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hippolotamus · 14 days

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Inspiration Saturday 🪩

Tagged by the delightful @thekristen999 @daffi-990 @lemonzestywrites @bidisasterevankinard @wikiangela

@theotherbuckley for Fuck it Friday. Thank you darlin’s (tagging you back for today) mwah! 💖

Made a lil moodboard for today's snippet. I'm not in love with all the words but that's what editing is for. So, here's Buck visiting Eddie's workplace for the first time. Surprise (because I don't think I've mentioned this before???) Eddie's not a firefighter in this either. He's a mechanic who works with a bunch of homophobic jerks. But also with Hen! Buck knows Eddie isn't out to most people so this is an... enlightening moment for him. Some of it's under the cut to save your dash. masterlist of posts here and no I'm not writing this remotely in order

“Oh, thank fuck,” he mumbles to himself when he pulls the door open and is greeted with a cool blast of air conditioning.

Looking around the interior, he thinks it could pass for a museum. A snapshot in time, forever preserved exactly as it was. Gold framed articles about the 1973 grand re-opening hang on the wood-paneled walls alongside prints of hot rods and muscle cars. There are vintage metal signs mixed in for Shell, Texaco, Gulf, and some other brands he’s never heard of.

“Do you have an appointment?” A gravelly voice asks from behind him.

Buck jerks around to the desk where a middle aged woman with auburn hair and green gray eyes glares at him with a mix of boredom and curiosity. Or maybe suspicion? He can't quite tell.

Her bronzed skin is littered with freckles and screams that she’s spent too much time outside with no sunscreen or other protection. A name plate, half hidden under papers and key rings, identifies her as Estelle. He’s heard a few stories about her from Eddie, but he’s not sure any of them did her intimidating demeanor justice.

“Uh, no?” He answers, not sure why it comes out as a question other than he’s not entirely convinced the five foot something couldn’t somehow manage to hurt him.

It must take every ounce of strength to conceal the whole body sigh she wants to make as she looks down, licks her fingertip and begins flipping through a giant paper scheduling book. “If you don’t have an appointment I can maybe get you in next Thursday. Depending on what you need.”

“Actually, uh, I don’t need anything.” Estelle glances up, mouth slightly parted and eyes narrowed as if she’s about to ask what he’s doing standing in her lobby. He quickly adds, “Well, what I mean is, my car doesn’t need anything. I’m here to see Eddie? Uh, Eddie Diaz.”

She nods with something like understanding. At least he hopes that’s what it is as she picks up the phone receiver and punches in a few numbers.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Hey, is Diaz around? Someone here asking about him.”

“No, it’s not the cops! What’s the matter with you? I don’t know. Just some guy here looking for Eddie.”

Estelle huffs an exasperated sigh and looks toward the ceiling like it’ll give her strength. “Jay, I don’t have time for twenty questions and, quite frankly, I don’t care.”

“About time you quit screwin’ around. Send him out.” She hangs up the receiver and mutters something about not caring that he’s a relative.

“He’ll be a few minutes. Take a seat.” She gestures to a line of metal chairs with sticky looking vinyl cushions without so much as glancing in Buck’s direction.

He momentarily gets excited when he spots a gumball machine in the corner until he realizes it would require actual coins that he definitely doesn’t have. And he’s not about to ask Estelle if she’s got change for a twenty just so he can satisfy his sweet tooth.

“Buck?” Eddie appears from a side door, wiping his hands on a rag. His hair is sweaty and mussed, likely from pushing it out of his face. His gorgeous, kissable face that Buck very much wants to kiss even more right now despite the streaks and smudges of god knows what decorating it. The corner of Eddie’s mouth twitches like he knows what Buck is thinking, but he clears his throat and schools it just as quickly when Estelle grunts, reminding them they’re at his workplace.

“Uh, Buck. Hi. What can I do for you?” Eddie tilts his chin in the direction of the parking lot. “Everything okay with the jeep?”

“Hi,” Buck answers, a little too breathy for their current situation. He can’t seem to help himself. Eddie’s always cleaned up when they meet, whether it’s at the club, a date out somewhere or an evening in. He’s never seen him marked up from his job, in his grimy army green coveralls.

“Uh, yeah. Jeep’s fine. Just, you know, was nearby and thought I’d stop in.” Buck tracks the movement as Eddie’s tongue darts out, wetting his lips, before sneaking him a flirty, amused smirk.

“Glad you did.” Eddie chances a look at Estelle who still has her head down, shuffling some papers that probably don’t need it. He takes a step closer and lowers his voice. “I haven’t taken my lunch yet. Give me five and we can get out of here?”

Buck nods, not knowing how to respond without giving anything away.

Eddie puts more distance between them again, sticking his hand out. Buck takes it, thrown by the familiarity of his boyfriend mixed with the very conventional, socially acceptable handshake. “Great to see you again, Buck. Check that place on Viscount Boulevard. I think you’ll find what you’re looking for.”

“Uh, yeah. Thanks,” Buck answers, reluctantly letting their palms slide apart. But he gets it. Eddie’s coworkers are all a bunch of ignorant, homophobic assholes. Well, except for Hen apparently. Regardless, Eddie can’t be risking his job and livelihood when he has Chris to think about. “I’ll go check it out. You said it’s about... ten minutes from here?”

“About that, yeah. Maybe fifteen.”

A warm, fluttering feeling washes over him as Eddie winks and smiles, seeming pleased that Buck caught on to his little game. He has to force himself to turn around and leave instead of watching his boyfriend walk away.

“Have a nice day,” Estelle says as he opens the door, setting off a chime. It’s enough to snap him out of his haze, offering a weak ‘you too’ as he hurries back to his jeep.

np tagging @actuallyitsellie @epicbuddieficrecs @loveyouanyway @a-noble-dragon @tizniz

@mountedeverest @fortheloveofbuddie @weewootruck @saybiwithme @shipperqueen6

@ramonaflow @taketheplanspinitsideways @spotsandsocks @dangerpronebuddie @stereopticons

@kitteneddiediaz @mrs-f-darcy @drowsy-quill @your-catfish-friend @filet-o-feelings

@underwaterninja13 @lizzie-bennetdarcy @rainbow-nerdss @steadfastsaturnsrings @queenmabcreates

@inell @jesuisici33 @rmd-writes @shortsighted-owl @queerbuckleys

@bi-buckrights @elvensorceress @bucksbiawakening @giddyupbuck @hoodie-buck

@indestructibleheart @ladydorian05 @monsterrae1 @statueinthestone @slightlyobsessedwitheverything

@the-likesofus @thewolvesof1998 @watchyourbuck @welcometololaland @wildlife4life and anyone else who wants to 😘

#more under the cut because… long #since i'm pissed at eddie rn #i wanted to write the angst #but then my brain wouldn't let me before i set a few things up #blargh #just for kicks i imagine Estelle sounds like Roz from monsters inc #hippo writes #buddie wip #inspiration saturday #fic: watch my shattered edges glisten #mechanic!eddie

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linkspooky · 3 months

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"And we don't have the luxury of thinking of ourselves. We just got to save people. So start by saving me, Itadori!" This actually shows Megumi has somewhat of an agency as a sorcerer. Ater all he vowed to get stronger after Yuji's apparnet death. He doesn't think of giving up being a sorcerer to be a kid. Now, Megumi's rejecting Yuji's help, the very same thing Yuji did to him. Plus, refusing to even try to 'wake up' means the death of other characters (Gojo, Higurum probably more others soon) will be for nothing... because Megumi's being selfish by giving up in the eleventh hour. That's why the fans are all mad at him."

Hello, friend I thought I'd use your post as a jumping off point to continue our discussion. I'm not necessarily trying to argue with you, just further explain my point and why Gege made the story choices that he did.

So one of the reasons I chose Killua as my comparison to Megumi, besides the obvious inspiration Mgumi takes from Killua's arc, is that despite the fact that Killua has many of the same character flaws and setbacks as Megumi he's much more well-received in western fandom spaces.

Killua also has a pretty straightforward arc, he still has character flaws, he idolizes Gon way too much and that makes him incapable of calling out Gon's flaws, or getting Gon to listen to him in his worst moment during the Neferpitou fight where Gon gives up everything to destroy Pitou pointlessly. However, even in those moments where Killua is failing Killua is still portrayed incredibly sympathetically. The audience reaction when Killua is failing is vastly different to when Megumi fails. When Killua is at his lowest point in chapter 241, there's no "get back up loser" it's "awe Killua."

That's because again Killua's arc is so clearly telegraphed. When Killua is at his lowest point, you in the audience understand that he is there and why he can't get up instead of yelling at him in frustration. At his lowest point he's still presented as being selfless towards Gon and chiding himself for not being of use to Gon, he's not giving up because he's too weak to keep going like Megumi is.

Killua on the whole is a lot more likable than Megumi too, but I think this stems from the fact that the narrative of Hunter x Hunter paints him in a better light, he has a mostly positive character arc where he learns to stand on his own two feet and forms a healthy relationship with both Gon and his sister - whereas Megumi has a negative / corruption arc which goes in the opposite direction of Killua's.

However, I would argue because Megumi is painted as more selfish, and allowed to be more unlikable that he is better written in Killua because there's an element of ambiguity that's not there in Killua's arc.

Megumi reaches his lowest point where he can't move similiar to Killua, but instead of spending his last moments thinking about how much he wanted to be of use to Gon, instead he's begging for death and drowning in his own self-pity not even looking up to see Yuji right there in front of him trying to save him.

You're right that he comes off as selfish, and a lot less likable to the audience and rightfully so. I feel like we're supposed to be frustrated at Megumi here for not seeing how much effort everyone is putting into saving him.

However, sometimes characters are unlikable on purpose!

Sometimes character writing and what a characters actions means for their story and themes is more important than whether or not the audience finds that character likable. Sometimes a writer might even have the character make an unpopular choice that the audience will disagree with, in order to make the audience angry and frustrated with them on purpose. After all, you yourself are saying you're worried about all of your other favorite characters getting harmed now that Megumi doesn't want to be saved - that creates tension in the scene. The scene is more complicated now and there's more at risk, because now things aren't as easy as Yuji reaching out and saving Megumi.

Gege is also using a tactic called delayed gratification here. Delayed or deferred gratification is the resistance to the temptation of immediate pleasure in the hope of obtaining a valuable and long-lasting reward in the long term.

Instant gratification would be Yuji's first attempt at reaching out to Megumi working, Megumi reaching out his hand, Sukuna being defeated, Megumi and Yuji hugging and everyone going home happy.

Of course, then the story would be over as well.

By delaying gratification and not giving the audience what they want right away, the effect when Megumi is finally saved, or in my opinion, what should happen when he decides to save himself will be even greater.

As I was trying to illustrate above Megumi's arc is in my opinion better than Killua's, because it doesn't follow a handy dandy roadmap on where Gege is going to go with his character. Things aren't as clear cut and there's an element of ambiguity. Ambiguity in this context meaning what the author wants, Megumi's thoughts and his wants / trauma, and where Megumi's arc is going are not as clear cut.

Gege cited Nasu's writing as a major inspiration on his because they skip explanations and instead let the audience try to explain things and put the pieces together for themselves.

I think when writing gets really good, we reach a point where "What's written is just as important as what's not written." That doesn't really make a lot of sense so let me explain it. Good writing does not spell out everything for the audience, but instead relies on audience inference to fill in the blanks, because then the reader becomes an active participant in writing the story and has to draw their own conlclusions instead of remaining a passive reader.

Megumi never thinks out loud that he didn't want to be a sorcerer and that he wanted to be a kid like Killua did, but there are things in story that implies Megumi thinks that way. The way he thinks he can never live up to Gojo's level or reach Gojo's heights. The way he doesn't even seem to want to. The way that personal connections like his connection to Yuji and Tsumiki is way more important to him then his duty as a sorcerer.

The way that Megumi doesn't ever seem to believe that he's as capable as being strong of as Gojo, and doesn't even seem to want to try either. This passive resistance Megumi shows to becoming what Gojo wants him to be, is basically the only way he ever grasps for agency.

Megumi is kind of like a really lazy smart kid, who never turns in his homework but manages to pass classes anyway because he's good at taking tests. He's so naturally talented that unlike characters like Yuji who are newcomers who have to give it their all - Megumi can just coast on being born with an extremely strong technique and not having to put the effort in for most of the story.

Megumi's choice to coast though is like I said - passive resistance. Megumi never says out loud that he doesn't want to be a sorcerer, but we can analyze from his behavior, his constant habit of half-assing things that maybe there's a reason he can't put his all into being a sorcerer. I mean someone on reddit put this entire collage together on how unmotivated Megumi is to put the work in to develop his talents.

The question is why in the manga where everyone is trying to be stronger, does Megumi keep half-assing things and not put his full effort in, why doesn't he seem to enjoy getting stronger the way say, Maki, and Yuji does. The answer isn't directly given to us, but all the way back in the third chapter Yaga says that sorcerers can't use other people as their reasons for being a sorcerer. It's an incredibly deadly and terrible job and if you don't know your own reason for why you want to be a sorcerer, you won't perform as well and you'll begin to doubt yourself.

Yet, here's Megumi doing that exact same thing that Yaga warned about. Megumi didn't become a sorcerer because he wanted to or for his own reasons. He was groomed into being a sorcerer by Gojo, his options were 1) starve, 2) go to the zen'in and be a sorcerer anyway and your sister will most likely be abused 3) be a sorcerer under Gojo but Gojo will leave your sister alone.

Megumi convinced himself that he wanted to become a sorcerer for Tsumiki's sake, that he was sacrificing himself so Tsumiki could at least continue to live a normal life but he's not even able to protect Tsumiki. When she becomes cursed, he's robbed of his entire reason for becoming a sorcerer under Gojo in the first place, but he has to just keep going on the vain hope that Tsumiki will wake up one day. Perhaps that's the reason that Megumi immediately grew so close to Yuji too, because Yuji reminded him of Tsumiki, but while he failed to save Tsumiki Yuji was still around and someone he could actively want to save.

Megumi doesn't want to be a sorcerer, but he has to be one and so in order to convince himself that he wants to do his job he tells himself he's doing it for the sake of Yuji, or Tsumiki. If he thinks that his sacrifice is somehow helping the people he loves either directly or indirectly then he can keep going.

That small amount of selfishness is the only agency he's able to reclaim for himself, that he's not sacrificing himself for the greater good or trying to save everyone like Yuji is, he's only trying to save a small group of people so he doesn't have to exert himself too much.

However, even that is basically just lipservice to being selfish, because in the end Megumi doesn't really benefit from his own actions. He does everything he does for other people. Even if it's for his own selfish reasons - to give him a motivation to keep going in this really shitty job of being a sorcerer he was forced into, even if he's using other people as an excuse to keep doing his job he's still not really a selfish person. He's not allowed to be selfish because he's not allowed to think for himself or make decisions for himself b/c he's been so thoroughly undermined by Gojo's grooming of him.

This is the paradox that is Megumi Fushiguro. He is presented to us as a very selfish character, especially in contrast to the all-loving hero Yuji, he's much more childish, prone to angst and failure and yet Megumi isn't really that selfish. Because true selfishness requires agency and the decision to decide for one's self and Megumi doesn't have that.

Sometimes, characters will make selfish and unlikable decisions in order to serve a greater story purpose even if the audience doesn't approve of them.

Megumi's character is better written than say Killua's, or even other characters in Jujutsu Kaisen because as a complex abuse victim he struggles internally with his issues, and growing past them instead of immediately getting back up on his feet to do the right thing. It's really easy to sympathize with Killua not wanting to be a murderer, because that's easy to understand. When Killua goes he wants to make friends not be an assassin the audience is immediately on his side. When Megumi doesn't want to be a sorcerer, a job that everyone else in the manga including characters like Yuji and Maki are fine with being and don't question whether or not they want to be sorcerers or get stronger then he looks selfish and weak-willed in comparison.

Megumi's internal struggles to form his own identity and grasp at agency are probably the most complex and best written character work because it's not immediately gratifying. Megumi's arc is not a straightforward arc, things have to get worse for him before they get better.

It's like in season 3 of avatar with Zuko. Zuko looked ready to change sides with team avatar at the end of season 2, but he regresses and sides with Azula instead when he thinks he's getting everything he wanted on a silver plate. It might seem more frustrating to not get what the audience wants, Zuko joining team avatar right away, but by delaying that immediate gratification the payoff for when Zuko does join team avatar is greater. Sometimes it's better to be less straightforward, because then characters feel like people with internal struggles and not pieces you are moving down a pre-determined path.

Let me compare Megumi to a character in story who's arc is pretty universally beloved, but I will argue is less complex than his. You could say for Megumi, well Maki's sister died and not only did she get over it she used that death to climb to even greater heights and she's now one of the most powerful characters in the manga.

This seems to be what readers want for Megumi, for him to get over Tsumiki's death and then live up to the potential that he's been foreshadowed to have. If the audience had their way, the same way that Maki was destined to become the next Toji, Megumi would step up right away after Tsumiki's death, become the next Gojo and become as powerful as Maki.

However, here's my question do we as readers really feel Maki's mourning for Mai? I mean if you were a fan of Mai you probably feel sad at her death because she was a character that you liked, but does the narrative ever take the space to have Maki struggle to come to terms with the loss of Mai?

No, because Maki pretty much immediately gets a power up afterwards. We don't really feel Maki's loss for Mai, because we get that immediate gratifaction. Maki never lays on the ground and wallows, she never gives up, in fact we get some pretty immediate catharsis too because Maki goes on to murder all of Mai's killers.

Mai's death doesn't seem like the tragic event that it is, because it's not played as a tragedy, but as Maki coming into her own power. There's nothing wrong with this I suppose, but it's less emotionally complex because we take no time for Maki to internally deal with the loss of Mai, to feel that loss. Tsumiki is way less of a character than Mai, but her death is an unequivocal tragedy because nothing good comes out of it, Megumi doesn't get to avenge Tsumiki's death, it's only a tragedy, it's only suffering.

If you're satisfied with Maki's arc that's fine, but like I said it's a lot like Killua's in that it's very clearly signposted where we are going. It's narratively convenient. Like, when Maki is at her lowest point, a sumo guy shows up out of nowhere to give the exact words to encourage her and lead her character to the conclusions she's supposed to draw.

Megumi and Maki are both victims of abuse but Megumi's allowed to be a lot more unlikable, he's allowed to stumble, to do things the audience wouldn't approve of. He's not shown to be more virtuous than his abusers, to rise up and get revenge against his abusers, he doesn't immediately free himself through the power of his hard work and determination alone.

In fact compared to Maki Megumi's kind of just a loser.

Yet, sometimes the road less traveled is the better one. Megumi doesn't follow the paint by numbers abused child overcomes their abuser and finds their own strength / freedom / agency arc and because of that he doesn't come off as a character with a character arc, but rather a child struggling to grow up properly in a world where he has no positive adult figures to help grow and nurture him. Just like a child Megumi has no idea how to be an adult, and unlike Maki there's no path to adulthood clearly laid out for him.

In fact when he does try to take steps or reclaim his agency for himself, someone usually appears either Gojo or Sukuna to rob him away of his agency and further sabotage him. Megumi's arc has a pretty clear pattern of one step forward, two steps back. Megumi bonds with Yuji, Yuji dies. Megumi promises to get stronger for Yuji after his death, Yujhi turns out to be alive and also he finds out that his decision to save Yuji after Yuji ate the finger led to fingers all around the world awakening more people dying. Megumi decides to keep this fact from Yuji to spare his feelings creating a wall between him and Yuji.

Megumi creates his domain for the first time, but then in Shibuya he's put into a corner by his father stabbing him and takes two steps back using Mahoraga as a suicide move again another curse user. When he does that too, he thinks about how he'll never be as strong as Gojo wants to be five seconds before calling Mahoraga.

Megumi comes out of the culling games with a plan to save Tsumiki, manages to defeat one sorcerer using his domain expansion and pushing his limits again like he did in the death painting arc, only for Tsumiki to turn out to be possessed and Sukuna to take his body.

One step forward, two steps back.

However, the complexity from Megumi's character comes from this fact, the fact he doesn't just walk down the path the audience wants him to, he doesn't simply do what Gojo laid out for him to make him the next Satoru Gojo. He doesn't find meaning or reason in being a sorcerer, he doesn't get stronger as a sorcerer because he doesn't want to be there.

There's no convenience there, no one pops up with an inspirational speech the moment that Megumi needs it to keep going instead it's the opposite the narrative keeps robbing Megumi of his agency agian and again, pulling the rug out from under him when it looks like he's gotten the strength to stand out on his own two feet and Megumi has to keep going. The narrative rewards Maki and gives her what she wants her arc is basically over, whereas it punishes and denies Megumi at every turn. Maki's arc isn't bad but it is basically already over and it's a lot simpler and more straightforward than Megumi's.

Megumi is also called on to do a lot more than Maki is, because Megumi's issues can't really be solved with a power-up. This quote "let fate toy with you before you die like a fool" is probably one of the most important quotes when speaking about Megumi, because Megumi really is the fool in the fool's journey.

The Fool's Journey is a metaphor for the journey through life. Each major arcana card stands for a stage on that journey - an experience that a person must incorporate to realize his wholeness. These 22 descriptions are based on the keywords for each major arcana card. The keywords are highlighted in the text. A card's number is in parentheses.

The Fool's Journey is different from the Hero's Journey, because the Hero's Journey is the standard narrative for how a character rises up to become a hero, whereas the fool's journey is how a person goes from being an innocent but empty child a fool, a zero, into being a whole, and well rounded person. In Tarot the Fool (0) is basically a newborn, with no identity, no opinions, an empty vessel.

We begin with the Fool (0), a card of beginnings. The Fool stands for each of us as we begin our journey of life. He is a fool because only a simple soul has the innocent faith to undertake such a journey with all its hazards and pain. At the start of his trip, the Fool is a newborn - fresh, open and spontaneous. The figure on Card 0 has his arms flung wide, and his head held high. He is ready to embrace whatever comes his way, but he is also oblivious to the cliff edge he is about to cross. The Fool is unaware of the hardships he will face as he ventures out to learn the lessons of the world. The Fool stands somewhat outside the rest of the major arcana. Zero is an unusual number. It rests in the exact middle of the number system - poised between the positive and negative. At birth, the Fool is set in the middle of his own individual universe. He is strangely empty (as is zero), but imbued with a desire to go forth and learn. This undertaking would seem to be folly, but is it?

Megumi is the most underdeveloped and childish character in the series. He is as people have constantly referred to him, immature and selfish. He doesn't see things for the greater good, because he's ego-centric like a child and can only see what's around him.

What Megumi needs to do is to become a whole person, to develop an entire identity on his own, that's not dependent on Yuji or Tsumiki. He needs to be able to stand on his own two feet.

Now, how does Megumi go about doing that while he's also asked to be a sorcerer, people who aren't allowed to be selfish, who are asked to be identity-less cogs who exorcise curses for the greater good.

Megumi's arc is a lot harder, and a lot more difficult because it's not resolved by him getting a power up. That wouldn't fix his central issue because the problem isn't that Megumi's weak, it's that he's weak willed and doesn't think for himself.

Megumi can't become the next Gojo or the next Toji, he has to become himself.

Yet, Megumi and the audience at large don't know exactly what that means yet. That ambiguity, will Megumi be able to save himself, how exactly will Megumi save himself if he's not taking the hands that Yuji offers him. How exactly will he find the will to live with Tsumiki gone, and with no reason besides himself to keep on moving? It's that ambiguity that makes his arc more compelling.

Also, if Megumi were to resolve his arc by just getting a power up that kind of just means that Gojo was right all along. Like I hate to borrow from Homestuck of all things but this quote heavily applies to megumi and the way he was raised by Gojo.

So in the context the character Dave was raised from childhood by his brother to go through some super ultra ninja training, where he was basically forced to spare with his brother with swords every single day and put through the ringer with training, and that training didn't make him stronger it just made him afraid to fight. Dave can't see himself as strong or as a hero, because he's number one constantly feeling inferior to his brother who has like destroyed his entire childhood and number two because he didn't have a childhood he has no solid basis to build his sense fo self around. There's no strong foundation for Dave because he was robbed of the childhood years that help us form our identity. He never formed an identity, the only thing he could do was try to passively resist what his brother wanted him to be. That's not really forming an identity though, that's saying "I don't want to be that." Dave in his arc is continually reluctant to be a hero, and to go through the steps of a straightforward hbero's journey, because he doesn't want to be like a hero, because his brother was a cool brave heroic hero and his brother abused him.

Dave's character shines in his reluctancy to be a hero, because if he just sucked up all of that abuse and then decided to be a hero anyway then wouldn't that just prove that his brother was right? That his brother was right to put him through all that abuse because look it made him stronger in the end.

Gojo took Megumi's childhood away from him with the intention of turning him into a stronger sorcerer, but it had the opposite effect. It didn't make him stronger or into another Gojo Satoru, it made him not want to become a sorcerer, it made him weak willed and made him cowardly and made him want to run away from danger and made him unable to believe himself to be strong enough to win.

Even Maki's arc doesn't ever suggest her abusers were right. If anything it's the opposite, Maki wanted to be a sorcerer, she would have willingly become one but her family sabotaged her at every chance and denied her the opportunity to become one - only to show that Maki was right all along that she had more potential than anyone else in the family and her family should have given her that chance. That if from the beginning the Zen'in accepted and raised Maki then the tragedy at the end of her arc could have been averted. The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel it's warmth... etc, etc.

So Maki's arc may be way more straightforward than Megumi's, but her arc doesn't suggest that her abusers were right to put her through what they did. However, Megumi just being told to suck up all his abuse and get stronger would be doing just that, because it would mean Gojo was right all along to do what he did, Gojo stealing Megumi's childhood would be right because look how much stronger it makes him.

However, Gojo's actions didn't make Megumi stronger, it made him the opposite, it made him never want to fight, or see blood, or be near danger. It made him passive and cowardly and selfish rather than active and brave and selfless.

Sometimes a writer may have a character make an unpopular choice in service of the story and themes.

You're not wrong friend for pointing out that Megumi comes off like a hypocrite for giving up, when he called Yuji selfish for giving up on his own before the beginning of the culling games. If anything it's worse, because Megumi has chosen to give up at the moment when everyone is basically making a group effort and risking their lives to help him instead of going for the more tactically solid strategy of killing Megumi alongsde Sukuna. Megumi is not respecting the feelings of those who wish to save him, nor is he thinking about how much the others are risking their lives just for the chance to save him.

However, this intentional parallel of Megumi being able to reach Yuji at his lowest point when he wants to give up, and Yuji not being able to reach Megumi illustrates the difference between their characters.

Yuji became a sorcerer by choice. His ideal of wanting to help people is something he chose for himself, and apparently according to Sukuna he believes down to his very bones which is why it's something he'll never waver from. Yuji is the outsider who became a sorcerer by choice, he wants to be in this world - even if it wasn't a total choice like he chose to eat the finger but he didn't think of the ramifications and afterwards his choice was like "die now, or die after eating 21 more fingers." Yuji still views it as his choice though.

Megumi on the other hand never had a choice. All of his justifications and reasons and "I selfishly choose who to save" those are all lipservice, ex posto factor justifications, lies Megumi tells himself to cope with the fact that this life as a sorcerer was forced upon him.

That's why Megumi doesn't have the unshakable determination to get back up at his lowest point that Yuji had, because Yuji at the end of the day is kind of like the embodiment of the ideal sorcerer the way Nanami is, he's decided to give his life to be a sorcerer and live up to what sorcerers should be so he can make the world a slightly better place and then pass the torch to the next sorcerer.

Yuji chose that for himself, and for better or worse he keeps making that choice over and over again. He's resolved to live and die as an ideal sorcerer, and carry on the burden that Nanami left for him.

If Yuji's arc is to figure out what kind of sorcerer he wants to be and then be that person to the very end, then Megumi's arc is the opposite. It's to find out who he is outside of being a sorcerer, because being a sorcerer wasn't his choice it was something that was imposed upon him. That's what Killua's arc is too, Killua's arc is not him learning to live up to his full potential as an assassin because that would once again validate his family's abuse of him. No Killua can't grow up into what his family wants him to be, he has to figure out for himself what he wants, and try to grow into that person.

However, Megumi has that added layer of difficulty in that Megumi doesn't get to use "I want to grow strong enough to protect my sister" as an answer the way Killua did. Megumi unlike Killua gets the crutch ripped out from underneath him. He's not allowed to live for Tsumiki anymore, because Tsumiki is gone.

Now Megumi has to find a way to keep living for himself without Tsumiki, and show that life is worth living even if you lose your loved ones or he sinks. Which as I said again is harder and more complex o Megumi because he doesn't get the simple answer "I want to grow strong to protect my sister" he's called to do more than that and stand entirely on his own.

Finally, Megumi not immediately taking Yuji's hand when it's offered to him adds complexity to the story in another way.

Again we are asking the question, is it possible to save someone who does not want to be saved? It's repeating the same conflict in the past between Gojo and Geto now with Yuji and Megumi. Can Yuji really do anything to save Megumi if Megumi himself has decided to give up and that he's beyond salvation. If Megumi does not want to be saved then what does Yuji's attemps to reach out his hand amount to?

One last thing is I think Yuji's attempts to save Megumi were always going to fail, because as it's already been stated above by Gojo you can't save those who aren't willing to be saved.

In broader story terms though, if Megumi's arc is about reclaiming his own agency then how is getting saved by Yuji a proper end to this arc? Megumi being rescued like a passive damsel is not giving his character any agency, if anything it's robbing him of agency because it's reducing him to a victim to be saved by Yuji.

This is why I bring up delayed gratification, because if Megumi was saved here then his arc would be over and it would also be brought to a pretty unsatisfying conclusion. There would be no real moment where he learned to stand up for himself, he didn't find the meaning in living past the death of his loved ones for himself someone.

Not only is Megumi not letting Yuji save him, but story-wise it's kind of impossible for Yuji to save him because what Megumi needs narratively to complete his arc isn't to be saved.

What Megumi needs is to save himself. So no matter what Yuji did, no matter what heroic speech he gave, no matter what lengtsh Yuji went to to free Megumi's soul for Sukuna it would not have worked anyway, because that's not what Megumi needs.

Megumi needs to become himself. Megumi needs to save himself.

The fact that Megumi doesn't want to be saved, that he doesn't want to keep living, is the struggle he's going to have to overcome in order to achieve these things in the end.

And it will be much more gratifying when he does save himself, because the manga didn't go the easy route and just have Yuji save Megumi.

#jjk meta #hxh meta #megumi fushiguro #killua zoldyck #itadori yuji #gojo satoru #sukuna ryomen

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weemssapphic · 8 months

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writing update for anyone who wants one ✨

Hello! I thought it was time for a little writing update, as I have a lot of requests still left to do, many from quite a while ago, and I hadn't posted much recently due to work and a vacation!

under the cut for anyone who wishes to know!

requests marked with an asterisk (*)

currently done - to be posted in the following order:

*Larissa x reader go to a pumpkin patch (I really want to post this tomorrow, Saturday at the latest if I don't feel well again tomorrow)

Lipstick Stains ch 12

A smutty little surprise for Kinktober!

*Phasma x reader feat. Hanahaki Disease trope (hurt/no comfort)

*Brienne x reader songfic to Strange by Celeste (hurt/comfort)

currently working on:

Lipstick Stains ch 13

*Larissa x principal!reader (okay listen I know I've been working on this for actual ages now and I'm almost done, hoping to post next week and as soon as it is finished I will squeeze it into the 'to be posted' schedule asap)

*Another smutty fic for Kinktober, so y'all don't leave my blog empty-handed ;)

next in line:

I have a lot of requests to choose from and will try to go in order of receiving them as much as I can, inspiration and appropriateness taken into account. I also have some ideas of my own hehe. Some fics I might be taking a look at:

*Larissa x reader, reader is a new openly lesbian teacher who helps Larissa realize she's gay

*Brienne x reader, domestic fluff!

*Jane Murdstone x singer!reader

*Larissa x reader, where reader suffers with vaginismus

Brienne x aggressive!reader

Jane Murdstone, sorta sickfic?

Anyway, thank you for being so patient with me. Writing/posting with a full-time job, a chronic illness and whilst trying to have a social life is not the easiest and I'm sorry if it takes me a long time to get to your request or update my series but I am seriously so thankful for everyone who is patient and kind and encouraging, and who continues to support my fics and send me requests and lovely messages. I never thought I would start posting fics publicly, let alone connect personally with so many people because of that, but it makes my heart very happy 🥰

#personal #writing stuff #writing

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marciaillust · 8 months

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Hey! I just wanted to say I’ve been following you forEVER now, and that your art has been inspiring me since i was a teenager. I was wondering if you could share a little about your rendering process? How did you improve it over the years, what did you learn you wish u knew sooner, stuff like that?

(Thanks anyway, and definitely getting myself ur new comic)

Hi! oh wow thank you so much for the kind words!

My rendering process hmmmm.... I will try to sum up the thoughts that come to my mind as I'm writing this, though I might be missing some proper vocabulary

The first thing that surfaced in my brain is exposition within a picture. This is what the picture focuses on - things in the light, or things in the shadow, and how much details each of these two receive rendering wise.

It's basically like taking a photo with a phone - if you click on a bright thing (say, a window), the phone will automatically adjust the exposition and all the other bright things will be visible(lotta detail), but the shadows will become turbo dark (no details). Alternatively, if you click on a dark shadow, all the dark things will become visible (details) but the hypothetical window will become blown out and turbo white (no details). You can basically have one or the other but never both. (or I guess you can who am I to tell anyone how to make art yanno no rules up in this house)

anyway, so for example, this pic^ focuses on the things in the dark, meaning everything in direct light receives no details.

and this pic^ focuses on the light and so all the cast shadows are pitch black.

One other thing that I learned a longass time ago was that edges(and shapes) are arguably the most important part of an object within a picture. Clean edges immediately call for focus, while softer or vague edges allow things to fade in the background and communicate the idea of a thing rather than showing you the thing itself. On a related note note, clean edges also make work in progress appear about 25% more finished.

I guess this all has to do with contrast and contrast can be created in many ways - edges (soft/sharp), colours (eg. red fish in a blue sea), spacing (objects being grouped vs. a single object), the amount of detail per object etc etc etc. and all of these can be controlled to solve specific issues within a picture.

In short, if a thing is important aka the focal point, make it stand out - sharp edges, details, specific colours and a lighting situation that make it pop. And if a thing isn't too important leave it vague, communicate the idea of it rather than focusing on drawing it.

On the note of things being sharp, a thing that I always swore by is, if there are eyes in the picture those eyes better be d-o-n-e. Pristine. People will look at the eyes, eyes communicate 90% of emotion, the eyes are the it girl of the picture forever and always, nobody will look at the wonky foot, they will look at the eyes and judge the quality of the picture. If the eyes are shit the picture is shit. (I'm exaggerating but fr. eyes are a big deal.). They don't have to be turbo rendered or physically mad sharp but they need to be done. Whatever that means, take what you will from my word soup.

One thing that I've become a big fan of over the years is the concept of wear and tear. This has to do with texturing things in pictures and I looooooooooooooooove thinking about ways items are used in order to create bumps and scratches that can be featured.

It always makes things look like they belong to someone?? It makes them real? Like the tip of that bone. that bone has been places. That belt has seen use. That bag carried things. Like yanno?? I looove things that chip and have nicks. Give me wood and I'll put a dent in it I swear.

And I thing the latest thing that I'm trying to incorporate within my art, though I haven't had much time or opportunity to do it in personal art because of work, is colour variation within each element.

Like his face. His skin is obviously "beige" but you will see red, and blue and yellow and green in there too. Stuff like that yanno? I'm quite interested in taking this further in my future paintings. I'm still learning how to push what, where and how but ayyy issa journey I'll happily embark on.

And of course apart from all that it's the usual jazz, working on anatomy composition perspective doing it a lot over and over again babababababa and so on and so forth.

I haven't had much opportunity to paint since I started working on the comic last year but it had it own set of challenges for me. Linework is a completely different kind of rodeo and I've improved in different departments a lot and I'd be happy to bring those things into my paintings when I have the chance. I feel like I'm at a point where I know a lot more than what I've had the opportunity to put on paper, it feels exciting!

I hope at least some of my ramblings were of interest to you!! Again, that you for the nice message and have a nice day :)

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reidsdaisies · 2 months

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500 followers celebration!!

♡・𝐧𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 ; 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

I reached 500 followers this week!! first of all, AAAHHHH!!!! second, thank you to everyone who’s followed and those of you who have interacted with my posts, and also who have sent in asks! it really means a lot to me. i’ve been struggling with actually finishing the works i’ve already started and getting them posted.. so maybe this will help with my motivation and whatnot (excuses, excuses 🤦‍♀️). you don’t know how much it means to me that 500 people have liked my blog and shitty little blurbs and stuck around. I took inspiration for this from golden1u5t who is doing their 2k celebration and since my milestone is lesser i did this on a slightly smaller scale and I’ve always wanted to do one of these prompt things lol i just hope people will actually send in requests 😭 if it doesn’t happen, that’s okay, i just want you guys to know i appreciate you and im trying 😭. thank you again, and now, to the main post!

𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲 little 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩!

Guidelines;

You can send in requests for any of the characters I currently write for; Spencer Reid, Emily Prentiss, Aaron Hotchner, any other mgg characters, & Ethan Landry

If you’re nervous when it comes to sending in asks, the anon option is always turned on

You can request one prompt or multiple! You could never go wrong with a whole bouquet of roses 😏

Specify if you want fem!reader or gn!reader, sub/dom/softdom character/reader

Please make sure that when you are requesting, you have a plotline to go with the prompt of your choice. It can be a very simple plotline. Ex: 'can I order a tulip for emily prentiss with prompt 1 where reader is talking and emily is admiring them?’

I’ll continue this for 1.5 weeks until April 8th. (After the 8th I won’t be accepting anymore requests for this but I will try to finish any that I receive up until then as fast as I can) I don’t know if that’s too long I just want to make sure I have enough time to write because sometimes my brain is lacking

Tulip – 30 fluff/sfw dialogue/action prompts

"I could listen to you all day."

“Are you blushing?”

“You’re so cute, it actually pains me.”

“Here, take my jacket.”

“You’re going to get us caught.” “Just a quick kiss, no one will see.”

“Could you maybe read me to sleep?”

“Could we maybe–uh I don’t know.. hold hands?”

“Hypothetically speaking, if I were to ask you out on a date.. would you say yes?”

“I like the sound of there being an ‘us’.”

“I think I’m in love with you. No, I know I am.”

“You’re cute when you’re jealous.”

“Do you mind if i sleep here tonight?”

“I have to go to work.” “No, you have to stay in bed with me.”

“I want to start a family with you.”

“I’m so lucky to have you.”

“You smell good today,” “Oh, so you’re saying I don’t smell good everyday?” “That’s not what I meant and you know it.” “I guess I just love to push your buttons.”

“Would it be alright if I borrowed your sweater? It smells like you.”

Character A bringing Character B cup of coffee because they “looked like you could use some caffeine”

Stargazing

Letting them cuddle up to you when they’re cold

Sleeping on their chest

Character A covering Character b with a blanket when they’ve noticed they’ve fallen asleep on the couch

Styling/playing with their hair

Hugging them at random

Fixing an article of their clothing before leaving the house

Bringing them flowers to cheer them up

Rolling over in bed, switching positions during a kiss

Good morning/good night texting

Baking together

Slow dancing in the living room

Forget-me-not – 25 hurt/comfort dialogue prompts

“You can't scare me like that, okay?"

“You should be more careful."

“Let me help you."

"You don't have to be afraid anymore."

"You’re safe in my arms."

“Sh, sh, you're okay now."

“Just listen to the sound of my voice, okay?”

“Does that hurt?"

"You can cry, there's no shame in it."

"Stop trying to help me, it's hurting you."

“I’m trying to be strong for you.”

"It wasn't your fault."

"Don't listen to that voice inside your head, listen to mine."

"What can i do for you?”

"I would never leave you, i'm not going anywhere.

"I've got you."

"Just come here. let me hold you."

"It was just a nightmare, it's okay."

"Could you please come and get me?"

"Are you okay? don't lie."

“Hey… hey… why are you crying?”

"I'm here for you, whenever you need me."

"You're not alone."

"It really hurts."

"I'm sorry i can't take the pain away."

Rose – 30 smut/nsfw dialogue prompts

“Wanna take this to the bed?”

“Did you just say what I think you said?”

“I've been thinking about this all day.”

“It’s too late for this” – “You don’t have to do anything, just stay laying down”

“Let me stay like this in you for a little bit.”

“Shirt on or off?”

“Fuck, I’ve never— I’ve never done this before—“ “That’s fine. We can take it slow. It’s all about you, okay?”

“I’ll talk you through it, okay?”

“Just let me take care of you, baby.”

“Does this feel good?”

“Be good, and i'll fuck you / let you fuck me.”

“Are you trying to turn me on right now? Because it’s working.”

“Wait! Leave that on.”

“No underwear? Did you plan this?”

“Shut up and kiss me already.”

“Dont leave any marks.”

“Spread your legs for me.”

“You’re so beautiful all spread out like this, just for me.”

“We’ll make it fit.”

“Just like that, good boy/girl.”

“Fuck… you’re so good at that.”

“Fuck- just- right there! That feels so good.”

“I don’t— I don’t think I can last any longer, fuck, please—”

“You just can't help yourself, can you?”

“Do i make you nervous?”

“You act all innocent around our friends, but i know just how dirty you really are.”

“How bad do you want it?”

“Nobody can know about this, okay?”

“This is a one time thing”

“I thought you said it was a one time thing?”

a handful of these I came up with, some are from pinterest, and the rest are from the following blogs;

@cosmophoriia

@airaibunny

@mirclealignr

@scealaiscoite

#500 follower celebration #reidsdaisies 500 followers event #reidsdaisies #spencer reid #spencer reid x reader #reidsdaisies 500 followers celebration #emily prentiss #emily prentiss x reader #criminal minds #wes dollface #chip taylor #mgg characters #ethan landry #ethan landry x reader #scream vi

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lostfirefly · 3 months

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Trembling, crawling across my skin, feeling your cold dead eyes, stealing the life of mine (Ch.5, The Finale)

This fanfiction story is my present for my friend @yujo-nishimura. I hope you still enjoy the story, my dear :)

Yujo's wedding dress is inspired by the green wedding dress from the show “Outlander”. Sorry, I'm not very good at writing church speeches. The scene in the church may seem unnatural because of this.

Description: The Wedding!

Warnings: The action takes place around the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th century. NSFW part is included!

Words: 2924

Sir Crocodile x OC

The title is taken from “Dance with the Devil” by Breaking Benjamin.

English is not my native language, errors may occur. As always, feel free to share your thoughts :) Masterlist is here

Taglist: @gingernut1314, @ane5e, @rorywritesjunk

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

The week passed quickly. Yujo was busy preparing for the wedding, Helena was happy that she was receiving letters from Mihawk. He was away on business, but constantly sent news.

“God, sister! I can't wait for your wedding day!! This will be my official coming out as Draculе's bride.” Helena lay on the bed, kicking her legs happily. “God, I'm so happy! And you?”

“Can I ask? Are you waiting for my wedding to be happy for me or to go out with your swordsman?” Yujo smiled, looking at her sister.

“Why are you saying such offensive words?” Helena pouted and crossed her arms. “Of course, I’m happy for you. Aren't you happy?”

“Maybe. I don't understand it yet, to be honest.”

“A week has already passed. It's time to understand, sister!” Helena jumped up, ran to Yujo and began to smother her with his arms. “Promise that you will allow me to visit you? I will need to tell you everything. About everything! About my children and Mihawk, about our trips as a married couple.”

Yujo looked at her sister, inspired with happiness, and could not stop smiling. “You will always be welcomed, my little sister!’

The wedding day has finally arrived. From the very morning there was chaos in the Watton house. Helena ran around rooms, chasing one maid after another to help her get ready. Mihawk was supposed to come pick her up in a carriage, and she wanted to look her best.

“God. You might think it's you who's getting married, not your sister.” The father said, smiling.

“Da-a-a-ad!” Helena stamped her foot and almost cried. She ran to the second floor and opened the door to the bedroom.

“Your wedding day, Yujo!!” Helena screamed joyfully in the doorway.

Yujo sat at the dressing table and looked at herself in the mirror. Crocodile sent the best maid from his castle to their house to help to prepare her makeup and hairstyle for the ceremony.

Yujo’s hair was worn in soft curls or waves, with little to no height. Hairpins with lilies were stuck into her hair.

The dress was also made to order. Embroidered chest, off-the-shoulder neckline, thin lace sleeves, wide green silk skirt sewn in with fine silver threads. Details such as pleating and corsets were also chosen. Yujo gently ran her hand over the fabric several times and smiled. "So beautiful."

“Miss, I’m sorry, but it’s time to get dressed.” One of the maids said quietly, stuttering.

“Oh. Sorry. Yes! Of course.”

The maids set up a screen and helped Yujo get dressed.

“Come out, come out, come out!!” Helena practically squealed with impatience.

One of the maids pulled back the screen while the other two straightened the hem of her dress.

“How do I look?" Yujo asked nervously.

Helena folded her hands together, pressed them to her chest and fought back tears. “God! You look amazing!! Your dress is even green, to match the future Madame Crocodile.”

Yujo suddenly laughed. She walked up to Helena and hugged her. “Who will amuse me in the evenings, my dear sister? I'll miss your stupid jokes.”

“In any case, I wouldn’t amuse you for long, given the fact that I’m getting married soon.” Helena wrinkled her nose. “You didn't say anything about my dress, by the way!”

Helena spun around a couple of times. She wore a cream-colored silk satin dress with long, loose, translucent sleeves. The high collar was decorated with a lace pattern, and the waist was outlined with a wide silk belt. Mihawk had given her that dress, which made Helena even happier.

“You look amazing, sister!” Yujo's voice trembled.

Their father invited both sister into the carriage. Yujo's feet were getting cold. Her heart jumped with excitement every time she heard the clatter of horses' hooves. She couldn't believe she was going to marry Crocodile. She was nervous, she was worried. The man she'd kissed in the office just a week ago, whose lips had made her legs tingle, was about to become her husband.

“It’s hard to breathe.” Yujo said quietly.

“It’s just pre-wedding jitters, sister!” Helena stroked Yujo’s back. “Everything will be fine!”

The carriage pulled up to a large blue and white cathedral. The carriage door opened and Yujo saw a yellow-colored carpet leading directly into the building. Their father walked up to the carriage and offered his daughters his hands. Helena pecked her sister on the cheek and ran off squealing into the cathedral.

“How are you?” Her father asked her.

“I'm fine. I'm a little nervous.”

“Well, it's normal to be nervous. I felt the same way when I married your mother. You're marrying a worthy man, my dear daughter.” He stroked her cheek.

Yujo shook her head slightly and squared her shoulders. “How do I look?”

“Like a queen!” With a tremor in his voice, her father said.

He took her hand and slowly led her down the aisle.

The inside of the cathedral seemed larger than the outside. The white color and the golden columns added space. The entire room was filled with flowers. Everyone sighed as soon as they entered the main hall.

Yujo looked at the guests with her eyes. Yes, the highest levels of society were indeed gathered here. Helena waved happily at her from the front row, standing with her swordsman. Yujo looked down the aisle and saw Crocodile. He wore a three-piece blue-green suit. Edges, buttons, and pockets embroidered in pink and green, and cuffs of pink corded silk, also embroidered finished with lace flounce.

Yujo felt her hands sweating and her legs moving treacherously slowly. However, she felt the butterflies in her stomach, which increased her heart beat. She didn’t hear the music, and she tried to hide her smile.

Yujo was escorted down the aisle with her father, who stood on her left side. Together, they processed down the aisle towards Crocodile. Once they had reached the altar, the groom turned around and took a step forward to greet his bride. Yujo took her place next to Crocodile, standing on his left.

“You look wonderful, miss Yujo!” Crocodile took her hand and kissed it. Goosebumps ran all over Yujo's body.

“Thank you! I can say the same about you!”

“I have another gift for you!” He bowed and made a gesture with his hand. Mister Three looked at Yujo and held up a red velvet cushion. Yujo saw a silver tiara with a pattern of intertwined laurel leaves.

“How beautiful!” She whispered and lightly poked at the pillow.

“A royal tiara for the future queen!” Crocodile replied in a firm voice. He took the ornament from the pillow, tsked at Mister Three, and as soon as he was gone, Crocodile put the tiara on Yujo's head.

A relatively tall male who wore flamboyant ballet clothes with a swan theme and was dressed in a pink overcoat and blue medieval garments walked down the aisle. He cleared his throat.

“In the name of the father, and of the son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

“Amen.” Assembly responded.

“Grace to you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

“And with your spirit.” Assembly responded.

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today in the sight of God to witness and celebrate the holy union of Yujo and Sir Crocodile.”

“Dear Yujo and Crocodile, have you come here to enter into marriage without coercion, freely and wholeheartedly?”

“I have.” Both replied.

“Are you prepared, as you follow the path of marriage, to love and honor each other for as long as you both shall live?”

“I am.” Both replied.

“Since it is your intention to enter the covenant of Holy Matrimony, join your right hands, and declare your consent before God and his Church.”

Crocodile took Yujo’s hands in his hand.

“I, Yujo , take you, Sir Crocodile, to be my husband. I promise to be faithful to you, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love you and to honor you all the days of my life.”

“I, Sir Crocodile, take you, Yujo, to be my wife. I promise to be faithful to you, in good times

"Bring the rings!" The priest said.

Crocodile made a hook gesture and Mister Three brought the rings lying on a blue cushion. It was two black and gold rings with a moss agate in the middle and small diamonds around the edges for Yujo and a stone-less version for Crocodile.

The priest sprinkled the wedding rings with holy water before handing them to each partner.

“Yujo, receive this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity. In the name of the father, and the son, and the Holy Spirit.” Crocodile placed the ring on Yujo’s hand.

“Crocodile, receive this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity. In the name of the father, and the son, and the Holy Spirit.” She placed the ring on his hand.

“In the sight of God and these witnesses, I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may now kiss!”

Crocodile hugged Yujo with his hook and pulled her closer. He kissed her hungrily, as if he wanted to show that she was his now.

“Go in peace to glorify the Lord with your life.”

“Thanks be to God.” Assembly responded.

“So, now you’re mine, miss Yujo. Since now and forever.” Crocodile whispered in her ear.

“Now and forever.” She repeated after him quietly.

He took her by the arm and led her out of the cathedral to the orchestral version of “My Sails Are Set.” Yujo glanced at the guests. Helena practically drowned in tears, burying her face in her swordsman's chest. Father and mother smiled sincerely. She glanced at Mister Three. He was clearly annoyed. Their engagement was called off, and Crocodile forced him to serve him at their wedding. Such humiliation was difficult to bear.

Crocodile opened the carriage door and helped Yujo up. They drove to his castle. After a while, the guests arrived for the gala dinner.

The men retired to Crocodile's office to celebrate the wedding and congratulate themselves on being kings of the world. The girls were in the dining room at this time. It was unusual to Yujo that the maids in Crocodile's castle already treated her as a full-fledged mistress of the house.

As dinner came to an end and the guests began to disperse, Helena ran up to Yujo and hugged her tightly. "I love you so much, my sister!!!”

“I'll come to see you tomorrow!” Yujo hugged Helena tightly.

The maids escorted her upstairs to her bedroom. As she looked around the spacious gray-green room, she didn't see Crocodile return.

“I hope you're happy with today, Miss Yujo!” He said, taking her hand. Yujo felt a thousand little electric shocks run through her body as he began to run the fingers of his hand over her wrist.

“If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go to the bathroom to clean up before I go to bed.” She whispered excitedly, removing his hand.

“You don’t need to ask my permission. My castle is your castle. And my maids are your maids.” He looked at her instantly.

Not knowing why, but Yujo bowed slightly and quickly left for the bathroom. She sat down on the pouffe. Everything around her was in green and gold colors. Yujo looked at herself in the mirror. The mere thought of her first wedding night with Crocodile made her blush and look like a beet. Her father had always been very strict about her interactions with young men and any advances from potential suitors.

She took a deep breath and pulled the tiara and the hairpins out of her hair. She shook her head, straightening her hair. Furthermore, she kept repeating to herself that it was all for her father's sake, to strengthen the family's position, afraid to admit that she had fallen in love with Crocodile. She had only read about those feelings in the books she and her sister hid from their parents under the mattress.

She got up from the pouf, took three more deep breaths, and walked back out into the room. Crocodile was standing near the window, sipping slowly from a glass of whiskey.

"You're back." He turned to her, set the glass aside, took two large steps toward her and placed his hook on her waist. He put his other hand on her cheek and pulled her toward him. Before she understood anything, he kissed her. His tongue was sliding across her mouth.

His kisses were so respectful and so soft that she had to close her eyes and turn off all her senses just to notice that he was there. She wrapped her arms around his shoulder and let out a thin moan.

He suddenly ran his hand down her back, searching for the strings on her dress. Yujo helped untie the ties on her dress without taking her lips off his. He hissed through the kiss as he removed her dress. She quickly moved her hands to his clothes and began undoing the buttons on his shirt and pants. He quickly walked her towards the bed and gently pushed Yujo onto the mattress. Yujo propping herself up on her forearms and watching with a quirked, challenging eyebrow. She was focused on his face. He took off his own underwear quickly. No teasing. No kisses. She wanted to touch him, but also she was shy. She was shy of her feelings and shy of strange desire of his body.

Crocodile walked up to the bed and bowed to Yujo. He started kissing her. He kissed her greedily until they both ran out of breath. He ran his hook along the outer and inner sides of her thigh.

“But if you don't want to, Miss Yujo, I won't touch you.” He whispered near her lips.

“I think it's too late to say no, isn't it?” She tried to joke.

She put her hand on his neck and pulled him in for another kiss. He picked her up with one hand and laid her on the bed. Yujo’s cheeks flushed. Her month red. She looked between his legs and returned her gaze to Crocodile.

“More than you expected?” He grinned, knee pressing into the mattress.

Her hand grabbing his arm. Crocodile let himself fall onto her. Gently. With an obscene whisper of skin against skin and a mingled groan.

Their lips were entangled. Crocodile found himself sinking into the sensation of her bare skin on his, sinking into the sensation of her hair as he angled her head, sinking into the sensation of her mouth as she let him. Here her inexperience occurred. The almost-shy way she ran her hands down his back. Crocodile ripped off her bra with his hook and kissed her again. He moved down to her chin and collarbone.

Crocodile put his hook on her waist and let his another hand fall to the inside of her thigh, as his mouth moved lower. He licked the underside of her breast. Yujo jumped and shivered as he traced his tongue to the tip of her nipple. Yujo parted her legs slightly and Crocodile grinned, taking that as an invitation.

Before entering her. Crocodile paused, catching Yujo’s gaze. She nodded slightly. Crocodile laid his full weight on her and slowly entered her. She tensed and pursed her lips.

“Don't worry, the pain will go away soon.” He said and began to move slowly back and forth.

Yujo’s heart began to race with his every movement. Crocodile dropped his head against hers, closing his eyes. She covered her mouth with her hand, felt his pace begin to quicken with each passing second, and the sounds he uttered became louder. Crocodile pumps against her cervix every time as she swings between cries of discomfort muffled into her hand and groans for more, pleasure-pain. She dug her fingers into his back, feeling the pain gradually go away with his every thrust.

“Moan for me, miss Yujo.” Crocodile whispered in her ear, and started speeding up his pace.

She didn't even notice how she started moaning into his mouth and pulled him closer to her. He ran his tongue over her bottom lip, wanting one more entrance in her mouth. He slid his tongue into her mouth, rubbing it over hers with a moan. She moaned and slowly moved her hips up to meet his every thrust. He moaned, moving his hips down against hers as he thrusts her harder. He started kissing her neck, then moved down to her hippies and gently touched them with his lips. He brought his lips back to hers, kissing her deeply.

She moaned and picked up her pace some. She moaned, feeling him go deeper and harder. He moaned, biting his lip as he felt himself getting close.

“You’re so good, my miss Yujo!” He groaned into her ear.

“You feel amazing.” She moaned out, understanding she was close.

She smiled and moaned his name over and over. He looked down at her and smiled, kissing her softly before moving off her.

“Are you ok?” He asked and looked into her eyes.

“Yeah.” She didn’t notice how she ran her hands over his hair.

He pulled the cover over their bodies and slid his arms around her, kissing her forehead. He started stroking her hair.

“I'm glad your father agreed to our marriage. Now you are mine, miss Yujo. Now and forever.”

“Now and forever.” She repeated quietly.

#one piece #one piece crocodile #sir crocodile x oc #oc fanfiction #sir crocodile #sir crocodile one piece #friends on tumblr #sir crocodile x reader #one piece au #sir crocodile x you

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mazeinthemiroh · 2 years

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hii can you please write an ateez reaction to an s/o who speaks a lot of languages and sometimes confuses them cause they switch mid sentence between languages? sorry if it's so specific!!

ateez reaction to their multilingual s/o

genre: general

word count: 0.5k

warnings: none

pls like and reblog if you enjoyed! feel free to request anything <3

hongjoong

he wants to learn from you!! hongjoong loves learning new things, but if there's one thing he always feels the need to brush up on, it's langauges. he knows speaking different languages is important in his line of work; he wants to reach out and spread love to as many international fans as possible. so he would love for you to teach him some basic phrases in the languages you know.

seonghwa

hwa gets so confused, because you don't even realise you're switching between languages when you're talking to him. he nods along like he knows what your talking about but you see his eyebrows arch in utter confusion and realise that he has literally no idea what you're saying. he doesn't interrupt you though. he's so sweet about it because he doesn't mind :))))))

yunho

so after hearing that you are multilingual, he will want to interact with you in such a way. you receive like a tone of memes from him, all of them in the variations of the different languages you can speak. you ask him if he actually understands these memes, considering he doesn't speak most of the languages you can. but he'll just shrug and say "all i know is you know what it means 😉"

yeosang

he gets so confused when you mix up the languages you're talking in. like one time he's sitting in the living room while your on the phone to your cousin or something, and he looks up from his book when he hears you changing the language you're speaking for the forth time. his brain just goes like???? he's impressed obviously but also just doesn't understand how???

san

he admires you so much. you inspire him to learn more languages too, because he views learning a new language as a massive achievement and also very important when it comes to connecting with others. when he goes on holiday, he can have the satisfaction of ordering something or asking for directions in a different langauge! that's something he would absolutely love, especially when he can do that with you.

mingi

he's confused as to how you retain all that knowledge so well. learning languages is not easy, that's for sure. there's so much to consider; the difference in grammar, masculine and feminine terms, a whole different alphabet and even symbols. no, languages are very hard indeed. so he is more than impressed to say the least. he calls you his little genius <3

wooyoung

well we all know he 100% brags about it to his friends. "oh, your partner can play tennis? that's cool. my partner can speak multiple languages fluently so 😜" we know he's a hype man so what did you expect?? he's very proud of you and thinks you are so awesome. he can't imagine what it's like to know so many languages in such an intricate level.

jongho

your multilingual expertise brings out jongho's competitive side. he also likes keeping up with your life in general. so, because of this, he tries to learn as much of the main languages you speak as he can. he loves seeing your surprised face when you're talking to him in a different language and he responds to you in the same language. he gets such satisfaction from your shocked expression 😭

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kingpreciouswrld · 1 year

Note

you’re back!! you’ve been missed :) i have a welcome back present for you whenever you feel like writing again <3

basically reader wins an award and when they get up on stage to receive it, and give their thank you speech; they lock eyes with gwen in the audience, who is clapping for them.

later at the after party, gwen comes up to congratulate r and they really hit it off and then they just have a really nice time, reader freaking out the entire time over gwen, considering the huge crush they have on her, stumbling over their words and clumsy flirting. it’s just all gay, gay and more gay

pairing: Gwendoline Christie x Reader

word count: 793

A/N: Thank you for welcoming me back, I appreciate it ;-; I always look forward to your asks! You're an amazing hooman being

The night was all a blur. You couldn't believe you've won an academy award for outstanding performance. It was surreal. You (luckily) had a speech planned and thanked everyone on your list, including a Miss Gwendoline Christie for inspiring you to become an actress.

You've never met the woman but you knew after watching her on screen, that you wanted to become an actress. It came around full circle really. As you thanked the woman, you happened to lock eyes with her and as you saluted your award towards her, she blew you a kiss.

It was a crazy night indeed.

But it wasn't over.

You and your co-stars were invited to the after party and after winning an award that night, they wouldn't let you go home just yet. The room was bustling; actors, actresses, directors, producers, everyone was mingling and you…well you didn't know where to start.

Luckily, someone came up to you.

You turned as someone laid a gentle hand on your shoulder. It was Gwendoline. Just your luck, starting the night off with your girl crush.

"It seems congratulations are in order, you were magnificent in your film Y/n, truly."

"Oh my God, thank you so much! It really means a lot, especially coming from you. I hope I didn't embarrass you in my speech.." you chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of your head.

Gwen shook her head, "Oh! No, not at all! I thought it was flattering, it was adorable!"

'Did she just call me adorable?' your cheeks burned bright and you cleared your throat,

"I meant what I said though, you're my idol and I wouldn't be here without you, so thank you."

"Tsk, you're so cute darling," Gwen pulled you into a hug you weren't ready for but happily took it.

It took you a moment to realize but you only came up to her chest and her dress was a bit revealing. You were basically face planted into her chest and that made your face turn into a tomato.

You guessed Gwen also realized it because she bursted out laughing, "Oh! I'm so sorry! I was smothering you wasn't I!"

"No no you're all good, I didn't mind.." your eyes widened as you choked on air. Gwen just raised an eyebrow and smirked at you,

"I–I–I– mean– I mean it's okay! I didnt–it wasn't bad but like I–uh–"

The older woman pulled you in close again before leaning down, tilting her head towards your ear, "Now now, don't get me all hot and bothered in public, hm?"

You practically died.

Whether you died from embarrassment or being turned on you didn't know.

Gwen chuckled in you ear before kissing your head, "I'm just joking with you Y/n/n, it's fine, you're all good. Why don't we sit somewhere and you tell me a bit about yourself?"

You chuckled awkwardly before clearing your throat out. Gwen had guided you through the crowd (since she could see above everyone else), an arm wrapped around your waist as she kept you close to her. You followed her into a more quiet room, it was a lounge area where others were seated and talking amongst themselves. You pulled a chair out for Gwen which she gladly took and you followed suit in the chair next to her.

"So. Tell me about the great Y/n L/n."

And that's how you two got to know each other. You told her about your upbringing, your likes and dislikes, your hobbies, and what you're into right now. You also got to ramble about the character you played that got you your award and Gwen sat back, amused at your passionate rambling. When you asked about her, she told you the same things. She talked about her own upbringing and how she got into acting herself. The older woman also talked passionately about fashion and you listened with awe. If it was possible, you fell in love with the woman harder than before.

The room slowly started to empty as the after party was wrapping up. You didn't notice but you spent the whole party at Gwen's side just getting to know each other. In the empty room, you two decided that it was time you left.

"Well it was a pleasure getting to know you Y/n and I hope I can see you again soon? How about we go out for a coffee sometime?"

"I'd love that," you nodded and smiled softly. You both exchanged phones and got each other's numbers.

"Can…can I get another hug before we leave?"

Gwen raised a brow and gave you a knowing look before giggling, "Yes, of course you can darling."

The night ended on a higher note it started off from.

#gwendoline christie #gwendoline christie x reader

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thisnightissparkling089 · 26 days

Note

What are your favourite chenford prompts to receive/write? What inspires you to write for them?

I also wanted to say how much I love your chenford stories ❤️

Thank you so much for your kind words, I truly appreciate that!

I really want to get back to my writing, and hopefully I'm inspired to do so soon. Right now I've been prioritizing my mental health. It's rough because AO3 comments are SUCH a boost of serotonin, but in order to get those comments and serotonin, I actually have to write. And right now my brain is just like, "Nah, I'm good." 🙄🤦🏼‍♀️

In any event, lately I've really been enjoying prompts with a small piece of dialogue I can work with.

For example, one in my inbox that I'm trying to work on is

"Chenford + "I'm just so tired."

So prompts that are ambiguous and can go in many different directions.

What inspires me to write for them? 🤔 I guess I'd say the love they have for each other and how they're two imperfect people who are perfect for each other. They also have many things that seem to happen off screen, and I get inspiration from that as well, writing what we don't get to see.

Thanks for asking!

#the rookie #chenford #fanfic #fan fiction #a03 fanfic #anon ask #asked and answered #asks #ask me anything

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ecoamerica · 2 months

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youtube

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The American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 broadcast recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by active climate leaders. Watch to find out which finalist received the $50,000 grand prize! Hosted by Vanessa Hauc and featuring Bill McKibben and Katharine Hayhoe!

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otomiyaa · 7 months

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Thank you! ❤️

Omfg... The past 24hrs I received SO many sweet messages, DMs, comments etc. from a lot of you, I don't know what to say except thank you so much T-T!!

Hearing people say I made them feel comfortable about liking tickling, that I inspired them to make a blog of their own, and how much my writing meant for them....?!?! I'm speechless!😳

I won't be answering all messages separately but I HEAR YOU and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the support! 🙏

Small update:

At this moment I'm still in thinking-phase of what I'm going to do with this blog. I'll stay active and keep indulging myself, that's for sure.

But actually, one of the reasons why I heavily hesitated about making a new blog, was because I knew I would be overwhelmed with the things to (potentially-) do, regarding:

My lost fics / drabbles, some of them around through reblogs. Do I want to give them a place on this blog, maybe a separate tag? Not decided.

ALL OF MY FRIENDS' WRITINGS, I was already way behind catching up on tktober fics written by my dear friends and beloved writers. Please know that if I don't interact with your posts it's not because I'm uninterested, but because I need time to catch up and also don't want to spam too much.

Gathering the things I commissioned again, and gifts from friends. Finding them won't be hard, but I might just reblog them gradually in random order.

Re-following (and blocking) peeps. Why do I feel so lazy about this haha.

Re-liking, Re-reblogging my fav things (not only fics, but also art, tickle scenes etc.) WHERE TO BEGIN.

All of my favorite non-tickle content to catch up on.

I'm thinking of a few easy tags I'm gonna use. I may still use #otomiya!writes for my own headcanons and old stuff I end up reblogging (if I choose to), and for the new headcanons maybe, but not sure yet.

My sideblogs. I won't reopen any of the sideblogs (mdzs, genshin) but I'm seriously considering reopening a 18+ sideblog again, I was having so much fun with that and my DRAFTS WERE SO FULL WITH JUICY THINGS I WANTED TO REBLOG. anyway, I can find those again hehe.

I'll first finish Tickletober, and then take my time and think of something :3

#<333 #update #personal #otomiya-tickles

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gojonanami · 24 days

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‧ ˚. 𝐅𝐀𝐐 !!

‧ ˚. will you do x, y, z request?

check my rules! i take requests / suggestions on an inspiration basis (if it sparks something, it will be added to sab [future fics] tag). as a rule, i don't write overly specific requests (or i may pick and choose elements to include) -- but i do not write fics with readers with specific appearances or overly specific plot points.

‧ ˚. when will you post your next fic?

i try to post every friday / saturday around 8 PM EST - but since my fics are long as heck, it sometimes takes me two weeks to write one fic (since they are usually close to 10K or above 10K). i usually make update posts so just check under sab [speaks]

‧ ˚. can i write a fic based on your concept posts?

no, please don't. those ideas are for me so i can keep it in mind and so i don't forget an idea i have (because i have the memory of a squirrel).

‧ ˚. why aren't you answering my ask?

this blog typically runs on queue - i do check here and there -- but i try to answer asks in the order received (i tend to run behind due to real life obligations). so i will get to your ask. if you send in requests, sometimes i don't reply because i'm keeping it in my inbox to see if it will spark a fic down the line! on another note, if you sent in something rude, i likely just blocked you - i don't tolerate hate in any form - directed towards me or anyone else.

‧ ˚. why do you post so many asks?

you guys interact with me a lot and i'm so lucky, but because of that it may seem like i'm clogging the dash, but really, i'm just trying to reply! i love talking to you guys so much and i just want to keep an active community!! i try to queue them between 30 minutes to an hour or longer between them at the very least!

‧ ˚. why are you writing this fic with x, y, z thing/s?

this is a hobby. i will write what i want. obviously there are things that are no gos - but i write dark content and very occasionally aged up character fics (usually not because the characters i tend to write for are already adults lmao). also i'm tired - i have a job, family stuff to deal with -- i don't want to argue with people over fiction. don't like what i post? block me!

‧ ˚. do you have any writing tips?

i have writing tips under sab [writing tips] - i am planning on making a masterlist of them, but for now, they are tagged under there.

‧ ˚. can you comment on discourse?

no, i don't care about discourse. i am an adult. i have a full time job and an elderly parent to care for. i have my own friends and hobbies, i do not have time to argue with people. i just want to have a good time with you guys and i love talking to you all about our collective brainrot :)

#sab [faq]#i'm going to make a separate post with my rules #i'll make an about me as well :)

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oreramar · 26 days

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Florist Talk: Deliveries

Time to talk about what happens when flowers leave the shop! As always, I'm talking from the anecdotal perspective of someone working in a small US flower shop. This is going to be especially important for this one because the place I work at has some Delivery Rules that I know for a fact aren't - maybe can't be - universal, especially if you get into bigger cities.

For writing purposes, take inspiration from any bits of this that could be interesting for whatever plot you're writing out, and change others as makes sense or is properly narrative.

So, first of all - is your Florbo going to be running deliveries at all?

I do, because it's a small shop and we don't have a dedicated delivery driver. I design flowers and also drive them places, except on very very very busy days when we get other people in just to drive, like Valentine's and Mother's Day.

If you're writing a bigger shop in a bigger city, or even a small one with more dedicated roles, a flower design Florbo might not drive deliveries unless it's very needed, for whatever reason. Even so, you could have another character of some importance be the dedicated driver anyhow, or you might just vaguely need or want the opening to a scene be the driver coming back complaining about something that happened on the run, so this still might be useful.

So here's roughly what happens when Flower Deliveries go out:

Deliveries get sorted by Most Efficient Route. If a delivery address is unknown it can be looked up on a map. Maybe someone uses GPS to navigate. Maybe the Flower System being used can map a route for you automatically. Maybe it's all done in the driver's head because they know the area really well by now.

Flowers (and other things like balloons, etc) get put into the back of the Flower Delivery Van. There are holders back there to keep things in place en route. These holders can vary from foam inserts in plastic trays, with circular shapes in various sizes cut out of them, to wood boxes with more various circular shapes cut out of the top, to styrofoam trays with various openings to, heck it, some of those heavy cinderblock bricks with cloth or foam lining the inside so glass vases don't chip on the edges on turns.

Broadly speaking, these measures will mostly be effective. Sometimes the fit is loose, though, and a change in direction or speed is too sharp, and the driver will hear something rustle, thump, and start to trickle water. That is never a good sound.

Some vases fit the holders better than others. The ideal is a good snug fit that doesn't allow wobble, let alone clank-clank-clank on every turn or bump.

Deliveries tend to have matching delivery slips that are kept up front by the driver and are used to remind driver of addresses and to check things off as they're done. Personal anecdote: it's the norm at my workplace to write the time of delivery on the slip when it's done, so that if anyone calls later and asks if/when it was delivered we can give that info.

Here's where stuff is gonna vary: the rule at my place is that the delivery goes to the door of the house, and if no one answers, it cannot be left there. If no one answers the door, we call the recipient's phone number off the slip, assuming we got it. If we get an answer there, we ask if there's a better time to deliver these flowers, or another place within town - sometimes someone's at work and can receive them there, or they're out until a certain point and we'll return then.

If no one answers the phone, or if we don't have their number, we call the person who ordered the thing, and tell them what's up and ask if they have a way to get hold of the person the flowers are for. Sometimes it's a yes, and we get the info asked for above. Sometimes they also fail.

Sometimes voicemails must be left, with the store's phone number given and a request to arrange a better delivery time. Sometimes the voicemail box is full or has not been set up yet and we just gotta try again later.

The flowers are never left, only messages. They go back to the store if they must. They are stored in the cooler for the next day if they really must. They are remade a week later if they really really must (sometimes people go on vacation out of town right when someone they know, who doesn't know about the vacation, decides to send them birthday flowers or something).

This rule is definitely not universal. I've sent flowers other places and been told how they were just left on the front step and were found by accident as the recipient didn't ever hear a doorbell or knock or get a phone call like the website said they would upon delivery.

Businesses tend to be easier to deliver stuff to than houses. At the very least you've generally got some kind of front desk or counter to leave the things at.

Other little notes on delivering stuff:

If in a cold season and place, like sub-freezing cold, flowers must be put into plastic bags which are taped or stapled or tied shut before they go outside. This traps just enough warm air around the flowers to keep them from freezing between building and vehicle and building. There is a fine line between "cooler which keeps flowers fresh longer" and "freezing air that will give flowers frostbite so that they look nice until they thaw at which point they go to hell immediately."

Sometimes someone is sent flowers from someone they don't want flowers from. I have been told that, as flower shop, we have to complete the delivery. We can't take them back. What happens to them after they're out of our hands is, well, out of our hands, but we gotta be able to honestly tell the customer, if asked, that we did indeed successfully deliver the flowers. That being said, write what you will.

Delivering balloons on a windy day is hell. I haven't lost one to the wind yet - knots and strings tend to be pretty sturdy and I keep a good grip on them - but they will batter you all around the head as you try to walk with them, and if there are multiple they will tangle the strings together.

A delivery driver of any type probably knows the general area pretty damn well. Even if they don't know exactly where XYZ street is, chances are they know the general direction where it should be.

A florist driver probably knows by heart the location of and routes to nearby/local hospitals, clinics, funeral chapels, schools, and quite possibly churches.

Sometimes you get to meet one or more Very Good Dogs on a delivery and it is the highlight of your day.

#florist talk #floral deliveries #florist au #writing resource

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