#it's so clear who has a big following and whose opinions 'matter'

[larrydoinglaundry]

.

#twitter's fic conversation is so tiring #it's so clear who has a big following and whose opinions 'matter' #tbh it's the same in tumblr dot com #'underrated works thread' and it be like collision lol #how about all those works that has under 100 kudos? #you just assume they're bad because of the low stats #and because they are not included in your rec queen's recs #and never choose to read them #oh boi #Yes I know I ranted about this before but it's just frustrating

[greypetrel]

*skids in late* "Stay right there! I'm coming! I'll help!" For Cullen/Aisling c:

Hello! You’re not late at all, actually I’m the late one xD

(but for you and everyone reading: Feel free to prompt me whenever, I’m treating prompt requests slowly but I’m always happy to be asked. <3 )

After much modern AU, let’s go back to canon shall we? And with something extremely silly because come on. The damn Temple has floor puzzles, of course it has booby traps as well. Magical booby traps.

I would say I’m sorry for the huge amount of quotes in this but I actually am not.

Tis the prompt list

Not the Years but the Mileage.

"Stay right there! I'm coming! I'll help!"

Two days from leaving the Temple of Mythal, and Abelas found them always new tasks. Because it turned out that running such a big building and keeping it up against time wasn’t only a matter of magic. Oh no, it also was a matter of careful maintenance, and the elves were only too happy of taking advantage of all the extra help they could get, once they knew the hands were good-natured ones.

As Cullen was currently trying to fulfill the task that got him out of the reports and papers that somehow reached him down there too -they always reached him, and he could have sworn the pile he got yesterday grew during the night- he heard her.

Screaming.

He let abruptly down the casks he was bringing to a very specific storage room -Abelas has written him instructions on how to reach it on a loose piece of parchment that flew forlornly to the ground- and just ran towards the scream, worried sick and minding not the sound of broken pottery from what he left fall to the ground.

He hoped, in the back of his mind, that he did't just broken some important relic. Surely the ancient elf would not have entrusted him, alone, with anything so priceless, right?

So, Cullen turned a corner, and turned another, and stopped abruptly.

The corridor opened into a big room whose roof had mostly collapsed, sunshine and vines filling it from above. A couple of parrots had made their nest on the top of the one column that still stood straight and mostly intact of the many that circled a raised dais in the centre, a pedestal on the top exquisitely decorated with gold and mother-of-pearl tassels forming branches and flowers all around, with a golden orb shaped like branches levitating on top.

Looking closely, a barrier shone blue all around the pedestal, buzzing faintly and made almost invisible in the stark late morning sunlight.

And Aisling was there, on the second of three steps that raised the dais… Levitating upside down, blue tendrils of magic tying her arms to her chest, her left calf against her thigh and right leg upward as if she was hanging from a ceiling that wasn’t there. Slightly rotating on herself, and as Cullen looked closely, some magic was also covering her mouth, keeping it shut.

As she rotated towards him and saw him, tho, it was plenty clear what was her opinion on her whole predicament. She was frowning, hard, full of wounded pride, and he knew that if she could have, she would have been pouting and telling him that she had everything under control. Tied like a hog or some cured meat left in a cellar to dry. The situation and the fact that apparently she wasn’t physically hurt, brought a smile on his face that he thought better than to show much.

“Stay right there, I’m coming!” He just told her, and a loud huff from her nose informed him that it wasn’t a particularly clever comment to make to a person who clearly can’t move. He huffed a laughter, her eyes shone bright with offense, which just made forcing back laughter all the harder. “I’ll help! Just…”

He strode towards her, minding his steps: dust and dirt had settled on the ground, and it was easy enough to follow her footsteps and traces towards where she was forced to stop. Which he did, not particularly wanting to fall into another weird magical trap to wait for someone else to notice they were both missing.

As he got closer, the buzz of magic intensified, and squinting he could see that a tile under her head was projecting it upward, shining faintly around the intricate decorations, the same of the weird floor puzzle on the other side of the Temple.

The more they explored that place, the more it seemed to expand… and yet, some of the devices stayed the same. They’ve had ten days to explore, and they weren’t remotely enough to even see and discover the whole place.

“How did you end up in this situation?”

She grumbled something, managing to sound sarcastic even like that.

“No, I’m not leaving you here on your own, not even to ask for help.”

More grumbling, very insisting.

“I know, but by the time I’ll find the way back and find Abelas, you’ll have all your blood down in that beautiful head of yours and will be fainted and unresponsive. Let me try it, I’m sure there’s a solution…”

He took a loose branch on the ground and started to prod at the other tiles before stepping on them, thinking about what to do. The current elven mage was incapacitated of giving her opinion, and he was alone in trying to solve the puzzle, totally out of his comfort zone even with what he knew about magic and grasped in the Circles. Truth to be told, the magic they found there was out of her field of expertise too, even if she was quickly grasping into what she was shown– same way she grasped at most things that weren’t cooking. Her face was turning a shade of red that he didn’t quite like, and so he kept on walking around, trying to solve it, as quick as she could.

She mumbled something else, very grumpy, and tried to cast some spell. The magic reacted by buzzing and fraying around her, and she yelped and stopped as it made her spin around quickly, without relenting its hold. She wiggled as she could, trying to stop herself from pivoting around madly, right before Cullen, instinctively, pulled out his hands to stop her.

Which was how he discovered that whatever magic it was, didn’t hurt him or react to his touch in any way. A small blessing. She sighed from below as he managed to effectively keep her still and thought on what to do. Maybe if he could still dispel it would have done something, but it was months since he stopped having any particular abilities anymore -and in the last period they’ve been weak and hard to call upon. And she would have been silenced too, and quite frankly with her experimenting he thought she'd had enough silencing to last for a lifetime. But maybe… It kinda looked like-

“I have an idea.”

She mumbled something.

“I know, I know. But it kinda looks like something I saw, maybe it works the same way.”

More mumbling and some wiggling, but the spell held tighter the more she moved.

“Stop insisting, please, I’ll explain later. Now. Do whatever you did five minutes before, and I’ll try to slip you out, ok?”

A huff through her nose, and she stopped wiggling.

“Ok. I’ll catch you, you don’t stop until you’re out or I tell you so, ok?”

An affirmative verse.

“On the count of three. One…”

Another verse, he felt her concentrating and starting to call on the Fade.

“… Three.”

She called on her magic again, with more effort this time. The spell constricting her reacted more, frayed and weavered around her body. She slipped, but Cullen was quick to catch her and forcibly dragged her towards him, stepping back, an arm hugging her tight, the other pushing on her back. The spell was strong and it put up resistance, but he grimaced and forced her out, putting more force until-

- Something snapped aloud and send them falling down the steps, with a yelp, and another wave of blue energy sweeping the floor, making dirt and dry leaves and small debris flying, and scaring the parrots away in a cacophony of outraged verses.

Cullen fell on his back, holding on to Aisling as best as he could. It wasn’t a graceful fall, but luckily not a high one. He hit his head, heard Aisling huffing loudly, one of her knees bumped against his ear. But after a minute of stillness, it was clear that whatever spell it was had been broken.

“Are you fine?” He asked between her knees, looking up at the sky and not letting go of her legs just yet.

“Yes. Nothing broken, I think. You?”

“Neither. I bumped my head but it doesn’t feel bad.”

She huffed and wiggled up, clumsily maneuvering herself to untangle from his body. He saw her wobble a little as she tried to stand, and choosing to just stick to the ground with hands and knees and turning to face him. Disheveled, but fine.

“Let me see, don’t move…”

She delicately slipped her hands under his head, fingers treading in his hair - a little more longer than necessary but he pretended not to notice that she took every chance to play with his hair. He always noticed and never said anything, letting her do as she pleased. She very gently touched the back of his head, and it hurt a little, but not unbearably so.

“It’s not bleeding, you’ll just sport a good bump. Give me ten minutes and I can heal it?”

“Can I move?”

“If it doesn’t make your head spin, yes.”

He propped himself up to his elbows first, slowly and with caution, and when he didn’t feel anything weird, sat up, raising both hands to cup Aisling’s face, his turn to move her around and check if she was fine.

“Are you fine, tho?”

“I am, I just have to find a way to mend my wounded pride.”

“I can help with that.” He huffed a laughter and bent forward to kiss her. “The tiles were very faint, and you couldn’t have known.”

She huffed a laughter and kissed him again.

“Do you know how many floor puzzles we had to solve to convince Abelas we weren’t tomb raiders? And that there’s even more in another wing of the temple? I should have expected booby traps around the shiny treasure.”

“It was a honest mistake and you’re-”

He stopped, something amiss in the air, she got attentive too.

“Can you hear it?” She whispered.

“The parrots have stop- Uh.”

Something rumbled, some pebbles started to skip on the ground. The rumble grew louder and deeper, coming from Cullen’s front and Aisling’s back. Cullen looked over and paled, opening his eyes big.

“Don’t tell me, there’s a huge boulder rolling towards us.”

“Yep.”

“Full of magical glyphs?”

“Most likely.”

“Bring it on.”

They jumped up on their foot and, hand in hand, started running back from whence Cullen came, chased by a huge boulder shining in blue glyphs. One of the elves eventually found them and was able, with but a sweep of her hand, to stop the boulder, looking at the human and the Dalish, panting heavily from the run, with an air of scolding particularly towards Aisling. As the boulder slowly rolled back from whence it came -if one had been particularly imaginative it would have been easy to put some air of disappointment to the huge piece of rock- tho, the couple just looked at each other and started to laugh, too caught in the unlikeliness of the moment to really worry about prides to be wounded.

All was well, at least for the rest of their staying.

#dragon age #dragon age inquisition #cullavellan #cullen x lavellan #da fic #fic #writing petrel #aisling lavellan #temple of mythal #Do you really want to tell me that there aren't booby traps in the Temple of Mythal? DO YOU? #*aggressively sing the Indiana Jones theme*

[faceyourfear]

The finale of season 5 is exactly what I expected (maybe as a series finale instead of a season one, but still), but I still didn’t like it. 

It felt reductive, rehashed and repeated. Because it was. Maybe not for Daniel who grows older and becomes mature, but for Terry it does.

So here I’m going to attempt to explore and explain what I would like. Personal opinions and all that (don’t take it personal if you disagree). 

Thomas talks about richness and arcs and the last thirty years being mapped out by the creators… and yes, alright. But is all that used in the narrative? How is everything connected to reach to the semi-end of the character at the end of the season? 

Which made my question what I’d find as a satisfying ending for Terry Silver. In the beginning I couldn’t answer. Maybe the end is still not clear in my mind; what would I like to see? Definitely not the same as the end of Karate Kid III.

But the narrative didn’t set events in a way to have any other resolution. 

I see Terry as a “Byronic tragic (in the same sense tragic is used in ‘tragic hero) villain or antagonist”. The creators have given him all those flashbacks to “flesh out” his character but don’t use them to evolve the story. And this isn’t a Hannibal-like story to have the protagonists fall together… (which I didn’t like either, but it fit the story, it fit the characters that were created by Fuller & their arc and their flashbacks and personal stories). 

That’s not what’s happening in Cobra Kai. 

He’s a Byronic because 

they are to be defined by their rejection or questioning of standard social conventions and norms of behavior, their alienation from larger society, their focus on the self as the center of existence, and their ability to inspire others to commit acts of good and kindness. Romantic heroes are not idealized heroes, but imperfect and often flawed individuals who, despite their sometimes less than savory personalities, often behave in a heroic manner.

See, I don’t call him hero, just Byronic (antagonist or villain) because he’s a imperfect and flawed and focuses on the self as the centre of existence, his behaviour is not the norm and he does reject standard social conventions. 

Byronic heroes tend to be characterized as being:

Intelligent

Cunning

Ruthless

Arrogant

Depressive

Violent

Self-aware

Emotionally and intellectually tortured

Traumatized

Highly emotional

Manipulative

Self-serving

Spiritually doubtful

Often reckless or suicidal

Prone to bursts of anger

Decidedly prone to substance abuse

Dedicated to pursuing matters of justice over matters of legality

Given to self-destructive impulses

Seductive and sexually appealing

Well, look at that! He has all of these traits but he’s not a hero. (or you know, he could be if the writers played the cards they cheated with right)

He’s in the story to antagonise, to be the adversary, to be the villain. 

And I think this is where they lost it, because I think the end would have been different if he was presented now (35 years after KKIII and years of therapy, and accepting his flaws and being a ��changed man”) as a decent and good sensei who wouldn’t harm his students, but following the letter of the teachings he was taught against Daniel. 

Basically, being both a changed man and an antagonist. Meaning don’t add flashbacks and a backstory of therapy if it’s not going to be used. If you add them, use them. 

He’s tragic because like every tragic hero he “creates his own demons”, he’s the reason for his own downfall, his inability to see the faults in his teaching and accept the other technique may have a better point. A tragic hero doesn’t pay because “big bad society/villain has it against him”.

“character between these two extremes… a man who is not eminently good and just, yet whose misfortune is brought about not by vice or depravity, but by some error or frailty».

Which could be the character they introduced in season 4 and the young man they showed in flashbacks. 

I can write about hubris, hamartia, peripeteia, anagnorisis and catharsis easily for this character, but what is the point? They could make him a formidable antagonist, make him something different than KKIII because of their own flashbacks. Tremendously easily. And they screwed up, taking him back to the same villain of KKIII. 

See, this kind of character arc doesn’t even need to be redeemed… and they could still have Daniel win, just not in karate. 

The issue though is that everything was awfully superficial and in the end unnecessary & not used. That's just so very sad. 

So about the end? I’ll compare it to BBC/Netflix 2020 Dracula finale (that many didn’t like) and say that it would fit the character perfectly. The character chooses his own end as he did with his life after having his worldview proven wrong and dangerous.

#Cobra Kai #CK5 #spoilers #maybe not #Terry Silver #having issues with the writing #opinion personal #i hate that they didn't make use of their own treasure

[chillingintheheat]

(OPINION) Atheism in Confucianism

Confucianism has no gods or deities, rather the confucians respect Confucius as a spirit in the afterlife. This type of religion, whether you believe it to be a religion or not, is called atheistic. This is in contrast to a theistic religion, or one that does worship a God. I believe that this aspect of Confucianism has many unique facets, good and bad, that I will be presenting and detailing in the following outline.

Pros:

Based on logic meaning it works better

Instead of accepting things because of the rules set by a hypothetical God whose existence is unprovable, having no God encourages us to make meaningful reasonings and connections behind our laws and orders. If these logical steps were not made, someone else would simply “disprove” your religion because of its lack of a God. This is inherently good because logic forces us to make decisions that benefit us, if a choice was unideal for the people, then it would not be logical. For example, say there was a debate between two parties, a peasant and a criminal. The criminal was alleged to have stolen the peasants food, a charge the criminal does not deny, according to the Confucian doctrine that “You shall act upon others, as you wish to be acted upon,” the criminal will have been deemed to be wrong, and therefore punished. However, let us assume that the robber follows some hypothetical religion, stating that a peasant is of a lesser kind and therefore not to be held in equal standing according to the rules, something that we in the modern day look at as absurd. If we were to follow the reasoning of the thief, we can clearly see that it would have a negative impact on the peasant and all other peasants. However, following the logic of Confucianism would grant retribution and reparations to the peasant, restoring balance. Even though the situation might have seemed like a strawman to modern day people, it certainly would have made sense to some ruling class monarchies in medieval kingdoms, in which the Monarch may even act like a God sometimes. So who is to say that we are not facing a similar problem in modern day society. I can hereby say with confidence that a rational, orderly society has a bigger net benefit impact on the lives of its citizens, rather than a purely authoritative state, one which religions can sometimes mimic.

No unprovable or conspiracy-like beliefs

We can see this play out in arguments for God's existence, it is clear to all of us that the absolute existence of a God, is in its essence, unprovable; so that begs the question of why we even consider the existence of one in the first place. In this problem I implicate the very chance, no matter how big or small, of a God, to be the reason so many still believe in a God. However, I find this to be illogical at its core. Why should one believe in something that they themselves cannot prove? We certainly cannot rule out the existence of a God, but given its unprovability, it should not play a big role in human society. Therefore, the decrees of a God with little power shall hold little influence as well. Calling back to the previous hypothetical stated in the above. One might choose to say that the robber may be justified in that their God might exist or another may exist who hold such a rule that the peasant is less of a human. However, given the God's hypothetical status, this would seem irrational. Now imagine this at a smaller scale, with someone in your religion, in the shoes of the thief. We see that the notion that the rules of a heavenly being be enshrined in law is one that goes against reasoning and logic. The lack of a God, means the lack of these problems, and as I outlined before, we would be forced to face things with a rational approach, and believe, ideally, in the path the facts pave for us.

Cons:

No fear of God meaning there is no motivation to keep people following the religion

As we can see often, being logical and moral require energy. If you were to decide between not having to use that energy and having to spend time and dedication, from a purely selfish point of view, it would seem like the former would be the better choice. This is even more reinforced when you note the reason people follow a religion, like wanting to be moral or be in a community, but we can feel that being scared of God and wanting to go to heaven as being a big factor. Now, take Confucianism, a religion believing that one should act according to the present and not some things that might happen after death. Why should people want to follow it? It has no power over you, so you don't need to, and the other religions are threatening you with the idea of some sort of hell or purgatory.

Many unanswered question like what happens after death

As mentioned above, atheism asks for logic and tangible connections, things that cannot fully explain death and the metaphysical, or even some of the physical. This can lead to some discouragement as we as humans desire answers for everything, something logic simply cannot provide. However theists can have answers for any or all of these, depending on the religion. For example, while Confucius says that the afterlife is too complex for humans to understand, the Bible goes as far to describe the physical attributes of heaven. Humans will naturally follow the easiest path, and it is clear that knowing where you go after death is much easier than just not knowing.

While Atheism does provide a more logical and probable view of the world, these can be uncomfortable to people which leads them to not follow Confucianism and rather follow a theist religion, whether this is a fully bad thing, however, I am not sure.

PS: This is not a recent 'essay', I don't agree with parts of this and still agree with parts of it

#religion #atheism #agnostic #agnosticism

[estherxp]

Reflection Blog post #1

After reading the two articles this week, I learned a lot. First, for the first point, I think that social media can meet the social needs of many teenagers as well as adults in modern society. For example, for teenagers, they are now doing more than just listening to teachers and professors in the classroom, they can also use social media to learn outside of school and be able to find and interact with their classmates. These interactions can be academic as well as recreational activities after school. In this way, not only is the time and financial cost of learning and education reduced, but the relationships between classmates and between students and teachers or professors are greatly enhanced. For adults, since they are already in the workforce and do not have "professors" or "classmates", they use social media, such as Twitter or news apps, more to find out what is happening in the world at the moment. So that they do not lose track of the world that is constantly moving. In this way, by browsing social media, they understand what the current trends are and create a wonderful connection with society as a whole. In my opinion, this is a great way for both teens and adults to use social media to learn, even if the learning is different. Social media can be described as the electronic version of a newspaper and an email inbox.

For the second point, I would like to say that the biggest benefit of social media is that it facilitates many people to communicate and learn from each other, both for teenagers and adults. For example, I met a guy from South America in my French class last semester whose native language is Spanish. Coincidentally, I was very interested in Spanish, so he and I followed each other on Instagram. Not only do we talk about what we learned in French class, but we also talk about Spanish-related stuff after class. He taught me some everyday phrases in Spanish, and I taught him some Chinese. We can connect with anyone through social media and as long as they have an account, we can follow them and send them messages, no matter what their culture or where they are. Not only that, but social media also makes it easier and simpler for everyone to check news and hot trends. As I said in the previous paragraph, people can simply tap on Twitter to find out what the hot trends are and what big events are happening in the world right now. The accessibility of educational content and social news is one of the biggest benefits of social media.

However, as demonstrated in the reading, social media also has disadvantages that cannot be ignored. One of these drawbacks is the anonymity of social networks. I learned from the reading that both low social-emotioal well-being and high social-emotioal well-being teens have experienced "cyberbullying". The difference between them is that they are not at the same rate; however, both types of people have experienced cyber violence. The reason for this is most likely the anonymity of social media; people do not need to use their real names to create accounts, they can just give themselves a name and then recklessly abuse others on social media, which is very scary. Not only that, but the addictive nature of social media is also a big problem for teenagers. According to reading, there are some teenagers who use social media and then communicate a lot less with others face to face, while communicating less with their close family and friends. In their opinion, face-to-face interactions seem to become less valuable because they have been replaced by social media.

What I found noteworthy and interesting was that in Julie's research article, she mentioned that she had been affected by racism and had become low in self-esteem. Her response was very warm and touching and gave me a very clear path to follow. Her response was that social media can be a very powerful support network as long as you can use it to connect with people who have the same issues as you. For me, I'm an Asian, and I'm at risk for racial discrimination or other issues. In my opinion, connecting with people who have the same issues helps me because we can give each other a sense of empathy and also be more empathetic with each other. Just like I follow a lot of my fellow international students on social media, I feel like we are the same people, so it's easier to build an emotional bond between us.

#ci3342

[amysubmits]

The Needs Dance

I’ve said many times that we follow the typical D/s hierarchy of subs needs, doms needs, doms wants, subs wants. @cynicaldom  has said it many times, too. 

I would still say we do, but I have become more conscious of how that is pretty over-simplified. (Part of it was talked about in this blog post and reblogs with some other subs which I think is a good read). I've come to understand why some disagree with the hierarchy when taken at face value. I too, would disagree if it meant that my needs always came first...and it’s a logical conclusion to read the hierarchy as meaning the subs needs always come first because context isn’t given. I’m not trying to say my context is the original context intended by whoever made it, or anything like that. I'm just explaining what we do in great detail. 

There are multiple cases where my needs don’t come first, I’ll try to sort of categorize them.

My needs don’t come first when our needs don’t conflict with one another. If we can meet my needs, and meet CD’s needs, we meet both! We wouldn’t hold back on meeting CD’s needs just to elevate mine or anything like that. We have n interest in neglecting needs if we can help it. In practice, we’re generally able to meet his needs and my needs pretty simultaneously, so we just do both, and there is no hierarchy to it in those cases. 

My submissive needs don’t come before his basic needs. Often I talk about our needs within D/s, and that context of “within D/s” is critically important to recognize. My submissive needs are things that I need in order to feel valued, appreciated, seen, safe, secure as his submissive. Being submissive to CD, giving him power/control/authority over me, makes me need more from him than I would need if we were not D/s. Just as one example, in order to feel valued while following rules he gives me, I need him to be consistent with watching our rules. However, that is not a basic human need, it’s something I need because we are doing D/s. I’m not someone who typically views our “D/s selves” as separate from “the real us” or anything like that. I see D/s as very natural to who we are. Neither of us would be very fulfilled in a vanilla relationship...so I see D/s as a legitimate need that we have. It’s not really just a want. Still, D/s is something we do for fulfillment, or to thrive. It’s not something we have to do to survive. Therefore, it’s a lesser need than basic human needs. 

To again use the example of consistency. Consistency from CD is a pretty big need of mine as a submissively. Part of this means I expect CD to do the things he says he’s going to do. However, if he were to tell me we were going to watch movies on Friday night, and then he wasn’t feeling well, I’d expect him to prioritize his need to rest over my need for him to follow through on movie night. 

My needs don’t come first if they are smaller. Even when looking at two needs that are both D/s needs, or two needs that are both basic human needs, that doesn’t mean they are equally important. If I have a need that is clearly smaller than his, we would prioritize his ‘big’ need over my small need. 

For example, I might be itching to struggle against him as a role-reminder. I may make plans in my own mind to get him to play-fight me when he gets home. Then once he’s home, I can see that he’s feeling low and that he needs my obedience and service and way more than I need to struggle-play. Or perhaps a better way of framing his need in this case would be that he needs me to NOT struggle against him? I would then prioritize his need over mine, because his is bigger. 

The Needs Dance

The hierarchy only comes into play for us when our needs contradict, and when our needs are roughly the same size and type. Whenever possible we prioritize both of us equally. When that’s not possible, we prioritize who has the bigger or more important need.

Most of the time we do this little dance that juggles both of our needs, and then we have to take turns putting our smaller needs on the backburner for each other on rare occasion. When our needs contradict, sometimes I have the bigger need, and sometimes he does. This means that over time, we both have our needs prioritized about the same, and we both have our smaller needs put on the back burner about the same. The needs dance balances itself out pretty evenly. I don’t think this is really any different than how most vanilla couples would handle things. When you both want the best for each other, you try to meet needs as equally as you can.

How it’s always been

I think we’ve always done a “needs dance” rather than having my needs go first all the time. However, I wasn’t very conscious of this needs dance for a long time. In a lot of cases, we just have strong instincts about how to handle situations. If his need was obviously bigger than mine, we didn’t have to really think about or discuss what would happen. We just do it. It’s the circumstances where our needs are similar in side and importance where it’s less clear what the fair thing to do is, that we have to think about how to prioritize needs, and those are the circumstances where we lean on the hierarchy. So, because we only really had to think about whose needs came first in those scenarios, I think I had formerly felt like my needs come first more often than they actually do. 

Doms have limitations, too. 

This is a bit of a side point. However, I thought it was somewhat related so I decided to toss it in here. I have many anecdotes where I hesitate with feeling too needy or like i’m wanting too much, asking too much, etc and then CD is easily able to accommodate my needs or wants and is very happy to do so.

Worrying about being too needy is an ongoing struggle I have. I definitely worry about being to needy when I’m not sometimes, and I know many other subs do as well. I understand encouraging subs to not feel bad about their needs in general, but especially in the cases where they really are seeing their needs as more burdensome than there are. Many subs could benefit from cutting themselves some slack and not worrying about their “neediness” as much as they do.

At the same time, I sometimes also see people go too far in the other direction, in my opinion. I have seen comments like “Don’t worry about being too needy, you’ll never be too much for your dom” and I don’t agree with that. 

I believe that ideally, your needs will be well-matched enough that neither of you has to sacrifice your needs very often at all, especially your bigger, important needs. 

However, I think literally everyone has limitations on what they can give. Nobody has unlimited energy, unlimited ability, unlimited emotional energy, etc. I think pushing the idea that doms should be able to meet 100% of their subs needs 100% of the time is just a bad concept. They’re human, too and they have a right to have their own needs prioritized sometimes, and to have their own limitations. 

Why the hierarchy matters to me still

The reality is that conflicting needs of roughly similar size just don’t happen that often. The hierarchy doesn’t really come into play very frequently. 

Despite the rarity, it’s important to me to have a Dominant that does support the hierarchy when it comes down to those tough cases. CD having those values matters to me because of what it says about him as a Dominant. I feel there are cases where a dominants needs should come first, which is those moments where they have a really big, important need. Dominance isn’t being a martyr. However, in the circumstances where needs are pretty equal, if a dominant would still choose to prioritize their needs above their submissives...I think that speaks to their values in a big way. 

In my mind, in the circumstances where needs are pretty equal and both can’t be met...the dom choosing to put their sub first shows that their dominance is motivated by wanting to take care of their partner. Where choosing to prioritize themselves in those instances would show they are...well, motivated by prioritizing themselves. That motivation difference and value difference is important to me. 

#sccwriting #d/s #D/s hierarchy #domestic discipline #writing

[phantomrose96]

Flash in the Eyes Part 2

(Part 1)

More fixed!Flynn lore? More fixed!Flynn lore

..................

Danny lay awake. He kept his eyes glued to the bedroom ceiling, studded with glow-in-the-dark stars from corner to corner. They doused him in the tiniest shimmer of ethereal light – the second source of light in the room – after his phone, which he gripped loosely in the hand dangling off the bed. The phone cast its own faint shimmer outward, a ray into the bleak night.

And he himself made for the third source of light, he supposed. That pulse of iridescent green from his eyes, which he felt like the beginnings of a headache building inside his head, had been spurred to the front by the trickle of anxiety that kept his nerves alight now at 3:30 am.

The plastic stars above. His phone glowing outward. (His radioactive eyes, pinned to Aunt Alicia.)

Danny was not allowed to forget the incident. He was not allowed to move on. Even home, it followed him.

His phone, with that dim light, was open to a single message that had been plaguing him all day. A single Facebook message, from a profile wishing to connect, with no profile picture, no history, no other friends, made day-of. “danny. this is your aunt alicia. never would of thought id be using of one these computers. wierd things. any way. wanted to apoligize about scarring you. I have a mean face maddie knows. i dont have a computer. this is in the libary in town. but hoping you culd call me on the phone. wanted to ask you somthing more. thanks. xxx-xxx-xxxx…”

Danny left the message on read. He figured it didn’t much matter that his read-receipts were on. Alicia made it clear she had no access to a computer, or likely internet for that matter. This was a message cast into the void, framed as an apology, but fishing for information that made Danny’s skin crawl to think about. Alicia could talk to his mom any time. But she had chosen not to. She’d chosen to contact Danny directly, through a means of great hassle for a woman so sworn-off technology, living so far away from proper civilization. And she’d chosen to do so after seeing that flash in his eyes.

This wasn’t like fighting ghosts. Those were pure physical scuffles which ended in him casting the creature off into the portal to (hopefully) never be heard from again. This instead was an anxiety pricking along every nerve of his skin, deep-seeded and deep-sewn from the woman who terrified him all these many years, whose connection to his ghost-hunting parents sent his brain into spirals of dread for all the what-ifs he conjured.

“You seem deep in contemplation. Perhaps I should come back later?”

Danny sat bolt-upright, spinning fast enough to see new stars spawning in his vision. He blinked them away, and sucked in a sharp inhale of breath as he snapped his head to the side.

Half-translucent, idly floating, Vlad Plasmius appraised him from the other side of he bedroom, studying Danny the way a teacher might study a struggling student.

Danny’s transformation and leap from bed came as one. His covers blew back, phone clattering to the floor forgotten.

“Plas—”

“Yes yes, ‘it is I, Plasmius’. I believe we’ve done our battle cry introductions enough times for the audience to get the point.”

“What are you doing here?!”

“Just dropping in on old friends.” Plasmius, still floating, performed a motion as if to sit. He swung one leg over the other, and reduced the miasma of pressure that his aura sent off. He was relaxed, and conversational, and this made Danny’s neck hair prickle all the more.

“All the way from Wisconsin! Yeah just, dropping in at 3 in the morning! Yeah, well, sorry but I don’t buy it, Plasmius. And I’m sending you back to Wisconsin now that you—”

“Seems we’ve both been traveling quite a bit out of state. Tell me was it a fun little vacation? A ghost hunting trip?”

“It—” Danny’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know we were gone?”

“Oh easy, I have ghost sentinels pinned on your house at all hours. They feed me this information.”

“Noted. Thanks for the tip. I’ll be sure to blast them out of existence next time I’m out.”

“I’d love to see you try. They’re masters of stealth.” Vlad flashed a grin. “I have to say I am quite disappointed to see you all back so soon – must have been a short trip. Where did you go?”

“Not telling you. Now why are you here?”

“I’ll tell you if you tell me.”

Danny bit down the urge to sucker-punch Vlad on spot. “We were visiting our aunt. Nothing special. Not everything is some big…I dunno… ghost conspiracy, Vlad. Now why are you here?”

“I was simply hoping to catch the house unguarded. You know, explore the lab, see the new contraptions that Maddie designed and Jack botched, perhaps sprinkle some cyanide in the oaf’s cornflakes box.”

“Like I’d let you--!”

“Aunt, did you say, Daniel? Alicia, perchance?”

Danny gave no response. He felt only the twist in his gut, which wrought a smile to Vlad’s face.

Vlad clapped his hands together and continued. “That is a name that brings back memories! She and Maddie were remarkably close. I heard about her constantly – given of course that I am a fantastic listener who never forgets a name or a face, unlike some fools who can’t even remember birthdays – but yes as Maddie’s best listener and best supporter, I feel like I know Alicia personally. Tell me, how is her husband Dale doing? How’s little Flynn? Not so little anymore, I imagine.”

“Don’t… talk about my aunt. That’s weird.” Danny floated backwards, coalescing a lick of flame in his palm. “Also, goes to show how much you know these days. Alicia and Dale have been divorced for like ten years now. And there’s no Flynn. You sure you’re that great a listener?”

Vlad quirked an eyebrow. “Ah, shame how divorce never seems to happen to the right people. Has Alicia tried telling Maddie it’s not too late to follow suit?” Danny unleashed his pulse of energy. Vlad blocked it with a single dismissive wave of his gloved hand. “And Daniel I am referring to your cousin Flynn, about whom I am absolutely not mistaken. Maddie and I were sophomores in college when he was born. Maddie flooded me with pictures of the boy, chubby little thing with red hair like Maddie’s. They moved her to tears, some of them. It was formative for me. The moment I realized that was the future I wished for myself, that I could bring Maddie that same joy with a family of our own. Shame how children don’t seem to happen to the right people either.”

Danny gave no response. He only lingered in the air, drifting slightly, the wafting residue of his attack trailing along his palm.

“You don’t seem so convinced,” Vlad commented.

“I’m not. Aunt Alicia doesn’t have kids. I don’t have any cousins. Unless you count whatever Danielle is.”

“A clone. You have to know the cousin thing was made up.”

“Alicia doesn’t have kids. Bottom line.”

“Did she sign him away in the divorce? That’s cold. I wonder if I could convince Jack to do the same with you.”

“Aunt Alicia divorced without kids, dumbass!” Danny swept a hand out. “She talks about her divorce all the time like it’s the best thing that happened to her, and she’s said how easy it was with just her and Dale and no one else. I don’t know how many other ways I can tell you I don’t have cousins, and I definitely don’t have a cousin named Flynn. You’re making yourself look like an idiot.”

“The opinion of a 14-year-old means very little to me.” Vlad dipped forward, closing the gap between him and Danny by a few feet. The air howled cold behind him. “However I am utterly intrigued to know what became of Flynn then. Clearly something worth keeping from you. Drowned in a pool? Carried off by a bear? Perhaps his parents made a ghost portal a decade prior to yours and he zapped it on from the inside.”

“You’re not funny.”

“I am hilarious, young man.” Vlad uncrossed his legs, still floating, but as though standing once more. “You should respond to your aunt’s message.” Vlad nodded his head to the phone on the floor. “She seems eager to speak to you. Maybe she can tell you what happened to dear little Flynn. And if you don’t, well perhaps I will stop by tomorrow morning for some tea, and ask Maddie myself what became of him. You’re welcome to be in the room when I do.”

“Hey!”

A flash of light momentarily blinded Danny, followed by a pulse of energy, and when Danny opened his eyes again he had to blink through stars.

Nothing remained in the night.

Only the ceiling studded stars above, and the glow of the phone below, and the consumptive chilling green flashing from his own eyes.  

#danny phantom #dp #flynn #flynn walker #dp fanfiction #vlad masters

[child-of-the-danube]

Can we please talk about Drag Race España? Cause I have so many emotions.

This season literally ticks all the boxes of what a great reality show is supposed to be while also keeping it healthy.

1. The Queens are all so loveable and talented and each has a unique expression and way of doing drag. All the classics were there: The young fashion queen, the experienced comedy queen, the drag differente queen, the wholesome supportive one, the social media famous one, an old Hollywood glamour pageant type queen etc, yet none of them felt overproduced to fit a category or like they were desperately trying to emulate the image of the US queens, not even Sagittaria who stated she started drag after going to Werq the World and whose name is directly inspired by a US queen (Aquaria). Also, come through 4 non binary queens and an Indigenous queen! We love to see the representation!!!!

2. They were all very "human", if that makes sense, without having to forcibly yank sob stories out of them. When they got emotional it was clear it was the queens' choice to speak on their emotions and not forced trauma porn.

Inti's moment of speaking about body dysmorphia and trans struggles, Killer taking about why she actively chose to always be kind, Pupi talking about how her coming out and doing drag affected her relationship to her family, Dovima letting down her guard, Carmen speaking about her parents, the letter from Hugaceo's brother... It all felt very genuine and important and I love that!

3. Shooketh moment: The judging was fair with maybe two small exceptions. And the judges gave valid constructive critique always followed by immense support and praise. There was no unnecessary bullshit or forcing people to change their signatures. They only asked Vulcano if she will always be on those platforms but it was part of a valid critique and not just the usual of "we've seen your signature now throw it away". In the acting challenge the Javis gave useful critique and advice, even throwing ad lib ideas for the queens in, Supremme tried to give Dovima some ideas when she blanked in the Puppet mini challenge, Ana gave Killer advice about making a better silhouette for herself and as the runways went by you could see Killer was improving, and so on.

That's how you make your contestants feel comfortable and validated. Even Inti who had a somewhat dramatic exit seems to still be very grateful and close to the judges.

The judges were enjoying everything to the maximum. There's so many shots of the Javis and Ana fangirling, all of them hyping up the queens during the lipsyncs, Supremme dancing to the lipsyncs, all of them dying of laughter or crying when things got emotional. They're all so precious!!

And don't even get me started on the guest judges:

Bad Gyal, Paca la Piraña, Alaska, ENVY PERU! Legends!!!

Please invite more winners to the judging panel!!

4. THAT'S HOW YOU ACT AS A HOST!!! Roople take fucking notes. Supremme was so entertaining, loving, kind and supportive. It is so clear she loves both drag in general and the girls so much. Hell, how many times did she cry or almost cry in the span of these 9 episodes? I already said that, but you know damn well Ru would not have handled a situation like the one with Inti with such grace and kindness. He wouldn't even enter the werk room to check on someone if that happened on a season he hosted. Same with Dovima. In a US season they would have made it as if Dovima was ungrateful and a quitter. Here they tried to encourage her to fight and listened to her reasons without shitting on her afterwards.

The final talk with the queens was lovely as well. She didn't try and spit out some spiritual guru bullshit. She let the queens talk and gave advice and support when it was called for. She made it about them and not her.

There was no anger or rudeness or unnecessary harshness towards anyone. Supremme was nothing but kind and supportive to all of them. Her energy and smile are so infectious - a total class act!

5. The rightful winner was chosen. Congratulations Carmen Farala!!!! She also managed to do something everyone is unsuccessfully trying to emulate since Sasha did it with the rose petals - she pulled an unexpected reveal that was relevant and fitting for the song with her wet wig making it impactful. And the fact that she never watched drag race before doing it herself and ended up winning?? That's some proper legend shit. So well deserved!!

And I think a big part of why we ended up with the rightful winner is that DR España didn't adopt the lipsync for the crown format and stuck to the finale format of earlier seasons.

(Small rant and that's just my opinion, nothing more: the lipsync for the crown format invalidates the purpose of the rest of the season as it makes all 4 finalists, who never have the same trajectory and track record, go basically to 0 again. It's circumstantial and not just in the way that someone who happens to be a better lipsyncer with a less fantastic track record will beat someone with a way better performance throughout the show who isn't as good a lipsyncer as them. Sometimes that doesn't even matter and it comes down to song choice. To me, that format makes the rest of the season unnecessary. If it just comes down to the circumstances of lipsyncing, then they might as well just randomly pick 4 queens, shoot just the lipsyncs and call it a day.)

This season entered the holy company of s6, all stars 2 and UK s1 as one of the best seasons of the franchise to ever exist!!

#drag race espana #drag race spain #I tried but I truly cant express just how much I love this season #congratulations to Spain's first drag race superstar miss Carmen Farala #so well deserved #carmen farala #sagittaria #killer queen #pupi poisson #dovima nurmi #hugaceo crujiente #arantxa castilla la mancha #inti #drag vulcano #the macarena #supremme de luxe #ana locking #javier ambrossi #javier calvo

[softcallofdutyimagines]

An oddly specific hc:

Weaver, Mason, Woods, Adler, and Hudson with an S/O who likes to give+recieve cuddles. (Guess whose love language is physical touch? Is me.)

DJDJDJSJ LITERALLY ALL OF MY HUSBANDS IN ONE ASK !!!! You know, love languages for the squad might be an interesting one, one day! I feel you tho, mine is words of affirmation but physical touch is a super close second 🥺👉🏻👈🏻

Phew I went kind of all in on these, so sorry of they're really long or rambly, but I hope you enjoy them!! Weaver and Woods even feature a little dad bod action bc ik that's our thing 😌😌💅🏻

Adler

Honestly, at first he's not use to it

In fact, you'd be forgiven to think he didn't like it at all

However, he never shuts you down either...

If you persevere for long enough and are able to gain his trust, you'll be rewarded to find that he actually quite enjoys your touch

Well, more then enjoys I'd say

Adlers job is a lonely and thankless one, and although he could hardly bring himself to admit as much...

The loneliness takes a toll on him

He is only interested in receiving that kind of affection from someone he has a connection with, so as you can imagine, it's harm for him to get that need fulfilled without you

In a way, he grows rather addicted to you

You're the first thing he goes for when he comes home after time away

All in all, he's down for whatever you've got to give, but his favorite thing to do is to hold you

Whether that be while cuddled up and or just standing in place, it doesn't matter to him

In turn, he particularly likes when you stroke his jawline or pepper him with kisses

He's very sensitive about his face and scars as you know, doubly so after the torture and rescue stuff he went through

So when you show extra affection to that spot, not only is it a huge sign of his trust in you, but it also just so happens to make him melt

Hudson

Hudson is an extremely similar case to Adler in that, although you wouldn't guess it, he craves physical touch

In fact, Hudson might be even worse off

I would argue that at least Adler works with his task force members, but Hudson???

He's more or less forced to stick to the shadows and only speak to others on a more or less need to know basis

Given that cannon Hudson has a whole wife and kids, I get the feeling that he just wants to be loved damn it!!!

So all this to say that, unlike Adler, I don't think Hudson would be even remotely as coy with his desire for affection

I mean, if you've managed to snag a relationship with him, he must trust you a whole lot already, so why not just clear the air, right?

However, I will say that I think he might be a little shy about it

What if he comes across as too needy or something? Not a good look for a grown man, surely

As a result, if he has nothing more pressing to attend to, he'll be your shadow around the house all day long, from one room to the next

Of course, he does his best to not follow you step for step or do anything else that would obviously give him away, but it doesn't take a genius to figure out what he wants

You'll have to invite him to come to you most of the time

And good thing too, bc when he's with you, it's like heaven

He's fond of simply collapsing into your lap when your seated, or across your torso when laying down

From there, you can do whatever you want

If you really wanted, you could balance a damn book on his back and just read in silence for all he cares

As long as he can have that physical connection to you, it doesn't matter

This is another area where he's a step up in extreme from Adler

While Adler wants you, Hudson needs you

You're like his one place of rest in the whole world, the only place he can be safe and forget about his work, and you have no idea how much that means to him

Mason

Personally, I think Alex is probably the one most (relatively lmao) well adjusted adult of the group

He of course loves receiving physical affection from you, but he doesn't need to rely on it as some sort of coping mechanism

While he can be a little clingy, its a usually only after times that he has to be away for a long while

Personally, I feel like Alex is the safest for me to say that he probably also has physical touch as his love language as well!

He will often come seek you out just as much as you so for him, and he has no problem requesting some snuggle time

Mason is perfectly confident in his masculinity after all, so asking if you wouldn't mind cuddling him is a simple task in his eyes

The height of his interest in touch comes when he's trying to sleep though

He's prone to pretty awful night terrors given all that he's been through, so I'd say that's the only real time that he truly does rely on you and your gift

Even if it's just something as small as holding his hand while you lay next to him, any little bit helps

He definitely notices more difficulty sleeping when you're not around, so he's thankful for you for sure

Mason is also pretty big on pda I think lol

Like holding hands, hugging, and kissing...

None of that bothers him!

Although he enjoys nearly all forms of touch from you, he'd have to admit that he loves it the most even you run his back or hold his hands

It's... Comforting

Weaver

Off, poor Weaver, he's a mess

Imagine someone who burns with an all consuming desire just to be touched damn it !!! like Hudson does, and yet has ten times the reservations and insecurities about it as Adler does

That's close to what Weaver is like

He's extremely shy around you, just to start off

In fact, he's probably still star struck that you actually wanted to be in a relationship with him in the first place

And so, he's not sure how to act...

He really is a big softie on the inside, and yet he's not sure if you'd like that

After all, he's the big, tough Russian guy to everyone else

That's who you met, so it would make sense that that's what you want, right?

While Hudson would warm up after a while and, albeit awkwardly I'm sure, ask you for some cuddling time or some such...

... Weaver almost never asks, but will instead make it painfully obvious that he wants it lol

It definitely does not help that he's quite insecure with his appearance

These days, he's a just a touch more soft and round then he use to be, and that's on top of his missing eye and greying hair

If you are of the opinion that such things only make him more suited for cuddling, warm and comfy as he is, it will take him an awful long time to believe you

Buuuuuuut...

Although he loves to pretend he only tolerates his at best, he does rather enjoy it when you give his chest or tummy some affection

It's sort of like Adler and his scars: Weaver loathes the state of his abdomen, amongst other things, but he must admit...

He likes that you like it

Woods

Geez, Woods is probably as opposite from Weaver as it gets

I once heard the phrase "a dog in human form", and honestly?

It doesn't get more accurate then that

This man lives for attention and the fact that you want to give it to him, drives him crazy

He's pretty shameless, and is down to be touched or felt basically whenever

It's to the point that he's taken up walking around the house shirtless just in anticipation of any cuddling or rubs to be had

He's a bit performative about it, which can be either entertaining or annoying depending, but he never misses an opportunity to show off his muscles to you and let you have a feel

Really though, anywhere you want to touch, however you want to do it, go ahead baby! He'll eat it up lmao

Of course, if you catch him at a time in his life where he's going the route of Weaver and developing some dad bod...

Totally different story

If that's the case, he's extremely adverse to letting you touch places like his thighs, chest, and of course his stomach

Really, just anywhere that's filled out

Which in his mind, could very well extend to his body as a whole

Needless to say, this creates a very powerful inner turmoil between his desire to be near to you and impress you, and his fear of rejection

With this Woods, it'll take a loooot of gentle touches and reasurace to bring him around

But once he trusts you, he's be right back to how toned Woods would act

Bare chested, tummy out, and ready for some lovin 😌

#black ops cold war #call of duty #russell adler x reader #frank woods x reader #jason hudson x reader #alex mason x reader #grigori weaver x reader #russell adler #frank woods #jason hudson #grigori weaver #alex mason

[rogue-durin-16]

FIREWORKS AND STREAMERS

Request: I have been insecure about my curly hair lately and was wondering if you can you write something with one of the weasley twins where the reader is insecure about her curly hair and one of the twins makes her feel better.

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Hufflepuff!Reader

Genre: fluff

Tags:

Requested by: @wildcat1434

Fred Weasley: @whiskeyn-rain @lumos-solemn

Permanent taglist: @elia-the-bibliophile @randomparanoid @karlthecat15722 @thebutchersdaughtersblog

Warnings: none

A/N: So like, incoming fluff bc this idea was cute and sometimes I do be needing fluff, that's about it, enjoy <3

Rogue-durin-16 masterlist

The relationship between me and my hair had always been... Bumpy, you could say.

There were periods in which I would find it quite lovely; during those times I would let my curls free, showing them off with a proud demeanor, knowing my hair was unique. Those times began to turn less and less usual since the middle of third year, though they were still there.

However, after the summer prior to my sixth year, those moments had banished; I only wished to hide my hair, and my friends ended up noticing. They told me surely there would be a spell or potion able to change my hair.

As if they had summoned it, the next day in Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall introduced us to what seemed like my salvation; Crinus Muto, an advanced spell that modified the caster's hair with no restrictions.

My best friend advised me against using it, claiming it wouldn't help my insecurity— if only, it would worsen it.

I really wanted to do as she had told me and completely dismiss the spell's existence, but two nights after I had a big mental breakdown about it, caused by the most stupid thing ever.

"Is Weasley staring at you or am I blind?" One of my friends whispered, her eyes trained on the Gryffindor table.

I didn't even bother to look up, not wanting to know whether it was true or not, before responding with a quiet "You're blind."

"I mean, it's hard to tell with two rows of students between us but," She nudged me, urging me to avert my gaze from my dinner and redirect it to Fred. "it kinda looks like he's... staring."

Curiosity killed the cat, I guess. My eyes finally left my plate and were, in fact, met with Fred's brown ones. As soon as they met, though, he looked away, pretending to be focused on his food, just like I had been doing seconds ago.

"Of course he's staring." Hannah Abbot, who sat right in front of my friend, commented with her mouth full. "Have you seen your hair?" She swallowed her food, looking me up and down before adding, "No offense, but it's an absolute mess." My eyes opened widely in shock at her bluntness. "You should take care of it, really."

"Has someone ever told you you're an ill-mannered bitch, Hannah?" I heard my friend talking back at the younger girl while I got up and started to make my way out of the Great Hall.

Of course, I didn't see Fred shooting up and attempting to go after me; ultimately he decided to stay in his place, since he saw my friend walking out too.

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

I was very aware of all the pair of eyes that had been laid on me the very moment I entered the greenhouse where we would be doing the Herbology tasks.

When I had met my friends at the Hufflepuff common room that morning, I had received divided opinions about my straight hair. At first I had been very convinced that it looked way better than my curly hair, but seeing my friends' reaction, I wasn't that confident about it anymore.

I didn't have time to undo the spell before class, so I decided to go along with it and see how the day unfolded.

I took a deep breath, my eyes trained on the ground as I made my way to an empty seat; maybe there weren't that many people staring, maybe it was just my anxiety.

I finally gathered the courage and looked up, nervously scanning the glasshouse so I could shake off my fears.

There was only a couple of my peers staring, which would have put me at ease, if one of them wasn't Fred Weasley.

On top of it, of course, he wasn't even trying to be subtle, it was almost as if he wanted me to notice his judging eyes; I could feel his gaze on me for the entire class.

The instant Professor Sprout dismissed us, I shoved everything in my bag and left the greenhouse, thanking a couple of Gryffindors who complimented my hair on my way out.

Again, I didn't notice Fred leaving the class as soon as he could to run after me.

I threw my bag against a tree near the lake shore and, as I fell against it, I heard someone jogging in my direction.

"In a hurry to sit by the lake, Y/l/n?" I followed the tall ginger with my eyes while he circled me and sat down by me. "You alright?"

"I just needed a break from... People." I vaguely explained, focusing on the water instead of on the boy besides me.

"Understandable." He hesitated for a second before adding, "Do you want me to leave?"

"No, it's fine." I surprised myself at how calmed and collected I sounded, as if I wasn't chatting with my crush.

"What happened to your hair?" His genuinely curious inquiry took me aback, and I struggled to find something to answer.

"Why?" My heartbeat picked up, anxiety inundating me once more. "You don't like it?"

"It looks weird." Fred looked at me up and down with a grimace. "You don't... Look like yourself." I was about to enter fight or flight mode, but he seemed to notice, and panic made its way to his face. "But it doesn't matter what I think," he was quick to add, his eyes wide open as if he knew he had said something he should have not. "I mean— I think it shouldn't matter, if you like it, that's great— I mean, you don't need my opinion about that either!"

"Calm down, I understand." I tried to reassure him, before his rambling drove the both of us crazy. "Can I tell you a secret?" He nodded with pursed lips, surely afraid he would fuck up if he spoke again. "I've been very insecure about my hair lately— like, very." I sighed. "My best friend told me not to straighten it, but last night I got a not so nice comment and—"

"So that's why you left?" I nodded, tugging my sleeves. Fred went silent for a moment, and then cleared his throat and scooted closer to me. "I know this won't do much, but I really love your hair. Kinda reminds me of fireworks and streamers." He gestured around his own head, mimicking the fireworks' movement. "Dunno I think is fun and pretty awesome." I raised my brows at him in surprise. "Like you."

"Aw, that's very sweet." He offered me a sheepish smile as I felt my cheeks blushing. "It does a lot, actually." I confessed, fidgeting with my rings. "I guess I kinda needed to hear something positive about my hair."

"Well, whenever you need to hear something positive about your hair," he pointed at himself. "I'm your man." He winked at me and I let out a chuckle. "I can also tell you positive things about you in general, but that has a price."

"And what is it?"

"You'll have to let me buy you a drink at The Three Broomsticks this Saturday." I tried not to let panic slip through my recently eased demeanor; was he asking me on a date? "And give me a kiss after." He wiggled his brows at me and my face turned red. "the kiss is negotiable."

I casted my gaze down, fixing it on my shoes, not sure of what I was supposed to say at that. His foot tapping mine snapped me out of my thoughts.

"So?" My eyes traveled to him once more, only to find his studying me already. "What do you say, Y/l/n?"

"Well," I shrugged, trying in vain to play nonchalant. "Seems like an affordable price, so it's fine by me."

"I'll pick you up after lunch, yeah?" Before I could agree, he gasped, his eyes going wide. "I'm a genius."

"Come again?" I frowned, confused as his sudden frantic behavior.

"Don't mind me, love." He jumped up and jogged towards the castle, leaving me puzzled in there. I was about to grab a book from my bag when Fred rushed back, crouched down and pecked my cheek. "Your hair's amazing." He assured me. "See you!" My fingertips graced my now flushed cheek as he headed off.

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

I was finishing my lunch when two towering redheads entered the Hall running; while George, slowed down, Fred made a beeline to the Hufflepuff table, his casual clothes already on.

"Ready?" He asked breathless.

"Yeah— you didn't have lunch, did you?" I pointed out, getting up to stand in front of him.

"No, but I'll eat something later—" his eyes roamed over my carefully picked outfit before stating, "You look... very pretty."

"Why, thank you." I offered him a smile and looked over my shoulder at the Gryffindor table, where his friends were very attentive to all we did. "You sure you don't wanna eat something?"

"Hundred percent." He tilted his head towards the gates. "shall we?" He prompted to walk before him, and it was then that I realized he had his hands behind his back. Once we were out in the yard, he tugged my hand and made me turn to him. "I made something for you."

"You didn't have to." Was the first thing that came to my mind when I heard his words. Then the wording dawned on me; he didn't get me something, he made me something. "What is it?"

"So, you know that I told you your hair reminded me of fireworks and streamers?" I nodded, not quite knowing where he was going with that. "Well—" he then showed me what his back was hiding; a delicate, tiny firecracker with my name written on the side. "George helped me so I could finish it on time."

"I'm—" at my loss of words, I could only let out a happy laugh. "This is so cute— am I supposed to ignite it?"

"Duh!" I gently pushed his shoulder in response to his teasing. "Do you know how to do it?"

"I've seen you do it plenty of times." I admitted, grabbing the firecracker with one hand and my wand with the other; it looked so pretty, it was a pity I'd have to ruin it.

With a brief firemaking spell, the firecracker set off. Fred pulled me back slightly before it happened, though.

I was in awe at the beautiful fireworks before us, which looked like a color-changing, expanding version of my hair.

When the colors died out, I turned to Fred, whose attention was already on me, awaiting for a reaction. Surely, he was not expecting the kiss he got, but he didn't complain either; while my hands rested on his chest, his traveled to cup my cheeks before I could pull away.

"So you liked it?" He questioned quietly against my lips.

"I loved it." I whispered back with a wide smile. "You're a sweetheart." I pecked his lips before retreating. Holding his hand in mines, I made my way back into the castle. "We're not leaving until you have lunch."

"You are a sweetheart." He responded, following my lead without offering resistance. "By the way, your hair looks gorgeous." The corners of my lips twisted into a bigger smile at the sweet words he spoke only for me to hear as we went back into the Great Hall.

Maybe my hair wasn't that bad after all.

#fred weasley imagine #fred weasley x reader #fred weasley x y/n #fred weasley #fred weasley x hufflepuff!reader #fred weasley x you #fred weasley x gender neutral reader #fred weasley fanfics #fred weasley fluff #fred weasley fanfiction #fred lives au #fred x y/n #fred x you #fred x reader #fred x hufflepuff reader #gryffindor x hufflepuff #harry potter fanfiction #harry potter #fred weasley masterlist #fred weasley aesthetic

[plan-d-to-i]

Does WWX ever felt anger on behalf of his parents or intestine take in my opinion did he ever hate his parents or resentful that no matter where he gone he just can't escape it?

Does WWX feel resentful of his parents? No. WWX loves his parents very much and deeply values the small scraps of memory that he has left of them.

As he says after Madam Yu casts aspersions on his parentage: “Both of my parents are real people in this world. I don’t want others assigning me to other households!". WWX doesn't want the Jiangs to be his parents. He's not adopted by them. He understands the difference between himself and YanLi & jc even if he doesn't believe that one's place in society reflects their value as human beings: “What’s wrong with servants? I’m also the son of a servant, aren’t I?". I'm sure he cares deeply for JFM and is grateful that JFM took him off the streets, but he doesn't see him as his father.

He also doesn't bear the Jiangs any resentment. He doesn't even hold bitterness towards YZY in spite of the horrible way she treated him. Just to be clear, he's not dumb. He knows that the way she treated him was not good:

Wei Wuxian, “I used to come here a lot.”

Lan WangJi had on an expression of understanding, “Kneeling as punishment?”

Wei WuXian mused, “How did you know? That’s right. Madam Yu punished me almost every day.”

Lan WangJi nodded, “I have heard of a few things.”

Wei WuXian, “It’s so famous that even people outside Yunmeng, even you Gusu people know—how could it be ‘a few things’? But, to be honest, in all these years, I’ve never seen a second woman whose temper was as bad as Madam Yu’s. She told me to go to the ancestral hall and kneel no matter how small the matter was. Hahaha…”

or in the Lotus Pod extra:

“He felt his back, covered in scars both old and new, and still couldn’t hold back the question he’d be thinking about, “How awfully unfair. Why is it that I’m the only one who gets beaten up, whenever something happens?”

Considering WWX's nature, these words are downright damning, however he believes in only keeping score of the good things other did for him vs the good he did for them or the hurts they subjected him to. So he doesn't carry any actual anger for it in his heart.

Although Wei Wuxian doesn't bring up the loss of his parents and what it must have been like for him as a 5 year old to suddenly find himself alone one day, with no explanation, with no knowledge why his mom and dad didn't come back for him it's certainly in his heart. But it's sorrow, not blame, or any similar emotion. We see it encompassed in that one line he says during his talk to the mob of cultivators staging the second siege: “I’ve never even seen the ashes of my parents.”

WWX has so few memories of them, yet i think that's what makes each passage he remembers, & that we're made privy to, all the more meaningful. Like WWX regaining that sense of safety, carefree happiness, unconditional love , and faith in the careful, caring support of someone else, that he hadn't really had since he'd lost his parents, with LWJ. (quote under the cut)

“Wei WuXian’s expression seemed miserable, “But the movement of getting on the donkey is too big. I’m scared that it’ll affect the wound.”

His wound had healed long ago. This was clearly being shameless. Lan WangJi stopped, turned around, and looked at him. He suddenly reached out. Making sure not to touch where he had been injured, he picked him up by his waist, lifted him gently, and placed him onto the back of Lil’ Apple. Of the two, one sat on the donkey while the other pulled the rein. On the back of Lil’ Apple, Wei WuXian grinned with curving eyes.

Lan WangJi asked, “What?”

Wei WuXian, “Nothing.” Like he had played a trick on someone, he felt somewhat pleased with himself. Although he didn’t remember much of the things that had happened when he was young, there was one scene that had always been blurrily imprinted within his mind.” “A narrow path, a little donkey, and three people. A man in black gently lifted a woman in white. He picked her up and placed her onto the donkey’s back. Then, he raised a small, small child way up high and put him on his shoulders. He was the child, not yet the height of a person’s legs. Sitting on the shoulders of the man, he was suddenly very tall, very majestic. Sometimes he pulled the man’s hair, sometimes he rubbed his cheeks. He shouted things, swinging his legs about. The woman in white sat on the donkey’s back, her back swaying. Watching them, she seemed to smile. The man had always been quiet. He didn’t talk much. He only pushed him a bit higher, for him to be taller, steadier. One of his hands picked up the donkey’s rein. The three of them were squeezed onto the same narrow path, walking slowly forward. It was one of the rare pieces of memory that he had. Those were his dad and his mom.

Wei WuXian, “Lan Zhan, pick up the rein, won’t you?”

Lan WangJi, “Why?”

“Lil’ Apple was quite clever. It wasn’t that it didn’t know to follow a person. Wei WuXian said again, “Give me some face and pick it up, won’t you?”

Although he still didn’t understand why Wei WuXian’s grin was so bright, Lan WangJi listened and picked up Lil’ Apple’s rein anyway, holding it in his hand.

Wei WuXian spoke to himself, “Hm. Now all that’s left is a little one.”

Lan WangJi, “What?”

Wei WuXian chuckled, “Nothing. Lan Zhan, you really are a good person.”

With this journey to Yiling, it was clear that their future was still unclear, even somewhat dangerous. Wei WuXian couldn’t get himself to feel nervous at all. Sitting on a donkey with Lan WangJi holding the rein, leading them down the path, his entire heart was fluttering, feeling as though he was walking on air. Even if a bunch of sects suddenly attacked from beside the road, aside from destroying the scene and spoiling his mood, he thought that he wouldn’t find it too bad.”

#idk if I answered the ask but i answered something #my toxic trait is my inability to let go of a train of thought before following it all the way down it's meandering path to the very end #mdzs #Wei Wuxian #Lan Wangji #Lan Zhan #Cangse Sanren #Wei Changze

[linkspooky]

Mahito = True Human

A while back I sent an anon to @kaibutsushidousha​ asking if there was any deeper meaning to the Kanji in Mahito’s name. It turns out that his name has a lot of significance to his character and also his role in the story. I’ll be going over the symbolic meaning of his name below.  [Original post by [x], coloring by [x].]

To quote. 

Mahito’s name means “true human”. Even without getting to significance of this expression to Japanese and Chinese cultures, that’s already a bold and interesting name choice, seeing that, [...] he’s implied to be not a person, but some sort of incarnated curse, working together with curse spirits interested in becoming the new form of humanity. 

There’s a certain irony in Mahito’s name being read as  真人 “True Human” considering what we know of him he has an extremely low opinion of humans, and a high opinion of curses. In the latest fight against Yuji in the Shibuya arc, Mahito seems to be seeking to shed his more humanlike form like shedding his skin so he can become even more of what he considers to be a “true curse.” 

Mahito’s name means true human, and he is the most humanlike of all of the intelligent curses before him and yet he seems to want nothing to do with humanity, preferring to see himself as a curse instead. He even quite literally, as I mentioned above, sheds off his own skin in order to try and take what he assumes is his true form. 

Mahito’s name means true human and yet he doesn’t want to become humans. He always encourages the curses around him to act more like curses, acting illogical and on impulse. 

Mahito wants to become a “true curse” the most curselike of the curses. Rather than becoming human literally, they wanted to replace the humans entirely. Mahito is a human curse, created by the hatred spewed between humans and yet not only wants to destroy humans but is also the one most eager to destroy his reflection Itadori Yuji even though he claimed they were “the same person.” There’s a certain irony in naming Mahito “True Human” when he’s constantly trying to prove that he’s anything but human. 

But anyways, let’s get to what Asian traditions define as “true human”.

Starting off with Japanese history/Shintoism. In the year 684, Emperor Tenmu defined that the largest families in Japan needed to have rank attached to their family names as a way of easily expressing their social status. The eight social ranks defined by Emperor Tenmu, from the noblest to the most plebian were:

1 - Mahito (True humans) 2 - Ason (Courtiers) 3 - Sukune (Lords) 4 - Imiki (People from overseas, especially from China and Korea, who settled in early Japan and introduced Continental culture to the Japanese) 5 - Michinoshi (Artist and priest families) 6 - Omi (Retainers) 7 - Muraji (Families big and influential enough to earn a rank but not falling into any other category) 8 - Inagi (Families of regional officials responsible for rice storage)

The title of Mahito was granted only to families descended from Emperors themselves or imperial princes. Basically, only those of royal blood could be called “true humans”.

The connection to Asian traditions is clear in Mahito’s naming. Mahito is the closest thing possible to curse royalty among the curse family. He was the one set up to take leadership of the rest of the curses even after Jogo, Hanami and Dagon passed. 

Mahito is also, a curse that’s been paralleled to Sukuna the so called “king of curses” several times. Mahito even presumes that they’re something like rivals. It’s probably no coincidence that lords were known as “Sukune”.

The irony of naming Mahito true human also repeats again. Mahito wants to prove he’s the most “Pureblooded” of the curses by constantly exaggerating his own curse nature, hating, and spiting others for no reason. However, he’s the most humanlike instead. Mahito is said to serve out the purpose as a mirror to humanity. “Death is a mirror for humans”, he said that in the sense that people become more self-reflective when facing death, and also the idea of mortality for humans tends to make people more eager to define who they are.

 We see are lives in sharp relief and are constantly trying to define ourselves, because we have to face death. Mahito is much like that. He’s made up of human fears. Human insecurities. Human hate. The fear of other people. However, that makes him a mirror because he shows humans their own flaws. In other words Mahito regards himself as a pure blooded curse and nothing more, but Mahito more than any of the curses reflects humanity. It’s even what he does to Yuji. When Mahito and Yuji fight he tries to force the others into self reflection. 

All of Mahito’s negative qualities, those are human qualities too. Mahito hates humans, but humans also despise each other. Mahito acts like a coward, but there are plenty of people who are cowards. Mahito is reflecting the worst traits of humanity and bringing them face to face, and thus acting like a mirror. We even see Mahito acting like a mirror. When he kills Nanami, in the few moments before Nanami dies, he doesn’t see Mahito standing right in front of him. 

He sees Haibara. When looking at Mahito, he saw his old dead friend. Mahito was serving as a mirror for what Nanami’s thoughts at the time. No matter what Mahito strives to become as a true curse, he’ll always be a reflection of humanity because he was created by human feelings, and human projections. 

Which is probably why Mahito strives to transform himself and find his true form in the first place, because he is as of right now, just a monster stitched together of other human beings with no true form, and no true purpose. 

Next up, let’s talk about Taoism. The main gist of Taoism is that some people are randomly born with sacral bones in their skeletons. Sacral bones can sometimes run in the family, but can also occur in random people with no taoist heritage, regardless of class. Peole with sacral bones can seclude themselves taoist communities in isolated mountains or islands, becoming Taoists, the students of Xian arts. Xian is a title granted to a Taoist who completed their studies, turning immortal in the process.

In Taoism, Yuanshi Tianzun is the greatest being in all universe, with the Xians who serve Yuanshi Tianzun being considered good, and the Xians who oppose him being considered evil. Zhenren (”true human” in Chinese) is the name granted to the greatest Xian wizards serving under Yuanshi Tianzun. The Xians chosen as Zhenrens are people who transcended the everyday world, and reached the peak of the Tao arts.

One Taoist named Zhuang Zi made immense contribution to making the Taoist knowledge widespread by writing a book also named Zhuang Zi. In his self-title book, Zhuang Zi defines a “true human” as person who mastered the Tao’s ideals, or more specifically, “a person who meekly obeys the heaven’s decree, accepts everything as natural, lets go of all prejudice and confrontationism, and lives under the taoist mindset that all things are of equal value”.

The process of Sacral bones resembles Jujutsu Sorcerery technique heritage a lot, but besides that there’s a lot of resemblance between Tao’s ideals and Mahito’s own ideals. Specifically about the equality of life. 

Mahito seeslife as something without necessary meaning or value. Life simply circles. The life of a butterfly or an ant is just as important as the life of a human being. In a world where everything is just trying to survive and live to the next today, it might just be human folly to assume we’re somehow outside of the food chain of the planet we share with all other life.  You could take “All life is equal” to mean two things, all life is equally precious, or all life is equally worthless. Guess which one Mahito takes. 

A taoist accepts everything as natural, and Mahito seems to submit himself to natural law. He calls the three curse spirits which are basically just nature spirits to be his closest friends. Jogo, Hanami, Dagon, they’re all just representative of the naural world around them. 

Mahito also describes life as just one more facet of nature. 

All life is equal. All life is the same. All life is equally worthless. A wolf killing a rabbit isn’t cruel. If the wolf doesn’t kill the rabbit they’ll starve. If the rabbit escapes they’ll live to the next day. If it doesn’t the wolf does. Everything in this world is just trying to live - which is why Mahito doesn’t see the battle between curses and humans as a battle between good and evil.  Curses are trying to replace humans, so they can live freely in the world the same way humans do.

It’s a battle for survival. There’s no good or evil between the wolf and the rabbit, both of them are just fighting each other in order to survive. However, if Mahito really wants to follow natural laws that means he’s also a part of the same nature. 

There’s a flaw in Mahito’s thinking. He decries humans for being self important, and reasoning that they’re somehow more worthy of life than other animals or even curses. Mahito believes that if he’s stronger than Yuji, he should have the right to kill him in order so that he can live. However, Mahito doesn’t handle it very well when he’s on the other side. Might makes right, is a logic that means whenever you’re stronger, what you think is the right thing. However, what most don’t consider is that if you’re weak it also means you have to submit to somebody else. 

Mahito never even considered the idea that he might be the prey. His logic is all might makes right, the stronger person has to live, but he also assumed he’d be the stronger one. When it turns out he’s weaker, and he’s the one whose about to die, he ends up running for his life. Despite basically justifying himself and doing whatever he wanted when he was on top, he can’t handle being at the bottom of the food chain, he can’t submit to being weak. Which is why we see his sudden panic when he realizes he’s the prey this time. This is also, something that contradicts what Jogo says. 

Curses do not fear death. However, Mahito does. Which means in this moment as he’s running away, Mahito is acting more like a human than a curse. He assumed his life was more important in the grand scheme of things, just like humans have a tendency to do, and doesn’t want to be eaten like a rabbit so Yuji can survive to the next day. 

Last but not least, Buddhism defines “true human” as a person who opened their eyes to the Truth and perfected their personhood. Both Buddhas and Arhats qualify as “true humans” by that definition. Gojou is another character with heavy Buddhist motifs on his name...

This could be a connection with two ideas in Mahito’s character. Number one, he’s always trying to perfect himself and lift himself up to the highest level possible. His Domain is even called “Self Embodiment of Perfection.” You get the sense that in tinkering with others, distorting the shape and form of others he’s trying to find the true perfect shape of himself. 

The second is his connection to Gojo. This is also just a theory as we don’t know exactly what the six-eyes do, but it’s heavily suggested that both Mahito and Gojo are able to see both the “soul” something that is impossible for all other curses and jujutsu sorcerers to do. 

Mahito’s able to see the soul most likely just because of what he is, a reflection of humans, and how his cursed technique resolves around warping the shape of the soul in order to change the body. Gojo is at least able to see Geto’s cursed energy with his six eyes, when he’s replaced by Getwo. The two of them have special insight to the soul that no other characters have thus they are “true seeing” in a budhist sense. They are also both characters trying to perfect their personhood, Gojo is the ideal jujutsu sorcerer and Mahito longs to be the ideal curse. 

So, there’s a lot of connections to asian traditions present in naming Mahito “True Human”, but there’s also a lot of ironies too. Mahito as always is a walking contradiction, and that quality of his is what makes him all the more human. 

#jjk meta #jujutsu kaisen meta #mahito #jogo #sukuna #itadori yuji #curses #king of curses #jujutsu kaisen theory #jujutsu kaisen analysis #jujutsu kaisen curse #long post

[justthehiddleswrites]

Follow My Lead | Tom Hiddleston x OFC | Chapter 13 | I gave him a choice, he wanted to wear it

A/N: So this is the last chapter of the main story for Tom and Vivian.  But not the last I am sure we will see of them. Thank you for all the wonderful support for these two!   

MASTERLIST HERE

Pairing: Tom Hiddleston x OFC (Vivian Swann)

Summary: Tom and Vivian have both been unlucky in love, searching for something outside of the bounds of a typical relationship.  When the two of them connect via a dating app, Tom is introduced to the idea of being submissive to Vivian.  Which is the one thing he never knew he needed.  Under the firm hand of Vivian, Tom learns what it means to submit and Vivian learns what it means to be in a loving dominant relationship.  But not everyone seems to understand what they have and the best intentions can destroy the strongest relationship.

This Chapter: With the air cleared, Tom and Vivian continues to move forward in their relationship.  

Warnings for story: Dominant/submissive relationship (sub!Tom), lots of smut including but not limited to: vaginal sex, oral sex (male and female receiving), edging, denial, teasing, use of restraints, spanking, multiple orgasm, anal play, use of toys.

Tag Lists Are Open!  Let me know if you want to be added.  Thank you for reading!

1 Year Later

“Does this get any easier?” Vivian leaned to whisper to Sophie as they made their way to their seats in the audience. 

“No. The press junket is the worst.” Sophie squeezed her arm. “But this one is much more bearable with you here.”

“That goes double for me.” Vivian smiled. 

“Tom, is he…” Sophie raised a knowing eyebrow. 

“I gave him a choice, he wanted to wear it.” Vivian shrugged her shoulders. “Ben, still being a brat?”

Sophie rolled her eyes. “Yes. We can discuss that later. I need punishment ideas.” 

Vivian smirked. Sophie and Ben had been exploring their own relationship dynamics over the last several months. Both of them knew Tom and Ben were trading notes and so they did likewise. “I’ll think about and text you some thoughts. Something Tom wouldn’t have warned him about.” They both giggled. 

The past year had been hectic. The kitchen remodel took twice as long as Vivian hoped, forcing the two of them to eat out more than both wanted to. While the speculation regarding Tom and her relationship status died down significantly after Luke made a statement denying any secret marriage ceremonies, but it never really went away. She grew used to the stares and mutters and closed up her circle of friends and family in response after Ashley spilled that Tom and her met on an online dating site, effectively ending their friendship. Vivian found solace in her new friendship with Sophie, who understood better than anyone her unusual life circumstances. And life with Tom was as exciting as ever, especially with introducing new toys in the bedroom and elsewhere.

The two of them settled into their seats in the front row and waited for the show to start. Vivian beamed as both Tom and Benedict were introduced onto the stage to promote the newest Marvel film. Tom’s hair was longer, and he grew the beard back. He smiled at Vivian as he caught her eye in the audience. She recognized that smirk; he was up to something. And she was certain that something did not include the cage he was sporting under his navy double breasted suit. No one could tell unless they were looking for it. Tom had gotten good at hiding it. 

“Now, Tom,” the interviewer leaned in after he asked several questions about the film to both Tom and Benedict. “your love life has been quite the subject of the papers this past year.”

Tom’s cheeks reddened, and Vivian’s fists clenched. “So it would seem. I try to not pay too much attention, Graham.” 

“Well, I can imagine with such a stunning woman taking up all your attention.” Graham flashed the picture from the day Tom suggested she move in together. “Vivian, right?”

Tom nodded. “Yup.”

“Is it true the two of you met on a dating site?”

Tom blushed at the question. An old one at this point. They both rehearsed an answer for such an occasion. 

“I don’t comment on the specifics of my relationship, Graham.”

“But I do!” Ben interjected. Tom frowned at him. Vivian’s eyes cut to Sophie, whose face was frozen in panic. “And I can say their relationship…” Ben glanced over at the two of you and winked. “… is built on mutual respect and trust.”

Tom sighed in relief and leaned back on the couch.

“Hardly newsworthy, Ben.” Graham groused. 

Tom perked up and leaned in towards the host. “Well she is here in the audience, should we ask her for any juicy details?” 

Graham pumped up the audience, who cheered as Vivian sunk deeper into her chair. Sophie scowled next to her. 

“Darling, can I tell them anything about us?” Tom smiled as he looked over at her.

“No.” she called out. 

Tom’s eyes sparkled again. “Not even our big announcement?” 

Vivian’s brow furrowed in confusion as the audience oohed and cheered. She had no idea what announcement Tom was talking about. Certainly nothing had been cleared with Luke. Or her.

“I think she might need a little convincing, Graham. May I?” Tom gestured towards Vivian. 

Graham nodded. “Why not? It’s not like you are here to talk about a movie or anything.”

Tom chuckled as he stood and moved towards Vivian. He kneeled in front of you. It was only then she noticed his hands shaking. He fiddled with his signet ring. 

“Tom…” she started.

“Darling, this past year has been an adventure. A journey I have gladly taken with you. You have enriched my life in a way I could never imagine. I know that you are it. You are the one. You are mine and I am yours.”

Vivian’s brain swirled, only snapping back to reality when Tom fished a small box out of his jacket pocket and Sophie grabbed her arm. Tom popped open the box to reveal a brilliant cushion cut diamond set in platinum. 

“Will you marry me?” Tom’s voice cracked. 

Vivian sat there silently as a hundred eyes stared at her. But the only ones that mattered were right in front of her. Impossibly blue. And brimming with tears. Pleading, begging and full of love.

“Yes.” Vivian’s voice warbled. She cleared her throat, her own eyes now watering. “Yes, yes!” She repeated.

Tom’s face broke out into the widest, most perfect boyish smile ever as he slipped the ring on Vivian’s finger. She grabbed his face and kissed him, pulling him onto her lap. The audience erupted into wild applause.

“You saw it here first, Tom Hiddleston is now engaged.” Graham announced 

“You are going to pay for this later.” Vivian muttered against Tom’s lips. No one else could hear her.

“I was planning on it.” Tom smirked, kissing her again.

“I was talking about Luke.”

Tom chuckled, kissing her cheek. “I already ran it past him, darling. I have to get back up there.”

“We are talking after.” She pushed him away playfully.

Tom winked at her and headed back onto the stage. Vivian showed off the ring to Sophie. She smiled.

“I know. He asked my opinion about it a month ago.” she confessed. “But he picked it out all by himself.”

Vivian admired the ring. “Am I the last to know about this ring?” 

Sophie giggled. “No, it is probably your mother.” 

“You’re right. She is going to flip.” 

They didn’t get to say much else as the show was coming back from commercial break. 

The rest of the interview went better than perfect. Tom beamed on stage, constantly catching Vivian’s eye. More than once, Ben had to nudge Tom’s knee to bring him back to the interview. Vivian giggled from her seat. Sophie and she slipped backstage to meet Tom and Ben back in the green room. Ben came in first, catching Vivian in a hug.

“Congratulations! Despite my first misgivings, I can’t think of a more perfect match for this ridiculous man.” Ben commented as he kissed Vivian’s cheek.

“Um… thanks… Ben.” She responded. 

“How come I never get a greeting like that?” Sophie groused, smiling the whole time. 

“Sorry, darling.” Ben rushed to dip Sophie and kiss her. 

“And who is the one that gagged when I did the same thing?” Tom commented, sidling next to Vivian, his arm wrapping around her waist. Her hand instantly fell to the small of his back.

“That was before I knew the truth.” Ben commented, righting Sophie, guiding her to the small sofa in the room. 

“You mean I could have had this romantic guy the whole time?” Sophie playfully swatted Ben’s thigh, which he dodged. “You are paying for that.”

“Add it to my list of transgressions.” Ben leaned to kiss Sophie again. 

“Which reminds me,” Vivian piped up. “I will send you ideas first thing in the morning.”

Ben and Tom groaned. Tom called over to his friend. “Stock up on ice and a soothing cream.” He turned to Vivian and kissed her lips softly. “Do you like the ring?”

“I love it. You did so good.” She ruffled his hair. Tom’s cheeks turned a dark pink. 

“Thank you, darling.” He squirmed in place. 

“Would you like a reward tonight?” Vivian’s hand slid down to cup Tom’s ass. 

Tom moved close to whisper in her ear. “What did you have in mind, darling?” 

She whispered right back, sending shocks through Tom’s body. “How about you get to pick which toy I use to peg you with tonight?”

Tom’s eyes grew wide as he stared at Vivian, the blush deepening to cover his entire face and neck. 

“I… I…” he muttered, his cock straining in his cage. 

“I mean it is not every day you get engaged, and you have been the best boy, sunshine.” Vivian cupped his face and kissed his lips. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Vivian.” Tom wrapped his arms around her. 

#tom hiddleston #tom hiddleston fanfiction #tom hiddleston fanfic #tom hiddleston imagine #tom hiddleston fluff #tom hiddleston x ofc #tom hiddleston smut #follow my lead

[cruecifymesixx]

Love and Leather /part eighty eight/

Word Count: 3.9k

A/N: Enjoy! Things will get better soon

Warnings: language, angst

Taglist:   @miserablecunt , @dangerous-like-a-loaded-pistol​,  @a-simple-salmon,  @hi-my-name-is-riley, @extremesadnerding, @thatbandchick39, @awkwrdcait, @countrygirlswonderland, @awesomealmostdopestudent, , @tashy-bear, @krazykatkay456, @terror-triplet, @shouttatthedevill @beachystars, @rodriguez025, @kickstart-myheart-sixx, @s-outhie, @anxious-diabetic, @awkwardblackgirls,  @shamelessobsessions, @jerseytaint, @criminalyetminimal, @trapt-in-a-dream,  @broke-n-bitchy,  @lovesick-heart0, @keepcalm-and-beyou, @miriampraez, @teenwolflover28, @lilyhw1, @herbertweeest, @random-internet-user-4471, @falcon-arrows, @talranocchia2001,  @waywardprincess666, @iluvmesomemarvelndc, @zoenicoles, @vamprlestat, @supersoldierballerina, @electradestiny, @marshbev, @n0-sh0rtage-0f-faults, @cruebaby, @ggorehorror, @valentines-in-london, @nassauartist  @cmft-jr-winchester, @bokkie92, @notworthyofyou1120 @xrosegoldwolfx, @mgkobsessed, @chaoticvybe,  @kellysimagines @thoughtsoftheantagonist, @sleepyjunhong  @meetthesixxter @sparxx27 @gingerspicetalks @kaitieskidmore1 @unknownoblivion @nevergoodenuffbutokaaayyy @sublimeprincesswasteland @kylieinwonderland @haileynicoleseavey17 @lavendersoundbarrier @youretheonlyonewhomakesme, @xxisxxisxxis, @dogmom2014, @cruesixxlover1991, @xpoisonousrosesx,  @m0rnlngstar, @love-struck-aries, @findingmyths,  @i-want-to-shoot-myself, @arianareirg, @fentitrbl, @patheticgay69 @rocknroll--baby, @redlipscrystalskies14, @samanthadegaro @jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels @thechangingme, @idkmanhereisshitilike, @makaelahdelvalle

*Flashback*

*Moscow 1989*

"It's fucking bullshit!" Nikki shouts as he and the rest of the band come barreling through the dressing room door, "He's seriously going to let Bon fucking Jovi headline? Seriously? We deserve more than that!"

I glance up from filing my nails as each and everyone of them, besides Mick, looks pissed.

"Who the hell does Doc think he is? We're more of a selling act than he is! We didn't fly all the way out here just so we can be out at the bottom of the lineup. It's a complete waste of our time. We could be getting ready to promote Dr. Feelgood!" Tommy then joins in on the screaming match, well at this point I would say it's an ego match.

I move a piece of Nikki's disheveled hair out of his face as he sits next to me on the leather couch, "Fucking Doc promised Jovi that he would be headlining and bumped us down a few notches. If you can't handle managing big names than maybe you should get a different fucking job." Nikki explains to me as he swipes the bottle of sparkling water off the table and takes a sip.

I look around the room as Vince is staring off into space, Tommy is fumbling with his wedding ring and Mick is in his own little world strumming some chords on the guitar. I clear my throat a bit, "Baby, it's not that big of a deal.."

"Not that big of a deal?"

Nikki and I stare at each other a moment, "You know this event is for the fans, the kids that have never experienced American rock before. I don't think it really matters whose headlining and whose not, ya know?" I express my opinion gently as he just continues to stare at me, a dumbfounded look plastered across his face.

"You're just saying that because you like Bon Jovi." He snaps back with an added eye roll,

I chuckle a bit, "You're right, I do, but I wouldn't care if he was headlining or not. Just like I don't care if Mötley was headlining or not. Doc is doing what's best for business. The whole line up is star studded, Nikki. Whether your first or last it's not gonna matter to the audience. What matters is how good of a show you put on. Plus...with you guys being sober, not having performed in over a year and with the new album coming out, it just gives the band the chance to prove that you guys are doing better than ever before."

"How could you not care if Mötley was headlining or not?" Nikki questions, his tone shocked as I groan in annoyance.

"That's really all you took from that?" I eye him as his lips tug upwards in a small smile.

"It just fucking sucks Van. Our first big show out of rehab and he has us being the opening act for Bon Jovi. It's ridiculous. Doc was our manager first. We should take precedence. Not some fucking wannabe cowboy that sings power ballads."

*End flashback*

*Nikki's POV*

"She really wants to play soccer?" I look at Vanity as I lean against the doorframe of the bathroom, "Arianna hates when she gets dirty from playing in the backyard so why would she want to play soccer?" My nose wrinkles up in confusion as I watch Van brush her teeth.

She shrugs at me before spitting and rinsing her mouth, "I don't know. She just said she wanted to play so I grabbed the papers from the bulletin board at her school. I think it would be good for her Nikki. She likes staying busy so I think some little league sports would be good. We can still think about it and talk, the packet isn't due until April."

"No, no. I agree too. We'll just have to explain that she would have to stick with it and try to participate as much as she likes being active she is lazy sometimes." I notice she grabs her make up bag and start pulling stuff out, "You going somewhere?"

She turns her head looking over at me as she rubs cream onto her face, "Yeah? I'm going out with Jon...I told you like three days ago."

"Jon? Oh, right...right...the guy from the diner." I chuckle as she lets out an annoyed sigh.

"If you're gonna start already you can just leave me alone." Vanity tells me, eyebrow raising in mischief as she begins to put make up on her face.

I cross the threshold and pull myself up on the counter, "Where's he taking you? Somewhere romantic?" I tease her as she glances at me, "Oh? It is romantic tonight? That's cool...Donna's out shooting some stuff for Baywatch so she's kinda busy."

"I'm sorry you're lonely." Vanity smirks as she blows me a kiss, "And he's taking me to the beach. There's a horse stable in Malibu and we're gonna ride some horses and have dinner."

I let out an boisterous laugh, "Fucking seriously? That's the most corniest date I've ever heard of."

"Don't be mad because you didn't think of taking me first." She's quick with a comeback as I steal the blush from the counter when she reaches for it.

"Baby, If I wanted to take you on a romantic date I would fly us to Paris." I explain as I hand the container over, "Yeah...Paris, we could get some really nice wine, I'd take you to the best restaurant, get you some fresh flowers from the florist cart. We would take a stroll at the Jardin des Plantes after our dinner. You'd love it Van, there's twinkling lights and always people singing love songs." I explain to her as she glances at me smiling before rolling her eyes and looking back at herself in the mirror.

"Last time I was in Paris, I found out I was pregnant."

My eyes narrow as my head slightly tilts to the side, "During Dr. Feelgood? You knew you were pregnant then?"

"Yeah.." she nods as she starts putting the make up away and tousled her hair with her fingers, "And don't get upset because I didn't tell you. I had to take tests in Paris, remember? You thought I was sick from the sushi? I just had a feeling something was off and I also didn't want to tell you in case they were wrong. One test was negative so I just wanted to wait until we got back home and as you know what happened next." She chuckles a bit and looks at me, "Do I look okay?"

I sigh a bit, trying not to be upset "Yeah doll, you look perfect."

Vanity comes over and stands in front of me, placing her hands on my knees, "If you're gonna be bored go hang out with Tommy-"

"He's too obsessed with putting his head against Clems stomach since they heard the heartbeat at the doctors appointment last week." I explain as she smiles at me.

"You can't be mad at him for that. What about Mick? I'm sure he could use some company or Corabi?"

"No, Micks been wanting to stay to himself and Corabi got a girlfriend...I'll just wait for you to get back. You are coming home tonight, right?" I question her as she leaves the bathroom and I quickly follow, "Right, Vanity?"

"Yes Nikki. I'll be home. Do I have a curfew?" She looks at me over her shoulder before she walks into her closet to pick out clothes.

"Well...now that you mention it..." I laugh when she throws a pair of jeans at me before she slips a pair on and pulls them over her ass and hips, "So it's a casual date?"

"Mhmm...not that romantic like you think it is." She tells me as she pushes hangers back to look at sweaters. We both look at each other when the doorbell goes off.

"Nikki! Wait!!" She yells for me as I run out of her room with Anarchy chasing after me.

I run down the stairs, my eyes narrowing when I see a figure outside the glass paneling of the door, "I'll get it Van! You finish getting dressed!" I yell back at her, nudging Anarchy out of the way as I open up the door. The arrogant smile I had on my face dropped when I saw a dozen red roses and a pearly white smile hiding behind it.

"Jovi?" I stare at him as he chuckles, "You lost?"

"Uh no actually. I'm here to pick up Vanity." He explains, clearing his throat, "We have plans."

My hand grips the doorknob as we stare at one another, "Oh really? You're the guy she's been seeing? You do know it isn't a serious thing between you and her, right?"

Jon laughs at me as I glare, he holds the bouquet of flowers in his hand, "Look Nikki, I wouldn't want your feathers to get ruffled. We're just having fun with each other, that's all."

What the fuck was that suppose to mean? Fun? With each other?

"Yeah, well she can't go. She's sick. It's really nasty, she's been vomiting all morning and stuck on the toilet if you know what I mean. I think Arianna brought the bug home. So I'll have her call you, yeah?" I try closing the front door but he puts his hand out to stop me, "Get off my property before I call the cops."

I feel a hand on my side before I'm being pushed out of the way, "I'm glad you two were able to catch up." Van says, glaring at me before rolling her eyes, "Lets get going Jon." She smiles at him as he hands over the flowers and she's giving them to me "Put them in a vase for me would you Nikki?"

I reach for her arm and pull her back in, "Give us a minute would ya Jon? It's a family meeting." I glare before shutting the door in his face, "Seriously?! Bon fucking Jovi?!" I yell quietly as she reaches for the door handle but I grab her wrist.

"What? What's the problem? I'm doing what the therapist is asking us to do?" She fakes stupidity as she smiles at me, "Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Why him? Of all fucking people? You know I don't like him." I speak through gritted teeth, "You could have picked anyone but him."

"That's not my problem Nikki. I am doing what you wanted so I am going to have fun on my date and I will see you when I get back."

My jaw clenches as she reaches for the door, I wanted to find the words to tell her not to go, to just stay with me and we'll figure it out but I just couldn't get them out of my fucking mouth. She looks at me before closing the door, hearing them talk before a car door closes and the engine starts. I grip the flowers in my hand before tossing them into the trash can.

*Vanity's POV*

I lean down against the drivers side window, feeling Jon put his hand against my cheek "I really had a lot of fun tonight. Thank you." I smile at him as his thumb runs over my cheekbone.

"Can't wait to see what you plan for the next date, I don't know why but I'm expecting it to be over the top." We both chuckle a bit as I nod in agreement.

"I'll have to think of something good then.." we both look at each other for a moment, before I lean forward to give him a kiss, "Goodnight Jon."

"Goodnight sweetheart, I'll call you."

I sigh a bit, waving bye to him when he drives out of the gates. I hold onto my purse as I walk up the front steps to the door, reaching for the handle as it doesn't open. I groan a bit and dig through my purse for my keys "Damnit.." I look through the glass, seeing them on the entry way table being illuminated by the kitchen light.

I step off the porch and walk over to the gate leading to the back yard but it's locked. Fucking Nikki. It's never locked. I try reaching over the wooden boards but I wasn't tall enough to grasp the latch. I sigh and go over to the door, pressing the doorbell and knocking loudly.

I hear a window open above me and i step back seeing Nikki, "Babe! Open the door. I left my keys here!"

"Oh you did? Well that sure as hell sucks." He says as he looks down at me.

"Nikki c'mon it's cold! Just let me in!" I shout back at him as I hear him laugh "This isn't funny! Open the door or I'm breaking it!" I hear him grumble before he leaves the window. I wait impatiently, ringing the doorbell again before the hallway light flips on.

"Why'd you forget your keys, Van?" He looks at me with a smug smile as he opens up the door.

"Because you were yelling at me." I lean against the wall "And we never lock the side gate so what gives? How childish are you to lock me out because you're jealous?"

"Jealous? Of course I'm jealous! How did you even meet him?! What the fuck Vanity, it's gonna get out to the press!"

"It's already in the press Nikki!" I shout back at him, "They already released pictures of you and Donna looking pretty comfortable at some god damn club! Everyone already knows! I met him at work Nikki-"

"So you've been lying to me?"

I stare at him as I laugh, "Are you joking me? Lying to you? I haven't lied about anything! I told you I was seeing a guy I met there!"

"But you didn't say it was Jovi! God, why do you have a thing for fucking rockstars! If it's not me, it's Tommy, if it's not Slash, it's Jovi. Whose fucking next!? How about I call up some of my friends and you can pick! You're nothing more than a glorified groupie slut who got lucky and popped out a rockstars kid!"

My shoulders drop as I stare at him in shock. Eyebrows raised and my lips parting slightly, "Hm." My eyes close with a light head shake as I reach for my keys from the bowl. I keep my purse on my shoulder as I turn from him and head back out the front door.

"Van, it's the middle of the night, I am sorry." Nikki's tone is panicked as he follows after me, "I'm mad and I didn't mean that. I said it out of anger." I feel his hand wrap around my elbow as my own hand reaches for the door. I tug my arm away from his grip and open the car door.

I stare at him for a moment, trying to come up with something to say, "Yeah, no. I'm not doing this." I sit down and shut the door, quickly locking it as I see him trying to open it. I put the key in the ignition ignoring the constant tapping on the window and my name being yelled as I put it in reverse and start backing out of the driveway. I'm not really sure where I was going, but I just knew I didn't want to be here with him suffocating me with apologies.

Later the following week, I find myself sitting in our therapists office clutching an iced coffee as I wait for Dr. Peterson to come in. I wanted to have a solo session as Nikki was in meetings with Alan and the band to discuss the production of the up coming tour and Arianna was at school.

Nikki and I haven't talked about our argument the other night, nor have we spoke more than 5 words to each other at a time. It makes me laugh because talking is easy, it comes naturally for the two of us as our own persons. Nikki had also been leaving after Arianna goes to bed and coming back early in the morning before she wakes up, my guess is he's staying at Donna's but at this point I've been finding myself asking do I even care anymore?

"I am surprised to see you by yourself." Dr. Peterson pulls me from my thoughts as I hear the door click shut and watch her walk over to her chair.

"Yeah-" I smile politely at her, "Thanks for seeing me on such a short notice too. I really appreciate it." I watch as she opens up her folder as she brings her glasses up to her face.

"At least I won't have to replace the candy dish mid session because Nikki decided to inhale the whole thing." She jokes as we both laugh a bit.

"I decided it would be better if I went solo on this one. Would save us both the headache and keep Nikki out of the dentist."

"Of course, so what would you like to discuss today?"

I shift on the couch as I cross one leg over my knee, "Well...Nikki and I got into a pretty heated argument the other night essentially over us seeing other people and I left because I didn't want to say anything I regretted like he did. I don't know...I'm just, I'm conflicted." I glance over at her, "The more him and I see other people, the more I don't feel like we have a chance of being together how we want to be. We're more distant than ever before. It's like there's some heavy, crushing weight over us."

"We-we rarely talk, only when it involves Arianna. Sometimes we have sex still so it's just confusing because he'll tell me one thing and do another."

"Okay...Have you two done any of the other ideas I told you about? Spending time with one another? Doing things you normally wouldn't do? Spending time together without Arianna? Adults need their time too, Vanity." She questions as I shake my head, "You two just jumped into seeing other people?"

"Well Nikki did, I didn't-" I sigh when she puts her hand up, "I forgot, don't place blame on the other person. Yes, we both did jump into seeing other people. I mean, we did hang out and spend time together alone but it was only once. He started getting busy with the album so we just haven't had the time."

"You haven't had the time? Or you just don't want to make the time?" Dr. Peterson asks as I look at her.

"Well...I don't know!" I chuckle a bit, "Nikki's busy. He has a lot on his plate at the moment."

She narrows her eyes at me, "He's busy? Is he even too busy for Arianna?"

"No, he's never too busy for her. He'd wipe out his whole schedule for Arianna."

Dr. Peterson leans back in the chair as we look at one another for a moment, "So...he's not too busy for Arianna and he's not too busy to make time to go on these dates from what you're telling me. So why do you think he's too busy to make time for you? Or are you worried he's going to tell you no, Vanity?"

"No, I'm not worried he would say no....I just don't feel like I'm one of his priorities, so why would he waste his time?" I shrug my shoulders as I look away from her for a moment.

"Okay....you've been going on dates too? How are they? Are you enjoying your time?"

I take a deep breath and exhale, "Yeah, I am. They've been really good and a lot of fun. He's really nice and pleasant to be around. It's like a fresh of breath air, but I feel so much guilt when I'm with him and I doubt Nikki feels like that." I roll my eyes as I meet her stern gaze, "I shouldn't assume how he's feeling." I mumble lowly to her.

"And has Nikki expressed how he feels about you going on dates? Has he told you?"

I nod a bit, "Yeah, he usually just jokes or teases me about it. But he got mad over the weekend that I was going on a date so we got into an argument. Nikki wasn't happy about who I'm seeing because he knows him and doesn't like him. He locked me out of the house, every door and side gate was locked. Even the garage. He kept saying I had been lying to him just because I didn't tell him who I was seeing.. I didn't tell him who I was seeing because I knew this would be the outcome." I lightly shake my head as a sigh escapes me.

"Vanity, I know you want things to work."

I stare at Dr. Peterson as my eyes swell up with tears, "Is that so wrong? That I just want to be together? For Arianna to have a family? I don't think that's a bad thing to want." I feel my voice get shaky and my bottom lip quivers as I look away from her.

"No, you're right. It's not a bad thing to want. However, is it Arianna who wants a family or is it you?"

My eyebrows pull together tightly in confusion, "What do you mean? I'm certain Arianna would want to see us together."

Dr. Peterson chuckles slightly as she glances at me, "You always use Arianna. Let's be honest, Vanity. You want a family because you weren't close with your own, same with Nikki and you are doing everything under the sun to have Nikki just want you, and only you. He's been your only support, stable support system. Yet, you don't know if you want him in or want him out. You're so worried about if he wants you that you probably don't stop and ask yourself, 'hey, do I even want him?'."

"Because he always says he wants me and only me. I'm sorry that I believe him?" My face scrunches up as I become frustrated, "My family was around enough. I wasn't completely abandoned like Nikki was. I just don't know why I keep thinking he's going to change, he never does. It's a never ending fucking cycle we're fine one minute and then the next we're not. It won't fucking stop." I grumble, slumping back against the couch as I look past her.

"Then maybe this is when you need to change instead of waiting on him. You decide if you want to take this situation into your hands and decide the outcome."

My eyes find hers, "Are you telling me to leave him?" The expression drops from my face and a frown replaces it as she doesn't say anything in return, "But I love him...and I barely knew how to function in New York without him." I blink back tears as I stare at the green and white pattered carpet, "I just- I wouldn't even know how to bring it up to Nikki without it turning into one big pile of shit."

"You could always do it here. It is a safe space, ya know?"

"I know it's a safe place...I'd just be scared he'd storm out of here and I'd find all my stuff thrown out in the street."

She chuckles, "I highly doubt Nikki would do that to you." I shrug at her words, "I'm not saying to jump to conclusions Vanity. Think it over, listen to what your gut, mind and heart are saying. I can only give you so much advice, it's your turn to decide if you want to take it or not."

I take a deep breath in as I breathe it out slowly, "I'll think about it for a few days and then I'll talk to him. And whatever happens, happens."

#motley crue #the dirt #the dirt book #the dirt movie #nikki sixx #1980s #1990s #motley crue fanfiction #the dirt fanfiction #nikki sixx fanfiction #motley crue x o/c #nikki sixx x o/c #douglas booth! nikki sixx #fanfiction #my ideas #my story #lauren jauregui #glam metal #love and leather #l&l

[rampanttheories]

More Weasley Squad vs the wizarding world

After my “how the Weasley siblings at Hogwarts could’ve reacted to CoS” post, I got to thinking on how that would affect the canon immediately post-CoS....

And then I received a wonderful response on that post inquiring if there was more. Thank you so much for your kind comment @transparentfreakpursepanda and this one’s for you.

In my opinion, the drivers of the big changes would be the twins. In their new protector-role I think they’d keep the map with them and have a close eye on it. They’d also inform Ron, Ginny, and Harry (and through them Hermione) of a) the map, b) whatever they know of Sirius Black, and c) of the most useful hidden passages in the castle.

But even more interesting is when and how they’d inform the younger kids. Maybe once they are all at Hogwarts, because that is when it starts becoming relevant. Maybe they check the map thoroughly for potential eaves-droppers before joining the newly established quartet in the remote classroom. Maybe they spot “Peter Pettigrew” among the cluster of names and decide to hide the map for a while longer after all. Not seeing a person whose name shows up on the map is.... disconcerting to say the least. They dislike invisible potential threats and bodyless things with names after the Diary.

Instead they show the others some hidden passages. Every once in a while, either draws attention and the other checks the map. Peter Pettigrew stubbornly stays with them.

Percy researches Sirius Black with more ferocity than even his essays and keeps the twins and the quartet, albeit a little muted, informed of his findings. The twins get one of the Prophet editions detailing Black’s crimes to get a feel for his MO and find Peter Pettigrew listed as the magical person Black allegedly murdered.

They panic a little. Alright, they panic a lot.

And then they show the map to Percy. More specifically, they show “Peter Pettigrew” next to “Ron Weasley”, “Hermione Granger” and “Harry Potter” in the middle of the Gryffindor common room. In their frenzy they miss the tag reading “Sirius Black” near Hagrid’s Hut.

Percy gets George banned from the library for two weeks by blaming his impressive flood of cursing on him. Fred and George learn three new terms they absolutely are going to use. And then Percy doubles down on Peter Pettigrew as well as Sirius Black.

The Halloween Break-In happens. They scour the Map for any trace of Sirius Black, but he has long since disappeared, and when they check again the next morning so has the tag “Peter Pettigrew” and Ron is mourning Scabbers. That sparks a horrible idea. They know about animagi, having been taught by one for years. And the Professor shows up on the map no matter her current shape, they had tested that extensively back in first year.

So they gather Percy and Ron and Harry and Hermione and Ginny and after checking if Peter Pettigrew is REALLY not with them, they share both the map and their theory on Scabbers.

Percy shows the record of students graduating in 1978 he found deep in the Deputy Mistress’ archives, including the names of both Black and Pettigrew, but also Potter, Evans, Snape, and Lupin.

Harry pipes up that apparently Black and Pettigrew both were close to his father and so was the Professor. (”which one?” - “Snape obviously. Seriously George”) So if he asks about his parents, maybe he could find out more about Pettigrew, including if he was an animagus.

Percy and Hermione compare notes on what they know of animagi-related spells. Eventually they decide Hermione should ask Professor McGonagall about them, in relation to the werewolf-lecture they received from Snape Ron jumps into the planning. By comparing ways and methods of transformation Hermione has a reason to be curious and turn to McGonagall in particular. And approximately 73 tangents to go off on after she got her answers to hide the particular interest in forcing animagi to detransform.

Said and done. Two days later Hermione has a list of books on animagus spells and with Percy’s access, the bookworms dig up both a reversal spell and a general checking charm if an animal is an animagus.

By late November, the eldest three assume they have the spell down, it’s a bit hard to test without an animagus at hand and McGonagall is NOT to be included, and the younger students have checked every pet in Gryffindor tower and the owlery for animagusery. The transformation was judged to be a bit too advanced for them after all, they do want to have Pettigrew identifiable. They also all know Stupor and the countercharm.

In early December, Hagrid invites the trio down for tea and during that conversation they find Scabbers. Ron is good with voices and he forces himself to sound “appropriately” happy instead of showing his distress.

As soon as they are out of sight of Hagrid’s Hut, the rat is stunned, knocked out, petrificus totalused and checked for animagus within seconds. The light glow settles into the fur and for just a moment human features are visible-it is an animagus.

They bolt to the remote classroom that became their main base and are met by Fred and George, who had seen Peter Pettigrew show up on the Map again with the trio and gathered Percy and Ginny.

That is the moment they realize they have no plan for AFTER capturing Pettigrew. They stunned him, so he knows they are aware of some parts. Just going back to normal is not an option. Is he guilty of any crimes? How would a bunch of teenagers go about following that up? How would they explain how they knew something was up?? They had an adult, supposedly dead wizard stunned in their hands!!!

Fred and George look at each other, shrug, and suggest making sure nobody knows they were involved. Considering Harry stunned Pettigrew from behind even he might not know if all of them were attacked or if it was just him. After all, Black might have been after Pettigrew as well, considering he tried to kill him. So just leave him somewhere he will be recognized and let the adults deal with the mess?

So they check the map and find most professors in the Great Hall at dinner. Including Lupin. Who always returns to his office to grade after dinner. And offers students to come ask questions then.

So they break into the Defense Office and detransform Pettigrew on the desk, just as Ginny warns that Professor Lupin is leaving the Great Hall at speed. Five minutes if he sticks to the corridors, two if he knows the secret passages.

They don’t take chances and fire of another stunner before pulling the door closed and hurtling towards a passage that’ll take them to a lower floor and safely out of the path of Professor Lupin WHO REALLY KNOWS THE PASSAGES SWEET MERLIN HERMIONE GET IN GET IN AND CLOSE THE TAPESTRY.

Not a moment after they are hidden from sight, they hear first footsteps and then an unholy shout. They bustle through the passage and then double back towards the Hall, just to nearly fall over the railings of the Grand Staircase when Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall come sprinting up the stairs, the entire structure snapping to attention and creating an immediate path for the Headmaster and Deputy.

They grab some easily transported foods from the tables and rejoin the curious stream of students towards Defense.

An hour later Aurors Bones, Moody, and Shaklebolt are seen in Hogwarts.

The next day sees rumours of somebody returning from the dead and the Minister of Magic nearly defacing his bowler in the corridor leading to Charms.

A week later Sirius Black’s name is cleared.

Oh right, he was around too. The seven had completely forgotten the mass murderer. Correction, alleged mass murderer.

#harry potter #harry james potter #percy weasley #fred weasley #george weasley #ron weasley #ginny weasley #hermione granger #weasley siblings vs the world #alternate universe #universe altered #mini fanfic #own content #I enjoyed giving Remus an off-screen heart attack waaaay too much #imagine getting the alarm your office is being broken into and then finding your thought dead friend on your desk

[loudest-subtext-in-tv]

Something I know no one will ever contend with when they just want to write a hit piece about us, but...

When Moffat said on the A Scandal in Belgravia commentary, “If you watch the show carefully, there’s subtext about John’s drinking,” what did he mean? He wasn’t being flippant, he’s said one of his favorite writers is William Goldman and writers should study him because he “knows everything.” Goldman’s Ten Commandments on Writing say to “put a subtext under every text” and not to be too on the nose. 

So what is the “real” subtext to why John drinks, and why does John drink when he’s alone with Sherlock and trying to get him to open up, or otherwise thinking about Sherlock? If the subtext is not about John’s relationship with Sherlock, then like... who else is in the room in those scenes, what’s going on, who is John actually thinking about, and why is it so important to the story that Moffat would include it? What storyline does the subtext of John’s drinking pertain to? It must be pretty big to not have been revealed yet, so it shouldn’t be hard to make a case for.

Similarly: When Moffat and Gatiss say that The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, a movie noteworthy for depicting Holmes as a homosexual in love with Watson, is the inspiration for their adaptation, what do people imagine they adapted from it? Because it wasn’t the characterization, they don’t much resemble the BBC Sherlock characterizations. Barely any plot points were borrowed, and minor ones at that. Why did they pick the big overtly gay adaptation for the basis of their show from a hundred straight alternatives? Why did Gatiss say the thing he liked about it was that Holmes was in love with Watson?

I mean, I know people who hate us will never actually watch it, but the movie is not subtle. The movie isn’t a bunch of gay gags, the movie makes very clear that Holmes is genuinely homosexual and in love with Watson in a deeply painful way that queer people can recognize and relate to, and the same vibe is heavy in series 3 especially. For example, the endings of TSoT and HLV are not gay gags, they are things that happened in the plot and were not presented as remotely funny.

There are two reasonable perspectives on this:

1) It is not especially weird for people who pay attention to what the writers have said about their stories to think all the gay stuff is intentional, and its not weird to have fun chasing down things the writers have taken care to talk about. That’s what fans do, they try to predict where stories are going. No one made hit pieces ridiculing Jon and Daeneyrs shippers because they recognized what the foreshadowing in Game of Thrones was saying, and they were basing it off almost nothing compared to what the showrunners of Sherlock have said and taken care to include in the plot and subtext. People write hit pieces about us because they deeply believe it’s stupid for queer people to think a gay romance could be depicted, we had the misfortune of having a sense of humor about ourselves (calling it a “conspiracy” and ourselves a “cult”), and were enthusiastic about the show and writers whose fandom we’re a part of.

2) The gay stuff is intentional, but all a big joke despite appearances to the contrary. Most of the antis even argued that the gay stuff was intentional, they just thought it was to fuck with people or be provocative. Some of them were even dreading S4, including while it was airing, because they thought we were going to be proven right and we’d be insufferable. If people who hated us worried we could be right, then how delusional could we be?

I can understand someone thinking it all being a big joke is more likely than a TV show depicting a gay romance, but it does not follow that people deserve to be an object of public ridicule because they recognized a bunch of queer allusions and painful queer life experiences that resonated with them and considered that the writers, one of whom is queer and unabashedly obsessed with the works in question, may have positive motives for including those things. It feels like punishing people for doing their due diligence of actually researching the writers’ feelings about things and their influences, rather than just piling on and calling them homophobes. I’m not trying to invalidate anyone’s opinions if that’s how they feel about Moffat and Gatiss nowadays, I’m just saying it’s not some shameful thing for people to actually investigate these things and conclude differently. It’s okay to think writers are talented and clever, and their fandom should be a place where it’s okay to explore that.

What makes me most sad about this is that there is genuinely no area of life where people can just play around anymore without being hunted down. Like, politics is fucking miserable, the pandemic is miserable, I just had a friend kill himself a few months ago because of how bad life is lately, a close relative who I never thought would have suicidal ideation has it now, I have been fighting wanting to die for years, in the U.S. none of us have any idea if we’re ever getting any sort of pandemic stimulus again -- so many of us are suffering immensely right now, it should be okay to be goofy and creative in a fandom without someone deciding its their prerogative to profit off us because they think we’re weird, or whatever. 

The reason there’s a lot of crazy meta analysis is because this was supposed to be a relatively safe, creative place where people can try their hand at analyzing stories without being graded or made to feel inadequate, so we treat metas a lot like fanfics where it’s not really appropriate to just rip people’s shit apart no matter how illogical it is, and we find things we like about analysis we don’t agree with in that same spirit: it’s a cool idea anyway, it’s artistically inspiring, it got close to a more compelling idea, etc. I have a big packet of fan mails where several people told me they had been scared and self-conscious to share their thoughts on things, and TJLC helped them open up and inspired them to major in literary or film-related majors. People start somewhere and it’s cruel to make fun of them because they weren’t great at something that doesn’t fucking matter. 

FANDOM IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE A SUPER SERIOUS SPACE. NO ONE PUTS ON A TUXEDO BEFORE THEY LOG IN TO TUMBLR. NO ONE NEEDS SOME OUTSIDER TAKING THE THINGS THEY OFFERED IN THE SPIRIT OF FUN OUT OF CONTEXT TO PRESENT TO A WIDER AUDIENCE THEY DELIBERATELY AVOID BECAUSE THAT AUDIENCE IS MEAN AND SENDS THEM DEATH THREATS AND HOMOPHOBIC AND MISOGYNISTIC SLURS AND SUICIDE ADVICE. IT IS ACTUALLY NOT AN ENORMOUS CHARACTER FAILING TO SHARE BAD ANALYSES OF A TV SHOW, AND SHOULD NOT BE A MATTER OF NATIONAL INTEREST. 

But places where people can open up and try things out increasingly can’t exist anymore, because even in a low stakes environment like a fandom there are busybody ghouls who want to profit off being condescending about how people spend their leisure time. It doesn’t add anything to the world except their bank accounts.

#tjlc #Sarah Z