, while the story suffers, because some male character has more chemistry with the protagonist but will never be allowed to be seen as proper possible love interest for no reason.

People who know me will probably know what I will say now. Yes, Tate no Yuusha is one of those stories. That story is so much better when the protagonist either doesn't have any love interest, or they're from a different world than the one Naofumi was summoned to, as the huge part of Tate no Yuusha story is the fight between worlds for survival that creates a perfect simulation of Romeo & Juliet trope. Especially if you look at L'Arc the disaster bi who couldn't even fulfil the one and only objective he was sent to Raphtalia's world for: killing Naofumi.

Naofumi's harem is so out there, that it could as well just not exist. It seriously works thematically better as a father with a bunch of kids trope rather than harem, especially now in season 3 when Naofumi literally has a gaggle of children in his village that he basically raises.

Raphtalia then fulfills the typical trope of a daughter that idolized her father so much that she wanted to marry him. Her infatuation didn't truly disappear when she grew up, mostly due to the fact that she did grow up so quickly as a demihuman that her feelings didn't have time to fade. Most little girls at some point grow out of idolizing their dad, but Raphtalia as a demihuman didn't have the same chance. And I'm not saying it to dig at Naofumi x Raphtalia shippers. I don't condemn any ship and never will. I'm just stating how I see the story and what I feel would work better for this particular setting than forced harem.

Second on my list of possible suitors for Naofumi, when we assume that he wants any suitors at all or is not aromantic (as aro protagonist is also something that I'd want to see more often) is Therese. Hell, it'd be great to see a canon polyamorous triad in an isekai setting tbh.

Another good example is Isekai Cheat Magician, where one of the protagonists - Rin Azuma has more chemistry with Myura than with the second protagonist that she supposedly has a crush on. And ok, sure, she was in love with him for years, so maybe it's not fair to take it away, but at the same time the romance seems unlikely as Taichi doesn't seem to harbor the same feelings and treats Rin more as if she was his sister than a possible girlfriend. Even if I created a poly couple here, it'd always feel to me as if Taichi was a third wheel.

More obvious example is SAO, where love between Kirito and Eugeo is expressed in symbols as well as Kirito's heartbreak at the end of the Alicization Arc, but doesn't strike the audience hard enough to admit that Kirito is truly bisexual and that he loved both Asuna and Eugeo. It's there if you look at it closely, but people still deny it and call me names when I bring up that both Asuna and Kirito are bisexual and that both loved a same-sex character that ultimately died later on. I feel that the story hits harder when you say it was about queer love, especially in Alicization, because then it'd mean that there was huge romance drama going on (Kirito > Eugeo > Alice > Kirito), where all protagonists' love is unrequited. It's the most tragic love triangle.

I also mentioned a manga before that I feel would benefit from it too. Hero in that story is just such a worrywart in regard to the protag.

I'm seriously starved for some good modern isekai with homo or bi male protagonist. I'm getting some w|w recently, but I feel like m|m will never come, as if w|w were easier to get than actual m|m here.

I'm not complaining. I just have this feeling that isekai is avoiding true m|m and instead is only providing us w|w, which tbh we were starved for and want more obviously, but give us some m|m too if you please.

#tate no yuusha no nariagari #anime #writing #kyou kara maou #homosexual isekai protagonist #queer male isekai protagonist #sword art online #isekai cheat magician

[nebulacollege]

How do the Unicorns and Raven mutually benefit each other? And are there any other somewhat symbiotic relationships between dorms?

Yesss lore time god I’m glad I have some notes about this lol

Usually students of different houses don’t exactly mix up together, they don’t really trust each other? It’s nothing serious, they just like to stick to their own, so friendships between their dorms are rare, although not impossible. It’s super rare to see someone like Edmund with his harem, obviously, but just talking to “outsiders” is fine.

The Unicorn house and the Dragon one are the most “prestigious” houses, so their students are usually sons of the elite of the entire would. For “common folk” (it includes “common” rich boys, for the most part, or maybe even someone royal from a somewhat poor country) there are the Snake and the Raven houses. It might lead the first two houses to consider themselves better than everyone else, but this narrative isn’t very popular, except for the fact that usually parents try to shove their children there if possible, so no one is going to bully other students because of their dorm, at least because of financial reasons. For their typical personalities though? Easily.

This results in everyone viewing a Unicorn-Dragon friendship the most normal one and the most common as well. Nothing close, but being pals or hanging out together is not going to attract any attention. They’re not friends though! (So Niall-Ned combi is also rare.) They also usually perform their best at various events and competitions, so it helps them to bond on a metaphysical level lol Despite that, they constantly argue and compete with each other because both of the houses want to be the best and like to tell others what to do (and think they’re better at it).

But! Due to their differences, unlike the Dragons, the Unicorns also love gossips, showing off and stuff like that, and that’s when the Ravens come in. They’re the quiet ones, but they’re usually attentive and know gossips (and!!! dirt) about other students, and Unicorns fucking love this (it helps with their “politics” both inside the college and at home later after they graduate). Their dorms kinda represent the front of the society and behind the scenes, if that makes sense, but on a smaller scale. They also both love putting pretty stuff on their uniforms, which is technically prohibited, but they do it anyway, so they have at least this in common as well lol

You’d think that then the Snakes and Ravens can be grouped together, but it’s not exactly the case? They have some things in common (both of them are “losers”), but the Snake house is the most recent one and was founded 100-200 years later than the first three ones (I don’t remember the exact time sorry lol), so their connections to other dorms are not as strong as between the others, as well as their overall theme – well, “connections” and “trade”, seem a bit foreign to other houses, and that feeling never got away after another two hundred years. But! They know where to get stuff, how to get it AND can get it for you, but not for free, so they’re useful, but hard to approach despite their seemingly friendly and open personality. That being said, they’re like Azul on the loose with the amount of backstabbing these cunts could potentially do. Anyone from other houses can use their info and resources, but the price is also super high, so they’re not exactly popular, but at the same time? There’s a reason why they’ve never changed it, and it’s because it works perfectly for them :)

Edmund’s reluctant and tbh accidental friendship with Liam is the reason why other Ravens don’t really like him??? No wonder.

I don’t even know if I answered your question... but thank you for it~

#nc replies #nc lore

[thistle-and-thorn]

I just watched Katharine Hepburn's 1936 "Mary of Scotland" and I was a bit surprised at how pro Mary it was? I barely know the basics of the Tudors and Stewarts, much less any particular knowledge about the historical figure of Mary herself. What do you think of Mary Queen of Scots? What's your opinion on Darnley and Bothwell? What about Moray?

Buckle your seat belt. Of course I have unreasonably strong opinions of this. And I haven’t seen the Katharine Hepburn movie though it’s all my favorite things and people (1930s historical dramas, KH, Tudors) in one place so I should.

I think a lot of popular culture is very sympathetic with Mary…There’s the play Mary Stuart which I Love very much but is very pro-Catholic in its approach (in response to the playwright’s problems with German Lutheranism rather than Anglo Protestantism). There’s the tv show Reign (?) and the recent movie with Margot Robbie and Saoirse Ronan which felt very pro-Mary as well. And I sort of get it…like she was executed, leaving behind a young son, and she had many spouses and a cinematic life. The contrasts between her and Elizabeth are appealing—a woman married three times disastrously compared to a woman who never married, Mary being younger and beautiful and fertile, the irony of James I becoming king of England later, etc Some of the way that Elizabeth is portrayed in these adaptions reek of the ca 2011 Taylor Swift “there’s a special place in hell for women who don’t support other women” brand of feminism. Which is…not how monarchy works lol.

My personal opinion of Mary is that you play stupid games, you win stupid prizes. The more interesting parallel of Elizabeth and Mary to me is that they were both imprisoned at times when their religious affiliation and political position was dynamite. Elizabeth was imprisoned under her sister (also called) Mary, who was instituting an aggressive campaign of Protestant persecution, and Mary of Scots, under Elizabeth during a time of a lot of Catholic terrorism. Both were implicated in plotting to varying degrees of truthfulness and both were faced with a Queen who viewed them as existential threat because of their youth (and ability to have heirs), their sympathizers (including internationally, in Mary of Scots’ case), their claims to the throne. The difference is…Mary of Scots actually plotted to assassinate Elizabeth. The Babington letters and code are likely to be real. So. Like. There are consequences to that. I don’t know what to say. Elizabeth was extremely reluctant and cautious in handling Mary in the wake of her reign falling apart until she couldn’t be anymore. Elizabeth’s ruling style was very conservative…she didn’t make decisions quickly or lightly….which made her really, really effective but also could turn into indecisiveness and you see the benefits and detriments of that approach all over her handling of Mary. HOWEVER: You plot to kill someone, they’re probably going to kill you right back. So I’m not overly sympathetic with Mary in her political struggles tbh.

Her personal struggles on the other hand are different. Darnley was an asshole and killed her friend in front of her. This is wild. As to whether or not she had a hand in his death…like would we blame her necessarily. It is a 50/50 guess as to whether she was forced into marriage and sexual relations with Bothwell or not. Maybe she wasn’t but theres a solid chance that she was. These are horrible things and she was surrounded by horrible men who destabilized her position. That’s terrible and I’m sorry for it. I feel a lot of pathos for her personal life. I don’t have a strong opinion of Moray, except that I think he was smart about some things and stupid about others. He was a Protestant with a Protestant agenda and opposed Mary’s marriage to Darnley but knew enough to remove himself during Darnley’s murder. I don’t think he would have brought peace to Scotland lol. He had a habit of just…burning stuff to the ground lol. Which is a great authoritarian tactic and not maybe great for reconciliation.

Tracy Borman wrote about the gender of Mary and Elizabeth in a way which is sort of fascinating. Elizabeth played into her sexuality and femininity in certain ways—her dramatic dress, her appearance, and her flirtations with marriage and symbol as the object of courtly love. But she existed in a politically androgynous state—she was often called “the female prince,” drew strong parallels between her and her father, referred to herself as a King. She dominated the men around her in interpersonal interactions. She did not marry (even men she probably loved like Robert Dudley) or have children. Mary’s performance of gender was much more traditional and a lot of her biggest political disasters, like her marriages, are described as being the result of her passions and being “weaker” than the male power players around her. Elizabeth’s refusal to have heirs prevented immediate instability while also causing a lot of uncertainty. Mary’s son provided a future in a way, but also was the result of terrible persona situations that contributed to her downfall. No woman can win lol. I think we see this gender contrast, in some ways, in how they’re treated in fiction.

anyway, thank you for indulging!

#asks

[summerwritesfics]

🌎Born From The Sea And The Waves

Pairing: Shang Tsung/Kuai Liang Length: 3107 Words Rating: Mature Warnings: Pirate/Merpeople AU, Pirate!Shang Tsung, Merman!Kuai Liang, Pirate!Quan Chi, Minor Character Death, Captivity, Rescue, Abduction, Magic, Language Spells, Deals

Meanwhile In Another Universe Masterlist

Notes: This has been sitting in my drafts for like a month honestly, so… Haha. I feel like Kuai came out vaguely threatening in this, he’s just a bit devious and willing to play Shang Tsung’s games until he can come out on top tbh. Title is from “Goddess” by Cepheid.

“Don’t leave anyone alive,” Shao ordered as Shang Tsung surveyed the situation on the deck.

The majority of the ship's crew had been dealt with, corpses littering the floor to the point it was hard to step over them all. Still, it was necessary. This ship supposedly was carrying great treasures, and Captain Shao had wanted to claim it for his own. Somehow, despite the nature of the ship's cargo, it seemed no one had expected a pirate attack, leading to one of the easiest takeovers Shang Tsung had ever experienced.

Still… That did make Shang Tsung dubious on if what they’d find in the cargo hold was worth it after all.

“Shang Tsung, Quan Chi,” Shao directed towards the two men, they both straightened up and stood to order. “With me. Let’s go see what this ship was carrying.”

“Yes Captain,” they replied in unison.

As Shao made his way past them towards the trap door to the hold, Shang Tsung shot Quan Chi a look. Neither of them particularly liked being subordinate to the brute of a captain, but it was undeniable that this was a better position than most in their profession. Since Sorcery had been prohibited, they only had the choices of suppressing their gifts or becoming outlaws. Shao had been eager to get magic in his arsenal, and so mostly let them do whatever they wished aboard his ship or during their rare expeditions on shore. Hell, if they were lucky and the Captain was feeling particularly generous they may even get some of the riches within this cabin.

For now, this position benefitted them, but that didn’t mean it would forever. They just had to bide their time.

Regardless, they both turned to follow their Captain. He’d already opened the trap door, and was making his way down the stairs. Shang Tsung and Quan Chi followed him down into the darkness, lit only by the light let in from the trap doors, and a few cracks in the wood. Shang Tsung flicked his hand, and several lanterns within the hold flickered to life. They didn’t add much light, but enough for them to see what was in the hold.

Or rather… to see the hold was more or less empty.

Oh I knew it. There’s nothing even here. There weren’t even any boxes, just something at the very end of the hold covered by a large cloth.

“What a bountiful treasure,” Quan Chi sarcastically commented, wandering around the room and folding his arms over his chest. “I can barely move there’s so much.”

“I do not understand,” Shao growled, head jerking around and teeth bared. “I was assured there was a particularly rare treasure on this ship.”

Shang Tsung’s eyes landed on the large cloth, and he raised an eyebrow. Rare treasure. Not treasures. Maybe whatever it was would be under the cloth. He went to approach it, blocking out Shao and Quan Chi bickering between themselves on how they could have been fooled so easily. The cloth was within reaching distance, and he grabbed at it, gently pulling until it slowly cascaded down and onto the floor. Underneath was a glass tank of some kind, completely filled with water.

It was what inhabited the tank that was truly interesting.

At first glance, you would have thought that it was a human man. That would be until you’d see the large fish tail, adorned with beautiful yellow scales, and the gills on the sides of his neck. His dark hair floated within the water like it was liquid itself. His head was hung low and eyes closed, but Shang Tsung could make out a muzzle or something strapped to his face. In fact, he had cuffs around his neck, wrists and the end of his tail, all attached to chains linked to the bottom of the tank. They barely gave the poor creature room to move, and what he could see of the skin underneath the cuffs looked red and raw.

Shang Tsung ran his hand along the glass, slowly getting onto his knees.

“Hello beautiful,” he half whispered, eyes captivated by the sight in front of him. Oh, I was so wrong. This was indeed a rare treasure, far more so than any amount of gold would have been.

“Is that a Mermaid?” Shao questioned, and Shang Tsung could hear two sets of footsteps approach him.

“Well, a Merman, by the looks of it,” Quan Chi confirmed quietly. Shang Tsung could see their faces reflected in the glass. Quan Chi looked shell shocked, he would be as aware as Shang Tsung was of the significance of what was in front of them.

“That is the great treasure?” Shao snarled, he looked far less impressed than either of his companions.

“Captain, I do not think you understand what you are looking at here.” Shang Tsung’s eyes never left the creature in front of him. He was captivated. Stories of Merpeople always told of their otherworldly beauty, but he could never have imagined just how stunning one would look in the flesh. “Merpeople have long been the subject of myth and legend. Many sailors and pirates have claimed to see them, but none have ever been captured for study.” He laughed under his breath, using a finger to trace the merman’s form. “A living Merman. Oh, he could bring us so much power. People would kill just for a glance at his beauty.”

“Are you sure he’s alive?” Quan Chi asked, tilting his head slightly. “He hasn’t moved at all.”

Shang Tsung blinked, that was a good point. He clenched his hand into a fist, and gently knocked on the glass. As if awoken from a deep slumber, the Merman’s head jerked upwards, his eyes shooting open. Two yellow eyes with slit pupils stared at Shang Tsung from the other side of the glass. His eyes were wide, as they darted around slightly, like he was trying to work out what he was looking at.

Suddenly he began to thrash, the chains and cuffs keeping him mostly in place.

Shang Tsung pressed his hand against the glass again as he whispered “shh, it’s okay, settle down now.”

The merman didn’t listen, just continued to try and break free of his confines. Shang Tsung clicked his tongue, he needed to find a way to calm the poor thing down. He stood up, looking towards the top of the tank and trying to find how to open it. There were no obvious latches. Had they ever intended to let this unfortunate creature out?

“We need to find a way to get him out of there,” Shang Tsung summarised, still trying to look for a way to get into the tank.

Captain Shao groaned loudly, and Shang Tsung turned just in time to see him grabbing his warhammer and lifting it. Shang Tsung’s eyes widened as he realised what he was about to do. He just about managed to dive out of the way of Shao’s swing as the hammer went slamming into the glass. The force was so great it shattered instantly, sending the water pouring out onto the floor.

The merman ended up on the floor of the tank, breathing heavily as he tried to adjust to the air. His wet hair hung over his face, but even so, Shang Tsung could see those yellow eyes looking at them with suspicion and fear.

Shang Tsung stepped back up to approach it. The merman yelped and tried to pull back, once more stopped by the bonds.

“Shh, shh, it’s okay, I won’t hurt you,” he tried to say softly, but if the merman could understand him it didn’t do much to help. He reached to the back of the merman’s head, finding the straps of the muzzle and carefully undoing the latch. Despite the struggle, he was able to pull it from the merman and reveal the rest of his face.

There were thick red marks where the muzzle had clearly been cutting into his skin, but other than that, he could now take in just how spectacular this creature was. His face looked like it had been carved by some divine being, features somehow strong yet soft looking. Something Shang Tsung hadn’t noticed before was a large barely healed scar over his one eye.

The merman snarled at him, before speaking in a strange language that Shang Tsung did not recognise.

“Do you understand me?” He asked, but the merman didn’t react. Hm, well, at least the stories of Merpeople being able to speak human languages seem to be untrue. 

He reached forward, taking the merman’s face in his hands. Fingers reached behind one of the mermaid’s ear’s, letting his magic flow and brand his flesh. The merman screeched, attempting to pull away from him, but Shang Tsung held him tightly, refusing to let him.

“I know, I know, just a little more.” Finally his spell was complete, and he let the merman jerk away. “There, you did so well.”

The merman’s eyes widened, and his eyes shot up to Shang Tsung’s face. He spoke in that language again, and while Shang Tsung didn’t know for sure what was said, he could at the very least tell it was a question. No doubt about the fact that he could now understand Shang Tsung as clear as day.

“One more spell, okay beautiful?”

He grabbed the back of the merman’s neck with a single hand, once more he tried to pull away from him. As the fingers on his free hand made contact with the delicate skin around the merman’s Adam’s apple, he could feel the merman begin to shiver. Once more, the magic flowed, and this time the merman whined as slowly a green symbol began to burn itself into his throat. The merman’s cries got louder and louder, his tail trying to fight the chains that held him.

And just like that, once more the spell was done. Shang Tsung released the merman, letting him shuffle back once more. If the chains were long enough, the merman would have no doubt reached to rub his neck, but they were far too short to even let him bend his elbows.

“What was-“ The merman paused, eyes widening in horror as he realised those two words had just come from his own mouth. Shang Tsung almost winced at the venomous glare he was given. “What did you do to me?”

“Just a few spells to allow for easier communication between us,” he assured him, but the merman didn’t seem to be having it. “Language spells. One so you can understand us, and one so we can understand you. Nothing terrible.”

“I do not wish to speak your filthy language, land-dweller!” The merman’s tone was as bitter as his stare. “Return to me my real voice.”

“Or what?” Shao questioned, glaring the merman up and down. “You are in a pitiful situation, creature. You are no threat to us.”

The merman spat at Shao’s feet. “I will drag you to the bottom of the ocean with me, scum!”

“Now, now, gentlemen, there’s no need for all this,” Shang Tsung interrupted, hoping Shao was not about to bring his hammer out again. He turned to the merman. “I believe there is a misunderstanding, we are not the ones who captured you.”

“That does not matter.” The merman bared his teeth, and for the first time Shang Tsung could really see just how sharp they were. Well, he guessed the species needed a way to tear through the flesh of the fish they ate. “All that live on the land have no regard for the beings of the ocean.”

“We are different from most land-dwellers.” His claim just made the merman scoff. “We have been cast out from the land, the ocean is our home and our freedom.” He chanced reaching his hand forward, brushing some of the merman’s hair out of his face. “We respect that which gives us refuge.”

The merman’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t speak. While the trust was clearly not there, the fact the merman allowed Shang Tsung to gently pet his hair was a signal he was maybe at least willing to hear them out.

“What is your name?” Shang Tsung asked, watching as the Merman fought the urge to lean into his hand.

“Kuai Liang,” he mumbled in response, closing his eyes as he did. “My name is Kuai Liang.”

“Kuai Liang,” Shang Tsung repeated, the name sounding melodic on his tongue. Truly a beautiful name to fit such a beautiful creature. “How exactly did you end up in this position?”

Kuai Liang’s face screwed up slightly but his mouth was tight. Eventually a single eye opened and he explained “my brother was caught in a net, I went to rescue him, only to get tangled in it instead. He could not reach me before I was dragged above the waves.” He shifted slightly, once more pulled against the chain. He grimaced as he looked down at the bonds. “The men who pulled me aboard their ship… I could not understand them. But they passed me on to other men, who put me in here.”

“Then I suppose if you could not understand them, you do not know what they were going to do with you?” He asked, and Kuai Liang shook his head in confirmation.

“What are we going to do with him?” Quan Chi suddenly asked, and Shang Tsung just about managed to tear his eyes away to look at his crewmate. Shao clearly opened his mouth to reply but Quan Chi cut him off with “selling him off is not a viable option. Anyone who would pay what he’s actually worth would not do business with the likes of us.”

Kuai Liang hissed and jerked back. Well, there went any progress Shang Tsung was making on getting him to trust them.

“Easy.” He pulled Kuai Liang back towards him, once more stroking his head to try and calm him down. “Maybe we can come to some kind of arrangement that would benefit us all.”

“Arrangement?” Kuai Liang growled. He moved his head forward and Shang Tsung stilled, thinking he was possibly lungeing to take a bite out of him. However, instead, Kuai Liang just rested his forehead against Shang Tsung’s shoulder, shuddering slightly as he did. Hm, maybe we didn’t lose his trust after all. 

“Yes, an arrangement.” He ran a hand down Kuai Liang’s spine, feeling its subtle curve. Despite looking somewhat scrawny, he could feel powerful muscles under Kuai Liang’s skin. “They say a merperson’s voice can enchant even the most hardy of men.”

“No.” Kuai Liang’s short answer caught Shang Tsung off guard. Initially he believed the merman was just flat out refusing to come to an agreement, until Kuai Liang pulled back and looked Shang Tsung in the eye. “It is sirens who possess those abilities. I am not a siren.”

“I see.” He clicked his tongue. Well, he was learning from this, he supposed. Siren’s and Merpeople were two different species, and given Kuai’s sharp reply they didn’t like being mixed up.

“If it is an arrangement you wish, then allow me to propose this.” Kuai Liang shuffled forward, or as forward as the chains allowed. “Release me, and I can guide your crew to treasure your kind has only ever dreamed of.” His mouth quirked upwards into a smile. “Land-dwellers do so love their trinkets. And I know of so many, untouched for centuries, waiting for someone foolish enough to search for it. Impossible to reach, unless you have a guide, like myself.”

“What kinds of treasure are we speaking of?” Shao asked. Of course that would get his interest. Although, Shang Tsung had to admit, his curiosity was also peaked.

“Gold coins, jewels worn by monarchs long deceased.” Kuai Liang’s eyes flicked over towards Shang Tsung and Quan Chi, eyes narrowing slightly. “Magical artefacts with power beyond anything you could possess now.”

“What are your conditions?” Shang Tsung was not a fool. This all sounded so tempting, far better than if they’d just found actual treasure in the hold instead. But that was the point. It sounded far too tempting, far too generous for what the merman would get in return. “Because I doubt you would give us such information for your freedom alone.”

Kuai Liang tilted his head slightly, those golden yellow eyes staring him down.

“You say you are different from other land-dwellers.” Kuai’s mouth split into a grin. “Then prove it to me. Show me how much better than the average men you all are.” The way Kuai Liang looked at him, it was clear he knew they were no better than any other man. He was giving them a task he knew they would fail. “I will take you to all the treasures your heart can desire, so long as you display your so called superiority.”

“You are a devious thing, aren’t you?” Shang Tsung fondly commented. He had to admit, he liked Kuai Liang’s style. He’d make a good pirate in another life. “Fine, we’ll agree to your conditions.”

He half expected an objection, at least from Shao. He wasn’t usually the type who liked other people taking the lead. It seemed the promise of treasures was more than enough for him to agree.

“Excellent,” Kuai Liang purred, gesturing with the chains.

Shang Tsung didn’t need to be told what the hint was. He held onto the chains, once more letting the magic flow. After a bit of resistance, the cuffs unlocked and fell off to the floor. Kuai Liang lifted one of his hands and looked at his wrist. It looked very raw and painful, but Shang Tsung was sure a bit of ointment would help it heal nicely.

He reached forward, hooking his arms around Kuai’s torso and waist before hauling him off the floor. The merman wrapped his arms around Shang Tsung’s neck. Looking at his face, he looked incredibly smug, like he’d just won some sort of game. In a way, Shang Tsung believed he may indeed have done so.

“Gentleman,” Shang Tsung addressed to Shao and Quan Chi rather than dwell on the strange feeling that Kuai Liang had them all at his mercy. “Treasures untold await us.”

The three of them laughed, stalking off to return to the deck and then their own ship. Still, as Shang Tsung observed the merman still in his arms, and the gleeful mania shining in his eyes, he began to get the sinking feeling they may have been making a terrible mistake.

#mortal kombat #kuai liang #sub zero #scorpion #shang tsung #kuaishang #🌎meanwhile in another universe

[cerealmonster15]

ALL OF HEARTSLABYUL FOR UNHINGED CHARACTER BINGO‼️‼️‼️

VIBRATES AT A NORMAL SPEED I AM SO NORMAL ABOUT HEARTSLABYUL LET'S GO

[bingo link!]

actually. using a readmore bc there are Five Character Bingos and i like to talk under all of them LOL

RIDDLE RIDDLE BELOVED BABY SON RIDDLE:

[TWO BINGOS i forgot to cross them tho lol] thats my baby son BOY!!!!! I FUCKING LOVE RIDDLE ROSEHEARTS HES MY BABYYYYY!!!!! riddle was one of the first characters i told my partner about when i was trying to explain twst to him and we very often refer to it as Riddle Game jfksjkfl. for my birthday and stuff sometimes my partner gets me riddle themed things - i have a riddle little guy hanging on the wall and my partner found his union bday jacket patches that i bought a jacket to go with and im... EVENTUALLY going to sew them on so ill have a RIDDLE JACKET [rn theyre pinned to it i just have to take my damn sewing machine out and DO IT!!!!] i love him DEEPLY and i relate to him on . some personal levels. DONT WORRY ABOUT IT but he is my special little boy with so many problems but he has also GROWN and i AM SO PROUD OF HIM AND WHWUWHFEHHRGH hes made FRIENDS 😭😭😭😭😭 hes such a wild little firecracker and I can and will talk about riddle FOREVER. forcibly cutting myself OFF bc we have MORE CHARACTERS to go!!!

also i think riddle probably needs a hug and would benefit greatly from it but would also Not Be Adjusted to hugs you must be GENTLE with your approach or he will BITE!!!

JUICE SPADE LIGHT OF MY LIFE:

this made me realize hes actually probably one of the more well adjusted characters in twst jfkldjsfklds hes a good boy!!! he loves his mom and his mom loves him!!! hes doing his best!! he loves his friends even if sometimes hes shy about it lol!!!! i didnt circle the therapy one even tho tbh i feel like everyone in twst could deeply benefit from it i jsut jklfdsj feel like that square is reserved for the more Severe Cases of Needing Issues Sorted jlkdsfkld. and obviously i want him to be happy but i feel like he mostly already is!!! anyway. my absolute baby of boys. i think i have the most SSRs of him than any other character in my game kfjsdjklfj he was my first freebie ssr dorm card and i work at trying to get it uncapped as much as possible i want juice to be my STRONGEST BOY!!!!!! I LOVE HIM ID KILL FOR HIM THATS MY SON!!!! ill marry his mom if thats what it takes to Make Him My Son For Real fjsdkfjklefjskldjflJKLSDJKKFLJSDKLFJ

moving ON!!!!

CAY CAY DIAMOND MY BELOVED CAYCAY:

[TWO BINGOS AGAIN] caycay is both FUN IN THE SUN but also. melancholic enigma. hes got some Issues going on below the surface that's like blink and u miss it since it's mostly only breadcrumbed in a few side stories but enough to make us like HEY whats going ON over there!!! but not too much to have me be like HORRIBLE SAD FOREVER BOY either. i think it's like. a mixed situation. but mysterious enough that we just dont know how far it goes. he's deeper than he seems and that's INTERESTING. but ALSO on the surface he IS a very fun goofy guy that loves his friends!!!!!! god i have very specific feelings about him and also. relate to him in certain ways Dont Worry About It but fjksdjlkfsd i love him. i want him to be happy. i have a Very Specific Way that i see his character and i turn into a rabid beast when i feel like people dont quite GET IT!!!! but sometimes thats a me problem LOL. other times tho. other times im like Did You Read The Same Game I Did Bc I Dont Think You Did RIDDLE AND CATER ARE FRIENDS IM GONNA BITE PEOPLE THAT THINK THEYRE NOT anyway. im very normal about cater diamond and his relationship to heartslabyul.

basket ball baby boy ACE:

i feel like it doesnt come across as much bc outside of my screaming about heartslabyul as a Unit i dont really scream about ace by himself ksldfjs but i actually really love ace a lot LOL hes SUCH a funny little guy. definition of a rascal and a shithead JFKSLJFSJK but i love him actually. i think it took longer for me to like him at first bc hes kind of a bitch but i quickly realized "oh this is villain school for villains and Everyone Is A Bitch" LOL and it's so fun. love that for him. ace is a little bastard who loves to cheat and lie and it's so funny thinking about that just Being His Thing. im obsessed with how in book 3 they were like "we need to sneak our way into the museum" and im p sure ace was like "yea let me lie my way through distracting the guard you guys wouldnt stand a chance you need my lying powers" and hes RIGHT. but also i think hes a really good boy when it counts 😭 hes a BASTARD but he LOVES HIS FRIENDS. Like he and juice are SO ride or die with the main character theyre the BESTIE TRIO + GRIMMY... THEY LOVE EACH OTHER!!! they took PUBLIC TRANSIT to come save MC when we called them in book 4 and then never answered again lkdfsjj and they were WORRIED when we vanished in book 6 + were up in arms about grim getting captured bc THATS OUR SILLY LITTLE CAT!!! and also in book 6 [many book 6 feelings SORRY a LOT happened in that book that ill never be over omg i love it so much] UM UM UM i love how when everyone is like "oh ill give my money to ramshackle!!" ace was like "well im not" LOL hes so funny. but like he was also really nice to juice i think 😭 like juice was feeling the moral dillema of "my mom and i could really use that money but i feel like i have to donate to my friends shitty dorm like everyone else" and ace was the one that told him like "dude dont worry about it you dont gotta be a hero. im keepin my money cuz i want cool shoes. ur fine." and like. it was silly but sweet 🥺 or like in fairy gala 2 when he went to go check on ortho..... sweet boy... ^ love that i rambled More about ace than the others im def more insane about fklsdkjfdlsjf ace is that sleeper character that Gets Me when im not expecting it LOL also i just dont talk about him as much so i didnt cut myself off immediately LOL i could def go longer about the others. forever.

OK ANYWAY TIME FOR TREY:

i also dont talk as extensively about trey but Love Him dearly. all the heartslabyul boys got that "if anything happens to them ill blow up" "id kill anyone who hurts them" and "id take a bullet for them" BC I LOVE HEARTSLABYUL SO MUCH!!!!!! THOSE ARE MY SILLY LITTLE GUYS!! trey is so funny to me. like he. whats with the teeth thing trey. jksdlfsd it's SO funny to me his hobby is brushing his teeth. there's at least one or two times i think it's mentioned where he checked ace and deuce's teeth bc like? ?? ? ? i think in one of his voice lines he said it's a habit from doing it with his little siblings [BIG BROTHER BEHAVIOR SO SWEET WAGHGHGHGHHH] and i think there's a card story where ace was trying to skip out and cut corners on the Teeth Ritual and trey was like Not On My Watch 🧍‍♂️ jkfjsdjf hes so funny. he literally went into fanboy mode in halloween 2 when he found out sebeks dad is dentist. he tries so hard to be seen as A Normal Guy and yet hes Like That. hes science club besties with resident freak ROOK HUNT [beloved i love u rook hunt]. his childhood friends are teapot tyrant riddle and wildcard catboy chenya. his other bestie is terminally online partyboy caycay. he loves stupidass little jokes and he + cater sometimes like to lightly terrorize the underclassmen for funsies skjfjklsjf. friendly boys with an Evil side jfkldsjkldskljf.

also. do not get me started on his friendships with riddle and cater. i can and will go insane about the three of them oh my god if i think about them too long i get emotional and we'll be here forever. theres so much complexity there but also i WILL bite anyone that tries to say cater and trey's friendship is all a lie + surface level only or that trey cares about riddle more ILL BITE ILL BITE ILL CHEW. yknow what i didnt circle the 10 hour speech about trey or ace but tbh i could. those two it would be more about them and their relationships with other characters but LISTEN TO ME i love heartslabyul. SO MUCH. they make me insane.

i got this ask earlier and i was like "no i will not have time to do this til im home later bc i WILL need to talk about them for 800 years. circling squares is not enough." jfkslfjsjdljf

#me rushing to post my diasomnia fic: HURRY UP I NEED TO TALK ABOUT HEARTSLABYUL RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #asks #felix-the-lemon-king #thanx felix you knew the cheat codes for Making Me Unwell jkljfKDLJKLSJFKLSJJFDSKJJ

[earth-scented]

I am of the opinion that Cody and Satori are extremely sus and I would like more debunking before I will believe they are real. If they are not frauds they should be willing to do more experiments, so I guess we will see. I think the next move is on them tbh, they are being called out, now we wait and see what they do and how they respond, the way they do both these things will give us an answer I think.

However I do not believe Sam and Colby are in on it at all, their reactions are too genuine for me to believe that so if Cody and Satori are scam artists/fakers then in my eyes SnC got played just as much as their audience.

Also in relation to your comments about 'deleted messages' the disappearing comments that you speak of have been explained as certain algorithms that come with certain sites, especially youtube any posts with links in for example, the youtube algorithm will automatically delete as ironically youtube has measures to protect against bots posting scams and things like that, often posts with links or certain words the site automatically erases.

Plus we know SnC don't really read the comments on youtube videos anymore (especially Colby) as they have stated as such in interviews they've gotten to the point where they just can't do it anymore which is actually really sad. So any deletions on that platform not related to the algorithm have probably been done by a member of their team whose job is likely to manage their youtube socials and keep it positive so will erase anything too negative.

The one place I've seen them interacting with comments about the series regularly has been on Instagram, everywhere else they appear online for a very limited amount of time and maybe reply to one thing each. I've not seen disappearing comments on these other platforms myself but feel free to tell me I'm wrong.

I will say I suspect they probably ignore a lot of the comments calling Cody and Satori out because a lot of them go about it in a very negative and unfriendly way which a person can only take so much of. So maybe we'd get more of a response from them on this topic if we were not so aggressive on the topic, and approached it more as a friendly debate I dunno.

But yeah, my two cents after seeing your last anon reply which seemed to imply you thought SnC were in on it all.

If they weren't in on it then, they certainly are now.

Like i said, they're choosing to push the whole "this is a life-changing thing" narrative, knowing very well it's a fraud. First episode was released in theaters, they got huge sponsorship moneys plus the entire series gives off "the new & improved conjuring house management" advert. Anyone with two brain cells can see this is a business deal involving a lot of money and legal documentation and nobody's gonna give statements, address anything or explain themselves unless it's prearranged and benefits both sides.

Satori's dad is well known for faking evidence on Ghost Hunters, she was literally raised into industry. Cody has been clicking his whatever for years on camera, before they met. Them claiming they don't take money for it is simply a lie because they run a website, a traveling museum, sell merch and get paid as the CH employees so what the fuck do everyone think that is, if not taking money and making profits? Which is fine! Just don't lie about it.

Comments are censored either by youtube settings or their production team. They're not some kids running around with a camera anymore, they have people paid to do stuff. It's their business and livelihood. I don't understand why are people so blatantly oblivious to that.

When money, fame and relevance are involved, integrity often goes out the window.

#cody and satori #sam and colby #xplr #call out bs when you see it #it's fine

[thedreadvampy]

cause I think the thing is. like. I try REALLY REALLY hard to give people the benefit of the doubt when I get Bad Vibes, and I particularly do when they're saying my partners bc like. obviously there's a) some need to keep things smooth and not fuck up my partner's other relationships and b) it's hard to vibe out where the closeness to the situation introduces unconscious bias.

h o w e v e r

and this is in and of itself a pretty biased view but

I would say that I have yet to have a situation where in retrospect I've been too harsh in my opinions on a partner's relationship, and I've had several experiences now where I have been un-harsh to the degree of really letting their partners treat not just then but also me real fucking shitty like.

I don't think I'm a particularly jealous person (for a current example I straight up love Kofi's boyfriend he's SO FUN AND NICE AND GOOD FOR THEM. in this house we stan). and I have really liked the majority of people who've dated people I've been dating tbh. I also think I'm pretty good at telling the difference between 'I like this person but I don't think their relationship looks great' and 'I don't like this person'.

but I get So Anxious about, even in my own head, being honest about the bad vibes I get about a relationship my partner is having. it's one of the trickiest things about poly, I think, and it's something I've dealt with probably 4 or 5 times now?

cause, at least in my model of polyamory, a relationship that your partner is having with someone else is theirs, not yours. Like a relationship your sibling or parent or best friend is in - you're potentially very close to it and have ringside seats, but you're not a participant and ultimately you don't get to make decisions about what it looks like.

But like those other types of second-hand relationships, you aren't uninvolved or unaffected by bad ones. Both because you have to watch someone you care about go through it, and because as someone very close to them you end up picking up a lot of flak. When someone you love (whether it's friends, family or romantic partners) is in a relationship that's toxic, abusive, or going through a lot of stress, that has a lot of knock-on effects on you - they're stressed, they need support, they may have less energy or time, they're likely to be more reactive to stuff that triggers bad vibes in their relationship, they may need a listening ear or someone to reassure them they're not being unreasonable (or tell them if they are), they need a safe place to go when stuff blows up, all that stuff.

and that's a difficult balance whatever their relationship is to you. We've all had that thing with a friend or family member where you're threading that needle of like "ok I need to reinforce that they don't deserve to be treated like shit but also I need to be civil with their partner and not make things worse and also there's angles on this I'm not seeing, and do I tell them what I think about their partner or will they turn round down the line and be like WHY SHOULD I LISTEN TO YOU ABOUT THEM WHEN YOU'VE ALWAYS HATED THEM." that kind of stuff.

but I do think there's a specific complexity to that in a poly context. because unlike with a friend or sibling or parent or child, in a poly relationship, you and your partner's other partner are kind of in the same space. You might not be in direct competition but you're approaching each other as equals and what you have to say about someone's relationship hits different because of that.

like for me it's often cut both ways too. it drives me nuts if a partner goes to their partner for advice on how to handle our relationship. similarly I really don't want to be implying that my way of being in a relationship with someone is the Right Way and their other partner is just Less Good At Dating Them, because obviously that's not the case, we have different relationships. and I don't feel that way about friends or family. and it's not really jealousy, I don't think, it's just there's a type of closeness bred of similarity that creates a possibility of competition (not necessarily fighting over someone, but competing to be the Best At Dating Them).

in my case I think I often overcorrect for that. hence letting a lot of stuff slide in how my partners' partners behave around me that I absolutely would not let pass if they were my friends' partners. but whether you overcorrect or undercorrect I think it's really hard to navigate tbh.

#red said #this isn't really specifically about my ex's partner tbh just general reflections #but also idk i think it's useful to talk about bc it's one of the trickiest poly pitfalls ime

[collidingxworlds]

4 and 9!

Asks for multimuse blogs || Accepting !

4. Is there a muse that not a lot of people roleplay with?

Yep, I dare to say that there's more than one xD Mostly Sam and Moriarty.

In Sam's case, it's my fault, because I made them before my hiatus and never given them proper time in the spotlight. I'm planning to change that very soon, once I've recovered some brain power.

As for Jim, I suppose that it's because he isn't an easy muse to interact with, also because of how specific his canon is. I need to work on giving him some verses, both general ones and maybe other fandom AUs, to make him more approachable!

9. why were you drawn to each one of your characters?

Oh boy xD Let's see how I can answer this one without writing a novel xD

Abigail: What got me interested in her first and foremost was the duality of the character. For a good part of her arc we don't know whether or not she had truly helped her Dad killing those girls and, if yes, to what extent. The series unfortunately doesn't analyse it too closely, but she tends to swing between two kinds of behaviours and identities: the traumatised victim who is trying to get her life back together after it has been shuttered and the manipulative accomplice who exploits the circumstances to get away with a clean slate. Useless to say, I like to portray her as the latter wearing the former's mask as an act. Another reason why I chose to pick her as a muse is because she has a lot of potential that however was never used. Gotta make up for that xD

Five: For him there's no big, complicated reason tbh xD He's just the type of character I enjoy, both when consuming medias and while writing. Practical, sarcastic, smart, witty, with poor manners because he couldn't care less about being polite (unless it benefits him). But also characterised by a tragic past, a lot of trauma, flaws that caused his downfall and a fierce attachment to something (in Five's case, his family). It's a lot of fun to explore the different sides of his person and find out where the lines blur!

Sam: They are my OC, so...I basically built them fitting the fictional family you, Chloé and I came up with. In a way, they have Abigail's same duality (victim vs perpetrator), but in this case the second side gets openly cultivated by their new family and I found interesting to explore the effects that such an environment can have on someone who has never truly been taught the difference between right and wrong. Sam grew up as an outcast, unwanted and unrecognised, and the very first time they find acceptance is under a woman who believes that killing men for their own advantage is her family's right. That's a fascinating combination xD Also, as a non-binary mun, I've been wanting to write a non-binary character for a while now!

Crowley: He is one of my oldest muses, one of the firsts I picked up when I started to RP on Tumblr. He used to have his own sideblog and all, before I decided to make this multimuse. I had a lot of fun writing him, also because he embodies the only kind of good guy I can and like to properly write. Someone with good intentions but also questionable methods and even more questionable morals. Also, even if in the book/series isn't shown much, I like to dig into the trauma of his Fall and all the consequences of it, how it has left him torn between what he wants to be and his demonic nature. So yeah, another traumatised gremlin xD

Will Graham: Speaking of trauma, here is another embodiment of it xD What got me fascinated with Will first and foremost is the way the series portrays his "pure empathy": how he can put himself into the killers' shoes, actually live through their fantasies, and how all this constant exposure to this twisted minds end up changing him. That's definitely another thing that drew me to Will. His character arc, evolution and how the potential darkness inside him emerges and takes shape. Obviously, all this happens through a lot of struggles and contrasts. Also, gotta love the sass xD

Will Byers: Together with Sam, he is my traumatised kid x'D He has been my fave character since season 1 (and he stayed vanished for most of the season, so that should tell you how much I liked him since the very start). What pushed me to pick him as a muse have been basically two things: the huge potential for the exploration of trauma / PTSD / sexual identity crisis and his connection with the Mind Flayer. There's just so much that could be done in both directions!

Moriarty: Ngl, I picked up Jim as a muse mostly as a challenge. I want to try my hand at a villain and he has always been one of my faves. Love me a psychopath who also has a ton of charisma and a sense of humour (I find him beyond funny xD). Moreover, ages ago I had come up with a whole backstory for him and this was my chance to do something with it!

Gabriel: Last but not least, he is literally one of the first two muses I had back when I started to RP on this hellsite. He is one of my fave characters from the show, has been even before we found out that he was Gabriel (and I refused to acknowledge the shit they did with him in season 13). He is a bit like Five, character wise, but with the twist of being an insanely powerful being. Plus, I loved adding bits and pieces from the Norse myths to his backstory / portrayal, and that was an additional reason because Norse mythology is my jam!

#(( mun scotty's personal log ::ooc:: )) #(( about the mun )) #omniishambles #(( thank you for the asks <3 ))

[cursed-herbalist]

💋🌹😊📀💛🍐🍇 for the gorgeous Jupiter! <3

Sweet!! Thank you for the ask :) Some of them I already answered but here are the rest:

💋 How affectionate are they with their friends? Their family? Their romantic partner(s) (if they have any)? Are they more physical or emotional when it comes to displaying their affection? Why?

Jupiter is very affectionate with her close ones!! Honestly, she'd be hugging and cuddling her girls all the time, especially Rosa!! This girl wants to be hugged all the time! Her most dominant love languages are physical touch and words of affirmation after all. So be ready to be showered with cuddles, maybe kisses and compliments ❤️ But she definitely dials it down or doesn’t do it at all if she knows the person’s not comfortable with it!

😊 What can make your OC smile even when they’re feeling down? What cheers them up and makes everything feel better for them? Is your OC generally a happy person and do they enjoy making others smile? What about your OC makes others happy?

Jupiter is a ray of sunshine and she genuinely loves to see other people smile and be happy! She finds beauty and joy in a lot of small and ordinary things but nothing can top her girls, they just know how to make her smile 🥰 Also seeing Jimmy for like 3 seconds makes her day!

📀 How easy is it to shock your OC? To confuse them? To lie to them, to manipulate them? How are they with feelings of trust? Can your OC be trusted?

Jupiter can definitely be trusted! It's not easy to shock, confuse or manipulate her, Aldéric made sure of that. Albeit giving most people the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise, she still approaches people with a healthy wariness.

💛 In general, how in control of their emotions is your OC? Do they have a good hold on them or do their emotions control them, not the other way around? What do you think is the reason behind this and is your OC ever concerned about their lack of or good control?

Hmm, it depends but I'd say Jupiter has a pretty good grip on her emotions. It's mostly clashes in values that get her worked up and she does have difficulty accepting disappointment or failure sometimes. I think processing her emotions through poetry and music really helps her a lot. In turn, her art can get quite emotional and intense as it's almost like journaling to her. On the flip side though, she does allow positive emotions to take over. She's a sunshine tbh 🌞

🍐 What is your OC’s mentality? Are they overall positive? Negative? A bit of both? Describe their thought patterns and reasoning behind their choice-making!

I think Jupiter is a bit of both but more of a 'the glass is half full' type of gal. She's certainly a bit of an idealist and beliefs that you can do anything if you just put a little effort into it. She genuinely likes to ponder ideas and thoughts but would rather do and try than keep wondering forever. Honestly, probably the reason why she's a Slytherin and not a Ravenclaw.

🍇 Day or Night? Sun or Rain? Summer or Winter?

Definitely, night!! I mean, come on, it's Jupiter we're talking about. 'Have you seen the stars tonight? They're beautiful!!' - Jupiter, probably every night Tough one but rain. Or both so it creates a rainbow 🌈 🥰✨🙈 Jupiter is a summer girl, I think. But it might be debatable 😂

#jupiter durand #ask game #answered #hpma #my ocs

[lesdeuxxx]

i wrote a comment on this one blogs review of the heartstopper Netflix show, and it didn't let me post, and i spent an hour writing it so i decided it needs to be somewhere

the article: 

https://takepride.shop/blogs/blog/heartstopper-review-the-problems-of-its-adaptation?comment=126795088033#comments

my response:

tbh, i think every problem with the show could have been fixed with three things:

-more episodes, or at least the standard 10 episode season instead of 8

-make it a teen cartoon

-bring back the fantasy

The general pacing problems of every single character's relationship is a victim of the fact Netflix only gave them like 6 hours to work with, and not only that, but for some reason they decided to incorporate all of volume one into season one instead of make chapter one season one. i think this was probably due to Alice trying to adapt as much as they could into the show, and also add new plot points to expand on it, because if Netflix didn't renew it for a second season, that would leave the whole nick showing up at Charlie's house thing quote unquote, "unresolved" (i say this because it leaves the show itself on a cliffhanger, not the story.) if netflix gave seesaw and alice the standard 10 episode season, i think there would have been less pressure to cram in 250+ pages into 6 hours of screen time, and we would have gotten a more realistic approach to not only the passage of time, but also all of the relationship growth, and the kiss at harry's party would have been more appropriate set at the end of the season.

I'm a big advocate for animation, and i think adapting heartstopper into a teen drama cartoon would have not only benefited the show, as it would allow for more metaphorical nuance with charlie's mental health, but there really haven't been any teen cartoons in mainstream pop culture sense daria in the 90’s, and i think it would have been not only amazing to see a cartoon directed at teenagers that discussed mental health issues in a real life way, but also to show queer characters with actual personality's, goals, storylines, character archs, and in general things outside of “generic white twink with the fashion sense of a middle school social studies teacher that uses AAVE” or “generic white twink with button down has a secret relationship with a homophobic jock” or “generic white twink wears crop top and eyeshadow”

(i also think the show would have done better as a animated franchise, because the build up with the cast ahead of the shows premier gave me massive issues, because i wasn't watching nick and charlie's relationship, i was seeing kit connor and joe locke act, and having the show animated would have fixed this issue that i know a lot of people besides me had with differentiation) 

I also wish the show played more into the aesthetic of “small town romance” that Nick and Charlie embody. Even though arguably most of the music featured in the show could be found on any heartstopper fan made playlist, i almost feel it doesn't do the vibe of heartstopper right, as the whole small-town-teenage-high-school-sweetheart-honeymoon-phase soulmates-romance of them hanging out all day everyday from the comic/novellas/novel is lost in something completely different. (I should note this is the feeling I get every time i see straight people use audios from the nick and Charlie novella on tik tok.) One of the best examples I have of this effect being literally lost in translation is the song “out of my league” by fitz and the tantrums. I saw two fan made edits, one made of the comic panels to the song, and one composed of clips from the show to the song. Both used the same section of the song, both made by the same creator. and I can't fully explain it, but the etherealness of heartstopper was fully missing from the show edit. It was lacking that distinct teenage romance montage fantasy that the book was giving.

It's honestly sad, because I think the show is good, and has legs to stand on separately, however poor execution of all the story, pacing issues, and the energy of the show just being sucked out of it will forever mean the source material is better.

A part of me does think however, this is in large part on seesaw rather than alice, as i'm sure if alice worked directly with netflix on everything, not only would everything just be better, but we wouldn't have plot holes like all of ben's character, all of harry's character, all of nick's friends excluding miss homewrecker (affectionately, i do usually root for the homewrecker), aleds replacement, tao’s hair, and definitely we wouldn't have the horrendous pacing of every single line.

#heartstopper #nick and charlie #heartstopper tv show #heartstoppernetflix #heartstoppercomic #nicknelson #charliespring #kit connor #joelocke #solitaire #torispring #loveless #i was born for this #radio silence #alice oseman #osemanverse