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fooled-around-and-fell · 4 months

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Home Bound

Summary: You're finally "visiting" your parents after 5 years of not coming home, and you run into a certain someone you forgot is living next door.

Genre: fluff, also angsty

Pairing: neighbor!Joel Miller x female reader

Disclaimer: Joel is a contractor in his 40s, your dad is retired in his 60s, your age is not specified, but in my head it's about 27 up.

warnings: none

Masterlist

-----

5 years ago...

"You should get out there and chase your dreams."

"Yeah right," You snort. "Like I have them."

"Yes, you do," Joel says, "What about creating your own business? You always said you want one of your own."

You sigh. "I do, but I don't even know what business that will be. I'm just not an entrepreneur, I can't do it."

He frowns, caressing your hair. "So what are you gonna do? Stay here and mope around?"

"I'll figure it out eventually. And don't say that, that's mean."

He smiles and starts leaving kisses down your neck. "Sorry sweetheart. Let me make it up to you."

-----

"There she is!" Your dad welcomes you with open arms. "How is my little girl?"

You hug him back and chuckle, "Hi dad."

"Oh she's not so little anymore." Your mom swats your dad away and hugs you. "Have you eaten at all? You must be hungry from your flight."

"No, mom, I'm okay."

"Sorry we couldn't pick you up," Your dad helps you with your luggages, "Your mother here forgot she invited like 50 people for a random gathering so she's been working her ass off cooking all day- Wow, did you bring home your entire apartment or something?"

"50 people?" You take your luggages from him, ignoring his comment. "Why? Are we celebrating something?"

Your mom sighs and shakes her head. "Your father is overreacting. I just invited a few friends over because I can....and our neighbor, Joel."

"Our neighbor-"

"Knock knock," A familiar voice makes its way into your house with a bottle of wine, whiskey, and pie in his hands. "Thought I'd come in early to help you out with-"

"Joel."

You're a little glad he hasn't changed since you last saw him. His hair is still the same, he kept his scruff, and he still has that worn-out shirt you used to wear after he fucked you out of your mind.

He's staring back at you with the same look. Longing and wanting nothing more than to devour each other, but knowing it shouldn't happen. You feel betrayed by what he did, and he feels guilty for pushing you away.

"Joel! So nice of you to come and help out." Your dad pats his back. Joel has always been close to your dad, he likes to help out with fixing your dad's car, lifting anything heavy, anything really.

"Sorry," Joel says, "I didn't realize you were uh- you-"

"Nonsense, you're welcome at any time. You remember my daughter," your dad motions at you who's standing behind him. "Remember Joel, honey? He drove you to the college dance when I couldn't."

"Of course, I remember, dad." You smile. He also fucked me in the back of his car after that.

And if it wasn't clear before, your dad has no idea you used to have a thing with Joel. Your dad leaves for the kitchen with the things Joel brought over, and that leaves you with him by the door.

It was awkward.

You don't want to leave him just like that, because part of you does still long to hug him, kiss him, and just take him then and there, but you wonder if he still feels the same.

Isn't it kind of pathetic to still feel the same after three years? After he shut you out of his life and pushed you away the way he did? You're still incredibly hurt by it even though you know he thought he was doing what was best for you.

"I uh," Joel wipes his sweaty hands on his jeans. "I didn't know you were coming home."

You hum. What, were you going to avoid me if you knew? You bite back your rhetorical question when your mom calls for Joel from the kitchen. You take that as a chance to slip away into your bedroom and shower. A cold one is much needed.

-----

5 years ago...

"Why don't you apply to that job you've been talking about so much?"

You furrow your brows. "The one in New York?"

"Yeah, the high payin' job?"

"It's in New York."

"So?"

"So?" You repeat him and chuckle. "I can't go to New York."

"Why not? You'll get plenty of experience, you can live out your 20s, you know. Have fun and all that."

You frown. "If I'm reading this right, it sounds like you want me to go to New York. Or anywhere else for that matter."

"Look, sweetheart," He takes a deep breath. "I'm in my 40s, my life is good here. I've got a good job, it's what I want to do.. All I'm saying is, it took me some time to find my passion, so you should get out there and figure that out for yourself."

"Why are you so sure that my life is out there? What if it's here? In Austin? With you?"

"And what if it's not?" Joel's voice raised a little. "Sweetheart, I can't be the reason you're not living your best life. I don't ever want to hold you back like that."

You're trying to hold your tears back. "You're not, Joel. This is my choice, I want to stay in Austin-"

"You're going to New York." He says sternly with his eyes closed. "And whatever we have now ends here."

"Wait, what?"

He grabs his keys from the table, gets up, and leaves the cafe. That's about the last time you ever saw Joel because he kept avoiding you after that. And of course, you left for New York.

-----

You slip on your maroon dress, modest enough for a family (and now friends) dinner, and prepare yourself to go down and greet the guests.

Maybe you can fake being sick after the flight, but it's gonna be another problem because your parents are gonna give you shit about that. Plus, you do kind of want to see Joel.

You mainly want him to see you in the dress you're wearing.

As you're going down the stairs, you pause as you hear chatter and laughter from Joel. Wait, what if Joel's seeing someone? You hadn't taken that into consideration. What if he has a girlfriend, or even a wife and a baby? What if he's managed to build an entire family in the past 5 years and all you've been doing during that time is.. mope around, having meaningless relationships while thinking about him, and how much you miss but hate him at the same time?

Your shoulders slump. He probably doesn't feel the same. How can he feel the same? It's been 5 years, grow up and get a grip. You've just been delusional all this time.

Your mother spots you sitting on the staircase and smiles fondly. "Honey, you feeling alright?"

You hum. "Just... stress."

"Aw," she coos, sitting next to you and handing you her glass of wine. "I'm so proud of you, you know. Getting that big job in New York and going there all by yourself, must've been so scary. I would've been too scared and gone straight home."

You smile bitterly. That's another secret you haven't told anyone yet. You actually quit your job a few months ago and have been working and taking barista classes at the cafe by your old apartment. You brought a few suitcases for a week's worth of visit because you're.. not actually visiting. You haven't told your parents that you're moving back in to open a cafe with the cafe owner in New York.

"Oh what would I do to just keep you here for a little longer." She pinches your nose. "Come on, you should meet new friends we've made over the years."

Your mom pulls you into the kitchen and you can see Joel in your backyard, talking to your dad, and a couple other people, standing real close to a woman. Your grip on that wine glass tightens.

A few hours into the party, you're finally alone in the living room while the rest of the people are watching fireworks from the backyard. Sighing, you start pouring yourself another glass of wine.

Someone clears their throat behind you, and once you see it's Joel, you pour more wine into your glass.

"So, uh, how've you been?"

Miserable. "Great. You?"

"That's good to hear. Yeah, I'm.. I'm doin' okay. Gettin' old." He tries to crack a joke but straightens his face when he sees you're not smiling.

"How's the job in New York?"

"Let's not do this." You sigh. "Let's just.. not."

You stand up to leave through the front door, but he stops you before you can make it. "Wait, sweetheart-"

"Don't-" you turn to point at him but put your finger down. "You don't get to call me that."

Joel's eyes soften. "I know. 'M sorry. I just.. seeing you after all these years, it's good seeing you living your life out there."

You scoff. Deep down you know Joel was right 5 years ago. You know you had to go to New York to figure out who you are -- you still are trying to. You had to go out of your comfort zone and be adventurous because you wouldn't be here if that didn't happen.

That doesn't mean that you enjoyed the ride.

5 years of living in New York was lonely because you were alone. Tried to make friends but no one really stuck and you were always so busy with that big job that you barely had time to do anything else. Which is also why you quit and decided to open a cafe. It may not be as high-paying as the office job, but at least you enjoy it.

You know Joel's right, you just hate how easily he ended things with you and made you feel like you're not worth fighting for.

Walking out to the front where no one's around, you sit on the railing facing Joel, he's standing right in front of you, almost between your legs.

"I quit my job." You confess, looking down at your glass of wine.

You don't dare look at Joel. You can't face the disappointment in his eyes. "That big paying job sounds real nice from the outside, but I've been miserable since I left this place."

Joel doesn't say anything.

"I know, you're probably disappointed in me. You, my parents... you're all rooting for me to be successful there, but it's just not for me." You say. "I don't even know why I'm explaining all this to you."

"I'm sorry." He finally says. "I pushed you to go there. Thought I knew what was best for you."

You offered him half a smile, shrugging. "It had to happen. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have left Austin and wouldn't have learned what I know now."

Joel nods slowly. "Told your parents yet?"

You sigh. "Not yet. I'm not sure how to. They were so excited when I got that job... and now I'm moving back in as an adult. It's embarrassing."

"Lots of people move back in with their parents." Joel tries to lighten the mood. "Plus, you worked there for 5 years. That's a long time-- maybe too long, even."

"Yeah, but- whoa!" You almost fell while trying to adjust your sitting position on the railing. Joel catches you by holding your back, his arms now around you.

You can smell his cologne. He's been using the same brand for years, and sometimes you like to even go to the shop and smell it just to get a whiff of him.

"Careful." He whispers, eyes staring at you but it sounds like he's talking to himself.

Your hands rest on his chest and you can feel how fast his heart is beating. "I-" You stop yourself, unsure if you should confess your feelings. He hurt you once, and though he did it for your best interest, you're hesitant because who's not afraid of getting hurt?

"Joel, I-" You pause again.

He brings his hand to cup your face and kisses you, ignoring the thoughts screaming in his head that he doesn't deserve you.

You curl your fingers around his shirt, pulling him impossibly closer.

Eventually, you both have to pull away from each other, and it gets quiet again. You know Joel's not the type to talk about his feelings, but you're honestly too scared to talk about--

"I love you." He says before placing your head to rest on his chest so you don't look at him. "I was real stupid for pushing you away all those years ago. You were.. you are the best thing that's ever happened to me."

You try to look up at him but he only pushes you even further onto his chest. "I'm not done."

A chuckle escapes your lips.

"I love you, and I'm gonna be a selfish prick again and ask you," he takes a deep breath, "Do you want to get coffee sometime?"

You slowly nod against his chest and smile. "Just don't leave me in the middle of the cafe."

He chuckles and pinches you for that jab. "S'alright. We can have coffee at my place."

You punch him playfully.

"Joking, joking." He defends.

"Joel, let's take it slow this time." You say. "I don't want to be just a fling."

He lifts your head up and smiles at you. "Oh sweetheart. You were never a fling to me. Never have been, never will."

-------

a/n: kinda wanna write how reader and joel met now..

#joel miller x reader #joel miller tlou #tlou joel #joel x reader #joel miller x you #joel miller #joel tlou #joel miller angst #joel miller fluff #joel miller fic #tlou fanfiction #tlou fic #joel miller x y/n #joel miller x female reader

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shuxiii · 9 months

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my heart isn't yours

Non!idol x non!idol kang haerin

Synopsis: a photography major seeking to reach their ambitions and goals collides with an underrated model in a project but somehow one encounter made faith and destiny allure to them.

note: ayeee revamped version of my first ever smau i have changed alot with the plots and characters and so i hope you guys really enjoy this one more time.

Warning; strong words, drama, suggestive jokes

Tags; non-idol x non!idol, wlw, floff, smau, strangers to enemies (kinda) to lovers, angst

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End (1)

End (2)

Bonus end (3)

Bonus chapter (4)

Bonus chapter (5)

Bonus chapter (6)

Taglist— @hhongchae

#newjeans fanfic #newjeans #newjeans imagines #newjeans x reader #kpop idol x reader #haerin x reader #idol x reader #kang haerin x reader #hanni pham x reader

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three--rings · 8 months

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Most people don't have any understanding of what has been lost in Lahaina Town. Not just lives and property, but an entire town.

Most people hear "a city/town in Hawaii" and they picture probably resorts. And there are plenty of resorts nearby. But those are all fine.

Lahaina was an old whaling town dating back to the original colonization by white settlers. Before white people arrived, it was the capital of the island, where the high chief ruled, including Kamehameha the Great. The buildings are old, wooden, and crowded together. Obviously that was a problem in the face of the insanely fast wildfire.

But these weren't mansions, Mc or otherwise. It was a tourist town, a destination for cute, spendy shopping and dining, full of art galleries. (OMG THE GALLERIES. There was so much ART lost. There was original Dr. Seuss art in one gallery when I was there in January. That's gone now. Etc.)

But the people who lived and worked in Lahaina were mostly working class, working retail and restaurant jobs, living in old apartments and small houses. Lots of elderly, lots of non-white in a wide range of ethnicities, old hippies who have been there since the 60s and 70s. Yeah they were probably a little better off than people who drive in from other places to work in West Maui, at least because their property was high value, if they owned. But they lived without A/C, hung their laundry on lines, biked to work, called in sick to go surfing when the waves were up. There was a Chinese cultural center and a Buddhist temple, two different structures, if that tells you anything. Multiple museums housing historic items and cultural centers.

And the town will be rebuilt, in some form, I imagine. Or re-developed, more likely. People who are now homeless, who can't afford to rebuild or pay for two residences while the recovery happens will be bought out by deep pocketed developers. If they rebuild Lahaina Town I'm afraid it will be Lahaina Town tm by Disney.

Another fake paradise for tourists with lava rock from the Big Island. Another bit of Hawaii swallowed by capitalism and climate change.

I'm not painting everything about Lahaina as it was as perfect. Front Street was an often gaudy display of brand names and hucksters out to shovel in the tourist dollars. And of course the politics of Hawaii are incredibly complex and fraught in so many ways. I'm just a mainlander haole. I will never live on the islands, despite my family there constantly asking me to move. But I've spent more time there than anywhere I haven't lived, almost all of that time in West Maui.

My mom works in a building that is not there anymore. She just described that job to me as "the last job she'll ever have" as she's 79 and very happy with working two days a week selling t-shirts to cruise ship people. My brother has worked in a gallery on front street for the last ten years.

I don't know. A city of almost 15,000 permanent residents is just gone. 50 or so are confirmed dead, in some horrific circumstances from what I hear.

My mom says people are just walking around with thousand-yard-stares, aimless, clutching cell phones trying to get signal (there isn't any, but you can get lucky and get a call through. Some texts are going in but not out.)

So I don't know folks. Keep those people in your thoughts. If you can donate, I think this may be a good place because it's going to lots of local orgs on the ground: https://www.hawaiicommunityfoundation.org/maui-strong

I keep thinking of new sad things.

Anyway I'm going to leave you with a picture I took while strolling down Front Street one evening.

#maui fires #lahaina fire

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fridaypls · 1 month

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If you like slow-burns focusing on healing, growth, communication and perhaps a threesome thrown in, you may enjoy Ashes to Embers: Astarion - it's book-length and a hurty start, but worth the read??

Moments you might enjoy; (with links)

Astarion being comforted by the bear | ch. 9

Astarion getting petted | ch. 12

Getting permission & feeding from Tav + a misunderstanding | ch. 14

Romance with a motive with Halsin in the woods | ch. 15 & 16

Aftercare | ch. 17

An unhealthy & premeditated seduction... | ch. 19

...that goes wrong. Panic attack + horrible flashback | ch. 20

Halsin the quiet and understanding | ch. 23

"I want us to be something real" | ch. 24

Platonic bonding with a suffering Gale | ch. 28

The first Cuddle Puddle | ch. 30

MASSIVE ANGST AND SUFFERING | ch. 33 - 39

MASSIVE RELIEF AND JOY | ch. 40

Blatant misuse of the tadpoles to let Astarion see himself | ch. 44

Tav's sketchbook is full of Astarion | ch. 45

Healthy communication?? Tav & Astarion?? 22k words all about consent and love and healthy ways forward?? | ch. 48-49

FINALLY healthy sex, while still confronting trauma and finding safety in an element of control | ch. 50

Aftercare & healthy polytalk | ch. 51

Shit hits the fan again; Orin and... Rugan?? | ch. 52

Halsin the handsome healer + the boys adopt a kitten | ch. 54

Astarion the caretaker of his companions | ch. 57-58

Fighting as a team | ch. 59

The companions realize Astarion has been starving most of the journey and his life, Tav freaks out | ch. 60

Fucking Raphael | ch. 61 - 62

Companions decide Astarion isn't allowed to starve anymore + Tav draws Astarion’s scars for him | ch. 62

Wyll & Karlach dance + are smitten with one another | ch. 63

Traumatic Tav Backstory Reveal + Astarion offers comfort + cuddle puddle + bear in cuddle puddle | ch. 64

(stuff I don't want to spoil) | ch. 65 - 75

...and if you're still reading? KINKY THREESOME

#astarion ancunin #astarion #bg3 astarion #baldur's gate 3 #tav #baldurs gate astarion #baldurs gate fanart #fanfic #slow burn #reverse harem #seriously if you like fluff check this out #and if you like angst then check it out even harder #and if you wanna see Halsin misuse vines read ch 76 #super cute platonic bloodweave?#adorable happy polycule of healing boys who really need to work on their communication skills when it comes to their own burdens??#lots and lots of work around consent and healing #and gods i don’t want to spoil it but fuck YES the healing and growth

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episodeoftv · 4 months

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Round 1 of 6, Group 1 of 4

Propaganda is under the cut (671 words) - may contain spoilers

summaries (pulled from imdb or wikis)

propaganda

Chén Qíng Lìng/The Untamed - 1.50 Episode 50

The mastermind who plans everything has appeared. He's not someone who wouldn't think he would be the one who is behind everything, including Wei Wuxian's comeback. Who would that be?

I nominate this final on grounds of CCP information control, censorship and homophobia. They were so scared of the power of wangxian that they ended up banning ao3 in china and in the show they have to inexplicably have them part ways just to hammer home the no-homo. Plus the show is just kind of objectively bad.... but it rewires your brain all the same

Supernatural - 15.20 Carry On

cw: suicide

After Chuck is defeated and someone takes his place, Sam and Dean go about their life of hunting, but things don't turn out as expected.

1) you know why 2) god. where do i fucking start. this episode completely ignores this large cast of characters that were considered family in order to make it the "just two brothers" show again, scrapping basically every shred of character development shown throughout the course of the show, cutting out incredibly important characters at the last second (i.e. eileen being replaced with blurry wife for no fucking reason, cas not being there at all despite the whole love confession/ dying for dean that happened just two episodes before). in the penultimate episode the boys fight god. the finale? a random vampire from an episode of season one, who up until this point had never been mentioned again. then we have Dean being impaled on a very phallic looking spike and, after a speech about it just being about the brothers, dies. he then goes to heaven, where his father figure tells him his abusive dad is just down the road. he hops in his car (also in heaven, somehow) and drives for the next 60 odd years waiting for Sam to die. meanwhile, sam is moving on with blurry wife and i shown with a son named dean (as seen stitched onto his clothes), and we eventually see sam, now old and clad in the crustiest looking wig i have ever seen, die in the hospital. he goes to heaven, meets Dean on a bridge, and the last shot is the entire cast and crew on the bridge saying goodbye, completely shattering the fourth wall because fuck it, who cares anymore. and this isn't even mentioning everything that happened after. just an absolute mess the whole way through. 3) Random villain from season 1 kills one of the main characters, he goes to heaven and drives around while the other main character gets a montage of growing old a horrible wig. And that's not even all. 4) It abandoned 15 years of series theme and character growth, veered away from the natural story line and failed to resolve major plot threads. Dean deserved better, and so did Cas. See also Jared's terrible wig, Dean jr, Dean driving through heaven for five minutes... 5) Dean dies in the most anticlimactic way, cheap wig, blurry wife 6) There was no Castel :( 7) I mean... 8) destroyed every character arc in one fell swoop. the guy who tried to kill himself and struggled with depression throughout the show ended up killing himself anyway! was cas’s death even important? who was blurry wife? why was the absolute ugliest toddler imaginable cast to play Sam’s son? but in order to truly grasp how decimating this finale was, you have to understand the queerbaiting between 15.18 and the finale. why did Misha post that pic in the onion field with Uriel. why was Misha originally credited to be in 19 episodes of the final season on IMDb. why was . Hrrgghh. 9) Do I even need to write propaganda for this one? Even though it was the series finale we are still here after 3 years 😂 Title said 'carry on', but the fandom said 'nah, time for season 16'. 10) Bad old man makeup and no castiel 11) Everything had been neatly wrapped up in the previous episode. Then they decided "Hey you know what would be great? If we just killed one of the main characters." They killed him for no reason. He deserved to live a full life, have a family, retire, but nope! He met his match in a RUSTY NAIL. Not to mention that there were terrible wigs, blurry wives, and subtextual incest vibes involved.

+ After it aired, one of the actors unfollowed everyone who had anything to do with the episode.

#supernatural #spn #the untamed #cql #wfround1 #wfpoll #polls #poll #wfr1g1 #PENIS POLL

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countrymusiclover · 11 months

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Gemini Runaway

"Being a twin of the Gemini Coven is a curse to never have children."

Raelyn Primrose Lane is on the run from her own family. She isn't trusting of anyone she comes in contact with all because she was forced to kill her twin sibling recently. Raelyn stumbles into the town of Mystic Falls and starts making friends. Alongside catching the eye of the original hybrid Klaus Mikaelson. Will Raelyn let Klaus in her heart or will her family manage to catch their traitor of a daughter

1 - Vow to never have Children

2 - Getting to know Him

3 - Original Vampires

4 - Blonde Friends

5 - A Hybrid's Offer

6 - Homecoming

7 - Abominations

8 - Date with an Original Hybrid

9 - Haunting Vengeance

10 - The Original Coffins

11 - Intense Family Reunion

12 - My First Friend

13 - The Mikaelson Ball

14 - Gemini Business

15 - Esther's Ritual

16 - You Only Live Once

17 - My Cousin Jo

18 - Tricky Witches Spells

19 - My Life Or Theirs

20 - One Last Hurrah

21 - The Ultimate Hunter

22 - Three Words Longed For

23 - The Bonds of Family

24 - The Sights of New Orleans

25 - A Dangerous Encounter

26 - A Coven’s Leader

27 - Dead or Alive

28 - The Miracle…Baby

29 - Sweet Vampire-Witch

30 - What's Wrong With Raelyn?

31 - Raelyn Let Loose

32 - Bringing Her Humanity Back

33 - Kol's Downfall

34 - Who Makes Him Human

35 - Finding the Cure

36 - Evening in the French Quarter

37 - A Harvest Ritual

38 - Davina - The Attic Witch

39 - Impatient Witches

40 - The Fate of Three Children

41 - Blood of Enemies

42 - Never Truly Gone

43 - A Magical Favor

44 - Papa Original and Confind Spaces

45 - Babies and a Ring

46 - Big Milestone and Mysterious Woman

47 - Proper Family Meeting

48 - Official Wedding Planner

49 - Uniting Friendships

50 - I Forever, I Do

51 - Our Secret Weapons

52 - Betrayal Can Come From Anywhere

53 - Dahlia's Offer

54 - Getting What They Deserve

55 - Vampires to a Witch Fight

56 - The Magical Border

57 - The Gemini Portland House

58 - Message For The Sire

59 - Red Head From His Past

60 - Sisterly Trio

61 - A Mikaelson Thanksgiving

62 - To Getting Rebekah Back

63 - Aurora's Revenge

64 - A Christmas Hex

65 - Vampire Camille

66 - Rescuing Klaus

67 - A Caring Vamp Sire

68 - King and Queen

69 - The Trial of Klaus Mikaelson

70 - Fighting the Magical Border

71 - Mikaelson’s before Gemini

72 - Kai's Message

73 - We're Screwed

74 - Gemini Fights and Supernatural Fates

75 - I Will Rescue You

76 - Moment of Peace

77 - The Horrific Merge

78 - Finally a Family Reunion

79 - A Long Awaited Evening

80 - One Day of Peace

81 - Gemini Downfall Wedding

82 - Finding the Heretics

83 - Heretics in Mystic Falls

84 - Meeting one of the Heretics

85 - Another Vampire Pregnancy

86 - Calling Us Home

87 - What's the Hollow

88 - Bloodline Deals

89 - The Last Remaining Gemini

90 - Parker/Lane Family Reunion

91 - A Family Dessert War

92 - Bye bye Hollow

93 - The End of Always and Forever

94 - Anything For Our Children- Flashback

95 - Running the School

96 - Family Troubles

97 - Unexpected Visitor

98 - The Family Falling Out

99 - Missing Coffins

100 - Not Little Girls Anymore

101 - Red Roses and Blood

102 - Owner of the Golden Coin

103 - A Rescuing Price

104 - Working through Changes

105 - Alina Mikaelson - Keener

106 - Changes under the Moon

107 - To Getting Elijah Back

108 - Like Father Like Daughters

109 - Always and Forever Lives On

---------- read part 100 to get the link to the next parts (you can only link 100 parts) 😢

Comments really appreciated ❤️

Tag list ask to be added @dragonixfrye @secretdreamlandmentality @ocappreciation @ocappreciationtag

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sparkling-ariaria · 11 months

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Only you | Sirius Black x fem!Reader

Fandom: Harry Potter (set during Hogwarts, house of reader not specified)

Genre: Pure fluff

A/N: While feeling sentimental and listening to Only you by The Platters I somehow got inspired to write a little fluffy something for Sirius. Maybe there’s someone out there who’s gonna enjoy reading it~ (English isn't my first language, so if you find any mistakes feel free to let me know please!)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was one of those slow days, where everything and everyone seemed to be in the same state of calmness. Even the rain pitter-patters unhurriedly against the open window wich lets the warm summer breeze stream into his room. You both spent the afternoon there laying on his bed, talking and enjoying each others presence. In the background soft music can be heard coming from Remus‘ record-player. The vinyl you put on consists of some of the main hits from the 50’s and 60‘s, because you like those so much.

Only you can make all this world seem right

The moment the first notes start playing he is looking at you. An delighted smile is spreading on your face and you turn your head to look at him too. Listening to the words while looking back into your eyes he feels himself overcome with a wave of emotions.

He gets up from the bed and holds his hand out for you. With a happy little giggle you put your hand in his and let him help you up till you stand in front of each other in the middle of the room. He lifts one of your hands up to rest on his shoulder before bringing one of his to your waist and interlocking your other hands in the air. Then he starts slowly swaying the both of you from side to side, making little steps.

Only you can make the darkness bright

He knows a lot of people are referring to their partners as „the light of their life“ without putting much thought into these words and actually meaning them. To him you really are pure light, a ray of sunshine that managed to creep it’s way into his dark and lonely life. Giving him warmth and hope and the feeling of belonging. Whenever he had to leave to Grimmauld Place during his first summers at Hogwarts before he got taken in by the Potters, his friends of course wrote him letters regularly and met up with him as often as possible. But you where there too to help him cope with the long stay at this godforesaken place. It touched him how you always gave him especially long hugs before departing at the train station and wrote to him even in the middle of the nights when he couldn’t fall asleep due to the heavy atmosphere that seemed to be constantly clinging to the house of the Blacks. Just the thought of your smile and being able to see you again soon helped him go through the days. It was also you who immediately invited him to spend the christmas breaks at your place so he wouldn’t have to stay alone in Hogwarts.

Only you and you alone can thrill me like you do

Not one day goes by without him feeling greatful for having you by his side. You’re the main reason he wakes up with a smile on his face in the mornings. He doesn’t even know anymore what it feels like to be bored. There’s simply no chance with you around. You share the same type of humour and often your conversations turn to witty banters between you two that have your friends looking on in amusement and with popcorn in their hands. You both know how to be active together, and you know how to be quiet too. Even in quietness the sparks between you can be felt. You don’t have to be doing anything, you don’t even have to talk. Simply being around each other makes him feel happy and his body and soul feel recharged and energised.

And fill my heart with love for only you

Even before he was old enough to fully grasp the meaning of romatic feelings you already had a special spot in his heart. Over time this spot just grew bigger till it filled his whole being with the wonderful and indescribable emotion named love he felt only for you.

Only you can make all this change in me

Whenever the arrogance he so loathed in his family tried to arise in him, you were there to bring his true self back to the surface. Or when he was about to take one of his pranks too far, letting his recklessness take over, you put a stop to it. You were never afraid to call him out, but you did it gently. Took the time to talk to him about it in a calm and serious manner. That's what you always did, being gentle with him and treating him like something precious that deserves to be valued. You help guide him to be the best version of himself. Someone others can confidently call acquaintance, friend, family. For the right reasons.

And he feels honoured, that only you get to call him boyfriend and show not a trace of hesitance when doing that.

For it's true, you are my destiny

It for sure was destiny, when you sat in the same compartment as him and the others on your first ride to Hogwarts. Little you who was clearly uncomfortable with the rising tension between him, James and Snape and managed to somewhat dissolve it by changing the topic to your excitement for learning all kinds of magic. Even managed to do some small talk with Snape about potions. He now feels ashamed to admit that he mainly acted like that towards Snape to get noticed by you, show you that he knew how to talk back. But by now he long realized that he doesn't have to act a certain way to get your attention. You're always focused on him, listening to every thought he has, no matter how big or small. Letting him be himself, wanting him to stay true to his own ideals and never losing sight of what kind of person he really wants to be.

When you hold my hand, I understand the magic that you do

At this part he gives your hand in his hold a gentle squeeze and takes it up to his lips to give it a kiss while keeping his loving gaze fixed on your eyes. The gesture makes your smile even brighter and a small giggle escape before you let your head lie on his shoulder. All the while still looking up to him with your beautiful eyes that never looked at him with anything but pure love and affection...and more often than not also amusement of course.

His favourite feature of you besides your eyes must be your hands. There’s just something about the act of holding them that makes him feel connected to you in a special way. From day one when he took your hand to help you down the steps of the Hogwarts Express, making you smile shyly up at him. Those hands that spread warmth to him so many times. Holding his cheeks gently between them when you are reassuring him of something, listening to him after a nightmare or shaking his head softly from side to side when you’re gushing about how adorable he is. And just holding his hand like this while slowly dancing through the room. Once again showing him that you will always be there for him, with him.

You're my dream come true, my one and only you

You sing the last part together with him, making his smile turn even softer. Just as the last notes play out, your lips touch for a sweet kiss and you embrace each other tightly.

For you two there’s no one else when it comes to now and forever. For you have found your only love in each other.

#harry potter fic #sirius black x reader #sirius black x y/n #sirius black x you #marauders x reader #marauders x you #sirius black #marauders era #sirius black fluff #harry potter fluff #first fic

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effervescentdragon · 8 months

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This is gonna be a rant bcs i havent done one in a while, it went feom too hot to too cold way too quickly, i havent fought with anyone in a while and im itching for it, and im sick an tired of certain things im seeing popping up recently despite there being many, many posts about it that summarize it all very succintly amd more eloquently than im about to, but fuck it im adding mine too.

Two main points. Numero uno.

You are not entitled to fandom spaces being catered to you.

Ive seen younger fans do this all the time, and i could go very ad hominem about what i think of youmger generations and what kind of internet experiences and spaces they've been raised in, but i wont. I will say that predictive algorithms and that scourge on the web tiktok have done irreparable damage to a whole genrration that expects content to just be presented to them on silver plates without them having to move their thumbs even a bit to search for what they want, alongside erasing what little critical thinking and reading skills theyve already somewhat had.

But thats not the point of this rant. My main problem here is when someone comes into a space, lets take an example of a discord server, and then starts whining how "all these older people are here too".

Firstly, fuck off. And i say this most empathetically - if something is not to your liking, literally just leave. Fuck off. Nobody wants you here. Go find a place that caters to your needs better instead of expecting this already existing space to bow down amd change to suit your needs. Thats not hkw this works, not how life works, not how anything works. Your entitlement is unfounded, has no geounds, is childish and frankly extremely disgusting. Go make your own fucking space then, one that you can tailor to your needs instead of expecting the space to warp to suit you. You are nothing in this context, and you are entitled to nothing, except basic rules of polite conduct that ar3 expected of everyone by social contract of interacting with other people in a space.

Point numero dos.

Fuck your ageism and fuck your idiotic assumption that there is an arbitrary age when you should leave fandom because you're "too old" and "it's creepy".

The world is not restricted to the young. The world is not built for the young only. Joy is not restricted to the young. YOU ARE NOT BETTER B3CAUSE YOU'RE YOUNG. I would in fact argue the opposite, because obvious lack of life experience (especially when compounded with the fact that most of the experience most of you even have are limited to online spaces and not the actual outside world) shows itself in both your ignorance about the (fandom) history and with your conpletely misguided sense of entitlement i already spoke about.

What even is the age to be enrolled in fandom? Does life stop after 20? 25? 29? Or god forbid, *gasp*, thirty? Thats basically both feet in the grave, isn't it?

Do you even hear yourselves? Because unless you have forwknowledge or plan to die when you come to [insert arbitrary age here], you are still going to be living after that. Will that moment, that birthday be the time whrre you go "right. im too old now. i should erase all the joy ive gotten feom fandoms up until now b3cause im too old and fandoms and fandom spaces are only for young people, which i am not anymore. bye bye".

What the everloving fuck. Do you think young people are the onse who built fandoms? Do i have to drag out star trek spirk housewives? Do i have to reference diana duane? Do i have to dig through a million posts on this godforsaken website that tell you about communities of people of all ages coming together to enjoy things and make fandom spaces as wonderful as they are?

Do you think you can only enjoy life up until [insert arbitrary fucking age here]? Do you think life stops after 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, if you're lucky to live that long?

What the everloving fuck is wrong with you???

Instead of sending stupid 😭 emojis about people being older than your 18 years of age and still enjoying things, go read a bit on fandom history. Log off fucking predictive algorithm pages, stop scrolling, read a fucking book, go touch a cow, smoke or touch some grass, talk to actual fuking people and not just bemoan existence of older people in your tween echo chambers.

Get a fucking life, adapt, and/or leave the rest of us alone. The world does not revolve around you, and if you keep insisting it does, well. We older generations have no problem with blocking. We value ourselves too much to disrupt our joy with childish whinings of entitled assholes.

#effervescentdragonrants #godfuck i am mad #fandom wank #idek how to tag that #just literalky fuck off #ageism #fandom

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blood-choke · 7 months

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I thought butch is a lesbian only term?

hmmm yes and no? this is something that doesn't really have a simple answer. it depends who you ask; people have different opinions about it.

in general, the term butch means a lot of different things in the lgbt community. obviously there's butch lesbians, but it's also a term that's used in ball culture, by drag queens and gay men. it's an adjective, it's a gender, it's an orientation. i assume you're referencing the other anon, and i have no idea what they may mean when they call themselves butch. if we're talking about bisexual women then the truth is that bisexual women can have just as complex experiences with gender and presentation as lesbians and i don't really think it benefits anybody to exclude them from the community.

like i said previously, butch is not just an "aesthetic"; there's more to it than just dressing a certain way. i think it's way more harmful to pretend like other women don't also grapple with their gender identity and their sexuality and their gendered roles in society-- basically, we should celebrate our similarities rather than argue our differences.

a lot of the time people say bisexuals can't be butches because they still "cater to men" which to me is just a gross thing to say. there are plenty of bi people who prefer women, who do not pursue men, who are gender nonconforming; and even if they do prefer men, if they date men, that still doesn't mean they're "catering" to anybody. it's a very... dehumanizing and misogynistic attitude to have when talking about bi women imo (and straight women as well)

the term butch/femme was historically used by all gay women; butch/femme in this context, are roles that came about in the working-class lesbian bar scene in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. there were plenty of bisexual women that went to lesbian bars and filled these roles as well. there's bulldagger, bulldyke, and stud, that came out of Black lesbian communities. there's kiki, which isn't used at all anymore, to describe lesbians that don't identify as either. there are people that will insist that bisexuals use the term "stag" and "doe" which i don't think is fair; most people do not know what these terms mean and there is no "stag community" as far as i'm aware. i'm pretty sure these are just tumblr terms.

what it all comes down to is that when people see a gnc woman in the street, they're not going to rush over and politely ask if she's a lesbian or not. to be blunt, most of the time they're going to call them the same slur, regardless. the world is going to treat them the same, regardless. so for me personally i'd rather offer them a little bit of relief in a community that is familiar and understanding rather than exclude them to face that kind of shit all alone iykwim.

#but yes this was like. a huge discourse topic on here a few years ago lol #and im like. 99% sure that discourse is the origin of the stag/doe thing bc i've never seen it anywhere else except tumblr #when we talk abt bisexual women historically they are inextricable from lesbians. there is no way to separate them we have a shared history #and to pretend that bi women are so different from us is. to be frank. stupid #also this is not me inviting that discourse im just expressing how i feel about it. i am not trying to argue #ask #anonymous

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goldsrc-hl1 · 8 months

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And I think the fact that sienna, the white fang civil rights leader who actually cared about the cause but was willing to use violence to achieve it gets killed off and her worldview barely gets acknowledge

Also I think crwby straight up compared the white fang to the black panther movement/organization?

Wether we want it to or not the show did initially frame the white fang subplot as violence vs non-violence

Plus ghira getting mad tgat adam killed a member of a lynch mob because “this is why they think they can” tells me ghira is on sone level focused in what humans think of Faunus,

Not helping that ghira gets put in charge again without having changed whatsoever

I hate to say it but intentionally or not, the idea that an oppressed minority need to “prove themselves” in any way to their oppressors is kinda racist, it’s at least problematic

Heck it’s a double standard “that we see in the real world as well” that Faunus can be branded like Adam or killed in mines like ilia’s parents to by humans like Jacques, yet humans as a whole don’t need to “prove” they aren’t him,

Because, quite frankly, most humans are entirely permissive of what Jacques and the SDC do

Yeah, Sienna's worldview is barely acknowledged. That's part of the failure to discuss racism and if responding to it with violence is justified or not.

Barbara Dunkleman, who is not a writer, said this

Barbara Dunkelman: So if anybody needs, like, a comparison for what the Faunus are in this world, it’s kind of like if you’re in the 1930s, or 1940s, whatever, and it’s like, the way African-American people were viewed.

Someone else (I can’t identify the voice): You mean like 50s and 60s, like Civil Rights Movement and stuff?

Barbara Dunkelman: Yeah.

Faunus are related to the American civil rights movement. They're certainly not viewed as poorly as African American people were viewed in the 50s and 60s, but they are still viewed and treated poorly and it is still based off of the American Civil Rights movement.

It's not 1:1 Black Panthers though. Sienna KINDA reminds me of them but not too much, Adam definitely doesn't.

The only time it was framed as violence vs nonviolence was in Blake's talk with Sun about why she left. As mentioned, that talk is about why she left, not what the White Fang is doing now. Even as early as Volume 1 and 2 it was clear that the White Fang wasn't fighting for equality.

Blake: The White Fang is hardly a bunch of psychopaths. They're a collection of misguided Faunus.

Weiss: Misguided? They want to wipe Humanity off the face of the planet!

Blake: So then they're very misguided. Either way, it doesn't explain why they would rob a Dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale!

Roman: I'm glad you asked, "Deery"! Now, I'll be the first to admit, humans... are the worst. Case in point. So, I understand why you would like to see us all locked away, or, better yet, killed!

So yeah, the White Fang was always an organization dedicated to just killing and hurting humans. In the past, it fought for equality, which is shown in Volume 1 through Blake's backstory, but it's never states that the White Fang currently fights for equality. The reason Blake left is that she didn't want to take part in the violence anymore (she never says they were wrong to resort to violence though, she just personally didn't want to be the one pulling the trigger), but the goal of the White Fang is no longer equality, as evidenced by Weiss and Roman.

You may say Weiss isn't well informed, which is true, but if she was wrong, why didn't Blake correct her? Roman is literally speaking at a White Fang rally when he says the line cited above, so he clearly knows what he's talking about.

Onto the next point...

Ghira wasn't upset that Adam fought back, he was upset when it got lethal. Ghira has a point, by killing humans, you're giving the humans an excuse to hate you more, regardless of how justified it was. It's something you wanna avoid at all costs. It's unfortunate, but it's the truth.

Ghira is put in charge of the White Fang again, only after he assembles an entire army to stop a terrorist attack in the making. I think it's pretty clear that he's past all the solely peaceful stuff.

The message is that the Faunus need to dispel racist ideas by proving them incorrect. I don't see how that's racist or problematic. Minorities should play a part in proving racist ideologies wrong.

Bear in mind that the Faunus aren't "proving themselves" as in repenting for past mistakes and whatnot, they're "proving themselves" as in "your racist idea that the Faunus are all murderers and terrorists is wrong." No Faunus apologizes for how the White Fang treats humanity. The whole thing is basically a big "you're blatantly wrong" to racist generalization that is extremely hard to ignore.

I don't see how it's racist to promote minorities proving racist ideologies wrong.

Humans in the show already prove that they aren't like Jacques by literally arresting him. They don't condone his exploitation. Hell, his own daughter doesn't condone it.

Most humans are, but by proving racist ideas wrong, the hope is that they will become less racist and ultimately oppose Jacques.

#rwby #anti rwde #rwde #rwby analysis #white fang #sienna khan

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spncupcake · 1 year

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186 writing prompts //

I found this post earlier last year. OP deleted the post, but I had saved this. These are NOT my ideas - credits to OP.

Angst:

1. " Give me a chance. "

2. " Not you again.."

3. " Leave me alone."

4. " I don't love you anymore. "

5. "Why do you hate me? "

6. " Host the baby. "

7. " I thought you loved me. "

8. " I don't need you anymore."

9. " I can't believe you! '

10. " We cant keep this up forever. "

11. " You're a monster. "

12. " I hate you. "

13. " Don't leave me...

14. " You're a disappointment. "

15. " Don't die on me - Please."

16. " I never meant to hurt you. "

17. " Are you upset with me? "

18. " I wish i'd never met you. "

19. "I'm going to kill you! "

20. " Please don't hurt me like this."

21. ”Thanks for nothing. "

22. " Dont call this number again. "

23. " Why did you spare me? '

24. " You need to leave. "

25. " I'm sick. "

26. " I'm dying."

27. " I wish i'd never met you."

28. " I thought we were family!"

29. " There was never an us."

30. " So that's it? It's over? "

31. " I fucked up."

32. " I came to say goodbye. "

33. He's dead because of you. "

34. " I don't deserve to be loved. "

35. " About the baby... Its yours.

Love:

36. " I'm so in love with you. "

37. " Dance with me! "

38. " Isn't this amazing? "

39. " I wish we could stay like this forever. "

40. " Will you marry me? "

41. " I'm pregnant."

42. " I need a hug. "

43. " You're special to me. "

44. " I'm going to keep you safe. "

45. " Do you trust me? "

46. " Can I kiss you right now? "

47. " You're cute when you're angry. "

48. " I've liked you for awhile now. "

49. ~ Lets have a baby."

50. " We'd make such a cute couple."

51. " I want to take care of you. "

52. " Can we cuddle? "

53. " It's lonely here without you."

54. " I can't stand the thought of loosing you. "

55. " Shut up and kiss me already."

56. " Are you flirting with me? "

57. " Is that my shirt? "

58. " How did we get here? "

59. " You own my heart. "

60. " You'd be a great dad. "

61. " You'd be a great mom."

62. " I want to protect you. "

63. "Whats the matter? "

64. " You're so beautiful. "

65. " Did you do something different with your hair?”

66. " Is that a new perfume? "

67. " Stop being so cute. "

68. " You're making me blush! "

69. " You're teasing me again..."

70. " This is why I fell in love with you. "

71. " You're the best! "

72. " They're going to love you, don't worry! "

73. " Oh, Are you ticklish? "

74. " Of course I remembered! "

75. " You're one hell of a girl. "

76. " You're one hell of a guy. "

77. " Are you jealous? '

78. " Hold me and never let me go. "

79. " Stop hogging all the blankets! "

80. " Let’s run away together."

General:

81. " Catch me if you can! "

82. " I'm fine. "

83. " Are you drunk? "

84. " Are you high? "

85. " We cant go in there...

86. " Give it back! a

87. " Well this is just great. "

88. " Don't touch me."

89. " Not sure if you could tell, but l'm not exactly a people person. "

90. "This was fun - Lets do it again sometime!"

91. " I didn't do it! "

92. " I did it... "

93. I don't remember that! "

94. Well that's pretty rude of you to say."

95. " Get that thing away from me! "

96. " You owe me. "

97. " Do you believe in aliens? "

98. " Do you believe in ghosts? "

99. " Are you hitting on me? "

100. " Why are you naked? "

101. " You did what?!"

102. " You have... Superpowers? "

103. " Why are you bleeding? "

104. " Where did all these puppies come from?"

105. " Don't make me come over there myself! "

106. " That wasn't funny."

107. " This tastes horrible. "

108. " This is delicious! "

109. " Are you mad at me? "

110. " Stop ignoring me..."

111. " I love that show too! '

112. " Can I borrow that book of yours?"

113. " Lets blow this joint."

114. " Let me help you with that. "

115. " Take that back! "

116. " Wanna go see a movie with me? "

117. " No way, that's so lame. "

118. "What are you listening to? "

119. " I brought you your coffee."

120. " Don't fuck this up. "

121. " Run! "

122. " Lets run away together. "

123. " I haven't slept in four days..."

124. " Your turn to do the dishes. "

125. " Was I really that drunk? "

126. " Was I really that stoned? "

127. "Give me back my phone! "

128. " You're an asshole. "

129. " Are you cold? '

130. " This place gives me the creeps. "

131. " I swear my house is haunted. "

132. " Did you hear that? "

133. " It's just your imagination. "

134. " Just how stupid do you think I am? "

135. " Stop being such a baby."

136. " Go back to bed. "

137. " Are you okay? "

138. " I can take care of myself just fine."

139. " Thanks for helping me back there."

140. " Since when have we ever been friends? "

141. "What on earth are you wearing? "

142. " I can't feel my legs! "

143. " Stop texting me weird stuff so late at night. "

144. " Put me down! "

145. " There's only one bed..."

146. " It isn't what it looks like! Okay.. Maybe it is..

147. " How did Hoose it? "

148. " I read your diary."

149. " This is awkward. "

150. " Didn't you read the sign? "

151. " Do you think you can teach me that?”

Below are NSFW prompts.

Please if you're rebloggling tell your followers if you're interested or not in taking these sorts of requests.

Sexual:

152. " Bite me. "

153. " Make me."

154. " Fuck me. "

155. " Stop teasing me so much..."

156. " Do you like it when I touch you like that?'

157. " Okay.. This is new."

158. “Want to head back to my place and have a little fun?”

159. "You're in trouble now. "

160. " What a pretty sight. "

161. " Bend over. "

162. " On your knees. "

163. " The food looks great but.. There's something much more delicious i'd like to eat right now. "

164. " Lay back. "

165. " Take off your clothes. "

166. " Well, fine; just this once."

167. " I'm waiting."

168. " You're so beautiful. "

169. “As you wish."

170. "First one to make a noise looses."

171. " You have no idea what you do to me. "

172. " If you're bored; Wanna have sex? "

173. " Ive wanted this for so long. "

174. "Car sex looks so much more easier in the movies. "

175. "Can I touch you? '

176. "Open up."

177. "No strings attached. "

178. " Already? Do I really have that much of an effect on you? '

179. " Mine."

180. " The nights still young. "

181. "We cant do that here! "

182. " Behave."

183. What did you just say? "

184. " Good girl. "

185. " Good boy. "

186. " Come here."

#women writers #writing #prompts #writing prompts #angst prompts #fluff prompts #spicy prompts #general prompts #fanfic writing #fanfiction

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irinanonyme · 11 months

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⚠️Skip and Loafer spoilers⚠️

You know I've been thinking about this for a while now but... isn't it hilarious how like, 50 to 60% of the reason why Mika decided to confess to Shima in the first place was because Mukai PISSED HER THE FUCK OFF. She felt SO bothered by how he saw her as just another dumb gossip girl so it made me think about how almost all of their interactions thus far have been exclusively off-screen. They've obviously been hanging out as a group since their first year so I'm wondering how distant/close they were before their current "relationship." I wonder if Mika felt so enraged not only because she was being called out for something she hates seeing in others but also because Mukai is actually someone she has hung out with for quite some time, whether they were that close or not it's not just a random dude she had never talked with.

Now I just wanna see how things will progress between them since they have "similar" insecurities.

Mukai -> Always hangs out with Shima thus girls always only flock to his friend, so much so that he can't tell anymore when a girl genuinely like HIM and is not there for Shima.

Mika -> Is worried about whether she's a lovable person and if someone will ever accept her with all of her flaws.

They have so much potential, and I feel like some of the roadblocks in their potential relationship have already been "foreshadowed". Like how Mika liked Shima first, so once she starts to like Mukai won't he feel like a rebound? Like a "second option" and that Mika will never like him as much as she liked Shima?

But he also saw how insecure and anxious she can get in critical moments and he really wanted to give her reassurance once he understood that she's really NOT confident. Not deep down. More than that, he now pays more attention to the kind of person she is and he feels guilty for the confrontation they had.

So from Mukai's POV, it's already pretty clear that there's a huge chance he'll fall for her. From Mika's side though, I'm not sure exactly what will make her like Mukai. He can obviously "give" her the reassurance she needs but it's not like she's seeking him in particular. It's not clear whether Mukai is even in her radar. (Though I really hope he is ahahah.) He called her out on her bullshit and is now on pretty friendly terms with her despite the dispute they had so maybe that's what will make Mika take an interest in him? It wouldn't be weird to think that Mika will fall for a guy who genuinely fell for her first, right? Since he knows how she really is.

Now the major difference here though, is that Mukai doesn't only see the bad in Mika (like she often does) but also the good so I imagine this is what sets him apart from the other guys she has met thus far. Who either have "no taste" for liking her like she thinks or who are simply not interested.

Anyway, I'm rambling aaaaaa those two are too cute and I'm really looking forward to their potential progression.

#skip and loafer #skip to loafer #mika egashira #tsukasa mukai #mika × mukai #mikamukai #skip and loafer spoilers

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runwayrunway · 7 months

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No. 51 - Alaska Airlines

This is one of my most requested posts. Apparently, a very significant portion of my readers fly Alaska Airlines!

That tracks. Alaska Airlines is the fifth largest airline in the US. A sort of anti-Flair, they are supposedly the least complained-about full-service carrier in the US. They are also one of five remaining US legacy carriers, along with American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines, and United Airlines. They operate a massive network primarily on the US West Coast, with bits branching out into nearby slices of the Americas. As one might surmise from prior knowledge of the size and population of Alaska, they're actually mostly based in Seattle.

Now, when it comes to their livery, there's one thing that stands out. At least, it stood out to me, and I'm sure at least some of you have had this thought too.

That is a human person's face on the tailfin. But who does that face belong to, and why is it on the Alaska Airlines fleet? This is precisely the sort of trivia I think anyone who knows me would expect me to be able to just rattle off, but actually...I don't know, and neither, as far as I can tell, does anyone else. Isn't that weird?

(By the way, it is indeed Alaska Airlines. I have always found that somewhat unintuitive. It's just not how you're used to hearing things phrased, right? It's Possessive Noun Airlines, Air Noun. America Airlines would sound weird. Alaska Airlines sounds weird. I am never surprised when people mistakenly say Alaskan Airlines, but it's Alaska Airlines. Just so we're all on the same page.)

Alaska's a bit of a hard place to navigate. Big empty place, lots of ice, lots of mountains, islands, trees...not very much asphalt. That's even true now, but it used to be way truer, and even back then people did still live there. And there's a lot of things those people might maybe like to have, like medical care, or food, or just the hypothetical possibility of getting somewhere without having to get the snowshoes out. In that sense, Alaska is a really perfect place for aviation to flourish.

More or less as early as physically possible, when there were planes available that weren't requisitioned for the first World War or owned by the ultra-rich, people were flying in Alaska. In a lot of ways the basic landscape hasn't changed that much. With its surplus of difficult environments and paucity of actual tarmac Alaska's harsh wilderness is an environment only suited for "bush" flying, using smaller, more rugged airplanes specialized for the environment. Some of the most popular models of bush plane are very old, not that dissimilar to what you'd see in the 50s and 60s - apparently, they just don't make them the same anymore, and as long as you don't get your de Havilland Beaver crunched horribly into the side of a mountain there's just nothing that can replace it. Alaska is full of planes on floats, planes on skis, and taildraggers on tundra tires, most of them high-wing and piston-engined. Bush pilots are a unique sort, often doing work that's neither glamorous nor lucrative (nor safe, with Alaska having two to five times the accident rate of the lower 48) but undeniably necessary.

That's not as true of Alaska Airlines. They have a modern fleet, a good safety record except for that one time, and as a category III carrier they make over a billion dollars in revenue each fiscal year, meaning their finances aren't too strained (except for that one time). Unlike the local carriers that connect remote parts of Alaska to resources and to major cities, Alaska Airlines connects Alaska to the rest of the nearby world. (Though it also does short, multi-stop milk run flights.) It's a necessary part of the ecosystem, helping to keep Alaska's beautiful but hostile terrain from getting in the way of daily life. Before they became Alaska Airlines, though, they were far more similar to what you might expect of...Alaska airlines.

Image: Roy S. Dickson

In 1932, a man with the fantastic name 'Linious McGee' started his very own airline. You could just do that back then. In 1934 it was merged into Star Air Service, another tiny airline. Star Air Service had also been founded in 1932, born from the flight-school-starting dreams of a wealthy miner with the similarly wonderful name 'Wesley Earl Dunkle'. Apparently Star had its first ever aircraft, a Fleet B-5 biplane, brought to Alaska by steamship, which I just find fairly interesting. I guess this was before you could even ferry an airplane directly to Alaska by air. They ate up a few other small airlines (and their routes), and in 1943 they won a small scuffle against another pretender to formerly rebrand themselves as Alaska Airlines. So it's been 80 years of that now!

They've gone from flying Curtiss Robins, Ford Trimotors, and Lockheed Vegas to flying basically only 737s, save a few vestigial A320 family aircraft acquired when merging with Virgin America which they plan to phase out by the end of 2024. Their livery is also on E175 regional jets operated by Horizon Air and SkyWest. The airplanes flying for them number around 300. That's incredibly large even by the standards of major airlines (not even counting the SkyWest planes that have the livery).

The Alaska Airlines livery is not breaking any molds and I need to say that upfront. This is a very straightforward pattern I've taken to calling the Lufthansa Declined, or the Lufthansa Line SAS Variation. (Because the push and pull of trend cycles in brand identity is basically comparable to chess, right? Maybe? No? Not really?) I've recently codified the concept of the Lufthansa Line, the straight line continuing where the tailfin left off to carve through the fuselage. This is a very common and very disappointing fuselage trope. The Declined, or SAS Variation, is named for an airline I specifically contrasted with Lufthansa from my very first post on this blog, SAS.

The SAS Variation simply curves this line outwards towards the front of the plane, stopping the cutoff from being quite so blunt and hopefully undoing the unbalancing effect somewhat. This can solve some of the nastier effects of Lufthansa Lines, particularly on shorter planes, but can also look very wonky if implemented without enough care. It's not always a big improvement, but it's definitely not the exact same thing, either, and it's this shape which Alaska Airlines attempts. Being introduced in 2016, this livery actually pre-dates SAS, but Delta and Lufthansa weren't starting their own namesake patterns either. The names aren't attributed based on innovation, but on formative status in my own specific understanding of airline liveries. SAS as contrasted to Lufthansa is the holotype for my creation of the taxon, and thus earlier liveries are retroactively SASlikes. Birds are dinosaurs and whales are ungulates. Taxonomy is imperfect and has to accommodate new discoveries within a sometimes unintuitive framework. That's just how it is.

I think they do better than many. The fact that they use so many colors, layered over each other, is crucial to the effect. It accomplishes similar things as a gradient might, transitioning from dark to light with minimal pain in the process.

Image taken from Alaska Airlines's very useful branding style guide.

The shades of blue and green used resemble the Aurora Borealis. I can't find anything confirming that this is intentional but I can't imagine it isn't. I think they're very nicely chosen. Different lightings can make the blue (Alaska's material calls it midnight blue, but it's technically Prussian blue) look anywhere from true vivid blue to more of a deep ocean color, which is one of my favorite shades. In particular, the very washed out yellowish green is an absolutely gorgeous choice for a highlight color. I like that the colors aren't given equal purchase, though, and that the green is used sparingly for highlight, and to create that lovely subtle 'halo' around the face on the tail. Sometimes less is more, and this is one of those cases. In fact, their own website states:

Midnight is our primary brand color, and should be used sparingly to avoid overuse—giving more prominence to the Alaska Airlines brand.

(They also note that they took specific efforts in the design process to make sure these colors had significant contrast between them to meet accessibility standards, which I really appreciate and want to see more of.)

For example, if the 'intermediate' blue colors took up more of the plane, or were separate from the green, I would probably not feel any real way about them. I definitely wouldn't think they were nice if they just did a standard Lufthansa Line block with each color individually expressed. But using them as a trim to a nice clear deep blue, overlapping each other in a way that's very carefully mapped out but seems at a glance essentially random, halfway to mixing, like the dark tail is melting slowly into the fuselage...that's nice. That adds something.

The partially-overlapping, brushlike curves are further expressed as swashes on the winglets and engines. What's interesting to me is that if you look closer you can see that the little curves are on both the inboard and outboard sides of each engine and winglet, so you get that consistent curve, hypothetically, no matter what angle you see it from. I do think I appreciate that. The curves are just never going to all line up, because airplanes are inconveniently three-dimensional and there are as many angles to view them from as there are Planck lengths at a distance where you can tell what it is you're seeing. This is a weakness in all liveries more detailed than a Braniff jellybean and adding the curves to even the side of the engine that you're usually not going to see is definitely an appreciated attempt to mitigate this. Does it work? Maybe not totally, but I see the effort.

While there's never a perfect syzygy into one continuous line, the curves seem like they're part of the same nebulous body from most angles. I appreciate this approach. I think making things look pretty good from most angles is worth more than making things look really good from one angle and awkward from all others. As they say, the perfect is the enemy of the good. I absolutely love the use on just the inside middle of the scimitar winglet, which I already think is a gorgeous feature that just elevates the MAX and retrofitted 737NGs compared to the vanilla model. It's distinctive and stylish, and the limiting of the color to just the lower half of the upper blade has a real restrained elegance to it - these slashes of color are all the more effective for the way they interact with the space around them.

Just look at these winglets. They're such a tiny feature. It's absolutely wild that I can be this in love with winglets, but there's just something about split scimitar wingtips that make me go completely wild. The amount of space and the interesting shape leaves so much more room for creativity than just about any other wingtip device. Alaska Airlines does have planes with other wingtip styles, and it uses those effectively too - covering the lower half of canted/blended winglets and fully encompassing the interior of less pronounced split winglets - but this is where they look their best.

Back to bad angles, though...

Alaska Airlines has a weird weak spot, and it's from the front and slightly above. All those gorgeous swoops on the winglets and nacelles are basically impossible to see due to their two-dimensional nature, and you can see how the colors don't fully cover the back of the fuselage. My normal policy is to judge liveries by their weakest link, but I honestly almost want to be lenient on this because of how unlikely it is that you're ever going to see an airplane from this angle. The only situations you're ever above an airplane in are ones you're basically never going to encounter as a regular passenger. Don't get me wrong, I still think this could have been designed in a way which eliminates this weak point, but as far as weak points go this is quite excusable. Is that what Thetis thought when she dipped her son in the Styx? Sure, probably, but I stand by my take. For a lot of liveries their worst angle is close to side-on, which is just fully experience-ruining. This? I'm okay with this, relatively speaking.

On the other hand, one of the better angles is one a lot more people will see - below and to one side. The taper of the different bands of color really prevents the awful jarring cutoff that Lufthansa Line and SAS Variation liveries often have, and I feel like they trick the eye into thinking up more of the fuselage is occupied than it really is. Also worth noting is that the grey underside, which resembles a shadow, is actually intentionally painted on, which is lovely. This is a feature common to the Deltalike livery trend that I outline at the start of my Southwest post, which I do think is one of the things that makes me honestly a bit sympathetic to Deltalikes when looking at them next to Lufthansalikes - at least there's an attempt to distribute visual detail evenly. Deltalikes were already a bit dated by 2016 (it was not the longest-lived trend, though it came at a time in my life perfectly positioned to make me think it was more prominent than it was) while SASlikes were on the rise, and this livery has aspects of each, but it feels less like a conflicted result of an intermediate period in dominant trends and more like something which intentionally pulled features from both where it thought they might work best. It's rare that I get this sense from a livery. That's the right way to use trends - as inspiration, not a template.

Alaska Airlines is definitely not a true Deltalike, and I would argue it's not a true SAS Variation either. (For the record, I would consider the 1998 SAS livery a Deltalike, funnily enough!) It incorporates features of both, which makes me feel uncomfortable classifying it definitively as either, though it's definitely more of a SASlike than not. For example, from the side it just is a SASlike, because the grey doesn't go high enough and isn't contrasting enough to be visible except from below. This is in contrast to actual Deltalikes, which have a thin but clearly visible line on the lower side where the underside's block of color bleeds out.

This grey color is also on the engine nacelles, although it is very subtle. This does bring up a minor gripe of mine, which is that the design on the pods cuts off at a bit of an awkwardly sharp angle, usually not worth remarking on but possible to notice from some angles if you are, say, a livery reviewer and you look at these things very closely. What I do like, though, is that the grey on the belly actively connects to the color on the tail, feeling like an extension of it instead of an awkward choice made to mitigate it.

The final specific feature of the livery I think I want to comment on is the wordmark. I really like the wordmark. It's not in their custom typeface, AS Circular, a Roboto-ish sans serif I'm not a gigantic fan of, although I really like their custom web icons. They also use Highest Praise by Adam Ladd, a fairly cheap commercially available font.

As for the wordmark itself, though, I can't seem to find what font it's based on! I have to say the original 1966 logo would be great if another airline were to use it, the 1972 is somehow giving supermarket chain, and the 1990 logo would be great if not for the weird way the K overlaps the A, which just feels sloppy and unprofessional. The 2014 and 2016 incarnations, though, are great. The 2016 one (designed by the firm Hornall Anderson) feels like a great update, just cleaning up the earlier version, though I somewhat miss the lightning-bolt S.

The placement is what I want to talk about, though. Placing a wordmark is more of an art than you might think - I'll show a couple examples of Alaska itself doing a slightly wonky job later - but when Alaska's placement is good it's great. It's one of the least cramped-looking wordmarks I've ever seen, feeling free and airy, spreading upwards above the window line. The descending line on the K and the trailing like on the A both create a feeling of freedom, like it could just keep going but doesn't want to, yet is tastefully restrained and doesn't actually overstep its bounds. I like the solid single color, and I like that it reaches almost to the engines, preventing that empty-forward-half feeling. The one thing I'll comment on for this set of images is that the left-to-right reading direction of English does mean that it looks distinctly worse seen from one side than the other. I much prefer the forward slant, which feels aerodynamic fitting with the motion of the plane, vs the alternative, in which it feels like the wordmark is trying to catch up with the aircraft's nose.

On shorter planes, though, Alaska fumbles a little. They choose to line up the wordmark with the engines instead of with the nose, creating an awkward look when it overlaps the door and nearly reaches the cockpit window. I would have leaned in the other direction were I them. This picture also demonstrates a strange feature which rears its head in certain lightings where the shading on the tailfin image makes it look almost wrinkled. I don't have anything to add to that or know how to solve it, but I need to point it out.

On a very long plane, conversely, the back half of Alaska's planes begins to feel that Lufthansa Line emptiness. The vast, vast majority of their planes are of a moderate enough length that neither issue is too overpowering, but I'm taking a wide view here! Also, the wordmark here seems to not be aligned with the engines, so...what's the idea?

Alaska Airlines is an interesting livery. More interesting than I thought I'd find it for sure. It's not just a SASlike with pleasing colors and a nice wordmark, it's a SASlike with thought put into features that can mitigate the inherent weaknesses of the SASlike. It doesn't always fully succeed, nor does it comprehensively fail, but it definitely tries.

At the end of the day, as usual, I wish there was less white. I'm sure it could have been done. I don't have an obvious solution in mind like I do for some hypothetical redesigns, so it's something I would have to think over and really dig into, but, like, Alaska Airlines makes more than a billion in revenue every year so I think that's reasonable to expect from them.

I initially started using the grading system as a way to categorize liveries without limiting myself to a very specific scale that I'll dither about for years and then change my mind about later, but it's started to end up in that role. I just don't know what better solution there is, so I'm going to continue trying to make it work. Alaska Airlines is a livery that I ultimately think I like, that I think is designed decently, but that is limited by the fact that a really good SASlike is still a SASlike - mostly white and rear-heavy. It's getting the most possible out of a flawed paradigm, and I've been inconsistent so far on how I rate a good SASlike or Lufthansalike because it causes me some legitimate cognitive dissonance.

I'm giving Alaska Airlines a provisional B-.

I think I might downgrade it to C+ later, which is why I say it's provisional. A good execution of something really limited - how do I even rate that? It's somewhere between tepidly good and better-than-average, which is a really awkward place to be. But that's probably a conversation for another day, because this post is long enough and I'm still not done.

Okay, I teased this earlier.

Him. Who is he?

The short answer: nobody knows. Not me, and not Alaska Airlines.

The long answer: deserves its own post. Both because it's long, and because I've hit image limit. And there will be images. Join me in tomorrow's bonus, where we climb our way through the rugged terrain of seemingly-lost history to attempt to put a name to this ubiquitous face.

#tarmac fashion week #grade: b-#era: 2010s #era: 2020s #region: north america #region: united states #alaska airlines #legacy carriers #lufthansa declined #deltalike #skywriting

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lousirs · 7 months

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IM SORRY IM BCAKK AGAIN BUT I JUST REMEMBERED THIS AWFUL HEADCANNON I HAD

ewew ok so I think it's safe to assume that the toy brand of pretty dolls probably gained success in the 60s or 70s given some of the little details in Lou's house and his style. The factories work all year round right and are automatic as seen in the movie, but most things required actual human workers back in the day. HERE'S THE STINGER. I read somewhere I forgot where, but back in the day workers in factories didn't work in the winter time because it was too cold. so basically if we applied this to the uglydolls world, there was a rather long period of time where there was no income of dolls in perfection for the ENTIRETY of winter. So Lou had absolutely no company whatsoever in the winter for like 40+ years give or take (I have no idea when automated factories became a thing)

ok now I'm just making things worse but I also had another headcannon where weather in the real world also applied in uglyville and perfection and like the dolls in perfection got winter uniforms and all that (ugh now I might rant about this). So yea it was snowing, no other dolls in perfection, kind of depressing given that probably by then Lou had cut off ties with Ox. YOU CANT MENTION THE BOTS IN PERFECTION BC NO ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE YET (lol that means Lou was COMPLETELY incharge of everything, maybe he had assistance in doll form?)

yea but this probably played a role in the downfall of Lou's mental wealth like man just lost his best man Ox so being alone for a whole month once a year was definitely not a silly goofy moment for him.

ok that's the end of my ramble 😼😼

NO NEED TO APOLOGISE FOR RETURNING! i love me some headcanons :D

that's a big ouch for lou, but you are probably right there. lou (and also mandy) have 50s/60s- style houses (i believe so anyway) so how long would that be if we say lou's breakdown was about 2020 so (the movie is 2019 but im rounding it to 2020 for my brain)... OUCH AROUND 70 YEARS. SAVE LOU OH MY DOLL--

love your headcanons though, and i have a few of my own for that:

(under the cut, cause i can already tell this is gonna be a long one vvv)

perhaps since the factory closes for winter, the batch made right before stay in the institute for winter? yeah yeah lou could probably send them to the big world when the factory closes, but knowing him, he'd probably keep them for the holidays at the very least. cause he craves for that company.

it would be so cute though! lou would hold a big winter party with singing and FIREWORKS and whatnot. side note, i headcanon that lou loves fireworks. i mean, he uses them all the time (during ugly truth... during his lessons... etc) and i can so see him going all out on the fireworks budget. anyway, i feel that such parties would bring temporary joy to him, as he finally feels part of a family, with every doll laughing and chatting and overall having a good time.

...and then they would leave him again. and again. and again. and again... i feel like after a while he'd give up on the festives, as temporary joy and love isn't fulfilling anymore.

with the weather, i have a really dumb theory that the institute is within a dome. think about it, uglyville has a yawn ball for a sun with messy clouds...

and in the institute, the clouds are perfect (more realistic even) and there's no sun in sight (as far as i know)

uglyville probably has all kinds of weather, whilst at the institute it is always a fair temperature. no rain, clouds are always light and airy... etc, due to the factory operating the weather system within the dome perhaps. that changes when the uglydolls infiltrate, the sky in the institute turns to a dark greeny colour. and then when the two sides join, they destroy the dome.

anyways, perhaps during the winter, when the factory is shut down, they shut down the light and airy atmosphere of the institute too, leaving a cold, snowy breeze in its wake (especially during lou's earlier years). and i doubt his home is very warm either, as it's so large with barely any furniture (at least in the foyer shown in uglier truth).

and with lou's company over the years, i feel that after his bond with ox, he became desperate for the company again (who could blame him?) and tried his hardest to keep as many dolls by his side as possible, ending up with the spy girls and mandy (and perhaps the backup singers)(i don't know about them). he would probably manipulate them in some way to staying, perhaps threatening recycling and the washing machine out of pure desperation to keep someone around. so i don't think he'd be totally alone, but i feel that the spy girls and mandy were only close to him in a business relationship-type way. they were only there if he needed something to be done. he was the leader of the institute after all, he always seemed one level above the rest of the dolls, and being personally close to him seemed like something impossible.

and yeah, the assistance bots were there, but even if artificial intelligence somehow existed during those times, or if someone higher-up was controlling the robots, they wouldn't have a genuine bond with lou anyways, as they are just assistant robots who are meant for helping out with training and the gauntlet only (or so i think).

#uglydolls #ask #asks #you ramble. i ramble. we all ramble about lou angst #the winter uniform thing is so cute though!! ohh i wanna to draw them in little fleece jumpers UGHGFHFHFGDH #aww and lou has a winer suit or something!! IHSFDHBIDSHBDFSHBSDF #i'll do it at some points mayhaps

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