#you can't turn right on red in the city limits

[greenlikethesea]

let me know in the tags something that has taken you out of a fic’s continuity entirely. for me, it was reading a fic set in nyc in which the characters went to waffle house

#note to writers setting a story in nyc: #there are no waffle houses or walmarts in the city limits #if you own a car it is overwhelmingly likely that you live in an outer borough #there are two botanical gardens; one in the bronx and one in brooklyn #you can't turn right on red in the city limits #that's all!

[mostlysignssomeportents]

In defense of bureaucratic competence

Sure, sometimes it really does make sense to do your own research. There's times when you really do need to take personal responsibility for the way things are going. But there's limits. We live in a highly technical world, in which hundreds of esoteric, potentially lethal factors impinge on your life every day.

You can't "do your own research" to figure out whether all that stuff is safe and sound. Sure, you might be able to figure out whether a contractor's assurances about a new steel joist for your ceiling are credible, but after you do that, are you also going to independently audit the software in your car's antilock brakes?

How about the nutritional claims on your food and the sanitary conditions in the industrial kitchen it came out of? If those turn out to be inadequate, are you going to be able to validate the medical advice you get in the ER when you show up at 3AM with cholera? While you're trying to figure out the #HIPAAWaiver they stuck in your hand on the way in?

40 years ago, Ronald Reagan declared war on "the administrative state," and "government bureaucrats" have been the favored bogeyman of the American right ever since. Even if Steve Bannon hasn't managed to get you to froth about the "Deep State," there's a good chance that you've griped about red tape from time to time.

Not without reason, mind you. The fact that the government can make good rules doesn't mean it will. When we redid our kitchen this year, the city inspector added a bunch of arbitrary electrical outlets to the contractor's plans in places where neither we, nor any future owner, will every need them.

But the answer to bad regulation isn't no regulation. During the same kitchen reno, our contractor discovered that at some earlier time, someone had installed our kitchen windows without the accompanying vapor-barriers. In the decades since, the entire structure of our kitchen walls had rotted out. Not only was the entire front of our house one good earthquake away from collapsing – there were two half rotted verticals supporting the whole thing – but replacing the rotted walls added more than $10k to the project.

In other words, the problem isn't too much regulation, it's the wrong regulation. I want our city inspectors to make sure that contractors install vapor barriers, but to not demand superfluous electrical outlets.

Which raises the question: where do regulations come from? How do we get them right?

Regulation is, first and foremost, a truth-seeking exercise. There will never be one obvious answer to any sufficiently technical question. "Should this window have a vapor barrier?" is actually a complex question, needing to account for different window designs, different kinds of barriers, etc.

To make a regulation, regulators ask experts to weigh in. At the federal level, expert agencies like the DoT or the FCC or HHS will hold a "Notice of Inquiry," which is a way to say, "Hey, should we do something about this? If so, what should we do?"

Anyone can weigh in on these: independent technical experts, academics, large companies, lobbyists, industry associations, members of the public, hobbyist groups, and swivel-eyed loons. This produces a record from which the regulator crafts a draft regulation, which is published in something called a "Notice of Proposed Rulemaking."

The NPRM process looks a lot like the NOI process: the regulator publishes the rule, the public weighs in for a couple of rounds of comments, and the regulator then makes the rule (this is the federal process; state regulation and local ordinances vary, but they follow a similar template of collecting info, making a proposal, collecting feedback and finalizing the proposal).

These truth-seeking exercises need good input. Even very competent regulators won't know everything, and even the strongest theoretical foundation needs some evidence from the field. It's one thing to say, "Here's how your antilock braking software should work," but you also need to hear from mechanics who service cars, manufacturers, infosec specialists and drivers.

These people will disagree with each other, for good reasons and for bad ones. Some will be sincere but wrong. Some will want to make sure that their products or services are required – or that their competitors' products and services are prohibited.

It's the regulator's job to sort through these claims. But they don't have to go it alone: in an ideal world, the wrong people will be corrected by other parties in the docket, who will back up their claims with evidence.

So when the FCC proposes a Net Neutrality rule, the monopoly telcos and cable operators will pile in and insist that this is technically impossible, that there is no way to operate a functional ISP if the network management can't discriminate against traffic that is less profitable to the carrier. Now, this unity of perspective might reflect a bedrock truth ("Net Neutrality can't work") or a monopolists' convenient lie ("Net Neutrality is less profitable for us").

In a competitive market, there'd be lots of counterclaims with evidence from rivals: "Of course Net Neutrality is feasible, and here are our server logs to prove it!" But in a monopolized markets, those counterclaims come from micro-scale ISPs, or academics, or activists, or subscribers. These counterclaims are easy to dismiss ("what do you know about supporting 100 million users?"). That's doubly true when the regulator is motivated to give the monopolists what they want – either because they are hoping for a job in the industry after they quit government service, or because they came out of industry and plan to go back to it.

To make things worse, when an industry is heavily concentrated, it's easy for members of the ruling cartel – and their backers in government – to claim that the only people who truly understand the industry are its top insiders. Seen in that light, putting an industry veteran in charge of the industry's regulator isn't corrupt – it's sensible.

All of this leads to regulatory capture – when a regulator starts defending an industry from the public interest, instead of defending the public from the industry. The term "regulatory capture" has a checkered history. It comes out of a bizarre, far-right Chicago School ideology called "Public Choice Theory," whose goal is to eliminate regulation, not fix it.

In Public Choice Theory, the biggest companies in an industry have the strongest interest in capturing the regulator, and they will work harder – and have more resources – than anyone else, be they members of the public, workers, or smaller rivals. This inevitably leads to capture, where the state becomes an arm of the dominant companies, wielded by them to prevent competition:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/06/05/regulatory-capture/

This is regulatory nihilism. It supposes that the only reason you weren't killed by your dinner, or your antilock brakes, or your collapsing roof, is that you just got lucky – and not because we have actual, good, sound regulations that use evidence to protect us from the endless lethal risks we face. These nihilists suppose that making good regulation is either a myth – like ancient Egyptian sorcery – or a lost art – like the secret to embalming Pharaohs.

But it's clearly possible to make good regulations – especially if you don't allow companies to form monopolies or cartels. What's more, failing to make public regulations isn't the same as getting rid of regulation. In the absence of public regulation, we get private regulation, run by companies themselves.

Think of Amazon. For decades, the DoJ and FTC sat idly by while Amazon assembled and fortified its monopoly. Today, Amazon is the de facto e-commerce regulator. The company charges its independent sellers 45-51% in junk fees to sell on the platform, including $31b/year in "advertising" to determine who gets top billing in your searches. Vendors raise their Amazon prices in order to stay profitable in the face of these massive fees, and if they don't raise their prices at every other store and site, Amazon downranks them to oblivion, putting them out of business.

This is the crux of the FTC's case against Amazon: that they are picking winners and setting prices across the entire economy, including at every other retailer:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/25/greedflation/#commissar-bezos

The same is true for Google/Facebook, who decide which news and views you encounter; for Apple/Google, who decide which apps you can use, and so on. The choice is never "government regulation" or "no regulation" – it's always "government regulation" or "corporate regulation." You either live by rules made in public by democratically accountable bureaucrats, or rules made in private by shareholder-accountable executives.

You just can't solve this by "voting with your wallet." Think about the problem of robocalls. Nobody likes these spam calls, and worse, they're a vector for all kinds of fraud. Robocalls are mostly a problem with federation. The phone system is a network-of-networks, and your carrier is interconnected with carriers all over the world, sometimes through intermediaries that make it hard to know which network a call originates on.

Some of these carriers are spam-friendly. They make money by selling access to spammers and scammers. Others don't like spam, but they have lax or inadequate security measures to prevent robocalls. Others will simply be targets of opportunity: so large and well-resourced that they are irresistible to bad actors, who continuously probe their defenses and exploit overlooked flaws, which are quickly patched.

To stem the robocall tide, your phone company will have to block calls from bad actors, put sloppy or lazy carriers on notice to shape up or face blocks, and also tell the difference between good companies and bad ones.

There's no way you can figure this out on your own. How can you know whether your carrier is doing a good job at this? And even if your carrier wants to do this, only the largest, most powerful companies can manage it. Rogue carriers won't give a damn if some tiny micro-phone-company threatens them with a block if they don't shape up.

This is something that a large, powerful government agency is best suited to addressing. And thankfully, we have such an agency. Two years ago, the FCC demanded that phone companies submit plans for "robocall mitigation." Now, it's taking action:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/10/telcos-filed-blank-robocall-plans-with-fcc-and-got-away-with-it-for-2-years/

Specifically, the FCC has identified carriers – in the US and abroad – with deficient plans. Some of these plans are very deficient. National Cloud Communications of Texas sent the FCC a Windows Printer Test Page. Evernex (Pakistan) sent the FCC its "taxpayer profile inquiry" from a Pakistani state website. Viettel (Vietnam) sent in a slide presentation entitled "Making Smart Cities Vision a Reality." Canada's Humbolt VoIP sent an "indiscernible object." DomainerSuite submitted a blank sheet of paper scrawled with the word "NOTHING."

The FCC has now notified these carriers – and others with less egregious but still deficient submissions – that they have 14 days to fix this or they'll be cut off from the US telephone network.

This is a problem you don't fix with your wallet, but with your ballot. Effective, public-interest-motivated FCC regulators are a political choice. Trump appointed the cartoonishly evil Ajit Pai to run the FCC, and he oversaw a program of neglect and malice. Pai – a former Verizon lawyer – dismantled Net Neutrality after receiving millions of obviously fraudulent comments from stolen identities, lying about it, and then obstructing the NY Attorney General's investigation into the matter:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/08/31/and-drown-it/#starve-the-beast

The Biden administration has a much better FCC – though not as good as it could be, thanks to Biden hanging Gigi Sohn out to dry in the face of a homophobic smear campaign that ultimately led one of the best qualified nominees for FCC commissioner to walk away from the process:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/15/useful-idiotsuseful-idiots/#unrequited-love

Notwithstanding the tragic loss of Sohn's leadership in this vital agency, Biden's FCC – and its action on robocalls – illustrates the value of elections won with ballots, not wallets.

Self-regulation without state regulation inevitably devolves into farce. We're a quarter of a century into the commercial internet and the US still doesn't have a modern federal privacy law. The closest we've come is a disclosure rule, where companies can make up any policy they want, provided they describe it to you.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out how to cheat on this regulation. It's so simple, even a Meta lawyer can figure it out – which is why the Meta Quest VR headset has a privacy policy isn't merely awful, but long.

It will take you five hours to read the whole document and discover how badly you're being screwed. Go ahead, "do your own research":

https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded/articles/annual-creep-o-meter/

The answer to bad regulation is good regulation, and the answer to incompetent regulators is competent ones. As Michael Lewis's Fifth Risk (published after Trump filled the administrative agencies with bootlickers, sociopaths and crooks) documented, these jobs demand competence:

https://memex.craphound.com/2018/11/27/the-fifth-risk-michael-lewis-explains-how-the-deep-state-is-just-nerds-versus-grifters/

For example, Lewis describes how a Washington State nuclear waste facility created as part of the Manhattan Project endangers the Columbia River, the source of 8 million Americans' drinking water. The nuclear waste cleanup is projected to take 100 years and cost 100 billion dollars. With stakes that high, we need competent bureaucrats overseeing the job.

The hacky conservative jokes comparing every government agency to the DMV are not descriptive so much as prescriptive. By slashing funding, imposing miserable working conditions, and demonizing the people who show up for work anyway, neoliberals have chased away many good people, and hamstrung those who stayed.

One of the most inspiring parts of the Biden administration is the large number of extremely competent, extremely principled agency personnel he appointed, and the speed and competence they've brought to their roles, to the great benefit of the American public:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/18/administrative-competence/#i-know-stuff

But leaders can only do so much – they also need staff. 40 years of attacks on US state capacity has left the administrative state in tatters, stretched paper-thin. In an excellent article, Noah Smith describes how a starveling American bureaucracy costs the American public a fortune:

https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/america-needs-a-bigger-better-bureaucracy

Even stripped of people and expertise, the US government still needs to get stuff done, so it outsources to nonprofits and consultancies. These are the source of much of the expense and delay in public projects. Take NYC's Second Avenue subway, a notoriously overbudget and late subway extension – "the most expensive mile of subway ever built." Consultants amounted to 20% of its costs, double what France or Italy would have spent. The MTA used to employ 1,600 project managers. Now it has 124 of them, overseeing $20b worth of projects. They hand that money to consultants, and even if they have the expertise to oversee the consultants' spending, they are stretched too thin to do a good job of it:

https://slate.com/business/2023/02/subway-costs-us-europe-public-transit-funds.html

When a public agency lacks competence, it ends up costing the public more. States with highly expert Departments of Transport order better projects, which need fewer changes, which adds up to massive costs savings and superior roads:

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4522676

Other gaps in US regulation are plugged by nonprofits and citizen groups. Environmental rules like NEPA rely on the public to identify and object to environmental risks in public projects, from solar plants to new apartment complexes. NEPA and its state equivalents empower private actors to sue developers to block projects, even if they satisfy all environmental regulations, leading to years of expensive delay.

The answer to this isn't to dismantle environmental regulations – it's to create a robust expert bureaucracy that can enforce them instead of relying on NIMBYs. This is called "ministerial approval" – when skilled government workers oversee environmental compliance. Predictably, NIMBYs hate ministerial approval.

Which is not to say that there aren't problems with trusting public enforcers to ensure that big companies are following the law. Regulatory capture is real, and the more concentrated an industry is, the greater the risk of capture. We are living in a moment of shocking market concentration, thanks to 40 years of under-regulation:

https://www.openmarketsinstitute.org/learn/monopoly-by-the-numbers

Remember that five-hour privacy policy for a Meta VR headset? One answer to these eye-glazing garbage novellas presented as "privacy policies" is to simply ban certain privacy-invading activities. That way, you can skip the policy, knowing that clicking "I agree" won't expose you to undue risk.

This is the approach that Bennett Cyphers and I argue for in our EFF white-paper, "Privacy Without Monopoly":

https://www.eff.org/wp/interoperability-and-privacy

After all, even the companies that claim to be good for privacy aren't actually very good for privacy. Apple blocked Facebook from spying on iPhone owners, then sneakily turned on their own mass surveillance system, and lied about it:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/14/luxury-surveillance/#liar-liar

But as the European experiment with the GDPR has shown, public administrators can't be trusted to have the final word on privacy, because of regulatory capture. Big Tech companies like Google, Apple and Facebook pretend to be headquartered in corporate crime havens like Ireland and Luxembourg, where the regulators decline to enforce the law:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/15/finnegans-snooze/#dirty-old-town

It's only because of the GPDR has a private right of action – the right of individuals to sue to enforce their rights – that we're finally seeing the beginning of the end of commercial surveillance in Europe:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/07/americans-deserve-more-current-american-data-privacy-protection-act

It's true that NIMBYs can abuse private rights of action, bringing bad faith cases to slow or halt good projects. But just as the answer to bad regulations is good ones, so too is the answer to bad private rights of action good ones. SLAPP laws have shown us how to balance vexatious litigation with the public interest:

https://www.rcfp.org/resources/anti-slapp-laws/

We must get over our reflexive cynicism towards public administration. In my book The Internet Con, I lay out a set of public policy proposals for dismantling Big Tech and putting users back in charge of their digital lives:

https://www.versobooks.com/products/3035-the-internet-con

The most common objection I've heard since publishing the book is, "Sure, Big Tech has enshittified everything great about the internet, but how can we trust the government to fix it?"

We've been conditioned to think that lawmakers are too old, too calcified and too corrupt, to grasp the technical nuances required to regulate the internet. But just because Congress isn't made up of computer scientists, it doesn't mean that they can't pass good laws relating to computers. Congress isn't full of microbiologists, but we still manage to have safe drinking water (most of the time).

You can't just "do the research" or "vote with your wallet" to fix the internet. Bad laws – like the DMCA, which bans most kinds of reverse engineering – can land you in prison just for reconfiguring your own devices to serve you, rather than the shareholders of the companies that made them. You can't fix that yourself – you need a responsive, good, expert, capable government to fix it.

We can have that kind of government. It'll take some doing, because these questions are intrinsically hard to get right even without monopolies trying to capture their regulators. Even a president as flawed as Biden can be pushed into nominating good administrative personnel and taking decisive, progressive action:

https://doctorow.medium.com/joe-biden-is-headed-to-a-uaw-picket-line-in-detroit-f80bd0b372ab?sk=f3abdfd3f26d2f615ad9d2f1839bcc07

Biden may not be doing enough to suit your taste. I'm certainly furious with aspects of his presidency. The point isn't to lionize Biden – it's to point out that even very flawed leaders can be pushed into producing benefit for the American people. Think of how much more we can get if we don't give up on politics but instead demand even better leaders.

My next novel is The Lost Cause, coming out on November 14. It's about a generation of people who've grown up under good government – a historically unprecedented presidency that has passed the laws and made the policies we'll need to save our species and planet from the climate emergency:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865939/the-lost-cause

The action opens after the pendulum has swung back, with a new far-right presidency and an insurgency led by white nationalist militias and their offshore backers – seagoing anarcho-capitalist billionaires.

In the book, these forces figure out how to turn good regulations against the people they were meant to help. They file hundreds of simultaneous environmental challenges to refugee housing projects across the country, blocking the infill building that is providing homes for the people whose homes have been burned up in wildfires, washed away in floods, or rendered uninhabitable by drought.

I don't want to spoil the book here, but it shows how the protagonists pursue a multipronged defense, mixing direct action, civil disobedience, mass protest, court challenges and political pressure to fight back. What they don't do is give up on state capacity. When the state is corrupted by wreckers, they claw back control, rather than giving up on the idea of a competent and benevolent public system.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/23/getting-stuff-done/#praxis

#pluralistic #nerd harder #private right of action #privacy #robocalls #fcc #administrative competence #noah smith #spam #regulatory capture #public choice theory #nimbyism #the lost cause #the internet con #evidence based policy #small government #transit #praxis #antitrust #trustbusting #monopoly

[weird-an]

Steve is clutching the Camaro's door handle.

Billy’s driving as usual: 50 over the speed limit, blasting some metal band Steve already forgot the name of (because it's all screaming and no singing) and he's turning around any corners way too late with screeching tires.

Steve is going to die. But not because of Billy's driving.

“C'mon, don't be a pussy,” Billy yells over the music. “Nobody says no to roadhead.”

“You're driving,” Steve says, grasping the last shreds of his patience. “You can't blow and drive.”

“You just have to handle the steering wheel and tell me when to hit the brakes, that's all!”

“That's all,” Steve mimics him. “We'll die, Billy.”

“Your boner disagrees.”

Steve groans, because of course he's got a raging hardon when Billy describes how he'll give head to Steve in vivid detail.

He's saved from death by Billy's mouth (not the worst way to go), by sirens blaring and a police car pulling them over.

“Shit,” Billy shouts.

What happens next is a show Steve didn't know he bought tickets for. Billy turns down the music, unbuttons the last of bit of his shirt and lets down the window.

“Do you know how fast you were going?” Officer Callahan holds out his hand. “Driver's license, please.”

“What?” Billy's lips form a perfect pink O. He twirls a blonde curl around his finger and leans forward. “Are we still within city limits?”

Callahan nods. Steve swears Billy's eyes have never been so huge and blue before.

“I'm so sorry, Chief” Billy gasps, batting his eyelashes at Callahan, right hand opening his wallet. “I'm still not used to Indiana, you know?”

“I'm not the Sheriff. Just an officer.” Callahan turns red. He stares at Billy's license. “California, hm? I've never been.”

Steve's jaw crashes down. He can't believe it.

“Oh, you should visit!” Billy nods, like he's trying to sell Callahan a two weeks vacation in Santa Barbara. “It's beautiful!”

“You know what? I'll let you go with a warning.” Callahan gives Billy his license back. “Sometimes the signs are really hard to see here.”

“Oh, you're my hero, Officer!” Jesus fuck.

“Just doin' my job.”

Steve waits until Callahan has driven away.

“Did you just play blond and dumb for Callahan?” he asks slowly.

“It's working most of the time,” Billy grins, all proud. “Except with the Chief. Even flirting didn't work then.”

He purses his lip like he's still pouting about that.

“You flirted with Hopper?” Steve nearly yells.

“Jealous, Harrington?” Billy leans over. “I could give you some roadhead to make up for it.”

“For fuck's sake, not when you're driving!”

“Well, I'm not driving right now, am I?” Billy licks his lips.

Steve is weak. He'll die in this passenger’s seat one day. But not today.

“I guess…”

Billy's hands are already on his belt.

#steve is a passenger survivor I'm telling ya #and I love the image of Billy playing dumb #hes got the whole town wrapped around his finger #harringrove #billy x steve #billy hargrove #harringrove ficlet #steve x billy

[nogenderbee]

Could I request Isagi, Chigiri, Kunigami and Reo with a baker reader?

Of course! I'm sorry if it turned out a little short but I didn't had great idea for this... but I hope you will enjoy this either way!

Isagi, Chigiri, Kunigami, Reo with baker!reader

TagList: @miya-akane - come get your gentle babygirl~

⊱ when Isagi first heard of it, he was pretty excited to see or more like taste how good you are at baking

⊱ it's actually pretty easy to impress him, it's enough you bake something edible that doesn't take completely bad and he'll compliment you with no limits

⊱ if you ever need any ingredients then all you have to do is tell him that and he'll literally run to the nearest shop and get you them

⊱ if you bake something just for him, he'll melt right on the spot, like you can see his blushing face and how flustered he is because of your gesture

⊱ he'll also give you lots of love and affection, and maybe even some compliments if he won't stutter on the way

"Those are amazing! You're really good at it! T-Those were made with me on your mind?! T-that's... cute..."

⊱ Chigiri didn't mind your passion for baking, he was happy as long as you were happy, so if it's something that brings you happiness then he'll do nothing less than support you in what you're doing

⊱ maybe it's not as easy to impress him as it is to boy above, but it still is pretty easy... I'd say it's enough if you make something slightly above avarge

⊱ be ready for him to compliment your talent like nothing else matters in the world before he becomes a blushing mess after realizing his words

⊱ if you ever bake something for him, he'll be confused at first before it clicks and his face becomes even redder than his hair

⊱ although when he finally gets over it, you can see a big smile of gratitude and even tho he still stutters, he gives you even more compliments

"T-that's so amazing, really! Your talent is just incredible... Did you thought of opening bakery? I'm sure you'd be the owner of the best bakery in whole city...!"

⊱ you can't tell me that Kunigami never tried baking himself, it may have been one time or so but he did tried it

⊱ that's when he he discovered that you like baking so much, he becomes pretty interested

⊱ so he'd be more glad than anything to help you bake, he may not be the best at it but with your instructions, you can be sure he'll do his best

⊱ he's actually hard to impress, sure he'll eat and appreciate mostly all pastries but if you want to impress him then you'd have to make something REALLY good

⊱ if you bake something just for him, he'll look at you like a puppy before hugging you closely and thanking you along with giving you many compliments

⊱ the secret is that he really wants to learn how to bake to also impress you with his abilities but he can't bake well so of course he needs someone to teach him which happens to be you

"So I was thinking recently... could you teach me how to bake? We can start with something simple. I'd just like to try it."

⊱ when Reo discovered that you can bake, he immediately was cruious how good you're at it

⊱ and let me tell you instantly, he had many well made goods but if they're from you, he'd always act like it's the best thing in the whole entire world even if you give him something trashy

⊱ so even if you want to get other honest reaction, you'd probably won't see it

⊱ but if you bake something just for him, his compliments he give you normally after receiving some sweet from you multiply by 10, so good luck because he won't stop even if your face will have all shades of red

⊱ the worst part is, his face is happy while complimenting you like it's nothing, only later to realize what he said and his face becomes pink

⊱ whenever you bake something while he's around, be ready for him to give you some hugs from behind or soft kisses as he watches you with admiration

"It's amazing! Everything that you bake is always top high quality! You must bake for a long time, right?"

❉⊱•═•⊰❉⊱•═•⊰❉⊱•═•⊰❉⊱•═•⊰❉⊱•═•⊰❉⊱•═•⊰❉

#blue lock #x reader #blue lock x reader #isagi yoichi #chigiri hyoma #kunigami rensuke #reo mikage #isagi yoichi x reader #chigiri hyoma x reader #kunigami rensuke x reader #reo mikage x reader #blue lock isagi yoichi #blue lock chigiri hyoma #blue lock kunigami rensuke #blue lock reo mikage #blue lock isagi x reader #blue lock chigiri x reader #blue lock kunigami x reader #blue lock reo x reader #fluff #headcanons #blue lock fluff #blue lock headcanons

[drawingdroid]

Melting Point: Chapter II

A Sculptor Din Djarin x Art PhD Reader Series

Read Prologue | Chapter I

Chapter II: The Sculptor/Temper

Summary: You get a job offer you can't refuse and meet your new boss, a gruff sculptor who is so familiar.

Words: 2393

Warnings: This is a slow burn, you've been warned!; a lot of talking about Art and PhD life; Reader is not Grogu's nanny but this is very Grogucentric if that makes sense; And Reader is Din's employee too; Very grumpy and antisocial Mando; Grogu is human but the only thing described are his eyes; Reader appearance is left blank; Age gap of 10-15 years; Fluff fluff fluff

A/N: I darlings! I hope you enjoyed Christmas if that is your thing! I'm back with a new chapter, let me know what you think because I have a lot of feelings about The Armorer being reader's thesis tutor *cries in mommy issues*. Hope you enjoy this!

That morning you so were nervous. No, terrified. Finally, you were having your first meeting with your thesis tutor, the renowned artist and professor Dr. Armorer. You admired her work so much, and her deep knowledge of Ancient Mandalorian Art was admirable. All of her books were constantly by your bedside, extensively annotated. What would your role model think of you?

Your first impression was that she commanded so much respect with only her way of standing. She insisted on meeting in the faculty’s foundry, while you had expected to talk in her office. You couldn’t get your eyes off her while she was working with the red-hot metal against her anvil. She stopped hammering when she noticed you standing awkwardly at the door.

“Welcome kid.” Her voice was flat while the visor of her safety mask was fixed into you. “I’m sorry for the scholarship.” Okay, so right to the point, no pleasantries. You shivered, feeling self-conscious, and downed your gaze to the floor. “Your proposal is magnificent and I pushed for you to be admitted, but the budget is limited and now Nevarro City is placing its interest in other departments.” After placing her tools in their place. She didn’t remove her leather gloves though.

“Thank you Dr. Armorer, I’m well aware that investing in Art has never been one of the top priorities of the governments.” Your tone came surprisingly cynical while it was sad too. Your cheeks blushed for the sudden outburst in front of the professor.

“Do you drink caf?” You nodded and she directed her attention to a little coffee maker in a corner that you hadn’t noticed earlier. Soon she handed you a steamy cup of the dark liquid. She had brewed one for herself but hadn’t lifted her golden mask to drink yet. It looked like she was studying you.

“Professor, I’m very embarrassed to admit this, but I applied to the program expecting to receive that scholarship, and without it I’m afraid cannot afford my studies,” you blurted with your gaze fixated on your drink. “I’m very sorry for having wasted your time, but…”

“What brings you to want to study Mandalorian art, kid? She interrupted mid-sentence and you swallowed hard. A heat started expanding through your veins and it wasn’t because of the coffee. It was always the same when you spoke about your passion.

“Mandalorian culture is one of the most ancient ones still alive. The artistic manifestations were present early in their history and bound intimately with the development of the technology necessary to process beskar. The importance of the clans' signets was another factor to push for a more refined technique when working the metal…”

“I didn’t ask you for the book definition of Mandalorian art. My question was why you, a non-Mandalorian, want to specifically specialize in our art.” Her tone was still flat, but commanding. Had you made her mad? Was it wrong that you wanted to study Mandalorian Art?

“The way your sculpture is so raw and naked and still conveys the most profound, earth-shattering feeling while using something as cold as beskar, turning it into living and breathing things. It’s bold and succinct, it shows and hides and that gives me goosebumps every time I look into a Mandalorian sculpture.” You didn’t want to be so passionate in your first encounter with Professor Armorer, but the fear of being rejected not only by the scholarship commission but also by her, made you snap. Your skin felt hot and your heart was hammering inside your chest.

The Armorer, as everyone called her, hummed in contentment, and then she grabbed a notepad and a pencil that had seen better days and scribbled something. 

“My friend is looking for an assistant to help him around in the studio. Since your background is in Fine Art, I think you’ll manage just fine.” She gave you the paper with only a number and address on it.  You looked at her quizzically. “The salary he offers should cover your stay here. I’ll arrange your schedule so your obligations as a PhD student are met.” You could cry with gratitude right now, even though you knew nothing about this job. “And concerning your tuition fees, let me move some strings. I can’t promise anything kid, but I may know someone who’d be interested in sponsoring you.” You could hug this woman, kiss her on her protection mask. But you stayed in your seat grabbing the mug she gave you like a lifeline.

“I can’t…I don’t know…” You babbled with watery eyes.

“I only expect the best of you kid, it’s gonna be hard work. Now go.” And then she returned to her work in the forge, leaving you trembling with excitement. 

After scrolling down some job portals, you closed your laptop with a sigh, calculating the best way to manage your savings to stretch them to the limit. With maximum frugality, you could make it through three months.

Professor Armourer had given you that mysterious number, but even though you were going to try, you didn’t want to depend 100% on her kindness. Moreover, you didn’t know which type of “studio assistant” job this would be since she provided little description. You grabbed the piece of paper and called. Nothing. You went on with your routine and tried again later, but no one responded.

Would it be too bold to just show up there? After all, your tutor had provided an address, so it was assumable it was okay if you just went there to speak to her friend in person. Like the old times, didn’t people do that? So you made up your mind and grabbed your tote bag and your trusty flannel. Slipping in some sneakers, you went outside to explore Nevarro City.

The area was definitely more industrial, certainly convenient for someone who was a metal artist, nevertheless, it had some charm to it. The warehouses were old, some of them reconverted into homes or other artist’s studios. You looked again at the paper provided by the professor when you recognized a building with large windows and a silver, old truck parked in the door as the one you were looking for. A big container with metal scraps was against one of the walls. You looked for a doorbell or something similar but nothing was in sight, so you decided to just pound the door.

Metallic sounds could be heard from the interior, and you asked yourself which kind of artist they were. After a while, you pounded the door again, it was clear they hadn't heard you. But the noise was loud and on top of that some electric guitar music was playing. You decided to make a bold move and try to open the door.

The inside was bright due to the big windows. The studio was neat and functional with all the tools one needed to work metal from small to large scale. Semi-finished projects were here and there, but it looked like everything had an order inside the warehouse. You could spot a little kitchenette too and a mattress in a cosy corner. 

The man you were looking for was working at the big wooden table that occupied the centre of the room. It looked like he was polishing a metal piece, and sparks were flying all around. The first thing you noticed was the welding mask. It was beautiful, reflecting all the little sparks like fireworks, and had a similar design to the one The Armorer wore. It was shaped like a traditional Mandalorian helmet, the one the ancient warriors once used as battle armour. You smiled to yourself.

You went closer to where he was working, being cautious to not startle him, but it looked like he hadn’t sensed your presence yet, so you just observed him. The sleeves of his work jumpsuit were rolled and you could admire how muscular his forearms were between the fabric and the leather gloves he used for protection. The zipper of his clothing piece was down until his sternum, letting you see thigh undershirt under it, revealing sculpted pecs.

Maker help me if this man is gonna be my boss.

His black visor was suddenly pointed in your direction and you almost jumped from the surprise. He had left de welder on the wooden table and lowered the volume of the music on a radio that looked as old as time and then approximated you. All his movements were slow and restrained. 

“What do you want?” He asked drily, without removing the welding mask from his face. As his friend the professor, he didn’t waste a second in pleasantries. His voice was as gruff as his looks. He didn’t look like an artist at all but a sort of mechanic or technician. 

He waited for your response with his gloved hands in his narrow hips, a leg slightly flexed. The way he carried himself made him look like a statue in a museum. He was observing you carefully, from head to toe. You noticed your mouth was dry.

“I…The Armourer sent me…because of the job…assistant.” You said finally. Perfect, you now had made a fool of yourself by speaking like you didn’t know grammar when you indeed made a living of writing. You could die of the embarrassment. 

“I told her…” He started and then sighed, lowering his broad shoulders in defeat. “Come, have a seat.” He said tilting his head towards a desk next to the large windows.

You assumed it was a desk because it was completely covered by stacks of diverse documents and you couldn’t even guess the material of the piece of furniture. You observed them as you sat in a beautiful vintage chair, while he did the same in front of you.  A lot of invoices, a PC as old as time, sketches of what looked like sculptures, sheets with budgets, newspapers, exhibition brochures. You smiled softly when you distinguished the characteristic doodles of a little kid. You kept that last info to yourself, thinking it wasn’t polite to be nosy in your first meeting.

He then looked at you like it was the first time he acknowledged your presence. His legs were wide apart, but while he looked confident you noticed he was fidgeting with his gloved fingers. What a curious man. And why was he so familiar?

“What can you do?” He asked, always the eloquent one. You looked around you for a moment, gathering your thoughts.

“Anything you need around here.” You responded, now a bit more confident. “I can operate almost every machine in this place, know the basics of wielding, and can help with molds and the foundry” He now looked more interested, bending his large body towards the table. “But for a start, I think the most urgent matter is this mess.” Sure, you were cheeky, but you needed the job, and it was obvious the man needed help with admin. You went from nervous to sassy in five minutes. “Does that even work, or is it part of an art installation?” You pointed to the PC that looked like it was stuck in the 90’s. He made a noise that could be a chuckle or a grunt.

“The Armourer sent me your CV.” 

Oh, so he knew you were coming after all.

“What makes a qualified researcher as you want to work as an assistant?” This was probably the highest number of words he had put together to this moment. His low baritone was warm and nice to hear. 

You blushed a bit. Of course, you had made your apportations, but you were only starting in the Academia even though you had some articles published. But qualified was a bit of a stretch. You could tell him the truth. That you needed to pay rent after being denied the scholarship. But that didn’t put you in a good light, especially in a job interview.

“Being a researcher, I tend to spend most of my day in my head. Manual labour grounds me.” You bit your lip a bit nervous because you had just offered a piece of personal information, even though anything in your tone revealed that you weren’t referring only to your job.

He only nodded in understanding, crossing his thick forearms over his chest. 

“You start tomorrow at 1500.” Okay, former military maybe? That was rich. And it was the shortest job interview of your life. “I usually wrap up at 2100, is that okay for you?” His voice had a kinder tone now, although sounding still gruff. You recounted mentally the bus timetable to your home and calculated it would be tight but you could make it.

“Yes, is perfect.” You offered him a big smile for the first time feeling grateful. “Thank you for the opportunity.” Then he accompanied you to the door and you realized he hadn’t provided you a name. He probably knew you from your CV though. You panicked a bit, trying to recall if Professor Armourer had told you his name but you couldn’t remember and it seemed awkward to ask now.

When you made your exit through the door, he leaned against it and you noticed he was as wide as the frame. The perks of being a sculptor, you supposed. You had to stop admiring his physique if he was going to be your boss. You arranged a bit your heavy tote bag on your shoulder and put a stray lock of hair behind your ear.

“I’m looking forward to tomorrow.” You said to the statue man. He just nodded and you awkwardly acknowledged the interaction was over, so you left with an energetic handwave while he was standing there nonchalantly. Was he observing you? Just having some fresh air? You couldn’t tell with that damned mask. You found yourself wondering how he’d look under it. But it felt weird you didn’t know your boss's name or how he looked.  You turned on your heels and gathered some courage.  He was still in the same position and you felt super awkward. “I’m sorry, I think I didn’t catch your name and it felt wrong leaving without…”

Your new boss sighed heavily, and so so slowly, started to remove his welding mask. Your jaw dropped. Those sad eyes weren’t easy to forget.

“It’s Din, Din Djarin.”

Next Chapter

Taglist: @technicallykawaiisoul @dameron-grant-spector

#din djarin #the mandalorian #din djarin x reader #din djarin x you #din djarin fanfiction #modern au din djarin #modern din djarin #the mandalorian x y/n #din djarin fanfic #din djarin x fem!reader #din djarin x female reader #sculptor din djarin #the mandalorian fanfiction #droidwrites #pedro pascal characters #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedro pascal fandom #pedro boys

[beautifulphilosopherbird]

Dungeon Meshi rewatch ep 10 notes

so I always play the intro and outro because I love them so much and another thing caught my eye that might be nothing but is there a reason the women and men are reaching up, with Falin and Laios the ones in the center, and then them grasping hands? it feels meaningful anyway

ah it's the frog costumes ep hahahaha

they've reached the stairs they have to take to reach the 5th basement floor, near the orc's settlement (where the orc leader told them the red dragon was seen, hanging out and causing problems)

but the staircase is filled with tentacles so they can't just stroll down lol

Chilchuck is upset bc the tentacles mess with traps making it even harder to disarm them

KENSUKE SHOOK ALERTING THEM AGAIN but Laios didn't react fast enough and poor Kensuke got SNATCHED by froggy bad froggy let Kensuke go!

LOTS of notes for ep 10 so imma cut it off here

aw bye bye Kensuke (and Marcille's staff is called Ambrosia bye bye Ambrosia)

lol Senshi calling Chilchuck a kid again

he saves the day by using frog skin to wrap his hands so that tentacles don't hurt him smart kid hehe (sorry Chilchuck)

Marcille's weakness as a fashion girlie exposed lol

THEY'VE REACHED THE 5TH FLOOR castle town

lol the frog skin is stuck to them hahaha

(Chilchuck and Senshi's faces tho akjfiashioaghoa they look like Russian dolls help)

Namari gets motion sickness from the return spell portal thingie (bitch, same, that would totally be me, I get motion sickness from walking a little faster lol)

ahhh right right grumpy mcpants works for the "lord of the island" (ig the dungeon is on "his land"?)

hmmmmmmmmmm dwarf mines you say 👀 is that how Senshi got into the dungeon before it officially got discovered?

anyways, he's suggesting to the haughty looking dude to deploy troops in order to take care of the orc "problem"

hm lord haughtypants calls dwarfs "abominable" and says they're like moles

OH LORE ok let's see

so the dwarfs and elves were at war (no reason stated) and

not sure what that means exactly but I'm guessing the elves went to the west and the dwarfs to the east?

the dwarfs hid in the lands (where haughtypants is a lord now ig) and waited for the elves, and even after the war they continued to dig tunnels WHICH ALLEGEDLY SWALLOWED THE GOLDEN CITY AND TURNED IT INTO A DUNGEON wait wasn't that the dark evil crazy magician's work (allegedly)? hmmmmm interesting

he also says that the surviving dwarfs are responsible for the dungeon's continued expansion

grumpy mcpants says (his name is Mr Tansu just in case you think I am using the dumb nickname bc I don't remember) that rumor can't be trusted

ok so he copied a magical circle, I'm guessing before they met Senshi & friends bc afterwards they just bailed right? and it's in elvish, the same individual as before

AHA so his theory is that the crazy evil magician is an elf and these magical circles are his work, interesting (he says the work is beyond the abilities of dwarfs and tall-men)

OH EVEN MORE STUFF wow how did I manage to miss all this I'm such a clown

anyway, the western elves are sending letters now being like "the dungeon is ours we want it back" (well, our "heritage" is what they said, which is interesting bc weren't the king and Delgal tall-men?)

oh EVEN MORE INFO so they won the war with the dwarfs? bc they took the land from them and gave it to humans bc they apparently "didn't know what to do with it" (their king granted it himself even)

this evil magician, if it is an elf the only one I can think of is the crazy eyes elf from the living paintings, so I wonder if it has something to do with him

lordy mcislandpants doesn't want to give them back the island bc he wants the treasure that must still be in the depths of the dungeon lol

MAN we're getting so much lore and theories and everything now, the hamster in my brain is being pushed to his limits

grumpy mcpants says that the elves aren't after the treasure but the immortality spelll that's been cast on the dungeon (that does seem more valuable lol)

he tells mr lord to get his hands on the blueprint of the spell before they do and then he'll finally be treated as an equal, or even their superior

he says the lord of the dungeon possesses it (is that the evil magician or does he mean whoever "beats" the dungeon?), and tells him to keep supporting adventurers and not to cut down prices for hunting monsters etc

oh he'll issue a reward for taking down the orcs (that does not sound good)

ah yeahh I remember, Namari goes to the resurrection office and she asks about Falin (no luck of course)

on the 5th floor, outside the golden castle is the castle town (now abandoned and in ruins)

right, so Laios did mention that the red dragon is supposed to hunt once a month and then sleep until the next hunt but this red dragon has been active nonstop, even going as far as getting the orcs to flee their settlement which Marcille finds odd (but it's also no good for Falin bc she's getting digested faster)

aw cute detail look at Shuro all blushy as he's looking at Falin here hahaha

fun fact: the weak spot of a dragon is the underside of his neck

there she goes again saying her protective magic isn't as powerful as Falin's. She was the best in school, right? It's making it seem like something either happened to her or the school didn't have any good students in it hahaha I mean, I don't really have anyone else to compare her to (besides Falin who is apparently better than her in everything magic related) so I can't tell if it's just normal for her not to be able to do this stuff or what.

ALSO not me just realising Falin is a tall-(wo)man and aren't tall-men supposed to be weaker in magic than elves by default? hm

listening to their plan of trapping the dragon now after I know what happens makes me think that they should have known this wouldn't work out. they're all humanfailures

hmmmm I don't think anyone has mentioned this before but where are dragons normally bc apparently not on the 5th floor lol my guess is lower? hm does that mean something chased it up, like the orcs were chased up by the dragon WAIT IS WHAT SENSHI WAS TALKING ABOUT ACTUALLY HAPPENING????? Did something fuck up the ecosystem? 👀

Senshi guarding his special knife hehehe

and oop the red dragon is here

random screengrabs:

them in Mr Tansu's imagination tho LOL

Idk about you but I ship Senshi x bread 100%

same Chilchuck, same

paused and laughed

his timing is impeccable truly I love him

#dunmesh #dunmeshi #dungeon meshi #delicious in dungeon #dunmeshi ep 10 #so many juicy tidbits in this ep had my hamster wheel spinning mad #love it #but also so many notes and ss

[justplainwhump]

Hope

A little follow up to Noor's last scene, before I move on.

Noor learns new truths.

Content: BBU, very early recovery, conditioned whumpee offering sex to caretaker (turned down)

The woman who'd guided him into the red car with him was still there. Rather tall, about Noor's own height, slim build but notable muscles around shoulders and arms. There was a slightly dangerous air around her, even when she smiled. It made him nervous.

She'd talked to the driver, quietly, quickly, in a language he didn't understand, and all he knew is that she was angry, and quite a bit worried.

She had fallen quiet now, looked back at him from the passenger seat, dark honey eyes taking him in.

"I can," he assured her softly, without her having asked for it. There was only one thing anyone wanted of him, anyway. "I am specifically trained to please men, but my skills are surely sufficient to give you a good time, too. Maybe together with your partner?" Noor tilted his head toward the driver, a bulky man with a constant frown on an otherwise soft face. The type Noor liked most. He could almost feel these arms around him, this mouth hot on his skin. "I'm sure I can help him unwind." His voice had dropped to a seductive whisper, just the way he'd been taught. Just the way that always worked.

Not now.

The man glanced into the rear view mirror. Deep, dark eyes. Noor bit his lip and smiled. "It wouldn't make me unwind," the man said plainly. His voice resonated deep within Noor's body. "It would make me very uncomfortable."

Noor let out a small laugh, soft and airy, the way that could hide the deep confusion underneath. He'd never been turned down by another man. And now, the second time within one night. The handler in the house hadn't had enough time, Noor could understand that, even though a quick fuck like that could've been over in less than five minutes. This man here, though, could have all the time in the world with Noor.

Maybe he was straight? But many of his clients were, or claimed to be, and they still fucked him all the same. "I can be whatever you want. I can make your wildest dreams come true."

Noor eased himself back in the seat and ran a hand through his long hair, brushing it over his shoulder, as he searched for the other man's gaze in the mirror, eyes slightly veiled behind his long lashes.

It didn't work. The man just focused back on the street. "We can't take him to the safe house yet," he said to the woman. "They're at their limit already with the rescues from the last job. I don't think they can handle this one. He'll be a problem around men."

"Men don't have any problems with me," Noor purred and pushed up his body on the back seat, desperately wishing for another body to settle down close to his. "On the contrary. I make them forget any of their problems."

They wouldn't throw him out, surely, he hoped. He wouldn't need to be alone and on the run tonight. He couldn't.

"You're right. I'll take him," the woman said flatly.

Noor covered his sudden disappointment with a renewed smile. It didn't sound nice. It didn't sound like she wanted him at all. But he needed to be wanted. He was made to be wanted. All the clients, at WRU, and at the shady walking house downtown, they had wanted him. He lived, he'd survived, because he'd been wanted.

He stared at the car door next to him. The nightly city was rushing past in streaks of light in front of darkness. He thought about his chances. He'd get hurt, rolling himself out. They'd find him again. If not them - why should they, if neither of them wanted him? - then the handlers from the raid. This time, he might not be able to run. But it was his only chance. To find someone who actually wanted-

"Hey." A hand rested on his forearm. The woman had turned on her seat entirely to face him. Her hand was warm. "I'm Marta," she said. "What can I call you?"

Her touch made him shiver. Her skin was warm, a little sweaty maybe, in the damp heat of the summer night. Noor didn't mind.

"Noor," he said softly. "It means light."

Marta smiled. "Okay, Noor. You don't need to be afraid."

He wasn't, he thought. There was only one thing he feared, and that was white and monotonous and cold.

She looked at the door handle knowingly. "Or whatever the feeling is that makes you leave. You're allowed to leave, Noor. You can just tell us, and we'll drop you anywhere. We don't want to own you."

He blinked once, before he laughed again, in the inviting way that he was so good at, hoping to find an unsuspicious reply. He couldn't. It didn't make sense. He didn't want to be owned, but neither did he want not to told what to do. He didn't want to stay with them, if they didn't want him, but he didn't want to be alone, either. There was no place he could go. No place he'd even understand.

"You can come with me, I'll set you up with a bed, and I'll buy you a pizza. And we'll talk about finding a place for you."

Was he so easy to read? Noor had always prided himself for his skills at understanding what his clients desired. But he'd never thought someone would even bother trying to understand what was going on inside of him.

A place for you.

A place for Noor, for himself.

The words made him feel warm.

"But you don't want me," he whispered.

"I don't want you," Marta repeated slowly. "As in, I don't want your body, or your service. But I want something for you."

"What?"

"A life," she said.

This time, Noor didn't laugh.

He just fell silent, when she sat back in her seat and faced forward, and the man steered through the dark side alleys of a nice neighbourhood Noor had never seen.

Both of them said nothing. And in return, Noor. didn't touch the door again.

He spun the words in his head.

A life. A place for you.

It made no sense.

But in the most beautiful way.

"I'd like that," he whispered eventually, so quiet the people wouldn't hear him over the noises of the car.

It didn't matter. He'd said it to himself, anyways. And to his surprise, it felt like the truth.

-

---

pet safety tag list (let me know if you want to be added or removed): @gottawhump @flowersarefreetherapy @whumplr-reader @highwaywhump @tauntedoctopuses @pigeonwhumps @whumppsychology @labgrowndemon @whumpinggrounds @somewhumpyguy @whumpzone @tragedyinblue

#bbu #pet safety series #noor the romantic #conditioned whumpee

[tarisilmarwen]

Rebels Rewatch: "The Occupation"

We return one final time to Lothal for the beginning of the end.

Live reaction version.

God, Ezra looks and sounds so stressed. He's nearly at his breaking point when it comes to waiting for the Alliance to help Lothal, hell, even just for news on Lothal. He probably feels like the Alliance has abandoned his people and even if he nominally understands that everywhere is suffering and there are so many other worlds that need help it still hurts that he can't do anything for his planet and people.

Is it a little bit selfish of him? Maybe. But also the Alliance wasn't taking the TIE Defender project nearly as seriously as they should have, if nothing else they should have been replanning the Lothal attack for that ASAP.

A lovely undercurrent this episode is just how concerned for/over Ezra Sabine is, and this is the first instance, her gaze lingering after him when he turns in his seat glumly.

Pretty Yavin is pretty.

Mon offering Ezra the chance to go back to Lothal is pretty much the best solution she could have given him. It's relevant and important to the Alliance, since it involves the TIE Defenders, and it gives Ezra the opportunity to help his people he's been so desperately after. It even works out that the Alliance won't be able to extract them because Ezra is perfectly willing to stay behind Imperial lines there. Which I think Mon knew. She only sounds a little mildly disappointed that the WHOLE Ghost crew is going, likely because Hera's proven to be such a good squad leader and pilot and it would suck to lose contact with her.

But she accepts their decision anyway.

Love that we bring so many characters back for the final season. Hi Vizago!

Rex and Zeb needed to interact more, especially if we get hilarious exchanges like this.

A moment of appreciation for their disguises

And oof that is a visual gutpunch. Ruined Lothal looks almost hellish. Red replaces blue and amber, fires and smoke burn constantly.

The last time we saw Lothal, the mining crawlers hadn't begun stripping the surface of the planet yet, so this gives us a sense of just how much the Empire was ramping up its production. I don't even think they limited it to the factories in Capital City, probably built more facilities in cities all over the planet just to accommodate the workload.

In any case, it's no wonder the Loth-wolves decided to reemerge. This kind of ecological devastation is absolutely certain to arouse the wrath of ancient nature planet-guardians.

And they've built orbital construction stations too, ngl, I'm pretty sure that was deliberate in order to visually remind us of the first time we saw Geonosis. Perhaps to invoke the same sense of borrowed time? Because with how thoroughly they're sucking the planet dry, even if Palpatine hadn't pulled the TIE Defender funding, Lothal would not have been able to sustain that level of production for long. The planet would have become a broken, polluted, empty husk.

:(((((((

Once again Star Wars leaning heavily on the Nature vs. Careless Industrialization theme. (Like half the Visions shorts feature it to some degree, I'm not surprised.)

Right so even though they didn't find Rebels on Vizago's ship, they arrested him anyway because of the pufferpigs and gang-pressed him to work on a mining crawler.

Rebels said government stifling of private industry is unjust. Again. Lol.

Jhothal does not have the countless "occupied territory" holobanners, but it does have video propaganda service announcements playing constantly.

"The Empire wouldn't do anything to Old Jho. The people wouldn't stand for it." Ohhh honey you would be surprised just how much tyranny the average person is capable of tolerating. Also that's probably why they have an enforced curfew now.

We now begin the portion of the episode that I affectionately call the Sabezra Bar Date. XD

Aaaaaand another visual gutpunch. I had to go back and check but even the lighting and paint have been changed to a standard, washed out Imperial gray. Also note that there are no civilians (at least until Jai reveals he's there). This is no longer a functioning small business serving the local community, it's a state-run facility servicing members of the state.

It's sickening.

There is so much arm-touching this episode I was spoiled.

No but seriously, has Sabine ever been this physically touchy with him? She's already hyper-aware of how upset he is about Lothal, perhaps the constant comfortable touching is a way to comfort and reassure him?

-snrk- Still hilarious how they brought back Baron Valen Rudor. For once the Rebels do not ruin his day personally.

"We don't get many civilians in here anymore." Hey. Hey maybe it's because you're a bar and there's a curfew enforced so civilians can't get to the place. Just a thought.

RIP Jho, godspeed.

Head empty, no thoughts, just Kanera. And maybe a little bit the "You could always see me."/Sabine Sees Ezra parallels.

Love this subtle moment so much. Sabine noticing immediately how Ezra's hands curling into tight fists on the counter, gently touching his arm to calm him, get his attention before he does something rash.

Even when they turn to go she puts her hand back around his wrist, holding onto him, anchoring him. <333333

IIIIIIIIII thought there was a curfew in effect are they just going to let the kids... leave?

(Perhaps "going home" is one of the few valid reasons to be out after curfew?)

Jai did, ah... not age well.

FHKASJFHAKS EVEN IN CIVILIAN CLOTHES EZRA GETS PICKED ON BY TROOPERS JEEZ.

Love how even when given the opportunity to divide forces a different way Ezra and Sabine just naturally gravitate to the same team. <3

Also love that the Lothal rebels adapted Sabine's starbird as their callsign. Not to be all Other Fandom Parallels but it makes me think of how the other Districts started marking things with the mockingjay in Hunger Games.

The little wall-bounce parkour and twirl Ezra does taking out that one probe. <3

The despair in Ezra's voice here. Taylor makes it sound like Ezra's about to cry,

Sabine immediately reaching out to him. <3

Again with the touching, this time with bonus talking him out of his negative self-spiral, repeating his own words of hope back to him.

Badass family shot. <3

That Extra little twirl Ezra does as he bats down one last blaster bolt. <3

The beginning of Ryder's misgivings about their chances. Honestly, it definitely feels like the Alliance has mostly given up on Lothal and considers it a lost cause, because even with the proof that the Defender is going to absolutely wreck havoc on them in space combat they still need to be talked into attacking the factories by Hera.

So yeah, understanding Saw and Ezra's frustrations with the bureaucracy of it.

"We've done it before. We can do it again." Help I am thinking back to how Ezra remotivated himself in "Path of the Jedi". "Yeah... again. Been alone before, survived, I can survive this." *sobs*

Apparently Sabine's pep talk worked. :)

Ahhhhh I love this episode so much! The music is great, the animation has lovely subtle soft moments, the action setpieces have so many nice little unique bits (Zeb dragging that probe along the wall was great) and even if seeing Lothal in such bad shape hurts it emphasizes how badly the Spectres are needed.

Ezra did need to return home because, as it turns out, he and Kanan are the only two ones who can actually save Lothal.

Up next, romantic wolf rides! I mean what?

#star wars #star wars rebels #ezra bridger #kanan x hera #sabezra #rebels rewatch #liveblog

[multi-fandom-imagine]

Jujutsu Kaisen Characters + Sad song's.

Pairing: Yuji, Sukuna, Megumi, Gojo, Nanami, Geto, Toji, Choso, Hiromi,Kusakabe

A/n: Spoilers

I was in your arms

Thinking I belonged there

I figured it made sense

Building me a fence

Building me a home

Thinking I'd be strong there

But I was a fool

Playing by the rules

•

But tell me, does she kiss

Like I used to kiss you?

Does it feel the same

When she calls your name?

Somewhere deep inside

You must know I miss you

But what can I say?

Rules must be obeyed

↳Kusakabe

《

《

I'd take another chance, take a fall

Take a shot for you

And I need you like a heart needs a beat

But it's nothing new, yeah yeah

I loved you with a fire red, now it's turning blue

And you say sorry like the angel

Heaven let me think it was you

But I'm afraid

It's too late to apologize, it's too late

I said it's too late to apologize, it's too late, whoa

↳Geto.

《

《

I miss you

Miss you so bad

I don't forget you

Oh, it's so sad

I hope you can hear me

I remember it clearly

The day you slipped away

Was the day I found it won't be the same, oh-oh

I didn't get around to kiss you

Goodbye on the hand

I wish that I could see you again

I know that I can't

↳Nanami

《

《

Until I hit the city limits, 'til I hit the state line

'Til I reach a coast, or a ghost town a thousand miles out

Keep this needle hittin' 90

'Til your memory can't find me anyhow

Keep the pedal down

'Til I see some taillights that don't make me think of you

'Til I'm pulled over on the shoulder by some flashin' blue lights

'Til this heart forgets to break

I don't care if it takes me all night

I'm gonna drive you outta my mind

↳Hiromi

《

《

I miss those blue eyes

How you kissed me at night

I miss the way we sleep

Like there's no sunrise

Like the taste of your smile

I miss the way we breathe

But I never told you

What I should have said

No, I never told you

I just held it in

And now I miss everything about you

I can't believe that I still want you

After all the things we've been through

I miss everything about you

Without you, whoa

I see your blue eyes

Every time I close mine

You make it hard to see

Where I belong to when I'm not around you

It's like I'm not with me

↳Gojo

《

《

I need a do-over, how did we end up this way?

I'm so confused, lover, did I mistake love and pain?

Ain't got no shine left, I couldn't hide it

I almost lost all my light, and

I didn't choose sober, but my eyes can't look away

I see our true colors, lately, we've been lookin' gray

I can't turn back now, 'cause you'd take me back down

That road that always seems to come right back around

Remember when

We had dreams to fly away?

But that was then

And now our story's just a page

Like a wave, you're always crashin' into me, crashin' into me

And these days are harder than they used to be, and they used to be

No shootin' stars can fix what we aren't, and

What good's a lighthouse when the light is burnin' out?

↳Megumi

《

《

I've never been the kind to ever let my feelings show

And I thought that bein' strong meant never losin' your self-control

But I'm just drunk enough to let go of my pain

To hell with my pride, let it fall like rain

From my eyes

Tonight I want to cry

Would it help if I turned a sad song on

"All By Myself" would sure hit me hard now that you're gone

Or maybe unfold some old yellow lost love letters

It's gonna hurt bad before it gets better

But I'll never get over you by hidin' this way

↳Toji

《

《

But I don't care what they say

I'm in love with you

They try to pull me away, but they don't know the truth

My heart's crippled by the vein that I keep on closing

You cut me open and I

Keep bleeding, keep, keep bleeding love

I keep bleeding, I keep, keep bleeding love

Keep bleeding, keep, keep bleeding love

You cut me open

Oh yeah

Trying hard not to hear, but they talk so loud

Their piercing sounds fill my ears, try to fill me with doubt

Yet I know that their goal is to keep me from falling, hey, oh

But nothing's greater than the rush that comes with your embrace

And in this world of loneliness, I see your face

Yet everyone around me thinks that I'm going crazy

Maybe, maybe

↳Sukuna.

《

《

They took you away on a table

I pace back and forth as you lay still

They pull you in to feel your heartbeat

Can you hear me screaming? Please don't leave me

Hold on, I still want you

Come back, I still need you

Let me take your hand, I'll make it right

I swear to love you all my life

Hold on, I still need you

I don't wanna let go

I know I'm not that strong

I just wanna hear you

Saying, "Baby, let's go home"

Let's go home

Yeah, I just wanna take you home

↳Choso

《

《

This is the place where I sit

This is the part where I love you too much

This is as hard as it gets

'Cause I'm getting tired of pretending I'm tough

I'm here if you want me

I'm yours, you can hold me

I'm empty and achin'

And tumblin' and breakin'

'Cause you don't see me

And you don't need me

And you don't love me

The way I wish you would

The way I know you could

I dream a world where you understand

That I dream a million sleepless nights

Well I dream a fire when you're touching my hand

But it twists into smoke when I turn on the lights

I'm speechless and faded,It's too complicated

Is this how the book ends,Nothing but good friends?

↳Yuji

#yuji x reader #yuji x you #yuji x y/n #choso x reader #choso x you #choso x y/n #sukuna #sukuna x reader #sukuna x you #sukuna x y/n #toji fushiguro #toji x reader #toji x you #toji x y/n #megumi fushiguro #megumi x reader #megumi x you #Megumi #hc #hcs #gojo satoru #gojo x reader #gojo x you #gojo x y/n #Hiromi #hiromi x reader #Nanami #nanami x reader #kusakabe x reader #geto x reader

[painted-skye]

Valentines with the boys|Obey me

This is largely innocent with some suggestive themes at the end of each if you are inclined to imagine them that way. Mainly just some cute ideas I came up with for each of the brothers on how they would treat MC on valentine's day~

Lucifer

100% buy you a sexy red dress and tell you he will pick you up at 8pm "I expect to see you wearing that"

He swings round in his fancy black car with tinted windows and takes you to a real fancy resturant

Most of the evening is spent with him eyeing you up with a glass of red wine swirling in his hands

He takes you back to a glamorous hotel. The room is decorated with heart balloons and rose petals (he totally didn't request this, The brothers had found out what hotel he had booked and wanted to play a prank on him)

He opens the door to the room and freaks out, making a mental note to punish his brothers later for this.

But then looks over at your smiling face. He can't bare to have his pride take a hit, so he pretends this is all planned

Absolutely the hottest night of your life

Mammon

Stumbles into your room early with a mountain of gifts. He wanted to be the first one to give you anything.

Spends the whole day pretending he hates valentine's day

Takes you to the fun fair where you play tonnes of games (hook the devil, shoot the devil etc..) and he wins you the jackpot prize

You kiss at the top of the Ferris wheel as he heard a legend that says whoever you kiss at the top would be lovers for eternity...not that he believes it right?

At the end of the night he gifts you a necklace with his name, just so everyone knows you belong to him

He takes you to a look out spot over the city and you spend the night tangled in each others arms.

Levi

Gets you some very limited edition merch from your fave game

Wants to spend the day recreating his favourite valentine's day event from one of his otome games (but doesn't tell you that's where the ideas came from)

He takes you to the aquarium

Holds you hands and blushes at your excitement at all the cute fishes

Obligatory selfie in the water tunnel, where you kiss him on the cheek and he turns into a stuttering mess

Buys you a sea serpent plush at the gift shop

Both get the bus back, and you lean on his shoulder the whole ride home

Playing video games on his room until you lean over and give him a small kiss

Him not being able to control himself anymore, he rolls over and the rest of the night is a happy blur.

Satan

Absolutely buys you your favourite book and some real nice chocolates

Takes you to the old market side of town for an antique bookstore date

You find a cursed book that lets you go inside and experience the story first hand. Of course it's a fantasy romance book.

You leave the store with a pile of new books to read

Take an evening walk home via the river, bathed in moonlight

Go back to his room where he recites a beautiful handwritten poem

Spend the night romantically embraced before falling asleep among a pile of books.

Asmo

Knocks on your door super early and drags you from your bed to glam you to the nines

You head outside and are greeted with a small horse drawn carriage

You are both leisurely paraded through the park in the carriage as Asmo repeats words of love in your ear "my princess"

Takes you to a private room in a bar in the evening, where you spend the whole night dancing and having fun

Stumbling back to his room at midnight frantically undressing and Asmo peppering kisses all over your body

Pampering session before you fall asleep in his arms and a tangle of bedsheets

Beel

Brings you breakfast in bed - little heart pancakes. Of course he has made too many so you end up sharing them together

Takes you for a nice walk around the city, stopping and trying all the different street food vendors

Sit on a bench whilst he disappears and comes back with a huge sculpted candyfloss on a stick in the shape of a heart

In the evening he takes you to an all you can eat buffet. You finish your third plate whilst Beel is on his 15th. You both stop and laugh at the pile of plates Infront of you

Takes a taxi home where you fall asleep on his shoulder

He carries you to his room and places you on his bed

You wake up around 1am to Beel holding you in his arms and eating some of the chocolates you gave him

You playfully lick the corner of his mouth where a small bit of melted chocolate rested

He rolls over to get a taste of you

Belphie

Had snuck into your room at some point in the nught

Both wake up late, tangled in eachother

You head to a local cafe where he treats you to a late lunch

He takes you to a sweet shop on the way back and buys you a big red heart lollypop

Walk arm in arm through the park and up to the top of the hill to watch the sunset

He kisses you on the way back to the observatory

Build a blanket fort in the observatory and stargaze holding hands

A pillow fight turns hot and steamy before you both fall asleep in a pile of pillows and plushies

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me story #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me beelzebub #obey me asmodeus #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #valentes #obey me belphie

[og-danny-dorito]

Can I have a short fic or headcanons of Hellboy and his elvish girlfriend?

A/N: heyo!! of course! i'm sorry for responding so late, and i wanted to warn you that this turned out to be more of me describing how the reader and hellboy got together more than as his girlfriend. i used the elves from the movie as a reference, but if you meant in the traditional fantasy sense please let me know and i can change the wording around to fix it. i also went a little haywire with this one since the creative caveman brain was just off the rails today so i apologize for that. i hope you enjoy regardless though!! sorry again for the length and also the weird second divisions, tumblr on laptop has a weird character limit rule now ^^;

[ CATEGORY ]: SFW

Hellboy With An Elvish! Girlfriend

CW: long post, feminine reader (warning for those who are uncomfortable or dysphoric with feminine descriptions or connotations)

TW: parental death, discrimination

honestly?? no hate to liz i love her dearly but i genuinely think someone who looks physically different would be the best for him

not for attractiveness' sake but because they would understand more of what its like to feel the way he does

i mean if you've grown up almost entirely with other elves in Bethmora, then you probably won't have a lot of experience with trying to blend in but for the sake of the post we'll go with the timeline where you were cast out from a young age and had to live alongside humans

your parents had told you of a distant past where humans and mythos lived alongside one another in harmony, undisturbed by things like environmental disease and pollution

but greed overtook humans, leaving the remains of the mythos' culture scattered and torn, just like your family

once your parents passed away you were cast out for wanting to live outside of Bethmora since your parents made it clear that while human beings were capable of great evil, they were equally as capable of great good. you didn't want to give up on them just yet.

but time hardened you, and so did hiding yourself from the outside world. living in underground the city amongst those who understood the struggle of not feeling like you fit in was comforting enough for you to get by without the embarrassment of going back “home”, but your specific set of expiriences made it hard for you to really connect with others once you became an adult

that was, until you met him.

when you first see him, hellboy is scary. he's tall, big, and this deep shade of red that reminds you of the feeling of rage and power. its something that makes you cower in spot when he walks up, gun firm at his hip as he... asks for directions

right. okay. directions.

you grew up here, so you know your way around pretty well, but he makes it kind of hard to think straight with all his staring. he probably thinks you look funny if you're being honest, but you try to ignore it as you bring him over to a lone vendor at the end of the street

he's kind of... brash. from what you can tell. the entire walk there was silent but he seems to have plenty of words for the vendor who honestly can't understand a word he's saying

you can tell they're both getting more aggravated by the second so, in a moment of clarity you offer to translate

the language, though complex and mostly lost to time and lack of native speakers, rolls easily off your tongue as you explain what he's looking for

living around these parts meant you picked up a lot of languages in your time, so acting as this weird strangers translator isn’t that much of a problem for you. it lessens the chance of blood being spilt, anyways

it doesn't take you long to get him the information he needs (more directions it seems, but not for any place or thing you know about)

he's quiet for a second after you translate, staring down at you with a steely but... bemused look? curious? you can't really tell in the dim lighting, but before you can open your mouth to break the uncomfortable silence, he speaks

"You ever consider working for the government?"

and the rest is history. it didn't take you long to move into your own room at the BPRD, where you met a few of Hellboy's (tall red guy, he was astronomically less scary than you thought he was once you got to know him) coworkers including Abe, a friendly blue fish guy that was more than fascinated with your life stories. you almost felt bad for him for being stuck in a tank most of his life, he would’ve been an excellent traveling buddy

but anyway Hellboy was, as previously stated, a lot less scary than you originally thought him to be. sure he was tall and imposing and could most definitley rip someones limbs off if he wanted to, but he also liked old human music bands like Motley Crue and Queen. he also, to your surprise, had a VERY strong affinity for cats

needless to say the two of you become close over a very short period of time. having your rooms be next to each other certainly made running into each other a lot easier, but if you were being honest knowing him is the first time you ever really felt like someone... got it

certain feelings, certain struggles and pains you thought you faced alone were shared by him, more deeply than a way you ever thought possible. being hated for your appearance and heritage was something he knew all too well, and never feeling like you ever truly knew where you came from was one of the many things both of you had long, drawn out talks over

it was only a matter of time before you began to feel more than just... friendly feelings for him. it was just approaching them that was the issue

but thankfully you wouldn't have to considering he accidentally told on himself while he was drunk LMAO

like obviously he tried to play it off like he totally didn't remember what he said the next morning even though he was nuzzled into your shoulder while hugging you and telling you how much of a coward he felt like for just not being able to say that he wanted you ("I feel like shit, Y/n." "Why...?" "I'm such- I'm such a fucking wimp. I can't even say I like you. Do you know how that feels, too?" "A little too well, Red.")

but after hearing from abe how upset you were about him pretending to not know about it he called you to his room once he knew you were settled down for the day to talk

you obviously assumed the worst considering you were pretty sure he was going to turn you down, expecting something along the lines of "it wasn't meant for you" or "i can only ever see you as a friend"

preparing yourself for the dissapointment makes it a lot easier, but as soon as you walked in and saw him dejectedly sitting on the dge of his bed like a child in trouble, you knew something wasn't like you predicted

his face is a little more red than it usually is (hard to tell, but you can tell he's embarrassed by the fact that he won't hold eye contact. that or he's ashamed of himself.), and he pats space next to him

you sit down gently so as not to freak him out, and he takes the lead with the conversation by apologizing

"I'm uh- really sorry for last night. I didn't mean to-"

but you stop him, a small smile on your face as you place a hand on his admittedly too-large bicep. its hard not to feel small next to him sometimes, but it doesnt help the hurt in your heart as you look up at him

"Red- honey. It's okay. I know it wasn't meant for me."

there's a pause.

"Huh?"

"I know it wasn't meant for me. It's okay, I'm not angry with you."

"Wh- No. It WAS meant for you."

you shake your head a little bit. it's getting hard to hold back tears. you always hated that about yourself- being so emotional made it difficult to keep it together in sensitive times like these

"You don't need to lie to me, I'm not going to take it pers-"

"No Y/n, you don't understand. I am in love with you."

oh.

OH.

oh god, you feel kind of stupid. i mean it takes a second to actually sink in but god he was actually in love with you? so you weren't like, hung up over someone who would never want you back??

admittedly you almost don't believe him, thinking it to be some kind of cruel joke at your expense, but the desperate, confused look in his eyes is enough to give it away; he's not lying, and he never would. not about this. not to you.

your stunned silence goes unnoticed to you and, before you can process it, it looks like his face is dropping in realization. he's under the impression you don't like him back or something insane like that.

"Oh. I uh- forget it."

"WH- No no wait! Sorry I just needed a second to process. I like you too!! I just- I couldn't really believe it? I mean I just- I didn't think you'd ever like me back. Ever. It's just a lot to take in."

"Oh. Got it."

you two fucking dorks just kinda like?? sit there for a second before you finally look back at him. once the information has finally sunk in you smile at him, all wide and toothy as you place your hands on his own in his lap. he's still blushing, but it flares up again once he realizes how close you are

"Does this mean we're a thing now?"

you swear you feel the room get warmer just from the blood rushing to his face alone. but he's smiling a little bit!! that's more than you've seen him smile at like.. anything. it makes you smile in turn and, as the night goes on, things return mostly to normal

its rocky at first considering neither of you really know what to do, but if there's one thing you two are good at its communication

having a long standing friendship means that you already trust each other fairly deeply, so talking through things isn't nearly as hard as it normally would be. he feels comfortable enough to share his insecurities with you, so talking to you about other things is so much easier for him

in turn, you do the same. your relationship is built on trust and understanding, and the two of you are almost made for each other. you've gone through the most same struggles and pain trying to blend in in a world that doesn't feel like it was meant for you, and although your issues are unique to you as individuals it means a lot to both him and you to have someone that knows what being so different feels like

but aside from all the super deep stuff that builds the fundamentals of your relationships you also focus on the simple things too!! like for instance he LOVES the fact that you're smaller than him because he can quite literally just pick you up and carry you around if he wants to

he already did that shit normally but if you think you aren't getting picked up and taken away in the middle of a conversation with someone you are GREATLY mistaken. not paying attention to him? took. he wants you to see this cool thing he thought you'd like but you're too invested in paperwork? took. you will get Took and he will ignore your complaints about it (unless you really hate it then he'll apologize and put you down ofc)

if you like to do your makeup you bet your ass he'll watch you the whole time. he won't admit that he wants to try on some lipgloss but when you finally get him to say it he'll say something stupid and suave like "Well kiss me then." and wait for you to share 🙄

if you try to take his clothes to wear them anywhere except to sleep he will try on your clothes

he ripped your shirt one time trying to fit it over his chest and when you said his boobs were too big he covered his chest like an embarrassed maiden LMAO

it goes without saying but he likes to act like he's tough and shit with his beers and big hammer hand but as soon as you're around he can't keep up his hardass front anymore. it gets SO difficult to not laugh when you make jokes that you know he'll find funny but a good portion of your relationship is him acting all tough and manly and you just showing up and him relaxing instantly

Thank You For Reading!! :]

© ogdannydorito 2023; reblogs are greatly appreciated! do not repost, republish, or generally plagiarize any of my works without permission. translations welcome with proper credit.

#can you tell that i think abt him often #hellboy #hellboy 2004 #hellboy 2 the golden army #hellboy 2019 #hellboy headcanon #hellboy imagine #hellboy headcanons #hellboy imagines

[discow1tch]

Invitation Ch. 2

Summary: Cliffjumper finally works up the courage to talk to you

Warnings/tags: reader insert, human/robot relationship, flirting,

Notes: Thank you all for your patience! Back in 2021 my computer bit the dust and I lost my most recent draft of this fic. I only just got around to actually picking it up again.

:･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧

You do a double take at the clock.

"Oh, wow, it is late." you scramble to gather up your stuff. If you get out of here now you can catch the last bus.

"I can drive you home." a voice says from behind you. You jump and spin around to see Cliffjumper. He sends you a small wave and a smile full of flat white teeth as he towers over you.

"Oh. You don't need to. I'm sure you've got better things to do." you tell him as you pull on your sweater.

"Not right now. Unless you already have a ride." he says pointedly. You weigh your options.

"I was just gonna take the bus but I guess if you're not busy..."

"I'm not." he says a bit too quickly.

"Oh, okay. Thanks. Hey," you turn back to Ratchet, "I'll see you tomorrow, kay?"

He looks up from his data pad to give you a nod of acknowledgement as you and Cliffjumper walk past. You miss the tired but knowing roll of his eyes as the two of you leave.

"Do you normally take public transpo this late at night?" Cliffjumper asks as you walk out to the hangar doors together. He's careful to walk at your pace and keeps glancing down with each step.

"It's that or walk and it's not exactly a short walk back to where I live."

"It's not safe," he grumbles as he transforms. In a tchu-tchu-tchu of moving parts you're suddenly standing next to a little red sports car. He pops his drivers side door open for you.

"Well, those are my only options." you tell him as you settle into his drivers seat and the two of you set off.

"Not if I pick you up." he says through his speakers. That stuns you for a moment. You can feel him happily fiddling with controls. It's a weird sensation feeling the heaters kick on by themselves. The pedals move of their own accord as he shifts gears. Can he feel your feet on them? You pull them in.

"What, like every day?" you ask.

"It's not a long drive."

"You don't have to do that."

"I want to."

It takes you a moment to formulate a response but when you do all that comes out is "Okay."

The hum of his engine takes on an almost happy purr. It seems almost ludicrous now that you'd thought he might hate you.

You watch the street lights flicker on as you hit city limits.

"Okay, I'll let you drive me around on one condition."

He ex-vents heavily. The warm air tickles your face.

"You're bargaining? Really?" there's a tinge of playfulness to his voice.

"It's just one little thing. I want you to tell me why you're doing this."

"I want you to get safely to base. You organics are so fragile."

That's not much of an answer.

"Yeah, but I get the feeling you don't want it to be just anyone who drives me home. What if I asked Blurr?"

Cliff's engine revs and you know you've got him.

"I bet he'd love to take me home. Maybe he'd let me give him a kiss goodnight even."

There's another rush of hot air to your face.

"Okay, primus. So maybe I should know better but I can't help looking at you. Those short shorts you wear drive me crazy and - and I know other humans look at you like that, too. I've seen them do it. If you were walking home alone they could just -," his engine revs again and you swear you can hear an angry tinge to it.

Wow. Okay.

"But that won't happen if I'm with you, right? You'd ask for permission before ravishing me wouldn't you?"

Cliffjumper makes something akin to a choking noise and hits the brakes for just a second. It jerks you forward hard enough that your seat belts locking mechanism kicks in. And then he's hitting the gas and speeding down he road. Adrenaline shoots through you.

"Whoa! Cliff-,"

"Don't say things like that." His voice is so serious it shocks you.

"Even if I mean it?"

Heavy silence follows. You struggle to think of what else there is to say. Maybe you've overstepped.

#transformers x reader #cliffjumper x reader #reader insert #original content #my writing #whoops forgot to stick this in the queue #robot x human

[cetrouz]

PTSD (Leojun) Fanfic - Nightmare [hurt and comfort]

Jun wakes up in the middle of the night from a vivid nightmare about the war. Struggling and lost, Jun goes over to Leona to find help and comfort.

[ WARNING! This fanfic contains these themes and situations that may be uncomfortable or triggering to some: ]

- Traumatic episode / possible panic attack

- Depiction of war (during flashback)

- Graphic description of injuries/gore (during flashback)

(i wrote this a long while ago, i finally tweaked it and now im posting)

(google docs file for easier reading)

( FLASHBACK )

The sounds of an explosion. Vivid, and closer than she could ever imagine. A huge blast launched the soldier far away from her position, debris shooting from everywhere in the process. The place was severed with a burning heat, making it almost unbearable to stand there. The soldier's ears were ringing, loudly, and her vision felt heavily limited and blurry. Weakened, helpless on the ground, she felt her body ache with pain. A burning sensation ran through the cuts of her uniform. She weakly raises her hand, as she feels an unpleasant, sticky substance running down her face. She touches it, but her face stings, and her fingers retreat. Through her blurry eyesight, she sees her fingertips dirty with blood. The dull realization, and the pain kicking in right as she does it comes all in impact. She hears a distant radio noise after the ringing, someone calling for her. She feels her instincts call back, and she drags herself through the tall grass to her gun, launched right in front of her. The pain on that side of her face was insistent, awfully uncomfortable. One of her eyes could barely see. It was just a dark, red blur.

She reaches for her gun, and picks it up with the bit of strength she got. She embraces it tightly, like no one could take it away from her. A helicopter sound is heard in the distance, approaching closer, with voices coming from it. Her strength fails and she stumbles to the ground, still holding the gun, feeling the pain and her overloaded senses exhausting her. It wasn't over. It can't be over… It can't be… right…?

( End of flashback )

Jun wakes up in her bed in a yelp, her body and head jerking up out of fear, as she starts heavily panting. Her fingers would not stop twitching, and it felt like the heat from the dream was still in that room. Her body trembled and shivered, and felt like she could not control herself. Suddenly, a red dog comes out from the dark, and jumps in front of her bed. Jun is startled, and she almost kicks her feet at it until she recognizes it. Red, her dog, looked at her with a worried expression, barking. Jun stared at him and held herself, and her breathing calmed down a little, along with her racing heart. Red slowly approached her as it felt safe, and she embraced him tightly while he whined.

"I'm sorry boy… I didn't mean to scare you…" Jun whispered with a raspy voice, guilty for waking him up. She looked at her surroundings, still having the graphic scenes of her dream present in her head. Also, the stinging sensation on her eye scar, strong and vivid.

Jun didn't cry, but she sniffed and wiped out her glassy eye. She looked at Red again, who was now giving her caring dog kisses on her face.

"Thank you, Red, I-I'm ok now…" She rubbed her hands on his face softly. Red whined again, but backed away. Jun turned around to sit down, feeling like her energy was depleted, and she looked to the window. The night was dark and the sky was filled with little sparks of shimmering stars. She couldn't tell the time exactly, but expected to be very late due the silence of the city around her.

She stood up, or at least tried. Her legs trembled, and she immediately tripped on the floor, falling to the ground. Red came by her side to assist her, and Jun slowly got up, aching. Despite being only a dream, it felt like she had just lived through that awful moment in her life again. She could sense all her past scars, the blurry vision, her scrambled senses…

Jun walked slowly towards the light switch. She debated. Then decided that the lack of lightning felt more comfortable, and she was afraid that the light in her room would trigger another uncomfortable sensation in her. She walked towards her shower, to try to shake the bad sensations away, and she took a quick, cold bath.

She walked towards the mirror to check on her eye scar through the dark. The aching was going away, slowly, but it was still there. Despite having healed physically, it still hurt emotionally. Thinking about it, it just made the stinging come back stronger.

Jun sighed. Everything felt painful, everything felt exhausting. Yet, everything looked ok.

No, it wasn't okay. No matter how hard she tries to move on, those flashbacks always come back to haunt her. Even in her comfortable room, even in the comfort of friendly citizens, she felt restless, but at the same time, tired. The depths of her mind fighting to keep herself functional. And yet, sometimes it felt like it was losing battle.

She walked towards her bed again, but she pondered it. She didn't feel tired. Actually, she was afraid to sleep. Afraid of sleeping and having bad memories come to her through nightmares. Jun whimpered. God's sake, she just wanted to rest.

Red sniffed Jun and looked at her, expecting her to do something. Despite loving the presence of the caring old dog, he wasn't a human, and Jun felt like she had to share her pain with someone that could listen and comprehend her.

Her missing eye ached more. And she really wanted an actual person to comfort her, so she at least could have a peaceful night.

Jun felt guilty as one name came to mind: Leona. But in the middle of the night, would Leona even come to help? She feels guilty for thinking about bothering her. But out of everyone, her presence is always comforting and soothing. Even if she can't understand what Jun went through, she was always there to help and care for her.

Jun looked at the bed one more time, thinking if it was actually a good idea. But she tried to shake away that doubt. She looked at Red and lowered down to give him some pets.

"I'm gonna have some time out for a bit. You stay here, okay?"

Red cried, but he didn't stop her. He sat down and stood there, staring at her. "Take care of the place for me, alright? I'll be back." She said, before heading out.

...

At the front of Leona's apartment door, Jun started thinking again. Once again, she felt bad for bothering her in the middle of the night, even if Leona probably said she wouldn't mind it. Also, she didn't even know if she would wake up to open the door. Jun was feeling unsure every second. But she was afraid to back away. So she decided to knock and wait, and leave if she gets no answers.

She knocked rhythmically on the door, not too loud to scare her or even wake Bao up. Then Jun stood around and waited. A few seconds passed, and she didn't get any answers. She was about to give up and head out, until she heard some noise from inside the house. Then, sounds of footsteps coming closer, and then keys rattling.

The door is unlocked and then opened. Jun couldn't help but freeze in place, staring at Leona appearing through the door. Her hair was messy, and she wore an oversized shirt that Jun assumes to be pajamas. Leona rubbed one of her eyes, tired.

"...Hello?" She softly said, before noticing who was the person in front of her. As she realized, her eyes grew surprised. "Jun…?"

"Hi…" Jun waved her hand shyly. She looks to the ground. "...Uhm, sorry for bothering your night…"

"It's ok." Leona replied quietly, and invited her in, without questioning anything. "Come in."

Leona went inside and Jun followed her, and she looked around the cozy, yet cluttered living room. Leona went back to close the door. Jun didn't know what to do next, so she just sat down at Leona's old sofa, thoughtful.

Leona approaches her, with the tired face of someone who abruptly just woke up. But she didn't look uncomfortable. Instead, her eyes were concerned for Jun. She sits down next to her, and they stay a little bit in silence.

Jun starts muttering "I… uhm… didn't expect you to answer, in the middle of the night. Sorry…"

"That's alright. I got used to noise at night because of little Bao." She manages to smirk. "Mother instincts, perhaps?"

Jun let out a quiet shuckle, then they were met with silence again. Leona decided to break that silence.

"Is everything ok?" Leona asks softly. Her worried tired eyes could not leave Jun's. Jun crossed her arms, like she was trying to embrace herself.

"I… uhm…" Jun stuttered for a little, feeling it all come back, very slowly. "...I had a nightmare. A pretty bad one. I… was afraid to go back to sleep after that…"

Leona nodded. "I see… is there anything I can help you with?"

"I…I'm not sure…" Jun's voice came out weak, and she felt herself shrink. For some reason, she felt distant, and fragile next to Leona.

The pain came back again, and her hands trembled. She held her eyepatch while trying to hold herself from completely breaking apart, jaws clenching tightly. She felt herself lose her mind to the depths of her past memories… For a moment, she was injured and alone again on the battlefield.

"...Jun? Jun!" Leona called for her, noticing her sudden change in behavior. She held her shoulder, but Jun was tense. Leona noticed she was going through another traumatic episode.

Then Leona raised her hands to her face, softly speaking to her, with a noticeable urge on her voice "Jun, please… Look at me!". Jun's eye was fixated and looking through Leona, looking at something far distant in her mind. Then, her anxious eye locked with Leona's, noticing her worry, and Jun's muscles relaxed. When Jun had calmed down, Leona rushed to embrace her. Jun still felt lost, very confused and nervous, but she still hugged her back.

"Jun…" Leona whispered, her expression clouded with worry and sadness after watching the struggles of the pink haired girl. Jun didn't know how to react to it. But the itchy, stinging sensation on her eye wouldn't leave. Her hands stopped trembling, but Jun held her eyepatch, once again. She felt that thing bothers her to hell.

Jun pulled away, startling Leona. Jun grabbed the eyepatch, and ripped it away from her head, throwing far away from her. She lays her hand softly on her damaged eye (which was no more of an eye, just an empty skin covered by a huge scar), just wanting that non-physical pain to go away.

She looked up to see Leona's shocked expression. Then she realized that Leona has probably never seen Jun without her eye patch. She felt embarrassed for acting like this in front of her, and almost felt like apologizing again, but she couldn't say anything at all.

Leona also remained still, wordless for a little bit. Then she raised her hand to caress Jun's cheeks. Then the other hand reached to Jun's available hand, holding it. Jun couldn't help but to tear up.

"Shhh… You're going to be ok…" Leona comforted her through quiet, velvety words "...I don't want to see you feel hurt anymore… I'm here for you… okay?"

Jun lowered her head to lay on Leona's chest, not getting rid of her soft hand caressing her skin. She finally breaks and starts quietly sobbing, holding Leona tightly for her warmth and comfort. Leona raised her other hand to caress Jun's fluffy hair.

"Nothing can hurt you now. I won't let anything else hurt you." Leona's voice was quiet, but strong. Even through only words, Jun felt comfort in her care. Next to her, like this, her pain and anguish started fading away, leaving just a tender feeling.

Jun held Leona's hand that was touching her face, in the comfort of her delicate touch. Then, she moved her head until Leona's hand was over Jun's scar, allowing her to touch it.

"Does it hurt?" Leona asked, sympathetic.

"Sometimes… sometimes it does." Jun replied, with a muffled voice.

Jun lifted her head up, with her hand still over Leona's hand. She looked at Jun's scar, carefully. A deep cut that healed through time. But even if it was healed, something else broken inside of Jun kept hurting her.

"If so…"

Leona stared at her face, brushing her finger softly against her skin, and then she moved forward. Jun is taken by surprise when Leona approaches her face next to hers, giving her a delicate kiss on the scar. Jun's body shivered and she flinched, but slowly she allowed herself to relax with Leona's tender touch.

Leona backed away, with a calm smile, then asked. "Does this helps?"

Jun looked to the side, embarrassed. "Yeah…"

She fell back into Leona's arms shyly, feeling at ease and also exhausted from the energy outburst. She couldn't help but feel like a child who hurt themselves and ran to their mother for comfort.

"Do you want to stay over?" Leona asked, calmly. "You can sleep next to me, I wouldn't mind."

But Jun only let out a soft groan. She started feeling tired again, and didn't want to leave Leona's comfortable embrace. She called for the pink haired girl again, but instead of replying, Jun just rested her body on top of Leona, surprising her and making her lay on the sofa as she wrapped her arms around Leona's waist. She let out a quiet chuckle, and she ran her fingers through Jun's hair, as her head rested on Leona's chest.

"Good night, Jun." Leona quietly whispered, as they both cuddled on the small sofa, Jun falling asleep comfortably and soundly like she hadn't in a long time. At this moment, she felt peace.

#ptsd #ptsd jun #ptsd leona #leojun

[sularis]

Had a dream with like, one of personally most scariest concepts of parasite ever.

It started with showing how the whole thing works with an example of young mother who was yelling at her child to get back to her angrily before going right across the street to make out with the neighbor. She started making out with him and almost immediately after she gouged his eyes out with her own mouth and then coughed up a red bug that then went through his eye socket. The man yelled for a moment as it happened, but he stopped once the bug was in his brain, as it took control over him too.

It was starting to get bad quick, since even tho there was a limited amount of the bugs, the moment you were infected by one and the moment it got into your brain you were basically gone. You could recognise your close ones but had no way of your own to actually interact with them yourself, everything you did and acted towards them was the bug.

The parasite could get into your brain in many ways but most successful one was simply through eye sockets. It was also a perfect way to make the target vulnerable, since how exactly do you run away from something you can't possibly see. But even without the eyes, once you were infected you could see everything in front of you anyways. I'm not sure what the parasite was there even for, but the situation with it was starting to get dire.

I was working in some sort of departament, i think something like police? Since Artem (Tears of Themis) was there as well. In my building alone was at least 3 infections and i've been close to each. None of the victims there had as little as a scratch on their face, but it all went very similarly. They were standing as if nothing was happening, when a sudden realisation came in that shit isn't right, out of no where sharp headache (which people later on tried to fight with but to no avail) and finally they turned back to normal. You really couldn't be sure about your safety around anyone, since they behaved almost as if nothing was wrong and you really needed to be careful around them or really good at spotting out of order things, because at any moment of your life, your closest friend could jump you and force the parasite down your throat if you weren't careful.

I remember in that dream that my house basically became a bunker where my family hid and i only visited them every once in a while, was living at the police station basically. The dream ended with one of our collegue suddenly turning on another one, so my team had to run. We quickly escaped and run by stairs at the top floor where we locked ourselves in as we heard gun shots and groans growing beneath us. There was a weird thing above us that looked like part of a machine to work on back muscle. Artem grabbed it and said something that we have to stop this whole thing, others responded with basically how are we gonna even do that and as they did that, Artem pulled on the mechanism that i must've already known about before bc i covered my ears. Artem said that we have to try anything as a very loud noise started to fill in the room and eventually would go out to the whole city.

And then the dream ended and, weirdly enough, out of all my nightmare before this is the only one i woke up from not feeling scared.

#my dreams #dream #dreams #artem wing #tears of themis #Tw graphic descriptions #I'd say #parasite

[qqueenofhades]

I enter your metaphorical fanfic café with a "for old time's sake" request: tiny bi historian and multilingual assassin fight crime... or fight amicably over takeout options, or fight their way through the red tape of bureaucracy academic and otherwise, as your muse may indicate.

It is only when Lucy sighs loudly (and she must admit, possibly a little too dramatically) for the fourth time that Flynn finally looks up from his book, one dark eyebrow raised in the exquisitely expressive and subtly sassy way that only he can do so well. "Yes?" he enquires, in a deceptively mild tone. "Is there something I can do for you, Lucy?"

"I'm not sure." Lucy sits back and glowers at the computer screen, which is currently making a strong effort to leapfrog Rittenhouse as her greatest all-time nemesis. (All right, maybe not that far, but still.) "I turned up at the university today trying to be proactive and get my HR paperwork done, but they told me to just go to this website and file it online. Which I have tried to do, I will have you know, but it keeps crashing and timing out every single time I click submit. At least, I think that's what it says? This is supposed to be the English version of the website, but they've only translated like, half of it."

Flynn lets out a theatrical sigh of his own, in clear judgment of her inability to become conversationally fluent in Italian in the seventy-two hours since they touched down in the country, in order for Lucy to take up her visiting professorship at the University of Florence. The city is ravishingly beautiful, the university is ancient and historic, Flynn of course was happy to come along, and she's looking forward to spending a year teaching wide-eyed Italian freshmen whatever she's supposed to be teaching them, but even from this limited exposure, Lucy has already learned that while Italians and Americans might technically exist in the same space-time continuum, they have vastly different ideas about how it is supposed to be used. This is August, when absolutely everyone is shut down or on vacation for the entire month or otherwise enjoying their sensible European work-life balance, and she's already had to pull teeth to find anyone who was willing to be bothered with these logistical trivialities. Clearly, every single Italian she has met to date thinks that she is a neurotic rat-race American who doesn't know when to take a goddamn chill pill, and Lucy is unable to understand why they didn't have her class syllabi and schedules ready when she arrived, like they promised they would be. If she can't plan ahead, how is she supposed to --

"Here," Flynn says, hoisting himself out of his chair and crossing the floor in about one and a half steps. "Let me help."

"Thank you." Lucy sits back, crossing her arms, as Flynn crouches in front of the desk and reaches underneath it. "As soon as I can get this done, maybe we can finally -- Garcia, what did you do?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Oh, the Eyebrow of Sass is really at it now. "I unplugged your computer."

"I thought you were going to help!" This, of course, is an extremely relative concept when it comes to Garcia Flynn, even if a few years of domestic bliss have definitely softened him (well, somewhat) around the edges. "I need to get that done, I need to -- "

"And," Flynn interrupts, "you will. Later. At a moment that is not this one. Come on, Lucy. You've been so busy working that you've barely looked up once or appreciated where we are. Put on your shoes, we're going out."

"But I should -- " Lucy racks both hands through her hair, not sure whether to thank him or strangle him. "I should make sure I -- "

"That's your mother talking." Flynn's voice is flat, and his wide, expressive mouth is coldly grim. "Telling you that you can't enjoy yourself for any reason, ever, until your work is finished. Well, I'm yet again informing you that as with most things Carol Preston said to you, that is also bullshit. Come on, I said. We're going."

When faced with Garcia Flynn at his bossiest and most insistent, there's really nothing to do but yield. Lucy gets up, not without one more loud sigh to inform him that she really is very displeased about this, and puts on her shoes, hat, and sunglasses. Then she takes Flynn's arm, they step out of their rented apartment and head into the city center, stroll on cobbled streets that were once trod by Leonardo and the Medicis and all the other luminaries you can shake a stick at, and the late-afternoon sunlight pours down like streaming golden oil. Lucy feels herself sinking into it, consumed by it, as Flynn orders them two gelatos in perfect Italian (if she didn't love this man so much, she would hate him). They sit on the massive steps of the Duomo to eat it, and Flynn smirks in deep satisfaction. "This was a good idea," he announces, in a tone that means it isn't a question and he is just waiting for her to agree. "Wasn't it."

"Yes," Lucy sighs, beaten, but very happy about it. She leans over to kiss him, stealing the taste of coffee ice cream from his mouth, and then continues spooning up her own. She doesn't mean just this particular moment -- she means this entire place, them, everything that they have been together, and everything that they are yet to be, even if he often drives her crazy and then, even more irritatingly, is correct to have done so. "Yes, I would say it was."

#oldshrewsburyian #ask #garcy #garcy ff #lucy x flynn #fic prompts

[beatlepaul4ever]

A Little Bare

By Paul McCartney

Mersey Beat: September 6 1962

Paul McCartney John, George, Stu and I used to play at a Strip Club in Upper Parliament Street, backing Janice the Stripper. At the time we wore little lilac jackets...or purple jackets, or something. Well, we played behind Janice and naturally we looked at her...the audience looked at her, everybody looked at her, just sort of normal. At the end of the act, she would turn round and...well, we were all young lads, we'd never seen anything like it before, and all blushed...four blushing red-faced lads.

Janice brought sheets of music for us to play all her arrangements. She gave us a bit of Beethoven and the Spanish Fire Dance. So in the end we said 'We can't read music, sorry, but instead of the Spanish Fire Dance we can play The Harry Lime Cha-Cha, which we've arranged ourselves, and instead of Beethoven you can have 'Moonglow' or 'September Song' - take your pick...and instead of the 'Sabre Dance' we'll give you 'Ramrod.' So that's what she got. She seemed quite satisfied anyway.

The Strip club wasn't an important chapter in our lives, but it was an interesting one.

Text ©Bill Harry/Mersey Beat Limited. Photograph ©Francis Michael (Michael McCartney)

Editor's note: Paul used to regularly send letters to me when he traveled and I decided to include some excerpts in Mersey Beat. This amusing piece was illustrated by a photograph of Paul credited to Francis Michael. This was actually Paul's brother Mike and was his first photograph to be printed in a newspaper.

The strip club appearance took place in July 1960 at the New Cabaret Artistes club at 174a Upper Parliament Street. Strip clubs were illegal in Liverpool at the time as the city had a Watch Committee which strictly enforced moral laws. The club, which had a short life, was run by Lord Woodbine and Allan Williams and Williams had hired a big-busted stripper from Manchester called Janice. Janice refused to perform unless she had a live group backing her, so Williams hired the four-piece Silver Beatles to provide her backing for one week. The group didn't have a drummer with them and comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Stuart Sutcliffe.

I doubt if John and Stuart were red-faced, they spent many an hour drawing from nude models in the art college Life Rooms and actually found it boring.

Return to main section

All content (unless otherwise stated) © Bill Harry/Mersey Beat Ltd.

Web design © 2002-2023 Triumph PC. All Rights Reserved.

#the beatles #paul mccartney #silver beetles #Janice #what a liar Paul is #I doubt very much he or the others blushed over Janice