#nobody is going to save you. we have to save ourselves

[miwtual]

im so fucking tired of the disrespect gifmakers get on the gifmaker website

#kai.txt #negativity tw #(sorry these are gonna be a lot of tags. i have a lot of feelings and i dont know where else to put them) #we make gifs and nobody reblogs them #when they do get reblogged all people want to tell you is that your gifs arent good enough to them and rip it to shreds #'you're missing x' 'why didnt you do y' 'if i made this i would have abc' 'hey op ur wrong and this is why' 'i dont like this op' #reposters dont even reblog your fucking gifset but they'll save your gifs to repost later asking for how to do something #that they could have asked you how to do in the fucking first place #we reblog ourselves constantly because nobody else will and maybe to make our work look like it has more notes than it does #to make ourselves feel better about the lack of interaction we're getting #and then when we TALK about this frustration we have. people who are too afraid to say it to our faces #go on anon in our askboxes and tell us how we're somehow selfish for wanting people to interact with the sets #that we spent time on. hours. days. WEEKS in some cases #or we get anons who tell us the reason we dont have notes are because we arent good at gifmaking in the first place #but this is all on anon. because they're too scared to tell it to our faces #they're too scared for us to see that they ARENT a gifmaker and that they dont know how to do it any better either #they dont see us as people doing something we love as a hobby. they see us as content machines that dance like court jesters #im just so fucking tired of the disrespect #and this sentiment goes for more than just gifmakers. graphicmakers. artists. literally any creative hobby shared on this site #we get treated like shit and for what? literally for fucking what.

[evilkitten3]

having some thoughts on itachi and radicalization and how people can do the most horrific shit imaginable while fully believing it's the right thing to do and police states

#naruto #naruto shippuden #uchiha itachi #i give itachi a lot of shit. which he very much deserves #but on the other hand. #idk itachi isn't a character i can really hate or stan i guess. i mostly just feel sorry for him #i feel sorry for a lot of the characters in that world really #here in this world we're all more or less on the same playing field #like there's ways to be privileged or disenfranchised sure but. no one can throw a meteor at your head for questioning the government #i feel like that's something that gets overlooked a lot in metas on why characters do things #like we can compare to ourselves all we want but we still live in a world where it's significantly more possible to speak out #and people STILL have a very hard time doing that #in the world of naruto.... you really can't #if your village is horrible too fucking bad none of the other villages care enough to do anything #if your village is awesome surprise no it isn't you've got awful shit going on and you just haven't noticed it yet #everybody seems to be running on ''well at least we're better than THOSE guys'' #and the people who actually DO want to make things better simply. don't have the know-how to do it #bc all the people who could've come up with the ideas we have here have either been brainwashed killed or scared into silence #it's a lose-lose situation for literally everybody and they all keep perpetuating it bc nobody knows how to stop #you can save the world. you can save the world a hundred thousand times and it will NEVER matter. bc you still can't save the people #it's an eternal tragedy and i love it

[writingwithfolklore]

5 Tips for Creating Intimidating Antagonists

Antagonists, whether people, the world, an object, or something else are integral to giving your story stakes and enough conflict to challenge your character enough to change them. Today I’m just going to focus on people antagonists because they are the easiest to do this with!

1. Your antagonist is still a character

While sure, antagonists exist in the story to combat your MC and make their lives and quest difficult, they are still characters in the story—they are still people in the world.

Antagonists lacking in this humanity may land flat or uninteresting, and it’s more likely they’ll fall into trope territory.

You should treat your antagonists like any other character. They should have goals, objectives, flaws, backstories, etc. (check out my character creation stuff here). They may even go through their own character arc, even if that doesn’t necessarily lead them to the ‘good’ side.

Really effective antagonists are human enough for us to see ourselves in them—in another universe, we could even be them.

2. They’re… antagonistic

There’s two types of antagonist. Type A and Type B. Type A antagonist’s have a goal that is opposite the MC’s. Type B’s goal is the same as the MC’s, but their objectives contradict each other.

For example, in Type A, your MC wants to win the contest, your antagonist wants them to lose.

In Type B, your MC wants to win the contest, and your antagonist wants to win the same contest. They can’t both win, so the way they get to their goal goes against each other.

A is where you get your Draco Malfoy’s, other school bullies, or President Snow’s (they don’t necessarily want what the MC does, they just don’t want them to have it.)

B is where you get the other Hunger Games contestants, or any adventure movie where the villain wants the secret treasure that the MCs are also hunting down. They want the same thing.

3. They have well-formed motivations

While we as the writers know that your antagonist was conceptualized to get in the way of the MC, they don’t know that. To them, they exist separate from the MC, and have their own reasons for doing what they do.

In Type A antagonists, whatever the MC wants would be bad for them in some way—so they can’t let them have it. For example, your MC wants to destroy Amazon, Jeff Bezos wants them not to do that. Why not? He wants to continue making money. To him, the MC getting what they want would take away something he has.

Other motivations could be: MC’s success would take away an opportunity they want, lose them power or fame or money or love, it could reveal something harmful about them—harming their reputation. It could even, in some cases, cause them physical harm.

This doesn’t necessarily have to be true, but the antagonist has to believe it’s true. Such as, if MC wins the competition, my wife will leave me for them. Maybe she absolutely wouldn’t, but your antagonist isn’t going to take that chance anyway.

In Type B antagonists, they want the same thing as the MC. In this case, their motivations could be literally anything. They want to win the competition to have enough money to save their family farm, or to prove to their family that they can succeed at something, or to bring them fame so that they won’t die a ‘nobody’.

They have a motivation separate from the MC, but that pesky protagonist keeps getting in their way.

4. They have power over the MC

Antagonists that aren’t able to combat the MC very well aren’t very interesting. Their job is to set the MC back, so they should be able to impact their journey and lives. They need some sort of advantage, privilege, or power over the MC.

President Snow has armies and the force of his system to squash Katniss. She’s able to survive through political tension and her own army of rebels, but he looms an incredibly formidable foe.

Your antagonist may be more wealthy, powerful, influential, intelligent, or skilled. They may have more people on their side. They are superior in some way to the protagonist.

5. And sometimes they win

Leading from the last point, your antagonists need wins. They need to get their way sometimes, which means your protagonist has to lose. You can do a bit of a trade off that allows your protagonist to lose enough to make a formidable foe out of their antagonist, but still allows them some progress using Fortunately, Unfortunately.

It goes like… Fortunately, MC gets accepted into the competition. Unfortunately, the antagonist convinces the rest of the competitors to hate them. Fortunately, they make one friend. Unfortunately, their first entry into the competition gets sabotaged. Fortunately, they make it through the first round anyway, etc. etc.

An antagonist that doesn’t do any antagonizing isn’t very interesting, and is completely pointless in their purpose to heighten stakes and create conflict for your protagonist to overcome. We’ll probably be talking about antagonists more soon!

Anything I missed?

#writing #creative writing #writers #screenwriting #writing inspiration #writing community #filmmaking #books #film #writing advice #antagonists #villains #writing antagonists #5 tips for creating intimidating antagonists

[hermajestyimher]

Learn the Art of Being Unbothered

We've all been there, a person dislikes us and decides to try to make our life hell by constantly provoking us looking for a response and a scalation to make us lower ourselves to their level.

Choosing to ignore these kinds of people and being selective in how we utilize our energy and focus is a crucial skill to develop as one becomes more successful, popular, and elevated. The truth is that this world is filled with miserable people who want nothing more than to bring others who are doing better down so they can feel better about themselves. It's up to us to not give them that satisfaction.

When someone attacks you, you must assess the situation and realize if retaliation is something the attacker is worthy of. If the attacker is of lower status, intelligence, or success, and is lashing out at you with unfounded accusations, the best course of action is to ignore their entire existence. This will help to starve them of the attention they crave, minimize exposure to them and their lies, and make them go over the edge.

Retaliation is something that needs to be carefully planned and assessed. It should be saved for people who have the means to do active harm to you. It's not something to take lightly. Nobodies trying to get a reaction out of you do not deserve the time of day, more often than not, they will end up making a fool out of themselves without you having to lift up a finger. Remember that and stay classy.

#things ive learned #boundaries #level up journey #growth mindset #revenge #retribution

[prismatic-bell]

I’ve seen some posts going around about how only dummies think nuclear power is dangerous, so I want to just put it out there, in the hope that maybe I’ll create a bit of understanding:

Provided storage space is adequate, I’m not afraid of nuclear power.

I’m afraid of THE COMPANIES THAT PRODUCE nuclear power.

Let me explain.

I know new nuclear power plants have more failsafes than there are stars in the sky. And that’s great…as long as they were designed correctly, the pieces were all manufactured correctly, and nobody lied.

I know nuclear power plants are subject to strenuous inspections. And that’s great…as long as the inspectors actually check everything regularly as scheduled and nobody lies.

I know nuclear storage barrels are safety-tested. And that’s great…as long as they’re manufactured correctly, buried where they’re supposed to be, and nobody lies.

Because here’s the thing. I’ve watched a pretty fair amount of videos on nuclear disasters both power plant-related and otherwise. And every single one, every single one, can be traced back to the same source: someone lied in order to save money.

Plant maintenance is neglected to save money.

Plant inspections are neglected to save money.

Plants that say “dear Company That Produces This Critical Part Of Our Infrastructure, this piece keeps failing even though we’re using it correctly, please advise” will get ignored or accused of lying/user error, so The Company That Produces Etc. can save money. One case I saw involved a piece of cancer-radiation machinery that was shooting people (seemingly) at random with lethal doses of radiation, and the production company went “we investigated ourselves and found nothing wrong, are you sure you’re not just stupid?” Turns out they’d never even included a user manual with a piece of lifesaving-but-also-potentially-lethal machinery…to save money. And there were many, MANY things wrong with the machine, actually, as was discovered when an outside agency did an investigation.

This is not a problem unique to nuclear power. But if a wind turbine is seated wrong, it can be dismantled and reseated elsewhere (expensive but not unfixable). If a coal plant catches fire (heaven forbid), the result is absolutely Really Not Good but the worst of it can be fixed in just a couple of years, and we understand the potential related health problems enough to treat them. If a hydro plant isn’t working right, it’s not going to fry the entire ocean.

But if a nuclear plant blows because—and again, I stress this is what has happened IN EVERY NUCLEAR DISASTER IN HISTORY—a company lied to save money, that’s 26,000 years the affected land may be uninhabitable. You can cover your face with a mask or shirt to get away from coal ash while you evacuate. There is absolutely nothing the average civilian can do to protect themselves from nuclear fallout while they evacuate. And unlike coal ash, just a few minutes of that initial radioactive exposure can be enough to kill you. There’s no going back, either—lungs can be flushed, but mutated or even shredded DNA can’t be fixed.

Let me be clear, I DO NOT want coal power forever. (To me, the future is solar.) I think it’s wasteful, environmentally toxic, inefficient, ecologically devastating and unsustainable. But I question if nuclear is the way forward not because of the dangers inherent in what’s in a nuclear reactor—I question if nuclear is the way forward because there are too many greedy people with too much to gain from pinching lifesaving pennies.

[dorabledewdroop]

The White Healer Chapter 2

Summary: Reader wakes up somewhere unknown and ends up meeting the avengers

Chapter warnings: nothing really? Panic, anxiety?

I know I'm pacing this slowly but I'm doing this the only way I know how. I really hope everyone likes it.

Series Masterlist

X--X--X--X--X--X

Beep. Beep. Beep. 

Your entire body tensed as you registered the beeping sound. Your eyes shot open and to your horror, you were in a bright white room. An IV attached to your arm and a machine beeping your increasing heart rate. 

No no no no. Please no

Not waiting for a moment, you ripped anything attached to you off and immediately ran out of the room. Not knowing where you were going. Just knowing you had to get out of this place. You turned in random directions. It was all going splendidly, that was, until you heard the alarms ringing. 

Great.This is just what I needed. you thought. 

Not thinking you ran straight into a room that looked like… a lounge?

You froze, as did every single person in the room. All eyes on you.

They stood up slowly. Afraid to scare you even further. You took a step back, clearly hyperventilating. Within a moment you turned around from where you came and sprinted out. Only to run face first into a wall of muscles. You quite literally bounced back and fell flat on your ass. The bearded blonde man’s eyes widened as if he had barely noticed you running into him. 

“My deepest apologies. I didn’t see you there” the bearded man said in a deep British accent. You gasped at what he was carrying. It was a hammer. A huge one. Surely he wouldn’t use that on you? Not taking a chance you scrambled back and ran the other way only to run into another body. 

What the fuck do these people eat?? Why are they made of bricks?  You think as, once again, you fall back. 

This time however it’s the white haired boy you had saved. You remembered he called himself Pietro. 

You grabbed his hands. 

“Please don’t let them take me. Please I beg you. I can’t go through that again” you whispered desperately. 

Pietro’s eyes narrowed in concern and slowly nodded his head. The moment he put a protective arm around your shoulder, you sighed in relief. 

“Nobody will harm you here. I promise” he said gently. “Can I introduce you to them?”

Breathing deeply through your nose, you nodded. 

He guided you the room you had scrambled away from. He beside you as you actually took a look at everyone in the room, including the bearded man with the hammer. 

Did he really carry that everywhere he went? That must be quite inconvenient. 

Shaking the thoughts out of your head you allowed yourself to actually look at everyone’s faces. You felt the blood drain from your face as you recognised most of them. 

“You’re… you’re the Avengers..” you whispered. Loud enough that they heard you. Some of them chuckled. You did not.

“That we are” the guy with the hammer said as he took a step forward. He laid a brief kiss on your knuckles as he took your hand in his.

Chuckling you curtsied.

“My name is Thor Odinson, god of thunder” He stated, his hands sparkling with electricity.

“That’s enough Point Break. How about we all introduce ourselves as well?” Tony Stark said, putting a hand on Thor’s shoulder.

Eventually, everyone introduced themselves: Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Thor Odinson, and Sam Wilson.

It took a second for you to notice everyone staring at you expectantly, your eyes widened as you realised what they were expecting.

“I’m y/n. Y/n y/l/n” You said as confidently a you could. Which, let’s be honest, wasn’t that confident to begin with.

As everybody went to sit around the sofas, you sat on a chair awkwardly. 

Steve cleared his throat. “So y/n, Clint here told us that during the fight in Sokovia you were-“

A flurry of noise outside caused you to turn around and see a rush of brown hair charging towards you. Panicking, you stood up ready to run. Before you could, the brunettes body slammed into you in the form of a hug. 

I have to admit.. this is pretty nice 

You found yourself relaxing into the hug regardless of how hard this person was hugging you. You felt weirdly… safe?

Pietro cleared his throat with what could only be described as a shit eating grin on his face.

“This is my sister, Wanda Maximoff” he introduced.

Eventually, Wanda broke the hug and looked at you, her face slightly red.

‘Holy shit she’s fucking gorgeous’ you thought to yourself.

You looked at Pietro, a little confused. Not noticing how her face turned the shade of a tomato.

She looked at you with her forest green eyes. You were immediately lost in them. Fuck everyone else, you were going to spend the rest of your life looking into those eyes.

You saw her mouth move, not registering what she was saying. A small smirk on her face brought you back to the present.

“I’m sorry what was that?” You said blushing.

From the corner of your eye you saw Pietro’s face about to split with how wide his smile had gotten.

“Thank you so much for saving my brother’s life” She repeated. “I- I felt.. I couldn’t feel him for a second.”

A dark look took over her face, anguish filled her eyes. That’s when Pietro stepped towards her and grabbed her into a hug

“I’m fine, Sestra” He said, rubbing her back soothingly

You looked away to give them privacy, to notice mostly everyone else had done the same.

Once Wanda was feeling better, she sat down besides her brother.

“By the way y/n” Pietro started “Are you sure you want to continue wearing that hospital outfit?”

Huh? HUH?

You look down at yourself and notice you’ve been wearing.. scrubs? Why the fuck were you wearing scrubs??? You’re not even a doctor? Why did anyone allow you to wear scrubs.

“That was actually me..” A new voice said from near the door. 

It felt familiar.. It was as alluring as Wanda’s voice. Your head shot to the door and saw another equally drop dead gorgeous woman.

Why the fuck are the women in this building so fucking attractive??

“I presumed that princess here wouldn’t take too kindly to waking up strapped to machines in a hospital gown.. I’m Natasha by the way.. Natasha Romanoff” Natasha continued.

You blushed even harder at the nickname. You were still distracted by her beauty when Wanda clapped her hands, startling you ever so slightly.

“It’s settled then” she said with a smirk. “Nat and I will help y/n change into something more comfortable while the boys order in some food for lunch.”

Before you could react Nat nodded her head as Wanda grabbed your hand and led you outside the room.

‘What the fuck is going on.’ You thought as both of the girls held each of your hands and guided you towards what must be the living quarters.

Oh this is going to be a long day…

X--X--X--X--X--X

I hope everyone is enjoying.

Tag List (I really hope I'm doing this correctly, I'm sorry if I haven't):

@marvelwomen-simp

#wanda maximoff #marvel #wanda maximoff x reader #natasha romanoff #mcu #wanda maximoff smut #wandanat x reader #wanda x reader #natasha x reader #natasha romanoff x reader #natasha romanoff smut #The White Healer

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for indulging in my boyfriend's cuck kink?

Alright, so for some background, both me (25, M, panromantic asexual) and my BF (28, M, bisexual) live in a VERY conservative rural area, literally NOBODY knows we're together even though we've been dating for years and the community is pretty tight-knit, that's how much effort we've put into hiding ourselves. We've thought about moving out but honestly other than the constant threat of being found out our life here is pretty great, we know everyone in the community and are on very friendly terms with them, we were both born and raised here so we're honestly kinda scared of losing everything and starting over in a new place, plus I really want to stay to support my dad because I know he can already get pretty lonely as is (mom works out of town, only visits for holidays if even that, plus I don't have any other siblings to keep him company) and me moving away would hurt him a lot.

Now, with that out of the way onto the actual situation: the cuck thing is something me and my boyfriend have discussed about at length, he's not shy about it to me and I'm always glad to make him happy so I'd be open to trying it if the opportunity arose. The thing is- I never really thought there WOULD be an opportunity for it due to the circumstances described above. Well, that was until a girl we both know confessed to me on Christmas Eve. That girl- let's call her Ellie (23, F, straight(?))- is someone I've actually had feelings for a while now (my BF knows and told me he'd be fine with me dating her as an 'official' relationship, but only if I keep us a secret), however I never did anything about those feelings. I was honestly kinda shocked when the confession happened, but in a good way, and I ended up accepting in the heat of the moment, so now me and Ellie have been 'officially' dating for about a month.

Here's where I think I might be the asshole: since that happened my BF has started to hang out with the two of us while we're acting like a very lovey-dovey couple and he's obviously been getting off on that (as in, it's obvious to me, doubt anyone else picked up on it) and I've been having mixed feelings about this. On one hand we did talk about it and agree to it, but on the other I do think this is unfair to Ellie in a way that I didn't realize previously because I never realistically considered this happening. My BF is reassuring me, saying that it's best we keep hidden anyway and that so long as nobody finds out no harm is done, but I still feel kinda bad about it, yet at the same time I don't really know what I should do in this situation to make it right. The whole thing only gets even more complicated when you account for the fact that Ellie is our pastor's granddaughter and as such comes from a very well known family in our community, a family that has a reputation to uphold, and if the thing about me and my BF came out it would surely impact her badly in that way as well. On the other, she really gets along with my son (8, M) and I really think that she'd make a great mother to him so I don't want to deprive him of that and break things off just because of my own personal drama. On the other OTHER hand I also don't want to break up with my BF because it would feel cruel in my opinion, especially when I very much still love him.

So, AITA for keeping my promise and just going along with this and keeping quiet to save myself and my BF?

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

[david-talks-sw]

What's 'Star Wars' about?

A while ago I got an 'Ask' that concluded with "what is Star Wars about, if not the Jedi, right?" And weirdly enough... I have to disagree.

I mean... to me? Yes. Star Wars is about the Jedi. A Jedi-less, Sith-less, lightsaber-less Star Wars movie or series will struggle to get me on board (which is why I was surprised that I loved Andor so much).

But if you read everything George Lucas said, if you think about the Jedi's place in his two trilogies... they're not front and center, right?

Sure, there's Luke Skywalker... but he's a learner, in the Original Trilogy. Same goes for Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, in the Prequels. They're going through character arcs.

Otherwise, the Jedi are either used as mentors to the protagonist...

... or to deliver exposition...

... but they're mostly vectors Lucas uses to present his thesis.

Functionally-speaking, the Jedi are important in that they embody the Buddhist philosophies the movie's themes are based on.

But when it comes to the plot, they're secondary. That's because the the themes of these films are bigger than the Jedi themselves.

So the question becomes... what's are the themes?

The primary goal of the Star Wars films is to inspire kids to start thinking outside the box and teach them a set of values and psychological motifs that have been passed down through mythology and fairy tales.

These values can be summed up in the dichotomy between greed and compassion / selfishness and selflessness / pleasure and joy.

We all have both aspects and need to strike a balance between the two. After all, being greedy ultimately comes from fear and being afraid can happen to all of us. Problem is, unchecked fear can lead to anger, hate and a whole lot of suffering.

The more selfish you are, the more you want things and the more you're afraid that you'll lose everything you have, you'll get angry when someone tries to take it and that will hurt everyone around you.

In other words, fear is the path to the tempting/addictive Dark Side.

Thus, seeing as we'll be inevitably tempted by the Dark Side and give in at some point (because nobody's perfect), we should aim to be as selfless and compassionate as possible for our own good... but also for the greater good, because we're all connected to a life energy. You can call it Qi or God; in Star Wars it's known as the Force.

As such, we all form a symbiotic circle and working with that in mind is better than putting ourselves first and draining from everything and everyone around us.

But we also need to be careful because there will be people who give in to that selfish side and will try to control everything. When the time comes, we must stand up for what's right.

So that's Lucas' thesis.

If I had to sum them up, the six movies illustrate it as follows:

The Prequel Trilogy is about the consequences of greed, explored through Anakin on a smaller scale and the Senate on a larger one.

The Original Trilogy shows the triumph of compassion, through Luke, Leia & Han and the Rebellion's fight against the Empire.

Lucas talked about it multiple times, the Prequels are about how Anakin becomes Darth Vader and how the Republic becomes the Empire, and in both those cases, it happens because they're greedy.

The Senate is greedy in the more classical sense. They could give a shit about "symbiosis", no they're taking bribes, letting corporations dictate policy, using loopholes to keep themselves in power and halting any meaningful progress out of fear that the new status quo will conflict with their own self-serving goals.

Anakin's greed manifests in a different way. He turns to the Dark Side because of his attachment. He wants to stop Padmé from dying... but not because he wants to save her, rather he wants to save himself from feeling the pain of loss again and will do anything to not have to live without her, her own wishes and the natural cycle of life and death be damned.

In both cases, they cave under pressure orchestrated by Palpatine, but nobody puts a gun to their head. They make a deliberate choice that comes from a selfish place, and neither one takes personal responsibility for it, they blame others, the Separatists in the case of the Senate and the Jedi in Anakin's case.

The Republic becomes an Empire with thunderous applause, betraying the people it was meant to protect.

And when faced between doing something he knows is right and giving in to his selfish desires...

... Anakin elects to do the latter, thus betraying his family and leaving the Force in darkness.

These selfish choices impact the galaxy as a whole, including the only characters in the trilogy who were doing their best to be compassionate and live in symbiosis: the Jedi, Padmé and Bail.

These champions of the Light Side are stuck playing catch-up or helplessly witnessing the events unfold, throughout the trilogy. They're playing by the rules and Palpatine uses this to his advantage.

Thus, as the galaxy tears itself apart because of Palpatine's manipulations, the Jedi and Bail are ignored and gradually weakened until they're either rendered irrelevant or killed.

A new order is born, one built on blood, lies and greed: the Empire.

But a new hope remains.

While before, the Jedi and people like Bail stood alone as everything around them became willfully corrupt... now, a Rebellion inspired by their legacy has banded together to overthrow the current order. But they don't fight for power or personal glory, they fight for altruistic, compassionate reasons. There's a sense of general responsibility that moves them, they're all doing their part.

On a larger scale, we focus on the Rebels, who are tired of seeing people suffer and decided this needs to stop. They have gone from being passive, to proactive.

On a more personal scale, we see the evolution of Luke, from naive farmer to a hero, and guess what? More and more selfish people - like Han or Lando - are inspired to join the Rebellion, after seeing the exploits of Luke, Leia, or even Ben.

It all culminates in the final film, wherein:

The Rebels band together with the Ewoks - literal teddy bears whom the Empire, in their arrogance, never even considered to be a threat - to destroy the Second Death Star and free the galaxy from imperial tyranny.

At the same time, Emperor Palpatine pressures Luke, who is tempted by the Dark Side like his father was.

But instead of giving in to his selfish desire to kill Darth Vader for all the horrors he's done...

... he finds the strength to rise above it, instead showing compassion for his father, which, in turn, inspires Anakin to do the same.

He faces a choice, like he did in Palpatine's office, two decades prior...

... and this time he chooses right.

Children teach you compassion. Anakin lets go of his fear and anger, and saves his son at the cost of his own life, finally bringing balance back to the Force.

Good triumphed over evil. Its champions achieved victory by being selfless, hopeful and fighting together / helping each other.

And that's it, that's how the movies thematically tie together.

As you can see, the Jedi aren't that directly impactful on the overall plot, because it revolves around Anakin, Luke and the respective factions/institutions around them.

But what the Jedi do bring to the table is their ability to teach and inspire others, both in-universe and out. They're spiritually impactful.

The Jedi are the epitome of compassion, and it's partially through them that George Lucas teaches his values to the audience.

#to be clear: Star Wars doesn't HAVE to be about all this #This is just me trying to summarize what Lucas said in all his interviews and speeches #The post-Lucas Star Wars transmedia franchise made the Jedi more central than they were originally meant to be; especially in the Prequels #You see this in interviews from current SW creators /writers #but also small stuff like renaming the Prequel era “Fall of the Jedi” when it was originally named the “Rise of the Empire” era #meta #george lucas #star wars #jedi order #the force #anakin skywalker #luke skywalker #prequel trilogy #original trilogy

[alexa-fika]

okay hold up I just a.. unique idea

Im rewatching OP and im at sabody arc, n Laffy jist knocked the shit outta the noble

Idk who to ask this for but id love to see how'd you'd write a character reacticing to a noble trynna BUY child reader..

Or perhaps how mihawk would react with them trynna buy winged!child!reader?? IDK IT JIST SPROUTED

Do with as you will👹

Embracing Feelings and Family (Rayleigh x gn!winged!child!reader)

A/N: Not sure how to feel about this one., I think is really mid, maybe it’s just because of the dark nature of the piece itself but idk. I think this goes without saying based on the request but beware of the dark undertones of this piece as it portrays human slavery and auctioning. I couldn’t come up with something for mihawk so I went with our favorite grandpa

Dividers by @/saradika

“Up next, we have ourselves a true rarity! This one will blow your minds; we have a winged child! You can fly it around as you want or even have them carry you around the skies! They can even deliver you special things in a fraction of a time!” The announcer enthusiastically explained

“Let us start the bid at 10 Million Berry! Who offers 10 Million Berry?!”

“Let me go, you Jerks! Im not an item!” The child growls, banging on the cage’s bars

Charlos awes childishly before throwing out the first bid

“It’s a big Bird! It’s a Big Bird! 50 million Berry!” He yelled out joyfully before waving happily to the child in the cage

“Grandpa will get you all! Grandpa will save me, you gross creeps!”

The bidders ignore the child’s threats, continuing to bid

“60 million!” A man in the back screams

“80 million!” Another man hollers back

“I’ll do 800 million!” Charlos shouts back while waving his arms frantically in the air excitedly

“D-Does somebody bid any higher?”

“800 million….” “Awe, man, I was excited to have it too!” The crowd mutters

“Going in 3!

Going in 2!

Going in 1!

Sold!

The winged child goes to Saint Charlos for 800 million berry!”

Reader screams as they open the door to their cage and begin pulling on the chains, trying to pull them out and take him toward Charlos.

“Don’t touch me!” They sneered, throwing a kick toward the handler that was closest to them

The handler dodges out of the way and gives them a look.

“Rude little one, don’t bite the hand that feeds you!” The handler growls

“You have just been bought for a very generous amount of money for no one less than a Saint himself! A nobody like you should be Grateful!” They turn towards The Saint and bow

“A-Apologies for its insolence Saint Charlos; if I may, I’ll gladly teach it some manners for you; no need to trouble someone of your status to teach slaves some tricks.”

Charlos groans, sticking his finger in his nose.

“Could you hurry it up? I want to fly it!”

“Yes, Yes, of course; im sure you must be extremely busy, Saint Charlos. I promise not to take more time than is needed!” they assure him, turning around towards the child

“Now come here, you stupid brat,” they growl, raising a baton towards them.

“You will learn to listen!" the exclaim, bringing the baton down, but instead of receiving a blow, the man before them falls to the ground, knocked unconscious.

Reader sighs with relief when the man falls to the ground, the people in the auctioning house following the familiar pattern they have come to expect from their grandpa’s powerful Haki

“Grandpa!” They say, trying to flutter their way to Rayleigh but are cut short due to the chains binding them, causing them to plummet to the ground

“Ow”

“Geez, Reader.”

Rayleigh sighs calmly as he wrenches the chains from them easily, not paying any mind to the explosions that followed once they were removed.

“You seem to be able to get yourself in all kinds of trouble,” He says calmly as he sets the child back down

“Haven’t I told you not to get near this place and much less showing off those wings of yours?”

“What was it this time?” He asks as he looks them over for injuries

“I tried to fly higher…but a wind current caught me, and I couldn’t get myself out from it; it dragged me here, and they brought me here.”

“A wind current?” Rayleigh asks curiously

“One strong enough to drag even you, that’s pretty surprising, to say the least,” He says as he continues to look them over

“Are you alright? Have you sustained any injuries?”

“Im okay.”

“Alright, good to know,” He says as he scoops them up and leaves the wretched place.

“That must have been scary, huh? Im sorry it took me so long to get there; my body doesn’t move the way I want to anymore.”

“I wasn’t scared,” they mutter

“It’s okay, you know.”

“What?”

“To be scared for one’s life from time to time it’s not something one should be ashamed to admit; it doesn’t make us any less brave; you have the right to be scared, just as much as you have the right to be brave.”

“Your feelings are real; you shouldn’t deny them,” He says as he continues to carry them

They stare at him as their eyes begin to water

He smiles gently

“Just let it out, Reader; no one will think less of you for being scared.”

They hug him tighter, diving their head in his shirt as sobs start escaping them

“T-They kept calling me ‘it,’ they kept saying how they would fly me around like I was a kite,” they sob

He ran his fingers through their hair while he let them continue to cry, hugging them back tightly as he did.

He couldn’t help the anger he felt rising when thinking about what had happened inside the auction house

He rubs their back gently as he continues to walk

“Nothing that they told you in it is true; Reader, do not listen to their words; you are invaluable and your own person, not someone to be owned,” He says

“I -I know b-but the way they said it, they meant it, Grandpa; I was nothing but an item for them to use in their eyes.”

He pulls them a bit more tightly as he did

"I know, some people are like that, wretched beings who enjoy stepping in other people and causing them misery simply because they can."

“You are someone special to me; always remember that; you are the biggest treasure for me and your grandmother,” He says gently as they rub their back

"Now what do you say we go back to the shack and ask Grandma to make you your favorite drink?" they offer, chuckling when they feel the child nooding

"Can we add extra chocolate to it?"

"Anything you want, Reader," he smiles, knowing that it would take a long time and effort to build their confidence and sense of security back to where it was after everything that had happened, but they would get there together.

Ya’ll I have summoned my choice wheels to do some platonic!reader x character, not child reader, normal age reader but still platonic 👀 Had to fight to find some good roulettes.

Taglist

@imaginarydreams

#one piece x reader #one piece #one piece x child!reader #one piece fluff #one piece imagine #rayleigh x reader #one piece rayleigh #silvers rayleigh #dark king rayleigh #rayleigh x child!reader #rayleigh x child! reader #rayleigh x you #rayleigh x y/n #rayleigh x gn reader #rayleigh x shakky #one piece x gender neutral reader #one piece x gn reader #shakky x gn reader

[chrissy-kaos]

If we're too masculine then we're disgusting freaks. They collect the most masculine of us - innocent women minding their own business trying to live a life that was denied to them - and mock us, openly discussing how nobody could ever love us, how nobody could be fooled that we're women.

If we're too feminine then we're stupid men. They find the most tone deaf quotes from trans girls, usually those who have been out for only months if they're out at all. They find these quotes of girls still learning how to be women, post them everywhere as proof that we are just pantomime caricatures of women.

If we are too strong then we are violent and dangerous. We are an unfair factor in sport, evil men just trying to steal victories from real women. We could lose our temper at any moment. We are a risk that cannot be tolerated. If we're too weak then we are to be mocked. They call us failed men who ran to womanhood because we couldn't take it. We're victims of our own masculinity. Poor feminine men to be saved... In the same way that Republicans want to save those 'poor unborn babies.'

If we lose our temper we're back to dangerous men. But if we cry, if our shoulders buckle under the weight of endless, endless, ENDLESS, ENDLESS, ABUSE. Then they mock us again. They share pictures of trans women crying and laugh over it. Of course they make sure to find the pictures where our stubble is showing, our makeup has already run. It's not the way that women are mocked for weakness; it's the way men are. They find videos where are lips are trembling. Where our voice has gone deep because we don't have the energy to keep it at its heightened octave.

If we find ourselves ugly they mock us. But if we're happy with ourselves then we're disgusting degenerates. "Autogynephilic." Medicalized. They find the tweets of newly out girls who said something improper in their tiny moment of not guarding themselves. An awkward, amateurish attempt at roleplay or dirty talk becomes a meme. A woman who likely spent years growing the courage to begin sexual exploration, probably for the first time in her life, sees herself come up every so often in their replies, their threads, their gifs. What happens to these people? Is it even possible for them to ever resume that exploration?

We're trying to trick everyone into dating us. We should be required to show visible identification on us at all times; to be trans without the people around you knowing is deceit. But also, nobody would ever date us, everyone can tell, immediately, always. Everyone knows, the terfs say GLEEFULLY. Reveling in the idea that our subconscious is constantly telling us this. Basking in the thought of our depression and anxiety eating our minds until there's nothing left.

Even the terfs never stay the same for long. One moment it's a wall of 'concerned mothers' with all the passive-aggressive venom of a white woman calling the police because she doesn't want to put a leash on her dog; make ABSOLUTELY NO MISTAKE that these are the same people. The next it's anime-avatar alt righters. The next it's puritanical Christians claiming we are the natural result of the "rainbow agenda." It's lesbians saying that we're destroying lesbianism, following right on the heels of a pastor saying that anything that isn't a man and a woman is unnatural.

Half the URLs are Mumsnet and half are Kiwifarms. How many are bots? Sock puppets? How many really are just transphobic housewives accessing Kiwifarms from their phones? How many took the full plunge? The answer to all of the above is, we don't know, but it's a whole lot more than zero.

Every time we go into a bathroom, there's a chance we'll be the next screen shot pasted over reddit. It doesn't matter whether it's the men's or women's. They are equally unsafe.

If we need a women's shelter, we flip a coin on whether the person running it has already decided she hates us, because of these people.

We cannot upload a picture to facebook without this risk.

We cannot post about our lives without this risk.

We cannot appear at our work without this risk.

We cannot exist without this risk.

Every possible action we could take will be judged. There is no outcome that isn't negative. There is nothing we can do that isn't negative. Masculinine, feminine, pretty, ugly, angry, sad, sexual, frigid, proud, ashamed, strong, weak. Pre-op, post-op, non-op. Vagina, ovaries, chromosomes, fertility: womanhood is defined as whatever we aren't in that particular context.

I don't want to think about how many people this has killed. To call it a moving goal-post is inept, it is a void, an endless mass of hatred that follows us no matter what we do. Nothing is good enough. Everything, every single thing, is just waiting to be weaponized against us.

It has killed so, so many.

It won't kill any more.

If you're trans and you're reading this you already know everything I said. We've lived through it. You already know that I've spent time as all of the above because you have too. That when I get SIX HUNDRED COMMENTS calling me a man I want to swing my fists and I want to cry and I want to curl into a ball and I want to scream and I want to end my own miserable existence. The ugly beautiful girl in the mirror is so angry and sad and prideful and ashamed and violent and passive and this constant stream of abuse has torn me apart and created so many ugly things in this mind but if there is ONE. FUCKING. THING. THAT. THEY. WILL. NOT. MAKE. ME.

It is dead.

I will live. I will survive. And I don't even care about justice anymore. These people will get away with all this. Somewhere in that mix of the trans population and the infamous 40% number is a figure of how many people they've killed, but they'd never care. I'll live because all of their jeering and mocking and gaslighting and those goddamn fucking insufferable legions of laugh reacts, they don't do a fucking thing.

That's all it comes down to in the end. It's hard and it's painful and it hurts, it just ENDLESSLY hurts to weather their blows. But my name is Alexia. I am a woman.

You can hurt me all you like, but that won't change, and you can die mad about it.

- Lindwyrm Weisseritter

#trans pride #trans #transisbeautiful #transgirl #mtf hrt #mtf #maletofemale #girlslikeus #transformation #transwomen #transgender #actually trans #m2f transgender #mtf trans #trans fem #trans feminine #trans femm #trans girl #trans girls #trans goddess #trans is beautiful #trans is sexy #trans model #trans mtf #trans people #trans positivity #trans woman #trans women are valid #trans women are women #this is what trans looks like

[therainscene]

Stranger Things is fundamentally a story about being an outcast: coming of age while using the healing power of love to deal with abuse and pressure to conform.

And these are all very queer themes. Stranger Things isn’t necessarily about queerness, per se, but its themes do happen to encapsulate the queer experience perfectly -- so it’s no coincidence that the boy who got the story rolling and whose coming of age will be a focus in S5 also happens to be gay. A satisfying ending for him will be a satisfying ending for the whole show.

So let’s examine Will’s arc without our shipping goggles on and ask ourselves:

What sort of outcome for Will would best fit the themes of Stranger Things?

If he dies, then all those times he was saved by the power of love will have gone to waste.

Perhaps you could argue that he’ll sacrifice himself in an act of love and gratitude for those friends who saved him in the past... but he's already done that, multiple times, and it never permanently solved the problems plaguing him or Hawkins. Will needs to try something new if he wants it to stick this time.

If he becomes a villain, then he’s giving in to the cycle of abuse.

That’s too out of character. Will is Henry’s narrative foil -- they have a lot in common, but their roles in this story fundamentally contrast one another. So even if Will allies with Vecna -- perhaps out of some well-meaning effort to sacrifice himself again -- that’s not going to be the end of his story.

If his defeated acceptance that queers like him never Get The Boy in the end is proven correct, then the narrative will be rewarding his conformity to homophobic ideals.

Yes, nobody is entitled to Get The Boy in real life... but nobody gets eaten by Demogorgons in real life either. This is a story, and its job is to explore ideas through metaphor, not to be a perfect mirror.

And yes, Stranger Things is set in the terrifyingly homophobic 80s and chooses to take a realistic approach in depicting queerness... but it’s still a modern story intended for a 2020s audience.

So why should we learn the lesson that the best ending a gay boy can hope for is bittersweet at best? That queer self-actualization is rooted in waiting to be accepted by straight people instead of forging your own queerness for yourself? How is any of this consistent with the theme of resisting forced conformity?

But if:

Will overcomes his internalized homophobia and openly admits his love for Mike, and Mike likewise shakes off the shackles of compulsory heterosexuality and admits he feels the same way...

...The joy of actually getting the romantic love he thought he never would inspires Will and gives him strength...

...To finally face Vecna, symbolically addressing the abuse and societal homophobia that almost prevented him from getting that romance in the first place?

We satisfyingly resolve all three themes in one tidy, self-contained swoop.

#stranger things #byler #will byers #analysis

[fictionadventurer]

The main character George Bailey runs a bank that is about to be driven into the ground while his competitor relishes this opportunity. He tries to commit suicide, but God sends a guardian angel to distract George from suicide. Confiding with the guardian angel that he wishes he was never born, the guardian angel shows him what the world would be like without him: 

His competitor gouged the money out of the town, leaving it poor and crime-ridden

His wife remains unmarried

George isn't there to save his brother from drowning, which means his brother isn't there to save an American troop transport from a Kamikaze attack

A pharmacist goes to jail for manslaughter because George isn't there to prevent an accidental contamination of a prescription

I'm the sort of person who remains unfazed even from watching graphic war footage on Reddit and horror movies like Event Horizon. But It's a Wonderful Life sends a chill down my spine - because its message does not apply to me and most other people. Its message that "you'd leave a large hole in the world if you were gone" only applies to people like that of the main character George Bailey, namely someone who:

Saves lives

Takes corporate social responsibility seriously

Can avoid being corrupted by greed

Is a good spouse and parent

I am none of those things. I've never had the guts to try saving another person's life, I've never been in the position to use a business for corporate social responsibility, and I don't have a wife and kids (and frankly, that might be for the best because I might become abusive). Would I leave behind a large hole if I were gone? No. I've thought this movie through after the first time I've watched it and have come to the conclusion that my friends would probably find some other friend, and my family would probably be richer, had I not existed.

How is anyone not supposed to have existential dread after watching this movie? Sure, George Bailey is an ideal to strive for, but most of us will fail to achieve one of the above criteria, if not all 4 of them. It sure is comforting to think of ourselves as leaving behind a huge hole if we were gone, but in practice, this does not actually hold true for most of us if we think about it. Most of us are too insignificant, too cowardly, too incompetent, and too corruptible to have a positive impact as significant as George did in the movie.

At best, It's a Wonderful Life is a wake-up call. The movie hammers in a painful but necessary message that the world will be worse off without heroic people like George Bailey, but most of us are not heroic. We can all strive to make positive changes in our lives, but even if we do, it's no guarantee that we'd become indispensable pillars of our communities like George was in the movie.

The thing is, you know that nice, neat little list you laid out? Showing all the heroic things that George Bailey had done with his life?

George Bailey couldn't see it.

We could see it because we got the highlight reel of all the most impactful moments of George Bailey's life--forty-some years condensed into an hour and a half. George Bailey had to live that life minute by agonizing minute, where most of the time was taken up by the mundane tasks of daily living.

From his perspective, he was nobody. He was nothing. He had given up all his dreams of travel and success to work a boring office job in a rinky-dink town. His life was nothing but going to work in the office all day and then coming home to a drafty house full of kids that, for all his hard work, he could barely make enough money to support. He got some satisfaction out of helping people, but they were all little people. He didn't have power like Potter, or wealth like Sam Wainwright. He had built no big bridges or skyscrapers; he wasn't a hero like his brother. He hadn't even gone to college. He was just a little guy in a little town who might as well not have existed for how insignificant his life was. Going with Clarence to the other reality lets him step outside the crushing grind of daily life to see the big picture. Then he understands that he really did make a difference, through dozens of little choices scattered throughout his entire life--but he couldn't have seen it without heaven's help.

George did have opportunities to do good that most of us don't have--but we have opportunities that he didn't have. Those things George did, while good and impactful, aren't the only heroic things that someone can do. There are lots of different ways to do good in the world, and no guarantee that we'll even recognize when we do them. The point of George's story is that no one can say that they didn't make a difference in the world--because none of us can truly see the full effect of our actions.

Sure, our good impact might be smaller and less dramatic than George's. If we didn't exist, perhaps other people would step into the gap that we left. But it wouldn't be the same. It wouldn't be a perfect fit. The world would still lose something from not having our unique, one-of-a-kind personality going through the world and taking action and making choices and building relationships. Our friends and family and community would still lose out from not knowing us. We might not do everything right--but neither did George; that man had some major missteps and personality flaws that didn't erase the good effect he had. There's no reason to think that our mistakes make our life not worth living.

George Bailey can certainly be a wake-up call to move through life more intentionally. He can be an inspiration that reminds us that the difficult choice to do good--to act out of love rather than selfishness--can be worth all the suffering that it puts us through. But he's not supposed to be an unattainable goal. Good is good no matter when in life we do it. Little actions can make a big difference. Ordinary people can have an impact far beyond what they expected. We don't have to be a pillar of the community to have a life that was worth living.

George's triumph in the end is a validation of the hard choices he made to support the community--but it's also a triumph of all the little people who live ordinary lives and have no idea just how important we are. George Bailey's gift was that he got to see how big of an impact he made--but he never would have expected it beforehand. If you think you don't matter, that your lack of existence wouldn't make a hole in the world, you're already like George Bailey. So don't be so quick to think that your life doesn't make a difference--one day you may just get the chance to learn how wrong you are.

#answered asks #it's a wonderful life

[grungeprincess2]

Kurt Cobain Quotes

1. I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not.

2. Practice makes perfect, but nobody's perfect, so why practice?

3. Friends are nothing but a known enemy.

4. Wanting to be someone else is a waste of who you are.

5. If my eyes could show my soul, everyone would cry when they saw me smile.

6. I am definitely a feminist. I'm f--king disgusted by the way women are still treated. It's 1993 and some people still think we're in 1950s. We need to make more progress. There needs to be more female musicians, more female artists, more female writers. Everything is dominated by f--king males and I'm sick of it!

7. Thank you for the tragedy. I need it for my art.

8. Drugs are a waste of time. They destroy your memory and your self-respect and everything that goes along with with your self-esteem. They're no good at all.

9. We're so trendy we can't even escape ourselves.

10. I definitely feel closer to the feminine side of the human being than I do the male - or the American idea of what a male is supposed to be. Just watch a beer commercial and you'll see what I mean.

11. I mean, I’m definitely gay in spirit, and I probably could be bisexual. But I’m married, and I’m more attracted to Courtney [Love] than I ever have been toward a person, so there’s no point in trying to sow my oats at this point. [Laughs] If I wouldn't have found Courtney, I probably would have carried on with a bisexual lifestyle.

12. Ever since the beginning of rock and roll, there's been an Axl Rose. And it's just boring. It's totally boring to me.

13. I thought I would try to be gay for a while, but I'm just more sexually attracted to women. But I'm really glad that I found a few gay friends, because it totally saved me from becoming a monk or something.

14. If any of you, in any way, hate homosexuals, people of a different color or women, please do this one favor for us—leave us the fuck alone. Don’t come to our shows and don’t buy our records.

15. The problem with groups who deal with rape is that they try to educate women about how to defend themselves. What really needs to be done is teaching men not to rape. Go to the source and start there.

16. The duty of youth is to challenge corruption.

17. We’re not as popular as everyone thinks, and we’re not as rich as everyone thinks.

18. There are a lot of things I wish I would have done, instead of just sitting around and complaining about having a boring life.

19. Punk is musical freedom. It’s saying, doing, and playing what you want.

20. Words suck. I mean, everything has been said. Words aren’t as important as the energy derived from music, especially live.

21. I'm a spokesman for myself. It just so happens that there's a bunch of people that are concerned with what I have to say. I find that frightening at times because I'm just as confused as most people. I don't have the answers for anything.

22. Holding my baby is the best drug in the world.

23. No one is afraid of heights, they’re afraid of falling down. No one is afraid of saying I love you, they’re afraid of the answer.

24. I use bits and pieces of others’ personalities to form my own.

25. If you die you're completely happy and your soul somewhere lives on. I'm not afraid of dying. Total peace after death, becoming someone else is the best hope I've got.

26. I just can’t believe anyone would start a band just to make the scene and be cool and have chicks. I just can’t believe it.

27. To be positive at all times is to ignore all that is important, sacred and valuable. To be negative at all times is to be threatened by ridiculousness and instant discredibility.

28. You can’t buy happiness.

30. Nobody dies a virgin. Life f***s us all.

31. Music is energy. A mood, atmosphere. Feeling.

33. If you’re really a mean person you’re going to come back as a fly and eat poop.

34. There’s good in all of us and I think I simply love people too much, so much that it makes me feel too f****** sad.

35. I have to admit I’ve found myself doing the same things that a lot of other rock stars do or are forced to do. Which is not being able to respond to mail, not being able to keep up on current music, and I’m pretty much locked away a lot. The outside world is pretty foreign to me.

36. I really miss being able to blend in with people.

37. It’s better to burn out than fade away.

38. God is gay

#kurt donald cobain #kurt cobain #kurdt kobain #frances bean cobain #courtney love #grunge #life quote #beautiful quote #quotes #90s grunge #rock #grunge tumblr #feminism #feminist quotes #queer #punk music #god is gay #kurt #smells like nirvana #nirvana #punk community #holeband #bisexual #inspirational quotes #aberdeen #grunge music #riot grrrl #activism #anti homophobia #anti sexism

[casanovawrites]

random sentence prompts  ━ from various tv shows, part 6

you saw me as someone worth saving.

i didn’t want what happened to change the way you saw me.

we’re gonna get through this. we kind of have to.

sometimes our mistakes follow us.

in fact, i did not start out a bad person.

glory’s fine. revenge is more fun.

as usual, i make the wrong decision.

i was scared. i’m just tired of being scared. 

all that rage is bad for your complexion. 

you are so sweet and naive and dumb.

curious. how many more rock bottoms are you going to have to hit before you start taking care of yourself?

i used to think a lot of shit matters.

talking makes things real. and real things end.

i wanted to be a part of your world. but i didn’t know your world was like this. 

i’m so sick of people telling me who i am.

the guilt of it all. what are we supposed to do with that? 

i don’t want to be afraid anymore.

it’s like i always used to need someone else to make me feel whole. 

you didn’t let me down.

you’re this fiery, passionate person.

we’re working to stop the monsters and to stop people from turning into monsters.

it’s important to have an exit plan that’s more than just an exit.

maybe it’s not so bad when you’re the one holding the knife.

at least i know who i am.

i’m nobody’s guiding light.

i don't belong to anybody.

i was alone. surrounded by people, but still alone.

rise and shine, we’re in hell. 

this is the worst it’s been. that feeling in the pit of my stomach.

you’re going dark on me again.

if you’re bullshitting me, i don’t care.

i never wanted to be the bad guy.

why did anyone ever do shit for me when all i ever did was let them down?

look at you, always standing in my fucking way.

your memory is like… lethally selective.

what if we end up making each other freaking miserable?

what if i hurt you? i’ve hurt people before. very badly.

for what it’s worth, i’m proud of you.

you’re the future, kid. never forget that. 

i guess i just want it to make some kind of sense.

however this plays out, i’m seeing it through with you.

you’ve done a lot, no question. but there is always more.

you believed in me when i didn’t.

this may shock you, but not everyone here likes you.

this place makes you face your demons or something, and turns out, your demons are really fucking ugly.

maybe in the end it’ll be me and you trying together. 

maybe it makes me selfish. i don’t think it makes me wrong.

there’s a whole world out there for you. go. fight for it. be brave.

i'm talking the greater good. doesn't always have to be what's best for everybody.

it doesn’t matter how shitty they are. it still fucks you up when they’re gone.

sometimes, someone comes into your life at just the right moment, you know?

stop being mad at me for wanting a different future.

you’re not like the others. but you know that, don’t you?

this isn’t pressure. it’s winning. 

i want a life where we can just… be. 

the worst has already fucking happened. i don’t think i’ve got it in me to be that scared about something that could be good.

we can’t save anyone until we save ourselves.

if you’re with me, i need you to say it.

what gives you the right to choose who lives and who dies?

i don’t know how this is going to end or what happens to me, but for whatever it’s worth, i am with you. 

why am i always doing bad things in your dreams?

you don’t trust anybody else to take care of things.

enough people have died. 

tell me you didn’t kill anyone. if you say it, i’ll believe you.

thank you for believing in me. 

i don’t wanna die.

i was just following your lead the whole time. we all were.

i’m not a hero. i’m just helping a friend.

i don’t think this is goodbye. 

you need someone to help get you there, and you have to get there.

i’m sorry you met me, but i’m glad i got to know you. i’ll never forget you.

can’t i just blame everything on my mother and be done with it?

the whole world’s haunted.

i did monstrous things. 

you’re happy. which you’re allowed to be, in case you didn’t know.

just because someone saved your life doesn’t mean you have to live the rest of it for them.

it is not up to you to carry everyone else.

put your trust in other people. in me.

sometimes, helping hurts like hell.

i just wish sometimes i had a map to figure you out.

it’s a crazy world out here, full of people who sometimes disappoint us, but it’s damn beautiful.

i’m sorry. small words for something so big.

what do you live for? living takes effort now, it takes everything. those still alive have their reasons.

the world is nothing without hope.

think about what you want. what you truly want.

the bad things we do must be done. we carry that burden so the others don’t have to.

i’m gonna screw with your life just like the way you did with mine.

this place, it’s safe. it’s good for everybody.

we take what we got, and we make it work.

they changed the game, so we change how we play.

oh my god, you killed him.

#* #sentence prompts #ask memes #rp ask meme #rp sentence prompts #one liner starters #ask meme #meme

[topazy]

Little dark age

Paring: Rick Grimes × reader

Warning: Swearing, zombie guts & blood, mentions of drug use

Chapter: 1.01

“Is Glenn really going down to get that guy?”

“Sure is.”

“Gods,” you groan. “Make sure nobody steals my shit while I’m gone; that idiot is going to need back up.”

With one hand, you keep a steady grip on the shaky ladders while using your free hand to shoot at any dead person that gets too close to Glenn and the new guy. With tiny chips of yellow paint rubbing on your palm, nipping it, you become impatient. “Hurry the hell up!”

Glenn screams as he runs up the side alleyway before climbing up the ladders.

The new guy seemed slightly disoriented and was taking far too long, looking from side to side as the dead started to close in on him. You shoot at the ground beside him, causing him to jump. “Unless you want to die, move! ”

With the extra weight of two grown adults and walkers grabbing at the metal bars below, you shove your gun into your waste bands and quickly start to climb back up to the roof. When Glenn gets to the top, you snatch the baseball cap from his head, causing him to frown.

“Sammi…”

Once you shake off the large spider, Glenn was yet to notice, you toss the baseball cap back to him, “you almost got yourself killed, dumbass.”

“I was saving... the guy in the tank from the geeks.”

“Yeah, well, don’t be surprised if the others are pissed. You’ve just attracted a shitload of walkers.”

When the new guy gets to the top of the ladders, you take in his clothing, a police uniform with a couple of badges on it. You offer him your hand, “sheriff?”

He nods.

Once the new guy is up on the roof, Glenn leads the way back to the hatch and goes to the next building, where the rest of your scavenging group is waiting. Glenn opens and it’s going to step down, then suddenly stops. “There was something on my hat, wasn’t there?”

“No, of course not.”

He shivers before going down first.

—

While Andrea and Morales explain to the new guy that all the noise he made attracted the dead, you continue to shove things that you deem necessary into one of your backpacks. The class surrounding the bottom ground of the store starts to crack with walkers banging on the glass windows.

“I can’t get a signal on the radio,” T-dog says. “We are going—”

He’s cut off by the sound of a gunshot. Another one goes off, and Andrea pinpoints the sourness of the sound, “It’s Dixon.”

You look down at the rest of your group's belongings and frown. You snatch your other bag and begin to storm towards the staircase leading up to the roof. “That bastard has my gun!”

—

Merle laughs when the others tell him to stop firing at the walkers. Holding up the guy, he says, “Hey! You ought to be more polite to a man with a gun! ”

“My gun,” you snap. “You thieving little crackhead.”

Merle was one of the most vile, insufferable men you’d ever met in your life. He blows you a kiss and jumps down from the ledge he’s on. It only takes a matter of seconds for Merle to racially and physically attack T-dog. You try to pull him off but get backhanded, causing your lip to slip open.

Groaning, you push yourself up onto your elbows.

Merle spits on T-dog before standing over him. “Yeah! All right! We’re going to have ourselves a little powwow, huh? Talk about who’s in charge. I vote for me. Anybody else?”

From the way his eyes are dilated, you can tell Merle was high on something. You watch as the new guy gets to his feet behind him quickly and creeps up on him.

“Show off your hands, huh? All in favor, huh? Oh, come on. Let’s see them! All in favor?” Merle raises his own hand and points the gun at the others until they copy his actions. “Now that means I’m the boss, right?”

The new guy picks up your gun that Merle tossed and hits him in the face with it, knocking him to the ground. He handcuffs him to one of the metal pipes connected to the ground on the roof.

“Who the hell are you, man?”

“Officer friendly,” he answers, grabbing Merle by the collar of his top. “Things are different now. There are no colored people anymore. No dumb-as-shit, inbred white-trash fools either. Only dark meat and white meat. The living and the dead. We survive this by pulling together, not apart.”

“Screw you, man.”

“I can see you have a habit of missing the point.”

“Yeah, well screw you twice.”

The guy presses his gun against Merle’s head. “I ought to be polite to the man with a gun. Only common sense.”

You wipe the metallic-tasting liquid mixed with saliva off your chin with the back of your hand. Glenn hands you a piece of ripped-up fabric. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, thanks.” You get to your feet, go to Merle, and kneel in front of him. “All of Dixon’s common sense was snorted away a long time ago.”

The man tilts Merle’s head back to see traces of white powder stuck to the bottom of his nose while you search his pockets. You pull out a little glass tube of white powder and ask, “What is it, cocaine? Ketamine? Heroin?”

“Put it back, you little bitch!”

“Suppose it doesn’t matter what it is,” you shrug before tossing the tube off the roof.

Merle kicks his legs and roughly pulls at the handcuffs. “When I get out of these cuffs, I’m going to make you pay for that! You fucking cu—”

He abruptly stops talking when the new guy clicks the safety off his gun.

—

You walk around the clothing section of the store to kill some time. With Glenn and Morales gone to scope out a potential way out, there wasn’t a lot left to do.

Hearing footsteps, your hand immediately goes to your handgun, but relaxed it when you realize who it is. “Hey new guy,” you say, putting your hand out. “I didn’t catch your name before.”

He shakes your hand. “It’s Rick, Rick Grimes.”

“Well, Rick, thanks for shutting that asshole up.” You push some clothes around on a clothing rack. “Honestly, if I wasn’t for the fact that I like Merle’s brother, I would have taken a shot at him a long time ago.”

His eyes land on your dog's tags, but he doesn’t ask about them. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Samara Rose Blake, but everyone just calls me Sammie Rose.”

Rick goes to say something but rolls his tongue and shakes his head. You go back to looking through the clothes, fully aware that you’re being observed.

“Do you have kids?” He asks, watching as you pick up two child-sized jackets.

“No, but there’s a couple of kids back at camp, and you can’t go wrong with lightweight jackets. You? I heard you say you’re looking for your family.”

“I have a wife and son, who I haven’t seen since... well, I haven’t seen them in the new world.”

Andrea comes into the room and says, “They're back.”

From the look on her face, you know it’s not good news.

—

“This is a suicide mission,” you grumble.

With the tunnel Morales and Glenn went down being a dead end, the group came up with a new plan. Someone would break into a vehicle, bring it up to the side of the building for the others to get into, and then drive away. The plan was easy enough, except for the part where someone needed to do all this without being spotted by walkers.

“A suicide mission your on, baby,” T says before rubbing zombie guts onto the king white coat that covered most of your body.

Rick had found gloves for everyone to wear while rubbing zombie blood and guts onto Rick, Glenn, and you. The smell was revolting, and the thought of walking outside amongst the dead terrified you, but you were so used to going scavenging with just Glenn that the thought of him going out there without you as backup didn’t feel right. To get the zombie insides on the outside, Rick had to drag a body from outside and cut it up with an ax.

Jacqui places a wooly hat on top of your head and tucks your hair underneath before putting zombie guts on your back.

After a few moments, you slowly twirl. “Do you think we have enough on?”

“Yes,” Andrea says, waving her hand. “You guys smell revolting.”

—

You let out a shaky breath before opening the door to go outside. “I sure hope this plan works; otherwise, I’m throwing you to do the dead first, Rick Grimes.”

“Noted,” he tried to keep a serious tone, but hints of a smile pulled on his face.

Taking a deep breath, you open the door for the three of you to take a gamble on your lives.

Mimicking the dead’s moments, you drag yourself underneath a few vehicles before coping with how they walk. You subtly look at Rick, wondering if he’s the same Rick Grimes you’ve heard Carl and Lori talk about. You thought about asking him before what his kid name was but didn’t want to give him false hope in case it was coincidentally the same.

Oh shit.

The sun disappears behind thick, dark clouds quickly, and rain starts lashing down. Washing the scent of death from your blood-soaked coats.

“The smell is washing off. Isn’t it?” Glenn asks.

"No, it’s not,” Rick says sternly. When a walker's stare lingers on him, he changes his mind and says, “Well, maybe.”

The second you hear a roaring sound, you know your covers are blowing. “Run!”

Rick manages to kill a few zombies with the ax before you reach the fence blocking off the parking lot from the rest of the street. The three of you make it into a large van just as the fence collapses and the walkers break through.

“Oh, my god. Oh, my god. They’re all over that place,” Glenn says, panicked.

“Our people are safe on the inside for now,” you attempt to reassure him. “They will probably have been distracted by the noise we made, anyway.”

“She’s right,” Rick says. “Glenn, you need to draw them away. Those roll-up doors at the front of the store—that area? That’s what I need cleared up. Raise your friends; tell them to get down there and be ready.”

“And I’m drawing the geeks away, how? I missed that part.”

“Noise.”

—

You smash the window of a bright red sports car, tripping the alarm, and swiftly reach inside and unlock the door before hot wiring it. You get out and squeeze Glenn’s shoulder. “You’ve got this man; I’ll see you real soon.”

“Yeah, yeah, be safe.” Nervously, he gets in and speeds away, distracting all the walkers coming your way while you run and jump back into the van.

Rick gives you a questioning look.

“What?”

“Do I ever want to ask how you know how to hotwire a car?”

“Definitely not, sheriff.”

—

You climb to the back of the van, open the doors, and bang on the shutters, “Come on guys!”

Once your people start to enter the van, you jump back into the passenger seat and pull out your handgun, ready to shoot any walkers that come up the windows. T-dog pulls the van door shut and says, “Go, go, go!”

Rick speeds away from the building and out onto the highway. You look back to check if everyone is okay and notice someone is missing. “Where’s Merle?”

“I dropped the damn key,” T-dog says, his voice full of remorse.

Oh shit, Daryl wasn’t going to be happy your group returned without his brother.

#the walking dead #rick grimes x you #rick grimes x reader #rick grimes fanfiction #Rick grimes/you #Rick grimes/reader #little dark age #little dark age 1.01 #the walking dead rewrite #the walking dead x reader #the walking dead fanfiction

[reality-detective]

I’ve said this many times and I will say it again; nobody is coming to save us. (And that’s ok)

I know this sounds scary to most people, specially if you’ve just started this journey, but you see, that’s exactly what this is all about. This journey, this process, this transformation, is about understanding, acknowledging and reclaiming our own power, our innate abilities and our immortal essence. It’s about saving ourselves. That is the lesson.

The truth is we don’t need ‘heroes’ to come and save us, yes, there may be two opposing factions fighting in the matrix, and one seems to have good intentions, but there is always an agenda and frankly, the matrix is not our future in any case.

What we must remember, is that this is a spiritual war. This war is not won within the matrix, it is won by transcending it, by breaking the illusion and by rejecting it’s fake reality.

This war is won by overcoming, by becoming, by transforming, by transcending, by understanding, by connecting and by embracing our divine nature.

You cannot defeat darkness with darkness, you can only defeat darkness with light. That is why nobody else can save us but ourselves; by becoming that light.

We were all born with it: the eternal, divine, sacred energy with which we were created, but we allowed that light to be dimmed. We allowed others to tamper with it, to manipulate it, to change its hue and to even make us think it was never there to begin with.

Darkness pulled it’s greatest trick; to make us think we were not light.

What is happening within us and around us, is precisely an awakening to our truth; we ARE the light that will change the world, WE hold the power.

We are living and witnessing the end game, the final test. This is when humanity has to rise up to the occasion and become what we were created to be.

So don’t worry yourself too much with the madness around us, instead focus on your inner condition; put your house in order, let the ghosts out of the closet, face your shortcomings, redeem yourself, forgive yourself and others, let go of what hampers your well-being, face yourself, improve yourself, love yourself and those around you and watch your energy rise, your power increase, your beauty come through, your empathy grow and with it all, watch your light become the miracle that you are. That we all are.

Our creator is finally beginning to smile… we’ve got this. It just took us a few thousand years to finally get it, but it’s never too late when the deed is good. And this, my friends, is not just the ultimate good deed, it’s our destiny, our mission, our purpose and our reason for being. 🤔

#pay attention #educate yourselves #educate yourself #knowledge is power #reeducate yourself #reeducate yourselves #think about it #think for yourselves #think for yourself #do your homework #do some research #do your own research #ask yourself questions #question everything #my opinion