#but the best way to develop a habit is to do something for 28 days straight

[prozach27]

.

#challenging myself to work out 2-3 times a week for a month to develop a habit #but the best way to develop a habit is to do something for 28 days straight #I finished day three and I feel really strongly committed #but man I forget how sore you feel after exercising 🤪 #it’s good for me and I really missed working out actually bc I used to be addicted to it #it’s been like half a decade or longer though lol I really stopped when my mental health spiraled #now it’s nice to instead focus on gym stuff and low calorie rather than a strict unyielding low carb diet #while the goal ultimately is to work out 3-5x a week and make that my habit #I’m giving myself leeway and saying 2-3x a week for the first month to build up the habit of going again #but in reality I kinda wanna challenge myself to go every day for a month #not intense exercises each day - even just a half hour of cardio #it’s only gonna improve my life and my mood. laziness is the only thing stopping me and I’m over that #plus?? back to my old weight?? jfc I’d be unstoppable lol

[shares-a-vest]

@steddielovemonth Day 28: Love is… When you look at his lips for half the conversation because you can’t stop thinking about kissing him (Prompt by @starryeyedjanai)

wc: 733 | Rated: T for suggestive language | cw: None

Tags: Eddie Munson Has a Crush on Steve Harrington, Family Video, Pining, Pre-Relationship, Jeff (not present but mentioned a lot), Cliffhanger Ending (might write a cheeky sequel tomorrow)

'Lips'

Eddie should have known it was a mistake to visit Family Video on his lunch break. His excuse to Jeff was that the store had better air conditioning than the mechanic shop. Aka, an air conditioner.

Besides, he promised his friend that he wouldn’t be all that long.

Unlike yesterday.

… Or the day before.

And that no, Jefferson, best friend dearest compatriot, it has nothing to do with Steve Harrington’s summer attire – a good ol’-fashioned too-tight polo and a pair of jean shorts that have not been rotating around in his pea-brain for the better part of a month and a half now that they are in the throws of an Indiana summer.

Nope. None of that.

Nor does his desperation to skip down three blocks and waste his entire lunch break have anything to do with the chapstick Steve has taken to wearing (though Robin’s recent snickering suggests the reddish-pink pouty blessing is a Harrington Summer Standard).

But Eddie just can’t stop staring as his completely kissable crush bemoans working a double shift.

... Or something.

He isn’t really sure because Steve just bit his lip in annoyance – Keith! He definitely just mentioned that loser! – and, well, now there’s an indent on his bottom lip that is making Eddie think about how red they could get if they were all kiss-bitten and...

Eddie forces himself to look up from the plush pout Steve has permanently plastered to his face when he is bitching.

He is met with a faint crinkle in Steve’s brow and yeah, it is probably quite obvious he is not paying attention. His eye wanders above Steve’s frown to the beads of sweat pearling at his hairline.

He gulps.

No, no, no!

This can’t be happening! Steve cannot start sweating too.

It’s bad enough that Eddie has seen him all hot and bothered, his delicious chest hair all matted and grimy as they ran for their lives in an undead hellscape. And their late afternoon sojourns to the Quarry are downright cruel as Steve strips off his sweat-stained shirt to reveal equally sweaty hair that trails down, down, all the way down beyond his waistband to what is surely a sizeable –

“– Eddie!”

He grips the counter between them with grease-stained fingers and holds on for dear life.

“Huh?” he grunts, his eyes landing back on those lips like it’s now the worst possible habit he could ever have the misfortune of developing.

Because Steve is, well, Steve Harrington. Ladies Man. Casanova. Dorky wooer and hot former-jock turned actual good dude.

Stevie H. who’s all plush and pouty and... Moisturised.

Those lips look soft, don’t they?

And maybe the reddish hue is a sign of a flavour? Perhaps cherry? Maybe even strawberry?

Eddie licks his own bone-dry lips as he thinks about tasting it.

Tasting Steve...

How those beautiful smackers would look all swollen from spending time wrapped around his –

“Are you even listening?” Steve whines, lightly smacking the counter with his gigantic, manly hand.

“Yeah – oh… um, yeah sure, man,” he splutters.

Steve’s sceptical frown faulters, softening as he looks Eddie over. He purses those lips.

Fuck.

It’s painfully obvious, isn’t it?

Eddie closes his eyes and sucks in a breath.

Jeff was right. Today, a mere ten minutes ago... Yesterday... The day before...

He should just let go of the counter, turn heel and run back to work to sweat his balls off. At least there he wouldn't be confronted with he tantalising mouth of one Steve Harrington and all the filthy thoughts that come with staring at them.

His wristwatch beeps in agreement – a warning alarm Jeff set by yanking at his arm before he stepped out of the shop on his merry way.

“Hey,” he begins, clearing his throat as he dares open his eyes again.

And he finds Steve staring back, a small smirk tugging at the corner of his sinful mouth. He licks his lips and those hazel, now greedy-looking eyes flit down and linger there.

As if they are examining...

“I gotta go!” Eddie screeches.

His shout sends Steve shooting upright from where he had drifted into leaning across the counter.

Eddie launches himself backwards, stumbling towards the door as he incoherently splutters about Jeff and gaskets and the miserable PB&J sandwich he has waiting for him in his beat-up lunch tin.

“Eddie, wait!”

#steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddielovemonth #family video 📼 #steve x eddie #steddie ficlet

[treasurehuntbait]

Musings: Murdoch & Photography - Analog Horror Edition™

I was just thinking about Murdoch and how his exposure (haha, photography pun!) to the nature of the town is potentially even more horrifying with the added layer of his main occupation, aka being a photographer.

------ SPOILERS BELOW CUT ------

His interest in photography probably came first. But at the point where we meet him in the story, regardless of routes, his passion is an integral part of his character, and I think it's safe to say that it is inseparable to his investigations and larger quest to ''fight back'' against the influence of Echo. These two things feed each other, and probably have for the longest time.

And seeing his mental state, in his own route, and how is he basically ''shut in'' the red room to develop photographs for hours on end sometimes? That can't be good for him. Now, think about the fact that outside of his own route where he has Sam to talk to, or Cliff's route where he is away from Echo, we don't see him that often and he's left to his own devices? Especially in Nik's route, where we basically don't interact past the prologue and Powder Room encounter (as of Build 28). I'm getting very worried for him.

How just a mere second of him seeing something in a photo, or thinking he's seen something, could affect him. Regardless of routes, I can see him spiralling into paranoia, or despair, or manic fits in that fucking room. Now add the lack of clear communication about Echo and its nature, and the fact that he can get into ''work addict mode'' to sastify his family's whims? Yeeeeah. You could make the case that's it been years, and he is used to it, expecting it even. But that's an habit he had to develop to live in Echo. I don't think I need to point out exactly why that's bad. No wonder the dude gets high with Ralph on a regular basis? My lord.

That must be hard but like, I can see him thinking, on particularly bad days, that the photos being clear signs to tell the town's fucking with him to be the cherry on top of everything bad the town has to send him this way. Like, what a fucking irony, that his hobby, his job, his passion, can potentially be used ''against him'' by the supernatural forces of Echo. Of course it's useful, and it gives him insight onto what might be happening, important information, even. But it's a double edged sword. The town can cut him just as deep with just one (unsettling) change in a photo, if not more, than what he personally can dish out.

It's alarming to think about. He really is one of the people the more at risk of Echo's malignant forces.

For more precision about all of this, and as a final note as of now: there's reasonable doubt, for me, about whether or not photos are ''active'' or ''passive'' things in Echo.

We don't have a definite answer on this, and we probably won't have any imo (and it's not a bad thing too, I'd argue it's best our minds are left in speculation to some degree for a story like TSR.) So far it seems photographs are ''passive'' and ''impartial'', in the sense that they're just objects. Objects that capture light (what really happened VS what we think happened), basically finger prints of the town's influence, and tools to use for our characters.

But I can also see the town using the photos in nefarious ways, especially if they have ''auras'' of dead people on them. Think of Murdoch's younger brother, Seamus, and how his photo changes. Now think of how we know (from both visual novels Echo and TSR) that Echo can basically ''reproduce'' basic strokes of what a person used to be when they were alive. I'm not saying that's what happening in the scene where we are introduced to this very specific photo. But with that in mind, I do think it's odd, at best, that we witnessed the displayed portraits on the wall change earlier in the route, without some kind of emotional investment for those specific people with characters present in the room with our narrator and POV character, Samuel. Also note that those specific portraits changing before our eyes - well it's happening in the wider context of Samuel's mental state and inner monologue. Aka, he's in a bad place - survival mode, thinking of tempering with evidence (photos of Jack's corpse and the site where Jack was found). It could just denote the influence of the town on Samuel, which would work. But it could also be something else on top of that. Sam has had ''the veil lifted from his eyes'' because he's killed a man (in the mines, important detail), and perhaps because he ''contributed to the pile of offerings which feed the cursed soil'', so to speak. (I don't think it's stated in Murdoch's route, but it is observed, numerous times, that the earth beneath the town is bad, in a literal and metaphysical sense. And it is implied that there is a ritualistic element to killing people in the mines. See Mary Applegate and as a whole, the complete, still cryptic, exchanges we hear when we are with Melissa's POV). Perhaps, then, he is able to see what the town usually conceals or reveals in small portions to the rest of the masses. Doesn't negate that the town is using that to get to him (''hello there'' quote during that passage).

Either way, YEAH something's up! Seems like those could be a gateway for Echo to potentially fuck with people too... A little portal, of limited influence, but still something that can be twisted to fit the Entity / the Supernatural forces' designs.

#tsr vn #the smoke room vn #meta #murdoch byrnes #txt post #long post #.txt

[quillkiller]

also, for them ask game too:

quillkiller: 1, 2, rosekiller: 1, 2, 28 wolfstar: 12, 28, 19 nobleflower: 7, 11, 28

ty again!!<33

(this ask game!!)

quillkiller:

1. What’s their love languages?

bella’s is touch / rita’s is gifts (bellatrix fucking loves giving her gifts)

2. Do they have a dynamic trope? (enemies to lovers, sunshine x grumpy, etc?)

definitely enemies to lovers !! but in canon compliant i also see them as unlikely best friends

rosekiller:

1. What’s their love languages?

barty’s is touch / evan’s is acts of service and they complement each other’s love languages so well

2. Do they have a dynamic trope? (enemies to lovers, sunshine x grumpy, etc?)

best friends to lovers (lots of angst, miscommunication, hint of obsessiveness, etc etc etc)

28. What’s something that reminds them of their partner(s)? Do they have anything on them daily as a reminder (a photo, phone background, tattoo, clothing/accessory, etc)?

barty has a lot of tattoos that evan has done on him and loves having his designs on his body, but i also very genuinely imagine him walking around with evans fucking baby tooth around his neck or something. same with evan, he doesn’t have as many tattoos from barty bc barty isn’t very good at them but he wanted barty to tattoo something on him either way. i can see him with the baby tooth too ahshdjdk

wolfstar (i get heart palpatations when i have to talk about them ahshdjdj)

12. Who gets up the earliest? Who has the worst sleep schedule? Who is the sleepiest?

babygirl sirius gets up soooooo early in the morning. even when he doesn’t mean to. he developer the habit when he moved in with james bc james has a perfect sleeping schedule most of the time and he loves being up with the sun.

remus could sleep an entire day if he didnt set an alarm . his sleeping schedule is fucking horrible and he’s the sleepiest boywolf that ever was

28. What’s something that reminds them of their partner(s)? Do they have anything on them daily as a reminder (a photo, phone background, tattoo, clothing/accessory, etc)?

sirius has moony tattoos, remus has a sirius tattoo. sirius has remus as his bg on his phone, remus has a picture of both them as his bg !!

19. How do they silently/subtly express their love for each other?

remus allowing sirius to lay with him when he reads (he doesn’t allow people into his solitude very easily), remus sharing his food, remus wanting to share earbuds

sirius making sure remus eats properly, cooks for him even if he’s a bit shit at cooking, sirius calling him every morning to make sure remus is up, etc

nobleflower

7. Who is the more romantic one?

both!! alice is a really sappy hopless romantic, and narcissa is a repressed romantic reluctantly letting alice woo her

11. What’s a song that describes their relationship? Or, what’s the song that they’ve deemed “their” song?

’exile’ taylor swift/bon iver, ’ophelia’ the lumineers, ’happy together’ the turtles

28. What’s something that reminds them of their partner(s)? Do they have anything on them daily as a reminder (a photo, phone background, tattoo, clothing/accessory, etc)?

they raise fucking plants together. they co-parent them i swear to god they told me this themselves. is it bc of mt florist!alice fic? yes and!!!??? they keep the plant in their own home for a week and then the other takes it for a week. fucking romantic idiots

[savedpeople]

∗ o3﹕ do  you  prefer  to  write  in  silence ,  or  with  music  /  background  noise ? ∗ o4﹕ what  is  your  primary  source  of  inspiration  for  [ negan ] ? ∗ o6﹕ is  there  something  about  the  roleplay  community  that  irks  you ? ∗ o8﹕ what  time  of  day  do  you  feel  you  create  your  best  work ? ∗ 11﹕ what  is  a  headcanon  you  have  for  [ negan ]  that  you  haven’t  posted ? ∗ 12﹕ do  you  prefer  extensive  plotting ,  or  writing  things  on  a  whim ? ∗ 18﹕ which  of  your  verses  or  arcs  is  your  favorite  to  write  about ? ∗ 22﹕ would  you  consider  [ negane ]  to  be  a  comfort  character ? ∗ 28﹕ what  is  a  turn - off  when  you’re  seeking  writing  partners ? ∗ 38﹕ what’s  a  bad  habit  you  have  when  it  comes  to  roleplay ?

Experience Yourself (Munday Questions) | Not Accepting | @wexarethewalkingxdead

I prefer having music or some kind of background noise, but sometimes I find it distracting and in those cases I'll opt for silence.

My primary inspiration for Negan really is just the source material at this point (some of it anyway), his story and his relationship with certain characters. I'm also just very attached to him as a character. I also found a lot of inspiration for him through certain ships and RP partners.

I'm not active enough in the rpc to have a lot bother me right now, but I suppose one thing that will always irk me is when people frequently move blogs or add/drop muses so often that it's hard to keep track of things and really interact at all, especially if threads/memes get deleted a lot too.

I do most of my best writing later at night, when the house is quieter and it's easier to concentrate.

Gonna be honest, after almost six years of having this blog, I don't think I have any headcanons for Negan that I haven't already shared at some point. Though a silly one that newer followers might not know is that I headcanon that Negan can play the harmonica lol. He also likes crunchy snacks, especially before the outbreak. Noisy food for a noisy guy.

I like to do some plotting to get things started, and then letting the thread go where it wants to go. We can always plot more along the way when needed.

Overall my favorite verse/arc to write in is his New Beginnings verse (seasons 9-10 primarily), because I think it offers the most possibilities and flexibility in terms of character interactions, relationship development, and plot options. I love digging into his emotions during that time too. At the same time, Savior verse can be really fun, especially when writing about life at the Sanctuary. Seeing how Negan balances being a, well, tyrannical leader, with still just being a guy. Like he's still just dude under all that. Getting to play with the contrast between scary, violent leader and guy that makes dick jokes and likes playing ping pong is a lot of fun when you dig under the surface of it. I just like picking at this guy's brain no matter the verse, really.

Negan is definitely one of my comfort characters. He's been my favorite for years and is among the few I love enough to truly consider a comfort character.

A turn-off when seeking writing partners is a really hostile seeming personality. Like if I'm checking out their rules page and they sound aggressive in them, or if their blog has a lot of mean-spirited snark or negative ooc posts. I also don't like it when someone acts overly familiar with me/my muse when we barely know each other.

A bad habit of mine in RP is being too picky with my own writing. My inactivity aside, even when I am trying to write, it takes me a really long time to get through even a single reply because I go over my writing over and over. I worry too much about whether it's good enough. I also have a hard time focusing so I'm often jumping between writing and other things. I don't like leaving replies half-finished so I sometimes won't start at all if I don't think I can finish it in a single go (though I'm trying to get better about that, I currently have a couple partially written responses in my drafts.) All this combined leads to insanely slow reply times and it's really frustrating.

#wexarethewalkingxdead #finally got around to these! thanks! #✘ || I really do appreciate our little talks ( ooc asks )

[randowwriter]

I'm not sure what you've answered yet but for the writers ask game can I get 3, 8, 9, 20, and 28 😁

3. Yes, I do! XD Not super often, most of the time it's just when I'm proofreading ones (like for giftfics, requests, or anything I have to type up and edit, or when I'm proofreading a fic I wrote on a different day, or if I'm preparing to write a companionpiece or sequel). Outside of the editing or writing sphere, I will sometimes, but nothing before 2020 now is my current estimate. Because my writing style developed Summer 2020, so if I read anything older than that, it's very monotone and grammar-rigid, I guess I'd say. Not fun is more accurate. XD I tend to reread fics with a purpose when I do, though there are exceptions to that rule. Rereading my own original poems happens way more frequently, because I love my poems, especially the ones that feel like prayers, but also the ones with really fun metaphors. And some of that is out loud and some of it is quiet, but poetry kind of derived from oral traditions of storytelling, and so is somewhat meant to be read out loud (with the exception of particular poems).

8. More reviews make me laugh than make me cry, and some reviews do make me tear up honestly from being so sweet. A lot of the funny reviews are usually ones that a particular friend of mine leaves on my stories, because he and I joke around a lot, and it's just sort of what we do. (Or he'll review a fic for a pairing he doesn't even like, because of the AU or something, and I guess I'm evil, because I laugh. It makes me happy though that he'll brave through reading fics that he doesn't care for the romance of that I've written.) <3 <3 <3 9. Yes! Not very often, because I'm not the best at writing humor, but more recently, within this past year or so, I've laughed while writing stuff. Usually stuff with somewhat wacky events or plots, or in the case of at least one of my fics, where my friend reviewed the fic, made me laugh, and I reread it, to try to find the humor he saw and laughed when I reread it. :) 20. I prefer to edit as I go, if I spot a little typo or something like that here or there. I'm not a big fan of editing, and I haven't edited all of my fics. XD If a fic was written on something other than the computer (notebook or other device), I have to type it up, and when I do, I edit it then. On a story or poem that takes more than one sitting (rare for a poem unless something calls me away), I'll come back and reread what I wrote (even if it's just wrote) and edit then. Other than that, I'll edit it if I'm proofreading after. So, I guess it's sort of a both thing in terms of what happens, but I'd rather edit as I go. (Since I got myself into the habit of writing with pens lately, I've been crossing stuff out or writing words over top a line as I go, when I realize what I wrote needs help.) (Beforehand, since when I handwrite I typically use pencils, I'd just erase most of the time.) 28. Ooh! I haven't been actively working on the oneshots on my computer, but I might share a line from either a published work in progress multichapter fic or something I haven't typed up yet. I'll go with something I haven't typed up yet. (The other way feels like cheating.) XD Actually, now that I'm thinking I did start a new My Roommate Is A Cat oneshot recently (like a week or two ago), I'll share a bit of that if you don't mind. :) It's from the opening paragraph, and I guess, my writing isn't all that exciting here. XD "Home is a hard to define place, and yet Tora and Kuro make it possible, even though they have to fight to survive. Their home is a life of hardship, and yet they are friendly, opening up doors to others' hearts when those that come in really need it." On a different note, you did really good! The only repeat question was number eight, so you did really, really good! <3 <3 <3 Also, I'm a bit excited, because it's my first time getting a repeat question ever in an ask, so I feel honored. Thank you! <3 <3 <3

#sctwilightvampwolfgal #writer's ask game #My Roommate Is A Cat #Tora X Kuro #Tora #Kuro #cats #work in progress

[merrock]

HAPPY FIRST OF MAY!

Good morning, Merrockites! Since it's the first of the month, I just thought I'd get into the habit of doing a post to kick things off and to remind people of things we have going on in town, any changes players should be aware of, and maybe a refresher of some rules that we need to work on all the way around.

HAPPENING IN MAY:

camping weekend (april 28 - may 2) -- wrapping up on Monday, all characters have been invited out to spend the weekend camping at The Glen. Starters can be done until Monday evening if you are interested in getting threads in for this event, and can be continued as long as you and your partner like.

flower festival (may 15 - may 21) -- happening at Lavender Lane, the flower festival will be full of work shops, games and activities, have lots of refreshments and snacks, and you'll be able to make some pretty things, too! not to mention having lots and lots of flowers to choose from to plant at home.

mini events -- on may 5th, cinco de mayo will be observed at paco's! for mother's day, bring your mom out to overlook for some brunch. everyone gets a pizza party sponsored by the benefactor on may 20th. and lastly, on may 30th, join us at cityview for a memorial day picnic! MORE INFO HERE!

EXTRA BIT OF FUN:

Although we've wrapped up our spring task, we've added May's development task to the list! These, as usual, can be done any time, they don't have to be completed by the end of the month, we just try our best to offer you something new to do each month to help you develop your characters and have a little bit of fun along the way. You can also check out February, March and April's prompts on this page, if you're interested!

RULE CHANGES AND REMINDERS:

i'll kick this one off by saying it's always a good idea to read over the rules if you're unsure of something, every group has different rules, so there's nothing wrong with asking questions if you have any.

please remember that while I absolutely don't mind chatting in messages, if you need something from me that requires me to be online, I prefer that you do so through the inbox/ask box. it's easiest for me to keep track of everything that needs done through there!

as mentioned last month, we made some small changes to new character pick-ups. roles 1-4 can be done within one week of each other, but to pick up role 5 and onwards, we're asking you to wait two weeks just to be sure your characters have settled in.

we have finalized our decision on activity checks / requirements! because of some concerns with activity lately, i am making the new requirement 1 week. if you haven't been active at all in one week, you will be placed on check and receive a strike (warnings are still five days). we do not have a requirement as to what is expected in that one week, but please note that if we see you are repeatedly logging in to only do one reply and then dip out, we will reach out to talk to you. it's okay if it happens every now and then! just not with every check. we just want to see everyone doing their part to keep this group active and fun!

THINGS BEHIND THE SCENES:

the residents page is being redone! kinda. and no, you won't see any changes if you go look, it's a secret. i'm just tweaking it aesthetically in my spare time and getting everything a lot more cohesive. once that's done, i promise to share it with you!

fun events are coming up, like a beach party, emergency services carnival, a big ole summer bash, and a very formal gala! i'm also tentatively beginning to plan our summer trip, and figuring out what we'll be doing for that, so stay tuned for more information.

our next kind of "team event" is being worked on, and is in early stages. it probably won't be a sport, but... does require some smarts. so think on that one for a little while!

and lastly, i am going to be working this week on a new promo blog. we've had a lot of writer spots open up over the past few days (it's okay! we're also hopeful to see some of our faces return!), and i want to really get us out there in a way that also isn't going to end in tumblr sniping us. but it's being worked on.

That's about it from May. I mean, oops, me. We're looking forward to a sunshiney, fun month ahead, and hope to see some new, exciting faces on our dash, and watch you guys grow and have fun, too! xx

#merrockadmin

[jsms01]

9 things you can do right now to STOP overeating!

We asked our community mums to share some of the healthy habits that they’ve adopted to help STOP overeating. Here’s what they had to say!

9 things you can do right now to STOP overeating!

1. Meal Prep Meal prep is one of the BEST ways for you to maintain control over meal portions, whether you’re at home or out and about. Eleanor from our community says, “I have my meals pre-planned for the week so I don’t over eat. Knowing what I can eat for the week really helps me and, if I have time, I prep as much as I can.” Community mum, Anna, agrees and says, “I find that prepping in advance is a big time saver for me and it’s hard to get off track if you’ve already done the hard work.  “I tend to prep snacks more than meals because that is where I find I have fallen down before, but if I have a fridge full of ready-made healthy snacks, I never need to battle with myself over whether it’s better to eat something unhealthy or go without until the next meal.” “Pre-made snacks are also great for work – a big morning time saver and prevents me getting too silly at birthday morning teas (we’ve all been there).” Not sure where to get started as far as meal prep and snacks? The Healthy Mummy has done all the hard work for you. If you’re not part of the Healthy Mummy 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge yet, you can get lots of inspiration from our free recipe hub . Image Source: Supplied by Anna (Healthy Mummy Chocolate Weetbix Slice) Anna says, “The Healthy Chocolate Weetbix Slice slice is divine, only takes 15 minutes to make and a double batch and gives my chocolate-loving family-of-five delicious decadent treats for a week.” 2. Eat frequently and listen to your body Anna from our Healthy Mummy community says, “I am a busy mum-of-three with a full time career, so I know how easy it is to get all the way to lunch time without having eaten anything yet. The problem with doing that is when I do finally get to eat, I’ll serve myself way more than I need and eat it so fast that I don’t hear my body saying ‘enough’ until I’ve eaten three serves. That was the old me!” “I learned to break this cycle by eating frequent snacks and small meals throughout the day, starting from breakfast. When I was new to Healthy Mummy, I would plan the timing of my meals and snacks so I knew when I was due to eat.” “Now my routine is like second nature to me. As soon as I feel a niggling in my belly, I know I need to eat – and I don’t ignore it. This ensures that I feel satisfied throughout the day and when I do eat, I’m not completely ravenous so I can eat at a steady pace and listen to my body when it tells me it’s full.” 3. Practice mindful eating It seems that mindfulness is not just for yogis and meditation enthusiasts! Mindfulness is a skill that anyone can learn; you can even teach your kids the skill of mindfulness! Here’s how our community mums do it. Anna, from our Community says, “I also like to practice mindful eating, which to me means stepping away from the screen and enjoying my meal/snack, every time and allowing myself to indulge and really taking the time to savour it when I feel like something naughty – it is so much better to have a little bowl of ice cream now and enjoy every delicious mouthful, than to spend all day thinking about not eating the ice cream, only to inhale a litre of the stuff when you finally give in to the craving.” Community mum, Lucy, says, “To stop overeating I take all distractions away and focus on my food. It’s amazing how distractions like phones, computers and trying to eat while multi-tasking can make you unaware that you’ve had enough!” Community mum, Sara, says, “Avoid over eating on snacks by making it special and sitting down to enjoy it, not eating standing at the fridge.” Image Source: Sara (Making snack time special) 4. 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[swan-of-sunrise]

Specs and the Flyboy (Chapter Nineteen-Part One)

Summary: (Y/N) calls in some backup after Jack’s abduction and reunites with the Howling Commandos for the first time since the end of the war.

Pairing: Jack Thompson X Reader

Word Count: 5.3k

Warnings/Disclaimers: References to torture and past trauma

A/N: Thank you all so much for reading! I hope that you enjoy!

Chapter Nineteen (Part I) Poland, 10 kilometers from the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (Previous Chapter)

Once the war finally ended, (Y/N) thought her days of overnight guard duty were well and truly behind her; she figured that she’d never again be put in a situation where she’d be forced to sit on a cold forest floor with an assault rifle clutched in her hands as she kept watch over a camp full of soldiers. But there she was over two years later, sitting guard in the dark snowy forests of Poland while her companions – two SSR agents, an inventor and his butler, an L.A.P.D. rookie officer and the Howling Commandos – rested. Nothing ever goes the way you want in this line of work, (Y/N) thought to herself, tightening her hold on her M1A1 Thompson and trying her hardest not to think about its all-too familiar name.

(Y/N) telephoned back home to Peggy and Daniel immediately after Jack was taken by Dottie Underwood and Thomas Attwell and less than twelve hours later, the pair had arrived at the abandoned Attwell Airfield in one of Howard Stark’s souped-up planes with Howard, Edwin and to her surprise, Officer Henry Lang; Peggy insisted that they needed all the help they could get, but the only other person they could trust in Los Angeles was the rookie officer. She’d filled them in on the situation and while Peggy and Daniel worked on getting into contact with their old friends in the 107th, Howard and Edwin developed the photographs she’d taken with her camera pen. She’d captured a photograph of Underwood and Attwell’s flight plan and a map but unfortunately, the photograph was blurry, as she’d been in the middle of taking it when gunfire had broken out and Jack tackled her to the floor. The furthest they’d been able to travel was Poland, right near the border of Lithuania, and they wouldn’t know where to go next until the photograph was made completely visible.

At the thought of her missing partner, (Y/N)’s heart clenched and a fresh wave of guilt washed over her; she was the one who’d told Jack to secure the hangar, so it was her fault that he’d been captured and anything that the Secret Empire did to him would be on her hands. First Freddie and half his squadron and now Jack, she thought to herself as her lower lip trembled, how much more heartache and loss can a person be forced to endure?

“Mind if I sit with you for a while, (Y/N)?” (Y/N) ducked her head and hurriedly wiped away her tears before looking back up at Peggy; like her, the younger woman was dressed in a dark tactical uniform and sturdy boots, her rifle slung over her shoulders and her brown hair braided back. With a small smile on her face, Peggy held up her hands to reveal the bottle of alcohol and two metal canteen cups she was carrying. “I brought a little whiskey to warm you up.”

(Y/N) nodded, scooting over so that Peggy could sit with her back against the tree and accepting one of the cups. She watched her pour some whiskey into both cups and felt the corner of her mouth curve upwards when they both held their cups up at the same time, clearing her throat before reciting, “May our glasses stay full…”

“Our guns stay loaded…”

“And our garters stay on.” Both women spoke together, lightly clinking their cups together before drinking. The whiskey burned her throat as she swallowed, and the alcohol quickly succeeded in warming her cold body; with a small sigh, (Y/N) took another sip and looked out into the darkened forest. “Has Howard made any progress on enhancing that photograph?”

Peggy shook her head. “Not yet, but he will.”

Sighing again, (Y/N) downed the rest of her whiskey and looked down at the empty cup in her hand. “I should’ve taken a clearer photograph…”

“(Y/N), you were ambushed by gunfire, it’s a miracle that you got as many photographs as you did without dying.” She could hear Peggy set her cup down and a moment later, the younger woman’s hand gently held hers. “What happened to Jack wasn’t your fault.”

“Yeah, but I was the one who told him to go into that hangar-”

“Don’t. Don’t blame yourself for something that wasn’t in your control.” (Y/N) glanced up to meet Peggy’s steely gaze. “You have a rather bad habit of taking responsibility for the actions of others, (Y/N), and that’s no way to live your life; Freddie’s death wasn’t your fault, and neither was Jack’s abduction. We’re going to get that partner of yours back in no time, you’ll see.”

(Y/N) brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her free arm around them, hesitating a moment before finally speaking. “I haven’t gotten much of a chance to talk to you about Michael these past couple of days, but…how’re you holding up, Peg?”

“It’s been…” The younger woman trailed off, as if at a loss for words, and she was biting her lip when (Y/N) glanced over at her. “There’s a lot to process and while I don’t think I’ve quite managed it yet, there is one thing I can be certain of: my brother’s not the same man I knew before the war.”

Without another word, (Y/N) let go of Peggy’s hand in favor of wrapping an arm around her shoulders; the two women sat together for a while, the rustling of leaves in the surrounding trees filling the peaceful silence. It was when (Y/N) was caught stifling a yawn that Peggy insisted on taking over her watch, and she knew better than to argue with her old friend.

The campfire in the center of their makeshift base glowed invitingly as (Y/N) trudged closer, and seated around it was Daniel, Dum Dum Dugan and Henry Zhang; the chief glanced up from his plate of rations and smiled when she sat down beside him. “You want something to eat, (Y/L/N)? Dugan here’s a whiz at fixing these rations into something edible. It kind of makes me wish he’d been a part of the 28th Infantry instead of the 107th; our cooks didn’t know a potato from a parsnip.”

“Well, forgive me for being a little wary but I still remember the time he accidentally dropped one of his cigars into a pot of stew and didn’t tell us until after we ate.” (Y/N) smiled a little as she recalled the memorable evening. “Jacques turned green, Gabe nearly threw up and Bucky was about five seconds away from kicking your ass. It’s truly a wonder you ever survived that night, Dugan.”

Daniel and Henry both laughed loudly, and Dugan rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “That was one time, (Y/L/N); I swear, a guy can’t make one little mistake?”

(Y/N) chuckled. “Not when he’s in charge of feeding eight very hungry people, he isn’t. You better hope I never tell your ma that her son messed up her famous potato stew with a half-smoked cigar.”

They all laughed, and she felt herself beginning to relax around the pleasant company; when their chuckles died down, Henry looked over at Dugan with boyish admiration in his eyes. “Is it true that you two and Agent Carter fought alongside Captain America? I was too young to enlist but I read all his comic books and listened to every one of his radio shows; I even used to dream about becoming one of his Howling Commandos, one of you guys!”

“…Yeah, kid, we did.” The older man’s expression turned wistful and (Y/N) began fiddling with the sleeve of her tactical uniform, memories of Steve and Bucky filling her mind. She caught Daniel’s eye and he offered her a comforting smile as Dugan cleared his throat. “You know that (Y/L/N) here can do ninety-eight one-arm pushups?”

Daniel whistled low, clearly impressed. “Really? Well, it sounds like there’s a helluva story behind that one.”

Shrugging noncommittally, (Y/N) tried and failed to keep the smug grin off her face as she addressed the awestruck men. “We were all relaxing in a pub one night and after one too many drinks, we decided to hold a little competition. Most of the guys tapped out pretty early so they could keep on drinking but Peg and I kept going. I made it to ninety-eight before I quit, but Peg managed to go all the way to one hundred and seven; one of these days when we’re both good and sober, we’re definitely holding a rematch.”

“With a betting pool, naturally. I-”

The chief’s words were interrupted by a loud rustling noise and in a flash, all four of them were standing and pointing their guns at the nearby trees. (Y/N), her eyes diligently trained on the tree line, gave a brief sideways glance to Dugan and nodded, creeping forward alongside him as Daniel and Henry followed behind. All of a sudden, a man stumbled out of the trees and she instantly recognized him as he fell face-first onto the ground. “Jack!” She tossed her gun to the side and sprinted over to him, dropping down beside him and rolling him onto his back with a horrified gasp. “Oh my God…”

Jack’s face was swollen and littered with darkened bruises, as if he’d recently been in a fight, and his clothes were wet and tattered beyond repair. But what worried (Y/N) the most was that his skin was deathly pale and he was mumbling incoherently, both common symptoms of hypothermia. After kneeling beside her as best as he could, Daniel’s hand shot forward to rest against Jack’s forehead and his concerned gaze instantly meeting hers. “It’s definitely hypothermia, (Y/N)-”

“…white flag…strollin’ into camp...” Jack babbled, his eyelids fluttering and his body shivering on the ground. “Flag…don’t shoot…soldiers.”

“Shhh, i-it’s okay, Jack, everything’s going to be fine,” (Y/N) hurriedly reassured him, looking up at her companions as her panic steadily grew. “I need to move him into a tent!”

Nodding, Dugan slung his rifle over his shoulder. “I’ll go let the others know he’s here and we’ll secure the perimeter in case anyone’s on his tail.”

The older man ran off and three of them hauled Jack to his feet, half-dragging him over to the nearest tent; once they managed to lower him down onto one of the bedrolls, (Y/N) dropped down beside him and immediately began taking his shirt off, calling over her shoulder, “Henry, grab a couple of those cargo crates and stack them up at the head of the bedroll, then find me some blankets.”

“If Chief Thompson needs to get warm, then why didn’t we take him to the campfire?”

(Y/N) could detect the unease in Daniel’s voice as he replied, “Because skin-to-skin contact’s the safest way to raise his body temperature; you put a hypothermic person in front of a fire, kid, and there’s a chance that their heart could stop beating.” The chief limped closer to her while the rookie officer followed orders. “You’ve done this before, right?”

“Of course, but never with a case this extreme.” Peeling off his wet shirt, her gaze was immediately drawn to the angry-looking burns on either side of his neck – marks that she’d instantly recognized – and her eyes prickled with unshed tears. “Daniel, I need a medkit and-”

“Specs…buried it…don’t shoot…”

She gently shushed Jack and rested a hand on his cheek. “I’m here, Jack, I’m right here.” Noting his shallow breathing, she placed two fingers against the side of his jugular and grew more fearful when she realized how weak his pulse was. “Shit. Go tell Peggy what’s going on and then gather up every medkit we’ve got. I need to start warming him up now.”

“Okay; c’mon, kid, let’s give ‘em a little privacy…”

Both men exited the tent, leaving (Y/N) and Jack completely alone; her partner was still mumbling confusedly as she stripped off his shoes, undershirt and ruined trousers, leaving him in just his underwear. “Just hold on, Jack, everything’s going to be okay.” She wrapped one of the thicker blankets around his frozen feet and loosely threw another over his lower body before fumbling with the buttons of her uniform top, finally getting it off and tossing it to the side. “I’ll get you warm, just hang on-”

“Dy…dying…”

“You’re not dying,” (Y/N) spoke shortly, sitting on the bedroll with her back to the crates and looping her arms under Jack’s shoulders, tugging him backwards to rest against her chest. “As your partner, I forbid it. You’re not going to die for a very, very long time, Jack Thompson, you hear me?” She grabbed the last blanket and threw it over the both of them; his cold upper body shivered against her as she wrapped her arms around his torso and she resisted the strong urge to rub his limbs to generate more warmth, afraid of damaging or irritating his already-delicate skin. “You’ll be warm in no time, Flyboy, I’m a human furnace, remember?” Jack’s delusional mumbling began to quiet down and eventually stopped altogether; she checked his pulse again and was relieved to feel that it was growing stronger, but she knew that he wasn’t out of the woods just yet. Acting on impulse, she pressed a kiss onto his cold forehead and whispered, “C’mon, Jack, stay with me. Please.”

While one of (Y/N)’s hands moved to hold his lolling head still against her neck, Peggy rushed into the tent with her arms full of medkits. “I brought all the kits from the camp and the trucks.” The younger woman knelt to the ground beside them and began rifling through the medical supplies. “Daniel mentioned something about burns…” (Y/N) nodded and Peggy pulled down the blanket, inhaling sharply when her eyes landed on the angry burns. “Dear Lord, these marks are from-”

“Electroshocking; Hydra’s favorite form of torture during the war.” (Y/N) finished bitterly, her fingers combing through Jack’s hair as Peggy went to fetch Edwin to help clean and bandage the wounds. In that small tent with her unconscious and half-dead partner in her arms, she did something she hadn’t done since before she lost Freddie: she prayed. Prayed to anything and everything she could think of that she wouldn’t lose another person that she loved.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A couple of hours later, Jack’s body temperature had risen to a healthier level so with the help of Peggy and Edwin, (Y/N) maneuvered him onto one of the cots and bundled him under more blankets while he continued to sleep. (Y/N) then stayed by his side, holding one of his hands between hers and alternating between watching the rise and fall of his chest and staring at his bruised face as she waited for him to wake. The dirt and dried blood had been carefully wiped away and swelling had begun to go down, so she was able to clearly see his handsome features; with his face so relaxed Jack looked much younger, and it was easy for her to imagine that it was how he always looked before the war.

With only a moment’s hesitation, (Y/N) reached over to brush some wayward strands of hair away from his forehead and gently trail her fingertips down to his bruised cheek. Her thumb grazed the corner of his mouth before she pulled away to resume holding his hand; I’d give everything I have to see his smile right now, she thought to herself, and in that moment, it was impossible for her to deny that she was in love with Jack Thompson. She couldn’t pinpoint when exactly it happened but it was clear as day that the unconscious, occasionally-insufferable yet utterly charming man before her had stolen her heart. The realization made her close her eyes and rest her forehead against their joined hands before taking a shuddering breath.

“Specs?”

(Y/N)’s eyes flew open and her head shot up in time to see Jack begin to stir. Her partner’s clear-blue eyes slowly fluttered open, looking around the tent in confusion before finally landing on her, and she didn’t bother suppressing her sigh of relief as she beamed down at him. “Hey, Flyboy. How do you feel?”

Instead of replying, Jack began to cough so she quickly released his hand and poured some canteen water into a metal cup; she was mindful of his bandaged neck as she helped him lean forward enough to take several small sips and once he was done, she eased him back down and sat on the edge of the cot. With a slight rasp in his voice, Jack finally answered, “Like shit. Where are we?” His eyes began wandering around again as he struggled to get his bearings. “How’d you even find me?”

“We’re in Poland near the border of Lithuania. After Attwell and Underwood captured you, I called in some reinforcements. We worked off those photographs we took at the airfield to track their flight plan, and this was as far as they led us.” Wanting to ease some of the tension, (Y/N) flashed him a teasing smile. “It was very polite of you to meet us halfway, so thank you for that.”

Jack snorted out a laugh, the corners of his mouth curling into his trademark grin. “What can I say? My ma raised a real gentleman.” After their chuckles died down, his expression grew serious and he held her hand loosely in his. “You saved my life, (Y/N).”

“Not too shabby for a codebreaker, huh?” Instead of grinning or making a sarcastic retort, her partner’s face paled at her words and her brow furrowed in concern. “What’s wrong?”

“I was talking, wasn’t I? When I stumbled into camp?” She nodded, watching with mounting concern as he took a shaky breath. “There’s…there’s something I need to tell you…”

“Okay, just let me go get Peggy and-”

“No. No, just you.” The hand that was around hers tightened, preventing her from getting up off the cot, and when she turned back to him, she was shocked to see his reddening eyes and trembling lip. “This isn’t about Michael or the case…it’s about my Navy Cross.” She opened her mouth to argue, to insist that he still needed rest and that he didn’t need to force himself to talk to her, but he cut her off before she could speak. “You told me about your brother, (Y/N), you opened up and trusted that I wouldn’t judge you and after almost dying…I wanna do the same. I need to do the same.”

His eyes were pleading with her and after a moment, she nodded and squeezed his hand. “Okay, Jack.”

Jack swallowed nervously, tearing his gaze away from her to stare up at the ceiling of the tent. “Those six Japanese soldiers that came into my camp in Okinawa, the ones that I killed…they were there to surrender, and I just didn’t realize it until it was too late.” He closed his eyes, the muscles in his jaw tightening as he struggled to keep his voice steady. “But when I did, I panicked. I buried the white flag they’d been carrying and I let everyone believe that I’d done something heroic. They pinned a medal on me, sent me home a war hero…” He huffed out a humorless laugh. “The Navy Cross is awarded for bravery in combat – the second highest decoration that the Secretary of the Navy can bestow on a sailor – and I got mine by being a coward. I’m not a war hero, I’m the scumbag who’s only gotten this far in life because of a lie.”

The tent was silent; Jack’s eyes were still closed tight and (Y/N) was absorbing everything he’d told her. It all made sense now: his distaste for talking about his Navy Cross, the way he’d snapped at her for making the same assumptions that others had about his character, why he’d been able to so easily sympathize with her feelings of guilt over Düsseldorf…and he’s been living with that pain ever since, she thought to herself. Blinking away her own tears, (Y/N) softly spoke, “Can you look at me? Please?” His eyes reluctantly opened and the vulnerability in his eyes nearly broke her heart but she continued on. “I want you to listen to me very carefully, Jack Thompson: you are a good man, a good man who made a terrible mistake when put in a difficult situation. The guilt and shame you’ve felt since only proves that.” She held his hand between her own and rested them on her lap, her eyes never leaving his. “But you’re not defined by your worst mistakes, Jack, and the only way you’ll see yourself the way that…that everyone who cares about you does is if you forgive yourself.”

Her partner’s eyes were rimmed with red and she could see that he was trying his hardest to keep his composure as he finally replied, “And if I can’t?”

(Y/N) smiled kindly down at Jack, reminded of the night she’d told him about Freddie. “You can. You want to know why I believe that?” His brow twitched upwards and she continued, “Because I know you, Jack Thompson, the real you, and that’s someone who’s worth believing in.”

Jack’s expression was unreadable but a moment later, he slowly sat up on the cot and pulled her into a tight hug. She blinked in surprise but soon relaxed into his embrace, her own arms moving to wrap around his bare waist; when she felt his shoulders begin to shake, she let her hand rub soothing circles over his back and he only tightened his hold on her. After what felt like an eternity, (Y/N) pulled away from Jack and examined his face; his eyes, though still red from grief, were calmer and more at-peace than she’d ever seen them look before. It looks like he’s taken that first step towards self-forgiveness, she thought with a proud smile, resting a gentle hand on the side of his face.

“The others should know that you’re awake.”

“Yeah, I’ve got a lot of information to share with ‘em.” Jack nodded, throwing the blankets back and moving to swing his legs over the edge of the cot; (Y/N) quickly averted her eyes and a moment later, he slowly asked, “Um, Specs? Where’d my clothes go?”

Feeling her face beginning to warm, she replied, “Well, I…I had to take them off of you, since they were all wet and…you, ah, probably already know that skin-to-skin contact’s the best way to warm up a hypothermic person, so that’s what I…” As if by instinct, her eyes flicked down to stare at his bare chest and she instantly took note of his muscular physique; her mouth was dry as she hurriedly looked away and awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck. “That’s what I did.”

“Oh.”

(Y/N) jumped to her feet, ignoring the blush that was forming on Jack’s face as she pushed him back down with one hand and tucked the blanket over his body with the other. “You still need to rest, Flyboy, so wait here while I talk to the others and wrangle you up some clothes.” She raised a brow when he opened his mouth to argue. “And no back-talk, Lieutenant. That’s an order.”

Jack’s smirk made her heart flutter in her chest. “Yes, ma’am.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After (Y/N) let the rest of the camp know that Jack was awake and found him some clothes to put on, she joined Peggy, Daniel and Edwin inside the tent and listened as her partner relayed all the intel he’d gathered while being held captive. Her jaw dropped when he first explained how Michael had been experimented on by Hydra and was forced to stay with the Secret Empire; while he talked about how he realized Michael could be broken out of his brainwashing, she glanced over at Peggy and spotted the hopeful gleam in her brown eyes. She’s got a second chance at saving her brother, (Y/N) thought with an inward smile before returning her attention back to the conversation.

“…So, I knocked him down and used cognitive re-calibration to-”

“You used what?”

“Cognitive re-calibration.” Daniel’s brow was still furrowed in confusion, making Jack sigh in exasperation. “I hit him really hard on the head, Daniel.” Realization dawned on the chief’s face and Jack glanced over at (Y/N) with a playful grin. “And here I thought we were a part of the Strategic Scientific Reserve…”

(Y/N) rolled her eyes, stretching her leg out and lightly nudging the edge of his cot. “Play nice, Flyboy.”

Edwin shrugged. “Chief Thompson does have a point, Miss (Y/L/N).”

“Hey, watch it, Jarvis, I was just beginning to like you-”

“All right, you four, that’s enough.” Peggy lightly scolded them all before turning her attention back to Jack. “What happened next?”

As he fiddled with the sleeve of his borrowed uniform shirt, Jack continued on. He told them about his brief interaction with Dottie Underwood and Thomas Attwell, then he revealed that they had tortured him for the location of the Arena Club key-pen; according to Michael’s alter-ego, Leviathan wanted it because it unlocked some sort of weapon and if the Secret Empire delivered it to them, their business relationship would be solidified.

“You still carry that pin on you, right?” Daniel asked.

Peggy nodded, unbuttoning the top of her uniform shirt to reveal the Arena Club pin cleverly fastened to the strap of her brassiere; their male companions all flushed and were quick to look away, but (Y/N) gave the younger woman a grin and a nod of approval. “I decided that it would be smart to keep it on my persons at all times, just in case we ever discovered what it’s meant to unlock. Now, if you three are done behaving like schoolboys, Agent (Y/L/N) and I would like to hear what else happened.”

Although still a little flustered, Jack’s jaw clenched in anger as he told them about Agent Cabrera’s treachery and their confusion only grew as he chronicled everything Michael had told them while temporarily broken out of his brainwashing before escaping the train. By that point they’d been joined by Howard and Dugan, who’d rolled up a side of the tent and moved the table littered with their maps, photographs and radio equipment so that they could work and listen to their conversation; the inventor continued trying to enhance the developed photographs they’d taken with his camera pen and Dugan began examining a map trying to locate any nearby train-tracks.

“Right before he started slipping back into the brainwashing, he told me that you needed to decode that invisible-ink code as quick as possible,” Jack turned away from (Y/N) and squeezed his eyes shut, biting back a wince of pain as his hand came up to rub at his forehead. “Damn, feels like I got whacked upside the head with a baseball bat.” He accepted the aspirin that Jarvis handed him and washed down the pills with a swig of water, his brow furrowing as he continued. “It’s a little fuzzy but he also said some random words, I figured they were some sort of code or something…visions, light, cheered…um, night and…dream.”

It took a moment for (Y/N) to realize why those words sounded so familiar and once she did, her jaw dropped in surprise. “Poem code. That invisible message’s a poem code.”

“You and I analyzed that message during the entire journey from England, (Y/N). How is it possible that we missed-?”

“Because we were thinking like Bletchley Park codebreakers and not brainwashed Secret Empire operatives.” Leaping up from her seat, she crossed the tent and retrieved her rucksack before hurrying back to her confused-looking companions. “At Bletchley, we learned that wartime intelligence operatives tend to only use well-known poems when writing coded messages and, statistically-speaking, many of the world’s most famous poems were written by the English.” She slipped on her reading glasses and began excitedly flipping through one of her translation journals as she continued. “However, Michael’s already proven that he doesn’t stick to the status-quo when it comes to creating codes, so it only makes sense that he’d use a lesser-known poem written by an American poet…” Beaming, (Y/N) held up the open journal for her companions to see. “A poem like Edgar Allen Poe’s A Dream. This also happens to be the poem they used at Stanford to test whether I was skilled enough to be admitted into Bletchley, and those were the same five words I used to decode their message.”

From behind the oversized map, Dugan let out a low whistle. “You’re still one helluva genius, (Y/L/N).”

“Yeah, she is.”

Jack’s comment coupled with his proud smile made (Y/N)’s heart skip a beat and the corner of her mouth curved upwards as she quickly glanced away in embarrassment. Peggy, who’s eyes had been trained on the translation journal in (Y/N)’s hands, looked up with her jaw set in determination. “Let’s decode that message, then, shall we?”

With the message and their translation journals propped up in front of them, the two women worked side-by-side on cracking Michael Carter’s final coded message, just as they had done so long ago at Bletchley Park. It didn’t take them long to finish, and (Y/N) exchanged an anxious glance with Jack as Peggy began reading her brother’s message out loud.

Peggy,

If you’re reading this right now then things are truly looking sour. The Secret Empire has joined forces with Leviathan, a covert Soviet espionage agency that’s in possession of a biological weapon named Zodiac. It was developed by the U.S. government during the Great War as a substitute for mustard gas and stolen by Leviathan in 1945; however, its container had been constructed with a special lock that couldn’t be picked or destroyed at the risk of the vial breaking inside and killing everyone within the vicinity. The key is in the SSR’s possession, Peggy, disguised as an Arena Club pin. You must destroy it so that Leviathan cannot use it to wage more war and destruction against the world, then forget about me. My position within the Secret Empire is fragile; the brainwashing that Hydra subjected me to has already begun to break down – enough for me to code enemy secrets and leave them for you to find within my SOE file – and soon it’ll be impossible to hide it from my associates. With that in mind, I’ve vowed to do everything I can to see Zodiac destroyed before my deception’s discovered, no matter how impossible the task will be. By the time you read this it’ll be too late to save me, but you still have a chance to save the world by destroying that key forever.

Darling, I’m so sorry. You’ve already mourned my death once, and now I’m asking you to do it all over again. But this was my choice, Peggy, I hope you’ll understand that. I have a feeling you will, though…You were always so much stronger than you gave yourself credit for. I love you, Peggy.

Your ever-proud brother,

Michael

Peggy’s hands were trembling as she carefully folded the page and tucked it into her trouser pocket, her reddened eyes closing for a brief moment as she took a shaky breath. (Y/N), who’s own eyes had begun to sting with unshed tears, took off her reading glasses and set them aside before glancing around at the others; Daniel’s eyes were filled with sympathy as he reached a hand out to rest on his girlfriend’s, Jarvis was dabbing at the corner of his eye with a handkerchief, Howard and Dugan’s work lay forgotten as they solemnly stared down at the ground, and Jack…

Jack’s eyes weren’t trained on Peggy or on the ground, but rather on (Y/N). The determined expression on his face was all she needed to deduce that her partner was thinking along the exact same lines as she was and after giving him a barely-discernible nod, she turned back towards her old friend and met her gaze with a growing smile. “We’re going to do both, Peg.” Out of the corner of her eye she noticed the others looked over at her, but her attention was entirely focused on the younger woman before her. “We’re going to make sure Leviathan will never weaponize Zodiac…and we’re going to rescue Michael.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Woooo, we’re in the endgame now! Thank you guys so much for reading! If you haven’t checked it out yet, I created a Spotify playlist for this series and I’ll be updating it every time I upload a new chapter.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/21pWY7OiMFj8LaYpxhtVtW

Chapter Nineteen-Part Two

“Specs and the Flyboy” Masterlist

Tagging: @nnon-it-up @fluffymadamina @remmyswritings @ourstarsailor @darkusangelus @josis-teacup @marvel-jackt-loki-buck @yeetyeetchickenmeat @sameoldbaby @theserenityspace @seeing-but-not-observing @supervoldejaygent​ @momc95​ @brooke0297​ @kinda-c0nfused​ @outoftheregular  @mads-weasley​

#jack thompson x reader #agent carter #jack thompson #peggy carter #howard stark #daniel sousa #dum dum dugan #happy sam sawyer #pinky pinkerton #edwin jarvis #michael carter #dottie underwood #marvel cinematic universe #strategic scientific reserve

[lovegistarena-com]

HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS CHARACTERISTICS 📷ByPopegmnd SEP 28, 2021

📷

A healthy relationship contributes to the general well-being of both people and is based on communication, respect and boundaries. A healthy relationship requires more than shared interests and strong mutual feelings. It takes two people to really understand each other and take care of them while taking care of them. These are some of the main characteristics of a healthy relationship:

📷

Respect each other.

Respect is Like the essential characteristics of a healthy relationship. When the persecution is over, some people may forget to care about their partner’s feelings and needs. In a serious Strong standing and healthy relationships, partners appreciate each other and pay attention to their words, actions and behavior. If you want to be with this person every day, make sure they feel that way. You should also buy this treatment from your partner every day. Display.

Read more: LADIES DON’T DEVELOP FEELINGS FOR WHO IS NOT WORTH IT

You are vulnerable to each other.

Better conversation is a very important part of a healthy relationship. If you are not ready to share what is happening to you or what you need from your partner, you will not get what you need. But out of shame or a constant habit of suppressing our emotions, people don’t want to let anyone know what is happening to us. When you can believe you spouse enough to the extent you can freely exchange feelings, the more you might just be able to stay in a secure relationship.

Read more: SOME INTERESTING GOALS YOU SHOULD LOOK FOR IN RELATIONSHIP

Have complete confidence in yourself

Healthy relationships need trust. You need to be prepared to talk to your partner not only about your feelings, but also about your weaknesses. You have to learn to believe emotionally, physically and mentally. Faith is practiced step by step. Even though the trust has been broken, if you are willing to work on it, you can find a way to correct the breach.

📷

You stay resolutely honest.

In a healthy relationship, you have to be prepared to share what’s going on, no matter how bad it is. If you want your relationship to last, you can’t hide behind lies and betrayals. If you don’t trust your partner when they say something to you, or if your partner is hiding something from you, you will have a hard time feeling safe. Honesty helps build mutual trust, which is the key to long-term success. (Here’s what open and honest communication looks like in a relationship.)Display

You have mutual compassion.

Empathy is another important characteristic of a healthy relationship. Empathy means trying to figure out how your partner is feeling. It is not necessary to solve the partner’s worries and problems, but to be there. If you pay more attention to your partner and try to see things through their eyes, at some point you will come closer than ever.

Both prefer graces.

Do what you would do for your best friend for your partner. Try to meet their needs. Think about why they need help and try to be a part of it. Avoid behaviors that make them nervous and find ways to educate your partner. Meditation, caring, and kindness are recipes for healthy relationship.

Respect everyone’s limits.

It is important to recognize that you are two people separated by different needs, including those that cannot separate you. You don’t agree with everything and sometimes you don’t want the same things. It’s essential to regard these dissimilarity and not push the other person’s boundaries, including emotional, physical, and other boundaries. Guidelines are also very important part of a healthy relationship.

You are both fully engaged.

You have to stay with your partner, yes. But more than a bond with your partner, you need to build relationships. When you think about the health and future of the relationship, and not just your relationship, you will certainly be more constructive and act differently. It’s not just about meeting your needs. It’s about rebuilding the fire to keep your relationship going. It has to do with a healthy relationship.

You are both thoughtful.

Reflection is a characteristic of a healthy relationship that is often overlooked because it can be difficult to articulate. Thinking deeply basically means thinking about your partner and trying to do things that will improve their life. It’s about knowing their tastes, opinions and quirks so that you can dance with them and not fight them. Better you know him

#relationship #relationship blog #relationship quotes #relationship goals #relationship tips #relationship prompts #love #breakup #loving #inlove #lovers

[amimons]

Miraculous Sweet-ember (Sept. 29th)

September 29th: Ikari Gozen, Desperada, Startrain, &  Timetagger

Ikari Gozen started a friendship between Marinette and Kagami. After meeting Kagami she noticed how close she and Adrien have been getting and feared that her opportunity to be with Adrien would be hindered. Kagami’s exterior front was also a pretty cold one making it harder for Marinette to connect to her. So she was viewed as a rival until Friendship Day in Paris fixed that. Turns out much to her dismay that Marinette was paired up with Kagami for the treasure hunt and the idea made her nervous and uncomfortable. Kagami on the other hand was willing to get to know Marinette and form a new friendship. Forming relationships doesn’t come easy to Kagami because just like Adrien, she did not grow up in an environment with the opportunities to make friends. 

Throughout the treasure hunt, Kagami was earnestly trying to get to know Marinette but it came off as awkward and stoic. Marinette was determined to get away from Kagami and lose the treasure hunt since the prize was to get a picture with Adrien. It wasn’t until she learned that Kagami is friendless and trying to be genuine that she regrets her intentions. She even took care Tomoe when she called Kagami to figure out where she went off to. Marinette called herself a friend of Kagami which was great for Kagami but Marinette’s truthful answer lead to Tomoe getting akumatized. In season three one of the main things Marinette’s development was focusing on was how she handled her crush on Adrien and love rivals. She started as someone who felt threatened by Kagami to someone who felt she needed to connect with Kagami. She experience some real growth when she decided to friend Kagami and give her a miraculous. 

Desperada was a troubling ordeal for Adrien. At first, he believed it was a wonderful opportunity for Ladybug to get to knowingly work side by side with Adrien. He wanted a chance to impress and woo her and he felt very honored that Ladybug thought Adrien was capable of being a miraculous hero. Unfortunately, Adrien discovers that he was not best suited for the snake miraculous after many failed attempts. 25,913 attempts to be exact. No matter what he did, no matter the approach Ladybug was always met with the same fate. Adrien was so determined to prove that he was able to help Ladybug out that he has forgotten that he already plays an extremely vital role as Chat Noir. Taking Chat Noir out of the equation was not a good move. 

The way the miraculous work is that they are specifically suited for specific types of people. Both Ladybug and Adrien tried to fit Adrien into the role of the snake holder but it doesn’t align with Adrien at the end of the day (or end of the months in Aspiks case). Although it always ended in tragedy the Ladrien moments were very adorable in all the attempts we got to see. The scene where Adrien finally surrenders the snake miraculous had him open up to Ladybug in an emotional way. Something that Chat Noir has never done with Ladybug before making it one of the first times he was emotionally vulnerable around Ladybug (even though she didn’t know he was Chat). Chat made a habit of always jumping in front of Ladybug when danger is around but as Aspik he was unable to do so. It was also the first time that Adrien had to accept that he wasn’t the one needed to help his lady with the snake miraculous and even suggesting to hand it over to someone else. Adrien is used to having a lot of responsibilities placed onto himself but to feel comfortable to let go of one was pretty big for him.  

Startrain had the iconic scene where Adrien and Marinette nap together on the train ride over to London. Enough said. It's such a sweet moment between the two of them. Marinette rolled her head over on Adrien and that boy did not even hesitate to lean into Marinette and join her in napping. And the moment her head rested onto Adrien he smiles down at her. Then when Marinette woke up the first time when the commotion started on the train she saw exactly what happened while she was napping and usually Marinette immediately has an outburst of nervousness around Adrien but instead, she smiles and decided to continue resting. It's not often that we get a setting where we get to see them just enjoy each other's company comfortably so it was a welcome surprise before the akuma ruined it. 

For the other half of the train ride, they had to deal with Max’s mother being akumatized. What was interesting about her predicament was that the akuma wasn’t meant for her. It slipped away from Hawkmoth’s grasp after a failed attempt to akumatize Sabrina’s dad. The suitcase slipped on board via Sabrina’s suitcase and instantly went to Max’s mother as soon as she felt a big feeling disappointment. She sent the whole train off in space which meant not only did we get a zero-gravity fight but Hawkmoth was so far out of range from the akuma that he couldn’t control it. To get a scenario where Hawkmoth doesn’t have the ability to guide the akuma’s attacks brought a change in the usual formula. It was also high stakes for him once he learned his son was on board and he once again put Adrien in danger.  

Timetagger is Bunnix’s debut episode excepts its Bunnix from the future we meet. Future Alix is a time-traveling miraculous holder who has to come to her past to help defeat Time-Tagger. She can’t give too much away about the future which includes the status of our main heroes’ relationship status. That doesn’t mean she can’t mess with him by giving him a confusing answer. We also learned about potential future plotlines like Chat Noir accidentally damaging the bunny miraculous with cataclysm and Hawkmoth position being overthrown. There are so many exciting details about the future that our full of mystery that I’m looking forward to. 

Since Timetagger was sent from the future it meant that current Ladybug and Chat Noir weren’t as experience to handle the situation. That didn’t prevent Ladybug from being an all-star with her plan to take down the akuma. Her plan with her lucky charm was all about timing...only Ladybug could think of sending a message to her future self so the future heroes of Paris and destroy the item the akuma was in. In order for the plan to be successful Ladybug had to pretend to admit defeat convincing everyone that she was out of solutions. Chat didn’t fact Ladybug on her choice and went to go with her to hand over their miraculous but she made sure to through a reassuring wink in his direction. She had to make sure her and Chat’s placements where exact because she drew a map for their future selves to open up a portal to the spot Timetagger was standing. It was such a cool way to incorporate the current Ladybug and Chat Noir and their future selves as well as reassuring our beloved heroes are still on top of their game.  

About Sweet-ember:

For the month of September I wanted to spread some positivity and praise Miraculous Ladybug on the things I’ve appreciated/enjoyed from the show.

Everyday I’m going to select one particular moment, event, theme, etc. from an episode of Miraculous and shared what I liked from that episode. Each post will discuss 2-3 episodes (from season 1-3; 78 episodes in total).

Whether its something big or small there is something positive that I can take away from every single episode of Miraculous.

Please feel free to add a moment from these particular episodes that you loved to this post as well!

Salt towards the show, characters, ships will not be tolerated!

Sweet-ember posts

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]

[18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31]

#miraculous ladybug #ml sugar #ml sweet-ember #Ikari Gozen #Desperada #startrain #timetagger #mine

[supaserajupiter]

30 Day Sonic Challenge

Day 3. Which game drove you the most insane, or was the most difficult for you?

Hmm..good question. The one that was the most insane for me was Sonic and the Secret Rings because you couldn't friggin control Sonic (but can you really control him though? Deep questions)!! He was always constantly running and you couldn't stop him! The controls to attack were dumb too because you had to push the + and - button. It was too annoying and so I couldn't finish it which sucks because the artwork in that game is so pretty and I liked the story.

The game that was the most difficult was Sonic Unleashed for the Wii. ^^; I know it was infinitely easier on the Wii, but I had such a hard time controlling the Werehog. He was always slipping off ledges and WHY WERE THERE SO MANY LEDGES?!?! And the night stages were so long which meant plenty of chances to run off a cliff :D

Omg, I remember staying up all night trying to beat Eggmanland. No exaggeration, I went to sleep when the sun came up. That whole world still haunts my dreams. It mocks me. I died so many times on every day and night stage. So. Many. Lives. I danced around my home when I finally beat that CURSED LEVEL!!! That might be the hardest level ever! And then, that same night, I wasted so many lives on the Egg Dragoon and the final boss, Dark Gaia. I think I was on my last life and so I entered a different state of mind and used this power to beat the Egg Dragoon. Then I died 1000 times on Dark Gaia. T_T It was so hard, but I know it was way harder on the other consoles. Like, you had to push "X" or something 100 times to do the final hit on the other versions (Ummm are you okay, Sonic Team? Who hurt you!) I SCREAMED when I finally beat this game on that night many moons ago! I was texting my friend throughout that whole ordeal and we sobbed and cheered when I finally beat it! I definitely earned that win! ;-; Definitely the hardest Sonic game for me.

Wow. Those were really good times <3

AAAAHH!!! I take it back! Damn you to hell, Eggmanland!!!

Day 1. How did you first get into the series (or first game/reaction)?

Day 2. What’s your favorite zone or act, and why?

Day 3. Which game drove you the most insane, or was the most difficult for you?

Day 4. Obligatory favorite character question, and why?

Day 5. Whose abilities do you wish you had the most?

Day 6. Your favorite idle animation from any character.

Day 7. Any characters you wish appeared more in the games?

Day 8. Obligatory favorite game question - what is it, what was your first experience playing it, and why is it your favorite game?

Day 9. Who’s the LAST villain you’d want to fight against?

Day 10. What are some headcanons you’ve developed about a character or something about the games (things that you’ve decided are true that aren’t mentioned by SEGA)?

Day 11. What’s your favorite form of Sonic’s (normal, Super, Hyper, Dark, Darkspine, etc)?

Day 12. Which is an aspect/character of the Sonic world that you wish SEGA would elaborate more on (i.e. that we had more information about)?

Day 13. Your favorite team (from Heroes, Riders, etc)

Day 14. A habit you’ve developed when going through stages (how you deal with a certain obstacle/enemy, tricks to cutting your time, little daredevil stunts here and there, etc.)?

14 alt. Favorite quote from any of the continuities?

Day 15. Character you feel that you relate the most to?

Day 16. What’s one Sonic game that you think is highly underrated or overlooked?

Day 17. If you were being attacked by Robotnik/Eggman and his badniks, which character would you want to come save you? Which character is the LAST one you’d want to save you?

Day 18. Got any Sonic merchandise?

Day 19. Your favorite piece of music (zone/act music, lyrical stuff, etc).

Day 20. Any moments in any of the continuities that provoked an emotional response from you?

Day 21. Favorite ship?

21 alt. Which Sonic game has the best plot, in your opinion?

Day 22. What’s your favorite type of special or bonus stage, and which is the most infuriating special stage design?

Day 23. If you could live in any of the zones or places (Station Square, Holoska, Angel Island, etc), which would it be and why?

Day 24. What’s your favorite non-game continuity?

24 alt. Is there a non-game continuity you’ve been interested in checking out?

Day 25. Who is one character you would like SEGA to bring back, and one character you want SEGA to drop?

Day 26. Your favorite chao that you raised - what does it look like/why is it your favorite?

Day 27. Something that you wish had never happened in one of the games.

Day 28. Any character that you wish you were best pals with in real life?

Day 29. If SEGA made a Sonic game just for you, what would you want it to be like (your ideal game)?

Day 30. Is there something that the Sonic series has helped you with or taught you?

#30 day sonic challenge #sonic unleashed

[legends-live-in-memories]

I Have Too Many Opinions. ep. 1

lmao. i got encouragement to post my opinions on fandom things and now i want to make a miniseries doing just that. so here i am. doing just that.

im putting it under the cut cuz this was 4 whole pages including the disclaimer. yes i put a disclaimer and i explain why.

Anyways, here is the first piece in what inevitably will become fandom info dump, this time on thomas astruc’s writing on miraculous ladybug. but only some of my opinions cuz we would be here all day otherwise.

So… a disclaimer before I begin… 

I do not hate Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir (yes i'm using their government name). I am quite a fan of the show actually despite its faults. I am also older than the intended audience but was obviously younger when the show first aired which is how my interest was piqued (the fact that its been 6 years and only 3 seasons says more about the show than me being a fan for that amount of time but also i never want to rush content creators cuz they're doing their best) and due to my age, there will be inherent bias in my approach of what i'm about to say as there is in EVERY opinion. The fact that it is an opinion should imply the presence of bias but most people tend to lack the critical thinking skills required to draw that conclusion ANYWAYS…

If I did hate the show I would not have this blog nor would I be even writing this because i tend to not give more than 2 seconds of thought to things i actively dislike (some of yall should give this a try) and i'm allowed to like things that are designed for an audience that i was originally a part of but grew out of. (I don't suddenly stop liking things because I'm older despite what many younger fans seem to believe about older audiences. I also don't need to be ‘allowed’ to do anything cuz i wasn't asking for permission anyways.)

This will not be character bashing, astruc bashing nor fandom bashing cuz, again, that would imply i hate any of those elements and if i did, i would not dedicate brainpower to them. Analyses and criticisms of media are fun and engaging and required if you wish to produce good enjoyable content. Now most of this should be already assumed and self-explanatory but people on the internet like to play morality roulette roll dice on purity culture and I rather have documentation that I am in fact not bullying fictional 14 year olds or a grown man. But alas, people get trigger happy whenever someone has less than 1000000% positive opinions on something they like and will throw out words they can't define (gaslight, baiting, toxic, problematic, gatekeep etc) in an attempt to defend their blind devotion, 

which is not needed, if you like something you never have to defend it, even if i don't like it. If you respond to anything I post saying you disagree with me, I will not argue with you. I won't debate back and forth and try to convince you that the things you like are wrong. Unless you are being absolutely tone deaf to what i'm saying, you wont get a negative reaction from me. So don't try to fish for a fight. Please. I got metaphorical hands for days and I'm mean, you don't want me hurting your feelings on the internet. Do yourself the favour. Difference of opinion is how we get diversification in media and is inherently a good thing. Now that that's out of the way, please don't ever let me have to say that again. I beg.

Now onto the fun stuff

I didn't know what I wanted as a first topic so my trusty internet friend @moonlitceleste suggested astruc’s writing… 

AND BOI do i got some opinions on ole tommy boi. Again I don't hate the dude. In fact, he has worked on a few shows that had defined my childhood, including but not limited to W.I.T.C.H. (all eps available on youtube for those interested, 2 seasons, general fun time all around).

So I don't think he’s scum of the earth but I do think his approach to writing mlb specifically has more misses than hits.

The first big miss is that he has no idea how to write 14 year old girls. At all. Almost every girl he has ever written feels like some terrible archetype built entirely for marketability and childish projection and pubescent self-insert (kind of). He has never been a 14 year old girl. I have. In fact when the show first aired, I WAS around the (assumed) age of the mlb characters. The behaviour he passes off as quirky or awkward or just the character’s genuine personality tend to perpetuate harmful stereotypes of teen girls found in the media and are never actually addressed as harmful. they just get swept under the rug. Marinette’s exuberant collage of teen heart throb model boi Adrien Agreste and her very painful almost fan worship she has of him (which flip flops like a paper sandal in the rain) being portrayed as a cute school girl crush uwu, Chloe being the y7 Regina George, Alya being the token best friend of colour with her ‘sassy’ personality (i want y'all to imagine me eyerolling so hard i bust a vessel in my eye), Kagami being the very damaging Perfect Asian Child stereotype. And before y'all get on your dusty soap box and defend going on about “BUT IT'S FOR CHILDREN”,,,, know this.

 i don’t give a solid fuck. 

Not one. 

Children arent stupid. Children are always going to remember the richy bitchy blonde who bullies the art kid, and the big kid, and the shy kid, and the non white kids, and was only nice to her equally rich white friend who she probably had a crush on or was only ever civil to her equally white lapdog. They're going to remember the half asian girl who was never allowed to actually be asian or the only black girl who existed solely as a soundboard for enabling bad habits or chastising the main character for the same habits she enables in the first place (boi aint THAT a topic for later). Like do i really need to explain that alya chastising marinette for taking max’s spot in gamer just to play with adrien rings absolutely hollow when she actively encourages her to sabotage the contest she’s in just so Kagami doesn't win?? Like I don't have to explain that right?? Again kids arent stupid and its quite something that Mari gets chastised for proving herself the best video game player regardless of her intentions just cuz it comes at the expense of max’s feelings/ego but is actively encouraged to sabotage not only kagami but herself by extension cuz kagami is ‘competition.’ Adrien is not a trophy to be won. And no I don't expect 14 yrs old to be perfect and to always make good decisions but these decisions are never addressed as being bad decisions. they get swept under the rug cuz those decisions were necessary for the ‘plot’ but astruc can barely keep characterization consistent and his characters suffer for it and it's the same children you preach are watching it that suffer as well. Cuz guess what? I KNOW 14 yr olds aren't like that cuz i've been there done that (this is the last time i'm saying that i promise) so I know astruc is just metaphorically throwing darts to figure out who says and does what without consideration for pre established personalities to drive the stalemate plot along. The same kids you say are watching this don't know that that's not how preteens work and will absorb and internalize those dynamics like baking soda and vinegar. Cata-fucking-strophically. 

And I haven't even gotten to the boys yet. Which honestly doesn't require much explanation anyways cuz they suffer the same fate as the girls. Tired archetypes with nothing to give them life. Nino falls into Adrien’s person of colour token best friend who dates the female lead’s person of colour token best friend so they can have cute double dates uwu. Except the plot goes nowhere and we have no inclination of romantic development beyond moments that only act to actively convince me to anti ship the lovesquare (i don't want to do that so i self indulge in fanon that actually cares about the characters and plot. may i interest you in True Sight on AO3?). Max is the residential nerd but it doesn't matter (cuz he and everyone are dumbed down for the sake of ‘plot’), kim is the sports jock (which interestingly subverts the asian comedic relief stereotype but only barely) and luka is cute older guy ™ that wears black nail polish and is in a band. The point of all this is to say there is no depth in the characters. It's especially blatantly obvious with the characters astruc doesn't like (chloe). Again, it being a show for kids is not an excuse to be absolved of putting effort into the characters you make.

This is one of the biggest misses astruc has. I haven't even gone into all the nuances of this particular miss. And i havent gone into how that works against him in the plot either. Mostly because the plot itself hasn't gone anywhere and partially because I wanted to go into the plot (or lack thereof) separately as its own miss. 

AND BOI is it a miss. 

SO home boy astruc wanted to reap the benefits of a serial show with ‘engaging’ plot without putting in any of the work to make a linear storyline and relying on the episodic format for, again, marketability. You can't have the best of both worlds, you are not Avatar: The Last Airbender. Which btw has a lot less episodes and a desired end goal that didn't involve top dollar. Legend of Korra did but that's not the point and it had its failings with that too. I challenge you, tell me how many episodes actually contribute towards a plot point or introduce new thematic elements to the show? Can you name them? I can and I'm going to include the plot points that moved the story in some direction if only temporarily. Yes only temporarily for some of these and i will explain later. (if you're in the server you already saw this list *wink*)

25/26. Origins- self explanatory, the beginning of the story, 

24. Volpina- introduction of the grimoire and Master Fu (kind of) and no, Lila is not a plot point,

28. The Collector- proper introduction of Master Fu,

37. Sapotis- introduction of Rena Rouge,

41. Syren- introduction of new aquatic power ups,

44. Anansi- introduction of Carapace,

47. Frozer- introduction of new ice power ups,

48/49. Style Queen- introduction of Queen Bee,

51/52. Heroes’ Day- introduction of Mayura and mass akumatization,

66. Startrain- introduction of Pegasus,

67. Kwami Buster- Marinette wears multiple miraculouses,

68. Feast- backstory as to how the miraculouses were lost,

69. Ikari Gozen- introduction of Ryuko,

70. Timetagger- introduction of Bunnyx,

71. Party Crasher- introduction of Roi Singe and Viperion,

73. Chat Blanc- alternate timeline that essentially means nothing but got a reaction out of fans anyways (myself included)

 77/78. Love Eater/Battle of Miraculous- Marinette becomes guardian and other heroes lose their miraculous,

New York Special- other heroes exist and there is an American miraculous box,

That's 21 episodes. 21 out of a heaping 78 plus 2 specials. Everything else was just your typical akuma of the day episode and everything that happened outside that had no lasting consequences on the plot thanks to the miraculous status quo. Was it entertaining to watch Lila stir the plot of the class dynamic? Hell yeah. Too bad it meant nothing by the end of the episode cuz we were struck with miraculous status quo. She literally doesn't appear again until Heroes Day. that is from episodes 25 all the way to 51, she means nothing and yet she is treated with the severity of a b-villain/rival thing. She means nothing by the end of Volpina if I'm being honest. She is only relevant for 20 mins of episode time she’s in then it's back to magic status quo that undoes any shift in dynamics and relationships. It's like Spongebob who can't get his driver’s license. The worst part is I actually like Lila and I wish the story treated her with the seriousness we as an audience are expected to treat her with. Despite being painfully inconsequential by the end of each of the 3?? 4?? episodes she’s in, it's entertaining to watch a character create drama just because. 

Too bad it means nothing.

Astruc is constantly building up suspense to something ‘important’ only for it to not deliver and fans are constantly having the rug pulled out from under us. Oblivio teased us with a reveal only that gets undone cuz memory akuma. Chat Blanc teased us with romantic development but that gets undone cuz time travel bullshit. Feast introduced more miraculous lore and the history of the guardians but that means nothing by the next episode or ever (i'm not including any reference to the season 4 trailer cuz i've been around the block a few times and im familiar with this lil dancy dance). Heroes Day teased us with a possible future team of heroes but that gets undone in Battle of Miraculous cuz ????? why?? (here's why; astruc was having a jolly ole time letting us know how irredeemable Chloe is at the expense of shooting his own stagnant plot in the foot. Again, discussion for later.)

Too bad anything that slightly swerves off course from the akuma of the day gets undone or ignored. Too bad nothing has any lasting consequence. I mean, if anything did, the episodes would have had a consistent order and release schedule so im not scrambling to watch the leaked ep in Portuguese or something while the french dub is two episodes behind while the english version hasnt even been dubbed. I really wonder how he plans to conclude the show when he’s so afraid to step out of the corner he painted himself in.

Again, not going into nuances. If you want you can ask for more specifics (i doubt anyone would) but this is really just a slightly detailed general overview of my opinions on astruc’s writing. 

I was going to include another miss in his approach to this show but imma save that for another time. 

How’s that for a ‘first’ post?

#mlb #opinions my guy opinions #i dont wanna tag this as salt #but mlb criticisms and analyses #IHTMO #the hashtag for this series #thomas astruc #miraculous fandom #miraculous ladybug #miraculous: tales of ladybug and cat noir #yes the government name again #come get yall juice #miraculous

[punk-rock-uncle]

A final good bye and final log out

This is not a suicide not so no need to worry. Many of you that follow me probably barely remember my blog, it wasnt very big or fancy. I barely know how to code or make my blog look like anything but, that is neither here nor now. I wanted to say good bye I have a bad habit of leaving without saying anything and disappearing for weeks at a time. I guess abusive relationships will teach you that. I went silent on this blog around 3 years ago when I started college. But I wanted to talk about why I started this, the ending will be saved most obviously till the end. I started this blog in a way to find friends, in 2012 internet friends were all the rage and I wanted to be a part of that so I started a tumblr. But was not active on it till 2014. In high school I grew a bit of a following around sophomore year 2015. I would constantly rant on this account and people would watch but not say much. It bothered me a bit that I was never “Tumblr Famous” but I knew people who were, so I would live on through them. Tumblr a lot in high school, I was too afraid to do anything but I knew in the back of my mind that I would get there in my own time. Tumblr, in that sense was kind to me and never made me feel like I had to be pressured to do anything and would constantly educate me from maters of social justice and the Black Lives Matter movement, sex education, gender expression, sexuality, art and astrology. I saw all the drama and surprisingly enough stayed away from the super toxic side of tumblr pushing minors to do more and more and more.  It was safety net and whenever my parents would do what they do best I always had the arms of my blog to run and cry to. It made the darkest days a little brighter, people reblogging free movie sites and calming gifs were my saving grace when I was 14 and suicidal. As high school went on I found myself in a relationship and put all my time, money, effort, energy, my whole being into this one person who would end raping me an using my past against me. I was still active and would talk about him on here including our fights. But as the fights got more violent and heated, the less I would post about him and one day all together I stopped posting on here, for what I thought was for good. I wanted to reach out on tumblr and ask “is any of this normal?” “why do we fight so much?” “is it normal for your partner to make you feel this afraid?” “is it normal for them to talk about sex 24/7″ “is it normal to feel afraid and cry during sex?” I wanted to reach out so badly. I knew I couldn’t and it was a stupid reason why I couldn’t. I was afraid of the judgment, because no one here talks about the small intricacies of domestic violence and how it breaks down every part of you. So I went quiet, I stopped talking about him, stopped posting him and he never care. I was put on meds after he raped me, stopped sleeping and eating. After the meds failed to stop the development of PTSD I started smoking and drinking heavily. After all of that I stopped being on tumblr because things were not the same and stuff that made me happy before just stopped bringing me joy. I thought no one here would care about what I have to say and his words and actions confirmed that even more. Eventually I broke it off 8 months later and my friends never believed me that he was abusing me. Life is better now, I lived abroad, I have an apartment with a new boyfriend, hes nice we have our ups and downs but we came from a hard life so someone loving you is a hard thought to accept for both of us. We both have toxic cycles we need to break but he’s good and he’s teaching me to be kind. I would love to continue on this hellsite but I have other things now, bigger and better things. I am just simply a ghost now of a website where I used to poor out all of my traumas and for one last time I will do that. For any 16 year old who stumbles across this post please read through till the end (if you can) because I want to tell you things I wish someone told me at 16/ entered my first relationship.

Your bf, gf and/or partner should never do/say these things and other small warning signs of DV 

1. if sex hurts a lot for you it is because you are not comfortable, communicate this and if they refuse to understand why leave 

2. If your partner scares you so much to the point where you have a panic attack thinking about them, then leave 

3. you will fall out of love in your first relationship, as shitty as it is, it’ll happen. It’s okay, you can leave. Just like you out grow clothes you will outgrow people. 

4. let people leave, I know this is hard to accept but people will leave and the universe will have something in store for you 

5. YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE HAVING SEX AT 16 IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO I LOST MY VIRGINITY AT 19 IT IS NORMAL!

6. it is normal for you and your partner to have conversations about what to say when people constantly ask you if yall have done the deed it is not normal for your partner to tell you to lie and say you have (when you havent); leave if they do this trust me 

7.If your partner is asking about sex 24/7 and its making you uncomfortable then say something, maybe they don’t mean any harm by it! but if once you’re done with the convo and it didn’t make you feel better you should leave 

8. its okay to leave 1st relationships aren’t meant to last 

9.something my mom said that made me feel better: just because you’re breaking up now doesn’t mean you’re breaking up forever 

10. please don’t force yourself to have sex it’s a very toxic cycle. Easy to get into but hard to break out of 

11. you can be alone, you don’t have to date all the time

12. if your partner's parent is bullying you tell your partner that it makes you uncomfortable talk to them about it. Now I understand parents are hard especially when your 16 and younger (hell parents @ 21 are still tough to deal with) and if your partner says “well I can’t tell them off because of xyz” then make a compromise on how to deal with the situation. If your 1st partner’s parents don’t like you it’s not the end of the world and if bugs you that much YOU CAN ALWAYS LEAVE 

13. on the other hand if you tell your partner, they don’t take it seriously and they still beg you to visit their family then leave, you’re not married you’re young I will probably say this a thousand more times BUT YOU CAN ALWAYS LEAVE 

14. YOU CAN ALWAYS LEAVE, YES IT WILL SUCK, YES YOU’LL CRY AT EVERYTHING BUT IT IS OKAY NOTHING IS PERMANENT AND THAT IS A GOOD THING 

15. do not waste your first relationship on couples counseling ( yes I did that and he still owes me $250 for the session I was dumb & 17 don’t get mad @ me) 

16. if your relationship makes you extremely angry leave, that anger means something, listen to it. 

17. if you are like me and was raised in a very abusive household with parents that constantly abuse you just know that not every relationship is like that and you won’t be like them but, you have to actively work on it not just say it out loud (BUT it does help saying it out loud, v comforting) 

18. if you break up, stay broken up (sometimes it works out for the better if they really want you they’ll try) 

19. NEVER LET YOUR PARTNER’S MOM DICTATE WHERE YOU GO TO COLLEGE TRUST ME YOU WILL REGRET IT 

20. if you are begging for the basics leave 

21. if they ignore your food allergy leave 

22. if they’re a mama’s boy please leave 

23. if they ignore your fears leave 

24. if they think violence is casual and necessary for relationships leave 

25. listen to their ex’s even if you take it with a grain of salt please listen 

26. if you need to come up with an escape plan you’re in a toxic and possibly abusive relationship 

27. it’s okay if you don’t have the courage to leave right now but know, you can’t stay forever 

28. if they use past trauma against you, leave. 

also a word of advice for friends who know people who have been in DV situations

1. if we trauma dump just know we are sorry but please stop us and talk through it later (if you can) 

2. don’t ask why they didn’t leave sooner it’s not your buisness 

3. we don’t know we are being abused, if you know but we don’t please be patient. The mind is a tricky thing. 

4. DO NOT SAY “how did you not know” “you’re stupid for not knowing” “you’re making it up” “told you so” or anything else condescending, we feel stupid and we just want support 

well that’s all I have folks! Thank you tumblr for all the laughs and all the cringe.  I hope this post is insightful and please feel free to add on.

love <3 

Punk-Rock-Uncle :) 

#tw: mental health #cw: suicide #drugs cw #cw: drugs #tw: rape #cw: abusive relationships #cw: abuse #personal