#creating relationships

[selling-words]

Being an indie author can feel lonely — like shouting into the void. But we were never meant to do this alone. This post is a reminder that community isn't a bonus; it's a survival tool. Let’s lift each other up, one story at a time. #IndieAuthorSupport #WritingCommunity #AmWriting #WritersHelpingWriters #SelfPublishingLife #IndieAuthorJourney #WritersTogether #AuthorLife #SupportIndieAuthors #CreativeCommunity #WritingTruths #SoniaRompoti

[timikaschambers]

Defog Your Brain About Your Environment

Hi there, In Heart-to-Heart Mondays: Defog Your Mind, I share how we can assess, evaluate, and change our internal and external environment. When you think of your environment, what comes to mind? It’s so easy to focus on physical barriers and look for external solutions or blame others. But, every experience is to draw you back to yourself. We are here to express the Truth of our being despite…

[spectraling]

"They're soulmates" oh it's way worse than that

~ quote from marsadist

[charl0ttan]

if i was an evil wizard i would make a website where you could ask questions and people who live in a whole different dimension where everything is stupid and different and wrong could answer them and id call it reddit

[marciaillust]

trapped in amber

[ghost-kings-court-jester]

The Trifecta of He Xuan, Yin Yu and Hua Cheng is so funny because it’s literally just Doom and Gloom and then at the front of the pack there’s Loverboy sent from hell to heckle them forever.

[krasnyel]

[bluerosefox]

Wanna know what would be funny as heck.

What if during one of the Batboys or girl (can't leave out Steph) Robin runs (Not Damian since he is current Robin) they accidently or rather somehow gets married to Phantom (he can be a Ghost Prince or young/new Ancient or just very powerful but doesn't know any of this just yet. I leave it open ended) during a mission they somehow crossed pass on.

Like Danny was on a mission for a ghost friend and at the time Robin was doing a solo mission or maybe just with their team (like Dick was with the Titans, Jason might had gotten into a fight with Bruce went off on his own, Tim was with YJ, Steph was doing solo stuff, etc etc)

Point is, somehow, someway they are married due to reasons/magic.

And it can't be undone. So they gotta accept it. (And if anything actually blossoms, friendship/romance from the union it might as well be)

And they take the benefits from the marriage btw. And keep it a secret cause why not.

They are discovered however when Damian, the current Robin is taken by a cult and told he was going to be sacrificed due to ancient texts stating a powerful eldritch entity can be summoned by the call of its Robin or something like that.

They think they gotta sacrifice Robin to bring the entity into the world.

Meanwhile the batboy/girl who is married to said eldritch entity scrambles to find Danny's phone number they hid in their contacts.

[camembri]

you wanted zoro to be on whole cake island to fulfil your weird desire to see zoro punish sanji. I wanted zoro on whole cake island because I think he's stupid enough to right place wrong time the plan and accidentally marry Sanji in full view of the whole wedding party in what becomes the most elaborately constructed comedy of errors ever written. we are NOT the same.

[qiu-yan]

imagine the following scenario: one day, the MXTX protagonists + love interests find out, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they are fictional characters; that they were created to star in a romance-genre web serialization centered around their relationship.

in this kind of situation, i feel like all of the MXTX protagonists would experience some level of existential crisis.....except for luo binghe.

fo luo binghe, the reveal would be twofold. first, there would be the PIDW reveal: that luo binghe was originally to be the protagonist of the webnovel PIDW, and that his fate changed when one of the novel's anti-fans, peerless cucumber, transmigrated into the body of shen qingqiu and derailed the entire plot.

second, there would be the SVSSS reveal: that, in reality, all of the above was actually the plot of another novel - the scum villain's self-saving system - and that said novel is not concerned with any of luo binghe's feats or conquests or the like, but rather is about the romance between shen qingqiu (shen yuan) and luo binghe. and that, rather than being the protagonist, luo binghe is instead the male lead to shen qingqiu's protagonist.

except literally both of these reveals are massive Ws for luo binghe?? first, for the PIDW reveal, luo binghe finds out why shen qingqiu pushed him into the abyss - not because shen qingqiu hated him, but rather because the system literally forced shen qingqiu to do so upon threat of death. furthermore, luo binghe learns shen qingqiu's real identity: someone who read about luo binghe from an alternate universe and came to love him, someone who loved luo binghe across dimensions so much that, upon seeing that luo binghe's story was to end with zero true emotional fulfillment, rejected this ending so vociferously that he ended up changing luo binghe's entire fate.

and then, the SVSSS reveal: this entire universe only exists because MXTX wanted to tell the story of the romance between shen qingqiu and luo binghe. from the beginning, shen qingqiu and luo binghe were fated to end up together. and, if shen qingqiu is the protagonist, that means luo binghe was literally created to love him.

absolute ego boost. massive W. every other MXTX character would be experiencing the existential crisis to end all existential crises, but not our luo binghe. nothing but victories for him.

[thisqueerlove]

I really wish that the BL industry would stop pandering so much to cishet viewers. Pushing heteronormativity so much that the actors/characters can't even switch from series to series.

In the bts for the ThamePo finale when they were filming the final scene where Thame and Po walk back into Po's room, Est jokingly talked about Po carrying Thame into the bedroom, he even picked William up to carry him but the staff said "wrong positions" and "it'll confuse the viewers" ... no viewers that actually know anything about queer relationships would be confused.

Something I liked about The Heart Killers was that Kant was the top and Bison was the bottom but Kant was the submissive one while Bison was dominant.

And in Jack & Joker they clearly showed that they're verse because they both tried to be the top and Jack implied that Joke could top next time.

We need to see more versatility in BLs. Less fixed positions, let them be switches and verse (or hell more characters that are Sides, someone who doesn’t like to top or bottom). Just something else other than the heteronormative roles that are constantly pushed on queer relationships. We get enough of that in real life, I'd like for these queer shows to not cater to the cishet audience.

[ninyard]

fox tweets (pt.2)

[harmoonix]

If you have 10th house or Capricorn placements, I honestly expect you to have high standards when it comes to date/love life. Something i observed with those placements is that, these natives often meet potential partners who don't respect their standards or boundaries.💣💯

[vanishingtrainwreck]

Stop acting like Talia hates Ra’s or that Ra’s doesn’t care about Talia. Their relationship is EXTREMELY complex and they both love each other.

Ra’s is the definition of a loving but cold father because he thinks it’s what benefits his child. He’s equivalent to the parent who throws their child into too many extra curricular activities and pushes them for good grades and perfection because he wants them to have a good future. It’s not right, yes, but it’s human. It’s just exaggerated because of the nature of comics.

Talia has worked against her father multiple times, and ideally would stay doing so, but she still understands her father’s perspective and why he does what he does. She agrees with his cause, she doesn’t agree with his methods. And despite that, she still comes back when he’s in danger because she loves him. Talia was able to resist her sister’s brainwashing when she was ordered to kill him because of her love and loyalty to him.

Talia knows her father’s not a good man, but she can’t help but love him because it really wasn’t all bad (early Ra’s was very much a single girl dad trying to make his princess happy by setting up dates with the weird bat freak she’s into) and she understands why he is how he is and she knows he loves her. Their relationship isn’t healthy, but it is loving and that’s an extremely important aspect, because without that love, Talia would be a completely different person and Ra’s would have little interest in Bruce in the first place.

[callmeizukunotdeku]

I love the idea of parentified Tim Drake.

Bruce loses Jason and isn't ready for another son. Tim sees this, he acknowledges this, and he's okay with it. He's never really been a son to his own parents so he wouldn't expect the neighbor to start taking care of him.

When Tim's parents come home, they're not mean or anything, they just don't baby him. They treat him as an equal--as someone who knows what he's doing--and that's fine, because he does.

He's been taking care of himself for as long as he could remember, so when people try to treat him like a child, it angers him more than anything. The way that they assume just because he's young he can't take care of himself.

Tim's been to galas before, though. He's talked with Bruce and the man never treated him like he was incompetent. Tim's parents would ask Tim questions about the company so that he could recite them to Bruce. It was a song and dance he was well versed in, but he didn't really mind, not when Bruce looked at him with such a fondness in his eyes, always saying, "That's really interesting. You know a lot about your parents' company. Did it take you a while to memorize it?"

And he'd shake his head and say, "No," because that was the correct response, even if it was wrong.

Even if he had flashcards about Drake industries and kept up to date with perception of the company and the stock value and who the shareholders were and what they wanted and what they were willing to do to get that.

It wasn't one bout of work. It wasn't a single night of studying to make sure he passed the test, but a lifetime memorizing information and then rememorizing it when it changed.

So when Jason died and Bruce started getting bad, Tim knew what to do.

He was used to long term projects where it would be years before he actually got to see any result. He was used to seeing adults as people who he was responsible for, though he had to admit that the responsibility had never been that big before.

When Tim showed up at Bruce's doorstep, he was young, just like both of Bruce's other sons, but his eyes lacked that sort of naïveté and childlike wonder that should have accompanied the baby fat which persisted on his cheeks.

That's what made Alfred pause at the door.

There was a kid. A black haired, blue eyed kid. He was young, like both of Bruce's sons. His lack of naïveté was something he shared with both children, only Dick's had been a fresh sort of loss, one he was still mourning, and Jason's naïveté was something long-forgotten and left to rot. It was a feeling you smelt when you left the windows closed for too long.

Still there, still somewhere, but not quite right and never able to be found, only stumbled upon in rare moments of something that could almost be called joy.

Tim's naïveté is something he left at home. He keeps it on a shelf in his bedroom, something to look at when the going gets rough, but something too fragile to be held.

Maybe that's why Alfred lets him in.

That day, Tim meets Bruce--not Brucie or Batman, just Bruce.

He meets a man who's hair's grown long, but not long enough for it to have been intentional. There's grease in his hair and bags under his eyes and you can tell that he's been biting his nails.

He's clean shaven, because that's what people can see when he wears the cowl.

Tim takes a deep breath before walking into the room.

Bruce doesn't move, but Tim doesn't doubt that the man notices him.

The room smells like alcohol--a smell he recognizes from when his own father is home, though he can't say he's ever remembered it smelling so concentrated.

"Hello," he says, when he's right in front of Bruce, "My name is Tim, and I'm here to help."

Bruce doesn't say anything, but he doesn't need to.

Tim talks to him, slowly distracting the man as he brings him to the bathroom, first trying to put a toothbrush in his hand and then, when that doesn't work, brushing the man's teeth himself.

Tim draws a bath for him and grabs him a new pair of clothes, and tells him to take his bath, only leaving the room when Bruce finally stands up and starts undressing.

Tim takes care of the sheets, puts new ones on the bed, and goes to the kitchen, to find Alfred already making food.

The butler asks him if he's staying to eat but Tim just insists that he's not hungry and brings the food up to Bruce.

He knocks on the bathroom door, and when Bruce doesn't respond, he opens it.

Bruce is sitting in the bath, knees to his chest, crying, but not otherwise moving.

So Tim rolls up his sleeves and washes Bruce's hair, then keeps him company as Bruce washes himself.

Bruce finds it easier to get things done when there's someone else in the room--talking to him, giving him something else to think about.

Tim talks as he gets Bruce out of the bath and hand him a towel. He talks as Bruce dries himself off and gets dressed. He talks as Bruce eats the lunch that Alfred made him and he talks until he gets Bruce back to bed.

He leaves, voice hoarse from talking so much after living in an empty home.

He comes back the next day and does it all again.

Alfred doesn't know what he should do. He knows, of course, that Tim is young and shouldn't be taking care of someone at that age.

He also knows that Bruce is in no state to take care of himself and all of Alfred's attempts have been in vain.

Tim's talking was what got Bruce to eat his first actual meal in a week--not just popcorn and protein bars. Tim's presence is what got Bruce to bed.

Tim was what was making things better, so while Alfred knew he should put a stop to it, he couldn't quite make himself do so.

Instead, he started doing little things.

He invited Tim to stay for meals.

Invited Tim to stay the night.

It took a while, but eventually, Tim started living in the manor.

One month, there's only ghosts in the house, the next, three beating hearts.

One month, Bruce can only think of his son, the next, he's calling Tim his dad.

One day, Bruce crosses the line as Batman, and the next day, he has a Robin.

You know how things go from there, some things are lost, others are gained. Some things stay the same, others do nothing but change.

Bruce and Tim get better, but Bruce still thinks of Tim as his dad.

No one really pays it much heed, though. That's just how they are--nothing really to note.

It's Dick, though, who starts noticing something's off, because Tim never sleeps.

When Dick was first adopted, he had nightmares.

He'd remember what it was like to watch someone fall. He did not watch it from the ground, but from the balcony, holding onto a trapeze, moments away from completing his own jump.

It took him months to finally come to Bruce, tell him about his nightmares.

Though he was never told the details, he knew it was the same for Jason. He pushed Bruce away, insisted that he'd be fine on his own, but eventually started letting him in.

He never asked, but assumed it was the same for Tim. When Tim couldn't sleep, when he had nightmares, when he couldn't stand to sleep in an empty bed, he'd go to Bruce like the rest of them did.

It was a reasonable thing to assume, and it was a belief he only questioned when he got up in the middle of the night to get water.

That same night, Bruce had a nightmare. Bruce knocked on Tim's door. Bruce slept in Tim's bed.

Tim ran his hands through Bruce's hair, promising that everything would be okay until Bruce fell asleep.

Now that he knew to look for it, Dick started noticing even more. The way Tim knew Bruce's favorite food and the way Tim took care of the man's company so that Bruce had the freedom to do what he wanted. The way Bruce turned to Tim when he had a problem or wanted to be told he did something well.

It was wrong.

It was wrong and Dick was trapped because he hadn't noticed it earlier. Why didn't he notice it earlier?

Tim came to him first, asked him to become Robin again. Dick knew about Tim from the start. Dick was there for the entirety of his stay as Robin.

He was there.

So why didn't he noticed?

Jason sees him panicking on patrol and Dick just breaks.

He breaks down in his brother's arms--arms he can feel tightening around him as he tells him everything.

They talk about it a lot after that. Jason starts noticing things too.

They bring in Babs and start making a file--compiling evidence because there's always the urge to just ignore it. To acknowledge that Bruce is doing better than ever.

But that requires them to forget about Tim.

To let the boy take care of Bruce and not live his own life.

Because, now that they're looking, they can see how lonely it is.

How he doesn't have any school friends--he had to drop out to take over WE.

How he's grown apart from Young Justice--always leaving when Bruce is in trouble or needs someone to talk to, not able to bear the idea of what Bruce might do if left alone.

Because Tim knows he'll break.

Bruce needs someone to take care of him, and Tim exists to fulfill the needs of others, regardless of how much it takes from him.

So Tim goes and helps his son. He never talks about how tired he is. He has sleeping pills to fix that, and maybe he can't take them because what if Bruce has a nightmare and then he can't wake up Tim--it's unimaginable.

Dick and Jason notice, though, and they try to bring it up with him, but they're not sure how.

Not when Tim's gut reaction is just to start taking care of them, too. Easing their worries, telling them that everything's okay.

They want so bad to insist that it's not okay, that this is going to ruin Tim and he can't spend his whole life like this.

But they want even more to be held. To be granted that unconditional love and care that comes with being Tim's child.

So they try to say something--anything.

But then, Tim smiles. He opens his arms to them and asks about their days.

And they they try to tell him that not everything's okay, but Tim is smiling, and they try, but they can't say a thing.